Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early versus Late-Phase Consolidation of Opiate Reward Memories Requires Distinct Molecular and Temporal Mechanisms in the Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortical Pathway

The consolidation of newly acquired memories involves the temporal transition from a recent, less stable trace to a more permanent consolidated form. Opiates possess potent rewarding effects and produce powerful associative memories. The activation of these memories is associated with opiate abuse relapse phenomena and the persistence of compulsive opiate dependence. However, the neuronal, molecular and temporal mechanisms by which associative opiate reward memories are consolidated are not currently understood. We report that the consolidation of associative opiate reward memories involves a temporal and molecular switch between the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) (early consolidation phase) to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) (late consolidation phase). We demonstrate at the molecular, behavioral and neuronal levels that the consolidation of a recently acquired opiate reward memory involves an extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)-dependent phosphorylation process within the BLA. In contrast, later-stage consolidation of a newly acquired memory is dependent upon a calcium-calmodulin-dependent (CaMKII), ERK-independent, mechanism in the mPFC, over a 12 hr temporal gradient. In addition, using in vivo multi-unit neuronal recordings in the mPFC, we report that protein synthesis within the BLA modulates the consolidation of opiate-reward memory in neuronal mPFC sub-populations, via the same temporal dynamic.
Refurbishment of steel tubular pipes using composite materials

Abstract This paper describes a glass fibre based composite repair system for steel tubular pipes that can cope with internal and external corrosion, as well as mechanical damage. The original objective, to develop a rehabilitation technique for pressures up to 40 bar, has been achieved and significantly higher pressures seem viable. The most critical parameter for tubes subject to internal corrosion, was identified as the ability of a bonded repair system to resist the formation of pressurised blisters. It is shown that, for bonded repairs, the key parameter determining blistering resistance is the fracture toughness of the metal/composite interface in the presence of pressurised fluid. The effective value of this parameter was found to be lower than might be expected on the basis of published fracture toughness values of laminates. This was attributed to the presence of pressurised water at the metal/composite interface. A fracture mechanics based criterion is proposed to enable the performance of repair systems to be assessed and compared. To address different repair scenarios, especially for higher pressures and when surface preparation may be difficult, a novel version of the rehabilitation system has been developed, which does not depend on achieving a bond at the metal/composite interface.
Experimental Evaluation of Factors Affecting Monotonic and Fatigue Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer-to-Concrete Bond in Reinforced Concrete Beams

This paper focuses on two of the lesser understood debonding mechanisms: flexural intermediate crack and shear intermediate crack debonding, which are often referred to as midspan or inspan debonding. An experimental study of several factors believed to affect the performance of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP)-to-concrete bond is presented. Bending tests on 18 moderate scale beams were conducted. Two samples were tested as unreinforced control specimens and 16 were fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforced to exhibit flexure-induced intermediate crack debonding. Of these, eight were tested monotonically to failure, while the other eight were subject to fatigue loads sufficient to result in fatigue failure of unretrofitted beams in approximately 500,000 cycles. In each series, two different epoxy adhesive systems were used whose moduli varied by a factor of approximately 2. Four CFRP strip geometries were tested to assess the effect of the ratio of FRP width-to-concrete soffit width (the so-called bf/b ratio). Finally, in one comparison, the behavior of a single 50 mm (2 in.) wide strip is contrasted to that of two 25 mm (0.078 to 1 in.) wide strips spaced at 75 mm (3 in.). The effects of each of these parameters—bf /b ratio, multiple strip arrangements, and adhesive modulus—on the monotonic and fatigue performance of the retrofitted concrete beams are presented. The findings indicate that two issues need to be addressed in developing design guidelines for externally bonded FRP systems: (1) the effect of mechanical properties of the adhesive system used; and (2) the development of reduction factors for adhesively bonded FRP systems subject to fatigue loading.
Browsing in digital libraries: a phrase-based approach

A key question for digital libraries is this: how should one go about becoming familiar with a digital collection, as opposed to a physical one? Digital collections generally present an appearance which is extremely opaque-a screen, typically a Web page, with no indication of what, or how much, lies beyond: whether a carefully-selected collection or a morass of worthless ephemera; whether half a dozen documents or many millions. At least physical collections occupy physical space, present a physical appearance, and exhibit tangible physical organizatiqn. When standing on the threshold of a large library one gains a sense of presence and permanence that reflects the care taken in building and maintaining the collection inside. No-one could confuse it with a dung-heap! Yet in the digital world the difference is not so palpable.
Correction to ‘Blood does not buy goodwill: allowing culling increases poaching of a large carnivore’

