Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinal Oxygen Saturation in Patients with Primary Open-angle Glaucoma Using a Non-flash Hypespectral Camera

ABSTRACT Purpose/Aim: To investigate retinal vessel blood oxygen saturation in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and healthy controls.Materials and Methods: A novel non-flash hyperspectral retinal camera was used to image 17 healthy individuals (mean age 69.3 ± 6.1 years) and 22 patients with stable POAG (mean age 69.2 ± 5.8 years) at 548, 569, 586, 600, 605, and 610 nm wavelengths. POAG patients were grouped as mild–moderate (n = 13) and moderate–severe (n = 9) based on Humphrey 24-2 visual field results (mean deviation [MD] < −6 and MD ≥ −6; respectively). Optical density values were extracted using Image-J software for blood oxygen saturation (SO2) determination. Arteriolar and venular SO2 were measured within 1.5 optic nerve head diameters from the disc margin along the vessels in the inferior temporal quadrant of the tested eye per subject. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), student t-test, and Pearson’s correlation were used for statistical analysis of the data (p < 0.05). Results: Venular, arteriolar, and arteriovenous (AV) differences in SO2 measurements were not significantly different between controls and the combined POAG groups (p > 0.06 for all). However, mean venular SO2 was significantly higher in the POAG with MD ≥ −6 dB when compared to controls and patients with mild glaucoma (p = 0.005). The AV differences were significantly lower in patients with more severe field defect (p = 0.006) compared to the remaining groups. No differences were found in the mean arteriolar SO2 between the groups (p = 0.155). Significant correlations were found only between higher visual field MD values and higher venular SO2 (p = 0.048) but not the remaining SO2 measurements. Conclusion: Patients with POAG and moderate–severe visual field defect had higher venular SO2 compared to those with mild–moderate defect and controls. This would indicate reduced oxygen consumption in more advanced glaucoma likely as a result of ganglion cell degeneration.
Exploring experiences in wild versus manicured natural environments and their relationship to the trait ‘connectedness to nature’ Imagine you are walking along a pebbled pathway in a traditional manicured

Research has overwhelmingly shown that spending time in nature can be beneficial. Yet the field is dominated by studies which compare built and manicured natural environments. Therefore relatively little is known about experiences in wild or untamed natural environments and what personal factors may affect these experiences. This study compares visitor experiences, measured as affective appraisals and transcendence, in two distinct natural environments (wild cliffs and manicured gardens), and how the trait ‘connectedness to nature’ may influence these experiences (N=253). Significant differences were found between visitor’s experiences at the wild cliffs (disturbing, aweinspiring and diminutive transcendence) and the manicured gardens (calming, boring, and deep flow transcendence). Regression analysis revealed three significant interactions and two significant non-linear results. High levels of ‘connectedness to nature’ at the cliffs positively predicted transcendence and a sense of awe; at the gardens, similarly high levels predicted a sense of calm. Nonlinear analyses revealed a convex (U) relationship between the trait of ‘connectedness to nature’, and experiencing an environment as calming, as well as a concave (inverted U) relationship with experiencing an environment as disturbing. The need to broaden experiential research content and ground research methods is discussed.
Activation of Human γδ T Cells by Cytosolic Interactions of BTN3A1 with Soluble Phosphoantigens and the Cytoskeletal Adaptor Periplakin

