Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Akt1 Is Essential for Postnatal Mammary Gland Development, Function, and the Expression of Btn1a1

Akt1, a serine-threonine protein kinase member of the PKB/Akt gene family, plays critical roles in the regulation of multiple cellular processes, and has previously been implicated in lactation and breast cancer development. In this study, we utilized Akt1+/+ and Akt1−/− C57/Bl6 female mice to assess the role that Akt1 plays in normal mammary gland postnatal development and function. We examined postnatal morphology at multiple time points, and analyzed gene and protein expression changes that persist into adulthood. Akt1 deficiency resulted in several mammary gland developmental defects, including ductal outgrowth and defective terminal end bud formation. Adult Akt1−/− mammary gland composition remained altered, exhibiting fewer alveolar buds coupled with increased epithelial cell apoptosis. Microarray analysis revealed that Akt1 deficiency altered expression of genes involved in numerous biological processes in the mammary gland, including organismal development, cell death, and tissue morphology. Of particular importance, a significant decrease in expression of Btn1a1, a gene involved in milk lipid secretion, was observed in Akt1−/− mammary glands. Additionally, pseudopregnant Akt1−/− females failed to induce Btn1a1 expression in response to hormonal stimulation compared to their wild-type counterparts. Retroviral-mediated shRNA knockdown of Akt1 and Btn1a1 in MCF-7 human breast epithelial further illustrated the importance of Akt1 in mammary epithelial cell proliferation, as well as in the regulation of Btn1a1 and subsequent expression of ß-casein, a gene that encodes for milk protein. Overall these findings provide mechanistic insight into the role of Akt1 in mammary morphogenesis and function.
A Precision Current Source Using Delta- Sigma Modulation

We present a new source for currents in the picoampere range based on the charging of a capacitor at a constant rate. The voltage ramp is generated using Delta-Sigma modulation and low-pass filtering. This method ensures the linearity of the voltage ramp by calibrating a small number of voltage levels prior to generating the current. Our analysis shows that we can calibrate a picoampere meter with a standard uncertainty of less than 20 μA/A at 10 pA.
Distribution of living larval Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) along a depth transect at Kigoma Bay, Lake Tanganyika: implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction

We analysed the distribution of living larval Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) along a depth transect (0–80 m water depth) at Kigoma Bay in Lake Tanganyika (East Africa) to explore the ecological indicator value of Lake Tanganyika's midge fauna and to delineate the habitat preferences of resident larvae. Additionally, by comparing the taxonomic resolution reached in live versus fossil chironomid studies in this lake, we appraised the general information content of African fossil chironomid assemblages and, therefore, the quality of African chironomid-based palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. We found 141 chironomid specimens, representing two Tanypodinae, one Orthocladinae and 13 Chironominae (seven Chironomini and six Tanytarsini) taxa. All of these are conspecific to larval types encountered in subfossil collections from Lake Tanganyika or smaller East African lakes, but their differential diagnoses are updated here to include exoskeletal elements that are generally better preserved on live specimens. The chironomid assemblage collected in the Kigoma Bay depth samples is dominated by a few species of chironomine detritus and algae feeders, concentrated in areas of high macrophyte density. Additionally, there is a small component of tanypodine predatory taxa, along with several relatively rare, possibly habitat-specialist, taxa of both subfamilies. Our results further indicate that littoral and sublittoral palaeoenvironments in Lake Tanganyika may generally be inferred from high fossil density and diversity. The fairly high correspondence between inferred habitat preference of fossil and live collections in Lake Tanganyika indicates that, in large African lakes, the near-to-offshore gradient in chironomid habitat is imprinted on fossil assemblages. Hence, death assemblages deposited recently at various locations and microhabitats within Lake Tanganyika can be used as modern calibration data for palaeodepth inference. Moreover, Tanganyikan fossil-based taxonomy fully matches the taxonomic resolution reached in this study, so ecological information retrieved from live specimens can immediately be used for palaeoenvironmental studies.
Segment-Tree Based Cost Aggregation for Stereo Matching

