Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Gene Expression During Maturation of Immature Dendritic Cells Derived from Peripheral Blood Monocytes

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most important antigen‐presenting cells. Many recent studies have compared the function of immature DCs (iDCs) and mature DCs (mDCs), but there have been few reports of the molecular changes that occur in DCs during maturation. Here, we report on differential gene expression in iDCs generated from peripheral blood monocytes compared with mDCs. Gene expression was evaluated using the differential display method after activation of iDCs with a low concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce maturation. Proteasome subunit alpha type 3 (PSMA3), transcription factor EC (TFEC) isoform and BTK region clone 2f10‐rpi were transiently upregulated. Tryptophanyl‐tRNA synthetase and CD63 antigen were upregulated for at least 24 h. Neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) and transforming growth factor‐β‐induced 68 kDa protein were downregulated. This is the first report of NAIP expression in human DCs. By comparing the expression of NAIP with that of other members of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family and the Bcl‐2 family, only NAIP was found to be strongly expressed in iDCs before stimulation by LPS. PSMA3 was also induced in the DCs stimulated with immune complex. These findings might contribute to our understanding of DC maturation and the effectiveness of DC‐based vaccines.
Similar brain activation patterns for writing logographic and phonetic symbols in Chinese

This event-related functional MRI study examined the neural correlates for Chinese writing, by comparing the writing of logographic characters and that of pinyin, a phonetic notation system for Chinese characters. The temporal profile of the activations indicated that the middle frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and posterior inferior temporal gyrus reflected more central processes for writing. Although pinyin writing elicited greater activity overall than character writing, the critical finding is that the two types of symbols recruited essentially the same brain regions. The results were compared with studies in Japanese showing dissociation between logographic kanji and phonetic kana writing and frequency of use was suggested to be an important factor in accounting for result differences across the two writing systems.
Interaction between repetitive stimulation of the sciatic nerve and functional ablation of cerebellar nucleus interpositus in the rat

It is established that cerebellar nuclei exert a significant effect on the excitability of spinal neurons. However, their output is heterogeneous. Conditioning trains of dentate nucleus stimuli are known to modify the post-synaptic potentials evoked in motoneurons by stimulation of group Ia and Ib afferents in appropriate peripheral nerves. The role of the interpositus nucleus in the modulation of the excitability of rat spinal cord remains unclear. We investigated the interactions between tetrodotoxin (TTX)-induced inactivation of the interpositus cerebellar nuclei and repetitive electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral sciatic nerve (proximal segment) in the anesthetized rat. TTX (10 microM) was administered in cerebellar nuclei by the technique of microdialysis (coordinates of the extremity of the guide related to bregma: AP: -11.6, L: +2.3, V: -4.6). Peripheral stimulation consisted of trains of electric stimuli at a rate of 10 Hz, which were repeated every second during 1 hour. Stimulus intensity was adjusted to produce constant somatosensory evoked potentials. H-reflex, F-wave and M responses of the plantaris muscles were analysed ipsilaterally. H-reflex recruitment curve, Hmax/Mmax ratios, F-wave persistence and mean F/mean M ratios were studied. Functional blockade of cerebellar interpositus nucleus reduced the slope of H-reflex recruitment curve without affecting the Hmax/Mmax ratio, and depressed both F-waves persistence and mean F/mean M ratios. Concomitant repetitive stimulation of the sciatic nerve counteracted the depression of the H-reflex recruitment curve, without interacting with F-waves depression. Our results (1) show that TTX-sensitive sodium channels in cerebellar nucleus interpositus modulate the H-reflex recruitment, and (2) reveal an interaction between TTX-sensitive sodium channels in cerebellar nuclei and afferent repetitive activity not described so far.
Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) birth patterns and human presence in zoological settings

