Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy of the Accessory Cells and Chorion During Development of Ciona intestinalis Type B Embryos and the Impact of Their Removal on Cell Morphology

Spawned ascidian oocytes are surrounded by a membrane called the chorion (or vitelline coat) and associated with two populations of maternally-supplied cells. Outside the chorion are follicle cells, which may affect the buoyancy of eggs. Inside the chorion are test cells, which during oogenesis provision the egg and which after fertilisation contribute to the larval tunic. The structure of maternal cells may vary between species. The model ascidian Ciona intestinalis has been recently split into two species, currently named type A and type B. The ultrastructure of extraembryonic cells and structures from type A embryos has been reported. Here we describe the ultrastructure of follicle and test cells from C. intestinalis type B embryos. Test cells are about 5 µm in diameter and line the inside of the chorion of developing embryos in a dense sheet. Follicle cells are large (> 100 µm long) and spike-shaped, with many large vesicles. Terminal electron dense granules are found towards the tips of spikes, adjacent to cytoplasm containing numerous small electron dense bodies connected by filaments. These are probably vesicles containing material for the terminal granules. Removal of maternal structures and cells just after fertilisation, as commonly used in many experiments manipulating C. intestinalis development, has been reported to affect embryonic patterning. We examined the impact of this on embryonic ectoderm cells by scanning electron microscopy. Cells of embryos that developed without maternal structures still developed cilia, but had indistinct cell boundaries and a more flattened appearance than those that developed within the chorion.
APAS: An Advanced Phased-Array Simulator

This article presents a description of the computer program APAS, a sophisticated phased-array simulator software package for the design and analysis of a wide variety of planar phased-array antennas. It offers accurate, high-speed computation of the far-field patterns of planar phased antennas, including advanced far-field analysis capabilities and comprehensive two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization of the simulated results. The program was written in MATLAB. Execution time is minimized by coding the program as matrix operations and using two-dimensional FFT (fast Fourier transform) techniques for calculating the far-field patterns. A unique feature is the possibility of synthesizing user-defined low-sidelobe tapers for both sum and difference patterns. APAS can handle aperture configurations with the array elements sited along rectangular or triangular lattices. The aperture may consist of subarrays. The program allows the calculation of the noise figure and the third-order-intercept point of both the array and the applied transmitting/receiving module. For tracking antennas with monopulse capability, there is the ability to determine the tracking slope for both the azimuth and elevation plane. The paper addresses an assessment of the program, details how the computations are carried out, and presents numerous simulations to demonstrate the main capabilities of APAS. A demonstration version is available on request.
Gate-bias stress-dependent photoconductive characteristics of multi-layer MoS2 field-effect transistors

We investigated the photoconductive characteristics of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) field-effect transistors (FETs) that were fabricated with mechanically exfoliated multi-layer MoS2 flakes. Upon exposure to UV light, we observed an increase in the MoS2 FET current because of electron–hole pair generation. The MoS2 FET current decayed after the UV light was turned off. The current decay processes were fitted using exponential functions with different decay characteristics. Specifically, a fast decay was used at the early stages immediately after turning off the light to account for the exciton relaxation, and a slow decay was used at later stages long after turning off the light due to charge trapping at the oxygen-related defect sites on the MoS2 surface. This photocurrent decay phenomenon of the MoS2 FET was influenced by the measurement environment (i.e., vacuum or oxygen environment) and the electrical gate-bias stress conditions (positive or negative gate biases). The results of this study will enhance the understanding of the influence of environmental and measurement conditions on the optical and electrical properties of MoS2 FETs.
Resistance to EGF receptor inhibitors in glioblastoma mediated by phosphorylation of the PTEN tumor suppressor at tyrosine 240

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive of the astrocytic malignancies and the most common intracranial tumor in adults. Although the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed and/or mutated in at least 50% of GBM cases and is required for tumor maintenance in animal models, EGFR inhibitors have thus far failed to deliver significant responses in GBM patients. One inherent resistance mechanism in GBM is the coactivation of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases, which generates redundancy in activation of phosphoinositide-3′-kinase (PI3K) signaling. Here we demonstrate that the phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) tumor suppressor is frequently phosphorylated at a conserved tyrosine residue, Y240, in GBM clinical samples. Phosphorylation of Y240 is associated with shortened overall survival and resistance to EGFR inhibitor therapy in GBM patients and plays an active role in mediating resistance to EGFR inhibition in vitro. Y240 phosphorylation can be mediated by both fibroblast growth factor receptors and SRC family kinases (SFKs) but does not affect the ability of PTEN to antagonize PI3K signaling. These findings show that, in addition to genetic loss and mutation of PTEN, its modulation by tyrosine phosphorylation has important implications for the development and treatment of GBM.
Social Foraging by Honey Bees : Mechanisms , Dynamics , and Adaptation

