Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of ecosystem-based analytic tools to evaluate natural resource damage and environmental impact assessments in the ROPME Sea Area

Given the fragmented political jurisdictions, and substantive environmental damages from petroleum spillage, human development and other anthropogenic perturbations, a need exists for developing a coordinated set of protocols and approaches for determining impacts to activities exerting extra-territorial environmental and ecological pressures on coastal and offshore natural resources in the ROPME Sea Area (RSA; also known as the Gulf), as well as strategies for restoring (or mitigating) natural resources by human activities. Such environmental impact assessment and natural resource damage assessment protocols may readily be developed at the ecosystem level to directly inform localized coastal and marine resource decision-making by resource managers with harmonization to the Gulf level. Instead of traditional methods for gauging environmental impacts (or damages) on a single resource or habitat, impacts of anthropogenic activities may be reviewed on an ecosystem level with a focus on services provided by ecosystem components. This way, relative impacts to ecosystem services can be evaluated in order to determine the overall impacts to the system as a whole, rather than simply to a few targeted resources that exclude critical ecosystem components, functions and services. Examples of such methodologies are discussed in the context of international case studies. Considerations, limitations and strategies for adopting these ecosystem based approaches are presented.
Ekonomik Krizlerde Para Politikası Uygulamaları ve Etkinliği: Türkiye Örneği

Sanayilesmis ulkelerde yasanan krizler bir yana, gelismekte olan ulkelerde de 1980 ve 1990’li yillarda Bankacilik ve Finansal Sistem Krizleri yasanmistir. Merkez Bankalari para politikasiyla dogrudan mudahale ederek dogru kararlarla etkin bir para politikasi uygulamaya calismistir. Bazen de alinan yanlis kararlar krizin etkisini daha da artirmaya sebep olmustur. Bu calismanin amaci para politikasinin genel cercevesini sunarak para politikasinin etkinliginin incelenmesidir. Bu baglamda ilk olarak, ekonomik krizler ve 1990 yilindan sonra yasanan krizlerde para politikasinin etkinligi genel olarak ele alinmistir. Merkez bankalarinin yapilarina deginilerek Turkiye'de uygulanan makroekonomi politikalari ozet olarak verilmeye calisilmistir. Mundell-Fleming modeli uzerinden para politikasinin etkinligi incelenmistir. Ekonomik gostergelerin yardimiyla Turkiye'de 1990 ve 2001 yillari arasi donemde uygulanan para politikasinin, maliye politikasinin uygulanisi ile ters duserek etkinligini gerceklestiremedigi gorulmustur. Para politikasi ve maliye politikasinin birlikte uygulandigi ekonomilerde makroekonomik politikalarin etkin olacagi gorusune varilmistir.
Studies on a new human herpesvirus, Kaposi'ssarcoma-associated herpesvirus

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also called human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), has been been identified in all epidemiological forms of KS as well as in tissue obtained from primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and Multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). The KSHV genome contains several putative oncogenes, suggesting that viral infection may induce cellular transformation and tumorgenesis. Herpesviruses encode a number of different surface glycoproteins, which are involved in virus-host interactions. Studies have shown that the viral glycoproteins H and L form a complex that plays an essential role in viral attachment and cell to cell fusion. Both glycoproteins have been identified in KSHV and were expressed in mammalian cells. Expression studies revealed that KSHV gH and gL exhibit similar features to those seen in other herpesviruses. However, KSI-IV gL appears to traffic independently and may function in cell to cell fusion processes even when expressed alone. KSI-IV de novo infections are rare and the lack of a reliable cell culture system has delayed pathogenesis studies. As part of this thesis the hepatoma cell line HepG2 has been shown to allow limited KSHV infection, as judged by nested PCR. Studies have shown that infection leads to increased apoptosis, although viral replication could not be detected. Furthermore, Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) appeared to modulate the ability of KSHV to infect HepG2 cells. Finally, a microtitre plate assay has been established for the quantification of the KSHV genome. A comparison of plasma and serum samples obtained at the same time point showed that plasma is more reliable in testing for KSHV, the DNA copy number in serum samples being reduced up to 10 fold. In conclusion, this new assay is a potentially useful tool for both diagnostic proposes and research studies.
Study regarding the genetic determination of milk production.

