Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of high-volume hemofiltration on children with sepsis

Background Sepsis has always been a challenge in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with poor prognosis. In order to evaluate the effect between routine continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) and high-volume hemofiltration (HVHF) in children with sepsis, we performed out this prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label trial. Methods Forty-seven children with sepsis were enrolled from January 2015 to December 2016. Twenty-two patients in Control group received routine CRRT and 25 patients in HVHF group received HVHF within 6 hours after the diagnosis of sepsis. The oxygenation index, serum creatinine, urea, lactate, inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α), pediatric risk of mortality III (PRISM III) and 28-day mortality rate were collected and compared. Results The oxygenation index in HVHF group and Control group was significantly increased at 48 hours (P<0.01) and 72 hours after treatment (P<0.05). The same result of arterial lactate was observed. Serum creatinine, urea, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and PRISM III score were significantly ameliorated after 72 hours treatment in HVHF group (P<0.01), while there was no significant difference in Control group. After 72 hours of treatment, the oxygenation index, lactate, serum creatinine, urea, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10 and PRISM III score in HVHF group were significantly improved compared with Control group (P<0.01). There is no significant difference on 28-day mortality between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions HVHF might be an effective treatment for children with sepsis.
Contribution of the individual components of the δ-endotoxin crystal to the mosquitocidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis

The δ-endotoxin crystal of the mosquitocidal bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis contains four major 0-endotoxins. Expression systems were devised to synthesize each of the four toxins at concentrations at which they formed inclusion bodies in an acrystalliferous mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis. The relative activities of these inclusions were then determined against Aedes aegypti larvae. Bioassays of mixtures of the individual toxins revealed a number of synergistic interactions which explained in part why the native crystal is considerably more toxic than any of the individual toxins.
Teaching computing at secondary school level: Understanding teachers’ experiences and challenges

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficiency of the computer science teachers’ guide prepared for the 5th Grade Computing Course in Turkey. Experiences of 111 teachers regarding the implementation process were gathered through a survey. The results revealed that the 5th Grade Teachers’ Guide to Teach Computing’ is a supportive material for the delivery of CS education. Most of the teachers found the activities and general framework of the lessons to be useful. Despite most of the opinions being positive, on some points, the teachers considerably criticized the activities contained within the guide. It can be said that the results of the study offer a roadmap to practitioners on how to develop an effective guide for CS teachers, and how to create effective learning activities and materials for students.
Abolition of micro embolic signals in symptomatic carotid stenosis using dual antiplatelet therapy

Introduction : Micro-Embolic Signals (MES) detected by Trans-Cranial Doppler (TCD) in symptomatic carotid stenosis (CS) are considered a marker of subsequent stroke. We aimed to investigate the role of antiplatelet and antithrombotic agents in abolishing the MES in recently symptomatic CS. Materials and Methods: Transient ischemic attack/stroke patients with 50%CS or unstable carotid plaque, who were prospectively enrolled within 48hours of symptom onset, underwent bilateral middlecerebral artery one-hour TCD emboli monitoring within 48hours. Those with MES underwent second monitoring at 48hours of the initial study. Treatment given during the interval period was recorded. Results: Out of 73 patients enrolled from April 2016 to March 2019, 22 (17 males, mean age 67.4years) had ipsilateral MES on initial TCD (30.1%). Ten were on a single-antiplatelet agent (aspirin/clopidogrel) and one was on dual (aspirin&clopidogrel) therapy prior to this. Single-antiplatelet agent was started after TCD in seven, dual-agents in six and unfractionated-heparin in seven patients. Second TCD showed no MES in 14 patients. Only one out of three on a single antiplatelet agent alone had abolition of MES while all ten patients on dual-antiplatelet agents had a complete suppression (p=0.027,Chi-square test). Although heparin suppressed MES in 5/7 patients, all five had additional dual-agent therapy. MES was not abolished in one patient treated with heparin alone and another one on a combination of heparin and single-antiplatelet agent. Conclusion: Aspirin/Clopidogrel combination is very effective in suppressing arterial emboli in recently symptomatic carotid stenosis whereas unfractionated-heparin, single-antiplatelet agent or their combination is not useful for the same. Keywords: Micro-Embolic Signals, Trans-Cranial Doppler, Carotid stenosis.
Changing fish use on Mangaia, southern Cook Islands: resource depression and the prey choice model

