Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Direct uptake of HCO3- in the marine angiosperm Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile driven by a plasma membrane H+ economy.

Seagrasses access HCO3- for photosynthesis by 2 mechanisms, apoplastic carbonic anhydrase-mediated dehydration of HCO3- to CO2 and direct HCO3- uptake. Here, we have studied plasma membrane energization and the mechanism for HCO3- import in Posidonia oceanica. Classical electrophysiology and ion-selective microelectrodes were used to measure the membrane potential, cytosolic pH, and the cytosolic concentrations of Na+ and Cl- upon the addition of HCO3- . The photosynthetic response to HCO3- and to inhibitors was also measured. Results indicate that the primary pump of P. oceanica plasma membrane is a fusicoccin-sensitive H+ -ATPase. Bicarbonate depolarizes the plasma membrane voltage and transiently acidifies the cytosol, indicating that HCO3- is transported into the cells by an H+ -symport. Initial cytosolic acidification is followed by an alkalinization, suggesting an internal dehydration of HCO3- . The lack of cytosolic Na+ and Cl- responses rules out the contribution of these ions to HCO3- transport. The energetics of nH+ /HCO3- symport allows, for n = 1, an estimate of cytosolic accumulation of 0.22 mM HCO3- . Because this transporter could permit accumulation of HCO3- up to 100 times above the equilibrium concentration, it would be a significant component of a carbon-concentrating mechanism in this species.
Determinants of the efficacy of tobramycin therapy against isogenic nonmucoid and mucoid derivatives of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 growing in peritoneal chambers in mice

Mice which were supporting the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in chambers implanted in their peritoneums were given two intramuscular injections of tobramycin (15 mg/kg of body weight each) at an interval of 8 h. Three hours later, chambers were removed and their contents were assessed for viable counts. Controls revealed that tobramycin levels in the chambers were 3.8 micrograms/ml 15 min after injection of 15 mg of tobramycin per kg and remained above the in vitro MICs (0.5 to 1 microgram/ml) for the tested strains for 8 h. It was demonstrated that tobramycin therapy was less effective with higher inocula and with longer delay before administration. Thus, in vivo, the concentration of bacteria in the chambers at the time of the first tobramycin injection had a profound effect on the bactericidal efficacy of tobramycin therapy. No such concentration dependence was observed in mock in vitro therapy experiments. A phage-selected mucoid derivative of P. aeruginosa PAO1 showed only a marginal increase in in vitro aminoglycoside susceptibility and no major alteration in in vivo susceptibility compared with its isogenic nonmucoid parent strain.
An Empirical Investigation of the Acceptance of Electronic Negotiation Support System Features

Electronic negotiation support aims at enabling complex trade interactions through means of information technology. Present research in electronic negotiation support is limited to a large extent to the analytical decision support view. There is a lack of empirical evidence on the acceptance of the different types of support in the negotiation support portfolio and their value contribution. In this paper, the results of a laboratory experiment evaluating the communication support feature of a particular negotiation support system, namely the Negoisst system, is presented. It is concluded, that dedicated communication support is highly relevant in users’ perception of usefulness.
Nigerian Medical Students’ Opinions About Individuals Who Use and Abuse Psychoactive Substances

Substance use disorders are prevalent in Nigeria. The number of available specialist health providers is inadequate to fill the treatment gap. Interventions can be provided by nonspecialist health providers and have been found to be beneficial. However, attitudes toward substance misuse and misusers can impede the provision of this service. We aimed to determine attitudes of medical trainees toward substance use by utilizing a modified form of the Substance Abuse Attitude Scale (SAAS). Medical students (n = 200) had positive attitudes toward individuals who misuse psychoactive substances. The medial students, however, preferred treatment to be offered by trained specialists and held restrictive views regarding cannabis and alcohol use. More positive attitudes were expressed by participants who were male or had a lifetime history of psychoactive substance use. The role of personal and family-related psychoactive substance use factors are probably associated with attitudinal responses and would require further exploration.
Studies on the intracellular composition of livers from rats fed various aminoazo dyes; 3'-methyl-,2'-methyl-, and 2-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene,3-methyl-4-monomethylaminoazobenzene, and 4'-fluoro-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene.

