Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Upregulated inflammatory associated factors and blood-retinal barrier changes in the retina of type 2 diabetes mellitus model.

AIM To examine the expression of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the retina and the hippocampal tissues; and further to evaluate the association of these two molecules with the alterations of blood-retinal barrier (BRB) and blood-brain barrier (BBB) in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. METHODS The type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM) model was established with a high-fat and high-glucose diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ). Sixteen weeks after DM induction, morphological changes of retina and hippocampus were observed with hematoxylin-eosin staining, and alternations of BRB and BBB permeability were measured using Evans blue method. Levels of HMGB-1 and ICAM-1 in retina and hippocampus were detected by Western blot. Serum HMGB-1 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS A significantly higher serum fasting blood glucose level in DM rats was observed 2wk after STZ injection (P<0.01). The serum levels of fasting insulin, Insulin resistance homeostatic model assessment (IRHOMA), total cholesterol (TC), total triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the DM rats significantly higher than those in the controls (all P<0.01). HMGB-1 (0.96±0.03, P<0.01) and ICAM-1 (0.76±0.12, P<0.05) levels in the retina in the DM rats were significantly higher than those in the controls. HMGB-1 (0.83±0.13, P<0.01) and ICAM-1 (1.15±0.08, P<0.01) levels in the hippocampal tissues in the DM rats were also significantly higher than those in the controls. Sixteen weeks after induction of DM, the BRB permeability to albumin-bound Evans blue dye in the DM rats was significantly higher than that in the controls (P<0.01). However, there was no difference of BBB permeability between the DM rats and controls. When compared to the controls, hematoxylin and eosin staining showed obvious irregularities in the DM rats. CONCLUSION BRB permeability increases significantly in rats with type-2 DM, which may be associated with the up-regulated retinal expression of HMGB-1 and ICAM-1.
Mechanisms of metastasis: Epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition and contribution of tumor microenvironment

Every year about 500,000 people in the United States die as a result of cancer. Among them, 90% exhibit systemic disease with metastasis. Considering this high rate of incidence and mortality, it is critical to understand the mechanisms behind metastasis and identify new targets for therapy. In recent years, two broad mechanisms for metastasis have received significant attention: epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor microenvironment interactions. EMT is believed to be a major mechanism by which cancer cells become migratory and invasive. Various cancer cells—both in vivo and in vitro—demonstrate features of epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal‐like transition. In addition, many steps of metastasis are influenced by host contributions from the tumor microenvironment, which help determine the course and severity of metastasis. Here we evaluate the diverse mechanisms of EMT and tumor microenvironment interactions in the progression of cancer, and construct a rational argument for targeting these pathways to control metastasis. J. Cell. Biochem. 101: 816–829, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oral dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) replacement therapy in women with Addison's disease

Patients with primary adrenocortical failure (Addison's disease) have abnormally low levels of DHEA and androgens relative to age. To define a suitable dose, the effect of oral dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) replacement therapy in women with Addison's disease (n = 9) was evaluated.
Highly Efficient 3-D Resource Allocation Techniques in 5G for NOMA-Enabled Massive MIMO and Relaying Systems

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) has been considered as a highly efficient communication technology in the fifth generation (5G) networks by serving multiple users concurrently through non-orthogonal sharing communication resources. NOMA can be combined with both massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and relaying technologies to further improve 5G system efficiency at the cost of increased complexity. These combinations rely on the efficient utilization of 3-D communication resources. In the first part of this paper, we investigate highly efficient 3-D resource allocation for massive MIMO-NOMA systems. Due to hardware complexity constraints and channel variation in the massive MIMO-NOMA system, efficient antenna selection and user scheduling algorithms are proposed for sum rate maximization. In the second part of this paper, a collaborative NOMA-assisted relaying (CNAR) system is proposed to serve multiple cell-edge users by 3-D resource utilization. To reduce the relaying complexity in CNAR system, a simplified-CNAR (S-CNAR) system is proposed as an alternative NOMA-enabled relaying strategy. Numerical results show that our antenna selection and user scheduling algorithms achieve similar performance to existing methods with reduced complexity. Under high target rate, CNAR obtains better performance over other transmission strategies and S-CNAR reaches similar performance by simplified relaying scheme.
Social assistance and household consumption in urban China: from 2002 to 2013

