Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinoschisin, a Photoreceptor-Secreted Protein, and Its Interaction with Bipolar and Müller Cells

Usually, photoreceptors interact with other retinal cells through the neurotransmitter glutamate. Here we describe a nonsynaptic interaction via a secreted protein, retinoschisin. Using in situ hybridization, we found that from early postnatal life retinoschisin mRNA is present only in the outer retina of the mouse, and with single-cell RT-PCR we demonstrated its localization in rod and cone photoreceptor cells but not in Müller cells. Western blot analyses of proteins from cultured ocular tissues and microdissected outer and inner retinas, as well as from the culture media of these samples, showed that retinoschisin is secreted from the photoreceptor cells. Immunostaining of permeabilized and nonpermeabilized dissociated retinal cells revealed that retinoschisin is mainly inside and outside the photoreceptors, outside bipolar cells, and associated with plasma membranes of Müller cells and inside their distal processes. Because we showed previously that retinoschisin is distributed all over the retina, our current data suggest that after synthesis and secretion by the photoreceptors, retinoschisin reaches the surface of retinal cells and mediates interactions/adhesion between photoreceptor, bipolar, and Müller cells, contributing to the maintenance of the cytoarchitectural integrity of the retina. These interactions may not occur when the gene encoding retinoschisin is mutated, as it occurs in X-linked juvenile retinoschisis, a disease that results in morphological and electrophysiological defects of the retina.
Self-organization in a Simple Task of Motor Control Based on Spatial Encoding

This paper elaborates on the possibilities for self-adjustment of a biological neural network used as feedback controller in the motor control system of a six-legged walker. As biological systems, in contrast to technical systems, show an impressive capability of self-adaptation, this is meant as a proof of principle. Complementing an intensity encoded system (Linder, 2002), where scalar values are represented as the activity of a given neuron, this mechanism is based on spatial encoding, where a scalar value is represented as the location of the most active neuron in a chain of neurons. This encoding scheme can often be observed in biological systems. While the intensity encoded system requires linear input characteristics and symmetrical distribution of the input values over the whole range for both target angles and actual angles, the spatially encoded system presented here is completely self-organizing for evenly distributed target angles and actual angles. By employing an internal teaching signal, it can even adjust for arbitrary (i.e., biologically relevant) distributions of the input. This internal signal is provided through body geometry. Instead of error back-propagation, the system exploits local neuronal mechanisms implicated by a biologically plausible realization of self-organizing maps.
Effect of High-Fluoride Dentifrice on Enamel Erosion Adjacent to Restorations In Vitro.

AIM This in vitro study analyzed the antierosive potential of a high-fluoride dentifrice on enamel adjacent to restorations. METHODS AND MATERIALS Enamel blocks (6 × 6 × 3 mm) from bovine incisor teeth were restored with three different restorative materials (resin, conventional glass ionomer cement, and resin-modified glass ionomer cement) and treated with dentifrices containing 0, 1100, or 5000 ppm F. After restorative procedures, initial surface Vickers hardness of the blocks were obtained. The specimens were submitted to pH cycles (4 × 90 seconds in soft drink) and treatments for five days. Between the challenges and overnight, the blocks remained in artificial saliva. At the end of the experiment, the final hardness was assessed and the percentage of surface mineral loss (%SML) was calculated. A 3 × 3 factorial design was used to conduct statistical analysis. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance and t-test, with significance level fixed at 5%. RESULTS High-fluoride dentifrice decreased demineralization caused by erosive challenge regardless of the restorative material used (p<0.001). Likewise, the blocks restored with conventional glass ionomer cement showed lower values of SML irrespective of dentifrice used (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Use of a high-fluoride dentifrice on teeth restored with conventional glass ionomer cement offers additional protection against enamel erosion.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Aggression, and Illicit Stimulant Use: Is This Self-Medication?

