Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of a non-destructive method to determine biomass in Pontederiaceae

AIM: The aim of the present study was to estimate Eichhornia crassipes biomass by a non-destructive method that uses allometric measurements of foliar structures; METHODS: Aquatic macrophytes collected at different growth in a wetland were allometrically measured as (a) limbo length and width (b) petiole width and diameter. The same leaves were used to determine biomass, expressed in dry weight, after drying in an oven at 70 °C until constant weight; RESULTS: The correlation between petiole length/diameter with foliar biomass was r2 = 0.7705; p < 0.001, and between limbo width/length and foliar biomass was r2 = 0,8838; p < 0,001. It was shown that limbo width/length and petiole length/diameter are related to biomass. Two estimation models were built to estimate aerial biomass based on allometric and biomass data; CONCLUSION: Biomass values obtained with the model proposed in this study are similar to those obtained when the material was dried in the oven, as determined by the t test. The biomass determination model proposed in the present study was shown to be efficient, and allows the follow-up of plant growth in time.
Pentaprobes and mass spectrometry Determination of ribonuclease sequence-specificity using

The VapBC toxin-antitoxin (TA) family is the largest of nine identified TA families. The toxin, VapC, is a metal-dependent ribonuclease that is inhibited by its cognate antitoxin, VapB. Although the VapBCs are the largest TA family, little is known about their biological roles. Here we describe a new general method for the overexpression and purification of toxic VapC proteins and subsequent determination of their RNase sequence-specificity. Functional VapC was isolated by expression of the nontoxic VapBC complex, followed by removal of the labile antitoxin (VapB) using limited trypsin digestion. We have then developed a sensitive and robust method for determining VapC ribonuclease sequence-specificity. This technique employs the use of Pentaprobes as substrates for VapC. These are RNA sequences encoding every combination of five bases. We combine the RNase reaction with MALDI-TOF MS to detect and analyze the cleavage products and thus determine the RNA cut sites. Successful MALDI-TOF MS analysis of RNA fragments is acutely dependent on sample preparation methods. The sequencespecificity of four VapC proteins from two different organisms (VapCPAE0151 and VapCPAE2754 from Pyrobaculum aerophilum, and VapCRv0065 and VapCRv0617 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis) was successfully determined using the described strategy. This rapid and sensitive method can be applied to determine the sequence-specificity of VapC ribonucleases along with other RNA interferases (such as MazF) from a range of organisms.
Computing the State Class Timed Automaton of a Time Petri Net IRCCyN internal report-RI 2003 5

Abstract. This report describes a method for building the state class graph of a bounded time Petri net (TPN) as a timed automaton (TA). We consider bounded TPN, whose underlying net is not necessarily bounded. We prove that the obtained TA is timed-bisimilar to the initial TPN. The number of clocks of the automaton is much lower than with other methods available. We have implemented the method, and give some experimental results in this report, illustrating the efficiency of the translation algorithm in terms of clock number.
A New Architecture Selection Strategy in Solving Seasonal Autoregressive Time Series by Artificial Neural Networks

The only suggestions given in the literature for determining the archi- tecture of neural networks are based on observations, and a simulation study to determine the architecture has not yet been reported. Based on the results of the simulation study described in this paper, a new architecture selection strategy is proposed and shown to work well. It is noted that although in some studies the period of a seasonal time series has been taken as the number of inputs of the neural network model, it is found in this study that the period of a seasonal time series is not a parameter in determining the number of inputs.
All-versus-nothing arguments ( a ) Mermin ’ s original formulation

An important class of contextuality arguments in quantum foundations are the all-versus-nothing (AvN) proofs, generalizing a construction originally due to Mermin. We present a general formulation of AvN arguments and a complete characterization of all such arguments that arise from stabilizer states. We show that every AvN argument for an n-qubit stabilizer state can be reduced to an AvN proof for a three-qubit state that is local Clifford-equivalent to the tripartite Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state. This is achieved through a combinatorial characterization of AvN arguments, the AvN triple theorem, whose proof makes use of the theory of graph states. This result enables the development of a computational method to generate all the AvN arguments in Z2 on n-qubit stabilizer states. We also present new insights into the stabilizer formalism and its connections with logic. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Second quantum revolution: foundational questions’.
Area : Accounting And Controlling RBGN Perceived controllability and fairness in Performance evaluation

