Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Personality and Individual Di ﬀ erences

Men and women reliably di ﬀ er on the importance of certain criteria when considering romantic relationships. From an evolutionary perspective that explains sex di ﬀ erences in mating e ﬀ ort and parental investment, men should prioritise attractiveness and women, wealth. Personality traits also signal important information about relationship potential with those of the dark triad facilitating short-term relationships. However, how the vulnerable dark triad traits of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and secondary psychopathyfunction in relationships remains relatively unexplored. Even though interpersonally tempestuous, individuals high in these traits might be alluring in that they o ﬀ er a thrilling relationship for the short-term, so long as they are also physically appealing. Across two studies, we examined sex di ﬀ erences in partner preference judged on attractiveness in relation to BPD and secondary psychopathy across short-and long-term relationship contexts. Men were willing to engage in relationships with attractive women high in BPD traits, while women compensated low attractiveness for wealth in long-term dating, and did not desire secondary psychopathy in any relationship. Results show that women are more astute in mate preference, avoiding troublesome or ﬁ nancially challenged men who are time and economically costly, and men more readily engage in potentially turbulent relationships.
Cancer of the Transverse Colon: Comparison of Extended Right or Left Hemicolectomy versus Transverse Colectomy

The transverse colon is the part of colon between right and left colon from right flexure to splenic flexure. Standard surgical treatment involves either extended colectomy (EC) or transverse colectomy (TC), depending on the location of the tumor. The aim of the present study was to compare anastomotic leakage, hospital stay, operative time, overall complications rate, harvested nodes overall survival, and disease-free survival comparing EC versus TC.
Identification of Protease-Producing Halophilic Bacteria Isolated from Salt-Pond Soil

Highlights The halophilic bacteria were isolated from salt-pond soil. Isolate C2 was identified as the best protease producer. Isolate C2 was identified as B. amyloliquefaciens strain UBC Abstract Protease is an important enzyme for various industries, such as pharmaceuticals, leather production, meat processing, protein hydrolyzate, food products, and waste processing industries. This study aimed to isolate and identify protease-producing bacteria isolated from salt-pond soil at the Tuban Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Bacterial communities in the soil samples were firstly isolated from the soil samples by culture-dependent technique on Luria Bertani agar enriched with 5% NaCl. Thereafter, bacterial colonies that grew on the media were purified and screened for their protease production using a skim-milk agar. The bacterial colony which produced protease was further identified using phenotypic (gram staining) and genotypic assays (the 16S rDNA sequence). The result showed that one isolate out of six (isolate C2) obtained from the soil sample was observed to produce a protease enzyme. Based on its 16S rDNA sequence, the isolate was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain UBC. These results suggest that B. Amyloliquefaciens strain UBC is a salt-tolerant bacterium (halophilic bacteria) which has the potential to be further developed for protease-producing biological agents.
Austrian COLOSS Survey of Honey Bee Colony Winter Losses 2018/19 and Analysis of Hive Management Practices

We conducted a citizen science survey on overwinter honey bee colony losses in Austria. A total of 1534 beekeepers with 33,651 colonies reported valid loss rates. The total winter loss rate for Austria was 15.2% (95% confidence interval: 14.4–16.1%). Young queens showed a positive effect on colony survival and queen-related losses. Observed queen problems during the season increased the probability of losing colonies to unsolvable queen problems. A notable number of bees with crippled wings during the foraging season resulted in high losses and could serve as an alarm signal for beekeepers. Migratory beekeepers and large operations had lower loss rates than smaller ones. Additionally, we investigated the impact of several hive management practices. Most of them had no significant effect on winter mortality, but purchasing wax from outside the own operation was associated with higher loss rates. Colonies that reported foraging on maize and late catch crop fields or collecting melezitose exhibited higher loss rates. The most common Varroa destructor control methods were a combination of long-term formic acid treatment in summer and oxalic acid trickling in winter. Biotechnical methods in summer had a favourable effect on colony survival.
Evapotranspiration Retrieval Under Different Aridity Conditions Over North American Grasslands

Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the most critical parameters in water- and energy-related domains. Two basic assumptions with respect to soil-moisture variation have been widely investigated for the retrieval of ET based on the trapezoid methods. Specifically, soil moisture within the surface and root-zone layers was assumed to vary synchronously in most of the earlier analyses. However, several recent investigations assumed that soil moisture within the upper soil layer should be dried up before the root-zone layer is stressed. To this end, the retrieval of ET under different aridity conditions over North American grasslands was investigated with the two assumptions, and the estimated ET was assessed using the flux data collected from eight AmeriFlux sites. Based on the available data from 2002 to 2018, results showed that the “asynchronous-assumed” method can obtain better ET estimates than the “synchronous-assumed” method over semiarid and subhumid areas, whereas the “synchronous-assumed” method can obtain better ET estimates in humid areas. Moreover, because of the different closure techniques used for the ET correction, no consistent conclusions could be found for the arid conditions to determine which trapezoid was better. Specifically, it was found that the cases of surface soil with zero water availability that were defined by the asynchronous-assumed trapezoid method rarely occur, even in arid areas, which indicated that the critical boundary that determines whether the root-zone layer begins to be water-stressed may need to be redefined.
Genetic and Phytochemical diversity in Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) from a limited Geographical Area

In Norway today no commercial exploitation of the wild growing Norwegian bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) exists. The market in other regions of Europe, North- and South-America is based on the utilization of cultivated Vaccinium species. V.myrtillus shows generally a higher content of biochemical compounds with health-beneficial properties. As a consequence of an increasing demand for healthier food, the Nordic Bilberry project started in 2008 with the major goal to find superior clones adapted for different regions with effective production of phytochemicals. In addition, a 4-years Norwegian Bilberry project aiming at cultivation and yield potential aspects, was launched the same year (NFR project no. 184797). The presented master projected was affiliated to this project focusing on phytochemical and genetic diversity in Bymarka. It is known that life history traits of a plant species influence the clonal diversity and structure within populations. In this thesis different phytochemical methods were used for detection of total phenolics, anthocyanins and antioxidants in berry and plant material from 4 different areas in the geographic restricted area Bymarka, were a total of 80 individuals were collected. Average values detected for total phenols were 490 mg/100 g, 155 mg/ 100 g for anthocyanins and 4 mmol/ 100 g for antioxidants. The results showed little variation among clones in the restricted area. 16 primer pairs for 16 microsatellite loci were tested but only 4 (NA741, NA961, CA421 and CA483) turned out to be of good quality. These microsatellite loci were used to estimate genetic variability within and between populations. Little genetic variation was detected between the different plots, and populations had similar levels of within-population genetic variation. The highest diversity both genetic and phytochemically was found in plot D with berries without any wax layer. This plot was also more genetically different from the other populations than the berries in the same location/area/plot with a wax layer, though no significant differences was found in FST, Heterozygosity observed, Heterozygosity expected or allelic richness (P
Microwave non-reciprocal coplanar directional coupler based on ferrite materials

ABSTRACT Magnetized ferrites are anisotropic materials used in passive non-reciprocal components. One of the main applications of ferrites at microwave frequencies is the isolation effect. In this work, the non-reciprocal propagation in a ferrite coplanar coupler is studied from simulation results. The proposed structure exhibits a low insertion loss less than 1 dB, and return loss better than 20 dB, with significant non-reciprocal behavior for through propagation. The design of the non-reciprocal coplanar coupler, based on a magnetized transversally ferrite as substrate dielectric material, is presented. The numerical study allows to describe the component physical behavior. As results, a miniature coupler at 12.50 GHz with a non-reciprocal effect in direct access is better than 35 dB has been designed and simulated.
Early-season nutrient competition between weeds and soybean

