Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Steroids, aromatase and sex differentiation of the newt Pleurodeles waltl

In the newt Pleurodeles waltl, genetic sex determination obeys female heterogamety (female ZW, male ZZ). In this species as in most of non-mammalian vertebrates, steroid hormones play a key role in sexual differentiation of gonads. In that context, male to female sex reversal can be obtained by treatment of ZZ larvae with estradiol. Male to female sex reversal has also been observed following treatment of ZZ larvae with testosterone, a phenomenon that was called the “paradoxical effect”. Female to male sex reversal occurs when ZW larvae are reared at 32°C during a thermosensitive period (TSP) that takes place from stage 42 to stage 54 of development. Since steroids play an important part in sex differentiation, we focussed our studies on the estrogen-producing enzyme aromatase during normal sex differentiation as well as in experimentally induced sex reversal situations. Our results based on treatment with non-aromatizable androgens, aromatase activity measurements and aromatase expression studies demonstrate that aromatase (i) is differentially active in ZZ and ZW larvae, (ii) is involved in the paradoxical effect and (iii) might be a target of temperature. Thus, the gene encoding aromatase might be one of the master genes in the process leading to the differentiation of the gonad in Pleurodeles waltl.
Syndromes related to sodium and arginine vasopressin alterations in post-operative neurosurgery.

BACKGROUND Cerebral salt wasting syndrome (CSWS), syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) and diabetes insipidus (DI) are frequently found in postoperative neurosurgery. PURPOSE To identify these syndromes following neurosurgery. METHOD The study included 30 patients who had been submitted to tumor resection and cerebral aneurysm clipping. Sodium levels in serum and urine and urine volume were measured daily up to the 5th day following surgery. Plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) was measured on the first, third and fifth days post-surgery. RESULTS CSWS was found in 27/30 patients (90%), in 14 (46.7%) of whom it was associated with a reduction in the levels of plasma AVP (mix syndrome). SIADH was found in 3/30 patients (10%). There was no difference between the two groups of patients. CONCLUSION CSWS was the most common syndrome found, and in half the cases it was associated with DI. SIADH was the least frequent syndrome found.
Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Treatment Increases the Skeletal Muscle Glucose Transporter 4 Protein Expression in Mice

2 SUMMARY The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) treatment induced metabolic adaptations in mouse skeletal muscle. BDNF (20mg/kg/day) was injected subcutaneously for successive 14 days. BDNF treatment significantly reduced the total food intake and inhibited the weight gain in comparison to the control group. The glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) protein expression in the gastrocnemius muscle was significantly increased by BDNF treatment in comparison to the control and pair-fed groups. Neither the oxidative nor the glycolytic enzyme activities in the gastrocnemius muscle changed after the BDNF treatment. These results suggest that the peripheral BDNF treatment promotes the skeletal muscle GLUT4 protein expression as well as hypophagia. 3 Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a part of the neurotrophin family and is produced in the nervous system and periphery. The BDNF controls the food consumption (Xu et al. 2003), lipid and glucose metabolism (Nakagawa et al. 2000, Tsuchida et al. 2002), and insulin resistance (Kuroda et al. 2003). Recent human studies have shown that circulating BDNF is associated with eating disorders (Monteleone et al. Based on these metabolic contributions, BDNF is considered to be a " metabotrophins " (Chaldakov et al. 2007). Skeletal muscle metabolic characteristics such as glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression and mitochondrial oxidative capacity are associated with skeletal muscle insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, whole body insulin sensitivity and prevalence of type II diabetes mellitus (Bruce et al. 2003, Doehner et al. in press, He et al. 2001). Chronic BDNF treatment to diabetic mice significantly improves the glucose uptake in skeletal muscle (Yamanaka et al. 2007). Based on these results, the BDNF is hypothesized to regulate the skeletal muscle metabolism. This study examined whether chronic BDNF treatment to mice affects skeletal muscle metabolic characteristics such as GLUT4 protein expression and glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities. Sixty-nine-to 72-day old female ICR mice were used for the current study. All mice were fed a standard rodent chow (CE-2, CLEA Japan, Inc., Tokyo, Japan). All experimental procedures were approved by the Nakamura Gakuen University Animal 4 Experiment Committee. Because BDNF treatment reduces food intake (Nakagawa et al. 2003), the effects of BDNF treatment was studied in comparison with both ad libitum-fed control and pair-fed mice. The mice were divided into an ad libitum-fed (AL, n = 8), a pair-fed (PF, n = 8), or a BDNF-treated (BDNF, n = 8) group. The mice of the BDNF …
Non-Random Assembly of Bacterioplankton Communities in the Subtropical North Pacific Ocean

