Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin C Transporters, Recycling and the Bystander Effect in the Nervous System: SVCT2 versus Gluts

Vitamin C is an essential micronutrient in the human diet; its deficiency leads to a number of symptoms and ultimately death. After entry into cells within the central nervous system (CNS) through sodium vitamin C transporters (SVCTs) and facilitative glucose transporters (GLUTs), vitamin C functions as a neuromodulator, enzymatic cofactor, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger; it also stimulates differentiation. In this review, we will compare the molecular and structural aspects of vitamin C and glucose transporters and their expression in endothelial or choroid plexus cells, which form part of the blood-brain barrier and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier, respectively. Additionally, we will describe SVCT and GLUT expression in different cells of the brain as well as SVCT2 distribution in tanycytes and astrocytes of the hypothalamic region. Finally, we will describe vitamin C recycling in the brain, which is mediated by a metabolic interaction between astrocytes and neurons, and the role of the “bystander effect” in the recycling mechanism of vitamin C in both normal and pathological conditions.
Incidence of alopecia areata in lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND A small percentage of patients with alopecia areata have connective diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma. Lupus erythematosus is associated with a number of different types of alopecia, but the incidence of alopecia areata in lupus erythematosus has not been examined. OBSERVATIONS Of our cohort of 39 patients with lupus erythematosus, alopecia areata developed in 10% (four patients), in contrast to 0.42% of general dermatologic patients. Biopsy specimens of alopecia areata lesions in each of our patients showed continuous granular deposition of IgG at the dermoepidermal junction, a finding usually found in only a minority of alopecia areata cases. Intralesional injections of corticosteroids were effective treatment. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of alopecia areata in patients with lupus erythematosus is increased. Recognition of this form of alopecia allows for specific therapy with intralesional corticosteroids.
Relationship between nitrogen balance, protein, and energy intake in haemodialysis patients.

Wasting and other signs of protein-energy malnutrition are present in a large proportion of patients with chronic renal failure [1]. Although the nutritional status may improve in some patients after haemodialysis treatment is started, it deteriorates in others during long-term treatment. Indeed, energy malnutrition, manifest as reduced subcutaneous fat stores (low triceps skinfold thickness), has been found in 20-60% of haemodialysis patients and signs of protein malnutrition, such as low serum albumin and low serum transferrin, have been reported in 15-70% of patients. A large number of studies have documented musclewasting and reduced muscle mass, as assessed by anthropometric measurements and total body nitrogen determinations as well as by the observation of low alkali-soluble protein in muscle in relation to DNA content (an index of muscle cell size) [1].
Concordance of disease severity among family members with ankylosing spondylitis?

OBJECTIVE The heritability of disease activity and function in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have been estimated at 0.51 and 0.63 (i.e., 51% and 63%), respectively. We examined the concordance of disease severity among family members in terms of disease activity, function, radiological change, prevalence of iritis, and juvenile onset. METHODS Disease activity and functional impairment due to AS were studied using the Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and Functional Index (BASFI) self-administered questionnaires; radiographic involvement was measured using the Bath AS Radiology Index (BASRI) scale. Familial correlation of BASDAI and BASFI was assessed in 406 families with 2 or more cases, using the program PAP. Parent-child and sibling-sibling concordance for iritis and juvenile AS were also studied in these families. Heritability of radiological disease severity based on the BASRI was assessed in 29 families containing 60 affected individuals using the program SOLAR. RESULTS Correlations between parent-child pairs for disease activity and function were 0.07 for both. Correlations between sibling pairs for disease activity and function were 0.27 and 0.36, respectively. The children of AS parents with iritis were more likely to develop iritis [27/71 (38%)] than children of non-iritis AS parents [13/70 (19%)] (p = 0.01). Parents with JAS were more likely to have children with JAS [17/30 (57%) compared to non-JAS parents 34/111 (30%)] (p = 0.002). The heritability of radiological disease severity based on the BASRI was 0.62. CONCLUSION While correlation in severity between parent and child is poor, siblings do resemble each other in terms of severity, supporting the findings of segregation studies indicating significant genetic dominance in the heritable component of disease activity. Significant parent-child concordance for iritis and juvenile disease onset suggest that there are genetic risk factors for these traits independent of those determining the risk of AS itself. The finding of significant heritability of radiological change (BASRI) provides support using an objective measure for the observed heritability of the questionnaire-assessed disease severity scores, BASDAI and BASFI.
The Solubility of Hen Lysozyme in Ethylammonium Nitrate/H2O Mixtures and a Novel Approach to Protein Crystallization

We report on the solubility of hen lysozyme (HEWL) in aqueous ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) as a function of water content. We find the solubility behavior to be complex, exhibiting both a maximum (400 mg/mL) at very high EAN content) and a minimum at intermediate EAN content. We exploit this solubility profile in a novel approach to generating crystals of hydrophilic proteins, based on rehydration of a high concentration protein solution. We describe the production of crystals of X-ray diffraction quality. Two related ionic liquid solvent systems, with the same solubility profiles but different effective pH characteristics, are identified for future evaluation.
[A study of acetabular development after closed reduction in developmental dislocation of the hip].

