Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
B Chromosomes Have a Functional Effect on Female Sex Determination in Lake Victoria Cichlid Fishes

The endemic cichlid fishes in Lake Victoria are a model system for speciation through adaptive radiation. Although the evolution of the sex-determination system may also play a role in speciation, little is known about the sex-determination system of Lake Victoria cichlids. To understand the evolution of the sex-determination system in these fish, we performed cytogenetic analysis in 11 cichlid species from Lake Victoria. B chromosomes, which are present in addition to standard chromosomes, were found at a high prevalence rate (85%) in these cichlids. In one species, B chromosomes were female-specific. Cross-breeding using females with and without the B chromosomes demonstrated that the presence of the B chromosomes leads to a female-biased sex ratio in this species. Although B chromosomes were believed to be selfish genetic elements with little effect on phenotype and to lack protein-coding genes, the present study provides evidence that B chromosomes have a functional effect on female sex determination. FISH analysis using a BAC clone containing B chromosome DNA suggested that the B chromosomes are derived from sex chromosomes. Determination of the nucleotide sequences of this clone (104.5 kb) revealed the presence of several protein-coding genes in the B chromosome, suggesting that B chromosomes have the potential to contain functional genes. Because some sex chromosomes in amphibians and arthropods are thought to be derived from B chromosomes, the B chromosomes in Lake Victoria cichlids may represent an evolutionary transition toward the generation of sex chromosomes.
Computational principles of mobile robotics

Mobile robotics is a multidisciplinary field involving both computer science and engineering. Addressing the design of automated systems, it lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational vision, and robotics. This textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduate students emphasizes algorithms for a range of strategies for locomotion, sensing, and reasoning. It concentrates on wheeled and legged mobile robots but discusses a variety of other propulsion systems. The new edition includes advances in robotics and intelligent machines over the last ten years, including significant coverage of SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) and multi-robot systems. It includes additional mathematical background and an extensive list of sample problems. Various mathematical techniques that were assumed in the first edition are now briefly introduced in appendices at the end of the text to make the book more self-contained. Researchers as well as students in the field of mobile robotics will appreciate this comprehensive treatment of state-of-the-art methods and key technologies.
Neurogenesis and Commitment of Corticospinal Neurons inreeler

In the homozygous (but not the heterozygous) reelermutant, disruption of neuron migration leads to a major perturbation of the cortical environment that in turn could modify (1) the specification of neuronal fate and (2) the proliferation dynamics of cortical precursors. To investigate these issues, tritiated thymidine injections during cortical neurogenesis were coupled with postnatal injections of a retrograde tracer in the spinal cord to accurately measure the neurogenesis of corticospinal neurons in the heterozygous and homozygous mutant. The homozygous reeler shows (1) strict conservation of area-specific timetables of corticospinal neuron generation; (2) neurons with the appropriate birthdates show an enhanced probability of projecting to the spinal cord; (3) during early stages of corticogenesis, there is a reduced rate of neuron production followed at later stages by an increased rate of neuron production; and (4) these changes in the rate of neuron production were shown to be at least partially attributable to changes in the proportions of differentiative divisions. Taken together, our results show that in the developing cortex, the neurogenesis and specification of a given neuronal phenotype are partially controlled by the postmigratory compartment. On the other hand, neither areal identity nor the chronology of production of layer-specific neuronal phenotype seems to depend on the integrity of the cellular environment.
On the Efficiency of a Certain Class of Noise Removal Algorithms in Solving Image Processing Tasks

The investigated noise removal algorithms are HRBA, HSBA, HBA, AMVR, PNRA, MMSE, MNR, MNR2 and NFPCA. The multiresolution support provides a suitable framework for noise filtering and for restoration purposes by noise suppression. The techniques used in the paper are mainly based on the statistically significant wavelet coefficients specifying the support. The performed tests reveal that the use of the multiresolution support proves powerful and offers a versatile way to handle noise of different classes of distributions.
A new era in the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension related to scleroderma: endothelin receptor antagonism

