Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skeletal muscle wasting with disuse atrophy is multi-dimensional: the response and interaction of myonuclei, satellite cells and signaling pathways

Maintenance of skeletal muscle is essential for health and survival. There are marked losses of skeletal muscle mass as well as strength and physiological function under conditions of low mechanical load, such as space flight, as well as ground based models such as bed rest, immobilization, disuse, and various animal models. Disuse atrophy is caused by mechanical unloading of muscle and this leads to reduced muscle mass without fiber attrition. Skeletal muscle stem cells (satellite cells) and myonuclei are integrally involved in skeletal muscle responses to environmental changes that induce atrophy. Myonuclear domain size is influenced differently in fast and slow twitch muscle, but also by different models of muscle wasting, a factor that is not yet understood. Although the myonuclear domain is 3-dimensional this is rarely considered. Apoptosis as a mechanism for myonuclear loss with atrophy is controversial, whereas cell death of satellite cells has not been considered. Molecular signals such as myostatin/SMAD pathway, MAFbx, and MuRF1 E3 ligases of the ubiquitin proteasome pathway and IGF1-AKT-mTOR pathway are 3 distinctly different contributors to skeletal muscle protein adaptation to disuse. Molecular signaling pathways activated in muscle fibers by disuse are rarely considered within satellite cells themselves despite similar exposure to unloading or low mechanical load. These molecular pathways interact with each other during atrophy and also when various interventions are applied that could alleviate atrophy. Re-applying mechanical load is an obvious method to restore muscle mass, however how nutrient supplementation (e.g., amino acids) may further enhance recovery (or reduce atrophy despite unloading or ageing) is currently of great interest. Satellite cells are particularly responsive to myostatin and to growth factors. Recently, the hibernating squirrel has been identified as an innovative model to study resistance to atrophy.
The pH dependent configurations of the C.A mispair in DNA.

The structure of the cytosine-adenine mispair in a 7 base pair duplex has been investigated by proton NMR spectroscopy. At low pH, the predominant structure is protonated on the A residue and assumes a wobble conformation consistent with previous findings. The C residue of the mispair is found in a C2'-C3' endo equilibrium. This is confirmed by molecular dynamics calculations which suggest that the conformation of the protonated wobble is flexible and not as rigid as a normal base pair. As the solution pH is raised, a structural transition is observed with an apparent pK of 7.54 at 23 degrees C. At higher pH the predominant structure is one in which both the C and A residues are intrahelical. Evidence is presented that this structure corresponds to a reverse wobble in which the two bases are held together by one hydrogen bond. This structure is much less stable than the protonated form and even at low temperature single strands are observed in slow exchange with the neutral duplex form.
Understanding Gen Y: The Motivations, Values and Beliefs

Generation Y professionals are one of the most discussed about and researched subjects of recent times. Making their presence felt through young leadership and carving out innovative corporate practices, this generation of cohorts is poised to change the ways of the world around them. This paper aims to study the motivations, values and beliefs of the youngest professionals existing today. With the help of a qualitative research methodology, the researchers have attempted to understand the meaning of motivation from their lens, their sources of motivation and their underlying values and beliefs. After an in-depth analysis of respondent's short essays, focus group discussions and blog reviews, a model explaining Generation Y's motivational dimensions has been created. This research can prove to be quite useful for organizations which are looking at bringing about harmonious inter-generational relationships. The model presented here can be further explored for devising interventional strategies for managing Gen-Y professionals.
The Effect of Alternative Scoring Procedures on the Measurement Properties of a Self-Administered Depression Scale: An IRT Investigation on the CES-D Scale

To investigate the effect of response alternatives/scoring procedures on the measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) which has the four response alternatives, a polytomous item response theory (IRT) model was applied to the responses of 2,061 workers and university students (1,640 males, 421 females). Test information functions derived from the polytomous IRT analyses on the CES-D data with various scoring procedures indicated that: (1) the CES-D with its standard (0-1-2-3) scoring procedure should be useful for screening to detect subjects with “at high-risk” of depression if the &thgr; point showing the highest information corresponds to the cut-off point, because of its extremely higher information; (2) the CES-D with the 0-1-1-2 scoring procedure could cover wider range of depressive severity, suggesting that this scoring procedure might be useful in cases where more exhaustive discrimination in symptomatology is of interest; and (3) the revised version of CES-D with replacing original positive items into negatively revised items outperformed the original version. These findings have never been demonstrated by the classical test theory analyses, and thus the utility of this kind of psychometric testing should be warranted to further investigation for the standard measures of psychological assessment.
Electrospun PVdF with enhanced piezoelectric behavior

