jimnoneill/paper-to-field-training huggingface dataset:
The effect of insect disturbance on forest carbon flux: a multisite analysis

Field: Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)

&lt;p&gt;Insect outbreaks have a substantial effect on forest carbon cycle, including turning forests from carbon sink to carbon source. However, there is still lack of evaluation of the impact of insect disturbance on forests carbon cycle across different forest types at the global scale. Hence, we conducted a multi-site analysis to compare ecosystem CO2 fluxes&amp;#8217; change after an insect outbreak by compiling flux data from the literature or flux database. The final database consists of 21 site-years of eddy covariance data from 17 forest sites among diversity of forest types, namely temperate forest, mangrove, larch forest, etc. Our research showed that insect outbreak had significant negative effects on GEP that GEP reduces -186 gCm-2y-1 on average, as well as NEP reducing -146 gCm-2y-1 while had no significant positive effect on Re. Additionally, similar conclusion was gained when analyzing the recovery procedure that GEP increases with time at the slope of 67.6 gCm-2y-2 and NEP increases at slightly lower rate of 49.2 gCm-2y-2. But there is no evidence that Re will increase. As insects cause more severe damage to forests, all three carbon variables share negative correlation that GEP drops at the slope of -6.7 gCm-2y-1 and NEP also decreases in relatively similar rate at 66.3 gCm-2y-1 with Re decreasing by -3.4 gCm-2y-1. Also, it was found that girdling experiments has different impact on carbon budget from normal insect outbreaks while drought could dampen the damage to GEP followed with a greater recovery rate.&lt;/p&gt;
One‐pot synthesis of a polysaccharide‐based graft copolymer with an efficient redox pair (Fe2+/BrO3−)

Field: Chemical Engineering (Physical Sciences)

Abstract A graft copolymer based on a polysaccharide (sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose) and a vinyl monomer (acrylamide) has been synthesized in a nitrogen atmosphere, and its reaction conditions have been optimized for a better yield with ferrous sulfate and potassium bromate as a redox initiator. The effects of ferrous ion, bromate ion, hydrogen ion, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, and acrylamide along with the reaction time and temperature have been studied through the determination of the grafting parameters: the grafting ratio, add‐on, conversion, efficiency, homopolymer, and rate of grafting. The maximum yield has been found to occur when the acrylamide concentration is 8.0 × 10 −2 mol/dm 3 , whereas the maximum conversion occurs at a minimum concentration of acrylamide, that is, at 3.0 × 10 −2 mol/dm 3 . The grafting parameters have been found to increase with an increasing concentration of the redox initiator (Fe 2+ , from 2.0 × 10 −3 to 10.0 × 10 −3 mol/dm 3 ; BrO , from 2.2 × 10 −3 to 4.0 × 10 −3 mol/dm 3 ). The maximum efficiency occurs with a reaction time of 210 min. The rate of grafting has been found to be maximum up to 60 min; after that, it decreases rapidly. In this article, it is shown that the hydrogen ion leads to a very clear decrease in the grafting parameters as its concentration increases from 2.1 × 10 −3 to 11.3 × 10 −3 mol/dm 3 . Grafted gum and ungrafted gum have been characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. A probable mechanism has been suggested for graft copolymerization. It has been observed that the graft copolymer is thermally more stable than the parent backbone. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Microbial fertilizer and organic manure combined fertilization changes the rhizosphere bacterial community and carotenoids of Citrus reticulata Blanco ‘Orah’

