Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postnatal Ablation of Synaptic Retinoic Acid Signaling Impairs Cortical Information Processing and Sensory Discrimination in Mice

Retinoic acid (RA) and its receptors (RARs) are well established essential transcriptional regulators during embryonic development. Recent findings in cultured neurons identified an independent and critical post-transcriptional role of RA and RARα in the homeostatic regulation of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in mature neurons. However, the functional relevance of synaptic RA signaling in vivo has not been established. Here, using somatosensory cortex as a model system and the RARα conditional knock-out mouse as a tool, we applied multiple genetic manipulations to delete RARα postnatally in specific populations of cortical neurons, and asked whether synaptic RA signaling observed in cultured neurons is involved in cortical information processing in vivo. Indeed, conditional ablation of RARα in mice via a CaMKIIα-Cre or a layer 5-Cre driver line or via somatosensory cortex-specific viral expression of Cre-recombinase impaired whisker-dependent texture discrimination, suggesting a critical requirement of RARα expression in L5 pyramidal neurons of somatosensory cortex for normal tactile sensory processing. Transcranial two-photon imaging revealed a significant increase in dendritic spine elimination on apical dendrites of somatosensory cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons in these mice. Interestingly, the enhancement of spine elimination is whisker experience-dependent as whisker trimming rescued the spine elimination phenotype. Additionally, experiencing an enriched environment improved texture discrimination in RARα-deficient mice and reduced excessive spine pruning. Thus, RA signaling is essential for normal experience-dependent cortical circuit remodeling and sensory processing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The importance of synaptic RA signaling has been demonstrated in in vitro studies. However, whether RA signaling mediated by RARα contributes to neural circuit functions in vivo remains largely unknown. In this study, using a RARα conditional knock-out mouse, we performed multiple regional/cell-type-specific manipulation of RARα expression in the postnatal brain, and show that RARα signaling contributes to normal whisker-dependent texture discrimination as well as regulating spine dynamics of apical dendrites from layer (L5) pyramidal neurons in S1. Deletion of RARα in excitatory neurons in the forebrain induces elevated spine elimination and impaired sensory discrimination. Our study provides novel insights into the role of RARα signaling in cortical processing and experience-dependent spine maturation.
Effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the expression of hormone receptors and Ki67 in Chinese breast cancer patients: A retrospective study of 525 patients

This study was designed to investigate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the expression of hormone receptors and Ki67 in Chinese female breast cancer patients. The expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Ki67 among 525 neoadjuvant chemotherapy cases was studied by immunohistochemistry. Differences between specimens made through preoperative core needle biopsy and excised tissue biopsy were observed. The positive rates of ER, PR and Ki67 in core needle biopsy and excised tissue biopsy were 65.3% and 63.2%, 51.0% and 42.6%, 65.6% and 43.4%, respectively. The expression of ER, PR and Ki67 in core needle biopsy and excised tissue biopsy had no statistically significant difference. However, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the discordance rates of ER, PR and Ki67 were 15.2% (79/521), 26.9% (140/520) and 44.8% (225/502), respectively. The ER, PR and Ki67 status changed from positive to negative in 7.5% (39/521), 13.3% (69/520) and 21.1% (106/502) of the patients, whereas ER, PR and Ki67 status changed from negative to positive in 7.7% (40/521), 13.6% (71/520) and 23.7% (119/502) of the patients, respectively. These results showed that the status of some biomarkers changes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and biomarker status needs to be reexamined to optimize adjuvant systemic therapy and better prognosis assessment.
Spectroscopic atlas of Hα and Hβ in a sample of northern Be stars