Abstract Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] yield losses may be attributable to early-season nutrient competition with weeds; however, research investigating macro- and micronutrient accumulation of weeds in soybean is scarce. Field experiments were conducted across eight site-years in Illinois, USA to determine which soybean nutrients are most susceptible to weed competition. Weeds were controlled by applying glyphosate at 10-, 20-, 30-, or 45-cm weed heights during which accumulation of 11 nutrients were measured in soybean and broadleaf and grass weeds. For both weed groups, K and Fe were the macro- and micronutrient, respectively, with the greatest rate of accumulation. Variations in nutrient uptake between broadleaf and grass weeds were largely explained by differences in weed density, except for Ca and B, which were greater in broadleaf weeds regardless of density. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) identified soybean accumulation of N, P, K, Fe, and Cu as the nutrients most affected by weed competition, with P, K, and Fe uptake being particularly susceptible during droughty conditions. The weed height causing a 10% reduction in uptake was 11, 12, 12, 7, and 10 cm for N, P, K, Fe, and Cu, respectively. Soybean grain yield, seed weight, pods plant−1, and seed oil content were identified through CDA as the yield parameters most affected by weed competition. Results indicate weeds should be removed before reaching 18 cm (V2 to V3 soybean) to avoid a 5% loss in grain yield. Early-season weed control preserves yield potential and may improve efficiency of nutrient management programs in soybean.
The host range of a ‘non-gall-forming’ eriophyid mite living in buds on Ribes

SummaryMites that were indistinguishable morphologically from the black currant gall mite, Cecidophyopsis ribis, but which did not cause buds to swell, were found on black currant, red currant and gooseberry cultivars, some Ribes spp. and the gall mite-immune selection B655/56. Cross-transfers of mites between black currant, red currant and gooseberry were all successful in insectary tests. The mites lived on the green bud scales for most of the year, though on gooseberry and red currant many were on leaves during early summer. They . caused enations and some tissue necrosis on bud scales and leaves. The mite is considered to be a ‘non-gall-forming’ strain of C. ribis.
Predicting the strength of urban‐rural clines in a Mendelian polymorphism along a latitudinal gradient

Cities are emerging as models for addressing the fundamental question of whether populations evolve in parallel to similar environments. Here, we examine the environmental factors that drive the evolution of parallel urban‐rural clines in a Mendelian trait—the cyanogenic antiherbivore defense of white clover (Trifolium repens). Previous work suggested urban‐rural gradients in frost and snow depth could drive the evolution of reduced hydrogen cyanide (HCN) frequencies in urban populations. Here, we sampled over 700 urban and rural clover populations across 16 cities along a latitudinal transect in eastern North America. In each population, we quantified changes in the frequency of genotypes that produce HCN, and in a subset of the cities we estimated the frequency of the alleles at the two genes (CYP79D15 and Li) that epistatically interact to produce HCN. We then tested the hypothesis that cold climatic conditions are necessary for the evolution of cyanogenesis clines by comparing the strength of clines among cities located along a latitudinal gradient of winter temperature and frost exposure. Overall, half of the cities exhibited urban‐rural clines in the frequency of HCN, whereby urban populations evolved lower HCN frequencies. Clines did not evolve in cities with the lowest temperatures and greatest snowfall, supporting the hypothesis that snow buffers plants against winter frost and constrains the formation of clines. By contrast, the strongest clines occurred in the warmest cities where snow and frost are rare, suggesting that alternative selective agents are maintaining clines in warmer cities. Some clines were driven by evolution at only CYP79D15, consistent with stronger and more consistent selection on this locus than on Li. Together, our results demonstrate that urban environments often select for similar phenotypes, but different selective agents and targets underlie the evolutionary response in different cities.
Cellular and molecular regulation of skeletal muscle regeneration

