Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biases of Shear Wave vs Transient Elastography in fibrosis assessment of patients with fatty liver disease

Background: The assessment of fibrosis in chronic liver diseases using non-invasive methods is an important topic in hepatology. Aim: To compare Shear Wave and Transient elastography and in what the possible measurement biases and discordance factors are concerned. Material and Methods: This study enrolled 139 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, who underwent assessment of hepatic fibrosis by Shear Wave and Transient elastography. Results: The results obtained by the two methods were correlated in the most cases, but discordance in one or more degrees of fibrosis stage was also found. The multiple correlations analysis regarding the predictors of discordance indicated that a significant influence was exercised by the fibrosis degree, steatosis, BMI and necroinflammatory activity. Conclusions: Shear Wave and Transient elastography appear as comparably reliable methods for assessment of liver fibrosis, but there are possible discrepancies in evaluating
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions from a Personal Care Polymer-Based Item: Simulation of the Inhalation Exposure Scenario Indoors under Actual Conditions of Use

Polymer-based items may release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors indoors, contributing to the overall VOC inhalation exposure for end users and building occupants. The main objective of the present study is the evaluation of short-term inhalation exposure to VOCs due to the use of a personal care polymer-based item, namely, one of three electric heating bags, through a strategic methodological approach and the simulation of a ‘near-to-real’ exposure scenario. Seventy two-hour test chamber experiments were first performed to characterize VOC emissions with the items on ‘not-heating mode’ and to derive related emission rates. The polyester bag was revealed to be responsible for the highest emissions both in terms of total VOC and naphthalene emissions (437 and 360 µg/m3, respectively), compared with the other two bags under investigation. Complementary investigations on ‘heating mode’ and the simulation of the exposure scenario inside a 30 m3 reference room allowed us to highlight that the use of the polyester bag in the first life-cycle period could determine a naphthalene concentration (42 µg/m3) higher than the reference Lowest Concentration of Interest (LCI) value (10 µg/m3) reported in European evaluation schemes. The present study proposes a strategic methodological approach highlighting the need for the simulation of a realistic scenario when potential hazards for human health need to be assessed.
Female preference for symmetric calls in a grasshopper

Grasshoppers produce calls by alternating use of a row of pegs on the two hind legs. The number of pegs per row in the grasshopper Myrmeleotettix maculatus demonstrated fluctuating asymmetry as shown by signed right-minus-left number of pegs having a frequency distribution not differing from a normal distribution with a mean value of zero. Peg asymmetry was significantly negatively related to mean number of pegs per leg. Peg asymmetry was relatively larger than asymmetry in femur length. A larger degree of peg asymmetry resulted in a larger degree of asymmetry in maximum frequency of chirps and asymmetry in the duration of chirps produced by the two legs. Calls produced by males with experimentally manipulated numbers and asymmetries of pegs were used in a female phonotaxis experiment. Females preferred calls of males with a larger and more symmetrical number of pegs. Peg asymmetry differed in a field sample of mated and unmated males with mated males having a smaller degree of peg asymmetry. These results demonstrate that females can discriminate male asymmetry directly on the basis of calls.
The Influence of Entrepreneur Learning, Self-Efficacy and Creativity Toward Students Entrepreneurial Interests of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training Faculty, Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara

The purpose of this research is to find out, 1) The effect of learning entrepreneur, self-efficacy and creativity together on student entrepreneurial interest, 2) The effect of entrepreneur learning on student entrepreneur interest, 3) Effect of self-efficacy on student entrepreneurial interest, 4) Effect of creativity on students’ entrepreneurial interest of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training Faculty of Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara (FITK UINSU). Type of this research is descriptive and associative research with a quantitative approach that aims to find the independent variables affect the dependent variable. The samples were selected by using proportional sampling technique which obtained that there were 185 students of 345 students as all populations. Data were analyzed by using multiple regression analysis. The results showed that, 1) entrepreneur learning, self-efficacy and creativity together have a significant and positive effect on student entrepreneur interest 2) entrepreneur learning had a significant and positive effect on students entrepreneur interests, 3) self-efficacy had a significant and positive effect on students’ entrepreneur interests, and 4) creativity had a significant and positive effect on students’ entrepreneur interests.
Emotion regulation and evaluative understanding

