Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance evaluation of SASRI varieties N19 and N25 in Tanzania.

SASRI varieties N14, N19, N25 and N30 were introduced in Tanzania in 2000 and tested for adaptability in the local environment from 2002 to 2009, compared to standard commercial variety NCo376. A total of 16 replicated trials were conducted in both irrigated and rainfed environments. Data collected included; cane yield, brix, pol, purity, fiber, sucrose and reaction to pests; sugarcane smut (Ustilago scitaminea), stem borers (Eldana saccharina) and white scale (Aulacaspis tegalensis). Under rainfed conditions, N19 and N25 did not show consistent performance. However, under irrigated conditions, these varieties out-performed variety NCo376 in terms of Pol %, and cane and sugar yields. Variety N19 had relatively higher Pol % when compared to variety N25; however, N25 had higher cane yields. Both varieties had similar sugar yields. Varieties N19 and N25 showed good levels of resistance to smut under both the inoculation technique and natural field conditions. The varieties also have good cane and sugar yields, reasonable levels of resistance to sugarcane smut and good ratooning ability, and are therefore recommended for commercial cultivation in Tanzania under irrigated cultivation.
Gender expression and group size: a test in a hermaphroditic and a gonochoric congeneric species of Ophryotrocha (Polychaeta)

SUMMARY Hermaphroditism and gonochorism are two contrasting forms of sexuality. Hermaphroditic species are generally seen as species adapted to conditions of low density, stabilized by poor mate search efficiency and high costs of searching. They can adjust allocation of reproductive resources to each sex function in response to current social conditions, making reproduction more efficient, at least in principle. By contrast, gonochorism (separate sexes) is advantageous when mates are frequent, making it ineffective to maintain two sex functions in a single individual. This, however, also rules out the need for a flexible response to mating opportunities as known for hermaphrodites. In the hermaphroditic marine polychaete worm Ophryotrocha diadema we showed earlier that group size is assessed through a chemical cue. In this study we verified the accuracy of the response to gradients of the chemical cue used to assess group size by O. diadema by checking reduction in egg production as the group of partners increases, as expected according to sex allocation theory. Furthermore we compared the effect of such a gradient with a similar gradient in a closely related gonochoric species (O. labronica). Here sex allocation adjustment is not predicted, thus an adaptive change in egg production in response to group-size cues is not expected. In fact, our results show that the group-size effect only occurs in O. diadema and not in O. labronica. Moreover, our study provides evidence of high perceptual abilities of chemical cues in O. diadema, suggesting that perceiving social cues and adjusting sex allocation appropriately are special properties of hermaphrodites.
Recovery from major depression. A 10-year prospective follow-up across multiple episodes.

BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder is often marked by repeated episodes of depression. We describe recovery from major depression across multiple mood episodes in patients with unipolar major depression at intake and examine the association of sociodemographic and clinical variables with duration of illness. METHODS A cohort of 258 subjects treated for unipolar major depressive disorder was followed up prospectively for 10 years as part of the Collaborative Depression Study, a multicenter naturalistic study of the mood disorders. Diagnoses were made according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria, and the course of illness was assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation. Survival analyses were used to calculate the duration of illness for the first 5 recurrent mood episodes after recovery from the index episode. RESULTS Diagnosis remained unipolar major depressive disorder for 235 subjects (91%). The median duration of illness was 22 weeks for the first recurrent mood episode, 20 weeks for the second, 21 weeks for the third, and 19 weeks for the fourth and fifth recurrent mood episodes; the 95% confidence intervals were highly consistent. From one episode to the next, the proportion of subjects who recovered by any one time point was similar. For subjects with 2 or more recoveries, the consistency of duration of illness from one recovery to the next was low to moderate. None of the sociodemographic or clinical variables consistently predicted duration of illness. CONCLUSION In this sample of patients treated at tertiary care centers for major depressive disorder, the duration of recurrent mood episodes was relatively uniform and averaged approximately 20 weeks.
Identification of a Rab GTPase-activating protein cascade that controls recycling of the Rab5 GTPase Vps21 from the vacuole

Endocytic transport depends on two consecutive Rabs, Vps21 (Rab5 in metazoans) and Ypt7 (Rab7), which bind to effectors on early and late endosomes. This study now shows that inactivation of Vps21 via its GTPase-activating protein (GAP) Msb3 requires both Ypt7 and fusion with the vacuole. The data suggest an endosomal GAP cascade that includes the effector of Ypt7.
Towards a smart city based on cloud of things, a survey on the smart city vision and paradigms

