Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Native and exotic plant cover vary inversely along a climate gradient 11 years following stand‐replacing wildfire in a dry coniferous forest, Oregon, USA

Community re‐assembly following future disturbances will often occur under warmer and more moisture‐limited conditions than when current communities assembled. Because the establishment stage is regularly the most sensitive to climate and competition, the trajectory of recovery from disturbance in a changing environment is uncertain, but has important consequences for future ecosystem functioning. To better understand how ongoing warming and rising moisture limitation may affect recovery, we studied native and exotic plant composition 11 years following complete stand‐replacing wildfire in a dry coniferous forest spanning a large gradient in climatic moisture deficit (CMD) from warm and dry low elevation sites to relatively cool and moist higher elevations sites. We then projected future precipitation, temperature and CMD at our study locations for four scenarios selected to encompass a broad range of possible future conditions for the region. Native perennials dominated relatively cool and moist sites 11 years after wildfire, but were very sparse at the warmest and driest (high CMD) sites, particularly when combined with high topographic sun exposure. In contrast, exotic species (primarily annual grasses) were dominant or co‐dominant at the warmest and driest sites, especially with high topographic sun exposure. All future scenarios projected increasing temperature and CMD in coming decades (e.g., from 4.5% to 29.5% higher CMD by the 2080's compared to the 1971–2000 average), even in scenarios where growing season (May‐September) precipitation increased. These results suggest increasing temperatures and moisture limitation could facilitate longer term (over a decade) transitions toward exotic‐dominated communities after severe wildfire when a suitable exotic seed source is present.
Interim report on the physico-chemical characterisation of PROSPEcT Nanomaterials.

The main objective of this project was to characterise zinc oxide (ZnO) and cerium oxide (CeO2) nanomaterials (NMs), in accordance to requirements defined in the UK's PROSPEcT/OECD programme. This report describes interim results of ongoing activities; subdivided into four main tasks. A summary of their progress is given in this report.
Residual Anatomical Disease in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients With FDG-PET–Based Complete Response After First-Line R-CHOP Therapy: Does It Have Any Prognostic Value?

Objective This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of residual anatomical disease, including its size and reduction relative to baseline, in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients who have 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography–based complete response after first-line R-CHOP therapy. Methods This retrospective study included 47 patients. In patients with computed tomography (CT)–based residual disease, the size of the largest residual lesion (Resmax) and the sum of the sizes of all residual lesions (Restotal) were measured, and their reductions relative to baseline (&Dgr;Resmax and &Dgr;Restotal) were calculated. Results Patients with high-risk National Comprehensive Cancer Network International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI) scores had significantly lower progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than patients with low-risk NCCN-IPI scores (P = 0.032 and P = 0.022). In contrast, patients with residual lesions at CT had no significantly lower PFS and OS than those without (P = 0.531 and P = 0.801). In the subpopulation with CT-based residual disease, patients with high Resmax, high Restotal, low &Dgr;Resmax, and low &Dgr;Restotal had no significantly different PFS and OS than those with low Resmax, low Restotal, high &Dgr;Resmax, and high &Dgr;Restotal (P = 0.980 and P = 0.790, P = 0.423 and P = 0.229, P = 0.923 and P = 0.893, and P = 0.923 and P = 0.893, respectively). Conclusions The NCCN-IPI retains its prognostic value in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients with 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography–based complete response after first-line R-CHOP therapy. However, the presence of residual anatomical disease, including its size and reduction relative to baseline, has no prognostic value in these patients.
Effects of management, feeding, and treatment on clinical and biochemical variables in cattle with displaced abomasum.

OBJECTIVE To determine effects of management, feeding, and treatment on clinical and biochemical variables in cows with displaced abomasum (DA). ANIMALS 374 cows that received 470 treatments for DA. PROCEDURE Blood and milk samples were obtained from 139 affected cows for analysis; for all cows, clinical data, management, feeding, and treatments were evaluated. RESULTS Multiparous cows were more predisposed to DA than primiparous cows were, and Swedish Friesians were more predisposed than Swedish Red and Whites were. Eighty percent of cows had left-sided DA, and 20% had right-sided DA. In > 50% of affected cows, clinical signs appeared just before calving to 2 weeks after calving. Incidence of twin calves and periparturient diseases was significantly higher in affected cows than in the overall Swedish cow population. Content of neutral detergent fiber in the silage was low in herds with DA. Feeding a total mixed ration was a risk factor for DA. Treatment by surgical methods gave a significantly higher recovery rate than nonsurgical methods. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Displaced abomasum is a periparturient nutritional disease. Feeding roughage with low neutral detergent content is a more important causative factor than the amount of concentrates fed at the time of calving. The basic principle for prevention of DA is to maintain good ruminal filling before and at calving. The amount of high-quality roughage fed before and at calving should be kept to a minimum. By changing routines for periparturient feeding, it should be possible to reduce the incidence of DA.
Past Orientation of the Lunar Spin Axis

