Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative assessment of ecosystem vulnerability to climate change: methodology and application in China

Understanding how ecosystem vulnerability in response to climate change is generated and distributed is an important topic; however, quantitative assessments of the vulnerability process remain relatively rare. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) regards ecosystem vulnerability as sensitivity or susceptibility to harm, lacking the capacity to cope and adapt. Through analysis of the concept of vulnerability, we propose a response-based quantitative method to assess ecosystem vulnerability, integrating the concepts of sensitivity and adaptability. This method was applied to assess ecosystem vulnerability in China from 1981 to 2050. The results indicated that vulnerability would develop in nearly 30% of the terrestrial ecosystems of China. Vulnerability would be severe in the grassland and desert ecosystems, distributed mainly in the Tianshan Mountain and the Inner Mongolia Plateau. As the effects of sensitivity and adaptability to temperature and precipitation differ, obvious regional differences exist between the ecosystem vulnerability zones in China. For example, the effects of climate warming would be severe in the northwest of the Loess Plateau, with the vulnerability caused mainly by high sensitivity to warming. However, the vulnerability in the southeastern part would be caused mainly by low adaptability to increasing precipitation. Compared with previous research, our method emphasizes the critical role of adaptability, which enhances the scientificity and reasonableness of assessing ecosystem vulnerability, and enriches the methodology adopted under the IPCC framework. However, as we did not consider fully the autonomous adaptation mechanism in ecosystem vulnerability, this aspect should be combined with other factors in future study.
Increased Ca buffering underpins remodelling of Ca2+ handling in old sheep atrial myocytes

Ageing is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and arrhythmias, with the most common arrhythmia being found in the atria of the heart. Little is known about how the normal atria of the heart remodel with age and thus why dysfunction might occur. We report alterations to the atrial systolic Ca2+ transient that have implications for the function of the atrial in the elderly. We describe a novel mechanism by which increased Ca buffering can account for changes to systolic Ca2+ in the old atria. The present study helps us to understand how the processes regulating atrial contraction are remodelled during ageing and provides a basis for future work aiming to understand why dysfunction develops.
Differential Effects of State and Trait Mindfulness on the Late Positive Potential

Mindfulness is an effective emotion regulation strategy, and its principles have formed the basis for several psychotherapies. Of interest is how a mindful perspective changes not only the subjective experience of emotion, but also neural activity involved in emotional processing. In a previous event-related potential (ERP) study, trait mindfulness was linked with reduced neural activity in response to affective stimuli, as measured by the late positive potential (LPP). Building on this result, we investigated how both state (i.e., task-induced) and trait mindfulness would jointly affect the LPP in a large adult sample (N = 118). First, participants passively viewed affective images while ERP data were recorded. Participants were then instructed to adopt a mindful perspective and viewed a second, equivalent set of images. We hypothesized that the LPP would be reduced from the passive viewing to the mindful viewing condition. Contrary to our hypothesis, task-induced mindfulness increased LPP amplitude relative to passive viewing across all image types, suggesting that state mindfulness increases motivated attention to stimuli, regardless of affective valence and arousal. Trait mindfulness did not correlate with LPP amplitude in either the passive or mindful viewing conditions. As an unexpected finding, gender moderated the association between trait mindfulness and LPP amplitude to emotional images during mindful viewing. We propose that state and trait mindfulness impact emotional processing through different neural mechanisms and discuss implications for mindfulness as an emotion regulation strategy.
Sparse fuzzy c-regression models with application to T-S fuzzy systems identification

In this paper, the objective function of fuzzy c-regression models (FCRM) is modified to develop a novel fuzzy partition method on the basis of block structured sparse representation, namely as sparse fuzzy c-regression model. This method takes advantage of the block structured information in the objective function of FCRM and casts fuzzy partition into an optimization problem by making a tradeoff between traditional FCRM and the number of prototypes of hyper-plane with nonzero parameters. An alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) based algorithm is exploited to address the proposed optimization problem. Furthermore, based on sparse fuzzy c-regression models, a novel T-S fuzzy systems identification method is developed for reduction of fuzzy rules. Finally, examples on well-known benchmark data set are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Structural differentiation of the Bacillus subtilis 168 cell wall

