Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of annexin A6 isoforms in catecholamine secretion by PC12 cells: Distinct influence on calcium response

Noradrenaline and adrenaline are secreted by adrenal medulla chromaffin cells via exocytosis. Exocytosis of catecholamines occurs after cell stimulation with various endogenous activators such as nicotine or after depolarization of the plasma membrane and is regulated by calcium ions. Cytosolic [Ca2+] increases in response to cell excitation and triggers a signal‐initiated secretion. Annexins are known to participate in the regulation of membrane dynamics and are also considered to be involved in vesicular trafficking. Some experimental evidence suggests that annexins may participate in Ca2+‐regulated catecholamine secretion. In this report the effect of annexin A6 (AnxA6) isoforms 1 and 2 on catecholamine secretion has been described. Overexpression of AnxA6 isoforms and AnxA6 knock‐down in PC12 cells were accompanied by almost complete inhibition or a 20% enhancement of dopamine secretion, respectively. AnxA6‐1 and AnxA6‐2 overexpression reduced Δ[Ca2+]c upon depolarization by 32% and 58%, respectively, while AnxA6 knock‐down increased Δ[Ca2+]c by 44%. The mechanism of AnxA6 action on Ca2+ signalling is not well understood. Experimental evidence suggests that two AnxA6 isoforms interact with different targets engaged in regulation of calcium homeostasis in PC12 cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 168–178, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of recombinant porcine IGFBP‐3 on IGF‐I and long‐R3‐IGF‐I‐stimulated proliferation and differentiation of L6 myogenic cells

Insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐I stimulates both proliferation and differentiation of myogenic precursor cells. In vivo, IGFs are bound to one of the members of a family of six high‐affinity IGF binding proteins (IGFBP 1–6) that regulate their biological activity. One of these binding proteins, IGFBP‐3, affects cell proliferation via both IGF‐dependent and IGF‐independent mechanisms and it has generally been shown to suppress proliferation of cultured cells; however, it also may stimulate proliferation depending upon the cell type and the assay conditions. Cultured porcine embryonic myogenic cells (PEMCs) produce IGFBP‐3 and its level drops significantly immediately prior to differentiation. Additionally, IGFBP‐3 suppresses both IGF‐I and Long‐R3‐IGF‐I‐stimulated proliferation of embryonic porcine myogenic cells. In this study, we have examined the effects of recombinant porcine IGFBP‐3 (rpIGFBP‐3) on IGF‐I‐ and Long‐R3‐IGF‐I‐stimulated proliferation and differentiation of the L6 myogenic cell line. L6 cells potentially provide a good model for studying the actions of IGFBP‐3 on muscle because they contain no non‐muscle cells and they do not produce detectable levels of IGFBP‐3. RpIGFBP‐3 suppresses both IGF‐I and Long‐R3‐IGF‐I‐stimualted proliferation of L6 cells, indicating that it suppresses proliferation via both IGF‐dependent and IGF‐independent mechanisms. Our data also show that rpIGFBP‐3 causes IGF‐independent suppression of proliferation without increasing the level of phosphosmad‐2 in L6 cultures. Additionally, rpIGFBP‐3 suppresses IGF‐I‐stimulated differentiation of L6 cells. In contrast, however, rpIGFBP‐3 does not suppress Long‐R3‐IGF‐I‐stimulated differentiation. This suggests that rpIGFBP‐3 does not have IGF‐independent effects on L6 cell differentiation. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Noninvasive Characterization of the Histopathologic Features of Pulmonary Nodules of the Lung Adenocarcinoma Spectrum using Computer-Aided Nodule Assessment and Risk Yield (CANARY)—A Pilot Study

