Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of a policy and strategy for controlling infection by Heterobasidion annosum in British forests: a review of supporting research

Summary Heterobasidion annosum causes serious root disease in conifers: pines are generally killed but other species, such as Sitka spruce, are more susceptible to decay. In the mid-twentieth century, much of the expanding forest estate in Britain was disease free, but as thinning increased in plantations established over the preceding 30 years, it was expected that stump infection would increase; this in turn was expected to give rise to widespread disease. As a control, mandatory stump treatment using various chemicals, or a biological agent, was introduced throughout the Forestry Commission’s estate in 1960. Since that time inoculation experiments have shown that the risk of infection in Sitka spruce varies from site-to-site and is much lower in crops growing on peaty soils than in those on mineral soils. To help predict future losses, a simulation model was devised to describe the behaviour of disease caused by H. annosum in Sitka spruce. It was used to integrate the results of work described here with those obtained from other experiments and from field observations made over many years. Losses were estimated over one or more rotations under various management regimes. Cost–benefit calculations indicated that treatment of Sitka spruce stumps was not likely to be economically justified on upland sites with peaty soils. As a result, the policy of universal stump protection was revised in 2000, so that treatment of Sitka spruce stumps was discontinued on deeper peats and became discretionary on all peaty soils in areas of high rainfall. Implementation of the policy was challenging since soil maps were not available for many forests, and in areas of high rainfall an intimate mosaic of peat and mineral soils often forms in response to local variations in topography. A stump treatment decision support system was developed based on a comprehensive geographic information system map of mainland Britain. This provides a general evaluation of site hazard for any forest crop based on its location, together with estimates of the disease risks associated with stumps and standing trees of different species. Use of this system was adopted as Forestry Commission policy in England and Scotland in 2007.
Updated distribution and biogeography of amphibians and reptiles of Europe

A precise knowledge of the spatial distribution of taxa is essential for decision-making processes in land management and biodiversity conservation, both for present and under future global change scenarios. This is a key base for several scientific disciplines (e.g. macro-ecology, biogeography, evolutionary biology, spatial planning, or environmental impact assessment) that rely on species distribution maps. An atlas summarizing the distribution of European amphibians and reptiles with 50 × 50 km resolution maps based on ca. 85 000 grid records was published by the Societas Europaea Herpetologica (SEH) in 1997. Since then, more detailed species distribution maps covering large parts of Europe became available, while taxonomic progress has led to a plethora of taxonomic changes including new species descriptions. To account for these progresses, we compiled information from different data sources: published in books and websites, ongoing national atlases, personal data kindly provided to the SEH, the 1997 European Atlas, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Databases were homogenised, deleting all information except species names and coordinates, projected to the same coordinate system (WGS84) and transformed into a 50 × 50 km grid. The newly compiled database comprises more than 384 000 grid and locality records distributed across 40 countries. We calculated species richness maps as well as maps of Corrected Weighted Endemism and defined species distribution types (i.e. groups of species with similar distribution patterns) by hierarchical cluster analysis using Jaccard’s index as association measure. Our analysis serves as a preliminary step towards an interactive, dynamic and online distributed database system (NA2RE system) of the current spatial distribution of European amphibians and reptiles. The NA2RE system will serve as well to monitor potential temporal changes in their distributions. Grid maps of all species are made available along with this paper as a tool for decision-making and conservation-related studies and actions. We also identify taxonomic and geographic gaps of knowledge that need to be filled, and we highlight the need to add temporal and altitudinal data for all records, to allow tracking potential species distribution changes as well as detailed modelling of the impacts of land use and climate change on European amphibians and reptiles.
High throughput analysis to identify key gene molecules that inhibit adipogenic differentiation and promote osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells

The present study investigated the key genes, which cause switch from adipogenic to osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The transcriptomic profile of hMSCs samples were collected from Array Express database. Differential expression network was constructed by calculating the Pearson's correlation coefficient and ranked according to their topological features. The top 5% genes with degree ≥2 were selected as ego genes. Following the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis and the relevant miRNAs prediction, the miRNA-mRNA-pathway networks were constructed by combining the miRNA-mRNA pairs and mRNA-pathway pairs together. In total, we obtained 84, 119, 94 and 97 ego-genes in B, BI, BT and BTI groups, and DLGAP5, DLGAP5, NUSAP1 and NDC80 were the ego-genes with the highest z-score of each group, respectively. Beginning from each ego-gene, we identified 2 significant ego-modules with gene size ≥4 in group BI, and the ego-genes were PBK and NCOA3, respectively. Through KEGG pathway analysis, we found that most of the pathways enriched by ego-genes were associated with gene replication and repair, and cell proliferation. According to the miRNA prediction results, we found that some of the predicted miRNAs have been validated to be the regulatory miRNAs of these corresponding mRNAs. Finally we constructed a miRNA-mRNA-pathway network by integrating the miRNA-mRNA and mRNA-pathway pairs together. The constructed network gives us a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs.
Update on the Sleeping Beauty transposon system for therapeutic applications

