Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Autophagy dysfunction upregulates beta-amyloid peptides via enhancing the activity of γ-secretase complex

Numerous studies have shown that autophagy failure plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, including increased expression of beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein and the dysfunction of Aβ clearance. To further evaluate the role of autophagy in Alzheimer’s disease, the present study was implemented to investigate the effects of autophagy on α-secretase, β-secretase, or γ-secretase, and observe the effects of autophagy on autophagic clearance markers. These results showed that both autophagy inhibitor and inducer enhanced the activity of α-, β-, and γ-secretases, and Aβ production. Autophagy inhibitor may more activate γ-secretase and promote Aβ production and accumulation than its inducer. Both autophagy inhibitor and inducer had no influence on Aβ clearance. Hence, autophagy inhibitor may activate γ-secretase and promote Aβ production and accumulation, but has no influence on Aβ clearance.
Vacuum tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 using scanning tunneling microscopy

We report STM spectroscopy measurements of in-situ cleaved Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals at 4.8 Kelvin, where we achieved strong evidences for true vacuum tunneling. These careful experiments result in very reproducible spectroscopy as a function of position on the surface, and as a function of tip/sample spacing. The characteristic features of the tunneling spectra are a significant filling of the gap region, a large density of states at the gap edges and a weak dip about 70 meV below the Fermi level. Such IV characteristics are not compatible with a single gap BCS-like s-wave theory. Furthermore, we report spatially resolved spectroscopy where we observe regions with two distinct gap values. A double gap structure appears in the tunneling spectra acquired in the vicinity of the boundary between these regions. We believe the double gap structure we observe in this case does not reflect an intrinsic gap anisotropy, but seems rather related to crystalline inhomogeneities. This demonstrates the potential of the STM's spatial resolution to shed some light on the controversy among the tunneling spectroscopy of high temperature superconductors published so far.
Controlled Introgression of Chromosomes of SOLANUM PENNELLII into LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM: Segregation and Recombination.

YCOPERSICON esculentum Mill. (cultivated tomato) and Solanum pennellii Corr. provide ideal material for a study of species hybridization and the effects of introgression. They differ in a great array of characters manifest in every part of their gross morphology and in several aspects of their physiological reaction to different environments. Despite such differences they can be hybridized with little difficulty. Both have 12 pairs of chromosomes, which are nearly identical in morphology, even in the extended condition at pachytene. Furthermore, homologues of F, hybrids pair with little or no irregularity, and all stages of meiosis are essentially normal ( KHUSH and RICK 1963). Such hybrids are approximately 25% as fertile as the parents in terms of viable progeny yielded after selffertilization (RICK 1960). Gamete and seed fertility are higher in the 4n than 2n F, hybrids. In keeping with such improvement, genetic segregation in their progeny indicates a moderate level of preferential chromosome pairing (RICK and KHUSH 1962). The mean level of fertility declines in F, and early backcross generations but never so low as to obstruct seriously further breeding efforts. This study was facilitated by the recently improved understanding of the genome of the tomato parent. Suitable marker genes can be selected from a total of nearly 1,000 now known; each linkage group has been identified with its respective chromosome and the loci of many key markers have been approximated cytologically by means of induced deficiencies (KHUSH and RICK 1968). This information has assisted in the synthesis of linkage tester stocks with groups of strategically placed genes with well-defined phenotypic express$on. Thus provided with chromosome markers, L. esculentum is a suitable recurrent parent for backcrosses, which can be made consecutively because the selected mutant genes are recessive. A preliminary note (RICK 1965) was published on this research.
Human brain iron mapping using atlas‐based T2 relaxometry

Several in vivo quantitative MRI techniques have been proposed as surrogate measures to map iron content in the human brain. The majority of in vivo quantitative MRI iron mapping methods used the age‐dependent iron content data based on postmortem data. In this work, we fused atlas‐based human brain volumetry obtained on a large cohort of healthy adults using FreeSurfer with T2 relaxation time measurements. We provide a brain atlas‐based T2 relaxation time map, which was subsequently used along with published postmortem iron content data to obtain a map of iron content in subcortical and cortical gray matter. We have also investigated the sensitivity of the linear model relating transverse relaxation rate with published iron content to the number of regions used. Our work highlights the challenges encountered on using the simple model along with postmortem data to infer iron content in several brain regions where postmortem iron data are scant (e.g., corpus callosum, amygdale). Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Risk of damage to hearing from personal listening devices in young adults.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of personal listening device use on hearing in young listeners. METHODS Conventional frequency audiometry (0.5-8 kHz) and extended high-frequency audiometry (10-20 kHz) were performed on 120 personal listening device users and 30 normal-hearing young adults. RESULTS The hearing thresholds in the 3 to 8 kHz frequency range were significantly increased in the personal listening device listeners. The frequency range of the increased thresholds became broad as the exposure duration was increased. Impaired hearing was detected in 14.1% (34 of 240 ears) of ears (> 25 dB HL in one or more frequencies in 0.5-8 kHz). The hearing thresholds of extended high-frequency audiometry in personal listening device users could also be increased even if their hearing thresholds in conventional frequency audiometry were normal. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that long-term use of personal listening devices can impair hearing function The data also indicate that extended high-frequency audiometry is a sensitive method for early detection of noise-induced hearing loss.
Binding of Hyaluronan to the Native Lymphatic Vessel Endothelial Receptor LYVE-1 Is Critically Dependent on Receptor Clustering and Hyaluronan Organization*

