Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new genus of miniature cynolebiasine from the Atlantic Forest and alternative biogeographical explanations for seasonal killifish distribution patterns in South America (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae)

The analysis of 78 morphological characters for 16 species representing all the lineages of the tribe Cynopoecilini and three out-groups, indicates that the incertae sedis miniature species ‘Leptolebias’ leitaoi Cruz & Peixoto is the sister group of a clade comprising the genera Leptolebias, Campellolebias, and Cynopoecilus, consequently recognised as the only member of a new genus. Mucurilebias gen. nov. is diagnosed by seven autapomorphies: eye occupying great part of head side, low number of caudal-fin rays (21), distal portion of epural much broader than distal portion of parhypural, an oblique red bar through opercle in both sexes, isthmus bright red in males, a white stripe on the distal margin of the dorsal fin in males, and a red stripe on the distal margin of the anal fin in males. Mucurilebias leitaoi is an endangered seasonal species endemic to the Mucuri river basin. The biogeographical analysis of genera of the subfamily Cynolebiasinae using a dispersal-vicariance, event-based parsimony approach indicates that distribution of South American killifishes may be broadly shaped by dispersal events. The analysis supports south-eastern Brazilian coastal plains as the centre of dispersal for cynolebiasine killifishes. Alternative biogeographical explanations are compared and possible dispersal routes and means of dispersal are discussed.
Structural Modification of Xanthate Collectors To Enhance the Flotation Selectivity of Chalcopyrite

A modified xanthate compound similar to xanthogen formates, S-benzoyl O-isobutyl xanthate (BIBX), was designed by introducing a carbonyl and a benzyl group into the xanthate structure. The preparation, recovery performance, and mechanism of adsorption of this compound to chalcopyrite is discussed. BIBX was synthesized using a one-pot approach with superior efficiency, which has important commercial implications. BIBX’s performance in the recovery of and mechanism of adsorption to chalcopyrite was investigated via flotation tests, adsorption quantity measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that BIBX displays a substantially stronger collecting ability toward chalcopyrite than sodium isobutyl xanthate and O-isopropyl-N-ethylthionocarbamate. Moreover, BIBX displays superior selectivity for chalcopyrite compared to pyrite. The adsorption data indicate that BIBX can be applied under slightly acidic or alkaline c.
From configuration interaction to coupled cluster theory: The quadratic configuration interaction approach

Configuration interaction (CI) theory has dominated the first 50 years of quantum chemistry before it was replaced by many‐body perturbation theory and coupled cluster theory. However, even today it plays an important role in the education of everybody who wants to enter the realm of quantum chemistry. Apart from this, full CI is the method of choice for getting exact energies for a given basis set. The development of CI theory from the early days of quantum chemistry up to our time is described with special emphasis on the size‐extensivity problem, which after its discovery has reduced the use of CI methods considerably. It led to the development of the quadratic CI (QCI) approach as a special form of size‐extensive CI. Intimately linked with QCI is the scientific dispute between QCI developers and their opponents, who argued that the QCI approach in its original form does not lead to a set of size‐extensive CI methods. This dispute was settled when it was shown that QCI in its original form can be converted into a generally defined series of size‐extensive methods, which however have to be viewed as a series of simplified coupled cluster methods rather than a series of size‐extensive CI methods. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Formation of giant planets in disks with different metallicities

We present the first results from simulations of processes leading to planet formation in protoplanetary disks with different metallicities. For a given metallicity, we construct a two-dimensional grid of disk models with different initial masses and radii (M0, R0). For each disk, we follow the evolution of gas and solids from an early evolutionary stage, when all solids are in the form of small dust grains, to the stage when most solids have condensed into planetesimals. Then, based on the core accretion - gas capture scenario, we estimate the planet-bearing capability of the environment defined by the final planetesimal swarm and the still evolving gaseous component of the disk. We define the probability of planet-formation, Pp, as the normalized fractional area in the (M0 ,l ogR0) plane populated by disks that have formed planets inside 5 AU. With such a definition, and under the assumption that the population of planets discovered at R 5 AU, our results agree fairly well with the observed dependence between the probability that a star harbors a planet and the star's metal content. The agreement holds for the disk viscosity parameter α ranging from 10 −3 to 10 −2 , and it becomes much poorer when the redistribution of solids relative to the gas is not allowed for during the evolution of model disks.
Egg quality of Japanese quail in Serbia (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

