Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Situ Dividing and Phagocytosing Retinal Microglia Express Nestin, Vimentin, and NG2 In Vivo

Background Following injury, microglia become activated with subsets expressing nestin as well as other neural markers. Moreover, cerebral microglia can give rise to neurons in vitro. In a previous study, we analysed the proliferation potential and nestin re-expression of retinal macroglial cells such as astrocytes and Müller cells after optic nerve (ON) lesion. However, we were unable to identify the majority of proliferative nestin+ cells. Thus, the present study evaluates expression of nestin and other neural markers in quiescent and proliferating microglia in naïve retina and following ON transection in adult rats in vivo. Methodology/Principal Findings For analysis of cell proliferation and cells fates, rats received BrdU injections. Microglia in retinal sections or isolated cells were characterized using immunofluorescence labeling with markers for microglia (e.g., Iba1, CD11b), cell proliferation, and neural cells (e.g., nestin, vimentin, NG2, GFAP, Doublecortin etc.). Cellular analyses were performed using confocal laser scanning microscopy. In the naïve adult rat retina, about 60% of resting ramified microglia expressed nestin. After ON transection, numbers of nestin+ microglia peaked to a maximum at 7 days, primarily due to in situ cell proliferation of exclusively nestin+ microglia. After 8 weeks, microglia numbers re-attained control levels, but 20% were still BrdU+ and nestin+, although no further local cell proliferation occurred. In addition, nestin+ microglia co-expressed vimentin and NG2, but not GFAP or neuronal markers. Fourteen days after injury and following retrograde labeling of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) with Fluorogold (FG), nestin+NG2+ microglia were positive for the dye indicating an active involvement of a proliferating cell population in phagocytosing apoptotic retinal neurons. Conclusions/Significance The current study provides evidence that in adult rat retina, a specific resident population of microglia expresses proteins of immature neural cells that are involved in injury-induced cell proliferation and phagocytosis while transdifferentiation was not observed.
On the tasks of the European Stability Mechanism. CEPS Policy Brief No. 235, 8 March 2011

At its forthcoming spring meeting, on March 24th-25th, the European Council will consider a comprehensive package of measures that can open a new age of European economic governance: one that is truly collective; capable of enforcing economic policy coordination and preventing the build-up of unsustainable imbalances in government as well as private balance sheets; and backed up by credible, quasi-automatic sanctions for any member state posing a threat to collective stability. This CEPS Policy Brief aims to contribute to Council deliberations first by clarifying the proper role of EU financial assistance to member states confronted with sovereign debt crises and second, by outlining the tasks that the new European Stability Mechanism (ESM) should be able to perform in order to put in place an effective and credible crisis management system for both the eurozone and the European Union.
Iglur Development in Nl Title: Development of Glutamatergic Synaptic Transmission in Binaural Auditory Neurons 3 4 Department of Otolaryngology 7 Iglur Development in Nl

Sanchez et al., 1 1 2 Title: Development of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in binaural auditory neurons 3 4 Authors: Jason Tait Sanchez , Yuan Wang , Edwin W Rubel , and Andres Barria 3 5 6 Affiliation: Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center. Department of Otolaryngology 7 – Head and Neck Surgery. Department of Physiology and Biophysics. University of 8 Washington. Seattle, WA 9 10 Running head: iGluR development in NL 11 12 Corresponding author contact information: 13 Andres Barria 14 Physiology and Biophysics 15 School of Medicine 16 University of Washington 17 Box 357290 18 Seattle, WA 98195 19 barria@u.washington. edu 20 21 Articles in PresS. J Neurophysiol (July 28, 2010). doi:10.1152/jn.00468. 2010
Terrorism, Threat and Time: The Mediating Effect of Terrorist Threat on Public Willingness to Forego Civil Liberties

