Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Behavior and Ecology of Cursorial Predators and Dangerous Prey: Integrating Behavioral Mechanisms with Population-level Patterns in Large Mammal Systems

Trophic interactions are a fundamental topic in ecology, but we know little about how competition between apex predators affects predation, the mechanism driving top-down forcing in ecosystems. We used long-term datasets from Scandinavia, Europe, and Yellowstone National Park, North America, to evaluate how gray wolf (Canis lupus) kill rate was affected by a sympatric apex predator, the brown bear (Ursus arctos). We used kill interval, i.e., the number of days between consecutive ungulate kills, as a proxy of kill rate. Although brown bears can monopolize wolf kills, we found no support in either study system for the common assumption that they cause wolves to kill more often. On the contrary, our results showed the opposite effect. In Scandinavia, wolf packs sympatric with brown bears killed less often than allopatric packs, during both spring, after bear den emergence, and summer. Similarly, the presence of bears at wolf-killed ungulates was associated with wolves killing less often during summer in Yellowstone. The consistency in results between the two systems suggests that brown bear presence actually reduces wolf kill rate. Our results suggest that the influence of predation on lower trophic levels may depend on the composition of predator communities. 3Tallian, Aimee, Andrés Ordiz, Matthew C. Metz, Cyril Milleret, Camilla Wikenros, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Jonas Kindberg, Daniel R. MacNulty, Petter Wabakken, Jon E. Swenson, Håkan Sand. 2017. Competition between apex predators? Brown bears decrease wolf kill rate on two continents. Proc Roy Soc B. 284: B20162368. 154
APPROPRIATE SAMPLE FOR TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION STUDIES IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

The aim of this study is to determine if a significant difference exists between the responses obtained from students and faculty engaged in technical education when deciding to adopt and use technology in the classroom. Surveying a representative population is critical when supporting interventions by administrators that will promote the adoption of technologies with proven advantages. Data was gathered by sending a questionnaire (53 questions) based on an extension of the Technology Acceptance Model to 7, 665 students and 445 faculty of a southeastern technical college during the fall semester of 2015. Analysis of the data was not able to support a conclusion that significant differences exist between the results obtained from faculty and students. This suggests that it is reasonable to use students and faculty as respondents in surveys related to technology adoption in technical education.
Antibiotic Resistance Pattern and Detection of Enterotoxigenic and Enteroaggregative Strain of Escherichia coli among Foreign Tourist with Traveler Diarrhea in Bali using Uniplex Polymerase Chain Reaction

BACKGROUND: As one of the major tourist destinations in Southeast Asia, Bali received millions of foreign tourists each year. Diarrhea consistently placed as the most often experienced health problem among travelers. Traveler diarrhea has various etiologies. The most common was Escherichia coli. The existence of several types of E. coli that are resistant to several antibiotics causes the selection of antibiotics is crucial. AIM: This preliminary study aims to understand the pattern of antibiotics sensitivity and to detect the presence of enterotoxigenic and enteroaggregative strains of E. coli from fecal samples of foreign tourists with traveler’s diarrhea in Denpasar, Bali. METHODS: A culture examination was carried out to obtain E. coli bacterial colonies. Disk diffusion Kirby–Bauer was carried out for antibiotic sensitivity testing. The confirmed colonies were tested against several common antibiotics, including the recommended first line (ciprofloxacin and azithromycin). Uniplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers conducted to detect the enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) (elt and estA2-4) and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) (CVD432) strains. RESULTS: Among 48 stool culture, 14 (29.2%) were identified as E. coli colonies. All samples were still sensitive to the antibiotics meropenem, ceftazidime, and cefixime. Despite majority of the samples (78.6%) still sensitive to ciprofloxacin, large proportion of the samples have developed resistance against the other commonly used antibiotics, doxycycline (70.4%) and azithromycin (57.1%). PCR showed that 3 (21.4%) samples shown positive for CVD432 gene, 2 (14.3%) samples positive for the elt gene, and all negative for the estA2-4 gene. CONCLUSION: An only small proportion of E. coli was EAEC or ETEC strain. Although most E. coli still sensitive to beta-lactam antibiotics, a significant proportion had shown resistance against the commonly recommended first-line antibiotics.
Public- and Private-Sector Wage Differentials in Canada Revisited Public- and Private-Sector Wage Differentials

