Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thyroid Hormones Correlate with Basal Metabolic Rate but Not Field Metabolic Rate in a Wild Bird Species

Thyroid hormones (TH) are known to stimulate in vitro oxygen consumption of tissues in mammals and birds. Hence, in many laboratory studies a positive relationship between TH concentrations and basal metabolic rate (BMR) has been demonstrated whereas evidence from species in the wild is scarce. Even though basal and field metabolic rates (FMR) are often thought to be intrinsically linked it is still unknown whether a relationship between TH and FMR exists. Here we determine the relationship between the primary thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) with both BMR and FMR in a wild bird species, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). As predicted we found a strong and positive relationship between plasma concentrations of T3 and both BMR and mass-independent BMR with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.36 to 0.60. In contrast there was no association of T3 levels with either whole-body or mass-independent FMR (R2 = 0.06 and 0.02, respectively). In accordance with in vitro studies our data suggests that TH play an important role in modulating BMR and may serve as a proxy for basal metabolism in wild birds. However, the lack of a relationship between TH and FMR indicates that levels of physical activity in kittiwakes are largely independent of TH concentrations and support recent studies that cast doubt on a direct linkage between BMR and FMR.
Possible Role of Plant Allelochemical in Clearance of Bacteria from the Gut of Spruce Budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana

Field results, using Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxin in controlling spruce budworms, Choristoneura fumiferana, are far less satisfactory than those from the laboratories The role of septicemia has also been shown to be important in mortality. However its relationship with insect diet has not been studied. Insect gut juice from spruce budworm fed on balsam foliage inhibited bacterial growth. Such activity has not been observed in the gut juice from insects fed on artificial diet. Moreover, when bacteria were given to the insects orally, and the insects then fed on balsam foliage overnight, little or no bacterial colonies could be detected in their gut juices in the tryptic soy agar plates. Such bacterial growth inhibition activity could also be found in the water extract of balsam foliage, and was suggested to be due to tannins. This result explains the role of allelochemicals affecting septicemia in spruce budworms, and hence the efficacy, when using Bacillus thuringinesis delta-endotoxin as a biologic control agent.
Integrated Airborne LiDAR Data and Imagery for Suburban Land Cover Classification Using Machine Learning Methods

It is valuable to study the land use/land cover (LULC) classification for suburbs. The fusion of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and aerial imagery is often regarded as an effective method for the LULC classification; however, more in-depth analysis would be required to explore effective information for enhancing the suburban LULC classification. In this study, first, both aerial imageries and point clouds were simultaneously collected. Then, LiDAR-derived models, i.e., normalized digital surface model (nDSM) and surface intensity model (IM), were generated from the elevation and intensity of point clouds. Further, considering the surface characteristics of ground objects in suburb, we proposed a new LiDAR-derived model, namely surface roughness model (RM), to reveal the degree of surface fluctuations. Additionally, various combinations of aerial imageries and the LiDAR-derived data were used to analyze the effects of multi-variable fusion under different scenarios and optimize the multi-variable integration for suburban LULC classification. The mean decrease impurity method was used to identify the importance of variables; three machine learning classifiers, i.e., random forest (RF), k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and artificial neural network (ANN) were adopted in various scenarios. The results were as follows. The fusion of aerial imagery and all the LiDAR-derived models, i.e., nDSM, RM and IM, with RF classifier performs best in the suburban LULC classification (overall accuracy = 84.75%, kappa coefficient = 0.80). Variable importance analysis shows that nDSM has the highest variable importance proportion (VIP) value, followed by RM, IM, and spectral information, indicating the feasibility of this proposed LiDAR-derived model-RM. This research presents effective methods relating to the application of aerial imagery and LiDAR-derived model for the complex suburban surface scenarios.
Strategic Capacity Rationing to Induce Early Purchases

Dynamic pricing offers the potential to increase revenues. At the same time, it creates an incentive for customers to strategize over the timing of their purchases. A firm should ideally account for this behavior when making its pricing and stocking decisions. In particular, we investigate whether it is optimal for a firm to create rationing risk by deliberately understocking products. Then, the resulting threat of shortages creates an incentive for customers to purchase early at higher prices. But when does such a strategy make sense? If it is profitable to create shortages, what is the optimal amount of rationing risk to create? We develop a stylized model to study this problem. In our model, customers have heterogeneous valuations for the firm's product and face declining prices over two periods. Customers are assumed to have identical risk preferences and know the price path and fill rate in each period. Via its capacity choice, the firm is able to control the fill rate and, hence, the rationing risk faced by customers. Customers behave strategically and weigh the payoff of immediate purchases against the expected payoff of delaying their purchases. We analyze the capacity choice that maximizes the firm's profits. First, we consider a monopoly market and characterize conditions under which rationing is optimal. We examine how the optimal amount of rationing is affected by the magnitude of price changes over time and the degree of risk aversion among customers. We then analyze an oligopoly version of the model and show that competition reduces the firms' ability to profit from rationing. Indeed, there exists a critical number of firms beyond which a rationing equilibrium cannot be supported.
Determination of N-nitrosamines in processed meats by liquid extraction combined with gas chromatography-methanol chemical ionisation/mass spectrometry

