Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Inactivation of Seed Exudate Stimulation of Pythium ultimum Sporangium Germination by Enterobacter cloacae Influences Biological Control Efficacy on Different Plant Species

ABSTRACT This study was initiated to understand whether differential biological control efficacy of Enterobacter cloacae on various plant species is due to differences in the ability of E. cloacae to inactivate the stimulatory activity of seed exudates to Pythium ultimum sporangium germination. In biological control assays, E. cloacae was effective in controlling Pythium damping-off when placed on the seeds of carrot, cotton, cucumber, lettuce, radish, tomato, and wheat but failed to protect corn and pea from damping-off. Seeds from plants such as corn and pea had high rates of exudation, whereas cotton and cucumber seeds had much lower rates of exudation. Patterns of seed exudation and the release of P. ultimum sporangium germination stimulants varied among the plants tested. Seed exudates of plants such as carrot, corn, lettuce, pea, radish, and wheat were generally more stimulatory to P. ultimum than were the exudates of cotton, cucumber, sunflower, and tomato. However, this was not directly related to the ability of E. cloacae to inactivate the stimulatory activity of the exudate and reduce P. ultimum sporangium germination. In the spermosphere, E. cloacae readily reduced the stimulatory activity of seed exudates from all plant species except corn and pea. Our data have shown that the inability of E. cloacae to protect corn and pea seeds from Pythium damping-off is directly related to its ability to inactivate the stimulatory activity of seed exudates. On all other plants tested, E. cloacae was effective in suppressing damping-off and inactivating the stimulatory activity of seed exudates.
A motion tracking solution for indoor localization using smartphones

As sensor-rich mobile devices became a commodity, more opportunities appeared for the creation of location-aware services. While GPS is a well established solution for outdoor localization, there is still no standard solution for localization indoors. This paper presents a novel accurate indoor positioning mechanism that is meant to run in common smartphones to be a readily and widely available solution. The system is based on multiple gait-model based filtering techniques for accurate movement quantification in combination with an advanced fused positioning mechanism that leverages sequences of opportunistic observations towards an accurate localization process. Magnetic field fluctuations, Wi-Fi readings and movement data are incrementally matched with a feature spot map containing multi-dimensional spatially-related features that characterize the building. A novel and convenient way of mapping the architectural and environmental properties of buildings is also introduced, which avoids the burden normally associated with the process. The system has been evaluated by multiple users in open and crowded spaces where overall median localization errors between 1.11 m and 1.68 m were obtained. While the reported errors are already satisfactory in the context of indoor localization, improvements may be readily achieved through the inclusion of additional reference features. High accuracy performance coupled with an opportunistic and infrastructure-free approach creates a very desirable solution for the indoor localization market doge.
Self‐reported depression and anxiety symptoms in school‐aged Singaporean children

Few studies have examined anxiety and depression experiences of primary (middle) school‐aged children from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and most have relied on parents or others as informants. The present study aimed to investigate self‐reported anxiety and depression symptoms in Singaporean primary school‐aged children. Age, gender, and ethnic differences and interactions were explored as well as similarities and differences between Singaporean children and US norms.
Transfibular Approach to Posterior Malleolus Fracture Fixation

Posterior malleolus (PM) fractures represent a frequent component of many ankle injury patterns, with overall incidence ranging from 7% to 44% in the literature. The best treatment approach continues to be debated among orthopedic surgeons, but most favor surgical management whenever more than 25% to 30% of the articular surface is involved or there exists persistence of posterior talar subluxation. Many operative techniques have been described for fixation of PM fractures. The most common technique reported in the literature appears to be an indirect reduction maneuver followed by anterior-posterior (AP) screw placement. A recent study by Gardner et al showed that subspecialty training surgeons choose direct versus indirect reduction. A number of formal open approaches for fixation of the posterior malleolus fragment have also been described. Posteromedial exposure adjacent to the neurovascular bundle as well as a posterolateral approach between the flexor hallucis longus and peroneus longus interval have both been described. These techniques, however, often require additional exposures for ankle fracture fixation, and hardware insertion can be more difficult when the patient is in a supine position. Because PM fractures are often associated with adjacent malleolar injuries, approaches that incorporate incisions for fixation of these fractures have also been utilized— although to our knowledge a formal transfibular approach to aid direct reduction and fixation of the PM fragment has yet to be described. Over the past 20 years at a busy tertiary academic Level I trauma center, whenever a clinically significant PM fracture has occurred in conjunction with a distal fibula fracture that requires fixation, we have employed this approach with great success. This approach, however, does not work for every PM fracture associated with a fibula fracture. PM fractures that have posterormedial and posterolateral fragments which are severely comminuted or too small for screw fixation, for example, will not be amendable to this approach. Specific fibula fracture patterns such as Weber A distal fibula fractures, high transverse fractures, and fractures not in the same plane as the PM fracture line will also not be amenable to this approach. Syndesmotic injury does not affect utilization of this approach. In contrast to alternatively described methods of reduction and fixation, however, this approach enables both direct fracture fragment and posterior ankle visualization and reduction with minimal additional soft tissue disruption, with the patient in a supine position, and without requiring additional surgical exposures. 617760 FAIXXX10.1177/1071100715617760Foot & Ankle InternationalGonzalez et al research-article2015
Neuroimaging of mobility in aging: a targeted review.

