Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Phylogenetic Affinities of Scarus obishime Randall & Earle, 1993, Endemic to the Pacific Ocean Archipelago of Ogasawara (Japan)1

Abstract: Scarus obishime is a rare parrotfish endemic to the Ogasawara Islands, located in the northwestern Pacific Ocean roughly 1,000 km south of the main Japanese archipelago. It was described as a new species in 1993. Since then it has been speculated to be closely related to Scarus ovifrons occurring on southern coasts of the main Japanese archipelago, but this has never been formally tested. To identify the closest relative of this rare parrotfish, we determined one nuclear (S7 ribosomal protein gene intron 1 [S7I1], ca. 600 bp) and two mitochondrial (control region [CR], ca. 400 bp and 16S rRNA, ca. 600 bp) partial DNA sequences for two specimens of the species and conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses using recently published sequences from 45 of the 52 described species of the genus and 16 of the 18 described species of Chlorurus. Nuclear and mitochondrial sequences were analyzed separately based on results of Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) searches using the newly obtained sequences of S. obishime as queries. Phylogenies resulting from two single-region analyses (S7I1 and 16S rRNA) and the concatenation of the two mitochondrial regions (CR + 16S rRNA) supported a close phylogenetic affinity between S. obishime and S. ovifrons. In addition, nuclear (S7I1) analyses demonstrated that the two “East Asian” species formed a robust monophyletic group with the Arabian species Scarus arabicus, whereas mitochondrial data sets significantly rejected monophyly of the three species. This result seems to indicate a partially shared evolutionary history between the “East Asian” and Arabian lineages.
The Challenge of Moving Beyond the Literal in Literature Discussions

Drawing on data associated with an investigation of classroom read alouds and discussions of children’s literature, this article conceptualizes the reading aloud and discussions of picturebooks as an “interpretive space” for elementary grade students’ exploration of visual images and written text. Analyzing the types of responses student generated during discussions of three picturebooks, the study revealed the dominance of literal responses in comparison with interpretive responses in the classrooms studied. Further analysis showed that time spent reading and discussing picturebooks, varying the ways the books were presented and the types of questions asked by the classroom teacher affected the types of responses offered by the students. The picturebook has become a prominent classroom resource during the past few decades (Bishop, 1992). Students have been asked to read and respond to stories and images contained in picturebooks as an essential element of literature-based reading programs. Understanding the meanings that students construct from these ubiquitous resources has played a major role in research on literature discussion and response and continues to warrant further studies. Drawing on data associated with an investigation of classroom read alouds and subsequent discussions, this article conceptualizes discussions of picturebooks as “interpretive spaces” for elementary grade students’ exploration of visual images and written text. By utilizing picturebooks as interpretive spaces, teachers can expand students’ agency and interpretive repertoires as they are invited to become active constructors of meaning and forced to deal with the openness and indeterminacies of the written and visual representations included in picturebooks (Baddeley & Eddersaw, 1994; Moebuis, 1986; Nodelman, 1984). The compound word “picturebook” has been used by various researchers and literary theorists to connote the unified nature of the written text and visual images of this
Effect of fertility associated proteins on lipid peroxidation production in Holstein Friesian semen

Present study was designed to evaluate effects of fertility associated proteins on sperm motility, viability and level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in semen. Holstein Friesian breeding bulls (17) were screened for fertility associated proteins (24, 28–30 and 55 kDa proteins), and categorized into 8 groups based on presence/absence in the seminal plasma and sperm membrane. Level of LPO compound malondialdehyde (MDA) was assessed in fresh and frozenthawed semen using thiobarbituric acid method. Fresh semen of bulls positive for fertility associated proteins had lower MDA (0.433±0.03 μmol/ml) than bulls negative for fertility associated proteins (0.740±0.05 μmol/ml). Level of MDA increased in frozen-thawed sperm by 1.5 fold as that of fresh semen among bulls positive for fertility associated proteins and 2 fold in negative bulls. MDA level increased by 27% in all the frozen-thawed semen incubated at 37°C for 180 min, however it was lower in bulls with fertility associated proteins (2.380±0.14 μmol/ ml) than negative bulls. Fresh semen with fertility associated proteins had higher number of motile sperm with progressive motility than negative bulls. Further, bulls with fertility associated proteins were able to sustain higher number of viable sperms with progressive motility than negative group at the end of 180 min of incubation. The results concluded that the fertility associated proteins were capable to sustain sperm viability and motility by limiting LPO production in fresh and frozen-thawed semen.
Clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with cleft lip and palate anomaly: 10-year experience from a tertiary care center in the sub-himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India

