Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetics and Evolution of the Mediterranean Abies Species

Parducci, L. 2000 . G enetics and Evolution o f the Mediterranean Abies species. Doctoral dissertation. ISSN: 1401-6230 ISBN: 91-576-5882-X This thesis sum marizes and discusses results o f five separate studies in w hich m olecular techniques have been used to study the genetic variability and evolution o f the Abies taxa occurring in the Mediterranean region. In particular, the investigation focused on the rare species Abies nebrodensis (L ojac.) Mattei, endemic to the island o f Sicily , and the three neighbouring species A. alba (M ill.), A. cephalonica (Laud.) and A. numidica (D e Lann.). The main aim o f the studies was to determine the amount and distribution o f the genetic variability within and am ong Mediterranean taxa o f Abies, at both the nuclear and chloroplast levels, in order to elucidate their origin and evolution and to shed light on the taxonom ic position o f A. nebrodensis. In studies I, II and V allozym e markers were used to provide information on the level and distribution o f genetic variation among and within natural populations o f A. alba, A. cephalonica, A. nebrodensis and A. numidica and to estimate the outcrossing rate within A. alba. In studies III and IV, D N A markers from the chloroplast genom e were developed and em ployed at the intraand inter-specific levels to estimate the degree o f cpD N A variation in the genus and to derive inferences concerning species relationships. Two different approaches were used: the first involved a comparative restriction-site analysis o f ten different amplified chloroplast D N A fragments and the second involved the analysis o f six chloroplast hypervariable repetitive sim ple-sequence repeats (cpSSR s or m icrosatellites). A nalyses o f both allozym e and cpD N A data indicated that A. nebrodensis differs from the neighbouring Abies species and justified its classification as a separate species. Based on results from studies III, IV and V w e suggested that A. nebrodensis originated during the M essinian crises o f the latest part o f the M iocene, through hybridisation betw een A. alba and A. numidica. During the warmer period o f the H olocene A. nebrodensis becam e more isolated from both A. numidica and A. alba, promoting further divergence. Results from studies III, IV and V agreed w ell with the hypothesis that the genus Abies had an Asiatic origin and then differentiated along an east-w est axis (beginning in the M iocene) in the Balkan and M iddle East regions. Taxa like A. alba, A. bornmuelleriana, A. nordmanniana, A. cephalonica and A. cilicica were the first to differentiate from the com m on Abies ancestor. Abies pinsapo and A. numidica appear to have differentiated m uch later, and to have remained isolated for a long tim e after their settlem ent in Spain and North Africa. The low er levels o f polymorphism observed in these tw o species appear to be a consequence o f genetic drift due to isolation and small population size.
Geometric Feature Deletion Through Freeform Feature Recognition

The deletion of geometric features is a much used operation in the process of shape modeling; by deleting geometric features, the smoothness of a surface can be increased. In this paper, a new method is presented for the deletion of geometric features, which is based on a morphological understanding of the feature. The method first parameterizes the feature and then deletes it using a parameter-based shape manipulation. The advantage of this new method is that a geometric feature can be deleted while maintaining the semantics of both the feature and its embedding shape. To be able to parameterize the feature, an improved version of an existing evolutionary feature recognition procedure is developed, which constructs a feature template that matches a feature on the target model. Application examples are given and the robustness of the method is discussed.
Renegotiation and Relational Contracts

