Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuronal Deficiency of Presenilin 1 Inhibits Amyloid Plaque Formation and Corrects Hippocampal Long-Term Potentiation But Not a Cognitive Defect of Amyloid Precursor Protein [V717I] Transgenic Mice

In the brain of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, neurotoxic amyloid peptides accumulate and are deposited as senile plaques. A major therapeutic strategy aims to decrease production of amyloid peptides by inhibition of γ-secretase. Presenilins are polytopic transmembrane proteins that are essential for γ-secretase activity during development and in amyloid production. By loxP/Cre-recombinase-mediated deletion, we generated mice with postnatal, neuron-specific presenilin-1 (PS1) deficiency, denoted PS1(n−/−), that were viable and fertile, with normal brain morphology. In adult PS1(n−/−) mice, levels of endogenous brain amyloid peptides were strongly decreased, concomitant with accumulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) C-terminal fragments. In the cross of APP[V717I]xPS1 (n−/−) double transgenic mice, the neuronal absence of PS1 effectively prevented amyloid pathology, even in mice that were 18 months old. This contrasted sharply with APP[V717I] single transgenic mice that all develop amyloid pathology at the age of 10–12 months. In APP[V717I]xPS1 (n−/−) mice, long-term potentiation (LTP) was practically rescued at the end of the 2 hr observation period, again contrasting sharply with the strongly impaired LTP in APP[V717I] mice. The findings demonstrate the critical involvement of amyloid peptides in defective LTP in APP transgenic mice. Although these data open perspectives for therapy of AD by γ-secretase inhibition, the neuronal absence of PS1 failed to rescue the cognitive defect, assessed by the object recognition test, of the parent APP[V717I] transgenic mice. This points to potentially detrimental effects of accumulating APP C99 fragments and demands further study of the consequences of inhibition of γ-secretase activity. In addition, our data highlight the complex functional relation of APP and PS1 to cognition and neuronal plasticity in adult and aging brain.
Which Is a More Accurate Predictor in Colorectal Survival Analysis? Nine Data Mining Algorithms vs. the TNM Staging System

Objective Over the past decades, many studies have used data mining technology to predict the 5-year survival rate of colorectal cancer, but there have been few reports that compared multiple data mining algorithms to the TNM classification of malignant tumors (TNM) staging system using a dataset in which the training and testing data were from different sources. Here we compared nine data mining algorithms to the TNM staging system for colorectal survival analysis. Methods Two different datasets were used: 1) the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results dataset; and 2) the dataset from a single Chinese institution. An optimization and prediction system based on nine data mining algorithms as well as two variable selection methods was implemented. The TNM staging system was based on the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM staging system. Results When the training and testing data were from the same sources, all algorithms had slight advantages over the TNM staging system in predictive accuracy. When the data were from different sources, only four algorithms (logistic regression, general regression neural network, Bayesian networks, and Naïve Bayes) had slight advantages over the TNM staging system. Also, there was no significant differences among all the algorithms (p>0.05). Conclusions The TNM staging system is simple and practical at present, and data mining methods are not accurate enough to replace the TNM staging system for colorectal cancer survival prediction. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the predictive accuracy of all the algorithms when the data were from different sources. Building a larger dataset that includes more variables may be important for furthering predictive accuracy.
Heat and moisture transport in a paper sheet moving over a hot print surface

The generation of moisture-induced deformations during the final use of paper is of concern for the printing industry. Knowing the moisture profiles during printing is a primary step in order to understand such deformations. In this paper we derive a mathematical model to describe the heat and moisture transport in paper, and use this model to study the moisture gradients induced on a paper sheet by a printer from Oce Technologies, which contains a hot print surface. The model regards paper as a porous medium saturated with air, and it considers heat and moisture transport along the length and thickness directions of the sheet. Several physical parameters are determined experimentally; others are taken from literature. The system of coupled differential equations is solved iteratively, and the numerical results are also used to identify the relevant driving forces in the temperature-induced moisture changes in paper.
DNA Damage Following Pulmonary Exposure by Instillation to Low Doses of Carbon Black (Printex 90) Nanoparticles in Mice