Abstract This study compares adults with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on measures of direct and displaced aggression and illicit drug use. Three hundred ninety-six adults were administered the Wender Utah Rating Scale, the Risk Behavior Assessment, the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), and the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire (DAQ). Those with ADHD were higher on all scales of the AQ and DAQ, were younger at first use of amphetamines, and were more likely to have ever used crack and amphetamines. A Structural Equation Model found a significant interaction in that for those with medium and high levels of verbal aggression, ADHD predicts crack and amphetamine. Follow-up logistic regression models suggest that blacks self-medicate with crack and whites and Hispanics self-medicate with amphetamine when they have ADHD and verbal aggression.
Does the language of children born less than 28-weeks gestation differ from language-age matched pairs?

1 Chapter 1. Review of Literature. 3 1.0 Introduction. 3 1.1 Language Outcomes of Children born Severely Premature. 3 1.2 Prematurity and Working Memory. 9 1.3 Measures of Working Memory. 14 1.4 Conclusion. 17 Chapter 2. Method. 19 2.0 Design. 19 2.1 Participants. 19 2.2 Material and Instrumentation. 21 2.3 Language Tests. 22 2.4 Scoring of Tests. 24 2.5 Inter-rater reliability. 24 2.6 Statistical Analysis. 25 Chapter 3. Results. 26 3.0 Chronological Age Differences. 26 3.1 Celf-P Subtest Scores. 27 3.2 Working Memory Measure. 28 3.3 Absurd Cards Inference Measure. 29 3.4 Money Tree Inferencing and Working Memory. 30 3.5 Summary. 30 Chapter 4. Discussion. 31 4.1 Main Aim of the Study. 31 4.2 Results of Language Testing. 32 4.3 Differences in Chronological Age. 32 4.4 Working Memory and Language . 33 4.5 Main Findings and Conclusion. 35 4.6 Strengths and Weaknesses of this Study. 36 4.7 Further Studies. 37 Acknowledgements. 38 References. 39 Appendices. 47 Appendix A: Score sheet for the CLPT. 48 Appendix B: Score sheet and picture for the Money Tree Story. 50 Appendix C: Examples of Absurd Card Pictures. 52 Appendix D: List of Absurd Card Pictures. 53 Appendix E: Transcriptions of Absurd Card Measure from two preterm children to illustrate the differences in language within the Preterm Group. 55 Appendix F: Transition to School Reports for two of the Preterm Group to illustrate the differences in abilities and deficits of the children within the Preterm Group and also to give an indication of the types of intervention the Preterm Group had access to as preschoolers. 68 List of Tables Tables 1. Profile of preterm group showing age in months, gestation in weeks, gender and language-age. 15 2. Profile of control group showing age in months, gender and language-age. 16 3. Examples of CLPT sentences, true/false values and target words. 18 4. Mean and SD of ages in months. 21 5. CELF-P subtest scores showing mean, SD and range for both groups over all subtests . 22 6. Mean and SD scores for the Word Recall Subtest. 23 7. Summary table for measures of the Absurd Card percentage correct scores. 24 List of Figures Figure 1. Percentage correct scores on Word Recall subtest of CLPT. 23 2. Percentage correct scores on the Absurd Cards. 26
Strong screening effect of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) nanoparticles on hydrogen bonded polymer blends

In this study we used anionic living polymerization to prepare two different homopolymers: a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and a PMMA derivative presenting polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (PMA-POSS) units as its side chains. We then employed differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) to investigate the miscibility and specific interactions of PMMA and PMA-POSS with three hydrogen bonding donor compounds: poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh), phenolic resin, and bisphenol A (BPA). DSC revealed that all of the PVPh/PMMA, phenolic/PMMA, and BPA/PMMA blends exhibited a single glass transition temperature, characteristic of miscible systems; FTIR spectroscopic analyses revealed that such miscibility resulted from hydrogen bonding interactions between the C=O groups of PMMA and the OH groups of these three hydrogen bonding donor compounds. In contrast, all of the PVPh/PMA-POSS, phenolic/PMA-POSS, and BPA/PMA-POSS blends were immiscible: DSC revealed two glass transition temperatures arising from strong screening effects (FTIR spectroscopy) and high degrees of aggregation (WAXD) of the POSS nanoparticles. We propose that the value of the intramolecular screening effect (γ) should be very close to 1 for all PMA-POSS blend systems when POSS nanoparticles appear as the side chains of PMMA, such that the OH groups of the hydrogen bonding donor compounds cannot interact with the C=O groups of PMA-POSS.
Everything Is Dangerous: Conduct and Counter-Conduct in the Occupy Movement

