Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physiological and molecular responses of different rose (Rosa hybrida L.) cultivars to elevated ozone levels

Abstract The increasing ground‐level ozone (O3) pollution resulting from rapid global urbanization and industrialization has negative effects on many plants. Nonetheless, many gaps remain in our knowledge of how ornamental plants respond to O3. Rose (Rosa hybrida L.) is a commercially important ornamental plant worldwide. In this study, we exposed four rose cultivars (“Schloss Mannheim,” “Iceberg,” “Lüye,” and “Spectra”) to either unfiltered ambient air (NF), unfiltered ambient air plus 40 ppb O3 (NF40), or unfiltered ambient air plus 80 ppb O3 (NF80). Only the cultivar “Schloss Mannheim” showed significant O3‐related effects, including foliar injury, reduced chlorophyll content, reduced net photosynthetic rate, reduced stomatal conductance, and reduced stomatal apertures. In “Schloss Mannheim,” several transcription factor genes—HSF, WRKY, and MYB genes—were upregulated by O3 exposure, and their expression was correlated with that of NCED1, PP2Cs, PYR/PYL, and UGTs, which are related to ABA biosynthesis and signaling. These results suggest that HSF, WRKY, and MYB transcription factors and ABA are important components of the plant response to O3 stress, suggesting a possible strategy for cultivating O3‐tolerant rose varieties.
Synthesis of CeO2/ZrO2/ZnO nano alloy oxide and investigation of photocatalysis of naphthol orange under sunlight

Novel metal-like cerium- and zirconium-doped ZnO photocatalysts were prepared herein with various proportions of molar ratios via a cost-effective co-precipitation method. The effects of novel metal doping on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO were studied. Various techniques were used to investigate the structural, morphological, and elemental composition, particle size, optical properties, and catalytic activity of the synthesized photocatalysts. It was found that the crystallite size and particle size of the nano alloy oxides were 15.12 ± 1 and 5 ± 1 nm, respectively, and the surface morphology of the nanoparticles indicated a satisfactory surface area. Among all synthesized nanocomposites, CexZrxZnxO5 (x = 1) [CZ1Z2-A] exhibited satisfactory photo-oxidation activity against naphthol orange (NO) under sunlight with a rate constant of 57.5 × 10−3 min−1. The effects of pH, inorganic salts, dye concentrations, and catalytic dosage on NO degradation were studied. A probable mechanistic pathway for the degradation of NO in the presence of CZ1Z2-A was proposed, and studies of sacrificial agents indicated that superoxide radical anion (O2˙−) was the main accountable active species in NO degradation. In addition, CZ1Z2-A exhibited excellent recyclability potential, and XRD studies revealed that there was no change in the crystal structure before or after degradation, which indicated its high stability. The intriguing finding was that Ce- and Zr-doped ZnO did not exhibit satisfactory catalytic performance in the photo-oxidation of NO. However, the composite formula of CexZrxZnxO5 (x = 1) with a 1 : 1 : 1 ratio of metal ions offered excellent catalytic activity.
Change management in higher education: A sequential mixed methods study exploring employees’ perception

Background Higher education institutions need to put change management as a pivotal part of their strategy. The challenge is to effectively contextualize existing change management models to the respective work environment. Failing to properly adapt existing models to match the intricacies of the environment could lead to plenty of setbacks. For such a contextualization to take place, gauging employees’ engagement and satisfaction becomes of paramount importance. As such, the overall purpose of the current study is to explore the perception of employees of a medical and health sciences university in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in relation to change management and agility, and to showcase how the captured perspectives can be systemically interpreted to inform decision-making in the context of the study. Method This research study relied on a sequential mixed methods design, which started with an exploration of the perception of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) leaders. Qualitative data was collected through a focus group session and was inductively analysed (based on constructivist epistemology). The output of the qualitative analysis contributed to the development of the quantitative data collection tool. The quantitative data was analysed by SPSS-version-27. Findings The qualitative analysis generated three key themes: Trigger, Execution, and Results, along with a thorough outline of lessons learned and opportunities for improvement. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability score was 92.8%. The percentage of the total average of agreement was 72.3%, and it appeared that 83.2% of the variance can be explained by the instrument (p<0.001). Conclusion The current study generated a novel conceptual framework that can be leveraged by educational leadership and administration to reinforce their decisions and optimize their agility in terms of managing change. The study also introduces a data collection tool which captures the perception of higher education stakeholders regarding the way their respective institutions handle change. This tool proved to be reliable and valid in the context of the study.
Stable expression of shRNA for the control of recombinant adenovirus replication

