Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trajectories of cognitive function and their determinants in older people: 12 years of follow-up in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey

ABSTRACT Background: Cognitive decline in advanced age is closely related to dementia. The trajectory of cognitive function in older Chinese is yet to be fully investigated. We aimed to investigate the trajectories of cognitive function in a nationally representative sample of older people living in China and to explore the potential determinants of these trajectories. Methods: This study included 2,038 cognitively healthy persons aged 65–104 years at their first observation in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2002 to 2014. Cognitive function was measured using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify potential heterogeneity of longitudinal changes over the 12 years and to investigate associations between baseline predictors of group membership and these trajectories. Results: Three trajectories were identified according to the following types of changes in MMSE scores: slow decline (14.0%), rapid decline (4.5%), and stable function (81.5%). Older age, female gender, having no schooling, a low frequency of leisure activity, and a low baseline MMSE score were associated with the slow decline trajectory. Older age, body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5 kg/m2, and having more than one cardiovascular disease (CVD) were associated with the rapid decline trajectory. Conclusion: Three trajectories of cognitive function were identified in the older Chinese population. The identified determinants of these trajectories could be targeted for developing prevention and intervention strategies for dementia.
Limiting Dilution Analysis of Alloantigen-Reactive T Lymphocytes I. Comparison of Precursor Frequencies for Proliferative and Cytolytic Responses

A sensitive mixed leukocyte microculture (micro MLC) system has been developed in which both proliferative and cytolytic responses can be detected from small numbers of responding alloantigen-reactive T lymphocytes. Cytolysis and proliferation in micro MLC were assessed by conventional 51Cr release and 3H-thymidine uptake assays, respectively. Optimal sensitivity of the system was dependent on several parameters, the most important of which was the presence of supernatant fluid derived from secondary MLC (2° MLC SN). Under optimal conditions, formal limiting dilution analysis could be achieved since excellent discrimination between positive and negative microcultures was obtained for both the cytolytic and proliferative assays. The system was therefore used to obtain simultaneously minimal estimates of the frequency of cytolytic T lymphocyte precursors (CTL-P) and of the precursors of proliferating T lymphocytes (PTL-P). The results of a series of experiments involving C57BL/6 spleen cells responding against DBA/2 alloantigens indicated that the minimal frequency of CTL-P was approximately 2-fold lower than the frequency of PTL-P in the same responding cell population (average of 1:570 and 1:290, respectively). Since analysis of individual micro MLC further demonstrated that essentially all CTL-P were contained within the PTL-P population, the simplest interpretation of these findings would be that approximately 50% of alloantigen-reactive T cells in this strain combination have the capacity to give rise to specific CTL. Some applications of this model system are briefly discussed.
Selection for mastitis resistance in French dairy sheep.

INTRODUCTION Dairy sheep breeding programs have been developing for the last twenty years, especially in Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe. The efficiency of selection on milk traits allows now facing new goals, in order to both improve farmer’s incomes via a decrease of production costs and satisfy consumer’s demand for typical products and for food safety. Accordingly, special attention is now given to udder morphology (adaptation to machine milking) and health. Indeed, mastitis is becoming an important health problem in dairy ewes, and it is linked to potentially pathogenic contaminants in milk (listeria, salmonella, S. aureus). Costs associated with mastitis principally consist in decreased milk production and increased involuntary culling. Moreover, the delivery control of milk with high somatic cell counts (SCC) or bacterial counts, established by an EU directive (92/46) for dairy cattle, might be extended to dairy sheep in the future. Based on these recommendations, price penalties for milk have already been implemented in the French Roquefort area since 1993. The objective of this paper is to review the state of the on-going research regarding selection for mastitis resistance in the French Lacaune dairy sheep breed. Topics highlighted are: i) the definition of the breeding goal, ii) the choice and the definition of an adequate selection criterion (and it’s recording at a large scale), iii) estimation of genetic parameters and genetic evaluation. Finally, further investigations planned for improving udder’s health are given.
New hemagglutinin dual-receptor-binding pattern of a human-infecting influenza A (H7N9) virus isolated after fifth epidemic wave

