Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dimensions of diet segregation in grey seals Halichoerus grypus revealed through stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N)

Although many studies have documented diets for terrestrial mammals, much less is known about prey selection in marine mammals. Variation in body size of terrestrial carnivores is cor- related with mass of prey consumed, and predator size often determines dietary overlap. Grey seals Halichoerus grypus are a size-dimorphic phocid seal inhabiting the Northwest Atlantic, with males 1.5× larger than females. Stable isotopes of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) provide useful tools for estimating trophic positions and carbon flow to consumers in food webs. δ 13 C and δ 15 N were analyzed for individual adult grey seals from Sable Island, Canada, between 1996 and 2001. Samples of skin were taken in May or September and the same animals were re-sampled when they returned to the breeding colony in January. In addition, samples were taken from juveniles (n = 29) in January 2004. δ 13 C and δ 15 N were also analyzed for 12 fish and 3 invertebrate species from the Scotian Shelf. Adult male (n = 36) and female (n = 36) grey seals exhibited significantly different δ 13 C and δ 15 N values (F1, 70 = 22.40; p < 0.001). On average, males were more enriched in both δ 13 C and δ 15 N than females. While there were no differences between sex in juveniles, signatures were significantly different from adults (F2,101 = 28.05; p < 0.001). Comparison of isotope values from potential prey suggests that adult males feed more heavily on benthic prey, whereas adult females appear to feed more on pelagic prey. Juveniles also appear to feed more on pelagic prey. These results are consistent with known dif- ferences in dive patterns and foraging behaviour in this population. In addition, there was a positive effect of body size on both δ 13 C (t = 2.54, p = 0.014) and δ 15 N (t = 2.48, p = 0.016) and a positive rela- tionship between δ 15 N and the rate of fat accumulation (kg d -1 ). These results suggest an underlying energetic basis to diet variation in grey seals. Finally, examination of the variance in stable isotope ratios suggested that while individual grey seals appear to be relative specialists in their diet, niche breadth was 1.5× greater in males than in females. On average, adult grey seals had a 2 × higher niche breadth than juveniles.
The domain of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operator on an $L^p$-space with invariant measure

We show that the domain of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operator on L p (R N ,µ dx ) equals the weighted Sobolev space W 2, p (R N ,µ dx ), where µ dx is the corresponding invariant measure. Our approach relies on the operator sum method, namely the commutative and the non commutative Dore-Venni theorems.
O catalytic oxidation on iron-embedded monolayer MoS 2

Based on first-principles calculations, the CO catalytic oxidation on the Fe-embedded monolayer MoS2 (Fe-MoS2) was investigated. It is found that Fe atom can be strongly constrained at the S vacancy of monolayer MoS2 with a high diffusion barrier. The CO oxidation reaction proceeds via a two-step mechanism vailable online 10 December 2014
Fiscal Policy under Long-Run Stagnation: A New Interpretation of the Multiplier Effect

We develop a Keynesian cross analysis with a dynamic optimization setting that explains long-run stagnation caused by aggregate demand deficiency. We show that an increase in government purchases boosts GDP through a multiplier process, but the implication is quite different from the conventional Keynesian one. It works not through an increase in disposable income but through moderation of deflation. Thus, countries that have lapsed into long-run stagnation should expand government spending that directly creates employment in order to reduce the deflationary gap.
THE ISSUE OF LONELINESS IN THE PERIOD OF „EMERGING ADULTHOOD”

Loneliness is a complex and multidimensional life experience affecting almost each individual. However, due to the turbulent social and civilization changes, it seems that a modern man more and more frequently suffers this unpleasant condition as well as emotions accompanying loneliness, that is: sadness, despair, apathy, diffidence, a sense of alienation. The phenomenon of loneliness has become a serious problem especially among the youth. This group indeed is subjected to intense and acute sense of loneliness, which is a result of, among others, low level of social skills, lack of emotional maturity or teachers’ and parents’ insufficient interest in their problems. The proposed paper will present the most important theoretical and empirical standpoints, and analyze types and symptoms of loneliness among the youth. When discussing the causes and consequences of the phenomenon, the author refers to both Polish (e.g. Public Opinion Research Center) and European research reports (e.g. Mental Health Report, SUPRE, ESPAD). The speech will also demonstrate selected institutional forms of support for the youth who experience loneliness as well as other emotional and social problems.
Anti-Human Herpesvirus 8 antibodies affect both insulin and glucose uptake by virus-infected human endothelial cells.