Background: There are no descriptive epidemiological data available from the state of Himachal Pradesh, India quantifying the problem of orofacial clefts. The present study aims at providing the baseline data from a tertiary care center in the state, on which future population studies can be conducted. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and epidemiological data of 926 consecutive patients of oral clefts who underwent surgical repair at our institute over a 10-year period (2007–2016). Results: Out of a total of 926 patients, 507 (54.8%) were males and 419 (45.2%) were females with a male to female ratio of 1.2:1. Cleft lip with palate (CLP) was the most common type of orofacial cleft (486; 52.5%). It was more common among males (56.1% vs. 48.2%, P = 0.01) compared to cleft palate which was more common among females (21.5% vs. 32%, P < 0.002). Overall, unilateral clefts were more common than bilateral clefts (504 vs. 179, P < 0.0002), with left side being affected more commonly (324 vs. 180, P < 0.0002). Craniofacial anomalies were the most commonly reported associated defects. Only 231 (24.9%) patients were operated within the infancy period. The average age at the time of lip repair was 2.8 years, while for palatoplasty, it was 6 years. Conclusions: Orofacial clefts showed a male predominance, high unilateral:bilateral and left:right ratios, and CLP as the most common variety. Very few patients with cleft lip and palate underwent surgery at the recommended age. There is a need to strengthen the existing health-care infrastructure and knowledge to improve the scenario.
Flavonoids from cabbage are feeding stimulants for diamondback moth larvae additional to glucosinolates: Chemoreception and behaviour

In caterpillars two styloconic contact chemoreceptors on the maxillary galea are assumed to contain the main taste receptors involved in host plant selection. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. is a specialist feeder of plants in the Brassicaceae, a plant family characterized by the biosynthesis of glucosinolates. We used pea (Pisum sativum L., Leguminosae) as a neutral non‐host for a dual‐choice leaf disc assay to quantify feeding stimulation by glucosinolates and flavonoids. Increasing concentrations of sinigrin resulted in significant preferences for sinigrin‐treated leaf discs, with a threshold between 1 and 3 μM. Millimolar concentrations of four of the five flavonol triglucosides likewise elicited a significant preference for flavonoid‐treated leaf discs. A mixture of four flavonoids and sinigrin was significantly preferred over sinigrin‐treated leaf discs alone. Vigorous unicellular electrophysiological responses of medial maxillary styloconic taste sensilla were observed in response to five glucosinolates (glucocapparin, sinigrin, glucobrassicin, glucoiberin, and gluconasturtiin). This medial taste neuron responded in a dose‐dependent manner to a concentration series of sinigrin, with a threshold of response of ca. 1 μM. The lateral sensillum styloconicum contained a neuron sensitive to sucrose, glucose, and fructose. However, no responses in the two types of maxillary styloconic sensilla to the phagostimulatory flavonoids could be detected, suggesting that other taste organs mediate chemoreception of flavonoids. We conclude that diamondback moth larvae employ a combination of biosynthetically distinct categories of feeding stimulants which allows for a higher degree of discriminatory ability than when this would be based on glucosinolates alone.
Perfect and imperfect simulations in stochastic geometry

