Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adult Neurogenesis and Neuronal Regeneration in the Central Nervous System of Teleost Fish

In contrast to mammals, teleost fish exhibit an enormous potential to produce new neurons in the adult central nervous system and to replace damaged neurons by newly generated ones. In the gymnotiform fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus, on average, 100,000 cells, corresponding to roughly 0.2% of the total population of cells in the adult brain, are in S-phase within any 2-h period. As in all other teleosts examined thus far, many of these cells are produced in specific proliferation zones located at or near the surface of ventricular, paraventricular, and cisternal systems, or in areas that are likely derived from proliferation zones located at ventricular surfaces during embryonic development. The majority of cells born in such proliferation zones migrate within the first few weeks following their generation to specific target areas. In the cerebellum, where approximately 75% of all brain cells are born during adulthood, cells originate from the molecular layers of the corpus cerebelli and the valvula cerebelli partes lateralis and medialis, as well as from the eminentia granularis pars medialis. From these proliferation zones, the young cells migrate to the associated granule cell layers or to the eminentia granularis pars posterior, respectively. In the course of their migration, the young cells appear to be guided by radial glial fibers. Upon arrival at their target region, approximately 50% of the young cerebellar cells undergo apoptosis. The remaining cells survive for the rest of the fish’s life, thus contributing to permanent brain growth. At least some cells differentiate into granule cell neurons. The potential to produce new neurons, together with the ability to guide the young cells to their target areas by radial glial fibers and to eliminate damaged cells through apoptosis, also forms the basis for the enormous regenerative capability of the central nervous system of Apteronotus, as demonstrated in the cerebellum and spinal cord. A factor involved in the cerebellar regeneration appears to be somatostatin, as the expression of this neuropeptide is up-regulated in a specific spatio-temporal fashion following mechanical lesions. Besides its involvement in neuronal regeneration adult neurogenesis in Apteronotus, and possibly teleost fish in general, appears to play a role in providing central neurons to match the growing number of sensory and motor elements in the periphery, and to establish the neural substrate to accommodate behavioral plasticity.
Efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for insomnia and nightmares in Afghanistan and Iraq veterans with PTSD.

OBJECTIVE Sleep disturbances are a core and salient feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Pilot studies have indicated that combined cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) for nightmares improves sleep as well as PTSD symptoms. METHOD The present study randomized 40 combat veterans (mean age 37.7 years; 90% male and 60% African American) who served in Afghanistan and/or Iraq (Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF]/Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF]) to 4 sessions of CBT-I with adjunctive IRT or a waitlist control group. Two thirds of participants had nightmares at least once per week and received the optional IRT module. RESULTS At posttreatment, veterans who participated in CBT-I/IRT reported improved subjectively and objectively measured sleep, a reduction in PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-related nighttime symptoms, and a reduction in depression and distressed mood compared to the waitlist control group. CONCLUSION The findings from this first controlled study with OEF/OIF veterans suggest that CBT-I combined with adjunctive IRT may hold promise for reducing both insomnia and PTSD symptoms. Given the fact that only half of the patients with nightmares fully implemented the brief IRT protocol, future studies should determine if this supplement adds differential efficacy to CBT-I alone.
Outcome of Combination Chemotherapy with Docetaxel, Estramustine Phosphate, and Carboplatin after Docetaxel and Prednisolone Therapy in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