Introduction: Pulmonary nodules of the adenocarcinoma spectrum are characterized by distinctive morphological and radiologic features and variable prognosis. Noninvasive high-resolution computed tomography–based risk stratification tools are needed to individualize their management. Methods: Radiologic measurements of histopathologic tissue invasion were developed in a training set of 54 pulmonary nodules of the adenocarcinoma spectrum and validated in 86 consecutively resected nodules. Nodules were isolated and characterized by computer-aided analysis, and data were analyzed by Spearman correlation, sensitivity, and specificity and the positive and negative predictive values. Results: Computer-aided nodule assessment and risk yield (CANARY) can noninvasively characterize pulmonary nodules of the adenocarcinoma spectrum. Unsupervised clustering analysis of high-resolution computed tomography data identified nine unique exemplars representing the basic radiologic building blocks of these lesions. The exemplar distribution within each nodule correlated well with the proportion of histologic tissue invasion, Spearman R = 0.87, p < 0.0001 and 0.89 and p < 0.0001 for the training and the validation set, respectively. Clustering of the exemplars in three-dimensional space corresponding to tissue invasion and lepidic growth was used to develop a CANARY decision algorithm that successfully categorized these pulmonary nodules as “aggressive” (invasive adenocarcinoma) or “indolent” (adenocarcinoma in situ and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of this approach for the detection of aggressive lesions were 95.4, 96.8, 95.4, and 96.8%, respectively, in the training set and 98.7, 63.6, 94.9, and 87.5%, respectively, in the validation set. Conclusion: CANARY represents a promising tool to noninvasively risk stratify pulmonary nodules of the adenocarcinoma spectrum.
Green-life of pink banana (Musa spp., cv. Figue Rose Naine): determination of the optimum harvesting date

Summary The context for the production of bananas for export is characterised by a wide range of transport-times between producer and importer countries, and by the use of a single cultivar of banana (Musa spp., AAA group, cv. Cavendish Grande Naine). We investigated the green-life of pink banana (Musa spp., AAA group, Red sub-group, cv. Figue Rose Naine) for the different physiological ages of banana fruit, measured in degree-days (°Cd). We measured the temperature threshold of pink banana (19.8°C) and showed that the green-life of pink banana decreased linearly with the physiological age of the fruit. Thus, we confirm the validity of the relationship between accumulated heat units during fruit growth and green-life that was previously established for Cavendish banana.We searched for the optimum physiological age (°Cd) for harvest, in order to ensure a green-life that fulfilled the requirements for transport and that maximised fruit weight. For Martinique, the optimum flowering-to-harvest interval was found to be 548°Cd, to ensure 25 d of green-life, as required for transport, and to maximise fruit size. We showed that fruit weight was not a good indicator on which to select bananas for harvest in order to ensure a particular green-life. This is the first time that guidance has been proposed for the transport and export of a non-Cavendish banana. These results may assist other producer countries that wish to diversify their banana exports by growing pink banana.
Differential detection algorithms for MSK signals over AWGN and frequency-flat Rayleigh fading channels

Novel symbol-by-symbol differential detection algorithms are proposed for minimum-shift keying signals transmitted over additive white Gaussian noise and frequency-flat Rayleigh fading channels. They are derived as approximations to the maximum likelihood noncoherent detection strategy. Their error performance is assessed by computer simulation and is compared with that of other noncoherent detectors. It is shown that, with fading channels, the new algorithms outperform the traditional methods.
Mapping Conformational Changes of a Type IIb Na+/Pi Cotransporter by Voltage Clamp Fluorometry*

The fluorescence of a fluorophore depends on its environment, and if attached to a protein it may report on conformational changes. We have combined two-electrode voltage clamp with simultaneous fluorescence measurements to detect conformational changes in a type IIb Na+/Pi cotransporter expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Four novel Cys, labeled with a fluorescent probe, yielded voltage- and substrate-dependent changes in fluorescence (F). Neither Cys substitution nor labeling significantly altered the mutant electrogenic properties. Different F responses to voltage and substrate were recorded at the four sites. S155C, located in an intracellular re-entrant loop in the first half of the protein, and E451C, located in an extracellular re-entrant loop in the second half of the protein, both showed Na+, Li+, and Pi-dependent F signals. S226C and Q319C, located at opposite ends of a large extracellular loop in the middle of the protein, mainly responded to changes in Na+ and Li+. Hyperpolarization increased F for S155C and S226C but decreased F for Q319C and E451C. The labeling and F response of S155C, confirmed that the intracellular loop containing Ser-155 is re-entrant as it is accessible from the extracellular milieu. The behavior of S155C and E451C indicates a strong involvement of the two re-entrant loops in conformational changes during the transport cycle. Moreover, the data for S226C and Q319C suggest that also the large extracellular loop is associated with transport function. Finally, the reciprocal voltage dependences of the S155C-E451C and S226C-Q319C pairs suggest reciprocal conformational changes during the transport cycle for their respective local environments.
Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor‐induced signaling in Schwann cells

Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a known survival factor for neurons, has recently been shown to stimulate the migration of Schwann cells (SCs) and to enhance myelination. GDNF exerts its biological effects by activating the Ret tyrosine kinase in the presence of glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐linked receptor, GDNF family receptor (GFR) α1. In Ret‐negative cells, the alternative transmembrane coreceptor is the 140‐kDa isoform of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) associated with a non‐receptor tyrosine kinase Fyn. We confirmed that GDNF, GFRα1 and NCAM are expressed in neonatal rat SCs. We found that GDNF induces an increase in the partitioning of NCAM and heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin into lipid rafts and that heparinase inhibits GDNF‐signaling in SCs. In addition to activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinases, and phosphorylation of cAMP response element binding protein, we found that cAMP‐dependent protein kinase A and protein kinase C are involved in GDNF‐mediated signaling in SCs. Although GDNF did not promote the differentiation of purified SCs into the myelinating phenotype, it enhanced myelination in neuron–SC cocultures. We conclude that GDNF utilizes NCAM signaling pathways to regulate SC function prior to myelination and at early stages of myelin formation.
Young Islamic preachers on Facebook: Pesantren As’adiyah and its engagement with social media

ABSTRACT This article investigates how social media are utilised and appropriated within the community of a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. More generally, it examines how the exposure and engagement with social media have influenced its religious life and the pesantren tradition which is often associated with conservatism. Nowadays, many pesantren, such as As’adiyah, the oldest and once the largest pesantren in the province of South Sulawesi, have inevitably opened themselves to accept and use modern technology in their teaching and preaching programmes. Since the late twentieth century, the alumni of As’adiyah have been maintaining networks in their South Sulawesi homeland and in other parts of Indonesia through personal encounter as well as the assignment of mubalig (religious preacher) and imam. With the introduction and appropriation of digital technologies, many members of the As’adiyah community have harnessed social media to maintain and strengthen their network and increase their religious reputation.
Limited Exercise Capacity in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: Identifying Contributing Factors with Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Objective. Exercise limitation in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) is often multifactorial and related to complications such as interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary vasculopathy (PV), left ventricular dysfunction (LVD), and/or peripheral/muscular limitation (PML). We hypothesized that cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) could not only suggest and rank competing etiologies, but also highlight peripheral impairment. Methods. Clinical, resting pulmonary function testing, and CPET data from patients with SSc referred for exercise limitation between October 2009 and November 2015 were retrospectively analyzed in this bi-center study. Patients were categorized as having ILD, PV, LVD, and/or PML based on CPET response patterns and the diagnoses were matched with results from the reference investigations. The latter consisted of transthoracic echocardiography, chest computed tomography scan, and right heart catheterization (RHC). Results. Twenty-seven patients presented with CPET profiles consistent with ILD (n = 16), PV (n = 15), LVD (n = 5), and PML (n = 19). None of the subjects had a normal CPET profile. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between resting DLCO, on the one hand, and dead space to tidal volume ratio and alveolar–arterial gradient [P(Ai-a)O2] on the other (p < 0.005). CPET identified 90% of patients with a mean pulmonary arterial pressure at rest ≥ 21 mmHg measured by RHC (n = 10). Peak P(Ai-a)O2, taken independently from other variables, was crucial in distinguishing subjects with ILD from those without ILD (p < 0.05). Conclusion. CPET is useful for the characterization of multifactorial exercise limitation in patients with SSc and in identifying SSc-related complications such as ILD and PV. This study also identifies PML as an underestimated cause of exercise limitation.
Seizures etiology in the newborn period.