Smart city represents one of the most promising, prominent and challenging Internet of Things (IoT) applications [1]. In the last few years, indeed, the smart city concept has played an important role in academic and industry fields, with the development and deployment of various middleware platforms and IoT‐based infrastructures. However, this expansion has followed distinct approaches creating, therefore, a fragmented scenario, in which different IoT ecosystems are not able to communicate between them. To fill this gap, there is a need to re‐visit the smart city IoT semantic and to offer a global common approach. To this purpose, this paper browses the semantic annotation of the sensors in Cloud, and innovative services can be implemented and considered by bridging Cloud of Things (CoT) and IoT. Things like semantic will be considered to perform the aggregation of heterogeneous resources by defining the CoT paradigm. We survey the smart city vision, providing information on the main requirements and highlighting the benefits of integrating different IoT ecosystems within Cloud under this new CoT vision. This paper also discusses relevant challenges in this research area. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Deep Sequencing-guided Design of a High Affinity Dual Specificity Antibody to Target Two Angiogenic Factors in Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration* ♦

Background: Engineering Fabs with high affinity toward two distinct antigens is challenged by the competing constraints of a shared binding surface. Results: Deep mutational scan unveiled the sequences of Fabs with sub-nanomolar affinity for two angiogenic targets. Conclusion: Fabs potent against two structurally unrelated targets were discovered. Significance: Efficacious generation of dual action Fab expands the therapeutic potential of Fab molecules in ocular indications and beyond. The development of dual targeting antibodies promises therapies with improved efficacy over mono-specific antibodies. Here, we engineered a Two-in-One VEGF/angiopoietin 2 antibody with dual action Fab (DAF) as a potential therapeutic for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Crystal structures of the VEGF/angiopoietin 2 DAF in complex with its two antigens showed highly overlapping binding sites. To achieve sufficient affinity of the DAF to block both angiogenic factors, we turned to deep mutational scanning in the complementarity determining regions (CDRs). By mutating all three CDRs of each antibody chain simultaneously, we were able not only to identify affinity improving single mutations but also mutation pairs from different CDRs that synergistically improve both binding functions. Furthermore, insights into the cooperativity between mutations allowed us to identify fold-stabilizing mutations in the CDRs. The data obtained from deep mutational scanning reveal that the majority of the 52 CDR residues are utilized differently for the two antigen binding function and permit, for the first time, the engineering of several DAF variants with sub-nanomolar affinity against two structurally unrelated antigens. The improved variants show similar blocking activity of receptor binding as the high affinity mono-specific antibodies against these two proteins, demonstrating the feasibility of generating a dual specificity binding surface with comparable properties to individual high affinity mono-specific antibodies.
Does the presence of a trainee compromise success of biliary cannulation at ERCP?

Abstract Background and study aims Findings in the literature are conflicting on whether trainee involvement in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures is detrimental to cannulation success rates. We addressed this in a prospective study, where cannulation success with or without trainee presence was the primary outcome measure. Patients and methods We prospectively recorded data on 2 senior endoscopists and their trainees over an 18-month period for ERCPs in patients with a virgin ampulla. Presence or absence of a trainee at ERCP procedures was pragmatic, reflecting their other service or training commitments or annual leave. For trainee presence, the training protocol allowed them 6 minutes of supervised time in which to achieve biliary cannulation after reaching the ampulla. Study outcome measures included cannulation success, time to cannulation, technique, whether this was achieved independently by the trainee, and complications. Results There were 219 procedures recorded and analyzed (134 with a trainee, 85 without). Three trainees were involved. Selective biliary cannulation was achieved in 201 (92 %) of cases. When a trainee was present, cannulation was successful in 122/134 procedures (91 %), compared to 79/85 (93 %) with a senior endoscopist alone (P = 0.8, Fisher’s exact test). Mean time to biliary cannulation with a trainee present was 7 minutes, compared with 5 minutes with no trainee. Mean time for successful independent cannulation by the trainee was 4 minutes, and 9 minutes for a consultant following a trainee’s attempt. There were no serious adverse events. Conclusion Our study shows that with this training protocol, involvement of a trainee on a routine secondary care ERCP list does not impair biliary cannulation success, and does not prolong a subsequent attempt by the senior endoscopist if initially unsuccessful. These findings support the involvement of trainees in routine ERCP lists with this training protocol.
Ca2-Dependent Rapid Ca2 Sensitization of Contraction in Arterial Smooth Muscle

