Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Salient Cues and Complexity

Economic decisions are often influenced by "salient cues" that stand out in the choice context and attract attention. Intuitively, through channeling attention to a subset of the relevant information, salience thereby reduces the "dimensionality" of a decision problem. Building on this intuition, we hypothesize that people behave more consistently across differently complex problems if there is a common salient cue that guides their attention and, consequently, behavior. We experimentally test and confirm this hypothesis in the context of choice under risk: while revealed attitudes toward skewed risks — which have extreme and salient outcomes — are consistent across differently complex problems, revealed attitudes toward symmetric risks — where such a salient cue is missing — vary significantly with complexity. We provide suggestive evidence that these findings are driven by the extreme outcomes of skewed risks attracting a subject's attention and guiding choices. To rationalize our experimental results, we propose a variant of Bordalo et al.'s (2012) salience theory.
Epichloë fungal endophyte colonisation and seed quality in developing grass florets – effect of different fertiliser applications

ABSTRACT Perennial ryegrass is an important pasture, forage and turf plant, and in New Zealand, it is commonly and intentionally inoculated with selected beneficial endophyte strains. These endophytes provide enhanced traits to their host grasses with AR37, a market leading strain, conferring a broad spectrum of insect deterrence coupled with excellent animal performance. The effect of different nitrogen forms, with and without potassium, on a range of seed quality parameters, and presence of AR37, was determined. TSW and seed germination did not respond to nitrogen application. However, a combination of nitrogen and potassium reduced TSW and seed germination and increased empty seed percentage. There was no influence of spikelet position on any of the seed quality parameters measured. However, within a spikelet, there was an effect of floret position on TSW, empty seed and endophyte presence. The effect varied depending on whether nitrogen was applied as nitrate or ammonium.
Influence of different water deficit levels during grain filling on yield and total polyphenols content in spring wheat cultivars

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is often affected by abiotic stress such as high temperatures and water deficit. Due to this, grain yield can be reduced by a water deficit and an inadequate grain filling as well as affect synthesis of polyphenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of water deficit on yield in spring wheat cultivars during grain filling stage, and evaluate total polyphenol content in whole wheat flour. Experiments were conducted at two locations during 2016-2017 growing season, using a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement, with 12 treatments consisting of three irrigations levels and four spring wheat cultivars. In Site 1, interaction (P < 0.05) was obtained between water deficit level and cultivar, ‘Pantera-INIA CL’ achieved highest grain yield (10.5 Mg ha-1), with a well-watered treatment, while ‘Lasana’ reached lowest grain yield (8.5 Mg ha-1), with a severe water deficit. However, water deficit did not affect significantly (P > 0.05) grain yield in Site 2, and differences were observed only between cultivars (P < 0.05) in a range of 6.1 to 7.1 Mg ha-1. Total polyphenol content was not affected by water deficit, differences were only observed between cultivars in both locations (P < 0.05). However, cultivars showed a higher total polyphenol content in Site 1. Water deficit level did not negatively influence yield of four wheat cultivars evaluated in Site 2. While in Site 1, only yield of ‘Lasana’ and ‘Pantera-INIA CL’ was reduced, with severe water deficit.
An Overview of β-Glucan Functionality in Dairy Products

Consumers’ awareness of how diet is affecting the health and their demand for healthy foods has encouraged the food industry to produce healthy food products. Thus, functional ingredients including probiotics and prebiotics have introduced to industry in order to develop these types of food products. β-glucan, a soluble dietary fiber which has many desirable biological activities such as improving health of gut and prebiotic properties, reducing constipation, suppressing hunger, serum cholesterol reduction and preventing coronary heart disease, is one of the functional components that increasingly used. Moreover, it has specific physical properties including gelling capacity, stabilizer, emulsifying and thickening agent that make it suitable for using in foods, medicines and cosmetics industries. Hence, in this paper, application of β-glucan as a prebiotic and its effects on physiochemical, rheological and sensory characteristics in dairy foods are reviewed.
Reflections on unspoken problems and potential solutions for the well-being juggernaut in positive psychology

ABSTRACT In an earlier paper (Goodman et al., 2018), we found that two models of subjective well-being demonstrated substantial overlap, with correlations between . 85-. 98. We concluded that these two models do not capture distinct types of well-being – a conclusion consistent with a growing list of studies that have found high correlations between various models of well-being. In response to our work, the developer of one well-being model wrote a commentary offering an alternative conclusion (Seligman, 2018). In this paper, we continue this important discussion by delineating areas of disagreement and common ground. We present our new hierarchical framework of well-being and illustrate how it can resolve long-standing points of contention in well-being measurement.
Consumer Valuation of Remanufactured Products: A Comparative Study of Product Categories and Business Models

