Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Portuguese Football

In this article, the author characterizes the financial crisis in Portuguese football on the basis of data published by Deloitte and Touche in its annual reports on the financial ramifications of the sport in Portugal. A strategy to be applied to the case, with a view to improving the clubs' financial management, is presented.
Effects of onsite stretching exercise on employee musculoskeletal discomfort and wellbeing

EFFECTS OF ONSITE STRETCHING EXERCISE ON EMPLOYEE MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND WELLBEING by Kellie L. Caldwell To fight high incidence of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort complaints among the maintenance workers in a large transportation company, this pilot intervention study of an on-site stretch and flex exercise program was implemented. The participants (n=62) were maintenance workers; whose age ranged from 26 to 69 years. A 41⁄2-minute video was created which included still images of human figures performing stretches, while a voice recording instructed how to perform each stretch. Exercises targeted the neck, shoulders, triceps, hamstrings, and quadriceps. The exercise program was conducted 5 days a week for 5 consecutive weeks, during daily shift meetings. The results of the intervention revealed that average discomfort levels reduced significantly (p<0.1) in neck (1.4 down to 0.76), in upper extremity (1.4 down to 0.79), in lower extremity (2.2 down to 1.29), and while performing activities of daily living in terms of personal care (0.3 down to 0.05), and lifting (0.52 down to 0.22) activities. Employee attitude towards performing stretch flex exercise at work had also improved after participating for 5 weeks. The study results strongly suggest that an on-site stretch and flex exercise program is an effective means of relieving pain and discomforts from manual work, and perceived to be beneficial by the workers. EFFECTS OF ONSITE STRETCHING EXERCISE ON EMPLOYEE MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AND WELLBEING by Kellie L. Caldwell A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Occupational Safety and Health Engineering Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Effects of sowing date and cultivar on radiation use efficiency in durum wheat

Field studies were conducted on durum wheat to assess the effects of three sowing dates and three cultivars with different flowering times on the stability of the biomass accumulated per unit of solar radiation intercepted that is usually considered constant in crop-simulation models. Aboveground dry matter varied widely, with minimum values ranging from 292 g m–2 at booting to 384 g m–2 at maturity and maximum values ranging from 1452 g m–2 at booting to 2565 g m–2 at maturity. The cumulative intercepted radiation at each phenological stage decreased as sowing was delayed. The leaf area index (LAI) ranged from 1.5 to 7.6 at booting and from 0.1 to 4.6 at the beginning of grain filling across treatments. Sowing dates and cultivars did not differ significantly in extinction coefficient values (0.38 ± 0.015). The estimated radiation use efficiency (eRUE) differed significantly between the two seasons (1.16 ± 0.09 g MJ–1 in 2000 and 1.61 ± 0.08 g MJ–1 in 2001) due to waterlogging in 2000 but did not differ among sowing dates and cultivars within each season. Under optimal growing conditions, eRUE of different cultivars of durum wheat were relatively stable across sowing dates, confirming their reliability for crop modelling in durum wheat as well as in bread wheat. Although eRUE was constant over the whole crop cycle regardless of the sowing date, it was lower at pre-anthesis in the latest sowing, in parallel with the variation in LAI. This study indicates that pre-anthesis eRUE may vary with sowing date under some conditions, depending on the variation in LAI in the period before anthesis.
Computer vision-based estimation of aircraft dynamics

Discusses the estimation of an aircraft motion from the optical flow observed by a downward-looking body-fixed camera. The estimation is based on the so-called "subspace constraint," which arises when points stationary on the environment are tracked on the image plane. The constraint can be combined with the aircraft dynamics, given rise to a nonlinear estimation problem. In the paper the problem was solved using an implicit extended Kalman filter. The suggested algorithm was implemented in a simulation, which verified that the angle of attack, the angle of sideslip and the angular body pitch, yaw and roll rates could be estimated.
Internal tandem duplications in the Flt3-gene in human acute myeloid leukemia

