Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogeny of Opuntia s.s. (Cactaceae): clade delineation, geographic origins, and reticulate evolution.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY The opuntias (nopales, prickly pears) are not only culturally, ecologically, economically, and medicinally important, but are renowned for their taxonomic difficulty due to interspecific hybridization, polyploidy, and morphological variability. Evolutionary relationships in these stem succulents have been insufficiently studied; thus, delimitation of Opuntia s.s. and major subclades, as well as the biogeographic history of this enigmatic group, remain unresolved. METHODS We sequenced the plastid intergenic spacers atpB-rbcL, ndhF-rpl32, psbJ-petA, and trnL-trnF, the plastid genes matK and ycf1, the nuclear gene ppc, and ITS to reconstruct the phylogeny of tribe Opuntieae, including Opuntia s.s. We used phylogenetic hypotheses to infer the biogeographic history, divergence times, and potential reticulate evolution of Opuntieae. KEY RESULTS Within Opuntieae, a clade of Tacinga, Opuntia lilae, Brasiliopuntia, and O. schickendantzii is sister to a well-supported Opuntia s.s. , which includes Nopalea. Opuntia s.s. originated in southwestern South America (SA) and then expanded to the Central Andean Valleys and the desert region of western North America (NA). Two major clades evolved in NA, which subsequently diversified into eight subclades. These expanded north to Canada and south to Central America and the Caribbean, eventually returning back to SA primarily via allopolyploid taxa. Dating approaches suggest that most of the major subclades in Opuntia s.s. originated during the Pliocene. CONCLUSIONS Opuntia s.s. is a well-supported clade that includes Nopalea. The clade originated in southwestern SA, but the NA radiation was the most extensive, resulting in broad morphological diversity and frequent species formation through reticulate evolution and polyploidy.
Developmental Regulation of the Streptomyces lividans ram Genes: Involvement of RamR in Regulation of the ramCSAB Operon

ABSTRACT Streptomycetes are filamentous soil bacteria that produce spores through a complex process of morphological differentiation. The ram cluster plays an important part during the development. The ram genes encode a membrane-bound kinase (RamC), a small protein (RamS), components of an ABC transporter (RamAB), and a response regulator (RamR). While the introduction of an extra copy of the ram cluster accelerates development in Streptomyces lividans, ramABR disruption mutants are unable to produce aerial hyphae and spores. The developmental regulation of ram gene transcription was analyzed. Transcription of the ram genes occurred only on solid rich media and not on minimal media. The ramR gene is transcribed from a single promoter during all growth stages, with the highest levels during aerial growth. The ramCSAB genes comprise one operon and are transcribed from one principal promoter, P1, directly upstream of ramC. Transcription of ramCSAB was already observed during vegetative growth, but was strongly upregulated upon initiation of formation of aerial hyphae and was decreased during late stages of development. A large inverted repeat located downstream of ramS terminated the majority of transcripts. The introduction of ramR on a multicopy vector in S. lividans strongly induced P1 activity, while disruption of this regulator eliminated all P1 promoter activity. This shows that ramR is a crucial activator of ramCSAB transcription. Importantly, in bldA, bldB, bldD, or bldH mutants, ramR and ramCSAB are not transcribed, while ram gene transcription was observed in the earliest whi mutant, whiG. This indicates that the transcription of the ram genes marks the transition from vegetative to aerial growth.
Application of Self-Determination Theory to a Study of the Determinants of Regular Participation in Leisure-Time Physical Activity

Abstract Guided by self-determination theory (SDT, Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1987), this study examines the relationships between behaviour regulators, intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, and regular participation in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). Two hundred and fifty randomly selected adults participated. Findings show that the behaviour regulators mostly influenced regular participation in LTPA through their influence on intrinsic motivation. However, external regulation also had a residual direct influence. As expected, the more autonomous forms of behaviour regulation had a more positive influence, and external regulation had a negative influence. Behaviour regulation and intrinsic motivation attenuated the influence of enjoyment on participation, suggesting underlying motivations have a stronger influence on regular participation in LTPA. This study demonstrates the importance of encouraging autonomy in people's LTPA, making physical activity personally important for people, and highlights the limitations of using strategies to promote physical activity that may reduce the individuals' sense of autonomy.
Policy Assemblages, Mobilities and Mutations: Toward a Multidisciplinary Conversation

