Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Labeling Guides Object Individuation in 12-Month-Old Infants

A new manual search method was used to investigate the impact of naming on object individuation in 12-month-old infants. In Experiment 1, on a two-word trial, an experimenter looked into a box while the infant was watching and provided two labels (e.g., “Look, a fep! ” and “Look, a wug! ”). On a one-word trial, the experimenter instead repeated the same label (e.g., “Look, a zav! ”). After the infant retrieved one object from the box, subsequent search behavior was recorded. Infants searched more persistently (i.e., for a longer duration) after hearing two labels than one, suggesting that hearing two labels led the infants to expect two objects inside the box. In Experiment 2, infants' search behavior did not differ depending on whether they heard one or two emotional expressions, suggesting that the facilitation effect observed in Experiment 1 may be specific to linguistic expressions. Thus, we provide the first evidence that infants as young as 12 months are able to use intentional and referential cues to guide their object representations. These findings also suggest that a rudimentary version of the mutual-exclusivity constraint may be functional by the end of the first year.
Towards a model-free denoising of underwater optical images

A major hindrance to underwater operations using cameras comes from the light absorption and scattering by the marine environment, which limits the visibility distance up to a few meters in coastal waters when using low-end cameras. We propose a complete preprocessing framework able to handle the entire spectrum of noises present in underwater images. We show that most, if not all of this preprocessing can be done with very generic methods that do not need any knowledge of the scene or of the turbidity characteristics of the water, while still remaining coherent with the underwater images formation model.
Tiling in Interactive Panoramic Video: Approaches and Evaluation

Interactive panoramic systems are currently on the rise. However, one of the major challenges in such a system is the overhead involved in transferring a full-quality panorama to the client when only a part of the panorama is used to extract a virtual view. Thus, such a system should maximize the user experience while simultaneously minimizing the bandwidth required. In this paper, we apply tiling to deliver different quality levels for different parts of the panorama. Tiling has traditionally been applied to the delivery of very high-resolution content to clients. Here, we apply similar ideas in a real-time interactive panoramic video system. A major challenge lies in the movement of such a virtual view, for which clients' regions of interest change dynamically and independently from each other. We show that our algorithms, which progressively increase in quality toward the point of the view, manage to (i) reduce the bandwidth requirement and (ii) provide a similar quality of experience (QoE) compared to a full panorama system.
Incorporating clinical outcomes and economic consequences into drug formulary decisions: a practical approach.

BACKGROUND In 1994, Regence BlueShield (Regence), a large non-staff model health plan, adopted guidelines governing the review of new and existing drug products. However, certain limitations were apparent: adequate data were not available in a timely fashion; unpublished studies and information on unapproved indications were difficult to obtain; data addressing humanistic and economic outcomes were not routinely supplied by manufacturers; and the time required by Regence staff clinical pharmacists to assemble and summarize published clinical studies for the pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committee was excessive. OBJECTIVE To describe the process used by Regence to collect and review clinical, economic, and other health outcomes data as part of the plan's drug formulary adoption process. PROCESS DESCRIPTION: To address these limitations, Regence revised its process to require pharmaceutical manufacturers to submit a detailed dossier with clinical and economic data from published and unpublished studies, along with a disease-based economic model projecting the potential impact that introducing the product would have on health outcomes and economic consequences occurring across the entire Regence system. After performing independent literature reviews to ensure the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the information obtained, clinical pharmacists at Regence complete a detailed summary of each drug for the P&T committee. CONCLUSION The new process has addressed the limitations of the previous system and, by improving the timeliness and relevance of available information, it supports Regence's goal of maintaining an evidence-based formulary.
Vascular endothelial growth factor and angiopoietin are required for prostate regeneration

The regulation of the prostate size by androgens may be partly the result of androgen effects on the prostatic vasculature. We examined the effect of changes in androgen levels on the expression of a variety of angiogenic factors in the mouse prostate and determined if vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐A and the angiopoietins are involved in the vascular response to androgens.
The Immunoglobulin D-Binding Protein MID from Moraxella catarrhalis Is Also an Adhesin

