Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postnatal switching of NMDA receptor subunits from NR2B to NR2A in rat facial motor neurons

The subunit composition of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors affects their function under normal and pathological conditions. Functional NMDA receptors are expressed in lower motor neurons, but their subunit composition has not been defined. Here, we employed electrophysiology, quantitative PCR, and immunohistochemistry to investigate the subunit composition of NMDA receptors in postnatal motor neurons of the Wistar rat facial nucleus (FN). Whole‐cell patch clamp recordings of acutely dissociated motor neurons from postnatal days 3 and 4 (P3–P4) showed that ifenprodil, a specific antagonist of the NMDA receptor 2B (NR2B) subunit, inhibited 91.62% ± 2.02% of NMDA‐induced current, whereas NVP‐AAM007, a specific antagonist of the NMDA receptor 2A (NR2A) subunit, inhibited much less of the current (16.69% ± 3.28%). Starting from P5, the inhibitory effects of ifenprodil and NVP‐AAM007 gradually decreased and increased, respectively, such that the effect of NVP‐AAM007 exceeded that of ifenprodil by P10. At P14, most of the NMDA‐induced current was inhibited by NVP‐AAM007 (84.59% ± 3.35%). Consistent with this, NR2B mRNA and protein were expressed highly at P3 and then gradually decreased by more than 75% by P14 in FN motor neurons, while NR1 was expressed stably over the same ages. However, NR2A mRNA and protein showed relatively constant levels between P3–P10 and decreased to 45% and 75% of the P3 level, respectively, by P14. Thus, analysis of functional NMDA receptors is critical to revealing subunit switching, which may be an important step in postnatal development of FN motor neurons.
The differential impact of interactions outside the organization on employee well‐being

The differential impact of interactions outside the organization on employee well-being Devasheesh P. Bhave* , Freyr Halld orsson, Eugene Kim and Alexandru M. Lefter Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University, Singapore Implexa Consulting, Reykjav ık, Iceland Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
PITX2C loss-of-function mutations responsible for idiopathic atrial fibrillation

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify novel PITX2c mutations responsible for idiopathic atrial fibrillation. METHODS: A cohort of 210 unrelated patients with idiopathic atrial fibrillation and 200 unrelated, ethnically matched healthy individuals used as controls were recruited. The whole coding exons and splice junctions of the PITX2c gene, which encodes a paired-like homeobox transcription factor required for normal cardiovascular morphogenesis, were sequenced in 210 patients and 200 control subjects. The causative potentials of the identified mutations were automatically predicted by MutationTaster and PolyPhen-2. The functional characteristics of the PITX2c mutations were explored using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system. RESULTS: Two novel heterozygous PITX2c mutations (p.Q105L and p.R122C) were identified in 2 of the 210 unrelated patients with idiopathic atrial fibrillation. These missense mutations were absent in the 400 control chromosomes and were both predicted to be pathogenic. Multiple alignments of PITX2c protein sequences across various species showed that the altered amino acids were highly evolutionarily conserved. A functional analysis demonstrated that the mutant PITX2c proteins were both associated with significantly reduced transcriptional activity compared with their wild-type counterparts. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study associate PITX2c loss-of-function mutations with atrial fibrillation, supporting the hypothesis that dysfunctional PITX2c confers enhanced susceptibility to atrial fibrillation and suggesting potential implications for early prophylaxis and allele-specific therapy for this common arrhythmia.
Communication Apprehension Among Japanese Students In Native and Second Language

Previous research has indicated that in some cultures communication apprehension concerning speaking in a second language is much higher than speaking in the native language. It has been suggested that such high levels of communication apprehension may impede learning of a second language and/ or being willing to communicate in that language. The present study examined levels of communication apprehension ame:lg Japanese students in speaking Japanese and English. The results indicate extremely high communication apprehension in native Japanese students in both languages. Implications for second language instruction are drawn.
Immune Profile of Honduran Schoolchildren with Intestinal Parasites: The Skewed Response against Geohelminths

