Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin and Target of rapamycin signaling orchestrate the development of ovarian niche-stem cell units in Drosophila

Tissue-specific stem cells and their niches are organized into functional units that respond to external cues in order to maintain organ homeostasis. Insulin and Target of rapamycin (Tor) signaling mediate external cues that control adult niches and stem cells. Whether these pathways play a role in the establishment of niche-stem cell units during organogenesis has been little explored. We show that during larval development both Insulin-like receptor (InR) and Tor participate in the establishment of ovarian niches and germline stem cells (GSCs) in Drosophila melanogaster. Tor and InR are required cell-autonomously for the proliferation of precursors for both somatic niches and GSCs. These pathways also promote the formation of terminal filaments (part of the somatic niche). Significantly, InR, but not Tor, signaling non-autonomously promotes primordial germ cell (PGC) differentiation. Somatic attenuation of the pathway retards PGC differentiation, whereas its activation results in their precocious differentiation. We also show that InR-mediated PGC differentiation is independent of somatic ecdysone signaling, but that further differentiation into cysts requires an ecdysone input. These results demonstrate that Tor and InR signaling actively participate in the formation of ovarian niches and stem cells by affecting both cell numbers and differentiation. The dual influence of Tor and InR on both somatic cells and PGCs ensures that these two cell populations develop coordinately. Our work further identifies a novel step in the regulation of germ cell differentiation by demonstrating that following bag of marbles expression, cyst formation requires an additional hormonal input.
Influenza Pneumonia

Background: Influenza and pneumonia are common childhood illnesses, but few studies have been conducted on influenza-related pneumonia in children. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and characteristics of laboratory-documented and radiologically detected influenza pneumonia in children. Methods: This study involved children treated at the Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, from 1980 through 2003. Influenza A or B infection was documented with the use of antigen detection from nasopharyngeal aspirates. Children with chest radiographs obtained during influenza episodes were identified. Chest radiographs were reevaluated by a pediatric radiologist for verification of pneumonic infiltrates. Clinical and laboratory data were collected from medical records. Results: Pneumonia was detected in 134 (14%) of 936 children with influenza infection. The most frequent signs of influenza pneumonia were fever and cough. Of these children, 47% had no specific clinical signs or symptoms suggesting pneumonia. White blood cell count was <15 × 109/L in 89% and serum C-reactive protein concentration <80 mg/L in 85% of the children. One-half of the children had solely interstitial infiltrates, one-fourth solely alveolar and one- fourth both alveolar and interstitial infiltrates on the chest radiograph. The hospitalization rate was 68%, and the median duration of hospitalization was 2 days. Complicated pneumonias were rare, and mortality was low (0.7%). Conclusions: Pneumonia is detected in a minority of children treated for influenza at a tertiary center. Unlike in adults, influenza pneumonia in children is usually a benign illness, and the mortality is low.
From tonus to tonicity: physiology of CLC chloride channels.

Chloride channels are involved in a multitude of physiologic processes ranging from basal cellular functions such as cell volume regulation and acidification of intracellular vesicles to more specialized mechanisms such as vectorial transepithelial transport and regulation of cellular excitability. This plethora of functions is accomplished by numerous functionally highly diverse chloride channels that are only partially identified at the molecular level. The CLC family of chloride channels comprises at present nine members in mammals that differ with respect to biophysical properties, cellular compartmentalization, and tissue distribution. Their common structural features include a predicted topology model with 10 to 12 transmembrane regions together with two C-terminal CBS domains. Loss of function mutations affecting three different members of the CLC channel family lead to three human inherited diseases : myotonia congenita, Dent's disease, and Bartter's syndrome. These diseases, together with the diabetes insipidus symptoms of a knockout mouse model, emphasize the physiologic relevance of this ion channel family.
Image-Based Recommendations on Styles and Substitutes

