Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced rates of cleavage and development for sheep zygotes cultured to the blastocyst stage in vitro in the absence of serum and somatic cells: amino acids, vitamins, and culturing embryos in groups stimulate development.

The aim of this study was to develop a serum-free culture system that could support high levels of cleavage and blastocyst formation from sheep zygotes developed in vitro. To this end, we investigated the effects on sheep zygote development of amino acids, ammonium, vitamins, and culture of embryos in groups in Synthetic Oviduct Fluid (SOF) medium supplemented with BSA (32 mg/ml). The inclusion of amino acids in the culture medium had no effect on the percentage of embryos arrested at the 8-16-cell stage when embryos were cultured singly in the same drop of medium for 6 days (43% in SOF; 41% in SOF+amino acids). However, in medium containing all Eagle's amino acids, replacing the culture medium every 48 h to alleviate ammonium toxicity significantly decreased the number of arrested embryos (6%; p < 0.05) and significantly increased blastocyst cell number (52 cells in SOF; 105 cells in SOF+amino acids; p < 0.01) and the number of embryos developing to the blastocyst stage (29% in SOF; 67% in SOF+amino acids; p < 0.05). When the medium was renewed every 48 h, nonessential amino acids and glutamine also significantly decreased the number of arrested embryos (p < 0.05). Culturing embryos singly or in groups in SOF medium with all Eagle's amino acids that was renewed every 48 h resulted in significant increases in blastocyst hatching and mean cell number (47%, 31%, and 79%; 105, 136, and 173 cells for embryos cultured singly, in groups of 2, and in groups of 4, respectively). After culture in groups of 4, blastocyst cell numbers were equivalent to in vivo-developed controls (160 cells) and significantly greater than those developed in serum (103 cells; p < 0.01). Analysis of blastocyst metabolism, expressed on a per-cell basis, revealed that amino acids did not affect either glucose uptake or lactate production, whereas the addition of amino acids and vitamins resulted in a significant increase in both parameters (p < 0.01). A similar response was observed in serum-derived blastocysts. Ammonium production by sheep blastocysts after culture in the presence of amino acids was significantly greater than that produced by mouse blastocysts, indirect evidence that ruminant embryos utilize amino acids to a greater extent than do rodent embryos. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Patterns of Anticoagulation Use and Cardioembolic Risk After Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Background There is significant practice variation in oral anticoagulation (OAC) use following catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. It is not clear whether the risk of cardioembolism increases after discontinuation of OAC following catheter ablation. Methods and Results We identified 6886 patients within a large national administrative claims database who underwent catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation between January 1, 2005, and September 30, 2014. We assessed the effect of time off of OAC by CHA 2 DS 2‐VASc score (after adjusting for other comorbidities) on risk of cardioembolism, using Cox proportional hazards models. There was an increase in the use of non–vitamin K OAC after ablation from 0% in 2005 to 69.8% in 2014. OAC discontinuation was high, with only 60.5% and 31.3% of patients remaining on OAC at 3 and 12 months, respectively. The rate of discontinuation was higher in low‐risk patients (82% versus 62.5% at 12 months for CHA 2 DS 2‐VASc 0–1 versus ≥2, respectively; P<0.001). Stroke occurred in 1.4% of patients with CHA 2 DS 2‐VASc ≥2 and 0.3% of those with CHA 2 DS 2‐VASc 0 or 1 over the study follow‐up. The risk of cardioembolism in the first 3 months after ablation was increased among those with any time off OAC (hazard ratio 8.06 [95% CI 1.53–42.3], P<0.05). The risk of cardioembolism beyond 3 months was increased with OAC discontinuation among high‐risk patients (hazard ratio 2.48 [95% CI 1.11–5.52], P<0.05) but not low‐risk patients. Conclusion The overall risk of stroke in postablation patients is low; however, OAC discontinuation after ablation is common and is associated with increased risk of cardioembolism for all patients within the first 3 months and for high‐risk patients in the long term. Continuing OAC for at least 3 months in all patients and indefinitely in high‐risk patients appears to be the safest strategy.
Communications of the IIMA Communications of the IIMA

This research reported in this paper extends the literature on the helpfulness of online reviews. Previous research has assessed online reviews using standard unidimensional readability algorithms. This research extends previous work by investigating a multidimensional framework, and associated measures, of text complexity and its impact on the helpfulness of online reviews. Results show that as the amount of passive voice and negation in online reviews increase, the helpfulness of said review decreases. Other significant predictors of review helpfulness include word meaningfulness, lexical diversity, and the number of modifiers per noun phrase.
High Extinction Ratio Circular Polarizer With Conical Double-Helical Metamaterials

