Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tdrd12 Is Essential for Germ Cell Development and Maintenance in Zebrafish

The regularity of Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) biogenesis is crucial to germline development. Functioning as Piwi-interacting proteins, Tudor domain-related proteins (Tdrds) have been demonstrated to be involved in spermatogenesis and the piRNA pathway. In this study, zebrafish tdrd12 was identified, and the maternal and germ cell-specific expression patterns of zebrafish tdrd12 were observed. Utilizing TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nuclease) techniques, two independent tdrd12 mutant zebrafish lines were generated. Although no defects were found during the generation of the primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the tdrd12-null fish progenies obtained from the heterozygous tdrd12 mutant parents, all Tdrd12-deficient fish developed into infertile males. The reduced numbers and eventually loss of the germ cells by 35 days post fertilization (dpf) led to masculinization and infertility of the Tdrd12-deficient fish. Meiosis defects of the germ cells in the tdrd12 mutants during the gonad-transitioning period were observed, revealing the indispensable functions of Tdrd12 in gametogenesis. Our studies demonstrated that zebrafish Tdrd12 is essential for germ cell development and maintenance.
Sport participation and injuries among undergraduate students of a Nigerian University.

Backgroud: Sports participation is a healthy behaviour but it is not without the risk of injuries. Information on the extent of sport participation and sport injuries among Nigerian Unversity students is sparse. Objeclive: To determine the prevalence and types of sport participation and injuries among university.students in Nigeria. Factors associated with sport participation among students were also examined. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire to collect information on the frequcncy and types of sport participation and sport-related injuries among a representative sample of undergraduate students of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Resuts: A sport participation prevalence of 64.2% (95%CI: 59.5 - 68.7) was recorded among students. Football (soccer) (53.2%) had the highest participation rate. Male students (78.4% vs.41.2%) participated more frequently in sports (p <0.001). Overall injury rate was 52.5 injuries/100 students/ year (95%CI: 46.5 - 58.5). The prevalence of injury was 45.7% in male and 12.7% in female students. About half (49.3%) of reported injuries resulted in time loss. The leg and ankle were the most frequently injured body parts for all injuries and most serious injuries. Football recorded the highest prevalence of injury (73.8%). CONCLUSION Sport participation among students was fair and injury rate was considerably high, mostly affecting the lower extremity and most injuries resulting from football participation. This study suggests the need for improved sport participation support among students and the need for the initiation of injury prevention initiatives by stakeholders.
Dual band circularly polarized patch antenna

The need for frequency reuse has stimulated interest in multi-frequency antennas. Although multi-frequency operations can be obtained by using wide band antennas and suitable electronic circuits, this solution has several drawbacks in terms of efficiency and noise performances. Most of all, wide bandwidths are difficult to be achieved with planar structures. An inherently multi-resonant planar antenna allows to benefit from the well known advantages in size/weight/cost reduction while retaining rather good noise temperature and efficiency. Typically, a dual frequency operating mode is attained by using multi-layer stacked patches. Single layer structures for linear polarization have been proposed in Maci et al. (1987) and Yazidi et al. (1993). Both structures are based on a rectangular patch loaded by two slots. As demonstrated in Maci et al., when these slots are etched close to the radiating edges, they do not change significantly the first resonant frequency and the radiation pattern of the patch. Furthermore they introduce another resonance with a radiation pattern similar to the former. This latter resonance is strongly dominated by the slot lengths. In the present paper the use of slot loaded patches is extended to circular polarization (CP). This is obtained by properly shaping the patch and by introducing two other loading slots. Experiments are shown and discussed. <<ETX>>
Microarray and bioinformatics analyses of gene expression profiles in BALB/c murine macrophage polarization

