Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two species of Strobilomyces (Boletaceae, Boletales), S. seminudus and S. hongoi sp. nov. from Japan

We describe and illustrate two Strobilomyces species, S. seminudus and S. hongoi sp. nov. These two species have been confused and treated as a single species (i.e. S. seminudus). However recent studies based on population genetics have implied that they are reproductively isolated. In the present study we found that they are phylogenetically and morphologically distinct. The molecular phylogenetic trees inferred from the partial sequences of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB1) and the second-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) support the differentiation of these two species as well as their differentiation from other related species. Strobilomyces seminudus is characterized by a stipe with an annular zone, becoming distinctly thickened near the apex and mottled with appressed-tomentose scales near the base. In contrast S. hongoi is characterized by a stipe with a remarkable reticulum at the upper and middle part and with minutely warty scales downward. Stipe characteristics also are useful for distinguishing these two species from other related species. In addition the incompletely reticulated basidiospores of these two species are also distinct from those of related species (i.e. S. foveatus).
Trend and Reversal of Idiosyncratic Volatility Revisited

We reexamine the evolution of the idiosyncratic volatility (IV) of US firms between 1962 and 2016. We theoretically identify three fundamental drivers for the IV: market concentration, average variance, and average correlation. Exploring the separate impacts of these drivers on IV, we find that most of the increase in IV between 1960 and 2000 documented in earlier studies is a result of microstructural biases contained in the daily returns. Consequently, the subsequent introduction of quote decimalization in 2001 caused the reversal of IV. We conclude that studies analyzing volatilities and correlations using daily data from before 2001 should be carefully revisited.
Perspectives and Retrospectives in Mass Spectrometry: One View

Mass spectrometry benefits from a flexible definition which equates it with many aspects of the science of matter in the ionized state. The field continues to expand rapidly, not only to encompass larger and more complex molecules through more powerful instruments, but simultaneously towards in-situ measurements made using smaller, more flexible and just-sufficiently-powerful instruments. The senior author has been fortunate to work in mass spectrometry from 1967 to the present and has been involved in a wide range of efforts which have covered analytical, biological, organic, instrumental and physical aspects of the subject. This effort has been made in the company of a remarkable set of colleagues. From this vantage, it is possible to look both backwards and forwards in this prospective and retrospective piece. This presentation involves a personal look at places, people, instruments and concepts engaged in along a path through Mass Spectrometry. The journey goes from Natal, South Africa, via Cambridge, UK, through Kansas and on to Purdue University, in the great state of Indiana. It starts with natural products chemistry and moves to the physical chemistry of fragmentation and energy partitioning on to complex mixture analysis by tandem mass spectrometry and, hence, to the concepts of thermochemical determination by the kinetic method, preparation of materials by ion soft landing, the possible role of amino acid clusters in the origin of homochiral life and the elaboration of a set of ambient ionization methods for chemical analysis performed using samples in their native state. Special attention is given to novel concepts and instrumentation and to the emerging areas of ambient ionization, molecular imaging and miniature mass spectrometers. Personal mass spectrometers appear to be just over the horizon as is the large-scale use of mass spectrometry in field-based analysis, including point-of-care medical diagnostics.
Histone deacetylase activity is retained in primary neurons expressing mutant huntingtin protein

