Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tertiapin-Q Blocks Recombinant and Native Large Conductance K+ Channels in a Use-Dependent Manner

Tertiapin, a short peptide from honey bee venom, has been reported to specifically block the inwardly rectifying K+ (Kir) channels, including G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channel (GIRK) 1+GIRK4 heteromultimers and ROMK1 homomultimers. In the present study, the effects of a stable and functionally similar derivative of tertiapin, tertiapin-Q, were examined on recombinant human voltage-dependent Ca2+-activated large conductance K+ channel (BK or MaxiK; α-subunit or hSlo1 homomultimers) and mouse inwardly rectifying GIRK1+GIRK2 (i.e., Kir3.1 and Kir3.2) heteromultimeric K+ channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes and in cultured newborn mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. In two-electrode voltage-clamped oocytes, tertiapin-Q (1-100 nM) inhibited BK-type K+ channels in a use- and concentration-dependent manner. We also confirmed the inhibition of recombinant GIRK1+GIRK2 heteromultimers by tertiapin-Q, which had no effect on endogenous depolarization- and hyperpolarization-activated currents sensitive to extracellular divalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, and Ba2+) in defolliculated oocytes. In voltage-clamped DRG neurons, tertiapin-Q voltage- and use-dependently inhibited outwardly rectifying K+ currents, but Cs+-blocked hyperpolarization-activated inward currents including IH were insensitive to tertiapin-Q, baclofen, barium, and zinc, suggesting absence of functional GIRK channels in the newborn. Under current-clamp conditions, tertiapin-Q blocked the action potential after hyperpolarization (AHP) and increased action potential duration in DRG neurons. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the blocking actions of tertiapin-Q are not specific to Kir channels and that the blockade of recombinant BK channels and native neuronal AHP currents is use-dependent. Inhibition of specific types of Kir and voltage-dependent Ca2+-activated K+ channels by tertiapin-Q at nanomolar range via different mechanisms may have implications in pain physiology and therapy.
Identification and cloning of two species of cadherins in bovine endothelial cells.

By taking advantage of the extensive homology found in the cytoplasmic domains of several cloned cadherin molecules, we were able to identify two species of cadherins in bovine aortic endothelial cells using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The two species of PCR products were subsequently used as DNA probes to isolate the corresponding cDNA clones from bovine adrenal microvascular endothelial cells. Sequence comparison with other characterized cadherin molecules indicates that the major cDNA species encodes a cadherin molecule highly homologous to chicken and mouse N‐cadherins, while the minor species is most homologous to mouse and human P‐cadherins. Northern blot analysis with the corresponding cDNA probe showed a wide distribution of bovine N‐cadherin among non‐neuronal, as well as neuronal tissues, while P‐cadherin was most abundant in kidney among all the bovine tissues tested, but was undetectable in placenta.
Oral Radiology Safety Standards Adopted by the General Dentists Practicing in National Capital Region (NCR).

INTRODUCTION With advancement in diagnostic techniques, the utilization of radiologic examination has risen to many folds in the last two decades. Ionizing radiations from the radiographic examination carry the potential for harm by inducing carcino-genesis in addition to the diagnostic information extracted. Radiation doses utilized in the course of dental treatment might be low for individual examinations but patients are exposed to repeated examinations very often and many people are exposed during the course of dental care. Therefore, principles of radiation protection and safety are necessary for the dentists to follow to ensure minimum and inevitable exposure. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and behaviour of general dentists practicing in the National Capital Region (NCR) regarding radiation safety during oral radiographic procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study. A total of 500 general dentists were contacted to participate in the study. The target population entailed of general dentists practicing in the National Capital Region. Data was computed and tabulated in Microsoft excel sheet and statistical analysis was performed with the help of SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS The total response rate recovered was 70.6% and the respondents comprised of 59% and 41% males & females respectively. Only 64.8% of the general dentists contemplated thyroid to be the most important organ for radiation protection. Only 28.8% of the general dentists followed the position & distance rule appropriately. CONCLUSION The results showed that the knowledge and behaviour of the general dentists and the practices adopted by them regarding radiation safety is not satisfactory. To ensure the following of basic and necessary guidelines for radiation safety and protection, strict rules with penalties should be implemented by the state councils and new and interesting methods of education for this spectrum of the field should be introduced.
Changes in regional cerebral blood flow with venlafaxine in the treatment of major depression.

