Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of fear memory in a PTSD animal model and hippocampal BDNF in response to β-estradiol treatment

The most important characteristics of PTSD, as an anxiety disorder, are memory disorders and hippocampus is one of the essential structures which plays a critical role in PTSD memory disorders. Traumatic events cause apoptosis and alter the expression of neurotrophic factors in hippocampus. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of β-Estradiol on behavioral responses in PTSD and to study its biochemical and histological mechanisms. We used single prolonged stress (SPS) to develop PTSD in rats. The day after, the rats received electrical foot shock within shock chamber. One week later, in order to test the conditioned fear responses, the freezing behavior of rats were examined for 5 continuous days, as they were placed back in the chamber without any shock. Animals received multiple injections of β-estradiol or sesame oil, immediately after shock and also on a daily basis through the seven days prior to the test. Hippocampal cell count was implemented after cresyl violet staining. We measured BDNF protein levels by ELISA kit. Main findings of this study confirmed that exaggerated fear response is observed in PTSD group as compared with control group and β-estradiol administration reduced these exaggerated behavioral responses. We found out that SPS decreases the density of cells in hippocampus and this effect is partly corrected by β-estradiol; β-estradiol increased BDNF protein level in hippocampus as compared with PTSD group; BDNF protein level was negatively correlated with freezing response in both SPS+β-estradiol and SPS+sesame group.The results of this study is consistent with the hypothesis that decreased expression of BDNF contributes to memory impairment in PTSD and up regulation of BDNF by β-estradiol plays a role in memory treatment.
Is Continuous Treatment with Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Necessary to Induce Chondrogenic Differentiation in Mesenchymal Stem Cells?

This study was conducted to determine whether short-term administration of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β would be as effective for inducing chondrogenesis in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) as continuous treatment. Four groups of hMSCs were cultured in a monolayer for 3 days followed by a pellet culture for 3 weeks under various conditions: group A, the control group, no growth factors treated; group B, 5 ng/ml of TGF-β2 was treated for 3 days in monolayer culture; group C, 5 ng/ml of TGF-β2 was treated for 3 days in a monolayer culture and the initial 3 days of pellet culture; group D, 5 ng/ml of TGF-β2 was treated for 3 days in a monolayer culture and the initial 10 days of pellet culture; group E, 5 ng/ml of TGF-β2 was continuously treated throughout the culture period. Glycosaminoglycan contents significantly increased in group E only. Real-time PCR indicated that expression of Sox-9, type II collagen, type II procollagen B and type X collagen increased with longer duration of TGF-β2 treatment. The histological findings showed that longer duration of TGF-β2 treatment led to significantly better quality of chondrogenesis. This study demonstrated that longer duration of TGF-β treatment is necessary for effective chondrogenesis in hMSCs from bone marrow.
A New Algorithm for Updating and Querying Sub-arrays of Multidimensional Arrays

Given a $d$-dimensional array $A$, an update operation adds a given constant $C$ to each element within a continuous sub-array of $A$. A query operation computes the sum of all the elements within a continuous sub-array of $A$. The one-dimensional update and query handling problem has been studied intensively and is usually solved using segment trees with lazy propagation technique. In this paper, we present a new algorithm incorporating Binary Indexed Trees and Inclusion-Exclusion Principle to accomplish the same task. We extend the algorithm to update and query sub-matrices of matrices (two-dimensional array). Finally, we propose a general form of the algorithm for $d$-dimensions which achieves $\mathcal{O}(4^d*\log^{d}n)$ time complexity for both updates and queries. This is an improvement over the previously known algorithms which utilize hierarchical data structures like quadtrees and octrees and have a worst-case time complexity of $\Omega(n^{d-1})$ per update/query.
WeCoTin - A practical logic-based sales configurator

Configurable products can realize the ideal of mass-customization by satisfying individual customer requirements efficiently. IT support provided by configurators enables adapting such products for individual customers efficiently and without errors. Few of numerous configurators have been evaluated with respect to modeling efficacy and performance on several product domains, and few evaluation methods exist. Applying the Design Science method, we describe and evaluate a novel configurator called WeCoTin. WeCoTin is based on a high-level object oriented modeling conceptualization and corresponding modeling language with clear formal semantics. WeCoTin consists of a semi-visual Modeling Tool and a web-based Configuration Tool. It applies an inference engine that follows the logic-based answer set programming paradigm. A way to characterize configuration models is proposed and applied to characterize over 20 real-world configuration models, and to evaluate utility of modeling mechanisms. Furthermore, performance is evaluated with real-world products using a developed method, and found adequate.
Enhancement of host susceptibility to lethal endotoxin shock by staphylococcal pyrogenic exotoxin type C

