Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medullary and supramedullary mechanisms regulating sympathetic vasomotor tone.

AIM Neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) that project directly to sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal cord play a critical role in maintaining tonic activity in sympathetic vasomotor nerves. Intracellular recordings in vivo from putative RVLM presympathetic neurons have demonstrated that under resting conditions these neurons display an irregular tonic firing rate, and also receive both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. This paper will briefly review some recent findings on the role of glutamate, GABA and angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors in maintaining the tonic activity of RVLM presympathetic neurons. RESULTS Based on these findings, the following hypotheses will be discussed: (1) RVLM neurons receive tonic glutamatergic excitatory inputs, which originate from both medullary and supramedullary sources; (2) at least some neurons that project to and tonically inhibit RVLM presympathetic neurons are themselves tonically inhibited by GABAergic inputs originating from neurons in the caudalmost part of the ventrolateral medulla (caudal pressor area); (3) under normal conditions, Ang II receptors in the RVLM do not contribute significantly to the tonic activity of RVLM presympathetic neurons, but may do so in abnormal conditions such as heart failure or neurogenic hypertension; (4) RVLM presympathetic neurons maintain a significant level of tonic resting activity even when glutamate, GABA and Ang II receptors on the neurons are completely blocked. Under these conditions, the tonic activity is a consequence either of the intrinsic membrane properties of the neurons (autoactivity) or of synaptic inputs mediated by receptors other than glutamate, GABA or Ang II receptors. CONCLUSION The current evidence indicates that the resting activity of RVLM presympathetic neurons is determined by the balance of powerful tonic excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. Ang II receptors also contribute to the raised resting activity of these neurons in some pathological conditions.
Silkworm larvae as an animal model of bacterial infection pathogenic to humans.

Silkworm larvae, Bombyx mori, were examined as an animal model of human infection with pathogenic bacteria. When 3 x 10(7) cells of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or Vibrio cholerae were injected into the blood of fifth instar silkworm larvae, over 90% of the larvae died within 2 days, whereas over 90% survived for 5 days after injection of the same amount of Escherichia coli. Growth of S. aureus was observed in larvae blood and tissues. Immunostaining analysis revealed that S. aureus proliferated at the surface of the midgut. Infection of silkworm larvae by methicillin-sensitive S. aureus was cured by ampicillin, oxacillin, and vancomycin, whereas infection by methicillin-resistant S. aureus was not cured by ampicillin or oxacillin, although vancomycin was effective. Disinfectants were not effective because of toxicity against the larvae. Thus, silkworm larvae are useful for evaluating antibiotics for pathogenic bacterial infection in humans.
Munc 18-1 Is Critical for Plasma Membrane Localization of Syntaxin 1 but Not of SNAP-25 in PC 12 Cells

Although Munc18-1 was originally identified as a syntaxin1–interacting protein, the physiological significance of this interaction remains unclear. In fact, recent studies of Munc18-1 mutants have suggested that Munc18-1 plays a critical role for docking of secretory vesicles, independent of syntaxin1 regulation. Here we investigated the role of Munc18-1 in syntaxin1 localization by generating stable neuroendocrine cell lines in which Munc18-1 was strongly down-regulated. In these cells, the secretion capability, as well as the docking of dense-core vesicles, was significantly reduced. More importantly, not only was the expression level of syntaxin1 reduced, but the localization of syntaxin1 at the plasma membrane was also severely perturbed. The mislocalized syntaxin1 resided primarily in the perinuclear region of the cells, in which it was highly colocalized with Secretogranin II, a marker protein for dense-core vesicles. In contrast, the expression level and the plasma membrane localization of SNAP-25 were not affected. Furthermore, the syntaxin1 localization and the secretion capability were restored upon transfection-mediated reintroduction of Munc18-1. Our results indicate that endogenous Munc18-1 plays a critical role for the plasma membrane localization of syntaxin1 in neuroendocrine cells and therefore necessitates the interpretation of Munc18-1 mutant phenotypes to be in terms of mislocalized syntaxin1.
Orientation Selectivity in the Retina: ON Cell Types and Mechanisms

