Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-labile soil 15nitrogen retention beneath three tree species in a tropical plantation

Soil organic matter is the largest sink for N additions to forests. Species composition may affect soil N retention by altering the amount or proportion of added N stored in non-labile organic pools. We measured 15 N tracer retention in labile and non-labile pools of surface (0-20 cm) mineral soils, 7 yr after the tracer was applied to a 9 yr-old Puerto Rican tree plantation with replicated stands of three species (two N-fixers, one Eucalyptus, Euc). Laboratory incubations (13 mo) with repeated leaching separated total soil N into labile (inorganic N leached) and non-labile (total N minus leached N) pools, and a labile C treatment tested linkages between C availability and N retention. We hypothesized that species composition would alter the amount and proportion of recovered tracer N in non-labile organic matter. Surface soils contained 45% of the tracer, but the amount retained in labile and non-labile pools was similar among species. In contrast, the proportion of recovered tracer in non-labile pools was greater in soils beneath N-fixers (75%) than Euc (62%). Labile C additions increased the size of the non-labile tracer N pool. We conclude that tree species composition may affect long-term soil N retention by altering the proportion of N in slow-turnover, non-labile pools. Plants may also alter soil N retention by renewing labile C pools; a continuous supply of labile C increased the transfer of 15 N into non-labile organic matter.
Gene for spiralin, the major membrane protein of the helical mollicute Spiroplasma citri: cloning and expression in Escherichia coli

A library of cloned Spiroplasma citri genomic sequences was constructed by incorporating HindIII digestion fragments into the plasmid vector pBR328. Immunological screening allowed the identification of a recombinant plasmid containing the gene for spiralin, the major membrane protein of S. citri. The spiralin produced by the Escherichia coli transformant was characterized by immunological detection with monoclonal antibody after Western blotting of two-dimensional (isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide) electrophoresis gels and by partial proteolytic mapping. The gene for spiralin occurred within a 6.5-kilobase-pair cloned DNA fragment. Spiralin in E. coli was produced regardless of the orientation of the insert within the pBR328 vector. A spiroplasmal DNA sequence which acted as a promoter in E. coli was cloned along with the structural spiralin gene which is expressed in E. coli from that sequence.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Lay Health Promoter-Led, Community-Based Participatory Pesticide Safety Intervention With Farmworker Families

Pesticide safety training is mandated for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. However, none is required for family members, who implement home sanitation to protect against pesticide exposure and need to control pests in substandard housing. Controlled studies have demonstrated the efficacy of pesticide education programs for farmworker families, but no carefully evaluated demonstration projects have shown effectiveness in public health settings. This project evaluates a lay health promoter program to improve pesticide-related knowledge and practices. Promotoras from six agencies recruited families with children to deliver a six-lesson, in-home, culturally and educationally appropriate curriculum. Independently conducted pre- and posttests evaluated changes in knowledge and practices. Adults in 610 families completed the study. Most were from Mexico, with low levels of formal education. Significant improvements in knowledge were observed for all six lessons. Significant improvements were observed in practices related to para-occupational exposure and residential pest control. Lay health promoters with limited training and supervision can have significant impacts on families’ knowledge and practices. They represent a workforce increasingly recognized as a force for reducing health disparities by providing culturally appropriate health education and other services. This study adds to the literature by demonstrating their effectiveness in a public health setting with rigorous evaluation.
Antibacterial efficacy of Rosmarinus officinalis phytochemicals against nosocomial multidrug-resistant bacteria grown in planktonic culture and biofilm

S. Moreno, E.M. Galván, N. Vázquez, G. Fiorilli and P.A. Cáceres Guido 1 Institute Leloir Foundation (ex Campomar Foundation)-Biochemistry Institute Research of Buenos Aires (IIBBACONICET), Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, CABA Argentina 2 Maimónides University, Hidalgo 755, CABA, Argentina 3 Microbiology Service, Garrahan Pediatric Hospital, Combate de los Pozos 1881, CABA, Argentina 4 Integrative Medicine Group, Garrahan Pediatric Hospital, Combate de los Pozos 1881, CABA, Argentina
Biaryl analogues of conformationally constrained tricyclic tropanes as potent and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors: synthesis and evaluation of their uptake inhibition at monoamine transporter sites.

