Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ovol2/Movo, a homologue of Drosophila ovo, is required for angiogenesis, heart formation and placental development in mice

The zinc‐finger transcription factor Ovol2 (Movo, Movo2) is a mouse homologue of Drosophila ovo, which is essential for the survival and differentiation of female germ line cells. To elucidate OVOL2 function in mammals, we generated Ovol2‐deficient mice by gene targeting. The Ovol2 mutants died at embryonic days 9.5–10.5 (E9.5–E10.5), as a result of defects in extraembryonic and embryonic vascularization, and in heart formation. Although the Ovol2 expression was weak, severe defects were detected in extraembryonic and embryonic vascularization, and in heart formation at E8.5–E9.5. In Ovol2−/− placentas, allantoic blood vessel expansion and development of the labyrinthine layer were impaired at E10.5. In an endothelial cell line, siRNAs for Ovol2 reduced the expression of Ovol2 and inhibited the capillary‐like network formation on Matrigel in vitro. These results demonstrate that Ovol2 may play a critical role in vascular angiogenesis during early embryogenesis.
Identification of an immunosuppressive epitope of type II collagen that confers protection against collagen-induced arthritis

We have previously reported that collagen-induced arthritis can be suppressed by intravenous injection of native type II (CII) but not type I collagen. We have now identified denatured fragments of CII capable of suppressing collagen-induced arthritis and inducing tolerance. Purified CII was cleaved with cyanogen bromide (CB), and the major resulting peptides were isolated. Female DBA/1 mice were administered OVA, native CII, or one of the CB peptides, intravenously, before immunization with native CII, 6 wk after immunization, mice tolerized with CII and CB11 had a markedly lower incidence of arthritis compared with controls. There was a correlation between the overall antibody response and the incidence of arthritis. In addition, animals tolerized with either CII or CB11 had a decreased antibody response not only to CII, but also to each of the other CB peptides tested. To identify the epitope involved in suppression of arthritis, five synthetic peptides, 21-26 amino acids in length, corresponding to selected regions of CB11, were generated. Each of the peptides was injected intravenously into mice before immunization. Only one of these, CB11 122-147, was capable of suppressing arthritis. In addition, mice given the synthetic peptide CB11 122-147 neonatally were suppressed for arthritis and antibody responsiveness when immunized with CII at 8 wk of age. Thus, we have identified CB11 122-147 as an epitope of CII important in induction of tolerance and suppression of disease. Further experiments narrowing down the pivotal amino acids for the immunogenicity of this epitope and the role this epitope plays in induction and regulation of disease will enhance our understanding of how the immune response to collagen affects autoimmune arthritis.
Functional Disability and Cognitive Impairment After Hospitalization for Myocardial Infarction and Stroke

Background—We assessed the acute and long-term effect of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke on postevent functional disability and cognition while controlling for survivors’ changes in functioning over the years before the event. Methods and Results—Among participants in the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study with linked Medicare data (1998–2010), we determined within-person changes in functional limitations (basic and instrumental activities of daily living) and cognitive impairment after hospitalization for stroke (n=432) and MI (n=450), controlling for premorbid functioning using fixed-effects regression. In persons without baseline impairments, an acute MI yielded a mean acute increase of 0.41 functional limitations (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18–0.63) with a linear increase of 0.14 limitations/year in the following decade. These increases were 0.65 limitations (95% CI, 0.07–1.23) and 0.27 limitations/year afterward for those with mild-to-moderate impairment at baseline. Stroke resulted in an acute increase of 2.07 (95% CI, 1.51–2.63) limitations because of the acute event and an increase of 0.15 limitations/year afterward for those unimpaired at baseline. There were 2.65 new limitations (95% CI, 1.86–3.44) and 0.19/year afterward for those with baseline mild-to-moderate impairment. Stroke hospitalization was associated with greater odds of moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment (odds ratio, 3.86; 95% CI, 2.10–7.11) at the time of the event, after adjustment for premorbid cognition but MI hospitalization was not. Conclusions—In this population-based cohort, most MI and stroke hospitalizations were associated with significant increases in functional disability at the time of the event and in the decade afterward. Survivors of MI and stroke warrant screening for functional disability over the long-term.
cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Encoded by foraging Regulates Motor Axon Guidance in Drosophila by Suppressing Lola Function