1. The livers of rats fed either no azo dye or equimolar levels of 2′-, 3′-, or 2-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene, 3-methyl-4-monomethylaminoazobenzene, or 4′-fluoro-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene for 4 weeks were perfused, homogenized, and separated by differential centrifugation into nuclear, large granule, small granule, and supernatant fluid fractions. The original homogenate and the fractions were analyzed for protein, nucleic acids, riboflavin, and protein-bound aminoazo dye. The results obtained were compared with previous data on the livers of rats fed other aminoazo dyes and on the tumors induced by 4-dimethylaminoazobenzene. 2. From these data it appears that the ingestion of 4-dimethylaminoazobenzene and its C-monomethyl derivatives caused increases in the amounts of protein and desoxypentosenucleic acid in the nuclear fraction; decreases in the amounts of protein, pentosenucleic acid, and riboflavin in the large granule fraction; and increases in the pentosenucleic acid content of the supernatant fluid fraction, which were roughly proportional to the carcinogenicities of the dyes fed. The weak carcinogen 3-methyl-4-monomethylaminoazobenzene was an exception in that it caused a significant reduction in the riboflavin content of the large granules. The changes caused by the strong carcinogen 3′-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene were not altered by raising the level of dietary casein from 12 to 24 per cent. 4′-Fluoro-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene did not fit into this series, since it failed to cause as great changes as would be expected from its high activity. 3. 2-Methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene differed from the other dyes in that it caused an increase above normal in the number and total mass of the large granules; this fraction contained considerably more protein and riboflavin and less pentosenucleic acid than normal. 4. Ingestion of any of these dyes gave rise to protein-bound aminoazo dye in each fraction of the liver cell; the highest concentration and greatest fraction of the total were always found in the supernatant fluid. 5. Histological studies suggested that the alterations in the composition of the large granule fractions after ingestion of the dyes were due chiefly to changes in the numbers of large granules in the parenchymal liver cells, while proliferation of the bile duct-like cells may have been responsible for the alterations in the composition of the nuclear fraction. The increase in the amount of nuclear desoxypentosenucleic acid which occurred when highly carcinogenic dyes were fed was largely the result of an increase in the number of nuclei per unit weight of tissue.
Ubiquitous Smart Home System Using Android Application

This paper presents a flexible standalone, low-cost smart home system, which is based on the Android app communicating with the micro-web server providing more than the switching functionalities. The Arduino Ethernet is used to eliminate the use of a personal computer (PC) keeping the cost of the overall system to a minimum while voice activation is incorporated for switching functionalities. Devices such as light switches, power plugs, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, current sensors, intrusion detection sensors, smoke/gas sensors and sirens have been integrated in the system to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed smart home system. The smart home app is tested and it is able to successfully perform the smart home operations such as switching functionalities, automatic environmental control and intrusion detection, in the later case where an email is generated and the siren goes on.
Fast Alternating Direction Optimization Methods

Alternating direction methods are a common tool for general mathematical programming and optimization. These methods have become particularly important in the field of variational image processing, which frequently requires the minimization of nondifferentiable objectives. This paper considers accelerated (i.e., fast) variants of two common alternating direction methods: the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and the alternating minimization algorithm (AMA). The proposed acceleration is of the form first proposed by Nesterov for gradient descent methods. In the case that the objective function is strongly convex, global convergence bounds are provided for both classical and accelerated variants of the methods. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the superior performance of the fast methods for a wide variety of problems.
Design of non-precoded protograph-based LDPC codes

A new family of protograph-based codes with no punctured variable nodes is presented. The codes are constructed by using differential evolution, partial brute force search, and the lengthening method introduced by Nguyen et al. The protograph ensembles satisfy the linear minimum distance growth property and have the lowest iterative decoding thresholds yet reported in the literature among protograph codes without punctured variable nodes. Simulation results show that the new codes perform better than state-of-the-art protograph codes when the number of decoding iterations is small.
Will the SAFE Strategy Be Sufficient to Eliminate Trachoma by 2020? Puzzlements and Possible Solutions

Since the inception of (the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma) GET 2020 in 1997 and the implementation of the SAFE strategy a year later, much progress has been made toward lowering the prevalence of trachoma worldwide with elimination of the disease in some countries. However, high recurrence of trichiasis after surgery, difficulty in controlling the reemergence of infection after mass distribution of azithromycin in some communities, the incomplete understanding of environment in relation to the disease, and the difficulty in establishing the prevalence of the disease in low endemic areas are some of the issues still facing completion of the GET 2020 goals. In this narrative review, literature was searched from 1998 to January 2013 in PubMed for original studies and reviews. Reasons for these ongoing problems are discussed, and several suggestions are made as avenues for exploration in relation to improving the SAFE strategy with emphasis on improving surgical quality and management of the mass treatment with antibiotics. In addition, more research needs to be done to better understand the approach to improve sanitation, hygiene, and environment. The main conclusion of this review is that scale-up is needed for all SAFE components, and more research should be generated from communities outside of Africa and Asia.
Reasons for teachers’ successful development of a formative assessment practice through professional development – a motivation perspective

