Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Involvement of the Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor in Modulation of Dopamine Output in the Prefrontal Cortex Associated with Food Restriction in Rats

Increase in dopamine output on corticolimbic structures, such as medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens, has been related to reward effects associated with palatable food or food presentation after a fasting period. The endocannabinoid system regulates feeding behavior through a modulatory action on different neurotransmitter systems, including the dopaminergic system. To elucidate the involvement of type 1 cannabinoid receptors in the regulation of dopamine output in the mPFC associated with feeding in hungry rats, we restricted the food availability to a 2-h period daily for 3 weeks. In food-restricted rats the extracellular dopamine concentration in the mPFC increased starting 80 min before food presentation and returned to baseline after food removal. These changes were attenuated in animals treated with the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716. To better understand how food restriction can change the response of mesocortical dopaminergic neurons, we studied several components of the neuronal circuit that regulates dopamine output in the mPFC. Patch-clamp experiments revealed that the inhibitory effect of the CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 on GABAergic sIPSC frequency was diminished in mPFC neurons of FR compared to fed ad libitum rats. The basal sIPSC frequency resulted reduced in mPFC neurons of food-restricted rats, suggestive of an altered regulation of presynaptic GABA release; these changes were accompanied by an enhanced excitability of mPFC and ventral tegmental area neurons. Finally, type 1 cannabinoid receptor expression in the mPFC was reduced in food-restricted rats. Together, our data support an involvement of the endocannabinoid system in regulation of dopamine release in the mPFC through changes in GABA inhibitory synapses and suggest that the emphasized feeding-associated increase in dopamine output in the mPFC of food-restricted rats might be correlated with an altered expression and function of type 1 cannabinoid receptor in this brain region.
Masticatory performance and chewing cycle kinematics-are they related?

OBJECTIVE To compare chewing cycle kinematics of subjects with better and poorer masticatory performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study compared masticatory performance, based on the breakdown of the artificial test food Cuttersil, in 30 subjects with Class I occlusion. Individuals with median particle sizes greater and lesser than the median value for the entire sample were categorized as poorer (15) and better (15) performers, respectively. While chewing Cuttersil, three-dimensional jaw movements of subjects were tracked with an optoelectric computer system. Multilevel linear modeling was used to evaluate differences in estimated cycle shape, cycle duration, and maximum excursions, as well as within-subject variation between the two groups. RESULTS Poorer performers had a significantly longer opening duration (0.274 +/- 0.225 sec vs 0.325 +/- 0.270 sec) than better performers. Poorer and better performers also showed significant differences in cycle shape, including a less horizontal path of closure and more posterior jaw movement in the poorer performers. In addition, poorer performers exhibited significantly more cycle-to-cycle (within-subject) variability in chewing cycle duration, excursive movements, and lateral velocity than did better performers. CONCLUSIONS Poorer performers lacked consistency in their chewing cycles, and their cycle shape differs from that of better performers.
Sparse, environmentally selective expression of Arc RNA in the upper blade of the rodent fascia dentata by brief spatial experience

After a spatial behavioral experience, hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells express the activity‐regulated, immediate early gene Arc in an environment‐specific manner, and in similar proportions (˜40%) to cells exhibiting electrophysiologically recorded place fields under similar conditions. Theoretical accounts of the function of the fascia dentata suggest that it plays a role in pattern separation during encoding. The hypothesis that the dentate gyrus (DG) uses a sparse, and thus more orthogonal, coding scheme has been supported by the observation that, while granule cells do exhibit place fields, most are silent in a given environment. To quantify the degree of sparsity of DG coding and its corresponding ability to generate distinct environmental representations, behaviorally induced Arc expression was assessed using in situ hybridization coupled with confocal microscopy. The proportion of Arc+ cells in the “upper blade” of the fascia dentata (i.e., the portion that abuts CA1) increased in an environment‐specific fashion, approximately 4‐fold above cage‐control activity, after behavioral exploration. Surprisingly, cells in the lower blade of the fascia dentata, which are capable of expressing Arc following electrical stimulation, exhibited virtually no behaviorally‐induced Arc expression. This difference was confirmed using “line scan” analyses, which also revealed no patterns or gradients of activity along the upper blade of the DG. The expression of Arc in the upper blade was quantitatively similar after exploring familiar or novel environments. When animals explored two different environments, separated by 20 min, a new group of cells responded to the second environment, whereas two separated experiences in the same environment did not activate a new set of granular cells. Thus, granule cells generate distinct codes for different environments. These findings suggest differential contribution of upper and lower blade neurons to plastic networks and confirm the hypothesis that the DG uses sparse coding that may facilitate orthogonalization of information. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Histological and biological changes in the epiphyseal plate during fracture healing

