Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lactase haplotype frequencies in Caucasians: association with the lactase persistence/non‐persistence polymorphism

A genetic polymorphism is responsible for determining that some humans express lactase at high levels throughout their lives and are thus lactose tolerant, while others lose lactase expression during childhood and are lactose intolerant. We have previously shown that this polymorphism is controlled by an element or elements which act in cis to the lactase gene. We have also reported that 7 polymorphisms in the lactase gene are highly associated and lead to only 3 common haplotypes (A, B and C) in individuals of European extraction. Here we report the frequencies of these polymorphisms in Caucasians from north and south Europe and also from the Indian sub‐continent, and show that the alleles differ in frequency, the B and C haplotypes being much more common in southern Europe and India. Allelic association studies with lactase persistence and non‐persistence phenotypes show suggestive evidence of association of lactase persistence with certain alleles. This association was rather more clear in the analysis of small families, where haplotypes could be determined. Furthermore haplotype and RNA transcript analysis of 11 unrelated lactase persistent individuals shows that the persistence (highly expressed) allele is almost always on the A haplotype background. Non‐persistence is found on a variety of haplotypes including A. Thus it appears that lactase persistence arose more recently than the DNA marker polymorphisms used here to define the main Caucasian haplotypes, possibly as a single mutation on the A haplotype background. The high frequency of the A haplotype in northern Europeans is consistent with the high frequency of lactase persistence.
Judges and Taxes: Judicial Review, Judicial Independence and the Size of Government

The study investigates how judicial review of policy and judicial independence affect the relative size of government. Judicial oversight of policy is the authority of courts to check the legality of policy measures and annul measures which are incompatible with the constitution or are enacted without following the procedures laid down by the law. Using a model of constitutional political economy, where policy making is subject to judicial oversight, it is predicted that the relative size of the public sector decreases as judicial review and judicial independence increase. The theoretical predictions are tested in an international cross section sample of 52 countries. Controlling for the effects of real income, age, dependency, openness of the economy, the legal origins of a country and other socio-political variables the results show that the checks and balances provided by the judiciary lead to a smaller relative size of taxes in the economy.
The role of plumes in Eriotheca pentaphylla (Bombacaceae) seed survival in south-eastern Brazil

Journal of Tropical Ecology is currently published by Cambridge University Press. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor. org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.j
The Podovirus ϕ80-18 Targets the Pathogenic American Biotype 1B Strains of Yersinia enterocolitica

We report here the complete genome sequence and characterization of Yersinia bacteriophage vB_YenP_ϕ80-18. ϕ80-18 was isolated in 1991 using a Y. enterocolitica serotype O:8 strain 8081 as a host from a sewage sample in Turku, Finland, and based on its morphological and genomic features is classified as a podovirus. The genome is 42 kb in size and has 325 bp direct terminal repeats characteristic for podoviruses. The genome contains 57 predicted genes, all encoded in the forward strand, of which 29 showed no similarity to any known genes. Phage particle proteome analysis identified altogether 24 phage particle-associated proteins (PPAPs) including those identified as structural proteins such as major capsid, scaffolding and tail component proteins. In addition, also the DNA helicase, DNA ligase, DNA polymerase, 5′-exonuclease, and the lytic glycosylase proteins were identified as PPAPs, suggesting that they might be injected together with the phage genome into the host cell to facilitate the take-over of the host metabolism. The phage-encoded RNA-polymerase and DNA-primase were not among the PPAPs. Promoter search predicted the presence of four phage and eleven host RNA polymerase –specific promoters in the genome, suggesting that early transcription of the phage is host RNA-polymerase dependent and that the phage RNA polymerase takes over later. The phage tolerates pH values between 2 and 12, and is stable at 50°C but is inactivated at 60°C. It grows slowly with a 50 min latent period and has apparently a low burst size. Electron microscopy revealed that the phage has a head diameter of about 60 nm, and a short tail of 20 nm. Whole-genome phylogenetic analysis confirmed that ϕ80-18 belongs to the Autographivirinae subfamily of the Podoviridae family, that it is 93.2% identical to Yersinia phage fHe-Yen3-01. Host range analysis showed that ϕ80-18 can infect in addition to Y. enterocolitica serotype O:8 strains also strains of serotypes O:4, O:4,32, O:20 and O:21, the latter ones representing similar to Y. enterocolitica serotype O:8, the American pathogenic biotype 1B strains. In conclusion, the phage ϕ80-18 is a promising candidate for the biocontrol of the American biotype 1B Y. enterocolitica.
Multiline illumination Raman microscopy for rapid cell imaging