Abstract Formative assessment has been shown to have the potential to significantly enhance student achievement, but a strong research base about how to support teachers to implement such a practice is lacking. This is particularly so for a conceptualisation of formative assessment as a unity of integrated formative assessment strategies. The aim of this study is to investigate why the mathematics teachers who participated in a successful professional development programme in formative assessment developed their formative classroom practice to such an extent that it had a significant impact on student achievement. An analysis of data from teacher questionnaires and interviews shows that the teachers’ actions can be explained by expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. Characteristics of the professional development programme that the teachers experienced as important for their development of a formative classroom practice are identified, and the characteristics' affordances for the development of the teachers’ expectancy and value beliefs are discussed.
AEDB protocol tuning with a fast efficient parallel multi-objective local search

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are infrastructure-less communication networks spontaneously created by a number of mobile devices. Due to its highly fluctuating topology, finding the optimal configuration of communication protocols is a complex and crucial task. Additionally, different objectives must be usually considered. In our previous work, we introduced a novel parallel multi-objective local search to optimise the AEDB broadcasting protocol in terms of coverage, energy used, broadcasting time, and network resources. In this paper, we extend our previous work by studying three different versions of the problem, that are restricting the minimum coverage value for valid solutions, in order to accelerate the search and make it focus on the desired area of the search space. Additionally, the convergence speed of the algorithm was analysed, and different population initialisation techniques were compared. The new algorithm is validated vs. efficient state-of-the art multi-objective evolutionary techniques, offering high quality results in much shorter times, especially for high coverage solutions.
Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Changes During Normal Pregnancy Among Nigerians

Background Pregnancy is a physiological process associated with an increased hemodynamic load and cardiac structural remodeling. Limited echocardiographic information exists on cardiac chambers, left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic functions, and LV mass during trimesters of normal pregnancy among African women. Materials and Methods Echocardiography was done at the beginning of the second trimester, beginning of the third trimester, and middle of the third trimester for 100 normal pregnant women and at one visit for age-matched 100 nonpregnant women. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 software. Analysis of variance was used to compare within trimesters, and a P value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results The mean (SD) ages of the patients and controls were 28.20 (±5.91) and 28.35 (±6.06) years, respectively (age range = 19-44 years, P = 0.86). Cardiac chambers, LV systolic function, and LV mass and its index increased significantly during pregnancy. A significant increase in A-wave velocity but slight increase in E-wave velocity and a reduction in tissue e′ velocity at the septal margin but a progressive increase in a′ velocity were also observed (P < 0.05). Conclusion Cardiac chamber dimensions, LV wall thickness, and mass, most indices of LV systolic and diastolic function, though within normal range, were significantly higher in pregnant than in nonpregnant Nigerian women.
Family perspectives on pathways to mental health care for children and youth in rural communities.

CONTEXT There is insufficient literature documenting the mental health experiences and needs of rural communities, and a lack of focus on children in particular. This is of concern given that up to 20% of children and youth suffer from a diagnosable mental health problem. PURPOSE This study examines issues of access to mental health care for children and youth in rural communities from the family perspective. METHODS In-depth interviews were conducted in rural Ontario, Canada, with 30 parents of children aged 3-17 who had been diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders. FINDINGS Interview data indicate 3 overall thematic areas that describe the main barriers and facilitators to care. These include personal, systemic, and environmental factors. Family members are constantly negotiating ongoing tension, struggle, and contradiction vis-à-vis their attempts to access and provide mental health care. Most factors identified as barriers are also, under different circumstances, facilitators. Analysis clustered around the contrasts, contradictions, and paradoxes present throughout the interviews. CONCLUSIONS The route to mental health care for children in rural communities is complex, dynamic, and nonlinear, with multiple roadblocks. Although faced with multiple roadblocks, there are also several factors that help minimize these barriers.
Gastrocnemius medialis muscle architecture and physiological cross sectional area in adult males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Objectives: To describe muscle size and architecture of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle in eleven adult males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD, age 24.5±5.4 years), and a control group of eleven males without DMD (CTRL, age 22.1±0.9 years). Methods: GM anatomical cross sectional area (ACSA), volume (VOL), physiological cross sectional area (PCSA), fascicle length (Lf) and pennation angle (θ) were assessed using B-Mode Ultrasonography. GM ACSA was measured at 25, 50 and 75% of muscle length (Lm), from which VOL was calculated. At 50% of Lm, sagittal plane images were analysed to determine GM Lf and θ. GM PCSA was calculated as VOL/Lf. The ratio of Lf and Lm was also calculated. Results: GM ACSA at 50% Lm, VOL and PCSA were smaller in DMD males compared to CTRL males by 36, 47 and 43%, respectively (P<0.01). There were no differences in Lf and θ. GM Lm was 29% shorter in DMD compared to CTRL. Lf/Lm was 29% longer in DMD (P<0.01). Conclusions: Unlike previous data in children with DMD, our results show significant atrophy in adult males with DMD, and no change in Lf or θ. The shorter Lm may have implications for joint flexibility.
IBM1, a JmjC domain-containing histone demethylase, is involved in the regulation of RNA-directed DNA methylation through the epigenetic control of RDR2 and DCL3 expression in Arabidopsis

