Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diurnal and seasonal coupling of conifer sap flow and vapour pressure deficit across topoclimatic gradients in a subalpine catchment

The hydroclimatic controls on transpiration often follow hillslope‐ or catchment‐scale topography in water‐limited ecosystems; however, rates of transpiration may deviate from these patterns due to microtopographic variation in environmental conditions or physiology. Here, we assessed the microtopographic effects on water use of five conifer species within four subcatchments in western Montana along a water availability gradient that was driven by aspect and elevation. To infer physiological processes at both diurnal and seasonal time scales, we analysed the relationship between sap velocity, Vs, and vapour pressure deficit, D, using instantaneous (half‐hourly) and aggregated (daily mean) values of Vs and D. Both within and across species, daily mean Vs was more tightly coupled to D at higher elevation sites (1,720 m), whereas trees 350 m lower in elevation became decoupled from D as snowmelt‐derived soil moisture declined. At the diurnal scale, we found that the degree of decoupling of Vs from D during soil moisture deficits decreased when a time lag between Vs and D was considered. Additionally, contrary to the common inference of plant hydraulic capacitance based on Vs lagging behind D at the diurnal scale, half‐hourly Vs tended to lead D in three of the five conifer species we studied. Predawn and midday branch water potential measurements provided additional evidence that topography influenced plant water status. These results suggest that improved understanding of soil–vegetation–atmosphere coupling in mountainous terrain requires further inquiry into the spatial variability of plant hydraulic regulation.
Explicit feasible initialization for nonlinear MPC with guaranteed stability

We present a method for the computation of control invariant (c.i.) sets and a simple suboptimal explicit controller for a large class of constrained nonlinear discrete time systems. The explicit controller provides, for any point in the c.i. set, a finite sequence of input values that drive the system to the origin. These input sequences may serve as feasible initializations for the nonlinear program (NLP) associated to nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC). The proposed method is a straightforward extension of an existing method for the computation of c.i. sets, which we augment by a mechanism to record feasible control actions. In contrast to existing explicit NMPC approaches, the explicit control law is calculated without solving the underlying NLP. The method is computationally expensive, but most of the computational effort can be moved offline, and the evaluation of the resulting explicit controller is quite fast.
Distributed Patterns of Brain Activity that Lead to Forgetting

Proactive interference (PI), in which irrelevant information from prior learning disrupts memory performance, is widely viewed as a major cause of forgetting. However, the hypothesized spontaneous recovery (i.e., automatic retrieval) of interfering information presumed to be at the base of PI remains to be demonstrated directly. Moreover, it remains unclear at what point during learning and/or retrieval interference impacts memory performance. In order to resolve these open questions, we employed a machine-learning algorithm to identify distributed patterns of brain activity associated with retrieval of interfering information that engenders PI and causes forgetting. Participants were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging during an item recognition task. We induced PI by constructing sets of three consecutive study lists from the same semantic category. The classifier quantified the magnitude of category-related activity at encoding and retrieval. Category-specific activity during retrieval increased across lists, consistent with the category information becoming increasingly available and producing interference. Critically, this increase was correlated with individual differences in forgetting and the deployment of frontal lobe mechanisms that resolve interference. Collectively, these findings suggest that distributed patterns of brain activity pertaining to the interfering information during retrieval contribute to forgetting. The prefrontal cortex mediates the relationship between the spontaneous recovery of interfering information at retrieval and individual differences in memory performance.
SCABP8/CBL10, a Putative Calcium Sensor, Interacts with the Protein Kinase SOS2 to Protect Arabidopsis Shoots from Salt Stress[W][OA]

The SOS (for Salt Overly Sensitive) pathway plays essential roles in conferring salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Under salt stress, the calcium sensor SOS3 activates the kinase SOS2 that positively regulates SOS1, a plasma membrane sodium/proton antiporter. We show that SOS3 acts primarily in roots under salt stress. By contrast, the SOS3 homolog SOS3-LIKE CALCIUM BINDING PROTEIN8 (SCABP8)/CALCINEURIN B-LIKE10 functions mainly in the shoot response to salt toxicity. While root growth is reduced in sos3 mutants in the presence of NaCl, the salt sensitivity of scabp8 is more prominent in shoot tissues. SCABP8 is further shown to bind calcium, interact with SOS2 both in vitro and in vivo, recruit SOS2 to the plasma membrane, enhance SOS2 activity in a calcium-dependent manner, and activate SOS1 in yeast. In addition, sos3 scabp8 and sos2 scabp8 display a phenotype similar to sos2, which is more sensitive to salt than either sos3 or scabp8 alone. Overexpression of SCABP8 in sos3 partially rescues the sos3 salt-sensitive phenotype. However, overexpression of SOS3 fails to complement scabp8. These results suggest that SCABP8 and SOS3 are only partially redundant in their function, and each plays additional and unique roles in the plant salt stress response.
Heart Failure Society of South Africa (HeFSSA) perspective on the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2012 chronic heart failure guideline.

