Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal stress on intertidal limpets: long-term hindcasts and lethal limits

SUMMARY When coupled with long-term meteorological records, a heat-budget model for the limpet, Lottia gigantea, provides a wealth of information regarding environmental and topographic controls of body temperature in this ecologically important species. (1) The maximum body temperature predicted for any site (37.5°C) is insufficient to kill all limpets, suggesting that acute thermal stress does not set an absolute upper limit to the elevation of L. gigantea on the shore. Therefore, the upper limit must be set by behavioral responses, sublethal effects or ecological interactions. (2) Temperatures sufficient to kill limpets are reached at only a small fraction of substratum orientations and elevations and on only three occasions in 5 years. These rare predicted lethal temperatures could easily be missed in field measurements, thereby influencing the interpretation of thermal stress. (3) Body temperature is typically higher than air temperature, but maximum air temperature can nonetheless be used as an accurate predictor of maximum body temperature. Warmer air temperatures in the future may thus cause increased mortality in this intertidal species. Interpretation of the ecological effects of elevated body temperature depends strongly on laboratory measurements of thermal stress, highlighting the need for additional research on the temporal and spatial variability of thermal limits and sublethal stress. The lengthy time series of body temperatures calculated from the heat-budget model provides insight into how these physiological measurements should be conducted.
A lncRNA Perspective into (Re)Building the Heart

Our conception of the human genome, long focused on the 2% that codes for proteins, has profoundly changed since its first draft assembly in 2001. Since then, an unanticipatedly expansive functionality and convolution has been attributed to the majority of the genome that is transcribed in a cell-type/context-specific manner into transcripts with no apparent protein coding ability. While the majority of these transcripts, currently annotated as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), are functionally uncharacterized, their prominent role in embryonic development and tissue homeostasis, especially in the context of the heart, is emerging. In this review, we summarize and discuss the latest advances in understanding the relevance of lncRNAs in (re)building the heart.
The Effect of Suppressed Levels of Uninvolved Immunoglobulins on the Prognosis of Symptomatic Multiple Myeloma

Objective: The majority of multiple myeloma (MM) patients have high levels of monoclonal immunoglobulin in the serum and/or urine and suppressed levels of the uninvolved immunoglobulins. The prognostic significance of this phenomenon has not been assessed sufficiently. In this study, our aim is to evaluate the prognostic significance of uninvolved immunoglobulin suppression measured by nephelometry in patients with new symptomatic MM and the association with other features of the disease. Materials and Methods: Between August 2003 and February 2015, 137 patients who were referred for the treatment of newly diagnosed symptomatic myeloma to the Hematology Department polyclinics of the İstanbul University İstanbul Faculty of Medicine were prospectively included and had available pretreatment immunoglobulin levels measured by nephelometry. Results: Suppression of at least one uninvolved immunoglobulin was observed in 87% of patients and this situation was slightly more common in patients with immunoglobulin A myeloma but had no statistical significance (p>0.05). Uninvolved immunoglobulin suppression was also more common among patients who had bone marrow plasma cell infiltration of ≥40% and presented with anemia and hypercalcemia (p<0.05). The overall survival time was shorter in patients with positive calcium-renal-anemia-bone criteria and International Staging System stage 3 compared with others (p<0.05). Factors that were independently associated with inferior survival in the multivariate analysis included patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min, age of >65 years, lactate dehydrogenase of >300 IU/L, bone marrow plasma cells of ≥40%, and β2-microglobulin of >3.5 mg/dL (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, 13.1% of MM patients had preserved levels of uninvolved immunoglobulins. We observed that patients who had preserved uninvolved immunoglobulin levels had better treatment responses and better pathologic signs, but statistical significance could not be shown. Conversely, patients with suppression of even one of the uninvolved immunoglobulins had a shorter survival, but similarly, statistical significance could not be shown.
Biosafety of an entomopathogenic fungus Isaria fumosorosea in an acute dermal test in rabbits

Abstract Isaria fumosorosea (formerly Paecilomyces fumosoroseus) is an entomopathogenic fungus that has been proposed as a low risk environmental alternative to the use of chemical insecticides to control agricultural pests and disease vectors. Although there are some mycoinsecticides already being marketed in many countries, not all their biosafety protocols have been published. The acute dermal toxicity test in an animal model is one in a series of biosafety protocols that must be developed, in order to provide information on health hazards, while taking into consideration the periods that the workers are in direct contact with the microbial agent when applied for the control of pests. For this test, we used I. fumosorosea monospore culture EH-506/3, isolated in Mexico from the Bemisia tabaci whitefly, applying a dose of 2 g/kg of animal body weight, on the shaved skin of 16 New Zealand rabbits, with an exposure time of 24 h. Clinical observations were conducted to evaluate the presence of erythema, edema and other alterations in the skin, as well as the behavior and health of the animals, for a period of 14 days. None of the rabbits showed clinical signs of any disease and their body weight corresponded to the expected weight for a healthy rabbit. The test showed no inflammatory reactions in the skin, supporting the safety of a single dose of this fungus in dermal exposure. Therefore, these data support the safety of I. fumosorosea EH-506/3 when applied to the skin.
On the Pursuit of Optimal Sequence Trimming Parameters for EST Projects

