Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural dynamic of social wasp communities (Hymenoptera: Vespinae) in forest areas destroyed by acid rains in the Karkonosze Mountains.

The structure of the social wasp communities was studied in the forest areas of the Karkonosze Mts. transformed by acid rains in 1989 and 1994. A significant increase of species diversity (H') was observed in the season of the even year, which resulted from the increased competing interactions between queen mothers. Whereas the distribution of the species' number decreased together with the altitude proportionally to natural distribution of the species' number recorded in the Tatra Mts. On the other hand, the only significantly increased value in the dynamics of Vespinae density in vegetation zones of the Karkonosze Mts. was recorded for the lower subalpine forest. While observing the progressing successive restoration of forests, one can assume that the recorded structural changes in communities of social wasps represent their transitional state.
Effectiveness of communication strategies for deaf or hard of hearing workers in group settings.

BACKGROUND In group settings, background noise and an obstructed view of the speaker are just a few of the issues that can make workplace communication difficult for an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing. Accommodation strategies such as amplification of the speaker's voice or the use of text-based alternatives exist to address these issues. However, recent studies have shown that there are still unmet needs related to workplace communication in group settings for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. OBJECTIVE Identify the most common strategies used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to improve communication in group settings and gauge the perceived effectiveness of those strategies. METHOD An online survey was conducted with individuals who self-identified as deaf or hard of hearing. The survey presented specific communication strategies based on three functional approaches (aural/oral, text, visual). The strategies applied to both receptive and expressive communication in five different meeting types ranging in size and purpose. PARTICIPANTS 161 adults (age 22-90 yrs.) with limited hearing ability completed the survey. RESULTS Text-based strategies were typically the least frequently used strategies in group settings, yet they ranked high in perceived effectiveness for receptive and expressive communication. Those who used an interpreter demonstrated a strong preference for having a qualified interpreter present in the meeting rather than an interpreter acting remotely. For expressive communication, participants in general preferred to use their own voice or signing abilities and ranked those strategies as highly effective. CONCLUSIONS A more accessible workplace for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing would incorporate more ubiquitous text-based strategy options. Also, qualified interpreters, when used, should be present in the meeting for maximum effectiveness.
Efficacy of cevimeline vs. pilocarpine in the secretion of saliva: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy and compare the side-effects of cevimeline and pilocarpine in the secretion of saliva in patients with xerostomia. METHODS A randomized, cross-over, double blind study was designed. Fifteen patients with diagnosis of xerostomia were assigned to take either 5 mg of pilocarpine or 30 mg of cevimeline three times a day for four weeks. Salivary flow rates were measured during the initial baseline, first and second month appointments. Statistical analysis was carried out with ANOVA and post hoc t-tests. RESULTS Twelve patients completed both medication treatments. Although both medications proved to increase salivary secretion, there was no significant difference between pilocarpine and cevimeline. Also, the perceived side-effects between the two medications were similar. CONCLUSION Both medications increased the secretion of saliva at the end of four weeks. However, there was a slightly higher increment in saliva with pilocarpine. However, the difference was not statistically significant.
Characterization of prescribing errors in an internal medicine clinic.

PURPOSE A pilot study was conducted to characterize the epidemiology of prescribing errors, comparing those that occurred pre- to postimplementation of an electronic prescribing system; this article describes the results of the study during the preimplementation phase, when a handwritten prescription process was still in place. SUMMARY A retrospective review of 1411 prescriptions that were handwritten during a five-month time frame was used to identify and characterize medication errors and potential medication errors. The review was conducted in an internal medicine clinic in a large health system that was preparing to implement an electronic prescribing system. The first phase was the implementation of a basic system-one that facilitated the writing of a more complete and legible prescription. The second phase consisted of adding more sophisticated clinical decision support (CDS) capabilities. Three data sources were reviewed: the handwritten prescription, the electronic health record and the prescription as it had been entered into the pharmacy computer system. Almost 28% of the prescriptions evaluated contained one or more errors or potential errors. Over 90% of the errors were potential errors. Only 0.2% of the errors caused patient harm. Non-clinical errors (illegibility, missing information, wrong dose) may be affected by a basic electronic prescribing system, and clinical errors (drug-disease interaction, contraindication of a drug) may be affected only when more sophisticated levels of CDS programming are added. CONCLUSION Potential prescribing errors occurred frequently but few reached the patient or caused harm. The most severe errors were those that may be reduced by the implementation of an electronic prescribing system with CDS capabilities.
Relationship Between Physical Activity Recall and Free-Living Daily Physical Activity in Older Claudicants

