Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adenosine A2A receptors modulate the dopamine D2 receptor‐mediated inhibition of synaptic transmission in the mouse prefrontal cortex

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuits are modulated by dopamine acting on D1‐ and D2‐like receptors, which are pharmacologically exploited to manage neuropsychiatric conditions. Adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) also control PFC‐related responses and A2AR antagonists are potential anti‐psychotic drugs. As tight antagonistic A2AR–D2R and synergistic A2AR–D1R interactions occur in other brain regions, we now investigated the crosstalk between A2AR and D1/D2R controlling synaptic transmission between layers II/III and V in mouse PFC coronal slices. Dopamine decreased synaptic transmission, a presynaptic effect based on the parallel increase in paired‐pulse responses. Dopamine inhibition was prevented by the D2R‐like antagonist sulpiride but not by the D1R antagonist SCH23390 and was mimicked by the D2R agonist sumanirole, but not by the agonists of either D4R (A‐412997) or D3R (PD128907). Dopamine inhibition was prevented by the A2AR antagonist, SCH58261, and attenuated in A2AR knockout mice. Accordingly, triple‐labelling immunocytochemistry experiments revealed the co‐localization of A2AR and D2R immunoreactivity in glutamatergic (vGluT1‐positive) nerve terminals of the PFC. This reported positive A2AR–D2R interaction controlling PFC synaptic transmission provides a mechanistic justification for the anti‐psychotic potential of A2AR antagonists.
An Initial Look at Technology and Institutions on Defense Industry Consolidation

Abstract : Conventional wisdom holds that defense industry consolidation resulted from decreased defense spending. However, we maintain that understanding dynamic changes in key defense institutions helps provide a more complete explanation for observed consolidation. Specifically, we examine the interaction of evolving technology and changing institutions. Institutions reviewed include procurement policies, the weapons requirements process, and procurement organizations. We take an initial look at the industry, and highlight how these changes influenced transaction costs in the defense industry, more fully explain the forces driving consolidation, and provide greater insight to policy makers seeking to improve the performance of the defense industry. Further research is needed to build a robust institutional framework of the defense industry and the related government agencies to allow better policy prescriptions.
Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Comprising a large proportion of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic disease is a major oncologic concern. Consequently, enormous ongoing efforts in both systemic and radiation therapy are specifically aimed at delaying progression and potentially increasing survival over historical treatment with palliative chemotherapy. One particular approach is the concept of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for oligometastatic disease, which refers to administering non-invasive local therapy to limited sites of gross disease in efforts to eradicate the most likely areas of progression and potential sources that generate de novo metastases.
Rural Print Media Portrayal of Secondhand Smoke and Smoke-Free Policy

The purpose of this article is to describe how the print media portrays secondhand smoke and smoke-free policy in rural communities. Baseline print media clips from an ongoing 5-year study of smoke-free policy development in 40 rural communities were analyzed. The authors hypothesized that community population size would be positively associated with media favorability toward smoke-free policy. Conversely, pounds of tobacco produced and adult smoking prevalence would be negatively associated with media favorability. There was a positive correlation between population size and percentage of articles favorable toward smoke-free policy. The authors did not find a correlation between adult smoking or tobacco produced and media favorability toward smoke-free policy, but we did find a positive relationship between tobacco produced and percentage of pro-tobacco articles and a negative relationship between adult smoking prevalence and percentage of articles about health/comfort. Implications for targeting pro-health media in rural communities as well as policy-based initiatives for tobacco control are discussed.
Predicting MCI outcome with clinically available MRI and CSF biomarkers

Objective: To determine the ability of clinically available volumetric MRI (vMRI) and CSF biomarkers, alone or in combination with a quantitative learning measure, to predict conversion to Alzheimer disease (AD) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: We stratified 192 MCI participants into positive and negative risk groups on the basis of 1) degree of learning impairment on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test; 2) medial temporal atrophy, quantified from Food and Drug Administration–approved software for automated vMRI analysis; and 3) CSF biomarker levels. We also stratified participants based on combinations of risk factors. We computed Cox proportional hazards models, controlling for age, to assess 3-year risk of converting to AD as a function of risk group and used Kaplan-Meier analyses to determine median survival times. Results: When risk factors were examined separately, individuals testing positive showed significantly higher risk of converting to AD than individuals testing negative (hazard ratios [HR] 1.8–4.1). The joint presence of any 2 risk factors substantially increased risk, with the combination of greater learning impairment and increased atrophy associated with highest risk (HR 29.0): 85% of patients with both risk factors converted to AD within 3 years, vs 5% of those with neither. The presence of medial temporal atrophy was associated with shortest median dementia-free survival (15 months). Conclusions: Incorporating quantitative assessment of learning ability along with vMRI or CSF biomarkers in the clinical workup of MCI can provide critical information on risk of imminent conversion to AD.
Controversy in Evolutionary Theory: A multilevel view of the issues

