Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Human Connexin40 Gene Polymorphisms With Atrial Vulnerability as a Risk Factor for Idiopathic Atrial Fibrillation

Alterations in distribution, density, and properties of cardiac gap junctions, which mediate electrical coupling of cardiomyocytes, are considered potentially arrhythmogenic. We recently reported 2 linked polymorphisms within regulatory regions of the gene for the atrial gap junction protein connexin40 (Cx40) at nucleotides −44 (G→A) and +71 (A→G), which were associated with familial atrial standstill. The present study examined whether these Cx40 polymorphisms were associated with increased atrial vulnerability in vivo and arrhythmia susceptibility. In 30 subjects without structural heart disease, of whom 14 had documented sporadic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) and 16 had no AF history, inducibility of AF was assessed using an increasingly aggressive atrial stimulation protocol. Coefficient of spatial dispersion of refractoriness (CD) was calculated. CD was defined as the SD of 12 local mean fibrillatory intervals recorded at right atrial sites, expressed as a percentage of the overall mean fibrillatory interval. Cx40 genotypes were determined by direct DNA sequencing. Subjects were stratified according to normal or increased CD with a cutoff value of 3.0, because CD >3.0 was previously shown to be strongly associated with enhanced atrial vulnerability. The prevalence of the minor Cx40 allele (−44A) and −44AA genotype was significantly higher in subjects with increased dispersion (n=13) compared with those with CD ≤3.0 (n=17; P=0.00046 and P=0.025; odds ratios of 6.7 and 7.4) and a control population (n=253; P=0.00002 and P=3.90×10−7). Carriers of −44AA genotype had a significantly higher CD compared with those with −44GG genotype (6.37±1.21 versus 2.38±0.39, P=0.018), whereas heterozygotes had intermediate values (3.95±1.38, NS). All subjects with increased CD had a history of idiopathic AF compared with only 1 subject with normal CD. The −44A allele and −44AA genotype were significantly more frequent in subjects with prior AF than in those without (P=0.0019 and P=0.031; odds ratios 5.3 and 6.2). This study provides strong evidence linking Cx40 polymorphisms to enhanced atrial vulnerability and increased risk of AF. The full text of this article is available online at http://circres.ahajournals. org.
Constructive and Destructive Post-Conflict Forgiveness

The current discourse on the process of sociopolitical forgiveness in war-torn societies bifurcates into two seemingly contradictory perspectives. Religious moralists tend to perceive forgiveness as always good, while individuals immersed in the realpolitik of social con icts tend to see forgiveness as always bad. This article aims to narrow the cognitive gap between moral thinkers and sociopolitical practitioners by exploring the conditional elements that result in constructive or destructive forgiveness.
Essential role of caldesmon in the actin filament reorganization induced by glucocorticoids

Glucocorticoids induce the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton and the formation of numerous stress fibers in a protein synthesis-dependent fashion in a variety of cell types (Castellino, F., J. Heuser, S. Marchetti, B. Bruno, and A. Luini. 1992. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 89:3775-3779). These cells can thus be used as models to investigate the mechanisms controlling the organization of actin filaments. Caldesmon is an almost ubiquitous actin- and calmodulin-binding protein that synergizes with tropomyosin to stabilize microfilaments in vitro (Matsumura, F., and Yamashiro, S. 1993. Current Opin. Cell Biol. 5:70- 76). We now report that glucocorticoids (but not other steroids) enhanced the levels of caldesmon (both protein and mRNA) and induced the reorganization of microfilaments with similar time courses and potencies in A549 cells. A caldesmon antisense oligodeoxynucleotide targeted to the most abundant caldesmon isoform in A549 cells dramatically inhibited glucocorticoid-induced caldesmon synthesis and actin reorganization with similar potencies. Several control oligonucleotides were inactive. These results demonstrate that caldesmon has a crucial role in vivo in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton and suggest that hormone-induced changes in caldesmon levels mediate microfilament remodeling.
Necessity and Possibility of Using Up-To-Date Scientific Results in Sustainable Development: GIS and Community Participation

