Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Codonopsis lanceolata with Steamed and Fermented Process on Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment in Mice

Codonopsis lanceolata (Campanulaceae) traditionally have been used as a tonic and to treat patients with lung abscesses. Recently, it was proposed that the extract and some compounds isolated from C. lanceolata reversed scopolamine-induced memory and learning deficits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the improvement of cognitive enhancing effect of C. lanceolata by steam and fermentation process in scopolamine-induced memory impairment mice models by passive avoidance test and Morris water maze test. The extract of C. lanceolata or the extract of steamed and fermented C. lanceolata (SFCE) was orally administered to male mice at the doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg body weight. As a result, mice treated with steamed and fermented C. lanceolata extract (SFCE) (300 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) showed shorter escape latencies than those with C. lanceolata extract or the scopolamine-administered group in Morris water maze test. Also, it exerted longer step-through latency time than scopolamine treated group in passive avoidance test. Furthermore, neuroprotective effect of SFCE on glutamate-induced cytotoxicity was assessed in HT22 cells. Only SFCE-treated cells showed significant protection at 500 μg/ml. Interestingly, steamed C. lanceolata with fermentation contained more phenolic acid including gallic acid and vanillic acid than original C. lanceolata. Collectively, these results suggest that steam and fermentation process of C. lanceolata increased cognitive enhancing activity related to the memory processes and neuroprotective effect than original C. lanceolata.
Role of a Ubiquitously Expressed Receptor in the Vertebrate Olfactory System

Odorant cues are recognized by receptors expressed on olfactory sensory neurons, the primary sensory neurons of the olfactory epithelium. Odorant receptors typically obey the “one receptor, one neuron” rule, in which the receptive field of the olfactory neuron is determined by the singular odorant receptor that it expresses. Odor-evoked receptor activity across the population of olfactory neurons is then interpreted by the brain to identify the molecular nature of the odorant stimulus. In the present study, we characterized the properties of a C family G-protein-coupled receptor that, unlike most other odorant receptors, is expressed in a large population of microvillous sensory neurons in the zebrafish olfactory epithelium and the mouse vomeronasal organ. We found that this receptor, OlfCc1 in zebrafish and its murine ortholog Vmn2r1, is a calcium-dependent, low-sensitivity receptor specific for the hydrophobic amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine. Loss-of-function experiments in zebrafish embryos demonstrate that OlfCc1 is required for olfactory responses to a diverse mixture of polar, nonpolar, acidic, and basic amino acids. OlfCc1 was also found to promote localization of other OlfC receptor family members to the plasma membrane in heterologous cells. Together, these results suggest that the broadly expressed OlfCc1 is required for amino acid detection by the olfactory system and suggest that it plays a role in the function and/or intracellular trafficking of other olfactory and vomeronasal receptors with which it is coexpressed.
Resting alpha activity predicts learning ability in alpha neurofeedback

Individuals differ in their ability to learn how to regulate the brain activity by neurofeedback. This study aimed to investigate whether the resting alpha activity can predict the learning ability in alpha neurofeedback. A total of 25 subjects performed 20 sessions of individualized alpha neurofeedback and the learning ability was assessed by three indices respectively: the training parameter changes between two periods, within a short period and across the whole training time. It was found that the resting alpha amplitude measured before training had significant positive correlations with all learning indices and could be used as a predictor for the learning ability prediction. This finding would help the researchers in not only predicting the training efficacy in individuals but also gaining further insight into the mechanisms of alpha neurofeedback.
The increased efficiency of fish swimming in a school

