Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New GABAergic Interneurons Supported by Myelin‐Specific T Cells Are Formed in Intact Adult Spinal Cord

Neural stem/progenitor cells are known to exist in the intact spinal cord, but the presence of newly formed neurons during adulthood has not been documented there to date. Here, we report the appearance of newly formed neurons under normal physiological conditions. These neurons are immature, express a GABAergic phenotype, and are primarily located in the dorsal part of the spinal cord. This localization appeared to be mediated by stromal‐derived factor‐1/CXC‐chemokine receptor‐4 signaling in the dorsal region. The extent of spinal cord neurogenesis was found to be greatly influenced by immune system integrity and in particular by myelin‐specific T cells. These observations provide evidence for in vivo spinal cord neurogenesis under nonpathological conditions and introduce novel mechanisms regulating adult spinal cord plasticity.
Genetic variability of CYP2D6, CYP2B6, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 genes across the Italian Peninsula

Abstract Background: Environmental conditions and past migratory events may have shaped genetic heterogeneity of clinically relevant enzymes involved in the phase I metabolism of the most common therapeutic drugs. Aim: To investigate the genetic variability of CYP2D6, CYP2B6, CYP2C19 and CYP2C9 across the Italian Peninsula, by sampling only ancestrally and geographically homogeneous individuals from northern, central and southern Italy. Subjects and methods: A total of 25 SNPs were genotyped in 174 unrelated Italian individuals by means of multiplex PCR and minisequencing reactions. CYP2D6 genotypic data were used to predict phenotypes and the phylogenetic relationships among reconstructed haplotypes were represented by means of a Median Joining Network. Results: Pairwise Fisher Exact tests revealed significant differences between northern and southern Italy in the distribution of CYP2C19 genotypes, with the CYP2C19*2 allele appearing over-represented in northern Italy. Likewise, significant differences in the distribution of CYP2D6 genotypes (*4/*3, *4/*4 and *6/*4) responsible for the poor metabolizer phenotype were observed in northern with respect to both central and southern Italy. Conclusions: The north–south structuring pattern showed by CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 underline how a deeper knowledge of the geographic distribution of alleles may improve clinical practice and help to avoid hypothetical bias in drug trials.
A SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase is involved in the degradation of the nuclear pool of the SUMO E3 ligase Siz1

Here we show that the Slx5/Slx8 STUbL complex is involved in the efficient degradation of the nuclear pool of Siz1, a SUMO E3 ligase with many nuclear and cytosolic substrates. This novel finding suggests that STUbLs can regulate cellular SUMO homeostasis by targeting SUMO E3 ligases.
GENETIC CORRELATIONS AND THE COEVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS OF THREE‐SPECIES SYSTEMS

Abstract . The majority of species interact with at least several others. We develop simple genetic models of coevo‐lution between three species where interactions are mediated by quantitative traits. We assume that one of the species has two quantitative traits, each of which governs its interaction with one of the other two species. We use this model to explore how genetic correlations between the two traits in the multivariate species shape the evolutionary dynamics and outcomes of three species interactions. Our results suggest that genetic correlations are most important when at least one of the interactions is between a predator and prey or parasite and host. In these cases, genetic correlations between traits lead to a wide variety of novel coevolutionary outcomes and dynamics. In particular, genetic correlations can affect the existence and stability of coevolutionary equilibrium points, and they can lead to recurrent or permanent maladaptation. When the three species interact only as competitors or mutualists, however, genetic correlations have no effect on the outcome of coevolution. In all cases, our results reveal the surprising conclusion that both positive and negative genetic correlations between traits have qualitatively identical effects on coevolutionary dynamics.
Supermarkets, International Trade and Farmers in Developing Countries: Evidence from Madagascar

