Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glucose localization in maize ovaries when kernel number decreases at low water potential and sucrose is fed to the stems.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Around the time of anthesis, young ovary development in maize (Zea mays) is vulnerable to 2 or 3 d of water deficits that inhibit photosynthesis. Abortion can result, and fewer kernels are produced. A breakdown of stored ovary starch is associated with the abortion and was investigated in the present study by localizing the breakdown product glucose in the ovaries. METHODS Ovary glucose was localized with fluorescent Resorufin. Insoluble invertase was localized in vivo and soluble invertase in situ. Sucrose was infused into the stems to vary the sugar flux to the ovaries. KEY RESULTS At high water potential (high Psi(w)), photosynthesis was rapid in the parent. The upper pedicel of the ovaries had a high activity of insoluble acid invertase and a large amount of glucose and starch. Because the invertase was wall-bound, sucrose hydrolysis appeared to occur in the pedicel apoplast. Soluble invertase was undetected inside the pedicel cells but was present in the nucellus cells where low concentrations of glucose occurred. This created a glucose gradient between pedicel and nucellus that favoured glucose uptake by the developing ovary. At low Psi(w), photosynthesis was inhibited, pedicel glucose and starch were depleted, the glucose gradient became negligible, and abortion occurred. When sucrose was fed, glucose, starch and the glucose gradient were maintained somewhat and were normally distributed in the ovaries. Abortion was diminished. CONCLUSIONS The apoplast hydrolysis of sucrose unloaded from phloem is similar to that described by others during later development when embryo and endosperm are present and separated from the parent by an apoplast. The disappearance of the glucose gradient at low Psi(w) may have inhibited glucose movement into the ovary. The low glucose in the ovaries may have a role in the abortion response.
Tobacco smoking and risk of endometriosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective Since conflicting results have been published on the role of tobacco smoking on the risk of endometriosis, we provide an up-to-date summary quantification of this potential association. Design We performed a PubMed/MEDLINE search of the relevant publications up to September 2014, considering studies on humans published in English. We searched the reference list of the identified papers to find other relevant publications. Case–control as well as cohort studies have been included reporting risk estimates on the association between tobacco smoking and endometriosis. 38 of the 1758 screened papers met the inclusion criteria. The selected studies included a total of 13 129 women diagnosed with endometriosis. Setting Academic hospitals. Main outcome measure Risk of endometriosis in tobacco smokers. Results We obtained the summary estimates of the relative risk (RR) using the random effect model, and assessed the heterogeneity among studies using the χ2 test and quantified it using the I2 statistic. As compared to never-smokers, the summary RR were 0.96 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.08) for ever smokers, 0.95 (95% CI 0.81 to 1.11) for former smokers, 0.92 (95% CI 0.82 to 1.04) for current smokers, 0.87 (95% CI 0.70 to 1.07) for moderate smokers and 0.93 (95% CI 0.69 to 1.26) for heavy smokers. Conclusions The present meta-analysis provided no evidence for an association between tobacco smoking and the risk of endometriosis. The results were consistent considering ever, former, current, moderate and heavy smokers, and across type of endometriosis and study design.
The North American Carbon Program Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project – Part 2: Environmental driver data

Abstract. Ecosystems are important and dynamic components of the global carbon cycle, and terrestrial biospheric models (TBMs) are crucial tools in further understanding of how terrestrial carbon is stored and exchanged with the atmosphere across a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Improving TBM skills, and quantifying and reducing their estimation uncertainties, pose significant challenges. The Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project (MsTMIP) is a formal multi-scale and multi-model intercomparison effort set up to tackle these challenges. The MsTMIP protocol prescribes standardized environmental driver data that are shared among model teams to facilitate model–model and model–observation comparisons. This paper describes the global and North American environmental driver data sets prepared for the MsTMIP activity to both support their use in MsTMIP and make these data, along with the processes used in selecting/processing these data, accessible to a broader audience. Based on project needs and lessons learned from past model intercomparison activities, we compiled climate, atmospheric CO2 concentrations, nitrogen deposition, land use and land cover change (LULCC), C3 / C4 grasses fractions, major crops, phenology and soil data into a standard format for global (0.5° × 0.5° resolution) and regional (North American: 0.25° × 0.25° resolution) simulations. In order to meet the needs of MsTMIP, improvements were made to several of the original environmental data sets, by improving the quality, and/or changing their spatial and temporal coverage, and resolution. The resulting standardized model driver data sets are being used by over 20 different models participating in MsTMIP. The data are archived at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC, http://daac.ornl.gov ) to provide long-term data management and distribution.
The effects of imagery on attitudes and moods in multiple sclerosis patients.

