Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Which traits promote persistence of feral GM crops? Part 1:implications of environmental stochasticity

Transgenes in plants affect life history traits including seed survival and germination. With stochastic matrix models we predict population-level consequences of transgene induced life history changes. We assess systematically which changes in life history traits, resulting from genetic modification, may increase the risk of invasion and persistence of feral crops or increase fitness in case of introgression from arable fields into conspecific, feral populations. We apply our method to feral populations of oilseed rape. Like many annual weeds, oilseed rape depends critically on disturbance; in undisturbed habitats it is generally outcompeted by perennials. The associated inherent variability and unpredictability render deterministic models inappropriate. With a stochastic matrix model we study population growth rate, elasticities and quasi-extinction times. Our results indicate that changes in survival in the seed bank impact population growth and persistence most. Less important are dormancy, fecundity and seedling survival. The predicted distribution of extinction times is highly skewed, with some patches persisting for decades.
Citogenotoxic response of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum

Aquaculture production is continuously growing worldwide, and marine fish farming in Brazil is still in its infancy. Intensive farming conditions may cause physiological stress to the cultured organism, which can be evaluated by citogenotoxic biomarkers. The aim of this study was to assess the genotoxic effect of the rearing conditions in red blood cells of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum by using comet assay and micronucleus and other nuclear abnormalities assay. Juvenile cobia were reared for 13 weeks in indoor tank with open water circulation and in near shore cage. The comet assay and the nuclear abnormalities assay detected higher DNA damage and higher nuclear abnormalities frequency in erythrocytes of fish reared in the indoor tank. Results showed that two methods are complementary. Additionally, cobia were injected with ß-naphthoflavone (BNF) at concentrations of 2mgkg-1 and 10mgkg-1 in laboratory controlled conditions, and maintained for 7 days in separate tanks to better understand the response mechanisms of this species to a toxic substance. The comet assay did not detect any significant differences between BNF injected and control fish, whereas nuclear abnormalities assay showed significant differences between BNF injected and the control groups. The damages identified by the comet assay are repairable breaks in the DNA strands, whereas nuclear abnormalities may be permanent. Possibly the period of maintenance after injection was enough to clean BNF from the organisms and to repair the breaks in the DNA strands. As cobia seems to respond very well to genotoxic elements, comet assay and nuclear abnormalities assay would be useful tools to monitor farming conditions. AbstrAct Marina Tenório Botelho1*, Maria José de Arruda Campos Rocha Passos1, Fabio Matsu Hasue1, Daniel Lemos1, Edson Rodrigues2, Fanny Yasumaru1, Ngan van Phan1, Vicente Gomes1
Functional and self-rated health mediate the association between diabetes and depression

Background: Depression is common among persons with diabetes and associated with adverse health outcomes. To date, little is known about the causal mechanisms that lead to depression in diabetes. The aim of the present study was to examine to which extent functional and self-rated health mediate the association between physical health and depressive symptoms in diabetes. Methods: Data of n = 3222 individuals with type 2 diabetes were analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally at three measurement occasions using path analysis. Indicators of physical health were glycemic control, number of comorbid somatic diseases, BMI, and insulin dependence. Furthermore, functional health, self-rated health and depressive symptoms were assessed. Results: The effects of physical health on depressive symptoms were largely mediated by functional health and self-rated health. There was only a weak indirect effect of physical health on depressive symptoms. In contrast, self-rated health was a strong direct predictor of depressive symptoms. Self-rated health in turn depended strongly on patients’ functional health. Conclusions: The way individuals perceive their health appears to have a stronger effect on their depressive symptoms than objective physical indicators of diabetes. Therefore practitioners should be trained to pay more attention to their patients’ subjective health perceptions.
Small interfering RNA drug knockdown of EphrinB 3 attenuates neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury in rats

