Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Homeodomain-interacting protein kinases (Hipks) promote Wnt/Wg signaling through stabilization of β-catenin/Arm and stimulation of target gene expression

The Wnt/Wingless (Wg) pathway represents a conserved signaling cascade involved in diverse biological processes. Misregulation of Wnt/Wg signal transduction has profound effects on development. Homeodomain-interacting protein kinases (Hipks) represent a novel family of serine/threonine kinases. Members of this group (in particular Hipk2) are implicated as important factors in transcriptional regulation to control cell growth, apoptosis and development. Here, we provide genetic and phenotypic evidence that the sole Drosophila member of this family, Hipk, functions as a positive regulator in the Wg pathway. Expression of hipk in the wing rescues loss of the Wg signal, whereas loss of hipk can enhance decreased wg signaling phenotypes. Furthermore, loss of hipk leads to diminished Arm protein levels, whereas overexpression of hipk promotes the Wg signal by stabilizing Arm, resulting in activation of Wg responsive targets. In Wg transcriptional assays, Hipk enhanced Tcf/Arm-mediated gene expression in a kinase-dependent manner. In addition, Hipk can bind to Arm and Drosophila Tcf, and phosphorylate Arm. Using both in vitro and in vivo assays, Hipk was found to promote the stabilization of Arm. We observe similar molecular interactions between Lef1/β-catenin and vertebrate Hipk2, suggesting a direct and conserved role for Hipk proteins in promoting Wnt signaling.
Integration of Insulin receptor/Foxo signaling and dMyc activity during muscle growth regulates body size in Drosophila

Drosophila larval skeletal muscles are single, multinucleated cells of different sizes that undergo tremendous growth within a few days. The mechanisms underlying this growth in concert with overall body growth are unknown. We find that the size of individual muscles correlates with the number of nuclei per muscle cell and with increasing nuclear ploidy during development. Inhibition of Insulin receptor (InR; Insulin-like receptor) signaling in muscles autonomously reduces muscle size and systemically affects the size of other tissues, organs and indeed the entire body, most likely by regulating feeding behavior. In muscles, InR/Tor signaling, Foxo and dMyc (Diminutive) are key regulators of endoreplication, which is necessary but not sufficient to induce growth. Mechanistically, InR/Foxo signaling controls cell cycle progression by modulating dmyc expression and dMyc transcriptional activity. Thus, maximal dMyc transcriptional activity depends on InR to control muscle mass, which in turn induces a systemic behavioral response to allocate body size and proportions.
Condom breakage and slippage rates among study participants in eight countries.

Family Health International staff used data from six studies (5711 condoms used by 1758 couples during vaginal intercourse at 13 sites) in the Dominican Republic Ghana Kenya Mali Mexico Nepal Sri Lanka and the US to examine slippage breakage and total failure rates. The 52-mm lubricated latex condoms were all manufactured by the same US company and came from six different manufacturing lots all of which passed the tensile test of the American Society for Testing and Materials and the airburst test of the International Standards Organization. Most couples (75-100%) at seven of the nine sites where marital status data were collected were married or living in union with their partner. Only 39% of those in the Dominican Republic and 46% of those in Mali were married or living in union with their partner. Breakage rates ranged from 0.6% in Sri Lanka to 13.3% in Ghana. At 11 sites breakage rates were less than 5%. Qualitative research identified four types of behavior associated with condom breakage: incorrect method of putting on the condom use of oil-based lubricants reuse of condoms and the duration and intensity of intercourse. Slippage rates ranged from 0 in Ghana to 9.3% in Kenya. About 66% of condom breaks occurred during intercourse or removal. 47% of the condoms that broke were broken at the tip or the closed end. 26% broke along the shaft. 27% broke near the open end. A secondary analysis conducted as part of one of the US studies revealed that a small portion of condom users comprise a disproportionate of condom failures. The factors linked to condom breakage were: couples with no condom experience in the last 12 months couples who did not live together at least one condom broke in the last year and couples with no more than 12 years of education. These findings suggest that most condom users use condoms correctly and therefore condoms protect them from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Automatic Frog Calls Monitoring System: A Machine Learning Approach

