Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caracterización de marcadores peptídicos específicos para la identificación de especies de langostinos de interés comercial

Native isoelectric focusing (IEF) of water-soluble sarcoplasmic proteins was applied to the identification of 14 shrimp species of food interest belonging to the order Decapoda. These species have different commercial values, but due to their phenotypic similarities and carapace removal in their industrial processing, incorrect food labelling and deliberate or inadvertent adulteration can occur. Each of the 14 tested species showed species-specific protein band profiles and intraspecific polymorphism was low, not preventing the correct identification of the species. Therefore, IEF of water-soluble sarcoplasmic proteins allowed the differentiation of the 14 species considered. In addition, sarcoplasmic calcium-binding proteins (SCPs) were identified by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) as the major species-specific proteins in these species, opening the way to further studies focusing on their potential use as specific biomarkers.
Becoming Travelers: Enabling the Material Drift

Materially driven research can often feel like a long series of failed experiments, which ends with us telling only the story of how we succeeded. We propose engaging with the making experience as travelers, losing ourselves in the making while preserving the outcomes of each experiment. In doing so, we might be able to, on one hand document this iterative journey as a research outcome in itself and, on the other, identify the roads not travelled as opportunities and starting points for new projects. We present an open ended exploration that led us to articulating the possibilities of becoming travelers in the design process.
Stabilizing Selection and the Structural Variability of Flowers within Species

Abstract Zoophilous flowers often appear to be precisely formed for pollen transfer and exhibit relatively little variability in structure within species. Functional optimization by the seemingly exacting requirements of pollen transfer may account for these observations. I used the results of a literature survey to examine the levels of intraspecific variation in flowers across a wide range of taxa. The least variable attributes were those potentially affecting the mechanical fit between flower and pollinator, which are potentially constrained by selection for pollination performance. I discuss six mechanisms by which plant-pollinator interactions could generate stabilizing selection on flowers. In addition, I consider the stabilizing roles of limiting resources and also two functionally-neutral mechanisms. Further work is required to identify the actual mechanisms by which selection stabilizes the evolution of flowers.
Efficient removal of organic pollutants by metal-organic framework derived Co/C yolk-shell nanoreactors: size-exclusion and confinement effect.

Selective removal of organic pollutants from surface water with high efficiency is crucial in water purification. Here, yolk-shell Co/C nanoreactors (YSCCNs) are facilely synthesized via pyrolysis of controllably etched ZIF-67 by tannic acid and their degradation performance on multiple pollutants is demonstrated. To present the structure-performance relationship between the designed nanocatalyst and the selective removal of organic pollutants, bisphenol A (BPA) was selected as the targeted pollutant with coexistence of humus acid (HA). For comparison, solid and hollow ZIF-67 derived Co/C nanoparticles denoted as SCCNs and HCCNs, were also tested. The results show that YSCCNs exhibit enhanced BPA degradation rate of 0.32 min-1, which is 23.1% and 45.4% higher than that of HCCNs and SCCNs in HA system. The essential improvement can be ascribed to the synergetic effects from shell layer (size-exclusion) and core/shell (confinement effect). The degradation mechanism and pathway are further confirmed by radical quenching experiments and liquid chromatography-mass spectrograph (LC-MS), respectively. In addition, some influential factors, including reaction temperature, pH value and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) dosage are investigated in detail. This work provides a possible way to selectively remove target contaminant from multiple pollutants in complex water system.
Evaluating non-user willingness to pay for a large-scale conservation programme in Amazonia: a UK/Italian contingent valuation study

Contingent valuation (CV) is a popular method in economics for eliciting individuals' preferences for non-market environmental resources, but very few attempts have been made to apply it to distant environmental goods of global importance. This paper reports the results of a CV study in the UK and Italy, which evaluated non-users' willingness to pay for the implementation of a proposed programme of protected areas in Brazilian Amazonia. The main focus of the survey was the wealth of biodiversity in the region proposed for protection and the ecosystem services provided by such areas. Taking both countries together, respondents were willing to pay, on average, £30 (US$ 45.60) per household per annum to fund the implementation of a protection programme covering 5% of Brazilian Amazonia and £39 (US$ 59.28) per household per annum to fund a 20% programme. Aggregated across households, an annual fund to conserve 5% of Brazilian Amazonia as strictly protected areas could yield around £600 million (US$ 912 million) in the UK and a similar amount in Italy. It should be noted that respondents appeared to show a high degree of uncertainty in the bid decision process for such an unfamiliar and distant good, leading to questions as to the validity and reliability of results. Nevertheless, responses were non-random and systematically related to a range of socio-economic characteristics and attitudinal variables. Thus initiatives such as international financial transfers from wealthy developed countries to support the protection of threatened areas of global significance could attract widespread support in those countries.
OHTMA: an optimized heuristic topology-aware mapping algorithm on the Tianhe-3 exascale supercomputer prototype

