Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cocaine sensitization: modulation by dopamine D2 receptors.

Repeated administration of cocaine progressively increases drug-induced locomotor activity. This study examined the role of dopamine D(1)- and D(2)-like receptors in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in mediating these sensitized behaviors. For initiation experiments, animals received bilateral intra-mPFC injections of either saline, the D(1)-like agonist SKF 81297 (3 nmol/side) or the D(2)-like agonist quinpirole (5 nmol/side) 5 min before each of four daily peripheral injections of saline or cocaine (15 mg/kg i.p.). Following 1 week of withdrawal, the animals were challenged with a systemic injection of cocaine. For expression studies, the animals received four daily systemic injections of either saline or cocaine and 1 week later were pre-treated with an intra-mPFC injection of saline, SKF 81297 or quinpirole 5 min before receiving a systemic challenge injection of cocaine. Intra-mPFC injection of quinpirole blocked the initiation and attenuated the expression of cocaine -induced behavioral sensitization. In contrast, intra-mPFC SKF 81297 did not alter the induction or expression of behavioral sensitization to cocaine at the dose tested. In addition, in vivo microdialysis studies demonstrated that intracortical quinpirole administration blocked the initiation and blunted the expression of cocaine-induced neurochemical sensitization, as defined by augmented dopamine concentrations in the nucleus accumbens. Collectively, the results show that activation of D(2)-like receptors in the mPFC may alter the enduring changes responsible for the development of cocaine sensitization.
Pandemic influenza and the swine influenza virus.

Influenza virus was first isolated from swine in 1930 (I) and from man in 1933 (2). The virus consists of a nucleoprotein core composed of single-stranded RNA with a segmented genome coding for seven recognized viral proteins (3). The nucleoprotein is encapsulated by a double membrane containing a virus-coded inner protein layer and an outer lipid layer of host cell origin. Two proteins, the hemagglutinin (HA) and the neuraminidase (NA), project from the virus surface. Influenza viruses isolated from man have contained four distinct hemagglutinins and two distinct neuraminidases. At least 11 additional types of hemagglutinins and seven additional
Neural Enquirer: Learning to Query Tables in Natural Language

We propose NEURAL ENQUIRER -- a neural network architecture for answering natural language (NL) questions based on a knowledge base (KB) table. Unlike existing work on end-to-end training of semantic parsers [Pasupat and Liang, 2015; Neelakantan et al., 2015], NEURAL ENQUIRER is fully "neuralized": it finds distributed representations of queries and KB tables, and executes queries through a series of neural network components called "executors". Executors model query operations and compute intermediate execution results in the form of table annotations at different levels. NEURAL ENQUIRER can be trained with gradient descent, with which the representations of queries and the KB table are jointly optimized with the query execution logic. The training can be done in an end-to-end fashion, and it can also be carried out with stronger guidance, e.g., step-by-step supervision for complex queries. NEURAL ENQUIRER is one step towards building neural network systems that can understand natural language in real-world tasks. As a proof-of-concept, we conduct experiments on a synthetic QA task, and demonstrate that the model can learn to execute reasonably complex NL queries on small-scale KB tables.
Novel Approach to Designing Primers for Identification and Distinction of the Human Pathogenic Fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii by PCR Amplification

ABSTRACT We developed a pair of primers that specifically identifies Coccidioides species, etiologic agents of the human fungal disease coccidioidomycosis. These primers could be used for distinguishing Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii by simply comparing the amplicon sizes on an agarose gel.
Unusual Target Selectivity of Perisomatic Inhibitory Cells in the Hilar Region of the Rat Hippocampus

Perisomatic inhibitory innervation of all neuron types profoundly affects their firing characteristics and vulnerability. In this study we examined the postsynaptic targets of perisomatic inhibitory cells in the hilar region of the dentate gyrus where the proportion of potential target cells (excitatory mossy cells and inhibitory interneurons) is approximately equal. Both cholecystokinin (CCK)- and parvalbumin-immunoreactive basket cells formed multiple contacts on the somata and proximal dendrites of mossy cells. Unexpectedly, however, perisomatic inhibitory terminals arriving from these cell types largely ignored hilar GABAergic cell populations. Eighty-ninety percent of various GABAergic neurons including other CCK-containing basket cells received no input from CCK-positive terminals. Parvalbumin-containing cells sometimes innervated each other but avoided 75% of other GABAergic cells. Overall, a single mossy cell received 40 times more CCK-immunoreactive terminals and 15 times more parvalbumin-positive terminals onto its soma than the cell body of an average hilar GABAergic cell. In contrast to the pronounced target selectivity in the hilar region, CCK- and parvalbumin-positive neurons innervated each other via collaterals in stratum granulosum and moleculare. Our observations indicate that the inhibitory control in the hilar region is qualitatively different from other cortical areas at both the network level and the level of single neurons. The paucity of perisomatic innervation of hilar interneurons should have profound consequences on their action potential generation and on their ensemble behavior. These findings may help explain the unique physiological patterns observed in the hilus and the selective vulnerability of the hilar cell population in various pathophysiological conditions.
Alarming rise in the number and incidence of fall-induced cervical spine injuries among older adults.

