Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the Mechanisms of Radio-Dynamic Therapy

Purpose: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses light-activated drugs to treat diseases ranging from cancer to age-related macular degeneration and antibiotic-resistant infections. The finite penetration depth of light has limited the clinical application of PDT. This work investigates the substitution of light in PDT using Cerenkov light induced by 45MV photon beams from the LA45 therapy accelerator. This new treatment technique has been named radio-dynamic therapy (RDT) and this paper investigates the dosimetric requirement of RDT. Method: Cerenkov light and its spectrum induced by 45MV x-ray beams from a LA45 therapy accelerator, was simulated with the Monte Carlo method. The excitation efficiency of Cerenkov light in RDT was theoretically studied and compared with the excitation efficiency of external laser light in PDT. Experiments were carried out to enhance the excitation efficiency for singlet oxygen production with specific coenzymes as substrates. These results were compared with previous experimental work reported in the literature. Results: Our Monte Carlo results showed that the intensity of Cerenkov light induced by 45MV photons from a LA45 accelerator was 5-8 times of that induced by 6MV photons from conventional radiotherapy accelerators. The excitation effect for the homogeneous internal Cerenkov light distribution induced by 3DCRT was over 10 times of that by external laser light that is nearly exponentially attenuated in conventional PDT. According to the Soret-Band resonance absorption theory, Cerenkov light induced by 45MV X-rays, which is peaked at 370 430nm, can be 10-20 times more effective in activating PpIX to produce singlet oxygen than the 630nm laser light used in conventional PDT. Finally, the specific coenzyme enhanced excitation efficiency by 3 times. Furthermore, RDT is delivered with 3DCRT using 45MV photons from LA45 accelerators (36Gy/fraction, 1fraction/ week, 4~6weeks). This fractionated radiotherapy had a synergetic effect on the outcome of Cerenkov-induced PDT. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the light dose and fluence rate of RDT using Cerenkov light from 45MV x-rays was comparable to that in conventional PDT using the 630nm laser light. Combining the therapeutic effect of Cerenkov-induced PDT and the deep penetration and conformity of high-energy x-ray RT, RDT may be developed into a potential treatment modality for a wide range of cancers at various stages as well as for other diseases. 1 Citation: Ma CM. (2020). Investigation of the Mechanisms of Radio-Dynamic Therapy. Mathews J Cancer Sci. (5) 1: 19. Corresponding Author: DOI: https://doi.org/10.30654/MJCS.10024
Repellent foraging scent recognition across bee families

Honeybees and bumblebees avoid probing flowers that have been recently depleted by conspecifics, presumably repelled by odours deposited by the previous visitor (foraging scent marks). Here we show that females of the solitary wool-carder bee Anthidium manicatum (Megachilidae) discriminate against previously visited inflorescences (Stachys officinalis), and that discrimination is equally strong regardless of whether the previous visitor is conspecific or belongs to a different bee family (Bombus terrestris, Apidae). Conversely, workers of B. terrestris responded differentially to different previous visitors, with previous visits by A. manicatum eliciting the most pronounced repellent effect. This finding may have resulted from the bumblebees' avoidance of impending aggression by territorial A. manicatum males. Our results emphasize that foraging scent mark recognition is not necessarily linked to sociality, but a trait of individuals foraging in an unpredictable flower visitor community. scent marks / footprints / flower discrimination / Bombus / Anthidium
Assessing the impact of coordinated COVID-19 exit strategies across Europe

Better relaxing lockdown together Even during a pandemic, all countries—even islands—are dependent in one way or another on their neighbors. Without coordinated relaxation of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) among the most closely connected countries, it is difficult to envisage maintaining control of infectious viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Ruktanonchai et al. used mobility data from smartphones to estimate movements between administrative units across Europe before and after the implementation of NPIs for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Modeling disease dynamics under alternative scenarios of countries releasing NPIs, in particular stay-at-home orders, showed that if countries do not coordinate their NPIs when they relax lockdown, resurgence of disease occurs sooner. Coordination of on-off NPIs would significantly increase their effectiveness at reducing transmission across Europe. Science, this issue p. 1465 Coordination among countries in easing restrictions is key to preventing resurgent COVID-19 outbreaks and stopping community transmission. As rates of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases decline across Europe owing to nonpharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing policies and lockdown measures, countries require guidance on how to ease restrictions while minimizing the risk of resurgent outbreaks. We use mobility and case data to quantify how coordinated exit strategies could delay continental resurgence and limit community transmission of COVID-19. We find that a resurgent continental epidemic could occur as many as 5 weeks earlier when well-connected countries with stringent existing interventions end their interventions prematurely. Further, we find that appropriate coordination can greatly improve the likelihood of eliminating community transmission throughout Europe. In particular, synchronizing intermittent lockdowns across Europe means that half as many lockdown periods would be required to end continent-wide community transmission.
SPATIOTEMPORAL RESPONSES OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS TO TIMBER HARVEST TREATMENTS

