Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphology and multi-gene phylogeny reveal a novel Torula (Pleosporales, Torulaceae) species from the plateau lakes in Yunnan, China

Abstract Background During an investigation into lignicolous freshwater fungi from the plateau lakes in Yunnan Province, China, two fresh collections of Torula taxa were collected and examined morpholgically. New information Torulaluguhuensis is characterised by: conidiophores which are semi-macronematous mononematous, erect, septate, smooth, slightly flexuous and pale brown; conidiogenous cells which are holoblastic, mono- to polyblastic, integrated, terminal, terminal or intercalary in conidial chains, doliiform and pale brown; conidia which are branched chains, acrogenous, straight or slightly curved, dark brown to blackish, pale brown or subhyaline at apex, 1–3 septate, strongly constricted at the septa, verruculose or finely echinulate and rounded at both ends. A new species was introduced, based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis of combined ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TEF sequence data. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided, with an updated phylogenetic tree depicting intergeneric relationships within the Torulaceae.
Role of Universities in Promoting Innovation Policy in Southeast Asian Countries

Universities have been widely acknowledged as knowledge producers contributing to innovation practice in many countries. They play main role in doing research and development (R&D) activities and then commercializing outputs of R&D to market. In addition, role of university is also as producer of knowledge for innovation policy. Notwithstanding, the role of university in promoting innovation policy is rarely founded in scientific publications. This study is aimed to explain role of university in promoting innovation policy by comparing three countries in Southeast Asia namely, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Three countries were called as the “Asian Tiger” in 1960s, but they have different economic growth currently. Literature studies are main data sources used to this study. Also, the post-positivistic approach and descriptive analysis technique are part of this research method. The study finding that Thailand and Malaysia have specific study course of innovation policy at universities. They have contributed to promote innovation policy at both countries.Keywords: Role, Universities, Innovation, Policy, Southeast Asia
Early prediction of body composition parameters on metabolically unhealthy in the Chinese population via advanced machine learning

Background Metabolic syndrome (Mets) is considered a global epidemic of the 21st century, predisposing to cardiometabolic diseases. This study aims to describe and compare the body composition profiles between metabolic healthy (MH) and metabolic unhealthy (MU) phenotype in normal and obesity population in China, and to explore the predictive ability of body composition indices to distinguish MU by generating machine learning algorithms. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted and the subjects who came to the hospital to receive a health examination were enrolled. Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analyser. A model generator with a gradient-boosting tree algorithm (LightGBM) combined with the SHapley Additive exPlanations method was adapted to train and interpret the model. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were used to analyze the predictive value. Results We found the significant difference in body composition parameters between the metabolic healthy normal weight (MHNW), metabolic healthy obesity (MHO), metabolic unhealthy normal weight (MUNW) and metabolic unhealthy obesity (MUO) individuals, especially among the MHNW, MUNW and MUO phenotype. MHNW phenotype had significantly lower whole fat mass (FM), trunk FM and trunk free fat mass (FFM), and had significantly lower visceral fat areas compared to MUNW and MUO phenotype, respectively. The bioimpedance phase angle, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and free fat mass index (FFMI) were found to be remarkably lower in MHNW than in MUNW and MUO groups, and lower in MHO than in MUO group. For predictive analysis, the LightGBM-based model identified 32 status-predicting features for MUNW with MHNW group as the reference, MUO with MHO as the reference and MUO with MHNW as the reference, achieved high discriminative power, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.842 [0.658, 1.000] for MUNW vs. MHNW, 0.746 [0.599, 0.893] for MUO vs. MHO and 0.968 [0.968, 1.000] for MUO and MHNW, respectively. A 2-variable model was developed for more practical clinical applications. WHR > 0.92 and FFMI > 18.5 kg/m2 predict the increased risk of MU. Conclusion Body composition measurement and validation of this model could be a valuable approach for the early management and prevention of MU, whether in obese or normal population.
Few-Shot Learning With Dynamic Graph Structure Preserving

In recent years, few-shot learning has received increasing attention in the Internet of Things areas. Few-shot learning aims to distinguish unseen classes with a few labeled samples from each class. Most recently transductive few-shot studies highly rely on the static geometry distributions generated on the feature space during the label propagation process between unseen class instances. However, these recent methods fail to guarantee that the generated graph structure preserves the true distributions between data properly. In this article, we propose a novel dynamic graph structure preserving (DGSP) model for few-shot learning. Specifically, we formulate the objective function of DGSP by simultaneously considering the data correlations from the feature space and the label space to update the generated graph structure, which can reasonably revise the inappropriate or mistaken local geometry relationships. Then, we design an efficient alternating optimization algorithm to jointly learn the label prediction matrix and the optimal graph structure, the latter of which can be formulated as a linear programming problem. Moreover, our proposed DGSP can be easily combined with any backbone networks during the learning process. We conduct extensive experimental results across different benchmarks, backbones, and task settings, and our method achieves state-of-the-art performance compared with methods based on transductive few-shot learning.
Dobu: Ethics of Exchange on a Massim Island, Papua New Guinea

