Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AGRICULTURAL USE OF TREATED SEWAGE EFFLUENTS: AGRONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES FOR BRAZIL

In many studies worldwide the use of treated sewage effluents (TSE) as water and nutrient sources in agricultural irrigation have been introduced as a viable alternative for wastewater destination in the environment. Considering agronomic and environmental aspects the objectives of this review were: (i) to present an overview of TSE irrigation on different agro-systems (annual crops, orchards, forests and forages); and (ii) to show the principal changes on chemical, physical and microbiological soil characteristics after TSE application. Various studies have revealed that the nutrient supply only by TSE irrigation was not sufficient to meet plant nutrient requirements resulting in yield decreases. The problem could be solved by an adapted effluent/fertilizer management. Moreover, TSE could generally substitute efficiently freshwater for irrigation. Regarding soil quality conditions, TSE irrigation affected mainly: (i) total soil carbon and nitrogen, and mineral nitrogen in soil solution; (ii) microbial activity, composition of microbial communities and their function; (iii) exchangeable calcium and magnesium; (iv) salinity, sodicity, clay dispersion and hydraulic conductivity. Other soil parameters considered in this review (e.g. heavy metals) did not present significant changes over short and medium terms. Due to the often observed accumulation of sodium and nitrogen losses (leaching, volatilization and denitrification) after TSE irrigation, the monitoring of these components is of crucial importance for a sustainable use. Finally, further studies on the technical-economical-environmental viability of TSE irrigation are required to establish reliable recommendations for TSE use particularly in Brazilian agro-systems.
The impact of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea and its treatment with continuous positive airway pressure on the outcome of stroke

Background: The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in stroke is high. One study showed SDB had a negative impact on the functional capacity of stroke patients on discharge and another that SDB was associated with a higher mortality rate. However, these findings are disputed. The impact of SDB in stroke patients on cognition and health-related quality of life is also not clear. The one randomized controlled trial of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in stroke patients with SDB showed CPAP improved wellbeing but not other outcomes. I hypothesised that: (1) SDB is related to stroke outcome and (2) treatment of SDB in stroke patients with CPAP would improve functional outcome. Methods: There are three parts of the thesis: (1) a study of the prevalence of SDB after stroke; (2) a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of CPAP after stroke and (3) a longitudinal cohort study to investigate the impact of SDB on outcome after stroke. On day 14-19 after stroke, recruited patients underwent a limited sleep study using a validated system (Embletta PDS, Medcare Flaga, Iceland). Baseline assessments were performed on the morning following the sleep study. On day 21-25 following stroke, patients who had (A+H)-h"' > 30 with < 30% of central events were randomized to 8 weeks of CPAP treatment with Autoset T (ResMed, SanDiego USA) or conservative treatment for SDB. All outcomes were recorded in the 8th week after randomization or 3 months after stroke for non-randomized patients. All recruited patients received follow-up at six months after stroke. If available, patients also received 12 months and 18 months follow-up until the last recruited patient had had his 6 months follow-up. The Nottingham Extended ADL Index (EADL) was chosen as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included: Subscales of EADL, NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Barthel Index (BI), Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) and MiniMental State Examination (MMSE), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), MOS Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and ambulatory blood pressure measured with Spacelabs 90207 (Spacelabs, Redmond, USA).
The influence of ethanol concentration on content of total and individual phenolics in walnut alcoholic drink

The influence of the ethanol concentrations on the phenolic content was analysed in walnut liqueur, which is traditionally prepared from green walnut fruits. At the end of June, green walnut fruits from cultivars Elit and Franquette were picked and steeped into three concentrations (40, 60 and 96%) of ethanol. In the walnut alcoholic drink (liqueur), total phenolic content was measured using spectrophotometer. Furthermore, twelve individual phenolics were investigated using HPLC with PDA detector such as gallic, protocatechuic, syringic, ellagic, sinapic, p-coumaric, chlorogenic, vanillic and caffeic acid, (+)-catechin, 1,4-naphthoquinone and juglone. The content of total phenolics increased with increasing ethanol concentration. Similar results were achieved for some individual phenolic compounds such as protocatechuic, sinapic and p-coumaric acid as well as 1,4-naphthoquinone. The levels of some other phenolic content were highest at 40% ethanol and lowest at 96% ethanol. This was exhibited for gallic, chlorogenic, vanillic and syringic acid, (+)-catechin and juglone.
Organic Acids from Leaves of Several Crop Plants by Gas Chromatography 1

