Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rostral agranular insular cortex and pain areas of the central nervous system: A tract‐tracing study in the rat

The rostral agranular insular cortex (RAIC) has recently been identified as a site where local changes in GABA and dopamine levels, or application of opioids, can alter nociceptive thresholds in awake animals (Jasmin et al. [2003] Nature 424:316–320). The connections of the cortex dorsal to the rhinal fissure that includes the RAIC have been examined previously, with emphasis on visceral and gustatory functions but not nociception. Here we examined the afferent and efferent connections of the RAIC with sites implicated in nociceptive processing. Sensory information from the thalamus reaches the RAIC via the submedius and central lateral nuclei and the parvicellular part of the ventral posterior nucleus. The RAIC has extensive reciprocal cortico‐cortical connections with the orbital, infralimbic, and anterior cingulate cortices and with the contralateral RAIC. The amygdala, particularly the basal complex, and the nucleus accumbens are important targets of RAIC efferent fibers. Other connections include projections to lateral hypothalamus, dorsal raphe, periaqueductal gray matter, pericerulear region, rostroventral medulla, and parabrachial nuclei. The connectivity of the RAIC suggests it is involved in multiple aspects of pain behavior. Projections to the RAIC from medial thalamic nuclei are associated with motivational/affective components of pain. RAIC projections to mesolimbic/mesocortical ventral forebrain circuits are likely to participate in the sensorimotor integration of nociceptive processing, while its brainstem projections are most likely to contribute to descending pain inhibitory control. J. Comp. Neurol. 468:425–440, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
San Jose State University From the SelectedWorks of Magdalini Eirinaki 2012 Identification of Influential Social Networkers

Online social networking is deeply interleaved in todays lifestyle. People come together and build communities to share thoughts, offer suggestions, exchange in­ formation, ideas, and opinions. Moreover, social networks often serve as platforms for information dissemination and product placement or promotion through viral marketing. The success rate in this type of marketing could be increased by tar­ geting specific individuals, called “influential users”, having the largest possible reach within an online community. In this paper we present a method aiming at identifying the influential users within an online social networking application. We introduce ProfileRank, a metric that uses popularity and activity characteristics of each user to rank them in terms of their influence. We then assess this algorithm’s added value in identifying influential users compared to other commonly used so­ cial network analysis metrics, such as the Betweenness Centrality and the wellknown PageRank, by performing an experimental evaluation on a synthetic and a real-life data set. We also integrate all three metrics in a unified metric and measure its performance.
Chemical roots of biological evolution: the origins of life as a process of development of autonomous functional systems

In recent years, an extension of the Darwinian framework is being considered for the study of prebiotic chemical evolution, shifting the attention from homogeneous populations of naked molecular species to populations of heterogeneous, compartmentalized and functionally integrated assemblies of molecules. Several implications of this shift of perspective are analysed in this critical review, both in terms of the individual units, which require an adequate characterization as self-maintaining systems with an internal organization, and also in relation to their collective and long-term evolutionary dynamics, based on competition, collaboration and selection processes among those complex individuals. On these lines, a concrete proposal for the set of molecular control mechanisms that must be coupled to bring about autonomous functional systems, at the interface between chemistry and biology, is provided.
Prevalence of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Its Association With Cardiovascular Disease Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients

I read with interest the articles by Targher et al. (1), which shows that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is extremely common in type 2 diabetes and is associated with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and by Hu et al. (2), which shows that type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. Neither is surprising, considering society's excessive use of polyunsaturated n-6–rich vegetable oils (a source of linoleic acid, a short-chain n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid [PUFA]) in place of saturated fats, in addition …
Human Neuroscience