Perturbation of histone acetyl‐transferase (HAT) activity is implicated in the pathology of polyglutamine diseases, and suppression of the counteracting histone deacetylase (HDAC) proteins has been proposed as a therapeutic candidate for these intractable disorders. Meanwhile, it is not known whether mutant polyglutamine disease protein affects the HDAC activity in declining neurons, though the answer is essential for application of anti‐HDAC drugs for polyglutamine diseases. Here, we show the effect of mutant huntingtin (htt) protein on the expression and activity of HDAC proteins in rat primary cortical neurons as well as in human Huntington's disease (HD) brains. Our findings indicate that expression and activity of HDAC proteins are not repressed by mutant htt protein. Furthermore, expression of normal and mutant htt protein slightly increased HDAC activity although the effects of normal and mutant htt were not remarkably different. In human HD cerebral cortex, HDAC5 immunoreactivity was increased in the nucleus of striatal and cortical neurons, suggesting accelerated nuclear import of this class II HDAC. Meanwhile, western blot and immunohistochemical analyses showed no remarkable change in the expression of class I HDAC proteins such as HDAC1 and HDCA8. Collectively, retained activity in affected neurons supports application of anti‐HDAC drugs to the therapy of HD.
[Attention and executive function tests components in attention deficit/hyperactivity children].

INTRODUCTION It has been suggested that children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have problems in attention and executive functions. A factor analysis showed that ADHD children had a different factor structure of the executive functions when they were compared with controls. AIM. To determine the factor structure of attention and executive functions in a group of ADHD children compared with a group of controls. SUBJECTS AND METHODS 249 ADHD children and 372 controls of both genders, aged 6 to 11 years old, and from the different socio economic strata of Medellín city, were selected. Attention --Mental Control and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (ACPT)-- and executive functions --Phonologic and Semantic Verbal Fluency (FAS)--, and a shortened version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were assessed in both groups. Factor analyses were developed with principal components procedure were developed for each group and the total sample, using principal component procedure with orthogonal rotation. RESULTS Stable factor structures were found for each group and for the total sample. The general factor structure was constituted by three independent factors: 1- Categorization, 2- Verbal fluency and verbal sustained attention, and 3- Cognitive flexibility. This factor structure explained 74.9% of the variance. CONCLUSION The factor structures suggested that the components of attention and executive functions are similar for ADHD and control groups. The differences between groups would be quantitative.
Dissolved methane in the residual basins of the Aral Sea

Due to catastrophic desiccation, today’s Aral Sea consists of a few separate residual basins, characterized by different ecological conditions (the Large Aral, Lake Tshchebas, the Small Aral). This study is the first report on dissolved methane concentrations in these basins. Overall, 48 water samples were obtained and analyzed for methane content. High values of dissolved methane in the anaerobic layer of the Large Aral Sea, including the Chernyshev Bay, are apparently caused by damping of vertical mixing and decomposition of abundant organic matter in anoxic conditions. The estimated methane flux from the surface of the Large Aral Sea is actually higher than that from many other lakes in the world. For the anoxic layer of the Large Aral, certain relations between distributions of methane and other hydrochemical parameters, including dissolved oxygen and hydrogen sulfide, were found. In the brackish Small Aral Sea, methane content was moderate. Lake Tshchebas exhibits intermediate conditions between the Large and the Small Aral seas in terms of salinity and methane concentration. The observed differences of methane content and distributions in separate residual basins are linked with the differences of their mixing and oxygenation regimes.
DNA ploidy of bladder cancer using bladder biopsy supernate specimens.

OBJECTIVE To perform DNA image cytometry on 119 bladder biopsy supernate (BBS) specimens of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) bladder to: (1) test the suitability of this cytologic specimen for use in DNA ploidy analysis, and (2) assess the value of DNA ploidy measured on this specimen as to the risk of tumor recurrence and survival. STUDY DESIGN The histologic grade and cytologic grade were correlated, and the DNA ploidy produced was determined by image analysis of Feulgen-stained nuclei. Kaplan-Meier curves related age, sex, grade and DNA ploidy to recurrence of tumor and survival. Log rank analyses were used to ascertain the difference between the curves for each categorical variable. RESULTS Urothelial cells derived from the BBS specimen were demonstrated to be representative of the tumor. The tumor recurrence rate was significantly higher (P = .0001) and the survival rate significantly lower (P = .0002) for patients with aneuploid tumors compared to those with diploid tumors. Patients with TCC 2 tumors had a significantly shorter time to recurrence (P = .003), although the relationship between ploidy and survival in this group was of marginal significance. CONCLUSION The specimen was free of many of the problems associate with the other specimen types used for measuring DNA ploidy. The results show that the BBS specimen is diagnostically useful and suitable for DNA analysis, providing prognostically relevant information.
Short Interest and Lottery Stocks

