Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Functional Treadmill Tests in Patients with Adult Symptomatic Lumbar Scoliosis Treated Operatively and Non-operatively.

STUDY DESIGN Prospective Longitudinal Cohort. OBJECTIVES To determine if Functional Treadmill Testing (FTT) demonstrates differences between patients treated operatively and non-operatively for Adult Symptomatic Lumbar Scoliosis (ASLS). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA ASLS has become increasingly prevalent as the population ages. ASLS can be accompanied by neurogenic claudication, leading to difficulty walking. FTT may provide a functional tool to evaluate patients with ASLS. METHODS One hundred and eighty-seven patients who underwent Non-operative (n = 88) or Operative treatment (n = 99) of ASLS with complete baseline and two-year post-treatment FTTs and concurrent patient reported outcomes were identified. FTT parameters included maximum speed, time to onset of symptoms, distance ambulated, time ambulated, and back and leg pain severity before and after testing. RESULTS At baseline, patients treated operatively reported worse post-FTT back pain (4.39 vs 3.45, p = 0.032) than those treated non-operatively, despite similar ODI, SRS22 Pain and Activity domain scores. Mean Time ambulated (+2.15 vs -1.20 p = 0.001), pre-FTT back pain (+0.19 vs -1.60, p < 0.000) and leg pain (+0.25 vs -0.54, p = 0.024) improved in the Operative group but deteriorated in the Non-operative group. On the two-year follow-up FTT, both groups showed improvement in post-FTT back pain (-0.53 vs -2.64, p < 0.000) and leg pain (-0.13 vs -1.54, p = 0.001) severity but the improvement was statistically significantly greater in the Operative compared to the Non-operative group. CONCLUSION FTT results at baseline were worse in patients treated operatively than those treated non-operatively. FTT may be a useful adjunct to assess treatment outcomes in patients with ASLS and may help surgeons counsel patients regarding expectations two years after operative or nonoperative treatment for ASLS. At two year follow-up, time ambulated deteriorated in patients treated non-operatively but improved in patients treated operatively. Although both groups showed improvement in post-FTT back and leg pain at two years, the improvement was greater in the operative compared to the Non-operative group. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2.
Desenvolvimento e validação de um sistema de recomendação de informações tecnológicas sobre cana-de-açúcar

Information technology systems play an important role in agriculture, since they provide information in a quick and efficient way to support strategic decisions. However, the excess of information available may confuse and hinder the access to specific information. An alternative is the adoption of systems that provide automatic recommendations according to the profile of a user community. This work aimed to develop a recommender system based on data mining techniques to recommend content regarding the sugarcane crop. The adopted recommendation model relies on recommendation lists that are association rules between web pages, produced from the data users' browsing. The system was deployed on the portal of Embrapa Information Agency, which is a web system that aims to organize process, store and disseminate agricultural technological information. Among the results achieved with the system, it can be highlighted a knowledge base built with association rules, that describes the behavior of a user community and can indicate the most important links in web pages concerning sugarcane. With the adoption of this recommender system, the main benefits to users are: a) detailed information of production stages, with indications of reference material and different sources of reliable statistics; b) information that favors the efficient production considering technical, environmental, social and economic aspects; c) support to public and private stakeholders in planning and decision making; d) transfer of current knowledge with a friendly language for the sugarcane industry.
Adopt a Bacterium: a professional development opportunity for Teacher Assistants.

Science teaching in most Brazilian Universities tends to focus mainly on lectures and provides few opportunities for the development of modern teaching skills. Our group developed an online tool called Adopt a Bacterium, which consists on a Facebook group where teacher assistants (TAs) can interact with students and have a first contact with student-focused learning approaches. This work shows the TAs' own assessment of how the tool could be further explored to help them develop skills and become better teachers.
Secrets, Psychological Health, and the Fear of Discovery