This paper deals with electromechanical response of piezoelectric nanofibrous materials based on PVdF-TrFe co-polymer obtained by means of electrospinning. This technique, providing electrical poling and mechanical stretching during material processing, should increase the beta crystalline phase and thus piezoelectric effect. Two fiber patterns were analyzed, i.e. aligned and random. Experimental results showed that the electric response to mechanical vibrations, in the frequency range from 30 Hz to 200 Hz, is significantly larger for samples with aligned fiber pattern with respect to both commercial films and random fiber specimens. These latters, in fact, show lower beta phase with respect to the aligned-fiber samples.
INTRODUCTION TO ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS (EDCs) A GUIDE FOR PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS AND POLICY-MAKERS

ii Founded in 1916, the Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest, and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. The Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 18,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses, and students in more than 100 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. Included among the Society's members are the world's leading experts on the health effects of EDCs. Endocrine Society members have been at the forefront of scientific advancements in the field of EDCs since it was first recognized that exogenous chemicals can have effects on endocrine systems. The Society held its first public meeting on EDCs in conjunction with its Annual Meeting in San Francisco in 2005. The So-ciety's landmark 2009 Scientific Statement on EDCs was the first comprehensive review of the EDC literature, and it represented the first public statement on the issue from a major mainstream international medical society. IPEN is a leading global network of 700 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in more than 100 developing countries and countries with economies in transition. IPEN works to establish and implement safe chemicals policies and practices to protect human health and the environment. It does this by building the capacity of its member organizations to implement on-the-ground activities, learn from each other's work, and work at the international level to set priorities and achieve new policies. Its mission is a toxics-free future for all. IPEN has been engaged in the SAICM process since 2003, and its global network helped to develop the SAICM international policy framework. At its founding, in 1998, IPEN focused on advancing the development and implementation of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Today, its mission also includes promoting safe chemicals management through the SAICM process (where it holds the public interest organization seat on the SAICM Bureau), halting the spread of toxic metals, and building a movement for a toxics-free future.
Current options for the treatment of Paget’s disease of the bone

Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a chronic bone remodelling disorder characterized by increased osteoclast-mediated bone resorption, with subsequent compensatory increases in new bone formation, resulting in a disorganized mosaic of woven and lamellar bone at affected skeletal sites. This disease is most often asymptomatic but can be associated with bone pain or deformity, fractures, secondary arthritis, neurological complications, deafness, contributing to substantial morbidity and reduced quality of life. Neoplastic degeneration of pagetic bone is a relatively rare event, occurring with an incidence of less than 1%, but has a grave prognosis. Specific therapy for PDB is aimed at decreasing the abnormal bone turnover and bisphosphonates are currently considered the treatment of choice. These treatments are associated with a reduction in plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and an improvement in radiological and scintigraphic appearance and with a reduction in bone pain and bone deformity, Recently, the availability of newer, more potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates has improved treatment outcomes, allowing a more effective and convenient management of this debilitating disorder.
A novel monolithic CMOS capacitive pressure sensor

This paper reports a novel monolithic capacitive pressure sensor based on the standard CMOS process and post-processing. The sensing part is a variable capacitor with a poly-gate/gate oxide/n-well Si structure. Poly-gate and n-well Si in the CMOS process are the top and bottom electrodes, respectively, while the center layer is the gate oxide. After CMOS process, selectively etching bulk silicon, PN junction self etch-stop and anodic bonding to the glass are used to get the microstructure. Compared with the traditional capacitive pressure sensor, this structure has intrinsic larger initial capacitance value which benefits the following interface circuits and high sensitivity. For the 800um times 800 mum sensor structure, the sensitivity can be 46fF/hPa.Then the sensor is read out using a relaxation oscillator and a D flip-flop with the resolution of 3.2 Hz/hPa
Language norms and language use in seventeenth-century Dutch

The chapter discusses language norms and language use in the Northern Netherlands in the eighteenth century. The eighteenth century is traditionally considered a period of consolidation, i.e. of ongoing codification of the seventeenth-century standard variety. So far, the influence of eighteenth-century normative publications on language use has hardly been investigated. On the basis of a large and socially stratified corpus of eighteenth-century private letters, the chapter provides a detailed account of the possible influence of codified norms on actual language use, focusing on two features with presumably high awareness, viz. final n and the genitive case. The chapter concludes that there is only limited evidence that language users adhered to prescriptive norms.
L infinity total generalized variation for color image recovery

For solving color image recovery problems, we previously proposed an L∞ vectorial total variation (L∞-VTV) as a regularization term considering the inter color channel dependency. However, the result images suffer from pseudo contours known as staircasing effect. For suppressing this, Bredies et al. proposed to add higher-order derivative terms to VTV. However, since it does not consider the inter channel dependency properly, it cannot reduce pseudo color noises on the edge regions. Based on these observations, we proposed a new convex regularization term L∞ vectorial total generalized variation (L∞-VTGV) by combining two ideas: using L∞ norm for penalizing the violation of the inter color channel dependency and introducing higher order derivative term. Furthermore, we address the effective numerical algorithm for various image recovery problems using L∞-VTGV as a regularization term. Experimental results shows that our proposed method can outperform the conventional methods.
Interpreting the M2-brane Action

