Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diurnal Cycle Relationships between Passive Fluorescence, PRI and NPQ of Vegetation in a Controlled Stress Experiment

In order to estimate vegetation photosynthesis from remote sensing observations; some critical parameters need to be quantified. From all absorbed light; the plant needs to release any excess that is not used for photosynthesis; by non-photochemical quenching; by fluorescence emission and unregulated thermal dissipation. Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) processes are controlled photoprotective mechanisms which; once activated; strongly control the dynamics of photochemical efficiency. With illumination conditions increasing and decreasing during a diurnal cycle; photoprotection mechanisms needs to change accordingly. The goal of this work is to quantify dynamic NPQ; measured from active fluorescence measurements; based on passive proximal sensing leaf measurements. During a 22-day controlled light and water stress experiment on a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf we measured the diurnal dynamics of passive fluorescence (Chl F); the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI); the Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (APAR) and leaf temperature in combination with the actively retrieved non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) parameter. Based on a bi-linear combination of diurnal APAR and PRI (plane fit model) we succeeded to estimate NPQ with a RMSE of 0.08. The simple plane fit model estimation represents well the diurnal NPQ dynamics; except for the high light stress phase; when additional reversible photoinhibition processes took place. The present works presents a way of determining NPQ from passive remote sensing measurements; as a necessary step towards estimating photosynthetic rate.
Factors Influencing Healthcare Service Quality

BACKGROUND The main purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence healthcare quality in the Iranian context. METHODS Exploratory in-depth individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 222 healthcare stakeholders including healthcare providers, managers, policy-makers, and payers to identify factors affecting the quality of healthcare services provided in Iranian healthcare organisations. RESULTS Quality in healthcare is a production of cooperation between the patient and the healthcare provider in a supportive environment. Personal factors of the provider and the patient, and factors pertaining to the healthcare organisation, healthcare system, and the broader environment affect healthcare service quality. Healthcare quality can be improved by supportive visionary leadership, proper planning, education and training, availability of resources, effective management of resources, employees and processes, and collaboration and cooperation among providers. CONCLUSION This article contributes to healthcare theory and practice by developing a conceptual framework that provides policy-makers and managers a practical understanding of factors that affect healthcare service quality.
Aortenstenose mit niedrigem Gradienten: Wann ist die Stenose tatsächlich schwer und wer profitiert vom Klappenersatz?

Zusammenfassung Die Aortenstenose mit niedrigem Druckgradienten bezeichnet eine Konstellation, bei der in der echokardiografischen Basisdiagnostik eine Aortenöffnungsfläche (AÖF) < 1,0 cm² und ein mittlerer Druckgradient ≤ 40 mmHg gefunden werden und der Schweregrad somit nicht sicher eingeordnet werden kann. Die neuen Leitlinien und echokardiografischen Empfehlungen stellen erstmals den Schlagvolumenindex (SVI) ins Zentrum der weiteren Differenzierung. Der SVI dient der Entdeckung einer – nicht immer auf den ersten Blick erkennbaren – Pumpfunktionsstörung, die einen relativ niedrigen Druckgradienten bei schwerer Aortenstenose erklären könnte. Die echokardiografische Bestimmung des SVI ist allerdings fehleranfällig und stützt sich auf Parameter, die auch schon für die Bestimmung der AÖF verwendet werden. Deshalb müssen diese Messungen sorgfältig überprüft und der Befund einer hochgradigen Aortenstenose bei erniedrigtem SVI durch Zusatzuntersuchungen bekräftigt werden. Bestätigt sich der Befund einer schweren Stenose, ist auch bei niedrigem Druckgradienten in symptomatischen Patienten – sowohl bei erhaltener als auch reduzierter Ejektionsfraktion – ein Klappenersatz indiziert. Bei Aortenstenose mit niedrigem Druckgradienten und normalem SVI liegt hingegen keine hochgradige Stenose vor und rechtfertigt eine weitere konservative Therapie.
Exploring use and benefit of corporate social software: Measuring success in the Siemens case References+

