Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic stress attenuates GABAergic inhibition and alters gene expression of parvocellular neurons in rat hypothalamus

Chronic stress causes disinhibition of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis. Consequently, the brain is overexposed to glucocorticoids which in humans may precipitate stress‐related disorders, e.g. depression. The hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal activity is strongly regulated by GABAergic input to parvocellular neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. We here report a reduced frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) in parvocellular neurons of rats exposed to 3 weeks of unpredictable stress. The mIPSC amplitude and kinetic properties were unchanged, pointing to a presynaptic change caused by chronic stress. Because paired‐pulse inhibition was unaffected by chronic stress, the number of functional GABAergic synaptic contacts rather than the release probability seems to be reduced after chronic stress. Linearly amplified RNA from postsynaptic cells was hybridized with multiple cDNA clones of interest, including most GABAA receptor subunits. In agreement with the electrophysiological observations, relative expression of the prevalent GABAAα1, α3, γ1 and γ2 receptor subunits, which largely contribute to the recorded responses, was not altered after chronic stress. However, expression of the extra‐synaptic GABAAα5 subunit, earlier linked to depression in humans, and of the δ receptor subunit were found to be significantly changed. In conclusion, chronic stress leads to presynaptic functional alterations in GABAergic input to the paraventricular nucleus which could contribute to the observed disinhibition of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis; additionally other aspects of GABAergic transmission may also be changed due to transcriptional regulation of specific receptor subunits in the parvocellular neurons.
Glycosylation-dependent enhanced cell-binding and infectivity through DC-SIGN in the West African Ebola virus Makona

Since its discovery in Zaire in 1976, most ebolavirus outbreaks described occurred mainly in remote and poorly communicated areas of Central Africa and affected a limited number of individuals. Nonetheless, the Ebola epidemic that began in West Africa at the end of 2013 spread rapidly and reached an unprecedented scale. This epidemic was caused by the Makona variant of Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV). Monitoring of the EBOV Makona evolution throughout the epidemic identified the A82V substitution in the EBOV glycoprotein (GP) at the beginning of the epidemic, which correlated with its rapid spread. The Makona GP-V82 variant exhibits slightly higher human and primate cell infectivity. Host factors responsible for the enhanced transmission of EBOV Makona have yet to be identified. Here we show that the GP A82V substitution increases EBOV avidity for its DC-SIGN lectin receptor, which enhances cell-binding and infectivity of dendritic cells and macrophages, the primary cell subsets infected during the initial stages of the disease. Using a pseudotype lentivirus system, we identified two GP N-linked glycosylation responsible of the augmented Makona GP-V82 cell infection. Crystal structures indicated how the GP A82V substitution drives exposure of a key glycan and facilitates lectin recognition. Thus, DC-SIGN might be an important host determinant for the unique dissemination of EBOV during the 2013-2016 epidemic, which likely promoted host-to-host transmission by enhancing viral infection of dendritic cells in the skin and mucosa. This study also reveals that variations in virus envelope glycosylations can be a common pathway for virus adaptation to human transmission. Synopsis The Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) Makona, responsible of the largest outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa from 2013-2016, displayed a glycosylation-dependent enhancement of binding and subsequent infectivity in cells expressing the DC-SIGN surface lectin.
The effect of NSAIDs and a COX‐2 specific inhibitor on Helicobacter pylori‐induced PGE2 and HGF in human gastric fibroblasts

Background: There is compelling evidence for the pivotal role of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal ulcer disease. However, despite the bacterium's toxicity, the majority of H. pylori infections are not accompanied by gastric ulcers. This implies the existence of a host mechanism offsetting H. pylori toxicity.
Orthogonal summing and power combining network in a 65-nm all-digital RF I/Q modulator

This paper elaborates on the recently introduced concept of an all-digital RF I/Q modulator. Orthogonal summation and design procedure of the power combining network are explained in more detail. A 65 nm CMOS prototype is implemented based on this concept. The prototype achieves 12.6 dBm peak output power and 20% peak drain efficiency at 2 GHz. While providing 6 dBm output power, the error vector magnitude (EVM) is 3.7%.
The Regulation of Corporate Acquisitions. A Law and Economics Analysis of European Proposals for Reform

A well-functioning market for corporate control is considered by the EC Commission as an important method for monitoring incumbent management and for improving the allocation of resources within Europe. This article examines the regulation of corporate acquisitions in Europe as well as inherent restrictions on takeovers from a law and economics perspective. We find that the European proposals for reform in the proposed 13th Company Law directive do not live up to their promise of encouraging acquisitions. Indeed, we find that the proposed rules inhibit acquisitions in significant ways, and therefore are more likely to result in reduced monitoring of incumbent management and in inefficiencies in the allocation of productive resources in Europe.
Supplemental Document for Computational Design of Metallophone Contact Sounds

