Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Germ layer differentiation during early hindgut and cloaca formation in rabbit and pig embryos

Relative to recent advances in understanding molecular requirements for endoderm differentiation, the dynamics of germ layer morphology and the topographical distribution of molecular factors involved in endoderm formation at the caudal pole of the embryonic disc are still poorly defined. To discover common principles of mammalian germ layer development, pig and rabbit embryos at late gastrulation and early neurulation stages were analysed as species with a human‐like embryonic disc morphology, using correlative light and electron microscopy. Close intercellular contact but no direct structural evidence of endoderm formation such as mesenchymal–epithelial transition between posterior primitive streak mesoderm and the emerging posterior endoderm were found. However, a two‐step process closely related to posterior germ layer differentiation emerged for the formation of the cloacal membrane: (i) a continuous mesoderm layer and numerous patches of electron‐dense flocculent extracellular matrix mark the prospective region of cloacal membrane formation; and (ii) mesoderm cells and all extracellular matrix including the basement membrane are lost locally and close intercellular contact between the endoderm and ectoderm is established. The latter process involves single cells at first and then gradually spreads to form a longitudinally oriented seam‐like cloacal membrane. These gradual changes were found from gastrulation to early somite stages in the pig, whereas they were found from early somite to mid‐somite stages in the rabbit; in both species cloacal membrane formation is complete prior to secondary neurulation. The results highlight the structural requirements for endoderm formation during development of the hindgut and suggest new mechanisms for the pathogenesis of common urogenital and anorectal malformations.
High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization

The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state of California, where by some estimates 60%–70% of the marijuana consumed in the United States is grown, we argue that (a) the environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation merits a direct policy response, (b) current approaches to governing the environmental effects are inadequate, and (c) neglecting discussion of the environmental impacts of cultivation when shaping future marijuana use and possession policies represents a missed opportunity to reduce, regulate, and mitigate environmental harm.
Comparison of Combined Phacoemulsification, Intraocular Lens Implantation, and Goniosynechialysis With Phacotrabeculectomy in the Treatment of Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma and Cataract

PurposeThis study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of combined phacoemulsification, intraocular lens implantation, and goniosynechialysis with phacotrabeculectomy in the treatment of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and cataract. DesignA comparative case series. MethodsSixty-five patients (65 eyes) with PACG and cataract from the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University were enrolled for this study between October 2009 and July 2011. Of these, 33 underwent combined phacoemulsification, intraocular lens implantation, and goniosynechialysis (treatment group), and 32 underwent phacotrabeculectomy (control group). The effects on intraocular pressure, best-corrected visual acuity, anterior chamber angle, number of antiglaucoma medications, and complications were evaluated. ResultsBoth the treatment group and the control group had lowered intraocular pressure, reduced the use of antiglaucoma medications, and improved vision in patients with PACG and cataract. Complications were 8 (24.2%) of 33 in the treatment group and 12 (37.5%) of 32 in the control group. ConclusionsCombined phacoemulsification, intraocular lens implantation, and goniosynechialysis appears to be a preferred method for the treatment of PACG and cataract because it seems to have the same efficacy as phacotrabeculectomy and has much less surgical complications.
A Simulation-based Multi-level Redundancy Allocation for a Multi-level System

In this paper, we deal with a multi-level redundancy allocation problem for a multi-level system and system, modules and component levels in the system are simultaneously considered as candidates for redundancy. System availability and life cycle cost are used as the constraint and objective function, respectively, and are estimated by simulation. The level and degree of redundancy are determined that minimize the life cycle cost and satisfy the target system availability. An estimation of distribution algorithm is used to determine best solutions, and numerical examples are studied in order to compare module redundancy with component redundancy.
Dialog Journal Writing and its Effect on Learners’ Speaking Accuracy and Fluency

This paper focuses on dialog journal writing as one possible method of improving speaking skill of EFL learners. The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact of dialog journal writing on EFL learners’ speaking accuracy and fluency. The participants were 48male intermediate level students who were randomly selected from two classes at Simin language institute in Qaemshahr, Iran. They had registered for a free chat course. First, they were administered a pretest for homogeneity. Next, the experimental group was treated with journal writing in 20 term-long sessions. Following the treatment, a posttest was given to both groups. The findings indicated that there was a significant difference between two groups in terms of speaking accuracy and fluency. The findings also showed that dialog journal writing helped students communicate more effectively, fluently and accurately. Further, the findings provided useful information for teachers to help adult learners to develop their abilities to communicate in the target language.
Inferring causal relationships among different histone modifications and gene expression.

