Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiscale Trend Analysis for Pampa Grasslands Using Ground Data and Vegetation Sensor Imagery

This study aimed to evaluate changes in the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of grasslands in the Pampa biome by using experimental plots and changes in the spectral responses of similar vegetation communities obtained by remote sensing and to compare both datasets with meteorological variations to validate the transition scales of the datasets. Two different geographic scales were considered in this study. At the local scale, an analysis of the climate and its direct influences on grassland ANPP was performed using data from a long-term experiment. At the regional scale, the influences of climate on the grassland reflectance patterns were determined using vegetation sensor imagery data. Overall, the monthly variations of vegetation canopy growth analysed using environmental changes (air temperature, total rainfall and total evapotranspiration) were similar. The results from the ANPP data and the NDVI data showed the that variations in grassland growth were similar and independent of the analysis scale, which indicated that local data and the relationships of local data with climate can be considered at the regional scale in the Pampa biome by using remote sensing.
Classification of left and right foot movement intention based on steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials

Recently, steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials (SSSEPs) which are brain responses to tactile stimulation of specific frequency in somatosensory have been researched in brain-computer interface (BCI) groups. Classification of both feet is important in gait control system. Previous SSSEP studies have mainly researched a feasibility of discrimination by stimulator attached on upper limb (e.g., finger or arm). However, SSSEP-based classification of both feet could be useful in BCI-based gait rehabilitation system. Hence, we investigate a possibility of discrimination of both feet using SSSEP. To this end, we obtain optimal stimuli frequencies in the screening session. In subsequence test session, the optimal stimuli were attached on the left and right foot, respectively. Six healthy subjects conducted the task which was the subjects concentrate on the tactile stimuli following by random visual cue. The classification results show 72.6% and 72.2% in two methods (i.e., common spatial pattern (CSP) and power spectral density (PSD)). Furthermore, we analyzed differences of spatial and spectral features for reliable BCI performance. These results suggest that classification both feet can be available in SSSEP-based BCI for gait rehabilitation.
An ART-based fuzzy adaptive learning control network

This paper addresses the structure and associated on-line learning algorithms of a feedforward multilayered connectionist network for realizing the basic elements and functions of a traditional fuzzy logic controller. The proposed Fuzzy Adaptive Learning COntrol Network (FALCON) can be contrasted with the traditional fuzzy logic control systems in their network structure and learning ability. An on-line structure/parameter learning algorithm, called FALCON-ART, is proposed for constructing the FALCON dynamically. The FALCON-ART can partition the input/output space in a flexible way based on the distribution of the training data. Hence it can avoid the problem of combinatorial growing of partitioned grids in some complex systems. It combines the backpropagation learning scheme for parameter learning and the fuzzy ART algorithm for structure learning. More notably the FALCON-ART can on-line partition the input/output spaces, tune membership functions and find proper fuzzy logic rules dynamically without any a priori knowledge or even any initial information on these. <<ETX>>
RESPONSE OF PEANUTS TO K FERTILIZATION AND FOLIAR SPRAYING WITH ZINC AND BORON UNDER SANDY SOIL CONDITIONS

A field experiment was carried out at El-Khattara region Sharkia Governorate, Egypt during 2006 season to study the effect of K fertilization and foliar spraying with Zn and B or their combinations on growth, yield, yield components, oi l percentage as well as uptake of some macro- and micronutrients by peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. Ismailia 1) plant grown on a sandy soil. Th e obtained results can be summarized as follows: 1) The highest values of peanut yield and its attributes as well as seed quality were obtained when plants treated with K combined with foliar spraying with (Zn + B). 2) The highest nutrient content and uptake by plant were obtained when treated with K combined with foliar spraying with (Zn + B). 3) Soil available N, P and K were increased due to the different treatments, the highest N, P and K values (50.1, 5.18 and 160 mg kg -1 soil, respectively) were observed under the combined treatment of (K + Zn + B). 4) The highest values of available Zn, B, Mn and Cu (1.19, 0.92, 3.75 and 0.86 mg kg -1 soil, respectively) were obtained due to the combi ned
In vivo evaluation of acid-induced changes in oesophageal mucosa integrity and sensitivity in non-erosive reflux disease