INTRODUCTION Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is known to be the cause of the malignant tumour named Kaposi's sarcoma. It is believed to induce an intense modification of cell metabolism in endothelial cells. In this work we analysed the role of anti-HHV8 antibodies in both the insulin and glucose uptake of HHV8-infected primary human endothelial cells (HUVEC). METHODOLOGY Western blotting, immunofluorescence and radiolabelled glucose were employed to assess the pPI3K expression, insulin binding and glucose-uptake by HUVEC cells, respectively. RESULTS We confirmed that HHV8-infection is able to enhance both insulin binding and glucose-uptake in HHV8-infected primary endothelial cells; in addition, we found that anti-HHV8 specific antibodies are able to further increase both insulin and glucose uptake during the late latent phase of HHV8-infection in vitro. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that a specific immune response to HHV8-infection may cooperate in boosting the cell metabolism, further enhancing the already increased insulin binding and glucose-uptake in HHV8-infected cells, which is a peculiar property of several oncogenic viruses.
COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED URINARY TRACT BACTERIAL INFECTIONS AND DRUG RESISTANCE AMONG PATIENTS FOLLOWED AT A REFERENCE CENTER IN FORTALEZA, CEARÁ, BRAZIL

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial resistance pattern of the most frequent pathogens responsible for community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive epidemiological survey involving all urine samples submitted for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing from patients with clinical diagnosis of UTI followed at the outpatient clinic of the Nucleo de Atencao Medica Integrada, University of Fortaleza, Brazil. The study period was from September 2012 to July 2013. Urine cultures were processed with clean-catch midstream urine samples in the local laboratory employing standard methods. A questionnaire was used to collect patient demographic data and the results of the bacterial identification and susceptibility testing. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: A total of 514 urine samples were analyzed. Most patients were females (78.6%). Patients’ mean age was 39 years old. Bacterial growth was observed in 16.5% of the samples. This rate was lower in women (13.6%) than in men (27.3%). The most prevalent pathogen was Escherichia coli (57.6%), followed by Klebsiella sp. (35.3%) and Proteus sp. (4.7%). E. coli showed a high frequency of resistance to ampicillin (88.2%) and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (77.1%), as well as significant resistance to ciprofloxacin (38.9%) and norfloxacin (39.4%). Isolates from elderly patients (>60 years) had higher resistance to all tested antibiotics. Conclusions: There is a trend toward increasing bacterial resistance among the main UTI pathogens. Resistance to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim follows a worldwide increase rate tendency and it should be avoided as a first-line empirical treatment for UTIs. A significant resistance to quinolones was also observed
STRUCTURAL, ELASTIC AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF NEODYMIUM CHALCOGENIDES (NdX, X=S, Se, Te): FIRST PRINCIPLES STUDY

First principle calculations on structural, elastic and electronic properties of neodymium chalcogenides (viz. NdX, X= S, Se, Te) have been made using the full-potential augmented plane-waves plus local orbitals (APW + lo) within density-functional theory (DFT) using generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for exchange correlation potentials. The ground state lattice parameter, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative have been obtained using optimization method. Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson ratio, sound velocities for longitudinal and shear waves, Debye average velocity, Debye temperature and Gruneisen parameter have also been calculated for these compounds. Calculated structural, elastic and other parameters are in good agreement with available data. From electronic calculations, it has been found that electronic conductivity in neodymium chalcogenides is mainly caused by the Nd p-orbital electrons and S (Se or Se) s-orbital electrons.
Arrangement of a Multi Stereo Visual Sensor System for a Human Activities Space

The first part of this chapter introduces a mathematical geometry model which is used to analyze the iso-disparity surface. This model can be used to dynamically adjust the positions, poses and baseline lengths of multiple stereo pairs of cameras in 3D space in order to get sufficient visibility and accuracy for surveillance, tracking and 3D reconstruction. The depth reconstruction accuracy is quantitatively analyzed by the proposed model. The proposed iso-disparity mathematical model presents possibility of reliable control of the iso-disparity curves’ shapes and intervals by applying the systems configuration and target properties. In the second part of this chapter, the key factors affecting the accuracy of 3D reconstruction are analysed. It shows that the convergence angle and target distance influence the depth reconstruction accuracy most significantly. The depth accuracy constraints are implemented in the model to control the stereo pair’s baseline length, position and pose. It guarantees a certain accuracy in the 3D reconstruction. The reconstruction accuracy is verified by a cubic reconstruction method. The optimization is implemented by applying the camera, object and stereo pair constraints into the integer linear programming.
Management und Verarbeitung medizinischer multimedialer Daten