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Abstract

Background Citrus reticulata Blanco ‘Orah’ is one of the most widely grown citrus varieties in southern China. It has been proven that microbial fertilizer and organic manure combined fertilization could improve the yields and appearances of ‘Orah’ fruits. However, details regarding the mechanisms underlying the effects of combined fertilization on the agronomic traits and rhizosphere bacterial community of plants still need to be elucidated. Results This study compared the rhizosphere bacterial community and carotenoids of ‘Orah’ with (WYT group) and without (WYCK group) combined fertilization. The WYT group was sprayed with 50 ml Strongreen and 250 g of Yumeiren five times while WYCK group did not sprayed. Combined fertilization increased fruit weight and the Citrus color index (CCI) significantly (P < 0.05). By 16s rRNA sequencing, 7,126 operational taxonomic units (OTU) were obtained. A higher Shannon index was observed in the WYT group compared to that in the WYCK group. Comparison between the two groups showed that Pseudomonas was enriched in the WTY group, and Cyanobacteria was enriched in the WYCK group. At the family level, Phyllobacteriaceae was significantly abundant in the WTY group, whereas Thermosporothrix and Sphingobium were significantly abundant in the WYCK group. A total of 51 carotenoid components were tested using UPLC-MS/MS. In the pulp tissues, 37 carotenoid components were decreased in the WTY group compared to those in the WYCK group. In fruit skin, 24 significantly different components (7 downregulated and 17 upregulated) were identified in WTY compared to those in WYCK. Correlation analysis revealed that the network between OTUs and carotenoids contained seven carotenoid components and four OTUs. Four OTUs, strain TRA3-20 (a eubacterium), Roseiflexus, OPB35, and Fictibacillus contributed to carotenoid accumulation regulation in fruit skin. Conclusions By exploring the complex interactions between soil microbiota and fruit traits, our research has illuminated potential pathways through which these microbial communities influence the biosynthesis and accumulation of carotenoids. In conclusion, this study provides valuable information regarding soil bacterial communities related to carotenoid accumulation in ‘Orah’.
THE POLITICS OF FAITH AND THE STRATEGIC USE OF RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE IN MODERN POWER RELATIONS

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

Religious discourse has historically functioned as one of the most potent tools in shaping societal hierarchies, legitimizing authority, and mobilizing collective identities. In modern contexts, faith continues to occupy a central role in the orchestration of political strategies, statecraft, and ideological dominance. This article explores how religious language, symbolism, and institutions are strategically harnessed to consolidate power, influence public opinion, and negotiate authority in socio-political domains across diverse contexts. Using theoretical insights from Michel Foucault, Talal Asad, Edward Said, and Jürgen Habermas, the study situates religion as both a discourse and a practice embedded in modern power relations. Drawing on comparative examples from South Asia, the Middle East, and the Western world, the paper underscores how religion operates simultaneously as a unifying force and a divisive instrument. The study concludes by highlighting the ethical dilemmas that emerge when faith is strategically appropriated for political gain.
Propagation of Electrical Activity in Ischemic and Infarcted Myocardium as the Basis of Ventricular Arrhythmias

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

Impulse Propagation in Ischemia. The disturbances in impulse propagation in the heart with regional ischemia and the heart with chronic infarction, which underlie the initiation and perpetuation of arrhythmias, are briefly reviewed. Evidence is presented that reentry is responsible for ventricular tachycardia in both conditions. During acute ischemia, reentrant excitation is characterized by unstable functional reentrant circuits, the properties of which are determined by the changes in transmembrane action potential. Tachycardia is caused by a single unstable reentrant circuit. Fibrillation ensues when a single circuit is broken up into many independent reentrant wavelets. In contrast, ventricular excitation during sustained monomorphic tachycardia in hearts with a healed infarct is characterized by stable reentrant circuits determined by the architecture of surviving myocardial cell bundles within the infarct. In acutely ischemic myocardium, conduction velocity is reduced to about half of the value in normal myocardium, due to the reduced action potential amplitude and upstroke velocity. After about 5–10 minutes ischemic cells become inexcitable at resting membrane potentials of ‐50 to ‐60 mV. An important characteristic of ischemic cells is the dependence of the action potential upstroke on cycle length mainly because of the markedly prolonged recovery from inactivation of the fast Na + current in partially depolarized cells. Changes in transmembrane potentials do not occur homogeneously throughout the ischemic zone, and small differences in resting potential (associated with small differences in local K + accumulation) of depolarized cells result in large local differences in refractory periods. The time dependence of refractoriness explains why an increase in sinus rate, or a single premature beat, may produce conduction block at certain sites, and allow conduction in adjacent areas, thus setting the stage for reentry. A decrease in electrical cell‐to‐cell coupling, which also is a factor in decreasing conduction velocity, only occurs after 15–20 minutes of ischemia. Its role in the type 1B arrhythmias, which coincide with the period when uncoupling begins, remains to be elucidated. The cellular electrophysiology of myocardial cells surviving in the subendocardium of infarcts in human hearts is close to normal. Conduction slowing may be caused by “zigzag” conduction along small bundles that are separated by fibrous tissue, and that merge and divide over small distances. ( J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 3, pp. 77–87, February 1992 )
Efficient Generative Model Training via Embedded Representation Warmup

