Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential effects of distinct central nervous system regions on cell migration and axonal extension of neural precursor transplants

Transplantation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) is a promising therapeutic strategy in CNS injury. However, the adult CNS lacks instructive signals present during development and, depending on the region and type of transplant, may be inhibitory for neuron generation and axonal growth. We examined the effects of the white matter in different regions of the adult CNS on the properties of NPC transplants with respect to cell survival, differentiation, migration, and axonal growth. NPCs were prepared from day 13.5 embryonic spinal cord of transgenic rats that express the human placental alkaline phosphatase (AP) reporter. These NPCs were injected unilaterally into the cervical spinal cord white matter and into the corpus callosum of adult rats and were analyzed immunohistochemically 2 weeks later. NPCs survived in both regions and differentiated into astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons, with no apparent differences in survival or phenotypic composition. However, in the spinal cord white matter, graft‐derived cells, identified as precursors and glial cells, migrated from the injection site rostrally and caudally, whereas, in the corpus callosum, graft‐derived cells did not migrate and remained at the injection site. Importantly, graft‐derived neurons extended axons from the grafting site along the corpus callosum past the midline, entering into the contralateral side of the corpus callosum. These results demonstrate dramatic differences between white matter regions in the spinal cord and brain with respect to cell migration and axonal growth and underscore the importance of considering the effects of the local CNS environment in the design of effective transplantation strategies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SCUBA sub-millimeter observations of gamma-ray bursters II. GRB 991208, 991216, 000301C, 000630, 000911, 000926

We discuss our ongoing program of Target of Opportunity sub-millimeter observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using the Sub-millimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Sub-millimeter observations of the early afterglows are of interest because this is where the emission peaks in some bursts in the days to weeks following the burst. Of increasing interest is to look for underlying quiescent sub-millimeter sources that may be dusty star-forming host galaxies. In this paper, we present observations of GRB 991208, 991216, 000301C, 000630, 000911, and 000926. For all these bursts, any sub-millimeter emission is consistent with coming from the afterglow. This means that we did not conclusively detect quiescent sub-millimeter counterparts to any of the bursts that were studied from 1997 through 2000. The inferred star formation rates (M 5 M) are typically <300 M yr 1 . If GRBs are due to the explosions of high-mass stars, this may indicate that the relatively small population of extremely luminous dusty galaxies does not dominate the total star formation in the universe at early epochs. Instead, the GRBs may be predominantly tracing slightly lower luminosity galaxies. The optical faintness of some host galaxies is unlikely to be explained as due to dust absorption in the host.
Optical and structural properties of silver doped ZnSe thin films prepared by CSS and ion exchange process

ZnSe thin films were prepared by, simple low cost, closed space sublimation method (CSS). The silver doping was achieved by ion exchange process, i.e. immersing the films in low concentrated silver nitrate solution for different time periods and flowed by heated treatment in vacuum. The effect of silver concentration on the optical properties , such as refractive index, absorption coefficient and optical band gap, have been calculated from the normal transmission spectra in UV, Visible and NIR region. The structure of the films was studied by X-ray diffraction. The EDS attached to SEM was used to determine the composition of the films. The electrical resistivity, at room temperature, was also measured and it was reduced considerably as silver concentration increased.
Relationships for object-oriented programming languages

Object-oriented approaches to software design and implementation have gained enormous popularity over the past two decades. However, whilst models of software systems routinely allow software engineers to express relationships between objects, object-oriented programming languages lack this ability. Instead, relationships must be encoded using complex reference structures. When the model cannot be expressed directly in code, it becomes more difficult for programmers to see a correspondence between design and implementation — the model no longer faithfully documents the code. As a result, programmer intuition is lost, and error becomes more likely, particularly during maintenance of an unfamiliar software system. This thesis explores extensions to object-oriented languages so that relationships may be expressed with the same ease as objects. Two languages with relationships are specified: RelJ, which offers relationships in a class-based language based on Java, and Qς, which is an object calculus with heap query. In RelJ, relationship declarations exist at the same level as class declarations: relationships are named, they may have fields and methods, they may inherit from one another and their instances may be referenced just like objects. Moving into the object-based world, Qς is based on the ς-calculi of Abadi and Cardelli, extended with the ability to query the heap. Heap query allows objects to determine how they are referenced by other objects, such that single references are sufficient for establishing an inter-object relationship observable by all participants. Both RelJ and Qς are equipped with a formal type system and semantics to ensure type safety in the presence of these extensions. By giving formal models of relationships in both classand object-based settings, we can obtain general principles for relationships in programming languages and, therefore, establish a correspondence between implementation and design.
A study of the chitosan coating method on polyglycolic acid and polylactic acid embedding monofilaments

