Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uptake‐release dynamics of the inorganic and organic carbon pool mediated by planktonic prokaryotes in the deep Mediterranean Sea

Understanding the ecosystem functioning in the dark portion of the ocean is a challenge that microbial ecologists are still facing. Due to the large volume, the global deep Ocean plays a central role in the regulation of climate, possibly buffering the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide if processes of CO2 fixation compensate for respiration. We investigated the rates of several prokaryotic activities (dissolved and particulate primary production, heterotrophic carbon production and respiration) in meso- and bathypelagic waters of the Mediterranean Sea, covering all sub-basins. Chemosynthesis was the main process for C uptake. The rates of organic C (OC) excretion (or viral-induced cell lysis) inferred from the dissolved primary production measurements were noteworthy, being comparable to particulate primary production, and possibly contributing to the formation of non-sinking particulate organic matter. Inorganic C fixation rates were significantly higher than those reported for other deep-sea systems, probably as a consequence of the persistently higher temperature of dark Mediterranean waters or to phylogenetically diverse communities involved in the process. Primary production was negatively correlated with dissolved organic carbon concentration and showed an inverse pattern to heterotrophic carbon production, indicating a niche partitioning between heterotrophs and autotrophs. In sum, the deep Mediterranean Sea harbors active autotrophic communities able to fix inorganic carbon faster than the heterotrophic carbon production rates.
Public Trust: Expectancies, Beliefs and Behavior

Most people think of trust as the bonding force between people in romantic, professional, and family relationships. Of growing importance however is public trust: trust in organizations that are not represented by a single person, such as companies, non-profit organizations and governmental institutions. The present dissertation takes existing knowledge on interpersonal trust as a starting point to investigate antecedents and consequences of public trust. The first part of the dissertation sheds light on how perceptions of competence, benevolence and integrity affect trust in for-profit firms. Chapter two demonstrates that these antecedents have different effects on trust depending on the interaction context: impersonal trust in firms, for example through a website, is mainly driven by perceptions of competence, while interpersonal trust in a firm via an employee benefits more from benevolence. In chapter three it is shown that benevolent firms are trusted only if their integrity is sufficient, and that this effect is independent from the effect of competence. The second part of the dissertation discusses an important consequence of public trust: people’s voting behavior. Chapter four demonstrates that low trust in party-neutral political institutions gives rise to other-condemning moral emotions such as anger and contempt, which are channeled into protest votes for relatively populist parties on either side of the political spectrum. In chapter five this relationship is further investigated by building a more elaborate model of political trust and populist voting behavior. It is shown that integrity and competence are important drivers of political trust.
Exploring the criminal histories of stranger sexual killers

Although sexual homicide is receiving increasing research attention, few studies have examined the criminal histories of sexual killers in any detail. This study examined the criminal histories of 81 British stranger sexual killers to determine whether they were generalist, specialists or both and whether their criminal histories reflected violent, sexual, marginality and over control pathways. Results found most stranger sexual killers were generalist offenders and sexual homicide was part of a varied criminal repertoire and non-sexual crimes predominate. This ‘antisocial orientation’ means future offending may not be limited to sexual violence. Criminal histories reflected the violent, sexual, marginality and over control pathways, but offenders in the violent pathway were more criminally orientated. The clinical and investigative implications of these findings were considered as they suggest knowledge of the criminal histories of stranger sexual killers is an important consideration for criminal justice professionals.
3-D gesture-based scene navigation in medical imaging applications using Time-of-Flight cameras

For a lot of applications, and particularly for medical intra-operative applications, the exploration of and navigation through 3-D image data provided by sensors like ToF (time-of-flight) cameras, MUSTOF (multisensor-time-of-flight) endoscopes or CT (computed tomography) [8], requires a user-interface which avoids physical interaction with an input device. Thus, we process a touchless user-interface based on gestures classified by the data provided by a ToF camera. Reasonable and necessary user interactions are described. For those interactions a suitable set of gestures is introduced. A user-interface is then proposed, which interprets the current gesture and performs the assigned functionality. For evaluating the quality of the developed user-interface we considered the aspects of classification rate, real-time applicability, usability, intuitiveness and training time. The results of our evaluation show that our system, which provides a classification rate of 94.3% at a framerate of 11 frames per second, satisfactorily addresses all these quality requirements.
Farklı Liselerde Okuyan 11. Sınıf Öğrencilerinin Bilimin Doğası Hakkındaki Bakış Açılarının Karşılaştırılması

