Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression patterns of fibroblast growth factor 8 in the spiral ganglion of rat cochlea

Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 (FGF8) plays a critical role in promoting the growth of axons in the brain, and it may also be a potentially important regulatory factor in the auditory system. However, no report has yet studied the expression patterns of FGF8 in spiral ganglions. Therefore, we evaluated the expressions of FGF8 and its receptors in the spiral ganglion of rats’ cochleae using immunocytochemistry and Western Blot. FGF8 was found expressed in adult rats spiral ganglion of both upper and basal turn of the cochleae, specifically in the cytoplasm of the spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), while it was not observed in the nuclei and glial cells. FGFR1 but not FGFR2 expression was present in the spiral ganglion of adult rats, suggesting that FGF8 might function through FGFR1 to exert its effects. Moreover, FGF8 protein reached its maximal expression at early stages of postnatal development and decreased in adulthood. Collectively, our study provides preliminary proof for the presence of FGF8 in the primary auditory neurons, indicating a potential role for FGF8 in modulating neuronal functions within the spiral ganglion.
Ovarian tissue vitrification and heterotopic autologous transplantation in prepubertal Wistar rats

Objective To evaluate the efficiency of ovarian tissue heterotopic autografting after vitrification in prepubertal rats. Methods Fragments of excised ovaries from prepubertal rats were used after assessing post-warming cellular viability, to determine the best vitrification protocol prior to retroauricular autografting. Pre-pubertal females (N=24) were castrated and divided into three group: Group 1 - fresh ovarian tissue transplantation; Group 2 - vitrified/warmed tissue transplantation; Group 3 - bilateral oophorectomy without transplantation. The ovarian fragments were exposed to solutions from the Ingamed® commercial kit, allocated in bacteriological loops and immersed in liquid nitrogen. Sixty days after transplantation, a vaginal mucus sample was collected for cytology tests, followed by sacrificing the animal, performing a cardiac puncture for collecting a blood sample to determine luteinizing hormone and estradiol levels, and excision of the transplanted fragment for histology tests. Results Vaginal cytology revealed that 87.5% of females from groups 1 and 2 had estrus while all females in Group 3 remained in diestrus. The mean LH value in groups 1 (0.08 mIU/mL) and 2 (0.34 mIU/mL) were statistically different from that of Group 3 (2.27 mIU/mL). E2 values did not differ between the groups. The histological analysis of Group 1 excised grafts versus those from Group 2 showed a higher percentage of primary follicles (62.5% vs. 12.5%), developing follicles (75% vs. 25%), corpus luteum (37.5% vs. 12.5%) and stromal region (100% vs. 87.5%). Conclusion This study indicated that pre-pubertal ovarian tissue vitrification can be used to preserve fertility and to restore endocrine function in castrated rats.
Laboratory accelerated and outdoor durability testing of concrete with supplementary cementitious materials

This paper aims to clarify the differences in durability test results of concrete containing supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for both laboratory-accelerated and outdoor exposure conditions. Twenty-six types of concrete specimens fabricated with and without SCMs were used for laboratory-accelerated and outdoor exposure tests to measure the resistance to carbonation and chloride ingress. An accelerated carbonation test and an immersion test were conducted in accordance with Japanese standard testing procedures, and outdoor exposure tests were performed at three test sites in Japan over 20 months. Although the testing conditions between these two approaches were substantially different, both results exhibited the same trend: the use of SCMs impaired the resistance to carbonation but improved that to chloride ingress. The carbonation depths estimated by the accelerated carbonation test were, however, slightly greater than those measured in the exposed specimens. This conservative estimation for the carbonation depth was assumed to be a result of overly severe testing conditions of the accelerated carbonation test. Additionally, differences in the chloride profiles of the specimens were found between those soaked in a NaCl solution and those exposed to outdoor conditions. These differences were prominent in the specimens containing high-volume SCMs because their chloride profiles were affected by carbonation observed at the concrete surface layer of the specimens. It should be emphasized that the chloride penetration resistance improved by the use of SCMs for the laboratory-accelerated condition was, on the other hand, relatively reduced for the outdoor exposure conditions where carbonation and chloride ingress progressed simultaneously in concrete.
CALLUS INDUCTION AND RHIZOGENESIS IN LATHYRUS SATIVUS