The exploration of bacterial diversity in the global ocean has revealed new taxa and previously unrecognized metabolic potential; however, our understanding of what regulates this diversity is limited. Using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) data from bacterial small-subunit ribosomal RNA genes we show that, independent of depth and time, a large fraction of bacterioplankton co-occurrence patterns are non-random in the oligotrophic North Pacific subtropical gyre (NPSG). Pair-wise correlations of all identified operational taxonomic units (OTUs) revealed a high degree of significance, with 6.6% of the pair-wise co-occurrences being negatively correlated and 20.7% of them being positive. The most abundant OTUs, putatively identified as Prochlorococcus, SAR11, and SAR116 bacteria, were among the most correlated OTUs. As expected, bacterial community composition lacked statistically significant patterns of seasonality in the mostly stratified water column except in a few depth horizons of the sunlit surface waters, with higher frequency variations in community structure apparently related to populations associated with the deep chlorophyll maximum. Communities were structured vertically into epipelagic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic populations. Permutation-based statistical analyses of T-RFLP data and their corresponding metadata revealed a broad range of putative environmental drivers controlling bacterioplankton community composition in the NPSG, including concentrations of inorganic nutrients and phytoplankton pigments. Together, our results suggest that deterministic forces such as environmental filtering and interactions among taxa determine bacterioplankton community patterns, and consequently affect ecosystem functions in the NPSG.
Increased mortality in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: report from the Stockholm Cohort-Study of Atrial Fibrillation (SCAF).

AIMS Whether paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PxAF) affects survival is poorly recognized. Results have been conflicting in the few previously published studies. To describe mortality in patients with PxAF and to identify risk factors amenable to treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS All patients (n=2824) treated for atrial fibrillation during 2002 at one of Scandinavia's largest hospitals were followed prospectively for a mean of 4.6 years. Information about type of AF, comorbidity, and medication was acquired from medical records and national registers. Information about deaths was obtained from the National Cause of Death Register. One-third (n=888) of the patients had PxAF (mean age 73 years). During follow-up, 267 of them died. The mean annual mortality rate was 7%. Compared with the general population, the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 1.6 (95% CI 1.4-1.8) for all-cause mortality, 2.4 (95% CI 1.4-3.7) for death from myocardial infarction, and 2.6 (95% CI 1.3-5.2) for death from heart failure. Warfarin treatment was associated with improved survival both in comparison with the general population (SMR 1.1 with warfarin, SMR 2.2 without warfarin) and after propensity score matching for odds to receive warfarin (HR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9). The improvement of survival could not be explained by stroke reduction alone. CONCLUSION PxAF is associated with increased mortality, which mostly appears to be related to concomitant cardiovascular risks. Treatment with warfarin is associated with improved survival in PxAF patients.
Evaluating the quality of discovered process models

In the domain of process mining the evaluation of models (i.e., \How can we measure the quality of a mined process model? ") is still subject to ongoing research. Because the types of models used in process mining are typically on a higher level of abstraction (they, for example, allow to capture concurrency), the problem of model evaluation is challenging. In this paper, we elaborate on the problem of process model evaluation, and we evaluate both new and existing fitness metrics for different levels of noise. The new metrics and the noise generation are based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs).
Interspecies diversity of the occludin sequence: cDNA cloning of human, mouse, dog, and rat-kangaroo homologues

