Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A mail survey to estimate the fishery dynamics of southern Florida's bonefish charter fleet

Bonefish, Albula vulpes (L.), support an economically important recreational fishery in southern Florida, USA that has received little scientific study and has never been adequately assessed. A mail survey of 322 captains that comprise the southern Florida bonefish charter fleet was conducted to acquire a baseline understanding of the primary fishery statistics. The response rate was 59% and a follow-up telephone survey of non-respondents indicated no non-response bias. Experience in the fishery ranged from 3 to 61 years. The annual fishing effort was 30 875 boat days. The majority of the fleet fishing effort occurred in the northern Florida Keys and is presumed to reflect bonefish abundance. The instantaneous mortality rate of released fish was 0.11 year−1. The majority of the respondents indicated that the bonefish stock had declined over the past decade.
Kritični faktori uspjeha u sustavima upravljanja kvalitetom

Pregledni rad Svrha ovog rada je identificirati kritične faktore uspjeha za implementaciju sustava upravljanja kvalitetom. S tim ciljem, prvo su kategorizirani kritični faktori uspjeha prema različitim modelima izvrsnosti (EFQM, MBNQA, DP), a potom su prikazani rezultati relevantnih empirijskih istraživanja (preko 30 istraživanja). Na kraju je dan pregled najznačajnijih obilježja identificiranih kritičnih faktora uspješnosti s preporukom njihova korištenja.
Phylogeographical variation of chloroplast DNA in holm oak (Quercus ilex L.)

Variation in the lengths of restriction fragments (RFLPs) of the whole chloroplast DNA molecule was studied in 174 populations of Quercus ilex L. sampled over the entire distribution of this evergreen and mainly Mediterranean oak species. By using five endonucleases, 323 distinct fragments were obtained. From the 29 and 17 cpDNA changes identified as site and length mutations, respectively, 25 distinct chlorotypes were distinguished, mapped and treated cladistically with a parsimony analysis, using as an outgroup Q. alnifolia Poech, a closely related evergreen oak species endemic to Cyprus where Q. ilex does not grow. The predominant role of Q. ilex as maternal parent in hybridization with other species was reflected by the occurrence of a single very specific lineage of related chlorotypes, the most ancestral and recent ones being located in the southeastern and in the northwestern parts of the species’ geographical distribution, respectively. The lineage was constituted of two clusters of chlorotypes observed in the ‘ilex’ morphotyped populations of the Balkan and Italian Peninsulas (including the contiguous French Riviera), respectively. A third cluster was divided into two subclusters identified in the ‘rotundifolia’ morphotyped populations of North Africa, and of Iberia and the adjacent French regions, respectively. Postglacial colonization probably started from three distinct southerly refugia located in each of the three European peninsulas, and a contact area between the Italian and the Iberian migration routes was identified in the Rhône valley (France). Chlorotypes identical or related to those of the Iberian cluster were identified in the populations from Catalonia and the French Languedoc region, which showed intermediate morphotypes, and in the French Atlantic populations which possessed the ‘ilex’ morphotype, suggesting the occurrence of adaptive morphological changes in the northern part of the species’ distribution.
Association of plasma Fetuin-A and clinical characteristics in patients with new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus.

