Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DNRA and Denitrification Coexist over a Broad Range of Acetate/N-NO3− Ratios, in a Chemostat Enrichment Culture

Denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) compete for nitrate in natural and engineered environments. A known important factor in this microbial competition is the ratio of available electron donor and elector acceptor, here expressed as Ac/N ratio (acetate/nitrate-nitrogen). We studied the impact of the Ac/N ratio on the nitrate reduction pathways in chemostat enrichment cultures, grown on acetate mineral medium. Stepwise, conditions were changed from nitrate limitation to nitrate excess in the system by applying a variable Ac/N ratio in the feed. We observed a clear correlation between Ac/N ratio and DNRA activity and the DNRA population in our reactor. The DNRA bacteria dominated under nitrate limiting conditions in the reactor and were outcompeted by denitrifiers under limitation of acetate. Interestingly, in a broad range of Ac/N ratios a dual limitation of acetate and nitrate occurred with co-occurrence of DNRA bacteria and denitrifiers. To explain these observations, the system was described using a kinetic model. The model illustrates that the Ac/N effect and concomitant broad dual limitation range related to the difference in stoichiometry between both processes, as well as the differences in electron donor and acceptor affinities. Population analysis showed that the presumed DRNA-performing bacteria were the same under nitrate limitation and under dual limiting conditions, whereas the presumed denitrifying population changed under single and dual limitation conditions.
Hybrid approach for multichannel source separation combining time-frequency mask with multi-channel Wiener filter

This paper discusses a hybrid approach for the multi-channel source separation, where both a time-frequency (t-f) mask and a multichannel Wiener filter (WF) are utilized. T-f mask based approaches have been widely studied, because they can separate signals with a low calculation cost. However, the separated signals with a t-f mask usually contain a non-linear distortion. On the other hand, a new multi-channel WF framework employing a spatial covariance matrix model has recently been proposed. With the WF method, we can obtain separated signals of better quality than with a t-f mask, however, the method is computationally expensive because it requires many iterations for the optimization. In this paper, in order to take advantages of both approaches, first we explain the hybrid algorithm by introducing the t-f mask concept to the WF approach. Then we show that the hybrid approach achieves high performance without the iterative calculation for theWF. We also present the way for applying the hybrid method to the case where the number of sources is unavailable.
Candesartan Ameliorates Cardiac Dysfunction Observed in Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2-Deficient Mice

The renin-angiotensin (Ang) system plays a critical role in the regulation of blood pressure, body fluid, electrolyte homeostasis, and organ remodeling under physiological and pathological conditions. The carboxy-peptidase ACE2 is a homologue of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). It has been reported that ACE2-deficient mice develop cardiac dysfunction with increased plasma levels of Ang II. However, the molecular mechanism by which genetic disruption of ACE2 results in heart dysfunction is not fully understood. Here, we generated mice with targeted disruption of the Ace2 gene and compared the cardiovascular function of ACE2–ly mice with that of their wild-type littermates. ACE2-deficient mice were viable and fertile and lacked any gross structural abnormalities. Echocardiographic study detected no functional difference between ACE2–ly and wild-type mice at 12 weeks of age. Twenty-four-week-old ACE2–ly mice displayed significantly enlarged hearts with impaired systolic and diastolic function. The Ang II level was elevated in the plasma and heart of ACE2–ly mice. Pharmacological blockade of Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1) with candesartan attenuated the development of cardiac dysfunction in ACE2–ly mice. These results suggest that enhanced stimulation of AT1 may play a role in the development of cardiac dysfunction observed in ACE2-deficient mice.
Secondary nonresponsiveness to botulinum toxin A in cervical dystonia: The role of electromyogram‐guided injections, botulinum toxin A antibody assay, and the extensor digitorum brevis test

We studied 20 patients with cervical dystonia who had started to respond poorly to botulinum toxin A (BTXA) injections after an initial good response. All patients had extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) tests performed in addition to BTXA immunoprecipition assay (IPA) and mouse bioassay (MBA) antibody testing. The patients were reexamined and then treated with carefully placed electromyogram (EMG)‐guided BTXA. Nine patients had a good clinical response to EMG‐guided injections and all of these patients showed an obvious decrement on the EDB test. All were BTXA blocking antibodies (Abs)–negative via IPA and MBA (apart from one patient who had low BTXA antibodies titers using IPA but no antibodies by MBA). In the other 11 patients, there was a poor clinical response to EMG‐guided BTXA injections. Seven of these 11 had small EDB decrement and BTXA antibodies using IPA, suggesting resistance to BTXA. Of the remaining four patients, two had obvious EDB decrement and low antibody titers via IPA (one of them had no antibodies via MBA), while the other two patients showed obvious decrement on the EDB test and no antibodies via IPA. This study shows that the EDB test correlates better with the clinical response than the antibody assays and that EDB decrement does not always correlate quantitatively with the BTXA antibody titers. In patients with secondary nonresponsiveness, it is recommended that an EDB test is the initial investigation of choice. In those patients where the EDB test does not demonstrate resistance to BTXA, a reexamination of the patients and carefully placed injections under EMG guidance may improve results. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society
Was the Northern Ireland Conflict Religious?

