Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Of mice and men: The relevance of transgenic mice Aβ immunizations to Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a time-dependent amyloid fibril deposition in cortical senile plaques and cerebral vascular walls. Several transgenic (Tg) mice have been engineered to overexpress amyloid-beta precursor protein (AβPP) with familial AD mutations. With advancing age, the Tg mice accumulate amyloidbeta (Aβ) peptides, primarily of 40 to 42 amino acids, in plaques and blood vessel wall deposits which resemble morphologically those characteristic of AD. Immunizing Tg mice with Aβ peptides or infusion of antiAβ antibodies resulted in a remarkable Aβ load decrease and reversal of cognitive dysfunction in these animals [1–4]. These observations led to immediate efforts to employ similar therapeutic protocols in AD patients. However, Tg hAβPP-overexpressing mice differ from AD patients in several important biochemical, anatomical, pathological and temporal aspects. These fundamental differences must be considered when extrapolating Tg mice Aβ vaccination experimental observations to AD. It is now clear that the amyloid deposits of Tg mice chemically characterized to date are not necessarily
Multiple Presentation Handling for Versatile Presentation Environments

Although a wide range of free and commercial presentation systems such as PowerPoint, Impress or Keynote are available, many research groups develop their individual presentation system for higher education. The paper focuses on the handling of multiple presentation streams within such systems and identifies relevant system features. Our approach for creating versatile presentation environments is presented in detail. It is based on different models that can be hierarchically assigned to each other and represent so-called sessions, presentations, slides and finer structures. For evaluation purposes, different usage scenarios that illustrate parallel handling of presentations are presented and discussed.
Phytoplankton Bloom Produced by a Receding Ice Edge in the Ross Sea: Spatial Coherence with the Density Field

Measurements of chlorophyll, particulate carbon, and biogenic silica concentrations near a receding ice edge off the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica, indicated the presence of a dense phytoplankton bloom. The bloom extended 250 kilometers from the ice edge and was restricted to waters where the melting of ice had resulted in reduced salinity. The region involved was one of enhanced vertical stability, which may have favored phytoplankton growth, accumulation, or both. Epontic algae released from melting ice may have served as an inoculum for the bloom. Ratios of organic carbon to chlorophyll and biogenic silica to carbon were unusually high, resulting in high biogenic silica concentrations despite only moderately high chlorophyll levels.
Role of comprehensive geriatric assessment in the management of osteoporotic hip fracture in the elderly: an overview

Purpose: To highlight the advantages of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) over usual care in the management of elderly patients with fragility hip fractures in terms of reducing the related mortality and disability. Method: An overview of publications on the topic was conducted using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Results: Several models of geriatric and orthopedic comanagement have been developed in recent years, all characterized by a variable degree of integration, and they have been shown to reduce complications, disability and mortality in elderly hip-fracture patients. Preoperatively, CGA should identify the comorbidities that need to be treated in view of surgery, so as to reduce the related risks. After surgery, CGA should deal with medical complications and assure patients an early mobilization in order to reduce short-term mortality and contain functional decline. Before discharge, the orthogeriatric team should draw up a tailored program to promote the patient’s functional recovery and satisfactory quality of life, also covering the secondary prevention of fragility fractures by improving bone quality and reducing the risk of falls. Conclusions: Fragility hip fractures in the elderly people need to be managed by different professionals working in close cooperation and adopting a CGA. Implications for Rehabilitation Orthogeriatric management Fragility hip fracture in older people is burdened by an elevated incidence of complications, mortality and disability. The global complexity of elderly people with hip fracture requires an orthopedic and geriatric comanagement. The application of the comprehensive geriatric assessment during hospital stay is the best approach for the management of the elderly people with hip fracture. Before discharge the multidisciplinary team should design a tailored rehabilitation plan and should also consider the secondary prevention of hip fracture.
Intracellular dynamics of c‐myc mRNA traffic in single cells in situ

Processing and intracellular transport of RNA transcripts are essential for gene expression. Translational regulation of gene expression may occur by several mechanisms, including control of transcript movement from sites of synthesis to site(s) of translation. We describe temporal analysis of the intracellular translocation of c‐myc transcripts from the site of synthesis in the nucleus to sites of translation in the cytoplasm. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and quantitative fluorescence microscopy were used to measure intracellular traffic of c‐myc transcripts in individual recombinant cells following activation of c‐myc sequences linked to a heat shock promoter. C‐myc nuclear transcripts are visible in the nucleus within minutes of heat exposure. Transcripts remain in the nucleus for at least 4 hr after gene activation. Transport of c‐myc transcripts to the cytoplasm begins ∼ 1 hr after cells are returned to 37°C. These data demonstrate the feasibility of measuring intracellular transcript transport following gene activation and provide a description of the kinetics of intracellular traffic of inducible c‐myc transcripts in heated cells in situ. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chapter 8 Graph Colouring 8.1 Vertex Colouring

