Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wildfires in boreal ecosystems: past, present and some emerging trends

With the emergence of a new forest management paradigm based on the emulation of natural disturbance regimes, interest in fire-related studies has increased in the boreal forest management community. A key issue in this regard is the improvement of our understanding of the variability in past disturbances and its linkages with climate and ecosystems. The surge in research activity has further been exacerbated by the increasing awareness of climate change, which has already exposed boreal forests to greater fire risk in recent decades. It is anticipated that further warming and drying will further enhance fire frequency and area burned in many boreal forests. Better predictions of future fire activity will contribute to better long-term forest planning in managed boreal forests. The 12 papers presented in this special issue exemplify this increased research activity by bringing together studies from diverse disciplines and presenting the latest advances regarding methodological approaches for reconstruction and modelling of past, present and future fire activity. Here we aim to summarise, evaluate and set into context some of the new insights arising from these studies and also to discuss some considerations to be taken into account in future research activities.
Customer Expectation and Customer Satisfaction: Reviewing Service Quality of UBER

This paper study the gap between the expected service and the reality of customer satisfaction from Uber’s customer perception. Service companies tend to be careful and pay more attention to the customers’ satisfaction and aim to have a good relationship to ensure their loyalty. Service quality dimension was used and applied to find the gap between customer expectation and customer satisfaction. The hypothesis was tested empirically to find how service quality (measured by five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) affects customer satisfaction on using Uber service. The result of F-test shows that service quality affect customer satisfaction positively. T-test shows that there is improvement needed on two dimension out of five. Star rating from Uber shows that customer satisfaction point is 4.6 out of 5, this paper shows that customer satisfaction result is 4.3 out of 5 from service quality dimension. Statistically this is a significant gap that needs to be filled to reach a closer gap to the expected service. Language barrier could be one of the reason to the gap that customer feels towards Uber driver. Including Taiwanese students as respondents could be done for further research
Assessment and association of tobacco affecting oral health of workers of a factory

Occupational health diseases have become severe in the present scenario of the world, it is due to several reasons, one of the major reasons is the active industrialization of the world. In the last century various industries are growing each and every day in various fields in multiple countries. The workers of the industries are affected the worst as they have prolonged working hours, bad working conditions and less reach to health care facilities. In our study, we assessed the oral health of the workers along with association of factors affecting the oral health. The main factor studied was the consumption of tobacco affecting the oral health. According to WHO, the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year around the world. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Another factor studied was alcohol ABSTRACT
Synthesis of sulfated starch-casein complex

In this paper, a new method for the synthesis of the sulfated starch-casein complex is proposed. The resulting new complex was characterized by FTIR and UV-spectroscopy. It has been shown by FTIR spectroscopy that both nitrogen atoms and the carboxyl group of amino acid residues are protonated in casein. The sulfated starch-casein complex obtained in this work may have biological activity, as well as its analogues isolated from plants, fungi, and microorganisms, as well as synthesized in laboratory conditions.
Exploration of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.), an Underutilized Crop, to Aid Global Food Security: Varietal Improvement, Genetic Diversity and Processing

Currently, the global agricultural system is focused on a limited number of crop species, thereby presenting a threat to food security and supply, especially with predicted global climate change conditions. The importance of ‘underutilized’ crop species in meeting the world’s demand for food has been duly recognized by research communities, governments and policy makers worldwide. The development of underutilized crops, with their vast genetic resources and beneficial traits, may be a useful step towards solving food security challenges by offering a multifaceted agricultural system that includes additional important food resources. Bambara groundnut is among the beneficial underutilized crop species that may have a positive impact on global food security through organized and well-coordinated multidimensional breeding programs. The excessive degrees of allelic difference in Bambara groundnut germplasm could be exploited in breeding activities to develop new varieties. It is important to match recognized breeding objectives with documented diversity in order to significantly improve breeding. This review assesses the genetic diversity of Bambara groundnut, as well as important factors involved in realizing and harnessing the potential of this crop.
Methods for the Separation of Failure Modes in Power-Cycling Tests of High-Power Transistor Modules Using Accurate Voltage Monitoring