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of imagery for influencing attitudes and moods in multiple sclerosis patients. DESIGN Experimental pretest-posttest, control-group. SETTING Outpatient group in Central Pennsylvania. PATIENTS 33 patients with mean ages of 43.93 years in the imagery group and 46.33 years in the control group. All subjects previously were identified with multiple sclerosis. INTERVENTION Control group subjects followed their typical medical protocol and completed pretest and posttest measures. Imagery group subjects completed pretest and posttest measures and participated in a six-session group process that included brief exposure to relaxation training and ongoing work with biologically oriented imagery. Relaxation training and imagery were practiced on a daily basis. Imagery group subjects also produced imagery drawings, which were assessed after the third and sixth sessions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Profile of Mood States, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Health Attribution Test, Imagery Assessment Tool, and Multiple Sclerosis Symptom Checklist. MAIN RESULTS Imagery group subjects demonstrated significant reductions in state anxiety and significant alteration in their illness imagery because of feedback obtained during the study. CONCLUSION Use of the relaxation/imagery protocol led to clinically significant reductions in state anxiety. Imagery may be assessed through drawings that allow for positive modification of the imagery material to increase its utility and power.
Arbitrage Bounds and the Time Series Properties of the Discount on UK Closed-End Mutual Funds

In a dataset of weekly observations over the period since 1990, the discount on UK closed-end mutual funds is shown to be nonstationary, but reverting to a nonzero long run mean. Although the long run discount could be explained by factors like management expenses etc., its short run fluctuations are harder to reconcile with an arbitrage-free equilibrium. In time series terms, there is evidence of long memory in discounts consistent with a bounded random walk. This conclusion is supported by explicit nonlinearity tests, and by results which suggest the behaviour of the discount is perhaps best represented by one of the class of Smooth-Transition Autoregressive (STAR) models. Copyright 2007 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Password-Authenticated Key Exchange Scheme Using Chaotic Maps towards a New Architecture in Standard Model

Nowadays, the overwhelming majority of password-authenticated key agreement protocols using chaotic maps are based on three architectures (client/server, two clients/server and multi-server) and four security models (heuristic security, random oracle, ideal cipher and standard model). However, with rapid changes in the modern communication environment such as wireless mesh networks and cloud storing, it is necessary to put forward a kind more ﬂexible and general architecture to adapt it. So, in our paper, we ﬁrstly propose a provable secure pass-word authenticated key agreement protocol using chaotic maps towards multiple servers to server architecture in the standard model. The multiple servers to server architecture will solve the problems single-point of security, single-point of eﬃciency and single-point of failure in the centralized registration center towards multi-server architecture. The new protocol resists dictionary attacks mounted by either passive or active network intruders, allowing, in principle, even weak password phrases to be used safely. It also oﬀers perfect forward secrecy, which protects past sessions and passwords against future compromises. Finally, we give the security proof in the standard model and the eﬃciency analysis of our proposed scheme.
Framing the usefulness of eHRM in talent management: A case study of talent identification in a professional services firm

As talent management evolves from intuitive to evidence-based decision-making, the role of electronic Human Resource Management (eHRM) to gather, distribute, and analyze data becomes more critical. However, surprisingly few academic studies investigate the role of technology in talent management. Drawing on a qualitative case study of talent management in a large professional services firm, this paper critically examines how eHRM information technologies are framed as useful within talent identification discourses. The findings reveal two distinct but interrelated sets of processes employed to identify talent and suggest that the perceived usefulness and centrality of eHRM are influenced by how stakeholders shape their understanding of effective talent management. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Carbon Dioxide-It ’ s not just a gas Part 1 : The basics

Prehospital emergency patient assessment often demands clinical decisions based on insufficient information which is retrieved under stressful conditions. As professional clinicians, we trust variables such as blood pressure, pulse oximeter readings, electrocardiogram tracings and respiratory rates to support us in our decision-making process. But what if we could apply one single piece of medico-technical equipment that would provide us with all the information we needed? Behold: End tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) monitoring! EtCO2 monitoring, or capnography, has become increasingly accessible in the prehospital setting over the last decade or more. Capnography provides an overall essential insight to the patient’s airway, respiratory, circulatory and metabolic state – a ‘one-size-fits-all’ parameter that has gained ground among emergency clinicians with some even referring to it as “the superior vital sign”.
FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of cimetidine and its metallocomplexes

We present vibrational spectra of three stable, well-reproducible, polymorphic forms of cimetidine ( cim), a drug which is a powerful histamine H2-receptor antagonist used in the treatment of peptic ulcer and the Zollinger–Ellison syndrome. Assignments of Raman and IR bands are made using semiempirical methods: MNDO, AM1 and PM3. We also describe the synthesis of Me(cim)2(ClO4)2, where MeCu(II), Cd(II), Co(II) and Ni(II), and present their vibrational data. We show that the obtained complexes are isostructural, however a metal ion that occupies a center of octahedral unit introduces some distortions that can be seen in the spectra. We also make tentative assignment of metal–ligand stretching modes observed in low frequency range. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
High-Throughput Studies of the Effects of Polymer Structure and Solution Components on the Phase Separation of Thermoresponsive Polymers