Using a variety of techniques, we estimate the wage premium for federal, provincial, and municipal public-sector employees in Canada. We find that females in the public sector are paid a wage premium, with federal government workers enjoying the highest rents, followed by local and provincial public-sector employees. Estimates for males suggest that rent payments are comparably less, but results are inconclusive.
Cloning and expression analysis of ZmABI3 gene in Zea mays

Abstract Objective ABI3 is a B3 domain transcription factor existed in various plant species. Studies showed that ABI3 play important role in plant growth and development. Methods The ZmABI3 gene was cloned by reverse transcription PCR. Expression analysis was done by quantitative real-time PCR after various abiotic stresses. Results One gene contained B3 domain was isolated from maize, designated as ZmABI3. The full cDNA sequence of ZmABI3 contains a 1017 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 339 amino acids, and the calculated molecular mass was 37.19 kD. Phylogenetic tree analysis suggested that ZmABI3 clustered together with Brachypodium distachyon ABI3 protein. The promoter of ZmABI3 was cloned, which was about 948 bp upstream of ZmABI3 and predicted to contain important regulatory elements including TATA-box, CAAT-box and elements responding to drought, heat, cold, SA and MeJA. Conclusion A new gene contained a B3 domain was cloned and named as ZmABI3 from maize. Analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR, the expression of ZmABI3 in maize was induced by abiotic stresses included heat, high-salt, cold, PEG, heat stress and dehydration treatments, but not by ABA. These results suggested that ZmABI3 might be a stress related gene in maize.
The impact of COVID-19 on Long Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) of an Italian Province: a cohort study and a retrospective analysis of observed vs. expected mortality

In Italy, as in other countries, Long Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) have seen a disproportionally high number of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Veneto region was one of the first areas of the country where the virus spread rapidly particularly in the LTCFs. As it became evident that LTCs were the epicenter of the pandemic, health authorities of the Vicenza province adopted a plan, which included an epidemiological investigation in a case study facility (CSF) and a retrospective analysis to estimate the impact of COVID-19 in terms of mortality. Combining retrospective data and a prospective cohort study in the CSF we provided a tentative estimate of the impact of COVID-19 on LTCFs. We found an age-gradient in all variables explored. An observed mortality higher 60% than 2019 was found in those LTCF reporting COVID-19 cases. Our findings suggest the need to adopt and maintain strict mitigation measures in LTCFs in the future dynamics of the epidemic
Development and testing of a thai website accessibility evaluation tool

This paper deals with the important problem that there is no help with the accessibility evaluations of Thailand’s web by developing and evaluating a new method and tool online, WebThai2Access, with experts, developers, and users with disabilities. This tool was evaluated by 30 developers, 30 hearing impaired people, 30 visually impaired people, and 30 elderly people. The developers evaluated the websites whereas experimental tasks were given to each disabled group based on the problems they had accessing web information. The developers found WebThai2Access very usable and the 15 test criteria were reliable for evaluating websites. The lower and upper 95% limits for confidence ratings of developers were minus or plus 10% for YouTube and Pantip websites and minus or plus 3% with the blind association website. The 95% lower and upper limits of confidence were minus or plus 5% for hearing impaired users, minus or plus 2% for elderly users and minus or plus 0% for visually impaired users. The results therefore showed WebThai2Access was reliable and accessible for developers whose evaluations reasonably well predicted website accessibility for users with disabilities.
A library of structurally homogeneous human N-glycans synthesized from microbial oligosaccharide precursors

