Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transport and retention of pollutants from different production systems

Transport and retentions of agricultural pollutants both at farm level and catchment scale are key challenges faced by researchers, environmental managers, and regulatory agencies. Researchers have responded to this challenge by either monitoring or modelling strategies. Models, both empirical and theoretical, have been developed and used at different scales trying to evaluate the dynamics of the pollutants as they move from upland agricultural areas to water bodies. Monitoring studies at different scales (plot, field, catchment) have tried to represent the natural system and provide data-base for calibrating and testing mathematical models. Scientists have also used both modelling and monitoring strategies to evaluate the impact of different management practices such as contour cropping, vegetated buffer strips, riparian zones, and constructed wetlands on reduction of pollutant loads to water bodies. Manuscripts presented in this special issue provide results of both modelling and monitoring at different scales as they relate to transport and retention of nutrients in different landscapes. For example, it covers application of SWAT model in Finland to meet the environmental goals of European Water Framework Directive, and application of the same model in the US to meet the Total Maximum Daily Load mandated by US's 1972 Clean Water Act. Also covered are results on nutrient and sediment reduction due to different management practices including vegetated buffer strips, riparian zones, and constructed wetlands. Overall results of monitoring indicate effectiveness of such practices in attenuating sediment and nutrients, thus reducing their entry into the water bodies.
Prediction Methods for Teleoperated Road Vehicles

This paper presents three prediction methods to mitigate the negative effects of time delays in the teleoperation of road vehicles using a predictive display: I) Clothoid Prediction assumes that the vehicle will continue moving on a clothoidal path; II) Full Prediction predicts the movement starting from the current vehicle position using a single track model; III) Continuous Prediction also uses a single track model, but starts calculation from the last predicted state. While Clothoid Prediction is not sufficiently accurate, both Full Prediction and Clothoid Prediction offer the same accuracy of less than 10 cm lateral deviation. Although Full Prediction is 20 times slower than Continuous Prediction, it is still about 400 times faster than real time. Since Continuous Prediction requires a very accurate positioning system for correction and Full Prediction only requires the vehicle’s yaw rate as input signal, the latter is the most suitable prediction method.
Nationwide review of mixed and non-mixed components from different manufacturers in total hip arthroplasty

Background and purpose — Combining components from different manufacturers in total hip arthroplasty (THA) is common practice worldwide. We determined the proportion of THAs used in the Netherlands that consist of components from different manufacturers, and compared the revision rates of these mixed THAs with those of non-mixed THAs. Patients and methods — Data on primary and revision hip arthroplasty are recorded in the LROI, the nationwide population based arthroplasty register in the Netherlands. We selected all 163,360 primary THAs that were performed in the period 2007–2014. Based on the manufacturers of the components, 4 groups were discerned: non-mixed THAs with components from the same manufacturer (n = 142,964); mixed stem-head THAs with different manufacturers for the femoral stem and head (n = 3,663); mixed head-cup THAs with different head and cup manufacturers (n = 12,960), and mixed stem-head-cup THAs with different femoral stem, head, and cup manufacturers (n = 1,773). Mixed prostheses were defi ned as THAs (stem, head, and cup) composed of components made by different manufacturers.
Summer minimum Arctic sea ice extent and the associated summer atmospheric circulation

Interrelationships between year‐to‐year variations in September Arctic sea ice extent and summer sea level pressure and surface air temperature at high northern latitudes are examined making use of microwave satellite imagery and atmospheric data for the period 1979–2006. Linear trends and year‐to‐year variability about the linear trend lines are considered separately: the latter gives a clearer indication of the physical linkages between fields. Years with low September sea ice extent tend to be characterized by anticyclonic circulation anomalies over the Arctic, with easterly wind anomalies over the marginal seas where the year‐to‐year variability of sea ice concentration is largest. It is hypothesized that the summer circulation anomalies cause sea ice extent principally by way of the Ekman drift in the marginal seas. The associated surface air temperature anomalies also tend to be largest over the marginal seas, with positive anomalies over the regions of reduced sea ice.
Web 2.0 learning environments in vocational education: a study on the use of collaborative online tools in the Statistics module

The project we present in this paper intends to evaluate the potential of using collaborative online tools in the teaching and learning process on Mathematics in Vocational Education. Google Docs tool and its features as a form, text, spreadsheet and electronic presentation editor were used to teach a Statistics Module. The study involved students from the “Communication/Marketing, Public Relations and Publicity” course, corresponding to the 11th grade that, throughout the Statistics module, exploited the different features of this tool. The aims of the study were: i) to evaluate the strategy implications in the interaction dynamics’ and students’ cooperation, and ii) to ascertain if the experience changed the participants’ perceptions concerning Mathematics, Statistic and the use of ICT in this curricular subject.
Isolation and characterization of adrenocortical progenitors involved in the adaptation to stress