Organic acids from leaf extracts of Hordeum vulgare L. , Zea mays L. , Avena sativa L. , Secale cereale L. , Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, Triticum aestivum L. , Medicago sativa L. , Glycine max (L.) Merr. , Phaseolus vulgaris L. , and Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill, were separated by gas chromatography. Good chromatographic separation of trimethylsilyl-derivatives of the organic acids were obtained using N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide as the esterifying reagent. Trans-aconitic acid was one of the predominant acids in the cereal crops, but not in the dicotyledonous plants. Relatively high amounts of malonic acid were found in the legumes. The Krebs cycle acids were found in all the plants studied.
Comparing the human and chimpanzee genomes: Searching for needles in a haystack

The chimpanzee genome sequence is a long-awaited milestone, providing opportunities to explore primate evolution and genetic contributions to human physiology and disease. Humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor approximately 5-7 million years ago (Mya). The difference between the two genomes is actually not approximately 1%, but approximately 4%--comprising approximately 35 million single nucleotide differences and approximately 90 Mb of insertions and deletions. The challenge is to identify the many evolutionarily, physiologically, and biomedically important differences scattered throughout these genomes while integrating these data with emerging knowledge about the corresponding "phenomes" and the relevant environmental influences. It is logical to tackle the genetic aspects via both genome-wide analyses and candidate gene studies. Genome-wide surveys could eliminate the majority of genomic sequence differences from consideration, while simultaneously identifying potential targets of opportunity. Meanwhile, candidate gene approaches can be based on such genomic surveys, on genes that may contribute to known differences in phenotypes or disease incidence/severity, or on mutations in the human population that impact unique aspects of the human condition. These two approaches will intersect at many levels and should be considered complementary. We also cite some known genetic differences between humans and great apes, realizing that these likely represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Observations on the morphology, behaviour and salinity tolerance of downstream migrating River lampreys (Lampetra fluviatitis)

Downstream migrating Lampetra fluviatitis were caught at night in elver trawls from the lower reaches of the River Severn during the high spring tides of 1970,1971 and 1972. The length and weight-frequency curves indicated that in 1970 and 1972, the populations consisted mainly of animals of single year class. On the basis of previous estimates of the duration of larval life, they were thus probably five years old, while a small group of larger animals may have been one year older. In 1971, there was a greater proportion of larger animals, several of which differed in their weight/length relationship from others in this sample and from those of 1971 and 1972, possibly reflecting differences in feeding conditions during larval life. Laboratory studies on the activity rhythms of downstream migrants showed that emergence from the substrate and swimming was primarily nocturnal, with an initial large peak in free-swimming activity at the onset of darkness and a smaller peak at the transition from the dark to the light phase. During the light period, these animals showed a significant preference for burrowing or lying in regions of gravel and pebbles. Downstream migrants examined in May/June 1972 were capable of being acclimated to full strength sea water (34–35°/00) and a large proportion (80%) survived for three weeks or more after direct transfer. Parallels are drawn between the biology of this stage in the lamprey life cycle with that of similar stages in salmonid fishes.
Quantifying the Effects of Temperature on Dormancy Change and Germination in Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and Western Wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) L.)

Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) L. ) seeds have different degrees of dormancy that result in non-uniform seedling emergence in the field. Seed dormancy of the two species, in part, causes disagreement between germination tests in the laboratory and seedling emergence in the field. Experiments were conducted over two years in the laboratory and in the field to determine the effects of alternating temperatures on changes in seed dormancy and germination of orchardgrass and western wheatgrass. The two western wheatgrass cultivars (‘Walsh’ and ‘LC9078a’) had deeper dormancy than the two orchardgrass cultivars (‘Arctic and Lineta’). Dormancy of both species was broken by temperatures with 10C amplitude; this temperature variation was similar to that which occurred at a 1 cm depth in the soil. Optimal temperatures for germination of orchardgrass (10-25C) were broader than those for western wheatgrass (15-20C). Seedling emergence of orchardgrass was less sensitive to seeding date in the spring than western wheatgrass; seedling emergence of western wheatgrass increased as seeding date was delayed from early to late May if soil water was not limiting. The rate of seedling emergence increased with increasing temperature in both species, therefore, faster and more uniform seedling emergence can be expected from late spring seeding dates. Seeds were often exposed to light during germination tests in the laboratory while planting seeds in the soil usually prevented exposure of seeds to light. Seedling emergence of orchardgrass in the field was usually less than the germination percentage obtained in the laboratory because of light exposure during germination tests could break dormancy in orchardgrass seeds and the small seeds of orchardgrass had limited energy reserves
SPECIFICITY OF CELLULAR IMMUNE RESPONSES

