Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impacts of the Replacement of Native Woodland with Exotic Pine Plantations on Leaf-Litter Invertebrate Assemblages: A Test of a Novel Framework

We present an empirical comparison of invertebrate community structure between areas of undisturbed native eucalypt woodland and areas that have been cleared and replaced with plantations of exotic radiata pine (Pinus radiata). Implementation of a novel conceptual framework revealed that both insect (in autumn) and arachnid (in winter) assemblages demonstrated inhibition in response to the pine plantations. Species richness declines occurred in several taxonomic Orders (e.g., Hymenoptera, Blattodea, Acari) without compensated increases in other Orders in plantations. This was, however, a seasonal response, with shifts between inhibition and equivalency observed in both insects and arachnids across autumn and winter sampling periods. Equivalency responses were characterized by relatively similar levels of species richness in plantation and native habitats for several Orders (e.g., Coleoptera, Collembola, Psocoptera, Araneae). We propose testable hypotheses for the observed seasonal shifts between inhibition and equivalency that focus on diminished resource availability and the damp, moist conditions found in the plantations. Given the compelling evidence for seasonal shifts between categories, we recommend that seasonal patterns should be considered a critical component of further assemblage-level investigations of this novel framework for invasion ecology.
Geochemistry and mineralogy of a complex sedimentary deposit in the alkaline volcanic Lake Specchio di Venere (Pantelleria Island, south Mediterranean)

Specchio di Venere is a peculiar, ambient temperature, geothermal, alkaline lake, with lake water oversaturated in carbonate phase where siliceous stromatolites actively grow despite the undersaturation of silica phases. The most of the main sedimentary structures of this lake have been investigated in recent years, with the exception of the carbonate bank running along the south-western margin of the lake, which is the object of this study. Here we report on the mineralogical and geochemical characterisation of the carbonate bank, based on the study of two cores taken in the area mostly affected by the circulation of fluids of different origin. The ultimate results of our study suggest that silica gel deposits form inside the carbonate bank, following an Alkali-Silica Reaction. These new findings complete the general overview on the sedimentary processes acting in a Lake Specchio di Venere, whose origin is sometimes chemico-physical and sometimes strongly conditioned by microbial activity.
The Role of Dehydroalanines in Enzyme and Peptide Chemistry

-Dehydroamino acids represent an important class of compound as they are keyintermediates in amino acid and peptide synthesis and are constituents of a variety of naturally occurring antibiotic and phytotoxic peptides including several fungal metabolites which posses antibiotic activity. They also play an important role at the active site of some enzymes and show free radical scavenging activity. It is believed that more detailed investigations are necessary to understand the importance of dehydroalanines.
Biomedical Applications of Nano-Sized Polymeric Micelles and Polyion Complexes

Received 06.02. 2018, received in revised form 11.04. 2018, accepted 02.05. 2018 The paper provides a high-level overview of the use of polymeric micelles, polyion complexes, cell mediated drug carriers and exosomes in the therapy of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The author tries to combine the lessons-learned during over a quarter of century work in the field of nanomedicine and drug delivery along with a vision statement of some trends and future prospective in this field. Several most recent examples from the University of North Carolina and Moscow State University laboratories are presented including high capacity polymeric micelles for single and multiple water-insoluble drugs for cancer therapy. The nanoscale size polyion complexes formed by ionic block copolymers and polypeptides for the delivery of these polypeptides are also discussed. Examples include antioxidant enzymes (e.g. superoxide dismutase, catalase), stoichiometric and catalytic scavengers of organophosphorus toxins (butirylcholine esterase, organophosphate hydrolase) and neurotrophins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor). The applications include treatments of obesity, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, RETT syndrome, organophosphorus toxins poisoning, and some other medical conditions that have been demonstrated using animal models. The application of these complexes in the context of the macrophage carriers for drug delivery to the site of inflammation is presented. A concept of the use of genetically modified macrophages as natural gene delivery vectors is stated and illustrated using Parkinson’s disease therapy as an example. The role of exosomes in gene and protein delivery and its potential as a true pharmaceutical modality are also discussed.
A modified model for stability analysis of narrow-width NEMS tweezers: Corrections due to surface layer, scale dependency and force distributions