In response to work demonstrating a negative correlation between human staff activity and parturition in laboratory‐managed primates, this study examined the distribution of 231 captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) births that occurred in accredited American zoological institutions by the day of the week on which the birth was discovered. We hypothesized that if chimpanzee parturition patterns displayed sensitivity to human presence, then fewer births per day would be reported during the weekend period, when the visitor density was high, as compared with the lower density working week. Analyses indicated that chimpanzee births were randomly distributed throughout the week. In the context of the questionable sensitivity of primate parturition to external influence, results suggest that variations in human presence do not affect the fine‐level timing of birth in chimpanzees managed in a zoological setting. Am. J. Primatol. 70:703–706, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
One English Language Arts Teacher’s Journey as a Secondary Teacher-Mentor: Life in the Hyphen

This article shares the results of a case study that explored Annie’s socially situated identity as a secondary English Language Arts teacher-mentor over 5 years at an urban school. Annie’s identities as a teacher-mentor occupied the space of the hyphen—sometimes a teacher, sometimes a mentor, sometimes both. Using discourse analysis, we describe how Annie positioned herself and was positioned as a mentor and a teacher. We explore Annie’s transformations informed by figured worlds associated with the Discourses of Mentor and Teacher at College Prep. Annie’s teacher-mentor identity shifted, evolved, and overlapped in this space as she interacted at College Prep and was influenced by institutional and societal Discourses, including students’ home Discourses. The study points to the need for more and perhaps different kinds of support for mentor-teacher/teacher-mentors who work in urban school environments to prepare them to negotiate potential conflicts in their identities.
Low‐Glutamine Fed‐Batch Cultures of 293‐HEK Serum‐Free Suspension Cells for Adenovirus Production

Recent developments in gene therapy using adenoviral (Ad) vectors have fueled renewed interest in the 293 human embryonic kidney cell line traditionally used to produce these vectors. Low‐glutamine fed‐batch cultures of serum‐free, suspension cells in a 5‐L bioreactor were conducted. Our aim was to tighten the control on glutamine metabolism and hence reduce ammonia and lactate accumulation. Online direct measurement of glutamine was effected via a continuous cell‐exclusion system that allows for aseptic, cell‐free sampling of the culture broth. A feedback control algorithm was used to maintain the glutamine concentration at a level as low as 0.1 mM with a concentrated glucose‐free feed medium. This was tested in two media: a commercial formulation (SFM II) and a chemically defined DMEM/F12 formulation. The fed‐batch and batch cultures were started at the same glucose concentration, and it was not controlled at any point in the fed‐batch cultures. In all cases, fed‐batch cultures with double the cell density and extended viable culture time compared to the batch cultures were achieved. An infection study on the high density fed‐batch culture using adenovirus‐green fluorescent protein (Ad‐GFP) construct was also done to ascertain the production capacity of the culture. Virus titers from the infected fed‐batch culture showed that there is an approximately 10‐fold improvement over a batch infection culture. The results have shown that the control of glutamine at low levels in cultures is sufficient to yield significant improvements in both cell densities and viral production. The applicability of this fed‐batch system to cultures in different media and also infected cultures suggests its potential for application to generic mammalian cell cultures.
Engagement of the Lysine-Specific Demethylase/HDAC1/CoREST/REST Complex by Herpes Simplex Virus 1

ABSTRACT Among the early events in herpes simplex virus 1 replication are localization of ICP0 in ND10 bodies and accumulation of viral DNA-protein complexes in structures abutting ND10. ICP0 degrades components of ND10 and blocks silencing of viral DNA, achieving the latter by dislodging HDAC1 or -2 from the lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1)/CoREST/REST repressor complex. The role of this process is apparent from the observation that a dominant-negative CoREST protein compensates for the absence of ICP0 in a cell-dependent fashion. HDAC1 or -2 and the CoREST/REST complex are independently translocated to the nucleus once viral DNA synthesis begins. The focus of this report is twofold. First, we report that in infected cells, LSD1, a key component of the repressor complex, is partially degraded or remains stably associated with CoREST and is ultimately also translocated, in part, to the cytoplasm. Second, we examined the distribution of the components of the repressor complex and ICP8 early in infection in wild-type-virus- and ICP0 mutant virus-infected cells. The repressor component and ultimately ICP8 localize in structures that abut the ND10 nuclear bodies. There is no evidence that the two compartments fuse. We propose that ICP0 must dynamically interact with both compartments in order to accomplish its functions of degrading PML and SP100 and suppressing silencing of viral DNA through its interactions with CoREST. In turn, the remodeling of the viral DNA-protein complex enables recruitment of ICP8 and initiation of formation of replication compartments.
Selection of Salt Tolerant Plants of Nicotiana Tabacum L. Through in vitro and its Biochemical Characterization