Purpose To measure the success of corporate social software (CSS), interviews, surveys, content and usage data analysis have been commonly used in practice. While interviews and surveys are only capable of making perceived use and benefits transparent, usage data analysis reveals many objective facts but does not allow insights into potential user-benefits. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to link both perspectives to advance CSS success measuring. Design/methodology/approach The research case is References+, a Corporate Social Software developed at Siemens to facilitate worldwide sharing of knowledge, experiences, and best practices since 2005. References+ currently has around 15,000 registered members located in more than 80 countries. This paper evaluates results from a user survey with nearly 1,500 responding employees and links all survey results to the corresponding participant’s data on platform use to generate additional insights. Findings The paper generates findings on how CSS is used in practice and how it is perceived by employees of a large-scale enterprise. Furthermore, it explores how a combination of subjective and objective evaluation methods can be applied to advance the state-of-the-art in measuring use and benefits. By linking CSS usage data to corresponding survey data, the paper provides results on what type of use of CSS may create what type of benefit. Practical implications This study encourages practitioners to take advantage of a variety of instruments for measuring the benefits of CSS. It generates numerous arguments for practitioners on how to make the benefit of CSS more transparent to financial-oriented decision-makers to successfully defend knowledge management projects against shrinking IT budgets. Originality/value This paper is one of the first attempts to explore the relationship between “perceived use” and “perceived benefits” measured by surveys and “factual use” measured by CSS usage statistics for knowledge management research. The findings of this paper may empower the role of user surveys in generating additional insights on use and benefits.
Abnormal radial deformation hyperacuity in children with strabismic amblyopia.

PURPOSE In infants and toddlers, letter acuity is not a useful option, and grating acuity may underestimate the depth of strabismic amblyopia. Here, as a first step to establish the effectiveness of the paradigm as a clinical test, we assessed if radial deformation hyperacuity, known to be severely disrupted in adults with strabismic amblyopia, could be a potential test to detect and monitor strabismic amblyopia in young children. METHODS Fifty-one strabismic children and 130 normal controls ages 3 to 17 years participated. Radial deformation hyperacuity with three different radial frequency (RF) patterns (1° radius 8 RF, 0.5° radius 8 RF, and 1° radius 16 RF), optotype acuity, and grating acuity were measured. For strabismic children, hyperacuity and grating acuity were identified as normal/amblyopic based on age-matched norms. The normal/abnormal classification was compared with amblyopia diagnosis by gold standard early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) optotype visual acuity. RESULTS The 0.5° radius 8 RF pattern had 83% sensitivity and 71% positive predictive value (PPV) for strabismic amblyopia. In comparison, the 1° radius 8 RF and 1° radius 16 RF patterns had poorer sensitivity (27%-12%) and PPV (57%-50%) for amblyopia, similar to grating acuity (sensitivity = 38%, PPV = 31%). Amblyopic deficits using the 0.5° radius 8 RF pattern were directly proportional to optotype visual acuity deficits. CONCLUSIONS The demonstrated feasibility of radial deformation stimuli for forced-choice preferential looking testing and the sensitivity and specificity of the small radius radial deformation hyperacuity stimulus for amblyopia support the potential to utilize this test to detect and monitor amblyopia in infants and preschool children.
Performance analysis of dynamic network coding scheme with opportunistic relay

In this paper, we consider a dynamic network coding scheme with opportunistic relay (DNC-OR) for multiple sources multiple relays networks. In DNC-OR, all of the source transmit one's own data one by one. The selected relay dynamically applies network coding according to whether the source-destination channel from suffers an outage and sends the network-coded data to the destinations. Assume that (denoted as F) the data received from other resources by each destination are reliable, under assumption F and in case the assumption F does not exist, theoretical and numerical results show that DNC-OR can provide superior system outage performance to the network-coded cooperation scheme with dynamic coding mechanism (DC-NCC) proposed by Cong Peng and yields a full diversity order of N + 1 , where N is the number of relay nodes. When the assumption F does not exist, we propose a dynamic network coding (DNC) scheme. The relay takes different actions according to different feedback message. For a network consist of a relay and two source-destination pairs, it is shown that DNC achieves superior diversity-multiplexing tradeoff to conventional cooperation(CC) by theoretical analysis and numerical results. Moreover, DNC-OR can significantly decrease system outage probability.
The murine winged-helix transcription factor Foxl2 is required for granulosa cell differentiation and ovary maintenance

