Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Cognitive Dissonance to Theoretically Explain Water Conservation Intentions

Water is a scarce resource in Florida. There is an immediate need to reduce the stress on water resources and make the availability of water more sustainable by encouraging engagement in water conservation among the residents of Florida. This study examined how the future intentions of high water users in Florida] to conserve water outdoors were influenced by cognitively dissonant attitudes and behaviors. The independent variables used in the study were: government trust, current water conservation practices, political beliefs, and homeowners’ associations (HOA) membership. The results to study indicated that higher trust in government and current engagement in water conservation behaviors promotes water conservation, while conservative political belief and HOA membership restrict water conservation. The independent variables (government trust, current water conservation practices, political beliefs, and HOA membership) also significantly predicted 30% of the variation in water conservation behavioral intentions. Level of engagement in current water conservation behaviors had the highest effect on future intent to conserve water. Extension educators, managers at water utility companies, and other agricultural educators are encouraged to consider cognitive dissonance among their target audiences as it can be used to promote water conservation.
Chlamydomonas NZF1, a tandem-repeated zinc finger factor involved in nitrate signalling by controlling the regulatory gene NIT2.

The Chlamydomonas reinhardtii NIT2 gene plays a central role in nitrate assimilation, thus, nit2 mutants are not able to sense or to use nitrate for growth. NIT2 protein is an RWP-RK-type transcriptional factor related to nodule inception (Nin, NLP) proteins from plants. NIT2 expression is down-regulated in ammonium and up-regulated under nitrogen deprivation. However, intracellular nitrate is required to activate NIT2 for subsequent expression of NIA1 and other nitrate assimilation genes. In this work, mutants defective in nitrate sensing have been studied. The identification of genomic regions affected allows proposing putative loci/genes for nitrate signalling in the alga. Among them, a CrNZF1 (Nitrate Zinc Finger 1) that encodes a tandem zinc finger protein CCCH-type. In the nzf1 mutant, the expression of the regulatory gene NIT2 is decreased and also that of nitrate assimilation genes. In this mutant, polyadenylated forms of NIT2 with different lengths could be detected, whereas in the wild type there appeared preferentially the longest forms. CrNZF1 is proposed to regulate NIT2 polyadenylation and thus nitrate signalling and nitrate-dependent growth in the alga.
Incidental detection by [11C]choline PET/CT of meningiomas in prostate cancer patients.

AIM Anti-androgenic hormonal therapy in prostate cancer patients with concomitant meningioma may result in tumor growth and development of neurological symptoms. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with [11C]choline is used for restaging prostate cancer patients with biochemical failure. In vitro and in vivo data support altered choline metabolism in meningiomas. METHODS During a retrospective study in prostate cancer patients with biochemical failure referred to our institution between November 2004 and January 2007, encephalic focal uptake of [11C]choline was incidentally noted in 4 patients, 2 of which had been taking luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogs. RESULTS Subsequent to the incidental finding, one patient underwent surgical removal of the meningioma; strict neuroradiological follow-up was planned for the 3 other patients. CONCLUSION We suggest that in prostate cancer patients candidate for anti-androgenic therapy the whole body [11C]choline PET/CT scan should include the whole skull to check for the possible presence of meningiomas. This could help to identify patients at risk for the development of neurological symptoms during anti-androgenic therapy and help the referring urologist in the clinical management of these patients.
Do Commodity Price Shocks Weaken the Financial Sector?

