Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cell-specific Sorting of Biogenic Amine Transporters Expressed in Epithelial Cells*

We have utilized polarized epithelial cells stably expressing neurotransmitter transporters to analyze the sorting behavior of these membrane proteins. The transporters for serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE) are expected to be present in situ in the most distal extremities of axonal membranes, where they terminate the action of their biogenic amine substrates. Both Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) and LLC-PK1 cells were stably transfected with cDNAs encoding either the rat 5-HT transporter (SERT), the human NE transporter (NET), or the rat or human DA transporter (DAT). These cells were grown on permeable filter supports, and the transporters were localized by three independent techniques. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy indicated that each of the transporters expressed in LLC-PK1 cells was sorted to the basolateral membrane, co-localizing with the Na+/K+-ATPase. In MDCK cells, however, DAT was located primarily on the apical surface, while SERT and NET were found on the basolateral membranes. Cell surface biotinylation using an impermeant biotinylating reagent confirmed the immunocytochemistry results. Thus, SERT and NET in MDCK cells were labeled more efficiently from the basolateral medium than the apical medium, and DAT in MDCK cells was labeled more efficiently from the apical side than the basolateral side. Transport measurements in transfected MDCK cells agreed with the immunocytochemistry and biotinylation results. These results suggest the existence of cell-specific mechanisms that discriminate between neurotransmitter transporters for surface expression and render unlikely any simple hypothesis that sorting mechanisms in neurons and epithelia are identical.
Cdc2-mediated Schwann cell migration during peripheral nerve regeneration

Schwann cell migration facilitates peripheral nerve regeneration after injury. We have recently found increased activation of Cdc2 kinase in regenerating sciatic nerves. Here we show that Cdc2 phosphorylation of caldesmon regulates Schwann cell migration and nerve regeneration. A robust but transient increase in Cdc2 expression was found in cultured Schwann cells prepared from the sciatic nerve in rats that had undergone crush injury for 7 days. These `injury-preconditioned' Schwann cells exhibited enhanced migration compared with non-preconditioned control cells and treatment with the cdk inhibitor roscovitine prevented cell migration. After transduction with recombinant Cdc2 DNA adenoviral vectors, Schwann cells were implanted into sciatic nerves; those expressing wild-type Cdc2 migrated further in the distal direction than those expressing dominant-negative Cdc2. We identified caldesmon as a downstream substrate of Cdc2 in Schwann cells and its phosphorylation by Cdc2 changed its subcellular localization. Overexpression of dominant-negative caldesmon significantly counteracted the migration effect caused by Cdc2. Finally, neurite outgrowth of cultured DRG sensory neurons, facilitated by co-culture with injury-preconditioned Schwann cells, was suppressed by roscovitine treatment. The results indicate that activation of the Cdc2-caldesmon pathway is necessary for Schwann cell migration and suggest a role for this pathway in peripheral axonal growth.
Characterizing 10 Gbps network interface energy consumption

This paper quantifies the energy consumption in six 10 Gbps and four 1 Gbps interconnects at a fine-grained level, introducing two metrics for calculating the energy efficiency of a network interface from the perspective of network throughput and host CPU usage. It further compares the energy efficiency of multiport 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps interconnects.
Stress and sleep in nurses employed in “3 × 8” and “2 × 12” fast rotating shift schedules

