Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of cholecystokinin and pancreatic polypeptide endocrine systems during the larval stage of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus.

To understand the developmental process of the endocrine system, which controls the pancreatic exocrine function in Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, the expression patterns of cholecystokinin (CCK) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) during the larval stage were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Expression of CCK in the intestinal epithelia started at 2 days posthatching (dph), 1 day prior to the first feeding. Endocrine pancreatic cells containing insulin were present in the pancreas primodium at hatching, and these endocrine cells formed an islet at 3 dph and developed into the principle islet neighboring gallbladder at 20 dph. However, PP cells were not contained in the principle islet even after metamorphosis. PP cells were contained in the accessory islets differentiated around the proximal part of the pyloric appendages at 30 dph (early metamorphosis stage). Therefore, we infer that the stimulative regulation of pancreatic enzyme secretion by CCK starts to function at the first feeding, whereas the restrictive regulation by PP develops about 1 month later in flounder larvae. In addition, we observed that CCK immunoreactive cells appeared in the accessory islets at 30 dph, similar to PP cells, even though CCK mRNA expression could not be detected in cells from the islets. This indicates the possibility that a peptide that is cross-reacted with the CCK antibody, i.e., gastrin, is synthesized in the flounder islets.
Test-Retest Stability and Practice Effects of the RBANS in a Community Dwelling Elderly Sample

Repeated neuropsychological assessments are common with older adults, and the determination of true neurocognitive change is important for diagnostic assessment. Several statistical formulas are available to assist in this determination, but they rely on access to test-retest stability coefficients and practice effect values. The current study presents data on these psychometric properties of the RBANS in a large community dwelling elderly sample. Across a one-year retest interval, stability coefficients ranged from . 58 to . 83 for the Index scores, and from . 51 to . 83 for the subtest scores. Practice effects were largely absent, with most performances slightly decreasing at retest. These psychometric properties are contrasted with those reported in the RBANS manual, and possible reasons for these differences are discussed. A case example is provided that demonstrates the use of the current findings in conjunction with existing change formulas.
Mutations in the temperature‐sensitive murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) mutants tsm5 and tsm30: A study of genes involved in immune evasion, DNA packaging and processing, and DNA replication

A murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) temperature‐sensitive (ts) mutant, tsm5, of the K181 (Birmingham) strain, showed ∼10‐fold and ∼10,000‐fold reductions in yields at the permissive (33°C) and non‐permissive temperature (40°C), respectively. It did not replicate to detectable levels in any tissue of 1‐week‐old Balb/c mice for up to 21 days following i.p. inoculation with 4 × 103 pfu although it did replicate, albeit with considerably delayed kinetics, in SCID mice. tsm5 expressed all kinetic classes of transcript (immediate‐early, early and late) both in vitro at the non‐permissive temperature and in vivo. To identify mutations contributing to this phenotype, chimaeric viruses produced from overlapping cosmids generated from tsm5 and the Smith strain of MCMV were examined. A virus, Smith/tsm5DGIK, comprising the central conserved region of the tsm5 genome, was not attenuated at 33 or 37°C but was ts at 40°C, although not to the same extent as tsm5. In contrast to tsm5, this chimaeric virus replicated to similar levels as parental viruses in adult BALB/c mice. These results suggested that genes contributing to reduced replication at 33°C and lack of replication in vivo are located at the ends of the tsm5 genome while those contributing to the ts phenotype are located in the central conserved region of the genome. Sequencing of some immune evasion genes known to be located at the 3′ or 5′ ends of the MCMV genome showed that no mutations were present in ORFs m04, m06, M33, M37, m38.5, m144, m152, or m157 although mutations were found in M27 (A658S) and M36Ex1 (V54I). tsm5 made few capsids at 40°C and these lacked DNA. DNA synthesis was significantly reduced in tsm5‐infected cells at 40°C although DNA cleavage occurred with close to wt efficiency. Sequencing of the herpesvirus conserved cis‐acting elements, pac1 and pac2, and genes involved in DNA packaging and cleavage located in the central core region of the genome identified few point mutations. Two were identified that alter the encoded protein in tsm5 ORFs M98 (P324S) and M56 (G439R). Furthermore, a point mutation (C890Y) was identified in M70, the primase. Another mutant, tsm30, which is also defective in DNA packaging and processing, has a point mutation in M52 (D494N). Thus, a number of mutations have been identified in tsm5 that suggests that it is defective in genes involved in immune evasion, DNA replication and DNA encapsidation. J. Med. Virol. 79:285–299, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Homo-trimerization is essential for the transcription factor function of Myrf for oligodendrocyte differentiation