In EST projects it is extremely important to be able to identify the informative region of the read, by trimming the non informative ones. Several methods for sequence trimming are available. In this work we present a methodology to compare such methods, based on the sequencing of defined sequences (pUC18 cloning vector) and homology searches to find the informative region using BLAST. This methodology has shown that Phred trim alt algorithm provides proper sequence trimming.
Innovative framework for e-government adoption in Saudi Arabia: a study from the business sector perspective

E-Government increases transparency and im- proves communication between the government and the users. Providing e-Government services to business sector is a fun- damental mission of governmental agencies in Saudi Arabia. However, the adoption of e-Government systems is less than satisfactory in many countries, particularly in developing coun- tries. This is a significant factor that can lead to e-Government failure and, therefore, to the waste of budget and effort. One pertinent, unanswered question is what are the key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation level of users from business sector. Unlike much research in the literature that has utilised common technology acceptance models and theories to analyse the adoption of e-Government, which may not be sufficient for such analysis, this study proposes a conceptual framework following a holistic approach to analyse key factors that influence the adoption and utilisation of e-Government in Saudi Arabia. The developed framework, E-Government Adoption and Utilisation Model (EGAUM), was developed based on critical evaluation of several common models and theories related to technology acceptance and use including Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), in conjunction with analysis of e-Government adoption literature. The study involved 48 participating business entities from two major cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and Jeddah. The descriptive and statistical analyses are presented in this paper and the results indicated that all the proposed factors have degree of influence on the adoption and utilisation level. Perceived Benefits, Awareness, Previous Experience, and Regulations & Policies were found to be the significant factors that are most likely to influence the adoption and usage level of users from business sector. Keywords: E-Government; E-Services; Saudi Arabia; Technology Adoption; Influential Factors; Users’ Intention; Business Sector Perspective
Loss of SOCS3 Gene Expression Converts STAT3 Function from Anti-apoptotic to Pro-apoptotic*

The transcription factor STAT3 is activated by interleukin-6-related cytokines and has been implicated as an oncogene; it promotes cell proliferation and is anti-apoptotic. However, in some cases, STAT3 has been shown to be pro-apoptotic, especially in mammary epithelial cells. In this report, we generated SOCS3-deficient murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), in which STAT3 activation is extremely enhanced and prolonged. We found that LIF induces caspase-3 activation and apoptosis of SOCS3–/– MEFs. Exogenous expression of the dominant negative form of STAT3 but not STAT1 suppressed LIF-induced apoptosis of SOCS3–/– MEFs, indicating that STAT3 plays a critical role in apoptosis induction. As shown in mammary gland epithelial cells, expression of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulatory subunits p50α and p55α was induced in response to LIF in SOCS3–/– MEFs but not in wild-type MEFs, and Akt/protein kinase B activity was substantially reduced in SOCS3–/– MEFs. Furthermore, we found that some of the STAT3 target genes related to apoptosis and proliferation, such as Bcl-2 and cyclin D1, were repressed upon LIF treatment in SOCS3–/– cells. Not only the up-regulation of p50α and p55α but also the repression of cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 in SOCS3–/– MEFs was inhibited by dominant negative STAT3. These data suggest that prolonged activation of STAT3 could induce apoptosis/growth arrest rather than anti-apoptosis and proliferation in certain cases, and SOCS3 is a critical regulator of this balance.
Glycine Potentiates AMPA Receptor Function through Metabotropic Activation of GluN2A-Containing NMDA Receptors

NMDA receptors are Ca2+-permeable ion channels. The activation of NMDA receptors requires agonist glutamate and co-agonist glycine. Recent evidence indicates that NMDA receptor also has metabotropic function. Here we report that in cultured mouse hippocampal neurons, glycine increases AMPA receptor-mediated currents independent of the channel activity of NMDA receptors and the activation of glycine receptors. The potentiation of AMPA receptor function by glycine is antagonized by the inhibition of ERK1/2. In the hippocampal neurons and in the HEK293 cells transfected with different combinations of NMDA receptors, glycine preferentially acts on GluN2A-containing NMDA receptors (GluN2ARs), but not GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors (GluN2BRs), to enhance ERK1/2 phosphorylation independent of the channel activity of GluN2ARs. Without requiring the channel activity of GluN2ARs, glycine increases AMPA receptor-mediated currents through GluN2ARs. Thus, these results reveal a metabotropic function of GluN2ARs in mediating glycine-induced potentiation of AMPA receptor function via ERK1/2 activation.
Are ictal vocalisations related to the lateralisation of frontal lobe epilepsy?

