Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term persistence of soil organic matter in Amazonian Dark Earth

Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE), highly fertile pre-Columbian anthropic soils found in the Amazon, have intrigued scientists for decades. Despite tropical conditions, these soils exhibit large contents of carbon (C) and nutrients (particularly Ca and P), contrasting with the poor adjacent soils (ADJ) from the Amazon. High carbon (C) content in ADE has been linked with the occurrence of black carbon (BC) in these soils. BC has been claimed to be highly resistant to decomposition due to its polycondensed aromatic structure. However, recent advancements indicate that intrinsic chemical characteristics do not fully explain long-term persistence of soil organic matter (SOM). Soil minerals are known to play an important role on the mechanisms of SOM stabilization mainly through adsorption of SOM onto the surface of reactive soil minerals (i.e. Fe and Al oxides). However, the relative contribution of mineral protection versus chemical recalcitrance in explaining long-term persistence of SOM in ADE is poorly understood. The overall objective of this PhD thesis was to investigate the interactive roles of BC, Ca and P in explaining long-term persistence of SOM in ADE. Overall, my results (Chapter 3–5) have major implications for a common SOM methodology proposed to isolate a ‘stable’ pool of SOM upon chemical oxidation with NaOCl and to subsequently differentiate and quantify the relative contribution of two mechanisms of SOM stabilization (i.e. mineral association and chemical recalcitrance) upon soil demineralization with HF. Combining data from Chapters 4 and 5, it seems like BC is removed upon chemical oxidation with NaOCl and therefore is part of the operationally defined ‘labile’ rather than the ‘stable’ SOM pool. Removal of BC with NaOCl raises questions about the contrast between low resistance of BC towards chemical oxidation and apparent high resistance of BC against biological oxidation, which certainly deserves more attention in future studies. Furthermore, my results shed light on the importance of high Ca and P inputs (Chapter 2 and 5) besides the occurrence of BC in ADE (Chapter 5) in explaining long-term persistence of SOM in ADE. In my thesis, I propose that it is the interaction between OM inputs (including BC inputs), Ca and P that are responsible for the long-term persistence of large SOM contents in ADE, which brings major implications for the sole use of charred OM (i.e. biochar) as a strategy to reproduce ADE desirable characteristics in other soils.
Deciphering the Stress State of Seismogenic Faults in Oklahoma and Southern Kansas Based on an Improved Stress Map

Fault location and geometry are critical considerations in the reactivation of preexisting faults. Here, we combine relocated earthquake catalogs and focal mechanisms to delineate seismogenic faults in Oklahoma and southern Kansas and analyze their stress state. We first identify and map seismogenic faults based on earthquake clustering. We then obtain an improved stress map using 2,047 high‐quality focal mechanisms. The regional stress map shows a gradual transition from oblique normal faulting in western Oklahoma to strike‐slip faulting in central and eastern Oklahoma. Stress amplitude ratio shows a strong correlation with pore pressure from hydrogeologic models, suggesting that pore pressure exhibits a measurable influence on stress patterns. Finally, we assess fault stress state via 3‐D Mohr circles; a parameter understress is used to quantify the level of fault criticality (with 0 meaning critically stressed faults and 1 meaning faults with no applied shear stress). Our results indicate that most active faults have near vertical planes (planarity >0.8 and dip >70°), and there is a strong correlation between fault length and maximum magnitude on each fault. The fault trends show prominent conjugate sets that strike [55–75°] and [105–125°]. A comparison with mapped sedimentary faults and basement fractures reveals common tectonic control. Based on 3‐D Mohr circles, we find that 78% of the faults are critically stressed (understress ≤0.2), while several seismogenic faults are misoriented with high understress (>0.4). Fault geometry and local stress fields may be used to evaluate potential seismic hazard, as the largest earthquakes tend to occur on long, critically stressed faults.
Information to Bereaved Families Following Catastrophic Losses. Why Is It Important?

Abstract Based on extensive experience from clinical practice and research, we illustrate the importance of information provided to the bereaved following the death of a family member. When something happens to loved ones, family members seek out information to reduce insecurity and to understand what has happened. The combination of good information and a caring climate is the basis of good grief crisis intervention. Facts help to replace chaos with coherence and structure, and information about one’s own and others’ reactions normalizes thoughts and reactions. We describe various strategies to help bereaved to “get a grip” on the situation.
The Use of Variable Angle Locking SynthesTM Plates in Foot Reconstructive and Fusion Procedures-A Non-Inventor Centre Report