We retrospectively reviewed the outcome of docetaxel, EMP, and carboplatin (DEC) as second-line chemotherapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients previously treated with docetaxel-prednisolone (DP). Nineteen patients pretreated with DP received a DEC regimen which consisted of a 28-day cycle of docetaxel [60 mg/m2 intravenously (IV) on day 1)], carboplatin (IV to an area under the curve of 5 on day 1), and EMP (560 mg orally daily). The DEC therapy was continued intermittently after two consecutive courses. End points were DEC effect on prostate-specific antigen (PSA), radiographic response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). All patients received DP before DEC administration with a median of 6 cycles (range, 1 - 12). Mean follow-up duration was 19.0 months after starting DEC therapy; median total number of the therapy cycles was 2 (range, 1 - 11). Thirteen patients (68.4%) showed a PSA decrease; 6 (31.6%) showed a decrease in the PSA level of ≥50%, including 4 with no PSA response to DP. Grade 3/4 neutropenia and febrile neutropenia were observed in 13 (68.4%) and 2 (10.5%) patients, respectively. The median PFS following DEC was 3.7 months. The median OS was 18.0 months. In univariate analyses, patients with ≤12 months from CRPC to DEC had shorter PFS and OS, whereas PSA response to DP was not associated with PFS or OS in CRPC patients treated with DEC after DP. In conclusion, DEC retains some clinical benefits for CRPC patients pretreated with DP, even in patients without any response to DP. Therefore, they may be an effective and feasible treatment option for CRPC patients after first-line docetaxel therapy, particularly for those deemed unfit for novel endocrine and chemotherapeutic drugs.
The Feasibility of Ultrasound to Assess Subglottic Diameter

BACKGROUND:In healthy patients, the narrowest diameter of the subglottic upper airway is the width of the air-column at the level of the cricoid cartilage. This diameter governs the selection of the endotracheal tube size, as excessive tube diameter may damage the tracheal mucosa leading to postextubation stridor or subglottic stenosis. Unfortunately, selecting endotracheal tube size based on height, weight, or age does not reliably lead to the proper tube. The knowledge of airway diameter, especially using a bedside noninvasive tool, could therefore be helpful in anesthesia and intensive care. METHODS:We studied 19 healthy volunteers (27 ± 3 yr, nine females) to compare the transverse diameter of the cricoid lumen assessed by ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS:We found a strong correlation between the two techniques (r = 0.99, P < 0.05) confirmed by Bland–Altman analysis with a bias of 0.14 mm, a precision of 0.33 mm, and limits of agreement of −0.68 mm/0.96 mm. CONCLUSION:In young healthy adults, ultrasonography appeared to be a reliable tool to assess the diameter of the subglottic upper airway.
Adult X-linked immunodeficiency (XID) mice, IGM-/- single knockout and IGM-/- CD8-/- double knockout mice do not clear polyomavirus infection.

The importance of antibodies for elimination of polyomavirus infection and the prevention of virus induced oncogenesis was studied, X-linked immunodeficiency (XID) mice, IgM-/- single knockout and IgMI-/- CD8-/- double knockout mice, all defective in antibody production, and normal control mice were infected with polyomavirus as adults. The mice were followed for presence of polyoma DNA with a polyoma specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) over 6 weeks post infection (p.i.), a time point at which polyomavirus DNA is no longer detected in normal adult infected mice. As expected, virus DNA was not detected in normal mice 6 weeks p.i. In both IgM-/- single knockout and IgM-/- CD8-/- double knockout mice a disseminated infection was still observed by 6 weeks p.i. and the latter group of mice succumbed around two months p.i. In XID mice, only one third of the mice were still positive for viral DNA 6 weeks p.i. No polyomavirus induced tumors were observed in any of the mice during the 2-4 month observation period.
BRO1, a novel gene that interacts with components of the Pkc1p-mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Yeast cells with mutations in BRO1 display phenotypes similar to those caused by deletion of BCK1, a gene encoding a MEK kinase that functions in a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway mediating maintenance of cell integrity. bro1 cells exhibit a temperature-sensitive growth defect that is suppressed by the addition of osmotic stabilizers or Ca2+ to the growth medium or by additional copies of the BCK1 gene. At permissive temperatures, bro1 mutants are sensitive to caffeine and respond abnormally to nutrient limitation. A null mutation in BRO1 is synthetically lethal with null mutations in BCK1, MPK1, which encodes a mitogen-activated protein kinase that functions downstream of Bck1p, or PKC1, a gene encoding a protein kinase C homolog that activates Bck1p. Analysis of the isolated BRO1 gene revealed that it encodes a novel, 97-kDa polypeptide which contains a putative SH3 domain-binding motif and is homologous to a protein of unknown function in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Dynamic Equicorrelation Robert Engle

