Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor differently affect differentiation of murine retinal stem cells in vitro.

PURPOSE The developmental processes that mediate differentiation from retinal stem cells (RSC) to different retinal neuronal types remain unclear. During retinal development, progenitor cells modify expression of growth factor (GF) receptors and their differentiation potentials. Similarly, RSC in culture may exhibit alternative molecular characteristics in response to different GF stimuli. METHODS RSC were purified from the adult ciliary margin and exposed to fibroblast growth factor (FGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), or FGF+EGF. Proliferation was analyzed by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling. Differentiation was evaluated by immunofluorescence with antibodies recognizing specific markers of different retinal cell types. RESULTS In the absence of GF stimuli, RSC in culture expressed FGFR1, similar to early progenitors in vivo. Treatment with GFs up-regulated the expression of both fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Exposure to either FGF, EGF, or FGF+EGF strongly affected retinal stem cell-renewal and differentiation. Specifically, expression of progenitor/stem cell markers and stem cell-renewal was higher in the presence of FGF than in that of EGF. FGF favored differentiation of RSC into photoreceptor-like cells. Finally, we showed that the treatment of the primary culture with FGF+EGF imprinted the cells and limited plasticity in subsequent differentiation. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence that conditions of the primary culture have a strong influence on cell-renewal and differentiation potentials of RSC.
Aberrant expression of Wnt family contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetes‐induced erectile dysfunction

Diabetic erectile dysfunction (ED) has multiple causative factors, such as endothelial and smooth muscle dysfunction and cavernous fibrosis. Wnt signalling is essential for normal embryonic development and for tissue homeostasis in adults. Aberrant activation of Wnt family members has been implicated in tissue fibrosis and in angiogenesis. In this study, we investigated the differential expression of Wnts in the penises of mice with streptozotocin‐induced diabetic ED. We also examined the effect of transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) on the expression of Wnts in primary cultured fibroblasts isolated from human tunica albuginea. Among the mouse and human Wnts tested, 16 mouse Wnts and 14 human Wnts were detected in the corpus cavernosum tissue of normal mice and in fibroblasts derived from human tunica albuginea respectively. We observed up‐regulation of Wnt10b (known to be involved in tissue fibrosis) and down‐regulation of Wnt16 (known to be involved in vasculogenesis and hematopoiesis), both in the diabetic condition in vivo and with treatment of fibroblasts with TGF‐β1 in vitro. Wnt10b was mainly expressed in fibroblasts and Wnt16 was colocalized with smooth muscle cells in the corpus cavernosum tissue. Cavernous TGF‐β1 protein expression and the degree of cavernous fibrosis determined by the ratio of collagen to smooth muscle content were significantly higher in diabetic mice than in controls. Cavernous endothelial content was significantly decreased by the diabetic condition. Overexpression of Wnt16 with plasmid vector accelerated tube formation in primary cultured mouse cavernous endothelial cells. However, down‐regulation of Wnt10b with small interfering RNA did not decrease the production of extracellular matrix protein in human fibroblasts. This is the first report demonstrating the differential expression of Wnts in diabetic mouse penis. Aberrant Wnt expression might contribute to the pathogenesis of ED.
Experiential online development for educators: The example of the Carpe Diem MOOC

We report on educators' experiences of a massive open online course ( MOOC) focused on the Carpe Diem learning design process. The MOOC was developed in-house using Blackboard Course Sites by a university innovation and development unit, Learning Transformations, at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. We report on a study of MOOC participants' experiences. Conclusions include illumination of MOOCs' value as professional development opportunities that can provide an authentic relevant experience for educators, as well as promote new skills in learning design and delivery for their own teaching. We propose that participation in relevant MOOCs may provide appropriate professional development for academics, and additionally encourage them to develop their teaching practices. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Local neuronal circuitry underlying cholinergic rhythmical slow activity in CA3 area of rat hippocampal slices.