With the rapid increase of the size of applications and the complexity of the supercomputer architecture, topology-aware process mapping becomes increasingly important. High communication cost has become a dominant constraint of the performance of applications running on the supercomputer. To avoid a bad mapping strategy which can lead to terrible communication performance, we propose an optimized heuristic topology-aware mapping algorithm (OHTMA). The algorithm attempts to minimize the hop-byte metric that we use to measure the mapping results. OHTMA incorporates a new greedy heuristic method and pair-exchange-based optimization. It reduces the number of long-distance communications and effectively enhances the locality of the communication. Experimental results on the Tianhe-3 exascale supercomputer prototype indicate that OHTMA can significantly reduce the communication costs.
External Validation of the International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The International IgA Nephropathy Network recently developed and externally validated two models to predict the risk of progression of IgA nephropathy: full models without and with race. This study sought to externally validate the International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool in a large, independent, and contemporary cohort in China. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We included 1373 patients with biopsy-confirmed primary IgA nephropathy from The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2012 to May 2018 and calculated predicted risks for each patient. The outcomes of interest were a 50% decline in eGFR or kidney failure. We assessed the performance of both models using discrimination (concordance statistics and Kaplan-Meier curves between subgroups), calibration (calibration plots), reclassification (net reclassification improvement and integrated discrimination improvement), and clinical utility (decision curve analysis). RESULTS The median follow-up was 29 months (interquartile range, 21-43 months; range, 1-95 months), and 186 (14%) patients reached the kidney outcomes of interest. Both models showed excellent discrimination (concordance statistics >0.85 and well separated survival curves). Overall, the full model without race generally underestimated the risk of primary outcome, whereas the full model with race was well calibrated for predicting 5-year risk. Compared with the full model without race, the full model with race had significant improvement in reclassification, as assessed by the net reclassification improvement (0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.41 to 0.59) and integrated discrimination improvement (0.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.04 to 0.08). Decision curve analysis showed that both full models had a higher net benefit than default strategies, and the model with race performed better. CONCLUSIONS In this study, both full models demonstrated remarkable discrimination, acceptable calibration, and satisfactory clinical utility. The relatively short follow-up time may have limited the validation of these models.
Glycemic Efficacy and Metabolic Consequences of an Empagliflozin Add-on versus Conventional Dose-Increasing Strategy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Inadequately Controlled by Metformin and Sulfonylurea

Background We assessed the glucose-lowering efficacy of adding empagliflozin versus dose escalating existing medications in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods This was a 6-month retrospective case-control study in subjects with uncontrolled T2D (glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c] >7%) on conventional treatment. The study group started add-on therapy with empagliflozin (10 mg once a day) while the control group was up-titrated with existing medication, using either monotherapy or a combination of metformin, sulfonylurea, and a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. The primary endpoints included changes in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and 2-hour postprandial glucose (PP2) levels. Secondary outcomes included changes in body composition, body mass index (BMI), and serum ketone bodies, and urinary excretion of sodium, potassium, chlorine, calcium, phosphorus, and glucose. Results After treatment, the reduction in HbA1c was significantly greater in the empagliflozin group than in controls (from 8.6%±1.6% to 7.6%±1.5% vs. 8.5%±1.1% to 8.1%±1.1%; P<0.01). Similar patterns were found in FPG and PP2 levels. Empagliflozin decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and alanine and aspartate aminotransferase levels. Body weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass, and abdominal visceral fat area decreased significantly while lean body mass was maintained. Total ketones, β-hydroxybutyrate, and acetoacetate levels increased significantly after empagliflozin. Conclusion In addition to glucose lowering, an empagliflozin add-on regimen decreased blood pressure and body fat, and improved metabolic profiles significantly. Empagliflozin add-on is superior to dose escalation in patients with T2D who have inadequate glycemic control on standard medications.
Applying Transformers and Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis approaches on Sarcasm Detection

Sarcasm is a type of figurative language broadly adopted in social media and daily conversations. The sarcasm can ultimately alter the meaning of the sentence, which makes the opinion analysis process error-prone. In this paper, we propose to employ bidirectional encoder representations transformers (BERT), and aspect-based sentiment analysis approaches in order to extract the relation between context dialogue sequence and response and determine whether or not the response is sarcastic. The best performing method of ours obtains an F1 score of 0.73 on the Twitter dataset and 0.734 over the Reddit dataset at the second workshop on figurative language processing Shared Task 2020.
Transferability of barley retrotransposon primers to analyze genetic structure in Iranian Hypericum perforatum L. populations

