Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE MICRO AND MACRO IN BODY SIZE EVOLUTION

The diversity of body sizes of organisms has traditionally been explained in terms of microevolutionary processes: natural selection owing to differential fitness of individual organisms, or to macroevolutionary processes: species selection owing to the differential proliferation of phylogenetic lineages. Data for terrestrial mammals and birds indicate that even on a logarithmic scale frequency distributions of body mass among species are significantly skewed towards larger sizes. We used simulation models to evaluate the extent to which macro‐ and microevolutionary processes are sufficient to explain these distributions. Simulations of a purely cladogenetic process with no bias in extinction or speciation rates for different body sizes did not produce skewed log body mass distributions. Simulations that included size‐biased extinction rates, especially those that incorporated anagenetic size change within species between speciation and extinction events, regularly produced skewed distributions. We conclude that although cladogenetic processes probably play a significant role in body size evolution, there must also be a significant anagenetic component. The regular variation in the form of mammalian body size distributions among different‐sized islands and continents suggests that environmental conditions, operating through both macro‐ and microevolutionary processes, determine to a large extent the diversification of body sizes within faunas. Macroevolution is not decoupled from microevolution.
DEA-based Ecological Efficiency Evaluation During the Process of Industrial Transformation in the Pearl River Delta Urban Cluster

In order to comprehensively evaluate the effect of industrial transformation, the concept of ecological efficiency was introduced in this paper due to its merit of integrating social, economic, and environmental factors. The indicator system and model of ecological efficiency evaluation was subsequently established, while the model based on data envelopment analysis is hopeful to reduce the subjectivity of evaluation. The case study on the Pearl River Delta Urban Cluster shows the generally increased ecological efficiency during the process of industrial transformation. However, the declined returns to scale implies the lack of satisfactory harmony among different cities in the Pearl River Delta Urban Cluster. Certain suggestions to improve ecological efficiency was put forward based on the results.
Identification of long noncoding RNAs dysregulated in the midbrain of human cocaine abusers

Maintenance of the drug‐addicted state is thought to involve changes in gene expression in different neuronal cell types and neural circuits. Midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons in particular mediate numerous responses to drugs of abuse. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate CNS gene expression through a variety of mechanisms, but next to nothing is known about their role in drug abuse. The proportion of lncRNAs that are primate‐specific provides a strong rationale for their study in human drug abusers. In this study, we determined a profile of dysregulated putative lncRNAs through the analysis of postmortem human midbrain specimens from chronic cocaine abusers and well‐matched control subjects (n = 11 in each group) using a custom lncRNA microarray. A dataset comprising 32 well‐annotated lncRNAs with independent evidence of brain expression and robust differential expression in cocaine abusers is presented. For a subset of these lncRNAs, differential expression was validated by quantitative real‐time PCR and cellular localization determined by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Examples of lncRNAs exhibiting DA cell‐specific expression, different subcellular distributions, and covariance of expression with known cocaine‐regulated protein‐coding genes were identified. These findings implicate lncRNAs in the cellular responses of human DA neurons to chronic cocaine abuse.
Prospective assessment of fatigue and health status in Greek patients with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy and to explore the impact of fatigue on their health status. DESIGN Prospective, descriptive, repeated measures. SETTING A major oncology center, Saint Savvas Cancer Hospital, in Athens, Greece. SAMPLE Consecutive sample of 106 women (mean age = 55 + 12), with histologically confirmed diagnosis for stage I or II breast cancer who were receiving adjuvant radiotherapy for approximately six weeks. METHODS Data were collected with the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey Scale in the first two days of radiotherapy (T0), during the third week (T1), and during the last week of treatment (T2). MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Fatigue, health status. FINDINGS Across-subjects analysis revealed that fatigue increased during radiotherapy in patients with breast cancer regardless of stage, type of surgery, or whether they received chemotherapy (p 0.05). Between-subject analysis revealed that no differences existed in the PFS between different groups (chemotherapy versus no chemotherapy, breast conservation versus mastectomy, stage I versus stage II) at each measurement point. A negative correlation was found between the subscales of the PFS and all of the subscales of the SF-36. CONCLUSIONS Fatigue intensity increased significantly during the course of radiotherapy, and patients experienced a significant deterioration in their overall health status. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Findings contribute to the growing body of evidence regarding fatigue and its impact on health status in Greek patients with breast cancer and provide insights for effective nursing assessment, patient education, and symptom management.
Determination of the Thermodegradation of deoxyArbutin in Aqueous Solution by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Tyrosinase is the key and rate-limiting enzyme responsible for the conversion of tyrosine into melanin. Competitive inhibition of tyrosinase enzymatic activity results in decreased or absent melanin synthesis by melanocytes in human skin. DeoxyArbutin (4-[(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)oxy]phenol), a novel skin whitening agent, was synthesized through the removal of hydroxyl groups from the glucose side-chain of arbutin. DeoxyArbutin not only shows greater inhibition of tyrosinase activity but is also safer than hydroquinone and arbutin. Hence, deoxyArbutin is a potential skin whitening agent for cosmetics and depigmenting drugs; however, stability of this compound under some conditions remains a problem. The lack of stability poses developmental and practical difficulties for the use of deoxyArbutin in cosmetics and medicines. Improving the thermostability of deoxyArbutin is an important issue for its development. In this research, we established an analytical procedure to verify the amount of deoxyArbutin in solutions using a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. The results indicate that this novel skin whitening agent is a thermolabile compound in aqueous solutions. Additionally, the rate constant for thermodegradation (k) and the half-life (t1/2) of deoxyArbutin were determined and can be used to understand the thermodegradation kinetics of deoxyArbutin. This information can aid in the application of deoxyArbutin for many future uses.
Ataxin1L Is a Regulator of HSC Function Highlighting the Utility of Cross-Tissue Comparisons for Gene Discovery