This thesis presents new developments and applications of simulation methods in stochastic geometry. Simulation is a useful tool for the statistical analysis of spatial point patterns. We use simulation to investigate the power of tests based on the J-function, a new measure of spatial interaction in point patterns. The power of tests based on J is compared to the power of tests based on alternative measures of spatial interaction. Many models in stochastic geometry can only be sampled using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. We present and extend a new generation of Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, the perfect simulation algorithms. In contrast to conventional Markov chain Monte Carlo methods perfect simulation methods are able to check whether the sampled Markov chain has reached equilibrium yet, thus ensuring that the exact equilibrium distribution is sampled. There are two types of perfect simulation algorithms. Coupling from the Past and Fill’s interruptible algorithm. We present Coupling from the Past in the most general form available and provide a classification of Coupling from the Past algorithms. Coupling from the Past is then extended to produce exact samples of a Boolean model which is conditioned to cover a set of locations with grains. Finally we discuss Fill’s interruptible algorithm and show how to extend the original algorithm to continuous distributions by applying it to a point process example.
Temperature, predator–prey interaction strength and population stability

Warming could strongly stabilize or destabilize populations and food webs by changing the interaction strengths between predators and their prey. Predicting the consequences of warming requires understanding how temperature affects ingestion (energy gain) and metabolism (energy loss). Here, we studied the temperature dependence of metabolism and ingestion in laboratory experiments with terrestrial arthropods (beetles and spiders). From this data, we calculated ingestion efficiencies (ingestion/metabolism) and per capita interaction strengths in the short and long term. Additionally, we investigated if and how body mass changes these temperature dependencies. For both predator groups, warming increased metabolic rates substantially, whereas temperature effects on ingestion rates were weak. Accordingly, the ingestion efficiency (the ratio of ingestion to metabolism) decreased in all treatments. This result has two possible consequences: on the one hand, it suggests that warming of natural ecosystems could increase intrinsic population stability, meaning less fluctuations in population density; on the other hand, decreasing ingestion efficiencies may also lead to higher extinction risks because of starvation. Additionally, predicted long‐term per capita interaction strengths decreased with warming, which suggests an increase in perturbation stability of populations, i.e., a higher probability of returning to the same equilibrium density after a small perturbation. Together, these results suggest that warming has complex and potentially profound effects on predator–prey interactions and food‐web stability.
Two new and exceptional poison dart frogs of the genus Dendrobates (Anura: Dendrobatidae) from the Northeastern Flank of the cordillera Central of Colombia

We name and describe two new species of poison dart frogs of the genus Dendrobates, from the northeastern flank of the cordillera Central in the departamentos de Tolima and Caldas. Those frogs share an exceptional synapomorphy within the family, which consists of a first toe reduced and fused with the second toe, allowing only four toes to be seen externally. Perhaps this unusual characteristic is reason to create a new genus within the Dendrobatidae, however, this must await a period of further investigation of the phylogeny of these two species, including a molecular and anatomic analysis. Elucidating the taxonomic position of these species and the naming a new genus, if found to be appropriate and applicable, will be the subject of a future manuscript.
The Dynamics of Credit Quality and Implications for The Pricing of Small Business Loans

We analyze the implications of the dynamics of credit scores for small businesses; strategies for banks to maximize revenues; and Basel II minimum capital requirements on loan pricing for loans to small firms that do not have access to capital markets. Relating dynamic changes in the competitive environment to pricing decisions also provides a contribution to the literature. A theoretical model is developed to investigate the differences between relationship and transactional lending to small businesses in the context of these factors in the banking industry. The model demonstrates that in highly competitive markets, each type of lender occupies overlapping spaces, and can be simultaneously attractive to different types of borrowers if banks take advantage of their knowledge of the dynamics.
Alta prevalência do genótipo 1 em portadores de hepatite C crônica em Belo Horizonte, MG High prevalence of genotype 1 in individuals with hepatitis C in Belo Horizonte, MG

