Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bacterioplankton Dynamics within a Large Anthropogenically Impacted Urban Estuary

The abundant and diverse microorganisms that inhabit aquatic systems are both determinants and indicators of aquatic health, providing essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling but also causing harmful blooms and disease in impacted habitats. Estuaries are among the most urbanized coastal ecosystems and as a consequence experience substantial environmental pressures, providing ideal systems to study the influence of anthropogenic inputs on microbial ecology. Here we use the highly urbanized Sydney Harbor, Australia, as a model system to investigate shifts in microbial community composition and function along natural and anthopogenic physicochemical gradients, driven by stormwater inflows, tidal flushing and the input of contaminants and both naturally and anthropogenically derived nutrients. Using a combination of amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomics, we observed strong patterns in microbial biogeography across the estuary during two periods: one of high and another of low rainfall. These patterns were driven by shifts in nutrient concentration and dissolved oxygen leading to a partitioning of microbial community composition in different areas of the harbor with different nutrient regimes. Patterns in bacterial composition were related to shifts in the abundance of Rhodobacteraceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Halomonadaceae, Acidomicrobiales, and Synechococcus, coupled to an enrichment of total microbial metabolic pathways including phosphorus and nitrogen metabolism, sulfate reduction, virulence, and the degradation of hydrocarbons. Additionally, community beta-diversity was partitioned between the two sampling periods. This potentially reflected the influence of shifting allochtonous nutrient inputs on microbial communities and highlighted the temporally dynamic nature of the system. Combined, our results provide insights into the simultaneous influence of natural and anthropogenic drivers on the structure and function of microbial communities within a highly urbanized aquatic ecosystem.
Continuous-time Gaussian

The problem of tting continuous-time autoregressions (linear and non-linear) to closely and regularly spaced data is considered. For the linear case Jones (1981) and Bergstrom (1985) used state-space representations to compute exact maximum likelihood estimators and Phillips (1959) did so by tting an appropriate discrete-time ARMA process to the data. In this paper we use exact conditional maximum likelihood estimators for the continuously-observed process to derive approximate maximum likelihood estimators based on the closely-spaced discrete observations. We do this for both linear and non-linear autoregressions and indicate how the method can be modiied also to deal with non-uniformly but closely-spaced data. Examples are given to indicate the accuracy of the procedure.
Exploiting multiuser diversity in MIMO broadcast channels with limited feedback

We consider a multiple antenna broadcast channel in which a base station equipped with M transmit antennas communicates with K ‚ M single-antenna receivers. Each receiver has perfect channel state information (CSI), whereas the transmitter has partial channel knowledge obtained via a limited rate feedback channel. Built upon multiuser interference bounds, we propose scalar feedback metrics that incorporate information on the channel gain, the channel direction, and the quantization error, with the goal to provide an estimate of the received signal-to-noise plus interference ratio (SINR) at the transmitter. These metrics, combined with efficient user selection algorithms and zero-forcing beamforming on the quantized channel are shown to achieve a significant fraction of the capacity of the full CSIT case by exploiting multiuser diversity. A multi-mode scheme that allows us to switch from multiuser to single-user transmission is also proposed as a means to compensate for the capacity ceiling effect of quantization error and achieve linear sum-rate growth in the interference-limited region. The asymptotic sum-rate performance for large K, as well as in the high and low power regimes, is analyzed and numerical results demonstrate the performance and the advantages of the proposed metrics in different system configurations.
Path-dependency and path-creation perspectives on migration trajectories: The economic experiences of Vietnamese migrants in Slovakia

There has been only limited research on the Vietnamese diaspora, and that has mostly focussed on western market economies. This paper explores the distinctive migration from Vietnam to the eastern block countries that was dictated by Cold War geopolitics. It examines how the intersection of migration policies and politicoeconomic conditions, before and after the end of state socialism in 1989, produced two distinctive migration phases. Faced with economic constraints, and mediated by their relationships with the Slovak population, most Vietnamese who stayed in, or migrated to, Slovakia after 1989 survived economically by finding a niche in market trading. This paper adopts a path-creating path-dependent perspective to examine these migration trajectories through an analysis based on in-depth interviews with Vietnamese migrants.
Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems

What makes populations stabilize? What makes them fluctuate? Are populations in complex ecosystems more stable than populations in simple ecosystems? In , Robert May addressed these questions in this monograph that has since become a classic. Trained as a theoretical physicist, May used mathematical modeling to investigate the stability and complexity of a community of interacting plants and animals, following the food web as a clue. Contrary to general biological thinking, he showed in population dynamics models that population equilibrium was less likely to destabilize such ecosystems when the number of species is increased and species interactions are randomly added. In the quarter century since its publication, the book’s message has grown in power. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems played a key role in introducing nonlinear mathematical models, along with the study of deterministic chaos, to ecologists—as science writer James Gleick would chronicle in his best-seller Chaos. Nonlinear models are now at the center of ecological thinking, and current threats to biodiversity have made questions about the role of ecosystem complexity more crucial than ever. This book launched a career of mathematical insight into some of life’s biggest questions. Robert May has gone on to apply mathematical modeling to other biological problems. He has modeled the current state of biodiversity and extinction patterns, arguing for the necessity of responding immediately to this crisis. He has also developed mathematical models of infectious disease that are now used by governments and NGOs to tackle diseases like AIDS.
Metaphors are Embodied, and so are Their Literal Counterparts

This study investigates whether understanding up/down metaphors as well as semantically homologous literal sentences activates embodied representations online. Participants read orientational literal sentences (e.g., she climbed up the hill), metaphors (e.g., she climbed up in the company), and abstract sentences with similar meaning to the metaphors (e.g., she succeeded in the company). In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were asked to perform a speeded upward or downward hand motion while they were reading the sentence verb. The hand motion either matched or mismatched the direction connoted by the sentence. The results showed a meaning-action effect for metaphors and literals, that is, faster hand motion responses in the matching conditions. Notably, the matching advantage was also found for homologous abstract sentences, indicating that some abstract ideas are conceptually organized in the vertical dimension, even when they are expressed by means of literal sentences. In Experiment 3, participants responded to an upward or downward visual motion associated with the sentence verb by pressing a single key. In this case, the facilitation effect for matching visual motion-sentence meaning faded, indicating that the visual motion component is less important than the action component in conceptual metaphors. Most up and down metaphors convey emotionally positive and negative information, respectively. We suggest that metaphorical meaning elicits upward/downward movements because they are grounded on the bodily expression of the corresponding emotions.
Teachers and the Gender Gaps in Student Achievement

A prominent class of explanations for the gender gaps in student outcomes focuses on the interactions between students and teachers. In this study, I examine whether assignment to a same-gender teacher influences student achievement, teacher perceptions of student performance, and student engagement. This study’s identification strategy exploits a unique matchedpairs feature of a major longitudinal study, which provides contemporaneous data on student outcomes in two different subjects. Within-student comparisons indicate that assignment to a same-gender teacher significantly improves the achievement of both girls and boys as well as teacher perceptions of student performance and student engagement with the teacher’s subject.
The Dynamics of Stress p53-Mdm2 Network Regulated by p300 and HDAC1

We construct a stress p53-Mdm2-p300-HDAC1 regulatory network that is activated and stabilised by two regulatory proteins, p300 and HDAC1. Different activation levels of observed due to these regulators during stress condition have been investigated using a deterministic as well as a stochastic approach to understand how the cell responds during stress conditions. We found that these regulators help in adjusting p53 to different conditions as identified by various oscillatory states, namely fixed point oscillations, damped oscillations and sustain oscillations. On assessing the impact of p300 on p53-Mdm2 network we identified three states: first stabilised or normal condition where the impact of p300 is negligible, second an interim region where p53 is activated due to interaction between p53 and p300, and finally the third regime where excess of p300 leads to cell stress condition. Similarly evaluation of HDAC1 on our model led to identification of the above three distinct states. Also we observe that noise in stochastic cellular system helps to reach each oscillatory state quicker than those in deterministic case. The constructed model validated different experimental findings qualitatively.
White Matter Plasticity and Enhanced Remyelination in the Maternal CNS

