Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): A Systematic Review

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak between 2002 to 2003 has accounted for the world panic. SARS was caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and had continued to expand int the 21 st century (Tsang et al., 2003). Initially, the disease was observed to be incepted in a small district named as Shunde, which was present in the city named the Foshan City of Guangdong Province. From this area, it rapidly disseminated to Hong Kong and following it to the rest of North America, Asia, as well as Europe in the few months. The disease affected about 8437 patients, accounting for a mortality rate of 9.6 percent. World Health Organization (WHO), in May of the year 2005, forwarded a declaration that SARS disease has been eliminated, which ranked it as the second disease in humans to be labeled such following the first disease, i.e., smallpox. The civet cats isolated coronaviruses in China has substantial sequence homology with SARS-CoV, which indicates a zoonotic origin.Thereby this research paper reviews the general causes of SARS, its clinical manifestation, along with its treatment and prevention. Keywords: SARS; Systematic; Review DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/64-01 Publication date: February 29 th 2020
Effects of age and size at metamorphosis on performance and metabolic rates of Southern Toad, Bufo terrestris, metamorphs

1. Southern Toad, Bufo terrestris, tadpoles were reared at two temperatures and two food levels in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Effects of treatments on age and size at metamorphosis, metabolic rate (MR), sprint speed and endurance of metamorphs were measured. 2. Across all treatments, MR, sprint speed and endurance were negatively related to age at metamorphosis and positively related to mass at metamorphosis. Therefore, decreases in larval period duration and increases in mass at metamorphosis may be advantageous in terms of locomotor performance, but disadvantageous because of the cost of increased energy expenditure on maintenance, all else being equal. 3. After removing the effects of age and size at metamorphosis, neither of the treatments nor their interaction significantly affected locomotor performance. In contrast, MRs of metamorphs were significantly affected by the interaction between the food and temperature treatments, independent of age and size at metamorphosis. Thus, aspects of the larval environment may affect metamorph physiology, and possibly fitness, via mechanisms other than differences in age and size at metamorphosis.
Targeting survivin in cancer therapy

Background: Survivin is a structurally unique member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family that acts as a suppressor of apoptosis and plays a central role in cell division. Owing to its massive upregulation in human tumors and its involvement in cancer progression and treatment resistance, survivin is currently undergoing extensive investigation as a novel therapeutic target. Objective: The purpose of this review is to define the potential of survivin as a therapeutic target for new anticancer interventions. Methods: The literature dealing with the therapeutic targeting of survivin has been carefully reviewed. Results/conclusion: Several preclinical studies have demonstrated that downregulation of survivin expression or function, accomplished by means of various strategies, reduced tumor growth potential, increased the apoptotic rate and sensitized tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation in different human tumor models. Moreover, the first survivin inhibitors are being currently evaluated in clinical settings.
Are spatially correlated or uncorrelated disturbance regimes better for the survival of species

The survival of species in dynamic landscapes (characterised by patch destruction and subsequent regeneration) depends on both the species' attributes and the disturbance pattern. Using a spatially explicit model we explored how the mean time to extinction of a metapopulation depends on the spatial correlation of patch destruction in relation to the population growth and dispersal abilities of species. Two contrasting answers are possible. On the one hand, increasing spatial correlation of patch destruction increases the spatial correlation of population growth and this is known to decrease metapopulation persistence. On the other hand, spatially correlated patch destruction and regeneration can lead to clustered habitat patches and this is known to increase metapopulation persistence. Therefore, we hypothesised that some species are better off under spatially correlated and alternatively uncorrelated disturbance regimes. However, contrary to this hypothesis, in all kinds of cases spatial correlation reduced metapopulation persistence. We found this to be due to the fact that the spatial correlation of patch destruction causes increasing temporal fluctuations in the regional carrying capacity of the metapopulation and is hence generally disadvantageous for long-term persistence. The main consequence for conservation biology is that reducing spatial correlation in disturbances is likely to be a reliable strategy in a dynamic landscape that will benefit practically all species with a low risk of adverse side effects.
Pricing Decisions in a Competitive Closed-Loop Supply Chain with Duopolistic Recyclers