A conflict exists between field biologists and physiologists ("functional biologists" or "evolutionary ecologists") on the one hand and those working in molecular evolution ("evolutionary biologists" or "population geneticists") on the other concerns the relative importance of natural selection and genetic drift. This paper is concerned with this issue in the case of vertebrates such as birds, fishes, mammals, and specifically humans, and views the issue in that context from a multilevel perspective. It proposes that the resolution is that adaptive selection outcomes occurring at the organism level chain down to determine outcomes at the genome level. The multiple realizability of higher level processes at lower levels then causes the adaptive nature of such processes at the organism level to be largely hidden at the genomic level. The discussion is further related to the "negative view" of selection, the Evo-Devo and Extended Evolutionary Synthesis views, and the levels of selection debate, where processes at the population level can also chain down in a similar way
in Middle Eastern and North African Economies Quinlan School of Business 9-1-2014 Competition and Economic Growth : An Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to MENA Countries

The underlying study analyzes the impact of competition on economic growth, and tests whether this impact might change according to the technological gap between the observed country and the technological leader country. Using panel data estimation for a sample of 115 countries over the period 1995-2010, and controlling for the MENA countries in the sample, the results suggest that intensive domestic competition, proxied by business freedom, tends to hinder the growth rate of an economy independent of the country's distance from the technological frontier, providing evidence in support to the Schumpeterian argument. However this effect is almost negligible for MENA countries. On the other hand, the impact of competitive pressures from foreign markets, measured by trade freedom, is dependent on the country's technological gap. In particular, the results show that trade freedom has a stronger negative impact on growth as countries move closer to the technological frontier. Such an impact of trade freedom on growth applies to all countries, including MENA ones.
Historical and event‐based bioclimatic suitability predicts regional forest vulnerability to compound effects of severe drought and bark beetle infestation

Vulnerability to climate change, and particularly to climate extreme events, is expected to vary across species ranges. Thus, we need tools to standardize the variability in regional climatic legacy and extreme climate across populations and species. Extreme climate events (e.g., droughts) can erode populations close to the limits of species' climatic tolerance. Populations in climatic‐core locations may also become vulnerable because they have developed a greater demand for resources (i.e., water) that cannot be enough satisfied during the periods of scarcity. These mechanisms can become exacerbated in tree populations when combined with antagonistic biotic interactions, such as insect infestation. We used climatic suitability indices derived from Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to standardize the climatic conditions experienced across Pinus edulis populations in southwestern North America, during a historical period (1972–2000) and during an extreme event (2001–2007), when the compound effect of hot drought and bark beetle infestation caused widespread die‐off and mortality. Pinus edulis climatic suitability diminished dramatically during the die‐off period, with remarkable variation between years. P. edulis die‐off occurred mainly not just in sites that experienced lower climatic suitability during the drought but also where climatic suitability was higher during the historical period. The combined effect of historically high climatic suitability and a marked decrease in the climatic suitability during the drought best explained the range‐wide mortality. Lagged effects of climatic suitability loss in previous years and co‐occurrence of Juniperus monosperma also explained P. edulis die‐off in particular years. Overall, the study shows that past climatic legacy, likely determining acclimation, together with competitive interactions plays a major role in responses to extreme drought. It also provides a new approach to standardize the magnitude of climatic variability across populations using SDMs, improving our capacity to predict population's or species' vulnerability to climatic change.
Developmental origin and maintenance of distinct testicular macrophage populations

Testicular macrophages (tM&phgr;) are the principal immune cells of the mammalian testis. Beyond classical immune functions, they have been shown to be important for organogenesis, spermatogenesis, and male hormone production. In the adult testis, two different macrophage populations have been identified based on their distinct tissue localization and morphology, but their developmental origin and mode of homeostatic maintenance are unknown. In this study, we use genetic lineage–tracing models and adoptive transfer protocols to address this question. We show that embryonic progenitors give rise to the interstitial macrophage population, whereas peritubular macrophages are exclusively seeded postnatally in the prepuberty period from bone marrow (BM)–derived progenitors. As the proliferative capacity of interstitial macrophages declines, BM progenitors also contribute to this population. Once established, both the peritubular and interstitial macrophage populations exhibit a long life span and a low turnover in the steady state. Our observations identify distinct developmental pathways for two different tM&phgr; populations that have important implications for the further dissection of their distinct roles in organ homeostasis and testicular function.
The Effect of a Constructivist-Based Approach on Fifth Grade Reading Achievement.

