Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chondroitin 6‐O‐sulfotransferases are required for morphogenesis of the notochord in the ascidian embryo

Background: Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a sulfated polysaccharide chain that binds to various core proteins to form proteoglycans. The amount and position of sulfate groups in CS are variable among different tissues, and are determined by specific sulfotransferases. Although the ascidians are the closest relatives of vertebrates, the functions of their sulfotransferases have not been studied. Results: The genome of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis contains eight genes encoding proteins similar to chondroitin 6‐O‐sulfotransferases (C6STs), which appear to have independently diverged in the ascidian lineage during evolution. Among them, Ci‐C6ST‐like1 and Ci‐C6ST‐like7 were predominantly expressed in the developing notochord. In addition, they were weakly expressed in the neural tube. The disruption of either one of them affected the convergent extension movement of notochordal cells. Presumptive notochord cells coming from both sides of the embryo did not intercalate. The results suggest that both of them are necessary. In some cases, the anterior neural tube failed to close. Forced expression of Ci‐C6ST‐like1 or Ci‐C6ST‐like7 in the notochord restored the normal intercalation of notochordal cells, indicating that the effects of morpholino oligos are specific. Conclusions: Ci‐C6ST‐like1 and Ci‐C6ST‐like7 are required for the morphogenesis of the notochord in the ascidian embryo. Developmental Dynamics 243:1637–1645, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Predictive markers in breast cancer – the present

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and there is a continual drive to identify markers that will aid in predicting prognosis and response to therapy. To date, relatively few markers have established prognostic power. Oestrogen receptor (ER) is probably the most powerful predictive marker in breast cancer management, both in determining prognosis and in predicting response to hormone therapies. Progesterone receptor (PR) is also a widely used marker, although its value is less well established. HER‐2 status has also become a routine prognostic and predictive factor in breast cancer. Given the importance of these biological markers in patient management, it is essential that assays are robust and quality controlled, and that interpretation is standardized. Furthermore, it is important to be aware of the limitations in their predictive power, and how this may be refined through addition of further biological markers. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the established role of ER, PR and HER‐2 in patient management, the current standards for assessing these markers, as well as highlighting the controversies that still surround their use and methods of assessment.
Regionalization of the anterior hypothalamus in the chick embryo

Loss‐of‐function experiments in mice have shown that the transcription factors Sim1, Otp, Sim2, and Brn2 form a cascade essential for the differentiation of neuroendocrine cells of the anterior hypothalamus that produce vasopressin, oxytocin, somatostatin (SS), thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH), and corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH). Very little is known about how the differentiation of these cell types is regulated in chick. Here, we report the cloning of the chick homolog of Otp. Moreover, we have systematically compared the expression of Sim1, Sim2, Brn2, and Otp with that of the markers of terminal differentiation TRH, SS, CRH, vasotocin, and mesotocin during development of chick embryos. We have found that the cell types studied generally develop in domains expressing these transcriptional regulators but that the pattern of neuronal differentiation and the spatial distribution of some regulators were not the same as in mice. Our results provide a framework useful for the functional analysis of hypothalamus development in chick. Developmental Dynamics 233:652–658, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Contribution of changes in risk factors to the decline of coronary heart disease mortality in Australia over three decades

