Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transfer of [ 3 H ] estradiol-17 b and [ 3 H ] progesterone from conspecifics to cohabiting female mice

Estradiol-17b (E2) and progesterone (P4) play critical roles in female reproductive physiology and behavior. Given the sensitivity of females to exogenous sources of these steroids, we examined the presence of E2 and P4 in conspecifics’ excretions and the transfer of excreted steroids between conspecifics. We paired individual adult female mice with a stimulus male or female conspecific given daily injections of [H]E2 or [ H]P4. Following 48 h of direct interaction with the stimulus animal, we measured radioactivity in the uterus, ovaries, muscle, olfactory bulbs, mesencephalon and diencephalon (MCCDC), and cerebral cortex of the untreated female cohabitant. Radioactivity was significantly present in all tissues of female subjects after individual exposure to a stimulus male or female given [H]E2. In females exposed to males given [H]P4, radioactivity was significantly present in the uterus, ovaries, and muscle, but not in other tissues. In females exposed to stimulus females given [H]P4, radioactivity was significantly present in all tissues except the MCCDC. In mice directly administered [H]steroids, greater radioactivity was found in the urine of females than of males. Among females directly administered [H]steroids, greater radioactivity was found in urine of those given [H]P4 than of those given [ H]E2. When females were administered unlabeled E2 before exposure to [ H]E2-treated females, less radioactivity was detected in most tissues than was detected in the tissues of untreated females exposed to [H]E2-treated females. We suggest that steroid transfer among individuals has implications for the understanding of various forms of pheromonal activity. Key Words
Oestrogen receptors beta genotype in infertile Egyptian men with nonobstructive azoospermia

In a prospective study, the polymorphism of oestrogen receptor β gene was investigated in nonobstructive azoospermia patients. Ninety infertile patients with nonobstructive azoospermia diagnosed after two semen analysis, 2 weeks apart and negative testicular sperm extraction during intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and 60 fertile men as controls were enrolled in the study. Semen analysis, hormonal profile and allele‐specific PCR reaction were performed to detect variants of the RsaI polymorphism of the oestrogen receptor β gene for all patients and controls. The mean patient's age was significantly lower than the mean age of the controls (P < 0.05). There was a significant increase in the mean serum levels of FSH, LH, free testosterone and E2 and significant decrease in total testosterone in patients than controls (P < 0.05). In the patients, the frequency of the homozygous GG, heterozygous AG and homozygous AA genotype was 83.3%, 14.3% and 3.3% respectively, whereas their frequencies in the controls were 95%, 5% and 0% respectively (odds ratio 3.8). There is no significant correlation between ERß polymorphisms and patient's age or pituitary and sex hormones (P > 0.05). Our findings suggested that in Egyptian population, genetic mutation in ERß is associated with the risk of nonobstructive azoospermia.
Scale‐dependence of seismic energy‐to‐moment ratio for strike‐slip earthquakes in Japan

We analyzed four pairs of a large (Mw ≈ 6) and a small (Mw ≈ 3.5 to 4) shallow strike‐slip earthquakes to investigate the scale‐dependence of the seismic energy‐to‐moment ratio, an important macroscopic parameter which reflects the basic physical process of seismic slip. These earthquakes occurred in the south‐western part of Japan, and high‐quality close‐in records (epicentral distance < 50 km) are available for both the small and large earthquakes. The paired events have almost the same focal mechanism and hypocenter location. We used the spectral ratio of the paired events in order to remove the effects of attenuation along the wave propagation path and the station site response. We then estimated the seismic energy from the source spectra estimated from the spectral ratio. The energy‐to‐moment ratio increases with the earthquake size. This scale‐dependence is very similar to that found earlier for earthquakes in Southern California.
The effect of the addition of lignocaine on propofol emulsion stability

The stability of propofol emulsion following the addition of various amounts of lignocaine solution was investigated, The investigations used were macroscopic and microscopic observations and electroacoustic determination of both droplet size and zeta potential. Evidence of emulsion instability was present following the addition of even small amounts of lignocaine. Resultant changes are unlikely to be clinically important following the addition of less than 20 mg of lignocaine to 200 mg of propofol (20 ml of propofol emulsion). It is recommended, however, that anaesthetists consider the possibility of destabilisation of propofol emulsion when adding larger doses of lignocaine, or when there is a delay between formulation and administration of the propofol‐lignocaine mixtures.
Direct spectroscopy of electron and hole scattering.