Humans inevitably develop a sense of the relationships between objects, some of which are based on their appearance. Some pairs of objects might be seen as being alternatives to each other (such as two pairs of jeans), while others may be seen as being complementary (such as a pair of jeans and a matching shirt). This information guides many of the choices that people make, from buying clothes to their interactions with each other. We seek here to model this human sense of the relationships between objects based on their appearance. Our approach is not based on fine-grained modeling of user annotations but rather on capturing the largest dataset possible and developing a scalable method for uncovering human notions of the visual relationships within. We cast this as a network inference problem defined on graphs of related images, and provide a large-scale dataset for the training and evaluation of the same. The system we develop is capable of recommending which clothes and accessories will go well together (and which will not), amongst a host of other applications.
Intraoperative Endoscopic Botox Injection During Total Esophagectomy Prevents the Need for Pyloromyotomy or Dilatation.

BACKGROUND Esophagectomy may lead to impairment in gastric emptying unless pyloric drainage is performed. Pyloric drainage may be technically challenging during minimally invasive esophagectomy and can add morbidity. We sought to determine the effectiveness of intraoperative endoscopic injection of botulinum toxin into the pylorus during robotic-assisted esophagectomy as an alternative to surgical pyloric drainage. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the distal esophagus or gastroesophageal junction who underwent robotic-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy (RATE) without any surgical pyloric drainage. Patients with and without intraoperative endoscopic injection of 200 units of botulinum toxin in 10 cc of saline (BOTOX group) were compared to those that did not receive any pyloric drainage (noBOTOX group). Main outcome measure was the incidence of postoperative pyloric stenosis; secondary outcomes included operative and oncologic parameters, length of stay (LOS), morbidity, and mortality. RESULTS From November 2006 to August 2014, 41 patients (6 females) with a mean age of 65 years underwent RATE without surgical drainage of the pylorus. There were 14 patients in the BOTOX group and 27 patients in the noBOTOX group. Mean operative time was not different between the comparison groups. There was one conversion to open surgery in the BOTOX group. No pyloric dysfunction occurred in the BOTOX group postoperatively, and eight stenoses in the noBOTOX group (30%) required endoscopic therapy (P < .05). There were no differences in incidence of anastomotic strictures or anastomotic leaks. One patient in group noBOTOX required pyloroplasty 3 months after esophagectomy. There was one death in the noBOTOX group postoperatively (30-day mortality 2.4%). Mean LOS was 9.6 days, and BOTOX patients were discharged earlier (7.4 versus 10.7, P < .05). CONCLUSION Intraoperative endoscopic injection of botulinum toxin into the pylorus during RATE is feasible, safe, and effective and can prevent the need for pyloromyotomy.
Submaximal exercise gas exchange is an important prognostic tool to predict adverse outcomes in heart failure

Traditionally, VO2peak has been used to determine prognosis in heart failure; however, this measure has limitations. Hence, other exercise and gas exchange parameters measured submaximally, e.g. breathing efficiency (VE/VCO2), end‐tidal CO2 (PETCO2), oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), and circulatory power [ systolic blood pressure (SBP)], have been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic relevance of submaximal exercise gas exchange in heart failure patients.
Associations among postpartum depression, eating disorders, and perfectionism in a population-based sample of adult women.

OBJECTIVE The current study investigated associations among eating disorders, depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, and perfectionism in a population-based sample of women. METHOD Females who reported > or = 1 pregnancy (N = 1,119) completed questionnaires assessing perfectionism, eating disorder symptomatology, and depression during pregnancy and postpartum. Information regarding participants' history of major depressive disorder (MDD) was also available from structured psychiatric interviews completed during a previous wave of data collection. RESULTS Depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum were high among women with a history of eating disorders. Both binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN) were positively associated with symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD), even when lifetime MDD was controlled. However, logistic regression indicated that women with a history of BN and BED are at particular risk of developing PPD symptomatology. Linear regression analyses conducted with the subset of the sample who endorsed a PPD screening item suggested that the severity of PPD symptomatology may be attributable to Concern Over Mistakes, a specific aspect of perfectionism. CONCLUSION These results highlight the importance of assessing specific features of perfectionism. In addition, they suggest that women with BN, BED, or high Concern over Mistakes may be at particular risk of developing PPD symptoms, and could benefit from prenatal screening.
Hydrological simulation (Rainfall-Runoff) of Kalaya watershed (Tangier, Morocco) using Geo-spatial tools

