Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of 50 Hz magnetic field exposure on DNA damage and cellular functions in various neurogenic cells

Abstract Epidemiological studies have indicated a possible association between extremely low–frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) exposure and the risk of nervous system diseases. However, laboratory studies have not provided consistent results for clarifying this association, despite many years of studies. In this study, we have systematically investigated the effects of 50 Hz MF exposure on DNA damage and cellular functions in both neurogenic tumor cell lines (U251, A172, SH-SY5Y) and primary cultured neurogenic cells from rats (astrocytes, microglia, cortical neurons). The results showed that exposure to a 50 Hz MF at 2.0 mT for up to 24 h did not influence γH2AX foci formation (an early marker of DNA double-strand breaks) in any of six different neurogenic cells. Exposure to a 50 Hz MF did not affect cell cycle progression, cell proliferation or cell viability in neurogenic tumor U251, A172 or SH-SY5Y cells. Furthermore, the MF exposure for 24 h did not significantly affect the secretion of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 or IL-1β) in astrocytes or microglia, or the phagocytic activity of microglia. In addition, MF exposure for 1 h per day did not significantly influence expression levels of microtubule-associated protein tau, microtubule-associated protein 2, postsynaptic density 95 or gephyrin in cortical neurons, indicating an absence of effects of MF exposure on the development of cortical neurons. In conclusion, our data suggest that exposure to a 50 Hz MF at 2.0 mT did not elicit DNA damage effects or abnormal cellular functions in the neurogenic cells studied.
Monitoreo de la estrategia de una casa de empeño utilizando una herramienta de inteligencia de negocios

Resumen. La estrategia de una casa de empeño puede monitorearse de manera efectiva utilizando un cuadro de mando conectado en tiempo real a tableros de control. El cuadro de mando se implementa utilizando QlikView y visualiza los indicadores clave de desempeño definidos para la casa de empeño para el tema estratégico de servicio. La implementación realizada siguió la metodología de Ciclo de Vida propuesta por Ralph Kimball para desarrollar datamarts: definición de los requerimientos de negocio, modelado dimensional, diseño físico, proceso ETL y despliegue.
Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators

Correspondence should be addressed to J. Nieh, jnieh@ucsd.eduReceived 12 April 2010; Accepted 12 April 2010Copyright © 2010 C. Rasmussen et al.ThisisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Mechanisms for Online Organ Matching

Matching donations from deceased patients to patients on the waiting list account for over 85% of all kidney transplants performed in Australia. We propose a simple mechanisms to perform this matching and compare this new mechanism with the more complex algorithm currently under consideration by the Organ and Tissue Authority in Australia. We perform a number of experiments using real world data provided by the Organ and Tissue Authority of Australia. We find that our simple mechanism is more efficient and fairer in practice compared to the other mechanism currently under consideration.
The effect of o-phenylenediamine on the biosynthesis of vitamin B12: a new vitamin B12 analogue.

We wish to thank Professor Dr Knud Sand, chief of this Institute, for his constant interest in this investigation and DrT. Astrup for gifts ofbovinefibrinogen, purifiedthrombin, soybean inhibitor and chymotrypsin. Human semen was provided by 'Sygekasselaegernes Organisations Centrallaboratorium', diisopropylphosphorofluoridate by the Department of Organic Chemistry, the Pharmaceutical High School, and hydrocinnamic acid by the Department of Organic Chemistry, the Technical High School of Denmark. The kind collaboration of these institutions is gratefully acknowledged. Our thanks are due to Miss Helen Pedersen for careful technical assistance.
HIGH INFECTION PRESSURE OF ESFY PHYTOPLASMA THREATENS THE CULTIVATION OF STONE FRUIT SPECIES

Stone fruit species are affected by severe disease caused by European stone fruit yellows phytoplasma (ESFY; ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum’). ESFY phytoplasma is transmitted to the host plants of Prunus spp. by the vector Cacopsylla pruni. The disease is graft-transmissible as well. The occurence of ESFY phytoplasma was monitored from 2004 to 2006 in a mother plant orchard of stone fruit species planted with virus free material in 2001 in the Primorska region of Slovenia. The total of 158 samples of mother plants were analysed in this period. The symptomatic and asymptomatic trees were analysed using molecular methods (PCR or nested-PCR). Among 15.7 % of sampled apricot trees (Prunus armeniaca) in the orchard, ESFY phytoplasma was detected in 70.0 % of samples. In the case of Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) samples were taken from one third of all Japanese plum trees and the presence of ESFY phytoplasma was confi rmed in all samples. In the European plum trees (Prunus domestica) the incidence of phytoplasma was determined in 51.0 % of sampled trees, where the plants in most cases did not show symptoms. ESFY phytoplasma was also detected in peaches and nectarines (Prunus persica) in 13.0 % of sampled trees while no detection of the phytoplasma was confi rmed in the samples of cherry trees (Prunus avium). With the survey performed in a mother plant orchard it was observed that especially young trees did not show typical symptoms and the infection was latent. In the year 2005, ESFY phytoplasma was detected in all tested samples of the vector Cacopsylla pruni captured in the vicinity of the mother plant orchard.
Empresa estatal y desarrollo económico en América Latina

