Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ESI-MS and MS/MS identification of the first ceramide analogues of fumonisin B1 mycotoxin from a Fusarium verticillioides culture following RP-HPLC separation

Following the earlier detection of six new esterified fumonisin B1 (EFB1) isomers containing three acyl groups in a Fusarium verticillioides-inoculated rice culture, it was assumed that linoleic, palmitic or oleic acid esterifies one of the free OH groups on the fumonisin backbone. On the basis of the results of our recent investigations we now propose that these EFB1 isomers are actually 3-O- and 5-O-acyl derivatives of FB1 (3-O-linoleoyl-FB1, 5-O-linoleoyl-FB1, 3-O-palmitoyl-FB1, 5-O-palmitoyl-FB1, 3-O-oleoyl-FB1 and 5-O-oleoyl-FB1). A F. verticillioides strain was identified that produced not only O-acyl-FB1 isomers, but also low amounts of three N-acyl derivatives (N-linoleoyl-FB1, N-palmitoyl-FB1 and N-oleoyl-FB1), which eluted from the HPLC column after the six O-acyl compounds and in the same sequence as for the O-acyl compounds. The characteristic positive and negative ESI-MS/MS spectra obtained after solid-phase extraction of the culture extract facilitated identification of these N-acyl-FB1 derivatives. The biosynthesis of N-palmitoyl-FB1 by F. verticillioides was verified by spiking the culture extract with synthetic N-palmitoyl-FB1. This is the first report of the separation and mass spectrometric identification of the six O-acyl- and three N-acyl-FB1 derivatives extracted from a F. verticillioides culture.
USERS' RATING OF THE SWISS AVALANCHE FORECAST

User surveys are an important instrument to verify and improve quality and usability of avalanche warning products. In February 2014, we queried 2500 users and compared their ratings with the previous survey from 2008. The aim was to spot strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss avalanche warning products which were completely revised in 2012. The revision involved a new bulletin structure that follows the information pyramid as recommended by the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS). Also, the danger descriptions are now translated automatically with a predefined set of phrases. The results from the survey indicate that the goals of the 2012 revision were achieved as, for example, users rated their knowledge about the current avalanche warning exactly in the order of the information pyramid. The language quality of the automatically translated danger descriptions were rated even better than the normally written and manually translated parts of the avalanche bulletin. In addition, the survey reveals user group specific aspects such as the evaluation by mountain guides who rated both, prediction quality and avalanche danger, significantly lower than other groups. However, the overall user rating of the forecasting accuracy has risen slightly but significantly to 83%. To know preferences and needs of users and specific user groups is essential to further improve avalanche forecasts with regard to content and usability.
Laser profiling over Antarctic ice streams: methods and accuracy

We assess the accuracy and precision of the U.S. National Science Foundation's Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research (SOAR) laser profiling system for mapping topography and detecting surface elevation changes of West Antarctic ice streams. The procedures used to process, calibrate and validate the laser, navigation and global positioning system (GPS) data are presented. The primary objective is to produce surface elevations with the best possible resolution. Repeat surveys of a grid of lines over Whillans Ice Stream and Ice Streams C and E were conducted in the 1997/98 and 1999/ 2000 seasons. The procedure has been calibrated using special test flights conducted over areas that have been surveyed with precise geodetic GPS equipment mounted on snowmobiles. After calibration, agreement between the two surfaces is ±10 cm rms. The accuracy and precision of the procedure have been evaluated at points where laser flight-lines cross over one another. The accuracy of the system is found to range from 0.09 to 0.22 m.
Seismic‐geodynamic constraints on three‐dimensional structure, vertical flow, and heat transfer in the mantle

Joint inversions of seismic and geodynamic data are carried out in which we simultaneously constrain global-scale seismic heterogeneity in the mantle as well as the amplitude of vertical mantle flow across the 670 km seismic discontinuity. These inversions reveal the existence of a family of three-dimensional (3-D) mantle models that satisfy the data while at the same time yielding predictions of layered mantle flow. The new 3-D mantle models we obtain demonstrate that the buoyancy forces due to the undulations of the 670 km phase-change boundary strongly inhibit the vertical flow between the upper and lower mantle. The strong stabilizing effect of the 670 km topography also has an important impact on the predicted dynamic topography of the Earth's solid surface and on the surface gravity anomalies. The new 3-D models that predict strongly or partially layered mantle flow provide essentially identical fits to the global seismic data as previous models that have, until now, predicted only whole-mantle flow. The convective vertical transport of heat across the mantle predicted on the basis of the new 3-D models shows that the heat flow is a minimum at 1000 km depth. This suggests the presence at this depth of a globally defined horizon across which the pattern of lateral heterogeneity changes rapidly.
Multimodal Advertisement of Pregnancy in Free-Ranging Female Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata)