One of the most important aims for science education is to promote scientific literacy which is “magic concept” in curriculum efforts and reform all over the world. For that reason, the purpose of this study was to compare beliefs of 11th grade students from different high schools on the nature of science. The Perspectives of Scientific Epistemology questionnaire was utilized to assess students\' understanding of nature of science. Although all schools are significant differences to pass university entrance examination, the results revealed that among the three school types did not show any significant differences in students\' views on nature of science. The results show that students hold positivist views on the producing of scientific knowledge, creative and imaginations, scientific opinions, and the effects of socio-cultural on scientist.
“Badtime” Stories: The Frames of Terror Promoted by Political Actors

Political actors often use public diplomacy in an attempt to promote their messages. This study deals with the frame-building process and presents the frames on terror used by political actors involved in three conflicts that utilize terror as a weapon: the conflict between the United States and al-Qaida, the conflict between the United Kingdom and Islamic groups, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Each political actor's story is divided into three elements (compatible to Entman's “framing” definition): problem, cause, and solution. Differences among the frames promoted by the actors are explained by variations in cultural values and a country's role in the international arena and in its previous experience in conflicts.
CT Perfusion Imaging as an Early Biomarker of Differential Response to Stereotactic Radiosurgery in C6 Rat Gliomas

Background The therapeutic efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery for glioblastoma is not well understood, and there needs to be an effective biomarker to identify patients who might benefit from this treatment. This study investigated the efficacy of computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging as an early imaging biomarker of response to stereotactic radiosurgery in a malignant rat glioma model. Methods Rats with orthotopic C6 glioma tumors received either mock irradiation (controls, N = 8) or stereotactic radiosurgery (N = 25, 12 Gy in one fraction) delivered by Helical Tomotherapy. Twelve irradiated animals were sacrificed four days after stereotactic radiosurgery to assess acute CT perfusion and histological changes, and 13 irradiated animals were used to study survival. Irradiated animals with survival >15 days were designated as responders while those with survival ≤15 days were non-responders. Longitudinal CT perfusion imaging was performed at baseline and regularly for eight weeks post-baseline. Results Early signs of radiation-induced injury were observed on histology. There was an overall survival benefit following stereotactic radiosurgery when compared to the controls (log-rank P<0.04). Responders to stereotactic radiosurgery showed lower relative blood volume (rBV), and permeability-surface area (PS) product on day 7 post-stereotactic radiosurgery when compared to controls and non-responders (P<0.05). rBV and PS on day 7 showed correlations with overall survival (P<0.05), and were predictive of survival with 92% accuracy. Conclusions Response to stereotactic radiosurgery was heterogeneous, and early selection of responders and non-responders was possible using CT perfusion imaging. Validation of CT perfusion indices for response assessment is necessary before clinical implementation.
Islam and patriarchy: how robust is Muslim support for patriarchal values?

Evidence that Muslims support patriarchal values more than non-Muslims is abundant but the nature of this evidence is contested. The ‘cultural’ interpretation suggests that patriarchal values are an inherent element of Muslim identity. The ‘structural’ interpretation holds that patriarchal values reside in structural characteristics and have little to do with Muslim identity. Evidence on these contradictory claims is inconclusive. Neither have advocates of the cultural position shown that Muslim support for patriarchal values remains robust under control of structural characteristics; nor have proponents of the structural position demonstrated that Muslim support for these values vanishes under such controls. Filling this gap, we use multi-level models to test whether Muslim support for patriarchal values vanishes under control of patriarchy's structural underpinnings. We find that Muslim support for patriarchal values is robust against various controls; and we identify mosque attendance as a mechanism to sustain Muslim support for patriarchy in non-Muslim societies. Yet, rising levels of education, labor market participation, and a glacial emancipative trend diminish Muslim support for patriarchy, especially among women.
Data elevators: Applying the bundle protocol in Delay Tolerant Wireless Sensor Networks

Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) enables transfer of data where conventional network protocols fail to deliver data because no continuous end-to-end connectivity is available. While the Bundle Protocol (BP) has been established as the standard DTN protocol in many application areas, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) often use proprietary protocols with a subset of the BP features. In this paper we use an exemplary application to demonstrate how the BP can be beneficial for many WSN-based projects. We show, how low-power sensor nodes can transport bundles by exploiting existing movement in the environment. More importantly we show, how 8-bit WSN nodes can seamlessly interact with standard BP implementations running on standard PCs. Our application, a sensor that is installed on the roof of a 15-story building, is using an elevator to transport bundles carrying measured values to our lab. We analytically compare the BP to existing protocols for WSNs, evaluate our application scenario and give insight into principal limitations.
A METAPOPULATION PERSPECTIVE ON GENETIC DIVERSITY AND DIFFERENTIATION IN PARTIALLY SELF‐FERTILIZING PLANTS

Abstract. — Partial self‐fertilization is common in higher plants. Mating system variation is known to have important consequences for how genetic variation is distributed within and among populations. Selfing is known to reduce effective population size, and inbreeding species are therefore expected to have lower levels of genetic variation than comparable out crossing taxa. However, several recent empirical studies have shown that reductions in genetic diversity within populations of inbreeding species are far greater than the expected reductions based on the reduced effective population size. Two different processes have been argued to cause these patterns, selective sweeps (or hitchhiking) and background selection. Both are expected to be most effective in reducing genetic variation in regions of low recombination rates. Selfing is known to reduce the effective recombination rate, and inbreeding taxa are thus thought to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of hitchhiking or background selection. Here I propose a third explanation for the lower‐than‐expected levels of genetic diversity within populations of selfing species; recurrent extinctions and recolonizations of local populations, also known as metapopulation dynamics. I show that selfing in a metapopulation setting can result in large reductions in genetic diversity within populations, far greater than expected based the lower effective population size inbreeding species is expected to have. The reason for this depends on an interaction between selfing and pollen migration.
The Poverty of Power

I T IS the purpose of the following pages to study the incidence of political power from the point of view of those upon whom power is exercised rather than from that of the authoritarians themselves, from below rather than from above. There are innumerable and admirable treatises and manuals describing and explaining how government reaches down, but the special purpose of these paragraphs is to consider how power is received from below; how the under group by whom the incidence of power is felt may operate as against the pressure from above. What are the ways and means, the attitudes and devices by which those upon whom power is exercised protect themselves against its excesses? There is a wide gap between the apparent omnipotence of authority and the actual operation of power, between the iron fist of force and its actual incidence upon human flesh and feeling. And, notwithstanding the recurring illustrations of this in period after period of history, there is nothing more surprising to the holders of power, or perhaps to its subjects, than the frailty of their commands in certain types of crises. The throne and the crown and the scepter are there; the army is there, with its disciplined ranks and its deadly weapons of death; the prisons are there, tightly locked, with the malcontents safely behind the bars. There are no imposing centers of resistance. Yet, when the order is given, obedience is reluctant, partial; resistance widens; and as penalties are made heavier, opposition becomes stronger. The law seems dead; it is dead. The checks upon authority are as numerous as its prerogatives and more inevitable in their recurrence. It is not the present purpose, however, to deal with all of the kinds of formal
Quantal Extension of Mean-Field Dynamics

A method is presented for numerical implementation of the extended TDHF theory in which two-body correlations beyond the mean-field approximation are incorporated in the form of a quantal collision term. The method is tested in a model problem in which the exact solution can be obtained numerically. Whereas the usual TDHF fails to reproduce the long time evolution, a very good agreement is found between the extended TDHF and the exact solution.
Detailed tail proteomic analysis of axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) using an mRNA‐seq reference database

Salamander axolotl has been emerging as an important model for stem cell research due to its powerful regenerative capacity. Several advantages, such as the high capability of advanced tissue, organ, and appendages regeneration, promote axolotl as an ideal model system to extend our current understanding on the mechanisms of regeneration. Acknowledging the common molecular pathways between amphibians and mammals, there is a great potential to translate the messages from axolotl research to mammalian studies. However, the utilization of axolotl is hindered due to the lack of reference databases of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data. Here, we introduce the proteome analysis of the axolotl tail section searched against an mRNA‐seq database. We translated axolotl mRNA sequences to protein sequences and annotated these to process the LC‐MS/MS data and identified 1001 nonredundant proteins. Functional classification of identified proteins was performed by gene ontology searches. The presence of some of the identified proteins was validated by in situ antibody labeling. Furthermore, we have analyzed the proteome expressional changes postamputation at three time points to evaluate the underlying mechanisms of the regeneration process. Taken together, this work expands the proteomics data of axolotl to contribute to its establishment as a fully utilized model.
Do the Unemployed Become Successful Entrepreneurs? A Comparison between the Unemployed, Inactive and Wage-Earners