There are two main components of social foraging by honey bees. First, there is a continuous adjustment of the number of bees dedicated to exploitation of forage sites and wide-area exploration for new forage options. Second, there is a persistent reallocation of the proportions of the foraging workforce dedicated to exploiting each site in order to match unpredictably changing relative forage site profitabilities. In this paper we develop a model of bees’ foraging for nectar that can represent individual-level sensing, decision-making, and communication mechanisms, along with known restrictions on information flow in the hive. Our model also represents that as additional bees forage at a site its profitability generally degrades due to exploitation competition; hence, we can study the intimate coupling between the dynamics of forage site profitability and the hive’s reallocation of foragers. To illustrate these dynamics, we first show how in spite of the fact that no bee can know the profitability of all sites, the hive achieves an approximate “ideal free distribution” (IFD) of foragers with an allocation of foragers proportional to relative site profitability. We identify the mechanisms underlying the achievement of the emergent distribution and the hive’s ability to completely ignore forage sites of relatively inferior quality. We explain how the mechanisms lead to fast reallocations when there are sudden and significant site profitability changes or new site discoveries. Next, we show that natural selection seems to have settled on values of the behavioral parameters representing the dance strength determination rule that balance the desire to maximize nectar intake, yet minimize the time-energy investments in dancing. We show that achievement of this balance allows for individual-level forage site profitability assessment errors since the foraging process effectively filters such errors at the colony level. Finally, we identify the close relationships between the dynamics of social foraging and nest-site selection by honey bees since it provides an excellent example of how changing a single individual-level behavioral rule can result in dramatically different emergent group behavior. Building on these relationships we briefly discuss how social foraging can be viewed as a group cognition process.
Influence of the Two-Component System SaeRS on Global Gene Expression in Two Different Staphylococcus aureus Strains

ABSTRACT The two-component system SaeRS consisting of the histidin kinase SaeS and the response regulator SaeR is known to act on virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus. In order to get a more comprehensive picture on SaeR-regulated genes, we studied the contribution of the two-component system on global gene expression by using both the proteomic and transcriptomic approach. Altogether, a loss of SaeRS resulted in a decreased amount of at least 17 extracellular proteins and two cell surface-associated proteins, among them several important virulence factors such as HlgA, HlgB, HlgC, LukF, and LukM. SaeRS activates the expression of these genes at the transcriptional level. The amount of the five proteins Aur, SspA, SsaA, Plc, and GlpQ was negatively influenced by SaeRS. However, the transcription of the corresponding genes was not affected by the two-component system. SaeRS had also no measurable influence on the transcription of the regulatory genes agr, sarA, arlRS, and sigB that contribute to the regulation of SaeRS-dependent virulence factors identified in this investigation. Our results clearly show that SaeRS is strongly involved in the tight temporal control of virulence factor expression in S. aureus. Its precise role within the regulatory network remains to be determined.
How do physiotherapists perceive their role in work ability assessments? A prospective focus group study

Background Work ability and work ability assessments have become important both in health care and in relation to granting sick leave. There are different interpretations of work ability among the different professionals involved, and there is no consensus on how work ability should be assessed. Aim The aim was to analyse how a group of experienced and specially trained physiotherapists (PTs) in primary health care (PHC) perceived their professional role in work ability assessments during 14 months. Methods We conducted a prospective focus group study and applied qualitative content analysis to the data. Findings There was a need to emphasise the PTs’ role both within PHC and also in relation to others involved. The PHC organisation was not really prepared to direct work-disabled patients to PTs before physicians. In addition, the PTs themselves needed to reorganise to better meet the requirements. The PTs underlined the advantage of their frequent and extended meetings with patients. This made it possible to assess, follow and facilitate work ability and to determine patients’ resources. The PTs believed that they could contribute to structured assessments, which was positive for themselves and also in their communication with physicians and patients. The PTs later took more initiatives in work ability questions and believed that they could be responsible for work ability assessments to a greater extent. They found it most valuable to have had the opportunity to reflect on work ability, while working in the focus groups, and also to have been the subjects for further education. This made them more prepared to handle work ability questions when compared with other colleagues.
Comorbidities and recurrence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: personal experience

