Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Journal of Reproduction and Development

One major side effect of chemotherapy that young women with cancer suffer from is ovarian damage. Therefore, it is necessary to study the pathogenesis of chemotherapeutic drugs in order to develop pharmaceutical agents to preserve fertility. Epirubicin is one of the commonly used chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer patients. This research explored the side effects of epirubicin in mice. We found that epirubicin significantly reduced the body weight, the weight of the ovaries and uteri, and the pups’ number, while melatonin, which is extremely resistant to oxidation, significantly reduced these damages. Moreover, co-treatment with melatonin prevented epirubicin-induced decrease in E2 and progesterone, and the loss of follicles. Mechanism study showed that melatonin significantly reduced the levels of proapoptotic genes p53, Caspase3, and Caspase9 while it upregulated antiapoptotic factors Bcl-2 and Bcl2l1, and antioxidant genes superoxide dismutase 1 and catalase compared with the epirubicin group. In addition, melatonin markedly reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the transcription of Caspase12 and Chop, which is vital in endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-mediated apoptosis. These results indicate melatonin protects against epirubicin-induced ovarian damage by reducing ROS-induced ERS. Therefore, melatonin has a therapeutic potential for the protection of ovarian function and preservation of fertility during chemotherapy.
Effects of recombinant OVGP1 protein on in vitro bovine embryo development

Previously, our group demonstrated that recombinant porcine oviductin (pOVGP1) binds to the zona pellucida (ZP) of in vitro-matured (IVM) porcine oocytes with a positive effect on in vitro fertilization (IVF). The fact that pOVGP1 was detected inside IVM oocytes suggested that this protein had a biological role during embryo development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of pOVGP1 on bovine in vitro embryo development. We applied 10 or 50 µg/ml of pOVGP1 during IVF, embryonic in vitro culture (IVC), or both, to evaluate cleavage and embryo development. Blastocyst quality was assessed by analyzing the expression of important developmental genes and the survival rates after vitrification/warming. pOVGP1 was detected in the ZP, perivitelline space, and plasma membrane of blastocysts. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in cleavage or blastocyst yield when 10 or 50 µg/ml of pOVGP1 was used during IVF or IVC. However, when 50 µg/ml pOVGP1 was used during IVF + IVC, the number of blastocysts obtained was half that obtained with the control and 10 µg/ml pOVGP1 groups. The survival rates after vitrification/warming of expanded blastocysts cultured with pOVGP1 showed no significant differences between groups (P > 0.05). The use of pOVGP1 during IVF, IVC, or both, increased the relative abundance of mRNA of DSC2, ATF4, AQP3, and DNMT3A, the marker-genes of embryo quality. In conclusion, the use of pOVGP1 during bovine embryo in vitro culture does not affect embryo developmental rates but produces embryos of better quality in terms of the relative abundance of specific genes.
Demographics of a seasonal aggregation of white sharks at Seal Island, False Bay, South Africa

3 CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.4 Introduction.4 White sharks Carcharodon carcharias.5 Gaps in knowledge.13 Dissertation outline, aims and objectives.14 CHAPTER 2 STUDY AREA AND GENERAL METHODS.16 Study area.16 Survey methods: Overview.19 CHAPTER 3 USING DORSAL FIN NATURAL MARKS TO IDENTIFY WHITE SHARKS.2
Development of statistical model for forecasting chickpea productivity of Rajkot district in Gujarat state

This paper presents the results of studies conducted to assess the accuracy and capability of a statistical model for forecasting chickpea productivity in the Rajkot District in Gujarat, India. The effects of various climatic factors (rain, maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity and sunshine hours) on chickpea yields during the study are also discussed
COVID-19 mortality: positive correlation with cloudiness and sunlight but no correlation with latitude in Europe

We systematically investigated an ongoing debate about the possible correlation between SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) epidemiological outcomes and solar exposure in European countries, in the period of March – August 2020. For each country, we correlated its mortality data with solar insolation (watt/square metre) and objective sky cloudiness (as cloud fraction) derived from satellite weather data. We found a positive correlation between the monthly mortality rate and the overall cloudiness in that month (Pearson's r(35)=. 779, P<. 001; linear model fitting the data, adjusted R2 =0.59). In Europe, in colder months, approximately 34% to 58% of the variance in COVID-19 mortality/million appears to be predicted by the cloudiness fraction of the sky, except in August in which only ~15% of the variance was explained. The data show a low, negative correlation between the mortality rate with the overall insolation received by the country area in that entire month (Pearson's r(35)=-0.622, P<. 001). Additionally, we did not find any statistically significant correlation between the mortality and the latitude of the countries when the “latitude of a country” was precisely defined as the average landmass location (country centroid). The unexpected correlation found between cloudiness and mortality could perhaps be explained by the following: 1) heavy
Repositório ISCTE-IUL

