Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Le guidage visuel du retour au nid chez les abeilles solitaires (hymenoptera, megachilidae) : approche fondamentale et appliquée

Cette these comprend 2 parties complementaires. L'une fondamentale correspond a une analyse comportementale de l'apprehension des reperes proximaux du nid, l'autre appliquee reside dans l'exploitation en milieu agricole, des resultats fondamentaux. L'etude fondamentale a ete menee sur 3 especes d'abeilles solitaires (osmia lignaria, osmia cornuta et megachile rotundata). Nous avons montre que les elements figuraux presents durant la phase d'apprentissage n'ont qu'un role secondaire dans la localisation ; leur retrait ne provoque qu'un leger retard, mais n'empeche pas les abeilles de localiser leur nid. D'autres experiences sur les caracteristiques non figurales des reperes ont montre que les femelles utilisent pour s'orienter des limites simples de contraste, representees par les bordures du dispositif experimental. Ces limites donnent des informations sur la distance au nid grâce a la parallaxe de mouvement. Ainsi, la metaphore statique de l'instantane photographique peut etre transformee en une metaphore dynamique ou la perception des reperes visuels est assimilee a un film de donnees parametriques. La reconnaissance du site consiste alors en une correspondance dynamique d'images. Le m. Rotundata est exploite aux Etats-Unis pour la pollinisation de la luzerne. Des modifications des sites de nidification inspirees des resultats fondamentaux ameliorent la qualite des retours aux nids et par consequent la qualite de la pollinisation. Il suffit de morceler les dispositifs en petites surfaces de teintes differentes, pour obtenir de bonnes performances de localisation. Les femelles disposent lors du guidage, de plusieurs limites de contraste a des distances de plus en plus proches du nid. Elles developpent alors des comportements de construction plus coherents et produisent ainsi des cellules mieux protegees et approvisionnees. Ceci permettra aux agriculteurs d'optimiser les conditions d'exploitation a un moindre cout.
Terminal osseous dysplasia and pigmentary defects: clinical characterization of a novel male lethal X-linked syndrome.

We describe a new syndrome of distal limb anomalies and pigmentary skin defects in 10 females of a large, four-generation pedigree. The family was ascertained through a 4-month-old infant girl with multiple anomalies, including hypertelorism, iris colobomas, low-set ears, midface hypoplasia, punched-out pigmentary abnormalities over the face and scalp, generalized brachydactyly, and digital fibromatosis. No affected males were identified in this pedigree. Affected females had a lower than normal male-to-female ratio of liveborn offspring, and some of them also had a history of several miscarriages. These findings, together with a significant variability in the phenotype of the affected females, suggest that this condition is inherited in an X-linked dominant fashion, with prenatal male lethality, and that X-inactivation plays an important role in the phenotypic expression of the disease. The syndrome has been described twice in the literature, but only in sporadic cases; it was therefore not recognized as a mendelian entity. Because the most consistent findings are anomalies of the distal skeleton of the limbs and localized pigmentary abnormalities of the skin, we named the syndrome "terminal osseous dysplasia with pigmentary defects. " This condition, though rare, can be added to the small group of male lethal X-linked dominant disorders in humans.
The Quality of Feeding Assistance Care Practices for Long-Term Care Veterans

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the quality of feeding assistance care and identify areas in need of improvement for a sample of long-term care veterans. A secondary purpose was to compare these findings with the results of previous studies in community facilities to determine ways in which the VA sample might differ. A repeated measures observational study was conducted in two VA facilities with 200 long-stay residents. Research staff conducted standardized observations during and between meals for 3 months. There was a trend for better feeding assistance care quality during meals in the VA sample, but there were still multiple aspects of care in need of improvement both during and between meals. Higher licensed nurse staffing levels in the VA should enable effective supervision and management, but observation-based measures of care quality are necessary for accurate information about daily feeding assistance care provision.
The promoter activity of long terminal repeats of the HERV-H family of human retrovirus-like elements is critically dependent on Sp1 family proteins interacting with a GC/GT box located immediately 3' to the TATA box