BACKGROUND Although fall-induced injuries among older adults are said to be a major public health concern in modern societies with aging populations, reliable epidemiologic information on their secular trends is limited. METHODS We determined the current trend in the number and incidence (per 100,000 persons) of fall-induced severe cervical spine injuries (fracture, cord injury, or both) of older adults in Finland, a European Union country with a well-defined white population of 5.2 million, by taking into account all persons aged 50 years or older who were admitted to all Finnish hospitals for primary treatment of such injury in 1970-2004. Similar patients aged 20-49 years served as a reference group. RESULTS The number and raw incidence of fall-induced cervical spine injury among Finns aged 50 years or older rose considerably between the years 1970 and 2004, from 59 (number) and 5.2 (incidence) in 1970 to 228 and 12.0 in 2004. The relative increases were 286% and 131%, respectively. Throughout the study period, the age-standardized incidence of injury was higher in men than women, and showed a clear increase in both sexes in 1970-2004 from 8.5 to 17.4 in men (105% increase), and from 2.8 to 6.4 in women (129% increase). A similar finding was observed in the age-specific incidences of the study group. In the reference group, the annual number and incidence of injury decreased slightly over time. Assuming that the observed increase in the age-standardized or age-specific injury incidence continues in Finns aged 50 years or older and the size of this population increases as predicted, the annual number of fall-induced cervical spine injuries in this population will be about 100% higher in the year 2030 (about 400 injuries annually) than it was during 2000-2004 (about 200 injuries annually). CONCLUSIONS In Finnish persons aged 50 years or older, the number of fall-induced severe cervical spine injuries seems to show an alarming rise with a rate that cannot be explained merely by demographic changes. The finding underscores an increasing influence of falls on health and well-being of our older adults; therefore, wide-scale fall-prevention measures should be urgently adopted to control this development.
A novel nanovesicular carrier system to deliver drug topically

Context: Ketoconazole, a lipophilic drug with a large molecular weight of 531.44 Da and a limiting aqueous solubility of 0.04 mg/ml is expected to show a poor transport across the skin. Objective: The work describes usefulness of a novel, surfactant based elastic vesicular drug carrier system (SEVs), for enhanced dermal delivery. Materials and methods: The system constitutes Span 60 and an edge activator (Tween 80) and was characterized and monitored for safety and potential to target deeper mice skin layers. Results: Nanosized (126 nm), elastic vesicles showed significantly high skin penetration and retention as compared to free drug suspension. Incorporation into different bases especially a hydrogel showed a significant retention which was even more than the market formulation (Nizral®). Safety was confirmed as cytotoxicity and acute dermal irritation/corrosion. Topically applied fluorescent vesicles labeled with 6-carboxyfluorescein, on mice skin, were observed intact in dermal layer 6 h post application. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that SEVs can be used to enhance skin delivery of the model high molecular weight and poorly water-soluble drug ketoconazole. The developed nanorange system is an effective system for targeting deeper mice skin layers which may be translated to human skin with suitable modifications, if required.
BAYESIAN INFERENCE OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN CONTROLLED CROSSES

Abstract This study shows how a Gibbs sampling approach can be used for Bayesian inference of inbreeding depression. The method presented is mainly concerned with organisms that can be both selfed and outcrossed. Tests performed on simulated data with unequal variances and missing observations show that the method works well. Real data from the plant Scabiosa canescens is also analyzed.
The Effects of a Visual Disability on Marital Relationships

This qualitative study examines the major changes in relationship closeness of married couples when one spouse acquires a vision disability. Turning Points analysis and Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) were utilized which required participants to plot their relational journey on a graph after the onset of the disability. A sample of 32 participants generating 100 unique turning points and 32 RIT graphs lent in-depth insight into the less explored area of the impact of a visual disability on marital relationships. A constant comparison method employed for the analysis of these turning points revealed six major categories, which include Change in Relational Dynamics, Realization of the Disability, Regaining Normality in Life, Resilience, Reactions to Assistance, and Dealing with the Disability. These turning points differ in terms of their positive or negative impact on the relational closeness between partners. In addition, the 32 individual RIT graphs were also analyzed and were grouped into four categories based on visual similarity, which include Erratic Relational Restoration, Erratic Relational Increase, Consistent Closeness and Gradual Relational Increase. Results provide theoretical contributions to disability and marriage literature. Implications for the application of turning points to the study of post-disability marital relationships are also discussed, and research directions identified.
ST segment elevation in lead aVR and coronary artery lesions in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

