Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal Exercise during Pregnancy Increases BDNF Levels and Cell Numbers in the Hippocampal Formation but Not in the Cerebral Cortex of Adult Rat Offspring

Clinical evidence has shown that physical exercise during pregnancy may alter brain development and improve cognitive function of offspring. However, the mechanisms through which maternal exercise might promote such effects are not well understood. The present study examined levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and absolute cell numbers in the hippocampal formation and cerebral cortex of rat pups born from mothers exercised during pregnancy. Additionally, we evaluated the cognitive abilities of adult offspring in different behavioral paradigms (exploratory activity and habituation in open field tests, spatial memory in a water maze test, and aversive memory in a step-down inhibitory avoidance task). Results showed that maternal exercise during pregnancy increased BDNF levels and absolute numbers of neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the hippocampal formation of offspring. No differences in BDNF levels or cell numbers were detected in the cerebral cortex. It was also observed that offspring from exercised mothers exhibited better cognitive performance in nonassociative (habituation) and associative (spatial learning) mnemonic tasks than did offspring from sedentary mothers. Our findings indicate that maternal exercise during pregnancy enhances offspring cognitive function (habituation behavior and spatial learning) and increases BDNF levels and cell numbers in the hippocampal formation of offspring.
New Levels of Transcriptome Complexity at Upper Thermal Limits in Wild Drosophila Revealed by Exon Expression Analysis

While the cellular heat-shock response has been a paradigm for studying the impact of thermal stress on RNA metabolism and gene expression, the genome-wide response to thermal stress and its connection to physiological stress resistance remain largely unexplored. Here, we address this issue using an array-based exon expression analysis to interrogate the transcriptome in recently established Drosophila melanogaster stocks during severe thermal stress and recovery. We first demonstrated the efficacy of exon-level analyses to reveal a level of thermally induced transcriptome complexity extending well beyond gene-level analyses. Next, we showed that the upper range of both the cellular and physiological thermal stress response profoundly affected message expression and processing in D. melanogaster, limiting expression to a small subset of transcripts, many that share features of known rapidly responding stress genes. As predicted from cellular heat-shock research, constitutive splicing was blocked in a set of novel genes; we did not detect changes to alternative splicing during heat stress, but rather induction of intronless isoforms of known heat-responsive genes. We observed transcriptome plasticity in the form of differential isoform expression during recovery from heat shock, mediated by multiple mechanisms including alternative transcription and alternative splicing. This affected genes involved in DNA regulation, immune response, and thermotolerance. These patterns highlight the complex nature of innate transcriptome responses under stress and potential for adaptive shifts through plasticity and evolved genetic responses at different hierarchical levels.
Optimized quantum random-walk search algorithms on the hypercube

Shenvi, Kempe, and Whaley's quantum random-walk search (SKW) algorithm [Phys. Rev. A 67, 052307 (2003)] is known to require $O(\sqrt{N})$ number of oracle queries to find the marked element, where $N$ is the size of the search space. The overall time complexity of the SKW algorithm differs from the best achievable on a quantum computer only by a constant factor. We present improvements to the SKW algorithm which yield a significant increase in success probability, and an improvement on query complexity such that the theoretical limit of a search algorithm succeeding with probability close to one is reached. We point out which improvement can be applied if there is more than one marked element to find.
ISOLATION OF COATED VESICLES, PLAIN SYNAPTIC VESICLES, AND FLOCCULENT MATERIAL FROM A CRUDE SYNAPTOSOME FRACTION OF GUINEA PIG WHOLE BRAIN

Two vesicular fractions and one nonvesicular fraction were prepared from crude synaptosomes by differential centrifugation and salting out with ammonium sulfate. Fraction 1 contained a mixture of coated vesicles, material thought to be derived from breakdown of the coats (shell fragments), and plain synaptic vesicles. Fraction 2 contained a mixture of plain synaptic vesicles and flocculent material. Fraction 3 contained flocculent material only. Fractions 1 and 3 were partially purified by passage through a Sephadex column. Fraction 3 contained no shell fragments but contained finer flocculent material which, it is suggested, is composed of unit particles either occurring singly or linked together into chainlike or amorphous aggregates. Each unit particle appears to have four subunits and is here referred to as a tetrasome. Tetrasomes sometimes appear to be attached to the surfaces of the plain synaptic vesicles. Also, it is possible that aggregates of tetrasomes form part of the structure of the presynaptic dense projections.
Non-linear modeling and PID control of twin rotor MIMO system

