Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assembling spatially explicit landscape models of pollen and spore dispersal by wind for risk assessment

Models of windblown pollen or spore movement are required to predict gene flow from genetically modified (GM) crops and the spread of fungal diseases. We suggest a simple form for a function describing the distance moved by a pollen grain or fungal spore, for use in generic models of dispersal. The function has power-law behaviour over sub-continental distances. We show that air-borne dispersal of rapeseed pollen in two experiments was inconsistent with an exponential model, but was fitted by power-law models, implying a large contribution from distant fields to the catches observed. After allowance for this ‘background’ by applying Fourier transforms to deconvolve the mixture of distant and local sources, the data were best fit by power-laws with exponents between 1.5 and 2. We also demonstrate that for a simple model of area sources, the median dispersal distance is a function of field radius and that measurement from the source edge can be misleading. Using an inverse-square dispersal distribution deduced from the experimental data and the distribution of rapeseed fields deduced by remote sensing, we successfully predict observed rapeseed pollen density in the city centres of Derby and Leicester (UK).
Image super-resolution based on multi-scale self-similarity and gradient constraint

In this study, we proposed a single image superresolution based on multi-scale self-similarity and gradient constraint. Instead of depending on an external set of example images required in most learning-based super-resolution algorithms, the proposed algorithm exploit self-similarity and generates example image pairs directly from the image pyramid of the input low resolution image. The algorithm is patch-based. Therefore, these images including input low resolution image are divided into patches firstly. Gradient feature of the patches is extracted. Then, similar example patch pairs are searched for each input patch. The gradient feature of high resolution patch can be estimated by weight of the similar patches. At last, the solution model constrained by gradient is set up, which can solve the weight and estimate high resolution image patch by alternated iteration. The model can reduces the influence of weight estimation error on performance of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs well.
Electronic human resource management (e-HRM) and human resource (HR) competencies: some evidence from an emerging market

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between HR competencies (knowledge of business, HR functional expertise, and managing change), perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitudes towards using e-HRM. The sample consisted of 154 HR professionals. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The findings from this study indicated that managing change is positively related to perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Perceived ease of use is positively related to perceived usefulness and attitude towards using e-HRM. Besides, perceived usefulness has a significant effect on attitude towards using e-HRM. Implications of the findings are further explored.
A learning process in email use - a longitudinal case study of the interaction between organization and technology

This paper explores the process of adoption, use and effects of an ICT application (electronic mail) in an organization. This process is considered to be a learning process, in which users, over time, learn to use email to a greater extent, for a broader range of tasks, and more effectively. The results of a longitudinal case study are described. In four time periods (1993, 1995, 1997 and 2000), random samples of users were surveyed with regard to their use of email and its effects. This produced a unique dataset. The longitudinal character of this case study provided an excellent opportunity to follow the learning process through time, and analyse the influence of different variables on the course of this process. MANOVAs show empirical support for the 'learning process', manifested in changes in extent, ways and effectiveness of email use. The analysis indicates that technological innnovation could be an important influence on the course of this learning process.
Elevated body mass index correlates with higher seminal plasma interleukin 8 levels and ultrasonographic abnormalities of the prostate in men attending an andrology clinic for infertility

Background: Obesity is associated with a systemic, low-grade inflammatory state. Although the relationship between obesity and semen parameters or prostate diseases has been previously investigated, the association between body mass index (BMI), prostate inflammatory diseases and color-Doppler ultrasound (CDU) of the male genital tract (MGT) has been poorly studied. Aim: To evaluate the association between BMI and CDU features of the MGT, signs and symptoms of prostate inflammation, semen parameters. Materials/Subjects and methods: We studied 222 men seeking medical care for couple infertility. According to the World Health Organization classification, subjects were divided into 3 groups: normal weight (no.=131, BMI=18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (no.=71, BMI=25.0–29.9 kg/m2), obese (no.=20, BMI≥30.0 kg/m2). All patients underwent simultaneous testosterone evaluation and seminal analysis, including interleukin 8 (sIL-8), along with scrotal and transrectal CDU, before and after ejaculation. Prostatitis symptoms were evaluated by National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index questionnaire. Results: After adjusting for age and testosterone levels, higher BMI was significantly related to higher prostate volume and several CDU features of the prostate, including macro-calcifications, inhomogeneity, higher arterial peak systolic velocity (the latter adjusted also for blood pressure), but not with abnormalities of testis, epididymis, seminal vesicles. Furthermore, higher BMI and BMI class were significantly related to higher sIL-8, a reliable surrogate marker of prostate inflammatory diseases, even after adjustment for age. Conversely, no associations among BMI, clinical symptoms of prostatitis or semen parameters were observed. Conclusions: Subjects with higher BMI might develop CDU and biochemical signs suggestive of prostate inflammation, although not clinically overt.
Thrombin chemotactic stimulation of HL‐60 cells: Studies on thrombin responsiveness as a function of differentiation