Preventing the replication of adenovirus could have practical uses, such as controlling infection with wild-type virus or in applications involving recombinant vectors. Mainly transient methods have been used to inhibit adenovirus replication, including siRNA or drugs. Here, we tested whether stable expression of shRNA designed to target hexon, Iva2, or pol can inhibit the replication of a recombinant adenoviral vector, Ad-LacZ (serotype 5, E1/E3 deleted), in 293T cells. Significant knockdown correlating with reduced Ad-LacZ replication was achieved only when hexon was targeted. Cell sorting and isolation of cellular clones further accentuated knockdown of the hexon transcript, reduced protein levels by more than 90%, and diminished adenovirus production. As visualized by transmission electron microscopy, the cellular clone expressing the hexon-specific shRNA yielded 89.2% fewer particles compared to the parental 293T cells. Full scale production followed by purification revealed a 90.2% reduction in Ad-LacZ biological titer. These results support the notion that stable expression of shRNA can be used as a means to control adenovirus replication.
Ad hoc digital communication and assessment during clinical placements in nursing education; a qualitative research study of students’, clinical instructors’, and teachers’ experiences

Background There was a concern about the shortage of nurses that resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, universities and university colleges were instructed to continue educating nursing professionals but were challenged by the social distancing and the limitations of clinical placements and clinical-field instructors. Clinical placement is essential in the students’ development of practical skills and knowledge. Thus, transitioning to a digital follow-up platform of communication with the students between the universities/college and the clinical practice sites became necessary. Purpose To obtain knowledge about the experiences from the university/college teachers, students, and clinical-field instructors regarding the transition to a digital learning environment that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Qualitative individual digital interviews were conducted for data collection at three different nursing education programs from three Norwegian university/university college sites. Five students, four clinical-field instructors, and nine university/college teachers participated (n = 18). Results The inductive analyses identified two main themes: (1) Efficiency compromising pedagogical quality, and (2) Digital alienation. Conclusions Students and university/college teachers were worried about fluctuating quality with digital pedagogical. There were concerns that the students educated during this period will have reduced clinical competencies.
Portable thermal scanners to detect and monitor small endotherms: A comparative assessment of available equipment to guide practitioners

Abstract Detection is essential to studying and monitoring wild animals; however, detection is challenging for small endotherms that are nocturnal or best detected at night. Techniques such as trapping or spotlighting disturb focal species, and the effectiveness of spotlighting can be limited for cryptic species, resulting in low detection rates that hinder our ability to monitor and study some endotherms at night. Thermal scanners detect infrared wavelengths not otherwise visible to humans. With improvements in equipment size and cost, thermal scanners have emerged as a valuable tool for passive detection of endotherms. Here we seek to provide objective guidance on thermal tool selection to practitioners who wish to adopt such tools to detect and monitor small endotherms. We compared the efficacy of three handheld thermal scanners (of varying resolutions) and a traditional spotlight for detecting small, cryptic endotherms at night. Random arrays of artificially heated small bird models (representing small, cryptic endotherms) were established along transects in native grasslands that support a range of small threatened endotherms, including the Critically Endangered Plains‐wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus). Transects were independently surveyed by five observers, blind to model locations and model density. Performance measures representing detection capability were assessed for all devices, and usability of each device was assessed with a survey completed by all observers. Detection rates, detection distances, and survey accuracy were greater for thermal scanners with resolutions of 320 × 240 and 640 × 480 than for the spotlight. A low‐resolution thermal scope (160 × 120) performed poorly for all performance measures. There was a consensus among users that a video camera‐style thermal scanner was most comfortable to hold and view while traversing the transect, as opposed to thermal scopes where users look directly through the lens. These results suggest that high‐resolution thermal scanners (≥320 × 240) provide improved detection capabilities compared to traditional spotlights. Higher detection rates provide opportunities for detecting and monitoring small endotherms at night where this was once difficult or impossible.
Scalable biomimetic sensing system with membrane receptor dual-monolayer probe and graphene transistor arrays

Affinity-based biosensing can enable point-of-care diagnostics and continuous health monitoring, which commonly follows bottom-up approaches and is inherently constrained by bioprobes’ intrinsic properties, batch-to-batch consistency, and stability in biofluids. We present a biomimetic top-down platform to circumvent such difficulties by combining a “dual-monolayer” biorecognition construct with graphene-based field-effect-transistor arrays. The construct adopts redesigned water-soluble membrane receptors as specific sensing units, positioned by two-dimensional crystalline S-layer proteins as dense antifouling linkers guiding their orientations. Hundreds of transistors provide statistical significance from transduced signals. System feasibility was demonstrated with rSbpA-ZZ/CXCR4QTY-Fc combination. Nature-like specific interactions were achieved toward CXCL12 ligand and HIV coat glycoprotein in physiologically relevant concentrations, without notable sensitivity loss in 100% human serum. The construct is regeneratable by acidic buffer, allowing device reuse and functional tuning. The modular and generalizable architecture behaves similarly to natural systems but gives electrical outputs, which enables fabrication of multiplex sensors with tailored receptor panels for designated diagnostic purposes.
Barriers and facilitators associated with implementing interventions to support oral anticancer agent adherence in academic and community cancer center settings