[ Proc. R. Soc. B 283 , 20152939. (2016; Published online 11 May 2016) ([doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.2939][2])][2] We recently discovered an error in [[1][2]] due to a misalignment of rows between columns in the dataset. Specifically, we misaligned by 1 year the population size with the number of wolves
Rapid gains in segmenting fluent speech when words match the rhythmic unit: evidence from infants acquiring syllable-timed languages

The ability to extract word-forms from sentential contexts represents an initial step in infants' process toward lexical acquisition. By age 6 months the ability is just emerging and evidence of it is restricted to certain testing conditions. Most research has been developed with infants acquiring stress-timed languages (English, but also German and Dutch) whose rhythmic unit is not the syllable. Data from infants acquiring syllable-timed languages are still scarce and limited to French (European and Canadian), partially revealing some discrepancies with English regarding the age at which word segmentation ability emerges. Research reported here aims at broadening this cross-linguistic perspective by presenting first data on the early ability to segment monosyllabic word-forms by infants acquiring Spanish and Catalan. Three different language groups (two monolingual and one bilingual) and two different age groups (8- and 6-month-old infants) were tested using natural language and a modified version of the HPP with familiarization to passages and testing on words. Results revealed positive evidence of word segmentation in all groups at both ages, but critically, the pattern of preference differed by age. A novelty preference was obtained in the older groups, while the expected familiarity preference was only found at the younger age tested, suggesting more advanced segmentation ability with an increase in age. These results offer first evidence of an early ability for monosyllabic word segmentation in infants acquiring syllable-timed languages such as Spanish or Catalan, not previously described in the literature. Data show no impact of bilingual exposure in the emergence of this ability and results suggest rapid gains in early segmentation for words that match the rhythm unit of the native language.
Virulence Plasmid of Rhodococcus equiContains Inducible Gene Family Encoding Secreted Proteins

ABSTRACT Rhodococcus equi causes severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals. This facultative intracellular pathogen produces similar lesions in immunocompromised humans, particularly in AIDS patients. Virulent strains of R. equi bear a large plasmid that is required for intracellular survival within macrophages and for virulence in foals and mice. Only two plasmid-encoded proteins have been described previously; a 15- to 17-kDa surface protein designated virulence-associated protein A (VapA) and an antigenically related 20-kDa protein (herein designated VapB). These two proteins are not expressed by the same R. equi isolate. We describe here the substantial similarity between VapA and VapB. Moreover, we identify three additional genes carried on the virulence plasmid,vapC, -D, and -E, that are tandemly arranged downstream of vapA. These new genes are members of a gene family and encode proteins that are approximately 50% homologous to VapA, VapB, and each other. vapC, -D, and -E are found only in R. equi strains that express VapA and are highly conserved in VapA-positive isolates from both horses and humans. VapC, -D, and -E are secreted proteins coordinately regulated by temperature with VapA; the proteins are expressed when R. equi is cultured at 37°C but not at 30°C, a finding that is compatible with a role in virulence. As secreted proteins, VapC, -D, and -E may represent targets for the prevention of rhodococcal pneumonia. An immunologic study using VapA-specific antibodies and recombinant Vap proteins revealed no evidence of cross-reactivity despite extensive sequence similarity over the carboxy terminus of all four proteins.
Vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections in women who sell sex on the route of prostitution and sex tourism in central Brazil.

OBJECTIVE to investigate knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), STD-related risk behaviors, and signs/symptoms of STDs among female sex workers (FSWs). METHODS a cross-sectional study was conducted with a probabilistic sample comprising 395 women recruited using a respondent-driven sampling method between 2009 and 2010. The data were collected during face-to-face interviews. RESULTS most of the participants were young adults, had a low educational level, and had poor knowledge on the transmission paths of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Over one-third of the participants were not able to describe the signs/symptoms of STDs. The prevalence rates of vaginal discharge and wounds/ulcers were 49.0% and 8.6%, respectively, but 41.7% of the women had not sought treatment. CONCLUSION the results indicate the need for public health policies focusing on the control and prevention of STDs in this population, especially for the FSWs who are active in an important prostitution and sex tourism route in central Brazil.
Laboratory evidence for volume-dominated nucleation of ice in supercooled water microdroplets

We report on measurements of the rate of homo- geneous ice nucleation in supercooled water microdroplets levitated in an electrodynamic balance. By comparison of the freezing probability for droplets of radius 49 µm and 19µm, we are able to conclude that homogeneous freezing is a volume-proportional process and that surface nucleation might only be important, if at all, for much smaller droplets.
Standardizing a Pre-treatment Cleaning Procedure and Effects of Application on Apparel Fabrics

