Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
p-Nitrophenol determination and remediation: an overview

Abstract An almost exhaustive overview of the determination and remediation of p-nitrophenol (p-NP)-contaminated media is herein presented. p-NP is one of the priority pollutants on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency list. This is because p-NP is either a precursor or a derivative of a good number of pollutants. It is itself very carcinogenic and tends to persist in water and soil. This has prompted the development of a wide range of analytical tools by researchers for its determination and eventual removal from contaminated sites. These include electrochemical methods with many electrode modifiers and electroanalytical procedures developed for the detection/quantification of p-NP in contaminated environments. Also, chromatographic and p-NP uptake techniques, particularly adsorption onto various adsorbents (ranging from natural to synthetic), are reviewed. The use of microorganisms for the bioremediation of p-NP-contaminated samples and sites has equally been largely studied and is herein overviewed, not forgetting advanced oxidative processes.
1 2 3 Screening for Vascular Disease in Pulmonary 4 Rehabilitation 5 6 78

Background: Several of the comorbidities and risk factors associated with COPD and other pulmonary disorders are also similar to those for lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) and cerebrovascular disease. The later condition is often manifested as cognitive impairment, not only from large vessel associated stroke, but also from vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). We hypothesized that pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) would be an appropriate site to discern the prevalence of both PAD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Individuals in PR with severe pulmonary disease may have impaired cognition, which could impact learning and treatment adherence while PAD may contribute to functional limitation.
Enantioseparation of Flavanoids, Isoxazolines, Dansyl Amino Acids and β‐Blockers on Native and Phenylcarbamoylated α, β and γ‐Cyclodextrin Chiral Stationary Phases

In this study, a series of native and p-methylphenylcarbamoylated cyclodextrin chiral stationary phases (CD-CSPs) were developed based on α, β and γ-cyclodextrin via ether linkage. The as-prepared CSPs were characterized by FTIR, solid-state C13 NMR, thermogravimetric analysis and elemental analysis. Their enantioseparation properties were comprehensively investigated by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with various racemates including flavanoids, isoxazolines, dansyl amino acids and β-blockers. The effects of CD cavity size and CD functionalities on the enantioseparation results were evaluated in detail. The correlation between analyte structures and their chiral resolution were also investigated. A reference chart has been proposed for quick choice of CD-CSPs for enantioseparation of specific racemates.
Soil organic matter dynamics in long-term temperate agroecosystems: rotation and nutrient addition effects

Abstract: Soil organic matter (SOM) is a major driver of key agroecosystem functions. Our objective was to examine the dynamics of organic matter in whole soil, particulate (POM; >53 µm size), and mineral-associated (MAOM) fractions under varying crop rotations and nutrient managements at two long-term experimental sites (Breton and Lethbridge). Soil samples were collected from simple (2 yr) and complex (5 or 6 yr) crop rotations at the 5–10 cm depth. We found associations between SOM pools versus microbial community and soil aggregation. Compared to cropped soils, an adjacent forest exhibited a significantly higher soil total organic carbon (TOC) and a shift in SOM fractions with substantially higher POM. However, the forest soil had the lowest microbial biomass C among all the assessed land use systems (P < 0.05), suggesting that other factors than the amount of labile SOM (i.e., POM-C) were controlling the microbial community. When contrasted to simple 2 yr rotations, the complex rotations including perennials and legumes significantly raised TOC and soil total nitrogen as well as the stable SOM fraction (i.e., MAOM-C and -N) consistently for both Breton and Lethbridge sites. Our findings highlight that varying land managements have profound feedbacks on soil quality as mediated by alterations in long-term SOM dynamics.
Comparison of Pretraining Models and Strategies for Health-Related Social Media Text Classification

Motivation Pretrained contextual language models proposed in the recent past have been reported to achieve state-of-the-art performances in many natural language processing (NLP) tasks. There is a need to benchmark such models for targeted NLP tasks, and to explore effective pretraining strategies to improve machine learning performance. Results In this work, we addressed the task of health-related social media text classification. We benchmarked five models-RoBERTa, BERTweet, TwitterBERT, BioClinical_BERT, and BioBERT on 22 tasks. We attempted to boost performance for the best models by comparing distinct pretraining strategies-domain-adaptive pretraining (DAPT), source-adaptive pretraining (SAPT), and topic-specific pretraining (TSPT). RoBERTa and BERTweet performed comparably in most tasks, and better than others. For pretraining strategies, SAPT performed better or comparable to the off-the-shelf models, and significantly outperformed DAPT. SAPT+TSPT showed consistently high performance, with statistically significant improvement in one task. Our findings demonstrate that RoBERTa and BERTweet are excellent off-the-shelf models for health-related social media text classification, and extended pretraining using SAPT and TSPT can further improve performance.
Morphology, Diet, and Reproduction of Coastal Hydrophis Sea Snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) at Their Northern Distribution Limit