Automatic recognition of frog vocalization is considered a valuable tool for a variety of biological research and environmental monitoring applications. In this research an automatic monitoring system, which can recognize the vocalizations of four species of frogs and can identify different individuals within the species of interest, is proposed. For the desired monitoring system, species identification is performed first with the proposed filtering and grouping algorithm. Individual identification, which can estimate frog population within the specific species, is performed in the second stage. Digital signal pre-processing, feature extraction, dimensionality reduction, and neural network pattern classification are performed step by step in this stage. Wavelet Packet feature extraction together with two different dimension reduction algorithms are synergistically integrated to produce final feature vectors, which are to be fed into a neural network classifier. The simulation results show the promising future of deploying an array of continuous, on-line environmental monitoring systems based upon nonintrusive analysis of animal calls.
Focus on Vascular Function in Female Reproduction Regulation of vascular growth and function in the human placenta

During the course of 9 months, the human placenta develops into a highly vascular organ. Vasculogenesis starts during the third week post-conception. Hemangioblastic cell cords differentiate in situ from mesenchymal cells in the villous cores, most probably under the influence of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) secreted by the overlying trophoblast. The cords elongate through proliferation and cell recruitment, and connect with the vasculature of the developing fetus. A feto-placental circulation starts around 8 weeks of gestation. Elongation of the capillaries outstrips that of the containing villi, leading to looping of the vessels. The obtrusion of both capillary loops and new sprouts results in the formation of terminal villi. Branching and non-branching angiogenesis therefore play key roles in villous morphogenesis throughout pregnancy. Maternal circulating levels of VEGFA and placental growth factor vary across normal pregnancy, and in complicated pregnancies. Determining the impact of these changes on placental angiogenesis is difficult, as the relationship between levels of factors in the maternal circulation and their effects on fetal vessels within the placenta remains unclear. Furthermore, the trophoblast secretes large quantities of soluble receptors capable of binding both growth factors, influencing their bioavailability. Villous endothelial cells are prone to oxidative stress, which activates the apoptotic cascade. Oxidative stress associated with onset of the maternal circulation, and with incomplete conversion of the spiral arteries in pathological pregnancies, plays an important role in sculpting the villous tree. Suppression of placental angiogenesis results in impoverished development of the placenta, leading ultimately to fetal growth restriction. Reproduction (2009) 138 895–902
Sns and Kirre, the Drosophila orthologs of Nephrin and Neph1, direct adhesion, fusion and formation of a slit diaphragm-like structure in insect nephrocytes

The Immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) proteins Neph1 and Nephrin are co-expressed within podocytes in the kidney glomerulus, where they localize to the slit diaphragm (SD) and contribute to filtration between blood and urine. Herein, we demonstrate that their Drosophila orthologs Kirre (Duf) and Sns are co-expressed within binucleate garland cell nephrocytes (GCNs) that contribute to detoxification of the insect hemolymph by uptake of molecules through an SD-like nephrocyte diaphragm (ND) into labyrinthine channels that are active sites of endocytosis. The functions of Kirre and Sns in the embryonic musculature, to mediate adhesion and fusion between myoblasts to form multinucleate muscle fibers, have been conserved in the GCNs, where they contribute to adhesion of GCNs in the `garland' and to their fusion into binucleate cells. Sns and Kirre proteins localize to the ND at the entry point into the labyrinthine channels and, like their vertebrate counterparts, are essential for its formation. Knockdown of Kirre or Sns drastically reduces the number of NDs at the cell surface. These defects are associated with a decrease in uptake of large proteins, suggesting that the ND distinguishes molecules of different sizes and controls access to the channels. Moreover, mutations in the Sns fibronectin-binding or immunoglobulin domains lead to morphologically abnormal NDs and to reduced passage of proteins into the labyrinthine channels for uptake by endocytosis, suggesting a crucial and direct role for Sns in ND formation and function. These data reveal significant similarities between the insect ND and the SD in mammalian podocytes at the level of structure and function.
Support Vector Machines Based on the Orthogonal Projection Kernel of Father Wavelet

