Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation of branch-level gas exchange of boreal trees: roles of shoot water potential and vapor pressure difference.

Effects of shoot water potential (Psi) and leaf-to-atmosphere vapor pressure difference (VPD) on gas exchange of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), and aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) were investigated at the northern edge of the boreal forest in Manitoba, Canada. Laboratory measurements on cut branches showed that net photosynthesis (A(n)) and mesophyll conductance (g(m)) of jack pine and g(m) of black spruce did not respond to Psi until a threshold Psi was reached below which they decreased linearly. Photosynthesis of black spruce decreased slowly with decreasing Psi above the threshold and declined more rapidly thereafter. The threshold Psi was lower in black spruce than in jack pine. However, stomatal conductance (g(s)) of black spruce decreased continuously with decreasing Psi, whereas g(s) of jack pine showed a threshold response. Mesophyll limitations were primarily responsible for the decline in A(n) at low Psi for jack pine and black spruce in the middle of the growing season, but stomatal limitations became more important later in the season. Field measurements on in situ branches on warm sunny days showed that both conifer species maintained Psi above the corresponding threshold and there was no evidence of Psi limitation on A(n) of jack pine, black spruce or aspen. Vapor pressure difference was important in regulating gas exchange in all three species. An empirical model was used to quantify the g(s) response to VPD. When parameterized with laboratory data for the conifers, the model also fit the corresponding field data. When parameterized with field data, the model showed that stomata of aspen were the most sensitive of the three species to VPD, and stomata of black spruce were the least sensitive. For jack pine and aspen, stomata of foliage in the upper canopy were significantly more sensitive than stomata of foliage in the lower canopy. Vapor pressure difference had a greater impact on A(n) of aspen than on A(n) of the conifers as a result of aspen's greater stomatal sensitivity to VPD and greater slope of the relationship between A(n) and intercellular CO(2) concentration (C(i)). During the 1994 growing season, VPD averaged 1.0 kPa, corresponding to ratios of C(i) to ambient CO(2) of 0.77, 0.71 and 0.81 for jack pine, black spruce and aspen, respectively. We conclude that increases in VPD at the leaf surface in response to climate change should affect the absolute CO(2) and H(2)O fluxes per unit leaf area of the aspen component of a boreal forest landscape more than those of the conifer component.
Nudging and Informed Consent

Libertarian paternalism's notion of “nudging” refers to steering individual decision making so as to make choosers better off without breaching their free choice. If successful, this may offer an ideal synthesis between the duty to respect patient autonomy and that of beneficence, which at times favors paternalistic influence. A growing body of literature attempts to assess the merits of nudging in health care. However, this literature deals almost exclusively with health policy, while the question of the potential benefit of nudging for the practice of informed consent has escaped systematic analysis. This article focuses on this question. While it concedes that nudging could amount to improper exploitation of cognitive weaknesses, it defends the practice of nudging in a wide range of other conditions. The conclusion is that, when ethically legitimate, nudging offers an important new paradigm for informed consent, with a special potential to overcome the classical dilemma between paternalistic beneficence and respect for autonomy.
Increased level of serum Homocysteine in vitiligo

Background: Vitiligo is an acquired depigmenting disorder caused by the destruction of melanocytes. The exact etiopathogenesis and mechanisms of vitiligo are not fully understood. Vitamin B12 and folic acid levels are decreased in vitiligo, which are the important cofactors required in the metabolism of Homocysteine (Hcy). Consequently, Hcy level increases in the circulation. Therefore, it is possible that increased Hcy plays a role in melanocytes destruction. The aim was to study for any association of vitiligo with serum Hcy level. Method: A total of 30 vitiligo patients of both sexes and 30 control subjects were enrolled in this study. Sera from patients and controls were assayed for Hcy by Enzyme immunoassay. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS version‐16. Results: The mean serum level of Hcy was significantly higher in patients with vitiligo as compared with healthy controls and its level was high in male patients as compared with female patients. The Hcy level in vegetarian patients was significantly higher as compared with nonvegetarian patients. The Hcy level was also significantly higher in active vitiligo patients as compared with stable vitiligo patients. Conclusion: An increased serum Hcy may be a precipitating factor for vitiligo in the predisposed individuals. Serum Hcy is related to the gender of patients, activity of disease, and dietary habits of vitiligo patients. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 25:110–112, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment of emissions and removal of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) at start-up periods in a hazardous waste incinerator

