Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered Gut Microbiota Associated With Hemorrhage in Chronic Radiation Proctitis

Pelvic cancer radiotherapy may cause chronic radiation proctitis (CRP) that adversely affects patient’s quality of life, especially in patients with prolonged hematochezia. However, previous studies of radiation enteropathy mainly focused on acute irradiation hazards, and the detailed pathogenesis process and mechanism of prolonged hematochezia associated with radiation-induced toxicity remain unclear. In this study, we characterized the gut microbiota of 32 female CRP patients with or without hematochezia. Differential patterns of dysbiosis were observed. The abundance of Peptostreptococcaceae, Eubacterium, and Allisonella was significantly higher in CRP patients with hematochezia, while the compositions of the Lachnospiraceae, Megasphera, Megamonas, and Ruminococcaceae were lower in the microbiota of non-hematochezia patients. Functional prediction suggested significant difference in the expression of mineral absorption and the arachidonic acid metabolism proteins between hematochezia and non-hematochezia patients, possibly interdependent on radiation-induced inflammation. This study provides new insight into the altered composition and function of gut microbiota in patients with hematochezia, implying the potential use of probiotics and prebiotics for assessment and treatment of CRP.
Which Contraceptive Methods are Used for Stopping Childbearing in India? Levels, Patterns and Determinants

Background: This study aims to examine patterns and socio-economic correlates of using contraceptives for limiting childbirths in India. Methods: The study is based on data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey considering 339,537 currently married, non-pregnant and fecund women. Bivariate and three separate binary logistic regression model were carried out to accomplish the research objectives. Results: Most of the women stated to postpone their childrearing after age 25 years and after achieved children 2 or more in India. Still, 13.5% women were not using any contraceptive to satisfy their demand for postpone childbearing and 8% women were using traditional contraceptive to postpone their childbearing and using traditional contraceptive to postpone childrearing was higher among women aged 15-19 years, illiterate, poor, Muslims and belong from central and northeast region. Women’s age, parity, year of schooling, wealth status, religion, caste, mass media and region found to be strong determinants of met need for limiting childbearing and using traditional contraceptives in India. Conclusion: The met need for demand of spacing methods was fur lagging to desire goals of SDG-3.7. The government should needs to focus on women with high unmet need for limiting and use traditional methods for limiting.
Revisiting the relationship between Atlantic dust and tropical cyclone activity using aerosol optical depth reanalyses: 2003–2018

Abstract. Previous studies have noted a relationship between African dust and Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) activity. However, due to the limitations of past dust analyses, the strength of this relationship remains uncertain. The emergence of aerosol reanalyses, including the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) aerosol optical depth (AOD) reanalysis, NASA Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), and ECMWF Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis (CAMSRA), enables an investigation of the relationship between African dust and TC activity over the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean in a consistent temporal and spatial manner for 2003–2018. Although June–July–August (JJA) 550 nm dust AOD (DAOD) from all three reanalysis products correlates significantly over the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, the difference in DAOD magnitude between products can be as large as 60 % over the Caribbean and 20 % over the tropical North Atlantic. Based on the three individual reanalyses, we have created an aerosol multi-reanalysis consensus (MRC). The MRC presents overall better root mean square error over the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean compared to individual reanalyses when verified with ground-based AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) AOD measurements. Each of the three individual reanalyses and the MRC have significant negative correlations between JJA Caribbean DAOD and seasonal Atlantic accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), while the correlation between JJA tropical North Atlantic DAOD and seasonal ACE is weaker. Possible reasons for this regional difference are provided. A composite analysis of 3 high-JJA-Caribbean-DAOD years versus 3 low-JJA-Caribbean-DAOD years reveals large differences in overall Atlantic TC activity. We also show that JJA Caribbean DAOD is significantly correlated with large-scale fields associated with variability in interannual Atlantic TC activity including zonal wind shear, mid-level moisture, and sea surface temperature (SST), as well as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Meridional Mode (AMM), implying confounding effects of these factors on the dust–TC relationship. We find that seasonal Atlantic DAOD and the AMM, the leading mode of coupled Atlantic variability, are inversely related and intertwined in the dust–TC relationship. Overall, DAOD in both the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean is negatively correlated with Atlantic hurricane frequency and intensity, with stronger correlations in the Caribbean than farther east in the tropical North Atlantic.
AN EXAM INATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND PREFERENCE FOR A DELIVERED OR INTERACTIVE TEST FEEDBACK STYLE A Dissertation APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY BY Terry iPa6e, Ph.D., Chair