Thrombin, a major procoagulant enzyme and growth factor, is also selectively chemotactic for monocytes and macrophages but not for neutrophils. This effect stands in contrast to other well‐known chemotactic agents such as fMet‐Leu‐Phe, C5a fragments, and LTB4, which stimulate directed cell movement in both cell types, and have important physiological implications. The human leukemic cell line HL‐60, which is capable of differentiating either along granulocytic or monocytic lineages, was therefore used to explore the development of this selective monocyte/macrophage chemotactic response to thrombin. Esterolytically inactive DIP‐α‐thrombin, as well as the thrombin‐derived chemotactic peptide CB67–129, elicits a dose‐dependent chemotactic response in HL‐60 cells differentiated to monocytelike cells by treatment with 1,25(OH)2D3 (HL‐60/mono), whereas no such response is evident in either undifferentiated HL‐60 cells or in cells differentiated into granulocytes by treatment with DMSO (HL‐60/gran). Similarly, early events which characterize stimulation of inflammatory cells by chemotactic agents are also evident, but only in monocyte‐differentiated cells. In HL‐60/mono, thrombin selectively stimulates rapid cytosolic Ca2+ elevation as well as rapid cytoskeletal association of cytosolic actin. Following thrombin stimulation, maximal actin association in these cells occurs within 30 sec (declining to basal levels at the end of 5 min), and maximal Ca2+ elevations are also evident within 15–20 sec, suggesting a temporal relationship between these two events. Thus, the events accompanying stimulation of HL‐60/mono by thrombin are characteristic of those seen following stimulation of inflammatory cells by chemotaxins, with a major difference being the selectivity of thrombin as a chemotaxin for cells of macrophage/monocytic lineage. The selective chemotactic responsiveness of HL‐60/mono to thrombin appears to relate to the development of specific receptors on these cells as part of monocytic differentiation: HL‐60/mono (but HL‐60/gran nor undifferentiated HL‐60) are capable of significant specific 125‐I‐labeled α‐thrombin‐binding (ka∼20 nM), and possess an estimated 400,000 thrombin‐binding sites per cell. Our finding further suggest that the thrombin response of HL‐60 and particularly the expression of thrombin receptors on these cells may serve as a useful model system for exploring the biology of monocyte/macrophage differentiation.
Existence and Stability for the 3D Linearized Constant-Coefficient Incompressible Current-Vortex Sheets

We consider the free boundary problem for current-vortex sheets in ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. The problem of current-vortex sheets arises naturally, for instance, in geophysics and astrophysics. We prove the existence of a unique solution to the constant-coefficient linearized problem and an a priori estimate with no loss of derivatives. This is a preliminary result to the study of linearized variable-coefficient current-vortex sheets, a first step to prove the existence of solutions to the nonlinear problem.
Interaction and Transmission of Two Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto Strains in a Tick-Rodent Maintenance System

ABSTRACT In the northeastern United States, the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, is maintained by enzoonotic transmission, cycling between white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis). B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is genetically variable and has been divided into three major genotypes based on 16S-23S ribosomal DNA spacer (RST) analysis. To better understand how genetic differences in B. burgdorferi sensu stricto may influence transmission dynamics in nature, we investigated the interaction between an RST1 and an RST3 strain in a laboratory system with P. leucopus mice and I. scapularis ticks. Two groups of mice were infected with either BL206 (RST1) or B348 (RST3). Two weeks later, experimental mice were challenged with the opposite strain, while control mice were challenged with the same strain as that used for the primary infection. The transmission of BL206 and B348 from infected mice was then determined by xenodiagnosis with uninfected larval ticks at weekly intervals for 42 days. Mice in both experimental groups were permissive for infection with the second strain and were able to transmit both strains to the xenodiagnostic ticks. However, the overall transmission efficiencies of BL206 and B348 were significantly different. BL206 was more efficiently transmitted than B348 to xenodiagnostic ticks. Significantly fewer double infections than expected were detected in xenodiagnostic ticks. The results suggest that some B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strains, such as BL206, may be preferentially maintained in transmission cycles between ticks and white-footed mice. Other strains, such as B348, may be more effectively maintained in different tick-vertebrate transmission cycles.
A Zebrafish Model for a Human Myopathy Associated with Mutation of the Unconventional Myosin MYO18B

