Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probing the Functional Diversity of Global Pristine Soil Communities with 3-Chlorobenzoate Reveals that Communities of Generalists Dominate Catabolic Transformation

ABSTRACT Understanding of functional diversity of microbial populations has lagged description of their molecular diversity. Differences in substrate specificity, kinetics, products, and regulation can dramatically influence phenotypic variation among closely related strains, features that are missed when the strains studied are the fastest-growing and most easily isolated from serial enrichments. To investigate the broader bacterial diversity underlying degradation of anthropogenic chemicals in nature, we studied the 3-chlorobenzoate (3-CBA) degradation rate in a collection of aerobic 3-CBA degraders previously isolated from undisturbed soils in two representative ecosystems: (i) Mediterranean sclerophyllous woodlands in California, Chile, South Africa, and Australia and (ii) boreal forests in Canada and Russia. The majority of isolates degraded 3-CBA slowly and did not completely mineralize 1.0 mM 3-CBA within 1 week. Those with intermediate degradation rates had incomplete degradation pathways and produced colored intermediates indicative of chlorocatechol, a product likely metabolized by other members of the community. About 10% of the isolates grew rapidly and mineralized greater than 90% of the 3-CBA, but because of population heterogeneity in soil, they are likely not large contributors to a soil's total transformation capacity. This suggests that xenobiotic degradation in nature is carried out by a community of cometabolic generalists and not by the efficient specialists that have been traditionally studied in the laboratory. A subset of 58 genotypically distinct strains able to degrade >80% of the 3-CBA was examined for their catabolic versatility using 45 different compounds: mono- and dichlorinated benzoates, phenols, anilines, toluenes, nitrobenzenes, chlorobenzenes, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The isolates degraded from 2 to more than 30 compounds with a median of 7, but there was no correlation to habitat of isolation or 3-CBA activity. However, these findings were indicative of finer-scale functional diversity.
A 64×8 Pixel 3-D CMOS Time Of Flight Image Sensor for Car Safety Applications

For car safety applications a 64times8 pixel 3D CMOS image sensor based on the time-of-flight principle (TOF) has been developed and successfully tested. The illumination source used is a pulse modulated (PM) class 1 laser operating at 910nm wavelength. The sensor employs the so called "multiple double short time integration (MDSI)", which compensates for sensor as well as scene nonidealities, like reflectance variations, and it suppresses the effects of background illumination. An optimised pixel circuit presented in this paper enables the detection of objects with a distance resolution of 2.2mm in the range up to 20m. This result has been achieved by reducing the noise equivalent power (NEP) of the sensor in comparison to previous approaches. The chip has been realized in a 0.5mum n-well standard CMOS process. The pixel pitch is 130mum with a fill factor of about 100%
Price and Quantity Competition with Asymmetric Costs in a Mixed Duopoly: A Technical Note

We consider a mixed duopoly in which private and public firms can choose to strategically set prices or quantities when the public firm is less efficient than the private firm. Thus, even with cost asymmetry, we obtain exactly the same result (i.e., Bertrand competition) of Matsumura and Ogawa (2012) if Singh and Vives’ (1984) assumption of positive primary outputs holds. However, compared to endogenous determination of the type of contract without cost asymmetry, our main finding is that in the wider range of cost asymmetry, different type(s) of equilibrium related to or not related to the limit‐pricing strategy of the private firm can be sustained. Thus, when considering an implication on privatization, we may overestimate the welfare gain of privatization because Cournot competition takes place after privatization even though cost asymmetry exists between firms. While the result of Matsumura and Ogawa (2012) holds true if the goods are complements, we find the novel results in the case of substitutes.
Olive oil abrogates acrylamide induced nephrotoxicity by modulating biochemical and histological changes in rats

Abstract Acrylamide (ACR) is one of the most important contaminants occurring in foods heated at high temperatures. The aim of this study is to investigate the protective efficacy of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), a main component of the Mediterranean diet, against nephrotoxicity induced by ACR. Rats have received by gavage during 21 days either ACR (40 mg/kg body weight) or ACR-associated with EVOO (300 μl) or only EVOO (300 μl). Acrylamide induced nephrotoxicity as evidenced by an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), protein carbonyls (PCOs) and a decrease in glutathione, non-protein thiols (NPSHs), and vitamin C levels. Activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were also decreased. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, creatinine, urea, and uric acid, urinary volume and creatinine clearance levels were modified. EVOO supplementation improved all the parameters indicated above. Kidney histoarchitecture confirmed the biochemical parameters and the beneficial role of EVOO. EVOO, when added to the diet, may have a beneficial role against kidney injury by scavenging free radicals and by its potent antioxidant power.
Innovation and the economic downturn: Insights from Portuguese firms