OBJECTIVE To determine the causes of seizures in the newborn period. DESIGN Cross-sectional analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Neonatal Unit, Paediatric Department, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, from April 2003 to June 2004. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 200 neonates of either gender who presented with seizures or developed seizures during hospital stay were evaluated for the possible etiological factors. Blood glucose, serum calcium, blood counts, cerebrospinal fluid examination and cranial ultrasound were done in all patients while blood culture, serum creatinine, CT scan, metabolic screening and Torch antibody titre were done in selected patients guided by history, examination and initial investigations. Results were analysed using SPSS software and Chi-square test. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS Birth asphyxia was the commonest cause of seizures in the newborn period present in 35% (n = 70) cases. Other commonly identified causes were septicaemia with or without CNS infections 34% (n = 68), metabolic abnormalities 12.5% (n = 25), and intracranial bleed 9.5% (n = 19) cases. Less common causes were kernicterus 4.5% (n = 9), hydrocephalus 1.5% (n = 3), brain malformations 1% (n = 2) and lignocaine toxicity 1% (n = 2) cases. Seizure with presumed idiopathic etiology i.e. 5th day fit was found in only 1% (n = 2) cases. CONCLUSION Etiology of neonatal seizures was identified in 99% cases. It is concluded that neonatal seizures are rarely idiopathic, therefore, an extensive diagnostic work up is needed to establish the cause of seizures in the newborn period.
Validity and Reliability of the ‘Ten Questions’ Questionnaire for Detecting Moderate to Severe Neurological Impairment in Children Aged 6–9 Years in Rural Kenya

Background: The ‘Ten Questions’ Questionnaire (TQQ) is used to detect severe neurological impairment in children living in resource-poor countries. Its usefulness has been established in Asia and the Caribbean, but there are a few published studies from Africa. We evaluated the TQQ as part of a larger study of neurological impairment in a rural community, on the coast of Kenya. Methods: The study was conducted in two phases from June 2001 to May 2002; in phase one, a community household screening of 10,218 children aged 6–9 years using the TQQ was performed. Phase two involved a comprehensive clinical and psychological assessment of all children testing positive on the TQQ (n = 810) and an equivalent number of those testing negative (n = 766). Data were interpreted using the impairment-specific approach. Results: Overall, the sensitivity rates for screening the different impairments were: cognitive (70.0%), motor (71.4%), epilepsy (100%), hearing (87.4%) and visual (77.8%). All the specificity rates were greater than 96%. However, the positive predictive values were low, and ranged from 11 to 33%. Conclusions: These results are similar to those from other continents and provide evidence that the TQQ can be used to compare the epidemiology of moderate/severe impairment in different parts of the world. Furthermore, the TQQ can be used to screen for moderately/severely impaired children in resource-poor countries; however, the low positive predictive values mean that other assessments are required for confirmation.
Failure to detect connexin43 mutations in 38 cases of sporadic and familial heterotaxy.

BACKGROUND Heterotaxy results from failure to establish normal left/right asymmetry during embryonic development. Typical manifestations include complex heart defects and malpositioning of abdominal organs. Missense base substitutions clustered in a 150-base pair region of the gap-junction gene connexin43 (cx43) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of heterotaxy. METHODS AND RESULTS cx43 was studied in 38 cases of sporadic and familial heterotaxy. A 400-base pair region containing the previously reported mutation sites was amplified and directly sequenced in 19 patients. Nineteen additional patients were tested for restriction fragments predicted by two of the previously reported missense substitutions. No difference from normal control subjects was detected in any of the patients. CONCLUSIONS Randomly selected cases of heterotaxy are unlikely to be the result of mutations in cx43.
Video Object Segmentation and Tracking Framework With Improved Threshold Decision and Diffusion Distance

Video object segmentation and tracking are two essential building blocks of smart surveillance systems. However, there are several issues that need to be resolved. Threshold decision is a difficult problem for video object segmentation with a multibackground model. In addition, some conditions make robust video object tracking difficult. These conditions include nonrigid object motion, target appearance variations due to changes in illumination, and background clutter. In this paper, a video object segmentation and tracking framework is proposed for smart cameras in visual surveillance networks with two major contributions. First, we propose a robust threshold decision algorithm for video object segmentation with a multibackground model. Second, we propose a video object tracking framework based on a particle filter with the likelihood function composed of diffusion distance for measuring color histogram similarity and motion clue from video object segmentation. The proposed framework can track nonrigid moving objects under drastic changes in illumination and background clutter. Experimental results show that the presented algorithms perform well for several challenging sequences, and our proposed methods are effective for the aforementioned issues.
Impact of the Development of a Regional Collaborative to Reduce 30-Day Heart Failure Readmissions