This paper presents a novel tree-based cost aggregation method for dense stereo matching. Instead of employing the minimum spanning tree (MST) and its variants, a new tree structure, "Segment-Tree", is proposed for non-local matching cost aggregation. Conceptually, the segment-tree is constructed in a three-step process: first, the pixels are grouped into a set of segments with the reference color or intensity image, second, a tree graph is created for each segment, and in the final step, these independent segment graphs are linked to form the segment-tree structure. In practice, this tree can be efficiently built in time nearly linear to the number of the image pixels. Compared to MST where the graph connectivity is determined with local edge weights, our method introduces some 'non-local' decision rules: the pixels in one perceptually consistent segment are more likely to share similar disparities, and therefore their connectivity within the segment should be first enforced in the tree construction process. The matching costs are then aggregated over the tree within two passes. Performance evaluation on 19 Middlebury data sets shows that the proposed method is comparable to previous state-of-the-art aggregation methods in disparity accuracy and processing speed. Furthermore, the tree structure can be refined with the estimated disparities, which leads to consistent scene segmentation and significantly better aggregation results.
Human brain ( substantia nigra )

The central dopaminergic system is of major importance in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. In the present study, the normative data of dopaminergic neurotransmission functions in the midbrain, consisting of neuromelanin, dopamine synthesis, dopamine transporters and dopamine D2 receptors, were constructed using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and positron emission tomography (PET). PET studies with L-[β-C]DOPA, [F]FE-PE2I and [C]FLB457 and MRI studies were performed on healthy young men. Neuromelanin accumulation measured by MRI was compared with dopaminergic functions, dopamine synthesis capacity, dopamine transporter binding and dopamine D2 receptor binding measured by PET in the substantia nigra. Although neuromelanin is synthesized from DOPA and dopamine in dopaminergic neurons, neuromelanin accumulation did not correlate with dopamine synthesis capacity in young healthy subjects. The role of dopamine transporters in the substantia nigra is considered to be the transport of dopamine into neurons, and therefore dopamine transporter binding might be related to neuromelanin accumulation; however, no significant correlation was observed between them. A positive correlation between dopamine D2 receptor binding and neuromelanin accumulation was observed, indicating a feedback mechanism by dopaminergic autoreceptors. Discrepancies in regional distribution between neuromelanin accumulation and dopamine synthesis capacity, dopamine transporter binding or dopamine D2 receptor binding were observed in the substantia nigra.
Sulforaphane Suppresses Oligomerization of TLR4 in a Thiol-Dependent Manner

TLRs are pattern recognition receptors that detect invading microorganisms and nonmicrobial endogenous molecules to trigger immune and inflammatory responses during host defense and tissue repair. TLR activity is closely linked to the risk of many inflammatory diseases and immune disorders. Therefore, TLR signaling pathways can provide efficient therapeutic targets for chronic diseases. Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate, has been well known for its anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, we investigated the modulation of TLR activity by SFN and the underlying mechanism. SFN suppressed ligand-induced and ligand-independent TLR4 activation because it prevented IL-1R–associated kinase-1 degradation, activation of NF-κB and IFN regulatory factor 3, and cyclooxygenase-2 expression induced by LPS or overexpression of TLR4. Receptor oligomerization, which is one of the initial and critical events of TLR4 activation, was suppressed by SFN, resulting in the downregulation of NF-κB activation. SFN formed adducts with cysteine residues in the extracellular domain of TLR4 as confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis and the inhibitory effects of SFN on oligomerization and NF-κB activation were reversed by thiol donors (DTT and N-acetyl-l-cysteine). These suggest that the reactivity of SFN to sulfhydryl moiety contributes to its inhibitory activities. Blockade of TLR4 signaling by SFN resulted in the reduced production of inflammatory cytokines and the decreased dermal inflammation and edema in vivo in experimental inflammatory animal models. Collectively, our results demonstrated that SFN downregulated TLR4 signaling through the suppression of oligomerization process in a thiol-dependent manner. These present a novel mechanism for beneficial effects of SFN and a novel anti-inflammatory target in TLR4 signaling.
Optical Delay Lines Based on Soliton Propagation in Photonic Crystal Coupled Resonator Optical Waveguides

