Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Partitioning of production and respiration among size groups of organisms in an intertidal benthic community

Published data on production of natural populations of benthic organisms were used to derive allometric equations relating annual production per unit biomass (P: B ratio) to mean individual body mass (time and biomass weighted) in the population on which production was measured. Separate equations were derived for meiofauna and macrofauna. Since no published data on production and size-structure in natural bacterial populations were found, P:B ratios for bacteria were calculated by extrapolation from an all-inclusive regression. In situ respiration was then calculated from production assuming the two to be approximately equal over an annual cycle for bacteria and benthc microalgae, and using an empirical relation between annual respiration and production in marine benthic animals for meiofauna and macrofauna. Monthly observations of benthic biomass spectra at Pecks Cove, an intertidal site in the upper Bay of Fundy, were used to estimate production and respiration in bacteria, microalgae, meiofauna, and macrofauna from the allometric equations. These estimates compared well with measured production for Corophjum volutator and Macoma balthjca, the 2 dominant macrofaunal species, and w ~ t h gross primary production by benthic microalgae, but not with total community respiration as measured by sediment oxygen consumption. Calculated values for production by bactena were of an expected magnitude ~f between 1 and 10 O/O of the total biomass was assumed to be active. The contribution of meiofauna and macrofauna to total community production (8 to 19 %, depending on the assumphon for bacterial achvity) was d~sproportionately small compared to their relahve biomass (47 to 52 %, also depending on what proportion of bacterial biomass was considered to be actlve). Estimates of respiration were much higher than measured rates of sediment oxygen consurnphon (2.5 to 5.5 times), although both followed closely sirmlar seasonal trends. Bacterial produchon in nature must be directly measured before the validity of our calculations can be assessed. However, we conclude that it 1s possible to obtain reasonable estimates of annual production and its distribution among slze groups in natural benthic comn~unities of eukaryotic organisms using allometric P : B scal~ng.
An advance geometrical maximum power point targeting technique for solar photovoltaics using current-voltage curve

The perturb-and-observe and the incremental conductance methods are well-known algorithms for extracting maximum output power from a solar photovoltaic array. Their performance is not satisfactory in steady-state conditions as well as when the solar irradiance and temperature change rapidly. Direct maximum power point search methods are also available such as bisection, false position, secant and Newton-Raphson techniques. But they require large number of iterations. This paper proposes a non-iterative and direct MPP search method based on the geometry of a current-voltage (I-V) characteristic. The unique feature of the method is that it finds the MPP by solving a combination of three linear equations relating I and V as well as the quadratic regression analysis. The validity of the method is examined by employing it for several cells' as well as a silicon module's I-V data previously available in the literature and for a silicon module tested in the laboratory. For all cases, the method finds the highly accurate MPP parameters. The error analysis shows that it can easily handle the noisy measured data as well. The results obtained from the analysis show that the proposed method can easily be adopted for MPP tracking for all kinds of PV technologies.
Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect Mutual Fund Performance and Flows?

We use an asset-weighted composite corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund score to study the effects of CSR on fund performance and flows. Compared to low-CSR funds, high-CSR funds display poorer performance, stronger performance persistence, a weaker performance-flow relationship, and comparable persistence in flows. These findings are consistent with investors in high-CSR funds deriving utility from non-performance attributes.
Amino acid substitutions in hepatitis C virus core region predict hepatocarcinogenesis following eradication of HCV RNA by antiviral therapy

Substitution of amino acid (aa) 70 and/or 91 in the core region of HCV genotype 1b (HCV‐1b) is an important predictor of hepatocarcinogenesis, but its impact on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following eradication of HCV RNA by antiviral therapy is not clear. 1,273 patients with HCV‐related chronic liver disease, with sustained virological response, defined as negative HCV RNA at 24 weeks after cessation of interferon monotherapy or interferon plus ribavirin combination therapy, were included in a follow‐up study to evaluate the impact of aa substitution in the core region on hepatocarcinogenesis. Twenty six patients developed HCC during the follow‐up. The cumulative rates of new HCC were 3.2%, 4.8%, and 8.6% at the end of 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. The rates in patients infected with HCV‐1b/Gln70(His70) [glutamine (histidine) at aa 70] were significantly higher than in patients infected with HCV‐1b/Arg70 (arginine at aa 70) (P = 0.007; log‐rank test) and HCV‐2a/2b (P < 0.001; log‐rank test). The rates in patients infected with HCV‐1b/Arg70 were not significantly higher than in those infected with HCV‐2a/2b (P = 0.617; log‐rank test). Multivariate analysis identified HCV‐1b/Gln70(His70) (HR 10.5, P < 0.001), advanced fibrosis (HR 9.03, P = 0.002), and old age (HR 3.09, P = 0.066) as determinants of hepatocarcinogenesis. In conclusion, aa substitution in the core region of HCV‐1b at the start of antiviral therapy is an important predictor of HCC following eradication of HCV RNA. This study emphasizes the importance of detection of aa substitutions in the core region before antiviral therapy. J. Med. Virol. 83:1016–1022, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An Adaptive Approach to Resource Provisioning in PaaS

