Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Silicon amendment to rice plants contributes to reduced feeding in a phloem‐sucking insect through modulation of callose deposition

Abstract Silicon (Si) uptake by Poaceae plants has beneficial effects on herbivore defense. Increased plant physical barrier and altered herbivorous feeding behaviors are documented to reduce herbivorous arthropod feeding and contribute to enhanced plant defense. Here, we show that Si amendment to rice (Oryza sativa) plants contributes to reduced feeding in a phloem feeder, the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens, BPH), through modulation of callose deposition. We associated the temporal dynamics of BPH feeding with callose deposition on sieve plates and further with callose synthase and hydrolase gene expression in plants amended with Si. Biological assays revealed that BPH feeding was lower in Si‐amended than in nonamended plants in the early stages post‐BPH infestation. Histological observation showed that BPH infestation triggered fast and strong callose deposition in Si‐amended plants compared with nonamended plants. Analysis using qRT‐PCR revealed that expression of the callose synthase gene OsGSL1 was up‐regulated more and that the callose hydrolase (β‐1,3‐glucanase) gene Gns5 was up‐regulated less in Si‐amended than in nonamended plants during the initial stages of BPH infestation. These dynamic expression levels of OsGSL1 and Gns5 in response to BPH infestation correspond to callose deposition patterns in Si‐amended versus nonamended plants. It is demonstrated here that BPH infestation triggers differential gene expression associated with callose synthesis and hydrolysis in Si‐amended and nonamended rice plants, which allows callose to be deposited more on sieve tubes and sieve tube occlusions to be maintained more thus contributing to reduced BPH feeding on Si‐amended plants.
Modeling intrusions and correct recall in episodic memory: adult age differences in encoding of list context.

A model for correct recall and intrusions in cued recall of word lists is introduced. Intrusions are false responses that were correct in an earlier list. The model assumes 3 exclusive states for memory traces after encoding: with a list tag (i.e., with information about list origin), without list tags, and missing. Across lists, a trace can lose its list tag or its content. For retrieval, an optimal strategy of response selection was assumed. Younger and older laboratory-trained mnemonists participated in 2 experiments in which recall of permutations of a single word list across a single set of cues was held constant with individually adjusted presentation times. With correct recall equated to younger adults, older adults were more susceptible to intrusions. Age differences were restricted to model parameters estimating the probability of generation of list tags. Alternative accounts of age differences in context memory are discussed.
Effects of 12-Week Endurance Training at Natural Low Altitude on the Blood Redox Homeostasis of Professional Adolescent Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Field Trial

This field study investigated the influences of exposure to natural low altitude on endurance training-induced alterations of redox homeostasis in professional adolescent runners undergoing 12-week off-season conditioning program at an altitude of 1700 m (Alt), by comparison with that of their counterparts completing the program at sea-level (SL). For age-, gender-, and Tanner-stage-matched comparison, 26 runners (n = 13 in each group) were selected and studied. Following the conditioning program, unaltered serum levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and superoxide dismutase accompanied with an increase in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and decreases of xanthine oxidase, reduced glutathione (GSH), and GSH/GSSG ratio were observed in both Alt and SL groups. Serum glutathione peroxidase and catalase did not change in SL, whereas these enzymes, respectively, decreased and increased in Alt. Uric acid (UA) decreased in SL and increased in Alt. Moreover, the decreases in GSH and GSH/GSSG ratio in Alt were relatively lower compared to those in SL. Further, significant interindividual correlations were found between changes in catalase and TBARS, as well as between UA and T-AOC. These findings suggest that long-term training at natural low altitude is unlikely to cause retained oxidative stress in professional adolescent runners.
Eco-efficiency Convergence and Green Urban Growth in China

Eco-efficiency measures if economic growth and environmental protection are effectively balanced. To understand the path of green urban growth in China, this article examines the converging patterns of eco-efficiency for 191 Chinese cities within 2003 and 2013. Two types of modified Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods and spatial modeling approach are adopted in empirical analyses, with cities grouped based on three types of heterogeneities that facilitate the formation of potential convergence clubs. We find that major Chinese cities are β-converging in their eco-efficiency scores and are forming place-based convergence clubs in terms of geographical location, environmental policy, and resource endowments. Less efficient clubs are converging at a faster speed toward low-level steady states, while more efficient clubs are reaching separate high-level equilibria with relatively slow rates and longer half-life. We further raise corresponding policy implications that aim at retarding or reversing the ongoing trend of eco-efficiency deterioration.
Word of mouth communication in political marketing: Understanding and managing referrals

