Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wildlife conservation in a changing climate

Human-induced climate change is emerging as one of the gravest threats to biodiversity in history, and while a vast amount of literature on the ecological impact of climate change exists, very little has been dedicated to the management of wildlife populations and communities in the wake of unprecedented habitat changes. "Wildlife Conservation in a Changing Climate" is an essential resource, bringing together leaders in the fields of climate change ecology, wildlife population dynamics, and environmental policy to examine the impacts of climate change on populations of terrestrial vertebrates. Chapters assess the details of climate change ecology, including demographic implications for individual populations, evolutionary responses, impacts on movement patterns, alterations of species interactions, and predicting impacts across regions. The contributors also present a number of strategies by which conservationists and wildlife managers can counter or mitigate the impacts of climate change as well as increase the resilience of wildlife populations to such changes. A seminal contribution to the fields of ecology and conservation biology, "Wildlife Conservation in a Changing Climate" will serve as the spark that ignites a new direction of discussions about and action on the ecology and conservation of wildlife in a changing climate.
Nrf2 and autonomic dysregulation in chronic heart failure and hypertension

Redox imbalance plays essential role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Chronic heart failure (CHF) and hypertension are associated with central oxidative stress, which is partly mediated by the downregulation of antioxidant enzymes in the central autonomic neurons that regulate sympathetic outflow, resulting in sympathoexcitation. Antioxidant proteins are partially regulated by the transcriptional factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Downregulation of Nrf2 is key to disrupting central redox homeostasis and mediating sympathetic nerve activity in the setting of Chronic heart failure and hypertension. Nrf2, in turn, is regulated by various mechanisms, such as extracellular vesicle-enriched microRNAs derived from several cell types, including heart and skeletal muscle. In this review, we discuss the role of Nrf2 in regulating oxidative stress in the brain and its impact on sympathoexcitation in Chronic heart failure and hypertension. Importantly, we also discuss interorgan communication via extracellular vesicle pathways that mediate central redox imbalance through Nrf2 signaling.
Molecular Dynamics Model for the Dispersive Interaction between Nanoparticles and Erythrocytes: A Focus on Targeted Drug Delivery

– This study introduces a numerical model, based on classical molecular dynamics, which simulates the dispersive interaction between magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) and blood components, with a particular focus on erythrocytes. This model considers the collision between an MNP and an erythrocyte, taking into account both the resistive and restorative forces exerted by the elastic surface of the erythrocyte. The model provides insights into the trajectory, penetration, displacement, velocity, and energy of the MNP in relation to an axisymmetric axis. The simulation takes place in an environment that mimics the surface of the erythrocyte, with the MNP moving along the positive z-axis until it collides with an erythrocyte 'wall'. This analysis allows the evaluation of the kinematics and energy before and after the collision. The development of this numerical model oﬀers a valuable tool for the design of targeted drug delivery systems and has the potential to improve the eﬃcacy of focused chemotherapy.
Macrophage Activation in Follicular Conjunctivitis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Among the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2, follicular conjunctivitis has become relevant. The conjunctiva acts as an open lymph node, reacting to the viral antigen that binds the epithelial cells, forming follicles of B cells with activated T cells and NK cells on its surface, which, in turn, talk to monocyte-derived inflammatory infected macrophages. Here, the NLRP3 inflammasome is a major driver in releasing pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and caspase-1, leading to follicular conjunctivitis and bulbar congestion, even as isolated signs in the ‘asymptomatic’ patient.
Health-related quality of life for older patients with chronic low back pain: A structural equation modeling study

Purpose : This study aimed to develop and validate a structural equation model for health-related quality of life in older patients with chronic low back pain. Methods : We selected social support, symptoms, fear-avoidance beliefs, functional disability, health perception, and health-related quality of life as the main variables based on Wilson and Cleary’s model of health-related quality of life. A total of 211 participants aged ≥65 years who had been diagnosed with low back pain for more than three months were considered in this study. Data were collected from two hospitals in D Metropolitan City and A City, one public health center, and two senior citizen centers. We utilized SPSS/WIN 24.0 and R package ‘plspm’ (R Version 3.1.3) for data analysis. Results : The overall fit of proposed hypothesized model was . 53, which met the acceptable threshold, confirming the adequacy of the model’s fit. Social support, symptoms, fear-avoidance beliefs, functional disability, and health perception were statistically significant variables in the health-related quality of life, and the explanatory power of these variables was 75.1%. Out of the 15 hypotheses in the model, 13 hypotheses were supported. Conclusion : The model showed 12 significant direct effects, one significant indirect effect, and 13 significant total effects (both direct and indirect). To enhance the health-related quality of life in older patients with chronic low back pain, alleviating fear-avoidance beliefs and functional disability is necessary, while improving positive social resources such as social support and health perception is essential.
Risk of antiangiogenic adverse events in metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving aflibercept in combination with chemotherapy: A meta-analysis

