Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Mucor hiemalis BO-1 on the Physical Functions and Transcriptional Signatures of Bradysia odoriphaga Larvae

Simple Summary Mucor hiemalis BO-1 was acutely toxic to Bradysia odoriphaga larvae and was as effective as some chemical pesticides. Mucor hiemalis BO-1 infection inhibited the feeding capacity of Bradysia odoriphaga larvae, reduced food consumption and nutrient contents, and caused a decline in digestive enzyme activity. Transcriptome analysis of diseased B. odoriphaga larvae indicated significant changes in the expression of the genes related to the digestive process, energy metabolism, antioxidant response, and immune processes. Abstract Mucor hiemalis BO-1 is an entomopathogenic fungus that infects Bradysia odoriphaga, a destructive root maggot. M. hiemalis BO-1 possesses stronger pathogenicity to the larvae than to other stages of B. odoriphaga, and provides satisfactory field control. However, the physiological response of B. odoriphaga larvae to infection and the infection mechanism of M. hiemalis are unknown. We detected some physiological indicators of diseased B. odoriphaga larvae infected by M. hiemalis BO-1. These included changes in consumption, nutrient contents, and digestive and antioxidant enzymes. We performed transcriptome analysis of diseased B. odoriphaga larvae, and found that M. hiemalis BO-1 showed acute toxicity to B. odoriphaga larvae and was as toxic as some chemical pesticides. The food consumption of diseased B. odoriphaga after inoculation with M. hiemalis spores decreased significantly, and there was a significant decrease in total protein, lipid, and carbohydrates in diseased larvae. Key digestive enzymes (protease, α-amylase, lipase, and cellulase) were significantly inhibited during infection. Peroxidase maintained high activity, and the activity of other antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione S-transferases) first increased and then decreased. Combined with the transcriptional signatures of diseased B. odoriphaga larvae, M. hiemalis BO-1 infection resulted in decreased food consumption, reduced digestive enzyme activity, and altered energy metabolism and material accumulation. Infection was also accompanied by fluctuations in immune function, such as cytochrome P450 and the Toll pathway. Therefore, our results laid a basis for the further study of the interactions between M. hiemalis BO-1 and B. odoriphaga and promoted the genetic improvement of entomopathogenic fungi.
The residual set dimension of the Apollonian packing

In this paper we show that, for the Apollonian or osculatory packing C 0 of a curvilinear triangle T , the dimension d ( C 0 , T ) of the residual set is equal to the exponent of the packing e ( C o , T ) = S . Since we have [5, 6] exhibited constructible sequences λ ( K ) and μ ( K ) such that λ ( K ) S μ ( K ), and μ ( K )– λ ( K ) → 0 as κ → 0, we have thus effectively determined d ( C 0 , T ). In practical terms it is thus now known that 1·300197 d ( C 0 , T )
Vortex shedding in the wake of a rotating circular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers

Measurements are presented which show that, at a Reynolds number of 60, the Strouhal number for the shedding of vortices from a rotating cylinder is only weakly dependent on the value of α, the ratio of the cylinder's peripheral speed to its translational speed, up to the α value at which shedding is suppressed. This finding agrees with the theoretical results of Kang et al (1999 Phys. Fluids 11 3312), and strongly disagrees with those of Hu et al (1996 Phys. Fluids 8 1972). In addition, measurements were made to determine the α value at which shedding is suppressed for Reynolds numbers between 50 and 65. The results indicate a flow more stable than that predicted by both Hu et al and Kang et al.
The Role of Pre-Pandemic Mental Health Status and Personality Traits on Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Lockdown among Italian Young Adults

