Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
One species with a disjunct distribution or two with convergent evolution? Taxonomy of two South American garlics

The establishment of species boundaries has been a difficult task for biologists since the beginning of classifications. Within South American Allioideae (= Alliaceae), the delimitation of genera and species has long been a major challenge. Consequently, species-level nomenclature in these groups has been difficult to elucidate. Ipheion and Tristagma are two closely related South American genera for which the delimitation and circumscription of several species continue to be unclear. Tristagma sessile, a species inhabiting the Andes and the Coast Range in Chile, and Ipheion recurvifolium, a species native to Uruguay only found close to sea level, have been considered as one species with an intracontinental disjunct distribution. The divergent habitats and distributions of these taxa have stirred the question of whether they are a single species. The present study aims to elucidate the evolutionary relationships and status of the Chilean and Pampean taxa. We also analysed the name Tristagma leichtlinii, which has long been a source of confusion. Based on their phylogenetic relationships, geographical distributions, flowering periods, and DNA content, we conclude that the two taxa are different species and assignable to separate genera. We propose that the morphological similarity of Ipheion recurvifolium and Tristagma sessile, amply corroborated in this study, might be the sum of shared synapomorphies (between Ipheion and Tristagma) and convergent features. We update the biogeographic history of the two genera and propose that similar pollinators might underpin the convergence in floral traits. We outline the differences among genera and species, present a taxonomic review with a new lectotype and consider the conservation status of the studied species.
A Hybrid Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Control for Improving Flying Qualities of Asymmetric Store Configuration Aircraft

Highly maneuverability fighter aircrafts are equipped with various weapons for successful air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The aircraft has abrupt transient response due to ejection force generated when store of one wing is launched and the movement of lateral center-of-gravity (YCG) changing by the mass distribution of both wings after launched. Under maintaining 1 g level flight with manual trim system in the asymmetric store configuration, the aircraft causes unexpected roll motion for the pure longitudinal maneuver because the change of AoA and airspeed changes the amount of trim for level flight of the aircraft. For this reason, the pilot should continuously use the roll control stick input to maintain level flight. This characteristic increases the pilot’s workload and adversely affects the flying qualities of the aircraft, which is a major cause of deteriorating mission efficiency for combat maneuver. In this paper, we propose a hybrid control that combines model- and sensor-based Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (INDI) control based mathematical model of the supersonic advanced trainer to minimize the transient response of the aircraft when the store is launched and to effectively reduce the unexpected roll motion that occurs for the pure longitudinal maneuvering in the asymmetric store configuration. As a result of the frequency- and time-domain evaluation, the proposed control method can effectively reduce the transient response for store launch and minimize unexpected roll motion for the pure longitudinal maneuver. Therefore, this control method can effectively improve flying qualities and mission efficiency by reducing the pilot’s workload in the operation of the asymmetric store configuration.
Visible-Light-Promoted Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production by Using an Amino-Functionalized Ti(IV) Metal–Organic Framework

The present article describes the hydrogen production from an aqueous medium over amino-functionalized Ti(IV) metal–organic framework (Ti-MOF-NH2) under visible-light irradiation. Ti-MOF-NH2, which employs 2-amino-benzenedicarboxylic acid as an organic linker, has been synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. Pt nanoparticles as cocatalysts are then deposited onto Ti-MOF-NH2 via a photodeposition process (Pt/Ti-MOF-NH2). The XRD and N2 adsorption measurements reveal the successful formation of a MOF framework structure and its remaining structure after deposition of Pt nanoparticles. The observable visible-light absorption up to ∼500 nm can be seen in the DRUV–vis spectrum of Ti-MOF-NH2, which is associated with the chromophore in the organic linker. Ti-MOF-NH2 and Pt/Ti-MOF-NH2 exhibit efficient photocatalytic activities for hydrogen production from an aqueous solution containing triethanolamine as a sacrificial electron donor under visible-light irradiation. The longest wavelength available for the .
Low-dose MDCT: evaluation of the impact of systematic tube current reduction and sparse sampling on quantitative paraspinal muscle assessment.