The role of multiple sexual signals in indicating the timing of female ovulation, and discrimination of this timing by males, has been particularly well studied among primates. However the exhibition of pregnancy signals, and how such signals might modulate male post-conception mating decisions, is still poorly understood. Here we aimed to determine if Japanese macaque males use changes in female sexual signals (behavioral, visual and auditory) to discriminate pregnancy and adjust their socio-sexual behaviors. We combined behavioral observations, digital photography and endocrinological (progestogen and estrogen) data, collected systematically during three one-month periods: the pre-conceptive period, the 1st month of pregnancy and the 2nd month of pregnancy. We analyzed variation in the probability of detecting male and female socio-sexual behaviors and estrus calls, as well as changes in female face color parameters, in relation to female reproductive state. Based on our focal observations, we found that males did not copulate during the pregnancy period, and that female socio-sexual behaviors generally decreased from the pre-conceptive to post-conceptive periods. Female face luminance decreased from the pre-conceptive month to the pregnancy period whereas face color only varied between the 1st and 2nd month of gestation. Our results suggest that Japanese macaque females display sexual cues of pregnancy that males might use to reduce energy wasted on non-reproductive copulations with pregnant females. We hypothesize that females advertize their pregnancy through changes in behavioral, visual and potential auditory signals that males can use to adjust their mating behaviors. We finish by discussing implications for male and female post-conception strategies.
The High Efficiency of Photosystem I in the Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Is Maintained after the Antenna Size Is Substantially Increased by the Association of Light-harvesting Complexes II*

Background: Photosystems acclimate to different light conditions modulating their antenna size. Results: In PSI-LHCI-LHCII, energy transfer from LHCII to Photosystem I is relatively slow but still very efficient. Conclusion: The association of LHCII to PSI increases its absorption cross section by ∼50%, maintaining ∼96% quantum efficiency. Significance: The antenna size of PSI can be increased considerably without sacrificing its efficiency. Photosystems (PS) I and II activities depend on their light-harvesting capacity and trapping efficiency, which vary in different environmental conditions. For optimal functioning, these activities need to be balanced. This is achieved by redistribution of excitation energy between the two photosystems via the association and disassociation of light-harvesting complexes (LHC) II, in a process known as state transitions. Here we study the effect of LHCII binding to PSI on its absorption properties and trapping efficiency by comparing time-resolved fluorescence kinetics of PSI-LHCI and PSI-LHCI-LHCII complexes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. PSI-LHCI-LHCII of C. reinhardtii is the largest PSI supercomplex isolated so far and contains seven Lhcbs, in addition to the PSI core and the nine Lhcas that compose PSI-LHCI, together binding ∼320 chlorophylls. The average decay time for PSI-LHCI-LHCII is ∼65 ps upon 400 nm excitation (15 ps slower than PSI-LHCI) and ∼78 ps upon 475 nm excitation (27 ps slower). The transfer of excitation energy from LHCII to PSI-LHCI occurs in ∼60 ps. This relatively slow transfer, as compared with that from LHCI to the PSI core, suggests loose connectivity between LHCII and PSI-LHCI. Despite the relatively slow transfer, the overall decay time of PSI-LHCI-LHCII remains fast enough to assure a 96% trapping efficiency, which is only 1.4% lower than that of PSI-LHCI, concomitant with an increase of the absorption cross section of 47%. This indicates that, at variance with PSII, the design of PSI allows for a large increase of its light-harvesting capacities.
A Model for Semantic Service Matching with Leftover and Missing Information

One of the challenges of SOA is to deal with service matching which is uncertain and ambiguous. A service requester must be prepared to cope with situations where no required services are found or, on the other hand, multiple matching services are found. The paper proposes a formal model of service matching with incomplete information. The model is defined using set theory and description logics. Fuzzy logic is used to calculate the degrees of semantic matching of services and their ranking. This matching is defined by its type (exact, leftover and missing information) and service functional properties specified by OWL-S. The model is illustrated by example from a case study.
Query modification and expansion in a network with adaptive architecture

This paper shows how a newtwork view of probabilistic information indexing and retrieval with components may implement query expansion and modification (based on user relevance feedback) by growing new edges and adapting weights between queries and terms of relevant documents. Experimental results with two collections and partial feedback confirm that the process can lead to much improved performance. Learning from irrelvant documents however was not effective.
Cilostazol, a novel cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, prevents reocclusion after coronary arterial thrombolysis with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator.

Inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase hydrolysis of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate are known to inhibit platelet aggregation, which plays an important role in acute reocclusion after thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction. In the present study of a canine preparation of coronary artery thrombosis superimposed on high-grade stenosis, we tested whether the antithrombotic agent cilostazol, an inhibitor of cAMP phosphodiesterase, could prevent acute reocclusion or sustain coronary blood flow after thrombolysis when used with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and heparin. Intravenous infusion of rt-PA (0.5 mg/kg body wt for 30 minutes) and heparin (a 150 IU/kg body wt i.v. bolus and then 25 IU/kg body wt per hour i.v.) was combined with cilostazol (0.6 or 1.8 mg/kg body wt for 60 minutes). Without cilostazol, reperfusion was observed in seven of eight dogs, but reocclusion occurred in six of these seven dogs after 9 +/- 2 minutes. After administration of 1.8 mg/kg body wt cilostazol (group B-2; a 120-minute observation after the start of rt-PA infusion), reperfusion occurred in all seven dogs (p < 0.05 versus control group), and brief cyclic reocclusion was observed in only one dog 63 minutes after reperfusion. At the same dose of cilostazol (group B-2L; a 240-minute observation after the start of rt-PA infusion), reperfusion occurred in all five dogs (p < 0.05 versus control group), and coronary blood flow was well maintained except for one short reocclusion in one dog. Cilostazol inhibited cyclic flow reduction in a dose-dependent fashion. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Heated Allergens and Induction of Tolerance in Food Allergic Children

Food allergies are one of the first manifestations of allergic disease and have been shown to significantly impact on general health perception, parental emotional distress and family activities. It is estimated that in the Western world, almost one in ten children have an IgE-mediated allergy. Cow’s milk and egg allergy are common childhood allergies. Until recently, children with food allergy were advised to avoid all dietary exposure to the allergen to which they were sensitive, in the thought that consumption would exacerbate their allergy. However, recent publications indicate that up to 70% of children with egg allergy can tolerate egg baked in a cake or muffin without apparent reaction. Likewise, up to 75% of children can tolerate baked goods containing cow’s milk, and these children demonstrate IgE and IgG4 profiles indicative of tolerance development. This article will review the current literature regarding the use of heated food allergens as immunotherapy for children with cow’s milk and egg allergy.
Psychiatric morbidity in the community: A population based-study from Kerala

Background: Estimates of psychiatric morbidity in the community will help service development. Participation of trained nonspecialist health-care providers will facilitate scaling up of services in resource-limited settings. Aims: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of priority mental health problems in populations served by the District Mental Health Program (DMHP). Settings and Design: This is a population-based cross-sectional survey. Materials and Methods: We did stratified cluster sampling of households in five districts of Kerala. Trained Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) identified people who had symptoms suggestive of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Clinicians evaluated the information collected by the ASHAs and designated individuals as probable cases of psychosis or noncases. Screening instruments such as General Health Questionnaire-12, CAGE questionnaire, and Everyday Abilities Scale for India were used for identifying common mental disorders (CMDs), clinically significant alcohol-related problems, and functional impairment. Results: We found 12.43% of the adult population affected by mental health conditions. We found CMD as most common with a prevalence of 9%. The prevalence of psychosis was 0.71%, clinically significant alcohol-related problems was 1.46%, and dementia and other cognitive impairments was 1.26%. We found informant-based case finding to be useful in the identification of psychosis. Conclusions: Mental health problems are common. Nonspecialist health-care providers can be trained to identify psychiatric morbidity in the community. Their participation will help in narrowing the treatment gap. Embedding operational research to DMHP will make scaling up more efficient.
CONFINING STRESS DEPENDENCY OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SANDS

ABSTRACT The mechanical properties of sands change notably with a variation of confining stress. In some geotechnical problems, such as the bearing capacity problem of shallow foundations on sand ground, the confining stress dependency of sand mechanical behavior plays an important role as a stress level effect. In this study deformation-failure behaviors of some 80 granular materials with various primary properties were observed in a series of triaxial compression tests covering a range from low to medium high confining stresses. From experimental results, the dependency of the deformation-failure behaviors of sands on confining stress was comparatively examined, and the degree of confining stress dependency was evaluated by the indices introduced in this study. The influence of primary properties, such as density, hardness, shape and size of grains, on the degree of confining stress dependency is the main subject of this study. From test results, it was found that the mechanical properties of sands vary markedly with a change in confining stress, and the degree of confining stress dependency varies with the primary properties. The degree of confining stress dependency can be estimated from some index properties; void ratio extent (emax–emin) was selected as a promising parameter for evaluating the confining stress dependency of the deformation-failure behaviors of sands.
Gender Differences in Scratch Programs of Primary School Children

