Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protein phosphatase 1-deficient mutant Drosophila is affected in habituation and associative learning

The learning and memory of Drosophila melanogaster strains carrying the Su-var(3)6(01) mutation, which is known to affect the structural gene of a protein phosphatase 1 isoenzyme, PP1(87B), were studied in various behavioral paradigms. Three lines of Drosophila comprising the Su- var(3)6(01) mutation in different genetic backgrounds were shown to have diminished protein phosphatase 1 activity and behavioral anomalies. Associative olfactory learning and visual conditioning were impaired. Olfactory acuity for the odorants used and response to electric shock were largely unchanged in the mutant lines. The motility and flight activity of the mutants were reduced. Habituation of the landing response, a nonassociative learning process, was more pronounced in heterozygotes of the mutants than in the wild-type control strains. Taken together with earlier data, the results indicate that protein phosphatase PP1(87B), while affecting several cellular processes, is also part of the biochemical machinery of various forms of neuromodulation in Drosophila.
Metabolic regulation in Escherichia coli in response to culture environments via global regulators

One of the ultimate goal of systems biology is to realize a virtual cell system in the computer. If this could be attained, it might be possible, for example, to quantitatively predict the effects of a culture environment and/or the removal/inactivation of specific genes on the metabolism without conducting many experiments. Thus, it may be possible to design cells, e.g., for more efficient production of a specific metabolite. To achieve this, it is important to properly understand the metabolic regulation mechanism and to develop a robust model by incorporating gene‐level regulation into the enzymatic reaction model with the integration of different levels of information. However, the metabolic regulation in response to the change in culture environment is itself not well understood. Here, we overview how the culture environment affects cell metabolism via global regulators with sigma factors, considering the effects of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate sources as well as oxygen, temperature, pH, and nutrient stress, etc., on transcriptional regulation. A variety of controlled strategies for the specific stimuli imposed on the cell appear to exist, and some of the regulations are interconnected by gene level regulation. Quantitative modeling for these regulation mechanisms is critical for efficient metabolic engineering of a cell.
Supervised segmentation of microelectrode recording artifacts using power spectral density

Appropriate detection of clean signal segments in extracellular microelectrode recordings (MER) is vital for maintaining high signal-to-noise ratio in MER studies. Existing alternatives to manual signal inspection are based on unsupervised change-point detection. We present a method of supervised MER artifact classification, based on power spectral density (PSD) and evaluate its performance on a database of 95 labelled MER signals. The proposed method yielded test-set accuracy of 90%, which was close to the accuracy of annotation (94%). The unsupervised methods achieved accuracy of about 77% on both training and testing data.
Borderline Issues: Social and Material Aspects of Design

The shared use of artifacts is, we argue, supported by latent border resources, which lie beyond what is usually recognized as the canonical artifact. These unnoticed resources are developed over time as artifacts are integrated into ongoing practice and stable conventions or genres grow up around them. For a couple of reasons, these resources may now deserve increased attention. First, because they lie outside conventional frames of reference, many new designs and design strategies inadvertently threaten to remove resources on which users rely. Second, because of the increasingly rapid proliferation of new technologies, users have less time to develop new border resources. Consequently, we suggest, designers now need to understand more fully the role border resources play and to work more directly to help users develop them. Meeting these goals will require more than an intensification of user-centered design. It will require a fundamental redirection of the way many designers look at both artifacts and users.
Ultrafast shape recognition for similarity search in molecular databases

Molecular databases are routinely screened for compounds that most closely resemble a molecule of known biological activity to provide novel drug leads. It is widely believed that three-dimensional molecular shape is the most discriminating pattern for biological activity as it is directly related to the steep repulsive part of the interaction potential between the drug-like molecule and its macromolecular target. However, efficient comparison of molecular shape is currently a challenge. Here, we show that a new approach based on moments of distance distributions is able to recognize molecular shape at least three orders of magnitude faster than current methodologies. Such an ultrafast method permits the identification of similarly shaped compounds within the largest molecular databases. In addition, the problematic requirement of aligning molecules for comparison is circumvented, as the proposed distributions are independent of molecular orientation. Our methodology could be also adapted to tackle similar hard problems in other fields, such as designing content-based Internet search engines for three-dimensional geometrical objects or performing fast similarity comparisons between proteins. From a broader perspective, we anticipate that ultrafast pattern recognition will soon become not only useful, but also essential to address the data explosion currently experienced in most scientific disciplines.
Domain II Loop 3 of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab Toxin Is Involved in a “Ping Pong” Binding Mechanism with Manduca sexta Aminopeptidase-N and Cadherin Receptors*

Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins are used worldwide as insecticides in agriculture, in forestry, and in the control of disease transmission vectors. In the lepidopteran Manduca sexta, cadherin (Bt-R1) and aminopeptidase-N (APN) function as Cry1A toxin receptors. The interaction with Bt-R1 promotes cleavage of the amino-terminal end, including helix α-1 and formation of prepore oligomer that binds to APN, leading to membrane insertion and pore formation. Loops of domain II of Cry1Ab toxin are involved in receptor interaction. Here we show that Cry1Ab mutants located in domain II loop 3 are affected in binding to both receptors and toxicity against Manduca sexta larvae. Interaction with both receptors depends on the oligomeric state of the toxin. Monomers of loop 3 mutants were affected in binding to APN and to a cadherin fragment corresponding to cadherin repeat 12 but not with a fragment comprising cadherin repeats 7–12. In contrast, the oligomers of loop 3 mutants were affected in binding to both Bt-R1 fragments but not to APN. Toxicity assays showed that either monomeric or oligomeric structures of Cry1Ab loop 3 mutations were severely affected in insecticidal activity. These data suggest that loop 3 is differentially involved in the binding with both receptor molecules, depending on the oligomeric state of the toxin and also that possibly a “ping pong” binding mechanism with both receptors is involved in toxin action.
A comparative in vitro study on the retention and stability of implant-supported overdentures.

OBJECTIVES Implant-supported overdentures have become the treatment of choice in restoring complete edentulism, but the number of implants required and type of connectors to assure retention and stability are still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of connector type and implant number and location on the retention and stability of implant-supported overdentures by measuring retentive forces during vertical and 2 types of rotational dislodgment. METHOD AND MATERIALS Two model designs were selected based on the number and location of the inserted implants: In a first setup, 2 implants were placed in the canine regions; in a second setup, 2 implants were placed in the canine regions and 2 in the premolar regions. Three types of connector were used in each model: magnets, balls, and locators; 10 resin bases were fabricated and 3 hooks fixed at tripodal locations for chain testing. Vertical dislodging forces and 2 aspects (oblique and posterior rotational dislodging forces) of stability were tested. RESULTS Two-way analysis of variance showed significant differences in retention among the 3 connectors in the 2 models, with the lowest values obtained with the magnet group (mean [SD]: 2.15 N [0.09]) and highest values with the locator group (31.30 N [0.12]). Posterior rotational dislodging forces showed higher values than vertical or lateral forces in both models; 4-implant models required higher dislodging forces than did 2-implant models. CONCLUSION Locator connectors provide significantly higher retention and stability of implant-supported overdentures, followed by ball connectors and then magnets. The 2-implant design offers less retention and stability than the 4-implant model. Number of implants and type of connector significantly affected retention and stability of implant-supported overdentures.
“Missing clot” during mechanical thrombectomy in acute stroke using Solitaire stent retrieval system

Stent retrieval system is an established treatment modality in acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion. Here, we describe a complication which occurred during mechanical thrombectomy in three cases where the clot dislodged during retrieval. There was a possibility of the clot getting reinjected into the artery with possible dire consequences.
Carotenoid Biosynthesis and their Regulation in Citrus Fruits

Carotenoids are the main pigments responsible for the attractive color of the peel and pulp of citrus fruits and greatly contribute to their nutritional and antioxidant value. Fruits of different Citrus species display a broad array of color singularities and in many cultivars the peel and the pulp also exhibit different color, envisaging specieand tissuespecific regulation of the carotenoid content and composition. In addition, citrus mutants affected in fruit color are a useful experimental system to identify molecular mechanisms regulating carotenoid biosynthesis. Citrus is, therefore, an excellent model to study fruit carotenoid accumulation and their regulation. In this review, we summarize and update information on carotenoid content and composition in fruits of agronomically important Citrus species. Current understanding of carotenoids biosynthesis in citrus, highlighting the main regulatory steps of the pathway and how may be related to carotenoid content and complement in peel and pulp of Citrus fruits are discussed. Finally, the effect of environmental and endogenous factors on citrus fruits carotenoids is also evaluated. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Study on Image Restoration Algorithm in Random-Valued Impulse Noise Environment