Abstract Myrf is a key transcription factor for oligodendrocyte differentiation and central nervous system myelination. We and others have previously shown that Myrf is generated as a membrane protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and that it undergoes auto-processing to release its N-terminal fragment from the ER, which enters the nucleus to work as a transcription factor. These previous studies allow a glimpse into the unusual complexity behind the biogenesis and function of the transcription factor domain of Myrf. Here, we report that Myrf N-terminal fragments assemble into stable homo-trimers before ER release. Consequently, Myrf N-terminal fragments are released from the ER only as homo-trimers. Our re-analysis of a previous genetic screening result in Caenorhabditis elegans shows that homo-trimerization is essential for the biological functions of Myrf N-terminal fragment, and that the region adjacent to the DNA-binding domain is pivotal to its homo-trimerization. Further, our computational analysis uncovered a novel homo-trimeric DNA motif that mediates the homo-trimeric DNA binding of Myrf N-terminal fragments. Importantly, we found that homo-trimerization defines the DNA binding specificity of Myrf N-terminal fragments. In sum, our study elucidates the molecular mechanism governing the biogenesis and function of Myrf N-terminal fragments and its physiological significance.
Adam Mansplains Everything: White-Hipster Masculinity as Covert Hegemony

ABSTRACT The series Adam Ruins Everything (ARE) provides an opportunity to contemplate White, hipster masculinity and its professed progressivism in U.S. culture. As seen in ARE, hipster masculinity claims—in part—to possess an enlightened social politic, challenging sexism, racism, and heterosexism, yet the figuration of the White, cisgender-male hipster we get seemingly adopts feminist positions as means to insulate and expand his own social privilege. Using rhetorical strategies to win debates against cultural hegemony, the hipster of ARE becomes a superior masculinity, a trusted voice to guide and liberate White women and people of color, centering himself as the source of a singular truth. The essay provides the opportunity to consider ongoing tensions and ironies between men/masculinity and feminism.
BER performance of uplink massive MIMO with low-resolution ADCs

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a promising technology for next generation wireless communication systems (5G). In this technology, Base Station (BS) is equipped with a large number of antennas. Employing high resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for all antennas may cause high costs and high power consumption for the BS. By performing numerical results, we evaluate the use of low-resolution ADCs for uplink massive MIMO by analyzing Bit Error Rate (BER) performance for different detection techniques (MMSE, ZF) and different modulations (QPSK, 16-QAM) to find an optimal quantization resolution. Our results reveal that the BER performance of uplink massive MIMO systems with a few-bit resolution ADCs is comparable to the case of having full precision ADCs. We found that the optimum choice of quantization level (number of bits in ADCs) depends on the modulation technique and the number of antennas at the BS.
A Strong Negative Transcriptional Regulatory Region between the Human Cytomegalovirus UL127 Gene and the Major Immediate-Early Enhancer