Abstract Using the China Household Income Project (CHIP) 2013 urban data and a propensity score matching method, this study examines the association between participation in China’s primary social assistance program, Dibao, and household consumption patterns. Results reveal that urban Dibao recipients prioritized spending on education and health compared to their non-recipient counterparts. In addition, Dibao receipt was found to be associated with decreased consumption in making ends meet and social participation. Comparing these findings with those focusing on the same topic but using CHIP 2002 and 2007 data, we find that the positive association between urban Dibao receipt and household total consumption was statistically significant in 2002 and 2007, but became nonsignficant in 2013. Across all 3 years, urban Dibao remained its significant association with increased expenditures on education and health, two forms of important human capital investments. Highlights We use the China Household Income Project 2013 data to examine the association between urban Dibao participation and household consumption. Urban Dibao recipients increased spending on education and health but decreased consumption in making ends meet and social participation in 2013. From 2002 to 2007 and then to 2013, urban Dibao was consistently associated with increased expenditures on education and health. The relative effect sizes of Dibao’s positive effects on education and health both increased from 2002 to 2007 but decreased from 2007 to 2013. Urban Dibao was found to be associated with decreased spending on making ends meet in 2013 but not in 2002 or 2007.
Land-cover classification of suburban areas based on multi-polarized airborne SAR data using texture measures

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors onboard space-borne and airborne platforms are useful to survey the land-cover and condition of the earth surface. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been operating L-band radar systems both on satellites and air-crafts. The Polarimetric and Interferometric Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pi-SAR) L2 started its operation in 2012, as a successor of Pi-SAR-L (1996–2011). Pi-SAR-L2 carries an L-band radar of 85.0 MHz band-width and can acquire images of very high slant-range resolution 1.76 m with full (HH, HV, VV, VH) polarizations. In this study, a basic study on backscattering characteristics of a suburban area was carried out using full polarization data acquired by Pi-SAR-L2 flying over Miyagi prefecture, Japan. The texture measures of the SAR data were obtained by the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM), which is one of the most well-known texture measures in the recent years. The selected major land-cover classes were trees, grasses, roads, water, paddy fields, buildings and solar panels. The result of supervised classification shows that the combined use of the backscattering intensity and their texture measures could obtain higher accuracy than using only the backscattering intensity.
Targeted expression of human FSH receptor Asp567Gly mutant mRNA in testis of transgenic mice: role of human FSH receptor promoter.

AIM To specifically express the Asp567Gly human follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) under the control of its promoter to evaluate the phenotypic consequences in the presence of normal pituitary function. METHODS We produced transgenic mice overexpressing the Asp567Gly human FSHR under the control of a 1.5kb 5'-flanking region fragment of its promoter. RESULTS Mice were phenotypically normal and fertile. In males, mRNA could be detected in the testis and the brain, indicating that the 1.5kb promoter fragment drives expression not only in the gonads. The testis weight/body weight ratio and the testosterone levels in transgenic and non-transgenic littermates were similar. By in situ hybridisation we found that the transgenic FSHR was highly expressed in Sertoli cells, spermatocytes and round spermatids. However, a radioligand receptor assay failed to show a significant difference in total FSHR binding sites in testis homogenates of transgenic and wild type animals, suggesting that the transgenic FSHR is probably not translated into functional receptor protein. CONCLUSION A 1.5kb 5'-region of the human FSHR drives mRNA expression of the transgene in the testis but leads to ectopic expression in germ cells and in the brain. No phenotypic consequences could be documented due to the lack of protein expression.
Aberrant Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) Processing in Hereditary Forms of Alzheimer Disease Caused by APP Familial Alzheimer Disease Mutations Can Be Rescued by Mutations in the APP GxxxG Motif*