Sodium chloride tolerant organogenic callus lines of Nicotiana tabacum were developed in vitro on Murashige and Skoog [16] medium supplemented with BA, IAA and different concentration of NaCl. The maximum shoot bud regeneration was achieved from both tolerant and non-tolerant calluses on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/1 BA, 0.1 mg/1 IAA with or without NaCl within 4 weeks of culture. Standard growth parameters such as fresh weight and dry weight of organogenic callus, growth tolerant index and enzyme activity (peroxidase and catalase) were used as indicators of salt tolerance. The growth tolerance index in the 4-week after the beginning of treatments yielded significant differences among the non-tolerant and tolerant organogenic callus lines. The regenerated shoots were rooted on half-strength MS basal salts supplemented with 2% sucrose but devoid of growth regulator. The regenerated plants from tolerant callus lines were capable of growing in vitro in presence of 175 niM NaCl. SDS-PAGE profile showed that the progenies derived from tolerant sources were tolerant to salt. This investigation may help in the selection and characterization of salt tolerance in plant improvement programme.
The influence of stimulation pulse frequency on the generation of joint moments in the upper limb

Six muscles of the upper limb were stimulated transcutaneously. The influence of the stimulation pulse frequency on the isometric joint moment generated by each muscle is reported. A lower frequency of stimulation, the critical fusion frequency, was found for each muscle at which contractions ceased to be tetanic. This fusion frequency was correlated with muscle function. The magnitude of the joint moment was examined as a function of the stimulation pulse frequency for the six muscles tested. Parabolic curves were found to fit this relationship best, the magnitude of the moment reaching a maximum at typically 50 Hz and often decreasing at higher frequencies. The slope of the linear portion of the relationship between the generated joint moment and the stimulation current intensity was shown to be a function of the stimulation pulse frequency. <<ETX>>
Evaluation of a pushrim-activated, power-assisted wheelchair.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate a novel pushrim-activated, power-assisted wheelchair (PAPAW) for compliance with wheelchair standards, metabolic energy cost during propulsion, and ergonomics during selected activities of daily living (ADLs). DESIGN A 3-phase study, the second and third of which were repeated-measures designs. SETTING A rehabilitation engineering center within a Veterans Affairs medical center. PATIENTS Eleven full-time, community-dwelling, manual wheelchair users (4 women, 6 men) with spinal cord injuries or multiple sclerosis. INTERVENTIONS Phase 1: Compliance testing, with a test dummy, in accordance with the wheelchair standards of the American National Standards Institute and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. Phase 2: Metabolic energy consumption testing-at 2 speeds and 3 resistance levels-in subjects' manual wheelchair and the PAPAW. Phase 3: Evaluation of ability to perform ADLs and ergonomics of the PAPAW compared with the subjects personal wheelchair. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Phase 1: The PAPAW's static stability, static strength, impact strength, fatigue strength, environmental response, obstacle climbing ability, range, maximum speed, and braking distance. Phase 2: Subjects' oxygen consumption per minute, minute ventilation, and heart rate during different speeds and workloads with a PAPAW and their own wheelchairs. Phase 3: Subject ratings of perceived comfort and basic ergonomics while performing selected ADLs. Completion time, stroke frequency, and heart rate during each ADL. RESULTS Phase 1: The PAPAW was found to be in compliance with wheelchair standards. Phase 2: With the PAPAW, the user had a significantly lower oxygen consumption (&Vdot;O(2)mL/min: p <. 0001; &Vdot;O(2)mL/kg x min: p <. 0001) and heart rate (p <.0001) when compared with a manual wheelchair at different speeds. Phase 3: The PAPAW had a significantly higher mean ergonomic evaluation (p <.01) than the subjects' personal wheelchairs. The results of comparing the ratings of the car transfer between the PAPAW and the subjects' personal wheelchair showed a significant difference in the task of taking the wheels off (p <.001) and putting the wheels back on (p =.001), with the PAPAW receiving lower ratings. CONCLUSION This study indicated that the PAPAW is compliant with wheelchair standards, reduces the energy demand placed on the user during propulsion, and that subjects rated its ergonomics favorably when compared with their personal wheelchair. PAPAWs may provide manual wheelchairs with a less physiologically stressful means of mobility with few adaptations to the vehicle or home environment.
Next-Generation Environmental Diversity Surveys of Foraminifera: Preparing the Future

