Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diversified crop rotations and organic amendments as strategies for increasing soil carbon storage and stabilisation in UK arable systems

Adaptations in crop rotation with the inclusion of temporary grass-clover leys and organic amendments, have been promoted as effective ways to improve soil carbon (C) sequestration and mitigate climate change in agricultural systems. However, there are still a lot of uncertainties related to i) the combined effects of different crop rotations and different fertilisation sources, e.g., organic amendments, on soil C stocks; and ii) their potential effect on C stabilisation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different arable crop rotations with varying degrees of diversity in crop type and lengths of grass-clover ley periods and fertilisation sources on soil C stocks and C stabilisation down to 0.60 m soil depth. This was investigated in a long-term factorial field experiment-combining different crop rotation (cereal-intensive conventional vs. diversified legume-intensive organic) with different lengths of grass-clover ley periods (2 vs. 3 years), fertilisation sources (mineral vs. compost), and years (samples taken at the beginning and at the last year of one complete cycle of rotation; 8 years apart)-to explore their individual and interactive effect on soil C stock and C stabilisation at two soil depths (0–0.30 and 0.30–0.60 m). Soil C stabilisation was assessed using a unique combination of three different techniques: physical fractionation for separation of C associated to organic and mineral fractions, thermal analysis combined with differential scanning calorimetry and a quadrupole mass spectrometry (TG-DSC-QMS) for physical-chemical aspects, and pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) for molecular structural information. The findings showed higher soil C stocks under the diversified organic rotation with 3 years of grass-clover ley period at both soil depths, regardless of the fertilisation source or sampling year. However, the organic rotation seemed to deliver stable soil C stocks only in the subsoil layer. Compost fertilisation, in turn, increased topsoil C stocks between the two sample dates under both rotations, and it appears to be stable. These results suggested that combining a diversified organic rotation with 3 years grass-clover ley with compost fertilisation could be one way for agricultural systems to deliver stable soil C sequestration.
Dietary patterns derived using principal component analysis and associations with sociodemographic characteristics and overweight and obesity: A cross-sectional analysis of Iranian adults

Introduction This study examined the cross-sectional association between household dietary patterns and sociodemographic characteristics and BMI in a nationally representative sample of Iranian adults. Methods Data on 6,833 households (n = 17,824 adults) from the National Comprehensive Study on Household Food Consumption Pattern and Nutritional Status 2001–2003 were used. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract dietary patterns from three household 24-h dietary recalls. Linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between dietary patterns and sociodemographic characteristics and BMI. Results Three dietary patterns were identified: the first was characterized by high citrus fruit intake, the second by high hydrogenated fats intake and the third by high non-leafy vegetables intake. The first and third patterns were associated with household heads with higher education and living in urban areas, while the second was associated with household heads with lower education and living in rural areas. All dietary patterns were positively associated with BMI. The strongest association was found with the first dietary pattern (β: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.55). Discussion While all three dietary patterns were positively associated with BMI, the sociodemographic characteristics of Iranian adults who consumed them differed. These findings inform the design of population-level dietary interventions to address rising obesity rates in Iran.
Waist-to-calf circumstance ratio and cognitive function among Chinese older adults: Mediating roles of physical performance and social activity

Background In light of the potentially detrimental effects of central fat and decreased muscle mass on cognitive function, it would be beneficial to learn more about the mediating mechanisms underpinning the association between the two. The purpose of this study is to determine the association between waist-to-calf circumstance ratio (WCR) and cognitive function, as well as to investigate whether physical performance and social activity mediate the relationship between WCR and cognitive function among older Chinese adults. Methods An analysis of 9,652 older Chinese adults was conducted during the 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS). The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a self-reported scale were used to measure cognitive function, physical performance, and social activity, respectively. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted. Results The findings suggest that a high WCR had a significant negative association with cognitive function (B = −0.535, 95% CI: −0.754, −0.317). Mediation analysis revealed that a high WCR influenced old adults' cognitive function in three ways: first, through the partial mediating effect of physical performance (B = −0.270; 95% CI: −0.340, −0.203); second, through the partial mediating effect of social activity (B = −0.035; 95% CI: −0.055, −0.017); and third, through the serial mediating effects of physical performance and social activity (B = −0.021, 95% CI: −0.029, −0.015). Conclusion The study results suggest the adverse impact of a high WCR on older adults' cognitive function, and the possible mechanisms of physical performance and social activity by which the association takes place. Multidimensional health and social interventions aimed at improving physical, social, and cognitive functioning among older adults with sarcopenic obesity are recommended.
Eliciting real cravings with virtual food: Using immersive technologies to explore the effects of food stimuli in virtual reality

