Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal Changes in Archaeal Diversity and Chemistry in a Mid-Ocean Ridge Subseafloor Habitat

ABSTRACT The temporal variation in archaeal diversity in vent fluids from a midocean ridge subseafloor habitat was examined using PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and most-probable-number (MPN) cultivation techniques targeting hyperthermophiles. To determine how variations in temperature and chemical characteristics of subseafloor fluids affect the microbial communities, we performed molecular phylogenetic and chemical analyses on diffuse-flow vent fluids from one site shortly after a volcanic eruption in 1998 and again in 1999 and 2000. The archaeal population was divided into particle-attached (>3-μm-diameter cells) and free-living fractions to test the hypothesis that subseafloor microorganisms associated with active hydrothermal systems are adapted for a lifestyle that involves attachment to solid surfaces and formation of biofilms. To delineate between entrained seawater archaea and the indigenous subseafloor microbial community, a background seawater sample was also examined and found to consist only of Group I Crenarchaeota and Group II Euryarchaeota, both of which were also present in vent fluids. The indigenous subseafloor archaeal community consisted of clones related to both mesophilic and hyperthermophilic Methanococcales, as well as many uncultured Euryarchaeota, some of which have been identified in other vent environments. The particle-attached fraction consistently showed greater diversity than the free-living fraction. The fluid and MPN counts indicate that while culturable hyperthermophiles represent less than 1% of the total microbial community, the subseafloor at new eruption sites does support a hyperthermophilic microbial community. The temperature and chemical indicators of the degree of subseafloor mixing appear to be the most important environmental parameters affecting community diversity, and it is apparent that decreasing fluid temperatures correlated with increased entrainment of seawater, decreased concentrations of hydrothermal chemical species, and increased incidence of seawater archaeal sequences.
Recent Advances in Zinc Enzymology.

Zinc enzymology is, compared to some other current areas of metallobiochemistry, a maturing field, but in addition to further developments of structure-function relationships it has also provided a number of surprising new results and ideas in the last few years. In fact, the number of studies makes it impossible to provide a comprehensive review of the recent literature on zinc enzymology here, and the authors therefore focus on those zinc enzymes for which structure-function relationships are possible on the basis of structural and biochemical data. This means that, with a few exceptions, only zinc enzymes for which NMR or crystal structures are available are included here. Another seemingly simple, yet experimentally sometimes complex issue concerns the choice of which metalloenzyme is a zinc enzyme. Since there is in principle no difference in chemical catalysis by low-affinity compared to high-affinity metal sites, some of these enzymes are also included in this article, especially if they are or have been discussed as zinc enzymes, or are active with zinc. 552 refs.
Healing modulation induced by freeze‐dried platelet‐rich plasma and micronized allogenic dermis in a diabetic wound model

The incidence and prevalence of chronic and diabetic wounds are increasing and clinical treatments to tackle these epidemics are still insufficient. In this study, we tested the ability of freeze‐dried platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) and an allogenic micronized acellular dermal matrix alone and in combination to modulate diabetic wound healing. Therapeutic materials were applied to 1.0 cm2 excisional wounds on genetically diabetic (db/db) mice. Wound‐healing kinetics and new tissue formation were studied at 9 and 21 days posttreatment. Quantitative immunohistochemistry was used to study vascularity and cellular proliferation (days 9 and 21), and collagen deposition was evaluated 21 days postwounding. In vitro, micronized allogenic dermis, when combined with PRP, absorbed nearly 50% of original platelet‐derived growth factor, transforming growth factor‐β, vascular endothelial growth factor, and epidermal growth factor from platelets and stimulated fibroblast proliferation. In vivo, micronized dermis increased the formation of vascularized wound tissue by day 9. Freeze‐dried PRP alone or in combination with micronized dermis increased wound tissue revascularization and proliferation compared with spontaneous healing. The increase in cell proliferation persisted until day 21 only when freeze‐dried PRP was used in combination with micronized dermis. These results indicate that micronized allogenic dermis may be used to provide a dermal matrix to stimulate tissue formation and the combination with PRP may confer additional beneficial growth factors to chronic or diabetic wounds.
A critical link between Toll-like receptor 3 and type II interferon signaling pathways in antiviral innate immunity

