Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shifting Paradigms on the Role of Connexin43 in the Skeletal Response to Mechanical Load

Gap junctions (GJs) are membrane‐spanning channels that allow for the movement of small molecules across cell membranes. Connexin43 (Cx43) is the predominant GJ protein in bone. In vitro studies suggest that gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) sensitizes bone cells to mechanical signals. Additionally, mechanical signals detected by osteocytes are communicated to osteoblasts via GJIC, and osteocytic Cx43 hemichannels release anabolic factors, such as PGE2 and ATP, in response to mechanical load. These findings and others have led to near consensus among researchers in the field that GJIC, hemichannels or connexins facilitate the anabolic response of bone to mechanical load and, in their absence, bone would be less sensitive to load. However, recent in vivo evidence suggests the opposite is true. Studies from our laboratory and others demonstrate that Cx43‐deficient mice have an increased anabolic response to mechanical load and are protected against the catabolic effects of mechanical unloading. These developments suggest a paradigm shift in our understanding of connexins, GJIC, and mechanotransduction in bone. That is, inhibiting bone cell Cx43 expression or GJIC has a beneficial effect on bone's response to its mechanical environment, preserving bone during unloading and enhancing its formation during loading. Here, we review literature in support of this hypothesis and suggest a mechanism by which Cx43, through interaction with WNT/β‐catenin signaling, moderates both arms of bone remodeling. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Effects of pioglitazone on cognitive function in patients with a recent ischaemic stroke or TIA: a report from the IRIS trial

Introduction Patients with cerebrovascular disease are at increased risk for cognitive dysfunction. Modification of vascular risk factors, including insulin resistance, could improve poststroke cognitive function. Methods In the Insulin Resistance Intervention after Stroke (IRIS) trial, patients with a recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) were randomised to pioglitazone (target 45 mg daily) or placebo. All patients were insulin resistant based on a Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance score >3.0. For this preplanned analysis of cognitive function, we examined the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) score (maximum score, 100) during follow-up. Patients were tested at baseline and annually for up to 5 years. Longitudinal mixed model methods were used to compare changes in the 3MS over time. Results Of the 3876 IRIS participants, 3398 had a 3MS score at baseline and at least once during follow-up and were included in the analysis. Median 3MS score at baseline was 97 (IQR 93–99). The average overall least squared mean 3MS score increased by 0.27 in the pioglitazone group and by 0.29 in the placebo group (mean difference between treatment groups −0.02; 95% CI −0.33 to 0.28, p=0.88). Conclusions Among insulin-resistant patients with a recent ischaemic stroke or TIA, pioglitazone did not affect cognitive function, as measured by the 3MS, over 5 years. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00091949; Results.
Italy: How could industrial relations help a return to economic and social convergence?

Convergence is a tricky concept. It can be achieved through either catching up or levelling down. Beta-convergence, synonymous with catching up, means that lower-income countries have a higher growth rate than high-income countries. Conversely, sigmaconvergence signifies convergence to a common level. A decrease in variance can derive from various situations; for instance, richer countries adjusting downwards and poorer countries adjusting upwards or not adjusting at all. In the latter case, the process of convergence is consistent with a worsening of conditions overall. According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung and Jacques Delors Institut report (2017), rapid convergence following the Single Market Act 1986 was reversed from the start of the monetary union, when a slow and steady process of divergence set in among the first 11 countries that adopted the euro. This divergence, observed the report, is
Domain Mismatch Modeling of Out-Domain i-Vectors for PLDA Speaker Verification

The state-of-the-art i-vector based probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) trained on non-target (or out- domain) data significantly affects the speaker verification performance due to the domain mismatch between training and evaluation data. To improve the speaker verification performance, sufficient amount of domain mismatch compensated out-domain data must be used to train the PLDA models successfully. In this paper, we propose a domain mismatch model- ing (DMM) technique using maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) estimation to model and compensate the domain variability from the out-domain training i-vectors. From our experimental results, we found that the DMM technique can achieve at least a 24% improvement in EER over an out-domain only base- line when speaker labels are available. Further improvement of 3% is obtained when combining DMM with domain-invariant covariance normalization (DICN) approach. The DMM/DICN combined technique is shown to perform better than in-domain PLDA system with only 200 labeled speakers or 2,000 unlabeled i-vectors.
Modulating the Motor System by Action Observation After Stroke

