Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in expression of anti‐apoptotic protein, cflip, in granulosa cells during follicular atresia in porcine ovaries

Follicular selection is performed in mammalian ovaries, as most follicles undergo atresia during follicular development and growth. Follicular regression is indicated to begin with granulosa cell apoptosis. To reveal the molecular mechanisms of the selection, we examined the changes in the levels of cellular‐Flice like inhibitory protein (cFLIP) expression in porcine granulosa cells. cFLIP is the homologue of intracellular apoptosis inducer (procaspase‐8/Flice), and has two alternative splicing isoforms: cFLIP short form (cFLIPS) and long form (cFLIPL). By competing with caspase‐8, cFLIP inhibits apoptosis initiated by death receptors. The changes in the levels of cFLIPS and cFLIPL mRNA and protein expression in granulosa cells were determined by RT‐PCR and Western blotting, respectively. cFLIPL mRNA and protein were highly expressed in granulosa cells of healthy follicles and decreased during atresia. cFLIPS mRNA levels in granulosa cells were low and showed no change among the stages of follicular development, and its protein level was extremely low. We examined the changes in the localization of cFLIP mRNAs in pig ovaries by in situ hybridization and found that cFLIPL is abundant in granulosa cells of healthy follicles in comparison with those of atretic follicles. Immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated that the cFLIP protein is highly expressed in the granulosa cell of healthy follicles but weakly expressed in that of atretic follicles. We presumed that cFLIP, especially cFLIPL, plays an anti‐apoptotic role in the granulosa cells of healthy follicles of pig ovaries, and that cFLIP could be a major survival factor that determines whether growth or atresia occurs in porcine follicles. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Simultaneous Realization of Stabilized Temperature Characteristics and Low-Voltage Driving of a Micromirror Using the Thin-Film Torsion Bar of Tensile Poly-Si

The tense thin-film torsion bar of polycrystalline (poly-) Si has been recently introduced into a micromirror. A tensile stress is obtained by the crystallization of amorphous Si. The poly-Si has almost the same coefficient of thermal expansion as that of Si substrate. An electrical connection is obtained with doping without the use of metal overlayer. The thin-film torsion bar of poly-Si is fabricated with a revised process so as to protect against the crystalline Si etching. Considering the earlier advantages and techniques, the stabilized temperature characteristics and the low-voltage driving are simultaneously realized.
Modified Extended Latissimus Dorsi Myocutaneous Flap with Added Vascularised Chest Wall Fat in Immediate Breast Reconstruction after Conservative (Sparing) Mastectomies

The primary goal of breast reconstruction is to recreate form and symmetry by correcting the anatomic defect while preserving patients' safety and health. Breast reconstruction is performed in several stages: restoration of the breast contour, revisions, and reconstruction of the nipple-areola complex. Many options for breast reconstruction exist, which are typically grouped into alloplastic, autologous and a combination of both. The choice of technique is directed by several factors that include the size and shape of the native breast, the location and type of cancer, the quantity and quality of tissues around the breast and at the other donor sites, the patients' demographic information and whether adjuvant therapy is warranted. Breast mound reconstruction can be performed immediately, at the time of mastectomy, or can be delayed for several weeks or months (Hu & Alderman, 2007).
Brain-Gut Axis Modulation of Acupuncture in Functional Dyspepsia: A Preliminary Resting-State fcMRI Study