ABSTRACT The region of the human cytomegalovirus (CMV) genome between the UL127 open reading frame and the major immediate-early (MIE) enhancer is referred to as the unique region. DNase I protection analysis with human cell nuclear extracts demonstrated multiple protein binding sites in this region of the viral genome (P. Ghazal, H. Lubon, C. Reynolds-Kohler, L. Hennighausen, and J. A. Nelson, Virology 174:18–25, 1990). However, the function of this region in the context of the viral genome is not known. In wild-type human CMV-infected human fibroblasts, cells permissive for viral replication, there is little to no transcription from UL127. We determined that the unique region prevented transcription from the UL127 promoter but had no effect on the divergent MIE promoter. In transient-transfection assays, the basal level of expression from the UL127 promoter increased significantly when the wild-type unique sequences were mutated. In recombinant viruses with similar mutations in the unique region, expression from the UL127 promoter occurred only after de novo viral protein synthesis, typical of an early viral promoter. A 111-bp deletion-substitution of the unique sequence caused approximately a 20-fold increase in the steady-state level of RNA from the UL127 promoter and a 245-fold increase in the expression of a downstream indicator gene. This viral negative regulatory region was also mutated at approximately 50-bp regions proximal and distal to the UL127 promoter. Although some repressive effects were detected in the distal region, mutations of the region proximal to the UL127 promoter had the most significant effects on transcription. Within the proximal and distal regions, there are potential cis sites for known eucaryotic transcriptional repressor proteins. This region may also bind unknown viral proteins. We propose that the unique region upstream of the UL127 promoter and the MIE enhancer negatively regulates the expression from the UL127 promoter in permissive human fibroblast cells. This region may be a regulatory boundary preventing the effects of the very strong MIE enhancer on this promoter.
Humoral immunity to Malassezia furfur serovars A, B and C in patients with pityriasis versicolor, seborrheic dermatitis and controls

Abstract This study examined the humoral immune responses to Malassezia furfur serovars A, B and C of 10 patients with pityriasis versicolor, 10 patients with seborrheic dermatitis and 20 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. A transferable solid‐phase ELISA was used to determine titres of total Igs, IgM, IgA and IgG specific to M. furfur serovars A, B and C. The results demonstrated that patients with seborrheic dermatitis had a significantly higher litre of total Igs to serovar A than patients with pityriasis versicolor; and that patients with seborrheic dermatitis had a significantly higher litre of IgA to serovar C than patients with pityriasis versicolor. The litres of total Igs for controls and patienls with seborrheic dermatitis were significantly lower to serovar B than to serovar C. A modified TSP ELISA was used to determine the titres of the IgG subclasses. Titres of IgG 1,3,4 to serovar B were significantly higher in seborrheic dermatitis patients than pityriasis versicolor patients and litres of IgG3, to serovar A were significantly higher in seborrheic dermatitis patients than pityriasis versicolor patients. However, despite the differences between the patient groups, none of these results was significantly different to those of controls. Thus, this study did not demonstrate any differences in humoral immunity of patients suffering from Malassezia‐associated dermatoses when compared to normal controls. These results may suggest that the humoral immune response to M. furfur is not related to the pathogenesis of Malassezia‐associated dermatoses, but simply to the carriage of M. furfur on the skin.
RISK AVERSION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: FINANCING INNOVATION FOR SMES ACROSS EUROPE. EVIDENCE FROM MULTILEVEL MODELS

This paper aims to evaluate the role played by different sources of finance when analysing firms’ attitudes to innovate. The empirical investigation is based on the firm-level data for a large sample of European SMEs across the 2012–2017 period. Different measures of finance and several robustness checks are used to select a well-behaved probit multilevel model. Importantly, results show that the probability to innovate increases when firms use internal finance and grants. The same applies when funds come from family and friend channels, while no conclusive evidence is found for bank loans.
A navigation method based on topological magnetic and geometric maps for outdoor mobile robots

This paper proposes a novel navigation method based on topological magnetic and geometric maps for outdoor mobile robots. In this method, a state of a robot is represented by a travel distance and a lateral error, which is a distance from the travel path to the robot. In order to estimate the travel distance, a magnetic map which represents a magnetic field of the travel path is used. Since the magnetic field does not depend on moving objects, the travel distance can be robustly estimated against changes in geometric situations. However, deviating from the travel path is a fatal problem since the magnetic map does not record other magnetic fields of the travel path. To compensate this deviation, the lateral error is estimated by using geometric landmarks. Since this estimation is performed after the travel distance estimate, the lateral error can be stably estimated even if many moving objects surround the robot. As a result, the robot exactly navigates the travel path. Simulation and actual experiments are conducted to show the effectiveness and performance of the proposed method.
Analysis of iceA1 transcription in Helicobacter pylori