How can we conceive of practices of counter-conduct within spaces of resistance? This article examines practices of counter-conduct in the context of Occupy movements that were keen to emphasise their openness, inclusivity, and their manifestation of processes which facilitate non-hierarchical and radically democratic social relations. As they criticised and work to unmake a global order marked by privilege, violence, alienation and extraordinary deprivation, they claimed to embody and explore alternatives rooted in solidarity and empathy. However, such grand narratives can serve to obscure the more contested or ambiguous practices of these movements. In the face of stories and (proclaimed) subjects of emancipation, we explore those instances where resistance breaks down, excludes, ignores, privileges, and where subjects attempt to resist resistance. We do this by mobilising Foucault's concept of counter-conduct, which allows for power to be conceptualised as dispersed, networked, and as predicated on unstable and multiplicitous subjectivities. In this context, exploring the processes of counter-conduct of those challenging other forms of counter-conduct does not fall back into a dichotomous position which legitimates the status quo, but both complicates the picture and asks important ethical questions about the form, nature and practice of contemporary resistance movements.
Short-Term Curative Effect of Endovascular Stent-Graft Treatment for Aortic Diseases in China: A Systematic Review

Introduction We analyzed the short-term efficacy of endovascular treatment for aortic diseases by summarizing all available published data on endovascular stent-graft treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), type A aortic dissection (type A AD) and type B aortic dissection (type B AD) in China. Methods We performed a systematic analysis of 935 published series on retrograde endovascular treatment for aortic diseases in China from January 1996 to November 2010. Based on the inclusion criteria, 159 studies, involving a total of 5531 patients, were included. Results There were no significant differences in procedural success among the studies (P>0.05). The rates of overall neurologic complications and stroke were significantly different in all two-group comparisons (P<0.01). The type A AD patients had the highest rates of neurologic complications (both 6.67±0.00%), and the AAA patients had the lowest rates (0.31±0.04% and 0.11±0.02%). Significant differences were noted in the rates of cardiac, renal, pulmonary and visceral complications, which were all higher in the type A AD patients than in the other three groups (P<0.01). The endoleak rate was highest in the TAA patients (19.27±5.74%) and was similar in the type A AD patients (P>0.05). A significant difference was noted between the 30-day mortality rate of the type A AD patients and the AAA or type B AD patients (P<0.05). Conclusion Endovascular stent-graft is a feasible and safe treatment for aortic diseases, with high procedural success and low incidences of post-procedural complications and short-term mortality. Endovascular treatment for AAA and type B AD is more efficient than for type A AD and TAA.
SANE: System for Fine Grained Named Entity Typing on Textual Data

Assignment of fine-grained types to named entities is gaining popularity as one of the major Information Extraction tasks due to its applications in several areas of Natural Language Processing. Existing systems use huge knowledge bases to improve the accuracy of the fine-grained types. We designed and developed SANE, a system that uses Wikipedia categories to fine grain the type of the named entities recognized in the textual data. The main contribution of this work is building a named entity typing system without the use of knowledge bases. Through our experiments, 1) we establish the usefulness of Wikipedia categories to Named Entity Typing and 2) we show that SANE's performance is on par with the state-of-the-art.
Combined immunochemotherapy of human solid tumors in nude mice.