Countering the reputation of Dobu Island as a place of sorcerers, Kueling (anthropology, Heidelberg U.) describes essential elements of the Dobu worldview as they present themselves in the concept of the person, everyday exchanges, big gifts, witchcraft and sorcery, gifts of cash, strategic friendships, mortuary feasting, and other aspects. Annotat
Optical and colorimetric sensing of toxic mercury ion using green synthesized silver nanoparticles

ABSTRACT. In ancient, human used silver and silver salts but silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have recently been found to be accepted as the result of green synthesis. Now a day, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have become extremely popular in the field of the sensor due to their remarkable and significant optical, chemical, and electrical properties. In this paper, we have reported the green and reasonably priced synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Acacia confusa leaf extract which acts as both capping as well as reducing agents. The optical sensing and morphology of the as prepared AgNPs were determined using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Visible) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The sensing of Hg2+ ion through colorimetric and optical have been studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy as well as the naked eye. Moreover, the SEM analysis showed that the volume of the extract had no considerable effect on the morphology except for size. The colorimetric and optical sensing study revealed that the as-synthesized AgNPs exhibited a good response with colorimetric and optical sensing activity specifically towards the toxic Hg2+ ion. KEY WORDS: Green synthesis, AgNPs, Optical sensor, Ultrasonic method Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2023, 37(5), 1287-1298. DOI: https://dx.doi. org/10.4314/bcse.v37i5. 19
Origins of Enhanced Enantioselectivity in the Pd-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Allylic Alkylation of N-Benzoyl Lactams

We explore the origins of the marked improvement in enantioselectivity in the inner-sphere (PHOX)Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of N-benzoyl lactam nucleophiles over their carbocyclic counterparts. We employ density functional theory calculations to aid in the interpretation of experimental results. Ultimately, we propose that the enhancement in enantioselectivity arises primarily from noncovalent interactions between the substrate and ligand rather than secondary substrate chelation, as previously hypothesized.
Impact of Classic Adrenal Secretagogues on mRNA Levels of Urotensin II and Its Receptor in Adrenal Gland of Rats

Urotensin 2 (Uts2) is a biologically active peptide involved in the regulation of a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes. In both the human and rat adrenal gland, the expressions of the Uts2 gene and its receptor (Uts2r) have been described. This paper focuses on the description of the hormonal control of the mRNA levels of urotensin II and its receptor in the adrenal gland of the rat, both in vitro and in vivo. The initial in vitro experiments were carried out on freshly isolated rat adrenocortical cells and their primary culture. The obtained results indicated a stimulating PKA-independent effect of ACTH on the Uts2 mRNA level in the tested cells, with no changes in the Uts2r transcript. Subsequent in vivo experiments showed that ACTH-induced adrenal growth was accompanied by an elevated level of the Uts2 mRNA, with unchanged expression of Uts2r. In the other types of in vivo gland growth studied, enucleation-induced adrenal regeneration and compensatory growth of the gland, the mRNA levels of the studied genes showed no significant differences. The only exception was hemiadrenalectomy, which led to a significant increase in Uts2 mRNA expression level 24 h after surgery. In 12-week-old rats of both sexes, gonadectomy led to a significant increase in the level of Uts2 mRNA in the adrenal gland, an effect that was prevented by sex hormones’ replacement. No changes in Uts2r transcript levels were observed under these conditions. Thus, this study suggests that the regulation of Uts2 and Uts2r mRNA levels differs significantly in the rat adrenal gland. While Uts2 transcript levels appear to be mainly dependent on ACTH action, Uts2r mRNA levels are not under the control of this hormone.
Implementation of home energy rating systems

This paper presents the findings of a national survey of home energy rating and labelling programs (HERS). We discuss the nature of different implementation problems and the kinds of strategies that have been used to deal with them to ensure the effective penetration of HERS to all HERS-users. Of further special interest to us has been the nature of different delivery systems. We examined 34 HERS, located in 28 states: 13 of these were located in the southeast, 8 in the midwest, 5 in the northeast, 4 in the Pacific/mountain region, and 3 in the southwest. Although our survey does not represent a scientific sampling of HERS, we believe that the final distribution accurately reflects the distribution of HERS through the country and the full range of likely implementation and delivery programs.
Effects of Material Structure on Stress Relaxation Characteristics of Rapidly Solidified Al-Fe Alloy

