Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep in the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi): A semi‐restrictive, non‐invasive, polysomnographic study

The normal sleep patterns of the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) have not been described yet. The objective of this study was to characterize the electrophysiological patterns, sleeping postures, and sleep‐wake cycle in semi‐restricted spider monkeys. Continuous 24‐hr polysomnographic (PSG) recordings, involving simultaneous recording of non‐invasive electroencephalographic (EEG), electro‐oculographic (EOG), and electromyographic (EMG) activities, were carried out in captive monkeys living in outdoor rainforest enclosures. Electrode placement was done according to the human international 10–20 system. Specific behaviors displayed by monkeys during the sleep‐wake cycles were correlated with the PSG recordings. The nycthemeral distribution of the sleep‐wake cycle was also calculated. The results show that electrophysiological N‐REM sleep patterns in spider monkeys are similar to those observed in other primates, including human beings. Furthermore, a vertical semi‐fetal posture was observed during N‐REM and REM sleep phases. The amount of nocturnal sleep was significantly higher than that of the diurnal period, showing that the spider monkey is a diurnal primate. An outstanding finding was the absence of muscular atonia during the spider monkey's REM sleep, which suggests that arboreal primates have developed a neuromuscular mechanism specialized for sleeping in a vertical posture. Am. J. Primatol. 77:200–210, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Give me a sample of air and I will tell which species are found from your region: Molecular identification of fungi from airborne spore samples

Fungi are a megadiverse group of organisms, they play major roles in ecosystem functioning and are important for human health, food production and nature conservation. Our knowledge on fungal diversity and fungal ecology is however still very limited, in part because surveying and identifying fungi is time demanding and requires expert knowledge. We present a method that allows anyone to generate a list of fungal species likely to occur in a region of interest, with minimal effort and without requiring taxonomical expertise. The method consists of using a cyclone sampler to acquire fungal spores directly from the air to an Eppendorf tube, and applying DNA barcoding with probabilistic species identification to generate a list of species from the sample. We tested the feasibility of the method by acquiring replicate air samples from different geographical regions within Finland. Our results show that air sampling is adequate for regional‐level surveys, with samples collected >100 km apart varying but samples collected <10 km apart not varying in their species composition. The data show marked phenology, and thus obtaining a representative species list requires aerial sampling that covers the entire fruiting season. In sum, aerial sampling combined with probabilistic molecular species identification offers a highly effective method for generating a species list of air‐dispersing fungi. The method presented here has the potential to revolutionize fungal surveys, as it provides a highly cost‐efficient way to include fungi as a part of large‐scale biodiversity assessments and monitoring programs.
Validity of Admissions Measures in Predicting Performance Outcomes: The Contribution of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Dimensions

Background: Admissions committees face the daunting task of selecting a small number of candidates who are most likely to succeed in medical school from a large pool of seemingly suitable applicants. While numerous studies have shown moderate correlations among measures of academic performance, predictors of the non-cognitive domain (eg. interpersonal, communication, ethical) remain elusive, in part because of the absence of a sound criterion measure. Purpose: We examined the utility of several cognitive and non-cognitive criteria used in the admissions processes in predicting both cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions of the licencing examinations of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC). Methods: Predictors included: undergraduate GPA, undergraduate science GPA, an autobiographical letter, scores from a simulated tutorial, a personal interview and the MCAT. Of specific interest was the relation between measures of communication and problem-exploration skills as assessed during the admissions process and Part II of the LMCC Examination, a multi-station OSCE. Results: Undergraduate GPAs were found to have the most utility in predicting both academic and clinical performance. Scores derived from the simulated tutorial did not predict future performance. The MCAT Verbal Reasoning score and the personal interview were found to be useful in predicting communication skills on the LMCC Part II. Conclusions: The results have implications for any school that uses the interview as an admissions tool.
Assessment of executive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury: Comparison of the BADS with other clinical neuropsychological measures

Traditional neuropsychological measures of executive dysfunction (ED) are widely believed to lack adequate sensitivity and selectivity. This may indicate that existing measures are poorly designed and constructed, although an alternative explanation is that executive cognition is multifactorial, such that its assessment necessarily requires administration of multiple measures. This possibility led to the development of a test battery, the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS). To investigate the sensitivity of the BADS to ED, it and various other measures of ED were administered to 64 persons who had sustained traumatic brain injury. The treating clinical neuropsychologist and occupational therapist for each participant also completed a behavioural rating scale, the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). Four factors were found to underlie scores on the neuropsychological measures, but few tests were sufficiently powerful to make a significant unique contribution to predicting scores on the DEX. This confirms that multiple tests, drawn from both the BADS and other sources, may be necessary to detect ED in a clinical population. (JINS, 2005, 11, 606–613.)
Shock, terror and controversy: how the media reacted to the Women's Health Initiative