A series of novel conformationally constrained tricyclic tropane derivatives containing a biaryl moiety, (Z)-9-(biarylylmethylene)-7-azatricyclo[4.3. 1.0(3,7)]decanes, were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit reuptake of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and norepinephrine (NE) by the DA, 5-HT, and NE transporters. Most of the compounds containing a methoxycarbonyl substituent at C-10 exhibit moderate to high inhibitory activity at the NET but lower activity at the DAT and SERT. Among these new compounds, some potent, NET-selective ligands were identified. The p-methoxy derivative 11a has a K(i) value of 39 nM for uptake inhibition at the NET and moderate to high selectivity over the SERT (100-fold) and the DAT (20-fold). Compound 11f exhibits a remarkable potency (K(i) = 9.7 nM) at the NET and a 25-fold selectivity over both the SERT and the DAT. Analogue 23 containing a thiophene ring as a bioisosteric replacement of the phenyl ring Ar(1) displays a high activity (K(i) = 10.3 nM) for the NET and similar selectivity over the SERT (50-fold) and the DAT (37-fold). The selectivity profile of biaryl analogues differs from that of the monoaryl series, as most members of that series display excellent potency at and selectivity for the SERT (J. Med. Chem. 2002, 45, 1930). This finding suggests that the different shape and size of the lipophilic recognition pocket that encompasses the aryl ring(s) of these tropanes are major determinants of a ligand's transporter activity at either the NET or the SERT. Some of the compounds in this series may also be valuable in sorting out the contribution of the individual transporters to cocaine's reinforcing properties.
The Anticlockwise Checked Vowel Chain Shift in modern RP in the twentieth century: Incrementations and diagonal shifts

This paper presents evidence for a chain shift in the checked vowel sub-system of modern RP over one hundred years, based on LMER analysis of over 10000 vowels from 108 speakers with birthdates from 1883 to 1990. The data confirms previously identified gender-differentiated change in F1 and F2 of TRAP, as well as date-of-birth driven incremental change in F1 of KIT, F1 of STRUT, F2 of FOOT, and, for DRESS, an (F2-(2xF1)) diagonal shift by date of birth that follows TRAP’s path. We also present evidence for an active female-driven change in the LOT vowel, an (F2-(2xF1)) diagonal shift towards the close central area of the vowel space. The paper demonstrates differing statistical patterns in these shifts over time, and suggests a possible origin in changes to TRAP early in the 20 century. All data and additional figures for this study are available via OSF.io. on application to the author.
Prediction of Mine Water Inflow Based on Support Vector Machine

The prediction of water inflow is significant to the preventing and controlling water of mine pit. In this paper SVM is applied to the prediction of water inflow, and the workflow and prediction model is given. Combing with the practical demands, a prediction was made about water inflow of a new working face. The result shows that the maximum value of water inflow of the new mining face is higher than that of a mining face already mined, and the prediction result has been verified in the mining process of the new working face.
Cooperative robotic maneuvers for emergency ship towing operations

This paper proposes the employment of marine robotic platforms for emergency ship towing operations. Automatic guidance algorithms are developed with the aim of providing cooperation and coordination of robots' motion. In particular a line-following technique is proposed as well as an improvement to a virtual target based path-following technique in order to take into account the modeling of a moving reference path. To prove the validity of the proposed concept, a set of experimental results is also reported.
EXTRACTION OF ASTAXANTHIN ESTERS FROM SHRIMP WASTE BY CHEMICAL AND MICROBIAL METHODS

The carotenoid pigments specifically astaxanthin has many significant applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The goal of this research was the extraction of Astaxanthin from a certain Persian Gulf shrimp species waste (Penaeus semisulcatus), purification and identification of the pigment by chemical and microbial methods. Microbial fermentation was obtained by inoculation of two Lactobacillus species Lb. plantarum and Lb. acidophilus in the medium culture containing shrimp waste powder by the intervention of lactose sugar, yeast extract, the composition of Both and the coolage (-20oC). The carotenoids were extracted by an organic solvent system. After purification of astaxanthin with the thin layer chromatography method by spectrophotometer, NMR and IR analysis the presence of astaxanthin esters was recognized in this specific species of Persian Gulf shrimp. Results obtained from this study showed that the coolage at –20 oC not only does not have an amplifying effect on the production of astaxanthin but also slightly reduces this effect. Also the effect of intervention of lactose sugar showed more effectiveness in producing astaxanthin than yeast extract or more than with the presence of both. The results also indicated that there is not much difference in the ability of producing the pigment by comparing both Lb. plantarum and Lb. acidophillus. Also results showed the microbial method of extraction of astaxanthin is more effective than chemical method. The pigment extracted from certain amount of shrimp powder, 23.128 mg/g, was calculated.
Subjective Versus Objective Assessment for Magnetic Resonance Images

