Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defining and Handling Research Misconduct: A Comparison Between Chinese and European Institutional Policies

Research institutions are responsible for promoting research integrity and handling allegations of research misconduct. Due to various cultural and social contexts, institutional policies from different cultural backgrounds exhibit many differences, such as their primary concern and mechanisms for dealing with allegations of research misconduct. This comparative study analyses research misconduct policies from 21 Chinese and 22 European universities. The results show that definitions of research misconduct from all retrieved policies go beyond fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism but include different types of questionable research practices. Their procedures for handling research misconduct differ in, for example, confidentiality and disclosure of conflict of interest. Differences can also be found in their governance approaches (“bottom-up” versus “top-down”).
Recovery of known‐age Hyalella azteca (amphipoda) from sediment toxicity tests

Recovery of 1-, 7-, 14-, or 21-d-old Hyalella azteca from sediment was evaluated. Recovery of 1- and 7-d-old amphipods was below an acceptability criterion of 80% survival for sediment tests. Another important aspect to consider when conduction sediment tests with H. azteca is defining mortality. A second study was conducted to evaluate the decomposition rate of dead amphipods in sediment. Regardless of sediment type, {ge}90% of the amphipods started to break apart within 12h of death; specifically, the head separates from the body. Therefore, if an immobile amphipod with its head and body intact is recovered in sieved material, it was probably alive within 12 h of the end of the test (an amphipod may be alive before sieving but may die during the sieving process). However, immobile amphipods removed from the sediment surface before sieving are known to be dead.
Testing Alternative Regression Frameworks for Predictive Modeling of Health Care Costs

Predictive models of health care costs have become mainstream in much health care actuarial work. The Affordable Care Act requires the use of predictive modeling-based risk-adjuster models to transfer revenue between different health exchange participants. Although the predictive accuracy of these models has been investigated in a number of studies, the accuracy and use of models for applications other than risk adjustment have not been the subject of much investigation. We investigate predictive modeling of future health care costs using several statistical techniques. Our analysis was performed based on a dataset of 30,000 insureds containing claims information from two contiguous years. The dataset contains more than 100 covariates for each insured, including detailed breakdown of past costs and causes encoded via coexisting condition flags. We discuss statistical models for the relationship between next-year costs and medical and cost information to predict the mean and quantiles of future cost, ranking risks and identifying most predictive covariates. A comparison of multiple models is presented, including (in addition to the traditional linear regression model underlying risk adjusters) Lasso GLM, multivariate adaptive regression splines, random forests, decision trees, and boosted trees. A detailed performance analysis shows that the traditional regression approach does not perform well and that more accurate models are possible.
Non-coherent rate-splitting for multibeam satellite forward link: practical coding and decoding algorithms

Non-Coherent Rate-Splitting (NCRS) was recently proposed as a practical multiuser coding and decoding scheme to increase the spectral efficiency of multibeam satellite communication systems. In this paper, we further study the practical realization of NCRS. We propose a modified coding scheme (${\mathrm {NCRS}}^{*}$) that is robust to a nonzero time offset among beams. In NCRS*, as opposed to NCRS, the beams send independently channel encoded and modulated waveforms.We assess the performance of NCRS* in terms of the achievable rate region. It is shown that NCRS* performs worse than NCRS, but better than or comparable to other competing schemes, which, as opposed to NCRS*, require flexible bandwidth allocation or perfect synchronization at the transmitter. We also propose a new N-MAP algorithm for the practical implementation of NCRS* receivers. Similar to the existing UMAP algorithm, N-MAP takes into account the modulation used by, and the time offset between, the signals received from the different beams. In most cases, however, N-MAP has a significantly lower complexity than U-MAP.
Systemic evaluation and localization of resistin expression in normal human tissues by a newly developed monoclonal antibody