A (vertex) colouring of a graph G is a mapping c : V (G) → S. The elements of S are called colours; the vertices of one colour form a colour class. If |S| = k, we say that c is a k-colouring (often we use S = {1,. . , k}). A colouring is proper if adjacent vertices have different colours. A graph is k-colourable if it has a proper k-colouring. The chromatic number χ(G) is the least k such that G is k-colourable. Obviously, χ(G) exists as assigning distinct colours to vertices yields a proper |V (G)|-colouring. An optimal colouring of G is a χ(G)-colouring. A graph G is k-chromatic if χ(G) = k. In a proper colouring, each colour class is a stable set. Hence a k-colouring may also be seen as a partition of the vertex set of G into k disjoint stable sets S i = {v | c(v) = i} for 1 ≤ i ≤ k. Therefore k-colourable are also called k-partite graphs. Moreover, 2-colourable graphs are very often called bipartite. Clearly, if H is a subgraph of G then any proper colouring of G is a proper colouring of H.
A Robust Lane Detection Method Based on Vanishing Point Estimation Using the Relevance of Line Segments

In this paper, a robust lane detection method based on vanishing point estimation is proposed. Estimating a vanishing point can be helpful in detecting lanes, because parallel lines converge on the vanishing point in a projected 2-D image. However, it is not easy to estimate the vanishing point correctly in an image with a complex background. Thus, a robust vanishing point estimation method is proposed that uses a probabilistic voting procedure based on intersection points of line segments extracted from an input image. The proposed voting function is defined with line segment strength that represents relevance of the extracted line segments. Next, candidate line segments for lanes are selected by considering geometric constraints. Finally, the host lane is detected by using the proposed score function, which is designed to remove outliers in the candidate line segments. Also, the detected host lane is refined by using inter-frame similarity that considers location consistency of the detected host lane and the estimated vanishing point in consecutive frames. Furthermore, in order to reduce computational costs in the vanishing point estimation process, a method using a lookup table is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed method efficiently estimates the vanishing point and detects lanes in various environments.
IDA-PBC controller for a bidirectional power flow full-bridge rectifier

A controller able to support bidirectional power flow in a full-bridge rectifier with boost-like topology is obtained. The controller is computed using port Hamiltonian passivity techniques for a suitable generalized state space averaging truncation of the system, which transforms the control objectives, namely constant output voltage dc-bus and unity input power factor, into a regulation problem. Simulation results for the full system show the correctness of the simplifi-cations introduced to obtain the controller.
On Application of the Local Search and the Genetic Algorithms Techniques to Some Combinatorial Optimization Problems

In this paper the approach to solving several combinatorial optimization problems using the local search and the genetic algorithm techniques is proposed. Initially this approach was developed in purpose to overcome some difficulties inhibiting the application of above mentioned techniques to the problems of the Questionnaire Theory. But when the algorithms were developed it became clear that them could be successfully applied also to the Minimum Set Cover, the 0-1-Knapsack and probably to other combinatorial optimization problems.
MoSQL: an elastic storage engine for MySQL

We present MoSQL, a MySQL storage engine using a transactional distributed key-value store system for atomicity, isolation and durability and a B+Tree for indexing purposes. Despite its popularity, MySQL is still without a general-purpose storage engine providing high availability, serializability, and elasticity. In addition to detailing MoSQL's design and implementation, we assess its performance with a number of benchmarks which show that MoSQL scales to a fairly large number of nodes on-the-fly, that is, additional nodes can be added to a running instance of the system.
Dual transcription of b2a2 and b3a2 BCR–ABL transcripts in chronic myeloid leukaemia is confined to patients with a linked polymorphism within the BCR gene

Summary. We propose a mechanism for dual expression of b2a2 and b3a2 BCR–ABL in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). We have identified a BCR allele, present in approximately 29% of the population, which includes an adenine to guanine polymorphism in the putative branchpoint of BCR intron 13. CML patients who expressed both b2a2 and b3a2 transcripts had the allele, which was also associated with alternative transcription of the normal BCR allele. We conclude that the BCR intronic polymorphism is associated with activation of a cryptic branchpoint resulting in reduced efficiency of RNA splicing and exon 14 (b3) skipping in BCR and BCR–ABL.
Long-term Communication Outcomes for Children Receiving Cochlear Implants Younger Than 12 Months: A Multicenter Study

