Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sustained functional composition of pollinators in restored pastures despite slow functional restoration of plants

Abstract Habitat restoration is a key measure to counteract negative impacts on biodiversity from habitat loss and fragmentation. To assess success in restoring not only biodiversity, but also functionality of communities, we should take into account the re‐assembly of species trait composition across taxa. Attaining such functional restoration would depend on the landscape context, vegetation structure, and time since restoration. We assessed how trait composition of plant and pollinator (bee and hoverfly) communities differ between abandoned, restored (formerly abandoned) or continuously grazed (intact) semi‐natural pastures. In restored pastures, we also explored trait composition in relation to landscape context, vegetation structure, and pasture management history. Abandoned pastures differed from intact and restored pastures in trait composition of plant communities, and as expected, had lower abundances of species with traits associated with grazing adaptations. Further, plant trait composition in restored pastures became increasingly similar to that in intact pastures with increasing time since restoration. On the contrary, the trait composition of pollinator communities in both abandoned and restored pastures remained similar to intact pastures. The trait composition for both bees and hoverflies was influenced by flower abundance and, for bees, by connectivity to other intact grasslands in the landscape. The divergent responses across organism groups appeared to be mainly related to the limited dispersal ability and long individual life span in plants, the high mobility of pollinators, and the dependency of semi‐natural habitat for bees. Our results, encompassing restoration effects on trait composition for multiple taxa along a gradient in both time (time since restoration) and space (connectivity), reveal how interacting communities of plants and pollinators are shaped by different trait–environmental relationships. Complete functional restoration of pastures needs for more detailed assessments of both plants dispersal in time and of resources available within pollinator dispersal range.
Asymptotic properties of risks ratios of shrinkage estimators

We study the estimation of the mean of a multivariate normal distribution Np ; Ip in R; is unknown and estimated by the chi-square variable S 2 2n: In this work we are interested in studying bounds and limits of risk ratios of shrinkage estimators to the maximum likelihood estimator, when n and p tend to in nity provided that limp! 1 k k p 2 = c:The risk ratio for this class of estimators has a lower bound Bm = c 1 + c ; when n and p tend to in nity provided that limp! 1 k k p 2 = c:We give simple conditions for shrinkage minimax estimators, to attain the limiting lower bound Bm:We also show that the risk ratio of James-Stein estimator and those that dominate it, attain this lower bound Bm (in particularly its positive-part version). We graph the corresponding risk ratios for estimators of James-Stein JS ; its positive part +JS ; that of a minimax estimator, and an estimator dominating the James-Stein estimator in the sense of the quadratic risk ( polynomial estimators proposed by Tze Fen Li and Hou Wen Kuo [13]) for some values of n and p. Keywords : James-Stein estimator, multivariate gaussian random variable, non-central chi-square distribution, shrinkage estimator, quadratic risk. 2000 AMS Classi cation: 62F12, 62C20
Atmospheric content of Nigrospora spores in Jamaican banana plantations.

SUMMARY: The air in three Jamaican banana plantations was sampled from 20 July 1960 to 15 April 1961 with a Hirst spore trap. Spores of Nigrospora were regular components of the air-spora. They exhibited a regular and sharply defined diurnal periodicity, rapid liberation of spores starting at about 07.00 hr. and reaching a peak between 08.00 and 10.00 hr. ; very few spores were trapped during the night. This is consistent with the fact that spore discharge occurs only under conditions of decreasing vapour pressure. Rainfall and under-tree irrigation usually resulted in an appreciable increase in atmospheric content of Nigrospora spores. These high concentrations were maintained for 2-4 days before decreasing to characteristically low dry weather values. The highest daily mean concentration recorded was 1350 spores/m.3, an estimate of c. 14,000/m.3 being obtained at 08.00 hr. on the same day.
A method for the graphic registration of oxygen‐consumption and carbon dioxide output; the respiratory exchange in decerebrate rigidity 1