Jiang, Chunhui Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2014. Cellular and molecular regulation of skeletal muscle regeneration. Major Professor: Shihuan Kuang. Skeletal muscle regeneration provides a powerful model to study the cellular and molecular mechanism governing stem cell function since the whole process is mediated by a population of muscle-resident stem cells called satellite cells. The overall aim of this dissertation is to explore the roles of Notch signaling and a novel gene (Bex1) in satellite cell function and skeletal muscle regeneration. The first part of this thesis is to examine how the Notch signaling pathway regulates the satellite cell self-renewal in a disease model. The MDX mouse is a well-established model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and regeneration. Here, I showed that the number and activity of satellite cells in MDX mice were reduced in an age-dependent manner. Given that satellite cells can self-renew to maintain the homeostasis, I further demonstrated that the self-renewal capacity was defective in MDX mice. As the Notch signaling pathway has been reported to regulate satellite cell quiescence, I continued to confirmed that the self-renewal defect was due to the perturbed Notch in MDX satellite cells. Furthermore, I
Reducing information asymmetry before marriage: Evidence from South Korea

This study examines whether information asymmetry during the matchmaking period affects women’s choice of spouse. The 2010 amendment of the Marriage Brokers Business Management Act requiring international marriage brokers in South Korea to provide more information about their South Korean male clients to prospective foreign brides in brokered marriages provided an opportunity to probe this question. Using the National Survey of Multicultural Families 2015, we employed the difference-in-differences method. Following the 2010 amendment, foreign women in brokered marriages were more likely to marry a more-educated Korean man and were less likely to work in low-skilled jobs after marriage.
Mixed Dual-Hop FSO-RF Communication Systems Through Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface

In this letter, we propose a dual-hop reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-based free space optical and radio frequency (FSO-RF) communication system, where an RIS is utilized to improve the coverage and system performance. Taking both the atmospheric turbulence and pointing errors into consideration, we derive exact closed-form expressions for the outage probability and bit error rate (BER) in terms of the Meijer’s G-function, generalized hypergeometric function, and Marcum Q-function. Furthermore, to obtain the diversity order, an asymptotic outage analysis is also obtained. Finally, the correctness of the analytical results is verified by Monte-Carlo simulation results.
Phytochemical composition and essential mineral profile, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of unutilized parts of jackfruit

The processing of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) yields a considerable amount of bio-waste. Accumulation of this waste is considered a health risk because it is a potential source of air and water pollution. Recycling of the unutilized fruit parts, therefore, reduces the quantity and the impact of the bio-waste released to the environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the phytochemical profile, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of extracts from three fruit parts (peel, fiber and the core) of jackfruit sampled from the coastal region of Kenya. Different extraction techniques and solvents were tested. The highest phenolic and flavonoid content of the peels, fiber and the core were obtained from methanol extracts following a 48-hour incubation. The values were recorded at 17.07±5.16 mg/g, 23.28±4.73 mg/g, and 15.68±3.74 mg/g for the phenolics and 28.55±12.42 mg/g, 35.4±9.53 mg/g and 36.23±2.54 mg/g for the flavonoids, respectively. The highest tannin content was obtained from distilled water extracts following homogenization recorded at 10.82±2.63 mg/g, 10.39±4.10 mg/g and 10.52±1.05 mg/g for peels, fiber and core, respectively. The fiber extracts gave the highest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity followed by the core at 61.51±29.90% and 51.06±33.39%, respectively. The antioxidant activity was highest for methanol fiber extracts at 61.51±29.90% for DPPH radical scavenging activity and 7.94±4.56 mg/mL for reducing power assay. The best antibacterial activity against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam) was obtained from Ethyl acetate extracts showed. The unutilized jackfruit parts, therefore, are a potential source of natural antioxidants as well as antibacterial, for agriculture and food industry.
Norfloxacin Sub-Inhibitory Concentration Affects Streptococcus suis Biofilm Formation and Virulence Gene Expression