This article considers the claim that the conflict in Northern Ireland was irreducibly religious. After a brief account of the history of the Northern Ireland conflict, the different arguments and counter arguments that bear on the role of religion in causing and sustaining the conflict are considered. An examination of the relationship of Islam to terrorism and the events of 9/11 provides a comparative perspective that is used both to identify similarities and differences between the situation in Ireland and elsewhere and to distinguish and discriminate between different ways in which religious sanction is given to violence. The implications of our findings are then explored with regard to our understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict and with regard to our understanding of the nature of religion more generally.
Satellite and stem cells in muscle growth and repair

The FASEB summer research conference on Skeletal Muscle Satellite and Stem Cells, organized by Thomas Rando, Giulio Cossu and Jeffrey Chamberlain, was held in Indian Wells, California, in July. An international array of researchers gathered to share numerous new insights into the cellular and molecular regulation of stem cells and satellite cells in skeletal muscle biology. The conference is unique in that it brings together investigators from diverse backgrounds, who work on the growth and repair of skeletal muscle in humans and model systems, in health and disease.
Identification of wheat-Thinopyrum intermedium alien disomic addition lines conferring resistance to stripe rust.

Thinopyrum intermedium carries many useful traits for wheat genetic improvement. To identify genes conferring resistance to stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in Zhong4, one of the Zhong series of partial amphiploids from the hybrids of common wheat × Th. intermedium, a cross was made between Zhong4 and a Chinese Spring ph1b mutant (CS-ph1b). The parents, F1, F2 plants and F5 lines of the cross were tested with Chinese predominant race CYR31 of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici in the seedling stage under controlled greenhouse conditions. Of 201 F2 seedlings tested with race CYR31, 149 were resistant and 52 were susceptible. The segregation fit a 3 resistant:1 susceptible ratio, indicating that a single dominant gene conferred resistance to the race CYR31. This result was further confirmed by the segregation of F5 lines into 1:1 ratio (P = 0.77). Using the Schiff dyeing method, the chromosome number in the root-tip cells of 10 F5 resistant lines (total 42 plants) was determined. Two ali.
The association between marijuana smoking and lung cancer: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND The association between marijuana smoking and lung cancer is unclear, and a systematic appraisal of this relationship has yet to be performed. Our objective was to assess the impact of marijuana smoking on the development of premalignant lung changes and lung cancer. METHODS Studies assessing the impact of marijuana smoking on lung premalignant findings and lung cancer were selected from MEDLINE, PSYCHLIT, and EMBASE databases according to the following predefined criteria: English-language studies of persons 18 years or older identified from 1966 to the second week of October 2005 were included if they were research studies (ie, not letters, reviews, editorials, or limited case studies), involved persons who smoked marijuana, and examined premalignant or cancerous changes in the lung. RESULTS Nineteen studies met selection criteria. Studies that examined lung cancer risk factors or premalignant changes in the lung found an association of marijuana smoking with increased tar exposure, alveolar macrophage tumoricidal dysfunction, increased oxidative stress, and bronchial mucosal histopathologic abnormalities compared with tobacco smokers or nonsmoking controls. Observational studies of subjects with marijuana exposure failed to demonstrate significant associations between marijuana smoking and lung cancer after adjusting for tobacco use. The primary methodologic deficiencies noted include selection bias, small sample size, limited generalizability, overall young participant age precluding sufficient lag time for lung cancer outcome identification, and lack of adjustment for tobacco smoking. CONCLUSION Given the prevalence of marijuana smoking and studies predominantly supporting biological plausibility of an association of marijuana smoking with lung cancer on the basis of molecular, cellular, and histopathologic findings, physicians should advise patients regarding potential adverse health outcomes until further rigorous studies are performed that permit definitive conclusions.
Bonding to Different PEEK Compositions: The Impact of Dental Light Curing Units

