Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor shows a protective effect and improves recovery of the ERG b‐wave response in light‐damage

We investigated the neuroprotective effects of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its influence on the functional recovery of the retina following light‐induced retinal damage by electroretinogram (ERG). Rats were exposed to constant fluorescent light for 2, 5, 7, or 14 days, then returned to a cyclic light environment for 14 days. The result indicated that BDNF had few effects on the a‐wave amplitude, but there was a statistically significant difference in the b‐wave amplitudes between BDNF‐treated and control eyes from day 0–14 of the recovery period following 2 days of light exposure (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that BDNF not only protects the retinal neuronal function but also enhances the recovery from retinal light damage.
Does Workplace Diversity Foster Innovation ? Evidence from U . S . State Employment Non-Discrimination Acts *

We identify a positive causal effect of workplace diversity on corporate innovation, using the staggered adoption of U.S. state-level Employment Non-Discrimination Acts (ENDAs) that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We find a significant increase in patents and patent citations for firms headquartered in states that have passed ENDAs relative to firms headquartered in states that have not. This result is more pronounced for firms that previously have not implemented progay non-discrimination policies, for firms in states with a large homosexual population, and for firms in human capital-intensive industries. Lastly, we provide evidence that ENDAs affect innovation through the mechanism of matching firms with certain types of employees: following the enactment of ENDAs, more pro-gay (anti-gay) employees, who are generally more (less) creative, relocate into (out of) the adopting states. Overall, our findings support the view that inclusion inspires innovation.
A Pleistocene Campsite near Lewisville, Texas

Evidence of human occupation has been found in Pleistocene river terrace strata near Lewisville, Texas, over the past 7 years. Noteworthy finds include a Clovis projectile point in place in the site, an extensive faunal collection, and charcoal which has produced 2 radiocarbon age determinations in excess of 37,000 years B.P. The following article is a condensation of a detailed account appearing in the Texas Archeological Society Bulletin for 1957.
Microwave Assisted Synthesis and Characterization of Barium Titanate Nanoparticles for Multi Layered Ceramic Capacitor Applications

Abstract Barium titanate is a common ferroelectric electro-ceramic material having high dielectric constant, with photorefractive effect and piezoelectric properties. In this research work, nano-scale barium titanate powders were synthesized by microwave assisted mechano-chemical route. Suitable precursors were ball milled for 20 hours. TGA studies were performed to study the thermal stability of the powders. The powders were characterized by XRD, SEM and EDX Analysis. Microwave and Conventional heating were performed at 1000°C. The overall heating schedule was reduced by 8 hours in microwave heating thereby reducing the energy and time requirement. The nano-scale, impurity-free and defect-free microstructure was clearly evident from the SEM micrograph and EDX patterns. LCR meter was used to measure the dielectric constant and dielectric loss values at various frequencies. Microwave heated powders showed superior dielectric constant value with low dielectric loss which is highly essential for the fabrication of Multi Layered Ceramic Capacitors.
Subacute sensory neuropathy: A remote effect of carcinoma

Seven patients with subacute sensory neuropathy are described and the findings in 29 previously reported patients are reviewed. The presence of this characteristic neurological disorder strongly suggests an accompanying neoplasm. Five of 7 patients had cancer, and 4 died. Autopsy was performed on 3, and pathological analysis revealed inflammation and degeneration of dorsal root ganglia and degeneration of posterior roots and posterior columns of the spinal cord. The dorsal root ganglion was biopsied in 4 patients and showed similar inflammatory lesions. Electron microscopical studies showed inflammation and neuronal degneration. No viral particles were seen. Viral cultures of the biopsied ganglia from 4 patients were negative. Antineuronal antibodies were not detected in 2 patients. The cause of this syndrome is unknown, and no treatment has been successful.
Combined Administration with DNA Encoding Vesicular Stomatitis Virus G Protein Enhances DNA Vaccine Potency

