Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal condition determines birth date and growth of newborn bear cubs

Abstract The number, size, and survival of bear cubs emerging from winter dens depend on maternal condition prior to entering the den. We hypothesized that delayed implantation provides flexibility in timing of birth such that pregnant females are able to track environmental or body conditions long after conception to optimize reproductive output in a changing environment. We tested the hypotheses that causative links between maternal condition and size of newly emerging brown bear (Ursus arctos) cubs were females in superior condition give birth earlier and, thereby, lactate longer in the den than females in poorer condition; and females in superior condition produce more milk or higher quality milk, which accelerates cub growth relative to females in poorer condition. No brown bear with a body fat content ≤ 20% produced cubs even though breeding occurred. Brown bears that were fat gave birth earlier than those that were lean. Cubs nursing from fat mothers grew faster than those nursing from lean mothers. The combination of an earlier birth date and faster growth by cubs produced from fat mothers increased mass of brown bear and polar bear (U. maritimus) twins at den emergence by 330–360 g for each unit increase in percent maternal body fat content when entering hibernation.
Targeting of extracellular proteases required for the progression of pancreatic cancer

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Its lethality is due, in large part, to its resistance to traditional chemotherapeutics. As a result, there is an enormous effort being put into basic research to identify proteins that are required for PDA progression so that they may be specifically targeted for therapy. Objective: To compile and analyze the evidence that suggests that extracellular proteases are significant contributors to PDA progression. Methods: We focus on three different extracellular protease subclasses expressed in PDA: metalloproteases, serine proteases and cathepsins. Based on data from PDA and other cancers, we suggest their probable roles in PDA. Results/conclusions: Of the proteases expressed in PDA, many appear to have overlapping functions, based on the substrates they process, making therapeutics complicated. Two protease families most likely to have unique, critical functions during tumor progression, and therefore strong potential as therapeutic targets, are the a disintegrin and metalloproteases (ADAMs) and the cathepsins.
Ridge irrigation reduced greenhouse gas emission in double-cropping rice field

ABSTRACT Ridge irrigation (RI) is a water-saving irrigation technique for paddy fields. To obtain a suitable mode of RI in increasing rice yield and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from paddy fields, taking conventional irrigation (CI) as a control, the effects of RI with different ridge widths on rice yield, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, global warming potential (GWP) and GHG emission intensity (GHGI) in paddy fields of south China were investigated using the double-cropping rice field experiments. Compared with CI mode, RI with ridge width of 80 cm (RI80) increased the yields of double-cropping rice by 11.3–17.6% and decreased CH4 emissions from double-cropping rice fields by 45.6–70.3%. However, RI80 mode slightly increased N2O emissions from double-cropping rice fields. Compared with CI mode, RI80 mode decreased GWP and GHGI in double-cropping rice fields by 45.2–61.4% and 52.5–74.8%, respectively. Thus, the RI with ridge width of 80 cm was the optimal mode in increasing the yields of double-cropping rice and decreasing CH4 emission, GWP and GHGI in this study.
Differences in Using the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) 7 Nonverbal Battery Versus the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) 2 to Identify the Gifted/Talented

The two most commonly used nonverbal tests for gifted identification, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) nonverbal battery, have not been compared in their newer versions to explore the effects of their use on the identification of underserved populations. Additionally, the effects of the use of various norming groups and cutoff scores on both instruments’ identification abilities has not been compared. This study compared 15,733 CogAT7 nonverbal battery scores and 14,421 NNAT2 scores of kindergartners between 2013 and 2015 from one large urban school district to explore the differences between how each test relates to major demographic variables and examine the effects on who is selected for participation in gifted programming based on which instrument, which norming group, and which cutoff scores are used. Both instruments were less likely to identify students from demographic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented than students from traditionally overrepresented demographic groups, but identification varied based on the type of norming plan used and which instrument was taken. Suggestions are made as to the best instrument for use with various demographic groups and norming plans.
Short Communication: Effects of duodenal infusion of increasing amounts of α-linolenic acid on composition and susceptibility to peroxidation of blood lipids in lactating dairy cows

Sun, P., Wang, J.-Q. , Liu, Q. -S. , Khas-Erdene and Yang, G. 2012. Short Communication: Effects of duodenal infusion of increasing amounts of αlinolenic acid on composition and susceptibility to peroxidation of blood lipids in lactating dairy cows. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 92: 219-223. Duodenal infusion of increasing amounts of αlinolenic acid (LNA) in dairy cows linearly decreased the percentages of 18:0, 18:2n-6 and saturated fatty acids (P<0.01), linearly and quadratically reduced 23:0 and 18:1 cis-9 (P<0.01), but linearly increased the content of 18:3 n-3 and PUFA (P<0.01) in blood plasma. As amount infused increased, concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol increased quadratically and peaked at 139.9 mg dL-1 and 182.0 mg dL-1, respectively (P<0.01). No differences were observed in the activity of blood serum total superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity, but the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances tended (P=0.07) to increase linearly. Duodenally infused increasing amounts of LNA altered the composition of fatty acids and distribution of lipids in blood, but did not affect the oxidative stability of the blood in dairy cows.
Should Children Do More Enrichment Activities? Leveraging Bunching to Correct for Endogeneity