There is increasing evidence that fish gain energetic benefits from the hydrodynamic interactions when they swim in a school. The most recent indications of such benefits are a lower tail (or fin) beat at the back of a school and reduced oxygen consumption in schooling fish versus solitary ones. How such advantages may arise is poorly understood. Current hydrodynamic theories concern either fish swimming side by side or in a diamond configuration and they largely ignore effects of viscosity and interactions among wakes and individuals. In reality, however, hydrodynamic effects are complex and fish swim in many configurations. Since these hydrodynamic effects are difficult to study empirically, we investigate them in a computer model by incorporating viscosity and interactions among wakes and with individuals. We compare swimming efficiency of model fish (based on shapes of mullets of 126 mm) travelling solitarily and in schools at several interindividual distances in four different configurations (diamond, rectangular, phalanx and line). We show that these fish always swim more efficiently in a school than alone (except in a dense phalanx). We indicate how this efficiency may emerge from several kinds of interactions between wakes and individuals. As individuals in our simulations are not even intending to exploit the wake, gains in efficiency are obtained more easily than previously thought.
Lysosomal and phagocytic activity is increased in astrocytes during disease progression in the SOD1 G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Astrocytes are key players in the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Previously, gene expression profiling of astrocytes from the pre-symptomatic stage of the SOD1G93A model of ALS has revealed reduced lactate metabolism and altered trophic support. Here, we have performed microarray analysis of symptomatic and late-stage disease astrocytes isolated by laser capture microdissection (LCM) from the lumbar spinal cord of the SOD1G93A mouse to complete the picture of astrocyte behavior throughout the disease course. Astrocytes at symptomatic and late-stage disease show a distinct up-regulation of transcripts defining a reactive phenotype, such as those involved in the lysosome and phagocytic pathways. Functional analysis of hexosaminidase B enzyme activity in the spinal cord and of astrocyte phagocytic ability has demonstrated a significant increase in lysosomal enzyme activity and phagocytic activity in SOD1G93A vs. littermate controls, validating the findings of the microarray study. In addition to the increased reactivity seen at both stages, astrocytes from late-stage disease showed decreased expression of many transcripts involved in cholesterol homeostasis. Staining for the master regulator of cholesterol synthesis, SREBP2, has revealed an increased localization to the cytoplasm of astrocytes and motor neurons in late-stage SOD1G93A spinal cord, indicating that down-regulation of transcripts may be due to an excess of cholesterol in the CNS during late-stage disease possibly due to phagocytosis of neuronal debris. Our data reveal that SOD1G93A astrocytes are characterized more by a loss of supportive function than a toxic phenotype during ALS disease progression and future studies should focus upon restorative therapies.
Cohort profile: the PATH through life project.

Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
A Deep Survey of the Fornax dSph. I. Star Formation History

Based on a deep imaging survey, we present the first homogeneous star formation history (SFH) of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy. We have obtained two-filter photometry to a depth of B ∼ 23 over the entire surface of Fornax, the brightest dSph associated with the Milky Way, and derived its SFH using a CMD-fitting technique. We show that Fornax has produced the most complex star formation and chemical enrichment histories of all the Milky Way dSphs. This system has supported multiple epochs of star formation. A significant number of stars were formed in the early universe; however, the most dominant population are the intermediate-age stars. This includes a strong burst of star formation approximately 3-4 Gyr ago. Significant population gradients are also evident. Similar to other dSphs, we have found that recent star formation was concentrated toward the center of the system. Furthermore, we show that the central region harbored a faster rate of chemical enrichment than the outer parts of Fornax. At the center, the ancient stars (age > 10 Gyr) display a mean metallicity of [ Fe/H ] ∼ − 1.4, with evidence for three peaks in the metallicity distribution. Overall, enrichment in Fornax has been highly efficient: the most recent star formation burst has produced stars with close to solar metallicity. Our results support a scenario in which Fornax experienced an early phase of rapid chemical enrichment, producing a wide range of abundances. Star formation gradually decreased until ~4 Gyr ago, when Fornax experienced a sudden burst of strong star formation activity accompanied by substantial chemical enrichment. Weaker star-forming events followed, and we have found tentative evidence for stars with ages less than 100 Myr.
Peripheral and cerebral metabolic features in an animal model of Huntington's disease

Metabolic dysfunction is relatively common in Huntington's disease (HD) patients and in HD transgenic mouse models. The YAC128 mice express full-length mutant huntingtin (mHtt) with 128 glutamines and manifest a phenotype close to HD patients. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of an hyperglycemic background on peripheral and central metabolic parameters in YAC128 mice versus wild-type littermates. Both YAC128 and WT mice exhibited elevated fasting and non-fasting plasma glucose levels, but no significant change in body weight or metabolic parameters were found. However, in Insulin Tolerance Test, YAC128 mice showed significantly higher glucose values, compared to WT mice. The HD mice also showed a tendency to impairment in motor coordination and balance. In YAC128 mice, plasma or brain levels of IGF-1 and insulin were not significantly changed, although there was a tendency for a decrease in insulin. Moreover, a reduction in energy charge and higher lactate/pyruvate ratio were detected in HD brain. These data suggest that expression of full-length mHtt in hyperglycémie background may induce both peripheral and central metabolic changes.
Professional discretion and length of work experience: what findings from focus groups with care managers in elder care suggest