Background Wasting disease entities like cachexia or sarcopenia are associated with a decreasing muscle mass and changing muscle composition. For valid and reliable disease detection and monitoring diagnostic techniques offering quantitative musculature assessment are needed. Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) is a broadly available imaging modality allowing for muscle composition analysis. A major disadvantage of using MDCT for muscle composition assessment is the radiation exposure. In this study we evaluated the performance of different methods of radiation dose reduction for paravertebral muscle composition assessment. Methods MDCT scans of eighteen subjects (6 males, age: 71.5±15.9 years, and 12 females, age: 71.0±8.9 years) were retrospectively simulated as if they were acquired at 50%, 10%, 5%, and 3% of the original X-ray tube current or number of projections (i.e., sparse sampling). Images were reconstructed with a statistical iterative reconstruction (SIR) algorithm. Paraspinal muscles (psoas and erector spinae muscles) at the level of L4 were segmented in the original-dose images. Segmentations were superimposed on all low-dose scans and muscle density (MD) extracted. Results Sparse sampling derived mean MD showed no significant changes (P=0.57 and P=0.22) down to 5% of the original projections in the erector spinae and psoas muscles, respectively. All virtually reduced tube current series showed significantly different (P>0.05) mean MD in the psoas and erector spinae muscles as compared to the original dose except for the images of 5% of the original tube current in the erector spinae muscle. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated the possibility of considerable radiation dose reduction using MDCT scans for assessing the composition of the paravertebral musculature. The sparse sampling approach seems to be promising and a potentially superior technique for dose reduction as compared to tube current reduction.
Analysis on the Influencing Factors of Farmers’ Cognition on the Function of Agricultural Water Price—Taking Hexi Corridor as an Example

Analyzing the farmer’s behavior and the water-saving incentive mechanism is of great significance to the implementation of the explicit subsidy policy of agricultural water prices. This paper introduces the concept of loss aversion from behavioral economics and conducts a theoretical analysis of the incentive mechanism of agricultural water prices to verify the hypotheses by using survey data from the three inland river basins in the Hexi Corridor, Northwest China. The results show that when farmers believe that their water-saving potential is relatively large, the loss aversion of farmers has a significantly positive impact on water-saving incentives under an explicit agricultural water price subsidy. In addition, irrigation canal evaluation and regional differences have negative and positive influences, respectively. Based on this, suggestions are made to actively promote the implementation of explicit subsidy of agricultural water prices in order to save irrigation water.
Magnetic Properties Study of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles-Loaded Poly(ε-caprolactone) Nanofibres

Magnetic nanofibres have attracted more and more attention recently due to their possible applications e.g., in spintronics and neuromorphic computing. This work presents the synthesis and physicochemical characterization of the electrospun nanofibres of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) doped by iron oxide nanoparticles with diameters of 5 nm. PCL is a semi-crystalline, hydrophilic polymer showing controllable biodegradation rates, biocompatibility, and flexible mechanical properties. In the composite material, two different concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles were used: 2 and 6 wt. %. PCL-based composites were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetry (TGA). Although in the literature one can find many studies on magnetic polymeric composites, the investigation of their magnetic properties is usually limited to measuring the magnetization curve. Detailed analysis of dynamic magnetic susceptibility is rather rare. In this report, special attention was paid to the detailed analysis of magnetic properties, where we followed the evolution of changes in the magnetic behavior of the material depending on the concentration of magnetic nanoparticles.
Validation of a multiresidue method for the determination of multiclass pesticides by using representative analytes by gas chromatography.

The protection of crops against pests and diseases by various mostly synthetic pesticides is a common approach in conventional farming. Even when pesticides are applied in accordance with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), they can leave residues on plants. Therefore, the need of finding determination methods for pesticide residues with speed, facility and reliability is rendered imperative. The estimation of reliability of a multiresidue method is achieved by the process of validation. Validating a multiresidue method is a time- and effort-consuming task, which usually requires 5-6 replicates of recovery in at least two different levels for each compound and matrix combination of interest. In this study, a different approach using a more effortless and fast method of validation is followed. A selection of representative analytes was made; the number of the tested analytes was at least 20% of the total number of each chemical pesticide class, covering selected physicochemical properties (polarity, solubility in water, vapor pressure). In addition, the representative analytes included those for which the worst performance was expected. Furthermore, validation in only one matrix per group commodity is proposed. With the above process and by testing 44 representative analytes, the multiresidue method by gas chromatography with electron capture (ECD) and nitrogen-phosphorous (NPD) detectors used in this study for the determination of over 180 pesticides in crops, including organophosphorus, organochlorine, triazole, triazine, strobilurin, pyrethroid, dinitroaniline and nitrogen-containing pesticides, was validated. The matrixes were tomatoes and grapes, products of high consumption in Greece.
Determination of Alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus and Vinca minor by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACT Many plants in the family Apocynaceae have been used for medicinal purposes. Catharanthus roseus and Vinca minor are the most important medicinal plants that belong to the Apocynaceae family. A procedure is reported for the determination of the bioactive alkaloids tabersonine, serpentine, vindoline, catharanthine, tryptamine, and vincamine in Apocynaceae plants (C. roseus and V. minor) by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Quantitation was performed from positive multiple reactions at 161.4 → 144.2, 349.4 → 263.0, 457.6 → 188.0, 337.5 → 168.3, 337.4 → 144.2, 355.4 → 337.2, and 854.5 → 286.4 for tryptamine, serpentine, vindoline, tabersonine, catharanthine, vincamine, and paclitaxel (the internal standard), respectively. The optimized method was employed for the determination of the active alkaloids in the leaves of C. roseus and V. minor by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.
What’s the Name of the Game? The Impact of eHealth on Productive Interactions in Chronic Care Management