DECEREBRATE rigidity discovered by Sherrington, as far back as 1896, is in many respects an interesting phenomenon. One of us (1) has shown that the contraction of the extensor muscles in this form of " continuous " hyperinnervation (2) is accompanied by very distinct action currents which resemble in many respects the action currents of striped muscle in voluntary contraction in man. From this fact the contraction of the muscles in decerebrate rigidity might be looked upon as a tetanus. But in contradiction with this view is the statement by R o af(3) that in decerebrate rigidity there is no increase in the respiratory exchange. On the other hand, Lovatt Evans, according to a private communication to one of us (D. de B.), carrying out experiments in 1911 to ascertain the effect of removing decerebrate rigidity by curari, noticed " at constant temperatures, a fall in the carbon dioxide, but as he was not quite satisfied with the method employed to determine the gaseous metabolism, and as, in the meantime, R oaf's experiments on the subject appeared, he discontinued the experiments. " Bayliss has given some information on the heat production in muscles in decerebrate rigidity. He(4) refers to these experiments as follows: "Although the work is not yet complete, I found that there is a certain amount of heat produced, in magnitude varying with the degree of tonic contraction, although it is undoubtedly very much less than that produced in an artificial tetanus of a similar height. " Since the experimental evidence did not seem to be conclusive, we thought it desirable to study once more the respiratory exchange in decerebrate rigidity. We made use of a method which not only enabled us to read graphically the oxygen consumption, as in the method of Krogh, but also to record graphically the carbon dioxide output and therewith the respiratory quotient.
Proton sensitivity of rat cerebellar granule cell GABAA receptors: dependence on neuronal development

1 The effect of GABAA receptor development in culture on the modulation of GABA‐induced currents by external H+ was examined in cerebellar granule cells using whole‐cell and single‐channel recording. 2 Equilibrium concentration‐response curves revealed a lower potency for GABA between 11 and 12 days in vitro (DIV) resulting in a shift of the EC50 from 10.7 to 2.4 μM. 3 For granule cells before 11 DIV, the peak GABA‐activated current was inhibited at low external pH and enhanced at high pH with a pKa of 6.65. For the steady‐state response, low pH was inhibitory with a pKa of 5.56. 4 After 11 DIV, the peak GABA‐activated current was largely pH insensitive; however, the steady‐state current was potentiated at low pH with a pKa of 6.84. 5 Single GABA‐activated ion channels were recorded from outside‐out patches of granule cell bodies. At pH 5.4‐9.4, single GABA channels exhibited multiple conductance states occurring at 22‐26, 16‐17 and 12‐14 pS. The conductance levels were not significantly altered over the time period of study, nor by changing the external H+ concentration. 6 Two exponential functions were required to fit the open‐time frequency histograms at both early (< 11 DIV) and late (> 11 DIV) development times at each H+ concentration. The short and long open time constants were unaffected either by the extracellular H+ concentration or by neuronal development. 7 The distribution of all shut times was fitted by the sum of three exponentials designated as short, intermediate and long. At acidic pH, the long shut time constant decreased with development as did the relative contribution of these components to the overall distribution. This was concurrent with an increase in the mean probability of channel opening. 8 In conclusion, this study demonstrates in cerebellar granule cells that external pH can either reduce, have no effect on, or enhance GABA‐activated responses depending on the stage of development, possibly related to the subunit composition of the GABAA receptors. The mode of interaction of H+ at the single‐channel level and implications of such interactions at cerebellar granule cell GABAA receptors are discussed.
Prostate carcinoma