In this study, we consider a three-echelon closed-loop supply chain consisting of a manufacturer, a collector, and two duopolistic recyclers. In the supply chain, the collector collects end-of-life products from consumers in the market. Then, both recyclers purchase the recyclable waste from the collector, and each recycler turns them into new materials. The manufacturer has no recycling facilities; therefore, the manufacturer only purchases the recycled and new materials for its production from the two recyclers. Under this scenario, price competition between recyclers is inevitable. With two pricing structures (Nash and Stackelberg) of the leaders group and three competition behaviors (Collusion, Cournot, and Stackelberg) of the followers group, we suggest six different pricing game models. In each of them, we establish a pricing game model among the members, prove the uniqueness of the equilibrium prices of the supply chain members, and discuss the effects of competition on the overall supply chain’s profitability. Our numerical experiment indicates that as the price competition between recyclers intensifies, the supply chain profitability decreases. Moreover, the greater the recyclability degree of the waste is, the higher the profits in the supply chain become.
Suppression of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in Tunisia with Released Sterile Insects

The Government of Tunisia, U.S. Agency for International Development, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperatively developed a program for suppression of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) in Tunisia. Mediterranean fruit flies were reared on an artificial diet, sterilized with 10 krad irradiation from a cobalt source, and the emerged adults were marked and then distributed by hand throughout the release area, 600 ha in the vicinity of Porto-Farina. Some aerial releases were made late in the season. Winter larval hosts were removed to lower the over-wintering population, and sterile fly releases were begun early (Mar. 1) to prevent fertile matings of flies which emerged during warm winter days. All fruit on the periphery of the release area was sprayed periodically (5 applications), as was the major fruit-growing areas within the region but outside the test zone, to minimize the possibility of fertile flies entering the release area. Daily from March to November, ca. 1,000,000 sterile flies were released. Trap catches indicated that the suppression obtained was about equal to that obtained using poison bait sprays. The early preferred host crops had no or negligible infestation (loquats, apricots, early peaches, and figs). The infestation of preferred summer fruits (peaches and figs) was reduced but not controlled. Less susceptible summer fruits were seldom infested. The estimated population was ca. 82.3% lower than in the previous year when no releases were made. Isolation and sterile fly distribution was inadequate to completely suppress the Mediterranean fruit fly population.
Do Changes in the Composition of Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue Affect the Development of Osteoarthritis?

There are three types of adipocytes in the human body, classified as white, brown and beige. Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) is often described as having a heterogeneous appearance and has been suggested to be a distinct class of ‘yellow’ adipocytes. However, recent studies have also identified beige‐like adipocytes present in the bone marrow cavity, and they appear to have a relationship with the formation of bone like structures found in patients with osteoarthropathies, termed trabecular excrescences. The BMAT in osteoarthritic (OA) patients has an increased number of adipocytes compared to healthy and osteoporotic bone marrow. The objective of this study was to identify changes in BMAT composition between non‐osteoarthritic and osteoarthritic (OA) bone samples.
Análisis histórico genético de la población de la región de Antofagasta revela discontinuidad en la costa y valles interiores

Studies of genetic markers of uniparental inheritance, such as mitochondrial DNA have been used successfully to study the settlement, history and origins of human populations. In the Chilean population, most published articles on the subject have been carried out with populations from southern Chile, leaving a gap on our knowledge about northern populations. In order to delve into population dynamics of the coast and interior valleys of the Antofagasta region, we analyzed 207 individuals from the cities of Antofagasta and Calama, to determine the frequency of mitochondrial haplogroups in each one. The results show a significant difference between the coast and the valleys; despite their geographical proximity, the genetic differences between them suggest they can be considered different population units. These differences probably result from the social and cultural patterns of these populations in the past, which, due to their kinship networks, were developing different ways of life over time: the coast and the puna lifestyles, leaving a biological imprint that lasts to this day.
Organogenèse et croissance du maître-brin du blé tendre (Triticum aestivum) du semis à la floraison. II: Contrôle des relations entre la croissance et la vascularisation de la tige et des feuilles. Essai de modélisation

