Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Nest building is an important and yet under-studied stage of the reproductive cycle in many taxa, including birds, and whilst we have a decent understanding of interspecific variation in avian nesting behaviours, our understanding of intraspecific variation in nesting behaviours is much less developed. This is largely because an insufficient number of studies have been performed on any one species to draw robust conclusions. Fortunately, though, the amount of research on the nesting behaviours of nestbox-breeding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) has increased dramatically in recent years and their nesting behaviours are now sufficiently well studied to offer useful insights into intraspecific variation in avian nesting behaviours. Studies show that individuals of both species select nest sites based on the presence and/or absence of conspecifics and heterospecifics and whilst neighbours were assumed to adversely affect focal individuals by competing for resources, they are now considered beneficial as they provide information about habitat quality and contribute to anti-predator defences. Nest-building females accurately gauge local weather conditions and respond to predictable variation in environmental conditions by building nests with variable amounts of cup lining material to create suitable nest microclimates for nestlings. Meanwhile, both species vary the amount of aromatic plant materials in their nests in relation to the abundance of nest-dwelling parasites and pathogens and as aromatic plant materials also play a role in sexual selection then nest materials can have multiple functions. The height of nests is negatively correlated with the local risk of predation but whilst predator avoidance favours lower nests, sexual selection favours taller nests. In fact, higher quality females build taller nests that contain more green plant material which in turn influences the amount of care provided by males. This suggests there is considerable intraspecific variation in nesting behaviours in blue and great tits, and in birds generally, and highlights that birds are adept at adaptively varying their nesting behaviours in response to multiple factors. There is, however, a paucity of evidence directly linking such variation in nest building behaviours to reproductive success or fitness more broadly and so further studies could usefully
Somatosensory assessment and treatment after stroke: An evidence-practice gap.

BACKGROUND/AIM Loss of body sensations is common after stroke, impacting negatively on recovery and performance of activities of daily living. Despite advances in the evidence for the assessment and treatment of somatosensory impairment post-stroke, the translation from research into clinical practice has been slow. The aim of this study was to determine current clinical practice of occupational therapists and physiotherapists in the assessment and treatment of somatosensory impairment post-stroke. METHODS A cross-sectional, self-administered online survey of occupational therapists and physiotherapists currently working with stroke clients in Australian health organisations, identified through an audit of stroke rehabilitation services and a professional member association. RESULTS 172 clinicians, 62.8% occupational therapists and 37.2% physiotherapists currently working with stroke clients completed the survey. Most respondents (93.0%) indicated routinely assessing for sensory loss in stroke clients. The most commonly used measures were light touch and proprioception, with the majority (70.4%) not using standardised measures. Most respondents (97.7%) reported providing treatment to address sensory impairment, with compensatory strategies and sensory re-education the two most frequently reported. Evidence-based treatment choices were not common and therapists frequently relied on colleagues' opinions and previous experience to inform practice. Therapists commonly experienced barriers to implementing evidence-based sensory rehabilitation, including time constraints, large caseloads and lack of access to evidence-based somatosensory assessment and treatment resources. CONCLUSIONS Most therapists perceived somatosensory assessment and treatment as important. However, frequently utilised methods lack a sound theoretical or empirical basis. Despite published evidence regarding somatosensory assessment and treatment, an evidence-practice gap exists.
Public Health Ethics: Mapping the Terrain

Public health ethics, like the field of public health it addresses, traditionally has focused more on practice and particular cases than on theory, with the result that some concepts, methods, and boundaries remain largely undefined. This paper attempts to provide a rough conceptual map of the terrain of public health ethics.Public health ethics, like the field of public health it addresses, traditionally has focused more on practice and particular cases than on theory, with the result that some concepts, methods, and boundaries remain largely undefined. This paper attempts to provide a rough conceptual map of the terrain of public health ethics. We begin by briefly defining public health and identifying general features of the field that are particularly relevant for a discussion of public health ethics.Public health is primarily concerned with the health of the entire population, rather than the health of individuals. Its features include an emphasis on the promotion of health and the prevention of disease and disability; the collection and use of epidemiological data, population surveillance, and other forms of empirical quantitative assessment; a recognition of the multidimensional nature of the determinants of health; and a focus on the complex interactions of many factors — biological, behavioral, social, and environmental in developing effective interventions.
Microbial production of surfactants and their commercial potential

