Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
zif-1 translational repression defines a second, mutually exclusive OMA function in germline transcriptional repression

Specification of primordial germ cells requires global repression of transcription. In C. elegans, primordial germ cells are generated through four rounds of asymmetric divisions, starting from the zygote P0, each producing a transcriptionally repressed germline blastomere (P1-P4). Repression in P2-P4 requires PIE-1, which is provided maternally in oocytes and segregated to all germline blastomeres. We have shown previously that OMA-1 and OMA-2 repress global transcription in P0 and P1 by sequestering TAF-4, an essential component of TFIID. Soon after the first mitotic cycle, OMA proteins undergo developmentally regulated degradation. Here, we show that OMA proteins also repress transcription in P2-P4 indirectly, through a completely different mechanism that operates in oocytes. OMA proteins bind to both the 3′ UTR of the zif-1 transcript and the eIF4E-binding protein, SPN-2, repressing translation of zif-1 mRNA in oocytes. zif-1 encodes the substrate-binding subunit of the E3 ligase for PIE-1 degradation. Inhibition of zif-1 translation in oocytes ensures high PIE-1 levels in oocytes and germline blastomeres. The two OMA protein functions are strictly regulated in both space and time by MBK-2, a kinase activated following fertilization. Phosphorylation by MBK-2 facilitates the binding of OMA proteins to TAF-4 and simultaneously inactivates their function in repressing zif-1 translation. Phosphorylation of OMA proteins displaces SPN-2 from the zif-1 3′ UTR, releasing translational repression. We propose that MBK-2 phosphorylation serves as a developmental switch, converting OMA proteins from specific translational repressors in oocytes to global transcriptional repressors in embryos, together effectively repressing transcription in all germline blastomeres.
Computerized nailfold video capillaroscopy--a new tool for assessment of Raynaud's phenomenon.

OBJECTIVE To develop a computer based nailfold video capillaroscopy system with enhanced image quality and to assess its disease-subgroup resolving power in patients with primary and secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). METHODS Using frame registration software, digitized video images from the microscope were combined to form a panoramic mosaic of the nailfold. Capillary dimensions (apex, arterial, venous, and total width) and density were measured onscreen. Significantly, the new system could guarantee analysis of the same set of capillaries by 2 observers. Forty-eight healthy control subjects, 21 patients with primary RP, 40 patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc), and 11 patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) were studied. Intra- and interobserver variability were calculated in a subset of 30 subjects. RESULTS The number of loops/mm was significantly lower, and all 4 capillary dimensions significantly greater, in SSc patients versus controls plus primary RP patients (p < 0.001 for all measures). When comparing control (+ primary RP) patients with SSc patients (lcSSc + dcSSc) the most powerful discriminator was found to be the number of loops/mm. Results for intra- and interobserver reproducibility showed that the limits of agreement were closer when both observers measured the same capillaries. CONCLUSION The key feature of the newly developed system is that it improves reproducibility of nailfold capillary measurements by allowing reidentification of the same capillaries by different observers. By allowing access to previous measurements, the new system should improve reliability in longitudinal studies, and therefore has the potential of being a valuable outcome measure of microvessel disease/involvement in clinical trials of scleroderma spectrum disorders.
A novel Ets-related transcription factor, Elf-1, binds to human immunodeficiency virus type 2 regulatory elements that are required for inducible trans activation in T cells

