Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between cell division and elongation during development of the nectar-yielding petal spur in Centranthus ruber (Valerianaceae).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Floral spurs are hollow, tubular outgrowths that typically conceal nectar. By their involvement in specialized pollinator interactions, spurs have ecological and evolutionary significance, often leading to speciation. Despite their importance and diversity in shape and size among angiosperm taxa, detailed investigations of the mechanism of spur development have been conducted only recently. METHODS Initiation and growth of the nectar-yielding petal spur of Centranthus ruber 'Snowcloud' was investigated throughout seven stages, based on bud size and developmental events. The determination of the frequency of cell division, quantified for the first time in spurs, was conducted by confocal microscopy following 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining of mitotic figures. Moreover, using scanning electron microscospy of the outer petal spur surface unobstructed by trichomes, morphometry of epidermal cells was determined throughout development in order to understand the ontogeny of this elongate, hollow tube. KEY RESULTS Spur growth from the corolla base initially included diffuse cell divisions identified among epidermal cells as the spur progressed through its early stages. However, cell divisions clearly diminished before a petal spur attained 30 % of its final length of 4·5 mm. Thereafter until anthesis, elongation of individual cells was primarily responsible for the spur's own extension. Consequently, a prolonged period of anisotropy, wherein epidermal cells elongated almost uniformly in all regions along the petal spur's longitudinal axis, contributed principally to the spur's mature length. CONCLUSIONS This research demonstrates that anisotropic growth of epidermal cells - in the same orientation as spur elongation - chiefly explains petal spur extension in C. ruber. Representing the inaugural investigation of the cellular basis for spur ontogeny within the Euasterids II clade, this study complements the patterns in Aquilegia species (order Ranunculales, Eudicots) and Linaria vulgaris (order Lamiales, Euasterids I), thereby suggesting the existence of a common underlying mechanism for petal spur ontogeny in disparate dicot lineages.
Coreference Chains in Czech, English and Russian: Preliminary Findings.

This paper is a pilot comparative study on coreference chaining in three languages, namely, Czech, English and Russian. We have analyzed 16 parallel English-Czech newspaper texts and 16 texts in Russian (similar to the English-Czech ones in length and topics). Our motivation was to find out what the linguistic structure of coreference chains in different languages is and what types of distinctions we should take into account for advancing the development of systems for coreference resolution. Taking into account theoretical approaches to the phenomenon of coreference we based our research on the following assumption: the recognition of coreference links for different structural types of noun phrases is regulated by different language mechanisms. The other starting point was that different languages allow pronominal chaining of different length and that coreference chains properties differ for the languages with different strategies for zero anaphora and different systems for definiteness marking. This work reports our first findings within the task of the structural NP types’ distribution comparison in three languages under analysis.
Cigarette Smoking and Age at Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Objectives: The incidence and age of onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) appear to be changing. The aim of this study was to determine whether the prevalence of cigarette smoking differs among patients with Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) at the time of diagnosis compared with the general population and whether smoking history is related to the type and age of IBD onset. Methods: Prevalence rates of smoking at the time of IBD diagnosis were compared between patients with CD and UC from the IBD Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center versus age‐, gender‐, and time period‐adjusted rates in the Pennsylvania general population. Analyses also were stratified by gender and diagnoses before and after 40 years of age, i.e., early and late onset. Results: There were 263 IBD patients (144 UC patients and 119 CD patients) seen in the IBD center between August 2000 and December 2002. The prevalence of active smoking was significantly higher at diagnosis in CD patients compared with the Pennsylvania general population (33% versus 24%, P = 0.04), particularly in those with CD onset at 40 years of age or later (47% versus 27%, P = 0.005). In contrast, smoking prevalence was significantly lower in UC patients than the general population (9% versus 28%, P < 0.0001), particularly among those with UC onset before the age of 40 years (6% versus 27%, P < 0.0001). Smoking cessation was associated with an approximate, but nonsignificant, 3‐fold higher likelihood of late‐onset UC compared with CD. Conclusions: Cigarette smoking is associated with the development of late‐onset CD and is protective against developing UC at any age, particularly early onset. Former smoking is associated with a high likelihood of developing late‐onset UC, but not CD.
Familiarity and Free Recall