A simple, accessible and reproducible method was developed and validated as an alternative for the determination of nine volatile N-nitrosamines (NAs) in meat products, using a low volume of organic solvent and without requiring specific apparatus, offering the possibility of practical implementation in routine laboratories. The NAs were extracted with dichloromethane followed by a clean-up with phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0). The extracts were analysed by gas chromatography-chemical ionisation/mass spectrometry (GC-CI/MS) in positive-ion mode using methanol as reagent. Limits of detection and quantification, recovery and reproducibility were determined for all NAs (N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, N-nitrosodipropylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, N-nitrosopiperidine, N-nitrosodibutylamine and N-nitrosodiphenylamine). Satisfactory sensitivity and selectivity were obtained even without concentrating the extract by solvent evaporation, avoiding the loss of the nine NAs studied. Limits of detection ranged from 0.15 to 0.37 µg kg−1, whereas limits of quantification ranged from 0.50 to 1.24 µg kg−1. Recoveries calculated in cooked ham that had been spiked at 10 and 100 µg kg−1 were found to be between 70% and 114% with an average relative standard deviation of 13.2%. The method was successfully used to analyse five samples of processed meat products on the day of purchase and 7 days later (after storage at 4°C). The most abundant NAs found in the analysed products were N-nitrosodipropylamine and N-nitrosopiperidine, which ranged from 1.75 to 34.75 µg kg−1 and from 1.50 to 4.26 µg kg−1, respectively. In general, an increase in the level of NAs was observed after the storage period. The proposed method may therefore be a useful tool for food safety control once it allows assessing the profile and the dietary intake of NAs in food over time.
Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Versus Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant: Can a Fair Comparison be Made?

Background. Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK) may provide superior patient and kidney graft survival compared with deceased donor kidney transplant alone (DD KA), not because of the addition of a pancreas transplant but because of differences in organ donor, recipient, and transplant characteristics. Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis from the scientific registry of transplant recipients database comparing patient and kidney graft survival of SPK and DD KA recipients from 1997 to 2005, segregating the DD KA recipients into (a) recipients of KA from pancreas donors (KA, P+) and (b) recipients of KA from non-pancreas donors to control for donor differences. Results. Of 8453 SPK waitlisted patients, 7952 received SPK, 101 received KA, P+, and 401 received KA from non-pancreas donors (KA, P−). Five-year kidney graft survival was not different in the SPK and KA, P+ groups (76.2% vs. 81.9%, P=0.15) and was significantly better than the KA, P− group (64.3%, SPK vs. KA, P−, P=0.002; KA, P+ vs. KA, P−, P=0.01). When controlling for recipient and transplant differences by multivariate analysis, KA, P+ transplant was associated with a 50% reduction in risk for kidney graft loss compared with SPK. Conclusions. Donor, recipient, and transplant differences exist when comparing SPK to DD KA that bias outcomes in favor of SPK and limit conclusions regarding superior graft and patient survival.
Sero-Prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Virue Co-Infection among Pregnant Women in Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine sero-prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus co-infection among pregnant women. Viral hepatitis during pregnancy is associated with high risk of maternal complications; infections with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) or the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) are public health problems. Worldwide, there are about 350 million HBV carriers and 130 to 170 million people infected with HCV. The presence of HBV and HCV was determined using third-generation enzyme immunoassay (EIA), reactive samples were further confirmed using enzyme linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) (Bio-Rad, France). Age group 26-30 and 31-35 had highest frequency of 240 (36.98%) and 206 (31.74%) respectively in HBV and HCV. Sero prevalence of HBV and HCV were 44 (6.78%) and 9 (1.39%) respectively. Prevalence of HBV and HCV co-infection was 1 (0.15%) in age group 31-35. Proper management of maternal hepatitis during the prenatal phase ensures better outcomes in the infant, therefore screening of pregnant women for hepatitis B and C virus are necessary in order to identify those neonates at risk of transmission.
Pulmonary Immunization of Guinea Pigs with Diphtheria CRM-197 Antigen as Nanoparticle Aggregate Dry Powders Enhance Local and Systemic Immune Responses