BACKGROUND The relationship between mobility and cognition in aging is well established, but the relationship between mobility and the structure and function of the aging brain is relatively unknown. This, in part, is attributed to the technological limitations of most neuroimaging procedures, which require the individual to be immobile or in a supine position. Herein, we provide a targeted review of neuroimaging studies of mobility in aging to promote (i) a better understanding of this relationship, (ii) future research in this area, and (iii) development of applications for improving mobility. METHODS A systematic search of peer-reviewed studies was performed using PubMed. Search terms included (i) aging, older adults, or elderly; (ii) gait, walking, balance, or mobility; and (iii) magnetic resonance imaging, voxel-based morphometry, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion tensor imaging, positron emission tomography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, event-related potential, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS Poor mobility outcomes were reliably associated with reduced gray and white matter volume. Fewer studies examined the relationship between changes in task-related brain activation and mobility performance. Extant findings, however, showed that activation patterns in the cerebellum, basal ganglia, parietal and frontal cortices were related to mobility. Increased involvement of the prefrontal cortex was evident in both imagined walking conditions and conditions where the cognitive demands of locomotion were increased. CONCLUSIONS Cortical control of gait in aging is bilateral, widespread, and dependent on the integrity of both gray and white matter.
The Entrepreneurial Environment in the Greek RenewableIndustry, in the two last Decades: A Review

The term entrepreneurial environment includes all institutional, legal, financial and public policy aspects that can support any type of business activity. These different layers can affect the growth or the decline of a business sector by the creation of incentives or barriers in the entrepreneur’s actions. This paper examines the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) business sector in Greece. In this research, we investigate the energy market, by analysing the administrative, financial, political and technological framework that covers the sector’s operation, in the last two decades. The paper presents the progress of the renewable sources installation for the last twenty years. It also presents all the available financial support mechanisms that have been used in the promotion of relevant technology, the legal framework and the licensing process for the renewable projects, the taxation and the role of the banking system. For this long period of time, we investigate the different political and economical situations that the country has faced and more specifically the paper describes the emergency political decisions that have been taken in front of the Greek financial crisis, during the last 5 years. With respect to research methodology, in this review paper, we compiled all the appropriate data from all institutional organizations as well as we carried out a quantitative research with the participation of more than 80 companies which invested in different technologies in the RES industry. The empirical results of the survey describe the strengths and the weaknesses of the sector and present the necessary initiatives that have to be taken by the state for the support of entrepreneurship and the facilitation of the creation of new investments in the energy sector in Greece.
Use of erythrocyte indicators of health and condition in vertebrate ecophysiology: a review and appraisal

We review evidence for and against the use of erythrocyte indicators of health status and condition, parasite infection level and physiological stress in free‐living vertebrates. The use of indicators that are measured directly from the blood, such as haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and parameters that are calculated from multiple measured metrics, such as mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin content or mean cell haemoglobin concentration is evaluated. The evidence for or against the use of any given metric is equivocal when the relevant research is considered in total, although there is sometimes strong support for using a particular metric in a particular taxon. Possibly the usefulness of these metrics is taxon, environment or condition specific. Alternatively, in an uncontrolled environment where multiple factors are influencing a metric, its response to environmental change will sometimes, but not always, be predictable. We suggest that (i) researchers should validate a metricfres utility before use, (ii) multiple metrics should be used to construct an overall erythrocyte profile for an individual or population, (iii) there is a need for researchers to compile reference ranges for free‐living species, and (iv) some metrics which are useful under controlled, clinical conditions may not have the same utility or applicability for free‐living vertebrates. Erythrocyte metrics provide useful information about health and condition that can be meaningfully interpreted in free‐living vertebrates, but their use requires careful forethought about confounding factors.
Comparison of Thyristor Rectifier Configurations for a Six-Phase Rotating Brushless Outer Pole PM Exciter