Histone modifications are major epigenetic factors regulating gene expression. They play important roles in maintaining stem cell pluripotency and in cancer pathogenesis. Different modifications may combine to form complex "histone codes. " Recent high-throughput technologies, such as "ChIP-chip" and "ChIP-seq," have generated high-resolution maps for many histone modifications on the human genome. Here we use these maps to build a Bayesian network to infer causal and combinatorial relationships among histone modifications and gene expression. A pilot network derived by the same method among polycomb group (PcG) genes and H3K27 trimethylation is accurately supported by current literature. Our unbiased network model among histone modifications is also well supported by cross-validation results. It not only confirmed already known relationships, such as those of H3K27me3 to gene silencing, H3K4me3 to gene activation and the effect of bivalent modification of both H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, but also identified many other relationships that may predict new epigenetic interactions important in epigenetic gene regulation. Our automated inference method, which is potentially applicable to other ChIP-chip or ChIP-seq data analyses, provides a much-needed guide to deciphering the complex histone codes.
Processing complex pseudo-words in mild cognitive impairment: The interaction of preserved morphological rule knowledge with compromised cognitive ability

Abstract Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) affects the cognitive performance of elderly adults. However, the level of severity is not high enough to be diagnosed with dementia. Previous research reports subtle language impairments in individuals with MCI specifically in domains related to lexical meaning. The present study used both off-line (grammaticality judgment) and on-line (lexical decision) tasks to examine aspects of lexical processing and how they are affected by MCI. 21 healthy older adults and 23 individuals with MCI saw complex pseudo-words that violated various principles of word formation in Slovenian and decided if each letter string was an actual word of their language. The pseudo-words ranged in their degree of violability. A task effect was found, with MCI performance to be similar to that of healthy controls in the off-line task but different in the on-line task. Overall, the MCI group responded slower than the elderly controls. No significant differences were observed in the off-line task, while the on-line task revealed a main effect of Violation type, a main effect of Group and a significant Violation × Group interaction reflecting a difficulty for the MCI group to process pseudo-words in real time. That is, while individuals with MCI seem to preserve morphological rule knowledge, they experience additional difficulties while processing complex pseudo-words. This was attributed to an executive dysfunction associated with MCI that delays the recognition of ungrammatical formations.
Role of protein synthesis in the survival of carbon-starved Escherichia coli K-12

In a typical Escherichia coli K-12 culture starved for glucose, 50% of the cells lose viability in ca. 6 days (Reeve et al., J. Bacteriol. 157:758-763, 1984). Inhibition of protein synthesis by chloramphenicol resulted in a more rapid loss of viability in glucose-starved E. coli K-12 cultures. The more chloramphenicol added (i.e., the more protein synthesis was inhibited) and the earlier during starvation it was added, the greater was its effect on culture viability. Chloramphenicol was found to have the same effect on a relA strain as on an isogenic relA+ strain of E. coli. Addition of the amino acid analogs S-2-aminoethylcysteine, 7-azatryptophan, and p-fluorophenylalanine to carbon-starved cultures to induce synthesis of abnormal proteins had an effect on viability similar to that observed when 50 micrograms of chloramphenicol per ml was added at zero time for starvation. Both chloramphenicol and the amino acid analogs had delayed effects on viability, compared with their effects on synthesis of normal proteins. The need for protein synthesis did not arise from cryptic growth, since no cryptic growth of the starving cells was observed under the conditions used. From these and previous results obtained from work with peptidase-deficient mutants of E. coli K-12 and Salmonella typhimurium LT2 (Reeve et al., J. Bacteriol. 157:758-763, 1984), we concluded that a number of survival-related proteins are synthesized by E. coli K-12 cells as a response to carbon starvation. These proteins are largely synthesized during the early hours of starvation, but their continued activity is required for long-term survival.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE RED CELL MEMBRANE SIALOGLYCOPROTEINS