Abstract Since 2013, influenza H7N9 virus has caused five epidemic waves of human infection. The virus evolved from low pathogenic to highly pathogenic in wave 5, 2017, while the prevalence of host receptor-binding tropism in human-infecting viruses maintained dual-receptor-binding property with preference for avian receptor. A human-infecting H7N9 virus was isolated after the fifth epidemic wave and possessed an avian and human dual-receptor specificity, with a moderately higher affinity for human receptor binding. A V186I (H3 numbering) substitution in the receptor-binding site of the hemagglutinin (HA) molecule is responsible for the alteration of the dual-receptor-binding tropism. Viral strains which contain I186 amino acid of avian- and human-infecting H7N9 viruses were all isolated during or after wave 5, and their HA genes clustered in a same phylogenetic clade together with 2018–9 H7N9 isolates, highlights a new evolutionary path for human adaption of natural H7N9 viruses.
Distinct gene expression and secondary metabolite profiles in suppressor of prosystemin-mediated responses2 (spr2) tomato mutants having impaired mycorrhizal colonization

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization, sampled at 32–50 days post-inoculation (dpi), was significantly reduced in suppressor of prosystemin-mediated responses2 (spr2) mutant tomato plants impaired in the ω−3 FATTY ACID DESATURASE7 (FAD7) gene that limits the generation of linolenic acid and, consequently, the wound-responsive jasmonic acid (JA) burst. Contrary to wild-type (WT) plants, JA levels in root and leaves of spr2 mutants remained unchanged in response to AMF colonization, further supporting its regulatory role in the AM symbiosis. Decreased AMF colonization in spr2 plants was also linked to alterations associated with a disrupted FAD7 function, such as enhanced salicylic acid (SA) levels and SA-related defense gene expression and a reduction in fatty acid content in both mycorrhizal spr2 roots and leaves. Transcriptomic data revealed that lower mycorrhizal colonization efficiency in spr2 mutants coincided with the modified expression of key genes controlling gibberellin and ethylene signaling, brassinosteroid, ethylene, apocarotenoid and phenylpropanoid synthesis, and the wound response. Targeted metabolomic analysis, performed at 45 dpi, revealed augmented contents of L-threonic acid and DL-malic acid in colonized spr2 roots which suggested unfavorable conditions for AMF colonization. Additionally, time- and genotype-dependent changes in root steroid glycoalkaloid levels, including tomatine, suggested that these metabolites might positively regulate the AM symbiosis in tomato. Untargeted metabolomic analysis demonstrated that the tomato root metabolomes were distinctly affected by genotype, mycorrhizal colonization and colonization time. In conclusion, reduced AMF colonization efficiency in spr2 mutants is probably caused by multiple and interconnected JA-dependent and independent gene expression and metabolomic alterations.
School Bullying Among Vocational School Students in China: Prevalence and Associations With Personal, Relational, and School Factors

This study poses the following research questions: What is the prevalence of bullying in vocational schools in China? What are the differences between different genders and professions? How should individuals, families, and schools do to affect school bullying? What can we do to improve and to respond school bullying, to reduce its occurrence and consequences? This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 with 95,873 students from 85 vocational schools. The main outcome indicators were self-reported involvement in bullying (perpetrator, victim, perpetrator-victim, or uninvolved). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted, with personal characteristics, relational characteristics, and school climate as predictors. A total of 30.4% of participants reported being bullied, 2.9% reported bullying others, and 21.7% reported being bullied and bullying others. Majors related to primary and secondary industries are more likely to involvement in bullying than majors related to tertiary industries. Boys were more involved in physical or verbal bullying, whereas girls were more involved in relational bullying and cyberbullying. Sex, history of fighting, and emotional/mental state were the strongest individual factors associated with bullying. Having friends was inversely associated with bullying involvement; moreover, a positive relationship with parents and a good parenting style (warmth, democracy, and mutual concern) protected students from bullying others as well as being bullied. School bullying programs, happiness at school, and insecurity at school were strong negative predictors of bullying. Bullying is prevalent among vocational school students in China. An appropriate response to school bullying requires strengthening student capacity to correctly understand and deal with bullying, identifying victims and vulnerable groups, developing school-based interventions, involving parents in prevention programs, and enhancing students’ sense of responsibility in supervision, reporting, and creating a friendly environment.
Which autistic traits are related to depressive symptoms in Japanese workers?

