Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conditional Ablation of Retinol Dehydrogenase 10 in the Retinal Pigmented Epithelium Causes Delayed Dark Adaption in Mice*

Background: RDH10 is a candidate 11-cis-retinol dehydrogenase in the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) capable of regenerating the visual chromophore, 11-cis-retinal. Results: Loss of Rdh10 in RPE cells caused delayed regeneration of 11-cis-retinal. Conclusion: Rdh10 is an NAD+-dependent 11-cis-retinol dehydrogenase localized to RPE cells. Significance: This study provides evidence that RDH10 plays a complimentary role in producing 11-cis-retinal in the RPE. Regeneration of the visual chromophore, 11-cis-retinal, is a crucial step in the visual cycle required to sustain vision. This cycle consists of sequential biochemical reactions that occur in photoreceptor cells and the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). Oxidation of 11-cis-retinol to 11-cis-retinal is accomplished by a family of enzymes termed 11-cis-retinol dehydrogenases, including RDH5 and RDH11. Double deletion of Rdh5 and Rdh11 does not limit the production of 11-cis-retinal in mice. Here we describe a third retinol dehydrogenase in the RPE, RDH10, which can produce 11-cis-retinal. Mice with a conditional knock-out of Rdh10 in RPE cells (Rdh10 cKO) displayed delayed 11-cis-retinal regeneration and dark adaption after bright light illumination. Retinal function measured by electroretinogram after light exposure was also delayed in Rdh10 cKO mice as compared with controls. Double deletion of Rdh5 and Rdh10 (cDKO) in mice caused elevated 11/13-cis-retinyl ester content also seen in Rdh5−/−Rdh11−/− mice as compared with Rdh5−/− mice. Normal retinal morphology was observed in 6-month-old Rdh10 cKO and cDKO mice, suggesting that loss of Rdh10 in the RPE does not negatively affect the health of the retina. Compensatory expression of other retinol dehydrogenases was observed in both Rdh5−/− and Rdh10 cKO mice. These results indicate that RDH10 acts in cooperation with other RDH isoforms to produce the 11-cis-retinal chromophore needed for vision.
Directed evolution of a β‐1,3‐1,4‐glucanase from Bacillus subtilis MA139 for improving thermal stability and other characteristics

In order to improve some characteristics of a β‐1,3‐1,4‐glucanase from Bacillus subtilis MA139, directed evolution was conducted in this study. After error‐prone PCR, the β‐1,3‐1,4‐glucanase gene, glu‐opt, was cloned into the vector pBGP1 and transformed into Pichia pastoris X‐33 to construct a mutant library. Three variants named as 7‐32, 7‐87, and 7‐115 were screened from 8000 colonies. Amino‐acid sequence analysis showed that these mutants had one or two amino‐acid substitutions (7‐32: T113S, 7‐87: M44V/N53H, and 7‐115: N157D). The variants were over‐expressed in P. pastoris by methanol induction. After purification of the enzyme proteins, the characteristics of the variants were analyzed in detail. It indicated that these mutant enzymes had broader ranges of pH value and better pH stability than the wild‐type enzyme. The mutant enzyme 7‐87 had the best ability to tolerate an acid environment (pH 2.0), while the wild‐type enzyme had no activity under this condition. Moreover, all these mutants demonstrated improved thermal stability. In particular, the mutant enzyme 7‐32 had residual enzymatic activity of 60% and 40% after being incubated at 80 °C and 90 °C for 10 min. While, the wild‐type enzyme had no residual enzymatic activity after being incubated at 80 °C for 4 min. In addition, the mutant enzymes had better tolerance to some chemicals than the wild‐type enzyme. The improved stability could enhance the prospects for this enzyme to have use in the feed industry to reduce the effects of the anti‐nutritional factor β‐glucan.
Dynamics of viscoelastic creep during repeated stretches