On etudie l'organogenese et la croissance des parties aeriennes du maitre-brin du ble (Triticum aestivum), en mesurant la longueur de tous les organes depuis leur initiation jusqu'a la fin de leur expansion. On met en relation l'organisation de la croissance avec la mise en place du systeme vasculaire de la tige. Deux poles d'activite sont mis en evidence : (1) le dome terminal, qui initie les phytomeres, relaye, lorsque le dernier phytomere sera cree (epillet terminal), par la population des bourgeons d'epillets de l'epi ; (2) un ensemble de quatre positions α, β, γ, δ, ou se deroule exclusivement la croissance effective des organes : α correspond au noeud en provascularisation porteur du limbe enroule non visible, β, au noeud en vascularisation porteur du limbe qui emerge, γ, au noeud pleinement vascularise porteur de la gaine qui acheve son expansion et qui entoure le limbe α et la gaine β non visibles,δ, au noeud qui s'epaissit ; sous la position δ, il n'y a plus de croissance des organes. Entre ces deux poles d'activite, se constitue une zone de phytomeres en attente (zone μ) dont la croissance est de type modere. L'activite de croissance localisee dans l'ensemble α, β, γ, δ, se deplace de maniere acropete, remontant regulierement, noeud apres noeud, la plante. C'est l'emergence du limbe α et d
Assessing Expository Discourse Abilities Across Elementary, Middle, and High School

For academic success, it is increasingly important that students of all ages can produce and comprehend expository discourse. This article provides guidance to clinicians and educators on using language sample analysis (LSA) to assess the expository language abilities of students across grades. Focusing on microstructural and macrostructural characteristics and comparing with grade-level standards, clinicians can use LSA to assess a student’s production and comprehension of academic language and to guide intervention planning. Example discourse samples are included, along with a brief discussion of how the LSA results for these samples can be used for intervention planning. Using curriculum-based materials, LSA in expository contexts can lead to improved identification of students who struggle with the complex language of the classroom. Educator–clinician collaboration to identify and address these struggles can lead to improved student success at school and beyond.
Energy and protein utilization for maintenance and growth in Omani ram lambs in hot climates. I. Estimates of energy requirements and efficiency

Energy requirements for maintenance and growth were estimated by comparative slaughter in Omani male lambs during the hot summer months (July–October: maximum temperature, 48 °C). Weaned lambs (n = 10 per diet) were fed one of three totally mixed, 160 g CP/kg DM diets that contained 600, 400 or 200 g rhodesgrass hay/kg for low (9·98 MJ/kg, medium (10·3 MJ/kg) and high (11·4 MJ/kg) energy contents, respectively. All diets were balanced to meet the minimum nutritional needs for maximum growth. The trial lasted for 113–114 days. The purpose of having three diets was to induce a broad spectrum of growth rates that could be used in regression analysis (tested for linear, quadratic and exponential effects). Metabolizable energy (ME) intake was regressed on live weight (LW), empty body weight, tissue energy and tissue protein gain and vice versa. Coefficients of determinations were not significantly improved by quadratic or logarithmic regressions over linear relationships. Geometric mean regressions were used to control further biases due to major axis dependence when Y is regressed on X or vice versa. Based on tissue energy gain, the best estimates of ME required for maintenance (MEm) and gain (MEg) were 526 kJ/kg LW0·75/d and 42·1 kJ/kg LW0·75/g LW gain, respectively. Net energy values for maintenance (NEm) and gain (NEg) were 278 kJ/kg LW0·75/d and 20·6 kJ/kg LW0·75/g LW gain, respectively. These equations predicted MEm and NEm requirements that were similar to or slightly greater than those established by the US National Research Council (1985) and the UK Agricultural and Food Research Council (1993) for growing male lambs. The MEg and NEg requirements were substantially greater (by 43–89%) in this respect. Efficiency values were calculated as net energy available for maintenance or gain divided by the metabolizable energy available for maintenance or gain. The efficiency of metabolizable energy used for maintenance and gain was 0·50 and 0·52, respectively, and did not appear to be much different from values for other breeds of sheep in temperate climates. Dietary energy concentrations did not affect the efficiency of energy deposition. The data suggest that Omani sheep in hot climates have greater NEg requirements, and consequently MEg requirements, than other breeds of sheep in temperate climates.
Swimming behavior in relation to buoyancy in an open swimbladder fish, the Chinese sturgeon