Myosin 18B is an unconventional myosin that has been implicated in tumor progression in humans. In addition, loss-of-function mutations of the MYO18B gene have recently been identified in several patients exhibiting symptoms of nemaline myopathy. In mouse, mutation of Myo18B results in early developmental arrest associated with cardiomyopathy, precluding analysis of its effects on skeletal muscle development. The zebrafish, frozen (fro) mutant was identified as one of a group of immotile mutants in the 1996 Tübingen genetic screen. Mutant embryos display a loss of birefringency in their skeletal muscle, indicative of disrupted sarcomeric organization. Using meiotic mapping, we localized the fro locus to the previously unannotated zebrafish myo18b gene, the product of which shares close to 50% identity with its human ortholog. Transcription of myo18b is restricted to fast-twitch myocytes in the zebrafish embryo; consistent with this, fro mutant embryos exhibit defects specifically in their fast-twitch skeletal muscles. We show that sarcomeric assembly is blocked at an early stage in fro mutants, leading to the disorganized accumulation of actin, myosin, and α-actinin and a complete loss of myofibrillar organization in fast-twitch muscles.
Suppurative Lymphadenitis following Intradermal B.C.G. Vaccination of the Newborn

the sigmoidoscopic appearances before treatment. Normal or improved sigmoidoscopic appearances were more frequent in the cortisone group. Similarly, for 51 patients examined by barium enema at the end of treatment, improvement in the radiological appearances was more common in the cortisone-treated patients. Deaths were less frequent among the cortisone group than among the controls; brief details are given of the fatal cases. Follow-up information is available for an average period of eighteen months in respect of 205 patients out of the original 210. Nine months after the trial period patients treated with cortisone in the first attack preserved a clear advantage over the corresponding control group. By contrast, relapse cases treated with cortisone had lost the initial advantage they showed at the end of the trial period. At the end of the follow-up period, essentially the same pattern existed as at nine months, but with a slight worsening of the general picture. About one-fifth of the original group had been treated by ileostomy by the end of the study. Of these 44 patients, 14 (31.8%) were dead at the end of the study. Cortisone is a valuable addition to the medical treatment of ulcerative colitis. We think it likely that better short-term results than we have obtained in the present trial could be achieved by the use of higher doses when necessary. However, its effect is far from permanent, particularly in the established disease, though it is possible that more prolonged treatment than we have so far used will give better long-term results.
Aged care nursing in Queensland - the nurses' view.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Through comparison of two studies undertaken three years apart the opinions of nurses working in aged care facilities in Queensland were determined. Results will support policy planning for the Queensland Nurses Union. BACKGROUND An ageing population in Australia is placing increased demands on residential aged care facilities. In Queensland, the national situation is exacerbated by an influx of retirees from other states and territories. The ongoing problem of shortages of nurses in the workforce may be addressed by gaining further insight into the nurses' own views of their conditions and experiences. METHODS One thousand nurses working in public and privately owned residential aged care facilities were surveyed by postal questionnaire in 2004. Results were compared with data collected in an identical study in 2001. RESULTS Respondents offered their opinions on working hours and conditions, professional development and experiences in nursing. The predominately female aged care nursing workforce is ageing. Reported workplace violence has increased substantially since 2001. Some improvements are reported in staff numbers, skill mix and workplace policies. Nurses expressed very serious concerns about pay, workload, stress, physical and emotional demands and staff morale. CONCLUSION Working conditions for nurses in the residential aged care sector in Queensland must be addressed to retain the current nurses and to encourage new nurses to replace those that retire. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings of this study provide information not only for the Queensland Nurses Union but also policy makers and nurse managers both nationally and internationally on areas that need to be addressed to maintain the required workforce within the aged care sector.
Monaural inhibition in cat auditory cortex.