The development and progression of a prostate carcinoma from prediagnosis to death can be characterized as a series of clinical states. The states are milestones that can be used to assess prognosis, define therapeutic objectives, and assess outcomes. The antitumor effects of hormone therapies and cytotoxic agents in patients with prostate carcinoma are placed in context along with the bidrectional tumor‐host interactions that contribute to the growth and resistance of osseous lesions. Identifying the factors that contribute to the growth of the disease at different points in the illness has lead to novel, systemic approaches. Proving the benefit of these approaches requires a series of unique trials with unique endpoints relevant to the clinical state of the patients and the specific therapy under evaluation. Cancer 2003;97(3 Suppl):758–71. © 2003 American Cancer Society.
Comparison of Resting Energy Expenditure Between Cancer Subjects and Healthy Controls: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT There is conflicting evidence surrounding the extent of changes in resting energy expenditure (REE) in cancer. This meta-analysis aimed to establish the mean difference in REE, as kilojoules per kilogram fat-free mass, among cancer patients when compared to healthy control subjects. The secondary aim was to determine differences among different cancer types. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Medline, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, and ProQuest Central were searched from the earliest records until March 2014. Studies were included if measured REE was reported as kilojoules or kilocalories per kilogram fat-free mass (FFM) in adult subjects with cancer. Twenty-seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. Fourteen studies included both cancer (n = 1453) and control (n = 1145) groups. The meta-analysis shows an average increase in REE of 9.66 (95% confidence interval: 3.34, 15.98) kJ/kgFFM/day in cancer patients when compared to control subjects. Heterogeneity was detected (P < 0.001) which suggest variations in REE among cancer types. Elevations are most noticeable in patients with cancers of metabolically demanding organs.
Partial characterization of FSH suppressing activity (folliculostatin) in porcine follicular fluid using the metestrous rat as an in vivo bioassay model.

Porcine folliculsr fluid can suppress serum FSH in the sham operated or acutely ovariectomized metestrous female rat (Marder Csal., 1977). The active factor, called folliculostatin, was located in the resensase. but not in the filtrate, of follicular fluid filtered through an Amicon PM-b membrane, suggesting a molecular weight of� 10,000. Fluid from small (1-2 mm), medium (3-5 mm) and large (6-12 mm) follicles all contained FSH suppressing activity. When compared by a two-dose factorial assay, fluid from large follicles contained a lower concentration than fluid from follicles of the two smaller sizes. The ative factor was shown to be nonsteroidal, srypsin sensitive and heat stablest 60#{176}C for 20 mm; it was inactivated after heat treatment at 800 C for 30 mm. The molecular weighs range and the sensitivity to proteolysis and to high temperature are characteristics similar to those of inhibin from the testis.
Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Manual Measurements: Intraoperator and Interoperator Agreements Under A Strict Protocol in a Large Sample

Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the intraoperator and interoperator agreement for manual measurements of intima-media thickness (IMT) performed under a strict carotid ultrasound technical protocol. Methods Two blinded experienced operators independently performed an ultrasound examination at the distal common carotid of 242 subjects in the same patient's position, diastolic phase, probe type, zooming, and depth. Thirty-six subjects were reevaluated in another time point. Three different-angle manual measurements (IMTindiv) were obtained. Interoperator agreements for each IMTindiv, and their mean (IMTmean) and maximum (IMTmax) values, were assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis. Intraoperator agreement was tested taking advantage of the second ultrasound round in 36 subjects. Results IMTmean agreements (intraoperator, 0.665–0.913; interoperator, 0.856–0.897) were higher than IMTmax (intraoperator, 0.435–0.793; interoperator, 0.631–0.718) and any IMTindiv (intraoperator, 0.355–0.676; interoperator, 0.590–0.717). Despite the small systematic error for IMTmean (intraoperator, ⩽0.03; interoperator, ⩽0.02 mm), at best of times, the sampling error size reached at least 0.28 and 0.25 mm for intraoperator and interoperator agreements, respectively, and was never less than 0.13 mm. Conclusions Although IMTmean agreement is excellent under a strict protocol, limits of agreement might be too wide to consider carotid ultrasound a robust cardiovascular risk biomarker.
An efficient test vector ordering method for low power testing

This paper presents a novel test vector ordering method for average power consumption minimization. The proposed method orders the test vectors taking into account the expected switching activity at the primary inputs and at a very small set of internal lines of the circuit under test. The computational time required by the proposed method is very small while the power reduction achieved is very close to the best, with respect to power reduction, most time-consuming method. Experimental results show that apart from average power reduction, the proposed method achieves significant peak power reduction too.
Neuropsychological deficits in alcoholics: the relative contributions of gender and drinking history.