In the last years Japanese quail (Conturnix coturnix japonica) is becoming more popular as a source of meat and eggs. Information on egg quality characteristics has been limited mostly to chicken eggs. The aim of this paper is to enhance the knowledge on the quality of quail eggs. In this study external and internal quality traits of quail eggs from three different commercial farms will be presented. For egg mass, shape index, shell thickness, shell mass no significant difference was found between farms. For yolk colour, yolk and albumen mass, statistically significant differences were found between the three farms. The difference in shell breaking strength between farms A and B was not significant and significant differences were found between eggs from farm C. Yolk, albumen and shell percentage were in the same relation as the mass of these parameters. The worst albumen quality was recorded in eggs from farm A. The parameters yolk colour, Haugh Unit and egg proportions (albumen, yolk and shell) do not differ between chicken and quail eggs. On the other hand, parameters which differ are egg mass (about five times smaller at quail eggs), shape index, shell breaking strength and shell thickness, which was to be expected. The external and internal egg quality traits of quail eggs from three farms in Serbia do not differ from the results of quality traits from other countries. On the other hand, this investigation contributes the development of science, because it includes some parameters, which have so far not been published in literature by other researchers from this area.
GRP78 overexpression as an unfavorable outcome in glioma patients.

AIMS In this study, the GRP78 expression and the correlation between GRP78 expression and clinicopathologic data in patients with glioma, including survival, were examined. METHODS AND RESULTS The mRNA and protein levels of GRP78were respectively determined by real-time PCR and immunohistochemical analysis in 30 fresh glioma samples and 19 fresh normal brain samples as well as 156 paraffin-embedded glioma samples and 35 normal paraffin-embedded brain samples. The data showed that GRP78 mRNA is markedly upregulated compared with normal brain tissues. Consistent with this data, the GRP78 protein level was also significantly increased in glioma tissues compared with normal brain tissues. We further observed that high GRP78 protein expression was significantly associated with clinical stage (P = 0.0013) but did not correlate with age and gender. High, rather than low, GRP78 protein expression was associated with pooroverall survival rates (P = 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that high GRP78 protein expression was an independent prognostic indicator of patient survival (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate that GRP78 is overexpressed and plays a significant role in disease progression and poor outcome in patients with glioma.
A Compact Broadband Cross-Shaped Circularly Polarized Planar Monopole Antenna With a Ground Plane Extension

This letter presents a new broadband circularly polarized (CP) planar monopole antenna with a simple structure and compact size. Broadband CP operation is achieved by vertically extending one side of the ground plane, while a cross-shaped monopole structure and the presence of a slot in the ground plane assure a broad impedance bandwidth. The antenna is successfully simulated, and a prototype is fabricated. Measurement results indicate that the 3 dB axial-ratio bandwidth is about 42.6% (2.6 GHz, 4.8–7.4 GHz), fully covered by a –10 dB impedance bandwidth of 55.5% (3.35 GHz, 4.36–7.71 GHz). Furthermore, the proposed antenna can be used together with a metallic reflector to obtain directive radiation patterns with enhanced broadside gain.
Consumer Empowerment in the Digital Economy: Availing Sustainable Purchasing Decisions

The advent of the digital economy and, implicitly, of competition in the online marketplace has triggered new challenges in terms of consumer protection approaches. Online, consumer skills are expected to be improved and the level of consumer awareness and engagement increased. These are the baseline prerequisites of the sustainable purchasing decision and, thus, should be considered as pillars of responsible online consumption. Consistent with the novel consumption challenges, the current paper is intended to advance and test a research model integrating five main constructs, namely, competition in the online marketplace, online consumer skills, online consumer awareness, online consumer engagement and sustainable purchasing decision. A total of 318 college students—a representative population of the new Millennials generation—accepted the invitation to participate in a questionnaire-based survey. In order to pertinently analyze the collected data, a structural equation modeling technique based on partial least squares was employed for the assessment of the measurement and the structural model. The findings indicated that the model explained 24.4 percent of the variance of sustainable purchasing decisions, while the highest influence was exerted by the improvement of online consumer skills. This implies that online providers should revisit their products sustainability standards on purpose to preserve a competitive advantage.
Treatment A Quantitative Signature of Self-Control Repair : Rate-Dependent Effects of Successful Addiction

Excessive temporal discounting undergirds addiction, and the quantitative relationships of changes in discounting have yet to be investigated. The quantitative relationship between preand posttreatment discount rates was examined using data from five of our studies with diverse interventions across different groups of substance users. Discounting and treatment-outcome drug-use data from 222 drug-dependent individuals were analyzed. The primary measures were discounting of delayed reinforcers and objective measures of drug use. Results revealed that change in discounting was inversely related to baseline rates of discounting, such that participants with low discount rates showed little change in discounting with treatment, whereas participants with high discount rates showed large reductions in discounting. As importantly, those treatments that produced the largest gains in drug abstinence had the largest effects on discount rates. Temporal discounting changes with the specific quantitative signature of rate dependence, and more efficacious treatments remediate high discounting rates.
Event-triggered formation control of multi-agent systems