Para entender esa cristalizacion institucional que llamamos empresa publica, es necesario plan tearse en primer termino, cuales son las funciones generales del Estado capitalista, a fin de entender por que se hace necesario su surgimiento. Las distintas funciones de la empresa estatal tienen relacion directa o indirecta con la organizacion economica de la sociedad, de alli que sea necesario analizar las funciones que el Estado realiza en la esfera economica, para tener un marco de referencia.
Emotions are social.

In this paper, I question the assumption that emotions are first and foremost individual reactions, and suggest instead that they are often best viewed as social phenomena. I show that many of the causes of emotions are interpersonally, institutionally or culturally defined; that emotions usually have consequences for other people; and that they serve interpersonal as well as cultural functions in everyday life. Furthermore, many cases of emotion are essentially communicative rather than internal and reactive phenomena. Previous research has often underestimated the importance of social factors in the causation and constitution of emotion. In conclusion, I recommend that existing cognitive and physiological approaches to emotional phenomena be supplemented or supplanted by social psychological analysis.
The Protein Coat in Membrane Fusion: Lessons from Fission

Multiple cell biological processes involve two opposite rearrangements of membrane configuration, referred to as fusion and fission. While membrane intermediates in protein‐mediated fusion have been studied in some detail, the global force which drives sequential stages of the fusion reaction from early local intermediates to an expanding fusion pore remains unknown. Fusion proceeds via stages, which are analogous but in the opposite direction to that of membrane budding‐off and fission driven by protein coats. On the basis of this analogy, we propose that an interconnected coat formed by membrane‐bound activated fusion proteins surrounding the membrane contact zone generates the driving force for fusion. This fusion protein coat has a strongly curved intrinsic shape opposite to that of the protein coat driving fission. To relieve internal stresses, the fusion protein coat spontaneously bends out of the initial shape of the membrane surface. This bending produces elastic stresses in the underlying lipid bilayer and drives its fusion with the apposing membrane. The hypothesis that ‘bystander’ proteins (i.e. fusion proteins outside the contact zone) generate the driving force for fusion offers a new interpretation for a number of known features of the fusion reaction mediated by the prototype fusion protein, influenza hemagglutinin, and might bring new insights into mechanisms of other fusion reactions.
Musculoskeletal integration at the wrist underlies the modular development of limb tendons

The long tendons of the limb extend from muscles that reside in the zeugopod (arm/leg) to their skeletal insertions in the autopod (paw). How these connections are established along the length of the limb remains unknown. Here, we show that mouse limb tendons are formed in modular units that combine to form a functional contiguous structure; in muscle-less limbs, tendons develop in the autopod but do not extend into the zeugopod, and in the absence of limb cartilage the zeugopod segments of tendons develop despite the absence of tendons in the autopod. Analyses of cell lineage and proliferation indicate that distinct mechanisms govern the growth of autopod and zeugopod tendon segments. To elucidate the integration of these autopod and zeugopod developmental programs, we re-examined early tendon development. At E12.5, muscles extend across the full length of a very short zeugopod and connect through short anlagen of tendon progenitors at the presumptive wrist to their respective autopod tendon segment, thereby initiating musculoskeletal integration. Zeugopod tendon segments are subsequently generated by proximal elongation of the wrist tendon anlagen, in parallel with skeletal growth, underscoring the dependence of zeugopod tendon development on muscles for tendon anchoring. Moreover, a subset of extensor tendons initially form as fused structures due to initial attachment of their respective wrist tendon anlage to multiple muscles. Subsequent individuation of these tendons depends on muscle activity. These results establish an integrated model for limb tendon development that provides a framework for future analyses of tendon and musculoskeletal phenotypes. Highlighted article: The analysis of tendon development in mice that have defective muscle or cartilage developmental programmes reveals a novel integrated model for limb tendon development.
Clinical Characterization and Treatment Patterns for the Frequent Exacerbator Phenotype in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Severe or Very Severe Airflow Limitation