Resistin and resistin-like molecules are pleiotropic cytokines that are involved in inflammatory diseases. Our previous work suggested that resistin has the potential to be used as a biomarker and therapeutic target for human pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, data are limited on the distribution of resistin in healthy human organs. In this study, we used our newly developed anti-human resistin (hResistin) antibody to immunohistochemically detect the expression, localization, and intracellular/extracellular compartmentalization of hResistin in a full human tissue panel from healthy individuals. The potential cross reactivity of this monoclonal anti-hResistin IgG1 with normal human tissues also was verified. Results showed that hResistin is broadly distributed and principally localized in the cytoplasmic granules of macrophages scattered in the interstitium of most human tissues. Bone marrow hematopoietic precursor cells also exhibited hResistin signals in their cytoplasmic granules. Additionally, hResistin labeling was observed in the cytoplasm of nervous system cells. Notably, the cytokine activity of hResistin was illustrated by positively stained extracellular material in most human tissues. These data indicate that our generated antibody binds to the secreted hResistin and support its potential use for immunotherapy to reduce circulating hResistin levels in human disease. Our findings comprehensively document the basal expression patterns of hResistin protein in normal human tissues, suggest a critical role of this cytokine in normal and pathophysiologic inflammatory processes, and offer key insights for using our antibody in future pharmacokinetic studies and immunotherapeutic strategies.
Changes in leaf Δ13C of herbarium plant species during the last 3 centuries of CO2 increase

Δ13C were determined for herbarium specimens of 12 C3 plants (trees, shrubs and herbs) collected during the last 240 years in Catalonia, an area with a Mediterranean climate. Values were 19.91 (S.E. = 0.32, n= 21) for 1750–1760, 19–86 (S.E. = 0.21, n= 49) for 1850–1890 and 19.95 (S.E. = 0.29, n= 25) for 1925–1950, and decreased significantly to 18.87 (S.E. = 0.31, n= 29) for 1982–1988. More irregular temporal changes were found in Δ13C of two C4 species, but they also suggest a decrease in discrimination in recent decades. These results suggest that either carbon assimilation rates have increased or stomatal conductance has decreased, and therefore, that there has been an increase in water use efficiency over the last few decades.
Performance of FDE Using Partial LDPC Coding with Double Gray Mapping for Single-Carrier LOS-MIMO

This paper presents the bit error rate (BER) performance of frequency domain equalization (FDE) using low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding for single-carrier line-of-sight (LOS)-multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiplexing. We use partial LDPC coding with double Gray mapping and collaborative decoding, which is suitable for a high coding rate such as 0.9. Computer simulation results show that partial LDPC coding decreases the required received signal-to-noise power ratio (SNR) at the bit error rate (BER) of $10^{-7}$ by approximately 1.0 dB compared to that for full LDPC coding for 256QAM in a Rummler fading channel. We show that the required received SNR at the BER of $10^{-7}$ using partial LDPC coding is decreased by more than 6.6 dB compared to that without LDPC coding even for the deep notch depth of -20dB regardless of the relationship between the notch frequencies in the direct and cross links for 2×2 LOS-MIMO in a Rummler fading channel. Therefore, we conclude that FDE using partial LDPC coding with double Gray mapping and collaborative decoding is effective in achieving a low BER for single-carrier LOS-MIMO in microwave radio backhaul channels.
A TDoA-based Measurement Method for RF Emitters Localization by Exploiting Wideband Compressive Sampling

This paper proposes a Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) based method for the localization of Radio Frequency (RF) emitters working at different carriers, by using wideband spectrum sensors exploiting compressive sampling. The proposed measurement method is based on four or more RF receivers, with known Cartesian positions, performing non uniform sampling on the received signal. By means of simulations, the method has been compared against a localization method adopting RF receivers performing uniform sampling at Nyquist rate. The obtained preliminary results demonstrate that the method is capable of localizing two RF emitters achieving the same results obtained with uniform sampling, with a compression ratio up to CR = 20.
Lattice Rayleigh Anomaly Associated Enhancement of NH and CH Stretching Modes on Gold Metasurfaces for Overtone Detection