Public trust in government efforts to combat terrorism is of central importance to policy makers and terrorists alike. Undermining the public's confidence in its government is a central aim of any strategy of terrorism, while public support is critical to securing funding for, and acceptance of, counter-terrorism measures. This article uses two national surveys of Australians, carried out over the last four years, to study the role of public confidence in government through the willingness of citizens to allow the police to search, without a court order, the homes of suspected terrorists, the impact of perceived personal threat, and the probability of future terrorist attacks on Australia. The results indicate that there is a strong relationship between public fear of terrorism, and the willingness of the public to allow the erosion of civil liberties for increased security, leading to the conclusion that the greater the perceived personal threat of terrorism the public has, the more likely the public is to accept infringements of civil liberties, which could undermine the existing arrangements of liberal democracy and potentially play into terrorist aims, while the perceived probability of a future terrorist attack on domestic soil acts as a significant mediating factor, which decreases during periods with no high-visibility terrorist attacks.
Characteristics of Black Carbon Aerosol during the Chinese Lunar Year and Weekdays in Xi'an, China

Black carbon (BC) aerosol plays an important role in climate forcing. The net radiative effect is strongly dependent on the physical properties of BC particles. A single particle soot photometer and a carbon monoxide analyser were deployed during the Chinese Lunar Year (CLY) and on weekdays at Xi'an, China, to investigate the characteristics of refractory black carbon aerosol (rBC). The rBC mass on weekdays (8.4 μg·m −3 ) exceeds that during the CLY (1.9 μg·m −3 ), presumably due to the lower anthropogenic emissions during the latter. The mass size distribution of rBC shows a primary mode peak at ~205 nm and a small secondary mode peak at ~102-nm volume-equivalent diameter assuming 2 g·cm −3 in void-free density in both sets of samples. More than half of the rBC cores are thickly coated during the CLY (fBC = 57.5%); the percentage is slightly lower (fBC = 48.3%) on weekdays. Diurnal patterns in rBC mass and mixing state differ for the two sampling periods, which are attributed to the distinct anthropogenic activities. The rBC mass and CO mixing ratios are strongly correlated with slopes of 0.0070 and 0.0016 μg·m −3 ·ppbv −1 for weekdays and the CLY, respectively.
Systematic risk diagnostics

A macro-prudential policy maker can manage risks to financial stability only if currentand future risks can be reliably assessed. We propose a novel framework to assessfinancial system risk. Using a dynamic factor framework based on state-space methods, we model latent macro-financial and credit risk components for a large data setcomprising the U.S., the EU-27 area, and the rest of the world. Controlling for global,region-specific, and industry effects, we construct coincident measures ('thermometers')and forward looking indicators of financial distress and the likelihood of financial melt-down. We find that credit risk conditions can significantly and persistently de-couplefrom macro-financial fundamentals. Such decoupling can serve as an early warningsignal for macro-prudential policy.
Economic Value of Selecting and Marketing Cattle by Leptin Genotype

Recent research has identified genetic diversity in the ability of animals to manufacture and recognize leptin, a protein that regulated appetite and weight. This paper determines the economic value of using information on leptin genotype to select and manage beef cattle. Results reveal that the economic value of using genotypic information to sort cattle by optimal endpoint is only about $2/head for steers and $1/head for heifers; however, the value of using genotypic information to optimally select and feed only certain genotypes is $23/head for steers and $28/head for heifers. The difference in per head profit between the best and worst performing genotype is over $28 on the date the cattle were actually marketed and increases to $60 if each genotype is optimally marketed.
Vitamin D deficiency causes airway hyperresponsiveness, increases airway smooth muscle mass, and reduces TGF‐β expression in the lungs of female BALB/c mice