Background: Aflibercept has been approved for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer for more than a decade, but its antiangiogenesis adverse effect profile during treatment remains unclear. This study is conducted to systematically review the risk of antiangiogenic adverse events in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer receiving aflibercept plus chemotherapy. Methods: We searched databases, including PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library up to September 9, 2021. Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and single-arm studies were included in the review. Statistical analyses were performed using R to calculate the summary incidence rate of antiangiogenic-related adverse events, odds ratios and 95% CIs. Heterogeneity among the included studies was assessed by subgroup analysis. Publication bias analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to confirm the reliability of the results. Results: A total of 2889 patients from 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the included studies was evaluated as qualified for further quantitative synthesis. In part of single-arm studies, the occurrence rates were 44.2% (95%CI, 39.7–48.7%) for hypertension, 31.3% (95% CI, 19.3–43.3%) for proteinuria, 27.3% (95%CI, 21.2–33.4%) for epistaxis, 22.5% (95%CI, 7.8–37.3%) for hemorrhage events, 8.0% (95%CI, 2.0–14 .0%) for venous thromboembolic event in all grades and 22.6% (95%CI, 19.1–26.2%) for grade III/IV hypertension, 7.4% (95%CI, 6.2–8.5%) for grade III/IV proteinuria. In part of RCT, compared to its counterpart, aflibercept containing arm was associated with the increased incidence rate in hypertension (OR:6.30, 95%CI: 3.49–11.36), proteinuria (OR:4.12, 95%CI: 1.25–13.61), epistaxis (OR:3.71, 95%CI: 2.84–4.85), III/IV hypertension (OR:7.20, 95%CI: 5.23–9.92), III/IV proteinuria (OR:5.13, 95%CI: 3.13–8.41). The funnel plot, Begg test and Egger test were carried out on the primary endpoints, III/IV hypertension rate and III/IV proteinuria rate, the result of which detected no obvious publication bias. No significant difference was observed in subgroup analysis in the primary endpoint between the subgroups stratified by treatment line (firstline or non-firstline), chemotherapy regime (FOLFIRI or others) and study design (RCTs or single-arm trials). Conclusion: The available evidence suggests that using aflibercept is associated with an increased risk of antiangiogenic adverse events compared with controls. Further studies are needed to investigate this association. In the appropriate clinical scenario, the use of aflibercept in its approved indications remains justified. However, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution, as some of the evidence comes from single-arm clinical trials.
CloudpredNet: An Ultra-Short-Term Movement Prediction Model for Ground-Based Cloud Image

Ground-based cloud images can provide information on weather and cloud conditions, which are important for cloud monitoring and PV power generation forecasting. Prediction of short-time cloud movement from images is a major means of intra-hourly irradiation forecasting for solar power generation and is also important for precipitation forecasting. However, there is a lack of advanced and complete methods for cloud movement prediction from ground-based cloud images, and traditional techniques based on image processing and motion vector calculations have difficulty in predicting cloud morphological changes, which makes accurate prediction of cloud motion (especially nonlinear motion) very challenging. Therefore, this paper proposes CloudpredNet, a ground-based cloud ultra-short-term movement prediction model based on an “encoder-generator” architecture. This paper also proposes a loss function dedicated to the time series prediction of ground-based cloud images and combines the attention mechanism to train the model. The model is validated on a publicly available dataset, and it is demonstrated that it has good performance in all metrics of cloud image generation for the next 10 minutes.
Three-Dimensional (3D) Visualization under Extremely Low Light Conditions Using Kalman Filter