This study establishes the immune response elicited in guinea pigs after pulmonary and parenteral immunizations with diphtheria CRM-197 antigen (CrmAg). Several spray-dried powders of formalin-treated/untreated CrmAg nanoaggregates with L-leucine were delivered to the lungs of guinea pigs. A control group consisting of alum with adsorbed CrmAg in saline was administered by intramuscular injection. Animals received three doses of powder vaccines containing 20 or 40 μg of CrmAg. The serum IgG titers were measured for 16 weeks after the initial immunization; IgA titers were measured at the time of sacrifice in the broncho-alveolar lavage fluid. Further, toxin neutralization tests in naïve guinea pigs were performed for a few select serum samples. Histopathology of the lung tissues was conducted to evaluate inflammation or injury to the lung tissues. While the highest titer of serum IgG antibody was observed in guinea pigs immunized by the intramuscular route, those animals immunized with dry powder formulation by the pulmonary route, and without the adjuvant alum, exhibited high IgA titers. A pulmonary administered dry powder, compared to parenteral immunization, conferred complete protection in the toxin neutralization test. Mild inflammation was observed in lung tissues of animals receiving dry powder vaccines by the pulmonary route. Thus, administering novel CrmAg as dry powders to the lungs may be able to overcome some of the disadvantages observed with the existing diphtheria vaccine which is administered by the parenteral route. In addition, these powders will have the advantage of eliciting a high mucosal immune response in the lungs without using traditional adjuvants.
The role of trust climate in virtual teams

Purpose – Research testing a complex process model, incorporating moderating and mediating mechanisms associated with virtual team (VT) performance, remains rare. This paper aims to introduce trust climate as a crucial boundary condition for high performance in VTs. It also aims to propose a moderated‐indirect model such that the relationship between team goals and task performance is mediated by task cohesion and the relationship between team goals and task cohesion is moderated by trust.Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are tested using a longitudinal design with a sample of 50 teams.Findings – The proposed moderated‐indirect model is confirmed. The model explains the indirect relationship between team goal setting and performance transmitted through task cohesion, which is dependent on the level of trust climate.Research limitations/implications – Although hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal setting, common source bias might be a potential problem for some of the observed relationships. Fut.
Diarrhoea in HIV‐infected patients: no evidence of cytokine‐mediated inflammation in jejunal mucosa

Objective: To determine whether a mucosal cytokine‐mediated inflammatory response is involved in cryptosporidial or microsporidial diarrhoea, as well as in diarrhoea of unknown origin in HIV‐infected patients. Design: Prospective study. Methods: Jejunal biopsies were obtained from HIV‐infected patients with diarrhoea. Controls were HIV‐infected and HIV‐seronegative patients without diarrhoea. Two biopsies were homogenized immediately and two other biopsies were first cultured for 20 h. Cytokines [tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)‐1&bgr;, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10], soluble TNF receptors (sTNFR) p55 and p75, and soluble IL‐2 receptor (sIL‐2R) were assessed in the homogenates and in the supernatants by sandwich enzyme‐linked immunosorbent or enzyme‐linked binding assays. The cytokine receptors were also measured in serum. Results: Six HIV‐infected patients with cryptosporidiosis, six with microsporidiosis, seven with diarrhoea of unknown origin, seven without diarrhoea, and seven HIV‐seronegative patients were eligible. Four patients were excluded because of the presence of other pathogens. No cytokines were detected in immediately homogenized jejunal tissue. Following culture, IL‐6 and IL‐8 levels were higher in HIV‐infected patients with diarrhoea of unknown origin than in HIV‐seronegative controls without diarrhoea, although this was not statistically significant. No differences in serum or post‐culture supernatant sTNFR p55 and p75 levels existed between the HIV‐infected patients with or without diarrhoea. sTNFR, IL‐1&bgr;, IL‐10 and the sIL‐2R were only detected in low amounts or not at all, and were equally distributed among all patient groups. Conclusions: This study indicates that mucosal cytokine‐mediated inflammatory responses do not play an important role in the pathogenesis of different types of diarrhoea in HIV‐infected patients. These results do not support the use of immunomodulatory therapy in these patients. AIDS 1995, 9:367‐373
The histone chaperone ASF1 localizes to active DNA replication forks to mediate efficient DNA replication

The packaging of the eukaryotic genome into chromatin is likely to regulate all processes that occur on the DNA template. The assembly and disassembly of chromatin structures from histone proteins and DNA are mediated by histone chaperones, including the histone H3/H4 chaperone anti‐silencing function 1 (ASF1). To address the function of ASF1 in metazoan cells, we used RNA interference‐mediated knockdown of Drosophila melanogaster ASF1 (dASF1). Cells lacking dASF1 accumulate in S phase of the cell cycle as determined by flow cytometry analysis of DNA content and quantitation of the proportion of cells with replication foci. In agreement, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse‐chase analysis demonstrates that the absence of ASF1 leads to delayed progression through S‐phase. Furthermore, the absence of ASF1 leads to a reduced ability to incorporate the nucleoside analog BrdU, indicating that ASF1 is required for efficient DNA replication. We have also found that dASF1 colocalizes with DNA replication foci throughout S phase by immunofluorescence analysis and that these dASF1 foci are disrupted upon inhibition of DNA replication by treatment of cells with hydroxyurea. As such, these results demonstrate that dASF1 is present at active, but not stalled, replication forks. We propose that dASF1 has a direct role in modifying chromatin structure during DNA replication and that this function of dASF1 is important for the processivity of the replication machinery.
Improving Physical Layer Security for MISO Systems via Using Artificial Noise

