Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sequencing and de novo Analysis of Crassostrea angulata (Fujian Oyster) from 8 Different Developing Phases Using 454 GSFlx

Research on the mechanism for early development of shellfish, such as body plan, shell formation, settlement and metamorphosis is currently an active research field. However, studies were still limited and not deep enough because of the lack of genomic resources such as genome or transcriptome sequences. In the present research, de novo transcriptome sequencing was performed for Crassostrea angulata, the most economically important cultured oyster species in China, at eight early developmental stages using the 454 sequencing technology. A total of 555,215 reads were produced with an average length of 309 nucleotides that were then assembled into 10,462 contigs. As determined by GO annotation and KEGG pathway mapping, functional annotation of the unigenes recovered diverse biological functions and processes. Six unique sequences related to settlement, metamorphosis and growth were subsequently analyzed by real-time PCR. Given the lack of whole genome information for oysters, transcriptome and de novo analysis of C. angulata from the eight different developing phases will provide important and useful information on early development mechanism and help genetic breeding of shellfish.
Genetic and epigenetic instability in human pluripotent stem cells.

BACKGROUND There is an increasing body of evidence that human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are prone to (epi)genetic instability during in vitro culture. This review aims at giving a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on culture-induced (epi)genetic alterations in hPSCs and their phenotypic consequences. METHODS Combinations of the following key words were applied as search criteria: human induced pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells in combination with malignancy, tumorigenicity, X inactivation, mitochondrial mutations, genomic integrity, chromosomal abnormalities, culture adaptation, aneuploidy and CD30. Only studies in English, on hPSCs and focused on (epi)genomic integrity were included. Further manuscripts were added from cross-references. RESULTS Numerous (epi)genetic aberrations have been detected in hPSCs. Recurrent genetic alterations give a selective advantage in culture to the altered cells leading to overgrowth of abnormal, culture-adapted cells. The functional effects of these alterations are not yet fully understood, but suggest a (pre)malignant transformation of abnormal cells with decreased differentiation and increased proliferative capacity. CONCLUSIONS Given the high degree of (epi)genetic alterations reported in the literature and altered phenotypic characteristics of the abnormal cells, controlling for the (epi)genetic integrity of hPSCs before any clinical application is an absolute necessity.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF AGE IN THE ACCEPTANCE OF LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

This study analyses students' intentions to use e-learning management systems based on an inventory which integrates the Technology Adoption Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), with the difference of age as moderating variable. In particular, the most relevant learning management systems (LMS) adoption models have been reviewed from literature. Thus, this paper studies the influence of behavioral intention, attitude toward use, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms and social influence in the intention to use e-learning management systems. User and system characteristics have been proposed as antecedents of the former factors. The result of this review is a unified model which has been validated with data collected from 94 students through a web questionnaire, and the results from this data have been analysed using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The analysis has demonstrated the predictive relevance and the validation of the model for users between 26 to 35 years old and 36 to 45 years old.
Genomic Insights into the Convergence and Pathogenicity Factors of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Species

ABSTRACT Whether or not bacteria form coherent evolutionary groups via means of genetic exchange and, hence, elicit distinct species boundaries remains an unsettled issue. A recent report implied that not only may the former be true but also, in fact, the clearly distinct Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli species may be converging as a consequence of increased interspecies gene flow fostered, presumably, by the recent invasion of an overlapping ecological niche (S. K. Sheppard, N. D. McCarthy, D. Falush, and M. C. Maiden, Science 320:237-239, 2008). We have reanalyzed the Campylobacter multilocus sequence typing database used in the previous study and found that the number of interspecies gene transfer events may actually be too infrequent to account, unequivocally, for species convergence. For instance, only 1 to 2% of the 4,507 Campylobacter isolates examined appeared to have imported gene alleles from another Campylobacter species. Furthermore, by analyzing the available Campylobacter genomic sequences, we show that although there seems to be a slightly higher number of exchanged genes between C. jejuni and C. coli relative to other comparable species (∼10% versus 2 to 3% of the total genes in the genome, respectively), the function and spatial distribution in the genome of the exchanged genes are far from random, and hence, inconsistent with the species convergence hypothesis. In fact, the exchanged genes appear to be limited to a few environmentally selected cellular functions. Accordingly, these genes may represent important pathogenic determinants of pathogenic Campylobacter, and convergence of (any) two bacterial species remains to be seen.
Augmented reality based mobile learning system design in preschool education