We previously observed genotoxic effects of carbon black nanoparticles at low doses relative to the Danish Occupational Exposure Limit (3.5 mg/m3). Furthermore, DNA damage occurred in broncho‐alveolar lavage (BAL) cells in the absence of inflammation, indicating that inflammation is not required for the genotoxic effects of carbon black. In this study, we investigated inflammatory and acute phase response in addition to genotoxic effects occurring following exposure to nanoparticulate carbon black (NPCB) at even lower doses. C57BL/6JBomTac mice were examined 1, 3, and 28 days after a single instillation of 0.67, 2, 6, and 162 µg Printex 90 NPCB and vehicle. Cellular composition and protein concentration was evaluated in BAL fluid as markers of inflammatory response and cell damage. DNA strand breaks in BAL cells, lung, and liver tissue were assessed using the alkaline comet assay. The pulmonary acute phase response was analyzed by Saa3 mRNA real‐time quantitative PCR. Instillation of the low doses of NPCB induced a slight neutrophil influx one day after exposure. Pulmonary exposure to small doses of NPCB caused an increase in DNA strand breaks in BAL cells and lung tissue measured using the comet assay. We interpret the increased DNA strand breaks occurring following these low exposure doses of NPCB as DNA damage caused by primary genotoxicity in the absence of substantial inflammation, cell damage, and acute phase response. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 56:41–49, 2015. © 2014 The Authors. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Environmental Mutagen Society
Coexistence of Passive and Proton Antiporter-Mediated Processes in Nicotine Transport at the Mouse Blood–Brain Barrier

Nicotine, the main tobacco alkaloid leading to smoking dependence, rapidly crosses the blood–brain barrier (BBB) to become concentrated in the brain. Recently, it has been shown that nicotine interacts with some organic cation transporters (OCT), but their influence at the BBB has not yet been assessed in vivo. In this study, we characterized the transport of nicotine at the mouse luminal BBB by in situ brain perfusion. Its influx was saturable and followed the Michaelis–Menten kinetics (Km = 2.60 mM, Vmax = 37.60 nmol/s/g at pH 7.40). At its usual micromolar concentrations in the plasma, most (79%) of the net transport of nicotine at the BBB was carrier-mediated, while passive diffusion accounted for 21%. Studies on knockout mice showed that the OCT Oct1–3, P-gp, and Bcrp did not alter [3H]-nicotine transport at the BBB. Neither did inhibiting the transporters Mate1, Octn, or Pmat. The in vivo manipulation of intracellular and/or extracellular pH, the chemical inhibition profile, and the trans-stimulation experiments demonstrated that the nicotine transporter at the BBB shared the properties of the clonidine/proton antiporter. The molecular features of this proton-coupled antiporter have not yet been identified, but it also transports diphenhydramine and tramadol and helps nicotine cross the BBB at a faster rate and to a greater extent. The pharmacological inhibition of this nicotine/proton antiporter could represent a new strategy to reduce nicotine uptake by the brain and thus help curb addiction to smoking.
The Persistence of L.A.'s Grocery Gap: The Need for a New Food Policy and Approach to Market Development

Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.oxy. edu/uep_faculty Part of the Environmental Policy Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Public Policy Commons, Social Policy Commons, Urban Studies Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons
The Role iNDF in the Regulation of Feed Intake and the Importance of Its Assessment in Subtropical Ruminant Systems (the Role of iNDF in the Regulation of Forage Intake)

The intake and digestibility of forages is largely influenced by the fibre content and specifically the neutral detergent fibre (NDF). Currently, the focus in commercial diet formulation and the modelling of animal performance is on the total NDF so as to achieve higher ruminant feed intakes, higher production performance and rumen health. Rations are often formulated for a specific level of NDF in the diet assuming that the digestibility of NDF operates over a narrow range. Forage NDF, particularly in C4 forages, varies greatly in potential digestibility within the rumen. This potential digestibility is defined as the NDF fraction which disappears after a long incubation period and the remaining indigestible component of NDF (iNDF) is unavailable for microbial digestion. It is hypothesized that this dietary iNDF has an important role in contributing to rumen digesta load and voluntary intake. Formulating a diet to a specific level of NDF without reference to the iNDF could markedly affect the resulting intake, digestibility and metabolisable energy (ME) content of the diet. It is concluded that nutritional models need to be modified to accept directly determined iNDF.
Estimating the Effect of Mother's Schooling on Children's Schooling Using a Sample of Adoptees

This paper examines the impact of parental schooling on the child? s schooling and uses adoptees to get rid of persistency effects caused by the parents? genes. The results indicate that, especially for mothers, inherited abilities and assortative mating play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of schooling. In fact, for adoptees I found no treatment effect for the mother? s schooling, conditional on her husband? s schooling. It should be noted, however, that the WLS data on adoptees and their parents do not possess the properties of a clean and well-de? ned experiment, and that obtained results require a careful interpretation. There are two potential dangers to an adoption experiment. First, adoptees and adoptive parents are different from other children and their parents. This argument suggests that my maternal schooling estimates may be biased and suffer from omitted variables, but I have little indication of what these might be. The sensitivity analysis ruled out a number of plausible candidates. Second, adoptees are not always randomly assigned to their adoptive parents. This argument suggests that a portion of what is interpreted as the impact of the parent? s schooling may in fact be genetic. With respect to paternal schooling estimates there is some merit to this view. However, with respect to the estimated maternal effect it is not. Nonrandom assignment and corresponding upward bias form no danger when interpreting the absence of maternal schooling effects. In all, these results, in combination with the parallel finndings of Behrman and Rosenzweig (2002) using twins, support the idea that the positive influence of mother? s schooling on that of her child disappears when heritable abilities and assortative mating are taken into account.
Improving learning through achievement priming in crowdsourced information finding microtasks