Occludin has been identified from chick liver as a novel integral membrane protein localizing at tight junctions (Furuse, M., T. Hirase, M. Itoh, A. Nagafuchi, S. Yonemura, Sa. Tsukita, and Sh. Tsukita. 1993. J. Cell Biol. 123:1777-1788). To analyze and modulate the functions of tight junctions, it would be advantageous to know the mammalian homologues of occludin and their genes. Here we describe the nucleotide sequences of full length cDNAs encoding occludin of rat-kangaroo (potoroo), human, mouse, and dog. Rat-kangaroo occludin cDNA was prepared from RNA isolated from PtK2 cell culture, using a mAb against chicken occludin, whereas the others were amplified by polymerase chain reaction based on the sequence found around the human neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein gene. The amino acid sequences of the three mammalian (human, murine, and canine) occludins were very closely related to each other (approximately 90% identity), whereas they diverged considerably from those of chicken and rat-kangaroo (approximately 50% identity). Implications of these data and novel experimental options in cell biological research are discussed.
Plasma Granzyme B in ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction versus Non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome: Comparisons with IL-18 and Fractalkine

Objective. The proapoptotic protein, granzyme B (GZB), was identified as a contributor to the atherosclerotic plaque instability and recently as inflammatory activator. We studied the release kinetics of GZB and other markers of inflammation such as high sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin 18 (IL-18), and fractalkine (FKN) in the early phase after acute cardiac events in different ACS subgroups. Methods. Thirty-six nondiabetic patients with ACS were compared to 12 control subjects. According to ACS diagnosis, the patients were classified into 22 patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and 14 patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction or unstable angina (NSTEMI/UA). Blood samples were taken on day 1 (day of onset) and day 3 to measure hsCRP, IL-18, FKN, and GZB by ELISA. Results. Patients with ACS showed significantly higher GZB, IL-18, and FKN levels than the controls. STEMI group showed significantly higher GZB levels than NSTEMI/UA group. On day 3, FKN levels displayed a significant decrease, while GZB levels were significantly increased. IL-18 levels were more or less constant. GZB levels were positively correlated with IL-18 (r = 0.416, P < 0.01) and FKN (r = 0.58, P < 0.001). Conclusions. Unlike IL-18 and FKN, plasma GZB may be a marker of ACS disease severity.
- Sobolev orthogonal polynomials of Meixner type : asymptotics and limit relation

Let {Qn(x)}n be the sequence of monic polynomials orthogonal with respect to the Sobolev-type inner product 〈p(x), r(x)〉S= 〈u0, p(x)r(x)〉 + 〈u1, ( p)(x)( r)(x)〉, where 0, ( f )(x)= f (x + 1)− f (x) denotes the forward difference operator and (u0, u1) is a -coherent pair of positive-definite linear functionals being u1 the Meixner linear functional. In this paper, relative asymptotics for the {Qn(x)}n sequence with respect to Meixner polynomials on compact subsets of C\[0,+∞) is obtained. This relative asymptotics is also given for the scaled polynomials. In both cases, we deduce the same asymptotics as we have for the self-coherent pair, that is, when u0 = u1 is the Meixner linear functional. Furthermore, we establish a limit relation between these orthogonal polynomials and the Laguerre–Sobolev orthogonal polynomials which is analogous to the one existing between Meixner and Laguerre polynomials in the Askey scheme. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Three-Year Outcomes With the Multilayer Flow Modulator for Repair of Thoracoabdominal Aneurysms