The restoration is more obvious when the fracture is near the epiphyseal plate. During the past 50 years, many authors have reported that the overlapping of femoral fracture ends in children is a helpful means of restoring final leg lengthening.1,3,5 The success of this measure was ascribed to the effects of the epiphyseal plates but the exact mechanism by which fracture healing close to the growth plate influences chondrocytes is unknown. To our knowledge, no one has studied the molecular and cellular basis of the healing-induced stimulation ascribed to the epiphyseal plate. Only a handful of experimental studies dealt with changes in the different cellular layers (zones) of the epiphyseal plate.10 In all those studies, the authors agreed that there is a thickening of the zone of maturity, probably resulting from ischemia.9,11 There is no mention of changes in cellularity or of molecular changes in the proliferating zone. The purpose of our study was to clarify the function of the epiphyseal cartilage cells (including the epiphyseal plate cartilage cells) in the proliferation zone by studying such cells microscopically and at the DNA level.
The Irs1 Branch of the Insulin Signaling Cascade Plays a Dominant Role in Hepatic Nutrient Homeostasis

ABSTRACT We used a Cre-loxP approach to generate mice with varied expression of hepatic Irs1 and Irs2 to establish the contribution of each protein to hepatic nutrient homeostasis. While nutrient-sensitive transcripts were expressed nearly normally in liver lacking Irs2 (LKO2 mice), these transcripts were significantly dysregulated in liver lacking Irs1 (LKO1 mice) or Irs1 and Irs2 together (DKO mice). Similarly, a set of key gluconeogenic and lipogenic genes was regulated nearly normally by feeding in liver retaining a single Irs1 allele without Irs2 (DKO/1 mice) but was poorly regulated in liver retaining one Irs2 allele without Irs1 (DKO/2 mice). DKO/2 mice, but not DKO/1 mice, also showed impaired glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity—though both Irs1 and Irs2 were required to suppress hepatic glucose production during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. In contrast, either hepatic Irs1 or Irs2 mediated suppression of HGP by intracerebroventricular insulin infusion. After 12 weeks on a high-fat diet, postprandial tyrosine phosphorylation of Irs1 increased in livers of control and LKO2 mice, whereas tyrosine phosphorylation of Irs2 decreased in control and LKO1 mice. Moreover, LKO1 mice—but not LKO2 mice—that were fed a high-fat diet developed postprandial hyperglycemia. We conclude that Irs1 is the principal mediator of hepatic insulin action that maintains glucose homeostasis.
Practical Real-Time Planning

Optimal real-time planning at run time is impossible for complex domains, since planning is intractable. "Reactive" planning has opted for pre-colnpiled plans, but such plans cannot cope with changing goals, and the space of pre-compiled plans is too large to store for a complex domain. Heuristics can prune planning so that it is of more manageable complexity, but there is still no guarantee that a complete plan will be constructed in a given amount of time. We adopt the approach of building possibly incomplete plans at multiple levels of abstraction. Abstraction provides intermediate goals to guide lower-level planning and replanning, and the use of incomplete plans allows the planner to construct a plan adaptively, improving its plan as more time is allotted. In addition, we have incorporated a temporal representation into the planner. Traditional planning approaches have treated the world as static and discrete, which is an artificial simplification. Representing information temporally makes the planner more useful for interacting with the dynamic and continuous real world.
Origins of Performance Enhancement in Independent Double-Gated Poly-Si Nanowire Devices