ABSTRACT DNA vaccines have recently emerged at the forefront of approaches to harness the immune system in the prevention and treatment of viral infections, as well as the prevention and treatment of cancers. However, these vaccines suffer from limited efficacy since they often fail to produce significant antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell responses. We report here a novel concept for DNA vaccine design that exploits the unique and powerful ability of viral fusogenic membrane glycoproteins (FMGs) to couple concentrated antigen transfer to dendritic cells (DCs) with local induction of the acute inflammatory response. Intramuscular administration into mice by electroporation technology of a plasmid containing the FMG gene from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-G)—together with DNA encoding the E7 protein of human papillomavirus type 16, a model cervical cancer antigen—elicited robust E7-specific CD8+ T-cell responses, as well as therapeutic control of E7-expressing tumors. This effect could potentially be mediated through the immunogenic form of cellular fusion and necrosis induced by VSV-G, which in a concerted fashion provokes leukocyte infiltration into the inoculation site, enhances cross-presentation of antigen to DCs, and stimulates them to mature efficiently. Thus, the incorporation of FMGs into DNA vaccines holds promise for the successful control of viral infections and cancers in the clinic.
Cytogeography and genome size variation in the Claytonia perfoliata (Portulacaceae) polyploid complex.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Genome duplication is a central process in plant evolution and contributes to patterns of variation in genome size within and among lineages. Studies that combine cytogeography with genome size measurements contribute to our basic knowledge of cytotype distributions and their associations with variation in genome size. METHODS Ploidy and genome size were assessed with direct chromosome counts and flow cytometry for 78 populations within the Claytonia perfoliata complex, comprised of three diploid taxa with numerous polyploids that range to the decaploid level. The relationship between genome size and temperature and precipitation was investigated within and across cytotypes to test for associations between environmental factors and nuclear DNA content. KEY RESULTS A euploid series (n = 6) of diploids to octoploids was documented through chromosome counts, and decaploids were suggested by flow cytometry. Increased variation in genome size among populations was found at higher ploidy levels, potentially associated with differential contributions of diploid parental genomes, variation in rates of genomic loss or gain, or undetected hybridization. Several accessions were detected with atypical genome sizes, including a diploid population of C. parviflora ssp. grandiflora with an 18 % smaller genome than typical, and hexaploids of C. perfoliata and C. parviflora with genomes 30 % larger than typical. There was a slight but significant association of larger genome sizes with colder winter temperature across the C. perfoliata complex as a whole, and a strong association between lower winter temperatures and large genome size for tetraploid C. parviflora. CONCLUSIONS The C. perfoliata complex is characterized by polyploids ranging from tetraploid to decaploid, with large magnitude variation in genome size at higher ploidy levels, associated in part with environmental variation in temperature.
Service quality, homebuyers’ regret and dissatisfaction in China real estate market

Surveys continuously revealed that many homebuyers suffer regret and dissatisfaction in China real estate market. Previous researches on residential satisfaction had focused on attributes of houses and individual characteristics, but the effects of service quality on post-purchase regret and satisfaction were largely ignored. This paper demonstrated that service quality significantly impacts residential purchasers' regret and dissatisfaction by three studies. Moreover, regretful or dissatisfied home-buyers were found to be likely to engage in word of mouth (WOM) in virtual communities instead of their social network. This article also indicated that the effects of regret on online WOM, voice complaint and complaint to a third party were mediated via dissatisfaction. Finally, implications for real estate service innovation and management practice and limitations of the study were discussed.
Antigenic relationships between Bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 and 2 and HoBi virus