Abstract—Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the most important medical imaging modality. Subjective assessment of the image quality is regarded as the gold standard to evaluate MR images. In this study, a database of 210 MR images which contains ten reference images and 200 distorted images is presented. The reference images were distorted with four types of distortions: Rician Noise, Gaussian White Noise, Gaussian Blur and DCT compression. The 210 images were assessed by ten subjects. The subjective scores were presented in Difference Mean Opinion Score (DMOS). The DMOS values were compared with four FR-IQA metrics. We have used Pearson Linear Coefficient (PLCC) and Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient (SROCC) to validate the DMOS values. The high correlation values of PLCC and SROCC shows that the DMOS values are close to the objective FR-IQA metrics.
Prevalence of cough throughout childhood: A cohort study

Background Cough in children is a common reason for medical consultations and affects quality of life. There are little population-based data on the epidemiology of recurrent cough in children and how this varies by age and sex, or between children with and without wheeze. We determined the prevalence of cough throughout childhood, comparing several standardised cough questions. We did this for the entire population and separately for girls and boys, and for children with and without wheeze. Methods In a population-based prospective cohort from Leicestershire, UK, we assessed prevalence of cough with repeated questionnaires from early childhood to adolescence. We asked whether the child usually coughed more than other children, with or without colds, had night-time cough or cough triggered by various factors (triggers, related to increased breathing effort, allergic or food triggers). We calculated prevalence from age 1 to 18 years using generalised estimating equations for all children, and for children with and without wheeze. Results Of 7670 children, 10% (95% CI 10–11%) coughed more than other children, 69% (69–70%) coughed usually with a cold, 34% to 55% age-dependently coughed without colds, and 25% (25–26%) had night-time cough. Prevalence of coughing more than peers, with colds, at night, and triggered by laughter varied little throughout childhood, while cough without colds and cough triggered by exercise, house dust or pollen became more frequent with age. Cough was more common in boys than in girls in the first decade of life, differences got smaller in early teens and reversed after the age of 14 years. All symptoms were more frequent in children with wheeze. Conclusions Prevalence of cough in children varies with age, sex and with the questions used to assess it, suggesting that comparisons between studies are only valid for similar questions and age groups.
Nonblind Image Deblurring Based on Bi-Composition Decomposition by Local Smoothness and Nonlocal Self-Similarity Priors

Image deblurring is a classical inverse problem in image processing and computer vision. The vital task is to construct the proper image prior model to obtain the high-quality restored image with salient edges and rich details. A new nonblind image deblurring method by combining local smoothness and nonlocal self-similarity of natural images in the regularization framework is proposed. First, the observed image is decomposed into two components: structure component and detail component by a global gradient extraction scheme. Second, the four-directional anisotropic total variation regularization satisfying the local smoothness property is adopted for the structure component, and a new nonlocal statistical modeling for self-similarity is used for the detail component, respectively. At last, the split Bregman-based iteration algorithm and four-directional fast gradient projection algorithm are introduced to optimize the proposed $L_{1}$ -regularized problem. The extensive experiments demonstrate the efficiency and viability of the proposed method for preserving salient edges and texture details while alleviating the artifacts.
Curli Fibers Are Required for Development of Biofilm Architecture in Escherichia coli K‐12 and Enhance Bacterial Adherence to Human Uroepithelial Cells

Sessile bacteria show phenotypical, biochemical, and morphological differences from their planktonic counterparts. Curli, extracellular structures important for biofilm formation, are only produced at temperatures below 30 C in Escherichia coli K‐12 strains. In this report, we show that E. coli K‐12 can produce curli at 37 C when grown as a biofilm community. The curli‐expressing strain formed more biofilms on polyurethane sheets than the curli‐deficient strain under growth temperatures of both 25 C and 37 C. Curli are required for the formation of a three‐dimensional mature biofilm, with characteristic water channels and pillars of bacteria. Observations by electron microscopy revealed the presence at the surfaces of the curli‐deficient mutant in biofilm of flagella and type I pili. A wild‐type curli‐expressing E. coli strain significantly adhered to several lines of human uroepithelial cells, more so than an isogenic curli‐deficient strain. The finding that curli are expressed at 37 C in biofilm and enhance bacterial adherence to mammalian host cells suggests an important role for curli in pathogenesis.
De novo loss of function mutations in KIAA2022 are associated with epilepsy and neurodevelopmental delay in females

