Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Winners and losers of land use change: A systematic review of interactions between the world’s crane species (Gruidae) and the agricultural sector

While agricultural intensification and expansion are major factors driving loss and degradation of natural habitat and species decline, some wildlife species also benefit from agriculturally managed habitats. This may lead to high population densities with impacts on both human livelihoods and wildlife conservation. Cranes are a group of 15 species worldwide, affected both negatively and positively by agricultural practices. While eleven species face critical population declines, numbers of common cranes (Grus grus) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) have increased drastically in the last 40 years. Their increase is associated with higher incidences of crane foraging on agricultural crops, causing financial losses to farmers. Our aim was to synthesize scientific knowledge on the bilateral effects of land use change and crane populations. We conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed publications on agriculture-crane interactions (n = 135) and on the importance of agricultural crops in the diet of cranes (n = 81). Agricultural crops constitute a considerable part of the diet of all crane species (average of 37%, most frequently maize (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)). Crop damage was identified in only 10% of all agriculture-crane interactions, although one-third of interactions included cranes foraging on cropland. Using a conceptual framework analysis, we identified two major pathways in agriculture-crane interactions: (1) habitat loss with negative effects on crane species dependent on specific habitats, and (2) expanding agricultural habitats with superabundant food availability beneficial for opportunistic crane species. The degree to which crane species can adapt to agricultural land use changes may be an important factor explaining their population response. We conclude that multi-objective management needs to combine land sparing and land sharing strategies at landscape scale. To support viable crane populations while guaranteeing sustainable agricultural production, it is necessary to include the perspectives of diverse stakeholders and streamline conservation initiatives and agricultural policy accordingly.
Has the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo fuelled resistance towards Muslim immigrants in Europe? Results from a natural experiment in six European countries

In recent years, Europe witnessed several terrorist attacks by Islamist terrorists. To date, crucial questions are whether and how such events influence the European public’s resistance towards Muslims, and if such influence depends on the level of intergroup competition, both at the contextual and individual level. Using the European Social Survey (ESS7), we were able to compare respondents interviewed shortly before and after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. While we found no support for a moderating role of intergroup competition, our study shows that the levels of resistance towards Muslim immigrants were higher shortly after the attacks in Ireland and Czech Republic, however, lower in France. For Austria, Finland and Germany we found no influence. Our findings indicate that one cannot be too careful with generalizing conclusions from single countries.
Hybrid Classification/Regression Approach to QSAR Modeling of Stoichiometric Antiradical Capacity Assays’ Endpoints

Quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) are a widely used methodology allowing not only a better understanding of the mechanisms of chemical reactions, including radical scavenging, but also to predict the relevant properties of chemical compounds without their synthesis, isolation and experimental testing. Unlike the QSAR modeling of the kinetic antioxidant assays, modeling of the assays with stoichiometric endpoints depends strongly on the number of hydroxyl groups in the antioxidant molecule, as well as on some integral molecular descriptors characterizing the proportion of OH-groups able to enter and complete the radical scavenging reaction. In this work, we tested the feasibility of a “hybrid” classification/regression approach, consisting of explicit classification of individual OH-groups as involved in radical scavenging reactions, and using further the number of these OH-groups as a descriptor in simple-regression QSAR models of antiradical capacity assays with stoichiometric endpoints. A simple threshold classification based on the sum of trolox-equivalent antiradical capacity values was used, selecting OH-groups with specific radical stability- and reactivity-related electronic parameters or their combination as “active” or “inactive”. We showed that this classification/regression modeling approach provides a substantial improvement of the simple-regression QSAR models over those built on the number of total phenolic OH-groups only, and yields a statistical performance similar to that of the best reported multiple-regression QSARs for antiradical capacity assays with stoichiometric endpoints.
Metabolic Phenotypes—The Game Changer in Quality of Life of Obese Patients?

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the association of obesity phenotypes and quality of life (QoL) scales and their relationship with fat mass (FM) parameters. Methods: This study categorized 104 subjects into 4 obesity phenotypes based on BMI and metabolic syndrome status: metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO), metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO), and metabolically unhealthy non-obese (MUNO). Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and metabolic profile was characterized by blood samples. All subjects completed the SF-36 item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire. Results: Comparing the four obesity phenotypes, significant results were reported for Bodily Pain between MHNO/MUNO (p = 0.034), for Vitality between MHO/MUO (p = 0.024), and for Mental Component Score between MHO/MUO (p = 0.026) and MUO/MUNO (p = 0.003). A more thorough inside-groups analysis yielded a positive and moderate to high correlation between FM parameters and QoL scales in MHO and MHNO, while a negative and weak to moderate correlation was observed in MUO and MUNO. Conclusion: This study reported an inverse U-shaped relationship between FM and QoL in obesity phenotypes, suggesting that metabolic status is a key factor involved in modulating QoL and therefore challenging the idea of obesity as a main driver of low QoL. We recommend the inclusion of FM percentage in the definition of obesity phenotypes in future research, to better evaluate QoL of obesity phenotypes.
Food Preferences in Undergraduate Nursing Students and Its Relationship with Food Addiction and Physical Activity

