Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A review of Quaternary range shifts in European aquatic Coleoptera

Aim To undertake a quantitative review of the Quaternary fossil record of European water beetles to evaluate their geographical and temporal coverage, and to characterize the extent and typology of the shifts in their geographical ranges. Location Europe. Methods We compiled Quaternary water beetle records from public databases and published references. We included in the analyses species of 10 families of aquatic Coleoptera, and recorded range shifts through the comparison of the location of fossil remains with the current distribution of the species. We explored the ecological representativeness of the fossil record, as well as the relationship between range shifts and the habitat type of the species. Results Our final data set included over 9000 records for 259 water beetle species. Fossil remains of aquatic beetles have been documented exclusively north of 42° N, with most of the records from the British Isles and virtually none from southern Europe or the Mediterranean Basin. Over 80% of the records were from the Late Glacial and the Holocene periods (the last 15 kyr), and overall approximately 20% of the species have been recorded outside their present range (23% excluding Holocene records). Most range shifts were southern or western extensions of currently widespread, northern species, with 10 species displaying major range shifts through the Palaearctic. Lentic species were significantly more likely to have experienced major range shifts, even accounting for the general ecological bias of the fossil record towards lentic habitats. Main conclusions Our results show that the Quaternary record of aquatic Coleoptera is geographically, temporally and ecologically skewed, necessitating caution when extrapolating general conclusions about range changes and ecological stability to other areas or periods on the basis of such scattered evidence. Most central and northern European species for which there are fossil records seem to have conserved their ranges through the Late Pleistocene, with geographical shifts
Uptake and processing of Chlamydia trachomatis by human dendritic cells

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) causes several sexually transmitted diseases. In 2 – 5 % of cases, CT infection leads to the development of reactive arthritis. Dendritic cells (DC) are central in T cell priming and the induction of antigen specific immunity. Here we have studied the uptake and processing of CT serovar L2 by human DC, and their ability to present CT antigens to bothCD4+ and CD8+ T cells. We show that the entry of CT was mediated by the attachment of CT to heparan sulfates and could be inhibited by heparin. There was no inhibition of uptake by an agent which blocks micropinocytosis. Infecting DC with CT led to their activation and the production of IL‐12 and TNF‐α but not IL‐10. Following invasion, CT was confined to distinct vacuoles which were visualized with anti‐CT antibodies using confocal microscopy. Unlike with epithelial cells, these vacuoles did not develop into characteristic inclusion bodies. In the first 48 h, CT+ vacuoles were negative for Lamp‐1 and MHC class II. Despite no obvious co‐localization between CT vacuoles and MHC loading compartments, infected DC efficiently presented CT antigens to CD4+ T cells. Infected DC also expanded CT specific CD8+ T cells, allowing us to generate a number of CT‐reactive CD8+ T cell clones. There is still controversy about the importance of chlamydia‐specific CD8+ T cell responses in patients with arthritis. This is largely due to the difficulties in studying CTL responses at the clonal level. The use of DC as antigen‐presenting cells should enable more detailed characterization of these CTL responses.
An Extended State Convergence Architecture for Multilateral Teleoperation Systems

State convergence is a novel scheme to control a teleoperation system in a bilateral mode. Starting from modeling an <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n^{\text {th}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> order teleoperation system on state space, the scheme offers a simple and elegant procedure, which requires 3n+1 design conditions to be solved in order to synchronize the master and slave systems, and to achieve the desired dynamic behavior of the teleoperation system. However, in its current form, the scheme cannot be applied in situations where more than one master and/or slave systems are involved to perform a certain task. To overcome this limitation, we first present an alpha-modified version of the standard state convergence architecture for a single-master/single-slave teleoperation system. This alpha-modified architecture is then used to develop extended state convergence architecture for a multi-master/multi-slave teleoperation system. The resulting extended state convergence architecture requires solving a set of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n(k+l)+(n+1)kl$ </tex-math></inline-formula> design equations to determine the control gains for synchronizing <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-master and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-slave systems in a desired dynamic way. MATLAB simulations considering a one-degree-of-freedom dual-master/tri-slave teleoperation system are presented to show the efficacy of the proposed extended state convergence architecture for multilateral teleoperation systems.
Psychological Problems among University Students in an Area of Rapid Socio-Cultural Change*