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are rare quiescent cells that continuously replenish the cellular components of the peripheral blood. Observing that the ataxia-associated gene Ataxin-1-like (Atxn1L) was highly expressed in HSCs, we examined its role in HSC function through in vitro and in vivo assays. Mice lacking Atxn1L had greater numbers of HSCs that regenerated the blood more quickly than their wild-type counterparts. Molecular analyses indicated Atxn1L null HSCs had gene expression changes that regulate a program consistent with their higher level of proliferation, suggesting that Atxn1L is a novel regulator of HSC quiescence. To determine if additional brain-associated genes were candidates for hematologic regulation, we examined genes encoding proteins from autism- and ataxia-associated protein–protein interaction networks for their representation in hematopoietic cell populations. The interactomes were found to be highly enriched for proteins encoded by genes specifically expressed in HSCs relative to their differentiated progeny. Our data suggest a heretofore unappreciated similarity between regulatory modules in the brain and HSCs, offering a new strategy for novel gene discovery in both systems.
Triassic conodonts from western North America and Europe and their correlation

Seven conodont faunal assemblages are recognized in upper Scythic, Anisic, Ladinic, and lower Carnic strata in western North America; six faunal assemblages are recognized from strata of approximately the same interval in Europe. The faunas consist of 17 genera (7 new) and 62 species (17 new). Although apparently limited in their value for intercontinental correlation, these assemblages may be useful for intraregional stratigraphic work. Three new conodont assemblage zones are recognized in the upper Carnic and Noric of both Europe and North America, which seem to have worldwide validity: Paragondolella polygnathiformis Assemblage Zone (upper Carnic), Epigondollella abneptis Assemblage Zone (lower Noric), and E. bidentata Assemblage Zone (upper Noric).
Tree-structured Gaussian Process Approximations

Gaussian process regression can be accelerated by constructing a small pseudo-dataset to summarize the observed data. This idea sits at the heart of many approximation schemes, but such an approach requires the number of pseudo-datapoints to be scaled with the range of the input space if the accuracy of the approximation is to be maintained. This presents problems in time-series settings or in spatial datasets where large numbers of pseudo-datapoints are required since computation typically scales quadratically with the pseudo-dataset size. In this paper we devise an approximation whose complexity grows linearly with the number of pseudo-datapoints. This is achieved by imposing a tree or chain structure on the pseudo-datapoints and calibrating the approximation using a Kullback-Leibler (KL) minimization. Inference and learning can then be performed efficiently using the Gaussian belief propagation algorithm. We demonstrate the validity of our approach on a set of challenging regression tasks including missing data imputation for audio and spatial datasets. We trace out the speed-accuracy trade-off for the new method and show that the frontier dominates those obtained from a large number of existing approximation techniques.
GSK3A Is Redundant with GSK3B in Modulating Drug Resistance and Chemotherapy-Induced Necroptosis

Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 alpha (GSK3A) and beta (GSK3B) isoforms are encoded by distinct genes, are 98% identical within their kinase domain and perform similar functions in several settings; however, they are not completely redundant and, depending on the cell type and differentiative status, they also play unique roles. We recently identified a role for GSK3B in drug resistance by demonstrating that its inhibition enables necroptosis in response to chemotherapy in p53-null drug-resistant colon carcinoma cells. We report here that, similarly to GSK3B, also GSK3A silencing/inhibition does not affect cell proliferation or cell cycle but only abolishes growth after treatment with DNA-damaging chemotherapy. In particular, blocking GSK3A impairs DNA repair upon exposure to DNA-damaging drugs. As a consequence, p53-null cells overcome their inability to undergo apoptosis and mount a necroptotic response, characterized by absence of caspase activation and RIP1-independent, PARP-dependent AIF nuclear re-localization. We therefore conclude that GSK3A is redundant with GSK3B in regulating drug-resistance and chemotherapy-induced necroptosis and suggest that inhibition of only one isoform, or rather partial inhibition of overall cellular GSK3 activity, is enough to re-sensitize drug-resistant cells to chemotherapy.
The PLETHORA Gene Regulatory Network Guides Growth and Cell Differentiation in Arabidopsis Roots[OPEN]

PLETHORA transcription factor gradients regulate cell state by region-specific induction of cell proliferation genes and repression of differentiation genes. Organ formation in animals and plants relies on precise control of cell state transitions to turn stem cell daughters into fully differentiated cells. In plants, cells cannot rearrange due to shared cell walls. Thus, differentiation progression and the accompanying cell expansion must be tightly coordinated across tissues. PLETHORA (PLT) transcription factor gradients are unique in their ability to guide the progression of cell differentiation at different positions in the growing Arabidopsis thaliana root, which contrasts with well-described transcription factor gradients in animals specifying distinct cell fates within an essentially static context. To understand the output of the PLT gradient, we studied the gene set transcriptionally controlled by PLTs. Our work reveals how the PLT gradient can regulate cell state by region-specific induction of cell proliferation genes and repression of differentiation. Moreover, PLT targets include major patterning genes and autoregulatory feedback components, enforcing their role as master regulators of organ development.
Vegetable farmers’ attitude towards organicagriculture practices in selected states ofSouth West Nigeria

Organic farming as a sustainable agricultural approach is a growing concept in South West Nigeria. This study investigated the attitude of vegetable farmers toward organic agriculture practices in South West Nigeria and the determinants of their attitude. Cluster sampling was used to select 315 farmers from list obtained from the farmers’ cooperative societies. Farmers were interviewed in person. Attitude was measured as a pooled score of respondents’ responses to 25 positive and negative statements made on a five point Likert scale. Data was analysed using frequency counts, percentages, means and a probit regression model. A majority of the farmers had positive attitude toward organic agriculture practices. The most important attitudinal statement ranked by the farmers was that organic agriculture strengthens the use of indigenous knowledge (4.55). The results of the probit model revealed that farm size, farming experience, household size, membership of organization and sources of information (t = 0254, 0.089, 0.125,0.694, 0.021, p<0.01) respectively showed a positive relationship with attitude toward organic farming practices. Therefore, there is need for effective linkage of research systems with extension services on relevant organic practices, as a build up to traditional farming, adaptable and sustainable to local conditions of vegetable farmers.
Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: a 22‐year Historical Cohort Study in Dutch General Practice

