Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Platelet lysates stimulate angiogenesis, neurogenesis and neuroprotection after stroke

Summary Platelets contain chemo-attractants and mitogens that have a major role in tissue repair. Therefore we hypothesised that tissue regeneration secondary to activation of endogenous neural stem cells (eNSC) can be enhanced by delivering platelets to the ischaemic brain. To examine these potential therapeutic effects we injected platelet-poor plasma (PPP), fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) and platelet lysate (PLT) to the lateral ventricles after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (PMCAO) in rats. The animals were tested with the neurological severity score, and infarct volumes were measured at 90 days post–PMCAO. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the fate of newborn cells and to count blood vessels in the ischaemic brain. Platelets significantly increased eNSC proliferation and angiogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and in the peri-lesion cortex. Functional outcome was significantly improved and injury size was significantly reduced in rats treated with PLT suggesting additional neuroprotective effects. In conclusion, local delivery of PLT to the lateral ventricles induces angiogenesis, neurogenesis and neuroprotection and reduces behavioural deficits after brain ischaemia.
The association of folate, zinc and antioxidant intake with sperm aneuploidy in healthy non-smoking men.

BACKGROUND Little is known about the effect of paternal nutrition on aneuploidy in sperm. We investigated the association of normal dietary and supplement intake of folate, zinc and antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene) with the frequency of aneuploidy in human sperm. METHODS Sperm samples from 89 healthy, non-smoking men from a non-clinical setting were analysed for aneuploidy using fluorescent in situ hybridization with probes for chromosomes X, Y and 21. Daily total intake (diet and supplements) for zinc, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene was derived from a food frequency questionnaire. Potential confounders were obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS After adjusting for covariates, men with high folate intake (>75th percentile) had lower frequencies of sperm with disomies X, 21, sex nullisomy, and a lower aggregate measure of sperm aneuploidy (P <or= 0.04) compared with men with lower intake. In adjusted continuous analyses, total folate intake was inversely associated with aggregate sperm aneuploidy (-3.6% change/100 microg folate; 95% CI: -6.3, -0. 8) and results were similar for disomies X, 21 and sex nullisomy. No consistent associations were found between antioxidant or zinc intakes and sperm aneuploidy. CONCLUSIONS Men with high folate intake had lower overall frequencies of several types of aneuploid sperm.
Longitudinal Follow-up of Cardiac Structure and Functional Changes in an Infarct Mouse Model Using Retrospectively Gated Micro-Computed Tomography

Objectives:Mouse models of myocardial infarction are valuable in studying the effect of genetic modifications on structural and functional remodeling of the heart. Our group recently developed a method for acquiring three-dimensional images of the beating mouse heart using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and retrospective gating. In this study, we evaluated cardiac function in sham and infarcted mice longitudinally, using this novel technique. Materials and Methods:Thirteen mice (7 sham-operated, 6 infarcted; male, C57BL/6) were imaged at baseline and at weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 postligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Animals were anesthetized with 1.5% isoflurane; mechanical ventilation was not used. Contrast between blood and tissue was provided by an iodinated blood-pool contrast agent (0.01 mL/g Fenestra VC). The cardiac and respiratory waveforms were recorded during the 50-second scan time, to enable retrospective gating. Once scanning was completed on week 4 postsurgery, hemodynamic measurements were performed using a Millar pressure conductance catheter. Results:There were significant differences in systolic and diastolic volumes, and ejection fraction, between sham and myocardial infarction groups (P < 0.0001). A comparison of ejection fraction derived from both CT and hemodynamic measurements was not significantly different (P > 0.1). Conclusions:We have demonstrated the first use of dynamic micro-CT for monitoring cardiac remodeling, resulting from myocardial infarction, over time. The fast scan times (<1 minute) and ability to track individual animals over an entire study make this quantitative noninvasive technique a promising tool for in vivo studies of cardiac disease in mouse models.
Material Culture and Sacred Landscape: The Anthropology of the Siberian Khanty