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2 are structurally related retroviruses which both cause AIDS in humans. Although both viruses establish latency in quiescent human-peripheral-blood T cells, the asymptomatic phase of HIV-2 infection may be more prolonged than that of HIV-1. The latent phases of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection have been shown to be disrupted by T-cell activation, a process that requires host cell transcription factors. In the case of HIV-1, the transcription factor NF-kappa B is sufficient for inducible transcriptional activation. In contrast, factors in addition to NF-kappa B are required to activate HIV-2 transcription in infected T cells. In this report, we demonstrate that a novel Ets-related transcription factor, Elf-1, binds specifically to two purine-rich motifs in the HIV-2 enhancer. Mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that these Elf-1 binding sites are required for induction of HIV-2 transcription following T-cell-receptor-mediated T-cell activation. Moreover, Elf-1 is the only factor present in activated T-cell nuclear extracts that binds to these sites in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Thus, Elf-1 is a novel transcription factor that appears to be required for the T-cell-receptor-mediated trans activation of HIV-2 gene expression. These results may explain differences in the clinical spectra of diseases caused by HIV-1 and HIV-2 and may also have implications for the design of therapeutic approaches to HIV-2 infection.
Effect of atrial fibrillation ablation on left atrial contractile function in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and a relatively well preserved atrial function

Objectives — There are inconsistent findings regarding the impact of ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) on left atrial (LA) contractile function.We investigated the ablation effect on LA function in patients with paroxysmal AF. Methods — Two hundred eighty-nine patients (mean age 56 ± 9 years) underwent catheter ablation for paroxysmal AF. Transthoracic (TTE) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) were performed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months after ablation for assessment of LA diameter, left atrial appendage emptying velocity (LAAEV), and A-wave peak velocity. Results — LA function before ablation was relatively well preserved (LAAEV 54 ± 19 cm/s, A-wave 59 ± 23 cm/s). During follow-up, there was no significant change of LAAEV: from 54 ± 19 cm/s at baseline to 54 ± 18 at 6 months and 52 ± 20 cm/s at 12 months (P = ns). The LA diameter at baseline was 4.2 ± 0.6 cm and showed no significant change at 6 and 12 months (4.1 ± 0.6 and 4.1 ± 0.5 cm, P = ns). There was also no change of the A-wave (59 ± 23 cm/s before ablation, 59 ± 27 cm/s at 6 months and 53 ± 12 cm/s at 12 months, P = ns). Conclusions — In patients with paroxysmal AF and relatively well preserved LA function, AF ablation leads to no significant deterioration of atrial function.
Trigeminal Nociceptors Express TLR-4 and CD14: a Mechanism for Pain due to Infection

Although certain bacterial species appear to be risk factors for pain due to odontogenic infections, comparatively little is known about the potential mechanisms mediating this effect. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that trigeminal nociceptive neurons express the TLR4 or CD14 receptors, thus enabling sensory neurons to detect and respond to tissue levels of bacterial substances such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Immunohistochemical analyses of human and rat trigeminal neurons demonstrated that a capsaicin-sensitive subclass of nociceptors (defined by expression of TRPV1, a capsaicin receptor) expresses both TLR4 and CD14. Moreover, human dental pulp collected from patients with caries lesions demonstrated co-localization of TLR4 and CD14, with markers of peripheral sensory neurons. Collectively, these studies indicate that the capsaicin-sensitive subclass of trigeminal nociceptors expresses TLR4 and CD14. These results indicate that pain due to bacterial infections may result, in part, from direct activation of nociceptors by bacterial products such as LPS.
PrepNet: A Convolutional Auto-Encoder to Homogenize CT Scans for Cross-Dataset Medical Image Analysis