The purposes of this study were to determine the relationship between the physical activity values obtained from the peripheral arterial disease-physical activity recall (PAD-PAR) questionnaire and (1) the free-living daily physical activity obtained from the doubly labeled water technique and (2) clinical measures of PAD severity. Fifty-one older PAD patients (age=70 ±6 years) were recruited from the Vascular Clinic at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center and from radio and newspaper advertisements. Energy expenditure of physical activity (EEPA) was determined by using doubly labeled water and indirect calorimetry techniques. PAD severity was measured by ankle/brachial index (ABI) and walking distance to maximal claudication pain determined during a graded treadmill test. In addition, patients were also characterized on body composition and total daily energy expenditure. The physical activity values obtained from the PAD-PAR questionnaire (113 ±37 MET-hr/wk) were not related to EEPA (542 ±260 kcal/day; r= -0.057, p=0.690), ABI (0.64 ±0.19; r=0.032, p=0.826), or distance to maximal clau dication pain (376 ±229 m; r=-0.054, p=0.731). The authors conclude that the PAD-PAR questionnaire is not an accurate measurement of free-living daily physical activity when compared to EEPA by use of the criterion method of doubly labeled water, and the activity questionnaire measures were poorly correlated with clinical measures of PAD severity.
Temporospatial localization of dentine matrix protein 1 following direct pulp capping with calcium hydroxide in rat molars.

AIM To examine the temporospatial expression of dentine matrix protein 1 (DMP1; a noncollagenous protein involved in mineralized tissue formation), osteopontin (another noncollagenous protein detected during reparative dentinogenesis) and nestin (a marker of differentiating/differentiated odontoblasts), following direct pulp capping with calcium hydroxide in rat molars. METHODOLOGY The maxillary first molars of 8-week-old Wistar rats had their pulps exposed and capped with calcium hydroxide. The pulp-capped teeth were collected from 6 h to 14 days postoperatively and processed for immunohistochemistry for DMP1, osteopontin and nestin. Cell proliferation was monitored using 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling. RESULTS The capped pulps initially exhibited superficial necrotic changes followed by the formation of new matrix and its mineralization. DMP1 immunoreactivity was observed in the matrix beneath the necrotic layer from 6 h onwards and present in the outer portion of the newly formed mineralized matrix from 7 days onwards. Osteopontin displayed a similar expression pattern, although it occupied a narrower area than DMP1 at 6 and 12 h. Nestin-immunoreactive cells appeared beneath the DMP1-immunoreactive area at 1 day, were distributed beneath the newly formed matrix at 5 days and exhibited odontoblast-like morphology by 14 days. BrdU-positive cells significantly increased at 2 and 3 days (P < 0.05) and then decreased. CONCLUSIONS The deposition of DMP1 at exposed pulp sites preceded the appearance of nestin-immunoreactive cells, active cell proliferation and new matrix formation after pulp capping with calcium hydroxide in rat molars, suggesting that DMP1 acts as a trigger of pulp repair. The colocalization of DMP1 and osteopontin suggests that these two proteins play complementary roles.
Heavy Metals Accumulation in Topsoils from the Wine-growing Regions Part 1. Factors which Control Retention

The problem of exposure of agricultural soils to different anthropogenic inputs of heavy metals has been investigated in soils from two wine-producing subregions in northwestern Croatia. The aim of this study was to explore :(i) the main soil properties and topsoil accumulation of heavy metals in vineyards under long-term cultivation, and (ii) the origin and the preferential feature of metal retention in vineyard topsoil using the multivariate statistical method. The investigated area was marked on regular square grid with 1-km spacing. Topsoil samples (0-10 cm) were collected from each sampling point and analyzed for soil chemical properties, particle size distribution and heavy metal concentrations after aqua region digestion. All soil data were incorporate into the GIS base. Summary statistics of the data set were first calculated to evaluate the distributions, and afterward processed by means of R-mode factor analysis, applying the varimax-raw rotational technique. Anthropogenic input of metals in soils of the studied wine-growing regions mostly originates from agrochemicals, since the direct influence of the urban environment or industry is almost negligible. Accumulation of copper and zinc in topsoil, determined in this research, is the most common effect of continuing fertilization and protection against diseases and pests in vineyards.
Scanning electron microscopy study of the tongue and lingual papillae of the california sea lion (Zalophus californianus californianus)