With the development of applying acupoint catgut embedding therapy to the treatment of juvenile pseudomyopia, embedding materials are expected to be the perfect for choice by taking advantage of the lasting effect and minimal invasiveness. This work adopted polyglycolic acid (PGA) and polylactic acid (PLA) monofilaments to produce four types of chitosan coated monofilaments with excellent swelling behaviors. For achieving better coating weight gains, a one-dipping-one-rolling coating system was developed. The results showed that both the PGA and PLA monofilaments' swelling behaviors were greatly improved, CS-PGA2 (98.17 ± 3.15%) presented a great difference from CS-PLA1 (47.56 ± 6.15%) and CS-PLA2 (63.31 ± 3.26%), respectively, while CS-PGA1 (87.36 ± 5.16%) had a similar expansion rate to that of CS-PGA2. The resist deformation ability of the monofilament was strengthened and the crystalline zones of PGA and PLA monofilaments were slightly decreased after a chitosan coating process. The CS-PGA group and PGA group were found to degrade completely in 56 days and 70 days, respectively, while the PLA group changed little in the experimental process, offering a new insight into controlled degradation research. In conclusion, all coated monofilaments show potential in acting as embedding materials with good swelling behaviors, and the CS-PGA group is proved to have a higher prospect for clinical applications.
Distribution and Phylogeny of Immunoglobulin-Binding Protein G in Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli and Its Association with Adherence Phenotypes

ABSTRACT eibG in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O91 encodes a protein (EibG) which binds human immunoglobulins G and A and contributes to bacterial chain-like adherence to human epithelial cells. We investigated the prevalence of eibG among STEC, the phylogeny of eibG, and eibG allelic variations and their impact on the adherence phenotype. eibG was found in 15.0% of 240 eae-negative STEC strains but in none of 157 eae-positive STEC strains. The 36 eibG-positive STEC strains belonged to 14 serotypes and to eight multilocus sequence types (STs), with serotype O91:H14/H− and ST33 being the most common. Sequences of the complete eibG gene (1,527 bp in size) from eibG-positive STEC resulted in 21 different alleles with 88.11% to 100% identity to the previously reported eibG sequence; they clustered into three eibG subtypes (eibG-α, eibG-β, and eibG-γ). Strains expressing EibG-α and EibG-β displayed a mostly typical chain-like adherence pattern (CLAP), with formation of long chains on both human and bovine intestinal epithelial cells, whereas strains with EibG-γ adhered in short chains, a pattern we termed atypical CLAP. The same adherence phenotypes were displayed by E. coli BL21(DE3) clones containing the respective eibG-α, eibG-β, and eibG-γ subtypes. We propose two possible evolutionary scenarios for eibG in STEC: a clonal development of eibG in strains with the same phylogenetic background or horizontal transfer of eibG between phylogenetically unrelated STEC strains.
Pork Barrel Politics in Postwar Italy, 1953-1994

This paper analyzes the political determinants of the distribution of infrastructure expenditures by the Italian government to the country’s 92 provinces between 1953 and 1994. Extending implications of theories of legislative behavior to the context of open-list proportional representation, we examine whether individually powerful legislators and ruling parties direct spending to core or marginal electoral districts, and whether opposition parties share resources via a norm of universalism. We show that when districts elect politically more powerful deputies from the governing parties, they receive more investments. We interpret this as indicating that legislators with political resources reward their core voters by investing in public works in their districts. The governing parties, by contrast, are not able to discipline their own members of parliament sufficiently to target the parties’ areas of core electoral strength. Finally, we find no evidence that a norm of universalism operates to steer resources to areas when the main opposition party gains more votes.
The effects of ginger root ( zingiber officiale ) processed to different levels on growth performance, carcass characteristics and blo od bi och e mistry parameters in broiler chickens

This experiment w as conducted to the effects of ginger ( Z. officiale ) processed to different levels on growth performance, carcass characteristics and blood biochemistry parameters in broiler chickens. A total of 360 one – day – old broilers ( C ob b × C o b b 500) were allotted to 6 experimental equal groups in a complete randomized design, according to the added ginger content (0 , 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 g/kg of diet) for 42 days. Growth performance (body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio) were determined on day 10 ( end of the starting period) , on day 22 (end of the growing period) and on day 42 ( end of the finishing period). Carcass traits (relative weights of carcass , liver, abdominal fat, fat around gizzard and intestinal ) and blood biochemistry parameters were ass essed on day 42. Growth performance was significantly improved in the ginger treated broilers compared to the not supplemented controls. In addition, carcass characteristics and blood biochemistry parameters were not significantly altered except relative w eight of eviscerated carcass and blood LDL. These data suggest that the ginger may improve growth performance in broiler chickens. Key - words: ginger, performance, carcass, blood biochemistry, broiler
The impact of caching on search engines

