Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prenatal antidepressant use and risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring: population based cohort study

Objective To assess the potential association between prenatal use of antidepressants and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring. Design Population based cohort study. Setting Data from the Hong Kong population based electronic medical records on the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. Participants 190 618 children born in Hong Kong public hospitals between January 2001 and December 2009 and followed-up to December 2015. Main outcome measure Hazard ratio of maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and ADHD in children aged 6 to 14 years, with an average follow-up time of 9.3 years (range 7.4-11.0 years). Results Among 190 618 children, 1252 had a mother who used prenatal antidepressants. 5659 children (3.0%) were given a diagnosis of ADHD or received treatment for ADHD. The crude hazard ratio of maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy was 2.26 (P<0.01) compared with non-use. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, including maternal psychiatric disorders and use of other psychiatric drugs, the adjusted hazard ratio was reduced to 1.39 (95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.82, P=0.01). Likewise, similar results were observed when comparing children of mothers who had used antidepressants before pregnancy with those who were never users (1.76, 1.36 to 2.30, P<0.01). The risk of ADHD in the children of mothers with psychiatric disorders was higher compared with the children of mothers without psychiatric disorders even if the mothers had never used antidepressants (1.84, 1.54 to 2.18, P<0.01). All sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. Sibling matched analysis identified no significant difference in risk of ADHD in siblings exposed to antidepressants during gestation and those not exposed during gestation (0.54, 0.17 to 1.74, P=0.30). Conclusions The findings suggest that the association between prenatal use of antidepressants and risk of ADHD in offspring can be partially explained by confounding by indication of antidepressants. If there is a causal association, the size of the effect is probably smaller than that reported previously.
On a Connection between Maximum Variance Unfolding, Shortest Path Problems and IsoMap

We present an equivalent formulation of the Maximum Variance Unfolding (MVU) approach to nonlinear dimensionality reduction in terms of distance matrices. This yields a novel interpretation of the MVU problem as a regularized version of the shortest path problem on a graph. This interpretation enables us to establish an asymptotic convergence result for the case that the underlying data are drawn from a Riemannian manifold which is isometric to a convex subset of Euclidean space.
Iterative Refinement of a Binding Pocket Model: Active Computational Steering of Lead Optimization

Computational approaches for binding affinity prediction are most frequently demonstrated through cross-validation within a series of molecules or through performance shown on a blinded test set. Here, we show how such a system performs in an iterative, temporal lead optimization exercise. A series of gyrase inhibitors with known synthetic order formed the set of molecules that could be selected for “synthesis. ” Beginning with a small number of molecules, based only on structures and activities, a model was constructed. Compound selection was done computationally, each time making five selections based on confident predictions of high activity and five selections based on a quantitative measure of three-dimensional structural novelty. Compound selection was followed by model refinement using the new data. Iterative computational candidate selection produced rapid improvements in selected compound activity, and incorporation of explicitly novel compounds uncovered much more diverse active inhibitors than strategies lacking active novelty selection.
Chelerythrine increases NaK-ATPase activity and limits ischemic injury in isolated rat hearts

Lundmark, Jennifer L. , Ravichandran Ramasamy, P. Richard Vulliet, and Saul Schaefer. Chelerythrine increases Na-K-ATPase activity and limits ischemic injury in isolated rat hearts. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 46): H999–H1006, 1999. —Myocardial ischemia results in an increase in intracellular sodium concentration ([Na]i), which may lead to cellular injury via cellular swelling and calcium overload. Because protein kinase C (PKC) has been shown to reduce Na-K-ATPase activity, we postulated that pharmacological inhibition of PKC would directly increase Na-KATPase activity, reduce [Na]i during ischemia, and provide protection from ischemic injury. Isolated rat hearts were subjected to 30 min of global ischemia with and without the specific PKC inhibitor chelerythrine. Intracellular pH, ATP, and [Na]i were assessed using 31P and 23Na NMR spectroscopy, whereas Na-K-ATPase and PKC activity were determined using biochemical assays. Na/H exchanger activity was determined using the ammonium prepulse technique under nonischemic conditions. Chelerythrine increased Na-KATPase activity (13.76 6 0.89 vs. 10.89 6 0.80 mg ADP·h21 ·mg protein21; P 5 0.01), reduced PKC activity in both the membrane and cytosolic fractions (39% and 28% of control, respectively), and reduced creatine kinase release on reperfusion (48 6 5 IU/g dry wt vs. 689 6 63 IU/g dry wt; P 5 0.008). The rise in [Na]i during ischemia was significantly reduced in hearts treated with chelerythrine (peak [Na]i chelerythrine: 21.5 6 1.2 mM; control: 31.9 6 1.2 mM; P , 0.0001), without an effect on either acidosis (nadir pH 6.16 6 0.05 for chelerythrine vs. 6.08 6 0.04 for control), the rate of ATP depletion or Na/H exchanger activity. These data support the hypothesis that pharmacological inhibition of PKC before ischemia induces cardioprotection by reducing intracellular sodium overload via an increase in Na-K-ATPase activity.
Fixed Bed Pyrolysis of Scrap Tyre for Liquid Fuel Production