This paper deals with PID control tuning for a nonlinear multi-input multi-output system (MIMO). In this paper, a laboratory helicopter model called the twin rotor MIMO system (TRMS) is considered as a MIMO system. The mathematical modeling of helicopter model is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink for controlling it. The two degrees of freedom (2-DOF) are controlled both in horizontal and vertical direction using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. Simulation results are obtained for different input signals. Moreover the error of the plant output and control output of PID controller are presented which show the performance evaluation of TRMS.
The Irrelevant Speech Effect and the Level of Interference in Aging

In general, no disproportionate detrimental effects of irrelevant background speech on cognition are found in aging individuals, although this is predicted by the inhibitory view of aging. This may be due to the nature of the primary task (most studies involve a verbal learning task) or the cognitive level at which irrelevant speech interferes with this task. In this study, the irrelevant speech effect on a numeric working memory task was investigated among 20 young (M = 21.8 years) and 20 older (M = 68.1 years) native Dutch individuals. Level of interference (LOI) was manipulated by presenting white noise (no interference), Russian words (low interference), Dutch words (phonological interference), and Dutch numbers (semantic interference) in the background. Results showed that reaction time increases as a function of LOI relative to silence, whereas accuracy remains unaffected. However, no interaction between LOI and age group was found, which suggests that the elderly were not disproportionately affected by an increased level of interference. These results are discussed in the light of the inhibitory view of aging.
Spatial Consensus Queries in a Collaborative Environment

We introduce a new type of query for a location-based social network platform. Consider a scenario in which a group of users is trying to find a common meeting location, yet attempting to include all group members is introducing a significant traveling cost to most of them. In this article, we formulate a new query type called the consensus query, which can be used to help users explore these trade-off options to find a solution upon which everyone can agree. Specifically, we study the problem of evaluating consensus queries in the context of nearest neighbor queries, where the group is interested in finding a meeting place that minimizes the travel distance for at least a specified number of group members. To help the group in selecting a suitable solution, the major challenge is to find optimal subgroups of all allowable subgroup sizes, i.e., greater or equal to the minimum specified subgroup size, that minimize the travel distances. We develop incremental algorithms to evaluate in one pass the optimal query subgroups of different sizes along with their corresponding nearest data points. These subsets, which are evaluated by the location-based service provider, constitute the answer set that is returned to the group. The group then collaboratively selects the final answer from the candidate answer set. An extensive experimental study shows the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed techniques.
Nutrient Intakes Affecting the Nutritional Status of preschool Children by Nationality Compared with RDA in Jeddah KSA

Background: Dietary pattern established in early childhood significantly influence the probability of having less tendency towards junk food which certainly result in malnutrition whether under/overweight or obesity. Nutrient intakes were compared with Recommended Dietary Allowances RDA (1989) and percent RDAs were computed. Objective: The main objective of the current study to report nutrient intake among preschool- aged children in some kindergartens in kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah and compare as percent of RDA. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on preschool children male (n= 66), female (n=55). Anthropometric data were taken using standard methods, from 121 children Saudi (77.7%) and the remaining was non-Saudi (22.3%). Aged 24 - 72 months with the aid of a questionnaire from Kindergarten children's and preschool child mothers by direct contact or by telephone. Logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the influence of various parameters. Seven 24-hour dietary recalls assessed nutrient intakes, which were compared to the Recommended Dietary Allowances of National Academy of Science's. Results: The mean ages in months of the studied preschool children were 52.2 ± 11.20 months. Diet quality has been shown to be better among children that do meet current recommendations. The average intake of energy was lower than RDA by 35% for preschool children. Energy from carbohydrates was below the recommended values (53.5% of energy was observed vs. 55 % of energy is recommended). Low intake of calcium (85.6%), iron (72.45%) and potassium (57.45%) as percent of the RDA among children of all age groups observed in this study. Mean intake of vitamins; thiamin, niacin and vitamin D (0.48 ± 0.196, 4.99 ± 2.6503 and 3.92 ± 2.33) for Saudi and, (0.38 ± 0.16, 3.768 ± 2.11 and 2.88 ± 2.41) for non Saudi children respectively. It found that the difference between the two groups was significant at p <0.05. Data was analyzed by SPSS statistical package version 10. Conclusion: These results indicated to the need for improvement in dietary habits among Jeddah children in order to produce a healthful diet and to prevent diet-related diseases in our future adult population. Community and/or school based nutrition education programs are needed to increase children and parents' awareness of the health risks arising from food intakes deviating importantly from the recommendations. It should be further investigated in more detail how this preschool age group dietary pattern, influences their nutrient intakes in order to check whether the current recommended dietary allowances represent the most optimal dietary intake for this group of preschool-aged children. At last, research should assess the health risks associated with these unhealthy eating habits of young children, deviating importantly from the age specific recommendations.
Predictive Ability of the SYNergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with TAXus and Cardiac Surgery Score II for Long-term Mortality in Patients with Three-vessel Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Treated with Second-generation Drug-eluting Stents