We study the effects of enrichment activities such as reading, homework, and extracurricular lessons on children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills. We take into consideration that children forgo alternative activities, such as play and socializing, in order to spend time on enrichment. Our study controls for selection on unobservables using a novel approach which leverages the fact that many children spend zero hours per week on enrichment activities. At zero enrichment, confounders vary but enrichment does not, which gives us direct information about the effect of confounders on skills. Using time diary data available in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we find that the net effect of enrichment is zero for cognitive skills and negative for non-cognitive skills, which suggests that enrichment may be crowding out more productive activities on the margin. The negative effects on non-cognitive skills are concentrated in higher-income students in high school, consistent with elevated academic competition related to college admissions.
RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM OF RIBOSOMAL DNA INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER AND 5.8S REGIONS IN JAPANESE ALEXANDRIUM SPECIES (DINOPHYCEAE) 1

The 5.8S ribosomal RNA (rDNA) gene and flanking internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2)from 9 isolates of Alexandrium catenella (Whedon and Kofoid) Taylor, 11 isolates of A. tamarense (Lebour) Taylor, and single isolates of A. affine (Inoue et Fukuyo) Balech, A. insuetum Balech, and A. pseudogonyaulax (Biecheler) Horiguchi ex Yuki et Fukuyo comb. nov. from various locations in Japan were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subjected to restriction fragment‐length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. PCR products from all strains were approximately 610 bp, inclusive of a limited region of the 18S and 28S rRNA coding regions. RFLP analysis using four restriction enzymes revealed six distinct classes of rDNA (“ITS types”). Restriction patterns of A. catenella were uniform at the intra‐specific level and clearly distinguishable from those of A. tamarense. The patterns associated with A. tamarense (“tamarense group”) were also uniform except for one strain, WKS‐1. Some restriction fragments from WKS‐1 were in common with those of A. catenella or A. tamarense, whereas some were distinct from all Alexandrium species tested. Alexandrium affine, A. insuetum, and A. pseudogonyaulax carry unique ITS types. The ITSs of the “tamarense group” exhibit sequence heterogeneity. In contrast, the ITSs of all other isolates (including WKS‐1) appear homogeneous. RFLP analysis of the 5.8S rDNA and flanking ITSs regions from Alexandrium species reveals useful taxonomic and genetic markers at the species and/or population levels.
Cytogenetic Effects of Gamma Irradiated Stored Seeds of Trigonella foenum graecum

Gamma irradiation is one of the most important physical mutagens which is used for cytogenetic effects. The cytogenetic changes occurring due to the storages of Trigonella foenum graecum seeds (2n and 4n) after gamma irradiation were investigated. This treatment accelerated the mitosis and decreased chromosomal aberrations in 2n as well as in 4n. Chromosomal changes produced comprised of fragments and stray in metaphase cell, laggards, fragments and bridges in anaphase. Appearance of higher frequency of aberrations per cell in tetraploid indicated that tetraploids were more sensitive to gamma irradiation rather than diploid. This study also reveals that storage of seeds after gamma irradiation may lead to genetic repairing.
Maize Adaptability to Heat Stress under Changing Climate

The rapidly increasing human population is an alarming issue and would need more food production under changing climate. Abiotic stresses like heat stress and temperature fluctuation are becoming key issues to be addressed for boosting crop production. Maize growth and productivity are sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Grain yield losses in maize from heat stress are expected to increase owing to higher temperatures during the growing season. This situation demands the development of maize hybrids tolerant to heat and drought stresses without compromising grain yield under stress conditions. The chapter aimed to assess the updates on the influence of high-temperature stress (HTS) on the physio-biochemical processes in plants and to draw an association between yield components and heat stress on maize. Moreover, exogenous applications of protectants, antioxidants, and signaling molecules induce HTS tolerance in maize plants and could help the plants cope with HTS by scavenging reactive oxygen species, upregulation of antioxidant enzymes, and protection of cellular membranes by the accrual of compatible osmolytes. It is expected that a better thought of the physiological basis of HTS tolerance in maize plants will help to develop HTS maize cultivars. Developing HTS-tolerant maize varieties may ensure crops production sustainability along with promoting food and feed security under changing climate.
Self-Efficacy and Workplace Well-Being: Understanding the Role of Resilience in Manufacturing Organizations

