Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Organizational Commitment as a Predictor of Job Performance among Faculty: Implications for Development of Agricultural Technology in Nigeria

This study investigated the relationship between the organizational commitment facets and job performance of faculty engaged in agricultural training and research in Nigerian universities. Questionnaires were used to elicit information from 302 faculty members of two universities of agriculture and two faculties of agriculture in 2000. The sample consisted of 78.5% men, and the mean age was 40 years (SD = 8.19 years). Principal component analysis showed that the commitment of the faculty is characterised by three facets: orientation toward the profession, peer group, and the employing institution. The commitment facets have no direct significant influence on the productivity of the faculty (p > 0.05), but only indirectly as an individual faculty stays longer on the job and advances through the ranks. Intervention efforts must involve socializing the faculty at the early stage of their career to engage in problem-solving agricultural research, while the universities must have explicit research mandate and
Chemical Characterization of “Alcaparras” Stoned Table Olives from Northeast Portugal

Commercial stoned table olives named “alcaparras” from Trás-os-Montes (Portugal) were chemically characterized. During three consecutive years (2004–2006) 30 samples (10 per year) were examined for their nutritional value (moisture, crude protein, total fat, ash, carbohydrates, and energy), with a detailed report of the fatty acids and tocopherols composition. Water was the major constituent (72.5 ± 5.5%), followed by fat (14.6 ± 5.1%). The average amount of protein and ash were 1.1% and 3.4%, respectively, reporting unusual ash values for table olives, related to the technological process. One hundred grams of fresh stoned table olives presented an average energetic value of 156 kcal, lower than most table olives. The lipids are rich in oleic acid (average of 77.7 ± 2.0%), followed by palmitic acid and linoleic acid. Samples showed an average of total tocopherols of 1.2 mg/100 g of fresh weight, being α-tocopherol the most abundant. Table olives are important sources of MUFA, as olive oil, recognized as a preventive factor in diseases in which free radicals are implicated, complemented by the amounts of vitamin E, with both antioxidant and vitamin action.
Effect of herbicide combinations on Bt-maize rhizobacterial diversity.

Reports of herbicide resistance events are proliferating worldwide, leading to new cultivation strategies using combinations of pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides. We analyzed the impact during a one-year cultivation cycle of several herbicide combinations on the rhizobacterial community of glyphosate-tolerant Bt-maize and compared them to those of the untreated or glyphosate-treated soils. Samples were analyzed using pyrosequencing of the V6 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. The sequences obtained were subjected to taxonomic, taxonomy-independent, and phylogeny-based diversity studies, followed by a statistical analysis using principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering with jackknife statistical validation. The resilience of the microbial communities was analyzed by comparing their relative composition at the end of the cultivation cycle. The bacterial communites from soil subjected to a combined treatment with mesotrione plus s-metolachlor followed by glyphosate were not statistically different from those treated with glyphosate or the untreated ones. The use of acetochlor plus terbuthylazine followed by glyphosate, and the use of aclonifen plus isoxaflutole followed by mesotrione clearly affected the resilience of their corresponding bacterial communities. The treatment with pethoxamid followed by glyphosate resulted in an intermediate effect. The use of glyphosate alone seems to be the less aggressive one for bacterial communities. Should a combined treatment be needed, the combination of mesotrione and s-metolachlor shows the next best final resilience. Our results show the relevance of comparative rhizobacterial community studies when novel combined herbicide treatments are deemed necessary to control weed growth.
Correction of mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA somatic and central nervous system pathology by lentiviral‐mediated gene transfer

The hallmark of lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) is microscopically demonstrable lysosomal distension. In mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS IIIA), this occurs as a result of an inherited deficiency of the lysosomal hydrolase sulphamidase. Consequently, heparan sulphate, a highly sulphated glycosaminoglycan, accumulates primarily within the cells of the reticulo‐endothelial and monocyte‐macrophage systems and, most importantly, neurones. Children affected by MPS IIIA experience a severe, progressive neuropathology that ultimately leads to death at around 15 years of age.
Evidence for the Presence of Francisella and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia DNA in the Tick Amblyomma fimbriatum (Acari: Ixodidae), Northern Territory, Australia

ABSTRACT Ticks (n = 252) were collected from five wild-caught reptile species during routine trapping in the Djukbinj National Park and Fogg Dam Reserve, Northern Territory, Australia. Pooling of ticks (one to four ticks per pool), according to sex or host animal, resulted in 187 samples used for screening for the presence of Rickettsia species via molecular methods. Rickettsia DNA was detected via the amplification of the gltA, ompA, and ompB genes in 57 (34%) of the 187 tick samples, all of which contained only the tick Amblyomma fimbriatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae). Further amplification and sequencing of nine of the positive samples (4.8%) for the gltA, ompA, ompB, 17-kDa, and 16S rRNA genes identified a Rickettsia species sharing closest identity to Rickettsia tamurae. In addition, amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene detected in the same tick samples the presence of a Francisella species closely related to other tick-borne Francisellae identified in ticks from the Northern Hemisphere.
A holistic approach for protein secondary structure estimation from infrared spectra in H(2)O solutions.