Soil-transmitted helminth infections typically induce a type-2 immune response (Th2), but no immunoepidemiological studies have been undertaken in Honduras, an endemic country where the main control strategy is children's annual deworming. We aimed to characterize the immune profile of Honduran schoolchildren harbouring these parasitoses. Demographic and epidemiological data were obtained through a survey; nutritional status was assessed through anthropometry; intestinal parasites were diagnosed by formol-ether and Kato-Katz; and blood samples were collected to determine immunological markers including Th1/Th2 cytokines, IgE, and eosinophil levels. A total of 225 children participated in the study, all of whom had received deworming during the national campaign five months prior to the study. Trichuriasis and ascariasis prevalence were 22.2% and 20.4%, respectively. Stunting was associated with both age and trichuriasis, whereas ascariasis was associated with sex and household conditions. Helminth infections were strongly associated with eosinophilia and hyper-IgE as well as with a Th2-polarized response (increased levels of IL-13, IL-10, and IL4/IFN-γ ratios and decreased levels of IFN-γ). Pathogenic protozoa infections were associated with a Th1 response characterized by elevated levels of IFN-γ and decreased IL10/IFN-γ ratios. Even at low prevalence levels, STH infections affect children's nutrition and play a polarizing role in their immune system.
Comparison of multiconjugate adaptive optics configurations and control algorithms for the Gemini South 8-m telescope

This paper focuses on two main categories of the multiconjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) parameter space for performance optimization: the geometrical configuration of guide stars and deformable mirrors (DMs), and the wavefront reconstructors. From the first category it is shown how, for a fixed reconstructor and imaging wavelength, the performance metrics with a few important exceptions improve with an increasing number of (1) DMs, (2) actuators per DM and (3) guide stars. The metrics are seen to degrade with (1) an increasing field of compensation and (2) DM conjugation altitude mismatch with the significant turbulent atmospheric layers. In the second category, this study also compares the performance with a fixed MCAO configuration using the least- square estimator (LSE) and the maximum a posteriori estimator (MAP) for wavefront reconstruction. The MAP is shown to perform significantly better than the LSE at low or intermediate signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and somewhat better even in the absence of noise due to its a priori knowledge of the phase statistics.
Towards an empirically substantiated professional development programme to train lead teachers to support curriculum innovation

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to establish an empirically substantiated professional development programme for teachers to become lead teachers who are able to support professional development of peers in times of curriculum innovation. The design of a professional development programme, participants’ learning outcomes and their interrelatedness are described. The three main interventions in the professional development programme are: (A) a national learning community of lead teachers-in-training to participate in formal training and peer intervision; (B) regional learning communities of teachers where lead teachers-in-training practice their leadership qualities and receive feedback on their functioning as lead teachers; and (C) self-reflection to stimulate awareness of learning progress among participants. This qualitative case study reports the results of the designed programme embedded in the implementation process of a context-based chemistry curriculum in secondary education in the Netherlands. Results show that participants acquire intended learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and dispositions. These learning outcomes are invoked by the combination of interventions in the professional development programme. From the results it can be concluded that the designed professional development programme has potential to train teachers to become lead teachers to support curriculum innovation. Abbreviations: CIMO : Context Intervention(s) Mechanism(s) Outcomes; LT(s) : Lead Teacher(s); NLC : National Learning Community; RLC : Regional Learning Community.
A note on the application of edge-elements for modeling three-dimensional inhomogeneously-filled cavities

The application of edge-elements for modeling three-dimensional inhomogeneously filled cavities is presented. Explicit representations for the two element matrices (S)/sub e/ and (T)/sub e/, are provided in order to facilitate the implementation of the FEM formulation. Also included are the results of a numerical experiment that investigates the rate of convergence of the computations of the dominant resonance frequency of a rectangular cavity when the edge-element formulation is used. >
Making our neighborhoods, making our selves

Urban theorists have tried for decades to define exactly what a neighborhood is . But behind that daunting existential question lies a much murkier problem: never mind how you define them—how do you make neighborhoods productive and fair for their residents? In Making Our Neighborhoods, Making Our Selves , George Galster delves deep into the question of whether American neighborhoods are as efficient and equitable as they could be—socially, financially, and emotionally—and, if not, what we can do to change that. Galster aims to redefine the relationship between places and people, promoting specific policies that reduce inequalities in housing markets and beyond. Drawing on economics, sociology, geography, and psychology, Making Our Neighborhoods, Making Our Selves delivers a clear-sighted explanation of what neighborhoods are, how they come to be—and what they should be.
The Transition to Labour Management as a Gestalt Switch