CONTEXT Fetuin-A is an abundant plasma protein known to inhibit insulin signaling and pathologic calcification, has emerged as a promising candidate biomarker for diabetes risk. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between plasma Fetuin-A level with clinical characteristics in patients with new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (nT2DM). SUBJECTS AND METHODS Plasma Fetuin-A levels, and clinical characteristics were assessed in 100 patients with nT2DM and 100 normal glucose tolerance (NGT). RESULTS nT2DM subjects had significantly higher Fetuin-A levels than NGT subjects (368.5 ± 15.6 vs 152.7 ± 7.1 mg/ml, P < 0.01). In the Pearson's correlation coefficients, Fetuin-A levels and clinical parameters. Fetuin-A was positively correlated with HOMA-insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), carotid intima media thickness(CIMT), HbA1c, triglyceride (TG), Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting plasma glucose (FBG) and 2 h post-glucose load blood glucose (2 h OGTT) (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01), but negatively with fasting plasma insulin (FINS), 2 h plasma insulin after glucose overload (PINS), High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and HOMA-beta-cell insulin secretion index (HOMA-IS) (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). However, no significant relationships were observed between plasma Fetuin-A levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), age and gender in nT2DM subjects. In a multiple linear regression analysis, Fetuin-A levels were independently associated with FBG, 2 h OGTT, HOMA-IS, TG, and CIMT (R(2) = 0.6760). CIMT were negatively associated with FINS and HDL-C (r = -0.33, P = 0.008; r = -0.31, P = 0.01, respectively) in the Pearson's analyses. Moreover, they were positively associated with HOMA-IR (r = 0.28, P = 0.03). It showed significant correlations of plasma CIMT with FINS, PINS and HOMA-IR (R(2) = 0.6760). CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the plasma Fetuin-A levels may be associated with macroangiopathies in nT2DM patients. Therefore, detecting early plasma Fetuin-A levels nT2DM provides an opportunity to intervene of carotid artery disease in diabetic patients and giving timely treatment for the prevention of diabetic vascular complications.
Continuing medical education in child sexual abuse: cognitive gains but not expertise.

OBJECTIVE Describe the effect of an educational intervention on medical provider knowledge and competency regarding child sexual abuse. DESIGN Using a before and after trial design with an educational intervention, the study assesses knowledge changes in specific content areas and describes a post-intervention competency assessment. SETTING/ PARTICIPANTS Voluntary participation of practicing medical providers and pediatric residents. Intervention Completion of a self-study, case-based, published learning curriculum on child sexual abuse, including a work book and videotaped genital examinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Pre- and post-intervention multiple choice and short answer (30 questions) test results as well as a written response to a clinical case scenario. RESULTS Sixty-four participants completed pre- and post-tests. The average posttest score (26.9/30, SD = 4.13) was significantly higher (P< .001) than the average pretest score (20.4/30, SD = 1.65). More than half (59.4%) of providers did not correctly interpret the exam findings, 28.1% did not correctly reassure the child and family, and 39.1% did not indicate an appropriate understanding of the legal implications. CONCLUSIONS Motivated medical providers demonstrated significant knowledge gains regarding the evaluation of child sexual abuse following participation in the educational program. This new knowledge was not enough to provide competency in the interpretation of genital findings or in offering legal advocacy to the families. Competence in these areas may in fact represent the domain of experts, not primary care providers, and further studies are needed to determine how much experience is necessary to provide competency in these areas.
Purification of bovine lens cell-to-cell channels composed of connexin44 and connexin50.

Cell-to-cell channels composed of connexin44 and connexin50 were purified from plasma membranes of calf and fetal bovine lenses. The channels were treated with the nonionic detergents octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside and decyl-beta-D-maltopyranoside, and the channel/detergent complexes purified by ion and gel filtration column chromatography. In negative staining, the channels appeared as annuli 11 +/- 0.6 nm (s.d., n = 105) in diameter and as 16 +/- 0.8 nm (s.d., n = 96) long particles which corresponded to top and side views of 'complete' cell-to-cell channels. The purified cell-to-cell channels were composed principally of a protein, called MP70, that appeared as a diffuse 55-75 kDa band in SDS-PAGE. Dephosphorylation with alkaline phosphatase transformed the diffuse 55-75 kDa band into two distinct bands of almost equal intensity. Immunoblotting showed the bands to be connexin44 and connexin50, respectively. The antibodies also recognized weaker bands composed of the unphosphorylated form of both connexins. The connexins appear to be processed independently 'in vivo'. The unphosphorylated form of connexin50 was present in channels and membranes from fetal, calf and adult bovine lenses, while unphosphorylated connexin44 only in channels purified from fetal lenses. Therefore, lens cell-to-cell channels are composed principally of equal amounts of phosphorylated connexins 44 and 50 that appear to be assembled in the same channel ('hybrid').
Biomarkers of primary open-angle glaucoma