The study is a one year epidemiological cum clinical survey of all student psychological problems that arise within the University of Malaya campus. There are 8,000 students and the University curriculum is undergoing a rapid change from the transformation of the medium of instruction from English to the Malay language. Furthermore, a very high proportion of rural Malay youths from socially-deprived rural regions are given government scholarships or grants to enter the University. Coupled with the increasing political pressure by a benevolent Malay government to restructure society so that the more economically backward Malay can compete equally with the business-like Chinese, there is a growing tide of Malay Nationalism—the focus of which stems essentially from the 3,500 Malay under-graduates in the campus. The author ran a regular psychiatric clinic once or twice weekly at the Student Health Service, and the three attending physicians refer him all cases which they suspect of having symptoms or problems which are deemed as psychological, emotional or psychiatric. The students fill a structured form (administered by a research assistant) and each is interviewed by the author for clinical assessment. The results of the study indicate that as high as 90% of all students seen had psychiatric or emotional problems prior to entry into University, most of them developed onset of symptoms during their Form Five or Form Six years. Rural Malay students especially present special problems with very high rates of psychiatric breakdown. Other aspects of the study deal with the family structure of the students, their problems of acculturation into a relatively middle class University structure, their sexual problems, the smoking of cannabis and their projected anger on the University authorities and the government. This is to such an extent that at present the 3,500 Malay students in the University of Malaya campus form the main pressure group opposing the Malaysian Government.
Psychosocial adjustment during pregnancy for older couples conceiving through assisted reproductive technology.

BACKGROUND The trend to older maternal age at first birth is well established in Western countries and biological risk factors, particularly declining fertility, are well documented. Less is known, however, about the psychosocial well-being of older first time parents. This study explores differences in psychosocial adjustment during pregnancy in older (maternal age >or= 38 years) and younger (maternal age < 35 years) couples after assisted reproductive technology (ART) conception. METHODS Questionnaire data were collected from a consecutive cohort of pregnant nulliparous women and their partners recruited over a 12-month period from ART clinics in Sydney, Australia. RESULTS There were more similarities than differences when comparing older and younger couples. Older couples took longer to conceive and were more likely to use donor eggs. Older pregnant women scored higher on a measure of psychological hardiness/resilience and reported a lower identification with motherhood compared with younger pregnant women. Older men differed only in reporting a less satisfying social orientation during pregnancy (lower satisfaction with sex life, relationship with partner and social life). CONCLUSIONS Findings do not indicate problematic adjustment during pregnancy in older couples, but differences found need further investigation using larger samples and prospective designs.
Comparison of Fc N-Glycosylation of Pharmaceutical Products of Intravenous Immunoglobulin G

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) products from different pharmaceutical companies vary in composition, in part because of the selected blood donors and production process. N-glycosylation of the Fc-portion of IgG varies between blood donors and may influence both the side-effects and therapeutic effectiveness of IVIg. At present, the variation in Fc N-glycosylation between IVIg products has not been defined. Utilizing mass spectrometry, we performed relative quantitation of the Fc N-glycosylation of IgG, assessing a total of 154 unique lot numbers of IVIg. Seven products showed comparable Fc N-glycosylation, with only one product differing from the others in all glycosylation features (galactosylation, sialylation, fucosylation and bisecting N-acetylglucosamine). However, the mean difference did not exceed 3%. Within product variation was present to a minor degree, but largely indistinguishable from analytical variation. In conclusion, we expect that the minor variation in Fc N-glycosylation between IVIg products has a small effect, if any, on the biological activity.
Barriers to IT Exit

All organizational information systems will at some point in time be decommissioned. Yet, current IS research is predominantly focused on the adoption and implementation of an information system. It pays scarce attention to the final phase of a working IT system and the substantial theoretical implications of its decommissioning. This research in progress draws on the broader notion of 'exit' and 'barriers to exit' to position the decommissioning of working IT systems in a wider theoretical framework. It seeks to develop a sound conceptualization of IT exit and its barriers by analyzing the exit literature from related business disciplines. The conceptualization identifies IT exit as multi-phased longitudinal process with extensible transition points. This refined understanding will provide the basis for an impending empirical investigation that identifies specific IT-specific barriers to exit and their impact on individual phases in the IT exit journey. The steps of this forthcoming investigation are outlined.
Symptoms of Diabetes and Their Association With the Risk and Presence of Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—The American Diabetes Association (ADA) lists seven symptoms of diabetes; however, it is not known how specific these symptoms are for initial diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. The Study to Help Improve Early evaluation and management of risk factors Leading to Diabetes (SHIELD) examined prevalence of ADA symptoms and their association with diabetes diagnosis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—SHIELD is a 5-year observational study of individuals with or at risk for diabetes diagnosis. Following an initial screening phase, follow-up questionnaires were mailed to a stratified random sample of individuals (n = 22,001) with type 1 or type 2 diabetes or at high (three to five risk factors) or low (zero to two risk factors) risk for diabetes. Individuals reported whether they experienced each ADA symptom, as well as symptoms unrelated to diabetes. RESULTS—A total of 15,794 questionnaires were returned (response rate 71.8%). All ADA symptoms were reported more frequently in type 2 diabetes than in low- and high-risk groups (P < 0.0001 for each). Multivariable logistic regression analyses found that each ADA symptom other than irritability was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes, as was erectile/sexual dysfunction. However, 48% of type 1 diabetic and 44% of type 2 diabetic respondents reported no ADA symptom in the previous year. CONCLUSIONS—Occurrence of ADA symptoms alone may not adequately identify those who should be evaluated for type 2 diabetes. Longitudinal data from SHIELD will evaluate whether combinations of symptoms or addition of other symptoms can better identify individuals for evaluation.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Cidofovir : A Novel Antitumor Agent for Glioblastoma