The three butyrophilin BTN3A molecules, BTN3A1, BTN3A2, and BTN3A3, are members of the B7/butyrophilin-like group of Ig superfamily receptors, which modulate the function of T cells. BTN3A1 controls activation of human Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells by direct or indirect presentation of self and nonself phosphoantigens (pAg). We show that the microbial metabolite (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate binds to the intracellular B30.2 domain of BTN3A1 with an affinity of 1.1 μM, whereas the endogenous pAg isopentenyl pyrophosphate binds with an affinity of 627 μM. Coculture experiments using knockdown cell lines showed that in addition to BTN3A1, BTN3A2 and BTN3A3 transmit activation signals to human γδ T cells in response to (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate and the aminobisphosphonate drug zoledronate that causes intracellular accumulation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate. The plakin family member periplakin, identified in yeast two-hybrid assays, interacted with a membrane-proximal di-leucine motif, located proximal to the B30.2 domain in the BTN3A1 cytoplasmic tail. Periplakin did not interact with BTN3A2 or BTN3A3, which do not contain the di-leucine motif. Re-expression into a BTN3A1 knockdown line of wild-type BTN3A1, but not of a variant lacking the periplakin binding motif, BTN3A1Δexon5, restored γδ T cell responses, demonstrating a functional role for periplakin interaction. These data, together with the widespread expression in epithelial cells, tumor tissues, and macrophages detected using BTN3A antiserum, are consistent with complex functions for BTN3A molecules in tissue immune surveillance and infection, linking the cell cytoskeleton to γδ T cell activation by indirectly presenting pAg to the Vγ9/Vδ2 TCR.
Impedance Characterization of a Model Au ∕ Yttria -Stabilized Zirconia ∕ Au Electrochemical Cell in Varying Oxygen and NO x Concentrations

An electrochemical cell [Au/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/Au] serves as a model system to investigate the effect of O 2 and NO x Possible mechanisms responsible for the response are presented. Two dense Au electrodes are co-located on the same side of a dense YSZ electrolyte and are separated from the electrolyte by a porous YSZ layer, present only under the electrodes. While not completely understood, the porous layer appears to result in enhanced NO x response. Impedance data were obtained over a range of frequencies (0.1 Hz to 1 MHz), temperatures (600-700°C), and oxygen (2-18.9%) and NO x (10-100 ppm) concentrations. Spectra were fit with an equivalent circuit, and values of the circuit elements were evaluated. In the absence of NO x , the effect of O 2 on the low-frequency arc resistance could be described by a power law, and the temperature dependence by a single apparent activation energy at all O 2 concentrations. When both O 2 and NO x were present, however, the power-law exponent varied as a function of both temperature and concentration, and the apparent activation energy also showed dual dependence. Adsorption mechanisms are discussed as possibilities for the rate-limiting steps. Implications for impedancemetric NO x sensing are also discussed.
Perspectives and expectations in structural bioinformatics of metalloproteins

Recent papers highlight the presence of large numbers of compressed angles in metal ion coordination geometries for metalloprotein entries in the worldwide Protein Data Bank, due mainly to multidentate coordination. The prevalence of these compressed angles has raised the controversial idea that significantly populated aberrant or even novel coordination geometries may exist. Some of these papers have undergone severe criticism, apparently due to views held that only canonical coordination geometries exist in significant numbers. While criticism of controversial ideas is warranted and to be expected, we believe that a line was crossed where unfair criticism was put forth to discredit an inconvenient result that compressed angles exist in large numbers, which does not support the dogmatic canonical coordination geometry view. We present a review of the major controversial results and their criticisms, pointing out both good suggestions that have been incorporated in new analyses, but also unfair criticism that was put forth to support a particular view. We also suggest that better science is enabled through: (i) a more collegial and collaborative approach in future critical reviews and (ii) the requirement for a description of methods and data including source code and visualizations that enables full reproducibility of results. Proteins 2017; 85:938–944. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Structural damage detection and localization using NETSHM

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an important application area for wireless sensor networks. SHM techniques attempt to autonomously detect and localize damage in large civil structures. Structural engineers often implement and test SHM algorithms in a higher level language such as C/Matlab. In this paper, we describe the design and evaluation of NETSHM, a sensor network system that allows structural engineers to program SHM applications in Mat-lab or C at a high level of abstraction. In particular, structural engineers do not have to understand the intricacies of wireless networking, or the details of sensor data acquisition. We have implemented a damage detection technique and a damage localization technique on a complete NETSHM prototype. Our experiments on small and medium-scale structures show that NETSHM is able to detect and localized damage perfectly with very few false-positives and no false negatives, and that it is robust even in realistic wireless environments
A Dual Process Motivational Model of Ideological Attitudes and System Justifi cation