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a primary neuronal disease of the optic nerve without a definable cause, and is often associated with increased intraocular pressure. Worldwide, POAG is the second leading cause of blindness; there are 45 million people today with POAG and bilateral blindness is present in 4.5 million of these. In order to elucidate the possible etiologic factors in POAG, we have cataloged all known biomarkers in the aqueous humor, trabecular meshwork, optic nerve and blood into four categories, namely extracellular matrix (ECM), cell signaling molecules, aging/stress and immunity-related changes. We present a theoretical model to show possible signaling pathways of the ECM, cell signaling and innate immune response through activation of Toll-like receptor 4. Our article suggests that ECM and innate immune biomarkers are the lead candidates for developing the ‘POAG biomarker signature’. We suggest that current research is critical to pinpoint the causes of the disease so that new treatment modalities can become available for better regulation of the intraocular pressure and neuroprotection of the optic nerve.
Old Yellow Enzyme from Candida macedoniensis Catalyzes the Stereospecific Reduction of the C=C Bond of Ketoisophorone

Microorganisms were screened for ones that reduced 3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexene-1,4-dione (ketoisophorone; KIP), and several strains were found to produce (6R)-2,2,6-trimethylcyclohexane-1,4-dione (levodione). The enzyme catalyzing the reduction of the C=C bond of KIP to yield (6R)-levodione was isolated from Candida macedoniensis AKU4588. The results of primary structural analysis and its enzymatic properties suggested that the enzyme might be an Old Yellow Enzyme family protein.
Flood Hazard Mapping with Participatory GIS

With cities representing concentrations of risk from many of the impacts of climate change, local communities are beginning to consider and implement actions to adapt to current or likely future impacts. Tools that can supplement existing community knowledage in assessing flood and other disaster risks have a valuable role to play, particularly in cases where the lack of reliable data in the public domain can impede local level planning. Such tools include Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) which can be used by trained local communities to assess flood risk intensity at a local level and hence develop risk management plans. This article describes how local communities in Gorakhpur, India have used participatory GIS to facilitate local resilience planning.
Assessment of Trace Element Contents in Soils and Water from Cerrado Wetlands, Triângulo Mineiro Region

ABSTRACT In the Brazilian Cerrado biome, there are wetlands locally known as “Veredas”, which are swampy plains between hills and rivers. Since the 1970’s, the Cerrado biome has been gradually converted to livestock, crop, or forestry production. Until now, very few studies were conducted to evaluate the baseline contents of trace elements in Cerrado wetland soils. Due to their position in the landscape (bottom lands), the wetlands are potentially susceptible to contamination by runoff and/or leaching from surrounding areas at [. ]
Utilisation des Structures Combinatoires pour le Test Statistique. (Using Combinatorial Structures for Statistical Testing)

Cette these propose une nouvelle approche pour le test statistique de logiciel a partir d'une description graphique des comportements du systeme a tester (graphe de controle, statecharts). Son originalite repose sur la combinaison de resultats et d'outils de combinatoire (generation aleatoire de structures combinatoires) et d'un solveur de contraintes, pour obtenir une methode de test completement automatisee. Contrairement aux approches classiques qui tirent des entrees, la generation aleatoire uniforme est utilisee pour tirer des chemins parmi un ensemble de chemins d'execution ou de traces du systeme a tester. Puis, une etape de resolution de contraintes est utilisee pour determiner les entrees qui permettront d'executer ces chemins. De plus, nous montrons comment les techniques de programmation lineaire peuvent ameliorer la qualite d'un ensemble de tests. Une premiere application a ete effectuee pour le test statistique structurel defini par Thevenod-Fosse et Waeselynck (LAAS) et un prototype a ete developpe. Des experiences (plus de 10000 realisees sur quatre fonctions issues d'un logiciel industriel) ont ete effectuees pour evaluer notre approche et sa stabilite. Ces experiences montrent que notre approche est comparable a celle du LAAS, est stable et a l'avantage d'etre completement automatisee. Ces premieres experiences nous permettent egalement d'envisager un passage a l'echelle de notre approche. Plus generalement, ces travaux pourraient servir de base pour une nouvelle classe d'outils dans le domaine du test de logiciel, combinant generation aleatoire de structures combinatoires, techniques de programmation lineaire et resolution de contraintes.
Securing democracy : party finance and party donations - the South African challenge