Stability analysis and modeling the electromechanical response of nanotweezers is crucial for reliable design and manufacturing of these nano-devices. Herein, a modified model is developed for static and dynamic stability analysis of nanotweezers with low width to thickness ration (narrow width). The surface elasticity in conjunction with the strain gradient theory is employed to consider the coupled effects of scale dependency i.e. size-dependency of material characteristics and surface layer. The nonlinear governing equation was solved using analytical Rayleigh-Ritz method (RRM). The influence of various parameters including scale dependency, surface stresses, damping parameter and dispersion forces on the stability of the tweezers is addressed. Furthermore the maximum length and the minimum gap of the tweezers are computed which are of the important design parameters.
One Fits More - On Highly Modular Quality-Driven Design of Robotic Frameworks and Middleware

Robotics software systems have a large and domain-specific range of quality requirements that make development of reusable software a particular challenge. Frameworks and middleware have a major impact in this respect - on both quality characteristics and development effort. As framework design involves many tradeoffs, they have different quality and feature profiles - with no existing solution clearly superior. Analyzing existing approaches, the principle of customizable quality tradeoffs is identified. The proposed design approach aims at maximizing the principles of concern separation and customizable quality tradeoffs in frameworks: basically decomposing them into one (optional) module per concern. This allows localizing quality requirements and flexibly tailoring frameworks to application requirements. In particular, all operating-system-independent concerns can be run "bare metal". The proposed concept was implemented in the FINROC framework. The benefits with respect to quality characteristics are evaluated in a case study: the framework is run “bare metal” on an FPGA soft core – notably a platform not originally targeted. In addition, it is shown how knowledge on framework design is modeled.
Comparison of yolk fatty acid content, blood and egg cholesterol of hens fed diets containing palm olein oil and kilka fish oil

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of dietary palm olein oil (POO) and Kilka fish oil (KFO) on yolk fatty acid content, ratio of fatty acids (FAs), antibody titre, and blood and yolk cholesterol of laying hens. One hundred White Hy-Line 26-wk-old (W-36) hens were allotted to 6 dietary treatments containing 0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5% POO or 2 and 4% KFO. The FAs and cholesterol content of yolk were measured at the end of three consecutive days of each period. Results reveal that the oleic acid increased and palmitic acid decreased (P<0.05) when hens were fed diets containing POO. The KFO diets reduced the blood cholesterol, yolk linoleic acid and yolk ω-6 FA (P<0.05), whereas the blood cholesterol increased by the supplementation of POO to dietary treatments. The yolk long chain polyunsaturated ω-3 FAs [Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] increased as KFO was increased in diets (P<0.001). The diets supplementation of KFO and POO thus, showed a decrease and an increase in the ratio of ω-6/ ω-3 FAs (P<0.05), respectively. It is concluded that supplementation of KFO to the dietary treatment may improve deposition of ω-3 FAs; however, the POO supplementation may improve deposition of ω-9 FAs without alteration of yolk cholesterol. Key words: Palm olein oil (POO), Kilka fish oil (KFO), hens, egg omega-9 and omega-3 fatty acid.
ASSESSMENT OF DIVERSITY AND RELATEDNESS OF NDUMU VIRUS STRAINS ISOLATED FROM MOSQUITOES FROM FOUR DISTRICTS DURING ROUTINE ARBOVIRUS SURVEILLANCE IN KENYA