This chapter reviews recent theory and research on the dual process cognitivemotivational model of ideology and prejudice. Consistent with a dual process model perspective, the authors argue that social dominance orientation (SD O) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) assess dual ideological attitude dimensions that are made salient for the individual by competitive and dangerous worldviews, respectively, which in turn result from the combination of socio-structural factors (resource scarcity, danger and threat) and individual differences in personality (primarily low agreeableness and low openness to experience). Finally, the authors extend the model by arguing that SD O and RWA elicit dual ideologies that stratify and position groups based on qualitatively different stereotype characteristics. A competitively driven motivation (indexed by SD O) should cause the individual to endorse legitimizing myths or ideologies that are explicitly tailored toward maintaining hierarchical relations between groups. A threatdriven security-cohesion motivation (indexed by RWA) should, in contrast, cause the individual to endorse legitimizing myths that emphasize the maintenance of ingroup norms and values. Recent experimental and longitudinal research supporting the model is described. The issue of how sociopolitical attitudes, or ideological attitudes, are structured and organized is clearly one that is fundamental for understanding the social and psychological bases of these attitudes. Historically social psychologists have favored a unidimensional approach, seeing ideological attitudes as organized along a single left (liberal) to right (conservative) dimension. During the past few decades, however, the weight of empirical evidence has shifted in favor of a two dimensional approach. Increasingly research has shown that there seem to be two quite distinct dimensions of ideological attitudes that have very different social and psychological origins. These two dimensions may sometimes be strongly related, but often are not. They often have similar effects and outcomes, producing similar political affi liations
Metatranscriptomic Analysis of Pycnopodia helianthoides (Asteroidea) Affected by Sea Star Wasting Disease

Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) describes a suite of symptoms reported in asteroids of the North American Pacific Coast. We performed a metatranscriptomic survey of asymptomatic and symptomatic sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) body wall tissues to understand holobiont gene expression in tissues affected by SSWD. Metatranscriptomes were highly variable between replicate libraries, and most differentially expressed genes represented either transcripts of associated microorganisms (particularly Pseudomonas and Vibrio relatives) or low-level echinoderm transcripts of unknown function. However, the pattern of annotated host functional genes reflects enhanced apoptotic and tissue degradation processes and decreased energy metabolism, while signalling of death-related proteins was greater in asymptomatic and symptomatic tissues. Our results suggest that the body wall tissues of SSWD-affected asteroids may undergo structural changes during disease progression, and that they are stimulated to undergo autocatalytic cell death processes.
Design My Future

This article reports the development and psychometric requisites of Design My Future, an instrument assessing future orientation and resilience. Three different studies involving Italian preadolescents were conducted. With the first, the items were developed and the factor structure verified; the second confirmed instrument’s multidimensional structure and evaluated its discriminant validity. The third study was conducted to verify the invariance of factorial structure across gender. Results provide strong psychometric support for Design My Future as a valid measure for analyzing middle school students’ thoughts about their future orientation and resilience and for career education and career counseling activities.
Multidomain walls in massive supersymmetric sigma models

