Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of living mulch strategies for winter organic cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) production in Central and Southern Italy

Abstract In crop rotations, cover crops planted either before or concurrent with a main crop and maintained as a living ground cover (living mulch, LM) may provide many beneficial ecosystem services, and can be defined as ‘agro-ecological service crops’ (ASC). The objective of this research was to study the suitability of burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L. var. anglona) as an LM for organic cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) production in a Mediterranean environment. Two LM sowing times (early sowing – sowing concurrent with cauliflower transplanting versus late sowing – 3 weeks later) compared with a no living mulch control (LM-CT) were investigated in central Italy (Experiment 1), along with a comparison between two local cauliflower cultivars and a hybrid. In Southern Italy (Experiment 2), crop performance under two LM sowing times [20 days before cauliflower transplanting versus concurrent sowing (CS)] compared with a no LM-CT , with organic fertilizers and amendments allowed in organic farming as subplots, was assessed. In Experiment 1, no competition was observed between the late-sown ASC and the cash crop. An increase in crop nitrogen (N) uptake and weed mitigation was also determined in this treatment. There was a mixed response when comparing cultivar and LM interactions, with the hybrid cultivar in the late-sown LM producing the greatest yield. In Experiment 2, weather conditions had the greatest effect on crop response. However, an inverse trend between growth of the cash crop and the LM crop was observed in the CS treatment. A positive effect of LM introduction was found, particularly in altering the competitive relationship for N between the cash crop and weeds. In addition, yield results showed that, in LM systems, commercial organic fertilizers could be replaced with locally available organic fertilizers and amendments without any yield penalty. The effectiveness of LM strategies will thus depend on several factors: type of LM, cultivar of vegetable, weather, soils, length of growing season and ability to plant the cash crop into the LM. Initial research suggests the potential for burr medic as a LM for Mediterranean winter vegetable systems, but additional research is needed to ensure the viability of LM systems for longer periods of time.
Infusion of low dose etomidate: correction of hypercortisolemia in patients with Cushing's syndrome and dose-response relationship in normal subjects.

To investigate the adrenostatic potential of a nonhypnotic low dose etomidate infusion, we administered 0.03 mg/kg etomidate in a bolus injection, followed by constant infusion of 0.3 mg/kg.h for 24 h to 6 patients with severe Cushing's syndrome. The dose-response relationship also was determined in 15 normal subjects. Three groups of 5 received, respectively, doses of 0.03, 0.1, and 0.3 mg/kg.h etomidate for 5 h after an initial bolus dose of 0.03 mg/kg. The response to exogenously administered ACTH [0.25 mg ACTH-(1-24)], injected after the etomidate or control infusion, was determined in all normal subjects. In the six hypercortisolemic patients, serum cortisol concentrations decreased from 1374 +/- 436 nmol/L (mean +/- SEM) to 188 +/- 91 nmol/L after 11 h of etomidate infusion and remained low until the end of the infusion. Cortisol levels returned to pretreatment concentrations by 24 h. Excretion of urinary free cortisol decreased from 1180 +/- 196 to 185 +/- 66 nmol/day. In the normal subjects, administration of etomidate led to a dose-dependent decrease in serum cortisol from about 550 to 83 nmol/L, while 11-deoxycortisol rose from low or undetectable levels up to 346 nmol/L. In response to ACTH, cortisol levels rose in inverse proportion to the etomidate dose. It was, however, significantly reduced compared to normal saline infusion even after the lowest dose. Changes in aldosterone and corticosterone concentrations were similar to those in cortisol, and 11-deoxycorticosterone changed in a pattern similar to that of 11-deoxycortisol. Two of five normal subjects reported tiredness during the highest etomidate infusion. No other side-effects were noted. We conclude that iv administered etomidate in a low nonhypnotic dose reduces serum cortisol concentrations in a dose-dependent manner in both hyper- and eucortisolemic subjects. This study suggests that etomidate at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg.h or lower may be an effective strategy for the control of severe hypercortisolemia.
Influence of Hyperhomocysteinemia on the Cellular Redox State – Impact on Homocysteine-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction

Abstract Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. An increasing body of evidence has implicated oxidative stress as being contributory to homocysteine's deleterious effects on the vasculature. Elevated levels of homocysteine may lead to increased generation of superoxide by a biochemical mechanism involving nitric oxide synthase, and, to a lesser extent, by an increase in the chemical oxidation of homocysteine and other aminothiols in the circulation. The resultant increase in superoxide levels is further amplified by homocysteinedependent alterations in the function of cellular antioxidant enzymes such as cellular glutathione peroxidase or extracellular superoxide dismutase. One direct clinical consequence of elevated vascular superoxide levels is the inactivation of the vasorelaxant messenger nitric oxide, leading to endothelial dysfunction. Scavenging of superoxide anion by either superoxide dismutase or 4,5-dihydroxybenzene 1,3-disulfonate (Tiron) reverses endothelial dysfunction in hyperhomocysteinemic animal models and in isolated aortic rings incubated with homocysteine. Similarly, homocysteine-induced endothelial dysfunction is also reversed by increasing the concentration of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione or overexpressing cellular glutathione peroxidase in animal models of mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that the adverse vascular effects of homocysteine are at least partly mediated by oxidative inactivation of nitric oxide.
Comparative Human Landing Catch and CDC Light Trap in Mosquito Sampling in Knowlesi Malaria Endemic Areas in Peninsula Malaysia

Adult mosquito sampling techniques are essential for monitoring transmission of malaria and other mosquito borne infections. Preference for any sampling technique depends on both its field efficiency and the characteristics of local vector populations. Surveys on adult mosquitoes using Human Landing Catch (HLC) and CO2-baited CDC light trap (CDC-LT) techniques were conducted in several knowlesi malaria endemic areas between the months of March to December 2012 in several states of Peninsula Malaysia. These two techniques were relatively compared to determine the preferences of anopheline mosquitoes towards CO2-baited CDC-LT technique using HLC technique as the reference method. Cx. gelidus, An. maculates and An. introlatus were the main three species collected by HLC technique, whereas the species collected by CO2-baited CDC-LT technique were mostly An. cracens, Ar. durhami and Coquillettidia species. Most of the Anopheles species were collected almost exclusively by the human collectors except for An. cracens and An. introlatus which were collected using both techniques. Anopheles cracens was the most dominant species captured using CO2-baited CDC-LT technique. This is the first report showing An. cracens was caught using CO2-baited CDC-LT technique in Malaysia.
Mapping the functional domains of elongation factor-2 kinase.

A new class of eukaryotic protein kinases that are not homologous to members of the serine/threonine/tyrosine protein kinase superfamily was recently identified [Futey, L. M. , et al. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 523-529; Ryazanov, A. G. , et al. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94, 4884-4889]. This class includes eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase, Dictyostelium myosin heavy chain kinases A, B, and C, and several mammalian putative protein kinases that are not yet fully characterized [Ryazanov, A. G. , et al. (1999) Curr. Biol. 9, R43-R45]. eEF-2 kinase is a ubiquitous protein kinase that phosphorylates and inactivates eukaryotic translational elongation factor-2, and thus can modulate the rate of polypeptide chain elongation during translation. eEF-2 was the only known substrate for eEF-2 kinase. We demonstrate here that eEF-2 kinase can efficiently phosphorylate a 16-amino acid peptide, MH-1, corresponding to the myosin heavy chain kinase A phosphorylation site in Dictyostelium myosin heavy chains. This enabled us to develop a rapid assay for eEF-2 kinase activity. To localize the functional domains of eEF-2 kinase, we expressed human eEF-2 kinase in Escherichia coli as a GST-tagged fusion protein, and then performed systematic in vitro deletion mutagenesis. We analyzed eEF-2 kinase deletion mutants for the ability to autophosphorylate, and to phosphorylate eEF-2 as well as a peptide substrate, MH-1. Mutants with deletions between amino acids 51 and 335 were unable to autophosphorylate, and were also unable to phosphorylate eEF-2 and MH-1. Mutants with deletions between amino acids 521 and 725 were unable to phosphorylate eEF-2, but were still able to autophosphorylate and to phosphorylate MH-1. The kinases with deletions between amino acids 2 and 50 and 336 and 520 were able to catalyze all three reactions. In addition, the C-terminal domain expressed alone (amino acids 336-725) binds eEF-2 in a coprecipitation assay. These results suggest that eEF-2 kinase consists of two domains connected by a linker region. The amino-terminal domain contains the catalytic domain, while the carboxyl-terminal domain contains the eEF-2 targeting domain. The calmodulin-binding region is located between amino acids 51 and 96. The amino acid sequence of the carboxyl-terminal domain of eEF-2 kinase displays similarity to several proteins, all of which contain repeats of a 36-amino acid motif that we named "motif 36".
A unique subset of normal murine CD4+ T cells lacking Thy‐1 is expanded in a murine retrovirus‐induced immunodeficiency syndrome, MAIDS