Accurate simulation is critical for sound design problems. Even a frequency error of a few percent can impact the perceived quality of the results. No matter how robust our optimization scheme, it can be doomed to failure if simulation results do not match real-world outcomes. Many fabrication algorithms in computer graphics rely on linear (referring to the shape function order) tetrahedral finite elements to predict the physical behavior of design instances (e.g., in Bickel et al. [2010]). However, such finite elements are well-known to be extremely inaccurate; worse yet, they do not approach the correct solution value even as the simulation discretization is refined [Hughes 2012]. In this paper we rely on 3rd and 4th order finite elements via COMSOL [2005]. COMSOL also performs online remeshing in order to guarantee solution quality. However, even in the presence of this remeshing scheme experimental evidence (Figure 1) shows that the results produced by our algorithm would not be possible without higherorder finite elements.
Computerized detection of breast cancer with artificial intelligence and thermograms

This paper shows the concurrent use of thermography and artificial neural networks (ANN) for the diagnosis of breast cancer, a disease that is growing in prominence in women all over the world. It has been reported that breast thermography itself could detect breast cancer up to 10 years earlier than the conventional golden methods such as mammography, in particular in the younger patient. However, the accuracy of thermography is dependent on many factors such as the symmetry of the breasts' temperature and temperature stability. A woman's body temperature is known to be stable in certain periods after menstruation and it was found that the accuracy of thermography in women whose thermal images are taken in a suitable period (5th - 12th and 21st day of menstruation) is higher (80%) than the total population of patients (73%). The stability of the body temperature will depend on physiological state. This paper examines the use of ANN to complement the infrared heat radiating from the surface of the body with other physiological data. Four backpropagation neural networks were developed and trained using the results from the Singapore General Hospital patients' physiological data and thermographs. Owing to the inaccuracies found in thermography and the low population size gathered for this project, the networks developed could only accurately diagnose about 61.54% of the breast cancer cases. Nevertheless, the basic neural network framework has been established and it has great potential for future development of an intelligent breast cancer diagnosis system. This would be especially useful to the teenagers and young adults who are unsuitable for mammography at a young age. An intelligent breast thermography-neural network will be able to give an accurate diagnosis of breast cancer and can make a positive impact on breast disease detection.
Aluminum, a Friend or Foe of Higher Plants in Acid Soils

Aluminum (Al) is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust, but its availability depends on soil pH. Despite this abundance, Al is not considered an essential element and so far no experimental evidence has been put forward for a biological role. In plants and other organisms, Al can have a beneficial or toxic effect, depending on factors such as, metal concentration, the chemical form of Al, growth conditions and plant species. Here we review recent advances in the study of Al in plants at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels, focusing mainly on the beneficial effect of Al in plants (stimulation of root growth, increased nutrient uptake, the increase in enzyme activity, and others). In addition, we discuss the possible mechanisms involved in improving the growth of plants cultivated in soils with acid pH, as well as mechanisms of tolerance to the toxic effect of Al.
Rhabdomyosarcoma of the head and neck in adults: MR and CT findings.

PURPOSE To evaluate imaging findings of rhabdomyosarcoma of the head and neck in adults. METHODS We examined 11 patients (seven men and four women; 17 to 73 years old) with pathologically proved rhabdomyosarcoma of the head and neck. The tumors originated in the paranasal sinuses (n = 6), cheek (n = 3), nasal cavity (n = 1), and infratemporal fossa (n = 1). Eight of the rhabdomyosarcomas were of the embryonal type, two were pleomorphic, and one was alveolar. Necrosis was seen in four patients, but calcification or intratumoral hemorrhage was not found. Two tumors had nodal extension. Contrast-enhanced CT was performed in 10 patients, and two patients had contrast-enhanced MR imaging. RESULTS On CT scans, the masses enhanced to the same degree as adjacent muscle. The masses showed a homogeneous pattern in six cases and a heterogeneous pattern in four cases. The tumor margins were poorly defined in eight cases. On MR images, the masses were homogeneously isointense with muscle on T1-weighted studies and were hyperintense relative to muscle on T2-weighted studies. On both CT and MR images, 10 of 11 cases showed poorly defined, homogeneous masses destroying adjacent bony structures. CONCLUSIONS MR imaging seems to be better than CT for initial and follow-up examination of patients with rhabdomyosarcoma because of its multiplanar capability and because it more precisely defines the extent of tumor.
On OTA Test in the Presence of Doppler Spreads in a Reverberation Chamber