Background. Transcription of the Helicobacter pylori iceA1 gene is induced following adherence of the bacterium to gastric epithelial cells in vitro, suggesting that this gene might be involved in H. pylori pathogenesis. Consequently, the current studies were undertaken to characterize iceA1 transcription and to define the structure of iceA1‐containing transcripts to evaluate the potential of this gene to encode functional proteins.
Sequential developmental acquisition of neuromodulatory inputs to a central pattern‐generating network

The activity of the adult stomatogastric ganglion (STG) depends on a large number of aminergic and peptidergic modulatory inputs. Our aim is to understand the role of these modulatory inputs in the development of the central pattern‐generating networks of the STG. Therefore, we analyze the developmental and adult expressions of three neuropeptides in the stomatogastric nervous system of the lobsters Homarus americanus and Homarus gammarus by using wholemount immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy. In adults, red pigment‐concentrating hormone (RPCH)‐like, proctolin‐like, and a tachykinin‐like immunoreactivity are present in axonal projections to the STG. At 50% of embryonic development (E50), all three peptides stain the commissural ganglia and brain, but only RPCH‐ and proctolin‐like immunoreactivities stain axonal arbors in the STG. Tachykinin‐like immunoreactivity is not apparent in the STG until larval stage II (LII). The RPCH‐immunoreactive projection to the STG consists of two pairs of fibers. One pair stains for RPCH immunoreactivity at E50; the second RPCH‐immunoreactive pair does not stain until about LII. One pair of the RPCH fibers double labels for tachykinin‐like immunoreactivity. The adult complement of neuromodulatory inputs is not fully expressed until close to the developmental time at which major changes in the STG motor patterns occur, suggesting that neuromodulators play a role in the tuning of the central pattern generators during development. J. Comp. Neurol. 408:335–351, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Activation of the PTHRP/adenylate cyclase pathway promotes differentiation of rat XEN cells into parietal endoderm, whereas Wnt/&bgr;-catenin signaling promotes differentiation into visceral endoderm

Summary During early mammalian development, primitive endoderm (PrE) is specified and segregated away from the pluripotent epiblast. At a later developmental stage, PrE forms motile parietal endoderm (PE) lying proximal to the trophectoderm, and visceral endoderm (VE) that contacts the developing epiblast and extraembryonic ectoderm. Mouse extraembryonic endoderm (XEN) cells were isolated and became widely used to study signals governing lineage specification. Rat XEN cell lines have also been derived, but were distinguished from mouse by expression of SSEA1 and Oct4. We showed here that rat XEN cells grown in the presence of a GSK3 inhibitor or overexpressing &bgr;-catenin exhibited enhanced formation of cell contacts and decreased motility. Rat XEN cells treated with BMP4 revealed similar morphological changes. Furthermore, we observed that rat XEN cells cultured with GSK3 inhibitor formed adhesion and tight junctions, and acquired bottom-top polarity, indicating the formation of VE cells. In contrast, forskolin, an activator of the cAMP pathway, induced the disruption of cell contacts in rat XEN cells. Treatment with forskolin induced PE formation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in rat XEN cells. Using microarray and real-time PCR assays, we found that VE versus PE formation of rat XEN cells was correlated with change in expression levels of VE or PE marker genes. Similar to forskolin, EMT was prompted upon treatment of rat XEN cells with recombinant parathyroid hormone related peptide (PTHRP), an activator of the cAMP pathway in vivo. Taken together, our data suggest that rat XEN cells are PrE-like cells. The activation of Wnt or BMP4 pathways in rat XEN cells leads to the acquisition of VE characteristics, whereas the activation of the PTHRP/cAMP pathway leads to EMT and the formation of PE.
Chronic subdural hematoma treated by small or large craniotomy with membranectomy as the initial treatment.

