Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Solutions for loss of information in high‐beta‐diversity community data

Dissimilarity measures, which gauge compositional resemblance between sample units, tend to lose information with increasing distance along ecological gradients. This undesirable property is especially common in high‐beta‐diversity community data, yet analysts seldom acknowledge it when relating multivariate attributes (e.g. species composition) to underlying gradients. With 1000 simulated and 14 real community data sets, I systematically varied beta‐diversity to evaluate the effects of seven dissimilarity adjustment methods (plus one baseline method) on outcomes from multivariate gradient analyses. Performance was determined by plotting dissimilarities vs. environmental distances, by ordination vs. environmental distance correlations and by Procrustean concordance of ordinations with known environmental grid structure. Performance of all methods declined as narrower niches and greater competition asymmetry led to greater beta‐diversity. With simulated data, methods based on probabilities of joint occurrences (Beals smoothing, Swan's method) most effectively resolved the loss‐of‐information problem, followed closely by three step‐across methods (Shortest‐path, Extended, Geodesic); the CY and Diffusion methods did not outperform unmodified Bray–Curtis dissimilarities. With real community data sets, the Beals, Shortest‐path and Extended methods excelled. Electing to adjust dissimilarities is recommended when many pairs of sample units share few species in common, although unmodified dissimilarities may still be appropriate when beta‐diversity is low. Dissimilarity adjustments are appropriate not only for species diversity and ecological purposes, but also for other applications where nonlinear relationships among attributes and gradients are expected in zero‐rich and highly variable multivariate data.
Associations between secure base script knowledge in early childhood and perceived quality of attachment in middle childhood

Previous studies suggest that mental representations of attachment can show moderate stability across childhood but none of these considered the child’s use of the Secure Base Script (SBS). This study tested the longitudinal stability of attachment representations from early to middle childhood, providing data that will allow us to determine whether the SBS score behaves like other attachment measures for early childhood in this regard. A sample of 70 Portuguese preschool children (36 girls) was assessed regarding their access to and use of the SBS when producing narratives relevant to attachment themes (e.g., separation, fear of ambiguous threat) at age 5 years using the Attachment Story Completion Task. Follow-up assessments were obtained at 8 and 9 years of age using the Kerns Security Scale. Security scores for both parents were obtained from the child in both years. All cross-time correlations were positive and significant. Subsequent tests on correlation magnitudes for mothers vs. fathers were not significant. Finally, correlations for mother/father security scores were significant at both age levels. Our findings indicate that children’s access to and use of the SBS in early childhood does predict their perceived quality of attachment with parents in middle childhood. Overall, our results indicate that access to and use of SBS in young children’s attachment-relevant narratives is a valid and potentially productive measure.
Citrus sinensis Peel Oil Extraction and Evaluation as an Antibacterial and Antifungal Agent

Throughout the tropical and subtropical climates, the genus Citrus can be found. The current study was conducted to extract the Citrus sinensis peel oil and evaluate its antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic potential. Petroleum ether was used to extract the C. sinensis peel oil through a Soxhlet apparatus. The antimicrobial and antifungal potential was determined via agar well diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were calculated (test bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae; test fungal strains: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Altrnaria alternata). Antiparasitic activity against Leishmania tropica was determined following standard protocol using amphotericin-B as positive and Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) as a negative control and the percentage inhibition was calculated. The oil extracted was brownish yellow with a tangy smell, water-insoluble, density (0.778 g/cm3) and specific gravity (0.843 g/cm). In antibacterial activity, the diameter of the zone of inhibition was maximum against E. coli (14 mm) and minimum for S. agalactiae (10 mm). While in antifungal activity diameter of the zone of inhibition was maximum against A. flavus (12.5 mm) and minimum for A. alternata (8.6 mm). S. agalactiae exhibited the minimum MIC value (6 mg/mL) and in fungal strains A. alternata exhibited the minimum value (2 mm). Citrus sinensis peel oil displayed antileishmanial efficiency of 60% at 50 μg/mL concentration after 48 h of incubation. C. sinensis peel oil demonstrated antimicrobial capabilities, implying that it could be used as a natural preservative in food or as an effective treatment against a variety of pathogenic organisms. Industries should extract oil from the waste of citrus fruits which will be beneficial from an economic point of view.
Applications of mirror symmetry to the classification of Fano varieties