In this letter, over-the-air (OTA) tests of the performance of the IEEE 802.11p radio system are performed in a reverberation chamber (RC) that is equipped with a fast rotating mode stirrer. By varying the speed of the mode stirrer, different levels of Doppler spreads are created, and the 802.11p radio system is tested accordingly. As expected, the Doppler spread affects the package error rate (PER) of the radio system adversely. In addition to measurements, a simple PER model is presented, which sheds some light into the OTA tests.
MR and MRCP in the Evaluation of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: Current Applications and Imaging Findings

Abstract: Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a progressive cholestatic disease of unknown etiology leading to cirrhosis and liver failure. Several imaging modalities have been used to study this disease, including ultrasonography, computed tomography and hepatobiliary scintigraphy, but accurate diagnosis was found to be best made with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or direct cholangiography. However, these 2 methods are invasive and may produce serious complications. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography is a noninvasive imaging technique that has become very useful for diagnosing primary sclerosing cholangitis. Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging provides pertinent information of extraductal abnormalities in addition to biliary ductal changes.
Methionine enkephalin (MENK) improved the functions of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) loaded with antigen

The aim of this investigation is to look at whether MENK could improve antitumor effect of CD8+T cell elicited by BMDCs. We investigated the effects of MENK on the differentiation, maturation, and functions of murine BMDC loaded with Rac-1 antigens (RG) and CTL of tumor speci□c immune response elicited by the BMDC in vitro and in vivo. The production of cytokine IL-12 and TNF-αsecreted by BMDCs in the presence of MENK was assayed with ELISA and key surface markers of CD40,CD86, CD83 and MHC-II on the BMDCs were analyzed with use of flow cytometry (FCM). In addition, the activities to induce CD8+ T cell proliferation, along with displayed cytotoxicity of the CD8+T cells(CTL) by the BMDCs after treatment with MENK were determined with use of FCM as well as MTS. Our results indicated that MENK induced phenotypic and functional maturation of BMDC loaded with RG antigen, as evidenced by higher level of expression of key surface markers and more production of cytokines. Subsequently, the BMDC activated by MENK intensified immune responses mounted by CTL, resulting in stronger antitumor activity. Our results suggest that MENK could be working as an effective immune adjuvant in vaccine preparation for cancer fight and other immune related diseases. We concluded that MENK could be a positive immune modulator in the improved functions of BMDCs loaded with antigen as well as in CD8+T cell mediated anti-tumor responses.
CARACTERIZACIÓN DE LAS LESIONES ORTOPÉDICAS Y TRAUMÁTICAS EN EL NIÑO ATLETA. NUESTRA EXPERIENCIA

Se realizo un estudio transversal en la region noroeste de Villa Clara con los ninos atletas que asistieron al Hospital General Docente “Martires del 9 de Abril”; desde el 1ro. de enero de 1998 hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2008, para ser tratados por afecciones ortopedicas y traumaticas relacionadas con la practica deportiva. Se utilizaron metodos teoricos y empiricos de investigacion para la realizacion del trabajo; se atendieron 849 ninos, de los cuales 545 eran varones. Las lesiones fueron mas frecuentes en las edades entre 11 y 12 anos, y predominaron, clinicamente, el bajo rendimiento deportivo, el dolor y el edema. Los deportes donde se utilizaban pelotas presentaron mas ninos afectados, y existio predominio de las lesiones en los miembros inferiores; en la gran mayoria, la conducta fue puramente conservadora. Recomendamos la busqueda de soluciones cientificas a las lesiones del sistema osteomioarticular en el nino atleta.
Phenotype prediction in an Escherichia coli strain panel

Understanding how genetic variation contributes to phenotypic differences is a fundamental question in biology. Here, we set to predict fitness defects of an individual using mechanistic models of the impact of genetic variants combined with prior knowledge of gene function. We assembled a diverse panel of 696 Escherichia coli strains for which we obtained genomes and measured growth phenotypes in 214 conditions. We integrated variant effect predictors to derive gene-level probabilities of loss of function for every gene across strains. We combined these probabilities with information on conditional gene essentiality in the reference K-12 strain to predict the strains’ growth defects, providing significant predictions for up to 38% of tested conditions. The putative causal variants were validated in complementation assays highlighting commonly perturbed pathways in evolution for the emergence of growth phenotypes. Altogether, our work illustrates the power of integrating high-throughput gene function assays to predict the phenotypes of individuals. Highlights Assembled a reference panel of E. coli strains Genotyped and high-throughput phenotyped the E. coli reference strain panel Reliably predicted the impact of genetic variants in up to 38% of tested conditions Highlighted common genetic pathways for the emergence of deleterious phenotypes
A novel energy distribution comparison approach for robust speech spectrum vector quantization

