Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal Variation in Species Abundance and Richness of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in a Tropical Equatorial Area

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate whether temperature, rainfall, and humidity influence the annual distribution of Culicoides Latreille 1809, species abundance and richness in rural areas on São Luís Island in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. Biting midges were collected in housing for domestic animals in the peridomestic areas of 10 homes. A CDC light trap was installed in each peridomestic area from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. once a month for 12 mo. In total, 23,633 individuals belonging to 26 Culicoides species were captured. The most abundant species were Culicoides diabolicus Hoffman, 1925 (27.43%), C. ignacioi Forattini, 1957 (25.9%), C. flavivenulus Costa Lima, 1937 (15.53%), C. insignis Lutz, 1913 (10.66%), C. filariferus Hoffman, 1939 (6.21%), C. boliviensis Spinelli & Wirth, 1984 (6.07%), C. foxi Ortíz, 1950 (2.83%), and C. leopoldoi Ortíz, 1951 (2.54%). Species richness and abundance were greater during the rainy season (24 species; 88% of the individuals) than during the dry season (18 species; 12% of individuals). However, persistent rain on the days the midges were collected or in the preceding 24 h adversely affected abundance. Mean monthly maximum temperature and rainfall on the day of the collection adversely affected Culicoides abundance and richness.
Biological effects of 7lithium (7Li) ion beam radiation on mutation induction in Capsicum annuum L.

Lithium-7 (Li) ion beam radiation is an effective method for inducing mutations in plants. In this study, the effects of Li ion beam radiation on mutation induction in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) were evaluated. The germination rates of irradiated seeds, survival rates of M1 plants and mutation frequencies of M2 plants were statistically analyzed. The results showed that these characteristics were all affected by radiation. A radiation dose of 60 Gy was the balance point between the survival rate of M1 plants and mutation rate of M2 plants, indicating that 60 Gy was a good choice for Li ion beam radiation applications in breeding. Sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) analysis of select M2 plants indicated that radiation caused changes in the DNA. Observations of mutant morphology showed that useful mutants were generated from M2 plants. These results provide both a basis for the application of ion beam radiation in breeding and useful materials for studies of gene function.
Treatment Satisfaction with Flexible-dose Fesoterodine in Patients with Overactive Bladder who were Dissatisfied with Previous Anticholinergic Therapy: A Multicenter Single-Arm Clinical Study.

PURPOSE We investigated treatment satisfaction with flexible-dose fesoterodine in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) who were dissatisfied with previous anticholinergic therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS The subjects were prescribed fesoterodine 4 mg for 4 weeks and fesoterodine 4 mg or 8 mg for another 8 weeks. The primary end point of this study was patients' satisfaction after 12 weeks of fesoterodine treatment on a five-point Likert scale. Secondary end points included a change in the number of daytime micturition, urgency incontinence episodes, urgency episodes, and nocturnal micturition in a 24-hour period from baseline to final assessment. RESULTS Overall, 84 patients were assigned to the treatment group in this study and 63 patients completed the 12-week treatment course. A final fesoterodine dose of 4 mg and 8 mg was used by 45 (71.4%) and 18 (28.6%) patients, respectively. The satisfaction and dissatisfaction rates at 12 weeks were 69.9% and 14.2%, respectively. Mean changes in the daytime micturitions (9.73 ± 4.72 vs. 7.76 ± 2.86), urgency episodes (7.73 ± 5.68 vs. 3.71 ± 4.09), and nocturnal micturitions (2.13 ± 1.36 vs. 1.68 ± 1.12) in 24 hours improved significantly with flexible-dose fesoterodine treatment (P < .05). Most adverse events were mild and none were severe. CONCLUSION The flexible dose fesoterodine represents an alternative treatment modality in patients with OAB who are dissatisfied with previous anticholinergic therapy in Korea.
Impact of Contextual Factors on Snapchat Public Sharing

Public sharing is integral to online platforms. This includes the popular multimedia messaging application Snapchat, on which public sharing is relatively new and unexplored in prior research. In mobile-first applications, sharing contexts are dynamic. However, it is unclear how context impacts users' sharing decisions. As platforms increasingly rely on user-generated content, it is important to also broadly understand user motivations and considerations in public sharing. We explored these aspects of content sharing through a survey of 1,515 Snapchat users. Our results indicate that users primarily have intrinsic motivations for publicly sharing Snaps, such as to share an experience with the world, but also have considerations related to audience and sensitivity of content. Additionally, we found that Snaps shared publicly were contextually different from those privately shared. Our findings suggest that content sharing systems can be designed to support sharing motivations, yet also be sensitive to private contexts.
Mapping the Landscape and Structure of Research on Education for Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Review