The purpose was to analyse whether non-speech vocalisations in seizures originating in the frontal lobe do have lateralising value. Patients were included who had undergone presurgical evaluation with ictal video-EEG monitoring at the Epilepsy Centre, had had resective epilepsy surgery involving the frontal lobe, and who had remained seizure free>1 year postoperatively. Twenty seven patients aged 1–42 years (mean 18) met the inclusion criteria. Age at epilepsy onset ranged from 1 month to 41 years (mean 7.1 years). All selected patients had a unilateral MRI detected lesion within the frontal lobe. Fifteen patients had right sided, 12 patients had left sided epileptogenic zones. Seizures recorded during EEG-video monitoring were re-evaluated to identify the occurrence of ictal vocalisations. Pure ictal vocalisations were distinguished from ictal sound productions due to motor or vegetative seizure activity (for example, cloni or respiratory sounds). Pure ictal vocalisation occurred in 11 patients of whom nine had a left frontal epileptogenic zone (p<0.01). It is concluded that ictal vocalisation could be an additional lateralising sign in frontal lobe epilepsy. The results suggest that not only speech, but vocalisation at a subverbal level also shows a left hemispheric dominance in humans.
Graphone Model Interpolation and Arabic Pronunciation Generation

This paper extends n-gram graphone model pronunciation generation to use a mixture of such models. This technique is useful when pronunciation data is for a specific variant (or set of variants) of a language, such as for a dialect, and only a small amount of pronunciation dictionary training data for that specific variant is available. The performance of the interpolated n-gram graphone model is evaluated on Arabic phonetic pronunciation generation for words that can't be handled by the Buckwalter Morphological Analyser. The pronunciations produced are also used to train an Arabic broadcast audio speech recognition system. In both cases the interpolated graphone model leads to improved performance. Copyright © 2011 ISCA.
Transdifferentiation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells to Macrophage-Like Cells During Atherogenesis

Rationale: Atherosclerosis is a widespread and devastating disease, but the origins of cells within atherosclerotic plaques are not well defined. Objective: To investigate the specific contribution of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to atherosclerotic plaque formation by genetic inducible fate mapping in mice. Methods and Results: Vascular SMCs were genetically pulse-labeled using the tamoxifen-dependent Cre recombinase, CreERT2, expressed from the endogenous SM22&agr; locus combined with Cre-activatable reporter genes that were integrated into the ROSA26 locus. Mature SMCs in the arterial media were labeled by tamoxifen treatment of young apolipoprotein E–deficient mice before the development of atherosclerosis and then their fate was monitored in older atherosclerotic animals. We found that medial SMCs can undergo clonal expansion and convert to macrophage-like cells that have lost classic SMC marker expression and make up a major component of advanced atherosclerotic lesions. Conclusions: This study provides strong in vivo evidence for smooth muscle-to-macrophage transdifferentiation and supports an important role of SMC plasticity in atherogenesis. Targeting this type of SMC phenotypic conversion might be a novel strategy for the treatment of atherosclerosis, as well as other diseases with a smooth muscle component.
[Thyroid function profile in infants submitted to cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is related to euthyroid disease or hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid system depression. Abnormal hemodynamic status induced by CPB is responsible for several endocrine-metabolic changes, triggering complex systemic inflammatory response. This study aimed at evaluating triiodothyronine (T3), tetraiodothyronine (T4) and thyrotrophin (TSH) behavior in infants submitted to cardiac surgery with CPB. METHODS Participated in this study 15 infants. Blood samples for T3, T4 and TSH evaluation were collected in four moments: M1 - after anesthetic induction; M2 - at surgery completion; M3 - six hours after surgery completion; M4 - 24 hours after M1. To complete this study the following parameters were evaluated: mean blood pressure (MBP), central blood temperature ( masculineC), tissue oxygenation and acid-base attributes (M1, CPB, M2, M3 and M4). RESULTS The patients' means aged, weigh, height and body surface were 3.9 months; 4.708 kg; 0.65 m and 0.3 m(2) respectivety. Plasma T3 (p < 0.0001), T4 (p < 0.0001) and TSH (p = 0.0021) concentrations have significantly varied throughout the study with T3 concentrations progressively decreasing. Lowest T3 and T4 values were coincident with highest Ht and Hb values, discarding hemodilution effects. Highest serum TSH concentrations have shown a possible hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid system reaction to hypothermia and of massive iodine absorption (topic use of antiseptic solutions). 'Low T3 Syndrome' aspects were identified in all studied moments. CONCLUSIONS There have been changes in serum T3, T4 and TSH concentrations in infants submitted to cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.
[Transcranial Doppler sonography in acute intracranial hypertension model--usefulness of pulsatility index].

