Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predator Diet and Trophic Position Modified with Altered Habitat Morphology

Empirical patterns that emerge from an examination of food webs over gradients of environmental variation can help to predict the implications of anthropogenic disturbance on ecosystems. This “dynamic food web approach” is rarely applied at the coastal margin where aquatic and terrestrial systems are coupled and human development activities are often concentrated. We propose a simple model of ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) feeding that predicts changing dominant prey (Emerita talpoida, Talorchestia sp., Donax variablis) along a gradient of beach morphology and test this model using a suite of 16 beaches along the Florida, USA coast. Assessment of beaches included quantification of morphological features (width, sediments, slope), macrophyte wrack, macro-invertebrate prey and active ghost crab burrows. Stable isotope analysis of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) and the SIAR mixing model were used to determine dietary composition of ghost crabs at each beach. The variation in habitat conditions displayed with increasing beach width was accompanied by quantifiable shifts in ghost crab diet and trophic position. Patterns of ghost crab diet were consistent with differences recorded across the beach width gradient with respect to the availability of preferred micro-habitats of principal macro-invertebrate prey. Values obtained for trophic position also suggests that the generalist ghost crab assembles and augments its diet in fundamentally different ways as habitat morphology varies across a highly dynamic ecosystem. Our results offer support for a functional response in the trophic architecture of a common food web compartment (ghost crabs, macro-invertebrate prey) across well-known beach morphologies. More importantly, our “dynamic food web approach” serves as a basis for evaluating how globally wide-spread sandy beach ecosystems should respond to a variety of anthropogenic impacts including beach grooming, beach re-nourishment, introduction of non-native or feral predators and human traffic on beaches.
The Involvement of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Remote Contextual Fear Memory

Although the molecular, cellular, and systems mechanisms required for initial memory processing have been intensively investigated, those underlying permanent memory storage remain elusive. We present neuroanatomical, pharmacological, and genetic results demonstrating that the anterior cingulate cortex plays a critical role in remote memory for contextual fear conditioning. Imaging of activity-dependent genes shows that the anterior cingulate is activated by remote memory and that this activation is impaired by a null α-CaMKII mutation that blocks remote memory. Accordingly, reversible inactivation of this structure in normal mice disrupts remote memory without affecting recent memory.
Testing muscle tone and mechanical properties of rectus femoris and biceps femoris using a novel hand held MyotonPRO device: relative ratios and reliability

Purpose: To use a novel, non-invasive hand held device (MyotonPRO) to quantify ratios of relative non-neural tone and mechanical properties of the rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles, and to assess reliability of a novice user. Relevance: The device offers rapid, objective testing of mechanical parameters of muscle in clinical or sports settings. Participants: 21 healthy males (20-35 years) Methods: Relaxed muscle parameters of RF and BFwere obtained using the MyotonPRO. The device applies a brief mechanical impact, producing muscle oscillations from which tone (state of intrinsic tension, indicated by frequency [Hz]) and mechanical properties of elasticity (logarithmic decrement) and stiffness (N/m) are measured. Data were collected on two days, one week apart. Two series of 10 single measurements on each muscle were used to test within-day reliability. The mean of the two sets was used for between-day reliability. Analysis: The relative parameters between RF and BF were expressed as a ratio. Reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Results: The mean (±SD) RF:BF ratios for resting muscle were: frequency 1:0.96 (±0.05), decrement 1:1.10 (±0.17) and stiffness 1:0.95 (±0.07). Reliability of all three parameters was excellent within-sessions (ICCs 3,2 >0.99) and good between-days (ICCs 3,1 0.72-0.87). Conclusions: The relative resting tone and mechanical properties of RF and BF has been characterised in young males, with ratios close to 1:1. Measures made by a novice user were reliable, indicating that the MyotonPRO has the potential for assessing changes in muscle properties objectively over time. Studies are needed in large healthy cohorts of different ages, activity levels and genders to produce reference data for assessing patients. Implications: The relative tone and mechanical properties of RF and BF could potentially be used as a rapid method for assessing risk of injury is sporting populations and presence of abnormality in musculoskeletal and neurological conditions, once normal values have been established in relevant groups.
Surge Instability on a Cavitating Propeller Thesis

This study details experiments investigating a previously unrecognized surge instability on a cavitating propeller in a water tunnel. The surge instability is first explored through visual observation of the cavitation on the propeller blades and in the tip vortices. Similarities between the instability and previously documented cavitation phenomena are noted. Measurements of the radiated pressure are then obtained, and the acoustic signature of the instability is identified. The magnitudes of the fluctuating pressures are very large, presumably capable of producing severe hull vibration on a ship. The origins of the instability are explored through separate investigation of the cavitation dynamics and the response of the water tunnel to volumetric displacement in the working section. Experiments are conducted to quantify the dynamics of the propeller cavitation. Finally, a model is developed for the complete system, incorporating both the cavitation and facility dynamics. The model predicts active system dynamics (linked to the mass flow gain factor familiar in the context of pump dynamics) and therefore potentially unstable behavior for two distinct frequency ranges, one of which appears to be responsible for the instability.
Rough solutions of the Einstein constraint equations

