Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stakeholder-Informed Ecosystem Modeling of Ocean Warming and Acidification Impacts in the Barents Sea Region

Climate change and ocean acidification are anticipated to alter marine ecosystems, with consequences for the provision of marine resources and ecosystem services to human societies. However, considerable uncertainties about future ecological changes and ensuing socio-economic impacts impede the identification of societal adaptation strategies. In a case study from the Barents Sea and Northern Norwegian Sea region, we integrated stakeholder perceptions of ecological changes and their significance for societies with the current state of scientific knowledge, to investigate the marine-human system under climate change and identify societal adaptation options. Stakeholders were engaged through personal interviews, two local workshops, and a web based survey, identifying the most relevant ecosystem services potentially impacted: food provision through fisheries, tourism and recreation, and carbon uptake and export. An integrated system dynamics model was developed which links climate change scenarios to the response of relevant species. The model structure was developed in line with stakeholder perceptions of temperature-dependent multiannual fluctuations of fish stocks, interactions among fish, marine mammal and seabird populations, and ecological processes such as primary production. The model was used for a discourse-based stakeholder evaluation of potential ecosystem changes under ocean warming and acidification scenarios, identifying shifts in ecosystem service provision and discussing associated societal adaptation options. The results pointed to differences in adaptive capacity among user groups. Small-scale fishers and tourism businesses are potentially more affected by changing spatial distribution and local declines in marine species than industrial fisheries. Changes in biodiversity, especially extinctions of polar species, and ecosystem functioning were a concern from an environmental conservation viewpoint. When considering potential additional impacts of ocean acidification, changes observed in the model projections were more uniformly valued as negative, and associated with an increased potential for conflicts among user groups. The stakeholder-informed ecosystem modelling approach has succeeded in driving a discussion and interchange among stakeholder groups and with scientists, broadening knowledge about climate change impacts in the social-ecological system and identifying important factors that shape societal responses. The approach can thus serve to improve governance of marine systems by incorporating knowledge about system dynamics and about societal uses and values.
Malicious Internet Use and Homeland Security

The advantages of speed, security and connectivity, which Information Technology brings to businesses and government, are increasingly empowering international terrorist groups. Tools previously only available to national security agencies are increasingly at the disposal of terrorist cells and rogue nations. Powerful encryption methods are now widely available. Anonymizers, which remove the computer's identifying information so that IP addresses are hidden and cookies and scripts are blocked, represent a new advance in Internet technology. These developments raise important questions about the risks of privacy. The Internet offers terrorists an intelligence and reconnaissance tool, giving wide access to logistical data, and as part of the globalization aspect of the Internet cultural resources can benefit terrorist activity, teaching customs and mannerisms of the target society.
Transcriptome Analysis of Adaptive Heat Shock Response of Streptococcus thermophilus

Streptococcus thermophilus, a gram-positive facultative anaerobe, is one of the most important lactic acid bacteria widely used in the dairy fermentation industry. In this study, we have analyzed the global transcriptional profiling of S. thermophilus upon temperature change. During a temperature shift from 42°C to 50°C, it is found that 196 (10.4%) genes show differential expression with 102 up-regulated and 94 down-regulated at 50°C. In particular, 1) Heat shock genes, such as DnaK, GroESL and clpL, are identified to be elevated at 50°C; 2) Transcriptional regulators, such as HrcA, CtsR, Fur, MarR and MerR family, are differentially expressed, indicating the complex molecular mechanisms of S. thermophilus adapting to heat shock; 3) Genes associated with signal transduction, cell wall genes, iron homeostasis, ABC transporters and restriction-modification system were induced; 4) A large number of the differentially expressed genes are hypothetical genes of unknown function, indicating that much remains to be investigated about the heat shock response of S. thermophilus. Experimental investigation of selected heat shock gene ClpL shows that it plays an important role in the physiology of S. thermophilus at high temperature and meanwhile we confirmed ClpL as a member of the CtsR regulon. Overall, this study has contributed to the underlying adaptive molecular mechanisms of S. thermophilus upon temperature change and provides a basis for future in-depth functional studies.
Prevalence of Burkholderia species, including members of Burkholderia cepacia complex, among UK cystic and non‐cystic fibrosis patients