Crowdsourcing has become an increasingly popular means to acquire human input on demand. Microtask crowdsourcing market-places facilitate the access to millions of people (called workers) who are willing to participate in tasks in return for monetary rewards or other forms of compensation. This paradigm presents a unique learning context where workers have to learn to complete tasks on-the-fly by applying their learning immediately through the course of tasks. However, most workers typically dropout early in large batches of tasks, depriving themselves of the opportunity to learn on-the-fly through the course of batch completion. By doing so workers squander a potential chance at improving their performance and completing tasks effectively. In this paper, we propose a novel method to engage and retain workers, to improve their learning in crowdsourced information finding tasks by using achievement priming. Through rigorous experimental findings, we show that it is possible to retain workers in long batches of tasks by triggering their inherent motivation to achieve and excel. As a consequence of increased worker retention, we find that workers learn to perform more effectively, depicting relatively more stable accuracy and lower task completion times in comparison to workers who drop out early.
Performance Analysis of a Hybrid DS/TH UWB Wireless System

In this paper, a hybrid direct sequence (DS) multi-band ultra-wideband (UWB) system compared with a hybrid direct sequence time hopping (DS/TH) impulse radio (IR) UWB system is proposed and its BEP is presented. This error analysis facilitates to obtain simple-to-evaluate and accurate error probabilities based on Holtzman's simplified improved Gaussian approximation (SIGA). System performance is also presented for various duty-cycles of the signals considering equal and unequal powers of the users and the validity of standard Gaussian approximation (SGA) is examined. The theoretical results are validated by Monte Carlo simulation.
Fast ventral stream neural activity enables rapid visual categorization

Primates can recognize objects embedded in complex natural scenes in a glimpse. Rapid categorization paradigms have been extensively used to study our core perceptual abilities when the visual system is forced to operate under strong time constraints. However, the neural underpinning of rapid categorization remains to be understood, and the incredible speed of sight has yet to be reconciled with modern ventral stream cortical theories of shape processing. Here we recorded multichannel subdural electrocorticogram (ECoG) signals from intermediate areas (V4/PIT) of the ventral stream of the visual cortex while monkeys were actively engaged in detecting the presence or absence of animal targets in natural scenes. Using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) techniques, we quantified at millisecond precision task-relevant signals conveyed by ECoG data. Reliable neural decoding was possible shortly after stimulus onset from single trials with a degree of generalization to experimental manipulations closely mimicking monkeys’ accuracy and reaction time. Together, the present study suggests that rapid ventral stream neural activity induces a selective task-relevant signal subsequently used to drive visual categorization. Classification Biological sciences / Neuroscience
Building corporate accountability : emerging practices in social and ethical accounting, auditing and reporting

Why count social performance how to do it accountable futures social dimensions of banking - Sbn Bank, Denmark, Peter Pruzan accounting for ethics - Traidcraft, UK, Richard Evans integrated ethical auditing - the Body Shop International, UK, Maria Sillanpaa the expert view - Ben and Jerry's Homemade Inc., USA, Alan Parker social retailing, Shared Earth, UK, Jeremy Piercy building dialogue culture - Woyen Molle, Norway, Lisa Naogard constructing the social balance - Consumer Co-operative, Italy, Alessandra Vaccari ranking disclosure - Van City Savings Credit Union, Canada, Hazel Brisebois the practice of silent accounting, Rob Gray.
Clonidine versus Captopril for Severe Postpartum Hypertension: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Changes during the puerperium are still unclear, particularly in women with hypertension. The choice of antihypertensives, both to control very high blood pressure episodes and to keep blood pressure stable, also requires further elucidation. Currently, there are no clear data to guide the decision for the choice of postpartum antihypertensives. Captopril plays an important role in the treatment of very high blood pressure episodes and may be used postpartum. Clonidine has been used as an alternative in pregnant or postpartum women with contraindications to captopril, with satisfactory effect. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of clonidine compared to captopril for treating severe postpartum hypertension. Methods and findings A randomized, drug-controlled, triple-blind clinical trial evaluating postpartum women receiving captopril or clonidine. Inclusion criteria consisted of: women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥180 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥110 mmHg], requiring magnesium sulfate. Exclusion criteria were: heart disease, smoking, illicit drug use, contraindications to captopril, clonidine or oral medication, and having used captopril/clonidine previously. The primary outcome was the frequency of very high blood pressure episodes while in the obstetric intensive care unit. A total of 90 postpartum women met the study inclusion criteria, with 45 randomized to each group. There were fewer very high blood pressure episodes during hospitalization (2.1 ± 2.1 vs. 3.5 ± 4.7, p = 0.08), greater percentage reduction in SBP (14.0% ± 8.6% vs. 10.8% ± 8.8%, p = 0.08) and fewer women requiring sodium nitroprusside (2.3% vs. 13.3%; RR: 0.17; 95%CI: 0.02–1.39; p = 0.06) in the clonidine group compared to the captopril group; however, these differences were not significant. The groups were similar regarding daily mean SBP or DBP; however, on the third postpartum day, mean SBP was lower in the clonidine compared to the captopril group (151.9 ± 11.8 mmHg vs. 158.1 ± 13.6 mmHg, p = 0.02). Although not statistically significant, adverse reactions were more common in the captopril group (28.8%) compared to the clonidine group (18.6%). Conclusion Clonidine and captopril represent safe, effective treatments for severe postpartum hypertension. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov: www.clinicaltrial. gov, NCT01761916.
Optimal Attention Allocation to Visual Search Tasks of Multi-UAVs Based on Operator Model