Small RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is an important epigenetic pathway in Arabidopsis that controls the expression of multiple genes and several developmental processes. RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2) and DICER-LIKE 3 (DCL3) are necessary factors in 24-nt small interfering RNA (siRNA) biogenesis, which is part of the RdDM pathway. Here, we found that Increase in BONSAI Methylation 1 (IBM1), a conserved JmjC family histone demethylase, is directly associated with RDR2 and DCL3 chromatin. The mutation of IBM1 induced the hypermethylation of H3K9 and DNA non-CG sites within RDR2 and DCL3, which repressed their expression. A genome-wide analysis suggested that the reduction in RDR2 and DCL3 expression affected siRNA biogenesis in a locus-specific manner and disrupted RdDM-directed gene repression. Together, our results suggest that IBM1 regulates gene expression through two distinct pathways: direct association to protect genes from silencing by preventing the coupling of histone and DNA methylation, and indirect silencing of gene expression through RdDM-directed repression.
Gram-negative intestinal indigenous microbiota from two Siluriform fishes in a tropical reservoir

The Gram-negative intestinal microbiota of Hypostomus auroguttatus and Pimelodus maculatus, a detritivorous and an omnivorous fish species, respectively, were compared between fishes from the reservoir and the stretch of the river below the dam of the Funil hydroelectric plant, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Four selective culture media were used under aerobic and two under anaerobic conditions. The omnivorous species had microbiota with higher population levels compared to the detritivorous species. The number of morphotypes and population levels of total bacteria, vibrio and Bacteroides tended to be higher in summer and autumn in the reservoir, and not different in the river. The number of morphotypes of enterobacteria and total bacteria were higher in the lotic environment compared with the lentic one. The bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila and Plesiomonas shigelloides and the obligate anaerobic Fusobacterium mortiferum were the most frequently identified microorganisms in the intestine of both H. auroguttatus and P. maculatus. Both season and habitat influenced the Gram-negative intestinal microbiota of H. auroguttatus and P. maculatus. Environmental factors influenced the Gram-negative intestinal microbiota of both species with possible impact on the interrelationship between the fishes and their digestive ecosystem, although the gut microbiota composition of fishes may result from host-specific selective pressures within the gut.
Working through Discourse Genres in School.

In this essayist paper I explore the possible benefits of placing considerations of genre as more central to dialogues and debates about language arts education. I begin by discussing various strands of the genre instruction movement, a theoretical and pedagogical emphasis on genre that has emerged in part as a critique of more progressivist pedagogies like whole language. I then move to considering a possible critical synthesis of whole language pedagogies and an explicit emphasis on genre. I do so through theoretical considerations of what it means to engage in a discourse, relying largely on some philosophical writings (e.g., the writings of Mikhail Bakhtin). In the final sections of this paper I turn to more empiricallygrounded reflections. I consider the ways in which one first grade teacher helped a non-middle class learner to engage more deeply with science discourse genres. Throughout the paper I attempt to construct a theoretical framework that emphasizes the responsive and agentive engagement of students working through disciplinary literacies. Such a framework mediates between the emphasis in whole language pedagogies on the personal meaning of texts to learners and the greater emphasis in genre instruction pedagogies on the role of empowering social texts in affording learners access to school-based literacies.
Persuasion : theory & research

Preface 1. Persuasion, Attitudes, and Actions 2. Functional Approaches to Attitude 3. Belief-Based Models of Attitude 4. Cognitive Dissonance Theory 5. Theories of Behavioral Intention 6. Elaboration Likelihood Model 7. The Study of Persuasive Effects 8. Source Factors 9. Message Factors 10. Receiver and Context Factors References Author Index Subject Index About the Author
Mind Association

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