Ca2+ ion is a universal intracellular messenger that regulates numerous biological functions. In smooth muscle, Ca2+ with calmodulin activates myosin light chain (MLC) kinase to initiate a rapid MLC phosphorylation and contraction. To test the hypothesis that regulation of MLC phosphatase is involved in the rapid development of MLC phosphorylation and contraction during Ca2+ transient, we compared Ca2+ signal, MLC phosphorylation, and 2 modes of inhibition of MLC phosphatase, phosphorylation of CPI-17 Thr38 and MYPT1 Thr853, during &agr;1 agonist–induced contraction with/without various inhibitors in intact rabbit femoral artery. Phenylephrine rapidly induced CPI-17 phosphorylation from a negligible amount to a peak value of 0.38±0.04 mol of Pi/mol within 7 seconds following stimulation, similar to the rapid time course of Ca2+ rise and MLC phosphorylation. This rapid CPI-17 phosphorylation was dramatically inhibited by either blocking Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum or by pretreatment with protein kinase C inhibitors, suggesting an involvement of Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C. This was followed by a slow Ca2+-independent and Rho-kinase/protein kinase C–dependent phosphorylation of CPI-17. In contrast, MYPT1 phosphorylation had only a slow component that increased from 0.29±0.09 at rest to the peak of 0.68±0.14 mol of Pi/mol at 1 minute, similar to the time course of contraction. Thus, there are 2 components of the Ca2+ sensitization through inhibition of MLC phosphatase. Our results support the hypothesis that the initial rapid Ca2+ rise induces a rapid inhibition of MLC phosphatase coincident with the Ca2+-induced MLC kinase activation to synergistically initiate a rapid MLC phosphorylation and contraction in arteries with abundant CPI-17 content.
Effect of Molecular Descriptor Feature Selection in Support Vector Machine Classification of Pharmacokinetic and Toxicological Properties of Chemical Agents

Statistical-learning methods have been developed for facilitating the prediction of pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties of chemical agents. These methods employ a variety of molecular descriptors to characterize structural and physicochemical properties of molecules. Some of these descriptors are specifically designed for the study of a particular type of properties or agents, and their use for other properties or agents might generate noise and affect the prediction accuracy of a statistical learning system. This work examines to what extent the reduction of this noise can improve the prediction accuracy of a statistical learning system. A feature selection method, recursive feature elimination (RFE), is used to automatically select molecular descriptors for support vector machines (SVM) prediction of P-glycoprotein substrates (P-gp), human intestinal absorption of molecules (HIA), and agents that cause torsades de pointes (TdP), a rare but serious side effect. RFE significantly reduces the number of descriptors for each of these properties thereby increasing the computational speed for their classification. The SVM prediction accuracies of P-gp and HIA are substantially increased and that of TdP remains unchanged by RFE. These prediction accuracies are comparable to those of earlier studies derived from a selective set of descriptors. Our study suggests that molecular feature selection is useful for improving the speed and, in some cases, the accuracy of statistical learning methods for the prediction of pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties of chemical agents.
Ultrawide-field Fluorescein Angiography for Evaluation of Diabetic Retinopathy

Purpose To investigate the advantages of ultrawide-field fluorescein angiography (FA) over the standard fundus examination in the evaluation of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods Ultrawide-field FAs were obtained in 118 eyes of 59 diabetic patients; 11 eyes with no DR, 71 eyes with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and 36 eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), diagnosed by the standard method. The presence of peripheral abnormal lesions beyond the standard seven fields was examined. Results Ultrawide-field FA images demonstrated peripheral microaneurysms in six (54.5%) of 11 eyes with no DR and all eyes with moderate to severe NPDR and PDR. Peripheral retinal neovascularizations were detected in three (4.2%) of 71 eyes with NPDR and in 13 (36.1%) of 36 eyes with PDR. Peripheral vascular nonperfusion and vascular leakage were found in two-thirds of eyes with severe NPDR and PDR. Conclusions Ultrawide-field FA demonstrates peripheral lesions beyond standard fields, which can allow early detection and a close evaluation of DR.
Speech Filters for Speech Signal Noise Reduction

The implementation complexity of the conventional speech enhancement techniques increases with increased sampling rates and increased levels of noise. In order to address this issue, we propose a hardware friendly perceptive speech filter implemented using RLC filters. The proposed filters when compared with the conventional filterbanks such as based on Mel and Bark scale show significant reduction in noise levels as measured through the distance distributions.
Asymptotic Analysis of Buffered Calcium Diffusion near a Point Source