Engaging in behavior that enhances the socio-psychological relations at the workplace provides a competitive advantage to organizations. Drawing from the emerging positive organizational behavior studies, the present research was designed to analyze the relationship between self-efficacy and resilience to promote workplace well-being. The main aim of the study was to examine the moderating role of resilience between self-efficacy and workplace well-being. About 527 full-time executives from the Indian public and private manufacturing industries participated in the study. Common method variance of the measure was carried out through one-factor test (Podsakoff et al., 2003) using confirmatory factor analysis to understand the bias in responding to our questionnaire. Finally, we carried out a hierarchical regression analysis to test the interacting effect of resilience between self-efficacy and workplace well-being. The result of the study indicates a positive relationship between self-efficacy and workplace well-being. The moderation effect of resilience was also confirmed in the structural equation modeling output through LISREL. Results revealed that executives having higher self-efficacy and resilience will demonstrate a positive attitude toward workplace well-being. Self-efficacy and resilience are malleable in nature and get enriched through observation and learning. This study stands as one of the first few empirical works in positive organizational behavior studies that have been carried out on executives of manufacturing organizations in India. Hence, the findings of the study cannot be generalized beyond manufacturing organizations. The data are collected through random sampling method, hence due care need to be taken while generalizing the result in a larger population, so future research may be carried out on a large sample in diverse organizations and locations to have an appropriate comparison by addressing the effectiveness of resilience on other behavior constructs.
Evidence for the modulation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A-induced pore formation by membrane surface charge density.

The lipid requirement for the binding of wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (ETA) to model endosomal membrane vesicles was evaluated using a fluorescence quenching technique. The binding of toxin to monodisperse model membrane vesicles (0.1 micron diameter) composed of various molar ratios of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylserine (POPS) prepared by an extrusion method [Hope, M. J., et al. (1986) Chem. Phys. Lipids 40 89-107] was pH-dependent, with maximal binding observed at pH 4.0. Analysis of the binding curves indicated that the interaction of ETA with the membrane bilayer is dominated by a set of high-affinity binding sites (Kd = 2-8 microM; 60:40 (mol:mol) POPC/POPS large unilamellar vesicles (LUV)). The binding of toxin to membrane vesicles was highly pH-dependent, but was ionic strength-independent. Toxin-induced pore formation in the lipid bilayer, as measured by the release of the fluorescent dye, calcein, from LUV was pH-dependent, with optimal dye release occurring at pH 4.0. The rate of dye release from membrane vesicles decreased rapidly with increasing pH and approached zero at pH 6.0 and higher. The pKa for this process ranged over 4.3-4.5. Calcein release from LUV was also sensitive to changes in the ionic strength of the assay buffer, with maximal release occurring at 50 mM NaCl. Higher ionic strength medium resulted in a dramatic reduction in the rate of dye release from vesicles, indicating that the toxin-induced pore is modulated by ionic interactions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Paramecium Diversity and a New Member of the Paramecium aurelia Species Complex Described from Mexico

Paramecium (Ciliophora) is an ideal model organism to study the biogeography of protists. However, many regions of the world, such as Central America, are still neglected in understanding Paramecium diversity. We combined morphological and molecular approaches to identify paramecia isolated from more than 130 samples collected from different waterbodies in several states of Mexico. We found representatives of six Paramecium morphospecies, including the rare species Paramecium jenningsi, and Paramecium putrinum, which is the first report of this species in tropical regions. We also retrieved five species of the Paramecium aurelia complex, and describe one new member of the complex, Paramecium quindecaurelia n. sp. , which appears to be a sister species of Paramecium biaurelia. We discuss criteria currently applied for differentiating between sibling species in Paramecium. Additionally, we detected diverse bacterial symbionts in some of the collected ciliates.
The Effect of Urea Application Systems on Grain Yield of Three Corn Hybrids

(.)The effects of N rate, time of application and the use of a nitrification inhibitor with urea were evaluated on a Dakota loam (fine loamy over sandy skeletal, mixed over silicious, mesic Typic Argiudoll) at River Falls, WI. Delaying N application from fall to side dress increased average yields from 103.7 to 113.5 bu/acre, with preplant applications yielding 110.4 bu/acre (.)
Activity-pacing and outcomes of total knee arthroplasty: A longitudinal study