The present study examined the viscoelastic creep responses in vivo during repeated constant‐torque stretches in human skeletal muscle. Twelve healthy participants completed four consecutive 30‐s constant‐torque passive stretches of the right plantar flexor muscles. Position and surface electromyographic (EMG) amplitude values were quantified at every 5‐s period and the percent change in position was quantified for each 5‐s epoch relative to the total increase in ankle joint position for each stretch. In addition, the absolute changes in position were plotted on a logarithmic time scale and fit with a linear regression line to examine both the rate of increase (slope) and the overall increase in position over the entire stretch (y‐intercept). The percent change and slope were similar (P>0.05) over all four stretches, with the majority of increases in position occurring within the initial 15–20 s of each stretch (84%). Absolute ankle joint position and the y‐intercept increased (P<0.05) following both the first and second stretch but plateaued (P>0.05) after the third stretch. In addition, EMG amplitude values did not change (P>0.05) during or between each 30‐s stretch. These data indicate that the amount and rate of viscoelastic creep were similar during practical durations of constant‐torque stretching despite no change in ankle joint position following three 30‐s stretches.
The Costs of Consumption Smoothing: Less Schooling and Less Nutrition

Using novel microdata, we explore lifecycle consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa. We find that households' ability to smooth consumption over the lifecycle is large, particularly, in rural areas. Consumption in old age is sustained by shifting to self-farmed staple food, as opposed to traditional savings mechanisms or food gifts. This smoothing strategy indicates two important costs. The first cost is a loss of human capital as children seem to be diverted away from school and into producing self-farmed food. Second, a diet largely concentrated in staple food (e.g., maize in Malawi) in old age results in a loss of nutritional quality for households headed by the elderly.
Hepatitis C virus infection in the family setting of patients with occult hepatitis C

Family members of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are at increased risk of HCV infection but the prevalence of HCV among family members of patients with occult HCV infection is not known. Anti‐HCV, serum HCV RNA and levels of liver enzymes were determined in 102 family members of 50 index patients with occult HCV infection and in 118 family members of 59 chronic hepatitis C index patients. HCV RNA and/or anti‐HCV were detected in 10/102 (9.8%) relatives of patients with occult HCV infection and in 4/118 (3.4%) of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Fourteen additional family members (seven were relatives of index patients with occult HCV infection) had abnormal values of liver enzymes without serological markers of HCV infection. Two of these patients (who were relatives of two index patients with occult HCV infection) underwent a liver biopsy and were diagnosed with an occult HCV infection because HCV RNA was detected in the liver cells in the absence of serological HCV markers. In conclusion, the prevalence of HCV infection among family members of patients with occult HCV infection was similar to that found among family members of patients with chronic hepatitis C. This stresses the need to adopt strategies to prevent the transmission of HCV in the family setting of patients with occult HCV infection. J. Med. Virol. 81:1198–1203, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characterization of acid extrusion mechanisms in cultured fetal rat hippocampal neurones.

1. We investigated the mechanisms regulating acid extrusion in cultured fetal rat hippocampal neurones loaded with 2',7'‐bis‐(2‐carboxyethyl)‐5‐(and‐6)‐carboxyfluorescein. 2. In the absence of HCO3‐, removal of external Na+ by substitution with N‐methyl‐D‐glucamine caused a sustained intracellular acidification that was not observed when Na+ was replaced by Li+, but neither steady‐state intracellular pH (pHi) nor the rate of pHi recovery from an imposed acid load were influenced by amiloride analogues or HOE 694, inhibitors of Na(+)‐H+ exchange in other cell types. In the presence of HCO3‐, removal of external Na+ or Cl‐ evoked an intracellular acidification and a 4,4'‐diisothiocyanatostilbene‐2,2'‐disulphonic acid‐sensitive (DIDS‐sensitive) intracellular alkalinization, respectively. Applied alone, however, DIDS elicited a fall in steady‐state pHi at room temperature but not at 37 degrees C. The DIDS‐evoked fall in steady‐state pHi and the 0 Cl(‐)‐evoked intracellular alkalinization observed in the presence of HCO3‐ at room temperature were dependent on external Na+. 3. At room temperature (18‐22 degrees C), but not at 37 degrees C, the transition from HCO3(‐)‐free to HCO3(‐)‐containing medium at a constant pHo produced a net alkalinization that was dependent on external Na+ and was inhibited by DIDS or the depletion of internal Cl‐. 4. Recovery of pHi from an acid load imposed in the absence of HCO3‐ was dependent on external Na+. Addition of HCO3‐ to the perfusion medium increased the rate of pHi recovery from an acid load at room temperature but not at 37 degrees C. In the presence of HCO3‐, DIDS slowed the rate of recovery of pHi from an acid load at both room temperature and at 37 degrees C. 5. Recovery of pHi following an imposed intracellular acidification to pH < 6.5 could occur in the absence of external Na+, providing that HCO3‐ was present in the perfusate. This slow, Na(+)‐independent recovery of pHi from very low levels of intracellular pH was sensitive to DIDS. 6. The results indicate that acid extrusion in cultured fetal rat hippocampal neurones involves primarily two Na(+)‐dependent mechanisms, one HCO3‐ dependent (a HCO3(‐)‐Cl‐ exchanger) and the other HCO3‐ independent (possibly a Na(+)‐H+ exchanger). Although both mechanisms participate in the maintenance of steady‐state pHi at room temperature, only the HCO3(‐)‐independent mechanism does so at 37 degrees C.
CD8+ T Lymphocytes Control Murine Cytomegalovirus Replication in the Central Nervous System of Newborn Animals1

