Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biological activity of chicken calcitonin: Effects on neonatal rat and embryonic chick osteoclasts

Chicken calcitonin (cCT) has recently been synthesized according to nucleotide sequence data. We have investigated the in vitro effects of this hormone on the activity of disaggregated, neonatal rat and embryonic chick osteoclasts. While synthetic cCT inhibited bone resorption by neonatal rat osteoclasts at concentrations as low as 0.1 pg/ml, it failed to produce a significant reduction in bone resorption by embryonic chick osteoclasts, even at concentrations as high as 1 μg/ml. Similarly, cCT at 1 pg/ml reproducibly produced the rapid and dramatic inhibition of rat osteoclast motility characteristic of other calcitonins, as judged by time‐lapse video recording, but did not impair the motile behavior of chick osteoclasts at concentrations up to a million‐fold higher. Previous studies showing that embryonic chick osteoclasts were unresponsive to synthetic salmon calcitonin left open the possibility that the native hormone was required to produce an inhibitory effect. We conclude that the osteoclast is not a target cell for calcitonin in the embryonic chick; further studies will be required to define a role, if any, for this potent but enigmatic hormone in birds.
Moral Judgement within the Armed Forces

Abstract This article presents the findings of a study into the moral judgement of Dutch officers, officer-candidates and university students. The study was based on the Moral Judgement Test developed by Lind, which aims to analyze the moral skills of respondents in judging ethical dilemmas. In this quantitative study among military (wo)men, four dilemma's were used: two standard ethical dilemmas that were formulated by Lind, and two specific military dilemmas based on experiences from military practice, developed by the authors. All four dilemmas proved to be reliable in statistical terms. The results show that the military respondents in general produce high scores on the test, which indicates that their moral awareness is quite elaborated. The study also revealed a number of factors – e.g., gender, religion and previous experience with moral dilemmas – explaining differences in moral judgement between respondents. Although the results have shown to be unequivocal, some critical remarks can be made with regard to the test as such. Given the fact that the structure of the test leaves many moral considerations undisclosed, it is recommended to use the test in combination with a qualitative research methodology. This would shed more light on moral sensitivity, empathy and moral character in the face of pressure.
Design of a GF(64)-LDPC Decoder Based on the EMS Algorithm

This paper presents the architecture, performance and implementation results of a serial GF(64)-LDPC decoder based on a reduced-complexity version of the Extended Min-Sum algorithm. The main contributions of this work correspond to the variable node processing, the codeword decision and the elementary check node processing. Post-synthesis area results show that the decoder area is less than 20% of a Virtex 4 FPGA for a decoding throughput of 2.95 Mbps. The implemented decoder presents performance at less than 0.7 dB from the Belief Propagation algorithm for different code lengths and rates. Moreover, the proposed architecture can be easily adapted to decode very high Galois Field orders, such as GF(4096) or higher, by slightly modifying a marginal part of the design.
Comparing the Effects of Home Versus Clinic-Based Parent Training for Children with Autism

Research with parents on managing child problem behavior typically measures either child or parent behavior. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of training parents to implement a function-based behavior intervention plan (BIP) in a non-trained natural environment utilizing a Multiple Probe Design across Participants. Participants included four parent-child dyads. Measurement variables included parents' use of effective and ineffective strategies and child problem behavior. Intervention involved training parents to understand and implement the BIP using effective strategies, modeling the effective procedures, and providing feedback following parent implementation of procedures. Results showed that the intervention was very effective in promoting skill generalization of parents and decreasing child problem behavior. The findings have implications for research and clinical practice.
Cluster-based characterization of gene over-expression in cancer sets

Mining techniques are needed to extract important information from huge high dimensional gene expression sets. Targeting unique expression behavior as over/under-expression is specific to gene expression data and is needed to explore another direction in the relation of genes to tumor conditions. This research proposes criteria for filtering over-expression genes, identifying over-expression related samples and using them to characterize over-expression behaviour in gene clusters and outliers. In return, hypothetical marker genes and functional relations can be provided, ready for approval by the aid of other datasets/results. Experiments are performed on breast cancer expression data.
Stress‐induced proteolysis in yeast