With the spread of COVID-19 over the world, the need arose for fast and precise automatic triage mechanisms to decelerate the spread of the disease by reducing human efforts e.g. for image-based diagnosis. Although the literature has shown promising efforts in this direction, reported results do not consider the variability of CT scans acquired under varying circumstances, thus rendering resulting models unfit for use on data acquired using e.g. different scanner technologies. While COVID-19 diagnosis can now be done efficiently using PCR tests, this use case exemplifies the need for a methodology to overcome data variability issues in order to make medical image analysis models more widely applicable. In this paper, we explicitly address the variability issue using the example of COVID-19 diagnosis and propose a novel generative approach that aims at erasing the differences induced by e.g. the imaging technology while simultaneously introducing minimal changes to the CT scans through leveraging the idea of deep auto-encoders. The proposed prepossessing architecture (PrepNet) (i) is jointly trained on multiple CT scan datasets and (ii) is capable of extracting improved discriminative features for improved diagnosis. Experimental results on three public datasets (SARS-COVID-2, UCSD COVID-CT, MosMed) show that our model improves cross-dataset generalization by up to 11.84 percentage points despite a minor drop in within dataset performance.
Quality of life in American Indian and White women with and without rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine quality of life (QOL) in American Indian and White women with and without rheumatoid arthritis. METHOD This cross-sectional study included 64 women in four groups: American Indians with rheumatoid arthritis, healthy American Indians, Whites with rheumatoid arthritis, and healthy Whites. Participants received evaluations of pain, joint motion, hand function, daily task performance, community participation, and QOL. RESULTS There was a significant difference in QOL between the participants with rheumatoid arthritis and the healthy control groups but not between the American Indian and White groups. Current health and emotional-social function related to QOL in all groups. Dexterity also correlated with QOL in the two groups with rheumatoid arthritis. Performance of daily activities correlated with 0OL in all groups except the healthy White groups. Community participation did not correlate with COL. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that rheumatoid arthritis in American Indian and White women does affect COL and that QOL does not seem to be influenced by ethnicity. Factors that related to QOL also were similar for both groups with rheumatoid arthritis.
What is a Fair Amount of Executive Compensation? Outrage Potential of Two Key Stakeholder Groups

The public discussion of executive compensation often centres on â€˜fairâ€™ and â€˜unfairâ€™ amounts and the public outrage over compensation that is deemed too high. The academic literature states that such outrage can lead to outrage costs, pressuring firms to adjust compensation levels. However, it is unclear what a â€˜fairâ€™ compensation is for various stakeholders and how their fairness concerns relate to outrage constraints. Based on surveys among two key stakeholder groups (representative eligible voters and investment professionals), we provide evidence that fairness is an important criterion for both groups but that opinions on how large a fair compensation amount should be are widely dispersed. Moreover, personality traits systematically influence fairness opinions through selfâ€ serving interpretations of distributive justice and personal risk attitudes, indicating that a â€˜fairâ€™ amount of executive compensation may strongly depend on the involved stakeholders. Investigating thresholds for outrage, i.e., amounts above which compensation is judged â€˜unfairlyâ€™ high, we show that even though investment professionals care for fairness as well, â€˜capital market outrageâ€™ might not equate to â€˜public outrageâ€™. Our paper contributes to the literature on outrage constraints by linking individual fairness concerns to outrage potential and has implications for transparency of executive compensation and research on shareholder activism.
Distinct caspase pathways mediate necrosis and apoptosis in subpopulations of hippocampal neurons after status epilepticus

Status epilepticus in the immature brain induces neuronal injury in the hippocampal formation, but the mode and mechanism of death are poorly understood. Our laboratory has recently investigated the role of caspase‐3, ‐8, and ‐9 in neuronal injury, using a lithium–pilocarpine model of status epilepticus in 2‐week‐old rat pups. Our results showed that dying neurons in the dentate gyrus and CA1‐subiculum area do not share the same mechanism of death. In CA1‐subiculum, caspase‐8 upregulation preceded caspase‐3 activation in morphologically necrotic neurons. The pan‐caspase inhibitor Q‐VD‐OPH reduced CA1 damage, showing that caspases contribute to status epilepticus–induced necrosis. In the dentate gyrus, dying neurons were caspase‐9 and ‐3 immunoreactive and morphologically apoptotic. It is not clear why the same seizures cause different types of cell death in neurons that are connected in series along the same hippocampal circuit, but the apoptotic dentate neurons express doublecortin, and do not express calbindin‐D28k, suggesting that their immaturity may be a factor in producing an apoptotic mode of death.
Partial amniotic carbon dioxide insufflation during minimally invasive fetoscopic interventions seems safe for the fetal brain in sheep.

