Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The forming limb skeleton serves as a signaling center for limb vasculature patterning via regulation of Vegf

Limb development constitutes a central model for the study of tissue and organ patterning; yet, the mechanisms that regulate the patterning of limb vasculature have been left understudied. Vascular patterning in the forming limb is tightly regulated in order to ensure sufficient gas exchange and nutrient supply to the developing organ. Once skeletogenesis is initiated, limb vasculature undergoes two seemingly opposing processes: vessel regression from regions that undergo mesenchymal condensation; and vessel morphogenesis. During the latter, vessels that surround the condensations undergo an extensive rearrangement, forming a stereotypical enriched network that is segregated from the skeleton. In this study, we provide evidence for the centrality of the condensing mesenchyme of the forming skeleton in regulating limb vascular patterning. Both Vegf loss- and gain-of-function experiments in limb bud mesenchyme firmly established VEGF as the signal by which the condensing mesenchyme regulates the vasculature. Normal vasculature observed in limbs where VEGF receptors Flt1, Flk1, Nrp1 and Nrp2 were blocked in limb bud mesenchyme suggested that VEGF, which is secreted by the condensing mesenchyme, regulates limb vasculature via a direct long-range mechanism. Finally, we provide evidence for the involvement of SOX9 in the regulation of Vegf expression in the condensing mesenchyme. This study establishes Vegf expression in the condensing mesenchyme as the mechanism by which the skeleton patterns limb vasculature.
Segmentation of users in PD for healthcare

Participatory Design (PD) attracts great attention from designers working within healthcare, but also faces important challenges. In this paper we describe how the high complexity and heterogeneity in healthcare creates conceptual and pragmatic barriers for user participation. We study the notion of 'users' in traditional PD and argue that PD can benefit from exploring ways to segment users that goes beyond the existing approaches. We put forth the question 'can users in PD be involved in any other meaningful way, than as one group of representatives for the multiplicity of user needs? ', and look to two other traditions, marketing and innovation studies, to explore how the understanding of segmentation in these traditions can contribute to the development of guidelines for user segmentation in PD. Guidelines not solely based on representativeness, but on skills, personal preferences and/or perceptions.
The nature and origin of pigments in black opal from Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia

Abstract Black opal (opal-AG) owes its dark coloration to a fine-grained pigment commonly inferred to be mainly carbon, yet chemical compositions for black opals suggest there may be additional components. Here we search for such components in pigment concentrates prepared by dissolving black opal nodules (nobbies) from Lightning Ridge (NSW) in hydrofluoric acid, using electron microscopy (scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy), X-ray diffraction and laser-ablation ICP-MS. The results demonstrate the presence of sulfides—predominantly pyrite and chalcopyrite, with minor galena and Ti-oxide phases, as additional components of the pigment. ATR-FTIR analysis indicates the presence of C=O and C–H groups, consistent with an organic origin. Transmission electron microscopy images of pigment show variously deformed, originally spherical ∼100 nm particles rich in sulfide and carbon, which are interpreted as thin coatings of pigment on now dissolved opaline silica spheres. Laser-ablation ICP-MS analysis identifies remnant silica in pigment concentrates, which may be interpreted as opaline silica surviving HF treatment protected as inclusions in sulfides. When examined within the context of petrographic observations from more than 1000 opal nodules (nobbies) at Lightning Ridge, these new results suggest that pigment carbon and sulfides in the nodules formed microbially under initially anoxic groundwater conditions, within pre-existing cavities concurrently being filled with silica sol ultimately derived from chemical weathering of feldspar-rich volcaniclastic sediment. Intensely black pigment layers observed at the floor of many nodules indicate settling of dark, high-density (sulfide–Ti-oxide-rich) pigment within cavities, with the implication that sulfate-reducing bacterial (SRB) activity commences early during the silica sol-gel ripening process. Microbial activity may persist until after the cavity has completely filled with the silica sol, as illustrated by abundant black opals with uniformly distributed pigment. Pigment formed at this stage may no longer be able to settle out within the ripening and increasingly viscous silica gel, thus forming pigmentation throughout the opal cavity. The existence of ‘amber’, pigment-poor opal with intensely black basal pigment layers is interpreted as signalling a lack of sulfate to sustain further SRB activity, or a change to more oxidising conditions, possibly related to interaction with surface waters within a downward-penetrating weathering front. A change in redox conditions would shut off activity of SRB and thus sulfide pigment production and allow development of aerobic microbial activity as described by others.
Solving POMDPs using quadratically constrained linear programs

