Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide‐induced autophagy and the activation of activated protein kinase pathway protect against apoptosis in human dental pulp cells

AIM To investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO)-induced autophagy in human dental pulp cells (HDPCs) and the involvement of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. METHODOLOGY The MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxic effect of the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in HDPCs. Apoptosis was detected by means of the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay, and apoptosis- or autophagy-related signal molecules were observed by Western blot analysis. Acidic autophagolysosomal vacuoles were stained with acridine orange to detect autophagy in the presence of 3-methyladenine (3MA) used to inhibit autophagy. To explore the mechanism underlying autophagy and its protective role against apoptosis, compound C, the chemical AMPK inhibitor, was used. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test or analysis of variance (anova) followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test (P < 0.05). RESULTS SNP decreased viability of the HDPCs in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Exposing the HDPCs to SNP increased the levels of p62 and LC3-II, the typical markers of autophagy, and increased the number of acidic autophagolysosomal vacuoles, indicating the appearance of autophagy as detected by acridine orange staining (P < 0.05). Pre-treatment with 3MA decreased cell viability but increased cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and caspase-3, apoptosis indicators, in the SNP-treated HDPCs (P < 0.05). SNP activated AMPK/ULK signalling, whilst the inhibition of AMPK by compound C enhanced apoptotic cell death induced by SNP in the HDPCs (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION NO induced autophagy with AMPK activation, which plays a role in the survival of HDPCs against NO-induced apoptosis.
The Coat Colors of Mice. A Model for Mammalian Gene Action and Interaction

THE COAT COLORS OF MICE. A MODEL FOR MAMMALIAN GENE ACTION AND INTERACTION. By Willys K. Silvers. New York, Springer-Verlag, 1979. 379 pp. $29.80. This detailed monograph on pigmentation in mice is of value in drawing together the data and conclusions of a large number of studies over a period of many years. Apart from their intrinsic beauty, the coat colors of mice have played an important role in the elucidation of many fundamental genetic and developmental problems. More recently they have been sought as analogs for a variety of human genetic defects. Silvers has performed an invaluable service in compiling and synthesizing a vast amount of material, including his own distinguished contributions to the subject, which will be very useful to researchers in the field and makes for good browsing among non-specialists. From being valued only by mouse fanciers and breeders, coat color mutations came into prominence as genetic tools at the beginning of this century. Among the pioneers was J. B.S. Haldane who first demonstrated the existence of gene linkage in mammals by his studies of non-random segregation at the albino and pink-eye loci. Subsequently many other mutations have been studied, and, with the rise of biochemical genetics, efforts have been made to elucidate the fundamental biochemical basis for various coat colors. This book provides a balanced coverage of the classical descriptive studies and of the subsequent attempts at molecular understanding. To a practising physician, taking color photographs of mice (of which there are many in the book) may seem a trivial pastime, but its very real connections with human health are becoming increasingly apparent. Silvers discusses at length the beige (bg) mutation in mice which has proved to be a valuable model for the ChediakHigashi syndrome. In both there are the same abnormalities of pigmentation and lysosome function. Indeed, one of the fascinations of coat color genetics is that so many unexpected connections reveal themselves and suggest fresh avenues for research. Why, for example, do genetic defects in pigmentation so often also affect fertility and hematopoesis? The author concentrates almost entirely on the problems of pigmentation but is at pains to point out the related effects of the mutations he is describing. On laying down the book one is left with the strong impression that far more is known about coat colors by way of description than by way of explanation, and that the study of pigmentation will be rewarding aesthetically, scientifically, and in the long run medically.
Joint sparsity-driven inversion and model error correction for radar imaging

