Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HerMES: Far infrared properties of known AGN in the HerMES fields

Nuclear and starburst activity are known to often occur concomitantly. Herschel-SPIRE provides sampling of the FIR SEDs of type 1 and type 2 AGN, allowing for the separation between the hot dust (torus) and cold dust (starburst) emission. We study large samples of spectroscopically confirmed type 1 and type 2 AGN lying within the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) fields observed during the science demonstration phase, aiming to understand their FIR colour distributions and constrain their starburst contributions. We find that one third of the spectroscopically confirmed AGN in the HerMES fields have 5-sigma detections at 250um, in agreement with previous (sub)mm AGN studies. Their combined Spitzer-MIPS and Herschel-SPIRE colours - specifically S(250)/S(70) vs. S(70)/S(24) - quite clearly separate them from the non-AGN, star-forming galaxy population, as their 24-um flux is dominated by the hot torus emission. However, their SPIRE colours alone do not differ from those of non-AGN galaxies. SED fitting shows that all those AGN need a starburst component to fully account for their FIR emission. For objects at z > 2, we find a correlation between the infrared luminosity attributed to the starburst component, L(SB), and the AGN accretion luminosity, L(acc), with L(SB) propto L(acc)^0.35. Type 2 AGN detected at 250um show on average higher L(SB) than type 1 objects but their number is still too low to establish whether this trend indicates stronger star-formation activity.
Nebivolol and carvedilol induce NO-dependent coronary vasodilatation that is unlikely to be mediated by extracellular ATP in the isolated guinea pig heart

In contrast to classical -adrenoreceptor antagonists, nebivolol and carvedilol possess endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant properties. It has been proposed that nebivolol and carvedilol activate microvascular endothelium into producing NO by the release of extracellular ATP and subsequent stimulation of endothelial P receptors. Here we tested this hypothesis in the coronary circulation of the isolated guinea pig heart. We analyzed the role of NO in the coronary vasodilatation induced by nebivolol and carvedilol as well as a possible involvement of extracellular ATP in these responses. Nebivolol and carvedilol (3–30 × 10 M) induced a concentration-dependent coronary vasodilatation that was inhibited by NO-synthase inhibitor, L-NAME (10 M). In contrast to nebivolol and carvedilol, neither atenolol nor labetalol acted as a coronary vasodilator. Vasodilatation induced by nebivolol and carvedilol was affected neither by the P receptor antagonist, 8-sulfophenyl theophylline (8-SPT, 10 M), nor by the P receptor antagonist, suramin (10 M). On the other hand, ATP-induced coronary vasodilatation (0.3–10 × 10 M) was strongly inhibited by L-NAME (10 M), partially inhibited by 8-SPT (10 M), while suramin (10 M) had a minor effect. In conclusion, in the isolated guinea pig heart nebivolol and carvedilol, but not their classical counterparts (atenolol, labelatol), act as NO-dependent coronary vasodilators. It seems unlikely that this response is mediated by the release of extracellular ATP.
Gut Microbial Alterations Associated With Protection From Autoimmune Uveitis

Purpose To investigate the contribution of the gut microbiota to the pathogenesis of uveitis. Methods Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) in B10.RIII mice was induced using interphotoreceptor binding protein peptide. Mice were treated with oral or intraperitoneal (IP) antibiotics. Effector (Teff) and regulatory (Treg) T lymphocytes were identified using flow cytometry; 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR were performed on gastrointestinal (GI) contents. Results Broad-spectrum (four antibiotics given simultaneously) oral, but not IP, antibiotics reduced mean uveitis clinical scores significantly compared with water-treated animals (0.5 vs. 3.0, P < 0.0001 for oral; 3.4 vs. 3.4, P > 0.99 for IP). Both oral metronidazole (P = 0.02) and vancomycin (P < 0.0001) alone decreased inflammation, whereas neomycin (P = 0.7) and ampicillin (P = 0.4) did not change mean uveitis scores. Oral broad-spectrum antibiotics increased Tregs in the GI lamina propria of EAU animals at 1 week, and in extraintestinal lymphoid tissues later, whereas Teff and inflammatory cytokines were reduced. 16S sequencing of GI contents revealed altered microbiota in immunized mice compared with nonimmunized mice, and microbial diversity clustering in EAU mice treated with uveitis-protective antibiotics. Experimental autoimmune uveitis mice also demonstrated gut microbial diversity clustering associated with clinical score severity. Conclusions Oral antibiotics modulate the severity of inducible EAU by increasing Tregs in the gut and extraintestinal tissues, as well as decreasing effector T cells and cytokines. 16S sequencing suggests that there may be protective and, conversely, potentially uveitogenic, gut microbiota. These findings may lead to a better understanding of how uveitis can be treated or prevented by modulating the gut microbiome.
Prevalence and Risk of Anemia in Type-2 Diabetic Patients