Exponential-growth-phase cultures of Bacillus subtilis 168 were probed with polycationized ferritin (PCF) or concanavalin A (localized by the addition of horseradish peroxidase conjugated to colloidal gold) to distinguish surface anionic sites and teichoic acid polymers, respectively. Isolated cell walls, lysozyme-digested cell walls, and cell walls treated with mild alkali to remove teichoic acid were also treated with PCF. After labelling, whole cells and walls were processed for electron microscopy by freeze-substitution. Thin sections of untreated cells showed a triphasic, fibrous wall extending more than 30 nm beyond the cytoplasmic membrane. Measurements of wall thickness indicated that the wall was thicker at locations adjacent to septa and at pole-cylinder junctions (P < 0.001). Labelling studies showed that at saturating concentrations the PCF probe labelled the outermost limit of the cell wall, completely surrounding individual cells. However, at limiting PCF concentrations, labelling was observed at only discrete cell surface locations adjacent to or overlying septa and at the junction between pole and cylinder. Labelling was rarely observed along the cell cylinder or directly over the poles. Cells did not label along the cylindrical wall until there was visible evidence of a developing septum. Identical labelling patterns were observed by using concanavalin A-horseradish peroxidase-colloidal gold. Neither probe appeared to penetrate between the fibers of the wall. We suggest that the fibrous appearance of the wall seen in freeze-substituted cells reflects turnover of the wall matrix, that the specificity of labelling to discrete sites on the cell surface is indicative of regions of extreme hydrolytic activity in which alpha-glucose residues of the wall teichoic acids and electronegative sites (contributed by phosphate and carboxyl groups of the teichoic acids and carboxyl groups of the peptidoglycan polymers) are more readily accessible to our probes, and that the wall of exponentially growing B. subtilis cells contains regions of structural differentiation.
Sophisticated Merging Over Random Partitions: A Scalable and Robust Causal Discovery Approach

Scalable causal discovery is an essential technology to a wide spectrum of applications, including biomedical studies and social network evolution analysis. To tackle the difficulty of high dimensionality, a number of solutions are proposed in the literature, generally dividing the original variable domain into smaller subdomains by computation intensive partitioning strategies. These approaches usually suffer significant structural errors when the partitioning strategies fail to recognize true causal edges across the output subdomains. Such a structural error accumulates quickly with the growing depth of recursive partitioning, due to the lack of correction mechanism over causally connected variables when they are wrongly divided into two subdomains, finally jeopardizing the robustness of the integrated results. This paper proposes a completely different strategy to solve the problem, powered by a lightweight random partitioning scheme together with a carefully designed merging algorithm over results from the random partitions. Based on the randomness properties of the partitioning scheme, we design a suite of tricks for the merging algorithm, in order to support propagation-based significance enhancement, maximal acyclic subgraph causal ordering, and order-sensitive redundancy elimination. Theoretical studies as well as empirical evaluations verify the genericity, effectiveness, and scalability of our proposal on both simulated and real-world causal structures when the scheme is used in combination with a variety of causal solvers known effective on smaller domains.
Exercise is medicine: critical considerations in the qualitative research landscape