Objective Patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) have impaired oesophageal mucosal integrity (dilated intercellular spaces). Oesophageal mucosal integrity reflects the balance between repeated reflux damage and mucosal recovery. The relationship between mucosal integrity and acid sensitivity is unclear. Oesophageal impedance may be used for in vivo mucosal integrity measurement. We studied acid-induced changes in oesophageal mucosal integrity and acid perception in patients with heartburn. Design 50 patients with heartburn whithout oesophagitis underwent impedance monitoring before, during and after 10 min oesophageal perfusion with neutral (pH6.5) and acid solutions (pH1). Symptoms and impedance were recorded during perfusion. Impedance recovery was assessed for 2 h post-perfusion in ambulatory conditions followed by 24-h impedance-pH study. Results Reflux monitoring discriminated 20 NERD and 30 functional heartburn (FH) patients. Neutral perfusion caused impedance fall that recovered within 10 min. Acid perfusion caused impedance fall with slow recovery: 6.5 Ω/min (IQR 3.3-12.0 Ω/min). Patients with slow recovery (<25th percentile) had lower baseline impedance (1273 Ω ±208 Ω vs. 3220 Ω ±275 Ω ±, p < 0.01) and more frequent acid sensitivity (10/12 vs. 4/12, p = 0.04) than those with fast (>75th percentile) recovery. Patients with NERD had lower baseline impedance (1669 ± 182 Ω vs. 2384 ± 211 Ω, p = 0.02) and slower impedance recovery (6.0 ± 0.9 Ω/min vs. 10.7 ± 1.6 Ω/min, p = 0.03) than patients with FH. Conclusion Impaired mucosal integrity might be the consequence of repeated reflux episodes with slow recovery. Mucosal integrity, recovery capacity and symptom perception are linked. Low basal impedance and slow recovery after acid challenge are associated with increased acid sensitivity.
Running Energy Cost and Spring-Mass Behavior in Young versus Older Trained Athletes.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to compare energy cost of running and lower limb spring-mass characteristics and maximal power between young and older highly trained runners. METHODS Twenty highly trained male endurance runners were divided into two groups: young and master athletes. Two testing sessions were used to measure and compare (i) lower limb power during three jumping tests (squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and rebound jump (RJ)) as well as stiffness during the RJ test and running trials (using an OptoJump system (Microgate, Bolzano, Italy) placed on the floor for jumping and on each side of the treadmill belt for running), and (ii) the energy cost of running and oxygen consumption (V˙O2) kinetics (using an Oxycon Pro breath-by-breath gas analyzer (Jaeger, Höchberg, Germany)) at three speeds: 10 km·h, self-selected speed, and speed corresponding to 90% of the second ventilatory threshold (VT2). RESULTS Energy cost of running was higher in masters than in young athletes at all speeds (10 km·h, 13.0%; self-selected, 10.8%; 90% VT2, 7.7% on average). Jumping power was lower in masters (SJ, -28.0%; CMJ, -30.5%; RJ, -27.9%) and significantly correlated with energy cost at 10 km·h and at self-selected speed (10 km·h: r = -0.71, -0.70, -0.47; self-selected speed: r = -0.76, -0.74, -0.58, respectively). RJ stiffness was also lower in masters (-27.8%), although stiffness during running showed no difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS A long-lasting running practice seemed to preserve the bouncing mechanism of master athletes, yet their energy cost was higher when compared with younger runners, which might have been associated with a lower muscle power.
Mechanism of acetylcholine-induced inhibition of Ca current in bullfrog atrial myocytes