ABSTRACT Emotions can enhance our evaluative understanding by mobilizing directed reflection, but notoriously, emotional reflection can also lead us astray. If our goal is evaluative understanding, then we must make room for emotion regulation. Which forms of emotion regulation should we rely upon if our goal is evaluative understanding? In this paper, I distinguish between engaged forms of emotion regulation which keep us engaged with our emotional concern (e.g., certain forms of reappraisal) and disengaging forms of emotion regulation, which regulate emotional experience by leading us to direct attention away from the emotional concern in question (e.g., many forms of meditation). I consider but then reject the engagement view, according to which engaged forms of emotion regulation characteristically enhance evaluative understanding, whereas disengaging forms of emotion regulation hinder or detract from evaluative understanding. Against this view, I argue that disengaging forms of emotion regulation can play a vital role in enhancing evaluative understanding. I propose a practical model that can help us to decide when to rely on engaging forms of emotion regulation and when to rely on disengaging forms of emotion regulation, if our goal is evaluative understanding.
A Study of Nucleosome Sequence and Relative Position to Gene Transcription Start Sites in Yeast and Human Genomes

i List of Figures iii List of Tables vii 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Nucleosomes 2 1.2 Yeast 3 1.3 Our Research Goals 6 2.0 Theory 7 2.1 Weak and Strong Nucleotides 7 2.2 Nucleosome Major and Minor Positions 7 2.3 Nucleosome Types 8 2.0 Data and Methods 10 3.1 Data Sets 10 3.1.1 Saccaromyces cerevisiae Genome “sacCer2” 10 3.1.2 Clark Yeast Nucleosome Data Set 10 3.1.3 Widom Yeast Nucleosome Data Sets UniqueMap and RedundantMap 10 3.1. 4 Yeast Transcription Start Site Data Set 10 3.1. 5 Yeast Gene Transcription Frequency Data 11 3.1. 6 Yeast In Vitro Sequence and Nucleosome Data Set . 11 3.1. 7 Human Genome “HG18” 11 3.1. 8 Gaffney Human Nucleosome Combined Data Set . 11 3.1. 9 Human Gene Expression Level Data 12 3.2 Software and Computational Resources 12 3.3 Nucleosome Sequence Acquisition 12 3.4 Determining Nucleosome Type 13 3.5 Nucleosome Occupancy Surrounding Gene Transcription Start Sites 13 3.6 Nucleosomes Adjacent to Gene Transcription Start Sites 14 3.7 Inter-Nucleosome Distance Auto-Correlation Function 14 4.0 Results 16 4.1 Clark Yeast Series 16 4.2 Widom Yeast Unique Map Series 24 4.3 Clark Yeast In Virtro Nucleosome Data Set 35 4.4 Gaffney Human Series 35 5.0 Conclusion 44 6.0 Future Work 45 References 46
Evaluation of plant extracts for management of maydis leaf blight of maize.

Among the extracts tested, garlic clove extract was highly effective in inhibiting the growth of Helminthosporium maydis as it produced 66.5, 73.8 and 83.9% growth inhibition at 2, 5 and 10% concentrations, respectively. Neem leaf and tulsi leaf extracts were found effective as growth inhibitions were between 37 to 65 and 39 to 48%. Bael leaf extract was not at all inhibitory even at 10% concentration. Similarly, onion bulb and mentha leaf extracts were also not very promising as they produced only 38.6 and 25.4% inhibition, respectively at 10% concentration. The disease was adequately managed by spraying of garlic and neem extract @ 5% in fields.
Geographical variation and population biology in wild Theobroma cacao.