ABSTRACT Results from the first publication of the Women's Health Initiative trial were announced by press release and press conference in July 2002. The announcement explained that the combined hormone trial had been terminated early because of ‘increased breast cancer risk’. The dramatic nature of the announcement set the tone for the early news reporting from the study and introduced a note of confusion into the media's perception of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Such a tone persisted until July 2007, when the trial revised its findings on cardiovascular risk. Despite investigators’ protests to the contrary, the results were perceived by the press as a U-turn, and reinforced the media's confused interpretation of the safety and benefits of HRT. We argue that the WHI's melodramatic presentation of its results explains the media response.
Mapping of export signals of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pilin with alkaline phosphatase fusions

Pili of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are assembled from monomers of the structural subunit, pilin, after secretion of this protein across the bacterial membrane. These subunits are initally synthesized as precursors (prepilin) with a six-amino-acid leader peptide that is cleaved off during or after membrane traversal, followed by methylation of the amino-terminal phenylalanine residue. This report demonstrates that additional sequences from the N terminus of the mature protein are necessary for membrane translocation. Gene fusions were made between amino-terminal coding sequences of the cloned pilin gene (pilA) and the structural gene for Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (phoA) devoid of a signal sequence. Fusions between at least 45 amino acid residues of the mature pilin and alkaline phosphatase resulted in translocation of the fusion proteins across the cytoplasmic membranes of both P. aeruginosa and E. coli strains carrying recombinant plasmids, as measured by alkaline phosphatase activity and Western blotting. Fusion proteins constructed with the first 10 amino acids of prepilin (including the 6-amino-acid leader peptide) were not secreted, although they were detected in the cytoplasm. Therefore, unlike that of the majority of secreted proteins that are synthesized with transient signal sequences, the membrane traversal of pilin across the bacterial membrane requires the transient six-amino-acid leader peptide as well as sequences contained in the N-terminal region of the mature pilin protein.
Synaptic potentials in rat locus coeruleus neurones.

1. Intracellular recordings were made from locus coeruleus neurones in a slice of tissue cut from the rat pons. A depolarizing postsynaptic potential (PSP) followed electrical stimulation of the slice surface; the latency was 1‐3 ms and the duration was 50‐200 ms. 2. The reversal potential of the PSP (estimated by extrapolation from potentials between ‐60 and ‐90 mV) was ‐27 mV when the recording electrodes contained potassium chloride, and ‐36 mV when electrodes contained potassium acetate or methylsulphate. 3. Kynurenic acid depressed the PSP amplitude by up to 60%. The residual PSP reversed polarity at ‐50 mV (extrapolated, potassium chloride in electrodes) or ‐70 mV (observed, potassium methylsulphate in electrodes): it was blocked by bicuculline (10 microM). 4. Exogenously applied gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) depolarized cells when the recording electrode contained potassium chloride (reversal potential was ‐45 mV) and hyperpolarized cells when the recording electrode contained potassium methylsulphate (reversal potential was ‐70 mV). 5. In the presence of bicuculline, the residual PSP was blocked by kynurenic acid, whereas DL‐2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid (2‐APV) reduced its amplitude to 80% of control. 6. Exogenously applied glutamate, quisqualate and N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) all caused a membrane depolarization (or an inward current under voltage clamp) which reversed polarity at about 0 mV. These effects were blocked by kynurenic acid (500 microM); 2‐APV (50 microM) selectively blocked the effect of NMDA. 7. The results indicate that the PSP evoked by focal stimulation within the nucleus locus coeruleus results from an excitatory amino acid acting predominantly at non‐NMDA receptors, and from GABA acting at GABAA receptors.
Molecular Markers for Discrimination of Benign and Malignant Follicular Thyroid Tumors

Objective: To identify molecular markers useful for the diagnostic discrimination of benign and malignant follicular thyroid tumors. Methods: A panel of thyroid tumors was characterized with expression profiling using cDNA microarrays. A robust algorithm for gene selection was developed to identify molecular markers useful for the classification of heterogeneous tumor classes. The study included tumor tissue specimens from 10 patients with benign follicular adenomas and from 10 with malignant tumors. The malignant tumors mainly consisted of clinically relevant minimally invasive follicular carcinomas. The mRNA expression level of a candidate gene, FHL1, was evaluated in an independent series of 61 tumors. Results: 22 gene expression markers were identified as differentially expressed. Several of the identified genes, for example DIO1, CITED1, CA12 and FN1, have previously been observed as differentially expressed in various thyroid tumors. FHL1 was significantly underexpressed in carcinomas compared to adenomas in the independent panel of tumors. The results indicate that a small number of genes can be useful to distinguish follicular adenomas from follicular carcinomas. Conclusions: Our findings clearly corroborate previous studies and identify novel candidate molecular markers. These genes have the potential for molecular classification of follicular thyroid tumors and for providing improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in thyroid malignancies.
Aspirin and Heparin Effect on Basal and Antiphospholipid Antibody Modulation of Trophoblast Function