The thermochemical conversion of scrap tyre into liquid fuel by continuous fixed bed pyrolysis process has been taken into consideration in this study. The scrap tyre was characterized through proximate, ultimate and thermo-gravimetric analysis to investigate its suitability as feedstock for this consideration. Scrap tyre in particle form was pyrolysed in an externally heated 0.28 m3 fixed bed reactor with nitrogen as a carrier gas. A biomass source heater in cylindrical shape and a gravity feed type reactor feeder were used to heat and to feed the reactor respectively. The pyrolysis products were liquid, char and gas. The product yields were significantly influenced by the process conditions. At an optimum reaction condition of fixed bed temperature of 4500C, feedstock size of 3 ? 5 cm and operating time of 75min, an oil yield of 64 wt % of dry feed stock was obtained. The oil obtained at this optimum process condition was analyzed for their properties as an alternative fuel and was compared with petroleum products. The fuel properties compared were physical properties, calorific value, elemental (CHNOS) analysis and chemical composition using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy.
Absolute stability of global pattern formation and parallel memory storage by competitive neural networks

Systems that are competitive and possess symmetric interactions admit a global Lyapunov function. However, a global Lyapunov function whose equilibrium set can be effectively analyzed has not yet been discovered. It remains an open question whether the Lyapunov function approach, which requires a study of equilibrium points, or an alternative global approach, such as the Lyapunov functional approach, which sidesteps a direct study of equilibrium points will ultimately handle all of the physically important cases.
A Parameter for Comparing the Damage Tolerance of Stressed Plain Weave Fabrics

A micromechanics-based mathematical model for a slit-damaged (i.e., a series of consecutive yam breaks), biaxially stressed, plain weave fabric is used to define and motivate a candidate screening parameter pu, which can provide a measure of damage tolerance for a class of such fabrics. Preliminary results are presented from damage growth tests on a variety of fabrics with initial slit damage consisting of the same number of breaks that corroborate the model and demonstrate the viability of the parameter. The contents of the parameter, which include microstructural properties of the fabric (e.g. , yarn stiffness, yam strength, crossover point slip frictional forces, warp and fill direction crossover point spacings), are shown to suggest how the parameter can be useful in selecting or developing fabrics where improved damage tolerance is desired.
Early Life Stress Enhances Angiotensin II–Mediated Vasoconstriction by Reduced Endothelial Nitric Oxide Buffering Capacity

We reported previously that maternal separation (MS) sensitizes adult rats to angiotensin II (Ang II)–induced hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate the vascular reactivity to Ang II and the role of renin-angiotensin system components, reactive oxygen species production, and NO synthase (NOS) buffering capacity mediating the exacerbated Ang II–induced responses. MS rats were separated from their mothers for 3 h/d from days 2 to 14 of life. Controls were nonhandled littermates. At 12 weeks of age, aortic Ang II–induced constriction was greater from MS rats compared with controls (P<0.05); moreover, endothelial denudation abolished this difference. The response to other constrictors was unchanged. Angiotensin type 2 receptor function was reduced in aortic Ang II–induced constriction from MS rats compared with controls. Angiotensin type 1 receptor function was similarly abolished in both groups. However, protein expressions of angiotensin type 1 and angiotensin type 2 receptors were similar in aortic rings from MS and control rats. Preincubation with superoxide inhibitor or scavenger attenuated the Ang II–induced vasoconstriction in control but not in MS rats. However, acute preincubation with an NOS inhibitor enhanced aortic Ang II–induced constriction in aorta from control rats, but this effect was significantly reduced in MS rats compared with control rats. Accordingly, a further increase in Ang II–induced hypertension attributed to chronic NOS inhibition (days 10 to 13) was blunted in MS rats compared with control rats. Similar NOS expression and activity were observed in control and MS rats. In conclusion, MS induces a phenotype with reduced endothelial NOS buffering capacity leading to dysfunctional endothelial Ang II–mediated signaling and sensitization to Ang II–induced vasoconstriction.
A Comprehensive Motion Videotext Detection Localization and Extraction Method

In video indexing and summarization, video text is the very compact and accurate information. Most video text detection and extraction methods deal with the static videotext on video frames. Few methods can handle motion videotext well since motion videotext may be hardly be extracted well. In this paper, we propose a low computation method to detect and localize the scrolling videotexts to provide this information. Besides, we propose an extraction method to extract the videotext. The extraction method consists of adaptive thresholding and our proposed modified seed-fill algorithm. The detection method is carried out by edge detection, and the projection profile method is used to localize the text region well. We have completed the whole system and the experimental results all of the horizontal and vertical scrolling videotexts can be extracted well.
Extensive cis-Regulatory Variation Robust to Environmental Perturbation in Arabidopsis[W]