PIWOWARCZYK BARBARA, PINDEL ANNA, MUSZYŃSKA EWA. 2016. Callus Induction and Rhizogenesis in Lathyrus sativus L. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 64(1): 123–128. Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a leguminous plant distinguished by great resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses that can become a valuable source of protein feed in the nearest future. However, neglected by breeders, it needs the improvement of some disadvantages. Biotechnological techniques, including in vitro culture, are new and modern tools supporting plant breeding. Unfortunately, grass pea belongs to grain legumes that are well-known for their recalcitrance to in vitro manipulation and consequently plant regeneration. The aim of the study was the evaluation of diff erent factors infl uence on callus induction and proliferation, as well as cell diff erentiation and organogenesis. Callus culture were initiated from diff erent explants of two Polish cultivars of grasspea on media supplemented with auxin and various cytokinins both on the light and in the dark. The rate of tissue proliferation was signifi cantly increased in both tested cultivars by light. More than 400 mg of tissue from one explant was obtained a er 12 weeks of culture. The most intensive increase in callus mass was noted for internode fragments of ‘Krab’ (380 mg/one explant) and root fragments of ‘Derek’ (361 mg/one explant). On the media with the addition of thidiazuron callus tissue grew better (852 mg/one explants) than on the media with zeatin and kinetin (56–164 mg/one explant). Formation of the roots was the only type of organogenesis observed during the study. In ‘Derek’ callus on LP medium rhizogenesis occurred the most frequently (38%). The roots regenerated from this callus was also the most numerous (1.6) and the longest (12.5 mm).
Clustering using genetic algorithm combining validation criteria

Clustering techniques have been a valuable tool for several data analysis applications. However, one of the main diculties associated with clustering is the validation of the results obtained. Both clustering algorithms and validation criteria present an inductive bias, which can favor datasets with particular characteristics. Besides, dierent runs of the same algorithm using the same data set may produce dierent clusters. In this work, traditional clustering and validation techniques are combined with a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to build clusters that better approximate the real distribution of the dataset. The GA employs a fitness function that combines two validation criteria. Such combination allows the GA to improve the evaluation of the candidate solutions. Furthermore, this combined approach avoids the individual weaknesses of each criterion. A set of experiments are run to compare the proposed model with other clustering algorithms, with promising results.
ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC IDENTIFICATION OF RNA- AND DNA- CONTAINING STRUCTURES IN THE PREPARATIONS OF ISOLATED MACRONUCLEI OF CILIATES BURSARIA TRUNCATELLA

RNAand DNA-containing structures in the ciliate Bursaria truncatella were studied on ultrathin sections and spread preparations of individual macronuclei isolated at middle interphase. To label DNA-containing structures we used antiDNA antibodies and protein A-colloidal gold complexes. To label RNP structures, complexes of gold with RNase A were used. Chromatin structures in the form of accumulations of nucleosome fibrils, partially decompacted or compact chromatin bodies were effectively labeled with anti-DNA antibodies. The accumulations of nucleosome fibrils were shown to be heterogeneous. Some of them corresponded to partially or completely decompacted inactive chromatin bodies, while others – to active chromatin. The latter contained granules of various sizes (20-50 nm) labeled with RNase-gold. The data obtained also showed that homogeneous accumulations of 20-30 nm granules, which often intermingled with accumulations of nucleosome fibrils, corresponded to nucleolar granular component. Such accumulations were in close contact with nucleosome fibrils, which points out the close connection between nucleolar structures and chromatin in macronuclei of B. truncatella.
Tumor heterogenicity: multiple needle biopsies from different lesion sites-key to successful targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Non-specific cytotoxic agents were the tip of the arrow for several years. However, in the past 5 years novel therapies have emerged based on the pharmacogenomics of lung cancer and in specific non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (1). Regarding small lung cancer (SCLC) we have data indicated that we could have in the future novel therapies such as immunotherapy, however, we are still awaiting results from several trials (2,3).
PARAFAC2 and its block term decomposition analog for blind fMRI source unmixing