Many microorganisms, especially bacteria, produce biosurfactants when grown on water-immiscible substrates. Biosurfactants are more effective, selective, environmentally friendly, and stable than many synthetic surfactants. Most common biosurfactants are glycolipids in which carbohydrates are attached to a long-chain aliphatic acid, while others, like lipopeptides, lipoproteins, and heteropolysaccharides, are more complex. Rapid and reliable methods for screening and selection of biosurfactant-producing microorganisms and evaluation of their activity have been developed. Genes involved in rhamnolipid synthesis (rhlAB) and regulation (rhlI and rhlR) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are characterized, and expression of rhlAB in heterologous hosts is discussed. Genes for surfactin production (sfp, srfA, and comA) in Bacillus spp. are also characterized. Fermentative production of biosurfactants depends primarily on the microbial strain, source of carbon and nitrogen, pH, temperature, and concentration of oxygen and metal ions. Addition of water-immiscible substrates to media and nitrogen and iron limitations in the media result in an overproduction of some biosurfactants. Other important advances are the use of water-soluble substrates and agroindustrial wastes for production, development of continuous recovery processes, and production through biotransformation. Commercialization of biosurfactants in the cosmetic, food, health care, pulp- and paper-processing, coal, ceramic, and metal industries has been proposed. However, the most promising applications are cleaning of oil-contaminated tankers, oil spill management, transportation of heavy crude oil, enhanced oil recovery, recovery of crude oil from sludge, and bioremediation of sites contaminated with hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and other pollutants. Perspectives for future research and applications are also discussed.
Correspondences between gentzen and hilbert systems

Most Gentzen systems arising in logic contain few axiom schemata and many rule schemata. Hilbert systems, on the other hand, usually contain few proper inference rules and possibly many axioms. Because of this, the two notions tend to serve different purposes. It is common for a logic to be specified in the first instance by means of a Gentzen calculus, whereupon a Hilbert-style presentation ‘for’ the logic may be sought—or vice versa. Where this has occurred, the word ‘for’ has taken on several different meanings, partly because the Gentzen separator ⇒ can be interpreted intuitively in a number of ways. Here ⇒ will be denoted less evocatively by ⊲. In this paper we aim to discuss some of the useful ways in which Gentzen and Hilbert systems may correspond to each other. Actually, we shall be concerned with the deducibility relations of the formal systems, as it is these that are susceptible to transformation in useful ways. To avoid potential confusion, we shall speak of Hilbert and Gentzen relations. By a Hilbert relation we mean any substitution-invariant consequence relation on formulas—this comes to the same thing as the deducibility relation of a set of Hilbert-style axioms and rules. By a Gentzen relation we mean the fully fledged generalization of this notion in which sequents take the place of single formulas. In the literature, Hilbert relations are often referred to as sentential logics. Gentzen relations as defined here are their exact sequential counterparts.
Using Qualitative Research to Inform Mental Health Policy

This article offers examples of the ways in which qualitative methods have informed, and may inform, mental health policy in Canada and beyond. Three initial uses of these methods are identified: to generate hypotheses to be tested by other means; to explore the subjective experiences and everyday lives of people with mental illnesses; and to investigate processes of recovery and the active role of the individual in recovery. Given the recent focus in mental health policy in Canada, the United States, and around the world on transforming mental health systems to promote recovery and the emphasis recovery places on the individual's own first-hand perspective, we argue that qualitative methods will become increasingly useful as psychiatry shifts away from symptom reduction to enabling people to live satisfying, hopeful, and meaningful lives in the community.
Oophorectomy‐induced bone loss is attenuated in MAGP1‐deficient mice

Microfibril‐associated glycoprotein‐1 (MAGP1), together with the fibrillins, are constitutive components of vertebrate microfibrils. Mice deficient in MAGP1 (murine MAGP1 knockout animals (Mfap2−/−); MAGP1Δ) is appropriate develop progressive osteopenia and reduced whole bone strength, and have elevated numbers of osteoclasts lining the bone surface. Our previous studies suggested that the increased osteoclast population was associated with elevated levels of receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand (RANKL), a positive regulator of osteoclast differentiation. To explore the relationship between RANKL expression and osteoclast differentiation in MAGP1 deficiency, oophorectomy (OVX) was used to stimulate RANKL expression in both WT and MAGP1Δ animals. Bone loss following OVX was monitored using whole body DEXA and in vivo µCT. While WT mice exhibited significant bone loss following OVX, percent bone loss was reduced in MAGP1Δ mice. Further, serum RANKL levels rose significantly in OVX WT mice, whereas, there was only a modest increase in RANKL following OVX in the mutant mice due to already high baseline levels. Elevated RANKL expression was normalized when cultured MAGP1Δ osteoblasts were treated with a neutralizing antibody targeting free TGFβ. These studies provide support for increased RANKL expression associated with MAGP1 deficiency and provide a link to altered TGF‐β signaling as a possible causative signaling pathway regulating RANKL expression in MAGP1Δ osteoblasts. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 93–99, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cold Dialysis Solution for Hemodialysis Patients With Fatigue: a Cross-over Study.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of cold dialysis on fatigue in hemodialysis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a double-blinded cross-over clinical trial, 46 participants were recruited from a hemodialysis unit in Iran. The participants were allocated into 2 groups through simple random sampling method. Each group received 3 sessions of hemodialysis with a dialysis solution temperature of either 37°C 3 or 35.5°C during the first week and then with for another week with the other temperature. The self-report Piper Fatigue Scale questionnaire was filled out by the participants. RESULTS The Piper Fatigue Scale scores in the cold dialysis groups were significantly lower than those in the conventional dialysis solution temperature (P < .001). Reducing the temperature of hemodialysis solution brought a 31.3% reduction in the fatigue score. CONCLUSIONS Cold dialysis can be used for all hemodialysis patients as a routine intervention, and in particular, it is recommended dialysis patients who have severe fatigue as a convenient and inexpensive therapeutic option.
Etiologies and characteristic features of pneumonias in a municipal hospital