Survival of cells in their natural environment is crucially dependent on their ability to adapt to constantly occurring changes. The ability of cells to respond to extremes of environmental influences is vital to survival. Proteolysis is a central cellular tool in stress response. Proteins of pathways necessary for normal growth, but harmful under stress conditions, as well as proteins damaged by stress have to be eliminated. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a model eukaryote, has evolved two different proteolytic systems: (i) a membrane‐enveloped, vacuolar (lysosomal) system, which contains a variety of non‐specific peptidases and (ii) highly specific peptidases residing at different cellular locations. The best characterized peptidase of the specific system is proteinase yscE, the proteasome equivalent found in all eukaryotic cells. Both the vacuolar and the non‐vacuolar systems are vital components of the stress response in yeast.
Plasticity in the tonotopic organization of the medial geniculate body in adult cats following restricted unilateral cochlear lesions

To investigate subcortical contributions to cortical reorganization, the frequency organization of the ventral nucleus of the medial geniculate body (MGv) in six normal adult cats and in eight cats with restricted unilateral cochlear lesions was investigated using multiunit electrophysiological recording techniques. The tonotopic organization of MGv in the lesioned animals, with severe mid‐to‐high frequency hearing losses, was investigated 40–186 days following the lesioning procedure. Frequency maps were generated from neural responses to pure tone bursts presented separately to each ear under barbiturate anesthesia. Consideration of the frequency organization in normal animals, and of the apparently normal representation of the ipsilateral (unlesioned) cochlea in lesioned animals, allowed for a detailed specification of the extent of changes observed in MGv. In the lesioned animals it was found that, in the region of MGv in which mid‐to‐high frequencies are normally represented, there was an “expanded representation” of lesion‐edge frequencies. Neuron clusters within these regions of enlarged representation that had “new” characteristic frequencies displayed response properties (latency, bandwidth) very similar to those in normal animals. Thresholds of these neurons were not consistent with the argument that the changes merely reflect the residue of prelesion responses, suggesting a dynamic process of reorganization. The tonotopic reorganization observed in MGv is similar to that seen in the primary auditory cortex and is more extensive than the reorganization found in the auditory midbrain, suggesting that the auditory thalamus plays an important role in cortical plasticity. J. Comp. Neurol. 459:355–367, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Becoming status conscious

This paper explores the cognitive developments underlying conventionalized social phenomena such as language and ownership. What do children make of the claims that, ‘This is mine’ or ‘That is called “water”? ’ Understanding these features of social reality involves appreciating status as a system of normative prescriptions. Research on children's theories of intentional agency suggests important constraints on the development of status systems. Key insights are that prescriptions affect behavior only via representations, and that the norms involved in prescriptions are distinct from statements of preferences. When do children appreciate the normative structure of social facts, and what kinds of experiences might advance their understanding?
The Dynamics of the Onset of Frictional Slip

Slip Sliding Away The initiation of frictional motion, or slip, along ideal surfaces typically behaves as predicted by rupture models. When stress heterogeneities—similar to irregularities in fault zones in Earth's crust—are introduced, rupture propagation speeds are not as well constrained by models. To improve understanding of slip behavior, Ben-David et al. (p. 211; see the Perspective by Zapperi) measured rupture speeds and stress profiles along an extended frictional interface between two polymer blocks. The experiments revealed a slow mode of slip that occurs when the local ratio of shear to normal stress is sufficiently low. The selection and arrest of three distinct modes of rupture depended on the value of the local stress ratio. The selection and arrest of three distinct modes of stress-induced rupture depend on the value of the local stress ratio. The way in which a frictional interface fails is critical to our fundamental understanding of failure processes in fields ranging from engineering to the study of earthquakes. Frictional motion is initiated by rupture fronts that propagate within the thin interface that separates two sheared bodies. By measuring the shear and normal stresses along the interface, together with the subsequent rapid real-contact-area dynamics, we find that the ratio of shear stress to normal stress can locally far exceed the static-friction coefficient without precipitating slip. Moreover, different modes of rupture selected by the system correspond to distinct regimes of the local stress ratio. These results indicate the key role of nonuniformity to frictional stability and dynamics with implications for the prediction, selection, and arrest of different modes of earthquakes.
Use of anti-(+)-methamphetamine monoclonal antibody to significantly alter (+)-methamphetamine and (+)-amphetamine disposition in rats.