Significance Humans are constantly confronted with multiple stressors, to which the bodily response and adaptation are essential. The adrenal gland plays a major role in the response to physiological challenges. Maintenance of the adrenal is partly accomplished by proliferation and differentiation of adult progenitors and stem cells in the cortex and medulla. In this study, we have isolated and characterized a subpopulation of adrenocortical progenitors, which are interconnected with adrenomedullary stress-dependent progenitors. Under stress, the adrenocortical progenitors are also activated and they mobilize, giving rise to steroidogenic cells. Our findings demonstrate the coordinated action of stress-inducible stem cells to ensure tissue remodeling and cellular and functional adaptation to stress. The adrenal gland is a master regulator of the human body during response to stress. This organ shows constant replacement of senescent cells by newly differentiated cells. A high degree of plasticity is critical to sustain homeostasis under different physiological demands. This is achieved in part through proliferation and differentiation of adult adrenal progenitors. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a Nestin+ population of adrenocortical progenitors located under the adrenal capsule and scattered throughout the cortex. These cells are interconnected with progenitors in the medulla. In vivo lineage tracing revealed that, under basal conditions, this population is noncommitted and slowly migrates centripetally. Under stress, this migration is greatly enhanced, and the cells differentiate into steroidogenic cells. Nestin+ cells cultured in vitro also show multipotency, as they differentiate into mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid-producing cells, which can be further influenced by the exposure to Angiotensin II, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and the agonist of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, triptorelin. Taken together, Nestin+ cells in the adult adrenal cortex exhibit the features of adrenocortical progenitor cells. Our study provides evidence for a role of Nestin+ cells in organ homeostasis and emphasizes their role under stress. This cell population might be a potential source of cell replacement for the treatment of adrenal insufficiency.
A Self-Regulation Perspective on How and When Regulatory Focus Differentially Relates to Citizenship Behaviors

Although previous research suggests that regulatory focus matters for organizational citizenship behaviors, it is unclear how promotion and prevention focus relate to such behaviors. Integrating regulatory focus theory with theories of self-regulation, we propose a conceptual model that links trait promotion and prevention foci with specific citizenship behaviors through an emotion-related self-regulation mechanism. Using a sample of 227 nurses working in a hospital context, we observed that trait promotion focus and trait prevention focus predict helping and voice via differential effects on emotional exhaustion. Specifically, trait promotion focus had unconditional indirect effects on helping (positive) and voice (negative) through lower levels of emotional exhaustion. In contrast, trait prevention focus was positively related to voice but negatively related to helping through higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Moreover, these indirect effects of trait prevention focus were moderated by employees’ reappraisal of their emotional experiences at work, such that trait prevention focus had weaker relations with helping and voice when reappraisal was higher (vs. lower). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings and highlight avenues for future research.
Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside of Flaxseed and Its Metabolites: Biosynthesis and Potential for Nutraceuticals

Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), found mainly in flaxseed, is one of the essential lignans. SDG, as well as the beneficial fatty acid composition and high fiber content, has made flaxseed an important source of functional food or nutraceutical ingredients. Various studies have shown that SDG offers several health benefits, including protective effects against cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and mental stress. These health benefits have been attributed to the antioxidant properties of SDG. Additionally, SDG metabolites, namely mammalian lignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, have shown promising effects against cancer. Therefore, understanding the biosynthetic pathway of SDG and its molecular mechanisms is a key to enable the production of new flaxseed cultivars rich in nutraceutical content. The present review highlights studies on the different health benefits of SDG, as well as lignan biosynthesis in flaxseed and genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway. Since SDG, the predominant lignan in flaxseed, is a glycosylated lignan, we also focus on studies investigating the genes involved in secoisolariciresinol glycosylation. These genes can be used to produce new cultivars with a novel level of glycosylation or lignan composition to maximize the yields of lignans with a therapeutic or protective potential.
A wavelet analysis of the spectra of quasi-stellar objects

The temperature of the intergalactic medium (IGM) is an important factor in determining the linewidths of the absorption lines in the Lyα forest. We present a method to characterize the linewidth distribution using a decomposition of an Lyα spectrum in terms of discrete wavelets. Such wavelets form an orthogonal basis, so the decomposition is unique. We demonstrate using hydrodynamic simulations that the mean and dispersion of the wavelet amplitudes are strongly correlated with both the temperature of the absorbing gas and its dependence on the gas density. Since wavelets are also localized in space, we are able to analyse the temperature distribution as a function of position along the spectrum. We illustrate how this method could be used to identify fluctuations in the IGM temperature that might result from late reionization or local effects.
Characterisation of endophytic bacteria from a desert plant Lepidium perfoliatum L.