Tensor-based analysis of brain imaging data, in particular functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), has proved to be quite effective in exploiting their inherently multidimensional nature. It commonly relies on a trilinear model generating the analyzed data. This assumption, however, may prove to be quite strict in practice; for example, due to the natural intra-subject and inter-subject variability of the Haemodynamic Response Function (HRF). This paper investigates the possible gains from the adoption of a less strict trilinear model, such as PARAFAC2, which allows a more flexible representation of the fMRI data in the temporal domain. In this context, and inspired by a recently reported successful application of the Block Term Decomposition (BTD) model to a 4-way tensorization of the fMRI signal, a PARAFAC2-like extension of BTD (called here BTD2) is proposed. Simulation results are presented, that reveal the pros and cons of these tensorial methods, demonstrating BTD2's enhanced robustness to noise.
iPRDR: Intelligent Power Reduction Decision Routing Protocol for Big Traffic Flood in Hybrid-SDN Architecture

Analysing data centers energy consumption is the main step toward building a reliable infrastructure. Evidently, data centers consume a large number of billions of gigabytes information to the point that putting tremendous pressure on energy suppliers. Every internet activity involves a huge amount of data that need to be stored in a cloud data center somewhere, not forgetting the Internet of Things applications and other social media services that produce an extraordinarily large scale of big data that require high processing and analysis. Moreover, current data centers consume about 3% of global electricity supply, which is about 416.2 TWh of power that world data centers consumed in 2016. In this paper, we have developed an intelligent power reduction decision routing protocol (iPRDR) in a medium scale hybrid-software-defined network data center environment. The proposed iPRDR protocol approach is to dynamically segregate big traffic and route it to a high index processing devices with a power-optimal selected path. The protocol approach is to decrease the overall power consumption of the whole network, as well as to reduce the failure rate in each device that may occur due to a high level of link congestion and elevated temperature. The experimental results show that uplink utilization has been reduced by 8.33% and power consumption levels reduced by 0.85kw/day, which is equivalent to 34.9% of the operational power. In Addition, the high-raised temperatures have been dropped from high range 50+ C° (high critical) to mid 40+ C° (high warning). The effectiveness of the proposed approach was verified experimentally using a virtualized testbed platform.
Diarrhoea Complicating Severe Acute Malnutrition in Kenyan Children: A Prospective Descriptive Study of Risk Factors and Outcome

Background Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) accounts for two million deaths worldwide annually. In those hospitalised with SAM, concomitant infections and diarrhoea are frequent complications resulting in adverse outcome. We examined the clinical and laboratory features on admission and outcome of children with SAM and diarrhoea at a Kenyan district hospital. Methods A 4-year prospective descriptive study involving 1,206 children aged 6 months to 12 years, hospitalized with SAM and managed in accordance with WHO guidelines. Data on clinical features, haematological, biochemical and microbiological findings for children with diarrhoea (≥3 watery stools/day) were systematically collected and analyzed to identify risk factors associated with poor outcome. Results At admission 592 children (49%) had diarrhoea of which 122 (21%) died compared to 72/614 (12%) deaths in those without diarrhoea at admission (Χ2 = 17.6 p<0.001). A further 187 (16%) children developed diarrhoea after 48 hours of admission and 33 died (18%). Any diarrhoea during admission resulted in a significantly higher mortality 161/852 (19%) than those uncomplicated by diarrhoea 33/351 (9%) (Χ2 = 16.6 p<0.001). Features associated with a fatal outcome in children presenting with diarrhoea included bacteraemia, hyponatraemia, low mid-upper arm circumference <10 cm, hypoxia, hypokalaemia and oedema. Bacteraemia had the highest risk of death (adjusted OR 6.1; 95% C.I 2.3, 16.3 p<0.001); and complicated 24 (20%) of fatalities. Positive HIV antibody status was more frequent in cases with diarrhoea at admission (23%) than those without (15%, Χ2 = 12.0 p = 0.001) but did not increase the risk of death in diarrhoea cases. Conclusion Children with SAM complicated by diarrhoea had a higher risk of death than those who did not have diarrhoea during their hospital stay. Further operational and clinical research is needed to reduce mortality in children with SAM in the given setting.
Preschool Children Fail Primate Prosocial Game Because of Attentional Task Demands