The orientation of the lunar spin axis is traced from the early history of the earth-moon system to the present day. Tides raised on the earth by the moon have caused an expansion of the lunar orbit. Tides raised on the moon by the earth have de-spun the moon to synchronous rotation and driven its spin axis to a Cassini state—that is, in a coprecessing configuration, coplanar with the lunar orbit normal and the normal to the Laplacian plane (which is at present coincident with the normal to the ecliptic). This combination of events has resulted in a complex history for the lunar spin axis. For much of the period during which its orbital semimajor axis expanded between 30 and 40 earth radii, the obliquity of the moon was of order 25� to 50�. In fact, for a brief period the obliquity periodically attained a value as high as 77�; that is, the spin axis of the moon was only 13� from lying in its orbit plane.
Including students with special educational needs in Rocky Mountain region Catholic schools' regular education programs

Hall, Jill Ann Perry. Including Students with Special Educational Needs in Rocky Mountain Region Catholic Schools’ Regular Education Programs. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, August 2013. Through a consensual qualitative research and phenomenological approach, this study explored the function of serving students in Catholic schools with special educational needs. Utilizing a survey, a breadth of data were collected from teachers and administrators on the incidence of special educational needs, services available, accommodations and interventions provided, governance of the schools, and training of staff. Additional interview and observation data were coded to provide depth to the understanding of this unique context. Findings suggest a variety of special educational needs are addressed in Catholic schools and that these needs are increasing in both number and severity. Four overarching themes emerged from the data: (a) Pride; (b) Action; (c) Willingness; and (d) Tension. Information from this study can be used to help Catholic school districts develop a comprehensive system of service provision for their students with special educational needs.
Effects of Rotor Position Error in the Performance of Field-Oriented-Controlled PMSM Drives for Electric Vehicle Traction Applications

This paper analyzes the effects of the rotor position error in the performance of field-oriented-controlled permanent-magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) drives intended for electric vehicle (EV) traction applications. A special focus is given to the torque ripple generated along the characteristic trajectories in the different operating regions of the PMSM. An extended and generalized model of the torque ripple produced by the PMSM as a function of the rotor position error is analytically deduced. An infinite-speed interior-(I)PMSM drive and a finite-speed surface-mounted (SM)-PMSM drive are considered for the simulations carried out in MATLAB-SimPowerSystems. The experimental results have been validated with a TM4 EV drive controlling an 80-kW SM-PMSM. The torque ripple has been evaluated for both motoring and regenerative braking operation modes under maximum torque conditions going from 100 N · m at 1000 r/min up to 55 N · m at 9000 r/min. The obtained simulation and experimental results demonstrate the good accuracy of the proposed model for evaluating the torque ripple produced in PMSMs due to the error from the rotor position sensor.
The relationship of corpus callosum connections to electrical stimulation maps of motor, supplementary motor, and the frontal eye fields in owl monkeys

Microstimulation and anatomical techniques were combined to reveal the organization and interhemispheric connections of motor cortex in owl monkeys. Movements of body parts were elicited with low levels of electrical stimulation delivered with microelectrodes over a large region of precentral cortex. Movements were produced from three physiologically defined cortical regions. The largest region, the primary motor field, M‐I, occupied a 4‐6mm strip of cortex immediately rostral to area 3a. M‐I represented body movements from tail to mouth in a grossly somatotopic mediolateral cortical sequence. Specific movements were usually represented at more than one location, and often at as many as six or seven separate locations within M‐I. Although movements related to adjoining joints typically were elicited from adjacent cortical sites, movements of nonadjacent joints also were produced by stimulation of adjacent sites. Thus, both sites producing wrist movements and sites producing shoulder movements were found next to sites producing digit movements. Movements of digits of the forepaw were evoked at several locations including a location rostral to or within cortex representing the face. Overall, the somatotopic organization did not completely correspond to previous concepts of M‐I in that it was neither a single topographic representation, nor two serial or mirror symmetric representations, nor a “nesting about joints” representation. Instead, M‐I is more adequately described as a mosaic of regions, each representing movements of a restricted part of the body, with multiple representations of movements that tend to be somatotopically related.
Analysis of sperm nuclear protein gene polymorphisms and DNA integrity in infertile men