Acceleration of image acquisition rate in Raman microscopy has been required to fully utilize its analytical advantages for biological/medical applications. By introducing the multiple line illumination and parallel spectral detection capability, image acquisition rate in the Raman microscope was improved < 104 times, compared with the conventional confocal Raman. High-resolution spontaneous Raman imaging of cells/tissues was thus enabled with an image acquisition time of a few minutes. Subsequent high-throughput Raman imaging-based analyses were also performed, including multiplex Raman tag imaging, cell classification, microplastic detection.
Low and Delayed Recruitment at Two Grey Seal Breeding Colonies in the UK

This study is concerned with changes in the recruitment of UK grey seal pups into the adult breeding population. Pups were marked over two decades at North Rona and the Isle of May. The proportion of these animals observed to recruit as adults was at best 0.10 on North Rona and 0.31 on the Isle of May. Double-tagged cohorts were re-sighted at the highest rates, compared with cohorts that were marked with single tags or with brands. There was also evidence of substantial interannual variation, and no individuals were ever re-sighted for certain cohorts. Estimates of absolute tag loss were higher at North Rona than at the Isle of May, but not sufficient to explain the low re-sight rates there. Recruitment at the Isle of May appears to be occurring later in recent years and this is consistent with the effects of density dependence. There are too few tag returns from North Rona to allow the investigation of any time-dependence in recruitment, but this lack and the continued decline of pup production on North Rona suggests that recruitment there may be low. These findings have direct implications for models of UK grey seal population dynamics.
Relative Roles of the Head and Tail Portions of the Molecule in Heat‐Induced Gelation of Myosin

Myosin molecules are cleaved by chymotrypsin digestion into two fragments: subfragment 1, which originates from the globular heads of myosin, and the myosin rod, which originates from the helical tail of the myosin molecule. The heat-induced gelation of these subfragments was compared to that of intact myosin by measuring rigidity, turbidity, and other physico-chemical characteristics of each system. Two features of the heat-induced gelation of myosin, aggregation and three-dimensional network formation were found to be imparted by the subfragment 1 and the rod, respectively. The former involves disulfide exchange and the latter relates to conformational changes arising from a partially irreversible helix-coil transition during heating. Possible relationships are suggested between these physicochemical changes of the myosin head and tail regions upon heating and the heat-induced gelation of myosin.
Distribution, diversity and abundance of epibenthic fauna in the North Sea

The assemblages of attached and freeliving epibenthic species in the North Sea are described, based on analysis of samples collected with a small beam trawl. Clustering of survey sites based on the presence or absence of attached species indicated that three regions had characteristic assemblages: the northern North Sea, the central North Sea from 55 to 57°N and the southern North Sea. Clustering of sites based on counts of free-living epibenthic species also revealed that the sites formed three major groups but these corresponded to regions in the north-east North Sea, the northern and western central North Sea and the southern and eastern central North Sea. Species which contributed most to the similarity within and dissimilarity between groups were identified. The environmental factors which best accounted for the grouping of sites were depth, winter temperature and the temperature difference between winter and summer for attached species and depth and the temperature difference between winter and summer for free-living species. The species richness of attached and free-living epibenthic species was higher in the central and northern North Sea than in the south. The number of abundant (Hill's N1) and very abundant (Hill's N2) free-living species also increased from south to north.
Association of Serum Vitamin D With Psoriasis and Effect Modification by Central Obesity

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic recurrent inflammatory disease involving many common mechanisms associated with obesity, such as systemic inflammation and vitamin D deficiency. This study aimed to examine the association of the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with psoriasis and the effect modification by obesity among the affected patients. Methods: A mixed cross-section study was conducted. We consecutively included untreated psoriasis patients from the outpatients who visited the Department of Dermatology of Xiangya Hospital and recruited 205 gender-matched healthy controls from the Hunan Civil Servant Cohort. In both groups, we measured the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip-ratio (WHR) and other psoriasis-related clinical indicators. Results: A total of 203 psoriasis outpatients and 205 gender-matched cohort participants with complete data of serum vitamin D concentration were included in the analysis. The serum vitamin D levels of the two groups were close to each other, while the mean WHR of the psoriasis outpatients was significantly higher. Compared with the controls, the risk of psoriasis increased significantly when the vitamin D level decreased from 20 to 10 nmol/L. A significant interaction between the serum vitamin D level and the obesity category (BMI × WHR) was identified. After stratification by WHR, vitamin D was not associated with psoriasis in subjects with normal WHR. In contrast, the association between vitamin D deficiency and psoriasis retained and the effect size augmented in patients with central obesity. Conclusions: WHR may modify the association between serum vitamin D and psoriasis. Treatment advocating Vitamin D supplements may tailor to psoriasis patients with metabolic disorders.
Food consumption pattern and frequency on Perceived stress among degree students in Davangere, Karnataka.

