Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Historical context modifies plant diversity–community productivity relationships in alpine grassland

While most studies yield positive relationships between biodiversity (B) and ecosystem functioning (EF), awareness is growing that BEF relationships can vary with ecological context. The awareness has led to increased efforts to understand how contemporary environmental context modifies BEF relationships, but the role of historical context, and the mechanisms by which it may influence biodiversity effects, remains poorly understood. We examined how historical context alters plant diversity–community productivity relationships via plant species interactions in alpine grassland. We also tested how historical context modifies interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which can potentially mediate the above processes. We studied biodiversity effects on plant community productivity at two grassland sites with different histories related to grazing intensity—heavy versus light livestock grazing—but similar current management. We assembled experimental communities of identical species composition with plants from each of the two sites in disturbed soil from a contemporary heavily grazed grassland, ranging in species richness from one to two, three and six species. Moreover, we carried out a mycorrhizal hyphae‐exclusion experiment to test how plant interactions with AM fungi influence plant responses to historical context. We detected a significantly positive diversity–productivity relationship that was driven by complementarity effects in communities composed of plants from the site without heavy‐grazing history, but no such relationship in plant communities composed of plants from the site with heavy‐grazing history. Plants from the site with heavy‐grazing history had increased competitive ability and increased yields in low‐diversity communities but disrupted complementarity effects in high‐diversity communities. Moreover, plants of one species from the site with heavy‐grazing history benefitted more from AM fungal communities than did plants from the site without such history. Synthesis. Using the same experimental design and species, communities assembled by plants from two sites with different historical contexts showed different plant diversity–community productivity relationships. Our results suggest that historical context can alter plant diversity–community productivity relationships via plant species interactions and potentially plant–soil interactions. Therefore, considering historical contexts of ecological communities is of importance for advancing our understanding of long‐term impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on ecosystem functioning.
Comparative Study of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Melanogenesis in Human Epidermal Melanocytes from Different Pigmentation Phototypes: A Pilot Study

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of the primary ingredients of cannabis plants and is responsible for the psychoactive properties of cannabis. While cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive compound from cannabis, has been shown to stimulate human epidermal melanogenesis, the effects of THC have not been addressed in human epidermal melanocytes. Moreover, to date, no study has tested the effects of these compounds on melanocytes differing in pigmentation, representative of different skin phototypes, which would be significant as different ethnicities are known to differentially metabolize these xenobiotics. Herein, the effects of THC were studied and compared alongside CBD in human epidermal melanocytes derived from lightly-pigmented (HEMn-LP; Caucasian) and darkly-pigmented (HEMn-DP; African-American) cells over a chronic exposure of 6 d. Results demonstrated that both compounds displayed cytotoxicity at 4 µM but stimulated melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in a similar manner in LP and DP cells at nontoxic concentrations of 1–2 µM. However, THC and CBD showed a differential effect on dendricity in both cells; THC and CBD reversibly increased dendricity in LP cells while there was no significant change in DP cells. THC and CBD induced higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LP cells while there was no change in the ROS levels in DP cells. In summary, although THC was relatively less cytotoxic as compared to CBD to both LP and DP cells, it exhibited a similar capacity as CBD to stimulate melanin synthesis and export in LP cells which was accompanied by a significant oxidative stress. DP cells were relatively resistant to the effects of both THC and CBD which might implicate the protective effects conferred by melanin in dark-skinned individuals.
Does Knowledge Sharing Belief of Data Analysts Impact Their Behavior?

ABSTRACT If data analysts’ do not share the insights they obtain through the use of data analytics tools, firms may not be able to enhance the quality of their decisions. Therefore, it is critical to understand the factors that encourage data analysts to share their knowledge. In this study, we utilize the theory of planned behavior to understand whether the data analysts’ knowledge sharing beliefs form their behavior. We also utilize contingency and task-technology fit theories to understand the factors that influence the impact of data analysts’ knowledge sharing beliefs on their behaviors. Survey data collected from 226 data analysts U.S.-based companies and the findings showed that: data analysts’ knowledge sharing belief is formed by subjective norm and perception of control; task interdependency does not moderate the effect of data analysts’ knowledge sharing belief on their knowledge sharing behavior; analytical skills positively moderate this association; and tool comprehensiveness negatively moderates it.
Integrative Proteome and Phosphoproteome Profiling of Early Cold Response in Maize Seedlings