Human CMV infection of the neonatal CNS results in long-term neurologic sequelae. To define the pathogenesis of fetal human CMV CNS infections, we investigated mechanisms of virus clearance from the CNS of neonatal BALB/c mice infected with murine CMV (MCMV). Virus titers peaked in the CNS between postnatal days 10–14 and infectious virus was undetectable by postnatal day 21. Congruent with virus clearance was the recruitment of CD8+ T cells into the CNS. Depletion of CD8+ T cells resulted in death by postnatal day 15 in MCMV-infected animals and increased viral loads in the liver, spleen, and the CNS, suggesting an important role for these cells in the control of MCMV replication in the newborn brain. Examination of brain mononuclear cells revealed that CD8+ T cell infiltrates expressed high levels of CD69, CD44, and CD49d. IE1168-specific CD8+ T cells accumulated in the CNS and produced IFN-γ and TNF-α but not IL-2 following peptide stimulation. Moreover, adoptive transfer of brain mononuclear cells resulted in decreased virus burden in immunodepleted MCMV-infected syngeneic mice. Depletion of the CD8+ cell population following transfer eliminated control of virus replication. In summary, these results show that functionally mature virus-specific CD8+ T cells are recruited to the CNS in mice infected with MCMV as neonates.
Caspase-mediated Cell Death in Hematological Malignancies: Theoretical Considerations, Methods of Assessment, and Clinical Implications

Apoptosis, the caspase-mediated cell death, plays an important role in the etiology, pathogenesis and therapy of a variety of diseases. Abnormalities of apoptosis regulation, resulting in either its inhibition or enhancement, play a key role in the development of various malignant hematological disorders. Several routine and new therapeutic strategies in Oncohematology are based on apoptosis modulation. Cytotoxic effects of most antineoplastic drugs are based on induction of apoptosis. The accurate estimate of incidence of apoptosis, therefore, is of importance in Oncohematology. In this review we provide an overview of the methods designed to measure the incidence of apoptosis, including the recently developed assays that are based on detection of caspases activation. We also review recent findings on the role of caspase-mediated cell death in hematological malignancies and discuss their clinical implications, including new therapeutical strategies that evolve from these findings.
Using MOEAs to Outperform Stock Benchmarks in thePresence of Typical Investment Constraints

Portfolio managers are typically constrained by turnover limits, minimum and maximum stock positions, cardinality, a target market capitalization and sometimes the need to hew to a style (such as growth or value). In addition, portfolio managers often use multifactor stock models to choose stocks based upon their respective fundamental data. We use multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) to satisfy the above real-world constraints. The portfolios generated consistently outperform typical performance benchmarks and have statistically significant asset selection.
Feature-Linking Model for Image Enhancement

Abstract Inspired by gamma-band oscillations and other neurobiological discoveries, neural networks research shifts the emphasis toward temporal coding, which uses explicit times at which spikes occur as an essential dimension in neural representations. We present a feature-linking model (FLM) that uses the timing of spikes to encode information. The first spiking time of FLM is applied to image enhancement, and the processing mechanisms are consistent with the human visual system. The enhancement algorithm achieves boosting the details while preserving the information of the input image. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method is effective.
Extracting the semantic content of web pages via repeated structures