We compared two “3 × 8” shift rotas with backward rotation and quick return (morning and night shift in the same day) in a 5- or 6-day shift cycle, and a “2 × 12” shift rota with forward rotation in a 5-d shift cycle. A total of 294 nurses (72.6% women, mean age 33.8) were examined in a survey on work-related stress, including the Standard Shiftwork Index. Ten nurses per each shift roster recorded their activity and rest periods by actigraphy, rated sleepiness and sleep quality, and collected salivary cortisol throughout the whole shift cycle. Nurses engaged in the “2 × 12” rota showed lower levels of sleep disturbances and, according to actigraphy, sleep duration was more balanced and less fragmented than in the “3 × 8” rosters. The counter-clockwise shift rotation and quick return of “3 × 8” schedules reduce possibility of sleep and recovery. The insertion of a morning shift before the day with quick return increases night sleep by about 1 h. Nurses who take a nap during the night shift require 40% less sleep in the morning after. The “2 × 12” clockwise roster, in spite of 50% increased length of shift, allows a better recovery and more satisfying leisure times, thanks to longer intervals between work periods. Sleepiness increased more during the night than day shifts in all rosters, but without significant difference between 8-h and 12-h rosters. However, the significantly higher level at the start of the night shift in the “3 × 8” rotas points out that the fast backward rotation with quick return puts the subjects in less efficient operational conditions. Some personal characteristics, such as morningness, lability to overcome drowsiness, flexibility of sleeping habits and age were significantly associated to sleep disturbances in nurses engaged in the “3 × 8” rotas, but not in the “2 × 12” schedule.
Characterization and classification of soils of Yikalo Subwatershed in Lay Gayint District, Northwestern Highlands of Ethiopia

Soil resource information is vital for sound land use planning and sustainable fertility management. This study was carried out with the objective of characterizing and classifying soils of Yikalo Subwatershed at Lay Gayint district, Northwestern Ethiopia. Representative soil pedons were opened along topographic positions and described on genetic horizon basis in the field for their morphological characteristics and analyzed in the laboratory for selected physical and chemical soil properties. The soils were classified following the FAO (2014). The results revealed the presence of variations in the selected morphological properties within a pedon and along the topographic positions. Soils differed in reaction from 4.57 to 6.42. On the surface horizons of the soil pedons, available P content varied from 0.21 to 3.25 mg kg -1 , while exchangeable acidity ranged from 0.17 to 3.65 cmol c kg -1 soil. There was no consistent trend for cation exchange capacity (CEC) and PBS (percent base saturation) with soil depth and topographic positions. The soils in Yikalo Subwatershed were classified as Hyperdystric Cambisols (Humic), Haplic Alisols (Humic), Cambic Umbrisols (Colluvic) , Haplic Luvisols (Epidystric), and Pellic Vertisols ( Mesotrophic). Optimum rates of organic and inorganic amendments should be applied to reduce the level of soil acidity, and improve the fertility level of the soils for better crop production and productivity.
Quantification of CT-assessed radiation-induced lung damage in lung cancer patients treated with or without chemotherapy and cetuximab

Abstract Background and Purpose: Prediction models for radiation-induced lung damage (RILD) are still unsatisfactory, with clinical toxicity endpoints that are difficult to quantify objectively. We therefore evaluated RILD more objectively, quantitatively and on a continuous scale measuring the lung tissue density changes per voxel. Material and methods: Patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) alone, sequential and concurrent chemo-RT with and without the addition of cetuximab were studied. Follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans were co-registered using deformable registration to baseline CT scans. CT density changes were correlated to the RT dose delivered in every part of the lungs. Results: One hundred and seventeen lung cancer patients were included. Mean dose to tumor was 60 Gy (range 45–79.2 Gy). Dose response curves showed a linear increase in the dose region between 0 and 65 Gy having a slope (based on coefficients of the multilevel model) expressed as a lung density increase per dose of 0.86 (95% CI 0.73–0.99), 1.31 (95% CI 1.19–1.43), 1.39 (95% CI 1.28–1.50) and 2.07 (95% CI 1.93–2.21) for patients treated only with RT (N=19), sequential chemo-RT (N=30), concurrent chemo-RT (N=49), and concurrent chemo-RT with cetuximab (N=19), respectively. Conclusions: CT density changes allow quantitative assessment of lung damage after fractionated RT, giving complementary information to standard used clinical endpoints. Patients receiving cetuximab showed a significantly larger dose response compared with other treatments.
A New Method to Determine Antigen-Specific CD8+ T Cell Activity in Vivo by Hydrodynamic Injection

