Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cortisol Predicts Antidepressant Treatment Outcome, Memory Improvement, and Brain Response to Negative Emotions: The Importance of Aging

Background Studies testing the relationship between cortisol levels, depression, and antidepressant treatment response have yielded divergent results suggesting the possibility of moderators of a cortisol effect. Several studies indicate that age may moderate the relationship between cortisol and psychopathology. In patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), we studied the interactive effects of age and cortisol on predicting diagnostic status, improvement in mood and memory function with antidepressant treatment, and brain response to negative emotional stimuli. Methods 66 unmedicated patients with MDD and 75 matched healthy controls had serum assayed at pre-treatment baseline for cortisol. Logistic regression was used to determine an association of age, cortisol and their interaction with MDD diagnosis. Thirty-four of the MDD participants (age range: 19-65 years; median: 36) underwent treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRl) for 8 weeks. Clinician and self-ratings of depression symptoms, as well as tests of verbal and visual delayed recall were obtained at baseline and post treatment. Moderation analyses determined the effect of age on the relationship between baseline cortisol and treatment outcome. A separate sample of 8 MDD participants prospectively underwent fMRI neuroimaging and cortisol collection while viewing negative emotional faces. Results Age moderated the effects of cortisol on predicting MDD diagnosis (p<.05), treatment-associated reduction of depression symptoms (p<.001), improvement of delayed recall (p<.001), and baseline brain response to negative emotions (p<.05, whole brain corrected). Modeling the Age X Cortisol interaction suggested that for the participants below the median age of our sample, lower cortisol levels predicted a lower rate of MDD diagnosis, higher antidepressant effects and decreased brain reactivity in emotion regulation regions such as the anterior cingulate gyrus. On the contrary, in those above the median sample age, lower cortisol predicted a higher rate of MDD, less improvement in depression symptoms and memory performance, and more brain reactivity in the anterior cingulate. Conclusions Our results indicate that age moderates the relationship between peripheral cortisol levels and (1) MDD diagnosis, (2) brain reactivity to emotional stimuli, and (3) antidepressant-associated improvement in depression and memory symptoms. These results indicate that previous disparities in the literature linking peripheral cortisol levels with depression characteristics and treatment response may critically relate, at least in part, to the age of the patients studied.
Cytotoxicity, Oxidative Stress and Biochemical Alterations Induced by Traditional and Nanoform of Pendimethalin in Freshwater Alga Chlorella vulgaris

The roles of pendimethalin and its nano-form to induce oxidative stress, osmolytes, biochemical alterations and cytotoxic effect in algal cells of Chlorella vulgaris after exposure to sub-lethal concentrations were carried out. The data indicated that, 96-h EC50 values were 20 and 19 ppb for pendimethalin and its nano-form, respectively. Three concentration levels (0.1EC50, 0.025EC50 and EC50) of the examined herbicide decreased the algal pigments (Chlorophyll a and b), but increased carotenoid contents compared with the control group. Biomolecules such as protein, carbohydrates, proline and sucrose of the algal cells significantly increased for the all treatments compared with the control groups. Similarly, malondialdehyde (MDA), some enzymes such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) showed significant increases for the all treatments. On the other hand, ultrastructural investigation of the herbicide-treated algal cells showed significant changes in their organelles in comparing with the untreated cells through transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. From all findings, it was obtained that the nano-pendimethalin was more potential toxic than the traditional form to induce adverse effects on the freshwater alga. Thus, biosafety procedures must be followed on non-target species before decision for nano-herbicide practices.
Effects of the veterinary anthelmintic moxidectin on dung beetle survival and dung removal

Macrocyclic lactones (MLs) are chemical compounds administered to livestock for parasite control. These compounds are poorly metabolized and pass relatively unchanged into the dung of treated animals. When coprophagous insects such as dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) are exposed to ML residues while feeding on dung, lethal and sublethal effects are often observed. This can lead to ML residues impairing ecosystem functions that underpin agricultural production. A strategy to reduce these negative effects involves the use of compounds that offer lower risk to non‐target invertebrates, such as the ML moxidectin. Considering two dung beetle species with differing sensitivities to agricultural intensification, we asked whether exposure to moxidectin residues influenced survival, reproductive output, and functioning (short‐ and long‐term estimates of dung removal). When exposed to moxidectin, adults of the sensitive species – Geotrupes spiniger Marsham (Scarabaeidae) – experienced a 43% reduction in survival. In contrast, survival of the non‐sensitive species – Aphodius rufipes L. (Scarabaeidae) – was unaffected. We were unable to determine whether exposure affected reproductive output of either species. We found little evidence to suggest moxidectin impaired dung removal. However, high densities of a species with relatively low individual functional importance (A. rufipes) can compensate for the loss of a functionally dominant species (G. spiniger). Over a longer time frame, earthworms decomposed dung fully, irrespective of moxidectin residues. This functional redundancy reinforces that wider justification for the conservation of biodiversity should remain integrated into agricultural policy and practice.
iTAM: Bilateral Privacy-Preserving Task Assignment for Mobile Crowdsensing