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with disease severity in asthma. We tested whether there is a causal association between vitamin D deficiency, airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass, and the development of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). A physiologically relevant mouse model of vitamin D deficiency was developed by raising BALB/c mice on vitamin D‐deficient or ‐replete diets. AHR was assessed by measuring lung function responses to increasing doses of inhaled methacholine. Five‐micron sections from formalin‐fixed lungs were used for ASM measurement and assessment of lung structure using stereological methods. Transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β levels were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Lungs were dissected from embryonic day (E) 17.5 vitamin D‐deficient and ‐replete fetal mice for quantification of ASM density and relative gene expression of TGF‐β signaling pathway molecules. Eight‐week‐old adult vitamin D‐deficient female mice had significantly increased airway resistance and ASM in the large airways compared with controls. Vitamin D‐deficient female mice had a smaller lung volume, volume of parenchyma, and alveolar septa. Both vitamin D‐deficient male and female mice had reduced TGF‐β levels in BALF. Vitamin D deficiency did not have an effect on ASM density in E17.5 mice, however, expression of TGF‐β1 and TGF‐β receptor I was downregulated in vitamin D‐deficient female fetal mice. Decreased expression of TGF‐β1 and TGF‐β receptor I during early lung development in vitamin D‐deficient mice may contribute to airway remodeling and AHR in vitamin D‐deficient adult female mice. This study provides a link between vitamin D deficiency and respiratory symptoms in chronic lung disease.
Converters, Compatibility, and the Control of Interfaces

Converters, emulators, or adapters can often make one technology partially compatible with another. The authors analyze the equilibrium market adoption of otherwise incompatible technologies when such converters are available and the incentives to provide them. While market outcomes without converters are often inefficient, the availability of converters can actually make matters worse. The authors also find that when one of the technologies is supplied only by a single firm, that firm may have an incentive to make conversion costly. This may lend some theoretical support to allegations of anticompetitive disruption of interface standards. Copyright 1992 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Spectral Variability in the Aged Brain during Fine Motor Control

Physiological aging is paralleled by a decline of fine motor skills accompanied by structural and functional alterations of the underlying brain network. Here, we aim to investigate age-related changes in the spectral distribution of neuronal oscillations during fine skilled motor function. We employ the concept of spectral entropy in order to describe the flatness and peaked-ness of a frequency spectrum to quantify changes in the spectral distribution of the oscillatory motor response in the aged brain. Electroencephalogram was recorded in elderly (n = 32) and young (n = 34) participants who performed either a cued finger movement or a pinch or a whole hand grip task with their dominant right hand. Whereas young participant showed distinct, well-defined movement-related power decreases in the alpha and upper beta band, elderly participants exhibited a flat broadband, frequency-unspecific power desynchronization. This broadband response was reflected by an increase of spectral entropy over sensorimotor and frontal areas in the aged brain. Neuronal activation patterns differed between motor tasks in the young brain, while the aged brain showed a similar activation pattern in all tasks. Moreover, we found a wider recruitment of the cortical motor network in the aged brain. The present study adds to the understanding of age-related changes of neural coding during skilled motor behavior, revealing a less predictable signal with great variability across frequencies in a wide cortical motor network in the aged brain. The increase in entropy in the aged brain could be a reflection of random noise-like activity or could represent a compensatory mechanism that serves a functional role.
A hypo-optimum feature selection strategy for mouse dynamics in continuous identity authentication and monitoring

Mouse dynamics has recently become an interesting new topic in computer security and biometrics due to its non-intrusiveness and convenience. While several pattern recognition methods have been proposed to verify a user based on characteristics of mouse dynamics, they are not applicable to continuous identity authentication and monitoring because most features adopted are statistical-based. This paper compares two hypo-optimum feature selection and evaluation methods to obtain the best combination of features for continuous identity authentication and monitoring. Experiments show that most of the selected feature parameters (12 out of 14) are real time computable which means these features are suitable for online monitoring. Classification results by SVM (Support Vector Machine) show that the performance of feature-selected samples are encouraging with the FAR of 1.86% and FRR of 3.46%, suggesting continuous identity authentication and monitoring with high accuracy is achievable.
A root's ability to retain K+ correlates with salt tolerance in wheat