Objective: Examine the influence of age at implant on speech perception, language, and speech production outcomes in a large unselected paediatric cohort. Study Design: This study pools available assessment data (collected prospectively and entered into respective databases from 1990 to 2014) from three Australian centers. Patients: Children (n = 403) with congenital bilateral severe to profound hearing loss who received cochlear implants under 6 years of age (excluding those with acquired onset of profound hearing loss after 12 mo, those with progressive hearing loss and those with mild/moderate/severe additional cognitive delay/disability). Main Outcome Measure(s): Speech perception; open-set words (scored for words and phonemes correct) and sentence understanding at school entry and late primary school time points. Language; PLS and PPVT standard score equivalents at school entry, CELF standard scores. Speech Production; DEAP percentage accuracy of vowels, consonants, phonemes-total and clusters, and percentage word-intelligibility at school entry. Results: Regression analysis indicated a significant effect for age-at-implant for all outcome measures. Cognitive skills also accounted for significant variance in all outcome measures except open-set phoneme scores. ANOVA with Tukey pairwise comparisons examined group differences for children implanted younger than 12 months (Group 1), between 13 and 18 months (Group 2), between 19 and 24 months (Group 3), between 25 and 42 months (Group 4), and between 43 and 72 months (Group 5). Open-set speech perception scores for Groups 1, 2, and 3 were significantly higher than Groups 4 and 5. Language standard scores for Group 1 were significantly higher than Groups 2, 3, 4, and 5. Speech production outcomes for Group 1 were significantly higher than scores obtained for Groups 2, 3, and 4 combined. Cross tabulation and &khgr;2 tests supported the hypothesis that a greater percentage of Group 1 children (than Groups 2, 3, 4, or 5) demonstrated language performance within the normative range by school entry. Conclusions: Results support provision of cochlear implants younger than 12 months of age for children with severe to profound hearing loss to optimize speech perception and subsequent language acquisition and speech production accuracy.
Tragic choices in health care: lessons from the Child B case

Four years ago the case of Jaymee Bowen, more commonly known as Child B, captured the newspaper headlines. The coming together of a father who was determined to seek the treatment he believed was best for his daughter, doctors who disagreed about what treatment was appropriate, health service managers who were prepared to take a stand on the use of resources on services of questionable effectiveness, lawyers willing to test the decision of the health authority in the courts, and journalists who saw the case as exemplifying the dilemmas of health service decision making meant that Jaymee's story caught the public imagination and highlighted the challenge of rationing.1 The way in which the case was handled contains important lessons for decision makers in health authorities and primary care groups charged with making difficult choices in health care. #### Summary points The Child B case showed that decisions on funding experimental and costly treatments raise ethical and practical dilemmas Concern to use resources for the benefit of the whole population has to be weighed against the urge to respond to the needs of individuals The decision making process must be rigorous and fair Decision makers should explain the reasons behind decisions, show that these are relevant, give the opportunity for appeal, and ensure the process is regulated Not all these conditions were fulfilled in the Child B case—health authorities and primary care groups should learn from this experience To understand the significance of the case it is important to recount some of the detail of what happened at the time. Jaymee Bowen was an articulate and lively 6 year old when, in 1990, she was diagnosed as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She was treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, but in 1993 was diagnosed as having a second cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia. Jaymee underwent …
Keeping mtDNA in Shape between Generations

Since the unexpected discovery that mitochondria contain their own distinct DNA molecules, studies of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have yielded many surprises. In animals, transmission of the mtDNA genome is explicitly non-Mendelian, with a very high number of genome copies being inherited from the mother after a drastic bottleneck. Recent work has begun to uncover the molecular details of this unusual mode of transmission. Many surprising variations in animal mitochondrial biology are known; however, a series of recent studies have identified a core of evolutionarily conserved mechanisms relating to mtDNA inheritance, e.g., mtDNA bottlenecks during germ cell development, selection against specific mtDNA mutation types during maternal transmission, and targeted destruction of sperm mitochondria. In this review, we outline recent literature on the transmission of mtDNA in animals and highlight the implications for human health and ageing.
The use of virtual reality to improve upper-extremity efficiency skills in children with cerebral palsy: A pilot study

This paper presents the results of a pilot study of a virtual reality play based intervention. The results of four single case studies are presented. The virtual reality intervention used the Mandala Gesture Xtreme technology. It was applied to four school aged children with cerebral palsy. A pretest-posttest design was used. The relevant outcome of interest was upper extremity control as measured with the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST), item #6 of Subtest #5 of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP), and a measure of percent accuracy . The total scores on the QUEST indicated clinically significant changes in quality of upper extremity for two of the children. Changes were noted in other measures of upper extremity control for each child. Qualitative comments from the participants revealed a high degree of motivation, interest, pleasure, and opportunity for engage- ment in play activities not previously engaged in. Overall, this pilot study suggests the viability of a virtual reality play based intervention as part of the rehabilitation process for children with cerebral palsy. These results will form the basis of a larger scale randomized clinical trial.
Adaptive response to Eimeria acervulina in rearing hens is affected by suboptimal incubation temperature and heat exposure in later life.