1. Intracellular and extracellular recordings were obtained from the CA3 area of rat hippocampal slices to study cellular and synaptic mechanisms underlying rhythmic slow activity (RSA). In all impaled CA3 pyramidal neurones, continuous applications of carbachol, a non‐hydrolysable cholinergic agonist, induced first a brief non‐rhythmic excitation and then periodic bursts of RSA which could persist for several hours. Each burst of RSA consisted of 4‐10 Hz oscillatory depolarizations which had a rise time much slower than conventional EPSPs recorded in the same cell. 2. The carbachol‐induced RSA was blocked by atropine; therefore the cholinergic stimulation involved muscarinic receptors. 3. Analyses of simultaneous recordings from pairs of neurones, or a neurone and a glial cell, or a neurone and the extracellular field, indicated that carbachol‐induced RSA was synchronous in a large population of CA3 pyramidal neurones. 4. Complete removal of the dentate gyrus and CA1 region did not block carbachol‐induced RSA in CA3, but applications of tetrodotoxin or inorganic Ca2+ channel blockers (Cd2+, Co2+ or Mn2+) abolished carbachol‐induced RSA. This suggested that the RSA involved propagation of action potentials through a local synaptic network in the CA3 area. 5. Carbachol‐induced RSA was reversibly blocked by a broad‐spectrum excitatory amino acid antagonist (kynurenic acid), but not by two selective N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) antagonists (DL‐2‐amino‐7‐phosphonoheptanoic acid or DL‐2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid), a GABAA antagonist (bicuculline), or a GABAB antagonist (phaclofen), suggesting that carbachol‐induced RSA involved primarily non‐NMDA excitatory amino acid, but not GABAergic, synapses. 6. Raising extracellular [Ca2+] beyond 7 mM, which should significantly weaken the polysynaptic recurrent excitation among CA3 pyramidal neurones, abolished carbachol‐induced RSA. This suggests that the recurrent excitation among CA3 pyramidal neurones is necessary for carbachol‐induced RSA in the CA3 area. However, our experiments cannot clarify whether the recurrent excitation, alone, is sufficient for carbachol‐induced RSA.
Study of excretion of ecdysterone in human urine.

A study of excretion in human urine of ecdysterone, which is the active component of several over-the-counter supplements such as "Ecdysten", reportedly used by athletes, is presented. The study was performed after oral administration of 20 mg of ecdysterone. The collected urine samples were prepared using the standard screening extraction procedure for the free and conjugated fraction of anabolic steroids, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) and also with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Two ecdysterone metabolites were identified and detected along with unchanged ecdysterone. Accurate mass measurements were made for diagnostic ions, including the molecular ion of the main metabolite of ecdysterone, deoxyecdysone, which, to our knowledge, has not previously been reported in the literature. These accurate mass measurements support the proposed fragmentation scheme.
Protective clothing for pesticide operators: part I – selection of a reference test chemical for penetration testing

A systematic approach was taken to develop a database for protective clothing for pesticide operators; results are reported as a two-part series. Part I describes the research studies that led to identification of a pesticide formulation that could serve as a reference test chemical for further testing. Measurement of pesticide penetration was conducted using different types of pesticide formulations. Six fabrics were tested using 10 formulations at different concentrations. Three formulations were subsequently selected for further testing. Analysis of the data indicated that, when compared with other formulations, mean percent penetration of 5% Prowl 3.3 EC [emulsifiable concentrate diluted to 5% active ingredient (pendimethalin)] is either similar to or higher than most test chemicals. Those results led to choosing 5% Prowl 3.3 EC as a reference test liquid. Part II of the study, published as a separate paper, includes data on a wide range of textile materials.
Inclusion of lignocaine base into a polar lipid formulation –in vitro release, duration of peripheral nerve block and arterial blood concentrations in the rat

Background: Slow‐release formulations of local anaesthetics may produce nerve blocks of long duration. The present study aimed at investigating the in vitro and in vivo properties of a polar lipid formulation for slow release of lignocaine and the effects on nerve block duration by inclusion of dexamethasone into the system.
High‐Permeability Layers for Remediation of Ground Water; Go Wide, Not Deep