Introduction: The use of locking plates over other conventional methods in fusion and reconstructive foot surgery has become popular. We report our experience with the use of Variable Angle SynthesTM plates in reconstructive and joint fusion procedures. Methods: Seventy one foot reconstructive and fusion procedures in 48 consecutive patients were performed between June 2012 and September 2014. Data was sourced from theatre log, ORMIS, PACS and Dictate IT. An independent observer carried out retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on patient demographics, indication for surgery, co-morbidities, type of surgical procedure, radiological outcome of union rates and time to union, pre and post-op patient reported outcome scores (MOXFQ score and EQ-5D) and complication rates. Results: The mean age was 59 (range 32-78) years with a 2:1 female predominance. Indication for surgery was degenerative arthritis (55 procedures) in most cases. The overall union rate was 93% with time to union being 6 to 16 weeks in osteotomies and 12 to 32 weeks in fusion procedures. Amongst the 8 delayed unions (3 smokers, 1 Diabetic) and 5 non-unions (2 Diabetics, 2 rheumatoid arthritis on Anti-TNF treatment). There was 1 peri-implant fracture, 2 superficial wound infections, 3 metalwork failures. There was a significant improvement in MOXFQ and EQ-5D scores. Conclusion: This series reports a high union rate, a low number of fixation-related complications, and significant improvement in the patient reported outcome measures with the use of Variable Angle SynthesTM foot plates. There was an association between delayed/non-union and smoking, diabetes and inflammatory Arthritis.
Linking product modularity to supply chain integration and flexibility

Abstract This study builds a moderated mediation model to empirically investigate the impacts of product modularity and supply chain integration (i.e. supplier, customer, and internal integration) on the flexibility and moderating effects of the product life cycle (i.e. growth and maturity stages) on the relationships using data collected from 204 Chinese manufacturers. The findings reveal that both supplier integration and internal integration mediate the relationship between product modularity and flexibility. Moreover, the indirect effect of product modularity on flexibility through supplier integration is stronger during the growth stage than during the maturity stage. There is no difference in the indirect effect of product modularity on flexibility through internal integration, which is significant in both the growth and maturity stages. In addition, the impact of product modularity on customer integration is significantly stronger, whereas that of customer integration on flexibility is significantly weaker during the growth stage than during the maturity stage.
Input devices in immersive environments

Recently, Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR) head-mounted displays have become affordable. However, efficient solutions for pointing tasks and text entry in VR and AR remain a challenge. Controllers are the typical input device in VR and many AR systems, but they are not as efficient as the mouse. Here, we investigate a pen-like pointing device that matches or exceeds the mouse’s performance. We performed a user study to compare several input devices and our results show that our 3D pen significantly outperforms modern VR controllers in all evaluated measures and that it is comparable to the mouse. Text entry is a challenging task in modern VR systems, yet virtual keyboards are relatively inefficient. We introduce here a keyboard on a hawker’s tray worn in front of the user, which affords compact, simple, flexible, and efficient text entry solution. We ran a text entry study with standing users, involving both lower-case sentences as well as symbols. The results show that text entry rates are affected negatively by simplistic keyboard visualizations and that our video-based solution affords desktop text entry rates.
Antimicrobial and anticancer potential of Petiveria alliacea L. (Herb to “Tame the Master”): A review

Petiveria alliacea is a perennial Amazonian shrub used in traditional medicine for many purposes worldwide, including as antirheumatic, antispasmodic, antifungal, and analgesic for pain relief. Herein, this review aimed to provide a concise overview of the phytochemistry and antimicrobial, anticancer, and immunomodulatory properties reported in the literature for P. alliacea. The herb is rich in sulfur-containing compounds that possess a broad-spectrum of in vitro antimicrobial activity against pathogenic fungi and bacteria at low concentrations. P. alliacea also showed cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines through sophisticated machinery of cellular damage in vitro. Other compounds such as flavonoids, terpenoids, and benzenoids are commonly identified in P. alliacea extracts, and they may also justify these activities. Despite the great pharmacological potential, clinical trials are required to ensure its effectiveness and safety. This review may raise new trends on the studies as well as contribute to the community by offering data for decision-making with regard to its use in treating diseases.
Is It Always Good to Talk? The Paradoxes of Truth-Telling by Rwandan Youth Born of Rape Committed during the Genocide