A conundrum of innate antiviral immunity is how nucleic acid-sensing Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and RIG-I/MDA5 receptors cooperate during virus infection. The conventional wisdom has been that the activation of these receptor pathways evokes type I IFN (IFN) responses. Here, we provide evidence for a critical role of a Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3)-dependent type II IFN signaling pathway in antiviral innate immune response against Coxsackievirus group B serotype 3 (CVB3), a member of the positive-stranded RNA virus family picornaviridae and most prevalent virus associated with chronic dilated cardiomyopathy. TLR3-deficient mice show a vulnerability to CVB3, accompanied by acute myocarditis, whereas transgenic expression of TLR3 endows even type I IFN signal-deficient mice resistance to CVB3 and other types of viruses, provided that type II IFN signaling remains intact. Taken together, our results indicate a critical cooperation of the RIG-I/MDA5-type I IFN and the TLR3-type II IFN signaling axes for efficient innate antiviral immune responses.
Structure-Dependent CO2 Gas Sensitivity of La2O2CO3 Thin Films

Rare earth oxycarbonates are potential candidate materials for constructing simple and low-cost chemiresistive sensors for monitoring carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in the living and working environment for personal comfort and health reasons. Also, measurement of CO2 concentrations is needed in many industrial processes. Specifically, sol-gel made nanoparticles of Nd and La oxycarbonates have been studied previously as novel CO2 gas sensor materials. In this paper, pulsed laser deposition of La oxycarbonate (La2O2CO3) thin films was studied and structural properties of obtained thin films were characterized. Also, CO2 gas sensing ability of synthesized films was evaluated. The films deposited under CO2 partial pressure in various conditions were all Raman amorphous. In situ or ex situ annealing procedure at high CO2 partial pressure was needed for obtaining crystalline La2O2CO3 films, whereby hexagonal and monoclinic polymorphs were obtained in ex situ and in situ processes, respectively. Sensor structure, made using in situ process, was sensitive to CO2 gas and showed relatively fast response and recovery characteristics.
The tripartite CNTF receptor complex: activation and signaling involves components shared with other cytokines.

Recent efforts to understand the mechanism of action of CNTF have led to the identification of a three-component receptor complex for CNTF. The distributions of these receptor components explain the known target cell specificity of CNTF, and have also helped identify new and unexpected targets of CNTF action. In addition to including a CNTF-specific component, known as CNTFR alpha, the CNTF receptor complex utilizes two receptor components, gp130 and LIFR beta, that are shared with members of a family of broadly acting cytokines, including leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and interleukin-6 (IL6). The finding that the CNTF receptor complex shares components with this family of cytokines has led to the realization that CNTF should also be considered a cytokine--but one that differs from its relatives in that its actions are largely limited to cells of the nervous system due to the restricted expression of one of its receptor components, CNTFR alpha. CNTFR alpha does not play a direct role in signaling, but instead forms a complex with CNTF that promotes its binding to the signal transducing "beta" receptor components, gp130 and LIFR beta. Thus CNTF utilizes identical signal transducing receptor components in neurons that its relatives use on nonneuronal cells to elicit strikingly dissimilar responses, indicating that different cells interpret the same cell surface signal in dramatically different ways. The three CNTF receptor components are initially unassociated on the cell surface, and are brought together in step-wise fashion upon CNTF binding. CNTF first binds to CNTFR alpha, then recruits gp130, and finally complexes with LIFR beta. It is this last step in complex formation, involving heterodimerization between "beta" components, that activates intracellular signaling. Signal initiation is due to activation of members of a family of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, known as the Jak/Tyk kinases, which are preassociated with the beta components in an inactive state and then become activated upon beta component dimerization; the Jak/Tyk kinases, in turn, activate a variety of intracellular signaling molecules, such as members of the STAT family of DNA binding transcriptional activators. A detailed understanding of the mechanism of activation of the CNTF receptor complex has led to the realization that all members of the CNTF family of cytokines activate signaling in much the same way, by inducing either homo- or heterodimerization of beta receptor components and thus activation of the preassociated Jak/Tyk kinases; this mode of receptor activation may prove to be more generally applicable to all cytokine receptors. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A Quick Tool to Forecast VaR Using Implied and Realized Volatilities

