Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predation Determines Different Selective Pressure on Pea Aphid Host Races in a Complex Agricultural Mosaic

Field assessments were conducted to examine the interplay between host plant and predation in complex agricultural mosaic on pea aphid clover and alfalfa races. In one experiment, we examined the relative fitness on clover race (CR) and alfalfa race (AR) pea aphids on broad bean, red clover and alfalfa alone. But because clover is typically grown in a more complex agricultural mosaic with alfalfa and broad bean, a second experiment was conducted to assess the fitness consequences under predation in a more complex agricultural field setting that also included potential apparent competition with AR pea aphids. In a third experiment we tested for the effect of differential host race density on the fitness of the other host race mediated by a predator effect. CR pea aphids always had fitness losses when on broad bean (had lower fitness on broad bean relative to red clover) and fitness benefits when on red clover (higher fitness on red clover relative to broad bean), whether or not in apparent competition with alfalfa race aphids on bean and alfalfa. AR suffered fitness loss on both alfalfa and bean in apparent competition with CR on clover. Therefore we can conclude that the predation rate between host races was highly asymmetrical. The complexity of the agricultural mosaic thus can influence prey selection by predators on different host plants. These may have evolutionary consequences through context dependent fitness benefits on particular host plants.
Footprinting mRNA‐ribosome complexes with chemical probes.

We footprinted the interaction of model mRNAs with 30S ribosomal subunits in the presence or absence of tRNA(fMet) or tRNA(Phe) using chemical probes directed at the sugar‐phosphate backbone or bases of the mRNAs. When bound to the 30S subunits in the presence of tRNA(fMet), the sugar‐phosphate backbones of gene 32 mRNA and 022 mRNA are protected from hydroxyl radical attack within a region of about 54 nucleotides bounded by positions ‐35 (+/‐ 2) and +19, extending to position +22 when tRNA(Phe) is used. In 70S ribosomes, protection is extended in the 5′ direction to about position ‐39 (+/‐ 2). In the absence of tRNA, the 30S subunit protects only nucleotides ‐35 (+/‐ 2) to +5. Introduction of a stable tetraloop hairpin between positions +10 and +11 of gene 32 mRNA does not interfere with tRNA(fMet)‐dependent binding of the mRNA to 30S subunits, but results in loss of protection of the sugar‐phosphate backbone of the mRNA downstream of position +5. Using base‐specific probes, we find that the Shine‐Dalgarno sequence (A‐12, A‐11, G‐10 and G‐9) and the initiation codon (A+1, U+2 and G+3) of gene 32 mRNA are strongly protected by 30S subunits in the presence of initiator tRNA. In the presence of tRNA(Phe), the same Shine‐Dalgarno bases are protected, as are U+4, U+5 and U+6 of the phenylalanine codon. Interestingly, A‐1, immediately preceding the initiation codon, is protected in the complex with 30S subunits and initiator tRNA, while U+2 and G+3 are protected in the complex with tRNA(Phe) in the absence of initiator tRNA. Additionally, specific bases upstream from the Shine‐Dalgarno region (U‐33, G‐32 and U‐22) as well as 3′ to the initiation codon (G+11) are protected by 30S subunits in the presence of either tRNA. These results imply that the mRNA binding site of the 30S subunit covers about 54‐57 nucleotides and are consistent with the possibility that the ribosome interacts with mRNA along its sugar‐phosphate backbone.
Seasonal and daily changes in the behaviour of the adult emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) under farm conditions

ABSTRACT 1. The aim of this study was to present selected elements of emu behaviour in three different seasons (the non-breeding season, the pre-breeding season and the breeding season) and in the morning and afternoon. The study focused on feed, water and sand intake; plumage care; resting; agonistic behaviour and other activities, mostly standing still, aimless walking or observing the surroundings. 2. The troop consisted of 11 emus (5 females and 6 males) aged 12 years, kept in a free-range system. Observations were carried out during a period of 3 weeks in each season, during which 60-min observation sessions took place on 3 randomly chosen days. 3. A significant effect was found of each season on the behaviour patterns related to feeding, sand intake, plumage care, resting and agonistic behaviour. 4. Time of day affected the behaviour associated with the collection of food and water, foraging, pecking and ingesting sand and plumage preening. 5. Most of the time, regardless of season and time of day, the emus were standing still, walking aimlessly or observing the surrounding area.
Polarized CO Emission from Molecular Clouds

