Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experience Salience Gates Endocannabinoid Signaling at Hypothalamic Synapses

Alterations in synaptic endocannabinoid signaling are a widespread neurobiological consequence of many in vivo experiences, including stress. Here, we report that stressor salience is critical for bidirectionally modifying presynaptic CB-1 receptor (CB1R) function at hypothalamic GABA synapses controlling the neuroendocrine stress axis in male rats. While repetitive, predictable stressor exposure impairs presynaptic CB1R function, these changes are rapidly reversed upon exposure to a high salience experience such as novel stress or by manipulations that enhance neural activity levels in vivo or in vitro. Together these data demonstrate that experience salience, through alterations in afferent synaptic activity, induces rapid changes in endocannabinoid signaling.
Molecular genetic analysis of Epstein-Barr virus Cp promoter function

The Cp promoter of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) directs most transcription of the EBNA genes in lymphoblastoid cell lines. The functions of two control regions in the Cp promoter have been studied by construction of recombinant EBV strains containing specific mutations in these elements. Mutation of the RBP-Jk (CBF1) binding site reduced but did not completely abolish EBNA-2-dependent Cp activity in transient transfection assays. The same mutation in recombinant virus gave only a modest average reduction in Cp function, ranging from full activity to almost no activity in different isolates. Separate deletion of a 262-bp region containing glucocorticoid response elements had little effect in a transient assay but caused a fivefold increase in the steady-state level of Cp RNA in recombinant virus. The results indicate that other elements in addition to the intensively studied RBP-Jk site are important in determining Cp activity in the whole virus. Clonal EBV-infected cell lines expressed RNA from both the Cp and Wp promoters, but the level of Wp RNA did not simply compensate for changes in the level of Cp RNA. The levels of EBNA proteins varied much less than the levels of Cp and Wp RNA, suggesting other types of control in addition to initiation of transcription. A survey of RNAs derived from the internal repeat region of the virus indicated that gene expression from this region of EBV in lymphoblastoid cell lines is accounted for by the known transcripts.
Dietary L-Homoserine Spares Threonine in Chicks 1 , 2

Four chick bioassays were conducted to evaluate the threonine (Thr) replacement value of L-homoserine (HS). Growth rate was increased (P , 0.05) by dietary addition of 800 mg L-HS/kg diet to a purified diet severely deficient in Thr or by the addition of 800 or 1000 mg of L-HS/kg diet to a corn-peanut meal diet distinctly deficient in Thr. The addition of an isomolar level of a-ketobutyrate, a catabolic product of both Thr and HS, did not elicit a response. Standard-curve methodology predicted a Thr replacement value of 38 6 9% for HS. Interactions (P , 0.01) were observed in assays 2 and 4 between dietary Thr adequacy and 800 or 1000 mg L-HS/kg supplementation. Thus, HS improved growth performance when added to a Thr-deficient diet (0.46 g Thr/100 g diet), but it decreased growth performance when added to the same diet containing surfeit Thr (0.80 g Thr/100 g diet). The results indicate that low levels of HS elicit a growth response in young chicks fed Thr-deficient diets. J. Nutr. 139: 1298–1302, 2009.
CYP2C19 genotype and adverse cardiovascular outcomes after stent implantation in clopidogrel-treated Asian populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract The effect of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism on clinical outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) treated with clopidogrel remains controversial. Ethnicity has been proposed to influence clopidogrel response following stent implantation in CAD patients with different CYP2C19 genotypes. Furthermore, Asian populations are reported to have a relatively greater prevalence of CYP2C19 loss-of-function (LOF) alleles. We aimed to evaluate the impact of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism on clinical outcomes in Asian populations who underwent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and received clopidogrel therapy. We conducted a comprehensive search in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from their inceptions to January 20, 2017. Studies that reported clopidogrel therapy information, clinically relevant outcomes (adverse cardiovascular events, stent thrombosis and bleeding), and CYP2C19 genotypes among Asian populations were included. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction. The safety endpoint was any kind of bleeding. We retrieved 20 studies of 15056 patients reporting 1301 cardiovascular events. The primary analysis showed at least one CYP2C19 LOF allele (*2 and/or *3) carriers were at an increased risk of MACE compared with non-carriers (10.58% vs. 6.07%, OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.64 to 2.42, p < .001). Stent thrombosis (ST) was also more frequent in LOF allele carriers (2.22% vs. 0.44%, OR: 4.77, 95% CI: 2.84 to 8.01, p < .001). Inversely, the risk of bleeding was lower in LOF allele carriers (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46 to 0.96, p < .001). Subgroup analysis was performed to assess differences by high (600 mg) or routine (300 mg) loading dose of clopidogrel and by different nationalities. The risk of MACE in LOF allele carriers remained significantly higher even in high loading dose group (high loading dose: OR 1.72, 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.16, and routine loading dose: OR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.68 to 2.94, p for subgroup heterogeneity = 0.16). Subgroup analysis between three nationalities of China, Korea, and Japan demonstrated that the risk of MACE among Chinese LOF allele carriers was the greatest (OR: 2.28; 95% CI:1.91 to 2.73). In conclusion, among Asian populations with CAD undergoing stent implantation, CYP2C19 LOF allele carriers are at greater risk of adverse cardiovascular events and lower risk of bleeding compared with non-carriers. Genetic testing may be helpful for clinicians to personalize antiplatelet therapy especially in Asian population.
Human Blood Monocytes: Characterization of Negatively Selected Human Monocytes and Their Suspension Cell Culture Derivatives