BACKGROUND The South African Heart Association (SA Heart) is an affiliate of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). SA Heart endorses ESC treatment guidelines with modification to suit local circumstances. The Heart Failure Society of South Africa (HeFSSA) is a special interest group of SA Heart. This guideline has been compiled on behalf of the HeFSSA and is based on the ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure 2012. The focus is on heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF) (i.e. ejection fraction <50%). We have recommended interventions in symptomatic patients with HF-REF in general to clarify the 'grey area' between the ESC guidelines definition of REF (<50%) and the predefined ejection fraction used in randomised heart failure trials (<35%). OBJECTIVE To highlight new changes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure with particular emphasis on areas that are relevant to SA. CONCLUSIONS Randomised clinical trials are a crucial, but not the only, guide in treating HF-REF patients. There always remain questions that are unanswered and groups of patients not studied, so prudent clinical decisions are required.
Construction and Characterization of tetH Overexpression and Knockout Strains of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

ABSTRACT Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a major participant in consortia of microorganisms used for bioleaching. It can obtain energy from the oxidation of Fe2+, H2, S0, and various reduced inorganic sulfur compounds (RISCs). Tetrathionate is a key intermediate during RISC oxidation, hydrolyzed by tetrathionate hydrolase (TetH), and used as sole energy source. In this study, a tetH knockout (ΔtetH) mutant and a tetH overexpression strain were constructed and characterized. The tetH overexpression strain grew better on sulfur and tetrathionate and possessed a higher rate of tetrathionate utilization and TetH activity than the wild type. However, its cell yields on tetrathionate were much lower than those on sulfur. The ΔtetH mutant could not grow on tetrathionate but could proliferate on sulfur with a lower cell yield than the wild type's, which indicated that tetrathionate hydrolysis is mediated only by TetH, encoded by tetH. The ΔtetH mutant could survive in ferrous medium with an Fe2+ oxidation rate similar to that of the wild type. For the tetH overexpression strain, the rate was relatively higher than that of the wild type. The reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that tetH and doxD2 acted synergistically, and doxD2 was considered important in thiosulfate metabolism. Of the two sqr genes, AFE_0267 seemed to play as important a role in sulfide oxidation as AFE_1792. This study not only provides a substantial basis for studying the function of the tetH gene but also may serve as a model to clarify other candidate genes involved in sulfur oxidation in this organism.
Basophil Activation Test with Food Additives in Chronic Urticaria Patients

The role of food additives in chronic urticaria (CU) is still under investigation. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between food additives and CU by using the basophil activation test (BAT). The BAT using 15 common food additives was performed for 15 patients with CU who had a history of recurrent urticarial aggravation following intake of various foods without a definite food-specific IgE. Of the 15 patients studied, two (13.3%) showed positive BAT results for one of the tested food additives. One patient responded to monosodium glutamate, showing 18.7% of CD203c-positive basophils. Another patient showed a positive BAT result to sodium benzoate. Both patients had clinical correlations with the agents, which were partly determined by elimination diets. The present study suggested that at least a small proportion of patients with CU had symptoms associated with food additives. The results may suggest the potential utility of the BAT to identity the role of food additives in CU.
Comparison of Volatile Compounds in Two Brandies Using HS-SPME Coupled with GC-O, GC-MS and Sensory Evaluation

The aim of this study was to compare the volatile compounds between Changyu XO and Hennessy XO. Sensory evaluation was performed by a panel of tasters. Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis was achieved by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME), coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O). A total of 160 volatile compounds were identified in the two brands of brandy. Of these, 118 compounds were common to both Changyu XO and Hennessy XO; 18 compounds were specific to Changyu XO and 24 were specific to Hennessy XO. A total of 85 aroma compounds responsible for brandy flavour were identified by GC-O, of which 68 were common to both brands, while seven and ten were specific to Changyu XO and Hennessy XO, respectively. The study provided detailed information about the compounds responsible for the characteristic flavour of specific brandies. According to statistical analysis, significant differences were recorded between Changyu XO and Hennessy XO. Most volatile compounds in Changyu XO occurred at lower concentrations than those in Hennessy XO. Based on sensory evaluation analysis, the floral, alcohol and rancid aroma descriptors achieved higher scores in Changyu XO and Hennessy XO, while the lime aroma seemed specific to Hennessy XO. Herb and almond aromas were specific to Changyu XO.
On some general renewal theorems for nonidentically distributed variables