Abstract We compared the influence of clearcut and selective timber harvest treatments on spatial and temporal variability of amphibians and reptiles in an east Texas bottomland hardwood forest. The dataset represented a time series of 5 years post-treatment. A total of 18,645 amphibians and reptiles was captured in 144 pitfall arrays. We used 9 plots (3 clearcut, 3 select cut, and 3 untreated). Each plot had 16 arrays and was bisected by 1 of 3 streams. Pitfall captures represented 46 species (16 amphibians, 30 reptiles). When analyzed with a traditional ANOVA approach, these data suggested an increase in reptile species richness in response to clearcut treatments; amphibian species richness did not respond to treatment. When analyzed as a time series, however, the data revealed fluctuations in site use by species and species groups, and these fluctuations were independent of treatment effects. Exploratory analyses of spatio-temporal dynamics showed that species richness and the relative abundance of common species displayed spatial patterns that remained consistent over time. In control and select cut treatments, spatial patterns of richness and abundance shifted over time and were not necessarily confined to areas adjacent to streams. In clearcuts, stationary habitat refugia were located within riparian management zones.
CASE STUDY: Effect of Supplemental Live Yeast on Yield of Milk and Milk Components in High-Producing Multiparous Holstein Cows

ABSTRACT A well-managed, high-producing commercial dairy herd was used to test the effect of supplementing live yeast (4 g/d per cow) to lactating Holstein cow diets. When data from cows on study for > 4 wk were analyzed separately, milk yield was greater (P 4 wk produced more (P 0.10) on 3.5% FCM yield, milk fat percentage, yield of milk fat, or milk true protein percentage over the entire test period. Overall milk true protein yield tended (P = 0.11) to be higher with the addition of live yeast to the diet. Milk urea nitrogen (mg/dL) and SCC were not affected (P > 0.10) by treatment. Cows supplemented with live yeast produced milk with a higher percentage of lactose and solids-not-fat (P
Situational factors affecting Software Engineers Sustainability: A Vision of Modern Code Review

Code review is a sustainable software engineering practice to assure software quality. Presently it is performed by software engineers with the help of tool support, for instance, Gerrit and termed as Modern Code Review (MCR). It is a lightweight way to deal with distinguishing abandons from source code. Software engineer's efficiency while performing MCR activities is exposed to varying people related situational factors that impact the software engineer's sustainability. The literature lacks the identification of people related situational factors in MCR. For successful MCR results, there is a need to distinguish people concerning situational factors to enhance the productivity and competence of software engineers for their sustainability. Therefore, this investigation intends to recognize situational variables influencing the ability and efficiency of software engineers. The systematic methodology utilized for this examination is Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The study results reported 52 situational factors. The situational factors are assembled into four fundamental classifications such as team, team interaction, reviewer response and knowledge sharing. The grounded theory approach has been applied to get final unique list of people related situational factors and sub factors. The investigation will be useful for expert performing examination seeing situational factors as well as the sustainability of software engineers engaged with MCR activities.
In-depth virological assessment of kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has spread widely, causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and significant mortality. However, data on viral loads and antibody kinetics in immunocompromised populations are lacking. We aimed to determine nasopharyngeal and plasma viral loads via reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and SARS‐CoV‐2 serology via enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and study their association with severe forms of COVID‐19 and death in kidney transplant recipients. In this study, we examined hospitalized kidney transplant recipients with nonsevere (n = 21) and severe (n = 19) COVID‐19. SARS‐CoV‐2 nasopharyngeal and plasma viral load and serological response were evaluated based on outcomes and disease severity. Ten recipients (25%) displayed persistent viral shedding 30 days after symptom onset. The SARS‐CoV‐2 viral load of the upper respiratory tract was not associated with severe COVID‐19, whereas the plasma viral load was associated with COVID‐19 severity (P = .010) and mortality (P = .010). All patients harbored antibodies during the second week after symptom onset that persisted for 2 months. We conclude that plasma viral load is associated with COVID‐19 morbidity and mortality, whereas nasopharyngeal viral load is not. SARS‐CoV‐2 shedding is prolonged in kidney transplant recipients and the humoral response to SARS‐CoV‐2 does not show significant impairment in this series of transplant recipients.
Females decide whether size matters: plastic mate preferences tuned to the intensity of male–male competition