This paper is focused on the formation control of multi-agent systems (MAS). A new control law based on event-driven strategies is presented. The agents with any initial position can reach the desired formation and target under such control law. Formability of MAS depends on several key factors: the agents' dynamic structures, the connectivity topology, the properties of the desired formation and the admissible control set. The control actuation updates considered in this paper are event-driven, depending on the ratio of a certain measurement error with respect to the norm of a function of the state.
Does IL-17 F Play a Role in Etiology of TS ? A Family Based Study

Previous studies have suggested a critical role for interleukin IL-17F in innate and adaptive immunity in vivo and its abnormal expression was found to play a bridging role in several neurological disorders. In this study, we investigated the association between functional polymorphisms in IL-17F and Tourette’s syndrome (TS) in a Chinese Han population. We recruited 407 TS nuclear family trios (325 male cases and 82 female cases each with their parents) and 417 controls (321 male and 96 female), and performed TaqMan allelic discrimination real-time PCR to genotype two polymorphisms in IL-17F, rs1889570 and rs763780. The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) and haplotype relative risk (HRR) were used to estimate genetic susceptibility. In addition, we designed a classic case–control study to identify differences in the genetic distributions of these polymorphisms. No transmission disequilibrium was found between the IL-17F tag polymorphisms rs1889570 and rs763780 and TS (rs1889570: TDT=1.35, P=0.266, HRR=1.327, χ=3.812, P=0.051, 95%CI=0.999-1.763, haplotype-based HRR (HHRR)=1.127, χ=1.371, P=0.242, 95%CI=0.923-1.376; rs763780: TDT=3.10, P=0.092, HRR=0.74, χ=3.00, P=0.083, 95%CI=0.526-1.041, HHRR=0.75, χ=3.146, P=0.076, 95%CI=0.546-1.031). The allelic frequencies and genotypic distributions were compared by Pearson’s chi-square test, which also indicated there was no remarkable difference between the TS patients and the controls. Our research indicated that the genetic variants of rs763780 and rs1889570 in IL-17F may not play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of TS in a Chinese Han population. However, these findings should be confirmed in other ethnic populations.
Secretion of angiopoietin-like 4 protein from intestinal cells

Background : Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) has been suggested to play a role in lipid metabolism as a regulatory protein of lipoprotein lipase activity. Intestinal secretion of ANGPTL4, which is regulated by fatty acids, may inhibit the activity of circulating lipoprotein lipase; but, recent studies suggest that it could also inhibit pancreatic lipase in the gut and thereby reduce intestinal uptake of lipids. Secretion of the ANGPTL4 protein to either the lumen or tissue/blood side of the intestinal epithelial layer would indicate possible modes of action. Methods : Caco-2 cells were grown on permeable membranes and cultured for 21 days to spontaneously differentiate into an intact monolayer of intestinal cells, mimicking the epithelial cell layer lining the intestinal wall. Cells were treated with 9 mM butyrate and the time dependent gene expression and protein secretion to the apical and basolateral side was analysed over a time-course of 24 hours. Possible feedback from ANGPTL4 protein was investigated by adding 0.25 ng/ml recombinant ANGPTL4 protein to culture media. Results : Butyrate-induced ANGPTL4 gene expression increased in Caco-2 cells after 2 hours, reaching a plateau of approximately 6 fold after 6-24 hours, while the ANGPTL4 protein secretion to both the apical and basolateral sides was increased 18-24 hours after stimulation. A negative feedback on apical and basolateral secretion was observed in the presence of recombinant ANGPTL4 on the apical and basolateral sides, respectively. Conclusion : The present study indicates that, upon exposure to butyrate, the monolayer of epithelial cells secretes the ANGPTL4 protein to both the tissue/blood (basolateral) side and the luminal (apical) side of the monolayer which, in an in vivo situation, may be interpreted as potential inhibition of both the circulating and pancreatic lipase. Keywords : Angiopoietin-like 4, Caco-2, Permeable membrane, Protein, Secretion, Intestine, Negative feedback
Preference and consumption of a taste enhanced meat meal by older hospital patients: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: Older hospital patients are considered to be at risk of malnutrition due to insufficient dietary intake. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether taste enhancement, using ingredients naturally high in umami compounds, increases preference and consumption of a meal by older hospital patients. METHODS: 31 patients (65–92 years) on elderly carewards in aUKNHS Trust hospital took part in a single-blinded preference and consumption study. They tasted two meats (control and enhanced, presented in balanced order) and stated their preference. At lunch, control and enhanced cottage pie and gravy were served concurrently; patients were asked to consume ad libitum and intake was measured. RESULTS: Taste enhanced meat was significantly preferred (P = 0.001). Although mean consumption was higher for the enhanced compared to control meal (137 g versus 119 g), with higher levels of energy (103 kcal versus 82 kcal) and protein (4.6 g versus 3.4 g) consumed; differences were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Natural ingredients rich in umami taste compounds can successfully be used to increase preference of meat based meals by older hospital patients. Larger trials are needed to determine whether such increases in preference can significantly increase consumption.
Treatment with Sub-inhibitory Kanamycin Induces Adaptive Resistance to Aminoglycoside Antibiotics via the AcrD Multidrug Efflux Pump in Escherichia coli K-12