ABSTRACT The Moraxella catarrhalis immunoglobulin D (IgD)-binding protein (MID) is a 200-kDa outer membrane protein displaying a unique and specific affinity for human IgD. MID is found in the majority of M. catarrhalis strains. In the present paper, we show that MID-expressing M. catarrhalis strains agglutinate human erythrocytes and bind to type II alveolar epithelial cells. In contrast, M. catarrhalis isolates with low MID expression levels and two mutants deficient in MID, but with readily detectable UspA1 expression, do not agglutinate erythrocytes and have a 50% lower adhesive capacity. To examine the adhesive part of MID, the protein was dissected into nine fragments covering the entire molecule. The truncated MID proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and used for raising polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. Interestingly, by using recombinant fragments, we show that the hemagglutinating and adhesive part of MID is localized within the 150-amino-acid fragment MID764-913. In addition, antibodies against full-length MID, MID764-913, or a 30-amino-acid consensus sequence (MID775-804) inhibited adhesion to alveolar epithelial cells. Antibodies against UspA1, an outer membrane protein expressed in essentially all M. catarrhalis strains, also inhibited adhesion, suggesting that both MID and UspA1 are needed for optimal attachment to epithelial cells. Taken together, in addition to MID-dependent IgD binding, we have demonstrated that the outer membrane protein MID is a novel adhesin that would be a suitable target for a future vaccine against M. catarrhalis.
Transient increase in the level of mRNA for a germin-like protein in leaves of the short-day plant Pharbitis nil during the photoperiodic induction of flowering.

A cDNA corresponding to an in vivo labeled protein whose level increased during flower-inductive darkness in the cotyledon of the short-day plant Pharbitis nil Choisy cv. Violet was isolated and characterized. The deduced amino-acid sequence of the protein (designated PnGLP; P.nil germin-like protein) showed homology to that of a GLP of Sinapis alba, a leaf protein, the mRNA accumulation of which showing circadian oscillations. PnGLP mRNA was detected specifically in the cotyledon and leaf, in particular, in the young expanded cotyledon and leaf. Accumulation of PnGLP mRNA increased transiently during flower-inductive darkness and peaked at a time that corresponded approximately to the critical night length. This mRNA peak was reduced by a brief exposure to red light at the 8th hour of darkness. The level of PnGLP mRNA peaked about 10 h from the beginning of the dark period, whereas it was reported that the level of mRNA for GLP of a long-day plant S. alba increased about 14 h from the beginning of the light period. Thus, the different time courses of accumulation of the mRNAs for leaf-specific GLPs appear to reflect the differences in photoperiodic responses of each plant.
Disulfide bond tethering of extracellular loops does not affect the closure of OmpF porin at acidic pH