Field: Computer Science (Physical Sciences)

Generative models face a fundamental challenge: they must simultaneously learn high-level semantic concepts (what to generate) and low-level synthesis details (how to generate it). Conventional end-to-end training entangles these distinct, and often conflicting objectives, leading to a complex and inefficient optimization process. We argue that explicitly decoupling these tasks is key to unlocking more effective and efficient generative modeling. To this end, we propose Embedded Representation Warmup (ERW), a principled two-phase training framework. The first phase is dedicated to building a robust semantic foundation by aligning the early layers of a diffusion model with a powerful pretrained encoder. This provides a strong representational prior, allowing the second phase -- generative full training with alignment loss to refine the representation -- to focus its resources on high-fidelity synthesis. Our analysis confirms that this efficacy stems from functionally specializing the model's early layers for representation. Empirically, our framework achieves a 11.5$\times$ speedup in 350 epochs to reach FID=1.41 compared to single-phase methods like REPA. Code is available at https://github.com/LINs-lab/ERW.
Complex roles of the actin‐binding protein Girdin/GIV in DNA damage‐induced apoptosis of cancer cells

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)

Abstract The actin‐binding protein Girdin is a hub protein that interacts with multiple proteins to regulate motility and Akt and trimeric G protein signaling in cancer cells. Girdin expression correlates with poor outcomes in multiple human cancers. However, those findings are not universal, as they depend on study conditions. Those data suggest that multiple aspects of Girdin function and its role in tumor cell responses to anticancer therapeutics must be reconsidered. In the present study, we found that Girdin is involved in DNA damage‐induced cancer cell apoptosis. An esophageal cancer cell line that exhibited high Girdin expression showed a marked sensitivity to UV‐mediated DNA damage compared to a line with low Girdin expression. When transcriptional activation of endogenous Girdin was mediated by an engineered CRISPR/Cas9 activation system, sensitivity to DNA damage increased in both stationary and migrating HeLa cancer cells. High Girdin expression was associated with dysregulated cell cycle progression and prolonged G 1 and M phases. These features were accompanied by p53 activation, which conceivably increases cancer cell vulnerability to UV exposure. These data highlight the importance of understanding complex Girdin functions that influence cancer cell sensitivity to therapeutics.
&lt;i&gt;Selecting informative spectral bands using machine learning techniques to detect Fusarium head blight in wheat&lt;/i&gt;

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Abstract. Fusarium head blight (FHB, also known as scab), is among the most widespread and devastating diseases attacking small grain crops, mainly wheat and barley. Besides its negative impact on yield and grain quality, the FHB pathogens produce mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), that contaminate the grain, making it unsuitable for human and livestock consumption. Development of FHB resistant cultivars through breeding is the most effective solution in response to the FHB threat. The bottleneck of FHB breeding for disease resistance is the visual assessment of spikes, which is extremely demanding, laborious, time-consuming, and most importantly subject to human error. The objective of this study was to identify the most informative spectral bands to develop an automated phenotyping framework for discriminating FHB infected spikes from healthy ones. For this purpose, hyperspectral images from a known susceptible wheat variety, Wheaton, were captured in a laboratory where we could control lighting, background, and the orientation of spikes with respect to the imager. Subsequent to the required preprocessing, spectral bands were ranked by an ensemble feature selection pipeline. Afterwards, a density estimator with Gaussian kernel was used to cluster the most informative bands and find the center of broad multispectral bands. Kernel estimator identified five bands, including 766, 868, 696, 591, and 540 nm (listed in order) as the cluster centers to develop a multispectral sensor. The classification results using the selected band revealed that two spectral bands are sufficient to achieve the maximum classification accuracy, demonstrating the redundancy and high correlation between hyperspectral bands for this application.
The Effect of Fiber Waviness on the Residual Stress State and Its Prediction by the Hole Drilling Method in Fiber Metal Laminates: A Global-Local Finite Element Analysis

