Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards effective management of an overabundant native bird: The noisy miner

Addressing threats to biodiversity from pest species is a global challenge. One such challenge is to mitigate the impact of an overabundant Australian songbird, the noisy miner Manorina melanocephala, on woodland birds. The overabundance of noisy miners is listed as a key threatening process under federal biodiversity legislation, but current understanding of where and how noisy miner populations can be managed to yield conservation benefits is unclear. We evaluated the effectiveness of noisy miner removal across 12 treatment areas totaling 3913 ha and nine control areas totaling 1487 ha important for the critically endangered regent honeyeater Anthochaera phrygia. Removal of noisy miners significantly reduced their densities in all but one of the treatment areas. In 10 of the 12 treatment areas, noisy miner densities remained below an impact threshold of 0.65–0.83 birds ha−1 for at least 3 to more than 12 months. The percentage of suitable noisy miner habitat in the surrounding landscape was not a strong predictor of noisy miner management success. Regent honeyeaters occupied six treatment areas, nesting successfully in four. The abundance of other songbirds increased post‐miner removal in seven areas, decreased in three, and was mixed in two. Data from the control areas showed some variation in songbird numbers was independent of noisy miner management. We conclude that noisy miners can be managed in areas of high conservation value for a minimum cost of AUD $10 ha−1. Larger treatment areas may be more important than the broader landscape context in maintaining long‐term noisy miner suppression. Standardized, long‐term monitoring is crucial to identify not only the drivers of pest species recolonization but also locations where threats from pests on endangered species can be addressed effectively while minimizing animal welfare and financial costs.
Pd/Ta2O5/SiC Schottky-diode hydrogen sensors formed by using rapid thermal oxidation of Ta thin films

Pd/Ta2O5/SiC Schottky-diode hydrogen sensors were fabricated, and their hydrogen gas sensing performance was investigated at 573 K and 773 K. Interfacial Ta2O5 films of 120 nm in thickness were formed by using rapid thermal oxidation (RTO) of the sputtered Ta films on SiC. The crystallinity of the Ta and the Ta2O5 films were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). As-sputtered Ta films on 4H-SiC are composed of α-Ta (body-centered-cubic) and β-Ta (tetragonal), and α-Ta (110) is the dominant orientation. After RTO at 573 K, the Ta films are converted to β-Ta2O5 (orthorhombic). The diode sensors show high sensitivity to H2 even at the low H2 concentration of 500 ppm, and the voltage change of the sensor upon H2 exposure is proportional to the H2 concentration in the range of 500 ∼ 2000 ppm at 573 K. The response voltage ΔV is shown to arise mostly from the change in the series resistance component of the sensor upon H2 exposure; the main origin of that change is believed to be the Ta2O5 interfacial layer. The response time t90 of the sensor at 573 K was estimated to be approximately 8 s.
Cas9/gRNA-Mediated Mutations in PtrFLA40 and PtrFLA45 Reveal Redundant Roles in Modulating Wood Cell Size and SCW Synthesis in Poplar

Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins (FLAs) play an important role in plant development and adaptation to the environment. However, the roles of FLAs in wood formation remain poorly understood. Here, we identified a total of 50 PtrFLA genes in poplar. They were classified into four groups: A to D, among which group A was the largest group with 28 members clustered into four branches. Most PtrFLAs of group A were dominantly expressed in developing xylem based on microarray and RT-qPCR data. The roles of PtrFLA40 and PtrFLA45 in group A were investigated via the Cas9/gRNA-induced mutation lines. Loss of PtrFLA40 and PtrFLA45 increased stem length and diameter in ptrfla40ptrfla45 double mutants, but not in ptrfla40 or ptrfla45 single mutants. Further, our findings indicated that the ptrfla40ptrfla45 mutants enlarged the cell size of xylem fibers and vessels, suggesting a negative modulation in stem xylem cell size. In addition, wood lignin content in the ptrfla40fla45 mutants was increased by nearly 9%, and the lignin biosynthesis-related genes were significantly up-regulated in the ptrfla40fla45 mutants, in agreement with the increase in wood lignin content. Overall, Cas9/gRNA-mediated mutations in PtrFLA40 and PtrFLA45 reveal redundant roles in modulating wood cell size and secondary cell wall (SCW) synthesis in poplar.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with gene-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer

ALK, n=2; RET, n=1; ROS1, n=1). Clinicopathologic features were used to determine whether these cases had true gene rearrangement. All cases had adenocarcinoma histology and no or little smoking history, which is consistent with true gene-rearranged NSCLC. Next-generation sequencing (NGS, CD74-ROS1) and nanostring technology (KIF5B-RET) were used to identify fusion partners in two cases. The ROS1 and RET cases received the robust clinical benefit of ICI and had immunotherapy PFS of 36 and 8 months, respectively. Only immunohistochemistry (IHC) or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to diagnose two ALK cases. In patients with ALK
Observations and numerical simulations of mountain waves in the presence of directional wind shear

