Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Candidate Genes Identified for Controlling Mouse Gonadal Sex Determination and the Early Stages of Granulosa and Sertoli Cell Differentiation1

Abstract Mammalian gonadal sex-determining (GSD) genes are expressed in a unique population of somatic cells that differentiate into granulosa cells in XX gonads or Sertoli cells in XY gonads. The ability to efficiently isolate these somatic support cells (SSCs) during the earliest stages of gonad development would facilitate identifying 1) new candidate GSD genes that may be involved in cases of unexplained abnormal gonad development and 2) genes involved in the earliest stages of granulosa and Sertoli cell differentiation. We report the development of a unique mouse carrying two transgenes that allow XX and XY mice to be distinguished as early as Embryonic Day 11.5 (E11.5) and allow SSCs to be isolated from undifferentiated (E11.5) and early differentiated (E12.5) fetal gonads. The Mouse Genome 430v2.0 GeneChip (Affymetrix) was used to identify transcripts exhibiting a sexual dimorphic expression pattern in XX and XY isolated SSCs. The analysis revealed previously unidentified sexually dimorphic transcripts, including low-level expressed genes such as Sry, a gene not identified in other microarray studies. Multigene real-time PCR analysis of 57 genes verified that 53 were expressed in fetal gonads in a sexually dimorphic pattern, and whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis verified 4930563E18Rik, Pld1, and Sprr2d are expressed in XX gonads, and Fbln2, Ppargc1a, and Scrn1 are expressed in XY gonads. Taken together, the data provide a comprehensive resource for the spatial-temporal expression pattern of genes that are part of the genetic network underlying the early stages of mammalian fetal gonadal development, including the development of granulosa and Sertoli cells.
Charged Residues in the Transmembrane Domains of Hepatitis C Virus Glycoproteins Play a Major Role in the Processing, Subcellular Localization, and Assembly of These Envelope Proteins

ABSTRACT For most membrane proteins, the transmembrane domain (TMD) is more than just an anchor to the membrane. The TMDs of hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope proteins E1 and E2 are extreme examples of the multifunctionality of such membrane-spanning sequences. Indeed, they possess a signal sequence function in their C-terminal half, play a major role in endoplasmic reticulum localization of E1 and E2, and are potentially involved in the assembly of these envelope proteins. These multiple functions are supposed to be essential for the formation of the viral envelope. As for the other viruses of the familyFlaviviridae, these anchor domains are composed of two stretches of hydrophobic residues separated by a short segment containing at least one fully conserved charged residue. Replacement of these charged residues by an alanine in HCV envelope proteins led to an alteration of all of the functions performed by their TMDs, indicating that these functions are tightly linked together. These data suggest that the charged residues of the TMDs of HCV glycoproteins play a key role in the formation of the viral envelope.
Name Disambiguation in Person Information Mining

This paper considers five features, personal titles, community chains, terms, temporal expressions, and hostnames for personal name disambiguation. In 9 test data sets covering 3 ambiguous personal names, we address the issues of awareness degree of an entity, the source of materials and Web pages in different areas. Two approaches, single-clusterer and cascaded multiple-clusterer, are proposed. In the experiments, the proposed features are quite useful; the multiple-clusterer approach is better than the single-clusterer approach; and expanding community chains using the Web has positive effects on personal name disambiguation
Coase Theorems 1-2-3

Develops a pedagogical model so simple and powerful that students practically discover the three Coase Theorems for themselves. Three Theorems? Yes. Theorem One: In the absence of transaction costs, the initial allocation of rights between parties does not matter. Theorem Two: In the presence of transaction costs, the initial allocation of rights may matter; one initial allocation may be superior to another. The orem Three: In the presence of transaction costs, some distributions of limited rights may be superior to any that the parties could arrive at themselves through trade.
A plateau in pre-Alzheimer memory decline