This systematic review of research used science mapping as a means of analyzing the knowledge base on education for sustainable development (ESD) in K-12 schooling. The review documented the size, growth trajectory and geographic distribution of this literature, identified high impact scholars and documents, and visualized the “intellectual structure” of the field. The database examined in this review consisted of 1842 English language, Scopus-indexed documents published between 1990 and 2018. The review found that the knowledge base on ESD has grown dramatically over the past 30 years, with a rapidly accelerating rate of publication in the past decade. Although the field has been dominated by scholarship from Anglo-American_European nations, there is evidence of increasing geographic diversification of the ESD knowledge base over the past 15 years. Citation analyses identified authors who have had a significant influence on the development of this literature. Author co-citation analysis revealed three “schools of thought” that comprise the “intellectual structure” of this knowledge base: Education for Sustainable Development, Developing a Sustainability Mindset, Teaching and Learning for Sustainability. Document content analyses led to the conclusion that the current knowledge base is heavily weighted towards critical, descriptive and prescriptive papers, with an insufficient body of analytical empirical studies. Several recommendations are offered for strengthening this literature.
Biochar Amendment Enhances Water Retention in a Tropical Sandy Soil

The use of biochar, which is the solid product of biomass pyrolysis, in agricultural soils, has been shown as a strategic solution for building soil carbon stocks and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. However, biochar amendment might also benefit other key soil processes and services, such as those that are related to water retention, particularly in sandy soils. Here, we conducted an experiment to investigate the potential of biochar to enhance pore size distribution and water retention properties in a tropical sandy soil. Three biochar rates were incorporated (equivalent to 6.25, 12.5, and 25 Mg ha−1) into plastic pots containing a sandy Oxisol sampled from a sugarcane field in Brazil. Undisturbed samples of the mixture were collected at two evaluation times (50 and 150 days) and used to determine water retention curves and other soil physical properties. The results showed that biochar amendment decreased soil bulk density and increased water retention capacity, micropore volume, and available water content. Higher soil water retention in amended soil is associated with the inherent characteristics of biochar (e.g., internal porosity) and potential improvements in soil structure. Microporosity and water retention were enhanced with intermediate biochar rate (12.5 Mg ha−1), instead of the highest rate (25 Mg ha−1) tested. Further studies are needed to validate these results under field conditions.
The sapphirine-bearing rocks in contact with the Lherz peridotite body: New mineralogical data, age and interpretation

Sapphirine-bearing rocks are described in the Aulus Basin (Ariège, France) in a contact zone between the Lherz peridotitic body and Mesozoic metasediments which underwent the Pyrenean Cretaceous high-temperature, low-pressure metamorphic event (Monchoux, 1970, 1972a, 1972b). Sapphirine crystals occur in layered clastic deposits characterized by an uncommon suite of Al-Mg-rich minerals. A detailed petrographic study of sixteen samples representative of the diversity of the Lherz sapphirine-bearing rocks is presented. These rocks include breccias and microbreccias with various compositions. Some samples are composed of polymineralic clasts and isolated minerals that derive from regionally well-known protoliths such as ultramafic rocks, meta-ophites, “micaceous hornfels”, and very scarce Paleozoic basement rocks. Nevertheless, a large portion of the sapphirine-bearing clastic suite is composed of mono- and polymineralic debris that derive from unknown protolith(s). We define a "sapphirine-bearing mineral suite” (SBMS) composed of monomineralic debris including: sapphirine + enstatite + aluminous spinel + Mg-amphiboles + Ca-amphiboles + kornerupine + accessory minerals (apatite, diopside, rutile, serpentine, smectite, tourmaline, vermiculite and a white mica). We highlight the dominance of metamorphic Keuper clastic materials in the studied rocks and the presence of inclusions of anhydrite and F-, Cl-, Sr-rich apatite in minerals of the Al-Mg-rich suite. The brecciated texture and the presence of unequivocal sedimentary features suggest that the sapphirine-bearing rocks were mechanically disaggregated and then experienced winnowing in underwater conditions with poor mixing between the different sources. We measured U-Pb rutile age data in order to provide constraints on the age of (one of) the protolith(s) of those clastic deposits. The obtained age (98.6 + 1.2 Ma) is interpreted as the age of metamorphism of this protolith of the SBMS. Previous works interpreted the Lherz sapphirine-bearing rocks as crustal protoliths modified at depth along the contact with the ultramafic rocks of the Lherz body during their ascent towards shallower depths. These new data imply: (i) an Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic origin for the main protolith of the sapphirine-bearing rocks; (ii) the metamorphism of this protolith along an active hot crust–mantle detachment during Cenomanian times with the involvement of metasomatic, brine-type fluids; and (iii) its brecciation during the exhumation of the material due to the evolution of the detachment, followed by subsequent sedimentary reworking of the metamorphic material.
Perspective from Ecuador, the Second Country with More Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in South America: A Review

