Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Localization of aquaporins in the mouse vestibular end organs

Abstract Conclusion: We found that aquaporins (AQPs) in the fluid transporting cells, such as vestibular dark cells and endolymphatic sac epithelial cells, seem to be of importance in fluid transport in the inner ear, while those in the sensory and ganglion cells may play a functional role in sensory cell transduction. Objective: Expression of AQPs (0–12) was analyzed in normal mouse vestibular end organs. Methods: CBA/J mice were used in this study. Localization of AQPs 0–12 in the vestibular end organs and endolymphatic sac was investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results: The AQPs were found abundantly distributed in many structures in the vestibular end organs, i.e. vestibular sensory and supporting cells, vestibular dark cells, vestibular ganglion cells, and the endolymphatic sac.
Development and Evaluation of a Real-Time PCR Assay Targeting the Type III Secretion System of Burkholderia pseudomallei

ABSTRACT Here we report on the development of a discriminatory real-time assay for the rapid identification of Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates and the evaluation of this assay for sensitivity against related species and detection in spiked human blood samples. The assay targets a 115-base-pair region within orf2 of the B. pseudomallei type III secretion system gene cluster and distinguishes B. pseudomallei from other microbial species. Assay performance was evaluated with 224 geographically, temporally, and clinically diverse B. pseudomallei isolates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strain collection. This represents the first real-time PCR for rapid and sensitive identification of B. pseudomallei that has been tested for cross-reactivity with 23 Burkholderia mallei, 5 Burkholderia thailandensis, and 35 Burkholderia and 76 non-Burkholderia organisms which have historically presented diagnostic challenges. The assay performed with 100% specificity. The limit of detection was found to be 76 femtograms of DNA (equivalent to 5.2 × 103 genome equivalents per ml) in a single PCR. In spiked human blood, the assay could detect as few as 8.4 × 103 CFU per ml. This rapid assay is a valuable tool for identification of B. pseudomallei and may improve diagnosis in regions endemic for melioidosis.
Conference report of a workshop on the measurement of lung water

Thirty-five investigators representing the fields of anatomy, anesthesiology, biophysics, chest medicine, nuclear medicine, pathology, physiology, radiology, and surgery met to discuss the current status and future direction of the measurement of extravascular lung water. This report was prepared by the co-organizers and reviewed by the four session chairmen.
From catastrophe to complexity: a novel model of integrative central neural regulation of effort and fatigue during exercise in humans

It is a popular belief that exercise performance is limited by metabolic changes in the exercising muscles, so called peripheral fatigue. Exercise terminates when there is a catastrophic failure of homoeostasis in the exercising muscles. A revolutionary theory is presented that proposes that exercise performance is regulated by the central nervous system specifically to ensure that catastrophic physiological failure does not occur during normal exercise in humans.
Distribution of reticulospinal neurons in the chicken by retrograde transport of WGA-HRP.

To determine the distribution of reticulospinal (RS) neurons in the chicken, WGA-HRP was injected into the cervical or lumbosacral enlargement either unilaterally or bilaterally. The brainstem reticular nuclei sent largely descending fibers to both the spinal enlargements. The mesencephalon (medial and lateral mesencephalic reticular formation) and the rostral pons (nucleus reticularis [n.r.] pontis oralis) project mainly to the cervical enlargement. RS neurons were mainly distributed from the pontomedullary junction to the rostral medulla including n. r. pontis caudalis and pars gigantocellularis, n. r. gigantocellularis, n. r. parvocellularis, n. r. paragigantocellularis, and n. r. subtrigeminalis. It is suggested that the majority of these neurons send axons at least as far as the lumbosacral enlargement. In the lower medulla, RS neurons were distributed in the dorsal and ventral parts of the central nucleus of the medulla.
Pax3 and Zic1 drive induction and differentiation of multipotent, migratory, and functional neural crest in Xenopus embryos