A prospective study of the etiologies and characteristic features of pneumonias was done at the Milwaukee County General Hospital from October 1969 to March 1970. The study comprised 148 consecutive patients who had received no previous antibiotics. D. pneumoniae was the etiologic agent in 79 patients (53.0 per cent); 21.6 per cent were bacteremic. According to strict criteria, 9.5 per cent of pneumonias were ascribed to gram-negative bacilli and 7.0 per cent to staphylococci. Primary viral and mycoplasmal infections were diagnosed by complement fixation test in 15.6 per cent of the 77 pneumonia patients from whom paired sera were available. In 17.0 per cent, no etiology could be established. D. pneumoniae patients with and without bacteremia differed from each other significantly (p<0.05) in mortality (35.0 per cent vs 13.0 per cent), days febrile before admission (4.1 vs 2.2), shock (23.0 per cent vs 4.8 per cent), and lobar pattern (88.2 per cent vs 52.0 per cent), respectively. In comparing pneumonias of different etiologies, patients with gram-negative bacillary pneumonias were found to be significantly older (70 yr) than those with other pneumonias (56 yr; p<0.01), had a higher mortality (47.0 per cent vs 13.8 per cent; p<0.01), and tended more often to come from nursing homes (59.0 per cent vs 28.0 per cent; p<0.05).
The relationship between internet addiction and aggression: multiple mediating effects of life events and social support

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship among Internet addiction, life events, social support and aggression, and figure out the inner deep structure of the four variables. METHOD: 363 undergraduates were selected via cluster sampling method. They were asked to fill out four questionnaires, including Chinese Internet Addiction Scales revision (CIAS-R), Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC), Perceived social support scale (PSSS) and Aggression questionnaire (AQ). RESULTS: (1) Aggression was positively correlated with Internet addiction and life events, negatively correlated with social support. Internet addiction was positively correlated with life events, negatively correlated with social support; (2) Internet addiction can positively predict aggression; (3) Life events and social support played multiple mediating roles between Internet addiction and aggression. CONCLUSION: On the one hand Internet addiction directly affects undergraduates' aggression; on the other hand, Internet addiction affects undergraduates' aggression through the multiple mediating effects of life events and social support. Language: en
Acute effects of walking and combined exercise on oxidative stress and vascular function in peripheral artery disease

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a single session of walking and combined exercise on oxidative stress and vascular function in peripheral arterial disease patients. Thirteen patients with peripheral arterial disease underwent two experimental sessions in random order: walking (ten sets of 2‐min walking at the speed corresponding to the onset of claudication pain with 2‐min interval between sets) and combined exercise (1 × 10 reps in eight resistance exercises plus five‐two‐minute sets of walking). Before and after the exercise, vascular function (blood flow, leg vascular resistance and blood‐flow postreactive hyperaemia) and oxidative stress (malondialdehyde and plasma nitrite levels) were obtained. Blood flow increased similarly after both sessions, whilst leg vascular resistance decreased similarly after both sessions. Plasma nitrite increased only after the combined exercise. Malondialdehyde decreased after both sessions, and the decrease was greater after combined exercise. As a conclusion, a single session of combined exercise improves blood flow and leg vascular resistance similarly to walking session; however, combined exercise promoted better effects on oxidative stress.
Ocean Surface Wind Retrieval Using SMAP L-Band SAR