Abstract Since the American Medical Association and the American College of Sports Medicine partnered to launch Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) in 2007, the program has gained traction in 43 countries. The EIM discourse has been fruitful for framing exercise/physical activity as a form of disease prevention and/or symptom management for chronic conditions and mental health. This editorial ‘sets the stage’ for the articles within the special issue that coalesce a critical inquiry dialogue on EIM, by outlining taken for granted assumptions inherent in EIM. Assumptions include that people’s inactivity (and poor health) necessitates quick/planned intervention, exercise is positive/good for everyone and that the connection of exercise to medicine enhances credibility. Assumptions are problematized through grounding them in a neoliberal discourse of healthism, which emphasizes individual responsibility and/or experts as gatekeepers and facilitators of risk management through exercise. Three challenges to each of the assumptions are offered to explore EIM as socially, culturally and politically constructed, expanding the critical EIM dialogue. An overview of each of the articles within the special issue is then outlined to show ‘examples in use’ of critical theories and methodologies grounded broadly in interpretivist forms of inquiry and social constructionism. We conclude with noting the impetus and goal of this special issue--to spark further interest, dialogue and critical qualitative research on EIM –bringing forward the personal, socio-cultural, political iterations and potential of EIM.
Losers lose more than winners win: Asymmetrical effects of winning and losing in elections

Being on the winning or the losing side in elections has important consequences for voters’ perceptions of democracy. This article contributes to the existing literature by showing that being on the losing side has persistent effects over a surprisingly long time. Based on a dataset that measures voters’ satisfaction with democracy three years after elections were held, it first shows that losers are significantly more dissatisfied with democracy than winners on both input and output side measures of perceptions of democracy. Furthermore, the article shows that turning from winning to losing has significant negative effects on voters’ satisfaction, and that this finding is robust across a number of different specifications. These results are remarkable given that the data used is from Denmark – a country that constitutes a least‐likely case for finding effects of being on the winning or the losing side.
Vestibular Compensation and Orientation during Locomotion

Abstract: Body, head, and eye movements were studied in three dimensions while walking and turning to determine the role of the vestibular system in directing gaze and maintaining spatial orientation. The body, head, and eyes were represented as three‐dimensional coordinate frames, and the movement of these frames was related to a trajectory frame that described the motion of the body on a terrestrial plane. The axis‐angle of the body, head, and eye rotation were then compared to the axis‐angle of the rotation of the gravitoinertial acceleration (GIA). We inferred the role of the vestibular system during locomotion and the contributions of the VCR and VOR by examining the interrelationship between these coordinate frames. Straight walking induced head and eye rotations in a compensatory manner to the linear accelerations, maintaining head pointing and gaze along the direction of forward motion. Turning generated a combination of compensation and orientation responses. The head leads and steers the turn while the eyes compensate to maintain stable horizontal gaze in space. Saccades shift horizontal gaze as the turn is executed. The head pitches, as during straight walking. It also rolls so that the head tends to align with the orientation of the GIA. Head orientation changes anticipate orientation changes of the GIA. Eye orientation follows the changes in GIA orientation so that the net orientation gaze is closer to the orientation of the GIA. The study indicates that the vestibular system utilizes compensatory and orienting mechanisms to stabilize spatial orientation and gaze during walking and turning.
Microcredit in Latin America and the World: Are We Better Off?