Purpose: To evaluate midterm outcomes of endovascular repair of types II and III thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAA) using the Multilayer Flow Modulator (MFM) in patients unsuitable for open surgery or fenestrated stent-grafts. Methods: In the prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized STRATO trial (EudraCT registration: 2009-013678-42; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01756911), 23 patients (mean age 75.8 years; 19 men) with Crawford type II and III TAAA (mean diameter 6.5 cm) were implanted between April 2010 and February 2011. Outcomes included all-cause mortality and stable aneurysm thrombosis with associated branch vessel patency. Results: Through 36 months, there were 7 deaths (none confirmed as aneurysm-related), and no cases of spinal cord injury, device migration or fracture, or respiratory, renal, or peripheral complications. Three patients were lost to follow-up and 2 devices were explanted. The device was patent in the 11 remaining patients at 3 years. Stable aneurysm thrombosis was achieved for 15 of 20 patients at 12 months, 12 of 13 at 24 months, and 10 of 11 at 36 months. The rate of branch patency was 96% at 12 months (primary patency), 100% at 24 months, and 97% at 36 months. Nine patients suffered from endoleaks (attachment site or device overlap); 9 patients underwent 11 reinterventions (3 surgical). Maximum aneurysm diameter was stable for 18 of 20 patients at 12 months, 11 of 13 at 24 months, and 9 of 11 at 36 months. For 10 patients with computed tomography at 36 months, the mean ratio of aneurysm flow volume to total volume had decreased by 83%; the mean ratio of thrombus volume to total volume increased by 159%. Conclusion: Through 3 years, endovascular repair with the MFM appears to be safe and effective while successfully maintaining branch vessel patency.
A Cultural Perspective on Technology Acceptance

This preliminary study focused on the cultural dimension of masculinity/femininity. Unlike many cultural studies that have utilized previously published country-level scores for dimensions of culture, this study surveyed individuals from thirty-four different countries to determine their score on the masculinity/femininity continuum. These results were part of a research model containing culture, gender, and intention to use computers. Three 2X2 between-subjects factorial ANOVAs were conducted. We found statistically significant main effects for the masculinity/femininity, and national origin. The results indicate that a user’ s masculinity/fe mininity score, and national origin have an impact on his or her intention to adopt a technology.
Conjugate of Bovine Hemoglobin and Human Serum Albumin as a Candidate for Blood Substitute: Characteristics and Effects on Rats

Abstract: Conjugate of bovine hemoglobin (bHb) and human serum albumin (HSA) was prepared. The product was simply composed of 89.7% one-to-one Hb-HSA conjugate, 6.0% oligomer of Hb and HSA, 3.5% unconjugated HSA and 0.8% unconjugated Hb, with an average molecular weight of 157 kD. The physicochemical characteristics were determined. Effects of single replacement on blood pressure and long-term survival of rats with 30% and 60% acute blood loss were studied, in comparison with Ringer-lactate solution, stroma-free hemoglobin (SFHb), 5% HSA in Ringer-lactate, whole blood and no resuscitation fluid. Results showed that Hb-HSA conjugate maintained the mean arterial pressure of rats to initial level with no pressor effect. Long-term effects of the replacement fluids on 30% bleeding rats showed that, for the group infused with Hb-HSA conjugate, histology of five major organs, heart, kidney, liver, spleen and lung, were essentially normal, similar to that of whole blood, while obviously renal side-effects appeared in other groups. The efficacy of the conjugate was further demonstrated by the resuscitation of lethal hemorrhagic shock rats (60% acute blood loss) with 100% survival rate (followed for 14 days), the same result as whole blood. The Hb-HSA conjugate can thus be another candidate for blood substitute in emergency.
TnpR Encoded by an ISPpu12 Isoform Regulates Transposition of Two Different ISL3-Like Insertion Sequences in Pseudomonas stutzeri after Conjugative Interaction