Recent research has found evidence of a variety of business profiles regarding innovation during the economic downturn. Several studies reported that firms were reducing or abandoning innovation activities and dropping related expenses while other authors have found that some firms are exploring the economic turbulence as an opportunity for creative destruction and to gain competitive advantage. This article explores the data collected from the last waves of CIS (Community Innovation Survey) in Portugal (2006-2008-2010-2012) to understand the changes in the determinants of the development of innovation activities, product and process innovation, before, during and in the peak of the crisis. The empirical study presents limited dependent variable models to analyse the relevance of structural factors, absorptive capacity and strategic variables in the different periods. The article concludes with implications for the behaviour of firms and innovation resilience.
Results of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study of Memory Training for Mildly Impaired Alzheimer's Disease Patients

The efficacy of a memory-training program to improve word-list recall and recognition was evaluated in 34 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). The patients, who were all taking donepezil throughout the 6-week intervention, were randomly assigned to a cognitive intervention group or a control group. The Control group received didactic presentations but no formal memory training. Patients were assessed on neuropsychological tests before the 6-week training program, immediately after the training, and 8 weeks after completion of the training. Caregivers, who were blind to group assignment, completed activities of daily living (ADLs) and everyday memory questionnaires at all three timepoints. No significant main effects of group (training vs. control) or time were observed on any outcome measures, nor were any significant interactions found. In terms of "process" measures during the 6-week training program, the patients demonstrated modest improvement on recall and recognition of test material presented during the training sessions. These results suggest that although modest gains in learning and memory may be evident in AD patients who are taught specific strategies, the benefits do not generalize to other measures of neuropsychological functioning after a brief intervention.
A class-based queueing service for IEEE 802.11e wireless networks

In order to fairly access a shared wireless channel and allocate network resources, resource management mechanisms are required for controlling link-sharing in wireless local area networks (WLANs), which are expected to support real-time and multimedia applications. We then propose, in this paper, an extended class-based queueing (CBQ) service, based on a controlled hierarchical link-sharing model with a QoS-aware IEEE 802.11e MAC protocol to support sharing of the link bandwidth among different users in a distributed manner. Dynamically adjusting parameters in IEEE 802.11e, e.g., AIFS, CW/sub min/, and CW/sub max/, which are used to control the probability of accessing the channel, our scheme is able to achieve fair channel sharing. Using a simulation approach, we demonstrate the fairness improvement of our scheme is good.
Total tubeless versus standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of total tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) versus standard PCNL. METHOD MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were researched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinically controlled trials (CCTs) comparing total tubeless PCNL (tubeless and stentless) versus standard PCNL were included in this review. The related studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in the meta-analysis. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of each included studies and extracted data. RevMan 5.1. was used for meta-analysis. OUTCOME Five RCTs and four CCTs were included, involving a total of 652 patients. All patients were divided into the total tubeless PCNL group and the standard PCNL group. The pooled results showed that the total tubeless PCNL group significantly reduced the hospital stay [weighted mean difference (WMD) -1.09 (95% confidence intervals, 95% CI -1.33, -0.85)] and analgesic requirement [standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.59 (95% CI -0.96, -0.23)]. There was no statistically significant difference in the operation time [WMD -4.14 (95% CI -8.27, -0.01)], mean hemoglobin decrease [-0.07 (95% CI -0.20, 0.06)], fever [relative risk (RR) 0.53 (95% CI 0.16, 1.69)], transfusion [RR 0.86 (95% CI 0.40, 1.85)], prolonged urinary drainage [RR 0.58 (95% CI 0.08, 4.09)], and ancillary procedure [extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, RR 0.84 (95% CI 0.29, 2.41), second-look PCNL RR 1.18 (95% CI 0.49, 2.89)]. According to the study design, the subgroup analyses were performed; most results were consistent with the overall findings, except the one that evaluated the analgesic requirement in the CCT subgroup. CONCLUSION Total tubeless PCNL is a safe and effective procedure. It significantly reduced the hospital stay, analgesic requirement, and the time to return to normal activity without increasing complications. However, further randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Finding similar patterns in time stamped temporal datasets

