Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Woody plant phylogenetic diversity supports nature's contributions to people but is at risk from human population growth

The Tree of Life—phylogeny—provides a powerful tool for understanding the processes regulating life's diversity. Conserving the branches on the Tree of Life might also have practical benefits. Using a comprehensive phylogeny of southern African woody trees and shrubs, and structural equation modeling, we show that human population density correlates closely with not only the richness of woody plants in a region but also their evolutionary relatedness. Further, we demonstrate that more phylogenetically diverse species assemblages support a greater diversity of ecosystem goods and services. Our results suggest that people in Africa may gain material benefits from inhabiting regions that support high phylogenetic diversity of woody plants. However, the correlation between human population and woody plant diversity creates a tension between people and biodiversity, which could threaten the contributions to people provided by intact and phylogenetically diverse ecosystems.
Empirically Examining the Effectiveness of Teaching Blogs on University Course Instruction

Blogs have the potential to be integrated as learning tools to help students learn and reflect. Many educators have incorporated the use of teaching blogs to enhance teaching and learning outcomes in higher education settings. However, research conducted to empirically examine the effectiveness of blog use in education is rare. This study intends to help fill the remaining gaps in the research; there are two main purposes: (1) to examine, using a field quasi-experiment, whether the use of teaching blogs in university course instruction enhances student learning outcomes; and (2) to empirically understand the determinants and impacts of the extent of student blog use on university’s course learning via a questionnaire analysis. Two separate studies were conducted. The experimental results of Study 1 show that using teaching blogs not only enhances learner satisfaction, but also increases university students’ learning achievement. The Study 2 results show that higher quality teaching blogs positively influence the extent of student blog use, which in turn positively influences student learning satisfaction and achievement. This study extends our knowledge and insights regarding the use of teaching blogs within the higher education domain.
Code Verification of a Partitioned FSI Environment for Wind Engineering Applications using the Method of Manufactured Solutions

This contribution presents an effective method to perform Code Verification of a partitioned software environment which is designed for Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) problems. The main focus lies on elastic membrane structures in an unsteady flow regime. Code Verification is a part of efforts to guarantee the code’s correctness and to obtain finally predictive capability of the code [15]. The Method of Manufactured Solutions turned out to be an effective tool to perform Code Verification, especially for complex physics and partitioned approaches. The given examples provide a hierarchical benchmark suite for the reader to assess other codes, too. The given benchmarks deal with a fully coupled structural dynamics software Carat + + with the fluid software OpenFOAM R ©. The Dirichlet-Neumann coupling is performed by the software Empire. The whole partitioned FSI environment is assessed to converge as intended. Especially the topic of non-matching grids at the common interface is assessed. Once the confidence in the general environment of the numerical wind tunnel is established, one will be able to discuss specific issues that surpass the limitations of the experimental wind tunnel.
THE ROLE OF CULTURE, LEADERSHIP, AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE LEVELS ON ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The current pandemic of COVID-19 emphasizes the significance of organizational resilience. Companies that are resilient may be able to face and capitalize on crises to avoid bad consequences, survive, and progress. To truly weather the crisis, organizations, on the other hand, require resilient leaders. This research provides a conceptual framework that will be empirically examined to assess the degree of influence of the variables specified, namely leadership and organizational culture as independent variables and organizational resilience as a dependent variable. This paper poses the groundwork for future empirical research by proposing a conceptual framework, presenting hypotheses, and exploring implications for future research. It also provides important information on how to manage organizational resilience effectively. The empirical results will significantly benefit school administrators, human resource practitioners, academicians, researchers, and policy makers.
Higher degree research students at the centre of transformational practice: An evidence based approach

