Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning from monitoring networks: Few-large vs. many-small plots and multi-scale analysis

In order to learn about broad scale ecological patterns, data from large-scale surveys must allow us to either estimate the correlations between the environment and an outcome and/or accurately predict ecological patterns. An important part of data collection is the sampling effort used to collect observations, which we decompose into two quantities: the number of observations or plots (n) and the per-observation/plot effort (E; e.g., area per plot). If we want to understand the relationships between predictors and a response variable, then lower model parameter uncertainty is desirable. If the goal is to predict a response variable, then lower prediction error is preferable. We aim to learn if and when aggregating data can help attain these goals. We find that a small sample size coupled with large observation effort coupled (few large) can yield better predictions when compared to a large number of observations with low observation effort (many small). We also show that the combination of the two values (n and E), rather than one alone, has an impact on parameter uncertainty. In an application to Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, we model the tree density of selected species at various amounts of aggregation using linear regression in order to compare the findings from simulated data to real data. The application supports the theoretical findings that increasing observational effort through aggregation can lead to improved predictions, conditional on the thoughtful aggregation of the observational plots. In particular, aggregations over extremely large and variable covariate space may lead to poor prediction and high parameter uncertainty. Analyses of large-range data can improve with aggregation, with implications for both model evaluation and sampling design: testing model prediction accuracy without an underlying knowledge of the datasets and the scale at which predictor variables operate can obscure meaningful results.
Can lymphocytes serve as a predictor of response to preoperative chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer?

Introduction The aim of this study is to identify factors that may predict the response of locally advanced rectal cancer tumors (LARC) to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and to evaluate the effect of circulating lymphocytes on pathological tumor response. Methods This retrospective study included neoadjuvant CRT-treated, LARC-diagnosed patients at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel. CHAID analysis, t-test, χ2 test, and ROC curve analyses were performed to explore the association between pathological complete response (pCR) and several factors including patient demographics, tumor characteristics, type of treatment, and levels of circulating lymphocytes measured on a weekly basis. Results Out of 198 patients enrolled in the study, pCR was achieved in 50 patients (25%). ROC curve and CHAID analyses showed that absolute lymphopenia was significantly associated with lower pCR rates (p=0.046 and p=0.001, respectively). Other factors that were found to have a significant impact were radiation therapy type (p=0.033) and tumor distance from the anal verge (p= 0.041). Conclusion An absolute decrease in the level of circulating lymphocytes during preoperative CRT to LARC is associated with poorer tumor response to treatment and thus may serve as a predictive biomarker for treatment resistance.
Normalized difference vegetation index sensor-based nitrogen management in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): Nutrient uptake, use efficiency, and partial nutrient balance

The present experiment was conducted to assess the impact of fixed and variable doses (using a normalized difference vegetation index-sensor) of nitrogen (N) on wheat yields, nutrient uptake, nitrogen use efficiency, and soil nitrogen balance through the optimization of nitrogen dose. There were 10 treatments based on fixed and variable doses with different splits, and each treatment was replicated three times under a randomized complete block design. The treatments comprised fixed doses of 120 and 150 kg N ha–1 with different splits; variable doses based on sensor readings after application of 60, 90, and 120 kg N ha–1; 225 kg N ha–1 as a nitrogen-rich control; and no application of nitrogen as the absolute control. It was revealed that the application of a basal dose of 60 kg N ha–1 and another 60 kg N ha–1 at the crown root initiation stage followed by a sensor-guided N application significantly improved wheat grain yields and grain nitrogen uptake. However, straw nitrogen uptake was highest in N-rich plots where 225 kg N ha–1was applied. It was found that any curtailment in these doses at basal and crown root initiation stages followed by nitrogen application using a normalized difference vegetation index sensor later could not bring about higher crop yields. On average, wheat crops responded to 152–155 kg N ha–1 in both years of the study. Partial factor productivity along with agronomic and economic nitrogen use efficiency showed a declining trend with an increased rate of N application. Apparent N recovery values were comparable between normalized difference vegetation index sensor-based N application treatments and treatments receiving lesser N doses. Soil N status decreased in all the treatments except the nitrogen-rich strip, where there was a marginal increase in soil N status after the wheat crop harvest in the rotation. Partial nitrogen balance was negative for all the treatments except the control. From these 2-year field trials, it can be concluded that applying a normalized difference vegetation index sensor could be an essential tool for the rational management of fertilizer nitrogen in wheat grown in eastern sub-Himalayan plains.
Editorial: Inhibition strategies on the formation of Maillard reaction products in food