Hydrodynamic tail vein (HTV) delivery is a simple and rapid tail vein injection method of a high volume of naked plasmid DNA resulting in high levels of foreign gene expression in organs, especially the liver. Compared to other organs, HTV delivery results in more than a 1000-fold higher transgene expression in liver. After being bitten by malaria-infected mosquitoes, malaria parasites transiently infect the host liver and form the liver stages. The liver stages are known to be the key target for CD8+ T cells that mediate protective anti-malaria immunity in an animal model. Therefore, in this study, we utilized the HTV delivery technique as a tool to determine the in vivo cytotoxic effect of malaria antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Two weeks after mice were immunized with recombinant adenoviruses expressing malarial antigens, the immunized mice as well as naïve mice were challenged by HTV delivery of naked plasmid DNA co-encoding respective antigen together with luciferase using dual promoters. Three days after the HTV challenge, non-invasive whole-body bioluminescent imaging was performed. The images demonstrate in vivo activity of CD8+ T cells against malaria antigen-expressing cells in liver.
Aspect based sentiment analysis

Aspect Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) systems receive as input a set of texts (e.g., product reviews or messages from social media) discussing a particular entity (e.g., a new model of a mobile phone). The systems attempt to detect the main (e.g., the most frequently discussed) aspects (features) of the entity (e.g., 'battery', 'screen') and to estimate the average sentiment of the texts per aspect (e.g., how positive or negative the opinions are on average for each aspect). Although several ABSA systems have been proposed, mostly research prototypes, there is no established task decomposition for ABSA, nore are there any established evaluation measures for the subtasks ABSA systems are required to perform. This thesis, proposes a new task decomposition for ABSA, which contains three main subtasks: aspect term extraction, aspect term aggregation, and aspect term polarity estimation. The first subtask detects single-and multi-word terms naming aspects of the entity being discussed (e.g., 'battery', 'hard disc'), called aspect terms. The second subtask aggregates (clusters) similar aspect terms (e.g., 'price' and 'cost', but maybe also 'design' and 'color'), depending on user preferences and other restrictions (e.g., the size of the screen where the results of the ABSA system will be shown). The third subtask estimates the average sentiment per aspect term or cluster of aspect terms. For each one of the above mentioned subtasks, benchmark datasets for different kinds of entities (e.g., laptops, restaurants) were constructed during the work of this thesis. New evaluation measures are introduced for each subtask, arguing that they ii ABSTRACT iii are more appropriate than previous evaluation measures. For each subtask, the thesis also proposes new methods (or improvements over previous methods), showing experimentally on the constructed benchmark datasets that the new methods (or the improved versions) are better or at least comparable to state of the art ones.
Chromosomes in human testicular tumours

ENORMOUS numbers of cytogenetic observations have been made in an effort to discover the part played by chromosomes in malignant disease. Satisfactory preparations from solid tumours in man are hard to obtain. There is accordingly more published information on chromosomes in leukaemia than in solid tumours, and published series of solid tumours have included tumours of varying histological structure, treated and untreated, primary and metastatic. It is therefore hardly surprising that the karyotype of each tumour is described as unique. From a study of the reports on solid tumours a few general points emerge.
Analysis of reaction time during car-following process based on driving simulation test

Understanding car-following behavior and which decisions drivers preferred to choose during car-following process are essential for driver safety. Drivers' reaction time as a key variable was analyzed in this paper, which may affect the collision results. Experiments based on driving simulator test were conducted and totally 47 participants were recruited. Three kinds of traffic flow density scenarios were built to examine the variation of reaction time under different traffic flow density. In each scenario, three accelerations and three decelerations were arranged respectively. Results suggested that the effect of scenario on reaction time during the first and the third acceleration is statistically significant. Drivers' reaction time tends to be smaller in high traffic flow density compared to the low and middle traffic flow densities. Effects of gender and vocation on reaction time are also tested, which suggested that male and non-professional drivers' reaction time are prone to be slightly larger.
Massive stars in transition

