Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combinatorial decoding of the invariant C. elegans embryonic lineage in space and time

Understanding how a single cell, the zygote, can divide and differentiate to produce the diverse animal cell types is a central goal of developmental biology research. The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans provides a system that enables a truly comprehensive understanding of this process across all cells. Its invariant cell lineage makes it possible to identify all of the cells in each individual and compare them across organisms. Recently developed methods automate the process of cell identification, allowing high‐throughput gene expression characterization and phenotyping at single cell resolution. In this Review, we summarize the sequences of events that pattern the lineage including establishment of founder cell identity, the signaling pathways that diversify embryonic fate, and the regulators involved in patterning within these founder lineages before cells adopt their terminal fates. We focus on insights that have emerged from automated approaches to lineage tracking, including insights into mechanisms of robustness, context‐specific regulation of gene expression, and temporal coordination of differentiation. We suggest a model by which lineage history produces a combinatorial code of transcription factors that act, often redundantly, to ensure terminal fate. genesis, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. genesis 54:182–197, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
In search of adult renal stem cells

The therapeutic potential of adult stem cells in the treatment of chronic degenerative diseases has becoming increasingly evident over the last few years. Significant attention is currently being paid to the development of novel treatments for acute and chronic kidney diseases too. To date, promising sources of stem cells for renal therapies include adult bone marrow stem cells and the kidney precursors present in the early embryo. Both cells have clearly demonstrated their ability to differentiate into the kidney's specialized structures. Adult renal stem cells have yet to be identified, but the papilla is where the stem cell niche is probably located. Now we need to isolate and characterize the fraction of papillary cells that constitute the putative renal stem cells. Our growing understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind kidney regeneration and repair processes ‐ together with a knowledge of the embryonic origin of renal cells ‐ should induce us, however, to bear in mind that in the kidney, as in other mesenchymal tissues, the need for a real stem cell compartment might be less important than the phenotypic flexibility of tubular cells. Thus, by displaying their plasticity during kidney maintenance and repair, terminally differentiated cells may well function as multipotent stem cells despite being at a later stage of maturation than adult stem cells. One of the major tasks of Regenerative Medicine will be to disclose the molecular mechanisms underlying renal tubular plasticity and to exploit its biological and therapeutic potential.
Prosthetic feet: State-of-the-art review and the importance of mimicking human ankle–foot biomechanics

Numerous prosthetic feet are currently on the market for individuals with a transtibial amputation, each device aimed at raising the 3C-level (control, comfort and cosmetics) with slightly different characteristics. In general, prosthetic feet can be classified into three categories. These are, following the time line: conventional feet (CF), energy-storing-and-returning (ESR) feet and the recent so-called ‘bionic’ feet. Researchers have shown enhanced performance properties of ESR feet compared with early CF. However, even with the advanced technology, none of the ESR feet is capable of significantly reducing energy cost of walking or enhancing prosthetic gait (Nielsen et al. J Prosthet Orthotics 1989;1:24–31; Waters et al. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1976;58:42–46; Torburn et al. J Rehabil Res Dev 1990;27:369–384). From the 1990s, gradually more attention has been paid to the incorporation of active elements in prosthetic feet as the passive devices are not capable of providing the individual with sufficient ankle power during gait. Most part of the ‘bionic’ devices are still on the research level nowadays but one can expect that they will become available on the market soon. In this article, the evolution of prosthetic feet over the last two decades is reflected. The importance of mimicking human ankle–foot biomechanics with prosthetic feet is briefly discussed. Prior work in both objective and subjective evaluation of prosthetic gait is reported.
Infertility and Spontaneous Abortion Among Female Hairdressers: The Hordaland Health Study

Objectives:The authors investigated the risks of negative reproductive outcome among female hairdressers. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1997–1999, and 16,907 women in their forties were invited (response 71%). Information on infertility, delayed conception, spontaneous abortions, smoking, education, and occupation was collected. Results:Infertility and spontaneous abortion were higher among female hairdressers than among women in other occupations (adjusted relative risks = 1.30; 95% confidence intervals = 1.08 to 1.55 and 1.31; 1.07 to 1.60, respectively). There was a significant interaction between work and smoking habits. Smoking increased the risk of infertility among women in other occupations, but this was not found among hairdressers. Conclusions:Female hairdressers have an increased risk of infertility and spontaneous abortions that might be due to their occupational chemical exposure. The risk was primarily found among never smokers.
Proposal of an Awakening Behavior Detection System for Medical Use and Adaptation for Fluctuation of the Brightness Quantity with Infrared Camera Device Kinect