We find short interest‐related mispricing is strongest in lottery stocks. As stocks become more lottery‐like, arbitrage risk increases, resulting in higher overpricing (underpricing) in high (low) relative short interest (RSI) stocks. Monthly portfolio alphas are –1.61% for high RSI lottery stocks, whereas high RSI stocks with the least lottery‐like attributes show statistically insignificant alphas. Among lightly shorted stocks, lottery securities exhibit monthly alphas of 1.80%. Thus, although lottery stocks as a group typically underperform, investors can earn positive abnormal returns in lightly shorted lottery stocks. Our results suggest that lottery stocks’ greater noise trader risk and higher transactions costs impedes arbitrage in short interest‐related mispricing.
Phase I and II enzyme characterization of two sources of HepG2 cell lines

1. The metabolism by HepG2 cell from two sources (M1, M2) of 12 substrates is reported: ethoxyresorufin, ethoxycoumarin, testosterone, tolbutamide, chlorzoxazone, dextromethorphan, phenacetin, midazolam, acetaminophen, hydroxycoumarin, p-nitrophenol and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), and a pharmaceutical compound, EMD68843. 2. Activities varied markedly. Some were present in M1 (CYP1A, CYP2C9, CYP2E1) but absent in M2. M1 had a more complete set of Phase I enzymes than M2. CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, CYP2E1 and CYP3A activities were present at levels similar to human hepatocytes. Phase II metabolism differed between M1 and M2. M1 conjugated hydroxycoumarin and p-nitrophenol to glucuronides only, whereas M2 produced sulfates. Glutathione conjugation of CDNB metabolism was 10-fold higher in M1 than in M2, but was still much lower than in human hepatocytes. CYP2E, CYP2C, CYP2B6 and CYP3A (but not CYP1A, glucuronyl S-transferase or S-transferase) were inducible in M1. Metabolites of EMD68843, produced by induced (but not uninduced) M1 were the same as those produced in human hepatocytes. 3. In conclusion, HepG2 cells have both Phase I and II enzymes, which activities and at what levels depend on the source and culture conditions. Therefore, HepG2 cells routinely used in in vitro assays should be characterized for their drug-metabolizing capabilities before any results can be fully interpreted.
Production impact of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection on fattening pigs in Norway1

Abstract Newly emerged influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection in Norwegian pigs, although often observed in a subclinical form, can lower the pig's growth performance by reducing feed efficiency in terms of a poorer feed conversion ratio. Infected pigs would consume more feed and require protracted production time to reach market weight. In our observational longitudinal study, growth performance data from 728 control pigs and 193 infected pigs with known viral shedding time points were analyzed using mixed linear regression models to give estimates of the marginal effects of infection. Gaussian curves describing the variability of the estimates at the individual pig level formed the fundamental inputs to our stochastic models. The models were constructed to simulate the summed negative effects of the infection at the batch level of 150 fattening pigs growing from 33 to 100 kg. Other inputs of variability and uncertainty were 1) batch transmission points, 2) pig infection points to reflect the disease transmission dynamics of the virus, and 3) final prevalence of infected pigs in the batch. Monte Carlo random sampling gave 5,000 estimates on the outputs of the marginal effects for each pig. These results were summed up to provide estimates for a batch size of 150 pigs. This figure was adjusted by our final prevalence distribution function, which was also derived from the longitudinal study with 12 cohorts of infected pigs. For a 150-fattening-pig herd randomly selected from the population, the marginal effects of the infection were 1) 835 kg (fifth percentile) to 1,350 kg (95th percentile) increased feed intake and 2) 194 (fifth percentile) to 334 (95th percentile) pig days in excess of expected figures for an uninfected batch. A batch infected during growth phase 3 (81 to 100 kg BW) gave the worst results since the longitudinal study showed that a pig infected during growth phase 3 required more feed and a greater protracted production time compared to younger infected pigs. Sensitivity analysis showed that final prevalence had the greatest impact on the conditional mean and variation of the marginal effects of infections. Batch transmission point was the next most influential factor. Lowering the final prevalence and preventing older fattening pigs from being infected will have the greatest benefit in saving feed cost and reducing delay in getting the pigs to the market.
Neurophysiology of Tactile Perception : A Tribute to Steven Hsiao Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of primary somatosensory cortex on vibrotactile detection and discrimination