textabstractIn the process of hematopoietic development errors may occur, resulting in the aber¬rant activation of (proto-)oncogenes and inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes. This aberrant gene expression may finally result in leukemia, a neoplastic disorder in which immature hematopoietic cells accumulate in the BM where they fail to fully mature and dislocate the normal progenitor cells hence bringing the normal homeostatic processes out of balance. The fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (Flt3) is expressed on multipotential HSC and progeni¬tor cells, suggesting a critical role in stem cell development and differentiation. In 1996 Nakao et al. were the first to report a novel mutation in the Flt3 gene in a small number of AML patients. These mutations were shown to be internal tandem duplications, mainly involving a tyrosine rich stretch at the end of exon 14 (formerly known as exon 11), coding for the juxtamembrane domain of the receptor. Since at that time little was known about the biological characteristics and clinical relevance of Flt3/ITD this led us to further characterise these mutations, the main aim of the experiments described in this thesis.
Evaluating the Implementation of Bounce Back: Clinicians’ Perspectives on a School-Based Trauma Intervention

ABSTRACT Bounce Back is a school-based program developed to reduce the negative psychological impact of trauma for elementary school children, and research has shown its effectiveness. Recently, Bounce Back was piloted in a large urban school district using a community partnership model. Clinicians can provide important insights into challenges and promoting factors that are essential for the successful implementation and future scale-up of the program. Two focus groups were conducted with 10 Bounce Back providers serving diverse elementary students in the school district. In addition, quantitative measures of fidelity, satisfaction, school organizational structure, and treatment outcomes were examined. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by trained research assistants and themes were identified using ecological models of implementation. Clinicians reported high satisfaction with the program. Several challenges were universal across schools, including limited resources, time intensity of the program, and lack of trauma awareness among members of the school community. Schools with stronger implementation were identified and differentiating factors were examined. Overall, highly supportive school climates and administrations were associated with stronger implementation. However, the effects of less supportive climate and leadership could be mitigated with support from community partnerships and clinician flexibility and creativity. Results from this study underscore the importance of multiple levels of support for providers of Bounce Back.
Ecological aspects of seed desiccation sensitivity

1 The ability of seeds to survive desiccation is an important functional trait and is an integral part of plant regeneration ecology. Despite this, the topic has received relatively little attention from ecologists. In this study, we examine the relationships between seed desiccation tolerance and two important aspects of plant regeneration ecology: habitat and dormancy. This is done by comparative analysis of a data set of 886 tree and shrub species from 93 families. 2 The proportion of species displaying desiccation sensitive seeds declines as the habitat becomes drier, and possibly also cooler, although the latter observation requires cautious interpretation. Desiccation sensitivity is most common in moist, relatively aseasonal vegetation zones, but is infrequent in, though not absent from arid and highly seasonal habitats. 3 The highest frequency of desiccation sensitivity occurs in non‐pioneer evergreen rain forest trees, although 48% of the species examined have desiccation tolerant seeds. In contrast, all pioneer taxa within the data set have drying tolerant seeds. 4 Desiccation sensitivity is more frequent in seeds that are non‐dormant on shedding (c. 31%), than dormant (c. 9%). Highest frequencies of drying tolerance occur in seeds with physical or combinational dormancy, at 99% and 100%, respectively. 5 Although there is an association between non‐dormancy and desiccation sensitivity in both tropical and temperate zones, the relationship does not appear to be causal. 6 Working from the hypothesis that seed desiccation sensitivity represents a derived state in extant species, we use the results to investigate and discuss possible ecological trade‐offs and associated fitness advantages. These may explain the hypothesized repeated loss of this trait. The frequent association between large seed size and desiccation sensitivity is also considered.
Evolving concepts in liver tissue modeling and implications for in vitro toxicology

The development of human cell models stably expressing functional properties of the in vivo cells they are derived from for predicting toxicity of chemicals is a major challenge. For mimicking the liver, a major target of toxic chemicals, primary hepatocytes represent the most pertinent model. Their use is limited by interdonor functional variability and early phenotypic changes although their lifespan can be extended not only by culturing in a 2D dimension under sophisticated conditions but also by the use of synthetic and natural scaffolds as 3D supporting templates that allow cells to have a more stable microenvironment. Hepatocytes derived from stem cells could be the most appropriate alternative but up to now only liver progenitors/hepatoblasts are obtained in vitro. A few hepatocyte cell lines have retained a variable set of liver-specific functions. Among them are the human hepatoma HepaRG cells that express drug metabolism capacity at levels close to those found in primary hepatocytes making them a suitable model for both acute and chronic toxicity studies. New screening strategies are now proposed based on miniaturized and automated systems; they include the use of microfluidic chips and cell chips coupled with high content imaging analysis. Toxicogenomics technologies (particularly toxicotranscriptomics) have emerged as promising in vitro approaches for better identification and discrimination of cellular responses to chemicals. They should allow to discriminate compounds on the basis of the identification of a set of markers and/specific signaling pathways.
The Effects of Diets Containing Tallow and Cotton Seed Oil on Liver and Serum Parameters in Fattening Bulls