Recent studies have indicated that mating success of large males may improve under increasing levels of mating competition. This outcome is explained 1) if male mating competition is overriding female preferences for male traits that are unrelated to, or negatively correlated with, male size and dominance and, in so doing, dictates the distribution of matings or 2) if females alter their preferences with respect to large males when male--male competition is intense. Under both hypotheses, one could expect large, dominant males to be more successful under intense competition than under weak competition. However, only the first explanation predicts that male mating success under intense competition should be determined by dominance; traits that are unrelated to male dominance should be uncorrelated to mating success. In contrast, if females change their preferences (explanation 2), males with traits beneficial to females independent of the competitive environment can maintain a high mating success under all levels of male--male competition. We tested these alternatives using a small marine fish, the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. The mating success of large males increased under conditions allowing intense male competition, whereas females showed a preference for good nest building independent of the level of competition. These findings suggest that females are in control of their choice by altering their preference for male size in response to the intensity of male--male competition rather than female preference being overshadowed by male dominance. This plasticity of preferences implies that the strength of sexual selection is not constant at the population level. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.
Management of postharvest disease of mango anthracnose incited by Colletotrichum gleosporioides

Abstract Among the seven fungal (Gliocladium virens, Trichoderma hamatum, T. harzianum, T. koningii, T. longibrachiatum, T. pseudokoningii and T. viride) and two bacterial (Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens) antagonists screened against C. gloeosporioides under in vitro conditions, T. harzianum exhibited maximum inhibition followed by Pseudomonas fluorescens at 5 days after incubation. These fungal and bacterial antagonists were selected for application to fruits infected with pathogens. Fruits inoculated with C. gloeosporioides were dipped in spore/cell suspensions of fungal/bacterial antagonists and kept for different durations. The fungal antagonists T. harzianum and P. fluorescens were effective in checking the spread of pathogens on fruits compared with the pathogen-inoculated control.
New structures of the Milky Way stellar and dark halos revealed from the Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam survey

Abstract We present the recent discovery of new halo structures in the Milky Way (MW) based on the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program (SSP). HSC is a wide-field imager installed at the prime focus of the Subaru Telescope, and a 300-night survey with this instrument is being carried out in this program. The combination of the superb image quality and depth and the fact that it is a multi-band survey allows us to identify new faint satellites as well as field halo stars in the outskirts of the MW halo beyond the reach of previous surveys. We report here on the new insights into the nature of both stellar and dark halos in the MW as revealed from this on-going survey program and show prospects based on the upcoming large spectroscopic survey with Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph.
The Secret to Finding a Match: A Field Experiment on Choice Capacity Design in an Online Dating Platform

Online matching platforms require new approaches to market design because firms can now control many aspects of the search and interaction process through various IT-enabled features. Although choice capacity—the number of candidates a user can view and select—is a key design feature of online matching platforms, its effect on engagement and matching outcomes remains unclear. We examine the effect of different choice capacities on market performance by conducting a randomized field experiment in collaboration with an online dating platform. Specifically, we design four treatment groups with different choice capacities in which users can only interact with other users in the same group and randomly assign the users to the treatment groups. We find that providing more choice capacity to male and female users has different effects on choice behaviors and matching outcomes. Although increasing the choice capacity of male users yields the highest engagement, increasing the choice capacity of female users is the most effective method to increase matching outcomes. We empirically demonstrate four mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of different choice capacity designs and generalize our findings by discussing how choice capacity can be designed to increase engagement and matching outcomes.
Decoding the Imitation Security Game: Handling Attacker Imitative Behavior Deception

Real-world security problems are generally characterized by uncertainty about attackers’ preferences, behavior, or other characteristics. To handle such uncertainties, security agencies (defender) typically rely on historical attack data to build a behavior model of the attacker, and incorporate this model into generating an effective defense strategy. For example, in wildlife protection, rangers can collect poaching signs (e.g., snares) to learn the behavior of poachers. However, in the real-world, a clever attacker can manipulate its attacks to fool the learning algorithm of the defender towards its own beneﬁt. Unfortunately, existing state-of-the-art algorithms for generating defense strategies are not equipped to handle such deceptive behavior by the attacker, and this could lead to arbitrary losses for the defender. To address these challenges, this paper investigates a basic deception strategy of the attacker, termed imitative behavior deception , in which the attacker intentionally pretends to follow a speciﬁc behavior model and consistently plays according to that model, in order to optimize its utility. We have three main contributions. First, built upon previous work on attacker-behavior modeling, we introduce new algorithms to compute an optimal imitative behavior de-ception strategy of the attacker. Second, we propose a novel game-theoretic counter-deception algorithm which determines effective defense strategies, taking into account the deceptive behavior of the attacker. Third, we conduct extensive experiments, which shows that under the attacker’s deception, the defender accrues a signiﬁcant loss whereas the attacker achieves a signiﬁcant gain in utility. Our experimental results also demonstrate the impact of our counter-deception algorithm on substantially diminishing the attacker’s deception.
Studying genetic diversity of the Tunisian Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea with AFLP markers