Background Coronary heart disease has been a major cause of mortality in Australian adults, but the rate has declined by 83% from the 1968 peak by the year 2000. The study objective is to determine the contribution of changes in population risk factors - mean serum cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure and tobacco smoking prevalence - to the decline in coronary heart disease mortality in Australia over three decades. Methods Coronary heart disease deaths (International Classification of Disease-9, 410–414) and population by year, age group and sex were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Risk factor levels were obtained from population surveys and estimated average annual changes by period were used to calculate average annual ‘attributable’ proportional declines in CHD mortality by period (age 35–64 years). Results Over the period 1968–2000, 74% of male decline and 81% of the female decline in coronary heart disease mortality rate was accounted for by the combined effect of reductions in the three risk factors. In males 36% of the decline was contributed by reductions in diastolic blood pressure, 22% by cholesterol and 16% by smoking. For females 56% was from diastolic blood pressure reduction, 20% from cholesterol and 5% from smoking. Effects of reductions in serum cholesterol on coronary heart disease mortality occurred mainly in the 1970s. Declines in diastolic blood pressure had effects on coronary heart disease mortality over the three decades, and declines in tobacco smoking had a significant effect in males in the 1980s. Conclusion Most of the spectacular decline in coronary heart disease mortality over the last three decades in Australia can be ascribed to reductions in population risk factors from primary and secondary prevention.
A Novel ND3 Mitochondrial DNA Mutation in Three Korean Children With Basal Ganglia Lesions and Complex I Deficiency

Mitochondrial disorders have notoriously variable clinical presentations, particularly in children. A growing number of reports describe mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded subunits of complex I (EC 1.6.5.3) causing early-onset encephalopathy. Here, we describe two Korean siblings with childhood-onset progressive generalized dystonia and one Korean child with strokelike episodes in infancy; all three had bilateral lesions of the basal ganglia and partial deficiencies of complex I. Analysis of their mtDNA revealed a novel heteroplasmic m.10197G>A mutation (A47T) in the ND3 (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3) gene. This study underscores the importance of screening mtDNA-encoded respiratory chain structural genes, including ND3, in pediatric patients with unexplained encephalopathies.
Generous Interfaces for Digital Cultural Collections

Decades of digitisation have made a wealth of digital cultural material available online. Yet search — the dominant interface to these collections — is incapable of representing this abundance. Search is ungenerous: it withholds information, and demands a query. This paper argues for a more generous alternative: rich, browsable interfaces that reveal the scale and complexity of digital heritage collections. Drawing on related work and precedents from information retrieval and visualisation, as well as critical humanistic approaches to the interface, this paper documents and analyses practical experiments in generous interfaces developed in collaboration with Australian cultural institutions. Imagine yourself
Effects of Vanadium Doping on Resistive Switching Characteristics and Mechanisms of $\hbox{SrZrO}_{3}$-Based Memory Films

The effects of vanadium doping on resistive switching (RS) characteristics and mechanisms of RF-sputtered SrZrO3 (SZO)-based thin films are investigated in this paper. The physical and electrical properties of SZO-based thin films are modulated by vanadium doping due to the Zr4+ ion replaced by V5+, further affecting the RS parameters of SZO-based thin films. The conduction mechanisms of SZO-based thin films are dominated by ohmic conduction (hoping conduction) and Frenkel-Poole emission for the low resistance state (LRS) and the high resistance state (HRS), respectively. The turn-on process might be attributed to the formation of conducting filaments consisting of oxygen vacancies with the effective barrier height (φB,eff) in the range of 0.10-0.13 eV, whereas the turn-off process might result from thermally assisted oxidation of oxygen vacancies by the Joule heating effect. Furthermore, the introduction of the high valence cation (V5+) in a Zr4+ site of SZO crystalline structure can suppress the formation of oxygen vacancies due to the charge neutrality restriction. Such suppression leads to the changes in the forming voltage, turn-on voltage, HRS resistance, dielectric constant, and φB,eff with vanadium doping concentration up to 0.2 mol%, which is within the solid solubility limit based on our measured lattice constants and Vegard's law.
Challenges in probing space charge at sub-micrometer scale

An overview of current limitations and challenges with techniques, based either on acoustic or thermal perturbation, providing charge density profiles within insulations, is presented. Even though the resolution could be somewhat improved, technical limitations readily appear, related to the bandwidth of signals to be detected and to the sensitivity. Instead, our purpose here is to exploit near field techniques derived from AFM - Atomic Force Microscopy-. A booming of the availability and versatility of equipments is observed today. A spatial resolution of some tens of nanometers is accessible for charge detection which therefore let's the possibility to investigate selectively regions with specific properties. The measuring conditions and operating mode for both the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the techniques are addressed and examples of application of these techniques to charge detection in insulating materials are presented.
Corticomotor threshold to magnetic stimulation: Normal values and repeatability