The transition to college is a decisive stage for the acquisition of eating habits that continue into adulthood. The aim of this study is to assess the consumption of healthy elements of the Mediterranean diet in a group of university students and to evaluate whether the consumption pattern was related to sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), food addiction or the amount of physical activity performed. A total of 515 nursing students participated. The Mediterranean diet adherence questionnaire (PREDIMED), the food addiction scale (YFAS 2.0) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were completed. For data analysis, multivariate analysis was performed with multiple linear regression and adjusted for sex, age, and BMI. The results showed that females consumed various types of meats (white/red, processed) in a healthier proportion (p < 0.05). Students that consumed more than one per day (unhealthy) of red/processed meats (mean difference (MD) = −0.49; 95% CI: −0.83; −0.15), soft drinks (MD = −0.82; 95% CI: 82–1.36; −0.27) and pastries (MD = −0.63; 95% CI: −0.97; −0.30) displayed higher food addiction scores. In addition, students who skipped breakfast also scored higher on food addiction (MD = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.31–1.19). Higher values of physical activity were observed in those who presented a healthy consumption of vegetables (MD = 140.86; 95% CI: 72.71–209.02), fruit (MD = 145.78; 95% CI: 69.35–222.21), legumes (MD = 136.46; 95% CI: 60.43–212.50) and nuts (MD = 74.36; 95% CI: 14.23–134.49). Students who consumed more red or processed meats, more pastries and more soft drinks had higher values of food addiction, while those who consumed more vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts had more minutes of physical activity per week. These findings invite us to insist on expanding knowledge regarding the health benefits of consuming a Mediterranean-type diet as a whole. The healthy consumption of fish, fruit and legumes should also be emphasized, especially among university students.
A Two-Stage Model for Predicting Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease Conversion

Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), such as predicting development from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD, is critical for slowing disease progression and increasing quality of life. Although deep learning is a promising technique for structural MRI-based diagnosis, the paucity of training samples limits its power, especially for three-dimensional (3D) models. To this end, we propose a two-stage model combining both transfer learning and contrastive learning that can achieve high accuracy of MRI-based early AD diagnosis even when the sample numbers are restricted. Specifically, a 3D CNN model was pretrained using publicly available medical image data to learn common medical features, and contrastive learning was further utilized to learn more specific features of MCI images. The two-stage model outperformed each benchmark method. Compared with the previous studies, we show that our model achieves superior performance in progressive MCI patients with an accuracy of 0.82 and AUC of 0.84. We further enhance the interpretability of the model by using 3D Grad-CAM, which highlights brain regions with high-predictive weights. Brain regions, including the hippocampus, temporal, and precuneus, are associated with the classification of MCI, which is supported by the various types of literature. Our model provides a novel model to avoid overfitting because of a lack of medical data and enable the early detection of AD.
Workplace Reintegration Facilitator Training Program for Mental Health Literacy and Workplace Attitudes of Public Safety Personnel: Pre-Post Pilot Cohort Study