Evidence suggests that endothelin may have a fundamental role in scleroderma pathogenesis, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)—a leading cause of death in patients with scleroderma. Development of a new class of drug, endothelin receptor antagonists, heralds an improved outlook for patients with scleroderma and related diseases. Heightened vigilance towards early detection of PAH in scleroderma and a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment may improve clinical outcomes for these patients.
Depolarization‐induced suppression of a glycinergic synapse in the superior olivary complex by endocannabinoids

The neuronal endocannabinoid system is known to depress synaptic inputs retrogradely in an activity‐dependent manner. This mechanism has been generally described for excitatory glutamatergic and inhibitory GABAergic synapses. Here, we report that neurones in the auditory brainstem of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) retrogradely regulate the strength of their inputs via the endocannabinoid system. By means of whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings, we found that retrograde endocannabinoid signalling attenuates both glycinergic and glutamatergic post‐synaptic currents in the same types of neurones. Accordingly, we detected the cannabinoid receptor 1 in excitatory and inhibitory pre‐synapses as well as the endocannabinoid‐synthesising enzymes (diacylglycerol lipase α/β, DAGLα/β) post‐synaptically through immunohistochemical stainings. Our study was performed with animals aged 10–15 days, that is, in the time window around the onset of hearing. Therefore, we suggest that retrograde endocannabinoid signalling has a role in adapting inputs during the functionally important switch from spontaneously generated to sound‐related signals.
International Union of Pharmacology. LXIII. Retinoid X Receptors

The physiological effects of retinoic acids (RAs) are mediated by members of two families of nuclear receptors, the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and the retinoid X receptors (RXRs), which are encoded by three distinct human genes, RXRα, RXRβ, and RXRγ. RARs bind both all-trans- and 9-cis-RA, whereas only the 9-cis-RA stereoisomer binds to RXRs. As RXR/RAR heterodimers, these receptors control the transcription of RA target genes through binding to RA-response elements. This review is focused on the structure, mode of action, ligands, expression, and pharmacology of RXRs. Given their role as common partners to many other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily, these receptors have been the subject of intense scrutiny. Moreover, and despite numerous studies since their initial discovery, RXRs remain enigmatic nuclear receptors, and there is still no consensus regarding their role. Indeed, multiple questions about the actual biological role of RXRs and the existence of an endogenous ligand have still to be answered.
Evaluation of 3'-deoxy-3'-18F-fluorothymidine for monitoring tumor response to radiotherapy and photodynamic therapy in mice.

