Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scaling Biodiversity: Introduction: scaling biodiversity – what is the problem?

Biological diversity is the most fascinating phenomenon on the Earth. Biologists, amazed by the splendid variety of life, spent several centuries collecting, describing, and classifying living things. We are still engaged in this endeavor. Some groups, such as birds, mammals, molluscs, and vascular plants, have received most of the attention, while others, such as mites, nematodes, fungi, and prokaryotes, remain very poorly known. Moreover, we are still only beginning to understand in depth the processes that generate and maintain the global biodiversity. Part of our ignorance comes from the complexity of observed biodiversity patterns and of the processes that have produced them. These range from evolutionary events that occurred millions of years ago to contemporary interactions between individual organisms and their environments, from biogeographic processes that play out on the scale of continents and oceans to local interactions that can occur on miniscule spatial scales. Part is simply due to the fact that the diversity of life is determined by a multitude of processes which are unique for each taxon and each environment: each kind of organism has unique features of structure and function, which are due to evolutionary constraints and which affect its strategies for survival and reproduction, each type of habitat has its unique abiotic conditions and biotic composition and its own dynamics, and each land mass and body of water has its own geological, climatic, and organic history. Searching for universal laws might seem to be a hopeless task. There are, however, general, perhaps universal, patterns of biodiversity, suggesting that they might be due to equally general underlying processes. Biological diversity increases with the area sampled, decreases from the equator towards the poles, and is generally high in hot and humid places. Species richness tends to increase with total abundances of individuals and is promoted by
1553 emulation over ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) - A hybrid avionics communications architecture

The issue of meeting the higher communications requirements of future aircraft avionics systems in an incremental manner is addressed. A communications architecture is proposed which is based upon a switched network technology from the telecommunications area asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). However, the major step of migrating all existing avionics equipment into an ATM compliant form is avoided by the process of "emulating" a current avionics data bus such as MIL-STD-1553B over an ATM network. This allows current 1553 subsystems to co-exist with ATM compliant equipment on a single physical ATM network.
Cloning of the Orange Light‐Producing Luciferase from Photinus scintillans—A New Proposal on how Bioluminescence Color is Determined

Unlike the enchanting yellow‐green flashes of light produced on warm summer evenings by Photinus pyralis, the most common firefly species in North America, the orange lights of Photinus scintillans are infrequently observed. These Photinus species, and likely all bioluminescent beetles, use the same substrates beetle luciferin, ATP and oxygen to produce light. It is the structure of the particular luciferase enzyme that is the key to determining the color of the emitted light. We report here the molecular cloning of the P. scintillans luc gene and the expression and characterization of the corresponding novel recombinant luciferase enzyme. A comparison of the amino acid sequence with that of the highly similar P. pyralis enzyme and subsequent mutagenesis studies revealed that the single conservative amino acid change tyrosine to phenylalanine at position 255 accounted for the entire emission color difference. Additional mutagenesis and crystallographic studies were performed on a H‐bond network, which includes the position 255 residue and five other stringently conserved beetle luciferase residues, that is proximal to the substrate/emitter binding site. The results are interpreted in the context of a speculative proposal that this network is key to the understanding of bioluminescence color determination.
BoxRouter 2.0: A hybrid and robust global router with layer assignment for routability

In this article, we present BoxRouter 2.0, and discuss its architecture and implementation. As high-performance VLSI design becomes more interconnect-dominant, efficient congestion elimination in global routing is in greater demand. Hence, we propose a global router which has a strong ability to improve routability and minimize the number of vias with blockages, while minimizing wirelength. BoxRouter 2.0 is extended from BoxRouter 1.0, but can perform multi-layer routing with 2D global routing and layer assignment. Our 2D global routing is equipped with two ideas: node shifting for congestion-aware Steiner tree and robust negotiation-based A* search for routing stability. After 2D global routing, 2D-to-3D mapping is done by the layer assignment which is powered by progressive via/blockage-aware integer linear programming. Experimental results show that BoxRouter 2.0 has better routability with comparable wirelength than other routers on ISPD07 benchmark, and it can complete (no overflow) the widely used ISPD98 benchmark for the first time in the literature with the shortest wirelength. We further generate a set of harder ISPD98 benchmarks to push the limit of BoxRouter 2.0, and propose the hardened ISPD98 benchmarks to map state-of-the-art solutions for future routing research.
Psychosocial experiences of parents of a child with imperforate anus.