The minimum travel distance of task participants is one of the significant optimization objectives of privacy-preserving task assignment in mobile crowdsensing (MCS). However, when the travel distance is minimized, most of the previous schemes only focus on the task participant privacy and disregard the task requester privacy. Moreover, existing solutions usually only support the constraint of a single type, such as equality constraints or range constraints. In this paper, we propose a bilateral privacy-preserving Task Assignment mechanism for MCS (iTAM), which protects not only the task participants privacy but also the task requesters privacy and can minimize the travel distance. Furthermore, iTAM provides both equality and range constraints of task assignment by utilizing the Paillier cryptosystem. To accommodate the multiple relations between the task participants and the task, we propose the single/multiple task participants selection problems for a task requiring task participants to compete and cooperate. Experimental evaluations over synthetic and real-world data illustrate that iTAM is feasible and effective. Compared with the state-of-the-art, iTAM positively solves the optimal problem of travel distance. The complexities of iTAM are <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(n)$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="script">O</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="liu-ieq1-2999923.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(n\log n)$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="script">O</mml:mi><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo form="prefix">log</mml:mo><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="liu-ieq2-2999923.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> for a single and multiple task participants selection problems, respectively.
Engels's Second Theory: Technology, Warfare and the Growth of the State

Foundational Economy Collective: Die Ökonomie des Alltagslebens. Vorwort zur deutschen Ausgabe. Berlin: Suhrkamp, 7-30. Originally appeared as: Der alltägliche Kommunismus. Blätter für deutsche und international Politik, 06/2019, 93-105. Also in: Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik (Hg.), Unsere letzte Chance. Der Reader zur Klimakrise. Berlin: Blätter Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2019, 210-222.
INDOOR SIMULATION OF REMEDIATION OF 2,2',4,4'-TETRABROMODIPHENYL ETHER CONTAMINATED SOIL BY BACILLUS LATEROSPORA

High-throughput sequencing and traditional microbial culturing were used to analyze the effects of the addition of free or immobilized degrading bacteria on the soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure by simulating the pollution of 2, 2', 4, 4'-tetrabromo diphenyl ether (BDE-47), and to measure the degradation rates. The results showed that (1) The soil physicochemical properties including pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and total potassium were not significantly affected by the addition of BDE-47, free or immobilized bacteria; (2) Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the dominant phyla in the simulation systems, of which the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria decreased whereas that of Actinobacteria increased through the simulation. Firmicutes was dominant in the simulation system B. Seven phyla, including Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, and Nitrospirae, were shared by all simulation systems. The free degrading strain adapted well to the simulation system, and the cell count increased from (5.0 ± 0.1) × 10 Colony-forming unit (CFU) /g to (1.0 ± 0.2) × 10 CFU/g at the end of the simulation; (3) The degradation of BDE-47 occurred in the original soil used for the simulation, while the addition of the free degrading strain promoted the degradation of BDE-47 at a rate of 39.77%. The addition of the immobilized strain also promoted the degradation of BDE-47, but only at a rate of 36.94%, slightly lower than that of the free strain.
The effects of experimental design on mating preferences and reproductive isolation in killifish

&NA; Determining the direction and magnitude of mating preference is fundamental to many questions in evolutionary biology. Unlike the measurement of traits such as body size, the measurement of mating preferences is likely affected by experimental design. Scientists must choose both the behavioral assay in which to measure preference and the metrics that serve as a proxy for preference. The accuracy of these assays and metrics, however, is often unknown and seldom tested. Here, we compared the accuracy of 3 assays (dichotomous choice, audience assay, and no‐choice assay) and 3 metrics (association time, courtship bouts, and number of eggs produced) in the bluefin killifish, which possesses strong, conspecific mating preferences when in sympatry with rainwater killifish. We consistently detected preferences in both males and females when using metrics associated with mating (i.e., courting bouts and number of eggs spawned). However, we failed to consistently detect preference when using time as a metric. We then used all 3 assays and metrics to test for cascade reinforcement. Cascade reinforcement predicts that enhanced behavioral isolation between sympatric species creates enhanced behavioral isolation among populations within species. We tested whether male and female bluefin killifish had heightened preference for mates from native over foreign populations. We consistently detected female preferences for native males, but did not detect male preferences for native females. Reproductive isolation values also reflect these preferences. Ultimately, we illustrated the importance of using multiple approaches to evaluate and legitimize measures of mating preference for males and females choosing among mates in different contexts.
Cystadenocarcinomas of airsac origin in four cockatoos.