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed changes on day-to-day activities and had a detrimental psychological effect on the population, especially among vulnerable individuals, such as adolescents and young adults. The current study aimed to explore variables associated with anxiety, depressive and somatic symptoms in a sample of 608 Italian young adults aged 18 to 25. Data were collected using an online questionnaire administered two months into the COVID-19 lockdown, which explored several areas including sociodemographic information, pre-pandemic and current psychological distress, pre-pandemic and current levels of loneliness, and the traits of intolerance of uncertainty and boredom susceptibility. Results highlighted that having pre-existing mental health issues, being female, and the personality traits of intolerance to uncertainty and boredom susceptibility all played a role in the psychological distress experienced during the pandemic. COVID-19 contributed to negative impacts on young adults’ mental health, highlighting the necessity to develop protective psychological intervention tailored for this vulnerable population.
Challenges of cooperation for development: A case‐study analysis of Cuban health solidarity programmes in Nigeria

Cuba has long-standing development partnerships with many African countries. In Nigeria, this includes medical staff training, interventions in malaria disease and death. Using a two-tiered analytical framework and elite interviews, we problematise ideological conceptualisation of development and its praxis, particularly capability and willingness to explore alternative approaches or partnerships for development. We argue that what occurs between rhetoric and reality of this case is characteristic of entrenched structural and operational dynamics to layers of institutionalised development agenda-setting sustained by international development policy regimes. This research highlights the need to explore alternative development approaches that engender mutually beneficial and equal partnerships.
Bayesian Approach to Interpreting Archaeological Data

The Bayesian Approach to Statistical Archaeology. Outline of the Approach. Modelling in Archaeology. Quantifying Uncertainty: The Probability Concept. Statistical Modelling. Bivariate and Multivariate Distributions. Bayesian Inference. Implementation Issues. Interpretation of Radiocarbon Results. Spatial Analysis. Sourcing and Provenancing. Application to Other Dating Methods. The Way Forward. References. Index.
Discriminative and Robust Attribute Alignment for Zero-Shot Learning

Zero-shot learning (ZSL) aims to learn models that can recognize images of semantically related unseen categories, through transferring attribute-based knowledge learned from training data of seen classes to unseen testing data. As visual attributes play a vital role in ZSL, recent embedding-based methods usually focus on learning a compatibility function between the visual representation and the class semantic attributes. While in this work, in addition to simply learning the region embedding of different semantic attributes to maintain the generalization capability of the learned model, we further consider to improve the discrimination power of the learned visual features themselves by contrastive embedding. It exploits both the class-wise and instance-wise supervision for GZSL, under the attribute guided weakly supervised representation learning framework. To further improve the robustness of the ZSL model, we also propose to train the model under the consistency regularization constraint, through taking full advantages of self-supervised signals of the image under various perturbed augmentation situations, which could make the model robust to some occluded or un-related attribute regions. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed ZSL method, achieving superior performances to state-of-the-art methods on three widely-used benchmark datasets, namely CUB, SUN, and AWA2. Our source code is released at https://github.com/KORIYN/CC-ZSL.
Outgassing asymmetry of periodic Comet Encke. II. Apparitions 1868-1918 and a study of the nucleus evolution

Directed outgassing from isolated sources on P/Encke's rotating nucleus is investigated based on observations made between 1868 and 1918. A model of a collimated particle flow which identifies a sunward fan-like coma with the emission cone described by the ejecta from a discrete active region is shown to account for physical observations of the comet's perihelion. The results support nucleus precession, with a time-variable rate averaging about 1 degree per revolution. It is suggested that wall collapse and other processes limit the lifespans of individual vents to only a few hundred years or so. Differences between new and old vents are considered. 158 references.
Multimorbid Patterns and Cognitive Performance in the Presence of Informative Dropout Among Community-Dwelling Taiwanese Older Adults