We present Balmer lines spectroscopy for a sample of 48 Be stars. For most of them, H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ have been observed more than two times, in a total period spanning almost two years between 2008 and 2009. Spectral synthesis of the H$\alpha$ profile was performed following two steps: photospheric contribution was computed by using Kurucz's code ATLAS9 and SYNTHE, and disk emission was derived by the approach of Hummel & Vrancken (2000, A&A, 302, 751). For 26 out of 48 stars, a modeling of the total H$\alpha$ emission has been attempted. By this modeling we derived an estimation of the disk radius, as well as the inclination angle between the rotational axis with line of sight and the base density at the stellar equator. For the stars observed more than once, we also discuss the variability of H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ for what concerns both the equivalent width and the spectral profile. We found 16 stars with variable equivalent width and 7 stars with clear signs of profile variation. We derive effective temperature, gravity, and projected rotational velocity. We found 13 stars whose equivalent width is variable with a confidence level greater than 80% and 7 object for which spectral profiles show change with time. According to the commonly used classification scheme, we classified 16 stars as belonging to class 1, 13 to class 2, 11 are shell stars, 6 objects do not show net emission, and 2 stars display transitions from class 1 and 2. For the class 1 stars, we confirm the correlation between $v \sin i$ and peak separation. Concerning the geometry of the disk, we derived the base density at the stellar equator, the radius, and the inclination angle between rotational axis and line of sight. The maximum concentration of stars occurs for disk dimensions ranging in the interval of 6 to 8 stellar radii and for inclination angles going from 23$^\circ$ to $35^\circ$.
CBL-MZ is not a single biological entity: evidence from genomic analysis and prolonged clinical follow-up.

TO THE EDITOR: The term “clonal B cell lymphocytosis of marginal zone origin” (CBL-MZ)[1][1],[2][2] has recently been suggested for asymptomatic individuals whose routine blood count shows a persistent modest lymphocytosis that is usually accompanied by bone marrow involvement. This
Genotyping of Clostridium perfringens Isolates from Chicken by Multiplex PCR

The aim of the study was to genotype the isolates of Cl. perfringens from chicken meat with multiplex PCR. The study was targeted for 6 genes (cp, cpa, cpb, iA, etx and cpe). Genotyping of 61 isolates of Cl. perfringens (raw meat-60 and fried meat-1) revealed that 55 (90.16%) strains had cpa genes while presence of only one isolate (1.6%) was positive for enterotoxin gene (cpe). None of the isolates showed the cpb, iA and etx genes. All the isolates were positive for cp (Cl. perfringens) gene.
Semi-automatic Korean FrameNet Annotation over KAIST Treebank

This paper describes a project for constructing FrameNet annotations in Korean over the KAIST treebank corpus to scale up the Korean FrameNet resource. Annotating FrameNet over raw sentences is an expensive and complex task, because of which we have designed this project using a semi-automatic annotation approach. This paper describes the approach and its expected results. As a first step, we built a lexical database of the Korean FrameNet, and used it to learn the model for automatic annotation. Its current scope, status, and limitations are discussed in this paper.
Selective induction of NK cell proliferation and cytotoxicity by activated NKT cells

NK T cells produce cytokines when their semi‐invariant TCR engages glycolipids associated with CD1d. The physiological consequences of NKT cell activation remain controversial, although they have been implicated in control of autoimmunity, parasites and tumors. We show here that specific activation of NKT cells in liver and spleen leads to a rapid induction of extensive NK cell proliferation and cytotoxicity. This NK cell activation is dependent, at least in part, on IFN‐γ production by NKT cells and IL‐12 production by antigen‐presenting cells. Remarkably, activation of NK cells by NKT cells is highly selective, since bystander T and B lymphocytes show transient expression of activation markers but almost no proliferation. Collectively our data suggest that CD1d‐dependent NKT cells regulate innate immunity by sampling blood‐borne glycolipid antigens and rapidly activating NK cells.
Simple Optimal Hitting Sets for Small-Success RL