Material Culture and Sacred Landscape: The Anthropology of the Siberian Khanty PETER JORDAN ALTAMIRA PRESS, WALNUT CREEK, CA, 2003 308 PP. $80 HARDCOVER, $29.95 PAPERBACK It seems safe to assume that I am not the only archaeologist who experiences something akin to a pang of longing when I have occasion to pick up an older ethnography. Many of the ethnographers of the early and middle twentieth century devoted almost as much attention to the material culture and environment of the people they studied as the people themselves. For all their shortcomings, these early ethnographies presented a richness of detail that is too often missing in contemporary works of cultural andiropology: settlement maps, illustrations of house patterns, accounts of subsistence techniques, and descriptions of everyday material objects. I was thus perhaps predisposed to have a favorable opinion of Jordan's book and its close attention to Khanty material culture. But this is not a work of vulgar materialism, nor is it a return to the simple descriptive style of many past ethnographies. His primary concern is describing how the Khanty material culture, including landscapes, is 'enculturated' (i.e., given symbolic meaning) through physical transformation or incorporation into the symbolism of social practices. Jordan draws from a number of theoretical strands in an effort to find a middle ground between cultural materialist ("socioecological") and interpretive ("semiotic") approaches to hunter-gatherer studies. By his own admission, however, the middle ground he proposes leans heavily toward interpretive theories of material culture, which he sees as a corrective to the materialist approaches that have traditionally dominated this field (p. 22). While the terms he uses may be unfamiliar to some readers, his theoretical discussion is clear (free of much of the jargon inherent in the primary works) and even-handed (pointing out some of the limitations and criticisms of these approaches). Jordan contextualizes his edmographic material in broad temporal and spatial scales, placing the Khanty in a macro-regional, longue duree historical context. This history is phrased in the language and perspective of world systems dieory, while extending discussion and credence to its many critiques. While readers anxious to get into the details of the ethnography may wonder why this wasn't incorporated into his earlier theoretical discussion, as an archaeologist I appreciated the inclusion of an extended historical context. World systems theory is appropriate for understanding this history, given that the Khanty paid fur in tribute to the Tatar Khans during the medieval period, were later incorporated into fur tax systems of the Russian and Soviet empires, and today occupy a landscape valued for its mineral resources. Having dispensed with the historical context, Jordan turns to the heart of the ethnography. In addition to material from a 10-month field study of communities on one tributary of the River Ob', he makes good use of other scholarly works and edinohistoric data. …
Age at menopause and reproductive determinants in Polish women

Selected reproductive determinants of age at menopause were analyzed using data from a representative sample of 4354 women aged 35-65 years. The data were collected in cross-sectional surveys carried out in Wielkopolska and Western part of Poland in the years 1998 to 2001. Menopausal status and median and mean ages at menopause were estimated with the use of retrospective and status-quo methods. It was found that the median age at natural menopause, estimated by probit analysis, was 50.1 years. Women, who had been treated with HRT (Hormonal Replacement Therapy) in the period of perimenopause, underwent menopause significantly later – their median age at menopause was 52.9 years. Results of ANOVA revealed that of all characteristics of female reproduction taken into consideration, age at menarche and length of menstruation cycle had significant influence on age at menopause. Menopause occurred markedly later in women who began to menstruate after 15 years of age and whose menstrual cycles lasted longer than 32 days. Reproductive determinants were considered as a complex factor. Stepwise multiple regression analysis with backward elimination revealed that the reproductive determinants including the length of menstruation cycle, age at menarche, age at first and last pregnancies and length of lactation in combination affected age at menopause.
uPAR – uPA – PAI-1 interactions and signaling: A vascular biologist’s view

Summary The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), its inhibitor PA I-1 and its cellular receptor (uPAR), play a pivotal role in pericellular proteolysis. In addition, through their interactions with extracellular matrix proteins as well as with transmembrane receptors and other links to the intracellular signaling machinery, they modulate cell migration, cell-matrix interactions and signaling pathways. A large body of experimental evidence from in-vitro and in-vivo data as well as from the clinics indicates an important role of the uPA-uPAR-PAI-1 systems in cancer. In addition to their role in tumor cell biology, the uPA-uPAR-PAI-1 systems are also important for vascular biology by modulating angiogenesis and by altering migration of smooth muscle cells and fibrin deposition in atherosclerosis and restenosis. This review will focus on the general mechanism of uPAR/uPA/PAI-1 interactions and signaling and the possible relevance of this system in vascular biology.
A discrete uniformization theorem for polyhedral surfaces II

A discrete conformality for hyperbolic polyhedral surfaces is introduced in this paper. This discrete conformality is shown to be computable. It is proved that each hyperbolic polyhedral metric on a closed surface is discrete conformal to a unique hyperbolic polyhedral metric with a given discrete curvature satisfying Gauss-Bonnet formula. Furthermore, the hyperbolic polyhedral metric with given curvature can be obtained using a discrete Yamabe flow with surgery. In particular, each hyperbolic polyhedral metric on a closed surface with negative Euler characteristic is discrete conformal to a unique hyperbolic metric.
STRENGTH AND POWER PREDICTORS OF SPORTS SPEED