Human Blepharophimosis/ptosis/epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES) type I is an autosomal dominant disorder associated with premature ovarian failure (POF) caused by mutations in FOXL2, a winged-helix/forkhead domain transcription factor. Although it has been shown that FOXL2 is expressed in adult ovaries, its function during folliculogenesis is not known. Here, we show that the murine Foxl2 gene is essential for granulosa cell differentiation and ovary maintenance. In Foxl2lacZ homozygous mutant ovaries granulosa cells do not complete the squamous to cuboidal transition leading to the absence of secondary follicles and oocyte atresia. We further demonstrate that activin-βA and anti-Mullerian inhibiting hormone expression is absent or strongly diminished in Foxl2lacZ homozygous mutant ovaries. Unexpectedly, two weeks after birth most if not all oocytes expressed Gdf9 in Foxl2lacZ homozygous mutant ovaries, indicating that nearly all primordial follicles have already initiated folliculogenesis at this stage. This activation, in the absence of functional granulosa cells, leads to oocyte atresia and progressive follicular depletion. In addition to providing a molecular mechanism for premature ovarian failure in BPES, these results suggest that granulosa cell function is not only crucial for oocyte growth but also to maintain follicular quiescence in vivo.
Oral Administration of a Prodrug of the Influenza Virus Neuraminidase Inhibitor GS 4071 Protects Mice and Ferrets against Influenza Infection

ABSTRACT We have recently described GS 4071, a carbocyclic transition-state analog inhibitor of the influenza virus neuraminidase, which has potent inhibitory activity comparable to that of 4-guanidino-Neu5Ac2en (GG167; zanamivir) when tested against influenza A virus replication and neuraminidase activity in vitro. We now report that GS 4071 is active against several strains of influenza A and B viruses in vitro and that oral GS 4104, an ethyl ester prodrug which is converted to GS 4071 in vivo, is active in the mouse and ferret models of influenza virus infection. Oral administration of 10 mg of GS 4104 per kg of body weight per day caused a 100-fold reduction in lung homogenate viral titers and enhanced survival in mice infected with influenza A or B viruses. In ferrets, a 25-mg/kg dose of GS 4104 given twice daily reduced peak viral titers in nasal washings and eliminated constitutional responses to influenza virus infection including fever, increased nasal signs (sneezing, nasal discharge, mouth breathing), and decreased activity. Consistent with our demonstration that the parent compound is highly specific for influenza virus neuraminidases, no significant drug-related toxicity was observed after the administration of oral dosages of GS 4104 of up to 800 mg/kg/day for 14 days in nonclinical toxicology studies with rats. These results indicate that GS 4104 is a novel, orally active antiviral agent with the potential to be used for the prophylaxis and treatment of influenza A and B virus infections.
Heterodimers of the Arabidopsis Transcription Factors bZIP1 and bZIP53 Reprogram Amino Acid Metabolism during Low Energy Stress[W]