The lymphatic endothelial receptor LYVE-1 has been implicated in both uptake of hyaluronan (HA) from tissue matrix and in facilitating transit of leukocytes and tumor cells through lymphatic vessels based largely on in vitro studies with recombinant receptor in transfected fibroblasts. Curiously, however, LYVE-1 in lymphatic endothelium displays little if any binding to HA in vitro, and this has led to the conclusion that the native receptor is functionally silenced, a feature that is difficult to reconcile with its proposed in vivo functions. Nonetheless, as we reported recently, LYVE-1 can function as a receptor for HA-encapsulated Group A streptococci and mediate lymphatic dissemination in mice. Here we resolve these paradoxical findings and show that the capacity of LYVE-1 to bind HA is strictly dependent on avidity, demanding appropriate receptor self-association and/or HA multimerization. In particular, we demonstrate the prerequisite of a critical LYVE-1 threshold density and show that HA binding may be elicited in lymphatic endothelium by surface clustering with divalent LYVE-1 mAbs. In addition, we show that cross-linking of biotinylated HA in streptavidin multimers or supramolecular complexes with the inflammation-induced protein TSG-6 enables binding even in the absence of LYVE-1 cross-linking. Finally, we show that endogenous HA on the surface of macrophages can engage LYVE-1, facilitating their adhesion and transit across lymphatic endothelium. These results reveal LYVE-1 as a low affinity receptor tuned to discriminate between different HA configurations through avidity and establish a new mechanistic basis for the functions ascribed to LYVE-1 in matrix HA binding and leukocyte trafficking in vivo.
Comparative activity of beta-lactamase inhibitors YTR 830, clavulanate, and sulbactam combined with beta-lactams against beta-lactamase-producing anaerobes

The in vitro activities of the beta-lactamase inhibitors YTR 830, clavulanate, and sulbactam combined with six beta-lactams against 88 beta-lactamase-producing anaerobes were determined. When combined with the beta-lactams, the three beta-lactamase inhibitors showed no synergy against the 10 Bacteroides fragilis homology group II strains. When the beta-lactams were combined with the inhibitors, their geometric mean MICs against the remaining 78 strains were reduced from 4.2 to 150.2 micrograms/ml to 0.2 to 12.9 micrograms/ml. The activity of the beta-lactams combined with the beta-lactamase inhibitors was significantly greater than that of the beta-lactams alone against all groups except B. fragilis homology group II, with 76 to 100% of the strains susceptible to ampicillin plus inhibitor and greater than or equal to 90% susceptible to the other combinations.
Workers, Warriors and Criminals: Social Conflict in General Equilibrium

We offer a simple general equilibrium model to analyze how economy-wide forces (i.e. shocks to terms of trade, technology and endowments) will affect the intensity of social conflict over the distribution of resources. Examples of conflict activities range from crime to civil war. We show that not all favorable shocks to an economy will reduce conflict, even when they could make society richer. Rather, positive shocks to labor intensive industries will raise wages and diminish social conflict, while positive shocks to capital intensive industries will do just the opposite. The key requirement is that the appropriation activity be more labor intensive than the average of the productive industries. Our model can account for the curse of natural resources, it explains why aid in kind to war ridden societies may have perverse effects, and how international trade policy should be debated if civil conflict in poorer countries is a concern. Including appropriation activities into a canonic general equilibrium model introduces a social constraint to policy analysis. Thus, we can also account for "optimal populist" policies, and "national development" strategies (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Visualization of Endothelial Actin Cytoskeleton in the Mouse Retina

Angiogenesis requires coordinated changes in cell shape of endothelial cells (ECs), orchestrated by the actin cytoskeleton. The mechanisms that regulate this rearrangement in vivo are poorly understood - largely because of the difficulty to visualize filamentous actin (F-actin) structures with sufficient resolution. Here, we use transgenic mice expressing Lifeact-EGFP to visualize F-actin in ECs. We show that in the retina, Lifeact-EGFP expression is largely restricted to ECs allowing detailed visualization of F-actin in ECs in situ. Lifeact-EGFP labels actin associated with cell-cell junctions, apical and basal membranes and highlights actin-based structures such as filopodia and stress fiber-like cytoplasmic bundles. We also show that in the skin and the skeletal muscle, Lifeact-EGFP is highly expressed in vascular mural cells (vMCs), enabling vMC imaging. In summary, our results indicate that the Lifeact-EGFP transgenic mouse in combination with the postnatal retinal angiogenic model constitutes an excellent system for vascular cell biology research. Our approach is ideally suited to address structural and mechanistic details of angiogenic processes, such as endothelial tip cell migration and fusion, EC polarization or lumen formation.
Analytical Approach for Air-Gap Modeling of Field-Excited Flux-Switching Machine: No-Load Operation