Some strains of mice inoculated with LP‐BM5 murine leukemia virus (MuLV) develop a syndrome, termed mouse acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (MAIDS), characterized by progressive lymphoproliferation and profound immunodeficiency. LP‐BM5 MuLV is a virus mixture that contains ecotropic (eco) and mink cell focus‐induced MuLV and a defective genome that is the proximal cause of disease. Flow cytometry analyses of spleen and lymph nodes from susceptible C57BL/6 mice infected with this virus mixture revealed the presence in spleen and peripheral lymph nodes of a previously unrecognized subset of CD4+CD3+ T cells that are Thy‐1−. The frequency of these cells increased with progression of disease, eventually comprising between 30% and 50% of all CD4+ cells. Infection of A/J mice, a strain which is genetically resistant to development of MAIDS, did not induce an increase of this T cell population, indicating that infection with the virus mixture was insufficient to induce its proliferation. A central role for the defective virus in this process was suggested by the finding that C57BL/6 mice infected with LP‐BM5 eco alone did not have increased frequencies of Thy‐1−CD4+ cells in spleen. Studies of spleen and peripheral lymph node cells from normal mice demonstrated the presence of Thy‐1−CD4+ cells at frequencies of 1%–2%. Studies using two anti‐T cell monoclonal antibodies, SM6C10 and SM3G11, that define four CD4+ subsets showed that Thy‐1−CD4+ T cells from normal and infected mice were present only in the 6C10− subsets.
The current privacy environment: Implications for third‐party research

&NA; A privacy revolution is under way. Public opinion survey data indicate that public concern about information privacy has reached all‐time highs in recent years and shows little, if any, sign of abating. Public concern is the result of many factors, including evolving attitudes toward information, distrust of institutions, concerns about technology, and fear of harm, to name a few. Privacy also receives increasing amounts of media attention, often with adverse results for those organizations engaging in the scrutinized information practices. This public concern (and media attention) has prompted considerable legislative and regulatory activity at both the federal and state levels. New health information privacy rules promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to implement the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, once implemented, for example, will affect large segments of the health care industry. Many types of medical research will be affected, possibly including some third‐party research. This article begins with a brief overview, including a definition of privacy and an examination of the role of privacy in the American tradition. The article examines the current privacy environment as reflected through public opinion surveys about privacy, both broadly and in the medical research context specifically. Finally, the article examines recent and pending regulatory activity regarding health information privacy and the prospects for additional legislation or regulation.
Distributed Satisficing MPC

This brief proposes a distributed model predictive control scheme based on satisficing theory in which the relative importance of each subsystem changes dynamically according to the current conditions. The controllers implement a situational altruism, where less satisfied controllers will automatically receive more importance. The global cost, instead of being fix as in other approaches, emerges from the cooperation process. The proposed control scheme guarantees both that the control input is Pareto-optimal and that each controller is guaranteed a minimum degree of optimality, even under coupled constraints. The main properties of the proposed approach are demonstrated through a traffic control example.
CLINES FOR HYBRID DYSFUNCTION IN A GRASSHOPPER HYBRID ZONE