Students enrolled in higher degree by research (HDR) courses come from varied backgrounds with wide ranging research skills and experience. While the number of students graduating with a PhD continues to climb, so too does the prospect that less than half will find employment in the university sector (Edwards, Radloff, & Coates, 2009). Industry demands graduates who possess broad based transferable skills that can be utilised across a range of positions and sectors. The recent Review of Australia’s Research Training System (RTS) for the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) (McGagh et al., 2016) identified skills in data collection, design of research questions, information seeking and ethical conduct, as just some of the transferable skills required by graduates engaged in diverse career paths. Against the backdrop of industry graduate requirements, university research rich agendas and globalisation of higher education, this paper will report on transforming curriculum of IFN001: Advanced Information Research Skills (AIRS), a mandatory coursework unit (subject) for students entering the PhD program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). This study adopts an evidence based approach triangulating longitudinal student feedback data (2007-2016), best practice and current literature to inform curriculum transformation. Ongoing curriculum enhancement is framed through the lens of the student by examining qualitative student feedback over time. This paper will identify consistent themes across time, and the challenges faced by AIRS curriculum designers in addressing the needs of students, and industry in developing relevant transferable skill sets.
Kategorisierung etablierter Vorgehensmodelle und ihre Verbreitung in der deutschen Software-Industrie

Zahlreiche Studien, bspw. SUCCESS, haben in den letzten Jahren darauf hingewiesen, dass in vielen Unternehmen Vorgehensmodelle in der Software-Entwicklung nicht einheitlich und konsequent genug eingesetzt werden. Im Rahmen des vom BMBF geförderten Projektes IOSE-W2 (Interorganisationale Softwareentwicklung unter dem Aspekt der Wandlungsfähigkeit und der Wiederverwendung; siehe www.iose-w.de) erbrachte eine Umfrage unter deutschen Unternehmen ein differenzierteres Bild: Vorgehensmodelle wie auch Reifegradmodelle sind weit verbreitet und die Unternehmen schätzen ihre Prozessdisziplin als hoch ein. Aber sowohl die Einheitlichkeit des Prozesses im Unternehmen (83% der Befragten setzen zwei oder mehr unterschiedliche Vorgehensmodelle ein) als auch die Zufriedenheit der Verantwortlichen mit den Prozessen sind sehr niedrig. In diesem Beitrag werden die meist verbreiteten SE-Vorgehensmodelle wie z.B. Wasserfallmodell, Spiralmodell, V-Modell XT, RUP oder eXtreme Programming in der chronologischen Reihenfolge ihrer Entstehung vorgestellt, katalogisiert und bewertet. Dazu werden zunächst zentrale Begriffe definiert und eine Reihe von Kriterien aufgestellt, mit denen sich Vorgehensmodelle bewerten, vergleichen und hinsichtlich ihrer jeweiligen Stärken und Schwächen analysieren lassen. Nach der ausführlichen Vorstellung und vergleichenden Bewertung der wichtigsten Vorgehensmodelle werden die auf Entwicklungsprozesse bezogenen Ergebnisse der bereits zitierten Studie vorgestellt, in der deutsche Unternehmen nach ihren Erfahrungen mit Vorgehensmodellen und Software-Prozessen befragt wurden.
Pension Portfolio Optimization and Impact of Debt Defaults

Usually, the government offers two pension methods, a lumpsum buyout or an annual pension. In this paper, we provide an effective method to evaluate these two government pension methods. Initially, we constructed a pension portfolio consisting of five popular assets, such as the tech giants and popular ETFs. Then we use the Fama-French 3-factor model to calculate the expected returns of every asset. The Sharpe Ratio is the standard to make a choice that accepts the portfolio with a pension or the portfolio without a pension. Except for the Sharpe Ratios, we also took the government debt default and retirement ages into consideration. Government debt defaults contain two types, partial defaults, and full defaults. These two different kinds of defaults can have a significant impact on pension choice. With this method, we could obtain the decision boundary of the pension choice. Investors could utilize this boundary to decide whether to accept a pension or a lumpsum buyout by themselves.
Effect of CB2 Stimulation on Gene Expression in Pediatric B-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: New Possible Targets