This paper presents a general and accurate approach to determine the no-load flux of field-excited flux-switching (FE-FS) machines. These structures are inherently difficult to model due to their doubly-slotted air gap. This analytical approach is based on magnetomotive force-permeance theory. The analytical model developed is extensively compared to field distribution obtained with 2-D finite element (2-D FE) simulations. The good agreement observed between analytical model and 2-D FE results emphasizes the interest of this general approach regarding the computation time. Hence, this analytical approach is suitable for optimization process in pre-sizing loop. Furthermore, based on the field model, classical electromagnetic performances can be derived, such as flux linkage and back-electromotive force (back-EMF) and also, unbalanced magnetic force. Once again, FE results validate the analytical prediction, allowing investigations on several stator-rotor combinations, or optimization of the back-EMF.
The Nitric Oxide/Cyclic GMP Pathway in the Olfactory Processing System of the Terrestrial Slug Limax marginatus

Abstract To examine the distribution of nitric oxide (NO)-generative cells and NO-responsive cells in the tentacles and procerebral lobes (olfactory processing center) of terrestrial slugs, we applied NADPH diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry and NO-induced cyclic GMP (cGMP)-like immunohistochemistry. We found that NADPH-d reactive cells/fibers and cGMP-like immunoreactive cells/fibers were different, but they were localized adjacent to each other, in both the tentacles and the procerebral lobes. Then, we measured the concentration of NO that was generated around the procerebral lobes using an NO sensitive electrode, when the olfactory nerve was electrically stimulated as a replacement for an odorant stimulus. Stimulation of the olfactory nerve evoked an increase in NO concentration at nanomolar levels, suggesting that binding of nanomolar concentrations of NO to the prosthetic heme group activates soluble guanylyl cyclase. Taken together with previously reported physiological data, our results, therefore, showed that the NO/cGMP pathways are involved in slug olfactory processing.
Recent development in light Ultramicroscopy using aspherical optical elements

Here we present a new light sheet generator unit for Ultramicroscopy (UM) employing a combination of optical lenses with aspherical surface structure. UM allows 3D-vizualization of chemically transparent biological specimens with μm-resolution. Improving optical characteristics parameters of light sheet such as the uniformity factor of spatial intensity distribution along the line of focus, the thickness of light sheet, and chromatic aberrations are the most important criteria in this design. Since we do not use any hard edge aperture there is no truncation of the beam and laser energy is used more efficiently. Due to these improvements, a marked enhancement in presenting fine details of biological specimens such as Drosophila melanogaster, entire mouse brain, and hippocampus are achieved.
Reading as functional coordination: not recycling but a novel synthesis

The Functional Coordination approach describes the processes involved in learning to read as a form of procedural learning in which pre-existing skills, mainly from the visual, and auditory domain, are (1) recruited, (2) modified, and (3) coordinated to create the procedures for reading text, which form the basis of subsequent (4) automatization. In this context, we discuss evidence relating to the emerging prevalence of analytic processing in letter perception. We argue that the process of learning to read does not have to lead to a loss of perceptual skill as consequence of a “cultural recycling”; learning to read just leads to a novel synthesis of functions, which are coordinated for reading and then automatized as a package over several years. Developmental dyslexia is explained within this framework as a Functional Coordination Deficit (Lachmann, 2002), since the coordination level is assumed to be most liable to manifest deficiencies. This is because, at this level, the greatest degree of fine tuning of complex functions is required. Thus, developmental dyslexia is not seen as a consequence of a deficient automatization per se, but of automatization of abnormally developed functional coordination.
Resource allocation for OFDMA-based relay assisted two-tier femtocell networks

Co-channel interference (CCI) is a major issue faced by efficient co-channel deployed orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based two-tier femtocell systems. There are several resource allocation mechanisms proposed, such as, [1]–[4], to address this issue. However, none of these methods have considered employing relays in order to reduce transmit power levels, and hence, reduce CCI with the added advantage of extended coverage. Thus, in this paper, a simple resource allocation mechanism, which maximizes the sum of the weighted rates (SWR), for relay assisted femtocell systems is proposed. Its main advantage is the low complexity achieved by exploiting the characteristics of Lagrangian and utilizing the Newton's method.
Ambient Intelligence Applications: Introducing the Campus Framework

