Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biodiversity of marine microbes is safeguarded by phenotypic variability in ecological traits.

Why, contrary to theoretical predictions, do marine microbe communities harbor tremendous phenotypic heterogeneity? How can so many marine microbe species competing in the same niche coexist? We discovered a unifying explanation for both phenomena by investigating a non-cooperative game that interpolates between individual-level competitions and species-level outcomes. We identified all equilibrium strategies of the game. These strategies are characterized by maximal phenotypic heterogeneity. They are also neutral towards each other in the sense that an unlimited number of species can co-exist while competing according to the equilibrium strategies. Whereas prior theory predicts that natural selection would minimize trait variation around an optimum value, here we obtained a rigorous mathematical proof that species with maximally variable traits are those that endure. This discrepancy may reflect a disparity between predictions from models developed for larger organisms in contrast to our microbe-centric model. Rigorous mathematics proves that phenotypic heterogeneity is itself a mechanistic underpinning of microbial diversity. This discovery has fundamental ramifications for microbial ecology and may represent an adaptive reservoir sheltering biodiversity in changing environmental conditions.
The role of low-calorie sweeteners in the prevention and management of overweight and obesity: evidence v. conjecture

By virtue of reducing dietary energy density, low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) can be expected to decrease overall energy intake and thereby decrease body weight. Such effects will be limited by the amount of sugar replaced by LCS, and the dynamics of appetite and weight control (e.g., acute compensatory eating, and an increase in appetite and decrease in energy expenditure accompanying weight loss). Consistent with these predictions, short-term intervention studies show incomplete compensation for the consumption of LCS v. sugar, and longer-term intervention studies (from 4 weeks to 40 months duration) show small decreases in energy intake and body weight with LCS v. sugar. Despite this evidence, there are claims that LCS undermine weight management. Three claims are that: (1) LCS disrupt the learned control of energy intake (sweet taste confusion hypothesis); (2) exposure to sweetness increases desire for sweetness (sweet tooth hypothesis); (3) consumers might consciously overcompensate for ‘calories saved’ when they know they are consuming LCS (conscious overcompensation hypothesis). None of these claims stands up to close examination. In any case, the results of the intervention studies comparing LCS v. sugar indicate that the effect of energy dilution outweighs any tendency LCS might conceivably have to increase energy intake.
GLACIOLOGICAL STUDIES AT RAE GLACIER, CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS

Rae Glacier is a small cirque glacier located in the front ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. In 1990 and 1991 field research was completed to describe the physical glaciology of Rae Glacier and to characterize historical glaciological trends at the site. Ablation and surface movement rates were measured using a network of stakes drilled into the glacier and radio-echo sounding was used to describe local ice depths. Rae Glacier has experienced a significant loss in size and mass during the historical period, owing to a lengthy interval of negative mass-balance conditions. The glacier has decreased in surface area by over 50% and now contains less than 24% of the ice it did at the end of the last century. Surface-ice velocity varied between 1.4 and 5.4 m from 1990 to 1991. Rates of ice ablation proved to be highly variable, with steeper areas showing up to 50% more ablation. Combined with data on the emergent flow component of the glacier, the ablation data suggest that the glacier presently is unable.
The Younger Dryas in Scotland : environmental change and the timing of cryospheric response : report on commissioned research project 2K06E007

BGS resurvey of Sheet 46W (Crianlarich) over the period 2003-2006 identified a number of exposures of glacial deposits that were deemed suitable for dating by optically stimulated luminescence. A c. 30 m high section in Coire Chailein preserves a long sequence of diamicton, gravel and sand units that appear to indicate at least three separate glacial events. A 1-2 m thick bedded sand unit within this section was interpreted as subaerial outwash deposited close to an ice margin during a early phase of at least partial deglaciation. Having already established a local stratigraphy, we aimed to date the sand unit in order to constrain the age of the sediments above and below. Our second sample site was at Dalrigh, where ‘hummocky moraine’ are widespread and are thought to relate to the retreat of a glacier lobe embayed in the eastern end of Cononish glen. We sampled sand and silt from one of these moraines in an attempt to obtain a date for deglaciation of this area.
Definition and biomarkers of acute renal damage : New perspectives 377

a Departamento de Nefrología, Hospital de Clínicas, Montevideo, Uruguay b Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBER) de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Bunyola, Mallorca, Spain c Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario de Torrejón, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain d Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Getafe, Madrid, Spain e Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
A reliable and cost effective approach for radiographic monitoring in nutritional rickets.