In vivo immunochemotherapy of human solid tumors was studied in a nude mouse model. Large tumors (3 to 6 cm3) were induced by s.c. injection of the acute lymphoblastic leukemia T-cell line CEM. Transient tumor inhibition could be achieved by intratumoral injection of an intact-ricin immunotoxin that specifically recognizes a determinant CD5 (T,p67) expressed on the cell surface. Injection of the in vitro active cyclophosphamide congener mafosfamid had little effect on the progression of tumor growth. A combination regimen of immunotoxin and mafosfamid induced the most dramatic antitumor effect; a 72 to 100% reduction in tumor volume was observed within 3 to 4 days posttreatment. However, tumors relapsed within 5 to 13 days. Persistent, tumor regression was observed only when protocols using successive injections of combined immunotoxin/mafosfamid were used. All seven mice undergoing this treatment had a precipitous decrease in tumor size, and 86% survived greater than 30 days posttreatment. No residual tumor was detectable on Day 30 in five of seven mice. Regression was partly attributed to the selective activity of immunotoxin, since successive injections of an irrelevant control immunotoxin coupled to ricin in combination with mafosfamid did not reduce tumor size. Thus, we have demonstrated that a combination of anticancer chemotherapy and immunotoxin therapy yielded a greater antitumor effect than either therapy alone.
Effect of Reducing Brain Glutamine Synthesis on Metabolic Symptoms of Hepatic Encephalopathy

Abstract: Liver failure, or shunting of intestinal blood around the liver, results in hyperammonemia and cerebral dysfunction. Recently it was shown that ammonia caused some of the metabolic signs of hepatic encephalopathy only after it was metabolized by glutamine synthetase in the brain. In the present study, small doses of methionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of cerebral glutamine synthetase, were given to rats either at the time of portacaval shunting or 3–4 weeks later. The effects on several characteristic cerebral metabolic abnormalities produced by portacaval shunting were measured 1–3 days after injection of the inhibitor. All untreated portacaval‐shunted rats had elevated plasma and brain ammonia concentrations, increased brain glutamine and tryptophan content, decreased brain glucose consumption, and increased permeability of the blood–brain barrier to tryptophan. All treated rats had high ammonia concentrations, but the brain glutamine content was normal, indicating inhibition of glutamine synthesis. One day after shunting and methionine sulfoximine administration, glucose consumption, tryptophan transport, and tryptophan brain content remained near control values. In the 3–4‐week‐shunted rats, which were studied 1–3 days after methionine sulfoximine administration, the effect was less pronounced. Brain glucose consumption and tryptophan content were partially normalized, but tryptophan transport was unaffected. The results agree with our earlier conclusion that glutamine synthesis is an essential step in the development of cerebral metabolic abnormalities in hyperammonemic states.
Modeling of Tacrolimus Exposure in Kidney Transplant According to Posttransplant Time Based on Routine Trough Concentration Data.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to develop a pharmacokinetics model allowing the description of the evolution of tacrolimus exposure in kidney transplant patients over the first months after transplant, using trough concentrations of routinely collected blood. MATERIALS AND METHODS The authors performed a retrospective analysis of trough concentration data collected from adult kidney transplant recipients (from 2008 to 2013). The total data set was divided into a building data set, used to build the structural model, and a validation data set, used to validate the structural model. (C0 = 133; 26 patients). A pharmacokinetics analysis was carried out by applying a nonparametric adaptive grid approach. The structural model parameters were tacrolimus clearance and volume of distribution. RESULTS In patients in the building set group, estimated clearance was 3.6 ± 0.57 L/h and estimated volume of distribution was 9.9 ± 1.14 L. No covariate was significantly associated with tacrolimus clearance or volume of distribution. The model adequately described tacrolimus dose-normalized trough concentration evolution after transplant (the plot of individual model predicted versus observed concentrations resulted in r = 0.84). The prediction performance in the validation group yielded 2.3% mean prediction error and 21.4% root mean squared error. CONCLUSIONS This model could be highly useful in the optimization of tacrolimus prescription at any posttransplant time in kidney transplant patients.
Reversal of Trimethyltin-Induced Learning and Memory Deficits by 3,5-Dicaffeoylquinic Acid