Objective. To explore acupuncture effects on brain functional connectivity in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods. Eight patients in an acupuncture treatment group and ten healthy adults in the control group participated in the study. Acupuncture effectiveness was evaluated based on changes of the gastrointestinal symptoms, gastric motility measurements, and gastrin levels and comparisons with the control group when appropriate. To investigate functional connectivity changes related to FD and potential modulation after acupuncture, a set of regions of interest (ROIs) were selected according to previous fMRI reports of acupuncture. Results. Patients showed significant improvements of FD signs and symptoms after acupuncture treatments. For all of the ROIs, we identified subportions of the networks showing reduced connectivity in patients with FD. Connectivity between the ROIs and corresponding disease targets showed significant improvement after acupuncture treatment (P < 0.05) in all ROIs except for right medial temporal lobe-hippocampus and right inferior parietal lobule. Conclusion. Functional connectivity of the brain is changed in patients with FD but approximates that in healthy control after acupuncture treatment. The relief of gastrointestinal signs and symptoms by acupuncture is likely due to the normalization of brain-gut axis associated with FD.
Cognitive basis of gender communication: A cross‐cultural investigation of perceived constraints in requesting

There has been a significant discussion regarding the similarities and differences in communication styles between females and males. If the stereotype is true that men use language “to assert a position of dominance” by coming directly to the point (clarity), whereas women use language to create and maintain relationships of closeness, this should be reflected in a differential preference for conversational constraints. Cross‐situational goals (i.e., conversational constraints) serve as criteria for making a choice between tactics in the pursuit of interaction goals. Focusing on five conversational constraints, this study compared the ways in which conversational constraints are perceived across gender groups. Two main questions structured this research: (1) Do males and females differ significantly in their perceived importance of conversational constraints? (2) Is there cross‐cultural consistency in the findings? The results showed that participants' sex did not have any significant main effect on the .
A Bivalent Scale for Measuring Crowding Among Deer Hunters

One factor that may influence satisfaction in outdoor recreation is crowding, which historically has been defined as a negative evaluation of the density of other participants. While this definition is suitable for most scenarios, there are circumstances where encounters with others in the area are evaluated positively and thus contribute to the satisfaction of the participant. To adequately describe this phenomenon we suggest a more inclusive measurement of crowding that allows for both positive and negative evaluations of participant density to more accurately explore the relationship between crowding and satisfaction. We identified a sub-group of deer hunters who negatively evaluated the low density of other hunters, which reduced their satisfaction with their overall hunting experience. The methodology for measuring crowding in recreation research may have an important effect in identifying the relationship crowding has with other relevant variables as well as management implications.
An Ultrasensitive Mechanism Regulates Influenza Virus-Induced Inflammation

Influenza viruses present major challenges to public health, evident by the 2009 influenza pandemic. Highly pathogenic influenza virus infections generally coincide with early, high levels of inflammatory cytokines that some studies have suggested may be regulated in a strain-dependent manner. However, a comprehensive characterization of the complex dynamics of the inflammatory response induced by virulent influenza strains is lacking. Here, we applied gene co-expression and nonlinear regression analysis to time-course, microarray data developed from influenza-infected mouse lung to create mathematical models of the host inflammatory response. We found that the dynamics of inflammation-associated gene expression are regulated by an ultrasensitive-like mechanism in which low levels of virus induce minimal gene expression but expression is strongly induced once a threshold virus titer is exceeded. Cytokine assays confirmed that the production of several key inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 6 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1, exhibit ultrasensitive behavior. A systematic exploration of the pathways regulating the inflammatory-associated gene response suggests that the molecular origins of this ultrasensitive response mechanism lie within the branch of the Toll-like receptor pathway that regulates STAT1 phosphorylation. This study provides the first evidence of an ultrasensitive mechanism regulating influenza virus-induced inflammation in whole lungs and provides insight into how different virus strains can induce distinct temporal inflammation response profiles. The approach developed here should facilitate the construction of gene regulatory models of other infectious diseases.
The relevance of emotional and psychosocial factors in aphasia to rehabilitation

In this paper we review the relationship between the impact of aphasia and emotional well-being. Depression is one of several types of emotional response that has been researched most and we examine the different causes of depression for people with aphasia. We discuss the relationships between recovery and emotional state and the clinical and psychosocial implications of these relationships. We examine methods for assessment of emotional response and psychosocial evaluation and review implications for rehabilitation. We discuss briefly issues of drug treatment for depression in aphasic people. We conclude that the emotional impact of aphasia can have a marked negative impact on recovery, response to rehabilitation, and psychosocial adjustment.
Discovery of a strong Baldwin effect in mid-infrared AGN lines