Staphylococcal pyrogenic exotoxin (PE) ty pe C enhanced the susceptibility of rabbits to lethal shock by endotoxin by as much as 50,000-fold. A graph of log PE type C dose used for pretreatment versus log 50% lethal dose of endotoxin gave a straight line with a slope of approximately -1. Rabbits that received PE type C alone showed fevers only, but those given both PE ty pe C and endotoxin showed initial fever followed by hypothermia, labored breathing, diarrhea, evidence of vascular collapse, and finally death. When a PE type C dose of 3 micrograms/kg was used, pretreatment of the animals with PE for 2 h before giving the endotoxin was required to obtain maximal susceptibility. However, when 15 micrograms of PE type C per kg was utilized, the endotoxin could be given before, concurrently, or after PE type C. The capacity of PE type C to prepare rabbits for enhanced susceptibility to endotoxin was lost after 24 to 48 h. Animals could be protected from enhanced susceptibility to endotoxin by prior immunization with either PE type C or endotoxin. However, 30% of the rabbits which were immunized with PE type C failed to develop immunity, and after three injections of PE type C, these animals developed gram-negative bacteremia and succumbed. In addition, rabbits with diarrhea initially, possibly caused by Pasteurella infection, died less than 24 h after a single injection of PE type C.
Fetal origins of coronary heart disease.

Recent findings suggest that the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease begins in utero. Babies who are small at birth or in infancy have high rates of coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes in adult life.1-3 This is found in babies who are born small for their gestational age rather than in those born prematurely.2 The effect is not confined to babies with intrauterine growth retardation' defined by birth weight at the lowest centiles for gestational age, but is seen in babies of average or above average weight. Some of these babies are small in relation to the size of their placentas2; others are thin at birth, or short in relation to the size of their heads4; in others average birth weight is followed by below average infant weight gain. '
Unsupervised Feature Extraction Inspired by Latent Low-Rank Representation

Latent Low-Rank Representation (Lat LRR) has the empirical capability of identifying "salient" features. However, the reason behind this feature extraction effect is still not understood. Its optimization leads to non-unique solutions and has high computational complexity, limiting its potential in practice. We show that Lat LRR learns a transformation matrix which suppresses the most significant principal components corresponding to the largest singular values while preserving the details captured by the components with relatively smaller singular values. Based on this, we propose a novel feature extraction method which directly designs the transformation matrix and has similar behavior to Lat LRR. Our method has a simple analytical solution and can achieve better performance with little computational cost. The effectiveness and efficiency of our method are validated on two face recognition datasets.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated mutant VAPBP56S perturbs calcium homeostasis to disrupt axonal transport of mitochondria

A proline-to-serine substitution at position 56 in the gene encoding vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein B (VAPB; VAPBP56S) causes some dominantly inherited familial forms of motor neuron disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) type-8. Here, we show that expression of ALS mutant VAPBP56S but not wild-type VAPB in neurons selectively disrupts anterograde axonal transport of mitochondria. VAPBP56S-induced disruption of mitochondrial transport involved reductions in the frequency, velocity and persistence of anterograde mitochondrial movement. Anterograde axonal transport of mitochondria is mediated by the microtubule-based molecular motor kinesin-1. Attachment of kinesin-1 to mitochondria involves the outer mitochondrial membrane protein mitochondrial Rho GTPase-1 (Miro1) which acts as a sensor for cytosolic calcium levels ([Ca2+]c); elevated [Ca2+]c disrupts mitochondrial transport via an effect on Miro1. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying the VAPBP56S effect on mitochondrial transport, we monitored [Ca2+]c levels in VAPBP56S-expressing neurons. Expression of VAPBP56S but not VAPB increased resting [Ca2+]c and this was associated with a reduction in the amounts of tubulin but not kinesin-1 that were associated with Miro1. Moreover, expression of a Ca2+ insensitive mutant of Miro1 rescued defective mitochondrial axonal transport and restored the amounts of tubulin associated with the Miro1/kinesin-1 complex to normal in VAPBP56S-expressing cells. Our results suggest that ALS mutant VAPBP56S perturbs anterograde mitochondrial axonal transport by disrupting Ca2+ homeostasis and effecting the Miro1/kinesin-1 interaction with tubulin.
Activating Mutations in ERBB2 and Their Impact on Diagnostics and Treatment