ABSTRACT There is a lack of research relevant to word of mouth (WOM) communication in political marketing. Also, existing studies on WOM communication identified behavioral determinants of the concept and neglected associated marketing stimuli. This study offers a 10-dimensional 62-item statistically significant WOM model for political marketing to address the stated lacuna. The study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze 2357 pieces of primary data collected as samples from voters in Bangladesh. To prepare the questionnaire, authors created a pool of relevant items (through recent studies found in Google scholars) and tested the content validity through literature review, expert opinion of five academics, comments of three political scientists, and pilot study. Results of the study revealed that all political marketing dimensions of the model influence WOM sharing and WOM recommendation. The study also found a significant influence of external variables (media, internet, and technology) on WOM communication. Item-specific results found that in regards to political mix components, the ones that had the most influence on WOM communication were psychological cost if the candidate wins, image of the candidate as leader, using celebrities and icons in the campaigns, building election gates, and candidate’s modesty.
Thematic Review Series: Lipids and Lipid Metabolism in the Eye Phospholipid meets all- trans -retinal: the making of RPE bisretinoids

The lipid phase of the photoreceptor outer seg- ment membrane is essential to the photon capturing and signaling functions of rhodopsin. Rearrangement of phos- pholipids in the bilayer accompanies the formation of the active intermediates of rhodopsin following photon absorp- tion. Furthermore, evidence for the formation of a conden- sation product between the photolyzed chromophore all- trans -retinal and phosphatidylethanolamine indicates that phospholipid may also participate in the movement of the retinoid in the membrane. The downside of these inter- actions is the formation of bisretinoid-phosphatidyletha- nolamine compounds that accumulate in retinal pigment epithelial cells with age and that are particularly abundant in some retinal disorders. The propensity of these com- pounds to negatively impact on the cells has been linked to the pathogenesis of some retinal disorders including juve- nile onset recessive Stargardt disease and age-related macu- lar degeneration. — Sparrow, J. R. , Y. Wu, C. Y. Kim, and J. Zhou. Phospholipid meets all-trans-retinal: the making of RPE bisretinoids. J. Lipid Res . 2010. 51: 247-261.
Legionella jordanis Lower Respiratory Tract Infection: Case Report and Review

ABSTRACT Legionella jordanis was first described in 1982 after isolation from environmental sources and is otherwise a very rare human pathogen. Here, we report the recovery of L. jordanis from a bronchoalveolar lavage specimen from a patient who presented with an indolent lower respiratory tract infection associated with constitutional symptoms. This case is the first culture-positive case of infection involving this species in Canada.
Open innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises and innovation efficiency

ABSTRACT Although open innovation approaches were introduced because of firms’ decreased innovation efficiency in a rapidly changing environment, few studies shed light on the effects of open innovation on innovation efficiency. Additionally, previous studies shed minimal light on open innovation practices in the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) context. This study attempts to remedy these research gaps using a unique dataset of Korean SMEs in manufacturing industries. I examined the effects of SMEs’ two inbound open innovation activities, external search and collaboration activities, on innovation efficiency. To measure SMEs’ innovation efficiency scores, I used the data envelopment analysis method, which calculates the relative innovation efficiency scores among them. The results revealed external search activities of SMEs improve their innovation efficiency, whereas their collaboration activities decrease their innovation efficiency. I also found the positive effect of SMEs’ external search activities on innovation efficiency is weakened by their internal R&D capacity. Nevertheless, with higher levels of internal R&D capacity, SMEs can improve their innovation efficiency through collaboration activities. Furthermore, the results showed the effects of these two inbound open innovation activities alter through the SMEs’ growth phases and the effects of collaboration activities on SMEs’ innovation efficiency and innovative performance are different.
Consumer Sleep Technologies: A Review of the Landscape.

OBJECTIVE To review sleep related consumer technologies, including mobile electronic device "apps," wearable devices, and other technologies. Validation and methodological transparency, the effect on clinical sleep medicine, and various social, legal, and ethical issues are discussed. METHODS We reviewed publications from the digital libraries of the Association for Computing Machinery, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and PubMed; publications from consumer technology websites; and mobile device app marketplaces. Search terms included "sleep technology," "sleep app," and "sleep monitoring. " RESULTS Consumer sleep technologies are categorized by delivery platform including mobile device apps (integrated with a mobile operating system and utilizing mobile device functions such as the camera or microphone), wearable devices (on the body or attached to clothing), embedded devices (integrated into furniture or other fixtures in the native sleep environment), accessory appliances, and conventional desktop/website resources. Their primary goals include facilitation of sleep induction or wakening, self-guided sleep assessment, entertainment, social connection, information sharing, and sleep education. CONCLUSIONS Consumer sleep technologies are changing the landscape of sleep health and clinical sleep medicine. These technologies have the potential to both improve and impair collective and individual sleep health depending on method of implementation.
Family Physician Preceptors’ Conceptualizations of Health Advocacy: Implications for Medical Education

