Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climatic turning point for beech and oak under climate change in Central Europe

The growth behavior of coexisting tree species under climate change is important from an ecological, silvicultural and economic perspective. While many previous studies are concerned with climatic limits for species occurrence, we focus on climate related shifts in interspecific competition. A landmark for these changes in competition is the 'climatic turning point' (CTP): those climate conditions under which a rank reversal between key tree species occurs. Here, we used a common type of temperate mixed forest in Central Europe with European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. ) to explore the CTP under a future climate projection of increasing temperature and aridity. We selected a dry region where the prerequisite of differential climate sensitivity in mixed beech-oak forests was fulfilled: In-situ dendrochronological analyses demonstrated that the currently more competitive beech was more drought sensitive than sessile oak. We then used two complementary forest growth models, namely SILVA and LandClim, to investigate the climate induced rank-reversal in species dominance and to quantify it as the CTP from beech to oak by simulating future forest development from the WETTREG 2010 A1B climate projection. Utilizing two models allowed us to draw conclusions robust against the assumptions of a particular model. Both models projected a CTP at a mean annual temperature of 11-128C (July temperature .188C) and a precipitation sum of 500-530 mm. However, the change in tree species composition can exhibit a time-lag of several decades depending on past stand development and current stand structure. We conclude that the climatic turning point is a simple yet effective reference measure to study climate related changes in interspecific competition, and confirm the importance of competition sensitivity in climate change modeling.
Patient and physician preferences for attributes of coronary revascularization

Background Patients with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) may face important decisions regarding treatment options, with the “right choice” depending on the relative weights of risks and benefits. Studies performed as discrete choice experiments are used to estimate these weights, and attribute selection is an essential step in the design of these studies. Attributes not included in the design cannot be analyzed. In this study, we aimed to elicit, rank, and rate attributes that may be considered important to patients and physicians who must choose between angioplasty and surgery for coronary revascularization. Methods The elicitation process involved performing a systematic review to search for attributes cited in declared preference studies in addition to face-to-face interviews with cardiologists and experts. The interviews were audio-recorded in digital format, and the collected data were transcribed and searched to identify new attributes. The criterion used to finish the data collection process was sampling saturation. Results A systematic review resulted in the selection of the following 14 attributes: atrial fibrillation, heart failure, incision scar, length of stay, long-term survival, myocardial infarction, periprocedural death, postoperative infection, postprocedural angina, pseudoaneurysm, renal failure, repeat coronary artery bypass grafting, repeat percutaneous coronary intervention, and stroke. The interviews added no new attributes. After rating, we identified significant differences in the values that patients and cardiologists placed on renal insufficiency (p<0.001), periprocedural death (p<0.001), and long-term survival (p<0.001). Conclusion Decisions regarding the best treatment option for patients with CAD should be made based on differences in risk and the patient’s preference regarding the most relevant endpoints. We elicited, ranked, and rated 14 attributes related to CAD treatment options. This list of attributes may help researchers who seek to perform future preference studies of CAD treatment options.
Interpersonal early‐life trauma alters amygdala connectivity and sustained attention performance

Interpersonal early life trauma (I‐ELT) is associated with a myriad of functional impairments in adulthood, increased risk of drug addiction, and neuropsychiatric disorders. While deficits in emotional regulation and amygdala functioning are well characterized, deficits in general cognitive functioning have also been documented. However, the neural underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction in adults with a history of I‐ELT and the potential relationship between amygdala‐based functional connectivity and behavioral performance are currently poorly understood. This study examined how I‐ELT affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms supporting sustained attention.
The Relation between the Rheological Properties of Gels and the Mechanical Properties of Their Corresponding Aerogels

A series of low density, highly porous clay/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite aerogels, incorporating ammonium alginate, were fabricated via a convenient and eco-friendly freeze drying method. It is significant to understand rheological properties of precursor gels because they directly affect the form of aerogels and their processing behaviors. The introduction of ammonium alginate impacted the rheological properties of colloidal gels and improved the mechanical performance of the subject aerogels. The specific compositions and processing conditions applied to those colloidal gel systems brought about different aerogel morphologies, which in turn translated into the observed mechanical properties. The bridge between gel rheologies and aerogel structures are established in the present work.
Reciprocity and conditional cooperation between great tit parents