Despite the ongoing “war on cancer,” cancer remains one of the major causes of human morbidity and mortality. A new paradigm of targeted therapies holds the most promise for the future, making identification of tumor-specific therapeutic targets of prime importance. ERBB2/HER2, best known for its role in breast cancer tumorigenesis, can be targeted by two types of pharmacological manipulation: antibody therapy against the extracellular receptor domain and small molecule compounds against the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain. Aberrant activation of ERBB2 by gene amplification has been shown to participate in the pathophysiology of breast, ovarian, gastric, colorectal, lung, brain, and head and neck tumors. However, the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies has enabled efficient identification of activating molecular alterations of ERBB2. In this review, we will focus on the functional role of these somatic mutations that cause ERBB2 receptor activation. We will additionally discuss the current preclinical and clinical therapeutic strategies for targeting mutationally activated ERBB2.
No Long‐Term Effect Two Years after Intrauterine Exposure to Dexamethasone on Dentate Gyrus Volume, Neuronal Proliferation and Differentiation in Common Marmoset Monkeys

Glucocorticoids are prenatally administered to promote the maturation of the lungs. They, however, can affect neuronal proliferation and differentiation. In newborn marmoset monkeys, intrauterine hyperexposure to dexamethasone (DEX) resulted in a significantly decreased proliferation rate in the hippocampal dentate gyrus without affecting neuronal differentiation. In this study, marmoset monkeys received 5 mg/kg body weight DEX either during early (days 42–48) or late (days 90–96) pregnancy. The volume of the dentate granule cell layer as well as the proliferation and neuronal differentiation in the dentate gyrus of their 2‐year‐old offspring were investigated. The density of proliferating cells (Ki‐67), apoptotic cells (in situ tailing) and cells differentiating to neurons (double cortin, TUC‐4 and calretinin) were determined immunohistochemically. Analysis of the dentate granule cell layer volume showed no significant differences between early or late DEX‐exposed marmosets and untreated control animals. Similarly, proliferation and neuronal differentiation in DEX‐treated animals was not significantly different in comparison with controls. In summary, the decreased proliferation rate observed in newborn marmosets after intrauterine exposure to DEX was no longer detectable in their 2‐year‐old siblings suggesting no long‐lasting effect of prenatal hyperexposure to DEX on neuronal proliferation and differentiation in the dentate gyrus of marmoset monkeys.
ITEMS: intelligent travel experience management system

An intelligent travel experience management system, abbreviated as ITEMS, is proposed to help tourists organize and present the digital travel contents in an automatic and efficient manner. Readily available metadata are adopted to reduce the overhead of user intervention and manual annotation. Robust image similarity metrics are also incorporated to utilize the powerful searching capability of WWW search engines. The proposed system automatically identifies the inherent geo-information of personal media, and accordingly integrates media with map and text-based schedule to facilitate travel experience management and presentation. We show several prototype systems in two application scenarios and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
Compositional Belief Update

Arc suppressing gas in a high voltage circuit breaker system is collected, filtered and compressed. The compressed gas is passed through a series of oil and desiccant filters and returned to a high pressure vessel for storage. The oil and desiccant filtering system is combined in a single, separable casing including baffles and a check valve.
Efficient Two-Step Middle-Level Part Feature Extraction for Fine-Grained Visual Categorization

Fine-grained visual categorization (FGVC) has drawn increasing attention as an emerging research field in recent years. In contrast to generic-domain visual recognition, FGVC is characterized by high intraclass and subtle inter-class variations. To distinguish conceptually and visually similar categories, highly discriminative visual features must be extracted. Moreover, FGVC has highly specialized and task-specific nature. It is not always easy to obtain a sufficiently large-scale training dataset. Therefore, the key to success in practical FGVC systems is to efficiently exploit discriminative features from a limited number of training examples. In this paper, we propose an efficient two-step dimensionality compression method to derive compact middle-level part-based features. To do this, we compare both space-first and feature-first convolution schemes and investigate their effectiveness. Our approach is based on simple linear algebra and analytic solutions, and is highly scalable compared with the current onevs-one or one-vs-all approach, making it possible to quickly train middlelevel features from a number of pairwise part regions. We experimentally show the effectiveness of our method using the standard Caltech–Birds and Stanford–Cars datasets. key words: image classification, fine-grained categorization, part-based features, dimensionality reduction
Multimodal Discrimination of Schizophrenia Using Hybrid Weighted Feature Concatenation of Brain Functional Connectivity and Anatomical Features with an Extreme Learning Machine