Molecular overtones stretching modes that occupy the near-infrared (NIR) are weak compared to the fundamental vibrations. Here we report on the enhancement of absorption by molecular vibrations overtones via electromagnetic field enhancement of plasmonic nanoparallelepipeds comprising a square lattice. We explore numerically, using finite element method (FEM), gold metasurfaces on a transparent dielectric substrate covered by weakly absorbing analyte supporting N-H and C-H overtone absorption bands around 1.5 μm and around 1.67 μm, respectively. We found that the absorption enhancement in N-H overtone transition can be increased up to the factor of 22.5 due to the combination of localized surface plasmon resonance in prolonged nanoparticles and lattice Rayleigh anomaly. Our approach may be extended for sensitive identification of other functional group overtone transitions in the near-infrared spectral range.
Collaborative Localization with Truth Discovery for Heterogeneous and Dynamic Vehicular Networks

Collaborative localization over vehicular networks is challenging if quality varies among the collected multiple sources of information. These information sources are either from vehicle on-board sensors or remote sensing using vehicular communications. The variation in the quality of remote sensor information may cause estimation performance deterioration, even threatening the system security. In this paper, we propose a distributed localization framework with truth discovery for heterogeneous and dynamic vehicular networks. Firstly, it allows vehicles to learn which neighboring vehicles they should cooperate with. Secondly, it is resilient against the quality variation of the shared information between the connected vehicles.
An Efficient Signal Extraction Scheme in Uplink Massive MIMO Systems

In this paper, we propose an efficient signal extraction algorithm in the uplink massive MIMO systems where multiple users simultaneously transmit symbols to the receiver (base station). Based on the received signals during the channel coherent time, a statistical decision matrix is firstly built, which can effectively reduce the influence of channel state information (CSI) according to the Central Limit Theorem (CLT). From the analyses in the assumptions of noise-free and the infinite number of antennas, this decision matrix does not contain any CSI. It greatly inspires us to study how to extract the transmitted symbols from this decision matrix. An optimization problem is formulated based on the symbol mean modulus constellation. By converting the original non-convex objective function to a convex optimization problem and estimating the optimal weighting vector, the every user’s transmitted symbols are finally extracted. The effectiveness and performance of our proposed scheme are validated with numerical simulations. Comparisons are also performed with the noncoherent transmission schemes and the detection based on channel estimation algorithms.
Comparison of Functional Capacity and Symptoms of COPD Patients with and without Pulmonary Hypertension.

Objective Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with a decrease in the survival rate of patients with COPD. Our aim was to investigate whether PH impairs the functional capacity and symptoms in patients with COPD. In addition, we aimed to evaluate the correlation between the functional capacity and symptoms score in patients with COPD. Materials and Methods This prospective cross-sectional study enrolled 64 patients with moderate to severe COPD, prospectively. All patients underwent the pulmonary function test, echocardiography, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). We applied the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale and COPD Assessment Test (CAT) to all patients. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) >30 mmHg with echocardiography was considered as PH. The patients were grouped according to the presence of PH as COPD-PH (n=30) and COPD-nonPH (n=34). Results Hospitalization rate was higher in the COPD-PH group than in the COPD-nonPH group (p=0.006). The 6MWT results were lower in the COPD-PH group compared to the COPD-nonPH group (325±61 m vs. 354±46 m, respectively, p=0.025). In the COPD-PH group, the maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) was lower, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.118). Although the maximum load and minute ventilation were lower in the COPD-PH group, the end-tidal pressure of CO2 (PETCO2) was higher (p=0.033, p=0.036, and p=0.009, respectively). However, the CAT score and mMRC were similar between the groups (p=0.405 and p=0.238, respectively). Conclusion An elevated PAP in patients with COPD limits the exercise capacity. Using CPET in the functional evaluation of patients with COPD may be beneficial in the early detection of PH.
Measuring diet selection in dairy cows: effect of training on choice of dietary protein level