Intellectual disability (ID) affects about 3% of the population and has a male gender bias. Of at least 700 genes currently linked to ID, more than 100 have been identified on the X chromosome, including KIAA2022. KIAA2022 is located on Xq13.3 and is expressed in the developing brain. The protein product of KIAA2022, X‐linked Intellectual Disability Protein Related to Neurite Extension (XPN), is developmentally regulated and is involved in neuronal migration and cell adhesion. The clinical manifestations of loss‐of‐function KIAA2022 mutations have been described previously in 15 males, born from unaffected carrier mothers, but few females. Using whole‐exome sequencing, we identified a cohort of five unrelated female patients with de novo probably gene damaging variants in KIAA2022 and core phenotypic features of ID, developmental delay, epilepsy refractory to treatment, and impaired language, of similar severity as reported for male counterparts. This study supports KIAA2022 as a novel cause of X‐linked dominant ID, and broadens the phenotype for KIAA2022 mutations.
A Convolutional PML Scheme for the Efficient Modeling of Graphene Structures Through the ADE-FDTD Technique

The development of an accurate convolutional perfectly matched layer for the efficient termination of infinite graphene structures is introduced in this paper. Initially, the popular 2-D material receives the appropriate theoretical analysis, which reveals the necessity of a flexible terminating condition that can enhance the performance of existing absorbing schemes and offer sufficient truncation rates for the graphene’s strongly confined surface waves. The consistency and behavior of the novel technique are substantiated via comprehensive comparisons with setups truncated by conventional absorbing boundary conditions. Finally, a graphene microribbon waveguide is addressed to indicate the capabilities of featured algorithm in complex structures.
Just-Enough-Time (JET): a high speed protocol for bursty traffic in optical networks

We investigate a high speed protocol called Just-Enough-Time (JET) based on a tell-and-go (TAG) protocol. It is suitable for bursty traffic where the duration of each burst is neither long enough to warrant circuit switching nor short enough to fit in a packet. The proposed JET protocol can efficiently utilize the bandwidth, reduce the latency and provide data transparency.
Radio channel characteristics for broadband WLAN/WPAN applications between 67 and 110 GHz

In this paper we present a measurement based analysis of the wideband indoor radio channel at frequencies between 67 and 110 GHz. Therefore measurement campaigns were carried out in a fully furnished conference room and in a corridor. The measurements were analyzed regarding the channel's propagation path loss, time dispersion behaviour and angular spread for different realistic antenna configurations.
Data stream outlier detection approach based on frequent pattern mining technique

The discovery of the rare data points with distinctive characteristics is one of the significant analysis tasks in data mining. This paper concentrates on the detection of outliers in data stream using frequent pattern mining technique. An outlier measurement is presented and an adaptive method for finding outliers in stream of data is introduced. The results of the empirical studies proved that the proposed approach is effective in detecting outliers' data points. The accuracy comparisons confirmed that the proposed approach is as effective as existing static outlier approach and it outperformed the existing dynamic outlier approach. Moreover, the sensitivity of the proposed approach to the change of data distribution was shown to be effective.
Depression and Diabetes

Beginning with early case reports, researchers and clinicians have sought to determine whether diabetes leads to an increased prevalence of psychiatric illnesses. Earlier reviews suggested that the data from such studies were inconclusive and that the design and methods used were inadequate (1). However, over the past several years, a few studies, using more sophisticated methods of case identification and better study designs, have refocused attention on these concerns (2-4). Two papers, a scholarly review in a recent issue of Diabetes Care (5) and a study in this issue (this issue, Blanz et al., p. 1579-87) lend support to the idea that diabetes is associated with an increased prevalence of one common psychiatric condition, depression. The issue, whether depression is more common among diabetic patients compared with individuals without diabetes, has several important implications. First, depression can be a serious, long-term, life-threatening, disabling illness. Depressive disorders often occur during the young-adult years and may persist or recur over long periods of time. Recent studies have documented the social disability associated with depression (6). Some studies suggest that depression may lead to more profound impacts on quality of life than common chronic medical conditions, including diabetes (7). Indeed, our group has found that among patients with type I and type II diabetes, the presence of a psychiatric condition such as major depression is associated with worsened quality of life independent of the severity of diabetes complications (8; A. M. J., M. de Groot, J. Samson, unpublished observations). Second, depressions are typically very treatable conditions. When properly recognized, considerable and consistent evidence proves that a wide array of psychopharmacological agents and different forms of verbal psychotherapy can ameliorate depressive symptoms and possibly prevent further episodes. Third, recent studies (3,9) have shown that depression, when present in patients with diabetes, may be associated with worsened glycemic control. The direction of this association is not clear. It is possible that poor glycemic control is a factor in the development of depression, and that the presence of depression leads to altered patient compliance and worsened glycemic control. Indeed, it is reasonable to assume that this is a bidirectional relationship with glycemic control problems and depression affecting each other in reciprocal fashion. Thus, depression may be a risk factor for the progression of the consequences of poor metabolic control, i.e., the microvascular and neuropathic complications of diabetes. Some investigators (10) have suggested that there may be a special relationship between depression and diabe-