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is a major pathogen causing economic losses to the swine industry. Norfloxacins are usually used at sub-MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) doses to prevent S. suis infection. This study demonstrates the effect of norfloxacin sub-MIC on biofilm formation and virulence gene expression in S. suis.It was found that 1/4 MIC of norfloxacin increased biofilm formation in S. suis, the biofilms formed contained a higher number of viable bacteria. Additionally, bacterial growth rates were inhibited at 1/2 MIC of norfloxacin. Furthermore, the mRNA level of S. suis virulence gene cps, ef, sly, fpbs, gdh and gapdh increased by real-time PCR, while the virulence gene mrp decreased at 1/4 MIC. In conclusion, Norfloxacin sub-MICs affects biofilm formation and virulence gene expression in S. suis. These findings suggest that investigating the effect of the administration of antibiotics sub-MICs on bacterial biofilms and infection may lead to the development of future antibiotic treatments modalities.
Somatosensory Evoked High Frequency Oscillations in a Homogeneous Population of Drug Naive Migraineurs

Introduction: High band pass filtering of evoked potentials have produced the results of decreased early High frequency oscillations (HFOs) in previous studies of migraine patients. However, in most of these studies, the study population has been heterogeneous. The only study till date which used homogenous drug naive group of patients has actually produced contradictory results to the previous studies showing. Aim: We aimed to clarify the status of HFO amplitudes and latencies in drug-naive newly diagnosed patients. Methods: In the present study, we evaluated the 20 newly diagnosed and drug naive migraine patients using electrophysiological assessments using Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and compared their SSEP parameters with those of the healthy age and gender matched normal controls. Median nerve SSEP was obtained by standard protocols. High frequency oscillations were extracted from the broad-band evoked potentials by digitally filtering using high pass filtering at 450Hz-1KHz. Early HFOs were identified when occurred before the N20 peak. Results: No differences were observed in the broad-band SSEPs i.e., N20 amplitudes and latencies. The maximal peak to peak amplitudes in the drug naïve migraineurs in between the attacks for the early HFOs (occurring before the N20 peak) were significantly smaller than the normal controls (p=0.046). The number of negative peaks were also fewer in the migraineurs in a statistically non-significant way. Discussion: This is the first HFO study on a homogenous population of migraineurs which shows decreased early HFOs, thus implicating weaker thalamocortical activity and contradicting the results by Lai et al 1 .
Optimal Sampling Rate and Bandwidth of Bandlimited Signals—an Algorithmic Perspective

The bandwidth of a bandlimited signal is a key quantity that is relevant in numerous applications. For example, it determines the minimum sampling rate that is necessary to reconstruct a bandlimited signal from its samples. In this paper we study if it is possible to algorithmically determine the actual bandwidth of a bandlimited signal. We prove that this is not possible in general, because there exist bandlimited computable signals, which have a bandwidth that is not computable. To this end we employ the concept of Turing computability, which provides a theoretical model that describes the fundamental limits of any practically realizable digital hardware, such as CPUs, DSPs, or FPGAs. Further, we answer the weaker question if it can be algorithmically answered whether the bandwidth of a given signal is larger than a predefined value.
BIOAKTYWNE METABOLITY RYZOSFEROWYCH BAKTERII Pseudomonas

Celem badan bylo określenie, jakie metabolity, bioaktywne wzgledem wybranych fitopatogenow zboz, są syntetyzowane przez wyizolowane z ryzosfery pszenicy bakterie Pseudomonas. Do doświadczen wybrano dwa rozne szczepy bakterii Pseudomonas fluorescens, ktore charakteryzowaly sie w warunkach in vitro silnym antagonizmem w stosunku do fitopatogenow zboz z rodzaju Pyrenophora, Alteria i Fusarium. Jak wykazaly badania obydwa szczepy bakterii w warunkach doświadczen intensywnie wydzielaly cyjanowodor oraz siderofory, w tym piowerdyne. Kwas salicylowy lub jego pochodną wykryto w hodowli tylko jednego z badanych izolatow. Obydwa zastosowane w doświadczeniu szczepy P. fluorescens charakteryzowaly sie zdolnością do syntezy zewnątrzkomorkowych peptydaz o roznym poziomie aktywności. W hodowlach bakterii nie wykryto enzymow litycznych, zdolnych do rozkladu wiązan glikozydowych – chitynazy i β-1,3 glukanazy.