Purpose. We aimed to establish the prevalence of different Burkholderia species among UK cystic fibrosis (CF) and non‐CF patients over a 2 year period. Methodology. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry was used to identify isolates to genus level, followed by recA/gyrB sequence clustering or species‐specific PCR. In all, 1047 Burkholderia isolates were submitted for identification from 361 CF patients and 112 non‐CF patients, 25 from the hospital environment and three from a commercial company. Potential cross‐infection was assessed by pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi‐ locus‐sequence typing (MLST). MICs were determined for 161 Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) isolates. CF Trust registry data were sought to examine clinical parameters relating to Bcc infection. Results. Burkholderia multivorans was the most prevalent species among CF patients affecting 56% (192) patients, followed by Burkholderia cenocepacia IIIA (15%; 52 patients). Five novel recA clusters were found. Among non‐CF patients, Burkholderia cepacia was the most prevalent species (37/112; 34%), with 18 of 40 isolates part of a UK‐wide B. cepacia ‘cluster’. This and three other clusters were investigated by PFGE and MLST. Cable‐pili positive isolates included two novel sequence types and representatives of ET12. Antibiotic susceptibility varied between and within species and CF/non‐ CF isolates. CF Trust registry data suggested no significant difference in lung function between patients harbouring B. cenocepacia, B. multivorans and other Bcc species (P=0.81). Conclusion. The dominance of B. multivorans in CF, the presence of a B. cepacia cluster among non‐CF patients and the existence of putative novel species all highlighted the continuing role of Burkholderia species as opportunistic pathogens.
Effect of Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition and Saline Administration on Blood Pressure and Renal Sodium Handling During Experimental Sepsis in Rats

Much effort has been made in recent years to clarify metabolic and renal function changes in sepsis. A number of studies performed in different models of sepsis have been described. One such model that is frequently used is cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in rats. This model resembles human sepsis in several important aspects, such as an early phase of hyperdynamic, hypermetabolic sepsis followed by a late hypodynamic, hypometabolic phase. The present study evaluated the blood pressure (n = 5) and renal function changes during development of CLP renal failure and to determine the effects of NOS inhibition (L-NAME) and 0.15 M NaCl administration on tail blood pressure and renal function in randomly assigned five groups (n = 10 each): (1) Sham-operated, (2) Sham-operated L-NAME-treated, (3) CLP rats, (4) CLP L-NAME-treated, and (5) CLP 0.15 M NaCl-treated rats. The basal tail blood pressure was not significantly different among the four groups. One week later, arterial pressure was significantly increased in sham-operated L-NAME-treated rats (159 ± 12 mmHg) compared with the other groups (118 ± 9.0 mmHg in nontreated rats, p<0.05). Blood pressure shows a slightly and not significant decrease up to 12 h in L-NAME and 0.15 M NaCl treated rats, which in turn was followed by a significant reduced arterial pressure 18 h after CLP in both groups (L-NAME: 96.0 ± 3.6 mmHg, p<0.05) and NaCl: 82.3 ± 2.4 mmHg, p<0.05) compared to sham-operated groups. The glomerular filtration rate estimated by CCr decreases significantly in the CLP untreated group (p<0.001) and did not significantly differ from the sham-operated and L-NAME-treated groups (p = 0.4) during the studies of renal tubule sodium handling. On the other hand, subcutaneous 0.15 M NaCl administration prevented CCr decreases in CLP rats (p = 0.25). CLP increased the FENa in the sham-operated from: 857.2 ± 85.1 Δ% min−1 to CLP: 1197.8 ± 119.0 Δ% min−1. The high FENa to CLP was blunted and significantly reduced by previous systemic treatment of animals with L-NAME from sham-operated + L-NAME: 1368.0 ± 72.0 Δ% min−1 to CLP+L-NAME: 1148.0 ± 60.4 Δ% min−1 (p<0.01). The enhanced FENa in the CLP group were accompanied by a significant increase in proximal sodium reabsorption rejection. The salient findings of the present study suggest that a decrease in the blood pressure and creatinine clearance caused by CLP may benefit from L-NAME and fluid resuscitation during initial bacteremia (first 12 h) by promoting an additional increase of tubule sodium reabsorption in the post-proximal segments of nephrons, but these therapies could not prevent acute renal failure after established endotoxemia.
The Effects of Publicly Posted Feedback on Middle School Students' Disruptive Hallway Behavior.

Through a withdrawal-of-treatment design, this study examined the effectiveness of posted numerical feedback on disruptive hallway behavior occurring among middle school students. The effects of public posting and posting paired with verbal praise and feedback on the hallway behavior of a large student group were also examined. Data were also gathered as to the effects of posting and the combined treatment package on noise levels in the hallway. The results suggested that posting alone had little effect on the reduction of disruptive student behavior. Posting alone demonstrated a more positive effect on the collateral measure of detentions, while the results with noise levels were unclear. When public posting was paired with verbal praise and feedback, more positive effects were demonstrated for disruptive student behavior and noise levels. The results of this study suggest that publicly posted feedback paired with verbal praise and feedback from school personnel can be effective in targeting disruptive behavior in group situations. Language: en
Match and mismatch: conservation physiology, nutritional ecology and the timescales of biological adaptation