Orientation selectivity was first described in cat primary visual cortex by [Hubel and Wiesel (1962)][1] as the selectivity of neuronal firing for elongated visual stimuli oriented along a specific axis. Shortly afterward, [Levick (1967)][2] identified orientation-selective ganglion cells (OSGCs) in
Outlier Detection Techniques for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey

In the field of wireless sensor networks, those measurements that significantly deviate from the normal pattern of sensed data are considered as outliers. The potential sources of outliers include noise and errors, events, and malicious attacks on the network. Traditional outlier detection techniques are not directly applicable to wireless sensor networks due to the nature of sensor data and specific requirements and limitations of the wireless sensor networks. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of existing outlier detection techniques specifically developed for the wireless sensor networks. Additionally, it presents a technique-based taxonomy and a comparative table to be used as a guideline to select a technique suitable for the application at hand based on characteristics such as data type, outlier type, outlier identity, and outlier degree.
Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth, Shame, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: The Roles of Social Support and Coping

iii List of Tables vi Intimate Partner Violence Intimate Partner Violence and Post Intimate Partner Violence and Social Social Support as a Prot 3 Social Support as a R Intimate Partner Violence and General Coping Coping Style as a Protect Coping Style as a Growth P Coping Style as a R Intimate Partner Violence and Religious Religious Coping as a Pro Religious Coping as a Growth Religious Coping as a Risk Chapter II: Methods Inclusion Criteria. Participants
Clinical Management of Infections Caused by Enterobacteriaceae that Express Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase and AmpC Enzymes

Abstract The production of β-lactamase is the principal mechanism by which gram-negative bacteria resist the action of β-lactam antibiotics. In recent decades, there has been an alarming explosion in the diversity, global dissemination, host range, and spectrum of activity of β-lactamases. This has been most clearly reflected by the marked increase in infections caused by bacteria that express extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs). Some bacterial species possess chromosomally encoded broad-spectrum cephalosporinases (AmpC) that may be expressed at high level by mutational loss of regulatory genes and are intrinsic in some common Enterobacteriaceae, such as Enterobacter spp. Recently, high-level AmpC production has also been seen in new species such as Escherichia coli via plasmid acquisition. ESBL and AmpC producers present challenges to susceptibility testing and the selection of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. This review describes the current global epidemiology of ESBL producers, examines reported risk factors for infections caused by gram-negative bacteria that express ESBL or AmpC enzymes, and discusses the options for antimicrobial therapy, including “re-discovered” older antibiotics and novel agents in development.
Deep sequencing reveals complex mechanisms of diapause preparation in the invasive mosquito, Aedes albopictus

Seasonal environments present fundamental physiological challenges to a wide range of insects. Many temperate insects surmount the exigencies of winter by undergoing photoperiodic diapause, in which photoperiod provides a token cue that initiates an alternative developmental programme leading to dormancy. Pre-diapause is a crucial preparatory phase of this process, preceding developmental arrest. However, the regulatory and physiological mechanisms of diapause preparation are largely unknown. Using high-throughput gene expression profiling in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, we reveal major shifts in endocrine signalling, cell proliferation, metabolism, energy production and cellular structure across pre-diapause development. While some hallmarks of diapause, such as insulin signalling and stress response, were not important at the transcriptional level, two genes, Pepck and PCNA, appear to show diapause-induced transcriptional changes across insect taxa. These processes demonstrate physiological commonalities between Ae. albopictus pre-diapause and diapause strategies across insects, and support the idea of a genetic ‘toolkit’ for diapause. Observations of gene expression trends from a comparative developmental perspective suggest that individual physiological processes are delayed against a background of a fixed morphological ontogeny. Our results demonstrate how deep sequencing can provide new insights into elusive molecular bases of complex ecological adaptations.
Fragile environment in need of resilient carers? A case of regional natural resources management in Perth, Western Australia