We observed the three‐dimensional structures on the external surface and the connective tissue cores (CTCs) of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus californianus), after exfoliation of the epithelium of the lingual papillae (filiform, fungiform, and vallate papillae), using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and conventional light microscopy. Macroscopically, the tongue was V‐shaped and its apex was rounded. At the posterior area of the tongue, five vallate papillae were arranged in a V shape. In the epithelium, numerous taste buds were distributed on the top of the vallate papillae. On the dorsal surface from the apex to the boundary between the anterior and posterior tongue, filiform papillae were densely distributed. The CTCs of the filiform papillae consisted of a main protrusion (primary core) and many small cores (secondary cores). From the apex to the anterior one‐third of the tongue, dome‐like fungiform papillae were densely distributed, whereas fewer were located at the posterior two‐thirds of the tongue. Several taste buds were found in the epithelium on the fungiform papillae. The size of the filiform papillae gradually increased from the apex to the boundary between the anterior and posterior tongue. At the lingual radix, the conical papillae, which were bigger than any filiform papillae, were densely distributed. The morphological characteristics of the tongue of the California sea lion appear to have been transformed to adapt to an aquatic environment; however, they possess some structures similar to those of land mammals. Anat Rec 267:146–153, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
TOTAL DRY MATTER PRODUCTION OF POTATO , MUNGBEAN AND T . AMAN RICE AS INFLUENCED BY NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT OF POTATO-MUNGBEAN-T . AMAN RICE CROPPING PATTERN

A field experiment was conducted at the Regional Wheat Research Centre (RWRC) of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh for 2 consecutive years during 2006-07 and 2007-08 with the objective to find out the optimum nutrient management practice on total dry matter production (above ground part) of each component crop of potatomungbean-t. aman rice cropping pattern. Twelve nutrient management treatments were tested in RCBD with 3 replications. Treatments were, T1=HYG (0-198-44-194-24-6-1.2), T2=MYG (0-140-34-138-18-4.5-0.9), T3=IPNS (10000-168-38-170-18-6-1.2), T4=STB (0-171-40-164-22-5-1), T5=FP (0-97-1691-0-0-0), T6=CON (0-0-0-0-0-0-0), T7=HYG+CRI, T8=MYG+CRI, T9=IPNS+CRI, T10=STB+CRI, T11=FP+CRI, T12=CON+CRI kg/ha CDNPKSZnB, for potato; T1=HYG (0-24-40-48-24-3-1.2), T2=MYG (0-20-3640-20-2-1), T3=IPNS (5000-9-37-36-21-3-1.2), T4=STB (0-20-36-40-22-2-1), T5=FP (0-6-5-4-0-0-0), T6=CON (0-0-0-0-0-0-0), T7=HYG+CRI , T8=MYG+CRI, T9=IPNS+CRI, T10=STB+CRI, T11=FP+CRI, T12=CON+CRI kg/ha CDNPKSZnB for mungbean and T1=HYG (0-80-16-44-12-2-0), T2=MYG (0-56-12-32-8-1.5-0), T3=IPNS (5000-65-13-32-9-2-0), T4=STB (068-15-37-11-2-0), T5=FP (0-39-37-12-0-0-0), T6=CON(0-0-0-0-0-00),T7=HYG+CRI, T8=MYG+CRI, T9=IPNS+CRI, T10=STB+CRI,T11=FP+CRI, T12=CON+CRI kg/ha CDNPKSZnB for t. aman rice. HYG treatment without or with crop residues incorporation produced the highest TDM in potato, mungbean and t. aman rice followed by IPNS and STB along with or without CRI. The lowest TDM was recorded in control plot without CRI. The increasing trend of TDM was observed in the crop residues incorporation plots than nonincorporation plots. It was observed that there were significant and positive linear relationship between TDM and yield of potao, mungbean, and t. aman rice at 60 DAP, 60 DAS, and 90 DAT, respectively, in both the years.
Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR)-Associated SMRT Binding to C/EBPβ TAD and Nrf2 Neh4/5: Role of SMRT Recruited to GR in GSTA2 Gene Repression