Field: Engineering (Physical Sciences)

In this paper, fiber waviness, as one of the most frequently occurring defects in fiber reinforced composites, is numerically investigated with regard to the formation of residual stresses in fiber metal laminates. Furthermore, the prediction of the residual stress state in the thickness direction by means of the simulated hole drilling method is studied. To this regard, a global-local finite element analysis based on the submodel technique is presented. The submodel technique essentially consists of two governing steps: In the first step, a global model is first utilized to calculate and analyze the residual stress distribution and deformation in the intrinsically joined hybrid structure. Effective cure-dependent thermo–elastic properties predicted by a numerical homogenization procedure were used to simulate the curing-process and analyze the residual stresses state. However, the dimension of the intrinsically manufactured hybrid plate is large compared to the diameter of the drilled hole (2 mm), so that a local model is necessary, which provides only a geometric partial portion of the global model. The local model takes the global stress state into account and is subsequently used to simulate the incremental hole drilling method with a refined mesh discretization. The production-related fiber waviness is modeled by an element-wise orientation approximating a sinus function. In order to validate the global-local modeling approach, a comparison between numerical results and experimental data from literature is presented. The comparison between global residual stress state (global model) and the simulated hole drilling method (local model) is used to assess the applicability and reliability of the hole drilling method in case of fiber waviness. It is found that an in-plane fiber waviness leads to a rather low variance of residual stresses over thickness. In case of an out-of-plane fiber waviness, oscillating residual stress fields occur over the entire thickness along the fiber direction. Moreover, the current limits of the incremental hole drilling method could be pointed out by the presented investigations. It is seen that the simulated results of the incremental hole drilling method are sensitive to waviness, even if the amplitude-wavelength-ratio is small. Without further adjustment of the calibration coefficients the oscillating stress and strain fields lead, in particular fiber waviness in thickness direction, to unreliable predictions. For the experimental application it can be concluded that the specimens have to be carefully examined with regard to fiber waviness.
Ammonium Dissociation for Swine and Dairy Cattle Manures

Field: Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)

The dissociation of ammonium (NH4+) into ammonia (NH3) in wastewaters is a key factor governing atmospheric nitrogen volatilization. Relatively rich in total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN or NH4+ plus NH3), livestock manures are most susceptible to NH3 volatilization, although indirect measurements report 5 times less NH4+ dissociation as compared to theoretical values. The objective of this study was therefore to directly measure NH4+ dissociation of two standard NH4Cl solutions (1750 and 3500 mg TAN/L), and of swine and dairy cattle manures at various dilutions and temperatures using a ammonia selective electrode (hydrogen and silver-silver chloride electrode couple) at various pH and temperatures. All solutions demonstrated NH4+ dissociation varying from theory, especially because of dissolved compounds such as atmospheric CO2. At a neutral pH, ratios of theoretical to measured [NH3-N] ranged from 1.5 to 3.5, with higher ratios corresponding to higher TAN levels. At a pH below 6, NH3 volatilization was enhanced by the shift of HCO3- to H2CO3 and CO2. With previous research projects reporting 5 times less NH3 volatilization as compared to theory, the present indicates that dissociation activity account for half of this drop with gas diffusion accounting for the other half.
A faster-acting and more potent form of tissue plasminogen activator.