Macrophages possess the hallmark feature of plasticity, allowing them to undergo a dynamic transition between M1 and M2 polarized phenotypes. The aim of the present study was to screen for differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) that were associated with BALB/c murine macrophage polarization. The transcription profiles of three M1 and three M2 samples were obtained using microarray analysis. Based on the threshold of fold-change >2.0 and P-value <0.05, a total of 1,253 DEGs were identified, of which 696 were upregulated and 557 downregulated in M1 macrophages compared with M2 macrophages. Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. A gene-gene interaction network of the DEGs was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database. GO annotation identified three categories: Cellular component, molecular function and biological process, with 34 and 40 enrichment terms consisting of upregulated and downregulated DEGs, respectively. GO enrichment analysis of DEGs was primarily associated with protein binding, response to stimulus, cell differentiation, and regulation of biological process. KEGG enrichment identified 15 and four pathways involving upregulated and downregulated DEGs, respectively. Signaling pathway analysis revealed that these DEGs were mainly involved in apoptosis, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1a pathway, innate immune system, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and other signal transduction pathways. Interaction network analysis indicated that genes including TNF, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, suppressor of cytokine signaling 3, nitric oxide synthase 2, HIF1a may serve key roles in macrophage polarization. The present study provided new insights into the role of genes in macrophage differentiation and polarization.
Evaluation of the Expanded Disability Status Scale and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite as clinical endpoints in multiple sclerosis clinical trials: quantitative meta-analyses

Abstract Objectives: This study compared the sensitivity of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC) as clinical endpoints in multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials. Methods: Medline (1946 through 12 September 2014) and Embase (1974 through 12 September 2014) databases searches were conducted using keywords and Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms related to MS, EDSS, and MSFC. Only studies that used the EDSS and MSFC as endpoints were assessed. All statistical analyses were conducted using comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA). The percentages of the overall changes in EDSS and MSFC were compared. The relative risks were calculated in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Results: A total of 123 studies were identified. There were nine studies (6 case series and 3 RCTs) included in the analysis. In the case series, the EDSS change rate in MS patients was 33.5% (95% CI: 12.9–63.2%) and the MSFC change rate was 30.3% (95% CI: 9.2–65.2%). In RCTs, patients who take the drug would be 22.9 times as likely as patients who did not take the drug to experience a change in the EDSS scale (RR = 22.9, 95% CI = 0.996–1.517, p = 0.055). Patients who take the drug would be 48.9 times as likely as patients who did not take the drug to experience a change in the MSFC scale (RR = 48.9, 95% CI = CI = 0.916–2.419, p = 0.108). Limitations: This study focused only on MS patient improvement (positive changes) on the EDSS and MSFC. More studies are needed to include patient deterioration (negative changes) on EDSS and MSFC. Conclusions: There is controversy about the sensitivity of the EDSS and MSFC in detecting the progression of MS disease. The EDSS and MSFC are effective tools to assess the clinical severity and progression of MS disease. MSFC is more sensitive than EDSS in detecting the progression of MS disease.
Effects of hydroxyurea on blood rheology in sickle cell anemia: A two-years follow-up study.

The aim of the present study was to test the effects of hydroxyurea (HU) therapy on clinical, hematological and hemorheological parameters in adult patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Hematological and hemorheological parameters were measured in 28 SCA patients before HU therapy (i.e., baseline) and at 6, 12 and 24 months of treatment. RBC deformability was determined by ektacytometry at 30 Pa. RBC aggregation properties were investigated by light-backscatter method. Blood viscosity was measured at 225 s-1 by a cone-plate viscometer. The rates of vaso-occlusive crises and acute chest syndrome were lower at 1 and 2 years of HU therapy compared to baseline. The proportion of patients with leg ulcers tended to decrease after 2 years of treatment. Hemoglobin oxygen saturation improved with HU therapy. HU therapy induced a decrease of platelet and white blood cell counts and a rise in fetal hemoglobin level and mean cell volume. While hemoglobin concentrations increased under HU, blood viscosity remained unchanged all along the study. RBC deformability increased over baseline values at 6 months of HU therapy and continued to rise until the end of the follow-up period. In conclusion, the improvement in RBC deformability probably compensates the increase of hemoglobin on blood viscosity and participates to the improvement of the clinical status of patients.
Whole genome bisulfite sequencing reveals unique adaptations to high-altitude environments in Tibetan chickens