This study applies the prey choice model from foraging theory to explain changing human use of fish during the 700-year occupation of Tangatatau Rockshelter, Mangaia, southern Cook Islands. The prey choice model suggests that predators will focus initially on high ranked prey, turning to lower ranked prey if abundance of higher ranked prey declines. It is suggested that increasing human population size would have resulted in increases in harvesting pressure and ultimately prey resource depression. To apply the prey choice model to archaeological faunal records and based on previous research, prey ranks are estimated using overall attributes of taxon body size; the larger the taxon, the higher the rank. Two indices, the Marine and Freshwater Fish Index, are developed to estimate the ratio of high to low ranked prey and are calculated for each zone of the rockshelter. Over time, the indices show a decreasing abundance of high ranked prey and increasing abundance of low ranked prey, which supports the view of resource depression. Skeletal elements from two of the high ranked prey, Serranidae and Anguilla sp. , are measured to examine taxon-specific changes in fish body size/age that would indicate direct human exploitation pressure. Evidence for a decline in Serranidae body size over time suggests that some of the decline in prey abundance and encounter rates results from direct harvesting pressure along with behavioural adjustments in the prey. Sample sizes for Anguilla were insufficient for statistical treatment. Environmental and technological factors that might also affect prey abundance and taxonomic representation do not satisfactorily account for the patterns. Overall, the increasing use of lower ranked prey suggests a decline in foraging efficiency, given higher energetic costs associated with their use. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that Polynesians profoundly affected the indigenous biota on islands they colonized. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Induced Systemic Resistance in Tomato Plants against Phytophthora infestans

Infection of lower leaves of tomato plants with Phytophthora infestans followed by a period unfavourable to disease development increased the general resistance of the plants against the pathogen. Induced resistance to a second infection of upper leaves was expressed in the development of necrotic lesions that were sharply defined and reduced in size. Sporulation of the pathogen was suppressed. Lesions on unprotected plants expanded with a sporulating zone passing gradually to the healthy tissue under the same conditions. Induced resistance delayed and reduced penetration of the pathogen into the epidermis and subsequent colonisation of the mesophyll by formation of papillae in epidermal cells and hypersensitive-like reactions of penetrated, mesophyll cells.
VARIATION IN THE INFECTION OF SILENE DIOICA (L.) CLAIRV. BY USTILAGO VIOLACEA (PERS.) FUCKEL IN NORTH WEST ENGLAND

The infection of populations of Silene dioica by Ustilago violacea was studied in four areas of north-west England. Infection showed wide variation in each area but was not readily related to shade stress from trees or shrubs, nor was percentage infection simply related to shoot density. Infected male shoots predominated early in the season, but later, infection was greater in females. Overall, female plants had a higher percentage of infection than males and, in some populations, over a third of the reproductive capacity was lost. Infection reduced the growth of male plants but produced a large increase in the number of flowers on female plants. The results are discussed in relation to the spread of the disease and to the effects of the fungus on the population dynamics of S. dioica. In the north-west of England, plants of Silene dioica (L.) Clairv. are commonly infected with the smut, Ustilago violacea (Pers.) Fuckel. The fungus systemically infects both male and female plants, perennates in the root stock and completely suppresses seed production. There is little evidence that plants are able to grow away from the fungus and produce uninfected shoots once a systemic infection has been formed. Plants produce infected shoots for at least four successive years (Liro, 1924). Potentially, therefore, the fungus may have a profound effect on the dynamics of populations of S. dioica. Infection of female plants will lead directly to a reduction in the reproductive capacity of the populations but the significance of this will depend on the incidence of infection. Baker (1947) has shown wide variation in the infection of populations of Silene alba (Mill.) Krause in the south-east of England (O to 67 3 oo) by Ustilago violacea and it would seem likely that a marked reduction in the reproductive capacity of the closely related S. dioica may also occur. However, Hassan and MacDonald (1971) have suggested that male plants of S. dioica are more susceptible to infection than females and this may help to limit the reduction in reproductive capacity in some populations although the total number of infected plants may be high. The present paper examines the infection of populations of S. dioica in four areas of north-west England, the incidence of infection of male and female plants and its seasonal variation, and the effects of infection on the growth and morphology of the plants.
Pollen tube growth and inbreeding depression in Amsinckia grandiflora (Boraginaceae)

To discriminate between the roles of differential pollen tube growth and inbreeding depression in causing reduced seed production following self-pollination of distylous Amsinckia grandiflora (Boraginaceae), callose plug and pollen tube production were compared following crossand self-pollinations ofA. grandiflora. Pin (long-styled morph) x thrum (short-styled morph) crosses yielded more pollen tubes than pin x pin crosses or pin self-pollinations; no difference could be detected for the pin x pin or pin self-pollination categories. Using thrums as the female parent, no significant differences were detected in any pollination category. These results indicate that reduced seed production following self-fertilization of A. grandiflora is likely to be the result of inbreeding depression rather than inhibition of self pollen tubes.
Assessing Anthropogenic Dynamics in Megacities from the Characterization of Land Use/Land Cover Changes: The Bogotá Study Case