Keeping secrets from one’s partner has been associated with lower well-being and relationship satisfaction. Previous research has suggested that individual differences in self-concealment account for these effects. However, we propose that the fear of discovery (FoD)—defined as the fear that one’s secret may be revealed by means other than deliberate disclosure—predicts the extent to which secrets affect well-being beyond the effects attributable to individual differences. Both a cross-sectional and a longitudinal survey (combined N = 471; 54.4% female; Mage = 39.5) of adults in romantic relationships confirmed that FoD predicted greater preoccupation with the secret, more negative affect, and less relationship satisfaction and commitment beyond that of self-concealment. Multilevel modeling in Study 2 indicated that changes in FoD predicted changes in preoccupation over time. The data are consistent with the notion that FoD promotes greater preoccupation, greater negative affect, and lower levels of relationship well-being.
First in, last out: asymmetric competition influences patch exploitation of a parasitoid

Parasitoid females exploiting a patchy environment may encounter conspecifics on the host patches they visit or arrive in patches where other females have already parasitized hosts. When 2 or more foragers with differential arrivals exploit a resource patch simultaneously, the solution for the evolutionary stable patch residence times is the outcome of an asymmetric war of attrition. A theoretical prediction is that the forager that arrives first should stay longer than those arriving later, as a result of a resource value asymmetry. This study aims to examine how the arrival order on a host patch affects patch time in the solitary aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi. For this purpose, 3 situations of competition were tested: single individuals foraging on unexploited patches (no competition), individuals foraging on previously exploited patches, and individuals exploiting patches in the presence of a competitor. Our data confirm the theoretical prediction: first-arriving females stay longer on a patch of hosts than second-arriving females. Neither host rejections nor host attacks affect patch-leaving decisions of females, but foraging with a competitor and previous encounters with a competitor increase the patch residence time of first-arriving females. This experiment is the first to test the effect of arrival order on patch exploitation strategies in nonfighting species. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.
Effects of monensin and virginiamycin supplementation in finishing diets with distiller dried grains plus solubles on growth performance and digestive function of steers

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the influence of virginiamycin (26 mg/kg) and monensin (34 mg/kg) supplementation of a steam-flaked corn-based finishing diet containing 15% distiller dried grains plus solubles (DDGS) on growth performance and digestive function. In Trial 1, 135 steers (257 ± 21 kg) were used to evaluate treatment effects on 145-d growth performance. There were no treatment effects (P > 0.20) on dry matter intake (DMI). Antibiotic supplementation tended to increase average daily gain (ADG; 7%, P = 0.07); increased gain efficiency (11%, P < 0.01) and estimated dietary net energy (NE; 10%, P < 0.01). Carcass marbling score was greater (12%, P = 0.04) for virginiamycin vs. monensin. In Trial 2, three Holstein steers (300 ± 7 kg) were used in a 3 × 3 Latin square to evaluate treatment effects on digestion. Both monensin and virginiamycin depressed ruminal digestion of organic matter (OM; 6%, P < 0.01) and feed nitrogen (N, 15%, P = 0.03) and microbial protein synthesis (15%, P = 0.03). There were no treatment effects of total tract OM and N digestion. Antibiotic supplementation increased (2.3%, P = 0.02) ruminal pH, associated with decreased (7%, P = 0.04) ruminal volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentrations. It is concluded that monensin and virginiamycin supplementation of growing-finishing diets for feedlot cattle may enhance daily weight gain, gain efficiency and dietary energetics. These effects are associated with a shift towards great intestinal OM digestion and decreased ruminal degradation of feed N and microbial protein synthesis.
[Frontline of Neural Induction and Specification in Amphibian Embryo — Eighty-One Years after Spemann — 25th Meeting of Embryonic Induction and Morphogenesis, 15th Forum of Japanese Newt Network]

[Frontline of Neural Induction and Specification in Amphibian Embryo — Eighty-One Years after Spemann — 25th Meeting of Embryonic Induction and Morphogenesis, 15th Forum of Japanese Newt Network] Organized by Tsutomu Kinoshita and Akimasa Fukui Department of Bioscience, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo
Pollination in species with dry stigmas: the nature of the early stigmatic response and the pathway taken by pollen tubes.

