Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the use of transgenic mice and optogenetics to characterize genetically defined subpopulations of neurons

Os neurocientistas tem uma diversidade de perspectivas com as quais podem classificar diferentes partes do cerebro. Com o surgimento de tecnicas baseadas na genetica, como a optogenetica, se torna cada vez mais importante identificar se um grupo de celulas, definidas atraves de morfologia, funcao ou posicao anatomica possui um padrao caracteristico de expressao de um ou mais promotores geneticos. Isso permitiria melhores formas de estudar essas populacoes de neuronios definidas geneticamente. Neste trabalho, eu apresento uma discussao teorica e tres estudos experimentais nos quais essa foi a principal questao sendo abordada. O Estudo I discute as questoes envolvidas em selecionar um promotor para estudar estruturas e subpopulacoes na Area Tegmental Ventral. O Estudo II caracteriza uma subpopulacao de celulas na Area Tegmental Ventral que compartilha a expressao de um promotor, que e anatomicamente muito restrita, e que induz aversao quando estimulada. O Estudo II utiliza uma estrategia similar para investigar a subpopulacao no nucleo subtalâmico que expressa PITX2 e VGLUT2 que, quando inativada, causa hiperlocomocao. O Estudo IV explora o fato de que um grupo de celulas previamente identificadas no Hipocampo Ventral expressa CHRNA2, e indica que essa subpopulacao pode ser necessaria e suficiente para o estabelecimento do ritmo teta (2-8 Hz) no Hipocampo Ventral de camundongos anestesiados. Todos esses estudos foram guiados pela mesma estrategia de identificar um promotor genetico capaz de permitir o controle de uma populacao de neuronios identificada geneticamente, e eles demonstram as diferentes formas em que essa abordagem pode generar novas descobertas.
A Role for Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β in the Mammalian Circadian Clock*

The Drosophila shaggy gene product is a mammalian glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) homologue that contributes to the circadian clock of the Drosophila through TIMELESS phosphorylation, and it regulates nuclear translocation of the PERIOD/TIMELESS heterodimer. We found that mammalian GSK-3β is expressed in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and liver of mice and that GSK-3β phosphorylation exhibits robust circadian oscillation. Rhythmic GSK-3β phosphorylation is also observed in serum-shocked NIH3T3 cells. Exposing serum-shocked NIH3T3 cells to lithium chloride, a specific inhibitor of GSK-3β, increases GSK-3β phosphorylation and delays the phase of rhythmic clock gene expression. On the other hand, GSK-3β overexpression advances the phase of clock gene expression. We also found that GSK-3β interacts with PERIOD2 (PER2) in vitro and in vivo. Recombinant GSK-3β can phosphorylate PER2 in vitro. GSK-3β promotes the nuclear translocation of PER2 in COS1 cells. The present data suggest that GSK-3β plays important roles in mammalian circadian clock.
Career profile of the Canadian Standardbred. I. Influence of age, gait and sex upon chances of racing.

The objective of the present investigation was to provide demographic information regarding the career profile of the average Canadian Standardbred racehorse for application in undergraduate teaching and clinical decision-making. The study population of 762 horses was selected at random from the 1972 registrations of the Canadian Standardbred Horse Society. Sex, birthdate, and province of origin were recorded. Records of racing performance were summarized to provide annual statistics for number of races, money won, race times, and months raced over a ten year period from 1974 to 1983 inclusive. Results were analyzed to determine chances of racing, and the effect of sex, gait, and year of first race upon career duration. Of the 762 horses studied, 507 (66.5%) raced. Mean age at the time of the first race was 3.4 +/- 0.5 years (mean +/- SEM), mean career duration 4.1 +/- 0.1 years. Only 84 horses started racing at two years of age, the majority starting at three and four. Sex had a significant effect upon chances of racing, females having less chance than males or geldings. Females similarly had much shorter careers. As age at the time of the first race increased so did the rate of loss of horses from active competition (attrition rate). The difference between successive years was significant (p less than 0.01). Attrition rates were lower for trotters than for pacers, while geldings showed a significantly lower rate than either males or females (p less than 0.05). Relatively few of those horses for which year of first race was delayed beyond 1974 had been entered in qualifying races in previous years. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Sulfotransferase 1A1 as a Biomarker for Susceptibility to Carcinogenesis: From Molecular Genetics to the Role of Dietary Flavonoids.

