Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of Key Prostaglandin Synthases in Equine Endometrium During Late Diestrus and Early Pregnancy1

Abstract Luteolysis in domestic species is mediated by the release of luteolytic pulses of prostaglandin (PG) F2α by the uterus at the end of diestrus, which must be suppressed by the conceptus to permit maternal recognition of pregnancy. In many species, including the horse, both the conceptus and the endometrium also synthesize PGE2, which may antagonize PGF2α by playing a luteotropic and/or antiluteolytic role. While the release of PGE2 and PGF2α by the equine endometrium in late diestrus and early pregnancy has been previously studied, the underlying prostaglandin synthase gene regulatory mechanisms remain poorly defined. To resolve this issue, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), microsomal PGE2 synthase (PGES), and PGF2α synthase (PGFS) expression were examined in a series of endometrial biopsies obtained from cycling mares on Days 10, 13, and 15 postovulation, as well as from pregnant mares on Day 15. Quantification of COX-2 expression revealed significant (P < 0.01) increases in both mRNA and protein levels at Day 15 in cycling endometrium relative to other timepoints. Importantly, the level of COX-2 expression in Day 15 pregnant endometrium was found to be comparable with that observed in Day 10 and Day 13 cycling animals, suggesting that the presence of the conceptus blocks the induction of COX-2. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the induction of COX-2 expression on Day 15 occurs specifically in surface epithelial cells in cycling animals only. As equine PGFS had not been previously characterized, a 1380-base pair (bp) cDNA transcript was cloned by a combination of reverse transcription-PCR techniques and found to be highly homologous to bovine liver-type PGFS. The pattern of expression observed for the terminal PG synthases was distinct from that of COX-2, as PGES and PGFS mRNA and protein levels were found to be invariant throughout the timecourse and unaffected by pregnancy. Similar to COX-2, however, the PGES and PGFS proteins were found to localize mainly to the surface epithelium. Thus, this study describes for the first time the regulation and spatial distribution of COX-2, PGES, and PGFS expression in equine endometrium in late diestrus, with a marked induction of COX-2 but not of PGES and PGFS expression in uterine epithelial cells at Day 15. Furthermore, the presence of the conceptus was shown to block the induction of COX-2 expression at Day 15, suggesting an important mechanism by which it may suppress uterine PGF2α release and prevent luteolysis during early pregnancy.
CELIO: An application development framework for interactive spaces

Developing applications for interactive space is different from developing cross-platform applications for personal computing. Input, output, and architectural variations in each interactive space introduce big overhead in terms of cost and time for developing, deploying and maintaining applications for interactive spaces. Often, these applications become on-off experience tied to the deployed spaces. To alleviate this problem and enable rapid responsive space design applications similar to responsive web design, we present CELIO application development framework for interactive spaces. The framework is micro services based and neatly decouples application and design specifications from hardware and architecture specifications of an interactive space. In this paper, we describe this framework and its implementation details. Also, we briefly discuss the use cases developed using this framework.
Oleocanthal, a Phenolic Derived from Virgin Olive Oil: A Review of the Beneficial Effects on Inflammatory Disease

Virgin olive oil (VOO) is credited as being one of many healthful components of the Mediterranean diet. Mediterranean populations experience reduced incidence of chronic inflammatory disease states and VOO is readily consumed as part of an everyday dietary pattern. A phenolic compound contained in VOO, named oleocanthal, shares unique perceptual and anti-inflammatory characteristics with Ibuprofen. Over recent years oleocanthal has become a compound of interest in the search for naturally occurring compounds with pharmacological qualities. Subsequent to its discovery and identification, oleocanthal has been reported to exhibit various modes of action in reducing inflammatory related disease, including joint-degenerative disease, neuro-degenerative disease and specific cancers. Therefore, it is postulated that long term consumption of VOO containing oleocanthal may contribute to the health benefits associated with the Mediterranean dietary pattern. The following paper summarizes the current literature on oleocanthal, in terms of its sensory and pharmacological properties, and also discusses the beneficial, health promoting activities of oleocanthal, in the context of the molecular mechanisms within various models of disease.
Redistribution Mechanisms for the Assignment of Heterogeneous Objects