Normal human monocytes were negatively selected from leucapheresis cell suspensions by countercurrent centrifugation–elutriation in high yield with a mean purity of 93.5%. The combination of the novel methods of negative cell selection and suspension cell culture has provided the opportunity to study serially over several days the morphologic and functional changes of monocytes from a single donor as they matured in culture to typical macrophages. Human monocytes nearly double in size during the first week of culture, experiencing near daily increases in cell volume. This was associated with changes in the ultrastructure of these cells, including the development of numerous small knob‐like projections on the cell membrane and the proliferation of microtubules and filamentous Structures within the cell cytoplasm during the first 6 days of culture. Peroxidase activity declined during the first 4 days of culture, whereas 5′‐nucleotidase activity was acquired during the first 48 h of culture. Lysozyme activity in the cultures increased from day 2 to day 6 of culture. The phagocytic capacity of monocytes for IgG‐coated erythrocytes increased dramatically during the first week of culture, but the cytotoxic capability of monocytes against similar targets in an antibody‐dependent cytotoxicity assay declined to nearly hall of base‐line levels by day 2 of culture and remained at this diminished level during subsequent days in culture.
Effect of Quercetin on Cortisol and Oxytocin Levels, Oxytocin Receptor Gene Expression and Morphometry of Uterus in Rats Exposed to Bisphenol A

This study was carried out to evaluate effects of quercetin and bisphenol A (BPA), alone and in combination, on plasma cortisol and oxytocin levels, oxytocin receptor gene expression and morphometry of uterus in rat. After one week of acclimatization, twenty female rats were divided into four treatments as: control, received ethanol saline as injection intraperitoneally and gavaged hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). The second group injected with 50 µg BPA per kg body weight dissolved in ethanol saline two times per week for 4 weeks. The third group gavaged 30 mg quercetin per kg body weight suspended in aqueous solution of HPMC two times per week for 4 weeks, while the fourth group was treated with quercetin along with BPA. Two days after final injection and gavage, rats were anesthetized and uterine and blood samples were collected. BPA alone increased plasma MDA level, decreased total antioxidant capacity (TCA) and had no effect (P>0.05) on oxytocin and cortisol levels in the plasma compared with control group. Quercetin along with BPA decreased MDA level, but had no effect (P>0.05) on TCA, oxytocin and cortisol levels compared to control. Quercetin and BPA, alone or in combination, resulted in increase (P 0.05) on myometrium and epimetrium. It was indicated that quercetin may be a potential compound for reducing oxidative stress damages in uterus layer and increasing blood oxytocin level and its receptor in uterine, but cannot completely ameliorate the negative effects of BPA.
RNA aptamers specifically interact with the prion protein PrP

We have isolated RNA aptamers which are directed against the recombinant Syrian golden hamster prion protein rPrP23-231 (rPrPc) fused to glutathione S-transferase (GST). The aptamers did not recognize the fusion partner GST or the fusion protein GST::rPrP90-231 (rPrP27-30), which lacks 67 amino acids from the PrP N terminus. The aptamer-interacting region of PrPc was mapped to the N-terminal amino acids 23 to 52. Sequence analyses suggest that the RNA aptamers may fold into G-quartet-containing structural elements. Replacement of the G residues in the G quartet scaffold with uridine residues destroyed binding to PrP completely, strongly suggesting that the G quartet motif is essential for PrP recognition. Individual RNA aptamers interact specifically with prion protein in brain homogenates from wild-type mice (C57BL/6), hamsters (Syrian golden), and cattle as shown by supershifts obtained in the presence of anti-PrP antibodies. No interaction was observed with brain homogenates from PrP knockout mice (prn-p(0/0)). Specificity of the aptamer-PrP interaction was further confirmed by binding assays with antisense aptamer RNA or a mutant aptamer in which the guanosine residues in the G tetrad scaffold were replaced by uridine residues. The aptamers did not recognize PrP27-30 in brain homogenates from scrapie-infected mice. RNA aptamers may provide a first milestone in the development of a diagnostic assay for the detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
Design and comparison of interior permanent magnet synchronous traction motors for high speed railway applications