Background: Mental diseases are a leading cause of the global burden of disease and highly contribute to life-years lost. Acute and chronic stress is considered to be potential risk factors for mental disorders. Uncontrollable stress changes eating patterns. Degree students are particularly important as they have greater freedom and control over their lifestyles. Objective : To assess the association between food consumption pattern and frequency on perceived stress among degree students of Davangere. Material and methods: A Cross sectional survey was conducted among 2 selected degree colleges of Davangere city. Around 200 students were given a self- administered questionnaires which included a food pattern and frequency questionnaire and Cohen’s perceived stress scale. Mean and standard deviation for the continuous variables was done. Binary Logistic regression analyses were conducted for the outcome. Results: A total of 200 degree students participated in the study. Mean age of the participants was 18.8 years. 53% of them were males and 47% of them were female participants. The frequency of food consumption differed by gender. Consumption of sweets, salty junk food was generally more common among women (mean scores 8.7 and 13.6 respectively ) when compared to males (8.3 and 12.4 respectively). Eating fresh fruits, salads and cooked vegetables, milk products and cereals was only slightly more common among males. Females displayed higher scores of perceived stress than males. Conclusion: Our results showed that unhealthy food consumption was more among women when compared to males Among females perceived stress scores were also on the higher side. Key words: Food consumption, Food pattern, Perceived stress scale, students
A new species of the loricariid catfish genus Hemipsilichthys from southern Rio de Janeiro coastal rivers, southeastern Brazil (Teleostei: Siluriformes)

Hemipsilichthys nimius, new species, is described from the upper Pereque-Acu River in Parati, in the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil. The new species is distinguished from the remaining 18 Hemipsilichthys species by modally having eight branched rays in the dorsal fin (vs. seven branched rays), by possessing a posteriorly expanded dorsal-fin membrane connecting the last dorsal-fin ray to the dorsum and, except from H. gobio and H. papillatus, by having teeth cusps equal in size (vs. small lateral cusp or unicuspid teeth in both dentary and premaxilla). From H. gobio and H. papillatus it is further distinguished by the larger orbital diameter and by its V-shaped dorsal-fin spinelet. Hemipsilichthys nimius shares with H. gobio and H. papillatus several characters that might be indicative of close relationships. These putative phylogenetic relationships are discussed.
Development of ecoregion-based height-diameter models for 3 economically important tree species of southern Turkey

Seven different nonlinear height (h)-diameter (d) models were developed and compared for brutian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.), black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold), and Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani A.Rich.) in southern Turkey. Residual analysis was conducted to identify the error structure. A weighting factor of wi =1/d was found to be appropriate for achieving the equal error variance assumption. The performance of the models was compared and evaluated based on 6 statistical criteria and residual analysis. Results suggested that the Gompertz model was superior to the other models in terms of its predictive ability. These tree species were located throughout the Mediterranean region, covering a wide range of topographic and climatic conditions. It is well known that height-diameter relationships depend heavily on local environmental conditions. Differences in the height-diameter relationship among and between ecoregions were tested using the nonlinear extra sum of squares method. Test results suggested that height-diameter models significantly differed between ecoregions, indicating that ecoregion-based height-diameter models are needed for prediction purposes. The ecoregion-based height-diameter models developed in this study may provide more accurate information for developing forest growth and yield models.
Further findings from Daveli Cave (Attica, Greece) enhancing the establishment of the genus Oculatella (Pseudanabaenaceae, Cyanobacteria)