Recently, accidents such that seniors fall down from the bed in care facilities or hospitals are increased. To prevent these accidents, we have developed the awakening behavior detection system using Neural Network. However, fluctuation of brightness quantity in the capturing environment sometimes makes decrease the detection capability. Therefore, to decrease the influence of the quantity, we newly introduce an infrared camera device Kinect to the proposed system in order to detect clear shape of the human's behavior despite of the fluctuation of the brightness. Finally, we show the effectiveness of the infrared camera image from Kinect on the detection capability by the experiments.
Indoor Wireless Localisation Network using a Mobile Phone Interface

In recent years, indoor localisation and movement tracking of people and objects has generated interest for a variety of applications ranging from transport to health care. We present a localisation network designed to track people in an indoor environment. The localisation network consists of static nodes placed at predetermined locations in a building. Users carry a mobile node to track their current position. The mobile node has onboard motion sensors to detect a person's heading direction and motion state. A dynamic tracking mode was used to determine a person's position. The dynamic tracking model was implemented using a Multi-Hypothesis Estimation algorithm. The dynamic tracking model determines the mobile node's position by using the mobile node's proximity to static nodes, mobile node's motion sensor information and the building's floor-plan. We found that by using a multi-hypothesis estimation algorithm, robust localisation accuracy, could be achieved in real-time. The position resolution of the localisation network was found to have a maximum error between 1m and 3.5m. Further work involves extensive testing the localisation network with multiple mobile nodes and over a larger test region. Other areas involve investigating how multiple mobile nodes placed on a user can be used to improve the estimate of the user's position.
Nasal Bots and Lice from White-tailed Deer in Southern Alberta, Canada

Heads of 64 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns, harvested in the vicinity of Magrath, Alberta, Canada, (49°24′782″N, 112°52′113″W) were examined for the presence of nasal bots and lice. The deer were collected between 8–30 January 2004 as part of a government-approved herd reduction protocol. The entire surface of each head was scanned visually for the presence of lice. Each head was split longitudinally, and the nasal passages, sinuses, and ethmoid region were washed for recovery of nasal bots. First instar Cephenemyia spp. were recovered from 17 heads (27%). Intensity of infestation ranged from 1–18 larvae (mean intensity 4.8). Among fawns, there were no significant differences in prevalence or mean intensity between the sexes. Two species of nasal bots were identified. Smaller larvae, tentatively identified as C. jellisoni, were present in 16 of 17 infested deer while larger specimens, tentatively identified as C. phobifera, were found in four deer; and in three of the four it co-occurred with C. jellisoni. The presence of C. phobifera in Alberta would represent a range extension for this species, which has not been known to occur west of North Dakota. Thirty-one fawns (48%) were infested with the sucking louse Solenopotes ferrisi. One infested fawn also had one specimen of the chewing louse, Tricholiopeurus lipeuroides.
Mental health correlates of anger in the general population: Findings from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing

Objective: The aim of the present study is to examine the mental health correlates of anger in the general population using data collected as part of the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (2007 NSMHWB). Method: The 2007 NSMHWB was a nationally representative household survey of 8841 Australians aged between 16 and 85 years. The survey assessed for 30-day DSM-IV mental health disorders and 30-day anger symptoms. Results: A range of mood, anxiety and substance use disorders were found to be independently associated with symptoms of anger after controlling for demographics and comorbidity. These included major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol and drug use disorders. Conclusions: This study is the first epidemiological investigation of the mental health correlates of anger in the Australian general population. Anger can have extremely maladaptive effects on behaviour and can lead to serious consequences for the individual and for the community. The findings of the present study denote the importance of assessing anger symptoms among individuals presenting with these common mental health disorders.
Weapons of mass retraction

Twitching motility is a unique form of bacterial propulsion on solid surfaces associated with cycles of extension, tethering and retraction of type IV pili (T4P). Although investigations over the last two decades in a number of species have identified the majority of the genes involved in this process, we are still learning how these pili are assembled and the mechanics by which bacteria use T4P to drag themselves from one place to another. Among the puzzles that remain to be solved is the mechanism by which hydrolysis of ATP is coupled to pilus assembly and disassembly, and how the cell envelope structure is modified to accommodate the passage of the pilus through the periplasm. Unravelling of these and other enigmas in the T4P system will not only teach us more about these important colonization and virulence factors, but also help us to understand related processes such as type II secretion, which relies on a set of proteins homologous to those in the T4P system, and bacterial conjugation, involving retractable pili belonging to the F‐like subgroup of the type IV secretion family. This review focuses on recent discoveries relating to the assembly and function of T4P in generation of twitching motility.
Predominance of Duplicative VSG Gene Conversion in Antigenic Variation in African Trypanosomes