The "domain" calcium (${\rm Ca}^{\rm 2+}$) concentration near an open ${\rm Ca}^{\rm 2+}$ channel can be modeled as buffered diffusion from a point source. The concentration profiles can be well approximated by hemispherically symmetric steady-state solutions to a system of reaction-diffusion equations. After nondimensionalizing these equations and scaling space so that both reaction terms and the source amplitude are O(1), we identify two dimensionless parameters, ${\varepsilon}_c$ and ${\varepsilon}_b$, that correspond to the diffusion coefficients of dimensionless ${\rm Ca}^{\rm 2+}$ and buffer, respectively.Using perturbation methods, we derive approximations for the ${\rm Ca}^{\rm 2+}$ and buffer profiles in three asymptotic limits: (1) an "excess buffer approximation" (EBA), where the mobility of buffer exceeds that of ${\rm Ca}^{\rm 2+}$ (${\varepsilon}_b \gg {\varepsilon}_c$) and the fast diffusion of buffer toward the ${\rm Ca}^{\rm 2+}$ channel prevents buffer saturation (cf. Neher [ Calcium Ele.
Social Competence and Delinquent, Antisocial, and Non-Deviant Behavior in Adolescents

Los comportamientos antisociales, tanto delictivos como no delictivos, han sido tratados en la literatura como un conjunto. Estos comportamientos antisociales han sido relacionados con la carencia de competencia psicosocial. Es posible que la relacion entre competencia psicosocial y comportamientos antisociales delictivos y no delictivos siga un efecto de escalada. Para someter a prueba esta hipotesis se diseno un estudio de campo con 450 adolescentes, de los que 150 estaban cumpliendo una condena penal (delincuentes), 150 poseian comportamientos antisociales no delictivos y 150 pertenecian a poblacion escolarizada normal, quienes fueron evaluados en las variables fundamentales de la competencia psicosocial. Los resultados se analizaron a partir de un MANOVA (factor poblacion: reforma, antisocial y normativa) y evidenciaron una relacion entre incompetencia social y comportamientos antisociales y delictivos, asi como un efecto de escalada, es decir, el grado de conducta desviada (delictiva, antisocial no delictiva y normal) va ligado al grado de (in)competencia social. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos hallazgos para el tratamiento de los menores con comportamientos antisociales, delictivos y no delictivos.
Teenagers and Substance Use: Social Networks and Peer Influence

This book describes how teenagers' peers influence their substance use. Looking at the notion of the 'chain reaction', the author concludes that teenagers' substance use result from the selection of peers, the patterning of peer ties and peer influence. Although there are other influences, such as family, relatives and other people, peers are the main influence who affect the substance use of teenagers.
A Comparison of a Christian and a State Institution of Higher Education: The Relationship between Religiosity and Academic Dishonesty among Athletes

Lori A. Robertson. A COMPARISON OF A CHRISTIAN AND A STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOSITY AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AMONG ATHLETES. (Under the direction of Dr. Leonard W. Parker) School of Education, July 2008. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the relationship between religiosity and academic dishonesty among intercollegiate athletes at a private Christian college and a state university. This study also examined the level of academic dishonesty and the level of religiosity among intercollegiate athletes at both institutions. The researcher administered a questionnaire to 163 intercollegiate athletes. The questionnaire included 17 cheating behaviors and several subscales of religiosity (overall religiosity, intrinsic religiosity, organizational religiosity, and non-organizational religiosity). A significant difference was found in the level of religiosity between the athletes in the two schools. However, no significant difference was found in the level of academic dishonesty between institutions. Religiosity was a moderate predictor of academic dishonesty at the Christian college. Religiosity was not a predictor of academic dishonesty among athletes at the state institution.
Cultural differences in perceived coherence of the self and ingroup: A Japan–Australia comparison

Past studies have found that East Asians ascribe less consistency to individual selves than Westerners, but ascribe more consistency to social groups than Westerners. Using the concepts of naive dialecticism (i.e. the tendency to tolerate contradiction) and psychological essentialism (i.e. the tendency to attribute a fixed essence to something) as different aspects of consistency perception, we examined patterns of perceived consistency of the self and national ingroup among Japanese and Australians. Compared to Australians, Japanese showed more naive dialecticism and less psychological essentialism for the self; however, this cultural difference was not found for their national ingroups. These findings suggest that lay theories are applied in a domain-specific manner, and the domains to which they are applied depend on culture.
Depoliticising the Polls: Voting Abstention and Moral Disagreement

Do citizens have a duty to abstain from voting when they cannot vote well? Jason Brennan has recently argued that, since citizens have a duty not to engage in harmful activities and bad voting is a harmful activity, citizens have a duty to abstain from voting badly. In this reply, I argue that Brennan dismisses the moral disagreements that unavoidably pervade the very idea of bad voting in a democratic society and provides a de-politicised and incomplete account of what voting badly means. Without a sound definition of bad voting, Brennan's argument fails.