Linearly polarized, nonmasing, rotational lines have been detected for the first time in the interstellar medium. This effect occurs in molecular clouds with a magnetic field and traces the field direction, offering an alternative technique to dust emission polarimetry. The line polarization mechanism is similar to that in masers, but with lower degrees of polarization (~1%). We have detected the effect toward the Galactic center and its surrounding "2 pc ring" and in the molecular clouds S140 and DR 21 (tentatively), in the lines CO J=2-1 and J=3-2 and 13CO J=2-1. The deduced magnetic field directions agree well with previous dust polarimetry results, confirming that the line polarization is a real effect. This new technique will be useful in sources that are too faint for dust polarimetry and can also be used to investigate the three-dimensional morphology of magnetic fields in cases in which the velocity structure of the clouds is known.
An Assessment of the Impacts of Cloud Vertical Heterogeneity on Global Ice Cloud Data Records From Passive Satellite Retrievals

Spaceborne passive instruments are widely used to infer long‐term ice cloud properties due to their large temporal and spatial coverage. Although observations from active instruments demonstrate ice particle variability in the vertical dimension, a pragmatic assumption made in passive cloud retrieval algorithms is that the observed scene consists of a plane‐parallel cloud. In this study, a theoretical exploration on how ice cloud vertical heterogeneity (ICVH) influences passive retrievals (i.e., cloud optical thickness, cloud effective radius, and ice water path, IWP) is implemented at the pixel scale. Specifically, with an established ice cloud profile database inferred from 1‐year Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation/CloudSat, we quantitatively estimate ICVH‐induced biases on monthly averaged cloud macrophysical and radiative properties. Results show an average underestimation (−35%) of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) monthly IWP due to the ICVH for global ice clouds over ocean. The ICVH impacts are enhanced at large IWPs (e.g., > 500 g/m2) and solar zenith angles, resulting in a profound underestimation of MODIS IWP (up to −50%) in deep convective regions and middle to high‐latitude regions in the winter hemisphere. The global‐averaged ice cloudy‐sky reflected solar radiation and outgoing longwave radiation derived from MODIS retrievals are slightly overestimated, suggesting that the ICVH has little impact on cloud radiative properties. Relatively large reflected solar radiation (0.3 W/m2) and outgoing longwave radiation (0.1 W/m2) flux differences occur at high and low IWPs, respectively. The largest total flux difference (~2 W/m2), mainly contributed by shortwave part, is associated with deep convection where the typical IWP is greater than 2,000 g/m2.
Evidence of Multiple r-Process Sites in the Early Galaxy: New Observations of CS 22892–052

First results are reported of a new abundance study of neutron-capture elements in the ultra-metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -3.1) halo field giant star CS 22892-052. Using new high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra, abundances of more than 30 neutron-capture elements (Z > 30) have been determined. Six elements in the 40 < Z < 56 domain (Nb, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, and Cd) have been detected for the first time in an ultra-metal-poor star. Abundances are also derived for three of the heaviest stable elements (Os, Ir, and Pb). A second transition of thorium, Th II λ4086, confirms the abundance deduced from the standard Th II λ4019 line, and an upper limit to the abundance of uranium is established from the absence of the U II λ3859 line. As found in previous studies, the abundances of the heavier (Z ≥ 56) stable neutron-capture elements in CS 22892-052 match well the scaled solar system r-process abundance distribution. From the observed Th abundance, an average age of ≃16 ± 4 Gyr is derived for CS 22892-052, consistent with the lower age limit of ≃11 Gyr derived from the upper limit on the U abundance. The concordance of scaled solar r-process and CS 22892-052 abundances breaks down for the lighter neutron-capture elements, supporting previous suggestions that different r-process production sites are responsible for lighter and heavier neutron-capture elements.
Curative resection for left-sided pancreatic malignancy.

BACKGROUND Surgical technique in pancreatic cancer has seen significant developments, but much of the knowledge refers to pancreatic head carcinoma. Reports on the management of tumours of the body and tail have been less frequent. Current knowledge teaches that adenocarcinomas of the body and tail of the pancreas have a worse prognosis. The aim of this study is to report the short- and long-term outcome in 20 patients with left-sided pancreatic malignancy, where 'resection for cure' was done. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective study of demographic data, symptomatology, diagnostic methods, operative management, pathology report, postoperative morbidity and mortality. RESULTS Postoperative complications were seen in 40% of patients. One patient died on day 5 from sepsis with multiple organ failure. Other complications were intra-abdominal bleeding, bleeding from the gastroentero-anastomosis, postoperative jaundice, pleural exudate, wound dehiscence and intra-abdominal abscess. The patients with ductal adenocarcinoma had a median survival of 14 months and a 5-year survival of 17%. The median survival for the whole group of patients was 17 months and the 5-year survival was 23%. One patient with malignant insulinoma and two patients with adenocarcinoma had a survival exceeding 5 years (98, 174 and 183 months, respectively). DISCUSSION Selected patients with left-sided pancreatic adenocarcinoma may be operated on with results similar to pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) for cancer of the pancreatic head regarding postoperative morbidity and mortality as well as long-term survival. Thus, although left-sided pancreatic cancer generally appears at a more advanced stage, it seems true that treatment results are similar if radical excision can be achieved.
High Prevalence of Markers for Sulfadoxine and Pyrimethamine Resistance in Plasmodium falciparum in the Absence of Drug Pressure in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

