Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arterial stiffness and left ventricular diastolic function in the patients with hypertension.

UNLABELLED Arterial hypertension is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis resulting in increased arterial stiffness. It is well known that left ventricular diastolic function declines in patients with hypertension. The study aims to determine the relationship between arterial stiffness and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertension with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction using newly developed ultrasonic imaging. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study including 65 patients with hypertension. Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function was evaluated by 2D-, M-mode by measuring transmitral flow velocity, mitral annular motion velocity using a conventional and tissue Doppler (TDI) ultrasonic system. Asymptomatic atherosclerosis was also determined by measuring the intimae media thickness and stiffness of the common carotid arteries using 2D-, M-mode and tissue Doppler by ultrasonography. RESULTS According to conventional Doppler echocardiography of transmitral and tissue Doppler, diastolic function was classified as normal in 38 patients and abnormal in 27 patients. Of those with diastolic dysfunction, 14 had mild (impaired relaxation) and 13 had advanced (pseudonormal filling) dysfunction. Univariate analysis revealed that index was negatively associated with Em (r = -0.328, p = 0.005), as well as with Em/Am ratio (r = -0.446, p = 0.002). Moreover, a multivariate analysis showed that the TDI-derived Em/Am ratio was significantly associated with age (p = 0.001), relative wall thickness (p = 0.006) and index beta (p = 0.03), while the conventional Doppler-derived E/A ratio was significantly associated only with age (p = 0.001). Arterial stiffness index was the highest in patients with hypertension and normal function (10.2 +/- 3.4) and progressively increased in patients with impaired relaxation (11.5 +/- 3.9), and pseudonormal filling (12.8 +/- 4.5). In a stepwise multiple regression analysis model including: age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, body mass index, and beta index the only factor independently correlated to arterial stiffness was left ventricular average peak systolic velocity. CONCLUSIONS Our data confirm the positive correlation between diastolic dysfunction and arterial stiffness, and suggest that non-invasive assessment of the 13 index might be useful for studying the effects on arterial stiffness of treatment designed to optimize cardiac performance in patients with hypertension. Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients and should be considered a potential target for intervention in diastolic heart failure. TDI-detected left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is accompanied by increased arterial stiffness in newly diagnosed essential hypertension.
High‐resolution map of plastid‐encoded RNA polymerase binding patterns demonstrates a major role of transcription in chloroplast gene expression

SUMMARY Plastids contain their own genomes, which are transcribed by two types of RNA polymerases. One of those enzymes is a bacterial‐type, multi‐subunit polymerase encoded by the plastid genome. The plastid‐encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) is required for efficient expression of genes encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis. Despite the importance of PEP, its DNA binding locations have not been studied on the genome‐wide scale at high resolution. We established a highly specific approach to detect the genome‐wide pattern of PEP binding to chloroplast DNA using plastid chromatin immunoprecipitation–sequencing (ptChIP‐seq). We found that in mature Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplasts, PEP has a complex DNA binding pattern with preferential association at genes encoding rRNA, tRNA, and a subset of photosynthetic proteins. Sigma factors SIG2 and SIG6 strongly impact PEP binding to a subset of tRNA genes and have more moderate effects on PEP binding throughout the rest of the genome. PEP binding is commonly enriched on gene promoters, around transcription start sites. Finally, the levels of PEP binding to DNA are correlated with levels of RNA accumulation, which demonstrates the impact of PEP on chloroplast gene expression. Presented data are available through a publicly available Plastid Genome Visualization Tool (Plavisto) at https://plavisto.mcdb. lsa.umich. edu/.
East Timor: The Price of Freedom

Introduction: East Timor troubled path to freedom the Santa Cruz massacre and its aftermath Indonesia in crisis from autonomy to referendum the paramilitary campaign the United Nations voting for independence betrayal dispersal and deportation - the humanitarian crisis "two weeks too late". Part 1 Colonial failure: settlement and exchange colonial interplay the structure of Timorese society reproduction and resistance pacification - the two political systems. Part 2 East Timor and Indonesia - political developments from the Pacific War to the Portuguese Revolution: Indonesia rebellion. Part 3 Changing strategies - the emergence of political parties and the Indonesian response: party formation diplomacy BAKIN and its allies Fretilin's programme realism Portuguese style coalition the right to independence. Part 4 From coalition to coup and independence - the Indonesia campaign against East Timor: Fretilin and its groupings -the road to Macau a coup and its allies Fretilin's administration Indonesia's border strategy independence and invasion. Part 5 Invasion, resistance and the international response : military myths. Part 6 The Indonesian occupation - "encirclement and annihilation": Fretilin's administration of its areas ideological and military campaigns "a population uprooted". Part 7 "As bad as Biafra" -population resettlement and starvation: resettlement resistance quelled. Part 8 Military control - imprisonment, killings and human rights abuses: disappearances imprisonment "established procedures" a terrorized population. Part 9 Military campaigns and the Indonesian transformation of East Timor: Fretilin - defeat an dre-emergence Operasi Keamanan - the "final cleansing" aid - use and abuse structural transformation - the military project transmigration military monopolies re-education and control. Part 10 "Ascertaining the facts" - the Indonesian-Fretilin ceasefire and the visit of the Australian delegation: ceasefire the delegation's visit interception massacre further visits. Part 11 The development of opposition and Indonesian plans for the resocialization of east Timor: the role of the church and the growing opposition to Indonesian rule the ultimate transformation - Indonesian strategies for birth control military stalemate. Part 12 In their best interests - strategies for East Timor in the international community: strategy, economics and politics monitoring and commitment. Part 13 What of the future? scenarios for East Timor: changes in Indonesia.
Tectonics of the southeastern Australian Lachlan Fold Belt: structural and thermal aspects