Continuous degradation of natural values and natural resources is often due not to unforeseen catastrophes, processes out of our control, but unintended consequences of expertly planned development processes of good intention. This trend would easily continue due to EU-financed developments. Proper solutions need communication and cooperation among different disciplines: ecology, economy, rural development, techniques, sociology, law, and so on. The META database aims to document and scientifically evaluate the present state of Hungarian vegetation. It helps with more effective protection of natural and landscape values determining life quality and nationwide optimal planning of landscape use.
Serum Trans Fatty Acids Are Not Associated with Weight Gain or Linear Growth in School-Age Children.

BACKGROUND Animal and human adult studies indicate that long-term intake of trans fatty acids (TFAs) may be associated with weight gain. High intake of fast foods and snacks, which are rich in TFAs, is linked to overweight status among school-age children. However, the specific effects of TFAs in this population are unknown. OBJECTIVE We examined whether serum TFAs, used as biomarkers of intake, are associated with faster weight gain and linear growth during school years. METHODS We quantified TFAs by GLC in serum samples of 668 children aged 5-12 y at the time of recruitment into an ongoing cohort study performed in Bogota (Colombia) since 2006. Serum proportions of trans palmitoleic acid (16:1t), trans oleic acid (18:1t), trans linoleic acid (18:2t), and total TFAs were used as biomarkers of intake. Anthropometric characteristics were measured periodically for a median of 30 mo. Body mass index-for-age z scores (BAZs) and height-for-age z scores (HAZs) were calculated with the use of the WHO reference. We estimated mean changes in BAZs and HAZs over follow-up according to quartiles of each TFA at baseline by using mixed-effects regression models with restricted cubic splines. RESULTS Proportions of trans palmitoleic acid, trans oleic acid, trans linoleic acid, and total TFAs (mean ± SD, % of total serum FAs), were 0.22 ± 0.06, 0.91 ± 0.37, 0.96 ± 0.27, and 2.10 ± 0.59, respectively. Serum TFAs were not associated with changes in BAZs and HAZs after adjusting for sex, baseline age, and socioeconomic status. In a subgroup analysis by sex, serum trans palmitoleic acid was positively associated with the estimated change in HAZs from ages 6 to 14 y in boys (with use of the first quartile as the reference, differences in HAZs for trans palmitoleic acid quartiles were 0.73, 0.53, and 0.70, P-trend = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS Proportions of serum TFAs, used as biomarkers of TFA intake, were not associated with weight gain in children aged 6-14 y in low- and middle-income populations in Bogota. The proportion of trans palmitoleic acid was positively associated with linear growth in boys. Longer follow-up and studies in diverse cohorts with wider ranges of TFA intake are warranted.
Teste de padrão harmônico em escuta dicótica com dígitos - TDDH

PURPOSE: The aims of this study are the development of an auditory processing test with musical stimuli in dichotic tasks, the characterization of the performance of normal hearing subjects and the comparison between the results and those in the Digits Dichotic Test (TDD). METHODS: The auditory processing test with musical stimuli was elaborated with harmonic digits. The test was denominated Harmonic Pattern Dichotic Digits Test (TDDH) and comprised biaural integration and two stages of biaural separation (left/right), each one with 20 items made up of four harmonic digits. It was applied in 40 individuals of both sexes. They were all adults, their ages ranged from 19 to 52 years old and they spoke Brazilian Portuguese. RESULTS: The results were compared to results of the TDD applied in the same individuals. The individuals had approximately 99% success in all the stages, their performance was higher than the one observed in the TDD - stages of biaural separation. CONCLUSION: We believe that the test elaborated for this study showed applicability in normal hearing individuals. The use of musical stimuli seems to make the performance of individuals easier than the dichotic verbal tests.
Introduction to instrumented indentation testing