Control of energy homeostasis is crucial for plant survival. This study identifies a network of bZIP transcription factors that regulate primary metabolism in response to energy starvation. Control of energy homeostasis is crucial for plant survival, particularly under biotic or abiotic stress conditions. Energy deprivation induces dramatic reprogramming of transcription, facilitating metabolic adjustment. An in-depth knowledge of the corresponding regulatory networks would provide opportunities for the development of biotechnological strategies. Low energy stress activates the Arabidopsis thaliana group S1 basic leucine zipper transcription factors bZIP1 and bZIP53 by transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. Gain-of-function approaches define these bZIPs as crucial transcriptional regulators in Pro, Asn, and branched-chain amino acid metabolism. Whereas chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses confirm the direct binding of bZIP1 and bZIP53 to promoters of key metabolic genes, such as ASPARAGINE SYNTHETASE1 and PROLINE DEHYDROGENASE, the G-box, C-box, or ACT motifs (ACTCAT) have been defined as regulatory cis-elements in the starvation response. bZIP1 and bZIP53 were shown to specifically heterodimerize with group C bZIPs. Although single loss-of-function mutants did not affect starvation-induced transcription, quadruple mutants of group S1 and C bZIPs displayed a significant impairment. We therefore propose that bZIP1 and bZIP53 transduce low energy signals by heterodimerization with members of the partially redundant C/S1 bZIP factor network to reprogram primary metabolism in the starvation response.
Finanças comportamentais: um estudo das publicações no Enanpad no período de 2003 a 2013

Financas comportamentais e um campo recente na area de financas que busca explicar o comportamento humano perante a tomada de decisoes, levando em conta os vieses e processos heuristicos que influenciam suas decisoes conforme as analises realizadas e o contexto em que esta inserido. O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar as publicacoes referentes a financas comportamentais no periodo de 2003 a 2013 no Encontro da Associacao Nacional de Pos-graduacao e Pesquisa em Administracao – Enanpad, um dos eventos anuais mais significativos da area de administracao do pais. A pesquisa realizada e caracterizada como descritiva e o metodo bibliometrico foi utilizado para analise dos dados. No total foram encontrados 28 artigos referente ao tema estudado. Foi verificado que maioria dos autores sao do genero masculino e os artigos tem predominantemente 2 ou 3 autores. Os autores mais referenciados foram Kahneman, Thaler, Tversky, Fama e Simon. Entre os temas abordados nos trabalhos, os mais estudados foram os processos heuristicos: excesso de confianca, pessimismo ou otimismo exagerados, efeito disposicao e aversao a perda. Quanto a natureza dos dados, 82% dos artigos analisados sao de natureza quantitativa.
Intracerebral cytokine messenger RNA expression in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome dememtia

The pathogenesis of the dementia associated with human immunodeficieny virus (HIV) infection is unclear, but has been postulated to be due to indirect effects of HIV infection including the local production of cytokines. To determine which cytokines are produced in the nervous system and to identify and correlations with dementia, cytokine and HIV messenger RNA expression was analyzed by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction in the brains from 24 HIV‐ infected patients with and without dementia and 9 HIV uninfected control subjects. Levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α messenger RNA were significantlyhigher and levels of interleukin (IL)‐4 messenenger RNA were significantly lower in demented compared to nondemented HIV‐infected parients. Demented patients als had lower IL‐1β levels than did nondemented patients. No significant differences were detected in the amounts of leukemia inhibitory factor, IL‐6, transforming growth factor β1 and β2 monokine induced bygamma interferon‐2 (MIC‐2), or interferon‐Y Messenger RNSs IL‐10 and IL‐2 messenger RNAs wre undetectable in all brains examined. Cytokine messenger RNA levels in nondemented HIV‐positivew patients were similar to those in HIV‐negative control subjects. HIV transcripts were more abundant in subcortical white matter than in the basal ganglia, cortex, or deep white matter. Our findings suggest a possible role for tumor necrosis factor‐α in the development of neurological dysfunction. Increased levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α in the development of neurological dysfunction. Increased levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α messenger RNA were not associated with increased levels of IL1β messenger RNA, suggesting differential regulation of these monokines in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome dementia. Levels of IL‐4 messenger RNA were decreased in dementia and the loss of this and other macrophage downregulatory factors in demented patients may contribute to the increased expression of tumor necrosis factor‐α.
Eating Attitudes in Female College Students with Self-Reported Alexithymic Characteristics

