Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feeding habits and trophic level of the smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrna zygaena (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrnidae), off Ecuador

As apex predators, sharks are known to play an important role in marine food webs. Detailed information on their diet and trophic level is however needed to make clear inferences about their role in the ecosystem. A total of 335 stomachs of smooth hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna zygaena, were obtained from commercial fishing vessels operating in the Ecuadorian Pacific between January and December 2004. A total of 53 prey items were found in the stomachs. According to the Index of Relative Importance (%IRI), cephalopods were the main prey (Dosidicus gigas, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, Ancistrocheirus lesueurii and Lolliguncula [Loliolopsis] diomedeae). Sphyrna zygaena was thus confirmed to be a teutophagous species. The estimated trophic level of S. zygaena was between 4.6 and 5.1 (mean ± SD: 4.7 ± 0.16; males: 4.7; females: 4.8). Levin's index (BA) was low (overall: 0.07; males: 0.08; females: 0.09), indicating a narrow trophic niche. We found that sharks <150 cm in total length consumed prey of coastal origin, whereas sharks ≥150 cm foraged in oceanic waters and near the continental shelf. The analyses indicate that S. zygaena is a specialized predator consuming mainly squids.
Study of electroencephalography in people with generalized epilepsy in a Saudi population

ABSTRACT Background Electroencephalography (EEG) remains a vital tool in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with epilepsy (GE), however, there is scarcity of information on the yield and potential clinical variables that are associated with EEG abnormalities in people with GE. Objective The study aimed to evaluate the yield and pattern of EEG abnormalities in patients with GE with the view to determining factors that are independently associated with abnormal EEG in them. Methods We characterized EEG features and evaluated associated factors in a sample of people with GE in a Saudi population. Standard definition of interictal epileptiform discharges was used. Results A total of 1105 (77%) out of 1436 GE patients had EEG. Five hundred and ninety-five (53.85%) patients had abnormal EEG. Factors associated with EEG abnormalities before adjustment for confounders were age, gender, duration of epilepsy, and seizure frequency. However, only frequency of seizure (P = 0.0018), gender (P < 0.0001), and age (P < 0.0001) were independently associated with EEG abnormalities. Conclusion The study showed a modest yield (54%) of abnormal EEG in the cohort of patients with GE. Frequency of seizure, age, and gender, independently predicted the presence of EEG abnormality in people living with GE.
Discussion on the Figures of Merit of Identified Traps Located in the Si Film: Surface Versus Volume Trap Densities

The aim of this work is a discussion on the figures of merit of identified traps located in the depletion zone (Si film) of advanced MOSFET devices. Two methodologies to estimate the volume trap densities are investigated, one using the relationship between the surface trap density and volume trap density and a second one based on the temperature evolution at fixed frequency of the generation-recombination plateau level associated to the same trap. By comparing the volume trap densities estimated using these two methods, the results are not agreeing with each other, suggesting that these methods can no longer be used with accuracy in multigate devices. Moreover, they may lead in certain cases to results physically not correct. Even about of the volume defects, the linear evolution between the plateau and the characteristic frequency of the generation-recombination contributions associated to the same trap give us the surface trap density without any additional assumption.
Understandings of Atmosphere-related Environmental Issues of Pre- and In-Service Teachers in Turkey: The Effects of Major and Gender

This study aimed to investigate pre- and in-service teachers’ understandings of the greenhouse effect, global warming, ozone layer depletion, and acid rain in terms of gender and major using a three-tier diagnostic test which has the potential to differentiate respondents with lack of knowledge from those with misconceptions. The data of the research in which the survey method was used were collected using “The Atmosphere-related Environmental Problems Diagnostic Test (AREPDiT). ” The sample of the study consisted of 987 respondents (634 pre-service and 353 in-service teachers). The data were analyzed using a three-way ANOVA. The results revealed that although males’ AREPDiT mean score was higher than that of their female counterparts, the difference between them was not statistically significant. Also, science and social studies in-service teachers’ understandings of atmospheric environmental issues were significantly higher than that of pre-service teachers with the same majors, while there was no significant difference between pre- and in-service primary teachers’ understandings of atmosphere-related environmental issues. It was found that the participants had some common misconceptions about atmosphere-related environmental issues. Moreover, both pre- and in-service teachers more commonly use informal sources such as the Internet and TV to access environmental knowledge than formal ones such as seminars and books.
Antimicrobial resistance due to the content of potentially toxic metals in soil and fertilizing products