The permeability of the outer membrane of gram‐negative bacteria is essentially controlled by pore‐forming proteins of the porin family. The trimeric E. coli porin OmpF is assembled as a triple β‐barrel, where each monomer contains a central pore and extracellular loops. Electrophysiological analysis of the behavior of OmpF at acidic pH reveals that the protein undergoes a conformational change leading to the sequential step‐wise closure of the three monomers. A previous atomic force microscopy study suggested that the conformational change might be due to a bending of extracellular loops over the pore opening, and loop deletion experiments suggested that loops L1, L7, and L8 are involved. In order to test the hypothesis for loop movement, we engineered a series of double cysteine mutants in loops L1, L6, L7 and L8 in order to create disulfide bonds linking two loops to each other, or the two branches of a loop, or a loop to the β‐barrel. Five out of the six mutants showed the formation of the disulfide bond. However, none of these had an altered response to acidic pH relative to the wildtype channel. Although we cannot dismiss the possibility that the mobility restriction introduced by each disulfide bond was too localized to impact a more global conformational change of the three loops, the fact that all of the different types of disulfide bond tethering were similarly ineffective suggests that the extracellular loops L1, L7, and L8 may not undergo a major acidic‐pH induced conformational change leading to channel closure. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Selection of T lymphocytes bearing limited TCR-Vbeta regions in the lung of hypersensitivity pneumonitis and sarcoidosis.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and sarcoidosis are interstitial lung disorders (ILD) characterized by a lymphocytic alveolitis that, in the active phase of the disease, is sustained by different T-cell subsets, i.e., CD8+ cells in HP and CD4+ lymphocytes in sarcoid patients. To address the question of whether a bias in T-cell selection occurs in the lung of patients with HP and sarcoidosis, we analyzed the T-cell receptor beta chain variable region (TCR-Vbeta) repertoire by flow cytometry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses in blood and lung lymphocytes of 14 HP and 25 sarcoid patients. To verify whether these cells can be activated in vitro through the TCR, blood and lung lymphocytes were also assessed for their responsiveness to different superantigenic stimuli represented by staphylococcal enterotoxins, including SEA, SEB, SEC1, SEC2, SED, and SEE. Flow cytometry and PCR analyses demonstrated an overexpression of cells bearing Vbeta2, Vbeta3, Vbeta5, Vbeta6, and Vbeta8 gene segments in the lung of HP patients as compared with the peripheral blood. In sarcoid patients cells bearing Vbeta2, Vbeta5, and Vbeta6 gene segments in the lung of HP patients as compared with the peripheral blood. In sarcoid patients cells bearing Vbeta2, Vbeta5, and Vbeta6 gene segments were overrepresented in the lung rather than in the blood. Both in HP and sarcoid patients almost all T cells bearing the dominant Vbeta segment belonged to the T-cell subset that sustains the alveolitis, i.e., CD8 in HP patients and CD4 in sarcoid subjects. Follow-up studies demonstrated that the recovery of the alveolitis was characterized by the disappearance of cells bearing a limited T-cell repertoire. Interestingly, T-lymphocyte response to different superantigens demonstrated that the proliferation elicited by different staphylococcal toxins was more pronounced in the lung than in the blood. Taken together, our findings indicate a compartmentalization of cells bearing discrete Vbeta gene products in the pulmonary microenvironment and suggest that the expansion of specific Vbeta region subsets occurring in the lung might result from triggering by a specific antigen. In fact, the removal from exposure in HP patients or specific treatment in sarcoidosis resulted in the decrease of the overrepresented cell population accounting for the lymphocytic alveolitis.
Neurochemical characterization of sea lamprey taste buds and afferent gustatory fibers: Presence of serotonin, calretinin, and CGRP immunoreactivity in taste bud bi‐ciliated cells of the earliest vertebrates