Background Public safety personnel (PSP) impacted by operational stress injuries can find themselves needing both time off work and support reintegrating back into the workforce. Work reintegration programs have been introduced in PSP organizations to support those who aim to return to work. One such peer-led workplace reintegration program (RP) was created in 2009 by members of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). The primary goal of the EPSRP is to assist PSP in returning to work as soon as possible following a critical incident, illness, or injury while diminishing the potential for long-term psychological injury. The EPSRP is delivered by peers through 3 interrelated components: (1) the Reintegration Program Facilitator Training (RPFT) Program; (2) a short-term Critical Incident RP; and (3) a long-term RP. There is a dire need for research that incorporates strong study designs to the determine long-term effectiveness of the program on increasing workplace reintegration, improving mental health knowledge, and creating culture change within PSP organizations. Simultaneously, the efficacy, effectiveness, and fidelity of the RPFT in providing the tools, mental health knowledge, and skills the RP peer facilitators will need for the RP must be evaluated. Objective The purpose of this quasi-experimental pre-post pilot cohort study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the EPSRPFT course on influencing mental health knowledge and attitudes of RPFT attendees who will be future RP peer facilitators. Methods This pre-post cohort study collected data via 2 questionnaires from RPFT participants (N=60) which included the Mental Health Knowledge Survey (MAKS) and the Open Minds Survey of Workplace Attitudes (OMSWA). Descriptive, parametric (sample t tests), and nonparametric (Wilcoxon signed rank tests) statistics were used to compare the pre- and post-RPFT results and to analyze results by gender and profession. Results Statistically significant changes were observed in pre-post questionnaire scores in the domains of mental health attitudes and knowledge. Conclusions Although results are explorative, the RPFT may facilitate positive changes in workplace mental health attitudes and knowledge among PSP. It is hoped these findings will contribute to a broader evidence base that can inform changes to the program, practices, and policies, and inform decision-making regarding the EPSRP.
Effects of the Powder from Hoggery Desulfurization Tanks on the Salinity Resistance of Lettuce

Lettuce is an important vegetable cultivated worldwide, even in regions with highly saline soils. A large amount of research discusses the application of sulfur on the increase of antioxidation in plants. The powder from hoggery desulfurization tanks contained high amounts of sulfur and small amounts of other nutrients for plants. This powder can be added to liquid fertilizer to create high-sulfur liquid fertilizer (HSLF). This study observed the cell morphologies of lettuce root apices under salt stress after the application of HSLF. Lettuce plants were cultivated in hydroponic solutions containing one of two NaCl (0 and 40 mM) and three HSLF (0.0, 1.5, and 3.0 g L−1) concentrations. Salinity reduced the K+/Na+ ratio in the plant leaves; however, this reduction was smaller in the HSLF-treated plants. Except for phosphate and potassium, nutrient absorption is inhibited under conditions of high salinity. Using scanning electron microscopy, we observed apices more integrated on cell roots after increasing HSLF supplement under non-salt-stressed conditions. In addition, the cells were repaired after increasing the supplement of HSLF under the condition of 40 mM NaCl. Although salt stress reduced plant growth, the reductions were minimized in the HSLF-treated plants. The application of HSLF potentially alleviated salt injury in lettuce root apices and was probably associated with the improvement of phosphorus and potassium absorption and increasing K+/Na+ ratios in lettuce plants.
Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Acetylation and Regulation of Protein Structure in Breast Cancer Biology and Therapy

The loss and/or dysregulation of several cellular and mitochondrial antioxidants’ expression or enzymatic activity, which leads to the aberrant physiological function of these proteins, has been shown to result in oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules. In this regard, it has been surmised that the disruption of mitochondrial networks responsible for maintaining normal metabolism is an established hallmark of cancer and a novel mechanism of therapy resistance. This altered metabolism leads to aberrant accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, under specific physiological conditions, leads to a potential tumor-permissive cellular environment. In this regard, it is becoming increasingly clear that the loss or disruption of mitochondrial oxidant scavenging enzymes may be, in specific tumors, either an early event in transformation or exhibit tumor-promoting properties. One example of such an antioxidant enzyme is manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, also referred to as SOD2), which detoxifies superoxide, a ROS that has been shown, when its normal physiological levels are disrupted, to lead to oncogenicity and therapy resistance. Here, we will also discuss how the acetylation of MnSOD leads to a change in detoxification function that leads to a cellular environment permissive for the development of lineage plasticity-like properties that may be one mechanism leading to tumorigenic and therapy-resistant phenotypes.
An Impact Evaluation of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on Environmental Degradation

This study presents an attempt to scrutinize whether the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promotes environmental degradation in BRI countries using panel data of 130 countries during the period 1990 to 2018. For this, we used carbon emission as a proxy variable to estimate environmental degradation. Taking BRI as a quasi-natural experiment this paper used a difference-in-difference approach to estimate the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on environmental degradation. The finding consistently shows that BRI has a significant impact on environmental degradation. Furthermore, economic growth shows a negative correlation with carbon emission and square term of GDP per capita presents that there is no evidence for the existence of the environment Kuznet curve hypothesis, however, this study established a U-shaped association between economic growth and C O 2 emission, whereas, energy consumption and population shows a positive impact on carbon emission and financial development and trade openness reduce the carbon emission and these findings are robust to estimation approaches. The findings imply that BRI demands special attention from the Chinese Government and BRI participating countries to establish a new policy mechanism to enforce the standards globally to protect the carbon emission. The findings also suggest that governments should promote environment-friendly energy consumption and supportive energy infrastructure to tackle the issue of environmental degradation.
Measurement and analysis of internet content delivery systems