The essay contains a highly speculative theory of social change together with an application to the theory of labour management. It draws on previous work done by the author (1972, 1978), partly in collaboration with C.C. v.weizsacker (Weizsacker/Schlicht 1979). In Part I the proposed theory of social change is developed in some detail. The argument leads to the conclusion that society interpets its rules of social organization and interaction as modifications of pure, or simple, or prototype rules, rather than viewing the prevailing set of rules as a self-sufficient archetype. This leads tothe proposition that continuous social changes might entail discontinuous switches in the scheme of social organization. Since the theory draws heavily on Gestalt psychology, these switches are termed Gestalt switches; discontinuous changes in superstructure brought about by smooth changes within the existing socio-economic framework. Part 2 deals with an application of this general kind of argument to the theory of labour management. Starting with a sketch of why labour immobility is a precondition for the viability of labour management in a competitive economy, it will be argued that technical progress will lead, through competitive pressure, to just that: a de-facto-immobility of labour. Thereby, the stage is set for the development of an efficient type of labour-managed organization which might evolve from competition; but immobility of labour will have another important consequence: The very notion of the firm will undergo a change, socially. People will cease to interpret employment relations as exchange relations. Rather, they will view the employment contract as establishing permanent rights and obligations. Since workers are tied permanently to a firm, firms will be considered as being constituted by their staff rather than by changing physicalequipment, just in the same way as a firm is viewed socially as being constituted by the owners of capital under capitalist conditions. Thus, firms will become ultimately identified with their staff rather than with the suppliers of capital, and the labour managed firm will appear as the "natural" form of organization. Actual firms will be considered as modifications of this pure form just in the same way as co-determination is considered as a modification of the pure capitalist mode of organization today. Thus, this precarious kind of theorizing leads to the conclusion that strong pressures are working towards a gestalt switch to labour management. The reader is kindly rtequested, however, not to take those conclusions at face value, since the foundations on which the theory is built are not excelling in firmness. Take all this, please, as a Gedanken-experiment, as one particular attempt towards a better understanding of social and economic change containing, perhaps, some elements of a fruitful approach
Molecular genetic analysis of male alternative strategy and reproductive success in the polygynous mating bat Cynopterus sphinx

Cynopterus sphinx is known to use polygynous mating system based on availability of resources, called resource defense polygyny. It is the primary mating strategy adopted by C. sphinx. In addition to such harem groups, a number of single adult males roost solitarily, nearer to the harems. Identifying the reasons behind the solitary roosting behaviour of such adult males is essential to further understand further the details of mating strategy in C. sphinx. In this context incomplete monopolization of harem females by harem males and nonharem male's access to harem females is to be observed. The role of nonharem males as probable fathers has not been tested. In the present study, PCR based RAPD markers were used to assess the paternity of harem males and nearby nonharem males to the young born in the harems. A total of 30 arbitrary primers were used to assign the parentage of offsprings. Samples from a total of 651 individuals (41 harem males, 295 females, 267 suckling pups and 48 solitary males) from 41 harems (dry season 14 harems and wet season 27 harems) of C. sphinx were tested for their RAPD-PCR patterns. The molecular results suggest that the nonharem males also gain access to harem females and sire more offspring in July-August breeding season (wet) than March-April breeding season (dry). These results suggest that nonharem males are reproductively active and enjoy some reproductive success.
Differential HFE Gene Expression Is Regulated by Alternative Splicing in Human Tissues

Background The pathophysiology of HFE-derived Hereditary Hemochromatosis and the function of HFE protein in iron homeostasis remain uncertain. Also, the role of alternative splicing in HFE gene expression regulation and the possible function of the corresponding protein isoforms are still unknown. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the physiological significance of these alternative HFE variants. Methodology/Principal Findings Alternatively spliced HFE transcripts in diverse human tissues were identified by RT-PCR, cloning and sequencing. Total HFE transcripts, as well as two alternative splicing transcripts were quantified using a real-time PCR methodology. Intracellular localization, trafficking and protein association of GFP-tagged HFE protein variants were analysed in transiently transfected HepG2 cells by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assays. Alternatively spliced HFE transcripts present both level- and tissue-specificity. Concerning the exon 2 skipping and intron 4 inclusion transcripts, the liver presents the lowest relative level, while duodenum presents one of the highest amounts. The protein resulting from exon 2 skipping transcript is unable to associate with β2M and TfR1 and reveals an ER retention. Conversely, the intron 4 inclusion transcript gives rise to a truncated, soluble protein (sHFE) that is mostly secreted by cells to the medium in association with β2M. Conclusions/Significance HFE gene post-transcriptional regulation is clearly affected by a tissue-dependent alternative splicing mechanism. Among the corresponding proteins, a sHFE isoform stands out, which upon being secreted into the bloodstream, may act in remote tissues. It could be either an agonist or antagonist of the full length HFE, through hepcidin expression regulation in the liver or by controlling dietary iron absorption in the duodenum.
Molar Band Re-use and Decontamination: A Survey of Specialists