1. Doctor in Accounting from HEC Montreal. [eduardo.schiehll@hec.ca] 2. Doctor in Taxation from the University of Florida. [suzanne.landry@hec.ca] Authors’ address: 3000, Chemin De La Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Postal Code: H3T2A7 Montréal, Canada ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of environmental uncertainty, decentralization of decisions rights, and the use of subjective performance measures on managers’ perceptions of outcome controllability and performance evaluation fairness. Based on a survey of 339 middleand upperlevel managers, our results suggest that environmental uncertainty adversely affects perceptions of outcome controllability and that this effect is not moderated by the decentralization of decision rights. Our results also show a positive association between perceived controllability and performance evaluation fairness. Although we found no direct effect of the use of subjective performance measures on perceived performance evaluation fairness, it appears to moderate the positive effect of perceived controllability on fairness. We also show that the positive effect of the use of subjective measures may depend on contextual and job-related factors. The overall results underscore the need to consider the organizational context (environmental uncertainty and decentralization of decision rights) to investigate how performance measures affect perceived controllability and fairness. Because perceived controllability and fairness affect individual attitudes and behaviors within an organization, our results have important implications for the design and use of performance evaluation systems.
Detection by PCR of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the bacterium causing citrus huanglongbing in vector psyllids: application to the study of vector–pathogen relationships

Citrus huanglongbing (HLB), previously called greening, is a serious citrus disease in Asia, eastern and southern Africa. It is caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), a phloem-limited, nonculturable bacterium transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid ( Diaphorina citri ) in Asia. A PCR-based assay was developed for monitoring Las in vector psyllids using a rapid DNA extraction from psyllid bodies and PCR amplification. The entire procedure for Las detection in psyllids can be completed within 5 h. Using this method, Las can be accurately detected in psyllid adults as well as nymphs in different instar stages. The assay is sensitive enough for Las detection in single-psyllid extract from adult, fifth, fourth and third instars. In a transovarial transmission experiment, Las was not detected in eggs or in offspring produced by Las-carrying psyllid females. In a retention test, the Las-carrying psyllids remained Las-positive for 12 weeks after they were moved to common jasmine orange, a Las-immune plant. From these experimental results it was concluded that Las persists in the Asian citrus psyllid vector, but is not transovarially transmitted by the vector. These data help in understanding epidemiological characteristics of Las and psyllids in citrus HLB.
16 GGCACTTCTTCCATAGACCTT CATCACCCAATTCGTCTTTT MdNAC 24 ACTAGTATTCTGGCGGATGG GGCTGATGATGGCAAGTTCA MdNAC 30 GCCAATATAGATCAGAATC TGTCATCACCGTCAACTTCA MdNAC 32 CGGTTGCTATTATCGCTGAA CTGCCCTATTGGGTCTCG MdNAC 33 CAGCAAGGCCAAGGACAAA TTACTGCCAATGCCCGAAC MdNAC 41 AGGCTGCTTTTGTCGTGTGC AAGATCTCGGTCCAGCCTCA MdNA