Background Tibetan chickens living at high altitudes show specific adaptations to high-altitude conditions, but the epigenetic modifications associated with these adaptations have not been characterized. Results We investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in Tibetan chicken blood by using whole genome bisulfite sequencing. Generally, Tibetan chickens exhibited analogous methylation patterns to that of lowland chickens. A total of 3.92% of genomic cytosines were methylcytosines and 51.22% of cytosines in CG contexts were methylated, which was less than those in lowland chicken (55.69%). Moreover, the base adjacent to the methylcytosines of mCHGs in Tibetan chickens had a preference for T, which was different from that in lowland chickens. In Tibetan chickens, the methylation levels in the promoter were relatively low, while the gene body was also maintained in a hypomethylated state. DNA methylation levels in regions upstream of the transcription start site of genes were negatively correlated with the level of gene expression, and DNA methylation of gene body regions was also negatively related to gene expression. Conclusions We generated the genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in Tibetan chickens and our results will be helpful for future epigenetic studies related to adaptations to high-altitude conditions.
Learning Contours for Automatic Annotations of Mountains Pictures on a Smartphone

In the last few years the ubiquity and computational power of modern smartphones, together with the significant progresses made on wireless broadband technologies, have made Augmented Reality (AR) technically feasible in consumer devices. In this paper we present an AR application for mobile phones to augment pictures of mountainous landscapes with geo-referenced data (e.g. the peaks' names, positions of mountain dews or hiking tracks). Our application is based on a novel approach for image-to-world registration, which exploits different information collected with on-board sensors. First, GPS and inertial sensors are used to compute a rough estimate of device position and orientation, then visual cues are exploited to refine it. Specifically, a new learning-based contour detection method based on Random Ferns is used to extract visible mountain profiles from a picture, which are then aligned to synthetic ones obtained from Digital Elevation Models. This solution guarantees an increased accuracy with respect to previous works based only on sensors or on standard edge detection and filtering algorithms. An experimental evaluation conducted on a large set of manually aligned photographs demonstrates that the proposed registration method is both accurate in reconstructing camera position and orientation, and computationally efficient when implemented on a smartphone.
Effects of initial length on intrinsic tone in guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle.

In the guinea pig, tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) exhibits intrinsic tone (IT). The active nature of IT suggests that it could be influenced by muscle length and load. In the guinea pig, IT is entirely suppressed by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. IT could be measured as the difference between resting tone before and after indomethacin addition. We examined, in electrically stimulated TSM strips ( n= 9), the influence of initial muscle length ( L i) on IT, the relationship between IT and the maximum extent of relaxation (ΔF1), and the influence of indomethacin on active isometric force. When L i decreased from 100 to 75% of optimal L i, there was a significant decrease in IT (from 12.0 ± 0.2 to 5.3 ± 0.1 mN; P < 0.001). Over the range of L i studied, ΔF1 underestimated the amount of IT, but there was a close linear relationship between ΔF1 and IT ( r = 0.9). Compared with the basal state, indomethacin increased active isometric force (from 9.5 ± 1.0 to 19.7 ± 2.0 mN at optimal L i; P < 0.001) and induced its length dependency. In guinea pig TSM, L i was an important determinant of IT.
Host and Cropping System Shape the Fusarium Population: 3ADON-Producers Are Ubiquitous in Wheat Whereas NIV-Producers Are More Prevalent in Rice