OBJECTIVE Radiological scoring is particularly useful in rickets, where pre-treatment radiographical findings can reflect the disease severity and can be used to monitor the improvement. However, there is only a single radiographic scoring system for rickets developed by Thacher and, to the best of our knowledge, no study has evaluated radiographic changes in rickets based on this scoring system apart from the one done by Thacher himself. The main objective of this study is to compare and analyse the pre-treatment and post-treatment radiographic parameters in nutritional rickets with the help of Thacher's scoring technique. METHODS 176 patients with nutritional rickets were given a single intramuscular injection of vitamin D (600 000 IU) along with oral calcium (50 mg kg(-1)) and vitamin D (400 IU per day) until radiological resolution and followed for 1 year. Pre- and post-treatment radiological parameters were compared and analysed statistically based on Thacher's scoring system. RESULTS Radiological resolution was complete by 6 months. Time for radiological resolution and initial radiological score were linearly associated on regression analysis. The distal ulna was the last to heal in most cases except when the initial score was 10, when distal femur was the last to heal. CONCLUSION Thacher's scoring system can effectively monitor nutritional rickets. The formula derived through linear regression has prognostic significance. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE The distal femur is a better indicator in radiologically severe rickets and when resolution is delayed. Thacher's scoring is very useful for monitoring of rickets. The formula derived through linear regression can predict the expected time for radiological resolution.
Ideology: Its Resurgence in Social, Personality, and Political Psychology

We trace the rise, fall, and resurgence of political ideology as a topic of research in social, personality, and political psychology. For over 200 years, political belief systems have been classified usefully according to a single left—right (or liberal-conservative) dimension that, we believe, possesses two core aspects: (a) advocating versus resisting social change and (b) rejecting versus accepting inequality. There have been many skeptics of the notion that most people are ideologically inclined, but recent psychological evidence suggests that left-right differences are pronounced in many life domains. Implicit as well as explicit preferences for tradition, conformity, order, stability, traditional values, and hierarchy—versus those for progress, rebelliousness, chaos, flexibility, feminism, and equality—are associated with conservatism and liberalism, respectively. Conservatives score consistently higher than liberals on measures of system justification. Furthermore, there are personality and lifestyle differences between liberals and conservatives as well as situational variables that induce either liberal or conservative shifts in political opinions. Our thesis is that ideological belief systems may be structured according to a left-right dimension for largely psychological reasons linked to variability in the needs to reduce uncertainty and threat.
Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design

This paper answers the question, "Why do organizations process information? " Uncertainty and equivocality are defined as two forces that influence information processing in organizations. Organization structure and internal systems determine both the amount and richness of information provided to managers. Models are proposed that show how organizations can be designed to meet the information needs of technology, interdepartmental relations, and the environment. One implication for managers is that a major problem is lack of clarity, not lack of data. The models indicate how organizations can be designed to provide information mechanisms to both reduce uncertainty and resolve equivocality.
A 3‐year continuous record of nitrogen trace gas fluxes from untreated and limed soil of a N‐saturated spruce and beech forest ecosystem in Germany: 1. N2O emissions

For 3 years we followed the complete annual cycles of N2O emission rates with 2-hour resolution in spruce and beech plantations of the Hoglwald Forest, Bavaria, Germany, in order to gain detailed information about seasonal and interannual variations of N2O emissions. In addition, microbiological process studies were performed for identification of differences in N turnover rates in the soil of a spruce and a beech site and for estimation of the contribution of nitrification and denitrification to the actual N2O emission. Both pronounced seasonal and extreme interannual variations of N2O emissions were identified. During long-term frost periods, while the soil was frozen, and during soil thawing, extremely high N2O emissions occurred, contributing up to 73% to the total annual N2O loss. The enormous N2O releases during the long-term frost period were due to high microbial N turnover rates (tight coupling of ammonification, nitrification, denitrification) in small unfrozen water films of the frozen soil at high concentrations of easily degradable substrates derived from the enormous pool of dead microbial biomass produced during the long-term frost period. Liming of a spruce site resulted in a significant increase in ammonification, nitrification, and N2O emissions as compared with an untreated spruce control site. The beech control site exhibited 4–5 times higher N2O emissions than the spruce control site, indicating that forest type itself is an important modulator of N2O release from soil. At all sites, nitrification contributed ∼70% to the N2O flux, whereas denitrification contributed markedly less (∼30%). There was a significant positive correlation between amount of in situ N input by wet deposition and magnitude of in situ N2O emissions. At the beech site, 10% of the actual N input was released from the soil in form of N2O, whereas at the spruce site the fraction was 0.5%. N2O emission rates were positively correlated with net nitrification rates. The results demonstrate the need for long-term measurements over several years for more precise estimates of annual N2O losses from forest ecosystems. On the basis of our results we conclude that the importance of temperate and boreal forests for the global N2O source strength may have been significantly underestimated in the past and that these forests contribute most likely ≫1.0 Tg N2O N.
Differences by race/ethnicity in older adults’ beliefs about the relative importance of dietary supplements versus prescription medications: Results from the SURE study