A historical cohort study was performed to assess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in Type 2 (non‐insulin‐dependent) diabetic patients. The data were collected from 1967 to 1989 in four Dutch general practices performing the Continuous Morbidity Registration Nijmegen. Each newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic patient fulfilling the WHO criteria (n = 265) was matched to a control patient for practice, sex, age, and social class. Inclusion started in 1967, the first year of the still ongoing, Continuous Morbidity Registration Nijmegen. On average, a follow‐up of 6.8 years (range 1 month—22 years) was realized. Compared to the non‐diabetic control patients, the Type 2 diabetic patients showed higher cardiovascular morbidity (risk ratio 1.76, 95 % CI 1.34–2.30) and a higher mortality rate (risk ratio 1.54, 95 % CI 1.07–2.23). Mortality after 10 years was 36 % vs 20 % (p < 0.01), the median survival time 16 years vs 19 years. The cumulative survival rates were significantly different (p < 0.01) between patients and controls in the age group 65–74 years. The higher mortality in Type 2 diabetic patients was completely due to an excess of cardiovascular death (risk ratio 2.05, 95 % CI 1.24–3.37).
A second monoclinic polymorph of 2-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-hydroxyimino-N′-[1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene]acetohydrazide

The title compound, C14H16N6O2, is a second monoclinic polymorph of 2-[1-(3,5-dimethyl)pyrazolyl]-2-hydroxyimino-N′-[1-(2-pyridyl)ethylidene] acetohydrazide, with two crystallographically independent molecules per asymmetric unit. The non-planar molecules are chemically equal having similar geometric parameters. The previously reported polymorph [Plutenko et al. (2012 ▶). Acta Cryst. E68, o3281] was described in space group Cc (Z = 4). The oxime group and the O atom of the amide group are anti with respect to the C—C bond. In the crystal, molecules are connected by N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds into zigzag chains extending along the b axis.
Maritime Trade between Thailand and Bengal.

This paper attempts to portray maritime trade between Thailand and Bengal (currently known as Bangladesh and West Bengal, India) by examining cultural materials from the fourth century BCE to the fourth century CE found in archaeological sites of the regions and place them in a macro-level context of the Indian Ocean trade network. Observations and deliberations of this study have been presented in three stages. The first of these illustrates archaeological evidences pertaining to maritime trade such as Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), Rouletted Ware, knobbed ware, stamped Ware, glass and semiprecious stone beads, seals and sealings with Kharosti-Brahmi inscription; the second traces the evolution of the maritime trade network between Thailand and Bengal; and the third demonstrates the definite trade route. เสนทางการคาทางทะเล ระหวางไทยและเบงกอล บทความนมวตถประสงคเพอแสดงภาพการคาทางทะเลระหวางไทยและเบงกอล (ปจจบน คอ ประเทศบงกลาเทศและรฐเบงกอลตะวนตกของอนเดย) โดยการศกษาคนควาจากวตถทางวฒนธรรมนบตงแต 4 ศตวรรษกอนครสตกาลจนถงครสตศตวรรษท 4 ซงคนพบในแหลงโบราณคดในพนทดงกลาวและนำมาประกอบใหเหนภาพเครอขายการคาในมหาสมทรอนเดยระดบมหพภาค การสำรวจและการวเคราะหใครครวญในงานศกษานแบงเปน 3 ระดบ ประการแรกสด คอ การแสดงภาพหลกฐานทางโบราณคดเกยวกบการคาทางทะเล อาท ภาชนะดนเผาสดำขดมนแบบทางเหนอ ภาชนะดนเผาแบบมลายเปนวงรอบ ภาชนะดนเผาแบบมปม ภาชนะดนเผาแบบมรอยประทบ ลกปดหนกงมคาและลกปดแกว และตราประทบทมอกษรพราหม-ขโรศต ประการทสอง เปนการตดตามรองรอยพฒนาการของเครอขายการคาทางทะเลระหวางไทยและเบงกอล และสดทายประการทสาม แสดงภาพเสนทางการคาดงกลาวโดยเฉพาะเจาะจง
EFFECT OF OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS ON MEMBRANE PERMEABILITY IN A COAGULATION–MICROFILTRATION PROCESS FOR WATER PURIFICATION