The antiamnesic effect of 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-diCQA) as the main phenolic compound in Artemisia argyi H. extract on cognitive dysfunction induced by trimethyltin (TMT) (7.1 μg/kg of body weight; intraperitoneal injection) was investigated in order to assess its ameliorating function in mice. In several behavioral tests, namely, the Y-maze, passive avoidance, and Morris water maze (MWM) test, 3,5-diCQA significantly ameliorated learning and memory deficits. After the behavioral tests, brain tissues from the mice were analyzed to characterize the basis of the neuroprotective effect. Acetylcholine (ACh) levels increased, whereas the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) decreased upon administration of 3,5-diCQA. In addition, 3,5-diCQA effectively protected against an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content, an increase in the oxidized glutathione (GSH) ratio, and a decline of total superoxide dismutase (SOD) level. 3,5-diCQA may prevent neuronal apoptosis through the protection of mitochondrial activities and the repression of apoptotic signaling molecules such as p-Akt, BAX, and p-tau (Ser 404).
Plasma Cholecystokinin Response to Oral Fat in Patients with Billroth I and Billroth II Gastrectomy

The present study was undertaken to determine whether bypassing the duodenum in patients with Billroth II gastrectomy affects plasma cholecystokinin (CCK) release in response to ingestion of fat. Plasma CCK concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay using two antibodies; antibody 1703 binds to all carboxl-terminal CCK-peptides containing at least 14 amino acid residues, while antibody T204 is specific for the sulphated tyrosine region of CCK. There were no significant differences among fasting plasma CCK concentrations in seven patients with Billroth II gastrectomy (1.3 ± 0.4 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 2.6 ± 0.4 fmol/ml, antibody T204), six patients with Billroth I gastrectomy (0.6 ± 0.3 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 2.9 ± 0.5 fmol/ml, antibody T204), and nine normal subjects (0.7 ± 0.1 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 1.9 ± 0.3 fmol/ml, antibody T204). Ingestion of 250 ml 20% Intralipid induced similar increases in plasma CCK in patients with Billroth II gastrectomy (11.2 ± 2.0 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 10.1 ± 2.4 fmol/ml, antibody T204) as in patients with Billroth I gastrectomy (11.8 ± 2.0 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 8.4 ± 1.1 fmol/ml, antibody T204). However, the increments in plasma CCK in patients with gastrectomy (11.5 ± 1.4 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 9.3 ± 1.4 fmol/ml, antibody T204) were significantly (p < 0.01) greater than those in normal subjects (4.7 ± 0.8 fmol/ml, antibody 1703; 4.1 ± 0.7 fmol/ml). Similarly, the integrated plasma CCK secretion in patients with Billroth II gastrectomy (510 ± 58 fmol/ml.120 min, antibody 1703; 458 ± 69 fmol/ml.120 min, antibody T204) and in patients with Billroth I gastrectomy (457 ± 143 fmol/ml.120 min, antibody 1703; 365 ± 61 fmol/ml.120 min, antibody T204) were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than in normal subjects (230 ± 49 fmol/ml.120 min, antibody 1703; 162 ± 24 fmol/ml.120 min, antibody T204). It is concluded that the plasma CCK response to oral fat is significantly greater in patients with partial gastrectomy than in normal subjects, and that patients with Billroth I and Billroth II gastrectomy have similar increases in plasma CCK after ingestion of fat.
Modeling of rain fields at large scale

This paper describes the modeling of rain fields at small (size of a rain cell) mid (100times100 km2) and very large scale (4000times4000 km2). The methodology lies on a cellular description of rain fields by HYCELL Mid-scale fields are generated so that they account for local climatology and for spatial repartition of rain cells deduced from radar data. Very large scale fields are generated in two steps. First rainy areas are determined by thresholding a stationary Gaussian random field. In each point of the field, the probability of rain apparition is the one recommended by ITU and the covariance function is determined in order to reproduce the one observed by meteorological radar. Then rain intensity for rainy area is determined by applying mid-scale model to each mid-scale rainy area. Rain fields simulated are turned into attenuation fields and compared with ITU-R recommendations and radar observations