It is commonly believed that the attitudes towards programming are strongly dependent on gender among adolescents or adults. Regarding younger children, these differences in the attitudes might be less relevant. To investigate this, we have analyzed the learning outcomes of an introductory programming course for primary school children. The three-day course was designed specifically for 4th-grade students (ages 9-10) and taught four times up to now Fifty-eight children (26 girls and 32 boys) have participated from May to August 2016. During these courses, the children have developed 127 Scratch projects. We found that boys and girls had used different block types to develop their programs. It also showed that girls and boys created very different types of programs. This paper presents the course design; the methodology of the qualitative analysis and the results in detail.
Infectious Agents and Xenobiotics in the Etiology of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC)is a chronic autoimmune cholestatic liver disease that manifests a latitudinal gradient in prevalence and incidence. The mechanisms leading to the initiation and perpetuation of PBC remain largely enigmatic, although it is established that a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental stimulation is required. PBC is also characterized by a high concordance rate in monozygotic twins and is considered a model autoimmune disease because of several features common to other conditions and the relatively homogeneous serological and biochemical features. From a diagnostic standpoint, PBC is characterized by the highest specificity of serum autoantibodies directed at mitochondrial proteins. Several risk factors have been suggested to be associated with PBC, including exposure to infectious agents and chemical xenobiotics that will be critically discussed in the present review article.
Simulating snowmelt processes during rain-on-snow over a semi-arid mountain basin

Abstract In the Pacific Northwest of North America, significant flooding can occur during mid-winter rain-on-snow events. Warm, wet Pacific storms caused significant floods in the Pacific Northwest in February 1996, January 1997 and January 1998. Rapid melting of the mountain snow cover substantially augmented discharge during these flood events. An energy-balance snowmelt model is used to simulate snowmelt processes during the January 1997 event over a small headwater basin within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed located in the Owyhee Mountains of southwestern Idaho, U.S.A. This sub-basin is 34% forested (12% fir, 22% aspen and 66% mixed sagebrush (primarily mountain big sagebrush)). Data from paired open and forested experimental sites were used to drive the model. Model-forcing data were corrected for topographic and vegetation canopy effects. The event was preceded by cold, stormy conditions that developed a significant snow cover over the sub-basin. The snow cover at sites protected by forest cover was slightly reduced, while at open sites significant snowmelt occurred. The warm, moist, windy conditions during the flooding event produced substantially higher melt rates in exposed areas, where sensible- and latent-heat exchanges contributed 60–90% of the energy for snowmelt. Simulated snow-cover development and ablation during the model run closely matched measured conditions at the two experimental sites. This experiment shows the sensitivity of snowmelt processes to both climate and land cover, and illustrates how the forest canopy is coupled to the hydrologic cycle in mountainous areas.
A CHARACTERIZATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN ESTUARINE SYSTEMS

Summary Modifications to the structure and functioning of southern African estuarine systems can be placed into two major categories; those changes that have been driven by global forces such as climatic and sea-level fluctuations, and those that have resulted from direct human interference and are of a local or regional nature. Both the above categories will determine the rate and magnitude of physiographic and hydrodynamic changes within southern African estuaries, and therefore have a major impact on the characterization of individual systems in the future. Although the fluctuating nature of southern African estuaries (on both a spatial and a temporal scale) makes it difficult to place individual systems in distinctive categories, a classification system is possible if the dominant conditions in a particular estuary are assessed. Using a combination of physiographic, hydrographic and salinity features, five types of systems are recognised in this review, viz. permanently open estuaries, temporarily ope.
The Vertical Structure of Turbulent Dissipation in Shelf Seas

Abstract The free-fall FLY profiler has been used to determine the variation in energy dissipation ϵ in the water column over a tidal cycle at mixed and stratified sites in the Irish Sea. It was found that ϵ exhibits a strong M4 variation with a pronounced phase lag that increases with height above the bed. In mixed conditions this M4 signal, which extends throughout the water column, is reasonably well reproduced by turbulent closure models of the vertical exchange. In the summer stratified situation, the M4, signal in ϵ is confined to about 40 m above the seabed with phase delays of more than 4 h relative to the seabed. The lowest levels of dissipation (∼10−5 W m−3), measured in the pycnocline, are significantly above the system noise level and much higher than predicted by a model using the Mellor-Yamada level 2 closure scheme (MY2.0). However, when allowance is made for the diffusion of TKE, the model (MY2.2) simulates the depth-time distribution of dissipation in the stratified case satisfactorily if.