The Ryukyu Archipelago represents the northern distribution limit for hydrophiine sea snakes, the largest group of marine reptiles. Ryukyuan sea snakes may have developed distinct local adaptations in morphology and ecology, but they have been poorly studied. We examined preserved specimens of 111 Hydrophismelanocephalusand 61 Hydrophis ornatusfrom the Ryukyu Archipelago to obtain data on morphology, diet, and reproduction. Sexual size dimorphism was detected in H. melanocephalus (mean ± standard deviation of adult snout-vent length: SVL, females 1062 ± 141 mm vs. males 959 ± 96 mm) but not in H. ornatus. Female H. melanocephalus had larger head widths and shorter tail lengths relative to SVL compared to males. Relative girth was low in neonates of both species (1.0–1.3), but increased in adults to about 1.7–2.6 in H. melanocephalus and 1.3–1.8 in female H. ornatus. Stomach contents of H. melanocephalus consisted of ophichthid and congrid eels, a sand diver, and gobies, whereas in H. ornatus, gobies and a goat fish were found. Litter size of three reproductive H. melanocephalus ranged from five to seven, and parturition seems to occur from August to October. Litter size of six H. ornatus ranged from two to seven, and was correlated with maternal SVL. Parturition in H. ornatus probably occurs around November. Different selective forces related to locomotion, feeding and predation risk, which influence the pregnant mother and neonates, may have resulted in having few, long but slender offspring that show positive allometric growth in hind-body girth.
Contrast threshold adaptive adjustment algorithm for remote sensing image matching

Abstract. Remote sensing image processing has been widely used in environmental monitoring, terrain survey, military investigation, disaster early warning, and other fields. The remote sensing images matching is a key step, and the accuracy and real-time of the alignment have a great impact on these applications. Due to the high resolution and complexity of remote sensing images, scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) algorithm has the problems of high computational complexity and poor matching effect. Adaptive threshold adjustment algorithm has proposed in the remote sensing image matching, but minor changes in the contrast threshold can bring about drastic changes in the image matching quality, which will affect applications such as monitoring, measurement, and early warning. To improve the matching quality of a SIFT detector, an adaptive contrast threshold SIFT method based on image complexity calculation (CACT-SIFT) is proposed. The CACT-SIFT finds two contrast thresholds for the target image and the reference image, respectively, and achieves the target by minimizing the proposed criteria Cik. Experiments show that the method can be applied to the matching of remote sensing images. The information of reference images and target images can be detected at the same time, and the key points can be extracted in a robust way, with better accuracy and real-time accuracy of the alignment.
Spatial–spectral hyperspectral image classification based on primary and secondary capsule network

Abstract. Hyperspectral images contain rich spectral–spatial information. Therefore exploring spectral–spatial classifiers has become a mainstream trend in the field of hyperspectral image classification. However, current studies seldom delve into the contribution of the extracted spectral and spatial features to the subsequent classification task. To further explore the contribution of spectral and spatial features, we propose a classification framework based on capsule network (CapsNet). The framework consists of two branches, which extract spectral and spatial features to form capsules respectively. Subsequently, the spectral capsules and spatial capsules are sent to the dynamic routing layer to generate higher-level spectral–spatial capsules. In addition, we set up a primary–secondary relationship for the two branches, which indirectly reflects the contribution made by lower capsules forming higher capsules in the feature fusion stage. Our experiments, conducted on three widely used hyperspectral datasets and two sampling strategies, demonstrate that our proposed model had 4.60% to 8.80% improvements in OA compared with the original CapsNet. Compared to the capsule-based improved model (iCapsNet and Conv-Caps), our model also has a 1.20% to 2.50% improvement.
The Thioredoxin Reductase Inhibitor Auranofin Suppresses Pulmonary Metastasis of Osteosarcoma, But Not Local Progression

Background/Aim: Auranofin (AUR), a thioredoxin reductase (TXNRD) inhibitor, shows anticancer activity against several cancers. This study investigated the effects of AUR on the local progression and pulmonary metastasis of osteosarcoma (OS). Materials and Methods: Publicly available expression cohorts were analysed to study the relationship between TXNRD-2 expression and the survival of patients with OS. The murine OS cell line LM8 was stimulated with AUR. Cell viability, apoptosis-related protein levels, caspase activity, and wound healing were analysed. Tumor progression and pulmonary metastasis were investigated in C3H mice implanted with LM8 cells. Results: High-level expression of TXNRD-2 represented a negative prognostic factor for metastasis and overall survival in patients with OS. AUR induced apoptosis of OS cells via the oxidative stress-MAPK-Caspase 3 pathway, and suppressed the migration of OS cells. AUR inhibited the pulmonary metastasis of OS, but not local progression. Conclusion: AUR represents a potential therapeutic drug for suppressing pulmonary metastasis of OS.
Revenue characterisation with Singular Spectrum Analysis