The hepatitis C virus is characterized by significant genetic heterogeneity. It is currently classified into six main genotypes and several subtypes. Determining the genotype of the virus is important in clinical practice for guiding the treatment for individuals with chronic hepatitis C. The prevalence of different genotypes and subtypes of the hepatitis C virus has not been fully studied in some regions of Brazil. In this study, 788 samples from patients with chronic hepatitis C who were attended at the Viral Hepatitis Reference Centers in Belo Horizonte were analyzed between 2002 and 2006. The genotyping of the virus was performed by direct sequencing of the 5’ UTR region. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis was performed, including all of the genotypic variants obtained. High prevalence of genotype 1 (78.4%; 1b [40.4%], 1a [37.5%] and 1a/b [0.5%]) was observed, followed by genotypes 3a (17.9%) and 2b (3.1%). Three samples were identified as genotype 2a/c (0.4%) and two as genotype 4 (0.2%). The phylogenetic analysis showed the expected segregation of the sequences obtained, with regard to the reference sequences for genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4, except for two samples of genotype 1a. The high prevalence of genotype 1 (78.4%) found in this population from Belo Horizonte was similar to previous reports from other cities such as Rio de Janeiro, but it was higher than what has been described in Sao Paulo and in the south of the country. The presence of rare atypical sequences from the 5’ UTR region suggests that variants in the hepatitis C virus exist in this population.
Harnessing the power of perception: Reducing alcohol-related harm among rural teenagers

The Social Norms Analysis Project (SNAP), conducted with rural high school students in Tasmania, demonstrates the powerful nature of the perceptions of what one's peers think and do, and is based on a model of health promotion that has been used successfully overseas. Baseline data indicate that the SNAP target groups hold inaccurate notions of fellow students' Alcohol-related behaviours and attitudes. the social norms model is presented as a theoretically informed, evidence-based model for reducing alcohol-related harm in youthful populations by utilising the complex and often positive contributions peer groups make to adolescent health and wellbeing.
Drug Coated Balloon-Only Strategy in De Novo Lesions of Large Coronary Vessels

Objectives We analyzed the efficacy of drug coated balloons (DCB) as a stand-alone-therapy in de novo lesions of large coronary arteries. DCBs seem to be an attractive alternative for the stent-free interventional treatment of de novo coronary artery disease (CAD). However, data regarding a DCB-only approach in de novo CAD are currently limited to vessels of small caliber. Methods By means of propensity score (PS) matching 234 individuals with de novo CAD were identified with similar demographic characteristics. This patient population was stratified in a 1:1 fashion according to a reference vessel diameter cut-off of 2.75 mm in small and large vessel disease. The primary endpoint was the rate of clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 9 months. Results Patients with small vessel disease had an average reference diameter of 2.45 ± 0.23 mm, while the large vessel group averaged 3.16 ± 0.27 mm. Regarding 9-month major adverse cardiac event (MACE), 5.7% of the patients with small and 6.1% of the patients with large vessels had MACE (p=0.903). Analysis of the individual MACE components revealed a TLR rate of 3.8% in small and 1.0% in large vessels (p=0.200). Of note, no thrombotic events in the DCB treated coronary segments occurred in either group during the 9-month follow-up. Conclusions Our data demonstrate for the first time that DCB-only PCI of de novo lesions in large coronary arteries (>2.75 mm) is safe and as effective. Interventional treatment for CAD without permanent or temporary scaffolding, demonstrated a similar efficacy for large and small vessels.
Use of exogenous enzymes to elaborate the Roman fish sauce ‘garum’