In recent years, Fusarium head blight (FHB) outbreaks have occurred much more frequently in China. The reduction of burning of the preceding crop residues is suggested to contribute to more severe epidemics as it may increase the initial inoculum. In this study, a large number of Fusarium isolates was collected from blighted wheat spikes as well as from rice stubble with perithecia originating from nine sampling sites in five provinces in Southern China. Fusarium asiaticum dominated both wheat and rice populations, although rice populations showed a higher species diversity. Chemotype analysis showed that rice is the preferred niche for NIV mycotoxin producers that were shown to be less virulent on wheat. In contrast, 3ADON producers are more prevalent on wheat and in wheat producing areas. The 3ADON producers were shown to be more virulent on wheat, revealing the selection pressure of wheat on 3ADON producers. For the first time, members of the Incarnatum-clade of Fusarium Incarnatum-Equiseti Species Complex (FIESC) were found to reproduce sexually on rice stubble. The pathogenicity of FIESC isolates on wheat proved very low and this may cause the apparent absence of this species in the main wheat producing provinces. This is the first report of the Fusarium population structure including rice stubble as well as a direct comparison with the population on wheat heads in the same fields. Our results confirm that the perithecia on rice stubble are the primary inoculum of FHB on wheat and that cropping systems affect the local Fusarium population.
Cardiac myocyte calcium transport in phospholamban knockout mouse: relaxation and endogenous CaMKII effects.

Increases in heart rate are accompanied by acceleration of relaxation. This effect is apparent at the single myocyte level and depends on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca transport and Ca/calmodulin dependent protein kinase [CaMKII; see R. A. Bassani, A. Mattiazzi, and D. M. Bers. Am. J. Physiol. 268 ( Heart Circ. Physiol. 37): H703-H712, 1995]. Because phosphorylation of phospholamban (PLB) by CaMKII can stimulate SR Ca transport, it is a plausible candidate mechanism. We examined this issue using ventricular myocytes isolated from wild-type (WT) mice and those in which the PLB gene was ablated by gene targeting (PLB-KO). During steady-state (SS) stimulation, twitch relaxation and intracellular Ca concentration ([Ca]i) decline were significantly faster than after a rest in both WT and PLB-KO myocytes. Furthermore, the CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 (1 μM) abolished the stimulation-dependent acceleration of twitch [Ca]i decline in PLB-KO. This indicates that neither PLB nor its phosphorylation are required for the CaMKII-dependent acceleration of the SS twitch [Ca]i decline and relaxation. Other quantitative aspects of Ca transport in WT and PLB-KO myocytes were also examined. As expected, the time constant (τ) of [Ca]i decline during the SS twitch is much faster in PLB-KO than in WT myocytes (112 ± 6 vs. 188 ± 14 ms, P < 0.0001). There was also an increase in SS SR Ca load, based on the change of [Ca]i during rapid caffeine-induced contractures (CafC) with Na/Ca exchange blocked (565 ± 74 nM for WT, 1118 ± 133 nM for PLB-KO, P < 0.01). Accounting for cytosolic Ca buffering, this implies a 37% increase in SR Ca content. The τ for [Ca]idecline of the CafC with Na present indicated slower extrusion by Na/Ca exchange in the PLB-KO mouse (2.2 ± 0.2 s in WT vs. 3.2 ± 0.2 s in PLB-KO, P < 0.01), although exchanger protein expression was unchanged. Integrated Ca flux analysis in WT and PLB-KO myocytes, respectively, shows that 90 and 96% of Ca during twitch relaxation is removed by the SR Ca-ATPase, 9 and 3.4% by Na/Ca exchange, and 0.5 and 0.1% by slow mechanisms (mitochondria Ca uniporter and sarcolemmal Ca-ATPase). We conclude that the PLB-KO myocytes retain a CaMKII-dependent acceleration of SS twitch [Ca]i decline. The PLB-KO (vs. WT) myocytes also have higher SR Ca pump activity, higher SR Ca load, and reduced Na/Ca exchange activity.
Social transfer of alcohol withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia in female prairie voles

ABSTRACT The expression of pain serves as a way for animals to communicate potential dangers to nearby conspecifics. Recent research demonstrated that mice undergoing alcohol or morphine withdrawal, or inflammation, could socially communicate their hyperalgesia to nearby mice. However, it is unknown whether such social transfer of hyperalgesia can be observed in other species of rodents. Therefore, the present study investigated if the social transfer of hyperalgesia occurs in the highly social prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). We observe that adult female prairie voles undergoing withdrawal from voluntary two-bottle choice alcohol drinking display an increase in nociception. This alcohol withdrawal-induced hypersensitiity is socially transferred to female siblings within the same cage and female strangers housed in separate cages within the same room. These experiments reveal that the social transfer of pain phenomenon is not specific to inbred mouse strains and that prairie voles display alcohol withdrawal and social transfer-induced hyperalgesia.
Information scaling properties of heart rate variability.