Using stimulus material drawn from a single category, it is shown that formal recognition tests yield superior performance to recall when the category cannot be completely enumerated by the subjects, but not otherwise. Furthermore, within these categories recognition is superior only if unfamiliar items are selected as stimuli. These findings fit the theory that when recalling subjects attempt to scan the relevant category and “recognize” those items employed as stimuli.
Identity and Prevalence of Multilocus Sequence Typing-Defined Clones of Group A Streptococci within a Hospital Setting

ABSTRACT Between July and October 2003, 121 clinical isolates of group A streptococci (GAS) were collected from a London hospital and characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine the identity and prevalence of clones circulating within this setting. A total of 39 sequence types (ST), of which 20 were represented by a single isolate, were identified. The eight most prevalent clones among the 121 GAS were ST117/emm81 (16%), ST39/emm4 (9%), ST62/emm87 (7%), ST28/emm1 (6%), ST36/emm12 (6%), ST46/emm22 (5%), ST334/emm82 (5%), and ST101/emm89 (4%). Compared to those in the MLST database (http://spyogenes.mlst.net ), 12 (31%) of the 39 STs had not been previously identified, although 7 of these differed from recognized STs at only a single locus, suggesting they were closely related to previously recognized strains. Resistance to erythromycin and tetracycline was seen in 7 and 20% of isolates, respectively, with four isolates resistant to both agents. GAS strains with higher (>80) emm types accounted for 45% of GAS isolates collected during this study. Continuing GAS surveillance, using easily comparable methods, is important for detecting changes in the character of disease-causing isolates.
The mathematical relationship of drinking water lithium and rainfall to mental hospital admission.

Introduction ) Since 1949, lithium, in the form of lithium J carbonate, has been used with increasing fre. quency as an effective sedative in the treat' rnent of both acute and chronic manic-depres| sive psychosis.1"3 The results of the clinical studies reported by Cade in 1949 led him to I suggest a specific role for lithium in the manj agement and prevention of psychogenic exi citement. He felt that this was consistent with the concept that lithium is an essential ele­ ment for man. Along with others, however, he i celt that the nature and limited frequency of | such illnesses precluded well controlled ) human studies. Even in a large mental hospi\ tal, many years would be required to accumu■ late sufficient data to prove statistically signi) ficant.1'4 j In 1968, Gershon reviewed the scattered 1 reports in the literature and added his own } studies which indicated beneficial effects of I lithium in schizophrenia, other associated behavior disorders and epilepsy as well as in 3 women with premenstrual tension and depres\ sion syndrome.4 Kerry and Owen reported / lithium’s effectiveness in stabilizing the fluctu} e Ling volumes of total body water associated '' with the mood changes of the manic-depres( sive.3 Baer et al. demonstrated with isotope tracers that this is accomplished within the j Lssue cell by the displacement of sodium and ■ . potassium which results in saluresis, kaluresis, i ~------------
Combined cord blood and bone marrow transplantation from the same human leucocyte antigen‐identical sibling donor for children with malignant and non‐malignant diseases

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) from an human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐identical sibling can be used for transplantation of patients with malignant and non‐malignant diseases. However, the low cellular content of most UCB units represents a limitation to this approach. An option to increase cell dose is to harvest bone marrow (BM) cells from the same donor and infuse them along with the UCB. We studied 156 children who received such a combined graft between 1992 and 2011. Median age was 7 years and 78% of patients (n = 122) were transplanted for non‐malignant diseases, mainly haemoglobinopathies. Acute leukaemia (n = 26) was the most frequent malignant diagnosis. Most patients (91%) received myeloablative conditioning. Median donor age was 1·7 years, median infused nucleated cell dose was 24·4 × 107/kg and median follow‐up was 41 months. Sixty‐days neutrophil recovery occurred in 96% of patients at a median of 17 d. The probabilities of grade‐II‐IV acute and chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) were 19% and 10%, respectively. Four‐year overall survival was 90% (68% malignant; 97% non‐malignant diseases) with 3% probability of death. In conclusion, combined UCB and BM transplantation from an HLA‐identical sibling donor is an effective treatment for children with malignant and non‐malignant disorders with high overall survival and low incidence of GVHD.
A Role for Bacteria in Celiac Disease?

