Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knots: Attractive Places with High Path Tortuosity in Mouse Open Field Exploration

When introduced into a novel environment, mammals establish in it a preferred place marked by the highest number of visits and highest cumulative time spent in it. Examination of exploratory behavior in reference to this “home base” highlights important features of its organization. It might therefore be fruitful to search for other types of marked places in mouse exploratory behavior and examine their influence on overall behavior. Examination of path curvatures of mice exploring a large empty arena revealed the presence of circumscribed locales marked by the performance of tortuous paths full of twists and turns. We term these places knots, and the behavior performed in them—knot-scribbling. There is typically no more than one knot per session; it has distinct boundaries and it is maintained both within and across sessions. Knots are mostly situated in the place of introduction into the arena, here away from walls. Knots are not characterized by the features of a home base, except for a high speed during inbound and a low speed during outbound paths. The establishment of knots is enhanced by injecting the mouse with saline and placing it in an exposed portion of the arena, suggesting that stress and the arousal associated with it consolidate a long-term contingency between a particular locale and knot-scribbling. In an environment devoid of proximal cues mice mark a locale associated with arousal by twisting and turning in it. This creates a self-generated, often centrally located landmark. The tortuosity of the path traced during the behavior implies almost concurrent multiple views of the environment. Knot-scribbling could therefore function as a way to obtain an overview of the entire environment, allowing re-calibration of the mouse's locale map and compass directions. The rich vestibular input generated by scribbling could improve the interpretation of the visual scene.
Sperm DNA fragmentation testing is on the right track

Dr. Oehninger’s elegant editorial dwelled on several unresolved issues in the context of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) (1). Indeed, we appreciate and agree with his comments that development of better diagnostic methodology, evaluation of true functional consequences and understanding of oocyte repair capacity are important areas of research. It is widely believed that SDF is one of the major causes of male infertility and that DNA fragmentation can be caused by a variety of factors such as infection, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, smoking, drug use, or advanced age (2). Furthermore, SDF is linked to impaired fertilization, poor embryo quality, increased spontaneous abortion rates and reduced pregnancy rates after assisted reproduction (3).
Regulation of membrane trafficking and organ separation by the NEVERSHED ARF-GAP protein

Cell separation, or abscission, is a highly specialized process in plants that facilitates remodeling of their architecture and reproductive success. Because few genes are known to be essential for organ abscission, we conducted a screen for mutations that alter floral organ shedding in Arabidopsis. Nine recessive mutations that block shedding were found to disrupt the function of an ADP-ribosylation factor-GTPase-activating protein (ARF-GAP) we have named NEVERSHED (NEV). As predicted by its homology to the yeast Age2 ARF-GAP and transcriptional profile, NEV influences other aspects of plant development, including fruit growth. Co-localization experiments carried out with NEV-specific antiserum and a set of plant endomembrane markers revealed that NEV localizes to the trans-Golgi network and endosomes in Arabidopsis root epidermal cells. Interestingly, transmission electron micrographs of abscission zone regions from wild-type and nev flowers reveal defects in the structure of the Golgi apparatus and extensive accumulation of vesicles adjacent to the cell walls. Our results suggest that NEV ARF-GAP activity at the trans-Golgi network and distinct endosomal compartments is required for the proper trafficking of cargo molecules required for cell separation.
Beta-catenin in disease

In continuation with the previous review on “β-catenin in health”, in this review we discuss the role of β-catenin in the pathogenesis of common oral lesions in the oral and maxillofacial region- oral potentially malignant disorders, their progression to oral squamous cell carcinoma, salivary gland tumors and odontogenic tumours. This review is based on a pubmed search of all the lesions included in the review.
A robust blind 3-D mesh watermarking based on wavelet transform for copyright protection

Nowadays, three-dimensional meshes have been extensively used in several applications such as, industrial, medical, computer-aided design (CAD) and entertainment due to the processing capability improvement of computers and the development of the network infrastructure. Unfortunately, like digital images and videos, 3-D meshes can be easily modified, duplicated and redistributed by unauthorized users. Digital watermarking came up while trying to solve this problem. In this paper, we propose a blind robust watermarking scheme for three-dimensional semiregular meshes for Copyright protection. The watermark is embedded by modifying the norm of the wavelet coefficient vectors associated with the lowest resolution level using the edge normal norms as synchronizing primitives. The experimental results show that in comparison with alternative 3-D mesh watermarking approaches, the proposed method can resist to a wide range of common attacks, such as similarity transformations including translation, rotation, uniform scaling and their combination, noise addition, Laplacian smoothing, quantization, while preserving high imperceptibility.
Simulated annealing user scheduling for coordinated heterogeneous MIMO networks

