Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Xylem water transport: is the available evidence consistent with the cohesion theory?

Since its introduction in the late 19th century, the so-called cohesion theory has become widely accepted as explaining the mechanism of the ascent of sap. According to the cohesion theory, the minimum standing vertical xylem tension gradient should be 0·01 MPa m−1. When transpiration is occurring, frictional resistances are expected to make this gradient considerably steeper. The results of numerous pressure chamber measurements reported in the literature are generally regarded as corroborating the cohesion theory. Nevertheless, several reports of pressure chamber measurements in tall trees appear to be incompatible with predictions of the cohesion theory. Furthermore, the pressure chamber is an indirect method for inferring xylem pressure, which, until recently, has not been validated by comparison against a direct method. The xylem pressure probe provides a means of testing the validity of the pressure chamber and other indirect techniques for estimating xylem pressure. We discuss here the results of concurrent measurements made with the pressure chamber and the xylem pressure probe, particularly recent measurements made at the top of a tall tropical tree during the rainy season. These measurements indicate that the pressure chamber often substantially overestimates the tension previously existing in the xylem, especially in the partially dehydrated tissue of droughted plants. We also discuss other evidence obtained from classical and recent approaches for studying water transport. We conclude that the available evidence derived from a wide range of independent approaches warrants a critical reappraisal of tension-driven water transport as the exclusive mechanism of long-distance water transport in plants.
A Split-Merge Framework for Evolutionary Clustering (cid:63)

In this abstract, we discuss an ongoing work on a split-merge framework for evolutionary clustering. The proposed clustering technique is designed to be robust to concept drift scenarios by providing the ﬂex-ibility to compute clusters on a new portion of data and to update the existing clustering solution by the computed new one. The split-merge framework models two clustering solutions as a bipartite graph. We have initially evaluated and compared the discussed evolutionary clustering technique with another bipartite correlation clustering algorithm (Piv-otBiCluster) on two diﬀerent case studies.
The Phenotypic Consequences of Genetic Divergence between Admixed Latin American Populations: Antioquia and Chocó, Colombia

Abstract Genome-wide association studies have uncovered thousands of genetic variants that are associated with a wide variety of human traits. Knowledge of how trait-associated variants are distributed within and between populations can provide insight into the genetic basis of group-specific phenotypic differences, particularly for health-related traits. We analyzed the genetic divergence levels for 1) individual trait-associated variants and 2) collections of variants that function together to encode polygenic traits, between two neighboring populations in Colombia that have distinct demographic profiles: Antioquia (Mestizo) and Chocó (Afro-Colombian). Genetic ancestry analysis showed 62% European, 32% Native American, and 6% African ancestry for Antioquia compared with 76% African, 10% European, and 14% Native American ancestry for Chocó, consistent with demography and previous results. Ancestry differences can confound cross-population comparison of polygenic risk scores (PRS); however, we did not find any systematic bias in PRS distributions for the two populations studied here, and population-specific differences in PRS were, for the most part, small and symmetrically distributed around zero. Both genetic differentiation at individual trait-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms and population-specific PRS differences between Antioquia and Chocó largely reflected anthropometric phenotypic differences that can be readily observed between the populations along with reported disease prevalence differences. Cases where population-specific differences in genetic risk did not align with observed trait (disease) prevalence point to the importance of environmental contributions to phenotypic variance, for both infectious and complex, common disease. The results reported here are distributed via a web-based platform for searching trait-associated variants and PRS divergence levels at http://map.chocogen. com (last accessed August 12, 2020).
Full-Duplex Device-to-Device Cellular Networks: Power Control and Performance Analysis

This paper investigates the benefits of incorporating full-duplex (FD) into an underlaid device-to-device (D2D) cellular network via centralized and distributed power control mechanisms. In the considered system, D2D users operate in an FD mode under the adverse effect of realistic residual self-interference, and their locations are modeled by a homogeneous spatial Poisson point process. By first considering a centralized power control scheme, we first formulate an optimization problem that maximizes the D2D link sum-rate under the constraint on minimum target signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at each user. Since the problem is nonconvex, we propose a difference of convex based method to transform the problem into a sequence of convex subproblems which can be solved efficiently. The obtained solutions help to calculate the coverage probability of both cellular and D2D links, showing that a very high coverage probability of cellular link can be achieved while successfully supporting a large number of active D2D links. In the second part of the paper, we consider a distributed power control scheme where only the local channel state information of direct link between respective D2D users is needed. By utilizing the tools of stochastic geometry, we derive closed-form approximations of coverage probabilities for both cellular and D2D links. Specifically, we apply Laplace transforms and novel approximations that accurately approximate the expected values of fractional and exponential functions of random variables to obtain the distribution functions of SINRs at the base-station and D2D users in a closed form. By further taking the average over the distributions of cellular and D2D link distances, we then arrive at the closed-form approximations of cellular and D2D coverage probabilities. In addition, based on the approximation of D2D link coverage probability, an analytical expression for the D2D link sum-rate is also obtained, and it can be effectively calculated.
Congruence and conflict in the higher-level phylogenetics of squamate reptiles: an expanded phylogenomic perspective.