Various nonhuman primate species have been tested with prosocial games (i.e. derivates from dictator games) in order to better understand the evolutionary origin of proactive prosociality in humans. Results of these efforts are mixed, and it is difficult to disentangle true species differences from methodological artifacts. We tested 2- to 5-year-old children with a costly and a cost-free version of a prosocial game that differ with regard to the payoff distribution and are widely used with nonhuman primates. Simultaneously, we assessed the subjects’ level of Theory of Mind understanding. Prosocial behavior was demonstrated with the prosocial game, and did not increase with more advanced Theory of Mind understanding. However, prosocial behavior could only be detected with the costly version of the game, whereas the children failed the cost-free version that is most commonly used with nonhuman primates. A detailed comparison of the children’s behavior in the two versions of the game indicates that the failure was due to higher attentional demands of the cost-free version, rather than to a lack of prosociality per se. Our results thus show (i) that subtle differences in prosociality tasks can substantially bias the outcome and thus prevent meaningful species comparisons, and (ii) that like in nonhuman primates, prosocial behavior in human children does not require advanced Theory of Mind understanding in the present context. However, both developmental and comparative psychology accumulate increasing evidence for the multidimensionality of prosocial behaviors, suggesting that different forms of prosociality are also regulated differentially. For future efforts to understand the evolutionary origin of prosociality it is thus crucial to take this heterogeneity into account.
Significant Role of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Sequence Variants in Gallbladder Cancer Predisposition: A Multi-Analytical Strategy

Background Carcinoma of gallbladder (GBC) is an aggressive malignancy. The higher incidence of gallbladder cancer in women has been partly attributed to hormonal factors. Therefore the present study was designed to explore the role of genetic variants in estrogen (ESR1, ESR2) and progesterone (PGR) receptors in conferring risk of gallbladder cancer. Materials and Methods The present case-control study recruited total of 860 subjects, including 410 GBC patients, 230 gallstone patients and 220 controls. We examined the associations of 6 selected polymorphisms in three genes: ESR1 (rs2234693, rs9340799, rs1801132), ESR2 (rs1271572, rs1256049) and PGR (rs1042838) with GBC risk. Genotyping for all the polymorphisms was done using PCR-RFLP. Multifactor dimensionality reduction and classification and regression tree approaches were combined with logistic regression to discover high-order gene-gene interactions in hormonal pathway. Results On comparing the genotype frequency distribution in gallstone and GBC patients with that of healthy subjects, the homozygous variant genotypes of ESR1-397TT (rs2234693) polymorphism showed significant risk for developing gallstone [odds ratio: OR = 2.9] and GBC [OR = 1.8] respectively. Detailed haplotypes analysis suggested that ESR1 T rs2234693G rs9340799C rs1801132 have significant association in conferring risk for both gallstones [OR = 2.2] and GBC [OR = 3.0]. However, the variant-containing genotypes (DI+II) of PGR (rs1042838) showed low risk in both GBC [OR = 0.4] and gallstone patients [OR = 0.4]. On performing the MDR analysis, ESR1 IVS1-397C>T, ESR1 IVS1-351A>G, and ESR2-789 A>C yielded the highest testing accuracy of 0.634. These results were further supported by the CART analysis which revealed that individuals with the combined genotypes of ESR1-397 CT or TT, ESR1-351 AG or GG and ESR2 -789 AA had the highest risk for GBC [OR = 3.9]. Conclusion Using multi-analytical approaches, our study showed important role of ESR1 IVS1-397C>T, ESR1 IVS1-351A>G, and ESR2-789 A>C variants in GBC susceptibility and the risk appears to be mediated through gallstone dependent pathway.
Threshold effect of G9a/Glp on peripheral nerve injury-induced hypersensitivity