In this study, the hydrologic modeling software HEC-HMS coupled with geo-spatial tools such as GIS and remote sensing have been used to establish the hydrological model in Kalaya watersheds located southeast of Tangier city (northwestern Morocco). The purpose is to simulate rainfall-runoff process in Kalaya watershed and to predict peak discharge for different return periods. In this hydrological simulation, SCS Curve Number method was selected as an infiltration part of the HEC-HMS model and direct runoff was transformed by US SCS unit hydrograph (UH). This model has allowed to establish unit hydrograph and various meteorological and hydrological processes for the flood hydrograph, as well as the estimation of runoff for 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5 years return periods.
The choice of a tocolytic for the treatment of preterm labor: a critical evaluation of nifedipine versus atosiban

Preterm birth is the major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the developed world. The perfect tocolytic that is uniformly effective with complete fetomaternal safety does not exist. Tocolytic agents differ in cost, utero-specificity, safety, efficacy and whether they are licensed for use. The main three agents that are used worldwide are β-agonists, Ca2+ channel blockers and vasopressin/oxytocin receptor antagonists. β-Agonists are gradually being phased out of use and are being replaced by either nifedipine or atosiban. The evidence base for atosiban is strong but the evidence is of poor quality for nifedipine. The balance of evidence indicates that atosiban is as effective as nifedipine and more effective than β-agonists and is significantly safer than both. Atosiban was developed specifically to treat preterm labor, so the cost is higher than nifedipine or ritodrine. However, the cost of a course of atosiban (∼ £200) should not only be considered in comparison with other tocolytic agents but to other medical budgets (e.g., oncology, fertility, cardiology and psychiatry) and to the huge healthcare costs associated with the morbidity and mortality caused by preterm birth. Atosiban is a new advance in the management of spontaneous preterm labor.
Hydrological and climatic variability in the river basins of the West Siberian Plain (from meteorological stations, model reanalysis and satellite altimetry data)

Because of high level of swamping in West Siberia and a sparse network of hydrometeorological stations, monitoring of hydrological regime is hindered. In such a situation, it is necessary to involve model reanalysis and satellite altimetry data that ensure the regular coverage of the whole West Siberian Plain, making it possible to supplement field studies and to considerably expand the area of research. This determines the relevance of the thesis. Chapter 1 describes the physic and geographic factors that determined the evolution of the West Siberian Plain; chapter 2 is devoted to methods used in the study; the analysis of trends of air temperature and precipitation is presented in the 3rd chapter as well as the estimation of temporal variability of moisture regime of watersheds from satellite altimetry. The originality of the thesis is to apply satellite altimetry data for estimation of spatiotemporal variability of flooded zones based on the analysis of a reflected signal.
Rearing photoperiod and abrupt versus gradual photostimulation for egg-type pullets

1. Lohmann White and Lohmann Brown egg-type hybrids were reared on 6-, 8-, 10- or 12-h photoperiods, transferred to 12·5 h at 18 weeks and then given weekly increments to reach 14 h at 21 weeks. In a second experiment, Lohmann White pullets from the same rearing facility were transferred abruptly to 14 h at 18 weeks. 2. Body weight gain and feed intake to 6 and 18 weeks were positively correlated with rearing photoperiod in both breeds. Mortality to 18 weeks was unaffected. 3. Whether the photoperiod was increased abruptly or in a series of increments, Lohmann White pullets reared on 6 or 8 h matured 4 to 6 d later than pullets reared on 10 or 12 h. Rearing day-length had little effect on sexual maturity in Lohmann Brown pullets. 4. In both genotypes and each experiment, egg numbers, egg weight and shell strength increased with rearing photoperiod. Feed intake in the laying period was not significantly affected by rearing day-length, but a meta-analysis of all data showed a significant, though small, increase in adult feed intake with rearing photoperiod. Despite Lohmann White birds reared on 6 and 8 h having lower body weights throughout the laying period, they had larger body weight gains between 18 and 70 weeks than those reared on 10 or 12 h. There were no clear effects of rearing photoperiod on albumen height or mortality. 5. The heavier eggs and stronger shells of the birds reared on the longer day-lengths were correlated with heavier body weights at 18 weeks, and the superior egg numbers and higher feed intake were associated with age at sexual maturity.
Sleep disordered breathing and post-discharge mortality in patients with acute heart failure.