Objective To determine the pattern of use and re-use of orthodontic molar bands, and examine infection control measures in a sample of UK orthodontists. Design Questionnaire survey. Subjects and methods Questionnaires were sent to 204 individuals selected at random from the UK Specialist Orthodontist list. Follow-up questionnaires were sent to those that had not replied within 8 weeks. An overall response rate of 74.5% was achieved. Main outcome measures Orthodontic band use and re-use and cross-infection control. Results The reported rates of pre-sterilization cleaning and sterilization of orthodontic instruments were 92 and 100%, respectively. Of the respondents, 90% were using bands for molar teeth with the remainder routinely used bonded attachments. Most clinicians (95%) using bands routinely re-used them after being tried-in with 5% discarding them. Pre-sterilization cleaning of re-used molar bands was carried out by 92% of respondents who reclaimed bands. Sterilization of these bands was then carried out by most specialists apart from 2. Conclusions The majority of UK specialist orthodontists who responded to the questionnaire are adhering to universal precautions for cross-infection control and are carrying out approved decontamination procedures. The majority are also reusing orthodontic bands that have been tried in the mouth, but found to be the wrong size. The great diversity of reported procedures for decontamination of instruments and bands suggest that more research is required to provide guidelines into the most effective method.
An improved two-step approach to hallucinating faces

Face hallucination is to synthesize a high-resolution facial image from a low-resolution input. In this paper, we present a new two-step approach to hallucinating faces motivated by the two-step algorithm of Liu et al. First, a linear relationship between both high-resolution and low-resolution facial images is established by applying PCA on both of them, and the global image, which is similar to the original high-resolution image, is reconstructed under a MAP criterion. Second, a linear model between the residual image (the difference between the original image and the global image) and the low-resolution residual image (the difference between the low-resolution input and the manually down-sampled global image) are built, and, following a MRF prior, the optimal residual image is estimated under a MAP criterion again. Experiments demonstrate that our approach can be applied to yield 4-8 fold super-resolution with high-quality hallucinated results.
Identification of Two Distinct Progenitor Populations in the Lateral Ganglionic Eminence: Implications for Striatal and Olfactory Bulb Neurogenesis

The lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) is known to give rise to striatal projection neurons as well as interneurons, which migrate in the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to populate the granule cell and glomerular layers of the olfactory bulb. Because all of these neuronal subtypes express Distalless-related (DLX) homeobox proteins during their differentiation, we set out to further characterize progenitors in the Dlx-positive domain of the LGE. Previous studies have shown that the LIM homeobox protein Islet1 (ISL1) marks the LGE subventricular zone (SVZ) and differentiating striatal projection neurons. However, ISL1 is not expressed in neurons of the developing olfactory bulb or the RMS. We show here that the dorsal-most portion of the Dlx-expressing region of the LGE SVZ lacks ISL1 cells. This dorsal domain, however, contains cells that express the ETS transcription factor Er81, which is also expressed in granule and periglomerular cells of the developing and adult olfactory bulb. Moreover, the adult SVZ and RMS contain numerous Er81-positive cells. Fate-mapping studies usingDlx5/6-cre transgenic mice demonstrate that Er81-positive cells in the granule cell and glomerular layers of the olfactory bulb derive from the Dlx-expressing SVZ region. These findings suggest that the LGE SVZ contains two distinct progenitor populations: a DLX+;ISL1+ population representing striatal progenitors and a DLX+;Er81+ population comprising olfactory bulb interneuron progenitors. In support of this, mice mutant for the homeobox genes Gsh2 and Gsh1/2, which show olfactory bulb defects, exhibit dramatically reduced numbers of Er81-positive cells in the LGE SVZ as well as in the olfactory bulb mantle.
A stress perspective on antecedents of abusive supervision: Blaming the organisation when exhausted supervisors abuse

Abstract Drawing on the stress literature (transactional theory of stress, job demands-resources model and conservation of resources theory), this study aims to provide new insights into the antecedents of abusive supervision. We collected data from 95 supervisors with matched responses from 358 subordinates working across various industries in China using a time-lagged survey. We tested our moderated mediation model using path analyses. Results revealed that perceived workplace competitiveness triggered supervisors’ felt stress and psychological strain, resulting in abusive supervision. Two workplace constraints (climate of error aversion and organisational sanctions against aggression) were examined as moderators: a high climate of error aversion intensified the positive relationship between supervisors’ perceived competition and supervisors’ felt stress; while high organisational sanctions against aggression mitigated the positive relationship between supervisors’ psychological strain and abusive supervision. Together, these findings highlight the importance of workplace constraints and explicate how they influence resource-drained supervisors to displace their aggression onto subordinates.