The Perth region is one of the 56 designated Natural Resources Management (NRM) regions in Australia. A community-led body – Perth Region NRM (PRNRM) – is in charge of overseeing NRM initiatives in the region. PRNRM heavily relies on Environmental Care Organisations (ECOs) that are involved in a wide variety of activities ranging from managing nature reserves to restoring ecosystems on a voluntary basis. While ECOs have become an integral component of PRNRM, they are often vulnerable because of the uncertain availability of financial and human resources. The way these organisations can overcome resource scarcities and become resilient is therefore significant for the effective delivery of regional NRM arrangements. However, what makes some ECOs in the Perth region more resilient than others is not well understood. This paper responds to this gap and explores the state of ECOs in the Perth region. The paper begins by reviewing the notion of resilience using a social capital lens. Drawing on a survey of ECOs and interviews, the method used for data collection and data analysis is presented next. Finally, the paper makes a case for fostering social capital as a way of enhancing the resilience of ECOs in the Perth region and beyond.
Epitope‐tagged dopamine transporter knock‐in mice reveal rapid endocytic trafficking and filopodia targeting of the transporter in dopaminergic axons

The plasma membrane dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) is essential for reuptake of extracellular DA. DAT function in heterologous cells is regulated by subcellular targeting, endocytosis, and intracellular trafficking, but the mechanisms regulating neuronal DAT remain poorly understood. Hence, we generated a knock‐in mouse expressing a hemagglutinin (HA)‐epitope‐tagged DAT to study endogenous transporter trafficking. Introduction of the HA tag into the second extracellular loop of mouse DAT did not perturb its expression level, distribution pattern, or substrate uptake kinetics. Live‐cell fluorescence microscopy imaging using fluorescently labeled HA‐specific antibody and a quantitative HA‐antibody endocytosis assay demonstrated that in axons HA‐DAT was primarily located in the plasma membrane and internalized mostly in growth cones and varicosities, where synaptic vesicle markers were also concentrated. Formation of varicosities was frequently preceded or accompanied by highly dynamic filopodia‐like membrane protrusions. Remarkably, HA‐DAT often concentrated at the tips of these filopodia. This pool of HA‐DATs exhibited low lateral membrane mobility. Thus, DAT‐containing filopodia may be involved in synaptogenesis in developing DA neurons. Treatment of neurons with amphetamine increased mobility of filopodial HA‐DAT and accelerated HA‐DAT endocytosis in axons, suggesting that chronic amphetamine may interfere with DA synapse development. Interestingly, phorbol esters did not accelerate endocytosis of axonal DAT. —Rao, A. , Richards, T. L. , Simmons, D. , Zahniser, N. R. , Sorkin, A. Epitope‐tagged dopamine transporter knock‐in mice reveal rapid endocytic trafficking and filopodia targeting of the transporter in dopaminergic axons. FASEB J. 26, 1921‐1933 (2012). www.fasebj. org
Image change detection for a Personal Rapid Transit application

Automatically identifying objects and people left in the interior of vehicles is highly desirable because human monitoring has high running costs and low efficiency associated with it. A new Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system currently being designed by Advanced Transport Systems Ltd (ATS) features many autonomous vehicles and therefore the task is of particular importance. This paper describes two approaches that use changes in the visual image of the interior to predict the likelihood of left objects and remaining people. The first approach is based on identifying structural differences. The second approach uses a shading model method. A variation of the shading model with information from the colour channels is also described. The results show that the modified shading model approach gives the best performance.
Comparison of in Vitro Models for the Prediction of Compound Absorption across the Human Intestinal Mucosa