The accurate measurement of on-state device voltage during power-cycling tests can deliver important information about the health of the tested power electronics components. In this article, we present the major aspects of how a power-cycling test can be set up to enable high-resolution device voltage monitoring, during both heating and cooling stages, and discuss the effect of some important parameters on the arising failure modes. The thermal transient of the component can also be captured in these setups. We show how the structure functions calculated from the captured thermal transients can be used to reveal the location of degradation in the module structure. Finally, the method for identification of bond-wire cracking and lift-off using only the measured voltage curves, is shown.
Parallel measurement of conductive and convective thermal transport of micro/nanowires based on Raman mapping

Heat conduction and convection are coupled effects in thermal transport of low-dimensional materials especially at micro/nanoscale. However, the parallel measurement is a challenge due to the limitation of characterization pathways. In this work, we report a method to study conductive and convective thermal transport of micro/nanowires simultaneously by using steady-state Joule-heating and Raman mapping. To examine this method, the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fiber (36 μm in diameter) is characterized and its temperature dependence of thermal properties including thermal conductivity and convection coefficient in ambient air is studied. Preliminary results show that thermal conductivity of the CNTs fiber increases from 26 W/m K to 34 W/m K and convection coefficient decreases from 1143 W/m2 K to 1039 W/m2 K with temperature ranging from 312 to 444 K. The convective heat dissipation to the air could be as high as 60% of the total Joule heating power. Uncertainty analysis is performed to reveal that fitting err.
Effect of dexmedetomidine on brain function and hemodynamics in patients undergoing lung cancer resection

Effect of dexmedetomidine on the brain function and hemodynamics in patients undergoing lung cancer resection were explored. Eighty-seven patients with lung cancer undergoing lung cancer resection in Weifang People's Hospital from January 2014 to June 2018 were enrolled in this study. Patients conventionally anesthetized by propofol, midazolam, sufentanil, or cisatracurium besilate (41 cases) were assigned to the control group and those anesthetized by conventional anesthetic and dexmedetomidine (46 cases) were assigned to the research group. The hemodynamic parameters, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and astrocyte S-100p protein (S-100β) were compared between the two groups before induction (T0), 5 min after induction (T1), at the end of surgery (T2), time of extubation (T3), and 5 min after extubation (T4). The cognitive function of patients was graded by the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) after patients recovered from anesthesia. In both the control group and the research group, the levels of mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and central venous pressure (CVP). were statistically higher at T2 and T3 than those at T0 (all P<0.05). The levels of MAP, HR, and CVP were statistically lower in the research group than those in the control group at T2 and T3 (P<0.05). The levels of serum NSE and S100β protein in the research group and the control group increased at T2, T3, and T4, the control group was higher than the research group at each time point, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Comparison of the MMSE score and the total case number of adverse reactions between the two groups showed no statistical difference (both P>0.05). The MMSE score was positively correlated with the serum levels of NSE and S100β in the two groups (r-values were 0.661 and 0.585, P<0.05). Dexmedetomidine can effectively protect patients' perioperative brain function with small impacts on perioperative hemodynamics, so it is worthy of clinical application.
Initialization of Tropical Cyclones in Numerical Prediction Systems

Tropical cyclones (here after TCs) are intense atmospheric vortices that form over warm ocean waters. Strong TCs (called hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin, or typhoons in the western north Pacific basin) can cause significant loss of lives and property when making landfall due to destructive winds, torrential rainfall, and powerful storm surges. In order to warn people of hazards from incoming TCs, forecasters must make predictions of the future position and intensity of the TC. In order to make these forecasts, a forecaster uses a wide suite of tools ranging from his or her subjective assessment of the situation based on experience, the climatology and persistence characteristics of the storm, and most impor‐ tantly, models, which make a prediction of the future state of the atmosphere given the current state. In this chapter, the focus is on dynamical models. A dynamical model is based on the governing laws of the system, which for the atmosphere are the conservation of momentum, mass, and energy. Since the system of partial differential equations that gov‐ ern the atmosphere is highly nonlinear, a numerical approximation must be made in or‐ der to obtain a solution to these equations. Short term (less than 7 days) numerical weather prediction is largely an initial value problem. Therefore it is critical to accurately specify the initial condition. The accuracy of the initial condition depends on the forecast model it‐ self, the quality and density of observations, and how to distribute the information from the observations to the model grid points (data assimilation). Since most TCs exist in the open oceans, most observations come from satellites, and often intensity and structure char‐ acteristics are inferred from the remotely sensed data [10]. Therefore a key problem that remains for TC initialization is the lack of observations, especially in the inner-core (less than 150 km from the TC center).
Torsion algebraic cycles and a theorem of Roitman