To face the pandemic outbreak of a novel coronavirus many countries developed a series of containment methods; however, developing countries in South America had reacted apathetically to this worldwide concern. Ecuador's response to the novel virus Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) started on February 26, 2020, one month after the outbreak began in China. As of today, the countries with more confirmed cases in South America are Brazil and Ecuador. Although Brazil has two times the number of cases than Ecuador (Brazil: 700 cases per 100000 people vs. Ecuador: 400 cases per 100000), the huge population difference between the two countries raises concerns about the public health policies implemented by the Ecuadorian government. Even though there is no cure for COVID-19, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are promising alternatives. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has shown that there is room for improvement in the healthcare systems worldwide and the disastrous results on the fragile often unprepared are those systems in developing countries.
Evaluation of Global Hemostatic Assays in Response to Factor VIII Inhibitors

Global hemostatic assays including thromboelastography (TEG), Innovance ETP (endogenous thrombin potential), and Thrombinoscope could measure thrombin generation potential and be useful to guide management of patients with factor VIII (FVIII) inhibitors. However, the performance characteristics of these global assays in the presence of FVIII inhibitors are incompletely characterized. In this study, the normal range of thrombin generation potential was measured in 20 healthy individuals by all 3 assays. In 5 commercial and 7 clinical samples with FVIII inhibitors, it was shown that PPP-reagent thrombinoscope shows a dose-dependent response to different levels of FVIII inhibitors from the same patients, while Innovance ETP shows virtually no response to FVIII inhibitors. The TEG is more sensitive to FVIII inhibitors than thrombinoscope. Importantly, we show the same levels of FVIII inhibitor from different patients results in different levels of inhibition for thrombin generation potential by thrombinoscope, which potentially explains the phenotypic heterogeneity of patients with FVIII inhibitors. Global assays such as thrombinoscope, but not Innovance ETP, show appropriate sensitivity to FVIII inhibitors that could offer an objective and clinically relevant marker to guide patient management.
Validity and Reliability of Upper Limb Functional Assessment Using the Microsoft Kinect V2 Sensor

Objective To quantify the concurrent accuracy and the test-retest reliability of a Kinect V2-based upper limb functional assessment system. Approach Ten healthy males performed a series of upper limb movements, which were measured concurrently with Kinect V2 and the Vicon motion capture system (gold standard). Each participant attended two testing sessions, seven days apart. Four tasks were performed including hand to contralateral shoulder, hand to mouth, combing hair, and hand to back pocket. Upper limb kinematics were calculated using our developed kinematic model and the UWA model for Kinect V2 and Vicon. The interdevice coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC) and the root mean squared error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the validity of the kinematic waveforms. Mean absolute bias and Pearson's r correlation were used to evaluate the validity of the angles at the points of target achieved (PTA) and the range of motion (ROM). The intersession CMC and RMSE and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to assess the test-retest reliability of Kinect V2. Main Results Both validity and reliability are found to be task-dependent and plane-dependent. Kinect V2 had good accuracy in measuring shoulder and elbow flexion/extension angular waveforms (CMC > 0.87), moderate accuracy of measuring shoulder adduction/abduction angular waveforms (CMC = 0.69-0.82), and poor accuracy of measuring shoulder internal/external angles (CMC < 0.6). We also found high test-retest reliability of Kinect V2 in most of the upper limb angular waveforms (CMC = 0.75-0.99), angles at the PTA (ICC = 0.65-0.91), and the ROM (ICC = 0.68-0.96). Significance Kinect V2 has great potential as a low-cost, easy implemented device for assessing upper limb angular waveforms when performing functional tasks. The system is suitable for assessing relative within-person change in upper limb motions over time, such as disease progression or improvement due to intervention.
Surgery combined with post-operative trancatheter arterial chemoembolization improves survival of intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Aim: To investigate the efficacy of surgery combined with post-operative trancatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A total of 102 patients were divided into two groups: Radical liver resection only (LR group, 52 patients) and radical liver resection combined with post-operative TACE (combined group, 50 patients). Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using Cox proportional analysis to detect prognostic factors of survival outcomes. Results: The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate in the LR group were significantly lower compared with those in combined group (p = .019). The 1-, 3- and 5-year progression-free survival rate in the LR group were also lower than those in the combined group (p = .048). Multivariate analysis detected that tumor number (multiple vs single), tumor distribution (both lobes vs semi-liver), treatment strategy (surgery + TACE vs surgery) were independent factors for OS (HR values were 2.307, 3.155 and 0.526, respectively) and PFS (HR values were 1.938, 3.425 and 0.633, respectively; p < .05). Conclusion: In conclusion, surgery combined with post-operative TACE may improve survival outcomes for patients with intermediate HCC. Tumor number, tumor distribution and treatment strategy (surgery + TACE) were significantly associated with the prognosis of patients with intermediate HCC.
An investigation of the value relevance of deferred tax: the mediating effect of earnings management