Recently the study on the theory of wavelets shows that the wavelets have not only the multi-resolution property both in frequency and time domain, but also the good approximation ability. SVMs based on the statistical learning theory are a kind of general and effective learning machines, and have described for us the nice application blueprint in machine learning domain. There exists a bottleneck problem, or the pre-selection of kernel parameter for SVMs. In this paper, the orthogonal projection kernels of father wavelet (OPFW kernels) are introduced into SVMs. In doing so SVMs based on the OPFW kernels can have good performance in both approximation and generalisation. Simultaneously the parameter pre-selection of wavelet kernels can be implemented by discrete wavelet transform. Experiments on regression estimation illustrate the approximation and generalisation ability of our method.
Similarity-based Combination of Multiple Clusterings

Consensus clustering refers to combining multiple clusterings over a common set of objects into a single consolidated partition. After introducing the distribution-based view of partitions, we propose a series of entropy-based distance functions for comparing various partitions. Given a candidate partition set, consensus clustering is then formalized as an optimization problem of searching for a centroid partition with the smallest distance to that set. In addition to directly selecting the local centroid candidate, we also present two combining methods for the global centroid based on the new similarity determined by the whole candidate set. The centroid partition is likely to be top/middle-ranked in terms of closeness to the true partition. Finally we evaluate its effectiveness on both artificial and real datasets, with candidates from either the full space or the subspace.
Classifier Combination Applied for Understanding of Eyes Images

The article presents the development of a Classifiers Combination based on machine learning techniques (Artificial Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines and C4.5 algorithm) which were able to increase the performance achieved by the Refractive Errors Measurement System (REMS) that analyzes Hartmann-Shack (HS) images from human eyes. The HS images are analyzed in order to extract relevant data for identification of refractive errors (myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism). Those data are extracted using Gabor wavelets transform and afterwards, machine learning techniques are employed to carry out the image analysis.
The pattern of cervical cytology in Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinics in Nnewi, South-Eastern Nigeria.

Background: Cervical cytology screening has decreased the incidence of and mortality from invasive cervical cancer in developed and even some developing countries. The story is still different in Nigeria because there is no national screening programme in place. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of cervical cytology and relate it to some known risk factors such as age, parity, age at coitarche, number of sexual partners and clinical presentation. Subjects and Methods: A total of 100 women were seen at two Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinics in Nnewi over a three month period (May-July 2005) were screened. Conventional method of staining was used. The first fifty sexually active women that consented to completing the study questionnaire in the two clinics were included. Main Outcome Measures: The work noted the pattern of reports in relation to some known risk factors and adequacy of the sampling. Results: Sampling adequacy was 93%; epithelial cell abnormality was reported in only one smear; 58 were reported as normal; 14 showed benign cellular changes (i.e. infective); and 18 reactive changes (i.e. atrophy). Conclusion: Now that infective aetiology has been established in cancer of the cervix, the co-factors may be some of these causes of benign cellular changes of the cervix. Keywords : A typical squamous cells, cancer, cervical, co-factors, Pap smear
Bicaudal C, a novel regulator of Dvl signaling abutting RNA-processing bodies, controls cilia orientation and leftward flow

Polycystic diseases and left-right (LR) axis malformations are frequently linked to cilia defects. Renal cysts also arise in mice and frogs lacking Bicaudal C (BicC), a conserved RNA-binding protein containing K-homology (KH) domains and a sterile alpha motif (SAM). However, a role for BicC in cilia function has not been demonstrated. Here, we report that targeted inactivation of BicC randomizes left-right (LR) asymmetry by disrupting the planar alignment of motile cilia required for cilia-driven fluid flow. Furthermore, depending on its SAM domain, BicC can uncouple Dvl2 signaling from the canonical Wnt pathway, which has been implicated in antagonizing planar cell polarity (PCP). The SAM domain concentrates BicC in cytoplasmic structures harboring RNA-processing bodies (P-bodies) and Dvl2. These results suggest a model whereby BicC links the orientation of cilia with PCP, possibly by regulating RNA silencing in P-bodies.
Revue et analyse d'instruments de mesure de la performance de la main et du membre supérieur