In a 7-week experiment, the ability of lactating Holstein-Friesian cows to select a consistent diet from two similar foods differing in calculated metabolizable protein to energy (MP/ME) yield was investigated. The effect on diet selection of training through previous access to foods separately, was measured. Food intake was recorded with 28 computer-linked feeders. All foods were mixtures of grass silage and concentrates. In week 1, all feeders contained a standard food. In weeks 2 to 7 a low protein food (LP) and a high protein food (HP) were offered in 14 feeders each. Group CHOICE had access to both foods as a choice from week 2. Group TR1 was trained by access to one food during days 8 to 10 and to the other during days 11 to 13. Group TR2 received the same training as group TR1 during days 8 to 13 which was repeated once during days 14 to 19. After training, TR groups had access to both foods as a choice. Groups LOPRO and HIPRO had only access to LP or HP, respectively in weeks 2 to 5 and to both foods as a choice in weeks 6 and 7. In weeks 2 to 5 LOPRO COWS consumed less dry matter and produced less milk than CHOICE or HIPRO cows. After a week of adaptation, untrained CHOICE COWS selected 662 (s.e. 27) g HP per kg of intake, a choice that differed significantly (P
Genome mapping of malaria resistance genes : the host ligands of PfEMP1

Erythrocytes infected by mature forms of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite adhere to other components of the vascular space, a behavior considered critical to the pathogenesis of severe malaria. Adhesion is mediated by the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), a highly variant antigen expressed by the parasite and subject to switching during the course of an infection. The host ligands of PfEMP1 include CD36, ICAM-1 and the ABO antigens. By employing a series of population- and family-based association studies from multiple African populations, we examined whether variation in the genes underlying these molecules affects susceptibility to severe malaria. Our results suggest that a common frameshift mutation in the ABO glycosyltransferase, responsible for blood group O, is associated with protection from severe malarial phenotypes (P=2x10⁻⁷), particularly severe malarial anaemia. However, we found no significant disease associations with variation in either the ICAM1 or CD36 genes. We focused on two particular functional polymorphisms, the missense ICAM- 1Kilifi and the CD36 nonsense mutation T1264G. We genotyped both markers in around 10,000 individuals, but neither demonstrated an association with severe malarial phenotypes. Malaria has been a profound selection pressure shaping human genetic diversity. The last decade has seen the development of several haplotype-based methods to detect signatures of recent positive evolutionary selection. These techniques are potentially invaluable tools in our hunt for genetic variants that protect from life threatening malaria. We used simulations and empirical data from the International HapMap Project to demonstrate the validity of searching for long regions of haplotype homozygosity, as an approach to finding alleles undergoing selective sweeps. We analysed genetic data from a range of populations, particularly those utilized by HapMap, to investigate whether our candidate genes were associated with signals of recent positive selection. We characterized the distribution of a selection event associated with the CD36 1264G allele, focused in Central-West Africa, and demonstrated a novel signal of low population differentiation at the ABO gene, suggestive of longstanding balancing selection. Our work confirms that variation in the host ligands of PfEMP1 modulates severe malaria susceptibility, and highlights the value of using signals of selection, along with functional experiments and genetic association studies, to dissect the biology of severe malaria.
Effects of Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm) on cardio‐metabolic outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Recent evidence indicates a beneficial effect of Melissa officinalis (MO) intake on several chronic diseases. However, the effects of MO intake have not yet been systematically reviewed. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effect of MO intake and focused on several cardiometabolic outcomes. MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for MO‐RCTs evaluating cardiometabolic outcomes. Random‐effects meta‐analyses estimated the pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) between intervention and control groups. Risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias in RCTs. Seven RCTs were finally deemed eligible. MO intake was associated with a reduced total cholesterol (TC) (SMD: −0.26; 95% CI: −0.52, −0.01; I2 = 13.7%; k = 6) and a reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) (SMD: −0.56; 95% CI: −0.85, −0.27; I2 = 00.0%; k = 3). MO intake was not associated with statistically significant changes in triglycerides, low‐density lipoprotein, diastolic blood pressure, high sensitivity c‐reactive protein levels, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, insulin or high‐density lipoprotein levels. No serious adverse events were reported. The risk of bias was high in a considerable amount of studies. Our study suggests that MO is a safe supplement with beneficial effects on TC and SBP. However, the findings of our study must be seen in the light of major limitations such as a low number of included studies and a serious risk of bias. High‐quality RCTs are needed for firm conclusions concerning the effects of MO on cardiometabolic outcomes.
Structure of the insecticidal bacterial δ-endotoxin Cry3Bb1 of Bacillus thuringiensis