The human erythrocyte sialoglycoproteins have been studied by a number of different groups over a number of years and several nomenclatures have been used (see Fig 1). These molecules are normally resolved by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using the periodic acid-Schiff s (PAS) stain. Four different sialoglycoproteins are detected by this method and these are denoted ci, b, y and 6 in order of decreasing apparent molecular weight. Alpha and 6 form stable dimeric complexes (az and d2, Fig 1) and heterodimers of CI and 6 (CIS) are also obtained under the electrophoretic conditions used. The complete amino acid sequence of a is known (Tomita et al, 1978) and a partial sequence for 6 has been published (Furthmayr, 1978a; Dahr et al, 1980, 1985). Alpha carries blood group M or N activity, depending upon the amino acid residues at positions 1 and 5 . Delta carries blood group N activity (the ‘intrinsic N’ activity found on erythrocytes homozygous for the blood group M antigen) as well as blood S or s antigen activity associated with amino acid substitutions at residue 29 (Dahr et al, 1980). Alpha and 6 have related protein sequences and are unusual in that the amino terminal 26 residues of a, when of blood group N type, are identical with the same region of 6. There are other regions of homology between residues 56-67 of ci and 2 73 5 of 6 and between the membrane-spanning sequences of the two proteins (Dahr et al, 1980, 1985). Alpha and 6 are the most abundant of the sialoglycoproteins (600 000 and 80 000 copies per red cell respectively; Merry et al, 1986) but their function is unknown. Individuals are known who are in apparently normal health and yet lack both c1 and 6 (MkMk; Tokunaga et al, 19 79). There are numerous genetic variants of these proteins and thus far none of these has been associated with any defect in erythrocyte function (Anstee et al, 1982; Moulds, 1983). The fact that the genes coding for ci and 6 are physically closely linked can be inferred from the occurrence of hybrid sialoglycoprotein molecules resulting from chromosomal misalignment with unequal crossing over at meiosis between the genes for a and 6 (reviewed in Anstee et al, 1982) which can take place because of the substantial homology between the two genes. We refer to these hybrids as Lepore-type when they have their amino terminus derived from ci and their carboxy terminus derived from 6 (a-6 hybrids): we refer to the reverse (6-a) hybrids as anti-Lepore type. The occurrence of these hybrids is consistent with the a and 6 genes being adjacent and in the order CI, 6. The locus encoding blood group MNSs antigen activity and, therefore, the locus for a and 6 has been assigned to the q28 or q31 region of chromosome 4 (Cook et al, 1980). It is paradoxical that, whilst a and 6 do not appear to be essential for normal erythrocyte viability, there is considerable evidence that these molecules act as receptors for red cell
Editorial: The Continuing Struggle for Adequate Compensation for Injured Workers

Although it is almost 100 years since workers’compensation emerged as the first mandated benefits program for American workers, it remains the most embattled and maligned social insurance program in the United States. The articles in this special issue of New Solutions provide insight into the continuing nature of these battles. The history of workers’ compensation mirrors the struggles, failures, and successes of the labor movement and workers in the twentieth century. In theory, this program was designed to provide an efficient mechanism for the delivery of medical services and critical cash benefits to workers suffering from the effects of occupational injury and disease, thus avoiding the complex, costly, timeconsuming, and unpredictable nature of the civil litigation process. Both industry and labor also argued that workers’ compensation would encourage employers to improve safety conditions for workers, and therefore that it was an integral component of social and legal policy regarding occupational safety. In some states, the development of workers’ compensation was even seen as the first step toward a comprehensive social insurance mechanism that would include health insurance and other income protection to cover non-occupational risks of disability. Today, as the articles in this issue describe, we are faced with programs that often fail to provide adequate benefits to workers, in which the availability of medical care is constrained and increasingly controlled by employers, in which declining benefits and costs provide limited safety incentives to employers, and in which workers are stigmatized for seeking benefits. The current system is also rightly accused of encouraging costly and lengthy litigation between injured
TIME HOMOGENIZATION FOR THE MODELING AND SIMULATION OF THE ULTRASONIC WELDING OF THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES

The process of ultrasonic-welding is widely used in the industry. Nevertheless, its numerical modeling, essential for the aeronautic industry, is quite difficult. Indeed, there are two different time scales in the process, one “long” time which is the welding time and one short time which is the period of the ultrasonic mechanical loading. After explaining how the welding is proceeded, a method of time homogenization is presented in order to write down three different thermal and mechanical systems of equations. It is based on the use of asymptotic expansions which lead, starting from the general thermo-mechanical problem, to three coupled problem which are independent from the fast variable and are therefore suitable for numerical calculations. A numerical tool for solving these equations is finally introduced, based on the level-set method. First results are qualitatively satisfactory and show that physical understanding of the process can be obtained by such an approach.
Reduction in orthopedic surgery among patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease in Norway, 1994-2004.

Introduction Chronic inflammatory joint diseases are associated with joint destruction and subsequent marked disability and the need for orthopedic surgery. Relieving pain, correcting deformities, and replacing destroyed joints to achieve a better function are major indications for surgical treatment. In a long-term followup study of 1,600 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 25% underwent total joint arthroplasty within 22 years after disease onset (1). In general, the incidence of joint replacement procedures has increased during recent years (2). It has been suggested that a major reason for this trend is an increase in the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) due to an increased number of elderly persons in the population (2) and an increasing number of individuals who are overweight (3). Findings from some published studies suggest the opposite trend in the incidence of surgical procedures, including joint replacement procedures, due to RA (4–6). The major goal of the present study was to assess the use of orthopedic surgery among patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease in Norway during the period 1994– 2004. The incidence in the Norwegian population of total joint replacement procedures, synovectomies, and arthrodesis operations in patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease was investigated.
Heterogeneity in primary dystonia: Lessons from THAP1, GNAL, and TOR1A in Amish‐Mennonites

