Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small Mammals in Hot Deserts: Some Generalizations Revisited

Life originated in aquatic environments and secondarily invaded terrestrial habitats. This invasion entailed coping with radically different physical environments that vary most noticeably from aquatic ones in that they are desiccating, highly variable in temperature, and often suffused with intense shortwave radiation. This contrast reaches its extreme in deserts, the most terrestrial of environments. Deserts can be defined as regions in which precipitation is so low, so infrequent, and so variable that it plays the dominant role in controlling biological productivity (Noy-Meir 1973). Most deserts combine this lack of water with seasonal periods of high temperatures. This combination of heat and aridity produces a profound challenge for animals, including mammals. Mammals, regardless of the habitats they occupy, typically maintain core body temperatures of approximately 37-38 0c. As a result, their primary thermoregulatory problem in most nondesert regions is to maintain body temperature above environmental temperature. For example, mammals may cope with the low temperatures characteristic of cold winters or polar regions by an exaggeration of the primitive mammalian characteristic of a high capacity for metabolic heat generation combined with substantial insulation. In hot deserts, however, high air temperatures, combined with intense solar radiation, produce conditions in which environmental temperature substantially exceeds body temperature. Effective thermoregulation must therefore rely on a mechanism that will move heat out of the body against a temperature gradient. The only such mechanism known in organisms is evaporation of water, which is driven not by temperature gradients but by differences between the water vapor pressure at the animal's surface and in the surrounding atmosphere. To thermoregulate, therefore, desert mammals must use the single resource whose paucity defines these habitats. This requirement provides the fundamental difficulty for mammals occupying hot deserts. The combination of heat and aridity reaches its extremes in the global belts of subtropical deserts that are located near latitudes 30° Nand 30° S. These deserts include the Sonoran Desert, the Sahara Desert, and the Australian deserts. Summers in these regions can be extraordinarily hot. The typical human experience during a summer day in the core of a hot subtropical desert is a combination of ovenlike air temperatures, intense radiaDESERT RODENTS MAY EXPERIENCE
EMI suppression of UAV power in aeromagnetic survey

Recently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become one of the latest application technologies in the aeromagnetic field. Furthermore, high-precision aeromagnetic gradient surveys need higher precision magnetometers, and higher dynamic measurement precision of UAVs. The problem of magnetic interference of UAVs must be solved to implement high-precision aeromagnetic surveys, as the switch mode power supply (SMPS) is one of the most important interference sources of UAVs. Through the analysis of electromagnetic interference (EMI) sources of UAVs and the working characteristics of optical pumping magnetometers, this paper intends to design and optimize the switching power supply circuit, reduce the generation of EMI, and improve the measurement precision of optical pumping magnetometers.
Environmental factors influencing milk urea nitrogen in South African Holstein cattle

By knowing the milk urea nitrogen (MUN) content of dairy cows, the efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization can be improved. The main objectives of this study were to identify and quantify environmental factors affecting MUN in South African Holstein cows. This will enable better interpretation of MUN results by accounting for such factors. A total of 82 900 test-day records of 9 901 Holstein cows from 40 herds participating in the South African National Milk Recording and Improvement Scheme (NMRIS) during the period 2007 to 2010 were used. An analysis of variance was performed to determine environmental factors significantly affecting MUN. Significant factors were herd-test-day, year of calving, parity, number of times milked per day and lactation stage. Herd-test-day had the largest effect, accounting for 48.3% of the total variation. Trends in least squares (LS) means for MUN over lactation stages were similar for all parities; however, means were slightly lower in parity 3 than the first two parities. The LS mean for 2008 was the lowest (13.9 mg/dL) in comparison to other years. Cows milked twice daily had a higher MUN LS mean (15.5 mg/dL) in comparison to those milked three times per day (13.4 mg/dL). Results of this study provided the basis for proper use and better interpretation of MUN data.
Nitrogen-Sparing Mechanisms in Chlamydomonas Affect the Transcriptome, the Proteome, and Photosynthetic Metabolism[W]