Recent technological developments have caused a renewed interest in the brushless excitation system. With the application of wireless communication, the conventional diode bridge has been replaced with fully controllable thyristors on the shaft. It offers the same dynamic performance as the conventional static excitation system. The thyristor bridge of the conventional three-phase exciter needs to be controlled with a high firing angle in normal operation in order to fulfill a requirement of both a high ceiling voltage and a high ceiling current. A high firing angle causes high torque ripple to be absorbed by the exciter stator and a low power factor results in a low utilization of the designed exciter. In this contribution, we present a strategy that solves this problem by looking into combinations of thyristor configurations of a double-star six-phase connection of the exciter. Experimental results are used to verify the circuit models implemented for this investigation. A hybrid-mode 12-pulse thyristor bridge configuration seems to be a good solution for implementations in commercial apparatus. An additional switch interconnects two separate thyristor bridges from parallel- to series connection at the rectifier output, and utilizes the advantages of both topologies.
Pituitary volume and the effects of phototherapy in patients with seasonal winter depression: a controlled study.

OBJECTIVES Our aims were to investigate the pituitary volume in patients with seasonal winter depression and healthy volunteers in winter and summer, and to assess the effects of phototherapy in these patients. METHOD The pituitary volume of 12 patients with winter depression and 12 healthy controls, paired according gender, age and menstrual cycle, were obtained from magnetic resonance imaging in winter and summer. Eight patients were submitted to phototherapy (10000 vs. 2500 lux) in a double-blind crossover fashion during the winter, and reassessed (symptoms and magnetic resonance imaging) after treatment. RESULTS There were no significant differences in pituitary volume between controls and patients in winter or summer. Exposure to phototherapy (10000 lux) decreased the depressive symptoms (p = 0.004), but the glandular volume did not change (p = 0.5). However, the pituitary volume in winter showed a positive correlation with the severity of depression in these patients (r = 0.69, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that neither winter depression nor the change of seasons is associated with significant change in the pituitary volume. Despite the fact that this study was performed in a tropical area, phototherapy with 10000 lux showed to be an efficient treatment in this SAD patients sample.
Notice of Violation of IEEE Publication Principles The Webcam Mouse: Visual 3D Tracking of Body Features to Provide Computer Access for People with Severe Disabilities

The "Webcam mouse" system has been developed to provide computer access for people with severe disabilities. The system tracks the computer user's movements with a Webcam and translates them into the movements of the mouse pointer on the screen. Body features such as the tip of the user's nose or finger can be tracked. The visual tracking algorithm is based on cropping an online template of the tracked feature from the current image frame and testing where this template correlates in the subsequent frame. The location of the highest correlation is interpreted as the new location of the feature in the subsequent frame. Various body features are examined for tracking robustness and user convenience. A group of 33 people without disabilities tested the Webcam mouse and quickly learned how to use it to spell out messages or play games. Seven people with severe cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injury have tried the system, five of whom have shown success. They interacted with their environment by spelling out messages and exploring the Internet
Comparative Study of p53 Expression in Primary Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Pancreas Between Chinese and Japanese

Previous studies reported different frequencies of p53 expression between Japanese and Americans or Europeans. The present study was designed to clarify whether there is a significant difference in p53 expression and its clinical implications between Chinese and Japanese patients with primary invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the pancreas. p53 expression was studied in 39 Chinese and 47 Japanese patients, and immunostaining with the SAB method was performed using anti-p53 monoclonal antibody (DO-1) in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. Clinical data were analyzed according to the International Union Against Cancer classification. p53 expression was seen in 71.8% of Chinese and in 48.9% of Japanese patients with IDCs of the pancreas (p <0.05). The Chinese patients were significantly younger than the Japanese ones (p <0.05), but there were no significant corre lations between p53 immunoreactivity and age, gender, stage, and histopathological grade in separate analyses of the Chinese and Japanese patients. A comparison between them showed that in patients younger than 55 and 65 years old, the incidence of p53 expression was markedly lower in Japanese than in Chinese (p <0.05). In Japanese patients, those with a p53-positive pancreatic cancer had a significantly lower survival rate than those with a p53-negative tumor, but there was no correlation between p53 expression and the prognosis of Chinese patients. The frequency of p53 expression in IDC of the pancreas is higher in Chinese than in Japanese patients, and the effect of p53 expression on prognosis is different between Chinese and Japanese patients.
Insights into the timing of repeated testing after treatment for Chlamydia trachomatis: data and modelling study

Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the optimal time interval for a repeated Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydia) test. Methods The authors used claims data for US women aged 15–25 years who were enrolled in commercial health insurance plans in the MarketScan database between 2002 and 2006. The authors determined the numbers of initial positive and negative tests that were followed by a repeated test and the positivity of repeated tests. The authors used a dynamic transmission pair model that reflects the partnership formation and separation processes in 15–25 year olds to determine the time course of repeated infections in women under different levels of notifying the current partner. The authors then explored the additional impact of repeated testing uptake on reducing chlamydia prevalence. Results 40% (4949/12 413) of positive tests were followed by a repeated test compared with 22% (89 119/402 659) of negative tests at any time. Positivity of repeated tests followed by an initial positive test was high: 15% (736) after a positive test versus 3% (2886) after a negative test. The transmission model showed a peak in repeated infections between 2 and 5 months after treatment. For a chlamydia testing uptake of 10% per year, the additional impact of repeated testing on reducing chlamydia population prevalence was modest. Conclusions The mathematical model predictions support the recommended interval for repeat chlamydia testing. This study provides information that can be used to design randomised controlled trials to determine more effective interventions to prevent chlamydial reinfection.
In rat B lymphocyte genesis sixty percent is lost from the bone marrow at the transition of nondividing pre‐B cell to sIgM+ B lymphocyte, the stage of Ig light chain gene expression

The cycling B precursor cells in rat bone marrow (BM) that carry the B220 antigen and no surface Ig daily produce 780 million new cells. The pool of recirculating B lymphocytes in the rat, however, renew at a rate of only about 40 million cells/day. To analyze at which stages in B lymphocyte genesis the cell loss occurs, we identified post‐mitotic cells in the rat BM B lineage, and determined their renewal rates. We used 5‐bromo‐deoxyuridine (BrdUrd) to label DNA‐synthesizing cells, identifying incorporated BrdUrd with the mouse monoclonal antibody BU‐1. B lineage cell subsets were identified by the markers HIS24 antigen (rat B220), terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), Ig μ heavy chain, and complete Ig. By use of double and triple immunocytology, we determined the extent of BrdUrd incorporation in the various B lineage compartments [HIS24+TdT−Ig−, TdT+, cytoplasmic μ chain (cμ)+ surface (s) IgM− pre‐B, sIgM+ B]. Both sIgM+ B lymphocytes and all B precursors with cell diameters < 11–12 μm were virtually devoid of DNA synthesis, as indicated by S‐phase indices below 2%. In contrast, S‐phase indices of large B precursors ranged between 43%–66%.
Canada’s progressive trade agenda: is it a development opportunity for Africa?

International trade is a critical driver of Canada’s economy. As a smaller economy, Canada has long supported and benefited from institutions such as the GATT, the WTO, and agreements such as NAFTA. However, the world has changed dramatically since those developments. Today, several countries such as the United States and China are facing strong protectionist pressures. In response to this rapidly changing global economic environment, and the diminishing returns of the WTO and NAFTA, Canada has opted for a diversified and progressive approach to trade. When Canada’s former International Trade Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, also its “Chief Marketing Officer” traveled the globe, he took every opportunity to remind the world of Canada’s brand of doing business, which hinges on a Progressive Trade Agenda (PTA). Yet, reference to a PTA is noticeably absent from the Minister of International Trade Diversification’s current mandate. In those early disjointed government messages about Canada’s “progressive” or (as the WTO commonly refers to it) “inclusive trade agenda,” there was very little substance to guide officials, researchers, Canadian business, and Canada’s trade and investment partners, on what it meant in practice. This commentary seeks to review what implementation of Canada’s PTA looks like to date. The commentary will consider what it means for Africa, and offer some insight into its application in the context of the potential opportunities that can be leveraged in order to nurture the Canadian-African trade and development relationship.
Differential effects of selective HDAC inhibitors on macrophage inflammatory responses to the Toll‐like receptor 4 agonist LPS

Broad‐spectrum inhibitors of HDACs are therapeutic in many inflammatory disease models but exacerbated disease in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. HDAC inhibitors have anti‐ and proinflammatory effects on macrophages in vitro. We report here that several broad‐spectrum HDAC inhibitors, including TSA and SAHA, suppressed the LPS‐induced mRNA expression of the proinflammatory mediators Edn‐1, Ccl‐7/MCP‐3, and Il‐12p40 but amplified the expression of the proatherogenic factors Cox‐2 and Pai‐1/serpine1 in primary mouse BMM. Similar effects were also apparent in LPS‐stimulated TEPM and HMDM. The pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory effects of TSA were separable over a concentration range, implying that individual HDACs have differential effects on macrophage inflammatory responses. The HDAC1‐selective inhibitor, MS‐275, retained proinflammatory effects (amplification of LPS‐induced expression of Cox‐2 and Pai‐1 in BMM) but suppressed only some inflammatory responses. In contrast, 17a (a reportedly HDAC6‐selective inhibitor) retained anti‐inflammatory but not proinflammatory properties. Despite this, HDAC6−/− macrophages showed normal LPS‐induced expression of HDAC‐dependent inflammatory genes, arguing that the anti‐inflammatory effects of 17a are not a result of inhibition of HDAC6 alone. Thus, 17a provides a tool to identify individual HDACs with proinflammatory properties.