Correct pathfinding and target recognition of a developing axon are exquisitely regulated processes that require multiple guidance factors. Among these factors, the second messengers, cAMP and cGMP, are known to be involved in establishing the guidance cues for axon growth through different intracellular signaling pathways. However, whether and how cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) regulates axon guidance remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the motor axons of intersegmental nerve b (ISNb) in the Drosophila embryo display targeting defects during axon development in the absence of foraging (for), a gene encoding PKG. In vivo tag expression revealed PKG to be present in the ventral nerve code at late embryonic stages, supporting its function in embryonic axon guidance. Mechanistic studies showed that the transcription factor longitudinal lacking (lola) genetically interacts with for. PKG physically associates with the LolaT isoform via the C-terminal zinc-finger-containing domain. Overexpression of PKG leads to the cytoplasmic retention of LolaT in S2 cells, suggesting a role for PKG in mediating the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of Lola. Together, these findings reveal a novel function of PKG in regulating the establishment of neuronal connectivity by sequestering Lola in the cytoplasm. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Axon pathfinding and target recognition are important processes in the formation of specific neuronal connectivity, which rely upon precise coordinated deployment of multiple guidance factors. This paper reveals the role of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) in regulating the pathfinding and targeting of the developing axons in Drosophila. Moreover, our study indicates that PKG regulates the cytoplasmic-nuclear trafficking of the transcription factor LolaT, suggesting a mechanism of PKG in directing motor axon guidance. These findings highlight a new function of PKG in axon guidance by suppressing a transcription factor.
Does Trapping Influence Decision-Making under Ambiguity in White-Lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari)?

The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) is an endangered species whose bold anti-predator behaviour in comparison to related species may increase its vulnerability to hunting and predation. We used a judgement bias test to investigate whether captive peccaries that had recently experienced a trapping event made more ‘pessimistic’ decisions under ambiguity. If so, this would indicate (i) that the procedure may induce a negative affective state and hence have welfare implications, and (ii) that the species is able to adopt a cautious response style despite its bold phenotype. Eight individuals were trained to ‘go’ to a baited food bowl when a positive auditory cue (whistle; CS+) was given and to ‘no-go’ when a negative cue (horn A; CS-) was sounded to avoid a loud sound and empty food bowl. An ‘ambiguous’ auditory cue (bell; CSA) was presented to probe decision-making under ambiguity. Individuals were subjected to three tests in the order: T1 (control-no trap), T2 (24h after-trap procedure), and T3 (control-no trap). In each test, each animal was exposed to 10 judgement bias trials of each of the three cue types: CS+,CS-,CSA. We recorded whether animals reached the food bowl within 60s (‘go’ response) and their response speed (m/s). The animals varied in their responses to the CSA cue depending on test type. In all tests, animals made more ‘go’ responses to CS+ than CSA. During control tests (T1 and T3), the peccaries showed higher proportions of ‘go’ responses to CSA than to CS-. In T2, however, the animals showed similar proportions of ‘go’ responses to CSA and CS-, treating the ambiguous cue similarly to the negative cue. There were differences in their response speed according to cue type: peccaries were faster to respond to CS+ than to CS- and CSA. Trapping thus appeared to cause a ‘pessimistic’ judgement bias in peccaries, which may reflect a negative affective state with implications for the welfare and management of captive individuals, and also function to increase caution and survival chances following such an event in the wild environment.
Supersymmetric probes on the conifold

We study the supersymmetric embeddings of different D-brane probes in the AdS5 ? T1,1 geometry. The main tool employed is kappa symmetry and the cases studied include D3-, D5- and D7-branes. We find a family of three-cycles of the T1,1 space over which a D3-brane can be wrapped supersymmetrically and we determine the field content of the corresponding gauge theory duals. Supersymmetric configurations of D5-branes wrapping a two-cycle and of spacetime filling D7-branes are also found. The configurations in which the entire T1,1 space is wrapped by a D5-brane (baryon vertex) and a D7-brane are also studied. Some other embeddings which break supersymmetry but are nevertheless stable are also determined.
Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion: Revisiting a classical endocrine disorder

Hyponatremia occurs in about 30% of hospitalized patients and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is a common cause of hyponatremia. SIADH should be differentiated from other causes of hyponatremia like diuretic therapy, hypothyroidism and hypocortisolism. Where possible, all attempts should be made to identify and rectify the cause of SIADH. The main problem in SIADH is fluid excess, and hyponatremia is dilutional in nature. Fluid restriction is the main stay in the treatment of SIADH; however, cerebral salt wasting should be excluded in the clinical setting of brain surgeries, subarachnoid hemorrhage, etc. Fluid restriction in cerebral salt wasting can be hazardous. Sodium correction in chronic hyponatremia (onset >48 hours) should be done slowly to avoid deleterious effects in brain.
Nestle obeys Indian label laws

EDITOR,--It is disappointing that a professional journal like the BMJ should print stories in an obviously slanted way, and the inaccuracies of Claire Lockwood's news report1 need to be corrected. The Indian court case is a direct result of a conflict between two laws which will have to be determined by the government or by the courts. One law requires the labels to contain the …
Disjoint Set Union with Randomized Linking