We present an improved technique for estimating protein secondary structure content from amide I and amide III band infrared spectra. This technique combines the superposition of reference spectra of pure secondary structure elements with simultaneous aromatic side chain, water vapor, and solvent background subtraction. Previous attempts to generate structural reference spectra from a basis set of reference protein spectra have had limited success because of inaccuracies arising from sequential background subtractions and spectral normalization, arbitrary spectral band truncation, and attempted resolution of spectroscopically degenerate structure classes. We eliminated these inaccuracies by defining a single mathematical function for protein spectra, permitting all subtractions, normalizations, and amide band deconvolution steps to be performed simultaneously using a single optimization algorithm. This approach circumvents many of the problems associated with the sequential nature of previous methods, especially with regard to removing the subjectivity involved in each processing step. A key element of this technique was the calculation of reference spectra for ordered helix, unordered helix, sheet, turns, and unordered structures from a basis set of spectra of well-characterized proteins. Structural reference spectra were generated in the amide I and amide III bands, both of which have been shown to be sensitive to protein secondary structure content. We accurately account for overlaps between amide and nonamide regions and allow different structure types to have different extinction coefficients. The agreement between our structure estimates, for proteins both inside and outside the basis set, and the corresponding determinations from X-ray crystallography is good.
Signal Transmission Analysis of Multilayer Graphene Nano-Ribbon (MLGNR) Interconnects

Signal transmission characteristics of some multilayer graphene nano-ribbon (MLGNR) interconnects are studied in this paper, with an equivalent single-conductor (ESC) model implemented for the analysis of their transient responses. In this model, both capacitive and inductive couplings between adjacent GNR layers are treated appropriately. According to the derived transfer function using the fourth-order approximation, the output voltage waveforms are predicted for both 14- and 22-nm technology nodes. In particular, the effects of Fermi level of MLGNR on the time delay of the transmitted rectangular pulse are examined and compared. Based on the decoupled partially differential equations (PDEs) for the common and differential modes of voltage wave propagation in the edge-coupled MLGNR interconnects, their output voltage responses are also predicted for different technology nodes, which are useful for the evaluation of on-chip signal integrity or EMC and EMI issues of MLGNR-built transmission lines for the future ICs.
Type of Menopause, Age at Menopause, and Risk of Developing Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Postmenopausal Women

Despite established sex differences and longstanding hypotheses of sex hormone influence in the etiology of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), we have found no studies that evaluated type of menopause and age at menopause, which affect postmenopausal hormonal milieu, in relation to OSA risk in women. We followed 50,473 postmenopausal women from the Nurses' Health Study during 2002-2012 and 53,827 postmenopausal women from the Nurses' Health Study II during 1995-2013, with 1,712 and 2,560 incident OSA diagnoses, respectively. Compared with natural menopause, the pooled hazard ratio for OSA was 1.27 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17, 1.38) for surgical menopause by hysterectomy/oophorectomy. The association remained the same after further accounting for age at menopause (hazard ratio = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.38). The risk associated with surgical menopause was higher among women who were not obese as well as among women who never used hormone therapy (P for interaction < 0.05). Earlier menopause was associated with higher OSA risk prior to adjustment for type of menopause (comparing those aged <40 years versus those aged 50-54 years, hazard ratio = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.35; P for trend = 0.008), although no association was observed after the adjustment. Surgical as compared with natural menopause was independently associated with higher OSA risk in postmenopausal women. Our results provide additional evidence for a role for sex hormones, particularly abrupt hormonal changes, in modulating OSA risk.
PERIPHERAL SEROTONERGIC AND ADRENERGIC RESPONSES IN DEPRESSION