Purpose Despite its official acceptance as an important physician responsibility, health advocacy remains difficult to define, teach, role model, and assess. The aim of the current study was to explore physicians’ conceptions of health advocacy based on their experience with health-advocacy-related activities. Method In 2012, the authors conducted 11 semistructured interviews with family physician clinical preceptors and analyzed the interviews in the tradition of phenomenography. Results The authors identified three distinct but related ways of understanding health advocacy: (1) Clinical: Health advocacy as support of individual patients in addressing health care needs related to the immediate clinical problem within the health care system, (2) Paraclinical: Health advocacy as support of individual patients in addressing needs that the physician preceptors viewed as peripheral yet parallel to both the health care system and the immediate clinical problem, and (3) Supraclinical: Health advocacy as population-based activities aimed at practice- and system-level changes that address the social determinants of health. Conclusions The qualitatively different understandings of health advocacy shed light on why current approaches to defining, teaching, role modeling, and assessing health advocacy competencies in medical education appear idiosyncratic. The authors suggest the development of an inclusive and extensive conceptual framework that may allow the medical education community to imagine novel ways of understanding and engaging in health advocacy.
Primary human astrocytes produce 24(S),25‐epoxycholesterol with implications for brain cholesterol homeostasis

Cholesterol is an essential component of the CNS and its metabolism in the brain has been implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases. The oxysterol produced from cholesterol, 24(S)‐hydroxycholesterol, is known to be an important regulator of brain cholesterol homeostasis. In this study, we focussed on another oxysterol, 24(S),25‐epoxycholesterol (24,25EC), which has not been studied before in a neurological context. 24,25EC is unique in that it is synthesized in a shunt in the mevalonate pathway, parallel to cholesterol and utilizing the same enzymes. Considering that all the cholesterol present in the brain is derived from de novo synthesis, we investigated whether or not primary human neurons and astrocytes can produce 24,25EC. We found that astrocytes produced more 24,25EC than neurons under basal conditions, but both cell types had the capacity to synthesize this oxysterol when the enzyme 2,3‐oxidosqualene cyclase was partially inhibited. Furthermore, both added 24,25EC and stimulated cellular production of 24,25EC (by partial inhibition of 2,3‐oxidosqualene cyclase) modulated expression of key cholesterol‐homeostatic genes regulated by the liver X receptor and the sterol regulatory element‐binding protein‐2. Moreover, we found that 24,25EC synthesized in astrocytes can be taken up by neurons and exert downstream effects on gene regulation. In summary, we have identified 24,25EC as a novel neurosterol which plays a likely role in brain cholesterol homeostasis.
Leading by Leaning In and Leaning Out

Women in business are often confronted by work environments which influence career/leadership choices and family decisions, as noted in the recent New York Times article, "More Than Their Mothers, Young Women Plan Career Pauses" (Miller, 2015). Those in the millennial generation, born between the years 1981-1997, are learning by example from previous generations what career options they would like to pursue and not pursue. Although individuals in this generation may think differently than their predecessors, they may also fail to understand and take action on career, leadership, and family opportunities available to them. This research focuses on developing leadership skills and career awareness amongst students at a small liberal arts institution after business faculty noted a higher percentage of students intending to pursue careers as homemakers versus businesspeople. The program, focused on getting the conversation started at the college level to prepare students for the business world, was based upon the research presented in the book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (2013) as well as the resources provided on the leanin.org website. The program exposed students, university faculty, and staff to female leaders at various stages in their careers through interactive, discussion-based sessions. Program developers also conducted empirical quantitative research on the student participants to identify changes in attitudes and behaviors as a result of participating in the program and found significant changes in student's ability to network and level of self-efficacy — issues addressed within the sessions. Significant differences were also noted between those choosing to participate in the program and a control group of non-participants. In addition, what initially began as a programming initiative to gain awareness around leaning in, or taking a more active leadership role, has since evolved to become a student-led effort that involves leaning out, such as working with others as mentors through collaboration with outside organizations. Keywords: leadership development, gender, women in business, mentoring.
Independent work of students as an essential component of the communicative competence development in the context of the federal state educational standards of higher education