Summary Alcoholic inpatients at Bexley Hospital Treatment Unit were selected for cognitive assessment on a routine ‘consecutive admission’ basis. The male and female alcoholic groups performed significantly worse on the cognitive tests than matched controls. The ‘consecutive admission’ samples of 72 males and 33 females differed widely on drinking history data; males having significantly severer histories. The females performed worse on tests of immediate recall, and psychomotor speed. This performance difference endured whether the male and female groups were equated for drinking history differences statistically (by co-variance analysis), or by selection criteria (subject matching). The finding is discussed in the context of a greater vulnerability in women to the deleterious effects of alcohol, while noting the methodological complexities which prevent firm conclusions about causality. One possible conclusion is that females are more susceptible than males to the harmful effects of prolonged heavy drinking on cognitive performance. Alternatively, it may be that those females who become alcoholic are ‘at risk’ in some unspecified way which is reflected in the present performance differences.
A ‘three‐pronged’ binding mechanism for the SAP/SH2D1A SH2 domain: structural basis and relevance to the XLP syndrome

The SH2 domain protein SAP/SH2D1A, encoded by the X‐linked lymphoproliferative (XLP) syndrome gene, associates with the hematopoietic cell surface receptor SLAM in a phosphorylation‐independent manner. By screening a repertoire of synthetic peptides, the specificity of SAP/SH2D1A has been mapped and a consensus sequence motif for binding identified, T/S‐x‐x‐x‐x‐V/I, where x represents any amino acid. Remarkably, this motif contains neither a Tyr nor a pTyr residue, a hallmark of conventional SH2 domain–ligand interactions. The structures of the protein, determined by NMR, in complex with two distinct peptides provide direct evidence in support of a ‘three‐pronged’ binding mechanism for the SAP/SH2D1A SH2 domain in contrast to the ‘two‐pronged’ binding for conventional SH2 domains. Differences in the structures of the two complexes suggest considerable flexibility in the SH2 domain, as further confirmed and characterized by hydrogen exchange studies. The structures also explain binding defects observed in disease‐causing SAP/SH2D1A mutants and suggest that phosphorylation‐independent interactions mediated by SAP/SH2D1A likely play an important role in the pathogenesis of XLP.
Rapid perfusion quantification using Welch-Satterthwaite approximation and analytical spectral filtering

CT and MR perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) enable quantification of perfusion parameters in stroke studies. These parameters are calculated from the residual impulse response function (IRF) based on a physiological model for tissue perfusion. The standard approach for estimating the IRF is deconvolution using oscillatory-limited singular value decomposition (oSVD) or Frequency Domain Deconvolution (FDD). FDD is widely recognized as the fastest approach currently available for deconvolution of CT Perfusion/MR PWI. In this work, three faster methods are proposed. The first is a direct (model based) crude approximation to the final perfusion quantities (Blood flow, Blood volume, Mean Transit Time and Delay) using the Welch-Satterthwaite approximation for gamma fitted concentration time curves (CTC). The second method is a fast accurate deconvolution method, we call Analytical Fourier Filtering (AFF). The third is another fast accurate deconvolution technique using Showalter’s method, we call Analytical Showalter’s Spectral Filtering (ASSF). Through systematic evaluation on phantom and clinical data, the proposed methods are shown to be computationally more than twice as fast as FDD. The two deconvolution based methods, AFF and ASSF, are also shown to be quantitatively accurate compared to FDD and oSVD.
Phenotypes correlating to metastatic properties of pancreas adenocarcinoma in vivo: The importance of surface sialyl Lewisa antigen

