Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correction: Potential Role of Masting by Introduced Bamboos in Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) Population Irruptions Holds Public Health Consequences

We hypothesized that the ongoing naturalization of frost/shade tolerant Asian bamboos in North America could cause environmental consequences involving introduced bamboos, native rodents and ultimately humans. More specifically, we asked whether the eventual masting by an abundant leptomorphic (“running”) bamboo within Pacific Northwest coniferous forests could produce a temporary surfeit of food capable of driving a population irruption of a common native seed predator, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), a hantavirus carrier. Single-choice and cafeteria-style feeding trials were conducted for deer mice with seeds of two bamboo species (Bambusa distegia and Yushania brevipaniculata), wheat, Pinus ponderosa, and native mixed diets compared to rodent laboratory feed. Adult deer mice consumed bamboo seeds as readily as they consumed native seeds. In the cafeteria-style feeding trials, Y. brevipaniculata seeds were consumed at the same rate as native seeds but more frequently than wheat seeds or rodent laboratory feed. Females produced a median litter of 4 pups on a bamboo diet. Given the ability of deer mice to reproduce frequently whenever food is abundant, we employed our feeding trial results in a modified Rosenzweig-MacArthur consumer-resource model to project the population-level response of deer mice to a suddenly available/rapidly depleted supply of bamboo seeds. The simulations predict rodent population irruptions and declines similar to reported cycles involving Asian and South American rodents but unprecedented in deer mice. Following depletion of a mast seed supply, the incidence of Sin Nombre Virus (SNV) transmission to humans could subsequently rise with dispersal of the peridomestic deer mice into nearby human settlements seeking food. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone. 0124419 April 21, 2015 1 / 17 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Smith MC, Gomulkiewicz R, Mack RN (2015) Potential Role of Masting by Introduced Bamboos in Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) Population Irruptions Holds Public Health Consequences. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0124419. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0124419 Received: December 22, 2014 Accepted: March 13, 2015 Published: April 21, 2015 Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: This research was supported by USDA— APHIS contract #1081001205CA to Washington State University and greatly facilitated by A.V. Tasker. RG was supported in part by National Science Foundation grants DMS 0540524 and DEB 1354264. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Intra- and interobserver reproducibility of vertebral endplate signal (Modic) changes in the lumbar spine: the nordic modic consensus group classification

Background: The lumbar vertebral endplate is considered a potential cause of specific low back pain. However, in relation to future research, there is need for a reliable and detailed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol to be used in the evaluation of vertebral endplate signal changes. Purpose: To assess the intra- and interobserver reliability of the “Nordic Modic classification” protocol. Material and Methods: MRI scans of 50 individuals representative of the general Danish population aged 40 were evaluated by two observers. Criteria for grading the changes were developed by the Nordic Modic Consensus Group. After consensus was established, all 50 MRI examinations were evaluated independently by each observer. Intraobserver reliability was assessed by re-evaluation of the 50 examinations by one of the observers. Kappa statistics were used to calculate agreement. Results: Intra- and interobserver agreement of the evaluation of variables describing vertebral signal changes, i.e. Modic type, location, volume, maximum height, and endplate area, were all found to have substantial to almost perfect agreement. The evaluation of osteophytes was found to be reliable, whereas the evaluation of localized endplate defects and irregular endplates had only moderate agreement. The evaluation of development over time was found to have substantial intraobserver agreement but only moderate interobserver agreement. As expected, intraobserver agreement was generally better than interobserver agreement. Conclusion: In this study, we found convincing reproducibility of a detailed evaluation protocol of vertebral endplate signal changes, the “Nordic Modic Classification. ” The authors recommend that the evaluation protocol should be used in future studies investigating vertebral endplate signal changes.
Factors Affecting the Ability of the Stroke Survivor to Drive Their Own Recovery outside of Therapy during Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation

Aim. To explore factors affecting the ability of the stroke survivor to drive their own recovery outside of therapy during inpatient rehabilitation. Method. One-on-one, in-depth interviews with stroke survivors (n = 7) and their main carer (n = 6), along with two focus groups with clinical staff (n = 20). Data was thematically analysed according to group. Results. Stroke survivors perceived “dealing with loss,” whilst concurrently “building motivation and hope” for recovery affected their ability to drive their own recovery outside of therapy. In addition, they reported a “lack of opportunities” outside of therapy, with subsequent time described as “dead and wasted. ” Main carers perceived stroke survivors felt “out of control … at everyone's mercy” and lacked knowledge of “what to do and why” outside of therapy. Clinical staff perceived the stroke survivor's ability to drive their own recovery was limited by the lack of “another place to go” and the “passive rehab culture and environment. ” Discussion. To enable the stroke survivor to drive their own recovery outside of therapy, there is a need to increase opportunities for practice and promote active engagement. Suggested strategies include building the stroke survivor's motivation and knowledge, creating an enriched environment, and developing daily routines to provide structure outside of therapy time.
System level analytical model for SDMA mobile cellular networks considering cochannel interference