Many chaos detection methods have proven inherently ambiguous in that they yield similar results for chaotic signals and correlated noise. The purpose of this work was to determine whether human resting heart period sequences have global properties characteristic of chaotic systems. We investigated the inherent global organization of heart period sequences by quantifying how the information content of the embedded sequences varied as a function of scale. We compared the information scaling characteristics of 60-min heart period sequences obtained from 10 healthy resting volunteers with those obtained from numerous periodic and chaotic control sequences. The information scaling properties of the heart period sequences were significantly different from those obtained for the controls, particularly at the coarsest scales ( P = 0.0003 vs. low-dimensional periodic controls; P = 0.0005 vs. low-dimensional chaotic controls; P = 0.0003 vs. low-dimensional periodic and chaotic controls). We also showed that nondeterministic components, such as large tachycardic (or bradycardic) events or aperiodic fluctuations, can lead to scaling characteristics similar to those observed for the resting heart period sequences. This, in addition to previous evidence from spectral, nonlinear predictability and lexical studies, favors an events-based approach to understanding heart rate variability.
Host ESCRT Proteins Are Required for Bromovirus RNA Replication Compartment Assembly and Function

Positive-strand RNA viruses genome replication invariably is associated with vesicles or other rearranged cellular membranes. Brome mosaic virus (BMV) RNA replication occurs on perinuclear endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes in ~70 nm vesicular invaginations (spherules). BMV RNA replication vesicles show multiple parallels with membrane-enveloped, budding retrovirus virions, whose envelopment and release depend on the host ESCRT (endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) membrane-remodeling machinery. We now find that deleting components of the ESCRT pathway results in at least two distinct BMV phenotypes. One group of genes regulate RNA replication and the frequency of viral replication complex formation, but had no effect on spherule size, while a second group of genes regulate RNA replication in a way or ways independent of spherule formation. In particular, deleting SNF7 inhibits BMV RNA replication > 25-fold and abolishes detectable BMV spherule formation, even though the BMV RNA replication proteins accumulate and localize normally on perinuclear ER membranes. Moreover, BMV ESCRT recruitment and spherule assembly depend on different sets of protein-protein interactions from those used by multivesicular body vesicles, HIV-1 virion budding, or tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) spherule formation. These and other data demonstrate that BMV requires cellular ESCRT components for proper formation and function of its vesicular RNA replication compartments. The results highlight growing but diverse interactions of ESCRT factors with many viruses and viral processes, and potential value of the ESCRT pathway as a target for broad-spectrum antiviral resistance.
Congenital megaconial myopathy due to a novel defect in the choline kinase Beta gene.

OBJECTIVES To describe the first American patient with a congenital muscle dystrophy characterized by the presence in muscle of gigantic mitochondria displaced to the periphery of the fibers and to stress the potential origin and effects of the mitochondrial changes. DESIGN Case report and documentation of a novel mutation in the gene encoding choline kinase beta (CHKB). SETTING Collaboration between 2 tertiary care academic institutions. PATIENT A 2-year-old African American boy with weakness and psychomotor delay. INTERVENTIONS Detailed clinical and laboratory studies, including muscle biopsy, biochemical analysis of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and sequencing of the CHKB gene. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Definition of unique mitochondrial changes in muscle. RESULTS This patient had the same clinical and laboratory features reported in the first cohort of patients, but he harbored a novel CHKB mutation and had isolated cytochrome c oxidase deficiency in muscle. CONCLUSIONS Besides confirming the phenotype of CHKB mutations, we propose that this disorder affects the mitochondria-associated membrane and the impaired phospholipid metabolism in the mitochondria-associated membrane causes both the abnormal size and displacement of muscle mitochondria.