Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depression of intraocular pressure following inactivation of connexin43 in the nonpigmented epithelium of the ciliary body.

PURPOSE Conditional inactivation of connexin43 (Cx43) in the pigmented epithelium of the mouse eye results in a reduction in aqueous humor production and complete loss of the vitreous chamber. It was proposed that gap junctions between pigmented and nonpigmented epithelia of the ciliary body are critical for the production of the aqueous humor. To form such junctions, Cx43 in the pigmented epithelium must interact with connexin(s) present in the adjacent cells of the nonpigmented epithelium. The importance of Cx43 expression in the nonpigmented epithelium for the establishment of gap junctions and the regulation of intraocular pressure was tested. METHODS To inactivate Cx43 in the nonpigmented epithelium of the mouse eye, a mouse line was crossed with a floxed Cx43 locus (Cx43(flox/flox)) and a transgenic mouse line expressing cre recombinase under the control of the Pax6alpha promoter. General eye structure was evaluated by light microscopy, gap junctions were analyzed by electron microscopy, and intraocular pressure was directly assessed with micropipettes. RESULTS In Pax6alpha-cre/Cx43(flox/flox) mice, Cx43 was partially inactivated in the nonpigmented epithelium of the ciliary body and iris. Animals developed dilatations between the pigmented and nonpigmented epithelia and displayed a significant reduction in intraocular pressure. However, gap junctions between the ciliary epithelial layers were decreased but not eliminated. CONCLUSIONS Cx43 expression in the nonpigmented epithelium of the ciliary body contributes to the formation of gap junctions with the cells of the pigmented epithelium. These gap junctions play a critical role in maintaining the physical integrity of the ciliary body epithelium. Although the partial loss of Cx43 from the nonpigmented epithelium was correlated with a measurable drop in intraocular pressure, possible changes in Cx43 in the aqueous outflow pathway may provide an additional contribution to the observed phenotype.
Estimate of the Frequency of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protease Inhibitor Resistance within Unselected Virus Populations In Vitro

ABSTRACT The frequency of drug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants in virus populations not previously exposed to drug was determined in vitro by using HIV-1RF and the protease inhibitor SC-55389A. Two variants with single mutations responsible for drug resistance (V82A and N88S) were quantifiably isolated after only one round of replication, yielding a crude frequency estimate of at least 1 SC-55389A-resistant variant per 3.5 × 105wild-type infectious units.
Defensins and other endogenous peptide antibiotics of vertebrates

Gene‐encoded peptide antibiotics are ubiquitous components of host defenses in mammals, birds, amphibia, insects, and plants. Their de novo synthesis or release from storage sites can be induced rapidly, which makes them particularly important in the initial phases of resistance to microbial invasion. The endogenous antimicrobial peptides of animals are products of single genes and are synthesized as preproproteins. Multistep processing yields the mature peptide, which generally acts by inducing microbial membrane permeabilization. Several families of antimicrobial peptides have been identified that differ with respect to the presence of disulfide linkages, amino acid composition, structural conformation, and spectrum of activity. The arginine‐rich three disulfide‐containing β‐βheet defensins are remarkably abundant and widely distributed in animals and plants. The antibiotic peptides of higher eukaryotes merit further study for their role in natural immunity and their potential as novel therapeutic compounds. J. Leukoc. Biol. 58: 128–136; 1995.
A falsification of the thermal specialization paradigm: compensation for elevated temperatures in Antarctic fishes

Specialization to a particular environment is one of the main factors used to explain species distributions. Antarctic fishes are often cited as a classic example to illustrate the specialization process and are regarded as the archetypal stenotherms. Here we show that the Antarctic fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki has retained the capacity to compensate for chronic temperature change. By displaying astounding plasticity in cardiovascular response and metabolic control, the fishes maintained locomotory performance at elevated temperatures. Our falsification of the specialization paradigm indicates that the effect of climate change on species distribution and extinction may be overestimated by current models of global warming.
Feasibility, Reliability and User Satisfaction With a PDA-Based Mini-CEX to Evaluate the Clinical Skills of Third-Year Medical Students