4 Abstract: The effects of addition of fats to the diet on some liver and serum parameters of fattening bulls were examined in breeding conditions. Twenty-four Brown Swiss calves, average weight of 275 kg, were assigned to three groups and fed the following mixed feeds for 183 days: I, control without added fat (CON); II, 2.5% vegetable oil contained (CSO); III, 2.5% animal fat contained (TAL). In the study, the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured. The serum concentrations of total protein (TP), albumin, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium and potassium and the concentration of liver glycogen and protein were determined. This study showed that both at the end of the backgrounding and the finishing period, differences for enzyme activities of AST, ALT, GGT and LDH, concentrations of TP, albumin, creatinine, Ca, P, Mg, Na and K among the groups were not statistically significant. However, glucose values were significantly higher (P<0.05) in TAL in both periods. Urea and P were significantly lower in vegetable oil in the backgrounding period while cholesterol and tryglyceride concentrations were significantly lower with vegetable oil in the finishing period. On the other hand, feeding bulls on the diet including animal fat caused a significant increase of the liver glycogen level (P<0.01). Liver protein was not influenced by fat addition.
Differences in photosynthetic activity between coral sections infested and not infested by boring spionid polychaetes

A SCUBA-based fast repetition rate fluorometer (FRRF) was used to study differences in the functional absorption cross-section of Photosystem II (σPSII) between areas of a coral colony of Astreoporamyriophthalma that were infested with spionid polychaetes vs areas lacking worms. The mean value of σPSII in infested areas (mean±SD=347.62±30.67 Å2) was significantly higher than in the areas that were not infested (316.32±17.49 Å2; P<0.0001). Several physiological mechanisms are discussed that may contribute to the observed differences.
Skatole concentrations in blood plasma of pigs as influenced by the effects of dietary factors on gut mucosa proliferation

Zusammenfassung Ernahrungseinflusse auf die Proliferation der Dunndarmmucosa beim Schwein und ihre Konsequenzen fur die Skatolbildung Skatol ist fur einen fakalartigen Geruch im Schlachtkorper von Schweinen verantwortlich. Es entsteht durch mikrobiellen Tryptophanabbau im Dickdarm. Vermutlich stellen abgeschilferte Zellen der Dunndarmmucosa die Hauptquelle des Tryptophan fur die Skatolbildung dar. Zur Uberprufung dieser Annahme wurden drei Gruppen mit je funf Borgen mit unterschiedlichen Rationen gefuttert und am Versuchsende eingeschlafert. Die Rationen unterscheiden sich im Energiegehalt (Kontrollration: 9,1 MJ ME/kg; Defizitration: 5,8 MJ ME/kg; Energieration: 14,1 MJ ME/kg). Zusatzlich enthielt die Energieration entweder niedrige Puringehalte oder, durch Zusatz von Bierhefe, hohe Gehalte. In seriell gewonnenen Blutproben wurden folgende Parameter gemessen: IGF-1 (korpereigenes Mitogen), Allantoin (Marker fur Zellabbau) und Skatol. In Gewebshomogenaten des Jejunums wurden zusatzlich Thymidinkinase und das RNA/Protein-Verhaltnis zur Charakterisierung der Proliferation erfast. Das Energiedefizit fuhrte zu sinkenden IGF-1 Konzentrationen und einem Anstieg von Allantoin. Damit war die mitotische Aktivitat im Dunndarm niedrig, so das auch die Skatolkonzentrationen sehr niedrig lagen (1 ng/ml). Hohe Energiezufuhr induzierte hohe IGF-1 Werte, wahrend Allantoin absank. Die Proliferation war erhoht, so das Skatol masig anstieg (2 ng/ml). Die zusatzliche Futterung von Purinen hatte keinen Einflus auf die IGF-1 Konzentrationen, steigerte jedoch die Mitoserate weiter, so das die Skatolkonzentrationen auf 10,3 ng/ml anstiegen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, das die Ernahrung Einflus auf die endokrine Regulation der Zellteilungsrate im Darm nimmt und erlaubt damit, entsprechende Anderungen der Skatolbildung zu erklaren.
Brief clinical report: a further patient with the Pitt-Rogers-Danks syndrome of mental retardation, unusual face, and intrauterine growth retardation