Labbé S, Meftah EM, Chapman CE. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of primary somatosensory cortex on vibrotactile detection and discrimination. J Neurophysiol 115: 1978–1987, 2016. First published February 10, 2016; doi:10.1152/jn.00506. 2015. —Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) of primary somatosensory cortex (S1) has been shown to enhance tactile spatial acuity, but there is little information as to the underlying neuronal mechanisms. We examined vibrotactile perception on the distal phalanx of the middle finger before, during, and after contralateral S1 tDCS [a-, cathodal (c)-, and sham (s)-tDCS]. The experiments tested our shift-gain hypothesis, which predicted that a-tDCS would decrease vibrotactile detection and discrimination thresholds (leftward shift of the stimulus-response function with increased gain/slope) relative to s-tDCS, whereas c-tDCS would have the opposite effects (relative to s-tDCS). The results showed that weak a-tDCS (1 mA, 20 min) led to a reduction in both vibrotactile detection and discrimination thresholds to 73–76% of baseline during the application of the stimulation in subjects categorized as responders. These effects persisted after the end of a-tDCS but were absent 30 min later. Most, but not all, subjects showed a decrease in threshold (8/12 for detection; 9/12 for discrimination). Intersubject variability was explained by a ceiling effect in the discrimination task. c-tDCS had no significant effect on either detection or discrimination threshold. Taken together, our results supported our shift-gain hypothesis for a-tDCS but not c-tDCS.
PLASTICITY IN QUEEN NUMBER AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN THE INVASIVE ARGENTINE ANT (LINEPITHEMA HUMILE)

Abstract In many polygynous social insect societies, ecological factors such as habitat saturation promote high queen numbers by increasing the cost of solitary breeding. If polygyny is associated with constrained environments, queen number in colonies of invasive social insects should increase as saturation of their new habitat increases. Here I describe the variation in queen number, nestmate relatedness, and nest size along a gradient of time since colonization in an invading population of Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) in Haleakala, Hawaii. Nest densities in this population increase with distance from the leading edge of the invasion, reaching a stable density plateau approximately 80 m from the edge (> 2 years after colonization). Although the number of queens per nest in Haleakala is generally lower than previously reported for Argentine ants, there is significant variation in queen number across this population. Both the observed and effective queen numbers increase across the density gradient, and nests in the center of the population contain queen numbers three to nine times higher than those on the edge of the invasion. The number of workers per nest is correlated with queen number, and nests in the center are six times larger than nests at the edge. Microsatellite analysis of relatedness among nestmates reveals that all nests in the Haleakala population are characterized by low relatedness and have evidence of multiple reproducing queens. Relatedness values are significantly lower in nests in the center of the population, indicating that the number of reproducing queens is greater in areas of high nest density. The variation in queen number and nestmate relatedness in this study is consistent with expectations based on changes in ecological constraints during the invasion of a new habitat, suggesting that the social structure of Argentine ant populations is strongly influenced by ecological factors. Flexibility in social structure may facilitate persistence in variable environments and may also confer significant advantages to a species when introduced into new areas.
Characterization of Structural p53 Mutants Which Show Selective Defects in Apoptosis but Not Cell Cycle Arrest

