Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Highlighted Topic Regulation of Protein Metabolism in Exercise and Recovery a Novel Hindlimb Immobilization Procedure for Studying Skeletal Muscle Atrophy and Recovery in Mouse

A novel hindlimb immobilization procedure for studying skeletal muscle atrophy and recovery in mouse.etal muscle atrophy is a serious concern for patients afflicted by limb restriction due to surgery (e.g., arthrodesis), several articular pathol-ogies (e.g., arthralgia), or simply following cast immobilization. To study the molecular events involved in this immobilization-induced debilitating condition, a convenient mouse model for atrophy is lacking. Here we provide a new immobilization procedure exploiting the normal flexion of the mouse hindlimb using a surgical staple to fix the ventral part of the foot to the distal part of the calf. Histological analysis revealed that our approach induced significant skeletal muscle atrophy by reducing the myofiber size of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle by 36% compared with the untreated contralateral TA within a few days postimmobilization. Two molecular markers for atrophy, atrogin-1/muscle atrophy F-box (atrogin-1/MAFbx) and muscle ring finger 1 (MuRF-1) mRNAs, were significantly upregulated by 1.9-and 5.9-fold, respectively. Interestingly, our model also revealed the presence of an early inflammatory process during atrophy, characterized by the mRNA upregulation of TNF-␣, IL-1, and IL-6 (1.9-, 2.4-, and 3.4-fold, respectively) simultaneously with the upregulation of the common leukocyte marker CD45 (6.1-fold). Moreover, muscle rapidly recovered on remobilization, an event associated with significantly increased levels of uncoupling protein-3 and peroxisome pro-liferator-activated receptor ␥ coactivator-1␣ mRNA, key components of prooxidative muscle metabolism. This model offers unexpected new insights into the molecular events involved in immobilization atrophy. SKELETAL MUSCLE ATROPHY may be caused by prolonged post-operative immobilization, which has a significant impact on the duration and intensity of rehabilitation (53). It is characterized by increased muscle fatigability associated with changes in muscle fiber size due to decreased protein synthesis (3), increased myofibrillar protein degradation (5, 23, 41, 49), and prooxidative-to-glycolytic (more fatigable) fiber type switching (7, 48, 54). Muscle atrophy can be experimentally induced in animals using denervation, cast immobilization, or tail suspension (12, 36, 38). Denervation is an effective procedure for mimicking the pathology of trauma in which nerve functions have been altered (36). Tail suspension is an efficient model that is based on the absence of weight bearing, which is necessary for maintaining skeletal mass (38), which makes it more appropriate for studying microgravity-induced atrophy than traumatic or postsurgical atrophy. Despite the recognized effectiveness of casts in inducing atrophy, they must be adjusted to each animal for optimal results, which is very time-consuming (12). For example, a thin layer of …
FGF8 spliceforms mediate early mesoderm and posterior neural tissue formation in Xenopus

The relative contributions of different FGF ligands and spliceforms to mesodermal and neural patterning in Xenopus have not been determined, and alternative splicing, though common, is a relatively unexplored area in development. We present evidence that FGF8 performs a dual role in X. laevis and X. tropicalis early development. There are two FGF8 spliceforms, FGF8a and FGF8b, which have very different activities. FGF8b is a potent mesoderm inducer, while FGF8a has little effect on the development of mesoderm. When mammalian FGF8 spliceforms are analyzed in X. laevis, the contrast in activity is conserved. Using a loss-of-function approach, we demonstrate that FGF8 is necessary for proper gastrulation and formation of mesoderm and that FGF8b is the predominant FGF8 spliceform involved in early mesoderm development in Xenopus. Furthermore, FGF8 signaling is necessary for proper posterior neural formation; loss of either FGF8a or a reduction in both FGF8a and FGF8b causes a reduction in the hindbrain and spinal cord domains.
The position and dimensions of the mental foramen in adult Malawian mandibles.

BACKGROUND The mental foramen is found on the anterolateral aspect of the mandible and transmits the mental nerve and vessels. The identification and actual location of this foramen is very important in clinical dentistry as well as in the microscopic and macroscopic evaluation of the morphology and maturity of the human mandible. METHODOLOGY We determined the position and dimensions of this foramen from seventy adult indigenous Malawian mandibles of both sexes. The shape, number and orientation of the mental foramen were determined by visual examination and its transverse and vertical diameters measured using a digital venier caliper. RESULTS In the majority of cases, the mental foramen was oval in shape, oriented posterosuperiorly, and bilaterally symmetrical. The modal position of the foramen with respect to the mandibular teeth was inferior to the second premolar tooth. Its vertical position was slightly below the midpoint of the distance between the lower border of the mandible and the alveolar margin. CONCLUSION The shape and orientation of the mental foramen shown in our study correspond to what have been documented in most previous studies. However, variations do exist in the modal position of this foramen in different population groups. We therefore stress the importance of palpation of the foramen during administration of local anaesthesia and in the interpretation of radiographs prior to surgery.
Geometric Programming for Optimal Positive Linear Systems