In this paper, we explore the current technical possibilities of eating in virtual reality (VR) and show how this could be used to influence eating behaviors. Cue-based exposure therapy is a well-known method used to treat eating disorders. There are several benefits to using VR in combination with cue-based therapy. However, before VR-based cue-exposure can be used for therapeutic purposes, the ability of the VR environment to elicit craving responses in participants must be assessed. This was the objective of the first part of the study, where we assessed whether our VR environment elicited food craving responses in participants. Results showed that our VR environment elicited food craving responses: Salivation Magnitude, Food Craving State and Urge to Eat was significantly different from the neutral baseline. In addition, results showed that food cravings measured through the salivation magnitude in response to the virtual condition were not significantly different from the real condition, thus showing that VR had a comparable effect on producing food cravings. The second part of the study was conducted to determine whether the addition of olfactory and interaction cues in VR increased the development of food cravings. The results of this part showed that adding synthetic olfactory cues, paired with visual cues, to our system, provided a significant further increase in food cravings. Our results demonstrate that the use of food cues in VR can increase the development of food cravings and that it is possible to provide a simple yet convincing eating experience in VR. Inevitably, food interaction in VR is still underexplored territory and further research is needed to improve utility and application in disciplines related to food and eating.
Diversity of endosymbionts in camellia spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus camelliae (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), estimated by 16S rRNA analysis and their biological implications

Camellia spiny whitefly, Aleurocanthus camelliae (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is a major pest in tea, which poses a serious threat to tea production. Similar to many insects, various bacterial symbioses inside A. camelliae may participate in the reproduction, metabolism, and detoxification of the host. However, few reports included research on the microbial composition and influence on A. camelliae growth. We first applied high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region in the 16S rRNA of symbiotic bacteria to study its component and effect on the biological trait of A. camelliae by comparing it with the antibiotic treatment group. The population parameters, survival rate, and fecundity rate of A. camelliae were also analyzed using the age–stage two-sex life table. Our results demonstrated that phylum Proteobacteria (higher than 96.15%) dominated the whole life cycle of A. camelliae. It unveiled the presence of Candidatus Portiera (primary endosymbiont) (67.15–73.33%), Arsenophonus (5.58–22.89%), Wolbachia (4.53–11.58%), Rickettsia (0.75–2.59%), and Pseudomonas (0.99–1.88%) genus. Antibiotic treatment caused a significant decrease in the endosymbiont, which negatively affected the host's biological properties and life process. For example, 1.5% rifampicin treatment caused a longer preadult stage in the offspring generation (55.92 d) compared to the control (49.75d) and a lower survival rate (0.36) than the control (0.60). The decreased intrinsic rate of increase (r), net reproductive rate (R0), and prolonged mean generation time (T) were signs of all disadvantageous effects associated with symbiotic reduction. Our findings confirmed the composition and richness of symbiotic bacteria in larva and adult of A. camelliae by an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 analysis and their influence on the development of the host by demographic research. Together, the results suggested that symbiotic bacteria play an important role in manipulating the biological development of their hosts, which might help us for developing new pest control agents and technologies for better management of A. camelliae.
Grade-control outdoor turning flight of robo-pigeon with quantitative stimulus parameters

Introduction The robo-pigeon using homing pigeons as a motion carrier has great potential in search and rescue operations due to its superior weight-bearing capacity and sustained flight capabilities. However, before deploying such robo-pigeons, it is necessary to establish a safe, stable, and long-term effective neuro-electrical stimulation interface and quantify the motion responses to various stimuli. Methods In this study, we investigated the effects of stimulation variables such as stimulation frequency (SF), stimulation duration (SD), and inter-stimulus interval (ISI) on the turning flight control of robo-pigeons outdoors, and evaluated the efficiency and accuracy of turning flight behavior accordingly. Results The results showed that the turning angle can be significantly controlled by appropriately increasing SF and SD. Increasing ISI can significantly control the turning radius of robotic pigeons. The success rate of turning flight control decreases significantly when the stimulation parameters exceed SF > 100 Hz or SD > 5 s. Thus, the robo-pigeon's turning angle from 15 to 55° and turning radius from 25 to 135 m could be controlled in a graded manner by selecting varying stimulus variables. Discussion These findings can be used to optimize the stimulation strategy of robo-pigeons to achieve precise control of their turning flight behavior outdoors. The results also suggest that robo-pigeons have potential for use in search and rescue operations where precise control of flight behavior is required.
REPRODUCIBILITY OF CONCENTRIC AND ECCENTRIC PEAK TORQUE IN FEMALES