Genome-scale data have the potential to clarify phylogenetic relationships across the tree of life, but have also revealed extensive gene tree conflict. This seeming paradox, whereby larger datasets both increase statistical confidence and uncover significant discordance, suggests that understanding sources of conflict is important for accurate reconstruction of evolutionary history. We explore this paradox in squamate reptiles, the vertebrate clade comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians. We collected an average of 5103 loci for 91 species of squamates that span higher-level diversity within the clade, which we augmented with publicly available sequences for an additional 17 taxa. Using a locus-by-locus approach, we evaluated support for alternative topologies at 17 contentious nodes in the phylogeny. We identified shared properties of conflicting loci, finding that rate and compositional heterogeneity drives discordance between gene trees and species tree and that conflicting loci rarely overlap across contentious nodes. Finally, by comparing our tests of nodal conflict to previous phylogenomic studies, we confidently resolve nine of the 17 problematic nodes. We suggest this locus-by-locus and node-by-node approach can be used to build consensus on which topological resolutions remain uncertain in phylogenomic studies of other contentious groups.
Human endothelial colony‐forming cells in regenerative therapy: A systematic review of controlled preclinical animal studies

Endothelial colony‐forming cells (ECFCs) hold significant promise as candidates for regenerative therapy of vascular injury. Existing studies remain largely preclinical and exhibit marked design heterogeneity. A systematic review of controlled preclinical trials of human ECFCs is needed to guide future study design and to accelerate clinical translation. A systematic search of Medline and EMBASE on 1 April 2019 returned 3131 unique entries of which 66 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Most studies used ECFCs derived from umbilical cord or adult peripheral blood. Studies used genetically modified immunodeficient mice (n = 52) and/or rats (n = 16). ECFC phenotypes were inconsistently characterized. While >90% of studies used CD31+ and CD45−, CD14− was demonstrated in 73% of studies, CD146+ in 42%, and CD10+ in 35%. Most disease models invoked ischemia. Peripheral vascular ischemia (n = 29), central nervous system ischemia (n = 14), connective tissue injury (n = 10), and cardiovascular ischemia and reperfusion injury (n = 7) were studied most commonly. Studies showed predominantly positive results; only 13 studies reported ≥1 outcome with null results, three reported only null results, and one reported harm. Quality assessment with SYRCLE revealed potential sources of bias in most studies. Preclinical ECFC studies are associated with benefit across several ischemic conditions in animal models, although combining results is limited by marked heterogeneity in study design. In particular, characterization of ECFCs varied and aspects of reporting introduced risk of bias in most studies. More studies with greater focus on standardized cell characterization and consistency of the disease model are needed.
Trap color and placement affects estimates of insect family‐level abundance and diversity in a Nebraska salt marsh

Sampling programs to establish baseline ecosystem information (e.g., species abundance and diversity) often fail to consider the potential influence of sampling techniques on results. Research on sampling economically important insects has demonstrated the possible influences of trap color and trap placement on results, but few data have been collected from natural environments. Consequently, we examined the effects of color (yellow and blue) and placement (exposed and shaded by plants) of sticky traps on insect captures and diversity estimates from a Nebraska inland salt marsh community. We identified 1913 specimens from 67 insect families collected during five trapping dates in July 1996. More Cicindelidae were collected on exposed traps, and more Staphylinidae, Dolichopodidae, Cicadellidae, and Thripidae were collected on shaded traps. More Dolichopodidae were collected on yellow traps, while more Syrphidae and Thripidae were collected on blue. Shannon and alpha diversity measures were significantly higher for shaded traps than exposed traps, but were not affected by trap color. Our results highlight the importance of characterizing sampling techniques when establishing diversity estimates. These data provide the first complete accounting of community‐level insect response to colored sticky traps and provide new information for color preference of non‐economic insect species.
Policy Frameworks for the Protection of Cross Border Traditional Song-Baul: A Case Study