These studies examined the effects of a high-affinity anti-(+)-methamphetamine monoclonal antibody (mAb; KD = 11 nM) on (+)-methamphetamine [(+)-METH] and (+)-amphetamine [(+)-AMP] serum and tissue disposition and serum protein binding following i.v. (+)-METH administration. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with a buffer solution (control rats) or with anti-(+)-METH mAb [equimolar in binding sites to the (+)-METH dose]. The next day, both groups received a 1 mg/kg i.v. (+)-METH dose. At various time points after (+)-METH administration, rats were sacrificed (n = 3 per time point), and serum and tissues were collected. (+)-METH serum protein binding was increased from approximately 5% in controls to approximately 88 to 99% in the mAb-treated rats. The (+)-METH area under the concentration versus time curves from 0 to 4.5 h (AUC0-4.5 h) in mAb-treated rats showed an increase of >6600% for serum and a decrease of >60% for brain, compared with buffer-treated controls. Differential effects of anti-METH mAb on (+)-METH concentrations were observed in other tissues. For example, in the liver, anti-(+)-METH mAb caused significant increases in (+)-METH concentrations. The AUC0-4.5 h for (+)-AMP, a pharmacologically active metabolite, was decreased by approximately 50% in all tissues examined. These data show that pretreatment with an anti-(+)-METH mAb can significantly alter the disposition of (+)-METH and (+)-AMP in rats. Since the mAb has no significant cross-reactivity with (+)-AMP, the data suggest that the mAb reduced (+)-METH metabolic clearance through high-affinity binding to (+)-METH. Finally, rapidly equilibrating tissues, like the brain, appear to be preferentially protected by the mAb.
Incidence trends of mantle cell lymphoma in the United States between 1992 and 2004

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a distinct subtype of B‐cell non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma. To the authors' knowledge, little is known regarding its incidence patterns and associated factors. The purpose of the current study was to examine the incidence of MCL over a period of 13 years and to identify the factors associated with the incidence patterns.
Purification, Characterization, Cloning, and Expression of a Novel Xyloglucan-specific Glycosidase, Oligoxyloglucan Reducing End-specific Cellobiohydrolase*

A novel oligoxyloglucan-specific glycosidase, oligoxyloglucan reducing end-specific cellobiohydrolase (OXG-RCBH), with a molecular mass of 97 kDa and a pI of 6.1, was isolated from the fungus Geotrichum sp. M128. Analysis of substrate specificity using various xyloglucan oligosaccharide structures revealed that OXG-RCBH had exoglucanase activity. It recognized the reducing end of oligoxyloglucan and released two glucosyl residue segments from the main chain. The full-length cDNA encoding OXG-RCBH was cloned and sequenced, and it had a 2436-bp open reading frame encoding an 812amino acid protein. The deduced protein showed ∼35% identity to members of glycoside hydrolase family 74. The cDNA encoding OXG-RCBH was then expressed inEscherichia coli. Although the recombinant protein was expressed as an inclusion body, renaturation was successful, and enzymatically active recombinant OXG-RCBH was obtained.
Ideal triangulations of 3-manifolds I: spun normal surface theory

