Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Upstream Swimming Behaviors of Juvenile Grass Carp and Characteristic Hydraulic Conditions of a Vertical Slot Fishway

The successful fish upstream movement through a dam/gate is closely associated with the hydraulic conditions of a fishway. To improve the passage efficiency, this study investigated the upstream swimming behaviors of juvenile grass carp, a representative fish of four major Chinese carps, under characteristic hydraulic conditions of a designed vertical slot fishway model. The impacts of different discharges and baffle lead angles on the successful movement of test fish were analyzed, and the selection of the movement trajectory was studied through overlay of their upstream swimming trajectories on the water flow field resulting from numerical modeling. We found that under the same discharge, the percentage of successful test fish movement with a lead angle of 45° was higher than 60° and 30°. Within a fixed lead angle, the higher the discharge, the lower the percentage of successful movement. During upstream movement, the test fish had a preferred water velocity of 0.01–0.45 m/s in the pool, and avoided areas where the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) was greater than 0.012 m2/s2. These results provide a basis for the hydraulic design of vertical slot fishways and a reference for studying swimming behaviors of other fish species.
Autonomy-Supportive Teaching in Medicine: From Motivational Theory to Educational Practice

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction: Promoting intrinsic motivation in medical learners is key for maximizing their engagement, performance, and well-being. Accordingly, methods of teaching and giving feedback focused on enhancing intrinsic motivation (i.e. autonomy-supportive approaches) are becoming increasingly recognized in medical education. However, these methods seem to be limited by a lack of understanding around what autonomy-support means and how to put it into practice. Approach: Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this article defines autonomy-supportive versus controlling teaching, provides a rationale for its importance in medical education, addresses common misconceptions and potential challenges surrounding autonomy-supportive teaching in medicine, and outlines specific examples of ways to engage in it, in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Conclusion: Overall, this paper highlights how simple, flexible, and beneficial it can be to utilize an autonomy-supportive style in one’s day-to-day interactions with medical learners, to stimulate their intrinsic motivation.These strategies can be applied in practically any setting and at all levels in medical education, through regular practice and reflection.
Optimal Mean Arterial Pressure for Favorable Neurological Outcomes in Survivors after Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

We evaluated the optimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) for favorable neurological outcomes in patients who underwent extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR). Adult patients who underwent ECPR were included. The average MAP was obtained during 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after cardiac arrest, respectively. Primary outcome was neurological status upon discharge, as assessed by the Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC) scale (range from 1 to 5). Overall, patients with favorable neurological outcomes (CPC 1 or 2) tended to have a higher average MAP than those with poor neurological outcomes. Six models were established based on ensemble algorithms for machine learning, multiple logistic regression and observation times. Patients with average MAP around 75 mmHg had the least probability of poor neurologic outcomes in all the models. However, those with average MAPs below 60 mmHg had a high probability of poor neurological outcomes. In addition, based on an increase in the average MAP, the risk of poor neurological outcomes tended to increase in patients with an average MAP above 75 mmHg. In this study, average MAPs were associated with neurological outcomes in patients who underwent ECPR. Especially, maintaining the survivor’s MAP at about 75 mmHg may be important for neurological recovery after ECPR.
Pressure induced thermoelectric enhancement in SnSe crystals

SnSe crystals are excellent thermoelectric materials due to their high ZT value (∼2.6 along the b direction) at high temperature ∼923 K. However, in the temperature range of 300–773 K, the ZT values are just 0.1–0.9. To make this material more efficient, its thermoelectric properties should be large in the entire temperature range. Here, we use computational methods to show how pressure intrinsically enhances the thermoelectric properties below 700 K along the three directions (a, b and c) of the crystal (the low-T SnSe-Pnma phase) due to the significant electrical transport boost. The estimated ZT values of p-type materials along the b and c directions can reach as high as 2.5 and 1.7 at 6 GPa and 700 K, respectively. At 6 GPa, the a direction shows potential n-type behavior with a ZT value of 1.7 at 600 K. It is significant that high performance for both n-type and p-type conductors could be available in SnSe just through applying pressure. Our work on SnSe under pressure sheds light on a new mechanism to enhance the thermoelectric properties of materials.
Social Media Engagement as a Metric for Ranking US Olympic Athletes as Brand Endorsers

Abstract Athletes often use social media to help build their personal brand, communicate with stakeholders, and promote endorsements. Research suggests that athletes who elicit greater engagement on social media are more valuable to endorse brands than those who simply have a large number of followers. From a regulatory perspective, it is important for athlete endorsers to disclose the commercial nature of sponsored posts. Therefore, based on social influence theory (SIT), the purpose of this study was to examine Olympic athletes’ follower engagement on social media with a focus on brand mentions and disclosures of the relationships. Utilizing a content analysis of 190 US Olympic athletes’ tweets during the 2018 PyeongChang Games, findings revealed statistically significant differences in follower engagement based on the athlete’s gender. Non-brand-related posts received statistically significant greater engagement than brand-related posts, and only 12.90% of the posts that mentioned a brand disclosed a brand relationship. Implications and future research also are discussed.
Herbicides and Zero Tillage in South Asia: Are we creating a gendered problem?