Sperm nuclear proteins, the protamines (PRM) and transition nuclear proteins (TNP) play a crucial role in sperm nuclear condensation. The compact packaging of sperm DNA by protamines maintains sperm genome integrity, which is prerequisite for normal sperm function. However the effect of nucleotide variations in PRM and TNP genes on sperm DNA integrity and male fertility is not clear. This case-control study was planned to analyze PRM and TNP gene nucleotide variations and sperm DNA integrity in 100 oligozoospermic infertile men and 100 fertile controls. Protamine and TNP genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Flow cytometry-sperm chromatin structure assay (FC-SCSA) was applied to measure the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in sperm. Semen analysis was performed as per WHO [1999] guidelines with slight modification. In total, 7 nucleotide variations including two novel changes, a non-synonymous mutation in the exon-2 of PRM2 gene (c.443C > A) and a novel insertion of T (c.396_397InsT) at the 3′ UTR region of TNP1 were detected. None of the nucleotide changes were observed with increased risk frequency in the oligozoospermic infertile men compared to the controls. Though overall DFI was significantly (p < 0.0001) higher in infertile men compared to controls (36.31 ± 7.25 vs. 26.49 ± 2.78) irrespective of nucleotide changes, no such difference was observed between 100 infertile men or pooled population of 200 with and without mutations. However it was observed that two cases with novel nucleotide changes PRM2 c.443C > A and TNP1 c. 396_397InsT had higher DFI value of 34.82% and 43.85%, respectively. In conclusion, our pilot study for the first time in the Indian population revealed two rare novel mutations in sperm nuclear protein genes that are perhaps associated with higher sperm DNA fragmentation.
Wind estimation using the position information from a hovering quadrotor

In this paper, an approach to estimating the wind at a fixed place is proposed by using the observed position information of a hovering quadrotor. The aerodynamic characteristics of the propeller are firstly analyzed to establish the quadrotor model in a windy environment. Then, a PID method is adopted to maintain the stable hovering flight. Next, according to the hovering state equations, the wind estimating algorithm can be obtained by decomposing three-dimensional kinematics equations into two parts, one is the motion caused by wind, and another is the motion to keep itself hovering at a fixed point. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is proved with the MATLAB/Simulink simulation.
Prospective Teachers from Urban Environments Examine Causes of the Achievement Gap in the United States

This study analyzes the educational achievement gap between low and high socioeconomic students from the perspective of sixty-two prospective teachers in an undergraduate educational foundations course at a public majority minority urban university in the northeastern United States. The majority of these college students come from, and plan to teach in, lower socioeconomic areas; consequently their insights are uniquely relevant. These prospective teachers cite the following as key causes of the achievement gap: lack of parental involvement, linguistic conflicts between home and school, a lack of bicultural teachers, and the perception of anti-intellectual k-12 school climates. Implications of how these views may affect these prospective teachers when they enter the teaching profession are addressed.
On Asymptotic Speed of Solutions to Level-Set Mean Curvature Flow Equations with Driving and Source Terms

We investigate a model equation in the crystal growth, which is described by a level-set mean curvature flow equation with driving and source terms. We establish the well-posedness of solutions, and study the asymptotic speed. Interestingly, a new type of nonlinear phenomena in terms of asymptotic speed of solutions appears, which is very sensitive to the shapes of source terms.
Is the EuroQol a valid measure of health-related quality of life after stroke?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The EuroQol measures aspects of quality of life that are highly relevant to stroke patients. It is short and simple and many stroke patients can complete the form without help. However, its validity has not been adequately assessed after stroke. We therefore assessed its concurrent and discriminant validity in a group of prospectively studied stroke survivors. METHODS We assessed the validity of the EuroQol in a series of 152 patients with stroke who were all visited by a study nurse. The nurse gave the patients the EuroQol, the Frenchay Activities Index, a visual analogue pain scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in the form of questionnaires to be self-completed where possible. The nurse interviewed the patient directly to assess disability using the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Disability scale and Barthel Index. RESULTS The nurse assessed 152 patients; of these 92 were able to complete the EuroQol without help, the remaining 60 could only be assessed by interview. The EuroQol had reasonable concurrent validity; median scores on the relevant standard instruments varied significantly (and in the appropriate direction) for groups defined by their response to the relevant EuroQol domain. The EuroQol had reasonable discriminant validity since the responses enabled separation between patients with differing stroke syndromes and stroke severities. Accuracy for predicting outcome after stroke was good for both self-completed and interview-completed questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS The EuroQol appears to have acceptable concurrent and discriminant validity for the measurement of health-related quality of life after stroke. It may be administered by either a questionnaire for self-completion in patients with mild to moderate stroke or by interview in patients with significant motor deficits.
Widespread occurrence of perchlorate in water, foodstuffs and human urine collected from Kuwait and its contribution to human exposure