Two subspecies of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus meet in the Pyrenees forming a hybrid zone several kilometers wide. Crosses between the two pure taxa result in sterile male offspring and normal females (i.e., Haldane's rule applies). However, no such dysfunction has been detected in hybrid males collected through the center of the hybrid zone. By assessing the level of dysfunction in the offspring of reciprocal crosses, it was possible to map clines for the genes responsible for dysfunction through the zone. This analysis shows that there is no abrupt transition between incompatible genomes in the field. Crosses were also made between females collected from a transect spanning the hybrid zone and pure males of both subspecies. This reveals noncoincident clines for dysfunction near the center of the hybrid zone such that the dysfunction expressed in the offspring of these crosses is less than expected from simple models. More complex models involving interaction among genes must be invoked. Also, the possibility exists that since the postglacial contact of these two grasshopper taxa, hybrid dysfunction has become ameliorated by the evolution of modifiers. This hybrid zone is thought to be a tension zone, maintained by a balance between selection against hybrid genotypes and dispersal into the zone center. The lessening of hybrid disadvantage over time through the breakdown of epistatic interactions by recombination or through modification could account for the general lack of dysfunction in field collected hybrids today.
Computational cell classification methodology for hepatocellular carcinoma

Liver cancer is one of the frequent causes of death in the world. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common histological type of primary liver cancer. HCC can be graded according to the malignancy of the tumors. Generally, a HCC grade is determined based on the characteristics of liver cell nuclei. This paper illustrates a methodology for classifying liver cell nuclei and grading HCC histological images quantitatively. The liver cell nuclei are classified in three consecutive tasks: nuclear segmentation, fibrous region detection, and nuclear classification. Each task utilizes the pixel-based textural features that are obtained through multifractal computation on digital images. First, the system segments every possible type of nuclei and excludes the nuclei within fibrous regions. Then, it classifies the rest of the nuclei to discriminate liver cell nuclei. For tumor grading, this method utilizes the following four categories of nuclear features: inner texture, geometry, spatial distribution, and surrounding texture. The proposed method was employed to classify a set of HCC histological images into five.
Comparing pre- and post-perceptions of studying abroad: an Italy programme case study

Abstract This study examines students’ decisions to study abroad, the value they place on the experience and expected future influences on personal, academic, and career choices. The research focused on past experience and expectations, as well as challenges that are faced when studying abroad. The questions covered Italian culture knowledge, host institution expectations, travel experience, and trip issues. The study contributions include adding to the current literature on intercultural student tourist activities in a foreign country, identifying intra- and interpersonal authenticity among students’ pre- and post-trip perceptions, explore host/tourist relationships, and confirm positive elements that experiential education offers.
Shape modeling using visual ID-tags for robotic applications

A new method of shape modeling for robotic applications is proposed. We utilize visual ID-tags to acquire local tangent planes of objects, and generate approximate polyhedral models of the environment. We developed an optimization algorithm for estimating tag configurations and a method of forming polyhedral models of objects. Our approach enables easy modeling using a single camera without pose information. The shape models are superimposed on the real environment, and they are used in many robotic tasks. We examined the performance of the modeling method, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the models in robotic applications.
Discriminative Kernel Feature Extraction and Learning for Object Recognition and Detection