l l i l a s p o r t a l CARMEN WELCOMES US into the living room of a modest apartment in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and kindly shares her business experiences. Two years ago she was looking for a job but did not find one. A friend suggested approaching a microcredit institution where she obtained a DR$3,000 loan (approximately US$80) that she used to buy and sell clothes. Nowadays she makes DR$4,000 per month selling clothes and costume jewelry; if she had a higher income she would increase her food spending. She complains about bad luck in business, and she would get a job if she could. Norma is attending a client in her colmado (small convenience store) while telling us about her life experience. She divorced five years ago and needed to find a source of income. Her illiteracy made it difficult to find a job; instead she started selling products among friends and neighbors using a DR$3,000 loan from a local bank. Last month the bank extended a DR$16,000 loan for her successful colmado. She estimates a monthly profit of DR$20,000, but keeping the house and the business money together makes it difficult to come up with an accurate figure. Happy about her income, she has no intention of expanding the business or finding a job. Her colmado is attached to her house; thus, she can work and take care of her family. Jorge meets us outside his warehouse where he is loading a guagua (Dominican expression for pickup, van, or bus). He used to work in a big retail chain, but started his own convenience store using a DR$10,000 loan from a local bank. Currently, he owns a small food distribution company that employs two drivers and two salesmen. The business monthly sales are DR$400,000 (approximately US$10,000); however, Jorge does not have an accounting system and does not know his margin of profit. Looking at his facilities, though, one sees what appears to be a promising, growing business. These cases illustrate how diverse microfinance is: a source of prosperity for some, but a poor alternative to unemployment for others. They also illustrate how microlending is shaping the lives of millions of people around the globe. In Latin America and the Caribbean alone, there are more than 18 million microcredit borrowers, and the number is growing rapidly. In this article, we explore the microcredit market in Latin America and how it compares to microcredit in other parts of the world. We also describe more general aspects of microfinance, such as its cost structure, the relevance of loan officers in the lending process, and the challenges to improve microfinance effectiveness.
The Deleterious Effect of Aldehydes Produced by Marine Microalgae on the Reproduction of Calanus sinicus

2 algae - Chaetoceros muelleri (CM) and Scrippsiella trochoidea (ST) were investigated for the influence on the reproduction of Calanus sinicus. HS-SPME/GC-MS was developed for the analysis of aldehydes produced by phytoplankton. The results showed that, compared with ST, CM induced inhibitory effects on female survival, egg production and egg hatching for Calanus sinicus. By the analysis of aldehydes, 5 kinds of aldehydes were detected in CM, whereas only 2 kinds of aldehydes ST contained. Furthermore, the total content of aldehydes in Chaetoceros muelleri (397.86 10-3μg /g) was significantly higher than that in Scrippsiella trochoidea (82.84 10-3μg /g). Therefore, the evidence indicated that aldehydes produced by Chaetoceros muelleri caused potential negative effect on the reproduction of Calanus sinicus.
Floating solar photovoltaic systems: An overview and their feasibility at Kota in Rajasthan

Floating solar power plant is an innovative approach of using photovoltaic modules on water infrastructures to conserve the land along with increase in efficiency of the module. Additionally, the water is also conserved due to reduction in evaporation of water from the water body. The plant can be installed on a pond, lake, reservoir, or on any other water body. This paper focuses on the floating PV technology, describing the types of floating PV plant along with studies carried out on some floating solar plants. India, with huge energy demand and scarcity of waste land for solar photovoltaic plant in cities, can harness solar energy through floating PV plant technology for sustainable energy production. In this paper, some of the floating PV plants installed in India are reviewed. Feasibility of installing 1 MW floating PV plant each at Kota barrage and Kishore Sagar lake in Kota, Rajasthan are also presented. Energy that could be produced by the two plants along with amount of water saved from evaporation and reduction in CO2 emissions are also calculated in this paper. 1 MW floating plant at Kota barrage could produce 18,38,519 kWh energy per year and could save 37 million litres of water and can reduce about 1,714 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. 1 MW floating plant at Kishore Sagar lake could produce 18,58,959 kWh electrical energy per year and could save 37 million litres of water and can reduce about 1,733 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
A Reevaluation of the Normal Operating State Control (AGC) of the Power System Using Computer Control and System Theory, Part III: Tracking the Dispatch Targets with Unit Control

The Automatic Generation Control (AGC) of the power system is examined in this paper and two earlier companion papers [3], [4] from the vantage point of digital computer oriented estimation-optimization-control technology, and a new scheme is proposed which exploits solution techniques and experiences of the past and of the current practice. Economic Dispatch and Load Frequency Control are unified in this approach. The companion papers published earlier in the Transactions by the PES dealt with Load Estimation in Part I [3] and Dispatch Targeting in Part II [4]. This current paper, Part III, deals with the problem of tracking the economic target curves established in Part II. In tracking the target curves, unit dynamics, including boiler dynamics, are taken into account. The problem is decomposed in such a way that the slower, bulk control is based on a fully nonlinear and dynamic model of the unit while faster load fluctuations are traced by fast, dynamic vernier control based on a linearized model. This results in fuel economy coupled with tight and smooth control which demands very moderate computational load. Constraints on turbinepower and on its rate of change are considered explicitly as well as reduced economy at valve points. Cogeneration and load management are readily introduced into this scheme.
Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Rates in Young Cancer Survivors.