The threshold for corticomotor excitation by magnetic stimuli is a clinically important parameter in the assessment of central motor conduction. Hitherto, arbitrary criteria have been adopted to define threshold and there are few published data using a figure of eight coil. A new method is described in which the highest stimulus intensity evoking responses in the relaxed first dorsal interosseous muscle with a probability of zero [lower threshold (LT)] and the lowest intensity evoking responses with a probability of one [upper threshold (UT)] have been determined. The method, which utilizes a coil located and optimally oriented over hand motor cortex, minimizes the number of stimuli needed. Both LT and UT are normally distributed and are independent of age, gender, and hemisphere. In 102 healthy hands of 55 control subjects 23–84 years of age, mean ± SD UT was 46.6 ± 9.4% and LT was 38.0 ± 8.6% maximum stimulator output. Repeatability estimates indicated an absolute change of more than 13% or 11% in UT or LT respectively in the same individual over 1–3 months was significant at the 5% level. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve, 20, 570–576, 1997.
Glia re‐sealed particles freshly prepared from adult rat brain are competent for exocytotic release of glutamate

Glial subcellular re‐sealed particles (referred to as gliosomes here) were purified from rat cerebral cortex and investigated for their ability to release glutamate. Confocal microscopy showed that the glia‐specific proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S‐100, but not the neuronal proteins 95‐kDa postsynaptic density protein (PSD‐95), microtubule‐associated protein 2 (MAP‐2) and β‐tubulin III, were enriched in purified gliosomes. Furthermore, gliosomes exhibited labelling neither for integrin‐αM nor for myelin basic protein, which are specific for microglia and oligodendrocytes respectively. The Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin (0.1–5 µm) efficiently stimulated the release of tritium from gliosomes pre‐labelled with [3H]d‐aspartate and of endogenous glutamate in a Ca2+‐dependent and bafilomycin A1‐sensitive manner, suggesting the involvement of an exocytotic process. Accordingly, ionomycin was found to induce a Ca2+‐dependent increase in the vesicular fusion rate, when exocytosis was monitored with acridine orange. ATP stimulated [3H]d‐aspartate release in a concentration‐ (0.1–3 mm) and Ca2+‐dependent manner. The gliosomal fraction contained proteins of the exocytotic machinery [syntaxin‐1, vesicular‐associated membrane protein type 2 (VAMP‐2), 23‐kDa synaptosome‐associated protein (SNAP‐23) and 25‐kDa synaptosome‐associated protein (SNAP‐25)] co‐existing with GFAP immunoreactivity. Moreover, GFAP or VAMP‐2 co‐expressed with the vesicular glutamate transporter type 1. Consistent with ultrastructural analysis, several ∼30‐nm non‐clustered vesicles were present in the gliosome cytoplasm. It is concluded that gliosomes purified from adult brain contain glutamate‐accumulating vesicles and can release the amino acid by a process resembling neuronal exocytosis.
Ethics and shared decision-making in paediatric occupational therapy practice

Abstract Background: Sharing information and decisions with children and their parents is critical in pediatric rehabilitation. Although the ethical significance and clinical benefits of sharing decisions are established, approaches for implementing shared decision-making in clinical practice are still developing. Aim: To explore the ethical challenges of sharing information and decisions with one family in pediatric occupational therapy. Method: We used a single qualitative in-depth interview with an occupational therapist to examine the ethical dimensions of sharing decisions. Results: We found that asking what was ethically at stake in the information-sharing process, highlighted how timing and style of information sharing impacts on understanding and collaboration within the therapeutic relationship. Using ethics-based questions assisted in drawing out the complexity of implementing the ideals of sharing information and decisions in pediatric practice. Conclusion: Reflecting on ethical dimensions of communication with families assists to identify approaches to shared decision-making in clinical practice.
Screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse.

