Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Guidelines for the in situ re-introduction and translocation of African and Asian rhinoceros

Translocation has become routine in a number of African range states and has played a key role in increasing both white and black rhino numbers. Although less frequent in Asia, expertise and input was sought from many Asian rhino range states and has been incorporated into these guidelines. This authoritative set of guidelines seeks to share and synthesise the knowledge and experience of rhino translocations in Africa and Asia, and to provide decision makers and senior wildlife managers with guidelines on best practice for the translocation of African and Asian rhinos.
Influence of Social Media and Family Environment on Adolescent Anxiety Disorder

Adolescent anxiety disorder is a prevalent psychological disorder that has a substantial impact on the mental health and total development of adolescents. This study reviews and investigates the definition, characteristics, and the two essential etiological components of anxiety disorders in adolescents, namely social media and home environment. This is achieved by describing and analyzing prior research pertaining to anxiety disorders and adolescent mental health. The paper begins by defining adolescent anxiety disorder, noting that it is primarily characterized by excessive concern and tension, which is frequently accompanied by physical discomfort and emotional distress. Adolescents may exhibit social distress, avoidance behaviors, and academic difficulties that impair their daily functioning and learning. As a significant aspect of adolescents' existence, social media has a significant effect on their anxiety levels. Social anxiety, body image anxiety, and other stressors brought on by social media may aggravate anxiety symptoms. Moreover, online violence and negative remarks may have a negative effect on adolescents' mental health. Another crucial etiologic factor is the family environment. Instability, conflict, and tension in the home may increase the risk of adolescents developing anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders have also been linked to parental styles and economic circumstances. Although numerous scientific studies have been conducted on adolescents and anxiety disorders, additional research is required to shed light on the progression of mental health disorders in adolescents and bring them to the attention of society.
Methotrexate and Non-Surgical Periodontal Treatment Change the Oral–Gut Microbiota in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Prospective Cohort Study

This study evaluated the changes in the composition of oral–gut microbiota in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) caused by methotrexate (MTX) and non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT). Assessments were performed at baseline (T0), 6 months after MTX treatment (T1), and 45 days after NSPT (T2). The composition of the oral and gut microbiota was assessed by amplifying the V4 region of the 16S gene from subgingival plaques and stools. The results of the analysis of continuous variables were presented descriptively and non-parametric tests and Spearman’s correlation were adopted. A total of 37 patients (27 with periodontitis) were evaluated at T0; 32 patients (24 with periodontitis) at T1; and 28 patients (17 with periodontitis) at T2. MTX tended to reduce the alpha diversity of the oral–gut microbiota, while NSPT appeared to increase the number of different species of oral microbiota. MTX and NSPT influenced beta diversity in the oral microbiota. The relative abundance of oral microbiota was directly influenced by periodontal status. MTX did not affect the periodontal condition but modified the correlations that varied from weak to moderate (p < 0.05) between clinical parameters and the microbiota. MTX and NSPT directly affected the composition and richness of the oral–gut microbiota. However, MTX did not influence periodontal parameters.
DOES PERFORMANCE IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY? EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON INDONESIAN MSMEs

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are business sectors known to play an essential role in the economic growth of a country, especially in Indonesia. In this context, the creative industry is one of the fastest-growing business sectors and the promotion of sustainable economic development is evident in the government's active support for improving the growth of MSMEs. Therefore, this study analyzes the impact of financial literacy and market orientation on the MSMEs performance and sustainability. The sample includes 95 respondents occupying the roles of owners or managers in the creative industry of Yogyakarta Province. The results show that financial literacy and market orientation positively impact performance and sustainability. The performance of MSMEs influences business sustainability but financial literacy has no significant impact. Therefore, the implications show the indispensable need for governmental assistance in improving the knowledge base of MSMEs owners concerning financial literacy and market orientation.
Rapid Water Quality Monitoring for Microbial Contamination

There is a critical need for a rapid, portable and reliable testing methodology for microbial contamination in water due to the major limitations in current methodologies in terms of cost, time, and ease of use. The number of people residing in areas prone to water-borne diseases is ever increasing, and rapid detection technologies have become a necessity for such communities. Several researchers have designed and developed different test methods to detect indicator organisms (E. coli and total coliform) as rapidly as possible within a couple of hours. In this paper, we review recently developed water quality test methods for rapid water quality monitoring capable of detecting E. coli and total coliform.
Target Prediction by Multiple Virtual Screenings: Analyzing the SARS-CoV-2 Phenotypic Screening by the Docking Simulations Submitted to the MEDIATE Initiative