The research objective in this paper is to address the scope for research to design dissimilarity measure which uses the standard score and normal probability. Traditionally, the dissimilarity measure used is Euclidean distance to obtain dissimilarity between two known vectors of m-dimensions. The measure addressed in this paper maps the temporal pattern expressed as support vectors to z-space vectors. The dissimilarity measures uses these z-space vectors to find the dissimilarity degree between any two patterns expressed as support vectors. The procedure to retrieve similar patterns is outlined as the algorithm which uses distance and support bounds to eliminate and prune patterns that are not the required candidate patterns.
Beyond the Roofline: Cache-Aware Power and Energy-Efficiency Modeling for Multi-Cores

To foster the energy-efficiency in current and future multi-core processors, the benefits and trade-offs of a large set of optimization solutions must be evaluated. For this purpose, it is often crucial to consider how key micro-architecture aspects, such as accessing different memory levels and functional units, affect the attainable power and energy consumption. To ease this process, we propose a set of insightful cache-aware models to characterize the upper-bounds for power, energy and energy-efficiency of modern multi-cores in three different domains of the processor chip: cores, uncore and package. The practical importance of the proposed models is illustrated when optimizing matrix multiplication and deriving a set of power envelopes and energy-efficiency ranges of the micro-architecture for different operating frequencies. The proposed models are experimentally validated on a computing platform with a quad-core Intel 3770K processor by using hardware counters, on-chip power monitoring facilities and assembly micro-benchmarks.
Interventions for helping patients to follow prescriptions for medications.

BACKGROUND People who are prescribed self-administered medications typically take less than half the prescribed doses. Efforts to assist patients with adherence to medications might improve the benefits and efficiency of health care, but also might increase its adverse effects. OBJECTIVES To update a review summarising the results of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions to help patients follow prescriptions for medications for medical problems, focusing on trials that measured both adherence and clinical outcomes. SEARCH STRATEGY Computerised searches to August 2001 in MEDLINE, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) PsychInfo, and Sociofile; bibliographies in articles on patient adherence; articles in the reviewers' personal collections; and contact with authors of original and review articles on the topic. SELECTION CRITERIA Articles were selected if they reported an unconfounded RCT of an intervention to improve adherence with prescribed medications, measuring both medication adherence and treatment outcome, with at least 80% follow-up of each group studied and, for long-term treatments, at least six months follow-up for studies with positive initial findings. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Information on study design features, interventions and controls, and results were extracted by one reviewer and confirmed by at least one other reviewer. The studies were too disparate to warrant meta-analysis. MAIN RESULTS For short-term treatments, one of three interventions reported in three RCTs showed an effect on both adherence and clinical outcome. Eighteen of 36 interventions for long-term treatments reported in 30 RCTs were associated with improvements in adherence, but only 16 interventions led to improvements in treatment outcomes. Almost all of the interventions that were effective for long-term care were complex, including combinations of more convenient care, information, reminders, self-monitoring, reinforcement, counselling, family therapy, and other forms of additional supervision or attention by a health care provider (physician, nurse, pharmacist or other). Even the most effective interventions did not lead to large improvements in adherence and treatment outcomes. Two studies showed that telling patients about adverse effects of treatment did not affect their adherence. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS The full benefits of medications cannot be realised at currently achievable levels of adherence. Current methods of improving adherence for chronic health problems are mostly complex and not very effective. Innovations to assist patients to follow medication prescriptions are needed.
Ocular Bacterial Flora, Tear Production, and Intraocular Pressure in a Captive Flock of Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine normal ocular surface bacterial flora, tear production, and intraocular pressure in a captive flock of Humboldt penguins, Spheniscus humboldti. Twenty-eight healthy penguins were studied and equally divided between fresh- and saltwater habitats. The population consisted of 15 female and 13 male penguins, ranging from 3–20 years of age. Following complete ophthalmic exam, 4 penguins with cataracts were removed from the study. Eight penguins from each habitat were randomly selected for ocular surface aerobic bacterial culture. Corynebacterium spp. and Staphylococcus spp. were the most common isolates. Twenty-five organisms consisting of 17 species, and 15 organisms consisting of 9 species, were identified in fresh- and saltwater groups, respectively. Tear production and intraocular pressures were evaluated on 24 penguins with normal ocular exams. The range and mean (±standard deviation) tear production, measured with the Schirmer tear test, was 1–12 mm/min and 6.45 mm/min ± 2.9, respectively. The mean tear production for penguins housed in the freshwater habitat was greater (8.5 mm/min) than those in saltwater (4.8 mm/min). The range and mean (±standard deviation) intraocular pressure, measured by applanation tonometry using a Tono-Pen XL® tonometer, was 10–27 mmHg and 20.36 mmHg ± 4.1, respectively. This data should be utilized as a reliable resource for those involved in avian and zoo medicine.
Spontaneous and Engineered Deletions in the 3′ Noncoding Region of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus: Construction of Highly Attenuated Mutants of a Flavivirus