We present the discovery of a Baldwin effect in 8 nearby Seyfert galaxies for the three most prominent mid-infrared forbidden emission lines observable from the ground that are commonly found in AGN, [Ar iii](λ8.99 μm), [S iv](λ10.51 μm), and [Ne ii](λ12.81 μm). The observations were carried out using the VLT/VISIR imager and spectrograph at the ESO/Paranal observatory. The bulk of the observed line emission originates in the innermost region within a diameter of 0. 4, which corresponds to spatial scales of less than 100 pc within the targeted galaxies. The correlation index is approximately −0.6 and does not vary significantly for all lines studied. To date, this is the strongest anticorrelation that has been measured between line equivalent width and continuum luminosity. In the case of Circinus, we show that, despite using mid-infrared lines, obscuration by either the host galaxy or the circumnuclear dust torus might affect the measurement. Given the small observed spatial scales from which most of the line emission emanates, it is unclear how well these observations agree with the favored “disappearing NLR” scenario for the narrow-line Baldwin effect.
One-Shot Video Object Segmentation with Iterative Online Fine-Tuning

Semi-supervised or one-shot video object segmentation has attracted much attention in the video analysis community recently. The OSVOS model [1] achieves state of the art results on the DAVIS 2016 dataset by ﬁrst ﬁne-turning a CNN model on the ﬁrst pre-segmented frame of a video, and then independently segmenting the rest of the frames in that video. However, the model lacks the ability to learn new information about the object as the object evolves throughout the video displaying features that were not present in the ﬁrst frame. To address this issue, we propose an iterative online training method whereby the model is ﬁne-tuned on the ﬁrst frame, segments several consecutive frames independently, and then gets updated on its own output segmentation. This process is repeated until all frames of a video are segmented. To segment multiple similar objects in a video, we use an object tracker to ﬁlter the output of the individually trained CNN object models before being used for iterative ﬁne-turning. This reduces the possibility for error propagation, and helps the model increase its discriminative power as it is being iteratively ﬁne-tuned. Our method shows improvement over the standard OSVOS model on both DAVIS 2016 and 2017 datasets.
Ileal Immune Dysregulation in Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Role of CD40/CD40L in the Pathogenesis of Disease

Objectives: CD40, a co-stimulatory molecule, plays a critical role in coordinating enteric inflammatory immune responses. In necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), upregulation of IL-10, a CD40-modulated cytokine, has been described, but the role of the IL-10 receptor (IL-10Rβ), CD40, and its ligand CD40L in disease pathogenesis is unknown. The study herein investigates ileal expression of CD40, CD40L, and IL-10R in a rat model of NEC. Subjects and Methods: NEC was induced in newborn rats using established methods of formula feeding, asphyxia, and cold stress. Expression of CD40, CD40L, IL-10Rβ, and other proinflammatory molecules, including Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and IL-18, was assessed by immunoblotting. Tissue infiltration by macrophages, monocytes, and T cells was examined by confocal immunohistochemistry. Results: Ileum from rat pups with NEC showed increased expression of TLR-4, IL-18, and IL-10Rβ. Sections from both NEC and control pups demonstrated preservation of ileal cells expressing CD40/CD40L. The distal ileum of controls expressed both CD40 and CD40L; conversely, neither molecule was detected in ileal tissue from NEC pups. Additional studies showed that treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF), previously shown to ameliorate the severity of NEC in an animal model, did not restore CD40 expression. Conclusions: Ileal cytokine dysregulation, manifested by decreased CD40/CD40L and increased IL-10Rβ expression, may be involved in the pathogenesis of NEC. Dampened CD40 signaling may be related to enhanced IL-10 expression and a suppressed T-cell response to injury. We speculate that augmenting CD40-CD40L interactions may achieve a protective effect in this NEC model.
Synthetic Data Generation for Deep Learning in Counting Pedestrians