ABSTRACT Markers of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine (CQ) and pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine (PYR-SDX) are widespread in areas where malaria is endemic. In an area where the use PYR-SDX is negligible, the Ashanti Region of Ghana, West Africa, adult individuals were enrolled in an analysis of CQ- and PYR-SDX-associated molecular resistance markers in 2001 (n = 177) and 2003 (n = 180). Parasite prevalence, as assessed by PCR assays, were 56.5 and 48.8% in 2001 and 2003, respectively. A high frequency of CQ, PYR, and SDX resistance markers was observed, whereby, as a weak trend, the frequency was higher in 2003. The quintuple combination of three pfdhfr mutations and two pfdhps mutations has previously been recognized to be the most important determinant of PYR-SDX resistance. Approximately 60% of parasite carriers harbored fourfold mutated parasites, indicative of a considerable risk for a switch to high-level PYR-SDX resistance in an area where the rate of PYR-SDX use is low. Among the factors contributing to the high frequency of PYR-SDX resistance-associated mutations are background use of PYR-SDX, past use of PYR for malaria prophylaxis, cross-resistance of trimethoprim with PYR, and the sufficient biological fitness of resistant parasites in the absence of drug pressure.
Using Graywater and Stormwater to Enhance Local Water Supplies: An Assessment of Risks, Costs, and Benefits

Graywater and stormwater capture and use can expand local water availability while providing additional benefits, such as reduced water pollution (for stormwater) and a droughtresistant year-round water supply (for graywater). treatment can help address contaminants in the water, but a lack of risk-based treatment guidelines hinders the broader use of stormwater and graywater. there is no single best way to use graywater or stormwater to address local water needs, and many important considerations—including legal and regulatory constraints, potential applications, and source water availability—vary widely with local conditions. Additional information about these factors could make it easier for businesses, households, and water authorities to use stormwater and graywater to augment water supplies.
FBK-IRST: Kernel Methods for Semantic Relation Extraction

We present an approach for semantic relation extraction between nominals that combines shallow and deep syntactic processing and semantic information using kernel methods. Two information sources are considered: (i) the whole sentence where the relation appears, and (ii) WordNet synsets and hypernymy relations of the candidate nominals. Each source of information is represented by kernel functions. In particular, five basic kernel functions are linearly combined and weighted under different conditions. The experiments were carried out using support vector machines as classifier. The system achieves an overall F1 of 71.8% on the Classification of Semantic Relations between Nominals task at SemEval-2007.
Comparing the Curative Effects between Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery and Conventional Phacoemulsification Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose To compare the outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) with those of conventional phacoemulsification surgery (CPS) for age-related cataracts. Methods A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCT) and comparative cohort studies comparing FLACS with CPS. Endothelial cell loss percentage (ECL%), central corneal thickness (CCT), corrected and uncorrected distant visual acuity (CDVA and UDVA), and mean absolute error (MAE) of refraction were used as primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included surgically induced astigmatism (SIA), mean effective phacoemulsification time (EPT), phacoemulsification power and circularity of the capsulorhexis. Results Nine RCTs and fifteen cohort studies including 4,903 eyes (2,861 in the FLACS group and 2,072 in the CPS group) were identified. There were significant differences between the two groups in ECL% at one week, about one month and three months postoperatively, in CCT at one day, about one month postoperatively and at the final follow-up, in CDVA at one week postoperatively, and in UDVA at the final follow-up. Significant differences were also observed in MAE, EPT, phacoemulsification power, and the circularity of capsulorhexis. However, no significant differences were observed in CDVA at one week postoperatively or in surgically induced astigmatism. Conclusions Compared to CPS, FLACS is a safer and more effective method for reducing endothelial cell loss and postoperative central corneal thickening as well as achieving better and faster visual rehabilitation and refractive outcomes. However, there is no difference in final CDVA and surgically induced astigmatism between the two groups.
Prediction of treatment outcome with lithium.