In the literature, SDMA cellular networks have been studied from system level point of view by means of teletraffic analysis considering the resource assignment and users' mobility related quantities (i.e., beam overlapping time and beam overlapping rate) based only on geometrical considerations. However, the effect of realistic users' mobility, channel characteristics, co-channel interference, and the number of users sharing the same channel within a cell (intra-cell reuse factor) have been largely ignored because the complexity its inclusion entails. To fill this void, a system level model that models both smooth random mobility of users and link unreliability due to (intra-cell and inter-cell) co-channel interference is proposed. Novel mathematical expressions for the new call blocking probability, handoff failure, and probability of interruption due to co-channel interference are derived. The system level model presented here allows simplifying system level mathematical analysis and easily identifying the factors that mainly influence the system performance. Such understanding is vital for planning, dimensioning and optimizing SDMA mobile cellular networks.
Vibrio communis sp. nov., isolated from the marine animals Mussismilia hispida, Phyllogorgia dilatata, Palythoa caribaeorum, Palythoa variabilis and Litopenaeus vannamei.

Eight Vibrio isolates originating from the marine corals Mussismilia hispida and Phyllogorgia dilatata and the zoanthids Palythoa caribaeorum and Palythoa variabilis in Brazil and the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in Ecuador were studied by means of a polyphasic approach. The novel isolates formed a tight monophyletic group in the genus Vibrio and were closely related to species of the Vibrio harveyi group, to which they showed more than 99 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Analysis based on concatenated sequences of the following seven genes, 16S rRNA, gyrB, recA, rpoA, topA, pyrH and mreB (5633 bp in length), showed clear separation between the isolates and species of the V. harveyi group. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, performed previously, revealed that a representative isolate of this group, LMG 20370, was clearly separate from known Vibrio species (it belonged to the so-called AFLP cluster A31). DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH) experiments with representative isolates and type strains of the V. harveyi species group revealed high DDH between the novel isolates (more than 74 %) and less than 70 % DDH towards type strains of related Vibrio species, proving the novel species status of the isolates. Phenotypically, the novel species belongs to the arginine dihydrolase (A)-negative, lysine decarboxylase (L)-positive and ornithine decarboxylase (O)-positive (A-/L+/O+) cluster reported previously. Most species of the V. harveyi group (i.e. Vibrio rotiferianus, V. harveyi, V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus) also belong to this A-/L+/O+ cluster. However, several phenotypic features can be used for the identification of the novel species. In contrast to its closest phylogenetic neighbours, the novel species exhibits esterase (C4) and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase activities, but it does not produce acetoin, does not use citrate, α-ketoglutaric acid or propionic acid and does not ferment melibiose. The novel species can also be differentiated on the basis of the presence of the fatty acids C(17 : 0,) C(17 : 1)ω8c, iso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(13 : 0) and the absence of the fatty acid C(18 : 0). The name Vibrio communis sp. nov. is proposed for this taxon. Strain R-40496(T) (=LMG 25430(T) =CAIM 1816(T)) is the type strain.
Glycerol and nonesterified fatty acid metabolism in human muscle and adipose tissue in vivo.

To determine the relationship between glycerol and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) release from adipose tissue, and to test whether forearm muscle and abdominal adipose tissue are capable of extracting these two lipolytic products from the circulation, 13 male subjects were studied after an overnight fast during combined infusion of radiolabeled palmitate and glycerol. Blood samples were taken from a radial artery, a deep forearm vein, and a superficial abdominal vein before and during a 2-h infusion of glucose at ∼7 mg ⋅ kg-1 ⋅ min-1. The ratio of the appearance rates of total NEFA to glycerol was ∼3/1 during the baseline period but decreased to 1.3/1 during glucose infusion. There was significant extraction of both glycerol and NEFA by forearm muscle. In contrast, there was no apparent uptake of glycerol by adipose tissue. Adipose tissue NEFA uptake was undetectable during the baseline period but became significant during glucose infusion. These data indicate that there is very little to no in situ reesterification of NEFA in adipose tissue after an overnight fast. During glucose infusion, there was apparently a relative increase in the fraction of glycerol derived from the action of lipoprotein lipase and an increase in reesterification in situ.
Fears in Adolescence