Synthesis of homogenous glycans in quantitative yields represents a major bottleneck to the production of molecular tools for glycoscience, such as glycan microarrays, affinity resins, and reference standards. Here, we describe a combined biological/enzymatic method termed bioenzymatic synthesis that is capable of efficiently converting microbially-derived precursor oligosaccharides into structurally uniform human-type N-glycans. Unlike starting material obtained by chemical synthesis or direct isolation from natural sources, which can be time consuming and costly to generate, bioenzymatic synthesis involves precursors derived from renewable sources including wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycoproteins and lipid-linked oligosaccharides from glycoengineered Escherichia coli. Following deglycosylation of these biosynthetic precursors, the resulting microbial oligosaccharides are subjected to a greatly simplified purification scheme followed by structural remodeling using commercially available and recombinantly produced glycosyltransferases including key N- acetylglucosaminyltransferases (e.g., GnTI, GnTII, and GnTIV) involved in early remodeling of glycans in the mammalian glycosylation pathway. Using this approach, preparative quantities of hybrid and complex-type N-glycans including asymmetric multi-antennary structures were generated all without the need of a specialized skillset. Collectively, our results reveal bioenzymatic synthesis to be a user-friendly methodology for rapidly supplying homogeneous oligosaccharide structures that can be used to understand the human glycome and probe the biological roles of glycans in health and disease.
Chloride transport and salt tolerance mechanisms in plants

Sodium and chloride are the most prominent ions associated with arable land affected by salinity worldwide. While many studies focussed on the mechanisms of sodium transport, accumulation and exclusion under salt stress, the role of chloride was overlooked. Although, the interest on the mechanisms of chloride transport and its role in salt tolerance mechanisms started to grow, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Two close related plant species representing the extremes concerning salt tolerance were employed for this approach: the glycophyte Arabidopsis thaliana and the halophyte Thellungiella salsuginea. Screening of growth parameters, the ionic and the osmotic parameters of both plant species grown on different salt concentrations has been realized. In parallel salt-stress experiments calcium has been omitted in the growth medium. Furthermore, oxidative stress responses, in detail the changes in the total low molecular weight antioxidative capacity, superoxide scavenging activity, and the activity of peroxidases, catalases and glutathione reductases were examined by the TAC, SOSA, LUPO, CAT and GR assays, respectively. The first three assays (TAC, LUPO and SOSA) were developed and further optimised during this study. Concerning chloride transport and the overall changes inside a living plant cell exposed to salt stress, in vivo fluorescent ratiometric techniques were employed during this study. Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing different fluorescent indicators offered the insight into redox poise, pH, and anion content changes in the cytoplasm and in subcellular compartments during salt treatment. The effects of calcium, trivalent cations, polyamines, oxidative substances and common blocker and inhibitors of anion channels on the chloride influx have been tested in course of this endeavour. By cloning and over-expression of members of the chloride channel family (ClCs) from Arabidopsis thaliana in an appropriate plant system together with a chloride-sensitive fluorescent indicator, the role of chloride compartmentalisation under salt stress conditions was tackled out. A point mutation in the selectivity filter of a NO3-/H+ antiporter AtClC-A for example has shown a switch from nitrate to chloride transport into the vacuole. In addition, an attempt to purify and functionally characterize chloride channel proteins in a bacterial expression system has been made.
Discrimination of Chemical Stimuli of Immature Papaya Fruit Oviposited and Not Oviposited In by Female Toxotrypana curvicauda 1

