Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bioenergetics modeling of the annual consumption of zooplankton by pelagic fish feeding in the Northeast Atlantic

The present study uses bioenergetics modeling to estimate the annual consumption of the main zooplankton groups by some of the most commercially important planktivorous fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, namely Norwegian spring-spawning (NSS) herring (Clupea harengus), blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and NEA mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The data was obtained from scientific surveys in the main feeding area (Norwegian Sea) in the period 2005–2010. By incorporating novel information about ambient temperature, seasonal growth and changes in the diet from stomach content analyses, annual consumption of the different zooplankton groups by pelagic fish is estimated. The present study estimates higher consumption estimates than previous studies for the three species and suggests that fish might have a greater impact on the zooplankton community as foragers. This way, NEA mackerel, showing the highest daily consumption rates, and NSS herring, annually consume around 10 times their total biomass, whereas blue whiting consume about 6 times their biomass in zooplankton. The three species were estimated to consume an average of 135 million (M) tonnes of zooplankton each year, consisting of 53–85 M tonnes of copepods, 20–32 M tonnes of krill, 8–42 M tonnes of appendicularians and 0.2–1.2 M tonnes of fish, depending on the year. For NSS herring and NEA mackerel the main prey groups are calanoids and appendicularians, showing a peak in consumption during June and June–July, respectively, and suggesting high potential for inter-specific feeding competition between these species. In contrast, blue whiting maintain a low consumption rate from April to September, consuming mainly larger euphausiids. Our results suggest that the three species can coexist regardless of their high abundance, zooplankton consumption rates and overlapping diet. Accordingly, the species might have niche segregation, as they are species specific, showing annual and inter-annual variability in total consumption of the different prey species. These estimates and their inter-annual and inter-specific variation are fundamental for understanding fundamental pelagic predator-prey interactions as well as to inform advanced multispecies ecosystem models.
Gender and Race in Beliefs about Outdoor Air Pollution

Universal need for, or reactions to, risk communications should not be assumed; potential differences across demographic groups in environmental risk beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors could affect risk levels or opportunities for risk reduction. This article reports relevant findings from a survey experiment involving 1,100 potential jurors in Philadelphia concerning public responses to outdoor air pollution and air quality information. Flynn et al. (1994) and Finucane et al. (2000) found significant differences in risk ratings for multiple hazards, and in generic risk beliefs, between white men (or a subset) and all others (white women, nonwhite men, and nonwhite women). This study examined whether white men had significantly different responses to air pollution and air pollution information. An opportunity sample of volunteers from those awaiting potential jury duty in city courts (matching census estimates for white versus nonwhite proportions, but more female than the city's adult population and more likely to have children) filled out questionnaires distributed quasi‐randomly. On most measures there were no statistically significant differences among white men (N = 192), white women (N = 269), nonwhite men (N = 165), and nonwhite women (N = 272). Nonwhites overall (particularly women) reported more concern about and sensitivity to air pollution than whites, and were more concerned by (even overly sensitive to) air pollution information provided as part of the experiment. Nonwhites also were more likely (within‐gender comparisons) to report being active outdoors for at least four hours a day, a measure of potential exposure to air pollution, and to report intentions to reduce such outdoor activity after reading air pollution information. Differences between men and women were less frequent than between whites and nonwhites; the most distinctive group was nonwhite women, followed by white men. Flynn et al. (1994) and Finucane et al. (2000) found a far larger proportion of significant differences, with white men as most distinctive, probably due to use of different measures, study design, and population samples. However, all three studies broadly confirm the existence of gender and race interactions in risk beliefs and attitudes (particularly for white men and nonwhite women) that deserve more attention from researchers.
Centralized and Cooperative Transmission of Secure Multiple Unicasts using Network Coding