ABSTRACT Potentially toxic metals (PTM), along with PTM-resistant bacteria and PTM-resistance genes, may be introduced into soil and water through sewage systems, direct excretion, land application of biosolids (organic matter recycled from sewage, especially for use in agriculture) or animal manures as fertilizers, and irrigation with wastewater or treated effluents. In this review article, we have evaluated whether the content of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (CrIII + CrVI), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) in soil and fertilizing products play a role in the development, spreading, and persistence of bacterial resistance to these elements, as well as cross- or co-resistance to antimicrobial agents. Several of the articles included in this review reported the development of resistance against PTM in both sewage and manure. Although PTM like As, Hg, Co, Cd, Pb, and Ni may be present in the fertilizing products, the concentration may be low since they occur due to pollution. In contrast, trace metals like Cu and Zn are actively added to animal feed in many countries. In several studies, several different bacterial species were shown to have a reduced susceptibility towards several PTM, simultaneously. However, neither the source of resistant bacteria nor the minimum co-selective concentration (MCC) for resistance induction are known. Co- or cross-resistance against highly important antimicrobials and critically important antimicrobials were identified in some of the bacterial isolates. This suggest that there is a genetic linkage or direct genetic causality between genetic determinants to these widely divergent antimicrobials, and metal resistance. Data regarding the routes and frequencies of transmission of AMR from bacteria of environmental origin to bacteria of animal and human origin were sparse. Due to the lack of such data, it is difficult to estimate the probability of development, transmission, and persistence of PTM resistance. Abbreviations: PTM: potentially toxic metals; AMR: antimicrobial resistance; ARG: antimicrobial resistance gene; MCC: minimum co-selective concentration; MDR: multidrug resistance; ARB: antimicrobial resistant bacteria; HGT: horizontal gene transfer; MIC: minimum inhibitory concentration
Tumor Treating Fields: At the Crossroads Between Physics and Biology for Cancer Treatment

Despite extraordinary advances that have been achieved in the last few decades, cancer continues to represent a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Lethal cancer types ultimately become refractory to standard of care approaches; thus, novel effective treatment options are desperately needed. Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) are an innovative non-invasive regional anti-mitotic treatment modality with minimal systemic toxicity. TTFields are low intensity (1–3 V/cm), intermediate frequency (100–300 kHz) alternating electric fields delivered to cancer cells. In patients, TTFields are applied using FDA-approved transducer arrays, orthogonally positioned on the area surrounding the tumor region, with side effects mostly limited to the skin. The precise molecular mechanism of the anti-tumor effects of TTFields is not well-understood, but preclinical research on TTFields suggests it may act during two phases of mitosis: at metaphase, by disrupting the formation of the mitotic spindle, and at cytokinesis, by dielectrophoretic dislocation of intracellular organelles leading to cell death. This review describes the mechanism of action of TTFields and provides an overview of the most important in vitro studies that investigate the disruptive effects of TTFields in different cancer cells, focusing mainly on anti-mitotic roles. Lastly, we summarize completed and ongoing TTFields clinical trials on a variety of solid tumors.
Increased Plasma Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor Alpha Levels in Patients With Long-Term Type 1 Diabetes With Vascular Complications Associated With IL2RA and PTPN2 Gene Polymorphisms

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is largely considered an autoimmune disease leading to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β cells. Further, patients with T1D have 3–4-fold increased risk of developing micro- and macrovascular complications. However, the contribution of immune-related factors contributing to these diabetes complications are poorly understood. Individuals with long-term T1D who do not progress to vascular complications offer a great potential to evaluate end-organ protection. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of inflammatory protein levels with vascular complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, cardiovascular disease) in individuals with long-term T1D compared to individuals who rapidly progressed to complications. We studied a panel of inflammatory markers in plasma of patients with long-term T1D with (n = 81 and 26) and without (n = 313 and 25) vascular complications from two cross-sectional Scandinavian cohorts (PROLONG and DIALONG) using Luminex technology. A subset of PROLONG individuals (n = 61) was screened for circulating immune cells using multicolor flow cytometry. We found that elevated plasma levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2R) were positively associated with the complication phenotype. Risk carriers of polymorphisms in the IL2RA and PTPN2 gene region had elevated plasma levels of sIL-2R. In addition, cell surface marker analysis revealed a shift from naïve to effector T cells in T1D individuals with vascular complications as compared to those without. In contrast, no difference between the groups was observed either in IL-2R cell surface expression or in regulatory T cell population size. In conclusion, our data indicates that IL2RA and PTPN2 gene variants might increase the risk of developing vascular complications in people with T1D, by affecting sIL-2R plasma levels and potentially lowering T cell responsiveness. Thus, elevated sIL-2R plasma levels may serve as a biomarker in monitoring the risk for developing diabetic complications and thereby improve patient care.
External Validation of a Predictive Model for Acute Skin Radiation Toxicity in the REQUITE Breast Cohort