The identification of hereditary familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin-1 (PS1) corroborated the causative role of amyloid-β peptides with 42 amino acid residues (Aβ42) in the pathogenesis of AD. Although most FAD mutations are known to increase Aβ42 levels, mutations within the APP GxxxG motif are known to lower Aβ42 levels by attenuating transmembrane sequence dimerization. Here, we show that aberrant Aβ42 levels of FAD mutations can be rescued by GxxxG mutations. The combination of the APP-GxxxG mutation G33A with APP-FAD mutations yielded a constant 60% decrease of Aβ42 levels and a concomitant 3-fold increase of Aβ38 levels compared with the Gly33 wild-type as determined by ELISA. In the presence of PS1-FAD mutations, the effects of G33A were attenuated, apparently attributable to a different mechanism of PS1-FAD mutants compared with APP-FAD mutants. Our results contribute to a general understanding of the mechanism how APP is processed by the γ-secretase module and strongly emphasize the potential of the GxxxG motif in the prevention of sporadic AD as well as FAD.
Dynamic Interactions Between Financial and Macroeconomic Imbalances: A Panel VAR Analysis

We use Bayesian and GMM panel VAR frameworks to study interactions between financial cycles and macroeconomic imbalances based on a global sample of 24 countries spanning the period 1998‑2012. We find that financial cycles play an important role in shaping macroeconomic imbalances with expansions inducing economic overheating and a downward pressure on public debt-to-GDP ratios, and vice versa. Bank-based economies exhibit a deeper and faster response of business cycles to financial misalignments, while the impact in market-based economies is milder, but more persistent, as well as more significant for current account and public debt dynamics. Financial cycles invoke a particularly strong reaction of current account balances and especially public debt ratios in the euro area.
The GIY-YIG Type Endonuclease Ankyrin Repeat and LEM Domain-Containing Protein 1 (ANKLE1) Is Dispensable for Mouse Hematopoiesis

Ankyrin repeat and LEM-domain containing protein 1 (ANKLE1) is a GIY-YIG endonuclease with unknown functions, mainly expressed in mouse hematopoietic tissues. To test its potential role in hematopoiesis we generated Ankle1-deficient mice. Ankle1Δ/Δ mice are viable without any detectable phenotype in hematopoiesis. Neither hematopoietic progenitor cells, myeloid and lymphoid progenitors, nor B and T cell development in bone marrow, spleen and thymus, are affected in Ankle1Δ/Δ-mice. Similarly embryonic stress erythropoiesis in liver and adult erythropoiesis in bone marrow and spleen appear normal. To test whether ANKLE1, like the only other known GIY-YIG endonuclease in mammals, SLX1, may contribute to Holliday junction resolution during DNA repair, Ankle1-deficient cells were exposed to various DNA-damage inducing agents. However, lack of Ankle1 did not affect cell viability and, unlike depletion of Slx1, Ankle1-deficiency did not increase sister chromatid exchange in Bloom helicase-depleted cells. Altogether, we show that lack of Ankle1 does neither affect mouse hematopoiesis nor DNA damage repair in mouse embryonic fibroblasts, indicating a redundant or non-essential function of ANKLE1 in mouse.
Drivers and Outcomes of Green IS Adoption in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Using the Belief Action Outcome (BAO) framework as a theoretical basis, this study investigates the mechanisms that link organizational beliefs about environmental sustainability with Green information system (IS) actions that are undertaken and, hence, the organizational benefits accruing from these actions. Survey data were collected from 156 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results support the notion that Green IS endeavors lead to increased organizational benefits. External pressures from stakeholders and employees’ attitudes to environmental sustainability affect the organizational attitude to Green IS. The attitude to Green IS is further translated into the organization’s strategy and corresponding Green IS actions, resulting in organizational benefits. This study’s main contribution lies in establishing a link between personal attitudes, institutional mechanisms, internal environmental/sustainability initiatives, and performance implications. Green IS adoption was empirically validated considering the SME context.
Inflammatory stimuli induce inhibitory S-nitrosylation of the deacetylase SIRT1 to increase acetylation and activation of p53 and p65