Abstract Background and Objectives Longitudinal studies among older adults often feature elevated dropout rates and multiple chronic conditions. How Taiwanese multimorbid patterns relate to different cognitive domains remains unclear. This study aims to identify sex-specific multimorbid patterns and associate them with cognitive performance while modeling the risk for dropout. Research Design and Methods A prospective cohort study (2011–19) in Taiwan recruited 449 Taiwanese older adults without dementia. Global and domain-specific cognition were assessed biennially. We used exploratory factor analysis to identify baseline sex-specific multimorbid patterns of 19 self-reported chronic conditions. We utilized a joint model incorporating longitudinal and time-to-dropout data to examine the association between multimorbid patterns and cognitive performance accounting for the informative dropout via the shared random effect. Results At the end of the study, 324 participants (72.1%) remained in the cohort, with an average annual attrition rate of 5.5%. We found that advanced age, low levels of physical activities, and poor cognition at baseline were associated with increased dropout risks. Besides, 6 multimorbid patterns were identified, labeled Mental, Renal–vascular, and Cancer–urinary patterns in men, and Mental, Cardiometabolic, and Cancer–endocrine patterns in women. For men, as the follow-up time increased, the Mental pattern was associated with poor global cognition and attention; the Renal–vascular pattern was associated with poor executive function. For women, the Mental pattern was associated with poor memory; as follow-up time increased, and Cardiometabolic patterns were related to poor memory. Discussion and Implications Sex-specific multimorbid patterns identified in the Taiwanese older population showed differences (notably Renal–vascular pattern in men) from patterns found in Western countries and were differentially associated with cognitive impairment over time. When informative dropout is suspected, appropriate statistical methods should be applied.
The Relationship between Dietary Flavonols Intake and Metabolic Syndrome in Polish Adults

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of metabolic disorders primarily caused by central obesity, which results in chronic inflammation leading to hypertension, diabetes and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Inflammation underlying MetS could be the target for dietary flavonols as they present antioxidative properties. The aim of this paper was to analyze the differences in habitual intake of selected flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin and myricetin) between MetS patients and healthy participants, and its relationship with MetS advancement. Ninety participants were enrolled in this study. The one-year flavonol intake was assessed with a dedicated food frequency questionnaire. The patients with MetS consumed significantly less quercetin (p = 0.01), kaempferol (p = 0.04), isorhamnetin (p < 0.001), total flavonols (p = 0.01), tomatoes (p = 0.001) and wine (p = 0.01) daily. Further analysis revealed a moderate inverse correlation between quercetin (p = 0.001), kaempferol (p = 0.01), isorhamnetin (p < 0.001), total flavonols (p = 0.001) and tomato consumption (p = 0.004) and MetS stage. The analysis of laboratory parameters showed that dietary intake of flavonols was not correlated with lipid profile, glucose level or renal function. On the basis of this observation, a potential protective effect of dietary flavonols, mainly from tomatoes, against MetS could be suggested. However, when referring to MetS components, flavonols probably mainly impact central obesity and blood pressure, without a significant impact on conventional lipid-profile parameters and glucose level.
Numerical simulations of precipitation in the complex terrain of Iceland - Comparison with glaciological and hydrological data

Atmospheric flow over Iceland has been simulated for the period September 1987 through June 2003, using the PSU/NCAR MM5 mesoscale model driven by initial and boundary data from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The simulated precipitation is compared with two types of indirect precipitation observations. Firstly, snow accumulation on two large ice caps in SE-Iceland and on two large glaciers in central Iceland. Secondly, model output is used as input to the WaSiM-ETH hydrological model to calculate and compare the runoff with observed runoff from six watersheds in Iceland for the water years 1987-2002. Model precipitation compares favourably with both types of validation data. The seasonal and inter-annual variability of precipitation is investigated at low as well as high altitudes. The simulations reveal a negative trend in the winter precipitation in W-Iceland, but a positive trend in the ratio of lowland precipitation to mountain precipitation in E-Iceland. There is in general a substantial inter-annual variability in the ratio of lowland precipitation to precipitation in the mountains, especially in E-Iceland, emphasizing the limitation of precipitation observations in the lowlands as a proxy for precipitation in the mountains. In order to assess the impact of orography on the precipitation climate of Iceland, precipitation is simulated with flat Iceland and compared to a simulation with true orography. It is found that the mountains contribute to a total increase of precipitation in Iceland of the order of 40 %.
Provision of Dental Care to Indigenous South Australians and Impacts on Improved General Health: Study Protocol