A new spectroscopy has been developed for the first direct probe of carrier-carrier scattering in materials. This spectroscopy provides spatial and energy resolution of the scattering process and has been used to investigate transport, scattering phenomena, and hot-carrier creation in two important metal-semiconductor systems. A theoretical treatment of this scattering spectroscopy yields excellent agreement with experimental spectra and provides direct evidence that carrier-carrier scattering is a dominant energy-loss mechanism in hot-carrier transport.
Time Course of Hyperosmolar Opening of the Blood-Brain and Blood-CSF Barriers in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

The time course of blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-CSF barrier (BCSFB) responses to hyperosmolar mannitol infusion (HMI; 1.6 M) during chronic hypertension was investigated using 14C-sucrose as a marker of barrier integrity. 14C-sucrose entry into CSF of both spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats 2 min after HMI increased ∼7-fold compared to their respective control. The volume of distribution (Vd) of 14C-sucrose into brain cortex of SHR increased 13-fold 2 min after HMI while that in WKY rats increased only 4-fold. After HMI Vd of 14C-sucrose into the cortex of WKY, and CSF of both SHR and WKY remained steadily greater than their corresponding control for up to 30 min (p < 0.01), whereas in the cortex of SHR the Vd of 14C-sucrose reached control values 20 min after HMI (p > 0.05), indicating that after HMI the increase in paracellular diffusion of 14C-sucrose into SHR cortex was not persistent, in contrast to WKY rats and CSF of both SHR and WKY rats. Electron microscopy of the brain cortex after HMI showed capillary endothelial cell shrinkage and perivascular swellings in the brain cortex, and in the choroid plexus opening of tight junctions were observed. Our results indicate disruption of both the BBB and the BCSFB after HMI in both SHR and WKY rats. The disruption remained persistent up to 25 min after HMI at the BBB of WKY rats and BCSFB in both animal groups, while in SHR the protective function of the BBB returned to control values 20 min after HMI.
Neurotensin Excitation of Serotonergic Neurons in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus of the Rat In Vitro

Neurotensin‐containing terminals and radioligand binding sites are present in the dorsal raphe nucleus. The purpose of this study was to test, in brain slices containing this nucleus, the effect of neurotensin on the electrical activity of serotonergic neurons. In extracellular recordings, the cells were identified by the ability of the α1‐adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine to induce firing, and serotonin to reduce this effect. After washout of phenylephrine, neurotensin (10 nM to 10 μM) induced a concentration‐dependent increase in the firing rate of serotonergic neurons (EC50= 142 nM; maximum effect ˜1 μM). The neurotensin excitation, which was mimicked by neurotensin fragments 8–13 but not neurotensin peptide fragment 1–8 and selectively blocked by SR 48692 (100 nM), was observed mainly in the ventral part of the nucleus. Most serotonergic neurons showed marked desensitization to neurotensin, even at low concentrations. The neurotensin response was occluded by supramaximal concentrations of phenylephrine. In intracellular recordings using KCl‐containing electrodes, neurotensin induced an inward current associated in some cases with a decrease in apparent input conductance. In conclusion, neurotensin was found to have an excitatory action on serotonergic neurons in the ventral part of the dorsal raphe nucleus, an effect which could be subject to desensitization and was occluded by phenylephrine. This occlusion phenomenon may be important for the physiological role of neurotensin in the dorsal raphe nucleus.
In vitro evaluation of a novel ketolide antimicrobial agent, RU-64004