The emergence of a newly recognized group of pestiviruses in cattle, the HoBi-like viruses, requires an evaluation of the available diagnostic tools and vaccines. The present study compared antigenic characteristics of Bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 and 2 (BVDV-1, -2) strains and HoBi virus. This comparison was based on detection of HoBi virus and antibodies against it by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and the level of cross-neutralizing antibodies present in sera from animals vaccinated with BVDV. Reactivity with a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) revealed greater cross-reactivity between BVDV species (BVDV-1, -2) and HoBi epitopes within Erns and NS2/3 proteins than between epitopes located in the E2 glycoprotein. The results suggest that a diagnostic test designed to detect both BVDV species and HoBi could be based on Erns or NS2/3 epitopes, while variation among E2 epitopes could be exploited in tests for differentiation of pestivirus species. The threshold of detection of HoBi virus by an antigen-capture ELISA kit based on detection of Erns was statistically similar to that for BVDV. In contrast, 2 commercial ELISA kits designed to detect antibodies against BVDV missed 22.2% and 77.7%, respectively, of serum samples harboring HoBi virus-neutralizing antibodies. In addition, sera of calves vaccinated with BVDV-1 and -2 presented low neutralizing activity against HoBi virus. The results demonstrate that in spite of antigenic similarities, HoBi virus is antigenically distinct from both BVDV species. Detection and control of HoBi virus infections in cattle would thus require the development of new diagnostic reagents and reformulation of current vaccines.
An in vitro model of early islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) fibrillogenesis using human IAPP-transgenic mouse islets

The mechanisms underlying insufficient insulin secretion and loss of β-cell mass in feline and human type 2 diabetes mellitus are incompletely understood. However, islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP)-derived islet amyloidosis (IA) has been linked to increased rates of β-cell apoptosis and, therefore, our goal was to develop an in vitro model of IAPP fibrillogenesis using isolated pancreatic islets from mice transgenic for human IAPP (hIAPP Tg mice). Islets from hIAPP Tg mice, from mice transgenic for non-amyloidogenic murine IAPP (mIAPP Tg mice), and from the FVB background strain were exposed to normal (5.5 mM) or high (28 mM) glucose conditions in cell culture for 8 days. On days 0 and 8, islets were collected for electron microscopy (EM). EM showed no abnormalities in the mIAPP Tg or FVB islets at either time point. On day 8, hIAPP Tg islets cultured at high glucose concentration formed extracellular IAPP-derived flocculent deposits. No significant differences in rates of apoptosis were found between groups. Our findings, therefore, show that in vitro culture of hIAPP Tg mouse islets under high glucose conditions produces a readily available and rapidly inducible model of IAPP-derived fibrillogenesis and enables the study of early phases of the molecular pathogenesis of IA.
The tripartite efficacy framework in client-therapist rehabilitation interactions: implications for relationship quality and client engagement.

PURPOSE Within supervised rehabilitation programs, Lent and Lopez (2002) proposed that clients and therapists develop a "tripartite" network of efficacy beliefs, comprising their confidence in their own ability, their confidence in the other person's ability, and their estimation of the other person's confidence in them. To date, researchers have yet to explore the potential relational outcomes associated with this model in rehabilitation contexts. METHOD In Study 1, we recruited 170 exercise clients (Mage = 63.73, SD = 6.46) who were enrolled in a one-to-one aerobic exercise program with a therapist as a result of a lower-limb musculoskeletal disorder. Clients reported their tripartite efficacy beliefs and perceptions about the quality of their relationship with their therapist, and respective therapists rated each client's engagement in his or her exercise program. In Study 2, we recruited 68 separate exercise clients (Mage = 65.93, SD = 5.80) along with their therapists (n = 68, Mage = 31.89, SD = 4.79) from the same program, to examine whether individuals' efficacy perceptions were related to their own and/or the other person's relationship quality perceptions. RESULTS In Study 1, each of the tripartite efficacy constructs displayed positive direct effects with respect to clients' relationship quality appraisals, as well as indirect effects in relation to program engagement. Actor-partner interdependence modeling in Study 2 demonstrated that clients and therapists reported more adaptive relationship perceptions when they themselves held strong tripartite efficacy beliefs (i.e., actor effects), and that clients viewed their relationship in a more positive light when their therapist was highly confident in the client's ability (i.e., partner effect). CONCLUSION These findings underscore the potential utility of the tripartite efficacy framework in relation to motivational and relational processes within supervised exercise programs.
Competitive Strategies for Evacuating from an Unknown Affected Area