Recently, circular polarizer with cylindrical double-helical metamaterials has been proposed to broaden the operation band of cylindrical single-helical metamaterials, but its extinction ratio is deteriorated. In this paper, we proposed a circular polarizer with conical double-helical metamaterials, which have a large extinction ratio of 83:1, more than four times higher than that of cylindrical double-helical metamaterials. Furthermore, we gave a qualitative interpretation about this phenomenon through analyzing the interaction between two helical wires in one unit cell of the circular polarizer.
Short‐term evolution of autoreactive T cell repertoire in multiple sclerosis

T cells reactive to self‐antigens are present in the peripheral blood of patients with autoimmune diseases as well as in healthy subjects. Although T cell‐response to the self‐myelin antigen myelin basic protein (MBP) has been widely investigated in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, very little is known about the evolution over time of this response and its correlation with the disease activity. In recent years magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have provided new tools for following the inflammatory activity in the central nervous system (CNS) of MS patients. In the present study the T cell response to MBP was longitudinally investigated in terms of frequency, epitope specificity, and cytokine production profile in four patients with relapsing‐remitting MS enrolled in a gadolinium‐enhanced MRI serial study. In spite of different profiles of inflammatory activity within the CNS, all the patients examined showed major changes in their reactivity to MBP during the follow‐up period in terms of both frequency and epitope specificity. Episodic expansions of MBP‐specific T cell populations were observed in each patient, and overall they did not correlate with disease activity. In these patients the expansions: 1) occurred in the context of a steady level of disease activity, 2) correlated with a burst of CNS inflammation, 3) followed the appearance of a new active lesion, and 4) were observed even in the absence of detectable signs of CNS inflammation during the entire follow‐up period. These results suggest that the evolution over time of the T cell response to a self‐antigen such as MBP is more complex than previously expected. The short‐term repertoire dynamics of autoreactive T cells in MS underscore the importance of longitudinal studies for evaluating autoreactivity to myelin antigens and probably to any self‐antigen in other autoimmune diseases. J. Neurosci. Res. 66:517–524, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A synthesis-based approach to compressive multi-contrast magnetic resonance imaging

In this study, we deal with the problem of image reconstruction from compressive measurements of multi-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We propose a synthesis based approach for image reconstruction to better exploit mutual information across contrasts, while retaining individual features of each contrast image. For fast recovery, we propose an augmented Lagrangian based algorithm, using Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM). We then compare the proposed algorithm to the state-of-the-art Compressive Sensing-MRI algorithms, and show that the proposed method results in better quality images in shorter computation time.
High reward expectancy during methylphenidate depresses the dopaminergic response to gain and loss

Abstract Dopamine plays an important role in goal-directed behavior, through its modulatory influence on striatal neurons. It is unclear whether tonic dopamine levels, which regulate the vigor of acting, interact with the phasic dopamine response to reward that drives instrumental behavior. In a randomized placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers, we show that methylphenidate, a drug that increases tonic dopamine levels, systematically reduced striatal phasic BOLD responses to gain and loss in a gambling task as measured with fMRI. It also increased response vigor and reward expectancy-related BOLD signals in the ventral striatum. These findings suggest that striatal tonic dopamine levels constitute an average reward expectation signal that modulates the phasic dopaminergic response to reward. This offers opportunities for treatment of behavioral disorders associated with abnormal reward sensitivity.
Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: responsibilities and obligations of states sponsoring persons and entities with respect to activities in the Area: advisory opinion

The present Case Analysis seeks to discuss the main points of the Advisory Opinion of the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea on the Responsibilities and obligations of states, sponsoring persons and entities with respect to activities in the Area. The Opinion addresses a number of important issues that range from the analysis of the environmental obligations of states under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to the analysis of the due diligence criterion in the context of the activities in the Area. All of these significant issues are discussed in the analysis. The Advisory Opinion is important in the sense that the Seabed Disputes Chamber did indeed answer in great detail all of the questions the Council of the International Seabed Authority posed. The result will certainly help to develop a better understanding of the sponsoring states’ obligations with respect to the Area.
Removing dubious feedback from mobile wireless ad hoc peer-to-peer systems

In MObile wireless ad hoc Peer-to-Peer NETworks (MOPNETs), Reputation-based Trust Management (RTM) is essential for peers to choose reliable resources and trusted cooperators. However, outliers or misbehaving peers often overpraise their friends while denigrating strange peers. As a result, it is challenging to guarantee the validation and accuracy of RTM In this paper, we propose an extensive RTM scheme, TruthMOP. TruthMOP encourages peers to provide honest feedback by involving the quality of their evaluations of others into computing reputations. The simulation results show that TruthMOP can effectively mitigate the impact of dubious feedback in MOPNETs.
[F-18]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography can predict pathological tumor stage and proliferative activity determined by Ki-67 in clinical stage IA lung adenocarcinomas.