The introduction of tricyclic antidepressant drugs and monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors initiated the monoamine hypothesis of depression. Both groups of drugs had the property in common of increasing the amount of amine in the synaptic cleft and presumably facilitates monoamine transmission. The MAO inhibitors act by decreasing the metabolism of monoamines and the tricyclic antidepressants inhibit the reuptake of the released amine in the synaptic cleft (Iversen 1965, Carlsson 1967). The last few years has seen the development of drugs that can selectively inhibit either noradrenaline ( N A) of5hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). There appears. however, to be no difference between these drugs in their therapeutic efficacy. These observations and the paucity of evidence to demonstrate that these compounds act therapeutically hy inhibiting amine reuptake stimulated our research into 5-HT and NA mechanisms and the action of tricyclic drugs in depressed patients. Since the blood platelet accumulates, stores and releases 5-HT in analogous processes to central5-HT neurones (Sneddon 1973, Stah/1977), we have used the platelet as an easily-obtainable model of 5-HT neuroncs. Adrenergic systems in depression have been investigated by injecting tyramine, an indirectly acting sympathomimetic amine, phenylephrine a directly acting a-adrenoreceptor agonist and noradrenaline into depressed patients and controls and observing the increase in blood pressure that these amines evoke.
Gel-Based Purification and Biochemical Study of Laccase Isozymes from Ganoderma sp. and Its Role in Enhanced Cotton Callogenesis

Basidiomycetous fungi, Ganoderma lucidum MDU-7 and Ganoderma sp. kk-02 secreted multiple laccase isozymes under diverse growth condition. Aromatic compounds and metal salts were also found to regulate the differential expression of laccase isozymes from both the Ganoderma sp. Laccase isozymes induced in the presence of copper from G. lucidum MDU-7 were purified by gel-based (native-PAGE) purification method. The purity of laccase isozymes was checked by zymogram and SDS-PAGE. The SDS-PAGE of purified proteins confirmed the multimeric nature of laccase isozymes. The molecular mass of isozymes was found to be in the range of 40–66 kDa. Further, the purified laccase isozymes and their peptides were confirmed with the help of MALDI-TOF peptide fingerprinting. The biochemical characterization of laccase isozymes viz. Glac L2, Glac L3, Glac L4, and Glac L5 have shown the optimum temperature in the range of 30°–45°C and pH 3.0. The Km values of all the laccase isozymes determined for guaiacol were (96–281 μM), ABTS (15–83 μM) and O-tolidine (78–724 μM). Further, laccase isozymes from G. lucidum whole genome were studied using bioinformatics tools. The molecular modeling and docking of laccase isozymes with different substrates showed a significant binding affinity, which further validates our experimental results. Interestingly, copper induced laccase of 40 U/ml in culture medium was found to significantly induce cotton callogenesis. Interestingly, all the laccase isozymes were found to have an antioxidative role and therefore capable in free radicals scavenging during callogenesis. This is the first detailed study on the biochemical characterization of all the laccase isozymes purified by a gel-based novel method.
Hybrid CMOS-RRAM Neurons with Intrinsic Plasticity

Brain-inspired architectures in neuromorphic hardware are currently subject to intensive research as an alternative to the limits of traditional computer organisation. The remarkable computing performance and efficiency of biological nervous systems are widely attributed to the co-localisation of memory and computation spatially throughout the structure. Moreover, it appears that a number of local self-organising neural mechanisms play their part in efficient biological computation. An example is neuronal intrinsic plasticity, where a neuron adapts its parameters to maximise its information capacity based on the statistical properties of its input while minimising the power it consumes. CMOS circuits implementing neuron models have been proposed but require their parameters to be set by biases originating from a centralised memory. In this work, we propose a hybrid CMOS-RRAM circuit that addresses this problem through storing neuron parameters within programmable nonvolatile resistive memories incorporated into the CMOS neuron. Additional circuits exploit the stochastic switching properties of resisitive memories to map a local intrinsic plasticity algorithm onto the proposed neuron. We demonstrate the computational advantages of this algorithm through simulation, calibrated on experimental data, whereby the neuron maximises its information capacity while minimising its power consumption, as is the case for biological neurons.
Analyzing Political Decision Making from an Information-Processing Perspective: JESSE

Political behavior is argued to result from interacting political and information-processing mechanisms. Political mechanisms deal with the values, interests, and influence of the political actors, while information-processing mechanisms concern themselves with the actors' use of knowledge and experience in exploring the space of choices and actions. Information-processing approaches are argued to provide a language for expressing theories of political decision making with greater precision than before. This language also enables computational experimentation with these theories. The general information-processing approach is illustrated in detail for the specific domain of Japanese energy and foreign policy decision making. A political theory of decision making by the Japanese political and economic elite in the domain of its energy supply security is developed from an information-processing perspective. This theory is embodied in an experimental system called JESSE. JESSE contains multiple modules that perform the generic task of classification and a module that performs the generic task of plan selection. The system is initiated by supplying information about an energy-related situation. It classifies the situation into types of threats posed to Japanese energy supply security and retrieves stored plans from memory. Its output can range from a decision not to take any action to a large number of actions some of which may appear contradictory. The theory embodied in JESSE is argued to apply to political decision-making situations in which there are limits on institutional rivalry; the members of the decision-making group have been socialized similarly; the problem domain is seen as sacrosanct; and there is substantial prior analysis and planning. The issue of validating the theory is addressed, and JESSE is found to be a plausible model of Japanese decision making in the domain of her energy supply security.
The identification of an osteoclastogenesis inhibitor through the inhibition of glyoxalase I