Les membres supérieurs jouent un rôle essentiel dans l'accomplissement des activités courantes de tout individu. Une atteinte de leur fonctionnement nécessite une évaluation précise pour guider l'application d'un programme de réadaptation. Afin d'aider le clinicien ou le chercheur à choisir un outil d'évaluation adapté à ses besoins et à ceux de la clientèle qui le préoccupe, 16 instruments de mesure de la performance de la main et du membre supérieur sont d'abord décrits, puis analysés selon des critères importants en milieu clinique et de recherche.
Structural Change of the Mn Cluster during the S2→S3 State Transition of the Oxygen-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II. Does It Reflect the Onset of Water/Substrate Oxidation? Determination by Mn X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

The oxygen-evolving complex of Photosystem II in plants and cyanobacteria catalyzes the oxidation of two water molecules to one molecule of dioxygen. A tetranuclear Mn complex is believed to cycle through five intermediate states (S0-S4) to couple the four-electron oxidation of water with the one-electron photochemistry occurring at the Photosystem II reaction center. We have used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the local structure of the Mn complex and have proposed a model for it, based on studies of the Mn K-edges and the extended X-ray absorption fine structure of the S1 and S2 states. The proposed model consists of two di-μ-oxo-bridged binuclear Mn units with Mn-Mn distances of ~2.7 Å that are linked to each other by a mono-μ-oxo bridge with a Mn-Mn separation of ~3.3 Å. The Mn-Mn distances are invariant in the native S1 and S2 states. This report describes the application of X-ray absorption spectroscopy to S3 samples created under physiological conditions with saturating flash illumination. Significant changes are observed in the Mn-Mn distances in the S3 state compared to the S1 and the S2 states. The two 2.7 Å Mn-Mn distances that characterize the di-μ-oxo centers in the S1 and S2 states are lengthened to ~2.8 and 3.0 Å in the S3 state, respectively. The 3.3 Å Mn-Mn and Mn-Ca distances also increase by 0.04-0.2 Å. These changes in Mn-Mn distances are interpreted as consequences of the onset of substrate/water oxidation in the S3 state. Mn-centered oxidation is evident during the S0→S1 and S1→S2 transitions. We propose that the changes in Mn-Mn distances during the S2→S3 transition are the result of ligand or water oxidation, leading to the formation of an oxyl radical intermediate formed at a bridging or terminal position. The reaction of the oxyl radical with OH-, H2O, or an oxo group during the subsequent S state conversion is proposed to lead to the formation of the O-O bond. Models that can account for changes in the Mn-Mn distances in the S3 state and the implications for the mechanism of water oxidation are discussed.
Ripply3, a Tbx1 repressor, is required for development of the pharyngeal apparatus and its derivatives in mice

The pharyngeal apparatus is a transient structure that gives rise to the thymus and the parathyroid glands and also contributes to the development of arteries and the cardiac outflow tract. A typical developmental disorder of the pharyngeal apparatus is the 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), for which Tbx1 is responsible. Here, we show that Ripply3 can modulate Tbx1 activity and plays a role in the development of the pharyngeal apparatus. Ripply3 expression is observed in the pharyngeal ectoderm and endoderm and overlaps with strong expression of Tbx1 in the caudal pharyngeal endoderm. Ripply3 suppresses transcriptional activation by Tbx1 in luciferase assays in vitro. Ripply3-deficient mice exhibit abnormal development of pharyngeal derivatives, including ectopic formation of the thymus and the parathyroid gland, as well as cardiovascular malformation. Corresponding with these defects, Ripply3-deficient embryos show hypotrophy of the caudal pharyngeal apparatus. Ripply3 represses Tbx1-induced expression of Pax9 in luciferase assays in vitro, and Ripply3-deficient embryos exhibit upregulated Pax9 expression. Together, our results show that Ripply3 plays a role in pharyngeal development, probably by regulating Tbx1 activity.
A Novel Signal Decomposition Approach - Adaptive Fourier Decomposition