Cheryl L. Albright, PhD, MPH1,2, Susan M. Schembre, PhD, RD2,3, Alana D. Steffen, PhD4, Lynne R. Wilkens, DrPH5, Kristine R. Monroe, PhD6, Kim M. Yonemori, RD5, and Suzanne P. Murphy, PhD, RD5 1School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 2Prevention and Control Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 3Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90032 4Office of Public Health Studies, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI 5Epidemiology Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 6Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033
Context-Dependent Bidirectional Regulation of the MutS Homolog 2 by Transforming Growth Factor β Contributes to Chemoresistance in Breast Cancer Cells

The TGF-β, a tumor suppressive cytokine in normal cells, is abused in cancer to promote the malignancy. In this study, we reported that TGF-β downregulated the mutS homolog 2 (MSH2), a central component of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system, in HER2-transformed MCF10A mammary epithelial cells and in breast cancer (BC) cells. This was mediated by a TGF-β–induced micro RNA (miRNA), miR-21, which targeted the 3′ untranslated region of MSH2 mRNA and downregulated its expression. A negative correlation between the expression of TGF-β1 and MSH2 was also detected in primary breast tumors. In contrast, TGF-β upregulated MSH2 in nontransformed cells through Smad-mediated, p53-dependent promoter activation, which was absent in BC cells with impaired p53 function. Although this upregulating mechanism also existed in MCF10A/HER2 and p53-proficient BC cells, both basal and TGF-β–induced MSH2 promoter activities were significantly lower than those in MCF10A. Moreover, the basal and TGF-β–induced miR-21 levels were markedly higher in transformed cells, suggesting that the preset levels of miR-21 and MSH2 promoter activity, which is affected by the p53 status, determine the outputs of the bidirectional regulation of MSH2 by TGF-β in a certain cellular context. We further found that by downregulating MSH2, TGF-β contributed to resistance to DNA-damaging chemotherapy agents in cancer cells. Our results indicated a regulatory antagonism between promoter activation and miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional inhibition underlying a dual effect of TGF-β on the DNA repair machinery, which may influence the genomic stability in a context-dependent manner and contribute to chemoresistance in cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 8(12); 1633–42. ©2010 AACR.
SMALL STRAIN STIFFNESS OF NATURAL GRANITIC SAPROLITE IN HONG KONG

Nonlinear stress-strain characteristics and shear stiffness-shear strain relationships of sedimentary soils and recompacted sands at small strains have been reported by many researchers. However, research work on the behavior of granitic soils at small strains has not attracted much attention, despite the fact that many countries around the world are underlain by granitic saprolites. In the study reported in this paper, shear stiffness of a natural granitic saprolite from Hong Kong has been investigated in the field, using the self-boring pressuremeter and geophysical techniques such as the suspension P-wave and S-wave logging method, and in the laboratory, using a triaxial apparatus equipped with internal displacement measuring devices. The observed stiffness-strain relationships of the natural granitic saprolite are highly nonlinear at small strains. Shear stiffness decreases significantly as shear strain increases. At very small shear strains (in the order of 0.001%), the elastic shear moduli deduced f.
A comparison of atmospheric phase delay estimated by ASAR and MERIS over the Campania area

Propagation delay through the atmosphere is a key problem in coherent processing of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Modern multitemporal interferometric techniques compensate the atmospheric phase delay contribution by analysing a stack of data. However, assessment of the achieved accuracy of the retrieved atmospheric component is still an open issue. In this work we report the results of an experiment carried out over a wide area aimed at comparing the zenith delay (ZD) estimated by radar and multispectral sensors. In particular, we refer to the instruments onboard the Envisat satellite and specifically to the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) and Multispectral Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) sensors that simultaneously acquire data along the same orbit. The study is preliminary to the possible exploitation of the MERIS water vapour product for compensating the atmospheric phase delay signals in a long series of acquisitions used in the multipass differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) techniques to achieve higher accuracy and/or to extend the applicability of the technique to emergency situations, as well as to the possible use of SAR interferometry in meteorological applications.
Plant succession : theory and prediction

Prologue. The nature of vegetation dynamics D.C. Glenn-Lewin, E. van der Maarel. Establishment, colonization and persistence A.G. van der Valk. Community structure and ecosystem properties R.K. Peet. Regeneration dynamics T.T. Veblen. From population dynamics to community dynamics: modeling succession as a species replacement process R. van Hulst. Statistical models of succession M.B. Usher. Individual-based models of forest succession D.L. Urban, H.H. Shugart. Climate change and long-term vegetation dynamics I.C. Prentice. Epilogue.
Tracing the lines