IIT is used to measure mechanical properties at the nanometer scale. It is an essential tool for evaluating films, coatings, and surface layers which are used to improve mechanical performance and longevity. The contact-mechanics theory behind IIT is complex, but commercial systems simplify the implementation. In practice, IIT is one of the simplest and fastest types of mechanical testing, because sample preparation is relatively easy, and hundreds of tests can be performed on a single sample.
Activation of Mitogen‐Activated Protein Kinases in Oligodendrocytes

Abstract: The proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitors are stringently controlled by an interacting network of growth and differentiation factors. Not much is known, however, about the intracellular signaling pathways activated in oligodendrocytes. In this study, we have examined the activation of mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase [also called extracellular signal‐regulated protein kinases (ERKs)] in primary cultures of developing oligodendrocytes and in a primary oligodendrocyte cell line, CG4, in response to platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor. MAP kinase activation was determined by an in‐gel protein kinase renaturation assay using myelin basic protein (MBP) as the substrate. The specificity of MAP kinase activation was further confirmed by an immune complex kinase assay using anti‐MAP kinase antibodies. Stimulation of oligodendrocyte progenitors with the growth factors PDGF and basic fibroblast growth factor and a protein kinase C‐activating tumor promoter, phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate, resulted in a rapid activation of p42mapk (ERK2) and, to a lesser extent, p44mapk (ERK1). Immunoblot analysis with anti‐phosphotyrosine antibodies revealed an increased Tyr phosphorylation of a 42‐kDa phosphoprotein band cross‐reacting with anti‐MAP kinase antibodies. The phosphorylation of p42mapk in PDGF‐treated oligodendrocyte progenitors was preceded by a robust autophosphorylation of the growth factor receptor. Immunoblot analysis with anti‐pan‐ERK antibodies indicated the presence of ERK‐immunoreactive species other than p42mapk and p44mapk in oligodendrocytes. The presence of some of the same pan‐ERK‐immunoreactive species and certain renaturable MBP kinase activities was also demonstrable in myelin preparations from rat brain, suggesting that MAP kinases (and other MBP kinases) may function not only during oligodendrogenesis but also in myelinogenesis.
The Multiple Observation Time Test Strategy

The authors consider the test generation problem, for synchronous sequential circuits in the case where hardware reset is not available (or cannot be assumed to be fault free). It is shown that the conventional testing approach, in which a fault is detected at a single predetermined time unit along the test sequence and in which the response of the circuit under test is compared against a single fault-free response, valid for all initial states of the circuit, can cause detectable faults to be declared undetectable. The use of a small number of different observation times and a small number of fault-free responses can allow the fault to be detected. Based on this observation, the use of multiple fault free responses and multiple time units for observation of the response of the circuit under test is suggested and test generation algorithms under the multiple observation time test strategy are given. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of the multiple-observation-time strategy in increasing the fault coverage. >
Anaphora resolution in near-native speakers of Italian

This study presents data from an experiment on the interpretation of intrasentential anaphora in Italian by native Italian speakers and by English speakers who have learned Italian as adults and have reached a near-native level of proficiency in this language. The two groups of speakers were presented with complex sentences consisting of a main clause and a subordinate clause, in which the subordinate clause had either an overt pronoun or a null subject pronoun. In half of the sentences the main clause preceded the subordinate clause (forward anaphora) and in the other half the subordinate clause preceded the main clause (backward anaphora). Participants performed in a picture verification task in which they had to indicate the picture(s) that corresponded to the meaning of the subordinate clause, thus identifying the possible antecedents of the null or overt subject pronouns. The patterns of responses of the two groups were very similar with respect to the null subject pronouns in both the forward and backward anaphora conditions. Compared to native monolingual speakers, however, the near-natives had a significantly higher preference for the subject of the matrix clause as a possible antecedent of overt subject pronouns, particularly in the backward anaphora condition. The results indicate that near-native speakers have acquired the syntactic constraints on pronominal subjects in Italian, but may have residual indeterminacy in the interface processing strategies they employ in interpreting pronominal forms.
Organizational Resources and Environmental Incentives: Understanding the Policy Advocacy Involvement of Human Service Nonprofits