Web pages may carry semantics that are very important to the authors and the readers. Due to many reasons, the authors may insert contents that are irrelevant to the underlying semantics of the page to different positions of the page, such as advertizements, guide bars, links. As a result, it may not lead good effect by using all the data of a web page to model its semantics. In this paper, we propose a framework that can extract the real semantic content from web pages via repeated structures of the HTML data. Our algorithm first detect the real semantic blocks in web pages via repeated structure segmentation, then extracts the real semantic content of the pages from real semantic blocks.
Regulation of proliferation and migration in retinoic acid treated C3H10T1/2 cells by TGF‐β isoforms

Proliferation of mesenchymal precursors of osteogenic and chondrogenic cells and migration of these precursors to repair sites are important early steps in bone repair. Transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) has been implicated in the promotion of bone repair and may have a role in these processes. Three isoforms of TGF‐β, TGF‐β1, ‐β2, and ‐β3, are expressed in fracture healing, however, their specific roles in the repair process are unknown. Differential actions of the TGF‐β isoforms on early events of bone repair were explored in the multipotent mesenchymal precursor cell line, C3H10T1/2. Cell migration was determined using a modified Boyden chamber in response to concentrations of each isoform ranging from 10−12 to 10−9 g/ml. All three isoforms demonstrated a dose‐dependent chemotactic stimulation of untreated C3H10T1/2 cells. Checkerboard assays indicated that all three isoforms also stimulated chemokinesis of the untreated cells. C3H10T1/2 cells treated with all‐trans‐retinoic acid (ATRA) and expressing relatively higher levels of osteoblastic gene markers such as alkaline phosphatase and collagen type I, lower levels of chondrocytic gene markers collagen type II and aggrecan, and unchanged levels of the adipose marker adipsin did not demonstrate significant chemokinesis or chemotaxis in response to TGF‐β1 or ‐β3 at concentrations ranging from 10−12 to 10−9 g/ml. In the ATRA‐treated cells, TGF‐β2 stimulated a significant increase in chemotaxis only at the highest concentration tested. Cell proliferation was assessed by mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity and cell counts at TGF‐β concentrations from 10−11 to 10−8 g/ml. None of the TGF‐β isoforms stimulated cell proliferation in untreated or ATRA‐treated C3H10T1/2 cells. Analysis of TGF‐β receptors (TGF‐βR1, ‐βR2, and ‐βR3) showed a 1.6‐ to 2.8‐fold decrease in mRNA expression of these receptors in ATRA‐treated cells. In conclusion: (1) while all three TGF‐β isoforms stimulate chemotaxis/chemokinesis of multipotent C3H10T1/2 cells, TGF‐β1 and ‐β3 do not stimulate chemotaxis in C3H10T1/2 cells treated with ATRA while TGF‐β2 stimulated chemotaxis only at the highest concentration tested. (2) TGF‐β isoforms do not appear to stimulate cell proliferation in C3H10T1/2 cells in either a multipotent state or after ATRA treatment when expressing higher levels of alkaline phosphatase and collagen type I gene markers. (3) Decrease in mRNA expression for TGF‐βR1, ‐βR2, and ‐βR3 upon ATRA treatment could potentially explain the lack of chemotaxis/chemokinesis in these cells expressing higher levels of alkaline phosphatase and collagen type I. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Content Adaptive Hash Lookups for Near-Duplicate Image Search by Full or Partial Image Queries

In this paper we present a scalable and high performance near-duplicate image search method. The proposed algorithm follows the common paradigm of computing local features around repeatable scale invariant interest points. Unlike existing methods, much shorter hashes are used (40 bits). By leveraging on the shortness of the hashes, a novel high performance search algorithm is introduced which analyzes the reliability of each bit of a hash and performs content adaptive hash lookups by adaptively adjusting the "range" of each hash bit based on reliability. Matched features are post-processed to determine the final match results. We experimentally show that the algorithm can detect cropped, resized, print-scanned and re-encoded images and pieces from images among thousands of images. The proposed algorithm can search for a 200x200 piece of image in a database of 2,250 images with size 2400x4000 in 0.020 seconds on 2.5GHz Intel Core 2.
Conceptualising the baggy beast: An institutional framework for social entrepreneurship and social enterprise