We propose here a naive model to forecast ex-ante Value-at-Risk (VaR) using a shrinkage estimator between realized volatility estimated on past return time series, and implied volatility extracted from option pricing data. Implied volatility is often indicated as the operators expectation about future risk, while the historical volatility straightforwardly represents the realized risk prior to the estimation point, which by definition is backward looking. In a nutshell, our prediction strategy for VaR uses information both on the expected future risk and on the past estimated risk.We examine our model, called Shrinked Volatility VaR, both in the univariate and in the multivariate cases, empirically comparing its forecasting power with that of two benchmark VaR estimation models based on the Historical Filtered Bootstrap and on the RiskMetrics approaches.The performance of all VaR models analyzed is evaluated using both statistical accuracy tests and efficiency evaluation tests, according to the Basel II and ESMA regulatory frameworks, on several major markets around the world over an out-of-sample period that covers different financial crises.Our results confirm the efficacy of the implied volatility indexes as inputs for a VaR model, but combined together with realized volatilities. Furthermore, due to its ease of implementation, our prediction strategy to forecast VaR could be used as a tool for portfolio managers to quickly monitor investment decisions before employing more sophisticated risk management systems.
Early Intervention Before Autism Diagnosis in Children Referred to a Regional Autism Clinic

Objective: To determine the prevalence of receipt of early intervention and therapeutic services in children suspected of having possible autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before their diagnostic ASD evaluations. Methods: The electronic medical records of all children ⩽5 years of age evaluated at a single regional ASD clinic between September 2012 and June 2014 were reviewed. Information regarding type of services, clinical diagnoses, and demographic information was abstracted for each patient. Results: Five hundred sixty-one children (mean age = 44 mo [SD, 10 mo]; 80% [N = 450] male; 20% [N = 111] female) completed a diagnostic ASD evaluation. Of these children, 497 (89%) were already receiving early intervention services, and only 64 (11%) were not receiving any services. Receipt of services did not vary based on race, ethnicity, insurance type, or primary language. Children who were already receiving services were more likely to receive an ASD diagnosis (67%, N = 332) than those not receiving services (44% [N = 28]; p ⩽ .001). Conclusion: Despite concerns that long wait lists for diagnostic ASD evaluations may delay initiation of critical early interventions, our data indicate that most children are receiving early intervention services before their diagnostic ASD evaluations, particularly if an ASD diagnosis is confirmed. This may be attributable to increased awareness among primary care providers and families of the importance of early interventions. Further investigation into access to more intensive interventions (such as applied behavioral analysis) once an ASD diagnosis is established is warranted.
Lactuca capensis reverses memory deficits in Aβ1‐42‐induced an animal model of Alzheimer's disease