ABSTRACT The expression of the glutathione S-transferase gene (GST), whose induction accounts for cancer chemoprevention, is regulated by activation of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) and NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). The present study investigated the repressing effects of activating glucocorticoid receptor (GR) on C/EBPβ- and Nrf2-mediated GSTA2 gene induction and the mechanism. Dexamethasone that activates GR inhibited constitutive and oltipraz- or tert-butylhydroquinone (t-BHQ)-inducible GSTA2 expression in H4IIE cells. Also, dexamethasone repressed GSTA2 promoter-luciferase gene activity. Dexamethasone-GR activation did not inhibit nuclear translocation of C/EBPβ or Nrf2 nor their DNA binding activities induced by oltipraz or t-BHQ. Deletion of the glucocorticoid response element (GRE) in the GSTA2 promoter abolished dexamethasone inhibition of the gene induction. Immunoprecipitation-immunoblotting, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and GST pull-down assays revealed that silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT), a corepressor recruited to steroid-GR complex for histone deacetylation, bound to TAD domain of C/EBPβ and Neh4/5 domain of Nrf2. The GSTA2 promoter-luciferase activities were decreased by SMRT but not by truncated SMRTs. The small interference RNA (siRNA) against SMRT abolished SMRT repression of the gene induction by C/EBPβ or Nrf2. The plasmid transfection and siRNA experiments directly evidenced the functional role of SMRT in GSTA2 repression. In conclusion, dexamethasone antagonizes C/EBPβ- and Nrf2-mediated GSTA2 gene induction via ligand-GR binding to the GRE, and steroid-mediated GSTA2 repression involves inactivation of C/EBPβ and Nrf2 by SMRT recruited to steroid-GR complex.
Astrocytes, but not olfactory ensheathing cells or Schwann cells, promote myelination of CNS axons in vitro

We have examined the interaction between olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), Schwann cells (SC), oligodendrocytes, and CNS axons using cultures generated from embryonic rat spinal cord. Oligodendrocyte process extension and myelination in these cultures was poor if the cells were plated on OECs or SCs. Myelin internodes and nodes of Ranvier formed frequently if these cultures were plated onto monolayers of neurosphere‐derived astrocytes (NsAs). In the myelinated fibers generated on NsAs, Nav channels, caspr, and neurofascin molecules were correctly assembled at the nodes of Ranvier. The density of neurites, survival, and antigenic differentiation of oligodendrocytes was similar on OEC and NsAs monolayers. However, on OEC monolayers, despite a transient increase in the number of endogenous oligodendrocytes, there was a decrease in oligodendrocyte process extension and axonal ensheathment when compared with cultures plated on NsAs monolayers. To determine if these changes were due to axonal or glial factors, spinal cord oligodendrocytes were plated onto monolayers of OECs, NsAs, and poly‐L‐lysine in the absence of neurons. In these cultures, process extension and myelin‐like membrane formation by oligodendrocytes was improved on monolayers of OEC. This suggests that inhibition of process extension is mediated via cross‐talk between OECs and neurites. In cultures containing axons plated on OEC monolayers, oligodendrocyte process formation, axonal ensheathment, and myelination occurred albeit lower if the cultures were supplemented with NsAs conditioned medium. These data suggest OECs can permit neurite extension and oligodendrocyte proliferation, but lack secreted factor(s) and possible cell–cell contact that is necessary for oligodendrocyte process extension and myelination. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Integrating a Non-Uniformly Sampled Software Retina with a Deep CNN Model

We present a biologically inspired method for pre-processing images applied to CNNs that reduces their memory requirements while increasing their invariance to scale and rotation changes. Our method is based on the mammalian retino-cortical transform: a mapping between a pseudo-randomly tessellated retina model (used to sample an input image) and a CNN. The aim of this first pilot study is to demonstrate a functional retinaintegrated CNN implementation and this produced the following results: a network using the full retino-cortical transform yielded an F1 score of 0.80 on a test set during a 4-way classification task, while an identical network not using the proposed method yielded an F1 score of 0.86 on the same task. The method reduced the visual data by e×7, the input data to the CNN by 40% and the number of CNN training epochs by 64%. These results demonstrate the viability of our method and hint at the potential of exploiting functional traits of natural vision systems in CNNs.
Intermittent collective dynamics emerge from conflicting imperatives in sheep herds