A study was conducted to observe the changes in polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) levels and congener profiles in the flue gas of a hazardous waste incinerator during two start-up periods. Flue gas samplings were performed simultaneously through Air Pollution Control Devices (APCDs) (including boiler outlet, electrostatic precipitator (ESP) outlet, wet scrubbers (WS) outlet, and activated carbon (AC) filter outlet) in different combustion temperatures during a planned cold (long) start-up and an unplanned warm (short) start-up. The results showed that PCDD/F concentrations could be elevated during the start-up periods up to levels 3–4 times higher than those observed in the normal operation. Especially lower combustion temperatures in the short start-ups may cause high PCDD/F concentrations in the raw flue gas. Assessment of combustion temperatures and Furans/Dioxins values indicated that surface-catalyzed de novo synthesis was the dominant pathway in the formation of PCDD/Fs in the combustion units. PCDD/F removal efficiencies of Air Pollution Control Devices suggested that formation by de novo synthesis existed in ESP also when in operation, leading to increase of gaseous phase PCDD/Fs in ESP. Particle-bound PCDD/Fs were removed mainly by ESP and WS, while gaseous phase PCDD/Fs were removed by WS, and more efficiently by AC filter. Implications: This paper evaluates PCDD/F emissions and removal performances of APCDs (ESP, wet scrubbers, and activated carbon) during two start-up periods in an incinerator. The main implications are the following: (1) start-up periods increase PCDD/F emissions up to 2–3 times in the incinerator; (2) low combustion temperatures in start-ups cause high PCDD/F emissions in raw gas; (3) formation of PCDD/Fs by de novo synthesis occurs in ESP; (4) AC is efficient in removing gaseous PCDD/Fs, but may increase particle-bound ones; and (5) scrubbers remove both gaseous and particle-bound PCDD/Fs efficiently.
A New Method for the Modification of Fibroin Heavy Chain Protein in the Transgenic Silkworm

We constructed a new plasmid vector for the production of a modified silk fibroin heavy chain protein (H-chain) in the transgenic silkworm. The plasmid (pHC-null) contained the promoter and the 3′ region of a gene encoding the H-chain and the coding regions for the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain of the H-chain. For the model protein, we cloned a foreign gene that encoded EGFP between the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain in pHC-null and generated transgenic silkworms that produced a modified H-chain, HC-EGFP. Transgenic silkworms produced HC-EGFP in the posterior part of silk gland cells, secreted it into the lumen of the gland, and produced a cocoon with HC-EGFP as part of the fibroin proteins. N-terminal sequencing of HC-EGFP localized the signal sequence cleavage site to between positions A(21) and N(22). These results indicate that our new plasmid successfully produced the modified H-chain in a transgenic silkworm.
Risk, uncertainty, and agency: Culture and safe motherhood in Morocco

This article critically examines the notion that Moroccan women's infrequent use of health facilities during pregnancy and birth results from their lack of awareness of the risks of childbirth. It argues that while ethnographic data appear at first to lend support to this hypothesis, a closer examination of the customs surrounding birth shows that ideas about risk are found in local constructions of childbirth. The choices women make regarding birth and the flexibility that characterizes their decisions reflect the uncertain circumstances of labor and problems in the accessibility and quality of health services. Differences in the notions of risk that women hold and express are a function, not of an inability to conceive of risks, but rather of the real alternatives they have for controlling these risks.
PD-L1 (CD274) promoter methylation predicts survival in colorectal cancer patients