In this work, a reduced complexity simulated annealing user scheduling algorithm to maximize the sum rate for the downlink of a coordinated multicell multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is proposed. The users' data signals are transmitted cooperatively via the base stations of a cluster within the sectorized multicell heterogeneous cellular network. Assuming perfect channel state information, the performance of this system with the proposed algorithm is investigated. The simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of sum rate, which is very close to the performance of the optimal but highly complex exhaustive search at much lower complexity.
Effects of Antibiotics on Gut Microbiota

The gut microbiota influences essential human functions including digestion, energy metabolism, and inflammation by modulating multiple endocrine, neural, and immune pathways of the host. Its composition and complexity varies markedly across individuals and across different sites of the gut, but provides a certain level of resilience against external perturbation. Short-term antibiotic treatment is able to shift the gut microbiota to long-term alternative dysbiotic states, which may promote the development and aggravation of disease. Common features of post-antibiotic dysbiosis include a loss of taxonomic and functional diversity combined with reduced colonization resistance against invading pathogens, which harbors the danger of antimicrobial resistance. This review summarizes the antibiotic-related changes of the gut microbiota and potential consequences in health and disease.
Comparison of Sinonasal Symptoms in Patients with Nasal Septal Deviation and Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Introduction: Disorders of the nose and paranasal sinuses are among the most common chronic illnesses. Although considerable progress has been made in the medical and surgical control of these diseases, a large number of questions relating to the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of these conditions remain unanswered. The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in the frequency of symptoms and disease severity in patients with nasal septal deviation (NSD) compared with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Materials and Methods: A total of 156 patients, divided into NSD and CRS groups, were studied in relation to symptoms and disease severity. Patients were selected from those referred to the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Wards of the Imam Reza and Ghaem Hospitals, who had not responded to a variety of treatments. Depending on the type of disease, patients were candidates for either septoplasty or endoscopic sinus surgery. The Rhinosinusitis Symptom Inventory was administered to measure the severity of symptoms, with scores assigned based on the answers given by patients (Likert scale). Scores were compared between the CRS and NSD groups. Results: A total of 156 patients (78 with NDS and 78 with CRS) entered the study in overall sinonasal symptoms were more prevalent in CRS group. Nasal congestion, runny nose, earache, toothache, and smelling disorder were significantly more common in the CRS group (P<0.001); while there were no significant differences in symptoms such as facial pressure, fever, or headache between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Patients with CRS manifested statistically significantly greater sinonasal symptom scores than patients with NSD.
Adaptive Optimization and Systematic Probing of Infrastructure System Maintenance Policies under Model Uncertainty - eScholarship

We present an application of systematic probing for selecting optimal maintenance, repair, and reconstruction MR&R policies for systems of infrastructure facilities under model uncertainty. We use an open-loop feedback control approach, where the model parameters are updated sequentially after every inspection round. The use of systematic probing improves the convergence of the model parameters by ensuring that all permissible actions are applied to every condition state. The results of the parametric analyses demonstrate that the MR&R policies converge earlier when systematic probing is used. However, the savings in the expected total costs as a result of probing are minor, and are only realized when the optimal probing fractions are used. On the other hand, the additional costs incurred when the wrong probing fractions are used are significant. The major conclusion from this work is that state-of-the-art adaptive infrastructure management systems, that do not use probing, provide sufficiently close to optimal policies.
Subarachnoid analgesia with hyperbaric 0.5 % bupivacaine: effect of a 60‐min period of sitting

A prospective randomised study of the effect when the patient remained sitting for 2 (Group‐2) or 60 min (Group‐60) before being put in the supine horizontal position, was evaluated in 12 patients, aged 39–67 years and given a spinal anesthesia with 4 ml 0.5% bupivacaine in 8% glucose (hyperbaric). The maximal cephalad spread of analgesia was obtained after 12.5 min (median) in Group‐2 and 75 min in Group‐60 (P<0.01). The spread of sensory analgesia went to T‐6 (Group‐2) and L3 (Group‐60) after 60 min (P<0.01). After 90 min the spread went to T6.5 in Group‐60, the difference being statistically significant (P<0.001). Given as median and range the maximum cephalad spread in Group‐2 was T6(T3‐T10) and in Group‐60 T6.5 (T2‐T10).
Two Optimal Strategies for Active Learning of Causal Models from Interventions