A nitrate‐reactive porous media layer comprising wood particles with very high hydraulic conductivity (K∼ 1 cm/s) was used to successfully treat nitrate in a shallow sand‐and‐gravel aquifer in southern Ontario. Nitrate concentrations of 1.3 to 14 mg/L as N in the aquifer were attenuated to <0.5 mg/L as N in the reactive layer. Borehole dilution testing indicated that ground water velocities in the reactive layer, although variable, averaged five times higher than in the surrounding aquifer, suggesting that the layer was capturing ground water flow from deeper in the aquifer. The use of high‐K reactive media opens up the possibility of installing permeable reactive barriers as horizontal layers in the shallow water table zone that do not necessarily have to penetrate the full depth of a contaminant plume to be effective. Model simulations show that the depth of capture of a high‐K layer increases as the layer width in the direction of flow increases. Shallower emplacement could decrease barrier costs at some sites.
Evaluation of an Updated Model to Describe the Compositional Growth of Pigs Fed Paylean

Pork producers have the goal to efficiently produce lean, quality pork to compete with alternative animal products. The implementation of lean value carcass pricing systems has led to the selection of pigs with increased lean growth rates, increased carcass lean percentages, and improved lean feed conversion. Health, nutrition, and facility management strategies have been implemented to increase commercially achievable lean growth rates. Paylean (ractopamine hydrochloride by Elanco) is a feed additive that has the potential to further increase the rate and efficiency of muscle tissue growth. Paylean has been approved to be fed at levels of 4.5 to 18 grams per ton (5-20 ppm) from 150 to 240 lbs live weight (last 90 lbs of live weight gain prior to market). Numerous Paylean research trials were conducted for 1987 to 1991. Because genetic selection has changed the pigs, the response to Paylean may have changed. The objective of this research was to utilize new Paylean research data and develop an updated daily growth model to describe the daily compositional growth of pigs fed alternative levels of Paylean. Future research can utilize this model to evaluate alternative nutrition, management, and marketing strategies.
Poor hospital infection control practice in venepuncture and use of tourniquets.

Previous studies have indicated that tourniquets may act as reservoirs of pathogenic organisms and could therefore pose a risk to patients through cross-infection. In this study, 200 tourniquets were sampled from health professionals working in a large teaching hospital. A parallel survey of control of infection was also undertaken. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 10 (5%) of the tourniquets sampled. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus was not isolated. Seventy-five (37.5%) of the tourniquets sampled had visible blood stains; house officers (72.7%) and laboratory phlebotomists (69.2%) had the highest proportion of blood-stained tourniquets. Tourniquets were owned on average for 1.86 years, with most respondents only obtaining a new tourniquet when the old tourniquet was lost. Three percent of respondents used a separate tourniquet for patients with known infective risk factors, e.g. HIV, MRSA. Twenty-seven percent of respondents did not wear gloves for venepuncture or did so only occasionally. Only 42% washed their hands both before and after venepuncture. Our survey reveals poor infection control practice, but a relatively low frequency of S. aureus contamination of tourniquets.
Roundabout receptor 2 maintains inhibitory control of the adult midbrain

The maintenance of excitatory and inhibitory balance in the brain is essential for its function. Here we find that the developmental axon guidance receptor Roundabout 2 (Robo2) is critical for the maintenance of inhibitory synapses in the adult ventral tegmental area (VTA), a brain region important for the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Following selective genetic inactivation of Robo2 in the adult VTA of mice, reduced inhibitory control results in altered neural activity patterns, enhanced phasic dopamine release, behavioral hyperactivity, associative learning deficits, and a paradoxical inversion of psychostimulant responses. These behavioral phenotypes could be phenocopied by selective inactivation of synaptic transmission from local GABAergic neurons of the VTA, demonstrating an important function for Robo2 in regulating the excitatory and inhibitory balance of the adult brain. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.23858. 001
On partial-fraction expansion based frequency weighted balanced truncation