This paper describes a high-throughput method for characterization of the temperature-dependent folding of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, using dark field microscopy to measure this thermoresponsive polymer's lower critical solution temperature (LCST). The effect of ionic solution components (halide and alkali metal ions) on the polymer precipitation temperature follows the Hofmeister series whereas solution isotopic effects using D2O give rise to a roughly linear increase in the LCST with the mole fraction of D2O added. The polymer structure itself was also varied through the synthesis of N-alkylacrylamide copolymers. It was found that replacement of the isopropyl N-alkyl pendant groups of PNIPAM with varying amounts of N-n-propyl groups results in a monotonic decrease in the LCST. Repeated analyses of the same sample and of separately prepared samples show that this type of analysis is quite precise and that investigations of subtle effects of polymer microstructure and solvation are feasible even.
Aloe-emodin as drug candidate for cancer therapy

As a leading cause of global mortality, cancer frequently cannot be cured due to the development of drug resistance. Therefore, novel drugs are required. Naturally occurring anthraquinones are mostly present in Rumex and Rhamnus species and are of interest because of their structural similarity to anthracyclines as well established anticancer drugs. In the present study, we focused on the structural elucidation of phytochemicals from R. acetosella as well as the investigation of cytotoxicity and modes of action of the main anthraquinone aglycons (emodin, Aloe-emodin, physcion, rhein). Resazurin reduction and protease viability marker assays were conducted to test their cytotoxicity. Microarray-based gene expression profiling was performed to identify cellular pathways affected by the compounds, which was validated by qPCR analyses and functional assays. Flow cytometry was used to measure cell cycle distribution, apoptosis and necrosis, induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The comet assay was used to detect DNA damage. Aloe-emodin as the most cytotoxic compound revealed IC50 values from 9.872 μM to 22.3 μM in drug-sensitive wild-type cell lines and from 11.19 μM to 33.76 μM in drug-resistant sublines, was selected to investigate its mechanism against cancer. Aloe-emodin-induced S phase arrest, ROS generation, DNA damage and apoptosis. Microarray hybridization revealed a profile of deregulated genes in Aloe-emodin-treated CCRF-CEM cells with diverse functions such as cell death and survival, cellular growth and proliferation, cellular development, gene expression, cellular function and maintenance. Aloe-emodin as well as R. acetosella deserve further investigations as possible antineoplastic drug candidates.
Delays during the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE The majority of lung cancers are diagnosed and treated at an advanced stage. This may, in part, be due to a long lag period between the onset of symptoms, achieving a diagnosis and initiation of treatment. This lag period is highly variable in the limited studies conducted till date and dependent on several modifiable and non-modifiable factors. This study was conducted to determine the average time period required at various steps for diagnosing lung cancer from the onset of symptoms at a tertiary referral centre in Northern India. METHODS Newly diagnosed, histologically proven cases of lung cancer were studied during the period of 2002-08. The delay was calculated as: (a) symptom-to-diagnosis delay, between the onset of symptoms to confirmed diagnosis; (b) diagnosis-to-treatment delay, between diagnosis and treatment started; (c) symptom-to-treatment delay, between onset of symptoms and treatment. RESULTS Out of 165 patients studied (139 males, mean -/+ SD age, 57.6 -/+ 8.9 years; 26 females, 53.5 -/+11.1 years; 84.9% smokers with mean -/+ SD smoking pack-years of 37 -/+ 27.3, 86.7% non small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and 13.3% small cell lung cancers (SCLC)). At the time of diagnosis, 90.2% of NSCLC patients had stage IIIB or IV disease, while 81.8% of SCLC patients had extensive metastasis. A total of 28 (17%) patients had received antitubercular treatment (ATT) since onset of current symptoms. The median symptom-to-diagnosis delay, diagnosis-to-treatment delay, and symptom-to-treatment delay was 143 days (range, 4 to 721), 20 days (range, 1 to 380) and 185 days (18 to 870) respectively. Delay in diagnosis was significantly higher in patients who had received ATT initially (mean difference 65.5 days, 95% confidence interval of difference, 24.5 to 106.6; p=0.002). Patients with higher KPS score had shorter symptom to diagnosis delay (p=0.075). CONCLUSION In comparison with studies from European countries, there is an unacceptable longer lag period from symptom onset to initiation of treatment in Indian patients with lung cancer. Inappropriate treatment with ATT significantly prolongs this delay. These delays need to be shortened to the minimum possible in order to improve prognosis.
Gauge Theories, Duality Relations and the Tensor Hierarchy