We investigated the neuropharmacological effects of the methanolic extract from Lactuca capensis Thunb. leaves (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 21 days on memory impairment in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) rat model produced by direct intraventricular delivery of amyloid‐β1‐42 (Aβ1‐42). Behavioural assays such as Y‐maze and radial arm maze test were used for assessing memory performance. Aβ1‐42 decreased cognitive performance in the behavioural tests which were ameliorated by pre‐treatment with the methanolic extract. Acetylcholinesterase activity and oxidant–antioxidant balance in the rat hippocampus were abnormally altered by Aβ1‐42 treatment while these deficits were recovered by pre‐treatment with the methanolic extract. In addition, rats were given Aβ1‐42 exhibited in the hippocampus decreased brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA copy number and increased IL‐1β mRNA copy number which was reversed by the methanolic extract administration. These findings suggest that the methanolic extract could be a potent neuropharmacological agent against dementia via modulating cholinergic activity, increasing of BDNF levels and promoting antioxidant action in the rat hippocampus.
The Epidemiology of US High School Basketball Injuries, 2005–2007

Background With more than a million high school athletes playing during the 2006–2007 academic year, basketball is one of the most popular sports in the United States. Hypothesis Basketball injury rates and patterns differ by gender and type of exposure. Study Design Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods Basketball-related injury data were collected during the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 academic years from 100 nationally representative US high schools via Reporting Information Online. Results High school basketball players sustained 1518 injuries during 780 651 athlete exposures for an injury rate of 1.94 per 1000 athlete exposures. The injury rate per 1000 athlete exposures was greater during competition (3.27) than during practice (1.40; rate ratio, 2.33; 95% confidence interval, 2.10–2.57) and was greater among girls (2.08) than among boys (1.83; rate ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.26). The ankle/foot (39.7%), knee (14.7%), head/face/neck (13.6%), arm/hand (9.6%), and hip/thigh/upper leg (8.4%) were most commonly injured. The most frequent injury diagnoses were ligament sprains (44.0%), muscle/tendon strains (17.7%), contusions (8.6%), fractures (8.5%), and concussions (7.0%). Female basketball players sustained a greater proportion of concussions (injury proportion ratio, 2.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.49–3.91) and knee injuries (injury proportion ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.27–2.30), whereas boys more frequently sustained fractures (injury proportion ratio, 1.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.27–2.77) and contusions (injury proportion ratio, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–2.31). The most common girls’ injury requiring surgery was knee ligament sprains (47.9%). Conclusion High school basketball injury patterns vary by gender and type of exposure. This study suggests several areas of emphasis for targeted injury prevention interventions.
The Lys1010–Lys1325 Fragment of the Wilson's Disease Protein Binds Nucleotides and Interacts with the N-terminal Domain of This Protein in a Copper-dependent Manner*

Wilson's disease, an autosomal disorder associated with vast accumulation of copper in tissues, is caused by mutations in a gene encoding a copper-transporting ATPase (Wilson's disease protein, WNDP). Numerous mutations have been identified throughout the WNDP sequence, particularly in the Lys1010–Lys1325 segment; however, the biochemical properties and molecular mechanism of WNDP remain poorly characterized. Here, the Lys1010–Lys1325fragment of WNDP was overexpressed, purified, and shown to form an independently folded ATP-binding domain (ATP-BD). ATP-BD binds the fluorescent ATP analogue trinitrophenyl-ATP with high affinity, and ATP competes with trinitrophenyl-ATP for the binding site; ADP and AMP appear to bind to ATP-BD at the site separate from ATP. Purified ATP-BD hydrolyzes ATP and interacts specifically with the N-terminal copper-binding domain of WNDP (N-WNDP). Strikingly, copper binding to N-WNDP diminishes these interactions, suggesting that the copper-dependent change in domain-domain contact may represent the mechanism of WNDP regulation. In agreement with this hypothesis, N-WNDP induces conformational changes in ATP-BD as evidenced by the altered nucleotide binding properties of ATP-BD in the presence of N-WNDP. Significantly, the effects of copper-free and copper-bound N-WNDP on ATP-BD are not identical. The implications of these results for the WNDP function are discussed.
Role of Abscisic Acid in Water Stress-induced Antioxidant Defense in Leaves of Maize Seedlings