We introduce a method for securely delivering a set of messages to a group of clients over a broadcast erasure channel where each client is interested in a distinct message. Each client is able to obtain its own message but not the others'. In the proposed method the messages are combined together using a special variant of random linear network coding. Each client is provided with a private set of decoding coefficients to decode its own message. Our method provides security for the transmission sessions against computational brute-force attacks and also weakly security in information theoretic sense. As the broadcast channel is assumed to be erroneous, the missing coded packets should be recovered in some way. We consider two different scenarios. In the first scenario the missing packets are retransmitted by the base station (centralized). In the second scenario the clients cooperate with each other by exchanging packets (decentralized). In both scenarios, network coding techniques are exploited to increase the total throughput. For the case of centralized retransmissions we provide an analytical approximation for the throughput performance of instantly decodable network coded (IDNC) retransmissions as well as numerical experiments. For the decentralized scenario, we propose a new IDNC based retransmission method where its performance is evaluated via simulations and analytical approximation. Application of this method is not limited to our special problem and can be generalized to a new class of problems introduced in this paper as the cooperative index coding problem.
Time-varying weathering in texture space

We present a technique to synthesize time-varying weathered textures. Given a single texture image as input, the degree of weathering at different regions of the input texture is estimated by prevalence analysis of texture patches. This information then allows to gracefully increase or decrease the popularity of weathered patches, simulating the evolution of texture appearance both backward and forward in time. Our method can be applied to a wide variety of different textures since the reaction of the material to weathering effects is physically-oblivious and learned from the input texture itself. The weathering process evolves new structures as well as color variations, providing rich and natural results. In contrast with existing methods, our method does not require any user interaction or assistance. We demonstrate our technique on various textures, and their application to time-varying weathering of 3D scenes. We also extend our method to handle multi-layered textures, weathering transfer, and interactive weathering painting.
Hypertension and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Are Associated With Impaired Endothelium‐Mediated Relaxation in Human Coronary Resistance Vessels

BackgroundPatients with hypertension and myocardial hypertrophy may have signs and symptoms of myocardial ischemia in the absence of obstructive coronary disease. Prior investigations have demonstrated impaired coronary flow reserve and have led to speculation that microvascular dysfunction might contribute to ischemia in these patients. Experimental studies have shown that the endothelium, an important regulator of microvascular tone, can be damaged by hypertension and is dysfunctional in cardiomyopathy. We hypothesized that endothelium-dependent vasodilation is impaired in the coronary microvasculature of patients with hypertension and ventricular hypertrophy. Methods and ResultsWe studied coronary microvascular responses in 10 patients with left ventricular hypertrophy secondary to essential hypertension (HTN) (mean arterial pressure at catheterization, 151/94 mm Hg; mean posterior wall thickness, 1.4±0.1 cm) and nine normal control subjects with no history of hypertension (mean arterial pressure at catheterization, 128/75 mm Hg; mean posterior wall thickness, 1.0±0.02 cm) using the intracoronary Doppler catheter and quantitative angiography to assess changes in coronary blood flow (CBF). All patients had normal left ventricular systolic function. To assess microvascular endothelial function, we infused the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (10−8–−6 M) and the endothelium-independent vasodilator adenosine (10−6–10−4 M) into the left anterior descending coronary artery. In response to acetylcholine, CBF increased only 32±25% in HTN patients, whereas CBF increased 192±39% in normal control subjects (p=0.003). CBF increased 465±93% in HTN patients and 439±41% in normal control subjects in response to adenosine (p=NS). The proportion of coronary flow reserve attributable to endothelium-dependent dilation (obtained from peak acetylcholine/peak adenosine flow response) was 48±9% in normal control subjects but only 7±8% in HTN patients (p=0.008). ConclusionsEndothelium-dependent vasodilation is markedly impaired in the coronary microvessels of patients with hypertension and ventricular hypertrophy. Loss of this vasodilator mechanism may contribute to disordered coronary flow regulation and the ischemic manifestations of hypertensive heart disease.
Cyclosporin inhibits nitric oxide production in medullary ascending limb cultured cells.

BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to play a role in cyclosporin (CsA) nephrotoxicity, but its mechanism of action is still unclear. As inducible NO synthase (iNOS) mRNA has been found to be expressed in rat medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL) cells, we investigated the effects of CsA on NO production in a model of mouse cultured mTAL cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiments were carried out on sub-cultured cells derived from isolated mTAL microdissected from the kidney of C57BL/6 mice. The identification of the iNOS mRNA in mTAL microdissected segment and cultured cell was confirmed by RT PCR and RsaI digestion. Nitrite (NO2) released by mTAL cells was determined using the modified Griess reagent method and taken as an index of nitric oxide production. The cultured cells were treated with various concentrations of CsA and different signal transduction regulators to assess the effect and possible pathway(s) of action of CsA on NO production in mTAL cells. RESULTS The basal production of NO by mTAL cells increased by 1.8-fold following incubation with bacterial lipopolysaccaride (LPS). Both aminoguanidine and L-NAME inhibited NO production. CsA (10-300 ng/ml) also inhibited NO production in a dose-dependent manner and prevented its increase induced by LPS. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a PKC stimulator, enhanced slightly the production of NO under basal conditions and prevented the inhibitory action of CsA on NO production. These results suggest that the NO secreted by mouse cultured mTAL cells is dependent on the PKC pathway. CONCLUSION These results show that CsA may down-regulate the production of NO by cultured mTAL cells expressing iNOS mRNA and that the PKC pathway is involved in this process.
Progression of nephropathy in type 2 diabetes: the glycation gap is a significant predictor after adjustment for glycohemoglobin (Hb A1c).

BACKGROUND The glycation gap has been proposed as an index of nonglycemic determinants of glycated hemoglobin (Hb A(1c)). We investigated whether it predicts progression of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS We recorded albumin excretion rate, Hb A(1c), and serum fructosamine in 2314 patients over an average of 6.5 years. Hb A(1c) was regressed on fructosamine by using a repeated-measures longitudinal regression model and data for all visits of all patients; the raw glycation gap gg was calculated at each visit, as measured by Hb A(1c) minus the value predicted by the regression; and the mean glycation gap (GG) was defined for each patient as the mean of the values for the raw glycation gap (gg) calculated at each visit. The study group was divided into high-, medium- and low-GG groups of equal sizes, which were compared for progression of nephropathy by Cox regression analyses controlling for age, sex, duration of diabetes, initial nephropathy status, therapy, baseline Hb A(1c), mean Hb A(1c), and mean fructosamine. The design of the study was a retrospective cohort study with follow-up for 6.5 (SD 4.2) years. RESULTS The gg exhibited considerable stability over time. In the high- and medium-GG groups, the risk of progression of nephropathy was respectively 2.5 and 1.6 times that of the low-GG group (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.001, respectively) after adjustment as described above. CONCLUSIONS GG predicts the progression of nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients independently of fructosamine and even after adjustment for Hb A(1c). The joint use of the glycation gap and fructosamine as measures of nonglycemic and glycemic determinants of glycation, respectively, may improve evaluation of the risk of nephropathy and of the glycemic control desirable for the individual patient.
Polymorphisms in Arsenic(+III Oxidation State) Methyltransferase (AS3MT) Predict Gene Expression of AS3MT as Well as Arsenic Metabolism