A founder mutation in the Thanatos‐associated (THAP) domain containing, apoptosis associated protein 1 (THAP1) gene causing primary dystonia was originally described in the Amish‐Mennonites. However, there may be both genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity of dystonia in this population that may also inform studies in other ethnic groups. Genotyping for THAP1 and for guanine nucleotide binding protein (G protein), α‐activating activity polypeptide, olfactory type (GNAL) mutations and genotype‐phenotype comparisons were performed for 76 individuals of Amish‐Mennonites heritage with primary dystonia. Twenty‐seven individuals had mutations in THAP1—most with the founder indel mutation—but two had different THAP1 mutations, 8 had mutations in GNAL, and 1 had a de novo GAG deletion in torsin 1A (TOR1A) (dystonia 1 [DYT1]). In the primary analysis comparing THAP1 carriers versus all non‐THAP1, non‐GNAL, non‐TOR1A individuals, age at onset was lower in THAP1 carriers (mean age ± standard deviation, 15.5 ± 9.2 years [range, 5‐38 years] vs. 39.2 ± 17.7 years [range, 1‐70 years]; P < 0.001), and THAP1 carriers were more likely to have onset of dystonia in an arm (44.4% vs. 15.0%; P = 0.02) and to have arm involvement (88.9% vs. 22.5%; P < 0.01), leg involvement (51.9% vs. 10.0%; P = 0.01), and jaw/tongue involvement (33.3% vs. 7.5%; P = 0.02) involvement at their final examination. Carriers were less likely to have dystonia restricted to a single site (11.11% in carriers vs. 65.9% in noncarriers; P < 0.01) and were less likely to have dystonia onset in cervical regions (25.9% of THAP1 carriers vs. 52.5% of noncarriers; P = 0.04). Primary dystonia in the Amish‐Mennonites is genetically diverse and includes not only the THAP1 indel founder mutation but also different mutations in THAP1 and GNAL as well as the TOR1A GAG deletion. Phenotype, particularly age at onset combined with final distribution, may be highly specific for the genetic etiology. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Detecting Link Fabrication Attacks in Software-Defined Networks

The Link Fabrication Attack (LFA) in Software-Defined Networking (SDN) involves an attacker forging a new link in the network, providing them with control over traffic which traverses the new malicious link. One method to perform this attack is through the relaying of topology discovery traffic, for which no comprehensive defense exists. This paper proposes to detect this attack using statistical analysis of link latencies. A novel solution has been designed requiring a new link to undergo a vetting period during which its latency is evaluated. This is subsequently compared against a baseline model for benign links. This solution is assessed against several implementations of the relay-type LFA. The trade-off between the length of the vetting period and the accuracy of the attack detection is analyzed. The results show how user-space relaying causes a sizable increase in latency which can be detected with a low number of samples, while relaying using kernel-space forwarding requires larger samples sets in order to be discovered.
Iron Is Not Required in the Lactoferrin Stimulation of Thymidine Incorporation into the DNA of Rat Crypt Enterocytes

ABSTRACT: Lactoferrin has been identified as a factor in human colostrum that accounts for increased incorporation of thymidine into the DNA in an in vitro rat crypt enterocyte bioassay. We have examined lacatoferrin-stimulated thymidine incorporation by comparing the effects of ironfree lactoferrin (apolactoferrin) with those of iron-saturated lactoferrin (diferric lactoferrin) under conditions that inhibit the transfer of iron between these iron-binding proteins in the bioassay system. In addition, we have compared the dose-response relationships of diferric lactoferrin and apolactoferrin. The results demonstrated that lactoferrin, independent of iron-binding states, promoted the incorporation of thymidine into the DNA of rat crypt enterocytes. These observations suggest a previously unreported nutritional role for lactoferrin that is independent of its iron-binding capacity.
Business-IT Alignment in PSS Value Networks - Linking Customer Knowledge Management to Social Customer Relationship Management

Offering a PSS that is based on co-creating value with customer, starts with understanding customer needs. Customer understanding is realized through the process of managing customer knowledge across a PSS value network. In this respect, customer knowledge management (CKM) is seen as a core business capability. We extend the notion of CKM capability to a PSS value network, defining it as a value network CKM (VN-CKM) capability. We also look at the supportive IT capability, which we define as the value network social customer relationship management (VN-SCRM) capability. At operational level VN-CKM and VN-SCRM capabilities are reflected in the execution of business processes and information systems. To achieve BIA, a linkage is required between the VN-CKM capability and the VN-SCRM capability and between its accompanying business processes and systems. If in the process of VN-CKM, activities such as creation, storage/retrieve, transfer, and usage of customer knowledge are enabled by VN-SCRM systems across a network, the established BIA will support the functioning of the PSS. In this study we discuss the role of a VN-SCRM capability and identify requirement components of accompanying systems in relation to a VN-CKM capability and accompanying processes, in order to foster BIA at a network level.