This is a short response to Benson and Jordan's 2011 article, ‘What Have We Learned from Policy Transfer Research? ’ Its point of departure is their claim that ‘policy transfer is a useful concept that transfers easily across different sub-disciplines and analytical contexts’. In reviewing a growing heterogeneous body of work on policy assemblages, mobilities and mutations, we argue that policy transfer research has already travelled well beyond political science, that it has been critiqued and modified along the way, and that its future is an interdisciplinary one; a future in which we invite political scientists to join.
Articulación entre el conocimiento cultural mapuche y el conocimiento escolar en ciencia

A traves de este estudio se busca analizar procesos de articulacion entre el conocimiento cultural mapuche y el conocimiento escolar, en la practica educativa de docentes y educadores tradicionales -kimches- en el sector de aprendizaje de la ciencia. El enfoque metodologico es la investigacion educativa, utilizandose en el procesamiento de los datos la distribucion de frecuencias y el analisis de contenido. Los resultados aportan antecedentes que permiten comprender el proceso de articulacion de contenidos disciplinares y conocimientos culturales mapuches, desde un marco dialogico y reflexivo que favorece la contextualizacion intercultural del curriculo escolar.
The blurred edges of intellectual disability

The label of ‘intellectual disability’ can be a very blurred concept, because for those on the borders their label often arises from the interaction of the individual with their environment, from their socio-economic status, and from the social role which they choose to undertake. This paper explores the contested notion of intellectual disability in the context of people who have been in trouble with the law in England, and contrasts their situation with that of people who have been protected by best interests decisions under the Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales). People who are on the ‘borderline’ of having an intellectual disability, like any citizens, have a range of intersecting identities. Drawing on the notions of ‘interactional’ disability theory, we reflect on the shifting, relative nature of intellectual disability, and the need for the law to focus on support needs, rather than on impairment.
Seasonal mood disturbances in collegiate hockey players.

OBJECTIVE THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS TO: 1) describe the seasonal affective disorder syndrome using a case illustration, 2) provide a simple and reliable method for identifying seasonal affective disorder, and 3) provide data as to the prevalence of the syndrome in a subset of collegiate hockey players. DESIGN AND SETTING Collegiate hockey players were selected, because their practices begin in the fall and play is completed in the spring. The teams selected for participation were from the far Northwest and the upper Midwest regions. SUBJECTS Sixty-eight Division I hockey players volunteered for the study. The three teams from which the subjects were chosen were located above latitude 42 degrees /45' north. Subjects were from the northern latitudes. MEASUREMENTS The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire was used to screen for seasonality. A sample of the athletes was also examined using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression together with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed) criteria for Seasonal Pattern Specifier. RESULTS Thirty-three (51%) were asymptomatic, 7 (11%) met the criteria for seasonal affective disorder, and 25 (39%) hockey players scored in the range that could classify them as candidates for subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of seasonal affective disorder among our sample approximated the national norm for the northern latitudes. However, the prevalence of subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder in our population was 25% compared to 13% reported nationally. Light therapy has been shown to reverse the effects of the disorders; however, further research needs to be conducted to determine its acceptance and effectiveness by the athletic population.
Laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hernias: a Canadian experience.