COPYRIGHT © 2023 Wu, Yang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Editorial: Inhibition strategies on the formation of Maillard reaction products in food
On the representation of symmetric transition functions

In this paper, we give an alternative derivation of Kendall's representation for symmetric transition functions which relies on the backward and/or forward integral recursions. The proof uses a lemma concerning approximation by finite sections (which is useful in its own right) and is similar to the original proof for birth and death processes by Lederman and Reuter. Finally, we obtain a general result guaranteeing the existence of representations of transition functions such as those obtained by Pruitt and Iglehart.
Analysis of the clinical characteristics of adult patients with hangman's fractures: A retrospective study based on multicenter clinical data

Background There are few reports on the clinical characteristics of adult patients with hangman's fractures. Methods The clinical data of adult patients were collected from the hangman's fracture database of 7 medical centers. Data on patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were retrospectively analyzed. Data, including gender, age, mechanism of injury, fracture classification, and treatment, were statistically analyzed. Results A total of 216 eligible patients (160 males and 56 females, with a mean age of 49.7 years) were selected. There was no statistically significant difference in gender distribution of different age groups. The male-to-female ratio was similar in the young group (18–44 years) and the middle-aged group (45–64 years) (both about 3:1) but decreased in the elderly group (65 years and above) (about 2:1). Overall, high-energy injury was the main mechanism of injury. There was a statistically significant difference in the percentage of patients with high-energy injury in various age groups (the highest in the young group, and the lowest in the elderly group). Overall, unstable fracture was the main fracture type, with a higher proportion in the young and elderly groups than that in the middle-aged group, but there was no statistically significant difference. From the perspective of treatment options, the percentage of patients receiving surgery was higher in the young and elderly groups than that in the middle-aged group. Conclusion Hangman's fracture is predominant in males of all age groups, with high-energy injury as the main mechanism of injury. Unstable fracture is common fracture type. The percentage of patients receiving surgery in the young and elderly groups is higher than that in the middle-aged group, which may be correlated with the high incidence of unstable fracture and the life characteristics of the patients in the young and elderly age groups.
Selective modes affect gene feature and function differentiation of tetraploid Brassica species in their evolution and domestication

The genus Brassica contains a diverse group of important vegetables and oilseed crops. Genome sequencing has been completed for the six species (B. rapa, B. oleracea, B. nigra, B. carinata, B. napus, and B. juncea) in U’s triangle model. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether positively and negatively selected genes (PSGs and NSGs) affect gene feature and function differentiation of Brassica tetraploids in their evolution and domestication. A total of 9,701 PSGs were found in the A, B and C subgenomes of the three tetraploids, of which, a higher number of PSGs were identified in the C subgenome as comparing to the A and B subgenomes. The PSGs of the three tetraploids had more tandem duplicated genes, higher single copy, lower multi-copy, shorter exon length and fewer exon number than the NSGs, suggesting that the selective modes affected the gene feature of Brassica tetraploids. The PSGs of all the three tetraploids enriched in a few common KEGG pathways relating to environmental adaption (such as Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, Riboflavin metabolism, Isoflavonoid biosynthesis, Plant-pathogen interaction and Tropane, piperidine and pyridine alkaloid biosynthesis) and reproduction (Homologous recombination). Whereas, the NSGs of the three tetraploids significantly enriched in dozens of biologic processes and pathways without clear relationships with evolution. Moreover, the PSGs of B. carinata were found specifically enriched in lipid biosynthesis and metabolism which possibly contributed to the domestication of B. carinata as an oil crop. Our data suggest that selective modes affected the gene feature of Brassica tetraploids, and PSGs contributed in not only the evolution but also the domestication of Brassica tetraploids.
Learning-based robotic grasping: A review