Geographical variation in wild Upper Amazon populations of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) was studied with a view to improving germplasm collecting strategies for cocoa. Morphological descriptors, which covered pod, seed, flower, flush and tree habit characters, were assessed in 419 accessions from the Amazon Region of Ecuador, 136 accessions from the Rio Caqueta in Colombia, and about 50 clones of wild origin from Peru. The Ecuadorian and Colombian material was collected in the course of the London Cocoa Trade Amazon Project (LCTAP), and data were acquired both at the time of collection and in the field genebank at San Carlos, Napo Province, Ecuador. The Peruvian material was examined in the genebank at Pichilingue, Ecuador. There were clear differences between the Ecuador, Caqueta and Peru accessions, but there was relatively little variation within Ecuador, so that the initial sampling strategy used to survey variation in Ecuador effectively captured most of the variation in that target region. Using cost data for LCTAP, it is argued that marginal costs for additional accessions are higher than is generally assumed, so that it is not cost-effective to acquire many similar accessions. Field observations from LCTAP collecting trips as well as data from the San Carlos field genebank and from a study population of wild cocoa at San Carlos were used to build a picture of the population biology of Theobroma cacao in its natural habitat. Cocoa was consistently associated with certain soil and terrain types in Ecuador. Observed rates of seed and vegetative reproduction were low, but adult mortality was also low; cocoa could be characterized as a shade-bearing, K-adapted species, although short-term increases in seed production and growth rates resulted from shade reduction. Seed dispersal by mammals resulted in most seedlings germinating in groups close to parent trees, with high early mortality resulting from mammalian herbivory; after three months, mechanical damage was the most frequent cause of seedling mortality. Approximate tree ages were estimated from the relationship between basal area and growth rate in the study population over a two year period. The age distribution showed a peak in the age class 60-80 years, with fewer older or younger trees. Possible causes of disturbance in the past were reviewed. Observations made in the course of this project, combined with published information on Upper Amazon ethnobotany, support the view that Theobroma cacao is a genuinely wild species whose present-day distribution in the Upper Amazon has been only marginally affected by human activities. It is argued that the Vavilovian centre of diversity-centre of origin model is not appropriate for cocoa, and that the Upper Amazon cocoa gene pool is valuable to breeders because it is distinct from the gene pool of cultivated cocoa. Geographical variation and population biology in wild Theobroma cacao
Highly Integrated Resonant Tunneling Diode with Rectangular Waveguide Output for W-Band Communication System

A packaged resonant tunneling diode (RTD) with rectangular waveguide output for highly integrated wireless communication is proposed. The output signal of the RTD chip is radiated to the rectangular waveguide through an E plane probe transformer. Next, the RTD chip is electrically connected to the transformer by using gold wire bonding. The packaged RTD exhibits an oscillation frequency of 92 GHz, while the maximum radio frequency (RF) output power is −7 dBm. A miniaturized and high data rate wireless communication system with a 7 Gbps on–off keying (OOK) module by using the RTD is demonstrated, and the bit error rate (BER) of the 7 Gbps is below 3.8 × 10−3.
In vitro glucose uptake induced by electrical stimulation in soleus muscle. Does the stimulation frequency matter

Objective: Glucose uptake of skeletal muscle has been studied widely in vitro using electrical stimulation. High frequency stimulation resulted in higher glucose uptake. Since the physiological stimulation pattern for slow-twitch muscles is at low frequencies, this study aims to analyse the effects of low vs. high frequency stimulation on glucose uptake in vitro and on muscle structure in the slow-twitch rat soleus muscle. Design: Eighteen Wistar rats were assigned to two groups: stimulation at 10Hz and at 100Hz of isolated soleus muscles in an oxygenated Krebs buffer. Glucose uptake and the intrafiber localization of GLUT4 were determined. As an estimate for potential damage, the release of taurine into the buffer, cleaved caspase-3 occurrence and expression, and morphological signs of fiber damage were quantified. Results: Stimulation at 100Hz resulted in a more pronounced glucose uptake than at 10Hz. However, the muscles stimulated at 100Hz showed signs of cellular and membrane damage more frequently than the 10Hz-muscles. Therefore, cellular damage might account for an artificial glucose influx from the buffer by muscles stimulated at 100Hz. Conclusion: It does not seem meaningful to study glucose uptake in slow-twitch muscles with non-physiologically high stimulation frequencies.
GENE SEQUENCE DIVERSITY AND THE PHYLOGENETIC POSITION OF ALGAE ASSIGNED TO THE GENERA PHAEOPHILA AND OCHLOCHAETE (ULVOPHYCEAE, CHLOROPHYTA) 1