There are p heterogeneous objects to be assigned to n competing agents (n > p) each with unit demand. It is required to design a Groves mechanism for this assignment problem satisfying weak budget balance, individual rationality, and minimizing the budget imbalance. This calls for designing an appropriate rebate function. When the objects are identical, this problem has been solved which we refer as WCO mechanism. We measure the performance of such mechanisms by the redistribution index. We first prove an impossibility theorem which rules out linear rebate functions with non-zero redistribution index in heterogeneous object assignment. Motivated by this theorem, we explore two approaches to get around this impossibility. In the first approach, we show that linear rebate functions with non-zero redistribution index are possible when the valuations for the objects have a certain type of relationship and we design a mechanism with linear rebate function that is worst case optimal. In the second approach, we show that rebate functions with non-zero efficiency are possible if linearity is relaxed. We extend the rebate functions of the WCO mechanism to heterogeneous objects assignment and conjecture them to be worst case optimal.
MORPHOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, AND SEROLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE CELL WALLS OF RICKETTSIA MOOSERI

A membrane surrounding the protoplasm of rickettsiae has been demonstrated electronmicroscopically by Plotz et al. (1943) and Wissig et al. (1956) in air dried preparations, and by Stoker et al. (1956) and Tousimis (1956) in ultrathin sections. This limiting membrane may be considered to represent the cell wall of these organisms and to correspond to the analogous structure of bacteria. Extensive serological and chemical studies have been carried out on isolated bacterial cell walls (see review by Salton, 1956, and Work, 1957). These investigations point a way to establishing a correlation between structure and function which cannot be achieved in studies on intact, whole organisms. Furthermore, characteristic differences in the chemical composition of cell walls of various bacteria have proved of distinct taxonomic value (Cummins and Harris, 1956). Since rickettsiae are considered an intermediate group of organisms between bacteria and viruses, knowledge of the properties of their cell walls are of particular interest. The present work deals with the preparation and purification of cell walls from Rickettsia mooseri, the agent of murine typhus. A new fractionation procedure has been employed, involving the action of sodium desoxycholate on these organisms.
Hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure is caused by mutations in the titin FN3 119 domain.

Sir, Hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure (HMERF) is a neuromuscular disease associated with aggregation of various proteins in muscle fibres and muscle degeneration (Fig. 1) and was described in detail in several families by Edstrom et al. (1990). Linkage analyses indicated that the disease locus was in the distal part of the long arm of chromosome 2 (Nicolao et al. , 1999). Titin was a candidate gene and a missense variant that segregated with the disease in …
Metropolis Algorithms in Generalized Ensemble

In complex systems such as spin systems and protein systems, conventional simulations in the canonical ensemble will get trapped in states of energy local minima. We employ the generalized‐ensemble algorithms in order to overcome this multiple‐minima problem. Two well‐known generalized‐ensemble algorithms, namely, multicanonical algorithm and replica‐exchange method, are described. We then present four new generalized‐ensemble algorithms as further extensions of the two methods. Effectiveness of the new methods are illustrated with a Potts model, Lennard‐Jones fluid system, and protein system.
Purinergic signalling: Its unpopular beginning, its acceptance and its exciting future

Adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (ATP) was identified in 1970 as the transmitter responsible for non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic neurotransmission in the gut and bladder and the term ‘purinergic’ was coined. Purinergic cotransmission was proposed in 1976 and ATP is now recognized as a cotransmitter in all nerves in the peripheral and central nervous systems. P1 (adenosine) and P2 (ATP) receptors were distinguished in 1978. Cloning of these receptors in the early 1990s was a turning point in the acceptance of the purinergic signalling hypothesis. There are both short‐term purinergic signalling in neurotransmission, neuromodulation and secretion and long‐term (trophic) purinergic signalling of cell proliferation, differentiation and death in development and regeneration. Much is known about the mechanisms of ATP release and its breakdown by ectonucleotidases. Recently, there has been emphasis on purinergic pathophysiology, including neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Purinergic therapeutic strategies are being developed for treatment of gut, kidney, bladder, lung, skeletal and reproductive system disorders, pain and cancer.
Diagnosing Tests: Using and Misusing Diagnostic and Screening Tests

