Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of climate warming and disturbance on the colonization potential of ornamental alien plant species

A large number of alien plant species have been introduced as ornamental garden plants to Europe, but relatively few have become invasive. Low climatic suitability may be limiting the current invasion potential of many alien ornamental species. However, with ongoing disturbance and climate change, this barrier may be reduced for some species. Here, we tested how colonization ability (a prerequisite for invasion) of frequently planted alien ornamentals depends on disturbance and heating, and on their species characteristics. We sowed seeds of 37 non‐naturalized alien herbaceous garden‐plant species into native grassland plots with and without disturbance, and with and without infrared‐heating lamps. To assess whether their responses differ from those within the regional wild flora, we also sowed 14 native species and 12 naturalized alien species. During 2 years, we assessed the likelihoods of germination, first‐year survival, second‐year survival and flowering of these 63 study species. The heating treatment, which also reduced soil moisture, decreased all measures of colonization success, but more so for sown native species than for the non‐naturalized and naturalized alien ones. The disturbance treatment increased colonization success, and because heating decreased productivity of the undisturbed grassland plots, it also increased invasibility of these plots. Average colonization success of non‐naturalized aliens was reduced by heating, but some species were not affected or performed even better with heating, particularly those with an annual life span and a high seed mass. Winter hardiness improved colonization ability of non‐naturalized aliens, but this advantage was reduced in the heated plots. Synthesis. Disturbance increased and heating decreased the absolute colonization success of most of the 63 species sown. However, heating had stronger adverse effects on the resident grassland and sown native species than either type of sown alien species. Together, these results suggest that some alien plants may have greater colonization success relative to native plants under a warmer climate.
Plumage colour and pattern in waders

At least 16 of the hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the evolution of plumage colour and pattern in birds may be applicable to waders - five straightforward physical explanations, and the rest involving some form of communication between animals. Eight of the latter involve communication between different species (such as predator and prey) and the rest involve communication between individuals of the same species (such as potential mates). These hypotheses are reviewed and an additional one based on social selection proposed.
Effect of Whole-body Vibration Combined with Task Oriented Training on Muscle Strength, Balance, and Gait in Stroke Patients with Hemiplegia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of whole-body vibration combined with task-oriented training on muscle strength, balance, and gait in stroke patients with hemiplegia. In total, 24 stroke patients were included in this study. All participants were randomly assigned to either the whole-body vibration combined with task-oriented training group (n=12) or the whole-body vibration group (n=12). The WBVMT group underwent training (8 sets) for 30 min a day, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. Meanwhile, the WBV group underwent training (8 sets) for 30 min a day, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. Both groups received standard rehabilitation physical therapy for 60 min a day, 5 times a week for 4 weeks. In all participants, the scores for the hip extensor (HE) and knee extensor (KE) muscle strength, Five Times Sit-to-Stand (FTSTS) Test, limit of stability (LOS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), and 6-Min Walk Test (6MWT) were evaluated before and after the intervention. The WBVMT and WBV groups had a significant increase in the scores for HE and KE strength, FTSTS test, LOS, TUG test, BBS, 10MWT, and 6MWT (p<0.05). In particular, the WBVMT group had a significantly greater improvement than the WBV group in terms of KE muscle strength and TUG test, BBS, 10MWT, and 6MWT scores (p<0.05). WBVMT improved muscle strength, balance, and gait in stroke patients with hemiplegia.
Photosynthesis and Water Use Efficiency 1(C)

The control of gaseous exchange between the leaf and bulk atmosphere by stomata governs CO2 uptake for photosynthesis and transpiration, determining plant productivity and water use efficiency. The balance between these two processes depends on stomatal responses to environmental and internal cues and the synchrony of stomatal behavior relative to mesophyll demands for CO2 . H ere we examine the rapidity of stomatal responses with attention to their relationship to photosynthetic CO2 uptake and the consequences for water use. We discuss the influence of anatomical characteristics on the velocity of changes in stomatal conductance and explore the potential for manipulating the physical as well as physiological characteristics of stomatal guard cells in order to accelerate stomatal movements in synchrony with mesophyll CO 2 demand and to improve water use efficiency without substantial cost to photosynthetic carbon fixation. We conclude that manipulating guard cell transport and metabolism is just as, if not more likely to yield useful benefits as manipulations of their physical and anatomical characteristics. Achieving these benefits should be greatly facilitated by quantitative systems analysis that connects directly the molecular properties of the guard cells to their function in thefield. In order for plants to function efficiently, they must balance gaseous exchange between inside and outside the leaf to maximize CO 2 uptake for photosynthetic carbon assimilation (A) and to minimize water loss through transpiration. Stomata are the “gatekeepers” responsible for all gaseous diffusion, and they adjust to both internal and external environmental stimuli governing CO 2 uptake and water loss. The pathway for CO 2 uptake from the bulk atmosphere to the site of fixation is determined by a series of diffusional resistances, which start with the layer of air immediately surrounding the leaf (the boundary layer). Stomatal pores provide a major resistance to flux from the atmosphere to the substomatal cavity within the leaf. Further resistance is encountered by CO2 across the aqueous and lipid boundaries into the mesophyll cell and chloroplasts (mesophyll resistance). Water leaving the leaf largely follows the same pathway
Review of Recent Developments in the Formulation of Graphene-Based Coatings for the Corrosion Protection of Metals and Alloys