How we frame our research influences what we understand. Positioning a study within a preferred ontology and epistemology shapes the questions we ask, how we examine these questions, what kind of data we collect, and how we analyse our data. Many scholars including Haugh (2012) and Nicholls (2010) observe that the dual fields of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise are under theorised. This domain is “still in flux, searching for a direction and legitimacy, and theories are rare” (Lehner & Kansikas, 2013, p. 213). Lerner and Kansikas found that studies adopt a variety of frameworks and research “is often led by advocacy worldviews of the researchers themselves” (p. 198). These are serious propositions which challenge the value of our work. Conceptual clarity is vital to ensure we capture the issues we seek to scrutinise. The domain of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise is a free flowing field with limited conceptual clarity and research is at risk of creating multiple meanings. Many scholars have noted the lack of agreed definitions for social entrepreneurship and social enterprise and that different concepts and meanings are used in different places. In this paper, social entrepreneurship is conceptualised as an action or process that involves some form of business activity to create beneficial social change (Douglas, forthcoming) whereas social enterprise is considered to be an organisation that trades to fulfil a social or environmental mission for community benefit (Barraket, Collyer, O’Connor, & Anderson, 2009). These terms will be used specifically in this paper if there is a need to distinguish between them; otherwise SE denotes the overall field of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise research or practice.
Cavernous malformations of the basal ganglia in children.

OBJECT Cavernous malformations (CMs) of the basal ganglia are relatively rare lesions that can lead to considerable neurological impairment because of their eloquent location. The authors reviewed the clinical course and surgical outcome of a series of children with basal ganglia CMs. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed the operative experience of the senior author (R.M.S.) and the 1997-2011 database of Boston Children's Hospital for children with CM of the basal ganglia (which includes CM of the caudate and/or lentiform nucleus and excludes CM of the thalamus). They evaluated baseline demographics, presenting signs, operative outcomes, and condition at long-term follow-up visits and compared these characteristics among patients who underwent surgery and those who were observed. RESULTS Of 180 children with a diagnosis of CM, 11 (6%) had CM of the basal ganglia. The mean age at diagnosis was 9.3 years, and the male/female ratio was 1.8:1. Presenting signs were as follows: hemorrhage (8 children), incidental lesions (2), and seizures (1); 2 children had choreiform movement disorders. Treatment was observation or surgery. Observation was chosen for 5 children either because the lesions were asymptomatic (2 children) or because the risk for neurological dysfunction after attempted excision was believed to be high (3 children). These 5 children were observed over a combined total of 30.4 patient-years; none experienced neurological deterioration or symptomatic hemorrhage from their lesions. The other 6 children underwent microsurgical resection of the lesion because they were symptomatic from hemorrhage or increasing mass effect. All 6 of these children had hemorrhagic lesions, of which the smallest dimension was at least 1.5 cm. Of these 6 lesions, 5 were excised completely, and over a combined total of 46 patient-years of follow-up, no rebleeding or late neurological deterioration after surgery was reported. CONCLUSIONS In this patient population, the natural history of small and asymptomatic CMs of the basal ganglia was benign. The children with large (> 1.5 cm) symptomatic lesions underwent excision; neurological impairment was apparently minimal, and no hemorrhage or neurological deterioration occurred later.
Using Statistics Canada Data To Map Canada´s Population

Statistics Canada, Kanada’s nationale Statistikbehorde, bietet eine Reihe raumlicher Basisdaten zur Kartenerstellung und raumlichen Analyse ihrer Bevolkerungsdaten an. Der folgende Bericht zeigt die Moglichkeiten und Einschrankung der angebotenen raumlichen Daten fur die Bevolkerungskartographie auf und stellt die vorhandenen Verwaltungsgrenzdateien bis zur kleinsten Einheit, dem so genannten ‚dissemination block‘, in ihrer Struktur vor. Die raumlich sehr ungleiche Verteilung der Bevolkerung Kanadas stellt eine besondere Herausforderung bei der kartographischen Visualisierung dar. Ublicherweise angewendete Methoden wie die Choroplethen-Methode sind im Falle Kanadas streng genommen nur zur Visualisierung kleinraumiger Bevolkerungsdichte geeignet. Um die Darstellung der Bevolkerungsdichte und -verteilung auch fur grosere Raumeinheiten, z. B. den so genannten ‚census divisions‘ oder die Provinzen, zu ermoglichen, veroffentlicht Statistics Canada einen Datensatz, der die Abgrenzung der Okumene, also der bewohnten Flache, des Landes veranschaulicht. Diese Datei ermoglicht es dem Nutzer die Bevolkerungsdichte und -verteilung des Landes angemessen und detailliert zu visualisieren.