Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
epg-1 functions in autophagy-regulated processes and may encode a highly divergent Atg13 homolog in C. elegans

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved intracellular catabolic system for degradation of long-lived proteins or damaged organelles. In this study, we have identified and characterized a new gene, epg-1, that plays a role in the autophagy pathway in C. elegans. Loss of function of epg-1 causes defects in various autophagy-regulated processes, including degradation of aggregate-prone proteins and optimal survival of animals during starvation. epg-1 encodes a novel protein that shows limited sequence similarity to the yeast autophagy protein Atg13. epg-1 displays a similar expression pattern to, and directly interacts with, the C. elegans Atg1 homolog UNC-51, suggesting that epg-1 encodes a divergent functional homolog of Atg13 in C. elegans.
Relevance of casual contact with peanut butter in children with peanut allergy.

BACKGROUND Casual skin contact or inhalation of peanut butter fumes is reported and feared to cause allergic reactions in highly sensitive children with peanut allergy but has not been systematically studied. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine the clinical relevance of exposure to peanut butter by means of inhalation and skin contact in children with peanut allergy. METHODS Children with significant peanut allergy (recent peanut-specific IgE antibody concentration >50 kIU/L or evidence of peanut-specific IgE antibody and one of the following: clinical anaphylaxis, a reported inhalation-contact reaction, or positive double-blind, placebo-controlled oral challenge result to peanut) underwent double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized exposures to peanut butter by means of contact with intact skin (0.2 mL pressed flat for 1 minute) and inhalation (surface area of 6.3 square inches 12 inches from the face for 10 minutes). Placebo challenges were performed by using soy butter mixed with histamine (contact), and scent was masked with soy butter, tuna, and mint (inhalation). RESULTS Thirty children underwent the challenges (median age, 7.7 years; median peanut IgE level, >100 kIU/L; 13 with prior history of contact and 11 with inhalation reactions). None experienced a systemic or respiratory reaction. Erythema (3 subjects), pruritus without erythema (5 subjects), and wheal-and-flare reactions (2 subjects) developed only at the site of skin contact with peanut butter. From this number of participants, it can be stated with 96% confidence that at least 90% of highly sensitive children with peanut allergy would not experience a systemic-respiratory reaction from casual exposure to peanut butter. CONCLUSIONS Casual exposure to peanut butter is unlikely to elicit significant allergic reactions. The results cannot be generalized to larger exposures or to contact with peanut in other forms (flour and roasted peanuts).
Supplementary Information 1

The Bayesian hierarchical models were in the form: Y ijk ~ MN(1,p ij) where p ij = (p ij1, p ij2, p ij3, p ij4), ik ij kn k ij ijk u X p p + + = ⎟ ⎟ ⎠ ⎞ ⎜ ⎜ ⎝ ⎛ ∑ β α 1 log where Y ijk and p ijk is the occurrence and probability of no infection (k=1), N. americanus mono-infection (k=2), S. mansoni mono-infection (k=3) and N. americanus-S. mansoni co-infection (k=4) for individual j in household i, α k is the intercept for infection status k, and Σ β kn is a vector of n regression parameters corresponding to the set of n covariates (X ij). The component u ik is the unstructured heterogeneity at the household level for infection status k. Due to potential dependency between the binary outcomes, the random effects may be correlated; they were therefore modelled using a multivariate distribution as explained below. Fixed regression coefficients were assigned diffuse priors functionally equivalent to a vague normal prior with large variance. Unstructured, household-level clustering was estimated using an exchangeable multivariate normal prior, (u j2 u j3 u j4) ~ MVN(0, Ω-1), with covariance matrix Ω-1. The diagonal element of this covariance matrix is equal to the variance, whilst the off-diagonals are correlation components between infection status groups. The variance components were assigned the weakly informative diffuse inverse Wishart prior p(Ω-1) ~ Wishart (p, Q); where p the scalar and Q is a prior estimate of Ω. The hyperpriors were assigned p = 3 and Q = I where I is an identity matrix. Model fitting used Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation techniques. A burn-in of 1000 iterations was allowed, followed by 10,000 iterations where values for the intercept and coefficients were stored. Diagnostic tests for convergence of the stored variables were undertaken, including visual examination of history and density plots of the model parameters, and by computing Monte Carlo errors (MCE; if MCE/SD was less than 0.05, it was decided that sufficient iterations had been conducted): convergence was successfully achieved after 10,000 iterations. The chains were also examined for autocorrelation by visual examination of the inbuilt autocorrelation function of WinBUGS. Considerable autocorrelation was apparent for the intercept and random coefficients and it was decided to reduce autocorrelation by thinning subsequent sampling by storing every 20 th iteration. Thus, for all models 110 000 iterations were run, with the …
Oral irritant effects of nicotine: psychophysical evidence for decreased sensation following repeated application and lack of cross-desensitization to capsaicin.