The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of female subjects to reproduce peak torque during concentric and eccentric muscle contractions as measured by a CYBEX NORM isokinetic dynamometer. Twenty female subjects were tested using a knee extension protocol (both concentric and eccentric) at velocities of 60 and 120 deg/sec with a 30 sec rest between each repetition and a 1 min rest between velocity sets. ANOVA results indicated a significant interaction between velocity and order effect (4.47, p<.05). Pearson correlations were found to be significant for all velocities, with the eccentric first group producing overall higher correlation coefficients. In this study the subjects who performed eccentric tests initially were more consistent in reproducing peak torque.
Fast and flexible methods for monotone polynomial fitting

ABSTRACT We investigate an isotonic parameterization for monotone polynomials previously unconsidered in the statistical literature. We show that this parameterization is more flexible than its alternatives through enabling polynomials to be constrained to be monotone over either a compact interval or a semi-compact interval of the form , in addition to over the whole real line. Furthermore, algorithms based on our new parameterization estimate the fitted monotone polynomials much faster than algorithms based on previous isotonic parameterizations which in turn makes the use of standard bootstrap methodology feasible. We investigate the use of the bootstrap under monotonicity constraints to obtain confidence bands for the fitted curves and show that an adjustment by using either the ‘m out of n’ bootstrap or a post hoc symmetrization of the confidence bands is necessary to achieve more uniform coverage probabilities. We illustrate our new methodology with two real world examples which demonstrate not only the need for such techniques, but how restricting the monotonicity constraints to be over either a compact or semi-compact interval allows the fitting of even degree monotone polynomials. We also describe methods for using the ‘m out of n’ bootstrap to select the degree of the fitted monotone polynomial. All algorithms discussed in this paper are available in the R package MonoPoly (version 0.3-6 or later).
Powers of Catalan generating functions for bounded operators

Let c=(Cn)n≥0$$ c&amp;amp;#x0003D;{\left({C}_n\right)}_{n\ge 0} $$ be the Catalan sequence and T$$ T $$ a linear and bounded operator on a Banach space X$$ X $$ such 4T$$ 4T $$ is a power‐bounded operator. The Catalan generating function is defined by the following Taylor series: C(T):=∑n=0∞CnTn. $$ C(T):&amp;amp;#x0003D; \sum \limits_{n&amp;amp;#x0003D;0}&amp;amp;#x0005E;{\infty }{C}_n{T}&amp;amp;#x0005E;n. $$ Note that the operator C(T)$$ C(T) $$ is a solution of the quadratic equation TY2−Y+I=0$$ T{Y}&amp;amp;#x0005E;2-Y&amp;amp;#x0002B;I&amp;amp;#x0003D;0 $$ . In this paper, we define powers of the Catalan generating function C(T)$$ C(T) $$ in terms of the Catalan triangle numbers. We obtain new formulae that involve Catalan triangle numbers: the spectrum of c∗j$$ {c}&amp;amp;#x0005E;{\ast j} $$ and the expression of c−∗j$$ {c}&amp;amp;#x0005E;{-\ast j} $$ for j≥1$$ j\ge 1 $$ in terms of Catalan polynomials ( ∗$$ \ast $$ is the usual convolution product in sequences). In the last section, we give some particular examples to illustrate our results and some ideas to continue this research in the future.
Moving beyond heritability in the search for coral adaptive potential

Global environmental change is happening at unprecedented rates. Coral reefs are among the ecosystems most threatened by global change. For wild populations to persist, they must adapt. Knowledge shortfalls about corals' complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics, however, stymie predictions about potential adaptation to future conditions. Here, we review adaptation through the lens of quantitative genetics. We argue that coral adaptation studies can benefit greatly from “wild” quantitative genetic methods, where traits are studied in wild populations undergoing natural selection, genomic relationship matrices can replace breeding experiments, and analyses can be extended to examine genetic constraints among traits. In addition, individuals with advantageous genotypes for anticipated future conditions can be identified. Finally, genomic genotyping supports simultaneous consideration of how genetic diversity is arrayed across geographic and environmental distances, providing greater context for predictions of phenotypic evolution at a metapopulation scale.
Utilizing Grammarly in an Academic Writing Process: Higher-Education Students’ Perceived Views