Background Previous studies disclosed the pivotal role of methyltransferase complex G9a/Glp in the pathogenesis of neuropathic hypersensitivity induced by peripheral nerve injury. We observed that higher dose of G9a inhibitor improved nociceptive behavior, but the lower dose worsened pain. The aim of this study is to extensively observe the differential effect of various dosages of G9a/Glp inhibitors on nerve injury-induced allodynia. Materials and methods After approval by the institutional ethical committee on pain research in conscious animals, C57BL/6 mice were used for measuring nociceptive behavior evoked with von Frey filaments after spared nerve injury. G9a/Glp inhibitor BIX01294 or UNC0638 was injected through the pre-buried intrathecal catheter. The dose–response curves of behavioral changes were depicted when inhibitors were administered once in bolus at the 14th day post spared nerve injury. Withdrawal behaviors were compared during the 49 days’ observation window after spared nerve injury with various dosages of inhibitors injected intrathecally for 14 days. Results Dose–behavior curves of a single bolus of both BIX01294 and UNC0638 displayed a “V”-shaped responses of allodynia withdrawal from lower through higher dose when measured at the 14th day post spared nerve injury. A threshold dose of 10.0 µg for BIX01294 and 80.0 µg for UNC0638 significantly worsened allodynia. However, daily bolus intrathecal injection for 14 days of both inhibitors lower or higher than these threshold doses prominently improved nociceptive behavior, producing contrasting results. On the same animal, threshold dose followed by a lower or higher dose with a 14 days’ interval also showed contrast effect on nociceptive behavior, and a lower or higher dose to threshold dose sequence of inhibitor administration was vice versa. Conclusions Methyltransferase complex G9a/Glp has a threshold role in mediating peripheral nerve injury-induced hypersensitivity at its low level versus high level through inhibiting and facilitating the nociceptive behavior, respectively.
Algorithm for String Similarity Matching

Information has played a predominant role and intertwined with our daily digital age lives. Transmission at the speed of light is utmost important in information access and retrieval so as to satisfy consumer’s needs timely and effectively. However, one of the obstacles in the speed of searching for the needed information is matching keywords or phrases with what is available in the archive, which is by and large a time-consuming process. This research aims to devise an algorithmic procedure employing string similarity to find similar matching in place of exact matching. The proposed algorithm can be further applied to future machine learning research. The results so obtained are conducive toward enhancing other matching algorithms that might be suitable for specific needs and applications.
Dry release for surface micromachining with HF vapor-phase etching

A new method for dry etching of silicon dioxide for surface micromachining is presented to obtain very compliant polysilicon microstructures with negligible stiction problem and to greatly simplify the overall releasing procedure as well. By etching the sacrificial silicon dioxide with hydrofluoric acid (HF) vapor instead of conventional aqueous HF solution, the need for subsequent rinsing and an elaborate drying procedure is eliminated. Condensation of water on the etch surface is first identified as the cause that prevented the success of HF vapor release in the past. Use of an anhydrous HF/CH/sub 3/OH mixture under low pressure solves the problem of water condensation and enables us to take advantage of vapor-phase etching (VPE) for surface micromachining. The mechanism of oxide etching with the HF/CH/sub 3/OH mixture is explained, and the developed VPE system is described and characterized. Polysilicon cantilevers up to 1200 /spl mu/m in length are successfully released with this HF VPE technique. The beams tested are 2 /spl mu/m thick with a 2-/spl mu/m gap from the substrate, and no antistiction dimples are used. The fabricated structures are observed using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an optical profilometer. The reported VPE technique provides a robust releasing method for polysilicon microstructures and is compatible with integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, even including cluster processors.
PREPARATION OF POLYSTYRENE HOLLOW MICROSPHERES FROM WASTE FOAMED POLYSTYRENE PLASTICS BY MICROENCAPSULATION METHOD

Waste foamed polystyrene plastics were used as the main raw materials for the preparation of polystyrene hollow microspheres with high additional value by microencapsulation method. Firstly the preparation conditions were studied, such as the emulsifying time, the temperature and time of the solidification of oil phase, and then the method of removing the encapsulated water was discussed. The factors which influenced the average diameter and tap density of polystyrene hollow microspheres were also investigated, and finally the recycling technology of reagents used in experiment was discussed. Under optimum conditions, polystyrene hollow microspheres with the lowest tap density of 0.12g·cm -3 and average diameter from 40µm to 650µm were successfully produced.