The finding of rod-shaped bacteria attached to the small intestinal epithelium of some untreated and treated celiac-disease patients, but not to the epithelium of healthy controls, ignites the notion that bacteria may be involved in the pathogenesis of celiac disease. This editorial discusses this possibility in relation to the current understanding of the molecular basis of this disorder.
Recent Trends in the Management of Combined Pancreatoduodenal Injuries

In an effort to better characterize the natural history of pancreatoduodenal injuries, we present a review of clinical experiences in the treatment of combined traumatic pancreatoduodenal injuries, focusing on patients in extremis. Records of patients with abdominal trauma admitted to a level 1 trauma center from 1997 to 2001 were reviewed. Of 240 patients who sustained a pancreatic or duodenal injury, 33 had combined pancreatoduodenal injuries. Eighty-two per cent of the patients (27/33) in this series had penetrating injuries, 72 per cent (24) sustained gunshot wounds (GSW). Thirty-one patients were male, and the mean age was 33 years (range, 7–74). These patients presented with an average Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 22 ± 12 and an average Glasgow Coma Score of 14 ± 2. Overall length of stay was 39 ± 59 days (range, 0–351 days). These 33 patients underwent a total of 57 laparotomies with an average of 1.7 operations per patient (range, 1 to 5 operations). Eighty-four per cent of the patients had an associated gastrointestinal injury and 45 per cent had a major vascular injury. Thirteen of the 33 (39%) patients presented in extremis, all 13 underwent an abbreviated laparotomy. The complication rate was 36 per cent, including fistula, abscess, pancreatitis, and organ dysfunction. There were 6 hospital deaths for a mortality rate of 18 per cent. Pancreatoduodenal injuries are associated with a variety of other serious injuries, which add to the overall complexity of these patients. Abbreviated laparotomy may be helpful when managing combined pancreatoduodenal injuries in patients who are in extremis.
Diagnostic utility of D-dimer concentrations in dogs with pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a complication of systemic disease in dogs. Antemortem diagnosis is challenging because of the lack of a confirmatory test. OBJECTIVES To retrospectively determine the diagnostic utility of D-dimer concentrations in dogs with necropsy-confirmed PE. ANIMALS Ten dogs with PE confirmed at necropsy that had D-dimer concentrations measured and 10 control dogs with D-dimer concentrations available that lacked PE on necropsy. METHODS The computerized medical record database was searched for dogs with necropsy-confirmed PE that had D-dimer concentrations measured at that visit. An age-, sex-, and breed-matched control group was identified. Signalment, location of PE, and coagulation profiles were collected. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value (PPV) were calculated using a D-dimer concentration of 250 ng/mL. RESULTS Coagulation profiles were not different between dogs with and without PE. Using 250 ng/mL as a cut-off D-dimer concentration, the sensitivity and specificity were 80 and 30%, respectively, for the diagnosis of PE. The NPV and PPV were 60 and 53.0%, respectively. D-dimer concentration <103 ng/mL had 100% sensitivity for ruling out PE and no value was 100% specific. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE D-dimer concentrations <250 ng/mL have a high sensitivity for the absence of PE, but PE still can occur in dogs with a normal D-dimer concentration. Increased D-dimer concentrations are not specific for PE.
Prognostic factors for long-term sickness absence among employees with neck-shoulder and low-back pain.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors for long-term sickness absence among employees with neck-shoulder or low-back pain. METHODS In 2000, a representative sample of Danish employees (N=5036) rated their average pain intensity in the neck-shoulder and low-back during the last three months on a 10-point scale; using a questionnaire, they also reported on physical and psychosocial work factors, health behavior, work ability and self-efficacy. Employees reporting pain intensity of >or=4 were considered to have musculoskeletal pain. As a result, we defined two populations to be included in our analyses: people with pain in the neck-shoulder (N=848) and low-back (N=676) regions. Data on long-term sickness absence of >or=3 weeks for the period 2001-2002 were attained from the Danish national register of social transfer payments. RESULTS One fifth of employees with neck-shoulder and low-back pain experienced long-term sickness absence during the two-year follow-up. Among employees with neck-shoulder and low-back pain, respectively, the main significant risk factors were (i) pain intensity [hazard ratio (HR)=1.12, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.02-1.24 and HR=1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.26] and (ii) heavy physical work (HR=1.68, 95% CI 1.21-2.33 and HR=1.41 95% CI 1.00-2.01). CONCLUSION Preventive initiatives for long-term sickness absence should aim to reduce pain intensity and heavy physical work among employees with neck-shoulder and low-back pain.
Effective dose span of ten different cone beam CT devices.