Understanding consumer valuation of remanufactured products is vital to the success of the remanufacturing business. However, whether and how product categories and business models influence the consumer valuation have not been investigated in detail. To test the effects of product categories and business models on the consumer valuation and acceptance of remanufactured products empirically, this study presents a survey on the relative value of remanufactured products perceived by the consumers. Six product categories (low-end laptops, high-end laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, printers, and water purifiers) and two business models (the buying model and the rental model) were selected as the factors. Negative perception (NP), purchase intention (PI), and acceptable prices (APs) were used as measures of the perceived value. A group of 95 students from a Korean university participated in the survey. Statistical hypothesis testing shows that both the product categories and the business models cause significant differences in the relative value of remanufactured products. Especially, the results indicate that certain product categories are more advantageous for remanufacturing from a consumer-demand viewpoint. The results also show that the suitability of the rental model varies across the product categories; for certain categories, the rental model can be a better option for remanufacturing.
Antimicrobial resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from spontaneously fermented wild boar sausages

The aim of this study was to investigate the susceptibility of coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) isolated during spontaneous fermentation of wild boar sausages to antimicrobials penicillin, oxacillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, enrofloxacine, tetracycline, lincomycin, erythromycin, gentamycin, vancomycin and streptomycin. Sausages were sampled at day 0, 14, 21, 35, 43 and 60 of maturation and monitored for total viable count, lactic acid bacteria, enterococci, enterobacteria, Escherichia coli, yeasts, moulds and staphylococci. Each sampling day 15-20 colonies (total of 120 strains) were randomly selected from manitol salt agar. Only 25 isolates were Gram positive, coagulase-negative and catalase positive cocci which were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests by means of disk diffusion and epsilometer (E) method using Mueller Hinton agar and CLSI interpretative breakpoints. All the strains were susceptible to penicillin, oxacillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, enrofloxacine, gentamycin, vancomycin and streptomycin. In total 16 CoNS strains (64%) showed resistance to tetracycline, erythromycin or lincomycin. Results of this preliminary research indicate a significant prevalence of resistant CoNS strains in spontaneously fermented wild boar sausages.
Isolation of novel ligands for MAS-related G protein-coupled receptors X1 and X2, and their effect on mast cell degranulation

The mast cells are an integral part of the human immune system. They are important modulators of inflammatory and physiological processes. Mast cells exert their functions through degranulation and release of inflammatory mediators, such as histamine, proteases and cytokines. There are two main pathways leading to the mast cell activation, the immunoglobulin-dependent and the immunoglobulin-independent pathway. The latter pathway can be triggered by several non-immunological stimuli, and two novel receptors responsible for the activation have been identified, the MAS-related G protein-coupled receptor X1 (MRGPRX1) and X2. The MRGPRX1 and MRGPRX2 have two established functions: i) they trigger the degranulation of mast cells and ii) they are involved in pain perception and itch on a specific subset of sensory neurons. These receptors are not expressed in all of the populations of mast cells, only in the tryptase and chymase containing mast cells, contributing to the mast cell heterogeneity. Unlike most G protein-coupled receptors, the MRGPRX1 and MRGPRX2 are quite non-selective, binding an ever growing list of different ligands. Their ligands include endogenous neuropeptides, host defense peptides and protein fragments, as well as synthetic compounds such as different antibiotics. Their endogenous ligands could be a triggering signal in some mast cell-related diseases by degranulating mast cells and thereby inducing inflammation. Due to the nonselectivity of MRGPRX1 and MRGPRX2, they probably still have many hitherto unknown ligands. The aim of this study was to isolate novel endogenous ligands for the MRGPRX1 and MRGPRX2 from human tissues with the “reverse pharmacology approach” and to determine their potential to degranulate mast cells. The starting materials for the isolation, human platelets and plasma, contained MRGPRX1 and MRGPRX2 activating compounds. From the human plasma, three fragments of albumin able to activate the MRGPRX2 were isolated and sequenced. These fragments were dose-dependently activating the MRGPRX2 and degranulating mast cells. Two MRGPRX1 activating hemoglobin β-chain fragments were isolated from human platelets. These fragments were dose-dependently activating the MRGPRX1, but had no effect on mast cell degranulation.
Tourmaline Composition of the Kışladağ Porphyry Au Deposit, Western Turkey: Implication of Epithermal Overprint