This paper aims to assess the impact of using vehicles with multiple compartments in a recyclable waste collection system. Such systems perform single-material routes to collect three types of recyclable materials (paper, glass and plastic/metal), where vehicles with a single compartment are used. If vehicles with multi-compartments were used, two or even the three materials could be collected simultaneously without mixing them. A heuristic approach is developed to solve the multi-compartment vehicle routing problem and applied to a real waste collection system operating in Portugal.
Working Paper: Student Engagement in America’s Urban High School Mathematics and Science Classrooms: Construction of a Comprehensive Model and Findings on Race

The purpose of this paper is to construct and evaluate a model of student engagement in classrooms. By following 8 sets of students for one week with Experience Sampling Method (ESM), we collected data from four urban school districts’ mathematics and science classrooms. We measured students’ engagement levels, using Rasch Model Analysis, and examined the relationship between student engagement level and an array of predictors, both time-varying and time-fixed, using 3-level hierarchical linear models (HLM). Based on this model, as well as class observation and focus group interviews, we explored two research questions. The first examines the extent to which classroom activities, such as lecturing, group work and seatwork, influence opportunities to learn in classrooms, as well as student engagement levels. The second is to understand differences of engagement that may vary by race and ethnicity of students, using insights from sociolinguistic research on classroom language. We found that student engagement level varied partly by classroom activities, as well as other factors, as they influence the phenomenological processes favorable for students’ engagement in classrooms. Furthermore, we found that Hispanic students had a lower level of engagement, yet their engagement levels varied by the types of classroom activities. We propose that cultural, pedagogical preferences be taken into consideration for reforming classrooms into more productive, egalitarian sites for student learning. 1 This research is supported by a grant from National Science Foundation #9874246 awarded to the second author. Opinions reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agency. We acknowledge the supports of Ginger Baber, Ted Boydston, Tim Carey, Bridget Cotner, Bill Katzenmeyer, Jeff Kromrey, and Gladis Kersaint, as well as other staff and researchers at David C. Anchin Center at the University of South Florida. We also acknowledge the comments and technical advices of Charles Bidwell, John Linacre, and Benjamin Wright. Address correspondence to Kazuaki Uekawa, 1155 E. 60th Street, Room 340, Chicago, IL 60615; e-mail: kuekawa@alumni.uchicago.edu. Description of hierarchical linear model and application of SAS PROC MIXED used in this paper can found at www.src. uchicago.edu/users/ueka. Please do not quote without our consent as this paper is still under development.
Observation of current-induced, long-lived persistent spin polarization in a topological insulator: A rechargeable spin battery

We report a current-induced, persistent, long-lived, and rewritable electron spin polarization in a 3D topological insulator. Topological insulators (TIs), with their helically spin-momentum–locked topological surface states (TSSs), are considered promising for spintronics applications. Several recent experiments in TIs have demonstrated a current-induced electronic spin polarization that may be used for all-electrical spin generation and injection. We report spin potentiometric measurements in TIs that have revealed a long-lived persistent electron spin polarization even at zero current. Unaffected by a small bias current and persisting for several days at low temperature, the spin polarization can be induced and reversed by a large “writing” current applied for an extended time. Although the exact mechanism responsible for the observed long-lived persistent spin polarization remains to be better understood, we speculate on possible roles played by nuclear spins hyperfine-coupled to TSS electrons and dynamically polarized by the spin-helical writing current. Such an electrically controlled persistent spin polarization with unprecedented long lifetime could enable a rechargeable spin battery and rewritable spin memory for potential applications in spintronics and quantum information.
Social Collaborative Filtering by Trust

Recommender systems are used to accurately and actively provide users with potentially interesting information or services. Collaborative filtering is a widely adopted approach to recommendation, but sparse data and cold-start users are often barriers to providing high quality recommendations. To address such issues, we propose a novel method that works to improve the performance of collaborative filtering recommendations by integrating sparse rating data given by users and sparse social trust network among these same users. This is a model-based method that adopts matrix factorization technique that maps users into low-dimensional latent feature spaces in terms of their trust relationship, and aims to more accurately reflect the users reciprocal influence on the formation of their own opinions and to learn better preferential patterns of users for high-quality recommendations. We use four large-scale datasets to show that the proposed method performs much better, especially for cold start users, than state-of-the-art recommendation algorithms for social collaborative filtering based on trust.
Effects of Suspended Sediment Transport on Invertebrate Drift