Erythropoietin-producing hepatoma-amplified sequence (Eph) receptor tyrosine kinases and their cellsurface-bound ligands, the ephrins, function as a unique signaling system triggered by cell to cell interaction and have been shown to mediate neurodevelopmental processes. However, the role of Eph in spinal cord injury (SCI) was unclear. Here, the lentiviral expressing vectors, pGCSIL-green fluorescent protein (GFP) vectors expressing an active small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting EphB3 sequence were used to determine the effect of RNAi knockdown of EphB3 on function recovery of limb in adult rats by Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores. Four weeks after intraparenchymal administration of the siRNA into the right lumbar, EphB3 mRNA and protein levels in siRNA group were significantly reduced (P < 0.01) in the spine when compared with the negative group animals. BBB locomotor scores were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in siRNA animals when compared with the control animals. These results indicate that vector-derived siRNAs can effectively produce spatial knockdown of EphB3 gene expression, and this knockdown selectively increased BBB scores of the rats. This preclinical study demonstrates the use of RNAi to target the expression of genes mediating SCI and the therapeutic potential of this approach.
Inefficient Reallocation, Loss Aversion and Prospect Theory

The paper shows that bounded rationality, in the form of limited knowledge of utility, is an explanation for common stylized facts of prospect theory like loss aversion, status quo bias and non-linear probability weighting. Locally limited utility knowledge is considered within a classical demand model framework, suggesting that costs of inefficient search for optimal consumption will produce a value function that obeys the loss aversion axiom of Tversky and Kahneman (1991). Moreover, since this adjustment happens over time, new predictions are made that explain why the status quo bias is reinforced over time. This search can also describe the behavior of a consumer facing an uncertain future wealth level. The search cost justifies non-linear forms of probability weighting. The effects that have been observed in experiments will follow as a consequence.
Experimental Verification of Formulae for Natural Seiche Frequencies in a Two-layer Fluid with the Free Surface

Theoretical formulae for the natural frequencies of oscillations of a two-layer fluid due to surface and interface seiches are experimentally tested. It is shown that the formulae based on the strict dispersion relation of the linear theory of the potential motion are applicable in a wide range of the natural frequencies. The approximate formulae based on the long-wave approximation are also applicable but in a narrower frequency range, which is particularly typical for the natural seiches.
The effect of leadership behavior on work climate and team effectiveness

This study looked at the effect of leadership behavior on the work climate and the effect of work climate on team effectiveness. A distinction was made between positive leadership behavior and contra productive leadership behavior as well as between a positive and negative work climate. A survey was held among followers to measure work climate and team effectiveness. Additionally the behavior of the 29 leaders were coded, using a video-observation method on data obtained during regular staff meetings. In contrast with the hypotheses, no significant relationships were found between both the leadership behavior and work climate and work climate and team effectiveness. Possible reasons for the discrepancy between the hypotheses and the results were given, together with suggestions for further research.
Equatorial sporadic E-layer abnormal density enhancement during the recovery phase of the December 2006 magnetic storm: A case study

Sporadic layers appear in the equatorial region (Esq) between 90 and 130 km mainly due to irregularities in the electrojet equatorial (EEJ) current. In the present work, we have analyzed the behavior of the frequency parameters associated with these sporadic layers, covering the days before, during, and subsequent to, the intense magnetic storm that occurred on December 14, 2006. The parameters used in our analyses are the top frequency (ftEs) and blanketing frequency (fbEs) of the Es layer as measured over São Luís, Brazil (2.33°S, 44.2°W, dip: −4.5°) by digital ionosonde. A tentative association between these parameters and X-ray data measured by sensors on board the GOES satellite was carried out. Also, we investigated the effects on the dynamics of the equatorial electrojet using magnetometer data related to the presence of these Es layers. Our analyses show that there are notable changes in the fbEs, which are characterized by the occurrence of peaks that exceed the ambient background values.
Empirical Analysis of the Connection between Financial Performance and Corporate Governance within Technology Companies Listed on NASDAQ Stock Exchange