Since the early 1990's, Markov decision processes (MDPs) and their partially observable counterparts (POMDPs) have been widely used by the AI community for planning under uncertainty. POMDPs offer a rich language to describe situations involving uncertainty about the domain, stochastic actions, noisy observations, and a variety of possible objective functions. Even though an optimal solution may be concise, current exact algorithms that use dynamic programming often require an intractable amount of space. POMDP approximation algorithms can operate with a limited amount of memory, but as a consequence they provide very weak theoretical guarantees. In contrast, we describe a new approach that addresses the space requirement of POMDP algorithms while maintaining well-defined optimality guarantees.
Association of Presence of Aspergillus Antibodies with Hemoptysis in Patients with Old Tuberculosis or Bronchiectasis but No Radiologically Visible Mycetoma

ABSTRACT Old tuberculosis and bronchiectasis are the two most important causes of chronic structural changes of lungs in our locality. In the absence of radiologically visible mycetoma, the cause of hemoptysis in these two groups of patients is largely unknown. A 17-month prospective study was carried out to compare the prevalence of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus antibodies in hemoptysis patients with old tuberculosis or bronchiectasis but no radiologically visible mycetoma (cases, n = 38), hemoptysis patients with other diagnosis (control group 1, n = 29), and patients with old tuberculosis or bronchiectasis but no hemoptysis (control group 2, n = 47) by a recently developed sensitive and specific A. fumigatus and A. flavus antibody assay. There were a significantly larger number of patients with antibody against A. fumigatus or A. flavus among the cases than among the patients in control groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.05 in both comparisons). Molds were not recovered from any of the patients. Among the 10 cases with Aspergillus antibody, eight and two had antibody against A. flavus and A. fumigatus, respectively. We conclude that there was an association between the presence of Aspergillus antibodies and hemoptysis in patients with old tuberculosis or bronchiectasis, suggesting that these patients probably had occult infections caused by the corresponding fungi. Development of serological tests against other Aspergillus species as well as other causes of mycetoma will probably increase the detection of occult mold infections in patients with existing parenchymal lung diseases, and treatment of fungal microinvasion may help to alleviate hemoptysis in these patients with bronchiectasis or old tuberculosis who have Aspergillus antibodies.
Maresin 1 inhibits transforming growth factor-β1-induced proliferation, migration and differentiation in human lung fibroblasts

The myofibroblast has been implicated to be an important pathogenic cell in all fibrotic diseases, through synthesis of excess extracellular matrix. Lung fibroblast migration, proliferation and differentiation into a myofibroblast-like cell type are regarded as important steps in the formation of lung fibrosis. In the present study, the effect of maresin 1 (MaR 1), a pro-resolving lipid mediator, on transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-stimulated lung fibroblasts was investigated, and the underlying molecular mechanisms were examined. The results of the present study demonstrated that MaR 1 inhibited TGF-β1-induced proliferative and migratory ability, assessed using MTT and scratch wound healing assays. The TGF-β1-induced expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen type I, the hallmarks of myofibroblast differentiation, was decreased by MaR 1 at the mRNA and protein levels, determined using the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis, respectively. Immunofluorescence demonstrated that MaR 1 downregulated the TGF-β1-induced expression of α-SMA. In addition, phosphorylated mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2/3 (Smad2/3) and extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK) 1/2 were upregulated in TGF-β1-induced lung fibroblasts, and these effects were attenuated by MaR 1 administration. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that MaR 1 inhibited the TGF-β1-induced proliferation, migration and differentiation of human lung fibroblasts. These observed effects may be mediated in part by decreased phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. Therefore, MaR 1 may be a potential therapeutic approach to lung fibrotic diseases.
Volatile general anesthetics reveal a neurobiological role for the white and brown genes of Drosophila melanogaster.

Molecular and cellular evidence argues that a heterodimer between two ABC transporters, the White protein and the Brown protein, is responsible for pumping guanine into pigment-synthesizing cells of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Previous studies have not detected White or Brown outside pigment-synthesizing cells nor have behavioral effects of null mutants been reported, other than those that are visually dependent. Nevertheless, we show here that exposure to the volatile general anesthetic (VGA) enflurane reveals a difference in neuromuscular performance between wild-type flies and those that carry a null allele in either the white or brown gene. Specifically, in a test of climbing ability, w1118 or bw1 flies are much less affected by enflurane than are congenic controls. Altered anesthetic sensitivity is still observed when visual cues are reduced or eliminated, arguing that white and brown contribute to neural function outside the eye. This hypothesis is supported by the detection of white message in heads of flies that are genetically altered so as to lack pigment-producing cells. The w1118 or bw1 mutations also alter the response to a second VGA, halothane, albeit somewhat differently. Under some conditions, the combination of w1118 with another mutation that affects anesthesia leads to a drastically altered phenotype. We consider several ways by which diminished transport of guanine could influence neural function and anesthetic sensitivity.
Pharmacy students' approaches to learning in an Australian university.