Three research aircraft observed small‐amplitude gravity waves over the south‐western French Alps on 13 November 1999 during the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP). Radiosonde ascents and Global Positioning System dropsondes deployed by MAP research aircraft indicate that the upstream flow was characterized by topographic blocking below 2 km and low‐level directional wind shear associated with a synoptic‐scale depression that extended above the Alpine crest. The in situ vertical velocity data from the three research aircraft, and backscatter from lidar onboard the low‐level and upper‐level aircraft, exhibit gravity‐wave signatures in the lower troposphere that are characterized by relatively short horizontal wavelengths on a scale of 5 km or less. The in situ flight‐level and backscatter data also suggest a rapid decrease in the wave amplitude with height, due to a directional critical layer that partially absorbs wave energy in the lower to middle troposphere in concert with a decrease in the Scorer parameter with height that traps the wave energy. Numerical simulation results, obtained from the non‐hydrostatic Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System model using a horizontal resolution of 556 m, indicate the presence of low‐level wave breaking above the highest peaks, and confirm the presence of trapped waves and a directional critical level. Results based on linear theory and nonlinear model simulations suggest that the absorption of wave energy associated with the directional critical layer has an important impact on the wave characteristics including the momentum flux. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society
Effects of Vegetation Structure on Psychological Restoration in an Urban Rooftop Space

Connectedness to nature has been recognized as an important factor for well-being, with rooftop green spaces being used for stress reduction in modern cities. This study aimed to examine psychological and physiological responses to three different vegetation models on an urban rooftop. An analysis of psychological parameters indicated that the existence of vegetation in rooftop spaces could have positive effects on mood states, and the size of the effect was greater in a structured vegetation design than in a monotonous one. An analysis of the physiological parameters of heart rate variability and systolic blood pressure indicated that greater restorative effects are elicited from the use of vertical elements, such as shrubs and trees, added to grassy areas than from concrete environments. However, a fully enclosed vegetation with trees was not associated with higher parasympathetic activities than a half-open vegetation model. Based on these findings, an open and structured vegetation design that includes both grass and shrubs may have more potential for stress reduction than a monotonous vegetation model. A larger volume of vegetation was not necessarily linked to higher psychological and physiological benefits.
Coupling PLUS–InVEST Model for Ecosystem Service Research in Yunnan Province, China

In efforts to improve regional ecosystem service functions, coordinate land development and ecological conservation, and establish a reference for optimizing land resource allocation and policy formulation to cope with climate change, it is critical to investigate the spatial distribution of land use/cover change (LUCC) and ecosystem services (ESs) under future climate change. This study proposes a framework based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway and Representative Concentration Pathway (SSP-RCP), integrating the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs (InVEST) model to analyze the spatial agglomeration of ESs, to analyze the importance of each driving factors. The results of the study show as follows: (1) the combination of CMIP6 and PLUS models can effectively simulate land use with an overall accuracy of 0.9379. (2) In spatial correlation, ESs show good clustering in all three future scenarios, with similar distribution of cold hotspots in the SSP126 and SSP245 scenarios. Hotspots are more dispersed and cold spots are shifted to the west in the SSP585 scenario. (3) GDP is an important factor in carbon storage and habitat quality, and precipitation has a greater impact on soil retention and water production. Overall, ESs can be increased by appropriately controlling population and economic development, balancing economic development and ecological protection, promoting energy transition, maintaining ecological hotspot areas, and improving cold spot areas.
Democratization of deep learning for segmenting cartilage from MRIs of human knees: Application to data from the osteoarthritis initiative

In this study, we aimed to democratize access to convolutional neural networks (CNN) for segmenting cartilage volumes, generating state‐of‐the‐art results for specialized, real‐world applications in hospitals and research. Segmentation of cross‐sectional and/or longitudinal magnetic resonance (MR) images of articular cartilage facilitates both clinical management of joint damage/disease and fundamental research. Manual delineation of such images is a time‐consuming task susceptible to high intra‐ and interoperator variability and prone to errors. Thus, enabling reliable and efficient analyses of MRIs of cartilage requires automated segmentation of cartilage volumes. Two main limitations arise in the development of hospital‐ or population‐specific deep learning (DL) models for image segmentation: specialized knowledge and specialized hardware. We present a relatively easy and accessible implementation of a DL model to automatically segment MRIs of human knees with state‐of‐the‐art accuracy. In representative examples, we trained CNN models in 6‐8 h and obtained results quantitatively comparable to state‐of‐the‐art for every anatomical structure. We established and evaluated our methods using two publicly available MRI data sets originating from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, Stryker Imorphics, and Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), as representative test cases. We use Google Colabfor editing and adapting the Python codes and selecting the runtime environment leveraging high‐performance graphical processing units. We designed our solution for novice users to apply to any data set with relatively few adaptations requiring only basic programming skills. To facilitate the adoption of our methods, we provide a complete guideline for using our methods and software, as well as the software tools themselves. Clinical significance: We establish and detail methods that clinical personal can apply to create their own DL models without specialized knowledge of DL nor specialized hardware/infrastructure and obtain results comparable with the state‐of‐the‐art to facilitate both clinical management of joint damage/disease and fundamental research.
Resolvin D5 (RvD5) Reduces Renal Damage Caused by LPS Endotoxemia in Female Mice