The Kışladağ porphyry Au deposit occurs in a middle Miocene magmatic complex comprising three different intrusions and magmatic-hydrothermal brecciation related to the multiphase effects of the different intrusions. Tourmaline occurrences are common throughout the deposit, mostly as an outer alteration rim around the veins with lesser amounts disseminated in the intrusions, and are associated with every phase of mineralization. Tourmaline mineralization has developed as a tourmaline-rich matrix in brecciated zones and tourmaline-quartz and/or tourmaline-sulfide veinlets within the different intrusive rocks. Tourmaline was identified in the tourmaline-bearing breccia zone (TBZ) and intrusive rocks that had undergone potassic, phyllic, and advanced argillic alteration. The tourmaline is present as two morphological varieties, aggregates of fine crystals (rosettes, fan-shaped) and larger isolated crystals and their aggregates. Four tourmaline generations (tourmaline I to IV) have different compositions and substitutions. Tourmaline I in TBZ and INT#1 is distinguished by the highest Fetot and enriched in Fe3+. Tourmalines II and III occur as fine aggregates, accompanied by the formation of isolated crystals and are characterized by lower Fetot and Fe3+. Tourmaline IV is characterized by the lowest Fetot, enriched in Cl, and has the highest proportion of X-site vacancy among all the tourmalines. Tourmaline I may be attributed to the potassic stage in INT#1 and early tourmaline in TBZ. Tourmalines II and III from INT#1 and the TBZ could be referred to the phyllic stage. The low Fe content in tourmaline is caused by the simultaneous deposition of sulfide minerals. Tourmaline IV from the TBZ and tourmaline II from INT#3 are distinguished by the high X-site vacancy proportion up to the formation of X-site vacant species as well as enriched in Cl; they can be attributed to the argillic stage of the hydrothermal process. The textural and especially chemical data of the tourmaline from the Kışladağ Au deposit provide information on the physico-chemical conditions during the porphyry to epithermal transition and subsequent epithermal overprinting.
Methane yield from anaerobic digestion of festulolium and tall fescue cultivated on a fen peatland under different harvest managements

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of harvesting managements with two-cuts (2C) and three-cuts (3C) per year for subsequent specific methane yield (SMY) and methane yield per hectare (MYPH) of festulolium and tall fescue cultivated on a riparian fen peatland in a block-designed field experiment (n = 3). For the 2C managements, three timings of the first cut were implemented corresponding to growth stages of pre-heading (2C-early), inflorescence emergence (2C-mid), and flowering (2C-late). Anaerobic digestion batch assays with biomass samples were run for 68 days, showing that 90% of total methane (CH4) was produced within 38 days. Specific methane yield ranged from 315 to 464 NL CH4 kg−1 volatile solids (mean, 393 NL). On average, SMY of the final cut biomass was 13% lower than the first cut biomass. Methane yield per hectare ranged from 5277 to 6963 Nm3 CH4 ha−1 (mean, 6265 Nm3) and was predominantly influenced by biomass yield since SMY only deviated modestly in relation to harvest management (crop maturity). Methane yield per hectare of festulolium under 3C and 2C-late management were significantly higher than 2C-early and 2C-mid managements, whereas the harvesting managements did not influence MYPH of tall fescue. The levels of SMY and MYPH in the present study represented high-end of reported values due to a combination of high activity of the biogas inoculum and a high productivity of festulolium and tall fescue at the riparian fen peatland.
Wet spells over the core monsoon domain of northern Pakistan during the summer season

Flooding events or wet spells have increased over Pakistan in recent years. However, a long‐term classification of large‐scale and synoptic‐scale configuration for these events has been lacking. In this study, a total of 53 wet spells during the period of 1951–2015 over the core monsoon domain of northern Pakistan are identified using rainfall data. Based on daily geopotential height fields from NCEP/NCAR re‐analysis, the dominant synoptic‐scale systems, displaying distinct low‐level circulation and moisture transport, are found during these wet spells over Pakistan. They are categorized as trough with low pressure system (LPS, 30 cases), trough without LPS (19 cases) and LPS only (4 cases) wet spells. Without the accompanying LPS over India, the trough tends to be deep and intrudes to southern Pakistan with moisture transport mainly from the Arabian Sea. In contrast, the trough is relatively shallow and interacts with presence of the LPS to steer moisture from the Bay of Bengal towards Pakistan. We found that subtropical trough is an essential ingredient of wet spells over Pakistan. This is different from wet spells over the core monsoon domain of India, which is mainly dominated by LPS. The ridge development over Siberia is a precursor to wet spells over Pakistan and provides guidance for prediction.
PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY OF RUTILUS PRESPENSIS (KARAMAN, S., 1924) FROM LAKE PRESPA AND LAKE SKADAR

The phenotypic plasticity of Rutilus prespensis from Lake Prespa and Lake Skadar was evaluated based on 20 morphometric measurements. Analysis of variance and covariance showed that seven morphometric characters were different between populations: maximum body height, head length, horizontal eye diameter, interorbital distance, predorsal distance, dorsal fin height and anal fin length. These seven characters did not show any overlap in size between examined populations, which indicated significant differences between populations in these characters. The present study examines the allometric growth pattern of a number of morphometric characters of R. prespensis. The aim of this study was to examine variability in external morphology of R. prespensis populations from Lake Prespa and Lake Skadar.
Anti-Cancer Effects Of Tocotrienols In Nsclc