Solution of inverse problems in imaging requires the use of a mathematical model of the observation process. However such models often involve errors and uncertainties themselves. The application of interest in this paper is synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, which particularly suffers from motion-induced model errors. These types of errors result in phase errors in SAR data which cause defocusing of the reconstructed image. Mostly, phase errors vary only in cross-range direction. However, in many situations, it is possible to encounter 2D phase errors, which are both range and cross-range dependent. We propose a sparsity-driven method for joint SAR imaging and correction of 1D as well as 2D phase errors. This method performs phase error correction during the image formation process and provides focused, high-resolution images. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the approach.
Crystal structure of 1,3-dihydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)propan-2-aminium 2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propanoate: a simple organic salt of racemic ibuprofen

The title compound is an organic salt of ibuprofen with trometamol, in which the carboxylic acid group of ibuprofen has transferred its proton to the amine N atom of trometamol. In the crystal, the ions are linked by a series of O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming sheets parallel to (100).
Morphological and Cytofluorimetric Analysis of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells Expanded Ex Vivo from Periodontal Ligament

Many adult tissues contain a population of stem cells that have the ability of regeneration after trauma, disease or aging. Recently, there has been great interest in mesenchymal stem cells and their roles in maintaining physiological structure tissues and their studies have been considered very important and intriguing after having shown that this cell population can be expanded ex vivo to regenerate tissues not only of the mesenchymal lineage, such as intervertebral disc cartilage, bone, tooth-associated tissue, cardiomyocytes, but also to differentiate into cells derived from other embryonic layers, including neurons. Currently, different efforts have been focused on the identification of odontogenic progenitors from oral tissues. In this study we isolated and characterized a population of homogeneous human mesenchymal stem cells proliferating in culture with an attached well-spread morphology derived from periodontal ligament, tissue of ectomesenchymal origin, with the ability to form a specialized joint between alveolar bone and tooth. The adherent cells were harvested and expanded ex vivo under specific conditions and analysed by FACScan flow cytometer and morphological analysis was carried out by light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Our results displayed highly evident cells with a fibroblast like morphology and a secretory apparatus, probably indicating, that the enhanced function of the secretory apparatus of the mesenchymal stem cells may be associated with the secretion of molecules that are required to survive and proliferate. Moreover, the presence in periodontal ligament of CD90, CD29, CD44, CD166, CD 105, CD13 positive cells, antigens that are also identified as stromal precursors of the bone marrow, indicate that the periodontal ligament may turn out to be a new efficient source of the cells with intrinsic capacity to self-renewal, high ability to proliferate and differentiate, that can be utilized for a new approach to regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
Seed Optimization Is No Easier than Optimal Golomb Ruler Design

Spaced seed is a lter method invented to eciently identify the regions of interest in similarity searches. It is now well known that certain spaced seeds hit (detect) a randomly sampled similarity region with higher probabilities than the others. Assume each position of the similarity region is identity with probability p independently. The seed optimization problem seeks for the optimal seed achieving the highest hit probability with given length and weight. Despite that the problem was previously shown not to be NP-hard, in practice it seems dicult to solve. The only algorithm known to compute the optimal seed is still exhaustive search in exponential time. In this article we put some insight into the hardness of the seed design problem by demonstrating the relation between the seed optimization problem and the optimal Golomb ruler design problem, which is a well known dicult problem in combinatorial design.
WHEN FFA WAS KING OF THE RADIO AIRWAVES