Tests can be used either diagnostically (i.e., to confirm or rule out the presence of a condition in people suspected of having it) or as a screening instrument (determining who in a large group of people has the condition and often when those people are unaware of it or unwilling to admit to it). Tests that may be useful and accurate for diagnosis may actually do more harm than good when used as a screening instrument. The reason is that the proportion of false negatives may be high when the prevalence is high, and the proportion of false positives tends to be high when the prevalence of the condition is low (the usual situation with screening tests). My first aim of this article is to discuss the effects of the base rate, or prevalence, of a disorder on the accuracy of test results. My second aim is to review some of the many diagnostic efficiency statistics that can be derived from a 2 × 2 table, including the overall correct classification rate, kappa, phi, the odds ratio, positive and negative predictive power and some variants of them, and likelihood ratios. In the last part of this article, I review the recent Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy guidelines (Bossuyt et al., 2003) for reporting the results of diagnostic tests and extend them to cover the types of tests used by psychologists.
Heparan sulfate and heparin interactions with proteins

Heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides are ubiquitous components of the cell surface and extracellular matrix of all multicellular animals, whereas heparin is present within mast cells and can be viewed as a more sulfated, tissue-specific, HS variant. HS and heparin regulate biological processes through interactions with a large repertoire of proteins. Owing to these interactions and diverse effects observed during in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo experiments, manifold biological/pharmacological activities have been attributed to them. The properties that have been thought to bestow protein binding and biological activity upon HS and heparin vary from high levels of sequence specificity to a dependence on charge. In contrast to these opposing opinions, we will argue that the evidence supports both a level of redundancy and a degree of selectivity in the structure–activity relationship. The relationship between this apparent redundancy, the multi-dentate nature of heparin and HS polysaccharide chains, their involvement in protein networks and the multiple binding sites on proteins, each possessing different properties, will also be considered. Finally, the role of cations in modulating HS/heparin activity will be reviewed and some of the implications for structure–activity relationships and regulation will be discussed.
Susceptibility of Germfree Phagocyte Oxidase- and Nitric Oxide Synthase 2-Deficient Mice, Defective in the Production of Reactive Metabolites of Both Oxygen and Nitrogen, to Mucosal and Systemic Candidiasis of Endogenous Origin

ABSTRACT Mice deficient for phagocyte oxidase (Phox) and nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) (gp91phox−/−/NOS2−/−), defective in the production of both reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) and reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI), were used to investigate the role of phagocytic cells during mucosal and systemic candidiasis of endogenous origin. The alimentary tracts of germfree mice were colonized with Candida albicans wild type or each of two hyphal signaling-defective mutants (efg1/efg1 and efg1/efg1 cph1/cph1). All Candida-colonized gp91phox−/−/NOS2−/− mice were moribund within 12 to 15 days after oral inoculation. C. albicans wild-type and mutant strains colonized the alimentary tracts equally well and were able to translocate, most likely via Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes, to the internal organs and trigger the formation of abscesses; however, the wild-type and mutant strains did not survive in the abscessed murine tissues. Surprisingly, there was no significant difference in the ability of peritoneal exudate cells from gp91phox−/−/NOS2−/−, NOS2−/−, gp91phox−/−, or immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice to kill C. albicans in vitro. This suggests that anti-Candida factors other than ROI and RNI can control the growth of C. albicans and that gp91phox−/−/NOS2−/− mice die due to the inability of the host to control its inflammatory response to Candida. Correspondingly, reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed increased expression of the cytokines gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and the chemokines MIP-2 and KC at the site of infection, while interleukin-15 expression remained relatively unchanged between germfree and infected tissues. These studies indicate that defects in ROI and RNI enabled C. albicans to translocate and disseminate to the internal organs, resulting in an uncontrolled immune response, severe pathology, and death; however, ROI and RNI were not required for the killing of phagocytized C. albicans, indicating that other anti-Candida factors either compensate or are sufficient for the killing of phagocytized Candida.
Local Intramedullary Delivery of Vancomycin Can Prevent the Development of Long Bone Staphylococcus aureus Infection