Dieser Artikel gibt eine Einfuhrung in die inhaltsbasierte Suche in medizinischen Bilddatenbanken. Es wird klar, dass neue bildgebende Verfahren in der Medizin nicht nur fur eine erhohte Variabilitat der Bildoder Multimedia-Daten sorgen, sondern auch die Anzahl der erzeugten Dokumente und deren Grose standig steigt (Radiologie Genf: ~40'000 Bilder pro Tag im Jahr 2006, ). Wie in der Radiologie, wo mittlerweile fast alle Bilder in digitaler Form verfugbar sein konnen, werden auch in anderen Bereichen (Pathologie, Dermatologie) verstarkt Bilder digital erzeugt, die uber kurz oder lang ebenfalls im PACS (Picture Archival and Communication System) gespeichert werden mussen. Bisher wurden medizinische multimediale Daten nur patientenbezogen gespeichert und genutzt. Da in den Daten vergangener Falle auch viel Information auch fur die Zukunft gespeichert ist, drangt die Forschung verstarkt dazu, Daten gezielt fur die Diagnoseunterstutzung zu extrahieren und zu benutzen. Das birgt auf der einen Seite Chancen fur eine verbesserte Diagnoseunterstutzung, auf der anderen Seite Risiken fur die Privatsphare der Patienten. Bei der Erstellung von Datenbanken muss also vorsichtig vorgegangen werden, und vor allem mussen an Kliniken klare Richtlinien fur die Weiterbenutzung von klinischen Daten existieren um die geplante Benutzung zu erleichtern. Inhaltsbasierte Bildsuche ist eine Technik, die es erlaubt, in Datenbanken nach visuell ahnlichen Bildern zu suchen, bzw. im medizinischen Bereich Falle mit ahnlichen Bildern zu finden . Dies entspricht einem Mediziner, der alte Falle ahnlich zu seinem aktuell behandelten Fall benotigt, um sie mit der jetzigen Situation zu vergleichen. Alte Falle mussen dabei anonymisiert sein, allerdings so viel Information wie moglich enthalten, z.B. Bilder, Alter, Medikamente, Diagnose, Behandlung aber auch, falls moglich, das Resultat der Behandlung. Dieser Artikel fuhrt multimediale Datenquellen im Krankenhaus ein und beschreibt die inhaltsbasierte Suche mit all Ihren Vorteilen und Problemen. Am Ende werden Forschungsrichtungen beschrieben, die den aktuellen Techniken weiterhelfen durften.
New Voltage-Mode All-pass Filter Topology Employing Single Current Operational Amplifier

In this paper, a new voltage-mode all-pass filter topology based on single current operational amplifier (COA) and the implementation of COA by using current conveyors are presented. The proposed topology employs three admittances and single active circuit element. COA implementation by using current conveyor blocks as sub-circuit contributes to workability of the COA employing circuits by using commercially available integrated circuits that can be employed as current conveyor. The validity of the proposed filter is verified by PSPICE simulation programme by using the MOSIS 0.35 micron CMOS process parameters. The simulation results agree well with the theoretical analysis and the circuit achieve a good total harmonic distortion (THD) performance.
Computational Modeling of Spermatozoa Signal Transduction Pathways: Just a Computer Game or a Reliable Tool in Studying Male GametesFunction?

Mammalian spermatozoa gain their fertilizing ability only after they reside within the female genital tract, where important physical-chemical modifications, the “capacitation”, occur: the cytoskeleton reorganizes, the membranes become more instable and tend to fuse each other, the protein phosphorylation pattern changes, a new motility pattern, the hyperactivated motility, appears. These events are regulated by several signal transduction pathways, whose failure could have negative implication for fertility. Unfortunately, frequently it is impossible to issue a diagnosis, as in the case of “idiopathic infertility”. In our opinion, this inability could be not due to the scarcity of molecular data, but to the difficulty to manage them. Indeed, spermatozoa (like other cells) are constituted by heterogeneous components that interact collectively and nonlinearly, giving rise to a complex behavior in which the whole system is more than the sum of its single components. To overcome this problem, we adopted a holistic approach based on computational modeling. We represented the events occurring during human spermatozoa capacitation as a biological network of nodes (the molecules) and links (the interactions). Topological analyses of network showed that it has a scale free topology and that it is characterized by a high signaling efficiency and robustness against random failure. Interestingly, we found that the same topology is shared with other organisms, sea urchin and Caenorhabditis elegans, belonging to different Phyla and characterized by very different reproductive ecology. Further, we modelized boar sperm capacitation, separating the molecules depending on their subcellular compartment: model analysis suggested that actin cytoskeleton is not only a mechanical support, but it could participate to the coordination of the capacitation-related events. This hypothesis was, then, successfully validated in an in vitro experiment. In conclusion, from computational models it is possible to infer important information not otherwise obtainable, then improving the understanding of the spermatozoa biology complexity.
Registration of the OhVRS-1 Maize Synthetic Population