The phylogenetic position of microfilamentous marine green algae assigned to the species Phaeophila dendroides, Entocladia tenuis (Phaeophila tenuis, and Ochlochaete hystrix was examined through phylogenetic analyses of nuclear‐encoded small subunit rDNA and chloroplast‐encoded tufA gene sequences. These analyses placed the P. dendroides strains within the Ulvophyceae, at the base of a clade that contains representatives of the families Ulvaceae, Ulvellaceae, and the species Bolbocoleon piliferum, supporting an earlier hypothesis that P. dendroides constitutes a distinct lineage. Substantial divergence in both nuclear and plastid DNA sequences exists among strains of P. dendroides from different geographic localities, but these isolated strains are morphologically indistinguishable. The lineage may have an accelerated rate of gene sequence evolution relative to other microfilamentous marine green algae. Entocladia tenuis and O. hystrix are placed neither in the P. dendroides clade nor in the Ulvellaceae as previous taxonomic schemes predicted but instead form a new clade or clades at the base of the Ulvaceae. Ruthnielsenia gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate Kylin's species, which cannot be placed in Entocladia (=Acrochaete), Phaeophila, or Ochlochaete. Ruthnielsenia tenuis (Kylin) comb. nov., previously known only from Atlantic coasts, is reported for the first time from the Pacific coast of North America (San Juan Island, WA, USA). Isolates of R. tenuis from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America have identical small subunit rDNA and tufA gene sequences.
Application of Concomitant Disease Scoring in Acute Cerebral Infarction

Background: This study aims to explore the predictive value of concomitant disease scoring for the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods: A total of 399 patients with ACI, who met the inclusion criteria, were enrolled into the present study. The concomitant disease score was assessed within 24 hours after admission, and the risk degree of death was analyzed. Then, the goodness of fit test and validity analysis were carried out, the best survival/death cut-off value was determined, and its predictive value for the prognosis of ACI patients was assessed. Results: The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the concomitant disease score was 0.700, the distinctiveness was relatively good, and the prediction cut-off value was 10 points. Furthermore, the mortality rate of patients with a higher score was significantly higher, when compared to patients with a lower score. Conclusion: This concomitant disease score has good predictive value for the prognosis of ACI patients, and is an ideal system for evaluating the condition of cerebral infarction. The survival/death cut-off value was 10 points.
Anatomical, Chemical and Mechanical Characteristics of Beech Wood Degraded by Two Pleurotus Species

The aim of this study was to determine the destructive capabilities of the two white rot fungi Pleurotus cornucopiae (Pc) and P. eryngii (Pe) compared with the standard fungus Trametes versicolor (Tv) on beech wood samples after 60 days of incubation. Understanding of the white rot decay is important as it is necessary for the development of effective solutions for wood protection. Measurements of mass loss, chemical, mechanical properties and light microscopical investigations were conducted prior to and after incubation. Mass loss of samples was found to be 9-22 % depending on fungi species. Impact bending strength is not as sensitive as presumed in classical literature. Light microscopy analysis revealed that decay patterns were similar for both fungi. Wood cell wall thinning, fungal colonization hyphae were also the same for both fungi. Results indicated considerable wood attack by both Pleurotus species, Pc being more destructive than Pe.
Do ‘rogue’ seals exist? Implications for seal conservation in the UK