ABSTRACT The flavivirus genome is a positive-strand RNA molecule containing a single long open reading frame flanked by noncoding regions (NCR) that mediate crucial processes of the viral life cycle. The 3′ NCR of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus can be divided into a variable region that is highly heterogeneous in length among strains of TBE virus and in certain cases includes an internal poly(A) tract and a 3′-terminal conserved core element that is believed to fold as a whole into a well-defined secondary structure. We have now investigated the genetic stability of the TBE virus 3′ NCR and its influence on viral growth properties and virulence. We observed spontaneous deletions in the variable region during growth of TBE virus in cell culture and in mice. These deletions varied in size and location but always included the internal poly(A) element of the TBE virus 3′ NCR and never extended into the conserved 3′-terminal core element. Subsequently, we constructed specific deletion mutants by using infectious cDNA clones with the entire variable region and increasing segments of the core element removed. A virus mutant lacking the entire variable region was indistinguishable from wild-type virus with respect to cell culture growth properties and virulence in the mouse model. In contrast, even small extensions of the deletion into the core element led to significant biological effects. Deletions extending to nucleotides 10826, 10847, and 10870 caused distinct attenuation in mice without measurable reduction of cell culture growth properties, which, however, were significantly restricted when the deletion was extended to nucleotide 10919. An even larger deletion (to nucleotide 10994) abolished viral viability. In spite of their high degree of attenuation, these mutants efficiently induced protective immune responses even at low inoculation doses. Thus, 3′-NCR deletions represent a useful technique for achieving stable attenuation of flaviviruses that can be included in the rational design of novel flavivirus live vaccines.
Environmental Influences on Epigenetic Profiles

Studies of environmental challenges, such as hazardous air pollutants, nonmutagenic toxins, diet choice, and maternal behavioral patterns, reveal changes in gene expression patterns, DNA methylation, and histone modifications that are in causal association with exogenous exposures. In this article we summarize some of the recent advances in the field of environmental epigenetics and highlight seminal studies that implicate in utero exposures as causative agents in altering not only the epigenome of the exposed gestation, but that of subsequent generations. Current studies of the effects of maternal behavior, exposure to environmental toxins, and exposure to maternal diet and an altered gestational milieu are summarized.
Are Optimal Contracting and Managerial Power Competing or Complementary Views? Evidence from the Compensation of Statutory Auditors in Italy

Manuscript Type. Empirical. Research Question/Issue. This study examines whether and to what extent the compensation of independent monitors at the board level is the outcome of an optimal contract between independent parties or the result of involvement with corporate insiders. Research Findings/Insights. By using a hierarchical linear regression model with a sample of 559 statutory auditors, whose main task is to monitor the acts and the decision&#8208;making process of the board of directors, this study provides evidence that statutory auditors' compensation is mainly based upon the effort and responsibilities that are observable by shareholders. However, our findings highlight that the additional, poorly disclosed, compensation that a statutory auditor may receive, unrelated to his/her role, is associated with his/her involvement with corporate insiders. Theoretical/Academic Implications. By analyzing a three&#8208;tier hierarchical agency model, this study gives insights into how and to what extent the optimal contracting and managerial power perspectives provide complementary, rather than competing, explanations to the basis and design of compensation at the board level. Not only do these perspectives of agency theory co&#8208;exist at an aggregate level, but also seem to be complementary at both the firm level and individual level. Practitioner/Policy Implications. This study offers insights to policymakers by questioning the current regulation that allows threats to the independence of a formally independent corporate governance mechanism. We recommend further disclosure about the criteria and the rationales of the additional compensation received by statutory auditors. In addition, we suggest investors and other stakeholders, who may rely on the work of the board of statutory auditors as independent monitor, to be careful about the way statutory auditors are paid.
Chinese and Korean mothers in England: motherhood, gender and employment

This article explores the lived experiences of first-generation Chinese and South Korean mothers living in England. The data are analysed using six intersecting categories: motherhood and gender ideology; educational level; reasons for migration; the length of stay in England; family economic circumstances; and the locality of settlement. The findings suggest that, while there appear to be stark differences in Chinese and South Korean mothers’ understanding of motherhood and employment, their accounts concurrently indicate commonalities in terms of persistent gender inequality at home, founded on patriarchal values. Out of the six interrelated categories, their motherhood and gender ideology obtained in their country of origin seems to have had a dominant influence in shaping these women’s experiences, along with their settlement into their respective ethnic communities.