Global retail companies ("supermarkets") have an increasing influence on developing countries, through foreign investments and/or through the imposition of their private standards. The impact on developing countries and poverty is often assessed as negative. In this paper we show the opposite, based on an analysis of primary data collected to measure the impact of supermarkets on small contract farmers in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost 10,000 farmers in the Highlands of Madagascar produce vegetables for supermarkets in Europe. In this global supply chain, small farmers' micro-contracts are combined with extensive farm assistance and supervision programs to fulfill complex quality requirements and phyto-sanitary standards of supermarkets. Small farmers that participate in these contracts have higher welfare, more income stability and shorter lean periods. We also find significant effects on improved technology adoption, better resource management and spillovers on the productivity of the staple crop rice. The small but emerging modern retail sector in Madagascar does not (yet) deliver these benefits as they do not (yet) request the same high standards for their supplies.
A probabilistic regulatory network for the human immune system

In this paper we made a review of some papers about probabilistic regulatory networks (PRN), in particular we introduce our concept of homomorphisms of PRN with an example of projection of a regulatory network to a smaller one. We apply the model PRN (or Probabilistic Boolean Network) to the immune system, the PRN works with two functions. The model called ""The B/T-cells interaction"" is Boolean, so we are really working with a Probabilistic Boolean Network. Using Markov Chains we determine the state of equilibrium of the immune response.
A human motion prediction algorithm for Non-binding Lower Extremity Exoskeleton

This paper introduces a novel approach to predict human motion for the Non-binding Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (NBLEX). Most of the exoskeletons must be attached to the pilot, which exists potential security problems. In order to solve these problems, the NBLEX is studied and designed to free pilots from the exoskeletons. Rather than applying Electromyography (EMG) and Ground Reaction Force (GFR) signals to predict human motion in the binding exoskeleton, the non-binding exoskeleton robot collect the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) signals of the pilot. Seven basic motions are studied, each motion is divided into four phases except the standing-still motion which only has one motion phase. The human motion prediction algorithm adopts Support Vector Machine (SVM) to classify human motion phases and Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to predict human motion. The experimental data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Longitudinal designs, methods and analysis in psychiatric research.

OBJECTIVE To outline the strengths and limitations of longitudinal research designs in psychiatry, and to describe different types of longitudinal designs and methods for analyzing longitudinal data. METHOD Key references on longitudinal methods were reviewed and examples drawn from literature in psychiatry and psychology. RESULTS Longitudinal studies provide important information regarding the incidence and developmental trajectories of mental disorders. They allow for identification of risk factors and developmental concomitants. Recent developments in statistical methods for analyzing longitudinal data provide efficient estimates of change and predictors of change over time, identification and characteristics of distinct subgroups defined by change pattern, and improved methods for obtaining unbiased population estimates when data are incomplete. CONCLUSION Longitudinal designs, methods and analysis can contribute to psychiatric studies on risk factors for common mental disorders, studies of early intervention and prevention and treatment outcomes.
The hippocampal protein machinery varies over the estrous cycle

Information about estrous cycle (EC) and sex‐dependent protein levels is limited. Cognitive functions vary over the EC and the aim of this study was to investigate rat protein fluctuations in the hippocampus, the main cognitive brain area for learning and memory, in the individual phases of the EC and in males and indeed protein fluctuations may reflect functional variation over the EC. Sprague‐Dawley rats were used in the studies and estrous phases were determined. Hippocampi were taken, proteins extracted, run on 2‐DE, and identified using MALDI‐TOF/TOF and nano‐LC‐ESI‐MS/MS; protein levels were quantified using Proteomweaver software. Levels of protein synthetic machinery components transcriptional activator protein PUR(α,β), elongation factor 2, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K, chaperones 78 kDa glucose‐regulated protein, heat shock cognate 71 kDa protein, Hsp 105, stress‐70 protein, peptidyl‐prolyl cis–trans isomerase A, prefoldin subunit 2, T‐complex protein 1 subunit alpha and subunit delta, and degradation principle proteasome subunit alpha type 1 and ubiquitin carboxyl‐terminal hydrolase isozyme L1, were different between sex and phase of the EC. We suggest that differences in the protein synthetic, chaperoning, and degradation machinery indicate different function in the individual EC phases. Results herein are relevant for further design of studies in the hippocampus at the protein level and interpretation of previous studies because EC phases will have to be respected and taken into account.
CoAdELL: Adaptivity and Compression for Improving Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiplication on GPUs