In many countries unemployed people are helped to become self-employed. Self-employment, however, does not necessarily lead to success. Many leave self-employment after a short period and the economic outcome varies greatly. It is important to learn more about the economic outcome for unemployed who become self-employed. In the first part of the paper we analyse who became self-employed in the period from 1999 to 2002 of Swedish-born men aged 20 to 60 years who were either wage-earners, unemployed or inactive in 1998. We find that the unemployed, and even more the inactive, are overrepresented among those who become self-employed. In the second part of the paper we study the economic outcome of self-employment in 2002 for Swedish-born men who were either unemployed, inactive or wage-earners in 1998. Economic outcome in 2002 is measured using income from self-employment and having employees in the firm. The estimations show that those who were wage earners in 1998 have higher incomes and are also employing other people in their business to a much higher extent in 2002 than those who in 1998 were unemployed or inactive. This indicates that support to unemployed to become self-employed should be implemented with great care.
Explaining Patterns of Victimization Within A Rural County of England

This article reports on victim surveys carried out in a rural county of England, using a postal questionnaire. Surveys in rural areas are uncommon, but many patterns of risk that were identified here were found to be similar to those identified in national and urban surveys. This suggests both that postal surveys provide a valid measure of variations in risk and that similar explanations for variations in risk apply. Routine activity theory is used to explain the patterns identified. Although the impact of residential location was seen to be less important in the rural context than studies in urban areas have indicated, the question of where people spent their time, including the town or city that they frequented, was significant in predicting victimization. The relationship between location and risk thus appears to be stronger in terms of where people spend their time outside the home than in terms of where they live.
Risks of preterm delivery and small‐for‐gestational age infants following abortion: a population study

Summary. We examined hospital discharge records in 1980–81 for singleton third trimester deliveries in Scotland. We compared 3000 women who had previously experienced induced termination of pregnancy, and 4000 who had experienced spontaneous abortion with primigravidae and with women in their second pregnancy, their first having resulted in a litebirth. Two aspects of low birthweight were examined: delivery before the 37th completed week of gestation, and low hirth weight for gestational age. Our comparisons were further controlled for maternal height, age, sex of infant, marital status and social class. Women with previous spontaneous abortions experienced significantly increased risk of preterm delivery but not of low birthweight for gestational age. Women with a history of induced abortion also experienced increased risk of preterm delivery, but for women aged 18–24 years, risk of low birth weight for gestational a ge was significantly reduced compared with primigravidae.
Procarbazine as adjunctive therapy for treatment of dogs with presumptive antemortem diagnosis of granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis: 21 cases (1998-2004).

BACKGROUND Granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (GME) is an idiopathic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Remission often is short-lived in dogs treated with glucocorticoids. Procarbazine is T cell-specific and crosses the blood-brain barrier. HYPOTHESIS Dogs with presumptive antemortem diagnosis of GME given procarbazine as adjunctive therapy to prednisone will have improved long-term outcome compared with dogs given no treatment or glucocorticoids alone. ANIMALS Two groups were studied: (1) Dogs with presumptive antemortem diagnosis of GME treated with procarbazine and prednisone (n = 21); (2) Dogs that had a histologic diagnosis of GME at postmortem examination and received no treatment (n = 11). METHODS Dogs with presumptive GME treated with procarbazine were identified retrospectively from medical records of 2 veterinary referral hospitals. Selection criteria required all dogs have a neurologic examination, blood work, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and brain imaging (MRI or CT). RESULTS Median survival time for all dogs studied was 5.0 months. Median survival time for dogs treated with procarbazine was 14.0 months and for untreated dogs, 0.73 months. Treatment with procarbazine was significantly correlated with survival time (P < .001). Procarbazine was the only independent predictor of survival. Prednisone was reduced in dosage or discontinued in 17 dogs. Adverse reactions to procarbazine therapy included myelosuppression in 7 dogs and hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in 3 dogs. CONCLUSION These data suggest that procarbazine treatment of presumptive GME may result in greater improved long-term outcome than has been previously reported for glucocorticoid treatment alone and may complement other immunomodulatory therapies. Procarbazine-treated dogs must be monitored for adverse reactions.