Background: The mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) has been used to assess clinical skills of 3rd-year medical schools. However a PDA-based mini-CEX has not been developed or evaluated before. Our objective was to determine the feasibility, implementation, and user satisfaction with a PDA-based mini-CEX. Description: Third-year medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin who rotated on their core clinical clerkship in internal medicine during the period of July 2004 to April 2005 (n = 177) were required to complete two PDA-based mini-CEXs that were supervised by a faculty member or senior resident. Descriptive statistics and sample t test with equal variances were performed to analyze PDA-based mini-CEX completion rates, satisfaction scores by overall user and by evaluator type. Evaluation: During the 10-month study period, 354 PDA-based mini-CEX forms were collected (100% completion rate). Seventy-five percent (n = 267) of mini-CEXs occurred in the inpatient setting and 24% (n = 87) in the outpatient clinics. Students reported receiving feedback from their evaluator in 96% of these exercises. The most frequently evaluated competencies were humanism (90%), physical examination (90%), and overall clinical competence (90%). Third-year students were evaluated by residents in 58% (n = 205) of encounters and by faculty in 42% (n = 149). Residents rated students significantly higher than faculty (overall M = 7.6 vs. 7.1, respectively) in all clinical domains of the PDA-based form (p < .05). Satisfaction with the PDA-based mini-CEX was high (scale = 1–9) for residents (8.1; SD = 1.5), faculty (7.4; SD = 1.5), and students (8.0; SD = 1.7). Conclusions: A PDA-based mini-CEX is a feasible tool to facilitate the direct observation of students' clinical skills. The PDA-based mini-CEX was highly rated by students and evaluators as a valuable technology-based tool to document direct supervision of clinical skills.
Systemic and Local Administration of Allogeneic Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promotes Fracture Healing in Rats

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are immune privileged and a cell source for tissue repair. Previous studies showed that there is systemic mobilization of osteoblastic precursors to the fracture site. We hypothesized that both systemic and local administration of allogeneic MSCs may promote fracture healing. Bone marrow-derived MSCs and skin fibroblasts were isolated from GFP Sprague–Dawley rats, cultured, and characterized. Closed transverse femoral fracture with internal fixation was established in 48 adult male Sprague–Dawley rats, which were randomly assigned into four groups receiving PBS injection, MSC systemic injection, fibroblast systemic injection, and MSC fracture site injection; 2 × 106 cells were injected at 4 days after fracture. All animals were sacrificed at 5 weeks after fracture; examinations included weekly radiograph, micro-CT, mechanical testing, histology, immunohistochemistry, and double immunofluorescence. The callus size of MSC injection groups was significantly larger among all the groups. Radiographs and 3D reconstruction images showed that the fracture gaps united in the MSC injected groups, while gaps were still seen in the fibroblast and PBS injection groups. The mechanical properties were significantly higher in the MSC injection groups than those in the fibroblast and PBS groups, but no difference was found between the MSC local and systemic injection groups. Immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescence demonstrated that GFP-positive MSCs were present in the callus in the MSC injection groups at 5 weeks after fracture, and some differentiated into osteoblasts. Quantitative analysis revealed the number of GFP-positive cells in the callus in the MSC systemic injection group was significantly lower than that of the MSC local injection group. The proportion of GFP osteoblasts in GFP-positive cells in the MSC systemic injection group was significantly lower than that of the MSC local injection group. These findings provide critical insight for developing MSC-based therapies, and systemic injection of allogeneic MSCs may be a novel treatment method for promoting fracture repair.
Analysis of LEACH protocol(s) using formal verification