Roles of abscisic acid (ABA) in water stress-induced oxidative stress were investigated in leaves of maize ( Zea mays L.) seedlings exposed to water stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000). Treatment with PEG at m 0.7 MPa for 12 and 24 h led to a reduction in leaf relative water content (RWC) by 7.8 and 14.1%, respectively. Duration of the osmotic treatments is considered as mild and moderate water stress. The mild water stress caused significant increases in the generation of superoxide radical ( O 2 m ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) and the contents of ascorbate (ASC), reduced glutathione (GSH). The moderate water stress failed to further enhance the capacity of antioxidant defense systems, as compared to the mild water stress. The contents of catalytic Fe, which is critical for H 2 O 2 -dependent hydroxyl radical ( ” OH) production, and the oxidized forms of ascorbate and glutathione pools, dehydroascorbate (DHA) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG), markedly increased, a significant oxidative damage to lipids and proteins took place under the moderate water stress. Pretreatment with ABA caused an obvious reduction in the content of catalytic Fe and significant increases in the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants, and then significantly reduced the contents of DHA and GSSG and the degrees of oxidative damage in leaves exposed to the moderate water stress. Pretreatment with an ABA biosynthesis inhibitor, tungstate, significantly suppressed the accumulation of ABA induced by water stress, reduced the enhancement in the capacity of antioxidant defense systems, and resulted in an increase in catalytic Fe, DHA and GSSG, and oxidative damage in the water-stressed leaves. These effects were completely prevented by addition of ABA, which raised the internal ABA content. Our data indicate that ABA plays an important role in water stress-induced antioxidant defense against oxidative stress.
Reasons for deliberate self-harm: comparison of self-poisoners and self-cutters in a community sample of adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To compare motives and premeditation between adolescent deliberate self-poisoners and self-cutters. METHOD In a sample of 6,020 pupils aged 15 and 16 years who completed a self-report questionnaire, those who had deliberately cut themselves in the previous year (n = 220) were compared with those who had taken overdoses (n = 86). RESULTS More adolescents who took overdoses than those who cut themselves said that they had wanted to die (66.7% versus 40.2%, chi2 = 14.94, p <.0001) and had wanted to find out if someone loved them (41.2% versus 27.8%, chi2 = 4.14, p =.042). Female self-cutters were more likely than male self-cutters to say that they had wanted to punish themselves (51.0% versus 25.0%, chi2 = 9.25, p =.002) and had tried to get relief from a terrible state of mind (77.2% versus 60.9%, chi2 = 4.78, p =.029). More self-cutters than self-poisoners had thought about the act of self-harm for less than an hour beforehand (50.9% versus 36.1%, chi2 = 5.25, p =.021). CONCLUSIONS There are differences between adolescents' motives for overdoses and for self-cutting, and also gender differences in the reasons for self-cutting. The often impulsive nature of these acts (especially self-cutting) means that prevention should focus on encouraging alternative methods of managing distress, problem-solving, and help-seeking before thoughts of self-harm develop.
Development of an Open Source Software for Real Time Optical Motion Capture

This paper discusses the development and release of an open source real time motion capture system for character animation, the OpenMoCap. The software carries out the entire pipeline for acquisition of motion data and its output in appropriate formats to modeling and animation software. OpenMoCap uses the passive optical capture technique to follow markers positions in a scene across the time, and its development is based on digital image analysis techniques. The defined architecture is designed for real time motion recording and is flexible and modular. It allows the addition of new optimized modules for specific functions, as an interface to virtual and augmented reality headsets, different cameras sets and markerless motion capture, taking advantage of the existing ones. In order to obtain quantitative results to assess the software and the created motion capture workflow, OpenMoCap was compared with a commercial optical motion capture system. The performance of the three most used trackers was also evaluated with OpenMoCap The present version of the software is available to download at GitHub. In this paper, the architecture, construction modules and performance comparison are discussed with the scope to present the software as a choice to input motion data to virtual and augmented reality applications.