In vitro antigen stimulation of DNA synthesis in lymph node cultures from immunized guinea pigs can be obtained with very low (10–4 µg/ml) antigen concentrations in the culture fluid. Immunization with low doses of DNP-GPA leads to a cell population capable of being stimulated, on the average, by low concentration of antigen whereas immunization with large antigen doses results in a sensitive cell population requiring, on the average, high antigen concentrations for stimulation. These findings correlate well with the affinity for hapten of the serum antibodies produced by these guinea pigs. Both delayed reactions in vivo and DNA synthesis in vitro can be stimulated by hapten conjugated to proteins different from that used in primary immunization. However the immunizing conjugate is much more effective in terms of antigen concentration required for a given response. These results can be understood in terms of a thermodynamically driven interaction of antigen (or "processed" antigen) with cell-associated antibody.
Growth, Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation in Stylosanthes: Effect of Different Root Temperatures at two Shoot Temperatures

SUMMARY Nodulated plants of Stylosanthes hamata, S. guianensis, S. humilis, S. scabra and S. fruticosa were grown in controlled environments with varied root and shoot temperatures. Measurement of dry matter and nitrogen content suggested that shoot temperature may be more important than root temperature in controlling growth and nitrogen fixation. There were strong interactions with variety. A fall in relative growth rate with increase in shoot temperature was least for S. guianensis and greatest for S. hamata and S. scabra. The optimum root temperature for growth and nitrogen fixation was approximately 30°C. Ninety percent maximum yield was achieved between root temperatures of 15–36°C for growth and 23–34°C for nitrogen fixation but varied with variety. Nitrogen fixation was more sensitive than dry weight to root temperature. The pattern of response of percentage nitrogen and nitrogen fixation efficiency reflected those for dry weight and nitrogen yields. Shoot to root ratios decreased toward the optimum root temperature then increased at the highest temperature. The reaction of varieties to root and shoot temperatures may be an important factor in determining their suitability for new regions.
A Call for Replication Studies

A basic requirement for scientific integrity is the ability to replicate the results of research, and yet, with some occasional historical exceptions, replication has never been an important part of economic research. The absence of replication studies is particularly problematic because empirical economic research is often prone to error (Dewald, Thursby, and Anderson Public Finance Review a The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1091142110381960 http://pfr.sagepub.com
Effect of salinity on salt accumulation and reproductive development in the apical meristem of wheat and barley

Two cultivars of wheat and two of barley differing in salt tolerance were grown at 0, 100 and 175 mM NaCl, and the development of the apex was followed as it turned from vegetative to reproduc- tive. Apices were taken for ion analysis when most of the spikelet primordia had been produced and the process of differentiation into floral organs was starting. K + concentrations in apices were unaffected by the salinity treatment, Na + concentrations were generally low in all treatments, below 50 mM, while Cl - levels were very low, below 30 mM. These levels of Na + and Cl - are too low to affect metabolism. In spite of these negligible effects on ion levels in the apex, salinity affected reproductive development: fewer spikelet primordia formed, and final spikelet numbers at ear emergence were reduced. Salinity greatly advanced the time of floral initiation in the wheat cultivars. This indicates that modification of apical development by salinity was not determined by salt in the apex itself, but mediated by signals or substrates derived from elsewhere in the plant.
Selective Perception as a Mechanism to Adapt Agents to the Environment: An Evolutionary Approach

Rapid advancement of machine learning makes it possible to consider large amounts of data to learn from. Learning agents may get data ranging on real intervals directly from the environment they interact with, in a process usually time expensive. To improve learning and manage these data, approximated models and memory mechanisms are adopted. In most of the implementations of reinforcement learning facing this type of data, approximation is obtained by neural networks and the process of drawing information from data is mediated by a short-term memory that stores the previous experiences for additional relearning, to speed-up the learning process, mimicking what is done by people. In this paper, we are proposing a novel computational approach able to selectively filter the information, or cognitive load, for the agent’s short-term memory, thus emulating the attention mechanism characteristic of human perception. In this work, we use genetic algorithms in order to evolve the most efficient attention filter mechanism that would be able to provide the agent with an optimal perception for a specific environment by discriminating which experiences are valuable for the learning process. This approach can evolve a filter which can able to provide an optimal cognitive load of the experiences entering in the agent’s short-term memory of a limited capacity. The evolved sampling dynamics can also lead to the emergence of intrinsically motivated curiosity.
Subject-Specific Finite Element Modeling of the Human Shoulder Complex Part 2: Quantitative Evaluation of the Effect of Rotator Cuff Tear Propagation on Glenohumeral Joint Stability