Abstract Background: Psychological factors may induce chronic pain and lead to inactivity after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The impact of excessive variations in physical activity on psychological factors remains unclear. Aims/Objectives: This study investigated the impact of wide variations in physical activity during occupational therapy (OT) in the early period after TKA. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 30 TKA patients. Activities were measured postoperatively for 1 week. Patients were assigned to “good-pacing” or “poor-pacing” groups based on the correlation between physical activity and OT day. The outcome indices were Canadian occupational performance measure, pain (resting and walking), pain catastrophizing (rumination, helplessness, and magnification), anxiety, depression, and pain self-efficacy. Results: Twenty (66.6%) patients demonstrated good pacing, while ten (33.3%) showed poor pacing. The good-pacing group showed increased physical activity as the OT day increased. On the contrary, physical activity did not increase with OT day in the poor-pacing group, and these patients exhibited significantly higher walking pain, anxiety, and depression than those in the good-pacing group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: TKA patients with excessive variation in physical activity during OT demonstrated higher pain, anxiety, and depression. Significance: Physical activity variations could improve the postoperative outcomes of TKA patients.
Influence of biochar from animal and plant origin on the compressive strength characteristics of degraded landfill surface soils

Growing awareness of sustainability in the landfill cover system has increased the use of biochar amendment for degraded landfill surface soils. Hydraulic and vegetative benefits of biochar on cover soil have been studied in the past, while ignoring mechanical characteristics, which is important to understand progressive failure of landfill infrastructure. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of four soil–biochar composites were investigated by conducting 81 unconfined compressive strength test. The results based on four in-house produced biochar were used to study the effect of compaction state (density, moisture content) and biochar percentage (5% and 10%) on unconfined compressive strength of soil–biochar. The ductility of soil–biochar was investigated for all the four biochars. Results from this study indicate a contrasting observation of strength gain depending on the type of biochar. The unconfined compressive strength of soil–biochar is potentially influenced by the different surface functional groups of biochar (hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity) and soil-biochar interlocking. It was noted that the peanut shell biochar gave comparable unconfined compressive strength of soil–biochar with that of bare soil for different compaction state. However, a diminution in the unconfined compressive strength was observed for all the other three soil–biochar sourced from water hyacinth, saw dust, and poultry litter. The study indicates that the use of biochar in soils does not ensure an improvement in the strength of soil–biochar. Enhancement in ductility was found for all the four soil–biochar irrespective of compaction state. Improvement in ductility was maximum when the soil–biochar is compacted at the dry state of optimum. Plant-based biochar has higher potency to increase the ductility of soil as compared to the animal-based biochar. Our study identifies peanut shell biochar ideal for landfill cover amendment material, considering its mechanical characteristics and design criterion. Soil biochar composite from water hyacinth, saw dust, and poultry litter can be used for potential application in green-infrastructure.
Item-pair measures of acquiescence: the artificial inflation of socially desirable responding

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of socially desirable responding in an item-pair measure of acquiescence from the Big Five Inventory. If both items in an item-pair have desirable content, the likelihood of agreeing with both items is increased, and consequently, the type of responding that would be taken to indicate acquiescence. In Study I, item content desirability was evaluated for each of the 32 items belonging to the item-pairs in two samples of 214 and 68 university students. The item-pair desirability was then correlated with the percentage of respondents who agreed with both items in a separate sample of 895 students. Results showed a substantial correlation between item-pairs’ desirability and the percentage of estimated acquiescence, indicating an inflation of acquiescence when item-pairs have desirable content. The finding was further supported by Study II, in which acquiescence and item difficulty, assessed with cognitive interviews, were unrelated.
CRP single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1800947) and nutritional status in hemodialysis patients

Introduction: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein and was shown to be a predictor for all-cause and cardiovascular death in end stage renal disease patients. C-reactive protein is a member of the pentraxin fam-ily and plays a key role in the innate immune response. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with plasma CRP levels have been identified. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of the rs1800947 polymorphism in the human CRP gene in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients, and to determine whether it is related to nutritional status. Material and methods: We investigated 99 patients maintained on chronic hemodialysis (HD). 109 apparently healthy volunteers served as a control group. HD subjects were followed for 12 months. Anthropometric measurements were performed, the malnutrition-inflammation scale (MIS) score was determined, and blood samples were obtained within 1 month of enroll-ment and at 3 and 12 months of follow-up. rs1800947 SNP in the CRP gene was genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction. Results: There were no significant differences in the investigated genotype frequencies between HD patients and controls. Moreover, there was no influence of genotype on anthropometric and laboratory indices of nutritional status and MIS score. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the rs1800947 single nucleotide polymorphism in the CRP gene does not seem to correlate with nutritional status in hemodialysis patients.
A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE DAILY ACTIVITY OF THE UGANDA DEFASSA WATERBUCK

Summary Waterbuck activity was recorded at four-minute intervals for continuous periods of 12 hours on two or three consecutive days, and for single nocturnal periods. Feeding patterns of the male and female were similar and during the day there was no hour during which some feeding did not take place. Only male activity was recorded at night. This showed more intensive feeding but with periods of no feeding just after dark and just before dawn. The use of a four-minute recording interval was found to work well in practice.