The demand for healthcare and innovation is more intense than ever, as the life expectancy continues to improve due to shift in focus towards lifestyle diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney damage, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, etc. Currently, the healthcare environment is changing quite rapidly challenging the conventional models and presenting new opportunities for growth. Some of the competing trends include advances in bioscience from genomics to personalized medicine (immunotherapy) and the impact of technology disruption, use of digital data and analytics in healthcare is expected to have far-reaching implications in terms of diagnostics, treatments and delivery of care in the future. Personalized medicine represents a new dimension in modern medicine encompassing Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). ATMPs include gene, cell and tissue engineered therapies that possess great scientific promise and are emerging as a novel approach for the treatment of a variety of diseases. ATMPs are highly personalized in nature, which is in contrast with EDITORIAL
Assessments of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness Among Women of Childbirth in Samara Logia Town, Afar, North East Ethiopia

Background: Every day thousands of women die due to obstetric complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Most of the problems are preventable. The finding showed that these deaths were high in developing countries. Based on the evidence birth preparedness and complication readiness plan is a critical strategy to, reduce maternal and newborn complications and mortalities during pregnancy and childbirth. Objective: Prevalence and associated factors of birth preparedness and complication readiness among childbirth women in Samara -Logia, Ethiopia, 201. Method and Materials: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from January 22 to April 22/ 201 The samples were selected using a stratified sampling procedure to select the total sample size. Data were entered into Epi data version 02 and exported to SPSS Version 20 for analysis. Bi-variety and multi-variant regression were carried out to determine the associated factors and p-value < 05 has been considered significant. Result: This finding showed that from 285 respondents 75% had ever heard about birth preparedness and complication readiness. Among the total finding, 45% of the respondents were not prepared for birth and its complications. Mothers who complain of danger signs during labor (AOR =07 (034- 15) and partner accompany (AOR = 36 (27-35) were significantly associated with birth preparedness and complication readiness. Conclusion and Recommendation: this study identifies only 58% of women were knowledgeable about birth preparedness and complication redness. Variables having a statistically significant with birth preparedness and complication readiness were the presence of danger signs during labor and partner involvement during pregnancy. Therefore, there should be increased education, promotion of ANC, and counseling of mothers by health workers to improve their knowledge of danger signs and ANC follow up.
Could you please phrase “home range” as a question?

Abstract Statisticians frequently voice concern that their interactions with applied researchers start only after data have been collected. The same can be said for our experience with home-range studies. Too often, conversations about home range begin with questions concerning estimation methods, smoothing parameters, or the nature of autocorrelation. More productive efforts start by asking good (and interesting) research questions; once these questions are defined, it becomes possible to ask how various design and analysis strategies influence one's ability to answer these questions. With this process in mind, we address key sample-design and data-analysis issues related to the topic of home range. The impact of choosing a particular home-range estimator (e.g., minimum convex polygon, kernel density estimator, or local convex hull) will be question dependent, and for some problems other movement or use-based metrics (e.g., mean step lengths or time spent in particular areas) may be worthy of consideration. Thus, we argue the need for more question-driven and focused research and for clearly distinguishing the biological concept of an animal's home range from the statistical quantities one uses to investigate this concept. For comparative studies, it is important to standardize sampling regimes and estimation methods as much as possible, and to pay close attention to missing data issues. More attention should also be given to temporally changing space-use patterns, with biologically meaningful time periods (e.g., life-history stages) used to define sampling periods. Last, we argue the need for closer connections between theoretical and empirical researchers. Advances in ecological theory, and its application to natural resources management, will require carefully designed research studies to test theoretical predictions from more mechanistic modeling approaches.
Efficacy of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. against the spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus L., in the laboratory under various conditions