This study aimed to investigate whether suboptimal incubation (SI) temperature in weeks 1 and 3 of layer embryo incubation affects their development and post-hatch adaptive capacity during infectious challenges, by using Eimeria as a model infection under normal and immediately after more challenging environmental conditions of 72 h heat exposure. Eggs (n = 160 per treatment) were incubated at optimal (OI = 37.8°C continuously) or suboptimal eggshell temperature (36.7°C, 37.8°C and 38.9°C in weeks 1, 2 and 3, respectively). At day 33 of age, half the chickens of each incubation treatment were exposed to 72 h heat (35°C), whereas the other half remained under control conditions (21°C). At day 36 of age, all chickens were inoculated with 1 ml of a phosphate buffer saline solution containing 25 000 sporulated Eimeria acervulina oocysts/ml. The adaptive response to E. acervulina was measured by BW gain and FI from days 0 to 3 post infection (p.i.), days 3 to 5 p.i. and days 5 to 7 p.i. , and by oocyst production (days 4 and 7 p.i.) and lesion scores in the duodenum (day 3, 4 and 7 p.i.). Our results demonstrated that SI temperatures in weeks 1 and 3 of incubation resulted in a reduction in yolk-free BW, chick length and navel condition. Moreover, SI temperature appeared to reduce the adaptive capacity to E. acervulina. This was demonstrated by tendencies to lower FI (P = 0.07) and BW gain (P = 0.08), more duodenal lesions (P = 0.09) and higher oocyst production (P = 0.02) after inoculation of E. acervulina. Higher lesion scores and faecal oocyst numbers were especially found when suboptimal incubation was combined with heat exposure preceding the infection. In conclusion, SI layer chickens tend to be less able to cope with an infectious challenge post hatch.
Developing Fast Fluorescent Protein Voltage Sensors by Optimizing FRET Interactions

FRET (Förster Resonance Energy Transfer)-based protein voltage sensors can be useful for monitoring neuronal activity in vivo because the ratio of signals between the donor and acceptor pair reduces common sources of noise such as heart beat artifacts. We improved the performance of FRET based genetically encoded Fluorescent Protein (FP) voltage sensors by optimizing the location of donor and acceptor FPs flanking the voltage sensitive domain of the Ciona intestinalis voltage sensitive phosphatase. First, we created 39 different “Nabi1” constructs by positioning the donor FP, UKG, at 8 different locations downstream of the voltage-sensing domain and the acceptor FP, mKO, at 6 positions upstream. Several of these combinations resulted in large voltage dependent signals and relatively fast kinetics. Nabi1 probes responded with signal size up to 11% ΔF/F for a 100 mV depolarization and fast response time constants both for signal activation (~2 ms) and signal decay (~3 ms). We improved expression in neuronal cells by replacing the mKO and UKG FRET pair with Clover (donor FP) and mRuby2 (acceptor FP) to create Nabi2 probes. Nabi2 probes also had large signals and relatively fast time constants in HEK293 cells. In primary neuronal culture, a Nabi2 probe was able to differentiate individual action potentials at 45 Hz.
A Rare Adverse Effect of Montelukast Treatment: Ecchymosis

Montelukast is a leukotriene receptor antagonist that is effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma. We report a rare case of a 31-year-old woman with a history of allergic rhinitis and moderate persistent asthma, who experienced severe bruising on her lower extremities after starting montelukast treatment. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of unusual bruising during montelukast therapy, and in those patients montelukast should be discontinued.
Genetically distinct coelacanth population off the northern Tanzanian coast

Since the sensational discovery of a living coelacanth off the east coast of South Africa, the geographic distribution of viable coelacanth populations has been a subject of debate. In the past, the coelacanths off the African mainland were thought to be strays from the Comoros because most coelacanths captured were caught in the waters surrounding the Comoros archipelagos. However, in recent years, a large number of coelacanths were captured off the coast of Tanzania, including nine living specimens observed in a remotely operated vehicles survey. Thus, it is possible that there is a reproducing population inhabiting waters off the Tanzania coast. We have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of 21 Tanzanian and 2 Comoran coelacanths and analyzed these sequences together with two additional full mitochondrial genomes and 47 d-loop sequences from the literature. We found that the coelacanth population off the northern Tanzanian coast is genetically differentiated from those of the southern Tanzania coast and the Comoros, whereas no significant genetic differentiation occurs between the latter two localities. The differentiation between the northern and southern Tanzanian coast populations is consistent with the hypothesis that the existence of northward-flowing ocean current along the Tanzanian coast may reduce or prevent gene flow from the northern to the southern population. Finally, we estimated that the population localized to the southern Tanzanian coast and the Comoros diverged from other coelacanths at least 200,000 y ago. These results indicate that the coelacanths off the northern Tanzania coast are not strays but a genetically distinct group. Our study provides important information for the conservation of this threatened “living fossil. ”