The mechanism of the anti-beta-adrenergic action of acetylcholine (ACh) on Ca current, ICa, was examined using the tight-seal, whole-cell voltage clamp technique in single atrial myocytes from the bullfrog. Both isoproterenol (ISO) and forskolin increased ICa dose dependently. After ICa had been enhanced maximally by ISO (10(-6) M), subsequent application of forskolin (50 microM) did not further increase ICa, suggesting that ISO and forskolin increase ICa via a common biochemical pathway, possibly by stimulation of adenylate cyclase. ACh (10(-5) M) completely inhibited the effect of low doses of forskolin (2 x 10(-6) M), as well as ISO, but it failed to block the effects of high doses of forskolin (greater than 5 x 10(-5) M). Intracellular application of cyclic AMP (cAMP) also increased ICa. ACh (10(-5) M) failed to inhibit this cAMP effect, indicating that the inhibitory action of ACh occurs at a site proximal to the production of cAMP. ACh (10(-5) M) also activated an inwardly rectifying K+ current IK(ACh). Intracellular application of a nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue, GTP gamma S (5 X 10(-4) M), activated IK(ACh) within several minutes; subsequent application of ACh (10(-5) M) did not increase IK(ACh) further. These results demonstrate that a GTP-binding protein coupled to these K+ channels can be activated maximally by GTP gamma S even in the absence of ACh. Intracellular application of GTP gamma S also strongly inhibited the effect of ISO on ICa in the absence of ACh. Pertussis toxin (IAP) completely prevented both the inhibitory effect of ACh on ICa and the ACh-induced activation of IK(ACh). GTP gamma S (50 microM-1 mM) alone did not increase ICa significantly; however, when ISO was applied first, GTP gamma S (5 x 10(-4) M) gradually inhibited the ISO effect on ICa. These results indicate that ACh antagonizes the effect of ISO on ICa via a GTP-binding protein (Gi and/or Go). This effect may be mediated through a direct inhibition by the alpha-subunit of Gi which is coupled to the adenylate cyclase.
Gene Expression Signature in Urine for Diagnosing and Assessing Aggressiveness of Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma

Purpose: To develop an accurate and noninvasive method for bladder cancer diagnosis and prediction of disease aggressiveness based on the gene expression patterns of urine samples. Experimental Design: Gene expression patterns of 341 urine samples from bladder urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) patients and 235 controls were analyzed via TaqMan Arrays. In a first phase of the study, three consecutive gene selection steps were done to identify a gene set expression signature to detect and stratify UCC in urine. Subsequently, those genes more informative for UCC diagnosis and prediction of tumor aggressiveness were combined to obtain a classification system of bladder cancer samples. In a second phase, the obtained gene set signature was evaluated in a routine clinical scenario analyzing only voided urine samples. Results: We have identified a 12+2 gene expression signature for UCC diagnosis and prediction of tumor aggressiveness on urine samples. Overall, this gene set panel had 98% sensitivity (SN) and 99% specificity (SP) in discriminating between UCC and control samples and 79% SN and 92% SP in predicting tumor aggressiveness. The translation of the model to the clinically applicable format corroborates that the 12+2 gene set panel described maintains a high accuracy for UCC diagnosis (SN = 89% and SP = 95%) and tumor aggressiveness prediction (SN = 79% and SP = 91%) in voided urine samples. Conclusions: The 12+2 gene expression signature described in urine is able to identify patients suffering from UCC and predict tumor aggressiveness. We show that a panel of molecular markers may improve the schedule for diagnosis and follow-up in UCC patients. Clin Cancer Res; 16(9); 2624–33. ©2010 AACR.
Ascites Syndrome in Broiler Chickens - A Physiological Syndrome Affected by Red Blood Cell