We compute the complete 3- and 4-dimensional tensor hierarchies, i.e. sets of p-form fields, with 1 ≤ p ≤ D, which realize an off-shell algebra of bosonic gauge transformations. We show how these tensor hierarchies can be put on-shell by introducing a set of duality relations, thereby introducing additional scalars and a metric tensor. These so-called duality hierarchies encode the equations of motion of the bosonic part of the most general gauged supergravity theories in those dimensions, including the (projected) scalar equations of motion. We construct gauge-invariant actions that include all the fields in the tensor hierarchies. We elucidate the relation between the gauge transformations of the p-form fields in the action and those of the same fields in the tensor hierarchy.
Valuing Romantic Relationships

Research has suggested that individuals lower in self-esteem restrain from fully valuing romantic relationships because of relatively low confidence in positive regard from their partners (i.e., positive reflected appraisals). MacDonald and Jessica (2006) provided evidence that in Indonesia, where family plays an important role in mate selection, low self-esteem also leads to doubts regarding family approval of the relationship that, in turn, places an additional constraint on fully valuing a romantic relationship. In the current research, Study 1 replicated these findings, showing that the positive relationship between self-esteem and value placed on a romantic relationship was mediated by both reflected appraisals and approval from a partner’s family in Indonesia but only reflected appraisals in Canada. In Study 2, the relationship between self-esteem and relationship value was mediated by reflected appraisals and approval from own, but not partner’s, family in Japan whereas only reflected appraisals played a mediating role in Australia. These data suggest that in cultures involving family in mate selection, placing full value on romantic relationships may be contingent on confidence in both reflected appraisals and family approval of the relationship.
Realistic illumination of vegetation in real-time environments

In this paper we show how to combine and extend state-of-the-art computer graphics algorithms for realistic illumination of vegetation. Our main target are real-time rendering environments, namely the Lenne3D visualization system. We focus on plants near the viewer where we separate the rendering equation to model the different lighting effects: Direct sun light is handled by advanced fragment shaders and shadow mapping whereas indirect light is calculated from environment maps and precomputed radiance transfer (PRT). This way we can handle both low and high frequency lighting. Soft shadows and diffuse indirect lighting are contributed by the PRT, hard shadows, diffuse, glossy and specular direct lighting are calculated using the common rendering pipeline including shaders. We assume static scenes (fixed terrain and plant positions, fixed lighting) to precompute the radiance transfer. Note that this does not introduce view dependence. Our main contribution is the extension of these algorithms to large scenes with a very high number of objects. Previous work usually covered illumination of single objects. Scene complexity was hidden by environments maps. In large scenes, one environment map does not fit all objects due to neighboring objects occluding parts of the outer scene environment. This also introduces a source of indirect lighting among different plants. We propose a new method of clustering and interpolating environment maps to handle the varying local environments of the plants.
Diffusion tensor imaging tractography to visualize the relationship of the optic radiation to epileptogenic lesions prior to neurosurgery

Purpose: About one‐third of patients with epilepsy are refractory to medical treatment and may be amenable to surgery. However, in patients with lesions on or near the presumed course of the optic radiation, the potential benefits of resection must be balanced against the risk of a visual field deficit. This study demonstrates the utility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography in delineating the course of the optic radiation and its relationship to the epileptogenic lesion prior to epilepsy surgery.
Risk, characteristics, and prognosis of breast cancer after Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE To assess breast cancer (BC) risk after Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and compare characteristics, risk of second BC, and prognosis of patients with these BCs with patients with first primary BC. PATIENTS AND METHODS We considered all 9,620 women with HL recorded in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results dataset in 1973-2007. We calculated age-period standardized incidence ratios of BC. We compared patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics, risk of second BC, and prognosis between patients with BC after HL (n = 316) and patients with other BCs occurring during the same period (n = 450,413) using logistic regression and Cox models adjusted for confounders. RESULTS HL patients had a 2.4-fold higher risk for developing BC (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2-2.7) than the general population. Age at HL diagnosis and radiation therapy influenced this risk. Compared with first primary BCs, BCs after HL were diagnosed at a younger age, at an earlier stage, were less frequently hormone receptor positive, were located more frequently in external quadrants, and were less frequently treated using radiotherapy. These patients had a higher risk (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.85; 95% CI, 1.79-4.53) for developing a second BC and had a higher BC mortality risk (adjusted HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.05-1.76). The higher mortality risk was only partly explained by the higher occurrence rate of a second BC. CONCLUSION HL survivors have a higher risk for developing BC, their BCs are more aggressive, they have a higher risk for a second BC occurrence, and they have a poorer prognosis. Guidelines of care should be adapted to decrease the impact of BC in these high-risk patients.