Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Initial height and diameter are equally related to survival and growth of hardwood seedlings in first year after field planting

This study compares the relation of initial height and root collar diameter of bareroot hardwoods seedlings to survival and growth in first year after planting. A total of six species used in Serbian reforestation programs were tested (four native: Fagus sylvatica, Ulmus laevis, Fraxinus excelsior, and Acer pseudoplatanus and two exotic: Robinia pseudoacacia, and Quercus rubra), at 6 sites with a wide range of environmental conditions. Initial seedling height and diameter were equally related to field performance and better in forecasting growth than survival. The relation between seedlings initial morphological attributes and survival was species specific, while for all tested species growth was positively correlated to seedling size at planting. Although large seedlings kept their advantage in size, smaller seedlings grew at a higher rate. Both initial H and D should be considered as equally important in operational programs for hardwoods seedling quality testing.
Low-Latency and Reconfigurable VLSI-Architectures for Computing Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors Using CORDIC-Based Parallel Jacobi Method

This article proposes a low-latency parallel Jacobi-method-based algorithm for computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors of $n\times n$ -sized real-symmetric matrix. It is a coordinate rotations digital-computer (CORDIC)-based iterative algorithm that comprises multiple rotations and hence the key contribution of our work is to reduce the time cost of each rotation. Thus, alleviating the total latency for computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors using the parallel Jacobi method. Based on this proposed algorithm and additional architectural optimizations, a new low-latency and highly accurate VLSI-architecture has been presented in this manuscript for computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors of real-symmetric matrix. Subsequently, this work proposes a reconfigurable algorithm and its VLSI-architecture for computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors of complex Hermitian (CH), complex skew-Hermitian (CSH), and real skew-symmetric (RSS) matrices. Performance analysis of the proposed architectures has demonstrated minimal error-percentage of 0.0106% which is adequate for the wide range of real-time applications. The proposed architectures are hardware implemented on Zynq Ultrascale+ field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-board that consumed short latency of $9.377~\mu \text{s}$ while operating at maximum clock frequency of 172.75 MHz. Comparison of our implementation results with the reported works showed that the proposed architecture incurs 43.75% lower latency and 89.4% better accuracy than the state-of-the-art implementation.
Trypanosoma cruzi genetic diversity: impact on transmission cycles and Chagas disease

Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease (ChD), exhibits remarkable biological and genetic diversity, along with eco-epidemiological complexity. In order to facilitate communication among researchers aiming at the characterisation of biological and epidemiological aspects of T. cruzi, parasite isolates and strains were partitioned into seven discrete typing units (DTUs), TcI-TcVI and TcBat, identifiable by reproducible genotyping protocols. Here we present the potential origin of the genetic diversity of T. cruzi and summarise knowledge about eco-epidemiological associations of DTUs with mammalian reservoirs and vectors. Circumstantial evidence of a connection between T. cruzi genotype and ChD manifestations is also discussed emphasising the role of the host’s immune response in clinical ChD progression. We describe genomic aspects of DTUs focusing on polymorphisms in multigene families encoding surface antigens that play essential functions for parasite survival both in the insect vector and the mammalian host. Such antigens most probably contributed to the parasite success in establishing infections in different hosts and exploring several niches. Gaps in the current knowledge and challenges for future research are pointed out.
FORCE AND MOMENT EXERTED BY EACH HAND ON AN INSTRUMENTED GOLF CLUB

This article shows an issue of the analysis on golf swing motion, and then introduces an instrumented golf club as a solution for the issue. During the golf swing motion, the upper limbs and a club make a closed multisegment loop, where it is impossible to calculate the forces and moments exerted by each hand via inverse dynamics due to the kinetic redundancy of the closed loop system. An instrumented grip handle equipped with twelve sets of strain gauges was designed to measure the forces and moments exerted by each hand. The results of kinetic analysis for a professional golf instructor indicates that 1 ) the force exerted along the club shaft by the grip-end side hand shows significant large values toward the ball impact, and 2) the forces exerted by both hands in the axes that are perpendicular to the club shaft show coupled force patterns.
Metabolic parameters in type 2 diabetic patients with positive Candida cultures