OBJECTIVE Neuroimaging studies reveal abnormalities of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in major depression. In this study the authors prospectively investigated rCBF and clinical response to venlafaxine, a novel antidepressant. METHOD A trial of venlafaxine was performed with seven patients referred with ICD-10 major depression. At entry and 6-week follow-up, the Beck Depression Inventory and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were administered and rCBF was measured by means of single photon emission computed tomography with [(99m)Tc]hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime. Blood flow changes were explored with statistical parametric mapping. RESULTS The subjects showed significant improvement after treatment. Statistical parametric mapping analysis revealed increased rCBF bilaterally in the thalamus and decreased rCBF in the left occipital lobe, right cerebellum, and temporal cortex bilaterally. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm limbic cortical rCBF changes associated with effective antidepressant treatment.
Tumor inoculation site affects the development of cancer cachexia and muscle wasting

The phenotype and severity of cancer cachexia differ among tumor types and metastatic site in individual patients. In this study, we evaluated if differences in tumor microenvironment would affect the development of cancer cachexia in a murine model, and demonstrated that body weight, adipose tissue and gastrocnemius muscle decreased in tumor‐bearing mice. Interestingly, a reduction in heart weight was observed in the intraperitoneal tumor group but not in the subcutaneous group. We evaluated 23 circulating cytokines and members of the TGF‐β family, and found that levels of IL‐6, TNF‐α and activin A increased in both groups of tumor‐bearing mice. Eotaxin and G‐CSF levels in the intraperitoneal tumor group were higher than in the subcutaneous group. Atrogin 1 and MuRF1 mRNA expressions in the gastrocnemius muscle increased significantly in both groups of tumor‐bearing mice, however, in the myocardium, expression of these mRNAs increased in the intraperitoneal group but not in subcutaneous group. Based on these results, we believe that differences in microenvironment where tumor cells develop can affect the progression and phenotype of cancer cachexia through alterations in various circulating factors derived from the tumor microenvironment.
The heritability of age-related cortical cataract: the twin eye study.

PURPOSE A classical twin study was performed to establish the relative importance of genes and environment in cortical cataract. METHODS Five hundred six pairs of unselected female twin volunteers (226 monozygotic and 280 dizygotic) with a mean age of 62 years (range, 49-79 years) were examined. Cortical cataract was assessed using the slit-lamp-based Oxford Clinical Cataract Classification and Grading System (clinical grading) and the Wilmer Automated Grading System, which analyzed digital retroillumination images of subjects' lenses (digital grading). The worse eye categorized score for each individual was used in maximum likelihood path modeling of the correlations within twin pairs. These correlations were used to determine the underlying liability to cortical cataract. RESULTS Prevalence of significant cortical cataract (>/=5% of lens area) was similar in monozygotic and dizygotic twins, occurring in 19.4% and 20.6% with the clinical grading system and 24% and 23% using the digital grading system, respectively. Modeling suggested liability to cortical cataract is explained by additive and dominant genes, individual environment, and age. Estimates of the broad sense heritability of cortical cataract were 58% (95% confidence interval [CI], 51%-64%) for the clinical grading system and 53% (95% CI, 45%-60%) for the digital system. Dominant genes were estimated to contribute to 38% (95% CI, 1%-64%) of the genetic effect with the clinical grading and 53% (95% CI, 28%-60%) with the digital grading. Individual environment explained 26% and 37% and age 16% and 11% of cortical cataract variance in clinical and digital gradings, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Genetic effects are important in the development of cortical cataract and involve the action of dominant genes.
Regional differences in neural crest morphogenesis

Neural crest cells are pluripotent cells that emerge from the neural epithelium, migrate extensively, and differentiate into numerous derivatives, including neurons, glial cells, pigment cells and connective tissue. Major questions concerning their morphogenesis include: 1) what establishes the pathways of migration and 2) what controls the final destination and differentiation of various neural crest subpopulations. These questions will be addressed in this review. Neural crest cells from the trunk level have been explored most extensively. Studies show that melanoblasts are specified shortly after they depart from the neural tube, and this specification directs their migration into the dorsolateral pathway. We also consider other reports that present strong evidence for ventrally migrating neural crest cells being similarly fate restricted. Cranial neural crest cells have been less analyzed in this regard but the preponderance of evidence indicates that either the cranial neural crest cells are not fate-restricted, or are extremely plastic in their developmental capability and that specification does not control pathfinding. Thus, the guidance mechanisms that control cranial neural crest migration and their behavior vary significantly from the trunk. The vagal neural crest arises at the axial level between the cranial and trunk neural crest and represents a transitional cell population between the head and trunk neural crest. We summarize new data to support this claim. In particular, we show that: 1) the vagal-level neural crest cells exhibit modest developmental bias; 2) there are differences in the migratory behavior between the anterior and the posterior vagal neural crest cells reminiscent of the cranial and the trunk neural crest, respectively; 3) the vagal neural crest cells take the dorsolateral pathway to the pharyngeal arches and the heart, but the ventral pathway to the peripheral nervous system and the gut. However, these pathways are not rigidly specified because of prior fate restriction. Understanding the molecular, cellular and behavioral differences between these three populations of neural crest cells will be of enormous assistance when trying to understand the evolution of the neck.
Very short-term wind forecasting for Tasmanian power generation