OBJECTIVES Evaluation and reduction of dose are important issues. Since cone beam CT (CBCT) has been established now not just in dentistry, the number of acquired examinations continues to rise. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to compare the doses of available devices on the market owing to different exposition parameters, volumes and geometries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spans of effective doses (EDs) of ten different CBCT devices. METHODS 48 thermoluminescent dosemeters were placed in 24 sites in a RANDO(®) head phantom. Protocols with lowest exposition parameters and protocols with highest exposition parameters were performed for each of the ten devices. The ED was calculated from the measured energy doses according to the International Commission on Radiological Protection 2007 recommendations for each protocol and device, and the statistical values were evaluated afterwards. RESULTS The calculation of the ED resulted in values between 17.2 µSv and 396 µSv for the ten devices. The mean values for protocols with lowest and highest exposition parameters were 31.6 µSv and 209 µSv, respectively. CONCLUSIONS It was not the aim of this study to evaluate the image quality depending on different exposition parameters but to define the spans of EDs in which different CBCT devices work. There is a wide span of ED for different CBCT devices depending on the selected exposition parameters, required spatial resolution and many other factors.
Targeted disruption of the mouse cation‐dependent mannose 6‐phosphate receptor results in partial missorting of multiple lysosomal enzymes.

In mammalian cells two mannose 6‐phosphate receptors (MPRs) are involved in lysosomal enzyme transport. To understand the precise function of the cation‐dependent mannose 6‐phosphate receptor (CD‐MPR), one allele of the corresponding gene has been disrupted in mouse embryonic stem cells and homozygous mice lacking this receptor have been generated. The homozygous mice appear normal, suggesting that other targeting mechanisms can partially compensate for the loss of the CD‐MPR in vivo. However, homozygous receptor‐deficient cells and animals clearly exhibit defects in targeting of multiple lysosomal enzymes when compared with wild‐types. Increased levels of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes were present in body fluids of homozygous animals. In thymocytes from homozygous mice or in primary cultures of fibroblasts from homozygous embryos, there is a marked increase in the amount of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes that are secreted into the extracellular medium. The cultured fibroblasts have decreased intracellular levels of multiple lysosomal enzymes and accumulate macromolecules within their endosomal/lysosomal system. Taken together, these results clearly indicate that the CD‐MPR is required for efficient intracellular targeting of multiple lysosomal enzymes.
Cryptic diversity and discordance in single‐locus species delimitation methods within horned lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma)