When individuals invest in a common good, an efficient outcome is hard to achieve, because each can free ride on others’ efforts. This problem can lead parents that raise their young together to reduce their investment in care, with negative consequences for offspring. Here, we present a mathematical model to show that a strategy of conditional cooperation, in which parents take turns feeding their young, can help to resolve this problem. To test this idea, we studied the behavior of great tit parents raising chicks together. We found that parents alternated visits to the nest more than would be expected by chance, speeding up their feeding rate after their partner had visited the chicks, but slowing down again once they had visited in turn. This effect was not mediated by visit-to-visit changes in offspring begging intensity, although females (but not males) were influenced by mean begging levels across broods. We conclude that conflict over parental investment in this species is partly ameliorated by a simple form of reciprocity.
Comparing L 1 children , L 2 children and L 2 adults

This paper reviews some of the conceptual and methodological issues involved in comparisons between different groups of non-impaired learners, namely monolingual first language children, bilingual first language children, second language children and second language adults. It illustrates how the various two-way and three-way comparisons between these different learner groups may inform our understanding of some of the fundamental questions in language acquisition research. The paper is divided into two sections. The first addresses theoretical and applied issues, including how to define different learner groups and using cross-group comparisons to determine whether there are age, transfer and input effects. The second deals with methodological issues, including controlling for cognitive maturity and proficiency in order to ensure a clean comparison is made.
Anxiety sensitivity and attentional bias to threat interact to prospectively predict anxiety

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine anxiety sensitivity, attentional bias to threat (ABT), and the aggregate influence of these constructs as prospective predictors of anxiety. Participants (N = 176) completed a baseline assessment session which included the completion of self-report measures of anxiety and anxiety sensitivity, as well as an eye-tracking task in which eye movements were recorded during the viewing of neutral and threat images. Measures of anxiety and anxiety sensitivity were completed again as part of an online questionnaire battery at a 1-year follow-up session. As predicted, baseline anxiety sensitivity and ABT predicted anxiety at 1-year follow-up even after accounting for baseline anxiety. However, these main effects were qualified by a significant interaction effect such that those high in anxiety sensitivity at baseline reported relatively higher anxiety at the 1-year follow-up, but only if they also exhibited higher levels of ABT at baseline. Results suggest that individuals with this combination of vulnerability factors (high levels of both anxiety sensitivity and ABT) may be at particularly high risk for developing anxiety and may benefit from preemptive efforts to reduce ABT.
Iron and Porphyrin Trafficking in Heme Biogenesis*

Iron is an essential element for diverse biological functions. In mammals, the majority of iron is enclosed within a single prosthetic group: heme. In metazoans, heme is synthesized via a highly conserved and coordinated pathway within the mitochondria. However, iron is acquired from the environment and subsequently assimilated into various cellular pathways, including heme synthesis. Both iron and heme are toxic but essential cofactors. How is iron transported from the extracellular milieu to the mitochondria? How are heme and heme intermediates coordinated with iron transport? Although recent studies have answered some questions, several pieces of this intriguing puzzle remain unsolved.
Impact of coral predators on tropical reefs

It is well known that herbivores have numerous and diverse impacts on plant and algal fitness, community structure and ecosystem function. The importance of corallivory as a selective force, however, has been underestimated. Corallivores, or consumers of live coral tissue, employ a wide variety of feeding strategies and can be obligate or facultative coral feeders. Our literature review reveals a complex array of corallivores across the globe, represented by 11 families of fishes and 5 invertebrate phyla and totaling over 160 species known to consume scleractinian corals world- wide. Importantly, although these corallivores span a wide taxonomic range, we found that they have been reported to feed on relatively few genera of hard corals, specifically, on only 28 scleractinian genera worldwide. Damage by corallivores ranges from minor to lethal, but there is a growing body of evidence to support that even limited removal of tissue or skeletal structures has growth and/or fit- ness consequences for a scleractinian coral colony. In light of increasing reef stressors and diminish- ing coral populations, we suggest that the role of corallivores in reef trophodynamics is more complex than appreciated previously.
Interprovincial migration of the foreign-born and income maximization in Spain