OBJECTIVE Through a retrospective study, to observe the clinical therapeutic effect for closed reduction treatment of developmental dislocation of the hip (DDH), and to dynamically analyze characteristics of acetabular development after closed reduction in DDH. METHODS A total of 100 single side DDH children who were treated by "the treatment mode of closed reduction" from January 2002 to December 2005 were followed up, including 18 males and 82 females, with the average age of 19.4 months (ranging from 7 months to 36 months). Sixty-eight patients had left side dislocation, while 32 had right side dislocation. According to Zionts dislocation grades, 15 cases were degree I, 50 degree II, 26 degree III and 9 degree IV. Adductor tenotomies and skeletal traction were carried out in 74 cases, while direct closed reduction was performed in 26 cases. The four-level functional evaluation criterion was used to assess the clinical therapeutic effect. Lesional and homeochronous normal hips were paired, and acetabular index (AI) and AI (D/W) of lesional and normal hips, before the reduction and in the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th month, respectively, after the reduction, were dynamically measured. RESULTS The total choiceness rate of 100 children was 88.00%. Twelve months after the reduction, lesional AI decreased from (37.17 +/- 2.17) degrees to (27.02 +/- 3.54) degrees, while lesional AI (D/W) increased from 22.06% +/- 1.65% to 29.80% +/- 3.56%, and the differences among each time-point had statistical significance (P < 0.01). Both rates of lesional AI decrease and AI (D/W) increase were obviously faster than those of normal side physiological development (P < 0.01). In all durations after 12 months reduction, the rates of lesional AI were (3.22 +/- 1.42) degrees and (3.41 +/- 2.03) degrees in 1-3 months and 10-12 months , respectively, and the rates of AI (D/W) were 2.69% +/- 1.83% and 2.33% +/- 1.13%, respectively, and they were obviously faster than the other durations (P < 0.01). Both rates of lesional AI decrease and AI (D/W) increase were obviously faster than the homeochronous rate of normal side physiological development in each duration (P < 0.01). The rates of lesional AI were (13.71 +/- 3.96) degrees and (11.48 +/- 4.15) degrees in 7-12 age group and 13-18 age group, respectively, and the rates of AI (D/W) were 9.95% +/- 3.81% and 8.28% +/- 3.58%, respectively, and they were obviously faster than the other age groups (P < 0.05). Both changes of lesional AI and AI (D/W) were obviously faster than the homeochronous changes of normal side in each age group(P < 0.01). CONCLUSION There are simple operating requirements and fine therapeutic effect of "the treatment mode of closed reduction" . Within 12-month after the closed reduction treatment, the rate of lesional acetabular development is obviously faster than that of normal side physiological development. The crest-time of lesional acetabular development is during 1-3 months and 10-12 months, and the best treatment time of closed reduction is the age before 18 months.
Cytoskeletal Regulation of Inflammation and Its Impact on Skin Blistering Disease Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita

Actin remodelling proteins regulate cytoskeletal cell responses and are important in both innate and adaptive immunity. These responses play a major role in providing a fine balance in a cascade of biological events that results in either protective acute inflammation or chronic inflammation that leads to a host of diseases including autoimmune inflammation mediated epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA). This review describes the role of the actin cytoskeleton and in particular the actin remodelling protein called Flightless I (Flii) in regulating cellular inflammatory responses and its subsequent effect on the autoimmune skin blistering disease EBA. It also outlines the potential of an antibody based therapy for decreasing Flii expression in vivo to ameliorate the symptoms associated with EBA.
Predication Drives Verb Cortical Signatures

Verbs and nouns are fundamental units of language, but their neural instantiation remains poorly understood. Neuropsychological research has shown that nouns and verbs can be damaged independently of each other, and neuroimaging research has found that several brain regions respond differentially to the two word classes. However, the semantic–lexical properties of verbs and nouns that drive these effects remain unknown. Here we show that the most likely candidate is predication: a core lexical feature involved in binding constituent arguments (boy, candies) into a unified syntactic–semantic structure expressing a proposition (the boy likes the candies). We used functional neuroimaging to test whether the intrinsic “predication-building” function of verbs is what drives the verb–noun distinction in the brain. We first identified verb-preferring regions with a localizer experiment including verbs and nouns. Then, we examined whether these regions are sensitive to transitivity—an index measuring its tendency to select for a direct object. Transitivity is a verb-specific property lying at the core of its predication function. Neural activity in the left posterior middle temporal and inferior frontal gyri correlates with transitivity, indicating sensitivity to predication. This represents the first evidence that grammatical class preference in the brain is driven by a word's function to build predication structures.
A CART-based approach to discover emerging patterns in microarray data