Purpose: Cidofovir (CDV) is an U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved nucleoside antiviral agent used to treat severe human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. Until now, no clear therapeutic effects of CDV have been reported outside of the setting of viral infection, including a potential role for CDV as an antineoplastic agent for the treatment of brain tumors. Experimental Design: We investigated the cytotoxicity of CDV against the glioblastoma cells, U87MG andprimary SF7796, both in vitro and in vivo, using an intracranial xenograftmodel. Standard techniques for cell culturing, immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and real-time PCRwere employed. The survival of athymicmice (n1⁄48–10per group)bearing glioblastoma tumors, treatedwithCDValone or in combination with radiation, was analyzed by the Kaplan–Meier method and evaluated with a two-sided log-rank test. Results: CDV possesses potent antineoplastic activity against HCMV-infected glioblastoma cells. This activity is associated with the inhibition of HCMV gene expression andwith activation of cellular apoptosis. Surprisingly, we also determined that CDV induces glioblastoma cell death in the absence of HCMV infection. CDV is incorporated into tumor cell DNA, which promotes double-stranded DNA breaks and induces apoptosis. In the setting of ionizing radiotherapy, the standard of care for glioblastoma in humans, CDV augments radiation-induced DNA damage and, further, promotes tumor cell death. Combination therapy with CDV and radiotherapy significantly extended the survival of mice bearing intracranial glioblastoma tumors. Conclusion: We have identified a novel antiglioma property of the FDA-approved drug CDV, which heightens the cytotoxic effect of radiotherapy, the standard of care therapy for glioblastoma.Clin Cancer Res; 19(23); 6473–83. 2013 AACR.
Cómo enseñar matemáticas para aprender mejor

El fracaso escolar en matematicas es escandalosamente alto: en torno a un 50 % de escolares espanoles tienen problemas en matematicas. Este libro propone vias de solucion a esta dramatica situacion educativa, socialmente inaceptable. Escrito por docentes, matematicos, psicologos de la educacion e investigadores, parte de la idea de que para ensenar bien hay que conocer como aprende el nino, tal como ya lo indicara Rousseau: "Comenzad por estudiar a vuestros alumnos porque seguro que no los conoceis". Ello supone cambiar la dinamica
The Solar X-Ray Limb

We describe a new technique to measure the height of the X-ray limb with observations from occulted X-ray flare sources as observed by the RHESSI (the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Spectroscopic Imager) satellite. This method has model dependencies different from those present in traditional observations at optical wavelengths, which depend upon detailed modeling involving radiative transfer in a medium with complicated geometry and flows. It thus provides an independent and more rigorous measurement of the “true” solar radius, which means that of the mass distribution. RHESSI’s measurement makes use of the flare X-ray source’s spatial Fourier components (the visibilities), which are sensitive to the presence of the sharp edge at the lower boundary of the occulted source. We have found a suitable flare event for analysis, SOL2011-10-20T03:25 (M1.7), and report a first result from this novel technique here. Using a four-minute integration over the 3–25 keV photon energy range, we find R X ‐ ray = 960.11 ± 0.15 ± 0.29 arcsec, at 1 au, where the uncertainties include statistical uncertainties from the method and a systematic error. The standard VAL-C model predicts a value of 959.94 arcsec, which is about 1σ below our value.
The oxysterol binding protein Kes1p regulates Golgi apparatus phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate function