The HERV-H family of endogenous retrovirus-like elements is widely distributed in the human genome, with about 1,000 full-length elements and a similar number of solitary long terminal repeats (LTRs). HERV-H LTRs have been shown to direct the transcription of both HERV-H-encoded and adjacent cellular genes. Transcripts of HERV-H elements are especially abundant in placenta, teratocarcinoma cell lines, and cell lines derived from testicular and lung tumors. Here we report that only a subset of HERV-H LTRs display promoter activity in human cell lines and that these LTRs are characterized by the presence of a GC/GT box immediately downstream of the TATA box. This GC/GT box is required for promoter activity, while, surprisingly, the TATA box is dispensable. The ubiquitously expressed transcription factors Sp1 and Sp3 bound to this GC/GT box and stimulated transcription from the promoter-active LTRs in the teratocarcinoma cell line NTera2-D1. However, in HeLa and Drosophila SL-2 cells, Sp1 acted as a transcriptional activator of the LTRs, while Sp3 acted as a repressor of Sp1-mediated transcriptional activation. Cotransfection studies also revealed that the tissue-specific Sp1-related protein BTEB bound to this GC/GT box and stimulated transcription from the LTR promoters in NTera2-D1 cells. These results show that members of the Sp1 protein family are crucial determinants for transcriptional activation of HERV-H LTR promoters and suggest that these proteins may also be involved in determining the tissue-specific expression pattern of HERV-H elements.
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

relationship. All subsequent studies confirmed it (see for example King and Levine, 1993, and the review in: Pagano, 1993). Goldsmith used a sample of 35 countries for the period between 1860 and 1963 to show the relationship between income and financial depth measured by the ratio between bank's assets and GDP. He also showed that in periods of rapid growth, financial depth grows faster than income. More details about measuring financial depth can be found in this paper. FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Velimir Šonje
An 8.5 m long ammonite drag mark from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Lithographic Limestones, Germany

Trackways and tracemakers preserved together in the fossil record are rare. However, the co-occurrence of a drag mark, together with the dead animal that produced it, is exceptional. Here, we describe an 8.5 m long ammonite drag mark complete with the preserved ammonite shell (Subplanites rueppellianus) at its end. Previously recorded examples preserve ammonites with drag marks of < 1 m. The specimen was recovered from a quarry near Solnhofen, southern Germany. The drag mark consists of continuous parallel ridges and furrows produced by the ribs of the ammonite shell as it drifted just above the sediment surface, and does not reflect behaviour of the living animal.
THE CLINICAL USES OF HUMAN SERUMS PRESERVED BY THE LYOPHILE PROCESS.

The development of improved technical procedures for preservation, pooling and concentration have considerably facilitated the utilization of human serums in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Full accounts of these procedures have already been published (1, 2), and preliminary reports of their clinical applications have been presented before the Society for Pediatric Research (3) and the American Pediatric Society (4). In brief, the serums used are pooled and preserved by drying in vacuo from the frozen state; the dry porous material resulting is called " lyophile " serum. It may be redissolved in as little as one-quarter its original volume of liquid. The studies here presented consider the problem of human serum therapy with special reference to the use of serum preserved by this process in the prophylaxis and treatment of certain of the more common infectious diseases. The following list summarizes the diseases studied and the serums used:
Do Strict Capital Requirements Raise the Cost of Capital? Bank Regulation, Capital Structure, and the Low Risk Anomaly

Traditional capital structure theory predicts that reducing banks' leverage reduces the risk and cost of equity but does not change the weighted average cost of capital, and thus the rates for borrowers. We confirm that the equity of better-capitalized banks has lower beta and idiosyncratic risk. However, over the last 40 years, lower risk banks have not had lower costs of equity (lower stock returns), consistent with a stock market anomaly previously documented in other samples. A calibration suggests that a binding ten percentage point increase in Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets could double banks' risk premia over Treasury bills.
Don't forget the surface