Vector Quantization (VQ) has been extensively used in speech vocoders. The training process normally requires a very large training-set. This paper introduces a novel energy distribution comparison distortion measure for the high-band speech spectrum that enables the vector quantizer to operate given a relatively small training-set. This measure has been used in the construction of a segmental vocoder using the pitch period as segments. A description of the proposed approach, the Energy-Mass distortion measure, is given and compared to the use of MFCC as a distortion measure showing the ability of the proposed approach to better represent the speech formants, when operating under the small training-set constraint. Finally, the performance of the new Energy-Mass is evaluated using the Spectral Distortion (SD). Speech quality perceived by the receiver is evaluated using the recently standardized objective quality measure PESQ, where an improvement of 0.3 PESQ score was obtained.
Improving temporal resolution of ultrafast electron diffraction by eliminating arrival time jitter induced by radiofrequency bunch compression cavities

The temporal resolution of sub-relativistic ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is generally limited by the radio frequency (RF) phase and amplitude jitter of the RF lenses that are used to compress the electron pulses. We theoretically show how to circumvent this limitation by using a combination of several RF compression cavities. We show that if powered by the same RF source and with a proper choice of RF field strengths, RF phases, and distances between the cavities, the combined arrival time jitter due to RF phase jitter of the cavities is cancelled at the compression point. We also show that the effect of RF amplitude jitter on the temporal resolution is negligible when passing through the cavity at a RF phase optimal for (de)compression. This will allow improvement of the temporal resolution in UED experiments to well below 100 fs.
A Simple Method of Increasing the Adhesion of Acrylic Filling Materials to Enamel Surfaces

ONE of the major shortcomings of the acrylics and other filling materials is their lack of adhesion to tooth structure. '-4 A filling material capable of forming strong bonds to tooth structures would offer many advantages over present ones. With such a material, there would be no need for retention and resistance form in cavity preparation, and effective sealing of pits, fissures, and beginning various lesions could be realized. In our attempts to obtain bonding between filling materials and tooth structure, several possibilities are being explored. These include (1) the development of new resin materials which have adhesive properties; (2) modification of present materials to make them adhesive; (3) the use of coatings as adhesive interface materials between filling and tooth; and (4) the -alteration of the tooth surface by chemical treatment to produce a new surface to which present materials might adhere. This last approach is the subject of this paper, but since it concerns itself only with treatment of intact enamel surfaces, it has only limited application to the broader problems of restorative dentistry. In industry, phosphoric acid and preparations containing it have been used to treat metal surfaces to obtain better adhesion of paint and resin coatings.5 Although the increased adhesion is believed to be due primarily to the removal of surface and other contaminants, the conversion of the oxides or the surface of the metal itself to phosphates or the adsorption of phosphate groups on the metal surface may contribute to the effect. Since the enamel surface has probably reacted with various ions, saliva, and so on, to which it has been exposed for long periods of time, and its tiny imperfections filled in by a variety of adventitious materials, the composition of the superficial surface may be quite different than the underlying enamel.6 As a result, any receptivity to adhesion which the original tooth structure may have had for acrylic materials may have been lost. It was felt that perhaps an acid treatment of the enamel surface might render it more receptive to adhesion in the same manner as it does for metals.
Standardization of factor VIII and von Willebrand factor in plasma: calibration of the WHO 5th International Standard (02/150)

Summary. Calibration of the 5th International Standard factor (F)VIII/von Willebrand factor in plasma (02/150) (5th IS) for five parameters [factor VIII: coagulant activity (FVIII:C); FVIII: antigen (FVIII:Ag), von Willebrand factor: antigen (VWF:Ag), von Willebrand factor: ristocetin cofactor (VWF:RCo), von Willebrand factor: collagen binding (VWF:CB)] was achieved through an international collaborative study involving 37 laboratories. Estimates calculated relative to the previous 4th IS and locally prepared normal plasma pools were not significantly different for estimates of FVIII:Ag, VWF:Ag, VWF:RCo and VWF:CB and hence mean values calculated relative to the 4th IS of 0.94, 0.91, 0.78 and 0.94 IU ampoule−1, respectively, were assigned. However, estimates for FVIII:C relative to the fresh normal pools (mean 0.61 IU ampoule−1) were significantly lower than estimates relative to the 4th IS (mean 0.68 IU ampoule−1). In consideration of the good stability of FVIII:C in the 4th IS and the variability of estimates relative to the local pools it was agreed to assign the mean value obtained relative to the 4th IS of 0.68 IU ampoule−1. For all five parameters the interlaboratory variability (geometric coefficient of variation, GCV%) was larger for estimates calculated relative to the normal pools (range 12.6–16.5%) when compared with estimates calculated relative to the 4th IS (range 3.5–8.3%). An accelerated degradation study performed in six laboratories indicated that the five calibrated parameters are extremely stable when ampoules are stored at −20 °C. Mean estimates of predicted loss per year at −20 °C ranged from 0% for VWF:CB to 0.029% for VWF:RCo. The 5th IS (02/150) was established by the World Health Organization in November 2003.