Transferability of barley retrotransposon primers was investigated to analyze population structure in St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) based on inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP). Seven long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon primers derived from the barley genome were used to detect genetic polymorphism in eight Iranian populations and three cultivars (Helos, New Stem, and Topaz) of H. Perforatum based on IRAP analysis. Nine possible LTR primers/primer combinations successfully amplified fragments from the H. Perforatum genome. In total, 311 bands of 100-3000 base pairs were amplified, of which 244 were polymorphic. The number of polymorphic fragments ranged from 10 (Nikita/5'LTR-2) to 57 (3'LTR), with an average of 27.11. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) could clearly differentiate samples of wild populations and cultivars. Based on analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), among populations variance explained 58% of total molecular variation. This study demonstrates that IRAP markers can be utilized not only to determine the relationships of Hypericum populations and cultivars, but also as a tool for selection of suitable populations for breeding programs.
EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF ARTEMIA FROM TUZ LAKE, TURKEY

The thermal constant, growth and survival of Artemia from Tuz Lake, Central Anatolia, were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Artemia nauplii (24-48 hours after hatching) were stocked into a 60 ppt salinity medium which contained Dunaliella and Oocystis. The Artemia were cultured at one of eight temperatures (2-degree intervals from 18° to 32°C) for 30 days, in two replicates. The animals grew faster but survival was lower as the temperature increased. Complete development from the nauplius stage to the adult stage required 30 days at 18°C, 20 days at 24°C and 15 days at 30°C. The thermal constant was 356±6 day-degrees and the developmental zero value was 6.3±1.9°C.
Physical Fitness and Dynamic Balance in Medication Naïve Turkish Children with ADHD

This study investigated physical fitness levels and dynamic balance in medication-naïve children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Participants were 24 medication-naïve Turkish children with ADHD (4 girls, 20 boys) and 19 typically developing (TD) Turkish children (4 girls, 15 boys). We measured physical fitness levels with the Eurofit Test Battery, body composition with the Inbody 720 Body Composition Analyzer, cognitive attention with the Stroop Test, and dynamic balance with the Y-Balance Test. We found significantly poorer dynamic balance and both upper extremity and running fitness problems among the medication-naïve Turkish children with ADHD compared to the TD group (p = 0.002; p = 0.032; p = 0.002). It may be important to adress dynamic balance and physical fitness when treating children with ADHD.
Feeding habits and diet overlap of juveniles of 2 sparids, Diplodus puntazzo (Walbaum, 1792) and Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817), from the North Aegean Sea of Turkey

The stomach contents of juvenile sharpsnout seabream, Diplodus puntazzo, and juvenile two-banded seabream, Diplodus vulgaris, were investigated in order to determine feeding habits and diet overlap among them. Fish were collected from October 2008 to August 2009 using a beach seine net from the Canakkale coasts of Turkey. A total of 129 juvenile D. puntazzo (ranging from 13 mm to 77 mm total length) and 951 D. vulgaris (ranging from 15 mm to 97 mm total length) were collected during the sampling periods in the study area. The stomach content analyses showed that the diet of both species mainly comprised copepods and amphipods. In addition, algae were found in the stomach contents. No significant differences were found between the feeding habits of juvenile D. vulgaris and D. puntazzo (ANOSIM; global R statistic = -0.0158; P > 0.05). An important overlap in the diet calculated using the Schoener index was recorded as 0.75 for D. puntazzo and D. vulgaris. Consequently, there was a significant diet overlap and competition for available resources among the feeding habits of D. vulgaris and D. puntazzo in juvenile periods.
TIME SINCE CONTACT AND GENE FLOW MAY EXPLAIN VARIATION IN HYBRID FREQUENCIES AMONG THREE DENDROICA TOWNSENDI × D. OCCIDENTALIS (PARULIDAE) HYBRID ZONES

Abstract Hermit Warblers (Dendroica occidentalis) and Townsend’s Warblers (D. townsendi) meet and hybridize in three replicate zones in Washington and Oregon. Using male specimens, we show that the ratio of hybrid to parental phenotypes varies systematically across these three zones: there were 60.4% hybrids among 96 males from the Olympic zone, 43.3% hybrids among 411 males from the Washington Cascade zone, and 27.8% hybrids among 209 males from the Oregon Cascade zone. We found no evidence of habitat or climatic factors driving these systematic differences in hybrid frequencies, and we argue that they are related to differences among these zones in the immigration of pure parentals and time since contact. Building on earlier hypotheses about massive movement of the coastal zones (Rohwer and Wood 1998), we can infer that the Olympic and Washington Cascade zones are old and of similar age. The Washington Cascade zone, but not the Olympic zone, receives Townsend’s immigrants from the Rocky Mountains through the Okanogan high- lands, as shown by the linkage analyses in Rohwer et al. (2001). This immigration apparently accounts for the lower frequency of hybrids in the Washington Cascades. The Washington Cascade and Oregon Cascade zones are both situated adjacent to forest corridors that connect them to the Rocky Mountains to the east, so both of these zones should receive Townsend’s immigrants from the east (linkage analyses have yet to be done for the Oregon Cascades because the mitochondrial DNA haplo- types for these specimens have not been determined). The Washington Cascade zone, however, is old, whereas the Oregon Cascade zone appears to have been established only recently in response to anthropogenic habitat changes, which accounts for its low frequency of hybrids. We are unaware of any other replicate set of hybrid zones where differences in time since contact and dispersal have been related to variation in hybrid frequencies. El Tiempo Transcurrido desde el Contacto y el Flujo Genético Podrían Explicar la Variación en la Frecuencia de los Híbridos entre Tres Zonas de Hibridación entre Dendroica townsendi y D. occidentalis (Parulidae)
Trophically Transmitted Parasites and the Conservation of Small Populations: Raccoon Roundworm and the Imperiled Allegheny Woodrat