Purpose The goal of this study is to determine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of medication adherence interventions to support cancer patients taking novel, targeted oral anticancer agents (OAAs). Methods We conducted qualitative interviews using a semi-structured guide from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). We used purposive sampling to identify clinicians (physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, nurses) and administrators (leadership from medicine, pharmacy, and nursing) who delivered care and/or oversee care delivery for patients with chronic leukemia prescribed an OAA. Results A total of 19 individuals participated in an interview (12 clinicians and 7 administrators), with 10 primarily employed by an academic cancer center; 5 employed by the community cancer center; and 4 employed by the integrated health-system specialty pharmacy. Barriers identified included low awareness of adherence interventions, difficulty in adherence measurement, complexity of designing and implementing a structured adherence intervention, and competing priorities. Facilitators identified included support of hospital administrators, value for pharmacists, and willingness to embrace change. Participants also made recommendations moving forward including standardizing workflow, designating champions, iterating implementation strategies, and improving communication between clinicians and with patients. Conclusion Individual and system level factors were identified as determinants of implementation effectiveness of medication adherence interventions. A multidisciplinary advisory panel will be assembled to design comprehensive and actionable strategies to refine and implement a structured intervention to improve medication adherence in cancer patients.
Preclinical study of LMP1-RNAi-based anti-tumor therapy in EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma

RNA interference (RNAi) treatment has been proven to be an important therapeutic approach in cancer based on downregulation of target-oncogenes, but its clinical efficacy still needs further investigation. LMP1 is usually presented by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive tumor cells like EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and acts as an oncogene in tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism of LMP1 as a proto-oncogene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is still unclear. Two sequence-specific shRNAs 1 and 2 were designed to target the different nucleotide loci of EBV latent antigen LMP1 gene and a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to investigate the therapeutic effect of sequence-specific shRNAs targeting LMP1 and its related molecular mechanisms in EBV-positive NPC. LMP1-shRNA2 generated a truncated LMP1 mRNA and protein, whereas LMP1-shRNA1 completely blocked LMP1 mRNA and protein expression. Both LMP1-shRNAs inhibited the proliferation and migration of NPC cells overexpressing LMP1 (NPC-LMP1) as well as the NPC-associated myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) expansion in vitro. However, LMP1-shRNA2 maintained the immunogenicity of NPC-LMP1 cells, which provoked MHC-class I-dependent T cell recognition. LMP1-shRNAs inhibited tumor growth in nude mice but did not reach statistical significance compared to control groups, while the LDH nanoparticle loaded LMP1-shRNAs and the antigen-specific T cells induced by NPC-LMP1 cells treated with LMP1-shRNA2 significantly reduced tumor growth in vivo. LMP1-RNAi-based anti-tumor therapy could be a new hope for the clinical efficacy of RNAi treatment of tumors like NPC.
Light interference from a soap film: a revisited quasi-monochromatic experiment

We propose to reconsider the well-known experiment about the interference of white light from a thin soap film by adopting as an illuminating source the RGB triad produced by a LED projector. The interference pattern shows up in a particularly fascinating way and it contains direct, essential information about both the wave nature of light and of the physical thickness of the soap film.
Numerical study on some inverse problems and optimal control problems

In this thesis, we focus on the numerical study on some inverse problems and optimal control problems. In the first part, we consider some linear inverse problems with discontinuous or piecewise constant solutions. We use the total variation to regularize these inverse problems and then the finite element technique to discretize the regularized problems. These discretized problems are treated from the saddle-point perspective; and some primal-dual numerical schemes are proposed. We intensively investigate the convergence of these primal-dual type schemes, establishing the global convergence and estimating their worst-case convergence rates measured by the iteration complexity. We test these schemes by some experiments and verify their efficiency numerically. In the second part, we consider the finite difference and finite element discretization for an optimal control problem which is governed by time fractional diffusion equation. The prior error estimate of the discretized model is analyzed, and a projection gradient method is applied for iteratively solving the fully discretized surrogate. Some numerical experiments are conducted to verify the efficiency of the proposed method. Overall speaking, the thesis has been mainly inspired by some most recent advances developed in optimization community, especially in the area of operator splitting methods for convex programming; and it can be regarded as a combination of some contemporary optimization techniques with some relatively mature inverse and control problems.
A Comparison of Alternative Tests for the 2 Times 2 Comparative Trial