Background: Indigenous South Australians carry a disproportionate burden of dental diseases, with approximately 80 percent of Indigenous adults having both periodontal disease and dental caries. The chronic inflammatory nature of many dental conditions means there are widespread systemic impacts, particularly on type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Evidence suggests there are barriers experienced by Indigenous South Australians in accessing timely and culturally safe dental care. This study aims to: (1) elicit the views of Indigenous South Australians regarding their perspectives of what comprises culturally safe dental care; (2) provide such dental care and; (3) assess any changes in both oral and general health using point-of-care testing following receipt of timely, comprehensive and culturally safe dental care. Methods/Design: This mixed-methods study will involve qualitative interviews and an intervention without randomisation. The qualitative component will comprise seeking perspectives of Indigenous South Australians regarding what culturally safe dental care means for them. For the intervention component, participants will take part in oral epidemiological examinations at baseline and 12-month follow-up (after receipt of dental care), which will include collection of saliva, plaque and calculus, as well as completion of a self-report questionnaire. The primary outcome measures—changes in type 2 diabetes (HbA1c), cardiovascular disease (CRP) and chronic kidney disease (ACR)—will be obtained by blood/urine spot from a finger prick/urine collection at baseline and 12-month follow-up via point-of-care testing. Results: Participant recruitment will commence in July 2022. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication one year after recruitment begins. Discussion: The project will have a number of important outcomes, including increased understanding of what culturally safe dental care means for Indigenous South Australians, the delivery of such care, and empirical evidence of how culturally safe dental care leads to better prognosis for chronic diseases linked with poor oral health. This will be important for health services planning, especially in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation sector, where the management of dental diseases in a culturally safe manner for better chronic disease outcomes is currently insufficiently understood, planned and budgeted for.
Two-dimensional linear prediction: Autocorrelation arrays, minimum-phase prediction error filters, and reflection coefficient arrays

In this paper, a number of results in one-dimensional (1-D) linear prediction theory are extended to the two-dimensional (2-D) case. It is shown that the class of 2-D minimum mean-square linear prediction error filters with continuous support have the minimum-phase property and the correlation-matching property, and that they can be solved by means of a 2-D Levinson algorithm. A significant practical result to emerge from this theory is a reflection coefficient representation for 2-D minimum-phase filters. This representation provides a domain in which to construct 2-D filters, such that the minimum-phase condition is automatically satisfied.
Layer-to-Layer Grating Coupler Based on Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon for Three-Dimensional Optical Circuits

A high-index-contrast grating coupler based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was demonstrated as a layer-to-layer coupler. a-Si:H was deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and vertically stacked with SiO2 for multilayer integration. The distance between the multilayer waveguides was fixed to 1 µm for optical isolation. The grating coupler pair was fabricated on the basis of simulation results. From the measurements of a fabricated grating coupler in the C-band, the maximum coupling efficiency was estimated to be 22%.
Distributed and Localized Active Vibration Isolation in Membrane Structures

Once a membrane starts vibrating, suppressing the vibration is very difficult. Thus, the present study primarily aims at isolating a membrane from major disturbance sources, that is, from support structures. The present study introduces weblike suspension cables around a membrane and develops in theory a vibration-isolation strategy applied only along the cables. First, collocated small actuators/sensors are attached at the interfaces of the cables and the membrane to realize a distributed cable-tension control. Second, linear theory-based localized controllers are designed for suspension-cable substructural models. The feedback laws for these two kinds of controllers are derived employing a partitioned equation of motion. The resultant control system is lightweight, simple, low order, robust, and redundant A series of transient analyses using a geometrically nonlinear finite-element method corroborates the effectiveness of the proposed vibration-isolation strategy.
Efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well blue light-emitting diodes grown on free-standing GaN substrate