The authors studied intracranial hemodynamics in experimental animals (Macaca Fuscatus) with acute intracranial hypertension by use of transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound. The blood mean flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCA-FV) and pulsatility index (PI) was recorded using TCD ultrasound (TC2-64, EME) as in the clinical study. Acute intracranial hypertension was produced to determine the correlation of MCA-FV with intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) in 11 monkeys, and the correlation of PI with ICP and CPP in 7 monkeys. ICP was elevated by infusing 0.1-0.2 ml/min of saline into the balloon using infusion pump. ICP was raised until maximum level. Changes of MCA-FV, PI, ICP and CPP were evaluated until the CPP of 0mmHg. There was a significant correlation between MCA-FV and ICP (p < 0.01) as well as between MCA-FV and CPP (p < 0.01) in all 11 monkeys. There was also a significant correlation between PI and ICP (p < 0.01) and between PI and CPP (p < 0.01) in 7 monkeys. PI increased markedly when ICP was 80mmHg or greater or when CPP was 60mmHg or less. ICP was always above 80mmHg when PI was above 1.2. All PI values were above 1.0 when CPP was 40mmHg or less. Thus, we could not estimate the absolute values of ICP or CPP from MCA-FV and PI. It seems possible, however, to follow changes in intracranial hemodynamics at the time of increased ICP if MCA-FV and PI are measured continuously while paying attention to factors influencing MCA-FV. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Design of an OFDM Cooperative Space-Time Diversity System

In this paper, we propose a wireless system that realizes theoretical benefits of space-time cooperation. Specifically, we design a space-time cooperative system based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which we refer to as a cooperative (CO)-OFDM system. Our design includes a two-phase space-time cooperation protocol, as well as a transmitter and receiver architecture that facilitates cooperation. Furthermore, we devise a frame structure, on which we build practical timing and frequency synchronization algorithms and a channel estimation algorithm. In particular, the proposed frequency synchronization algorithm utilizes the underlying structure of the cooperation protocol, and the proposed channel estimation algorithm is based on a pairwise orthogonal construction of two sequences. We validate the performance of the proposed synchronization and channel estimation algorithms through simulations. We then present simulation results that demonstrate the overall performance advantage of the CO-OFDM system over an OFDM system without cooperation, not only under idealistic assumptions but also under realistic situations where the proposed algorithms are employed.
Effectively Combining Software Verification Strategies: Understanding Different Assumptions

In this paper we describe an experiment in which inconsistent results between two tools for testing formal models (and a third used to determine which of the two was correct) led us to a more careful look at the way each tool was being used and a clearer understanding of the output of the tools. For the experiment, we created error-seeded versions of an SCR specification representing a real-world personnel access control system. They were checked using the model checker SPIN and Lurch, our random testing tool for finite-state models. In one case a property violation was detected by Lurch, an incomplete tool, but missed by SPIN, a model checking tool designed for complete verification. We used the SCR Toolset and the Salsa invariant checker to determine that the violation detected by Lurch was indeed present in the specification. We then looked more carefully at how we were using SPIN in conjunction with the SCR Toolset and, eventually, made adjustments so that SPIN also detected the property violation initially detected only by Lurch. Once it was clear the tools were being used correctly and would give consistent results, we did an experiment to determine how they could be combined to optimize completeness and efficiency. We found that combining tools made it possible to verify the specifications faster and with much less memory in most cases
Immune system stimulation by the gut symbiont Frischella perrara in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Gut bacteria engage in various symbiotic interactions with their host and impact gut immunity and homeostasis in different ways. In honey bees, the gut microbiota is composed of a relatively simple, but highly specialized bacterial community. One of its members, the gammaproteobacterium Frischella perrara induces the so‐called scab phenotype, a dark‐coloured band that develops on the epithelial surface of the pylorus. To understand the underlying host response, we analysed transcriptome changes in the pylorus in response to bacterial colonization. We find that, in contrast to the gut bacterium Snodgrassella alvi, F. perrara causes strong activation of the host immune system. Besides pattern recognition receptors, antimicrobial peptides and transporter genes, the melanization cascade was upregulated by F. perrara, suggesting that the scab phenotype corresponds to a melanization response of the host. In addition, transcriptome analysis of hive bees with and without the scab phenotype showed that F. perrara also stimulates the immune system under in‐hive conditions in the presence of other gut bacterial species. Collectively, our study demonstrates that the presence of F. perrara influences gut immunity and homeostasis in the pylorus. This may have implications for bee health, because F. perrara prevalence differs between colonies and increased abundance of this bacterium has been shown to correlate with dietary alteration and impaired host development. Our transcriptome analysis sets the groundwork for investigating the interplay of bee gut symbionts with the host immune system.