Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanosensitive channel MSL8 regulates osmotic forces during pollen hydration and germination

Metered rehydration in pollen grains When a desiccated pollen grain lands on fertile territory, it rehydrates on the way to activating its growth and metabolic processes. Studying the small plant Arabidopsis, Hamilton et al. have identified a mechanosensory ion channel that responds to the distention of the plasma membrane as the pollen grain rehydrates. With this channel damaged or absent, the pollen grains germinated overenthusiastically but then showed a tendency to burst. Science, this issue p. 438 Hydration of pollen activates a mechanosensory channel as the plasma membrane stretches. Pollen grains undergo dramatic changes in cellular water potential as they deliver the male germ line to female gametes, and it has been proposed that mechanosensitive ion channels may sense the resulting mechanical stress. Here, we identify and characterize MscS-like 8 (MSL8), a pollen-specific, membrane tension–gated ion channel required for pollen to survive the hypoosmotic shock of rehydration and for full male fertility. MSL8 negatively regulates pollen germination but is required for cellular integrity during germination and tube growth. MSL8 thus senses and responds to changes in membrane tension associated with pollen hydration and germination. These data further suggest that homologs of bacterial MscS have been repurposed in eukaryotes to function as mechanosensors in multiple developmental and environmental contexts.
An Application of Item Response Theory and the Rasch Model in Speech Recognition Test Materials.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to describe an attempt to apply item-response theory (IRT) and the Rasch model to construction of speech-recognition tests. A set of word-recognition test items applicable to children as young as 3 years old-with any level of hearing sensitivity, with or without using hearing devices-was developed. METHOD Test items were constructed through expert consultation and by reference to some established language corpora, validated with 121 participants with various degrees of hearing loss and 255 with typical hearing. IRT and the Rasch model were applied to evaluate item quality. RESULTS Eighty disyllabic word items were selected in accordance with IRT. The speech-recognition abilities of the 376 young participants are reported. The IRT analyses on this set of data are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS A new set of speech-recognition test materials in Cantonese Chinese has been developed. Construction of short equivalent lists may be performed in accordance with IRT item qualities. Clinical applications of this test tool in the particular language population are discussed.
Mannose receptor is present in a functional state in rat microglial cells

We studied the expression of the mannose receptor (ManR) in rat microglial cells. Microglial cells are the central nervous system resident macrophages, key participants of the innate immune response. ManR is a differentiation marker and a relevant glycoprotein for the phagocytic and endocytic function of macrophages. Because there is evidence suggesting that ManR could mediate some of the nonenzymatic effects of acetilcholinesterase (AchE) and the enzyme seems to be involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we looked for ManR in microglia, evaluating the functionality of the receptor. We isolated microglial cells from the brain of 2‐day‐old neonatal rats. Microglial cells, identified by their specific staining with the lectin Griffonia simplicifolia, expressed ManR, being detected by immunocytochemistry, Western blot, and immunoprecipitation. Microglial ManR was downregulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and upregulated by dexamethasone, as described for peripheral macrophages. Microglial ManR was functional and able to internalize horseradish peroxidase (HRP), a known ManR ligand, in a mannan‐inhibitable manner. The presence of a functional ManR in microglia opens the possibility that ManR could participate in multiple physiologic and pathologic conditions in the central nervous system (CNS), including inflammation, ischaemia, and neurodegerative diseases such as AD. J. Neurosci. Res. 58:387–395, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Barriers and facilitators to the practice of exclusive Breast feeding among working class mothers : A study of female resident doctors in tertiary health institutions in Plateau State

Health care workers are important in the promotion, protection and support of breast feeding. Their ability to do this may be influenced by their knowledge, personal experiences and work. The occupational status of women can be a significant barrier or facilitator to the practice of breastfeeding. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in all the tertiary health institutions in Plateau state among the female resident doctors between 14th January to 30th January 2013 to assess their knowledge and practice of EBF. Forty-seven female resident doctors in all the tertiary health institution in Plateau state participated in the study. All (100.0%) had good knowledge of EBF, (61.7%) indicated some medical reasons contradicting EBF, of this, (55.2%) to babies of HIV positive mothers. Twenty-nine practiced EBF. Failure to, about (62%) was due to resumption of work and family support/longer maternity leave and provision of crèches at places of work were most mentioned as potent motivators to EBF. Conducive atmosphere should be created at the work place to encourage the female professional to practice EBF on their children as they encourage other mothers to do same.
Alterations of haemostatic markers in various subtypes and phases of stroke.