This paper empirically examines contract renegotiation and relational contracts in the movie industry. The paper develops a theory of renegotiation and learning with incomplete contracts. This theory shows how renegotiation as an ex-post mechanism to adjust participation constraints, together with learning, allows agents to maximize the value of the contractual relationship in the presence of incomplete contracts and long term relationships. The theory defines clear testable implications that I test in the paper. For this purpose, I use a new dataset of revenue-sharing contracts and renegotiation outcomes in the Spanish movie industry. I find that movies that perform overall below expectations are renegotiated 20% more often. I find as well that movies are 6 to 8% more likely to be renegotiated in theaters where movie revenues are below the movie average revenues. In the same way, movies with lower expected revenues are more likely to be renegotiated, regardless of how they are performing. I also find that the extent of renegotiation increases with the difference between the revenue realization and its average revenue. Following this, I investigate the existence of learning across periods by the economic agents and find evidence of it. Finally, I conclude that contractual incompleteness is optimal in this case as long as learning allows firms to cut movie runs optimally. ∗I thank Tom Hubbard, Ali Hortaçsu, Chad Syverson, Austan Goolsbee, Michael Greenstone, Lars Stole, Erica Benton and seminar participants at Chicago and National University of Singapore for their comments and useful suggestions. At the same time, this paper would have not been possible without the kind collaboration of industry managers Juan Antonio Gomez, Tomas Naranjo, Javier Ramirez, Pablo Nogueroles and Eva Rekketyei. The usual disclaimer applies. †Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz. 401 E2 Building. University of California. Santa Cruz, CA 95064. Office Phone: (831) 459-4924. Fax: (831) 459-5077. Email: rgil@ucsc.edu.
Lead induced changes in DNA and protein content in Vigna radiata L.

Pollution of heavy metals in environment is a growing problem worldwide and currently it has reached at an alarming rate. This heavy metal pollution affects the major threat to Agricultural sector. Lead (Pb) is extensively used in electronic and other industries as an important heavy metal. In the present study phytotoxic effect of heavy metal lead determine on Vigna radiata L. seedling. The different concentrations of lead (25ppm; 50ppm; 75ppm and 100ppm) were used. After the 7 days seedling were harvested and measured the fresh and dry weights, water content, length, chlorophyll content, protein, and changes in DNA content. Further, protein of control and treated seedlings was characterized by SDS-PAGE. Treatment with Pb showed that decrease in dry weight, water content, length and chlorophyll content was observed while DNA and protein concentration increased with Pb concentrations.
FLOW-INDUCED VIBRATIONS OF A NON-BUOYANT SPHERE

The current study explores the behaviour of a neutrally buoyant sphere in a uniform flow using well resolved numerical simulations and water channel experiments. It is found that there exist seven different flow regimes within the range of the Reynolds number = [50, 800] according to the sphere response. Regime I (Re = [50, 205]) and Regime II (Re = [210, 260]) are characterised by steady flow structure without body movement except the loss of axisymmetry in Regime II. The sphere starts to vibrate from Regime III (Re = [270, 280]). Regime IV (Re = [300, 330]) shows suppressed body oscillation and steep decrease of off-centered distance in the plane normal to streamwise direction (yz plane). In Regime V (Re = [335, 550]), the sphere oscillates around (0,0) in yz plane. The sphere of Regime VI (Re = [600, 800]) oscillates rather irregularily. The transitions are compared with those for a fixed sphere. A series of experiments is carried out in a water channel to complement and validate the numerical findings. The experiments recorded the position of the sphere and covered the range of the Reynolds number Re = [700, 4000], extending the range of the numerical study. Within the Reynolds range = [700, 800], where the results of the simulations and experiments overlap, and corresponds to the Regime VI, it is observed that the response of the sphere is irregular. This verifies the existence of Regime VI which has been found in the numerical study. For Re ≥ 2000, it is also observed that the sphere motion reverts from highly irrgular to quasi-circular motion in the plane normal to incoming flow as the Reynolds number is increased further.
Investigation of DNN Prediction of Power Spectral Envelopes for Speech Coding & ASR

This paper proposes a DNN-based preprocessing method for speech coding and automatic speech recognition applications. The method proposed here maps noisy log power spectra to “clean” smoothed log power spectral envelopes using DNN prediction. The proposed method has the advantage of combining feature extraction with DNN-based enhancement, thus reducing computational time and resources. The TIMIT speech database with various additive noise types was used to train the DNN, and the NN prediction results are compared to the target clean log power spectral envelopes using log spectral distortion. The proposed method is found to have lower log spectral distortion measurements compared to similar neural networks that map noisy power spectra to clean power spectra.
The effect of fluorescent labeling on structural dynamics and catalysis of the Schistosoma mansoni hammerhead ribozyme