BACKGROUND Partial amniotic carbon dioxide insufflation (PACI) during fetoscopic interventions greatly improves visualization of intraamniotic contents. The purpose of this study was to assess any histologically discernable effects from this approach on the fetal brain after long-term survival in sheep. METHODS Six pregnant ewes between 63 and 92 days of gestation underwent PACI after fetoscopic intraamniotic access. Insufflation pressures ranged between 7 and 15 mm Hg (mean 11.7; median 12.5). Insufflation times ranged between 45 and 80 minutes (mean 55.8 minutes; median 52.5) and depended on the duration of various percutaneous fetoscopic maneuvers (e.g., posturing, fetal transesophageal electrocardiography, and chronic fetal vascular access) that were tested during these studies. After fetal spontaneous delivery between 147 and 150 days of gestation, 5 of the lambs were observed for abnormal neurological symptoms. The last ewe and her sheep were terminated at 133 days of gestation for humane reasons. All six brains were examined for hemorrhage, embolism, infarctions, inflammatory changes, and abnormal cortical maturation. An unoperated sibling was available as a control. RESULTS The 5 sheep that were spontaneously delivered exhibited no abnormal neurological findings. In all 6 sheep, PACI did not result in any histologically discernable damage to their brain in these long-term studies. Maternal and fetal complications were not observed during or after the approach. CONCLUSION The application of PACI during minimally invasive fetoscopic interventions seems safe for the fetal brain. Due to the still limited clinical experience with PACI, continued assessment of its maternal and fetal risks as well as management are required.
Incidence of postoperative pain after intracanal procedures based on an antimicrobial strategy.

The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the incidence of postoperative pain after intracanal procedures based on an antimicrobial strategy. Data were examined from 627 teeth that had necrotic pulps or required retreatment. Information was obtained for each patient treated with regard to presence of preoperative pain. Occurrence of periradicular bone destruction detected by radiographs was also recorded. The operators consisted of undergraduate students, who were in their first year of clinical training. Root canals were instrumented and then medicated with a calcium hydroxide/camphorated paramonochlorophenol paste. No systemic medication was prescribed. Approximately 1 week after the initial appointment, patients were asked about the occurrence of postoperative pain and the level of discomfort was rated as no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, or severe pain. Data were statistically analyzed using the Chi-square test. Mild pain occurred in 10% of the cases, moderate in 3.3%, and severe (flare-up) in 1.9%. Postoperative pain was significantly associated with the treatment of previously symptomatic teeth without periradicular lesions (p < 0.01). No other correlations were detected between the occurrence of postoperative discomfort and other clinical conditions. There was also no difference regarding the incidence of postoperative pain between treatment and retreatment (p > 0.01). The intracanal procedures used in this study to control root canal infections showed a small incidence of postoperative pain, particularly flare-ups, even performed by inexperienced undergraduate dental students.
Functional Analysis of γ-Tubulin Complex Proteins Indicates Specific Lateral Association via Their N-terminal Domains*

Microtubules are nucleated from multiprotein complexes containing γ-tubulin and associated γ-tubulin complex proteins (GCPs). Small complexes (γTuSCs) comprise two molecules of γ-tubulin bound to the C-terminal domains of GCP2 and GCP3. γTuSCs associate laterally into helical structures, providing a structural template for microtubule nucleation. In most eukaryotes γTuSCs associate with additional GCPs (4, 5, and 6) to form the core of the so-called γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC). GCPs 2–6 constitute a family of homologous proteins. Previous structural analysis and modeling of GCPs suggest that all family members can potentially integrate into the helical structure. Here we provide experimental evidence for this model. Using chimeric proteins in which the N- and C-terminal domains of different GCPs are swapped, we show that the N-terminal domains define the functional identity of GCPs, whereas the C-terminal domains are exchangeable. FLIM-FRET experiments indicate that GCP4 and GCP5 associate laterally within the complex, and their interaction is mediated by their N-terminal domains as previously shown for γTuSCs. Our results suggest that all GCPs are incorporated into the helix via lateral interactions between their N-terminal domains, whereas the C-terminal domains mediate longitudinal interactions with γ-tubulin. Moreover, we show that binding to γ-tubulin is not essential for integrating into the helical complex.
Intrinsic Fluorescence Properties and Structural Analysis of p13suc1 from Schizosaccharomyces pombe *