Abstract: In laboratory bioassays, the efficacy of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana against the spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, was tested under various conditions. Four of the tested isolates and the commercial product Boverol® caused 99–100% mortality when tested at a concentration of 1.0 × 107 conidia/ml at 25°C. Using B. bassiana isolate 138 at a concentration of 1.0 × 106, the median survival time (MST) was 6.1 d and significantly longer compared with the MST of 4.2 and 4.0 d at 1.0 × 107 and 1.0 × 108 conidia/ml, respectively. In the next experiment, the beetles were maintained on spruce bark, filter paper or artificial diet during the bioassay with Boverol®, and significant differences in the MST of 3.6, 2.5 and 5.3 d, respectively, were noticed. The experiment with Boverol® at different temperatures showed that the beetles lived significantly longer at 15°C (MST 8.7 d) than at 20, 25, 30 and 35°C. At 25°C, the beetles died most rapidly (MST 3.5 d). At different relative humidities (RH) of 40, 70 and 100%, nearly all beetles were dead after treatment with a suspension of Boverol® at 1.0 × 107 conidia/ml. At 40% RH, 49% of the untreated beetles died after 7 d. The best effects were achieved with the following bioassay: beetles were fed for three days on artificial diet, then dipped into a solution of 1.0 × 107 conidia/ml and transferred on a piece of spruce bark in Petri dishes at 25°C and 70% RH.
Measuring the response of animals to contemporary drivers of fragmentation

From the perspective of most animals, fragmentation is a landscape-scale process in which habitat is separated into many smaller patches that have less total area. Here, we examine how two contemporary drivers of fragmentation, anthropogenic climate change and exurbanization, affect movement and responses of animal species to new environmental conditions. We address the definition of fragmentation and how the spatial patterns created by fragmentation can be measured at the scales at which different species of animals respond to their environments. We discuss tools, such as satellite remote sensing, that increasingly make it possible to identify and quantify changes in land cover and vegetation structure across extensive areas. We also describe a range of methods that are available to guide decisions about faunal surveys and monitoring programs in fragments or reference areas. Examination of stochastic changes in land cover and species occurrence over time is important because these shifts can confound det.
Styrene/Acrylic Acid Random Copolymers Synthesized by Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization: Effect of Free Nitroxide on Kinetics and Copolymer Composition

Styrene/acrylic acid (S/AA) mixtures were copolymerized in concentrated 50 wt % 1,4-dioxane solutions at 120 °C at two ratios of additional free nitroxide mediator, N,N-tert-butyl-N-[1′-diethylphosphono-2,2′-dimethylpropyl] nitroxide (SG1), relative to 2-[N-tert-butyl-2,2-(dimethylpropyl)aminooxy]propionic acid (BlocBuilder, Arkema) alkoxyamine unimolecular initiator (4.5 and 9 mol % [SG1]/[BlocBuilder]). Without SG1 at initial acrylic acid monomer feed concentrations fAA,0 > 40 mol %, the apparent rate constants increased sharply, noticeable exotherms were observed, and polydispersities increased from 1.20 at fAA,0 = 0 mol % to 1.48 at fAA,0 = 80 mol %. With 4.5 mol % [SG1]/[BlocBuilder], polymerization rates were slower and not as strongly affected by fAA,0 although exotherms were still noticeable at high fAA,0. Polydispersities remained ∼1.3 and only increased to >1.4 at high conversions for fAA,0 = 80 mol %. Exotherms were rendered nearly negligible when 9 mol % [SG1]/[BlocBuilder] was used, leading t.
A Constant Approximation for Maximum Throughput Multicommodity Routing And Its Application to Delay-Tolerant Network Scheduling

This paper considers the following fundamental maximum throughput routing problem: given a set of k (splittable) multicommodity flows with equal demands in an n-node network, select and route a subset of flows such that the total number of commodities routed that satisfy their demands (i.e., the all-or-nothing throughput) is maximized. Our main contribution is the first constant (i.e., independent of k and n) throughput-approximation algorithm for this NP-hard problem, with sublin-ear, namely $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{k})$, edge capacity violation ratio. Our algorithm is based on a clever application of randomized rounding. We also present an interesting application of our result in the context of delay-tolerant network scheduling. We complement our theoretical contribution with extensive simulation in two different scenarios, and find that our algorithm performs significantly better than predicted in theory, achieving an edge capacity violation ratio of at most 3.
Phylogenetic relationships within the Sphacelariales (Phaeophyceae): rbcL, RUBISCO spacer and morphology