Neuroactive substances such as serotonin and other monoamines have been suggested to be involved in the transmission of gustatory signals from taste bud cells to afferent fibers. Lampreys are the earliest vertebrates that possess taste buds, although these differ in structure from taste buds in jawed vertebrates, and their neurochemistry remains unknown. We used immunofluorescence methods with antibodies raised against serotonin, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), calretinin, and acetylated α‐tubulin to characterize the neurochemistry and innervation of taste buds in the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L. For localization of proliferative cells in taste buds we used bromodeoxyuridine labeling and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry. Results with both markers indicate that proliferating cells are restricted to a few basal cells and that almost all cells in taste buds are nonproliferating. A large number of serotonin‐, calretinin‐, and CGRP‐immunoreactive bi‐ciliated cells were revealed in lamprey taste buds. This suggests that serotonin participates in the transmission of gustatory signals and indicates that this substance appeared early on in vertebrate evolution. The basal surface of the bi‐ciliated taste bud cells was contacted by tubulin‐immunoreactive fibers. Some of the fibers surrounding the taste bud were calretinin immunoreactive. Lamprey taste bud cells or afferent fibers did not exhibit TH, GABA, glutamate, or NPY immunoreactivity, which suggests that expression of these substances evolved in taste buds of some gnathostomes lines after the separation of gnathostomes and lampreys. J. Comp. Neurol. 511:438–453, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effectiveness of an educational intervention among public health midwives on breast cancer early detection in the district of Gampaha, Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among Sri Lankan females, accounting for 26% of the cancer incidence in women. Early detection of breast cancer is conducted by public health midwives (PHMs) in the Well Woman Clinics. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention on improving knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on breast cancer screening among PHMs in the district of Gampaha. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas in Gampaha district were selected using random sampling as intervention (IG) and control (CG) groups. All the PHMs in the two MOH areas participated in the study, with totals of 38 in IG and 47 in CG. They were exposed to an educational intervention with the objective of using them to subsequently conduct the same among 35-59 year women in the community. Following the intervention, post-intervention assessments were conducted at one month and six months to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. RESULTS The overall median scores for KAP among PHMs respectively were as follows. Pre-intervention: IG:58%(IQR: 53- 69%), 90%(IQR: 70-100%) and 62%(IQR: 57-70%). CG: 64%(IQR: 56-69%), 90%(IQR: 70-90%) and 62%( IQR: 50-77%). Post-intervention: one month, IG:96%(IQR: 93-96%), 100%(IQR: 100-100%), and 85%(IQR: 81-89%). CG:67%(IQR: 60- 73%), 90%(IQR: 80-100%) and 65%(IQR: 50-73%). Post-intervention: six months, IG: 93% (IQR: 91-93%), 100%(IQR: 90- 100%), and 81%(IQR: 77-89%). CG: 67%(IQR: 58- 71%), 90%(IQR: 90-100%), and 62%( IQR: 58-73%). All the above post-intervention scores of PHMs in the IG were significantly higher in comparison to CG (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS This planned educational intervention had a significant impact on improving KAP of PHMs for early detection of breast cancer in the Gampaha district.
Why abundant tropical tree species are phylogenetically old

Significance Neutral population models assume that competing species are ecologically equivalent and predict several properties of extant ecosystems. Ecological aspects of neutral models have been tested repeatedly, with a special focus on tropical trees, but their macroevolutionary predictions have received little attention. We show that neutral models predict flat or humped relationships between a species’ abundance and phylogenetic age. In contrast, abundances and ages of Panamanian tree species are positively correlated. Similar correlations have been reported for other groups and explained by deterministic niche theories. However, we show that neutral models predict positive age–abundance relationships with the addition of speciation rates that vary among lineages. Neutral models of species diversity predict patterns of abundance for communities in which all individuals are ecologically equivalent. These models were originally developed for Panamanian trees and successfully reproduce observed distributions of abundance. Neutral models also make macroevolutionary predictions that have rarely been evaluated or tested. Here we show that neutral models predict a humped or flat relationship between species age and population size. In contrast, ages and abundances of tree species in the Panamanian Canal watershed are found to be positively correlated, which falsifies the models. Speciation rates vary among phylogenetic lineages and are partially heritable from mother to daughter species. Variable speciation rates in an otherwise neutral model lead to a demographic advantage for species with low speciation rate. This demographic advantage results in a positive correlation between species age and abundance, as found in the Panamanian tropical forest community.
In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy of Photofrin® and Pheophorbide a, a Bacteriochlorin, in Photodynamic Therapy of Colonic Cancer Cells¶