BACKGROUND Hospitalizations for heart failure are associated with a high post-discharge risk for mortality. Identification of modifiable predictors of post-discharge mortality during hospitalization may improve outcome. Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is the most common co-morbidity in heart failure patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (AHF) in a single academic heart hospital. Between January 2007 and December 2010, all patients hospitalized with AHF who have left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 45% and were not already diagnosed with SDB were the target population. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Patients underwent in-hospital attended polygraphy testing for SDB and were followed for a median of 3 years post-discharge. Mortality was recorded using national and state vital statistics databases. RESULTS During the study period, 1117 hospitalized AHF patients underwent successful sleep testing. Three hundred and forty-four patients (31%) had central sleep apnoea (CSA), 525(47%) patients had obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and 248 had no or minimal SDB (nmSDB). Of those, 1096 patients survived to discharge and were included in the mortality analysis. Central sleep apnoea was independently associated with mortality. The multivariable hazard ratio (HR) for time to death for CSA vs. nmSDB was 1.61 (95% CI: 1.1, 2.4, P = 0.02). Obstructive sleep apnoea was also independently associated with mortality with a multivariable HR vs. nmSDB of 1.53 (CI: 1.1, 2.2, P = 0.02). The Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for the following covariates: LVEF, age, BMI, sex, race, creatinine, diabetes, type of cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, discharge systolic blood pressure <110, hypertension, discharge medications, initial length of stay, admission sodium, haemoglobin, and BUN. CONCLUSIONS This is the largest study to date to evaluate the effect of SDB on post-discharge mortality in patients with AHF. Newly diagnosed CSA and OSA during AHF hospitalization are independently associated with post-discharge mortality.
New transmission simulation of EA-modulator integrated DFB-lasers considering the facet reflection-induced chirp

Influence of optical feedback-induced chirp on transmission performance of electroabsorption-modulator integrated DFB lasers is simulated for the first time. The measured transmission power penalties against modulator facet reflectivity show good agreement with the calculation, which directly shows the effectiveness of this simulation for reproducible low-chirp operation of electroabsorption modulator integrated DFB laser transmissions.
Snc1p v‐SNARE Transport to the Prospore Membrane During Yeast Sporulation is Dependent on Endosomal Retrieval Pathways

Vesicular traffic is essential for sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The Golgi‐associated retrograde protein (GARP) tethering complex is required for retrograde traffic from both the early and late endosomes to the Golgi. Analyses of GARP complex mutants in sporulation reveal defects in meiotic progression and spore formation. In contrast, inactivation of the retromer complex, which mediates vesicle budding and cargo selection from the late endosome, or Snx4p, which is involved in retrieval of proteins from the early endosome, has little effect on sporulation. A retromer GARP double mutant is defective in the formation of the prospore membrane (PSM) that surrounds the haploid nuclei. In the retromer GARP double mutant, PSM precursor vesicles carrying the cargo, Dtr1p, are transported to the spindle pole body (SPB), where PSM formation is initiated. However, the v‐SNARE Snc1p is not transported to the SPB in the double mutant, suggesting that the defect in PSM formation is because of the failure to retrieve Snc1p, and perhaps other proteins, from the endosomal pathway. Taken together, these results indicate that retrograde trafficking from the endosome is essential for sporulation by retrieving molecules important for PSM and spore wall formation.
Long-wave UV light fluorescence for identification of black-pigmented Bacteroides spp