This article studies the parameter tuning problem of positive linear systems for optimizing their stability properties. We specifically show that, under certain regularity assumptions on the parameterization, the problem of finding the minimum-cost parameters that achieve a given requirement on a system norm reduces to a <italic>geometric program</italic>, which, in turn, can be exactly and efficiently solved by convex optimization. The flexibility of geometric programming allows the state, input, and output matrices of the system to simultaneously depend on the parameters to be tuned. The class of system norms under consideration includes the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H^2$</tex-math></inline-formula> norm, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H^\infty$</tex-math></inline-formula> norm, Hankel norm, and Schatten <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$</tex-math></inline-formula>-norm. Also, the parameter tuning problem for ensuring the robust stability of the system under structural uncertainties is shown to be solved by geometric programming. The proposed optimization framework is further extended to delayed positive linear systems, where it is shown that the parameter tuning problem jointly constrained by the exponential decay rate, the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal L^1$</tex-math></inline-formula>-gain, and the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal L^\infty$</tex-math></inline-formula>-gain can be solved by convex optimization. The assumption on the system parameterization is stated in terms of posynomial functions, which form a broad class of functions and thus allow us to deal with various interesting positive linear systems arising from, for example, dynamical buffer networks and epidemic spreading processes. We present numerical examples to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization framework.
Judgment of Gender through Facial Parts

Japanese male and female undergraduate students judged the gender of a variety of facial images. These images were combinations of the following facial parts: eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, and the face outline (cheek and chin). These parts were extracted from averaged facial images of Japanese males and females aged 18 and 19 years by means of the Facial Image Processing System. The results suggested that, in identifying gender, subjects performed identification on the basis of the eyebrows and the face outline, and both males and females were more likely to identify the faces as those of their own gender. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies, with particular attention paid to the matter of race differences.
Gene classification using expression profiles: a feasibility study

As various genome sequencing projects have already been completed or are near completion, genome researchers are shifting their focus to functional genomics. Functional genomics represents the next phase, that expands the biological investigation to studying the functionality of genes of a single organism as well as studying and correlating the functionality of genes across many different organisms. Recently developed methods for monitoring genome-wide mRNA expression changes hold the promise of allowing us to inexpensively gain insights into the function of unknown genes. In this paper we focus on evaluating the feasibility of using supervised machine learning methods for determining the function of genes based solely on their expression profiles. We experimentally evaluate the performance of traditional classification algorithms such as support vector machines and k-nearest neighbors on the yeast genome, and present new approaches for classification that improve the overall recall with moderate reductions in precision. Our experiments show that the accuracies achieved for different classes varies dramatically. In analyzing these results we show that the achieved accuracy is highly dependent on whether or not the genes of that class were significantly active during the various experimental conditions, suggesting that gene expression profiles can become a viable alternative to sequence similarity searches provided that the genes are observed under a wide range of experimental conditions.
Finite flowers and maximizing measures for generic Lipschitz functions on the circle

Given a circle endowed with a doubling map, we consider the problem of maximizing measures for Lipschitz functions. We provide a reduction result for the conjecture stating that in a dense open set in that space the maximizing measure is unique and supported by a periodic orbit. More precisely we show that it follows from a generic finite form in the Conze–Guivarc'h–Mane lemma. This unsolved point is discussed in the last section as well as other open questions.
Formal Trust Specification in Service Workflows

The emergence of the Internet has changed the nature of face-to-face towards online interactions. This leads to the concept of virtual interoperation such as Web Services, Grid, and Cloud Computing. Since existing security mechanisms are insufficient to cover the diversity of workflow application domains, trust is considered as an adaptive, high-level abstraction, and platform-independent solution that fits into this context. This paper proposes a formal trust specification which covers a wide range of intuitive trust characteristics such as trust transitivity and mutual relationship. We develop a new trust definition and three modes of trust with algebraic operators to form specification formulas. A method for determining the closeness of a matched trust value on a service using Euclidean Distance is presented and the basic analysis is conducted.
Combined Stimulation with the T Helper Cell Type 2 Cytokines Interleukin (Il)-4 and IL-10 Induces Mouse Mast Cell Apoptosis

