Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Nestin‐Expressing Multipotent Stem Cells in the Tongue Fungiform Papilla and Vibrissa Hair Follicle

We have previously reported that hair follicles contain multipotent stem cells, which express nestin and participate in follicle growth at anagen as well as in the extension of the follicle sensory nerve. The nestin‐driven green fluorescent protein (ND‐GFP) transgenic mouse labels all nestin‐expressing cells with GFP. The hair follicle nestin‐GFP cells can differentiate into neurons, Schwann cells, and other cell types. In this study, we describe nestin‐expressing multipotent stem cells in the fungiform papilla in the tongue. The nestin‐expressing multipotent stem cells in the fungiform papilla are located around a peripheral sensory nerve immediately below the taste bud and co‐express the neural crest cell marker p75NTR. The fungiform papilla cells formed spheres in suspension culture in DMEM‐F12 medium supplemented with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The spheres consisted of nestin‐expressing cells that co‐expressed the neural crest marker p75NTR and which developed expression of the stem cell marker CD34. P75NTR, CD34 and nestin co‐expression suggested that nestin‐expressing cells comprising the fungiform papilla spheres were in a relatively undifferentiated state. The nestin‐expressing cells of these spheres acquired the following markers: β III tubulin typical of nerve cells; GFAP typical of glial cells; K15 typical of keratinocytes; and smooth‐muscle antigen (SMA), after transfer to RPMI 1640 medium with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), suggesting they differentiated into multiple cell types. The results of the current study indicate nestin‐expressing fungiform papilla cells and the nestin‐expressing hair follicle stem cells have common features of cell morphology and ability to differentiate into multiple cell types, suggesting their remarkable similarity. J. Cell. Biochem. 115: 1070–1076, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Role of Nitric Oxide and GluR1 in Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Components of Neocortical Potentiation

In this study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity at the layer IV to II/III pathway in barrel cortex of mice aged 6–13 weeks. This pathway is one of the likely candidates for expression of experience-dependent plasticity in the barrel cortex and may serve as a model for other IV to II/III synapses in the neocortex. We found that postsynaptic autocamtide-2-inhibitory peptide is sufficient to block long-term potentiation (LTP) (IC50 of 500 nm), implicating postsynaptic calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II in LTP induction. AMPA receptor subunit 1 (GluR1) knock-out mice also showed LTP in this pathway, but potentiation was predominantly presynaptic in origin as determined by paired-pulse analysis, coefficient of variation analysis, and quantal analysis, whereas wild types showed a mixed presynaptic and postsynaptic locus. Quantal analysis at this synapse was validated by measuring uniquantal events in the presence of strontium. The predominantly presynaptic LTP in the GluR1 knock-outs was blocked by postsynaptic antagonism of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), either with intracellular N-ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester or N-nitro-l-arginine, providing the first evidence for a retrograde transmitter role for NO at this synapse. Antagonism of NOS in wild types significantly reduced but did not eliminate LTP (group average reduction of 50%). The residual LTP formed a variable proportion of the total LTP in each cell and was found to be postsynaptic in origin. We found no evidence for silent synapses in this pathway at this age. Finally, application of NO via a donor induced potentiation in layer II/III cells and caused an increase in frequency but not amplitude of miniature EPSPs, again implicating NO in presynaptic plasticity.
Relationship of an hRAD54 gene polymorphism (2290 C/T) in an Ecuadorian population with chronic myelogenous leukemia