Invertebrate drift plays an important role in river ecosystems. Although drift has been studied extensively, the relative importance of the various factors that initiate drift during disturbances remains unclear. Instream gravel mining releases fine sediment and so provides an opportunity to assess the influence of suspended sediment on drift, without the confounding effects of hydraulic changes and bed‐material entrainment associated with floods. This paper examines invertebrate drift responses to increases in suspended sediment during an episode of mining in a Pyrenean river. During short periods of mining activity, suspended sediment concentrations and thus suspended sediment loads (SSLs) increased one order of magnitude at downstream monitoring sections, with maxima similar to those observed during natural floods in the river. Maximum SSLs were recorded at the sections closest to the mining, with downstream transport patterns suggesting that the majority of suspended material was deposited within 1.5 km. Invertebrate drift rates, the number of taxa drifting and the taxonomic structure of the drift changed at sections close to the mining when suspended sediment concentrations and SSLs were high; such changes were not observed at the section 1.5 km downstream. There were significant relationships between SSL and drift, positive for some groups (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) and negative for others (Chironomidae). Our work shows that increases in suspended sediment alone are sufficient to trigger changes in drift, although further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, and especially to explain the varying responses shown by different taxonomic groups. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Genetic algorithms

n·ving organisms are consummate problem solvers. They exhibit a ver­ satility that puts the best com­ puter programs to shame. This observa­ tion is especially galling for computer scientists, who may spend months or years of intellectual effort on an al­ gorithm, whereas organisms come by their abilities through the apparently undirected mechanism of evolution and natural selection. Pragmatic researchers see evolution's remarkable power as something to be emulated rather than envied. Natural selection eliminates one of the greatest hurdles in software design: specifying in advance all the features of a problem and the actions a program should take to deal with them. By harnessing the mechanisms of evolution, researchers may be able to "breed" programs that solve problems even when no person can fully understand their structure. In­ deed, these so-called genetic algorithms have already demonstrated the ability to make breakthroughs in the design of such complex systems as jet engines. Genetic algorithms make it possible to explore a far greater range of poten­ tial solutions to a problem than do con­ ventional programs. Furthermore, as re­ searchers probe the natural selection of programs under controlled and well-un-
“SPONGE CITY”: THEORY AND PRACTICE

China is facing a variety of water problems such as water shortage, water pollution, flooding and aquatic habitat degradation, which are intertwined components of a greater and more complex issue demanding for an equally integrative and comprehensive solution that needs seamless coordination among different authorities. The theory of "Sponge City" is formed in response to China's water issues. Developed on the basis of the theory of eco-system service and landscape security pattern, and with the cases of Beijing, Liupanshui and Qunli National Wetland Park in Harbin as references, this paper explicates the origin, development, content and methodologies of the "Sponge City" concept. The paper also points out that different from traditional engineering-oriented approach and the "grey" infrastructure, the "sponge city", as an ecological approach, is built upon multi-scale hydroecological infrastructure to provide an integrated solution to the prominent water problems in urban and rural areas of China. The successive research field and direction has also been forecasted at the end of the paper.
The dynamic clonal genome and its adaptive potential

Populations of clonal organisms are often represented as being evolutionary inert with persistent genetic fidelity. The advent of molecular methods and the corresponding increased genetic resolution of clonal populations forces a reconsideration of this viewpoint. We review molecular data from viruses, prokaryotes and eukaryotes to support the argument that clones possess a highly dynamic and adaptive genome.
Quantifying Legacy Phosphorus Using a Mass Balance Approach and Uncertainty Analysis

Classic agricultural‐conservation practices may not address decades of phosphorus (P) accumulation, known as legacy P. Identifying and quantifying legacy P sources are necessary to identify the most cost‐efficient conservation practices. A method was developed to identify and quantify legacy P at the watershed scale using a mass‐balance approach and uncertainty analysis. The method was applied to two nutrient‐rich watersheds in northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. Each P import and export to and from the two watersheds was identified and quantified using a probability distribution and uncertainty analysis. The P retained in the soils, reservoirs, and stream systems were estimated from 1925 to 2015. Over 8.5 and 6.1 kg/ha/year of P were added to the Illinois River and Eucha‐Spavinaw watersheds with 53 and 55% from poultry production, respectively. Other major historical sources were attributed to human population and commercial fertilizer. Though currently the net addition of P in the watersheds is small due to the export of approximately 90% of the poultry litter, historically only 14‐19% of all P imported to the Illinois River and Eucha‐Spavinaw watersheds was removed via the reservoir spillways, poultry litter, and food exports. The majority of the retained P is located in the soil, 3.6‐5.8 kg/ha/year, and stream systems, 0.01‐3.0 per ha/year.
Malaysia’s economic success story and challenges