Physical layer security approaches enable secure message transmission without upper layer data encryption and thus draw intensive attention recently years. Following this topic, this paper proposes a novel approach to improve the security of multiple-input single-output (MISO) communications links in the presence of non-colluding passive Poisson distributed eavesdroppers. In the proposed approach, it is assumed that the channel state information (CSI) of the main channel is known and that of the eavesdropper channel is unknown. Through beamforming vectors, the transmitter transmits information signal to the legitimate receiver along with artificial noise (AN) to confuse the eavesdroppers. Secrecy outage probability (SOP) is adopted to describe the secrecy performance, and based on it, security region (SR) is used from the perspective of space to illustrate the security. In obtaining the SOP of the described transmission link, stochastic geometry theory is adopted. It is shown that the stochastic geometry theory provides a powerful tool in obtaining a solution of SOP. Furthermore, the secrecy performance between transmitting approaches with AN and without AN is compared. The SR is plotted and the factors impacting security are analyzed accordingly.
Influence maximization: near-optimal time complexity meets practical efficiency

Given a social network G and a constant $k$, the influence maximization problem asks for k nodes in G that (directly and indirectly) influence the largest number of nodes under a pre-defined diffusion model. This problem finds important applications in viral marketing, and has been extensively studied in the literature. Existing algorithms for influence maximization, however, either trade approximation guarantees for practical efficiency, or vice versa. In particular, among the algorithms that achieve constant factor approximations under the prominent independent cascade (IC) model or linear threshold (LT) model, none can handle a million-node graph without incurring prohibitive overheads. This paper presents TIM, an algorithm that aims to bridge the theory and practice in influence maximization. On the theory side, we show that TIM runs in O((k+ l) (n+m) log n/ε2) expected time and returns a (1-1/e-ε)-approximate solution with at least 1 - n-l probability. The time complexity of TIM is near-optimal under the IC model, as it is only a log n factor larger than the Ω(m + n) lower-bound established in previous work (for fixed k, l, and ε). Moreover, TIM supports the triggering model, which is a general diffusion model that includes both IC and LT as special cases. On the practice side, TIM incorporates novel heuristics that significantly improve its empirical efficiency without compromising its asymptotic performance. We experimentally evaluate TIM with the largest datasets ever tested in the literature, and show that it outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions (with approximation guarantees) by up to four orders of magnitude in terms of running time. In particular, when k = 50, ε = 0.2, and l = 1, TIM requires less than one hour on a commodity machine to process a network with 41.6 million nodes and 1.4 billion edges. This demonstrates that influence maximization algorithms can be made practical while still offering strong theoretical guarantees.
Single‐Feature Polymorphism Discovery in the Transcriptome of Tetraploid Alfalfa

Advances in alfalfa [Medicago sativa (L.) subsp. sativa] breeding, molecular genetics, and genomics have been slow because this crop is an allogamous autotetraploid (2n = 4x = 32) with complex polysomic inheritance and few genomic resources. Increasing cellulose and decreasing lignin in alfalfa stem cell walls would improve this crop as a cellulosic ethanol feedstock. We conducted genome‐wide analysis of single‐feature polymorphisms (SFPs) of two alfalfa genotypes (252, 1283) that differ in stem cell wall lignin and cellulose concentrations. SFP analysis was conducted using the Medicago GeneChip (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) as a cross‐species platform. Analysis of GeneChip expression data files of alfalfa stem internodes of genotypes 252 and 1283 at two growth stages (elongating, post‐elongation) revealed 10,890 SFPs in 8230 probe sets. Validation analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐sequencing of a random sample of SFPs indicated a 17% false discovery rate. Functional classification and over‐representation analysis showed that genes involved in photosynthesis, stress response and cell wall biosynthesis were highly enriched among SFP‐harboring genes. The Medicago GeneChip is a suitable cross‐species platform for detecting SFPs in tetraploid alfalfa.
Psychology of Judgment and Decision-Making

A microwave component includes a superconducting signal conductor formed on a first dielectric substrate, and a superconducting ground conductor formed on a second dielectric substrate. The first dielectric substrate is stacked on the superconducting ground conductor of the second dielectric substrate. Each of the superconducting signal conductor and the superconducting ground conductor is formed of an oxide superconductor thin film of which crystals are orientated in such a manner that the c-planes of the crystals are parallel to the direction in which an electro-magnetic field generated by microwave launched to the microwave component changes.