Aim: To determine the prevalence and risk of anemia in type-2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, the incidence and risk of anemia in these patients were assessed according to gender and glycemic control status. Methods: The study group comprised 200 patients with type-2 diabetes. Patients were divided into groups according to glycemic control and gender. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood glucose level, hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) of subjects were evaluated. The presence of anemia was defined by a hemoglobin level 6.5%, fasting blood glucose >126 mg/dl and random blood glucose >200 mg/dl. Result: 63% of diabetic patients had anemia. There was higher incidence and risk of anemia in females (36%) as compared to males (27%) (p 7.5% (49.5%) compared to those with controlled diabetes HbA1C < 7.5% (13.5%) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated that poor glycemic control and gender difference are associated with the incidence of anemia in type II diabetes. Our findings suggest the need of screening for anemia in diabetes out-patient clinics. Routine hematological tests along with blood glucose level should be mandatory in order to make therapeutic decisions for the treatment of anemia in type II diabetes mellitus.
Psychological and Behavioral Indicators in the Forensic Assessment of Child Sexual Abuse

This study evaluated the discriminative ability of behavioral and psychological indicators often associated with child sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 79 children of both genders, 63.3% being female ( n = 50), aged between 8 and 12 years ( M = 9.92, SD = 1.45). Participants were assigned to three groups: Sexual abuse ( n = 34), Maltreatment with no history of sexual abuse ( n = 14) and Clinical symptoms with no history of abuse or other traumatic events ( n = 31). Assessment measures were administered with the legal guardians and with the children. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted aiming to identify factors for differentiation of the groups. The TSCC Sexual concerns variable emerged as signi ﬁ cant in differentiating the Sexual abuse group from both the Maltreatment and Clinical symptoms groups. The model showed overall predictive ability to accurately classify 69.6% of the cases. The investigation of this variable should be included, among other indicators, in forensic procedures for children with suspected sexual abuse. Based on the results, it becomes clear that caution is required in establishing causal relationships between behavioral or psychological manifestations and the hypothesis of child sexual abuse.
Food web complexity and higher‐level ecosystem services

Studies mostly focused on communities of primary producers have shown that species richness provides and promotes fundamental ecosystem services. However, we know very little about the factors influencing ecosystem services provided by higher trophic levels in natural food webs. Here we present evidence that differences in food web structure and the richness of herbivores in 19 plant-herbivore-parasitoid food webs influence the service supplied by natural enemies, namely, the parasitism rates on hosts. Specifically, we find that parasitoids function better in simple food webs than in complex ones, a result relevant to biological control practice. More generally, we show that species richness per se only contributes partially to the understanding of higher-level ecosystem services in multitrophic communities, and that changes in food web complexity should also be taken into account when predicting the effects of human-driven disturbances in natural communities.
The role of play in children’s learning: the perspective of Ghanaian early years stakeholders

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine Ghanaian stakeholders’ beliefs about the role and importance of play in early years (3 to 5 years) children’s learning, referred to as play-learning beliefs. A survey design was adopted in order to gather data necessary to examine the differences among stakeholders’ play-learning beliefs. A total of 292 participants completed the survey. Data were collected using a self-developed scale. A preliminary comparison of the mean differences among the stakeholders using ANOVA indicated that the head teachers and teachers perceived play as a form of learning more favourably than the parents. This difference was further explored using cluster analysis to test the hypothesis that stakeholders’ education status is a factor in explaining the group mean differences. Using a two-step cluster analysis in SPSS 24.0, participants were grouped into five distinct clusters, which were most distinguishable by participant status (parent, teacher or head teacher) and their education status – high-educated head teachers, teachers and parents, moderate-educated teachers and low-educated parents. Consistent differences emerged between cluster groups when compared on the scale score. Consistent with the hypothesis, the results suggest education status is associated with stakeholders’ beliefs about the role of play in children’s learning.
Comparison of rubella seroepidemiology in 17 countries: progress towards international disease control targets.

OBJECTIVE To standardize serological surveillance to compare rubella susceptibility in Australia and 16 European countries, and measure progress towards international disease-control targets. METHODS Between 1996 and 2004, representative serum banks were established in 17 countries by collecting residual sera or community sampling. Serum banks were tested in each country and assay results were standardized. With a questionnaire, we collected information on current and past rubella vaccination programmes in each country. The percentage of seronegative (< 4 IU/ml) children (2-14 years of age) was used to evaluate rubella susceptibility, and countries were classified by seronegativity as group I (< 5%), group II (5-10%) or group III (> 10%). The proportion of women of childbearing age without rubella protection (< or = 10 IU/ml) was calculated and compared with WHO targets of < 5%. FINDINGS Only Romania had no rubella immunization programme at the time of the survey; the remaining countries had a two-dose childhood schedule using the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The percentage of susceptible children defined five countries as group I, seven as group II and four as group III. Women of childbearing age without rubella protection were < 5% in only five countries. CONCLUSION Despite the low reported incidence in many countries, strengthening the coverage of the routine two-dose of MMR vaccine among children is needed, especially in group III countries. Catch-up campaigns in older age groups and selective targeting of older females are needed in many countries to ensure necessary levels of protective immunity among women of childbearing age.
Chemo-spectrophotometric evolution of spiral galaxies – II. Main properties of present-day disc galaxies