Many agricultural educators are not aware of the extensive use made by the National FFA broadcasting on the radio as a mass media during the 1930s and early 1940s. This period of time represented one when the most influential mass media in the United States was the radio. From 1931 until 1944 a total of 157 radio broadcasts were made over the NBC Radio Network. The broadcasts carried news of the day concerning the FFA including several state association activities. Various dignitaries such as President Franklin Roosevelt and the Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace were either on the programs or were represented on the programs. The period showed significant growth for the National FFA from 60,000 members to 80,000 members and also recorded the FFA’s contribution to World War II. The national radio broadcasts spawned several state FFA radio broadcasts and proved to be a marvelous public relations outlet for the organization. The authors conclude with the point that teacher educators need to teach about such activities as the radio broadcasts as a way of completing the total picture of its history.
Cooperative Regulation of DOG2, Encoding 2-Deoxyglucose-6-Phosphate Phosphatase, by Snf1 Kinase and the High-Osmolarity Glycerol–Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascade in Stress Responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT We screened the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the genes responsive to oxidative stress by using the lacZtransposon-insertion library. As a result, we found that expression of the DOG2 gene coding for 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate phosphatase was induced by oxidative stress. The expression ofDOG2 was also induced by osmotic stress. We found a putative cis element (STRE, a stress response element) in the DOG2 promoter adjacent to a consensus sequence to which the Mig1p repressor is known to bind. The basal levels ofDOG2 gene expression were increased in amig1Δ mutant, while the derepression of DOG2was not observed in a snf1Δ mutant under glucose-deprived conditions. Induction of the DOG2 gene expression by osmotic stress was observed in any of the three disruptantspbs2Δ, hog1Δ, and snf1Δ. However, the osmotic induction was completely abolished in both thesnf1Δ pbs2Δ mutant and the snf1Δ hog1Δ mutant. Additionally, these single mutants as well as double mutants failed to induce DOG2 expression by oxidative stress. These results suggest that Snf1p kinase and the high-osmolarity glycerol–mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade are likely to be involved in the signaling pathway of oxidative stress and osmotic stress in regulation of DOG2.
Levels of saliva cotinine in electronic cigarette users.

AIMS To assess saliva cotinine levels in experienced users of e-cigarettes ('vapers'). DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS An internet survey in 2011 and 2012, with collection of saliva vials by mail. Participants were 71 users of e-cigarettes enrolled mainly on websites and online forums dedicated to e-cigarettes. MEASUREMENTS Use of e-cigarettes, tobacco and nicotine medications. Collection of saliva by mail and analysis of cotinine by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. FINDINGS Most participants (89%) were former smokers, most (92%) were using e-cigarettes daily, had been using e-cigarettes for 12 months on average and puffed a median of 150 times per day on their e-cigarettes [mean = 220 puffs/day, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 169-271]. The median concentration of nicotine in refill liquids was 16 mg/ml (mean = 16.4, 95% CI = 14.5-18.3). In the 62 e-cigarette users who, in the past 5 days, had not used any tobacco or nicotine medications, the median cotinine level was 353 ng/ml (mean = 374, 95% CI = 318-429), the correlation between cotinine and nicotine concentration in e-liquids was r = 0.33 (P = 0.013), and the correlation between cotinine and the number of cigarettes smoked per day before quitting smoking was r = 0.48 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS At least some experienced users of electronic cigarettes appear to be able to gain as much nicotine from those products as do cigarette smokers.
Relationship between visual field sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE To evaluate the strength and pattern of the relationship between visual field (VF) sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness as measured by StratusOCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA). METHODS Three hundred eleven subjects--45 normal, 102 with preperimetric glaucoma (PPG), and 164 with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG)--were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The relationship between RNFL thickness and VF sensitivity, expressed as mean deviation (MD) and mean sensitivity (MS), were evaluated with linear and nonlinear regression models, and the coefficient of determination (R(2)) was calculated. The association between RNFL/VF was described by bivariate Pearson correlation coefficients. RESULTS The correlation of RNFL and the VF parameters MS and MD in normal and PPG eyes was not significant. In POAG eyes, RNFL and both MS (r = 0.733) and MD (r = 0.718) correlated significantly. Linear regression plots of MS or MD against RNFL thickness demonstrated a negligible degree of determination in normal (R(2) = 0.0378 and 0.0121, respectively) and PPG groups (R(2) = 0.0215 and 0.0151, respectively), whereas their relationship fit a curvilinear regression model (R(2) = 0.6947 and 0.723) in the POAG group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves describing the VF parameters and average RNFL thickness (AVG) were evaluated to differentiate PPG from POAG eyes. Repeated analysis with the best-performing test parameter, pattern standard deviation (PSD) (AUROC = 0.937) with a cutoff of 1.9 dB, showed that regression profiles in the POAG group with PSD >1.9 dB maintained a strong curvilinear RNFL/VF relationship, whereas those with PSD <1.9 dB exhibited a relationship almost indistinguishable from the PPG group. CONCLUSIONS Evaluation of the structure-function relationship in normal subjects and those with PPG or POAG showed strong curvilinear regression in POAG eyes with PSD >1.9 dB and RNFL AVG thickness below 70 microm, whereas no correlation was detectable above these values.
Exploiting Location and Contextual Information to Develop a Comprehensive Framework for Proactive Handover in Heterogeneous Environments