Background Arsenic (As) occurs as monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in humans, and the methylation pattern demonstrates large interindividual differences. The fraction of urinary MMA is a marker for susceptibility to As-related diseases. Objectives We evaluated the impact of polymorphisms in five methyltransferase genes on As metabolism in two populations, one in South America and one in Southeast Asia. The methyltransferase genes were arsenic(+III oxidation state) methyltransferase (AS3MT), DNA-methyltransferase 1a and 3b (DNMT1a and DNMT3b, respectively), phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT), and betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT). AS3MT expression was analyzed in peripheral blood. Methods Subjects were women exposed to As in drinking water in the Argentinean Andes [n = 172; median total urinary As (U-As), 200 μg/L] and in rural Bangladesh (n = 361; U-As, 100 μg/L; all in early pregnancy). Urinary As metabolites were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Polymorphisms (n = 22) were genotyped with Sequenom, and AS3MT expression was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan expression assays. Results Six AS3MT polymorphisms were significantly associated with As metabolite patterns in both populations (p ≤ 0.01). The most frequent AS3MT haplotype in Bangladesh was associated with a higher percentage of MMA (%MMA), and the most frequent haplotype in Argentina was associated with a lower %MMA and a higher percentage of DMA. Four polymorphisms in the DNMT genes were associated with metabolite patterns in Bangladesh. Noncoding AS3MT polymorphisms affected gene expression of AS3MT in peripheral blood, demonstrating that one functional impact of AS3MT polymorphisms may be altered levels of gene expression. Conclusions Polymorphisms in AS3MT significantly predicted As metabolism across these two very different populations, suggesting that AS3MT may have an impact on As metabolite patterns in populations worldwide.
Field Evaluation of a Point-of-Care CD4 Analyzer for Monitoring HIV Patients in the Interior of the Amazon Region, Brazil

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of the PIMA point-of-care CD4 analyzer (PIMA) under field conditions in comparison to the current CD4 count system (FACSCalibur), and to evaluate the operational suitability and acceptability of health professionals (HP) and HIV-patients in using the PIMA in health clinics in the Amazon Region. Methods CD4 counts were measured onsite by the PIMA using fingerprick blood and in the reference laboratory by both the PIMA and FACSCalibur using venous blood. We used the Bland–Altman method to estimate the mean bias, and calculated the sensitivity and specificity at <200 and <500 cell/μL thresholds. Patients (n = 404) and HP (n = 7) were interviewed on the acceptability and operational suitability of the PIMA. Results Using fingerprick blood (n = 337), the PIMA showed a concordance correlation coefficient (Rc) of 0.81, mean difference of -111.9 cell/μL, 93.1%/98.5% sensitivity, and 89.2%/56.7% specificity at <200 and <500 cell/μL thresholds, respectively. Venous blood (n = 340) showed an Rc of 0.89, mean difference of -83.4 cell/μL, 98.3%/97.5% sensitivity, and 93.9%/66.0% specificity at <200 and <500 cell/μL thresholds, respectively. The capillary PIMA was well accepted and found operationally appropriate by patients and HP. Conclusions The agreement between both instruments was poor and the PIMA underestimated CD4 cell counts, which was more pronounced at CD4 counts ≥500 cell/μl. The PIMA’s performance with fingerprick blood was less reliable than its performance with venous blood. In Brazil, where antiretroviral treatment is initiated regardless of CD4 counts, the PIMA’s systematic bias towards CD4 underestimation may limit its role for monitoring HIV-patients.
Adverse hospital events for mentally ill patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

CONTEXT Patients with mental disorders show higher burden of coronary heart disease, and may face special safety issues during in-hospital cardiac care. OBJECTIVES To compare the postoperative complication rate between patients with and without mental disorders undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Retrospective analyses of New York state hospital claims between 1997 and 2004 (N=135,701). Complications were defined using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators (AHRQ PSI). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Mental disorders were significantly associated with higher anesthesia complications (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=6.44, p < .001), decubitus ulcer (AOR=1.42, p = .006), postoperative hip fracture (AOR = 3.29, p < .001), and overall complication rate representing nine PSIs (AOR = 1.27, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS Mentally ill patients undergoing CABG surgery are more likely to experience potentially preventable complications and injuries. The mechanism underlying this observation warrants further study.
Uplink Distributed Binary Power Allocation for Cognitive Radio Networks

Motivated by the desire for efficient spectral utilization, we present a novel algorithm for power allocation for sum rate maximization in cognitive radio context while preserving a guaranteed QoS for the primary network. To this effect, we propose a distributed cognitive radio coordination that maximizes the cognitive radio network (CRN) sum rate while minimizing the interference to the primary users (PU). Our goal is to realize spectrum sharing by optimally allocating secondary users (SU) transmit powers in order to maximize the total SU throughput under interference and noise impairments. Both theoretical and simulation results under realistic wireless network settings are shown to exhibit interesting features in term of CRN deployment while maintaining QoS for the primary system.
Regular Banach Spaces and Large Deviations of Random Sums