One of the main limitations of the application of Deep Learning (DL) algorithms is when dealing with problems with small data. One workaround to this issue is the use of synthetic data generators. In this framework, we explore the benefits of synthetic data generation as a surrogate for the lack of large data when applying DL algorithms. In this paper, we propose a problem of learning to count the number of pedestrians using synthetic images as a substitute for real images. To this end, we introduce an algorithm to create synthetic images for being fed to a designed Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) to learn from. The model is capable of accurately counting the number of individuals in a real scene.
Exploration, Aggressive Behaviour and Dominance in Pair-Wise Confrontations of Juvenile Male Great Tits

In the development of social dominance, constitutional behavioural characteristics may play an important role apart from morphological traits. Previous work has shown that juvenile male great tits Parus major differ consistently in their early exploratory behaviour and can be classified as fast and superficial explorers or slow and thorough explorers. This study investigated whether these individual differences in exploratory behaviour are related to aggressive behaviour, and whether this affects dominance. In an experimental set-up, pair-wise fights were observed. The obtained data were corrected for possible influences of morphological traits. Consistent individual differences in aggressive behaviour were found, indicating that juvenile great tits can be characterised by that behaviour. Fast explorers started more fights than slow explorers, and birds that started more fights also won more fights. An additional experiment with pairs of fast and slow explorers confirmed that fast explorers won more fights than slow explorers. In conclusion, we demonstrated that individual differences in exploratory behaviour are related to aggressive behaviour, which affects dominance. The striking agreement of these findings with studies of rodents and pigs is discussed. It is suggested that the behaviour of fast explorers agrees with an active style of coping with stress, while the behaviour of the slow explorers resembles a passive coping style.
CXC chemokine GRO is essential for neutrophil infiltration in LPS-induced uveitis in rabbits.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and regulation of the CXC chemokine GRO and the interaction between GRO and IL-8 in LPS-induced uveitis in rabbits. Uveitis was induced by intravitreal injection of 100 ng of LPS in rabbits. After the LPS injection, GRO was produced in aqueous humor and peaked at 24 hr. Immunohistochemistry showed that ciliary epithelial cells were responsible for production of GRO. Blocking the activity of GRO by anti-GRO serum reduced LPS-induced aqueous neutrophil counts by 80%, but did not reduce the mononuclear cell counts or protein levels or IL-8 levels. Regulation of GRO production by TNFalpha, IL-1 and IL-8 was studied. Anti-TNFalphamAb alone did not inhibit the 24 hr LPS induced GRO levels, whereas rrIL-1Ra inhibited the GRO production by 58%. The combination of anti-TNFalpha mAb and rrIL-1Ra inhibited 93% of GRO production. Although treatment with anti-IL-8 IgG inhibited the neutrophil infiltration by 66%, treatment with this antibody did not inhibit GRO production. Taken together, our results suggest that GRO is an essential mediator for neutrophil infiltration in LPS-induced uveitis in rabbits. Most of GRO production is mediated by TNFalpha and IL-1. GRO and IL-8 act in concert to mediate neutrophil infiltration.
C-terminal Elements Control Location, Activation Threshold, and p38 Docking of Ribosomal S6 Kinase B (RSKB)*

RSKB, a p90 ribosomal S6 protein kinase with two catalytic domains, is activated by p38- and extracellular signal-regulated kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. The sequences between the two catalytic domains and of the C-terminal extension contain elements that control RSKB activity. The C-terminal extension of RSKB presents a putative bipartite713KRX 14KRRKQKLRS737nuclear location signal. The distinct cytoplasmic and nuclear locations of various C-terminal truncation mutants supported the hypothesis that the nuclear location signal was essential to direct RSKB to the nuclear compartment. The725APLAKRRKQKLRS737 sequence also was essential for the intermolecular association of RSKB with p38. The activation of RSKB through p38 could be dissociated from p38 docking, because RSKB truncated at Ser681 strongly responded to p38 pathway activity. Interestingly, Δ725–772-RSKB was nearly nonresponsive to p38. Sequence alignment with the autoinhibitory C-terminal extension of Ca+2/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I predicted a conserved regulatory 708AFN710motif. Alanine mutation of the key Phe709 residue resulted in strongly elevated basal level RSKB activity. A regulatory role also was assigned to Thr687, which is located in a mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation consensus site. These findings support that the RSKB C-terminal extension contains elements that control activation threshold, subcellular location, and p38 docking.
Correlation between brain magnetic resonance imaging and blood inflammatory markers for patients with vascular cognitive impairment