Numerous applications in science and engineering rely on sparse linear algebra. The efficiency of a fundamental kernel such as the Sparse Matrix-Vector multiplication (SpMV) is crucial for solving increasingly complex computational problems. However, the SpMV is notorious for its extremely low arithmetic intensity and irregular memory patterns, posing a challenge for optimization. Over the last few years, an extensive amount of literature has been devoted to implementing SpMV on Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), with the aim of exploiting the available fine-grain parallelism and memory bandwidth. In this paper, we propose to efficiently combine adaptivity and compression into an ELL-based sparse format in order to improve the state-of-the-art of the SpMV on Graphic Processing Units (GPUs). The foundation of our work is AdELL, an efficient sparse data structure based on the idea of distributing working threads to rows according to their computational load, creating balanced hardware-level blocks (warps) while coping with the irregular matrix structure. We designed a lightweight index compression scheme based on delta encoding and warp granularity that can be transparently embedded into AdELL, leading to an immediate performance benefit associated with the bandwidth-limited nature of the SpMV. The proposed integration provides a highly-optimized novel sparse matrix format known as Compressed Adaptive ELL (CoAdELL). We evaluated the effectiveness of our approach on a large set of benchmarks from heterogeneous application domains. The results show consistent improvements for double-precision SpMV calculations over the AdELL baseline. Moreover, we assessed the general relevance of CoAdELL with respect to other optimized GPU-based sparse matrix formats. We drew a direct comparison with clSpMV and BRO-HYB, obtaining sufficient experimental evidence (33% geometric average improvement over clSpMV and 43% over BRO-HYB) to propose our research work as the novel state-of-the-art.
Identifying security bug reports via text mining: An industrial case study

A bug-tracking system such as Bugzilla contains bug reports (BRs) collected from various sources such as development teams, testing teams, and end users. When bug reporters submit bug reports to a bug-tracking system, the bug reporters need to label the bug reports as security bug reports (SBRs) or not, to indicate whether the involved bugs are security problems. These SBRs generally deserve higher priority in bug fixing than not-security bug reports (NSBRs). However, in the bug-reporting process, bug reporters often mislabel SBRs as NSBRs partly due to lack of security domain knowledge. This mislabeling could cause serious damage to software-system stakeholders due to the induced delay of identifying and fixing the involved security bugs. To address this important issue, we developed a new approach that applies text mining on natural-language descriptions of BRs to train a statistical model on already manually-labeled BRs to identify SBRs that are manually-mislabeled as NSBRs. Security engineers can use the model to automate the classification of BRs from large bug databases to reduce the time that they spend on searching for SBRs. We evaluated the model's predictions on a large Cisco software system with over ten million source lines of code. Among a sample of BRs that Cisco bug reporters manually labeled as NSBRs in bug reporting, our model successfully classified a high percentage (78%) of the SBRs as verified by Cisco security engineers, and predicted their classification as SBRs with a probability of at least 0.98.
Redox-sensitive structure and function of the first extracellular loop of the cell-cell contact protein claudin-1: lessons from molecular structure to animals.