ABSTRACT This study evaluates promoter methylation of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a biomarker in a cohort of 383 colorectal cancer patients. PD-L1 methylation (mPD-L1) was inversely correlated with PD-L1 mRNA expression (p = 0.001) and was associated with significantly shorter overall survival (OS, p = 0.003) and recurrence-free survival (RFS, p < 0.001). In age-stratified multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses including sex, tumor, nodal, distant metastasis categories, microsatellite instability (MSI)-status, and PD-L1 mRNA, mPD-L1 is classified as an independent prognostic factor (OS: p = 0.030; RFS: p < 0.001). Further studies are needed to evaluate PD-L1 methylation as a biomarker for response prediction of immunotherapies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis.
Draft Genome Sequences of Six Mycobacterium immunogenum Strains Obtained from a Chloraminated Drinking Water Distribution System Simulator

ABSTRACT We report here the draft genome sequences of six Mycobacterium immunogenum strains isolated from a chloraminated drinking water distribution system simulator subjected to changes in operational parameters. M. immunogenum, a rapidly growing mycobacterium previously reported to be the cause of hypersensitivity pneumonitis from contaminated metalworking fluid aerosols, is becoming a public health concern.
Parents' experiences of introducing everyday object use to their children with autism

A semi-structured interview study, investigating the acquisition of everyday object use in children with autism and developmentally matched controls, is presented. Parents were asked to describe how their child currently used various everyday objects during mealtime and washing routines, the process by which this came about, and any problems encountered in attempting to introduce appropriate object use. Following transcription, the interviews were treated using a method combining phenomenological and content analysis. The statements generated were condensed, using progressive categorization, into three tables of summary statements. These represented the different sources of influence on the children's object use and the problems parents experienced in attempting to guide their child's actions. Relative to comparison groups, parents of children with autism reported that they experienced more problems and used more intensive teaching methods, and that their children were less actively involved. The findings are discussed in relation to the influence of other people in shaping object use and implications for intervention programmes.
Numerical analysis of overall stability of unbraced stainless steel simply-supported beams with fabricated I-section

In order to obtain information on the lateral buckling strength of stainless steel I-beams to propose the design formulae for the stability factors, this paper focuses on the overall buckling of laterally-unrestrained stainless steel I-beams. The design methods in current codes are discussed, and the results from these codes are compared with the finite element analysis (FEA) results. The influence from the material property on the overall stability of stainless steel beams is also investigated. Based on the FEA results, the design method on overall buckling strength of steel beams specified in the Chinese standard GB 50017-2003 is modified to calibrate the overall stability of stainless steel bending members with welded I-section. Through the comparison with EC3: 1993-1-4 and the FEA results, the proposed formulae in this paper are proved to be applicable in the design of overall stability of stainless steel bending members.
İlköğretim Öğrencilerinin Eleştirel Okuma Becerileri İle Cinsiyet ve Anne-Baba Eğitim Durumu Arasındaki İlişki

Yapilan bu calismada, ogrencilerin cinsiyetinin, anne-baba egitim durumlarinin, ogrencilerin el impressel okuma becerileri. etkilenmek. Arastirmanin orneklemini Bursa ili Osmangazi ve Yildirim ilcelerindeki ilkogretim okullarinda ogrenim gor 185. Sinif ogrencisi olusturmaktadir. Elde SPSS paket programi kullanilmis, t-testi ve Tek Yonlu Anova testi uygulanarak iyilestirmeye calisildi. Calismanin sonunda, anne ve baba egitim durumuunun, cocuklarin elestirel okuma duzeyleri uzerinde bir etkisinin olmadigi, cinsiyet faktorunde kiz ogrencilerin el impressel okuma duzeylerinin daha yuksek oldugu gozlenmistir
Fetal oxygen tension promotes tenascin‐C–dependent lung branching morphogenesis