Defining which key factors control commitment of an embryonic lineage among a myriad of candidates is a longstanding challenge in developmental biology and an essential prerequisite for developing stem cell-based therapies. Commitment implies that the induced cells not only express early lineage markers but further undergo an autonomous differentiation into the lineage. The embryonic neural crest generates a highly diverse array of derivatives, including melanocytes, neurons, glia, cartilage, mesenchyme, and bone. A complex gene regulatory network has recently classified genes involved in the many steps of neural crest induction, specification, migration, and differentiation. However, which factor or combination of factors is sufficient to trigger full commitment of this multipotent lineage remains unknown. Here, we show that, in contrast to other potential combinations of candidate factors, coactivating transcription factors Pax3 and Zic1 not only initiate neural crest specification from various early embryonic lineages in Xenopus and chicken embryos but also trigger full neural crest determination. These two factors are sufficient to drive migration and differentiation of several neural crest derivatives in minimal culture conditions in vitro or ectopic locations in vivo. After transplantation, the induced cells migrate to and integrate into normal neural crest craniofacial target territories, indicating an efficient spatial recognition in vivo. Thus, Pax3 and Zic1 cooperate and execute a transcriptional switch sufficient to activate full multipotent neural crest development and differentiation.
Spark plasma sintering of prealloyed aluminium powders

The central objective of this research was to assess the effects of temperature and particle size on the spark plasma sintering (SPS) response of two prealloyed aluminium powders atomised from wrought alloys AA 2024 and AA 7075. A SPS temperature of 400°C was found to yield fully dense specimens of both alloys with hardness values that were comparable to the starting wrought ingot materials. Such samples also exhibited appreciably lower concentrations of residual oxygen and hydrogen when compared to those present in the raw powders. Degassing experiments completed through thermogravimetric analyser (TGA)–gas chromatography (GC)–mass spectrometry (MS) indicated that the release of CO2 and adsorbed/chemisorbed H2O were responsible for the enhanced purity of the SPS products. Particle size was also a factor of influence with the most favourable results for density and minimised O/H concentrations achieved with particles ≥180 μm in diameter.
Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay for Fertility Assessment

The integrity of mammalian sperm DNA is of prime importance for the paternal genetic contribution to normal offspring. Damaged DNA in the single sperm that fertilizes the female egg can have a dramatic negative impact on fetal development. This comprehensive and detailed unit presents a rapid, reliable, practical test for DNA integrity based on staining with acridine orange. SCSA data have been conclusively shown to predict sub/infertility. This assay is ideally suited to human and animal fertility clinics to assess male sperm DNA integrity as related to fertility potential and embryo development. The authors, who have decades of experience in studying sperm viability, provide extensive commentary and methodological tips, making this unit the most detailed method for this test published to date. Keywords: flow cytometry; sperm chromatin structure assay; SCSA; DNA denaturation; acridine orange;animal and human fertility; toxicology The integrity of mammalian sperm DNA is of prime importance for the paternal genetic contribution to normal offspring
Internal Structure of Apoferritin as Revealed by the "Negative Staining Technique."

I t has been surmised that the apoferritin molecule has a hollow center which communicates with the outer surface through some sort of channels or slots (1-2). This inference is based upon the following findings: 1. As determined by means of electron microscopy, the ferric hydroxide (FeOOH) micelles of ferritin molecules are located within spheroids of apoferritin (1) ; 2. In reducing media, such as dithionite solutions, iron can be removed with ease from ferritin, intact apoferritin being left behind (4); 3. Apoferritin, prepared following removal of iron from ferritin, has the immunologic specificity of ferritin, crystallizes in the same habit as ferritin, and has the molecular crystal lattice parameters of ferritin (3-8). If the ferric hydroxide micelles in the ferritin molecule were tightly enclosed by a shell of the protein, apoferritin, their removal would require some kind of unfolding of the protein---/. e, denaturation. Such denaturation would be inconsistent with the facts just summarized. On the other hand, if there are communications between the outside and the inside of the apoferritin shell, then various solvents and solutions should penetrate readily into the interior of ferritin molecules. I t follows that with suitable solutions the reduction of the ferric hydroxide micelles to ferrous ions could be brought about in the interior of ferritin molecules; ferrous ions would then diffuse outward. This hypothesis is consistent with the facts summarized above, and with the findings reported by Bielig and Bayer (9) and by Loewus and Fineberg (10); viz. that ferritin can be reconstituted from apoferritin and ionic iron in vitro. Like the molecules of many proteins, those of apoferritin are not sufficiently dense to electrons to be visible directly in the electron microscope. However, with the negative staining technique of Brenner and Home (11), we have been able to demonstrate the contours of apoferritin molecules. In this technique phosphotungstic acid is used to
A New Symbol Block Construction for CPM with Frequency Domain Equalization