We discuss the various post-main sequence phases of massive stars, focusing on Wolf-Rayet stars, Luminous Blue Variables, plus connections with other early-type and late-type supergiants. End states for massive stars are also investigated, emphasising connections between Supernovae originating from core-collapse massive stars and Gamma Ray Bursts.
Salvinorin A reduces neuropathic nociception in the insular cortex of the rat

Neuropathic pain is one of the most important challenges in public health. The search for novel treatments is important for an adequate relief without adverse effects. In this sense salvinorin A (SA), the main diterpene of the medicinal plant Salvia divinorum is an important antinociceptive compound, which acts as a potent agonist of kappa opioid receptor (KOR) and cannabinoid CB1 receptors.
Low-rank matrix reconstruction and clustering via approximate message passing

We study the problem of reconstructing low-rank matrices from their noisy observations. We formulate the problem in the Bayesian framework, which allows us to exploit structural properties of matrices in addition to low-rankedness, such as sparsity. We propose an efficient approximate message passing algorithm, derived from the belief propagation algorithm, to perform the Bayesian inference for matrix reconstruction. We have also successfully applied the proposed algorithm to a clustering problem, by reformulating it as a low-rank matrix reconstruction problem with an additional structural property. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm outperforms Lloyd's K-means algorithm.
Adaptive Output-Feedback Fuzzy Tracking Control for a Class of Nonlinear Systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of adaptive fuzzy tracking control via output feedback for a class of uncertain single-input single-output (SISO) strict-feedback nonlinear systems. The dynamic feedback strategy begins with an input-driven filter. By utilizing fuzzy logic systems to approximate unknown and desired control input signals directly instead of the unknown nonlinear functions, an output-feedback fuzzy tracking controller is designed via a backstepping approach. It is shown that the proposed fuzzy adaptive output controller can guarantee that all the signals remain bounded and that the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulations results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
A high-gain, low-noise 1/2- mu m pulse-doped pseudomorphic HEMT

A 1/2- mu m gate-length pulse-doped pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) grown by MBE, which exhibits a current-gain cutoff frequency of 62 GHz, is discussed. The maximum available gain cutoff frequency was greater than 150 GHz. A minimum noise figure of 0.85 dB and associated gain of 14 dB were measured at 10 GHz. Tuned small-signal gain in a waveguide-to-microstrip test fixture at 44 GHz was 7.6 dB. When the HEMT was tuned for power, 260 mW/mm with 5-dB gain and 17% power-added efficiency were obtained at 44 GHz. These results suggest that a 1/2- mu m pseudomorphic HEMT is a viable candidate for Q-band applications. <<ETX>>
Genetic complexity and transmissibility of Plasmodium falciparum parasites causing severe malaria in central-east coast India.

Heterogeneity in parasite virulence has been proposed to be one of the several factors that contribute to the wide spectrum of disease severity in Plasmodium falciparum malaria. In the present study, we have attempted to determine the association of multiple genotype infection (MGI) and /or any specific genotype with the severity of P. falciparum malaria. Analysis of two highly polymorphic regions of the merozoite surface protein (MSP1 and MSP2) and three microsatellite loci (MS) have shown a strong association between multiple genotype infection (MGI) and severe P. falciparum malaria. Evidence for stratification of the parasite population in to differing virulence has been found . The evolution of such parasite virulence has been discussed in the light of kin and group selection model.
The relevance of the Heart Foundation of Australia's dietary recommendations for adult Australians: a comparison of views of general practitioners, cardiologists and dietitians.