This study examined client perceptions of a personality test feedback session. Participants (n=82) took a well-known normal personality test and had their results interpreted for them in either a delivered or interactive test feedback style. An interactive style of feedback involved signihcant client participation, while a delivered style of feedback involved minimal chent participation. Based on the results of the personality test, participants were labeled as either introverted or extraverted. Results of the study revealed no differences between the dehvered and interactive conditions in perception of counselor, perception of session impact, or overall satisfaction. Further, results revealed that participant personality style (introverted or extraverted) did not mediate preferences for test feedback style. Analyses revealed that extraverts rated their level of comfort with their level of involvement in the feedback session higher than did introverts. However, this difference in comfort level did not translate into differences in ratings of counselor, session impact, or overall satisfaction. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.
Social Inference May Guide Early Lexical Learning

We incorporate social reasoning about groups of informants into a model of word learning, and show that the model accounts for infant looking behavior in tasks of both word learning and recognition. Simulation 1 models an experiment where 16-month-old infants saw familiar objects labeled either correctly or incorrectly, by either adults or audio talkers. Simulation 2 reinterprets puzzling data from the Switch task, an audiovisual habituation procedure wherein infants are tested on familiarized associations between novel objects and labels. Eight-month-olds outperform 14-month-olds on the Switch task when required to distinguish labels that are minimal pairs (e.g., “buk” and “puk”), but 14-month-olds' performance is improved by habituation stimuli featuring multiple talkers. Our modeling results support the hypothesis that beliefs about knowledgeability and group membership guide infant looking behavior in both tasks. These results show that social and linguistic development interact in non-trivial ways, and that social categorization findings in developmental psychology could have substantial implications for understanding linguistic development in realistic settings where talkers vary according to observable features correlated with social groupings, including linguistic, ethnic, and gendered groups.
Frequent EGFR Mutations in NSCLC Presenting with Miliary Intrapulmonary Carcinomatosis

Frequent EGFR Mutations in NSCLC Presenting with Miliary Intrapulmonary Carcinomatosis Shang-Gin Wu, M.D., Fu-Chang Hu, Ph.D., Yih-Leong Chang, M.D., Yung-Chie Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Chong-Jen Yu, M.D.,Ph.D., Yeun-Chung Chang, M.D.,Ph.D., Jenn-Yu Wu, M.D., Jin-Yuan Shih, M.D.,Ph.D., Pan-Chyr Yang, M.D.,Ph.D. Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan ‡ International Harvard Statistical Consulting Company § Department of Pathology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan ǁ Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan ¶ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, and College
Endocarditis in Rabbits

Rabbits with Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis were treated with cephalothin or ceftazidime to determine whether differences in in vitro activity would result in differences in in vivo efficacy. Antibiotics were administered in doses equivalent to maximum recommended human doses, and results of laboratory tests to predict antimicrobial efficacy were determined during treatment. Cephalothin and ceftazidime MICs for the challenge strain were 0.5 and 8 ,ug/ml, respectively. MBCs were 32 and >128 ,ug/ml, respectively. With peak sera, laboratory results (means) for cephalothin and ceftazidime were as follows: ratios of concentration in serum to MIC, 300 and 16; ratios of concentration in serum to MBC, 4.8 and <1; bacteriostatic antibacterial activity titers in serum, 1:256 and 1:16; and bactericidal antibacterial activity titers in serum, 1:16 and 1:4, respectively. Trough sera contained little or no measurable antibiotic and had no antibacterial activity. Both cephalothin and ceftazidime were efficacious in the treatment of infected rabbits. There were no statistically significant differences in efficacy as defined by survival, eradication of bacteremia, or sterilization of cardiac vegetations. Results of laboratory tests which quantitated antimicrobial activity did not correlate with efficacy, either independent of antibiotic or adjusted for antibiotic. Despite their lesser in vitro activities, the new cephalosporins may be equivalent to the older cephalosporins for treating staphylococcal infections in humans, when administered in maximum recommended doses.
The Impact of Drought and Pocket Gophers on Restored Native Perennial Bunchgrasses

Interactions between native animals and plants are likely to have large impacts on the success of restoration projects, however, interactions are understudied. For example, Thomomys bottae (valley pocket gopher) is a native rodent that is commonly found in grassland ecosystems in California and is known to have a large impact on the structure of these communities. To improve future restoration success, it is important to understand how valley pocket gophers impact restored grassland plants. Extreme droughts that are predicted to increase in the future may also affect valley gopher activity. We sought to explore the interactive impacts of valley pocket gophers and drought on restored Stipa pulchra (purple needlegrass) by comparing how gopher activity and different watering treatments impacted the growth and reproduction of purple needlegrass in a field experiment. We found that valley pocket gophers have a significant negative impact on the growth and reproduction of purple needlegrass, especially during dry years. This suggests that valley pocket gopher activity will be a larger problem for restoration during dry years, and during these years, damage could be minimized by caging sensitive plants or watering seedlings. Our results highlight the importance of including animal effects into restoration planning to improve plant establishment rates and increase the overall success of restoration efforts.
Snake Community Composition in Unmanaged Grasslands of Different Successional Ages at the James H. Barrow Biological Field Station