1. Several studies of auditory cortex have examined the competitive inhibition that can occur when appropriate sounds are presented to each ear. However, most cortical neurons also show both excitation and inhibition in response to presentation of stimuli at one ear alone. The extent of such inhibition has not been described. Forward masking, in which a variable masking stimulus was followed by a fixed probe stimulus (within the excitatory response area), was used to examine the extent of monaural inhibition for neurons in primary auditory cortex of anesthetized cats (barbiturate or barbiturate-ketamine). Both the masking and probe stimuli were 50-ms tone pips presented to the contralateral ear. Most cortical neurons showed significant forward masking at delays beyond which masking effects in the auditory nerve are relatively small compared with those seen in cortical neurons. Analysis was primarily concerned with such components. Standard rate-level functions were also obtained and were examined for nonmonotonicity, an indication of level-dependent monaural inhibition. 2. Consistent with previous reports, a wide range of frequency tuning properties (excitatory response area shapes) was found in cortical neurons. This was matched by a wide range of forward-masking-derived inhibitory response areas. At the most basic level of analysis, these were classified according to the presence of lateral inhibition, i.e., where a probe tone at a neuron's characteristic frequency was masked by tones outside the limits of the excitatory response area. Lateral inhibition was a property of 38% of the sampled neurons. Such neurons represented 77% of those with nonmonotonic rate-level functions, indicating a strong correlation between the two indexes of monaural inhibition; however, the shapes of forward masking inhibitory response areas did not usually correspond with those required to account for the "tuning" of a neuron. In addition, it was found that level-dependent inhibition was not added to by forward masking inhibition. 3. Analysis of the discharges to individual stimulus pair presentations, under conditions of partial masking, revealed that discharges to the probe occurred independently of discharges to the preceding masker. This indicates that even when the masker is within a neuron's excitatory response area, forward masking is not a postdischarge habituation phenomenon. However, for most neurons the degree of masking summed over multiple stimulus presentations appears determined by the same stimulus parameters that determine the probability of response to the masker. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Risk factors for hospital admission for asthma from childhood to young adulthood: a longitudinal population study.

BACKGROUND Predictors of hospital admissions for asthma in children and young adults in a general population are not well defined, because most studies have used selected subpopulations. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this investigation was to determine risk factors for single and multiple hospital admissions for asthma. METHODS The members of a population-based, unselected birth cohort of 1037 New Zealanders answered questionnaires and underwent lung function, airway responsiveness, and allergy testing on 7 occasions to the age of 26 years. RESULTS Among the 766 study members (74% of the cohort) who reported wheezing symptoms ever by the age of 26 years, 136 hospitalizations were reported by 62 individuals (8.3% of those at risk, 6.2% of the total cohort). Only 55 of these 136 admissions involved children less than 9 years of age; admissions continued to occur between the ages of 9 and 18 years (40 admissions) and at >18 years (41 admissions). Those admitted were predominantly male, had earlier ages of onset of symptoms, were more atopic, and had more airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine than those not admitted. Frequent symptoms and low lung function were evident among the 45 study members with single admissions and even more evident among the 17 study members with multiple (2-10) admissions. CONCLUSIONS A surprisingly large fraction of this unselected population experienced hospitalization for asthma during the 26-year follow-up, many being admitted in later childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Clinical characteristics and markers of severity, including frequent respiratory symptoms, airway hyperresponsiveness, atopy, and low lung function, identify those at high risk for hospitalization for asthma, particularly with respect to multiple admissions.
Genetic diversity among respiratory syncytial viruses that have caused repeated infections in children from rural India

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes repeat infections throughout life. Antigenic variability in the RSV G protein may play a significant role in reinfections. A variable region of the RSV G gene was analyzed for 14 viruses from seven children who experienced initial and repeat infections. Eleven group A strains were in clades GA2 and GA5 and the three group B viruses were in the newly identified BA clade. In five children reinfections were caused by a heterologous group or genotype of RSV. Two children experienced infection and reinfection by viruses of the same clade, these virus pairs differed by only two to three amino acids in the region compared. This is the first report of RSV nucleotide sequence analysis from India and one of the few molecular characterizations of paired RSV from reinfections. Determining the molecular basis of reinfections may have important implications for RSV vaccine development. J. Med. Virol. 78:659–665, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An analytical model for self-limiting behavior of hot-carrier degradation in 0.25 mu m n-MOSFET's

Hot-carrier degradation of short-channel n-MOSFETs becomes saturated after reaching a certain threshold value. The physical mechanism for this self-limiting behavior is investigated. It is proposed that the hot-carrier-induced oxide trapped charge and interface states form a potential barrier that repels subsequent hot carriers from causing further damage and can lead to the saturation of device degradation. A physical model is developed on the basis of the analysis. The model is verified by experimental results and can be used for more accurate device reliability projection. <<ETX>>