UNLABELLED The paracellular cleft within epithelia/endothelia is sealed by tight junction (TJ) proteins. Their extracellular loops (ECLs) are assumed to control paracellular permeability and are targets of pathogenes. We demonstrated that claudin-1 is crucial for paracellular tightening. Its ECL1 is essential for the sealing and contains two cysteines conserved throughout all claudins. AIMS We prove the hypothesis that this cysteine motif forms a redox-sensitive intramolecular disulfide bridge and, hence, the claudin-1-ECL1 constitutes a functional structure which is associated to ECLs of this and other TJ proteins. RESULTS The structure and function of claudin-1-ECL1 was elucidated by investigating sequences of this ECL as synthetic peptides, C1C2, and as recombinant proteins, and exhibited a β-sheet binding surface flanked by an α-helix. These sequences bound to different claudins, their ECL1, and peptides with nanomolar binding constants. C-terminally truncated C1C2 (-4aaC) opened cellular barriers and the perineurium. Recombinant ECL1 formed oligomers, and bound to claudin-1 expressing cells. Oligomerization and claudin association were abolished by reducing agents, indicating intraloop disulfide bridging and redox sensitivity. INNOVATION The structural and functional model based on our in vitro and in vivo investigations suggested that claudin-1-ECL1 constitutes a functional and ECL-binding β-sheet, stabilized by a shielded and redox-sensitive disulfide bond. CONCLUSION Since the β-sheet represents a consensus sequence of claudins and further junctional proteins, a general structural feature is implied. Therefore, our model is of general relevance for the TJ assembly in normal and pathological conditions. C1C2-4aaC is a new drug enhancer that is used to improve pharmacological treatment through tissue barriers.
The Variability of the Harlequin Mouse Phenotype Resembles that of Human Mitochondrial-Complex I-Deficiency Syndromes

Background Despite the considerable progress made in understanding the molecular bases of mitochondrial diseases, no effective treatments have been developed to date. Faithful animal models would be extremely helpful for designing such treatments. We showed previously that the Harlequin mouse phenotype was due to a specific mitochondrial complex I deficiency resulting from the loss of the Apoptosis Inducing Factor (Aif) protein. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we conducted a detailed evaluation of the Harlequin mouse phenotype, including the biochemical abnormalities in various tissues. We observed highly variable disease expression considering both severity and time course progression. In each tissue, abnormalities correlated with the residual amount of the respiratory chain complex I 20 kDa subunit, rather than with residual Aif protein. Antioxidant enzyme activities were normal except in skeletal muscle, where they were moderately elevated. Conclusions/Significance Thus, the Harlequin mouse phenotype appears to result from mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I deficiency. Its features resemble those of human complex I deficiency syndromes. The Harlequin mouse holds promise as a model for developing treatments for complex I deficiency syndromes.
Unscented Kalman Filter: Aspects and Adaptive Setting of Scaling Parameter

This technical note deals with the unscented Kalman filter for state estimation of nonlinear stochastic dynamic systems with a special focus on the scaling parameter of the filter. Its standard choice is analyzed and its impact on the estimation quality is discussed. On the basis of the analysis, a novel method for adaptive setting of the parameter in the unscented Kalman filter is proposed. The results are illustrated in a numerical example.
Equal-gain diversity receiver performance in wireless channels

Performance analysis of equal-gain combining (EGC) diversity systems is notoriously difficult only more so given that the closed-form probability density function (PDF) of the EGC output is only available for dual-diversity combining in Rayleigh fading. A powerful frequency-domain approach is therefore developed in which the average error-rate integral is transformed into the frequency domain, using Parseval's theorem. Such a transformation eliminates the need for computing (or approximating) the EGC output PDF (which is unknown), but instead requires the knowledge of the corresponding characteristic function (which is readily available). The frequency-domain method also circumvents the need to perform multiple-fold convolution integral operations, usually encountered in the calculation of the PDF of the sum of the received signal amplitudes. We then derive integral expressions for the average symbol-error rate of an arbitrary two-dimensional signaling scheme, with EGC reception in Rayleigh, Rician, Nakagami-m (1960), and Nakagami-q fading channels. For practically important cases of second- and third-order diversity systems in Nakagami fading, both coherent and noncoherent detection methods for binary signaling are analyzed using the Appell hypergeometric function. A number of closed-form solutions are derived in which the results put forward by Zhang (see ibid., vol.45, p.270-73, 1997) are shown to be special cases.
The Corsi Block-Tapping Task: Standardization and Normative Data