UNLABELLED 3'-Deoxy-3'-18F-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) has been suggested as a new PET tracer for imaging tumor proliferation. We investigated the use of 18F-FLT to monitor the response of tumors to radiotherapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in mice. METHODS C3H/He mice bearing an SCCVII tumor were treated with single-dose x-ray irradiation of 20 Gy. Tumor uptake was examined for 18F-FLT, 3H-thymidine (3H-Thd), 18F-FDG, and 14C-deoxyglucose (14C-DG) at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 3 d, and 7 d after radiotherapy. BALB/c nu/nu mice bearing a HeLa tumor were treated with PDT. Tumor uptake was examined for the 4 tracers at 24 h after PDT. Expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was determined in untreated and treated tumors. RESULTS In the biodistribution study, considerable uptake of 18F-FLT was observed in both tumor types. Tumor volumes decreased to 39.3% +/- 22.4% at 7 d after radiotherapy. The PCNA labeling index was reduced in x-ray-irradiated tumors (control, 53.2% +/- 8.7%; 6 h, 38.5% +/- 5.3%; 24 h after radiotherapy, 36.8% +/- 5.3%). 18F-FLT uptake in tumor expressed as the percentage of the injected dose per gram of tumor (%ID/g) decreased significantly at 6 h and remained low until 3 d after radiotherapy (control, 9.7 +/- 1.2 %ID/g; 6 h, 5.9 +/- 0.4 %ID/g; 24 h, 6.1 +/- 1.3 %ID/g; 3 d after radiotherapy, 6.4 +/- 1.1 %ID/g). 18F-FDG uptake tended to gradually decrease but a significant decrease was found only at 3 d (control, 12.1 +/- 2.7 %ID/g; 6 h, 13.3 +/- 2.3 %ID/g; 24 h, 8.6 +/- 1.8 %ID/g; 3 d after radiotherapy, 6.9 +/- 1.2 %ID/g). PDT resulted in a reduction of the PCNA labeling index (control, 82.0% +/- 8.6%; 24 h after PDT, 13.5% +/- 12.7%). Tumor uptake of 18F-FLT decreased (control, 11.1 +/- 1.3 %ID/g; 24 h after PDT, 4.0 +/- 2.2 %ID/g), whereas 18F-FDG uptake did not decrease significantly after PDT (control, 3.5 +/- 0.6 %ID/g; 24 h after PDT, 2.3 +/- 1.1 %ID/g). Changes in the uptake of 18F-FLT and 18F-FDG were similar to those of 3H-Thd and 14C-DG, respectively. CONCLUSION In our model system, changes in 18F-FLT uptake after radiotherapy and PDT were correlated with those of 3H-Thd and the PCNA labeling index. The decrease in 18F-FLT uptake after treatments was more rapid or pronounced than that of 18F-FDG. Therefore, 18F-FLT may be a feasible PET tracer for monitoring response to therapy in oncology.
A framework of enterprise cloud application

Cloud computing is a significant trend with the potential to increase agility and lower costs. However, security risks, immature technology, and other concerns prevent widespread enterprise adoption of external clouds. One major reason is the lack of a systematic engineering process and tool supported by reusable architectural artifacts. Most existing Cloud computing platforms have not formally adopted the service-oriented architecture (SOA) that would make them more flexible, extensible, and reusable. By bridges the power of SOA and cloud in the context of enterprises application, extending enterprise security and control into the cloud This paper presents five framework principles and derives three interconnected framework modules to form a reusable and customizable enterprise cloud application framework. We also present some potential value-added services of the proposed the framework to guide strategic planning for enterprises moving to cloud.
Experiments of a variable stiffness robot using shape memory gel

This paper proposes a variable stiffness robot using a shape memory gel (SMG). Variable stiffness robots are useful to handle uneven objects in uneven environments such as home and office. Variable stiffness of rigid-link robots can be realized using motor control. Most of these robots require expensive force sensors. Flexible mechanical parts enable robots to realize low stiffness at the end-effectors without force sensors. However, high stiffness is hard to be realized by the robots with flexible mechanical parts. We propose another method to realize the variable stiffness of the robot without force sensors. We use a cold SMG for a rigid link and a hot SMG for a flexible link. A temperature control system of the SMG is developed, and any SMG link can be used as both a rigid link and a flexible link. Experiments of the application using the system are performed to illustrate the validity of our proposed method.
Effect of immunosuppressive cladribine treatment on serum leucocytes system in two-year clinical trial in patients with chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis is presumably cell-mediated autoimmune disorder with immune abnormalities as presence of activated T-cells and increase interleukin 2 (IL-2) and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels in central nervous system and peripheral blood of patients. The aim of immunosuppressive treatment is to diminish such activation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of immunosuppressive cladribine treatment with total dose of 2.1 mg/kg b.w. administered in 7 cycles for 12 months, on serum leucocytes in 34 chronic progressive multiple sclerosis (CPMS) patients observed for 2 years as well as IL-2 and sIL-2R serum levels assessed before and right after the treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was designed as a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. The patients were divided in two groups: group I, cladribine-treated, n = 34; group II, placebo-treated, n = 35. Group III were healthy controls, n = 20. Leucocyte levels were determined with flow-cytometry. IL-2 and sIL-2R levels were assessed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS Statistically significant gradual decrease of lymphocyte level was observed from 7th week to 12th month after the beginning of treatment. During the following 12 months, lymphocyte levels remained decreased in comparison to baseline. Mean values of IL-2 and sIL-2R levels measured 12 months after the treatment were found to be lowered by 20% (p. = 0.01) and by 24% (p. = 0.0005), respectively. CONCLUSION The results obtained indicate fast and long-lasting decrease of serum leucocyte level and suppressive influence of cladribine treatment on immune processes in multiple sclerosis patients.
The Sulfatase Pathway for Estrogen Formation: Targets for the Treatment and Diagnosis of Hormone-Associated Tumors