Osteoclasts, bone-resorptive multinucleated cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells, are associated with many bone-related diseases, such as osteoporosis. Osteoclast-targeting small-molecule inhibitors are valuable tools for studying osteoclast biology and for developing antiresorptive agents. Here, we have discovered that methyl-gerfelin (M-GFN), the methyl ester of the natural product gerfelin, suppresses osteoclastogenesis. By using M-GFN-immobilized beads, glyoxalase I (GLO1) was identified as an M-GFN-binding protein. GLO1 knockdown and treatment with an established GLO1 inhibitor in osteoclast progenitor cells interfered with osteoclast generation, suggesting that GLO1 activity is required for osteoclastogenesis. In cells, GLO1 plays a critical role in the detoxification of 2-oxoaldehydes, such as methylglyoxal. M-GFN inhibited the enzymatic activity of GLO1 in vitro and in situ. Furthermore, the cocrystal structure of the GLO1/M-GFN complex revealed the binding mode of M-GFN at the active site of GLO1. These results suggest that M-GFN targets GLO1, resulting in the inhibition of osteoclastogenesis.
Maternal care, mother–offspring aggregation and age‐dependent coadaptation in the European earwig

Benefits and costs of parental care are expected to change with offspring development and lead to age‐dependent coadaptation expressed as phenotypic (behavioural) matches between offspring age and parental reproductive stage. Parents and offspring interact repeatedly over time for the provision of parental care. Their behaviours should be accordingly adjusted to each other dynamically and adaptively, and the phenotypic match between offspring age and parental stage should stabilize the repeated behavioural interactions. In the European earwig (Forficula auricularia), maternal care is beneficial for offspring survival, but not vital, allowing us to investigate the extent to which the stability of mother–offspring aggregation is shaped by age‐dependent coadaptation. In this study, we experimentally cross‐fostered nymphs of different age classes (younger or older) between females in early or late reproductive stage to disrupt age‐dependent coadaptation, thereby generating female–nymph dyads that were phenotypically matched or mismatched. The results revealed a higher stability in aggregation during the first larval instar when care is most intense, a steeper decline in aggregation tendency over developmental time and a reduced developmental rate in matched compared with mismatched families. Furthermore, nymph survival was positively correlated with female–nymph aggregation stability during the early stages when maternal care is most prevalent. These results support the hypothesis that age‐related phenotypically plastic coadaptation affects family dynamics and offspring developmental rate.
Biochemical and serological evidence for an RNase E-like activity in halophilic Archaea

Endoribonuclease RNase E appears to control the rate-limiting step that mediates the degradation of many mRNA species in bacteria. In this work, an RNase E-like activity in Archaea is described. An endoribonucleolytic activity from the extreme halophile Haloarcula marismortui showed the same RNA substrate specificity as the Escherichia coli RNase E and cross-reacted with a monoclonal antibody raised against E. coli RNase E. The archaeal RNase E activity was partially purified from the extreme halophilic cells and shown, contrary to the E. coli enzyme, to require a high salt concentration for cleavage specificity and stability. These data indicate that a halophilic RNA processing enzyme can specifically recognize and cleave mRNA from E. coli in an extremely salty environment (3 M KCI). Having recently been shown in mammalian cells (A. Wennborg, B. Sohlberg, D. Angerer, G. Klein, and A. von Gabain, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:7322-7326, 1995), RNase E-like activity has now been identified in all three evolutionary domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. This strongly suggests that mRNA decay mechanisms are highly conserved despite quite different environmental conditions.
Calibration of atomic force microscope for nanoscale friction measurements

Friction force measurements provide with important information for application in which moving objects are in physical contact. Mechanisms of friction, adhesion, lubrication and wear are crucial issues in case of highly advanced micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) or high-density data storage devices, where minimized friction forces are required. Studies of those phenomena in nanoscale can be successfully carried out by means of an atomic force microscope using optical beam deflection sensing. However, to obtain quantitative information the calibration procedure for conversion of measured data to friction forces has to be applied. In order to calibrate our atomic force microscope we applied direct procedure called wedge calibration method. The results of friction force calibration using commercially available grating are presented in this paper. We depict experimental results for nanotribology on two different crystallographic planes of silicon, mica and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) as well.