A new covariance matrix estimator is proposed under the assumption that at every time period all pairwise correlations are equal. This assumption, which is pragmatically applied in various areas of finance, makes it possible to estimate arbitrarily large covariance matrices with ease. The model, called DECO, is a special case of the CCC and DCC models which involve first adjusting for individual volatilities and then estimating the correlations. A QMLE result shows that DECO can continue to give consistent parameter estimates when the equicorrelation assumption is violated. Generalizations to block equicorrelation structures, models with exogenous variables, and alternative specifications are explored and diagnostic tests are proposed. Estimation is evaluated by Monte Carlo and using US stock return data. Michael Armellino Professor in the Management of Financial Services, Department of Finance, Stern School of Business, NYU, 44 West Fourth Street, Suite 9-62, New York, NY 10012-1126. E-mail: rengle@stern.nyu. edu. Department of Finance, Stern School of Business, NYU, 44 West Fourth Street, Suite 9-197, New York, NY 10012-1126. E-mail: bkelly@stern.nyu. edu. 1
Existence of rolipram‐sensitive phosphodiesterase in rat megakaryocyte

1 The effect of rolipram (ME3176) on ADP‐ and IP3‐induced repetitive IK(Ca) in rat megakaryocyte was investigated by use of the nystatin perforated patch and conventional whole‐cell patch‐clamp techniques. 2 The ADP‐induced IK(Ca) was depressed by treatment with rolipram in a concentration‐dependent manner. The inhibition by rolipram disappeared after treatment with a cyclic nucleotide‐dependent protein kinase inhibitor, H‐8. The inhibition of IK(Ca) was also observed in the presence of cyclic AMP accumulating agents such as forskolin and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX). 3 Rolipram enhanced the inhibitory action of forskolin, suggesting that rolipram facilitates the accumulation of cyclic AMP by blocking its breakdown. Similar results was obtained with adenosine, an endogenous adenylate cyclase activator. 4 Intracellular application of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) induced repetitive IK(Ca) in megakaryocytes. The induced IK(Ca) was also inhibited by rolipram and by other cyclic AMP accumulating agents. 5 It was concluded that megakaryocytes possess rolipram‐sensitive phosphodiesterase (PDE), which was not detected in platelets, but plays a distinct modulatory role in megakaryocytes for generating ADP‐induced IK(Ca).
Getting a Grip on Myosin Review

The biochemistry of muscle contraction is taught in every introductory biology class, and hence many people believe that myosin force transduction is well understood. However, although it is firmly established that actin and myosin filaments slide past one another in a muscle sarcomere, the molecular mechanism of myosin motility has become a subject of increasing controversy. The debate has been fueled, in part, by measurements of how far myosin can move along an actin filament during one round of ATP hydrolysis. Values varying from 5 to 200 nm per ATP have emerged from such studies, and, not surprisingly, radically different models of myosin-based movement have been presented to account for these results. The wide variation of myosin step size estimates very likely stems from the fact that the measurements were indirect and the number of force-generating myosins interacting with actin was not precisely known (reviewed by Burton, 1992). Clearly, a direct measurement of forces and displacements from a single myosin molecule was needed, but such experiments presented a daunting challenge. The forces produced by a single myosin are thought to be only a few picoNewtons, which is about 1000-fold less than the gravitational attraction between the reader and this issue of Cell held at arms' length. How can such minute mechanical events be measured? Two groups, led by J. Spudich (Finer et al., 1994) and T. Yanagida (Ishijima et al., 1994), have now developed fascinating microscopic technologies to measure forces and displacements of single myosin molecules in the millisecond time domain. While these groups have differed in the past on their measurements of myosin step sizes, their direct measurements using very different assay systems have yielded comfortingly similar answers. These studies, along with other recent work on kinesin (Svoboda et al., 1993; Svoboda and Block, 1994; Malik et al., 1994) and myosin (Miyata et al., 1994), have opened up new directions for examining motor proteins; the impact of these developments should be comparable to that which patch clamping has made on the ion channel field. These recent experiments also raise questions of how myosin and other molecular motors work, as discussed below.
Developmental Learning and Environmental Change