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation between clinical features of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and age, sex, trauma, presence of one or more comorbidities such as cardiovascular, neurological, endocrinological, metabolic, psychiatric diseases. Design: Retrospective review of medical records (chart review). Study sample: A total of 475 patients aged from 14 to 87 years, affected by BPPV. Results: Recurrence of BPPV occurred in 139/475 patients (29.2%). The recurrence rate was significantly higher in female and older patients. Comorbidities were present in 72.6% of subjects with recurrent BPPV vs. 48.9% of patients with no recurrence (p <0.01). Forty-two patients (8.8%) reported a cranial trauma as a triggering event. Post-traumatic patients showed a significantly higher persistence rate (45.2%) compared to patients affected by non-traumatic BPPV (20.5%). Recurrence rates are overlapping between the two groups. Conclusion: Our results confirm the association between recurrence of BPPV and age, female sex, and presence of comorbidities. The correlation is stronger in patients affected by multiple associated diseases; the most frequently involved pathologies are psychiatric disorders, followed by neurological and vascular diseases. Collecting a complete medical history is important for prognostic stratification and detection of potential underlying pathological conditions.
Perception Accuracy of Affiliative Relationships in Elementary School Children and Young Adolescents

There has been a rapid growth of studies focused on selection and socialization processes of peer groups, mostly due to the development of stochastic actor-based models to analyze longitudinal social network data. One of the core assumptions of these models is that individuals have an accurate knowledge of the dyadic relationships within their network (i.e., who is and is not connected to whom). Recent cross-sectional findings suggest that elementary school children are very inaccurate in perceiving their classmates' dyadic relationships. These findings question the validity of stochastic actor-based models to study the developmental dynamics of children and carry implications for future research as well as for the interpretation of past findings. The goal of the present study was thus to further explore the adequacy of the accuracy assumption, analysing data from three longitudinal samples of different age groups (elementary school children and adolescents). Our results support the validity of stochastic actor-based models to study the network of adolescents and suggest that the violation of the accuracy assumption for elementary school children is not as severe as previously thought.
Metrics - When and Why Nonaveraging Statistics Work

Good metrics are well-defined formulae (often involving averaging) that transmute multiple measures of raw numerical performance (e.g., dollar sales, referrals, number of customers) to create informative summary statistics (e.g., average share of wallet, average customer tenure). Despite myriad uses (benchmarking, monitoring, allocating resources, diagnosing problems, explanatory variables), most uses require metrics that contain information summarizing multiple observations. On this criterion, we show empirically (with people data) that although averaging has remarkable theoretical properties, supposedly inferior nonaveraging metrics (e.g., maximum, variance) are often better. We explain theoretically (with exact proofs) and numerically (with simulations) when and why. For example, when the environment causes a correlation between observed sample sizes (e.g., number of past purchases, projects, observations) and latent underlying parameters (e.g., the likelihood of favorable outcomes), the maximum statistic is a better metric than the mean. We refer to this environmental effect as the Muth effect, which occurs when rational markets provide more opportunities (i.e., more observations) to individuals and organizations with greater innate ability. Moreover, when environments are adverse (e.g., failure-rich), nonaveraging metrics correctly overweight favorable outcomes. We refer to this environmental effect as the Anna Karenina effect, which occurs when less-favorable outcomes convey less information. These environmental effects impact metric construction, selection, and employment.
Replication of Mengovirus II. General Properties of the Viral-Induced Ribonucleic Acid Polymerase

Plagemann, Peter G. W. (Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio), and H. Earle Swim. Replication of mengovirus. II. General properties of the viral-induced ribonucleic acid polymerase. J. Bacteriol. 91:2327–2332. 1966. —Mengovirus induces the appearance of a ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase activity in Novikoff hepatoma cells which is readily distinguished from the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-dependent RNA polymerase since it is not inhibited by actinomycin D or deoxyribonuclease, but is inhibited by ammonium sulfate, and is stable at −17 C. The incorporation of uridine into RNA by infected cells in the presence of actinomycin D does not reflect the viral polymerase activity as measured in cell-free preparations. The viral-induced RNA polymerase is produced in a biphasic fashion. Puromycin inhibits the production of viral polymerase, and in its presence the enzyme appears to be unstable between 4 and 6 hr. Puromycin also prevents the secondary rise in polymerase which begins at the end of replicative cycle. Under these conditions, however, the polymerase appears to be stable. The overall data indicated that some unspecified process is responsible for the apparent instability of viral-induced RNA polymerase between 4 and 6 hr and that it becomes inoperative toward the end of the replicative cycle.
Pharmacokinetics of Propofol Administered by Target-controlled Infusion to Alcoholic Patients