We give a simple explicit hitting set generator for read-once branching programs of width w and length r with known variable order. When r = w, our generator has seed length O(log^2 r + log(1/ε)). When r = polylog w, our generator has optimal seed length O(log w + log(1/ε)). For intermediate values of r, our generator's seed length smoothly interpolates between these two extremes. Our generator's seed length improves on recent work by Braverman, Cohen, and Garg (STOC '18). In addition, our generator and its analysis are dramatically simpler than the work by Braverman et al. Our generator's seed length improves on all the classic generators for space-bounded computation (Nisan Combinatorica '92; Impagliazzo, Nisan, and Wigderson STOC '94; Nisan and Zuckerman JCSS '96) when eps is small. As a corollary of our construction, we show that every RL algorithm that uses r random bits can be simulated by an NL algorithm that uses only O(r/log^c n) nondeterministic bits, where c is an arbitrarily large constant. Finally, we show that any RL algorithm with small success probability eps can be simulated deterministically in space O(log^3/2 n + log n log log(1/ε)). This improves on work by Saks and Zhou (JCSS '99), who gave an algorithm that runs in space O(log^3/2 n + sqrt(log n) log(1/ε)).
Role of the spinal TrkB‐NMDA receptor link in the BDNF‐induced long‐lasting mechanical hyperalgesia in the rat: A behavioural study

Intrathecal/intracisternal BDNF in rodents produces long‐lasting hyperalgesia/allodynia, which implies BDNF plays a role in the establishment and maintenance of central sensitization. Both self‐regeneration of endogenous BDNF and neuroplastic modifications of spinal NMDA receptors downstream TrkB signalling could be involved in such enduring hyperalgesia. We investigated to what extent BDNF by itself could participate in the generation and maintenance of mechanical hyperalgesia using pharmacological tools.
Cardiomyopathy mutation (F88L) in troponin T abolishes length dependency of myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity

Recent clinical studies have revealed a new hypertrophic cardiomyopathy–associated mutation (F87L) in the central region of human cardiac troponin T (TnT). However, despite its implication in several incidences of sudden cardiac death in young and old adults, whether F87L is associated with cardiac contractile dysfunction is unknown. Because the central region of TnT is important for modulating the muscle length–mediated recruitment of new force-bearing cross-bridges (XBs), we hypothesize that the F87L mutation causes molecular changes that are linked to the length-dependent activation of cardiac myofilaments. Length-dependent activation is important because it contributes significantly to the Frank–Starling mechanism, which enables the heart to vary stroke volume as a function of changes in venous return. We measured steady-state and dynamic contractile parameters in detergent-skinned guinea pig cardiac muscle fibers reconstituted with recombinant guinea pig wild-type TnT (TnTWT) or the guinea pig analogue (TnTF88L) of the human mutation at two different sarcomere lengths (SLs): short (1.9 µm) and long (2.3 µm). TnTF88L increases pCa50 (−log [Ca2+]free required for half-maximal activation) to a greater extent at short SL than at long SL; for example, pCa50 increases by 0.25 pCa units at short SL and 0.17 pCa units at long SL. The greater increase in pCa50 at short SL leads to the abolishment of the SL-dependent increase in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity (&Dgr;pCa50) in TnTF88L fibers, &Dgr;pCa50 being 0.10 units in TnTWT fibers but only 0.02 units in TnTF88L fibers. Furthermore, at short SL, TnTF88L attenuates the negative impact of strained XBs on force-bearing XBs and augments the magnitude of muscle length–mediated recruitment of new force-bearing XBs. Our findings suggest that the TnTF88L-mediated effects on cardiac thin filaments may lead to a negative impact on the Frank–Starling mechanism.
Nasal Administration of Quercetin Liposomes Improves Memory Impairment and Neurodegeneration in Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Problem statement: At present, the development of protective strategy against Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is increasing its importance due to the high prevalence of AD, a limitation of therapeutic efficacy and its high impacts on economic and social aspects. The development of the preventive and therapeutic strategy to protect against the path physiology induced by free radicals in AD from antioxidant has gained very much concentration. Quercetin, one of the flavonoids in fruits and vegetables, has a powerful antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo. However, poor absorption, rapid metabolism and limited ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier are obstacles to its use for treatment of AD. Liposome’s have been used as an effective delivery system to the brain. Advantages associated with the nasal administration over oral route include higher bioavailability due to no first pass hepatic metabolism and rapid absorption leading to shorter time to onset of effect. Based on all these points, the possible effects of quercetin liposomes via nasal route on improving cognitive behavior and neurodegeneration in animal model of Alzheimer’s disease were investigated. Approach: Male Wistar rats were pretreated with quercetin liposome’s, containing 0.5 mg of quercetin in 20 μL (dose = 20 μg), via intranasal route once daily continually for 2 weeks before and 1 week after AF64A administration. Learning and memory was evaluated using the Morris water maze test at 7 days after the AF64A administration and then the rats were sacrificed for determining the density of neurons and cholinergic neurons in hippocampus using histological and immunohistochemical techniques. Results: Nasal administration of quercetin liposome’s significantly prevented changes of spatial memory of AF64A treated rats. The cognitive enhancement of quercetin liposome’s was found to be related to its ability to inhibit the degeneration of neurons and cholinergic neurons in hippocampus. Conclusion: Nasal administration of quercetin liposome’s possessed cognitive enhancer and neuroprotectant in animal model of AD, suggesting a potential novel therapeutic strategy against AD of quercetin liposomes.
Anti-TNF Levels in Cord Blood at Birth are Associated with Anti-TNF Type