Conservation physiology (CP) and nutritional ecology (NE) are both integrative sciences that share the fundamental aim of understanding the patterns, mechanisms and consequences of animal responses to changing environments. Here, we explore the high-level similarities and differences between CP and NE, identifying as central themes to both fields the multiple timescales over which animals adapt (and fail to adapt) to their environments, and the need for integrative models to study these processes. At one extreme are the short-term regulatory responses that modulate the state of animals in relation to the environment, which are variously considered under the concepts of homeostasis, homeorhesis, enantiostasis, heterostasis and allostasis. In the longer term are developmental responses, including phenotypic plasticity and transgenerational effects mediated by non-genomic influences such as parental physiology, epigenetic effects and cultural learning. Over a longer timescale still are the cumulative genetic changes that take place in Darwinian evolution. We present examples showing how the adaptive responses of animals across these timescales have been represented in an integrative framework from NE, the geometric framework (GF) for nutrition, and close with an illustration of how GF can be applied to the central issue in CP, animal conservation.
A CCG-based Quality Estimation Metric for Statistical Machine Translation Learning from Human Judgments of Machine Translation Output

Human translators are the key to evaluating machine translation (MT) quality and also to addressing the so far unanswered question when and how to use MT in professional translation workflows. Usually, human judgments come in the form of ranking outputs of different translation systems and recently, post-edits of MT output have come into focus. This paper describes the results of a detailed large scale human evaluation consisting of three tightly connected tasks: ranking, error classification and post-editing. Translation outputs from three domains and six translation directions generated by five distinct translation systems have been analysed with the goal of getting relevant insights for further improvement of MT quality and applicability.
The Effect of Decitabine Combined with Arsenic Trioxide on DAPK Gene and HL-60 Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis

Purpose: Our study was to detect the effect of Decitabine (DAC) combined with arsenic trioxide (AS2O3) on DAPK gene and HL-60 cell proliferation and apoptosis. Methods: DAC and AS2O3 monotherapy, combination treatment and DAC pretreatment were used in this study after incubating with HL-60 cell for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h. CCK8 was used to detect the cell proliferation of HL-60 cell. Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell apoptosis. Then, we used RT-PCR to obtain the gene expression level of DAPK. Results: HL-60 cells were treated with different concentrations of DAC (20 μmol/L, 40 μmol/L, 80 μmol/L), AS2O3 (1 μmol/L, 2.5 μmol/L, 5 μmol/L) monotherapy for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h; along with the extension of the drug concentration and time, proliferation inhibition rate had gradually increased. Monotherapy of DAC, AS2O3 could inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of HL-60 cells, and was time- and dose-dependent. DAC (80 μmol/L) was firstly used for pretreatment, and then, different concentrations of AS2O3 (1 μmol/L, 2.5 μmol/L, 5 μmol/L) were used for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h. It was found that cell proliferation inhibition rate and apoptosis rate had increased significantly. When the two drugs were used together, the increasing proliferation inhibition rate, apoptosis rate and DAPK had become more obvious. Conclusion: DAC and AS2O3 had a synergetic effect for the HL-60 cell proliferation inhibition, apoptosis and expression of DAPK.
Effects of Alcohol Consumption Frequency on Health Index in Korean Women

Background: In this study, we examined the status of Korean women’s alcohol consumption and identified the physical changes they undergo according to the level of consumption. The results of this study may thus be used as raw data to effectively control women’ drinking habits. Methods: This study consists of a secondary analysis using data from female participants in the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(2013–2014, V-2). In total, 863 women were finally selected to analyze their anthropometric data [height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference], blood parameters (total cholesterol, triglyceride, and feeding glucose), blood pressure profile (systolic/diastolic), and nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, lipid, and total energy intake). Results: Women’s alcohol consumption contributed significantly to an increase in body weight, body fat, and BMI as well as to an increase in total energy intake resulting from increased fat consumption. Further, the systolic blood pressure increased significantly when women were exposed to alcohol. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that alcohol consumption in women is associated with a range of adverse health implications. Notably, an increase in drinking frequency significantly affects their body weight, blood parameters, and nutrients, thus posing substantial health risks to the women, including obesity. Therefore, the Korean government should help women curve their drinking habits through regular training and campaigns.
Local search techniques for computing equilibria in two-player general-sum strategic-form games

The computation of a Nash equilibrium in a game is a challenging problem in artificial intelligence. This is because the computational time of the algorithms provided by the literature is, in the worst case, exponential in the size of the game. To deal with this problem, it is common the resort to concepts of approximate equilibrium. In this paper, we follow a different route, presenting, to the best of our knowledge, the first algorithm based on the combination of support enumeration methods and local search techniques to find an exact Nash equilibrium in two-player general-sum games and, in the case no equilibrium is found within a given deadline, to provide an approximate equilibrium. We design some dimensions for our algorithm and we experimentally evaluate them with games that are unsolvable with the algorithms known in the literature within a reasonable time. Our preliminary results are promising, showing that our techniques can allow one to solve hard games in a short time.
The emerging role of CXCL 10 in cancer ( Review )