ABSTRACT Research has explored how care managers in elder care – who often function as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ – regard professional discretion. The way in which length of work experience affects care managers’ use of professional discretion remains, however, unexplored. This article present findings from 12 focus groups with 60 care managers. By bringing attention to how care managers experience the needs assessment process, this article sheds light on how these ‘street-level bureaucrats’ struggle when they try to balance their clients’ needs against institutional frameworks and local guidelines. Length of work experience seems to play a role in how care managers claim to use professional discretion. Experienced care managers describe how they deviate from the guidelines at times in order to create an increased scope of action in their decision-making process. Those with less time in the profession describe greater difficulties in this respect. Findings suggest that research should explore if length of work experience plays a role in the actual way in which care managers assess needs and make decisions. As such, they contribute to our understanding of how needs assessment processes are navigated by professionals while also pointing towards the nature of professional discretion in gerontological social work.
Gender and relationship differences in the perceptions of male and female leadership

This research aims to investigate the differences in evaluations of job performance between male and female managers by those managers’ immediate bosses and peers. ,Drawing on gender structure theory, along with ideas about status characteristics, the authors use hierarchical regression to test the hypotheses that male and female bosses and peers deferentially evaluate the male and female manager’s global job performance. The authors hypothesize significant two-way interactions (gender of the manager by gender of evaluator) in predicting a manager’s job performance. ,The results suggest that while male peers rate female managers’ job performance significantly lower than that of male managers, female peers do not discriminate between genders in their performance evaluations. Also, managers’ bosses were found not to discriminate between genders of their subordinates. ,The limitations of this study have to do primarily with the data. While the data are rich on some dimensions, they are weak on others, especially with regard to the detail about the jobs the respondents did, detailed level of familiarity with the evaluated managers, as well as racial background. The data also do not provide information on the different facets of job performance, the evaluation of which could potentially be impacted by managerial gender; this study is focused exclusively on global job performance. ,The authors discuss various theoretical explanations of this pattern of results, as well as its possible influence on female managers’ careers. Although the effect size of the negative bias that male peers exhibit toward female managers is relatively small, it may be argued that lower performance assessments can accumulate over years in multiple job evaluations, negatively affecting the career of female leaders. ,The evaluations supplied by different organizational members gain importance with the increased use of 360-degree feedback instruments not just for developmental but also for the job performance appraisal purposes. While the job evaluations of managers’ bosses have been investigated in the past with regard to the possible gender bias, this study provides the first known to the authors’, evidence. Also, this study points to a direct bias in performance assessments, rather than a potentially more subtle, non-performance-based bias that affects the disparities in wages and promotions of female managers. Thus, this study helps to fill a significant gap in the literature on organizations and it may have practical implications for the advancement of female managers. In addition to this contribution, this study also provides data that may be useful in resolving the ongoing debate whether female bosses act more as cogs in the machine or as change agents in organizations.
A Posteriori Error Estimates for Lowest-Order Mixed Finite Element Discretizations of Convection-Diffusion-Reaction Equations

We establish residual a posteriori error estimates for lowest-order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element discretizations of convection-diffusion-reaction equations on simplicial meshes in two or three space dimensions. The upwind-mixed scheme is considered as well, and the emphasis is put on the presence of an inhomogeneous and anisotropic diffusion-dispersion tensor and on a possible convection dominance. Global upper bounds for the approximation error in the energy norm are derived, where in particular all constants are evaluated explicitly, so that the estimators are fully computable. Our estimators give local lower bounds for the error as well, and they hold from the cases where convection or reaction are not present to convection- or reaction-dominated problems; we prove that their local efficiency depends only on local variations in the coefficients and on the local Peclet number. Moreover, the developed general framework allows for asymptotic exactness and full robustness with respect to inhomogeneities and anisotropies. The main idea of the proof is a construction of a locally postprocessed approximate solution using the mean value and the flux in each element, known in the mixed finite element method, and a subsequent use of the abstract framework arising from the primal weak formulation of the continuous problem. Numerical experiments confirm the guaranteed upper bound and excellent efficiency and robustness of the derived estimators.
Assessment of Risk