A classic result in the analysis of data structures is that path compression with linking by rank solves the disjoint set union problem in almost-constant amortized time per operation. Recent experiments suggest that in practice, a naive linking method works just as well if not better than linking by rank, in spite of being theoretically inferior. How can this be? We prove that randomized linking is asymptotically as efficient as linking by rank. This result provides theory that matches the experiments, which implicitly do randomized linking as a result of the way the input instances are generated.
Neural Substrates of Abstinence-Induced Cigarette Cravings in Chronic Smokers

Craving is a hallmark of drug dependence, including dependence on nicotine. Many studies have examined the neural substrates of cravings elicited by smoking-related cues. Less is known about the neural basis of unprovoked, abstinence-induced cravings, despite the contributions of such cravings to smoking relapse. To fill this gap, we used arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging to characterize the neural substrates of abstinence-induced cravings to smoke. Fifteen chronic smokers were scanned during a resting state on two separate occasions: (1) smoking satiety and (2) abstinence (after ≥12 h of smoking deprivation), in counterbalanced order. Smoking abstinence state (vs satiety) was associated with increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)/medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left OFC. Abstinence-induced cravings to smoke were predicted by CBF increases (abstinence minus satiety) in the right OFC, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, occipital cortex, ACC, ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens, thalamus, amygdala, bilateral hippocampus, left caudate, and right insula. These data suggest that increased activation in the brain's visuospatial and reward circuitry underlies abstinence-induced cravings to smoke, and thereby, may be important in relapse.
Relation Between Near‐Fault Ground Motion Impulsive Signals and Source Parameters

Near‐fault ground motion records often present impulsive signals, characterized by a large amplitude in the velocity wavefield and by the energy concentrated in a short time window as compared to the total earthquake duration. This pulse‐like behavior is ascribed to the directivity of the seismic rupture, and it requires a stronger demand to the buildings not predicted by the classical design spectra. In this work we investigate the pulse occurrence and duration in near‐fault synthetic seismograms generated from an ensemble of k−2 source models. We exploited the fault geometry of the Mw = 6.3, 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, which represents a typical example of normal‐fault earthquake for which several records in the fault vicinity are available for comparison with synthetics. We show that impulsive records are sensitive to the rupture velocity, to the hypocenter depth, and to the station location, whether it is on the hanging wall or on the footwall. The pulse duration was also shown to be proportional to the risetime, and it scales with the source‐receiver distance and inversely with the rupture velocity. We model these results as an effect of the coupled along‐strike and updip directivity.
Overexpression of Cytoplasmic TcSIR2RP1 and Mitochondrial TcSIR2RP3 Impacts on Trypanosoma cruzi Growth and Cell Invasion

Background Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan pathogen responsible for Chagas disease. Current therapies are inadequate because of their severe host toxicity and numerous side effects. The identification of new biotargets is essential for the development of more efficient therapeutic alternatives. Inhibition of sirtuins from Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania ssp. showed promising results, indicating that these enzymes may be considered as targets for drug discovery in parasite infection. Here, we report the first characterization of the two sirtuins present in T. cruzi. Methodology Dm28c epimastigotes that inducibly overexpress TcSIR2RP1 and TcSIR2RP3 were constructed and used to determine their localizations and functions. These transfected lines were tested regarding their acetylation levels, proliferation and metacyclogenesis rate, viability when treated with sirtuin inhibitors and in vitro infectivity. Conclusion TcSIR2RP1 and TcSIR2RP3 are cytosolic and mitochondrial proteins respectively. Our data suggest that sirtuin activity is important for the proliferation of T. cruzi replicative forms, for the host cell-parasite interplay, and for differentiation among life-cycle stages; but each one performs different roles in most of these processes. Our results increase the knowledge on the localization and function of these enzymes, and the overexpressing T. cruzi strains we obtained can be useful tools for experimental screening of trypanosomatid sirtuin inhibitors.
Simultaneous Localization and Appearance Estimation with a Consumer RGB-D Camera

Acquiring general material appearance with hand-held consumer RGB-D cameras is difficult for casual users, due to the inaccuracy in reconstructed camera poses and geometry, as well as the unknown lighting that is coupled with materials in measured color images. To tackle these challenges, we present a novel technique for estimating the spatially varying isotropic surface reflectance, solely from color and depth images captured with an RGB-D camera under unknown environment illumination. The core of our approach is a joint optimization, which alternates among solving for plausible camera poses, materials, the environment lighting and normals. To refine camera poses, we exploit the rich spatial and view-dependent variations of materials, treating the object as a localization-self-calibrating model. To recover the unknown lighting, measured color images along with the current estimate of materials are used in a global optimization, efficiently solved by exploiting the sparsity in the wavelet domain. We demonstrate the substantially improved quality of estimated appearance on a variety of daily objects.
Content-adaptive signal and data in pervasive cardiac monitoring

