Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Regulation of mPER1 and mTIM Proteins in the Mouse Suprachiasmatic Nuclei: New Insights into a Core Clock Mechanism

Recent discoveries have identified a framework for the core circadian clock mechanism in mammals. Development of this framework has been based entirely on the expression patterns of so-called "clock genes" in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the principal clock of mammals. We now provide data concerning the protein expression patterns of two of these genes, mPer1 and mTim. Our studies show that mPER1 and mTIM are nuclear antigens expressed in the SCN and extensively throughout the forebrain. Expression of mPER1 in the SCN was rhythmic under entrained conditions and with clear circadian cycling under free-running conditions. Expression of mPER1 elsewhere in the mouse forebrain was not rhythmic. In contrast to mPER1, mTIM expression in the SCN did not vary with time in mice housed in either a light/dark cycle or in constant dim red light. The phase relationship between mPer1 RNA and mPER1 cycles in the SCN is consistent with a negative feedback model of the mammalian clock. The invariant nature of nuclear mTIM in the SCN suggests that its participation in negative feedback occurs only after mPER1 has entered the nucleus, and that the abundance of mTIM is not regulated by the circadian clock or the light/dark cycle.
Scheduling the hospital-wide ﬂow of elective patients

In this paper, we address the problem of planning the patient ﬂow in hospitals subject to scarce medical resources with the objective of maximizing the contribution margin. We assume that we can classify a large enough percentage of elective patients according to their diagnosis-related group (DRG) and clinical pathway. The clinical pathway deﬁnes the procedures (such as diﬀerent types of diagnostic activities and surgery) as well as the sequence in which they have to be applied to the patient. The decision is then on which day each procedure of each patient’s clinical pathway should be done, taking into account the sequence of procedures as well as scarce clinical resources, such that the contribution margin of all patients is maximized. We develop two mixed-integer programs (MIP) for this problem which are embedded in a static and a rolling horizon planning approach. Computational results on real-world data show that employing the MIPs leads to a signiﬁcant improvement of the contribution margin compared to the contribution margin obtained by employing the planning approach currently practiced. Furthermore, we show that the time between admission and surgery is signiﬁcantly reduced by applying our models.
Parental Divorce and Externalizing Problem Behavior in Adulthood. A Study on Lasting Individual, Family and Peer Risk Factors for Externalizing Problem Behavior when Experiencing a Parental Divorce

ABSTRACT This study explored the relationship between experiencing a parental divorce in childhood and externalizing problem behavior (EPB) in adulthood. We examined individual, family, and peer influences for those growing up in a broken home. Our findings indicate that growing up in a broken home has enduring consequences for EPB. However, factors influencing EPB in adulthood did not differ according to family structure. Regarding changes in EPB in adulthood, having more deviant friends was more hazardous for those growing up in a broken home, while parental rejection and low self-control were more hazardous for those from an intact family.
Single port manipulator for minimally invasive surgery

INTRODUCTION Although minimally invasive surgery has many advantages compared to open surgery, its performance is restricted due to technical limitations. Besides the development of new instruments, the current focus is set on trauma reduction by performing single port operations or transluminal surgery (NOTES) [1]. The development of instruments with enhanced flexibility is a major challenge and therefore intensively investigated by various research institutes [e.g. 2]. Usually, the intraabdominal flexibility of rigid laparoscopic instruments that is limited due to the entry port is augmented with additional distal articulations. NOTES operations depend to an even greater extend upon a suitable, newly designed single lumen universal tool [3]. The first approach devoted to this problem is the endoscopebased octopus system as developed by Swanstrom et al [4]. Anubis (Karl Storz, D) and Endosamurai (Olympus, J) are other NOTES platforms designed for transluminal surgery. However, these systems have a small operating range, limited flexibility and opposite or retroflective working is not possible. We developed the “Highly Versatile Single Port System” (HVSPS) to overcome these drawbacks. The idea is, literally spoken, to bring the surgeon’s head, shoulders and arms into the abdominal cavity to regain the flexibility of open surgery. The specific aim of this study is the evaluation of the HVSPS prototype for single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Characterizaton of the Vessel Geometry, Flow Mechanics and Wall Shear Stress in the Great Arteries of Wildtype Prenatal Mouse