Case study: MN, a 25-year-old woman, visits your office for evaluation of insomnia. As part of her social history, she tells you that she is a “social drinker. ” Further questioning reveals that she drinks about as much as she did during college. You want to better assess her alcohol use.
Molecular cloning of the Notophthalmus viridescens radical fringe cDNA and characterization of its expression during forelimb development and adult forelimb regeneration

Larval and adult newts provide important experimental models to study limb development and regeneration. These animals have exceptional ability to regenerate their appendages, as well as other vital structures. Our research examines the role of the fringe gene (fng) in the developing and regenerating adult newt forelimb. Fringe codes for a secretory protein. It was first discovered in Drosophila, and later homologues were isolated in Xenopus laevis, chick and mouse. This gene has been highly conserved throughout evolution, indicating its crucial role in vertebrate and invertebrate development. We have isolated, cloned, and sequenced the full length of the Notophthalmus viridescens radical fringe cDNA (nrFng) by screening a newt forelimb blastema cDNA library with a 500‐bp fragment of the Xenopus lunatic fringe cDNA. The newt fringe cDNA codes for a 396 amino acid protein with a predicted N‐terminal signal sequence. Newt fringe shows high homology with radical fringe homologues of many species. Whole mount mRNA in situ hybridization on several stages of newt limb development reveals that nrFng is first expressed in the limb field, with intense expression as the limb bud develops. However, gene expression diminishes with more advanced digit development. A significant role in adult forelimb regeneration is also evident, as we isolated the cDNA from a regeneration–specific library and found it highly expressed during the regenerative phases of active cell division and then down regulated at sites undergoing differentiation and morphogenesis. Dev Dyn 1999;214:259–268. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Zinc deficiency in men with Crohn's disease may contribute to poor sperm function and male infertility

In Great Britain, married couples were reported to have between 1.9 and 2.1 children, while men with Crohn's disease had a mean of 1.2 and of 0.4 children before and after diagnosis, respectively. The role of zinc for male fertility is essential. Although lack of zinc in Crohn's disease is well established in up to 70% of patients, a possible relation between zinc deficiency and male subfertility in Crohn's disease remains unclear. This study is aimed at examining a possible link between zinc deficiency in men with Crohn's disease and male subfertility in this group of patients.
Effect of Temperature-Humidity Index on Live Performance in Broiler Chickens Grown From 49 To 63 Days of Age

The thermal environment in poultry housing is a primary influence on production efficiency and live performance. Heavy broilers (body weight > 3.2 kg) typically require high ventilation rates to maintain thermal comfort and production efficiency. However, large birds are observed to pant in mild to moderate thermal conditions, indicating that upper critical temperatures may be lower at larger body weights. Thermal comfort indices such as the temperature-humidity index (THI) integrate the effects of temperature and humidity and may offer a means to predict the effects of thermal conditions on performance. The objective of this study was to determine live performance of heavy broilers over a range of dry-bulb temperature (15°C, 21°C, and 27°C) and relative humidity (50%, 65%, and 80%), hence THI (14.8°C to 26.9°C). A series of four studies were completed with broiler chickens housed in environmental chambers. Live performance parameters including body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were compared; body temperature was measured in three birds of each treatment during one study. Results show that as THI exceeds approximately 21°C, bird performance significantly declined and body temperature increased up to 1.7°C above nominal body temperature for broilers (41°C). Regression analysis showed that a quadratic relationship exists between THI and the four performance parameters of interest. Prediction accuracy was decreased due to variability in the data and suggests data at additional THI points are necessary.
The comap as a diagnostic tool for non-stationary kriging models