The present research gives an insight on the connection between corporate governance and financial performance, using companies from technology sector listed on NASDAQ, during 2010-2013. Financial performance was measured using as proxy the return on equity (ROE) and the return on assets (ROA). For the corporate governance measures there were selected variables as seniority, duality, and remuneration of the CEO, independence, size and gender diversity related to Boards of Directors. For empirical tests we used multivariate regression models, generalized least squares (GLS) and standard error correction for heteroskedasticity using White's method. The results have confirmed the influence of mixed corporate governance variables on financial performance indicators at the company level. We obtained in both models a positive influence on financial performance from variables age, years listing and CEO's remuneration with bonuses. We obtained negative influence for the variables size / independent members of the Board of Directors and for the CEO duality. The difference between the two models was marked by the positive influence of the percentage of women in the Board of Directors' members and the CEO salary on ROA. The Risk Commitee variable had a negative influence on ROE. The control variables had a positive influence only on the ROE model. The final conclusions highlight issues related to human nature such as the lack of fear for penalty, which can lead to the loss of use of rationality and morality. Exploring the corpoarte governance, there can be identified facts which can lead to dangerous behavior if eople have a significant decision-making power.
Rotational periods of solar-mass young stars in Orion

Context. The evolution of the angular momentum in young low-mass stars is still a debated issue. The stars presented here were discovered as X-ray sources in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) of the Orion complex and subsequently optically identified thanks to both low and high resolution spectroscopy. Aims. The determination of the rotational periods in young low-mass stars of different age is fundamental for the understanding of the angular momentum evolution. Methods. We performed a photometric monitoring program on a sample of 40 solar-mass young stars in the Orion star-forming region, almost all previously identified as weak T Tauri stars (WTTS) candidates. Photometric B and V data were collected from 1999 to 2006 at Catania Astrophysical Observatory (OAC). Data were also acquired in December 1998 at Calar Alto Observatory (CA) and in 1999, 2000, and 2003 at San Pedro Martir (SPM). From the observed rotational modulation, induced by starspots, we derived the rotation periods, using both the Lomb-Scargle periodogram and the CLEAN deconvolution algorithms. Results. In total, we were able to determine the rotation periods for 39 stars, spanning from about 0.5 to 13 days, showing a rather flat distribution with a peak around 1-2 days. Though some of these stars were found to be spectroscopic binaries, only the systems with shorter orbital periods and circular orbits turned out to be synchronized. In the other cases, the rotational period is shorter than the period of pseudo-synchronization at periastron. Conclusions. The new data provide further evidence for the spin up of solar-mass stars predicted by models of angular momentum evolution of pre-main sequence (PMS) stars.
Recent Increases in Atmospheric Concentrations of Bi, U, Cs, S and Ca from a 350-Year Mount Everest Ice Core Record

[1] High-resolution major and trace elements (Sr, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Bi, U, Tl, Al, S, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co) quantified in a Mount Everest ice core (6518 m above sea level) spanning the period 1650–2002 AD provides the first Asian record of trace element concentrations from the pre-industrial era, and the first continuous high-resolution Asian record from which natural baseline concentrations and subsequent changes due to anthropogenic activities can be examined. Modern concentrations of most elements remain within the pre-industrial range; however, Bi, U, and Cs concentrations and their enrichment factors (EF) have increased since the ∼1950s, and S and Ca concentrations and their EFs have increased since the late 1980s. A comparison of the Bi, U, Cs, S, and Ca data with other ice core records and production data indicates that the increase in atmospheric concentrations of trace elements is widespread, but that enrichment varies regionally. Likely sources for the recent enrichment of these elements include mining, metal smelting, oil and coal combustion, and end uses for Bi, and mining and refinement for U and Cs. The source of the synchronous enrichment of Ca and S is less certain, but may be related to land use and environmental change.
Bank Regulation, the Quality of Institutions, and Banking Risk in Emerging and Developing Countries: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract: Using data for 371 banks from nonindustrial countries for the period 2002–8, we examine the effect of bank regulation and supervision on banking risk. Our main findings suggest that stricter regulation and supervision reduces banking risk. Notably, capital regulations and supervisory control reduce bank riskiness. Liquidity regulation and activities restrictions also restrain banking risk but only when there is a high level of institutional quality. Finally, we find that the effect of regulation and supervision also depends on the level of development.
Microbiological quality of raw milk in the Czech Republic