Foraminifera are commonly defined as marine testate protists, and their diversity is mainly assessed on the basis of the morphology of their agglutinated or mineralized tests. Diversity surveys based on environmental DNA (eDNA) have dramatically changed this view by revealing an unexpected diversity of naked and organic-walled lineages as well as detecting foraminiferal lineages in soil and freshwater environments. Moreover, single-cell analyses have allowed discrimination among genetically distinctive types within almost every described morphospecies. In view of these studies, the foraminiferal diversity appeared to be largely underestimated, but its accurate estimation was impeded by the low speed and coverage of a cloning-based eDNA approach. With the advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies, these limitations disappeared in favor of exhaustive descriptions of foraminiferal diversity in numerous samples. Yet, the biases and errors identified in early HTS studies raised some questions about the accuracy of HTS data and their biological interpretation. Among the most controversial issues affecting the reliability of HTS diversity estimates are (1) the impact of technical and biological biases, (2) the sensitivity and specificity of taxonomic sequence assignment, (3) the ability to distinguish rare species, and (4) the quantitative interpretation of HTS data. Here, we document the lessons learned from previous HTS surveys and present the current advances and applications focusing on foraminiferal eDNA. We discuss the problems associated with HTS approaches and predict the future trends and avenues that hold promises for surveying foraminiferal diversity accurately and efficiently.
Genetic Association Analysis of Functional Polymorphisms in Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase 1 Gene (NOS1) and Mood Disorders and Fluvoxamine Response in Major Depressive Disorder in the Japanese Population

Background/Aim: Nitric oxide has been reported to play a role in neural transmitter release and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation, as well as to be related to oxidative stress. Abnormalities in both of these mechanisms are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders including major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP). In addition, several lines of evidence support an association between abnormalities in neuronal nitric oxide synthases (nNOS) and mood disorders. Therefore, we studied the association of nNOS gene (NOS1) and mood disorders and the efficacy of fluvoxamine treatment in Japanese MDD patients. Materials and Methods: Using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs41279104, also called ex1c), we conducted a genetic association analysis of case-control samples (325 MDD patients, 154 BP patients and 807 controls) in the Japanese population. In addition, we performed an association analysis between NOS1 and the efficacy of fluvoxamine treatment in 117 MDD patients. We defined a clinical response as a decrease of more than 50% in baseline SIGH-D (Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) score within 8 weeks, and clinical remission as an SIGH-D score of less than 7 at 8 weeks. Results: We did not detect a significant association between NOS1 and MDD, BP or the fluvoxamine therapeutic response in MDD in allele/genotype-wise analysis. Conclusions: We did not detect an association between only one marker (rs41279104) in NOS1 and Japanese mood disorder patients and fluvoxamine response, but sample sizes were probably too small to allow a meaningful test. Moreover, because we did not perform an association analysis based on linkage disequilibrium and a mutation scan of NOS1, a replication of the study using a larger sample and based on linkage disequilibrium may be required for conclusive results.
The clinical features and prognosis of chronic posthypoxic myoclonus