In this study, we demonstrate a novel use of comaps to explore spatially the performance, specification and parameterisation of a non-stationary geostatistical predictor. The comap allows the spatial investigation of the relationship between two geographically referenced variables via conditional distributions. Rather than investigating bivariate relationships in the study data, we use comaps to investigate bivariate relationships in the key outputs of a spatial predictor. In particular, we calibrate moving window kriging (MWK) models, where a local variogram is found at every target location. This predictor has often proved worthy for processes that are heterogeneous, and most standard (global variogram) kriging algorithms can be adapted in this manner. We show that the use of comaps enables a better understanding of our chosen MWK models, which in turn allows a more informed choice when selecting one MWK specification over another. As case studies, we apply four variants of MWK to two heterogeneous example data sets: (i) freshwater acidification critical load data for Great Britain and (ii) London house price data. As both of these data sets are strewn with local anomalies, three of our chosen models are robust (and novel) extensions of MWK, where at least one of which is shown to perform better than a non-robust counterpart.
Effect of Synchronisation Error on Optical Spatial Modulation

This work examines the effect of synchronisation error on the performance of spatial modulation (SM) technique in optical wireless communication (OWC) systems. SM exploits the deployment of multiple transmitters by encoding user information on their spatial domain. In most works related to SM, a perfect synchronisation among these multiple transmitters is assumed. However, synchronisation error can result from multipath propagation in OWC channel, and clock jitter and variation in propagation delay of each transmitter. Such error in synchronisation degrades system performance and hence the need to investigate its effect. Using union bound technique, and defining synchronisation errors as timing offsets in the received signals, we derive the symbol error rate for space shift keying (SSK), generalised SSK (GSSK), SM and generalised SM (GSM) schemes, and we validate our analysis with tightly-matched simulation results. Results show degradation in performance increases with synchronisation error. While SSK is tolerant for a small range of synchronisation error, GSSK, SM and GSM are significantly impaired. Our results also demonstrate the dependence of SM on channel gain values. We observe that the lower the channel gain of the transmitter in which synchronisation error occurs, the lesser the impact of the synchronisation error on the system performance.
Novel Circularly Polarized Printed Crossed Dipole Array with Broad Axial Ratio Bandwidth

The novel printed crossed 2times2 dipole array is proposed for broad axial ratio (AR) bandwidth. The broad bandwidth of axial ratio is due to a parasitic dipole crossing over the original dipole that is driven by a semi-rigid coaxial feed with the characteristic impedance of 75 Omega. The crossed dipole, a unit element of the dipole array proposed in this paper, can produce a broad circularly polarized (CP) operation by itself because of the sequentially rotated configuration. The measured 3 dB AR bandwidth is 39.2% and the gain is 13 dBi at the CP center frequency of 2.32 GHz. Details of the proposed dipole array design are described and both the simulation and the experimental results are presented and discussed.
Sound generation in gradient coil structures for MRI

When supporting plates of plastic material are subjected to alternating transverse Lorentz forces while in a strong magnetic field normal to the plate surface, compressional waves within the solid produce a modulation of the plate surface that launches an acoustic wave in air along the magnetic field axis. We have extended our previous theory describing this process to include a detailed description of the formation of an acoustic interference pattern in air described by Fraunhofer diffraction at a distance from the plate surface. The extended theory predicts that the observed acoustic signal midpoint and normal to the plate surface gives a variation with frequency in approximate agreement with our previous measurements. The acoustic output off axis shows acoustic blazing that produces two main diffraction peaks with a splitting inversely proportional to the velocity of sound in the plate material. The new results could have important ramifications for the minimization of sound output in gradient coil design for MRI. A new arrangement of coils is proposed to ameliorate the acoustic output problem centrally and normal to the plate by extending the frequency response of the supporting plates to much higher frequencies. Also presented are estimates of the compressional wave velocities deduced from frequency response data recorded at the center‐point of a number of different plates.