Objective: To compare logistic and bilogistic models to describe the pattern of cognitive decline in the preclinical phase of Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: We conducted mixed effects modeling of Mayo Cognitive Factors Scores to determine the longitudinal pattern of cognitive decline in the period 10 years prior to and 5 years following a clinical diagnosis of AD. Our analysis included 199 people that eventually received a diagnosis of clinically probable AD. Participants had at least two neuropsychological evaluations including one before the evaluation at which they received the AD diagnosis. Results: A bilogistic model, including terms for a plateau in the course of cognitive decline, better fit longitudinal memory scores than a simple logistic model. On average the plateau began about 4 years prior to the clinical diagnosis of AD and ended with a decline that probably contributed to the clinical diagnosis of AD. A similar plateau was not evident in four other cognitive domains. Conclusions: The current findings may support proposed compensatory hypotheses involving redundant memory systems, up-regulation of neurotransmitters, or recruitment of other neural networks.
Chemical Structure and Immunological Specificity of the Streptococcal Group E Cell Wall Polysaccharide Antigen

The streptococcal group E cell wall polysaccharide antigen was extracted from strain K129 cells with hot trichloroacetic acid and purified. It contained rhamnose and glucose in a 2:1 molar ratio, 2% protein, 1% phosphorus, and was free of muramic acid and glycerol. No type polysaccharide antigen was present. The reaction of specific group E rabbit antiserum with the polysaccharide was effectively inhibited by d-glucose and β-glucosides such as 1-methyl-β-d-glucose, cellobiose, and gentiobiose. The 1-methyl-α-d-glucose was one-half as effective as the beta isomer. l-Rhamnose and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine were ineffective. Partial acid hydrolysis of the antigen followed by chromatographic separation of the oligosaccharides resulted in the isolation and analysis of five fractions. These fractions were di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharides. A study of these fractions by chemical analysis, reduction with borohydride, inhibition of the antigen-antibody reaction, release of glucose by β-glucosidase, and other evidence indicate that β-d-glucose is the immunodominant sugar in the antigen. A glucose-rhamnose trisaccharide (1:2 molar ratio) was the most effective inhibitor of the precipitin reaction; the glucose was readily released by β-glucosidase, and one-half of the rhamnose was reduced with borohydride. This trisaccharide is considered to be a repeating unit in the native polysaccharide and probably has the following structure: O-β-d-glucosyl-(1-2)-O-α-l-rhamnosyl- (1-4)-l-rhamnose. A glucose-rhamnose disaccharide in which the hexose and pentose are linked as in the trisaccharide was an effective inhibitor of the precipitin reaction. Strain K129 cells do not appear to contain a type polysaccharide antigen.
Large anomalous dispersion at short wavelength and modal properties of a photonic crystal fiber with large air holes

We investigated the dispersion and modal properties of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with larger air holes (LAH). The theoretical and numerical results show that large anomalous group-velocity dispersion at short wavelength down to around 700 ~ 800 nm can be achieved in a LAH-PCF with small pitch. Furthermore, the high-order modes usually are excited in a LAH-PCF when the optical field is launched from a traditional single-mode fiber, and all the excited modes will interfere when they propagate along the PCF. Finally, the properties of the excited modal spectrum and the multimode interference are determined by the normalized pitch and the normalized hole size of the PCF. All of these will provide references for the smoothing applications of the LAH-PCF
Transmit power and window control to reduce inter-user interference in CDMA cellular packet systems

A novel interference reduction method, transmit power and window control (TPWC), is proposed to enhance the system capacity in the downlink of CDMA cellular packet systems. TPWC measures the propagation conditions such as the required instantaneous transmit power between a base station (BS) and a mobile station (MS). Then, TPWC sends packets only during a transmit time-window, in which the packets can be sent with less power than a predetermined threshold. TPWC reduces the average transmit power at the cost of an extra transmission delay at the BS. Computer simulations show that, in a two-path Rayleigh fading environment with maximum Doppler frequency of 80 Hz, TPWC enhances the system capacity by 1.8-fold in a CDMA cellular packet system when each MS has a load of 0.5 and a 90% delay allowance of 5 ms. In order to confirm the implementation feasibility and to evaluate the performance of TPWC, an experimental TPWC processor is developed and its performance is measured.
Improvement of Post-Fault Performance of a Cascaded H-bridge Multilevel Inverter