In this dissertation we discuss two new constructions of Fano varieties, each directly inspired by ideas in Mirror Symmetry. The first recasts the Fanosearch programme for surfaces laid out in [1, 21] in terms of a construction related to the SYZ conjecture. In particular we construct Q-Gorenstein smoothings of toric varieties via an application of the Gross– Siebert algorithm [53,59] to certain affine manifolds. We recover the theory of combinatorial mutation, which plays a central role in [21], from these affine manifolds. Combining this construction and the work of Gross–Hacking–Keel [54,55] on log Calabi– Yau surfaces we produce a cluster structure on the mirror to a log del Pezzo surface proposed in [1, 21]. We exploit the cluster structure, and the connection to toric degenerations, to prove two classification results for Fano polygons. The cluster variety is equipped with a superpotential defined on each chart by a maximally mutable Laurent polynomial of [1]. We study an enumerative interpretation of this superpotential in terms of tropical disc counting in the example of the projective plane (with a general boundary divisor). In the second part we develop a new construction of Fano toric complete intersections in higher dimensions. We first consider the problem of finding torus charts on the Hori– Vafa/Givental model, adapting the approach taken in [96]. We exploit this to identify 527 new families of four-dimensional Fano manifolds. We then develop an inverse algorithm, Laurent Inversion, which decorates a Fano polytope P with additional information used to construct a candidate ambient space for a complete intersection model of the toric variety defined by P . Moving in the linear system defining this complete intersection allows us to construct new models of known Fano manifolds, and also to construct new examples of Fano manifolds from conjectured mirror Laurent polynomials. We use this algorithm to produce families simultaneously realising certain collections of ‘commuting’ mutations, extending the connection between polytope mutation and deformations of toric varieties. Ad Deum qui lætificat juventutem meam
Mental health care during the pandemic in a detox child and juvenile hospital wing.

OBJECTIVE To know the perception of professionals about the assistance offered, during the pandemic period, in the care of children and adolescents who use alcohol and other drugs in a detox ward. METHOD Descriptive, qualitative research, carried out from September to December 2021, through interviews with the multidisciplinary team of the detoxification ward of a university hospital, systematized and analyzed according to Minayo. RESULTS 19 professionals participated, mainly from nursing and women. Four thematic units were identified: on the difficulties faced in everyday life; about facilities in care; about the team's adaptation to facilities and/or difficulties; about the team-family, team-patient and patient-family relationship. CONCLUSION The ability to reinvent itself was essential for the team to meet the demands of institutionalized children and adolescents.
Characteristics and propagation of meteorological and hydrological droughts in eastern Gansu, a typical semi‐arid region, China

The meteorological drought (MD) is the precursor of the hydrological drought (HD), and understanding the propagation process from MD to HD is of great significance for the early warning of HD. Based on the theory of run and Bayesian networks, this study uses the standardized precipitation index (SPI), standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and standardized streamflow index (SSI) to explore the characteristics and propagation of MD and HD in the regions of eastern Gansu, China. The results indicate that: (1) The region was mainly wet (dry) and the wetness (dryness) was stronger before (after) 2000 when reflected by SSI. The frequency is higher based on SPI and SPEI than that based on SSI, while the duration and magnitude are lower than those based on SSI. (2) The propagation time from MD to HD is generally within 1–10 months. After the occurrence of a certain level of MD, it is most likely to propagate to HD events that are relatively weaker than the MD. Besides, the higher the intensity level of MD, the shorter the propagation time to HD, and the shorter for cumulative occurrence probability of HD to approach 1.0. (3) The increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation, runoff and runoff coefficient may contribute to the dryness after 2000. Moreover, the weakened propagation from MD to HD may be due to the rapid increase of water resource consumption caused by intensive anthropogenic activities in the study area. From the above results, this study found some propagation characteristics from MD to HD in a semi‐arid and semi‐humid watershed, which can provide a supplement for revealing the drought mechanism and can assist in the management and planning of water resources in China.
The Nocardial aph(2″) Gene Confers Tobramycin and Gentamicin Resistance and Is an Effective Positive Selection Marker in Mycobacteria and Nocardia

The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using the aminoglycoside 2″-O-phosphotransferase aph(2″) gene as a positive selection marker in N. asteroides, M. smegmatis, M. abscessus and M. tuberculosis. The aph(2″) gene, known to confer resistance to tobramycin, was PCR amplified from N. farcinica and cloned into two plasmid vectors, pMSG383 and pDB151, harboring hygromycin and zeocin selection markers, respectively. The recombinant plasmids were transformed into the target microorganisms, and selectability was assessed against varying concentrations of tobramycin and using an E-test against gentamicin. The results indicated that the aph(2″) gene is a useful selection marker in Mycobacteria and Nocardia against tobramycin, with a good selectability at 2.5–10 µg/mL for M. smegmatis mc2-155 and N. asteroides ATCC 19,247, and 60–160 µg/mL for M. abscessus ATCC 19,977 and M. tuberculosis H37Ra. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin for recombinant N. asteroides, M. smegmatis and M. abscessus was >256 µg/mL, whereas respective MIC in wild-type strains was 0.125 µg/mL, 0.38 µg/mL and 8 µg/mL, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of aph(2″) as a positive selection marker for genetic manipulation processes in Mycobacteria and Nocardia, thus facilitating their research and improving the efficiency of biotechnology applications. Conclusions: the aph(2″) gene is a useful, new selection marker for genetic manipulation of Nocardia and various Mycobacteria.
Associated Factors and Prevention of Upper Pole Rippling in Prepectoral Direct-to-Implant Breast Reconstruction