p13suc1 acts in the fission yeast cell division cycle as a component of p34cdc2. In the present work, structural information contained in the intrinsic fluorescence of p13suc1 has been extracted by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. In its native form, the steady-state emission spectrum of p13suc1 is centered at 336 nm. Upon denaturation by guanidine HCl (4.0 M), the emission spectrum is shifted to 355-360 nm and the fluorescence intensity decreases 70%. The same changes are not obtained with p13suc1 at 56°C or after incubation at 100°C, and the protein appears to be substantially temperature-stable. The fluorescence decay of p13suc1 is best described by three discrete lifetimes of 0.6 ns (τ1), 2.9 ns (τ2), and 6.1 ns (τ3), with amplitudes that are dependent on the native or unfolded state of the protein. Under native conditions, the two predominant decay-associated spectra, DAS-τ2 (λmax = 332 nm) and DAS-τ3 (λmax = 340 nm), derive from two different excitation DAS. Moreover distinct quenching mechanisms and collisional accessibilities (kq(τ2)≫kq(τ3)) are resolved for each lifetime. An interpretation in terms of specific tryptophan residue (or protein conformer)-lifetime assignments is presented. The decay of the fluorescence anisotropy of native p13suc1 is best described by a double exponential decay. The longer correlation time recovered (9 ns ≤ Φ2 ≤ 15ns) can be associated with the rotational motion of the protein as a whole and a Stokes radius of 21.2 Å has been calculated for p13suc1. Anisotropy measurements obtained as a function of temperature indicate that, in solution, the protein exists exclusively as a prolate monomer. In 1 mM zinc, changes of the anisotropy decay parameters are compatible with subunits oligomerization.
Regulation of apoplastic NH4+ concentration in leaves of oilseed rape

Regulation of apoplastic NH4+ concentration in leaves of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) was studied using a vacuum-infiltration technique that allowed controlled manipulations of the apoplastic solution. In leaves infiltrated with NH4+-free solution, the apoplastic NH4+ concentration returned in less than 1.5 min to the preinfiltration level of 0.8 mM. Infiltrated 15NH4+ was rapidly diluted by 14NH4+/14NH3 effluxed from the cell. The exchange rate of 15N/14N over the apoplast due to combined 14N efflux from the symplast and 15N influx from the apoplastic solution was 29.4 &mgr;mol g-1 fresh weight h-1 between 0 and 5 min after infiltration. The net uptake of NH4+ into the leaf cells increased linearly with apoplastic NH4+ concentrations between 2 and 10 mM and could be partially inhibited by the channel inhibitors La3+ and tetraethylammonium and by Na+ and K+. When apoplastic pH increased from 5.0 to 8.0, the steady-state apoplastic NH4+ concentration decreased from 1.0 to 0.3 mM. Increasing temperature increased the rate of NH4+ net uptake and reduced the apoplastic steady-state NH4+ concentration. We conclude that the apoplastic solution in leaves of oilseed rape constitutes a highly dynamic NH4+ pool.
Speckle noise reduction for sar images using interscale multiplication and soft thresholding

This paper presents a technique for speckle reduction in SAR images by using the interscale multiplication in Mallat wavelet transform (MWT) and stationary wavelet transform (SWT). The edge and non-edge regions can be detected from median of squared amplitude in each scale. Applying this technique, the large wavelet coefficients generated by edge region and the small wavelet coefficients or speckle noises are then suppressed by using soft thresholding in all high frequency bands. The well-known threshold estimation for soft thresholding based on SimpleShrink, NormalShrink, VisuShrink, SureShrink, and BayesShrink. The despeckled image is then obtained by reconstruction from the resulted coefficients. The assessment of the proposed method, the experiment has conducted using SAR images from JERS-1 satellite. The experimental result shows that the proposed method yields noise suppression and preserves the detail feature of the images, as well as perceptual image quality.