In this paper, we present some remarks on frequency weighted balanced truncation technique based on partial-fraction-expansion idea. In particular we show that two frequency weighted balanced truncation techniques [4], [11] based on partial-fraction-expansion idea are special cases of a more general technique introduced recently in [10]
Mobility enhancement due to charge trapping & defect generation: Physics of self-compensated BTI

Threshold voltage VT of a transistor degrades with time both due to the formation of defects at the oxide/Si interface, as well as charge trapping into bulk defects - a phenomenon commonly known as Bias Temperature Instability (BTI). However, we have shown earlier that with appropriate mobility vs. vertical effective electric field characteristics, transistor's drivability (i.e., drain current) can be made far less sensitive to the NBTI-induced threshold voltage degradation ΔVT, than previously presumed. Higher steepness of the mobility-field characteristics results in an increase in mobility due to interface defects, which can self-compensate the effect of ΔVT on drain current. In this paper, for the first time we analyze the additional effect of PBTI-induced ΔVT in NMOS transistor parameters and show that mobility at constant gate voltage always increases with PBTI, irrespective of the mobility-field steepness. Therefore, self-compensation for PBTI is even more pronounced compared to NBTI. Next, we demonstrate the consequence of self-compensation via an intuitive analysis in simple digital circuits and show that lifetime of digital ICs increases dramatically once we incorporate the effect of self-compensation by using appropriate sign for mobility variation at constant gate voltage. This might in turn reduce the requirement of different circuit level optimization techniques, currently employed to manage transistor variabilities. Finally, we establish the importance of flatter transfer characteristics for self-compensation, which can be obtained through advanced CMOS technologies.
Biochemical Parameters of Common Carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) Exposed to Crude Leaf Extract of Cannabis Sativa

The effect of sub-lethal concentrations (1.88, 3.75, 7.50, 15.00 and 30.00 mg/L) of crude leaf extract of Cannabis sativa was determined in the plasma, liver and gill biochemical parameters of Common carp, Cyprinus carpio (mean weight of 15.05±0.05g) after 56-day exposure period in static renewable bioassay system. During the experiment, some physicochemical parameters were monitored while at the end of the experiment, the selected biochemical parameters were determined in the plasma, liver and gill of the test fish. The biochemical parameters determined were alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total protein (TP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), bilirubin, total bilirubin (TB), albumin (ALB), urea acid (UA) and cholesterol (CHOL). The monitored pH showed significant difference (p 0.05) in C. sativa test set-ups compared to the control during the experimental period. There were significant difference (p<0.05) in some of the determined biochemical parameters of the test fish exposed to C. sativa compared to the control. Therefore, it can be deduce from the study that prolonged exposure of C. carpio fingerlings to crude leaf extract of C. sativa affected some determined biochemical parameters in the tissue/organs of the test fish.
Visual measurement of orientation error for a mobile robot

A vision system is developed for a mobile cleaning robot to detect orientation, which can be used alone or with predicted motion to reduce localization error. By exploiting straight line features found in ceilings with suspended tiles, orientation is found in realtime with a desktop PC implementation. Simple techniques are applied to achieve realtime performance in a system which is suitable for implementation in an embedded system or DSP. Edge strengths and directions are first calculated. Points potentially belonging to line features are then found by applying a dynamically calculated global threshold designed to retain a fixed percentage of edge points, and the application of an edge thinning operation which implements a fast peak detection algorithm. The remaining edge points are then used to determine an initial orientation estimate. Orientations are found by detecting four peaks separated by 90/spl deg/ intervals in a contour-direction histogram. The orientation value is further refined by rejecting points which are not close to the main orientation estimate, and by removing points which are part of very short lines resulting from texture patterns rather than long straight line features. The theoretical basis, system design and prototype implementation, testing, and evaluation are described. The experimental results of integrating a prototype system with an experimental mobile robot are included.
Quantification of retinal nerve fiber and retinal artery trajectories using second-order polynomial equation and its association with axial length.