BACKGROUND Sulfotransferase (SULT) 1A1 is a phase II metabolic enzyme that catalyzes sulfate conjugation of various phenolic compounds, including endogenous substances, such as estrogens and thyroid hormones, but also different xenobiotics. Although sulfation is classically considered as a detoxification event facilitating the excretion of more water soluble metabolites from the body, in some cases such bioconversion may also lead to bioactivation of promutagens, producing highly reactive intermediates which are capable of damaging DNA and promoting carcinogenesis. The most common polymorphism in SULT1A1 (Arg213His) has an important functional impact by affecting the capacity to sulfate diverse substrates and numerous case-control studies have shown associations between SULT1A1 variants and susceptibility to different malignancies. Several factors may significantly influence such relationships, including ethnicity, gender, parity, menopausal status, use of estrogen replacement therapy, exposure to tobacco smoke or occupational chemicals. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION In this review article, we show that one more important determinant should be considered as a stratifying factor in studies of possible associations between SULT1A1 variants and cancer risk, i.e., the dietary intake of different flavonoids. As sulfation of bioactive plant polyphenols can change their potential anticancer activities and, on the other hand, these phytochemicals are capable to behave also as potent SULT1A1 inhibitors, the regular dietary exposure of humans to these compounds can make a great contribution to the impact of sulfation capacity on individual susceptibility to carcinogenesis. The effect of specific flavonoids as well as their interactions with other factors on associations between SULT1A1 alleles and cancer risk certainly needs further thorough studies.
The use of systemic antibiotics in the treatment of chronic wounds

ABSTRACT: The role of microorganisms in the etiology and persistence of chronic wounds remains poorly understood. The chronic wound bed houses a complex microenvironment that typically includes more than one bacterial species. Difficulty lies in determining when the presence of bacteria impedes wound healing, thereby warranting intervention. Indications for antibiotic therapy and optimal treatment regimens are ill defined. The goal of this article is to describe the appropriate role of systemic antibiotics in the management of chronic wounds. A common sense approach will be offered based on six clinically pertinent questions:
Intraocular Pressure Following Phacoemulsification and Endoscopic Cyclophotocoagulation for Advanced Glaucoma: 1-Year Outcomes

Purpose:To evaluate changes in intraocular pressure (IOP), vision, and medications at least 1 year after phacoemulsification combined with endocyclophotocoagulation for advanced glaucoma and cataract. Methods:A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients with advanced glaucoma who underwent phacoemulsification combined with endocyclophotocoagulation at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital between 2005 and 2012. Data were collected on patient demographics, type of glaucoma, IOP over time, best-corrected visual acuity, number of glaucoma medications, comorbidities, and previous surgeries. Absolute success was defined as IOP⩽15 mm Hg without medication and qualified success was IOP⩽15 mm Hg with medications. Statistical significance was indicated by P<0.05. Results:The study sample comprised 104 eyes (104 patients). Mean follow-up was 17.3±1.8 months. Mean IOP decreased from 17±1.4 mm Hg preoperatively to 14.7±1.3 mm Hg at the last postoperative visit. Absolute success was achieved in 11.9% (95% confidence interval, 5.6-18.2) of the eyes. Qualified success was achieved in 72.3% (95% confidence interval, 63.5-81.0) of the eyes. Best-corrected visual acuity improved by ≥2 lines in 76 (73%) eyes. Eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma had the higher absolute and qualified success rates compared with primary angle-closure and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (P>0.05). Only 48 (46%) patients required >3 medications for IOP control compared with 78 (75%) patients before surgery. Conclusions:At ≥1 year postoperatively, the absolute success rate of treating advanced glaucoma by endocyclophotocoagulation and phacoemulsification was low. However, medication burden was reduced. Owing to the significant variation in the success rate based on the type of glaucoma, patients with advanced glaucoma should be carefully selected and counseled.
Wintertime Supercell Thunderstorms in a Subtropical Environment: Numerical Simulation

Abstract Following an earlier diagnostic study, the present paper performs numerical simulations of the rare wintertime supercell storms during 19–20 December 2002 in a subtropical environment near Taiwan. Using Japan Meteorology Agency (JMA) 20-km analyses and horizontal grid spacing of 1.5 and 0.5 km, the Cloud-Resolving Storm Simulator (CReSS) of Nagoya University successfully reproduced the three major storms at the correct time and location, but the southern storm decayed too early over the Taiwan Strait. The two experiments produce similar overall results, suggesting that the 1.5-km grid spacing is sufficient even for storm dynamics. Model results are further used to examine the storm structure, kinematics, splitting process, and the variation in the mesoscale environment. Over the Taiwan Strait, the strong surface northeasterly flow enhanced low-level vertical shear and helped the storms evolve into isolated supercells. Consistent with previous studies, the vorticity budget analysis indicates that .
Money and the Scale of Cooperation