Current treatments for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections require intravenously delivered vancomycin; however, systemically delivered vancomycin has its problems. To determine the feasibility and safety of locally delivering vancomycin hydrochloride (~25 mg/Kg) to the medullary canal of long bones, we conducted a pharmacokinetics study using a rat tibia model. We found that administering the vancomycin intraosseously resulted in very low concentrations of vancomycin in the blood plasma and the muscle surrounding the tibia, reducing the risk for systemic toxicity, which is often seen with traditional intravenous administration of vancomycin. Additionally, we were able to inhibit the development of osteomyelitis in the tibia if the treatment was administered locally at the same time as a bacterial inoculum (i.e., Log10 7.82 CFU/mL or 6.62x107 CFU/mL), when compared to an untreated group. These findings suggest that local intramedullary vancomycin delivery can achieve sufficiently high local concentrations to prevent development of osteomyelitis while minimizing systemic toxicity.
Phonetic speaker recognition

This paper introduces a novel language-independent speaker-recognition system based on differences in dynamic realization of phonetic features (i.e., pronunciation) between speakers rather than spectral differences in voice quality. The system exploits phonetic information from six languages to perform text independent speaker recognition. All experiments were performed on the NIST 2001 Speaker Recognition Evaluation Extended Data Task. Recognition results are provided for unigram, bigram, and trigram models. Performance for each of the three models is examined for phones from each individual language and the final multilanguage fused system. Additional fusion experiments demonstrate that speaker recognition capability is maintained even without phonetic information in the language of the speaker.
Task force report: Scales for screening and evaluating tremor: Critique and recommendations