Psychophysical methods were used to assess changes in the intensity of irritant sensations elicited by repeated application of capsaicin and nicotine delivered unilaterally to the tongue of human subjects. Whereas capsaicin (0.5 or 3 p.p.m.; repeated at 1 min intervals over 10 min) evoked progressively stronger ratings of irritation (sensitization), there was a significant decrement in irritation ratings (desensitization) to repeated application of nicotine (0.1%). A two-alternative forced-choice (2-AFC) procedure was additionally used to test for self- and cross-desensitization. After the subjects had received either repeated capsaicin or nicotine, a rest period ensued followed by the 2-AFC procedure. Either capsaicin or nicotine was delivered bilaterally to the tongue and subjects were asked to choose which side yielded a stronger sensation. Following capsaicin pretreatment, subjects reported that capsaicin evoked a stronger sensation on the previously untreated side (capsaicin self-desensitization). Similar self-desensitization was observed with nicotine. Furthermore, nicotine evoked a significantly weaker sensation on the side of the tongue pretreated with capsaicin (cross-desensitization). In contrast, capsaicin did not consistently evoke a weaker sensation on the nicotine-pretreated side, indicating an absence of cross-desensitization. These results are discussed in terms of physiological mechanisms that might underlie the contrasting sensory effects of nicotine versus capsaicin.
Antioxidant Properties of Piper Betel ( L ) Leaf Extracts from Six Different Geographical Domain of India

Accepted: 08/06/2014 Abstract Six variety of betel leaf from different domain of India were extracted using five solvents in order to determine the effect of solvent and changing variety on total phenol content and antiox idant activity. Antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH, ABT S, FRAP, PCL (Photochemluminiscence) assay. However 80% methanol for TPC, 80% ethanol followed by 80% methanol for DPPH and 80% e thyl acetate for all other antioxidant assays proved to be the convenien t extraction medium. Variety wise TPC of Desi bagla, DPPH of Sofia, ABTS and FRAP values of Banarasi safeda and PCL value of Calcutta were f ound to be more efficient. Weak to strong relationship were observe d in different extracts of each solvent with highest r value of 0.95 (p<0.001) between TPC and ABTS. Wide range of correlation coefficient was der iv d within four different antioxidant assays of each betel leaf ext racts with consistently high relationship observed between TPC and FRAP val ues.
Graded competing regional myopic and hyperopic defocus produce summated emmetropization set points in chick.

PURPOSE Chicks emmetropize accurately to experimentally induced myopic and hyperopic defocus. The authors investigated the emmetropization response when a specific proportion of the retina was exposed to myopic defocus while the remainder was exposed to (competing) hyperopic defocus. METHODS Normal chicks (14-15 days old) were fitted monocularly with a "lens-cone" device that exposed a specific proportion of the available visual field to a high-contrast grating under 10 diopters (D) of myopic defocus (with accommodation relaxed) in a series of patches. The remainder of the visual field (adjacent patches) viewed a grating under 10 D of hyperopic defocus. Groups of chicks wore a lens-cone device designed to provide a "spatial ratio" (relative proportion of visual field area) of 100:0, 50:50, 40:60, 33:67, 25:75, or 0:100 myopic versus hyperopic defocus. On-axis ocular refraction and axial ocular component dimensions were assessed after 3 and 6 days of cone wear. RESULTS Interocular differences in refraction (mean ± SD) at day 6 were as follows: +10.4 ± 2.5 D, +7.6 ± 3.6 D, +5.9 ± 3.7 D, +1.6 ± 2.6 D, -2.4 ± 2.7 D, and -8.9 ± 2.6 D for spatial ratios of 100:0, 50:50, 40:60. 33:67, 25:75, and 0:100 respectively. The corresponding interocular vitreous chamber depths were as follows: -515 ± 135 μm, -447 ± 137 μm, -253 ± 220 μm, -105 ± 252 μm, 230 ± 218 μm, and 592 ± 161 μm. The refraction and biometry results for the 33:67 and 25:75 groups were significantly different from those of the single defocus control groups. CONCLUSIONS In chicks, the on-axis emmetropization response was weighted according to the spatial ratio. Thus, as the proportion of retinal area receiving myopic defocus increased relative to that receiving hyperopic defocus, the degree of myopic eye growth was reduced.
GANC: Greedy Agglomerative Normalized Cut