Participation in policy advocacy by human service nonprofits has the potential to both strategically position organizations in their environment and promote client well‐being. Despite these possible benefits, however, many human service nonprofits do not engage in policy advocacy. This article helps explain why, by placing advocacy involvement in a broad theoretical context and providing evidence on the factors that best explain involvement. It presents a new conceptual framework that employs both resource mobilization theory and resource dependency theory to outline why a variety of organizational resources and environmental incentives may influence participation. That framework is assessed using large‐scale survey data. Results suggest that advocacy is most common among organizations that have already achieved some success, as evidenced by having relatively large size, professional leadership, strong collaborative ties, use of e‐mail, and high levels of government funding. Overall, advocacy is found to be a more professionalized endeavor than previously thought.
An SMO Algorithm for the Potential Support Vector Machine

We describe a fast sequential minimal optimization (SMO) procedure for solving the dual optimization problem of the recently proposed potential support vector machine (P-SVM). The new SMO consists of a sequence of iteration steps in which the Lagrangian is optimized with respect to either one (single SMO) or two (dual SMO) of the Lagrange multipliers while keeping the other variables fixed. An efficient selection procedure for Lagrange multipliers is given, and two heuristics for improving the SMO procedure are described: block optimization and annealing of the regularization parameter . A comparison of the variants shows that the dual SMO, including block optimization and annealing, performs efficiently in terms of computation time. In contrast to standard support vector machines (SVMs), the P-SVM is applicable to arbitrary dyadic data sets, but benchmarks are provided against libSVM's -SVR and C-SVC implementations for problems that are also solvable by standard SVM methods. For those problems, computation time of the P-SVM is comparable to or somewhat higher than the standard SVM. The number of support vectors found by the P-SVM is usually much smaller for the same generalization performance.
Screening the Budding Yeast Genome Reveals Unique Factors Affecting K2 Toxin Susceptibility

Background Understanding how biotoxins kill cells is of prime importance in biomedicine and the food industry. The budding yeast (S. cerevisiae) killers serve as a convenient model to study the activity of biotoxins consistently supplying with significant insights into the basic mechanisms of virus-host cell interactions and toxin entry into eukaryotic target cells. K1 and K2 toxins are active at the cell wall, leading to the disruption of the plasma membrane and subsequent cell death by ion leakage. K28 toxin is active in the cell nucleus, blocking DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression, thereby triggering apoptosis. Genome-wide screens in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae identified several hundred effectors of K1 and K28 toxins. Surprisingly, no such screen had been performed for K2 toxin, the most frequent killer toxin among industrial budding yeasts. Principal Findings We conducted several concurrent genome-wide screens in S. cerevisiae and identified 332 novel K2 toxin effectors. The effectors involved in K2 resistance and hypersensitivity largely map in distinct cellular pathways, including cell wall and plasma membrane structure/biogenesis and mitochondrial function for K2 resistance, and cell wall stress signaling and ion/pH homeostasis for K2 hypersensitivity. 70% of K2 effectors are different from those involved in K1 or K28 susceptibility. Significance Our work demonstrates that despite the fact that K1 and K2 toxins share some aspects of their killing strategies, they largely rely on different sets of effectors. Since the vast majority of the host factors identified here is exclusively active towards K2, we conclude that cells have acquired a specific K2 toxin effectors set. Our work thus indicates that K1 and K2 have elaborated different biological pathways and provides a first step towards the detailed characterization of K2 mode of action.
A HOMOTOPIC APPROACH TO CARTOGRAPHIC GENERALIZATION