In Northern Tunisia, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum = Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) are two important grasses for forage and soil erosion prevention. To analyse the genetic diversity within and between these indigenous forage grasses, this study was performed on a set of eight spontaneous accessions collected from different geographic sites in the North and North-West of Tunisia using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism markers (AFLP). One hundred eighty four polymorphic bands (PPB = 100%) have been generated by four EcoRI-MseI AFLP primer combinations. Among totally polymorphic bands, specific markers of each species were generated: 29 AFLP markers varying between 380 bp and 780 bp were detected for tall fescue and 13 AFLP markers ranging between 200 bp and 940 bp were recorded for perennial ryegrass. Cluster analysis of the polymorphic markers was performed with NTSYS-pc software package. Results permitted the differentiation of these two species and exhibited a high degree of diversity within and between accessions. Four individuals were clearly distinguished from Lolium-Festuca pool and could be supposed as natural hybrids revealing both Lolium and Festuca specific markers. Shannon index revealed a higher level of intra-population variation as compared to the inter-population diversity. This result may be explained by the allogamous mating system of both species. Analysis of the geographic distribution suggested two independent gene funds corresponding to each species with a substantial gene flow, particularly at Hammam Bourguiba region. The observed genetic diversity can be used for the implementation of conservation strategies and breeding programs to improve forage crops.
Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters allow the rapid detection and differentiation of plant responses in three different wheat pathosystems.

The present study was undertaken to identify chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) parameters that can quantify changes in PSII associated with plant responses in three different wheat pathosystems of foliar, stem-base and ear diseases. The pathosystems included powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis, eyespot caused by Oculimacula yallundae or Oculimacula acuformis and Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium culmorum, F. avenaceum or F. langsethiae. Fast CF transients (OJIP) were analysed with the JIP-test to determine changes in PSII photochemistry. Measurements on asymptomatic leaves showed that electron transport related parameters (ETo/RC, ψo and ϕEo) were important to identify varietal differences in resistance to powdery mildew during early stages of infection. The same parameters also allowed differentiation between F. langsethiae and other Fusarium spp. Where infections were caused by the necrotrophic pathogens, Oculimacula spp. , F. culmorum or F. avenaceum, changes related to maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv'/Fm') as well as flux of dissipated (DIo/RC), trapped (TRo/RC), or absorbed (ABS/RC) energy per active reaction centers were significant in detecting biotic stress and the effectiveness of fungicide treatment for disease control. Our results demonstrated that Fv'/Fm' correlated significantly with visual disease and pathogen DNA of different wheat pathosystems. OJIP was shown as a sensitive technique that can be explored as diagnostic tool in future crop disease management and varietal breeding programs.
Zooplankton associations in a Mediterranean long-term time-series

Coastal zooplankton have been investigated since 1984 at a Long Term Ecological Research station MC (LTER-MC) in the inner Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea, Western Mediterranean). The sampling site, located between the littoral and the open sea systems, has very active hydrography that affects plankton communities. The present work was aimed at establishing whether, in such a dynamic and variable environment, species associations and homogeneous periods could be identified as characteristic and stable features of the mesozooplankton over the period 1984–2006. Hierarchical clustering was applied to assess species associations based on a matrix of similarities between species (R-mode), and homogeneous periods based on a matrix of similarities between observations (Q-mode). The Indicator Value index [IndVal, Dufrene and Legendre (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol. Monogr. , 67, 345–366] was calculated to identify species characterizing each period. Five taxonomic groups with well-defined composition and abundance were identified as robust associations that likely reflect different modes of community functioning. The temporal course of these associations was largely shaped by strong seasonal forcing comprising both physical and biological (e.g. trophic) signals. These associations persisted over the long term, thus indicating some stable characters in the Naples zooplankton time-series, providing evidence of resilience in communities in highly variable coastal conditions.