Myelination, the process in which oligodendrocytes coat CNS axons with a myelin sheath, represents an important but poorly understood form of neural plasticity that may be sexually dimorphic in the adult CNS. Remission of multiple sclerosis during pregnancy led us to hypothesize that remyelination is enhanced in the maternal brain. Here we report an increase in the generation of myelin-forming oligodendrocytes and in the number of myelinated axons in the maternal murine CNS. Remarkably, pregnant mice have an enhanced ability to remyelinate white matter lesions. The hormone prolactin regulates oligodendrocyte precursor proliferation and mimics the regenerative effects of pregnancy. This suggests that maternal white matter plasticity imparts a striking ability to repair demyelination and identifies prolactin as a potential therapeutic agent.
Tenacious domain walls in supersymmetric QCD

We study the structure of the tenacious (existing for all values of masses of the matter fields) BPS domain walls interpolating between different chirally asymmetric vacua in supersymmetric QCD in the limit of large masses. We show that the wall consists in this case of three layers: two outer layers form a ``coat'' with the characteristic size determined by \Lambda_{SYM} and there is also the core with width of order of inverse mass. The core always carries a significant fraction of the total wall energy. This fraction depends on $N_f$ and on the ``windings'' of the matter fields.
First Report of 13 Species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Mainland Portugal and Azores by Morphological and Molecular Characterization

The genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) contains important vectors of animal and human diseases, including bluetongue, African horse sickness and filariosis. A major outbreak of bluetongue occurred in mainland Portugal in 2004, forty eight years after the last recorded case. A national Entomological Surveillance Plan was initiated in mainland Portugal, Azores and the Madeira archipelagos in 2005 in order to better understand the disease and facilitate policy decisions. During the survey, the most prevalent Culicoides species in mainland Portugal was C. imicola (75.3%) and species belonging to the Obsoletus group (6.5%). The latter were the most prevalent in Azores archipelago, accounting for 96.7% of the total species identified. The Obsoletus group was further characterized by multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction to species level showing that only two species of this group were present: C. obsoletus sensu strictu (69.6%) and C. scoticus (30.4%). Nine species of Culicoides were detected for the first time in mainland Portugal: C. alazanicus, C. bahrainensis, C. deltus, C. lupicaris, C. picturatus, C. santonicus, C. semimaculatus, C. simulator and C. subfagineus. In the Azores, C. newsteadi and C. circumscriptus were identified for the first time from some islands, and bluetongue vectors belonging to the Obsoletus group (C. obsoletus and C. scoticus) were found to be widespread.
Economics, Issues and the Perot Candidacy: Voter Choice in the 1992 Presidential Election

Theory: Theories of presidential elections (economic voting and spatial issue and ideology models), combined with the popular explanation of "angry voting," are used to account for voter choice in the 1992 presidential election. Hypotheses: Voter choice in this three-candidate race is a function of economic perceptions, issue and ideological positions of voters and candidates, or voter anger. Methods: Multinomial probit analysis of 1992 National Election Studies data including individual-specific and alternative-specific variables. Simulations based on counterfactual scenarios of ideological positions of the candidates and of voter perceptions of the economy Results: The economy was the dominant factor in accounting for voter decisions in 1992, and Clinton, not Perot, was the beneficiary of economic discontent. While issues (mainly abortion) and ideology did play some role, Clinton was not perceived by the electorate as a New Democrat. We find little support for the hypothesis of angry voting. Last, Perot took more votes from Bush than from Clinton.
Different Impacts of Metabolic Syndrome Components on Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes

Objective. To examine the different impacts of MS components on insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Methods. A number of subjects (144) who met the criteria of (1) age between 30 and 75 years, (2) had type 2 diabetes for more than one year, and (3) taking gliclazide and metformin for more than 6 months were enrolled. All subjects were assigned to one of the four HOMA index categories. The HOMA index quartile 4 denotes the highest insulin resistance. The main outcome evaluated is the odds ratios (ORs) of different MS components on HOMA index quartile 4. The characteristics in HOMA index quartiles and groups of nonmetabolic syndrome (NMS; number of components < 2), metabolic syndrome A (MSA; number of components = 2), and metabolic syndrome B (MSB; number of components > 2) were also evaluated. Results. The results showed that both MSA and MSB groups had higher ORs (5.9 and 13.8 times, resp.) than the NMS group; and that subjects with large waist circumference (LWC) and high triglyceride (HTG) level have higher ORs (6.1 and 2.6 times, resp.) in developing higher insulin resistance than normal control subjects. Conclusion. Type 2 diabetic patients with greater number of MS components have higher ORs in developing increased insulin resistance.
Ethics Education in Public Relations: Differences Between Stand-Alone Ethics Courses and an Integrated Approach

ABSTRACT Research has found that ethics are most likely to be integrated throughout the curriculum rather than taught as a stand-alone course in public relations. However, this study identified substantial differences in the types of content taught in the two formats on the basis of survey research with 96 educators. Some of the topics that are less likely to be taught outside of an ethics course included other codes of ethics beyond those of the Public Relations Society of America, classical theories by philosophers, decision-making models, the effect of organizational culture and values, and global perspectives on ethics. In addition, few educators reported that they discuss raising ethical concerns in their courses.
Characteristics of orbital wall fractures in preschool and school-aged children

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the injury patterns in pediatric patients with an orbital wall fracture (OWF) and to identify the differences in injury patterns between preschool and school-aged patients with OWF who presented to the emergency department. Methods We performed a retrospective observational study in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital between January 2004 and March 2014. A total of 177 pediatric patients (<18 years) with OWF who underwent facial bone computed tomography scans with specific discharge codes were included. Patients were categorized into preschool (≤7 years) and school-aged (>7 years) pediatric groups. Results The inferior wall was the most common fracture site in both the preschool and school-aged pediatric groups (50.0% vs. 64.4%, P=0.15). The male-to-female ratio and the mechanism of injury showed significant differences between the two age groups. Violence was the most common mechanism of injury in the school-aged pediatric group (49.3%), whereas falls from a height caused OWF in approximately half of the patients in the preschool pediatric group (42.9%). Concomitant injuries and facial fractures had a tendency to occur more frequently in the school-aged pediatric group. Conclusion Significant differences according to the sex and mechanisms of injury were identified in preschool and school-aged pediatric patients with OWF.
Beyond projection : Using visualization in conducting interviews

Purpose - This article argues for the reflective use of visual techniques in qualitative inter-viewing and suggests using visuals not only as projective techniques to elicit answers, but also as facilitation techniques throughout the interview process. Design/methodology/approach - By reflecting on their own research projects in organization and management studies, the authors develop a practical approach to visual interviewing - making use of both projective and facilitation techniques. The article concludes by discussing the limitations of visualization techniques, and suggesting directions for future research on visually-enhanced interviewing. Findings - The article's contribution is two-fold: First, it explains how the introduction of visual facilitation may improve the interview process, while also bringing advantages for the ensuing phase of data analysis. Second, it suggests a practical approach for the integration of visual projection and facilitation into qualitative research. Originality/value - This article is reflective of what is currently occurring in the field of qualitative interviewing, and presents a practical approach for the integration of visual projec-tion and facilitation into qualitative interviews.
Another Look at the “Decorative” Female Model

Abstract Published evidence suggests that the presence of women as “decorative” models improves recognition of the entire ad. This investigation sought to determine if decorative models have equivalent effects on recognition of both visual and verbal ad components. Starch-scored ads were used to test for recognition differences. The illustration score was selected to represent visual recognition and the body copy score was selected to represent verbal recognition. Analyses of covariance found that visual recognition was significantly affected when female decorative models were present, but that verbal recognition was not affected by the presence or absence of the decorative female models. Both visual and verbal recognition were differentially affected by product category.
Effects of concomitant diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism on testicular and epididymal histoarchitecture and steroidogenesis in male animals