In this paper we study the trade-offs in designing efficient caching systems for Web search engines. We explore the impact of different approaches, such as static vs. dynamic caching, and caching query results vs.caching posting lists. Using a query log spanning a whole year we explore the limitations of caching and we demonstrate that caching posting lists can achieve higher hit rates than caching query answers. We propose a new algorithm for static caching of posting lists, which outperforms previous methods. We also study the problem of finding the optimal way to split the static cache between answers and posting lists. Finally, we measure how the changes in the query log affect the effectiveness of static caching, given our observation that the distribution of the queries changes slowly over time. Our results and observations are applicable to different levels of the data-access hierarchy, for instance, for a memory/disk layer or a broker/remote server layer.
Visual & textual fusion for region retrieval: from both fuzzy matching and bayesian reasoning aspects

This paper presents a novel visual & textual information fusion framework for region-based image retrieval. We explore the issue of linguistic-integrated region retrieval from both Bayesian Reasoning and Fuzzy Region Matching aspects. Firstly, to associate textual information with image regions, we present a region-based soft annotation strategy. Our method automatically labels each image region with multiple keywords, each of which is assigned a confidence factor to indicate its annotation accuracy. In annotation classifier training, we adopt a pairwise coupling (PWC) SVM bagging network to address the problems of sample insufficiency and sample asymmetry. Consequently, in image retrieval, we fuse regions. visual & textual information to rank image similarities at perceptual level. Two fusion schemes are explored in proposed framework: 1. Semantic-Supervised Integrated Region Matching (SSIRM); 2. Keyword-Integrated Bayesian Reasoning (KIBR). SSIRM is a keyword-integrated fuzzy region matching strategy, which is adopted in the case that the query image is pre-annotated; KIBR is adopted in the case that the query image is non-annotated or poorly-annotated, which supports both query-by-example and query-by-keyword based on statistical text-image translation model. Finally, in relevance feedback (RF) learning, we exploit a unified visual & textual learning algorithm to precisely capture users' retrieval intention. Superior annotation, retrieval (over IRM) and RF performances (Both over IRM + SVM at region-level and SVM & ALSVM & ABSVM at global-level) are presented in our experiments, which demonstrate the efficiency of proposed fusion framework to bridge the semantic gap.
Resonant tunnelling features in quantum dots

We present a systematic review of features due to resonant electron tunnelling, observable in transport spectroscopy experiments on quantum dots and single donors. The review covers features attributable to intrinsic properties of the dot (orbital, spin and valley states) as well as extrinsic effects (phonon/photon emission/absorption, features in the charge reservoirs, coupling to nearby charge centres). We focus on the most common operating conditions, neglecting effects due to strong coupling to the leads. By discussing the experimental signatures of each type of feature, we aim at providing practical methods to distinguish between their different physical origins. The correct classification of the resonant tunnelling features is an essential requirement to understand the details of the confining potential or to predict the performance of the dot for quantum information processing.
Comparison of competitive radioimmunoassays and two-site sandwich assays for the measurement and interpretation of plasma ghrelin levels.

CONTEXT Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue receptor, is an orexigenic peptide hormone produced primarily by the stomach. Recent studies suggest significant differences in the specificity of currently available ghrelin assays. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to compare four ghrelin assays (two commercially available and two developed by our group) of differing specificity, each used on the same set of more than 800 plasma samples from a human study. DESIGN Thirteen volunteers were sampled every 20 min for 6 h after consumption of one of three isocaloric drinks consisting of either 80% fat, 80% carbohydrate, or 80% protein. The samples were assayed by RIA for total and active ghrelin, as well as by sandwich assays for acyl and des-acyl ghrelin. The ghrelin profiles for each individual were smoothed using a statistical algorithm to lessen the effects of pulsatility and noise. RESULTS The sandwich assays for acyl and des-acyl ghrelin yielded ghrelin values that were lower than those from the corresponding RIAs. The ghrelin profiles after nutrient ingestion were similar, yet key differences among the four assays were apparent; in particular, percentage changes were significantly greater in the sandwich assays. CONCLUSIONS The lower levels and greater relative changes in ghrelin values reported by the sandwich assays are consistent with greater assay specificity. When applied to the nutrient study, the sandwich assays were better able to distinguish the different responses to different nutrients than were the RIAs.
Role of very high order and degree B0 shimming for spectroscopic imaging of the human brain at 7 tesla