The study of the genetic determinism of some characters in Romanian piebald cattle is based on the date obtained from the age of first calving. Population was consisted of 61 cows belonging to 12 families of parental half-sisters. The characters that have been studied were: age of first calving, amount of milk from first lactation, proportion of milk fat, amount of fat from milk. The method used to assess the genetic determinism is based on the ANOVA variance analyze and correlation between studied characters.
Sediment destabilization by animal tubes

periments were performed on isolated individuals, in order to measure approximate spatiallimits of isolated tube effects, and on arrays of individuals at densities reported previously tobe associated with stable beds. The bed was destabilized at all densities of tubes tested, and thisdestabilization was more pronounced at the higher densities. In the field, stable beds persistdespite the frequently destabilizing influence of animal tubes . We suggest that mucous bindingof sediments by animals, diatoms and/or omnipresent bacteria explains this contradiction . I . IntroductionIndividual structures on an otherwise smooth sea bed (isolated roughness el-ements, in hydrodynamic terms) are known to cause local scour by deflecting fluidof relatively high momentum toward the bed. Such scour is seen around singleblades of marine grasses (Neumann et al., 1970; Scoffin, 1970), biogenous moundsand shell fragments (Young and Southard, 1978), and animal tubes (Gage, 1977) . In contrast to the sediment-destablizing effects of isolated roughness elements isthe widely accepted notion that sediments are stabilized by arrays of seagrass bladesand surface-evident tubes constructed by infauna . This notion has developed fromboth field observational studies (Sanders
Wybrane ksenoestrogeny i ich wpływ na zdrowie człowieka

Xenoestrogens are typically identified as compounds that can interact with estrogen receptors and thus, can act as agonists or antagonists of endogenous hormones. Exogenous estrogens are highly heterogeneous in structure and include metals and synthetic organic compounds such as pesticides, plastics, as well as natural plant-derived xenoestrogens i.e. phytoestrogens. They originate from a wide variety of commonly used sources, including certain plastics, pesticides, fuels, cigarette smoke, cosmetic products and plants. It means that all human population may be exposed to them. Estrogens are recognized as a critical modulator of development, homeostasis in adulthood and the regulation of response to the environment. Xenoestrogens do not have identical properties to endogenous estrogens but perfectly mimic or interfere with all aspects of estrogen-mediated signaling. The increasing evidence suggests that xenoestrogens may cause adverse health effects. Some of xenoestrogens can promote tumor development through the stimulation of cell proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis. On the other hand, phytoestrogens have been shown to exert a protective effect against the development of breast cancer.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Long-Term Synaptic Plasticity: mRNA Localization and Synapse to Nuclear Signaling

Synaptic plasticity, changes in the number and strength of synaptic connections in the brain, represents the best-characterized correlate of learning and memory. Long-term synaptic plasticity is a transcription- and translation-dependent process that can be restricted to subsets of synapses within a single neuron. The model system Aplysia californica provides an excellent model system to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying long-term, learning- related synaptic plasticity. In this thesis, I investigate two cell biological questions that emerge from the requirement for gene expression during synapse-specific plasticity. The first question concerns the spatial regulation of gene expression within neurons. Here, we propose that one mechanism for restricting gene expression to individual synapses is through mRNA localization and regulated translation. I have identified a 66 nucleotide sequence in the 5'UTR of sensorin mRNA that when paired with the sensorin 3'UTR is required and sufficient for sensorin mRNA synaptic localization. My experiments further indicate that this localization element is encoded by a stem-loop structure (Meer et al., 2012). The second question concerns the mechanisms by which synaptically-generated signals are transported from the synapse to the nucleus to initiate transcription. Using the Aplysia sensory-motor co-culture system, I found that the transcriptional regulator CREB-regulated transcriptional co-activator (CRTC) is required for activity-dependent long-term facilitation. Aplysia CRTC (ApCRTC) accumulates in the nucleus when cultures are treated with stimulation inducing activity-dependent heterosynaptic plasticity, but not when treated with activity-independent heterosynaptic plasticity inducing stimulation. Electrophysiological studies show that ApCRTC is functionally required in the postsynaptic (motor) neuron, as injection of dominant-negative constructs block long-term synaptic plasticity.
How Thermophiles Cope with Thermolabile Metabolites

