Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Warming appears as the main risk of non-adaptedness for western Mediterranean relict fir forests under expected climate change scenarios

Circum-Mediterranean firs are considered among the most drought-sensitive species to climate change. Understanding the genetic basis of trees’ adaptive capacity and intra-specific variability to drought avoidance is mandatory to define conservation measures, thus potentially preventing their extinction. We focus here on Abies pinsapo and Abies marocana, both relict tree species, endemic from south Spain and north Morocco, respectively. A total of 607 samples were collected from eight nuclei: six from Spanish fir and two from Moroccan fir. A genotyping by sequencing technique called double digestion restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) was performed to obtain a genetic matrix based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This matrix was utilized to study the genetic structure of A. pinsapo populations and to carry out selection signature studies. In order to understand how Spanish fir and Moroccan fir cope with climate change, genotype–environment associations (GEAs) were identified. Further, the vulnerability of these species to climate variations was estimated by the risk of non-adaptedness (RONA). The filtering of the de novo assembly of A. pinsapo provided 3,982 SNPs from 504 out of 509 trees sequenced. Principal component analysis (PCA) genetically separated Grazalema from the rest of the Spanish populations. However, FST values showed significant differences among the sampling points. We found 51 loci potentially under selection. Homolog sequences were found for some proteins related to abiotic stress response, such as dehydration-responsive element binding transcription factor, regulation of abscisic acid signaling, and methylation pathway. A total of 15 associations with 11 different loci were observed in the GEA studies, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month being the variable with the highest number of associated loci. This temperature sensitivity was also supported by the risk of non-adaptedness, which yielded a higher risk for both A. pinsapo and A. marocana under the high emission scenario (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5). This study sheds light on the response to climate change of these two endemic species.
Biomimetic Engineering Preparation of High Mechanical and Flame Retardant Elastomers by Introducing Sacrificial Bonds in Covalently Cross-Linked Chloroprene Rubber

Designing and preparing chloroprene rubber (CR) with robust mechanical and excellent flame retardancy performance are challenging. In this work, a biomimetic design for high mechanical and flame-retardant CR by synchronous introducing of sacrificial bond (disulfide) crosslinked networks into the chemically crosslinked network is developed based on two new types of vulcanization reactions. Under the catalysis of Mg(OH)2, the dynamic bond cross-linked network is formed by the reaction between the amino group of cystamine dihydrochloride (CA) and the allylic chlorine group of CR, while the covalently crosslinked network is synchronously formed by two types of nucleophilic substitution reactions in series between Mg(OH)2 and CR. The disulfide bonds serve as sacrificial bonds that preferentially rupture prior to the covalent network, dissipating energy and facilitating rubber chain orientation, so a CA-0.5 sample (CR/CA(0.5 wt%)/Mg(OH)2 (10 wt%) with dual crosslinked networks exhibits excellent mechanical performance, and the tensile strength and elongation at the break of CA-0.5 are 1.41 times and 1.17 times greater than those of the CR-0 sample with covalently crosslinked networks, respectively. Moreover, the addition of Mg(OH)2 significantly improves the flame retardancy of CR.
Live Z-Score Neurofeedback Training for PTSD: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study

Individuals with traumatic experiences may develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-morbid disorders, such as anxiety disorders, major depression, and substance use disorder. Although exposure therapy is considered the “gold standard” for the treatment of PTSD, dropout rates and patient distress are relatively high. One promising approach is live Z-score neurofeedback (ZNF) training, but clinical evidence is sparse. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of ZNF training among individuals with PTSD. After undergoing a diagnostic interview utilizing the MINI Neuropsychiatric Interview, nine patients with PTSD (7 females; mean age = 20.75 [SD = 2.38]) completed ten ZNF sessions, lasting 20 min each, and the PCL-5 at pre- and post-treatment. Over the course of the study, only a few minor study disruptions, adverse events, and patient complaints were reported, and participants rated high on feasibility and acceptability. Results from repeated measures ANOVAs suggest significant improvements in overall PTSD symptoms. Although these findings need to be replicated in larger samples with active control groups, the current study provides support that ZNF is a safe, acceptable, and potentially effective treatment for PTSD.
DOA Estimation of Nonstationary and Close-Spaced Sources Based on Unified Parameterized Model