SUMMARY This paper considers twenty-two alternative tests which have been suggested for testing the null hypothesis Pi = P2 in a 2 x 2 comparative trial. Attention is confined to the case where the null hypothesis is true. The dependence of the tests on m and n, the sample sizes, and on p, the common binomial parameter, is investigated. Amongst other results it is shown that the exact test of Fisher, and the corresponding Yates correction to Pearson's X2 test, give tests which are both extremely conservative and inappropriate. The uncorrected X2 test performs well. On both empirical and theoretical grounds, the preferred test is the scaled version (N- 1)/N X2.
A 3D high-speed probe for measuring the magnetic components of a whistler wave

In the Caltech astrophysical jet experiment, observations show that a burst of wave activity in the whistler frequency regime (10-30 MHz) occurs at the time of a fast magnetic reconnection. The whistler wave magnetic component is expected to be circularly polarized even for oblique propagation and also contains most of the energy*. An inductive whistler wave detector has been designed using B-dot probes to measure the 3D high frequency magnetic field fluctuation. Each probe component consists of two miniature commercial oppositely oriented inductor coils connected to a miniature transformer. The transformer subtracts the signals of the two coils to cancel the unwanted capacitive component and retain the inductive component. The three coil pairs are arranged orthogonally and are adjacent to each other. The probe has excellent rejection of capacitive coupling and should resolve the whistler wave polarization. The measurements will be compared with other diagnostics, namely a capacitively coupled probe, an ultra-high-speed camera and a EUV detector. * Bellan, P. M. (2013) Circular polarization of obliquely propagating whistler wave magnetic field. (submitted for publication)
‘Add Twitter and Stir’: The Use of Twitter by Public Authorities in Norway and UK during the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak

This article examines how Norwegian and UK health authorities used social media, and especially Twitter, during the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak. The microblogging service has been regarded as a promising medium for crisis communicators due to its immediacy and dialogical potential. Twitter allows communicators to respond directly to users’ concerns and provide them with more precisely tailored information. However, scholars have raised questions over organizations’ ability to respond to the the medium. We address these questions in two ways: 1. we examine the social media strategies adopted by the health authorities at the time of the outbreak. 2. we conduct an analysis of tweets produced by health authorities concerning the Ebola outbreak. Our analyses display some differences between UK and Norwegian authorities in terms of the strategies they adopted and the tweets they produced. However, neither country fully exploited Twitter’s dialogical potential. Both countries authorities preferred a vertically integrated approach with minimal opportunities for the public to engage and little monitoring of the wider Twitter ‘conversations’. We conclude that the emergence of social media has not led to a paradigm shift in crisis communication for these countries’ health authorities, rather to an evolution and adaption of practices and policies.
Advances in the development of a new Cartesian explicit solver for hydrodynamics

In order to efficiently address complex problems in hydrodynamics, the advances in the development of a new method are presented here. This new CFD solver aims at obtaining a good compromise in terms of accuracy, computational efficiency, and easy handling of complex geometries. The chosen method is an Explicit Cartesian Finite Volume method for Hydrodynamics (ECFVH) based on a compressible (hyperbolic) solver, with an embedded method for interfaces and geometry handling. The solver's explicit nature is obtained through a weakly-compressible approach chosen to simulate nearly-incompressible flows. The explicit cell-centered resolution allows for an efficient solving of very large simulations together with a straightforward handling of multi-physics. The use of an embedded Cartesian grid ensures accuracy and efficiency, but also implies the need for a specific treatment of complex solid geometries, such as the cut-cell method in the fixed or moving body frame. Robustness of the cut-cell method is ensured by specific procedures to circumvent small cell volume numerical errors. A characteristic flux method for solving the hyperbolic part of the Navier-Stokes equations is used and introduces numerical viscosity. This viscosity is evaluated prior to modeling viscous and turbulent effects. In a first approach presented here viscous effects are computed via a finite difference Laplacian operator introduced as a source term. This solver is validated on 2-D test cases.
Convexité de l'espace des cycles

— We give a généralisation of thé results of ANDREOTTI-NORGUET and NORGUET-SIU about convexity of thé space of cycles. Our proof is indépendant of ANDREOTTI-GAUERT'S finitness theorem and use oniy NORGUET-SIU's généralisation of Levi's problem.
GPU Accelerated Gauss‐Jordan Elimination on the OpenPOWER platform – A case study

The solution of linear systems is still one of the basic building blocks in scientific computing. Therefore, it needs to be adapted to each new hardware platform in order to exploit the new features of the platform in an optimal way. During the last decade many of these building blocks were accelerated by the usage of GPUs and similar accelerator devices. In our contribution we will focus on the solution of linear systems with many right hand sides, where a fast solution not only requires an optimized LU decomposition, but also needs an efficient forward and backward substitution phase. Since the triangular shape of the factors leads to a rather sequential resolution step, this is a difficult task for parallelization and optimization. (© 2017 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)