MOTIVATION Cancer diagnosis using gene expression profiles requires supervised learning and gene selection methods. Of the many suggested approaches, the method of emerging patterns (EPs) has the particular advantage of explicitly modeling interactions among genes, which improves classification accuracy. However, finding useful (i.e. short and statistically significant) EP is typically very hard. METHODS Here we introduce a CART-based approach to discover EPs in microarray data. The method is based on growing decision trees from which the EPs are extracted. This approach combines pattern search with a statistical procedure based on Fisher's exact test to assess the significance of each EP. Subsequently, sample classification based on the inferred EPs is performed using maximum-likelihood linear discriminant analysis. RESULTS Using simulated data as well as gene expression data from colon and leukemia cancer experiments we assessed the performance of our pattern search algorithm and classification procedure. In the simulations, our method recovers a large proportion of known EPs while for real data it is comparable in classification accuracy with three top-performing alternative classification algorithms. In addition, it assigns statistical significance to the inferred EPs and allows to rank the patterns while simultaneously avoiding overfit of the data. The new approach therefore provides a versatile and computationally fast tool for elucidating local gene interactions as well as for classification. AVAILABILITY A computer program written in the statistical language R implementing the new approach is freely available from the web page http://www.stat.uni-muenchen.de/~socher/
M-Learning: A New Paradigm of Learning ICT in Nigeria

Abstract—Mobile learning (m-learning) is the study and practice of using mobile devices, such as smart phones, mobile phones, tablets, PDAs, MP3s and pocket PCs in order to support learning for anyone, anytime and anywhere. M-learning has become paramount for developing countries such as Nigeria, as many of these countries have the required infrastructure and a rapidly increasing amount of mobile device users. In addition, the mobile devices are able to support a variety of learning activities and students are also ready to use the devices for learning. In this article, we have enumerated the possibilities and challenges of implementing m-learning in developing countries, specifically in Nigeria, and identified potential m-learning solutions to support learning of ICT in Nigeria. We administrated a questionnaire in order to find out primary school students readiness in Nigeria to adopt m-learning, their preferences to use specific features of m-learning devices in learning situations, as well as their opinions regarding the suitability of m-learning for ICT-related subjects. We also propose a cloud-based m-learning model for learning ICT topics in Nigeria.
A Model of (the Threat of) Counterfeiting

A simple matching-model of money with the potential for counterfeiting is constructed. In contrast to the existing literature, counterfeiting, if it occurred, would be accompanied by two distortions: costly production of counterfeits and harmful effects on trade. However, application of the Cho-Kreps refinement is shown to imply that there is no equilibrium with counterfeiting. If the cost of producing counterfeits is low enough, then there is no monetary equilibrium. Otherwise, there is a monetary equilibrium without counterfeiting.
Learning a dictionary of prototypical grasp-predicting parts from grasping experience

We present a real-world robotic agent that is capable of transferring grasping strategies across objects that share similar parts. The agent transfers grasps across objects by identifying, from examples provided by a teacher, parts by which objects are often grasped in a similar fashion. It then uses these parts to identify grasping points onto novel objects. We focus our report on the definition of a similarity measure that reflects whether the shapes of two parts resemble each other, and whether their associated grasps are applied near one another. We present an experiment in which our agent extracts five prototypical parts from thirty-two real-world grasp examples, and we demonstrate the applicability of the prototypical parts for grasping novel objects.
Phenotypic and functional heterogeneity of GFAP‐expressing cells in vitro: Differential expression of LeX/CD15 by GFAP‐expressing multipotent neural stem cells and non‐neurogenic astrocytes