BACKGROUND The surgical approach to paraesophageal hernias (PEH) has changed with the advent of laparoscopic techniques. Variation in both perioperative outcomes and hernia recurrence rates are reported in the literature. We sought to evaluate the short- and intermediate-term outcomes with laparoscopic PEH repair. METHODS We performed a retrospective review of patients having laparoscopic repair of PEH between June 1998 and September 2002. We included patients with more than 120 days of follow-up. RESULTS A total of 58 patients with a mean age of 60.4 (standard deviation [SD] 15.0) years had a laparoscopic procedure to repair a primary PEH, as well as adequate follow-up, during the study period. The types of PEH included type II (n = 13), III (n = 44) and IV (n = 1). The most common symptoms were epigastric pain (57%), dysphagia (40%), heartburn (31%) and vomiting (28%). Associated procedures included 56 (96%) Nissen fundoplications and 2 (4%) gastropexies. We closed all crural defects either with or without pledgets, and 2 patients required the use of mesh. There was 1 conversion to open surgery owing to intraoperative bleeding secondary to a consumptive coagulopathy; we observed no other major intraoperative emergencies. Minor or major complications occurred in 15 patients (26%). Late postoperative complications included 1 umbilical hernia. The mean length of stay in hospital was 3.8 (SD 2.5) days. After surgery, 19 patients were completely asymptomatic, and the majority of the remaining patients (83%) described marked symptom improvement. Upper gastrointestinal series performed in symptomatic patients in the postoperative setting identified 5 recurrent paraesophageal hernias (8.6%) and 5 small sliding hernias (9%). CONCLUSION Laparoscopic repair of PEH is associated with improved long-term symptom relief, low morbidity and acceptable recurrence rates when performed in an experienced centre.
Combining Behavioral and Social Network Data for Online Advertising

There are two main requirements for effective advertising in social networks. The first is that links in the social network are relevant to the targeted ads. The second is that social information can be easily incorporated with existing targeting methods to predict response rates. Our purpose in this paper is to investigate these requirements. We measure the relevance of a social network, the Yahoo! Instant Messenger graph, to classes of ads. We investigate the degree to which social network information complements existing user-profile information for targeting. We find that there is significant evidence in our social network of homophily, that links in the network indicate similar ad-relevant interests. We propose an ensemble classifier to combine existing user-only models with social network features to improve response predictions.
Evidence of an association between the O blood group and allergic rhinitis

Objective The aim of this study was to verify if ABO phenotypes are associated with allergic rhinitis. Methods 168 patients with allergic rhinitis and 168 control individuals from the same geographical region and paired by gender and age were enrolled in the study. ABO phenotypes were identified in red blood cells using the hemagglutination technique. The Fisher exact and chi-squared tests were employed to compare proportions. Statistical significance was set for an alpha error of 5% (p-value < 0.05). Results The overall differences in the frequencies of the ABO phenotypes of patients and controls were marginal (χ2: 7.569; degrees of freedom (DF): 3; p-value = 0.055) however the O blood group was associated with allergic rhinitis (χ2: 5.764; DF: 1; p-value = 0.016; OR: 1.735; CI 95%: 1.127-2.673). The differences in the frequencies of the O phenotype in patients and controls were statistically different for men (χ2: 8.520; DF: 1; p-value = 0.003) but not for women (χ2: 0.6375; DF: 1; p-value = 0.4246). The A phenotype was associated with protection (OR: 0.4385; CI 95%: 0.2043-0.9415; p-value = 0.049) and the O phenotype was associated with susceptibility (OR = 2.789; CI 95%: 1.385-5.616; p-value = 0.005) to allergic rhinitis only for men. Conclusion The O blood group phenotype is associated with allergic rhinitis in male but not in female patients.
Okul Öncesi Dönem Çocuklarının Matematik Becerileri Açısından İlköğretime Hazır Bulunuşluğunun İncelenmesi