From observational data alone, a causal DAG is in general only identifiable up to Markov equivalence. Interventional data generally improves identifiability; however, the gain of an intervention strongly depends on the intervention target, i.e., the intervened variables. We present active learning strategies calculating optimal interventions for two different learning goals. The first one is a greedy approach using single-vertex interventions that maximizes the number of edges that can be oriented after each intervention. The second one yields in polynomial time a minimum set of targets of arbitrary size that guarantees full identifiability. This second approach proves a conjecture of Eberhardt (2008) indicating the number of unbounded intervention targets which is sufficient and in the worst case necessary for full identifiability. We compare our two active learning approaches to random interventions in a simulation study.
An intelligent system for online exam monitoring

For the past few years, e-learning has become popular across countries because of its flexibility, availability and user friendliness. As far as online examinations are concerned; the major challenge faced by the research community is the proctoring techniques used. In this paper, we present a method to avoid the physical presence of a proctor throughout the exam by creating a comprehensive multi modal system. We have used hardware such as web-cam to capture audio and video along with active window capture. This combination forms the inputs to an intelligent rule based inference system which has the capability to decide whether any malpractices have happened. Examinee's face is detected and is used to extract feature points thereby estimating a head pose. Misconduct is detected based on yaw angle variations, audio presence and active window capture. Our system has been tested in an e-learning scenario and we were able to make exam monitoring easy. Experiment results proved that our system performed well than the existing systems.
Genetic Diversity of the Planthopper, Sogatella furcifera in the Greater Mekong Subregion Detected by Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) Markers

Abstract The white backed planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), is a serious pest of rice in Asia. In the present study, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were employed to investigate the genetic diversity and differentiation of 47 populations sampled from 14 prefectures of the Greater Mekong Subregion. A total of 14 selected primers yielded 121 bright and discernible bands, with an average of 8.6 bands per primer. According to the hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), the genetic variation among geographic regions (79.84%) was higher than that of among populations within region (20.16%), and the FST value was 0.72, indicating a high level of genetic differentiation. Neighbor-Joining cluster analysis of the 47 populations showed two major clusters, one consisting of mostly southwestern Yunnan Province and Myanmar populations; and the other one consisting of southeastern and central of Yunnan Province plus Vietnam and Laos populations. No significant positive correlation was observed between genetic and geographic distances by Mantel test (r = 0.2230, p = 0.8448), indicating the role of geographic isolation did not shape the genetic structure of the sampled S. furcifera populations. This paper provides useful data for understanding and speculating the migration of S. furcifera and reveals available information to develop sustainable strategies for manage this long-range migratory pest.
Functional Analysis of HIV Type 1 Nef Reveals a Role for PAK2 as a Regulator of Cell Phenotype and Function in the Murine Dendritic Cell Line, DC2.41

The HIV-1 Nef protein plays a critical role in viral pathogenesis. Nef has been shown to modulate dendritic cell (DC) function, in particular perturbing their ability to present Ag. To further characterize the effects of Nef on DCs, we established a panel of transfectants of the murine DC line, DC2.4, stably expressing differing levels of either wild-type Nef, or a number of Nef mutants lacking key functional motifs. Transfectants expressing increasing levels of wild-type Nef demonstrated a dose-dependent shrinkage and loss of dendrites. Nef expression levels also correlated with increased proliferative ability but did not confer resistance to proapoptotic stimuli. Importantly, Nef expression resulted in an impairment of Ag presentation to T cells correlating with a reduction in the cell surface expression of molecules involved in Ag presentation such as MHC class I, CD80/86, and ICAM-1. Nef expression also rendered DC2.4 cells resistant to the maturation stimulus provided by an anti-CD40 Ab. Mutations in either the myristoylation site or Src homology 3-domain binding polyproline motif of Nef abolished these effects. Previous studies had shown that these mutations also abolished the ability of Nef to activate the p21-activated kinase, PAK2. Consistent with this, stable expression of constitutively active PAK2 in DC2.4 mimicked the effects of Nef. We conclude that Nef, acting via activation of PAK2, inhibits both DC maturation and Ag presentation. These data have clear implications for the role of Nef in early stages of HIV-1 infection and validate Nef as a valid target for development of antiviral chemotherapeutics.
Taking advantage of LVDS input buffers to implement sigma-delta A/D converters in FPGAs

This paper describes the implementation of a sigma-delta (/spl Sigma//spl Delta/) A/D converter within an FPGA, with minimal use of external analog components. The approach takes advantage of existing low-voltage differential signalling (LVDS) I/O pads; this allows the implementation of low-cost ADCs into existent FPGAs, even though such digital devices do not possess analog interfacing capabilities at first. The converter was implemented in an actual FPGA and had its performance evaluated.
CellsGeneration of Antigen-Specific CD4 Helper T Dendritic Cell Function and Improves MHC Class II Epitope Nesting Modulates