The coleopteran-active δ-endotoxin Cry3Bb1 from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strain EG7231 is uniquely toxic to Diabrotica undecimpunctata, the Southern corn rootworm, while retaining activity against Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the Colorado potato beetle. The crystal structure of the δ-­endotoxin Cry3Bb1 has been refined using data collected to 2.4 A resolution, with a residual R factor of 17.5% and an Rfree of 25.3%. The structure is made up of three domains: I, a seven-helix bundle (residues 64–294); II, a three-sheet domain (residues 295–502); and III, a β-sandwich domain (residues 503–652). The monomers in the orthorhombic C2221 crystal lattice form a dimeric quaternary structure across a crystallographic twofold axis, with a channel formed involving interactions between domains I and III. There are 23 hydrogen bonds between the two monomers conferring structural stability on the dimer. It has been demonstrated that Cry3Bb1 and the similar toxin Cry3A form oligomers in solution. The structural results presented here indicate that the interactions between domains I and III could be responsible for the initial higher order structure and have implications for the biological activity of these toxins. There are seven additional single amino-acid residues in the sequence of Cry3Bb1 compared with that of Cry3A; one in domain I, two in domain II and four in domain III, which also shows the largest conformational difference between the two proteins. These changes can be implicated in the selectivity differences noted for these two δ-endotoxins.
Engagement and the Emergence of a Charged Other

Abstract Engagement is intricately woven into the fabric of development and the fabric of psychoanalysis. However, there has been little effort to describe the process and essence of therapeutic engagement itself, or closely consider its effects. We propose that engagement with others occurs under highly specific circumstances. We identify three conditions: 1) a core positive affective investment; 2) prioritization; and 3) continuity. When these conditions are conjoined in the context of certain relational parameters, they can initiate a process that catalyzes the development of the mental, affective, and social capacities fostered in relationships. Through this process, a “charged other” emerges, a person who holds increased positive value (though not consistently positive affect), with whom this catalyzing of capacities becomes possible.
Sulfur Dioxide Treatment Alters Wine Microbial Diversity and Fermentation Progression in a Dose-Dependent Fashion

The use of sulfur dioxide (SO2) as an antimicrobial in winemaking is a well-established, common practice. Although much is known about the antimicrobial effects of SO2 at single concentrations, little is known about its effects on microbial growth dynamics across a range of concentrations or when used in conjunction with yeast inoculation. Using high-throughput marker-gene sequencing, we investigated the cumulative impacts of yeast inoculation and SO2 treatments across a broad concentration range (0 to 150 mg/L SO2) on the bacterial and fungal communities in wine fermentations. Our results indicated a dose-dependent effect of SO2, with lactic acid bacteria and Gluconobacter proliferating in fermentations with <25 mg/L SO2, but other bacteria and fungi were unaffected by the SO2 addition. Microbial profiles stabilized at concentrations ≥25 mg/L SO2, and fermentation performance decreased at higher concentrations (100 to 150 mg/L SO2). Yeast inoculation alone conferred a stabilizing effect, reducing the bacterial growth observed in unsulfited fermentations, but this effect was not additive with an increase in SO2 concentrations.