In PaaS, the issue of resource provisioning becomes more challenging because a great number of applications share and compete for resources simultaneously. PaaS platform should be able to maximize the resources utilization, while satisfying the performance requirements of all applications. However on-line request workload can be fluctuated during the run time of applications and static resource allocation may cause either under provisioning or over provisioning problem. In this paper, we propose an adaptive resource provisioning approach to dynamically allocate resources for applications according to the workload variation. In case of performance violation, our approach can make an efficient plan to keep application performance within a valid range.
Rapid Dephosphorylation of G Protein-coupled Receptors by Protein Phosphatase 1β Is Required for Termination of β-Arrestin-dependent Signaling*

Termination of signaling of activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is essential for maintenance of cellular homeostasis. It is well established that β-arrestin redistributes to phosphorylated GPCRs and thereby facilitates desensitization of classical G protein-dependent signaling. β-Arrestin in turn serves as a scaffold to initiate a second wave of signaling. Here, we report a molecular mechanism that regulates the termination of unconventional β-arrestin-dependent GPCR signaling. We identify protein phosphatase 1β (PP1β) as a phosphatase for the cluster of phosphorylated threonines (353TTETQRT359) within the sst2A somatostatin receptor carboxyl terminus that mediates β-arrestin binding using siRNA knock-down screening. We show that PP1β-mediated sst2A dephosphorylation is initiated directly after receptor activation at or near the plasma membrane. As a functional consequence of diminished PP1β activity, we find that somatostatin- and substance P-induced but not epidermal growth factor-induced ERK activation was aberrantly enhanced and prolonged. Thus, we demonstrate a novel mechanism for fine tuning unconventional β-arrestin-dependent GPCR signaling in that recruitment of PP1β to activated GPCRs facilitates GPCR dephosphorylation and, hence, leads to disruption of the β-arrestin-GPCR complex.
Panel asymmetric nonlinear unit root test and PPP in Africa

ABSTRACT This study revisits purchasing power parity (PPP) theory for 20 African countries using panel asymmetric nonlinear unit root test proposed by Emirmahmutoglu and Omay (2014), through the sequential panel selection method of Chortareas and Kapetanios (2009). While standard panel unit root tests fail to support the PPP, the empirical results from panel asymmetric nonlinear unit root test do support the PPP. However, additional tests reveal that support in all 20 African countries is mostly due to stationarity of the real effective exchange rates of Ghana and Rwanda where the adjustment process towards equilibrium is nonlinear and asymmetric.
Isolation and characterization of efficient plasmid transformation mutants of Mycobacterium smegmatis

Recent development of vectors and methodologies to introduce recombinant DNA into members of the genus Mycobacterium has provided new approaches for investigating these important bacteria. While most pathogenic mycobacteria are slow‐growing, Mycobacterium smegmatis is a fast‐growing, non‐pathogenic species that has been used for many years as a host for mycobacteriophage propagation and, recently, as a host for the introduction of recombinant DNA. Its use as a cloning host for the analysis of mycobacterial genes has been limited by its inability to be efficiently transformed with plasmid vectors. This work describes the isolation and characterization of mutants of M. smegmatis that can be transformed, using electroporation, at efficiencies 104 to 105 times greater than those of the parent strain, yielding more than 105 transformants per μg of plasmid DNA. The mutations conferring this efficient plasmid transformation (Ept) phenotype do not affect phage transfection or the integration of DNA into the M. smegmatis chromosome, but seem to be specific for plasmid transformation. Such Ept mutants have been used to characterize plasmid DNA sequences essential for replication of the Mycobacterium fortuitum plasmid pAL5000 in mycobacteria by permitting the transformation of a library of hybrid plasmid constructs. Efficient plasmid transformation of M. smegmatis will facilitate the analysis of mycobacterial gene function, expression and replication and thus aid in the development of BCG as a multivalent recombinant vaccine vector and in the genetic analysis of the virulence determinants of pathogenic mycobacteria.
Different effects of olive leaf extract on antioxidant enzyme activities in midbrain and dopaminergic neurons of Substantia Nigra in young and old rats.