Phenotypic screenings are usually combined with deconvolution techniques to characterize the mechanism of action for the retrieved hits. These studies can be supported by various computational analyses, although docking simulations are rarely employed. The present study aims to assess if multiple docking calculations can prove successful in target prediction. In detail, the docking simulations submitted to the MEDIATE initiative are utilized to predict the viral targets involved in the hits retrieved by a recently published cytopathic screening. Multiple docking results are combined by the EFO approach to develop target-specific consensus models. The combination of multiple docking simulations enhances the performances of the developed consensus models (average increases in EF1% value of 40% and 25% when combining three and two docking runs, respectively). These models are able to propose reliable targets for about half of the retrieved hits (31 out of 59). Thus, the study emphasizes that docking simulations might be effective in target identification and provide a convincing validation for the collaborative strategies that inspire the MEDIATE initiative. Disappointingly, cross-target and cross-program correlations suggest that common scoring functions are not specific enough for the simulated target.
Analytical and clinical validation of multiplex droplet digital PCR assay for detecting pathogenic fungal infection in lungs

ABSTRACT Pulmonary invasive fungal infection in immunocompromised hosts is difficult to diagnose, and current tools for diagnosis or monitoring of response to antifungal treatments have inherent limitations. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has emerged as a promising tool for pulmonary pathogen detection with high sensitivity. This study presents a novel ddPCR panel for rapid and sensitive identification of pulmonary fungal pathogens. First, a ddPCR method for detecting three fungal genera, including Pneumocystis, Aspergillus, and Cryptococcus, was established and evaluated. Then, the clinical validation performance of ddPCR was compared with that of qPCR using 170 specimens, and the 6 specimens with inconsistent results were further verified by metagenomics next-generation sequencing, which yielded results consistent with the ddPCR findings. Finally, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the efficiency of ddPCR. While the qPCR identified 16 (9.41%) cases of Aspergillus and 6 (3.53%) cases of Pneumocystis, ddPCR detected 20 (11.76%) Aspergillus cases and 8 (4.71%) Pneumocystis cases. The AUC for Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, and Pneumocystis was 0.974, 0.998, and 0.975, respectively. These findings demonstrated that the ddPCR assay is a highly sensitive method for identifying pathogens responsible for invasive fungal pulmonary infections, and is a promising tool for early diagnosis.
Effects of Pelvic Floor Muscle Physiotherapy on Urinary, Bowel, and Sexual Functions in Women with Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Objectives: Endometriosis is a chronic and recurrent disease defined as the presence and proliferation of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity. It affects up to 6–10% of women of reproductive age and can be classified into superficial, ovarian, and deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). Deep infiltrating endometriosis can be associated with pain symptoms and pelvic floor muscle hypertone. Moreover, it may be responsible of bowel, urinary, and sexual dysfunctions with impairment of women’s quality of life. Few studies have investigated the role of physiotherapy in women with DIE. Here, we aimed first to evaluate the effects of pelvic floor physiotherapy (PFP) on urinary, bowel, and sexual functions. Secondly, we aimed to evaluate the effects of ultrasound visual feedback during PFP on pelvic floor and subjective modifications in the frequency of sexual intercourse. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted between June 2018 and December 2019 at our tertiary center. Nulliparous women with DIE and superficial dyspareunia were enrolled. At first examination, levator hiatal area (LHA) assessed with 3D/4D transperineal ultrasound, pain symptoms, urinary, bowel, and sexual functions were evaluated. Then, women were randomly assigned to no intervention (control group) or treatment with five individual sessions of PFP (experimental group), and after four months women underwent a second examination. Urinary, bowel, and sexual functions were assessed with validated questionnaires at first and second examinations. In particular, the Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire was used to evaluate urinary symptoms, the Knowles–Eccersley–Scott–Symptom questionnaire to assess the presence of constipation, and the Female Sexual Function Index to investigate sexual function. Study outcomes were the comparisons among groups in terms of differences in actual changes in median of questionnaire scores between first and second examinations. Results: Thirty women (17 in the experimental group and 13 in the control group) completed the study. No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding urinary, bowel, and sexual functions, although women in the experimental group showed a tendency towards an improvement in constipation symptoms. Conclusion: In women with DIE, PFP does not appear to affect urinary, bowel, and sexual functions. Therefore, despite the improvement in superficial dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and PFM relaxation with high treatment satisfaction, women should be informed about the unclear impact of PFP on urinary, bowel, and sexual functions. Larger studies are necessary to further investigate the impact of PFP on these functions.
Assessment of slope failures off Vancouver Island revealed in EM300 multibeam bathymetry data