The soil moisture active passive (SMAP) L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) could continuously provide global km scale ocean surface wind observations, which had a better coverage than other SARs and a higher spatial resolution than scatterometers. This paper investigates SMAP normalized radar cross sections (NRCS) dependence on wind vectors using more than 5 million matchups consisting of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F17 Special Sensor Microwave Image/Sounder wind speed, National Center for Environmental Predication wind direction and SMAP L-band NRCS. An L-band geophysical model function (GMF) is proposed for SMAP wind retrieval on the basis of these matchups, and it indicates wind speed and direction dependence of SMAP L-band NRCS for about 40° incidence angle and 0-25 m/s wind speed range in both HH and VV polarization. The wind speed dependence increases rapidly with wind speed, and HH-polarized one is greater than VV polarization. The upwind-downwind difference for HH polarization is greater than that for VV polarization. A negative upwind-crosswind asymmetry occurs for HH- and VV-polarized backscatter at lower wind speeds. The retrieved SMAP wind speed using the proposed GMF is validated by using National Data Buoy Center buoy winds. The root mean square differences and biases are 1.77 and 0.19 m/s, respectively. The accuracies of SMAP wind speeds at 0-10 m/s range are better than those at higher wind speed range. In addition, SMAP wind speeds in upwind and downwind directions are relatively more accurate than those in crosswind directions.
Molecular Analysis of the Vibrio cholerae Type II Secretion ATPase EpsE

ABSTRACT The type II secretion system is a macromolecular assembly that facilitates the extracellular translocation of folded proteins in gram-negative bacteria. EpsE, a member of this secretion system in Vibrio cholerae, contains a nucleotide-binding motif composed of Walker A and B boxes that are thought to participate in binding and hydrolysis of ATP and displays structural homology to other transport ATPases. Here we demonstrate that purified EpsE is an Mg2+-dependent ATPase and define optimal conditions for the hydrolysis reaction. EpsE displays concentration-dependent activity, which may suggest that the active form is oligomeric. Size exclusion chromatography showed that the majority of purified EpsE is monomeric; however, detailed analyses of specific activities obtained following gel filtration revealed the presence of a small population of active oligomers. We further report that EpsE binds zinc through a tetracysteine motif near its carboxyl terminus, yet metal displacement assays suggest that zinc is not required for catalysis. Previous studies describing interactions between EpsE and other components of the type II secretion pathway together with these data further support the hypothesis that EpsE functions to couple energy to the type II apparatus, thus enabling secretion.
Vulvar Angiomyxoma, Aggressive Angiomyxoma, and Angiomyofibroblastoma: An Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Study

To investigate the histogenetical unifying theory of a single, pluripotential primitive cell for vulvar angiomyxoma, aggresive angiomyxoma, and angiomyofibroblastoma, an optical, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of a superficial angiomyxoma, aggressive angiomyxoma, and angiomyofibroblastoma was performed. These three tumors showed immunohistochemical and ultrastructural overlapping features. The results of the study suggest that these three tumor entities probably arise on a common pluripotential primitive cell located around the vessels of connective tissue, which could show the capacity for modulating its penotype toward similar but distinct mature cell types.
Physiologic Control of the Functional Status of Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells

Foxp3-lineage CD4 regulatory T cells (Tregs) were named for their ability to maintain self tolerance and suppress T cell immunity. However, resting Tregs from noninflamed tissues exhibit little suppressor activity, and must be stimulated to acquire such function. Conversely, under certain inflammatory conditions, Tregs may undergo rapid reprogramming to acquire helper/effector functions. In this Brief Review, we describe recent progress in elucidating physiologic processes that control the functional status of Foxp3-lineage Tregs. Emerging evidence suggests the surprising possibility that reprogrammed Tregs can be an indispensable source of helper activity in some physiologic settings, such as priming CD8+ T cell responses. This suggests a novel paradigm in which Foxp3+ Tregs intrinsically possess bifunctional potential, acting as a preformed pool of first-responder cells at sites of local inflammation that can either provide classical regulatory/suppressor activity, or rapidly reprogram to supply helper/effector activity, contingent on signals that manifest in local physiologic settings.
Development of a Water-Jet Assisted Underwater Laser Cutting Process

We present the development of a new underwater laser cutting process in which a water-jet has been used along with the laser beam to remove the molten material through kerf. The conventional underwater laser cutting usually utilizes a high pressure gas jet along with laser beam to create a dry condition in the cutting zone and also to eject out the molten material. This causes a lot of gas bubbles and turbulence in water, and produces aerosols and waste gas. This may cause contamination in the surrounding atmosphere while cutting radioactive components like burnt nuclear fuel. The water-jet assisted underwater laser cutting process produces much less turbulence and aerosols in the atmosphere. Some amount of water vapor bubbles is formed at the laser-metal-water interface; however, they tend to condense as they rise up through the surrounding water. We present the design and development of a water-jet assisted underwater laser cutting head and the parametric study of the cutting of AISI 304 stainless steel sheets with a 2 kW CW fiber laser. The cutting performance is similar to that of the gas assist laser cutting; however, the process efficiency is reduced due to heat convection by water-jet and laser beam scattering by vapor. This process may be attractive for underwater cutting of nuclear reactor components. Keywords—Laser, underwater cutting, water-jet.