Recent findings show that the predominant multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs) isolated from postnatal and adult mouse brain express glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), a protein commonly associated with astrocytes, and that primary astrocyte cultures can contain GFAP‐expressing cells that act as multipotent NSCs when transferred to neurogenic conditions. The relationship of GFAP‐expressing NSCs to GFAP‐expressing astrocytes is unclear, but has important implications. We compared the phenotype and neurogenic potential of GFAP‐expressing cells derived from different CNS regions and maintained in vitro under different conditions. Multiple labeling immunohistochemistry revealed that both primary astrocyte cultures and adherent neurogenic cultures derived from postnatal or adult periventricular tissue contained subpopulations of GFAP‐expressing cells that co‐expressed nestin and LeX/CD15, two molecules associated with NSCs. In contrast, GFAP‐expressing cells in similar cultures prepared from adult cerebral cortex did not express detectable levels of LeX/CD15, and exhibited no neurogenic potential. Fluorescence‐activated cell sorting (FACS) of both primary astrocyte cultures and adherent neurogenic cultures for LeX/CD15 showed that GFAP‐expressing cells competent to act as multipotent NSCs were concentrated in the LeX‐positive fraction. Using neurosphere assays and a transgenic ablation strategy, we confirmed that the predominant NSCs in primary astrocyte and adherent neurogenic cultures were GFAP‐expressing cells. These findings demonstrate that GFAP‐expressing cells derived from postnatal and adult forebrain are heterogeneous in both molecular phenotype and neurogenic potential in vitro, and that this heterogeneity exists before exposure to neurogenic conditions. The findings provide evidence that GFAP‐expressing NSCs are phenotypically and functionally distinct from non‐neurogenic astrocytes. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Comparison of Three Canopy Interception Models for a Leafless Mixed Deciduous Forest Stand in the Eastern United States

Abstract Canopy interception of incident precipitation is a critical component of the forest water balance during each of the four seasons. Models have been developed to predict precipitation interception from standard meteorological variables because of acknowledged difficulty in extrapolating direct measurements of interception loss from forest to forest. No known study has compared and validated canopy interception models for a leafless deciduous forest stand in the eastern United States. Interception measurements from an experimental plot in a leafless deciduous forest in northeastern Maryland (39°42′N, 75°50′W) for 11 rainstorms in winter and early spring 2004/05 were compared to predictions from three models. The Mulder model maintains a moist canopy between storms. The Gash model requires few input variables and is formulated for a sparse canopy. The WiMo model optimizes the canopy storage capacity for the maximum wind speed during each storm. All models showed marked underestimates and overestimat.
The “Oil-Spill Snorkel”: an innovative bioelectrochemical approach to accelerate hydrocarbons biodegradation in marine sediments

This study presents the proof-of-concept of the “Oil-Spill Snorkel”: a novel bioelectrochemical approach to stimulate the oxidative biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments. The “Oil-Spill Snorkel” consists of a single conductive material (the snorkel) positioned suitably to create an electrochemical connection between the anoxic zone (the contaminated sediment) and the oxic zone (the overlying O2-containing water). The segment of the electrode buried within the sediment plays a role of anode, accepting electrons deriving from the oxidation of contaminants. Electrons flow through the snorkel up to the part exposed to the aerobic environment (the cathode), where they reduce oxygen to form water. Here we report the results of lab-scale microcosms setup with marine sediments and spiked with crude oil. Microcosms containing one or three graphite snorkels and controls (snorkel-free and autoclaved) were monitored for over 400 days. Collectively, the results of this study confirmed that the snorkels accelerate oxidative reactions taking place within the sediment, as documented by a significant 1.7-fold increase (p = 0.023, two-tailed t-test) in the cumulative oxygen uptake and 1.4-fold increase (p = 0.040) in the cumulative CO2 evolution in the microcosms containing three snorkels compared to snorkel-free controls. Accordingly, the initial rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) degradation was also substantially enhanced. Indeed, while after 200 days of incubation a negligible degradation of TPH was noticed in snorkel-free controls, a significant reduction of 12 ± 1% (p = 0.004) and 21 ± 1% (p = 0.001) was observed in microcosms containing one and three snorkels, respectively. Although, the “Oil-Spill Snorkel” potentially represents a groundbreaking alternative to more expensive remediation options, further research efforts are needed to clarify factors and conditions affecting the snorkel-driven biodegradation processes and to identify suitable configurations for field applications.
Power Efficiency of Outer Hair Cell Somatic Electromotility

Cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) are fast biological motors that serve to enhance the vibration of the organ of Corti and increase the sensitivity of the inner ear to sound. Exactly how OHCs produce useful mechanical power at auditory frequencies, given their intrinsic biophysical properties, has been a subject of considerable debate. To address this we formulated a mathematical model of the OHC based on first principles and analyzed the power conversion efficiency in the frequency domain. The model includes a mixture-composite constitutive model of the active lateral wall and spatially distributed electro-mechanical fields. The analysis predicts that: 1) the peak power efficiency is likely to be tuned to a specific frequency, dependent upon OHC length, and this tuning may contribute to the place principle and frequency selectivity in the cochlea; 2) the OHC power output can be detuned and attenuated by increasing the basal conductance of the cell, a parameter likely controlled by the brain via the efferent system; and 3) power output efficiency is limited by mechanical properties of the load, thus suggesting that impedance of the organ of Corti may be matched regionally to the OHC. The high power efficiency, tuning, and efferent control of outer hair cells are the direct result of biophysical properties of the cells, thus providing the physical basis for the remarkable sensitivity and selectivity of hearing.