The relevance of the researched problem is driven by the need to use the independent work of students at in-class and out-of-class activities at university to develop their communicative competence in the context of implementing the Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Education of the new generation. The purpose of the article is to make a case for the possible and necessary use of the independent work for the development of the students’ communicative competence. The leading method of the research is empirical one that allows to monitor the independent work, to measure indicators using specifically designed assignments, tests, etc. and to compare those indicators, as well as methods of mathematical statistics and graphical representation of results. The assignment complex that is necessary and sufficient for the effective development of students’ speech competence has been developed and tested: assignments for in-class and out-of-class activities, game situations on professional topics, various events during extracurricular time, etc. The materials of the article can be used in the practical work of teachers of linguistic disciplines not only in universities, but also in colleges, and are also of interest to all those who are involved in professional and pedagogical activity.
Mutation of Protease Domain Residues Lys37-39 in Human Protein C Inhibits Activation by the Thrombomodulin-Thrombin Complex without Affecting Activation by Free Thrombin*

Activated protein C (aPC) is an important feedback regulator of the clotting cascade. In vivo, the conversion of protein C (PC) from its zymogen to activated form is mediated primarily by thrombin bound to thrombomodulin (TM), an endothelial cell surface protein. Molecular modeling suggests residues Lys37-Lys38-Lys39 of protein C's serine protease domain reside in a surface-exposed loop (variable region 1) whose high concentration of positive charge might be involved in protein-protein interactions. In this study, we have examined the role of the conserved tribasic Lys37-39 charge center in human protein C activation. This sequence was changed to acidic by substitution with Asp37-Glu38-Asp39 (DED) and Glu37-Glu38-Glu39 (EEE), or to neutrality by substitution with Gly37-Gly38-Gly39 (GGG). These mutant PCs, expressed and purified from recombinant human 293 cells, appeared normal with regard to intracellular processing, ability to be secreted, and formation of a viable active site for tripeptidyl-p-nitroanilide substrate cleavage. For activation by free thrombin, wild-type (wt) and mutant PCs displayed equivalent activation rates, as well as identical calcium-dependent inhibition of such activation. Activation of wt-PC with a soluble TM-thrombin complex yielded a 2,000-fold faster rate compared with that by free thrombin at the same (physiological) calcium level. In contrast, the acidic mutants DED and EEE exhibited virtually no TM-mediated increase in activation rate, while the neutral mutant GGG was somewhat intermediate with a 30-fold stimulation of activation rate. These reductions in activation rate were independent of the presence of chondroitin sulfate on TM. Our observations represent the first identification of residues whose mutation essentially uncouples activation by the TM-thrombin complex without affecting activation by free thrombin. Further, our results suggest that VR1 residues within the zymogen form of a serine protease can be important for recognition by physiological activators.
Selective inhibition of ASIC 1 a confers functional and morphological neuroprotection following traumatic spinal cord injury

Tissue loss after spinal trauma is biphasic, with initial mechanical/haemorrhagic damage at the time of impact being followed by gradual secondary expansion into adjacent, previously unaffected tissue. Limiting the extent of this secondary expansion of tissue damage has the potential to preserve greater residual spinal cord function in patients. The acute tissue hypoxia resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI) activates acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a). We surmised that antagonism of this channel should provide neuroprotection and functional preservation after SCI. We show that systemic administration of the spider-venom peptide PcTx1, a selective inhibitor of ASIC1a, improves locomotor function in adult Sprague Dawley rats after thoracic SCI. The degree of functional improvement correlated with the degree of tissue preservation in descending white matter tracts involved in hind limb locomotor function. Transcriptomic analysis suggests that PcTx1-induced preservation of spinal cord tissue does not result from a reduction in apoptosis, with no evidence of down-regulation of key genes involved in either the intrinsic or extrinsic apoptotic pathways. We also demonstrate that trauma-induced disruption of blood-spinal cord barrier function persists for at least 4 days post-injury for compounds up to 10 kDa in size, whereas barrier function is restored for larger molecules within a few hours. This temporary loss of barrier function provides a “ ” through which systemically administered drugs have treatment window unrestricted access to spinal tissue in and around the sites of trauma. Taken together, our data provide evidence to support the use of ASIC1a inhibitors as a therapeutic treatment for SCI. This study also emphasizes the importance of objectively grading the functional severity of initial injuries (even when using standardized impacts) and we describe a simple scoring system based on hind limb function that could be adopted in future studies. 1 1 1 2 2,3
Secure Encrypted Virtualization is Unsecure

Virtualization has become more important since cloud computing is getting more and more popular than before. There is an increasing demand for security among the cloud customers. AMD plans to provide Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology in its latest processor EPYC to protect virtual machines by encrypting its memory but without integrity protection. In this paper, we analyzed the weakness in the SEV design due to lack of integrity protection thus it is not so secure. Using different design flaw in physical address-based tweak algorithm to protect against ciphertext block move attacks, we found a realistic attack against SEV which could obtain the root privilege of an encrypted virtual machine protected by SEV. A demo to simulate the attack against a virtual machine protected by SEV is done in a Ryzen machine which supports Secure Memory Encryption (SME) technology since SEV enabled machine is still not available in market.