Biodiversity reduction and loss continues to progress at an alarming rate, and thus, there is widespread interest in utilizing rapid and efficient methods for quantifying and delimiting taxonomic diversity. Single‐locus species delimitation methods have become popular, in part due to the adoption of the DNA barcoding paradigm. These techniques can be broadly classified into tree‐based and distance‐based methods depending on whether species are delimited based on a constructed genealogy. Although the relative performance of these methods has been tested repeatedly with simulations, additional studies are needed to assess congruence with empirical data. We compiled a large data set of mitochondrial ND4 sequences from horned lizards (Phrynosoma) to elucidate congruence using four tree‐based (single‐threshold GMYC, multiple‐threshold GMYC, bPTP, mPTP) and one distance‐based (ABGD) species delimitation models. We were particularly interested in cases with highly uneven sampling and/or large differences in intraspecific diversity. Results showed a high degree of discordance among methods, with multiple‐threshold GMYC and bPTP suggesting an unrealistically high number of species (29 and 26 species within the P. douglasii complex alone). The single‐threshold GMYC model was the most conservative, likely a result of difficulty in locating the inflection point in the genealogies. mPTP and ABGD appeared to be the most stable across sampling regimes and suggested the presence of additional cryptic species that warrant further investigation. These results suggest that the mPTP model may be preferable in empirical data sets with highly uneven sampling or large differences in effective population sizes of species.
Urban development reduces fledging success of Barn Owls in British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT The decline of Barn Owls (Tyto alba) in Europe and North America has been attributed to the loss and fragmentation of grassland foraging habitat and increased urbanization; both factors can reduce reproductive output and adult survival. We examined how the composition of the agricultural landscape influenced fledging success (defined as the number of young fledged per nesting attempt) of a threatened population of Barn Owls in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Among landscape variables, only amount of urban cover was correlated with fledging success of Barn Owls: Fledging success decreased with increasing urban cover within a 1-km radius of the nest site. This effect was driven by increased brood reduction: Individuals at sites with more urban cover fledged fewer young but did not lay smaller clutches or fledge young in poorer condition. Given that brood reduction is linked to food availability in Barn Owls and other species, this suggests that food availability was reduced in more urb.
Simulating the effects of grassland management and grass ensiling on methane emission from lactating cows

SUMMARY A dynamic, mechanistic model of enteric fermentation was used to investigate the effect of type and quality of grass forage, dry matter intake (DMI) and proportion of concentrates in dietary dry matter (DM) on variation in methane (CH4) emission from enteric fermentation in dairy cows. The model represents substrate degradation and microbial fermentation processes in rumen and hindgut and, in particular, the effects of type of substrate fermented and of pH on the production of individual volatile fatty acids and CH4 as end-products of fermentation. Effects of type and quality of fresh and ensiled grass were evaluated by distinguishing two N fertilization rates of grassland and two stages of grass maturity. Simulation results indicated a strong impact of the amount and type of grass consumed on CH4 emission, with a maximum difference (across all forage types and all levels of DMI) of 49 and 77% in g CH4/kg fat and protein corrected milk (FCM) for diets with a proportion of concentrates in dietary DM of 0·1 and 0·4, respectively (values ranging from 10·2 to 19·5 g CH4/kg FCM). The lowest emission was established for early cut, high fertilized grass silage (GS) and high fertilized grass herbage (GH). The highest emission was found for late cut, low-fertilized GS. The N fertilization rate had the largest impact, followed by stage of grass maturity at harvesting and by the distinction between GH and GS. Emission expressed in g CH4/kg FCM declined on average 14% with an increase of DMI from 14 to 18 kg/day for grass forage diets with a proportion of concentrates of 0·1, and on average 29% with an increase of DMI from 14 to 23 kg/day for diets with a proportion of concentrates of 0·4. Simulation results indicated that a high proportion of concentrates in dietary DM may lead to a further reduction of CH4 emission per kg FCM mainly as a result of a higher DMI and milk yield, in comparison to low concentrate diets. Simulation results were evaluated against independent data obtained at three different laboratories in indirect calorimetry trials with cows consuming GH mainly. The model predicted the average of observed values reasonably, but systematic deviations remained between individual laboratories and root mean squared prediction error was a proportion of 0·12 of the observed mean. Both observed and predicted emission expressed in g CH4/kg DM intake decreased upon an increase in dietary N:organic matter (OM) ratio. The model reproduced reasonably well the variation in measured CH4 emission in cattle sheds on Dutch dairy farms and indicated that on average a fraction of 0·28 of the total emissions must have originated from manure under these circumstances.