This work examines the mechanisms by which Chlamydomonas reinhardtii copes with nitrogen (N) limitation, finding transcriptomic and proteomic changes in multiple metabolic pathways and identifying an N-sparing mechanism that prioritizes respiratory metabolism and shifts the proteomic balance toward proteins with lower N contents, a result with implications for engineering of N-use efficiency. Nitrogen (N) is a key nutrient that limits global primary productivity; hence, N-use efficiency is of compelling interest in agriculture and aquaculture. We used Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a reference organism for a multicomponent analysis of the N starvation response. In the presence of acetate, respiratory metabolism is prioritized over photosynthesis; consequently, the N-sparing response targets proteins, pigments, and RNAs involved in photosynthesis and chloroplast function over those involved in respiration. Transcripts and proteins of the Calvin-Benson cycle are reduced in N-deficient cells, resulting in the accumulation of cycle metabolic intermediates. Both cytosolic and chloroplast ribosomes are reduced, but via different mechanisms, reflected by rapid changes in abundance of RNAs encoding chloroplast ribosomal proteins but not cytosolic ones. RNAs encoding transporters and enzymes for metabolizing alternative N sources increase in abundance, as is appropriate for the soil environmental niche of C. reinhardtii. Comparison of the N-replete versus N-deplete proteome indicated that abundant proteins with a high N content are reduced in N-starved cells, while the proteins that are increased have lower than average N contents. This sparing mechanism contributes to a lower cellular N/C ratio and suggests an approach for engineering increased N-use efficiency.
Travel time estimation oriented freeway sensor placement problem considering sensor failure

ABSTRACT Optimal sensor placement on freeway corridor is of great interest to transportation authorities. However, current traffic sensors are easily subject to various failures. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate sensor failure into the optimal sensor placement model. In this article, a two-stage stochastic model is proposed for the purpose of travel time estimation on freeway corridor. To balance the effectiveness and reliability, a stochastic conditional value at risk (CVaR) model is also proposed. Since both models are too complicated, a customized genetic algorithm is developed. Numerical experiments show that considering sensor failure makes a significant performance improvement in the sensor placement pattern. Sensitivity analysis is also applied to investigate the impact of a number of allowable sensors and different traffic sensor failure probability.
Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes Enhance Angiogenesis Through the Wnt4/β‐Catenin Pathway

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) and their exosomes have been considered as potential therapeutic tools for tissue regeneration; however, the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. In this study, we isolated and characterized the exosomes from hucMSCs (hucMSC‐Ex) and demonstrated that hucMSC‐Ex promoted the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of endothelial cells in a dose‐dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrated that hucMSC‐Ex promoted wound healing and angiogenesis in vivo by using a rat skin burn model. We discovered that hucMSC‐Ex promoted β‐catenin nuclear translocation and induced the increased expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, cyclin D3, N‐cadherin, and β‐catenin and the decreased expression of E‐cadherin. The activation of Wnt/β‐catenin is critical in the induction of angiogenesis by hucMSC‐Ex, which could be reversed by β‐catenin inhibitor ICG‐001. Wnt4 was delivered by hucMSC‐Ex, and the knockdown of Wnt4 in hucMSC‐Ex abrogated β‐catenin nuclear translocation in endothelial cells. The in vivo proangiogenic effects were also inhibited by interference of Wnt4 expression in hucMSC‐Ex. Taken together, these results suggest that hucMSC‐Ex‐mediated Wnt4 induces β‐catenin activation in endothelial cells and exerts proangiogenic effects, which could be an important mechanism for cutaneous wound healing.
A Novel Plasminogen Activator from Snake Venom