Bu arastirmada okula hazirlik alan ve almayan cocuklarin matematik becerileri temelinde ilkogretime hazir bulunusluk duzeyleri; yas, cinsiyet, sosyoekonomik duzey degiskenleri acisindan karsilastirilmistir. Arastirmanin orneklemini, okul oncesi egitim alan 180, almayan 120 5, 5.5, 6 yas cocuklari olusturmaktadir. Arastirmada veriler, kisisel bilgileri iceren anket formu ile “Marmara Ilkogretime Hazir Olus Olcegi”nin Uygulama formunun matematik calismalari alt boyutu kullanilarak toplanmistir. Bulgular t test ve varyans analizi uygulanarak analiz edilmistir. Elde edilen sonuclara gore okul oncesi egitim alma degiskeni ile cocuklarin matematik becerileri arasinda anlamli bir iliski soz konusudur. Bu cocuklar matematik becerilerinde okul oncesi egitim almayanlara oranla daha yeterlidirler. Cinsiyet acisindan cocuklarin matematik becerilerinde farklilik bulunamamistir. Cocuklarin yaslarina gore matematik becerilerinin yalnizca siralama ve olcekten alinan toplam puan acisindan farklilastigi gorulmus, 5 yas cocuklarinin matematik becerileri 5.5, 6 yas cocuklarina gore daha yetersiz oldugu tespit edilmistir. Alt sosyo-ekonomik duzeyden cocuklarin matematik becerileri bakimindan ilkogretime yeteri kadar hazir olmadiklari bulunmustur. Baska bir deyisle soz konusu cocuklarin matematik beceri ortalamalari digerlerine gore daha dusuk olarak saptanmistir
Oxidative stress and myeloperoxidase levels in saliva of patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

OBJECTIVE Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common oral ulcerative condition affecting 5-25% of the general population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oxidative stress parameters in saliva of patients with RAS and to investigate the relationship among these parameters in either group. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study involved 50 patients with RAS of whom 24 were male and 26 were female, and 25 healthy controls of whom 13 were male and 12 were female. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference in the salivary total antioxidant capacity, total oxidant status, oxidative stress index levels, and myeloperoxidase activity between patients with RAS and those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS The results show that reactive oxygen species may not play a role in the etiology of RAS.
Analogical Mapping by Constraint Satisfaction

A theory of analogical mapping between source and target analogs based upon interacting structural, semantic, and pragmatic constraints is proposed here. The structural constraint of isomorphism encourages mappings that maximize the consistency of relational corresondences between the elements of the two analogs. The constraint of semantic similarity supports mapping hypotheses to the degree that mapped predicates have similar meanings. The constraint of pragmatic centrality favors mappings involving elements the analogist believes to be important in order to achieve the purpose for which the analogy is being used. The theory is implemented in a computer program called ACME (Analogical Constraint Mapping Engine), which represents constraints by means of a network of supporting and competing hypotheses regarding what elements to map. A cooperative algorithm for parallel constraint satisfaction identities mapping hypotheses that collectively represent the overall mapping that best fits the interacting constraints. ACME has been applied to a wide range of examples that include problem analogies, analogical arguments, explanatory analogies, story analogies, formal analogies, and metaphors. ACME is sensitive to semantic and pragmatic information if it is available, and yet able to compute mappings between formally isomorphic analogs without any similar or identical elements. The theory is able to account for empirical findings regarding the impact of consistency and similarity on human processing of analogies.
Cardiopulmonary effects and pharmacokinetics of i.v. dexmedetomidine in ponies.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Currently available sedatives depress cardiopulmonary function considerably; therefore, it is important to search for new, less depressive sedatives. The study was performed to assess duration and intensity of cardiopulmonary side effects of a new sedative, dexmedetomidine (DEX), in horses. OBJECTIVES To study pharmacokinetics and cardiopulmonary effects of i.v. DEX. METHODS Pharmacokinetics of 3.5 microg/kg bwt i.v. DEX were studied in a group of 8 mature (mean age 4.4 years) and 6 old ponies (mean age 20 years). Cardiopulmonary data were recorded in mature ponies before and 5, 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 mins after administration of DEX 3.5 microg/kg bwt i.v. Data were analysed using ANOVA for repeated measures, and where appropriate Dunnett's t test was used to detect differences from resting values (P < 0.05). RESULTS Within 2 h after DEX administration, plasma levels were beyond limits of quantification (0.05 ng/ml). Mean values for kinetic parameters for mature and old ponies were: Cmax (ng/ml) 4.6 and 3.8, t 1/2 (min) 19.8 and 28.9 and AUC (ng.min/ml) 34.5 and 44.3, respectively. Heart rate, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure did not change significantly compared to presedation values throughout the 60 min observation period. Compared to presedation values, stroke volume and mixed venous PO2 were reduced for the first 5 mins, paralleled by an increase in systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance. Cardiac index was reduced for the first 10 mins, arterial blood pressures at 20, 30 and 45 mins and respiratory rate throughout the 60 min observation period, but no change in arterial PO2 or PCO2 occurred. CONCLUSIONS DEX administration i.v. causes similar cardiopulmonary changes to those caused by other alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists, but of very short duration. DEX is redistributed particularly rapidly. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE DEX might be safer for sedation of horses because of its very short-lasting cardiopulmonary side effects. For long duration sedation, its kinetics favour its use as a continuous infusion.
Profiling poly-substance use typologies in a multi-site cohort of illicit opioid and other drug users in Canada–a latent class analysis