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Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Salvia tiliifolia Vahl (Lamiaceae)

Abstract Salvia tiliifolia Vahl is native to Central America and considered as an invasive plant in Mexico, the United States, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Australia. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of S. tiliifolia was 150,836 bp in length, which contained a large single-copy (LSC) region of 82,129 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,533 bp, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) region of 25,587 bp each. The genome harbored 130 genes, including 85 protein coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall GC content was 37.99%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that S. tiliifolia is closely related to the species of Salvia chanryoenica.
The Improved Canopy Shading Model Based on the Apple Intercropping System (Case Study: Loess Plateau, China)

The canopy shading model is widely used in agroforestry systems. However, the canopy shading model cannot be verified by the measured shading distribution of an apple tree due to the uneven ground and adjacent apple trees. This paper measures the spatial‒temporal distribution of the shading of apple trees based on the similarity principle of parallel solar light combined with 3D printing technology to improve the canopy shading model. The following results are drawn: (1) The current widely used canopy shading model does not consider the effect of the canopy penumbra, resulting in poor simulation accuracy in the shading distribution compared to the actual measurement; (2) The effect of canopy penumbra causes the deflection of sunlight. Hence, the paper presents the deflection equation of sunlight with statistically defined parameters derived using measured data of the shading distribution. The deflection equation of sunlight is added to the improved canopy shading model. The improved model can accurately simulate the shading distribution of an apple tree, and the simulation accuracy exceeds 94.12% when compared with the shading distribution of an apple tree; (3) The improved canopy shading model is applied to simulate the spatial‒temporal distribution of the shading of apple trees in a conventional arrangement (4 m × 5 m), and the simulation accuracy exceeds 89%. Thus, the improved canopy shading model can be applied to simulate the spatial‒temporal distribution of shading of apple trees.
Asphyxial Cardiac Arrest and the Possible Aetiological Role of Antipsychotic Medications – a Case Study

Introduction Emergencies in the pre-hospital setting involving asphyxial cardiac arrest due to choking, whether by aspiration or foreign body are encountered rarely. Such an event is more likely to occur in paediatrics, especially six months to four years of age. [1,2] Adults at risk of asphyxia are typically persons who are unable to protect their airway for example, persons suffering from psychosis, neurological conditions and disability.
1041 Sleep Quality Mediates The Relationship Between Fear Of Cancer Recurrence And Psychological Distress In Young Adults With Cancer

Fear of cancer recurrence is common in young adults with cancer and also related to poorer psychological outcomes. Sleep may be disrupted by anxious thoughts about cancer, causing long-term psychological distress. Thus, the current study tests sleep as a putative mediator of the association between fear of cancer recurrence and overall psychological distress in young adult cancer survivors. In a national cross-sectional survey of Canadians, 436 young adults diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15-39 (current age range 20-39, m=32.39, SD=4.70; 88% female) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory—Short Form, and the Kessler 10 Distress Inventory. Mediation was estimated using PROCESS. Age, sex, and on/off treatment status were entered into models as covariates. In the current sample, average fear of cancer recurrence was above the clinical cut-point (m=22.92, SD=6.84), psychological distress was high (m=25.18, SD=7.81), and sleep quality was poor (m=9.11, SD=3.95). Females reported significantly higher fear of cancer recurrence than males [F(1, 435)=15.49, p <. 001]. Patients on treatment reported significantly higher fear of cancer recurrence [F(1,435)=11.43, p=. 001], poorer sleep quality [F(1,435)=6.48, p=. 011], and greater psychological distress [F(1,435)=4.73, p <. 001] than patients off treatment. Using a bootstrapping model with covariates, higher fear of cancer recurrence was related to poorer sleep quality and, in turn, higher psychological distress as indicated by the indirect effect’s confidence interval not containing 0 (indirect effect=.13; 95%CI=0.081, 0.189). Sleep quality may play an important role in connecting the common experience of fear of cancer recurrence to psychological distress in young adult cancer survivors. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine this possible mediator of young adult cancer patients’ psychological distress outcomes over time. This research was supported by a grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials (NL-SUPPORT) Unit. Sheila Garland is supported by a Scotiabank New Investigator Award from the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute (BHCRI).
Poll Worker Decision Making at the American Ballot Box