A novel plasminogen activator from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom (TSV-PA) has been identified and purified to homogeneity. It is a single chain glycoprotein with an apparent molecular weight of 33,000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.2. It specifically activates plasminogen through an enzymatic reaction. The activation of human native Glu-plasminogen by TSV-PA is due to a single cleavage of the molecule at the peptide bond Arg-Val. Purified TSV-PA, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of several tripeptide p-nitroanilide substrates, does not activate nor degrade prothrombin, factor X, or protein C and does not clot fibrinogen nor show fibrino(geno)lytic activity in the absence of plasminogen. The activity of TSV-PA was readily inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride and by p-nitrophenyl- p-guanidinobenzoate. Oligonucleotide primers designed on the basis of the N-terminal and the internal peptide sequences of TSV-PA were used for the amplification of cDNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction. This allowed the cloning of a full-length cDNA encoding TSV-PA from a cDNA library prepared from the venom glands. The deduced complete amino acid sequence of TSV-PA indicates that the mature TSV-PA protein is composed of 234 amino acids and contains a single potential N-glycosylation site at Asn. The sequence of TSV-PA exhibits a high degree of sequence identity with other snake venom proteases: 66% with the protein C activator from Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix venom, 63% with batroxobin, and 60% with the factor V activator from Russell's viper venom. On the other hand, TSV-PA shows only 21-23% sequence similarity with the catalytic domains of u-PA and t-PA. Furthermore, TSV-PA lacks the sequence site that has been demonstrated to be responsible for the interaction of t-PA (KHRR) and u-PA (RRHR) with plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1.
Cognitive Systems Engineering Educational Software ( CSEES ) : Educational Software Addressing Quantitative Models of Performance

There is a lack of educational technology to support cognitive systems engineering topics such as models of human performance in dynamic environments. This paper describes the Cognitive Systems Engineering Educational Software (CSEES) system, an integrated toolset designed to facilitate curricula related to human judgment and decision-making performance modeling and evaluation. CSEES provides students with the means to generate and analyze performance data using multiple methods. It also includes documentation and tutorials. Its flexible design facilitates adding new judgment and decision making task environments. The paper describes the initial system implementation as a Microsoft Excel addon, a preliminary evaluation as part of a graduate engineering course, and planned future work.
Chlamydomonas reinhardi: Heterozygous Diploid Strains

Zygotes of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi occasionally divide mitotically to give rise to stable diploid vegetative strains. As well as by their mode of origin, these strains are distinguished from haploids by cell and nuclear size, DNA content per nucleus, and chromosome number. Diploid strains heterozygous for a variety of mutant genes are phenotypically wild type and mating-type minus. Thus these mutant genes are recessive to their wild-type alleles, and the mating-type-minus is dominant over the mating-type-plus allele.
Involvement of the dorsal and ventral attention networks in oddball stimulus processing: A meta‐analysis

The aim of this study was to provide the first, comprehensive meta‐analysis of the neuroimaging literature regarding greater neural responses to a deviant stimulus in a stream of repeated, standard stimuli, termed here oddball effects. The meta‐analysis of 75 independent studies included a comparison of auditory and visual oddball effects and task‐relevant and task‐irrelevant oddball effects. The results were interpreted with reference to the model in which a large‐scale dorsal frontoparietal network embodies a mechanism for orienting attention to the environment, whereas a large‐scale ventral frontoparietal network supports the detection of salient, environmental changes. The meta‐analysis yielded three main sets of findings. First, ventral network regions were strongly associated with oddball effects and largely common to auditory and visual modalities, indicating a supramodal “alerting” system. Most ventral network components were more strongly associated with task‐relevant than task‐irrelevant oddball effects, indicating a dynamic interplay of stimulus saliency and internal goals in stimulus‐driven engagement of the network. Second, the bilateral inferior frontal junction, an anterior core of the dorsal network, was strongly associated with oddball effects, suggesting a central role in top‐down attentional control. However, other dorsal network regions showed no or only modest association with oddball effects, likely reflecting active engagement during both oddball and standard stimulus processing. Finally, prominent oddball effects outside the two networks included the sensory cortex regions, likely reflecting attentive and preattentive modulation of early sensory activity, and subcortical regions involving the putamen, thalamus, and other areas, likely reflecting subcortical involvement in alerting responses. Hum Brain Mapp 35:2265–2284, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Social networks and their impact on the earnings of Mexican Migrants