In this paper, a study of optical delay lines based on soliton propagation in coupled resonator optical waveguides is performed. For a given bit rate and required delay, design equations are given that relate the soliton peak power and collision period to the soliton width. To study the influence of higher order linear and nonlinear dispersion, a continuous wave propagation model incorporating these effects is also derived. Using this model, the soliton stability in the presence of higher order dispersion, optical loss and adjacent soliton pulses is numerically verified. It is also shown that soliton-based delay lines can achieve nanosecond delay at a propagation length of a few millimeters due to the high slow down factors that can be obtained.
HOT X-RAY CORONAE AROUND MASSIVE SPIRAL GALAXIES: A UNIQUE PROBE OF STRUCTURE FORMATION MODELS

Luminous X-ray gas coronae in the dark matter halos of massive spiral galaxies are a fundamental prediction of structure formation models, yet only a few such coronae have been detected so far. In this paper, we study the hot X-ray coronae beyond the optical disks of two “normal” massive spirals, NGC 1961 and NGC 6753. Based on XMM-Newton X-ray observations, hot gaseous emission is detected to ∼60 kpc—well beyond their optical radii. The hot gas has a best-fit temperature of kT ∼ 0.6 keV and an abundance of ∼0.1 Solar, and exhibits a fairly uniform distribution, suggesting that the quasi-static gas resides in hydrostatic equilibrium in the potential well of the galaxies. The bolometric luminosity of the gas in the (0.05–0.15)r200 region (r200 is the virial radius) is ∼6 × 1040 erg s−1 for both galaxies. The baryon mass fractions of NGC 1961 and NGC 6753 are fb, NGC 1961 ∼ 0.11 and fb, NGC 6753 ∼ 0.09, which values fall short of the cosmic baryon fraction. The hot coronae around NGC 1961 and NGC 6753 offer an excellent basis to probe structure formation simulations. To this end, the observations are confronted with the moving mesh code arepo and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics code gadget. Although neither model gives a perfect description, the observed luminosities, gas masses, and abundances favor the arepo code. Moreover, the shape and the normalization of the observed density profiles are better reproduced by arepo within ∼0.5r200. However, neither model incorporates efficient feedback from supermassive black holes or supernovae, which could alter the simulated properties of the X-ray coronae. With the further advance of numerical models, the present observations will be essential in constraining the feedback effects in structure formation simulations.
Partial liquid ventilation with perflubron in premature infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome. The LiquiVent Study Group.

BACKGROUND The intratracheal administration of a perfluorocarbon liquid during continuous positive-pressure ventilation (partial liquid ventilation) improves lung function in animals with surfactant deficiency. Whether partial liquid ventilation is effective in the treatment of infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome is not known. METHODS We studied the efficacy of partial liquid ventilation with perflubron in 13 premature infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome in whom conventional treatment, including surfactant therapy, had failed. Partial liquid ventilation was initiated by instilling perflubron during conventional mechanical ventilation to a volume approximating the functional residual capacity. Infants were considered to have completed the study if they received partial liquid ventilation for at least 24 hours. RESULTS Ten infants received partial liquid ventilation for 24 to 76 hours. In the other three infants, partial liquid ventilation was discontinued within four hours in favor of high-frequency ventilation, which was not permitted by the protocol, and the data from these infants were excluded from the analysis. Within one hour after the instillation of perflubron, the arterial oxygen tension increased by 138 percent and the dynamic compliance increased by 61 percent; the mean (+/- SD) oxygenation index was reduced from 49 +/- 60 to 17 +/- 16. Chest radiographs showed symmetric filling, with patchy clearing during the return from partial liquid to gas ventilation. There were no adverse events clearly attributable to partial liquid ventilation. Infants were weaned from partial liquid to gas ventilation without complications. Eight infants survived to 36 weeks' corrected gestational age. CONCLUSIONS Partial liquid ventilation leads to clinical improvement and survival in some infants with severe respiratory distress syndrome who are not predicted to survive.
Few Effects of Far Transfer of Working Memory Training in ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective Studies have shown that children with ADHD profit from working memory training, although few studies have investigated transfer effects comprehensively. The current Randomized Controlled Trial analyzes transfer to other neuropsychological (NP) domains, academic performance and everyday functioning at home and school. Method Sixty-seven children with ADHD were randomized into a control group or a training group. The training group underwent Cogmed’s RoboMemo program. All participants were assessed pre-training, immediately after and eight months later with a battery of NP tests, measures of mathematical and reading skills, as well as rating scales filled out by parents and teachers. Results There was a significant training effect in psychomotor speed, but not to any other NP measures. Reading and mathematics were improved. There were no training induced changes in symptom rating scales either at home or at school. The increased reading scores remained significant eight months later. Conclusion The study is the most comprehensive study of transfer effects to date, and with mixed results compared to previous research. More research is needed regarding how to improve the training program and the conditions and thresholds for successful training. Trial Registration Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN19133620
Protons selectively induce lasting excitation and sensitization to mechanical stimulation of nociceptors in rat skin, in vitro