This study investigated the impact of different light curing units (LCUs) for the polymerization of adhesive system visio.link (VL) on the tensile bond strength (TBS) of different PEEK compositions. For TBS measurements, 216 PEEK specimens with varying amounts of TiO2 (PEEK/0%, PEEK/20%, PEEK/>30%) were embedded, polished, air abraded (Al2O3, 50 µm, 0.4 MPa), conditioned using VL, and polymerized using either a halogen LCU (HAL-LCU) or a LED LCU (LED-LCU) for chairside or labside application, respectively. After thermocycling (5000×, 5/55 °C), TBS was measured, and fracture types were determined. Data was analyzed using a 2-way ANOVA followed by Tukey–HSD, Kruskal–Wallis H and Mann–Whitney U tests as well as a Chi2-test and a Ciba–Geigy table (p < 0.05). Globally, the light curing units, followed by PEEK composition, was shown to have the highest impact on TBS. The HAL-LCUs, compared to the LED-LCUs, resulted in a higher TBS for all PEEK compositions—without significant differences between chairside and labside units. Regarding the different PEEK compositions, PEEK/20%, compared to PEEK/0%, resulted in a higher TBS when both, HAL-LCUs or LED-LCUs were used for labside application. In comparison with PEEK/>30%, PEEK/20% resulted in a higher TBS after using HAL-LCU for labside application. No significant differences were found between PEEK/0% and PEEK/>30%. HAL-LCU with PEEK/20% for labside application showed a higher TBS than HAL-LCU with PEEK/20% for chairside application, whereas LED-LCU with PEEK/>30% for chairside application showed a higher TBS than LED-LCU with PEEK/>30% for labside application.
Efficient context-sensitive generation of referring expressions

3 A Modification of the Algorithm Based on Salience 5 3.1 Motivation: Determining the Context Set : : : : : : : : : : : : : 5 3.2 Preliminaries : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 6 3.3 Outline of the Modified Algorithm : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 7 3.4 Examples : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 9 3.5 Discussion : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 11
SHREC 2010: robust correspondence benchmark

SHREC’10 robust correspondence benchmark simulates a one-to-one shape matching scenario, in which one of the shapes undergoes multiple modifications and transformations. The benchmark allows evaluating how correspondence algorithms cope with certain classes of transformations and what is the strength of the transformations that can be dealt with. The present paper is a report of the SHREC’10 robust correspondence benchmark results.
The discrimination of speech sounds within and across phoneme boundaries.

In listening to speech, one typically reduces the number and variety of the many sounds with which he is bombarded by casting them into one or another of the phoneme categories that his language allows. Thus, a listener will identify as b, for example, quite a large number of acoustically different sounds. Although these differences are likely to be many and various, some of them will occur along an acoustic continuum that contains cues for a different phoneme, such as d. This is important for the present study because it provides a basis for the question to be examined here: whether or not, with similar acoustic differences, a listener can better discriminate between sounds that lie on opposite sides of a phoneme boundary than he can between sounds that fall within the same phoneme category. There are grounds for expecting an affirmative answer to this question. The most obvious, perhaps, are to be found in the common experience that in learning a new language one often
Heterogeneity and Compartmentalization ofPneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominisGenotypes in Autopsy Lungs

ABSTRACT The extent and importance of genotype heterogeneity ofPneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominiswithin lungs have not previously been investigated. Two hundred forty PCR clones obtained from respiratory specimens and lung segments from three patients with fatal P. carinii pneumonia were investigated to detect genetic diversity in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear rRNA operon, the mitochondrial large-subunit (mtLSU) rRNA gene, and the dihydropteroate synthase-encoding gene. For two of the three examined patients, a mixture of different mtLSU rRNA and ITS genotypes was observed. Not all genotypes present in the lungs at autopsy were detected in the diagnostic respiratory samples. Compartmentalization of specific ITS and mtLSU rRNA sequence types was observed in different lung segments. In conclusion, the interpretation of genotype data and in particular ITS sequence types in the assessment of epidemiological questions should be cautious since genotyping done on respiratory samples cannot a priori be assumed to represent all genotypes present within the lung.
Lack of seasonal variations in fertilization, pregnancy and implantation rates in women undergoing IVF.

BACKGROUND Several studies have investigated seasonal variations during IVF. Their results are contradictory, especially concerning fertilization and pregnancy rates. The aim of the present study was to re-evaluate these parameters using a large number of IVF cycles. METHODS A total of 7368 IVF cycles conducted in Switzerland between 1995 and 2003 were retrospectively analysed. To avoid a bias in the evaluation of the fertilization rate, only IVF cycles without ICSI were considered for analysis. Cycles were assigned to seasons according to the date of the beginning of stimulation. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences between the seasons concerning the fertilization, the pregnancy and the implantation rates. However, statistically significant variables deciding on the outcome of an IVF cycle are age, centre, aetiology of infertility and day of transfer. CONCLUSIONS There were no statistically significant seasonal differences in central Europe (Switzerland) that influenced the outcome of IVF treatment. The only statistically significant variables of IVF outcome were age, centre, aetiology of infertility and day of transfer. A change to routine fertility treatment concerning the different seasons should therefore not be taken into account.
Analysis of the Network of Protected Areas in China Based on a Geographic Perspective: Current Status, Issues and Integration