Phylogenetic relationships within the Sphacelariales sensu stricto were investigated using both a molecular and a morphological approach. Twenty species were included, representing all three families (i.e. Cladostephaceae, Sphacelariaceae and Stypocaulaceae) and six of the eight genera. The outgroup consisted of six species representing the Syringodermatales, Dictyotales, Choristocarpaceae and Onslowiaceae. DNA sequences of partial rbcL [1255–1375 nucleotides (nt)] and the adjacent RUBISCO spacer (40–842 nt) were determined in order to assess the molecular phylogeny. Only the 3′-end of the spacer (112 nt positions) was alignable for the ingroup taxa. Partition homogeneity testing showed that rbcL and RUBISCO spacer sequences could be combined. However, analysis of rbcL alone or in combination with the RUBISCO spacer gave the same results with only slight differences in support (bootstrap, jackknife, decay). Support was low at the base of the ingroup. Four basal clades could be discerned: (1) Stypocaulaceae, (2) Sphacelaria radicans, (3) Sphacelaria caespitula and (4) all other included taxa: (Sphacella subtilissima+the Sphacelaria subgenus Propagulifera) and (Cladostephus spongiosus+Sphacelaria nana+the Sphacelaria subgenera Battersia+Pseudochaetopteris). The independent morphological analysis (using 23 unordered morphological characters) revealed high homoplasy and an almost completely unresolved tree in which only the subgenus Propagulifera was supported. The morphological characters were subsequently mapped onto the rbcL tree in order to identify diagnostic or phylogenetically informative characters. Blackening in response to bleach and the presence of secondary segments were found to be basal synapomorphies for the Sphacelariales ; presence of propagules with a lenticular central apical cell defines the Propagulifera; and strict acroblastic branching mode and axillary zoidangia define the Stypocaulaceae. The remaining characters have been gained or lost multiple times. This study highlights the problem of extreme morphological convergence and/or plasticity. Four options for a new circumscription including nomenclatural changes are discussed. It is concluded that none of the options will lead to greater clarity with respect to either identification or classification.
Are Protein-bound Phenolic Antioxidants in Pulses Unseen Part of Iceberg?

In the last ten years a particular effort has been spent to show health benefits of pulses such as lentils and chickpeas. Lentils attract significant interest since they contain higher antioxidant phenolic compounds than most other legume seeds. The studies suggest that the consumption of lentils is beneficial to prevent development of atherosclerosis, to reduce incidence of different types of cancer and type-2 diabetes, and to lower blood cholesterol levels [1-6]. Due to their lower antioxidant phenolic contents than lentils reports about bioactive properties of chickpea phenolics were limited. However, continuous reports have been published about antioxidant properties of chickpea proteins and their hydrolizates [7]. The studies on antioxidant properties of lentil proteins on the other hand are scarce.
Analysis of wavelet-based full reference image quality assessment algorithm

Measurement of Image Quality plays an important role in numerous image processing applications such as forensic science, image enhancement, medical imaging, etc. In recent years, there is a growing interest among researchers in creating objective Image Quality Assessment (IQA) algorithms that can correlate well with perceived quality. A significant progress has been made for full reference (FR) IQA problem in the past decade. In this paper, we are comparing 5 selected FR IQA algorithms on TID2008 image datasets. The performance and evaluation results are shown in graphs and tables. The results of quantitative assessment showed wavelet-based IQA algorithm outperformed over the non-wavelet based IQA method except for WASH algorithm which the prediction value only outperformed for certain distortion types since it takes into account the essential structural data content of the image.
Compressible Unsteady Vortex Lattice Method for Arbitrary Two Dimensional Motion of Thin Profiles

†A numerical method based to the vortex methodology is presented. It is a numeric model for unsteady solution of the aerodynamics coefficients of a thin profile in subsonic and supersonic compressible flows. The numeric m odel is made through the airfoil discretization in uniform segments and the used singularity is vortex in compressible flow. Results for the proposed model are presented as the lift and pressure coefficients along the profile chord for some instants of tim e. It is obtained numerically the indicial response (unit step function) of the profile. The method is also compared with solutions available in the literature. Nomenclature � a = sound speed, m/s M = dimensionless Mach number t = time, s p c = dimensionless pressure coefficient p c � = dimensionless pressure coefficient jump
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON GAMIFICATION FOR LEARNING PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE WEBSITE

Computer science novice students find it hard to learn and master programming language subjects. In previous work, an investigation was done to confirm this assumption. The finding showed that students experienced ineffective learning, lacked interest towards this course, and lacked motivation. Previous studies have shown that applying Gamification elements in websites engages users. Gamification refers to the use of game elements in a non-game context in order to increase engagement between human and computer. In priory, a gamification-based learning website for programming language course was developed. This study aimed to measure the effectiveness and motivation level of using a Gamification website for programming language learning for first year students. Quantitative research approach was used. The effectiveness of the gamification website was tested using Quasi experiment. Student motivation was measured using ARCS motivation model. The findings showed that there were significant differences in the overall results of student performance (effectiveness and motivation) between the experimental and control groups.