Purpose Cancer survivors are at high risk for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related morbidities; we estimated the prevalence of HPV vaccine initiation in cancer survivors versus the US population and examined predictors of noninitiation. Methods Participants included 982 cancer survivors (9 to 26 years of age; 1 to 5 years postcompletion of therapy); we assessed HPV vaccine initiation, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and vaccine-specific health beliefs; age-, sex-, and year-matched US population comparisons were from the National Immunization Survey-Teen and the National Health Interview Survey (2012-2015). Results The mean age at the time of the study was 16.3 ± 4.7 years; the mean time off therapy was 2.7 ± 1.2 years; participants were 55% male and 66% non-Hispanic white; 59% had leukemia/lymphoma. Vaccine initiation rates were significantly lower in cancer survivors versus the general population (23.8%; 95% CI, 20.6% to 27.0% v 40.5%; 95% CI, 40.2% to 40.7%; P < .001); survivors were more likely to be HPV vaccine-naïve than general population peers (odds ratio [OR], 1.72; 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.09; P < .001). Initiation in adolescent survivors (ages 13 to 17 years) was 22.0% (95% CI, 17.3% to 26.7%), significantly lower than population peers (42.5%; 95% CI, 42.2% to 42.8%; P < .001). Initiation in young adult survivors and peers (ages 18 to 26 years) was comparably low (25.3%; 95% CI, 20.9% to 29.7% v 24.2%; 95% CI, 23.6% to 24.9%). Predictors of noninitiation included lack of provider recommendation (OR, 10.8; 95% CI, 6.5 to 18.0; P < .001), survivors' perceived lack of insurance coverage for HPV vaccine (OR, 6.6; 95% CI, 3.9 to 11.0; P < .001), male sex (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.7 to 4.8; P < .001), endorsement of vaccine-related barriers (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.6; P < .001), and younger age (9 to 12 years; OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.8-7.6; P < .001; comparison, 13 to 17 years). Conclusion HPV vaccine initiation rates in cancer survivors are low. Lack of provider recommendation and barriers to vaccine receipt should be targeted in vaccine promotion efforts.
Inflation Expectations and the Demand for Money in Iceland

Inflation and the demand for money in Iceland are reported on in this paper. Various specifications of the money demand relationship are estimated for the period 1952-1979. The estimates indicate that the income elasticity of money demand (M3) is in the neighborhood of 0.5. Measured income rather than permanent income appears to be the appropriate scale variable. The opportunity cost of holding money, represented by expected inflation, has a significant negative impact on the demand for real money balances. I. Introduction For two decades, economists have undertaken to estimate the parameters and test the stability of various formulations of demand for money equations in a large number of empirical studies. The existence of stable demand for money functions has been ascertained for a number of countries, revealing broad similarity in parameter estimates. ' Yet, with a few notable exceptions, the research has been limited to highly industrialized economies in the post-World War II period.2 The empirical support for the modern theory of money demand in Iceland is examined in this paper. Evidence for a stable demand for money function in this "micro" economy, which contains a rare blend of highly developed and underdeveloped institutions, should elucidate the general validity of current monetary theory. With a population of about a quarter million (229000), the country's financial and money markets are at the embryonic stage. Interest rates are pegged, international capital movements strictly regulated, and the Central Bank does not engage in open market operations. There is heavy dependence on foreign trade, and due to its primary reliance