Background:The SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery Score II (SS-II) can well predict 4-year mortality in patients with complex coronary artery disease (CAD), and guide decision-making between coronary artery bypass graft surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, there is lack of data regarding the utility of the SS-II in patients with three-vessel CAD undergoing PCI treated with second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability of the SS-II to predict long-term mortality in patients with three-vessel CAD undergoing PCI with second-generation DES. Methods:Totally, 573 consecutive patients with de novo three-vessel CAD who underwent PCI with second-generation DES were retrospectively studied. According to the tertiles of the SS-II, the patients were divided into three groups: The lowest SS-II tertile (SS-II ⩽20), intermediate SS-II tertile (SS-II of 21–31), and the highest SS-II tertile (SS-II ≥32). The survival curves of the different groups were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between the SS-II and 5-year mortality. The performance of the SS-II with respect to predicting the rate of mortality was studied by calculating the area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. The predictive ability of the SS-II for 5-year mortality was evaluated and compared with the SS alone. Results:The overall SS-II was 27.6 ± 9.0. Among patients in the lowest, intermediate and the highest SS-II tertiles, the 5-year rates of mortality were 1.6%, 3.2%, and 8.6%, respectively (P = 0.003); the cardiac mortality rates were 0.5%, 1.9%, and 5.2%, respectively (P = 0.014). By multivariable analysis, adjusting for the potential confounders, the SS-II was an independent predictor of 5-year mortality (hazard ratio: 2.45, 95% confidence interval: 1.38–4.36; P = 0.002). The SS-II demonstrated a higher predictive accuracy for 5-year mortality compared with the SS alone (the area under the ROC curve was 0.705 and 0.598, respectively). Conclusion:The SS-II is an independent predictor of 5-year mortality in patients with three-vessel CAD undergoing PCI treated with second-generation DES, and demonstrates a superior predictive ability over the SS alone.
Dynamical Properties of BOLD Activity from the Ventral Posteromedial Cortex Associated with Meditation and Attentional Skills

Neuroimaging data suggest a link between the spontaneous production of thoughts during wakeful rest and slow fluctuations of activity in the default mode network (DMN), a set of brain regions with high basal metabolism and a major neural hub in the ventral posteromedial cortex (vPMC). Meta-awareness and regulation of mind-wandering are core cognitive components of most contemplative practices and to study their impact on DMN activity, we collected functional MRI (fMRI) data from a cohort of experienced Zen meditators and meditation-naive controls engaging in a basic attention-to-breathing protocol. We observed a significant group difference in the skewness of the fMRI BOLD signal from the vPMC, suggesting that the relative incidence of states of elevated vPMC activity was lower in meditators; furthermore, the same parameter was significantly correlated with performance on a rapid visual information processing (RVIP) test for sustained attention conducted outside the scanner. Finally, a functional connectivity analysis with the vPMC seed revealed a significant association of RVIP performance with the degree of temporal correlation between vPMC and the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), a region strongly implicated in stimulus-triggered reorienting of attention. Together, these findings suggest that the vPMC BOLD signal skewness and the temporal relationship of vPMC and TPJ activities reflect the dynamic tension between mind-wandering, meta-awareness, and directed attention, and may represent a useful endophenotype for studying individual differences in attentional abilities and the impairment of the latter in specific clinical conditions.
Cutting Edge: Tumor Rejection Mediated by NKG2D Receptor-Ligand Interaction Is Dependent upon Perforin1

We have investigated the primary immunity generated in vivo by MHC class I-deficient and -competent tumor cell lines that expressed the NKG2D ligand retinoic acid early inducible-1 (Rae-1) β. Rae-1β expression on class I-deficient RMA-S lymphoma cells enhanced primary NK cell-mediated tumor rejection in vivo, whereas RMA-Rae-1β tumor cells were rejected by a combination of NK cells and CD8+ T cells. Rae-1β expression stimulated NK cell cytotoxicity and IFN-γ secretion in vitro, but not proliferation. Surprisingly, only NK cell perforin-mediated cytotoxicity, but not production of IFN-γ, was critical for the rejection of Rae-1β-expressing tumor cells in vivo. This distinct requirement for perforin activity contrasts with the NK cell-mediated rejection of MHC class I-deficient RMA-S tumor cells expressing other activating ligands such as CD70 and CD80. Thus, these results indicated that NKG2D acted as a natural cytotoxicity receptor to stimulate perforin-mediated elimination of ligand-expressing tumor cells.
Mindfulness Meditation for Adolescent Stress and Well-Being: A Systematic Review of the Literature with Implications for School Health Programs.