Background: Acute skin toxicity is a common and usually transient side-effect of breast radiotherapy although, if sufficiently severe, it can affect breast cosmesis, aftercare costs and the patient's quality-of-life. The aim of this study was to develop predictive models for acute skin toxicity using published risk factors and externally validate the models in patients recruited into the prospective multi-center REQUITE (validating pREdictive models and biomarkers of radiotherapy toxicity to reduce side-effects and improve QUalITy of lifE in cancer survivors) study. Methods: Patient and treatment-related risk factors significantly associated with acute breast radiation toxicity on multivariate analysis were identified in the literature. These predictors were used to develop risk models for acute erythema and acute desquamation (skin loss) in three Radiogenomics Consortium cohorts of patients treated by breast-conserving surgery and whole breast external beam radiotherapy (n = 2,031). The models were externally validated in the REQUITE breast cancer cohort (n = 2,057). Results: The final risk model for acute erythema included BMI, breast size, hypo-fractionation, boost, tamoxifen use and smoking status. This model was validated in REQUITE with moderate discrimination (AUC 0.65), calibration and agreement between predicted and observed toxicity (Brier score 0.17). The risk model for acute desquamation, excluding the predictor tamoxifen use, failed to validate in the REQUITE cohort. Conclusions: While most published prediction research in the field has focused on model development, this study reports successful external validation of a predictive model using clinical risk factors for acute erythema following radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery. This model retained discriminatory power but will benefit from further re-calibration. A similar model to predict acute desquamation failed to validate in the REQUITE cohort. Future improvements and more accurate predictions are expected through the addition of genetic markers and application of other modeling and machine learning techniques.
Novel Poly Deep Eutectic Solvents Based Supported Liquid Membranes for CO2 Capture

The poly deep eutectic solvents (PDESs), a potential substituent to ionic liquids, have emerged as relatively new material and have been successfully applied in catalysis, nanotechnology, and, more importantly, in gas separation. Herein, the PDESs were incorporated for the first time in the CO2 capturing membranes to exploit their inherent advantages in the acid gas capture. The PDESs were synthesized by mixing choline chloride (hydrogen bond acceptor-HBA) and two hydrogen bond donors-HBDs (polyacrylic acid and polyacrylamide) separately in different molar ratios. The physical changes of the resulting homogeneous mixture along with the Fourier Transform Infrared confirmed the successful synthesis of the PDESs. Afterward, these PDESs were impregnated into microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane support to fabricate supported liquid membranes (SLMs). The gas performance of the prepared PDES-SLMs was tested under pure and mixed-gas conditions for CO2, CH4, and N2. The PDES-SLMs showed a significantly high CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities of the order of 55.5 and 60, respectively. To evaluate their practical implication, the SLMs were investigated systematically under different operating conditions such as choline content, temperature, volume fraction of the CO2 in the feed, and the activation energy required for CO2 capture. The synthesized SLMs showed exceptional results in both permeability and selectivity viewpoint. The remarkable SLMs gas performance can be ascribed to the basicity, molar free volume, and the H-bonding strength of the synthesized PDESs. The green potential, low cost, and the promising gas separation performance make theses PDESs a favorable alternative to the competing PILs in capturing the greenhouse acid gases.
Students’ Satisfaction on e-Learning and Impact on Students’ Academic Achievement: A Pilot Study

There are significant challenges on students’ satisfaction for academic achievement based on e-learning (online learning) environment. E-learning did approve beneficial for student’s learning. Most universities in Malaysia felt that student academic achievement occur problems and obstacles, where technology can help to overcome it. This study took place at a Private Higher Education Institution (PHEI) in Selangor. A mix-method was applied that involves survey, where the respondents were 128 undergraduate students and semi-structured interview with 4 undergraduate students from Faculty of Education and Humanities (FEH). This is a pilot study and the respondents were given the survey to validate the items. The result found that the reliability of the items was 0.89 for e-learning environment’s dimensions: e-teaching quality, lecturer’s support, and tutorial supports. This can be concluded that students’ successes in their academic achievement and satisfied with online learning. However, this study also indicates that there are other elements that make students’ satisfaction which will discuss further on the next paper.
Design of comprehensive income products for retirement using utility functions