Chronic care management is dependent on productive interactions between patients and healthcare professionals. Digital health technologies (eHealth) open up new possibilities for improving the quality of care, but there is a limited understanding of what productive interactions entail. This study explores characteristics of productive interactions to support self-care and healthcare in the context of eHealth use in diabetes care. We collected qualitative data based on interviews with nurses and responses to open-ended survey questions from patients, prior to and post using an eHealth service for self-monitoring and digital communication. We found that eHealth’s influence on productive interactions was characterized by unconstrained access, health parameter surveillance, and data-driven feedback, with implications for self-care and healthcare. Our findings indicate that eHealth perforates the boundaries that define interactions under traditional, non-digital care. This was manifested in expressions of uncertainty and in blurred boundaries between self-care and healthcare. We conclude that the attainment of a sustainable eHealth ecosystem will require healthcare to acknowledge eHealth as a disruptive change that may require re-organization to optimally support the productive use of eHealth services for both patients and staff, which includes agreement on new routines, as well as social interaction rules.
Impact of negative emotions on violations of information security policy and possible mitigations

ABSTRACT Security research on the role of employees’ negative emotions in their information security policy (ISP) violations is limited. In this study, we examine how employees’ negative emotions influence their intention to violate ISP. To understand how to reduce employees’ negative emotions, we investigate the effects of perceived organisational support, psychological ownership, and work engagement. We test our hypotheses using survey data of 318 employees from various organisations in China. Results indicate that employees with negative emotions are more likely to violate ISP, while perceived organisational support, psychological ownership, and work engagement can reduce employees’ negative emotions. Furthermore, psychological ownership and work engagement partially mediate the relationship between perceived organisational support and negative emotions. The theoretical and practical significance of these results and the direction of future research are discussed.
Rational construction of staggered InGaN quantum wells for efficient yellow light-emitting diodes

High-efficiency InGaN-based yellow light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with high brightness are desirable for future high-resolution displays and lighting products. Here, we demonstrate efficient InGaN-based yellow (∼570 nm) LEDs with optimized three-layer staggered quantum wells (QWs) that are grown on patterned sapphire substrates. Numerical simulations show that the electron–hole wavefunction overlap of staggered InGaN QWs with high In content exhibits a 1.7-fold improvement over that of square InGaN QWs. At the same injection current, LEDs with staggered QWs exhibit lower forward voltages and narrower full widths at half maximum than LEDs with square QWs. The light output power and external quantum efficiency of a staggered QW LED are 10.2 mW and 30.8%, respectively, at 15 mA. We combine atomic probe tomography (APT), time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) mapping spectroscopy to shed light on the origin of enhanced device performance. APT results confirm the staggered In profile of our designed staggered QWs structure, and TRPL results reveal decreased defect-state carrier trapping in staggered QWs. Furthermore, TEM with EDX mapping spectroscopy supports the viewpoint that staggered QWs exhibit uniform elemental distribution and improved crystal quality. Together, these factors above contribute to enhanced LED performance. Our study shows that staggered InGaN QWs provide a promising strategy for the development of LEDs that are efficient in the long-wavelength region.
Conception et optimisation d’un réacteur-échangeur structuré pour l'hydrogénation du dioxyde de carbone en méthane de synthèse dédié à la filière de stockage d’énergie électrique renouvelable