The gut microbiota plays an important role in host metabolism, immunity, digestibility and even behaviour. Candida spec. is common resident of the gastrointestinal tract and integral part of the microbiota. The aim of the study was to evaluate if positive Candida cultures in the stool influence metabolic parameters in type 2DM patients. 46 patients with type 2 DM and oral antidiabetic treatment, were divided into a study group (S=18 patients with positive Candida sp. cultures in stool) and the control group (C= remaining 28 patients). Besides medical history and clinical examination, all patients were tested for coproculture, fasting glycaemia (FPG), HbA1C, total cholesterol (CL) triglycerides (TG), high- density lipoproteins (HDL) and low- density lipoproteins (LDL). Study group patients had a significantly higher BMI (31.41 ± 5.29 vs. 25.18 ± 3.58; p<0.001); HbA1C (9.8 % ± 1.74 vs 6.9% ± 1.89; p<0.05) as well as FPG (10.87 ± 1.35 vs 7.47 ± 1.03; p<0.01), compared to the control group. Even though the study group patients had higher TG, CL, LDL and HDL, compared to the control group, there was no statistical significance verified. Uncontrolled glucoregulation is one of the host condition which favours candida colonization and subsequent infection. This may be related to the decrease in commensal bacteria, probably as the result of yeast-bacterial competition. On the other hand, we have to keep in mindthat a significantly increased number of Candida colonies can affect the rate of digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and consequently increase the level of glycaemia in patients with diabetes.
Assessment of early vascular changes in adult females with polycystic ovary syndrome: correlation with insulin resistance

Abstract Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest endocrine disorder in females in the reproductive period with estimated prevalence of 5% to 18% [1]. It contributes to the mortality and morbidity in patients with PCOS due to the increased risk of different metabolic and cardiovascular (CV) complications [2]. Despite the presence of obesity in 40-60% of cases [3], the disease may occur in non-obese women. The occurrence of metabolic disorders in non-obese PCOS patients, suggests that the syndrome itself may play a role in the development of metabolic and CV co-morbidities [4]. The identification of early stages of atherosclerosis in patients with PCOS might be useful in the development of new strategies to control modifiable CV risk factors [5]. Assessment of vascular endothelial function (ED) as an initial reversible step in atherosclerosis development, may serve as an integral index for CV risk factor burden [6]. In addition, carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) is a helpful marker for atherosclerosis and for the identification of increased risk of CV disease [7]. Our study assessed the early vascular changes in Egyptian women with PCOS both physically and functionally by looking at the CIMT using high resolution Doppler ultrasound and by measuring ED using brachial artery flow–mediated vasodilatation (FMD). Our results indicate that patients with PCOS have significant ED and premature atherosclerosis which is, to a great extent, independent of obesity and IR. This suggests that PCOS patients are at increased risk for premature CVD and may benefit from early detection and management.
Investigation on stall inception of axial compressor under inlet rotating distortion

This paper applies a numerical approach to improve the understanding of reaction to various inflow conditions for the compressor system and the mechanism of stall inception under rotating inflow distortions. Full annulus, unsteady, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics has been used to simulate an axial low-speed compressor operating under rotating distorted inflow conditions. The development of the flow through the rotor is then explained in terms of the redistribution of the flow field and the process of stall inception. The results suggest that the increased flow incidence close to the tip region under co-rotating inflow distortion plays an important role on the stall inception process. The presence of a strong modal wave is observed under co-rotating inflow distortions. This leads to a significant impact on the loss of stall margin, as compared with other distorted inflow conditions. There is a significant peak in the flow coefficient at stall for co-rotating inlet distortion. It can be interpreted as a resonant behavior of the compressor under a strong interaction between the flow field and inlet distortion. It indicates that the stall inception is triggered by the perturbation of the rotating distorted inflow through the long length scale disturbances.
Comparison of Different Foam Rolling Protocols on Ankle Range of Motion, Strength, Muscle Activation and Jump Performance

Background: Foam rolling (FR) has been widely used with the intent to increase range of motion (ROM) before strength and power activities. At the moment, few studies have investigated practical strategies to control FR intensity. Purpose: The aim was to compare the effect (FR) intensity by different combinations of a smooth roller, grid roller, unilateral or bilateral rolling massage on the triceps suralis ROM, strength, muscle activation, and jump performance. Methods: Ten male (28±4 years, 175±5 cm, 81±13 kg) and ten female (29±4 years, 163±5 cm, 66±10 kg) recreationally trained performed two sessions of data collection that compared 4 combinations of rolling surface and technique: unilateral smooth roller (US), bilateral smooth roller (BS), unilateral grid roller (UG), and bilateral grid roller (BG). During all conditions, the triceps suralis was rolled for 2 sets of 60 s with 60 s of rest between sets. Rate of perceived pain (RPP) after the rolling protocol; peak force during a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) (PF), muscle activation during a MVIC, and unilateral drop jump (UDJ) performance were measured before and after each condition. Results: The greatest RPP was reported in UG condition and the lowest RPP was reported in BS condition. All conditions increased ankle ROM to the same extent without subsequent effect on PF, muscle activity UDJ height, and UDJ contact time. Our data indicate that FR using different combinations of surface pattern and rolling techniques increased ankle ROM without a subsequent effect on drop jump performance, triceps suralis strength, and activation. Conclusion: In conclusion, practitioners could be encouraged to perform FR with mild discomfort and use a bilateral technique to save time. Keywords: Flexibility, self-myofascial release, electromyography, force, strength.
The effects of climbing’s inclusion in the Olympic Games: a controversial innovation process in France?