This article presents the results of the recent Historic Environment Scotland-funded project Tracing the Lines: Uncovering Grooved Ware Trajectories in Neolithic Scotland addressing the timing and nature of the adoption, development and ultimate demise of Grooved Ware in Scotland beyond Orkney. Following analysis within a Bayesian framework of over a hundred Grooved Ware-associated radiocarbon dates from Scotland beyond Orkney, evidence is presented that Grooved Ware pottery very closely related to Orcadian prototypes began spreading rapidly between key locales across Scotland towards the end of the 4th millennium BC. This was followed by a process of stylistic drift with regional variations. The so-called Durrington Walls sub-style was introduced some 200 years after the earliest Grooved Ware and is an exception to this pattern of gradual change. Our modelling suggests that the latest Scottish Grooved Ware has a currency that overlaps with the earliest Beakers by between 1 and 145 years and probably between 1 and 60 years. View supplementary material here: Supplementary material | References | Table S1 | Illus S40 Extracted Element
Las metavulcanitas del dominio esquistoso de Galicia Tras-os-Montes: petrografía, geoquímica y ambiente geotectónico (Galicia, NO de España)

Se estudia el vulcanismo intercalado en los grupos litoestratigráficos inferiores que integran el Dominio Esquistoso de Galicia Tras-os-Montes (DEGTM) denominados de muro a techo Santabaía, Nogueira y Paraño. El grupo de LalínForcarei que completa la secuencia no será tratado en este trabajo. La edad de estos grupos debe comprender desde el Precámbrico hasta el Dev6nico Inf. Los tres grupos tiene un cierto carácter vulcanosedimentario, más marcado en el grupo de Santabaía que en los dos grupos superiores. Se encuentran en ellos diferentes niveles volcánicos y vulcanosedimentarios de espesor y continuidad lateral variables, correspondientes a neises microporfídicos de dos micas y ortoneises biotíticos, además de algún nivel de riolitas y tranquitas presentes hacia la parte alta del grupo de Paraño. Geoquímicamente se caracteriza por ser un vulcanismo ácido de naturaleza calcoalcalina en el que predominan los términos riolíticos y riodacíticos de alto contenido en K, posiblemente originado en la zona externa de un margen continental pasivo existente durante el Ordovícico-Silúrico en el NO. de la Península, en el que tendrían lugar diferentes episodios o etapas de aportes volcánicos alternando con etapas más largas de sedimentaci6n detrítica.
River widening: an approach to restoring riparian habitats and plant species

‘River widenings’ are commonly used in river restoration to allow channel movement within a spatially limited area. Restoration seeks to restore fluvial processes and to re‐establish a more natural riparian community. This study investigates the performance of five river widenings in Switzerland, focusing on the re‐establishment of riparian (semi‐)terrestrial habitats and species, and highlights some factors that seem to influence their performance. The restoration projects are compared with pre‐restoration conditions and near‐natural conditions, which are assumed to represent the worst‐ and best‐case conditions along a gradient of naturalness. Fuzzy ordination of vegetation data and calculation of landscape metrics based on habitat maps revealed marked differences between the degree of naturalness achieved by each individual restoration project. However, in general river widenings were found to increase the in‐stream habitat heterogeneity and enhanced the establishment of pioneer habitats and riparian plants. Analyses of species pools based on a hierarchic list of indicator species and correspondence analysis showed that the ability of river widenings to host typical riparian species and to increase local plant diversity strongly depends on the distance to near‐natural stretches. Species dispersal and establishment might be hampered by decisions taken outside the scope of the restoration project. Therefore we conclude that action on the catchment scale is needed to maximize the benefits of local management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Methane, manganese, and helium‐3 in newly discovered hydrothermal plumes over the Central Indian Ridge, 18°–20°S

We have investigated newly discovered submarine hydrothermal plumes over the Central Indian Ridge, 18°–20°S. Onshore chemical analyses of methane, its carbon isotope, manganese, and helium‐3 in seawater samples obtained from the plumes revealed their detailed geochemical characteristics. One of the newly discovered hydrothermal plumes located over the western wall of the axial valley at Segment 15B (19°33′S), called the Roger Plateau, showed constant CH4/Mn and CH4/3He ratios throughout the plume. The CH4/3He ratio (4 × 106) and δ13C (−17.5‰) are consistent with those of basalt‐hosted sediment‐free hydrothermal systems, although the CH4/Mn ratio (∼1) is moderately higher. These features are thought to indicate a metal‐depleted fluid chemistry. The other hydrothermal field is located within the axial valley at the northern part of the smooth lava plain at Segment 16 (18°20′S), called the Dodo Great Lava Plain, where several plumes were detected. The CH4/Mn and CH4/3He ratios showed large variation through the plumes while δ13C values were almost constant. Geochemical characteristics of venting fluid estimated from those of the plumes were apparently high CH4/Mn (>6) and CH4/3He (>60 × 106) ratios and low δ13C values (<−27.5‰), suggesting possible influences of several methane input processes to the fluid chemistry.