Abstract The Lachlan Fold Belt of southeastern Australia is a 700 km wide belt of deformed, Palaeozoic deep and shallow marine sedimentary rocks, cherts, and mafic volcanic rocks. Characterized by large areas of chevron-folded turbidite sequences, linked contractional and strike-slip faults, and superposed thrust-belts of different age and vergence, it has large volumes of granite and low pressure/high temperature metamorphic rocks. Surface structural elements suggest that it formed by massive telescoping and strike-slip translation within a continental margin sediment prism along the former margin of Gondwanaland during the mid-Palaeozoic. Migrating, sporadic compressional and extensional events over the 100 Ma deformational history of the belt produced a crustally thickened, high geothermal gradient orogen, involving non-craton directed thrusting in an inferred convergent margin setting. Compressional periods were marked by eastward-migrating deformation zones involving detachment-related folding and reverse faulting in the largely turbidite dominated sequences. High-grade metamorphic rocks are not part of a metamorphic hinterland, but are largely confined to a shear zone-bounded crustal wedge in the central part of the fold-belt. Extension was marked by localized development of rift basins and half grabens accompanied by extensive granitic magmatism and silicic volcanism. Subsequent basin collapse was by reactivation/inversion of the extensional faults and folding of the basinal sequence. Magmatic activity and high temperature/low pressure metamorphism are linked to a convergent margin setting over much of the Middle Palaeozoic, but with major convergence in the Silurian.
Bias correction of the ENSEMBLES high resolution climate change projections for use by impact models

[1] A statistical bias correction technique is applied to a set of high-resolution climate change simulations for Europe from 11 state-of-the-art regional climate models (RCMs) from the project ENSEMBLES. Modeled and observed daily values of mean, minimum and maximum temperature and total precipitation are used to construct transfer functions for the period 1961–1990, which are then applied to the decade 1991–2000, where the results are evaluated. By using a large ensembles of model runs and a long construction period, we take into account both intermodel variability and longer (e.g., decadal) natural climate variability. Results show that the technique performs successfully for all variables over large part of the European continent, for all seasons. In particular, the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of both temperature and precipitation are greatly improved, especially in the tails, i.e., increasing the capability of reproducing extreme events. When the statistics of bias-corrected results are ensemble averaged, the result is very close to the observed ones. The bias correction technique is also able to improve statistics that depend strongly on the temporal sequence of the original field, such as the number of consecutive dry days and the total amount of precipitation in consecutive heavy precipitation episodes, which are quantities that may have a large influence on, e.g., hydrological or crop impact models. Bias-corrected projections of RCMs are hence found to be potentially useful for the assessment of impacts of climate change over Europe.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RURAL AREAS IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO UMGABABA, A RURAL AREA LOCATED IN THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATAL

The aim of this study was to determine the role of tourism, empowerment and participation in the socio-economic upliftment of the community of Umgababa. The research examines the views of the community on their socio-economic conditions, their willingness to participate in tourism business ventures and their perceptions and attitude towards communicating with other rural communities on tourism development. The study concludes that the socio-economic living conditions of the community of Umgababa are very poor and that empowerment and participation of the community in tourism could be an answer to their problems. Given the opportunity, the majority of the people were willing to participate in a tourism business venture. Investigation revealed that there is an abundance of natural and human resources in Umgababa to start a tourism business. The community also felt that by communicating their knowledge and experience they would be able to help other communities in their own development. CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION 1.
Linear relation between convective cloud drop number concentration and depth for rain initiation