The hRAD54 gene is a key member of the RAD52 epistasis group involved in repair of double-strand breaks (DSB) by homologous recombination (HR). Thus, alterations of the normal function of these genes could generate genetic instability, shifting the normal process of the cell cycle, leading the cells to develop into cancer. In this work we analyzed exon 18 of the hRAD54 gene, which has been previously reported by our group to carry a silent polymorphism, 2290 C/T (Ala730Ala), associated to meningiomas. We performed a PCR-SSCP method to detect the polymorphism in 239 samples including leukemia and normal control population. The results revealed that the 2290 C/T polymorphism has frequencies of 0.1 for the leukemia and 0.1 for the control group. These frequencies show no statistical differences. Additionally, we dissected the leukemia group in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to evaluate the polymorphism. The frequencies found in these subgroups were 0.14 for CML and 0.05 for ALL. We found statistically significant differences between CML patients and the control group (p < 0.05) but we did not find significant differences between ALL and the control group (p > 0.05). These results suggest a possible link between the 2290 C/T polymorphism of the hRAD54 gene and CML.
Evaluating methods for the isolation of marine-derived fungal strains and production of bioactive secondary metabolites

In the present investigation we evaluate methods for the isolation and growth of marine-derived fungal strains in artificial media for the production of secondary metabolites. Inoculation of marine macroorganisms fragments in Petri dishes proved to be the most convenient procedure for the isolation of the largest number of strains. Among the growth media used, 3% malt extract showed the best result for strains isolation and growth, and yielded the largest number of strains from marine macroorganisms. The percentage of strains isolated using each of the growth media which yielded cytotoxic and/or antibiotic extracts was in the range of 23-35%, regardless of the growth media used. Further investigation of extracts obtained from different marine-derived fungal strains yielded several bioactive secondary metabolites, among which (E)-4-methoxy-5-(3-methoxybut-1-enyl)-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one is a new metabolite isolated from the Penicillium paxilli strain Ma(G)K.
Using Implementation Intentions to Overcome the Effects of Social Anxiety on Attention and Appraisals of Performance

The present research examines whether forming implementation intentions can help people with social anxiety to control their attention and make more realistic appraisals of their performance. In Experiment 1, socially anxious participants (relative to less anxious participants) exhibited an attentional bias toward social threat words in a Visual Dot Probe task. However, socially anxious participants who formed implementation intentions designed to control attention did not exhibit this bias. Using a spatial cuing task, Experiment 2 showed that forming implementation intentions also promoted rapid disengagement from threatening stimuli. Experiment 3 ruled out the possibility that implementation intentions were effective merely because they provided additional goal-relevant information. In Experiment 4, participants gave a speech and subsequently rated their performance. Forming implementation intentions prevented the underestimation of performance that characterizes socially anxious individuals. Together, the findings suggest that forming implementation intentions may provide an effective means of handling self-regulatory problems in social anxiety.
Low Power Asynchronous Sigma-Delta Modulator Using Hysteresis Level Control

Asynchronous Sigma-Delta Modulator (ASDM) uses Time Encoding Machine (TEM). The method replaces high precision analog amplitude quantizer with 1bit comparator. This reduces the analog circuit complexity. The number of transitions can be controlled by adjusting step size that is hysteresis of the comparator. This in turn reduces the switching activity and the dynamic power consumption. The current work proposes ASDM with control on hysteresis level to control the power consumption. The circuit improves performance of [1]. This work reduces 81% dynamic power consumption over the reported work.
Potent Inhibition of Late Stages of Hepadnavirus Replication by a Modified Cell Penetrating Peptide