ABSTRACT Social scientists have extensively debated the virtues, pitfalls, and practical effects of open dialogue and truth-telling versus silence and concealment in global post-conflict endeavours for justice and reconciliation. This article addresses these debates not by endorsing practices of either talk or silence, but by investigating the practical dilemmas faced by Rwandan youth born of rape committed during the 1994 genocide as they find themselves caught in dual cultural imperatives to reveal and to conceal the circumstances of their origins. On the one hand, the post-genocide moment has seen the rise of truth-telling and self-revelation through testimonial practices in settings like post-genocide trials and reconciliation or peace-building workshops. On the other hand, silence and concealment are accepted and expected modes of dealing with hardship in Rwandan cultural practice, and youth participants struggled with the stigma of having been born of genocidal rape. We argue that the youths’ ambivalent and sometimes contradictory moral evaluations of talking about versus hiding their origins highlight the challenges and complexities of identity and belonging in post-genocide Rwanda, since their very existence draws them, their mothers, and their perpetrator-fathers into ongoing relationships. These youths’ lives and experiences speak to larger and powerful conundrums at the heart of what it means to live with legacies of violence, including what should be said or remain unsaid, and how the very opposition between revealing and concealing can be confounded by social and cultural variances in the meaning of “truth. ”
Enobosarm: A targeted therapy for metastatic, androgen receptor positive, breast cancer.

568 Background: The androgen receptor (AR) is the most highly expressed steroid receptor in breast cancer (BC) with 75-95% of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and 50% of ER negative BCs expressing AR. Prior studies have shown that women with metastatic BC (MBC) who are progressing on tamoxifen subsequently respond to non-tissue-selective, synthetic androgens with overall response rates of 20-60%. Unfortunately steroidal androgens have unwanted virilizing effects which limit clinical use. Enobosarm, a nonsteroidal, tissue-selective, AR modulator (SARM), provides a novel targeted approach to exploit the therapeutic benefits of AR activation without virilization or estrogenic effects. Methods: A proof of concept, phase II study is examining efficacy and safety of enobosarm 9mg daily in 22 postmenopausal women with ER+ MBC who previously responded to adjuvant and/or salvage endocrine therapy. Treatment continues until disease progression (PD). Primary endpoint is clinical benefit response (CBR) by 6 months (m.
A Hermeneutic Study of Service Improvement Experiences in Nursing: From Student to Newly Registered Nurse

Service improvements in healthcare can improve service provision; make cost efficiency savings, streamline services and reduce clinical errors. However, service improvement alone may not be adequate in improving patient outcomes and quality of care. Complexity of healthcare provision makes service improvement a challenge, and there is little evidence of whether service improvement initiatives change healthcare practice and improve patient care. To equip the nursing workforce with the skills necessary to make service improvements, Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) have developed courses that include service improvement within their pre-registration programmes. However, service improvement is a learned skill, which nurses need to practice in order to become competent in making improvements. In order to explore service improvement in nursing, hermeneutic phenomenology was used to gain an understanding of the lived experiences from student to registered nurse. A purposive sample of twenty participants were selected from an adult pre-registration nursing programme, during their third year. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews in two phases; once when the participants were student nurses and 12 months later when the same participants were registered nurses. Data analysis occurred using a van Manen (1990) approach and the hermeneutic circle to facilitate interpretation and analysis of findings. Four key themes emerged from the data; service improvement in nursing; socialisation in nursing practice; power and powerlessness and challenges in changing practice. Findings showed that the participants underwent processes of professional transformation, becoming empowered and developing resilience in making service improvements from student to registered nurse. Participants achieved this by developing positive, adaptive behaviours. A new ‘Model of Self-efficacy in Service Improvement Enablement’ is presented which explains the participant’s service improvement journey. This new model has relevance for both nurse education and practice, in seeking to improve patient care through service improvements in nursing.
A case study of undergraduate international students' experiences in a service-learning course and the impact on their academic transition

The purpose of this case study was to understand how a service-learning course affects the academic transition of undergraduate-level international students attending a private university in the northeastern United States. To achieve this purpose, three research questions were developed as a foundation for this investigation: a) What do undergraduate international students learn from a service-learning experience that shapes their academic transition? b) How do undergraduate international students view their academic experience in their home country after participating in a service-learning program? c) How does a service-learning experience contribute to the English language proficiency of undergraduate international students? Data included eight semi-structured in-depth interviews, eight classroom presentation observations, field notes, and document review. Data was analyzed using descriptive and in vivo methods, axial coding, comparative analysis, and a series of coding strategies. Participants represented a variety of demographics of the site institution, including country of origin and gender. Findings show that as a result of a service-learning experience undergraduate international students assimilate to academic expectations in the United States by valuing the application of knowledge learned in the classroom to real world contexts, engaging in collaborative learning environments, and adapting to critical thinking expectations by analyzing biases, withholding judgement, and practicing patience. Data shows that for undergraduate international students who did not speak English as their primary language, service-learning provided an opportunity for students to practice and improve their language skills, and develop linguistic confidence and self-esteem. Data illustrates that undergraduate international students reflected on their academic experiences in their home country and characterized it as teacher centered, more demanding, and less flexible when choosing an academic path. Additionally,
Risk of Hypertension in Adolescents with Over Nutritional Status in Pangkalpinang, Indonesia