Objective: The aim was to research the correlation between brain magnetic resonance imaging and blood inflammatory markers for patients with varying degrees of vascular cognitive impairment. Methods: Total 90 subjects were divided into vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia, vascular dementia and control group. The Chinese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Clinical Dementia Rating, activities of daily living scale and Hachinski Ischemic Scale were used for tests; the magnetic resonance imaging consisted of routine scanning sequences, susceptibility weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging; cardiopulmonary resuscitation, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Microbleeds mainly appeared under the cortex of frontal lobe and temporal lobe and in the basal ganglia, centrum semiovale, corona radiate and thalamus; the number of the microbleeding parts were larger than those of the vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia. The fractional anisotropy values in the parts under the cortex of frontal lobe and temporal lobe and in the basal ganglia, centrum semiovale, corona radiate and thalamus were lower than those of the vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia and the apparent diffusion coefficient values increased. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-αlevel of the vascular dementia were higher than those of the vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia. Conclusion: It was valuable for early diagnosis of vascular cognitive impairment and assessment of its severity to detect microbleeds by the susceptibility weighted imaging on magnetic resonance, examine Leukoaraiosis by the diffusion tensor imaging and the levels of serum inflammatory markers.
Corticosteroids Reduce the Tensile Strength of Isolated Collagen Fascicles

Background Overuse tendon injuries are frequent. Corticosteroid injections are commonly used as treatment, although their direct effects on the material properties of the tendon are poorly understood. Purpose To examine the influence of corticosteroids on the tensile strength of isolated collagen fascicles. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Single strands (300-500 [.mu]m) of rat-tail collagen fascicles were incubated in either high (1 mL of 40 mgmL-1 mixed with 0.5 mL saline 9%) or low (1 mL of 40 mgmL-1 mixed with 2 mL saline 9%) concentration of methylprednisolone acetate (Depomedrol) for 3 or 7 days, while the control segment from the same fascicle was kept in saline (N = 64). After the incubation period, the fascicles underwent displacement to failure in a mechanical test rig at 0.13 mm/s, and thereafter hydroxylysyl pyridinoline and lysyl pyridinoline cross-link content was evaluated in a high-performance liquid chromatography system. Data for each group were analyzed with a 2-way analysis of variance (time × incubation) for ultimate stress (mean ± standard deviation). Results In the high-concentration groups, strength was reduced after 3 (16.6 ± 4.6 MPa) and 7 (8.6 ± 1.7 MPa) days compared to the controls (30.2 ± 5.0 MPa and 25.6 ± 4.6 MPa, respectively; P <. 05). In the low-concentration groups, strength was reduced after 3 (12.0 ± 3.1 MPa) and 7 days (10.9 ± 2.5 MPa) compared to the controls (31.5 ± 5.0 MPa and 32.4 ± 5.6 MPa, respectively; P <. 05). The amount of cross-linking was unaffected by the intervention. Conclusion Data show that the tensile strength of isolated fascicles is markedly reduced after 3-and 7-day incubation in both high and low concentration of corticosteroids, although the observed effect on whole tendon remains unknown. Clinical Relevance Corticosteroids may weaken specific regions of the injected tendon and leave it more prone to rupture. This weakening effect is manifested in the individual collagen fascicles that constitute the tendon.