An intriguing question is how thermophilic organisms, in particular hyperthermophilic ones, cope with heat-sensitive thermolabile metabolites. Important phosphorylated metabolites, also used in glucose metabolism, are ATP and ADP. The comparison of the hyperthermophilic enzymes for tryptophan synthesis with the mesophilic homologs has suggested possible strategies by which hyperthermophiles cope with the thermolabile intermediates in tryptophan biosynthesis. In bacteria such as Escherichia coli and serovar Typhimurium, tryptophan synthase is an α2 β2 tetrameric enzyme complex that catalyzes the final two steps in the biosynthesis of tryptophan and involves the conversion of indole 3-glycerol phosphate (IGP) and serine to tryptophan. Important from the point of view of adaptation to thermophily is that interdomain signaling and channeling of NH3 in the enzyme of Aquifex aeolicus were found to be strongly temperature dependent. Hyperthermophiles appear to cope with the limitations posed by thermolabile metabolites and coenzymes by a range of mechanisms including rapid turnover or increased catalytic efficiency, local stabilization, substitution or bypassing, microenvironmental compartmentation, or metabolic channeling. Already some years ago, the enzymes of several metabolic pathways were suggested to be organized into structural and functional units. In this view, metabolic channeling of intermediates between physically associated enzymes that are sequential members of a metabolic pathway can be a major thermoprotective mechanism for thermolabile metabolites and therefore can play a critical role in the physiology of thermophiles.
Ecophysiological Characteristics of Obligate Methanotrophic Bacteria and Methane Oxidation In Situ

Most of the obligate methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) described to date are neutrophilic mesophiles that grow optimally in dilute media. Kinetic analyses generally indicate that bacterial methane uptake occurs by transport systems with a K(sub m) greater than l micronM. These and other properties of MOB are inconsistent with characteristics of methane oxidation in situ. The inconsistencies indicate a need for greater attention to the ecophysiological characteristics of isolates and the design of enrichment and isolation schemes which emphasize ecologically relevant parameters (e.g., low temperature, limited and diverse substrate availability, low water potential).
Further up the Learning Curve: NGOs from Transition to Brussels

The obligation of accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe to approximate and implement European Union environmental directives has forced the environment on the agenda where it might otherwise be eclipsed by other issues. The result might be improvements over time in the media and subject areas in which the EU has spoken if small, inexperienced and under-funded environmental ministries can manage the tremendous costs and institutional skills that these directives impose. EU accession might diminish NGOs' power in some respects and enhance it in others. The environmental agenda is likely to be set in Brussels, not in response to domestic ‘consumer-driven’ demand in the foreseeable future. NGOs will have less flexibility to introduce environmental initiatives that are inconsistent with EU demands. But EU membership creates opportunities to police governments' progress implementing the directives. Creative NGOs can monitor and advocate, forcing their governments, in effect, to make good on promises and embarrass them when they do not.
Population Genetic Structure of Tunas Inferred from Molecular Markers: A Review