WSN nodes operate in an unattended environment and thus have irreplaceable batteries. Thus an important concern is the network lifetime; we need to utilize their energy for a longer time otherwise nodes run out of power. For this purpose various protocols have been established and the subject of our matter is the LEACH protocol. The LEACH protocol is self-organizing and is characterized as an adaptive clustering protocol which uses randomly distributes energy load among nodes. By using cluster heads and data aggregation excessive energy consumption is avoided. In this paper we analyzed LEACH and its extensions like LEACH-C and LEACH-F using Formal modeling techniques. Formal modeling is often used by researchers these days to verify a variety of routing protocols. By using formal verification one can precisely confirm the authenticity of results and worst case scenarios, a solution not possible using computer simulations and hardware implementation. In this paper, we have applied formal verification to compare how efficient LEACH is as compared to its extensions in various WSN topologies. The paper is not about design improvement of LEACH but to formally verify its correctness, efficiency and performance as already stated. This work is novel as LEACH and its extensions according to our knowledge have not been analyzed using formal verification techniques.
A Separate Extraction Method for Asymmetric Source and Drain Resistances Using Frequency-Dispersive  $C$ – $V$  Characteristics in Exfoliated MoS2 FET

Asymmetric source and drain (S/D) series resistances (R<sub>S</sub> and R<sub>D</sub>) are unavoidable in exfoliated MoS<sub>2</sub> field-effect transistors (EM-FETs). Through combining the capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage characteristics, the asymmetric R<sub>S</sub> and R<sub>D</sub> values are extracted separately. First, the frequency-dispersive C-V characteristics are analyzed in a frequency range of 0.3-10 kHz. Second, the intrinsic R<sub>S</sub> and R<sub>D</sub> values (R<sub>S,int</sub> and R<sub>D,int</sub>) are characterized through deembedding the parasitic pad capacitances (C<sub>Pad</sub> = C<sub>S,Pad</sub> + C<sub>D,Pad</sub>) between the S/D metal and the bottom gate (G) in an overlapped region with the consideration of the structure-dependent parameters in the EM-FET. The proposed methodology is verified through comparison with the well-known channel resistance method, which is based on only the I<sub>D</sub>-V<sub>D</sub> characteristics in the linear region. Finally, R<sub>S,int</sub> and R<sub>D,int</sub> at various parasitic overlap areas are extracted separately with improved accuracy.
Functional expression and localization of P‐glycoprotein at the blood brain barrier

Until recently, the blood‐brain barrier was viewed as a static lipid membrane barrier. Physical attributes of the cerebral endothelial cells such as the presence of tight junctions, paucity of vesicles or caveolae, and high electrical resistance were believed to be the primary components that provide the membrane selectivity of the blood‐brain barrier to a variety of circulating compounds from the periphery. However, results from molecular biology, immunocytochemistry, biochemistry, and transport studies show that the cerebral endothelial cells possess an asymmetrical array of metabolic enzymes (i.e., alkaline phosphatase, cytochrome P450 enzymes, glutathione transferases) and energy‐dependent efflux transport proteins (i.e., P‐glycoprotein and Multidrug‐resistance proteins) that are instrumental to the barrier function. P‐glycoprotein, a membrane‐associated, energy‐dependent, efflux transporter, is expressed in brain parenchyma (i.e., astrocytes and microglia) as well as in blood‐brain and blood‐cerebrospinal fluid barriers. Its function along the blood‐brain barrier is believed to prevent the accumulation of potentially harmful compounds in the brain by actively removing them from the brain into the peripheral circulation. This is a brief review on the expression and activity of P‐glycoprotein at the blood‐brain barrier, which reports on the localization of the protein in rat brain capillaries in situ as well as in a well‐characterized in vitro model of the blood‐brain barrier, an immortalized rat brain endothelial cell line, the RBE4. Immunocytochemical analysis employing various P‐glycoprotein monoclonal antibodies, demonstrated the presence of the protein along the plasma membrane, in plasmalemmal vesicles and nuclear envelope of rat cerebral endothelial cells, both in situ and in vitro. Western blot analysis revealed a single band with a molecular weight of 170–180 kDa, a size previously reported for P‐glycoprotein, in RBE4 cells. In addition, results from functional studies show that the accumulation of the P‐glycoprotein substrate digoxin by RBE4 monolayer cells is significantly enhanced in the presence of standard P‐glycoprotein inhibitors (verapamil, cyclosporin A, PSC 833), protease inhibitors (saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir), and the metabolic inhibitor, sodium azide. These results demonstrate the functional expression of P‐glycoprotein in the immortalized rat brain endothelial cell line, RBE4. Novel in situ and in vitro intracellular locations of P‐glycoprotein in cerebral endothelial cells have been identified suggesting that this transporter may play a significant role in the subcellular distribution of substrates in the brain. Microsc. Res. Tech. 57:365–380, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ingredients for Functional Drinks in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Review