As a convenience, let us agree to call an infinite sequence Xn X1, X2, X3, * * of independent random variables, a renewal sequence, and when all the random variables are identically distributed let us call {Xn} a renewal process. If all the random variables are nonnegative let us say {Xn} is a positive renewal sequence (process). The renewal sequence (process) will be called periodic if there is a real w > 0 such that, with probability one, every random variable in the renewal sequence (process) is a multiple of w. If the renewal sequence (process) is not periodic we shall call it continuous. We shall write S. = Xi + X2 + Xn with n = 1, 2, 3, * , for the partial sums of the renewal sequence, Fn(x) = P{Sn _ x} for the distribution function of Sn, and U(x) = P{O _ x} for the so-called Heaviside unit function. We then define the random variable N(x) as the number of partial sums Sn which satisfy the inequality Sn _ x,
Assessment of effectiveness of content models for approximating Twitter social connection structures

This paper explores the social quality (goodness) of community structures formed across Twitter users, where social links within the structures are estimated based upon semantic properties of user-generated content (corpus). We examined the overlap of the community structures of the constructed graphs, and followership-based social communities, to find the social goodness of the links constructed. Unigram, bigram and LDA content models were empirically investigated for evaluation of effectiveness, as approximators of underlying social graphs, such that they maintain the community social property. Impact of content at varying granularities, for the purpose of predicting links while retaining the social community structures, was investigated. 100 discussion topics, spanning over 10 Twitter events, were used for experiments. The unigram language model performed the best, indicating strong similarity of word usage within deeply connected social communities. This observation agrees with the phenomenon of evolution of word usage behavior, that transform individuals belonging to the same community tending to choose the same words, made by [1], and raises a question on the literature that use, without validation, LDA for content-based social link prediction over other content models. Also, semantically finer-grained content was observed to be more effective compared to coarser-grained content.
Exploring the Design Space of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks at Large Scale

In recent years, the research community has discovered that deep neural networks (DNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) can yield higher accuracy than all previous solutions to a broad array of machine learning problems. To our knowledge, there is no single CNN/DNN architecture that solves all problems optimally. Instead, the “right” CNN/DNN architecture varies depending on the application at hand. CNN/DNNs comprise an enormous design space. Quantitatively, we find that a small region of the CNN design space contains 30 billion different CNN architectures.In this dissertation, we develop a methodology that enables systematic exploration of the design space of CNNs. Our methodology is comprised of the following four themes.1. Judiciously choosing benchmarks and metrics.2. Rapidly training CNN models.3. Defining and describing the CNN design space.4. Exploring the design space of CNN architectures.Taken together, these four themes comprise an effective methodology for discovering the “right” CNN architectures to meet the needs of practical applications.
Differentiating Duchenne from Non-Duchenne Smiles Using Active Appearance Models and the Facial Action Coding System

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . vi DEDICATION . ix LIST OF TABLES . x LIST OF FIGURES . xi
Is physical activity a part of who I am? A review and meta-analysis of identity, schema and physical activity

ABSTRACT Two parallel literatures on the physical activity (PA) identity and schema constructs have the potential to supplement traditional social cognitive approaches used for PA promotion. The purpose of this paper was to review schema/identity research and appraise its relationship with PA via meta-analysis followed by thematic analyses of its correlates, as well as its proposed mechanisms on PA. Eligible studies were from English, peer-reviewed published articles that examined identity and/or schema in the context of PA. Searches were completed in June 2015 in five databases. Sixty-two independent data-sets (32 available for meta-analysis), primarily of modest quality, were identified. Results of the random effects meta-analysis showed that the point-estimate between identity/schema and behaviour was r = . 44 (CI = .39−.48), and invariant to selected study characteristics. Thematic review showed that identity/schema was associated with commitment, ability, affective judgments, identified/integrated regulation and social comparison and predicted intention, self-regulatory efficacy, and self-regulation strategy use. It had reliable evidence as a moderator of the intention–behavior relationship, was associated with increases in the speed of processing of relevant information and created negative affect under hypothetical identity–behavior discrepant situations. While this initial research is promising, more rigorous research designs, including interventions to increase identity/schema, are warranted.
Prophylactic administration of L-arginine improves the intestinal barrier function after mesenteric ischaemia.

BACKGROUND: Ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) of the intestine causes mucosal injury associated with a high death rate in rats. AIM: To investigate whether nitric oxide (NO) might be implicated in the recovery of the intestinal mucosa after ischaemic insult. METHODS: Wistar rats were subjected to mesenteric artery occlusion for 90 minutes. The animals were given either L-arginine, the substrate of NO synthase, or molsidomine, a NO donor. The controls received casein hydrolysate. The compounds were administered by gavage 19, 16, and 1.5 hours before ischaemia. Mucosal barrier permeability and cGMP content were determined 24 hours after ischaemia. RESULTS: Survival after I/R was 50% in the control group. Animals treated with L-arginine or molsidomine exhibited a higher survival rate (70% and 83% respectively). Mucosal barrier permeability was decreased in rats receiving L-arginine or molsidomine compared with controls (4.0 (0.9) and 2.6 (0.6) v 11.2 (1.6) 14C-PEG pmol/segment, p < 0.05). Increased cGMP content was seen in the mucosa of the L-arginine group. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that pretreatment with L-arginine or molsidomine ameliorates survival after intestinal I/R and improves mucosal barrier function.
Effects of Early and Late Rest Breaks during Training on Overnight Memory Consolidation of a Keyboard Melody