Ketolides, a novel macrolide subclass, possess a mode of action that is similar to that of structurally related macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLS) compounds. By using reference in vitro tests, the in vitro activity of RU-64004 was compared to those of six other MLS compounds against more than 800 clinical pathogens, including 356 gram-positive organisms. The spectrum of activity of the ketolide was most similar to that of clindamycin versus staphylococci and streptococci and superior to those of all macrolides tested against oxacillin-resistant staphylococci and vancomycin-resistant (vanA, vanB, and vanC) enterococcal isolates. The activity of the ketolide was greater than those of the macrolides, azalides, or clindamycin tested against vancomycin-susceptible enterococci (MICs at which 90% of isolates are inhibited [MIC90S], 0.25 to 4 micrograms/ml), penicillin-resistant pneumococci (MIC90, 0.25 micrograms/ml), and most beta-hemolytic streptococci. All Streptococcus pneumoniae and beta-hemolytic streptococcus strain were inhibited by ketolide concentrations of < or = 0.25 micrograms/ml. Against 165 erythromycin-resistant strains, RU-64004 inhibited (MICs, < or = 0.5 micrograms/ml) approximately one-third of staphylococci, all streptococci, and slightly more than one-half of the enterococci. Quinupristin-dalfopristin (a streptogramin combination) was active against all tested isolates with the exception of non-Enterococcus faecium enterococci, against which the ketolide exhibited greater potency (MIC50S, 0.03 to 2 micrograms/ml). The ketolide was also active against Haemophilus influenzae (MIC90, 2 micrograms/ml), Moraxella catarrhalis (MIC90, 0.12 micrograms/ml), pathogenic Neisseria spp. (MIC90, 0.5 micrograms/ml), and many gram-positive anaerobes (MIC90, 0.5 micrograms/ml). RU-64004 may enhance the role of macrolide drugs in the treatment of some serious infections caused by MLS-resistant gram-positive organisms.
Inoculation and growth conditions for high-cell-density expansion of mammalian neural stem cells in suspension bioreactors.

Inoculation and growth conditions for the large-scale expansion of mammalian neural stem cells (NSC) have been determined. We examined suspension culture bioreactors of murine NSC, and concluded that the oxygen level should be kept high (20%), and the osmolarity of the medium should be kept low (below 400 mOsm/kg). The pH of the medium was found to have a large effect on cell proliferation, and the best growth characteristics were obtained within an optimum pH range of 7. 1 to 7.5. The inoculation conditions were also seen to have a large effect not only on the growth characteristics, but also on the number of cells that die in the initial stages of the culture. For large expansion of cells, low inoculum levels (10(4) cells/mL) and single-cell suspensions proved superior, whereas, for fast expansion of cells, higher inoculum levels (10(5) cells/mL) and spheroid inoculum forms were preferred. The inoculum temperature of the medium did not have a large effect on growth characteristics, but the pH greatly influenced cell proliferation. Inoculum pH levels should also be kept between 7.1 and 7.5. If these protocols are followed, high multiplication ratios and viabilities can be obtained in a 5-day batch suspension culture bioreactor run. A large number of cells could then be used in animal models for testing of neural drugs and in research and development toward cures for neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and Huntington's and Parkinson's disease. The results presented here also point the way toward studies on in vitro expansion of human neural stem cells.
Embedded star formation in the extended narrow line region of Centaurus A: extreme mixing observed by MUSE