Reduced oxygen availability to the tissues (hypoxia) poses numerous challenges to animal life. Hypoxia occurs as a result of diminished partial pressure of oxygen, such as occurs with increasing altitude, or reduced oxygen percentage in the air capillaries of the lung. The oxygen partial pressure drops by approximately 7 mm Hg, i.e, approximately 2.5% in the case of atmospheric oxygen, for each 1,000 m increase in altitude, and thereby reduces the amount of oxygen available to the hemoglobin in red blood cells as blood passes through the lung.
Concurrent Relations between Face Scanning and Language: A Cross-Syndrome Infant Study

Typically developing (TD) infants enhance their learning of spoken language by observing speakers’ mouth movements. Given the fact that word learning is seriously delayed in most children with neurodevelopmental disorders, we hypothesized that this delay partly results from differences in visual face scanning, e.g., focusing attention away from the mouth. To test this hypothesis, we used an eye tracker to measure visual attention in 95 infants and toddlers with Down syndrome (DS), fragile X syndrome (FXS), and Williams syndrome (WS), and compared their data to 25 chronological- and mental-age matched 16-month-old TD controls. We presented participants with two talking faces (one on each side of the screen) and a sound (/ga/). One face (the congruent face) mouthed the syllable that the participants could hear (i.e., /ga/), while the other face (the incongruent face) mouthed a different syllable (/ba/) from the one they could hear. As expected, we found that TD children with a relatively large vocabulary made more fixations to the mouth region of the incongruent face than elsewhere. However, toddlers with FXS or WS who had a relatively large receptive vocabulary made more fixations to the eyes (rather than the mouth) of the incongruent face. In DS, by contrast, fixations to the speaker’s overall face (rather than to her eyes or mouth) predicted vocabulary size. These findings suggest that, at some point in development, different processes or strategies relating to visual attention are involved in language acquisition in DS, FXS, and WS. This knowledge may help further explain why language is delayed in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. It also raises the possibility that syndrome-specific interventions should include an early focus on efficient face-scanning behaviour.
Structural and functional evidence that Rad4 competes with Rad2 for binding to the Tfb1 subunit of TFIIH in NER

XPC/Rad4 (human/yeast) recruits transcription faction IIH (TFIIH) to the nucleotide excision repair (NER) complex through interactions with its p62/Tfb1 and XPB/Ssl2 subunits. TFIIH then recruits XPG/Rad2 through interactions with similar subunits and the two repair factors appear to be mutually exclusive within the NER complex. Here, we show that Rad4 binds the PH domain of the Tfb1 (Tfb1PH) with high affinity. Structural characterization of a Rad4–Tfb1PH complex demonstrates that the Rad4-binding interface is formed using a motif similar to one used by Rad2 to bind Tfb1PH. In vivo studies in yeast demonstrate that the N-terminal Tfb1-binding motif and C-terminal TFIIH-binding motif of Rad4 are both crucial for survival following exposure to UV irradiation. Together, these results support the hypothesis that XPG/Rad2 displaces XPC/Rad4 from the repair complex in part through interactions with the Tfb1/p62 subunit of TFIIH. The Rad4–Tfb1PH structure also provides detailed information regarding, not only the interplay of TFIIH recruitment to the NER, but also links the role of TFIIH in NER and transcription.
How to diagnose diastolic heart failure. European Study Group on Diastolic Heart Failure.