Surface effects play a key role in cloud droplet formation [Also see Report by Ruehl et al.] Clouds are an essential source of fresh water to continents and all ecosystems (1) and a major cooling factor in the climate budget (2). Yet, predicting their formation remains a challenge (2). In the atmosphere, cloud droplets form not from water vapor alone but through condensation of water on aerosol particles called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) (3). On page 1447 of this issue, Ruehl et al. (4) show experimentally that surface effects play a central role in cloud droplet formation from CCN.
Meta-analysis of seven randomized control trials to assess the efficacy and toxicity of combining EGFR-TKI with chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC who failed first-line treatment.

BACKGROUND Some recent clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate a combination of EGFR- TKI with chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC patients as second-line therapy, but the results on the efficacy of such trials are inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination of EGFR-TKI and chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC who failed first-line treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS We searched relative trials from PubMed, EMBASE, ASCO Abstracts, ESMO Abstracts, Cochrane Library and Clinical Trials.gov. Outcomes analyzed were overall response rate (ORR), progression- free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and major toxicity. RESULTS Seven trails eventually were included in this meta-analysis, covering 1,168 patients. The results showed that the combined regimen arm had a significant higher ORR (RR 1.76 [1.16, 2.66], p=0.007) and longer PFS (HR 0.75 [0.66-0.85], p<0.00001), but failed to show effects on OS (HR 0.88 [0.68- 1.15], p=0.36). In terms of subgroup results, continuation of EGFR-TKI in addition to chemotherapy after first-line EGFR-TKI resistance confered no improvement in ORR (RR 0.95 [0.68, 1.33], p=0.75) and PFS (HR 0.89[0.69, 1.15], p=0.38), and OS was even shorter (HR1.52 [1.05- 2.21], p=0.03). However, combination therapy with EGFR-TKI and chemotherapy after failure of first-line chemotherapy significantly improved the ORR (RR 2.06 [1.42, 2.99], p=0.0002), PFS (HR 0.71 [0.61, 0.82], p<0.00001) and OS (HR 0.74 [0.62- 0.88], p=0.0008), clinical benefit being restricted to combining EGFR-TKI with pemetrexed, but not docetaxel. Grade 3-4 toxicity was found at significantly higher incidence in the combined regimen arm. CONCLUSIONS Continuation of EGFR-TKI in addition to chemotherapy after first-line EGFR-TKI resistance should be avoided. Combination therapy of EGFR-TKI and pemetrexed for advanced NSCLC should be further investigated for prognostic and predictive factors to find the group with the highest benefit of the combination strategy.
CP violation in seesaw models of quark masses.

CP phenomenology in ``seesaw'' models of quark masses is shown to parallel that of the usual left-right-symmetric models with the additional advantage that it provides a natural solution to the strong CP problem. For the case where the third-generation mixing parameter ${V}_{\mathrm{ub}}$ is extremely small, the neutral-Higgs-boson interactions lead to \ensuremath{\epsilon}'/\ensuremath{\epsilon}\ensuremath{\simeq}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$ and the electric dipole moment of the neutron ${d}_{n}$\ensuremath{\simeq}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}25}$ e cm. Smallness of the neutrino masses is understood as a two-loop effect.
SIMULATIONS OF WINDS OF WEAK-LINED T TAURI STARS. II. THE EFFECTS OF A TILTED MAGNETOSPHERE AND PLANETARY INTERACTIONS