This paper is focused on improving the post-fault performance of cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters by decreasing the common-mode voltage. First, an algorithm is proposed to determine the optimal post-fault state among all possible states, which have the same maximum available voltage. Furthermore, a modified technique is proposed to calculate the references of inverter phase voltages under faulty conditions. This technique leads to a decrease in the common-mode voltage when the required output voltage is less than its maximum value. These solutions are mutually employed in the post-fault control system. Simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in comparison with the existing methods in different cases.
Decentralised cooperative aerial surveillance for harbour security: A formal verification approach

Formal modelling techniques have been used to verify zero-fault tolerant systems such as hardware chips, communication protocols. In this paper we present formal modelling and verification of a multiple UAV system cooperatively monitoring a harbour area. Kripke modelling formalism is used to formally model the decentralised surveillance strategy and the desired system properties are expressed in temporal logic statements. The Kripke model is then subjected to an algorithmic verification technique known as model checking and the validity of the temporal formulae on the model is verified.
Using choice based conjoint analysis to assess competitiveness of chemical-free Hokkaido rice [in Japan]

Recently, Japanese consumers have become very anxious about food safety, including the safety of rice, their staple food. Therefore, there seems to be a potential demand for rice produced with reduced amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, nevertheless such kinds of rice are not in adequate supply. In this situation, rice producers in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, are trying to improve the competitiveness of "Hokkaido rice" through producing safer rice. A "Choice Based Conjoint Analysis" was conducted to reveal the Japanese consumers' preference for the safety of rice, particularly rice produced in Hokkaido. The results show that Hokkaido rice could be more preferred than rice produced in other parts of Japan, which is said to be tastier than Hokkaido rice, if it were produced with reduced amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Although there is a potential demand for safer rice, those who highly prefer the safer rice of Hokkaido are consumers with relatively low incomes. For that reason, rice producers in Hokkaido should address their product to them by supplying rice with a certain level of safety at reasonable prices instead of producing rice with a high level of safety at higher prices.
A Formal Test for Asymmetry in the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis

The presence of asymmetry in the relation between attendances and competitive balance in the Australian Football League is tested, over the period 1945-2010. The results from the well-specified structural time-series model validate the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis, and the null of no asymmetry is rejected easily in the structural innovations of the series, although it is not rejected in the levels. The latter finding substantiates the reversibility (without net loss of demand) of league revenue-sharing and labor market policies that influence demand in professional sports leagues.
Jugaad: A Brief Guide to Understanding the National Innovation Bill

In order to meet this demand to promote a robust knowledge economy, the Government of India set up a Working Group at the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) to prepare the draft legislation for an ‘Innovation Act’ to spur innovation in India. The Bill has been drafted based on similar laws enacted in the United States, EU, Brazil, and China. The Bill, yet to be tabled in the Parliament, is bound to affect people both positively and negatively. It is very important that such actors contribute to the evolution of this Bill as it proceeds to the Parliament. The aim here has been to briefly analyze the Bill with a market centric approach.
Human herpesviruses HHV-4 (EBV) and HHV-6 in Hodgkin's and Kikuchi's diseases and their relation to proliferation and apoptosis.