Cold limits the growth and yield of maize in temperate regions, but the molecular mechanism of cold adaptation remains largely unexplored in maize. To identify early molecular events during cold shock, maize seedlings were treated under 4 °C for 30 min and 2 h, and analyzed at both the proteome and phosphoproteome levels. Over 8500 proteins and 19,300 phosphopeptides were quantified. About 660 and 620 proteins were cold responsive at protein abundance or site-specific phosphorylation levels, but only 65 proteins were shared between them. Functional enrichment analysis of cold-responsive proteins and phosphoproteins revealed that early cold response in maize is associated with photosynthesis light reaction, spliceosome, endocytosis, and defense response, consistent with similar studies in Arabidopsis. Thirty-two photosynthesis proteins were down-regulated at protein levels, and 48 spliceosome proteins were altered at site-specific phosphorylation levels. Thirty-one kinases and 33 transcriptional factors were cold responsive at protein, phosphopeptide, or site-specific phosphorylation levels. Our results showed that maize seedlings respond to cold shock rapidly, at both the proteome and phosphoproteome levels. This study provides a comprehensive landscape at the cold-responsive proteome and phosphoproteome in maize seedlings that can be a significant resource to understand how C4 plants respond to a sudden temperature drop.
Applying Design Roadmapping in New Product Development Education: Insights From Student Design Teams

A design roadmap is a canvas that facilitates embedding user experience design goals into the earliest stages of the design process by envisioning how a concept can evolve over time to meet changing user needs. This paper explores the development of design roadmap canvases by product design teams in an educational setting. It does so by (1) examining the design roadmapping workshop deliverables from new product development student teams at the University of California, Berkeley between 2014-2017 and (2) analyzing 107 survey responses from students in those workshops about their design roadmapping experiences. The paper describes the benefits to students using design roadmapping and insights into how best to engage students in design roadmapping exercises. Finally, based on the challenges students had with the process employed in the experiment, recommendations are provided to help educators and practitioners make productive use of design roadmaps.
Incidental Gallbladder Neoplasms: A Growing Global Burden

Background The increasing trend of laparoscopic procedures has made cholecystectomies one of the most common surgical specimens received for histopathological evaluation. This has also led to an increasing trend of finding incidental gallbladder malignancies for a presumed benign disease. The present study describes the histopathological spectrum of neoplastic lesions of the gallbladder along with the historadiological correlation with special emphasis on incidental gallbladder carcinomas (IGBC). Materials and methods All the cholecystectomies received over a span of two and a half years were studied. Demographic details, imaging findings, gross features, and microscopic findings of premalignant and malignant lesions were noted. Special stains were done as and when required. Results Of the 1253 cholecystectomies received during the study period, 50 gallbladders (3.9%) showed neoplastic pathology and were included in the present study. The age range was 40 to 60 years with female predominance. Ultrasonography revealed nonspecific wall thickness in both premalignant and incidental gallbladder carcinomas. Gallstones were seen in 74% of the cases (37/50). Gross and imaging findings in 17 (34%) of the malignant cases were in concordance with microscopic features, whereas the dysplastic lesions (21) and IGBC cases showed evidence of chronic cholecystitis on the same. Microscopic examination revealed focal dysplasia (low and high grade) in 21/50 (42%) cases. Invasive malignancy was seen in 28/50 (56%) of the cases, of which 11 cases (22%) were IGBC. Pancreaticobiliary type of adenocarcinoma was the most common morphology seen in almost all the cases. There was also one case each of intracholecystic papillary neoplasm (ICPN) and carcinosarcoma. Conclusion GBC is an unusual malignancy and its preoperative diagnosis is not so definitive. The incidental form of GBC presents as a radiological disguise and a histopathological surprise. Hence, the present study warrants a complete and scrupulous histopathological examination of all the cholecystectomy specimens for proper and further management of the case.
A human behavior model of multi-agent attention based on actor–observer switching for asynchronous motion tasks with limited field of view

This paper presents an overt visual attention approach for multi-agent systems and asynchronous motion tasks with limited field of view based on human behavior. In a first step, results from a study on human temporal attention switching during a formation task are presented. Three temporally switching human behaviors (observer, actor, idler) are identified and characterized towards distributions of attention foci. In a second step, based on these results, a behavior switching attention strategy is proposed. The strategy is evaluated in simulations of various formation task scenarios illustrating the effectiveness of the approach. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Reevaluating the relationship between explaining, tracing, and writing skills in CS1 in a replication study