In recent years, research on three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction under low illumination environment has been reported. Photon-counting integral imaging is one of the techniques for visualizing 3D images under low light conditions. However, conventional photon-counting integral imaging has the problem that results are random because Poisson random numbers are temporally and spatially independent. Therefore, in this paper, we apply a technique called Kalman filter to photon-counting integral imaging, which corrects data groups with errors, to improve the visual quality of results. The purpose of this paper is to reduce randomness and improve the accuracy of visualization for results by incorporating the Kalman filter into 3D reconstruction images under extremely low light conditions. Since the proposed method has better structure similarity (SSIM), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and cross-correlation values than the conventional method, it can be said that the visualization of low illuminated images can be accurate. In addition, the proposed method is expected to accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology and security camera technology.
The efficacy of dexmedetomidine for septic shock: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Introduction: The efficacy of dexmedetomidine was elusive for septic shock. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the efficacy of dexmedetomidine for septic shock. Methods: PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases have been searched through October 2022 and we included randomized controlled trials reporting the effect of dexmedetomidine in patients with septic shock. Results: Five randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with control group for septic shock, dexmedetomidine treatment was able to substantially decrease Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (mean difference [MD] = ‐0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI] = ‐1.14 to ‐0.84; P < .00001) and duration of mechanical ventilation (MD = ‐0.90; 95% CI = ‐1.27 to ‐0.54; P < .00001), but showed no obvious influence on morality at 28 days (odds ratio = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.38 to 1.66; P = 054), hospital mortality (odds ratio = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.35 to 1.24; P = .20) or intensive care unit length of stay (MD = ‐1.47; 95% CI = ‐4.60 to 1.66; P = .36). Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine administration may help treat patients with septic shock.
Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) Analysis and Forecast Characteristics of Extratropical Cyclolysis over the North Pacific Ocean.

Abstract : Simulations with high resolution air/sea coupled models and several case studies have lead to the hypothesis that friction parameterizations could have a profound affect on the accuracy of numerical analysis and prediction of decaying cyclones. In this study, analyzed and forecast characteristics of decaying cyclones over the North Pacific Ocean are related to the hypothesized importance of friction induced cyclone spin down. Many characteristics of cyclolysis, which include gale area size and decay rate, were found to vary according to the synoptic-scale conditions in which the cyclone exists. Furthermore, the hypothesized relationship between cyclolysis and frictionally forced spin down was not found to exist in the analyzed and forecast model data. This result might be expected since friction spin down is parameterized based on analyzed and forecast winds over synoptic space and time scales. Therefore, it is concluded that over these scales other factors, which may include energy transfers due to barotropic processes, contribute in a major way to cyclone decay as portrayed in a global-scale numerical model.
Proximity

Due to deregulation of the broadcasting industry, television news has changed considerably during the last 10-15 years. This paper reports on a major study of changes in the Danish television news as regards news content, formats and editorial policies. In particular, the paper focuses on the development of proximity as a key news value that allows newsrooms to develop a closer relationship with their viewers. However, the editorial emphasis on proximity in selection of news stories, narrative and enunciative structure also entails a redefinition of the social character of news. Finally, the paper discusses these editorial changes in relation to broader changes in public discourse in Denmark, notably the increase in media generated populism and the rise of the "modern province".
Population Biology of the Goby Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton 1822) Caught in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Glossogobius giruis (Hamilton 1822) is a commercial fish but there is no knowledge of its population biology. The present study was conducted along the coastlines from Soc Trang to Bac Lieu, Vietnam to contribute new information on population biological characteristics of G. giuris based on length-frequency distribution analysis of 673 individuals. The von Bertalanffy curve parameters of this goby were L ∞ = 20.53 cm, K = 0.56 yr -1 and t 0 = –0.02 yr -1 . The longevity ( t max ) and the growth performance ( Φ’ ) were 5.36 yrs and 2.37 respectively. The fishing, natural and total mortalities of this fish population were 1.77 yr -1 , 1.40 yr -1 and 3.17 yr -1 respectively and its exploitation rate was 0.56. There were two recruitment peaks in late April and in September, and the analyses of relative yield-per-recruit and biomass-per-recruit gave E max = 0.633, E 0.1 = 0.515 and E 0.5 = 0.323. This goby is a potential aquaculture candidate due to its high growth parameters. The fish stock is subject to overexploitation and, as such, the deep gill net mesh size should be increased and the fish should not be caught during the recruitment period for sustainable fishery management.
High-Performance Hybrid MPPT Algorithm Based Single-Stage Solar PV Fed Induction Motor Drive for Standalone Pump Application