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia type B (B-ALL) is the most common kind of pediatric leukemia, characterized by the clonal proliferation of type B lymphoid stem cells. Important progress in ALL treatments led to improvements in long-term survival; nevertheless, many adverse long-term consequences still concern the medical community. Molecular and cellular target therapies, together with immunotherapy, are promising strategies to overcome these concerns. Cannabinoids, enzymes involved in their metabolism, and cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) constitute the endocannabinoid system, involved in inflammation, immune response, and cancer. CB2 receptor stimulation exerts anti-proliferative and anti-invasive effects in many tumors. In this study, we evaluated the effects of CB2 stimulation on B-ALL cell lines, SUP-B15, by RNA sequencing, Western blotting, and ELISA. We observe a lower expression of CB2 in SUP-B15 cells compared to lymphocytes from healthy subjects, hypothesizing its involvement in B-ALL pathogenesis. CB2 stimulation reduces the expression of CD9, SEC61G, TBX21, and TMSB4X genes involved in tumor growth and progression, and also negatively affects downstream intracellular pathways. Our findings suggest an antitumor role of CB2 stimulation in B-ALL, and highlight a functional correlation between CB2 receptors and specific anti-tumoral pathways, even though further investigations are needed.
Complete mitochondrial genome of the peninsula cooter (Pseudemys peninsularis, Testudines: Emydidae) in Korea

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of Pseudemys peninsularis in Korea was sequenced and characterized. The mitochondrial genome is constituted of 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and two ribosomal RNA genes) and a noncoding region. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 13 protein-coding gene sequences showed that P. peninsularis has closer relationship with Chrysemys picta than Trachemys scripta elegans. This is the first case for a complete mitochondrial genome from P. peninsularis, which will provide information for biogeographical studies and management plans for invasive species.
Short communication: Algal genotypes in White Syndrome infected coral Acropora muricata from the Karimunjawa Islands, Indonesia

Abstract. Wijayanti DP, Nadia M, Indrayanti E, Haryanti D, Bachtiar M. 2021. Short communication: Algal genotypes in White Syndrome infected coral Acropora muricata from the Karimunjawa Islands, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 415-423. The physiological equilibrium of the coral holobiont may help the corals to survive under various environmental threats. The symbiont genotype is thought to play an important role in the host's susceptibility to thermal stress and coral disease incidence. We identified the Symbiodiniaceae diversity of coral Acropora muricata infected by White Syndrome (WS). Samples were collected from Cemara Kecil Island and Barakuda Beach, Kemujan Island, Karimunjawa Islands. We applied DNA barcoding of 28S nuclear ribosomal RNA gene of the healthy colonies, healthy tissue, and lesions of diseased colonies to perform their symbiont type identification. There were two different symbiont types observed from the phylogenetic analysis, which formed two clades. A clade consisting all Cemara Kecil Island samples while the other with all Barakuda Beach samples except for one. All samples harbored symbiont types from the genus Cladocopium. The members of the genus were reported to have various physiological properties which may support the host resilience when facing the disease. A robust study is needed to reveal the influence of symbiont genotypes on the occurrence of coral disease and the susceptibility of the coral host.
Conventional Versus Different Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Dosage Schedules in Postmastectomy Advanced Breast Cancer