specifi c impairment of performance when activity in these regions is disrupted either transiently by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) (Cohen et al., 1997; Amedi et al., 2004) or permanently by circumscribed lesions of these cortical areas (Hamilton et al., 2000; Hickok et al., 2002). There is a paucity of evidence describing crossmodal neuro-plasticity and function following the combined and early loss of both vision and hearing. Interestingly, results from one study has demonstrated that deaf-blind individuals actually show superior performance on tactile verbal memory recall tasks compared to sighted-hearing controls (assessed by time taken and number of items recalled) (Arnold and Heiron, 2002). This superior performance has been attributed to more effi cient encoding of tactile information rather than storage and retrieval (Arnold and Heiron, 2002). This later fi nding is somewhat surprising and given the highly interdependent importance of both vision and hearing, one might expect that their combined loss would have a devastating impact on higher-order cognitive functions such as language. An alternative view would be to consider the possibility that language function is " pre-wired " or " innate " (Hauser et al., 2002; Pinker and Jackendoff, 2005). Thus, the combined early loss of both hearing and vision would not necessarily preclude an individual from developing high-level language faculties given the existence of genetically predetermined brain circuits devoted to linguistic " Blindness separates me from things. Deafness separates me from people. "-Helen Keller
Simple greedy 2-approximation algorithm for the maximum genus of a graph

The maximum genus $\gamma_M(G)$ of a graph G is the largest genus of an orientable surface into which G has a cellular embedding. Combinatorially, it coincides with the maximum number of disjoint pairs of adjacent edges of G whose removal results in a connected spanning subgraph of G. In this paper we prove that removing pairs of adjacent edges from G arbitrarily while retaining connectedness leads to at least $\gamma_M(G)/2$ pairs of edges removed. This allows us to describe a greedy algorithm for the maximum genus of a graph; our algorithm returns an integer k such that $\gamma_M(G)/2\le k \le \gamma_M(G)$, providing a simple method to efficiently approximate maximum genus. As a consequence of our approach we obtain a 2-approximate counterpart of Xuong's combinatorial characterisation of maximum genus.
The effect of mild exercise in the supine position on the pulmonary arterial pressure of five normal human subjects.

In the course of study of a series of patients with cardiopulmonary diseases of various type and degree, it was noted that the pulmonary arterial pressure rose during supine exercise in all instances. This rise was observed even in individuals with minimal pulmonary involvement and no detectable cardiac abnormality. Inasmuch as it has been stated that the pulmonary arterial pressure does not rise appreciably with mild exercise in subjects with normal cardiorespiratory systems (1-3), it seemed necessary to re-examine this question. It is the purpose of this paper to describe in detail the pulmonary arterial pressure rise which occurs in normal man during mild, supine exercise, together with certain associated physiological changes.
Experimental studies on the spatiotemporal expression of WT1 and RALDH2 in the embryonic avian heart: a model for the regulation of myocardial and valvuloseptal development by epicardially derived cells (EPDCs).

Epicardially derived cells (EPDCs) delaminate from the primitive epicardium through an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT). After this transformation, a subpopulation of cells progressively invades myocardial and valvuloseptal tissues. The first aim of the study was to determine the tissue-specific distribution of two molecules that are thought to play a crucial function in the interaction between EPDCs and other cardiac tissues, namely the Wilms' Tumor transcription factor (WT1) and retinaldehyde-dehydrogenase2 (RALDH2). This study was performed in normal avian and in quail-to-chick chimeric embryos. It was found that EPDCs that maintain the expression of WT1 and RALDH2 initially populate the subepicardial space and subsequently invade the ventricular myocardium. As EPDCs differentiate into the smooth muscle and endothelial cell lineage of the coronary vessels, the expression of WT1 and RALDH2 becomes downregulated. This process is accompanied by the upregulation of lineage-specific markers. We also observed EPDCs that continued to express WT1 (but very little RALDH2) which did not contribute to the formation of the coronary system. A subset of these cells eventually migrates into the atrioventricular (AV) cushions, at which point they no longer express WT1. The WT1/RALDH2-negative EPDCs in the AV cushions do, however, express the smooth muscle cell marker caldesmon. The second aim of this study was to determine the impact of abnormal epicardial growth on cardiac development. Experimental delay of epicardial growth distorted normal epicardial development, reduced the number of invasive WT1/RALDH2-positive EPDCs, and provoked anomalies in the coronary vessels, the ventricular myocardium, and the AV cushions. We suggest that the proper development of ventricular myocardium is dependent on the invasion of undifferentiated, WT1-positive, retinoic acid-synthesizing EPDCs. Furthermore, we propose that an interaction between EPDCs and endocardial (derived) cells is imperative for correct development of the AV cushions.
The Toxicological Impacts of the Fusarium Mycotoxin, Deoxynivalenol, in Poultry Flocks with Special Reference to Immunotoxicity