Interaction between the pollen grain, pollen tube and the stigma surface has been studied in five species regarded as possessing dry stigma surfaces; Brassica oleracea L. , Arabidopsis thaliana (L.), Heynh, Papaver rhoeas L. , Cosmos bipinnatus Cav. and Helianthus annuus L. In B. oleracea and A. thaliana, stigmatic response to pollination includes events in the papillar cytoplasm and changes to the stigmatic surface beneath the grain. In particular a specialized outer element of the cell wall expands prior to pollen tube penetration. The pollen tube, which enters through a 'foot' of pollen coating, grows in a space generated between an inner and the outer element of the wall and extends to the base of the papilla where it enters the middle lamellae of the subjacent cell layer. However, in A. thaliana tubes frequently were seen to penetrate all components of the stigmatic cell wall, an event only previously recorded in immature stigmas of B. oleracea. In self pollinations of self-incompatible B. oleracea involving strong S (incompatibility) alleles no changes take place in the papillar cell wall. In P. rhoeas the stigmatic surface responds to self and cross pollination by the secretion of electron-lucent material beneath the cuticle, causing it to become detached from the outer surface of the stigmatic cell wall. The pollen tubes then penetrate the cuticle and grow towards the base of the papilla in the space thus generated. The tubes continue to grow intercellularly in the transmitting tissue which lies horizontally in rays beneath the papillae. In members of the Compositae, C. bipinnatus and H. annuus, both stigma and pollen respond to pollination by producing copious quantities of an electron-opaque matrix, which frequently causes individual papillae to adhere together. Pollen tubes, which are formed following both compatible and incompatible intraspecific pollinations, grow into this matrix and toward the base of the papillae. There, in common with the other plants studied, they grow intercellularly and enter the transmitting tissue of the style. These findings are discussed in the light of current views of the mechanisms operating during angiosperm pollination and of the significance of the stigmatic response to the functioning of self-incompatibility mechanisms.
Soil degradation processes in the Italian agricultural and forest ecosystems

A number of processes of degradation threaten soil functions. Ten of them are acknowledged by the European Union and fifteen by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but at least another seven have been indicated by different authors in Italy and in other parts of the world. This short review paper summarizes the nature, economic relevance, and territorial impact of soil degradation in Italy, and with reference to Europe as a whole, and highlights the most relevant research needs in soil conservation. The direct annual costs of the main soil degradation processes are estimated to be over 38,000,000,000 euro per year in Europe as a whole, while in Italy, only for landslides, floods, and soil erosion, costs amount to 900,000,000 euro. Loss of the ability to produce food commodities because of soil degradation is particularly important in Italy, since selfsufficiency in food has recently decreased to less than 80% and Italian agricultural soils are hit by several problems, such as limited soil drainage, unfavorable texture and stoniness, shallow rooting depth, and poor chemical properties. On average, soil sealing, reduction in organic matter, and soil compaction in Italy are comparable with those of many other countries, but the occurrence of soil erosion, floods, and landslides is more widespread than in most parts of Europe, and also the presence of salt-affected soils is becoming a major worry. The fight against soil degradation in Italy is certainly more difficult than in other countries because of the high environmental variability. However, according to the current trends, Italy is mostly probably destined not to achieve the European objective to significantly reduce main soil degradation processes by the year 2020. There are several research needs in the field of soil conservation in Italy. These include: i) a better basic knowledge about many soil degradation processes and of pedodiversity; ii) reliable, sensitive, and locally validated models for main degradation processes; iii) assessment of resilience of different soils against degradation processes, as well as of their reaction to the measures foreseen in the current European agricultural policy.
Geographic variation of color polymorphism in two sibling ladybird species, Harmonia yedoensis and H. axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Geographical variation of elytra color pattern in two sibling ladybird species, Harmonia yedoensis and H. axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was examined. The two species are distributed sympatrically in central Japan; however, only H. yedoensis and H. axyridis occur in the Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan) and Hokkaido island (northern Japan), respectively. The frequency of elytra color patterns was significantly different between the two species in all sympatric locations and our results were inconsistent with the classical theory on Müllerian mimicry. The most dominant pattern of H. axyridis was the least dominant of H. yedoensis in all sympatric populations. Furthermore, the frequency of the non‐melanic form (red ground color with or without black spots) increased towards the south in H. yedoensis. This tendency was in contrast to the known geographical cline in H. axyridis in which the melanic form (black ground color with red spots) was gradually displaced with the non‐melanic form northwards in the Japanese archipelago. We discuss possible selective factors including predator avoidance, thermal adaptation and reproductive character displacement, all of which might contribute to the maintenance of the color polymorphism in the two Harmonia species.
Hexameric Structure and Assembly of the Interleukin-6/IL-6 α-Receptor/gp130 Complex