Syndrome decrit pour la 1ere fois par les 3 auteurs en 1984. Syndrome malformatif complexe avec dysmorphie faciale, retard de croissance, retard mental, anomalies des plis palmaires. Constatation en outre, dans le cas rapporte chez une fille, d'une malformation genitale avec hypoplasie des petites et grandes levres, d'une surdite, d'une petite taille, de mouvements dodelinants de la tete. Ce cas semble sporadique mais n'exclut pas une transmission autosomique necessaire rapportee par les 1ers auteurs
Coarse Woody Debris in Douglas-Fir Forests of Western Oregon and Washington

Amounts and structural characteristics of coarse woody debris (CWD) were examined in relation to stand age and site moisture condition in 196 Pseudotsuga menziesii stands in western Oregon and Washington. Stands ranged from 40 to 900 yr old, and most if not all, originated after fire. In a chronosequence from the Cascade range, the amount of CWD followed a U—shaped pattern for stands 200 yr old) among site moisture classes. Dry sites averaged 72 Mg/ha moderate sites 137 Mg/ha, and moist sites 174 Mg/ha. The dynamics of CWD were modeled for three fire histories, each beginning with an initial fire in an old—growth stand but differing in number and severity of subsequent fires. All three models exhibited low values of CWD between 80 and 200 yr. The lowest and most prolonged minimum in CWD between 80 and 200 yr. The lowest and most prolonged minimum in CWD during succession occurred when additional fires burned early in succession, which probably happened preceding many stands in the southern Coast Range. The results of the study indicate that a steady—state condition in CWD may not be reached for >1000 yr, and that the nature and timing of disturbance play a key role in the dynamics of CWD in the dynamics of CWD in the region.
Direct and Marker-Assisted Selection for Resistance to Common Bacterial Blight in Common Bean

Common bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli and X. campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans is a seed-borne disease that can signifi cantly reduce yield and seed quality of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Disease resistance is the most effective management strategy, but most common bean cultivars have no CBB resistance. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) shows promise as a method to facilitate pyramiding CBB resistance between common bean gene pools. This study compared the effi ciency of direct disease resistance selection (DDS) and MAS for the pyramiding and transfer of CBB resistance into dark red kidney bean. Direct disease resistance selection and MAS were applied independently, from the F 1 through the F 5 , in an inter-gene pool double- cross population, Wilkinson 2/dark red kidney (DRK) 2//DRK 1/VAX 3. Replicated trials were performed in the greenhouse and fi eld in 2006 and 2007 to assess levels of CBB resistance in 15 breeding lines independently developed with each method. Under high disease pressure, in two greenhouse environments, 12 resistant breeding lines were obtained with DDS compared with six using MAS, and the overall CBB mean disease severity index was 3.3 for DDS and 4.2 for MAS. Under moderate disease pressure in the fi eld, there was no signifi cant difference (p > 0.05) between the responses of breeding lines developed by the two selection methods. The cost of DDS was US$1.55 per plant compared to $2.03 for MAS.
Biomass Equations for Tropical Forest Tree Species in Mozambique