Several studies have indicated that oxidative stress is a major risk factor for the initiation and progression of neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's (AD). Therefore, reducing oxidative stress appears to be a rational choice for the prevention and reduction in the rate of progression of these neurological disorders. The brain utilizes about 25% of respired oxygen even though it represents only 5% of the body weight. Free radicals are generated during the normal intake of oxygen, during infection, and during normal oxidative metabolism of certain substrates. Although experimental data are consistent in demonstrating the neuroprotective effects of antioxidants in vitro and in animal models, the clinical evidence that antioxidant agents may prevent or slow the course of these diseases is still relatively unsatisfactory, and insufficient to strongly modify clinical practice. In this paper, natural possible substances that could be added to a beverage to prevent or decrease the developing of neurodegenerative diseases are reviewed.
Fast Voltage-Programmed Pixel Architecture for AMOLED Displays

We present a fast voltage programming scheme for active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays using amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film transistor (TFT) backplane technology. The proposed scheme uses on-pixel measurement of the threshold voltage (V th) of the drive TFT. In contrast to the conventional voltage driving, V th is not measured by discharging a capacitor through a diode-connected TFT. Thus, the accuracy-speed tradeoff does not limit the performance of the new driving scheme. A 4-TFT 2-capacitor pixel circuit is implemented based on the new driving scheme, and its performance is verified by circuit-level simulations using AIM-SPICE. Simulation results show that for a programming time of 33 ¿s , less than 2.5% change in the OLED current can be achieved for a 5-V shift in the threshold voltage of the drive TFT.
Using hierarchical temporal memory for document ranking system identification

A model of hierarchical temporal memory for identification of text documents ranking system is proposed. An approach to the evaluating of the model's parameters is proposed and an evaluation of training time is given. Tests were performed on data, received by modeling OkapiBm25 algorithm, applied to the collection of text documents of ROMIP seminar. The obtained results allow us to conclude that the model can solve the identification problems.
Impact of organic pig production systems on CO2 emission, C sequestration and nitrate pollution

Organic rules for grazing and access to outdoor areas in pig production may be met in different ways, which express compromises between considerations for animal welfare, feed self-reliance and negative environmental impact such as greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate pollution. This article compares the environmental impact of the main organic pig systems in Denmark. Normally, sows are kept in huts on grassland and finishing pigs are raised in stables with access to an outdoor run. One alternative practice is also rearing the fattening pigs on grassland all year round. The third method investigated was a one-unit pen system mainly consisting of a deep litter area under a climate tent and with restricted access to a grazing area. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, the emissions of greenhouse gases of the free range system were estimated to be 3.3 kg CO2-equivalents kg−1 live weight pig, which was significantly higher than the indoor fattening system and the tent system, yielding 2.9 and 2.8 kg CO2-eq. kg−1 pig, respectively. This was 7–22% higher compared with Danish conventional pig production but, due to the integration of grass-clover in the organic crop rotations these had an estimated net soil carbon sequestration. When carbon sequestration was included in the LCA then the organic systems had lower greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional pig production. Eutrophication in nitrate equivalents per kg pig was 21–65% higher in the organic pig systems and acidification was 35–45% higher per kg organic pig compared with the conventional system. We conclude that, even though the free range system theoretically has agro-ecological advantages over the indoor fattening system and the tent system due to a larger grass-clover area, this potential is difficult to implement in practice due to problems with leaching on sandy soil. Only if forage can contribute to a larger proportion of the pigfeed uptake may the free range system be economically and environmentally competitive. Improvement of nitrogen cycling and efficiency is the most important factor for reducing the overall environmental load from organic pig meat. Presently, a system with pig fattening in stables and concrete-covered outdoor runs seems to be the best solution from an environmental point of view.
Marine epibiosis. I. Fouling and antifouling: some basic aspects