OBJECTIVE To predict a malignant grade of lung cancer by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scanning, we investigated the correlation between FDG uptake and pathological tumor stage, proliferative activities determined by Ki-67 and cyclin D1, and an alteration of p53, in clinical stage (c-stage) IA lung adenocarcinomas. METHODS FDG-PET was performed for 71 patients with c-stage IA lung adenocarcinomas. FDG uptake was measured by a contrast ratio (CR) between the tumor and contralateral lung. Ki-67, cyclin D1 and p53 staining scores were examined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS The lesions with ground-glass opacity were found in 26 patients, and solid lesions in 45 by computed tomography. The pathological tumor stages (p-stage) were stage IA in 59 and more advanced stages in 12. The latter had significantly higher CR value than the former (P < 0.001). Patients with CR > or = 0.55 could be predicted to be at advanced tumor stages, with a sensitivity of 0.83 and a specificity of 0.82. The CR and staining scores of Ki-67 were significantly correlated with each other (P < 0.0001), and both the values were significantly higher in advanced tumor stages than in p-stage IA, and were also significantly higher in tumors with intratumoral lymphatic, vascular and pleural involvements than in those without such features (P < 0.05-0.0001). CONCLUSIONS In c-stage IA lung adenocarcinomas, the FDG uptake can predict p-stage and tumor proliferative activity determined by Ki-67. For c-stage IA lung adenocarcinomas showing CR > or = 0.55, mediastinoscopy or neoadjuvant chemotherapy is indicated.
Use of a Multiplex Transcript Method for Analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Gene Expression Profiles in the Cystic Fibrosis Lung

ABSTRACT The discovery of therapies that modulate Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence or that can eradicate chronic P. aeruginosa lung infections associated with cystic fibrosis (CF) will be advanced by an improved understanding of P. aeruginosa behavior in vivo. We demonstrate the use of multiplexed Nanostring technology to monitor relative abundances of P. aeruginosa transcripts across clinical isolates, in serial samples, and for the purposes of comparing microbial physiology in vitro and in vivo. The expression of 75 transcripts encoded by genes implicated in CF lung disease was measured in a variety of P. aeruginosa strains as well as RNA serial sputum samples from four P. aeruginosa-colonized subjects with CF collected over 6 months. We present data on reproducibility, the results from different methods of normalization, and demonstrate high concordance between transcript relative abundance data obtained by Nanostring or transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis. Furthermore, we address considerations regarding sequence variation between strains during probe design. Analysis of P. aeruginosa grown in vitro identified transcripts that correlated with the different phenotypes commonly observed in CF clinical isolates. P. aeruginosa transcript profiles in RNA from CF sputum indicated alginate production in vivo, and transcripts involved in quorum-sensing regulation were less abundant in sputum than strains grown in the laboratory. P. aeruginosa gene expression patterns from sputum clustered closely together relative to patterns for laboratory-grown cultures; in contrast, laboratory-grown P. aeruginosa showed much greater transcriptional variation with only loose clustering of strains with different phenotypes. The clustering within and between subjects was surprising in light of differences in inhaled antibiotic and respiratory symptoms, suggesting that the pathways represented by these 75 transcripts are stable in chronic CF P. aeruginosa lung infections.
Resuscitation by Ferrioxamine E of StressedSalmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium from Soil and Water Microcosms

ABSTRACT Storage of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains in soil and water microcosms resulted in loss of culturability on standard plating media. Prior incubation in buffered peptone water supplemented with ferrioxamine E markedly extended the time that bacteria were recoverable by plating, except in the case of mutants deficient in ferrioxamine E uptake.
Chl1p, a DNA Helicase-Like Protein in Budding Yeast, Functions in Sister-Chromatid Cohesion

From the time of DNA replication until anaphase onset, sister chromatids remain tightly paired along their length. Ctf7p/Eco1p is essential to establish sister-chromatid pairing during S-phase and associates with DNA replication components. DNA helicases precede the DNA replication fork and thus will first encounter chromatin sites destined for cohesion. In this study, I provide the first evidence that a DNA helicase is required for proper sister-chromatid cohesion. Characterizations of chl1 mutant cells reveal that CHL1 interacts genetically with both CTF7/ECO1 and CTF18/CHL12, two genes that function in sisterchromatid cohesion. Consistent with genetic interactions, Chl1p physically associates with Ctf7p/Eco1p both in vivo and in vitro. Finally, a functional assay reveals that Chl1p is critical for sister-chromatid cohesion. Within the budding yeast genome, Chl1p exhibits the highest degree of sequence similarity to human CHL1 isoforms and BACH1. Previous studies revealed that human CHLR1 exhibits DNA helicase-like activities and that BACH1 is a helicase-like protein that associates with the tumor suppressor BRCA1 to maintain genome integrity. Our findings document a novel role for Chl1p in sister-chromatid cohesion and provide new insights into the possible mechanisms through which DNA helicases may contribute to cancer progression when mutated.
Update : Systemic Diseases and the Cardiovascular System ( IV ) Chemotherapy and the Heart