The world-volume theory of multiple M2-branes proposed recently has a free scalar field. For large vev of this scalar field the world-volume action reduces to that of multiple D2-branes with Yang–Mills coupling proportional to the vev. We suggest that the correct interpretation of this scalar field is as the radial position of the M2-brane center of mass in a cylindrical polar coordinate system. Regarding the azimuthal angle as compact we can regard this as a set of coincident D2-branes in type IIA string theory with varying dilaton and metric. We find that the effective world-volume theory on the D2-branes has Yang–Mills coupling proportional to the radial coordinate; furthermore the radial coordinate satisfies free field equations of motion. This agrees with the corresponding results derived from the M2-brane world-volume theory.
Cross-Country Heterogeneity in Government Transparency and Citizens’ Political Efficacy: A Multilevel Empirical Analysis

Using cross-country data from the Citizenship database of the 2004 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and relying on multilevel mixed-effects modeling, we investigate the link between government transparency and citizens’ external political efficacy. Results indicate that transparency enhances the perception of institutions’ responsiveness to citizens’ actions, but also highlight that this effect is mediated by citizens’ level of education. In particular, while for better educated people the magnitude of government transparency’s effect on citizens’ external efficacy is substantial, the same effect is negligible for less educated citizens who appear to be “lost in transparency. ”
Estimating the Parameters of Cyclin-Triggered Gene Expression in Cell Cycle Control Network

In this paper we describe a new maximum likelihood approach to infer kinetic rate constants from time-course data and apply it to estimate the rate constants of the synthesis and degradation of the mRNA of Cdc20 protein, and the rate constant of the transcription of the cdc20 gene into Cdc20 protein. The Cdc20 protein plays a crucial role in eukaryotic cell cycle, as it codes for the cyclin antagonist in the cell cycle control network. We used micro-array data for the time-course of the level of mRNA of Cdc20. We show that our method provides parameter estimates able to reproduce the observed cyclin-induced oscillations of the Cdc20 transcript.
The Mental Retardation Protein PAK3 Contributes to Synapse Formation and Plasticity in Hippocampus

Mutations of the gene coding for PAK3 (p21-activated kinase 3) are associated with X-linked, nonsyndromic forms of mental retardation (MRX) in which the only distinctive clinical feature is the cognitive deficit. The mechanisms through which PAK3 mutation produces the mental handicap remain unclear, although an involvement in the mechanisms that regulate the formation or plasticity of synaptic networks has been proposed. Here we show, using a transient transfection approach, that antisense and small interfering RNA-mediated suppression of PAK3 or expression of a dominant-negative PAK3 carrying the human MRX30 mutation in rat hippocampal organotypic slice cultures results in the formation of abnormally elongated dendritic spines and filopodia-like protrusions and a decrease in mature spine synapses. Ultrastructural analysis of the changes induced by expression of PAK3 carrying the MRX30 mutation reveals that many elongated spines fail to express postsynaptic densities or contact presynaptic terminals. These defects are associated with a reduced spontaneous activity, altered expression of AMPA-type glutamate receptors, and defective long-term potentiation. Together, these data identify PAK3 as a key regulator of synapse formation and plasticity in the hippocampus and support interpretations that these defects might contribute to the cognitive deficits underlying this form of mental retardation.
The Intensity of Fault Slip through in Software

– The improvement of software development process is gradually refining. Software companies are trying to deliver bug-free, efficient product in a less time. Now a days, the competition betw een the IT companies are increased and the companies need improvements that can decrease the lead-time and improve the delivery precision. It is not enough, if companies develop the products on time but also need to be considering the quality of the product. Efficient and effective testing methods find bugs in early stages rather than finding in later stages or in production time. Early catching of bugs w ill reduce the rework time and also cheaper to find and remove. Rew ork commonly accounts more than half of the development time. The main reason for high rework cost is because of fault slippage from earlier phases. As an input to this improvement, this article explains the intensity of fault-slippage, which determines the faults that could have been more cost efficient to find in earlier phases of software development and life-cycle.
omplex regulation of autophagy in cancer – Integrated approaches o discover the networks that hold a double-edged sword