This article describes a standardized administration and scoring procedure for the widely used Corsi Block-Tapping Task, designed to assess the visual memory span. This method was applied in a group of healthy participants (n = 70) and a group of patients with cerebral lesions (n = 70), that were categorized on the basis of lesion location (left or right hemisphere, bilateral or subcortical). The percentile distribution as well as cutoff points on the basis of the control data are provided. It was found that 20% of the patients perform in the borderline range on this task, and over 8% have an impaired performance ("retarded"). In addition, right hemisphere patients performed worse than left hemisphere patients. These data show that the Corsi Block-Tapping Task can be effectively used to assess visuospatial short-term memory in patients with brain damage, and is selective for the side of the lesion.
The Clinical Nurse Leader: Playing an Integral Role in the Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity

Childhood obesity rates continue to rise across the United States. With the increased availability of snack foods and greater portion sizes, children have increased caloric intake, snack more often, and eat more high-fat foods. Decreased physical activity and increased sedentary behavior result in less active children. Children can suffer from comorbidities such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and sleep disorders (e.g., sleep apnea, insomnia). Obesity may be a result of unhealthy lifestyle choices. The clinical nurse leader (CNL) can play a key role in educating children and families. The CNL is a nurse with high-level critical thinking skills, leadership and case management abilities, who is well qualified to work on the complex issues that affect children with overweight or obesity and their families. CNLs can help to identify children and adolescents who are overweight or obese, coordinate their care, and assist their families to promote optimal health.
Influence of Twist on Selected Properties of Multifilament Yarn

Abstract Owing to twisting of filament fiber bundle, the structure and consequently various parameters and properties of a fiber bundle are changed. The aim of the work is to verify the effect of multifilament yarn twist (or twist coefficient) on selected mechanical properties such as multifilament tenacity, breaking elongation, and coefficient of fiber stress utilization in the yarn. Furthermore, the influence of twist on structural parameters such as the angle of peripheral fibers, the packing density, and the substance cross-sectional area of fiber bundle is observed. Two multifilament yarns with different filament cross-section shape and material were used for the experiment. Experimentally obtained data was compared with the known model dependencies derived decades ago based on the helical model. It can be stated that multifilament yarn retraction can be predicted based on the angle of peripheral fibers using the Braschler’s model. The coefficient of fiber stress utilization in the multifilament yarn determined experimentally corresponds with a theoretical curve, constructed according to Gégauff and Neckář, in the area of Koechlin’s twist coefficient α > 54 ktex1/2 m−1. Results as well as possible causes of deviations of experimental data from the theoretical one are discussed in this work.
Carbon-coated aluminum member and method for producing the same

It provides a possible carbon coated aluminum material and a method of manufacturing the same that improves the adhesion between the carbon-containing particles included in the carbon-containing layer and the adhesion between the aluminum material and the carbon-containing layer. Of the surface of the carbon-coated aluminum material is an aluminum foil (1) and a carbon-containing layer formed on the surface of the aluminum foil (1) and (2) and, the aluminum foil 1 and the carbon-containing layer (2) aluminum foil (1) between the includes a via layer 3 containing an aluminum carbide formed in the region of at least some. The surface of the carbon-containing layer (2) comprises a plurality of carbon-containing particles 22, and carbon-containing particles 22 has the organic layer 23 is formed. Forming a resin layer on the surface of the carbon-containing particles 22, and attaching the resin-coated carbon-containing particles, the resin layer is formed on the surface of the aluminum foil (1) and the aluminum foil (1) and a resin-coated carbonaceous particles, hydrocarbon It is heated by placing in a space including a containing substance.