Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation and membrane binding of retinal protein kinase Bα/Akt1 is regulated through light‐dependent generation of phosphoinositides

Akt is a phospholipid‐binding protein and the downstream effector of the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) pathway. Akt has three isoforms: Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3. All of these isoforms are expressed in rod photoreceptor cells, but the individual functions of each isoform are not known. In this study, we found that light induces the activation of Akt1. The membrane binding of Akt1 to rod outer segments (ROS) is insulin receptor (IR)/PI3K‐dependent as demonstrated by reduced binding of Akt1 to ROS membranes of photoreceptor‐specific IR knockout mice. Membrane binding of Akt1 is mediated through its Pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. To determine whether binding of the PH domain of Akt1 to photoreceptor membranes is regulated by light, various green fluorescent protein (GFP)/Akt1‐PH domain fusion proteins were expressed in rod photoreceptors of transgenic Xenopus laevis under the control of the Xenopus opsin promoter. The R25C mutant PH domain of Akt1, which does not bind phosphoinositides, failed to associate with plasma membranes in a light‐dependent manner. This study suggests that light‐dependent generation of phosphoinositides regulates the activation and membrane binding of Akt1 in vivo. Our results also suggest that actin cytoskeletal organization may be regulated through light‐dependent generation of phosphoinositides.
Quantization and Bit Allocation for Channel State Feedback in Relay-Assisted Wireless Networks

This paper investigates quantization of channel state information (CSI) and bit allocation across wireless links in a multi-source, single-relay cooperative cellular network. Our goal is to minimize the loss in performance, measured as the achievable sum rate, due to limited-rate quantization of CSI. We develop both a channel quantization scheme and allocation of limited feedback bits to the various wireless links. We assume that the quantized CSI is reported to a central node responsible for optimal resource allocation. We first derive tight lower and upper bounds on the difference in rates between the perfect CSI and quantized CSI scenarios. These bounds are then used to derive an effective quantizer for arbitrary channel distributions. Next, we use these bounds to optimize the allocation of bits across the links subject to a budget on total available quantization bits. In particular, we show that the optimal bit allocation algorithm allocates more bits to those links in the network that contribute the most to the sum-rate. Finally, the paper investigates the choice of the central node; we show that this choice plays a significant role in CSI bits required to achieve a target performance level.
'Sniffin' sticks': olfactory performance assessed by the combined testing of odor identification, odor discrimination and olfactory threshold.

'Sniffin' Sticks' is a new test of nasal chemosensory performance based on pen-like odor dispensing devices. It comprises three tests of olfactory function, namely tests for odor threshold (n-butanol, testing by means of a single staircase), odor discrimination (16 pairs of odorants, triple forced choice) and odor identification (16 common odorants, multiple forced choice from four verbal items per test odorant). After extensive preliminary investigations the tests were applied to a group of 104 healthy volunteers (52 female, 52 male, mean age 49.5 years, range 18-84 years) in order to establish test-retest reliability and to compare them with an established measure of olfactory performance (the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center Test, CCCRC). Performance decreased with increasing age of the subjects (P < 0.001). Coefficients of correlation between sessions 1 and 2 were 0.61 for thresholds, 0.54 for discrimination and 0.73 for identification. Butanol thresholds as obtained with the CCCRC increased as a function of age; this relation to the subjects' age was not found for the CCCRC odor identification task. The test-retest reliability for CCCRC thresholds was 0.36, for odor identification it was 0.60. It is concluded that 'Sniffin' Sticks' may be suited for the routine clinical assessment of olfactory performance.
Parameters quantization in sinusoidal speech coder on basis of human auditory model

In the given paper a method of the parameter quantization in speech coder on basis of human auditory model is presented. Output speech parameters of the coder are three sinusoidal parameters: amplitude, frequency and phase. For amplitude and frequency quantization we propose to use a vector quantization, and for phases – scalar quantization. This parameter quantization method allows to achieve bit rate from 3 to 8 kbps depending on the reconstructed speech quality.
Risk, public engagement and reflexivity: Alternative framings of the public dimensions of nanotechnology

Abstract Nanotechnology research receives large sums of public funds because of the technological innovations it promises, not least in the area of medical technologies. Exploration of social aspects of nanotechnology is now encouraged by science policy in attempts to foreclose possible future public controversy. This article explores how the social aspects of nanotechnology have emerged as a public issue; how public engagement projects are framed in terms of nanotechnology; and the rationale for social science research on nanotechnology. The article argues that pubic policy processes are increasingly focusing narrowly on the environmental and health risks of nanoparticles and that public engagement projects are limited by adopting nanotechnology as a focus of deliberation. The article concludes by rejecting grand claims for social science as a means of making science and technology more reflexive, but suggests more modest ways that research can support a widening of discussion of the public dimensions of nanotechnology.
Hospitalization for partial nephrectomy was not associated with intrathecal opioid analgesia: Retrospective analysis