Massive maximally supersymmetric sigma models are shown to exhibit multiple static kink-domain wall solutions that preserve 1/2 of the supersymmetry. The kink moduli space admits a natural K\"ahler metric. We examine in some detail the case when the target of the sigma model is given by the co tangent bundle of $C{P}^{n}$ equipped with the Calabi metric, and we show that there exist BPS solutions corresponding to n kinks at arbitrary separation. We also describe how 1/4-BPS charged and intersecting domain walls are described in the low-energy dynamics on the kink moduli space. We comment on the similarity of these results to monopole dynamics.
Elevated Orai1 expression mediates tumor-promoting intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Effective treatment as well as prognostic biomarker for malignant esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is urgently needed. The present study was aimed at identifying oncogenic genes involving dysregulated intracellular Ca2+ signaling, which is known to function importantly in cellular proliferation and migration. Tumors from patients with ESCC were found to display elevated expression of Orai1, a store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) channel, and the high expression of Orai1 was associated with poor overall and recurrence-free survival. In contrast to the quiescent nature of non-tumorigenic epithelial cells, human ESCC cells exhibited strikingly hyperactive in intracellular Ca2+ oscillations, which were sensitive to treatments with Orai1 channel blockers and to orai1 silencing. Moreover, pharmacologic inhibition of Orai1 activity or reduction of Orai1 expression suppressed proliferation and migration of ESCC in vitro and slowed tumor formation and growth in in vivo xenografted mice. Combined, these findings provide the first evidence to imply Orai1 as a novel biomarker for ESCC prognostic stratification and also highlight Orai1-mediated Ca2+ signaling pathway as a potential target for treatment of this deadly disease.
DEVELOPMENT OF “ PINCEAUX ” FORMATIONS AND DENDRITIC TRANSLOCATION OF CLIMBING FIBERS DURING THE ACQUISITION OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN GLUTAMATERGIG AND GABAERGIC INPUTS IN DEVELOPING PURKINJE CELLS

The question of the acquisition of the dynamic balance between excitation and inhibition, necessary for the proper functioning of developing Purkinje cells, has been specifically addressed. The newborn (P0) mouse cerebellum contains glutamatergic (VGLUT2-IR) and GABAergic (VIAAT-IR) axons. The former prevail and belong to climbing fibers. The latter neither belong to Purkinje cell axon collaterals nor to axons of cortical GABAergic interneurons: During the first postnatal week, the number of VIAAT-IR axons close to Purkinje cells is very low and the first synapses with basket fibers are formed at P7, when climbing fibers have already formed dense pericellular nets. The descending basket fibers reach the Purkinje cell axon initial segment by P9, and immediately establish axo-axonic synapses. The pinceaux exhibit the appearance of a primitive vortex-like arrangement by P12, and by P20 inter-basket fiber septate-like junctions characteristic of full mature pinceaux are still missing. The climbing fibers somato-dendritic translocation occurs later than expected, after the regression of the multiple innervation, and follows the ascending collaterals of the basket axons, apparent optimal substrate for the proper subcellular targeting of the climbing fibers. These results emphasize that chemical transmission in the AIS precedes the electrical inhibition generated by field effects. In addition GABAergic Purkinje cells, as opposed to glutamatergic projection neurons in other cortical structures, do not start to receive their excitation to inhibition balance until the end of the first postnatal week, despite the early presence of potentially functional GABAergic axons provided with the required vesicular transport system.
To empower or to protect? Constructing the ‘vulnerable adult’ in English law and public policy

Recent judgments in England and Wales have confirmed and extended the High Court's inherent jurisdiction to make declarations about interventions into the lives of ‘vulnerable’, rather than simply ‘mentally incapacitated’ adults. We argue that this shift is problematic because of the ways that the ‘vulnerable adult’ has been constructed in order to justify such interventions. The accounts of vulnerability drawn upon in the constructive process highlight the person's inherent characteristics and/or the circumstances within which that person might be denied the ability to make a free choice. Such an approach parallels the public policy protection of ‘vulnerable adults’ from abuse in care services and the statutory protection of ‘vulnerable witnesses’ in the criminal justice system, and is built on an external and objective assessment of being ‘at risk’, rather than an understanding of the subjective experience of being vulnerable. We argue that this imbalance might act to disempower the ‘vulnerable adult’ by reducing that person's life to a series of risk factors that fail, first, to place him/her at the heart of the decision to intervene, and, secondly, to engage adequately with the experiences through which that person ascribes meaning to his/her life.
A Comparative Study of Five Association Tests Based on CpG Set for Epigenome-Wide Association Studies