With the continued growth of protected areas (PAs) in China in terms of the number, coverage and varieties of protected objects, how to efficiently manage the protected areas to ensure both resource protection and environmental protection has become a crucial research question. By applying a geographic perspective in an analysis of the development and evolution of protected areas in China, this paper presents the results of an analysis focused on the status and the types of current approaches to the management of natural protected areas to reveal the problems that exist in their management and to further explore an integration strategy for the protected area network. It proposes that the future management of protected areas should prioritize their legal status, the sustainable livelihood of individuals living in close proximity to them, and the establishment of a unified database to achieve grid and information management of the protected areas.
How catalase recognizes H2O2 in a sea of water

Monofunctional heme‐catalases have been studied for many decades but there is still an incomplete understanding of why such a large tetrameric protein with deeply buried active sites is required to accomplish such a simple reaction as H2O2 dismutation. Catalase accomplishes this reaction at a high rate although water at 55 M is expected to compete with H2O2 for the enzyme's active site. Using molecular dynamics simulations we addressed the question as to how catalase selects H2O2 in water. Selection is accomplished through different mechanisms: higher residence time of H2O2 in the vicinity of certain prevalent amino acid residues at the protein surface and substrate channel, coordinated motion of the main passage amino acids that is increased in the presence of H2O2, a gate valve mechanism consisting of the motion of two contiguous phenylalanine residues that drive water molecules out of the final section of the substrate channel, a hydrophobic barrier before the active site that was crossed more easily by H2O2 which kept most of its hydrogen bonds while passing, and finally an increased residence time for H2O2 at the active site. These mechanisms, based on the physicochemical differences between H2O2 and water, provide an explanation as to why such a large tetrameric protein with deeply buried active sites is required to accomplish efficient H2O2 dismutation. Proteins 2014; 82:45–56. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Reflexive Neural Network for Dynamic Biped Walking Control

Biped walking remains a difficult problem, and robot models can greatly facilitate our understanding of the underlying biomechanical principles as well as their neuronal control. The goal of this study is to specifically demonstrate that stable biped walking can be achieved by combining the physical properties of the walking robot with a small, reflex-based neuronal network governed mainly by local sensor signals. Building on earlier work (Taga, 1995; Cruse, Kindermann, Schumm, Dean, & Schmitz, 1998), this study shows that human-like gaits emerge without specific position or trajectory control and that the walker is able to compensate small disturbances through its own dynamical properties. The reflexive controller used here has the following characteristics, which are different from earlier approaches: (1) Control is mainly local. Hence, it uses only two signals (anterior extreme angle and ground contact), which operate at the interjoint level. All other signals operate only at single joints. (2) Neither position control nor trajectory tracking control is used. Instead, the approximate nature of the local reflexes on each joint allows the robot mechanics itself (e.g., its passive dynamics) to contribute substantially to the overall gait trajectory computation. (3) The motor control scheme used in the local reflexes of our robot is more straightforward and has more biological plausibility than that of other robots, because the outputs of the motor neurons in our reflexive controller are directly driving the motors of the joints rather than working as references for position or velocity control. As a consequence, the neural controller and the robot mechanics are closely coupled as a neuromechanical system, and this study emphasizes that dynamically stable biped walking gaits emerge from the coupling between neural computation and physical computation. This is demonstrated by different walking experiments using a real robot as well as by a Poincar map analysis applied on a model of the robot in order to assess its stability.
The Life Cycle of Caravan Parks in Australia: the case of northern New South Wales

ABSTRACT The caravan park sub-sector of the Australian tourism accommodation industry provides at least half of the national tourism bed capacity, and in 2009 generated over A$1.1 billion in annual takings. However, the number of parks and park capacity is in decline nationally while both international and domestic demand for the drive-tourism experience is growing. This sets a trend towards an accommodation facilities shortage for the caravanning sector and exposes its vulnerability. This paper uses a case study of caravan parks in the Tweed Shire, New South Wales, Australia, to examine the life-cycle pattern of these parks as a discrete unit of tourist area development and to consider the sector's future. The sector's history is framed within Butler's (Canadian Geographer 24(1): 5–12 (1980)) concept of the tourist area life cycle (TALC). The historical data demonstrate the urban and market change that has occurred around and within caravan parks of this coastal region over almost two centuries. The pattern of caravan park development and evolution conformed to the involvement, exploration, development, consolidation and stagnation stages of the TALC. In 2011, caravan parks in the Tweed region were at a critical tipping point with potential for either decline or rejuvenation.