1 Overview A typical result on large deviations of sums with random terms states that if ξ t are independent scalar random variables with zero means and such that " ξ t has as light tails as a Gaussian N (0, 4σ 2 t) random variable " , specifically, E exp{ξ 2 t /σ 2 t } ≤ O(1), (1) and S N = N t=1 ξ t , then Prob |S N | > t σ 2 1 + . + σ 2 N ≤ O(1) exp{−O(1)t 2 } (2) (from now on, all O(1)'s are appropriate positive absolute constants). Our goal is to get similar results for the case when ξ t are independent random vectors with zero means in a finite-dimensional vector space E equipped with norm · , S N = N t=1 ξ t and the " light tail " condition (1) is stated as E exp{{ξ t 2 /σ 2 t } ≤ exp{1}. (3) Note that a straightforward guess E{ξ t } = 0∀t & (3) & {ξ t } are independent ⇒ Prob S N > t σ 2 1 + . + σ 2 N ≤ O(1) exp{−O(1)t 2 } (4) is not true, as it is shown by the following example: • E = R n , x = x 1 ≡ j |x j |, • (ξ t) j = t , j = t(mod n) 0, otherwise , where 1 , 2 , . are independent random variables taking values ±1 with probability 1/2, • σ t = 1, i ≥ 1.
Quality of life in patients awaiting lung transplant: Cystic fibrosis versus other end‐stage lung diseases

The symptoms associated with chronic lung disease can impair quality of life and psychosocial functioning. The purpose of the present study was to provide a thorough baseline assessment of quality of life in patients with end‐stage lung disease and being evaluated for transplant; and to assess potential differences in quality of life between patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and those with other types of end‐stage lung disease (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)). We evaluated 58 patients with CF and 52 patients with other types of end‐stage lung disease who were recruited for this study during an assessment of their candidacy for lung transplant. Subjects completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed demographic factors (including work and educational status), the presence of psychological distress (anxiety and depression), availability of social support, coping styles, and physical functioning.
Identification of Putative Coffee Rust Mycoparasites via Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing of Infected Pustules

ABSTRACT The interaction of crop pests with their natural enemies is a fundament to their control. Natural enemies of fungal pathogens of crops are poorly known relative to those of insect pests, despite the diversity of fungal pathogens and their economic importance. Currently, many regions across Latin America are experiencing unprecedented epidemics of coffee rust (Hemileia vastatrix). Identification of natural enemies of coffee rust could aid in developing management strategies or in pinpointing species that could be used for biocontrol. In the present study, we characterized fungal communities associated with coffee rust lesions by single-molecule DNA sequencing of fungal rRNA gene bar codes from leaf discs (≈28 mm2) containing rust lesions and control discs with no rust lesions. The leaf disc communities were hyperdiverse in terms of fungi, with up to 69 operational taxonomic units (putative species) per control disc, and the diversity was only slightly reduced in rust-infected discs, with up to 63 putative species. However, geography had a greater influence on the fungal community than whether the disc was infected by coffee rust. Through comparisons between control and rust-infected leaf discs, as well as taxonomic criteria, we identified 15 putative mycoparasitic fungi. These fungi are concentrated in the fungal family Cordycipitaceae and the order Tremellales. These data emphasize the complexity of diverse fungi of unknown ecological function within a leaf that might influence plant disease epidemics or lead to the development of species for biocontrol of fungal disease.
Common and rare collateral pathways in aortoiliac occlusive disease: a pictorial essay.

OBJECTIVE The development of collateral pathways for arterial blood flow is common in the presence of atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries. The collateral pathways are divided into systemic-systemic and systemic-visceral pathways. MDCT is commonly used to evaluate aortic stenosis and the resulting collateral pathways. CONCLUSION Common and rare arterial collateral pathways are reviewed by 3D volume-rendered CT images. Visceral and lower extremity arterial embryology is reviewed.