Background and Aims Pregnancy guidelines for women with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] provide recommendations regarding anti-TNF cessation during pregnancy, in order to limit foetal exposure. Although infliximab [IFX] leads to higher anti-TNF concentrations in cord blood than adalimumab [ADA], the recommendations are similar. We aimed to demonstrate the effect of anti-TNF cessation during pregnancy on foetal exposure, for IFX and ADA separately. Methods We conducted a prospective single-center cohort study. Women with IBD, using IFX or ADA, were followed-up during pregnancy. In case of sustained disease remission, anti-TNF was stopped in the third trimester. At the birth, the anti-TNF concentration was measured in the cord blood. A linear regression model was developed to demonstrate anti-TNF concentration in cord blood at birth. In addition, outcomes such as disease activity, pregnancy outcomes and 1-year health outcomes of infants were collected. Results We included 131 pregnancies that resulted in a live birth [73 IFX, 58 ADA]. At birth, 94 cord blood samples were obtained [52 IFX, 42 ADA], showing significantly higher levels of IFX than ADA [p < 0.0001]. Anti-TNF type and stop week were used in the linear regression model. During the third trimester, IFX transportation over the placenta increased exponentially; however, ADA transportation was limited and increased in a linear fashion. Overall, health outcomes were comparable. Conclusions Our linear regression model shows that ADA may be continued longer during pregnancy, because transportation over the placenta is lower than for IFX. This may reduce relapse risk of the mother, without increasing foetal anti-TNF exposure.
When will we ever learn … to change policy: current state of impact evaluation

This article explores the recent past, current status and future of impact evaluation (IE) of development interventions. We both review the existing literature and conduct key informant interviews with Evaluators and Implementers. We provide an overview of the field of IE of development interventions, both in terms of conducting IE studies and in terms of using IEs for policy change. We also examine the challenges for both Evaluators and Implementers in combining IE research with efforts to change policy.
Improving UWB-Based Localization in IoT Scenarios with Statistical Models of Distance Error

Interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly increasing, as the number of connected devices is exponentially growing. One of the application scenarios envisaged for IoT technologies involves indoor localization and context awareness. In this paper, we focus on a localization approach that relies on a particular type of communication technology, namely Ultra Wide Band (UWB). UWB technology is an attractive choice for indoor localization, owing to its high accuracy. Since localization algorithms typically rely on estimated inter-node distances, the goal of this paper is to evaluate the improvement brought by a simple (linear) statistical model of the distance error. On the basis of an extensive experimental measurement campaign, we propose a general analytical framework, based on a Least Square (LS) method, to derive a novel statistical model for the range estimation error between a pair of UWB nodes. The proposed statistical model is then applied to improve the performance of a few illustrative localization algorithms in various realistic scenarios. The obtained experimental results show that the use of the proposed statistical model improves the accuracy of the considered localization algorithms with a reduction of the localization error up to 66%.
Synthesis of Graphene Oxide by Modified Hummers Method and Hydrothermal Synthesis of Graphene-NiO Nano Composite for Supercapacitor Application