There is an academic discussion about the value relevance of deferred tax, which aims to find out the effect of deferred tax on the investors’ decisions. In light of this discussion, the first question is about the impact of deferred tax on management practices to manipulate earnings, which is called earnings management, the second question is about the value relevance of earnings management, the third question is about the value relevance of deferred tax, and the fourth question is about the mediating effect of earnings management. The paper focuses on listed firms in the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX), especially firms that were recorded in EGX 100, for six-year period (2013–2018) for 107 firms and 642 completed observations. The findings are as follows: management uses deferred tax to manipulate earnings, since an increase in deferred tax amounts increases earnings management practices; there is no value relevance of earnings management, which means earnings management practices do not affect the investors’ decisions; there is value relevance of deferred tax, which confirms that deferred tax is one of the determinants that affect the investors’ decisions; there is no value relevance of deferred tax through earnings management as a mediator variable since investors are not interested in earnings management practices to make their investment decisions. This paper investigates the relationship between deferred tax, earnings management, and value relevance in the Egyptian context.
Variants in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region of chromosome 15 predict gastrointestinal adverse events in the TTURC smoking cessation trial.

INTRODUCTION Reducing adverse events from pharmacologic treatment is an important goal of precision medicine and identifying genetic predictors of adverse events is a step towards this goal. In 2012 King et al. reported associations between genetic variants and adverse events in a placebo-controlled smoking cessation trial of varenicline and bupropion. Strong associations were found between gastrointestinal adverse events and 11 variants in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region of chromosome 15, a region repeatedly associated with smoking-related phenotypes. Our goal was to replicate, in an independent sample, the impact of variants in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region on gastrointestinal adverse events, and to extend the analyses to adherence and smoking cessation. METHODS The University of Wisconsin Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) conducted a multi-armed, placebo-controlled smoking cessation trial of bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) that included 985 genotyped European-ancestry participants. We evaluated relations between our key variables using logistic regression. RESULTS Gastrointestinal adverse events were experienced by 31.6% of the TTURC participants. Each of the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 associations from the King study was found in TTURC, with the same direction of effect. Neither these variants nor the gastrointestinal adverse events themselves were associated with adherence to medication or successful smoking cessation. CONCLUSIONS Variants in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region of chromosome 15 are associated with gastrointestinal adverse events in smoking cessation. Additional independent variants in this region strengthen the association. The consistency between the results of these two independent studies supports the conclusion that these findings reflect biological response to the use of smoking cessation medication. IMPLICATIONS The fact that our findings from the TTURC smoking cessation trial, support the independent findings of King et al. suggest that associations of variants in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region of chromosome 15 with gastrointestinal adverse events while taking medications for smoking cessation reflect biology. However, although adherence to medication was a strong predictor of successful smoking cessation in TTURC, neither adverse events nor the genetic variants associated with them predicted either adherence or successful cessation in this study. Thus, although we should strive to minimize adverse events during treatment, we should not expect that to increase successful smoking cessation substantially.
Cold Recycled Asphalt Mixture using 100% RAP with Emulsified Asphalt-Recycling Agent as a New Pavement Base Course

The rehabilitation process of asphalt pavements using the technique of milling and filling can cause several environmental problems due to either the disposal of the milled asphalt mix or the exploration of natural resources. One alternative to mitigate these impacts is to reuse this milled material, known as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), in the construction of new pavement layers. Within the several available techniques to reuse the RAP, cold recycling using an emulsified asphalt-recycling agent has shown great potential. The aim of this study is to evaluate the application of a cold recycled asphalt mix using 100% RAP with an emulsified asphalt-recycling agent as a new pavement base course. A trial section was built employing this material as a pavement base course in a heavy traffic highway in Brazil, and its structural behavior was monitored for 12 months using a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) to assess its performance over time. Furthermore, a laboratory-testing program was performed to evaluate the recycled mixture stiffness and strength through resilient modulus and indirect tensile strength tests. These tests were used to investigate the influence of the storage interval (7, 14, and 28 days) considering the time between mixing and compaction of the mixture. The effect of the curing time after compaction (1, 3, 7, 26, and 56 days) was also assessed. It was verified in laboratory and in the trial section that the stiffness increases with curing time. Furthermore, the backcalculated elastic resilient moduli indicated values in the same order of magnitude to those obtained in the laboratory tests. In addition to the laboratory test findings, it was also observed that the longer the period of storage, the higher the values of stiffness and tensile strength for short periods of curing. This behavior was not verified when longer curing periods were used. In general, the use of cold recycled asphalt mixtures as base course of new pavements proved to be a promising alternative to reuse RAP.