The clinical and neurophysiologic features of 14 patients with chronic posthypoxic myoclonus are presented. Patients were first seen a mean of 2.5 years (range, 2 to 105 months) after the hypoxic event and followed up for 3.7 years (range, 7 to 84 months) thereafter. All patients had had a cardiorespiratory arrest, most caused by an acute asthmatic attack (11 cases). All patients had multifocal action myoclonus. Eleven patients had additional stimulus‐sensitive myoclonus. There was late improvement in the myoclonic syndrome and the level of disability in all but one patient. Three patients were eventually able to discontinue antimyoclonic medication, and five patients were able to walk unaided. Cognitive deficits were found in seven patients and were usually mild. Other neurologic deficits were rare. Electrophysiologic investigation confirmed cortical action myoclonus in every case, although this could be combined with cortical reflex myoclonus, an exaggerated startle response, or brainstem reticular reflex myoclonus. We conclude that posthypoxic myoclonus typically consists of multifocal cortical action myoclonus that improves with time. It is only rarely associated with severe additional neurologic deficit.
Beauveria bassiana keratitis in bullous keratopathy: antifungal sensitivity testing and management

Purpose Beauveria bassiana is a ubiquitous fungus available as an insecticide. In humans, it has limited virulence; to our knowledge, only 3 cases of invasive disease and 10 cases of keratitis have been documented. Methods and Results We report the first case of B bassiana keratitis in a patient with aphakic bullous keratopathy. The fungal keratitis proved to be highly resistant to topical clotrimazole. Molecular identification was based on DNA sequence analysis. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) obtained were 2 µg/mL for voriconazole, 0.250 µg/mL for posaconazole, and >128 µg/mL for fluconazole; amphotericin B MIC was >16 µg/mL. In the absence of clinical improvement, a penetrating keratoplasty (PK) was performed. The patient was discharged on topical and systemic voriconazole and prednisolone 40 mg PO/day. The eye remained calm with a transparent cornea and clear anterior chamber. Conclusions B bassiana keratitis is extremely rare, with only a few cases reported. Its risk factors are unknown. We report the first case in a patient with aphakic bullous keratopathy, which proved highly resistant to antifungal therapy (antifungal susceptibility results are presented). A PK was necessary for clinical improvement. A review of the literature is performed in an effort to define therapeutic strategies.
A behavioral perspective on corporate dividend policy: evidence from France

PurposeThis paper empirically examines the catering theory of Baker and Wurgler (2004) in the particular context of France. Considering the characteristics of French market – known for its high concentration of capital – it attempts to highlight the role family control plays in the managerial tendencies to satisfy non-informative dividend demands.Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses on a large data set of French firms included in the SBF-250 index over a period of 1992-2010. It uses a variety of dividend policy measures, including dividend premium, percentage of dividend-paying firms and probability of paying dividends. It adopts appropriate empirical specifications (time-series and probit models) to substantiate the research hypotheses.FindingsThe empirical findings show that the percentage of payers rises with the dividend premium, and that the dividend premium and the confidence index of French households are negatively correlated. This reflects the sensitivity of dividend demand to investor sentiment. Moreover, results of multivariate panel regression show a positive and statistically significant effect of the dividend premium on the firm’s tendency to pay, after controlling for firm characteristics. Finally, it finds that the dividend premium effect disappears in the case of family-controlled firms. This result is in line with the long-term orientation of family firms.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on the dividend payment behavior of French firms. Although dividends are deeply engrained in France, authors believe that it will be interesting to look at the whole payout policy and particularly the role played by share repurchases.Practical implicationsAddressing short-term catering and managerial opportunism, the results of this study may be of interest for shareholders, potential investors and regulators.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that provides empirical evidence on Baker and Wurgler (2004) catering theory by considering the particularity of French market where, unlike the US, percentage of dividend-paying firms is high and the corporate ownership structures are different.