Malaysia has sustained over four decades of rapid, inclusive growth, reducing its dependence on agriculture and commodity exports to become a more diversified, modern and open economy. GDP per capita is now higher than in a number of OECD economies, while poverty and income inequality have declined considerably. Growth has also been remarkably resilient in the face of external shocks. Going forward, the Malaysian government's 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-20) emphasises the need for greater inclusiveness. Continued, gradual fiscal consolidation is a key policy priority, building on earlier energy and food subsidy rationalisation and on the introduction of a goods and services tax. So is continued prudent monetary and financial policy. Further reforms are needed for Malaysia to become a high-income nation around 2020: productivity growth needs to be reinvigorated through various structural reforms while growth needs to become more inclusive. Succes et defis economiques de la Malaisie La Malaisie a connu plus de quatre decennies de croissance rapide et inclusive, reduisant sa dependance a l'egard de l'agriculture et des exportations de matieres premieres, pour devenir une economie plus diversifiee, moderne et ouverte. Le PIB par tete est desormais plus eleve que dans un certain nombre d'economies de l'OCDE, alors que la pauvrete et les inegalites de revenu ont considerablement recule. La croissance s'est egalement montree resiliente face aux chocs externes. Pour l'avenir, le 11eme plan du gouvernement malaisien (2016-2020) souligne l'importance d'une plus grande inclusion. La poursuite graduelle de la consolidation budgetaire est une priorite majeure, dans la foulee de la rationalisation des subventions energetiques et alimentaires et de l'introduction d'une taxe sur les biens et services. La continuation d'une politique monetaire et financiere prudente en est une autre. La Malaisie doit reformer plus avant pour devenir un pays a haut revenu autour de 2020: diverses reformes sont necessaires pour stimuler la croissance de la productivite et pour une croissance plus inclusive.
Harmonic coordinates for character articulation

In this paper we consider the problem of creating and controlling volume deformations used to articulate characters for use in high-end applications such as computer generated feature films. We introduce a method we call harmonic coordinates that significantly improves upon existing volume deformation techniques. Our deformations are controlled using a topologically flexible structure, called a cage, that consists of a closed three dimensional mesh. The cage can optionally be augmented with additional interior vertices, edges, and faces to more precisely control the interior behavior of the deformation. We show that harmonic coordinates are generalized barycentric coordinates that can be extended to any dimension. Moreover, they are the first system of generalized barycentric coordinates that are non-negative even in strongly concave situations, and their magnitude falls off with distance as measured within the cage.
Vitamin K2: Implications for Cardiovascular Health in the Context of Plant-Based Diets, with Applications for Prostate Health

Vitamin K was originally discovered as a blood coagulation factor. But observations regarding intakes in populations and health outcomes lead to a deeper understanding of the differences between vitamins K1 and K2. Studies of warfarin-treated rats and MGP deficient mice led to understanding the central role of MGP in controlling calcification of arteries. A sensitive biomarker assay was then developed, based on a particular species of matrix γ–carboxylation protein OR matrix GLA protein (MGP). Warfarin therapy in people, especially those suffering from chronic kidney disease, was found to cause the highest level of this biomarker desphospho-uncarboxylated MGP (dp-ucMGP). Intervention studies with vitamin K2 brought down levels of dp-ucMGP and also led to relief of some disease endpoints. The process of varicose vein formation includes a role for vitamin K, implicating a lack of vitamin K in the development of varicoceles, which leads to benign prostate hyperplasia. It is likely that much good will be accomplished using vitamin K2 in interventions. Complex, multifaceted diseases will not be treated by single-nutrient solutions. The best interventions will be those which combine vitamin K2 treatment with a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, combined with a healthy lifestyle. 18.0 ± 4.5 to 48.5 ± 9.0 in the lowest and highest quartiles, respectively. Examinations found that 62% of the women had coronary calcifications. In the model adjusted for age and cardiovascular risk factors, increased menaquinone intakes were associated with a decreased calcification prevalence ratio of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.65–0.98), comparing highest to lowest quartile. more recent observational study reported findings contrary to those found in the Prospect-EPIC cohort and the Rotterdam Study. The PREDIMED cohort is a Spanish study to examine the effect of adoption of the Mediterranean Diet on cardiovascular, cancer, and all-cause mortality. The intakes of vitamins K1 and K2 were estimated by FFQ, and endpoints of cardiovascular, cancer, or all-cause mortality were tracked for a median follow-up of 4.8 years. Energy-adjusted intakes of vitamins K1 and K2, respectively, and µg/day in the quartiles for each