Summary form only given. This paper describes very short-term wind prediction for power generation, utilising a case study from Tasmania, Australia. Windpower presently is the fastest growing power generation sector in the world. However, windpower is intermittent. To be able to trade efficiently, make best use of transmission line capability and address concerns with system frequency in a reregulated system, accurate very short-term forecasts are essential. The research introduces a novel approach the application of an adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to forecasting a wind time series. Over the very short-term forecast interval, both wind speed and wind direction are important parameters. To be able to be gain the most from a forecast on this time scale, the turbines must be directed towards on oncoming wind. For this reason, this paper forecasts wind vectors, rather than wind speed or power output
The role of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as in vitro anticoagulant for diagnostic purposes

Abstract Anticoagulants are used to prevent clot formation both in vitro and in vivo. In the specific field of in vitro diagnostics, anticoagulants are commonly added to collection tubes either to maintain blood in the fluid state for hematological testing or to obtain suitable plasma for coagulation and clinical chemistry analyses. Unfortunately, no universal anticoagulant that could be used for evaluation of several laboratory parameters in a sample from a single test tube is available so far. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a polyprotic acid containing four carboxylic acid groups and two amine groups with lone-pair electrons that chelate calcium and several other metal ions. Calcium is necessary for a wide range of enzyme reactions of the coagulation cascade and its removal irreversibly prevents blood clotting within the collection tube. Historically, EDTA has been recommended as the anticoagulant of choice for hematological testing because it allows the best preservation of cellular components and morphology of blood cells. The remarkable expansion in laboratory test volume and complexity over recent decades has amplified the potential spectrum of applications for this anticoagulant, which can be used to stabilize blood for a variety of traditional and innovative tests. Specific data on the behavior of EDTA as an anticoagulant in hematology, including possible pitfalls, are presented. The use of EDTA for measuring cytokines, protein and peptides, and cardiac markers is described, with an outline of the protection of labile molecules provided by this anticoagulant. The use of EDTA in proteomics and in general clinical chemistry is also described in comparison with other anticoagulants and with serum samples. Finally, the possible uses of alternative anticoagulants instead of EDTA and the potential use of a universal anticoagulant are illustrated. Clin Chem Lab Med 2007;45:565–76.
The TTG1-bHLH-MYB complex controls trichome cell fate and patterning through direct targeting of regulatory loci

A network of three classes of proteins consisting of bHLH and MYB transcription factors, and a WD40 repeat protein, TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 (TTG1), act in concert to activate trichome initiation and patterning. Using YFP-TTG1 translational fusions, we show that TTG1 is expressed ubiquitously in Arabidopsis leaves and is preferentially localized in the nuclei of trichomes at all developmental stages. Using a conditional transgenic allele, we demonstrate that TTG1 directly targets the same genes as the bHLH protein GLABRA3 (GL3). In vivo binding of the R2R3-MYB protein GLABRA1 (GL1) to the promoters of GLABRA2 (GL2), TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA2 (TTG2), CAPRICE (CPC) and ENHANCER OF TRIPTYCHON AND CAPRICE1 (ETC1) establishes that these genes are major transcriptional targets for the TTG1-bHLH-MYB regulatory complex. By co-precipitation, we confirm that TTG1 associates with GL3 and GL1 in vivo, forming a complex. The loss of TTG1 and GL1 through mutation, affects the subcellular distribution of GL3. Using particle bombardment, we show that TTG1, GL3, GL1 and the homeodomain protein GL2 do not move between adjacent epidermal cells, while the R3-MYB, CPC, does move to neighboring cells. These data support a model for the TTG1 complex directly regulating activators and repressors and the movement of repressors to affect trichome patterning on the Arabidopsis leaf.
Information entropy and structural metrics based estimation of situations as a basis for situation awareness and decision support