In ischemic and in inflamed tissues, pH levels down to 5.4 have been measured, and this local acidosis may contribute to pain and hyperalgesia in disease states. To evaluate the role of acid pH in nociception, we have studied identified primary afferents in a rat skin- saphenous nerve preparation in vitro where the receptive fields can be superfused at the highly permeable corium side with controlled solutions. The nerve endings were exposed to CO2-saturated synthetic interstitial fluid (SIF;pH 6.1) and to carbogen-gassed SIF phosphate buffered to different acid pH levels (5 min duration, 10 min intervals). Mechanical thresholds were repeatedly tested in a “blind” fashion by von Frey hair stimulation. Low-threshold mechanosensitive A beta- (n = 12) and A delta-fibers (n = 11) were not excited or sensitized by acid pH levels. In 24 of 96 nociceptor type C- and A delta-fibers, irregular low-frequency discharge with poor response characteristics was induced. However, a distinct subpopulation of mechanoheat sensitive, “polymodal” C-units (n = 25; 38%) showed stimulus-related responses increasing with proton concentration and encoding the time course of the pH change. Threshold levels were found to range from pH 6.9 to 6.1; mean maximum discharge was at pH 5.2. All such fibers responded to CO2 as well as to phosphate-buffered solution at the same pH 6.1. The CO2 responses, however, displayed significantly shorter latencies and more pronounced dynamic phases. The carboanhydrase blocker acetazolamide markedly delayed and reduced the CO2 responses. Prolonged application of acid pH (30 min) evoked nonadapting activity irrespective of oxygen supply. Many, but certainly not all, fibers sensitive to protons were also driven by capsaicin (10(- 6) M, 10(-5) M) and vice versa. Repeated or prolonged treatment with low pH induced a significant and lasting decrease of the mechanical (von Frey) thresholds in almost all C-fibers tested (from 35 to 16 mN, on average), and this occurred whether or not a fiber was excited by protons. The sensitizing effect was more pronounced the higher the initial von Frey thresholds (0.75 rank correlation). This sensitization to mechanical stimulation was in contrast to the combined action of other inflammatory mediators, bradykinin, 5-HT, histamine and prostaglandin E2. In conclusion, we suggest that pH sensitivity of nociceptors may be an important source of pain and hyperalgesia.
solation and characterization of the cDNA encoding DH 31 in the kissing bug , hodnius prolixus eet