Background: The aim of this retrospective study is to test the hypothesis that the use of spinal analgesia shortens the length of hospital stay after partial nephrectomy. Materials and Methods: We reviewed all patients undergoing partial nephrectomy for malignancy through flank incision between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2011. We excluded patients who underwent tumor thrombectomy, used sustained-release opioids, or had general anesthesia supplemented by epidural analgesia. Patients were grouped into “spinal” (intrathecal opioid injection for postoperative analgesia) versus “general anesthetic” group, and “early” discharge group (within 3 postoperative days) versus “late” group. Association between demographics, patient physical status, anesthetic techniques, and surgical complexity and hospital stay were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Of 380 patients, 158 (41.6%) were discharged “early” and 151 (39.7%) were “spinal” cases. Both spinal and early discharge groups had better postoperative pain control and used less postoperative systemic opioids. Spinal analgesia was associated with early hospital discharge, odds ratio 1.52, (95% confidence interval 1.00-2.30), P = 0.05, but in adjusted analysis was no longer associated with early discharge, 1.16 (0.73-1.86), P = 0.52. Early discharge was associated with calendar year, with more recent years being associated with early discharge. Conclusion: Spinal analgesia combined with general anesthesia was associated with improved postoperative pain control during the 1st postoperative day, but not with shorter hospital stay following partial nephrectomy. Therefore, unaccounted practice changes that occurred during more recent times affected hospital stay.
Understanding students’ conceptions of sustainability

There has recently been significant emphasis placed on environmental education through, for example, the UN’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Despite this, there is still considerable debate within the literature as to how the aims of environmental education can be achieved within schools. It seems likely that if there is a lack of agreement as to what education for sustainable development should include, then this will impact students’ understanding of sustainable development. This paper presents findings from research investigating how one class of 12‐ to 13‐year‐old geography students in the UK understands the concept of sustainability. The research used concept‐mapping and semi‐structured interviews to explore the students’ understandings of sustainability, within a case study framework. The substantive findings of this research suggest that there is a wide variety of understanding of sustainability among the students, but that generally they allude to three: the nature, purpose and timescale of sustainability. The paper also considers the impact of method on researching students’ subject understandings, in particular the use of context when considering abstract concepts, such as sustainability, and the different results obtained when conducting interviews versus concept maps.
Nonword repetition and word learning: The nature of the relationship

This article presents a theoretical framework designed to accommodate core evidence that the abilities to repeat nonwords and to learn the phonological forms of new words are closely linked. Basic findings relating nonword repetition and word learning both in typical samples of children and adults and in individuals with disorders of language learning are described. The theoretical analysis of this evidence is organized around the following claims: first, that nonword repetition and word learning both rely on phonological storage; second, that they are both multiply determined, constrained also by auditory, phonological, and speech–motor output processes; third, that a phonological storage deficit alone may not be sufficient to impair language learning to a substantial degree. It is concluded that word learning mediated by temporary phonological storage is a primitive learning mechanism that is particularly important in the early stages of acquiring a language, but remains available to support word learning across the life span.
Left-right Differences in the Perception of Melodies

Normal subjects were given two auditory tests, one consisting of spoken digits presented dichotically, the other of melodies presented dichotically. On the Digits test, the score for the right ear was higher than for the left (as previously established), and on the Melodies test the score for the left ear was higher than for the right. These findings were related to the different roles of the right and left hemispheres of the brain in verbal and nonverbal perception.
Comparing journalism cultures in Latin America

Based on interviews with 300 journalists in Chile, Brazil and Mexico, this article describes similarities and differences in their professional cultures. Two competing conceptual explanations are tested: the dominance of political structures, levels of press freedom and the size and concentration of media ownership vs the predominance of political cultures and political parallelism. Although the study provides some evidence in favour of the second scenario – overall in terms of the institutional roles supported by the journalists – neither of the two explanations can fully account for the differences between the countries. Meanwhile, the epistemological and ethical views of the journalists seem to be trapped in contesting terrains of ambiguity, where organizational, media routines and individual factors override country differences.
Home-use nebulizers: a potential primary source of Burkholderia cepacia and other colistin-resistant, gram-negative bacteria in patients with cystic fibrosis