With the development of computers, the Internet and mobile technologies, different needs have emerged for people and different solutions have been discovered to meet these needs. One of the critical areas which are considered as the main factor in creating the tomorrow of human beings where a careful study should be done is the education and teaching. Many technologies are being used and various methods are being tried to develop and make the field of education and training more productive. Among these methods, the use of Augmented Reality (AR) technology is emerging in a wide range and scope with advancing technology and it is becoming widespread. In AR technology, the message and information to be given are visualized by visual and auditory methods (3D). In this study, a mobile-based augmented reality application was implemented for pre-school education. In the study, animals and plants were visualized in both English and Turkish as 3D, and at the same time, animals were presented with 3D visualization. In addition to providing audiovisual and visual material in pre-school education, the study will assist in children' development and accelerate the learning process.
Vascular Calcification in Chronic Renal Failure: What Have We Learned From Animal Studies?

Accelerated atherosclerotic plaque calcification and extensive medial calcifications are common and highly detrimental complications of chronic kidney disease. Valid murine models have been developed to investigate both pathologically distinguishable complications, which allow for better insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying these vascular pathologies and evaluation of compounds that might prevent or retard the onset or progression of vascular calcification. This review describes various experimental models that have been used for the study of arterial intimal and/or medial calcification and discusses the extent to which this experimental research has contributed to our current understanding of vascular calcification, particularly in the setting of chronic renal failure.
Comparative Visual Analysis of Transport Variability in Flow Ensembles

The Metropolis Light Transport algorithm generates physically based images with superior image quality than classical ray tracing. Although it is trivially parallelizable on GPUs by running N MLTs, the performance on current graphics hardware is below par. One of the main problems is the set of incoherent paths due to the independent Markov chains. Since each MLT generates full paths and mutates them sequentially, we construct totally incoherent rays which in negatively affects the performance on the GPU. By using a novel speculative variant of the Metropolis algorithm we increase the similarity of paths and achieve higher coherence. This decreases the computation time significantly. Further, we improve memory access by optimizing the data layout to better utilize coalesced access.
STAT proteins mediate angiotensin II-induced production of TIMP-1 in human proximal tubular epithelial cells.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin II and tissue type inhibitor metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) have been implicated in renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis, but the exact mediating signaling pathway is still unknown. Angiotensin II has been reported to activate signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) and induce proliferation of myocyte and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). We hypothesized that the STAT signal pathway is involved in the process of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Therefore, we designed the present study to explore whether angiotensin II could induce TIMP-1 expression in human proximal tubular epithelial cells, and whether it was mediated through the STAT signaling pathway. METHODS Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was employed to determine the DNA-STAT binding activity. Supershift assay was used to test the components of activated STAT proteins. Nuclear translocation of activated STATs was observed with laser scanning confocal microscopy. TIMP-1 expression was analyzed with Northern and Western blots. Valsartan and PD123319 were used to block the effects of angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) and angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptors of angiotensin II, respectively. RESULTS Cultured human proximal tubular epithelial cells constitutively expressed TIMP-1. Angiotensin II induced TIMP-1, mRNA, and protein expressions in time- and dose-dependent manners, which could be inhibited by the AT1 receptor antagonist valsartan, but not by the AT2 antagonist PD123319. Angiotensin II also activated STAT-DNA binding activity in both dose-dependent and biphasic time-dependent manners, and increased the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT proteins. To examine the role of STAT in angiotensin II-induced TIMP-1 expression, STAT1 and STAT3 antisense oligonucleotides were used. Northern and Western blots showed that STAT1 and STAT3 antisense oligonucleotides could inhibit angiotensin II-induced TIMP-1 expressions, and STAT1 and STAT3 proteins, respectively, could be supershifted by their polyclonal antibodies. CONCLUSION STAT1 and STAT3 may, at least in part, mediate angiotensin II-induced TIMP-1 mRNA expression in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells, implicating a role of the STAT signaling pathway in pathogenesis of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis.
Suppression and flare regimens of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. Use in women with different basal gonadotropin values in an in vitro fertilization program.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the suppression and flare regimens of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) in ovarian hyperstimulation in women with variable basal gonadotropin values in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective study comparing the initiation of GnRH-a in the midluteal phase of the preceding cycle (suppression protocol) and follicular phase of the stimulated cycle (flare protocol) in women with basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) values < 15 mIU/mL and > or = 15 mIU/mL. RESULTS The pregnancy rate per initiated cycle and implantation rate for women with basal FSH levels > or = 15 mIU/mL were 20.4% and 9.8% in flare GnRH-a cycles and 11.7% and 3.5%, respectively, in suppression GnRH-a cycles. Comparing the percent differences in clinical pregnancy and implantation rates between both protocols for women with different basal FSH values, pregnancy outcome was significantly greater in the flare protocols in women with values > or = 15 mIU/mL (P < .001). Individualization of the stimulation protocol by retrospective sorting of women undergoing IVF with respect to their basal gonadotropin levels significantly improved clinical pregnancy (P < .05) and implantation rates (P < .05) and reduced the cancellation rate (P < .05). CONCLUSION The flare regimen with GnRH-a is a useful alternative for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in women with elevated basal FSH values (> or = 15 mIU/mL) undergoing IVF.
ON THE RELIABILITY OF ROBUSTNESS