OBJECTIVE There are few studies comparing small and large craniotomies for the initial treatment of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) which had non-liquefied hematoma, multilayer intrahematomal loculations, or organization/calcification on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. These procedures were compared to determine which would produce superior postoperative results. METHODS Between 2001 and 2009, 317 consecutive patients were surgically treated for CSDH at our institution. Of these, 16 patients underwent a small craniotomy with partial membranectomy and 42 patients underwent a large craniotomy with extended membranectomy as the initial treatment. A retrospective review was performed to compare the postoperative outcomes of these two techniques, focusing on improvement of neurological status, complications, reoperation rate, and days of post-operative hospitalization. RESULTS The mean ages were 69.4±12.1 and 55.6±9.3 years in the small and large craniotomy groups, respectively. The recurrence of hematomas requiring reoperation occurred in 50% and 10% of the small and large craniotomy patients, respectively (p<0.001). There were no significant differences in postoperative neurological status, complications, or days of hospital stay between these two groups. CONCLUSION Among the cases of CSDH initially requiring craniotomy, the large craniotomy with extended membranectomy technique reduced the reoperation rate, compared to that of the small craniotomy with partial membranectomy technique.
Microevolutionary genomics of bacteria.

The availability of multiple complete genome sequences from the same species can facilitate attempts to systematically address basic questions in genome evolution. We refer to such efforts as "microevolutionary genomics". We report the results of comparative analyses of complete intraspecific genome (and proteome) sequences from four bacterial species--Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori and Neisseria meningitidis. Comparisons of average synonymous (K(s)) and nonsynonymous (K(a)) substitution rates were used to assess the influence of various biological factors on the rate of protein evolution. For example, E. coli experiences the most intense purifying selection of the species analyzed, and this may be due to the relatively larger population size of this species. In addition, essential genes were shown to be more evolutionarily conserved than nonessential genes in E. coli and duplicated genes have higher rates of evolution than unique genes for all species studied except C. pneumoniae. Different functional categories of genes were shown to evolve at significantly different rates emphasizing the role of category-specific functional constraints in determining evolutionary rates. Finally, functionally characterized genes tend to be conserved between strains, while uncharacterized genes are over-represented among the unique, strain-specific genes. This suggests the possibility that nonessential genes are responsible for driving the evolutionary diversification between strains.
Physiological and cytokine response to acute exercise under hypoxic conditions: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Studies have demonstrated that exercise in hypoxia situations induces a cytotoxicity effects. However, the cytokines participation in this condition is remaining unknown. Thus, the aim the present study was to evaluate physiological parameters and inflammatory profiles in response to acute exercise after five hours of hypoxic conditions. METHODS Fourteen healthy men were distributed randomly into two groups: normoxic exercise (N.=7) and hypoxic exercise (N.=7). All volunteers were blinded to the protocol. Initially, all subjects were submitted to chamber normobaric in a room fitted for altitude simulations of up to 4500 m, equivalent to a barometric pressure of 433 mmHg. All analyses began at 7:00 a.m. and was maintained for 5 hours; the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) was 13.5%. The groups began a 60-minute session of physical exercise starting at 11:00 a.m., at 50% of peak VO2 (50% VO2peak). Blood was collected for cytokine analysis in the morning upon waking, before the 60-minute exercise session and immediately thereafter. RESULTS The heart rate during 60 minutes' exercise training was significantly increased in both exercise groups (P<0.05), and the oxygen saturation was reduced under hypoxic conditions during exercise (P<0.05). After exercise, significant increases were found for IL-1ra and IL-10 under hypoxic conditions (P<0.05) and for IL-6 for both groups (P<0.05). TNF-α was not altered under either environmental condition. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that acute exercise performance in hypoxic conditions can promotes early inflammatory response, leads for immunosuppression state.