In this study, we have reviewed the population genetic structure of eleven tuna species (albacore, bigeye, yellowfin, Pacific bluefin, Atlantic bluefin, southern bluefin, blackfin, longtail, skipjack, frigate, and little tuna) with a global perspective. Based on the studies using molecular markers, there are 50 genetically distinct populations of tuna species worldwide (12 albacore, 4 bigeye, 9 yellowfin, 4 bluefin, 2 blackfin, 2 longtail, 12 skipjack, 2 little tuna, and 3 frigate tuna). It is evident that some tunas (albacore, bigeye, yellowfin, bluefin, and skipjack) have got more attention of researchers than the others (longtail tuna, blackfin tuna, little tuna, and frigate tuna), possibly because of their higher commercial importance. So, the larger number of studies on some species of tuna might be the reason for the higher number of population structure observed. Also, relying on the results of a single molecular marker, which were used in some studies, may produce misleading conclusions. Therefore, complementary sets of markers should be used in assessing population structure. Still, the number of to date revealed genetically distinct populations in some tunas species (albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack) is higher than number of stocks managed by authorities grouped in tuna regional fisheries management organizations. It might be a signal for reevaluation of fishery management of such tunas.
Um mecanismo distribuído de incentivo baseado em crédito para redes oportunistas

Incentive mechanisms are increasingly needed in opportunistic networks that contain nodes with selfish behavior. For this, there are mechanisms based on credit but, that need a virtual bank (central entity) to promote the incentive. However, the existence of this central entity in an opportunistic network may not be possible. Therefore, a credit incentive mechanism is proposed in this paper. The main contribution is that the mechanism does not use a virtual bank for the distribution of credits (reward for forwarding messages), but rather a decentralized approach. In addition, it was proposed a mathematical modeling to represent the collection and distribution of credits in order to avoid Edge Insertion attacks, in certain cases. Finally, the proposed mechanism was evaluated through simulation using real mobility traces and different routing protocols, and compared its performance with the RELICS incentive mechanism. Based on the results obtained we can say that the proposed mechanism is promising in the sense of diminishing the occurrence of selfish nodes. Resumo. Mecanismos de incentivo são cada vez mais necessários em redes oportunistas que contém nós com o comportamento egoı́sta. Para isso, existem mecanismos baseados em crédito mas, que necessitam de uma banco virtual (entidade central) para promover o incentivo. Entretanto, a existência desta entidade central em uma rede oportunista pode não ser possı́vel. Sendo assim, neste artigo é proposto um mecanismo de incentivo baseado em créditos. A principal contribuição é o fato do mecanismo não utilizar um banco virtual para a distribuição dos créditos (recompensa pelo encaminhamento das mensagens), mas sim uma abordagem descentralizada. Além disso, foi proposta uma modelagem matemática para representar a cobrança e distribuição de créditos buscando evitar ataques do tipo Edge Insertion, em determinados casos. Por fim, o mecanismo proposto foi avaliado, via simulação, utilizando traces reais de mobilidade e diferentes protocolos de roteamento, e comparado seu desempenho com o mecanismo de incentivo RELICS. Com base nos resultados obtidos podemos dizer que o mecanismo proposto é promissor no sentido de diminuir a ocorrência de nós egoı́stas 1. 1O primeiro autor deste trabalho foi bolsista da CAPES ao longo do seu curso de mestrado. XXXVII Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação
Multi‐scaled drivers of rural prairie stream metabolism along human activity gradients