Bogdanovičová K. , Vyletělová-Klimešová M. , Babák V. , Kalhotka L. , Koláčková I. , Karpíšková R. (2016): Microbiological quality of raw milk in the Czech Republic. Czech J. Food Sci., 34: 189–196. The microbiological and hygienic quality of cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk in the Czech Republic was evaluated. Milk (230 samples) was collected on 41 farms and investigated from May 2012 to October 2014. Milk was analysed for the presence of selected groups and types of bacteria: mesophilic microorganisms (total plate count – TPC), enterococci, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp. , Campylobacter spp. , and Listeria monocytogenes. Besides these indicators and pathogenic agents, somatic cell count was determined as one of the indicators of mammary gland health in cows. TPC ranged between 8.3 × 102 and 1.2 × 109 CFU/ml and somatic cells between 1.6 × 104 and 6.8 × 106 cells/ml. The presence of E. coli was confirmed in 86.3% of samples and the colony counts ranged from 1.0 × 101 to 4.0 × 106 CFU/ml. The presence of verotoxigenic E. coli was confirmed in 3 samples (1.3%) (cow’s milk 0%; goat’s milk 6.3%; sheep’s milk 4.4%). The presence of S. aureus was confirmed in 29.1% of the samples (cow’s milk 26.9%; goat’s milk 34.4%; sheep’s milk 39.1%), but the numbers were very low (< 5.0 × 102 CFU/ ml). L. monocytogenes was confirmed in 3 examined samples (1.3%) (cow’s milk 0.6%; goat’s milk 3.1%; sheep’s milk 4.4%). Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. were not detected in any of the samples tested.
The Impact of ICT in the Conduct of Elections in Nigeria

There is no gainsaying that technology has drastically reduced incidences of electoral malpractices such as: ballot stuffing, result sheet mutilation, manipulations, over voting, alteration of result sheets and hijacking of ballot boxes in the history of Nigeria elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has employed a number of innovative approaches to improve the management and conduct of elections in the country. As years pass by, INEC gets more sophisticated with its technologies in order to meet up with international standard. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of these technologies and the effect they have on election activities in Nigeria from 1999 general election to 2017. Results show that the introduction of these technologies: Electronic Voters Register(EVR), Automatic Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS) and Smart Card Reader (SCR) have reduced the incidence of multiple registration and multiple voting to the barest minimum while the development of e-collation support platform has drastically reduced incidence of result manipulation at collation centres. Hence, it is believed that the incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria electoral process has reduced excessive electoral fraud to the barest minimum and foster credible elections.
Deconfounding hypothesis generation and evaluation in Bayesian models

Bayesian models of cognition are typically used to describe human learning and inference at the computational level, identifying which hypotheses people should select to explain observed data given a particular set of inductive biases. However, such an analysis can be consistent with human behavior even if people are not actually carrying out exact Bayesian inference. We analyze a simple algorithm by which people might be approximating Bayesian inference, in which a limited set of hypotheses are generated and then evaluated using Bayes’ rule. Our mathematical results indicate that a purely computationallevel analysis of learners using this algorithm would confound the distinct processes of hypothesis generation and hypothesis evaluation. We use a causal learning experiment to establish empirically that the processes of generation and evaluation can be distinguished in human learners, demonstrating the importance of recognizing this distinction when interpreting Bayesian models.
Prominence and quiet-Sun plasma parameters derived from FUV spectral emission