We study the chemical and spectrophotometric evolution of galactic discs with detailed models calibrated on the Milky Way and using simple scaling relations, based on currently popular semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. We compare our results with a large body of observational data on present-day galactic discs, including disc sizes and central surface brightness, Tully–Fisher relations in various wavelength bands, colour–colour and colour–magnitude relations, gas fractions versus magnitudes and colours and abundances versus local and integrated properties, as well as spectra for different galactic rotational velocities. Despite the extremely simple nature of our models, we find satisfactory agreement with all those observables, provided that the time-scale for star formation in low-mass discs is longer than for more massive ones. This assumption is apparently in contradiction with the standard picture of hierarchical cosmology. We find, however, that it is extremely successful in reproducing major features of present-day discs, like the change in the slope of the Tully–Fisher relation with wavelength, the fact that more massive galaxies are on average ‘redder’ than low-mass ones (a generic problem of standard hierarchical models) and the metallicity–luminosity relation for spirals. It is concluded that, on a purely empirical basis, this new picture is at least as successful as the standard one. Observations at high redshifts could help to distinguish between the two possibilities.
Late Retinal Progenitor Cells Show Intrinsic Limitations in the Production of Cell Types and the Kinetics of Opsin Synthesis

The seven major cell classes of the vertebrate neural retina arise from a pool of multipotent progenitor cells. Several studies suggest a model of retinal development in which both the environment and the progenitor cells themselves change over time (Cepko et al., 1996). To test this model, we used a reaggregate culture system in which a labeled population of progenitor cells from the postnatal rat retina were cultured with an excess of embryonic retinal cells. The labeled cells were then assayed for their cell fate choices and their kinetics of rod differentiation, as measured by opsin synthesis. The kinetics of opsin synthesis remained unchanged, but fewer postnatal cells adopted the rod cell fate when cultured with embryonic cells. There was an increase in the percentage of bipolar cells produced by postnatal progenitor cells, indicating a possible respecification of fate. The increase in bipolar cells could occur even after progenitor cells had completed their terminal mitoses. These alterations in cell fates appeared to be caused at least in part by a secreted factor released by the embryonic cells that requires the LIFRβ/gp130 complex for signaling. Finally, although surrounded by 20-fold more embryonic cells, the postnatal cells did not choose to adopt any fates normally produced only by embryonic cells.
When to Carry Eccentric Products? Optimal Retail Assortment under Consumer Returns

To understand whether retailers should consider consumer returns when merchandising, we study how the optimal assortment of a retailer is influenced by its return policy. The retailer selects its assortment from an exogenous set of horizontally differentiated products. Consumers make purchase and keep/return decisions in nested multinomial logit fashion. Our main finding is that the optimal assortment has a distinct structure for relatively strict return policies: it is optimal to offer a mix of the most popular and most eccentric products when the refund amount is sufficiently low, which can be viewed as a form of risk sharing between the retailer and consumers. In contrast, if the refund is sufficiently high or when returns are disallowed, the optimal assortment is composed of only the most popular products (a common finding in the literature). We provide preliminary empirical evidence for one of the key drivers of our results: more eccentric products have higher probability of return—conditional on purchase. In light of our analytical findings and managerial insights, we conclude that retailers should take returns into account when merchandising.
Was There Monetary Autonomy in Europe on the Eve of Emu? the German Dominance Hypothesis Re-Examined

In this paper we re-examine the German dominance hypothesis, as a way to assess whether the loss of monetary autonomy in Europe associated with EMU had been significant. We use Granger-causality tests between the interest rates of Germany and all the countries participating in the European Monetary System, with the sample period running until December 1998. Our results would support a weak version of the hypothesis, with Germany playing a certain “leadership” or special role in the EMS, although she would not had been strictly the “dominant” player.
Spillover Effects of Drug Safety Warnings on Health Behavior