Fear is a natural and useful companion of human beings throughout the whole lifespan. The study tries to map the fears of 15-year old adolescents. It is based on data collected as a part of the ELSPAC project (European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood). On the basis of the Cake of Fear method, subjective responses about the contents of fears were collected. These contents were categorized into 19 general categories which cover the wide-range of the topic. The category Fears of loosing someone, fear for somebody/something occupies the first position, with fears related to death and concerns about friends and family being its prominent representatives. Generalized fears ranks the second position, noticeably represented with fears of failure and future. The third largest category is the category of school-related fears. Differences in the incidence of fears are discussed regarding gender and developmental stage.
Ultrasonographic differentiation of bezoar from feces in small bowel obstruction

Purpose: To evaluate ultrasonographic accuracy in the differentiation of a bezoar from feces in a small bowel obstruction showing feces-like material just proximal to the transitional zone in abdominal computed tomography (CT). Methods: This study included 14 patients who showed feces-like material just proximal to the transitional zone, among 302 patients diagnosed with small bowel obstruction on abdominal CT. The diagnostic signs of a bezoar on ultrasonography included an arc-like surfaced intraluminal mass, posterior acoustic shadow and twinkling artifacts. The diagnostic performance of ultrasonography in each patient was compared with a final diagnosis that was surgically or clinically made. Results: Among the 14 patients, seven were ultrasonographically diagnosed as having a bezoar, and five of the seven were surgically diagnosed as having a phytobezoar. The remaining two of the seven showed complete symptomatic improvement before surgery. The other seven patients were ultrasonographically diagnosed as not having a bezoar. Among them, six patients were conservatively treated with symptomatic improvement, suggesting the absence of a bezoar. The remaining one patient was confirmed not to have a bezoar during adhesiolysis. In all patients, the ultrasonographic diagnosis agreed with the clinically confirmed diagnosis. Conclusion: Ultrasonography might be an accurate method for the differential diagnosis of feces-like material just proximal to the transitional zone in abdominal CT. It can help radiologists to quickly and easily diagnose a bezoar.
Mapping the Binding of GluN2B-Selective N-Methyl-d-aspartate Receptor Negative Allosteric Modulators

We have used recent structural advances in our understanding of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor amino terminal domain to explore the binding mode of multiple diaryl GluN2B-selective negative allosteric modulators at the interface between the GluN1 and GluN2B amino-terminal domains. We found that interaction of the A ring within the binding pocket seems largely invariant for a variety of structurally distinct ligands. In addition, a range of structurally diverse linkers between the two aryl rings can be accommodated by the binding site, providing a potential opportunity to tune interactions with the ligand binding pocket via changes in hydrogen bond donors, acceptors, as well as stereochemistry. The most diversity in atomic interactions between protein and ligand occur in the B ring, with functional groups that contain electron donors and acceptors providing additional atomic contacts within the pocket. A cluster of residues distant to the binding site also control ligand potency, the degree of inhibition, and show ligand-induced increases in motion during molecular dynamics simulations. Mutations at some of these residues seem to distinguish between structurally distinct ligands and raise the possibility that GluN2B-selective ligands can be divided into multiple classes. These results should help facilitate the development of well tolerated GluN2B subunit-selective antagonists.
Small Interfering RNA and Gene Expression Analysis Using a Multiplex Branched DNA Assay without RNA Purification

The authors have developed a novel multiplex detection system that quantitatively measures the expression level of 11 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) directly from cell lysates or tissue homogenates without RNA purification. The system incorporates branched DNA (bDNA) technology from Bayer and a multiplex bead array platform from Luminex. In this study, a 21-nt synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA; specifically designed to knockdown interleukin-8 [IL-8] expression) was delivered into HeLa cells. Using the multiplex bDNA assay, gene expression levels were measured simultaneously from cell lysates for 11 genes. After treating the HeLa cells for 20 h with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), IL-8 mRNA levels were induced by almost 50-fold; transfection with 30 nM IL-8-specific siRNA reduced the PMA-induced IL-8 mRNA by 80%. In addition, PMA induced mRNA expression in IL-1α (3-fold) and IL-6 (4-fold); however, the IL-8 siRNA did not affect the expression of either of these 2 cytokine genes, indicating that the siRNA was selective for IL-8 mRNA expression. Three housekeeping genes’ expression levels were measured under all conditions tested. The multiplex bDNA assay provides a powerful tool for quantitative multiplex gene expression analysis directly from cell lysates, which could be extremely valuable for conservation of rare or difficult-to-obtain samples.
Von Willebrand Factor Improves Risk Prediction in Addition to N-Terminal Pro–B-type Natriuretic Peptide in Patients Referred to Coronary Angiography and Signs and Symptoms of Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction

Background—Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) represents a growing health burden associated with substantial mortality and morbidity. Consequently, risk prediction is of highest importance. Endothelial dysfunction has been recently shown to play an important role in the complex pathophysiology of HFpEF. We therefore aimed to assess von Willebrand factor (vWF), a marker of endothelial damage, as potential biomarker for risk assessment in patients with HFpEF. Methods and Results—Concentrations of vWF were assessed in 457 patients with HFpEF enrolled as part of the LUdwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study. All-cause mortality was observed in 40% of patients during a median follow-up time of 9.7 years. vWF significantly predicted mortality with a hazard ratio (HR) per increase of 1 SD of 1.45 (95% confidence interval, 1.26–1.68; P<0.001) and remained a significant predictor after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), renal function, and frequent HFpEF-related comorbidities (adjusted HR per 1 SD, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–1.42; P=0.001). Most notably, vWF showed additional prognostic value beyond that achievable with NT-proBNP indicated by improvements in C-Statistic (vWF×NT-proBNP: 0.65 versus NT-proBNP: 0.63; P for comparison, 0.004) and category-free net reclassification index (37.6%; P<0.001). Conclusions—vWF is an independent predictor of long-term outcome in patients with HFpEF, which is in line with endothelial dysfunction as potential mediator in the pathophysiology of HFpEF. In particular, combined assessment of vWF and NT-proBNP improved risk prediction in this vulnerable group of patients.
Droplets and Bubbles: Solidification of Sulphide-rich Vapour-saturated Orthocumulates in the Norilsk-Talnakh Ni–Cu–PGE Ore-bearing Intrusions

A common feature of the mineralised chonolith intrusions of the Norilsk-Talnakh camp is the presence of globular disseminated Ni–Cu–Fe sulphide ores, particularly well developed within the olivine orthocumulate layers of the intrusions, locally referred to as picritic gabbrodolerites. In many cases these globules partially fill subspherical intercumulus spaces within a framework of crystals of olivine and/or plagioclase. The sulphide-free component of these intercumulus spaces is partially or completely infilled with crystallization products of highly fractionated residual trapped liquid derived from the interstitial liquid of the original crystal mush; these intergrowths typically develop as ‘caps’ above the globules. Similar partially-filled cavities are well known within basaltic and komatiitic lava flows and are referred to as ‘segregation vesicles’; they have also been observed as caps above sulfide globules in quenched dolerite dyke margins in other localities. In the NorilskTalnakh intrusions, where the caps are incompletely filled by magmatic material the remaining space is occupied by amygdaloidal linings, which in some cases include anhydrite. These relationships provide evidence that the caps represent original gas bubbles and the close association with the sulphide globules arises from the strong tendency for sulphide droplets to attach to vapour bubbles in magmas. The original outlines of the vapour–bubble pairs are preserved by the rigidity of the surrounding crystal framework, which is interpreted to have developed largely by simultaneous in situ nucleation and growth of olivine and clinopyroxene on the basis of detailed textural observations. Pressure increase during solidification coupled with gas filter pressing forced residual silicate melt into the bubbles, while gas filter pressing and vapour–liquid capillary attraction drove differentiation of the droplets themselves. Whether the globules were deposited already attached to bubbles, or whether the bubbles were generated by volatile saturation within the crystal mush after deposition, cannot be determined definitively, but the geometry of flattened bubble– droplet pairs tends to favour the former option. The distinctive nature of the Norilsk globular ores, along with other unusual aspects of these deposits, is interpreted to be the result of low confining pressures and syn-crystallization degassing, an unusual condition in intrusion-hosted magmatic sulfide ores.
Discovery of Multi-level Association Rules from Primitive Level Frequent Patterns Tree

The problem of discovering association rules at single level has received significant research attention and several algorithms for mining frequent itemsets have been developed. Previous studies in data mining have yielded efficient algorithms for discovering association rules. However, discovery of association rules at multiple concept levels may lead to the mining of more specific and concrete knowledge from datasets. The discovery of multi-level association rules is very much useful in many applications. In most of the studies for multi-level association rule mining, the database is scanned repeatedly which affects the efficiency of mining process. In this research paper, a method for discovery of multi-level association rules from primitive level FP-tree is proposed in order to reduce main memory usage and make execution faster.
Highly Robust Estimation of the Autocovariance Function

In this paper, the problem of the robustness of the sample autocovariance function is addressed. We propose a new autocovariance estimator, based on a highly robust estimator of scale. Its robustness properties are studied by means of the influence function, and a new concept of temporal breakdown point. As the theoretical variance of the estimator does not have a closed form, we perform a simulation study. Situations with various size of outliers are tested. They confirm the robustness properties of the new estimator. An S‐Plus function for the highly robust autocovariance estimator is made available on the Web at http://www‐math.mit. edu/~yanyuan/Genton/Time/time.html. At the end, we analyze a time series of monthly interest rates of an Austrian bank.