This small-scale study looks into the English-Language-Education-Program (ELE) students’ perceived views on using Grammarly as an automatic grammar checker in an academic writing process. It adopted a questionnaire instrument Novianti (2020) employed in her study. The interval scale average of 73.3% indicated that most students positively perceived using Grammarly in the academic writing process. They deemed that this application could help them revise their errors in the academic writing process, improve their academic writing, and boost their confidence in academic writing. On the other hand, some students negatively perceived using Grammarly in their academic writing process due to the nature of feedback this application offers. Furthermore, this study considered that factors that might have affected both views were associated with Grammarly’s handy and practical use and non-contextual and irrelevant feedback. This study is a small-scale one, primarily investigating students’ perceptions of the use of Grammarly application in an academic writing process. Future research can expand such dimensions as students’ attitudes in using this application or the impacts of Grammarly on students’ writing anxiety. Moreover, it can investigate students’ perceptions of the use of the application in an academic writing process by employing different instruments and indicators of perception.
Examining the impact of corporate governance and corporate financial reporting on firm value: A study of selected banks in Nigeria

Globally, managers are always under intense pressure to meet stakeholders’ desired firm value expectations, creating uncertainties and apprehensiveness when making corporate strategic plans. Prior studies have laid claims that best corporate governance practices and corporate financial reporting quality are important in achieving a successful and sustainable value for banks. Consequently, this study examined the impact of corporate governance and corporate financial reporting on the value of selected banks in Nigeria. This study made use of panel data extracted from the audited annual reports and accounts of the thirteen (13) selected banks for fifteen (15) years which yielded 195 firm-year observations. Random-effects Generalized Least Square (GLS) regression estimation technique was employed for the analysis. The study discovered that corporate governance and corporate financial reporting exerted a significant positive impact on the value of selected banks in Nigeria (Adj.R2 = 0.48, Wald Sat. (4, 190) = 18.3, p < 0.05). The study concluded that corporate governance and corporate financial reporting collectively are important determining factors of the value of selected banks in Nigeria. Enforcing strict compliance with financial reporting regulations to ensure transparency, reliability, and earnings quality would enhance analysts’ and users’ forecast and predictive abilities.
Pain Management during Ultrasound Guided Transvaginal Oocyte Retrieval – A Narrative Review

Transvaginal oocyte retrieval (TVOR), done for the purpose of assisted reproduction can instigate enormous pain and therefore requires adequate analgesia with the least adverse effects. As the procedure involves retrieving oocytes for in vitro fertilisation, the effect of the anaesthetic drugs on the oocyte quality should also be considered. This review focuses on the various modes of anaesthesia and the anaesthetic drugs which can be administered safely to provide effective analgesia in normal and in special conditions such as women with pre-existing comorbidities. Medline, Embase, PubMed and Cochrane electronic databases were searched according to modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. According to this review, conscious sedation appears to be the most preferred mode of anaesthesia in women undergoing TVOR owing to fewer adverse effects, faster recovery, better patient and specialist comfort and the least effect on oocyte quality and embryo development. Combining it with paracervical block resulted in lesser consumption of the anaesthetic drug, which may have a beneficial effect on the oocyte quality.
Ceftazidime/Avibactam for the Treatment of Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection in Lung Transplant Recipients

Background Experience of ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ/AVI) for carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) infection in recipients after lung transplantation (LT) is relatively limited. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted on lung transplant recipients receiving CAZ/AVI therapy for CRPA infection. The primary outcomes were the 14-day and 30-day mortality. The secondary outcomes were clinical cure and microbiological cure. Results Among 183 LT recipients, a total of 15 recipients with CRPA infection who received CAZ/AVI therapy were enrolled in this study. The mean age of recipients was 54 years and 73.3% of recipients were male. The median time from infection onset to initiation of CAZ/AVI treatment was 4 days (IQR, 3–7) and the mean duration of CAZ/AVI therapy was 10 days. CAZ/AVI was mainly administered as monotherapy in LT recipients (80%). Among these eligible recipients, 14-day and 30-day mortality were 6.7% and 13.3%, respectively. The clinical cure and microbiological cure rates of CAZ/AVI therapy were 53.3% and 60%, respectively. Three recipients (20%) experienced recurrent infection. In addition, the mean lengths of ICU stay and hospital stay were 24 days and 35 days, respectively, among LT recipients. Conclusion CAZ/AVI may be an alternative and promising regimen for CRPA eradiation in lung transplant recipients.
Elevated Systemic Immune – Inflammation Index for Predictor of Ulcerative Colitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: The Systemic Immune-inflammation Index (SII) is a simple, non-invasive, and low-cost parameter that has been studied to predict ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the result remains inconclusive. Therefore, this study aimed to confirm the utilization of SII in UC. Methods: A systematic search was conducted. The inclusion criteria were articles that investigated the relationship between SII and UC and reported a specific cut-off value, specific sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC). The odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) using a 95 % confidence interval (CI) were used.