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylinositol transfer protein Sec14p is required for Golgi apparatus-derived vesicular transport through coordinate regulation of phospholipid metabolism. Sec14p is normally essential. The essential requirement for SEC14 can be bypassed by inactivation of (i) the CDP–choline pathway for phosphatidylcholine synthesis or (ii) KES1, which encodes an oxysterol binding protein. A unique screen was used to determine genome-wide genetic interactions for the essential gene SEC14 and to assess whether the two modes of “sec14 bypass” were similar or distinct. The results indicate that inactivation of the CDP–choline pathway allows cells with inactivated SEC14 to live through a mechanism distinct from that of inactivation of KES1. We go on to demonstrate an important biological function of Kes1p. Kes1p regulates Golgi apparatus-derived vesicular transport by inhibiting the function of Pik1p-generated Golgi apparatus phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI-4P). Kes1p affects both the availability and level of Golgi apparatus PI-4P. A set of potential PI-4P-responsive proteins that include the Rab GTPase Ypt31p and its GTP exchange factor are described.
Determining the Liquid-Crystal Polar Anchoring at High Electric Fields by Heterodyne Interferometer

A common-path heterodyne interferometer is proposed to determine the surface anchoring energy of a homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal (LC). This technique measures, with high sensitivity, the phase retardation of a nematic LC cell as a function of the applied voltage. According to the measured voltage-dependent phase retardation of the LC cells, a simple linear fitting over a well-specified voltage window can be achieved, leading to a precise determination of the polar anchoring energy. The anchoring energy , cell gap, and pretilt angle can be simultaneously obtained in the course of the same experiment.
Reading pixelized paragraphs of Chinese characters using simulated prosthetic vision.

PURPOSE Visual prostheses offer a possibility of restoring useful reading ability to the blind. The psychophysics of simulating reading with a prosthesis using pixelized text has attracted attention recently. This study was an examination of the reading accuracy and efficiency of pixelized Chinese paragraphs after different parameters were altered. METHODS Forty native Chinese speakers with normal or corrected visual acuity (20/20) participated in four experiments. Reading accuracy and efficiency were measured after changing the character resolution, character size, pixel dropout percentage, number of gray levels, and luminance. RESULTS A 5° × 5° character appeared to be the optimal size necessary for accurate pixelized reading. Reading accuracy close to 100% could be achieved with 10 × 10 pixels/character and ∼60% with a 6 × 6 pixel resolution. Pixel dropout adversely affected accuracy, and paragraphs with a 50% dropout were unreadable. Luminance had little effect; however, the number of gray levels significantly affected reading performance. Paragraph reading was at least 5% more accurate at each resolution than was the accuracy of Chinese character recognition. CONCLUSIONS Character size and resolution, pixel dropout, and the number of gray levels clearly affected the reading performance of pixelized Chinese paragraphs. Compared with pixelized character recognition, pixelized Chinese paragraph reading achieved higher accuracy; thus, optimal Chinese reading performance may require prostheses with more electrodes (1000) than are required to read paragraphs in the Latin alphabet (500).
Specific Partial Reduction of Geranylgeranyl Diphosphate by an Enzyme from the Thermoacidophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius Yields a Reactive Prenyl Donor, Not a Dead-End Product

ABSTRACT Geranylgeranyl reductase from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was shown to catalyze the reduction of geranylgeranyl groups in the precursors of archaeal membrane lipids, generally reducing all four double bonds. However, when geranylgeranyl diphosphate was subjected to the reductase reaction, only three of the four double bonds were reduced. Mass spectrometry and acid hydrolysis indicated that the allylic double bond was preserved in the partially reduced product derived from geranylgeranyl diphosphate. Thus, the reaction product was shown to be phytyl diphosphate, which is a substrate for archaeal prenyltransferases, unlike the completely reduced compound phytanyl diphosphate.
Adoption of social software for collaboration

This doctoral research explores how social software can be used to support work collaboration. A case study approach with mixed methods is adopted in this study. Social network analysis and statistical analysis provide complementary support to qualitative analysis. The UK public sector was chosen as the research context. Users are individuals who are knowledge workers in distributed and cross-boundary groups. The asynchronous social software applications studied are blogs and wikis. This paper first describes the major contributions made in the research findings. Next, it identifies the implications of this study for the adoption theory, mixed methodology and for practice. Finally, having taken into consideration the limitations of the study, some recommendations are proposed for further research.
Conditionally Firing Implicative Rules

Conditionally firing rules have been proposed by B. Moser and M. Navara in order to preserve natural properties that are not preserved by the usual setting of fuzzy inference systems such as MamdaniAssilian rules joined to the CRI inference mechanism. In this paper, we follow this direction and show, that if the axioms are naturally modified in order to capture the same semantic for the implicative rules, we can also define conditionally firing implicative rules that jointly with the Bandler-Kohout subproduct preserve exactly the same properties.