NAC (NAM, ATAF1,2, and CUC2) proteins constitute one of the largest families of plant-specific transcription factors. To date, little is known about the NAC genes in the apple (Malus domestica). In this study, a total of 180 NAC genes were identified in the apple genome and were phylogenetically clustered into six groups (IeVI) with the NAC genes from Arabidopsis and rice. The predicted apple NAC genes were distributed across all of 17 chromosomes at various densities. Additionally, the gene structure and motif compositions of the apple NAC genes were analyzed. Moreover, the expression of 29 selected apple NAC genes was analyzed in different tissues and under different abiotic stress conditions. All of the selected genes, with the exception of four genes, were expressed in at least one of the tissues tested, which indicates that the NAC genes are involved in various aspects of the physiological and developmental processes of the apple. Encouragingly, 17 of the selected genes were found to respond to one or more of the abiotic stress treatments, and these 17 genes included not only the expected 7 genes that were clustered with the well-known stress-related marker genes in group IV but also 10 genes located in other subgroups, none of which contains members that have been reported to be stress-related. To the best of our knowledge, this report describes the first genome-wide analysis of the apple NAC gene family, and the results should provide valuable information for understanding the classification and putative functions of this family. 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Proteomic analysis of the interaction between Brassica Napus Cv. Surpass 400 and virulent or avirulent isolates of Leptosphaeria Maculans

SUMMARY Brassica napus cultivars resistant to Leptosphaeria maculans have been widely used to control the blackleg disease. The B. napus cv. Surpass 400, with major gene resistance derived from B. rapa ssp. sylvestris, was inoculated either with a virulent or an avirulent isolate of L. maculans, and changes in the cotyledon protein patterns were studied by proteomic analysis. The two dimensional (2D) protein gels indicated a plant response quantitatively and qualitatively different, when the compatible and the incompatible interactions were compared. Many differential spots were found in the B. napus proteome subjected to trypsin digestion and analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF), together with data available in the literature, allowed the identification of many proteins involved in stress-related and antioxidant responses, CO 2 fixation, nutrient metabolism, etc. The putative role of some of the identified factors in plant susceptibility or resistance to blackleg disease is discussed.
Language, Memory, and Sense Perception in the Religious and Technological Culture of Antiquity and the Middle Ages

The two persons in whose honor this lecture is named were North American classicists of eminence who had acquired additional training in the oral traditional epics of the former Yugoslavia, an achievement unequaled among scholars of their time. Long before interdisciplinary studies had come into scholarly and curricular vogue, Milman Parry and Albert Lord had attained a literacy in comparative studies that was both severely academic and daringly imaginative. Almost singlehandedly, they initiated the distinct academic field of oral traditional literature, which concerns itself with the study of compositional, performative, and aesthetic aspects of living oral traditions and of texts dependent on oral tradition. Strictly speaking, the work inaugurated by Parry and Lord, and energetically carried forward by John Miles Foley, aspires to a new poetics informed by our growing knowledge of oral tradition. By now the field has grown into a scholarship that cuts across a wide spectrum of the humanities and social sciences, bridging national and religious boundaries and encompassing the multicultural body of the human race.
Suffering Related to Care

Introduction: The meaning and objective of caring is to alleviate suffering. In spite of this fact patients sometimes perceive the provided care as a source of suffering. Care that causes suffering has many forms, ranging from all forms of omission or neglecting the patient and ending with (ab)using the caretaker’s power, ultimately resulting in threatening patient’s life and health and violation of his/her human dignity. Objective: The aim of this study is to outline the concept of suffering related to nursing care. Method: A bibliographic survey focused on the phenomenon of suffering related to care. Results: Suffering related to care (uncaring) arises due to healthcare actions that neglect the holistic and patient-centred approach to care. Inspired by D. J. Riemen, S. Halldorsdottir constructed a theory of caring and uncaring encounters in nursing and health care. Conclusion: Suffering related to care exists but is not inevitable. Reflection on this phenomenon can contribute to changes in the healthcare personnel’s behaviour and attitudes.
PRETREATMENT WITH P 2 Y 12 INHIBITORS IN PATIENTS WITH STABLE CORONARY INTERVENTION UNDERGOING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION Should Clopidogrel Be Given Before Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ?