Street-level bureaucrats set the terms for policy implementation and often operate under limited oversight. In American elections, poll workers are the street-level bureaucrats tasked with implementing a jurisdiction’s laws for verifying voter eligibility. Using in-depth interviews with 24 poll workers from the city of Chicago, this article assesses how poll workers make decisions about voter eligibility under Illinois’ signature-matching law. Respondents discussed a range of considerations used when they examine voter eligibility. The evidence I present suggests they rely on personal perspectives and experiences in their evaluations. Respondents also offered a range of responses for how they would proceed in the instance of a mismatching signature—including requesting voters provide identification even though it is not a requirement in Illinois unless a voter is challenged. Broadly, these results illustrate how poll workers’ subjective interpretations of election law shape their decisions and can lead to idiosyncratic applications of election law.
Experimental Investigation of the Compactability and Cracking Behavior of Polyacrylamide-Treated Saline Soil in Gansu Province, China

Polyacrylamide (PAM) is a water-soluble polymer with the ability to enhance a soil’s stability. PAM is currently being used to prevent irrigation-induced erosion and enhance the infiltration in farmland soil. To improve the compaction properties of the saline-soil-based filling material that is used in highway subgrade and the cracking resistance capacity of a saline soil’s crust, the consistency limits, compactability, microstructure, and cracking morphology of untreated and PAM-treated saline soil were investigated. The saline soils were sampled from the soil crust and a depth of 2.0–3.0 m in Gansu Province, China. Two PAM concentrations (0.1% and 0.5% in mass ratio) were selected. The liquid limits and plastic limits of the saline soil samples from the surface (0–0.05 m) and a depth of 2.0–3.0 m noticeably increased as PAM concentration increased. The maximum dry densities decreased as PAM concentration and plasticity increased, and the optimum water contents of the two saline soil types did not significantly change. These results suggest that a higher shearing resistance between particles partially prevented compression from occurring during compaction. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test results showed that the PAM agent dispersed the bulky pellets, and the soil’s structure was formed by flaky and acicular platelets that filled the micropores. A quantitative analysis of crack patterns showed that the cross-points of the crack network and the crack length decreased as the PAM concentration increased. These results indicate that an increase in PAM reduces the shrinkage strain and the flaws or pores within saline soils. Therefore, PAM’s stabilizing effect on saline soil under a wetting–drying cycle was proven.
Gene Expression Profile and Acute Gene Expression Response to Sclerostin Inhibition in Osteogenesis Imperfecta Bone

Sclerostin antibody (SclAb) therapy has been suggested as a novel therapeutic approach toward addressing the fragility phenotypic of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Observations of cellular and transcriptional responses to SclAb in OI have been limited to mouse models of the disorder, leaving a paucity of data on the human OI osteoblastic cellular response to the treatment. Here, we explore factors associated with response to SclAb therapy in vitro and in a novel xenograft model using OI bone tissue derived from pediatric patients. Bone isolates (approximately 2 mm3) from OI patients (OI type III, type III/IV, and type IV, n = 7; non‐OI control, n = 5) were collected to media, randomly assigned to an untreated (UN), low‐dose SclAb (TRL, 2.5 μg/mL), or high‐dose SclAb (TRH, 25 μg/mL) group, and maintained in vitro at 37°C. Treatment occurred on days 2 and 4 and was removed on day 5 for TaqMan qPCR analysis of genes related to the Wnt pathway. A subset of bone was implanted s.c. into an athymic mouse, representing our xenograft model, and treated (25 mg/kg s.c. 2×/week for 2/4 weeks). Implanted OI bone was evaluated using μCT and histomorphometry. Expression of Wnt/Wnt‐related targets varied among untreated OI bone isolates. When treated with SclAb, OI bone showed an upregulation in osteoblast and osteoblast progenitor markers, which was heterogeneous across tissue. Interestingly, the greatest magnitude of response generally corresponded to samples with low untreated expression of progenitor markers. Conversely, samples with high untreated expression of these markers showed a lower response to treatment. in vivo implanted OI bone showed a bone‐forming response to SclAb via μCT, which was corroborated by histomorphometry. SclAb induced downstream Wnt targets WISP1 and TWIST1, and elicited a compensatory response in Wnt inhibitors SOST and DKK1 in OI bone with the greatest magnitude from OI cortical bone. Understanding patients' genetic, cellular, and morphological bone phenotypes may play an important role in predicting treatment response. This information may aid in clinical decision‐making for pharmacological interventions designed to address fragility in OI. © 2020 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.