ABSTRACT In this work, a method to characterise the daily sales revenue for an online store is presented. Daily sales revenue is a time series. The developed characterisation identifies the major sources of variation in the time series. Such a characterisation can be used for purposes such as developing structural forecasting models and extracting insights that can be leveraged for business and operations planning. In this work, this characterisation is developed using a technique called Singular Spectrum Analysis. Achieving good results with Singular Spectrum Analysis requires the judicious selection of an algorithm parameter called the window length. A framework to select this parameter is provided. Literature survey revealed that applications of Singular Spectrum Analysis to business data are limited. To the best of found knowledge from the literature survey, Singular Spectrum Analysis has not been applied to retail revenue stream analysis.
Relationship between naming speed, cognitive processes and decoding skills in normal readers in primary education (Relación entre la velocidad de denominación, los procesos cognitivos y habilidades de decodificación en estudiantes normolectores de educación primaria)

ABSTRACT Learning to read is a complex challenge during childhood, so being aware of the processes that facilitate it is essential. Decoding skills, naming speed and their relationship to reading difficulties are part of these processes. This study aims to ascertain whether there is a relationship between naming speed, cognitive variables (processing speed and working memory) and decoding skills. The sample was made up of 42 students in the first, second, third and fourth years of primary education (62% males and 38% females) between the ages of six and 10. Hierarchical regression models showed that naming times significantly predict reading pseudo-words, while no significant relationship was found with cognitive variables. The usefulness of naming tasks is shown to be a good early predictor of reading, while no direct relationship between naming times and cognitive variables is detected.
Job Demands, Job Control, and Social Support As Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Burnout in Croatian Palliative Care Nurses

Abstract The Job Demands-Control-Support (JDCS) model has seldom been tested in palliative care settings, and occupational well-being of palliative care professionals has never before been investigated in Croatia. Our aim was therefore to fill that gap by testing the JDCS model among Croatian nurses providing palliative care. More specifically, we wanted to see how job demands, job control, and social support at work affect occupational well-being outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and burnout dimensions of exhaustion and disengagement from work) in terms of the model’s iso-strain and buffer hypotheses. This cross-sectional study included 68 nurses working in various palliative care institutions across Croatia, who answered our online questionnaire. Overall, the nurses did not report high levels of burnout or low job satisfaction. The only significant effect was that of job control on job satisfaction (β=0.38; P<0.01) and disengagement (β=-0.45; P<0.01), while job demands and social support at work had a significant interaction effect on the burnout dimension of exhaustion (β=0.39; P<0.01) in the sense that high social support at work buffered the increase in exhaustion associated with high job demands. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at increasing perceived job control and social support at the workplace could improve occupational well-being of nurses working in palliative care.
Different plasticity of bud outgrowth at cauline and rosette nodes in Arabidopsis thaliana

Shoot branching is a complex mechanism in which secondary shoots grow from buds that are initiated from meristems established in leaf axils. The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has a rosette leaf growth pattern in the vegetative stage. After flowering initiation, the main stem starts to elongate with the top leaf primordia developing into cauline leaves. Meristems in arabidopsis are initiated in the axils of rosette or cauline leaves, giving rise to rosette or cauline buds, respectively. Plasticity in the process of shoot branching is regulated by resource and nutrient availability as well as by plant hormones. However, few studies have attempted to test whether cauline and rosette branching are subject to the same plasticity. Here, we addressed this question by phenotyping cauline and rosette branching in three arabidopsis ecotypes and several arabidopsis mutants with varied shoot architectures. Our results show that there is no negative correlation between cauline and rosette branch numbers in arabidopsis, demonstrating that there is no trade-off between cauline and rosette bud outgrowth. Through investigation of the altered branching pattern of flowering pathway mutants and arabidopsis ecotypes grown in various photoperiods and light regimes, we further elucidated that the number of cauline branches is closely related to flowering time. The number or rosette branches has an enormous plasticity compared with cauline branches and is influenced by genetic background, flowering time, light intensity and temperature. Our data reveal different plasticity in the regulation of branching at rosette and cauline nodes and promote a framework for future branching analyses. One sentence summary Different plasticity of branching at cauline and rosette nodes of arabidopsis is revealed through detailed correlative analyses of branching under varied genetic and environmental contexts.
Plant-based biosensors for detecting CRISPR-mediated genome engineering