Li Y. , Cheng C. , An D. (2017): Characterisation of endophytic bacteria from a desert plant Lepidium perfoliatum L. Plant Protect. Sci., 53: 32–43. Sixty-two endophytic bacteria from the leaves, roots, and stems of healthy Lepidium perfoliatum L. were isolated and characterised. From the results, 89, 87, 90, and 97% isolates could tolerate 12% NaCl, 30% PEG 6000, 50°C and pH 10, respectively. 74% isolates could form a biofilm. Besides, 28 isolates could improve the germination rate of host seeds under different degree of drought stress. These data suggest that the endophyte isolates show considerable resistance to abiotic stress and assist their plant hosts to germinate under drought stress.
Does portability of IEC 61499 mean that once programmed control software runs everywhere

Abstract Due to the defined requirements for software tools at the second part of the IEC 61499, it is possible to exchange once developed function blocks (abbr. FB) and created applications between different engineering environments. Thus, it is also possible to compile the once developed FBs for different runtime environments and to run even the same applications at several hardware platforms. But does this hardware vendor independence mean programming once and executing everywhere with the same execution results and machine behaviour, or may it be that exchanging only the used runtime environment lead to a totally different machine behaviour with violating specified safety constraints? Because the standard IEC 61499 does not specify exactly the execution of FBs and the scheduling of FBs executed in one resource, this contribution should show at a practical example of a real manufacturing plant the possibility to exchange the used runtime environment and how the impact to machine behaviour can be checked for several execution and scheduling possibilities by doing a formal verification.
Sensation Seeking or Empathy? Physically Aggressive and Non-Aggressive Antisocial Behaviors (ASBs) Amongst University Students

Previous research has linked anti-social behavior (ASB) to subtypes of empathy and also to sensation seeking, but there is limited research on the relative roles of empathy subtypes and sensation seeking traits in predicting ASB subtypes. The current study therefore investigated the relationship between sensation seeking, the three subtypes of empathy (emotional reactivity, cognitive empathy and social skills) and the two subtypes of ASB (physically aggressive and non-aggressive). An online survey consisting of Demographic Variables Questionnaire, Brief Sensation Seeking Scale, Empathy Quotient and the Antisocial Behavior Measure was sent to student volunteers, leading to a total of 537 respondents. Empathy alone accounted for a relatively modest proportion of the total variance in the ASBs, with emotional reactivity being the only significant predictor. Adding sensation seeking to the regression led to a marked improvement in prediction for non-aggressive ASB and a slight but significant improvement for physically aggressive ASB. Sensation seeking, emotional reactivity and social skills (but not cognitive empathy) contributed unique variance for both ASB subtypes. The greatest variance for physically aggressive and non-aggressive ASB were accounted for by emotional reactivity and sensation seeking, respectively. The results indicate that both sensation seeking and sub-types of empathy are important in predicting ASBs. This has theoretical implications for different personality models and has practical implications for the development of preventive measures to avoid such behaviors.
CYTO-GENOTOXIC EFFECTS AND PROTEIN ALTERATIONSINDUCED BY SOME PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOUNDS ANDILLICIT DRUGS ON NON-TARGET ORGANISMS

Chapter 1 – STATE of ART 1.1 PPCPs as environmental pollutants 1.1.1 Triclosan 1.1.2 Trimethoprim 1.1.3 NSAIDs 1.2 Drugs of abuse as new environmental contaminants 1.2. 1 Cocaine and benzoylecgonine 1.3 Role of biomarkers in drugs environmental risk asse s ment 1.4 Role of proteomics in ecotoxicology 1.4. 1 Redox proteomics 1.5 Mussels as biological model in ecotoxicology 1.5. 1 Zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha) 1.5. 2 Biomarkers applied on zebra mussel specimens 1.5. 2a in vivo biomarker battery 1.5. 3 Proteomics applied on zebra mussel specimens Chapter 2 – AIMS, DEVELOPMENT of THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN and MAIN RESULTS Chapter 3 – ARTICLES Paper I Antioxidant activity in the zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha) in response to
Suppression of miR-708 inhibits the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by activating DKK3 in adult B-all