For many sporting activities, initial speed rather than maximal speed would be considered of greater importance to successful performance. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between strength and power and measures of first-step quickness (5-m time), acceleration (10-m time), and maximal speed (30-m time). The maximal strength (3 repetition maximum [3RM]), power (30-kg jump squat, countermovement, and drop jumps), isokinetic strength measures (hamstring and quadriceps peak torques and ratios at 608·s-1 and 3008·s-1) and 5-m, 10-m, and 30-m sprint times of 26 part-time and full-time professional rugby league players (age 23.2 ± 3.3 years) were measured. To examine the importance of the strength and power measures on sprint performance, a correlational approach and a comparison between means of the fastest and slowest players was used. The correlations between the 3RM, drop jump, isokinetic strength measures, and the 3 measures of sport speed were nonsignificant. Correlations between the jump squat (height and relative power output) and countermovement jump height and the 3 speed measures were significant (r = −0.43 to −0.66, p < 0.05). The squat and countermovement jump heights as well as squat jump relative power output were the only variables found to be significantly greater in the fast players. It was suggested that improving the power to weight ratio as well as plyometric training involving countermovement and loaded jump-squat training may be more effective for enhancing sport speed in elite players.
A molecular phylogenetic study of southern African Apiaceae.

It has been suggested that southern Africa is the origin of the predominantly herbaceous Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae and that the woody habit is plesiomorphic. We expand previous molecular phylogenetic analyses of the family by considering all but three of the approximately 38 genera native to southern Africa, including all genera whose members, save one, have a woody habit. Representatives of five other genera are included because they may be closely related to these southern African taxa. Chloroplast DNA rps16 intron and/or nuclear rDNA ITS sequences for 154 accessions are analyzed using maximum parsimony, Bayesian, and maximum likelihood methods. Within Apioideae, two major clades hitherto unrecognized in the subfamily are inferred. The monogeneric Lichtensteinia clade is sister group to all other members of the subfamily, whereas the Annesorhiza clade (Annesorhiza, Chamarea, and Itasina) plus Molopospermum (and Astydamia in the ITS trees) are the successive sister group to all Apioideae except Lichtensteinia. Tribe Heteromorpheae is expanded to include Pseudocarum, "Oreofraga" ined. , and five genera endemic to Madagascar. The southern African origin of subfamily Apioideae is corroborated (with subsequent migration northward into Eurasia along two dispersal routes), and the positions of the herbaceous Lichtensteinia and Annesorhiza clades within the subfamily suggest, surprisingly, that its ancestor was herbaceous, not woody.
Expression of activating natural killer‐cell receptors is a hallmark of the innate‐like T‐cell neoplasm in peripheral T‐cell lymphomas

Peripheral T‐ or natural killer (NK)‐cell lymphomas are rare and difficult‐to‐recognize diseases. It remains arduous to distinguish between NK cell‐ and cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte‐derived lymphomas through routine histological evaluation. To clarify the cells of origin, we focused on NK‐cell receptors and examined the expression using immunohistochemistry in 22 cases with T‐ and NK‐cell neoplasms comprising angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)‐positive and ‐negative anaplastic large‐cell lymphomas, extranodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma, nasal type, monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T‐cell lymphoma, aggressive NK‐cell leukemia, and other peripheral T‐cell lymphomas. Inhibitory receptor leukocyte immunoglobulin‐like receptor subfamily B member 1 (LILRB1) was detected in 14 (64%) cases, whereas activating receptors DNAM1, NKp46, and NKG2D were expressed in 7 (32%), 9 (41%), and 5 (23%) cases, respectively. Although LILRB1 was detected regardless of the disease entity, the activating NK‐cell receptors were expressed predominantly in TIA‐1‐positive neoplasms (DNAM1, 49%; NKp46, 69%; and NKG2D, 38%). In addition, NKp46 and NKG2D were detected only in NK‐cell neoplasms and cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte‐derived lymphomas including monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T‐cell lymphoma. One Epstein‐Barr virus‐harboring cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte‐derived lymphoma mimicking extranodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma, nasal type lacked these NK‐cell receptors, indicating different cell origin from NK and innate‐like T cells. Furthermore, NKG2D expression showed a negative impact on survival among the 22 examined cases, which mainly received the standard chemotherapy regimen (log‐rank test, P = .024). We propose that the presence of activating NK‐cell receptors may provide new insights into understanding peripheral T‐cell lymphomas and characterizing them as innate‐like T‐cell neoplasm.
The ecology of stress: effects of the social environment