The purpose of this study was to clarify differences in coagulation and fibrinolytic activation between the various subtypes and phases of ischaemic stroke. Haemostatic activation markers were measured in 52 patients with cardioembolic stroke, 32 with atherothrombotic stroke and 54 with lacunar stroke and compared with 23 age-matched controls. Data were obtained in the acute (< or = 7 days after onset), subacute (8-28 days) and chronic (> or = 29 days) phases of stroke. In patients with cardioembolic stroke, D-dimer and alpha 2-antiplasmin-plasmin complex levels were higher during the acute and subacute phases, while thrombin-antithrombin III complex levels were higher during the acute phase than in patients with lacunar stroke and controls. In cardioembolic stroke, fibrinopeptide A was increased during the acute and subacute phases, thrombin-antithrombin III complexes were higher during the subacute phase and D-dimer levels were higher during the chronic phase. Protein C activity was lower during the acute phase than in atherothrombotic stroke, lacunar stroke and controls. Protein C antigen was lower during the acute phase than in lacunar stroke and controls and during the chronic phase than in lacunar stroke. In contrast, only D-dimer levels were higher in atherothrombotic stroke patients than controls during the acute and chronic phases and no significant alterations in these markers were observed in the patients with lacunar stroke. These findings suggest that measurement of molecular markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis may be useful for detecting intracardiac thrombin and plasmin generation in patients with cardioembolic stroke.
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infants and Children With Single-Suture Craniosynostosis: A Systematic Review

Children with single-suture craniosynostosis (SSC) are increasingly considered to be at high risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. This systematic review aimed to synthesise and critically appraise the existing literature on the neurodevelopmental features of SSC, with particular attention to methodological quality. A total of 33 articles based on 27 cohorts met inclusion criteria. In the context of variable methodological design and quality, most neurodevelopmental studies indicated that children with SSC are at increased risk for difficulties in cognitive, language, and motor domains during infancy (both pre- and post-surgery) and childhood. Limited information exists on factors influencing outcome.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Iliac Screw Loosening After Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery

Study Design. A retrospective study. Objective. We investigated the prevalence of iliac screw loosening and determined risk factors after adult spinal deformity surgery. Summary of Background Data. Lumbosacral fixation is crucial to maintain optimal sagittal alignment. Iliac screws are commonly placed to provide protection for sacral pedicle screws. Radiolucent areas around the screws indicate fixation loss and pseudarthrosis. Methods. Seventy-two patients with adult spinal deformity (13 men, 59 women; mean age, 69.0 yr) who underwent spinal deformity surgeries using bilateral iliac screws with at least 2 years follow-up were studied. Iliac and S1 screw loosening were assessed by postoperative radiograph. The period of loosening appearance and the relations between loosening and the following items were investigated: (1) upper instrumented vertebra, (2) L5/S interbody fusion, (3) iliac screw placement, (4) spinopelvic parameters (T1 pelvic angle, sagittal vertical axis, pelvic tilt, pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis [LL]). Oswestry Disability Index scores were obtained preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively. Results. Iliac and S1 screw loosening was found in 20 (27.8%) and 7 patients (9.7%), respectively. Iliac screw loosening appeared at 5.2 months (range, 3–12) on average. Compared with nonloosening, loosening had significantly higher upper thoracic fusion rates (above T6), lower L5/S interbody fusion rate, higher misplacement rate, and higher insufficient correction rate (PI-LL >10°). Oswestry Disability Index significantly improved in nonloosening, whereas no significant difference was observed in loosening. Multiple regression analysis showed that misplacement (odds ratio = 10.8) and insufficient correction (odds ratio = 7.5) affected loosening. Conclusion. Iliac screw loosening indicated instability of the lumbosacral junction, resulting in sagittal malalignment and poor outcomes. Accurate screw insertion and restoration of optimal LL were necessary to prevent complications. Level of Evidence: 4
Robust filtering for discrete-time linear systems with Markov switching parameters