Rhodnius prolixus undergoes a period of rapid diuresis after ingesting large blood meals. Neurohormones with either diuretic or anti-diuretic activity control diuresis by acting on several tissues including the Malpighian tubules. One of the neurohormones that potentially plays a role in diuresis is diuretic hormone 31 (DH31) which belongs to the insect calcitonin-like family of diuretic hormones. Here we determine the
Acute Minocycline Treatment Mitigates the Symptoms of Mild Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) represents a significant challenge for the civilian and military health care systems due to its high prevalence and overall complexity. Our earlier works showed evidence of neuroinflammation, a late onset of neurobehavioral changes, and lasting memory impairment in a rat model of mild blast-induced TBI (mbTBI). The aim of our present study was to determine whether acute treatment with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug minocycline (Minocin®) can mitigate the neurobehavioral abnormalities associated with mbTBI, Furthermore, we aimed to assess the effects of the treatment on select inflammatory, vascular, neuronal, and glial markers in sera and in brain regions associated with anxiety and memory (amygdala, prefrontal cortex, ventral, and dorsal hippocampus) following the termination (51 days post-injury) of the experiment. Four hours after a single exposure to mild blast overpressure or sham conditions, we treated animals with a daily dose of minocycline (50 mg/kg) or physiological saline (vehicle) for four consecutive days. At 8 and 45 days post-injury, we tested animals for locomotion, anxiety, and spatial memory. Injured animals exhibited significantly impaired memory and increased anxiety especially at the later testing time point. Conversely, injured and minocycline treated rats’ performance was practically identical to control (sham) animals in the open field, elevated plus maze, and Barnes maze. Protein analyses of sera and brain regions showed significantly elevated levels of all of the measured biomarkers (except VEGF) in injured and untreated rats. Importantly, minocycline treatment normalized serum and tissue levels of the majority of the selected inflammatory, vascular, neuronal, and glial markers. In summary, acute minocycline treatment appears to prevent the development of neurobehavioral abnormalities likely through mitigating the molecular pathologies of the injury in an experimental model of mbTBI.
In vitro and in vivo growth of clonal sublines of human small cell lung carcinoma is modulated by polysialic acid of the neural cell adhesion molecule.

BACKGROUND Polysialic acid (poly Sia) of the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) is an oncodevelopmental antigen and is found in small cell lung carcinomas (SCLC) as well as cell lines derived from these tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Cell heterogeneity in poly Sia expression was observed in primary SCLC and cell cultures of SCLC by immunostaining using a directly gold-labeled monoclonal antibody against poly Sia (MAb 735) and antibodies against N-CAM. Clonal sublines of the N-CAM-positive SCLC cell line, NCI-H69 were established to study the basis of this heterogeneity. The resulting sublines were examined for the proportion of cells expressing poly Sia, the stability of poly Sia expression, and the possible involvement of DNA methylation. Two of the sublines that expressed poly Sia on 0 and 95% of the cells were used in three independent in vitro assays to investigate the importance of poly Sia in cell-cell aggregation, disaggregation and cell to substrate adherence. Finally, clonogenic growth of these sublines was studied in soft agar and in the nude mouse. RESULTS The proportion of cells immunoreactive for poly Sia was stable in serial subculture in these clones and was not affected by reducing DNA methylation. In aggregation and disaggregation assays, poly Sia was shown to modulate both calcium-dependent and independent cell-cell adhesion. No measurable differences in the attachment rates to various substrates (collagen type IV, laminin, heparan sulfate, and poly-L-lysine) were detected between the sublines. Cells from the poly Sia-positive clonal subline formed significantly more colonies in semisolid media and more intracutaneous metastasis in the nude mouse. CONCLUSIONS Poly Sia does not occur on all N-CAM immunoreactive cells of SCLC. Poly Sia on SCLC cells is a clonable trait and high poly Sia expression correlates with reduced cell-cell adherence, a greater clonogenic ability in semisolid media, and a significantly higher incidence of intracutaneous metastases in nude mice.
Efficient Modulo 2n+1 Multipliers

Area-time efficient modulo (2n+1) multipliers are proposed. The result and one operand for the new modulo multipliers use weighted representation, while the other uses the diminished-1. By using the radix-4 Booth recoding, the new multipliers reduce the number of the partial products to n/2 for n even and (n+1)/2 for n odd except for one correction term. Although one correction term is used, the circuit is very simple. The architecture for the new multipliers consists of an inverted end-around-carry carry save adder tree and one diminished-1 adder. The new multipliers receive full inputs and avoid (n+1)-bit circuits. The analytical and experimental results indicate that the new multipliers offer enhanced operation speed and more compact area among all the efficient existing solutions.