An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) is a large-scale study of human disease-associated epigenetic variation, specifically variation in DNA methylation. High throughput technologies enable simultaneous epigenetic profiling of DNA methylation at hundreds of thousands of CpGs across the genome. The clustering of correlated DNA methylation at CpGs is reportedly similar to that of linkage-disequilibrium (LD) correlation in genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) variation. However, current analysis methods, such as the t-test and rank-sum test, may be underpowered to detect differentially methylated markers. We propose to test the association between the outcome (e.g case or control) and a set of CpG sites jointly. Here, we compared the performance of five CpG set analysis approaches: principal component analysis (PCA), supervised principal component analysis (SPCA), kernel principal component analysis (KPCA), sequence kernel association test (SKAT), and sliced inverse regression (SIR) with Hotelling’s T2 test and t-test using Bonferroni correction. The simulation results revealed that the first six methods can control the type I error at the significance level, while the t-test is conservative. SPCA and SKAT performed better than other approaches when the correlation among CpG sites was strong. For illustration, these methods were also applied to a real methylation dataset.
Characteristics of maturity onset diabetes of the young in a large diabetes center

Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a monogenic form of diabetes caused by a mutation in a single gene, often not requiring insulin. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency and clinical characteristics of MODY at the Barbara Davis Center. A total of 97 subjects with diabetes onset before age 25, a random C‐peptide ≥0.1 ng/mL, and negative for all diabetes autoantibodies (GADA, IA‐2, ZnT8, and IAA) were enrolled, after excluding 21 subjects with secondary diabetes or refusal to participate. Genetic testing for MODY 1–5 was performed through Athena Diagnostics, and all variants of unknown significance were further analyzed at Exeter, UK. A total of 22 subjects [20 (21%) when excluding two siblings] were found to have a mutation in hepatocyte nuclear factor 4A (n = 4), glucokinase (n = 8), or hepatocyte nuclear factor 1A (n = 10). Of these 22 subjects, 13 had mutations known to be pathogenic and 9 (41%) had novel mutations, predicted to be pathogenic. Only 1 of the 22 subjects had been given the appropriate MODY diagnosis prior to testing. Compared with MODY‐negative subjects, the MODY‐positive subjects had lower hemoglobin A1c level and no diabetic ketoacidosis at onset; however, these characteristics are not specific for MODY. In summary, this study found a high frequency of MODY mutations with the majority of subjects clinically misdiagnosed. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for MODY in youth with antibody‐negative diabetes.
Ena/VASP function in retinal axons is required for terminal arborization but not pathway navigation

The Enabled/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (Ena/VASP) family of proteins is required for filopodia formation in growth cones and plays a crucial role in guidance cue-induced remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. In vivo studies with pharmacological inhibitors of actin polymerization have previously provided evidence for the view that filopodia are needed for growth cone navigation in the developing visual pathway. Here we have re-examined this issue using an alternative strategy to generate growth cones without filopodia in vivo by artificially targeting Xena/XVASP (Xenopus homologs of Ena/VASP) proteins to mitochondria in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). We used the specific binding of the EVH1 domain of the Ena/VASP family of proteins with the ligand motif FP4 to sequester the protein at the mitochondria surface. RGCs with reduced function of Xena/XVASP proteins extended fewer axons out of the eye and possessed dynamic lamellipodial growth cones missing filopodia that advanced slowly in the optic tract. Surprisingly, despite lacking filopodia, the axons navigated along the optic pathway without obvious guidance errors, indicating that the Xena/XVASP family of proteins and filopodial protrusions are non-essential for pathfinding in retinal axons. However, depletion of Xena/XVASP proteins severely impaired the ability of growth cones to form branches within the optic tectum, suggesting that this protein family, and probably filopodia, plays a key role in establishing terminal arborizations.
Understanding the eating-disordered patient: engaging the concrete

Anorexic patients typically present major obstacles when beginning psychotherapy, including a tendency to focus concretely on their food- and weight-related symptoms. The author seeks to clarify the meaning of this "concrete attitude" and presents a treatment approach that accepts the anorexic person's "limitations. " The case of a 14-year-old anorexic girl illustrates how acceptance and understanding of the patient's concrete attitude, especially during the initial phase of treatment, can reduce the probability of a therapeutic impasse and can enhance the treatment process.