This paper presents a novel signal decomposition approach — adaptive Fourier decomposition (AFD), which decomposes a given signal based on its physical characters. The algorithm is described in detail, that is based on recent theoretical studies on analytic instantaneous frequencies and stands as a realizable variation of the greedy algorithm. The principle of the algorithm gives rise to fast convergence in terms of energy. Effectiveness of the algorithm is evaluated by comparison experiments with the classical Fourier decomposition (FD) algorithm. The results are promising.
The Public Health Aspects of Environmental Enforcement

Pollution is a public health problem, and hence enforcement of environmental statutes such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act serve fundamental public health goals as well as improving environmental quality. Moreover, public health benefits can provide politically cognizant benefits for environmental protection that balance the costs of environmental regulation and compliance. Thus, it is worth examining the extent to which the EPA considers the public health in its environmental enforcement priorities and decisions. Focusing on the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, this Article: (1) reviews those statutes’ connections to public health protection; (2) outlines the statutory connections between public health considerations and environmental enforcement; (3) examines EPA’s enforcement priorities and guidance; and (4) discusses EPA’s presentation of its own enforcement effectiveness over the last decade. This Article concludes that public health considerations do play a significant role in environmental enforcement policies and decisionmaking. However, EPA’s commitment to presenting the public health benefits of its enforcement actions has varied considerably over the last decade. With the release of its FY2009 enforcement assessment, however, EPA has both expanded its analysis of the connection between environmental pollution enforcement and public health benefits and created new tools to enhance the transparency of these benefits to the affected public.
P-95: No effect of growth hormone treatment on insulin action in muscle of growth hormone deficient rats

INTRODUCTION Excess of growth hormone, as in acromegaly, has been shown to be associated with insulin resistance (Hansen 1986), whereas growth hormone deficiency in rats, as after hypophysectomy, is associated with increased sensitivity to insulin (Davidson 1987). With the introduction of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) it is becoming common to treat growth hormone deficient patients with rhGH. Muscle tissue is the major site of glucose disposal and it is therefore of interest to study how the effect of insulin in skeletal muscle is affected after treatment with rhGH.
Development and Stem Cells Research Article

INTRODUCTION The development of an organism relies on a series of cell fate decisions. One of the most pivotal of these decisions is that between soma and germ line. It is important to specify a small number of germ cells within a mostly somatic organism in order to ensure both the survival of the individual and its fertility. The single-cell embryo has a number of attributes of the germ line, including an inherited chromatin state compatible with gene expression patterns in germ cells. In mammals, erasure of germline character is one of the first steps in embryogenesis; primordial germ cells are newly induced later in development (for a review, see Saitou and Yamaji, 2010). In Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila, germ cells are segregated away from somatic cells very early in development and the erasure of germline characteristics in the soma appears to be more gradual (for a review, see Nakamura and Seydoux, 2008). In all cases,
Neuroendocrine regulation of Drosophila metamorphosis requires TGFβ/Activin signaling

In insects, initiation of metamorphosis requires a surge in the production of the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone from the prothoracic gland, the primary endocrine organ of juvenile larvae. Here, we show that blocking TGFβ/Activin signaling, specifically in the Drosophila prothoracic gland, results in developmental arrest prior to metamorphosis. The terminal, giant third instar larval phenotype results from a failure to induce the large rise in ecdysteroid titer that triggers metamorphosis. We further demonstrate that activin signaling regulates competence of the prothoracic gland to receive PTTH and insulin signals, and that these two pathways act at the mRNA and post-transcriptional levels, respectively, to control ecdysone biosynthetic enzyme expression. This dual regulatory circuitry may provide a cross-check mechanism to ensure that both developmental and nutritional inputs are synchronized before initiating the final genetic program leading to reproductive adult development. As steroid hormone production in C. elegans and mammals is also influenced by TGFβ/Activin signaling, this family of secreted factors may play a general role in regulating developmental transitions across phyla.