In the marine environment any solid, exposed undefended surface will become fouled. Similarly, fouling may effect numerous species which are able to tolerate a certain degree of epibiosis. In contrast, many others actively maintain t h e ~ r body surface clean of epibionts ('antifouling'). This paper illustrates aspects of the epibiosis/antifouling complex and discusses the omnipresence of fouling pressure, the first stages in the establishment of a fouhng community, the benefits and disadvantages of epibiosis for both epiand basibionts, and possible anbfouling defense adaptations.
IL-4 Confers NK Stimulatory Capacity to Murine Dendritic Cells: A Signaling Pathway Involving KARAP/DAP12-Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cell 2 Molecules1

Dendritic cells (DC) regulate NK cell functions, but the signals required for the DC-mediated NK cell activation, i.e., DC-activated NK cell (DAK) activity, remain poorly understood. Upon acute inflammation mimicked by LPS or TNF-α, DC undergo a maturation process allowing T and NK cell activation in vitro. Chronic inflammation is controlled in part by Th2 cytokines. In this study, we show that IL-4 selectively confers to DC NK but not T cell stimulatory capacity. IL-4 is mandatory for mouse bone marrow-derived DC grown in GM-CSF (DCGM/IL-4) to promote NK cell activation in the draining lymph nodes. IL-4-mediated DAK activity depends on the KARAP/DAP12-triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell 2 signaling pathway because: 1) gene targeting of the adaptor molecule KARAP/DAP12, a transmembrane polypeptide with an intracytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif, suppresses the DCGM/IL-4 capacity to activate NK cells, and 2) IL-4-mediated DAK activity is significantly blocked by soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell 2 Fc molecules. These data outline a novel role for Th2 cytokines in the regulation of innate immune responses through triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells.
Sensitivity of Community Structure to Network Uncertainty

Community detection constitutes an important task for investigating the internal structure of networks, with a plethora of applications in a wide range of disciplines. A particularly important point, which is rarely taken into account while developing community detection algorithms, is their sensitivity (or stability) to network uncertainty. In many cases, the input graph data is incomplete or noisy (e.g., due to noise introduced during the collection of the data or for privacy preserving reasons). Then, the following question arises: how stable are the results produced by an algorithm with respect to the uncertainty (i.e., noise level) of the input data? In this paper, we propose a quantitative way to address this problem. We have considered several graph perturbation models to introduce uncertainty to the graph. Then, we examine the sensitivity of an algorithm, with respect to functional and structural characteristics of the detected communities under various perturbation levels. We have studied the performance of some of the most widely used community detection algorithms in practice, and our experimental results indicate that random walk based community detection algorithms tend to be robust under various conditions of network uncertainty.
Comparison of front touch and back touch while using transparent double-sided touch display

When using direct-touch displays, the users' fingers sometimes occlude the content. To avoid this problem, previous studies have proposed using the back side of a device [Hiraoka et. al., 2003] [Wigdor et al., 2007]. These approaches were shown to be useful for inputting from the backside of a device, for tasks such as selecting targets. Although these approaches have not been shown the usability of double sided touch displays, we explored how users touch both sides of a transparent display using the LimpiDual Touch (LDT) [Iwabuchi et al., 2008]. In our experiments, participants touched a target on the double-sided display. The location of the target was not predictable. We compared the reaction time (RT) and accuracy under the different input conditions (front/back/dual).