We present a detailed study of the complex ionization structure in a small (~250 pc) extended narrow line region (ENLR) cloud near Centaurus A using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer. This cloud is located in the so-called outer filament of ionized gas (about 15 kpc from the nucleus) where jet-induced star formation has been suggested to occur by different studies. We find that, despite the small size, a mixture of ionization mechanisms is operating, resulting in considerable complexity in the spatial ionization structure. The area includes two H II regions where star formation is occurring and another location where star formation must have ceased very recently. Interestingly, the extreme Balmer decrement of one of the star forming regions (H_alpha/H_beta~6) indicates that it is still heavily embedded in its natal cocoon of gas and dust. At all three locations a continuum counterpart is found with spectra matching those of O/B stars local to Centaurus A. The H II regions are embedded in a larger gas complex which is photoionized by the radiation of the central active galactic nucleus (AGN), but the O/B stars affect the spatial ionization pattern in the ENLR cloud very locally. In particular, in the surroundings of the youngest star forming region, we can isolate a tight mixing sequence in the diagnostic diagram going from gas with ionization due to a pure stellar continuum to gas only photoionized by the AGN. These results emphasize the complexity and the mixture of processes occurring in star forming regions under the influence of an AGN radiation. This is relevant for our understanding of AGN-induced star formation suggested to occur in a number of objects, including this region of Centaurus A. They also illustrate that these young stars influence the gas over only a limited region.
Experiments on Risk Attitude: The Case of Chinese Students

This paper examines Chinese students' risk attitude using buying and selling experiments with lotteries. We found that subjects were more risk averse in the buying experiment than in the selling experiment, suggesting the endowment effect. In the selling experiment, subjects were risk loving when there was a low win probability and risk averse with a high win probability, whereas they were risk averse in the buying experiment. Using the prize money won during the experiment as a measure of wealth, we found decreasing absolute risk aversion. Subjects' risk attitude as revealed in the experiments explains their risky asset holding behavior.
Tranylcypromine Causes Neurotoxicity and Represses BHC110/LSD1 in Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cerebral Organoids Model

Recent breakthroughs in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cerebral organoids provide a valuable platform for investigating the human brain after different drugs treatments and for understanding the complex genetic background to human pathology. Here, we identified tranylcypromine, which is used to treat refractory depression, caused human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain organoids neurotoxicity, leading to decreased proliferation activity and apoptosis induction. Moreover, tranylcypromine treatment affects neurons and astrocytes, which impairs cell density and arrangement. Finally, staining of histone demethylation-related genes revealed that tranylcypromine suppresses the transcriptional activity of BHC110/LSD1-targeted genes and increases the expression of histone di-methylated K4. These results show that human brain organoids can be applied as an in vitro model for CNS drug screening to evaluate structural, cellular, and molecular changes in the normal brains or brains of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders after drug treatments.
Nonpathogenic Entamoeba dispar quickly outgrows pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica in mixed xenic cultures

Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar are two microscopically indistinguishable amoebae living in the human colon. The former is a pathogen, whereas the latter is a nonpathogenic commensal. Using a model system of in vitro cocultures and PCR detection of the Entamoeba species, we found that the nonpathogenic species can rapidly outgrow the pathogen in xenic cultures.
Throughput and Delay Analysis of Cognitive Go-Back-N Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest Using Discrete-Time Markov Modelling

Cognitive radio (CR) techniques have been proposed for improving the spectral efficiency by exploiting the temporarily unoccupied segments of the licensed spectrum, provided that the transmission of primary users (PUs) is not hampered. In this paper, we propose a cognitive Go-Back-N Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (CGBN-HARQ) scheme that enables the cognitive user (CU) to opportunistically transmit data over a primary radio (PR) channel. Based on the sensing decisions by the CU, it decides about the availability of the PU’s channel for its own transmission using the proposed CGBN-HARQ scheme. In addition, it enables the CR transmitter to receive feedback concerning the success/failure of its prior transmissions during the sensing and transmission phases of the time-slot (TS). A discrete time Markov chain model is invoked for the theoretical analysis of the proposed system, where we conceive an algorithm to generate all possible states of the CR transmitter. Both the throughput and delay of the CGBN-HARQ scheme is analyzed by deriving a range of closed-form formulas, which are validated by simulation results. The occupation of the channel by the PU and the reliability of the CU’s channel significantly affect both the achievable throughput and the delay of the CGBN-HARQ scheme. Finally, our studies show that the number of packets transmitted within a TS should be adapted according to the communication channel for attaining the maximum throughput and the lowest average transmission delay.
Nanoparticles: Strained and Stiff