The objective of this work was to develop a pre-treatment (cleaning) procedure for a wide range of apparel fabrics and to determine whether differences observed in the properties of fabrics which had and had not been pre-treated were significant. Properties relevant to the manufacture and/or performance of apparel included mass per unit area, thickness, bending length, flex-ural rigidity, drape coefficient, air permeability, water vapor permeability, liquid absorptive capacity, drying time, ‘dry’ thermal resistance, ultra-violet transmission. Results for the same property on the same fabric measured when the fabrics had and had not been pre-treated generally differed significantly, confirming the importance of pre-treatment prior to measuring these properties, particularly when claiming in-use attributes of fabrics. A procedure for pre-treatment is recommended: six consecutive cleaning cycles following procedure 8A of British Standard EN ISO 6330: 2001 (i.e. not dried between cycles), and dried flat following procedure C of this standard.
Method for identifying phosphorylated substrates of specific cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase complexes

Significance During proliferation, eukaryotic cells go through a defined series of phases. The primary regulators of this process are kinases paired with protein partners called cyclins. Exactly how these specific cyclin–kinase pairs orchestrate the myriad cellular events during each cell phase has been difficult to define largely because it has proven challenging to identify their substrates. Here, we describe a method to identify cyclin- and phase-specific substrates with high confidence and also to pinpoint their sites of modification. The method enabled us to identify the phosphatase Cdc14 as a substrate of a cyclin–kinase pair that acts during DNA synthesis in budding yeast and to uncover a new means by which this major antagonist of the cyclin–kinase pair is itself controlled. In eukaryotes, cell cycle progression is controlled by cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) pairs. To better understand the details of this process, it is necessary to dissect the CDK’s substrate pool in a cyclin- and cell cycle stage-specific way. Here, we report a mass spectrometry-based method that couples rapid isolation of native kinase–substrate complexes to on-bead phosphorylation with heavy-labeled ATP (ATP-γ-18O4). This combined in vivo/in vitro method was developed for identifying cyclin/CDK substrates together with their sites of phosphorylation. We used the method to identify Clb5 (S-cyclin)/Cdc28 and Cln2 (G1/S-cyclin)/Cdc28 substrates during S phase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Cdc28 is the master CDK in budding yeast). During the work, we discovered that Clb5/Cdc28 specifically phosphorylates S429 in the disordered tail of Cdc14, an essential phosphatase antagonist of Cdc28. This phosphorylation severely decreases the activity of Cdc14, providing a means for modulating the balance of CDK and phosphatase activity.
Trading Arrangements and Industrial Development

This article outlines a new approach for analyzing the role of trade in promoting industrial development. It offers an explanation as to why firms are reluctant to move to countries with lower labor costs and shows how trade liberalization can change the incentives for firms to locate in developing countries. It models economic development as the spread of concentrations of firms from country to country. Different trading arrangements may have a major impact on this development process. By changing the attractiveness of countries as a base for manufacturing production, they can potentially trigger or postpone industrial development. The analysis shows that unilaterally liberalizing imports of manufactures can promote industrialization but that membership in a preferential trading arrangement is likely to create larger gains. South-South preferential trading arrangements will be sensitive to the market size of member states, while North-South arrangements seem to offer better prospects for participating southern countries, if not for excluded countries.
Microvascular Outcomes after Metabolic Surgery (MOMS) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and class I obesity: rationale and design for a randomised controlled trial

Introduction There are several randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that have already shown that metabolic/bariatric surgery achieves short-term and long-term glycaemic control while there are no level 1A of evidence data regarding the effects of surgery on the microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Purpose The aim of this trial is to investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) plus the best medical treatment (BMT) versus the BMT alone to improve microvascular outcomes in patients with T2DM with a body mass index (BMI) of 30–34.9 kg/m2. Methods and analysis This study design includes a unicentric randomised unblinded controlled trial. 100 patients (BMI from 30 to 34.9 kg/m2) will be randomly allocated to receive either RYGB plus BMT or BMT alone. The primary outcome is the change in the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) captured as the proportion of patients who achieved nephropathy remission (uACR<30 mg/g of albumin/mg of creatinine) in an isolated urine sample over 12, 24 and 60 months. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the local Institutional Review Board. This study represents the first RCT comparing RYGB plus BMT versus BMT alone for patients with T2DM with a BMI below 35 kg/m2. Trial registration number NCT01821508; Pre-results.
INFLAMMATION AND INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE Augmented increase in tight junction permeability by luminal stimuli in the non-inflamed ileum of Crohn’s disease