Most work on wheat breeding for salt tolerance has focused mainly on excluding Na+ from uptake and transport to the shoot. However, some recent findings have reported no apparent correlation between leaf Na+ content and wheat salt tolerance. Thus, it appears that excluding Na+ by itself is not always sufficient to increase plant salt tolerance and other physiological traits should also be considered. In this work, it was investigated whether a root's ability to retain K+ may be such a trait, and whether our previous findings for barley can be extrapolated to species following a ‘salt exclusion’ strategy. NaCl-induced kinetics of K+ flux from roots of two bread and two durum wheat genotypes, contrasting in their salt tolerance, were measured under laboratory conditions using non-invasive ion flux measuring (the MIFE) technique. These measurements were compared with whole-plant physiological characteristics and yield responses from plants grown under greenhouse conditions. The results show that K+ flux from the root surface of 6-d-old wheat seedlings in response to salt treatment was highly correlated with major plant physiological characteristics and yield of greenhouse-grown plants. This emphasizes the critical role of K+ homeostasis in plant salt tolerance and suggests that using NaCl-induced K+ flux measurements as a physiological ‘marker’ for salt tolerance may benefit wheat-breeding programmes.
Induced abortion and low birthweight in the following pregnancy.

BACKGROUND To examine whether induced abortion increases the risk of low birthweight in subsequent singleton live births. METHODS Cohort study using the Danish Medical Birth Registry (MBR), the Hospital Discharge Registry (HDR), and the Induced Abortion Registry (IAR). All women who had their first pregnancy during 1980-1982 were identified in the MBR, the HDR, and the IAR. We included all 15,727 women whose pregnancy was terminated by a first trimester induced abortion in the induced abortion cohort and 46,026 women whose pregnancy was not terminated by an induced abortion were selected for the control cohort. All subsequent pregnancies until 1994 were identified by register record linkage. RESULTS Low birthweight (<2500 g) in singleton term live births occurred more frequently in women with one, two, three or more previous induced abortions, compared with women without any previous induced abortion of similar gravidity, 2.2% versus 1.5%, 2.4% versus 1.7%, and 1.8% versus 1.6%, respectively. Adjusting for maternal age and residence at time of pregnancy, interpregnancy interval, gender of newborn, number of previous spontaneous abortions and number of previous low birthweight infants (control cohort only), the odds ratios (OR) of low birthweight in singleton term live births in women with one, two or more previous first trimester induced abortions were 1.9 (95% CI: 1.6, 2.3), and 1.9 (95% CI: 1.3, 2.7), respectively, compared with the control cohort of similar gravidity. High risks were mainly seen in women with an interpregnancy interval of more than 6 months. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest a positive association between one or more first trimester induced abortions and the risk of low birthweight in subsequent singleton term live births when the interpregnancy interval is longer than 6 months. This result was unexpected and confounding cannot be ruled out.
Implications for Subcellular Fractionation in Proteomics

Functional proteome analysis is not restricted to the sequence information but includes the broad spectrum of structural modifications and quantitative changes of proteins to which they are subjected in different tissues and cell organelles and during the development of an organism. Cell biology has provided the means required for the analysis of the composition and properties of purified cellular elements. Subcellular fractionation is an approach universal across all cell types and tissues, including cardiac and vascular system. Subcellular fractionation and proteomics form an ideal partnership when it comes to enrichment and analysis of intracellular organelles and low abundant multiprotein complexes. Subcellular fractionation is a flexible and adjustable approach resulting in reduced sample complexity and is most efficiently combined with high-resolution 2D gel/mass spectrometry analysis as well as with gel-independent techniques. In this study we introduce state of the art subcellular fractionation techniques and discuss their suitability, advantages, and limitations for proteomics research. (Circ Res. 2003;92:962-968.)
Spectral Clustering for Complex Settings

Spectral Clustering for Complex Settings By Xiang Wang BS (Tsinghua University) 2004 ME (Tsinghua University) 2008 Dissertation Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science in the Office of Graduate Studies of the University of California Davis Approved: Ian Davidson, Chair Zhaojun Bai Owen Carmichael Committee in Charge -i-
Obstacles to the Collisional Growth of Planetesimals