Tenascin‐C (TN‐C) is a mesenchyme‐derived extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoprotein required for fetal lung branching morphogenesis. Given that the low oxygen (O2) environment of the fetus is also essential for normal lung branching morphogenesis, we determined whether fetal O2 tension supports this process by promoting TN‐C expression. Initial studies showed that 15‐day fetal rat lung explants cultured for 2 days at 3% O2 not only branched well, but they also expressed higher levels of TN‐C when compared to lungs maintained at 21% O2, which branched poorly. Antisense oligonucleotide studies demonstrated that TN‐C produced in response to 3% O2 was essential for lung branching morphogenesis. As well, exogenous TN‐C protein was shown to promote branching of lung epithelial rudiments cultured at 21% O2. Because ECM‐degrading proteinases are capable of catabolizing TN‐C protein, we reasoned that 3% O2 might promote TN‐C deposition by limiting the activity of these enzymes within the fetal lung. Consistent with this idea, gelatin zymography showed that the activity of a 72‐kDa gelatinase, identified as matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2), was lower at 3% O2 vs. 21% O2. Furthermore, pharmacologic inhibition of MMP‐2 activity in fetal lung explants cultured at 21% O2 resulted in increased TN‐C deposition within the mesenchyme, as well as enhanced branching morphogenesis. Collectively, these studies indicate that fetal O2 tension promotes TN‐C–dependent lung epithelial branching morphogenesis by limiting the proteolytic turnover of this ECM component within the adjacent mesenchyme. Developmental Dynamics 234:1–10, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Rapidly ageing HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men in Australia.

BACKGROUND Antiretroviral therapy has increased survival for individuals living with HIV and has led to an ageing of this population in developed countries. To date the rate of ageing has been unquantified, giving rise to uncertainty in the treatment emphasis and burden in this population. METHODS A mathematical model was used in conjunction with HIV/AIDS data from the Australian National HIV/AIDS Registry to estimate numbers and ages of Australian men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV infection from 1980 to 2005. RESULTS The average age of HIV-infected Australian MSM is estimated to exceed 44 years of age by the year 2010 and has increased by 1 year of age for each two calendar years since the mid-1980s. HIV-infected MSM over 60 years of age have been increasing in number by 12% per year since 1995. A consequence of successful therapy with subsequent ageing of those infected has meant that from 2001 estimated deaths from other causes exceed AIDS deaths in Australia. CONCLUSIONS In summary, our analyses indicate an increasing and rapidly ageing population living with HIV in Australia. This will inevitably lead to more serious non-AIDS conditions in ageing patients living with HIV, and to increased treatment complexity.
An analysis of the green response of consumers to the environmentally friendly behaviour of corporations

Nowadays, paying attention to the environmental needs and desires of consumersand trying to satisfy them by designing marketing activities in an environmentallyfriendly way, is the best way to increase their satisfaction and finally, gaincompetitive advantage. Prior research has paid much attention to the consumerbehavior and marketing activities of corporate organizations, but none has studiedthem in the area of green or environmental aspects. This study aims to fill thisresearch gap. To do so, a sample consisting of 385 consumers of dairy food productsin nine areas of Shiraz were selected and surveyed by stratified random method.Also, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses and it wasfound that green promotion and green price, respectively, have a significant andpositive impact on consumer green satisfaction; whereas the green placement andthe green product had not affected consumer green satisfaction. Further, it wasrevealed that the green satisfaction has a significant and positive impact onconsumer green loyalty and word of mouth, respectively.
The fractional discrete cosine transform

The extension of the Fourier transform operator to a fractional power has received much attention in signal theory and is finding attractive applications. The paper introduces and develops the fractional discrete cosine transform (DCT) on the same lines, discussing multiplicity and computational aspects. Similarities and differences with respect to the fractional Fourier transform are pointed out.
E2A proteins: essential regulators at multiple stages of B‐cell development