A fermented fish sauce, which tries to imitate the ancient Roman 'garum', was developed from tuna (Tunnus thynnus) liver and mackerel (Scomber scombrus). Exogenous proteolytic enzymes were used to accelerate the elaboration process, and various fermentation technological parameters (salt percentage, temperature, enzyme dose, continuous stirring) were assayed in order to optimise the process and obtain the best yield. Best conditions were 10% salt (5% added at the start of the process and the 5% after 24h of fermentation), 35-37 °C and Neutrase (an endoprotease from Bacillus subtilis) at 0.125 Anson Units per 100g. The fermentation process was carried out in 48h. The obtained product (filtered and diluted with a guar gum solution) was a thick sauce with 21mgNg 1 , 5.9% salt and 10% fat. The lipidic fraction showed a very interesting fatty acid profile, especially in relation to its w-3 fatty acids (PUFA/SFA ratio 0.98;4.2g eicosapentaenoic acid and 11.3g docosahexaenoic acid per 100g fat). The developed garum was rather different from fish sauces that are manufactured nowadays in South East Asian countries. La sauce de poisson est un des produits a base de poisson fermente les plus populaire en Asie.Le Garum est la sauce de poisson la plus ancienne, elle date de l'epoque romaine. Le sujet de cette etude est d'utiliser des sous-produits de poissons (foie de thon et de maquereau) pour obtenir un produit similaire a l'ancien garum dans ses proprietes nutritionnelles et sensorielles en utilisant des enzymes exogenes pour accelerer le procede.
Variazioni morfologiche degli alvei dei principali corsi d'acqua veneto-friulani negli ultimi 200 anni

Surian N. et al., Channel adjustments of the main rivers of Venetia and Friuli Venezia Giulia over the last 200 years (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2008). The streams of the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia Regions, as many other Italian streams, have undergone remarkable channel adjustments in the last decades, which have been induced by a range of human interventions. The paper, which reports the state of the art about five streams (Brenta River, Piave River, Cellina Torrent, Tagliamento River and Torre Torrent), aims to compare the evolutionary trends of such streams and the factors that have driven to channel changes in the medium and short periods (last 200 years). The selected streams are relatively large (their drainage basins range between 446 km and 3899 km) and have very wide gravel channels, often with a braided morphology, in the study reaches. Planform changes, in particular channel width variations, have been analysed using maps and aerial photographs (9 to 12 different maps/photos were available for each stream). Bed-level changes have been investigated through cross-section comparisons and field surveys. The river channels have shown very similar evolutionary trends and magnitude of adjustments. Channel changes were not notable over the 19 century, whereas the channels have been in an unstable condition in the following period. Narrowing and incision have been the dominant processes during the 20 century, up to the 1980s-1990s. Channel width reduction has been of 50-70 %, referring to the width in the first half of the 19 century, and bed-level lowering of 2-3 m on average, but locally up to 8-9 m. A different evolutionary trend, except for the Torre Torrent, has occurred in the last 15-20 years, since channel widening and aggradation have been the most common processes. The magnitude of changes during the last phase has been generally much smaller in comparison with those of the previous phases of adjustment. The gravel mining and channelization works have been the main causes of channel changes, in particular as for the main phase of adjustment that took place from the 1950s to the 1980s/1990s. The dams (except for the Cellina Torrent), torrent control works, and reforestation have probably had a smaller effect on channel dynamics than mining and channelization. As pointed out in previous studies, it is confirmed that human interventions have dramatically altered the sediment regime, whereas a significant change of channel-forming discharges has been documented in just one case (Cellina) Parole chiave: Alvei ghiaiosi, variazioni morfologiche, impatto antropico, Italia Nord-Orientale.
Barging Effects on Sensory Systems of Chinook Salmon Smolts

Abstract To avoid mortality caused by passage through dam turbines and spillways, juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are annually transported downstream by barge through the federal hydropower system on the Snake and Columbia rivers. Survival of transported fish is higher than that of in-river migrants; however, transported fish experience higher rates of postrelease mortality. Increased mortality could result from a decrease in the ability to detect or avoid predators due to stressors associated with the barge environment. This study examined the effects of barging on juvenile Chinook salmon olfaction and auditory function, two sensory systems involved in predator detection. We focused on dissolved metals known to be toxic to the salmon olfactory system and on the level of noise from the barge, which could impair the auditory system. Experimental groups included animals collected (1) before barge loading (control group), (2) at the Bonneville Dam bypass system (migrant fish), (3) immediatel.