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders are at a high risk of experiencing depressive symptoms. However, the relationship between autistic traits and depressive symptoms is unclear. This study aimed to identify which autistic traits are related to depressive symptoms in Japanese workers. The study participants included 2,049 workers from all areas of Japan. Autistic traits and depressive symptoms were measured using an abridged Japanese version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-Short) and the Japanese version of the K6 scale, respectively. The AQ-Short comprises five autistic trait subcomponents that assess fascination for numbers/patterns, difficulties with imagination, preference for routine, difficulties with social skills, and attention-switching difficulties. Linear regression analyses were performed to estimate the association between total and subcomponent autistic trait scores and depressive symptoms. Participants with higher total autistic trait scores were significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms (p<0.001). When scores on the five autistic trait subcomponents were entered simultaneously into the model, participants with higher scores on all subcomponents other than ‘difficulties with imagination’ were significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms. Total autistic traits and autistic trait subcomponents could be used for early detection of the risk of depressive symptoms.
The Warburg Effect and lactate signaling augment Fgf-MAPK to promote sensory-neural development in the otic vesicle

Recent studies indicate that many developing tissues modify glycolysis to favor lactate synthesis (Agathocleous et al., 2012; Bulusu et al., 2017; Gu et al., 2016; Oginuma et al., 2017; Sá et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2014; Zheng et al., 2016), but how this promotes development is unclear. Using forward and reverse genetics in zebrafish, we show that disrupting the glycolytic gene phosphoglycerate kinase-1 (pgk1) impairs Fgf-dependent development of hair cells and neurons in the otic vesicle and other neurons in the CNS/PNS. Fgf-MAPK signaling underperforms in pgk1- / - mutants even when Fgf is transiently overexpressed. Wild-type embryos treated with drugs that block synthesis or secretion of lactate mimic the pgk1- / - phenotype, whereas pgk1- / - mutants are rescued by treatment with exogenous lactate. Lactate treatment of wild-type embryos elevates expression of Etv5b/Erm even when Fgf signaling is blocked. However, lactate’s ability to stimulate neurogenesis is reversed by blocking MAPK. Thus, lactate raises basal levels of MAPK and Etv5b (a critical effector of the Fgf pathway), rendering cells more responsive to dynamic changes in Fgf signaling required by many developing tissues.
Life's splendid drama : evolutionary biology and the reconstruction of life's ancestry, 1860-1940

List of Figures Preface Table of Geological Periods and Eras 1: The First Evolutionary Biology A New Biology A Revolution in Science? Transforming Traditions The Professional Framework 2: The Tree of Life Relationships Redefined Form and Function Convergence and Parallelism Ontogeny and Phylogeny The Base of the Tree 3: Are the Arthropoda a Natural Group? The Problem of Arthropod Origins The Genealogy of the Crustacea Peripatus and the Origin of the Tracheata Limulus an Arachnid The Debate Widens The Fossil Record 4: Vertebrate Origins The Ascidian Theory The Annelid Theory The Arthropod Theories Nemertines and the Actinozoa Balanoglossus and the Echinoderms The Environmental Trigger Later Developments 5: From Fish to Amphibian The Origin of Fish The Fin Problem The Origin of the Amphibians From Water to Land 6: The Origin of Birds and Mammals From Reptile to Bird Taking to the Air Monotremes, Marsupials, and Mammals The Mammal-like Reptiles 7: Patterns in the Past Putting Things Together Adaptive Radiation Laws and Trends Rise and Fall Mass Extinctions 8: The Geography of Life Zoological Provinces Lost Worlds Northern Origins Southern Continents 9: The Metaphors of Evolutions Trees and Ladders The Biology of Imperialism? Phylogeny and Modern Darwinism Biographical Appendix Bibliography Index
Diet and Spatial Pattern of Foraging in Ectatomma opaciventre (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in an Anthropic Area