Abstract. Attraction response of female Toxotrypana curvicauda (Gerstaecker) to volatile compounds from immature fruit of papaya (Carica papaya L.) and of gravid females to papaya fruit oviposited and not oviposited in was studied with the aid of an olfactometer. Response of virgin and mated females (4–6 days old) to immature papaya fruit covered or not with Lycra netting was evaluated. After greatest attraction response had been recorded, extracts were obtained by dynamic aeration. The compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Attraction response of females to papaya extracts obtained using three solvents was studied by bioassays in a wind tunnel. From the extracts were identified eight compounds: an aldehyde, two heterocompounds, four hydrocarbons, and a terpene. Hexanic extract resulted in most landing by virgin females on an odor source (10%); however, no statistically significant differences were observed among treatments. A synthetic blend was created, based on the hexanic extract compounds, and its attraction was evaluated. Virgin females were more attracted; however, only 5% landed on the odor source. Mostly only mated females were attracted to hexanic extract (15% of long flights and 5% landings). Nevertheless, as demonstrated in electroantennography responses, virgin and mated females were attracted to the synthetic blend, with the largest polarization values. Mated females were more attracted to fruit not oviposited than oviposited in, implying they evade intra-specific competition.
Insights into the Transcriptional Regulation of the Unrearranged and Rearranged Tcra and Tcrd Genes

The combined T-cell receptor α and δ locus, Tcra/Tcrd, encodes the TCRα and TCRδ chains of the αβ or γδ T-cell receptors (TCRαβ and TCRγδ), respectively, which define the two distinct T-cell lineages, αβ and γδ T lymphocytes. Like other antigen receptor loci, this locus must recombine its variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments to generate a diverse range of TCR that allow vertebrates to respond to an unlimited number of antigens. The Tcra/Tcrd germline transcription and subsequent V(D)J gene segment rearrangements are strictly regulated by two distant transcriptional enhancers, Eα and Eδ, respectively, during thymocyte development. Once the Tcra locus is productively rearranged, it is assumed Eα remains active for the transcription of the rearranged locus and the expression of the functional TCRα chain in αβ T lymphocytes. However, our recent experiments have shown Eα is significantly inhibited during the final stage of thymocyte development, concomitantly with the expression of the rearranged Tcra locus, and remains inhibited in αβ T lymphocytes. These results imply the existence of an Eα-independent mechanism to activate transcription of the rearranged Tcra locus in αβ T lymphocytes. Interestingly, Eα is essential for the normal expression of the rearranged Tcrd locus in γδ T lymphocytes. In this review, the current knowledge about the regulation of Tcra/Tcrd germline transcription and gene segment rearrangement during thymocyte development and the possible mechanisms for transcription of the rearranged Tcra locus in mature αβ T lymphocytes are discussed. The knowledge of the detailed mechanisms involved in the regulation of transcription at the Tcra/Tcrd locus by distant enhancers is important to understand the cases in which deregulation this process resulta in disease.
Design of high performance DC motor actuated cable driving system for compact devices

In this study, different precise and appropriate control mechanisms for speed and steering control of a robot with mobile movement that use a Direct Current motor, have been simulated for improved controllers’ response. Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID), Lead-Lag compensator, and Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) are designed as well as simulated to provide command over the angular speed of a Direct Current motor mounted in the robot. The response of the Direct Current motor for every controller is observed and compared among each other for a sinusoidal and a step input which indicate speed as well as position respectively of mobile robot. The performance analysis indicates that the Lead-Lag compensator and PID controller can be considered effective for the task assigned for steering the wheel and Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) is efficient for wheel speed controlling. Considering the overall improved performance of the mobile robot in terms of precision of speed control as well as steering capability, it seems reasonable to conclude that the proposed design criteria were effective and satisfactory.
Cystinosin regulates kidney inflammation through its interaction with galectin-3

Inflammation is implicated in the pathogenesis of many disorders. Here, we show that cystinosin, protein defective in the lysosomal storage disorder cystinosis, is a critical regulator of galectin-3 during inflammation. Cystinosis is a lysosomal storage disorder and despite ubiquitous expression of cystinosin, kidney is the primary organ to be impacted by the disease. Here, we show that cystinosin interacts with galectin-3 and enhances its lysosomal localization and degradation. Galectin-3 is also found overexpressed in the kidney of the mouse model of cystinosis, Ctns-/-mice. Absence of galectin-3 in Ctns-/- mice led to a better renal function and structure, and decreased macrophage/monocyte infiltration in the kidney. Finally, galectin-3 interacts with a protein implicated in the recruitment of monocytes and macrophages during inflammation, Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP1), that was found increased in the serum of Ctns-/- mice. These findings highlight a new role of cystinosin and galectin-3 interaction in inflammation, providing a mechanistic explanation for kidney disease pathogenesis in cystinosis, which may lead to the identification of new drug targets to delay its progression.
Subjects tend to be coded only once: Corpus-based and grammar-based evidence for an efficiency-driven trade-off