PURPOSE This study aims to examine the psychosocial experiences of parents of children with imperforate anus (IA) and to describe their potential positive experiences. DESIGN AND METHODS Parents of IA children and a comparison group answered a questionnaire, which was analyzed quantitatively and with manifest content analysis. RESULTS Social relationships and respect for the child's will were more affected among IA mothers. Positive experiences were revealed in relation to the child, the parent, and the family. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Support to parents in caring for a child with IA should be individualized and occasionally undertaken through collaboration with experts from child and adolescent psychiatry.
Shark nursery areas: concepts, definition, characterization and assumptions

The concept of elasmobranch species using nursery areas was introduced in the early 1900s and has been an accepted aspect of shark biology and behavior for several decades. Despite several descriptions of how shark species use nursery areas and what types of regions nurseries may be found in, no explicit definition of what constitutes a shark nursery area has been presented. Here we evaluate the assumptions of the current shark nursery paradigm in light of available data. Based on examination of these assumptions and available methods of quantifying and accurately describing shark nursery areas, a new more quantitative definition of shark nursery areas is proposed. This definition requires 3 criteria to be met for an area to be identified as a nursery: (1) sharks are more commonly encountered in the area than other areas; (2) sharks have a tendency to remain or return for extended periods; and (3) the area or habitat is repeatedly used across years. These criteria make the definition of shark nursery areas more compatible with those for other aquatic species. The improved definition of this concept will provide more valuable information for fisheries managers and shark biologists.
[Toxicity and oxidative stress on rats by hexachlorobenzene].

OBJECTIVE To study the toxicity on rats by hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and to explore the role of oxidative stress in the mechanism of HCB intoxication. METHODS SD female rats were fed on a powdered diet containing 0.25 per thousand or 2.00 per thousand HCB for 14 days. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of total-superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, liver tissue and serum were determined. Eleven biochemical indicators including alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were surveyed. RESULTS (1) MDA levels in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, liver and serum of the high dosage group rats and that in hippocampus and serum of the low dosage group were significantly higher than that of the control group. (2) The activity of T-SOD was increased in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the rats in both groups (P < 0.01), but decreased in the serum of the high dosage group (P < 0.01). (3) The activity of CAT was also increased in the hippocampus of rats in the high dosage group. (4) In cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the rats in the high dosage group and in the hippocampus of the rats in the low dosage group, the activity of GSH-PX was significantly higher compared with the control group. However, in liver of both dosage groups, the activity of GSH-PX was decreased (P < 0.01). (5) The activity of serum alkaline phosphatase of both dosage groups was also decreased, but the contents of both serum albumin and total cholesterol were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION HCB can induce enhanced lipid peroxidation on SD rats, and the oxidative stress plays an important role in the mechanism of neurotoxicity and hepatotoxicity.
Spirometry and forced oscillometry assisted optimal frequency band determination for the computerized analysis of tracheal lung sounds in asthma

We analysed respiration sounds of individual asthmatic patients, in the scope of the development of a method for computerized recognition of the degree of airway obstruction. Respiration sounds were recorded during laboratory sessions of histamine-provoked airway obstruction. We applied an interpolation technique using supervised artificial neural networks to investigate the optimal frequency band required for studying tracheal asthmatic lung sounds. The optimal band was found to be 100–2300 Hz. The forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and the respiratory resistance parameter Rrs(4) were used to describe the degree of airway obstruction that is associated with the lung sounds. By comparing the results obtained with the two parameters, we found that for parametrization of the associated degree of airway obstruction respiratory resistance measurements are preferable over forced expiratory volume measurements.
Endoprosthetic Reconstruction in 250 Patients with Sarcoma

We assessed the clinical results and complications associated with a new endoprosthetic replacement system (Mutars®) used in 250 patients with a malignant bone or soft tissue tumor. The key features of the system are its cementless, hexagonal-shaped stem (titanium alloy), the possibility of torsion adjustments in 5°-increments, and the Trevira® tube for soft tissue attachment. The mean age of the patients was 30.7 years, and the mean followup was 45 months. Prosthetic survival at 5 years was 89.7% for the upper extremity and 68.5% for the lower extremity. Prosthetic survival without any reoperation was 73.4% at 3 years postoperatively and 60.4% at 5 years postoperatively. Prosthetic failure was caused by deep infection in 12% (30 patients) of patients and aseptic loosening in 8% (20 patients) of patients. Stem fracture occurred in only 1.6% (four patients) of patients. Dislocation rates were reduced by using the Trevira® tube. Limb survival was achieved in 82.6% to 93.1% of patients depending on the endoprosthetic replacement site, and functional results ranged between 63% to 83% according to the Tumor Society score. Our results suggest limb salvage with the Mutars® endoprosthesis is successful with good functional results.Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Improving Clinical Access and Quality of Patient Care - A Case of Integration