OBJECTIVES Study of the effects of olive leaf extract on antioxidant enzyme activities in midbrain and dopaminergic neurons of Substantia Nigra in young and old rats. METHODS Male wistar rats age 4 and 18 months were randomized into control and experimental groups. A single daily dose of 50 mg/kg of olive leaf extract was administered orally by gavage to each rat for 6 months. The control group received only distilled water. All rats were sacrificed 2 hours after the last gavage and their midbrains were separated for Malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant enzyme activitiy analysis. TUNEL assay and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining were used for evaluation of the number of neurons in the Substantia Nigra. RESULTS The level of Catalase, Glutathione Peroxidase and Superoxide Dismutase enzyme activity were significantly increased in experimental young and old groups compared to their control groups. However the level of Superoxide Dismutase enzyme activity was significantly increased in experimental old group when compared to control group (P< 0.05), the level of Superoxide Dismutase enzyme activity was not significantly changed in young groups. MDA level was decreased significantly in experimental young and old rats compared to their control groups. Histological analysis demonstrated that the number of neurons in Substantia Nigra of experimental old group was more than the control group (P<0.05). The number of apoptotic cells was significantly decreased in experimental old group compared to the corresponding control group (P<0.05). In IHC and TUNEL assay, no change was observed in the number of neurons between experimental and control young groups. CONCLUSION Long term treatment with olive leaf extract increases antioxidant enzyme activity and protects the neurons in Substantia Nigra against oxidative stress.
Contract, Renegotiation, and Hold Up: General Results on the Technology of Trade and Investment

This paper examines a class of contractual relationships with specific investment, a non-durable trading opportunity, and renegotiation. FurtheringWatson’s (2007) line of analysis, trade actions are modeled as individual and trade-action-based option contracts are explored. Simple tools are developed for calculating the “punishment values” that determine the sets of implementable post-investment value functions, and two results are proved. The first result establishes that, with ex post renegotiation, constraining parties to use “forcing contracts” (as is implicit in public-action models) implies a strict reduction in the set of implementable value functions. The second result shows that, by using non-forcing contracts, the party without the trade action can be made residual claimant with regard to the investment action. The paper identifies an important distinction, between divided and unified investment and trade actions, that plays an important role in determining whether an efficient outcome is achieved.
Polyvalent DNA prime and envelope protein boost HIV‐1 vaccine elicits humoral and cellular responses and controls plasma viremia in rhesus macaques following rectal challenge with an R5 SHIV isolate

Abstract: Immunization of macaques with multivalent DNA encoding gp120 genes from HIV‐1 subtypes A, B, C and E and a gag gene followed by boosting with homologous gp120 proteins elicited strong anti‐gp120 antibodies capable of neutralizing homologous and to a lesser degree heterologous HIV‐1 isolates. Both Env‐ and Gag‐specific cell mediated immune (CMI) responses were detected in the immunized animals. Following rectal challenge with an SHIV isolate encoding HIV‐1Ba‐Lenv, plasma viremia in the infected immunized animals was significantly lower than that observed in the naïve animals. Further, one of six immunized animals was completely protected whereas all six naïve animals were infected. These results demonstrate that a vaccine based on priming with a polyvalent DNA vaccine from multiple HIV‐1 subtypes followed by boosting with homologous Env proteins elicits anti‐HIV‐1 immune responses capable of controlling rectal transmission of SHIVBa‐L.
Phospholipase PLA2G7, associated with aggressive prostate cancer, promotes prostate cancer cell migration and invasion and is inhibited by statins

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in men in developed countries. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the disease, design of novel personalized treatments is required to achieve efficient therapeutic responses. We have recently identified phospholipase 2 group VII (PLA2G7) as a potential drug target especially in ERG oncogene positive prostate cancers. Here, the expression profile of PLA2G7 was studied in 1137 prostate cancer and 409 adjacent non-malignant prostate tissues using immunohistochemistry to validate its biomarker potential and putative association with disease progression. In order to reveal the molecular alterations induced by PLA2G7 impairment, lipidomic and gene expression profiling was performed in response to PLA2G7 silencing in cultured prostate cancer cells. Moreover, the antineoplastic effect of statins combined with PLA2G7 impairment was studied in prostate cancer cells to evaluate the potential of repositioning of in vivo compatible drugs developed for other indications towards anti-cancer purposes. The results indicated that PLA2G7 is a cancer-selective biomarker in 50% of prostate cancers and associates with aggressive disease. The alterations induced by PLA2G7 silencing highlighted the potential of PLA2G7 inhibition as an anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic and anti-migratorial therapeutic approach in prostate cancer. Moreover, the anti-proliferative effect of PLA2G7 silencing was potentiated by lipid-lowering statins in prostate cancer cells. Taken together, our results support the potential of PLA2G7 as a biomarker and a drug target in prostate cancer and present a rationale for combining PLA2G7 inhibition with the use of statins in prostate cancer management.
Design of anti-collision integrated security mechanism based on chaotic sequence in UHF RFID system