Context. A solar prominence and the quiet-Sun (QS) were observed with SOHO/SUMER in October 1999. With this dataset we built the first comprehensive UV spectral atlas in the range 800–1250 A for a prominence, thus complementing the existing reference atlases for the QS. Aims. This is a detailed study based on the information in this atlas, with the aim of deriving the plasma parameters in two distinct regions. The large amount of information available allows us to establish these parameters with lower uncertainty than in previous studies, leading to reference values for theoretical investigations. Methods. The measured lines’ FWHM were used to derive the distribution of the non-thermal velocities at various temperatures. The lines intensities were used to derive the electron densities at temperatures of 7 × 10 4 Ka nd the differential emission measure. Results. The comparison with the QS shows lower velocities in the prominence for temperature T with log T < 5.4. The velocities derived in the highest part of the prominence show a lower gradient with the temperature. The value obtained for the electron density indicates a low pressure prominence. We conclude with a discussion of the energy budget in the prominence.
A comparison of EEG spectral entropy with conventional quantitative EEG at varying depths of sevoflurane anaesthesia

Abstract Background and Aim: Recently an electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral entropy module (M-ENTROPY) for an anaesthetic monitor has become commercially available. We compared its performance as an indicator of the state of anaesthesia with that of an older conventional quantitative EEG (QEEG) module (M-EEG) by the same manufacturer (Datex-Ohmeda Division, Instrumentarium Corp., Helsinki, Finland). Methods: There were 40 ASA class I or II subjects, aged between 16–60 years, who underwent elective abdominal surgery. EEG data were collected from the printouts of the respective modules. The data presented here were related to four levels of anaesthesia: Pre-anaesthetic wakefulness (state A), 2% sevoflurane end-tidal (ET) concentration after completion of surgery (state B), low ET sevoflurane concentrations (∼ 0.5%) just prior to regaining responsiveness (state C), and post-anaesthetic responsiveness (state D). Results: In terms of the prediction probability (Pk statistic), response entropy (RE) and state entropy (SE) produced higher values (0.95–1.0) than the best performing QEEG variable, frontal amplitude (0.86–0.95). Only RE scores did not overlap between states A and B or between B and D. The misclassification of subjects between states C and D was far lower for RE (28%%) than for any of the conventional QEEG measures (>90%). Conclusion: In on-line monitoring spectral entropy is superior in distinguishing states of anaesthesia and is also easier to use than conventional QEEG. It is speculated that the artefact rejection strategies accorded spectral entropy might significantly benefit conventional QEEG analysis.
High-pressure phase transitions and equations of state in NiSi. II. Experimental results

The high-pressure structures of nickel monosilicide (NiSi) have been investigated to 124 GPa by synchrotron-based X-ray powder diffraction studies of quenched samples from laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments, and the equations of state of three of these phases have been determined at room temperature. NiSi transforms from the MnP (B31) structure (space group Pnma) to the ∊-FeSi (B20) structure (space group P213) at 12.5 ± 4.5 GPa and 1550 ± 150 K. Upon further compression, the CsCl (B2) structure (space group Pm3m) becomes stable at 46 ± 3 GPa and 1900 ± 150 K. Thus, NiSi will be in the B2 structure throughout the majority of the Earth's mantle and its entire core, and will likely form a solid solution with FeSi, which is already known to undergo a B20 → B2 transition at high pressure. Data from the quenched (room-temperature) samples of all three phases have been fitted to the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state. For the MnP (B31) structure this yields K0 = 165 ± 3 GPa with K0′ fixed at 4 and V0 fixed at 12.1499 A3 atom−1 [V0 from unpublished neutron diffraction measurements on the same batch of starting material; Wood (2011), personal communication]. For the ∊-FeSi (B20) structure, K0 =161± 3 GPa and K0′ = 5.6 ± 0.2 with V0 fixed at 11.4289 A3 atom−1. For the CsCl (B2) structure, K0 = 200 ± 9 GPa, K0′ = 4.6 ± 0.1 and V0 = 11.09 ± 0.05 A3 atom−1. The ambient volume of NiSi, therefore, decreases by 6% at the first phase transition and then by a further 3% at the transition to the CsCl structure. Traces of additional NiSi structures predicted by Vocadlo, Wood & Dobson [J. Appl. Cryst. (2012), 45, 186–196; part I], and labelled therein as Pbma-I, Pnma-II, and possibly also Pnma-III and P4/nmm, have been detected.