Decouverte en 1902, la methanation du C02 recoit un interet grandissant pour son application aux procedes de stockage d'energie electrique necessaires au developpement des energies renouvelables. Sa mise en œuvre requiert le developpement de reacteurs catalytiques innovants repondant au cahier des charges de cette application. Ces travaux sont dedies a l'etude et l'optimisation de trois types de reacteurs-echangeurs concus au cours de cette these :-un reacteur a lit fixe annulaire, -un reacteur a lit fixe milli-structure et un reacteur a mousses metalliques supports de catalyseur. Leurs performances globales sont determinees experimentalement. La desactivation du catalyseur est etudiee et ses causes identifiees. Une modelisation des trois reacteurs permet la simulation de leur fonctionnement. Les proprietes hydrodynamiques et thermiques de leurs structures internes et les vitesses de reaction sont caracterisees experimentalement. Les resultats numeriques des simulations sont compares aux experiences et completent l'etude du comportement des reacteurs. Les modeles identifies permettent finalement d'etudier les limites et les potentiels de ces reacteurs.
Shrub‐encroached grassland as an alternative stable state in semiarid steppe regions: Evidence from community stability and assembly

Understanding community restoration state and assembly mechanisms is helpful to assess restoration measures and predict community dynamics. In order to explore the effects of fencing duration and shrub cover on community stability and assembly, we investigated the community information and assessed the assembly mechanisms in plots using shrub cover of Caragana microphylla within each of the three sites fenced since 1979, 1983, and 2003 in a semiarid steppe region of China. Community composition was different among various fencing duration or shrub cover treatments. Shrub cover had a positive effect, and fencing duration had a negative effect on community stability, and both had indirect effects via regulating vegetation cover. Both shrub cover and fencing duration influenced phylogenetic structure directly and negatively, and indirectly via regulating Simpson's diversity and vegetation cover. Considering that the functional traits were phylogenetically convergent, community assembly mechanisms assessed by the values of phylogenetic structure shifted from stochasticity to competitive exclusion with the increase of shrub cover and fencing duration, and competitive exclusion dominated community assembly in the plots of low or high shrub cover in the site of fencing since 1979. The responses of community stability and community assembly to the changes of shrub cover and fencing duration suggest that the shrub‐encroached grassland is an alternative stable community state in semiarid steppe regions. Therefore, it is essential to distinguish shrub‐encroached grasslands from non‐encroached degraded grasslands when formulating relevant conservation and management measures in similar regions.
LiF Nanoparticles Enhance Targeted Degradation of Organic Material under Low Dose X-ray Irradiation

The targeted irradiation of structures by X-rays has seen application in a variety of fields. Herein, the use of 5–10 nm LiF nanoparticles to locally enhance the degradation of an organic thin film, diindenoperylene, under hard X-ray irradiation, at relatively low ionizing radiation doses, is shown. X-ray reflectivity analysis indicated that the film thickness increased 12.04 Å in air and 11.34 Å in a helium atmosphere, under a radiation dose of ∼65 J/cm2 for 3 h illumination with a bi-layer structure that contained submonolayer coverage of thermally evaporated LiF. This was accompanied by significant modification of the surface topography for the organic film, which initially formed large flat islands. Accelerated aging experiments suggested that localized heating was not a major mechanism for the observed changes, suggesting a photochemical mechanism due to the formation of reactive species from LiF under irradiation. As LiF has a tendency to form active defects under radiation across the energy spectrum, this could could open a new direction to explore the efficacy of LiF or similar optically active materials that form electrically active defects under irradiation in various applications that could benefit from enhanced activity, such as radiography or targeted X-ray irradiation therapies.
COVID-19 and the Courts. The Case of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)

COVID-19 has put forth the value of proactive and good Court administration. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ensures the uniform interpretation and application of the European Union law. It is a complex supranational organisation, and its workings involve 24 languages. Shifting from risk management to crisis management is an arduous task in such an environment. Nevertheless, based on previous experiences and alerts, the Court took advantage of the established crisis management plans to counter the Covid-19 pandemic. This article aims to offer insights into how the Court manifested its preparedness, remained resilient and managed the crisis by enhancing its contingency plans, using its teleworking experience, benefiting from a modernised IT infrastructure, and applying its procedural rules intelligently. It will also examine how the Court envisages consolidating the judicial and administrative changes in the future. © 2021. The Author(s).
Farmer to farmer education: learnings from an international study tour

ABSTRACT The article captures the perceived impacts of participation in an international study tour (IST). Using interpretive case-based methodology, the article explored how participation has contributed to improved management practices relating to sweet potato production and marketing in Papua New Guinea. Findings from the paper provide insight into how a thoughtfully designed IST incorporating social cohesion can support practice change and development outcomes within agricultural development projects. Further research into how an IST and its design can incite practice change in other contexts is recommended.