The swimbladder of fishes is readily compressed by hydrostatic pressure with depth, causing changes in buoyancy. While modern fishes can regulate buoyancy by secreting gases from the blood into the swimbladder, primitive fishes, such as sturgeons, lack this secretion mechanism and rely entirely on air gulped at the surface to inflate the swimbladder. Therefore, sturgeons may experience changes in buoyancy that will affect their behavior at different depths. To test this prediction, we attached data loggers to seven free-ranging Chinese sturgeons Acipenser sinensis in the Yangtze River, China, to monitor their depth utilization, tail-beating activity, swim speed and body inclination. Two distinct, individual-specific, behavioral patterns were observed. Four fish swam at shallow depths (7–31 m), at speeds of 0.5–0.6 m s−1, with ascending and descending movements of 1.0–2.4 m in amplitude. They beat their tails continuously, indicating that their buoyancy was close to neutral with their inflated swimbladders. In addition, their occasional visits to the surface suggest that they gulped air to inflate their swimbladders. The other three fish spent most of their time (88–94%) on the river bottom at a depth of 106–122 m with minimum activity. They occasionally swam upwards at speeds of 0.6–0.8 m s−1 with intense tailbeats before gliding back passively to the bottom, in a manner similar to fishes that lack a swimbladder. Their bladders were probably collapsed by hydrostatic pressure, resulting in negative buoyancy. We conclude that Chinese sturgeons behave according to their buoyancy, which varies with depth due to hydrostatic compression of the swimbladder.
Upper Mantle Deformation of the Terror Rift and Northern Transantarctic Mountains in Antarctica: Insight From P Wave Anisotropic Tomography

A large number of teleseismic traveltime data are used to determine the first P‐wave radial anisotropy tomography beneath the Terror Rift, the northern Transantarctic Mountains (NTAM) and the Wilkes Subglacial Basin in Antarctica. Our results show that variations of radial anisotropy occur in both horizontal and vertical directions. In the NTAM, a high‐velocity zone with positive radial anisotropy is revealed at shallower depths, which reflects the lithospheric deformation pattern formed during the Ross Orogeny. In contrast, negative radial anisotropy appears at depths >200 km under the NTAM, which is caused by the characterization of olivine fabric rather than foundering lithosphere. Beneath the western Wilkes Subglacial Basin, a two‐layer lithosphere exists that contains rift‐induced cracks. To the east of the NTAM, asthenospheric upwelling occurs at shallow depths beneath the Terror Rift. Then the upwelling asthenosphere flows northward to Mount Melbourne and southward to Mount Erebus.
Food plants, species composition and variability of the moth community in undisturbed forest