Metastasis to the liver often occurs in patients during the natural course of pancreatic cancer. Using carcinoma cell lines established from 9 such patients, we examined phenotypes of cell lines to search for correlations with their potential to metastasize to the liver. Anti‐asialo GMI‐treated nude mice were used. PCI‐43, ‐55, ‐24 and ‐6, in this order, had frequent metastases, while PCI‐10, ‐19, ‐35, ‐64, and ‐66 did not. In vitro doubling time, surface expression of sialyl Lewis a (SLe a), VLA‐4/6, LFA‐1/3, CEA, E‐selectin, VCAM‐I, NCAM, Mac‐I, HLA‐ABC/DR/DQ, ICAM‐1/2, production of interleukin‐1α, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and matrix metalloproteinase, as well as susceptibility to cytotoxicity by natural killer cells, were all examined. Expression of surface SLea was significantly associated with metastasis; numbers of metastatic colonies of SLe a‐positive and ‐negative cell lines were 21.6 ± 33.9 and 6.5 ± 14.3 (p < 0.01), respectively. Moreover, the intensity of surface SLe a expression of each PCI line correlated with the number of metastatic colonies in the liver. When anti‐SLea monoclonal antibody (MAb) was administered, the development of liver metastasis by PCI‐43 cells was significantly repressed, as compared with a control MAb. Although a reverse correlation between surface ICAM‐1 expression and liver metastasis was noted, the species‐restricted function of ICAM‐1 makes interpretation difficult. Collective evidence indicates that expression of SLe a is an important positive mediator in the hematogenous metastasis of pancreas carcinoma. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adverse events experienced by three children taking tenofovir and didanosine in combination

We are writing to report three cases of HIV-positive children who experienced adverse effects whilst taking tenofovir and didanosine together as part of their triple combination antiretroviral therapy. The first patient, a 12-year-old boy, was admitted with abdominal pain, vomiting and glycosuria (but no ketonuria and only mildly raised serum glucose) after 6 months on this combination. He was found to have acute renal tubulopathy. He was hypophosphataemic and hypocalcaemic and had low serum bicarbonate. His serum creatinine was noted retrospectively to have consistently risen over the period preceding the tubulopathy, although it remained within normal limits. We believe that this is the first reported paediatric case of tenofovir-related tubulopathy, although there have been reports of this being linked to tenofovir in the adult population. We then noted that two other patients who had been on this combination for nearly a year had similarly falling serum phosphate and rising serum creatinine. Patient 3, despite previous good immune reconstitution and a viral load that remained undetectable, had a marked decline in his absolute CD4 count. This also occurred but was less marked in the other two cases. There are previous reports of impaired immune reconstitution with this combination in adults [1]. The Swiss HIV Cohort Study [2] reported cases of patients with impaired CD4 cell recovery when high doses of didanosine (44.1 mg/kg/day) were administered in combination with tenofovir. Both didanosine and tenofovir were stopped in all three cases, with good resolution of serum biochemical parameters and a rapid increase in absolute CD4 count in the patient with impaired immune reconstitution. The blood results of the patients are summarized in Table 1. We believe these cases to be of significance because of the seriousness of the adverse event experienced by the first patient and because, of a cohort of over 50, only these three children were on this combination and each one experienced adverse effects. Five other children on tenofovir but not in combination with didanosine have not experienced adverse effects. We do not believe that these adverse effects described would have resolved without the discontinuation of didanosine and tenofovir in combination. It is now clear that this is a combination that should not be routinely used if other options remain. If this combination needs to be used, we suggest that the dose of didanosine should be reduced. We conclude that paediatric recommendations should be developed and extreme caution exercised if this regimen is required. These cases highlight the need to be very cautious in using combinations of antiretrovirals in children for which we have no formal evaluation.