A relevant topic of the economic literature is the geographical mobility of workers within countries. This is due to the positive influence of labour mobility on the economic convergence of regions and on the improvement in the productivity and allocation of workers. Within this context, a relevant topic is the geographical mobility of foreign workers in the destination country. The study of this topic for the Spanish case is interesting, because Spain is one of the European countries where immigration flows have increased most noticeably for the last years. This paper is aimed, first, at studying the determinants of interprovintial geographical mobility of immigrants in Spain and, second, at obtaining consistent estimates of individuali¯s opportunity wages as movers or stayers. Findings show that an expected wage gain exerts a positive influence on the interprovintial mobility and leads to a better allocation of resources.
A multi-stakeholder strategy to identify conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract Malaysia, with its rapidly growing economy, exemplifies the tensions between conservation and development faced by many tropical nations. Here we present the results of a multi-stakeholder engagement exercise conducted to (1) define conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia and (2) explore differences in perceptions among and within stakeholder groups (i.e. government, academia, NGOs and the private sector). Our data collection involved two workshops and two online surveys where participants identified seven general conservation themes and ranked the top five priority issues within each theme. The themes were: (1) policy and management, (2) legislation and enforcement, (3) finance and resource allocation, (4) knowledge, research and development, (5) socio-economic issues, (6) public awareness and participation and (7) rights of nature. In spite of their very different backgrounds and agendas, the four stakeholder groups showed general agreement in their priority preferences except for two issues. Respondents from government and private sector differed the most from each other in their priority choices while academia and NGO showed the highest degree of similarity. This ranked list of 35 conservation priorities is expected to influence the work of policy-makers and others in Peninsular Malaysia and can be used as a model to identify conservation priorities elsewhere.
Mathematical Modeling Predicts Response to Chemotherapy and Drug Combinations in Ovarian Cancer.

Platinum-based chemotherapy constitutes the backbone of clinical care in advanced solid cancers such as high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and has prolonged survival of millions of patients with cancer. Most of these patients, however, become resistant to chemotherapy, which generally leads to a fatal refractory disease. We present a comprehensive stochastic mathematical model and simulator approach to describe platinum resistance and standard-of-care (SOC) therapy in HGSOC. We used pre- and posttreatment clinical data, including 18F-FDG-PET/CT images, to reliably estimate the model parameters and simulate "virtual patients with HGSOC. " Treatment responses of the virtual patients generated by our mathematical model were indistinguishable from real-life patients with HGSOC. We demonstrated the utility of our approach by evaluating the survival benefit of combination therapies that contain up to six drugs targeting platinum resistance mechanisms. Several resistance mechanisms were already active at diagnosis, but combining SOC with a drug that targets the most dominant resistance subpopulation resulted in a significant survival benefit. This work provides a theoretical basis for a cancer treatment paradigm in which maximizing platinum's killing effect on cancer cells requires overcoming resistance mechanisms with targeted drugs. This freely available mathematical model and simulation framework enable rapid and rigorous evaluation of the benefit of a targeted drug or combination therapy in virtual patients before clinical trials, which facilitates translating preclinical findings into clinical practice.Significance: These findings present a comprehensive mathematical model for platinum resistance and standard-of-care therapy in a solid cancer, allowing virtual evaluation of novel therapy regimens. Cancer Res; 78(14); 4036-44. ©2018 AACR.
The rhizobacterial elicitor acetoin induces systemic resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Majority of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) confer plant immunity against a wide range of foliar diseases by activating plant defences that reduce a plant’s susceptibility to pathogen attack. Here we show that Arabidopsis thaliana (Col-0) plants exposed to Bacillus subtilis strain FB17 (hereafter FB17), results in reduced disease severity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (hereafter DC3000) compared to plants without FB17 treatment. Exogenous application of the B. subtilis derived elicitor, acetoin (3-hydroxy-2-butanone), was found to trigger induced systemic resistance (ISR) and protect plants against DC3000 pathogenesis. Moreover, B. subtilis acetoin biosynthetic mutants that emitted reduced levels of acetoin conferred reduced protection to A. thaliana against pathogen infection. Further analysis using FB17 and defense-compromised mutants of A. thaliana indicated that resistance to DC3000 occurs via NPR1 and requires salicylic acid (SA)/ethylene (ET) whereas jasmonic acid (JA) is not essential. This study provides new insight into the role of rhizo-bacterial volatile components as elicitors of defense responses in plants.
Design and Implementation of 8 BIT Vedic Multipliers USING HNG Gates

: Now a days, reversible logics are emerging field in VLSI design in which Energy dissipation is an important consideration. Reversible logic is first related to energy. Researcher like Landauer states that information loss due to function irreversibility leads to energy dissipation. Thus reversibility will become an essential feature in future electronics circuit design. Reversible circuits are of high interest in applications like DSPs, low power CMOS design, nanotechnology, optical computing and quantum computing etc. The main aim and purpose of this paper is to improve the speed and power dissipation of the processor by using efficient Vedic multiplier. Vedic multiplier known as “Urdhva Tiryakbhayam" which means vertical and crosswise in English. This multiplier is designed and implemented using reversible logic Feynman Gate, Peres Gate and HNG gate. Feynman and Peres gates are used to implement the basic two bit multipliers and HNG gate is used as full adder for summation of the partial product generated by two bit multipliers in four bit multiplier. 8*8 bit multiplier is designed using four bit multipliers and three eight bit ripple carry adders. The proposed system is designed using VHDL and implemented through Xilinx ISE 13.2 Navigator.
Quantifying the Uncertainty of Using Solar Wind Measurements for Geospace Inputs