Graphene oxide was synthesized by using modified Hummers method and also Graphene-NiO nanocomposite prepared by hydrothermal method with the use of graphene oxide solution, Ni(NO3)2•6H2O and urea as raw materials. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by the XRD, Raman, SEM, TGA and energy dispersive spectrometer analysis. The results demonstrate that NiO nano particles uniformly covered on the surface of the graphene layer and Raman spectroscopy states that well formation of the Graphene-NiO Nano composite. CV curves of Graphene-NiO electrodes at different scan rates conveys that capacitance characteristic is very different from that of traditional electric double-layer capacitance in which the shape is normally an ideal rectangular shape. Therefore, cyclic voltammetry analysis is the evidence of these materials are having the ability of supercapacitor electrode material properties. TGA Analysis is used for the estimation of how much of graphene is exist in the Graphene-NiO nanocomposite.
A Survey Paper on Crater Detection

Craters are the most plenteous landform on the planet surface, which could give key intimations to planetary science. Because of varieties in the landscape, brightening, and scale, it is trying to distinguish Craters through remote detecting pictures and it requires an effective crater feature extraction method. In this paper, we address this issue utilizing Gist features, which can give exceedingly compelling depictions on crater's nearby edges and worldwide structure. The proposed crater’s discovery technique contains three key steps. To begin with, we separate all candidate craters on a planet picture utilizing edge based technique and Hough transform. Second, Gist elements are created from chose preparing tests. Third, Craters discovery is led utilizing Gist features vectors with random forest classification. Contrasted with pixel based also, Haar-like components, our strategy indicates more exact craters acknowledgment, and accomplishes fulfilled results in the analyses directed on the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) database.
Fine-grained Semantic Textual Similarity for Serbian

Although the task of semantic textual similarity (STS) has gained in prominence in the last few years, annotated STS datasets for model training and evaluation, particularly those with fine-grained similarity scores, remain scarce for languages other than English, and practically non-existent for minor ones. In this paper, we present the Serbian Semantic Textual Similarity News Corpus ( STS.news.sr ) – an STS dataset for Serbian that contains 1192 sentence pairs annotated with fine-grained semantic similarity scores. We describe the process of its creation and annotation, and we analyze and compare our corpus with the existing news-based STS datasets in English and other major languages. Several existing STS models are evaluated on the Serbian STS News Corpus, and a new supervised bag-of-words model that combines part-of-speech weighting with term frequency weighting is proposed and shown to outperform similar methods. Since Serbian is a morphologically rich language, the effect of various morphological normalization tools on STS model performances is considered as well. The Serbian STS News Corpus, the annotation tool and guidelines used in its creation, and the STS model framework used in the evaluation are all made publicly available.
The relevance of inter-personal and inter-organizational ties for interaction quality and outcomes of research collaborations in South Korea

Informal social ties have long been recognized as relevant not only for interaction between individuals, but also for knowledge transfer and other important outcomes of business activities. This applies in particular to East Asian countries such as South Korea where informal networks are widely believed to be prevalent in economy and society. However, less is known about their role in inter-organizational collaboration efforts, such as research collaborations. This research examines the relevance of inter-personal and inter-organizational ties for interaction quality and outcomes of research collaborations in South Korea. Two types of research collaborations are studied: new product development (NPD) collaborations between companies and university-industry research collaborations (UICs). Inter-personal ties are found in a majority of both types of collaborations being studied. However, whereas inter-organizational tie strength is strongly related to interaction quality and outcomes of research partnerships, inter-personal ties are not. Implications for research and for the management of inter-organizational research collaborations are shown.