This paper describes a graph clustering algorithm that aims to minimize the normalized cut criterion and has a model order selection procedure. The performance of the proposed algorithm is comparable to spectral approaches in terms of minimizing normalized cut. However, unlike spectral approaches, the proposed algorithm scales to graphs with millions of nodes and edges. The algorithm consists of three components that are processed sequentially: a greedy agglomerative hierarchical clustering procedure, model order selection, and a local refinement. For a graph of n nodes and O(n) edges, the computational complexity of the algorithm is O(n log^2 n), a major improvement over the O(n^3) complexity of spectral methods. Experiments are performed on real and synthetic networks to demonstrate the scalability of the proposed approach, the effectiveness of the model order selection procedure, and the performance of the proposed algorithm in terms of minimizing the normalized cut metric.
Time invariant error bounds for modified-CS based sparse signal sequence recovery

In this work, we obtain performance guarantees for modified-CS and for its improved version, modified-CS-Add-LS-Del, for recursive reconstruction of sparse signal sequences from noisy measurements. Under mild assumptions, and for a realistic signal change model, we show that the support recovery error of both algorithms is bounded by a time-invariant and small value at all times. The same is also true for the reconstruction error. Under a slow support change assumption, our results hold under weaker assumptions on the number of measurements than what simple compressive sensing (basis pursuit denoising) needs. Also, the result for modified-CS-add-LS-del holds under weaker assumptions on the signal magnitude increase rate than the result for modified-CS. Similar results were obtained in an earlier work, however the signal change model assumed there was very simple and not practically valid.
Stimulus size and intensity alter fundamental receptive-field properties of mouse retinal ganglion cells in vivo

The receptive field (RF) of most retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) is comprised of an excitatory center and an antagonistic surround. Interactions between these RF elements shape most of the visual responses of RGCs. To begin to investigate center-surround interactions of mouse RGCs quantitatively, we characterized their responses in an in vivo preparation to a variety of spot and full-field stimuli. When RGCs were stimulated with a spot that matched the cell's RF center diameter (optimal spot), all RGCs could be categorized as either ON- or OFF-center. In all RGCs, full-field stimulation significantly reduced both the peak and the mean firing rates evoked with an optimal spot stimulus. Full-field stimulation revealed differences in other response properties between ON- and OFF-center RGCs. With a full-field stimulus, the duration of the OFF-center RGCs response was reduced making them more transient, while the duration of the ON-center RGCs increased making them more sustained. Of most interest, full-field stimulation altered the RF center response sign in approximately half of the OFF-center RGCs, which became either OFF/ON or ON only. In contrast, all ON-center and the other OFF-center cells conserved their RF response sign in the presence of the full-field stimulus. We propose that sign-altering OFF-center RGCs possess an additional RF surround mechanism that underlies this alteration in their response. Of general interest these results suggest that the sole use of full-field stimulation to categorize visual response properties of RGCs does not adequately reflect their RF organization and, therefore, is not an optimal strategy for their classification.
A Multilevel Screening Strategy Defines a Molecular Fingerprint of Proregenerative Olfactory Ensheathing Cells and Identifies SCARB2, a Protein That Improves Regenerative Sprouting of Injured Sensory Spinal Axons