The evidence supporting pretreatment with clopidogrel in patients with stable coronary artery disease intended for percutaneous coronary intervention is weak. Patients with non–ST-segment–elevation acute coronary syndromes should not receive prasugrel before the coronary anatomy has been defined. European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend that patients with ST-segment– elevation myocardial infarction should receive a P2Y12 inhibitor as early as possible after the initial diagnosis. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommend that patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction receive a P2Y12 as early as possible or at the time of primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Intravenous cangrelor is a new treatment option for patients who have not been orally pretreated with P2Y12 inhibitors.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): an examination of consumer awareness, evaluation and purchase action

Despite marketplace polls reporting heightened consumer interest in and support for companies acting in socially-responsible ways, there remains to date little evidence of such consumer support translating into general purchase behaviour. There is a gap in our knowledge regarding which particular socially-responsible behaviours are likely to prove most influential with consumers and be rewarded with supportive purchase behaviour, and how awareness of firms’ commitments to these behaviours is to be brought to consumers’ attention. It appears from the marketplace success of some socially-responsible, or ‘ethical’ brands, such as The Body Shop and recently launched clothing brands such as American Apparel and Edun, that the reporting and marketing of CSR is gaining popularity, yet there is little extant research to guide these initiatives. The increased expectation in the community that companies should engage in CSR has resulted in organizations being called to account by anti-corporate and other activist groups, and concerned consumers, for their irresponsible behaviours. Organized consumer boycotts achieve much negative publicity resulting in organizations seeking ways to avoid such situations occurring, however, there is limited research to guide managers in the manner to best portray the organization in a positive manner. Further there is scant academic research examining how consumers perceive the CSR activities of organizations and whether there are any subsequent effects on purchase evaluations and behaviour. This paper calls for greater research into the manner in which consumers interpret the corporate social responsibility (CSR) stances of organisations and how these corporate activities form part of the brand beliefs of consumers.
Inferring Definitive Clause Grammars from Multivariate Time Series at Distinct Abstraction Levels

In application domains such as medicine, where a large amount of data is gathered, a medical diagnosis and a better understanding of the underlying generating process is an aim. Recordings of temporal data often afford an interpretation of the underlying pattens. This means that for diagnosis purposes a symbolic, i.e. understandable and interpretable representation of the results for physicians, is needed. This paper proposes the use of definitive-clause grammars for the induction of temporal expressions, thereby providing a more powerful framework than context-free grammars. An implementation in Prolog of these grammars is then straightforward. The main idea lies in introducing several abstraction levels, and in using unsupervised neural networks for the pattern discovery process. The results at each level are then used to induce temporal grammatical rules. The approach uses an adaptation of temporal ontological primitives often used in AI-systems.
Sparse matrix calculations C R A Y2 * on the

The CRAY-2 is sometimes viewed as a CRAY-1 with a faster cycle time. We show that this viewpoint is not completely appropriate by describing some of the important architectural differences between the machines and indicating how they can be used to facilitate numerical calculations. We have been testing kernels and codes on a CRAY-2 prior to the delivery of a machine to Harwell in 1987 and report some results on the solution of sparse equations which indicate that high efficiency can be obtained. We give details of one of the techniques for attaining this performance. We also comment on the use of parallelism in the solution of sparse linear equations on the CRAY-2.
The presence of a primary male caregiver affects children's language skills

This study aimed to determine whether the presence or absence of a primary male caregiver influences a child's language skills. A language test was administered to 342 Afrikaans-speaking 4- to 9-year-olds from various socioeconomic backgrounds. The average percentile ranks for the composite language score as well as for the separate language domains of those participants with primary male caregivers was compared to the percentile ranks of those participants without such caregivers. The group with primary male caregivers fared significantly better, implying that the presence of a primary male caregiver has an influence, direct or indirect, on children's language skills.
Role of Vitamin D in Myogenesis