OBJECTIVES To investigate how pharmacy students' approaches to learning change over the duration of a bachelor of pharmacy degree program. METHODS Data were obtained from a cross-sectional, repeated measures design, using a validated self-report survey instrument. Areas examined included processing and regulation strategies, motivational preferences for learning, and the relationship between approaches to learning and academic performance. RESULTS Pharmacy students were strongly vocationally oriented in their studies across all year groups. This approach had a significant relationship to academic performance. Overall, students indicated a preference for external regulation strategies. There was little evidence of maturation in approaches to learning as students progressed through the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS Students' preference for vocationally related strategies can be harnessed to increase both adoption of self-regulation behaviors and motivation for mastery of material. Comparison of our results with other studies indicates that approaches to learning may be influenced more by the learning environment than the discipline of study.
Nonredundant Function of Phosphodiesterases 4D and 4B in Neutrophil Recruitment to the Site of Inflammation1

Neutrophils have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. With this study, we investigated how disruption of cAMP signaling impacts the function of neutrophil recruitment to the lung. Four genes code for type 4 phosphodiesterases (PDE4s), enzymes critical for regulation of cAMP levels and cell signaling. Ablation of two of these genes, PDE4B and PDE4D, but not PDE4A, has profound effects on neutrophil function. In a paradigm of mouse lung injury induced by endotoxin inhalation, the number of neutrophils recovered in the bronchoalveolar lavage was markedly decreased in PDE4D−/− and PDE4B−/− mice 4 and 24 h after exposure to LPS. Acute PDE4 inhibition with rolipram had additional inhibitory effects on neutrophil migration in PDE4B−/− and, to a lesser extent, PDE4D−/− mice. This decreased neutrophil recruitment occurred without major changes in chemokine accumulation in bronchoalveolar lavage, suggesting a dysfunction intrinsic to neutrophils. This hypothesis was confirmed by investigating the expression of adhesion molecules on the surface of neutrophils and chemotaxis in vitro. CD18 expression was decreased after ablation of both PDE4B and PDE4D, whereas CD11 expression was not significantly affected. Chemotaxis in response to KC and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 was markedly reduced in PDE4B−/− and PDE4D−/− neutrophils. The effect of PDE4 ablation on chemotaxis was comparable, but not additive, to the effects of acute PDE4 inhibition with rolipram. These data demonstrate that PDE4B and PDE4D play complementary, but not redundant, roles in the control of neutrophil function.
Determinants of livelihood diversification among farm households in Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

The study examined the determinants of livelihood diversification of farm households in Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of respondents in the study area, identifying the factors influencing farm household livelihood diversification as well as to identify the constraints to farm household livelihood diversification. A multistage sampling technique was used in sampling the respondents. A set of validated questionnaire were used to gather data for the study while a total of 60 respondents were selected. Data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the majority (60%) were female, aged 20-30years, married (46%) and literate. The majority of them had household size ranging from 4-7 persons, engaged in farming (61.7%) and diversified to non-farm income. The result also revealed that (70%) of the respondents did not have access to credit. The factors influencing livelihood diversification among the farm households were volume of credit received, household size, farm size and marital status. More so, the major constraints to livelihood diversification among them were unstable electricity (78.3%), poor access to market (65%), insufficient market price of commodity (58.3%), inadequate access to loan (51.7%), inadequate skilled labour (51.7%), high cost of business premises (51.7%) and appreciation in tax rate (51.7%). The study recommends improved access to credit and strengthening of the credit institutional arrangement to improve the livelihoods of rural households. Keywords: Determinants, Farm, Households, Livelihood, Diversification
Functional and Structural Alterations in the Cingulate Motor Area Relate to Decreased Fronto-Striatal Coupling in Major Depressive Disorder with Psychomotor Disturbances

Psychomotor disturbances are a classic feature of major depressive disorders. These can manifest as lack of facial expressions and decreased speech production, reduced body posture and mobility, and slowed voluntary movement. The neural correlates of psychomotor disturbances in depression are poorly understood but it has been suggested that outputs from the cingulate motor area (CMA) to striatal motor regions, including the putamen, could be involved. We used functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging to conduct a region-of-interest analysis to test the hypotheses that neural activation patterns related to motor production and gray matter volumes in the CMA would be different between depressed subjects displaying psychomotor disturbances (n = 13) and matched healthy controls (n = 13). In addition, we conducted a psychophysiological interaction analysis to assess the functional coupling related to self-paced finger-tapping between the caudal CMA and the posterior putamen in patients compared to controls. We found a cluster of increased neural activation, adjacent to a cluster of decreased gray matter volume in the caudal CMA in patients compared to controls. The functional coupling between the left caudal CMA and the left putamen during finger-tapping task performance was additionally decreased in patients compared to controls. In addition, the strength of the functional coupling between the left caudal CMA and the left putamen was negatively correlated with the severity of psychomotor disturbances in the patient group. In conclusion, we found converging evidence for involvement of the caudal CMA and putamen in the generation of psychomotor disturbances in depression.
Unraveling the Differences between Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Probiotics in Modulating Protective Immunity to Enteric Infections