[1] Coalescence of cloud droplets is essential for the production of small raindrops at a given vertical distance above the cloud base (Dp). The rate of droplet coalescence is determined mainly by droplet size, spectrum width and concentrations. The droplet condensational growth is determined by the number of activated CCN (Na) and height above cloud base. Here we show that when the droplet mean volume radius, rv, exceeds ∼13 μm, or when droplet effective radius (re) exceeds ∼14 μm, considerable precipitation mass (>0.03 g kg−1) is likely to be present in growing convective clouds. This is because the rate of droplet coalescence is proportional to ∼rv5 which practically implies the existence of a threshold rv above which efficient warm rain formation can occur, and also because the vertical profile of rv, even in diluted clouds, nearly follows the theoretical adiabatic condensational growth curve. The small observed deviations are mainly caused by deviations from purely inhomogeneous mixing which cause partial droplet evaporation. Consequently, Dp must theoretically change nearly linearly with Na. This is confirmed here observationally, where increasing Na by 100 per milligram (≈cm3 at cloud base) of air, resulted in an increase of ∼280 m in Dpfor both Israeli and Indian deep convective clouds. This means that in highly polluted clouds or where strong cloud-base updrafts occur, clouds have to grow well above the freezing level, even in tropical atmosphere, before precipitation forms either by warm or by mixed-phase processes.
Los microorganismos solubilizadores de fósforo (MSF): una alternativa biotecnológica para una agricultura sostenible

This article reviews in detail the biology of phosphate solubilizing microbes in the soil, to serve as a framework for the development of alternatives for the extensive use of phosphate biofertilizers. Different sources of information, primary and secondary, addressing the various aspects of biosolubilization of phosphorus in the soil, giving priority, but not exclusively, to those published in the last fifteen years, were reviewed. A review of the dynamics of soil phosphorus, the taxonomy of phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms, the mechanisms involved in the solubilization and critical analysis of technology from some relevant results of field tests is presented. It is concluded that phosphate solubilization process is a wide dispersion in the soils of the world, whose biological bases are relatively well understood, which can support in the near future the development of efficient and sustainable biotechnologies for phosphorus nutrition.
Biota, palaeoenvironments and biostratigraphy of continental Oligocene deposits of the South German Molasse Basin (Penzberg Syncline)

Six charophyte, 13 mollusc, four ostracod and nine fish otolith taxa are taxonomically described, and one fruit, one seed and two foraminiferal taxa are briefly noted from the Lower Cyrena Beds and the Lower Coloured Molasse of the Sindelsdorf section near Penzberg (approximately 50 km south of Munich). Our palaeoecological and lithological data from the Lower Cyrena Beds suggest a delta plain with lagoons, estuaries, slowly flowing rivers, lakes and swamps. Faunal and floral elements of the Lower Coloured Molasse indicate lacustrine environments. The gastropod Tympanotonos and the tropical to subtropical fish fauna (Eleotridae, Ambassidae and Cyprinodontidae) suggest a warm, at least subtropical climate. Furthermore, Tympanotonos suggests comparisons with Recent molluscan faunas of the mangrove swamps of the West African coast, and thus hints at mangrove vegetation bordering the coasts of the Upper Bavarian Molasse Sea. A biostratigraphical classification for the Oligocene Molasse deposits of the Penzberg Syncline is established for the first time based on otoliths and charophytes. The Lower Cyrena Beds are attributed to the newly defined otolith zone OT‐O1/2 and probably correspond to the oldest part of the Chara microcera Zone. The lowermost part of the Lower Coloured Molasse can be correlated both with otolith zone OT‐O2 and the Chara microcera Zone. The Sindelsdorf section lies within the Rupelian–Chattian transition zone and thus the chronostratigraphic age is approximately 29–28 Ma.
How to Verify Plagiarism of the Paper Written in Macedonian and Translated in Foreign Language?

AIM: The aim of this study was to show how to verify plagiarism of the paper written in Macedonian and translated in foreign language. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Original article “Ethics in Medical Research Involving Human Subjects”, written in Macedonian, was submitted as an assay-2 for the subject Ethics and published by Ilina Stefanovska, PhD candidate from the Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje (UKIM), Skopje, Republic of Macedonia in Fabruary, 2013. Suspected article for plagiarism was published by Prof. Dr. Gordana Panova from the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delchev, Shtip, Republic of Macedonia in English with the identical title and identical content in International scientific on-line journal “SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGIES”, Publisher “Union of Scientists - Stara Zagora”. RESULTS: Original document (written in Macedonian) was translated with Google Translator; suspected article (published in English pdf file) was converted into Word document, and compared both documents with several programs for plagiarism detection. It was found that both documents are identical in 71%, 78% and 82%, respectively, depending on the computer program used for plagiarism detection. It was obvious that original paper was entirely plagiarised by Prof. Dr. Gordana Panova, including six references from the original paper. CONCLUSION: Plagiarism of the original papers written in Macedonian and translated in other languages can be verified after computerised translation in other languages. Later on, original and translated documents can be compared with available software for plagiarism detection.
Biogeochemistry of a gypsum‐encrusted microbial ecosystem