A major source of variation between and within species is that originating from changes in the amount of transcript accumulation from specific genes. New approaches and technologies can reveal such variation at the genome scale; this work shows the extent of allele-specific expression differences in hybrids between two distantly related wild strains of Arabidopsis thaliana. cis- and trans-acting factors affect gene expression and responses to environmental conditions. However, for most plant systems, we lack a comprehensive map of these factors and their interaction with environmental variation. Here, we examined allele-specific expression (ASE) in an F1 hybrid to study how alleles from two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions affect gene expression. To investigate the effect of the environment, we used drought stress and developed a variance component model to estimate the combined genetic contributions of cis- and trans-regulatory polymorphisms, environmental factors, and their interactions. We quantified ASE for 11,003 genes, identifying 3318 genes with consistent ASE in control and stress conditions, demonstrating that cis-acting genetic effects are essentially robust to changes in the environment. Moreover, we found 1618 genes with genotype x environment (GxE) interactions, mostly cis x E interactions with magnitude changes in ASE. We found fewer trans x E interactions, but these effects were relatively less robust across conditions, showing more changes in the direction of the effect between environments; this confirms that trans-regulation plays an important role in the response to environmental conditions. Our data provide a detailed map of cis- and trans-regulation and GxE interactions in A. thaliana, laying the ground for mechanistic investigations and studies in other plants and environments.
Endothelial progenitor cell transplantation improves long‐term stroke outcome in mice

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in tissue repairing and regeneration in ischemic organs, including the brain. However, the cause of EPC migration and the function of EPCs after ischemia are unclear. In this study, we demonstrated the effects of EPCs on ischemic brain injury in a mouse model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO).
Cell Size Regulation in Mammalian Cells

The regulation of cell growth and proliferation is fundamental for animal development and homeostasis but the mechanisms that coordinate cell growth with cell cycle progression are poorly understood. One possibility is that “cell‑size checkpoints” act to delay division until cells have achieved a minimal size or mass however, the existence of such checkpoints in mammalian cells is controversial. In this study we provide further evidence against the operation of a size checkpoint in mammalian cells. We show that primary mammalian cells proliferate at a rate that is independent of cell size or cell mass and that cell size is “set” by the balance of extracellular growth factors and mitogens. Moreover, we show that commonly used culture conditions stimulate cell growth much more than cell cycle progression resulting in cells that proliferate at sizes 300–500% larger than their in vivo counterparts. This has profound effects on cell behavior.The regulation of cell growth and proliferation is fundamental for animal development and homeostasis but the mechanisms that coordinate cell growth with cell cycle progression are poorly understood. One possibility is that “cell‑size checkpoints” act to delay division until cells have achieved a minimal size or mass however, the existence of such checkpoints in mammalian cells is controversial. In this study we provide further evidence against the operation of a size checkpoint in mammalian cells. We show that primary mammalian cells proliferate at a rate that is independent of cell size or cell mass and that cell size is “set” by the balance of extracellular growth factors and mitogens. Moreover, we show that commonly used culture conditions stimulate cell growth much more than cell cycle progression resulting in cells that proliferate at sizes 300–500% larger than their in vivo counterparts. This has profound effects on cell behavior.
GENERALISTS, SPECIALISTS, AND THE EVOLUTION OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY IN SYMPATRIC POPULATIONS OF DISTINCT SPECIES.

The evolution of phenotypic plasticity is studied in a model with two reproductively isolated "species" in a coarse-grained environment, consisting of two types of habitats. A quantitative genetic model for selection was constructed, in which habitats differ in the optimal value for a focal trait, and with random dispersal among habitats. The main interest was to study the effects of different selection regimes. Three cases were investigated: (1) without any limits to plasticity; (2) without genetic variation for plasticity; and (3) with a fitness cost for phenotypically plastic reactions. In almost all cases a generalist strategy to exploit both habitats emerged. Without any limits to plasticity, optimal adaptive reactions evolved. Without any genetic variation for plasticity, a compromise strategy with an intermediate, fixed phenotype evolved, whereas in the presence of costs a plastic compromise between the demands of the habitats and the costs associated with plasticity was found. Specialization and phenotypic differentiation was only found when selection within habitats was severe and optimal phenotypes for different habitats were widely different. Under soft selection (local regulation of population numbers in each habitat) the specialists coexisted; under hard selection (global regulation of population numbers) one specialist outcompeted the other. The prevalent evolutionary outcome of compromises rather than specialization implies that costs or constraints are not necessarily detectable as local adaptation in transplantation or translocation experiments.
Vascular endothelial growth factor expression and angiogenesis in various grades and subtypes of meningioma.