Digital images are often corrupted by impulse noise, and it is very important to remove random-valued impulse noise. Cleaning such noise is far more difficult than cleaning salt and pepper impulse noise. In this paper, we proposed an efficient way to remove random-valued impulse noise from digital images. This novel method comprises two stages. The first stage is to detect the random-valued impulse noise in the image and the pixels are roughly divided into two classes, which are “noise-free pixel” and “noise pixel”. Then, the second stage is to eliminate the random-valued impulse noise from the image. In this stage, only the “noise pixels” are processed. The “noise-free pixels” are copied directly to the output image. Simulation results indicated that our method provides a significant improvement over many other existing algorithms.
Integrating concept mapping and semantic Web technologies for knowledge management

Exploring a new technology space is always a daunting task. Its complexity is increased when the area of interest spans thousands of publications with multiple definitions of terms, authors, and dimensions of investigations; when the technology space is many times a secondary but important element of the investigation being reported upon; and where there are many application domains. Furthermore, when the space must not only be reviewed but must also be analyzed to determine trends, state of the art/practice, and to provide promising research agendas, there is a need to find mechanisms and strategies for codifying the knowledge. The goal is an integrated knowledge map so that concepts can be captured, queried, and perhaps most importantly connections discovered and reasoned about. The project has motivated our exploration of concept mapping tools and has subsequently led us into the semantic Web space with a vision that the integration of these two technologies would lead to a powerful knowledge management environment for unexplored and complex domains of study. We present the results of an initial investigation into the exploration of a complex space, situate it in the context of an extended knowledge life cycle, and discuss how semantic technologies can be leveraged to enhance concept mapping tools.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes the Relations between Symptoms, Somatic and Psychiatric Conditions, Life Satisfaction and Perceived Health. a Primary Care Based Study

depressionperceived healthPrimary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD)country of birthhealth care practicequestionnaire. Abstract Background: In spite of the fact that self-rated health is such an important factor, little is known about the aetiological background to poor perceived health and also less is known about the impact of life satisfaction on health in a primary care practice population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, symptoms, somatic and psychiatric conditions as well as health status measures and life satisfaction on perceived health in a multi-ethnic Swedish health practice population.
The failure of the Yanchep international campus: A case study in the politics of marketing education

Abstract Private universities and colleges have traditionally played no part on the Australian higher education scene. This paper, however, argues that the concept has become plausible since the implementation of a new overseas student policy in 1985 which has allowed education to be exported as a commodity. This policy has, in large degree, been moulded by the perceived process of decay in higher education as a result of funding constraints, and by the general environment of economic decline in Australia. A case study of the evolution and early demise of the proposed Yanchep International Campus is the main focus of the paper. It attempts to illustrate the problematic and politically divisive nature of the formation of private institutions and the degree to which institutions such as Yanchep might not be viable profit making enterprises without heavy state subsidisation.
A Quantitative Situational Awareness Model of Pilot

The pilot’s situational awareness (SA) mainly depends on the perception, understanding and prediction of the information obtained from the man-machine display interface, therefore there is an intrinsic link between the display interface design and the level of pilot’s SA. A quantitative SA model, which considers the influence of information importance on SA, the characteristics of human cognition and the Bayesian conditional probability theory, was proposed based on the attention allocation model built previously. This model was expected to be used to predict the pilot’s SA levels under different task conditions. In order to verify the validity of the SA model, 20 volunteers were recruited to perform the instrument supervision tasks in four kinds of task, at the same time, Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGTA), 3-dimensional Situational Awareness Rating Technique (3-D SART), and eye movement measurement were adopted for the evaluation of SAs. The experimental results reveal that, the SAGAT is the most effective approach to measure the level 2 SA, showing that the correct rate of SAGAT has the most similar changing trend with the task performance, and the SA model is validated since the changing trend of SA predicted by the model is highly correlated with the measurement indices.
Posttreatment Victimization and Violence Among Adolescents Following Residential Drug Treatment

This article examines the relationships among experiences of childhood abuse, psychiatric disorders, self-reported victimization, and violent behavior, with a focus on gender differences. Data were obtained from treatment entry and 5-year post-treatment interviews of 446 adolescent clients in therapeutic community (TC) drug treatment programs throughout the United States and Canada. Fifty-eight percent of the sample indicated that they engaged in serious violent behaviors (e.g., beatings, threatening or using weapons against other people, or violent crimes such as assaults, rapes, murders) in the 5 years following their separation from TC treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that victimization in the posttreatment period was the most significant factor associated with violent behavior, and pretreatment childhood abuse experiences and psychiatric disorders were not significantly related to the odds of violent behavior. There were significant gender differences in self-reported victimization and violent behavior. The findings suggest that violence in young adulthood for males is related to increasing involvement in violent lifestyles that include drug trafficking, while violence among females is associated with the social and psychological consequences of drug involvement and victimization. High rates of violent involvement and victimization among former adolescent clients suggests the utility of incorporating interventions such as safety-oriented strategies for females or interventions that address involvement in the drug use lifestyles (i.e., use and dealing) for both males and females into residential treatment to reduce the likelihood of future violence.
Subcellular localization of patched and smoothened, the receptors for sonic hedgehog signaling, in the hippocampal neuron