Multibeam bathymetric data acquired off Vancouver Island across the accretionary prism of the Cascadia subduction zone reveal a prominent segmentation of the deformation front with dominant azimuths of the ridges at ~120° and ~150° and abundant submarine landslides. Both these ridge-orientations are oblique to the direction of subduction (~45°). Ridges at a strike of ~120° show dominantly rectangular-shaped failure head-scarps and intact blocks of sediments within the failed sediment mass, whereas ridges with an azimuth of ~150° show curved head-scarps and incoherent debris in the failure mass. We propose that this systematic change in failure-style is related to the underlying thrust fault system producing steeper and taller ridges for azimuths around 150°, but less steep and tall ridges at 120°. Thus, debris-flow style failure is simply a result of higher kinetic forcing of the down-sliding sediment mass: more mixing and destruction of the coherent blocks for taller and steeper ridges, and blocks of intact sediment for gentle slopes and less elevated ridges. A segmentation of the deformation front and ridge alignment into two dominant azimuths could be a result of: a) complex interaction and competing forces from overall slab-pull (45°), b) re-activated faults orientated almost N-S (~175°) on the oceanic plate and overlying sediment cover (reflected in the magnetic stripes and abyssal plain strike-slip faulting), and c) relative orientation of the back-stop off Vancouver Island and accreted terranes (at ~127° following the coastline between Nootka Island and Port Renfrew). Extensional faulting is observed only at ridges with debris-flow style failure, which also are the ridges with larger height and steeper slopes. These extensional faults may be the result of over-steepening of the ridges and collapse of the sediment pile that can no longer withstand its own weight due to limited internal shear strength.
Emerging Targets for Systemic Treatment of Gastric Cancer: HER2 and Beyond

In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in the molecular profiling of gastric cancer. This progress has led to the development of various molecular classifications to uncover subtype-specific dependencies that can be targeted for therapeutic interventions. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a crucial biomarker for advanced gastric cancer. The recent promising results of novel approaches, including combination therapies or newer potent agents such as antibody-drug conjugates, have once again brought attention to anti-HER2 targeted treatments. In HER2-negative diseases, the combination of cytotoxic chemotherapy and programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitors has become the established standard of care in first-line settings. In the context of gastric cancer, potential biomarkers such as PD-L1 expression, Epstein-Barr virus, microsatellite instability, and tumor mutational burden are being considered for immunotherapy. Recently, promising results have been reported in studies on anti-Claudin18.2 and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 treatments. Currently, many ongoing trials are aimed at identifying potential targets using novel approaches. Further investigations will be conducted to enhance the progress of these therapies, addressing challenges such as primary and acquired resistance, tumor heterogeneity, and clonal evolution. We believe that these efforts will improve patient prognoses. Herein, we discuss the current evidence of potential targets for systemic treatment, clinical considerations, and future perspectives.
Simulación como parte de la gestión de crisis

Este articulo parte de la problematica que tienen las organizaciones para enfrentarse a eventos inesperados que nunca experimentaron, y de conocer cuan grave podria ser para la continuidad del negocio. Asi mismo busca la relacion que existe entre tres conceptos: La Gestion de Crisis, Simulacion de vida y la Gestion del Conocimiento. Por tales razones propone el experimento de colocar a un grupo de miembros de cada organizacion dentro de un escenario que simule a una empresa ficticia afectada por crisis, para luego mostrar aceptacion o rechazo de la simulacion como herramienta para la Gestion de Crisis, asi como herramienta para crear y compartir conocimiento de forma dinamica. Con el fin de apoyar la mision, se presentan algunas teorias y afirmaciones de diferentes autores relacionadas a conceptos tales como las formas de aprendizaje en el ser humano, crisis, gestion de crisis, simulacion, gestion de conocimiento y el modelo de aceptacion de tecnologias denominado TAM III. El experimento se llevo a cabo en dos bancos de la ciudad de Lima, los cuales tambien fueron sometidos a entrevistas y cuestionario que permitieran conocer la percepcion de utilidad y facil uso de la tecnologia.
Association between Gray-Scale Ultrasound Imaging and Serological Creatine Kinase for Quantifying Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: An Observational Study

Limited evidence has verified if ultrasound imaging (US) can detect post-exercise muscle damage based on size, shape, and brightness metrics. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between creatine kinase (CK) concentration and (as a biomarker of muscle damage) changes in US gray-scale metrics after an exercise-induced muscle damage protocol. An observational study was conducted at a private university lab located in Madrid. Twenty-five untrained and asymptomatic volunteers were enrolled in this study. Baseline demographic data and body composition metrics were collected. In addition, the rectus femoris US data and CK concentration were assessed at baseline and after inducing muscle damage (24 and 48 h later). After calculating time differences for all the outcomes, the correlation between the changes observed with US and biomarkers was assessed. Significant CK concentration increases were found 24 h (p = 0.003) and 48 h (p < 0.001) after exercise. However, no significant changes in muscle size, shape, or brightness were found in any location (p > 0.05 for all). In addition, no significant associations were found between CK changes and US changes (p > 0.05 for all). Gray-scale US is not a sensitive tool for detecting muscle damage, as a protocol of exercise-induced muscle damage confirmed with CK produced no significant gray-scale US changes after 24 or 48 h. In addition, US and CK changes after 24 and 48 h were not associated with each other.
Vacationing for a Cause: Volunteer Ecotourism on Alternative Spring Break