Inhalation of aerosols contaminated with gram-negative bacteria generated from home-use nebulizers used by cystic fibrosis (CF) patients may be a primary route for bacterial colonization of the lung. Burkholderia cepacia was isolated from 3 of [corrected] 35 home-use nebulizers, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was isolated from 4 of 35 home-use nebulizers. Sputum cultures for two patients whose nebulizers were contaminated with B. cepacia did not yield the organism. However, DNA macrorestriction analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis confirmed that one of two strains of B. cepacia recovered from the nebulizer of a third patient was also present in the sputum of that patient. Although Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from 34 patients, none of the nebulizers were positive for the organism. Sixty-nine percent of nebulizers were contaminated, and up to 16 different environmental colistin-resistant, gram-negative species were identified. The heaviest contamination was found beneath the chamber atomizer. A questionnaire survey showed that the majority of patients (28 of 34) were receiving nebulized colistin and/or gentamicin. Patients who followed recommended instructions for good nebulizer hygienic practice and paid particular attention to drying had minimal or no contamination of their nebulizers.
Enalapril protects against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in a swine model of cardiac arrest and resuscitation

There is strong evidence to suggest that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) protect against local myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study was designed to explore whether ACEIs exert cardioprotective effects in a swine model of cardiac arrest (CA) and resuscitation. Male pigs were randomly assigned to three groups: sham-operated group, saline treatment group and enalapril treatment group. Thirty minutes after drug infusion, the animals in the saline and enalapril groups were subjected to ventricular fibrillation (8 min) followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (up to 30 min). Cardiac function was monitored, and myocardial tissue and blood were collected for analysis. Enalapril pre-treatment did not improve cardiac function or the 6-h survival rate after CA and resuscitation; however, this intervention ameliorated myocardial ultrastructural damage, reduced the level of plasma cardiac troponin I and decreased myocardial apoptosis. Plasma angiotensin (Ang) II and Ang-(1–7) levels were enhanced in the model of CA and resuscitation. Enalapril reduced the plasma Ang II level at 4 and 6 h after the return of spontaneous circulation whereas enalapril did not affect the plasma Ang-(1–7) level. Enalapril pre-treatment decreased the myocardial mRNA and protein expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Enalapril treatment also reduced the myocardial ACE/ACE2 ratio, both at the mRNA and the protein level. Enalapril pre-treatment did not affect the upregulation of ACE2, Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and MAS after CA and resuscitation. Taken together, these findings suggest that enalapril protects against ischemic injury through the attenuation of the ACE/Ang II/AT1R axis after CA and resuscitation in pigs. These results suggest the potential therapeutic value of ACEIs in patients with CA.
Corneal Responses to Intraocular Pressure Elevations in Keratoconus

Purpose: To examine corneal responses to elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods: For a sample of 10 normal subjects, noncontact tonometry was used to measure IOP elevations in response to scleral indentation from a standardized ophthalmodynamometer (ODM) force. Using the same ODM force, corneal topography was assessed for the same controls and a sample of 10 subjects with keratoconus (KC). It was assumed that the mean and range of IOP elevations were similar for both samples. Results: The ODM induced a mean IOP elevation for the control eyes of 99.4%. IOP elevation during topography was 15-20 seconds for both samples. With elevated IOP, there were no significant topographical changes for control subjects, but the mean values for steepest point of curvature and flat and steep simulated keratometry were significantly increased in subjects with KC [+1.84 (P < 0.029), +0.64 (P = 0.046), and +1.31 diopters (D) (P = 0.03), respectively]. The changes were significantly greater in subjects less than 30 years (P < 0.05). There were no significant topography changes from baseline after IOP elevation, for either control or KC samples. Conclusions: Abnormal elastic (reversible) increased distensibility in some KC corneas is consistent with reduced corneal rigidity (lower elastic modulus and/or thickness). Abnormal distending responses may be increased when IOP elevations are higher and/or longer and/or more frequent. The results suggest that abnormal distending responses to elevated IOP in KC may reduce with age.
Simple Tools for Exploring Variation in Code-switching for Linguists

One of the benefits of language identification that is particularly relevant for code-switching (CS) research is that it permits insight into how the languages are mixed (i.e., the level of integration of the languages). The aim of this paper is to quantify and visualize the nature of the integration of languages in CS documents using simple language-independent metrics that can be adopted by linguists. In our contribution, we (a) make a linguistic case for classifying CS types according to how the languages are integrated; (b) describe our language identification system; (c) introduce an Integration-index (I-index) derived from HMM transition probabilities; (d) employ methods for visualizing integration via a language signature (or switching profile); and (e) illustrate the utility of our simple metrics for linguists as applied to Spanish-English texts of different switching profiles.
Analysis and visualization of Arabidopsis thaliana GWAS using web 2.0 technologies