DeKeyser (2000) reports a study in which he examines three hypotheses concerning the existence of a critical period for second language acquisition. He concludes that his data support all three predictions and that the notion of a critical period is the best account of the data. However, there are problems in both his interpretation of the data and the issues raised in his discussion that undermine that conclusion. The present paper examines the evidence for the three hypotheses proposed by DeKeyser and argues that the data do not provide the necessary support for the interpretation that a critical period has influenced the results.
Intelligence 2.0 in I–O Psychology: Revival or Contextualization?

As long as completing one’s duties, getting one’s job done, and being successful in an organization requires intelligence in some form, a renewed interest in intelligence in industrial–organizational (I–O) research can advance the field, both theoretically and practically. We agree with this view that is well expressed by Scherbaum, Goldstein, Yusko, Ryan, and Hanges (2012). However, we think that the focal article is stronger in reviewing the field than in defining new approaches. We explore one
Zinc Supplementation Improved Cognitive Performance and Taste Acuity in Indian Adolescent Girls

Objective: To test the efficacy of zinc supplementation through diet or ayurvedic zinc tablet on cognitive function and taste acuity in adolescent girls. Methods: Using zinc-rich food items, snacks were prepared by adopting food-processing methods that enhance zinc bioavailability. Ayurvedic zinc tablet (jasad bhasma) was chosen as a natural elemental zinc supplement. Efficacy of snacks and the tablet was assessed in 180 schoolgirls (12.5 ± 0.85 years) from Pune City, India, who were randomly allocated to any of the 3 groups: (1) ayurvedic zinc tablet—J, (2) zinc-rich snacks—D, or (3) Control—C. Supplementation was given on every school day (6 days/wk) for 10 weeks. All measurements were recorded at baseline and at the end of the study period. Food intake was recorded by 24-hour diet recall on 3 random days. Hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and plasma zinc were estimated on a fasting blood sample. Cognitive assessment was done on each participant using tests for simple reaction time (SRT), recognition reaction time (RRT), visual memory, and Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM). Taste acuity was determined by recognition thresholds for salt (RTS) over a range of 10 different salt concentrations. Results: A higher increase in plasma zinc (61.3%) was observed in the J group than in the D group (9.9%) (p < 0.01), whereas plasma zinc declined in the control group (−2.2%) over baseline (p > 0.1). Hemoglobin showed no change in all 3 groups (p > 0.1). Percent increment in scores for memory and RPM was significantly more in the D and J groups (24.5%–29.6%) than in the C group (6.5%) (p < 0.05). Mean SRT and RRT were reduced more in the D and J groups (5%–16%) than in the C group (1.6%) (p < 0.05). A significant fall in median RTS from 5 to 2.5 mmol/L was noted after both diet and zinc supplementation (p < 0.01); however, it remained the same at 5 mmol/L in the Control group after 10 weeks. Conclusion: Supplementation of ayurvedic zinc and zinc-rich foods are effective in improving cognitive performance and the recognition threshold for salt of adolescent girls.
Characterization of Novel Factors Involved in Swimming and Swarming Motility in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