Summary Many aspects of the social environment affect hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and increase circulating glucocorticoid concentrations. In this review, we examine the relationships between the social environment and the function of the HPA axis in vertebrates. First, we explore the effects of the social environment on glucocorticoid secretion in territorial (primarily non-social) species, with an emphasis on the effects of variation in population density, as modified by environmental factors such as predation risk and food availability. In general, high population density or frequent territorial intrusions are associated with increased glucocorticoid secretion in a wide range of taxa, including mammals, birds, fish and reptiles, although there is considerable variability across species. Second, we consider the effects of social interactions and dominance rank on glucocorticoid secretion in social species, mostly in birds and mammals. We review studies that have detected an association between social status and glucocorticoid levels – sometimes with higher glucocorticoid levels in low-ranking individuals, and sometimes with higher glucocorticoid levels in dominant individuals. The relationship between dominance and glucocorticoid levels varies among species, populations and years, in a manner that depends on the stability of the social hierarchy, environmental conditions, the type of breeding system, and the manner in which high rank is obtained and maintained. Finally, we discuss the concept of allostasis and consider interactions between social effects and other environmental factors, noting that there is relatively little research on these interactions to date. For both non-social and social species, we identify priorities of future research. These priorities include more complete descriptions of HPA function that move beyond measurements of basal glucocorticoid concentrations (which will generally require field experiments), to studies that examine organizational effects of social stressors, that directly test the relationship between HPA function and fitness, and that examine how glucocorticoid responses affect population dynamics. Although several lines of evidence suggest that glucocorticoid responses can affect the fitness of individuals and therefore can alter the dynamics of populations, the effect of glucocorticoid responses on population dynamics remains essentially unstudied.
Simulating the detailed chemical composition of secondary organic aerosol formed on a regional scale during the TORCH 2003 campaign in the southern UK

Following on from the companion study (Johnson et al., 2006), a photochemical trajectory model (PTM) has been used to simulate the chemical composition of organic aerosol for selected events during the 2003 TORCH (Tropospheric Organic Chemistry Experiment) field campaign. The PTM incorporates the speciated emissions of 124 non-methane anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) and three representative biogenic VOC, a highly-detailed representation of the atmospheric degradation of these VOC, the emission of primary organic aerosol (POA) material and the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material. SOA formation was represented by the transfer of semi- and non-volatile oxidation products from the gas-phase to a condensed organic aerosol-phase, according to estimated thermodynamic equilibrium phase-partitioning characteristics for around 2000 reaction products. After significantly scaling all phase-partitioning coefficients, and assuming a persistent background organic aerosol (both required in order to match the observed organic aerosol loadings), the detailed chemical composition of the simulated SOA has been investigated in terms of intermediate oxygenated species in the Master Chemical Mechanism, version 3.1 (MCM v3.1). For the various case studies considered, 90% of the simulated SOA mass comprises between ca. 70 and 100 multifunctional oxygenated species derived, in varying amounts, from the photooxidation of VOC of anthropogenic and biogenic origin. The anthropogenic contribution is dominated by aromatic hydrocarbons and the biogenic contribution by α- and β-pinene (which also constitute surrogates for other emitted monoterpene species). Sensitivity in the simulated mass of SOA to changes in the emission rates of anthropogenic and biogenic VOC has also been investigated for 11 case study events, and the results have been compared to the detailed chemical composition data. The role of accretion chemistry in SOA formation, and its implications for the results of the present investigation, is discussed.
High Turbidity Solis Clear Sky Model: Development and Validation

The Solis clear sky model is a spectral scheme based on radiative transfer calculations and the Lambert–Beer relation. Its broadband version is a simplified fast analytical version; it is limited to broadband aerosol optical depths lower than 0.45, which is a weakness when applied in countries with very high turbidity such as China or India. In order to extend the use of the original simplified version of the model for high turbidity values, we developed a new version of the broadband Solis model based on radiative transfer calculations, valid for turbidity values up to 7, for the three components, global, beam, and diffuse, and for the four aerosol types defined by Shettle and Fenn. A validation of low turbidity data acquired in Geneva shows slightly better results than the previous version. On data acquired at sites presenting higher turbidity data, the bias stays within ±4% for the beam and the global irradiances, and the standard deviation around 5% for clean and stable condition data and around 12% for questionable data and variable sky conditions.
Collaborative Deep Learning for Recommender Systems

Collaborative filtering (CF) is a successful approach commonly used by many recommender systems. Conventional CF-based methods use the ratings given to items by users as the sole source of information for learning to make recommendation. However, the ratings are often very sparse in many applications, causing CF-based methods to degrade significantly in their recommendation performance. To address this sparsity problem, auxiliary information such as item content information may be utilized. Collaborative topic regression (CTR) is an appealing recent method taking this approach which tightly couples the two components that learn from two different sources of information. Nevertheless, the latent representation learned by CTR may not be very effective when the auxiliary information is very sparse. To address this problem, we generalize recently advances in deep learning from i.i. d. input to non-i.i. d. (CF-based) input and propose in this paper a hierarchical Bayesian model called collaborative deep learning (CDL), which jointly performs deep representation learning for the content information and collaborative filtering for the ratings (feedback) matrix. Extensive experiments on three real-world datasets from different domains show that CDL can significantly advance the state of the art.