The extragonadal synthesis of biological active steroid hormones from their inactive precursors in target tissues is named “intracrinology. ” Of particular importance for the progression of estrogen-dependent cancers is the in situ formation of the biological most active estrogen, 17beta-estradiol (E2). In cancer cells, conversion of inactive steroid hormone precursors to E2 is accomplished from inactive, sulfated estrogens in the “sulfatase pathway” and from androgens in the “aromatase pathway. ” Here, we provide an overview about expression and function of enzymes of the “sulfatase pathway,” particularly steroid sulfatase (STS) that activates estrogens and estrogen sulfotransferase (SULT1E1) that converts active estrone (E1) and other estrogens to their inactive sulfates. High expression of STS and low expression of SULT1E1 will increase levels of active estrogens in malignant tumor cells leading to the stimulation of cell proliferation and cancer progression. Therefore, blocking the “sulfatase pathway” by STS inhibitors may offer an attractive strategy to reduce levels of active estrogens. STS inhibitors either applied in combination with aromatase inhibitors or as novel, dual aromatase-steroid sulfatase inhibiting drugs are currently under investigation. Furthermore, STS inhibitors are also suitable as enzyme–based cancer imaging agents applied in the biomedical imaging technique positron emission tomography (PET) for cancer diagnosis.
Hidden Markov Model for Control Strategy Learning

Abstract : This report presents a method for learning a control strategy using the hidden Markov model (HMM), i.e., developing a feedback controller based on HMMs. The HMM is a parametric model for non-stationary pattern recognition and is feasible to characterize a doubly stochastic process involving observable actions and a hidden decision pattern. The control strategy is encoded by HMMs through a training process. The trained models are then employed to control the system. The proposed method has been investigated by simulations of a linear system and an inverted pendulum system. The HMM-based controller provides a novel way to learn control strategy and to model the human decision making process
In Silico Prediction of Human Pathogenicity in the γ-Proteobacteria

Background Although the majority of bacteria are innocuous or even beneficial for their host, others are highly infectious pathogens that can cause widespread and deadly diseases. When investigating the relationships between bacteria and other living organisms, it is therefore essential to be able to separate pathogenic organisms from non-pathogenic ones. Using traditional experimental methods for this purpose can be very costly and time-consuming, and also uncertain since animal models are not always good predictors for pathogenicity in humans. Bioinformatics-based methods are therefore strongly needed to mine the fast growing number of genome sequences and assess in a rapid and reliable way the pathogenicity of novel bacteria. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe a new in silico method for the prediction of bacterial pathogenicity, based on the identification in microbial genomes of features that appear to correlate with virulence. The method does not rely on identifying genes known to be involved in pathogenicity (for instance virulence factors), but rather it inherently builds families of proteins that, irrespective of their function, are consistently present in only one of the two kinds of organisms, pathogens or non-pathogens. Whether a new bacterium carries proteins contained in these families determines its prediction as pathogenic or non-pathogenic. The application of the method on a set of known genomes correctly classified the virulence potential of 86% of the organisms tested. An additional validation on an independent test-set assigned correctly 22 out of 24 bacteria. Conclusions The proposed approach was demonstrated to go beyond the species bias imposed by evolutionary relatedness, and performs better than predictors based solely on taxonomy or sequence similarity. A set of protein families that differentiate pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains were identified, including families of yet uncharacterized proteins that are suggested to be involved in bacterial pathogenicity.
Comparison of H II region luminosities with observed stellar ionizing sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We estimate the total predicted Lyc emission rates of OB associations for which the complete census of O star spectral types exists. The results are compared to the observed H-alpha luminosities of the host H II regions. We find evidence for substantial leakage of ionizing photons from some H II regions, while others appear to be radiation bounded. We estimate that overall for the LMC, 0-51% of the ionizing radiation escapes the local nebulae, and would be available to ionize the diffuse, warm, ionized medium (WIM) in that galaxy. This range of values is consistent with the observed 35% fraction of \Ha\ luminosity emitted by the WIM in the LMC, as well as the corresponding fractions observed in other nearby galaxies. It is therefore possible that photoionization by O stars is indeed the dominant ionization mechanism for the WIM.
Preparation and adsorbability of dextran microspheres with uniform diameter