SUMMARY This article presents e ﬃ cient strategies for evacuating from an unknown a ﬀ ected area in a plane. Evacuation is the process of movement away from a threat or hazard such as natural disasters. Con- sider that one or n ( n ≥ 3) agents are lost in an unknown convex region P . The agents know neither the boundary information of P nor their posi- tions. We seek competitive strategies that can evacuate the agent from P as quickly as possible. The performance of the strategy is measured by a competitive ratio of the evacuation path over the shortest path. We give a 13.812-competitive spiral strategy for one agent, and prove that it is optimal among all monotone and periodic strategies by showing a matching lower bound. Also, we give a new competitive strategy EES for n ( n ≥ 3) agents and adjust it to be more e ﬃ cient with the analysis of its performance.
A low-complexity linear precoding and power allocation scheme for downlink massive MIMO systems

In this paper, we present a low-complexity linear precoding and power allocation scheme for downlink massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The optimization criteria adopted for the proposed precoding and power allocation scheme are maximization of the sum rate and maximization of the minimum user rate, respectively. The presented precoder is based on a matrix polynomial and can closely approach the sum rate and the minimum user rate of the optimal regularized zero forcing (RZF) precoder, which requires a matrix inversion, and performs substantially better than the simple conjugate beamforming (BF) precoder. Our simulation results show that the proposed precoding scheme with a low order matrix polynomial can approach the sum rate and the minimum user rate of the optimal RZF precoder. We also present analytical results for the asymptotic sum rate and the asymptotic minimum user rate.
The Protein Tyrosine Kinase Tec Regulates a CD 44 high CD 62 L 2 Th 17 Subset

The generation of Th17 cells has to be tightly controlled during an immune response. In this study, we report an increase in a CD44 CD62L Th17 subset in mice deficient for the protein tyrosine kinase Tec. CD44CD62L Tec CD4 T cells produced enhanced IL-17 upon activation, showed increased expression levels of IL-23R and RORgt, and IL-23–mediated expansion of Tec CD4 T cells led to an increased production of IL-17. Tec mice immunized with heat-killed Streptococcus pneumoniae displayed increased IL-17 expression levels in the lung postinfection with S. pneumoniae, and this correlated with enhanced pneumococcal clearance and reduced lung inflammation compared with Tec mice. Moreover, naive Tec OT-II CD4 T cells produced higher levels of IL-17 when cultured with OVA peptide-loaded bone marrow-derived dendritic cells that have been previously activated with heat-killed S. pneumoniae. Taken together, our data indicated a critical role for Tec in T cell-intrinsic signaling pathways that regulate the in vivo generation of CD44CD62L effector/memory Th17 populations. The Journal of Immunology, 2010, 185: 000–000.
Non-overlapping Aggregated Multivariate Glyphs for Moving Objects

In moving object visualization, objects and their attributes are commonly represented by glyphs on a geographic map. In areas on the map densely populated by these objects, visual clutter and occlusion of glyphs occur. We propose a method to solve this problem by partitioning the set of all objects into subsets that are each visualized using an aggregated multivariate glyph that shows the distribution of several attributes of its objects, such as heading, type and velocity. We choose the combination of subsets and glyph design such that the glyphs do not overlap and the number of subsets is approximately maximal. The partition is maintained and updated while the objects move. We use examples from the maritime domain, but our method is applicable to a wider range of dynamic data. Through a user study we find that, for a set of representative tasks, our method does not perform significantly worse than competitive visualizations with respect to correctness. Furthermore, it performs significantly better for density comparison tasks in high density data sets. We also find that the participants of the user study have a preference for our method.
Fusion Peptide of Influenza Hemagglutinin Requires a Fixed Angle Boomerang Structure for Activity*