Substantial efforts have been devoted to the promotion of Zero Tillage as part of a Conservation Agriculture based Sustainable Intensification agenda in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia, yet there is no clear understanding of the gendered implications of the required change in weed management practices from tillage to herbicides. Other geographies such as in Sub-Saharan Africa have shown evidence that transitioning to Zero Tillage may have unbalanced gendered implications that burden women with additional tasks or lead to lessening agency. To address this, a targeted in-depth study with both spouses was implemented in 24 households across Bangladesh, India and Nepal over a period of 5 weeks during crop establishment to understand the perceptions, responsibilities, and knowledge of household spouses who have adopted Zero Tillage systems. This data is used to compare their weeding responsibilities and knowledge between their Pre- and post- Zero Tillage uptake. Findings indicate that the switch to Zero Tillage contributed to substantial time savings in India and Nepal and did not lead to any reallocation or increased burden of roles and responsibilities to women in any of the surveyed localities, while knowledge on weed management practices were balanced among spouses. This research suggests that the gendered experiences of users of Zero Tillage systems and subsequent use of herbicides in investigated locations may differ from Zero Tillage user experience in other geographies, in that Zero Tillage use did not reinforce or deepen existing inequalities within households. This highlights that Zero Tillage may provide an inclusive agricultural development pathway in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia.
Curcumol increases the sensitivity of colon cancer to 5-FU by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Background 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance is the leading cause of treatment failure in colon cancer. Combination therapy is an effective strategy to inhibit cancer cells and prevent drug resistance. Therefore, we studied the antitumor effect of curcumol alone or combined with 5-FU on human colon cancer drug-resistant cells. Methods The 5-FU resistant HCT116 cell line (HCT116/5-FU) was established by repeated exposure to gradually increasing concentrations of 5-FU; Cell viability was measured by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8); apoptosis rate of HCT116 cells was detected using Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) assay kit; cell proliferation and invasion were detected using colony formation assays, wound healing assay and transwell invasion assays; activity of transplanted tumor in vivo in specific pathogen free (SPF) BALB/c nude mice (6 weeks old, male) was monitored by bioluminescence imaging, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. Results Our study showed the potent antitumor effect of curcumol by induction of apoptosis, inhibition of proliferation, invasion, migration, and improvement of the therapeutic efficacy of 5-FU toward human colon cancer HCT116 cells. From our results, curcumol could chemosensitize 5-FU-resistant HCT116 cells. The combination of curcumol and 5-FU exerted a synergistic inhibitory effect on the induction of apoptosis. Also, this combination inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration of both chemo-resistant and sensitive cells. Curcumol treatment decreased multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP-2), P-glycoprotein (P-gp), survivin, and β-catenin expression, which correlated with multidrug resistance (MDR) and the target genes of Wnt/β-catenin. It significantly increased the p-β-catenin level and Bad/Bcl-2 ratio in HCT116/5-FU cells compared with 5-FU treatment. In vivo, curcumol significantly inhibited the growth of transplanted tumors and the expression of Ki-67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in colon cancer cells. Conclusions Curcumol as a potential chemotherapeutic agent combined with 5-FU can overcome colon cancer resistance.
Megafire causes persistent loss of an old‐forest species

Climate change and a long legacy of fire suppression are leading to an increased prevalence of ‘mega‐disturbances’ such as drought and wildfire in terrestrial ecosystems. Evidence for the immediate effects of these novel disturbances on wildlife is accumulating, but little information exists on longer term impacts to species and ecosystems. We studied the occurrence dynamics of an iconic old‐forest species, the spotted owl (Strix occidentalis), on a long‐term study area in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA from 1989 to 2020 to evaluate their multi‐scale population response following a 2014 megafire (the ‘King’ Fire) that affected a portion of our study area. We found that extensive severe fire within spotted owl sites resulted in both immediate site abandonment and prolonged lack of re‐colonization by owls six years post‐fire. Sites that experienced high pyrodiversity – a mosaic of burn severities – were more likely to persist after the fire, but this effect was only apparent at finer spatial scales. A potentially confounding factor, post‐fire salvage logging, did not explain variability in the probability of either owls persisting at sites or sites becoming re‐colonized; effects could be attributed only to severe fire extent and pyrodiversity. Our study demonstrates the prolonged effects of severe fire on the occupancy of this forest‐dependent species, suggesting that forest restoration that reduces megafires could benefit spotted owls. Our work emphasizes that long‐term monitoring can offer surprising learning opportunities and provide unparalleled value for understanding and addressing emerging environmental concerns.
Gender differences in information behavior during the Covid-19 health crisis in Spain