Field: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics (Life Sciences)

Current treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) requires an intravenous infusion (1.5-3 h) because the clearance of tPA from the circulation is rapid (t 1/2 approximately 6 min). We have developed a tPA variant, T103N,N117Q, KHRR(296-299)AAAA (TNK-tPA) that has substantially slower in vivo clearance (1.9 vs. 16.1 ml per min per kg for tPA in rabbits) and near-normal fibrin binding and plasma clot lysis activity (87% and 82% compared with wild-type tPA). TNK-tPA exhibits 80-fold higher resistance to plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 than tPA and 14-fold enhanced relative fibrin specificity. In vitro, TNK-tPA is 10-fold more effective at conserving fibrinogen in plasma compared to tPA. Arterial venous shunt models of fibrinolysis in rabbits indicate that TNK-tPA (by bolus) induces 50% lysis in one-third the time required by tPA (by infusion). TNK-tPA is 8- and 13-fold more potent in rabbits than tPA toward whole blood clots and platelet-enriched clots, respectively. TNK-tPA conserves fibrinogen and, because of its slower clearance and normal clot lysis activity, is effective as a thrombolytic agent when given as a bolus at a relatively low dose.
Can the Fijian economy be saved by ethanol production

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance (Social Sciences)

Fiji is totally dependent on imported fossil fuel for its transport sector and options for alternative motor fuels are limited. In the past, when petroleum prices soared, there were discussions at various levels about alternatives. These discussions might have been sporadic but the seriousness of the issue should not be understated. The economic viability of options such as the production of ethanol from sugar or other bio-fuels needs detailed economic analysis to give direction to future discussions. This article analyses the economics of ethanol production from sugar cane. The analysis is influenced by the experiences of countries such as Brazil, where ethanol is produced and used as a transport fuel on a commercial level. The foreign exchange savings potential of this fuel option is also explored briefly. The framework for economic analysis is based on the Dutch Sustainable Development Group’s study of 2005.
Subgroup analysis of ECOG2 patients from ROMANA 2: A phase III study of anamorelin in NSCLC patients with cachexia.

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

6 Background: Cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome (CACS), often observed in NSCLC patients, is characterized by decreased body weight, mainly lean body mass (LBM), and is associated with worse morbidity and survival. Anamorelin HCl (ANAM), a novel selective ghrelin receptor agonist with appetite-enhancing and anabolic activity, is in development as a treatment of NSCLC CACS. Methods: ROMANA 2 was one of two global, double-blind, Phase III trials assessing ANAM efficacy and safety in NSCLC. Patients with unresectable stage III/IV NSCLC, ECOG 0-2 and cachexia (≥5% weight loss within prior 6 months or BMI <20 kg/m 2 ), were randomized (2:1) to 100 mg ANAM or placebo, given daily orally for 12 weeks. Co-primary endpoints were change from baseline over 12 weeks in LBM (measured by DXA) and in handgrip strength (HGS). Secondary endpoints included change in patient symptoms/concerns regarding anorexia-cachexia and fatigue (via Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Treatment [FAACT] and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy – Fatigue [FACIT-F]). Safety assessments included lab values and adverse events (AEs). This pre-specified analysis focused on ECOG2 patients. Results: ROMANA 2 (N=495) enrolled 130 ECOG2 patients (N=41 placebo; N=89 ANAM). Subgroup demographics were balanced: median age= 64 yr, male (81.5%), metastatic (74.6%), and prior weight loss >10% (61.5%). In the overall trial, ANAM significantly increased LBM vs placebo (0.75 vs -0.96 kg; p<0.0001) and improved FAACT over 12 weeks (3.48±0.9 vs 1.34±1.0; p=0.0016); change in HGS was not statistically different. In the ECOG2 subgroup, ANAM also significantly increased LBM (0.45 vs -2.66 kg; p=0.0004); there was a trend towards improvement in FAACT and FACIT-F but this was not statistically significant. In the ANAM arm of the ECOG2 subgroup, the most frequent drug-related AE was hyperglycemia (4.5%), with few (1.1%) drug-related Grade ≥ 3 AEs. Conclusions: ANAM treatment for 12 weeks was well tolerated. In patients with ECOG2 performance status, which represents a more severe/fragile population, ANAM improved LBM, as well as anorexia-cachexia and fatigue symptoms/concerns in advanced NSCLC cachectic patients. Clinical trial information: NCT01387282.