Background Chronic alcoholic patients are frequently presented for anesthesia and surgery. These patients require higher doses of propofol than control patients for induction of anesthesia, but whether this is because of changes in pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics is not known. This study was designed to investigate the influence of chronic ethanol intake on propofol pharmacokinetics. Methods Fifteen chronic alcoholic and 15 control patients, receiving propofol by target-controlled infusion for otolaryngologic surgery, were studied. Blood propofol concentrations were measured at regular intervals during and after the propofol infusion. Nonlinear mixed-effects population models (NONMEM) examining the influence of alcoholism were constructed. The influence of recovery on propofol pharmacokinetic parameters was also addressed. Results The total amount of propofol and the predicted and measured concentrations during all phases of anesthesia did not differ between the two groups. The fact that the measured concentrations at the time of opening eyes were similar further confirmed that the potency of propofol was not modified by the alcoholic status of the patients. Chronic alcoholism was associated with only mild changes in propofol pharmacokinetics (increase in rapid intercompartmental clearance and greater interindividual variability in the central volume of distribution). The rebound in concentration frequently observed during the recovery phase could be related to decreased propofol peripheral volumes of distribution despite an increase in elimination clearance. Conclusions Chronic alcoholism induces only mild changes in the pharmacokinetics of propofol. Conversely, propofol pharmacokinetics are markedly different during anesthesia and surgery or after opening eyes in the recovery period.
Locus of Control ; * Prediction ; Self Concept ; * Teacher Attitudes

Investigated was the effect of age, sex, experience, locus of control, self image, and grade level taught on the attitudes of 139 regular and special class teachers toward handicapped individuals. Ss completed the Attitude Toward Handicapped Individuals (ATHI) Scale, an abbreviated 11-item Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, and the Self-Esteem Scale. Twenty-two predictor variables were identified and regressed against scores from the AM. Results demonstrated that the variables were not individually, in combination, or collectively predictive of the teacbersc attitudes toward handicapped individuals. Findings were in general agreement with previous research in the field. (CL) *********************************************************************** * Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. * *********************************************************************** AMERICAN ASSOCIATION ON MENTAL DEFICIENCY 100th Annual Meeting May 31 4 June 1976 U S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, Chicago, Illinois EDUCATION &WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS ! SEEN REPRO. DUCE() EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN. ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY PREDICTION OF TEACHER'S ATTITUDES TOWARD HANDICAPPED INDIVIDUALS Gary R. Sigler Eastern Washington State College Alfred L. Lazar * California State University, Long Beach *(This investigation was supported in part by BEH Grant Number G00-74-02794/Project Number 451AH60850. The opinions and conclusions stated in this paper are those of the authors and are not to be construed as official or necessarily reflecting the policy of the Bureau of the Educationally Handicapped, U.S. Office of Education, HEW,)
Aorticopulmonary Septal Defect Coexisting with Ventricular Septal Defect

Three cases, in each of which an aorticopulmonary septal defect (AP window) coexisted with a ventricular septal defect, are described. In two the ventricular septal defect was of the usual variety, and in one it was part of the tetralogy of Fallot.The patients presented as examples of congestive cardiac failure with a large left-to-right shunt in infancy. Aortography was the most reliable method for identification of the AP window when a ventricular septal defect was associated. Associated features included a right aortic arch with mirror image branching in the first case and tetralogy of Fallot with muscular subaortic stenosis in the third case. In the case with the tetralogy of Fallot, the effects of pulmonary stenosis were masked by the left-to-right shunt through the AP window.
Behavioral interventions in multiple sclerosis: a biopsychosocial perspective

Managing uncertainty is a major challenge associated with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). In addition to physical symptoms, neuropsychiatric symptoms are highly prevalent in this disease. Depression in particular is more common in MS than in other chronic diseases. While substantial achievements have been made in the therapy of MS and an increasing number of immunomodulatory treatments are now available, the long-term benefits of these are still a matter of debate. Importantly, while the approved therapies show good efficacy on inflammatory lesions and relapse rate, and may slow certain aspects of disease progression, improvements in function have rarely been reported. On the other hand, behavioral interventions have recently been shown to significantly improve fatigue and depression as well as motor function. In addition, recent evidence suggests that group education or face-to-face behavioral interventions may decrease inflammatory disease activity (such as relapse rate or lesion formation measured by MRI). Therefore, behavioral interventions not only ameliorate symptoms but may have the potential to modify the disease process itself.