Multimodal features of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human brain can assist in the diagnosis of schizophrenia. We performed a classification study on age, sex, and handedness-matched subjects. The dataset we used is publicly available from the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) and it consists of two groups: patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We performed an independent component analysis and calculated global averaged functional connectivity-based features from the resting-state functional MRI data for all the cortical and subcortical anatomical parcellation. Cortical thickness along with standard deviation, surface area, volume, curvature, white matter volume, and intensity measures from the cortical parcellation, as well as volume and intensity from sub-cortical parcellation and overall volume of cortex features were extracted from the structural MRI data. A novel hybrid weighted feature concatenation method was used to acquire maximal 99.29% (P < 0.0001) accuracy which preserves high discriminatory power through the weight of the individual feature type. The classification was performed by an extreme learning machine, and its efficiency was compared to linear and non-linear (radial basis function) support vector machines, linear discriminant analysis, and random forest bagged tree ensemble algorithms. This article reports the predictive accuracy of both unimodal and multimodal features after 10-by-10-fold nested cross-validation. A permutation test followed the classification experiment to assess the statistical significance of the classification results. It was concluded that, from a clinical perspective, this feature concatenation approach may assist the clinicians in schizophrenia diagnosis.
Type IIA string instanton corrections to the four-fermion correlator in the intersection of Del Pezzo surfaces

The Becker-Becker-Strominger formula, describing the string world-sheet instanton corrections to the four-fermion correlator in the Calabi-Yau compactified type-IIA superstrings, is calculated in the special case of the Calabi-Yau threefold realized in the intersection of two Del Pezzo surfaces. We also derive the selection rules in the supersymmetric GUT of the Pati-Salam type associated with our construction.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations Capture the Misfolding of the Bovine Prion Protein at Acidic pH

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that is transmissible to humans and that is currently incurable. BSE is caused by the prion protein (PrP), which adopts two conformers; PrPC is the native innocuous form, which is α-helix rich; and PrPSc is the β-sheet rich misfolded form, which is infectious and forms neurotoxic species. Acidic pH induces the conversion of PrPC to PrPSc. We have performed molecular dynamics simulations of bovine PrP at various pH regimes. An acidic pH environment induced conformational changes that were not observed in neutral pH simulations. Putative misfolded structures, with nonnative β-strands formed in the flexible N-terminal domain, were found in acidic pH simulations. Two distinct pathways were observed for the formation of nonnative β-strands: at low pH, hydrophobic contacts with M129 nucleated the nonnative β-strand; at mid-pH, polar contacts involving Q168 and D178 facilitated the formation of a hairpin at the flexible N-terminus. These mid- and low pH simulations capture the process of nonnative β-strand formation, thereby improving our understanding of how PrPC misfolds into the β-sheet rich PrPSc and how pH factors into the process.
Isolation and Dye Decolorization of a Bacillus subtilis Strain LS02 Exhibiting Laccase Activity

A newly isolated strain LS02 was estimated for its ability in dye decolorization. The LS02 strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis by the combination of physicochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The isolated strain could oxidize the laccase substrate syringaldazine, indicating the existence of laccase activity. B. subtilis LS02 grown well in the pH range of 5.0~9.0, and showed an optimum growth temperature at 37°C. Indigo carmine could be completely decolorized by B. subtilis LS02 after 4 days, whereas Remazol Brilliant Blue R, reactive black 5 and crystal violet were poorly decolorized. The result indicated that the laccase of B. subtilis LS02 may be suitable for the application in textile bleaching of indigo carmine.
Postprandial Hyperglycemia and Cardiovascular Disease

In the recent HEART2D (Hyperglycemia and its Effect After Acute Myocardial Infarction on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) study, published in this issue of Diabetes Care , Raz et al. (1) try to answer a hotly debated question of the last 10 years: is postprandial hyperglycemia an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in diabetes? This question, highlighted recently, has arisen because of the identified linear relationship, widely confirmed in many studies, between the risk of cardiovascular disease death and 2-h oral glucose tolerance test values (2). Consistent with these past results, a recent study has confirmed postprandial hyperglycemia as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes (3). At the same time, in the STOP-NIDDM Trial it has been shown, as a predefined secondary end point, that treating postprandial hyperglycemia may reduce the incidence of new cardiovascular events in people with impaired glucose tolerance (4)—a finding confirmed in type 2 diabetes by a meta-analysis on the use of acarbose (5). Another important issue is that prandial glucose regulation, an emerging approach to treating type 2 diabetes, emphasizes the need for moderating the acute surges in plasma glucose levels that follow meals (6). Mechanistic and epidemiological studies indicate that postprandial glucose significantly contributes to overall glycemic exposure (6). In particular, postprandial hyperglycemia is the most important contributor to A1C, particularly when it is lower than 7.5% (7). Therefore, targeting postprandial hyperglycemia is important for the achievement of A1C targets. Numerous prandial therapeutics are now available, and an ever-growing literature on their use shows …