Primary respiratory tract neoplasia is uncommon in companion birds or at least there are insufficient reports of cases to make judgements on their risk factors or biological behaviour (Latimer 1994, Campell 1986, Schmidt 2003). In Moluccan cockatoos (Cacatua moluccensis) a primary mucinous adenocarcinoma within the right humerus has been reported in a 13-year-old male and a cystadenocarcinoma protruding from the right axilla and also involving the humerus has also been described. A primary bronchial carcinoma with haematogenous metastasis to the right humerus has been reported in an African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) and, as in other animal species, metastatic spread of carcinomas to the lung is possible in birds but is probably even rarer than primary respiratory neoplasia. In this paper we describe the clinicpathological, radiographic and histological features of 4 cases of air sac cystadenocarcinoma that presented as primary causes of respiratory distress in 3 galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) and a sulphur crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita). The pathogenesis and diagnosis of these lesions are discussed.
Synthesis and properties of α‐Fe2O3 nanorods

We report synthesis of α‐Fe2O3 (hematite) nanorods by reverse micelles method using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant and calcined at 300 °C. The calcined α‐Fe2O3 nanorods were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The result showed that the α‐Fe2O3 nanorods were hexagonal structure. The nanorods have diameter of 30‐50 nm and length of 120‐150 nm. The weak ferromagnetic behavior was observed with saturation magnetization = 0.6 emu/g, coercive force = 25 Oe and remanant magnetization = 0.03 emu/g. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Effects of Global Englishes-Informed Pedagogy in Raising Chinese University Students' Global Englishes Awareness.

The spread of English as a global language has resulted in many changes in sociolinguistic realities, which challenges the foundations of how language should be taught and learned. To match today‘s sociolinguistic realities, researchers have called for a paradigm shift from the traditional pedagogy to a new pedagogy that can prepare students to use English in international communication involving different varieties of English and its cultures. However, little research has been done in implementing a Global Englishes (GE)-informed pedagogy in English language classrooms, especially in mainland China. This research attempts to examine the effects of a GE-informed pedagogy in developing Chinese university students‘ GE awareness. 82 university students participated in this study and received a 12-week intervention of a GEinformed instruction. Data collection methods included questionnaires and interviews. Paired-samples t-test and content analysis were used to analyze the data. The results show that students‘ GE awareness was significantly raised after taking the course. Specifically, students acknowledged the diversity of English, assessed English from a GE perspective, and their self-confidence increased in international communication. This paper argues for the importance of raising GE awareness and calls for a more critical approach to ELT in China.
Duo-activation of PKA and PKG by PDE1 inhibition facilitates proteasomal degradation of misfolded proteins and protects against proteinopathy

No current treatment is intended to target cardiac proteotoxicity or can reduce mortality of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a prevalent form of heart failure (HF). Selective degradation of misfolded proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is vital to the cell. Proteasome impairment is recently implicated in HF genesis. Activation of the cGMP-protein kinase G (PKG) or the cAMP-protein kinase A (PKA) pathways facilitates proteasome functioning. Phosphodiesterase 1 (PDE1) hydrolyzes both cyclic nucleotides and accounts for the majority of PDE activities in human myocardium. Here we report the preclinical therapeutic efficacy and a new mechanism of action of PDE1 inhibition (IC86430) for cardiac proteinopathy caused by Arg120Gly missense mutant αB-crystallin (CryABR120G). In mice expressing GFPdgn, an inverse reporter of UPS proteolytic activity, IC86430 treatment increased myocardial 26S proteasome activities and substantially decreased GFPdgn protein levels. Myocardial PDE1A expression was highly upregulated in CryABR120G mice. HFpEF was detected in CryABR120G mice at 4 months; IC86430 treatment initiated at this stage markedly attenuated HFpEF, substantially delayed mouse premature death, increased myocardial levels of Ser14-phosphorylated Rpn6, and reduced the steady state level of the misfolded CryAB species in these mice. In cultured cardiomyocytes, IC86430 treatment increased proteasome activities and accelerated proteasomal degradation of GFPu and CryABR120G in a PKA- and PKG- dependent manner. We conclude that PDE1 inhibition induces PKA- and PKG-mediated promotion of proteasomal degradation of misfolded proteins in cardiomyocytes and effectively treats HFpEF caused by CryABR120G; hence, PDE1 inhibition represents a potentially new therapeutic strategy for HFpEF and heart disease with increased proteotoxic stress. One Sentence Summary PDE1 inhibition enhances proteasomal degradation of misfolded proteins in a PKA and PKG dependent manner and protects against cardiac proteinopathy and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
Polyploidy in creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) shapes the biogeography of specialist herbivores