Abstract This study maps the innovation process corresponding to climbing’s inclusion in the Olympic Games and the resulting controversies. The French Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing (FFME) appears to be one of the most internationally active federations in the promotion of Olympic climbing. Based on the sociology of the actor-network theory (ANT), we have traced the creation of a network of actants to drive the innovation of Olympic climbing, as well as the controversies related to it. Our investigation adopts a qualitative approach based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews, institutional documents and press articles. Our results bring to light the development of controversy surrounding the inclusion of climbing in the Olympic Games. Such controversy gave rise to two sociotechnical innovations: the official speed climbing route (2005) and the invention of a combined format (2016), which, in turn, became the subject of further controversy when the practice was called into question.
IFNγ-Treated Macrophages Induce EMT through the WNT Pathway: Relevance in Crohn’s Disease

Background: Fibrosis is a common complication of Crohn’s disease (CD) in which macrophages play a central role. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the WNT pathway have been associated with fibrosis. We aim to analyse the relevance of the tissue microenvironment in macrophage phenotype and the EMT process. Methods: Intestinal surgical resections are obtained from control and CD patients with stenotic or penetrating behaviour. Cytokine’s expression, macrophage phenotype, EMT markers and WNT signalling pathway are determined by WB, RT-PCR, ELISA or Cytometry. U937 cells are treated with IFNγ, TNFα, IL1β, IL4 or IL10 and co-cultured with HT29 cells and, in some cases, are treated with XAV939 or miFZD4. The expression of macrophage, EMT and WNT pathway markers in U937 or HT29 cells is analysed by WB or RT-PCR. Results: IFNγ, WNT6, CD16 and CD86 are increased in the intestinal tissue of CD patients. IFNγ-treated U937 activated the EMT process and WNT pathway in HT29 cells, and the EMT process is mediated by FZD4. Conclusions: An IFNγ-rich microenvironment polarises macrophages, which induces EMT through the WNT pathway.
Transient stability enhancement through Individual machine equal area criterion framework using an optimal power flow

Preventive control actions for enhancing the transient stability of power system ensures the system stability under a given contingency. Generation rescheduling through stability constrained optimal power flow (TSC-OPF) is one of the widely adopted preventive control scheme. This study reports an approach for enhancement of transient stability using global transient stability constrained optimal power flow (TSC-OPF) methods. The proposed approach uses individual machine equal area criterion framework (IMEAC), which is a direct time-domain approach for transient stability analysis, to carry out two important functional aspects of TSC-OPF methods: first, individual machine Kimbark curves (IMKC) are used to perform the transient stability analysis; second, IMKC around the critical clearing time (CCT) are used to identify most severely disturbed machines (MDM) for the given contingency. Further, the critical trajectories of these MDMs are utilized in forming reference transient stability constraints, at only one particular time step of integration. In such manner, transient stability constraints are modified at each iteration of TSC-OPF, so that they represent the dynamic response of the power system efficiently, while operating condition is improving through TSC-OPF iterations. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness and main properties of the proposed approach.
A Machine Learning Approach to Anomaly Detection Based on Traffic Monitoring for Secure Blockchain Networking

While blockchain technology provides strong cryptographic protection on the ledger and the system operations, the underlying blockchain networking remains vulnerable due to potential threats such as denial of service (DoS), Eclipse, spoofing, and Sybil attacks. Effectively detecting such malicious events should thus be an essential task for securing blockchain networks and services. Due to its importance, several studies investigated anomaly detection in Bitcoin and blockchain networks, but their analyses mainly focused on the blockchain ledger in the application context (e.g., transactions) and targets specific types of attacks (e.g., double-spending, deanonymization, etc). In this study, we present a security mechanism based on the analysis of blockchain network traffic statistics (rather than ledger data) to detect malicious events, through the functions of data collection and anomaly detection. The data collection engine senses the underlying blockchain traffic and generates multi-dimensional data streams in a periodic, real-time manner. The anomaly detection engine then detects anomalies from the created data instances based on semi-supervised learning, which is capable of detecting previously unseen patterns, and we introduce our profiling-based detection engine implemented on top of AutoEncoder (AE). Our experimental results evaluated with real and simulated traffic data support the effectiveness of our security mechanism and design choices based on the AE structure, with the approximate detection performance to the supervised learning methods only through the profiling of normal instances. The measured time complexity is sufficiently cheap to perform real-time analysis, with less than 1.4 msec for per-instance testing on a single core setting.
Maternal and neonatal outcomes of grand multiparity in Khartoum, Sudan