Introduction: The standard treatment for advanced breast cancer is surgery consisting of breast-conserving surgery or modified radical mastectomy (MRM) postneoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant radiation treatment (RT). Conventionally-fractionated whole breast irradiation has been the standard RT regimen, but recently shorter courses of hypofractionated whole breast or chest wall irradiation have been advocated for patient convenience and reduction in health-care costs and resources. Radiation is delivered through the same technique, but tumors receive a higher dose of radiation per treatment session with hypofractionation. Aim: The aim of the study was to compare different fractionation schedules of radiotherapy in postoperative cancer breast with respect to locoregional control and toxicities. Materials and Methods: One hundred and eighty-eight patients of cancer breast, who received RT between January 2017 and December 2019 were assessed. Since hypofractionation is well documented and established and being practiced in prestigious institutes, we treated the patients as per their choice to receive 10.15 or 25 fractions. 72 patients (Group A) were treated with conventional fractionation to a dose of 50 Gy/25 fractions/5 weeks. Second group of 62 patients (Group B) were given 40.5 Gy/15 fractions/3 weeks and third group of 54 patients (Group C) were treated with 34 Gy/10 fractions/2 weeks. All patients were T3 or more and underwent MRM after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. They were in the age group of 30–65 years. All of them received adjuvant chemotherapy and hormone therapy in case of estrogen/and progesterone receptor positivity and anti-Her2neu target therapy in case of Her2neu positivity. They were assessed for locoregional control and acute and chronic toxicities. Results: Grade 3 and 4 skin toxicity was similar in all three groups. At 6 months postcompletion of RT, two patients in Group A, 3 in Group B, and 5 in Group C lost to follow-up. In rest of the subjects, there was no locoregional failure. At 1 year, 1 patient from Group A, 2 from Group B, and 1 from Group C developed locoregional recurrence. There were no major chronic toxicities. Arm edema and Telangiectasia were similar in three groups. No rib fracture or major cardiotoxicity and pulmonary toxicity was seen. Conclusion: Hypofractionated RT is a part of the typical treatment regimen for breast cancer nowadays. The major advantage is of convenience to the patients as it is completed the full course of RT in fewer sessions. With both conventional and hypofractionated radiation, the patient receives radiation 5 days a week. In the conventional regimen, though the schedule lasts for 5 weeks, whereas hypofractionation therapy is completed in 2 to 3 weeks. Local control wise both conventional and hypofractionated regimen is similar in locoregional control and toxicity. Therefore, hypofractionated RT should be practiced in cancer breast as it is economical, convenient, and toxicity wise and result wise similar to conventional radiotherapy.
Global Sparsity-Weighted Local Contrast Measure for Infrared Small Target Detection

Local contrast measure (LCM) proves effective in infrared (IR) small target detection. Existing LCM-based methods focus on mining local features of small targets to improve detection performance. As a result, they struggle to reduce false alarms while maintaining detection rates, especially with high-contrast background interference. To address this issue, this letter proposes global sparsity (GS)-weighted LCM (GSWLCM), which fuses both global and local features of small targets. First, robust LCM (RLCM) is proposed to remove low-contrast backgrounds and extract candidate targets. Then, to suppress high-contrast backgrounds, we customize the random walker (RW) to extract candidate target pixels and construct the global histogram and calculate GS. Finally, GSWLCM fusing global and local features is calculated and the target is detected by adaptive threshold segmentation. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed method is effective in suppressing high-contrast backgrounds and has better detection performance than several state-of-the-art methods.
Significance of Dosimetric Parameters in Patients Undergoing Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannoma

Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a benign, encapsulated, and slow-growing tumor of the myelin-forming cells of the 8th cranial nerve. Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) has become a widely accepted primary treatment modality for small- to medium-sized VSs. In the case of VS, highly conformal, precisely focused radiation is delivered to the acoustic tumor in a single session under the direct supervision of a radiosurgery team. Aim: This study aims to determine the significance of Conformity Index and Gradient Index (GI) in patients undergoing GKRS for VS, retrospectively, and re-assess the plans. Materials and Methods: A dosimetric study of 112 patients of VS (both operated and nonoperated) treated on Gamma Knife Perfexion unit at our hospital, over a 3-year period, was carried out retrospectively. The patients' mean age at the time of GKRS was 48 years and the mean dose to the tumor margin was 13 Gy. The conformality of the treatment plan was determined by Conformity Index. GI determines fall off dose outside the target. Results: The dosimetric parameters such as Conformity Index and GI were calculated using the dose-volume histograms and the volume analysis tools available in the Leksell Gamma Plan using TMR 10 algorithm. The mean Paddick Conformity Index was found to be around 0.80 ± 0.085 and the mean GI was 2.67 ± 0.22. Conclusions: The dosimetric parameters can be used to evaluate the dose coverage and conformity and dose fall off outside the target.
Transplant Quality, Yield, and Heavy-Metal Accumulation of Tomato, Muskmelon, and Cabbage Grown in Media Containing Sewage Sludge Compost1