CD4 Th cells are critical to the development of coordinated immune responses to infections and tumors. Th cells are activated through interactions of the TCR with MHC class II complexed with peptide. T cell activation is dependent on the density of MHC peptide complexes as well as the duration of interaction of the TCR with APCs. In this study, we sought to determine whether MHC class II peptides could be modiﬁed with amino acid sequences that facilitated uptake and presentation with the goal of improving Th cell activation in vitro and in vivo. A model epitope derived from the murine folate receptor a , a self- and tumor Ag, was modiﬁed at its carboxyl terminus with the invariant chain-derived Ii-Key peptide and at its N terminus with a peptide that enhances uptake of Ag by APC. Modiﬁcation of a peptide resulted in enhanced generation of high-avidity murine folate receptor a T cells that persisted in vivo and homed to sites of Ag deposition. The nesting approach was epitope and species independent and speciﬁcally excluded expansion of CD4 regulatory T cells. The resulting Th cells were therapeutic, enhanced in vivo helper activity and had an increased ability to resist tolerizing immune microenvironments. In addition to improved immunoadjuvants, this epitope modiﬁcation strategy may be useful for enhancing ex vivo and in vivo generation of Th cells for preventing and treating diseases. The Journal of Immunology , 2011, 187: 316–324.
Eculizumab for congenital atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

To the Editor: Atypical hemolytic–uremic syndrome of infancy is a rare disorder that is associated with thrombotic microangiopathy and acute renal failure. It often involves complement dysregulation.1,2 Plasma infusions have variable efficacy, and end-stage renal disease often develops in children who are unresponsive to plasma therapy.1,2 We report on a patient with congenital relapsing atypical hemolytic–uremic syndrome who was unresponsive to plasma therapy but had a response to eculizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against terminal complement protein C5.3 An 18-month-old boy was admitted with a fourth relapse of congenital atypical hemolytic–uremic syndrome. He was born at 34 weeks' .
Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Secondary Activities: A Literature Review

The fast growing literature on economic impacts of climate change is inclined to assessing the impacts on agricultural production and productivity and on human health. The economic impacts of climate change however, go beyond these sectors. In this paper, we attempted to review the scarcely available literature on the economic impacts of the change in the climate of the earth on some selected non-agricultural secondary and tertiary level of economic activities. It is attempted to summarize the ways through which the climate change can affect non-agriculture economic activities. The discussion on the literature can be synthesized as showing the impacts on secondary and tertiary level of economic activities are wide and complex and eventually may be larger than on the impacts on agriculture for those middle and high-income countries where the share of agriculture in national GDP is low.
Prognostic factors in severe twin–twin transfusion syndrome treated by endoscopic laser surgery

The aim of this study was to investigate clinical and sonographic parameters, in particular Doppler blood flow measurements, in severe second‐trimester twin–twin transfusion syndrome before and after endoscopic laser coagulation of the placental vascular anastomoses, to correlate these data with fetal outcome and to determine whether fetal blood flow measurements could help to estimate the probability of fetal survival.
The Comparison of the Effect of Three Anesthetic Induction Regimens on the Arterial Oxygen Saturation in Children with Tetralogy of Fallot Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Background Tetralogy of fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease. Anesthesia induction is a challenging issue in these patients due to the risk of worsening hypoxemia following decrease in pulmonary blood flow. We evaluated the effect of three anesthetic induction regimens on the arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2%) in children with TOF. Methods Seventy six children aged 50 days to 15 years old with TOF, scheduled in Nemazee and Faghihi hospitals to undergo elective cardiac surgery during 1385-1388 were randomly divided into 3 groups to receive three anesthetic induction agents including ketamine (2 mg/kg, IV), ketamine (5 mg/kg, IM) and halothane for gas induction. SaO2% and heart rate were recorded before induction and thereafter every 1 minute during induction of anesthesia till 10 min post-induction. Results There were not significant differences between three groups regarding pattern of changes in SaO2% during 10 min post-induction. All three groups showed an increase in SaO2% committed over 6th minute but this pattern was not seen after that time. In addition, there were not significant differences among groups according to heart rate in the study period. Conclusion It seems that anesthesia induction in TOF patients with ketamine IV and IM and halothane did not have significant adverse effects on SaO2%. Indeed, oxygenation during induction may offset other possible adverse effects of induction drugs on SaO2%.