The role of intestinal microbiota and probiotics in prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, including diarrheal diseases in children and animal models, is increasingly recognized. Intestinal commensals play a major role in development of the immune system in neonates and in shaping host immune responses to pathogens. Lactobacilli spp. and Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 are two probiotics that are commonly used in children to treat various medical conditions including human rotavirus diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease. Although the health benefits of probiotics have been confirmed, the specific effects of these established Gram-positive (G+) and Gram-negative (G−) probiotics in modulating immunity against pathogens and disease are largely undefined. In this review, we discuss the differences between G+ and G− probiotics/commensals in modulating the dynamics of selected infectious diseases and host immunity. These probiotics modulate the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and protective immunity against pathogens in a species- and strain-specific manner. Collectively, it appears that the selected G− probiotic is more effective than the various tested G+ probiotics in enhancing protective immunity against rotavirus in the gnotobiotic piglet model.
The Efficacy of a Universal School-Based Program to Prevent Adolescent Depression

Evaluated whether a universal school-based program, designed to prevent depression in adolescents, could be effectively implemented within the constraints of the school environment. Participants were 260 Year 9 secondary school students. Students completed measures of depressive symptoms and hopelessness and were then assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) Resourceful Adolescent Program-Adolescents (RAP-A), an 11-session school-based resilience building program, as part of the school curriculum; (b) Resourceful Adolescent Program-Family (RAP-F), the same program as in RAP-A, but in which each student's parents were also invited to participate in a 3-session parent program; and (c) Adolescent Watch, a comparison group in which adolescents simply completed the measures. The program was implemented with a high recruitment (88%), low attrition rate (5.8%), and satisfactory adherence to program protocol. Adolescents in either of the RAP programs reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptomatology and hopelessness at post-intervention and 10-month follow-up, compared with those in the comparison group. Adolescents also reported high satisfaction with the program. The study provides evidence for the efficacy of a school-based universal program designed to prevent depression in adolescence.
Evaluating atmospheric CO2 inversions at multiple scales over a highly inventoried agricultural landscape

An intensive regional research campaign was conducted by the North American Carbon Program (NACP) in 2007 to study the carbon cycle of the highly productive agricultural regions of the Midwestern United States. Forty‐five different associated projects were conducted across five US agencies over the course of nearly a decade involving hundreds of researchers. One of the primary objectives of the intensive campaign was to investigate the ability of atmospheric inversion techniques to use highly calibrated CO2 mixing ratio data to estimate CO2 flux over the major croplands of the United States by comparing the results to an inventory of CO2 fluxes. Statistics from densely monitored crop production, consisting primarily of corn and soybeans, provided the backbone of a well studied bottom‐up inventory flux estimate that was used to evaluate the atmospheric inversion results. Estimates were compared to the inventory from three different inversion systems, representing spatial scales varying from high resolution mesoscale (PSU), to continental (CSU) and global (CarbonTracker), coupled to different transport models and optimization techniques. The inversion‐based mean CO2‐C sink estimates were generally slightly larger, 8–20% for PSU, 10–20% for CSU, and 21% for CarbonTracker, but statistically indistinguishable, from the inventory estimate of 135 TgC. While the comparisons show that the MCI region‐wide C sink is robust across inversion system and spatial scale, only the continental and mesoscale inversions were able to reproduce the spatial patterns within the region. In general, the results demonstrate that inversions can recover CO2 fluxes at sub‐regional scales with a relatively high density of CO2 observations and adequate information on atmospheric transport in the region.
The symbolism of hoard deposition places in the landscape of the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age in the zone of the South Baltic Coastland and Lake Districts

Maciejewski M. 2017. The symbolism of hoard deposition places in the landscape of the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age in the zone of the South Baltic Coastland and Lake Districts. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 69, 113-132. In different cultures the world is described by a variety of signs and symbols. Equally important as reading their meaning is an attempt to describe the relationships between them. Often seemingly unrelated elements of culture are linked by relations on a symbolic level. Research on the relationship between hoards (late Bronze Age and early Iron Age) and local settlement networks indicate such a symbolic connection between border and metal. Understanding these relationships is possible mainly thanks to empirical research yet it would not be possible without analysing the perception of borders and metal, as well as phenomena such as territoriality and the valorization of ‘foreign’ objects, places and people.