This study evaluated the effects of comorbid disorders of diabetes and hyperthyroidism in the adult male mice. In total, 32 ICR strain mice were equally distributed into four groups: control (C), diabetic (D), diabetic-plushyperthyroid (DH), and hyperthyroid (H). Mice allocated for diabetes received a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at 200 mg/kg body weight. At the onset of diabetes, one group of mice was concomitantly injected levothyroxine (LT4; 0.3 mg/kg body weight) and the other set of animals received the same treatment independently on a daily basis. The body weight, as well as the testicular and epididymal weights, was reduced markedly in D and DH mice. Higher trends of blood glucose levels were seen in the DH group, in comparison to euthyroid diabetic mice. Thyroid hormones could exert a transient effect on blood glucose homeostasis by altering the serum blood glucose level in diabetic patients. Histomorphometric analysis showed increased luminal sizes of seminiferous tubules, along with decreased epithelial height and atrophic changes in germinal stem cells in the testis of DH and H mice. Caput epididymis of DH mice showed extensive compaction of principal cells, loss of stereocilia, lipid vacuolization, and inflammatory infiltrations; however, damaged tubular integrity, packed clear cells, exfoliated cells, and round spermatids were profoundly noticed in the cauda epididymis. Hyperthyroidism elevated the serum testosterone levels in H and DH mice and produced critical damages to the histoarchitecture of the epididymis. Collectively, this experiment endeavored to mimic the polyglandular autoimmune syndrome, which will be helpful to better understand the reasons for male infertility in diabetic-cum-hyperthyroid patients. 概要目 的评估糖尿病和甲状腺功能亢进对雄性动物睾丸和 附睾组织形态学及类固醇激素合成的影响, 并初 步探讨其作用机制。 创新点以小鼠为模型, 首次研究并发糖尿病和甲状腺功 能亢进对雄性哺乳动物睾丸、附睾发育和类固醇 激素合成的影响。 方 法32 只ICR 品系小鼠分为四组: 对照组(C)、糖 尿病组(D)、糖尿病+甲亢组(DH) 和甲亢组 (H)。 D 组小鼠以200 mg/kg 剂量单次腹膜内注 射链脲佐菌素(STZ), 诱导糖尿病成功。 另对 其中一半以0.3 mg/kg 剂量每天注射甲状腺素, 组成DH 组。 小鼠试验结束后, 采集睾丸、附睾 和血液, 并离心分离获得血清。 睾丸和附睾用4% (0.04 g/ml) 多聚甲醛固定, 并用苏木精-伊红染 色法(H & E) 观察睾丸和附睾组织形态学变化, 用放射免疫测定(RIA) 试剂盒检测血清中睾酮、 促甲状腺激素(TSH)、胰岛素、甲状腺素(T4) 和三碘甲状腺原氨酸(T3) 的含量并进行分析。 结 论D 和DH 组小鼠的体重、睾丸和附睾的重量显著 降低。 相比于正常甲亢或糖尿病小鼠, DH 组中 血糖水平显著升高。 甲状腺激素可能是通过改变 糖尿病患者的血清血糖水平对血糖稳态产生瞬 时影响。 组织形态学分析结果显示, 在DH 和H 组小鼠睾丸中, 输精管管腔增大, 上皮厚度减少, 睾丸生殖干细胞发生萎缩性变化。 DH 组小鼠的 附睾头呈现主细胞压实、纤毛、脂质空泡化和炎 症浸润现象。 在附睾尾部观察到了小管完整性受 损、透明细胞聚积和细胞脱落, 并发现圆形精子。 对于DH和H 组, 甲亢提高了小鼠血清睾酮水平, 并损害了附睾的组织形态。 总之, 本试验模拟了 多腺体自身免疫综合征对雄性繁殖的影响, 这将 有助于更好地了解男性并发糖尿病和甲亢患者 不育的原因。