Members of the genus Alphavirus, family Togaviridae are a diverse group of principally mosquito-borne RNAviruses that produce a variety of diseases worldwide. Being RNA viruses, they are prone to genetic transformationlike other RNA viruses. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and relatedness of ndumuvirus isolates from Garissa, Ijara, Busia and Baringo districts in Kenya. It also aimed at determining the phylogeneticrelatedness of the ndumu virus isolates to other known alphaviruses. This was achieved by culturing eight virusisolates, two from each district in Vero cells. The isolates induced cytopathic effects (CPE) on cell culture on day 1post inoculation. The infected cells were harvested and the cell culture supernatant used to isolate total RNA.Some of the RNA was amplified by Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction using primers specific for thendumu envelope gene (E1) to confirm the identity of the virus. Complete genome sequencing of the isolates using454 pyro-sequencer was done to get the sequences. A mapping assembly of the sequence reads from the 454sequencer was done using GS runmapper with reference to the longest ndumu virus sequence available in thegenbank. Nucleotide and amino acid sequence alignment was done using muscle v 3.7 and clustaX softwaresrespectively. Phylogenetic analysis was done using MEGA v4.0. The ndumu virus isolates from Baringo, Busia andGarissa districts exhibited minimal genetic diversity despite the geographic distance separating them. One isolatefrom Ijara District was distinct. This study has facilitated the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) within ndumu virus genome. Such SNPs may change the protein coding sequence and affect the virus’virulence and/or host susceptibility over time. When compared with other known alphaviruses, the ndumu virusisolates were not closely related to any other alphavirus.
Federalism and Its Discontents: Fiscal and Legislative Power-Sharing in Germany, 1948-1999

Federalism and Its Discontents: Fiscal and Legislative Powersharing in Germany, By Karen Adelberger Dept. of Political Science UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720 kea@socrates.berkeley. edu WP 99-16 Working Papers published by the Institute of Governmental Studies provide quick dissemination of draft reports and papers, preliminary analysis, and papers with a limited audience. The objective is to assist authors in refining their ideas by circulating results and to stimulate discussion about public policy. Working Papers are reproduced unedited directly from the author’s page.
Explicit connections between longitudinal data analysis and kernel machines

Two areas of research - longitudinal data analysis and kernel machines - have large, but mostly distinct, literatures. This article shows explicitly that both fields have much in common with each other. In partic- ular, many popular longitudinal data fitting proceduresare special types of kernel machines. These connections have the potential to provide fruitful cross-fertilization between longitudinal data analytic and kernel machine methodology.
Molecular modeling of the inhibitory mechanism of copper(II) on aggregation of amyloid beta-peptide

Aggregation of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) into insoluble fibrils is a key pathological event in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Under certain conditions, Cu(II) exhibits strong inhibitory effect on the Zn(II)-induced aggregation, which occurs significantly even at nearly physiological concen-trations of zinc ion in vitro . Cu(II) is considered as a potential factor in the normal brain preventing Aβ from aggregating. The possible mechanism of the inhibitory effect of Cu(II) is investigated for the first time by molecular modeling method. In the mono-ring mode, the Y10 residue promotes typical quasi-helix conformations of Aβ. Specially, [Cu-H13(Nπ)-Y10(OH)] complex forms a local 3.0 10 helix conformation. In the multi-ring mode, the side chains of Q15 and E11 residues collaborate harmoniously with other chelating ligands producing markedly low energies and quasi-helix conformations. [Cu-3N-Q15(O)-E11(O1)] and [Cu-H13(Nπ)-Y10(OH)] complex with quasi-helix conformations may prefer soluble forms in solution. In addition, hydro-gen-bond interactions may be the main driving force for Aβ aggregation. All the results will pro-vide helpful clues for an improved understanding of the role of Cu(II) in the pathogenesis of AD and contribute to the development of an “anti-amyloid” therapeutic strategy.
Water quality of two semi-closed areas in the United Arab Emirates Coast along the Arabian Gulf:a comparative study