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a common Fusarium toxin in poultry feed. Chickens are more resistant to the adverse impacts of deoxynivalenol (DON) compared to other species. In general, the acute form of DON mycotoxicosis rarely occurs in poultry flocks under normal conditions. However, if diets contain low levels of DON (less than 5 mg DON/kg diet), lower productivity, impaired immunity and higher susceptibility to infectious diseases can occur. The molecular mechanism of action of DON has not been completely understood. A significant influence of DON in chickens is the impairment of immunological functions. It was known that low doses of DON elevated the serum IgA levels and affected both cell-mediated and humoral immunity in animals. DON is shown to suppress the antibody response to infectious bronchitis vaccine (IBV) and to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in broilers (10 mg DON/kg feed) and laying hens (3.5 to 14 mg of DON/kg feed), respectively. Moreover, DON (10 mg DON/kg feed) decreased tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the plasma of broilers. DON can severely affect the immune system and, due to its negative impact on performance and productivity, can eventually result in high economic losses to poultry producers. The present review highlights the impacts of DON intoxication on cell mediated immunity, humoral immunity, gut immunity, immune organs and pro-inflammatory cytokines in chickens.
A Peptide‐Network Weaved Nanoplatform with Tumor Microenvironment Responsiveness and Deep Tissue Penetration Capability for Cancer Therapy

Novel core-shell tumor-penetrating vesicles consisting of a nanovesicle core with tumor-penetrating ligands and enzymatically degradable polymeric peptides anchored covalently to the core to form a thin polymeric shell are evaluated as drug-delivery systems. This delivery platform demonstrates an enhanced therapeutic efficacy attributed to the synergistic contributions from matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-responsive drug release as well as improved tumor accumulation and penetration in the tumor microenvironment.
Brainstem Bilirubin Toxicity in the Newborn Primate May Be Promoted and Reversed by Modulating PCO2

ABSTRACT: The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was monitored during infusion of bilirubin in six ventilated newborn rhesus monkeys (138–145 d gestation) while acute changes in pH were produced by varying inspired CO2. Prolonged respiratory acidosis without bilirubin infusion produced minimal changes in the ABR (one animal). CO2 exposure, usually initiated when the bilirubin level reached ∼20 mg/dL, decreased arterial pH to values ranging from 6.85 to 7.10. ABR changes, including prolongation of the wave II-IV peak to peak intervals and decreased wave amplitudes, first developed 2–4 h after initial exposure to CO2. Total and unbound bilirubin levels at this time ranged from 376 to 564 μmol/L (22–33 mg/dL) and 38 to 65 nmol/ L (2.5–3.8 μg/dL), respectively. Correction of respiratory acidosis produced partial to complete reversal of ABR changes within 3 to 20 min. Reexposure to CO2 immediately reproduced the ABR abnormality. Production and reversal of the abnormal ABR was obtained through two to three cycles in three animals. Thus, when the brainstem bilirubin level was near the threshold for toxicity, the effect of changes in PCO2 on the ABR were immediate, suggesting that auditory pathway toxicity is initially mediated by a reversible pH-dependent bilirubin-membrane complex. In contrast to humans, in monkeys auditory toxicity appeared to be a late manifestation of bilirubin toxicity, inasmuch as all monkeys were obtunded and apneic 30–70 min before ABR abnormalities appeared. Notwithstanding these limitations, the results support the hypothesis that bilirubin toxicity can be both promoted and reversed by modulating brain pH.
Complement receptors regulate differentiation of bone marrow plasma cell precursors expressing transcription factors Blimp-1 and XBP-1