Background and Purpose— Much recent interest surrounds the use of action observation, which is observing another individual performing a motor task, in stroke rehabilitation, to promote motor recovery by engaging similar brain regions to action execution. This may be especially useful in individuals with limited mobility. Here, we assess how cortical motor activity during action observation is affected by stroke and by stroke-related motor deficits. Methods— We used functional MRI to compare brain activity during right and left hand action observation in right-handed nondisabled participants and participants who were right-handed before left hemisphere stroke. All participants performed the same actions after their functional MRI. Results— Nondisabled participants show greater bilateral cortical motor activity when observing actions made using the left hand, whereas participants with stroke show greater ipsilesional cortical motor activity when observing actions made using the right (paretic) hand (P<0.05; corrected). For both groups, action processing is modulated by motor capability: cortical motor activity is greater when observing the hand with lower motor scores (P<0.05; corrected). Furthermore, for stroke, the extent of ipsilesional activity correlates with lesion volume (P=0.049), in a pattern that suggests adaptive plasticity. Conclusions— We found that action observation activates specific motor plans in damaged motor circuits after stroke, and this activity is related to motor capability to perform the same actions. Cortical motor activity during action observation may be relevant to motor learning, and to motor relearning in stroke rehabilitation.
Polysialic acid regulates cell contact‐dependent neuronal differentiation of progenitor cells from the subventricular zone

Expression of polysialic acid (PSA) promotes migration of progenitor cells from the subventricular zone (SVZ) to the olfactory bulb, where they differentiate into interneurons. This differentiation has been found to coincide with a loss of PSA. Moreover, specific removal of PSA from the mouse SVZ by endoneuraminidase‐N was found to cause premature differentiation, as evidenced by neurite outgrowth and tyrosine hydroxylase synthesis in vivo and by expression of neurofilament‐L and βIII‐tubulin in SVZ explant cultures. This differentiation involved activation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase through p59fyn and was blocked by its inhibition. The effects of PSA removal were found to be cell contact‐dependent and to be reduced by anti–neural cell adhesion molecule antibodies. These findings indicate that PSA expression regulates the fate of SVZ precursors by two contact‐dependent mechanisms, the previously reported reduction in cell–cell adhesion that allows cell translocation, and the postponement of cell differentiation that otherwise would be induced by signals generated through surface molecule‐mediated cell–cell interactions. Developmental Dynamics 230:675–684, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ovine fetal swallowing response to intracerebroventricular hypertonic saline.

In the near-term ovine fetus, systemic hyperosmolality stimulates dipsogenic responses. Putative systemic dipsogens (hypertonicity, angiotensin II) may initiate responses by stimulation of select cerebral circumventricular nuclei lacking a blood-brain barrier. To investigate whether central osmotic-dipsogenic mechanisms are functional in utero, fetal swallowing responses to intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) hypertonic saline were examined. Five pregnant ewes with singleton fetuses (128 +/- 1 days gestation) were prepared with fetal lateral cerebral ventricle and vascular catheters, electrocortical (ECoG) electrodes, and electromyogram wires on the fetal thyrohyoid muscle, nuchal and thoracic esophagus, and diaphragm and studied for a minimum of 5 days postoperatively. After a 2-h basal period, fetuses received an i.c. v. infusion of artificial cerebrospinal fluid followed by successive 30-min infusions of hypertonic NaCl in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (500 and 700 mosmol/kgH2O). In response to the i.c. v. hypertonic NaCl infusions, fetal swallowing significantly increased (1.4 +/- 0.4 to 3.9 +/- 1.4 and 2.9 +/- 0.5 swallows/min low-voltage ECoG, respectively). Plasma arginine vasopressin levels increased, although the change was not statistically significant (9.1 to 24.2 pg/ml; P = 0.07), and there was no change in fetal plasma osmolality, sodium concentration, or ECoG activity. Together with previous studies, these results indicate that both central and systemic osmotic dipsogenic mechanisms are functional in utero.
Proof-Carrying Hardware via Inductive Invariants

Proof-carrying hardware (PCH) is a principle for achieving safety for dynamically reconfigurable hardware systems. The producer of a hardware module spends huge effort when creating a proof for a safety policy. The proof is then transferred as a certificate together with the configuration bitstream to the consumer of the hardware module, who can quickly verify the given proof. Previous work utilized SAT solvers and resolution traces to set up a PCH technology and corresponding tool flows. In this article, we present a novel technology for PCH based on inductive invariants. For sequential circuits, our approach is fundamentally stronger than the previous SAT-based one since we avoid the limitations of bounded unrolling. We contrast our technology to existing ones and show that it fits into previously proposed tool flows. We conduct experiments with four categories of benchmark circuits and report consumer and producer runtime and peak memory consumption, as well as the size of the certificates and the distribution of the workload between producer and consumer. Experiments clearly show that our new induction-based technology is superior for sequential circuits, whereas the previous SAT-based technology is the better choice for combinational circuits.
Collaborative governance or private policy making? When consultants matter more than participation in collaborative environmental planning