The Effect of a Constructivist-Based Approach on Fifth Grade Reading Achievement by Lori M. Harkness MA, Stephen F. Austin State University, 1998 BS, Stephen F. Austin State University, 1995 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University June 2016
Proposal for a Web Processing Services (WPS) Application Profile for 3D Processing Analysis

Based on the service specification of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) 1.0. 0 standard provides distributed spatial data processing analyses for arbitrary geoprocessing functionalities using a standardized web service-based interface. Additionally, the standard offers the ability to define and use so-called WPS Profiles in a recyclable way for semantically-driven interoperable processing. Typically, the geoprocessing interface is used for 2-dimesional (2D) spatial data processing. In this paper we focus on 3-dimensional (3D) data. Therefore we group and classify conventional 3D geoprocessing functions and define both 3D generic-basic WPS Profiles and 3D domain-specific WPS Application Profiles for 3D city models and show how profiles could be structured in 3D domain and how the profile mechanism may be optimized or extended in the future WPS 2.0 standard for more sophisticated geoprocessing.
Fabrication of Electrospun PVA Nanofibers Incorporated with Silver Nanoparticles: Antibacterial Application

PVA nanofibers incorporated with silver nanoparticles produced from electrospinning have higher surface area to volume ratio, which could be useful for many environmental health and safety purposes such as water disinfection. Although there are several works done regarding the silver nanoparticles and its application as a bactericidal agent, there are no reports available on immobilized silver nanoparticles incorporated in PVA nanofibers and their application against Escherichia coli using growth inhibition in liquid medium, which is the primary cause of many serious diseases associated with contaminated water. We have used electrospinning technique to fabricate PVA/AgNO3 nanofibers and also investigated the effect of several operational parameters such as applied voltage, collection distance, flow rate and some solution parameters like concentration and conductivity on average fiber diameter. Structures were characterized using SEM, TEM and EDX spectroscopy. The antibacterial tests were performed by growing E.coli in liquid LB medium supplemented with pure PVA and PVA/ AgNO3 and results confirmed the antibacterial activity of immobilized PVA nanofibers incorporated with silver nanoparticles while pure PVA showed no inhibition of bacterial growth. Decreasing the ratio of PVA/ AgNO3 by increasing the silver content enhanced the antibacterial efficiency of the fabricated nanofibers.
Association between physical activity in daily life and pulmonary function in adult smokers

Objective: To determine whether the level of physical activity in daily life (PADL) is associated with pulmonary function in adult smokers. Methods: We selected 62 adult smokers from among the participants of an epidemiological study conducted in the city of Santos, Brazil. The subjects underwent forced spirometry for pulmonary function assessment. The level of PADL was assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and triaxial accelerometry, the device being used for seven days. The minimum level of PADL, in terms of quantity and intensity, was defined as 150 min/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Correlations between the studied variables were tested with Pearson's or Spearman's correlation coefficient, depending on the distribution of the variables. We used linear multiple regression in order to analyze the influence of PADL on the spirometric variables. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Evaluating all predictors, corrected for confounding factors, and using pulmonary function data as outcome variables, we found no significant associations between physical inactivity, as determined by accelerometry, and spirometric indices. The values for FVC were lower among the participants with arterial hypertension, and FEV1/FVC ratios were lower among those with diabetes mellitus. Obese participants and those with dyslipidemia presented with lower values for FVC and FEV1. Conclusions: Our results suggest that there is no consistent association between physical inactivity and pulmonary function in adult smokers. Smoking history should be given special attention in COPD prevention strategies, as should cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities.
QUANTITATIVE PREDICTION OF MACROSEGREGATION FORMATION CAUSED BY NATURAL CONVECTION DURING SOLIDIFICATION OF STEEL CASTING

The modeling of full coupling of the temperature, concentration and velocity fields during solidification of castings is solved using the SIMPLER algorithm. The model is applied into the large steel casting to examine the effect of thermosolutal convection on the heat and solute transfer mations and further to predict the macrosegregation quantitatively. The natural convection dramatically alters the shape of the isotherms in muddy zone and the distribution of the solute. Suzuki criterion is applied to predict the presence of A-segregates.
Langerhans Cell Sarcoma - Review of Literature and a Rare Case Report

Langerhans Cell Sarcoma (LCS) is extremely rare, with only 37 cases reported in English literature. We present the case of a 38 year old woman with a 2 month history of left neck swelling and pain. A diagnosis of LCS was made based on pathological findings of the biopsy of the tonsil. IHC on the neoplastic cells was positive for LCA, S100, CD 68 and CD1a (with membranous and paranuclear dot like patterns). A literature review is also presented to enhance the understanding of LCS and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of this unusual lesion.
Done in 100 ms: Path-dependent visuomotor transformation in the human upper limb