Collision and security issues are considered as barriers to RFID applications. In this paper, a parallelizable anti-collision based on chaotic sequence combined dynamic frame slotted aloha to build a high-effciency RFID system is proposed. In the tags parallelizable identification, we design a Discrete Markov process to analyze the success identification rate. Then a mutual authentication security protocol merging chaotic anti-collision is presented. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed identifcation scheme has less than 45.1 % of the identifcation time slots compared with the OVSF-system when the length of the chaos sequence is 31. The success identification rate of the proposed chaotic anti-collision can achieve 63% when the number of the tag is 100. We test the energy consumption of the presented authentication protocol, which can simultaneously solve the anti-collision and security of the UHF RFID system.
The inhibitory effects of bevacizumab eye drops on NGF expression and corneal wound healing in rats.

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of bevacizumab eye drops on corneal epithelial wound healing in rats. METHODS One hundred twenty Sprague-Dawley male rat corneas were divided into two groups and de-epithelized with a microblade. The bevacizumab group was treated with 5% bevacizumab and antibiotic 0.5% levofloxacin eye drops four times daily and the control group with antibiotic eye drops only. Corneal wound healing was evaluated by fluorescein staining at initial wounding and 24, 48, and 72 hours after epithelial debridement. Nerve growth factor (NGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins were measured in rat corneas by ELISA. Immunofluorescent staining for NGF and VEGF was performed in rat corneas. NGF mRNA and VEGF mRNA was measured in rat corneas by real-time PCR. RESULTS The corneal wound healing rate was decreased in the bevacizumab group compared with that in the control group. Twenty-four, 48, and 72 hours after epithelial debridement, corneal NGF and VEGF proteins in the bevacizumab group were lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Immunofluorescent staining showed that NGF and VEGF expression was stronger in the control group than in the bevacizumab group. NGF mRNA and VEGF mRNA levels in the bevacizumab group were also lower than in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS After corneal epithelial damage, VEGF and NGF increased normally in the rat corneas. In contrast, when VEGF was inhibited by bevacizumab eye drops, the wound healing rate was decreased, and NGF was downregulated. Bevacizumab eye drops have an inhibitory effect on corneal wound healing in rats.
Accounting for Nonmarket Impacts in a Benefit-Cost Analysis of Underground Coal Mining in New South Wales, Australia

Strategic inquiries into coal mining by Australian Governments advocate increased use of comprehensive benefit cost analyses and nonmarket valuation studies when assessing individual project proposals. The study reported in this paper addresses these Government concerns, by integrating results of a choice experiment into a benefit cost analysis undertaken for a Colliery in the Southern Coalfield of New South Wales, Australia. Results of the study were used to aid the State government in evaluating proposals for continued underground coal mining. We show that impacts of mine subsidence on streams, swamps, and Aboriginal sites negatively affect community wellbeing. Social welfare increases with the length of time that the mine provides direct employment. We demonstrate how implicit price estimates from the choice experiment can be incorporated into a benefit cost analysis of continued mining. Benefit cost analyses were carried out for a range of policy scenarios—including policies that would restrict mining activities at the Colliery and protect environmental and cultural features in the Southern Coalfield. Notwithstanding the environmental impacts generated by mining operations, continued mining is shown to be a more economically efficient course of action.
3D visualization for marine research

The amount of data and the data flow in marine research are constantly growing, especially with the development of new ICTs. Data analysis, used in such research has a goal to find relations, links and structures in the data collected. Many different methods may be used: statistical analysis, geometrical analysis, conceptual structuring, visualization, data mining. 3D visual data mining combines methods of data analysis and visualization. The article will give an overview of 3D visual data mining methods, their strengths and weaknesses, and provide examples of application of these methods to data analysis in marine research.
Treatment inferred disease severity in Crohn's disease: Evidence for a European gradient of disease course

Objective. Geographic differences in disease course of Crohn's disease (CD) might possibly be related to differences in genetic and environmental factors encountered in different parts of the world. The aim of this study was to assess differences in treatment regimens within a European cohort of CD patients as a reflection of disease course, and to identify associated phenotypic risk factors at diagnosis. Material and methods. A prospective European population-based inception cohort of 380 CD patients was studied. The patients were classified for phenotype according to the Vienna classification. Differences between Northern and Southern European centres in treatment over the first 10 years of disease were analysed using a competing risks survival analysis method. Results. Patients in the North were more likely to have had surgery (p<0.01), whereas patients in the South were more likely to have been treated medically (p<0.01). Phenotype at diagnosis was not predictive of differences in treatment regimens between North and South. Conclusions. In this study, a difference in management of CD was observed between Northern and Southern European centres. This suggests that there may be a North–South disease severity gradient across Europe. Phenotypic differences between patients in the North and South did not explain this observed difference.