Usually, megacities expand without proper planning in a context of demographic growth and are increasingly dependent on the natural resources related to the occupied area. This is a major challenge for the sustainable management of these territories, justifying the need for a better knowledge of land use/land cover (LULC) distribution and characteristics to observe spatial anthropogenic dynamics. In this study, the Bogotá river basin and the Bogotá megacity were analyzed as a case study. The main objective of this work was to analyze the historical LULC dynamics from 1985 to 2014. Reliable forecasting scenarios were developed using the Land Change Modeler to support sustainable management and planning. Results show an expansion of the Bogotá megacity toward the Northeast and an increase of urban areas within the basin. These changes implied a loss of 58% of forest surface, a strategic ecosystem, from 1985 to 2014. This dynamic is expected to continue, with a 50% increase of urban areas between 2012 to 2050, thus the megacity and neighbor cities potentially become an “urban continuum”. A replacement of crop and pasture lands near the city is expected, even though Bogotá lands are among the best agricultural lands in the Andean region of Colombia.
Reducing Salmonella transfer during industrial poultry meat production

From primary production and on through the whole processing line, the poultry house microflora will be transferred into the processing plant, and further on in the process, onto exterior parts of the birds as well in their gut microflora. This is particularly true for Salmonella. In this paper, the major stages of poultry processing are considered with regard to the potential spread of Salmonella. Most of the data referred to in this review applies to broiler chickens. Cross contamination occurs especially during scalding, defeathering, head pulling, evisceration and chilling. The poultry meat processing line does not have any killing capability for Salmonella. At present, effective barriers that might be able to control Salmonella do not exist. It would be useful to develop more techniques and procedures than are presently available. Several other options for intervention to control Salmonella already exist. Although generally known, these have not yet been incorporated into the production sequence. They include the implementation of other processing actions such as flaming; changes of machinery design for example in scalding tanks and transport containers. It would also be helpful to base operational designs of machinery for scalding and crate washing more on scientific data such as time-temperature-relations in calculation of Salmonella death rates. However, none of these actions alone would be able to solve the problem, an integrated approach is needed. More data on flock Salmonella status is needed at critical stages during broiler grow-out. Also requirements for special products such as minimally processed meat must be examined, and more quantitative data are needed to calculate time-temperature relations more precisely.
Advanced energy management system with the incorporation of novel security features

Nowadays, energy management is a subject of great importance and complexity. Pakistan, being in a state of developing country, generates electrical power mainly by using non-renewable sources of energy. Non-renewable entities are fossil fuels such as furnace oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. Pakistan has been facing a severe shortage of production in energy sector for last two decades. This shortfall is affecting the industrial development as well as economic growth. With the growing population, the load demand is rapidly increasing and there must be a need to expand the existing ones or to build new power systems. In this paper, an autonomous management system has been proposed to enhance quality, reliability and confidence of utilization of energy between end consumers and suppliers. Such objectives can only be fulfilled by making the power supply secure for end consumers. Distributed and centralized control systems are involved for maintaining a balance between renewable energy resources and base power, so that end consumers demand can be fulfilled when required. A reliable Two-way communication system between suppliers and end consumers has been proposed by using Message Digest algorithm which ensures that there would be no energy theft. Simulations have been done in MATLAB/ Simulink environment and results have been presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed model.
Design Space Exploration with Deterministic Latency Guarantees for Crossbar MPSoC Architectures

MPSoC and NoC systems are often used in complex telecommunication systems, which in the 5G era need to enable telecommunication services with unprecedented latency characteristics. Indeed, new services emerge, needing deterministic latency guarantees with virtually no system jitter, during the lifetime of the established telecommunication service. In this work, for the first time, we propose an optimal solution for a design space exploration (DSE) optimization problem, that performs all the traditional DSE tasks, but with end-to-end deterministic latency guarantees. We focus on MPSoC or NoC architectures with crossbars, although this work can be easily extended to more complex architectures. More precisely, our contributions in this work are the following: 1) we propose a novel method for deterministic scheduling in MPSoC and NoC architectures with a crossbar; 2) we propose an optimal solution in the form of an integer linear program (ILP) for DSE problem with end-to-end deterministic latency guarantees; 3) we identify the trade-off between the latency due to the use of crossbar time slots and the application execution time at different processing elements. The numerical results suggest that the proposed deterministic scheduling method can efficiently use all 100% of the crossbar capacity, depending on available application load and system parameters.
Grazing of pasture weeds by goats and sheep. 1. Nodding thistle (Carduus nutans)