3.1 Introduction This chapter is primarily about the role of analytical techniques in the assessment of risk and specifically the value of water quality indicator parameters in this process. Assessment of risk in relation to drinking water supplies is undertaken for a number of reasons (Percival et al., 2000): • To predict the burden of waterborne disease in the community, under outbreak and non-outbreak conditions. This is helpful in determining the impact of improvements in water supply on health and to act as a driver towards improvement. • To help set microbial standards for drinking water supplies that will give tolerable levels of illness within the populations drinking that water. • To identify the most cost-effective option to reduce microbial health risks to drinking water consumers. • To help determine the optimum treatment of water to balance microbial risks against chemical risks from disinfection by-products. • To provide a conceptual framework to help individuals and organisations understand the nature and risk to, and from, their water and how those risks can be minimised. The focus of this chapter is to review the value of indicator parameters of water quality and other analyses in the context of three different approaches to the assessment of risk, namely: 80 • Epidemiological methods.
Efficient applications in user transparent parallel image processing

Although many image processing applications are ideally suited for parallel implementation, most researchers in imaging do not benefit from high performance computing on a daily basis. Essentially, this is due to the fact that no parallelization tools exist that truly match the image processing researcher's frame of reference. As it is unrealistic to expect imaging researchers to become experts in parallel computing, tools must be provided to allow them to develop high performance applications in a highly familiar manner.In an attempt to provide such a tool, we have designed a software architecture that allows transparent (i.e., sequential) implementation of data parallel imaging applications for execution on homogeneous distributed memory MIMD-style multicomputers. This paper gives an assessment of the architecture's effectiveness in providing significant performance gains. In particular, we describe the implementation and automatic parallelization of three well-known example applications that contain many fundamental imaging operations: (1) template matching, (2) multi-baseline stereo vision, and (3) line detection. Based on experimental results we conclude that our architecture constitutes a powerful and user-friendly tool for obtaining high performance in many important image processing research areas.
The dynamic of the annual carbon allocation to wood in European tree species is consistent with a combined source–sink limitation of growth: implications for modelling

Abstract. The extent to which wood growth is limited by carbon (C) supply (i.e. source control) or by cambial activity (i.e. sink control) will strongly determine the responses of trees to global changes. Nevertheless, the physiological processes that are responsible for limiting forest growth are still a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the key determinants of the annual C allocation to wood along large soil and climate regional gradients over France. The study was conducted for five tree species representative of the main European forest biomes (Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea, Quercus ilex, Quercus robur and Picea abies). The drivers of stand biomass growth were assessed on both inter-site and inter-annual scales. Our data set comprised field measurements performed at 49 sites (931 site-years) that included biometric measurements and a variety of stand characteristics (e.g. soil water holding capacity, leaf area index). It was complemented with process-based simulations when possible explanatory variables could not be directly measured (e.g. annual and seasonal tree C balance, bioclimatic water stress indices). Specifically, the relative influences of tree C balance (source control), direct environmental control (water and temperature controls of sink activity) and allocation adjustments related to age, past climate conditions, competition intensity and soil nutrient availability on growth were quantified. The inter-site variability in the stand C allocation to wood was predominantly driven by age-related decline. The direct effects of temperature and water stress on sink activity (i.e. effects independent from their effects on the C supply) exerted a strong influence on the annual stand wood growth in all of the species considered, including deciduous temperate species. The lagged effect of the past environmental conditions (e.g. the previous year's water stress and low C uptake) significantly affected the annual C allocation to wood. The C supply appeared to strongly limit growth only in temperate deciduous species. We provide an evaluation of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the annual C allocation to wood in French forests. Our study supports the premise that the growth of European tree species is subject to complex control processes that include both source and sink limitations. The relative influences of the growth drivers strongly vary with time and across spatial ecological gradients. We suggest a straightforward modelling framework with which to implement these combined forest growth limitations into terrestrial biosphere models.