Abstract We construct low regularity solutions of the vacuum Einstein constraint equations. In particular, on 3-manifolds we obtain solutions with metrics in with s > 3/2. The theory of maximal asymptotically Euclidean solutions of the constraint equations descends completely the low regularity setting. Moreover, every rough, maximal, asymptotically Euclidean solution can be approximated in an appropriate topology by smooth solutions. These results have application in an existence theorem for rough solutions of the Einstein evolution equations.
Trends in patterns of dengue transmission over 4 years in a pediatric cohort study in Nicaragua.

BACKGROUND Dengue is the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral disease in humans and a major urban public health problem worldwide. METHODS A prospective cohort study of approximately 3800 children initially aged 2-9 years was established in Managua, Nicaragua, in 2004 to study the natural history of dengue transmission in an urban pediatric population. Blood samples from healthy subjects were collected annually prior to the dengue season, and identification of dengue cases occurred via enhanced passive surveillance at the study health center. RESULTS Over the first four years of the study, seroprevalence of anti-dengue virus (DENV) antibodies increased from 22%-40% in the 2-year-old cohort and 90%-95% in the 9-year-old cohort. The incidence of symptomatic dengue cases and the ratio of inapparent to symptomatic DENV infection varied substantially from year to year. The switch in dominant transmission from DENV-1 to DENV-2 was accompanied by an increase in disease severity but, paradoxically, a decrease in transmission. Phylogeographic analysis of full-length DENV-2 sequences revealed strong geographic clustering of dengue cases. CONCLUSIONS This large-scale cohort study of dengue in the Americas demonstrates year-to-year variation of dengue within a pediatric population, revealing expected patterns in transmission while highlighting the impact of interventions, climate, and viral evolution.
Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein signatures are associated with treatment failure and modulation of viral entry and neutralization.

BACKGROUND A major challenge for antiviral treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is viral resistance, potentially resulting from the high variability of HCV envelope glycoproteins and subsequent selection of strains with enhanced infectivity and/or immune escape. METHODS We used a bioinformatics and functional approach to investigate whether E1/E2 envelope glycoprotein structure and function were associated with treatment failure in 92 patients infected with HCV genotype 1. RESULTS Bioinformatics analysis identified 1 sustain virological response (R)-related residue in E1 (219T) and 2 non-SVR (NR)-related molecular signatures in E2 (431A and 642V) in HCV genotype 1a. Two of these positions also appeared in minimal networks separating NR patients from R patients. HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) expressing 431A and 642V resulted in a decrease in antibody-mediated neutralization by pretreatment sera. 431A/HCVpp entry into Huh7.5 cells increased with overexpression of CD81 and SR-BI. Moreover, an association of envelope glycoprotein signatures with treatment failure was confirmed in an independent cohort (Virahep-C). CONCLUSIONS Combined in silico and functional analyses demonstrate that envelope glycoprotein signatures associated with treatment failure result in an alteration of host cell entry factor use and escape from neutralizing antibodies, suggesting that virus-host interactions during viral entry contribute to treatment failure.
Identification of facial expressions of emotion by 4-year-old children from different linguistic environments

The current study investigated the identification of facial expressions of emotion, a socio-emotional task that has not previously been examined in children from different linguistic environments. Eighty-four 4-year-olds growing up in one of three linguistic environments (monolingual, dominant bilingual, balanced bilingual) performed a task where they identified facial expressions (happiness, anger, sadness, fear). Accuracy was analysed with a mixed-design analysis of variance using group (monolinguals, dominant bilinguals and balanced bilinguals) and emotion (happy, angry, sad and scared) as between- and within-group variables, respectively. Our results showed a main effect of emotion, but there was no main effect of group. This suggests that 4-year-olds’ linguistic environment does not affect performance on an identification of facial expressions task. This study was the first to investigate the identification of facial expressions of emotion in children coming from different linguistic environments. As the socio-emotional development of bilinguals is not yet well understood, especially regarding the visual perception of emotions, this study is amongst the first to contribute to this area of research. Our results are therefore of significance as a building block for additional studies that should explore the visual perception of emotions in other types of tasks and populations.
Effects of Cognitive, Motor, and Karate Training on Cognitive Functioning and Emotional Well-Being of Elderly People