The present study is based on a 14-yr time series of light trap data of moths (Lepidoptera) species in an undisturbed alder swamp forest in Central Europe. Vegetation change was followed on five pennanent plots. The biomass of all plant species in the portion of the forest surrounding the light trap was determined. As the feeding specificity of all the moth species was known, we were not only able to categorize moth species according to their potential feeding specificity, but were also able to estimate total food supply and its diversity in the studied ecosystem. In monophagous species, moth population size, characterized by mean annual catch, was positively correlated with food supply, whereas in oligo- and polyphagous species the correlation was close to zero. Although the ability of plant species to support a monophagous moth is positively dependent on its biomass, there are some relatively rare plant species supporting monophagous moths, and some common species not supporting monophagous moths. Directional changes were found both in plant and moth species; directional changes in moth species are more pronounced than changes in plant cover. There is no evidence suggesting that directional changes in moth population sizes are caused by the changes in food supply. Pronounced directional changes were found mainly in species not confined to the closed alder forest and are related to changes in wider areas, in some cases with known changes in species distribution. Non-directional year-to-year variability, described by Lloyd's index, is best explained by the potential population growth rate of a moth species estimated on the basis of species fecundity. Correlation of Lloyd's index with number of food plant species is significantly positive, but low (r = 0.25); no significant differences were found between categories of feeding specificity. This shows that the dependence of population variability on species feeding specificity, both potential and expressed as number of food plants in the ecosystem, is weak.
Hepatic vessel segmentation based on animproved 3D region growing algorithm

Hepatic vessel segmentation of CT image is of great importance in the computer aided diagnosis. This paper proposes an automatic segmentation method of 3D vessel CT images to obtain better segmentation results. First, the single Gaussian kernel of Hessian matrix in the Jerman’s algorithm is replaced by bi-Gaussian kernel. Then, a histogram-based method is adopted to adaptively estimate the threshold value of the region growing. Finally, a new scheme is proposed forautomatically searching seed points of the region growing. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves a significant enhancement of hepatic vessels segmentation with an average accuracy 98.1%.
Food composition of weasels (Mustela nivalis) in Poland

La composition du regime alimentaire des belettes en Pologne a ete estimee par analyse des dejections et par l'etude des contenus stomacaux et de restes de proies recoltes dans la region. On a mis en evidence une nette variation saisonniere dans la composition du regime, mais les petits mammiferes y predominent toute l'annee. La proportion des petits rongeurs s'accroit de 41 % au printemps a plus de 80 % en hiver. Parmi les rongeurs, les campagnols sont les plus abondants. Au cours du printemps et de l'ete, oiseaux, oeufs et insectes constituent une part du regime de la belette plus importante qu'en automne et en hiver. L'indice de diversite de la niche alimentaire est le plus eleve au printemps et le plus bas en hiver.
Lower resources of spoken language understanding from voice to semantics

Spoken language understanding is traditionally designed as a pipeline consisting of multiple components. First, the speech signal is mapped into text through the automatic speech recognition module, and then the natural language understanding module converts the recognized text into structured data, such as domain, intention and slot value. Usually these modules are trained separately. End-to-end speech comprehension, on the other hand, derives structured data directly from speech through a single model. However, end-to-end spoken language understanding based on a large amount of training data is difficult to achieve in different fields and different groups of people. For this reason, we introduced end-to-end oral comprehension based on pre-training with low resources and combined it with capsule vector. The experimental results show that the oral comprehension of this model with low resources is robust under different data sets.
Cumulative effects of nutrients and pH on the plankton of two mountain lakes

We conducted enclosure experiments to examine the cumulative effects of nutrient enrichment and acidifica- tion on the plankton of two mountain lakes with differing nutrient conditions. The low-nitrate lake responded to N, N plus acid, and N plus acid plus P additions, showing four- to seven-fold increases in chlorophyll a, increased photosynthetic rate, compositional shifts toward large chlorophytes, and decreased zooplankton biomass. The high- nitrate lake responded minimally to either N or P alone but responded strongly to combined additions of N plus acid plus P, showing eightfold increases in chlorophyll a, increased cell density and photosynthetic rates, and compositional shifts toward chlorophytes and the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium. In both study lakes, changes in chlorophyll a were linked to addition of limiting nutrients regardless of pH, whereas shifts in phytoplankton species composition were ap - parently affected by both nutrient conditions and acidity. The most striking changes in species composition and bio - mass occurred in combined N plus acid plus P treatments, indicating that continued nutrient enrichment may interact with acidification to produce marked changes in the plankton of mountain lakes.