ABSTRACT A coagulation–microfiltration combination process was used in treatment of simulative surface water. The effects of operational conditions such as filtration time, ceasing time and aeration intensity on the membrane permeability and organic removals were investigated. Experiment results showed that the membrane permeability could be improved through changing the operational conditions. Decreasing the filtration time or increasing the ratio of filtration time/ceasing time was favorable to enhance the membrane permeability. As the aeration intensity increased, the membrane permeability was also enlarged to some extent, but was not improved obviously anymore when the aeration intensity was over the critical value of around 4 m3 h−1. Different wash methods to remove membrane fouling were attempted. The results suggested that coagulation in the process mainly led to change of the deposit cake-caused membrane fouling, which could be physically removed by surface wash. Organic removals, in terms of OC and UV254, apparently varied with the operational conditions. An inverse relationship between organic removals and membrane permeability was found. Lower membrane permeability led to higher OC and UV254 removals.
Peak flow rate in Nigeria

The inexpensive nature of the peak flow rate (PFR) makes it a suitable test of ventilatory function for use in some parts of Africa, where medical facilities are still poor. In order to establish standard values for PFR in Nigeria, anthropometric measurements, lung volumes, and PFR were obtained from 142 men and 88 women, all of whom were healthy Nigerians. The mean values of PFR were 482·1 1/min (±83·3) for males (average age 34·9 years) and 385·6 1/min (±65·7) for females (average age 29·4 years), both means being significantly lower than corresponding means of predicted values calculated from formulae based on previously reported studies of Caucasians. PFR was correlated with age, various physical measurements, and lung volumes. The combination of age and height gave the regression equation for predicting PFR with the lowest standard error of estimates; and virtually all lung volumes measured correlated significantly with PFR. In 16 adult Nigerian asthmatics, PFR correlated significantly with vital capacity, forced expiratory volume (1 second), and expiratory reserve volume; it was highest in those who had no symptomatic or spirometric signs of any ventilatory defect, and lowest in those who had signs of both obstructive and restrictive defects.
Properties of molten CaCO3 at high pressure

We report here the structure of molten CaCO3 studied by in situ X-ray diffraction using a Paris-Edinburgh press up to 8.7 GPa. Variations are observed in the medium range order with shrinkage of the intermolecular contributions, reflecting higher packing efficiency of the carbonate molecules. Density of the melt is obtained from the radial distribution functions, assuming a constant coordination number of 3 for the C-O contribution. Bulk modulus values increase by a factor of 2 over the experimental pressure-temperature range, reaching a value similar to that of underlying crystalline phases at the highest pressure investigated. Those are the first direct density measurements of compressed CaCO3 melt; they agree well with recent ab initio predictions (Li et al., 2017), which implies that the reported flattening of the melting curve followed by a slightly negative curve above 8 GPa cannot be due to crystal-melt density inversion. Instead, the enthalpy of fusion is likely responsible, and we note the peculiar high diffusivity of oxygen in crystalline calcite-V in this regard, with further implications for the mobility of carbonate melts at depth.
Autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell therapy prevents the damage of viable myocardium and improves rat heart function following acute anterior myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND We examined the effects of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMDMNCs) on preventing viable myocardium damage from myocardial infarction (MI) in a rat MI model. METHODS AND RESULTS Saline (group 1) or BMDMNCs (group 2) were implanted into the infarct area (IA) of 1-week-old anterior wall MI Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Twenty SD rats without MI served as the controls (group 3). The results demonstrated that in remote viable myocardium, the integrated area (microm2) of connexin43 spots was lower, whereas the number of apoptotic nuclei were higher in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3 on day 90 following BMDMNC implantation (all p<0.001). Additionally, the number of vessels and survival myocardium in the IA was lower in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3 (all p<0.005). Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of nitric oxide synthase, interleukin-8/Gro-alpha, interleukin-10 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 were higher in group 2 than in groups 1 and 3 in peri-IA (all p<0.05). On days 42 and 90, the left ventricular (LV) function was lower in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3 (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Autologous BMDMNC therapy improves LV function, and mitigates molecular and cellular perturbation following MI.