Mast cells are found in connective and mucosal tissues throughout the body. Their activation via immunoglobulin E (IgE)–antigen interactions is promoted by T helper cell type 2 (Th2) cytokines and leads to the sequelae of allergic disease. We now report a mechanism by which Th2 cytokines can regulate mast cell survival. Specifically, we find that interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 induce apoptosis in IL-3–dependent bone marrow–derived mast cells and peritoneal mast cells. This process required 6 d of costimulation with IL-3, IL-4, and IL-10, and expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (Stat6). Apoptosis was coupled with decreased expression of bcl-xL and bcl-2. While this process occurred independent of the Fas pathway, culture in IL-3+IL-4+IL-10 greatly sensitized mast cells to Fas-mediated death. Additionally, we found that IgE cross-linkage or stimulation with stem cell factor enhanced the apoptotic abilities of IL-4 and IL-10. Finally, IL-3–independent mastocytomas and mast cell lines were resistant to apoptosis induced by IL-3+IL-4+IL-10. These data offer evidence of Th2 cytokine–mediated homeostasis whereby these cytokines both elicit and limit allergic responses. Dysregulation of this pathway may play a role in allergic disease and mast cell tumor survival.
Microarray-based analysis of cadmium-responsive microRNAs in rice (Oryza sativa)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate specific target mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. Plant miRNAs have been implicated in developmental processes and adaptations to environmental stresses. Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal that is highly toxic to plants. To investigate the responsive functions of miRNAs under Cd stress, miRNA expression in Cd-stressed rice (Oryza sativa) was profiled using a microarray assay. A total of 19 Cd-responsive miRNAs were identified, of which six were further validated experimentally. Target genes were also predicted for these Cd-responsive miRNAs, which encoded transcription factors, and proteins associated with metabolic processes or stress responses. In addition, the mRNA levels of several targets were negatively correlated with the corresponding miRNAs under Cd stress. Promoter analysis showed that metal stress-responsive cis-elements tended to occur more frequently in the promoter regions of Cd-responsive miRNAs. These findings suggested that miRNAs played an important role in Cd tolerance in rice, and highlighted a novel molecular mechanism of heavy metal tolerance in plants.
What explains the industrial revolution in East Asia

A front jaw for a ski binding having a base plate fixedly secured to the ski and on which two pivot axes are positioned which are perpendicular with respect thereto. A two-arm lever is pivotally supported on each of the pivot axes and one arm thereof is adapted to move into and out of engagement with the toe of the ski boot. The other arm of each two-arm lever cooperates with a pull rod resiliently urged to the initial position by an adjustable spring operated mechanism to resiliently hold the toe of the ski boot in the clamped position on the ski. Each of the two-arm levers cooperates with an intermediate structure to effectively control the spring force urging the two-arm levers to the clamping position holding the ski boot onto the ski. In one embodiment, this intermediate structure is a plate resiliently held perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pull rod and is moved to a position out of perpendicular relationship against the spring force by a pivoting of one of the two-arm levers. Another embodiment includes a guide for effecting a movement of the plate while maintaining the perpendicular relationship with the axis of the pull rod. A still further embodiment utilizes control linkages and structure for adjusting the effective length of the control linkages to thereby control the resilient force urging the two-arm levers to the clamping position.
The effective dynamic ranges of standard automated perimetry sizes III and V and motion and matrix perimetry.

OBJECTIVES To establish the associations between threshold estimates of 4 perimetric tests and to define and compare the tests' effective dynamic ranges. METHODS We examined 152 patients with glaucoma and 80 controls using standard automated perimetry (SAP) with stimulus size III, SAP with size V, and motion and matrix perimetry. We explored the intertest associations using principal-components analysis. We defined the effective dynamic range bottom using the frequency of 0-dB trials on retest. We defined the upper effective dynamic range as a value above which fewer than 0.5% of the values fall in the controls. We also calculated the number of discriminable steps from normal to the floor value of the perimeter. RESULTS The association between SAP III and V was approximately linear up to a sensitivity of about 20 dB on both tests and with motion and matrix perimetry up to about 25 dB from 0 dB. While the upper bounds were similar among the tests, size V SAP had a lower floor and more discriminable steps. CONCLUSIONS The effective dynamic range of SAP III is substantially less than its physically tested limits. Size V stimuli have a greater effective dynamic range than size III by about 1 log unit and have about twice as many discriminable steps.
Vision Merges With Touch in a Purely Tactile Discrimination