Salmonella enterica utilizes flagellar motility to swim through liquid environments and on surfaces. The biosynthesis of the flagellum is regulated on various levels, including transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. Here, we investigated the motility phenotype of 24 selected single gene deletions that were previously described to display swimming and swarming motility effects. Mutations in flgE, fliH, ydiV, rfaG, yjcC, STM1267 and STM3363 showed an altered motility phenotype. Deletions of flgE and fliH displayed a non-motile phenotype in both swimming and swarming motility assays as expected. The deletions of STM1267, STM3363, ydiV, rfaG and yjcC were further analyzed in detail for flagellar and fimbrial gene expression and filament formation. A ΔydiV mutant showed increased swimming motility, but a decrease in swarming motility, which coincided with derepression of curli fimbriae. A deletion of yjcC, encoding for an EAL domain-containing protein, increased swimming motility independent on flagellar gene expression. A ΔSTM1267 mutant displayed a hypermotile phenotype on swarm agar plates and was found to have increased numbers of flagella. In contrast, a knockout of STM3363 did also display an increase in swarming motility, but did not alter flagella numbers. Finally, a deletion of the LPS biosynthesis-related protein RfaG reduced swimming and swarming motility, associated with a decrease in transcription from flagellar class II and class III promoters and a lack of flagellar filaments.
Inpatient resource use and costs associated with switching from oral antipsychotics to aripiprazole once-monthly for the treatment of schizophrenia

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with high direct healthcare costs due to progression of disease and frequent occurrence of relapses. Aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM) has been shown to reduce total psychiatric hospitalizations among patients who switched from oral standard of care (SOC) therapy to AOM in a multicenter, open-label, mirror-image study of patients with schizophrenia. Because of the increasing need to improve patient outcomes while containing costs, it is important to understand the impact of AOM treatment initiation on medical costs associated with psychiatric hospitalizations and antipsychotic pharmacy costs. Methods: In the current study, an economic model was developed using data from the AOM mirror-image study to evaluate the psychiatric hospitalization-related medical costs and antipsychotic pharmacy costs during a 6-month period before (retrospective period) and after (prospective period) the AOM treatment initiation. The economic model evaluated cost-saving potential of AOM among all patients (n=433) as well as a subset of patients with ≥1 prior hospitalization (n=165) who switched from oral SOC to AOM. Unit cost data were obtained from publicly available sources. Results: Both hospitalizations and hospital days were reduced following a switch from oral SOC to AOM. As a result, psychiatric hospitalization-related costs were lower during the prospective period when compared with the retrospective period. Furthermore, the increase in antipsychotic pharmacy costs due to switching from oral SOC to AOM was offset by a reduction in psychiatric hospitalization-related medical costs. Per-patient costs were reduced by $1,046 (USD) in the overall population and by $20,353 in a subset of patients who had at least 1 psychiatric hospitalization during the retrospective period. Results were most sensitive to changes in hospitalization costs. Conclusions: AOM is associated with reducing the risk of relapse among patients with schizophrenia. The increase in antipsychotic pharmacy costs due to switching from oral SOC to AOM was offset by a reduction in costs associated with psychiatric hospitalizations, thereby presenting a cost-saving opportunity for health plans.
ESO-ESMO 2nd international consensus guidelines for advanced breast cancer (ABC2)

Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) is a treatable but still generally incurable disease. The goals of care are to optimize both length and quality of life. Due to continuous research, several advances have been made, particularly for the HER-2-positive and for Luminal-like subtypes. Notwithstanding these advances, median overall survival of patients with ABC is still only 2–3 years, although the range is wide [1–5], and survival may be longer for patients treated in specialized institutions [6]. Implementation of current knowledge is highly variable among countries and within each country.
Lightning Induced Voltages on Power Lines: Experiment

We present correlated measurements of the voltage induced on a power line by nearby lightning and the vertical electric field intensity from that lightning. Data are given for more than 100 first strokes and more than 200 subsequent strokes with the lightning ground strike point located by triangulation using a network of television cameras and by thunder ranging. Voltages were measured at one end of a 460 m unenergized distribution line which was open-circuited at both ends. A neutral wire was located beneath the line and was grounded at both ends. The time-domain voltaqe and vertical electric field waveforms were detected and recorded on a system having a frequency response from less than 1 Hz to over 1 MHz. Only about half of the vol tage waveforms resemble the "classical induced positive surges" described in the literature. The magnitude and polarity of the peak induced voltage is a strong function of the location of the lightning ground strike point.