Given a collection of objects on a map, we seek a method of enlarging the objects over time so that these objects are still visible when the map is zoomed out. This question is brought to rigor as well-defined problems in homotopic deformation. We ask the objects, over time, to preserve topology, area-ratios and relative position. A solution is conjectured, using differential methods, leading to possible applications to cartograms. The problem is also extended to include the notion of epsilon-separation.
The Limits of Service-Learning in Higher Education

This article takes a critical look at the attempted institutionalization of service-learning in higher education. It asks whether service-learning can become deeply embedded within the academy; and if so, what exactly is becoming embedded. Specifically, this article suggests that there are substantial pedagogical, political, and institutional limits to service-learning across the academy. These limits, moreover, are shown to be inherent to the service-learning movement as contemporarily theorized and enacted. The article concludes by reframing some of the grounding assumptions of service-learning to position it as a disciplinary field more suited for becoming genuinely embedded within higher education.
Large-Scale Sequence Analysis of Hemagglutinin of Influenza A Virus Identifies Conserved Regions Suitable for Targeting an Anti-Viral Response

Background Influenza A viral surface protein, hemagglutinin, is the major target of neutralizing antibody response and hence a main constituent of all vaccine formulations. But due to its marked evolutionary variability, vaccines have to be reformulated so as to include the hemagglutinin protein from the emerging new viral strain. With the constant fear of a pandemic, there is critical need for the development of anti-viral strategies that can provide wider protection against any Influenza A pathogen. An anti-viral approach that is directed against the conserved regions of the hemaggutinin protein has a potential to protect against any current and new Influenza A virus and provide a solution to this ever-present threat to public health. Methodology/Principal Findings Influenza A human hemagglutinin protein sequences available in the NCBI database, corresponding to H1, H2, H3 and H5 subtypes, were used to identify highly invariable regions of the protein. Nine such regions were identified and analyzed for structural properties like surface exposure, hydrophilicity and residue type to evaluate their suitability for targeting an anti-peptide antibody/anti-viral response. Conclusion/Significance This study has identified nine conserved regions in the hemagglutinin protein, five of which have the structural characteristics suitable for an anti-viral/anti-peptide response. This is a critical step in the design of efficient anti-peptide antibodies as novel anti-viral agents against any Influenza A pathogen. In addition, these anti-peptide antibodies will provide broadly cross-reactive immunological reagents and aid the rapid development of vaccines against new and emerging Influenza A strains.
Mutation Operators for Preprocessor-Based Variability

Mutation testing has emerged as one of the most promising techniques to increase the quality of software-intensive systems. In mutation testing, random faults based on a predefined set of mutation operators are automatically injected into a program to evaluate test suites. The effectiveness of mutation testing strongly depends on the representativeness of the mutation operators. Existing operators are not sufficient to represent typical faults caused by variability. Thus, we propose a set of mutation operators for software with preprocessor-based variability. We derive the operators systematically based on a taxonomy of variability-related faults and evaluate them by investigating their applicability to real-world faults that have previously been identified in research on configurable software systems. Our goal is to leverage mutation testing to highly-variable software for its practical application and to enable empirical evaluation of testing techniques.
Bioinformatics Applications Note Systems Biology Integrated Pathway-level Analysis of Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Data with Impala

Pathway-level analysis is a powerful approach enabling interpretation of post-genomic data at a higher level than that of individual biomolecules. Yet, it is currently hard to integrate more than one type of omics data in such an approach. Here, we present a web tool 'IMPaLA' for the joint pathway analysis of transcriptomics or proteomics and metabolomics data. It performs over-representation or enrichment analysis with user-specified lists of metabolites and genes using over 3000 pre-annotated pathways from 11 databases. As a result, pathways can be identified that may be disregulated on the transcriptional level, the metabolic level or both. Evidence of pathway disregulation is combined, allowing for the identification of additional pathways with changed activity that would not be highlighted when analysis is applied to any of the functional levels alone. The tool has been implemented both as an interactive website and as a web service to allow a programming interface.