This study reveals the existence of a causal link between the availability of money and an expanded scale of interaction. We constructed an experiment where participants chose the group size, either a low-value partnership or a high-value group of strangers, and then faced an intertemporal cooperative task. Theoretically, a monetary system was inessential to achieve cooperation. Empirically, without a working monetary system, participants were reluctant to expand the scale of interaction; and when they did, they ended up destroying surplus compared to partnerships, because cooperation collapsed in large groups. This economic failure was reversed only when participants managed to concurrently develop a stable monetary system.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor release with neuronal activity in fetal rats

Patterned spontaneous activity is generated in developing neuronal circuits in the brain and spinal cord. Here we test the hypothesis that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is released with spontaneous rhythmic neural discharge in the embryonic rat. The level of endogenous rhythmic discharge generated by in vitro brainstem-spinal cord preparations was increased from control by elevating extracellular potassium and decreased by tetrodotoxin or a cocktail of receptor antagonists. The concentration of BDNF in the bathing medium was detected via ELISA. BDNF levels were decreased by 45–65% in the presence of TTX or receptor antagonists and increased by 25% in elevated extracellular potassium. These data demonstrate that BDNF is released in association with an endogenous rhythmic activity generated by the developing CNS.
Economic Consequences of Sec Disclosure Regulation: Evidence from the OTC Bulletin Board

This paper examines the economic consequences of a regulatory change mandating OTCBB firms to comply with reporting requirements under the 1934 Securities Exchange Act. This change substantially increases mandated disclosures for firms previously not filing with the SEC. We document that the imposition of disclosure requirements results in significant costs for smaller firms, forcing them off the OTCBB. SEC regulation also has significant benefits. Firms previously filing with the SEC experience positive stock returns and permanent increases in liquidity, suggesting positive externalities from disclosure regulation. Newly compliant firms exhibit significant increases in liquidity consistent with improved disclosure reducing information asymmetry.
The treatment of difficult urinary-tract infections with carbenicillin indanyl sodium.

Oral carbenicillin indanyl sodium was used in 15 courses of therapy in 12 patients with either recurrent symptomatic bacteriuria or urinary-tract infections caused by pathogens resistant to currently available oral antimicrobial agents. In this group, representative of the most refractory type of urinary-tract infection, therapy with this drug resulted in cure in six of 14 completed courses (43%). Relapses occurred after two courses (14%) and reinfection after five courses (36%) of therapy. Infection was persistent in one patient and appeared to be the result of the in-vivo development of resistance to carbenicillin during therapy. Although treatment was discontinued in one patient because of the development of a hypersensitivity reaction, side-effects were minor. Carbenicillin indanyl sodium appears to be an effective agent for the treatment of difficult urinary-tract infections.
Influence of shed configuration on icing characteristics and flashover performance of 220 kV composite insulators

Shed configuration is one of the important factors affecting the icing characteristics and icing flashover performance of composite insulators. In this paper, the non-energized and energized glaze icing tests are conducted on 12 types of typical 220 kV composite insulators with different shed configurations in the artificial climate chamber. Combining with numerical calculations of electrical field distributions, the monitoring of leakage current, the measurement of the ice-melting water conductivity and the shooting of flashover arc paths, the influences of shed configuration on the ice growth and icing flashover voltages of composite insulators are comprehensively analyzed. Results indicate that a larger shed diameter brings about the faster ice growth and the lower average electric field strength across the icicle air gap, which leads to the reduction of the icing flashover voltage. When the shed spacing is larger, both the icicle length and ice thickness become larger, and the ice-melting water conductivity during the flashover is higher. But the ratio of icicle air gap arc to the flashover arc is higher and its effects on the icing flashover performance are more obvious, which leads to the improvement of the icing flashover voltage. When the ice accretes on the energized insulator, the ice-melting water conductivity is smaller while the ratio of icicle air gap arc to the flashover arc is larger than that under non-energized icing condition. These variations lead to the higher icing flashover voltages for energized insulators. It is thus suggested that the icing and flashover tests under different icing degrees should be conducted on energized composite insulators to deeply study the influences of shed configuration.
Spectral Response Tuning of Photoconductive Terahertz Emitters With Binary Phase Masks

In this paper, binary phase masks are designed and implemented for use with a photoconductive terahertz (THz) emitter in order to shape the frequency response of the emitted THz waveforms. Theoretical and experimental results are applied to study the system. The theoretical results are presented in the form of both numerical simulations (to characterise and uniquely identify the underlying time-delayed photogeneration and resulting charge-carrier dynamics) and a simplified model (to conceptualise the system). The theoretical and experimental results are found to agree. It is ultimately shown that the phase delay through the binary phase mask can be used to preferentially allocate power into bands within the THz spectrum. Such results can lay the groundwork for future studies needing precise control of power within the THz spectrum.
OR Forum - Blotto Politics