We examine the impact of new medical information on drug safety on preventive health behavior. We exploit the release of the findings of the Women's Health Initiative Study (WHIS) – the largest randomized controlled trial of women's health – which demonstrated in 2002 that long-term Hormone Replacement Therapy increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer among healthy post-menopausal women. Because hormone replacement is a therapy exclusive to women, we estimate the spillover effects of the WHIS findings on health behavior by means of a difference-in-differences methodology using men of similar ages as the control group. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 1998-2007, we find statistically significant small negative spillovers on post-menopausal women's likelihood of having an annual checkup and choice of a healthy diet, as proxied by daily fruit consumption. Our results also indicate that the observed spillover effects of drug safety on health behavior were entirely driven by the less educated. These findings suggest that policies aimed at raising awareness on the safety of medications may have unintended spillover effects on health behavior and that these spillovers may contribute to the existing health disparities by education.
A Single Dose of ViperfavTM May Be Inadequate for Vipera ammodytes Snake Bite: A Case Report and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation

ViperfavTM is a commercial F(ab’)2 antivenom prepared against European vipers venom. It is safe and effective for treating envenomation caused by Vipera aspis and Vipera berus. Therapeutic efficacy for treating Vipera ammodytes ammodytes (V. a. ammodytes) envenoming has not been yet described, although protective efficacy has been demonstrated in preclinical studies. We report on a 32-year-old man bitten by V. a. ammodytes who was treated with Viperfav™. Viperfav™ promptly reduced local extension and improved systemic pathological signs, but 24 h after the incident a recurrence of thrombocytopenia occurred despite a favorable pharmacokinetic profile with systemic clearance (1.64 (mL·h−1)·kg−1) and elimination half-life (97 h) among the highest ever reported. The recommended dose of Viperfav™ for V. aspis and V. berus bites may be inadequate for serious V. a. ammodytes envenomations. Following V. a. ammodytes bite, serial blood counts and coagulation profiles should be performed to help guide Viperfav™ treatment, along with supplemental administration as indicated.
Regularity on abelian varieties I

We introduce the notion of Mukai regularity ($M$-regularity) for coherent sheaves on abelian varieties. The definition is based on the Fourier-Mukai transform, and in a special case depending on the choice of a polarization it parallels and strengthens the usual Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity. Mukai regularity has a large number of applications, ranging from basic properties of linear series on abelian varieties and defining equations for their subvarieties, to higher dimensional type statements and to a study of special classes of vector bundles. Some of these applications are explained here, while others are the subject of upcoming sequels.
The morphosyntactic status of zamu- and ku- in Malawian Tonga

Tonga is a language that is spoken in many Bantu communities. This paper, however, focuses on the Malawian Tonga, a southern Bantu language spoken mainly in Nkhata Bay, a lakeshore district in northern Malawi. The paper investigates the morphosyntactic status of the morpheme zamu- (commonly viewed as a future tense marker), and the morpheme ku- which is found only between zamu- and monosyllabic verb stems or vowel-initial verb stems or object markers in the distant future and not in any other verb tense/aspect (e.g. the simple past, the present perfect and the distant past verb formations) within the verbal morphosyntax. This type of ku- has been analysed previously as an epenthetic syllable [ku]. This paper makes three fresh suggestions: (1) that the distant future morpheme zamu- is an auxiliary verb, rather than a tense marker; (2) that the morpheme ku- is an infinitive marker, rather than an epenthetic syllable; and (3) that zamu- subcategorises for an infinitival complement, rather than it being selected for by ku-. The fact that ku- is an infinitive marker is supported by a number of factors. The suggested analysis also solves the problem of what appears to be bidirectional dependencies by ku-, which is untypical of affixes.
High temperature stress and its effect on pollen development and morphological components of harvest index in the C3 model grass Brachypodium distachyon

The effect of high temperatures on harvest index (HI) and morphological components that contribute to HI was investigated in two lines (Bd21 and Bd21-3) of Brachypodium distachyon, a C3 grass recognized as a tractable plant, to address critical issues associated with enhancing cereal crop yields in the presence of global climate change. The results demonstrated that temperatures ≥32 °C eliminated HI. Reductions in yield at 32 °C were due primarily to declines in pollen viability, retention of pollen in anthers, and pollen germination, while abortion of microspores by the uninucleate stage that was correlated with abnormal tapetal development resulted in yield failure at 36 °C. Increasing temperatures from 24 to 32 °C resulted in reductions in tiller numbers but had no impact on axillary branch numbers per tiller. Grain developed at 24 and 28 °C primarily in tiller spikes, although spikes on axillary branches also formed grain. Grain quantity decreased in tiller spikes but increased in axillary branch spikes as temperatures rose from 24 to 28 °C. Differential patterns of axillary branching and floret development within spikelets between Bd21 and Bd21-3 resulted in higher grain yield in axillary branches of Bd21-3 at 28 °C. The response of male reproductive development and tiller branching patterns in B. distachyon to increasing temperatures mirrors that in other cereal crops, providing support for the use of this C3 grass in assessing the molecular control of HI in the presence of global warming.