Cationic cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and their lipid domain-conjugates (CatLip) are agents for the delivery of (uncharged) biologically active molecules into the cell. Using infection and transfection assays we surprisingly discovered that CatLip peptides were able to inhibit replication of Duck Hepatitis B Virus (DHBV), a reference model for human HBV. Amongst twelve CatLip peptides we identified Deca-(Arg)8 having a particularly potent antiviral activity, leading to a drastic inhibition of viral particle secretion without detectable toxicity. Inhibition of virion secretion was correlated with a dose-dependent increase in intracellular viral DNA. Deca-(Arg)8 peptide did neither interfere with DHBV entry, nor with formation of mature nucleocapsids nor with their travelling to the nucleus. Instead, Deca-(Arg)8 caused envelope protein accumulation in large clusters as revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopy indicating severe structural changes of preS/S. Sucrose gradient analysis of supernatants from Deca-(Arg)8-treated cells showed unaffected naked viral nucleocapsids release, which was concomitant with a complete arrest of virion and surface protein-containing subviral particle secretion. This is the first report showing that a CPP is able to drastically block hepadnaviral release from infected cells by altering late stages of viral morphogenesis via interference with enveloped particle formation, without affecting naked nucleocapsid egress, thus giving a view inside the mode of inhibition. Deca-(Arg)8 may be a useful tool for elucidating the hepadnaviral secretory pathway, which is not yet fully understood. Moreover we provide the first evidence that a modified CPP displays a novel antiviral mechanism targeting another step of viral life cycle compared to what has been so far described for other enveloped viruses.
Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life in Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE The study objective was to examine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and relationships to quality of life and demographics in the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study’s large, ethnically diverse youth with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 704 youth with type 2 diabetes <2 years’ duration, aged 10–17 years, and BMI ≥85th percentile completed depressive symptoms and quality of life measures. RESULTS Some 14.8% reported clinically significant depressive symptoms, and older girls had significantly higher rates than older boys. CONCLUSIONS Rates of significant depressive symptoms were similar to those of healthy adolescents and lower than those of teens with type 1 diabetes. Elevated depressive symptoms, particularly in older girls, suggest clinicians assess vulnerability.
Restriction enzyme analsys of randomly ampliefied polymorphic DNA amplicons of Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis PT4 and Typhimurium DT104

Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis PT4 and Typhimurium DT104 isolates were characterized using a random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) protocol found previously to be highly discriminatory for isolates of Salmonella. Profiles generated with a single primer 1254, and independently 1283, successfully characterized an outbreak strain of Enteritidis PT4 but could not differentiate epidemiologically unrelated strains of Enteritidis PT4 from the outbreak strains. Primer 1254 differentiated one strain, and 1283 two strains of Typhimurium DT104 previously undifferentiated on the basis of biochemical and physical properties. Subsequent analysis using a combination of RAPD and restriction enzyme analysis could not provide additional differentiation of Enteritidis PT4 and Typhimurium DT104 isolates but did, however, exhibit the potential to be a useful combination of molecular techniques.
Treatment priorities in oncology: do we want to live longer or better?

OBJECTIVES: Despite the progress achieved in the fight against cancer over the past several years, assessing the needs, goals and preferences of patients with cancer is of the utmost importance for the delivery of health care. We sought to assess priorities regarding quantity versus quality of life among Brazilian patients, comparing them with individuals without cancer. METHODS: Using a questionnaire presenting four hypothetical cancer cases, we interviewed cancer patients, oncology health-care professionals and laypersons, most of whom had administrative functions in our hospital. RESULTS: A total of 214 individuals participated: 101 patients, 44 health-care professionals and 69 laypersons. The mean ages in the three groups were 56, 34 and 31 years old, respectively (p<0.001). The patients had gastrointestinal (25%), breast (22%), hematologic (10%), lung (8%) or other tumors (36%) and the tumor-node- metastasis (TNM) stage was I, II, III or IV in 22%, 13%, 34% and 31% of cases, respectively. Treatment priorities differed significantly among the three groups (p = 0.005), with survival time being a higher priority for patients than for the other two groups and with opposite trends regarding quality of life. In multivariate analysis, the age and sex distributions were not associated with the choice to maximize quality of life. In this limited sample of cancer patients, there were no associations between treatment priorities and disease stages. CONCLUSIONS: Both survival time and quality of life appeared to be important to cancer patients, oncology health-care professionals and laypersons, but survival time seemed to have higher priority for people diagnosed with cancer than for healthy people. Additionally, survival seemed to be more important than quality of life for all three groups assessed.
Social jetlag negatively correlates with academic performance in undergraduates