Several studies have indicated that there is a close relationship between eating attitudes and alexithymic characteristics. In this study, the influence of parental bonding on the association of alexithymic characteristics and eating attitudes was examined in a sample of 580 college students. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that female students with two alexithymic characteristics, difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings, exhibited more abnormal eating attitudes (poor oral control). Multivariate analysis of covariance gave significant associations with maternal care. Although these subjects were not patients with eating disorders the results suggest that the two alexithymic characteristics studied were associated with lack of maternal care and are a risk factor for eating disorders.
Simulation of the Retina: a Tool for Visual prostheses

To extract high-level information from natural scenes, the visual system has to cope with a wide variety of ambient lights, reflection properties of objects, spatio-temporal contexts, and geometrical complexity. By pre-processing the visual information, the retina plays a key role in the functioning of the whole visual system. It is crucial to reproduce such a pre-processing in artificial devices aiming at replacing or substituting the damaged vision system by artificial means. In this paper, we present a biologically plausible model of the retina at the cell level and its implementation as a real-time retinal simulation software. It features the non-uniform sampling of the visual information by the photoreceptor cells, the non-separable spatio-temporal properties of the retina, the subsequent generation of the Parvocellular and Magnocellular pathways, and the non-linear equalization of luminance and contrast at the local level. For each of these aspects, a description of the model is provided and illustr.
A Melatonin-Independent Seasonal Timer Induces Neuroendocrine Refractoriness to Short Day Lengths

The duration of nocturnal pineal melatonin secretion transduces effects of day length (DL) on the neuroendocrine axis of photoperiodic rodents. Long DLs support reproduction, and short DLs induce testicular regression, followed several months later by spontaneous recrudescence; gonadal regrowth is thought to reflect development of tissue refractoriness to melatonin. In most photoperiodic species, pinealectomy does not diminish reproductive competence in long DLs. Turkish hamsters (Mesocricetus brandti) deviate from this norm: elimination of melatonin secretion in long-day males by pinealectomy or constant light treatment induces testicular regression and subsequently recrudescence; the time course of these gonadal transitions is similar to that observed in males transferred from long to short DLs. In the present study, long-day Turkish hamsters that underwent testicular regression and recrudescence in constant light subsequently were completely unresponsive to the antigonadal effects of short DLs. Other hamsters that manifested testicular regression and recrudescence in short DLs were unresponsive to the antigonadal effects of pinealectomy or constant light. Long-term suppression of melatonin secretion induces a physiological state in Turkish hamsters similar or identical to the neuroendocrine refractoriness produced by short-day melatonin signals (i.e., neural refractoriness to melatonin develops in the absence of circulating melatonin secretion). A melatonin-independent interval timer, which would remain operative in the absence of melatonin during hibernation, may determine the onset of testicular recrudescence in the spring. In this respect, Turkish hamsters differ from most other photoperiodic rodents.
IN VITRO SECRETION OF THYROTROPIN (TSH): STIMULATION BY A HYPOTHALAMIC PEPTIDE (TRF).

Identical populations of anterior pituitary tissue were obtained by separating rat anterior pituitary in halves or quarters. When incubated in vitro in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate glucose buffer, such identical fragments of pituitary released identical minute amounts of TSH into the incubation fluid. Addition of hypothalamic TSH-releasing factor (TRF) of sheep origin (prepared by molecular sieving and characterized with an in vivo bio-assay) increased the amount of TSH present in the incubation fluid of the experimental pituitary population when compared to its control. The stimulation of TSH release was a linear function of the log of the dose of added TRF. The ability of TRF to stimulate TSH release in vitro was inhibited by in vivo pretreatment or in vitro preincubation with L-thyroxine. TRF does not act by inhibiting destruction (in vitro) of released TSH nor by potentiating TSH in the bioassay. LRF (LH-releasing factor), CRF (corticotropin- releasing factor), lysine-vasopressin, oxytocin, α-MSH and β-MS.