With the advent of ultrahigh field systems (7T), significant improvements in spectroscopic imaging (SI) studies of the human brain have been anticipated. These gains are dependent upon the achievable B0 homogeneity, both globally (σB 0Global , over the entire regions of interest or slice) and locally (σB 0Global , influencing the linewidth of individual SI voxels within the regions of interest). Typically the B0 homogeneity is adjusted using shim coils with spatial distributions modeled on spherical harmonics which can be characterized by a degree (radial dependence) and order (azimuthal symmetry). However, the role of very high order and degree shimming (e.g., 3rd and 4th degree) in MRSI studies has been controversial. Measurements of σB 0Global and σB 0Local were determined from B0 field maps of 64 × 64 resolution. In a 10 mm thick slice taken through the region of the subcortical nuclei, we find that in comparison to 1st–2nd degree shims, use of 1st–3rd and 1st–4th degree shims reduces σB 0Global by 29% and 55%, respectively. Using a SI voxel size of ∼1cc with an estimate of σB 0Local from 3 × 3 × 3 B0 map pixels in this subcortical region, the number of pixels with σB 0Local of less than 5 Hz increased from 24 to 59% with 1st–3rd and 1st–4th over 1st–2nd degree shims, respectively. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
COCYCLE TWISTS AND EXTENSIONS OF BRAIDED DOUBLES

It is well known that central extensions of a group G correspond to 2-cocycles on G. Cocycles can be used to construct extensions of G-graded algebras via a version of the Drinfeld twist introduced by Majid. We show how to define the second cohomology group of an abstract monoidal category C, generalising the Schur multiplier of a finite group and the lazy cohomology of a Hopf algebra, recently studied by Schauenburg, Bichon, Carnovale and others. A braiding on C leads to analogues of Nichols algebras in C, and we explain how the recent work on twists of Nichols algebras by Andruskiewitsch, Fantino, Garcia and Vendramin fits in our context. In the second part of the paper we propose an approach to twisting the multiplication in braided doubles, which are a class of algebras with triangular decomposition over G. Braided doubles are not G-graded, but may be embedded in a double of a Nichols algebra, where a twist is carried out. This is a source of new algebras with triangular decomposition. As an example, we show how to twist the rational Cherednik algebra of the symmetric group by the cocycle arising from the Schur covering group, obtaining the spin Cherednik algebra introduced by Wang.
Psammomatoid and trabecular variants of juvenile ossifying fibroma—two case reports

Abstract Juvenile ossifying fibroma (JOF) is an uncommon fibro-osseous lesion occurring in the facial bones. It is highly aggressive and has a strong tendency to recur. It has been recognized as a separate histopathological entity among the fibro-osseous group of lesions. Surgical resection is the preferred line of treatment. Here we report two cases of JOF who reported to the oral medicine and radiology department; the two cases had different clinical features, history, radiological appearance, and aggressiveness. Under the recent classification system, both cases were recognized as histopathological variants of JOF: one psammomatoid and the other trabecular.
Pex35 is a regulator of peroxisome abundance

ABSTRACT Peroxisomes are cellular organelles with vital functions in lipid, amino acid and redox metabolism. The cellular formation and dynamics of peroxisomes are governed by PEX genes; however, the regulation of peroxisome abundance is still poorly understood. Here, we use a high-content microscopy screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify new regulators of peroxisome size and abundance. Our screen led to the identification of a previously uncharacterized gene, which we term PEX35, which affects peroxisome abundance. PEX35 encodes a peroxisomal membrane protein, a remote homolog to several curvature-generating human proteins. We systematically characterized the genetic and physical interactome as well as the metabolome of mutants in PEX35, and we found that Pex35 functionally interacts with the vesicle-budding-inducer Arf1. Our results highlight the functional interaction between peroxisomes and the secretory pathway. Summary: High-content screens identify Pex35, a new peroxisomal membrane protein that regulates peroxisome abundance in yeast. Analysis of Pex35 mutants reveals the functional interaction between peroxisomes and the secretory pathway.
The Glass Ceiling

Despite decades of progress, women remain underrepresented in the upper part of the earnings distribution, a phenomenon often referred to as the “glass ceiling. ” We review the recent research trying to explain this phenomenon. After briefly revisiting gender differences in education, we turn our attention to a body of work that has argued that gender differences in psychological attributes are holding back women’s earnings; we pay particular attention to the research that has aimed to test the relevance of these gender differences in psychological attributes in the field. We then review another active area of research that has returned to a more classical explanation focused on the challenges women may face when trying to juggle competing demands on their time in the workplace and in the home, particularly when the home includes children. We discuss recent work documenting women’s greater demand for flexibility in the workplace, as well work measuring the labor market penalties associated with such demand for flexibility, particularly in the higher paying occupations in the economy. We highlight possible countervailing forces (both at work and at home) that may explain why these work-family considerations may remain highly relevant to today’s glass ceiling despite reduced time spent in non-market work and a trend toward a more equal division of non-market work between the genders. Finally, we discuss the role that public policy and human resource practices may play in adding more cracks to the glass ceiling.