ABSTRACT Suppression of tumor cell growth by p53 results from the activation of both apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, functions which have been shown to be separable activities of p53. We have characterized a series of p53 mutants with amino acid substitutions at residue 175 and show that these mutants fall into one of three classes: class I, which is essentially wild type for apoptotic and cell cycle arrest functions; class II, which retains cell cycle arrest activity but is impaired in the induction of apoptosis; and class III, which is defective in both activities. Several residue 175 mutants which retain cell cycle arrest function have been detected in cancers, and we show that these have lost apoptotic function. Furthermore, several class II mutants have been found to be temperature sensitive for apoptotic activity while showing constitutive cell cycle arrest function. Taken together, these mutants comprise an excellent system with which to investigate the biochemical nature of p53-mediated apoptosis, the function of principal importance in tumor suppression. All of the mutants that showed loss of apoptotic function also showed defects in the activation of promoters from the potential apoptotic targets Bax and the insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 gene (IGF-BP3), and a correlation between full apoptotic activity and activation of both of these promoters was also seen with the temperature-sensitive mutants. However, a role for additional apoptotic activities of p53 was suggested by the observation that some mutants retained significant apoptotic function despite being impaired in the activation of Bax- and IGF-BP3-derived promoters. In contrast to the case of transcriptional activation, a perfect correlation between transcriptional repression of the c-fos promoter and the ability to induce apoptosis was seen, although the observation that Bax expression induced a similar repression of transcription from this promoter suggests that this may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of apoptotic death.
Use of Gabapentin in Patients Experiencing Hot Flashes

Hot flashes occur frequently in menopausal women and in women with breast cancer, diminishing their quality of life. A report from the Women's Health Initiative published in 2002 raised concerns about the long‐term safety of estrogen therapy. As a result, nonhormonal alternatives have emerged as preferred treatments. Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant that the United States Food and Drug Administration approved as an adjunct therapy for partial seizures and postherpetic neuralgia. Somnolence, dizziness, ataxia, fatigue, nystagmus, and peripheral edema are adverse effects commonly associated with gabapentin in the treatment of epilepsy and postherpetic neuralgia. The North American Menopause Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend the use of gabapentin as an option for managing hot flashes in women who are unwilling to take estrogen‐containing supplements. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin for the treatment of hot flashes in women with menopause and/or breast cancer, we performed a search of the MEDLINE database (1966‐March 2008) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, as well as manually searching reference articles for relevant articles and abstracts; 10 clinical studies were identified. Although the studies were few, all showed gabapentin to be safe and effective in the treatment of hot flashes. At doses used to control hot flashes, gabapentin was well tolerated, with drowsiness as its most reported adverse effect. Gabapentin can be considered effective in the treatment of hot flashes and should be considered a reasonable alternative when estrogen therapy is not desired.
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Are Associated with Progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease

Background: Neuropsychiatric disturbances are common in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Depression and apathy may identify a subset of MCI subjects at higher risk of progression to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, it remains uncertain whether a broader spectrum of psychopathology is associated with progression to AD. Methods: Fifty-one MCI subjects were assessed for neuropsychiatric symptoms using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Subjects were followed for an average of 2 years. Twelve subjects (23.5%) progressed from MCI to possible/probable AD and 39 subjects (76.5%) remained stable or improved. Baseline Neuropsychiatric Inventory indices were compared between groups. Results: Subjects progressing to AD had a significantly higher prevalence of psychopathology than subjects who remained stable or improved (100 vs. 59%). Depression (67 vs. 31%) and apathy (50 vs. 18%) were more common in subjects who were later diagnosed with AD. After statistical adjustments for other baseline demographic variables, these specific symptoms were less robust predictors of progression to AD than the presence of any psychopathology. Conclusions: These findings suggest that neuropsychiatric symptoms in MCI are a predictor of progression to AD. Depression and apathy appear to be most useful for identifying MCI subjects at highest risk of developing dementia.