ABSTRACT Perchlorate is a thyroid hormone-disrupting compound and is reported to occur widely in the environment. Little is known on human exposure to perchlorate in Kuwait. In this study, 218 water samples, 618 commonly consumed foodstuffs and 532 urine samples collected from Kuwait were analysed to assess the exposure of the Kuwaiti population to perchlorate. For the estimation of daily intake of perchlorate, food consumption rates were obtained from the National Nutrition Survey in the State of Kuwait (NNSSK). The results showed that leafy vegetables accounted for a major share of perchlorate exposure among the Kuwaiti population at 0.062 µg kg–1 bw day–1 (36.2%), followed by fruits at 0.026 µg kg–1 bw day–1 (15.3%) and non-leafy vegetables at 0.017 µg kg–1 bw day–1 (10.1%). The urinary perchlorate geometric mean (GM) concentrations ranged from 8.51 to 17.1 µg l–1 for the five age groups, which were higher than those reported in other countries. The estimated urinary perchlorate exposure for the Kuwaiti general population was 0.42 µg kg–1 bw day–1, which was higher than that reported for the United States. The dietary intake of perchlorate for the Kuwaiti population ranged from 0.14 to 0.67 µg kg–1 bw day–1 for the five age groups, with a mean total daily intake of 0.17 µg kg–1 bw day–1 for the general population. The highest estimated dietary mean daily intake of perchlorate (0.67 µg kg–1 bw day–1) was found for children at 3–5 years. The estimated dietary perchlorate exposure in Kuwait is higher than the recommended mean reference dose (RfD) but lower than that of provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) set by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Graphical Abstract
Prognostic value of restless legs syndrome in hemodialysis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Previous studies have revealed that restless legs syndrome (RLS) not only is frequently prevalent in dialysis patients but also increases the risk of death in dialysis patients, especially in hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, inconsistent results also still exist, having attracted confusion and discussion. Owing to mixed and inconclusive results, we conducted to perform the comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the potential prognostic value of RLS in HD patients. Materials and methods We conducted a systematic literature search using electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid, Embase and Web of Science) to identify relevant studies reporting on all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) events in HD patients suffering from RLS. We searched the literature published up to December 5, 2016, or earlier. We used both fixed- and random-effects models to calculate the overall effect estimate. An I2>50% indicates at least moderate statistical heterogeneity. A sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were performed to find the origin of heterogeneity. Results A total of four studies including 1,839 patients found that there was no significant association between RLS and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.649; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.778–3.496) and CV events (HR: 0.863; 95% CI: 0.600–1.127) in HD patients. Heterogeneity among the studies was observed for all-cause mortality (I2=80.7%, P=0.001). Conclusion Our meta-analysis suggests that there was no significant effect of RLS on all-cause mortality and CV events in HD patients. Therefore, large-scale and well-designed studies are needed to validate the association between RLS and the risk of death in HD patients.
A User Interface for Encoding Space Usage Rules Expressed in Natural Language

Our interactions with the spaces around us are frequently defined by space usage rules (SURs) like "no smoking", "no dogs allowed", and "stay on the trail". These rules are important public health tools and help protect the environment, among other applications. However, despite their importance, no large-scale database of SURs currently exists. This prevents online/mobile maps from presenting these rules to users, as their traditional paper counterparts have been shown to do regularly. The lack of a SUR database also prevents developers from building novel SUR-based applications, e.g. mobile apps that inform users where they can smoke or walk their dog. In this paper, we present an in-development user interface to support the semi-automatic encoding of SURs expressed in natural language in documents such as laws, city ordinances, park rules, and institution FAQ pages. Our system will allow an untrained user to easily enter complex rules into a spatial data format compatible with OpenStreetMap.
Education Reform in Pakistan

Abstract : Pakistan's primary education system ranks among the world's least effective. The Bush Administration, Congress, and the 9/11 Commission each have identified this issue as relevant to U.S. interests in South Asia. Legislation passed by the 108th Congress called for U.S. support to "improve and expand access to education for all [Pakistani] citizens" and required the Secretary of State to report on Pakistan's education reform strategy and the U.S. strategy to provide relevant assistance. This report reviews education reform efforts in Pakistan and U.S. assistance, and includes a discussion of current policy. This report will be updated.