Time–frequency (TF) analysis can improve the performance of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation by only utilizing the valid TF points in the TF plane. However, when instantaneous frequencies (IFs) interact with each other in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the DOA estimation performance will degrade because of the difficulty in extracting valid TF points or IF ridges. We propose a novel method that adopts the unified general parameterized TF transform (GPTFT) with multiple sensors considering the sparseness of the signal in the angle domain to deal with severe situations in this article. First, a unified parameterized TF representation is proposed to enhance the ability to extract the IFs. Based on the sparseness of the signal in the angle domain, an evaluation of IF candidates is employed to select the most reliable IF candidate in GPTFT, which makes it more robust and accurate. With a specific IF, intrinsic chirp component decomposition (ICCD) in multiple channels is employed to derive the single-source signal and DOA can be estimated at last. The proposed method can solve the situation where IFs are complex in the TF plane and sources are close-spaced. Compared with the short-time Fourier transform and GPTFT, the energy ratio of the proposed method in the real IF band is increased by 12.17% and 6.79%, respectively. The proposed method exhibits a higher accuracy in DOA estimation in comparison with conventional methods when dealing with close-spaced and nonstationary sources. Simulations in different configurations of parameters are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Eliminating the Computation of Strongly Connected Components in Generalized Arc Consistency Algorithm for AllDifferent Constraint

AllDifferent constraint is widely used in Constraint Programming to model real world problems. Existing Generalized Arc Consistency (GAC) algorithms map an AllDifferent constraint onto a bipartite graph and utilize the structure of Strongly Connected Components (SCCs) in the graph to filter values. Calculating SCCs is time-consuming in the existing algorithms, so we propose a novel GAC algorithm for AllDifferent constraint in this paper, which eliminates the computation of SCCs. We prove that all redundant edges in the bipartite graph point to some alternating cycles. Our algorithm exploits this property and uses a more efficient method to filter values, which is based on breadth-first search. Experimental results on the XCSP3 benchmark suite show that our algorithm considerably outperforms the state-of-the-art GAC algorithms.
Detection of Biomolecules and Glucose Concentration in Blood Using a Subwavelength Grating Optical Biosensor

The research paper describes the design and simulation of an optical biosensor based on a ring resonator with a strip waveguide and a subwavelength grating waveguide. The main goal of the device is to function in low-loss regions and prevent bending losses in ring resonator configuration. The finite-difference-time-domain analysis is performed to simulate the device and to observe the sensing parameters. The biosensor is intended to be used for sensing biological molecules. The working principle of the sensor is to detect changes in the resonant wavelength caused by changes in the refractive index of biomaterials. By observing the shift in the resonant wavelength, the sensor can provide sensitive and reliable detection of biomolecules in solution. The evaluated sensitivity of the device is 206.3 nm/RIU, with a limit of detection of the order of 10−5 RIU. The device is also tested for the detection of glucose concentration in blood and found to be well-suited for on-chip applications. This makes it a promising candidate for use in a wide range of biosensing applications, from medical diagnostics to food safety testing.
Pesticide Residue Analyses of Soils Collected from Suburban Agricultural Fields around Bangkok

The rapid economic growth of Thailand has resulted in a rapid increase in the demand for agricultural production which has in turn led to the increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Recent increases in pesticide application may cause environmental pollution problems in the Bangkok metropolitan area and the surrounding provinces. This study was conducted to investigate if environmental problems could be caused by the pesticide residues. We collected information about pesticides used in Thailand from a pesticide company in Bangkok and from farmers in suburban agricultural fields. Based on this information, soil samples were collected in the Nakhon Pathom province, a vegetable production area on the west side of Bangkok, and pesticide residues in these samples were analyzed. Pesticide residue analyses were carried out at the Central Laboratory (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Bangkok by the in-house method based on the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method or a standard method. We focused on insecticides because of their relatively higher toxicity than that of herbicides and fungicides. In most sampling sites except in a sweet potato field, no or only a small amount of pesticides were detected. In the sweet potato field, significant amount of pesticides was detected, but analysis after 5 months showed that pesticide residue concentrations were much lower than those of previous residues. The results of this study show that, as of yet, pesticide residues are not persistent in this area.
Air Vehicle Optimal Trajectories for Minimization of Radar Exposure

Abstract : This study addresses the problem of analyzing the single vehicle path planning problem for radar exposure minimization. The calculus of Variations and optimal control are applied to formulate the cost function and numerical algorithms are used to solve for the optimal paths. Cost sensitivity to path length is analyzed for flight against one radar; a second radar is then included in the formulation and the optimal path for flight between the radars is found for cases of equal and unequal radar power. The costs of the optimal path, direct path, and Voronoi diagram-generated paths are compared. Results indicate low sensitivity of the cost to suboptimal paths for flight versus one radar; against two radars, approaching the Voronoi curves optimally from the endpoints ma be feasible for on-line use.
Soil carbon sequestration potential bounded by population growth, land availability, food production, and climate change