Corrosion is a naturally occurring phenomenon and there is continuous interest in the development of new and more protective coatings or films that can be employed to prevent or minimise corrosion. In this review the corrosion protection afforded by two-dimensional graphene is described and discussed. Following a short introduction to corrosion, the application of graphene in the formulation of coatings and films is introduced. Initially, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and metallic like graphene layers are reviewed, highlighting the issues with galvanic corrosion. Then the more successful graphene oxide (GO), functionalised GO and polymer grafted GO-modified coatings are introduced, where the functionalisation and grafting are tailored to optimise dispersion of graphene fillers. This is followed by rGO coupled with zinc rich coatings or conducting polymers, GO combined with sol-gels, layered double hydroxides or metal organic frameworks as protective coatings, where again the dispersion of the graphene sheets becomes important in the design of protective coatings. The role of graphene in the photocathodic protection of metals and alloys is briefly introduced, while graphene-like emerging materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride, h-BN, and graphitic carbon nitride, g-C3N4, are then highlighted.
Indirect Reciprocity for Mitigating Intergroup Hostility: A Vignette Experiment and an Agent-based Model on Intergroup Relations between Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese

Social scientists have proposed myriad solutions for mitigating intergroup conflicts. While the literature, such as studies on intergroup contact theory, focuses on intergroup relations, we argue that it is important not to ignore intragroup relations that may benefit or undermine the improvement of intergroup relations at the same time. In this paper, we investigate a typology of eight mechanisms for the behavior of intergroup and intragroup relations. Specifically, we focused on interactions in a triad consisting of an actor paired up with two alters—one ingroup and one outgroup. The triadic network enabled us to theorize and test how intergroup and intragroup relations coevolve. We conducted a vignette experiment to test the intergroup relationship between mainland Chinese and Taiwanese. We found strong evidence for one mechanism for improving intergroup hostility: indirect reciprocity—people rewarded the outgroup for behaving friendly to their ingroup peers. Using agent-based simulation, we predicted that the triadic effect found in the one-shot experiment can continuously improve and stabilize intergroup relations over time.
Numerical Simulation of the Ship Resistance of KCS in Different Water Depths for Model-Scale and Full-Scale

Estimating ship resistance accurately in different water depths is crucial to design a resistance-optimized hull form and to estimate the minimum required power. This paper presents a validation of a new procedure used for resistance correction of different water depths proposed by Raven, and it presents the numerical simulations of a Kriso container ship (KCS) for different water depth/draught ratios. Model-scale and full-scale ship resistances were predicted using in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code: HUST-Ship. Firstly, the mathematical model is established and the numerical uncertainties are analyzed to ensure the reliability of the subsequent calculations. Secondly, resistances of different water depth/draught ratios are calculated for a KCS scaled model and a full-scale KCS. The simulation results show a similar trend for the change of model-scale and full-scale resistance in different water depths. Finally, the correction procedure proposed by Raven is briefly introduced, and the CFD resistance simulation results of different water depth/draught ratios are compared with the results estimated using the Raven method. Generally, the reliability of the HUST-Ship solver used for predicting ship resistance is proved, and the practicability of the Raven method is discussed.
The Effects of Vitamin E on Prevention of Damages Due to MDMA (Ecstasy) Exposure on Sperm Parameters in Mice