INTRODUCTION Recently, the prognostic value of ST segment elevation in lead aVR in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and its relationship with significant stenosis of the left main coronary artery (LMCAS) and three-vessel disease have been highlighted. AIM Analysis of the relationship between ST segment elevation observed in aVR lead and angiographic severity of coronary artery disease in patients with ACS. METHODS The study involved 134 patients with ACS, including 54 subjects with ST elevation in aVR (group A) and 80 patients without elevation of ST in the same lead (group B), aged 33-78 years, mean 59.9+/-9.7 years. The severity of coronary artery disease was compared between the two groups. The logistic regression model was used for the analysis of factors affecting ST segment in aVR, as well as LMCAS and three-vessel disease probability. RESULTS In patients with ST elevation in aVR, three-vessel disease prevalence was two times higher (61.1% vs 35.0%; p <0.01), and LMCAS - three times higher (55.6% vs 17.5%; p <0.000001) than in those without ST elevation in aVR. Factors independently associated with ST elevation in aVR were LMCAS (OR 6.1; 95% CI 2.62-14.23; p <0.00005), ST segment elevation in V1 (OR 3.03; 95% CI 1.34-6.86; p <0.01) and diabetes (OR 2.89; 95% CI 1.17-7.15; p <0.05). The predictors of LMCAS were three-vessel disease and ST elevation in aVR, while the predictors of three-vessel disease were: LMCAS, diabetes, male gender and history of myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS Elevation of the ST segment in aVR in the setting of acute coronary syndrome identifies patients with severe coronary artery disease. Only left main coronary artery disease, however, remains independently associated with ST segment elevation in aVR. Three-vessel disease and the left main coronary artery stenosis equivalent are not independent predictors of ST segment elevation in aVR of standard electrocardiograms recorded in patients with acute coronary syndrome.
A Finitary Classification of Topological Markov Chains and Sofic Systems

In [9] a classification theory for topological Markov chains (shifts of finite type, intrinsic Markov chains) appears which, although incomplete [10], provides algebraic criteria for deciding when two such chains are topologically conjugate. Numerous invariants effectively exclude topological conjugacy for many interesting examples. However, as mentioned in [9], the main algebraic test (shift equivalence of matrices) is probably noncomputable in general. For this reason it seems appropriate to find an alternative weaker classification. The main purpose of this paper is to define " finite equivalence " and to show that two (irreducible) topological Markov chains are so related if and only if they have the same topological entropy. This result generalizes immediately, in view of a theorem of Coven and Paul [5] to the sofic systems of Weiss [8]. Finite equivalence involves surjective continuous maps which are finite to one (in fact a.e. n to 1 for some n and bounded to one). In view of the relationship between Axiom A diffeomorphisms and topological Markov chains c.f. [1], [3], [7], there are good reasons for considering equivalences which involve non-invertible continuous maps. We have in mind especially, the fact that every Axiom A diffeomorphism restricted to its non-wandering set is a continuous (a.e. one-one) image of a topological Markov chain. An immediate consequence of this fact and our main theorem is that two such restricted diffeomorphisms with the same topological entropy are finite to one images of a common topological Markov chain. We conclude the paper by showing that any measure preserving continuous map which semi-conjugates two irreducible finite state Markov chains (not necessarily with maximal measures) is finite to one if and only if these chains have the same entropy. This is a generalization of a theorem of Coven and Paul [4]. My thanks are due to R. Adler, E. Coven, H. Furstenberg and W. Goodwyn, visitors to Warwick this summer, for helpful discussions concerning various classification problems related to this paper. Furstenberg's Lemma 2 is crucial to the proof of our main theorem.
Investigating predictors of smartphone dependency symptoms and effects on academic performance, improper phone use and perceived sociability

This study investigates the relationships between predictors (i.e., personal traits and mobile activities) of smartphone dependency and its impacts on improper phone use, academic performance and perceived sociability. Using a stratified sampling method, a web survey obtained data from 438 undergraduate smartphone users in Singapore. PLS results show that improper phone use is a critical factor which mediates the effects of smartphone dependency symptoms on grade point average and perceived sociability. Youths who feel higher leisure boredom tend to have more smartphone dependency. Female users are more likely to have smartphone dependency symptoms than males. The results also show that using mobile phones for videos and mobile gaming are better predictors of smartphone dependency symptoms than using it for social media and traditional phone activities. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Psychosocial predictors of hypertension in Black and White Africans