The method of preparing uniform dextran microspheres with a narrow diameter distribution was introduced and the adsorbability of these microspheres was evaluated. The microspheres were prepared in W/O microemulsion using 0.5% dextran solution as the aqueous phase and n-hexane as the oil phase. Characteristics of the prepared dextran microspheres were examined with laser light blocking technique, optical microscope and ultraviolet spectrometer. The results show that the prepared dextran microspheres have uniform morphology and narrow diameter distribution, nearly 92% of them having a diameter of 56.6 μm. In vitro evaluation of adsorbability, wet dextran microspheres have good adsorption of 98.32 mg/g of model drug methylene blue in 20.86 mg/L methylene blue solution at 25°C. The adsorption of dried dextran microspheres under the same condition is 132.15 mg/g, which is even higher. And the adsorbability of dextran microspheres has significant relationship with the concentration of methylene blue and temperature. The adsorbability is better at lower temperature and higher concentration of methylene blue.
Gradient-based Reinforcement Planning in Policy-Search Methods

AbstractWe introduce a learning method called “gradient-based reinforcement planning” (GREP). Unlike traditional DP methods that improve their policy backwards in time, GREP is agradient-based method that plans ahead and improves its policy before it actually acts in theenvironment. We derive formulas for the exact policy gradient that maximizes the expectedfuture reward and conﬁrm our ideas with numerical experiments. 1 Introduction It has been shown that planning can dramatically improve convergence in reinforcement learning(RL) (? ; ? ). However, most RL methods that explicitly use planning that have been proposed arevalue (or Q-value) based methods, such as Dyna-Q or prioritized sweeping . Recently, much attention is directed to so-called policy-gradient methods that improve theirpolicy directly by calculating the derivative of the future expected reward with respect to thepolicy parameters. Gradient based methods are believed to be more advantageous than value-function based methods in huge state spaces and in POMDP settings. Probably the ﬁrst gradientbased RL formulation is class of REINFORCE algorithms ofWilliams (? ). Other more recent methods are, e.g., (? ; ? ; ? ). Our approach of deriving thegradient has the ﬂavor of (? ) who derive the gradient using future state probabilities.Our novel contribution in this paper is to combine gradient-based learning with explicit plan-ning. We introduce “gradient-based reinforcement planning” (GREP) that improves a policy
Production and Operations Management Aspects of Cellular Manufacturing - a Survey of Users

There is a growing interest for cellular manufacturing (CM) in the industry. In the last two decades many firms in the Netherlands as well as in other countries have implemented CM. These firms cannot be put into one box. Though the principle of CM in each firm will be basically the same, there may be considerable differences with respect to the starting situation, the characteristics of the cells, the way of implementing the CM structure, the impact on the production control function, the extent of decentralization of support functions, etc. This paper reports the findings of a survey study of 7 firms in The Netherlands involved within cellular manufacturing. The differences between the firms, as well as each specific situation itself, offer insight in the main Production and Operations Management aspects of CM. Furthermore, the survey study shows a gap between theory and practice. On the one hand, several useful theories are only limitedly known in practice. On the other hand, several problems found in practice, are only partly addressed in literature.