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or trans mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher. ABSTRACT Virus diseases cause significant losses in maize worldwide. A virus-resistant synthetic maize (Zea mays L.) population, OhVRS-1 (Reg. No. GP-583, PI 665687), was developed by the USDA Corn and Soybean Research Unit and released as a germplasm resource by Ohio State University, the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center, and the USDA. OhVRS-1 is a synthetic population made up of tropical and Corn Belt germplasm selected for high levels of resistance to viral diseases, and B73-selected for agronomic traits. The population has undergone one complete cycle of S1 recurrent selection for resistance to Maize dwarf mosaic virus, Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), and Maize chlorotic dwarf virus. The OhVRS-1 cycle-1 was significantly more resistant to SCMV and had a reduction in days to mid-silk when compared with cycle-0.
Self-Learning of Feature Regions for Image Recognition

Mobile systems are used in various environments. Thus, it is practical for image recognition systems to autonomously learn template images that are adaptive to objects in their various environments. However, learning the features of such objects requires large-scale computation and complex control. Hence, we propose an image recognition system that selects and learns regions that have a given object's features. This system is designed as a hardware/software (hw/sw) complex system with the multi-dimensional field programmable gate array (FPGA) “Vocalise. ” This study discusses the possibility of dynamically building image databases and of real-time learning using the proposed image recognition system. Results indicate that the learning speed of the proposed method is estimated to be 1.4 × 103 faster than that obtained with a conventional software method. This suggests the possibility of real-time learning.
In vitro radical scavenging activity and antimicrobial potential of Berberis asiatica Roxb. ex DC. fruit extracts in four different processed forms

Berberis asiatica Roxb. ex DC. fruit, sampled in four different states as dried, pulp, juice and pomace, were extracted sequentially with solvents of varying polarity. All different crude extracts were screened for quantification of total phenols (TPC) and total flavonoids (TFC) by Folin–Ciocalteu’s phenol method and Aluminium chloride colorimetric method. The high TPC and TFC of juice and pomace extracts followed by dried and pulp extracts correspond to their high radical scavenging activity with efficient microbial inhibitory potential. The range of antioxidant capacity (FRAP assay) of different extracts laid between 55 mM TE/g to 480 mM TE/g extract. Bacillus cereus exhibited high sensitivity to all the extracts with maximum zone of inhibition (27 mm) at extract concentration 50 mg/mL (Juice Ethyl acetate extract) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) from 8 mg/mL to 2 mg/mL. The results provided a mark for the fruit under investigation that it might be a potential source of rich phenolics, antioxidants and antimicrobial agents that can be utilized in food industry.
ON THE EIGENVALUES OF FIREFLY GRAPHS

The sharp upper bounds and the sharp lower bounds of the largest‎ ‎eigenvalues $lambda_1$‎, ‎the least eigenvalue $lambda_n$‎, ‎the second largest eigenvalue $lambda_2$‎, ‎the spread and the‎ ‎separator among all firefly graphs on $n$ vertices are determined‎.
Solute Composition : A Parameter Affecting the Distribution of Freshwater Gastropods

Paired water and gastropod samples were collected from 90 lakes, springs, and wetlands throughout the northwestern quarter of the U.S. Results suggest that a strong relation exists between the solute composition and concentration of water and the occurrence of gastropods. Solute composition refers to bicarbonate-carbonate, sulfate, and chloride anions, and sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium cations that make up the dominant ions within natural waters. Concentration can be considered to be the sum of ion concentration per liter and expressed as total dissolved solids (TDS) in solution. Conclusions include: 1) solute composition appears to be at least as important as concentration for species occurrence, 2) the relative proportion of bicarbonate-carbonate and calcium can serve as an isolating mechanism for the distribution of these taxa, and 3) the underlying cause for this distribution appears to be closely linked to the geochemical solute branchpoint process. For example, Valvata inhabit only waters where bicarbonate-carbonate is equal to or greater than calcium. Fossaria occur in waters where bicarbonate-carbonate is less than calcium at higher TDS levels, whereas Gyraulus are found in waters dominated by either greater bicarbonate-carbonate or calcium.
Passivity analysis for flexible multilink space manipulators

The important input-output property of passivity is explored for a general flexible space manipulator with chain topology. The manipulator is assumed to consist of rigid and/or flexible links interconnected via revolute joints, and a free rigid spacecraft and cantilevered payload are modeled at the base and tip, respectively. Actuation on the spacecraft and torques at the joints serve as control inputs and a suitably modified input variable is constructed. The notion of reflected tip position introduced by Wang and Vidyasagar for a single flexible link is extended to the multilink case and used to define a corresponding modified output variable. The dynamics governing the system are developed using a Lagrangian approach and both linearized and nonlinear forms of the mapping relating modified inputs to modified outputs are examined. Our major result shows that the transfer function in the linear case is positive real when the spacecraft and payload are much more massive than the manipulator links. The corresponding nonlinear analysis shows that the mapping is, in fact, passive and uncovers an approximate static relationship between the elastic coordinates and applied torques. A numerical example employing the Space Shuttle, remote manipulator system, and payload is used to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical results. Applications to control system design are indicated.