As personalization technology increasingly orchestrates individualized shopping or marketing experiences in industries such as logistics, fast-moving consumer goods, and food delivery, these sectors require flexible solutions that can automate object grasping for unknown or unseen objects without much modification or downtime. Most solutions in the market are based on traditional object recognition and are, therefore, not suitable for grasping unknown objects with varying shapes and textures. Adequate learning policies enable robotic grasping to accommodate high-mix and low-volume manufacturing scenarios. In this paper, we review the recent development of learning-based robotic grasping techniques from a corpus of over 150 papers. In addition to addressing the current achievements from researchers all over the world, we also point out the gaps and challenges faced in AI-enabled grasping, which hinder robotization in the aforementioned industries. In addition to 3D object segmentation and learning-based grasping benchmarks, we have also performed a comprehensive market survey regarding tactile sensors and robot skin. Furthermore, we reviewed the latest literature on how sensor feedback can be trained by a learning model to provide valid inputs for grasping stability. Finally, learning-based soft gripping is evaluated as soft grippers can accommodate objects of various sizes and shapes and can even handle fragile objects. In general, robotic grasping can achieve higher flexibility and adaptability, when equipped with learning algorithms.
The impact of road traffic context on secondary task engagement while driving

Introduction Driver distraction has been recognized for a long time as a significant road safety issue. It has been consistently reported that drivers spend considerable time engaged in activities that are secondary to the driving task. The temporary diversion of attention from safety-critical driving tasks has often been associated with various adverse driving outcomes, from minor driving errors to serious motor vehicle crashes. This study explores the role of the driving context on a driver’s decision to engage in secondary activities non-critical to the driving task. Method The study utilises the Naturalistic Engagement in Secondary Tasks (NEST) dataset, a complementary dataset derived from the SHRP2 naturalistic dataset, the most extensive naturalistic study to date. An initial exploratory analysis is conducted to identify patterns of secondary task engagements in relation to context variables. Maximum likelihood Chi-square tests were applied to test for differences in engagement between types of driver distraction for the selected contextual variables. Pearson residual graphs were employed as a supplementary method to visually depict the residuals that constitute the chi-square statistic.Lastly, a two-step cluster analysis was conducted to identify common execution scenarios among secondary tasks. Results The exploratory analysis revealed interesting behavioral trends among drivers, with higher engagement rates in left curves compared to right curves, while driving uphill compared to driving downhill, in low-density traffic scenarios compared to high-density traffic scenarios, and during afternoon periods compared to morning periods. Significant differences in engagement were found among secondary tasks in relation to locality, speed, and roadway design. The clustering analysis showed no significant associations between driving scenarios of similar characteristics and the type of secondary activity executed. Discussion Overall, the findings confirm that the road traffic environment can influence how car drivers engage in distracted driving behavior.
Wave Generation By Impulse Moving Of The Bottom

This paper presents a simple formulation of the wave generation problem by impulse deformation of the sea bottom. The hydrodynamics problem is separated into three value problems: two of them are time-independent problems of an impulse deformation of the bottom for unmoving free surface and of given vertical velocity of the free surface for unmoving bottom, the other one is a time-dependent problem of free boundary deformation for the unmoving bottom. All these problems have been investigated numerically using the Boundary Element Method. For comparison, the first two problems are solved analytically.
Convergence theorems for generalized asymptotically quasi-nonexpansive mappings in CAT(0) spaces

The main aim of this paper is to study the strong convergence of finite-step iteration scheme for a finite family of generalized asymptotically quasinonexpansive mappings in the framework of CAT(0) spaces. The said iteration scheme includes modified Mann and Ishikawa iterations, the three-step iteration scheme of Xu and Noor and the scheme of Khan, Domlo and Fukhar-ud-din as special cases in Banach spaces. Our results extend and generalize many known results from the previous work given in the existing literature. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 54H25, 54E40.
Preparation, modification, and clinical application of porous tantalum scaffolds