In this paper, we characterize and compare the characteristics of a poly-Si nanowire (NW) device with independent double-gated configuration under different operation modes. In the device, the tiny NW channels are surrounded by an inverted-T-shaped gate and a top gate. It is found that the device under double-gate (DG) mode exhibits significantly better performance with respect to the two single-gate (SG) modes, as indicated by a higher current drive than the combined sum of the two SG modes and a smaller subthreshold swing of less than 100 mV/dec. Origins of such improvement have been identified to be due to the elimination of the back-gate effect as well as an enhancement in the effective mobility with the DG operation.
ON THE ORIGIN OF GLOW PEAKS IN EUGLENA CELLS, SPINACH CHLOROPLASTS AND SUBCHLOROPLAST FRAGMENTS ENRICHED IN SYSTEM I OR II

Abstract— The origin of glow peaks (thermoluminescence) was investigated in isolated spinach chloroplasts and Euglena cells by pretreatment with various concentrations of 3‐(3,4 dichlorophenyl)‐1,1‐dimethylurea (DCMU)†, different light intensities, and after mild heating at various temperatures. Experiments are also reported on subchloroplast fractions enriched in pigment systems I (PSI) or II (PSII) (prepared under conditions to reduce destruction of membranes by excessive detergent contact).
Environmental and occupational exposure to mercury in a small scale gold mining community in Handeni, Tanzania.

Background: Mercury is a highly dangerous neuro-toxicant, affecting over 2 million people in Tanzania. High exposures in artisanal gold mining have significant health and environmental impacts. Burning of mercury amalgamate is of great concern as it emits mercury directly to the atmosphere affecting miners and nearby residents. We assessed environmental and occupational exposure to mercury in miners and their families from Handeni District, north-east Tanzania. Objectives: We aimed to determine mercury exposure levels among miners and their families by testing urine, blood and hair, as well as determining the relationship between exposure biomarker and signs and symptoms of mercury intoxication. We also aimed to determine the concentration of mercury in water and vegetables, in the areas surrounding the gold mining community. Moreover, we aimed to assess the health effects of mercury exposure on miners and their families Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 292 miners and their families. Interviews and medical examinations were conducted on all participants. A sample of 30 participants with history of mercury use, provided hair, urine and blood, residential ground water and vegetable samples for mercury analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. Data analysis was done using Epi-Info. Results: We enrolled 292 participants with a mean age of 31.8 years. The mean mercury levels in urine and blood from selected participants were 46. 3μg/L and 14. 5μg/L respectively. Out of 21 urine samples, 10 (47.6%) exceeded the maximum acceptable level of 50 μg/L provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, out of 25 blood samples, 13 (52%) exceeded the WHO normal range of 510μg/L. All hair samples were below the detection limit of 0.01ppm. Miners engaged in amalgamation and burning of amalgam had higher mean mercury levels in urine (53.7μg/L, p=0.02) and blood (27.6μg/L, p= 0.6). Mercury levels in groundwater were below Tanzanian standards of 1μg/L. Tremor of the eyelid (30%) was significantly higher (p<0.005) in miners than nonminers. Other signs recorded on examination of miners were blue line in gums (34%), blue coloured ring in periphery of iris (11%), dysmetria (9%), gingivitis (7%), intention tremor (5%), decreased mental labial reflex (5%) and decreased Babinski reflex (5%) Conclusion and recommendation: High mercury concentrations in urine and blood were found in mining community of Handeni District. Miners, who are known to have a high occupational exposure, have higher mercury concentrations than non-miners. In addition; signs of mercury intoxication were also identified in miners. Immediate efforts should be directed into reducing occupational and residential exposures to mercury in communities near gold mines. Larger studies should be carried out to better characterize exposures found while control measures are implemented
A Statistical Modeling Approach to Location Estimation