The development and deployment of several wireless and cellular networks mean that users will demand to be always connected as they move around. Mobile nodes will therefore have several interfaces and connections will be seamlessly switched among available networks using vertical handover techniques. Proactive handover mechanisms can be combined with the deployment of a number of location-based systems that provide location information to a very high degree of accuracy in different contexts. Furthermore, this new environment will also allow contextual information such as user profiles as well as the availability of using location and contextual information to provide efficient handover mechanisms. Using location-based techniques, it is possible to demonstrate that the Time Before Vertical Handover as well as the Network Dwell Time can be accurately estimated. These techniques are dependent on accurately estimating the handover radius. This paper investigates how location and context awareness can be used to estimate the best handover radius. The paper also explores how such techniques may be integrated into the Y-Comm architecture which is being used to explore the development of future mobile networks. Finally, the paper highlights the use of ontological techniques as a mechanism for specifying and prototyping such systems.
State Origins: Clarifications and Reformulations

Carneiro's origin of the state theory appeared in 1970, three years after I began my career in 1967. Like others I found it fascinating. I taught it in courses on political anthropology. In the 1980s and 90s I taught a five week ‘mini’ course, ‘The Origin of the State’. I discussed it in my book
Protection Heater Design Validation for the LARP Magnets Using Thermal Imaging

Protection heaters are essential elements of a quench protection scheme for high-field accelerator magnets. Various heater designs fabricated by LARP and CERN have been already tested in the LARP high-field quadrupole HQ and presently being built into the coils of the high-field quadrupole MQXF. In order to compare the heat flow characteristics and thermal diffusion timescales of different heater designs, we powered heaters of two different geometries in ambient conditions and imaged the resulting thermal distributions using a high-sensitivity thermal video camera. We observed a peculiar spatial periodicity in the temperature distribution maps potentially linked to the structure of the underlying cable. Two-dimensional numerical simulation of heat diffusion and spatial heat distribution have been conducted, and the results of simulation and experiment have been compared. Imaging revealed hot spots due to a current concentration around high curvature points of heater strip of varying cross sections and visualized thermal effects of various interlayer structural defects. Thermal imaging can become a future quality control tool for the MQXF coil heaters.
A leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) assay of anti‐tumor immunity in rats using selective radioimmunological assessment of adherence of T lymphocytes and monocytes

A new, highly sensitive micro‐glass‐tube leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) assay has been developed to detect anti‐tumor sensitization in a rat colon carcinoma system. This technique requires fewer cells and smaller amounts of antigen preparations than the previous glass tube method. The microscopic enumeration of adherent cells is replaced by a cellular radioimmunoassay (CRIA) which utilizes antibodies binding to mononuclear cells (MNC) and 125I‐labelled protein A. Antigen preparations were shown to be adsorbed to glass. Precoating of glass vials with fetal calf serum or antigen preparations was shown to cause a major increase in nonspecific LAI. The new LAI technique is designed to minimize such nonspecific LAI. By applying an anti‐T‐cell monoclonal antibody (McAb), an anti‐lg antiserum and an anti‐monocyte (MC) antiserum it became possible to assess selectively the change of adherence of T cells, B cells and monocytes. The specificity of the assay was demonstrated with anti‐T‐cell and anti‐MC reagents in criss‐cross experiments using two defined antigens and different tissue extracts as test antigens. The LAI response of peripheral blood MNC was examined after the subcutaneous isografting of 1 × 107 X‐irradiated DMH‐W49 colon carcinoma cells. Six days after sensitization all the rats showed an LAI response detectable with anti‐T‐cell and anti‐MC reagents, which gave considerably higher LAI indices than anti‐MNC antiserum. After the subcutaneous isografting of 1 × 105 viable DMH‐W49 cells, 12 of 24 rats (50%) showed an LAI response detectable with the anti‐MNC antiserum during a 3‐week follow‐up period. On the other hand, an LAI response was detected in all the 14 tumor‐inoculated rats tested when the adherence of T lymphocytes and monocytes was assessed selectively.
Relationships between physical self-presentation and sport competition trait anxiety: a preliminary study.