Objectives Grand multiparity is a major health problem that leads to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. We aimed to assess the maternal and perinatal outcomes of grand multiparity. Methods A case-control study was conducted in Saad Abualila Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan from February to December 2019. The cases were grand multiparous (≥ 5 deliveries) women. The controls were women with low parity (multiparous women who delivered two to four times). Maternal and perinatal characteristics were compared between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis was performed. Results There was a significant association between grand multiparity and higher maternal age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.16–1.23), lower education level (AOR=3.38, 95% CI=2.49–5.58) and lower antenatal care attendance (AOR=1.73, 95% CI=1.02–2.92). Grand multiparous women were at increased risk for Anemia (AOR=1.48, 95% CI=1.08–2.03), diabetes mellitus (AOR=10.61, 95% CI=4.89–23.00), caesarean delivery (AOR=1.87, 95% CI=1.40–2.48), preterm birth (AOR=1.90, 95% CI=1.37–2.62) and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (AOR=3.8, 95% CI=1.95–7.75). Conclusions Grand multiparity was associated with poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Development of a national health program addressing family planning, health education and improvement of antenatal, intrapartum and neonatal care are needed.
Implementation Process of Project Control Systems, Project Team Training Diversity and Performance of Rural Roads Construction Projects in Kenya

Performance of construction projects has not been consistency. Factors causing the poor performances have not been clearly ascertained. This sector being the biggest beneficiary of funding, requires to establish the factors that hinder its performance. Rural roads being the drivers of economic prowess of the majority of the population in the developing countries requires an in-depth understanding from the basis of diversity of the workforce in those projects. Therefore the purpose of this paper was to investigate the extent to which project team training diversity influence the relationship between implementation process of project control systems and performance of rural roads construction projects in Kenya. It adopted cross-sectional correlational survey design where structured questionnaires, interview guide and focussed group discussion were used in obtaining data from workers in rural roads construction projects. Both descriptive and inferential methods of data analysis were used. With r= 0.533, R 2 = 0.284 and F (1,195) = 77.208 at p=0.000 0.05, null hypothesis was therefore failed to be rejected and it was therefore concluded that the significant relationship between implementation process of project control systems and performance of rural roads construction projects does not depend on project team training diversity. It is therefore recommended for training diversity in job related tasks for the workforce that would increase the transactive memory of the workers in sharing variety of skill among them during construction of projects. Policy on training diversity should be also be clear and adhered to within the organisation.
Building and construction students’ skills development for employability – reframing assessment for learning in discipline-specific contexts

ABSTRACT The international debate on student skills development for employability has advanced institutional initiatives for teaching and learning, but to date lacks detailed research studies mapping disciplinary implementation linked to student learning feedback. This paper reports on a five year higher education research study from Australia framed by a reflective practice-based methodology. Students in the undergraduate discipline of building and construction management monitored the development of their academic attributes and skills for employability. This work contributes new knowledge on constructive alignment and implementation of assessment for learning and early professional skills development. Research findings indicate that student skills for employability are facilitated through: (1) Discipline-based curriculum design linking university and industry skills expectations. (2) Clear interweaving of learning contexts and assessments for students to experience and identify academic and professional learning dimensions (metacognition). (3) Constructive alignment for skills development through scaffolded assessment learning. (4) A ‘constructive, explicit and reflective’ teaching approach engaging students in their own generic and professional skills development.
Current Knowledge on Exosome Biogenesis, Cargo-Sorting Mechanism and Therapeutic Implications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale membrane vesicles released by donor cells that can be taken up by recipient cells. The study of EVs has the potential to identify unknown cellular and molecular mechanisms in intercellular communication and disease. Exosomes, with an average diameter of ≈100 nanometers, are a subset of EVs. Different molecular families have been shown to be involved in the formation of exosomes and subsequent secretion of exosomes, which largely leads to the complexity of the form, structure and function of exosomes. In addition, because of their low immunogenicity and ability to transfer a variety of bioactive components to recipient cells, exosomes are regarded as effective drug delivery systems. This review summarizes the known mechanisms of exosomes biogenesis, cargo loading, exosomes release and bioengineering, which is of great importance for further exploration into the clinical applications of EVs.