BACKGROUND Human herpesviruses types 4 and 6 (EBV, HHV-6) are frequently found in Hodgkin 's disease (HD) and--to a certain extent--in Kikuchi-Fujimoto's disease (KFD). Both viruses are apparently related to proliferative and/or apoptotic processes as represented by HD or KFD respectively. OBJECTIVE To correlate frequency and location of antigen- and DNA expression of both viruses in HD and KFD tissue sections in relation to markers for cell proliferation and apoptosis. STUDY DESIGN Archival lymph node biopsies from 103 patients with HD and 14 KFD patients were investigated immunohistologically for viral antigen expression (EBV LMP- 1: HHV-6 pl 10/60), Ki67/PCNR, marker for proliferation (MIB1)/p53 and WAF1 for apoptosis. Viral DNA was shown by in situ hybridization. Apoptosis was determined by ISEL and TUNEL techniques. RESULTS HD is frequently infected by both EBV and HHV-6 while KFD tends to be infected only by HHV-6. EBV in HD is present in HD cells and in Reed-Sternberg cells (HD/RS cells), HHV-6 preferentially in lymphocytes and in histiocytes in both HD and in KFD. Proliferation marker Ki67 is found in lymphocytes and histiocytes of both diseases and in HD and RS cells in HD. Apoptosis is demonstrated in lymphocytes and histiocytes preferentially in KFD and to a lesser extent also in HD. CONCLUSION Although EBVand HHV-6 may not be openly oncogenic in HD and KFD, they may well influence the course of the disease. Dual infection in HD appears to support proliferative processes, i.e. a predominance of EBV effects. Single infection with HHV-6 in KFD instead appears to favor an apoptotic course. These effects are--according to the literature--possibly cytokine-mediated.
قدرة النظام المصرفي على الحد من ظاهرة الفقر: دراسة قياسية تجميعية على الدول النامية [Ability of financial system to reduce poverty]

Poverty problems appear when available income is lower than the basic needs. It is well known that probability of having more income growth is associated with a well designed financial system. This kind of system can facilitate income and wealth movements from surplus to deficit units. This relationship is approved in this paper econometrically by studying different groups of developing countries.
The Murcia Twin Registry: A Population-Based Registry of Adult Multiples in Spain

The Murcia Twin Registry (MTR) was created in 2006, under the auspices of the University of Murcia and the regional Health Authority, aiming to develop a research resource in Spain intended to stimulate current research and new investigation on the analysis of genetic factors related to health and health-related behaviors. The MTR development strategy was designed as a step-by-step process. Initially, it was focused on women's health but nowadays it includes males and opposite-sex twins. The database comprises 2,281 participants born between 1940 and 1966 in the region of Murcia, in Spain. There have been three waves of data collection and today the MTR databases include questionnaire and anthropometric data as well as biological samples. The current main areas of research interest are health and health-related behaviors, including lifestyle, health promotion, and quality of life. Future short-term development points to the completion of the biobank and continuing the collection of longitudinal data.
Relationship Between Cigarette Smoking and Human Papilloma Virus Types 16 and 18 DNA Load

Background: Although cigarette smoking has been associated with increased human papilloma virus (HPV) detection, its impact on HPV DNA load is unknown. Methods: The study subjects were women who were positive for HPV16 and/or HPV18 at enrollment into the Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance–Low-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion Triage Study. Assessments of exposure to smoke and sexual behavior were based on self-report. Viral genome copies per nanogram of cellular DNA were measured by multiplex real-time PCR. Linear or logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between cigarette smoking and baseline viral load. Results: Of the 1,050 women (752 with HPV16, 258 with HPV18, and 40 with both HPV16 and HPV18), 452 (43.0%) were current smokers and 101 (9.6%) were former smokers at enrollment. The baseline viral load was statistically significantly greater for current compared with never smokers (P = 0.03 for HPV16; P = 0.02 for HPV18) but not for former smokers. Among current smokers, neither HPV16 nor HPV18 DNA load seemed to vary appreciably by age at smoking initiation, smoking intensity, or smoking duration. The results remained similar when the analysis of smoking-related HPV16 DNA load was restricted to women without detectable cervical abnormality. Conclusion: Higher baseline HPV16 and HPV18 DNA load was associated with status as a current but not former smoker. A lack of dose-response relationship between cigarette smoking and viral load may indicate a low threshold for the effect of smoking on HPV DNA load. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(12):3490–6)
A 2008 Questionnaire-Based Survey of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Related Diseases by Physicians in East Asian Countries