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) have neuro-restorative properties in animal models for spinal cord injury, stroke, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Here we used a multistep screening approach to discover genes specifically contributing to the regeneration-promoting properties of OECs. Microarray screening of the injured olfactory pathway and of cultured OECs identified 102 genes that were subsequently functionally characterized in cocultures of OECs and primary dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Selective siRNA-mediated knockdown of 16 genes in OECs (ADAMTS1, BM385941, FZD1, GFRA1, LEPRE1, NCAM1, NID2, NRP1, MSLN, RND1, S100A9, SCARB2, SERPINI1, SERPINF1, TGFB2, and VAV1) significantly reduced outgrowth of cocultured DRG neurons, indicating that endogenous expression of these genes in OECs supports neurite extension of DRG neurons. In a gain-of-function screen for 18 genes, six (CX3CL1, FZD1, LEPRE1, S100A9, SCARB2, and SERPINI1) enhanced and one (TIMP2) inhibited neurite growth. The most potent hit in both the loss- and gain-of-function screens was SCARB2, a protein that promotes cholesterol secretion. Transplants of fibroblasts that were genetically modified to overexpress SCARB2 significantly increased the number of regenerating DRG axons that grew toward the center of a spinal cord lesion in rats. We conclude that expression of SCARB2 enhances regenerative sprouting and that SCARB2 contributes to OEC-mediated neuronal repair.
Visual Search Elicits the Electrophysiological Marker of Visual Working Memory

Background Although limited in capacity, visual working memory (VWM) plays an important role in many aspects of visually-guided behavior. Recent experiments have demonstrated an electrophysiological marker of VWM encoding and maintenance, the contralateral delay activity (CDA), which has been shown in multiple tasks that have both explicit and implicit memory demands. Here, we investigate whether the CDA is evident during visual search, a thoroughly-researched task that is a hallmark of visual attention but has no explicit memory requirements. Methodology/Principal Findings The results demonstrate that the CDA is present during a lateralized search task, and that it is similar in amplitude to the CDA observed in a change-detection task, but peaks slightly later. The changes in CDA amplitude during search were strongly correlated with VWM capacity, as well as with search efficiency. These results were paralleled by behavioral findings showing a strong correlation between VWM capacity and search efficiency. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that the activity observed during visual search was generated by the same neural resources that subserve VWM, and that this activity reflects the maintenance of previously searched distractors.
New blood vessel formation and expression of VEGF receptors after implantation of platelet growth factor-enriched biodegradable nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a key role for the interaction of osteoblasts and endothelial cells and, therefore, is an important factor for the osteointegration of bone substitutes. The aim of the current work was to study the effects of platelet growth factors (PLF) on new blood vessel formation and VEGF-receptors expression pattern in bone defects filled with nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) paste in miniature-pigs. Conventional histology, RT-PCR for VEGF and receptors mRNA, Western blot analysis, immunohistochemical staining and quantitative assessment of newly formed vessels was performed. HA enriched with platelet growth factor (HA/PLF+) led to an up-regulation of VEGF-R1 synthesis, a slightly enhanced number of newly formed vessels with higher sprouting activity compared with HA without PLF (HA/PLF−) filling defects. These observation are most likely attributable to a stimulating effect of TGF-β from the platelet factor on VEGF expression in osteoblasts.
Impetigo Contagiosa. The Association of Certain Types of Staphylococcus Aureus and of Streptococcus Pyogenes with Superficial Skin Infections

Summary In an investigation of impetigo among troops, carried out in 1941, nearly half of the strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the lesions had the ability to inhibit the growth of corynebacteria on solid media. A much smaller proportion of strains from other superficial lesions and from nose and throat swabs had this ability, and strains from deep suppurative lesions were uniformly negative. Three-quarters of Staph. aureus strains isolated from schoolchildren with impetigo in Lancashire in 1953 and early 1954 were of one variety, which could be denned by its susceptibility to typing phages (‘type 71’). Nearly 90 % of ‘type 71’ staphylococci, and very few others, produced a narrow, sharp zone of inhibition of Corynebacterium diphtheriae mitis on solid media. A small number of other staphylococci, mainly non-typable or unclassifiable strains, produced a wider, hazy zone of inhibition. The majority of the impetigo staphylococci were penicillin-resistant, and most of the resistant strains were members of ‘type 71’. However, ‘type 71’ gave rise to only a small proportion of the penicillin-resistant hospital infections occurring in the same district at the same time. Three-quarters of the Str. pyogenes strains from impetigo lesions belonged to one of two groups of closely related serological types, one of which was rarely encountered in other situations.
Movement quantification during epileptic seizures: a new technical contribution to the evaluation of seizure semiology