Humoral immune responses are thought to be enhanced by complement-mediated recruitment of the CD21–CD19–CD81 coreceptor complex into the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) complex, which lowers the threshold of B cell activation and increases the survival and proliferative capacity of responding B cells. To investigate the role of the CD21–CD35 complement receptors in the generation of B cell memory, we analyzed the response against viral particles derived from the bacteriophage Qβ in mice deficient in CD21–CD35 (Cr2−/−). Despite highly efficient induction of early antibody responses and germinal center (GC) reactions to immunization with Qβ, Cr2−/− mice exhibited impaired antibody persistence paralleled by a strongly reduced development of bone marrow plasma cells. Surprisingly, antigen-specific memory B cells were essentially normal in these mice. In the absence of CD21-mediated costimulation, Qβ-specific post-GC B cells failed to induce the transcriptional regulators Blimp-1 and XBP-1 driving plasma cell differentiation, and the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, which resulted in failure to generate the precursor population of long-lived plasma cells residing in the bone marrow. These results suggest that complement receptors maintain antibody responses by delivery of differentiation and survival signals to precursors of bone marrow plasma cells.
Spatial Regulation of Root Growth: Placing the Plant TOR Pathway in a Developmental Perspective

Plant cells contain specialized structures, such as a cell wall and a large vacuole, which play a major role in cell growth. Roots follow an organized pattern of development, making them the organs of choice for studying the spatio-temporal regulation of cell proliferation and growth in plants. During root growth, cells originate from the initials surrounding the quiescent center, proliferate in the division zone of the meristem, and then increase in length in the elongation zone, reaching their final size and differentiation stage in the mature zone. Phytohormones, especially auxins and cytokinins, control the dynamic balance between cell division and differentiation and therefore organ size. Plant growth is also regulated by metabolites and nutrients, such as the sugars produced by photosynthesis or nitrate assimilated from the soil. Recent literature has shown that the conserved eukaryotic TOR (target of rapamycin) kinase pathway plays an important role in orchestrating plant growth. We will summarize how the regulation of cell proliferation and cell expansion by phytohormones are at the heart of root growth and then discuss recent data indicating that the TOR pathway integrates hormonal and nutritive signals to orchestrate root growth.
MicroRNA-223 Promotes Type I Interferon Production in Antiviral Innate Immunity by Targeting Forkhead Box Protein O3 (FOXO3)*

Effective recognition of viral infection and subsequent triggering of antiviral innate immune responses are essential for the host antiviral defense, which is tightly regulated by multiple regulators, including microRNAs. Previous reports have shown that some microRNAs are induced during virus infection and participate in the regulation of the innate antiviral response. However, whether the type I IFN response is regulated by miR-223 is still unknown. Here, we reported that vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection induced significant up-regulation of miR-223 in murine macrophages. We observed that miR-223 overexpression up-regulated type I IFN expression levels in VSV-infected macrophages. We also demonstrated that miR-223 directly targets FOXO3 to regulate the type I IFN production. Furthermore, type I IFN, which is triggered by VSV infection, is responsible for the up-regulation of miR-223, thus forming a positive regulatory loop for type I IFN production. Our results uncovered a novel mechanism of miR-223-mediated regulation of type I IFN production in the antiviral innate immunity for the first time.
Socioeconomic Differences in Adolescent Health-Related Behavior Differ by Gender