The present study investigated the influence of cognitive, motor, and Karate (accordingly the guidelines of the German-Karate-Federation, DKV) training on the cognitive functioning and mental state of older people between 67 and 93 years of age. The three training groups each consisted of 12 elderly participants; the waiting control group included 9 participants. Before the training, participants were evaluated with cognitive measurements (cognitive speed: number-connection test, number–symbol test; memory performance: digit-span test, blocking-tapping test, figure test) and a measurement of emotional well-being. After this pre-testing they participated the specific training in on average sixteen 1-h training sessions. The cognitive training exercised inductive thinking ability, the motor training worked on easy stretching and mobilization techniques, and the Karate training taught tasks of self-defense, partner training, and Katas. After completion of the training sessions, all tests were applied again. The results show no significant difference in cognitive improvement dependent on group between the three training conditions. However a significant improvement was found in the emotional mental state measurement for the Karate group compared to the waiting control group. This result suggests that the integrated involvement in Karate leads to a feeling of self-worth and that, even in elderly people, integration of new sports helps to improve quality of life.
Home-Host Country Distance and Governance Choices in Service Offshoring

This paper studies the effect of home-host country distance on the choice of governance mode in the offshoring of services. Using a Transaction Cost Economics approach, we look at the comparative costs of the hierarchical and contractual models to show that different dimensions of distance (geographic, cultural and institutional), because they generate different types of uncertainties, impact offshore governance choices in different ways. On the one hand firms are more likely to respond to internal uncertainties resulting from geographic and cultural distance by leveraging the internal controls and collaboration mechanisms of a captive offshore service center. On the other hand, they tend to respond to external uncertainties resulting from institutional distance by leveraging the resources and local experience of third party service providers. Finally, we find that the temporal distance component of the geographical dispersion between onshore and offshore countries plays a dominant role over the spatial distance component.
Analysis of SLC4A11, ZEB1, LOXHD1, COL8A2 and TCF4 gene sequences in a multi-generational family with late-onset Fuchs corneal dystrophy

The aim of the present study was to determine the genetic basis of a multi-generational family with late-onset (LO) Fuchs corneal dystrophy (FCD). Five FCD causal genes [solute carrier family 4, sodium borate transporter, member 11 (SLC4A11), zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1), lipoxygenase homology domains 1 (LOXHD1), collagen, type VIII, alpha 2 (COL8A2) and transcription factor 4 (TCF4)], previously reported to be implicated in the pathogenesis of FCD, were screened. A total of 27 variants [including 22 known single nucleotide polysingle nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Database (dbSNP) and 5 variants absent from dbSNP] were detected in this FCD pedigree across the SLC4A11, ZEB1, LOXHD1 and COL8A2 genes as follows: i) 22 known SNPs from dbSNP, including 3 coding (p.R161R, p.S213S and p.T833T) and 11 non-coding variants of SLC4A11, 2 intronic SNPs of ZEB1 from dbSNP (rs220057 and rs220060), 1 intronic SNP of LOXHD1 from dbSNP (rs16939650), and 5 SNPs of COL8A2 from dbSNP (p.A35A, p.R155Q, p.L335L, p.G495G and p.T502M); and ii) 5 variants that have not been previously reported in FCD patients and that are absent from dbSNP were identified across the ZEB1 and LOXHD1 genes; these included 3 continuous indels located at the junction of the 5′-UTR and the adjacent exon 1 of ZEB1 [Indel 1 (c.-86_-53de-lins gggaggggtggaggcggaggggtGGGGGGGAAGG); Indel 2 (c.-52_-46delinsGGGAGGG); and Indel 3 (c.-45_-42delinsAGGG)], and 2 intronic variants of LOXHD1 (c.5332-126C>T and c.1809+155G>A). Apart from one intronic SNP of SLC4A11 from dbSNP (rs372201212), the pathologic consequence of which is uncertain, and 2 intron variants of LOXHD1 (c.5332-126C>T and c.1809+155G>A); the variants likely represent examples of de novo mutations. Neither of the other 24 variants provided strong evidence of pathogenesis in this FCD pedigree. An analysis of 7 SNPs in TCF4 from dbSNP, which have been associated with LO FCD in different populations, revealed that these 7 SNPs were not associated with FCD in this specific pedigree. A genome-wide linkage scan to search for linkage to one of the previously described FCD loci or to identify a novel locus for FCD will need to be performed in this FCD pedigree. Our observation, nevertheless, expands the knowledge of the genetic status of patients with FCD.
No Evidence for Early Modulation of Evoked Responses in Primary Visual Cortex to Irrelevant Probe Stimuli Presented during the Attentional Blink