This paper investigates the impact of commodity price shocks on financial sector fragility. Using a large sample of 71 commodity exporters among emerging and developing economies, it shows that negative shocks to commodity prices tend to weaken the financial sector, with larger shocks having more pronounced impacts. More specifically, negative commodity price shocks are associated with higher non‐performing loans, bank costs and banking crises, while they reduce bank profits, liquidity and provisions to non‐performing loans. These adverse effects tend to occur in countries with poor quality of governance, weak fiscal space, as well as those that do not have a sovereign wealth fund, do not implement macroprudential policies and do not have a diversified export base. These findings are robust to a battery of robustness checks.
Long-term behavioural effects of a repeated exposure to chlorphenvinphos in rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate persistent neurobehavioural effects of repeated low-level exposure to chlorphenvinphos ((2-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl) vinyl diethyl phosphate-CVP) in rats. The rats received 10 i.p. injections of CVP at daily doses of 0.5 mg/kg or 1.0 mg/kg (one injection/day, five days/week) which corresponded to 1/20 and 1/10 of LD50, respectively, for this species. In a part of the rats, cholinesterase (ChE) activity in blood (plasma and erythrocytes), and in the selected brain regions was determined at arbitrarily chosen time after the last exposure. The determinations showed that the level of ChE inhibition was dose-related, but the compartments studied differed in the magnitude of this effect. The differences in the level of ChE inhibition between the compartments were particularly evident in rats which had received CVP at the 1.0 mg/kg dose; in these animals 3 h after exposure the ChE activity in erythrocytes, plasma and the brain corresponded to 78%, 48% and 67-70%, respectively, of the control value. Enzyme activity returned to the control level after 14 days in plasma and after 35 days in erythrocytes. In rats receiving CVP at daily doses of 0.5 mg/kg, ChE activity in plasma was decreased by 40.8% and that in erythrocytes by 21.4% 3 h after the last exposure. The activity of ChE in plasma returned to the control level within four days and that in erythrocytes within 14 days. In these rats, in all the brain regions studied except brainstem, ChE activity was not reduced significantly. In rats selected for behavioural tests, the following behavioural aspects were investigated: response to novelty in an open field, acquisition and extinction of a one-way active avoidance response, and the magnitude and persistence of the footshock-induced analgesia (hot-plate test). Testing in the open field was performed before the exposure and then 1, 3 and 6 weeks after the last exposure. The remaining tests were performed after the exposure. The interval between testing and the last CVP injection was sufficient for recovery of ChE activity. It has been found that in rats of both exposure groups the response to novelty in the open field, i.e. the increase in locomotor and exploratory activity in the presence of a new object, was reduced, albeit nonsignificantly, compared to the unexposed animals. In rats which received CVP at the dose of 1.0 mg/kg, acquisition of the one-way active avoidance response was facilitated. No differences between groups were found during extinction of this response. In the hot-plate test, in rats exposed repeatedly to 1.0 mg/kg CVP, the footshock-induced increase in the latency of the paw-lick response to heat (54.5 degrees C) was stronger and more persistent than in the unexposed animals. The above results show that some neurobehavioural effects of exposure to organophosphorous (OP) compounds may be detected after a time sufficient for recovery of ChE activity.
Assessment of alexithymia in posttraumatic stress disorder and somatic illness: introduction of a reliable measure.

&NA; The authors examined ratings on four scales of alexithymia in 45 patients in four groups: Vietnam veterans in inpatient (Inpt‐PTSD) or outpatient (Outpt‐PTSD) treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), patients on a medical service with somatic illnesses that have been the subject of psychosomatic research (Somatic), and a comparison group of psychiatric inpatients with a diagnosis of affective disorder (Affective). The data suggest a greater degree of alexithymia in the Inpt‐PTSD and Somatic samples than in the Affective patients. In addition, the Inpt‐PTSD and Somatic groups exhibited a similar degree of alexithymia. This study also introduces a novel measure of alexithymia, the Alexithymia Provoked Response Questionnaire (APRQ), which showed a high degree of interrater reliability and a greater degree of correlation with the Beth Israel Psychosomatic Questionnaire (BIPQ) than a MMPI subscale or the Schalling‐Sifneos scale.
Parameter identification for stochastic hybrid models of biological interaction networks

Based on a model of subtilin production by Bacillus subtilis, in this paper we discuss the parameter identification of stochastic hybrid dynamics that are typically found in biological regulatory networks. In accordance with the structure of the model, identification is split in two subproblems: estimation of the genetic network regulating subtilin production from gene expression data, and estimation of population dynamics based on nutrient and population profiles. Techniques for parameter estimation from sparse and irregularly sampled observations are developed and applied to simulated data. Numerical results are provided to show the effectiveness of our methods.
Characterization of skin lesions induced by skin‐tropic α‐ and β‐papillomaviruses in a patient with epidermodysplasia verruciformis

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a rare, lifelong, autosomal recessive skin disease associated with an unusual susceptibility to infections with ubiquitous β‐human papillomaviruses (β‐HPVs), and in some cases also skin‐tropic α genotypes. In this case report, HPV infection patterns were correlated with pathology and clinical manifestations of skin lesions from a patient with EV, without loss‐of‐function mutations in the EVER genes. HPV infection was investigated by both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and laser capture microdissection (LCM) PCR, alongside immunofluorescence for the viral proteins E4 and L1. Analysis of eyebrow hair bulbs revealed multiple β‐genus HPV infections, including HPV20 and HPV24, which were consistently found in all 11 skin lesions on the patient. Six lesions were also positive for the skin tropic α‐genotype, HPV27. Clear‐cut differences between two wart‐like lesions, one caused by a skin‐tropic α‐genotype and the other by β‐genotypes (as detected by LCM PCR) are shown, including the high cellular proliferation rate in β‐HPV‐induced lesions. Widespread expression of the early protein E4 was also evident in skin lesions positive for HPV20 by LCM PCR in both tumours and nearby intraepidermal proliferative areas. L1 expression was restricted to areas of intraepidermal proliferation showing productive infection. The patient's inability to control HPV infections is conclusive to the uncontrolled replication of few genotypes from both α and β genera, which cause proliferative lesions with clear‐cut clinical and histological features.
The influence of implant number and abutment design on the biomechanical behaviour of bone for an implant-supported fixed prosthesis: a finite element study in the upper anterior region