Background: Crohn’s disease is associated with deranged intestinal permeability in vivo, suggesting dysfunction of tight junctions. The luminal contents are important for development of neoinflammation following resection. Regulation of tight junctions by luminal factors has not previously been studied in Crohn’s disease. Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a luminal stimulus, known to affect tight junctions, on the distal ileum in patients with Crohn’s disease. Patients: Surgical specimens from the distal ileum of patients with Crohn’s disease (n=12) were studied, and ileal specimens from colon cancer patients (n=13) served as controls. Methods: Mucosal permeability to Cr-EDTA and electrical resistance were studied in Ussing chambers during luminal exposure to sodium caprate (a constituent of milk fat, affecting tight junctions) or to buffer only. The mechanisms involved were studied by mucosal ATP levels, and by electron and confocal microscopy. Results: Baseline permeability was the same in non-inflamed ileum of Crohn’s disease and controls. Sodium caprate induced a rapid increase in paracellular permeability—that is, increased permeation of Cr-EDTA and decreased electrical resistance—which was more pronounced in non-inflamed ileum of Crohn’s disease, and electron microscopy showed dilatations within the tight junctions. Moreover, sodium caprate induced disassembly of perijunctional filamentous actin was more pronounced in Crohn’s disease mucosa. Mucosal permeability changes were accompanied by mitochondrial swelling and a fall in epithelial ATP content, suggesting uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. Conclusions: The tight junctions in the non-inflamed distal ileum of Crohn’s disease were more reactive to luminal stimuli, possibly mediated via disturbed cytoskeletal contractility. This could contribute to the development of mucosal neoinflammation in Crohn’s disease.
Targeting cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: a review of the development of a new class of medicines from the perspective of community mental health researchers

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder associated with positive and negative symptoms and wide-ranging deficits in neurocognitive function. Neurocognitive deficits are considered to be the core pathophysiological symptoms of the illness. Neurocognitive deficits are also closely associated with functional outcome. At present, cognitive deficits remain one of the most important unmet therapeutic needs in schizophrenia. Areas covered: Neuroscientific discoveries over the past decades have enriched our understanding of the neurobiological mechanism underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. This research has identified new molecular mechanisms and processes as promising pharmacological targets. However, in spite of extensive efforts to develop a new class of cognitive-enhancing medicines for the treatment of schizophrenia over the past 5 years, no novel pharmacological agents have received the regulatory approvals required by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy and safety outcomes from selective Phase II clinical trials are reviewed. Expert opinion: The evolving concept of neurocognition and the current guidelines for the design and methodology of clinical trials of cognitive-enhancing drugs for the treatment of individuals with schizophrenia are critically examined. The future directions in the development of cognitive-enhancing medicines for the treatment of schizophrenia from the perspective of clinicians and researchers from community mental health settings are discussed.
Exploring the Bounds of Web Latency Reduction from Caching and Prefetching

Prefetching and caching are techniques commonly used in I/O systems to reduce latency. Many researchers have advocated the use of caching and prefetching to reduce latency in the Web. We derive several bounds on the performance improvements seen from these techniques, and then use traces of Web proxy activity taken at Digital Equipment Corporation to quantify these bounds. We found that for these traces, local proxy caching could reduce latency by at best 26%, prefetching could reduce latency by at best 57%, and a combined caching and prefetching proxy could provide at best a 60% latency reduction. Furthermore, we found that how far in advance a prefetching algorithmwas able to prefetch an object was a significant factor in its ability to reduce latency. We note that the latency reduction from caching is significantly limited by the rapid changes of objects in the Web. We conclude that for the workload studied caching offers moderate assistance in reducing latency. Prefetching can offer more than twice the improvement of caching but is still limited in its ability to reduce latency.
A Track Before Detect Algorithm for Tracking Extended Targets

—For certain types of sensor-target conﬁgurations a point target model or approach is not suitable and the physical extent of the target has to be accounted for in the processing. An extended target track before detect algorithm is presented and the performance is compared to an algorithm based on the point target assumption. Simulations illustrate the gain in performance obtained by using the extended target model where a particle ﬁlter is used for the track before detect implementation.
The Effect of Correlated Variability on the Accuracy of a Population Code

We study the impact of correlated neuronal firing rate variability on the accuracy with which an encoded quantity can be extracted from a population of neurons. Contrary to widespread belief, correlations in the variabilities of neuronal firing rates do not, in general, limit the increase in coding accuracy provided by using large populations of encoding neurons. Furthermore, in some cases, but not all, correlations improve the accuracy of a population code.
Solution-based synthesis routes to thermoelectric Bi 2 Ca 2 Co 1 . 7

The synthesis of Bi2Ca2Co1.7Ox misfit compounds by different processing routes, i.e. classical solid-state, and two solution methods namely sol-gel via nitrates and a polymer route, has been investigated. A comparison among the final products has been performed using DTA, TGA, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermoelectric characterizations. All the samples obtained by solution synthesis show a very important increase in ZT, as compared to the solid state prepared samples, due to a significant decrease in the electrical resistivity values.