The secosteroid, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 [1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 ] plays a crucial role in regulating bone formation, remodeling and repair. Beyond its well-established role in skeletogenesis, gene-targeting studies support a physiological role for 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 in muscle development. There is evidence for expression of vitamin D receptor/vitamin D synthesizing enzyme/transport protein, local production of 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 and uptake of 25(OH)D 3 , implying the existence of vitamin D-endocrine system in myogenic cells. Recently, much interest has been devoted to the effects of 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 on myogenesis. Simply stated, 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 has potent antiproliferative activity on myoblasts and inhibits myoblast differentiation. Intriguingly, recent studies suggest that 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 may stimulate protein synthesis in myotubes and have a role in self-renewal of muscle stem cells. 1α,25(OH) 2 D 3 regulates myogenesis probably through its genomic or nongenomic actions. Understanding how vitamin D signaling contributes to muscle homeostasis may provide a valuable insight into an effective intervention strategy for muscle disorders. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about a possible role of vitamin D in myogenesis.
2 1 D ec 2 01 6 Grand-canonical solution of semi-flexible self-avoiding trails on the Bethe lattice

We consider a model of semi-flexible interacting self-avoiding trails (sISAT’s) on a lattice, where the walks are constrained to visit each lattice edge at most once. Such models have been studied as an alternative to the self-attracting self-avoiding walks (SASAW) to investigate the collapse transition of polymers, with the attractive interactions being on site, as opposed to nearest-neighbor interactions in SASAW. The grand-canonical version of the sISAT model is solved on a four-coordinated Bethe lattice, and four phases appear: non-polymerized (NP), regular polymerized (P), dense polymerized (DP) and anisotropic nematic (AN), the last one present in the phase diagram only for sufficiently stiff chains. The last two phases are dense, in the sense that all lattice sites are visited once in AN phase and twice in DP phase. In general, critical NP-P and DP-P transition surfaces meet with a NP-DP coexistence surface at a line of bicritical points. The region in which the AN phase is stable is limited by a discontinuous critical transition to the P phase, and we study this somewhat unusual transition in some detail. In the limit of rods, where the chains are totally rigid, the P phase is absent and the three coexistence lines (NP-AN, AN-DP, and NP-DP) meet at a triple point, which is the endpoint of the bicritical line.
TUNABLE DELIVERY OF CHEMICAL GRADIENTS OVER LARGE CELL CULTURE SUBSTRATES USING STACKED FLOWS

This paper reports a novel microfluidic device for generating tunable biochemical gradients over large areas on cell culture surfaces. The gradient requires flow, but the inter-diffusing laminar streams are stacked above the surface to generate a steady-state gradient via diffusion in the direction orthogonal to the flow and orthogonal to the surface. Finite-element modelling was used to predict negligible shear forces at the range of gradients possible by tuning flow rates. The surface gradients were characterized with fluorescence microscopy; image analysis verified the presence of a uniform, mono-directional gradient across a 2x2 mm area.
Deep rest-frame far-UV spectroscopy of the giant Lyman α emitter 'Himiko'

We present deep 10h VLT/XSHOOTER spectroscopy for an extraordinarily luminous and extended Lyα emitter at z = 6.595 referred to as Himiko and first discussed by Ouchi et al. (2009), with the purpose of constraining the mechanisms powering its strong emission. Complementary to the spectrum, we discuss NIR imaging data from the CANDELS survey. We find neither for He II nor any metal line a significant excess, with 3σ upper limits of 6.8, 3.1, and 5.8×10 18 ergs 1 cm 2 for C IVλ1549, He IIλ1640, C III]λ1909, respectively, assuming apertures with 200kms 1 widths and offset by 250kms 1 w.r. t to the peak Lyα redshift. These limits provide strong evidence that an AGN is not a major contribution to Himiko’s Lyα flux. Strong conclusions about the presence of Pop III star-formation or gravitational cooling radiation are not possible based on the obtained He II upper limit. Our Lyα spectrum confirms both spatial extent and flux (8.8 ± 0.5 × 10 17 ergs 1 cm 2 ) of previous measurements. In addition, we can unambiguously exclude any remaining chance of it being a lower redshift interloper by significantly detecting a continuum redwards of Lyα, while being undetected bluewards.