We consider the robust linear filtering of discrete-time Markovian jump linear systems. We assume that only an output of the system is available, and therefore the values of the jump parameter are not known. It is desired to design a dynamic linear filter such that the closed loop system is mean square stable and minimizes the stationary expected value of the square error. We consider uncertainties on the parameters of the possible modes of operation of the system. An LMI formulation is proposed to solve the problem. For the case in which there are no uncertainties on the modes of operation of the system, we show that the LMI formulation provides the same filter as the Riccati equation approach.
Interfaces and binding in component based development of formal models

Component based modeling is of great importance for building and analyzing models of real systems. It is based on a well known paradigm which makes use of abstraction and composition. In this paper we focus on abstraction, by describing a practical approach to the definition of very simple interface models allowing the substitution of components within composed multiformalism models. The work extends the OsMoSys methodology and relies on meta-modeling. This paper does not discuss formal aspects about interface theory and components interaction, but focuses on the problem of building component models in practice with the ultimate goal of solving them by using (the existing) analysis tools. The paper formally extends the OsMoSys conceptual model in order to introduce model interfaces and to provide some rules for interface compatibility. The paper also describes some steps towards the full definition of mechanisms for interface binding and their implementation.
Comparison of grafted and non‐grafted patients with corneal astigmatism undergoing cataract extraction with a toric intraocular lens implant

Background: Toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) are advocated as an effective treatment for both regular corneal‐based astigmatism and cataract in both non‐penetrating keratoplasty and penetrating keratoplasty (PK) patients. The aim of this analysis is to compare postoperative outcomes for both PK and non‐PK patients to determine whether or not the past PK is relevant when calculating the appropriate IOL and predicting the postoperative results.
Unpredictable chronic mild stress not chronic restraint stress induces depressive behaviours in mice

The chronic stress model was developed on the basis of the stress–diathesis hypothesis of depression. However, these behavioural responses associated with different stress paradigms are quite complex. This study examined the effects of two chronic stress regimens on anxiety-like and depressive behaviours. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to unpredictable chronic mild stress or to chronic restraint stress for 4 weeks. Subsequently, both anxiety-like behaviours (open field, elevated plus maze and novelty suppressed feeding) and depression-like behaviours (tail suspension, forced swim and sucrose preference) were evaluated. Both chronic stress models generated anxiety-like behaviours, whereas only unpredictable chronic mild stress could induce depressive behaviours such as increased immobility and decreased sucrose consumption. These results of the present study provide additional evidence on how chronic stress affects behavioural responses and point to the importance of the validity of animal models of chronic stress in studying depression.
Ruptured histories : war, memory, and the post-Cold War in Asia

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Reenvisioning Asia, Past and Present Sheila Miyoshi Jager and Rana Mitter 1. Relocating War Memory at Century's End: Japan's Postwar Responsibility and Global Public Culture Franziska Seraphim 2. Operations of Memory: "Comfort Women" and the World Carol Gluck 3. Living Soldiers, Re-lived Memories? Japanese Veterans and Postwar Testimony of War Atrocities Daqing Yang 4. Kamikaze Today: The Search for National Heroes in Contemporary Japan Yoshikuni Igarashi 5. Lost Men and War Criminals: Public Intellectuals at Yasukuni Shrine Ann Sherif 6. The Execution of Tosaka Jun and Other Tales: Historical Amnesia, Memory, and the Question of Japan's "Postwar" Harry D. Harootunian 7. China's "Good War": Voices, Locations, and Generations in the Interpretation of the War of Resistance to Japan Rana Mitter 8. Remembering the Century of Humiliation: The Yuanming Gardens and Dagu Forts Museums James L. Hevia 9. Frontiers of Memory: Conflict, Imperialism, and Official Histories in the Formation of Post-Cold War Taiwan Identity Edward Vickers 10. The Korean War after the Cold War: Commemorating the Armistice Agreement in South Korea Sheila Miyoshi Jager and Jiyul Kim 11. The Korean War: What Is It that We Are Remembering to Forget? Bruce Cumings 12. Doubly Forgotten: Korea's Vietnam War and the Revival of Memory Charles K. Armstrong 13. Revolution, War, and Memory in Contemporary Viet Nam: An Assessment and Agenda Christoph Giebel Epilogue: New Global Conflict? War, Memory, and Post-9/11 Asia Sheila Miyoshi Jager and Rana Mitter Notes Contributors Index
Effect of saikosaponin‐A, a triterpenoid glycoside, isolated from Bupleurum falcatum on experimental allergic asthma