Thirty-day heart failure readmissions can be reduced if multiple interventions, such as 7-day postdischarge follow-up, are implemented, but this task is challenging for health systems. Ten hospitals participated in a multisystem collaborative implementing evidence-based strategies. The overall 30-day readmission rate was reduced more in the collaborating hospitals than in the noncollaborating hospitals (from 29.32% to 27.66% vs from 27.66% to 26.03%, P = .008). Regional collaboration between health care systems within a quality improvement project was associated with reduced 30-day readmission.
Electro- and photoswitching of undulation structures in planar cholesteric layers aligned by a polyimide film possessing various values of the anchoring energy

ABSTRACT It is known that the applying of the alternating electric field to a planar texture of cholesterics, at the certain ratio between the LC cell thickness d and the cholesterical helix pitch P, can give rise to the formation of uniform two-dimensional (2D) or one-dimensional (1D) structures (Helfrich–Hurault effect or the so-called undulation instabilities). In this manuscript, on the basis of the studies carried out in the article by B. Senyuk et al. (Proceedings of SPIE. 2005; 5936: 59360W01), the change in the ratio d/P, owing to the unwinding of the photosensitive cholesteric helix during UV exposure in the LC cell with a fixed thickness d, was achieved. As a photosensitive cholesteric liquid crystal, the mixture of the photosensitive chiral dopant 2-(4′-phenylbenzylidene)-p-menthane-3-one dissolved in the nematic E7 was used. Due to the decrease in a ratio d/P, different types of undulations, observed under the alternating electrical field, were switched by UV exposure. By means of UV exposure of a cholesteric, the sequential undulation transitions from 2D to two 1D (1D║ and 1D┴) were received. The influence of UV exposure and the value of the azimuthal anchoring energy on electro- and photoswitching of undulation instabilities were studied. In the case of the 1D║ undulation structure having a controlled period of a grating both in alternating electric field and during UV exposure, the dependencies of jumps of the period and the diffraction efficiency of a cholesteric grating on the anchoring energy of alignment layers were examined. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Altered cerebellar development in mice lacking pituitary adenylate cyclase‐activating polypeptide

Previous studies have demonstrated that pituitary adenylate cyclase‐activating polypeptide (PACAP) exerts trophic effects during neurodevelopment. In particular, the occurrence of PACAP and its receptors in the cerebellum during pre‐ and postnatal periods suggests that it could play a crucial role in ontogenesis of this structure. To test this hypothesis, we compared the histogenesis of cerebellar cortex in wild‐type and PACAP‐knockout (PACAP–/–) mice at postnatal days (P)4 and 7. Morphometric analysis of PACAP–/– mice revealed a significant reduction in the thickness of the external granule cell layer at P4 and of the internal granule cell layer at P7. Expression of nestin, a neural precursor marker, and synaptophysin, a mature neuronal marker, was quantified by real‐time PCR and Western blot. No modification of nestin expression was noticed between wild‐type and PACAP–/– mice, but a substantial decrease in synaptophysin expression was observed in PACAP–/– mice at P4 and P7. Immunohistochemistry revealed a reduction in synaptophysin labelling in the molecular and internal granule cell layers of PACAP–/– mice at P7. Caspase‐3 activation was significantly increased in PACAP–/– mice at P4 and P7. Autoradiographic studies revealed no difference in PACAP binding site distributions and PACAP was effective at stimulating cAMP production in both wild‐type and PACAP–/– cultured granule cells. This study demonstrates that disruption of the PACAP gene induces alteration of the immature cerebellum. Neuronal differentiation of granule cells was delayed whereas cell death that naturally occurs during ontogeny was increased in PACAP–/– mice. These data provide the first evidence of a physiological role for PACAP during cerebellar development.