Discrepancies between sleep timing on workdays and weekends, also known as social jetlag (SJL), affect the majority of the population and have been found to be associated with increased health risk and health-impairing behaviors. In this study, we explored the relationship between SJL and academic performance in a sample of undergraduates of the Semmelweis University. We assessed SJL and other sleep-related parameters with the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ) (n = 753). Academic performance was measured by the average grade based on weekly test results as well as scores acquired on the final test (n = 247). The average mid-sleep point on free days in the Hungarian sample fits well the regression line plotted for longitudes within the Central European Time Zone and chronotypes, confirming that sunlight has a major impact on chronotype. Multivariate analysis showed negative effect of SJL on the weekly average grade (p = 0.028, n = 247) during the lecture term with its highly regular teaching schedules, while this association disappeared in the exam period (p = 0.871, n = 247) when students had no scheduled obligations (lower SJL). We also analyzed the relationship between the time of the weekly tests and academic performance and found that students with later sleep times on free days achieved worse in the morning (p = 0.017, n = 129), while the inverse tendency was observed for the afternoon test-takers (p = 0.10, n = 118). We did not find significant association between academic performance and sleep duration or sleep debt on work days. Our data suggest that circadian misalignment can have a significant negative effect on academic performance. One possible reason for this misalignment is socially enforced sleep times.
Differential Gene Expression Profile Associated with the Abnormality of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Aplastic Anemia

Aplastic anemia (AA) is generally considered as an immune-mediated bone marrow failure syndrome with defective hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and marrow microenvironment. Previous studies have demonstrated the defective HSCs and aberrant T cellular-immunity in AA using a microarray approach. However, little is known about the overall specialty of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). In the present study, we comprehensively compared the biological features and gene expression profile of BM-MSCs between AA patients and healthy volunteers. In comparison with healthy controls, BM-MSCs from AA patients showed aberrant morphology, decreased proliferation and clonogenic potential and increased apoptosis. BM-MSCs from AA patients were susceptible to be induced to differentiate into adipocytes but more difficult to differentiate into osteoblasts. Consistent with abnormal biological features, a large number of genes implicated in cell cycle, cell division, proliferation, chemotaxis and hematopoietic cell lineage showed markedly decreased expression in BM-MSCs from AA patients. Conversely, more related genes with apoptosis, adipogenesis and immune response showed increased expression in BM-MSCs from AA patients. The gene expression profile of BM-MSCs further confirmed the abnormal biological properties and provided significant evidence for the possible mechanism of the destruction of the bone marrow microenvironment in AA.
Electromechanical delay in the tibialis anterior muscle during time-varying ankle dorsiflexion

We evaluated the electromechanical delay (EMD) for the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle during the performance of time-varying ankle dorsiflexions. Subjects were asked to track a sinusoidal trajectory, for a range of amplitudes and frequencies. Motor unit (MU) action potential trains were identified from surface electromyography (EMG) decomposition and summed to generate the cumulative spike train (CST). CST and the exerted force were cross-correlated to identify the delay between the CST and force, which was considered as an estimate of the EMD. The results showed that the EMD decreased logarithmically with the increase in the slope of the force produced.
Multiple roles for Plasmodium berghei phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C in regulating gametocyte activation and differentiation

Critical events in the life cycle of malaria parasites are controlled by calcium‐dependent signalling cascades, yet the molecular mechanisms of calcium release remain poorly understood. The synchronized development of Plasmodium berghei gametocytes relies on rapid calcium release from internal stores within 10 s of gametocytes being exposed to mosquito‐derived xanthurenic acid (XA). Here we addressed the function of phosphoinositide‐specific phospholipase C (PI‐PLC) for regulating gametocyte activation. XA triggered the hydrolysis of PIP2 and the production of the secondary messenger IP3 in gametocytes. Both processes were selectively blocked by a PI‐PLC inhibitor, which also reduced the early Ca2+ signal. However, microgametocyte differentiation into microgametes was blocked even when the inhibitor was added up to 5 min after activation, suggesting a requirement for PI‐PLC beyond the early mobilization of calcium. In contrast, inhibitors of calcium release through ryanodine receptor channels were active only during the first minute of gametocyte activation. Biochemical determination of PI‐PLC activity was confirmed using transgenic parasites expressing a fluorescent PIP2/IP3 probe that translocates from the parasite plasmalemma to the cytosol upon cell activation. Our study revealed a complex interdependency of Ca2+ and PI‐PLC activity, with PI‐PLC being essential throughout gamete formation, possibly explaining the irreversibility of this process.
Comparison of Elastic Moduli of Porous Cordierite by Flexure and Dynamic Test Methods