Porous tantalum (Ta) implants have been developed and clinically applied as high-quality implant biomaterials in the orthopedics field because of their excellent corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, osteointegration, and bone conductivity. Porous Ta allows fine bone ingrowth and new bone formation through the inner space because of its high porosity and interconnected pore structure. It contributes to rapid bone integration and long-term stability of osseointegrated implants. Porous Ta has excellent wetting properties and high surface energy, which facilitate the adhesion, proliferation, and mineralization of osteoblasts. Moreover, porous Ta is superior to classical metallic materials in avoiding the stress shielding effect, minimizing the loss of marginal bone, and improving primary stability because of its low elastic modulus and high friction coefficient. Accordingly, the excellent biological and mechanical properties of porous Ta are primarily responsible for its rising clinical translation trend. Over the past 2 decades, advanced fabrication strategies such as emerging manufacturing technologies, surface modification techniques, and patient-oriented designs have remarkably influenced the microstructural characteristic, bioactive performance, and clinical indications of porous Ta scaffolds. The present review offers an overview of the fabrication methods, modification techniques, and orthopedic applications of porous Ta implants.
Editorial: In vivo and in vitro models for research in pathology

JAK-STAT signaling pathway and apoptosis in rats. The study highlights the importance of investigating the baselines at different time points when assessing the therapeutic effect of drugs, as the pathological changes and protein expression can vary over time. The results suggest that JAK-STAT signaling pathway activation plays a vital role in RIRI and that apoptosis is
Elevational patterns of soil nematode diversity, community structure and metabolic footprint in the Trikuta mountains of Northwestern Himalaya

Nematodes are an integral part of soil biodiversity and play a vital role in soil nutrient cycling. The Himalayan mountainous ecosystems are amongst the extreme environments in the world. Still little is known about the diversity and distribution patterns of soil nematodes along the elevation gradient in the region, thus limiting our ability in understanding and comparing the structural patterns of nematode communities across different regions. To address this knowledge gap, we aim to disentangle the elevational patterns of soil nematode community structure and trophic diversity by studying the abundance, composition, diversity and functional indices, and metabolic footprint of soil nematodes at four elevation classes (Elev1, Elev2, Elev3, and Elev4 each being 400 m) along an altitudinal gradient (1,000–2,600 m) in the Trikuta mountain range of Pir-Panjal to Shivalik Himalaya. Overall, a total of 55 genera were found in the study region. The diversity and richness of soil nematodes varied significantly among the elevation classes, and exhibit a decreasing trend with elevation. Also, the nematode community composition varied significantly among the elevation classes along the elevational gradient. The bacterivores were the dominant trophic group at each elevation class. Further, the soil properties played a key role in explaining the changes in the nematode community composition across the elevation classes. Moreover, the total nematode, bacterivore and herbivore abundances showed an increasing trend, while as that of fungivores and predators exhibit a negative trend with elevation. In addition, a declining pattern in the overall maturity and metabolic footprint with elevation was observed, thus depicting the lower sustenance of k-strategic nematodes and their relatively lower contribution to belowground carbon cycling at higher elevations. The finding of our study could enhance our understanding of the overall community structure and diversity patterns of soil nematode along the elevation gradient, and the response of soil nematodes to ongoing climate change in the rapidly warming Himalayas.
Highly efficient InGaN/GaN blue LED on 8-inch Si (111) substrate

We have grown LED structures on top of a robust n-type GaN template on 8-inch diameter silicon substrates achieving both a low dislocation density and a 7 um-thick template without crack even at a sufficient Si doping condition. Such high crystalline quality of n-GaN templates on Si were obtained by optimizing combination of stress compensation layers and dislocation reduction layers. Wafer bowing of LED structures were well controlled and measured below 20 μm and the warpage of LED on Si substrate was found to strongly depend on initial bowing of 8-inch Si substrates. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) values of GaN (0002) and (10-12) ω-rocking curves of LED samples grown on 8-inch Si substrates were 220 and 320 arcsec. The difference between minimum and maximum of FWHM GaN (0002) was 40 arcsec. The dislocation densities were measured about 2~3×108/cm2 by atomic force microscopy (AFM) after in-situ SiH4 and NH3 treatment. The measured quasi internal quantum efficiency of 8-inch InGaN/GaN LED was ~ 90 % with excitation power and temperature-dependent photoluminescence method. Under the un-encapsulated measurement condition of vertical InGaN/GaN LED grown on 8-inch Si substrate, the overall output power of the 1.4×1.4 mm2 chips representing a median performance exceeded 484 mW with the forward voltage of 3.2 V at the driving current of 350 mA.