In this work, the dislocation-related efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was investigated by comparing the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of GaN grown on c-plane sapphire and free-standing GaN substrate over a wide range of operation conditions. The values of A, B, and C coefficients had been iteratively obtained by fitting quantum efficiency in the rate equation model. Analysis revealed that threading dislocation density was strongly related to the decrease in EQE of InGaN LEDs at elevated currents by introducing a number of acceptor-like levels with the energy EA lying within the band gap.
Rotational excitation of ortho-NH3 by para-H2

Inelastic collision cross sections and low-temperature rate coefficients (15<or=T<or= 300K) are presented for the process of collisional excitation of ortho-NH3 by para-H2 in its rovibrational ground state ( nu =j=0). The results have been obtained with the quantum mechanical coupled-channels technique, using an ab initio NH3-H2 potential-energy surface. Comparison is made with previous calculations of rate coefficients for the excitation of ortho-NH3 by He.
Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll b on the Light Acclimation of Tomato

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) is one of the widely cultured vegetables under protected cultivation, in which insufficient light is one of the major factors that limit its growth, yield, and quality. Chlorophyll b (Chl b) is exclusively present in the light-harvesting complex (LHC) of photosystems, while its synthesis is strictly regulated in response to light conditions in order to control the antenna size. Chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO) is the sole enzyme that converts Chl a to Chl b for Chl b biosynthesis. Previous studies have shown that overexpressing CAO without the regulating domain (A domain) in Arabidopsis overproduced Chl b. However, the growth characteristics of the Chl b overproduced plants under different light environmental conditions are not well studied. Considering tomatoes are light-loving plants and sensitive to low light stress, this study aimed to uncover the growth character of tomatoes with enhanced production of Chl b. The A domain deleted Arabidopsis CAO fused with the FLAG tag (BCF) was overexpressed in tomatoes. The BCF overexpressed plants accumulated a significantly higher Chl b content, resulting in a significantly lower Chl a/b ratio than WT. Additionally, BCF plants possessed a lower maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and anthocyanin content than WT plants. The growth rate of BCF plants was significantly faster than WT plants under low-light (LL) conditions with light intensity at 50–70 µmol photons m−2 s−1, while BCF plants grew slower than WT plants under high-light (HL) conditions. Our results revealed that Chl b overproduced tomato plants could better adapt to LL conditions by absorbing more light for photosynthesis but adapt poorly to excess light conditions by accumulating more ROS and fewer anthocyanins. Enhanced production of Chl b is able to improve the growth rate of tomatoes that are grown under LL conditions, indicating the prospect of employing Chl b overproduced light-loving crops and ornamental plants for protected or indoor cultivation.
Adolescent Post-traumatic Stress Disorder as a Mediator Between Childhood Negative Life Event Types and Depression

The aim of the current research was to understand how subtypes of childhood negative life events (NLEs) contribute to adolescent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and depression, as well as the mediating effects of PTSD symptoms in the relationship of stress of NLEs and depression. The sample included 447 Chinese young people from 12 to 24. The participants were asked to report subtypes of their experienced childhood NLEs as well as past and current stress intensity of the NLEs. Then their current PTSD and depression symptoms were measured. Results found that among the past stress of NLEs, such as family violence or abuse had a significant impact on depression symptoms. Among the current stress of NLEs, such as death of family member or friend and serious illness or injuries had significant impacts on depression. Moreover, PTSD symptoms had partial mediating effect in the relationship between the past stress of NLEs and adolescent depression, and full mediating effect in the relationship between the current stress of NLEs and adolescent depression. These results suggested that the impacts of childhood NLEs on adolescent PTSD and depression are multi-dimentional. Future intervention of adolescent PTSD and depression should take the expousre experieces of specific types of NLEs into consideration.