Background/Aims: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common gastrointestinal disease. This study was designed to examine current epidemiology, diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients diagnosed with GERD by surveying physicians in several East Asian countries. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was completed in six countries including China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand between July 2008 and December 2008. Results: In total, 876 physicians participated in the study. Most physicians in all countries, except Japan, frequently used international guidelines for the care of GERD patients, whereas approximately half of Japanese physicians did not use such guidelines. GERD was common among many patients, but Barrett’s esophagus, particularly the long-segmental type, was rare. The incidence of esophageal cancer, particularly adenocarcinoma, was high in China, but low in other countries. Most physicians diagnosed GERD based on symptoms, followed by endoscopy in Japan and Korea, or in other countries, by the proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) test. Heartburn was recognized as the chief complaint in all countries except Korea. Most physicians in all countries used PPI as the first-line of treatment for GERD. Increasing the PPI dose was the treatment of choice for PPI-refractory erosive esophagitis in Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. In contrast, in other countries, physicians used a combination of PPI and other drugs to treat PPI-refractory erosive esophagitis. Prescription of antidepressant drugs increased for PPI-refractory nonerosive reflux disease compared with PPI-refractory erosive esophagitis. Conclusion: The findings in the present survey are useful to understand the current epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of GERD in East Asian countries.
Full-duplex bidirectional communication under self-interference

In this paper, we analyze bidirectional communication between two multiple antenna nodes performing half-duplex and full-duplex transmissions. We compare the performance of half-duplex and full-duplex modes in terms of achievable sum rate under finite Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), while utilizing a realistic, experimentally characterized residual self-interference (SI) model for full-duplex operation. In our comparisons, for considering different perspectives for radio resource exploitation, we evaluate the antenna conserved and RF chain conserved full-duplex implementations, while investigating the effect of the number of antennas, different SI cancellation levels and transmission power. Our results indicate that antenna conserved full-duplex is only slightly better than half-duplex transmission, even when SI is completely canceled. RF chain conserved full-duplex, on the other hand, can double the half-duplex performance when SI is perfectly canceled, and still significantly higher capacity over half-duplex is achieved by realistic SI cancellation. Specifically, the capacity gain of RF chain conserved full-duplex over half-duplex is highly dependent on the transmission power levels, but not dependent at all on the number of antennas. Lastly, it is also deduced that individual transmission power of nodes is also important in determining the sum rate, especially for full-duplex implementations with poor SI cancellation.
A human spinal cord cell promotes motoneuron survival and maturation in vitro

Primary cultures of motoneurons represent a good experimental model for studying mechanisms underlying certain spinal cord pathologies, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal bulbar muscular atrophy (Kennedy's disease). However, a major problem with such culture systems is the relatively short cell survival times, which limits the extent of motoneuronal maturation. In spite of supplementing culture media with various growth factors, it remains difficult to maintain motoneurons viable longer than 10 days in vitro. This study employs a new approach, in which rat motoneurons are plated on a layer of cultured cells derived from newborn human spinal cord. For all culture periods, more motoneurons remain viable in such cocultures compared with control monocultures. Moreover, although no motoneurons survive in control cultures after 22 days, viable motoneurons were observed in cocultures even after 7 weeks. Although no significant difference in neurite length was observed between 8‐day mono‐ and cocultures, after 22 and 50 days in coculture motoneurons had a very mature morphology. They extended extremely robust, very long neurites, which formed impressive branched networks. Data obtained using a system in which the spinal cord cultures were separated from motoneurons by a porous polycarbonate filter suggest that soluble factors released from the supporting cells are in part responsible for the beneficial effects on motoneurons. Several approaches, including immunocytochemistry, immunoblotting, and electron microscopy, indicated that these supporting cells, capable of extending motoneuron survival and enhancing neurite growth, had an undifferentiated or poorly differentiated, possibly mesenchymal phenotype. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.