The Covid-19 pandemic has produced numerous deaths throughout the planet, although in general it has been deadlier in older people, in people with previous conditions and in males. The biomedical literature explains the difference in terms of mortality between men and women pointing to genetics and social and cultural reasons. The aim of this work is to explore information behavior, among the other sociocultural variables possibly influencing health outcomes in men and women. For this, we analyze the results of a survey with 95 people administered in Madrid the last week of strict lockdown for Covid-19 (April 2020). Questions were asked about the reasons for using traditional mass media and social media, the use of official and institutional information, the characteristics of the information that was considered useful, and different dimensions of information behavior during lockdown. Results show that the differences between men and women affect certain dimensions of information behavior and especially the information characteristics that are considered useful. Slight differences were also perceived between the two sexes regarding social media, that men appeared to use more for entertainment than communication.
Reactive Oxygen Species on the (100) Facet of Cobalt Spinel Nanocatalyst and their Relevance in 16O2/18O2 Isotopic Exchange, deN2O, and deCH4 Processes—A Theoretical and Experimental Account

Periodic spin unrestricted, gradient corrected DFT calculations joined with atomistic thermodynamic modeling and experiment were used to study the structure and stability of various reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxygen vacancies produced on the most stable terminations of the cobalt spinel (100) surface. The surface state diagram of oxygen in a wide range of pressures and temperatures was constructed for coverage varying from ΘO = 1.51 atom·nm–2 to ΘO = 6.04 atom·nm–2. A large variety of the unraveled surface ROS includes diatomic superoxo (CoO–O2––CoO), peroxo (CoT–O22––CoO), and spin paired (CoO–O2–CoO) adducts along with monatomic metal-oxo (CoT–O+, CoO–O2+) species, where CoT and CoO stand for the tetrahedral and octahedral cobalt surface centers, respectively. There are also two kinds of peroxo species associated with surface oxygen ions connected with 3CoO or 2CoO and 1CoT cations ((O2O,1T–O)2– and (O3O–O)2–), respectively). The results revealed that in the oxygen pressure range of typical catal.
Human Pose Detection for Robotic-Assisted and Rehabilitation Environments

Assistance and rehabilitation robotic platforms must have precise sensory systems for human–robot interaction. Therefore, human pose estimation is a current topic of research, especially for the safety of human–robot collaboration and the evaluation of human biomarkers. Within this field of research, the evaluation of the low-cost marker-less human pose estimators of OpenPose and Detectron 2 has received much attention for their diversity of applications, such as surveillance, sports, videogames, and assessment in human motor rehabilitation. This work aimed to evaluate and compare the angles in the elbow and shoulder joints estimated by OpenPose and Detectron 2 during four typical upper-limb rehabilitation exercises: elbow side flexion, elbow flexion, shoulder extension, and shoulder abduction. A setup of two Kinect 2 RGBD cameras was used to obtain the ground truth of the joint and skeleton estimations during the different exercises. Finally, we provided a numerical comparison (RMSE and MAE) among the angle measurements obtained with OpenPose, Detectron 2, and the ground truth. The results showed how OpenPose outperforms Detectron 2 in these types of applications.
The Use Of Stem Cells In The Treatment Of Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Introduction Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities afflicting Americans. Approximately 30 million Americans, or 12.7% of Americans, 12 years and older were estimated to have suffered from bilateral hearing loss from 2001 through 2008. This number increased to 48.1 million Americans when including individuals suffering from unilateral hearing loss. Furthermore, the prevalence of hearing loss increases Abstract Hearing loss affects millions of Americans in every age group, and it can be either conductive or sensorineural. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) specifically has etiologies including trauma, infectious conditions, ototoxin exposure, and trauma. This type of hearing loss affects the conversion of mechanical sound to an electrical signal within the inner ear, and profound SNHL can usually only be treated with a cochlear implant. Neural stem cells (NSCs), embryonic stem cells (ESCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are all promising candidates for the treatment of SNHL. They have the potential to be induced to differentiate into sensory hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in damaged cochleae. However, more research is still needed to improve the protocol for differentiating stem cells into hair cells and SGNs.
Quality indicators for science communication: results from a collaborative concept mapping exercise