We present a new symbol block construction which yields a cyclic continuous phase modulated (CPM) signal to enable frequency domain equalization. It is known that in addition to a cyclic prefix, a subblock of data-dependent symbols has to be inserted in each block to cope with the memory in the CPM signal. We propose a new subblock, called intrafix, valid for any CPM scheme. Our intrafix is shorter than what is currently known in the literature, reducing the overhead. Moreover, it can be calculated on a per-block basis, without knowledge of previous blocks. We also prove that there are constraints on the length of both the intrafix and the total block by studying the influence of the modulation index. Simulation results in a 60 GHz environment show that our new block construction satisfies all requirements.
An achievable rate region for three-pair interference channels with noise

An achievable rate region for certain noisy three-user-pair interference channels is proposed. The channel class under consideration generalizes the three-pair deterministic interference channel (3-DIC) in the same way as the Telatar - Tse noisy two-pair interference channel generalizes the El Gamal - Costa injective channel. Specifically, arbitrary noise is introduced that acts on the combined interference signal before it affects the desired signal. This class of channels includes the Gaussian case. The rate region includes the best-known inner bound on the 3-DIC capacity region, dominates treating interference as noise, and subsumes the Han - Kobayashi region for the two-pair case.
The Homeodomain Proteins PBX and MEIS1 Are Accessory Factors That Enhance Thyroid Hormone Regulation of the Malic Enzyme Gene in Hepatocytes*

Triiodothyronine (T3) stimulates a robust increase (>40-fold) in transcription of the malic enzyme gene in chick embryo hepatocytes. Previous work has shown that optimal T3 regulation of malic enzyme transcription is dependent on the presence of an accessory element (designated as region E) that immediately flanks a cluster of five T3 response elements in the malic enzyme gene. Here, we have analyzed the binding of nuclear proteins to region E and investigated the mechanism by which region E enhances T3 responsiveness. In nuclear extracts from hepatocytes, region E binds heterodimeric complexes consisting of the homeodomain proteins PBX and MEIS1. Region E contains four consecutive PBX/MEIS1 half-sites. PBX-MEIS1 heterodimers bind the first and second half-sites, the third and fourth half-sites, and the first and fourth half-sites. The configuration conferring the greatest increase in T3 responsiveness consists of the first and fourth half-sites that are separated by 7 nucleotides. Stimulation of T3 response element functions by region E does not require the presence of additional malic enzyme sequences. In pull-down experiments, PBX1a and PBX1b specifically bind the nuclear T3 receptor-α, and this interaction is enhanced by the presence of T3. A T3 receptor-α region containing the DNA binding domain plus flanking sequences (amino acids 21–157) is necessary and sufficient for binding to PBX1a and PBX1b. These results indicate that PBX-MEIS1 complexes interact with nuclear T3 receptors to enhance T3 regulation of malic enzyme transcription in hepatocytes.
International Conference on Information Systems ( ICIS ) 2010 FIT DOES MATTER ! AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON PRODUCT FIT UNCERTAINTY IN ONLINE MARKETPLACES