PURPOSE To determine whether a second-degree polynomial equation can fit the retinal nerve fiber (RNF) and retinal artery (RA) trajectories in the posterior pole of eyes and whether the RNF and RA trajectories are correlated with the axial length of the eye. METHODS This was a prospective observational cross-sectional study of 109 right eyes of 109 healthy participants. All participants underwent axial length measurements, optical coherence tomography (OCT) to determine the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and red-free fundus photography. The supratemporal and infratemporal peaks of the RNFL thickness were determined in the OCT RNFL circle scan images. The trajectories of the RNF passing through the peaks of the RNFL thickness were plotted in the red-free fundus photographs and were fitted to a second-degree polynomial equation (ax(2)/100 + bx + c) by ImageJ. The coefficient a represented the steepness of the trajectories. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to measure the reliability between the raters. The relationships between the RNF or RA trajectories and the axial length were investigated using linear regression analyses. RESULTS The mean axial length was 25.5 ± 1.4 mm, and the mean RNF trajectory and the mean RA trajectory, a, were 0.472 ± 0.123 and 0.442 ± 0.109, respectively. The intrarater and interrater correlation coefficients of the RNF trajectories were 0.954 and 0.881, respectively. The RNF and RA trajectories were significantly and positively correlated with the axial length (R = 0.28, 0.33, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS A longer axial length is associated with narrower RNF and RA trajectories. (www.umin.ac.jp/ctr number, UMIN000006040.).
Temporal Abnormalities in Children With Developmental Dyscalculia

Recent imaging studies have associated Developmental dyscalculia (DD) to structural and functional alterations corresponding Parietal and the Prefrontal cortex (PFC). Since these areas were shown also to be involved in timing abilities, we hypothesized that time processing is abnormal in DD. We compared time processing abilities between 10 children with pure DD (8 years old) and 11 age-matched healthy children. Results show that the DD group underestimated duration of a sub-second scale when asked to perform a time comparison task. The timing abnormality observed in our DD participants is consistent with evidence of a shared fronto-parietal neural network for representing time and quantity.
Investigation of polarimetric SAR data acquired at multiple incidence angles

The dependence of different polarimetric parameters on the incidence angles in the range of 30/spl deg/ to 60/spl deg/ is investigated for a number of different crops using airborne SAR data. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the effect of the variation of incidence angle within a SAR image when using different polarimetric parameters for crop classification and parameter retrieval algorithms.
Grouping and Dependency Theories

The two common methods of describing sentence structure (at the syntactic level) are immediate-constituent analysis and dependency analysis. The former, also known as phrase-structure analysis, is most often used by American linguists, but the latter is taught in high school. Phrase-structure theories underlie all MT systems being developed in the United States, except that of The RAND Corporation, while Soviet work on MT uses both theories.2 The analysis presented in Figure la illustrates one method, that in Figure 1b the other. H. Hiž has recently presented a formal theory of grouping as a basis for immediate-constituent analysis,3 the present paper defines a correspondence between groupings and the trees which are a basis for dependency analysis. Study of the correspondence reveals some similarities and differences between the methods; each has unique advantages in the study of syntax.
Expression of the human immunodeficiency virus envelope glycoprotein is restricted to basolateral surfaces of polarized epithelial cells

Polarized epithelial cells exhibit apical (lumenal) and basolateral (serosal) membrane domains that are separated by circumferential tight junctions. In such cells, enveloped viruses that mature by budding at cell surfaces are released at particular membrane domains. We have used a vaccinia virus recombinant to investigate the site of surface expression of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope glycoprotein in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Cells were infected with the vaccinia virus recombinant, and surface expression of the glycoprotein was analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence, 125I-protein A binding, and immunoelectron microscopy. The glycoprotein appeared exclusively at the basolateral surface as early as 2 h postinfection and reached a maximum level at 8 h postinfection. The gp120 glycoprotein was found to be secreted efficiently into culture medium, and this secretion occurred exclusively at the basolateral surface.