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an immunoregulatory cytokine that activates a cell-surface signaling assembly composed of IL-6, the IL-6 α-receptor (IL-6Rα), and the shared signaling receptor gp130. The 3.65 angstrom–resolution structure of the extracellular signaling complex reveals a hexameric, interlocking assembly mediated by a total of 10symmetry-related, thermodynamically coupled interfaces. Assembly of the hexameric complex occurs sequentially: IL-6 is first engaged by IL-6Rα and then presented to gp130in the proper geometry to facilitate a cooperative transition into the high-affinity, signaling-competent hexamer. The quaternary structures of other IL-6/IL-12 family signaling complexes are likely constructed by means of a similar topological blueprint.
Prevalence of coccidiosis in cattle in kashmir valley.

Nine hundred seventy one cattle calves under two different managemental practices were screened for different eimerian oocysts, out of which 711 were found to be positive for Eimeria parasites. 70.7% and 75.8% of calves from organized and un-organized managements were found to harbour Eimeria infection, respectively. The species identified included: Eimeria bovis, E. zuernii, E. bukidnonensis, E. subsphrica, E. auburnensis, E. ellipsodalis, E. Canadensis and E. cylindrica among which. Eimeria zuernii and E. bovis were most predominant species.
Colouring ornamental fish (Cyprinus carpio and Carassius auratus) with microalgal biomass

Koi carp and goldfish value increases with intensity of skin colour, which is an important quality criterion. Fish cannot fully synthesize their own carotenoid colourings and these must therefore be included in their diet. Two trials were undertaken to investigate skin colour enhancement in ornamental species (i.e. three chromatic varieties of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), namely Kawari (red), Showa (black and red) and Bekko (black and white) and goldfish (Carassius auratus)) by feeding a dietary carotenoid supplement of freshwater microalgal biomass [Chlorella vulgaris, Haematococcus pluvialis, and also the cyanobacterium Arthrospira maxima (Spirulina)], using a diet containing synthetic astaxanthin and a control diet with no colouring added for comparison. In the first trial, five homogeneous duplicate groups of 25 juvenile koi carp (C. carpio) (initial mean body weight 24.6 ± 0.7 g) were fed, for 10 weeks, one of the four diets containing 80 mg colouring/kg diet. In the second trial, this procedure was repeated for five homogeneous duplicate groups of 25 goldfish (C. auratus) (initial mean body weight of 0.9 ± 0.1 g). Initial and final samples of skin along the dorsal fin were withdrawn, from five fish per group, for subsequent analysis of total carotenoid content (spectrophotometric analysis), and red hue (colorimetric analysis, CIE (1976) L* a* b* colour system). Growth and feed efficiency were not significantly different between groups administered by the various dietary treatments. In both trials, dietary carotenoid supplementation increased total skin carotenoid content. The more efficient colouring for koi carps was found to be C. vulgaris biomass, providing both maximum total carotenoid deposition and red hue for the three chromatic koi carp varieties studied, and particularly for the kawari variety. For goldfish the best colouring obtained, as ascertained by total carotenoid content, was also achieved using C. vulgaris biomass, and red hue was maximum when using H. pluvialis biomass.
Summertime transport of current‐use pesticides from California's Central Valley to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, USA