Abstract Background Despite its many advantages, prepectoral breast reconstruction also carries the risk of implant rippling. The recent introduction of partial superior implant coverage using a pectoralis muscle slip in prepectoral direct-to-implant (DTI) breast reconstruction has shown the potential to minimize upper pole rippling. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with rippling and the effectiveness of our surgical technique. Methods In total, 156 patients (186 breasts) who underwent prepectoral DTI breast reconstruction between August 2019 and March 2021 were identified retrospectively. Patient data were analyzed from medical records. Univariable and multivariable logistic analyses were performed to contextualize the risks associated with rippling deformity relative to demographic characteristics and other clinical factors. Retrospective propensity-matched analysis was performed to identify the relationship between rippling deformity and the reconstruction method. Results Patients with body mass index (BMI; odds ratio [OR], 0.736; p < 0.001), those with a postoperative chemotherapy history (OR, 0.324; p = 0.027) and those who received breast reconstruction via the superior coverage technique (OR, 0.2; p = 0.004), were less likely to develop rippling deformity. The median follow-up period was 64.9 weeks, and there were no significant differences between patients in types of mastectomy, implant, or acellular dermal matrix. Patients who underwent superior coverage technique-based reconstruction showed significantly reduced rippling (OR, 0.083; p = 0.017) Conclusion Patients with higher BMI and prior postoperative chemotherapy were less likely to develop rippling deformity. The superior coverage technique can be effective in minimizing upper pole rippling.
Limit of viscous dynamic processes in delamination as the viscosity and inertia vanish

We introduce a model of dynamic evolution of a delaminated visco-elastic body with viscous adhesive. We prove the existence of solutions of the corresponding system of PDEs and then study the behavior of such solutions when the data of the problem vary slowly. We prove that a rescaled version of the dynamic evolutions converge to a “local” quasistatic evolution, which is an evolution satisfying an energy inequality and a momentum balance at all times. In the one-dimensional case we give a more detailed description of the limit evolution and we show that it behaves in a very similar way to the limit of the solutions of the dynamic model in [T. Roubicek, SIAM J. Math. Anal. 45 (2013) 101–126], where no viscosity in the adhesive is taken into account.
Role of Employee-related Factors for Employee Performance in Private Sector Banks of Sindh, Pakistan

The achievement of robust employee performance (EP) is a critical issue for every organization due to its significant contribution to organizational success. This study aims to examine the impact of employee-related factors on EP at private banks in Sindh, Pakistan. The researchers used quantitative methods to obtain data from private banks in Sindh at random using a survey questionnaire. The researchers distributed or delivered 528 survey forms to the various branches of Sindh's private banks. The researcher returned 318 valid surveys with a 60% response rate. The overall reliability of the questionnaire is noticed as 0.853, while individual factor reliability also appeared as greater than 0.60. The researchers used the structural equation model (SEM) to assess the hypothesized paths by analysis of moment structures (AMOS). The study findings suggest that the employee-related factors, i.e. proactivity (PA), adaptability (AD), intrinsic motivation (IM), skills flexibility (SF), commitment (CMT) and skill level (SL) significantly and positively affect EP. This study contributes to the HRM literature, particularly in the area of EP and assists the management and practitioners of human resources management and development in increasing organizational performance.
A UTD ray description for the collective fields radiated by large antenna phased arrays on a smooth convex surface

A collective uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) ray solution is developed for describing the fields radiated by large array apertures that are conformal to a doubly curved, smooth convex PEC surface. Such conformal array apertures may either be physical array apertures formed by simple antenna elements located directly on a convex PEC surface, or be equivalent apertures defined by more complex flush mounted radome-covered antenna arrays whose elements are slightly recessed in a cavity structure just below the skin line of a convex PEC boundary. The present UTD solution describes all at once the radiation from the whole array aperture in terms of just a few rays which are launched from specific critical points in the interior and on the array aperture boundary. Hence, it is relatively highly efficient as compared to the conventional element-by-element field summation approach. More importantly, it provides useful physical insights into the array radiation mechanisms. In most practical applications, the large array is situated conformally on an even larger platform, e.g. an aircraft, a spacecraft, or a naval ship, etc. In these realistic cases, the very large platform part can be modeled efficiently by the high-frequency UTD method, while the large array part can be modeled locally by numerical methods (FEM, FEBI, etc.). The coupling of the array fields to the external platform is then achieved by the present collective UTD solution which launches the collective ray fields from the array aperture or window to then interact with the rest of the platform. Such a ii hybrid numerical-collective UTD method provides a useful, tractable and relatively efficient analysis of large arrays on a very large platform. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the present collective UTD ray solution for describing the fields radiated by large conformal antenna phased arrays on a smooth convex PEC surface.
PRINCIPAL SUBMATRICES AND RESTRICTED INVERTIBILITY