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Integration of Fish Culture in Hydroponic Agriculture in Flood-Prone Areas

Floating bed organic cultivation of different vegetables, flowers, and seedlings have been shown a promising means of agricultural crop production in different wetland areas of Bangladesh. The present study was aimed at finding out the suitability of the integration of fish in this system in waterlogged areas. The experiment consists of three treatments namely SB, silver barb Barbonymus gonionotus; T, tilapia Oreochromis niloticus; and SBT, tilapia: silver barb (1:1 ratio) with three replications of 6.75 m2 floating vegetable beds in each. Fish were stocked at a rate of 3 m-2 for five months of culture and fed at 1.5% of body weight twice daily. Over the study period, water quality parameters and fish survival rate did not vary significantly among different treatments. Tilapia showed significantly higher daily and specific growth rates in monoand polyculture, but silver barb only in polyculture system. Thus, total fish production in kg ha-1 was significantly higher in treatments T (p = 0.001) and SBT (p = 0.001) than SB. Vegetable production was not significantly different among treatments. In the financial analysis, the benefit-cost ratio of different treatments was >1, indicating that investment was financially profitable for all treatments, but treatment T and SBT were more profitable. Therefore, we can conclude that integrating fish with floating bed agriculture systems could be an ideal approach to generate alternate income activities and mitigate climate change effects among disaster-prone waterlogged regions of Bangladesh.
A novel platform for creating digital PCR assays to detect genetic translocations and its application to the initial diagnosis of cancer.

ii Preface . iii Table of Contents . iv List of Tables . vii List of Figures . viii List of Symbols . x List of Abbreviations . xiii Acknowledgements . xvii Dedication . xviii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Thesis Overview . 1 1.2 Translocations and their Mechanism of Formation . 5 1.3 The Philadelphia Chromosome, the BCR-ABL Fusion Gene and CML . 6 1.3.1 Stages of CML . 9 1.3.2 Further Variations within the Philadelphia Chromosome and Derivative Chromosome 9 . 10 1.3.3 Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and Treatment of CML . 11 1.4 ALK-positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer . 13 1.4. 1 Current Treatments for ALK-positive NSCLC . 14 1.5 Current Methods for Detecting Translocations . 16 1.5. 1 Clinical Detection of the BCR-ABL Fusion Gene . 16 1.5. 2 Clinical Detection of the ALK Biological DSB . 21 1.6 Thesis Objectives . 23 1.7 Purifying Genomic DNA from Tissue Specimens and Cell Lines . 25 1.8 Digital PCR . 26 1.8. 1 Basic Principles and Data Analysis Methods . 26 1.8. 2 Applications of Digital PCR Analysis in Cancer Diagnostics . 30 Chapter 2: Initial Diagnosis of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Based on Quantification of M-BCR Status Using Droplet Digital PCR . 31 v 2.1 Introduction . 31 2.2 Materials and Methods . 35 2.2.1 Oligonucleotides . 35 2.2.2 Cell Lines . 36 2.2.3 Genomic DNA Purification . 37 2.2.4 Primer and Probe Design . 39 2.2. 5 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) Assay Workflow . 39 2.2. 6 BCR-ABL FISH Assay . 40 2.2. 7 Statistics . 41 2.3 Results . 41 2.3.1 Platform Concept . 41 2.3.2 Assay Design . 43 2.3.3 Detecting M-BCR Status in BCR-ABL Positive and Negative Cell Lines . 44 2.3. 4 Model-Based Quantification of M-BCR Status . 47 2.3. 5 Operating Conditions and Algorithm for Accurate Cluster Assignments . 53 2.3. 6 M-BCR Status Assay Shows 1:1 Correspondence with BCR-ABL Frequencies . 56 2.3. 7 Assay Limit of Detection when applied to gDNA from Cell Lines . 63 2.4 Discussion . 63 Chapter 3: Initial Diagnosis of ALK-positive Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Based on ALK Gene Fragmentation Analysis Utilizing Droplet Digital PCR . 69 3.1 Introduction . 69 3.2 Materials and Methods . 72 3.2.1 Oligonucleotides . 72 3.2.2 Cell Lines and EML4-ALK Reference Samples . 72 3.2.3 Genomic DNA Purification . 73 3.2.4 Primer and Probe Design . 74 3.2. 5 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) Assay Workflow . 75 3.2. 6 ALK Break-Apart FISH Assay . 76 3.2. 7 Statistics . 76 3.3 Results . 77 3.3.1 Assay Design . 77