In two experiments, we tested the extent to which overnight procedural memory consolidation is affected by extended rest breaks during training. In the first experiment, nonmusicians practiced a 5‐element keypress sequence with their nondominant hand in 12 30‐s practice intervals separated by 30‐s pauses. In the second experiment, nonpianist musicians practiced a 13‐note keyboard melody using the same procedures. In both experiments, approximately one‐third of the subjects took a 5‐min break after the first three blocks of practice; another third took a break after nine blocks of practice; the remaining participants did not take an extended break. All were trained in the evening and were retested the following morning. Participants in both experiments made dramatic improvements over the course of the training and retest sessions, and participants who took an extended rest break early in practice made the largest gains in performance between the end of training and the beginning of retest.
Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 Produces Enantio-pyochelin, the Optical Antipode of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Siderophore Pyochelin*

The siderophore pyochelin is made by a thiotemplate mechanism from salicylate and two molecules of cysteine. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the first cysteine residue is converted to its D-isoform during thiazoline ring formation whereas the second cysteine remains in its L-configuration, thus determining the stereochemistry of the two interconvertible pyochelin diastereoisomers as 4 ′R, 2 ″R, 4 ″R (pyochelin I) and 4 ′R, 2 ″S, 4 ″R (pyochelin II). Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 was found to make a different stereoisomeric mixture, which promoted growth under iron limitation in strain CHA0 and induced the expression of its biosynthetic genes, but was not recognized as a siderophore and signaling molecule by P. aeruginosa. Reciprocally, pyochelin promoted growth and induced pyochelin gene expression in P. aeruginosa, but was not functional in P. fluorescens. The structure of the CHA0 siderophore was determined by mass spectrometry, thin-layer chromatography, NMR, polarimetry, and chiral HPLC as enantio-pyochelin, the optical antipode of the P. aeruginosa siderophore pyochelin. Enantio-pyochelin was chemically synthesized and confirmed to be active in CHA0. Its potential biosynthetic pathway in CHA0 is discussed.
On-the-job Search , In ation Dynamics and Welfare Cost of In ation

This paper examines the implications of on-the-job search for both short-run dynamics of ination and long-run welfare costs of ination in a sticky price model with labour market search frictions. Both unemployed workers and workers with bad jobs can search. Firms can adjust labour at both intensive and extensive margins. On-the-job search gives rise a strong propagation of monetary policy shocks through the extensive margin since on-thejob search opens up an extra channel of employment. However, on-the-job has little e¤ect on ination on impact since in the rst period rms can only adjust intensive margin, which is very costly. The welfare costs of ination generated by the model with on-the-job search and the model with the on-the-job search mechanism being shut down are similar as that generated by the standard New Keynesian model, suggesting that the structure of labour market is irrelevant to the welfare costs of trend ination unless extra nominal rigidities are added to the model. JEL: classi cation: E24; E31; E32
Postnatal adrenalectomy impairs urinary concentrating ability by increased COX-2 and leads to renal medullary injury.

We hypothesized that aldosterone promotes development of the renal medulla in the postnatal period and that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity contributes to renal dysfunction after impaired aldosterone signaling. To test these hypotheses, rat pups underwent either sham operation or adrenalectomy at postnatal day 10. Adrenalectomized rats were divided into no steroid substitution (ADX), corticosterone replacement (ADX-C), and corticosterone and DOCA substitution (ADX-CD) groups that received subcutaneous pellets with steroids. Without replacement, pups failed to thrive and exhibited impaired urinary-concentrating ability. The renal medulla was significantly smaller, and the medullary interstitial osmolality was lower in the ADX group, whereas COX-2 and PGE2 tissue levels were significantly elevated compared with levels shown in sham animals. Substitution with DOCA and corticosterone corrected these changes, whereas corticosterone replacement alone improved survival but not weight gain and urinary-concentrating ability. Administration of a COX-2 inhibitor to ADX rats (parecoxib, 5 mg.kg(-1). day(-1), days 17-20) increased weight gain, urinary-concentrating ability, and papillary osmolality. After fluid deprivation, parecoxib attenuated weight loss and the increase in plasma Na+ concentration and osmolality. It is concluded that mineralocorticoid is required for normal postnatal development of the renal medulla. COX-2 contributes to impaired urine-concentrating ability, NaCl loss, and extracellular volume depletion in postnatal mineralocorticoid deficiency.