Based on our previous work, we investigate here the effects on the wind and magnetospheric structures of weak-lined T Tauri stars due to a misalignment between the axis of rotation of the star and its magnetic dipole moment vector. In such a configuration, the system loses the axisymmetry presented in the aligned case, requiring a fully three-dimensional (3D) approach. We perform 3D numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations of stellar winds and study the effects caused by different model parameters, namely the misalignment angle θt, the stellar period of rotation, the plasma-β, and the heating index γ. Our simulations take into account the interplay between the wind and the stellar magnetic field during the time evolution. The system reaches a periodic behavior with the same rotational period of the star. We show that the magnetic field lines present an oscillatory pattern. Furthermore, we obtain that by increasing θt, the wind velocity increases, especially in the case of strong magnetic field and relatively rapid stellar rotation. Our 3D, time-dependent wind models allow us to study the interaction of a magnetized wind with a magnetized extrasolar planet. Such interaction gives rise to reconnection, generating electrons that propagate along the planet's magnetic field lines and produce electron cyclotron radiation at radio wavelengths. The power released in the interaction depends on the planet's magnetic field intensity, its orbital radius, and on the stellar wind local characteristics. We find that a close-in Jupiter-like planet orbiting at 0.05 AU presents a radio power that is ∼5 orders of magnitude larger than the one observed in Jupiter, which suggests that the stellar wind from a young star has the potential to generate strong planetary radio emission that could be detected in the near future with LOFAR. This radio power varies according to the phase of rotation of the star. For three selected simulations, we find a variation of the radio power of a factor 1.3–3.7, depending on θt. Moreover, we extend the investigation done in Vidotto et al. and analyze whether winds from misaligned stellar magnetospheres could cause a significant effect on planetary migration. Compared to the aligned case, we show that the timescale τw for an appreciable radial motion of the planet is shorter for larger misalignment angles. While for the aligned case τw ≃ 100 Myr, for a stellar magnetosphere tilted by θt = 30°, τw ranges from ∼40 to 70 Myr for a planet located at a radius of 0.05 AU. Further reduction on τw might occur for even larger misalignment angles and/or different wind parameters.
Antibody therapy to human L1CAM in a transgenic mouse model blocks local tumor growth but induces EMT

L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) is overexpressed in many human cancers, confers bad prognosis and augments cell motility, invasion and metastasis. Results from xenograft mouse models suggested that L1CAM antibodies might be promising tools for cancer therapy. Here, we generated human L1CAM‐transgenic mice to study therapeutic efficacy and putative side effects in a model system. We established three transgenic lines (M2, M3 and F4) expressing the human L1CAM transgene in brain, kidney and colon with decreasing intensity (M2, M3 > F4). The expression pattern was similar to that of L1CAM in humans. No interference of the transgene with the expression of endogenous L1CAM was observed. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed correct expression of the transgene in mouse cortex and collective duct of the kidney. Injection of 125I‐labeled L1CAM antibodies resulted in specific enrichment in the kidney but not in the brain. The injection of the therapeutic anti‐human L1CAM mAb L1‐9.3/2a into transgenic mice even at high doses did not cause behavioral changes or other side effects. Similar results were obtained using a mouse specific L1CAM mAb in normal mice. Tumor therapy experiments were performed using syngeneic mouse tumor cells (RET melanoma and Panc02 pancreatic adenocarcinoma) transduced with human L1CAM. MAb L1‐9.3/2a efficiently and specifically attenuated local tumor growth in both model systems without apparent side effects. The therapeutic effect was dependent on immune effector mechanisms. Analysis of Panc02‐huL1CAM tumors after therapy showed elevated levels of EGF and evidence of immune‐induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition. The results suggest that our transgenic mice are valuable tools to study L1CAM‐based antibody therapy.
Electrophoretic patterns of strains of Mycoplasma pulmonis.