Introduction Abnormal fluid mechanical environment in the pre-natal cardiovascular system is hypothesized to play a significant role in causing structural heart malformations. It is thus important to improve our understanding of the prenatal cardiovascular fluid mechanical environment at multiple developmental time-points and vascular morphologies. We present such a study on fetal great arteries on the wildtype mouse from embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5) to near-term (E18.5). Methods Ultrasound bio-microscopy (UBM) was used to measure blood velocity of the great arteries. Subsequently, specimens were cryo-embedded and sectioned using episcopic fluorescent image capture (EFIC) to obtain high-resolution 2D serial image stacks, which were used for 3D reconstructions and quantitative measurement of great artery and aortic arch dimensions. EFIC and UBM data were input into subject-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for modeling hemodynamics. Results In normal mouse fetuses between E14.5–18.5, ultrasound imaging showed gradual but statistically significant increase in blood velocity in the aorta, pulmonary trunk (with the ductus arteriosus), and descending aorta. Measurement by EFIC imaging displayed a similar increase in cross sectional area of these vessels. However, CFD modeling showed great artery average wall shear stress and wall shear rate remain relatively constant with age and with vessel size, indicating that hemodynamic shear had a relative constancy over gestational period considered here. Conclusion Our EFIC-UBM-CFD method allowed reasonably detailed characterization of fetal mouse vascular geometry and fluid mechanics. Our results suggest that a homeostatic mechanism for restoring vascular wall shear magnitudes may exist during normal embryonic development. We speculate that this mechanism regulates the growth of the great vessels.
BeFx Stops the Chaperonin Cycle of GroEL-GroES and Generates a Complex with Double Folding Chambers*

Coupling with ATP hydrolysis and cooperating with GroES, the double ring chaperonin GroEL assists the folding of other proteins. Here we report novel GroEL-GroES complexes formed in fluoroberyllate (BeFx) that can mimic the phosphate part of the enzyme-bound nucleotides. In ATP, BeFx stops the functional turnover of GroEL by preventing GroES release and produces a symmetric 1:2 GroEL-GroES complex in which both GroEL rings contain ADP·BeFx and an encapsulated substrate protein. In ADP, the substrate protein-loaded GroEL cannot bind GroES. In ADP plus BeFx, however, it can bind GroES to form a stable 1:1 GroEL-GroES complex in which one of GroEL rings contains ADP·BeFx and an encapsulated substrate protein. This 1:1 GroEL-GroES complex is converted into the symmetric 1:2 GroEL-GroES complex when GroES is supplied in ATP plus BeFx. Thus, BeFx stabilizes two GroEL-GroES complexes; one with a single folding chamber and the other with double folding chambers. These results shed light on the intermediate ADP·Pi nucleotide states in the functional cycle of GroEL.
Welfare and child health--the link between AFDC participation and birth weight

The stated goal of the Aid for Families with Dependent Children program is to improve the well-being of children in poor families. The program has come under considerable attack in recent years from critics who argue that participation in AFDC is associated with maternal behaviors that are bad for children. We investigate this question using birth weight as a measure of child health. We find that participation in AFDC during pregnancy is associated with delays in obtaining prenatal care, smoking and drinking during pregnancy, younger maternal age at the birth, and ultimately with lower birth weights even when observable characteristics of the mother are controlled for. However, we show that when unobservable characteristics of the mother are controlled for, there is actually a positive association between participation in AFDC and the birth weights of children of white women from poor families. We find no association between birth weight and maternal participation in AFDC among black children.
Exhibiting memory: Temporary, mobile, and participatory memorialization and the Let Paul Robeson Sing! exhibition

Since his first interactions with Welsh miners striking in London in 1929, Paul Robeson has been considered by some as an “honorary Welshman. ” While the African American actor, athlete, activist, singer, and scholar never lived in Wales, he did have various interactions in Wales throughout his life. This special relationship persists on the memorial landscape of the country in various ways, but none as extensive as the Let Paul Robeson Sing! exhibition. This article extends beyond an overview of the exhibition to identify it as an example of exceptional memorialization techniques. Combining the concepts of participatory, temporary, and mobile memorialization, in order to commemorate Paul Robeson through a sensorial, spatially, and conceptually diverse program, Let Robeson Sing! exhibits memory through a unique and engaging memorial landscape. This article situates the exhibition within the techniques of participatory, temporary, and mobile memorialization, and how the combination of the three provides a unique, effective, and affective form of commemorating Paul Robeson in Wales.
Challenges and Opportunities for Small Molecule Aptamer Development

Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that bind to targets with high affinity and selectivity. Their use as molecular recognition elements has emerged as a viable approach for biosensing, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Despite this potential, relatively few aptamers exist that bind to small molecules. Small molecules are important targets for investigation due to their diverse biological functions as well as their clinical and commercial uses. Novel, effective molecular recognition probes for these compounds are therefore of great interest. This paper will highlight the technical challenges of aptamer development for small molecule targets, as well as the opportunities that exist for their application in biosensing and chemical biology.
Component structure of the vacant set induced by a random walk on a random graph