ABSTRACT Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients experiencing several episodes of acute clinical derangement suffer from increased morbidity, mortality, and accelerated decline in lung function. Nevertheless, the relationship between co-morbidity profile and exacerbation rates in the frequent exacerbator phenotype is poorly characterized, and evidence-based management guidelines are lacking. We sought to evaluate the co-morbidity profile and treatment patterns of “frequent exacerbators” with severe or very severe airflow limitation. We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study in 50 Italian hospitals. Pulmonologists abstracted clinical information from medical charts of 743 COPD frequent exacerbators. We evaluated the exacerbation risk and center-related variations in diagnostic testing. One-third of patients (n = 210) underwent a bronchodilator response test, and 163 (22%) received a computerized tomography (CT) scan; 35 had a partial response to bronchodilators, while 119 had a diagnosis of emphysema; 584 (79%) lacked sufficient diagnostic testing for classification. Only 17% of patients did not have any coexistent disease. Cardiovascular conditions were the most frequent co-morbidities. A history of heart failure [odds ratio (OR): 1.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.48–2.3] and affective disorders (OR: 1.66; 95% CI 1.24–2.1) was associated with the frequency of exacerbations. Center membership was strongly associated with exacerbation risk, independent of casemix (variance partition coefficient = 29.6%). Examining the regional variation in health outcomes and health care behavior may help identify the best practices, especially when evidence-based recommendations are lacking and uncertainties surround clinical decision-making.
Commentary: rapid steps forward in environmental epigenetics: implications for epidemiologic investigation of chronic disease.

Epidemiology relies heavily on a sister discipline, biology, to understand origins of human disease. This reliance serves two important functions. The first is fundamental and constant: over the entire arc of the research process, from formulating and addressing new questions to interpreting each emerging result, epidemiology looks to biology, asking ‘What is plausible? ’ The second occurs when discoveries in biology lead to new measures that can be employed in epidemiologic research. These developments enable epidemiologists to move a compelling hypothesis into the realm of scientific enquiry, when new measures provide a means of testing hypothetical predictions. The choices epidemiologists have made regarding samples to place in bio-repositories have changed over time, illustrating how emerging biological measures brought successive sets of hypotheses within reach of epidemiologic research. Once antibodies of specific idiotype could be assayed to measure exposure to specific infectious agents, large collections of human sera were assembled to address hypotheses relating these agents to disease. Epidemiologists who came of age in the era of recombinant DNA marvel that nucleated cells did not routinely enter these collections. This generation created collections of genomic DNA to test hypotheses relating inherited sequence variants to the increased risk of hundreds of diseases. These DNA collections used cells readily collected by minimally invasive means as the source of DNA, since sequence is quite uniform between nucleated cell types of the body. Now, newer measures of epigenetic state—which varies with cell type—are motivating collection of tissues directly involved in disease processes. 1 These measures have emerged from epigenetics, the biological discipline addressing processes whereby stable molecular characteristics other than DNA nucleotide sequence influence gene expression. 2
Improved survival of patients with human papillomavirus-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in a prospective clinical trial.

BACKGROUND The improved prognosis for patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) relative to HPV-negative HNSCC observed in retrospective analyses remains to be confirmed in a prospective clinical trial. METHODS We prospectively evaluated the association of tumor HPV status with therapeutic response and survival among 96 patients with stage III or IV HNSCC of the oropharynx or larynx who participated in an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) phase II trial and who received two cycles of induction chemotherapy with intravenous paclitaxel and carboplatin followed by concomitant weekly intravenous paclitaxel and standard fractionation radiation therapy. The presence or absence of HPV oncogenic types in tumors was determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization. Two-year overall and progression-free survival for HPV-positive and HPV-negative patients were estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The relative hazard of mortality and progression for HPV-positive vs HPV-negative patients after adjustment for age, ECOG performance status, stage, and other covariables was estimated by use of a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Genomic DNA of oncogenic HPV types 16, 33, or 35 was located within tumor cell nuclei of 40% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 30% to 50%) of patients with HNSCC of the oropharynx or larynx by in situ hybridization and PCR. Compared with patients with HPV-negative tumors, patients with HPV-positive tumors had higher response rates after induction chemotherapy (82% vs 55%, difference = 27%, 95% CI = 9.3% to 44.7%, P = .01) and after chemoradiation treatment (84% vs 57%, difference = 27%, 95% CI = 9.7% to 44.3%, P = .007). After a median follow-up of 39.1 months, patients with HPV-positive tumors had improved overall survival (2-year overall survival = 95% [95% CI = 87% to 100%] vs 62% [95% CI = 49% to 74%], difference = 33%, 95% CI = 18.6% to 47.4%, P = .005, log-rank test) and, after adjustment for age, tumor stage, and ECOG performance status, lower risks of progression (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.75), and death from any cause (HR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.85) than those with HPV-negative tumors. CONCLUSION For patients with HNSCC of the oropharynx, tumor HPV status is strongly associated with therapeutic response and survival.
Depth rendering for vehicle collision avoidance applications