The fundamental issue underlying the question of predicting treatment outcome with lithium is whether there are meaningful subgroups within the broad spectrum of patients with affective disorders. A pessimistic view of our progress in resolving this question would be that we have not progressed in our collective research efforts beyond the point reached by Cade 1 30 years ago and by Schou 2 20 years ago. Many clinicians have discussed the use of drugs to identify specific disorders "hidden" within broad diagnostic categories: the examples of penicillin in cerebral syphilis, and of cyanocobalamin in pernicious anemia are often cited to support this approach. For our purposes, the major limitation of these analogies is that cerebral syphilis and pernicious anemia rarely show spontaneous remissions, whereas the affective disorders usually do. So these analogies are not entirely apt: when dealing with the affective disorders, we are faced with much more difficult methodological
Compressible Quantum Phases from Conformal Field Theories in 2+1 Dimensions

Conformal field theories (CFTs) with a globally conserved U(1) charge Q can be deformed into compressible phases by modifying their Hamiltonian, H, by a chemical potential H -> H - \mu Q. We study 2+1 dimensional CFTs upon which an explicit S duality mapping can be performed. We find that this construction leads naturally to compressible phases which are superfluids, solids, or non-Fermi liquids which are more appropriately called `Bose metals' in the present context. The Bose metal preserves all symmetries and has Fermi surfaces of gauge-charged fermions, even in cases where the parent CFT can be expressed solely by bosonic degrees of freedom. Monopole operators are identified as order parameters of the solid, and the product of their magnetic charge and Q determines the area of the unit cell. We discuss implications for holographic theories on asymptotically AdS4 spacetimes: S duality and monopole/dyon fields play important roles in this connection.
Comparison of the response of three microalgae species exposed to elutriates of estuarine sediments based on growth and chemical speciation

The elutriate sediment toxicity test (ESTT) provides a measure of the amount of a substance that is exchanged between the sediment and the aqueous phase during resuspension processes such as floods or dredging operations. This study used ESTT with two complementary aims: a comparison of the elutriates of two estuarine sediments (anaerobic muddy [A] and aerobic sandy [B]) in terms of toxicity and a comparison of the response of three different microalgae (Emiliania huxleyi (coccolithophore), Dunaliella minuta (green alga), and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (diatom)) to each elutriate in terms of growth, heavy metals uptake, and organic ligands release or uptake in order to find eventual differences of sensitivity. The interpretation of the results was based on chemical speciation in the culture media. Both elutriates, particularly A, were much richer than seawater (control medium) in some heavy metals and organic ligands able to bind strongly heavy metals. Elutriate A slightly inhibited P. tricornutum growth but stimulated growth of E. huxleyi and D. minuta. Elutriate B stimulated the growth of the three algal species. Therefore, the diatom behaved differently from both the coccolithophore and the green alga. Strong complexation of trace metals by organic ligands could be the cause of absence of the metallic toxicity of the elutriates. Growth inhibition of P. tricornutum in elutriate A could be caused by ammonia‐N and/or organic compounds. The concentration of the organic ligands decreased markedly (about 75%) in both elutriates after 10 d of incubation in contrast to the control culture, where their concentration increased about 50% because of exudation. This phenomenon was interpreted to result from ligand uptake by the algae, free or as metal complexes. This work demonstrated that beside the evaluation of toxicity of free heavy metals to alga species, the organic ligands must not be ignored. Depending on the amount of ligand present, the toxicity can be reduced (sequestration) or enhanced (better availability through uptake of metal‐ligand complexes). Since the applied ESTT is a standard procedure (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) for the evaluation of dredged material proposed for ocean disposal, it is necessary to discuss results obtained during toxicity tests with such elutriates in detail.
Episodes of Aqueous Flooding and Effusive Volcanism Associated With Hrad Vallis, Mars

Hrad Vallis is an Amazonian‐age outflow channel located in the northwestern part of the Elysium Volcanic Province of Mars. The formation of Hrad Vallis may have been associated with catastrophic aqueous floods and volcanism, which makes determining its emplacement history important for constraining the planet's hydrological and thermal evolution during the Amazonian Period. Through geological mapping, geomorphologic analysis, and numerical simulations we assess whether Hrad Vallis formed in association with mudflows (i.e., lahars), effusive volcanism, or a combination of both processes. Among the three youngest flows in the region, the lower and upper flow units are inferred to be the products of catastrophic aqueous floods, whereas the middle unit is interpreted to be pāhoehoe‐like lava flow formed through the process of inflation over the course of decades. The latter flow unit is similar to terrestrial lava‐rise plateaus, but its emplacement may have involved interactions with surficial ice deposits, which affected the flow path and resulted in a range of lava‐water interactions. We conclude that Hrad Vallis had a complex history involving episodes of both aqueous flooding and effusive volcanism and that the interactions between lava and ice in these regions may have generated ephemeral hydrothermal systems with potential astrobiological significance.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges

The ecological consequences of biodiversity loss have aroused considerable interest and controversy during the past decade. Major advances have been made in describing the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem processes, in identifying functionally important species, and in revealing underlying mechanisms. There is, however, uncertainty as to how results obtained in recent experiments scale up to landscape and regional levels and generalize across ecosystem types and processes. Larger numbers of species are probably needed to reduce temporal variability in ecosystem processes in changing environments. A major future challenge is to determine how biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem processes, and abiotic factors interact.