We consider random walks on several classes of graphs and explore the likely structure of the vacant set, i.e. the set of unvisited vertices. Let Γ(t) be the subgraph induced by the vacant set of the walk at step t. We show that for random graphs Gn,p (above the connectivity threshold) and for random regular graphs Gr,r ≥ 3, the graph Γ(t) undergoes a phase transition in the sense of the well‐known ErdJW‐RSAT1100590x.png ‐Renyi phase transition. Thus for t ≤ (1 ‐ ε)t*, there is a unique giant component, plus components of size O(log n), and for t ≥ (1 + ε)t* all components are of size O(log n). For Gn,p and Gr we give the value of t*, and the size of Γ(t). For Gr, we also give the degree sequence of Γ(t), the size of the giant component (if any) of Γ(t) and the number of tree components of Γ(t) of a given size k = O(log n). We also show that for random digraphs Dn,p above the strong connectivity threshold, there is a similar directed phase transition. Thus for t ≤ (1 ‐ ε)t*, there is a unique strongly connected giant component, plus strongly connected components of size O(log n), and for t ≥ (1 + ε)t* all strongly connected components are of size O(log n). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 2012
Sensitivity of Perturbation Variance and Fluxes in Turbulent Jets to Changes in the Mean Jet

Synoptic-scale eddy variance and fluxes of heat and momentum in midlatitude jets are sensitive to small changes in mean jet velocity, dissipation, and static stability. In this work the change in the jet producing the greatest increase in variance or flux is determined. Remarkably, a single jet structure change completely characterizes the sensitivity of a chosen quadratic statistical quantity to modification of the mean jet in the sense that an arbitrary change in the jet influences a chosen statistical quantity in proportion to the projection of the change on this single optimal structure. The method used extends previous work in which storm track statistics were obtained using a stochastic model of jet turbulence.
Natural Decompositions of Perceived Transparency: Reply to Albert (2008).

In M. Singh and B. L. Anderson (2002), the authors proposed a model based on ratios of Michelson contrasts to explain how human observers quantitatively scale the perceived opacity of transparent surfaces. In subsequent work (B. L. Anderson, M. Singh, & J. Meng, 2006), the authors found that this model failed to generalize to other contexts and replaced it with a new, more general model based on ratios of perceived contrasts. M. K. Albert’s (2008) main experiment aimed to test the model the authors have previously rejected. The authors argue that M. K. Albert’s experimental method was flawed and that his experiments did not test either the authors’ original model or the authors’ subsequent model that replaced it. M. K. Albert failed to provide any account of the data that the authors’ model predicts, and he did not provide any theory to explain his own data. The authors conclude that the discrepancy between M. K. Albert’s results and all models of transparency results from problems in the methods used in his experiments, not from the shortcomings of extant theory.
Preprocessing of noisy speech for voice coders

Accurate linear prediction coefficient (LPC) estimation is one of the key requirements for low bit-rate voice coding. Under harsh acoustic conditions, LPC estimation can become unreliable. This results in poor quality of encoded speech and introduces annoying artifacts. The paper presents a two-branch speech enhancement preprocessing scheme for low bit-rate voice coders. The scheme consists of two parallel denoising blocks. One block enhances the degraded speech for LPC estimation. Another block increases the perceptual quality of the speech to be coded. The goal of the paper is to design the two-branch scheme. Test results show that the two-branch scheme can provide better perceptual quality compared to conventional one-branch speech enhancement techniques in noisy environments.
Moderating effects of salivary testosterone levels on associations between job demand and psychological stress response in Japanese medical workers

Levels of job stress have been shown to be inversely associated with testosterone levels, but some inconsistent results have been documented. We investigated the moderating effects of testosterone levels on associations between job stress-factors and psychological stress responses in Japanese medical workers. The participants were 63 medical staff (20 males and 43 women; mean age: 30.6 years; SD=7.3) in Okayama, Japan. Their job-stress levels and psychological stress responses were evaluated using self-administered questionnaires, and their salivary testosterone collected. Multiple regression analyses showed that job demand was positively associated with stress responses in men and women. An interaction between testosterone and support from colleagues had a significant effect on depression and anxiety for women. In women with lower testosterone levels, a reducing effect of support from colleagues on depression and anxiety was intensified. In women with higher testosterone levels, depression and anxiety levels were identical regardless of support from colleagues. Testosterone may function as a moderator between perceived work environment and psychological stress responses for female medical workers.
Early gamma-band activity as a function of threat processing in the extrastriate visual cortex