ABSTRACT A number of mechanisms have been described by which African trypanosomes undergo the genetic switches that differentially activate their variant surface glycoprotein genes (VSGs) and bring about antigenic variation. These mechanisms have been observed mainly in trypanosome lines adapted, by rapid syringe passaging, to laboratory conditions. Such “monomorphic” lines, which routinely yield only the proliferative bloodstream form and do not develop through their life cycle, have VSG switch rates up to 4 or 5 orders of magnitude lower than those of nonadapted lines. We have proposed that nonadapted, or pleomorphic, trypanosomes normally have an active VSGswitch mechanism, involving gene duplication, that is depressed, or from which a component is absent, in monomorphic lines. We have characterized 88 trypanosome clones from the first two relapse peaks of a single rabbit infection with pleomorphic trypanosomes and shown that they represent 11 different variable antigen types (VATs). The pattern of appearance in the first relapse peak was generally reproducible in three more rabbit infections. Nine of these VATs had activatedVSGs by gene duplication, the tenth possibly also had done so, and only one had activated a VSG by the transcriptional switch mechanism that predominates in monomorphic lines. At least 10 of the donor genes have telomeric silent copies, and many reside on minichromosomes. It appears that trypanosome antigenic variation is dominated by one, relatively highly active, mechanism rather than by the plethora of pathways described before.
Secukinumab in plaque psoriasis--results of two phase 3 trials.

BACKGROUND Interleukin-17A is considered to be central to the pathogenesis of psoriasis. We evaluated secukinumab, a fully human anti-interleukin-17A monoclonal antibody, in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. METHODS In two phase 3, double-blind, 52-week trials, ERASURE (Efficacy of Response and Safety of Two Fixed Secukinumab Regimens in Psoriasis) and FIXTURE (Full Year Investigative Examination of Secukinumab vs. Etanercept Using Two Dosing Regimens to Determine Efficacy in Psoriasis), we randomly assigned 738 patients (in the ERASURE study) and 1306 patients (in the FIXTURE study) to subcutaneous secukinumab at a dose of 300 mg or 150 mg (administered once weekly for 5 weeks, then every 4 weeks), placebo, or (in the FIXTURE study only) etanercept at a dose of 50 mg (administered twice weekly for 12 weeks, then once weekly). The objective of each study was to show the superiority of secukinumab over placebo at week 12 with respect to the proportion of patients who had a reduction of 75% or more from baseline in the psoriasis area-and-severity index score (PASI 75) and a score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) on a 5-point modified investigator's global assessment (coprimary end points). RESULTS The proportion of patients who met the criterion for PASI 75 at week 12 was higher with each secukinumab dose than with placebo or etanercept: in the ERASURE study, the rates were 81.6% with 300 mg of secukinumab, 71.6% with 150 mg of secukinumab, and 4.5% with placebo; in the FIXTURE study, the rates were 77.1% with 300 mg of secukinumab, 67.0% with 150 mg of secukinumab, 44.0% with etanercept, and 4.9% with placebo (P<0.001 for each secukinumab dose vs. comparators). The proportion of patients with a response of 0 or 1 on the modified investigator's global assessment at week 12 was higher with each secukinumab dose than with placebo or etanercept: in the ERASURE study, the rates were 65.3% with 300 mg of secukinumab, 51.2% with 150 mg of secukinumab, and 2.4% with placebo; in the FIXTURE study, the rates were 62.5% with 300 mg of secukinumab, 51.1% with 150 mg of secukinumab, 27.2% with etanercept, and 2.8% with placebo (P<0.001 for each secukinumab dose vs. comparators). The rates of infection were higher with secukinumab than with placebo in both studies and were similar to those with etanercept. CONCLUSIONS Secukinumab was effective for psoriasis in two randomized trials, validating interleukin-17A as a therapeutic target. (Funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals; ERASURE and FIXTURE ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01365455 and NCT01358578, respectively.).
Vehicular Control by Visual Field Cues-analytical Model and Experimental Validation

The development and experimental validation of an analytical model for manual visual field control (VFC) of aircraft is presented. A basic model for control-oriented visual field information (VFI) is proposed and formulated in an optimal control framework. A special case of VFC is studied, namely, the manual lateral control of a TV guided remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) along a straight reference trajectory in the presence of side gusts. For experimental validation, a five-degree-of-freedom fixed-base simulator has been constructed to simulate a RPV flight along a nominally straight reference trajectory. The starting point in the validation program was a VFI model based on error detection at a single looking distance, which is proved to be correct for fixed distance viewing but not for the complete VFC task. The analytical model is then reformulated to allow VFI detection at two looking distances. This two-distance VFI model was found to be an adequate representation for the complete VFC task and to match the experimental results closely, thus enabling the determination of the human operator (HO) parameters within narrow limits.
Estimation of long-term reference evapotranspiration using limited weather data in sugar beet plantation area from Middle Anatolian, Turkey