Cross-border policy on Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) particularly traditional songs is a complex issue to implement. The spirit to cooperate between states of cultural similarity is raised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) but in fact, the utilization of such song denies the economic rights of its custodian. Until now, less attention has been paid to questions concerning normative issues of protection of Baul song. This paper addresses two important questions on the normative level: a) How to protect Baul song as Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) using existing suitable Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) tool? b) How to draw any alternate protection mechanisms in cross-border Baul song? From a methodological standpoint, this paper used both a legal approach and snowball sampling strategy in data collection. To conclude, firstly, it is potential to protect Baul song as Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) using existing suitable Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) tool, particularly using Copyrights as long as sui generis system has not been established. Secondly, as an alternative protection mechanism in cross-border Baul song, in the establishment of legal instruments must include political, historical, and economic issues. Those are some recommendations on how to deal with these normative aspects in well laid policy making processes: it is proposed that there is a need to give a boost to cross-border collaboration program such as inscription and documentation; creating more specific incentives for cross-border Manas Kumar Ganguli, Laina Rafianti and Sabuj Kumar Chaudhuri 2688 Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 27 (4): 2687 2702 (2019) cooperation; strengthening a protection policy framework for copyright and related right landscape.
Deep residual-network-based quality assessment for SD-OCT retinal images: preliminary study

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is widely used as an imaging technique for in vivo imaging of the human retina in clinical ophthalmology. For reliable clinical measurements, the quality of the OCT images needs to be sufficient. Hence, quality evaluation of OCT images is necessary. Although some quality assessment algorithms for OCT images have been proposed, their performance still needs to be improved. To the best of our knowledge, there is still no OCT image quality assessment algorithm based on deep learning framework. To address the OCT image quality assessment issue, we proposed an objective OCT image quality assessment (IQA) using Residual Networks (ResNets) combined with support vector regression (SVR) in this paper. A dataset of 482 OCT images is constructed, and the images quality are scored by the clinic experts. The pre-trained deep residual network from ImageNet is slightly revised and then fine-tuned to extract the features from OCT images. Then, the extracted features from the images and their corresponding subjective rating scores are used to learn the non-linear map with Support Vector Regression(SVR). To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, the correlation coefficients between the predicted score and the subjective rating score are utilized. And the experimental result demonstrates that the proposed algorithm is highly efficient in the OCT image quality assessment.
Effect of sonication power on perfusion decellularization of cadaveric porcine kidney

Kidney problems rank 7th among the top 10 causes of mortality among Filipinos. One of the potential future treatment options is the use of bioengineered kidney. The preparation of scaffolds is the first step in kidney bioengineering and perfusion decellularization using chemicals is considered the most preferred preparation method to date. However, the use of chemicals alone requires long treatment time hence, in this study perfusion decellularization is to be enhanced by sonication treatment at varying sonication power. Decellularization was carried out by perfusing the kidney with 1% SDS and was subjected to sonication treatment with a 2h sonication and 2h rest cycle. The cycle is repeated until the kidney is clear and transparent. Washing using 1% Triton X-100 and 1x PBS then follows to remove residual SDS. The extent of cell removal was determined by H&E staining. The results showed that decellularization with sonication using 150W, 200W and 250W required a treatment time of 24h, 16h and 12h respectively compared to the 28h treatment time of decellularization without sonication. The result clearly shows that with higher sonication power, the shorter is the decellularization time needed to prepare a good kidney scaffold.
The Number of Choice Tasks and Survey Satisficing in Conjoint Experiments

In recent years, political and social scientists have made increasing use of conjoint survey designs to study decision-making. Here, we study a consequential question which researchers confront when implementing conjoint designs: How many choice tasks can respondents perform before survey satisficing degrades response quality? To answer the question, we run a set of experiments where respondents are asked to complete as many as 30 conjoint tasks. Experiments conducted through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Survey Sampling International demonstrate the surprising robustness of conjoint designs, as there are detectable but quite limited increases in survey satisficing as the number of tasks increases. Our evidence suggests that in similar study contexts researchers can assign dozens of tasks without substantial declines in response quality.
Book Reviews