Background: MDMA (Ecstasy; 3, 4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine), an illicit drug that has been increasingly abused by young people, affects target organs including reproductive system induced by oxidative stress. In biological systems, lipid peroxidation is probably reduced effectively by Vitamin E, a strong antioxidant inhibiting free radicals. Objectives: The current study was an attempt to assess the protective effects of Vitamin E on serum biochemical indices and sperm quality parameters in MDMA treated mice. Materials and Methods: In the present study, 28 male albino mice were randomly assigned to four equal groups. Group 1 (control) received saline by gastric gavage and i.p.; Group 2 (MDMA) received MDMA (10 mg/kg) i.p. and saline by gastric gavage; Group 3 (MDMA + Vitamin E) received MDMA (10 mg/kg) i.p.and vitamin E (150 mg/kg) by gastric gavage; and Group 4 (olive oil) received virgin olive oil (150 mg/kg) by gastric gavage and saline i.p. MDMA was injected with single daily dose, three sequential days/week for 5 weeks (35 days). Blood samples were collected, and then the animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Animals’ cauda epididymis were dissected and used for analyzing and evaluating sperm parameters including sperm count, motility, viability, DNA damage, nuclear maturation, and sperm morphology. Results: Comparison of the MDMA group with the other groups indicated a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and sperm parameters including sperm count, motility, viability, nuclear maturation, and sperm morphology. A significant increase (P < 0.05) was observed in the malondialdehyde (MDA) and percentage of sperm with DNA damage of the MDMA group compared to the other groups. We observed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in TAC and sperm parameters including sperm count, motility, viability, nuclear maturation, and sperm morphology along with a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in MDA and DNA sperm damage in the MDMA + Vit E group compared to the MDMA group. While, the MDMA+Vit E group showed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in sperm motility, sperm morphology, and viability along with a significant increase (P < 0.05) in DNA sperm damage and nuclear maturation compared to the control group. TAC, MDA, and sperm count study showed no significant difference when compared to the control group. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that MDMA caused induced toxicity in sperm parameters, reduced TAC, and increased MDA level. However, Vitamin E was proven to decrease effectively the deleterious and harmful effects of MDMA on sperm parameters.
Dietary chromium supplementation for heat-stressed broilers

Studies have shown that dietary chromium (Cr) supplementation beneficially affects physiological functions such as cell preservation, antioxidant activity and immune response that are of utmost importance to animal homeostasis and thermoregulatory capacity under heat stress conditions. For instance, Cr is essential for the synthesis of the specific low molecular weight Cr-binding-substance (LMWCr) that upon conversion to chromodulin, activates the insulin signalling cascade. This results in greater cell permeability to insulin, with a subsequent positive effect on the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Furthermore, Cr has antioxidant properties which help to attenuate the negative effects of oxidative stress. With regards to meat quality, Cr decreases lipid peroxidation. It has been suggested that Cr supplementation increases antibody responses and lymphocyte counts in broiler chickens exposed to high environmental temperatures. In addition, trivalent Cr supplementation increases growth performance and decreases the circulating levels of undesirable metabolites and hormones such as cholesterol and corticosterone in broiler chickens exposed to heat stress. The aim of this review was to report the effects of Cr supplementation as a nutritional strategy to increase growth performance, immune response, carcass characteristics and meat quality of broilers produced under hot conditions. This knowledge may contribute to improve the productivity and sustainability of broiler production in a context of global warming and development of livestock production in hot climate areas.
A new multi-level inverter with reverse connected dual dc to dc converter at simulation

ABSTRACT It is very important to drive loads and control the electrical devices with changing electrical energy levels and change a voltage form. While DC-DC converters are used to change the value level of direct current (DC) electrical energy, inverters are used to change its form such as alternating voltage. Unlike these studies in the literature, for the first time, dc-dc converters are used to a new device structure to convert dc electrical energy into alternating current (AC) electrical energy and they can also change an amplitude of the multi-level voltage. So, the paper presents a multi-level inverter with reverse connected dual dc to dc converter. Firstly, the circuit structure and the signals that control the circuit are given and the operating logic is explained. Then, the proposed circuit is gradually modeling in MATLAB Simulink. After that, the circuit is operated in MATLAB Simulink and its performance is measured. According to the results obtained, the new circuit structure gives hıghly successful results.
Compensatory phenomena in dermatology

Compensatory mechanisms in the human body are generally set in action when there is an absence or deficiency of an attribute to make up for the same. Such mechanisms may be intended to compensate for either the quantitative deficiency or functional impairment of an attribute performing a particular function. Frequently, in an attempt to normalize the homeostatic milieu, the compensatory mechanisms may work more than necessary producing undesired effects as well. In this review, we describe some of such compensatory phenomena in relation to clinical, immunological, pathological, and few other aspects of dermatology, as well as such phenomena characterizing some of the dermatotherapeutics.
Time-lapse systems : incubation and annotation