The article presents a high-performance hybrid sample-based perturb and observe (P&O) maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm for a single-stage solar photovoltaic (SPV) fed open-end winding induction motor (OEWIM) driven standalone pumping system. Traditionally, the P&O algorithm utilizes slow sample-based computation for MPPT to avoid high oscillations near MPP. The slow sample-based algorithm has the drawback of poor tracking speed and loss of MPPT for the environmental change corresponding to the decrement in the PV power (i.e., step decrement in irradiance). Conversely, the algorithm designed for a faster sample rate faces the drawback of poor MPPT performance due to high oscillations near MPP. The proposed algorithm integrates the advantages of both fast and slow sample-based P&O MPPT algorithms. It switches to the fast sample-based MPPT when the PV operating point is away from MPP or there is a change in environmental conditions. It switches back to slow sample-based MPPT algorithms when the operating point reaches near MPP. The complete details of the proposed hybrid sample-based MPPT algorithm for the SPV pump application system are given in the article. Further, a comparative analysis of the proposed algorithm performance with both fast and slow sample-based algorithms is also carried out using MATLAB/Simulink simulation environment. The simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm in terms of MPPT speed and accuracy. The enhanced MPP accuracy further improves the pump performance by minimizing torque and speed ripple. The robustness of the proposed strategy is also elucidated experimentally.
Statistical methods for estimating species richness of woody regeneration in primary and secondary rain forests of northeastern Costa Rica

The study of plant communities requires a basic understanding of the abundance, distribution, and number of species present. Yet, in obtaining this information, scientists can rarely sample the entire community or area of interest. In practice, data from numerous small sub-samples provide a basis for extrapolating to a larger area, Such extrapolating must take into account the well-supported observation that estimates of local species richness depend strongly on the number of individuals and the area sampled (Gleason, 1922; Preston, 1948). Although researchers must rely heavily on extrapolations for many kinds of ecological studies, relatively little attention has been focused on improving the accuracy, applicability, and accessibility of species-richness estimators in vegetation studies, particularly in higly diverse tropical ecosystems. If robuts and accurate statistical estimators of species richness that are reasonably insensitive to sample size can be found, they can serve to provide a quantitative basis for identifying conservation priorities, for comparative biogeographic or regional studies, and for assessing long-term changes in species richness. Bunge and Fitzpatrick (1993) and Colwell and Coddington (1994) provided a broad overview of statistical approaches for estimating species richness form samples. Here, we evaluated the performance of several of these methods in estimating species richness of young woody regeneration in six tropical forest sites. We compared the performance of various estimation techniques within individual sites as well as across a range of sites differing in successional status and in woody species abundance and spatial distribution. We focused specifically on two size classes of wood regeneration: 1) established seedlings 1m in height, but
Influences of COVID-19 vaccination policy on students’ vaccine acceptance

Background Higher education institutions (HEIs) developed and implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy to facilitate vaccine acceptance and vaccination among universities’ staff and students. However, little is known about influences of the mandatory vaccination policy on health science students at a university and they tend to result in vaccine hesitancy. Aim To explore the influences of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy on health sciences students’ vaccine acceptance at HEIs in South Africa. Setting The study was conducted in one of the universities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Methods An interpretive qualitative exploratory-descriptive research was conducted with 10 participants who were selected using the purposive sampling method to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results Two themes and 12 sub-themes were identified during the data analysis, namely individual and group influencing factors, as well as contextual influencing factors. Conclusion This study revealed that the COVID-19 vaccination mandatory policy influenced the students’ quality of life, academic performance and well-being. The findings from this study indicate that there were perceived barriers related to personal and contextual influencing factors than benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. Contribution The understanding of and insight into the influences of the mandatory vaccination policy provided a basis for further strategies that may be developed to address COVID-19 vaccine infodemic, vaccine hesitancy and its risk effects. This can be done through collaboration with different stakeholders to educate health science students about the perceived benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.
Efficient LMI Conditions for Enhanced Stabilization of Discrete-Time Takagi–Sugeno Models via Delayed Nonquadratic Lyapunov Functions

This paper is concerned with the reduction of conservatism on stabilization conditions of discrete-time Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy models via delayed nonquadratic Lyapunov functions. A fruitful approach recently appeared in the literature, which, despite its benefits, dramatically increases the number of linear matrix inequalities needed to synthesize a controller. The two sets of sufficient conditions hereby proposed tackle this numerical problem while reducing conservatism and increasing the stabilization domain of existing conditions in literature, as illustrated in several examples.