In this paper, we will compute the dimension of the space of spun and ordinary normal surfaces in an ideal triangulation of the interior of a compact 3-manifold with incompressible tori or Klein bottle compo- nents. Spun normal surfaces have been described in unpublished work of Thurston. We also define a boundary map from spun normal surface the- ory to the homology classes of boundary loops of the 3-manifold and prove the boundary map has image of finite index. Spun normal surfaces give a natural way of representing properly embedded and immersed essential surfaces in a 3-manifold with tori and Klein bottle boundary (10), (11). It has been conjectured that every slope in a simple knot complement can be represented by an immersed essential surface (1), (2). We finish by study- ing the boundary map for the figure-8 knot space and for the Gieseking manifold, using their natural simplest ideal triangulations. Some poten- tial applications of the boundary map to the study of boundary slopes of immersed essential surfaces are discussed. AMS Classification 57M25; 57N10
From signal transduction to signal interpretation: An alternative model for the molecular function of insulin receptor substrates

The insulin receptor (IR) recruits adaptor proteins, so-called insulin receptor substrates (IRS), to connect with downstream signalling pathways. A family of IRS proteins was defined based on three major common structural elements: Amino-terminal PH and PTB domains that mediate protein-lipid or protein-protein interactions, mostly carboxy-terminal multiple tyrosine residues that serve as binding sites for proteins that contain one or more SH2 domains and serine/threonine-rich regions which may be recognized by negative regulators of insulin action. The current model for the role of IRS proteins therefore combines an adaptor function with the integration of mostly negative input from other signal transduction cascades allowing for modulation of signalling amplitude. In this review we propose an extended version of the adaptor model that can explain how signalling specificity could be implemented at the level of IRS proteins.
DNA Ploidy and Chromosome (FISH) Pattern Analysis of Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors

Background and methods: 44 peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNST) (27 schwannomas, 9 neurofibromas and 8 malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST)) were analyzed to determine DNA ploidy pattern and to clarify the conflicting data in the literature concerning this topic (whether benign PNSTs are aneuploid or not). For further insight we analyzed 6 schwannomas, one atypical neurofibroma and five MPNSTs by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique using centromeric chromosome probes (7, 17 and 18) and automatic image analysis station, Metafer 4. Results: Benign schwannomas (including the problematic variants as ancient, cellular, neuroblastoma like and multiplex schwannomas) could be characterized by euploid‐polyploidisation and by their 4c peak height value which was usually more than 10% of total cell number measured. These characters were not found among neurofibromas and MPNST‐s. FISH analysis revealed and confirmed that the ‘normal’ euploid–polyploid cells are mainly eusomic–polysomic containing two, four, eight or sixteen signals for each chromosomes examined, but in a small proportion aneusomy was found among tumor cells of benign schwannomas (average: 2.58; range 1.33–3.44). In contrast, the atypical neurofibroma displayed marked aneusomy (18.44%) but it contained normal eusomic and polysomic cells too. Two diploid MPNSTs proved to be clearly aneusomic with trisomy of chromosome 17 and monosomy of chromosome 18. Conclusions: All these data suggest that ploidy pattern determination combined with FISH analysis may be a very useful supplementary tool for making a right diagnosis (to differentiate benign versus malignant schwannomas in problematic variants) and to understand better the malignant transformation in PNSTs.
Achieving Synergy: Linking an Internet-Based Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort to a Community-Based Inception Cohort and Multicentered Cohort in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background Traditional cohort studies are important contributors to our understanding of inflammatory bowel diseases, but they are labor intensive and often do not focus on patient-reported outcomes. Internet-based studies provide new opportunities to study patient-reported outcomes and can be efficiently implemented and scaled. If a traditional cohort study was linked to an Internet-based study, both studies could benefit from added synergy. Existing cohort studies provide an opportunity to develop and test processes for cohort linkage. The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America’s (CCFA) Partners study is an Internet-based cohort of more than 14,000 participants. The Ocean State Crohn’s and Colitis Area Registry (OSCCAR) is an inception cohort. The Sinai-Helmsley Alliance for Research Excellence (SHARE) is a multicentered cohort of inflammatory bowel disease patients. Both the later cohorts include medical record abstraction, patient surveys, and biospecimen collection. Objective Given the complementary nature of these existing cohorts, we sought to corecruit and link data. Methods Eligible OSCCAR and SHARE participants were invited to join the CCFA Partners study and provide consent for data sharing between the 2 cohorts. After informed consent, participants were directed to the CCFA Partners website to complete enrollment and a baseline Web-based survey. Participants were linked across the 2 cohorts by the matching of an email address. We compared demographic and clinical characteristics between OSCCAR and SHARE participants who did and did not enroll in CCFA Partners and the data linkage. Results Of 408 participants in the OSCCAR cohort, 320 were eligible for participation in the CCFA Partners cohort. Of these participants, 243 consented to participation; however, only 44 enrolled in CCFA Partners and completed the linkage. OSCCAR participants who enrolled in CCFA Partners were better educated (17% with doctoral degrees) than those who did not (3% with doctoral degrees, P=.01). In the SHARE cohort, 436 participants enrolled and linked to the Partners cohort. More women (60% vs 50%) linked and those who linked were predominantly white (96%; P<.01). Crohn’s disease patients who linked had lower mean scores on the Harvey-Bradshaw Index (3.6 vs 4.4, P<.01). Ulcerative colitis patients who linked had less extensive disease than those who did not link (45% vs 60%, P<.01). Conclusions Linkage of CCFA Partners with cohorts such as OSCCAR and SHARE may be a cost-effective way to expand the infrastructure for clinical outcomes and translational research. Although linkage is feasible from a technical, legal, and regulatory perspective, participant willingness appears to be a limiting factor. Overcoming this barrier will be needed to generate meaningful sample sizes to conduct studies of biomarkers, natural history, and clinical effectiveness using linked data.
Bis(4-aminopyridinium) bis(hydrogen oxalate) monohydrate