The historical destruction and fragmentation of grassland habitat has led to negative consequences for vertebrate taxa that rely on these ecologically rich ecosystems. Although the decline of some taxa such as grassland birds has been well documented, little is known about how grassland decline impacts snake communities. This study was conducted to assess differences in snake abundance and species richness in unmanaged grasslands of three successional ages at the James H. Barrow Biological Field Station (Portage County, OH): young (4–7 years), midsuccessional (12–15 years), and old (>50 years). Ten corrugated metal and ten plywood cover boards were used at each site to address community and species-specific preferences for board type. Surveys were conducted weekly from June through August over four summers (2016–2019) in an effort to detect seasonal peaks in abundance and the effects of board maturity. Additionally, snake assemblages were compared during morning and evening surveys during a single summer to address differences in time of day. A total of 419 eastern garter snakes, 85 northern brown snakes, 172 eastern milk snakes, and 3 northern red-bellied snakes were captured across all years. Overall, both abundance and species richness were significantly higher in the youngest successional grassland, with the mid-successional and oldest successional site yielding similarly low diversity. Although both eastern garter snakes and eastern milk snakes were found in highest abundance in the youngest site, northern brown snakes were equally abundant in grasslands of each successional age. In the youngest successional site only, both abundance and species richness significantly increased across years, peaking at year three and remaining similar during year four, indicating that a threshold of diversity may be reached between 7 and 12 years of successional age. Because this trend was only observed in the youngest site and seasonal peaks were not observed for any species, it is unlikely that board maturity plays a role in detection of snakes. No significant differences in snake abundance or species richness were observed for cover board type or time of day of survey. Overall, our results suggest that both metal and plywood cover boards can be effective to survey snake assemblages, and evening sampling could yield similar results to morning sampling. However, these results are limited to one geographical location. Further, the maintenance of young successional habitat may be necessary to promote grassland snake diversity, but species-specific considerations should be taken into account.
Sex-specific differences in swimming, aerobic metabolism and recovery from exercise in adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) across ecologically relevant temperatures.

Adult female Pacific salmon can have higher migration mortality rates than males, particularly at warm temperatures. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain a mystery. Given the importance of swimming energetics on fitness, we measured critical swim speed, swimming metabolism, cost of transport, aerobic scope (absolute and factorial) and exercise recovery in adult female and male coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) held for 2 days at 3 environmentally relevant temperatures (9°C, 14°C, 18°C) in fresh water. Critical swimming performance (U crit) was equivalent between sexes and maximal at 14°C. Absolute aerobic scope was sex- and temperature-independent, whereas factorial aerobic scope decreased with increasing temperature in both sexes. The full cost of recovery from exhaustive exercise (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) was higher in males compared to females. Immediately following exhaustive exercise (i.e. 1 h), recovery was impaired at 18°C for both sexes. At an intermediate time scale (i.e. 5 h), recovery in males was compromised at 14°C and 18°C compared to females. Overall, swimming, aerobic metabolism, and recovery energetics do not appear to explain the phenomenon of increased mortality rates in female coho salmon. However, our results suggest that warming temperatures compromise recovery following exhaustive exercise in both male and female salmon, which may delay migration progression and could contribute to en route mortality.
Parametric Characterization of Air Gasification of Chlorella vulgaris Biomass

The gasification of green algae Chlorella vulgaris in air was investigated using both a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and a bench scale horizontal axis quartz tube reactor (HQR). The full range of solid state kinetic models produced best fits with TGA results varied for the five subzones of conversion vs temperature, with the nucleation and nuclei growth “A2” followed by “A3” or contracting volume models producing close matches for T ≤ 367 °C, a zero-order model between 358 and 468 °C, and contracting surface models for T ≥ 458 °C; each model yielding their set of apparent activation energy (E 0.04 s–1) corresponding to rate constants in the range 0.001–0.005 s–1. The HQR was used to investigate the effects of microalgal biomass loading, temperature, and equivalence ratio (ER) on CnHm/CO/H2 gas yield and composition, carbon conversion efficiency (CCE), and lower heating value (LHV) of syngas under air gasification conditions. Increasing microalgal biomass.
LOCAL ACTION WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO IMPROVE AND SUSTAIN WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE SERVICES Optimisation of faecal sludge processing via vermifiltration