SUMMARY: Strains of Mycoplasma pulmonis, examined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of proteins extracted in a phenol-acetic acid-water solvent, gave patterns with reproducible differences. Some strains could be placed into groups, but a number could not be associated with any group. In all but one case a ‘basic M. pulmonis pattern’ was easily recognizable. This exception suggests that occasionally one might fail to recognize a strain of M. pulmonis by relying solely on the electrophoretic technique.
Node Stability-Based Location Updating in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

In this paper, we consider the problem of location updating in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs). We propose a node stability-based location updating approach. In order to optimize the routing, most of the existing routing algorithms use some mechanism for determining a node's neighbors. This information is stored in a table called the neighbor table. The updating of the neighbor table is referred to as location updating. To evaluate our proposed algorithm, we simulated it and compared its performance with that of the performance of the conventional location updating algorithm, by considering different performance measures such as the number of collisions on the carrier, the number of acknowledgments received and the energy consumed. In our work, we obtained different types of results by varying different parameters such as the number of nodes and the terrain dimensions. The simulation results obtained show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the typical location updating algorithm used in existing routing protocols.
Ultrasonographic guidance for sciatic and femoral nerve blocks in children.

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown that ultrasound guidance for paediatric regional anaesthesia can improve the quality of upper extremity and neuraxial blocks. We therefore investigated whether ultrasound guidance for sciatic and femoral nerve blocks prolongs sensory blockade in comparison with nerve stimulator guidance in children. METHODS Forty-six children scheduled for surgery of one lower extremity were randomized to receive a sciatic and femoral nerve block under either ultrasound or nerve stimulator guidance. After induction of general anaesthesia, the blocks were performed using an ultrasound-guided multiple injection technique until the nerves were surrounded by levobupivacaine, or by nerve stimulator guidance using a predefined dose of 0.3 ml kg(-1) of levobupivacaine. An increase in heart rate of more than 15% of baseline during surgery defined a failed block. The duration of the block was determined from the injection of local anaesthetic to the time when the patient received the first postoperative analgesic. RESULTS Two blocks in the nerve stimulator group failed. There were no failures in the ultrasound group. The duration of analgesia was longer in the ultrasound group mean (sd) 508 (178) vs 335 (169) min (P < 0.05). The volume of local anaesthetic in sciatic and femoral nerve blocks was reduced with ultrasound compared with nerve stimulator guidance [0.2 (0.06) vs 0.3 ml kg(-1) (P < 0.001) and 0.15 (0.04) vs 0.3 ml kg(-1) (P < 0.001), respectively]. CONCLUSIONS Ultrasound guidance for sciatic and femoral nerve blocks in children increased the duration of sensory blockade in comparison with nerve stimulator guidance. Prolonged sensory blockade was achieved with smaller volumes of local anaesthetic when using ultrasound guidance.
The effects of tibolone in older postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND Tibolone has estrogenic, progestogenic, and androgenic effects. Although tibolone prevents bone loss, its effects on fractures, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease are uncertain. METHODS In this randomized study, we assigned 4538 women, who were between the ages of 60 and 85 years and had a bone mineral density T score of -2.5 or less at the hip or spine or a T score of -2.0 or less and radiologic evidence of a vertebral fracture, to receive once-daily tibolone (at a dose of 1.25 mg) or placebo. Annual spine radiographs were used to assess for vertebral fracture. Rates of cardiovascular events and breast cancer were adjudicated by expert panels. RESULTS During a median of 34 months of treatment, the tibolone group, as compared with the placebo group, had a decreased risk of vertebral fracture, with 70 cases versus 126 cases per 1000 person-years (relative hazard, 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 0.74; P<0.001), and a decreased risk of nonvertebral fracture, with 122 cases versus 166 cases per 1000 person-years (relative hazard, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.93; P=0.01). The tibolone group also had a decreased risk of invasive breast cancer (relative hazard, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.80; P=0.02) and colon cancer (relative hazard, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.96; P=0.04). However, the tibolone group had an increased risk of stroke (relative hazard, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.14 to 4.23; P=0.02), for which the study was stopped in February 2006 at the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring board. There were no significant differences in the risk of either coronary heart disease or venous thromboembolism between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Tibolone reduced the risk of fracture and breast cancer and possibly colon cancer but increased the risk of stroke in older women with osteoporosis. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00519857.)