Abstract This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treating colonic cancer in a preclinical study. Photofrin®, a porphyrin mixture, and pheophorbide a (Ph a), a bacteriochlorin, were tested on HT29 human colonic tumor cells in culture and xenografted into athymic mice. Their pharmacokinetics were investigated in vitro, and the PDT efficacy at increasing concentrations was determined with proliferative, cytotoxic and apoptotic assessments. The in vivo distribution and pharmacokinetics of these dyes (30 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) were investigated on HT29 tumor-bearing nude mice. The inhibition of tumor growth after a single 100 J/cm2 PDT session was measured by the changes in tumor volume and by histological analysis of tumor necrosis. PDT inhibited HT29 cell growth in culture. The cell photodamage occurred since the time the concentrations of Ph a and Photofrin® reached 5.10−7 M (or 0.3 μg/mL) and 10 μg/mL, respectively. A photosensitizer dose–dependent DNA fragmentation was observed linked to a cleavage of poly(ADP–ribose) polymerase and associated with an increased expression of mutant-type p53 protein. PDT induced a 3-week delay in tumor growth in vivo. The tumor injury was corroborated by histological observation of necrosis 48 h after treatment, with a correlated loss of specific enzyme expression in most of the tumor cells. In conclusion, PDT has the ability to destroy human colonic tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. This tumoricidal effect is likely associated with a p53-independent apoptosis, as HT29 cells express only mutated p53. The current study suggests a preferential use of Photofrin® in PDT of colonic cancer because it should be more effective in vivo than Ph a as a consequence of better tumor uptake.
Measles Virus Structural Components Are Enriched into Lipid Raft Microdomains: a Potential Cellular Location for Virus Assembly

The process of measles virus (MV) assembly and subsequent budding is thought to occur in localized regions of the plasma membrane, to favor specific incorporation of viral components, and to facilitate the exclusion of host proteins. We demonstrate that during the course of virus replication, a significant proportion of MV structural proteins were selectively enriched in the detergent-resistant glycosphingolipids and cholesterol-rich membranes (rafts). Isolated rafts could infect the cell through a membrane fusion step and thus contained all of the components required to create a functional virion. However, they could be distinguished from the mature virions with regards to density and Triton X-100 resistance behavior. We further show that raft localization of the viral internal nucleoprotein and matrix protein was independent of the envelope glycoproteins, indicating that raft membranes could provide a platform for MV assembly. Finally, at least part of the raft MV components were included in the viral particle during the budding process. Taken together, these results strongly suggest a role for raft membranes in the processes of MV assembly and budding.
RNA-Mediated interference of a cdc25 homolog in Caenorhabditis elegans results in defects in the embryonic cortical membrane, meiosis, and mitosis.

The CDC25 dual-specificity phosphatase family has been shown to play a key role in cell cycle regulation. The phosphatase activity of CDC25 drives the cell cycle by removing inhibitory phosphates from cyclin-dependent kinase/cyclin complexes. Although the regulation of CDC25 phosphatase activity has been elucidated both biochemically and genetically in other systems, the role of this enzyme during development is not well understood. To examine the expression pattern and function of CDC25 in Caenorhabditis elegans, we characterized a cdc25 homolog, cdc-25.1, during early embryonic development. The CDC-25.1 protein localizes to oocytes, embryonic nuclei, and embryonic cortical membranes. When the expression of CDC-25.1 was disrupted by RNA-mediated interference, the anterior cortical membrane of fertilized eggs became very fluid during meiosis and subsequent mitotic cell cycles. Mispositioning of the meiotic spindle, defects in polar body extrusion and chromosome segregation, and abnormal cleavage furrows were also observed. We conclude that CDC-25.1 is required for a very early developmental process-the proper completion of meiosis prior to embryogenesis.
Towards Context-Aware Recommendations of Multimedia in an Ambient Intelligence Environment

Given today's mobile and smart devices, and the ability to access different multimedia contents in real-time, it is difficult for users to find the right multimedia content from such a large number of choices. Users also consume diverse multimedia based on many contexts, with different personal preferences and settings. For these reasons, there is a need to reinforce recommendation process with context-adaptive information that can be used to select the right multimedia content and deliver the recommendations in preferred mechanisms. This paper proposes a framework to establish a bridge between the multimedia content, the user and joint preferences, contextual information including the physiological parameters, and the Ambient Intelligent (AmI) environment, using multi-modal recommendation interfaces.