PURPOSE To compare the views of general practitioners, cardiologists and dietitians about the relevance of the Heart Foundation of Australia's dietary recommendations for adult cardiac patients. BASIC PROCEDURES Quantitative-cross sectional study. Postal questionnaires were self-completed by 248 Victorian general practitioners (30% response), 189 Australia-wide cardiologists (47% response) and 180 Victorian dietitians (45% response). Responses were represented as percentages and analyses of variance were conducted to explore the impact of the independent variables: age, work status and gender on the dependent variable: dietary recommendation. MAIN FINDINGS Approximately half of the recommendations were viewed as strongly important to implement; these related to lean meats, limiting takeaways and cakes/biscuits, and adjusting energy intake. Others of importance were eating fruits, vegetables and fish. However, most of these goals were seen as difficult to achieve. Dietitians appeared to share responses of doctors, except for greater importance of eating fruit and vegetables and a greater difficulty in limiting cakes and biscuits. There was a high level of agreement among the three groups (mean 87%) about patients having difficulty implementing adjusting energy intake. CONCLUSIONS There is agreement amongst these professionals that many of the recommendations lack importance, specifically those pertaining to unsaturated oils, low fat dairy products, cholesterol rich foods, intake of legumes and grains and the restriction of salt. This may reflect a need for further nutrition education.
Cerebral Asymmetry of fMRI-BOLD Responses to Visual Stimulation

Hemispheric asymmetry of a wide range of functions is a hallmark of the human brain. The visual system has traditionally been thought of as symmetrically distributed in the brain, but a growing body of evidence has challenged this view. Some highly specific visual tasks have been shown to depend on hemispheric specialization. However, the possible lateralization of cerebral responses to a simple checkerboard visual stimulation has not been a focus of previous studies. To investigate this, we performed two sessions of blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 54 healthy subjects during stimulation with a black and white checkerboard visual stimulus. While carefully excluding possible non-physiological causes of left-to-right bias, we compared the activation of the left and the right cerebral hemispheres and related this to grey matter volume, handedness, age, gender, ocular dominance, interocular difference in visual acuity, as well as line-bisection performance. We found a general lateralization of cerebral activation towards the right hemisphere of early visual cortical areas and areas of higher-level visual processing, involved in visuospatial attention, especially in top-down (i.e., goal-oriented) attentional processing. This right hemisphere lateralization was partly, but not completely, explained by an increased grey matter volume in the right hemisphere of the early visual areas. Difference in activation of the superior parietal lobule was correlated with subject age, suggesting a shift towards the left hemisphere with increasing age. Our findings suggest a right-hemispheric dominance of these areas, which could lend support to the generally observed leftward visual attentional bias and to the left hemifield advantage for some visual perception tasks.
Exclusive Gut Flagellates of Serritermitidae Suggest a Major Transfaunation Event in Lower Termites: Description of Heliconympha glossotermitis gen. nov. spec. nov.

The guts of lower termites are inhabited by host‐specific consortia of cellulose‐digesting flagellate protists. In this first investigation of the symbionts of the family Serritermitidae, we found that Glossotermes oculatus and Serritermes serrifer each harbor similar parabasalid morphotypes: large Pseudotrichonympha‐like cells, medium‐sized Leptospironympha‐like cells with spiraled bands of flagella, and small Hexamastix‐like cells; oxymonadid flagellates were absent. Despite their morphological resemblance to Pseudotrichonympha and Leptospironympha, a SSU rRNA‐based phylogenetic analysis identified the two larger, trichonymphid flagellates as deep‐branching sister groups of Teranymphidae, with Leptospironympha sp. (the only spirotrichosomid with sequence data) in a moderately supported basal position. Only the Hexamastix‐like flagellates are closely related to trichomonadid flagellates from Rhinotermitidae. The presence of two deep‐branching lineages of trichonymphid flagellates in Serritermitidae and the absence of all taxa characteristic of the ancestral rhinotermitids underscores that the flagellate assemblages in the hindguts of lower termites were shaped not only by a progressive loss of flagellates during vertical inheritance but also by occasional transfaunation events, where flagellates were transferred horizontally between members of different termite families. In addition to the molecular phylogenetic analyses, we present a detailed morphological characterization of the new spirotrichosomid genus Heliconympha using light and electron microscopy.