In self-revolving gram-negative Escherichia coli infection, Resolvin D5 (RvD5) was found to enhance bacteria phagocytosis and reduce the production of inflammatory mediators, contributing to the resolution of infection. LPS (lipopolysaccharide) is a gram-negative bacterial structure product which activates the immune system and, at high doses, leads to endotoxemia. To our knowledge, the effect of RvD5 against LPS endotoxemia has not been investigated to date. Female Swiss mice received an i.p. treatment with RvD5 (0.1, 1 or 10 ng/animal). After 1 h, they were stimulated with LPS (10 mg/kg, i.v.), and samples were collected after additional 6 h. The resulting data demonstrated that RvD5 protected the kidneys (urea and creatinine serum levels) from tissue injury. These effects were related to an improvement in histopathological parameters and a reduction of enzymatic markers of leukocyte infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6) production, and oxidative stress. Antioxidant markers were also increased by RvD5, but IL-10 (an anti-inflammatory cytokine) levels were unaltered. We also observed that RvD5 reduced the infiltration of CD45+ hematopoietic cells into the kidneys, reduced the activation of NFκB and promoted the Nrf2 pathway by reducing Keap-1 levels. Our data indicate that RvD5 may be a therapeutic possibility to reduce kidney lesions in LPS endotoxemia.
Rain garden design for stormwater management in Chiang Mai, Thailand: A Research-through-Design Study

Conventional stormwater management may cause long term environmental issues. Fortunately, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) can manage stormwater more sustainably. However, the design examples of WSUD elements, such as rain gardens within the geographical and cultural context of Thailand are lacking. This study investigated the patterns of rain garden design suitable for urban areas in Chiang Mai and developed examples of rain garden design processes and prototypes in an urban context for Chiang Mai. This research used the Research by design Method (RDM), which has great potential in bridging the gap between research and application. The researchers selected the site at the Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University. They designed 2 schematics of rain gardens with local Lanna plants. Then, they compared stormwater capacity with the existing site via the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) Curve Number Method. The design results were evaluated by stakeholders and design experts to bridge the gaps between international standards and local contexts. We found that 1) the west side of the site was most appropriate to develop the pilot project. 2) Both design schematics performed better than the original site. 3) Stakeholders and design experts see the potential of the site, but had concerns regarding its actual performance, maintenance, scale, and safety. This paper offers and provides an example of the rain garden design process which can be used as a baseline for future designs of rain garden and water sensitive urban designs.
N,N′-Diaryldihydrophenazines as a Sustainable and Cost-Effective Alternative to Precious Metal Complexes in the Photoredox-Catalyzed Alkylation of Aryl Alkyl Ketones

An inexpensive and highly efficient metal-free alternative to commonly used Ru- and Ir-based catalysts was proposed. It was shown that the new 2,7-di-tert-butyl-5,10-bis(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-5,10-dihydrophenazine outcompeted the iridium phenylpyridyl complex in photoredox activity in the alkylation of silyl enol ethers yielding aryl alkyl ketones. The reaction occurred under visible light irradiation at room temperature and was also applicable to drug derivatives (ibuprofen and naproxen). In-depth photophysical, electrochemical, and quantum chemical studies showed that the aforementioned N,N-diaryldihydrophenazine exhibited enhanced properties that were essential for the photoredox catalysis (a long-lived triplet excited state, strong reducing ability, high stability of the radical cations formed in single-electron-transfer event, and chemical inertness of the catalyst with respect to reactants). Importantly, the substituted N,N′-diaryldihydrophenazines could be obtained directly from diaryl amines; a facile, easily handled and scaled-up one-pot synthetic procedure was elaborated.
Orientation Relation in the Pressure-Induced Transition B1→B2 of RbCl Observed by an X-Ray Four-Circle Diffractometer