An Al-Fe alloy which was produced by hot extrusion of rapidly solidified powder is a possible solution to substitute copper-based electrical conductor material due to its high strength and high electrical conductivity. However, the stress relaxation characteristic—an essential parameter as a conductor material—and the effect of the material structure have not been reported, which was the aim of the present paper. An Al-5%Fe alloy was selected as the test material. The material structures were controlled by hot extrusion practice, annealing, and cold rolling. The Al-Fe intermetallic compound particles controlled the residual stress after the stress relaxation test via the Orowan mechanism. Decreasing the mean inter-particle distance reduces the electrical conductivity. The increase in the number of dislocations by the cold rolling increased strength at room temperature without changing electrical conductivity; however, it did not have a positive effect on the stress relaxation characteristics. The stress relaxation characteristics and the electrical conductivity of the Al-Fe alloy were superior to conventional C52100 H04 phosphor bronze when compared with the case of the same mass.
Modeling and invariably horizontal control for the parallel mobile rescue robot based on PSO-CPG algorithm

Abstract A walking robot consisting of double Stewarts parallel legs was designed by our research team in the past time, which was mainly used for the transportation of the wounded after the disaster. In order to promote stability of control locomotion and ensure invariably horizontal state of the robot platform in the process of motion, the central pattern generator (CPG) based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is presented to optimize the kinematic model. The purpose of optimization is to solve the hysteresis problem of displacement variation among the electric cylinders. Moreover, the dynamic model of the robot is established, which can provide mechanical basis for the feedback of control signal and make the robot move stably. The simulation results show that the displacement hysteresis problem of the electric cylinders is solved well. Meanwhile, compared with simulation results based on GA-CPG method, it is demonstrated that the robot motion planned using PSO-CPG method has better motion stability and can avoid the impact of legs landing during the transition phase of the motion cycle. The experimental results show that the platform on the robot can maintain an invariably horizontal state, and the locomotion is more stable. It verifies the feasibility of PSO-CPG model and the correctness of the dynamic model of the parallel mobile rescue robot.
Polluants atmosphériques organiques particulaires en Rhône-Alpes : caractérisation chimique et sources d'émissions

La reglementation plus severe sur les niveaux de matieres particulaires (PM) en atmosphere ambiante fixee par l'Union europeenne a l'horizon 2015 impose de pouvoir quantifier les contributions des differentes sources d'emission. Les sources d'emissions primaires de particules peuvent etre anthropiques (chauffage au bois, au fioul, emissions vehiculaires ou industrielles, combustion de dechets verts, activites de cuisine,…) ou naturelles (vegetaux, poussieres crustales). Des processus secondaires de formation des particules (conversion gaz-particules) peuvent egalement contribuer aux taux de PM mesures. L'identification et la quantification des sources peuvent etre conduites notamment a travers l'etude de la composante organique des aerosols realisee a partir d'analyses chimiques de prelevements sur filtres en atmosphere ambiante ou a l'emission. Dans ce travail, des methodologies de caracterisation des sources d'emission par l'analyse de la fraction organique des PM et la quantification de leur influence sur les concentrations ambiantes en particules fines ont ete developpees et/ou adaptees de methodologies existantes sur de nombreux sites d'observation. Une attention particuliere a ete portee sur differents sites de la region Rhone-Alpes ou de nombreux episodes de depassements des valeurs limites en PM sont regulierement enregistres. Les methodologies ont ete developpes dans un premier temps sur un site urbain de reference (sites des Frenes a Grenoble) et s'appuient a la fois sur des approches qualitatives d'etudes des sources (etude d'empreinte de grandes familles chimiques, utilisation de ratios de composes traceurs) et quantitatives (ACP, mesures isotopiques du carbone, Molecular-Marker Chemical Mass Balance). Elles permettent une bonne estimation des sources de matiere organique (OM) et des PM en hiver. Leurs applications a d'autres sites de topologies differentes (ruraux, fond de vallees, proximites de sources, marin) en France et en Suisse et a d'autres saisons a permis de montrer la complementarite des differentes approches introduites et la necessite de leur adaptation aux specificites des sites pour permettre une bonne estimation des PM. L'estimation des contributions des sources a l'OM reste cependant encore a ameliorer. De plus, dans le cadre de leur application a des sites de vallees alpines suisses, l'approche quantitative de type CMB basee sur l'etude de traceurs organiques a pu etre confrontee a une methode basee sur l'etude de la composante inorganique des aerosols. Les methodologies developpees et mises en œuvre au cours de ce travail constituent des outils de reference dans le cadre d'etudes des sources d'aerosol a portee scientifique ou reglementaire a l'echelle nationale ou internationale.
Temporal contingencies associated with multiple anthropogenic disturbances in shallow marine assemblages