Gypsum crusts containing multicolored stratified microbial populations grow in the evaporation ponds of a commercial saltern in Eilat, Israel. These crusts contain two prominent cyanobacterial layers, a bright purple layer of anoxygenic phototrophs, and a lower black layer with active sulphate reduction. We explored the diel dynamics of oxygen and sulphide within the crust using specially constructed microelectrodes, and further explored the crust biogeochemistry by measuring rates of sulphate reduction, stable sulphur isotope composition, and oxygen exchange rates across the crust–brine interface. We explored crusts from ponds with two different salinities, and found that the crust in the highest salinity was the less active. Overall, these crusts exhibited much lower rates of oxygen production than typical organic‐rich microbial mats. However, this was mainly due to much lower cell densities within the crusts. Surprisingly, on a per cell‐volume basis, rates of photosynthesis were similar to organic‐rich microbial mats. Due to relatively low rates of oxygen production and deep photic zones extending from 1.5 to 3 cm depth, a large percentage of the oxygen produced during the day accumulated into the crusts. Indeed, only between 16% to 34% of the O2 produced in the crust escaped, and the remainder was internally recycled, used mainly in O2 respiration. We view these crusts as potential homologs to ancient salt‐encrusted microbial ecosystems, and we compared them to the 3.45 billion‐year‐old quartz barite deposits from North Pole, Australia, which originally precipitated gypsum.
Comprehensive evaluation of four high-resolution satellite precipitation products under diverse climate conditions in Iran

Abstract High-resolution, satellite-retrieved precipitation products are useful input data for hydrological predictions and water resources management, especially in developing countries where the availability of ground-based rainfall measurements with high spatial coverage is very limited. In this study, four widely-used satellite rainfall estimates (TMPA-3B42V7, TMPA-3B42RT, PERSIANN, and CMORPH) are evaluated on a dense raingauge network over six regions in Iran with various physiographic and climate conditions. Assessments are implemented at the daily scale for different seasons during the 5-year period 2003–2008. Overall, the results show that 3B42V7 leads to better performance than the other three products over different terrains. According to the relative bias (RBias), one of the verification metrics used in this study; 3B42V7, with an average value of 13.43% over all the regions, matches best with the raingauge observations, while PERSIANN and 3B42RT overestimate precipitation by 78.13% and 31%, respectively. But, CMORPH with RBias of −17.6% tends to underestimate the rainfall amount. Furthermore, the evaluations over different seasons indicate that the best performance for PERSIANN and both TMPA products is during the winter, while for CMORPH it is during the autumn season. From the critical success index (CSI), used to assess the rain detecting skill of satellite products, one can conclude that PERSIANN leads to better estimations during the winter and summer, 3B42RT during the spring, and CMORPH during the autumn. Generally, the analyses implemented in this research provide quantitative information of error characteristics associated with satellite precipitation products over different parts of Iran and thus will offer users a better understanding of satellite rainfall estimates’ applicability in this area. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz Associate editor Not assigned
Sensitivity-Enhanced SPR Sensor Based on Graphene and Subwavelength Silver Gratings

A novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor with graphene and subwavelength gratings is proposed to improve the sensing performance. A series of numerical analyses were performed to investigate the effect of structural parameters on the sensing performance, such as minimum reflectance at resonance (MRR), full width at half maximum (FWHM), and resonance angle. The results indicated that near-zero MRR (2.9 × 10−6) and narrow FWHM (about 3.5 deg) could be obtained by optimizing the geometrical parameters. Moreover, the influence of the number of graphene layers on sensitivity was also studied. The maximum sensitivity of the designed sensor could reach 192 deg/refractive index unit (RIU), which is a great enhancement compared to the silver-only SPR sensor. In addition, ethylene glycol solutions with different refractive indices were detected. The results showed that the sensitivity of the sensor could reach 220.67 deg/RIU, and the proposed sensor had excellent linearity between the resonance angle and refractive index, enabling extensive potential practical sensing applications.
Mechanically Robust, Responsive Composite Membrane for a Thermoregulating Textile

The human body releases heat via four mechanisms: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. The normal core temperature of the human body is around 37 °C, and metabolism may be negatively affected and enzymes/proteins may be destroyed if the core temperature rises above 45 °C. To prevent such overheating, we developed an evaporative–radiative–convective fabric which can control the personal microclimate of the human body through a cooling mechanism (evaporation of perspiration, air convection, and emission of heat radiation directly into the environment). In this work, we fabricated a thermo–moisture sensitive polyurethane/silica aerogel composite membrane which showed super evaporative and radiative effects and which can facilitate the convection process in the human body. We also fabricated a sensitive membrane-based textile which can cool down the human body by releasing body heat. The developed material possessed robust mechanical properties for the longevity of the material, high water-evaporative ability, and air permeability to provide comfort to the wearer. Microclimate-controlled clothing can release most of our body heat to the environment.