Transplant quality, as measured by height and dry weight, of cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was lower for plants grown in media containing sewage sludge compost with a high heavy-metal concentration (HM) than for plants grown in peat-vermiculite (P-V) or low-metal (LM) sewage sludge compost media. Compost source had no significant effect on transplant quality of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) seedlings. Marketable yield of cabbage, tomato, or muskmelon was similar regardless of the media used to grow the transplants. The concentration of Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Cd were significantly higher in transplants grown in HM media than in those grown in LM media. With the exception of Cd, metal levels in transplants grown in LM media were similar to those grown in P-V. Transplant media had little influence on the heavy-metal concentrations found in either foliar samples or the edible portions of the crops studied. Heavy-metal concentrations in foliar samples of all 3 crops were lower than those found in transplants. The lowest concentrations were found in tomato and muskmelon fruit, and in cabbage heads. The Cd concentrations in edible portions were very low regardless of the source of compost in the transplant media, indicating that sewage sludge composts, particularly those low in heavy metals, can be used safely in the growing media of vegetable transplants.
Halal Practices on the Shrimp Paste Processing Industries for Business Development in Rokan Hilir, Riau Indonesia

This survey research aims to analyse the application of halal practices on the terasi (shrimp paste) processing industry in Rokan Hilir Regency, Riau Province, Indonesia. The location was determined purposively because it is the centre of the largest shrimp paste processing industry in the province. There’re 10 of 54 the total shrimp paste processing companies were sampled: two large companies, two medium companies, and six small companies. Data was collected by interviewing the owner of the company as a respondent, using a questionnaire guide. Data of halal practices refer to the Halal Fatwa Standardization of the Indonesian Ulema Council, include: manufacturer management, physical facilities, production equipment facilities, processing procedure, and storage procedures. Data processing used descriptive statistical methods with SPSS version 25. The results showed that the halal practices application level on the shrimp paste processing industries in Rokan Hilir was still low, the average is only 67.10%. The application rate showed that large companies (69.66%), small companies (50.66%), and medium (94.98%). The low application of halal practices in shrimp processing large-companies, because the owner come from non-Muslim circles so they don't understand well the principles of halal. Meanwhile in small companies, it’s caused by limited capital, especially to build processing facilities whose quality’s standard and could be well controlled. This phenomenon’s worried because it could threaten the sustainability of the shrimp paste processing industry in Rokan Hilir in the future. The last, the products’re marketed to Java Island, Indonesia and Malaysia, which are Muslim dominantly.
Detection of Cardiovascular Disease Based on PPG Signals Using Machine Learning with Cloud Computing

Hypertension is the main cause of blood pressure (BP), which further causes various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The recent COVID-19 pandemic raised the burden on the healthcare system and also limits the resources to these patients only. The treatment of chronic patients, especially those who suffer from CVD, has fallen behind, resulting in increased deaths from CVD around the world. Regular monitoring of BP is crucial to prevent CVDs as it can be controlled and diagnosed through constant monitoring. To find an effective and convenient procedure for the early diagnosis of CVDs, photoplethysmography (PPG) is recognized as a low-cost technology. Through PPG technology, various cardiovascular parameters, including blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, etc., are detected. Merging the healthcare domain with information technology (IT) is a demanding area to reduce the rehospitalization of CVD patients. In the proposed model, PPG signals from the Internet of things (IoT)-enabled wearable patient monitoring (WPM) devices are used to monitor the heart rate (HR), etc., of the patients remotely. This article investigates various machine learning techniques such as decision tree (DT), naïve Bayes (NB), and support vector machine (SVM) and the deep learning model one-dimensional convolutional neural network-long short-term memory (1D CNN-LSTM) to develop a system that assists physicians during continuous monitoring, which achieved an accuracy of 99.5% using PPG-BP data set. The proposed system provides cost-effective, efficient, and fully connected monitoring systems for cardiac patients.