Some location estimation methods, such as the GPS satellite navigation system, require nonstandard features either in the mobile terminal or the network. Solutions based on generic technologies not intended for location estimation purposes, such as the cell-ID method in GSM/GPRS cellular networks, are usually problematic due to their inadequate location estimation accuracy. In order to enable accurate location estimation when only inaccurate measurements are available, we present an approach to location estimation that is different from the prevailing geometric one. We call our approach the statistical modeling approach. As an example application of the proposed statistical modeling framework, we present a location estimation method based on a statistical signal power model. We also present encouraging empirical results from simulated experiments supported by real-world field tests.
Generating Weather Forecast Texts with Case Based Reasoning

Several techniques have been used to generate weather forecast texts. In this paper, case based reasoning (CBR) is proposed for weather forecast text generation because similar weather conditions occur over time and should have similar forecast texts. CBR-METEO, a system for generating weather forecast texts was developed using a generic framework (jCOLIBRI) which provides modules for the standard components of the CBR architecture. The advantage in a CBR approach is that systems can be built in minimal time with far less human effort after initial consultation with experts. The approach depends heavily on the goodness of the retrieval and revision components of the CBR process. We evaluated CBRMETEO with NIST, an automated metric which has been shown to correlate well with human judgements for this domain. The system shows comparable performance with other NLG systems that perform the same task.
Comparisons of Outcome and Prognostic Features Among Histologic Subtypes of Renal Cell Carcinoma

&NA; Our objective was to compare cancer‐specific survival and to examine associations with outcome among the histologic subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We studied 2385 patients whose first surgery between 1970 and 2000 was a radical nephrectomy for sporadic, unilateral RCC. All RCC tumors were classified following the 1997 Union Internationale Contre le Cancer and American Joint Committee on Cancer guidelines. There were 1985 (83.2%) patients with clear cell, 270 (11.3%) with papillary, 102 (4.3%) with chromophobe, 6 (0.3%) with collecting duct, 5 (0.3%) with purely sarcomatoid RCC and no underlying histologic subtype, and 17 (0.7%) with RCC, not otherwise specified. Cancer‐specific survival rates at 5 years for patients with clear cell, papillary, and chromophobe RCC were 68.9%, 87.4%, and 86.7%, respectively. Patients with clear cell RCC had a poorer prognosis compared with patients with papillary and chromophobe RCC (p <0.001). This difference in outcome was observed even after stratifying by 1997 tumor stage and nuclear grade. There was no significant difference in cancer‐specific survival between patients with papillary and chromophobe RCC (p = 0.918). The 1997 TNM stage, tumor size, presence of a sarcomatoid component, and nuclear grade were significantly associated with death from clear cell, papillary, and chromophobe RCC. Histologic tumor necrosis was significantly associated with death from clear cell and chromophobe RCC, but not with death from papillary RCC. Our results demonstrate that there are significant differences in outcome and associations with outcome for the different histologic subtypes of RCC, highlighting the need for accurate subtyping.
Suberin Goes Genomics: Use of a Short Living Plant to Investigate a Long Lasting Polymer

Suberin is a highly persistent cell wall polymer, predominantly composed of long-chain hydroxylated fatty acids. Apoplastic suberin depositions occur in internal and peripheral dermal tissues where they generate lipophilic barriers preventing uncontrolled flow of water, gases, and ions. In addition, suberization provides resistance to environmental stress conditions. Despite this physiological importance the knowledge about suberin formation has increased slowly for decades. Lately, the chemical characterization of suberin in Arabidopsis enabled the proposal of genes required for suberin biosynthesis such as β-ketoacyl-CoA synthases (KCS) for fatty acid elongation and cytochrome P450 oxygenases (CYP) for fatty acid hydroxylation. Advantaged by the Arabidopsis molecular genetic resources the in silico expression pattern of candidate genes, concerted with the tissue-specific distribution of suberin in Arabidopsis, led to the identification of suberin involved genes including KCS2, CYP86A1, and CYP86B1. The isolation of mutants with a modified suberin composition facilitated physiological studies revealing that the strong reduction in suberin in cyp86a1 mutants results in increased root water and solute permeabilities. The enhanced suberin 1 mutant, characterized by twofold increased root suberin content, has increased water-use efficiency and is affected in mineral ion uptake and transport. In this review the most recent findings on the biosynthesis and physiological importance of suberin in Arabidopsis are summarized and discussed.
Genetics of gene expression characterizes response to selective breeding for alcohol preference