Ectatomma opaciventre (Formicidae: Ectatomminae) presents an individual foraging strategy in the epigeal stratum. It is a generalist predator, collecting a wide variety of live or recently dead arthropods. The objective of this study was to determine individual foraging pathways and identify prey types in the diet of this species. The individual foraging pathways of 3 colonies were determined by following foragers in the field and recording the time and maximum foraging distance from the nest. Diet was assessed by the collection and identification of the prey carried between the mandibles of the ants. Foragers collected mainly other species of ants. The maximum foraging distance was 5.14 m and the longest time spent foraging was 66 minutes. The pathways appeared to be spatially distributed in a way that avoids intersection with pathways from other nests and favors search for food in areas unexplored by other individuals.
Book Review

In a text that may be relevant to the discourse of marriage and family counselors, race-relations experts, community leaders, policymakers, and the everyday citizen, Orlando Patterson explores the far-reaching cultural e Ú ects of slavery and Jim Crow with contemporary AfroAmericans in mind. This book follows two National Book Award winning sociological treatises, Freedom in the Making of Western Culture ( 1991) , and The Ordeal of Integration ( 1997) . Rituals of Blood takes shape following a somewhat lengthy introduction in which Patterson provides an overview of the text and a discussion of his threepronged approach to data analysis that includes : ( 1) a positivist/quantitative approach using statistical analysis methods ; ( 2) a sociohistorical approach using comparative case methods to arrive at general statements about the nature and functions of social institutions, or about the meaning and signi cance of cultural practices ; and ( 3) interpretive sociology, which blends literary methods with social analysis and draws on real and mythic archetypes as interpretive pathways into the human condition and into particular social patterns and situations ( pp. vii–xxii) . The data for Patterson’s three seemingly disparate essays are drawn from
Public–Private Partnership in Tunisia: Enfidha Airport Assessment of an Infrastructure Achievement

ABSTRACT One of the largest recent private-sector investments and the first airport private-sector concession in the Maghreb is Enfidha Airport, a key factor in the success of the Tunisian Government’s public–private partnership (PPP) strategy. However, since Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution, political and social turmoil is sweeping the country and worsening the economic indicators. This article aims to assess this PPP infrastructure, allowing us to determine if it is profitable in the long term and contributes therefore to the economic growth. The case study reveals the key role of the economic, social, and political environment in Tunisia, the dawn of the Arab Spring.
Changing Negative Racial Stereotypes: The Influence of Normative Peer Information

This study proposes and tests a model of stereotype change based on social influence theories of opinion change. The model emphasizes the importance of the social environment, including peer groups and social roles, in the formation and maintenance of stereotypes. We focus on peer groups, and test the potential influence of normative peer information on stereotype change. Two hypotheses were tested: (H-1) Subjects presented with positive peer group stereotypical opinions about African Americans will have more positive stereotypes about African Americans compared to subjects presented with no information; and (H-2) Subjects presented with positive peer group stereotypical opinions about African Americans will have more positive racial attitudes in general compared to subjects presented with no information. A one factor, two-group experiment provided support for the first hypothesis but not for the second one. It was concluded that peer groups could influence stereotypic beliefs. People adjust their stereotypes to conform to beliefs of peer groups. However, this influence does not extend to general racial attitudes.
Scheduling a manufacturing process with restrictions on resource availability