There are many pitfalls in developing and strengthening the institutions required to sustain democracy. This paper looks are the problem of party funding and suggest ways in which current South African regulations may be strengthened. The analysis starts from the premise that South Africa's young democracy is struggling to come to terms with the problems surrounding party finance. The Public Funding of represented Political Parties Act of 1997 places no restrictions on the raising of funds by parties from private sources, domestic or foreign. Although public funding is provided and parties may raise funds from private donors, with no limits or disclosure requirements on the amounts they can secure, the thorny issue is that the aggressive search for funds may induce politicians to listen more to those who help pay for campaigns than they do to those who vote for them.
Integrin cytoplasmic domain-binding proteins.

Integrins are a large family of cell surface receptors that mediate cell adhesion and influence migration, signal transduction, and gene expression. The cytoplasmic domains of integrins play a pivotal role in these integrin-mediated cellular functions. Through interaction with the cytoskeleton, signaling molecules, and other cellular proteins, integrin cytoplasmic domains transduce signals from both the outside and inside of the cell and regulate integrin-mediated biological functions. Identification and functional analyses of integrin cytoplasmic domain-binding proteins have been pursued intensively. In recent years, more cellular proteins have been reported to directly interact with integrin cytoplasmic domains and some of these interactions may play important roles in integrin-mediated biological responses. Integrin (&bgr;) chains, for example, interact with actin-binding proteins (e.g. talin and filamin), which form mechanical links to the cytoskeleton. These and other proteins (e.g. FAK, ILK and novel proteins such as TAP20) might also link integrins to signaling mechanisms and, in some cases (e.g. JAB1) mediate integrin-dependent gene regulation.
PATHOBIOLOGY AND VIRUS SHEDDING OF LOW-PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS (A/H1N1) INFECTION IN MALLARDS EXPOSED TO OSELTAMIVIR

Low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses in wild birds are important as they can constitute the basis for the development of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses or form part of human-adapted strains with pandemic potential. However, the pathogenesis of LPAI viruses is not well characterized in dabbling ducks, one of the natural reservoirs of LPAI viruses. Between 21 September 2009 and 21 December 2009, we used real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR), histopathology, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to study Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) infected with an influenza A/H1N1 virus isolated from a wild Mallard in Sweden. The ducks were either inoculated intraesophageally (“artificial infection”) or infected by virus shed by other ducks in the experiment (“contact infection”). The ducks were subjected to three low concentrations (80 ng/L, 1 μg/L, and 80 μg/L) of the active metabolite of oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), which resulted in the development of the viral resistance mutation H274Y at 1 and 80 μg/L. The LPAI virus infection was localized to the intestinal tract and cloacal bursa except in one Mallard. The exception was a duck euthanized 1 day postinoculation, whose infection was located solely in the lung, possibly due to intratracheal deposition of virus. The intestinal infection was characterized by occasional degenerating cells in the lamina propria and presence of viral antigen as detected by IHC, as well as positive q-PCR performed on samples from feces and intestinal contents. Histopathologic changes, IHC positivity, and viral shedding all indicated that the infection peaked early, around 2 days postinfection. Furthermore, more viral antigen and viral RNA were detected with IHC and q-PCR in the proximal parts early in the infection. There was no obvious difference in the course of the infection in artificial versus contact infection, when the level of OC was increased from 80 ng/L to 1 μg/L (based on IHC and q-PCR), when the level of OC was increased to 80 μg/L, or when the resistance mutation H274Y developed (based on q-PCR).
Outage Analysis of Correlated Source Transmission in Block Rayleigh Fading Channels