Abstract Improving soil management to enhance soil carbon sequestration (SCS)—a cost-efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) removal approach—can result in co-benefits or trade-offs. Here we address this issue by setting up a modeling framework for Switzerland that combines soil carbon (C) storage, food production and agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The link to food production is crucial because crop types and livestock numbers influence soil organic C (SOC) stocks, through soil C inputs from plants and manure. We estimated SCS rates for the years 2020–2050 for three scenarios, each with two variants for biochar: cover cropping (0.30 t CO2 equivalents [CO2-eq] ha−1 yr−1), biochar addition (0.36–1.8 t CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1) and agroforestry-biochar addition (2.2–2.3 t CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1). Different limiting factors (land and biomass availability, population growth) affected SCS rates and indicated that they cannot be sustained until 2100 under all scenarios (cover cropping: 0.10 t CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1 [2051–2100]; biochar addition: 0.35–1.8 t CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1; agroforestry-biochar addition: 1.0–1.7 t CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1). This information together with the associated GHG emissions is critical for planning net zero strategies and highlights the importance of integrated assessments that capture links between SCS and the food system.
Brensocatib (an oral, reversible inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase-1) attenuates disease progression in two animal models of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful and incurable disease characterized by chronic joint inflammation and a progressive destruction of cartilage and bone. Although current treatments have improved clinical outcomes for some patients, the high relapse rates and sizeable proportion of non-responders emphasize the need for further research. Arthritic joints are massively infiltrated by neutrophils, which influence inflammatory and immune processes by releasing cytokines, chemokines, eicosanoids, and neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs) – all of which are known to contribute to RA initiation and progression. Active NSPs are generated from zymogens at the promyelocytic stage of neutrophil differentiation under the action of dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP-1) and DPP-1 knockout mice are resistant to the development of arthritis. Thus, DPP-1 inhibition represents a promising therapeutic approach in RA. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of a potent and highly selective DPP-1 inhibitor, brensocatib, in two well established RA models – rat collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and mouse collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA). In both models, brensocatib at 3 and 30 mg/kg/day significantly reduced bone marrow NSP levels, in keeping with prior pharmacodynamic studies in rodents. More importantly, brensocatib treatment significantly improved disease score at both dosages in both rodent models. In the mouse CAIA model, brensocatib even proved at least as potent as anti-TNF antibodies in diminishing both the histopathological score and neutrophil infiltration into arthritic joints. Together, these results show that brensocatib alters RA disease progression in rodents and supports the need for its further evaluation as a potential therapeutic option, or to complement existing RA treatments.
Sarcocystis Species Richness in Sheep and Goats from Lithuania

Simple Summary Protozoan parasites of the genus Sarcocystis are characterized by a mandatory two-host, prey–predator life cycle. Several Sarcocystis species are known to form macroscopic or microscopic sarcocysts in the muscle tissues of domestic sheep and goats. It has been long considered that Sarcocystis species parasitizing farm animals are specific to intermediate hosts. However, some studies have recently reported the unexpected detection of Sarcocystis species in animals that are not considered to be their canonical hosts. In the current investigation, muscle samples of sheep and goats from Lithuania were molecularly tested for species previously described in such hosts and for other non-canonical Sarcocystis spp. Based on DNA sequence analysis, along with canonical Sarcocystis species present in their respective hosts, non-canonical (atypical) species, such as S. capracanis and S. morae, were detected in sheep, while S. arieticanis and S. tenella were found in goats. Possible explanations of the obtained results are discussed. Abstract Contradictory data is available on the intermediate host specificity of Sarcocystis spp. in farm animals. Therefore, the current work aimed at molecularly testing samples of sheep and goats reared in Lithuania to identify Sarcocystis species described in other intermediate hosts but suspected to be non-canonical parasites to these small ruminants. For this purpose, muscle samples from 47 domestic sheep and nine goats were examined. Sarcocystis species were identified using direct and nested PCR targeting cox1 and sequencing of positive amplified products. Along with the detection of the canonical Sarcocystis spp. in their respective intermediate hosts, the DNA of S. capracanis and S. morae was detected in sheep, although these species were previously thought to be specific to goats and deer, respectively. In addition, DNA from S. arieticanis and S. tenella was found in goats, even though these two species were believed to be sheep-specific. Notably, under light microscopy, only sarcocysts of S. capracanis specific to goats were observed. Thus, future research on the life cycle and host-specificity of Sarcocystis spp. examined is warranted.
The Detection of Salmonella Enteritidis on German Layer Farms after Cleaning and Disinfection