The debate over whether kilometer-sized solids, or planetesimals, assemble by collision-induced chemical sticking or by gravity-driven unstable modes remains unsettled. In light of recent work showing that gravitational growth can occur despite turbulent stirring, we critically evaluate the collisional hypothesis. Impact speeds in protoplanetary disks reach 50 m/s in a laminar disk and may be larger in turbulent disks. We consider the role of elastic and plastic deformations, restructuring of "rubble piles," and sticky organic matter. Coagulation is possible for dust grains with large surface area-to-volume ratios. Simple energetic arguments show that bouncing, cratering, and fragmentation should dominate collisional dynamics between millimeter and kilometer sizes.
Quantitative Interpretation of Quasar Microlensing Light Curves

We develop a general method for analyzing the light curves of microlensed quasars and apply it to the OGLE light curves of the four-image lens Q2237+0305. We simultaneously estimate the effective source velocity, the average stellar mass, the stellar mass function, and the size and structure of the quasar accretion disk. The light curves imply an effective source-plane velocity of 10,200 km s-1 ≲ veh⟨M/M☉⟩-1/2 ≲ 39,600 km s-1 (68% confidence). Given an independent estimate for the source velocity, found by combining estimates for the peculiar velocity of the lens galaxy with its measured stellar velocity dispersion, we obtain a mean stellar mass of ⟨M⟩ ≃ 0.037 h2 M☉ (0.0059 h2 M☉ ≲ ⟨M⟩ ≲ 0.20 h2 M☉). We were unable to distinguish a Salpeter mass function from one in which all stars had the same mass, but we do find a strong lower bound of κ*/κ ≳ 0.5 on the fraction of the surface mass density represented by the microlenses. Our models favor a standard thin accretion disk model as the source structure over a simple Gaussian source. For a face-on, thin disk radiating as a blackbody with temperature profile Ts ∝ R-3/4, the radius rs where the temperature matches the filter pass band [2000 Å or Ts(rs) ≃ 7 × 104 K] is 1.4 × 1015 h-1 cm ≲ rs ≲ 4.5 × 1015 h-1 cm. The flux predicted by the disk model agrees with the observed flux of the quasar, so nonthermal or optically thin emission processes are not required. From the disk structure we estimate a black hole mass of MBH ≃ 1.1 × 109 h-3/2η(L/LE)-1/2 M☉, consistent with the mass estimated under the assumption that the quasar is radiating at the Eddington luminosity (L/LE = 1).
Assessment of Genetic Fidelity in Rauvolfia serpentina Plantlets Grown from Synthetic (Encapsulated) Seeds Following in Vitro Storage at 4 °C

An efficient method was developed for plant regeneration and establishment from alginate encapsulated synthetic seeds of Rauvolfia serpentina. Synthetic seeds were produced using in vitro proliferated microshoots upon complexation of 3% sodium alginate prepared in Llyod and McCown woody plant medium (WPM) and 100 mM calcium chloride. Re-growth ability of encapsulated nodal segments was evaluated after storage at 4 °C for 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks and compared with non-encapsulated buds. Effects of different media viz; Murashige and Skoog medium; Lloyd and McCown woody Plant medium, Gamborg’s B5 medium and Schenk and Hildebrandt medium was also investigated for conversion into plantlets. The maximum frequency of conversion into plantlets from encapsulated nodal segments stored at 4 °C for 4 weeks was achieved on woody plant medium supplement with 5.0 μM BA and 1.0 μM NAA. Rooting in plantlets was achieved in half-strength Murashige and Skoog liquid medium containing 0.5 μM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on filter paper bridges. Plantlets obtained from stored synseeds were hardened, established successfully ex vitro and were morphologically similar to each other as well as their mother plant. The genetic fidelity of Rauvolfia clones raised from synthetic seeds following four weeks of storage at 4 °C were assessed by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. All the RAPD and ISSR profiles from generated plantlets were monomorphic and comparable to the mother plant, which confirms the genetic stability among the clones. This synseed protocol could be useful for establishing a particular system for conservation, short-term storage and production of genetically identical and stable plants before it is released for commercial purposes.