ment to the more established quantitative paradigm. For example, a questionnaire study can provide valuable information about sex differences in visits to the GP, but interviews with men can explore the reasons why they make less use of this resource compared to women. Diversity within a group of men can then be explored. Further, a discourse analyst might then connect the men’s talk (e.g. ‘the doctor’s surgery is a place for women, children and older people’) to wider representations of gender (e.g. ‘masculinity as invulnerable’). Essentially, the book offers a critical review of psychological work in the burgeoning field of men’s health. It invites health psychologists to consider alternative theories and methods so that knowledge in this area can be developed. It is a timely attempt to incorporate feminist social constructionist thinking into health psychology and thus to broaden the scope of the discipline. Indeed, ‘The Social Psychology of Men’s Health’ would perhaps work better as a title for the book. However, does the book over-emphasize social dimensions to men’s health? This question should be set in the context of a growing critique of social constructionism (e.g. Burr, 1995, 2002) in which the individual is said to disappear under discourse, having little or no control over actions. As for men’s health, we are left to wonder why two men, similarly positioned in terms of social class, race, sexual orientation and so forth, could make different health-related ‘choices’. To answer this type of question requires that men’s biographies be taken into account, as well as their sociological status. The work of Hollway and Jefferson (2000) is worth mentioning here, as they explicitly develop a psychosocial methodology which attempts to blend elements of social constructionism with psychoanalytic concepts. Psychological research in men’s health should really endeavour to investigate the personal investments which individual men make in particular health-related activities, while bearing in mind the social contexts in which such investments are made. In sum, social constructionists, like myself, will be encouraged by this contribution, but are mainstream health psychologists prepared to take the plunge into ‘unscientific’ waters? I certainly hope so. References
Pre-germination hydration affects seed performance in bambara groundnut

In a study to determine the response of local bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc. ) germplasm to seed enhancement, seeds were subjected to hydration (12, 75 and 93% RH) to influence pre-germination water activity (aw) and subsequent germination and seedling establishment. This study also reports on seedling characteristics 28 days after sowing under a controlled environment at 75% field capacity. There were highly significant (P < 0.01) differences between hydration treatments. The low RH resulted in aw ranging from 0.06, 1 h after suspension to 0.39, 72 h after suspension, whereas the 93% RH resulted in awranging from 0.2, 1 h after suspension to 0.68, 72 h later. Subjecting seeds to pre-germination hydration caused a significantly improved seed imbibition (P < 0.05) (up to 40%), germination (35%) (P < 0.05) and seedling establishment (P < 0.05) (as indicated by seedling size and utilization of seed storage tissue). It is concluded that the delay in seedling establishment due to lack of pre-germination hydration or low RH (12%) is linked to the observed collapse of seedling leaf stomata. Hence, the findings of this study have a bearing on drought tolerance. Key words: Hydration, germination, seed, water activity.
The longevity of crop seeds stored under ambient conditions

Abstract The ability of crop seeds to retain their viability over extended periods of uncontrolled temperature and/or relative humidity conditions has not been widely investigated, although this is an important issue for genebank management. We report here the response of 18 crop species to storage for up to 26 years at 20.3 ± 2.3°C and 50.5 ± 6.3% relative humidity. Germination rates decreased in a sigmoid fashion, but the curve parameters were species characteristic. Pea, common bean and maize seeds retained their viability over the longest period (23, 21 and 19 years, respectively). In contrast, chive seeds survived for only 5 years and lettuce for 7 years. In addition to this interspecific variability, there were also indices for intraspecific variability, particularly in bean and chive seeds, just as in collard, lupin, poppy, wheat and maize seeds. A significant correlation was obtained between germination performance in the laboratory and seedling emergence following autumn sowing. Seeds in which oil was the major seed storage component were more short lived, whereas carbohydrates or proteins did not show an effect on seed longevity.
Age-related biochemical changes during storage of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seeds

Abstract Substances that could play a role in maintaining seed viability (phenolic compounds, α-tocopherol, sterols, ascorbic acid, glutathione and soluble proteins) were estimated in beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seed lots that had been stored for 2, 5, 7 and 10 years at − 10°C. Germination capacity was strongly and positively correlated with amounts of total phenolic compounds, ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing phenols and soluble proteins. Moderately strong relationships appeared between germination capacity and α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid contents. Total sterol and glutathione contents were not correlated with germination capacity. A strong, negative correlation was found between germination capacity and reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide radical (O _{2}^{\cdot - }) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as well as with lipid hydroxyperoxides (LHPOs). The putative role of these compounds in the maintenance of beech seed viability during long-term storage is discussed.