A challenge for pervasive computing is the seamless integration of computer support with users' activities in a very dynamic setting, with deep human and resource mobility. Portable devices such as notebooks, PDAs and smartphones are becoming more and more popular, as their computational power increases and their prices fall. Moreover, the quick spread of wireless networks has permitted the exchange of data in places as diverse as university campus, airports, coffee houses and family homes. In this paper we introduce campus, a framework that supports the development of multi-agent, context aware, pervasive computing applications. Campus is designed to provide the necessary infrastructure for ambience intelligence applications.
Spatiotemporal transcription of the P element and the 412 retrotransposon during embryogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster and D. willistoni

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile nucleotide sequences which, through changing position in host genomes, partake in important evolutionary processes. The expression patterns of two TEs, P element transposon and 412 retrotransposon, were investigated during Drosophila melanogaster and D. willistoni embryogenesis, by means of embryo hybridization using riboprobes. Spatiotemporal transcription patterns for both TEs were similar to those of developmental genes. Although the two species shared the same P element transcription pattern, this was not so with 412 retrotransposon. These findings suggest that the regulatory sequences involved in the initial development of Drosophila spp are located in the transposable element sequences, and differences, such as in this case of the 412 retrotransposon, lead to losses or changes in their transcription patterns.
Mechanism of thyrotropin releasing hormone stimulation of pituitary hormone secretion.

During the past several years, the mechanism of action of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH; thyroliberin) has been studied intensively in GH cells, cloned rat mammotropic tumor cell lines that appear to be valid models for in vitro study of mammotroph function (30,34,48). In this article I review the recent findings (see 26 for previous review) that form the basis for a detailed hypoth­ esis to explain the transduction of the TRH signal at the cell surface into stimulation of prolactin secretion. It is generally agreed that an elevation of cyt9plasmic free calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) serves to couple, at least in part, the binding of many hormones and neurotransmitters to plasma membrane receptors with the stimulation of a variety of cellular processes (51). The elevation of [Ca2+]i induced by these stimulants may be caused by mobilization (or redistribution) of intracellular calcium, or by enhancement of influx of extracellular Ca2+ , or both (17). It has been demonstrated that in some of these cells a very rapid effect after stimulant-receptor interaction is enhanced hydrolysis of phosphatidylin­ ositoI4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns( 4,5)P2] by a phospholipase C (or phosphodies­ terase) to yield 1 ,2-diacylglycerol (DG) and inositoltrisphosphate (InsP3) (18). Furthermore, it has been proposed that both DG (50) and InsP3 (11) may serve as intracellular mediators (or second messengers) to transduce and amplify the signal, leading to stimulation of the physiologic response(s). DG appears to
An Intuitionistic Interpretation of Finite and Infinite Failure (Preliminary Version)

In this paper, we propose an intuitionistic semantics for negation-as-failure in logic programs. The basic idea is to work with the completion of the program, not in classical logic, but in intuitionistic (or, more precisely, minimal) logic. Moreover, we consider two forms of completion: (1) first-order predicate completion, as defined by Clark, which is related to SLDNF resolution; and (2) second-order completion, using circumscription. Specifically, given any programR, we write a sentence in second-order intuitionistic logic, called the partial intuitionistic circumscription axiom, and we declare this sentence to be the “meaning” of R. We then show that our semantics – called the PIC semantics – agrees with the perfect model semantics in the case of a locally stratified program. For nonstratified programs, we show that the PIC semantics is strictly stronger than the (3-valued) wellfounded semantics. We also show a more complex relationship to the (2-valued) stable model semantics. One advantage of our approach, we claim, is that it is “declarative” in the traditional sense, i.e., the meaning of a program is just the set of logical consequences of a single sentence in second-order intuitionistic logic.
Investigation of mechanical features of low cycle fatigue specimens of austenitic steel AISI type 321 under applied load by neutron diffraction stress analysis

Abstract The elastoplastic properties of a stainless steel with an austenitic matrix and martensitic inclusions induced during cyclic tensile–compressive fatigue loading were studied using neutron diffraction. Specimens of annealed and quenched AISI type 321 steel were subjected to low cycle fatigue (strain amplitude of 1% at 0.5 Hz). Subsequent in situ loading tests provided the elastoplastic responses of both austenitic and martensitic phases via Rietveld refinement of neutron diffraction spectra. A clear trend of increasing elastic modulus with increasing fatigue level was noted in the austenite matrix. The results of modified refinements accounting for the elastic anisotropy in polycrystalline materials under load are presented. The residual strains in the austenitic matrix and the deviatoric components of both phases' residual microstresses were determined as a function of fatigue cycling. In the Appendix it is demonstrated that the presence of residual stresses can have an effect on the observed elastic moduli in a two phase system, but that for typical magnitudes the effect is negligible.