Konya havzasi Orta Anadolu bolgesinde bulunan Turkiye'nin en onemli tarim alanlarindan biridir. Yillik ortalama yagis miktari 280 ila 500 mm arasinda degisen yari kurak bir bolgededir. Şekerpancari Turkiye'nin en buyuk ureticisi olan bu bolgede hayati bir ticari urundur. Şeker pancarinin su gereksinimi ve evapotranspirasyon, buyume mevsimi boyunca havzada cok yuksektir. Birlesmis Milletler Gida ve Tarim Orgutu Penman-Monteith (FAO56-PM) denklemi hava sicakligi, bagil nem, gunes radyasyonu ve ruzgar hizi gibi dogru hava verileri gerektirmektirir. Ne yazik ki, tum bu girdi verileri kolayca ulasilamamaktadir. Bu nedenle FAO, FAO56-PM'i tahmin etmek icin yeterli hava verisi mevcut olmadigindan Hargreaves - Samani (HS) denklemini onermistir. Bu calisma HS denklemi kullanarak ETo'yu tahmin etmektedir. Bu amacla Konya havzasinda bulunan pancar ekim alanindan 1986-2015 yillari arasinda toplanan gunluk maksimum ve minimum sicaklik verileri toplanmistir. Son olarak, bu calisma yari kurak bir alanda su kaybini uzun sureli referans evapotranspirasyonla tahmin etmektedir.
Heat Shock Proteins as Endogenous Adjuvants in Sterile and Septic Inflammation1

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been reported to stimulate the immune system via innate receptors. However, the role of HSPs as endogenous adjuvants has been challenged by reports claiming that pure HSPs are not innate ligands; it is only the bacterial molecules trapped by the HSPs that can signal the innate immune system. In this review, we discuss data suggesting that both views, in essence, are correct; pure HSPs are indeed innate immunostimulators, but HSPs can also function as transducers of pathogen signals. In other words, HSPs perform diverse functions in two alternative modes of inflammation: sterile inflammation, which results from endogenous stimuli and is necessary for body maintenance, and septic inflammation, which protects us from environmental pathogens. Endogenous HSPs are key players in the modulation of these two modes of inflammation, and as such, they are potential targets for new and more efficient therapies for cancer, infections, and autoimmunity.
Dietary carbohydrate content determines responsiveness to growth hormone in energy-restricted humans.

To determine if diet composition influences responses to GH, we fed 11 obese women diets containing 12 Cal/kg ideal BW (IBW) for 2 5-week study intervals. Nonprotein calories were supplied to 6 subjects as 72% carbohydrate (high carbohydrate diet), and 5 subjects received 80% of their nonprotein calories as lipid (high lipid diet). Protein intake was constant (1.0 g/kg IBW) in both groups. During 1 study interval we gave injections of GH (0.1 mg/kg IBW) every other day for 3 weeks (weeks 2-4), and in the other interval injections of vehicle were given. Subjects ingesting the high carbohydrate diet excreted significantly less urinary nitrogen [660.2 +/- 124.1 mmol/day (mean +/- SD)] than those who received high lipid (794.2 +/- 198.5 mmol/day; P less than 0.001), and GH injections reduced nitrogen excretion in the high carbohydrate subjects (532.8 +/- 123.8 mmol/day), but not in the high lipid subjects (743.7 +/- 126.6 mmol/day). The subjects receiving the high carbohydrate diet had a significant increase in serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I; from 36.2 +/- 9.7 to 55.9 +/- 6.6 nmol/L) and urinary C-peptide excretion (from 43.9 +/- 25.6 to 60.8 +/- 29.4 nmol/day) in response to GH. The IGF-I response attenuated slowly over the 3-week treatment interval. On the other hand, the high lipid group had lesser increases in IGF-I (from 31.0 +/- 6.5 to 41.7 +/- 8.8 nmol/L) and C-peptide excretion (from 24.3 +/- 28.9 to 29.8 +/- 32.8 nmol/day), and IGF-I concentrations declined to control values after only 5 days of GH injection. We believe that this initial IGF-I response was due to an antecedent 35-Cal balanced diet. The mean increment in serum FFA 4 h after GH injection was significantly less in subjects fed the high lipid diet (0.53 +/- 0.40 meq/L) than in those fed the high carbohydrate diet (0.83 +/- 0.43 meq/L). GH injections produced more body fat loss than injections of vehicle whether expressed as percent body fat lost (GH, 3.7 +/- 1.0%; vehicle, 2.8 +/- 0.7%, P less than 0.05) or as the fraction of weight lost as fat (fat loss/weight loss; GH, 0.81 +/- 0.13; vehicle, 0.64 +/- 0.08; P less than 0.005). There was an inverse correlation between the percentage of body fat lost and mean urinary C-peptide excretion during GH injections (r = -0.70; P less than 0.05), suggesting that stimulation of insulin secretion by GH might antagonize the tendency of GH to promote fat loss. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)