The improvements in cancer detection and therapy have created a new cohort of patients who will experience sufficient survival to develop the cardiac complications of the cancer therapy. Threedimensional echocardiography has been validated as the ultrasound modality with the best accuracy for the calculation of ejection fraction when compared to magnetic resonance imaging, the current gold standard, making it the tool of choice, when available, for the initial evaluation and follow up of the patient receiving chemotherapy. If three-dimensional echocardiography is not available, or if the quality of the images is inadequate, the use of ultrasound contrast can be useful for the definition of the endocardial border and identification of the true apex of the heart, enhancing the ability of the interpreter to accurately calculate volumes and
The social sector of the Expanded Public Works Programme as a strategy to alleviate poverty amongst vulnerable groups in Gauteng

ABSTRACT This article presents findings of a mixed-methods research study undertaken to evaluate the sustainability of the social sector of the Expanded Public Works Programme as a poverty alleviation strategy targeting women, youth and persons with disabilities. The study revealed that the social sector of the Expanded Public Works Programme has made a contribution to poverty alleviation, but may not be sustainable in the long term because of its reliance on volunteers, who receive a stipend. The programme is also limited by the fact that its implementation is focused mainly on one ethnic group. The article makes recommendations which may strengthen the social sector of the Expanded Public Works Programme to facilitate its sustainability.
Connections of the posterior thalamic region with the auditory ectosylvian cortex in the dog

The purpose of the present study was to define auditory cortical areas in the dog on the basis of thalamocortical connectivity patterns. Connections between the posterior thalamic region and auditory ectosylvian cortex were studied using axonally transported tracers: fluorochromes and biotinylated dextran amine. Cyto‐ and chemoarchitecture provided grounds for the division of the posterior thalamic region into three complexes, medial geniculate body (MGB), posterior nuclei (Po), and lateromedial and suprageniculate nuclei (LM‐Sg). Distinctive cytoarchitectonic features and the distribution of dominant thalamocortical connections (determined quantitatively) allowed us to define four ectosylvian areas: middle (EM), anterior (EA), posterior (EP), and composite (CE). We found that each area was a place of convergence for projections from five to eleven nuclei of the three thalamic complexes, with dominant projections derived from one or two nuclei. Dominant topographical projections from the ventral nucleus to area EM confirmed physiological reports that it may be considered a primary auditory area (AI). We found the anterior part of the EM to be distinct in having unique strong connections with the deep dorsal MGB nucleus. Area EA, which receives dominant projections from the lateral Po (Pol) and medial MGB nuclei, as well as area EP, which receives dominant connections from the dorsal caudal MGB nucleus, compose two parasensory areas. Area CE receives dominant projections from the extrageniculate nuclei, anterior region of the LM‐Sg, and Pol, supplemented with an input from the somatosensory VP complex, and may be considered a polymodal association area. J. Comp. Neurol. 467:185–206, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidence That High Activity of Vacuolar Invertase Is Required for Cotton Fiber and Arabidopsis Root Elongation through Osmotic Dependent and Independent Pathways, Respectively1[C][W][OA]

Vacuolar invertase (VIN) has long been considered as a major player in cell expansion. However, direct evidence for this view is lacking due, in part, to the complexity of multicellular plant tissues. Here, we used cotton (Gossypium spp.) fibers, fast-growing single-celled seed trichomes, to address this issue. VIN activity in elongating fibers was approximately 4-6-fold higher than that in leaves, stems, and roots. It was undetectable in fiberless cotton seed epidermis but became evident in initiating fibers and remained high during their fast elongation and dropped when elongation slowed. Furthermore, a genotype with faster fiber elongation had significantly higher fiber VIN activity and hexose levels than a slow-elongating genotype. By contrast, cell wall or cytoplasmic invertase activities did not show correlation with fiber elongation. To unravel the molecular basis of VIN-mediated fiber elongation, we cloned GhVIN1, which displayed VIN sequence features and localized to the vacuole. Once introduced to Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), GhVIN1 complemented the short-root phenotype of a VIN T-DNA mutant and enhanced the elongation of root cells in the wild type. This demonstrates that GhVIN1 functions as VIN in vivo. In cotton fiber, GhVIN1 expression level matched closely with VIN activity and fiber elongation rate. Indeed, transformation of cotton fiber with GhVIN1 RNA interference or overexpression constructs reduced or enhanced fiber elongation, respectively. Together, these analyses provide evidence on the role of VIN in cotton fiber elongation mediated by GhVIN1. Based on the relative contributions of sugars to sap osmolality in cotton fiber and Arabidopsis root, we conclude that VIN regulates their elongation in an osmotic dependent and independent manner, respectively.