A goal of this paper is to theoretically derive the outage probability of the correlated source transmission in block Rayleigh fading channels. The correlation between the two information sources is assumed to be expressed by the bit flipping model, where the information bits transmitted from the second transmitter are the flipped version of the information bits transmitted from the first one, with a probability pe. The source sequences are independently channel-encoded, and then transmitted to the destination block-by-block via different time- or frequency-slots. The channels are assumed to be suffering from independent block Rayleigh fading. This paper shows that the outage probability of this system can be expressed by double integrals with respect to the probability density functions (pdf) of the instantaneous signal-to-noise power ratios (SNRs) of those channels, where the range of the integration is determined by the Slepian-Wolf theorem. The most significant finding made by this paper is that the asymptotic diversity order is one so far as pe is non-zero, and the 2nd order diversity can be achieved only if pe = 0. The major applications of this paper's results include outage evaluation of extract-and-forward (EF) relay systems allowing intra-link (source-relay link) errors, sensor networks, and wireless mesh networks. The latter half of this paper provides results of outage probability calculations for one-way EF relay scenario utilizing the concept of the technique presented in this work.
Improving BitTorrent content delivery over broadcast networks

The paper presents a hybrid P2P-IP/Digital Video Broadcasting platform where user-generated content and services can be enrolled in the frame designated by interactive broadcasting, thus making optimum resource exploitation and become widely available to users with maximum possible QoS. For optimised resource exploitation especially in the backbone segment (DVB-T) the paper elaborates on a prototype broadcast-aware mechanism that assists P2P content distribution among prosumers located in different CMNs by minimising redundant traffic in the downlink stream, thus providing for enhanced scalability and optimised performance. Performance evaluation tests, conducted under real transmission/reception conditions on a prototype that conforms to the design specifications, verified the validity of the Mechanism presented.
Comparison of the Tamoxifen Regulated Chimeric Cre Recombinases MerCreMer and CreMer

Abstract The site-directed recombinase Cre can be employed to delete or assemble genes in the genome of living cells. We have constructed expression vectors for chimeric Cre recombinases carrying a mutated hormone binding domain either at the C-terminus only (CreMer) or at both the N and C-termini (MerCreMer). The chimeric Cre proteins can be activated by culturing transfected cells with 4-hydroxytamoxifen. In transfected embryonic stem (ES) cells, we compared the extent of recombination of a floxed gene with the expression levels of the chimeric Cre proteins. Our data demonstrate that the bulky MerCreMer protein is not less active than the CreMer protein. Thus, the tighter control and low background activity of the MerCreMer enzyme is not due to a generally low recombinase efficiency.
Nature-Inspired Algorithms in Real-World Optimization Problems

: Eight popular nature inspired algorithms are compared with the blind random search and three advanced adaptive variants of diﬀerential evolution (DE) on real-world problems benchmark collected for CEC 2011 algorithms competition. The results show the good performance of the adaptive DE variants and their superiority over the other algorithms in the test problems. Some of the nature-inspired algorithms perform even worse that the blind random search in some problems. This is a strong argument for recommendation for application, where well-veriﬁed algorithm successful in competitions should be preferred instead of developing some new algorithms.
Neuroprotection by hypoxic preconditioning involves upregulation of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1 in a prenatal model of acute hypoxia

The molecular pathways underlying the neuroprotective effects of preconditioning are promising, potentially drugable targets to promote cell survival. However, these pathways are complex and are not yet fully understood. In this study we have established a paradigm of hypoxic preconditioning based on a chick embryo model of normobaric acute hypoxia previously developed by our group. With this model, we analyzed the role of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) stabilization during preconditioning in HIF‐1 signaling after the hypoxic injury and in the development of a neuroprotective effect against the insult. To this end, we used a pharmacological approach, based on the in vivo administration of positive (Fe2+, ascorbate) and negative (CoCl2) modulators of the activity of HIF‐prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs), the main regulators of HIF‐1. We have found that preconditioning has a reinforcing effect on HIF‐1 accumulation during the subsequent hypoxic injury. In addition, we have also demonstrated that HIF‐1 induction during hypoxic preconditioning is necessary to obtain an enhancement in HIF‐1 accumulation and to develop a tolerance against a subsequent hypoxic injury. We provide in vivo evidence that administration of Fe2+ and ascorbate modulates HIF accumulation, suggesting that PHDs might be targets for neuroprotection in the CNS. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.