Summary: The development of mature B lymphocytes from multipotent progenitor cells requires the co‐ordinated activities of a number of transcriptional regulatory proteins. The transcription factors encoded by the E2A gene are required for the development of committed B‐lineage cells and regulate the expression of essential B‐lineage genes at multiple stages of differentiation and activation. In this review we discuss the evidence that the E2A gene products function in the regulation of 1) transcription factors required for B‐lineage determination, 2) essential proteins involved in pro‐B and pre‐B‐cell development, 3) accessibilty and recombination of the IgH and IgL chain loci, and 4) isotype switching in activated, mature B lymphocytes.
Total cleidectomy for a solitary metastasis of the clavicle.

La clavicule est une localisation rare de metastases du cancer renal. Nous rapportons le cas de deux patients qui presentaient un cancer du rein non diagnostique, revele par une metastase unique dans la clavicule. Ils ont subi une resection complete de la clavicule. Les resultats fonctionnels et esthetiques ont ete bons, sans douleur residuelle et sans deficit neurovasculaire, Nous suggeron une resection radicale de la clavicule en cas de metastase osseuse solitaire de carcinome renal, associee a un traitement systemique approprie, car cela offre une chance d'ameliorer la survie.
Significance of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism in Identification and Epidemiological Examination of Candida Species Colonization in Children Undergoing Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

ABSTRACT Candida albicans and non-C. albicans Candida species are increasingly being isolated from patients in high-risk categories, most notably, those who have undergone stem cell transplantation (SCT). Identification of the presence of non-C. albicans Candida species early in the course of the transplant procedure is important, as these species exhibit different sensitivities to the available antifungal treatments and cause mortality at rates that vary from those for C. albicans. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis has been shown to be a reliable method of reproducibly identifying medically important Candida species. We investigated the use of serial AFLP analysis of 54 routine surveillance cultures for the identification and epidemiological examination of Candida sp. colonization in five consecutive children undergoing allogeneic SCT. One child became colonized with a C. albicans strain and remained colonized with this strain during the whole admission period. Another child had persistent colonization with a C. albicans strain with striking variations in its AFLP patterns over time, which was considered indicative of microevolution. Candida dubliniensis, Candida lusitaniae, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified in the three remaining patients, with two children being simultaneously and transiently colonized with different species. These findings show that colonization with yeasts during transplantation is a complex and dynamic interaction between the host and the organism(s). In our study three strains from eight separate time points were incorrectly identified as C. albicans by a rapid enzyme test. AFLP analysis of surveillance cultures allowed more accurate and informative epidemiological evaluations of pathogenic yeasts in children during transplantation.
Lifetime Incomes in the United States Over Six Decades

Using panel data on individual labor income histories from 1957 to 2013, we document two empirical facts about the distribution of lifetime income in the United States. First, from the cohort that entered the labor market in 1967 to the cohort that entered in 1983, median lifetime income of men declined by 10%–19%. We find little-to-no rise in the lower three-quarters of the percentiles of the male lifetime income distribution during this period. Accounting for rising employer-provided health and pension benefits partly mitigates these findings but does not alter the substantive conclusions. For women, median lifetime income increased by 22%–33% from the 1957 to the 1983 cohort, but these gains were relative to very low lifetime income for the earliest cohort. Much of the difference between newer and older cohorts is attributed to differences in income during the early years in the labor market. Partial life-cycle profiles of income observed for cohorts that are currently in the labor market indicate that the stagnation of lifetime incomes is unlikely to reverse. Second, we find that inequality in lifetime incomes has increased significantly within each gender group. However, the closing lifetime gender gap has kept overall lifetime inequality virtually flat. The increase within gender groups is largely attributed to an increase in inequality at young ages, and partial life-cycle income data for younger cohorts indicate that the increase in inequality is likely to continue. Overall, our findings point to the substantial changes in labor market outcomes for younger workers as a critical driver of trends in both the level and inequality of lifetime income over the past 50 years.