Feature extraction and learning is critical for object recognition and detection. By embedding context cue of image attributes into the kernel descriptors, we propose a set of novel kernel descriptors called context kernel descriptors (CKD). The motivation of CKD is to use the spatial consistency of image attributes or features defined within a neighboring region to improve the robustness of descriptor matching in kernel space. For feature learning, we develop a novel codebook learning method, based on the Cauchy-Schwarz Quadratic Mutual Information (CSQMI) measure, to learn a compact and discriminative CKD codebook from a rich and redundant CKD dictionary. Projecting the original full-dimensional CKD onto the codebook, we reduce the dimensionality of CKD without losing its discriminability. CSQMI derived from Renyi quadratic entropy can be efficiently estimated using a Parzen window estimator even in high-dimensional space. In addition, the latent connection between Renyi quadratic entropy and the mapping data in kernel feature space further facilitates us to capture the geometric structure as well as the information about the underlying labels of the CKD using CSQMI. Thus the resulting codebook and reduced CKD are discriminative. We report superior performance of our algorithm for object recognition on benchmark datasets like Caltech-101 and CIFAR-10, as well as for detection on a challenging chicken feet dataset.
Data hiding for multimodal biometric recognition

Data hiding has been successfully applied lately in a variety of applications, other than copyright protection. A data hiding technique applied in a multimodal biometric system for automatic recognition is introduced in this paper. Specifically, both the voice and iris patterns acquired by an individual are hidden in certain wavelet coefficients of his fingerprint image using block classification and the embedded biometric template is further compressed. The proposed technique achieves a reduction of the system data rate, as opposed to the conventional independent compression and storage of each biometric signal. At the same time, accurate data reconstruction is guaranteed, enabling a successful recognition process based on the combination of three biometric modalities.
Dynamic Relations Analysis between China’s Inflation, Agricultural Products and Economic Growth

This paper applies VAR to study relations between inflation and agricultural products, economic growth. We find that: 1) GDP growth has strong inertia, and it is influenced little by CPI and API, but has decisive influence on CPI and API; 2) CPI also has strong inertia, which shows that if inflation happens it will not be easily controlled. CPI is influenced greatly by GDP, and little by API. While CPI has certain influence on economic growth, has great influence on API; 3) API is mainly influenced by GDP and CPI, also has self lag-influence. Influence aroused by API to GDP and CPI can not be considered. So, China’s nowadays high economic growth pays price for a little higher CPI and API, and high CPI leads to higher API.
Musculoskeletal Risk Assessment in Small Furniture Manufacturing Workshops

In Iran, furniture is mainly manufactured in small workshops, where most activities are performed manually. This study was conducted among workers of furniture workshops to determine prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and to assess ergonomic working conditions to identify major risk factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. In this study, 410 randomly selected furniture workers participated. The Nordic questionnaire and an ergonomics checklist consisting of 6 sections were used as data collection tools. An index was calculated for each section of the checklist. Action categories indicating the priority of corrective measures were also defined. The highest prevalence of symptoms was reported in the knees (39%), lower back (35.6%) and wrists/hands (29.5%). It was found that manual material handling, poor workstation design and awkward working postures were associated with the reported symptoms in these regions (OR 1.77–4.52). Poor general working conditions and work organization showed association as well. Any interventional measures should focus on these areas.
Inhibition of Processing of the Primary Transcript of the Gene Encoding Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases (TIMP) by Antisense TIMP RNA in Mouse 3T3 Cells a

The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism of down-modulation of TIMP mRNA levels in derivatives of Swiss 3T3 cells that contain an expression cassette driving synthesis of an RNA molecule complementary to the TIMP mRNA. ' These cell lines are of interest because as a consequence of reduced TIMP expression, they have acquired both an invasive and a tumorigenic phenotype.2 We address here the detailed mechanism of how TIMP expression is down-modulated in light of the finding that two cell lines differing substantially in the number of copies of the expression cassette and the level of cytoplasmic antisense RNA show comparable extents of TIMP expression. We found that although TIMP mRNA levels (cytoplasmic and nuclear) were down-regulated by antisense TIMP RNA, total nuclear TIMP RNA levels were not. Compared with control cells, cells producing antisense TIMP RNA contained a higher level of unprocessed TIMP RNA. The increased amount of unprocessed primary transcripts in the nucleus accompanied by a reduction in the concentration of TIMP mRNA molecules is consistent with the hypothesis that antisense TIMP RNA inhibits processing of the transcript.