The separation and isolation of an extract of Bupleurum falcatum were performed based on antiallergic activities in preliminary studies with higher plants. The final active compound was identified as saikosaponin‐A (SSA), a triterpenoid glycoside. SSA at more than 1 mg/kg (i.v.) significantly inhibited the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in rats in a dose‐dependent manner, attaining a maximum inhibition of approximately 60% with 10 mg/kg. SSA at 3 and 10 mg/kg also suppressed asthmatic bronchoconstriction in sensitized guinea‐pigs. SSA possesses a weak inhibitory activity on histamine‐induced tracheal contraction in guinea‐pigs and on histamine release induced by A‐23187 in rat mast cells. These results indicate that SSA has an inhibitory activity against allergic asthma. This activity seems to derive from both antagonism of the histamine action and inhibition of allergic mediators. Additional mechanisms may also be involved. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Migration and Admixture in the Pacific Insights Provided by Human Leukocyte Antigens

THE HUMAN LEUKOCYTE ANTIGEN (HLA) SYSTEM IS A HIGHLY INFORMATIVE genetic complex that provides a new and powerful tool for studying the ancestral relationships between populations. The HLA gene frequency distributions in 17 populations are here examined for the light they throw on current theories regarding the peopling of the Pacific. It is generally accepted that the earliest arrivals in Sahul land, the single continent of Australia-New Guinea, were Australoids, migrating from the west about 50,000 years ago.1 Certainly, the first Australians were in residence by 40,000 years B.P.2 The archaic languages of the Australoids have evolved into languages now spoken by Australian Aborigines, but in New Guinea they have been overlaid by Papuan elements.3 Linguistic prehistory suggests at least three major waves of Papuan migration from the west. The first of these may have occurred 15,000 years ago, but most Papuan migration occurred 5-10,000 years ago, increasing the linguistic and genetic differentiation of New Guinea and Australia at a time when they were physically separated by the rising seas at the end of the Pleistocene. Linguistic and archaeological evidence suggests that the first Austronesian speakers migrated into Melanesia between 3,500 and 5,000 years ago,4 inter marrying with coastal Papuans in New Guinea, the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. By 3,000 years ago, further groups of Austronesians arrived in Melanesia, some travelling east to Fiji and western Polynesia and carrying Lapita-style pottery as far as Samoa.5 Following 1,000 years of consolidation in the Samoa area, a few Austronesian setders colonized the Marquesas Islands, 3,000 km to the east, before dispersing to the Society Islands, Easter Island, the Hawaiian Islands and New Zealand between 1,200 and 1,600 years ago.6 Meanwhile, western Micronesia (Palau and Marianas) had been settled at least 3,000 years ago by groups with cultural and linguistic affinities with
Le stress et la santé des cadres de direction masculins : mythe et réalités I. Le mythe du "prix du succès"

Dans le premier d'une serie de trois articles, l'auteur fait un bilan de l'etat de sante des cadres de direction masculins. Ce bilan, etabli a partir des donnees occidentales disponibles, demontre que les cadres de direction jouissent d'un etat de sante superieur a celui de la plupart des autres categories socio-professionnelles; l'auteur examine par la suite les causes bio-medicales et psycho-sociales qui peuvent expliquer cette relative bonne sante des cadres de direction masculins.
A population study of endomyocardial fibrosis in a rural area of Mozambique.