Goats and sheep grazed replicate plots of perennial pasture infested with nodding thistle (Carduus nutans). Neither goats nor sheep ate the vegetative thistle until it reached ~30 cm in diameter at which time goats consumed outer leaves on some plants. Active goat grazing commenced at flowering as the capitula matured from green to purple, with subsequent preferential grazing of the purple capitula in the presence of abundant pasture (2500 kg green DM/ha). The stage of maturation of the thistle influenced the proportion of purple capitula eaten by goats. Over the extended (5 month) 1991–92 flowering period induced by above average summer rain, dispersal of viable seeds was prevented in goat-grazed plots as goats ate 100% of the flowering stems. In the short 1992–93 flowering season (1.5 months) dry conditions resulted in seedheads rapidly maturing from green to brown. Goat numbers were insufficient to eat 100% of capitula as they reached the palatable stage. Consequently viable seeds were dispersed. Sheep consumed the thistle capitula only when pasture became limiting, allowing viable seeds to be dispersed in both flowering seasons. Spraying with non-lethal doses of herbicide increased the proportion of vegetative thistles consumed by both sheep and goats. Goats selectively removed maturing capitula then grazed the stems of the nodding thistle. As goats consumed thistle capitula throughout the flowering period, the quantity of pasture in goat plots exceeded that in sheep plots, principally due to an increase in the proportion of clover. The stocking density of goats required to control nodding thistle is proportionate to the level of weed infestation and must be modified as a response to prevailing seasonal conditions and rate of removal of purple capitula. Grazing of the purple capitula of nodding thistle by goats in lieu of pasture indicates the potential for mixed animal species grazing of weed-infested pastures.
Transformational versus Transactional Leadership: Manakah yang Mempengaruhi Kepuasan Kerja Guru?

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur pengaruh gaya kepemimpinan kepala sekolah (transformational atautransactional)terhadap kepuasan kerja guru sekolah swasta di Jabodetabek yang dimediasi oleh persepsi kerja guru. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui kuesioner kuantitatif dengan pengambilan sampel acak sederhana melalui elektronik ke populasi guru di Jabodetabek. Hasil kuesioner yang dikembalikan dan valid adalah 277 sampel.Pemrosesan data menggunakan metode SEM dengan perangkat lunak SmartPLS 3.0. Hasil penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa kepemimpinan transformasional berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap kepuasan guru, baik secara langsung maupun tidak langsung melalui mediasi persepsi kerja guru. Sedangkan kepemimpinan transaksional tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kepuasan guru, baik secara langsung maupun tidak langsung melalui mediasi persepsi kerja guru. Penelitian baru ini mengusulkan sebuah model untuk membangun kepuasan kerja guru sekolah di Jabodetabek melalui peningkatan kemampuan kepemimpinan transformasional kepala sekolah dengan persepsi kerja guru sebagai mediator. Implikasi penelitian dibahas dalam kaitannya dengan pengawas dan kepala sekolah,serta pembuat kebijakan di tingkat pemerintah.Penelitian ini dapat membuka jalan untuk meningkatkan kesiapan guru dalam menghadapi era pendidikan 4.0.
WOLVES INFLUENCE ELK MOVEMENTS: BEHAVIOR SHAPES A TROPHIC CASCADE IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

A trophic cascade recently has been reported among wolves, elk, and aspen on the northern winter range of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, but the mechanisms of indirect interactions within this food chain have yet to be established. We investigated whether the observed trophic cascade might have a behavioral basis by exploring environmental factors influencing the movements of 13 female elk equipped with GPS radio collars. We developed a simple statistical approach that can unveil the concurrent influence of several environmental features on animal movements. Paths of elk traveling on their winter range were broken down into steps, which correspond to the straight-line segment between successive locations at 5-hour intervals. Each observed step was paired with 200 random steps having the same starting point, but differing in length and/or direction. Comparisons between the characteristics of observed and random steps using conditional logistic regression were used to model environmental features influencing movement patterns. We found that elk movements were influenced by multiple factors, such as the distance from roads, the presence of a steep slope along the step, and the cover type in which they ended. The influence of cover type on elk movements depended on the spatial distribution of wolves across the northern winter range of the park. In low wolf-use areas, the relative preference for end point locations of steps followed: aspen stands > open areas > conifer forests. As the risks of wolf encounter increased, the preference of elk for aspen stands gradually decreased, and selection became strongest for steps ending in conifer forests in high wolf-use areas. Our study clarifies the behavioral mechanisms involved in the trophic cascade of Yellowstone's wolf-elk-aspen system: elk respond to wolves on their winter range by a shift in habitat selection, which leads to local reductions in the use of aspen by elk.