The Movement Disorder Society established a task force to review rating scales for the assessment of tremor. Screening instruments used in identifying patients with tremor were also reviewed. Seven tremor severity scales, six activities of daily living (ADL)/disability scales, four quality‐of‐life scales, and five screening instruments were identified by searching PubMed.gov. The availability, use, acceptability, reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change were reviewed for each scale; and each scale was classified as recommended, suggested or listed based on whether 3, 2, or 1 of the following criteria were met: (1) used in the assessment of tremor (yes/no), (2) used in published studies by people other than the developers (yes/no), and (3) successful clinimetric testing (yes/no). Five tremor severity scales (the Fahn‐Tolosa‐Marin Tremor Rating Scale, the Bain and Findley Clinical Tremor Rating Scale, the Bain and Findley Spirography Scale, the Washington Heights‐Inwood Genetic Study of Essential Tremor Rating Scale, and the Tremor Research Group Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale), one ADL/disability scale (the Bain and Findley Tremor ADL Scale), one quality‐of‐life scale (the Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire), and one screening instrument (the Washington Heights‐Inwood Genetic Study of Essential Tremor Rating Scale, version 1) are recommended using these criteria. However, all scales need a more comprehensive analysis of sensitivity to change in order to judge their utility in clinical trials and individual patient assessments. The task force recommends that further work with existing recommended scales be performed as opposed to the development of new tremor scales. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
C-type natriuretic peptide modulates quorum sensing molecule and toxin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa coordinates its virulence expression and establishment in the host in response to modification of its environment. During the infectious process, bacteria are exposed to and can detect eukaryotic products including hormones. It has been shown that P. aeruginosa is sensitive to natriuretic peptides, a family of eukaryotic hormones, through a cyclic nucleotide-dependent sensor system that modulates its cytotoxicity. We observed that pre-treatment of P. aeruginosa PAO1 with C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) increases the capacity of the bacteria to kill Caenorhabditis elegans through diffusive toxin production. In contrast, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) did not affect the capacity of the bacteria to kill C. elegans. The bacterial production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) was enhanced by both BNP and CNP whereas the production of phenazine pyocyanin was strongly inhibited by CNP. The amount of 2-heptyl-4-quinolone (HHQ), a precursor to 2-heptyl-3-hydroxyl-4-quinolone (Pseudomonas quinolone signal; PQS), decreased after CNP treatment. The quantity of 2-nonyl-4-quinolone (HNQ), another quinolone which is synthesized from HHQ, was also reduced after CNP treatment. Conversely, both BNP and CNP significantly enhanced bacterial production of acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) [e.g. 3-oxo-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (3OC12-HSL) and butanoylhomoserine lactone (C4-HSL)]. These results correlate with an induction of lasI transcription 1 h after bacterial exposure to BNP or CNP. Concurrently, pre-treatment of P. aeruginosa PAO1 with either BNP or CNP enhanced PAO1 exotoxin A production, via a higher toxA mRNA level. At the same time, CNP led to elevated amounts of algC mRNA, indicating that algC is involved in C. elegans killing. Finally, we observed that in PAO1, Vfr protein is essential to the pro-virulent effect of CNP whereas the regulator PtxR supports only a part of the CNP pro-virulent activity. Taken together, these data reinforce the hypothesis that during infection natriuretic peptides, particularly CNP, could enhance the virulence of PAO1. This activity is relayed by Vfr and PtxR activation, and a general diagram of the virulence activation cascade involving AHL, HCN and exotoxin A is proposed.
A normal simulation of coalition logic and an epistemic extension

In this paper we show how coalition logic can be reduced to the fusion of a normal modal STIT logic for agency and a standard normal temporal logic for discrete time, and how this multi-modal system can be suitably extended with an epistemic modality. Both systems are complete, and we provide a new axiomatization for the STIT-fragment. The epistemic extension enables us to express that agents see to something under uncertainty about the present state or uncertainty about which action is being taken. In accordance with established terminology in the planning community, we call this version of STIT the 'conformant STIT'. The conformant STIT enables us to express that agents are able to perform a uniform strategy. As a final word of recommendation for this paper we want to point out that its subject is at the junction of four academic fields, viz. modal logic, philosophy, game-theory and AI-planning.
“To Be, or Not to Be, That Is the Question”—The Cretan Extensional Detachment, Greece

We present new structural data from the contact zone between the high‐pressure Phyllite‐Quartzite unit (PQ) and the overlying non‐high‐pressure Tripolitza unit in east‐central Crete for testing propositions that this contact represents the top‐to‐the‐north Cretan extensional detachment. Detailed mapping in the Neapoli valley shows that the PQ/Tripolitza contact is associated with a shallowly dipping penetrative foliation and associated south‐southwest (SSW)‐trending stretching lineation in the PQ. Kinematic indicators yielded a consistent top‐to‐the‐SSW sense of shear. The Tripolitza unit above was brittlely deformed, and top‐to‐the‐SSW thrust faults sole out in the contact zone. Undoing the effects of subsequent large‐wavelength, low‐amplitude folding about west‐northwest‐trending axes of the contact indicates that the top‐to‐the‐SSW kinematics resulted from crustal shortening. Therefore, the PQ/Tripolitza contact in the Neapoli valley is an out‐of‐sequence thrust, the Tripolitza thrust. We discuss a tectonic model in which the high‐pressure PQ was first exhumed in a shortening‐related extrusion wedge between about 22 and 17 Ma. The top of the exhuming extrusion wedge was then cut off by out‐of‐sequence thrusts in the upper crust at ≥17–11 Ma during sustained N‐S shortening. Subsequently, extensional graben in Crete formed after 11 Ma.