A comparative study was carried out between the two biggest creeks along the Arabian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates to evaluate impacts of sewage and industrial effluents on their hydrochemical characteristics. Surface and bottom water samples were collected from Abu Dhabi and Dubai creeks during the period from October 1994 to September 1995. The hydrochemical parameters studied were: temperature (21.10-34.00°C), salinity (37.37-47.09%), transparency (0.50-10.0 m), pH (7.97-8.83), dissolved oxygen (1.78-13.93 mg/l) and nutrients ammonia (ND- 13.12,ug-at N/1), nitrite (ND-6.66 ,ug-at N/1), nitrate (ND- 41.18 ,ug-at N/1), phosphate (ND- 13.06 ,ug-at P/1), silicate (0.68-32.50 ,ug-at Si/1), total phosphorus (0.26- 21.48 ,ug-at P/1), and total silicon (0.95- 40.32 ,ug-at Si/1). The present study indicates clearly that seawater of Abu-Dhabi Creek was warmer (28.l2°C) than Dubai (27.56°C) resulting in a higher rate of evaporation. Owing to more evaporation, salinity levels showed higher levels at Abu Dhabi (43.33%) compared to Dubai (39.03%) seawater. The study also revealed higher secchi disc readings at Abu Dhabi Creek (4.68 m) as compared to Dubai Creek (2.60 m) suggesting more transparency at Abu Dhabi Creek. Whereas, seawater of Dubai exhibited higher levels of pH (1.03 times), and dissolved oxygen (1.05 times) than Abu Dhabi seawater due to an increase in productivity. Meantime, seawater of Dubai showed higher tendency to accumulate ammonia (8.22 times), nitrite (10.93 times), nitrate (5.85 times), phosphate (10.64 times), silicate (1.60 times), total phosphorus (3.19 times), and total silicon (1.54 times) compared to Abu Dhabi seawater due to the enrichment of seawater at Dubai with domestic sewage waters which has distinctly elevated the levels of the nutrient salts particularly in inner-most parts of the creek leading to eutrophication signs. The changes occurred in the receiving creek water of Dubai as a result of waste-water disposal that have also reflected on the atomic ratios of nit: Effect of pollution rogen: phosphorus: silicon.
Income and Wealth Joensuu , Finland , August 20 – 26 , 2006 The Theory of Benchmarking and the Measurement of Industrial Organization

If more productive rms grow relatively fast, an industry performs better, even when no rm exhibits technical or e¢ ciency change. In other words, the two well-known sources of productivity growthtechnology and e¢ ciencycan be augmented by a third one, namely the industrial organization e¤ect. In this paper the e¢ ciency of an industrial organization and its contribution to performance are measured by benchmarking all rms on the industry. More precisely, e¢ ciency is measured by the proximity between a rm and the best practices. Aggregation of rm e¢ ciencies is imperfect. The bias is used to measure the e¢ ciency of the industrial organization. In benchmarking, change transmitted by a rm represents productivity growth and change transmitted by the best practices represents technical change. Although I use a nonparametric framework, which requires only input and output information, duality analysis reveals the Solow residual. In discrete time Malmquist indices capture the measurement of the industrial organization e¤ect, e¢ ciency changes, and technical change. The industrial organization of Japanese banking is analyzed. The dynamic industrial organization e¤ect of entry and exit can be accommodated. JEL Classi cation Numbers: L10, D24, O47
Positive Gordon-WixomCoordinates

We introduce a new construction of transfinite barycentric coordinates for arbitrary closed sets in two dimensions. Our method extends weighted GordonWixom interpolation to non-convex shapes and produces coordinates that are positive everywhere in the interior of the domain and that are smooth for shapes with smooth boundaries. We achieve these properties by using the distance to lines tangent to the boundary curve to define a weight function that is positive and smooth. We derive closed-form expressions for arbitrary polygons in two dimensions and compare the basis functions of our coordinates with several other types of barycentric coordinates.
Phrase-initial boundary tones in Hungarian interrogatives and exclamatives

There is a group of wh-interrogatives and wh-exclamatives in Hungarian that are distinguished only by means of prosody. It was shown previously that the distinction consists in having falling pitch accents on the wh-element in interrogatives, and rising pitch accents in exclamatives. In this paper, the relevance of sentence-initial f0 is investigated as a potential trigger for the above differences. A perception experiment was set up in which sentence-initial and sentence-final chunks containing only f0 information were presented to participants, along with the wh-element bearing the only pitch accent of the sentence. It was shown that sentence-initial chunks carried the most relevant information for sentence type identification, whereas pitch accent type and entence-final f0 were less informative. The findings suggest that phrase-initial boundary tones are of relevance in Hungarian prosody.
Leptin , Neuropeptide Y and Obesity LEPT