Swan, Jeffrey Alan (M.S., Chemistry) The effect of fluorescent labeling on structural dynamics and catalysis of the Schistosoma mansoni hammerhead ribozyme Thesis directed by Professor Arthur Pardi The hammerhead motif comprises a family of small self-cleaving ribozymes whose involvement in posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression is rapidly becoming more appreciated across biological systems. Structural studies have revealed that the Schistosoma mansoni hammerhead achieves catalytic activity under physiological conditions via the formation of a highly specific tertiary interaction that positions the essential nucleotides to participate in acid-base chemistry. While this interaction forms efficiently in sub-millimolar concentrations of any divalent metal ion, a great deal of metal ion specificity is observed for enzymatic cleavage. Previous experiments have used single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to interrogate this phenomenon, but have encountered structural dynamics that appear to be artificially coupled to the fluorescence intensity of the dye, raising the concern that the fluorophores are interfering with the intrinsic structural dynamics of the ribozyme. Here, alternative FRET labeling strategies are explored. Fluorophore positions within the interacting stems were tested for enzymatic activity, but modification resulted in diminished catalysis in all cases. The focus was therefore shifted to an orthogonal labeling strategy that tracks the formation of the tertiary interaction indirectly through the coaxial stacking of two non-interacting stems. Magnesium ion-dependent FRET was observed with this construct under single-molecule conditions, albeit with a smaller change in FRET upon conformational reorganization. The conformational states could be distinguished reliably by implementing an improved Hidden Markov modeling algorithm, allowing a side-by-side comparison between this and the original construct using smFRET. Ostensible differences in kinetics and heterogeneity, particularly for the unfolding transition, were observed for the structural dynamics of the two constructs. These results are formally consistent with steric inhibition of the tertiary interaction from the fluorophore, or that the natural structural dynamics are in some other way affected by fluorophore incorporation strategy. Alternatively, the differences could arise from incongruity between respective FRET labeling strategies’ ability to distinguish conformational states of the ribozyme.
Insurance Pricing, Distortions, and Moral Hazard: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Deposit Insurance

Risk-based insurance pricing is often used to address ex ante moral hazard. However, very few studies analyze the effects of differential pricing on insured firms’ behavior or evaluate whether risk-based pricing is effective at mitigating ex ante moral hazard in practice. I exploit a quasi experiment in which deposit insurance premiums were changed for all U.S. banks with staggered timing, generating differentials between banks in both the levels and the risk-based “steepness” of insurance premiums. I find evidence that differentials in premiums resulted in distortions, including regulatory arbitrage, but also provided strong incentives to curb moral hazard. In addition, I find that firms that faced stronger pricing incentives to become (or remain) safer were more likely to subsequently do so than similar firms that faced weaker pricing incentives. The results point to the effectiveness of risk-based pricing and the need that it be governed with robust laws and regulatory controls.
The role of electrolytes and inflammatory biomarkers in the development of febrile seizure in children