The chemokine interferon-γ inducible protein 10 kDa (CXCL10) is a member of the CXC chemokine family which binds to the CXCR3 receptor to exert its biological effects. CXCL10 is involved in chemotaxis, induction of apoptosis, regulation of cell growth and mediation of angiostatic effects. CXCL10 is associated with a variety of human diseases including infectious diseases, chronic inflammation, immune dysfuntion, tumor development, metastasis and dissemination. More importantly, CXCL10 has been identified as a major biological marker mediating disease severity and may be utilized as a prognostic indicator for various diseases. In this review, we focus on current research elucidating the emerging role of CXCL10 in the pathogenesis of cancer. Understanding the role of CXCL10 in disease initiation and progression may provide the basis for developing CXCL10 as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for related human malignancies.
INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF MACROLIDE ANTIBIOTICS ON EXACERBATIONS AND HOSPITALIZATION IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE IN JAPAN: A RETROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER ANALYSIS

To the Editor: We appreciate the concerns of Drs. Sutin and Rougas about applying the Assessing the Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) hypertension quality indicators (QIs) to the very old (aged 85) and those with low diastolic blood pressure (BP). Our QIs were based on a literature review and expert panel interpretation of the existing evidence. We focused on systolic hypertension (SH) in response to prevailing lack of systolic BP control in older patients and strong evidence that treatment of SH results in fewer strokes and cardiovascular events in older and very old patients. These benefits appear to be independent of lowering diastolic BP even in the very old. We agree with their concerns about overtreatment of hypertension in older patients. Our literature search targeted possible harmful outcomes of aggressive antihypertensive therapy such as greater risk of falls. We found several observational analyses of the J-shaped relationship between mortality and low diastolic BP, meta-analyses on the very old that we interpreted as inconclusive regarding all-cause mortality, and falls associated with diuretic use. Drs. Sutin and Rougas’ letter has brought to our attention that we should have more strongly emphasized several points in our article. First, ACOVE QIs measure processes of care (i.e., whether the clinician has recommended or provided particular services) rather than outcomes of care (i.e., achieving a health state such as a particular BP). Accordingly, QI 7 focuses on developing and documenting a goal BP through shared decision-making by the clinician and patient, regardless of what BP goal is elected. This focus on shared decisionmaking sets our QIs apart from other performance measures that measure achievement of BP less than 140/90 for adults aged 46 to 85. Second, acceptable care processes aimed at achieving the goal BP include recommending nonpharmacological modifications (QI 9). Third, the QIs allow 6 months to achieve the goal BP before the clinician needs to document why the goal pressure could not be achieved (QI 10). Again, neither QI 9 nor 10 requires achieving the goal BP. Finally, we intended for the documented goal systolic BP to override any of the systolic BP goals that appear in QI 9 and 10, which currently read: ‘‘ . diabetes mellitus or chronic renal disease, 130 mmHg; home ambulatory monitoring 135 mmHg; all other patients, 140 mmHg or any other specified goal’’ (italics added). The final phrase should have, at the least, been offset by a semicolon but would have been more clearly understood as a separate explanatory sentence. We will revise QIs 9 and 10 on RAND’s ACOVE Web site.
Diuretics in clinical practice. Part I: mechanisms of action, pharmacological effects and clinical indications of diuretic compounds

Importance of the field: Diuretics are among the most important drugs of our therapeutic armamentarium and have been broadly used for > 50 years, providing important help towards the treatment of several diseases. Although all diuretics act primarily by impairing sodium reabsorption in the renal tubules, they differ in their mechanism and site of action and, therefore, in their specific pharmacological properties and clinical indications. Loop diuretics are mainly used for oedematous disorders (i.e., cardiac failure, nephrotic syndrome) and for blood pressure and volume control in renal disease; thiazides and related agents are among the most prescribed drugs for hypertension treatment; aldosterone-blockers are traditionally used for primary or secondary aldosteronism; and other diuretic classes have more specific indications. Areas covered in this review: This article discusses the mechanisms of action, pharmacological effects and clinical indications of the various diuretic classes used in everyday clinical practice, with emphasis on recent knowledge suggesting beneficial effects of certain diuretics on clinical conditions distinct from the traditional indications of these drugs (i.e., heart protection for aldosterone blockers). What the reader will gain: Reader will gain insights into the effective use of diuretic agents for various medical conditions, representing their established or emerging therapeutic indications. Take home message: Knowledge of the pharmacologic properties and mechanisms of action of diuretic agents is a prerequisite for the successful choice and effective clinical use of these compounds.