ABSTRACT Background and Context Lopez and Lister first presented evidence for a skill hierarchy of code reading, tracing, and writing for introductory programming students. Further support for this hierarchy could help computer science educators sequence course content to best build student programming skill. Objective This study aims to replicate a slightly simplified hierarchy of skills in CS1 using a larger body of students (600+ vs. 38) in a non-major introductory Python course with computer-based exams. We also explore the validity of other possible hierarchies. Method We collected student score data on 4 kinds of exam questions. Structural equation modeling was used to derive the hierarchy for each exam. Findings We find multiple best-fitting structural models. The original hierarchy does not appear among the “best” candidates, but similar models do. We also determined that our methods provide us with correlations between skills and do not answer a more fundamental question: what is the ideal teaching order for these skills? Implications This modeling work is valuable for understanding the possible correlations between fundamental code-related skills. However, analyzing student performance on these skills at a moment in time is not sufficient to determine teaching order. We present possible study designs for exploring this more actionable research question.
Simple Prediction Method for Rubber Adhesive Friction by the Combining Friction Test and FE Analysis

In the design and development of rubber products, it is important to evaluate the contact load dependency of the friction coefficient. In particular, since the pressure distribution varies depending on the dimensions of sliding bodies and the pattern of the contact surface, a simplified and accurate evaluation method that can take these influences into account is desired. In this study, we proposed a prediction method for the adhesive friction between rubber specimens of arbitrary shapes with arbitrary roughness and a smooth hard surface, by combining the: (1) friction theory considering the influence of roughness; (2) basic friction test; and (3) finite element analysis. Further, we verified the effectiveness of the proposed method by comparing the predicted results with the measurement results of friction between a hemispherical PDMS specimen and a PMMA flat plate and between a PDMS block specimen with a grooved surface and a flat prism. Results show that the prediction accuracy of the contact load dependency of the friction coefficient is reasonably good.
Impact of fibre weight on the mechanical properties of chopped luffa cylindrica fibre reinforced polymer composites

ABSTRACT Due to its superior properties such as light weight, biodegradable, low density, readily accessible, low cost, high specific strength etc., natural fibre-reinforced polymer composites have been a wide field of research over the last few years. The effect of the fibre content on the mechanical property and water absorption behaviour of luffa cylindrica fibre-reinforced epoxy composite is studied in this research paper. The surface morphology of tensile fracture specimens is also analysed using FESEM analysis. Four different types of composites were prepared by using hand layup technique with varying fibre content such as 4%, 8%, 12% and 16 wt%. The mechanical behaviours of composites have been analysed, such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and water absorption properties, respectively. The experimental result shows that the water absorption increases with increase in fibre weight percentage. Similarly mechanical properties increase up to 12% luffa fibre content in a composite. Maximum tensile, flexural and impact strength obtained 19 MPa, 50.2 MPa and 2.3 joule, respectively, in 12 wt% luffa fibre composites. But maximum water absorption was obtained as 10.2% in 16 wt% of luffa fibre composites.
Contextualities of gender in Eritrean immigrant households: Exploring empowerment through integration in Norwegian society

ABSTRACT The article presents a contextual understanding of immigration and integration in Norwegian society from a gender perspective by capturing the experiences of Eritrean immigrant households when adapting to social change and an unfamiliar gender regime. Theories of empowerment and social integration are used to interpret the gender dimensions, and to examine Eritrean families’ post-migration gender relations and the interaction between conventional and egalitarian norms in expectations regarding the roles and social participation of women and men. A qualitative research design was used, involving in-depth interviews, participant observation, and informal discussions. The findings revealed that Eritrean immigrants’ gender relations in Norwegian society were dynamic, due to the opportunities and constraints they faced in the private and public spheres. Women’s ability to challenge patriarchal power relations was due to their adoption of Norwegian mainstream norms that determined their agency and empowerment in society. Also, social inclusion for Eritrean immigrants wes often dependent on social networks that aided their integration into society and was differentiated by gender. The authors conclude that the realities of women’s empowerment were heterogeneous and subjectively influenced by male gender ideologies, relevant education and language skills, access to desirable social networks, satisfactory paid work, and decisive welfare regulations.
Adoptively Transferred in vitro-Generated Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Improve T-Cell Function and Antigen-Specific Immunity after Traumatic Lung Injury

Immune reactions after trauma are characterized by immediate activation of innate immunity and simultaneously downregulation of adaptive immunity leading to a misbalanced immunohomeostasis and immunosuppression of the injured host. Therefore, the susceptibility to secondary infections is strongly increased after trauma. Immune responses are regulated by a network of immune cells influencing each other and at the same time modifying their functions dependent on the inflammatory environment. Although myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are initially described as T-cell suppressors, their immunomodulatory capacity after trauma is mostly undefined. Therefore, in vitro-generated MDSCs were adoptively transferred into mice after blunt chest trauma (TxT). A single MDSC treatment-induced splenic T-cell expansion decreased apoptosis sensitivity and improved proliferation in the absence of T-cell exhaustion until 2 weeks after trauma. MDSC treatment had a long-lasting effect on the genomic landscape of CD4+ T cells by upregulating primarily Th2-associated genes. Remarkably, immune-activating functions of MDSCs supported the ability of TxT mice to respond to post-traumatic secondary antigen challenge. Secondary insults were mimicked by immunizing MDSC-treated TxT mice with ovalbumin (OVA), followed by OVA restimulation in vitro. MDSC treatment significantly increased the frequency of OVA-specific T cells, enhanced their Th1/Th2 cytokine expression, and induced upregulation of cytolytic molecules finally improving OVA-specific cytotoxicity. Overall, we could show that therapeutic MDSC treatment after TxT improves post-traumatic T-cell functions, which might enable the traumatic host to counterbalance trauma-induced immunoparalysis.
Exploring Healthcare Professionals’ Practices and Attitudes towards Monitoring and Reporting of Severe Adverse Drug Reactions

Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a key role in the monitoring of severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The present study aims to explore practices and barriers of HCPs in severe ADR monitoring and reporting, to evaluate their attitudes towards the monitoring and to assess the related factors. Self-administered questionnaires produced in hard copy and Google form were sent to 510 HCPs by stratified random sampling. Of the 350 HCPs that responded (68.6%), 44.9% had ever monitored ADRs. The most common practices were the observation of abnormal symptoms for ADR identification (88.5%), discontinuation of the suspected drug for ADR management (88.5%) and advice on recurrent drug allergy for ADR prevention (88.5%). Most HCPs (93.0%) obtained further patient history to identify severe ADRs. The uncertainty of the causal relationship was a major barrier to ADR reporting (60.0%). Pharmacists were more involved with practices in ADR monitoring and reporting (OR 20.405; p < 0.001), whereas longer work experience (>20 years) was negatively related to the practices (OR 0.271; p = 0.024). Over one-third (37.6%) of HCPs had a positive attitude towards severe ADR monitoring. In conclusion, the practices in severe ADR monitoring varied among different professions. However, the barriers to the reporting of ADRs still exist; hence, improving knowledge and cooperation among HCPs should be promoted.
A study on colour harmony and consumer perception of shampoo packages displayed on screen

: This study aims to establish a relationship of package colour with colour harmony and consumers’ perception of product quality. Specifically, it focuses on the package design of hair shampoo bottle generating observer’s positive emotions and expectations. Forty shampoo bottle package stimuli with 10 different colours and 4 different images of packages were presented to 70 participants and their psychological responses for colour harmony, quality, liking and effectiveness were recorded using semantic differential method. Two major findings were identified, the first one being, colour harmony of shampoo bottle packages and liking are highly correlated with each other ( R = 0.94 and p = 0.05) and with quality ( R = 0.86 and p = 0.05 and R = 0.89 and p = 0.05) respectively. In the second finding, the differences in colour attributes like Chroma, Lightness, and Hue of package colours also affected the observer’s responses towards the four semantic scales.
Antibodies to Human Herpesviruses and Rate of Incident Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality in the UK Biobank Infectious Disease Pilot Study

Abstract Background Associations between human herpesviruses (HHVs) and cardiovascular disease/mortality have been reported, but evidence is inconsistent. We investigated associations between 3 common herpesviruses and (1) incident stroke or myocardial infarction (MI) and (2) all-cause mortality. Methods We included participants from the UK Biobank Infectious Disease pilot study with valid serum antibody (IgG) measurements taken at cohort entry (2006–2010) for herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), varicella zoster virus (VZV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Linked hospital and mortality records up to December 30 2019 provided information on rates of (1) incident first stroke or MI and (2) all-cause mortality. Hazard ratios (HRs) from Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess relationships between (1) HHV seropositivity, (2) HHV titer and incident stroke/MI, and death outcomes. Fully adjusted models accounted for sociodemographic information (age, sex, ethnicity, education, deprivation quintile, birthplace, population density), baseline comorbidities (including diabetes and hypertension), smoking status, body mass index, and serum cholesterol. Results Of 9429 study participants (56% female, 95% White, median age 58 years), 41% were seropositive for all 3 HHVs. Human herpesvirus seropositivity was not associated with stroke/MI (fully adjusted HRs and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: HSV1 = 0.93 [CI, 0.72–1.22], VZV = 0.78 [CI, 0.51–1.20], CMV = 0.91 [CI, 0.71–1.16]) or all-cause mortality (HSV1 = 1.21 [CI, 1.00–1.47], VZV = 0.79 [CI, 0.58–1.07], CMV = 0.90 [CI, 0.76–1.06]). Human herpesvirus titers were not associated with outcomes. Conclusions In this mostly White UK Biobank subset, neither HHV seropositivity nor titers were associated with stroke/MI or all-cause mortality.