The objective of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the effects of rotator cuff tear propagation on glenohumeral joint stability in a previously constructed and validated finite element shoulder model. Rotator cuff tears with a sequence of increasing sizes were created from the anterior portion of the supraspinatus osseous insertion site and propagated posteriorly through the infraspinatus tendon until a complete tear extended through the entire teres minor tendon. Finite element simulations were performed in the same physiological loading and boundary conditions as in the original model. A novel integrative stability index was proposed and used for quantitative analysis of the simulated results. By defining the healthy condition as the baseline (100%), the stability index decreased slightly with small tear sizes but declined suddenly after half tear of the infraspinatus accompanied by a complete tear of the supraspinatus tendon until the full tear condition, when the index reached 0.41%. These results confirm the clinical and cadaveric findings that glenohumeral joint stability generally decreases as the size of the rotator cuff tear increases and that the critical tear size which leads to the loss of normal shoulder biomechanics was half tear of the infraspinatus accompanied by a complete tear of the supraspinatus tendon. It is concluded that the finite element shoulder model and the proposed novel stability ratio can accurately predict shoulder biomechanics in the investigated rotator cuff condition. Both the model and ratio may have the potential to be used to improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for clinicians.
Molecular systematics of Abrothrix longipilis (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in Chile

Abstract We evaluated systematic relationships among most of the subspecies of the long-haired sigmodontine mouse Abrothrix longipilis in Chile. We sequenced the complete cytochrome-b gene and 634 base pairs of intron 7 of the β-fibrinogen gene from specimens from 17 localities along the distributional range of A. longipilis. Phylogenetic analyses confirm Abrothrix sanborni, once considered a subspecies of A. longipilis, as a valid species. In the latter taxon we obtained a structured phylogenetic pattern that recovered most of the geographic races traditionally recognized for this mouse. However, strong differentiation was found between A. l. longipilis from Mediterranean Chile and subspecies from the Temperate and Patagonian Forests in the south, suggesting that the former could constitute a different species. We concluded that historical events (glaciations), coupled with local selection pressures (different ecogeographic zones), might account for the current geographic pattern of variation in A. longipilis.
SEMIARID OLD-FIELD RESTORATION: IS NEIGHBOR CONTROL NEEDED?

Restoration practice suggests that neighbor control is essential in semiarid grasslands, but ecological theory predicts that neighbor effects are relatively small in young fields. We investigated the effectiveness of neighbor control (mowing and herbicide) for establishing native grasses in a recently abandoned field in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. We also examined its interactions with common restoration techniques, such as mulching (straw and sawdust) and contrasting sowing methods (drilling, and broadcasting cleaned seeds, cleaning remainders, and native hay). The experiment was repeated over three years to examine the effect of weather. Neighbor control had no effect on establishment and rarely any effect on first-year survival. This contrasted with significant effects of neighbor control on community and ecosystem-level variables (species richness, water, N). The lack of neighbor effects is concordant with theory which predicts low competition intensity from ruderal annuals. Establishment in seeded plots varied two-fold among years in drilled plots and 50-fold in broadcast plots, and it was lowest during a cool, dry summer. Thus, variables beyond human control are a major factor determining restoration success. Overall, broadcasting was as effective as drilling. The highest long-term establishment of native species was produced by broadcasting cleaning remainders. Almost no seedlings emerged from plots supplied with native hay. Straw mulch increased soil moisture and available N, and sawdust decreased N, but neither had any long-term effect on native grasses. Our results suggest that restorations of semiarid old fields should focus less on neighbor control and more on strategies for exploiting suitable years for germination, either by monitoring soil moisture or through repeated seeding.
The Differential Modulation on Cytochrome P450 Enzymes by Garlic Components

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are responsible for the biotransformation and elimination of numerous xenobiotics, while they can also metabolically activate potential toxicants. As such, proper modulation on CYP450s provides a possible way to block chemical-induced toxicity. The biological benefits of garlic have been extensively studied, and the chemoprotective effects have been disclosed by using different garlic preparations including intermixtures as well as single components, in which the regulation on CYP450s (especially the inhibition of CYP2E1) is believed to be, at least partially, responsible for the chemoprotection. However, a number of studies also indicate the activation of several CYP450s (CYP3A, 2B and 1A1/2). As such, the concomitant use of the garlic products with some clinical drugs is questioned. Since most of the current data are obtained from experimental studies and the doses used are quite high, it is important to investigate the potential effects of garlic ingredients at lower doses. In addition, the dose- and time- dependent responses as well as much more clinical studies are needed. Furthermore, as the organosulfur compounds may work synergistically, it is of significance to investigate the potential effects of the commercially available garlic products (garlic oil, garlic powder, etc).