Aricultural activity in California's Central Valley may be an important source of pesticides that are transported in the air to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, USA. Pesticides applied to this intensive crop production area may volatilize under warm temperatures typical of the valley and be transported through the atmosphere to be deposited in the cooler, higher elevation regions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. To determine the extent of summertime atmospheric transport of pesticides to this region, high‐volume air, dry deposition, and surface water samples were collected in the Central Valley and at different elevations in California's Sequoia National Park. Results revealed that the highest residue concentrations were those of compounds with heavy summertime agricultural use. A significant drop in pesticide concentrations in both air and water samples was observed within a few 100‐m elevation from the valley; however, levels remained relatively constant between ∼500 and 2,000 m. Water concentrations from two areas above 3,000 m contained levels less than a tenth as high as those at lower elevations. Possible effects of the pesticides were estimated using measured water concentrations to calculate total exposure of three aquatic species to organophosphate insecticides. Aggregate exposure calculations showed concentrations were well below 96‐h LC50 values for rainbow trout and stonefly but concentrations may be harmful to amphipods.
Avrupa Birliği’nin Demokrasi/Siyasi Şartlılığında Çekme-İtme Dengesi ve Bu Dengenin Bozulması

AB, ozellikle Guney Avrupa genislemesinden bu yana AB’ye uyelik icin basvuran aday ulkelere yonelik demokrasi sartliligi uygulanmaktadir. Buna gore, AB uyesi olabilmek icin aday ulkelerin AB sartligini yerine getirmeleri, yani rejimlerini demokratiklestirmeleri gerekmektedir. AB bu konuda ilk ciddi sinavini Yunanistan, Portekiz ve Ispanya’nin AB’ye uyelik basvurularinda vermistir. Zaman icinde AB’nin aday ulkelerin siyasi rejimlerini donusturmek icin ciddi mekanizmalar gelistirdigi gorulmektedir. Bu mekanizmanin en iyi orneklerinden biri de AB’nin Dogu genislemesi arasinda Merkezi ve Dogu Avrupa ulkelerine uyguladigi demokratiklesme/donusturme politikalaridir. Bu makale, bu demokratik sartlilik politikasinin belli bir cekme-itme dengesine dayandigini iddia etmektedir. Buna gore, aday ulkelere AB uyesi olabilmeleri icin sartlar ileri surulurken bu sartlari yerine getirdikleri takdirde (tam) uye olacaklari acik bir sekilde ortaya konulmustur. Bu denge aday ulkelere basariyi da getirmis ve ulkeler rejimlerini donusturmuslerdir. Ancak, bu calisma, bu dengenin bozulma surecinde oldugunu iddia etmektedir. Genisleme yogunlugu neticesinde bu denge bozulmaktadir ki onumuzdeki gunlerde bu bozulma Hirvatistan, Turkiye ve Bati Balkanlar’da AB’nin donusturme etkisini azaltabilir.
Efficient rooting and root development after transfer of regenerated plantlets of Camptotheca acuminate

For establishing an efficient in vitro rooting protocol of Camptotheca acuminata and improving the survival rate and acclimatization of the regenerated plantlets, the effects of auxins, sucrose concentration and different basal medium on in vitro rooting and root development of regenerated shoots after transfer were investigated in this study. Auxin played an important role in in vitro rooting and rooting ability was affected by auxin type and the concentration. IBA (indolebutyric acid) 0.5mg/l was the most effective, providing high shoot regeneration frequency (98 %) as well as the highest number of roots (5.9 roots per shoot). Sucrose concentration from 10g/l to 30g/l was positively correlated with the rooting percentage and root number, however, higher sucrose concentration (40g/l) negatively inhibited rooting. WPM or 1/2MS medium produced better results than MS medium. Optimum rooting was attained on WPM or 1/2MS medium supplemented with IBA 0.5mg/l, sucrose 30g/l and agar 6g/l. 96% of the in vitro rooted plantlets with well developed shoots and roots survived after transfer. Root development of regenerated plantlets was much worse than that of seedlings after transfer. The ratio between root tips and leaf area in regenerated plantlets were significant lower than that of seedlings.