In the context of multi-UAVs performing target search missions, we solve a problem of optimal time-duration allocation to each visual search task and the rest time after processing it. First, we design a decision support system framework based on the operator decision-making model. Then we put forward an algorithm which is intended to solve the problem based on dynamic programming using a receding horizon strategy. Finally, we compare this algorithm with the greedy policy. The simulation results show that this algorithm is better than the greedy policy.
The Green Rush: the Global Race for Farmland and the Rights of Land Users

The increased volatility of prices of agricultural commodities on international markets and the merger between the energy and food commodities markets have led to a sudden surge of interest in the acquisition or lease of farmland in developing countries. The result is �land-grabbing�: a global enclosure movement in which large areas of arable land change hands through deals often negotiated between host governments and foreign investors with little or no participation from the local communities who depend on access to those lands for their livelihoods. While recognizing that these transactions should be more closely scrutinized, some commentators see opportunities in this development, either because it means more investment in agriculture and thus productivity gains, or because it will accelerate the development of a market for land rights that could benefit current land users, provided their property rights are recognized through titling schemes. This Article questions these views. Based on an analysis of the relationship to property rights of different categories of land users in the rural areas in developing countries, this Article argues that thepoorest farmers will be priced out from these emerging markets for land rights, and that the interests of those depending on the commons will be ignored. I suggest that there are other ways to protect security of tenure: anti-eviction laws, tenancy statutes, and policies aimed at ensuring more equitable access to land. Although measures such as these require a disaggregation of property rights and an abandonment of the Western understanding of property as necessarily implying transferability, they may offer more promising solutions to the rural poor.
A 3-year follow-up study of social, lifestyle and health predictors of cognitive impairment in a Chinese older cohort.

BACKGROUND Longitudinal data on the older population in the Asian setting are limited. This paper reports the factors associated with the development of cognitive impairment (CI) in a cohort of Chinese elderly aged > or =70 years. METHODS The study cohort comprising 2030 subjects aged > or =70 years was assembled in 1991-1992 and followed for 36 months. Baseline information on cognitive function, as well as a number of social and health variables were obtained through face-to-face interview at the respondent's place of residence. The outcome variable was the development of CI among 988 cohort members who were initially free from CI, and who could be contacted at the 36-month follow-up. The instrument used to assess CI was based on the information/orientation part of the Clifton Assessment Procedure for the elderly (CAPE), using a cut-off point of 7. RESULTS Of the men, 6.7%, but 22.2% of women had CI at 3-year follow-up. The age-adjusted annual incidence of CI was 1.52% in men, and 6.37% in women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that women had a 2.5-fold increased risk of having CI, compared with men. The risk increased by about 1.5-fold with every 5-year increase in age. Slow gait time, as assessed by the 16-foot walk, was a predictor of CI in both sexes (odds ratio [OR] = 1.03 per second increase, 95% CI : 1.0-1.07). Men residing in institutions had a 4.4-fold increased risk of having CI (95% CI : 1.7-11.1) compared with those residing in community, while the OR among women was 2.5 (95% CI : 1.3-4.9). Among women, no formal education increased the risk of having CI by 3.2-fold (95% CI : 1.8-5.5). Income dependency also increased the risk of CI by about fourfold, and no exercise at baseline was associated with a twofold increased risk of CI. Incident stroke during follow-up also increased the risk of CI (OR = 8.4, 95% CI : 1.2-59.4). CONCLUSIONS Older age and female sex were independent factors associated with CI. No formal education, slow gait time and institutionalization increased the risk of CI in both sexes. While education had a stronger effect in women, institutionalization had a stronger effect in men. Financial dependency, lack of exercise and incident stroke played a significant role in women.