In epilepsy, seizure semiology analysis is routinely used for diagnostic purpose. The behavior of the patient during seizures is usually evaluated by expert qualitative observation where several signs are identified. In the clinical literature, several ictal phenomena are described but still involved in controversy. In this paper, we present our effort to establish a quantified movement analysis method to be widely used as an additional tool to clarify this controversy.
Distinct vascular endothelial growth factor signals for lymphatic vessel enlargement and sprouting

Lymphatic vessel growth, or lymphangiogenesis, is regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and -D via VEGF receptor 3 (VEGFR-3). Recent studies suggest that VEGF, which does not bind to VEGFR-3, can also induce lymphangiogenesis through unknown mechanisms. To dissect the receptor pathway that triggers VEGFR-3–independent lymphangiogenesis, we used both transgenic and adenoviral overexpression of placenta growth factor (PlGF) and VEGF-E, which are specific activators of VEGFR-1 and -2, respectively. Unlike PlGF, VEGF-E induced circumferential lymphatic vessel hyperplasia, but essentially no new vessel sprouting, when transduced into mouse skin via adenoviral vectors. This effect was not inhibited by blocking VEGF-C and -D. Postnatal lymphatic hyperplasia, without increased density of lymphatic vessels, was also detected in transgenic mice expressing VEGF-E in the skin, but not in mice expressing PlGF. Surprisingly, VEGF-E induced lymphatic hyperplasia postnatally, and it did not rescue the loss of lymphatic vessels in transgenic embryos where VEGF-C and VEGF-D were blocked. Our data suggests that VEGFR-2 signals promote lymphatic vessel enlargement, but unlike in the blood vessels, are not involved in vessel sprouting to generate new lymphatic vessels in vivo.
Plasticity of Circle of Willis: A Longitudinal Observation of Flow Patterns in the Circle of Willis One Week after Stenting for Severe Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis

Background and Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to assess whether the direction of flow via the circle of Willis (CoW) changed after stenting for severe internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. Methods: 65 patients (38 men, mean age 63.2 ± 8.4 years, range 44–82) with a symptomatic ICA occlusion were investigated. Magnetic resonance angiography was performed prior to and 1 week after carotid artery stenting (CAS). The pattern in the CoW was assessed. Results: One third of the subjects (35.38%) had a significantly altered flow pattern in the CoW after unilateral CAS, including blocked ipsilateral A1 segment collateral (n = 4), blocked contralateral A1 segment collateral (n = 5), blocked ipsilateral posterior communicating artery (PCoA) segment collateral (n = 4), blocked ipsilateral A1 segment and P1 segment collateral (n = 1), opening of ipsilateral A1 segment collateral (n = 5), opening of ipsilateral PCoA segment collateral (n = 3) and opening of ipsilateral P1 segment collateral (n = 1). Conclusions: CoW segmental hypoplasia is not a static feature. Willisian collateralization with recruitment of the CoW segment (A1, P1 and PCoA) may be blocked after CAS. CAS also leads to the opening of new willisian collateralization, either for relief of reperfusion pressure or for other hypoperfused areas.
Revisiting the cosmic cooling crisis

Recent measurements of the K-band luminosity function now provide us with strong, reliable constraints on the fraction of baryons which have cooled. Globally, this fraction is only about 5 per cent, and there is no strong evidence that it is significantly higher in clusters. Without an effective subgrid feedback prescription, the cooled gas fraction in any numerical simulation exceeds these observational constraints, and increases with increasing resolution. This compromises any discussion of galaxy and cluster properties based on results of simulations which include cooling but do not implement an effective feedback mechanism.
Student Learning Processes in Field Education

What activities are associated with MSW students’ performance in the field, perceptions of the quality of field instruction, and satisfaction with the field? Sixty-four MSW students reported on observational-participatory and conceptual linkage learning activities used in their first- and second-year placements. Greater use of some activities was associated with satisfaction and perception of quality but not with field instructors’ ratings of student performance. This study highlights the importance to students of both doing and understanding, and suggests the need to distinguish student perceptions from performance.