How multiple stressors in marine systems might interact to affect ecological communities is a topic of ongoing inquiry. It is also not clear whether the shorter-term direct effect of warming will be of greater ecological consequence than a major longer-term effect of increased temperature: decreased average body size of individuals, which is a phenomenon already seen for many overexploited marine predator populations. Using an outdoor array of semi-natural mesocosms, a food web based on a predator (Carcinus maenas), an assemblage of amphipods and six species of algae was exposed to manipulations of warming, reductions in predator body size and low doses of eutrophication. Warming affected moulting rates in C. maenas and restructured the amphipod assemblage, but this effect was not passed onto to other compartments of the food web. Conversely, decreasing crab size caused an allometrically-mediated trophic cascade that led to a reduced abundance of the alga, Fucus serratus. This suggests that in other ecological systems the longer-term decreased body size effect of warming could be of greater ecological consequence than any shorter-term direct effects of higher temperature that may be experienced by individuals. There was no observed effect of eutrophication on any compartment of this food web. The potential for indirect interactions is identified, whereby stressors may interact by impacting different species that share in a trophic relationship.
Can spirometry improve the performance of cardiovascular risk model in high-risk Eastern European countries?

Aims Impaired lung function has been strongly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. We aimed to assess the additive prognostic value of spirometry indices to the risk estimation of CVD events in Eastern European populations in this study. Methods We randomly selected 14,061 individuals with a mean age of 59 ± 7.3 years without a previous history of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases from population registers in the Czechia, Poland, and Lithuania. Predictive values of standardised Z-scores of forced expiratory volume measured in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1 divided by height cubed (FEV1/ht3) were tested. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of CVD events of various spirometry indices over the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) model. The model performance was evaluated using Harrell’s C-statistics, likelihood ratio tests, and Bayesian information criterion. Results All spirometry indices had a strong linear relation with the incidence of CVD events (HR ranged from 1.10 to 1.12 between indices). The model stratified by FEV1/ht3 tertiles had a stronger link with CVD events than FEV1 and FVC. The risk of CVD event for the lowest vs. highest FEV1/ht3 tertile among people with low FRS was higher (HR: 2.35; 95% confidence interval: 1.96–2.81) than among those with high FRS. The addition of spirometry indices showed a small but statistically significant improvement of the FRS model. Conclusions The addition of spirometry indices might improve the prediction of incident CVD events particularly in the low-risk group. FEV1/ht3 is a more sensitive predictor compared to other spirometry indices.
Ecologically valid virtual reality-based technologies for assessment and rehabilitation of acquired brain injury: a systematic review

Purpose A systematic review was conducted to examine the state of the literature regarding using ecologically valid virtual environments and related technologies to assess and rehabilitate people with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). Materials and methods A literature search was performed following the PRISMA guidelines using PubMed, Web of Science, ACM and IEEE databases. The focus was on assessment and intervention studies using ecologically valid virtual environments (VE). All studies were included if they involved individuals with ABI and simulated environments of the real world or Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Results Seventy out of 363 studies were included in this review and grouped and analyzed according to the nature of its simulation, prefacing a total of 12 kitchens, 11 supermarkets, 10 shopping malls, 16 streets, 11 cities, and 10 other everyday life scenarios. These VE were mostly presented on computer screens, HMD’s and laptops and patients interacted with them primarily via mouse, keyboard, and joystick. Twenty-five out of 70 studies had a non-experimental design. Conclusion Evidence about the clinical impact of ecologically valid VE is still modest, and further research with more extensive samples is needed. It is important to standardize neuropsychological and motor outcome measures to strengthen conclusions between studies. Systematic review registration identifier CRD42022301560, https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/display_record. php? RecordID=301560.
A model for operating digital transformation projects in an organization

Objective: This work proposes a model to implement digital transformation (DT) projects in companies. Material and Methods: The model's proposition was done by conducting individual interviews and focus group research on understanding and exploring the theme. Personal interviews were conducted with 15 professionals and focus groups with nine experts that experienced the DT process in their organizations. Based on these interviews, a preliminary model was proposed and validated in interviews with focus groups. All interviews took place in the same period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research instrument explored aspects of strategy, competencies, digital technologies, and project management to determine how the DT process occurs and to define the final model. Results: Proposition of a model to operationalize DT projects following the organization's strategic direction. The model proposes that competencies enable change, using digital technologies as tools, and project management supports the project's strategy in line with the organizational strategy. The focus groups contributed to validating the model and proposing changes and improvements in the evaluation process in the model phases. The assessments were changed to occur recursively in the steps, allowing them to be evaluated throughout the project's life cycle to align with the project's and the organization's strategic assumptions. Contributions: The study presents a model to help companies of all sizes and activities to operationalize their DT projects. As a suggestion for future research, the proposed model can be used to develop and recommend new theories and develop models that meet the rapid transformations that occur in organizations.