Various neuroimaging investigations have revealed that perception of emotional pictures is associated with greater visual cortex activity than their neutral counterparts. It has further been proposed that threat-related information is rapidly processed, suggesting that the modulation of visual cortex activity should occur at an early stage. Additional studies have demonstrated that oscillatory activity in the gamma band range (40–100 Hz) is associated with threat processing. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to investigate such activity during perception of task-irrelevant, threat-related versus neutral facial expressions. Our results demonstrated a bilateral reduction in gamma band activity for expressions of threat, specifically anger, compared with neutral faces in extrastriate visual cortex (BA 18) within 50–250 ms of stimulus onset. These results suggest that gamma activity in visual cortex may play a role in affective modulation of visual processing, in particular with the perception of threat cues.
A comparison of normalization and training approaches for ASR-dependent speaker identification

In this paper we discuss a speaker identification approach, called ASR-dependent speaker identification, that incorporates phonetic knowledge into the models for each speaker. This approach differs from traditional methods for performing textindependent speaker identification, such as global Gaussian mixture modeling, that typically ignore the phonetic content of the speech signal. We introduce a new score normalization approach, called phone adaptive normalization, which improves upon our previous speaker adaptive normalization technique. This paper also examines the use of automatically generated transcriptions during the training of our speaker models. Experiments show that speaker models trained using automatically generated transcriptions achieve the same performance as models trained using manually generated transcriptions.
α2-adrenoreceptor modulated FAK pathway induced by dexmedetomidine attenuates pulmonary microvascular hyper-permeability following kidney injury

Renal ischemia-reperfusion (rI/R) could cause remote acute lung injury (ALI) and combination of these two organ injuries can remarkably increase the mortality. This study aims to determine whether dexmedetomidine, an α2-adrenoreceptor agonist sedative, can ameliorate pulmonary microvascular hyper-permeability following rI/R injury and explore the underlying mechanisms. In vivo, C57BL/6J mice received dexmedetomidine (25μg/kg, i.p.) in the absence or presence of α2-adrenergic antagonist atipamezole (250μg/kg, i.p.) or focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor (30mg/kg, i.p.) before bilateral renal pedicle clamping for 45 minutes followed by 24 hours reperfusion. The lung histopathological changes and the permeability of pulmonary microvascular were assessed respectively. In vitro, the cultured C57BL/6J mice pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) were treated with serum from mice with rI/R with or without dexmedetomidine and atipamezole. Trans-endothelial permeability and phospho-tyrosine397FAK, F-actin, VE-cadherin and ZO-1 in monolayer PMVECs were measured respectively in the presence or absence of rI/R serum, dexmedetomidine and FAK inhibitor. In vivo, dexmedetomidine remarkably attenuated lung injury and pulmonary microvascular hyper-permeability caused by rI/R injury, which was abolished by atipamezole or FAK inhibitor co-administration. In vitro, the permeability of PMVECs monolayer following exposure to serum from rI/R mice was increased significantly, and decreased by dexmedetomidine. Dexmedetomidine increased phospho-tyrosine397FAK in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which was correlated with the changes in trans-endothelial permeability. Our data indicated that dexmedetomidine is able to ameliorate remote pulmonary microvascular hyper-permeability induced by rI/R, at least in part, via FAK modulation.
Fuzzy flow regulation for Network-on-Chip based chip multiprocessors systems

Flow regulation is a traffic shaping technique, which can be used to improve communication performance with better utilization of network resources in chip multi-processors (CMPs). This paper presents fuzzy flow regulation. Being different from the static flow regulation policy, our system makes regulation decisions fully dynamically according to traffic dynamism and the state of interconnection network. The central idea is to use fuzzy logic to mimic the behavior of an expert that can recognize the network status and then intelligently control the admission of input flows. As the experiment results show, the maximum improvement in average delay reaches 53.0% against static regulation and 37.4% against no regulation. The maximum improvement in average throughput reaches 37.5% against static regulation and 23.8% against no regulation.
Distribution history and climatic controls of the Late Miocene Pikermian chronofauna

The Late Miocene development of faunas and environments in western Eurasia is well known, but the climatic and environmental processes that controlled its details are incompletely understood. Here we map the rise and fall of the classic Pikermian fossil mammal chronofauna between 12 and 4.2 Ma, using genus-level faunal similarity between localities. To directly relate land mammal community evolution to environmental change, we use the hypsodonty paleoprecipitation proxy and paleoclimate modeling. The geographic distribution of faunal similarity and paleoprecipitation in successive timeslices shows the development of the open biome that favored the evolution and spread of the open-habitat adapted large mammal lineages. In the climate model run, this corresponds to a decrease in precipitation over its core area south of the Paratethys Sea. The process began in the latest Middle Miocene and climaxed in the medial Late Miocene, about 7–8 million years ago. The geographic range of the Pikermian chronofauna contracted in the latest Miocene, a time of increasing summer drought and regional differentiation of habitats in Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Its demise at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary coincides with an environmental reversal toward increased humidity and forestation, changes inevitably detrimental to open-adapted, wide-ranging large mammals.