With large-scale genomic data becoming the norm in biological studies, the storing, integrating, viewing and searching of such data have become a major challenge. In this article, we describe the development of an Arabidopsis thaliana database that hosts the geographic information and genetic polymorphism data for over 6000 accessions and genome-wide association study (GWAS) results for 107 phenotypes representing the largest collection of Arabidopsis polymorphism data and GWAS results to date. Taking advantage of a series of the latest web 2.0 technologies, such as Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), GWT (Google-Web-Toolkit), MVC (Model-View-Controller) web framework and Object Relationship Mapper, we have created a web-based application (web app) for the database, that offers an integrated and dynamic view of geographic information, genetic polymorphism and GWAS results. Essential search functionalities are incorporated into the web app to aid reverse genetics research. The database and its web app have proven to be a valuable resource to the Arabidopsis community. The whole framework serves as an example of how biological data, especially GWAS, can be presented and accessed through the web. In the end, we illustrate the potential to gain new insights through the web app by two examples, showcasing how it can be used to facilitate forward and reverse genetics research. Database URL: http://arabidopsis.usc. edu/
CliqueCNN: Deep Unsupervised Exemplar Learning

Exemplar learning is a powerful paradigm for discovering visual similarities in an unsupervised manner. In this context, however, the recent breakthrough in deep learning could not yet unfold its full potential. With only a single positive sample, a great imbalance between one positive and many negatives, and unreliable relationships between most samples, training of Convolutional Neural networks is impaired. Given weak estimates of local distance we propose a single optimization problem to extract batches of samples with mutually consistent relations. Conflicting relations are distributed over different batches and similar samples are grouped into compact cliques. Learning exemplar similarities is framed as a sequence of clique categorization tasks. The CNN then consolidates transitivity relations within and between cliques and learns a single representation for all samples without the need for labels. The proposed unsupervised approach has shown competitive performance on detailed posture analysis and object classification.
Functional fetal nigral grafts in a patient with Parkinson's disease: Chemoanatomic, ultrastructural, and metabolic studies

A patient with Parkinson's disease received bilateral fetal human nigral implants from six donors aged 6.5 to 9 weeks post‐conception. Eighteen months following a post‐operative clinical course characterized by marked improvement in clinical function, this patient died from events unrelated to the grafting procedure. Post‐mortem histological analyses revealed the presence of viable grafts in all 12 implant sites, each containing a heterogeneous population of neurons and glia. Approximately 210,146 implanted tyrosine hydroxylase‐immunoreactive (TH‐ir) neurons were found. A greater number of TH‐ir grafted neurons were observed in the right (128,162) than the left (81,905) putamen. Grafted TH‐ir neurons were organized in an organotypic fashion. These cells provided extensive TH‐ir and dopamine transporter‐ir innervation to the host striatum which occurred in a patch‐matrix fashion. Quantitative evaluations revealed that fetal nigral grafts reinnervated 53% and 28% of the post‐commissural putamen on the right and left side, respectively. Grafts on the left side innervated a lesser area of the striatum, but optical density measurements were similar on both sides. There was no evidence that the implants induced sprouting of host TH‐ir systems. Electron microscopic analyses revealed axo‐dendritic and occasional axo‐axonic synapses between graft and host. In contrast, axo‐somatic synapses were not observed. In situ hybridization for TH mRNA revealed intensely hybridized grafted neurons which far exceeded TH mRNA expression within residual host nigral cells. In addition, γ‐amino butyric acid (GABA)‐ergic neurons were observed within the graft that formed a dense local neuropil which was confined to the implant site. Serotonergic neurons were not observed within the graft. Cytochrome oxidase activity was increased bilaterally within the grafted post‐commissural putamen, suggesting increased metabolic activity. In this regard, a doubling of cytochrome oxidase activity was observed within the grafted post‐commissural putamen bilaterally relative to the non‐grafted anterior putamen. The grafts were hypovascular relative to the surrounding striatum and host substantia nigra. Blood vessels within the graft stained intensely for GLUT‐1, suggesting that this marker of blood‐brain barrier function is present within human nigral allografts. Taken together, these data indicate that fetal nigral neurons can survive transplantation, functionally reinnervate the host putamen, establish synaptic contacts with host neurons, and sustain many of the morphological and functional characteristics of normal nigral neurons following grafting into a patient with PD. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.