As a potential candidate of high speed railway traction motor, interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) gains a lot of attention due to its inherent merits such as high torque density, excellent efficiency and superior controllability. This paper performs a design and comparative study of IPMSMs with five different rotor topologies, V shape, U shape, VV shape, VU shape and UU shape. The magnetic field, inductances, mechanical characteristics and short circuit fault performances of the five motors have been compared in detail. The most impressive find is that the U shape motor have the best fault tolerant ability. In addition, other aspects of the five motor will be carried out and a prototype of U shape motor will be proposed in the final paper.
Birth of Piglets Derived from Porcine Zygotes Cultured in a Chemically Defined Medium1

Abstract We evaluated the in vitro development of porcine zygotes that were cultured in a novel culture medium, porcine zygote medium (PZM), under different conditions and compared to in vivo development. The viability of these zygotes to full term after culture was also evaluated by embryo transfer to recipients. Porcine single-cell zygotes were collected from gilts on Day 2 after hCG injection. Culture of zygotes in PZM containing 3 mg/ml of BSA (PZM-3) produced better results in terms of proportion of Day 6 blastocysts, Day 8 hatching rate, and numbers of inner cell mass (ICM) cells and total cells in Day 8 embryos than that in North Carolina State University (NCSU)-23 medium. In culture with PZM-3, embryo development was optimized in an atmosphere of 5% CO2:5% O2:90% N2 compared to 5% CO2 in air. The ICM and total cell numbers in Day 6 embryos cultured in PZM-3 or in PZM-3 in which BSA was replaced with 3 mg/ml of polyvinyl alcohol (PZM-4) were also greater than those of NCSU-23 but less than those developed in vivo. However, no difference was found in the ratio of ICM to total cells among embryos developed in PZM-3, PZM-4, or in vivo. When the Day 6 embryos that developed in PZM-4 (99 embryos) or in vivo (100 embryos) were each transferred into six recipients, no difference was found in the farrowing rate (83.3% for both treatments) and in the number of piglets born (33 and 42 piglets, respectively). Our results indicate that porcine zygotes can develop into blastocysts in a chemically defined medium and to full term by transfer to recipients after culture.
The Complexity of Uncertainty in Markov Decision Processes

We consider Markov decision processes with uncertain transition probabilities and two optimization problems in this context: the finite horizon problem which asks to find an optimal policy for a finite number of transitions and the percentile optimization problem for a wide class of uncertain Markov decision processes which asks to find a policy with the optimal probability to reach a given reward objective. To the best of our knowledge, unlike other optimality criteria, the finite horizon problem has not been considered for the case of bounded-parameter Markov decision processes, and the percentile optimization problem has only been considered for very special cases. Unlike most problems in the Markov decision process research context, dynamic programming is not applicable, as the usual subdivision in independent subproblems in each state is not anymore possible. Justified by this observation, we establish NP-hardness results for these problems by showing appropriate reductions.
Antidiabetic activity of gossypin, a pentahydroxyflavone glucoside, in streptozotocin‐induced experimental diabetes in rats

Background: Most of the currently available oral hypoglycemic drugs for the treatment of diabetes mellitus elicit detrimental side effects. Hence, the search for plant‐derived products for the treatment of diabetes continues. Gossypin, a pentahydroxy flavone glucoside found in the flowers of Hibiscus vitifolius, has many biological properties, including as an antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory and anticancer agent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of gossypin in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced experimental diabetes in rats.
Decoding Motor Signals From the Pediatric Cortex: Implications for Brain-Computer Interfaces in Children