We study the interaction of mutations, developmental learning, and environmental change, as these processes effect changes in the genetic makeup of a population over time. Employing simulation based in genetic algorithms, we find that mutations have a consistent Diversifying Effect, which, in the presence of a changing environment, becomes an Adaptive Effect as average fitness increases, as well. The impact of developmental learning is dependent upon the conquerability of an environment. In conquerable environments, which have lower degrees of epistatic interaction allowing evolution without developmental learning to realize near optimal average fitness, developmental learning exhibits a Blurring Effect by increasing genetic diversity and lowering average fitness. In changing, conquerable environments, developmental learning has an Adaptive Effect as the increased genetic diversity allows evolution to better track change. In unconquerable environments, whether changing or unchanging, developmental learning exhibits a Baldwin Effect, improving average fitness while decreasing genetic diversity.
CONDITIONAL VALUEAT VALUEAT VALUEAT-RISK BOUNDS FOR COMPOUND POISSON RISKS AND A NORMAL APPROXIMATION

A considerable number of equivalent formulas defining conditional value-at-risk and expected shortfall are gathered together. Then we present a simple method to bound the conditional value-at-risk of compound Poisson loss distributions under incomplete information about its severity distribution, which is assumed to have a known finite range, mean, and variance. This important class of nonnormal loss distributions finds applications in actuarial science, where it is able to model the aggregate claims of an insurance-risk business.
Identification and Characterization of a Novel Intracellular Alkaline-Amylase from the Hyperthermophilic Bacterium Thermotoga maritima MSB 8

The gene for a novel -amylase, designated AmyC, from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was cloned and heterologously overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The putative intracellular enzyme had no amino acid sequence similarity to glycoside hydrolase family (GHF) 13 -amylases, yet the range of substrate hydrolysis and the product profile clearly define the protein as an -amylase. Based on sequence similarity AmyC belongs to a subgroup within GHF 57. On the basis of amino acid sequence similarity, Glu185 and Asp349 could be identified as the catalytic residues of AmyC. Using a 60-min assay, the maximum hydrolytic activity of the purified enzyme, which was dithiothreitol dependent, was found to be at 90°C. AmyC displayed a remarkably high pH optimum of pH 8.5 and an unusual sensitivity towards both ATP and EDTA.
13.5 MHz class-S modulator for an EER transmitter

An integrated 13.5MHz class-S modulator for an EER transmitter is described. The modulator uses 3.3 V supply voltage and was fabricated using 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The measured output power was 22.8 dBm for a 10 MHz rectangle pulse input signal with 50% Ye duty cycle. The chip area is 1.6 mm2.
Epithelial‐microbial crosstalk in polymeric Ig receptor deficient mice

Innate and adaptive mucosal defense mechanisms ensure a homeostatic relationship with the large and complex mutualistic gut microbiota. Dimeric IgA and pentameric IgM are transported across the intestinal epithelium via the epithelial polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR) and provide a significant portion of the first line of natural or adaptive antibody‐mediated immune defense of the intestinal mucosa. We found that colonic epithelial cells from pIgR KO mice differentially expressed (more than twofold change) more than 200 genes compared with cells from WT mice, and upregulated the expression of antimicrobial peptides in a commensal‐dependent manner. Detailed profiling of microbial communities based on 16S rRNA genes revealed differences in the commensal microbiota between pIgR KO and WT mice. Furthermore, we found that pIgR KO mice showed increased susceptibility to dextran sulfate sodium‐induced colitis, and that this was driven by their conventional intestinal microbiota. Thus, in the absence of pIgR, the stability of the commensal microbiota is disturbed, gut homeostasis is compromised, and the outcome of colitis is significantly worsened.
Analysis of Correlation in MEMS Gyroscope Array and its Influence on Accuracy Improvement for the Combined Angular Rate Signal