Previous work showed differences in apparent elastic modulus between mechanical flexure testing and resonance methods. Flexure tests have been conducted using non-contact optical systems to directly measure deflection for calculation of elastic modulus. Dynamic test methods for elastic modulus measurement were conducted on the same material for comparison. The results show significant difference in the apparent elastic modulus for static flexure versus dynamic methods. The significance of the difference in apparent elastic modulus on thermal stress and the hypotheses for these differences will be discussed. Dynamic measurement (resonance) and static measurement (mechanical) produce different values for elastic modulus of porous cordierite ceramic. The elastic modulus from resonance is a measure of the material response at very low strain which is different from the material response in a mechanical test with relatively large strain. The apparent elastic moduli for dynamic versus static test methods in this study are different by a factor of two. This result has significant impact on calculated stress and life in an aftertreatment component.
Arcuate Relaxing Incisions Guided by Corneal Topography for Postkeratoplasty Astigmatism: Vector and Topographic Analysis

Purpose: To determine if using corneal topography for planning arcuate relaxing incision placement for postkeratoplasty astigmatism improves clinical results. Methods: Twenty-six eyes with high levels (>5 diopters [D]) of postkeratoplasty astigmatism were studied in a nonrandomized, retrospective, observational case series. Relaxing incisions were placed in the peripheral graft in each steep topographic hemimeridian. The following data were measured: keratometric, topographic, and refractive vector analysis; nonvector astigmatism reduction; surface regularity and asymmetry (surface regularity index and surface asymmetry index); topography patterns; surgical design; and visual acuity. Results: Topographic analysis changed some aspect of the surgery in 51/52 incisions with a 15.7° mean change in incision location. The mean vector correction index (CI) was 0.89 to 0.92 for keratometric, topographic, and refractive indices. Sixty-five percent of eyes had surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) values within 2 D of the surgical goal. Eighty-one percent of eyes had at least a 50% reduction in net astigmatism and 85% had ≤3-D residual refractive cylinder. The mean logMAR visual acuity increased 2 lines. The preoperative and postoperative spherical equivalent showed a high correlation (&rgr; = 0.914, P = 0.000). The correlation between SIA and targeted induced astigmatism (TIA) was 0.56 (P = 0.003). There was a significant improvement in surface regularity index (P = 0.000) and surface asymmetry index (P = 0.05) values. No statistically significant correlations were found between total incision length and SIA or TIA, or between TIA and correction index. All patients had symmetric (58%) or asymmetric (42%) bowtie topographic patterns preoperatively with 35% achieving round/oval patterns postoperatively. Conclusions: Topography-guided relaxing incision offers an easy method to plan surgery and has some limited advantages over conventional techniques.
Patterns of parental vocabulary selection in speech to very young children

ABSTRACT Previous studies have suggested that paternal vocabulary selection in speech to young children may be more diverse or demanding than that of mothers. This study examined the speech of eight mothers and eight fathers to their young language learning children. Nominal usage was subjected to TTR and frequency-of-occurrence analyses. In general, while paternal speech does not appear to be more diverse than maternal speech, it does appear to be characterized by greater usage of rare vocabulary and significantly lower usage of common vocabulary than is maternal speech.