Abstract: Disease threats to endangered species are most commonly caused by exotic microparasites accidentally introduced into naïve populations by humans. The case of raccoon roundworm ( Baylisascaris procyonis ) and the Allegheny woodrat ( Neotoma magister ) is an exception to this general rule and, as such, may be useful in the identification of other macroparasite disease threats in the future. B. procyonis is an intestinal nematode of raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) that is highly pathogenic in intermediate hosts. It is hypothesized to have caused or contributed to the extirpation of the Allegheny woodrat from the northern parts of its range. I tested this hypothesis by reintroducing Allegheny woodrats into four historically occupied sites with varying natural levels of environmental contamination with B. procyonis eggs. Populations were monitored via radiotelemetry and trapping for 22 months. Woodrat populations in less contaminated release sites survived significantly longer than populations in highly contaminated sites, and there was a strong negative correlation between the number of raccoon latrines and woodrat population persistence. This case demonstrates several points relevant to the conservation of small populations: trophically transmitted parasites ( in which prey species serve as intermediate hosts to the parasites of their predators ) can be significant sources of mortality in intermediate host populations; native parasites should not be ignored as potential disease threats; and parasites of human‐adapted wild animals are likely to threaten rare and endangered species. This case also illustrates a previously unrecognized route through which host density can be decoupled from disease dynamics and provides evidence of apparent competition in nature.
Storage study of chicken meatballs incorporated with green cabbage (Brassica olerecea) at refrigeration temperature (4 ± 1°C) under aerobic packaging

ABSTRACT The study was conducted to explore the possibilities of utilization of green cabbage (Brassica olerecea) in the preparation of chicken meatballs and their subsequent storage at 4 ± 1°C. The green cabbage was incorporated at various levels, namely 0%, 15% and 25% by replacing lean meat in the formulation. Crude protein, fat, ash and energy content of the chicken meatballs showed significantly (p < .05) decreasing trend with increasing levels of green cabbage. There was a significant (p < .05) increase in the moisture content, cooking yield, moisture retention and moisture protein ratio in treated products than control and recorded highest for T2. Chicken meatballs were aerobically packaged and assessed for storage quality under refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) conditions. Sensory attributes showed a significantly (p < .05) decreasing trend for both control as well as green-cabbage-incorporated chicken meatballs, whereas pH, total plate counts, yeast and mould count, free fatty acid and thiobarbituric acid reacting substances values increased significantly (p < .05) throughout the storage. The results conclude that green cabbage, which is rich in antioxidant compounds, could be used in chicken meatballs to extend the storage life by retarding the lipid oxidation and microbial growth at refrigeration temperature (4 ± 1°C).
Plant growth promotion and protecting effect to heavy metals of rhizobacteria on inoculated Lens esculenta seeds.

The synergistic metal-tolerant plant-microbe association has been profitable for cleanup metalliferous soils. Heavy metal toxicity is usually tested by root elongation inhibition with quickly response to a higher concentration of metals in terrestrial ecosystems by changing in their growth rates compared to shoot growth. The aim of this study was analyze the plant growth promoting effect of indole acetic acid and siderophores producers’ rhizobacteria on inoculated seeds of Lens esculenta exposed to heavy metals, by their root elongation as the first response of plants to this kind of contaminants. Although the roots of L. esculenta seedlings grown in presence of the heavy metals: As, Cu and Zn and inoculated with Achromobacter sp. strain C1, Pseudomonas sp. strain C2, Pseudomonas sp. strain Sp7D and Pseudomonas sp. strain Sp7E, did not shown a significant promotion with the rhizobacteria strains; these results demonstrated that the presence of the rhizobacteria strains in L. esculenta seeds maintained growth of the roots of seedlings and its tolerance to the three heavy metals assayed, including the adverse effects of As; suggesting a synergistic effect between this species and the rhizobacteria.