In recent years, the Internet has experienced an enormous increase in the use of specialized content delivery systems, such as peer-to-peer file-sharing systems (e.g., Kazaa, Gnutella, or Napster) and content delivery networks (e.g., Akamai). The sudden popularity of these systems has resulted in a flurry of research activity into novel peer-to-peer system designs. Because these systems: (1) are fully distributed, without any infrastructure that can be directly measured, (2) have novel distributed designs requiring new crawling techniques, and (3) use proprietary protocols, surprisingly little is known about the performance, behavior, and workloads of such systems in practice. Accordingly, much of the research into peer-to-peer networking is uninformed by the realities of deployed systems. This dissertation remedies this situation. We examine content delivery from the point of view of four content delivery systems: HTTP Web traffic, the Akamai content delivery network, and the Kazaa and Gnutella peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Our results (1) quantify the rapidly increasing importance of new content delivery systems, particularly peer-to-peer networks, and (2) characterize peer-to-peer systems both from an infrastructure and workload perspective. Overall, these results provide a new understanding of the behavior of the modern Internet and present a strong basis for the design of newer content delivery systems.
Primary epidural sporadic Burkitt lymphoma in a 3-year-old: Case report and literature review

Background: Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a common tumor of childhood that usually arises in the abdomen or pelvis in its sporadic form. In a minority of cases, BL can present with CNS involvement, usually as a secondary site. Rarely, BL can arise primarily in the epidural space and present with back pain, or less commonly, acute myelopathy. This presentation is a surgical emergency and requires vigilant management. Case Description: We describe a case of pediatric BL arising primarily within the epidural space and presenting with progressive difficulty walking in a 3-year-old boy. Progression to complete inability to walk, absent lower extremity deep tendon reflexes, and new urinary incontinence prompted MRI of the spine, which showed a lesion extending from T5 to T10 and wrapping around the anterior and posterior portions of the spine with evidence of spinal cord compression. The patient underwent decompressive laminectomies from T5 to T10 and partial debulking of the posterior portions of the tumor. Microscopic examination showed a prominent “starry sky” pattern with abundant mitotic figures. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of BL. The patient is 10 months post-op and continues to undergo chemotherapy with partial neurologic improvement. He was free of recurrence 10 months post-operative. Conclusion: This appears to be the youngest described patient presenting with acute myelopathy in primary paraspinal BL. Management should include surgical decompression of the spinal cord followed by one of the various described chemotherapeutic regimens. Preoperative staging and neurologic function correlate with prognosis.
Motivational Profile, Future Expectations, and Attitudes toward Study of Secondary School Students in Spain: Results of the PISA Report 2018

During the secondary school stage, students’ motivation to study may decrease and affect their future expectations, which are exclusively directed toward the search for employment, with the consequent abandonment of academic training. The main objective of the present paper was to examine the sources of motivation to study and the future expectations of secondary school students, as well as to develop a predictive model of their future expectations based on the variables studied. The sample consisted of a total of 35,943 students from different Spanish high schools, with an average age of 15.83 (SD = 0.28). The instrument used was the placement tests referring to the PISA 2018 report. On the one hand, the results showed that the main source of motivation for secondary school students to study responds to some kind of imposition either from the surrounding environment or internally, which appears to be represented by identified or controlled extrinsic motivation. In terms of future expectations, important factors included the fundamentally expression of their intention to continue studying rather than to stop studying, facts or economic support which they considered as influential to their capacity to study, and the opinions of others such as parents and friends. On the other hand, sex showed some significant differences in terms of future expectations but did not predict them. The regression model explained 20.9% of the variability of future expectations based on variables such as grade repetition, reasons that discourage studying (not being interested in the contents and never studying), and the influences on future expectations (school grades and subject mastery). Finally, the structural equation model revealed that grade repetition predicts the reasons that discourage studying and these in turn impact future expectations which are influenced by school grades, performing well in a specialty, and having talent. Likewise, there was a negative correlation between repeating a course and school grades, performing well in a specialty, and having talent. Based on these results, it would be advisable to improve the intrinsic motivation of secondary school students by means of educational actions that contribute to the adjustment of their future expectations and attend to the students’ own interests, desires, and competencies, all with the main purpose of contributing to meaningful learning and facilitating professional orientation, and above all, attending to diversity to reduce school failure.