CRISPR/Cas has recently emerged as the most reliable system for genome engineering in various species. However, concerns about risks associated with CRISPR/Cas9 technology are increasing on potential unintended DNA changes that might accidentally arise from CRISPR gene editing. Developing a system that can detect and report the presence of active CRIPSR/Cas tools in biological systems is therefore very necessary. Here, we developed the real-time detection systems that can spontaneously indicate CRISPR-Cas tools for genome editing and gene regulation including CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease, base editing, prime editing and CRISPRa in plants. Using the fluorescence-based molecular biosensors, we demonstrated that the activities of CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease, base editing, prime editing and CRIPSRa can be effectively detected in transient expression via protoplast transformation and leaf infiltration (in Arabidopsis, poplar, and tobacco) and stable transformation in Arabidopsis.
Fitness Landscape Analysis of a tRNA Gene Reveals that the Wild Type Allele is Sub-optimal, Yet Mutationally Robust

Fitness landscape mapping and the prediction of evolutionary trajectories on these landscapes are major tasks in evolutionary biology research. Evolutionary dynamics is tightly linked to the landscape topography, but this relation is not straightforward. Here, we analyze a fitness landscape of a yeast tRNA gene, previously measured under four different conditions. We find that the wild type allele is sub-optimal, and 8%-10% of its variants are fitter. We rule out the possibilities that the wild type is fittest on average on multiple conditions or located on a local fitness maximum. Instead, we find that the wild type is mutationally robust (‘flat’), while more fit variants are typically mutationally fragile. Similar observations of mutational robustness or flatness have been so far made in very few cases, predominantly in viral genomes.
The effect of mutational robustness on the evolvability of multicellular organisms and eukaryotic cells

Canalization involves mutational robustness, the lack of phenotypic change as a result of genetic mutations. Given the large divergence in phenotype across species, understanding the relationship between high robustness and evolvability has been of interest to both theorists and experimentalists. Although canalization was originally proposed in the context of multicellular organisms, the effect of multicellularity on evolvability has not been considered by theoreticians. We address this issue using a Boolean population model with explicit representation of an environment in which multicellular individuals with explicit genotype and phenotype evolve. Robustness is described by a single real number between zero and one. We find that high robustness is favored in constant environments, and lower robustness is favored after environmental change. Multicellularity severely constrains robustness: peak evolvability occurs at an absolute level of robustness of about 0.99 compared with values of about 0.5 in a classical neutral network model. Multicellularity results in a sharp peak of evolvability in which the maximum is set by the fact that the fixation of adaptive mutations becomes more improbable as robustness decreases. When robustness is put under genetic control, robustness levels leading to maximum evolvability are selected for, but maximal relative fitness appears to require recombination.
Shedding light on the circadian clock of the threespine stickleback

The circadian clock is an internal timekeeping system shared by most organisms, and knowledge about its functional importance and evolution in natural environments is still needed. Here, we investigated the circadian clock of wild-caught threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) at the behavioural and molecular levels. While their behaviour, ecology, and evolution are well studied, information on their circadian rhythms are scarce. We quantified the daily locomotor activity rhythm under a light-dark cycle (LD) and under constant darkness (DD). Under LD, all fish exhibited significant daily rhythmicity, while under DD, only 18% of individuals remained rhythmic. This interindividual variation suggests that the circadian clock controls activity only in certain individuals. Moreover, under LD, some fish were almost exclusively nocturnal, while others were active around the clock. Furthermore, the most nocturnal fish were also the least active. These results suggest that light masks activity (i.e. suppresses activity without entraining the internal clock) more strongly in some individuals than others. Finally, we quantified the expression of five clock genes in the brain of sticklebacks under DD using qPCR. We did not detect circadian rhythmicity, which could either indicate that the clock molecular oscillator is highly light-dependent, or that there was an oscillation but that we were unable to detect it. Overall, our study suggests that a strong circadian control on behavioural rhythms may not necessarily be advantageous in a natural population of sticklebacks and that the daily phase of activity varies greatly between individuals because of a differential masking effect of light. Summary statement We found that in wild-caught threespine sticklebacks, the circadian clock does not control locomotor activity in most, but not all, individuals. Sticklebacks are mostly nocturnal, although interindividual variation exists.
A Novel Single-Input-Multi-Output Converter for Flexible-Order Power-Distributive With MPPT Capability

This article proposes a novel single-input-multi-output (SIMO) converter for photovoltaic (PV) applications. The proposed structure produces multi-outputs with extended n stages. The voltage gain of the proposed topology for each output is enhanced by adding the number of the stage which in turn increases the power. The voltage across the switch is low, so it leads to using a lower RDS (ON) MOSFET. Besides, the peak voltage of the switch and diodes is reduced by enhancing the number of the stage. Thus, the proposed converter’s power loss is reduced. This structure can operate in continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) of operations. The proposed structure is capable to achieve maximum power point (MPP) using perturb and observe P&O) technique. To describe the foremost advantages of the proposed converter, comparison results between the recommended topology and other related structures in this field are presented. The dynamic analysis, and the principle of operation for n = 3, 4 stages are introduced. Finally, experimental results in CCM and DCM operations with 50 kHz switching frequency are provided.