Nanoparticles may contain unusual forms of structural disorder that can substantially modify materials properties and thus cannot solely be considered as small pieces of bulk material. We have developed a method to quantify intermediate-range order in 3.4-nanometer-diameter zinc sulfide nanoparticles and show that structural coherence is lost over distances beyond 2nanometers. The zinc-sulfur Einstein vibration frequency in the nanoparticles is substantially higher than that in the bulk zinc sulfide, implying structural stiffening. This cannot be explained by the observed 1% radial compression and must be primarily due to inhomogeneous internal strain caused by competing relaxations from an irregular surface. The methods developed here are generally applicable to the characterization of nanoscale solids, many of which may exhibit complex disorder and strain.
Unethical Decisions: The Impact of Reinforcement Contingencies and Managerial Philosophies

Unethical behavior is a serious issue facing business organizations. This study reports the results of a laboratory experiment involving 338 subjects in an in-basket simulation requiring that they decide whether or not to give kickbacks. Subjects were divided into two groups—each assigned a different managerial philosophy. Subjects were rewarded for unethical decisions on the first three trials and punished for unethical decisions on the last three trials. Results on all six trials support the hypotheses that unethical decisions are dependent on reinforcement contingencies and partially (in the first three trials) support the hypothesis that unethical decisions are dependent on stated managerial philosophy.
Image-to-Markup Generation with Coarse-to-Fine Attention

We present a neural encoder-decoder model to convert images into presentational markup based on a scalable coarse-to-fine attention mechanism. Our method is evaluated in the context of image-to-LaTeX generation, and we introduce a new dataset of real-world rendered mathematical expressions paired with LaTeX markup. We show that unlike neural OCR techniques using CTC-based models, attention-based approaches can tackle this non-standard OCR task. Our approach outperforms classical mathematical OCR systems by a large margin on in-domain rendered data, and, with pretraining, also performs well on out-of-domain handwritten data. To reduce the inference complexity associated with the attention-based approaches, we introduce a new coarse-to-fine attention layer that selects a support region before applying attention.
Label Organized Memory Augmented Neural Network

Augmenting a neural network with memory that can grow without growing the number of trained parameters is a recent powerful concept with many exciting applications. We propose a design of memory augmented neural networks (MANNs) called Labeled Memory Networks (LMNs) suited for tasks requiring online adaptation in classification models. LMNs organize the memory with classes as the primary key.The memory acts as a second boosted stage following a regular neural network thereby allowing the memory and the primary network to play complementary roles. Unlike existing MANNs that write to memory for every instance and use LRU based memory replacement, LMNs write only for instances with non-zero loss and use label-based memory replacement. We demonstrate significant accuracy gains on various tasks including word-modelling and few-shot learning. In this paper, we establish their potential in online adapting a batch trained neural network to domain-relevant labeled data at deployment time. We show that LMNs are better than other MANNs designed for meta-learning. We also found them to be more accurate and faster than state-of-the-art methods of retuning model parameters for adapting to domain-specific labeled data.
Short- to Mid-Term Results Using Autologous Bone-Marrow Mononuclear Cell Implantation Therapy as a Limb Salvage Procedure in Patients With Severe Peripheral Arterial Disease

Short- to mid-term results of a prospective study evaluating dual intramuscular and intra-arterial autologous bone-marrow mononuclear cell (BM-MNC) implantation for the treatment of patients with severe peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD) in whom amputation was considered the only viable treatment option are presented. Ankle-brachial indices (ABIs), rest pain, and ulcer healing were assessed at 3 months. Success was defined as improvement in ABI measurements; absence of rest pain; absence of ulcers; and absence of major limb amputations. Twenty patients (21 limbs) have been enrolled. Three-month follow-up evaluation accounting included 18 patients (19 limbs). Four (22.2%) major and 2 (11.1%) minor amputations were performed within 3 months postoperatively. With 17 (94.4%) of 18 limbs demonstrating at least one criterion for success and major amputation avoided in 14 (77.8%) of 18 limbs at the 3-month evaluation, this specific BM-MNC implantation technique is an effective limb salvage strategy for patients with severe PAD.