BACKGROUND Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression has been extensively studied in astrocytoma, whereas relatively less literature exists on VEGF expression in meningioma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients operated for meningioma from 2006 to 2011 (n = 46) were included. Tumor was subtyped and graded as per WHO grading. Immunohistochemistry was performed for MIB labeling index, VEGF, and CD 34 staining. The patterns of VEGF expression in various histological subtypes and grades and its correlation with microvascular density were analyzed. RESULTS This series consisted of 40 Grade I meningioma, 4 Grade II tumors, and 2 Grade III tumors. While 14 (30.4%) tumors showed no staining with VEGF antibody, 32 (69.6%) were positive for VEGF. Sixty five percent of Grade I tumors showed VEGF positivity, while 100% of Grade II and Grade III tumors were VEGF positive (P = 0.157). The mean microvascular density in VEGF-negative tumors was 9.00, while that of VEGF-positive tumors was 17.81(P = 0.013). There was a gradual increase in microvascular density from tumors which are negative for VEGF to tumors which expressed moderate to strong VEGF, the difference being statistically significant (P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS VEGF expression correlated with the microvascular density in meningioma irrespective of tumor grade, with a gradual increase in microvascular density in relation to the VEGF score.
Treatment of Chronic Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis with Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate and Glatiramer Acetate Alters Expression of Heme-Oxygenase-1

We previously demonstrated that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) synergizes with the immunomodulatory agent glatiramer acetate (GA) in eliciting anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in the relapsing-remitting EAE model. Thus, we hypothesized that mice with chronic EAE may also benefit from this combination therapy. We first assessed how a treatment with a single dose of GA together with daily application of EGCG may modulate EAE. Although single therapies with a suboptimal dose of GA or EGCG led to disease amelioration and reduced CNS inflammation, the combination therapy had no effects. While EGCG appeared to preserve axons and myelin, the single GA dose did not improve axonal damage or demyelination. Interestingly, the neuroprotective effect of EGCG was abolished when GA was applied in combination. To elucidate how a single dose of GA may interfere with EGCG, we focused on the anti-inflammatory, iron chelating and anti-oxidant properties of EGCG. Surprisingly, we observed that while EGCG induced a downregulation of the gene expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in affected CNS areas, the combined therapy of GA+EGCG seems to promote an increased HO-1 expression. These data suggest that upregulation of HO-1 may contribute to diminish the neuroprotective benefits of EGCG alone in this EAE model. Altogether, our data indicate that neuroprotection by EGCG in chronic EAE may involve regulation of oxidative processes, including downmodulation of HO-1. Further investigation of the re-dox balance in chronic neuroinflammation and in particular functional studies on HO-1 are warranted to understand its role in disease progression.
Implications of Energy Profile and Storage on Energy Harvesting Sensor Link Performance

Energy harvesting sensors (EHS), which harvest energy from the environment in order to sense and then communicate their measurements over a wireless link, provide the tantalizing possibility of perpetual lifetime operation of a sensor network. The wireless communication link design problem needs to be revisited for these sensors as the energy harvested can be random and small and not available when required. In this paper, we develop a simple model that captures the interactions between important parameters that govern the communication link performance of a EHS node, and analyze its outage probability for both slow fading and fast fading wireless channels. Our analysis brings out the critical importance of the energy profile and the energy storage capability on the EHS link performance. Our results show that properly tuning the transmission parameters of the EHS node and having even a small amount of energy storage capability improves the EHS link performance considerably.
Seasonal Dynamics of Soil Microbial Biomass C and N along an Elevational Gradient on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Little information is available on the seasonal response of soil microbial biomass to climate warming even though it is very sensitive to climate change. A two-year field experiment was conducted in the subalpine and alpine forests of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. The intact soil cores from 3,600 m site were incubated in three elevations (3,000 m, 3,300 m and 3,600 m) to simulate climate warming. Soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) were measured at different periods (early growing season [EG], late growing season [LG], onset of soil freezing period [OF], deep soil frozen period [DF] and soil thawing period [ET]) from May 2010 to August 2012. Average air temperature and soil temperature increased with the decrease of elevation during the experimental period. MBC and MBN showed a sharp decrease during the OF and ET in both organic layer and mineral layer at the three sites. Additionally, a relatively high MBC was observed during the DF. MBC and MBN in the soil organic layer decreased with the decrease of elevation but the opposite was true in the mineral soil layer. Warming had stronger effects on soil microbial biomass in the organic layer than in the mineral soil layer. The results indicated that future warming would alter soil microbial biomass and biogeochemical cycling in the forest ecosystems on the eastern Tibetan Plateau.