It is always recommended to use more implants for supporting a prosthesis in the immediate loading condition than in the classical two-stage treatment procedure. By means of the finite element (FE) method, the influence of the number of implants used in immediately loaded fixed partial prosthesis (FPP) on the load distribution was investigated, considering the abutment geometry. Two 3D FE models were studied employing four implants to support a FPP in the premaxilla. One model was designed with straight abutments and the other with 20°-angled abutments. The results concerning implant displacements, stresses and strains were compared with those of two implant-supported FPPs, obtained in a previous study. A noticeable reduction in the determined biomechanical bone loading was observed with the use of more implants in supporting an immediately loaded prosthesis. This study confirms that the use of additional numbers of implants in an immediately loaded prosthesis is highly recommended.
Revealing the structural details of huntingtin fibrils using small-angle neutron scattering

Huntington's disease (HD) involves an abnormally expanded polyglutamine sequence in huntingtin (Htt) protein that makes it highly susceptible to aggregate. A current challenge is to map out the aggregation pathway by identifying the various precursor structures and establishing their roles in the disease. While it is highly suspected that the early oligomer species are responsible for toxicity, characterizing the end-state fibril structure is also a necessary step toward discovering the underlying mechanisms of early aggregate formation. We are actively investigating Htt structural kinetics and the resulting fibrils using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Here, we report on the characterization of fibrils from Htt-exon1-Q40 - a disease relevant Htt peptide as it contains a pathologically expanded glutamine repeat sequence and a proline-rich region. SANS on the end-state fibrils revealed structural similarities to the Perutz β-helixhollow cylinder model as opposed to the more commonly observed steric zipper structure found for many other amyloid fibrils. The structural details we have identified contribute toward elucidating the mechanism of pathological Htt assembly.
An Assessment of the Robustness of the COSHH-Essentials (C-E) Target Airborne Concentration Ranges 15 Years on, and Their Usefulness for Determining Control Measures

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Great Britain (GB), in association with its stakeholders, developed the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)-Essentials (C-E) control banding tool in 1998. The objective was to provide a simple tool for employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to help select and apply appropriate measures for the adequate control of exposure to hazardous substances. The tool used hazard classification information (R-phrases) to assign substances to one of five health hazard groups, each with its respective 'target airborne concentration range'. The validity of the allocation of substances to a target airborne concentration range was demonstrated at the time using 111 substances that had a current health-based Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) in GB. The C-E control banding approach remains an important tool to complement exposure assessment/monitoring and the selection and use of suitable control measures for hazardous substances. These include engineering controls and personal protective equipment (PPE). The C-E based control banding approach has been adopted around the world. This paper extends the original validation exercise, using a greater number of chemical substances, to establish whether the target airborne concentration ranges remain appropriate. This is of particular interest in light of the introduction of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for classification, in which R-phrases have now been replaced by hazard-statements (H-statements). The validation exercise includes substances with OELs published by nine bodies internationally; and the Derived No-Effect Levels (DNELs) assigned by registrants under the European Union-Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations. When compared against 8-hour TWA OELs for 850 substances drawn from nine bodies and a limited number of DNELS, the C-E target airborne concentration ranges remain valid. This comparative work also informs a wider consideration around the practicality and the applicability of the C-E generic approach to facilitate the implementation of good practice control for a wide range of substances (more than 95%) which do not have any recognized OEL.
Does a yellow filter improve visual object categorization in normal aging?