In the title compound, 2C5H7N2 +·2C2HO4 −·H2O, the asymmetric unit consists of an aminopyridinium cation, an oxalic actetate anion and a half-molecule of water, which lies on a two-fold rotation axis. The crystal packing is consolidated by intermolecular O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The molecules are linked into an infinite one dimensional chain along [010].
Topology of Membrane Proteins

Integral membrane proteins play important roles in living cells. Due to difficulties of experimental techniques, theoretical approaches, i.e., topology prediction methods, are important for structure determination of this class of proteins. Here we show a detailed comparison of transmembrane topology prediction methods. According to this comparison, we conclude that the topology of integral membrane proteins is determined by the maximum divergence of the amino acid composition of sequence segments. These segments are located in different areas of the cell, which can be characterized by different physicochemical properties. The results of these prediction methods compared to the X-ray diffraction data of several transmembrane proteins will also be discussed.
Relationship between self‐reflectivity, Theory of Mind, neurocognition, and global functioning: An investigation of schizophrenic disorder

Background: People with schizophrenia show impairments in metacognitive function, including awareness and monitoring of one’s mental processes (SelfReflectivity (SR)), recognition of the fallibility of one’s thoughts, and the ability to infer others’ emotions and intentions (Theory of Mind (ToM)). The aim of the present study was to explore whether SR and ToM play a key role in influencing the global functioning of persons affected by schizophrenia. Methods: Twenty persons with schizophrenia were recruited before hospital discharge and compared with 17 controls. Clinical, neurocognitive, and global functioning assessments were performed. The Beck Cognitive Insight Scale was used to assess: (1) Self-Reflectiveness, which allows subjects with psychosis to objectively observe their cognitive distortions, and (2) Self-Certainty, which reflects rigid confidence in their own beliefs (over-confidence). ToM assessment included verbal and non-verbal measures. Results: Our study confirms the semi-independent nature of the metacognitive functions of ToM abilities and the cognitive insight domain. In fact, by multiple regression model analyses, only the Self-Reflectiveness deficit was found to be the best predictor of low global functioning in schizophrenia and represents a target for rehabilitation interventions to remediate the processes that cause fallible interpretations of daily events. Conclusions: Our results encourage a new trend in the cognitive-behaviour therapy of schizophrenia to be complemented with metacognitive approaches.