S-nitrosylation of the deacetylase SIRT1 functions as a proinflammatory switch in aging and inflammatory disorders. Flipping the SIRT1 Switch During Inflammation In aging-related diseases, chronic inflammation is associated with increased production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes a posttranslational modification of proteins known as S-nitrosylation. SIRT1 is a protein deacetylase that inhibits the transcription factors p53 and NF-κB, which are involved in mediating cell death by apoptosis and promoting inflammatory responses. S-nitrosylation inhibits SIRT1 activity. Shinozaki et al. found that in cultured mammalian cells, S-nitrosylation of SIRT1 prevented it from deacetylating and inhibiting p53 and NF-κB. In mouse models of systemic inflammation, neurodegeneration, or muscle aging, S-nitrosylation of SIRT1 and the associated activation of p53 and NF-κB required the activity of nitric oxide synthases. Thus, S-nitrosylation of SIRT1 may be a critical factor in promoting apoptotic and inflammatory responses in aging-related diseases. Inflammation increases the abundance of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), leading to enhanced production of nitric oxide (NO), which can modify proteins by S-nitrosylation. Enhanced NO production increases the activities of the transcription factors p53 and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in several models of disease-associated inflammation. S-nitrosylation inhibits the activity of the protein deacetylase SIRT1. SIRT1 limits apoptosis and inflammation by deacetylating p53 and p65 (also known as RelA), a subunit of NF-κB. We showed in multiple cultured mammalian cell lines that NO donors or inflammatory stimuli induced S-nitrosylation of SIRT1 within CXXC motifs, which inhibited SIRT1 by disrupting its ability to bind zinc. Inhibition of SIRT1 reduced deacetylation and promoted activation of p53 and p65, leading to apoptosis and increased expression of proinflammatory genes. In rodent models of systemic inflammation, Parkinson’s disease, or aging-related muscular atrophy, S-nitrosylation of SIRT1 correlated with increased acetylation of p53 and p65 and activation of p53 and NF-κB target genes, suggesting that S-nitrosylation of SIRT1 may represent a proinflammatory switch common to many diseases and aging.
Dynamics of a model colloidal suspension from dilute to freezing.

Molecular dynamics simulation was used to study a model colloidal suspension at a range of packing fractions from the dilute limit up to the freezing point. This study builds on previous work by the authors which modeled the colloidal particles with a hard core surrounded by a Weeks-Chandler-Anderson potential with modified interaction parameters, and included an explicit solvent. In this work, we study dynamical properties of the model by first calculating the velocity autocorrelation function, the self-diffusion coefficient, and the mutual diffusion coefficient. We also perform detailed calculations of the colloidal particle intermediate scattering function to study the change in dynamics leading up to the freezing point, and to determine whether the current model can be used to interpret light scattering experiments. We then perform a multiexponential analysis on the intermediate scattering function results and find that the data are fitted well by the sum of two exponentials, which is in line with previous analysis of experimental colloidal suspensions. The amplitudes and decay coefficients of the two modes are determined over a large range of wave vectors at packing fractions leading up to the freezing point. We found that the maximum wave vector at which macroscopic diffusive behavior was observed decreased as the packing fraction increased, and a simple extrapolation shows the maximum wave vector going to zero at the melting point. Lastly, the ratio of the two decay coefficients is compared to the scaling law proposed by Segrè and Pusey [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 771 (1996)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.77. 771]. It was found that the ratio was not constant, but instead was wave vector dependent.
A Flexible Heterogeneous Hardware/Software Solution for Real-Time HD H.264 Motion Estimation