Febrile seizures (FS) are a prevalent type of seizure occurs due to fever in children aged between six months and five years. This study aimed to explain the effect of electrolyte disturbance in FS and the role of procalcitonin (PCT) as an inflammatory biomarker in the diagnosis of FS. The case-control study was performed at the Children Welfare Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq, included 90 children aged six months to five years divided into 40 children with FS, 30 children were admitted to emergency department with fever a count as a febrile control (FC) group and 20 healthy children free of infection. The study involved the measurement of serum electrolyte (Na, K, and Ca) and some inflammatory biomarkers (PCT, CRP, and ESR). The data revealed no significant difference in PRO and ESR between the FS and FC while there are significantly elevated PRO and ESR in patient groups as compared to that of the healthy control group at p <0.05. The data explain that the mean level of CRP was significantly higher in FS than FC while there was no significant difference between FC and healthy control groups. Lower serum sodium in FS as compared to FC and decrease serum potassium level in FS. In conclusion, Patients with FS have higher total WBC count, ANC and serum CRP levels than the febrile control group while significantly higher serum PCT and ESR levels in FS than healthy control. Also, lower serum sodium and potassium levels in FS patients could have a role in the development of FS.
Detecting Cognitive Decline and Dementia in Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Objective To assess the cognitive function, prevalence, and risk factors associated with cognitive decline and dementia in people above 65 years of age in Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. Methods This is a cross-sectional observational study that was carried out in adults over 65 years of age in Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and ascertain dementia eight-item informant questionnaire (AD8)-validated Ecuador Spanish versions were used to assess cognition. Results There were a total of 80 participants, 55 (67%) women and 25 (31.2%) men. The majority of participants were Mestizos (85.3%), with the remainder classified as White (4.8%), Afro-Ecuadorians (2.4%), or Indigenous (3.6%). The prevalence of cognitive impairment is 30.0%-43.7%. The MMSE results showed that older age and lack of education are risk factors for cognitive decline (p < 0.01). There was high correlation between MMSE and AD8 scores. The AD8 showed that older age, widowhood, and living in Santa Rosa were risk factors for cognitive decline (p < 0.01). According to the AD8, the group with the highest education (six years or more) had the lowest risk of cognitive decline and dementia (p < 0.01). Conclusions The main risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia in individuals above 65 years old in Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador are increased age, lack of education, and widowhood. The prevalence of cognitive impairment is similar to previous studies in Ecuador.
Parametric estimation of reference signal intensity in the quantification of amyloid-beta deposition: an 18F-AV-45 study.

Background Positron emission tomography (PET) with the radiotracer florbetapir (18F-AV-45) allows the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to be tracked in vivo. The semi-quantification of amyloid-beta (Aβ) has been extensively evaluated with the standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) but is susceptible to disturbance from the candidate reference region and the partial volume effect (PVE). In the present study, we applied the parametric estimation of reference signal intensity (PERSI) method to 18F-AV-45 PET images for intensity normalization. Methods We enrolled 479 people with 18F-AV-45 images from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database: 261 healthy controls (HCs), 102 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 116 AD patients. We used white matter post-processed by PERSI (PERSI-WM) as the reference region and compared our proposed method with the traditional method for semi-quantification. SUVRs were calculated for eight regions of interest: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, the occipital lobe, the anterior cingulate cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, the precuneus, and the global cortex. The SUVRs derived from PERSI-WM and other reference regions were evaluated by effect size and receiver-operator characteristic curve analyses. Results The SUVRs derived from PERSI-WM showed significantly higher trace retention in the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, as well as in the anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, precuneus, and global cortex in the AD Aβ-positive (+) group (mean: +43.3%±5.4%, P<0.01) and MCI Aβ+ group (mean: +29.6%±5.3%, P<0.01). For the global cortex, PERSI-WM had the greatest Cohen's d effect size compared with the HC Aβ-negative (-) group (AD Aβ+ and MCI Aβ+: 3.02, AD Aβ+: 3.56, MCI Aβ+: 2.34), and the highest area under the curve (AUC) between the HC Aβ- and AD Aβ+ groups (AUC: 0.983, 95% confidence interval: 0.978-0.998). Conclusions PERSI-WM could mitigate the influence of PVE and improve the semi-quantification of 18F-AV-45 images; therefore, it could be used for large-scale clinical application in the nuclear medicine domain.
Reconstruction of Holocene oceanographic conditions in eastern Baffin Bay