This paper examines the antecedents and consequences of product uncertainty in online marketplaces by conceptualizing the dimensions of product uncertainty description uncertainty (identifying product characteristics), performance uncertainty (inferring product‟s future performance) and fit uncertainty (matching product‟s characteristics with buyer‟s needs), with the focus on product fit uncertainty. It also theorizes the distinction, relationship, and effects of the three dimensions of product uncertainty. Finally, it proposes a set of IT artifacts to reduce product fit uncertainty. The hypotheses are tested with survey and website transaction data from 274 buyers in Taobao, the largest online marketplace in China. The results first demonstrate the distinction between three dimensions of product uncertainty, show that relative to description and performance uncertainty, only fit uncertainty has significant effect on price premiums, satisfaction, product returns, and repurchase intentions, and support the effects of the use of IT artifacts, such as instant messenger, product forums, and decision support tools on reducing fit uncertainty. Implications for research, theory and practice are discussed.
Physician and Patient Predictors of Evidence-Based Prescribing in Heart Failure: A Multilevel Study

Background The management of patients with heart failure (HF) needs to account for changeable and complex individual clinical characteristics. The use of renin angiotensin system inhibitors (RAAS-I) to target doses is recommended by guidelines. But physicians seemingly do not sufficiently follow this recommendation, while little is known about the physician and patient predictors of adherence. Methods To examine the coherence of primary care (PC) physicians' knowledge and self-perceived competencies regarding RAAS-I with their respective prescribing behavior being related to patient-associated barriers. Cross-sectional follow-up study after a randomized medical educational intervention trial with a seven month observation period. PC physicians (n = 37) and patients with systolic HF (n = 168) from practices in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Measurements were knowledge (blueprint-based multiple choice test), self-perceived competencies (questionnaire on global confidence in the therapy and on frequency of use of RAAS-I), and patient variables (age, gender, NYHA functional status, blood pressure, potassium level, renal function). Prescribing was collected from the trials' documentation. The target variable consisted of ≥50% of recommended RAAS-I dosage being investigated by two-level logistic regression models. Results Patients (69% male, mean age 68.8 years) showed symptomatic and objectified left ventricular (NYHA II vs. III/IV: 51% vs. 49% and mean LVEF 33.3%) and renal (GFR<50%: 22%) impairment. Mean percentage of RAAS-I target dose was 47%, 59% of patients receiving ≥50%. Determinants of improved prescribing of RAAS-I were patient age (OR 0.95, CI 0.92–0.99, p = 0.01), physician's global self-confidence at follow-up (OR 1.09, CI 1.02–1.05, p = 0.01) and NYHA class (II vs. III/IV) (OR 0.63, CI 0.38–1.05, p = 0.08). Conclusions A change in physician's confidence as a predictor of RAAS-I dose increase is a new finding that might reflect an intervention effect of improved physicians' intention and that might foster novel strategies to improve safe evidence-based prescribing. These should include targeting knowledge, attitudes and skills.
Methods for generating precise deletions and insertions in the genome of wild-type Escherichia coli: application to open reading frame characterization

We have developed a new system of chromosomal mutagenesis in order to study the functions of uncharacterized open reading frames (ORFs) in wild-type Escherichia coli. Because of the operon structure of this organism, traditional methods such as insertional mutagenesis run the risk of introducing polar effects on downstream genes or creating secondary mutations elsewhere in the genome. Our system uses crossover PCR to create in-frame, tagged deletions in chromosomal DNA. These deletions are placed in the E. coli chromosome by using plasmid pKO3, a gene replacement vector that contains a temperature-sensitive origin of replication and markers for positive and negative selection for chromosomal integration and excision. Using kanamycin resistance (Kn(r)) insertional alleles of the essential genes pepM and rpsB cloned into the replacement vector, we calibrated the system for the expected results when essential genes are deleted. Two poorly understood genes, hdeA and yjbJ, encoding highly abundant proteins were selected as targets for this approach. When the system was used to replace chromosomal hdeA with insertional alleles, we observed vastly different results that were dependent on the exact nature of the insertions. When a Kn(r) gene was inserted into hdeA at two different locations and orientations, both essential and nonessential phenotypes were seen. Using PCR-generated deletions, we were able to make in-frame deletion strains of both hdeA and yjbJ. The two genes proved to be nonessential in both rich and glucose-minimal media. In competition experiments using isogenic strains, the strain with the insertional allele of yjbJ showed growth rates different from those of the strain with the deletion allele of yjbJ. These results illustrate that in-frame, unmarked deletions are among the most reliable types of mutations available for wild-type E. coli. Because these strains are isogenic with the exception of their deleted ORFs, they may be used in competition with one another to reveal phenotypes not apparent when cultured singly.
Bicriteria Network Design Problems