Quarter-pixel accuracy and variable block-size significantly enhance compression performances of the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video compression standard over its predecessors, but also significantly increase computation requirements. Firstly, a digital signal processor (DSP)-based solution that achieves real-time integer motion estimation is proposed. Fractional-pixel refinement is too computationally intensive to be efficiently processed on a software-based processor. To address this restriction, a flexible and low complexity VLSI subpixel refinement coprocessor is designed. Thanks to an improved datapath, a high throughput is achieved with low logic resources. Finally, an heterogeneous (DSP-field-programmable gate array) solution to handle real-time motion estimation with variable block-size and fractional-pixel accuracy for high-definition video is studied. This solution, combining programmability and efficiency, achieves motion estimation of 720 p sequences at up to 60 fps.
Rusty, Jammed, and Well-Oiled Hinges: Mutations Affecting the Interdomain Region of FliG, a Rotor Element of the Escherichia coli Flagellar Motor

ABSTRACT The FliG protein is a central component of the bacterial flagellar motor. It is one of the first proteins added during assembly of the flagellar basal body, and there are 26 copies per motor. FliG interacts directly with the Mot protein complex of the stator to generate torque, and it is a crucial player in switching the direction of flagellar rotation from clockwise (CW) to counterclockwise and vice versa. A primarily helical linker joins the N-terminal assembly domain of FliG, which is firmly attached to the FliF protein of the MS ring of the basal body, to the motility domain that interacts with MotA/MotB. We report here the results of a mutagenic analysis focused on what has been called the hinge region of the linker. Residue substitutions in this region generate a diversity of phenotypes, including motors that are strongly CW biased, infrequent switchers, rapid switchers, and transiently or permanently paused. Isolation of these mutants was facilitated by a “sensitizing” mutation (E232G) outside of the hinge region that was accidentally introduced during cloning of the chromosomal fliG gene into our vector plasmid. This mutation partially interferes with flagellar assembly and accentuates the defects associated with mutations that by themselves have little phenotypic consequence. The effects of these mutations are analyzed in the context of a conformational-coupling model for motor switching and with respect to the structure of the C-terminal 70% of FliG from Thermotoga maritima.
Blood pressure is maintained during dehydration by hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus‐driven tonic sympathetic nerve activity

At normal resting mean arterial pressure (MAP), sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) mostly consists of respiratory and cardiac rhythmic bursts of action potentials. In animal models of sympathetic hyperactivity, elevated SNA and MAP become reliant on activity of neurones in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Dehydrated (DH) rats (48 h water deprived) were used as a model of sympathetic hyperactivity. As expected, acute PVN inhibition reduced MAP and integrated splanchnic SNA (sSNA) in DH rats, but had no effect in euhydrated controls. Unexpectedly, the fall of sSNA in DH rats was due to a reduction of irregular, tonic activity as neither respiratory nor cardiac rhythmic bursting was significantly affected. We conclude that MAP is largely maintained during dehydration by PVN‐driven tonic SNA and speculate that a normally quiescent tonic component of SNA might also be recruited in chronic diseases (hypertension, heart failure, obesity) where PVN activation drives sympathetic hyperactivity.
EVOLUTION OF MULTIHOST PARASITES

Abstract Multihost parasites can infect different types of hosts or even different host species. Epidemiological models have shown the importance of the diversity of potential hosts for understanding the dynamics of infectious disease (e.g., the importance of reservoirs), but the consequences of this diversity for virulence and transmission evolution remain largely overlooked. Here, I present a general theoretical framework for the study of life-history evolution of multihost parasites. This analysis highlights the importance of epidemiology (the relative quality and quantity of different types of infected hosts) and between-trait constraints (both within and between different hosts) to parasite evolution. I illustrate these effects in different transmission scenarios under the simplifying assumption that parasites can infect only two types of hosts. These simple but contrasted evolutionary scenarios yield new insights into virulence evolution and the evolution of transmission routes among different hosts. Because many of the pathogens that have large public-health and agricultural impacts have complex life cycles, an understanding of their evolutionary dynamics could hold substantial benefits for management.