Time-lapse system(s) (TLS) have, potentially, two benefits over standard incubation systems; an undisturbed culture environment and an enormous volume of images of the embryos within them. The current research aimed to determine if a TLS could provide a comparably stable culture environment compared to a standard incubator measured as pH, osmolality and treatment success rates. Second, the hypothesis that patient, treatment and environment specific embryo selection algorithms (ESAs) are required to improve the efficacy of a TLS as an embryo assessment tool was tested. A TLS was shown to provide a comparably stable environment when compared to a standard incubator in terms of pH and osmolality. In addition, using a strict matched-pair design, embryos cultured in a TLS resulted in a significantly higher implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. It was also concluded that, of six published ESAs, none performed with clinically relevant predictive capabilities when applied to the same cohort of known implantation embryos. Owing to this, the identification of five abnormal division events as significantly reducing an embryos implantation potential was performed providing an easily adopted, clinically relevant means to deselect embryos cultured in a TLS. A regression analysis found a number of treatment and patient parameters having a significant effect on crucial morphokinetic parameters, although no systemic effect was observed. Finally, an interim analysis of a sibling oocyte study of three, commercially available culture media revealed significant differences in the time of embryo compaction as well as embryo quality and utilisation. Together, these results highlight that a TLS provides a stable culture environment and leads to increased implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. It is also likely that the patient, treatment type and environment can significantly alter an embryos morphokinetic profile and specific ESAs are required to unlock the true potential of time-lapse technology.
Constraints to Get Access in Maternal Healthcare: A Review from Lower-Middle-Income Countries

The purpose of this study is to explore the basic constraints to get access to maternal healthcare utilization during the pre- and post-delivery period of women in selected lower-middle-income countries around the world. This paper is a review of the literature of previous articles published from 2000 to 2019 in different database. The findings of the study show that different types of intervening factors including socioeconomic status, health literacy of the women and their husband, education, employment status, decision-making power of the women and religion significantly influence the full and free access to the maternal health care facilities in lower-middle-income countries. <br><br>
Gel Phantom Models for Radiofrequency and Microwave Ablation of the Liver

Abstract Heat-based percutaneous thermal ablation techniques have emerged as popular and effective treatments for liver cancer. As the technology continues to evolve, there is a need for optimized methods for experimentation to identify advantageous modifications and developments. Given that assessing and comparing resulting ablation zones in animal models are costly and resource-intensive, in vitro gel phantom models can serve an important role for early-stage experimentation. There exist several gel phantom recipes that have been reported in the literature. In this review, we will review the various recipes, the pros and cons to the existing models, and future potential directions.
Pair dependent linear statistics for CβE

We study the limiting distribution of a pair counting statistics of the form [Formula: see text] for the circular [Formula: see text]-ensemble (C[Formula: see text]E) of random matrices for sufficiently smooth test function [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] For [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] our results are inspired by a classical result of Montgomery on pair correlation of zeros of Riemann zeta function.
Effect of Earthquake Ground Motion Duration on the Seismic Response of a Low-Rise RC Building

This paper investigates the effect of earthquake ground motion duration on the seismic response of a low-rise reinforced concrete shear wall building. Two sets of spectrally equivalent ground motion sets were determined to isolate the effect of duration from other earthquake record characteristics. A numerical model that accounts for P-delta effects and degradation of strength and stiffness of the structural elements was used. Detailed nonlinear dynamic analysis for both the design and collapse levels of shaking was performed, considering the spectral acceleration at the fundamental period of vibration with intensity measure and material strains as engineering demand parameters. The results showed that at the design level of shaking, slightly larger interstory drifts were obtained under the short-duration events. However, the maximum values for interstory drifts were small, and minor damage is expected in the structure. When both seismic record sets were incrementally scaled until collapse, a slight increase in the material strains was found under the short-duration seismic events. Overall, it is indicated that ground motion duration does not influence the seismic response of low-rise buildings with low deformation capacity.
Recess as a practical strategy to implement the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model in schools

Objectives: Schools can provide an optimal environment for promoting children’s health behaviours. The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model addresses 10 aspects of the school environment that can be used to promote student health behaviours and academic outcomes: namely, Health Education; Nutrition Environment and Services; Employee Wellness; Social and Emotional School Climate; Physical Environment; Health Services; Counselling, Psychological and Social Services; Community Involvement; Family Engagement; and Physical Education and Physical Activity. Design: Guidelines for practical use of the WSCC model for school professionals are limited, impeding potential impact on school health promotion. Accordingly, in this article, we seek to demonstrate an application of the WSCC model to a specific school-based practice: recess. Setting: School recess. Results: An overview of literature and evidence-informed practices details how recess can facilitate WSCC adoption and initial implementation. Areas requiring further empirical research prior to making additional recommendations are also discussed. Conclusion: Strategies to enhance learning and health are described, attempting to bridge the gap between research and practice in school settings using the WSCC model.