Autophagy, a highly regulated self-degradation process of eukaryotic cells, is a context-dependent tumor-suppressing mechanism that can also promote tumor cell survival upon stress and treatment resistance. Because of this ambiguity, autophagy is considered as a double-edged sword in oncology, making anti-cancer therapeutic approaches highly challenging. In this review, we present how systemslevel knowledge on autophagy regulation can help to develop new strategies and efficiently select novel anti-cancer drug targets. We focus on the protein interactors and transcriptional/post-transcriptional regulators of autophagy as the protein and regulatory networks significantly influence the activity of core autophagy proteins during tumor progression. We list several network resources to identify interactors and regulators of autophagy proteins. As in silico analysis of such networks often necessitates experimental validation, we briefly summarize tractable model organisms to examine the role of autophagy in cancer. We also discuss fluorescence techniques for high-throughput monitoring of autophagy in humans. Finally, the challenges of pharmacological modulation of autophagy are reviewed. We suggest networkbased concepts to overcome these difficulties. We point out that a context-dependent modulation of autophagy would be favored in anti-cancer therapy, where autophagy is stimulated in normal cells, while inhibited only in stressed cancer cells. To achieve this goal, we introduce the concept of regulo-network drugs targeting specific transcription factors or miRNA families identified with network analysis. The effect of regulo-network drugs propagates indirectly through transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation of autophagy proteins, and, as a multi-directional intervention tool, they can both activate and inhibit specific proteins in the same time. The future identification and validation of such regulo-network drug targets may serve as novel intervention points, where autophagy can be effectively modulated in
Atrophy and hypertrophy signalling of the quadriceps and diaphragm in COPD

Background Factors involved in the regulation of muscle mass in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are still poorly understood. Comparing the signalisation involved in muscle mass regulation between two muscles with different levels of activation within the same subjects is an interesting strategy to tease out the impact of local (muscle activity) versus systemic factors in the regulation of muscle mass. A study was undertaken to measure and compare the protein levels of p-AKT, AKT, Atrogin-1, p-p70S6K, p-4E-BP1, p-GSK3β as well as the mRNA expression of Atrogin-1, MuRF1 and FoxO-1 in the quadriceps and the diaphragm of 12 patients with COPD and 7 controls with normal lung function. Methods Diaphragm biopsies were obtained during thoracic surgery and quadriceps samples were obtained from needle biopsies. Protein content and mRNA expression were measured by western blot and quantitative PCR, respectively. Results Increased mRNA expressions of Atrogin-1, MuRF1 and FoxO-1 were found in the quadriceps compared with the diaphragm only in patients with COPD. The quadriceps/diaphragm ratio for MuRF1 was higher in COPD. The protein level of p-p70S6K was decreased in the quadriceps compared with the diaphragm in patients with COPD. The quadriceps/diaphragm ratios of p-p70S6K and p-GSK3β were lower in patients with COPD than in controls. Conclusions These results indicate a greater susceptibility to a catabolic/anabolic imbalance favouring muscle atrophy in the quadriceps compared with the diaphragm in patients with COPD. The balance between the atrophy and hypertrophy signalling is inhomogeneous between respiratory and lower limb muscles, suggesting that local factors are likely to be involved in the regulation of muscle mass in COPD.
Control Theory and Fast Marching Methods for Brain Connectivity Mapping

We propose a novel, fast and robust technique for the computation of anatomical connectivity in the brain. Our approach exploits the information provided by Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (or DTI) and models the white matter by using Riemannian geometry and control theory. We show that it is possible, from a region of interest, to compute the geodesic distance to any other point and the associated optimal vector field. The latter can be used to trace shortest paths coinciding with neural fiber bundles. We also demonstrate that no explicit computation of those 3D curves is necessary to assess the degree of connectivity of the region of interest with the rest of the brain. We finally introduce a general local connectivity measure whose statistics along the optimal paths may be used to evaluate the degree of connectivity of any pair of voxels. All those quantities can be computed simultaneously in a Fast Marching framework, directly yielding the connectivity maps. Apart from being extremely fast, this method has other advantages such as the strict respect of the convoluted geometry of white matter, the fact that it is parameter-free, and its robustness to noise. We illustrate our technique by showing results on real and synthetic datasets. Our GCM (Geodesic Connectivity Mapping) algorithm is implemented in C++ and will be soon available on the web.
Taupin : NSCs and cancer 114 alternative and promising source of adult stem cells for therapy

The confirmation that neurogenesis occurs in the adult brain and neural stem cells (NSCs) reside in the adult central nervous system (CNS) offers new and promising opportunities to treat a broad range of neurological diseases and injuries, particularly neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Beside this potential, NSCs are being considered for the treatment of brain cancers, and in view of recent developments in stem cell biology that cancer may be a stem cell disease; researchers are revisiting the origin of brain tumors and attempting to isolate and characterize brain tumor stem cells (BTSCs). The existence of BTSCs would have significant consequences for our understanding and the treatment of brain tumors.