Black-pigmented Bacteroides strains were grown on blood agar, and the colonies were evaluated for fluorescence from long-wave UV light. Most test strains of Bacteroides melaninogenicus subsp. intermedius exhibited a brilliant red fluorescence. B. melaninogenicus subsp. melaninogenicus fluoresced mostly red-orange. Bacteroides asaccharolyticus showed a yellow or red fluorescence. The intensity of the Bacteroides fluorescence weakened when the black pigment of the colonies developed. In contrast, neither young nor old colonies of the oral species Bacteroides gingivalis displayed fluorescence. Since B. gingivalis can produce severe oral infections and also can seed to nonoral sites, awareness of the inability of this organism to fluoresce is important for microbiologists utilizing UV light fluorescence to screen for black-pigmented Bacteroides spp. The present data also indicate that UV light fluorescence may be a rapid method of distinguishing some black-pigmented Bacteroides spp.
Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience Synaptic Neuroscience

Molecular pathobiology of fXS Fragile X mental retardation protein normally functions as a an inhibitory regulator of translation of metabotropic glutamate Thus the loss of FMRP results in excessive translation of mGluR5. mGluR5 plays an integral role in the establishment of new synaptic connections (Le Be and Markram, 2006) and thus is critical to stabilizing long-term depression (LTD) and inducing long-term potentiation (LTP) (Simonyi et al., 2005). The excessive mGluR5 activity caused by the lack of FMRP is apparent neuroanatomically with an increased density of long, thin aberrantly shaped dendritic spines in post mortem studies (Irwin et al.,
The Hector Distributed Run – Time Environment 1

– Harnessing the computational capabilities of a network of workstations promises to off–load work from overloaded supercomputers onto largely idle resources overnight. Several capabilities are needed to do this, including support for an architecture–independent parallel programming environment, task migration, automatic resource allocation, and fault tolerance. The Hector distributed run–time environment is designed to present these capabilities transparently to programmers. MPI programs can be run under this environment with no modifications to their source code needed. The design of Hector, its internal structure, and several benchmarks and tests are presented.
Radiation dose escalation combined with hormone therapy improves outcome in localised prostate cancer

We present the impact of systematic radiation dose escalation from 64 Gy to 66 Gy to 70 Gy on the outcome after radiation therapy (RT) alone or combined with hormonal treatment (HT) in a series of 494 consecutive localised prostate cancer patients treated during 1990–1999. Prognostic factors for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure, overall survival (OS) and prostate cancer specific survival (CSS) were investigated using multivariate analysis. T stage, pre-treatment PSA, grade, radiation dose and HT were found to be independent predictors of PSA failure. T stage, grade and HT were also independent predictors of both OS and CSS, while radiation dose was a significant predictor for OS and indicated a trend (p = 0.07) for CSS. A dose of 70 Gy combined with hormonal treatment improves PSA failure free survival and survival in localised prostate cancer compared with doses of 64–66 Gy.
Maximum-Likelihood Estimation of Parameters of NHPP Software Reliability Models Using Expectation Conditional Maximization Algorithm

Since its introduction in 1977, the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm has been one of the most important and widely used estimation method in estimating parameters of distributions in the presence of incomplete information. In this paper, a variant of the EM algorithm, the expectation conditional maximization (ECM) algorithm, is introduced for the first time and it provides a promising alternative in estimating the parameters of nonhomogeneous poisson (NHPP) software reliability growth models (SRGM). This algorithm circumvents the difficult M-step of the EM algorithm by replacing it by a series of conditional maximization steps. The utility of the ECM approach is demonstrated in the estimation of parameters of several well-known models for both time domain and time interval software failure data. Numerical examples with real-data indicate that the ECM algorithm performs well in estimating parameters of NHPP SRGM with complex mean value functions and can produce a faster rate of convergence.