In this study, cyanobacterial assemblages were collected from the limestone cave Daveli (Attica, Greece) during an annual survey (2010–2011). Four sampling areas were selected from the cave entrance inwards, and the main abiotic parameters (PAR, T, RH) were measured at each site. A portion of the collected material was fixed with formaldehyde solution and another part was maintained alive for culturing and microscopic observations. XRD analysis was applied for analyzing the chemical composition of the limestone substrate. Microscopic observation (LM) revealed the presence of a wealth of Cyanobacteria including a brownish-violet colored filamentous morphotype with a large granulated ‘ocellus’ in the apical cell, features resembling the newly (2012) established genus Oculatella of the family Pseudanabaenaceae. This morphotype was isolated in unialgal cultures for a further morphological (SEM and TEM), molecular (16S rRNA) and biochemical analysis (FAME). The 16S rRNA sequence generated from the specimen revealed a 99% similarity with Leptolyngbya sp. VRUC135 (GenBank–X84809), a strain now recognized as the type species ( Oculatella subterranea ) of Oculatella . Taking a step forward, we proceeded to the determination of fatty acid composition by Gas Chromatography which revealed the dominance of palmitic acid (16:0) in all isolates followed by palmitoleic acid (16:1), linoleic acid (18:2), and oleic acid (18:1), while tridecylic acid (13:0), myristic acid (14:0), isomers of C 15 , C 17 , C 20 and C 22 , stearic acid (18:0), linolenic acid (18:3), as well as an unknown fatty acid were found in traces. These new findings corroborate the establishment of the new genus Oculatella and provide information on the fatty acid composition of the species Oculatella subterranea .
Informational Role of Investment and Bankruptcy Costs∗

We study the role of firms’ investment decisions in mitigating asymmetric information in bankruptcy markets using a model in which bankrupt firms sell assets to uninformed buyers. We show that firm value can increase with leverage or investment cost because the informational value of investment decreases with firms’ incentives to invest. When bankruptcy costs increase, firms may issue more debt to mitigate adverse selection in the bankruptcy market. We find empirical support for the model’s prediction that the investment rates of firms with low credit ratings correlate negatively with the recovery rates of firms with high credit ratings.
Worker Empowerment in the Era of Sharing Economy Platforms in Global South

In this exploratory paper we discuss the relation between empowerment and global sharing economy in a Global Southern context. We distinguish two primary meanings of ’empowerment’ namely,the liberation from oppression and the ability to act. We inspect working for sharing economies from both angles. A critical factor for assessing whether sharing economies are empowering for global South workers is the change it brings. If the platform work offers opportunities for formerly unemployed, the change is considered as empowering. However, it is possible, that these platform jobs instead replace the traditional, more protected employments, in which case the change is considered dis-empowering. We exemplify our arguments with a contextual inquiry into community-based tourism in a small village Tanzania.
The Importance of Isla Clarión, Archipelago Revillagigedo, Mexico, for Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Nesting

Abstract During the last two weeks of November 2008, we recorded 115 tracks of nesting females and 219 hatching events by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) on one of three beaches on Isla Clarión, Archipelago Revillagigedo, Mexico. Combined with single surveys of the other two suitable beaches, we estimated as many as 500 green turtle nests were laid on Isla Clarión in two 2-week periods, thus signaling the importance of Isla Clarión as an important nesting site for this endangered species in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Further study and guaranteed protection to ensure the conservation of this population are recommended.
Animating landscape

Automatic generation of a high-quality video from a single image remains a challenging task despite the recent advances in deep generative models. This paper proposes a method that can create a high-resolution, long-term animation using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) from a single landscape image where we mainly focus on skies and waters. Our key observation is that the motion (e.g., moving clouds) and appearance (e.g., time-varying colors in the sky) in natural scenes have different time scales. We thus learn them separately and predict them with decoupled control while handling future uncertainty in both predictions by introducing latent codes. Unlike previous methods that infer output frames directly, our CNNs predict spatially-smooth intermediate data, i.e., for motion, flow fields for warping, and for appearance, color transfer maps, via self-supervised learning, i.e., without explicitly-provided ground truth. These intermediate data are applied not to each previous output frame, but to the input image only once for each output frame. This design is crucial to alleviate error accumulation in long-term predictions, which is the essential problem in previous recurrent approaches. The output frames can be looped like cinemagraph, and also be controlled directly by specifying latent codes or indirectly via visual annotations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method through comparisons with the state-of-the-arts on video prediction as well as appearance manipulation. Resultant videos, codes, and datasets will be available at http://www.cgg. cs.tsukuba. ac.jp/~endo/projects/AnimatingLandscape.
Improvement of the spatial resolution of ion imaging system using thinned sensor substrate

We proposed an addressable potentiometric sensor for ion imaging using a focused electron beam instead of the light. The electron beam can be easily focused to a spot of several nanometer, and it enable to improve the spatial resolution. The electron beam for imaging the ion concentration distribution is scattered in a sensor substrate and the spatial resolution is reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the scattering in order to realize a high spatial resolution. In order to reduce scattering, the acceleration voltage of the electron beam and the film thickness of the sensor substrate were examined.