We slightly modify the techniques developed by Marcus, Spielman and Srivastava, working with principal submatrices in place of rank $1$ decompositions to give an alternate proof of their results on restricted invertibility. We show that one can find well conditioned column submatrices all the way upto the so called modified stable rank. All constructions are algorithmic.
Association between Plasma Ascorbic Acid Levels and Postoperative Delirium in Older Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery: A Prospective Observational Study

Background: The incidence of delirium is high in older patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Intraoperative tissue hypoperfusion and re-reperfusion injury, which generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), are suggested to induce delirium. Ascorbic acid is an excellent antioxidant and may reduce organ damage by inhibiting the production of ROS. This prospective observational study aimed to measure pre- and postoperative plasma ascorbic acid levels and examine their association with delirium. Methods: Patients older than 70 years of age scheduled for elective cardiovascular surgery using CPB were enrolled. From September 2020 to December 2021, we enrolled 100 patients, and the data of 98 patients were analyzed. Results: In total, 31 patients developed delirium, while 67 did not. Preoperative plasma ascorbic acid levels did not differ between the non-delirium and delirium groups (6.0 ± 2.2 vs. 5.5 ± 2.4 µg/mL, p = 0.3). Postoperative plasma ascorbic acid levels were significantly different between the groups (2.8 [2.3–3.5] vs. 2.3 [1.6–3.3] µg/mL, p = 0.037). Conclusions: In patients who undergo cardiovascular surgery with CPB, lower postoperative plasma ascorbic acid levels may be associated with the development of delirium.
Research trends on learning computer programming with program animation: A systematic mapping study

Over the last few decades, computer programming has become an important field of endeavor due to rapid development in the information sector. Despite the importance of programming, there is a growing concern that it is relatively difficult. In the process, researchers have started employing media tools to reduce programming difficulties and motivate learners to approach programming problems. One of the common tools widely used is program animation—an instructional medium that incorporates animated characters. However, little is known about the research trends in this field of study. This article, therefore, employed a systematic mapping method to review this trend to find patterns and gaps left in the literature. The study extracted 48 articles published between 2000 and 2022 from four scientific databases (Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and ERIC) and three digital libraries (ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, and Wiley Online Library). The review discovered important trends. First, there is a paucity of research evidence evaluating program animation in the context of secondary and elementary levels; the majority of the extracted studies focused on participants from tertiary institutions. A similar paucity of research evidence employing mixed methods and qualitative approaches was also noted. Scratch programs were used in recent research more often than other program animations. There is also too little evaluation of psychomotor variables. Finally, there exist inconsistent findings on the effect of program animation although plenty of studies revealed positive results in favor of these media tools. The study therefore recommends that future research should be conducted to fill these identified gaps.
Impacts of Meteorological Conditions, Aerosol Radiative Feedbacks, and Emission Reduction Scenarios on the Coastal Haze Episodes in Southeastern China in December 2013

AbstractFujian Province in southeastern coastal China is a relatively clean region with low emissions, as its high altitude isolates it from the rest of the country. However, the region experienced haze episodes on 3–14 December 2013. The authors performed simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) to examine the impacts of meteorological conditions, aerosol radiative feedbacks (ARFs; including aerosol direct and nearly first indirect effect), and internal and external emissions reduction scenarios on particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) concentrations. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time the WRF-Chem model has been used to study air quality in this region. The model reasonably reproduced the meteorological conditions and PM2.5 concentrations. The analysis demonstrated that the highest-PM2.5 event was associated with a cold surge that promoted the impingement of northern pollutants on the region, and PM2.5 concentratio.
Ultrafast Quantum Control of Exciton Dynamics in Semiconductor Quantum Dots

xv List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used . xvi Acknowledgements . xx Chapter
Characterization of Pool Boiling of Seawater and Regulation of Crystallization Fouling by Physical Aberration

ABSTRACT As fresh water becomes increasingly scarce desalination has become an important technique to meet the portable water requirements around the world. Thermal distillation continues to be one of the most important and widely used methods of desalination currently used. Scale formation, corrosion of the heater surface, and the subsequent degradation of the heat exchanger is one of the biggest challenges in thermal desalination. In this paper, pool boiling of seawater is characterized using standard artificial sea water. Various boiling characteristics such as critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient are analyzed. The nature of the scales formed on the heater surface and their effect on the heat transfer efficiency are studied. A passive method to reduce the thermal resistance due to scale buildup from crystallization fouling using stainless steel beads is examined.