The management of conflict between people and large carnivores frequently focuses on the selective removal of the so‐called ‘problem’ or ‘rogue’ animals. However, the existence of such individuals has rarely been examined. Recent management of seal–salmon fishery conflict in Scotland follows this approach, and under the Moray Firth Seal Management Plan the lethal removal of perceived problem individuals is permitted in salmon rivers. However, the efficacy of this strategy depends on (1) the existence of river‐specialist individuals; (2) these individuals having a greater per capita impact on salmon fisheries than individuals in the general population. Using data collected in three rivers from March 2005 to February 2008, we show using photo‐identification that a small fraction of the population (≤1%) comprises individual seals that specialize in using rivers. This behaviour was more pronounced for grey seals Halichoerus grypus than harbour seals Phoca vitulina, and a greater proportion of individual harbour seals were seen only once during the study. A higher percentage of digestive tract samples collected from seals in rivers tested positive for salmon and trout DNA compared with seal scats collected at coastal sites, although the sample size was small. These results indicate that targeting individual seals present in rivers is more likely to remove those individuals consuming salmon, and have a larger per seal benefit to salmon compared with targeting seals hauled out in estuaries. This lends rare scientific support to the established management paradigm of problem‐individual removal.
Simulations for Effect of Surface Roughness on Wind Turbine Aerodynamic Performance

In the present study, blade surface roughness effects on the aerodynamic performance of NREL Phase VI wind turbine rotor are investigated using Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation. The rotating rotor component is modeled using an overset mesh system and computations are conducted using an in-house heterogeneous CFD framework based on both CPUs and GPUs. The effect of laminar-turbulent boundary layer transition on the blade is included using the γ – Reθt¯ – SA model. The surface roughness effects on both the turbulent boundary layer and boundary layer transition are modeled through extensions of turbulence and transition models. The locally distributed roughness at the leading edge zone is applied for both S809 airfoil and NREL Phase VI rotor simulations. The roughness effects on the airfoil performance are captured, and the prediction shows reasonable agreement with the experimental data. In the case of the rotor simulation, the surface roughness affects the performance differently depending on the wind speed. At the operating wind speed with attached flows, the roughness decreases the performance due to the roughness-induced transition occurring at the leading edge. On the other hand, at the higher wind speed, this transition induces less flow separation on the leeward side of blade, which is favorable to the performance. As the wind speed increased further, the flow become fully separated and the roughness effect is minor.
Meditation effect in changing functional integrations across large-scale brain networks: Preliminary evidence from a meta-analysis of seed-based functional connectivity

Meditation is a type of mental training commonly applied in clinical settings and also practiced for general well-being. Brain functional connectivity (FC) patterns associated with meditation have revealed its brain mechanisms. However, the variety of FC methods applied has made it difficult to identify brain communication patterns associated with meditation. Here we carried out a coordinate-based meta-analysis to get preliminary evidence of meditation effects on changing brain network interactions. Fourteen seed-based, voxel-wise FC studies reported in 13 publications were reviewed; 10 studies with seeds in the default mode network (DMN) were meta-analyzed. Seed coordinates and the effect sizes in statistically significant regions were extracted, based on 170 subjects in meditation groups and 163 subjects in control groups. Seed-based d-mapping was used to analyze meditation versus control FC differences with DMN seeds. Meditation was associated with increased connectivity within DMN and between DMN and somatomotor network and with decreased connectivity between DMN and frontoparietal network (FPN) as well as ventral attention network (VAN). The pattern of decreased within-DMN FC and increased between-network FC (FPN and DAN with DMN) was more robust in highly experienced meditators compared to less experienced individuals. The identified neural network interactions may also promote meditation’s effectiveness in clinical interventions for treating physical and mental disorders.
Potato biology and biotechnology: advances and perspectives

This book covers the potato world market as it expands further into the new millennium. Authors stress the overriding need for stable yields to eliminate human hunger and poverty, while considering solutions to enhance global production and distribution. It comprehensively describes genetics and genetic resources, plant growth and development, response to the environment, tuber quality, pests and diseases, biotechnology and crop management.