Obtaining a correlation factor is a prerequisite for fusing multiple outputs of a mircoelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope array and evaluating accuracy improvement. In this paper, a mathematical statistics method is established to analyze and obtain the practical correlation factor of a MEMS gyroscope array, which solves the problem of determining the Kalman filter (KF) covariance matrix Q and fusing the multiple gyroscope signals. The working principle and mathematical model of the sensor array fusion is briefly described, and then an optimal estimate of input rate signal is achieved by using of a steady-state KF gain in an off-line estimation approach. Both theoretical analysis and simulation show that the negative correlation factor has a favorable influence on accuracy improvement. Additionally, a four-gyro array system composed of four discrete individual gyroscopes was developed to test the correlation factor and its influence on KF accuracy improvement. The result showed that correlation factors have both positive and negative values; in particular, there exist differences for correlation factor between the different units in the array. The test results also indicated that the Angular Random Walk (ARW) of 1.57°/h0.5 and bias drift of 224.2°/h for a single gyroscope were reduced to 0.33°/h0.5 and 47.8°/h with some negative correlation factors existing in the gyroscope array, making a noise reduction factor of about 4.7, which is higher than that of a uncorrelated four-gyro array. The overall accuracy of the combined angular rate signal can be further improved if the negative correlation factors in the gyroscope array become larger.
Automatic segmentation of the carotid artery bifurcation region with a region-growing approach

Abstract. The original contribution is to propose an intensity-based segmentation algorithm for extracting the carotid artery bifurcation region and validate the proposed solution on real patients’ CTA data. The proposed homogeneity criteria allow the production of locally smooth segmentations and prevent excessive growth into neighboring tissues of similar densities. The obtained segmentation results are compared to manual findings of a radiologist and measured with the Dice similarity coefficient (Dsi). This technique has been shown to be a reliable tool as effective as top state-of-the-art methods (Dsi=93.6%±3.5%).
Decentralized Fault Tolerant Control of a Class of Interconnected Nonlinear Systems

A decentralized adaptive approximation design for the fault tolerant control of a class interconnected feedback linearizable nonlinear systems is considered in this technical note. Multiple faults may occur in the subsystems local dynamics as well as in the interconnections between the subsystems. Linearly parameterized neural networks are used to adaptively approximate the unknown interconnection effects and changes in model dynamics due to failures. A dead-zone modification in the adaptive laws is combined with an adaptive bounding method for addressing stability and robustness issues in the presence of residual approximation errors. Outside the coverage region of the approximators, a decentralized safety control scheme is designed to steer back the trajectory by using a sliding mode approach with adaptive bounds. A simulation example is presented for illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed fault tolerant control methodology.
Effect of Homogenization Temperature and Pressure on Lipoprotein Lipase Activity and Free Fatty Acids Accumulation in Milk

This study demonstrated that homogenization did not increase the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in spite of a fast accumulation of free fatty acids (FFA). Two homogenization pressures (100 and 170 bar) and two temperatures (40℃and 50℃) were examined. The activity of LPL was analyzed and the formation of FFA was measured with two different methods, the B.D. I. -method and a nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) method. A homogenization temperature of 50℃ resulted in a decreased LPL activity compared to 40℃. No effect of homogenization pressure was found. Analyzing FFA concentration with the B.D. I. -method resulted in significant effect of homogenization temperature and no effect of pressure. The largest formation of FFA was found in milk homogenized at 40℃. Using the NEFA method, another result was obtained, indicating no effect of homogenization temperature and a larger FFA accumulation at 100 bar than at 170 bar. Both analytic methods demonstrated significant production of FFA during 60 min incubation at homogenization temperature after treatment. The level of FFA in the milk samples immediately after homogenization was very high, demonstrating that LPL cleaves the triglycerides very rapidly when the native membrane was damaged. The regression between the B.D. I. -method and the NEFA was fair in the interval between 4 and 14 mmol/100 g fat, whereas at higher concentrations, the correlation was poor.