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 3 INTRODUCTION . 6 LITERATURE REVIEW . 9 Essential Terms and Definitions . 9 Volunteer Tourists and ASB-ers . 13 Volunteer Management Practices . 15 Alternative Spring Break . 18 Positive Impacts of Volunteer Ecotourism . 22 Criticisms of Volunteer Ecotourism . 25 The Bigger Picture: Privatization, Development, and Capitalism . 32 Conclusion . 35 METHODS . 36 Introduction . 36 Embedded Case Studies: Alternative Spring Break Trips . 36 Selection of Cases and Informants . 37 Access To and Consent From Informants . 39 Semi-Structured Interviews . 40 Informant Compensation . 41 Qualitative Data Analysis . 41 Document Analysis . 42 Ethical Considerations . 42 Limitations . 43 RESULTS . 44 Introduction . 44 UVM’s Alternative Spring Break Chapter . 44 Site One: Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary . 51 Comparison Between Site One and Site Two . 84 DISCUSSION . 86 Introduction . 86 The Impact of Communication on Trip Outcomes . 86 The Catch-22 of Volunteer Management . 93 The Adverse Impacts of Commodification . 97 CONCLUSIONS . 100 Major Findings and Takeaways . 100 Recommendations to UVM’s ASB Chapter . 101 Future Work . 105 Personal Reflections . 106 WORKS CITED . 107 APPENDICES . 113
Farmers' perceptions on expansion of a new technolgy: The case of coconut-based intercropping in Sri Lanka

Monocropping, the widely practiced traditional coconut cultivation system in Sri Lanka, utilizes bio-physical resources sub optimally, generating low returns to growers than its potential under an intensive cultivation alternative, coconut-based intercropping (CBI). Despite concerted efforts of successive governments, the adoption of CBI systems by farmers is low. This study investigates the farmers' perceptions of CBI on the premise that the understanding of farmers’ perceptions of a new technology is important to identify the causes for the low adoption of that technology. Data were gathered by a field survey of 113 and 37 intercroppers and monocroppers respectively, in three main coconut-growing districts, namely Kurunegala, Gampaha and Puttalam, using a structured questionnaire supplemented with open-ended questions, through a single visit. Percentage analysis supplemented with a simple scoring device was employed to analyze the farmer's perceptions of CBI. Intercroppers objectives of intercropping, the constraints they face in expanding intercropping, reasons for non-adoption of CBI by present monocroppers and the suggestions of present intercroppers to further expand the CBI, all in the order of importance, are presented.
Investigating Mineral Stability under Venus Conditions: A Focus on the Venus Radar Anomalies

Radar studies of the surface of Venus have identified regions with high radar reflectivity concentrated in the Venusian highlands: between 2.5 and 4.75 km above a planetary radius of 6051 km, though it varies with latitude. Previous research has proposed several theories on the source of these anomalies, including increased surface roughness, metallic materials with higher dielectric constants, or ferroelectric materials. Prior work suggests several processes that could be the origin of these anomalies, such as surface-atmospheric interactions or low lying clouds or fog. Alternatively, these anomalies could result from a semi-metallic compound trapped at the cooler conditions in the highlands, likely forming as a snow or frost. If this were the case, the compound would be expected to precipitate out of a low cloud layer. While theoretical studies have been beneficial towards determining the source of these anomalies, few experimental investigations have been done to validate these theories. In this dissertation, several minerals, chosen by their likely presence on Venus, were investigated to determine their stability under Venusian conditions, including temperature, pressure and atmospheric composition. Analysis of the empirical data enabled the identification of potential mineral source(s) of the radar-bright anomalies.
Optimization of Step-Etched Junction Termination Extensions for Vertical GaN Devices

This work provides the first demonstration of a multipoint fit from theory to experiment for step-etched junction terminations on vertical gallium nitride (GaN) devices. Viable edge termination methods in GaN are limited due to challenges with selective-area doping. We report on a study that determines the optimal charge in the junction termination extension (JTE) of a GaN-based p-n diode to aid in the design of multizone JTEs. Experimental results show a step-thickness offset compared to theoretical prediction, which is attributed to plasma-induced etch damage, as well as variation in passivation-related charge, surface charge, and doping profile variations. Results are supported by electroluminescence imaging, which confirms the match from theory to experiment.