This paper considers abstract election games motivated by the United States Electoral College. There are two political parties, and the electoral votes in each state go to the party that spends the most money there, with an adjustment for a “head start” that one party or the other may have in that state. The states have unequal numbers of electoral votes, and elections are decided by majority rules. Each party has a known budget, and much depends on the information that informs how that budget is spent. Three situations are considered: (1) one party's spending plan is known to the other, (2) spending is gradually revealed as the parties spend continuously in time, and (3) neither side knows anything about the other's spending. The last situation resembles a Blotto game, hence the title.
Gender Fairness in Social Robotics: Exploring a Future Care of Peripartum Depression

In this paper we investigate the possibility of socially assistive robots (SARs) supporting diagnostic screening for peripartum depression (PPD) within the next five years. Through a HRI/socio-legal collaboration, we explore the gender norms within PPD in Sweden, to inform a gender-sensitive approach to designing SARs in such a setting, as well as governance implications. This is achieved through conducting expert interviews and qualitatively analysing the data. Based on the results, we conclude that a gender-sensitive approach is a necessity in relation to the design and governance of SARs for PPD screening.
Multiplex polymerase chain reaction for the evaluation of cytomegalovirus DNA load in organ transplant recipients

Because of the considerable impact of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, sensitive, specific, and standardized methods are required for rapid and accurate evaluation of viral load in monitoring transplant recipients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the coamplification of HCMV‐DNA and β‐globin genomic sequence in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL). Analysis and quantification of PCR products were carried out by a DNA enzyme immunoassay (DEIA), which is based on the hybridization of amplified DNA with a single‐stranded DNA probe, which coats microtitre wells. Colorimetric detection of the DNA‐antibody complex was carried out and optical density (O.D.) was recorded at 450/630 nm. To quantify HCMV/DNA load, a standard curve to which samples O.D. refer was obtained by amplifying serial dilutions of recombinant pGEM‐3Z plasmid DNA containing a genomic fragment of glycoprotein B. 340 PMNL specimens from 102 solid organ recipients were tested for the detection of pp65 antigen and HCMV‐DNA. The results showed a good correlation between viral load and clinical symptoms of HCMV infection; high specificity and predictive values for HCMV disease were found by PCR, using a cut‐off limit of 103 genomic copies per 2 × 105 PMNL. These findings indicate that the system described is an efficient and reproducible diagnostic method easy to apply for routine diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of transplanted patients. J. Med. Virol. 61:251–258, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Knowledge and Attitude among Women and Men in Decision Making on Pap Smear Screening in Kelantan, Malaysia

This paper explores the knowledge and attitude of women and men in decision making on pap smear screening. This qualitative study recruited 52 respondents with 44 women and 8 men, using the purposive sampling with snowballing technique through indepth interviews. This study demonstrates several key findings: Female respondents have better knowledge compared to male. Most of the women perceived that pap smear screening is beneficial and important, but to proceed with the test is still doubtful. Male respondents were supportive in terms of sending their spouses to the health facilities or give more freedom to their wives to choose and making decision on their own health due to prominent reason that women know best on their own health. It is expected that the results from this study will provide useful guideline for healthcare providers to prepare any action/intervention to provide an extensive education to improve people’s knowledge and attitude towards pap smear. Keywords—Attitude, decision making, knowledge, pap smear screening.
CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN AUTOIMMUNITY Reversing Bacteria-induced Vitamin D Receptor Dysfunction Is Key to Autoimmune Disease

Vitamin D research is discussed in light of the hypothesis that the lower average levels of vitamin D frequently observed in autoimmune disease are not a sign of deficiency. Instead, it is proposed that the lower levels result from chronic infection with intracellular bacteria that dysregulate vitamin D metabolism by causing vitamin D receptor (VDR) dysfunction within phagocytes. The VDR dysfunction causes a decline in innate immune function that causes susceptibility to additional infections that contribute to disease progression. Evidence has been accumulating that indicates that a number of autoimmune diseases can be reversed by gradually restoring VDR function with the VDR agonist olmesartan and subinhibitory dosages of certain bacteriostatic antibiotics. Diseases showing favorable responses to treatment so far include systemic lupus erythematosis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, sarcoidosis, Sjogren’s syndrome, autoimmune thyroid disease, psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter’s syndrome, type I and II diabetes mellitus, and uveitis. Disease reversal using this approach requires limitation of vitamin D in order to avoid contributing to dysfunction of nuclear receptors and subsequent negative consequences for immune and endocrine function. Immunopathological reactions accompanying bacterial cell death require a gradual elimination of pathogens over several years. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed, along with the compatibility of this model with current research.