Although the need to improve quality of science communication is often mentioned in public discussions, the science communication literature offers few conceptualizations of quality. We used a concept mapping approach, involving representatives of various science communication stakeholder groups working collaboratively, to propose a framework of quality. The framework organizes individual elements of quality into twelve indicators arranged into three dimensions: trustworthiness and scientific rigour, presentation and style, and connection with society. The framework supports science communicators in reflecting on their current practices and designing new activities, potentially improving communication effectiveness.
Five considerations for engaging with Big Data from a rhetorical-humanistic perspective

: This essay offers five conceptual entry points for engaging with Big Data from a rhetorical perspective. These five concepts — data in/as relationships, observability/action, patterns, diachronicity, and audience — serve as points of deep conceptual commonality between definitions of Big Data and principles in rhetorical studies and are offered here as considerations for critiquing uses of Big Data from a rhetorical-humanistic perspective, as well as for guiding rhetorical work that uses Big Data.
A novel reactive anti-ultraviolet finishing of cotton fabric based on N-dihydroxy ethylene cyanoguanidine

This study reports a novel ultraviolet (UV) absorber, N-dihydroxy ethylene cyanoguanidine (NDEC), which was synthesized from dicyandiamide and glyoxal. The NDEC compound was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrum and nuclear magnetic resonance. NDEC was grafted onto cotton fabric through covalent bonding by the pad–dry cure method. The optimal finishing conditions were that the mass concentration of NDEC was 5 g/L, baking time 240 s and temperature 140℃. The UPF value of cotton fabric treated under optimal finishing conditions reached 50+ and was minimally reduced (to 47) after 50 laundry cycles. The breaking strength and thermostability of the original cotton fabric were preserved after treatment. Successful grafting of – C≡N and –C=N groups onto the treated fabric was confirmed in the Fourier-transform infrared spectrum. Meanwhile, the finished cotton fiber remained smooth, as confirmed by scanning electronic microscopy.
How African Kinship System Contributes to Corruption in Kenya

This paper explored how African kinship system contributes to corruption in Kenya. The research was informed by the Clashing Moral Values Theory. Purposive sampling and random sampling techniques were used to sample respondents from Machakos County. The sample size was 175 respondents. Research instruments used comprised semi-structured interview schedules for the in-depth interviews and self-administered questionnaires with both open and closed-ended questions. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis while quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that African kinship system contributes to corruption through nepotism, ethnic cronyism and clientelism. This study provides the Government of Kenya with important information relating to the reasons as to why corruption continues to halt development in Kenya. Moreover, the research elicits scholarly interests on the issue of culture and corruption in Africa.
Implication of N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor in Homocysteine-Induced Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss. Elevated homocysteine (Hcy) (Hyperhomocysteinemia) (HHcy) has been reported in AMD. We previously reported that HHcy induces AMD-like features. This study suggests that N-Methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a mechanism for HHcy-induced AMD. Serum Hcy and cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) were assessed by ELISA. The involvement of NMDAR in Hcy-induced AMD features was evaluated (1) in vitro using ARPE-19 cells, primary RPE isolated from HHcy mice (CBS), and mouse choroidal endothelial cells (MCEC); (2) in vivo using wild-type mice and mice deficient in RPE NMDAR (NMDARR−/−) with/without Hcy injection. Isolectin-B4, Ki67, HIF-1α, VEGF, NMDAR1, and albumin were assessed by immunofluorescence (IF), Western blot (WB), Optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescein angiography (FA) to evaluate retinal structure, fluorescein leakage, and choroidal neovascularization (CNV). A neovascular AMD patient’s serum showed a significant increase in Hcy and a decrease in CBS. Hcy significantly increased HIF-1α, VEGF, and NMDAR in RPE cells, and Ki67 in MCEC. Hcy-injected WT mice showed disrupted retina and CNV. Knocking down RPE NMDAR improved retinal structure and CNV. Our findings underscore the role of RPE NMDAR in Hcy-induced AMD features; thus, NMDAR inhibition could serve as a promising therapeutic target for AMD.
Acid-free extraction of cellulose type I nanocrystals using Brønsted acid-type ionic liquids

Abstract Extraction of cellulose type I nanocrystals from cotton fibers was straightforwardly carried out using exclusively Brønsted acid-type ionic liquids (ILs) via a two-step swelling/hydrolysis route, the switch between these two stages being induced by water addition. Since the whole process was achieved in a single reaction medium predominantly based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) and 1-(4-sulfobutyl)-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([SBMIM]HSO4), the process parameters were investigated in order to ensure a perfect compatibility and sequencing towards the two-step route proposed here. The impacts on nanoparticle morphology, crystallinity evolution, and cellulose type I to type II denaturation were observed under field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy and corroborated by X-ray diffraction characterizations. ILs recovery and reuse were also demonstrated, opening up new prospects of conception of multi-cycle, environmentally and economically sustainable processes.