Health care systems face increasing challenges to meet the sophistications of 21 Century medicine, not least the current fragmentation of patient information. Electronic Health Records (EHR) provide an opportunity to optimise clinical workflow and improve patient outcome. Trusts across the UK face the need to implement systems that will work smoothly with existing legacy systems, but will also bridge the gap to future central IT implementation systems. Using a case study this paper presents the challenges faced by UK Trusts to implement systems that work with existing legacy software to optimise information already retained and future information input.
The Promise model : An english-Learner Focused Approach to school reform

Despite decades of public investment in school improvement, a persistent achievement gap between English Learners (ELs) and English proficient students demonstrates the inadequacy of school improvement models to ensure ELs receive meaningful access to education (Datnow, Stringfield, & Castellano, 2002). This ethnographic study documented a school change model, the PROMISE Initiative, that posited to address this achievement gap for ELs, preschool through twelfth grade. From January 2006 through June 2009, the PROMISE model was piloted in 15 schools, preschool through twelfth grade, in six districts across southern California through a collaborative of six county offices of education. This education and policy brief reports on one of several studies conducted on the PROMISE Initiative. The present study (1) analyzed the power and efficacy of the PROMISE model to facilitate the implementation of research-based practices for ELs and (2) identified lessons learned for equity-focused school improvement.
A Learning Path of Process Capital Development - A Case Study of an IC Distributor

Process capital is the capability a firm develops to generate lasting value with investments in process management. Business processes management today is an environment full of business and technology changes. Identifying the required resources and selecting a suitable strategy to reduce the resource gap has become a critical part of process management. In this study we test the application of three theories of management towards process change at an IC distributor. The three theories underline the formation of business capabilities in managing process investments. The three theories, system-determined, people-determined and interaction theories, were gradually adapted by the firm and enabled the evolving of a dynamic capability in reacting to the changing environment. The objective of this case study is to contribute to the development of theory on process capital. The case evidence reveals that through the process of organizational learning by both business users and process designers a firm can build dynamic capability in managing changeable business processes and it can evolve with people, technology and organizational interactions, managed in concert. This capability of managing processes, in the competitive environment, is the process capital that generates value and sustains competitive advantage.
Responding to parental requests for life‐sustaining treatment – relational potential revisited

One of the most challenging situations for paediatric clinicians is responding to parental requests for life-sustaining medical therapies for a child with profound neurodevelopmental disabilities. These therapies (e.g. intravenous medications and fluids, gastrostomy tube feeds, dialysis, tracheostomy and/or mechanical ventilation) offer the possibility for the child to live, at home or in a facility, formonths or years as opposed to experiencing their imminent death. While relatively rare, the tension surrounding these requests canbeexceptionallyhigh, as illustratedby the casesofBabyK, Baby Joseph, Jahi McMath, Charlie Gard and many others from our own experience. In these situations, clinicians may strongly recommend against life-sustaining medical therapies, but receive persistent andoften impassioned requests for such interventions from a child’s family. For clinicians, some of the discomfort in responding to these requests may be related to concerns not that life-sustaining interventions will not work, but rather the likelihood that they will. It highlights the inadequacy of applying the best-interests standard for medical decision-making for children with profound neurodevelopmental disabilities who may appear to be noncommunicative and to have limited awareness of their surroundings, somethingnotedby thephilosopher JohnArras more than 30 years ago (1). Drawing in part from Arras’s work, we propose that clinicians should use a relational potential standard rather than solely a best-interests standard when considering parental requests for life-sustaining medical therapies for children with profound disabilities.
An UHF Passive RFID Transponder Using A Low-Power Clock Generator without Passive Components

In this work, we propose a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder operating in the UHF range. The RFID transponder encompasses the RF front-end circuit and signal processing unit. Of which, the RF front-end circuit consists of the voltage multiplier, voltage regulator, bias circuit, power on reset (POR), clock generator and ASK modulator/demodulator. This work proposes a ring oscillation scheme for the clock generator in the RF front-end circuit, which is capable of generating the two clock signals it requires without the use of the capacitor, resistor and inductor. Such scheme not only reduces the area it may require for the three kinds of passive components, it also reduces the power consumption. By using the TSMC 0.35-mum CMOS technology, the proposed RFID transponder with an area of 0.31 mm2 is implemented based on the ISO 18000-6 standard where the clock generator consumes only 0.4 muW.
Analysis of Caries Lesions of two Groups of Children at 5 Years Through a Laser Fluorescence – Clinical Study