Background During rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), observers often miss the second of two targets if it appears within 500 ms of the first. This phenomenon, called the attentional blink (AB), is widely held to reflect a bottleneck in the processing of rapidly sequential stimuli that arises after initial sensory registration is complete (i.e., at a relatively late, post-perceptual stage of processing). Contrary to this view, recent fMRI studies have found that activity in the primary visual area (V1), which represents the earliest cortical stage of visual processing, is attenuated during the AB. Here we asked whether such changes in V1 activity during the AB arise in the initial feedforward sweep of stimulus input, or instead reflect the influence of feedback signals from higher cortical areas. Methodology/Principal Findings EEG signals were recorded while participants monitored a sequential stream of distractor letters for two target digits (T1 and T2). Neural responses associated with an irrelevant probe stimulus presented simultaneously with T2 were measured using an ERP marker – the C1 component – that reflects initial perceptual processing of visual information in V1. As expected, T2 accuracy was compromised when the inter-target interval was brief, reflecting an AB deficit. Critically, however, the magnitude of the early C1 component evoked by the probe was not reduced during the AB. Conclusions/Significance Our finding that early sensory processing of irrelevant probe stimuli is not suppressed during the AB is consistent with theoretical models that assume that the bottleneck underlying the AB arises at a post-perceptual stage of processing. This suggests that reduced neural activity in V1 during the AB is driven by re-entrant signals from extrastriate areas that regulate early cortical activity via feedback connections with V1.
The Pending Reauthorization of NCLB: An Opportunity to Rethink the Basic Strategy

The pending reauthorization of NCLB is generating intense debate about possible modifications of many of its provisions, such as the requirements for disaggregated reporting, the structure of AYP, the safe-harbor provision, the draconian requirements for the assessment of students with disabilities, and the provisions for testing students with limited proficiency in English. Much of this meeting, I expect, will be devoted to these issues. I would ask that you look beyond them. I don't mean to belittle their significance. To pick just one example: most of us believe that the requirement for disaggregated reporting has been highly valuable and should be retained in some form, but the current requirement poses serious technical problems, and devising a better alternative would be an important improvement. The current AYP provisions are also seriously problematic. But as important as it is, the debate about the specifics of NCLB obscures three more important problems that the civil rights community cannot afford to ignore: • First, we know far too little about how to hold schools accountable for improving student performance. NCLB and its state-level forebears – in fact, the entire run of test-based accountability systems dating back to the first minimum-competency testing programs more than three decades ago – have been based on a shifting combination of common sense and professional judgment. They were not based on hard evidence. Einstein is reputed to have said that " common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. " It is in any case an inadequate basis for designing educational accountability programs. • Second, some important aspects of NCLB (and its antecedent state programs) are inconsistent with the evidence we do already have. • Third, much of the apparent progress generated by NCLB and similar programs is spurious, a comforting illusion that we maintain for ourselves – at a great cost to students – by failing to perform appropriate evaluations. In the main part of this paper, I will briefly sketch a few of the most important things we do – and don't – know about educational accountability and its effects. I will end with a plea that we use the coming reauthorization as an opportunity to belatedly ramp up the hard work of research, development, and evaluation needed to create Koretz: Basic strategy 2 10/10/2006 effective accountability systems – not as a substitute for alterations to the requirements for AYP and disaggregated reporting and …
Renal Cancer Resistance to Antiangiogenic Therapy Is Delayed by Restoration of Angiostatic Signaling

Treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer (RCC) with antiangiogenic agents that block vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 2 signaling produces tumor regression in a substantial fraction of patients; however, resistance typically develops within 6 to 12 months. The purpose of this study was to identify molecular pathways involved in resistance. Treatment of mice bearing either 786-0 or A498 human RCC xenografts with sorafenib or sunitinib produced tumor growth stabilization followed by regrowth despite continued drug administration analogous to the clinical experience. Tumors and plasma were harvested at day 3 of therapy and at the time of resistance to assess pathways that may be involved in resistance. Serial perfusion imaging, and plasma and tumor collections were obtained in mice treated with either placebo or sunitinib alone or in combination with intratumoral injections of the angiostatic chemokine CXCL9. Sunitinib administration led to an early downmodulation of IFNγ levels as well as reduction of IFNγ receptor and downstream angiostatic chemokines CXCL9 to 11 within the tumor. Intratumoral injection of CXCL9, although producing minimal effects by itself, when combined with sunitinib resulted in delayed resistance in vivo accompanied by a prolonged reduction of microvascular density and tumor perfusion as measured by perfusion imaging relative to sunitinib alone. These results provide evidence that resistance to VEGF receptor therapy is due at least in part to resumption of angiogenesis in association with reduction of IFNγ-related angiostatic chemokines, and that this resistance can be delayed by concomitant administration of CXCL9. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(10); 2793–802. ©2010 AACR.