Background : Adolescents are the changes of children to be adults. Gender, family history of disease, age, sodium intake and physical activity affect the pravelence of hypertension Adolescences are the time change from children into adults. Gender, family history of disease, body mass index or BMI according to age, sodium intake and physical activity affect the prevalence of hypertension in adulthood. Â Hypertension disorders in teenagers most will settle on adulthood. This study aimed to analyze risk factors of hypertension in adolescent aged 15-17 years with over nutritional status. Subject and Methods : This was an observational analytic study with cross sectional design. This was conducted in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Indonesia. A total of 120 students in grade X-XI in four high schools were selected by fixed-exposure sampling. BMI measurement used antropometri. Physical activity questionnaire used International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Sodium intake was measured with a food frequency questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured by using a sphygmomanometer. Data analysis was using a multiple linear regression. Results :Â Gender and nutritional status more positively associated with hypertension, (B = 5.77; p = 0.017) and (B = 4.85; p = 0.001), while sodium intake,Â family disease history and physical activity have a negative relationship, (B = 0.01; p = -0.01; p = 0.592). Multiple linear analysis obtained adjusted R2 = 0356 (35.6%). Conclusions : Young men have a higher average blood pressure than women of 5.77 mmHg. Any increase of 1 kg/m2 equivalent BMI will raise the blood pressure of 4.85 mmHg. Adolescents with more nutritional status can increase knowledge about hypertension, as well as regulate eating habits according to needs of physical growth and development. Keywords : hypertension, adolescent, gender, family history of disease, BMI, sodium intake, physical activity. Correspondence:Â Mirza Yusrizal. Health Department of Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung, Indonesia. Email: mirzayusrizal@yahoo.co.id Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health (2016), 1(1): 27-36 https://doi.org/10.26911/jepublichealth.2016. 01.01. 04 Â
Total knee arthroplasty with the PFC system

A consecutive series of 235 total knee arthroplasties using the PFC system was followed prospectively for at least ten years in 186 patients. The operation was for osteoarthritis in 150 knees, for rheumatoid arthritis in 83, and for Paget's disease and femoral osteonecrosis in one knee each. At the latest review 56 patients had died, five were too ill to assess and three could not be traced. The PFC knee replacement utilised was a non-conforming posterior-cruciate-retaining prosthesis with a polyethylene insert which is flat in the sagittal plane. The patella was resurfaced using a metal-backed component in 170 cases, but later in the series we used an all-polyethylene component in 22 knees; 43 patellae were not resurfaced. The survival without need for reoperation for any reason was 90% at ten years. Nineteen revisions were component-related due to failure of nine metal-backed patellae, nine polyethylene inserts, and one unresurfaced patella; two reoperations were for synovectomy (one for recurrent haemarthrosis and one for recurrent rheumatoid synovitis) and three were for metastatic joint infection. There were no revisions for aseptic loosening of femoral or tibial components, or the all-polyethylene patellar replacement. The PFC system provides good and predictable results in tricompartmental arthritis of the knee. Loosening appeared to be negligible, but there were wear-related problems in 8%. The change from a metal-backed patella and an increase in the contact area of the tibial insert should provide further improvement by minimising wear.
Fabrication of a Novel Electrochemical Sensor for Simultaneous Determination of Toxic Lead and Cadmium Ions

Background: Highly sensitive and rapid monitoring of heavy metal ions such as lead and cadmium has attracted considerable interest in analytical chemistry due to serious environmental effects of these ions. Objectives: In this work, clay/carbon nanocomposite modified with an organic ligand was applied as a novel modifier for simultaneous measurement of Pb (II) and Cd (II) in water samples. Methods: The characterization of the modifier was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The analytical performance of the method was investigated by the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric (DPASV) technique using a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with the prepared nanocomposite. Results: Under the selected optimized conditions, a linear voltammetric response in the range of 2.0 100.0 ppb was obtained for the both analyte ions. The calculated detection limits (S/N = 3) were found to be 1.1 ppb for Pb (II) and 0.7 ppb for Cd (II), which are below the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values for lead and cadmium in drinking water. The method was successfully applied for determination of noxious Pb (II) and Cd (II) ions in real waters with acceptable recoveries for the spiked samples. Conclusions: A simple, selective and sensitive electrochemical sensor was prepared and applied for simultaneous detection of Pb (II) and Cd (II). The suggested sensor demonstrated good electrochemical performance and anti-interference capability for electrochemical detection of these ions in real water samples using the DPASV method.