Background: There are only few in vivo clinical studies evaluating the laser fluorescence for monitoring changes in incipient caries lesions under preventive procedures. Objective: Our study aims to evaluate the effect of mineralizing fluorine varnish on the progression of initial caries of enamel in temporary dentition by laser fluorescence. Material and Methods: Object of observation. 1 group 100 children aged 3, 4, 5 and 6 years treated with Clinpro TM White Varnish with TCP (Tri-Calcium phosphate) (3M) – CV. Two groups 100 children aged 3, 4, 5 and 6 years without treatment with varnish CV. Location of the study University Medical Dental Center Varna, Clinical Halls for Children's Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine – Varna. Units of observation: Temporary teeth, Caries lesions at level d1 and d2. After processing the results and determination of the highlights was conducted by actual survey data processing package for mathematical and statistical analysis SPSS v 20.0. Results: The comparative analysis of the results showed a significant difference in the five-year-old children in the control group (9,17) and those in the treatment group before treatment (6,42), with the latter being significantly lower (t = 3.27, p<0.01). Results in temporary canines showed significant differences between the control group and the treated group after treatment (t = 5.45, p<0.001) as well as the results before and after treatment with CV varnish (t = 5.04 , P<0.001). The trend was also observed in the results of the temporary first and second molar t = 2.63, p<0.05 and t = 4.76, p<0.001 for the control group and test group after treatment and t = 4.04, p<0.001 and t = 2.80, p<0.05 for values before and after treatment with Clinpro White Varnish with TCP. Conclusion: 1. After the first week, DIAGNOdent pen scores improved from less than three steps for d1b and d2 lesions and improved by two steps for d1a lesions. 2. Increased therapeutic efficacy of dental agents for noninvasive treatment is achieved by enhancing them with fluorides.
A novel Z-source dc-dc converter

This paper proposes a novel Z-source dc-dc converter topology. Compared to the existing dc-dc converter circuits, they can reduce in-rush and harmonic current, provide larger range of output dc voltage and improve reliability. It can operate in voltage-fed and current-fed when the place of the source and load is exchanged each other, and it can be perform buck-boost function in these two conditions. The operating principle and control method of the proposed topology are presented. Analysis and simulation results are given using the voltage-fed Z-source dc-dc converter as an example.
Leukaemia‐Derived Dendritic Cells Can Be Generated From Blood or Bone Marrow Cells From Patients With Myelodysplasia: A Methodological Approach Under Serum‐Free Culture Conditions

Functional dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen‐presenting cells (APC) and can be generated in vitro from healthy as well as from leukaemic cells from AML patients giving rise to APC of leukaemic origin presenting leukaemic antigens. In a comparative methodological analysis of 50 AML samples, we could already show that leukaemia‐derived DC can regularly be generated under serum‐free culture conditions. In this study, we describe the generation and characterization of DC from different mononuclear cell (MNC) fractions from 24 myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients under those different serum‐free culture conditions, determine the optimal culture conditions and compare the results with that from 23 healthy donors. In parallel cultures, we compared DC harvests after 7‐ or 14‐day culture, with total or adherent MNC or T‐cell‐depleted MNC or PB or BM–MNC, thawn or fresh MNC, in Xvivo or CellGro serum‐free media, ±10% autologous plasma or ±FL. In detail, we could show that MDS–DC harvests compared to healthy DC were higher after 10‐ to 14‐day culture; total or adherent PB or BM–MNC fractions yield comparable DC counts; however, from MACS‐depleted MNC fractions or thawn MNC lower DC counts can be generated. Whereas the addition of FL increases the DC harvest, the addition of autologous plasma in many cases has inhibitory influence on DC maturation, CellGro and Xvivo media yield comparable DC counts. Optimal harvest of vital and mature DC from MDS samples was obtained with a GM‐CSF, IL‐4, FL and TNF‐α containing serum‐free Xvivo medium after 10–14 days of culture (18/26% DC; 54/64% vital DC; 59/51% mature DC were generated from MDS/healthy MNC samples). Surface marker profiles (e.g. costimulatory antigen expression) of DC obtained from MDS samples were comparable with that of healthy DC. The leukaemic derivation of MDS–DC was demonstrated by the persistence of the clonal cytogenetic aberration in the DC or by coexpression of leukaemic antigens on DC. Autologous T‐cell activation of leukaemia‐derived DC was demonstrated in cases with MDS. Autologous T cells proliferate and upregulate DC‐contact‐relevant antigens. We are the first who demonstrate that the generation of leukaemia‐derived DC is feasible not only in AML but also in MDS under serum‐free culture conditions giving rise to DC with comparable characteristics as healthy DC and offering an antileukaemia‐directed immunotherapeutical vaccination strategy in AML and MDS.