Although the pervasive monitoring of patients at cardiac risk is widely recognized as a valuable tool, the content-dependent signal and data adaptability is rarely considered. Consequently the autonomy of wearable recorders is affected by the unnecessary computation and the wireless data carrier is wasted by the unwanted information. The thorough analysis of human ECG interpretation process and detailed studies of diagnostic procedures reveal that the adaptation of the perceptual strategy to the ECG content is an intuitive and common practice of cardiology experts. Considering human interpretation-derived directions we re-arranged a typical machine interpretation software to simulate the human reasoning. Several aspects of data are adjusted accordingly to the automatic rough estimate of the record contents: the interpretation process flow, the result priority, report content and frequency and the local sampling frequency of the ECG included
Usenix Conference on Object-oriented Technologies and Systems (coots '01) the Design and Performance of Meta-programming Mechanisms for Object Request Broker Middleware

Distributed object computing (DOC) middleware shields developers from many tedious and error-prone aspects of programming distributed applications. Without proper support from the middleware, however, it can be hard to evolve distributed applications after they are deployed. Therefore, DOC middleware should support meta-programming mechanisms, such as smart proxies and interceptors, that improve the adaptability of distributed applications by allowing their behavior to be modified without changing existing software drastically. This paper presents three contributions to the study of meta-programming mechanisms for DOC middleware. First, it illustrates , compares, and contrasts several meta-programming mechanisms from an application developer's perspective. Second , it outlines the key design and implementation challenges associated with developing smart proxies and portable inter-ceptors features for CORBA. Third, it presents empirical results that pinpoint the performance impact of smart proxies and interceptors. Our goal is to help researchers and developers determine which meta-programming mechanisms best suit their application requirements.
Socioeconomic-Demographic Factors and Health-Risk Behaviors in the Thai Population

Background: Health behaviors have important consequences for both the quality and length of life by influencing disease risk and disease outcomes. In Thailand the leading cause of death in both men and women is non-communicable disease (NCD) which could prevented in part by healthy behaviors. The objectives of this study were to identify the existing health-risk behaviors in the Thai population and to analyze associations between socioeconomic-demographic factors and health-risk behaviors. Methods: The data from the 2010 Evaluation of Health Promotion and Sports in Local Regions in Thailand was analyzed to response the research objective. The socio-economic-demographic factors included gender, age, marital status, education, occupation and region; the health-risk behaviors comprised smoking, alcohol consumption and non-exercise. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression modeling were implemented to analyze the relationships between socioeconomic-demographic factors and health risk behavior. Results: There were 8,617 respondents, including 3,329 women (38.6%), and 5,288 men (61.4%) which age average was 52 (Min=15 years; Max=86 years; SD=14.8 years). More than half of respondents reported educational attainment of primary school (62.2%). Most subjects were married (68.2%). Farming accounted for the largest occupation category (25.3%) and mostly lived in the northeast region (25.2%). The logistic regression analysis found that male and ever married had greater adjusted odds ratios of smoking, alcohol consumption and non-exercise than others. Farmers, wage laborers and younger respondents had higher odds of smoking and drinking alcohol than others, while government officers had the highest non-exercise practice. People who live in southern region had the greatest odds of smoking. The northern population had the highest odds of alcohol consumption. Moreover, people with higher education had lower adjusted odds ratios for the three types of health-risk behaviors. Conclusion: Health-risk behavior was statistically significantly associated with socioeconomicdemographic factors. These findings can help inform public policy regarding health-risk behaviors. Specifically, the findings suggest that health promotion policy should be oriented towards males, younger population, ever-married, low educational attainment, farmers, and wage labor workers. Policy should also take geographic differences in risk factors into account.
Model-Driven Simulation of Grid Scheduling Strategies

Simulation studies of grid scheduling strategies require representative workloads to produce dependable results. Real production grid workloads have shown diverse correlation structures and scaling behavior, which are different than the characteristics of the available supercomputer workloads and cannot be captured by Poisson or simple distribution-based models. We present models that are able to reproduce various correlation structures, including pseudo-periodicity and long range dependence. By conducting model-driven simulation, we quantitatively evaluate the performance impacts of workload correlations in grid scheduling. The results indicate that autocorrelations in workloads result in worse system performance, both at the local and the grid level. It is shown that realistic workload modeling is not only possible, but also necessary to enable dependable grid scheduling studies.