T Klin J Med Sci 2002, 22 217 Obesity Obesity is a common medical condition most often due to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure (1). It is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality from a variety of diseases including hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and hypertension. Studies indicated that obesity is the result of genetic, environmental and neuroendocrine factors. The regulation of weight and weight gain is a complex process that involves a number of behavioral, social and hormonal factors (2-4).
Predictors of success with writing in the first year of school

Language and literacy skills are instrumental to success at school and early success with writing is a key factor in literacy development. By eight years of age, children spend up to half of their school day engaged in writing tasks suggesting that those who find learning to write difficult may be disadvantaged. The ability to hear and record sounds in sequence and writing vocabulary are two ingredients necessary for early writing success. In this study we examine the relationship between language skills at school entry and two outcome measures related to phonemic awareness and writing vocabulary at June and December for children (n=60) in the first year of school. We analysed data collected using standardised instruments and investigated both bivariate and multivariate relationships. The findings suggest that oral language development is a strong predictor of children's ability to hear and record sounds in the first six months of school and writing vocabulary development in the first year. Although oral language development and phonemic awareness have been linked before in previous studies, we establish a clear relationship between these two areas with respect to early writing development. We conclude the paper by considering the study's implications for teachers, parents and researchers.
Doença cardiovascular aterosclerótica e a infecção pelo HIV: uma atualização

Antes da introducao da terapia antirretroviral de alta potencia, as complicacoes cardiovasculares na populacao infectada pelo HIV eram relacionadas a imunossupressao. Entretanto, apos o advento do uso combinado das drogas antirretrovirais, houve consideravel diminuicao na morbidade e na mortalidade desses pacientes. Porem, aparentemente,complicacoes metabolicas como resistencia insulinica e dislipidemia passaram a ser mais frequentes nesses individuos, sugerindo aumento do risco de doenca aterosclerotica. O objetivo deste artigo e rever a literatura e descrever as complicacoes cardiovasculares da infeccao pelo HIV, com enfase no periodo pos-terapia antirretroviral combinada. A revisao foi realizada dando destaque aos fatores de risco cardiovasculares e, principalmente, a doenca cardiaca aterosclerotica e suas particularidades na populacao infectada pelo HIV. (AU) Before high-power antiretroviral therapy was introduced, cardiovascular complications in the HIV-infected population were mainly related to immunosuppression. However, after the advent of combined use antiretroviral drugs the morbimortality of these patients decreased considerably. It seems, however, that metabolic complications such as insulin resistance and dyslipidemia have become more frequent, suggesting an increased risk of atherosclerotic disease. The purpose of this article is to review the literature and describe the cardiovascular complications related to HIV infection, with an emphasis on the period after combined antiretroviral therapy was introduced. The review was conducted to highlight the cardiovascular risk factors, mainly of atherosclerotic heart disease and its peculiarities among the HIV-infected population. (AU)
Conduire un projet de recherche dans l' "extrême". L'expédition Un Rêve de Darwin

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Conduire un projet de recherche dans l’ ”extrême”. L’expédition Un Rêve de Darwin Yvonne Giordano, Genevieve Musca
APOPTOSIS STUDY OF INDONESIAN AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS SUBTYPE H 5 N 1 IN MADIN-DARBY CANINE KIDNEY CELLS NLP

This study aimed to determine the ability of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 originated from Indonesia to induce apoptosis in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. Three HPAI virus subtype H5N1 isolates with different genetic characteristic namely A/Bird/Bali1/2011, A/Chicken/East Java/BwiI2/2010 and A/Chicken/West Java/1074/2003, were cultured in MDCK cells. Apoptosis was identified by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation of infected MDCK cells using Apoptotic DNA Ladder Kit. The results showed that all three HPAI virus isolates used in this study did not able to induce apoptosis in the MDCK cells within 5 to 72 hours post infection. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________