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the decodable nature of pediatric brain signals for the purpose of neuroprosthetic control. We hypothesized that children would achieve levels of brain-derived computer control comparable to performance previously reported for adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Six pediatric patients with intractable epilepsy who were invasively monitored underwent screening for electrocortical control signals associated with specific motor or phoneme articulation tasks. Subsequently, patients received visual feedback as they used these associated electrocortical signals to direct one dimensional cursor movement to a target on a screen. RESULTS: All patients achieved accuracies between 70% and 99% within 9 minutes of training using the same screened motor and articulation tasks. Two subjects went on to achieve maximum accuracies of 73% and 100% using imagined actions alone. Average mean and maximum performance for the 6 pediatric patients was comparable to that of 5 adults. The mean accuracy of the pediatric group was 81% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 71.5–90.5) over a mean training time of 11.6 minutes, whereas the adult group had a mean accuracy of 72% (95% CI: 61.2–84.3) over a mean training time of 12.5 minutes. Maximum performance was also similar between the pediatric and adult groups (89.6% [95% CI: 83–96.3] and 88.5% [95% CI: 77.1–99.8], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Similarly to adult brain signals, pediatric brain signals can be decoded and used for BCI operation. Therefore, BCI systems developed for adults likely hold similar promise for children with motor disabilities.
Leveraging temporal properties of news events for stock market prediction

Investors make decisions based on various factors, including consumer price index, price-earnings ratio, and also miscellaneous events reported by newspapers. In order to assist their decisions in a timely manner, many studies have been conducted to automatically analyze those information sources in the last decades. However, the majority of the efforts was made for utilizing numerical information, partly due to the difficulty to process natural language texts and to make sense of their temporal properties. This study sheds light on this problem by using deep learning, which has been attracting much attention in various areas of research including pattern mining and machine learning for its ability to automatically construct useful features from a large amount of data. Specifically, this study proposes an approach to market trend prediction based on a recurrent deep neural network to model temporal effects of past events. The validity of the proposed approach is demonstrated on the real-world data for ten Nikkei companies.
The experience of quarantine for individuals affected by SARS in Toronto.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of home quarantine during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Toronto in 2003. DESIGN Qualitative descriptive design. SAMPLE Stratified random sampling techniques were used to generate a list of potential participants, who varied in terms of gender and closeness of exposure to someone with suspected SARS (contact level). Twenty-one individuals participated in the study. MEASUREMENTS All interviews were audiotaped and followed a semistructured interview guide. Participants were invited to describe their experience of quarantine in detail including their advice for Public Health. RESULTS The experience followed a trajectory of stages beginning before quarantine and ending after quarantine. Despite individual differences, common themes of uncertainty, isolation, and coping intersected the data. CONCLUSIONS Public Health has a dual role of monitoring compliance and providing support to people in quarantine. This study has implications for public health policy and practice in planning for future public health emergencies in terms of the information and the resources required to mount an effective response.
Immunosuppressive therapies for the prevention and treatment of obliterative airway disease in heterotopic rat trachea allografts.

BACKGROUND Obliterative bronchiolitis remains a major long-term complication after lung transplantation. Using a reproducible model of heterotopically transplanted rat tracheas, this study examined the role of several novel immunosuppresive compounds to prevent and reverse obliterative airway disease in these animals. METHODS Brown Norway rat trachea were transplanted into the greater omentum of Lewis (allografts) or Brown Norway (isografts) animals. Recipient animals were treated with rapamycin, cyclosporine, 15-deoxyspergulin, mycophenolate mofetil, or leflunomide from day 0, 7, or 14 until day of graft removal, either day 28 or 50. Trachea segments were evaluated for degree of lumenal occlusion, as well as percent and type of lumen epithelial cell coverage. RESULTS All untreated allografted tracheas obliterated completely, although isografts appeared patent with normal respiratory epithelium when they were removed. Leflunomide, rapamycin, and cyclosporine effectively prevented obliteration when treatment was initiated at day 0, with rapamycin showing continued efficacy when initiated as late as day 7. 15-deoxyspergulin and mycophenolate mofetil failed to consistently inhibit obliteration with any treatment schedule. An inverse correlation was found between epithelial coverage and degree of obliteration, and was especially pronounced in grafts from cyclosporine-treated animals. CONCLUSIONS Immunosuppressive drug therapy will inhibit airway obliteration, but efficacy sharply diminishes if initiation of treatment is delayed. Efficacy also varies among immunosuppressive compounds, and results indicate those drugs that enable epithelial regrowth most effectively inhibit airway graft obliteration.
Nanomedicine in management of hepatocellular carcinoma: Challenges and opportunities

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. It is characterized by unique features that can be utilized for selective and targeted therapy, which aids in preserving healthy tissues from deteriorating effects of traditional chemotherapeutics. In this minireview, a brief overview of recent drug delivery attempts for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma with the aid of nanomedical structures is presented. The beneficial impact of nanomaterials in terms of prolonged retention in blood and target sites, controlled biodistribution and improved stability of the encapsulated payloads, will be described, together with the possibility of incorporating more than one cargo into the same nanostructure. Incorporation of stimuli‐responsive components, decoration with targeting moieties and the use of molecularly targeted drugs for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma are also highlighted.