Several in vitro assays have been developed to evaluate the gastrointestinal absorption of compounds. Our aim was to compare 3 of these methods: 1) the bio-mimetic artificial membrane permeability assay (BAMPA) method, which offers a high-throughput, noncellular approach to the measurement of passive transport; 2) the traditional Caco-2 cell assay, the use of which as a high-throughput tool is limited by the long cell differentiation time (21 days); and 3) The BioCoat™ high-throughput screening Caco-2 Assay System, which reduces Caco-2 cell differentiation to 3 days. The transport of known compounds (such as cephalexin, propranolol, or chlorothiazide) was studied at pH 7.4 and 6.5 in BAMPA and both Caco-2 cell models. Permeability data obtained was correlated to known values of human absorption. Best correlations (r = 0.9) were obtained at pH 6.5 for BAMPA and at pH 7.4 for the Caco-2 cells grown for 21 days. The Caco-2 BioCoat™ HTS Caco-2 Assay System does not seem to be adequate for the prediction of absorption. The overall results indicate that BAMPA and the 21-day Caco-2 system can be complementary for an accurate prediction of human intestinal absorption.
A sensor-less NBTI mitigation methodology for NoC architectures

CMOS technology improvement allows to increase the number of cores integrated on a single chip and makes Network-on-Chips (NoCs) a key component from the performance and reliability standpoints. Unfortunately, continuous scaling of CMOS technology poses severe concerns regarding failure mechanisms such as NBTI and stress migration, that are crucial in achieving acceptable component lifetime. Process variation complicates the scenario, decreasing device lifetime and performance predictability during chip fabrication. This paper presents a novel sensor-less methodology to reduce the NBTI degradation in the on-chip network virtual channel buffers, considering process variation effects as well. Experimental validation is obtained using a cycle accurate simulator considering both real and synthetic traffic patterns. We compare our methodology to the best sensor-wise approach used as reference golden model. The proposed sensor-less strategy achieves results within 25% to the optimal sensor-wise methodology while this gap is reduced around 10% decreasing the number of virtual channels per input port. Moreover, our proposal can mitigate NBTI impact both in short and long run, since we recover both the most degraded VC (short run) as well as all the other VCs (long term).
Isolation and characterization of atypical Listeria monocytogenes associated with a canine urinary tract infection

Listeria monocytogenes, a well-described cause of encephalitis and abortion in ruminants and of food-borne illness in humans, is rarely associated with disease in companion animals. A case of urinary tract infection associated with an atypical, weakly hemolytic L. monocytogenes strain is described in a diabetic dog. The serotype of the L. monocytogenes isolate was determined to be 1/2a (3a), with the multilocus genotyping pattern 2. 72_1/2a. A nucleotide substitution (Gly145Asp) was detected at residue 145 in the promoter prfA region. This residue is within the critical helix-turn-helix motif of PrfA. The source of the L. monocytogenes strain remains unknown, and the dog recovered after a 4-week course of cephalexin (30 mg/kg orally twice daily).
[Prevalence of trachoma in rural primary school children in Tengzhou City of Shandong Province in China].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of trachoma and its risk factors in rural primary school children in Tengzhou City of Shandong Province. METHODS In this cross-sectional population-based study, children aged 5 to 14 years old in primary school were randomly selected by a cluster sampling in which school shift was the sampling unit. Out of 2742 students, 2676 were eligible. The examination rate was 97.60%. All selected students were assessed for trachoma using the simplified grading scheme proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Statistical significance was calculated using Chi-square tests. RESULTS Out of 2676 eligible children, 593 cases of active trachoma were found, the prevalence of trachoma was 22.16% (95% CI:20.59%-23.73%). In 1606 boys, the prevalence of active trachoma was 19.74%, compared with 25.79% for girls. Girls were affected by active trachoma higher than boys (25.79% versus 19.74%, P=0.000). There was no significant difference among different age groups in term of the prevalence of trachoma (P=0.052). The prevalence of trachomatous follicle (TF), trachomatous inflammation (TI), and trachomatous scarring (TS) was 5.68% (152/2676), 19.21% (514/2676), 0.56% (15/2676), respectively. TI was more prevalent in girls than in boys (22.90% versus 16.75%, P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS Trachoma is still endemic in children of primary schools in Tengzhou rural areas. Some interventions including mass treatment with antibiotics, improvement of hygienic conditions, and improvement of primary eye care are needed.
F " C CNN " Architecture " Output : " " Surface " Normal " " F " C F " C Input " ( I ) : " " RGB " Image " Convolu ? onal " Layers "