Cumulative evidence suggests that, aside from patterning the embryonic neural tube, Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling plays important roles in the mature nervous system. In this study, we investigate the expression and localization of the Shh signaling receptors, Patched (Ptch) and Smoothened (Smo), in the hippocampal neurons of young and mature rats. Reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting analyses show that the expression of Ptch and Smo remains at a moderate level in young postnatal and adult brains. By using immunofluorescence light microscopy and immunoelectron microscopy, we examine the spatial distribution of Ptch and Smo within the hippocampal neurons. In young developing neurons, Ptch and Smo are present in the processes and are clustered at their growth cones. In mature neurons, Ptch and Smo are concentrated in dendrites, spines, and postsynaptic sites. Synaptic Ptch and Smo often co‐exist with unusual structures—synaptic spinules and autophagosomes. Our results reveal the anatomical organization of the Shh receptors within both the young and the mature hippocampal neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 519:3684‐3699, 2011. ©2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Improving Environmental Design Using TRIZ Inventive Principles

This paper describes design principles that were extracted from the profiles of products redesigned to be more environmentally benign. These extracted principles will be used to support the work of creating a Design for Environment (DfE) methodology called ENVRIZ that provides product designers with a procedure for creating more environmentally benign products and overcoming environmental contradictions. The framework for ENVRIZ exists in the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). ENVRIZ will provide designers with a method for overcoming conflicts between improving environmental objectives and increasing product usefulness.
Similarity-based visualization of large image collections

Effective techniques for organizing and visualizing large image collections are in growing demand as visual search gets increasingly popular. Targeting an online astronomy archive with thousands of images, we present our solution for image search and clustering based on the evaluation of image similarity using both visual and textual information. Time-consuming image similarity computation is accelerated using graphics processing unit. To lay out images, we introduce iMap, a treemap-based representation for visualizing and navigating image search and clustering results. iMap not only makes effective use of available display area to arrange images but also maintains stable update when images are inserted or removed during the query. We also develop an embedded visualization that integrates image tags for in-place search refinement. To show the effectiveness of our approach, we demonstrate experimental results, compare our iMap layout with a force-directed layout, and conduct a comparative user study. As a potential tool for astronomy education and outreach, we deploy our iMap to a large tiled display of nearly 50 million pixels.
Polymorphism in the HASPB Repeat Region of East African Leishmania donovani Strains

Background/Objectives Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania donovani is a major health problem in Ethiopia. Parasites in disparate regions are transmitted by different vectors, and cluster in distinctive genotypes. Recently isolated strains from VL and HIV-VL co-infected patients in north and south Ethiopia were characterized as part of a longitudinal study on VL transmission. Methodology/Principal Findings Sixty-three L. donovani strains were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting three regions: internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1), cysteine protease B (cpb), and HASPB (k26). ITS1- and cpb - PCR identified these strains as L. donovani. Interestingly, the k26 - PCR amplicon size varied depending on the patient's geographic origin. Most strains from northwestern Ethiopia (36/40) produced a 290 bp product with a minority (4/40) giving a 410 bp amplicon. All of the latter strains were isolated from patients with HIV-VL co-infections, while the former group contained both VL and HIV-VL co-infected patients. Almost all the strains (20/23) from southwestern Ethiopia produced a 450 bp amplicon with smaller products (290 or 360 bp) only observed for three strains. Sudanese strains produced amplicons identical (290 bp) to those found in northwestern Ethiopia; while Kenyan strains gave larger PCR products (500 and 650 bp). High-resolution melt (HRM) analysis distinguished the different PCR products. Sequence analysis showed that the k26 repeat region in L. donovani is comprised of polymorphic 13 and 14 amino acid motifs. The 13 amino acid peptide motifs, prevalent in L. donovani, are rare in L. infantum. The number and order of the repeats in L. donovani varies between geographic regions. Conclusions/Significance HASPB repeat region (k26) shows considerable polymorphism among L. donovani strains from different regions in East Africa. This should be taken into account when designing diagnostic assays and vaccines based on this antigen.