An approach for designing a menu of comprehensive income products for retirement (CIPRs) is proposed and demonstrated. The approach entails four steps: defining and characterising member types based on selected attributes; specifying a utility function to capture the objectives and preferences for each member type; conducting analysis of candidate investment and drawdown strategies, and hence select a product design; and communication to members. The last step uses attributes to describe the type of investor for which a product is designed, as well as setting out the key product features and the outcomes it may deliver. JEL Classification: D14, D15, E21, G11, G23
An integrative phylogenomic approach illuminates the evolutionary history of cockroaches and termites (Blattodea)

Phylogenetic relationships among subgroups of cockroaches and termites are still matters of debate. Their divergence times and major phenotypic transitions during evolution are also not yet settled. We addressed these points by combining the first nuclear phylogenomic study of termites and cockroaches with a thorough approach to divergence time analysis, identification of endosymbionts, and reconstruction of ancestral morphological traits and behaviour. Analyses of the phylogenetic relationships within Blattodea robustly confirm previously uncertain hypotheses such as the sister-group relationship between Blaberoidea and remaining Blattodea, and Lamproblatta being the closest relative to the social and wood-feeding Cryptocercus and termites. Consequently, we propose new names for various clades in Blattodea: Cryptocercus + termites = Tutricablattae; Lamproblattidae + Tutricablattae = Kittrickea; and Blattoidea + Corydioidea = Solumblattodea. Our inferred divergence times contradict previous studies by showing that most subgroups of Blattodea evolved in the Cretaceous, reducing the gap between molecular estimates of divergence times and the fossil record. On a phenotypic level, the blattodean ground-plan is for egg packages to be laid directly in a hole while other forms of oviposition, including ovovivipary and vivipary, arose later. Finally, other changes in egg care strategy may have allowed for the adaptation of nest building and other novelties.
Irreversibility of Marine Climate Change Impacts Under Carbon Dioxide Removal

Artificial carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere has been proposed as a measure for mitigating climate change and restoring the climate system to a target state after exceedance (“overshoot”). This research investigates to what extent overshoot and subsequent recovery of a given cumulative CO2 emissions level by CDR leaves a legacy in the marine environment using an Earth system model. We use RCP2.6 and its extension to year 2300 as the reference scenario and design a set of cumulative emissions and temperature overshoot scenarios based on other RCPs. Our results suggest that the overshoot and subsequent return to a reference cumulative emissions level would leave substantial impacts on the marine environment. Although the changes in sea surface temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen are largely reversible, global mean values and spatial patterns of these variables differ significantly from those in the reference scenario when the reference cumulative emissions are attained.
Re-Exploring Fair Value Accounting and Value Relevance: An Examination of Underlying Securities

Focusing on closed-end investment funds, this paper examines whether the value relevance attached to the fair value estimates is influenced by the type of investment being held. Our premise is that the fair values of different investment types rely on different valuation models and imply different underlying risks. Using hand-collected U.S. closed-end funds data from 2009 to 2011, our results show that the value relevance attached to fair value hierarchy levels’ assets (i.e., Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3) reflects both the source of market information for fair value estimates (i.e. market prices, market inputs and model-based) but also the underlying type of investment being valued (e.g., government bonds, equities, corporate bonds, etc.). Within the same fair value category, we show that different types of investments have their own distinct value relevance that is significantly different from that of other types of investments within the same category. Moreover, within the same type of investment, we also show that the value relevance varies across the three fair value category levels. Our results further show that auditing in general only significantly impacts the value relevance of equities in Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 and corporate bonds in Level 3.
Drug-related problems in hospitalised Parkinson’s disease patients in China

Background There has been a lack of studies on the types and severity of drug-related problems (DRPs) in hospitalised patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in China until now. Objective To investigate the types and causes of DRPs, and to assess the severity of these DRPs in PD patients in neurology wards. Methods A retrospective study involving 209 PD inpatients was conducted at a tertiary hospital in China from January 2017 to December 2018. The identification and assessment of DRPs were based on the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) tool version 8.03. The severity ratings of these DRPs was assessed based on the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) classification. Results A total of 274 DRPs with an average of 1.31±1.00 problems per patient were identified, in which 83.3% of the population had at least one DRP. Using the PCNE classification system, the most common domain of DRPs was “Other, P3” (62.8%), followed by “Treatment effectiveness, P1” (19.3%) and “Treatment safety, P2” (17.9%). A total of 88.7% of the DRPs were rated at severity categories B to D (causing no or potential harm), whereas 11.3% were rated as categories E to H (causing actual harm). Conclusions These data indicate that the prevalence of DRPs is high among PD patients. The identification of different subtypes of DRPs may facilitate risk reduction for PD patients.