OBJECTIVE: Low molecular weight (LMW) heparin, with or without aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid [ASA]), is used to prevent complications in antiphospholipid syndrome in pregnancy. Our objective was to elucidate the actions of low-dose LMW heparin and ASA on basal and antiphospholipid antibody-induced modulation of trophoblast function. METHODS: The human first-trimester trophoblast cell line (HTR-8) was treated with or without antiphospholipid antibody in the presence of no medication, low-dose LMW heparin, low-dose ASA, or combination therapy. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-1&bgr;, growth-regulated oncogene-&agr;, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor, soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1, and soluble endoglin were measured in the supernatant. Cell migration was performed using a two-chamber assay. RESULTS: Low molecular weight heparin improved basal trophoblast migration and induced potent increases in growth-regulated oncogene-&agr; and soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1. Aspirin did not affect basal function. Combined therapy promoted migration but did not reverse the LMW heparin-induced soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 effect. Antiphospholipid antibody increased IL-8, IL-1&bgr;, growth-regulated oncogene-alpha, VEGF, placental growth factor, and soluble endoglin secretion, while decreasing cell migration and IL-6 and soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 secretion. The antiphospholipid antibody-induced cytokine changes were best reversed with LMW heparin, with partial reversal of IL-8 and IL-1&bgr; upregulation. The antiphospholipid antibody-induced angiogenic changes were worsened by LMW heparin, with increased soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 secretion. The therapies did not reverse antiphospholipid antibody-induced decrease in migration. CONCLUSION: In the absence of antiphospholipid antibodies, LMW heparin induces potentially detrimental proinflammatory and antiangiogenic profile in the trophoblast. In the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, single-agent LMW heparin may be the optimal therapy to counter trophoblast inflammation, but also induces an antiangiogenic response. These findings may explain the inability of current therapies to consistently prevent adverse outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II
Melatonin prevents the decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes and activates nuclear erythroid 2‐related factor 2 signaling in an animal model of fulminant hepatic failure of viral origin

Abstract: This work was undertaken to investigate whether treatment with melatonin prevents oxidative stress and changes in the expression and activity of factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2)‐mediated antioxidant enzymes in an animal model of fulminant hepatic failure of viral origin. Rabbits were experimentally infected with 2 × 104 hemagglutination units of a rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) isolate and received melatonin at two concentrations of 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg at 0, 12 and 24 hr postinfection. Blood transaminases, blood lactate dehydrogenase, liver concentration of thiobarbituric reactive acid substances and the liver oxidized to reduced glutathione ratio significantly increased at 36 hr postinfection in infected animals. Significant decreases were found in the mRNA levels and in the liver activities of Mn‐superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione‐S‐transferase in infected rabbits. These effects were prevented by melatonin administration in a concentration‐dependent manner. Melatonin treatment was not accompanied by changes in protein levels of Kelch‐like ECH‐associating protein 1 (Keap1) but resulted in an increased protein expression of Nrf2 in the cytoplasm and the nucleus, which was confirmed by the results of Nrf2 immunostaining. Nuclear extracts from livers of melatonin‐treated rats displayed an enhanced antioxidant responsive element (ARE)‐binding activity of Nrf2. Our results suggest a potential hepatoprotective role of melatonin in fulminant hepatic failure, partially mediated through the abrogation of oxidative stress and the prevention of the decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes via the Nrf2 pathways.
Community based tourism development - insights from Split, Croatia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concept of community and the impacts tourism development poses to it from the community members’ perspective. Also the paper analyses whether community members are capable to manage their own (tourism) development and what might be possible ways in which they affect the choice of the policies and measures aimed at optimization of tourism impacts. Methodology – Besides providing the theoretical analysis and framework, the paper aims to explore the attitudes of the citizens of Split towards tourism development impacts and the role of tourism in building the “sense of community”. Their involvement and participation in local tourism development and policy making will also be viewed through the prism of Social Exchange Theory (SET). The pilot research on 132 community members was conducted using structured questionnaire. Findings – The theoretical part of the paper will explore the notion of community and its relation to the destination concept. Also, it will introduce the founding of the Social Exchange Theory (SET) to explore the attitudes of the local community members towards tourism development impacts. The empirical research will test the dependencies developed through the theoretical part and give valuable insights about the state of the art found in the Split destination/community context. Contribution – Although it is agreed upon by practitioners and researchers that community participation is essential in providing positive attitudes towards tourism and its impacts, their interrelations have not gained substantial attention in Croatian academic community. This paper aims at filling this gap and thus contributing to better understanding of these constructs and their dependencies, which can also help in optimizing tourism management practices.
Modifications to canonical structure sequence patterns: Analysis for L1 and L3