We study several bicriteria network design problems phrased as follows: given an undirected graph and two minimization objectives with a budget specified on one objective, find a subgraph satisfying certain connectivity requirements that minimizes the second objective subject to the budget on the first. First, we develop a formalism for bicriteria problems and their approximations. Secondly, we use a simple parametric search technique to provide bicriteria approximation algorithms for problems with two similar criteria, where both criteria are the same measure (such as the diameter or the total cost of a tree) but differ only in the cost function under which the measure is computed. Thirdly, we present an (O(log n), O(log n))-approximation algorithm for finding a diameter-constrained minimum cost spanning tree of an undirected graph on n nodes. Finally, for the class of treewidth-bounded graphs, we provide pseudopolynomial-time algorithms for a number of bicriteria problems using dynamic programming. These pseudopolynomial-time algorithms can be converted to fully polynomialtime approximation schemes using a scaling technique.
Expectations and Applicant Perceptions 1 RUNNING HEAD : EXPECTATIONS AND APPLICANT PERCEPTIONS Justice Expectations and Applicant Perceptions

Expectations, which are beliefs about a future state of affairs, constitute a basic psychological mechanism that underlies virtually all human behavior. Although expectations serve as a central component in many theories of organizational behavior, they have received limited attention in the organizational justice literature. The goal of this paper is to introduce the concept of justice expectations and explore its implications for understanding applicant perceptions. To conceptualize justice expectations, we draw on research on expectations conducted in multiple disciplines. We discuss the three sources of expectations – direct experience, indirect influences, and other beliefs and use this typology to identify the likely antecedents of justice expectations in selection contexts. We also discuss the impact of expectations on attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors, focusing specifically on outcomes tied to selection environments. Finally, we explore the theoretical implications of incorporating expectations into research on applicant perceptions and discuss the practical significance of justice expectations in selection contexts.
Tactile Animation by Direct Manipulation of Grid Displays

Chairs, wearables, and handhelds have become popular sites for spatial tactile display. Visual animators, already expert in using time and space to portray motion, could readily transfer their skills to produce rich haptic sensations if given the right tools. We introduce the tactile animation object, a directly manipulated phantom tactile sensation. This abstraction has two key benefits: 1) efficient, creative, iterative control of spatiotemporal sensations, and 2) the potential to support a variety of tactile grids, including sparse displays. We present Mango, an editing tool for animators, including its rendering pipeline and perceptually-optimized interpolation algorithm for sparse vibrotactile grids. In our evaluation, professional animators found it easy to create a variety of vibrotactile patterns, with both experts and novices preferring the tactile animation object over controlling actuators individually.
MiPred: classification of real and pseudo microRNA precursors using random forest prediction model with combined features

To distinguish the real pre-miRNAs from other hairpin sequences with similar stem-loops (pseudo pre-miRNAs), a hybrid feature which consists of local contiguous structure-sequence composition, minimum of free energy (MFE) of the secondary structure and P-value of randomization test is used. Besides, a novel machine-learning algorithm, random forest (RF), is introduced. The results suggest that our method predicts at 98.21% specificity and 95.09% sensitivity. When compared with the previous study, Triplet-SVM-classifier, our RF method was nearly 10% greater in total accuracy. Further analysis indicated that the improvement was due to both the combined features and the RF algorithm. The MiPred web server is available at http://www.bioinf. seu.edu. cn/miRNA/. Given a sequence, MiPred decides whether it is a pre-miRNA-like hairpin sequence or not. If the sequence is a pre-miRNA-like hairpin, the RF classifier will predict whether it is a real pre-miRNA or a pseudo one.