Chanfuta (Afzelia quanzensis Welw.), Jambire (Millettia stuhlmannii Taub.) and Umbila (Pterocarpus angolensis D.C.) are, among others, three of the main tropical tree species producing commercial timber in Mozambique. The present study employed destructive biomass estimation methods at three localities in Mozambique (Inhaminga, Mavume, and Tome) to acquire data on the mean diameter at breast height (DBH), and height of trees sampled in 21 stands each of Chanfuta and Jambire, and 15 stands of Umbila. Mean diameter at breast height (DBH) (ob) for Chanfuta, Jambire, and Umbila was: 33.8 ± 12.6 (range 13.5–61.1), 33.4 ± 7.4 (range 21.0–52.2), and 27.0 ± 9.5 (range 14.0–46.5) cm. The mean total values for biomass (kg) of trees of Chanfuta, Jambire, and Umbila trees were 864, 1016, and 321 respectively. The mean percentages of total tree biomass as stem, branch and leaf respectively were 54, 43, and 3 for Chanfuta; 77, 22, and 1 for Jambire; and 46, 51, and 3 for Umbila. The best fit species-specific equation for estimating total above ground biomass (AGB) was the power equation with only DBH considered as independent variable yielding coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.89 to 0.97. At stand level, a total mean of 27.3 tons ha−1 biomass was determined of which studied species represented 94.6%. At plot level, total mean biomass for Jambire was 11.8 tons ha−1, Chanfuta and Umbila 9.9 and 4.1 tons ha−1 respectively. The developed power equation fitted total and stem biomass data well and could be used for biomass prediction of the studied species in Mozambique.
Low genetic variation and isolation of northern peripheral populations of a red seaweed (Grateloupia lanceola)

Marine macroalgae are rarely considered from the point of view of conservation and the assessment of their conservation status is often limited by a lack of appropriate data. The red algae Grateloupia lanceola is a common inhabitant of Atlantic rocky shores along West Africa that also occurs in a small number of enclaves in the north-west Iberian Peninsula (NWIP). NWIP populations are notoriously separated from the main range of the species, and were proposed as candidates for inclusion in the regional list of species of conservation concern. In an attempt to provide further information to assess the status of these populations, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 2 and subunit 3 gene (cox2-3) sequences were used to investigate their genetic structure in the Iberian Peninsula. In contrast with the absence of variation in the cox2-3 region, AFLP revealed significant genetic differentiation and a clear isolation by distance pattern for samples separated by 100 s to 1000 km along Iberian shores. Together with assignment/exclusion tests, these results suggest that G. lanceola has geographically restricted dispersal, and indicate that NWIP sites are probably demographically isolated from other conspecifics. Therefore, it would be a mistake, from a conservation perspective, to assume that these populations may be subsidized by arrivals from distant populations located within the main range of the species. On a regional scale, most NWIP sites cluster into a single genetic unit with low genetic variation. Altogether, these results support the listing of NWIP populations of G. lanceola as vulnerable. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dynamics of Glucose-induced Membrane Recruitment of Protein Kinase C βII in Living Pancreatic Islet β-Cells* 210

The mechanisms by which glucose may affect protein kinase C (PKC) activity in the pancreatic islet β-cell are presently unclear. By developing adenovirally expressed chimeras encoding fusion proteins between green fluorescent protein and conventional (βII), novel (δ), or atypical (ζ) PKCs, we show that glucose selectively alters the subcellular localization of these enzymes dynamically in primary islet and MIN6 β-cells. Examined by laser scanning confocal or total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, elevated glucose concentrations induced oscillatory translocations of PKCβII to spatially confined regions of the plasma membrane. Suggesting that increases in free cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]c) were primarily responsible, prevention of [Ca2+]c increases with EGTA or diazoxide completely eliminated membrane recruitment, whereas elevation of cytosolic [Ca2+]c with KCl or tolbutamide was highly effective in redistributing PKCβII both to the plasma membrane and to the surface of dense core secretory vesicles. By contrast, the distribution of PKCδ·EGFP, which binds diacylglycerol but not Ca2+, was unaffected by glucose. Measurement of [Ca2+]c immediately beneath the plasma membrane with a ratiometric “pericam,” fused to synaptic vesicle-associated protein-25, revealed that depolarization induced significantly larger increases in [Ca2+]c in this domain. These data demonstrate that nutrient stimulation of β-cells causes spatially and temporally complex changes in the subcellular localization of PKCβII, possibly resulting from the generation of Ca2+ microdomains. Localized changes in PKCβII activity may thus have a role in the spatial control of insulin exocytosis.