Whole‐genome duplication (polyploidy) can influence the biogeography and ecology of plants that differ in ploidy level (cytotype). Here, we address how two consequences of plant polyploidy (parapatry of cytotypes and altered species interactions) shape the biogeography of herbivorous insects.
THERMODYNAMICS OF INTERSTITIAL SOLID SOLUTIONS WITH REPULSIVE SOLUTE-SOLUTE INTERACTIONS

An exact statistical treatment of a one-dimensional model is used as a basis for evaluating the reliability of certain simplified expressions for the activity of the solute in interstitial solutions, including one obtained from the exact expression by setting the repulsive interaction equal to infinity. The latter approximation was found to be satisfactory at low and moderate concentration if the repulsive interaction is large, even though not infinite. A similar expression (identical if the coordination number is two) was derived from the quasichemical expression of Lacher, and is recommended as the best available expression for the excess configurational entropy of interstitial solutions with excluded sites. Some reasonable models are discussed, and the nature of the saturated solutions is determined by inspection. Some of the models reduce to the one-dimensional case. An analysis is given of the excess partial entropy of hydrogen in V-- H, Nb-- H, and Ta-- H solutions. (auth)
Optimizing Lifetime Capacity and Read Performance of Bit-Alterable 3-D NAND Flash

With the technology advance of bit-alterable 3-D NAND flash, bit-level program and erase operations have been realized and provide the possibility of “bit-level rewrite. ” Bit-level rewrite is predicted to be highly beneficial to the performance of the densely packed, bit-error-prone 3-D NAND flash because bit-level rewrites can remove error bits at bit-level granularity, shorten the error correction latency, and boost the read performance. Distinctly, bit-level rewrite can curtail the lifetime expense of refresh operations via correcting the error bit stored in the individual flash cell directly without a full-page rewrite, which is employed by previous refresh techniques. However, because bit-level rewrite is predicted to have similar latency and wearing as conventional full-page rewrites, the throughput of bit-level rewrites needs to be examined to avoid low rewrite efficiency. This observation inspires us to investigate and propose the bit-level error removal (BER) scheme to utilize the bit-level rewrites for optimizing both the read performance and lifetime capacity in a most-efficient way. The experimental results are encouraging and showed that the read performance can be improved by an average of 25.22% with 40.39% reduction of lifetime expense.
Epidemiological Study on Rift Valley Fever Virus among Domestic Animals in Taiz Governorate (Yemen)

Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) is the causative agent of Rift Valley Fever (RVF), transmitted either by hematophagous insects that infect animals and humans or by direct contact with infected animals. This study was performed to preparing RVF antigen from liver of infected lamb to be used in detecting anti-RVFV antibodies by using Enzyme Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and to study epidemiological prevalence of anti-RVFV IgM and IgG antibodies among animals which conducted in the Researches Center of Taiz University and Central Health Laboratory, Taiz Governorate, Southwestern Yemen. RVFV antigen was successfully prepared at a titer dilution of 1: 3200 by Chessboard (CB) ELISA assay. However, out of 188 samples, 147 samples were positive for ELISA assay, of which 12 (8.2 %) were positive for anti-RVFV IgM and 135 (91.8 %) for anti-IgG antibodies. The antigen was successfully produced, and successfully adhered to ELISA plates. Simple and inexpensive methods give good results. The results can be used to develop and refine predictive database for RVF transmission based on environmental and remote sensing data.
The Influence of Spiritual Intelligence and Gender on the Personal Financial of Management Students (Evidence from Batam)

—This study aims to examine the effects of spiritual intelligence and gender on the personal financial management of students. This study uses primary data collected through questionnaires. Sampling method using purposive sampling technique and total sample used in this research was 896 respondents. Analysis method with multiple regression analysis and t-test are used a data analysis technique. The results found are: firstly, spiritual intelligence has a positively effects on personal financial management. Secondly, gender have no effect on the personal financial management of the student.
First authentic report of fall armyworm presence in Faisalabad Pakistan

Fall armyworm is a sporadic pest and feed on almost 80 plant species. It is native to America but due to its strong flying abilities it has spread to Africa and now it has been reported in most of the Asian countries. In the present study presence of fall armyworm was observed in Faisalabad, Pakistan. At the end of Oct. and November larval collection from a maize field were examined in laboratory following dichotomous key of Passoa 1991. Larvae were also reared to adults. After examination it was identified that larvae and adults were Spodoptera frugiperda. And this is the first confirmed report that shows the presence of Spodoptera frugiperda in Faisalabad, Pakistan.