To construct a coherent percept of the world, the brain continuously combines information across multiple sensory modalities. Simple stimuli from different modalities are usually assumed to be processed in distinct brain areas. However, there is growing evidence that simultaneous stimulation of multiple modalities can influence the activity in unimodal sensory areas and improve or impair performance in unimodal tasks. Do these effects reflect a genuine cross-modal integration of sensory signals, or are they due to changes in the perceiver's ability to locate the stimulus in time and space? We used a behavioral measure to differentiate between these explanations. Our results demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, a noninformative flash of light can have facilitative or detrimental effects on a simple tactile discrimination. The effect of the visual flash mimics that produced by a constant tactile pedestal stimulus. These findings reveal that sensory signals from different modalities can be integrated, even for perceptual judgments within a single modality.
AT‐1015, a newly synthesized 5‐HT2 receptor antagonist, dissociates slowly from the 5‐HT2 receptor sites in rabbit cerebral cortex membrane

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association and dissociation kinetics of [3H]AT‐1015 from 5‐HT2 receptors in rabbit cerebral cortex membranes using a radioligand binding assay method and to make a comparison with those of [3H]ketanserin binding. Scatchard analysis of [3H]AT‐1015 binding in rabbit cerebral cortex membranes indicated the existence of a single class of binding sites (dissociation constant, Kd = 2.18 nm). The specific binding of [3H]AT‐1015 increased slowly with time and the association rate constant of [3H]AT‐1015 binding (k1 = 0.1229 min−1 nm−1) was two times slower than that of [3H]ketanserin binding (k1 = 0.2451 min−1 nm−1). The dissociation rate constant of [3H]AT‐1015 binding (t1/2 = 37.03 min) was six times slower than that of [3H]ketanserin binding (t1/2 = 6.29 min), when the addition of excess unlabelled ligands were AT‐1015 and ketanserin, respectively. The dissociation rate constant of [3H]AT‐1015 was slowed to a greater degree (t1/2 = 163.40 min and t1/2 = 198.12 min) by the addition of ketanserin and sarpogrelate as excess unlabelled ligands than was that of [3H]ketanserin (t1/2. = 17.76 min and t1/2. = 18.45 min) by the addition of AT‐1015 and sarpogrelate as an excess unlabelled ligand, respectively. These findings on the dissociation kinetics of [3H]AT‐1015 have confirmed and supported previously reported evidence of the slower dissociation of AT‐1015 from 5‐HT2 receptors.
Functional and historical determinants of shape in the scapula of Xenarthran mammals: Evolution of a complex morphological structure

The mammalian scapula is a complex morphological structure, composed of two ossification plates that fuse into a single structure. Most studies on morphological differentiation in the scapula have considered it to be a simple, spatially integrated structure, primarily influenced by the important locomotor function presented by this element. We used recently developed geometric morphometric techniques to test and quantify functional and phylogenetic influences on scapular shape variation in fossil and extant xenarthran mammals. The order Xenarthra is well represented in the fossil record and presents a stable phylogenetic hypothesis for its genealogical history. In addition, its species present a large variety of locomotor habits. Our results show that approximately half of the shape variation in the scapula is due to phylogenetic heritage. This is contrary to the view that the scapula is influenced only by functional demands. There are large‐scale shape transformations that provide biomechanical adaptation for the several habits (arboreality, terrestriality, and digging), and small scale‐shape transformations (mostly related to the coracoid process) that are not influenced by function. A nonlinear relationship between morphometric and phylogenetic distances indicates the presence of a complex mixture of evolutionary processes acting on shape differentiation of the scapula. J. Morphol. 241:251–263, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Epidemiological Profile of Chemical Burns from the Largest Burn Centre in India

Aim: This study aims at comparing the epidemiology of chemical burns between the burn units of a developing country such as India and that of the developed countries Materials and methods: 60 Chemical burn Patients who attended and were admitted in a tertiary burn centre of India (catering to the north Indian population), in the year 2008 were considered for the study and a comparison between the data of the burn units of the developed nation was done. Observation: Total of 60 patients were victims of chemical burns out of a total of 6190 burn patients treated in the year 2008. Most chemical burns occurred in the age group 2130 years, whereas the homicidal burns occurred in 11-20 years age group. Conclusion: Unlike the world wide incidence the relative incidence of chemical burns was less due to the higher percentage of thermal burns reported in India. The type of injury is also different from the majority of chemical burns in other countries because accidental mishaps at work place is common in developed countries while that in India they are due to accidental burns at home or homicidal burns. The main lesson learnt from this study is that prevention is the key and that the government has to come out with stricter rules and regulations regarding the manufacturing and dispensing of chemical substances especially acids in the market for consumer use and in factories.