The fusion peptide of influenza hemagglutinin is crucial for cell entry of this virus. Previous studies showed that this peptide adopts a boomerang-shaped structure in lipid model membranes at the pH of membrane fusion. To examine the role of the boomerang in fusion, we changed several residues proposed to stabilize the kink in this structure and measured fusion. Among these, mutants E11A and W14A expressed hemagglutinins with hemifusion and no fusion activities, and F9A and N12A had no effect on fusion, respectively. Binding enthalpies and free energies of mutant peptides to model membranes and their ability to perturb lipid bilayer structures correlated well with the fusion activities of the parent full-length molecules. The structure of W14A determined by NMR and site-directed spin labeling features a flexible kink that points out of the membrane, in sharp contrast to the more ordered boomerang of the wild-type, which points into the membrane. A specific fixed angle boomerang structure is thus required to support membrane fusion.
SORTAL ANAPHORA RESOLUTION IN MEDLINE ABSTRACTS

This paper reports our investigation of machine learning methods applied to anaphora resolution for biology texts, particularly paper abstracts. Our primary concern is the investigation of features and their combinations for effective anaphora resolution. In this paper, we focus on the resolution of demonstrative phrases and definite determiner phrases, the two most prevalent forms of anaphoric expressions that we find in biology research articles. Different resolution models are developed for demonstrative and definite determiner phrases. Our work shows that models may be optimized differently for each of the phrase types. Also, because a significant number of definite determiner phrases are not anaphoric, we induce a model to detect anaphoricity, i.e., a model that classifies phrases as either anaphoric or nonanaphoric. We propose several novel features that we call highlighting features, and consider their utility particularly for processing paper abstracts. The system using the highlighting features achieved accuracies of 78% and 71% for demonstrative phrases and definite determiner phrases, respectively. The use of the highlighting features reduced the error rate by about 10%.
Bilateral Anterior Thalamic Nucleus Lesions and High-frequency Stimulation Are Protective against Pilocarpine-induced Seizures and Status Epilepticus

OBJECTIVEThe thalamus is thought to play an important role in secondary generalization of seizures. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of anterior thalamic nucleus lesions and high-frequency stimulation in the pilocarpine model of secondarily generalized seizures in rats. METHODSAdult Wistar rats underwent unilateral (n = 7) or bilateral anterior nucleus thalamotomies (n = 10), or unilateral (n = 4) or bilateral (n = 9) anterior thalamic nucleus stimulation through implanted electrodes. Control animals (n = 9) received bilateral implants but no stimulation. Seven days after these procedures, animals were provided pilocarpine (320 mg/kg intraperitoneally) to induce seizures and status epilepticus (SE). Electrographic recordings from hippocampal and cortical electrodes were evaluated, and ictal behavior was assessed. RESULTSIn the control group, 67% of the animals developed SE 15.3 ± 8.8 minutes after pilocarpine administration. Neither unilateral anterior nucleus lesions nor stimulation significantly reduced the propensity or latency for developing seizures and SE. Bilateral thalamic stimulation did not prevent SE (observed in 56% of the animals), but it significantly prolonged the latency to its development (48.4 ± 17.7 min, P = 0.02). Strikingly, no animal with bilateral anterior nucleus thalamotomies developed seizures or SE with pilocarpine. CONCLUSIONBilateral anterior thalamic nuclear complex stimulation and thalamotomies were protective against SE induced by pilocarpine.
Wavelet transform procedure as the basis for complete automatic interpretation of the cardiac cycle phase structure

An innovative mathematical model of hemodynamics providing the creation of an innovative indirect method of cardiovascular system parameters measurement was developed. The ECG processing is performed by means of the wavelet transform for detecting the boundaries of the cardiac cycle phases. Conclusion The innovative method of cardiovascular system diagnostics enables to measure 7 main hemodynamic parameters using noninvasive technology for qualitative evaluation of 12 functions of cardiovascular system performance and general assessment of coronary flow status. One of the problems the model of hemodynamics deals with is identifying the boundaries of the cardiac cycle phases. To identify the boundaries of the cardiac cycle phases the method of finding the extrema on the initial ECG and the differentiated ECG basing on the wavelet transform was used.