The orientation distribution of the {110} diffracted line of the pressure-induced B2 phase of RbCl after Bl→B2 transition was measured with an X-ray four-circle diffractometer on which the Merrill-Bassett type diamond anvil pressure cell was mounted. Judging from the {110} pole figure of the B2 phase, the center of which is the [100] axis of the B1 phase, the orientation relation was [111](B2)//[100](B1) and [100](B2)//[111](B1). The result agreed with that obtained by Okai from X-ray diffraction photography.
Electromechanical stiffness and damping coefficients in the repulsive magnetic levitation system

The electromechanical stiffness and damping coefficient matrices for three translational degrees of freedom are derived for the repulsive levitation system consisting of a single superconducting magnet interacting with a finite width sheet guideway. The persistent node (constant flux linkage) is assumed. The results of this study provide the data for stability and ride quality analysis. The methodology can be extended to multi-magnet systems including active damping coils.
Detection and Prevention of Medication Errors by the Network of Sentinel Pharmacies in a Southern European Region

A medication error (ME) is a drug-related problem that has been recognized as a common and serious threat to patient safety. The aim of this study was to detect and analyze ME reports occurring throughout the therapeutic process through the community’s pharmacies in order to improve the efficacy and safety of medications and contribute to the prevention of future MEs. This was a three-year descriptive, observational, and prospective study to detect and analyze the different MEs reported by the Catalan sentinel pharmacies network (Catalan SePhaNet). In total, 1394 notifications of MEs were reported (an incidence rate of 737.34 cases/100,000 inhabitants). MEs were detected more frequently in primary care centers. Most of the MEs reported were caused by an incorrect, incomplete, illegible, or verbal medical prescription (41.3%). Of the global notifications detected, 71.9% did not reach the patient (categories A and B). The drugs most frequently implicated in the reported ME cases were beta-lactam antibiotics. In 6.0% of the cases, the ME caused injury to the patient (categories E and F). In 72.0% of the global notifications, a pharmacist’s intervention avoided the ME. The importance of a community pharmacy and the role of a pharmacist were demonstrated in aspects related to patient and drug safety.
FREE VIBRATIONS OF A RECTANGULAR PLATE CARRYING A DISTRIBUTED MASS

In this paper, an analytical method is presented to find the eigenfrequencies of a rectangular plate carrying a uniformly distributed mass. Using the standard Galerkin procedure, the equation of motion is reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations. From this set, the frequency equation is obtained. This polynomial equation is solved numerically. Due to the significance of the fundamental frequency of the system, its variation with respect to the non-dimensional parameters associated with the location, the area density and the distribution area of the mass attached to the plate, is investigated. Furthermore, it is shown by a numerical example that the method can be used to study plates with concentrated mass as a special case. Finally, an analysis to obtain the modal surfaces and the related nodal lines is carried out. It is demonstrated that the location of the attachment significantly affects the nodal lines, and modal interchanges may occur.
A beneficial fungal root endophyte triggers systemic RNA silencing and DNA methylation of a host reporter gene

ABSTRACT A growing body of evidence suggests that RNA interference (RNAi) plays a pivotal role in the communication between plants and pathogenic fungi, where a bi-directional trans-kingdom RNAi is established to the advantage of either the host or the pathogen. Similar mechanisms acting during plant association with non-pathogenic symbiotic microorganisms have been elusive to this date. To determine whether root endophytes can induce systemic RNAi responses to their host plants, we designed an experimental reporter-based system consisting of the root-restricted, beneficial fungal endophyte, Fusarium solani strain K (FsK) and its host Nicotiana benthamiana. Since not all fungi encode the RNAi machinery, we first needed to validate that FsK does so, by identifying its core RNAi enzymes (2 Dicer-like genes, 2 Argonautes and 4 RNA-dependent RNA polymerases) and by showing its susceptibility to in vitro RNAi upon exogenous application of double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). Upon establishing this, we transformed FsK with a hairpin RNA (hpRNA) construct designed to target a reporter gene in its host N. benthamiana. The hpRNA was processed by FsK RNAi machinery predominantly into 21–24-nt small RNAs that triggered RNA silencing but not DNA methylation in the fungal hyphae. Importantly, when the hpRNA-expressing FsK was used to inoculate N. benthamiana, systemic RNA silencing and DNA methylation of the host reporter gene was recorded. Our data suggest that RNAi signals can be translocated by root endophytes to their hosts and can modulate gene expression during mutualism, which may be translated to beneficial phenotypes.
3-D network ray tracing

SUMMARY An efficient algorithm of the network shortest path calculation of rays and traveltimes of the first arrivals is described. The traveltime error of such computations is estimated. The rough estimate of the relative traveltime error is evaluated locally at all network nodes prior to network ray tracing, and is minimized by means of a proper choice of the sizes of forward stars. In this way, the structure of the network is adjusted for a particular model and for a particular computer memory. After network ray tracing, the error estimate is refined and the absolute error bounds of the calculated traveltimes are evaluated. The method and its accuracy are demonstrated on numerical examples.