This paper examines the scheduling of a drug packaging operation which requires assigning resources to production lines during set-up in order to satisfy product specifications. We present mixed integer programming models of the problem and develop a Lagrangian heuristic to solve the models. Real data from a drug company and randomly generated data are used to test the models. Results show the efficacy of our solution approach to find good feasible schedules. We discuss some of the practical benefits and potential issues about the production schedules obtained using the models.
Responses of Nitrogen and related enzyme Activities to Fertilization in Rhizosphere of Wheat

In the present experiment,wheat seedlings(Trticucum aestivum L.)were grown on a purple soil with various fertilizer treatments in order to investigate the responses of nitrogen and related enzyme activities in the rhizosphere,The results revealed the increments of both organic matter and total N in the soil with the proximity to the growing roots,especially in treatment of supplying pig manure in combination with chemical fertilizer,suggesting that they could ome from root and microorganism exudation which could be intensified by inorganic-organic fertiliztion,being of benefit to improving the physical and bilogical envi-ronment in the rhizosphere of wheat.Much more inorganic N was observed in the fertilized soils surrounding wheat roots than in the CK treatment ,indicating ,the improvement of crop N supply in the rhizosphere of wheat by fertilization. The activities of invertase,urease and protease in the root zone were greatly enhanced as compared to those in the other parts of soil except that the urease activities were similar in the rhizospher and nonrhi-zosphere of the CK and pig manure treatments,indicating that invertase and protese could be produced by growing roots and rhizosphere microorganisms,in contrast to urease which could be stimulated by urea,Also,significant increment of chemical fertilizer combined with pig manure,suggested that fertilization not only accelerated the renewal of organic matter bu also enhanced bioavailability of organic N in that soil zone . This could be the reason why the total amount of inorganic N available for plants was increased more obviously in the rhizosphere of wheat of the fertilizaton treatments than in taht of the CK treatment.
Book Reviews

For all that has been written about housing in the US, there is no up-to-date history of urban housing policy. Authoritative, balanced, and fairly comprehensive, this tightly-edited collection lls the gap. Within a chronological framework the contributors cover all of the periods, and most of the issues, in the emergence and evolution of federal housing policy. For the period up to the end of the First World War they survey the early housing movement of the Progressive era (Robert Fairbanks), private initiatives for the construction of model communities for industrial workers (John Garner), and the federal government’s rst foray into the housing eld, two temporary programmes to house industrial and shipyard workers between 1917 and 1919 (Eric Karolak). Janet Hutchison traces the retrenchment of the 1920s, when as Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover supported private schemes to promote home ownership and the dissemination of zoning and building regulation. The crisis of the Depression provoked Roosevelt’s New Deal administration into a urry of activity that established what Gail Radford aptly labels a two-tier system: public housing for the poor, and home owner subsidies for everyone else. The dual system was blurred, temporarily, by efforts to house war workers, notably under the terms of the Lanham Act of 1940 (Kristin Szylvain). It was rmly re-established after 1945, however, when tax and other subsidies to home owners promoted suburban growth for the majority (Thomas Hanchett) while urban renewal and public housing was targeted at the increasingly-poor inner cities (Roger Biles). During the early post-war years, some remarkably foolish and discriminatory policies were implemented. Cities welcomed high-rise public housing for the poor, nowhere more obviously, and with more dramatically awful consequences, than in St. Louis (Alexander von Hoffman). Although in 1948 the Supreme Court declared racial covenants to be unconstitutional, FHA policy favoured the suburbs and, together with slum clearance and urban renewal programmes after 1949, discriminated against African-Americans (Arnold Hirsch). Then, between 1956 and 1972, construction of the federally subsidised interstate highway system led to the destruction of many poor, African-American communities while providing little recompense (Raymond Mohl). Eventually, under Jimmy Carter, the federal government retreated from its commitment, made in 1949, to guarantee a “decent home and a decent environment for all America” (John Bauman). In the process it abandoned the two-tier system and, with it, the poor.