ABSTRACT The study of collaborative governance constitutes an established sub-literature within environmental policy and management scholarship. Among the lessons of this literature is that collaborative planning outputs are shaped by the mix of collaborative participants in question and the commitment participants exhibit towards joint planning efforts. This paper argues that a focus on the composition and commitment of collaborative participants ignores an increasingly prevalent actor in environmental planning – private sector contract consultants. We examine the relative influence of stakeholder attendance and the consulting firm providing support and facilitation in the case of integrated water resource management (IWRM) planning in the state of Georgia. Using attendance data derived from meeting minutes for ten concurrently operating regional IWRM councils, we document that neither the strength nor the commitment of collaborative efforts correlate with the content of planning outputs. Instead, the variation observed among regional plans can be largely explained by taking into account the consultant firms that were contracted to advise IWRM councils. Our discussion addresses the practical implications of relying on professional consultant services in environmental policy processes, and the theoretical imperative of incorporating consultant influence when explaining collaborative governance processes, outputs, and outcomes.
Relationship among Mutans Streptococci, "Low-pH" Bacteria, and lodophilic Polysaccharide-producing Bacteria in Dental Plaque and Early Enamel Caries in Humans

Multiple interactions occur among major determinants of dental caries. We have studied the bacterial flora and pH-lowering capacity of the same dental plaques in relation to caries. The findings on the plaque flora are reported here. The buccal surfaces of upper teeth in each subject were selected for study. A low-caries group had no "white spot" caries (ws) in the selected dentition area; a higher-caries group averaged 4.1 ws in this area. The latter group was divided into subjects with 2, 3, or 4 ws and subjects with 5, 6, or 7 ws. Enumerated organisms in plaque samples (sound and ws sites) from all subjects were: (1) mutans streptococci (MS) on mitis-salivarius-bacitracin and mitis-salivarius agar; (2) non-mutans streptococci (non-MS) on mitis-salivarius agar; (3) organisms that were categorized according to their minimum pH in sugar broth, i.e., the predominant undifferentiated total flora on blood agar or the predominant non-MS flora on mitis-salivarius agar; and (4) iodophilic polysaccharide-storing organisms on trypticaseyeast extract-salts agar. Plaques covering ws lesions contained generally only low proportions (< 0.1%) of MS. The plaque proportions of all the above 4 bacterial groups were increased in the higher-caries group but were similar for s and ws sites in this group. Over half of the total plaque flora in subjects with 5, 6, or 7 ws consisted of "low-pH"-type organisms (minimum pH < 4.4). Many of these were neither MS nor "low-pH" non-MS. The numerical emergence of MS in plaque appeared to be preceded often by other types of "low-pH" bacteria, including the non-MS. Caries development in the absence or presence of MS as well as different bacterial successions in plaque can be explained readily by the dynamic and positive relationship among the factors carbohydrate consumption, plaque flora composition, plaque acidogenic potential, and caries activity.
Function and disability in late life: comparison of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument to the Short-Form-36 and the London Handicap Scale

Purpose: We evaluated the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument's (LLFDI) concurrent validity, comprehensiveness and precision by comparing it with the Short-Form-36 physical functioning (PF-10) and the London Handicap Scale (LHS). Methods: We administered the LLFDI, PF-10 and LHS to 75 community-dwelling adults (> 60 years of age). We used Pearson correlation coefficients to examine concurrent validity and Rasch analysis to compare the item hierarchies, content ranges and precision of the PF-10 and LLFDI function domains, and the LHS and the LLFDI disability domains. Results: LLFDI Function (lower extremity scales) and PF-10 scores were highly correlated (r = 0.74 − 0.86, p > 0.001); moderate correlations were found between the LHS and the LLFDI Disability limitation (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001) and Disability frequency (r = 0.47, p < 0.001) scores. The LLFDI had a wider range of content coverage, less ceiling effects and better relative precision across the spectrum of function and disability than the PF-10 and the LHS. The LHS had slightly more content range and precision in the lower end of the disability scale than the LLFDI. Conclusions: The LLFDI is a more comprehensive and precise instrument compared to the PF-10 and LHS for assessing function and disability in community-dwelling older adults.
Building consensus about the past: Schema consistency and convergence in socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting

A large body of literature on “within-individual retrieval-induced forgetting” (WI-RIF; Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994) shows that repeatedly retrieving some items, while not retrieving other related items, facilitates later recall of the practised items, but inhibits later recall of the non-practised related items. This robust effect has recently been extended to “socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting” (SS-RIF; Cuc, Koppel, & Hirst, 2007). People who merely listen to a speaker retrieving some, but not other, items—even people participating as speakers or listeners in conversations—show the same facilitation and inhibition. We replicated and extended the SS-RIF effect with a structured story (Experiment 1) and in a free-flowing conversation about the story (Experiment 2). Specifically, we explored (1) the degree to which participants subsequently form a coherent “collective memory” of the story and (2) whether schema consistency of the target information influences both WI-RIF and SS-RIF. In both experiments, speakers and listeners showed RIF (that is, WI-RIF and SS-RIF, respectively), irrespective of the schema consistency of the story material. On final recall, speakers and listeners described similar renderings of the story. We discuss these findings in terms of the role of “silences” in the formation of collective memories.
The immediate early genes of human cytomegalovirus require only proximal promoter elements to upregulate expression of interleukin-1 beta.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can infect monocytes and macrophages. The immediate early one (IE1) gene product of HCMV positively regulates its own expression, as well as the expression of the interleukin-1 beta (IL-1) gene. This study describes the IL-1 promoter proximal region required for upregulation of IL-1 gene expression by the HCMV IE1 or IE1 plus IE2 gene products. An IL-1 chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) construct containing the IL-1 genomic upstream sequence from position -1097 to +14 and four additional IL-1CAT plasmids containing progressive deletions of the -1097 to -131 sequence were used to evaluate the effect of the HCMV IE gene products on IL-1 gene expression. IL-1CAT plasmids were transfected into a monocytic cell line, THP-1, with plasmids containing either the IE promoter-regulatory region upstream of the bona fide IE1 (pIE1), IE2 (pIE2), or IE1+2 genes (pIE1+2) or a control plasmid containing the IE promoter-regulatory region alone (pLink760). In the presence of pIE1+2, there was an approximate 15-fold increase in CAT activity compared with the control, pLink760, in cells with CAT plasmids containing the -1097 to +14 IL-1 sequence. Plasmids with progressive deletions of this sequence, including the plasmid containing the shortest upstream segment (-131 to +14) also had an approximate 15-fold increase in CAT activity. The upregulation of IL-1 expression was mediated, primarily, by IE1 and not by IE2. This effect was promoter specific because an IL-1CAT plasmid with a complete deletion of the proximal promoter elements (-234 to +146) did not respond to the HCMV IE gene products. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Principals Going above and Beyond: Understanding Organizational Citizenship Behavior among School Principals

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) refers to all behaviors outside the formal role definition but which contribute to organizational functioning and performance. To date research has focused on teachers’ OCB in an attempt to identify the causes and consequences of such behavior for the individual and the organization. Questions that have yet to be addressed in the literature are: Do principals also engage in OCB? And if so, how do they interpret OCB, and what are its characteristics? Since this is the first study to inquire into the phenomenon of OCB in the context of principalship, the qualitative method was chosen for the investigation. Fifteen post-elementary school principals were interviewed. Our findings identified four categories of principals’ OCB: effort invested in the school community; initiatives; supporting the local community; and other exceptional behaviors. We conclude by delineating the findings’ theoretical and practical implications and by introducing a proposed platform for new directions in OCB research.
Pharmacologically increasing collateral perfusion during acute stroke using a carboxyhemoglobin gas transfer agent (Sanguinate™) in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Similar to patients with chronic hypertension, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) develop fast core progression during middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) resulting in large final infarct volumes. We investigated the effect of Sanguinate™ (SG), a PEGylated carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) gas transfer agent, on changes in collateral and reperfusion cerebral blood flow and brain injury in SHR during 2 h of MCAO. SG (8 mL/kg) or vehicle (n = 6–8/group) was infused i.v. after 30 or 90 min of ischemia with 2 h reperfusion. Multi-site laser Doppler probes simultaneously measured changes in core MCA and collateral flow during ischemia and reperfusion using a validated method. Brain injury was measured using TTC. Animals were anesthetized with choral hydrate. Collateral flow changed little in vehicle-treated SHR during ischemia (−8 ± 9% vs. prior to infusion) whereas flow increased in SG-treated animals (29 ± 10%; p < 0.05). In addition, SG improved reperfusion regardless of time of treatment; however, brain injury was smaller only with early treatment in SHR vs. vehicle (28.8 ± 3.2% vs. 18.8 ± 2.3%; p < 0.05). Limited collateral flow in SHR during MCAO is consistent with small penumbra and large infarction. The ability to increase collateral flow in SHR with SG suggests that this compound may be useful as an adjunct to endovascular therapy and extend the time window for treatment.
Research and Design of DC Servo Motor Position Control System Based on LabView

Research and design on the DC servo motor position control system was developed based on the virtual instrument technology. The research focuses on the system configuration, PID controller, data acquisition and the real-time control procedures. An experimental rig has been built, and the test has been carried out. The experiment results show that the system in this paper has more advantages than traditional ones. It is convenient for the setting and adjustment of the system parameters. The operation process is showed visually and real-timely, and also a real-time monitor and control is carried out to the system outlet. The system owns friendly interface, high precision and reliability. This method would be beneficial to configure any rig test and control system.