Faecal sludge requires treatment before it can be safely discharged. Novel treatment technologies, such as vermifiltration need to be explored. This study aims to determine if a simple vermifilter containing Eisenia fetida can process sludge and explores the effect of bedding materials (woodchip, granular activated carbon (GAC) + woodchip, and clay pebbles + woodchip) on nitrogen reduction in the effluent. All bedding materials performed well for general effluent quality, but nitrification was not found to occur. This was thought to be due to sampling and analysis techniques. The GAC bedding was unsuitable as worm density decreased. The optimum bedding material was woodchip which yielded the highest worm and cocoon densities, vermicompost production and solids conversion. This study proves that E. fetida have the ability to process sludge in a simple vermifilter and adds to the debate on nitrification in these systems.
Dimensions of Creativity in Secondary School High-Ability Students

The objective of this study was to analyze the dimensions of creativity in high-ability teenage students. Firstly, we reviewed the most relevant scientific contributions on creativity. Next, the dimensions of creativity in secondary school students who were previously identified as high-ability students were analyzed. The sample was obtained from 215 students, of which 31 were identified as high-ability students. The abilities associated with divergent thinking were assessed using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking The fluency, flexibility, and originality dimensions were assessed with the Scientific-Creative Thinking Test. This study was conducted using a quantitative approach. Tests were administered during school hours from March to June 2019. They were corrected considering the protocols established by the original authors themselves. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 24.0. The results provide evidence that high-ability students achieve higher scores in both the figurative-creativity and scientific-creativity dimensions. A significant relationship between creativity and high ability was therefore established. Students with high abilities and qualities require the educational support necessary to develop their talent. This study was of an exploratory nature and the results obtained contribute to developing future studies applying its findings in teenagers’ teaching–learning process.
TropEx: An Algorithm for Extracting Linear Terms in Deep Neural Networks

Deep neural networks with rectiﬁed linear (ReLU) activations are piecewise linear functions, where hyperplanes partition the input space into an astronomically high number of linear regions. Previous work focused on counting linear regions to measure the network’s expressive power and on analyzing geometric properties of the hyperplane conﬁgurations. In contrast, we aim to understand the impact of the linear terms on network performance, by examining the information encoded in their coefﬁcients. To this end, we derive TropEx, a non-trivial tropical algebra-inspired algorithm to systematically extract linear terms based on data. Applied to convolutional and fully-connected networks, our algorithm uncovers signiﬁcant differences in how the different networks utilize linear regions for generalization. This underlines the importance of systematic linear term exploration, to better understand generalization in neural networks trained with complex data sets.
Ca2+ and Membrane Potential Transitions During Action Potentials Are Self-Similar to Each Other and to Variability of AP Firing Intervals Across the Broad Physiologic Range of AP Intervals During Autonomic Receptor Stimulation

Ca2+ and Vm transitions occurring throughout action potential (AP) cycles in sinoatrial nodal (SAN) cells are cues that (1) not only regulate activation states of molecules operating within criticality (Ca2+ domain) and limit-cycle (Vm domain) mechanisms of a coupled-clock system that underlies SAN cell automaticity, (2) but are also regulated by the activation states of the clock molecules they regulate. In other terms, these cues are both causes and effects of clock molecular activation (recursion). Recently, we demonstrated that Ca2+ and Vm transitions during AP cycles in single SAN cells isolated from mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and humans are self-similar (obey a power law) and are also self-similar to trans-species AP firing intervals (APFIs) of these cells in vitro, to heart rate in vivo, and to body mass. Neurotransmitter stimulation of β-adrenergic receptor or cholinergic receptor–initiated signaling in SAN cells modulates their AP firing rate and rhythm by impacting on the degree to which SAN clocks couple to each other, creating the broad physiologic range of SAN cell mean APFIs and firing interval variabilities. Here we show that Ca2+ and Vm domain kinetic transitions (time to AP ignition in diastole and 90% AP recovery) occurring within given AP, the mean APFIs, and APFI variabilities within the time series of APs in 230 individual SAN cells are self-similar (obey power laws). In other terms, these long-range correlations inform on self-similar distributions of order among SAN cells across the entire broad physiologic range of SAN APFIs, regardless of whether autonomic receptors of these cells are stimulated or not and regardless of the type (adrenergic or cholinergic) of autonomic receptor stimulation. These long-range correlations among distributions of Ca2+ and Vm kinetic functions that regulate SAN cell clock coupling during each AP cycle in different individual, isolated SAN cells not in contact with each other. Our numerical model simulations further extended our perspectives to the molecular scale and demonstrated that many ion currents also behave self-similar across autonomic states. Thus, to ensure rapid flexibility of AP firing rates in response to different types and degrees of autonomic input, nature “did not reinvent molecular wheels within the coupled-clock system of pacemaker cells,” but differentially engaged or scaled the kinetics of gears that regulate the rate and rhythm at which the “wheels spin” in a given autonomic input context.