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that a yellow filter (CPF450) can increase contrast, motion sensitivity, vergence, and accommodation. We investigated whether a yellow filter can reduce age-related visual deficits. We tested two groups of 60 observers (mean age 24 vs. 72) in an object categorization task. Grayscale photographs of natural objects and artifacts were displayed either centrally or peripherally (21°) at low (8%) or medium (30%) contrast. There were three filter conditions (no filter, placebo filter, and yellow filter). Both groups of observers performed similarly on central and medium-contrast pictures. The deleterious effects of reduced contrast and eccentricity were stronger in elderly individuals. Moreover, the yellow filter globally improved the speed of categorization for the elderly participants. The decrease in response time in the yellow filter condition was larger when the stimuli were displayed peripherally in both groups. A yellow filter should be considered as a potential means for visual improvement in normal aging.
PDGF-AB and 5-Azacytidine induce conversion of somatic cells into tissue-regenerative multipotent stem cells

Significance In this report we describe the generation of tissue-regenerative multipotent stem cells (iMS cells) by treating mature bone and fat cells transiently with a growth factor [platelet-derived growth factor–AB (PDGF-AB)] and 5-Azacytidine, a demethylating compound that is widely used in clinical practice. Unlike primary mesenchymal stem cells, which are used with little objective evidence in clinical practice to promote tissue repair, iMS cells contribute directly to in vivo tissue regeneration in a context-dependent manner without forming tumors. This method can be applied to both mouse and human somatic cells to generate multipotent stem cells and has the potential to transform current approaches in regenerative medicine. Current approaches in tissue engineering are geared toward generating tissue-specific stem cells. Given the complexity and heterogeneity of tissues, this approach has its limitations. An alternate approach is to induce terminally differentiated cells to dedifferentiate into multipotent proliferative cells with the capacity to regenerate all components of a damaged tissue, a phenomenon used by salamanders to regenerate limbs. 5-Azacytidine (AZA) is a nucleoside analog that is used to treat preleukemic and leukemic blood disorders. AZA is also known to induce cell plasticity. We hypothesized that AZA-induced cell plasticity occurs via a transient multipotent cell state and that concomitant exposure to a receptive growth factor might result in the expansion of a plastic and proliferative population of cells. To this end, we treated lineage-committed cells with AZA and screened a number of different growth factors with known activity in mesenchyme-derived tissues. Here, we report that transient treatment with AZA in combination with platelet-derived growth factor–AB converts primary somatic cells into tissue-regenerative multipotent stem (iMS) cells. iMS cells possess a distinct transcriptome, are immunosuppressive, and demonstrate long-term self-renewal, serial clonogenicity, and multigerm layer differentiation potential. Importantly, unlike mesenchymal stem cells, iMS cells contribute directly to in vivo tissue regeneration in a context-dependent manner and, unlike embryonic or pluripotent stem cells, do not form teratomas. Taken together, this vector-free method of generating iMS cells from primary terminally differentiated cells has significant scope for application in tissue regeneration.
Petri net models, functional abstractions, and reduction techniques: applications to the design of automated manufacturing systems

The use of generic models in the synthesis of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) systems, which allows for rapid modeling and analysis, does not ease the verification task difficulty. Even though generic modules can be verified separately, the verification of the interconnections between modules requires the whole model to be considered. A potential solution is to replace the generic modules with their functional abstractions which realize the external functional behavior of these modules. The number of places and transitions involved in realizing the required functionality is, typically, a fraction of that used to represent complete components. This reduces the complexity of the components of the modeled system, and thus the complexity of the verification model. The verification task can then focus on the correctness of the interfaces, rather then on the internal nature of the components. This paper presents new results that allow for systematic construction of functional abstractions for a class of Petri net models which can be used to represent the primary components of the automated-guided-vehicle-based FMSs.
An analysis of the association among carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and economic performance: an econometric model

ABSTRACT This work is intended to present an investigation into the macroeconomic reasons for carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan for the period 1971–2016. This study adds to the current empirical literature on the association among carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, economic growth and the level of investment in Pakistan. The data has been checked for its stationarity by applying the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test, and then a cointegration test helped in the estimation of long-run equilibrium association between environmental variables. The outcomes of the co-integration test suggest the presence of a long-run equilibrium connection between series. The results of Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) demonstrate that all variables transform to sustain long-run equilibrium. The outcomes of a Granger causality test showed that causality runs from economic performance and population toward CO2 emissions, while bi-directional causality is found between carbon dioxide emissions and energy usage, and carbon dioxide emissions and trade openness. The results of cumulative sum of recursive residuals (CUSUM) and cumulative sum of recursive residuals squares (CUSUMSQ) show the stability of the functional relationship established in the present work, which implies that this model is an adequate and useful tool for strategy formulation. So, an upsurge or a decrease in macroeconomic series will cause and has caused variations in carbon dioxide emissions in the long run in Pakistan.