Predictive models for the Earth's space environment routinely use parameters from the solar wind as inputs. Measurements from spacecraft orbiting the first Lagrange point serve as convenient values for these inputs. The mass, momentum, and energy input into the Earth's space environment, however, are a function of the shocked and processed plasma within the magnetosheath, which can vary significantly from the pristine solar wind at the first Lagrange point. Here statistical measurements from the OMNI data set are combined with measurements by the THEMIS mission within the magnetosheath to generate uncertainty values for pressure and magnetic clock angle. These uncertainties are generated to account for known physical processes in the foreshock and magnetosheath as well as the position of the spacecraft being used to generate the OMNI data set.
Arguments for a Re-regulation of Global Finance

Today, nobody remains unaffected by what is happening on international financial markets. Directly or indirectly, everybody’s life chances are influenced: winners or losers of stabilisation policy in rich countries, financial crisis victims in Latin America, Asia or Russia, or people in Africa forgotten by the wealthy countries. And yet, few people have a clear grasp of the key financial processes—not even the economic ‘experts’. Most economists content themselves with esoteric models. ‘Analysts’ comment on surface phenomena (prices and balances, new commodities and technologies, etc). Little explanation is offered regarding exchange rates, credits, shares and bonds, or on the flood of ‘derived’ securities called ‘derivatives’ and their connections with traditional currency, monetary and fiscal policy. The traditional market-ideology based explanations spread by textbooks, but also by documents and analyses of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the OECD and the EU, can hardly be considered satisfying.
Parental Deprivation and Psychiatric Morbidity amongst Older Adults

Background: Parents are always the source of big support for human beings in all age groups. It was thought that the loss of parents may have impact on mental health. However, there is dearth of studies on parental deprivation and its effect on mental health of elderly, so the present study attempted to explore the area. Aim: To study the association of parental deprivation in pre-adulthood (0-17 yrs) and post adulthood (18 yrs and above) with psychiatric morbidity amongst rural older adults. Methods: Sample consisted of 373 subjects aged 55 years & above drawn from six villages of Malihabad block of Lucknow district. Hindi Mental Status Examination (HMSE), Survey Psychiatric Assessment Schedule (SPAS) and Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) were administered on all subjects to sieve suspects for cognitive and neuropsychiatric (functional) disorders. In depth assessment of subjects positive on HMSE, SPAS/ MDQ were done through Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), for diagnosis of neuropsychiatric other then cognitive disorders (functional) and through Cambridge Examination of Mental Disorders for the Elderly-R (CAMDEX-R) for diagnosis of cognitive disorders. In the semi-structured socio-demographic and personal history data, schedule questions were specially included to collect data on parental deprivation. Results: Significantly more females had psychiatric morbidity who deprived from their both parents in post adulthood years (18 yrs. and above). Males who were deprived from both parents in pre-adulthood stage had significantly more psychiatric disorders in comparison to post adult hood years.
HfO2 high-k dielectric layers in air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducers

For air-coupled applications, broadband capacitive ultrasonic transducers (CUTs) at the mm to cm scale are often desirable. Improved device performance may be obtained by etching well-defined geometric features into a silicon backplate electrode, then using a metallized polymer film as the other electrode. The use of additional dielectric coatings for devices at this scale may have a number of beneficial effects. This work investigates the use of HfO2 high-k dielectric coatings on the backplate electrodes of air-coupled CUTs. A range of such devices was constructed and used in a through-transmission configuration. Different thickness HfO2 layers were investigated at different bias voltages, and the effects on the sensitivity and bandwidth of the devices were analyzed. The predicted capacitance of each device was within 7% of the measured capacitance, with variations due to additional trapped air and manual assembly. Increasing the HfO2 layer thickness decreased the overall capacitance of the CUT as expected, but produced significant improvements in device sensitivity and bandwidth at certain bias voltages. A strong correlation between HfO2 high-k dielectric layer thickness and peak-to-peak amplitude was observed. The variation in device operation after successive bias charge/discharge cycles also become consistently less as the HfO2 layer thickness was increased.
The Penny Drops: Change Blindness at Fixation

Our perception of the visual world is fallible. Unattended objects may change without us noticing as long as the change does not capture attention (change blindness). However, it is often assumed that changes to a fixated object will be noticed if it is attended. In this experiment we demonstrate that participants fail to detect a change in identity of a coin during a magic trick even though eyetracking indicates that the coin is tracked by the eyes throughout the trick. The change is subsequently detected when participants are instructed to look for it. These results suggest that during naturalistic viewing, attention can be focused on an object at fixation without including all of its features.