Background Many studies of adolescent health-related behaviors have assessed the effects of gender and parental socioeconomic position (SEP) but not their mutual modification. We investigated socioeconomic differences in health-related behaviors among Slovak adolescents and the potential modification of those differences by gender. Methods Data were collected in 2006 (n = 3547; 49.4% boys; mean [SD] age, 14.3 [0.6] years; response rate, 93.5%). The sample comprised students in the eighth and ninth grades of randomly selected elementary schools in Slovakia. Gender-specific prevalence rates for 9 types of health-related behaviors, including nutritional behavior, physical activity and substance use, were calculated for 3 socioeconomic groups, which were defined by the highest educational level attained by both parents. Gender differences in socioeconomic gradients for health-related behaviors were tested. Results Socioeconomic differences were found in nutritional behavior, physical activity, and smoking. Adolescents with lower parental education behaved less healthily. The largest relative socioeconomic difference was no daily vegetable consumption among girls (90.3% of those with high SEP vs 95.2% of those with middle SEP; odds ratio, 2.33). Regarding no daily fruit consumption, differences among girls were 1.51 times and 1.92 times as large as those among boys for children with medium and low SEP, respectively, as compared with those with high SEP. Conclusions Socioeconomic differences in health-related behavior were small, especially for nutritional behavior and physical activity. Interventions that aim to improve health-related behaviors among adolescents with lower SEP should focus on these 2 behaviors, particularly on healthy nutrition in girls with low SEP.
Instantaneous-current control of PMSM using MPC: Frequency analysis based on sinusoidal correlation

We have proposed a novel approach for permanent magnet synchronous motors based on model predictive control. This paper describes a frequency analysis based on a single sinusoidal correlation in order to clarify the control performance of the model predictive instantaneous current control (MPIC). For MPIC, the proposed analysis method allows us to analyze the gain and phase characteristics which has not been discussed explicitly so far in other works.
Transcriptional Programming and Functional Interactions within the Phytophthora sojae RXLR Effector Repertoire[C][W][OA]

This study presents a broad functional survey of a large sample of candidate RXLR effectors in the oomycete pathogen of soybean (Phytophthora sojae). Suppression of plant defense, transcription patterns, and polymorphisms were assayed. Essential effectors and effector subsets with distinct expression patterns and defense suppression activities were identified. The genome of the soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae contains nearly 400 genes encoding candidate effector proteins carrying the host cell entry motif RXLR-dEER. Here, we report a broad survey of the transcription, variation, and functions of a large sample of the P. sojae candidate effectors. Forty-five (12%) effector genes showed high levels of polymorphism among P. sojae isolates and significant evidence for positive selection. Of 169 effectors tested, most could suppress programmed cell death triggered by BAX, effectors, and/or the PAMP INF1, while several triggered cell death themselves. Among the most strongly expressed effectors, one immediate-early class was highly expressed even prior to infection and was further induced 2- to 10-fold following infection. A second early class, including several that triggered cell death, was weakly expressed prior to infection but induced 20- to 120-fold during the first 12 h of infection. The most strongly expressed immediate-early effectors could suppress the cell death triggered by several early effectors, and most early effectors could suppress INF1-triggered cell death, suggesting the two classes of effectors may target different functional branches of the defense response. In support of this hypothesis, misexpression of key immediate-early and early effectors severely reduced the virulence of P. sojae transformants.
Commute UX: Voice Enabled In-car Infotainment System

Voice enabled dialog systems are well suited for in-car applications. Driving is an eyes-busy and hands-busy task and the only wideband communication channel left is speech. Such systems are in the midst of a transformation from a cool gadget to an integral part of the modern automobile. In this paper we highlight the major requirements for an in-car dialog system including usability during conditions of cognitive load, efficiency though multimodal user interface, dealing with locations, handling the noise in the car with better sound capture and robust speech recognition. We then present Commute UX, our prototype multi-modal dialog system for in-car infotainment system.
Modeling, analysis, and performance evaluation of a robotic gripper system for limp material handling

This paper presents an analytical model of a flat surfaced robotic gripper designed to automate the process of reliable, rapid and distortion-free limp material handling. The designed gripper prototype is integrated with an industrial robot manipulator. The gripper geometry and its grasp stability are justified. Performance of the overall system is experimentally tested, based on a set of industry dictated operational constraints. It is found that the gripper system has high reliability, grasp stability, and that it is capable of rapid rates of manipulation.