We examine the impact of different types of social networks on the wages earned by unauthorized and legal Mexican migrants during their last U.S. trip. Familial ties raise unauthorized and legal migrants’ hourly wages by an average of 2.6% and 8%, respectively, and friendship ties increase their wages by 5.4% and 3.6%, correspondingly. Furthermore, family ties seem to comparatively favor legal migrants in terms of earnings, raising their wages by approximately 0.9% more than for similar unauthorized migrants. These results underscore the potentially important role of social networks in raising Mexican migrants’ earnings, particularly among unauthorized migrants. By increasing the returns to migration, social networks may provide a stimulus to continued emigration.
Obtaining Lower Forming Voltage and Self-Compliance Current by Using a Nitride Gas/Indium–Tin Oxide Insulator in Resistive Random Access Memory

This paper investigates the characteristics of applying indium-tin oxide (ITO) with and without nitride gas (N2) as the insulator in resistive random access memory (RRAM). After cosputtering an ITO target with N2 as the insulator and capping the same ITO material as the top electrode, the device exhibits rectifier and resistance switching characteristics before and after the forming process, respectively. The Schottky diodelike rectifier mechanism was also verified by various temperature measurements. Furthermore, robust resistance switching at a positive forming voltage, smaller than that required during negative bias forming, can be achieved. Both positive and negative forming processes are examined with current fitting results, which show different dominant mechanisms when using positive or negative biases. All these mechanisms have also been verified by temperature effect experiments, which confirmed the dominant conduction mechanisms. This, in combination with the fact that the positive forming voltage itself is smaller than the negative forming voltage, and decreases with device scale down, provides two highly beneficial results. This good performance achieved by using ITO with N2 suggests significant progress of RRAM and remarkable potential applications.
Aquest tractament no està fet per a mi: aproximació qualitativa a les experiències sobre l'abandonament de la conducta terapèutica en pacients amb malaltia inflamatòria intestinal

Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) represents a high-risk situation for nonadherence because it is a chronic illness, affecting young patients, with an unpredictable course with naturallyoccurring long inactive periods, and sometimes managed by non-convenient or difficult-to-follow therapies. The main goal of this research is to expose the experiences and feelings about IBD patients, as well as identify the specific behaviours they follow, which favour the therapeutic abandonment. The research needs to go through to obtain more and better information about the status of patients, in addition to investigating the problems that lead to ineffective adherence. That way, the present study shows that not only is necessary do investigation about new treatments, but that also is learning more about our patients and their concerns. Only in this way we can solve this global problem. This way, we show a study of qualitative research where there is a phenomenological approach to the experience and feelings of the patients, which have abandoned the scheduled treatment at some point of his life. The results will be obtained through interview in depth and discussion groups, allowing triangulation of data to achieve the maximum rigour and possible validity. Thus, response to the needs of knowledge which is so scarce on the research of therapeutic adherence in patients with IBD, improving the knowledge and the evolution of nurse discipline.
Can Technology and the Media Help Reduce Dysfunctional Parenting and Increase Engagement With Preventative Parenting Interventions?