Objective To test the hypothesis that psychosocial factors that are closely related to the behavioural stress process in developing countries have predictive value for the incidence of hypertension. Design A cohort of 528 African students (220 White, 308 Black), mean ± SD age 22 ± 3.2 years, were followed up for 4 years at the University of Zimbabwe. Baseline measures of selected psychosocial variables such as anxiety, anger, expression, active coping and family instability were made, together with biological and behavioural predictors of hypertension (initial blood pressure, heart rate, body mass, family history of hypertension or diabetes, alcohol intake, smoking and number of years of urbanization). Analyses were stratified by sex and ethnicity. Results In multivariate analysis Black students had significantly greater baseline anxiety levels and suppressed anger than White students, and Black students who went on to develop hypertension had significantly higher baseline parameters than those who remained normotensive. In multivariate regression analysis, including biological predictors, anxiety, suppressed anger and family instability remained significant independent predictors of hypertension in urbanized Black students. No psychosocial variable alone predicted hypertension in White students in multivariate analyses. Conclusions Among young, urbanized Black students, besides the well-known genetic (family history of hypertension) and biological (initial blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, smoking and alcohol intake) predictors of hypertension, psychosocial factors are predictive of the later incidence of hypertension. Behavioural non-pharmacological treatment for hypertension might be considered in African developing countries.
Role of the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier transporter as a cerebral clearance system for prostaglandin E2 produced in the brain

An increasing level of prostaglandin (PG) E2 is involved in the progression of neuroinflammation induced by ischemia and bacterial infection. Although an imbalance in the rates of production and clearance of PGE2 under these pathological conditions appears to affect the concentration of PGE2 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the regulatory system remains incompletely understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cellular system of PGE2 production via microsomal PGE synthetase‐1 (mPGES‐1), the inducible PGE2‐generating enzyme, and PGE2 elimination from the CSF via the blood–CSF barrier (BCSFB). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that mPGES‐1 was expressed in the soma and perivascular sheets of astrocytes, pia mater, and brain blood vessel endothelial cells, suggesting that these cells are local production sites of PGE2 in the CSF. The in vivo PGE2 elimination clearance from the CSF was eightfold greater than that of d‐mannitol, which is considered to reflect CSF bulk flow. This process was inhibited by the simultaneous injection of unlabeled PGE2 and β‐lactam antibiotics, such as benzylpenicillin, cefazolin, and ceftriaxone, which are substrates and/or inhibitors of organic anion transporter 3 (OAT3). The characteristics of PGE2 uptake by the isolated choroid plexus were at least partially consistent with those of OAT3. OAT3 was able to mediate PGE2 transport with a Michaelis–Menten constant of 4.24 μM. These findings indicate that a system regulating the PGE2 level in the CSF involves OAT3‐mediated PGE2 uptake by choroid plexus epithelial cells, acting as a cerebral clearance pathway via the BCSFB of locally produced PGE2.
Characterization of SIGIRR/IL-1R8 Homolog from Zebrafish Provides New Insights into Its Inhibitory Role in Hepatic Inflammation

Single Ig IL-1R–related molecule (SIGIRR, also called IL-1R8 or Toll/IL-1R [TIR]8), a negative regulator for Toll/IL-1R signaling, plays critical roles in innate immunity and various diseases in mammals. However, the occurrence of this molecule in ancient vertebrates and its function in liver homeostasis and disorders remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified a SIGIRR homology from zebrafish (Danio rerio [DrSIGIRR]) by using a number of conserved structural and functional hallmarks to its mammalian counterparts. DrSIGIRR was highly expressed in the liver. Ablation of DrSIGIRR by lentivirus-delivered small interfering RNA in the liver significantly enhanced hepatic inflammation in response to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)] stimulation, as shown by the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and increased histological disorders. In contrast, depletion of TIR domain–containing adaptor inducing IFN-β (TRIF) or administration of TRIF signaling inhibitor extremely abrogated the poly(I:C)-induced hepatic inflammation. Aided by the zebrafish embryo model, overexpression of DrSIGIRR in vivo significantly inhibited the poly(I:C)- and TRIF-induced NF-κB activations; however, knockdown of DrSIGIRR promoted such activations. Furthermore, pull-down and Duolink in situ proximity ligation assay assays showed that DrSIGIRR can interact with the TRIF protein. Results suggest that DrSIGIRR plays an inhibitory role in TRIF-mediated inflammatory reactions by competitive recruitment of the TRIF adaptor protein from its TLR3/TLR22 receptor. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report a functional SIGIRR homolog that existed in a lower vertebrate. This molecule is essential to establish liver homeostasis under inflammatory stimuli. Overall, the results will enrich the current knowledge about SIGIRR-mediated immunity and disorders in the liver.
General formulas for fixed-length quantum entanglement concentration

In this paper, we derive general formulas for the amount of entanglement that can be concentrated from general sequences of partially entangled, bipartite pure states. The formulas are obtained by using an information-spectrum approach. The formulas obtained express the optimal rate under constant error constraints or exponential error constraints in the asymptotic framework. Since the formulas treat general sequences, they can be applied to i.i. d. sequences as well as sequences with correlations