Modern autonomous systems are challenged by complex, overwhelming computer processing power, though, time critical tasks. The basis for performing such tasks is a robust and comprehensive representation of the environment of the autonomous system, called world modeling. The world modeling sub-system is responsible for a representation of the current state of the environment, as well as a history of past states and forecasts for possible future states. The incoming sensory information is contaminated by uncertainties and, thus, is represented in form of probability distributions that can be treated by means of Degree-of-Belief (DoB). These DoB distributions are fused into existing environment description within the world modeling by statistical methods, e.g. Bayesian fusion. The history of past states allows for advanced information analysis, such as qualitative situation estimation. On the other hand, a direct analysis of the DoB distributions, for example, information entropy calculation, gives a quantitative estimation of situations. The future states can be predicted on the basis of known evolution parameters of the environment, i.e. by attributes and objects aging modeling. The qualitative and quantitative situation estimations, as well as the comprehensive environment description itself allows for permanent situation awareness and intelligent support for decision making sub-systems. In order to numerically estimate attribute sets of all modeling objects, the entropy calculation must be unified for both discrete and continuous DoB cases. In order to overcome the infinite discrepancy between the entropy of quantized and continuous random variables, the unification introduces a notion of the least discernible quantum (LDQ). The LDQ defines the utmost precision for any operation over the attribute.
Atomic-scale defects and electronic properties of a transferred synthesized MoS2 monolayer

MoS2 monolayer samples were synthesized on a SiO2/Si wafer and transferred to Ir(111) for nano-scale characterization. The samples were extensively characterized during every step of the transfer process, and MoS2 on the final substrate was examined down to the atomic level by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The procedures conducted yielded high-quality monolayer MoS2 of milimeter-scale size with an average defect density of 2 × 1013 cm–2. The lift-off from the growth substrate was followed by a release of the tensile strain, visible in a widening of the optical band gap measured by photoluminescence. Subsequent transfer to the Ir(111) surface led to a strong drop of this optical signal but without further shifts of characteristic peaks. The electronic band gap was measured by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), revealing n-doping and lateral nano-scale variations. The combined use of STM imaging and density functional theory (DFT) calculations allows us to identify the most recurring point-like defects as S vacancies.
Fast Imaging Study of Polymerization Plasmas at Atmospheric Pressure

Cold plasmas allow synthesis of macromolecular networks by fragmentation of organic compounds into active species, particularly free radicals, obtained after collision between the plasma components and the monomer molecules. In this paper, a dielectric barrier discharge was used in order to obtain plasma polymerization reactions at atmospheric pressure. An intensified charge-coupled device camera was used to study the evolution of light structures between the electrodes, in helium and organic vapor mixture plasmas.
Determination and stability of sex

How is the embryonic bipotential gonad regulated to produce either an ovary or a testis? In males, transient early activation of the Y chromosome Sry gene makes both germ cells and soma male. However, in females, available evidence suggests that the process of ovary sex determination may take place independently in the germline and somatic lineages. In addition, in contrast to testis, in ovary somatic cells, female‐to‐male gonadal sex reversal can occur at times throughout ovary development and maturation. We suggest that a single gene pathway, likely hinging on the Foxl2 transcription factor, both initiates and maintains sex differentiation in somatic cells of the mammalian ovary. BioEssays 29: 15–25, 2007. Published 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Persistent scatterers detection by multi-pass SAR interferometric data

Recently synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging has been extensively exploited in risk monitoring, due to the availability of multipass/multiview SAR data for most of the Earth surface and to the popularity of effective techniques, such as Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) [1]. PSI allows the accurate localization of ground scatterers and the monitoring of their possible displacements. It assumes a dominant scattering mechanism to estimate the target height and its mean deformation velocity, as well as the deformation time series.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphisms and their association with trisomy 21

To verify whether the frequencies of 5,10‐methylenotetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms at positions 677 and 1298 are higher in women with children affected by trisomy 21 than in those with chromosomally normal offspring.
Ecological specialization correlates with genotypic differentiation in sympatric host‐populations of the pea aphid

The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, encompasses distinct host races specialized on various Fabaceae species, but the extent of genetic divergence associated with ecological specialization varies greatly depending on plant and geographic origins of aphid populations. Here, we studied the genetic structure of French sympatric pea aphid populations collected on perennial (pea and faba bean) and annual (alfalfa and red clover) hosts using 14 microsatellite loci. Classical and Bayesian population genetics analyses consistently identified genetic clusters mostly related to plant origin: the pea/faba bean cluster was highly divergent from the red clover and the alfalfa ones, indicating they represent different stages along the continuum of genetic differentiation. Some genotypes were assigned to a cluster differing from the one expected from their plant origin while others exhibited intermediate genetic characteristics. These results suggest incomplete barriers to gene flow. However, this limited gene flow seems insufficient to prevent ecological specialization and genetic differentiation in sympatry.