‘Poly-substance use’ is increasingly prevalent among street drug user populations. The objective was to employ latent class analysis (LCA) to empirically categorize and extract potential typologies of poly-substance users within a multi-site cohort of illicit opioid and other drug users (OPICAN) in Canada, and examine potential associations with social and health indicators. Drug use patterns of 582 participants from the most recent follow-up (2005) of the cohort study–focusing on drug use prevalence indicators in the past 30 days–were empirically analyzed via LCA. These classes were further examined for associations with social and health variables using chi-square, ANOVA. Binomial logistic regression models were used to predict class membership. LCA analysis resulted in eight distinct user typologies, characterized both by the distinct relative prevalence of different substances (e.g., including: heroin, prescription opioids, benzodiazepines, cocaine, crack, alcohol, cannabis, and others) used and administration routes (e.g., injection or noninjection), the majority of which were described by the predominant use of two or more distinct substance groups (e.g., opioids and stimulants). At least two of the active poly-substance user classes were described by predominant noninjection as the primary route of administration. ‘Poor or fair’ health status was reported at the highest prevalence level by the class of intensive poly-substance injectors, while HCV-positive status was disproportionately low in the classes of current noninjectors. Analytical examination of poly-substance use patterns is a distinct challenge for meaningful drug use monitoring, also providing important evidence for targeted prevention and treatment interventions.
Wideband code division multiple access

To satisfy ever-increasing demands for higher data rates, as well as to allow more users to simultaneously access the network, interest has peaked in what has come to be known as wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA). We discuss those basic characteristics of WCDMA waveforms that make them attractive for high data rate transmission over wireless and mobile channels. We emphasize how the choice of spread bandwidth affects the bit error rate of the system, as well as how it affects the reliability of various subsystems, such as those that perform coarse acquisition and adaptive power control. We then discuss how some of the waveforms being considered for cellular WCDMA systems differ from those in use in the narrowband CDMA cellular system, and emphasize, as an example, multicarrier CDMA. Finally, we discuss other potential enhancements to WCDMA systems, such as the use of interference suppression at the receiver, or multiple antennas at the transmitter.
Exploring the Neural Algorithm of Artistic Style

We explore the method of style transfer presented in the article "A Neural Algorithm of Artistic Style" by Leon A. Gatys, Alexander S. Ecker and Matthias Bethge (arXiv:1508.06576). We first demonstrate the power of the suggested style space on a few examples. We then vary different hyper-parameters and program properties that were not discussed in the original paper, among which are the recognition network used, starting point of the gradient descent and different ways to partition style and content layers. We also give a brief comparison of some of the existing algorithm implementations and deep learning frameworks used. To study the style space further we attempt to generate synthetic images by maximizing a single entry in one of the Gram matrices $\mathcal{G}_l$ and some interesting results are observed. Next, we try to mimic the sparsity and intensity distribution of Gram matrices obtained from a real painting and generate more complex textures. Finally, we propose two new style representations built on top of network's features and discuss how one could be used to achieve local and potentially content-aware style transfer.