Simple Summary Salmonella is a common bacterium that can cause foodborne illness in humans. Testing poultry for Salmonella helps us identify contaminated products and prevents them from reaching consumers, reducing the risk of outbreaks and protecting public health. This study aimed to assess the occurrence of Salmonella carry-over between successive flocks of laying hens using established testing techniques. A Salmonella prevalence rate of 25% in the samples after cleaning and disinfection (C&D) indicates areas for improvement in C&D procedures during the service period. The study found that infectious Salmonella (specifically Salmonella Enteritidis) can persist for a long time in floor-reared production systems, which are easier to clean than caged houses. It is crucial to implement thorough C&D procedures between cycles, assess cleanliness after C&D through targeted sampling before introducing new flocks, and consider the surroundings of poultry houses when implementing hygiene measures. By incorporating Salmonella testing into C&D practices, poultry producers can enhance overall hygiene protocols, prevent cross-contamination, reduce the risk of contamination, and maintain a safe environment for workers and consumers. Abstract The presence of Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry houses after cleaning and disinfection can pose a potential risk to public health, as Salmonella remains one of the most important causes of foodborne diseases. This study focused on ten German layer farms (including floor-reared and free-range systems) with a recent history of Salmonella Enteritidis, and samples were collected from July 2018 to March 2021 after the cleaning and disinfection process. A total of 244 swab samples were tested for the presence of Salmonella using real-time PCR, followed by a culture of positive samples. Results revealed that 61 out of the 244 swab samples tested positive for Salmonella, indicating a prevalence of 25% in the samples examined. Among the Salmonella-positive swab samples identified with the PCR assay, 65.6% (40 out of 61) were confirmed by the culture. Of the 40 isolates obtained from the culture, 36 were identified as Salmonella Enteritidis, while 4 were categorized as rough Salmonella strains. This study emphasizes the importance of both the surrounding area of the poultry houses in terms of infection carry-over and the meticulous implementation of cleaning and disinfection procedures to eliminate any remaining infection within the houses. To mitigate the risk of further Salmonella spread on layer farms, additional investigations are recommended to focus on the existing transmission pathways of Salmonella and their genetic diversity.
Non-Destructive Examination for Cavitation Resistance of Talc-Based Refractories with Different Zeolite Types Intended for Protective Coatings

In many industrial processes that include fluid flow, cavitation erosion of different engineering structures (pumps, turbines, water levels, valves, etc.) during their operation is expected. Metallic, ceramic, and composite materials are usual candidates considered for application in such extreme conditions. In this study, the idea is to synthesize refractory ceramic material based on talc with the addition of zeolite for utilization as protective coatings in cavitating conditions. Two talc-based refractories with zeolites from two Serbian deposits were produced. The behaviors of the samples in simulated cavitation conditions were examined by an advanced non-destructive methodology consisting of monitoring mass loss and surface degradation using image analysis compiled with principal component analysis (PCA), interior degradation by ultrasonic measurements, and the microstructure by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Lower mass loss, surface degradation level, and modeled strength decrease indicated better cavitation resistance of the sample with Igros zeolite, whereby measured strength values validated the model. For the chosen critical strength, the critical cavitation period as well as critical morphological descriptors, Area and Diameter (max and min), were determined. A Young’s elasticity modulus decrease indicated that surface damage influence progressed towards interior of the material. It can be concluded that the proposed methodology approach is efficient and reliable in predicting the materials’ service life in extreme conditions.
Villages of Heterosexual Desires: Practices, Discourses, and Customer Demographics at Filipina Hostess Pubs in Postcolonial Singapore

This article explores the author’s observations, over the 2010-2019 period, at a sample of eight (8) Singapore hostess bars/pubs. The research method is participant-observation of practices, discourses, pricing models and customer demographics, backed up by knowledge gained from conversations with hostesses, bar managers, customers and musicians. It explains how surplus-value is extracted in the production process via the high prices of ladies’ drinks, the hard work required because of the quota system (in relation to ladies’ drinks), the high prices of customers’ drinks (to a lesser extent) and long working hours. The article explains how alienation is involved in delivering heavily racialized and gendered services in an atmosphere where commissions and quotas on ladies’ drinks put pressures and constraints on hostess’s behaviour. Unruly and disrespectful customer conduct is another source of alienation, guilt and sadness for hostesses who are under pressure to act and talk in a (hetero)sexualized way.
Ultraviolet photoacoustic remote sensing and scattering microscopy for CycleGAN-enabled realistic virtual histology

Ultraviolet photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy provides label-free optical absorption contrast comparable to hematoxylin staining. This has been combined with 266 nm optical scattering microscopy offering eosin-like contrast. Here, we use unsupervised deep learning-based style transfer using the CycleGAN approach to render these pseudo-colored virtual histological images in a realistic stain style comparable to the H&E gold standard in unstained human and murine tissue specimens. A multi-pathologist diagnostic concordance study found a sensitivity of 89%, specificity of 91%, and accuracy of 90%. A blinded subjective stain quality survey suggested virtual histology was preferred over frozen sections at the 95% confidence level.