Diastolic heart failure has emerged over the last 10 years as a separate clinical entity. Diastolic heart failure accounts for approximately one third of all heart failure cases, especially in an elderly population, and its natural history, with an annual mortality rate of 8%, is more benign than other forms of heart failure with an annual mortality of 19%. Because of its rising incidence in ageing Western populations and because of its different prognosis, specific treatment options for patients suffering from diastolic heart failure are currently being tested in large randomized trials. A need has therefore grown to establish precise criteria for the diagnosis of diastolic heart failure. Such diagnostic criteria should: (1) reflect underlying pathophysiological mechanisms; (2) be readily obtainable using modern diagnostic tools; (3) be applicable to different cardiac diseases featuring diastolic heart failure. The present report of the European Study Group on Diastolic Heart Failure proposes a definition of primary diastolic heart failure. Primary diastolic heart failure does not include diastolic left ventricular dysfunction in the presence of systolic cardiac failure. Diagnostic criteria satisfying the originally proposed definition of diastolic heart failure will be established for most of the modern cardiac investigations and imaging techniques. Finally, these diagnostic criteria for diastolic heart failure will be applied to diseases frequently characterized by diastolic heart failure. To avoid low specificity of the diagnostic criteria, cut-off values of indices were set at the 95% confidence interval of the mean value of the index observed in a normal population. When age-related changes of an index have been reported, cut-off values are given for different age (y, years) groups (e.g. ¦30y; 30–50 y; §50y) indicated as subscripts to the index. How to establish the diagnosis of diastolic heart failure?
Index Interactions in Physical Design Tuning: Modeling, Analysis, and Applications

One of the key tasks of a database administrator is to optimize the set of materialized indices with respect to the current workload. To aid administrators in this challenging task, commercial DBMSs provide advisors that recommend a set of indices based on a sample workload. It is left for the administrator to decide which of the recommended indices to materialize and when. This decision requires some knowledge of how the indices benefit the workload, which may be difficult to understand if there are any dependencies or interactions among indices. Unfortunately, advisors do not provide this crucial information as part of the recommendation. Motivated by this shortcoming, we propose a framework and associated tools that can help an administrator understand the interactions within the recommended set of indices. We formalize the notion of index interactions and develop a novel algorithm to identify the interaction relationships that exist within a set of indices. We present experimental results with a prototype implementation over IBM DB2 that demonstrate the efficiency of our approach. We also describe two new database tuning tools that utilize information about index interactions. The first tool visualizes interactions based on a partitioning of the index-set into non-interacting subsets, and the second tool computes a schedule that materializes the indices over several maintenance windows with maximal overall benefit. In both cases, we provide strong analytical results showing that index interactions can enable enhanced functionality.
Seventeen New Complete mtDNA Sequences Reveal Extensive Mitochondrial Genome Evolution within the Demospongiae

Two major transitions in animal evolution–the origins of multicellularity and bilaterality–correlate with major changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) organization. Demosponges, the largest class in the phylum Porifera, underwent only the first of these transitions and their mitochondrial genomes display a peculiar combination of ancestral and animal-specific features. To get an insight into the evolution of mitochondrial genomes within the Demospongiae, we determined 17 new mtDNA sequences from this group and analyzing them with five previously published sequences. Our analysis revealed that all demosponge mtDNAs are 16- to 25-kbp circular molecules, containing 13–15 protein genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 2–27 tRNA genes. All but four pairs of sampled genomes had unique gene orders, with the number of shared gene boundaries ranging from 1 to 41. Although most demosponge species displayed low rates of mitochondrial sequence evolution, a significant acceleration in evolutionary rates occurred in the G1 group (orders Dendroceratida, Dictyoceratida, and Verticillitida). Large variation in mtDNA organization was also observed within the G0 group (order Homosclerophorida) including gene rearrangements, loss of tRNA genes, and the presence of two introns in Plakortis angulospiculatus. While introns are rare in modern-day demosponge mtDNA, we inferred that at least one intron was present in cox1 of the common ancestor of all demosponges. Our study uncovered an extensive mitochondrial genomic diversity within the Demospongiae. Although all sampled mitochondrial genomes retained some ancestral features, including a minimally modified genetic code, conserved structures of tRNA genes, and presence of multiple non-coding regions, they vary considerably in their size, gene content, gene order, and the rates of sequence evolution. Some of the changes in demosponge mtDNA, such as the loss of tRNA genes and the appearance of hairpin-containing repetitive elements, occurred in parallel in several lineages and suggest general trends in demosponge mtDNA evolution.