In an evaluation of the television series “Driving Mum and Dad Mad,” 723 families participated and were randomly assigned to either a standard or technology enhanced viewing condition (included additional Web-support). Parents in both conditions reported significant improvements from pre- to postintervention in their child's behavior, dysfunctional parenting, parental anger, depression, and self-efficacy. Short-term improvements were maintained at 6-months follow-up. Regressions identified predictors of program outcomes and level of involvement. Parents who watched the entire series had more severe problems at preintervention and high sociodemographic risk than parents who did not watch the entire series. Few sociodemographic, child, or parent variables assessed at preintervention predicted program outcomes or program engagement, suggesting that a wide range of parents from diverse socioeconomic status benefited from the program. Media interventions depicting evidence-based parenting programs may be a useful means of reaching hard to engage families in population-level child maltreatment prevention programs.
Activation of estrogen receptor α increases and estrogen receptor β decreases apolipoprotein E expression in hippocampus in vitro and in vivo

Previous evidence indicates that, in carriers of apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4), estrogen therapy increased the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), whereas in individuals carrying ApoE2/3, estrogen therapy reduced the risk of AD [Cauley JA, Zmuda JM, Yaffe K, Kuller LH, Ferrell RE, Wisniewski SR, Cummings SR (1999) J Bone Miner Res 14:1175–1181; Yaffe K, Haan M, Byers A, Tangen C, Kuller L (2000) Neurology 54:1949–1954]. Estrogen mechanisms of action are mediated by two estrogen receptors (ERs), ERα and ERβ. In this study, we determined the relationship between ER subtype and estrogen regulation of ApoE expression in HT-22 cells ectopically transfected with ERα or ERβ, in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons in vitro and in rat hippocampus in vivo by both molecular biological and pharmacological analyses. Results of these analyses demonstrated that activation of ERα either by 17β-estradiol or a specific-agonist, propylpyrazole triol, up-regulated ApoE mRNA and protein expression. In contrast, the ERβ-selective agonist, diarylpropionitrile, down-regulated ApoE mRNA and protein expression. These results demonstrate that, in vitro and in vivo, ApoE expression can be differentially regulated depending on activation of ER subtypes. These data suggest that use of ER-selective ligands could provide therapeutic benefit to reduce the risk of AD by increasing ApoE expression in ApoE2/3 allele carriers and decreasing ApoE expression in ApoE4 allele carriers.
Assessment of the Ethical Orientations of Turkish Teachers

Students’ development in terms of values, moral education and character is crucial for the culture of any society. Considering that these are gained through family and school, school principals and teachers can be the key players. Even if teachers do not deliberately act as models or ethic agents, or their main purpose is not merely ethical education, they still affect the students directly and indirectly. Therefore, exploration of their ethical decisions and what orientations guide them in making those ethical decisions is highly important. In this regard, teachers’ ethical orientation is worth measuring. In this study, Ethical Position Questionnaire [1], which has so far been commonly used to explore ethical orientations of a variety of professionals and cultural groups was translated into Turkish; and validity and reliability study was applied on teachers. Research group consisted of 251 primary school teachers working in state schools located in Kocaeli province, Turkey. To identify the construct validity of Ethical Position Questionnaire (EPQ), factor analysis was conducted. The analysis revealed that EPQ is two factor-structured and these factors explain 45% of the variance. Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency reliability assessed for the total items of Turkish version of EPQ was . 81 and for the first subscale –idealism-, for the second scale –relativism- was found . 84 and . 86 respectively. In conclusion, The Turkish version of Ethical Position Questionnaire was identified as a valid and reliable research tool to assess ethical positions of primary school teachers.
Recognition of radar signals by time - frequency peak filtering

In this paper the recognition of radar signals by the time - frequency peak filtering (TFPF) is considered. The term recognition in this case can be understood as the reconstruction of signal waveform from observations corrupted by additive noise. Time - frequency peak filtering method (TFPF) is based on encoding of the noisy signal as the instantaneous frequency (IF) of a unit amplitude frequency modulated (FM) analytic signal. Estimation of the IF encoded signal, performed by taking the peak of the pseudo Wigner - Ville distribution (WVD), allows to get the estimation of signal waveform. It is shown that the length of the window of the pseudo Wigner - Ville distribution has a great significance for the accuracy of the TFTP algorithm. The performance of the pseudo WVD TFPF is assessed on the real radar signal. It is showed Nearly clear reconstruction of the signal in the low SNR ratio is presented in this paper.