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas stutzeri AN10 has two ISL3-like insertion sequences (ISs). One of them has been recently described as ISPst9. In this study we show that the second IS, situated 4.5 kb upstream of ISPst9, is an isoform of ISPpu12 from Pseudomonas putida mt-2. Although both ISL3-like ISs are flanked by nearly identical (21/24 conserved residues) inverted repeats (IRs) and harbor similar transposases (93% amino acid identity), they differ in their accompanying genes. As described for ISPst9, the isoform of ISPpu12 also transposes by a conservative mechanism, forms circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) transposition intermediates, and is induced by interaction with the conjugative strain Escherichia coli S17-1λ pir (conjugative interaction) but not with the nonconjugative E. coli DH5α. In fact, we demonstrate that ISPst9 transposition after conjugative interaction occurs only when ISPpu12 is present, indicating that ISPpu12 is upregulating transposition of both ISs under such conditions. We also demonstrate that this conjugative interaction-mediated induction of ISPpu12 is not exclusive to the P. stutzeri AN10 strain but is a more general phenomenon, at least in Pseudomonas. Mutation of TnpR, a MerR-like transcriptional regulator present in ISPpu12 but not in ISPst9, reduced the transcription of tnpA (ISPpu12 transposase-encoding gene) and decreased formation of circular dsDNA transposition intermediates after conjugative interaction. Complementation of the TnpR mutant restored the phenotype. In addition, the presence of TnpR in an ISPpu12-free genetic background did not induce ISPst9 after conjugative interaction. Thus, our results suggest that TnpR, after conjugative interaction, activates transcription of tnpA of ISPpu12. Then, TnpA of ISPpu12 would bind to IRs of both ISs, ISPpu12 and ISPst9, causing their transposition.
How Rich Is Consciousness? the Partial Awareness Hypothesis Opinion

Current theories of consciousness posit a dissociation between 'phenomenal' consciousness (rich) and 'access' consciousness (limited). Here, we argue that the empirical evidence for phenomenal consciousness without access is equivocal, resulting either from a confusion between phenomenal and unconscious contents, or from an impression of phenomenally rich experiences arising from illusory contents. We propose a refined account of access that relies on a hierarchy of repres-entational levels and on the notion of partial awareness, whereby lower and higher levels are accessed independently. Reframing of the issue of dissociable forms of consciousness into dissociable levels of access provides a more parsimonious account of the existing evidence. In addition, the rich phenomenology illusion can be studied and described in terms of testable cognitive mechanisms. One or two types of consciousness? Understanding the psychological and neurobiological determinants of consciousness constitutes a major challenge in contemporary science [1,2]. Following a long period of neglect, the study of consciousness has gained respect by acknowledging the importance of data collection , empirical support, and all of the core principles of scientific investigation. This research field now offers functional descriptions and testable predictions regarding conscious processing [3–7]. However, critics of this approach to consciousness argue that functional explanations come at the price of sacrificing the phenomenal aspects of consciousness: functional explanations are restricted to the cognitive mechanisms (i.e. attention, working memory, etc.) underlying access to conscious contents, ignoring the problem of how these contents arise in the first place [8,9]. From this perspective, consciousness should be dissociated into two components, namely access and phenomenal consciousness, following a popular dichotomy introduced by Block [9]. Importantly, the contents of phenomenal experiences are assumed to be much richer than the limited representations we can access at a given time: in Block's terms, 'phenomenology overflows access' (here phenomenology is synonymous with phenomenal consciousness). This hypothesis has become so popular that most neurobiological theories of consciousness now endorse it explicitly (Box 1). In this paper, we claim that despite its appeal, this dissociation raises more problems than it solves and leads, in fact, to an epistemological impasse. We show that previous efforts to demonstrate phenomenal consciousness without access not only are at odds with the subjects' own reports, but also that they have been misled by a restrictive account of access and by a confusion between phenomenal contents and unconscious processing (i.e. information is processed but remains below the threshold of consciousness ; …
Hierarchical Random Graphs Based on Motifs

Network motifs are characteristic patterns which occur in the networks essentially more frequently than the other patterns. For five motifs found in S. Itzkovitz, U. Alon, Phys. Rev. E, 2005, 71, 026117-1, hierarchical random graph models are proposed in which the motifs appear at each hierarchical level. A rigorous construction of such graphs is performed and a number of their structural properties are analyzed. This includes degree distribution, amenability, clustering, and the small world property. For one of the motifs, annealed phase transitions in the Ising model based on the corresponding graph are also studied.