Summary 1. Stream metabolism is increasingly used for monitoring and assessment of the biological condition of aquatic ecosystems. However, distal environmental drivers, such as land use, are typically not well connected to the proximate controls, such as stream chemistry, that are usually invoked as driving metabolism. This is particularly true for North American prairie streams and for grassland streams worldwide. 2. Stream metabolism was measured at the outflow of 19 subcatchments of the Red River in southern Manitoba, Canada. Subcatchments represented gradients of nutrient-producing human activities present in the region, that is, wastewater treatment (WWT), livestock production and crop cultivation. Stream metabolism was estimated at all sites using diel changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration over 1 week in the middle of summer. Environmental parameters hypothesised to control stream metabolism were sampled across three spatial scales (stream reach, stream segment and catchment). Model selection using Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) was used to determine linkages between environmental parameters and measures of stream metabolism. 3. Estimated rates of metabolism were within the range of past studies of metabolism in prairie streams, although most streams had negative values of net ecosystem metabolism. However, production-to-respiration ratios were >0.5, at all but three sites suggesting that autochthonous production was an important source of organic matter. 4. The a priori model that best predicted gross primary production (GPP) was the intensity of nutrient-producing human activities (i.e. WWT, livestock and crop cultivation) measured at the catchment scale. Ecosystem respiration (ER) was best predicted by the a priori model comprised of GPP, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). However, model averaging revealed that prediction of ER could be improved by including riparian cover and removing TP from the model. The positive association between GPP and ER suggested that heterotrophic compartments of the ecosystem were modest contributors to variation in respiration rates. 5. Overall, this study suggests that variation of metabolism in prairie streams of southern Manitoba is controlled by human activities occurring at the catchment scale, a finding consistent with current hierarchically structured riverine paradigms. Moreover, increased understanding of the hierarchical structure of stream metabolism drivers will help to ensure that assessment results can be used more effectively to inform management strategies for prairie ecosystems.
Introduction

Security Governance is a term that has slowly developed as an organizing concept over, perhaps, the last ten years. It seeks to capture something that is obvious to both analysts and policy-makers, yet also rather amorphous: a multiplicity of actors in the security field, a broadening of the activities that might be deemed to lie in the in field of security, and also the way in which security issues and discourses have been the subject to a variety of forms of institutionalization. And ‘governance’ seems a reasonable frame with which to try to develop a holistic focus on those three interrelated dimensions: governance, after all, is a well-developed concept that allows analysts to examine regulation and management in a number of issue areas, not least those within the European Union. Recent scholarship in the field has been incisive, with far-reaching implications (for example, Kirchner and Sperling 2007a, 2007b, 2010, Webber 2007, Wagnsson et al. 2009). Yet, we argue in this special issue that there is still more work to do to develop what is meant by ‘security governance’, because to date, much of the work in the field has focused far more on the ‘governance’ aspect of the concept than it has on the ‘security’ side. Kirchner and Sperling (2007a) argued that the key functions of security governance lie in the emphasis on conflict prevention, and institution building; Webber (2007) argued that security governance as a system was bounded, and that the three aspects that follow were the nature and contestation of the ‘region’, the level of institutionalization within, and the compliance of the actors with the norms of the system of security governance. We do not argue with these insights. Rather, by injecting security theory into the concept, we suggest that it can be made into a far more rigorous tool, and one that can be deployed to understand the key aspects of a variety of issues framed in the security field. The first section of this special issue, then, attempts to develop the theoretical framework and to examine how that might be applied. The first article is the conceptual foundation for the Special Issue, and sets out the core theoretical dimensions that the authors in this special issue have engaged with, in different ways. In the main, this has included: how EU security logics are constructed; how such EU security logics have played out in terms of governance/governmentality; and what the main implications have been in terms of the EU’s security governance practice. The implications of the framework are examined in terms of implementation in the two subsequent papers: first at the macro level by Schulz and Söderbaum, and then at the micro level by Barnutz. Schulz and Söderbaum ask, in the light of the foundational theory paper, how might a ‘security heavy’ notion of security governance shape the way in which regional conflicts outside Europe are understood and comprehended? European Security Vol. 19, No. 3, September 2010, 337 340
The Impact of Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) on Parental Involvement and HISD Students' Achievement in Language Arts and Reading. Evaluation Report.

The Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) program targeted students in nine Houston Independent School District (HISD) schools during the 2016–2017 school year. A component of the APTT model included group meetings where teachers provided parents strategies to create home-learning environments to support their child. This report examines the relationship between parents’ attendance at group meetings and student academic achievement. This report also describes parents’ experiences during their participation in the APTT group meetings.