*Ryan G. Erbe, MS, PhD Student, Associate Instructor Indiana University, 1310 Murphy’s Landing Drive, Apartment 208, Indianapolis, IN 46217; Phone: (607) 339-1897; Fax: (812)-855-3936; Email: rerbe@indiana. edu. ESG Chapter Membership: Nu Chapter, Indiana University David K. Lohrmann, PhD, MCHES, FASHA, FAAHE Professor and Chair, Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, 1025 East 7th Street, Suite 111, Bloomington, IN 47405; Phone: (812) 856-5101; Email: dlohrman @indiana.edu * Corresponding Author Abstract
Factors Affecting College Student's Mobile Phone Dependence and Anxiety

—Mobile phone is not only as tools for communication, but also as tools for emotional contact among people. People are more relying on mobile phone than ever before. Therefore, this paper is to investigate the factors affecting the mobile phone dependence and anxiety. A valid questionnaire survey of 435 college students in Taiwan found strong support for the research model. In accordance with the research model, usage rate, habit, and dependence have an individually impacted on mobile phone communication anxiety. Usage rate had a direct influence on habit. Usage rate and habit had direct effect on mobile phone dependence, respectively. Implications of these findings are discussed for educators, researchers and telecommunication practitioners.
Label-Free Density Measurements of Radial Peripapillary Capillaries in the Human Retina

Radial peripapillary capillaries (RPCs) comprise a unique network of capillary beds within the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and play a critical role in satisfying the nutritional requirements of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons. Understanding the topographical and morphological characteristics of these networks through in vivo techniques may improve our understanding about the role of RPCs in RGC axonal health and disease. This study utilizes a novel, non-invasive and label-free optical imaging technique, speckle variance optical coherence tomography (svOCT), for quantitatively studying RPC networks in the human retina. Six different retinal eccentricities from 16 healthy eyes were imaged using svOCT. The same eccentricities were histologically imaged in 9 healthy donor eyes with a confocal scanning laser microscope. Donor eyes were subject to perfusion-based labeling techniques prior to retinal dissection, flat mounting and visualization with the microscope. Capillary density and diameter measurements from each eccentricity in svOCT and histological images were compared. Data from svOCT images were also analysed to determine if there was a correlation between RNFL thickness and RPC density. The results are as follows: (1) The morphological characteristics of RPC networks on svOCT images are comparable to histological images; (2) With the exception of the nasal peripapillary region, there were no significant differences in RPC density measurements between svOCT and histological images; (3) Capillary diameter measurements were significantly greater in svOCT images compared to histology; (4) There is a positive correlation between RPC density and RNFL thickness. The findings in this study suggest that svOCT is a reliable modality for analyzing RPC networks in the human retina. It may therefore be a valuable tool for aiding our understanding about vasculogenic mechanisms that are involved in RGC axonopathies. Further work is required to explore the reason for some of the quantitative differences between svOCT and histology.
Human Serum Eye Drops in Eye Alterations: An Insight and a Critical Analysis

Human serum contains a physiological plethora of bioactive elements naturally released by activated platelets which might have a significant effect on the regeneration of corneal layers by stimulating the cell growth. This mechanism supported the use of human serum eye drops in some ocular diseases associated with dystrophic changes and alterations of the tear film, such as persistent corneal epithelial defects and dry eye syndrome. We focused our effort on potential benefits and limitations of the use of human serum eye drops when conventional therapies failed. We reviewed the recent literature by reporting published studies from 2010 to 2014. Despite the limited evaluated study populations, most of the clinical studies have confirmed that serum eye drop therapy is effective in corneal healing by reducing ocular symptom, particularly during the short-term follow-up. In addition, three recent published studies have shown the efficacy of the serum eye drop therapy in comparison to traditional ones in intractable patients. Besides, reported ongoing clinical studies confirmed the open debate regarding the use of biologic tools for cornea regeneration. Results from these studies might open novel challenges and perspectives in the therapy of such refractory patients.
A new comprehensive set of elemental abundances in DLAs III. Star formation histories

We obtained comprehensive sets of elemental abundances for eleven damped Lyα systems (DLAs) at zDLA = 1.7−2.5. For nine of them, we accurately constrained their intrinsic abundance patterns accounting for dust depletion and ionization effects. In Paper I of this series (Dessauges-Zavadsky et al. 2004, AA models with high star formation efficiencies are ruled out. The distribution of the DLA star formation histories shows a trend of finding more galaxies with a star formation history typical of dwarf irregulars with a bursting star formation toward high redshifts, z > 2. Only two DLA galaxies (each at z < 2) in our sample of nine objects have a star formation history typical of spiral galaxies. Since DLAs sample the broad distribution of galaxies at high redshift, this trend indicates that young and less evolved proto-galactic structures with low masses and low star formation rates are more common toward higher redshifts. This is further supported by the star formation rate and age distributions. Indeed, all the †