Significance We report and analyze quantitative field observations of large groups of Merino sheep. While grazing, these sheep must balance two competing needs: (i) the maximization of individual foraging space and (ii) the protection from predators offered by a large dense group. We show that they resolve this conflict by alternating slow foraging phases—during which the group spreads out—with fast packing events triggered by an individual-level behavioral shift. This leads to an intermittent collective dynamics with large density oscillations triggered by packing events on all accessible scales: a quasi-critical state. All our findings are well accounted for by an explicit model with individual behavioral shifts and strong allelomimetic properties. Among the many fascinating examples of collective behavior exhibited by animal groups, some species are known to alternate slow group dispersion in space with rapid aggregation phenomena induced by a sudden behavioral shift at the individual level. We study this phenomenon quantitatively in large groups of grazing Merino sheep under controlled experimental conditions. Our analysis reveals strongly intermittent collective dynamics consisting of fast, avalanche-like regrouping events distributed on all experimentally accessible scales. As a proof of principle, we introduce an agent-based model with individual behavioral shifts, which we show to account faithfully for all collective properties observed. This offers, in turn, an insight on the individual stimulus/response functions that can generate such intermittent behavior. In particular, the intensity of sheep allelomimetic behavior plays a key role in the group’s ability to increase the per capita grazing surface while minimizing the time needed to regroup into a tightly packed configuration. We conclude that the emergent behavior reported probably arises from the necessity to balance two conflicting imperatives: (i) the exploration of foraging space by individuals and (ii) the protection from predators offered by being part of large, cohesive groups. We discuss our results in the context of the current debate about criticality in biology.
Acute effects of thyroid hormone on inward rectifier potassium channel currents in guinea pig ventricular myocytes.

Thyroid hormones play an important role in cardiac electrophysiology. However, the regulation of cardiac ionic channels by thyroid hormones is still unclear. To evaluate the acute effect of 3,3',5-triiode-L-thyronine (T3) on inward rectifier potassium channel (IK1) action potentials, whole-cell IK1 currents and steady-state single IK1 currents were recorded in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Acute exposure of cells to T3 resulted in shortening of the action potential durations. This effect was initiated at 5-15 min and reached a stable plateau at 25 min. The amplitude of steady-state whole-cell IK1 was significantly increased by T3 at 1 nM to 1 microM concentration rage and with ED50 12 nM/liter. T3 (1 microM) increased IK1 by 68 +/- 7% at -40 mV and 52 +/- 9% at -100 mV. Similar effects were observed with triiodothyroacetic acid, an analogue of T3 that does not stimulate DNA transcription. The single IK1 open probability (Po) was increased 7 +/- 1% by 1 nM T3 (n = 9, P < 0.05) and 42 +/- 6% by 1 microM T3 at -40 mV (n = 18, P < 0.0001). However, the channel unit amplitude, time constants of open and fast-closed time were not changed. T3 shortened interburst duration at each membrane potential but did not change the burst behavior. To elucidate detailed mechanism, we assumed a three-state model (C1 <==> C2 <==> O) and calculated each rate constant. T3 significantly increased the rate constant, k+1, for the transition from the C1 to the C2 state at RP -40 mV (2.84 +/- 0.56 to 7.28 +/- 1.23 sec-1, P < 0.01), RP -20 mV (3.63 +/- 0.95 to 10.17 +/- 2.60 sec-1, P < 0.05) and RP (6.73 +/- 1.20 to 21.94 +/- 4.49 sec-1, P < 0.01). However, the other rate constants were not affected. These results demonstrate that T3 enhances IK1 with the increment in Po, which mainly results from shortening of interburst duration without any changes in burst behavior. Hence, the shortening of interburst duration is due to acceleration of the transition from the C1 to the C2 state. The enhanced IK1 by T3 might be one of the causes for shortened action potential duration in hyperthyroidism.