Sport competition trait anxiety (A-trait) reflects an individual's tendency to perceive threat and to experience anxiety in sport competition (Martens, 1977). Leary (1992) suggested that sport competition anxiety revolves around the selfpresentational implications of competition. That is, people need to feel that they have made a positive impression on others, but whenever they compete, they run the risk of conveying negative images of themselves, and being negatively evaluated by observers. Leary (1992) suggested that like social anxiety, sport competition anxiety may arise when individuals doubt their ability to present a desired image and fear subsequent negative evaluative reactions from an audience (Leary, 1983; Schlenker & Leary, 1982). Indeed, the perception of evaluative threat has been identified as a key construct in theories of competitive anxiety (Endler, 1978; Vealey, 1990), and considerable research has documented the positive relationship between fear of negative evaluation of performance and competitive trait anxiety (e.g., Gould, Horn, & Spreeman, 1983; Lewthwaite & Scanlan, 1989; Passer, 1983). However, performance may not be the only self-presentational aspect of sport associated with competition anxiety. Research has demonstrated that sport participants are often concerned with the appearance and evaluation of their bodies (e.g., Davis & Cowles, 1989; Mack & Carron, 1994; McAuley & Burman, 1993), and Leary (1992) suggested that such physical self-presentation concerns may be a concomitant of sport competition anxiety. To explore these ideas, the present study examined the relationship between two aspects of physical self-presentationsocial physique anxiety and physical self-presentation confidence-and sport competition trait anxiety. Social physique anxiety (SPA) is a construct that represents self-presentational anxiety related to the physique (Hart, Leary, & Rejeski, 1989). Hart et al. (1989) have developed the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) as a trait measure of the anxiety experienced when one's physique is perceived to be evaluated by others. Women high in SPA have been found to (a) experience more self-reported stress and feel less comfortable during physique evaluation,
Influence of Pinealectomy on Sexual Behavior of Normal and Monosodium L‐Glutamate‐Treated Rats

Subcutaneous injections of monosodium L‐glutamate (MSG) were administered, as a neurotoxin, at a dose of 4 mg/g body weight to rat pups on days 1 and 3 postnatally. Pinealectomy was performed at 6 weeks of age, and animals were allowed to mature. The intact MSG‐treated rats showed a decrease of lordosis quotient in females and a reduction of ejaculation frequency and an increase in mount frequency in males. Pinealectomy caused no significant improvement on sexual behavior of the salinetreated normal rats, but it caused a marked improvement of the sexual receptivity in MSG‐treated female rats and reinstated ejaculation in MSG‐treated males. The circulatory sex steroid levels, estrogen in females and androgen in males, were not significantly different between the intact and pinealectomized MSG‐treated groups in the respective sexes, whereas the progesterone level in females was significantly elevated in the pinealectomized MSG‐treated group compared with the intact MSG‐treated group. These findings suggest that the pineal gland plays an inhibitory role on the sexual behavior of MSG‐treated rats and the improvement of sexual behavior following pinealectomy may be dependent on certain mechanisms other than the actions of circulatory androgens or estrogens.