We introduce an approach that leverages surface normal predictions, along with appearance cues, to retrieve 3D models for objects depicted in 2D still images from a large CAD object library. Critical to the success of our approach is the ability to recover accurate surface normals for objects in the depicted scene. We introduce a skip-network model built on the pre-trained Oxford VGG convolutional neural network (CNN) for surface normal prediction. Our model achieves state-of-the-art accuracy on the NYUv2 RGB-D dataset for surface normal prediction, and recovers fine object detail compared to previous methods. Furthermore, we develop a two-stream network over the input image and predicted surface normals that jointly learns pose and style for CAD model retrieval. When using the predicted surface normals, our two-stream network matches prior work using surface normals computed from RGB-D images on the task of pose prediction, and achieves state of the art when using RGB-D input. Finally, our two-stream network allows us to retrieve CAD models that better match the style and pose of a depicted object compared with baseline approaches.
A mannan binding lectin is involved in cell–cell attachment in a toxic strain of Microcystis aeruginosa

Microcystin, a hepatotoxin that represents a serious health risk for humans and livestock, is produced by the bloom‐forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa in freshwater bodies worldwide. Here we describe the discovery of a lectin, microvirin (MVN), in M. aeruginosa PCC7806 that shares 33% identity with the potent anti‐HIV protein cyanovirin‐N from Nostoc ellipsosporum. Carbohydrate microarrays were employed to demonstrate the high specificity of the protein for high‐mannose structures containing α(1→2) linked mannose residues. Lectin binding analyses and phenotypic characterizations of MVN‐deficient mutants suggest that MVN is involved in cell–cell recognition and cell–cell attachment of Microcystis. A binding partner of MVN was identified in the lipopolysaccharide fraction of M. aeruginosa PCC7806. MVN is differentially expressed in mutants lacking the hepatotoxin microcystin. Additionally, MVN‐deficient mutants contain much lower amounts of microcystin than the wild‐type cells. We discuss a possible functional correlation between microcystin and the lectin and possible implications on Microcystis morphotype formation. This study provides the first experimental evidence that microcystins may have an impact on Microcystis colony formation that is highly important for the competitive advantage of Microcystis over other phytoplankton species.
Forms of Variable Resistance Training

RESISTANCE TRAINING METHODS HAVE BEEN BROADLY CLASSIFIED INTO 3 CATEGORIES: CONSTANT, ACCOMMODATING, AND VARIABLE RESISTANCE. VARIABLE RESISTANCE TRAINING METHODS, WHICH INCLUDES CAMS AND LEVERS, CHAINS, AND RUBBER-BASED RESISTANCE, WILL BE THE FOCUS OF THIS ARTICLE. THE KINEMATICS, KINETICS, AND HUMAN STRENGTH CURVE CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE 3 TYPES OF VARIABLE RESISTANCE ARE DISCUSSED, GIVEN THAT EACH RESISTANCE TYPE MAY OFFER A UNIQUE SET OF MECHANICAL STIMULI AND, HENCE, MUSCULOSKELETAL ADAPTATIONS. THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH FORM OF VARIABLE RESISTANCE WILL ALSO BE CONSIDERED.
Sliding mode control with the reduced-order switching function: an SCB approach

In this paper, the method to design the reduced-order switching function for an uncertain linear system in special coordinate basis (SCB) form is proposed. The sliding mode control with this method guarantees the asymptotic stability of all the states of system in presence of matched disturbance. The proposed design method is applicable to the system with unstable internal dynamics as well. This method enables the option of designing the control law with reduced-order states that are involved in the design of switching function. Also, a high performance sliding mode step-tracking control for non-minimum phase systems using reduced-order nonlinear switching function is proposed. The method is also extended to multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) systems. An effectiveness of sliding mode control with reduced-order switching function is shown through numerical examples.