A core assumption underlying mental chronometry is that more complex tasks increase cortical processing, prolonging reaction times. Here we show that increases in task complexity alter the magnitude, rather than the latency, of the output for a circuit that rapidly transforms visual information into motor actions. We quantified visual stimulus-locked responses (SLRs), which are changes in upper limb muscle recruitment that evolve at a fixed latency ∼100 ms after novel visual stimulus onset. First, we studied the underlying reference frame of the SLR, by dissociating initial eye and hand position. Despite its quick latency, we found that the SLR was expressed in a hand-centric reference frame, suggesting that the circuit mediating the SLR integrated retinotopic visual information with body configuration. Next, we studied the influence of planned movement trajectory, requiring participants to prepare and generate curved or straight reaches in the presence of obstacles to attain the same visual stimulus. We found that SLR magnitude reflected the initial planned movement trajectory, regardless of the ensuing movement curvature. Based on these results, we suggest that the circuit mediating the SLR lies in parallel to other well-studied corticospinal pathways. Although the fixed latency of the SLR precludes extensive cortical processing, inputs conveying information relating to task complexity, such as body configuration and planned movement trajectory, can pre-set nodes within the circuit underlying to the SLR to modulate its magnitude. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A core assumption underlying mental chronometry is that more complex tasks increase cortical processing, prolonging reaction times. Here, we showed that increases in task complexity altered the magnitude, rather than the latency, of a circuit that rapidly transforms visual information into motor actions. We focus on stimulus-locked responses (SLRs), which are changes in upper limb muscle recruitment that evolve at a fixed latency ∼100 ms after novel visual stimulus onset. We showed that despite is quick latency, the circuitry mediating the SLR transformed a retinotopic visual signal into a hand-centric motor command suitable to contribute to the initial movement trajectory. We suggest that this circuit lies in parallel to other well-studied corticospinal pathways.
14-3-3 Proteins in Plant Hormone Signaling: Doing Several Things at Once

In this review we highlight the advances achieved in the investigation of the role of 14-3-3 proteins in hormone signaling, biosynthesis, and transport. 14-3-3 proteins are a family of conserved molecules that target a number of protein clients through their ability to recognize well-defined phosphorylated motifs. As a result, they regulate several cellular processes, ranging from metabolism to transport, growth, development, and stress response. High-throughput proteomic data and two-hybrid screen demonstrate that 14-3-3 proteins physically interact with many protein clients involved in the biosynthesis or signaling pathways of the main plant hormones, while increasing functional evidence indicates that 14-3-3-target interactions play pivotal regulatory roles. These advances provide a framework of our understanding of plant hormone action, suggesting that 14-3-3 proteins act as hubs of a cellular web encompassing different signaling pathways, transducing and integrating diverse hormone signals in the regulation of physiological processes.
Validation of an instrument to measure patients’ experiences of medicine use: the Living with Medicines Questionnaire

Background Medicine-related burden is an increasingly recognized concept, stemming from the rising tide of polypharmacy, which may impact on patient behaviors, including nonadherence. No instruments currently exist which specifically measure medicine-related burden. The Living with Medicines Questionnaire (LMQ) was developed for this purpose. Objective This study validated the LMQ in a sample of adults using regular prescription medicines in the UK. Methods Questionnaires were distributed in community pharmacies and public places in southeast England or online through UK health websites and social media. A total of 1,177 were returned: 507 (43.1%) from pharmacy distribution and 670 (56.9%) online. Construct validity was assessed by principal components analysis and item reduction undertaken on the original 60-item pool. Known-groups analysis assessed differences in mean total scores between participants using different numbers of medicines and between those who did or did not require assistance with medicine use. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha. Free-text comments were analyzed thematically to substantiate underlying dimensions. Results A 42-item, eight-factor structure comprising intercorrelated dimensions (patient–doctor relationships and communication about medicines, patient–pharmacist communication about medicines, interferences with daily life, practical difficulties, effectiveness, acceptance of medicine use, autonomy/control over medicines and concerns about medicine use) was derived, which explained 57.4% of the total variation. Six of the eight subscales had acceptable internal consistency (α>0.7). More positive experiences were observed among patients using eight or fewer medicines compared to nine or more, and those independent with managing/using their medicines versus those requiring assistance. Free-text comments, provided by almost a third of the respondents, supported the domains identified. Conclusion The resultant LMQ-2 is a valid and reliable multidimensional measure of prescription medicine use experiences, which covers more diverse domains than existing questionnaires. However, further validation work is necessary.