Inactivation of Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) is closely associated with a poor prognosis in various solid tumor and hematologic malignancies. Promoter hypermethylation is one potential cause of DKK3 inactivation. However, whether other mechanisms lead to DKK3 inactivation and the subsequent effects of these inactivations on cell proliferation and the Wnt signaling pathway in adult B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) remain unclear. In the present study, we found that low DKK3 expression levels were associated with high miR-708 expression and promoter hypermethylation in adult B-ALL. miR-708 was confirmed to directly decrease DKK3 expression in Nalm-6 and BALL-1 cells. Additionally, a miR-708 inhibitor decreased cell proliferation mainly through apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, and these effects were eliminated by DKK3 siRNA treatment. Moreover, the demethylating agent 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza) decreased the methylation state of the DKK3 promoter based on methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and bisulfite genomic sequencing PCR (BSP), although this demethylation effect was not enhanced by the miR-708 inhibitor. The miR-708 inhibitor or 5-aza significantly increased DKK3 expression and decreased p-GSK3β, cyclin D1 and nuclear and cytoplasmic β-catenin protein expression, indicating that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was inhibited. These effects became more pronounced when the miR-708 inhibitor and 5-aza were used simultaneously. These findings provide greater insights into the mechanisms that increase DKK3 expression and suggest that a miR-708 inhibitor and 5-aza might be useful as targeted therapies for adult B-ALL.
Breast cancer survival trends in different stages and age groups – a population-based study 1989–2013

Abstract Background: During the recent decades, breast cancer survival has gradually improved but there is limited knowledge on the improvement in population-based studies of patients diagnosed with different stages of the disease and in different age groups. Patients and methods: In two Swedish health care regions a total of 42,220 female breast cancer patients below 90 years of age were diagnosed between 1989 and 2013. They were treated and followed according to national and regional guidelines and formed a population-based cohort. Results: Using patients diagnosed in 1989–1993 as a reference to the relative risk, 5-year mortality decreased with 49% for patients diagnosed at the end of the observation period (CI 95% 45–58). The mortality tended to decrease for patients with all stages of breast cancer and test for trend resulted in a statistically significant improvement over time in 5-year relative survival in stage III and IV and in 10-year survival in stage I and III. For each operable stage of disease, patients aged below 40 years or more than 70 years when diagnosed tended to have less favorable survival than patients diagnosed between 40–69 years of age. Test for trend resulted in statistically significant improvements over time for patients diagnosed at ages below 40, 40–54 and 54–69, but less marked improvements for patients older than 70 when diagnosed. Conclusions: During the period 1989–2013 the relative risk of 5-year mortality decreased with 49%. Improvements were seen in all age groups but were unevenly distributed between stages and age groups pointing to the need for further improvements for younger and elderly patients.
KRAS, NRAS and BRAF analysis of ampullary adenocarcinoma classified using CK7, CK20, MUC1 and MUC2.

Background Ampullary carcinomas are rare and dominated by adenocarcinomas. They account for only 0.5% of all gastrointestinal malignancies. Ampullary adenocarcinoma (AAC) with pancreaticobiliary (PB) histology has a worse outcome than that with intestinal (IT) histology. The mixed subtype contains the two epitheliums. This subclassification remains a challenge for pathologists and induces a reasonable level of disagreement. Genetic features of these subtypes are unclear. In this study, we aimed to reclassify AAC cases then to evaluate differences in prognostic, pathological and molecular parameters including mutational status of three oncogenes between these subtypes. Methods AACs from 21 Tunisian patients were used in this study. Reclassification was made based on histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) using CK7, CK20, MUC1 and MUC2. Mutational analysis included the pyrosequencing of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF. Results Fifteen cases were PB subtype, 2 cases were IT subtype and 4 cases were mixed subtype. CK20 and MUC2 were associated with N stage, MUC1 and histomolecular subtype with T stage. Nine cases were mutated and 12 were wild-type. Eight cases were KRAS mutated (5 G12D and 3 G12V). Only 1 case was NRAS mutated (G12D). No BRAF mutation was found. Genetic alterations didn't influence prognostic factors. Conclusions We validate the prognostic utility of AAC histomolecular classification.
Models of visuospatial and verbal memory across the adult life span.

The authors investigated the distinctiveness and interrelationships among visuospatial and verbal memory processes in short-term, working, and long-term memories in 345 adults. Beginning in the 20s, a continuous, regular decline occurs for processing-intensive tasks (e.g., speed of processing, working memory, and long-term memory), whereas verbal knowledge increases across the life span. There is little differentiation in the cognitive architecture of memory across the life span. Visuospatial and verbal working memory are distinct but highly interrelated systems with domain-specific short-term memory subsystems. In contrast to recent neuroimaging data, there is little evidence for dedifferentiation of function at the behavioral level in old compared with young adults. The authors conclude that efforts to connect behavioral and brain data yield a more complete understanding of the aging mind.