Abstract. Baffin Bay is a semi-enclosed basin connecting the Arctic Ocean and the western North Atlantic, thus making out a significant pathway for heat exchange. Here we reconstruct the alternating advection of relatively warmer and saline Atlantic waters versus the incursion of colder Arctic water masses entering Baffin Bay through the multiple gateways in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Nares Strait during the Holocene. We carried out benthic foraminiferal assemblage analyses, X-ray fluorescence scanning, and radiocarbon dating of a 738 cm long marine sediment core retrieved from eastern Baffin Bay near Upernavik, Greenland (Core AMD14-204C; 987 m water depth). Results reveal that eastern Baffin Bay was subjected to several oceanographic changes during the last 9.2 kyr. Waning deglacial conditions with enhanced meltwater influxes and an extensive sea-ice cover prevailed in eastern Baffin Bay from 9.2 to 7.9 ka. A transition towards bottom water amelioration is recorded at 7.9 ka by increased advection of Atlantic water masses, encompassing the Holocene Thermal Maximum. A cold period with growing sea-ice cover at 6.7 ka interrupts the overall warm subsurface water conditions, promoted by a weaker northward flow of Atlantic waters. The onset of the neoglaciation at ca. 2.9 ka is marked by an abrupt transition towards a benthic fauna dominated by agglutinated species, likely in part explained by a reduction of the influx of Atlantic Water, allowing an increased influx of the cold, corrosive Baffin Bay Deep Water originating from the Arctic Ocean to enter Baffin Bay through the Nares Strait. These cold subsurface water conditions persisted throughout the Late Holocene, only interrupted by short-lived warmings superimposed on this cooling trend.
Gross anatomical and biometrical parameters of hippocampus in Surti buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

The present study was conducted on hippocampus of six adult Surti buffalo. Hippocampus was a small organ located within the medial temporal lobe of the brain. The hippocampus made a curve from the deep face of the piriform lobe around the thalamus and formed the caudal part of the floor of the lateral ventricle. It was separated deeply by the hippocampal fissure from the dentate gyrus. The two hippocampi were connected at their highest parts by transvers fibers which constituted the hippocampal commissure. The hippocampus was as long “C” or small “Y”shaped structure. The ventro-medial hippocampal surface had a deep groove, the hippocampal sulcus, which divided this surface into a lateral and medial surfaces. The ventricular surface of the hippocampus was covered with a thin layer of white matter, the alveus, which arises from the crus of the fornix, and was therefore continuous with the fimbria. Moreover, the uncus was not observed. Several equations showed significant (P< 0.5) and positive co-relationship between the weight of hippocampus and the weight of brain. The ratio of weight of the hippocampus and weight of the brain was about 1: 37.
Income in the Off-Season: Household Adaptation to Yearly Work Interruptions

Joblessness is highly seasonal. To analyze how households adapt to seasonal joblessness, we introduce a measure of seasonal work interruptions premised on the idea that a seasonal worker will tend to exit employment around the same time each year. We show that an excess share of prime-age U.S. workers experience recurrent separations spaced exactly 12 months apart. These separations coincide with aggregate seasonal downturns and are concentrated in seasonally volatile industries. Examining workers most prone to seasonal work interruptions, we find that these workers incur large earnings losses during the off-season. Lost earnings are 1) driven mainly by repeated separations from the same employer, 2) not recouped at other firms, 3) partly offset by unemployment benefits, and 4) amplified by concurrent drops in partners’ earnings. On net, household income falls by about $0.80 for each $1 lost in own earnings.
Development Model of Startup Enterprise Management for Value Creation of Herbal City

Value creation is the prominent factor for organisations in enhancing their performance by adding more values in their processes. Thus, the primary aim of the current article is to examine the role of government policies, entrepreneurs and management on the value creation of the companies in Herbal City. The purpose of the article also shows the moderating role of environmental uncertainty among the links of government policies, entrepreneurs, management and value creation. The data has been gathered by using questionnaires from the respondents, while analysis has been conducted using PLS-SEM. The findings revealed a positive linkage among the government policies, entrepreneurs, management and value creation. The findings also exposed that environmental uncertainty has a positive moderating effect among the links of management and value creation; a negative effect among the nexus of entrepreneurs and value creation; and an insignificant moderating effect among the nexus of government policies and value creation. These findings provide insight for future research in this area in future and also provide the guidelines to the policymakers for formulating the policies regarding value creation.