BACKGROUND Endomyocardial fibrosis is the most common restrictive cardiomyopathy worldwide. It has no specific treatment and carries a poor prognosis, since most patients present with advanced heart failure. On the basis of clinical series, regional variations in distribution have been reported within several countries in Africa, Asia, and South America, but large-scale data are lacking on the epidemiologic features and early stages of the disease. METHODS We used transthoracic echocardiography to determine the prevalence of endomyocardial fibrosis in a rural area of Mozambique. We screened a random sample of 1063 subjects of all age groups selected by clustering. Major and minor diagnostic criteria were defined, and a severity score was developed and applied. Cases were classified according to the distribution and severity of the lesions in the heart. RESULTS The estimated overall prevalence of endomyocardial fibrosis was 19.8%, or 211 of 1063 subjects (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.4 to 22.2). The prevalence was highest among persons 10 to 19 years of age (28.1%, or 73 of 260 subjects [95% CI, 22.6 to 33.6]) and was higher among male than among female subjects (23.0% vs. 17.5%, P=0.03). The most common form was biventricular endomyocardial fibrosis (a prevalence of 55.5%, or 117 of 211 subjects [95% CI, 48.8 to 62.2]), followed by right-sided endomyocardial fibrosis (a prevalence of 28.0%, or 59 of 211 subjects [95% CI, 21.9 to 34.1]). Most affected subjects had mild-to-moderate structural and functional echocardiographic abnormalities. Only 48 persons with endomyocardial fibrosis (22.7%) were symptomatic. The frequency of familial occurrence was high. CONCLUSIONS Endomyocardial fibrosis is common in a rural area of Mozambique. By using echocardiography, we were able to detect early, asymptomatic stages of the disease. These findings may aid in the study of the pathogenesis of the disease and in the development of new management strategies.
Cheap Bootstrap of Multi-Lingual Hidden Markov Models

In this work we investigate the usage of TV audio data for cross-language training of multi-lingual acoustic models. We intend to take advantage from the availability of a training speech corpus formed by parallel news uttered in different languages and transmitted over separated audio channels. Spanish, French and Russian phone Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are bootstrapped using an unsupervised training procedure starting from an Italian set of phone HMMs. The use of conﬁdence measures in order to select the training audio data was also investigated and has proved to be effective. The usage of cross language information, i.e. exploiting the temporal alignment of news in different languages to build news-dependent Language Models (LMs), was also demonstrated to give beneﬁts to the acoustic model training.
Running title : FORAMINIFERA : DEAD OR ALIVE ? MORTALITY , PROTOPLASM DECAY RATE , AND RELIABILITY OF STAINING TECHNIQUES TO RECOGNIZE ‘ LIVING ’ FORAMINIFERA

Non-vital staining, especially with rose Bengal, has been widely used in ecological studies to differentiate between the tests of dead(unstained) foraminifera from those presumed to be living at the time of collection (stained). Doubts have been expressed about staining methods because of the possibility that dead individuals may retain undecayed protoplasm for weeks or months after death; when stained, such individuals would be recorded as living. To assess the importance of such false positives, it is necessary to examine rates of mortality, and the modes of generation of empty tests, i.e., whether due to reproduction, growth stages (leaving empty tests during growth) or death. It can be argued that reproduction, ontogeny, and death through predation lead to tests devoid of protoplasm. Whereas reproduction may affect only a small proportion of the population of each species (due to high pre-reproductive mortality), predation in oxygenated environments may be responsible for the major part of that prereproductive mortality. In oxygenated environments, disease or adverse environmental conditions are most likely to lead to dead individuals having tests containing protoplasm. In dysaerobic/anoxic environments, predation by macrofauna may be excluded, so foraminifera die through other causes and thus more tests with dead protoplasm may be potentially available for staining. Therefore, for most other environments, the problem of staining dead individuals is almost certainly overstated. Furthermore, from comparative studies, it seems that the most commonly used technique (staining with rose Bengal) is as reliable as others. Now that new vital staining techniques, especially the use of fluorescent probes, are being introduced, it is timely for further objective comparative studies of all techniques to be made in order to evaluate data already gathered and to develop the best strategies for future ecological studies according to whether they are field-based or experimental.