The conformation of five of the six hypervariable loops that form the antigen‐binding site of antibodies is limited to a small set of structures designated as canonical structures. The canonical structure model has been constituted as a fundamental tool for the modeling of antibodies. The detailed study of tens of crystallographic structures of antibodies has shown the validity of this model in the great majority of cases. The robustness of the forecast capacity of this model depends fundamentally on the precision with which the sequence patterns that characterize each canonical structure form can be defined. Nevertheless, due to the enormous quantity of structural information about antibodies generated during the last decade, it is difficult to avoid mistakes or confusion in the model. In the present work, we propose some corrections to the model for loops L1 and L3 that permit defining sequence patterns that avoid confusion and make better forecasting of the canonical structure model possible. Proteins 2002;47:250–254. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Quantum Hall Resistance Standards With Good Quantization at High Electron Mobilities

We study the magnetotransport properties and Hall resistance quantization in a set of AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures grown in a high-mobility molecular beam epitaxy system. The data show that, with reduced spacer layer width, the electron mobility in such heterostructures can be reduced to moderate mobility values of ~6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cm<sup>2</sup>/(V · s). We And good resistance quantization, allowing for a metrological application not only for a quantum Hall device with moderate electron mobility but also for a high-mobility device with an electron mobility of 2.2 × 10<sup>6</sup> cm<sup>2</sup>/(V · s).
Nasal‐type T/natural killer cell angiocentric lymphoma, Epstein–Barr virus‐associated, and showing clonal T‐cell receptor γ gene rearrangement

Nasal‐type T/natural killer (NK) cell lymphoma, which often shows an angiocentric growth pattern, is a distinct clinicopathological entity highly associated with the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). This tumour has a characteristic immunophenotype, whereas the cytological spectrum is broad. It is known that a clonal T‐cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement is not found in this tumour. However, it is still unresolved as to whether the finding of a clonal TCR gene rearrangement excludes the diagnosis of nasal‐type T/NK cell lymphoma. We describe a case of nasal‐type T/NK cell angiocentric lymphoma, EBV‐associated, and showing clonal TCR γ gene rearrangement. The patient died of sepsis 5 months after diagnosis in spite of aggressive chemotherapy.
An international Ki67 reproducibility study.

BACKGROUND In breast cancer, immunohistochemical assessment of proliferation using the marker Ki67 has potential use in both research and clinical management. However, lack of consistency across laboratories has limited Ki67's value. A working group was assembled to devise a strategy to harmonize Ki67 analysis and increase scoring concordance. Toward that goal, we conducted a Ki67 reproducibility study. METHODS Eight laboratories received 100 breast cancer cases arranged into 1-mm core tissue microarrays-one set stained by the participating laboratory and one set stained by the central laboratory, both using antibody MIB-1. Each laboratory scored Ki67 as percentage of positively stained invasive tumor cells using its own method. Six laboratories repeated scoring of 50 locally stained cases on 3 different days. Sources of variation were analyzed using random effects models with log2-transformed measurements. Reproducibility was quantified by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and the approximate two-sided 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the true intraclass correlation coefficients in these experiments were provided. RESULTS Intralaboratory reproducibility was high (ICC = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.93 to 0.97). Interlaboratory reproducibility was only moderate (central staining: ICC = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.78; local staining: ICC = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.37 to 0.68). Geometric mean of Ki67 values for each laboratory across the 100 cases ranged 7.1% to 23.9% with central staining and 6.1% to 30.1% with local staining. Factors contributing to interlaboratory discordance included tumor region selection, counting method, and subjective assessment of staining positivity. Formal counting methods gave more consistent results than visual estimation. CONCLUSIONS Substantial variability in Ki67 scoring was observed among some of the world's most experienced laboratories. Ki67 values and cutoffs for clinical decision-making cannot be transferred between laboratories without standardizing scoring methodology because analytical validity is limited.