Using data from the World Atlas of Language Structures and the Universal Dependencies treebanks, we provide converging evidence from linguistic typology and comparative corpus linguistics for an efficiency-based trade-off in the encoding of referentially accessible subjects. Specifically, when familiar subjects are marked as bound elements attaching to the verb, the chances of having obligatory independent subject pronouns decrease significantly across the world’s languages. At the same time, there is a trend against not encoding the subject at all, leading us to postulate an overall tendency to encode familiar subjects once and only once in a neutral topiccomment utterance. This tendency is mirrored in more fine-grained corpus data from Slavic: East Slavic languages, in contrast to the other members of the genus, have past forms without verbal subject encoding, and it is precisely with these (former participle) forms that the use of independent subject pronouns is significantly higher than with other, non-participial verb forms. By contrast, the occurrence of independent subject pronouns does not differ across various verb forms in other Slavic languages, as none of them has been affected by a loss of verbal subject encoding.
AlpinoGraph: A Graph-based Search Engine for Flexible and Efficient Treebank Search

AlpinoGraph is a graph-based search engine which provides treebank search using SQL database technology coupled with the Cypher query language for graphs. In the paper, we show that AlpinoGraph is a very powerful and very flexible approach towards treebank search. At the same time, AlpinoGraph is efficient. Currently, AlpinoGraph is applicable for all standard Dutch treebanks. We compare the Cypher queries in AlpinoGraph with the XPath queries used in earlier treebank search applications for the same treebanks. We also present a pre-processing technique which speeds up query processing dramatically in some cases, and is applicable beyond AlpinoGraph
VGLL4 promotes osteoblast differentiation by antagonizing TEADs-inhibited Runx2 transcription

VGLL4 relieves TEADs-mediated RUNX2 transcriptional inhibition by impairing TEADs-RUNX2 interaction. VGLL4 has been identified as a YAP inhibitor. However, the exact function of VGLL4 in bone development and bone homeostasis remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that VGLL4 breaks TEADs-mediated transcriptional inhibition of RUNX2 to promote osteoblast differentiation and bone development. We found that knockout of VGLL4 in mesenchymal stem cells and preosteoblasts showed osteoporosis and a cleidocranial dysplasia–like phenotype due to osteoblast differentiation disorders. Mechanistically, we showed that the TEAD transcriptional factors severely inhibited osteoblast differentiation in a YAP binding–independent manner. TEADs interacted with RUNX2 to repress RUNX2 transcriptional activity. Furthermore, VGLL4 relieved the transcriptional inhibition of TEADs by directly competing with RUNX2 to bind TEADs through its two TDU domains. Collectively, our studies demonstrate that VGLL4 plays an important role in regulating osteoblast differentiation and bone development, and that TEADs regulate the transcriptional activity of RUNX2, which may shed light on treatment of cleidocranial dysplasia and osteoporosis.
Building a Treebank for Chinese Literature for Translation Studies

We present a new Chinese Treebank in the literary domain, the Treebank for Chinese Literature (TCL), with an aim to foster translation studies by providing an annotated collection of Chinese texts from both translated and non-translated literature. In the current stage, our constituency treebank consists of 2 069 trees, annotated and cross-checked by six Chinese linguists, following and adapting the Chinese Penn Treebank (CTB) annotation guidelines. We discuss the issues that we encountered while annotating literary texts, and we demonstrate the usefulness of our treebank by comparing it against the news portion of CTB, and by analyzing the syntactic features of non-translated literary texts and translationese in Chinese.