Research has shown that exposing Escherichia coli cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of kanamycin induces adaptive resistance upon subsequent exposure to lethal levels of both structurally-similar and unrelated antibiotics. AcrD is an efflux pump that forms a complex with the outer membrane pore TolC and the periplasmic membrane fusion protein AcrA. Together, this complex works to export a variety of aminoglycosides and amphiphilic compounds from the cell. The involvement of AcrD in the observed adaptive resistance was assessed by comparing the induction of adaptive resistance upon exposure to kanamycin in wildtype and acrD-deficient Escherichia coli strains. Both strains were pretreated with subinhibitory concentrations of kanamycin and subsequently exposed to lethal concentrations of ampicillin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, and tetracycline. Growth was monitored over 18 hours via optical density readings. Comparing the relative growth of the different treatments revealed that adaptive resistance was only induced in the wild-type strain towards kanamycin and streptomycin. This indicates that AcrD is necessary for the induced adaptive resistance and that it is specific to aminoglycosides. Additionally, molecular techniques were used to assess the level of expression of acrA, which was found to be upregulated in both the wild-type and acrD deletion strains following pretreatment with kanamycin. RNA was isolated from pretreated and control wild-type and acrD deletion cells, converted to cDNA, and analyzed using semi-quantitative PCR to analyze levels of acrA expression. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that AcrD is an inducible protein whose up regulation contributes to the previously observed adaptive resistance.
Neuropsychological Impairment, Depression, and Parkinson's Disease

Depression, a frequently cited concomitant of Parkinson's disease (PD), can result in the overestimation of the frequency and severity ofPD-related neuropsychological deficits. In this study, 89 nondemented and 19 demented PD patients, as determined by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, were significantly more depressed than 64 controls on two depression scales. There were significant, negative associations between scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale and performance on 8 neuropsychological test variables. Analysis of covariance was used to statistically control for level of depression, as well as age and education. Both PD groups were significantly impaired on 7 neuropsychological test variables, including measures of visuomotor, memory, and executive functions. The demented PD group was more impaired than the nondemented PD and control groups on 9 neuropsychological test variables. Cognitive impairments in the nondemented PD group were relatively subtle and not apparent on the MMSE. Depression remains a potential confound, but it is unlikely to account for all of the neuropsychological deficits associated with PD. A model for the neuropsychological examination ofPD patients is discussed.
Global regime shift dynamics of catastrophic sea urchin overgrazing

A pronounced, widespread and persistent regime shift among marine ecosystems is observable on temperate rocky reefs as a result of sea urchin overgrazing. Here, we empirically define regime-shift dynamics for this grazing system which transitions between productive macroalgal beds and impoverished urchin barrens. Catastrophic in nature, urchin overgrazing in a well-studied Australian system demonstrates a discontinuous regime shift, which is of particular management concern as recovery of desirable macroalgal beds requires reducing grazers to well below the initial threshold of overgrazing. Generality of this regime-shift dynamic is explored across 13 rocky reef systems (spanning 11 different regions from both hemispheres) by compiling available survey data (totalling 10 901 quadrats surveyed in situ) plus experimental regime-shift responses (observed during a total of 57 in situ manipulations). The emergent and globally coherent pattern shows urchin grazing to cause a discontinuous ‘catastrophic’ regime shift, with hysteresis effect of approximately one order of magnitude in urchin biomass between critical thresholds of overgrazing and recovery. Different life-history traits appear to create asymmetry in the pace of overgrazing versus recovery. Once shifted, strong feedback mechanisms provide resilience for each alternative state thus defining the catastrophic nature of this regime shift. Importantly, human-derived stressors can act to erode resilience of desirable macroalgal beds while strengthening resilience of urchin barrens, thus exacerbating the risk, spatial extent and irreversibility of an unwanted regime shift for marine ecosystems.