Numerous selective breeding experiments have been performed with rodents, in an attempt to understand the genetic basis for innate differences in preference for alcohol consumption. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis has been used to determine regions of the genome that are associated with the behavioral difference in alcohol preference/consumption. Recent work suggests that differences in gene expression represent a major genetic basis for complex traits. Therefore, the QTLs are likely to harbor regulatory regions (eQTLs) for the differentially expressed genes that are associated with the trait. In this study, we examined brain gene expression differences over generations of selection of the third replicate lines of high and low alcohol‐preferring (HAP3 and LAP3) mice, and determined regions of the genome that control the expression of these differentially expressed genes (deeQTLs). We also determined eQTL regions (rveQTLs) for genes that showed a decrease in variance of expression levels over the course of selection. We postulated that deeQTLs that overlap with rveQTLs, and also with phenotypic QTLs, represent genomic regions that are affected by the process of selection. These overlapping regions controlled the expression of candidate genes (that displayed differential expression and reduced variance of expression) for the predisposition to differences in alcohol consumption by the HAP3/LAP3 mice.
Interstitial chemotherapy of the 9L gliosarcoma: controlled release polymers for drug delivery in the brain.

The administration of drugs directly into the central nervous system using polymers as drug carriers may improve the treatment of malignant brain tumors. In this study, the effect of the interstitial, localized delivery of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) incorporated into controlled release polymers implanted adjacent to the 9L gliosarcoma was assessed in s.c. and intracranial (i.c.) models. In the s.c. experiment, the 9L gliosarcoma was implanted in the flank of rats and subsequently treated with BCNU either (a) delivered in controlled release polymers inserted adjacent to the tumor or (b) administered systemically by i.p. injections or by controlled release polymers inserted at a site distant from the tumor. The interstitial release of BCNU adjacent to the tumor in the flank resulted in a significant tumor growth delay of 16.3 days, as compared to a growth delay of 9.3 and 11.2 days obtained with the systemic administration of BCNU. In the i.c. experiment, the 9L gliosarcoma was implanted in the brain of Fischer 344 rats and treated either (a) with controlled release polymers containing BCNU inserted into the brain or (b) with the systemic i.p. administration of BCNU. The interstitial release of BCNU in the brain resulted in a significant 5.4- to 7.3-fold increased survival, compared with a 2.4-fold increased survival after the systemic administration of the same dose of BCNU. The two groups with i.c. tumors treated interstitially had 17 and 42% cures, but no long-term cures were obtained in the group treated with systemic therapy. The localized, controlled delivery of chemotherapeutic agents in the s.c. tissues and in the brain via polymeric carriers may be more effective than standard systemic chemotherapy. This approach could be used to deliver a wide variety of agents into the central nervous system to treat diverse neuropathological conditions which remain refractory to systemic therapy.
NEW CONCEPT FOR JOINT DISPARITY ESTIMATION AND SEGMENTATION FOR REAL-TIME VIDEO PROCESSING

We present a new concept of joint disparity estimation and segmentation developed for a real-time immersive video conferencing system, which uses segmentation and disparity estimation results to calculate a new virtual view of a conferee. For the segmentation background subtraction is used which works well under limited conditions. The main goal of the new concept is to allow more general scenarios and to improve the disparities at depth discontinuities. The goal is reached with a twostage disparity estimation which is nearly a hierarchical approach. The main advantage of the two-stage calculation is that segmentation can be performed in between these two steps and can use depth information to decide on foreground or background and the second step of disparity estimation can use segmentation information to speed up the algorithm.