Stereo vision has been used in many different applications such as robot, entertainment, and electronics for car. Computation of the disparity map requires a large amount of computational resources because of high block-matching computations, especially on the high-resolution image pair. In this paper, we proposed an algorithm for computing the disparity map of a full HD image pair from left and right cameras in order to focus on the front end of collision avoidance which estimates the distance between object and camera on the car. Our system is designed to avoid the collision against object which includes horizontal displacement. Therefore, the target of the front end of system is to find out the position and movement of these objects.
TGF&bgr;-Mediated Downregulation of Thrombopoietin Is Associated With Platelet Decline in Asymptomatic SIV Infection

Background:Thrombocytopenia is a known consequence of HIV infection, and decreased production of platelets has been previously implicated in the pathogenesis of platelet decline during asymptomatic infection. Thrombopoietin (THPO) drives platelet production by stimulating the maturation of bone marrow megakaryocytes and can be transcriptionally downregulated by cytokines that are increased during infection such as transforming growth factor &bgr; (TGF&bgr;) and platelet factor 4 (pf4). Design:To determine whether transcriptional downregulation of THPO contributed to decreased platelet production during asymptomatic infection in the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/macaque model of HIV, we compared hepatic THPO mRNA levels to platelet number and megakaryocyte density. To identify potential inhibitory factors that decrease THPO transcription during asymptomatic infection, we measured TGF&bgr; and pf4 plasma levels. To determine whether combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) could correct platelet decline by altering cytokine levels, we measured TGF&bgr; and pf4 in cART-treated SIV-infected macaques and compared these values to cART-untreated SIV-infected macaques. Results:Hepatic THPO transcription was downregulated during asymptomatic SIV infection concurrent with platelet decline. Hepatic THPO mRNA levels correlated with bone marrow megakaryocyte density. In contrast, plasma TGF&bgr; levels were inversely correlated with hepatic THPO transcription and bone marrow megakaryocyte density. With cART treatment, plasma TGF&bgr; levels and platelet count returned to values similar to those in uninfected macaques. Conclusions:TGF&bgr;-mediated downregulation of hepatic THPO may lead to decline in platelet number during asymptomatic SIV infection, and cART may prevent platelet decline by normalizing plasma TGF&bgr; levels.
Barley Grain Maturation and Germination: Metabolic Pathway and Regulatory Network Commonalities and Differences Highlighted by New MapMan/PageMan Profiling Tools1[W][OA]

Plant seeds prepare for germination already during seed maturation. We performed a detailed transcriptome analysis of barley (Hordeum vulgare) grain maturation, desiccation, and germination in two tissue fractions (starchy endosperm/aleurone and embryo/scutellum) using the Affymetrix Barley1 GeneChip. To aid data evaluation, Arabidopsis thaliana MapMan and PageMan tools were adapted to barley. The analyses allow a number of conclusions: (1) Cluster analysis revealed a smooth transition in transcription programs between late seed maturation and germination within embryo tissues, but not in the endosperm/aleurone. (2) More than 12,000 transcripts are stored in the embryo of dry barley grains, many of which are presumably activated during germination. (3) Transcriptional activation of storage reserve mobilization events occurs at an early stage of germination, well before radicle protrusion. (4) Key genes of gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis are already active during grain maturation at a time when abscisic acid peaks suggesting the formation of an endogenous store of GA in the aleurone. This GA probably acts later during germination in addition to newly synthesized GA. (5) Beside the well-known role of GA in gene activation during germination spatiotemporal expression data and cis-element searches in homologous rice promoters confirm an equally important gene-activating role of abscisic acid during this developmental period. The respective regulatory webs are linked to auxin and ethylene controlled networks. In summary, new bioinformatics PageMan and MapMan tools developed in barley have been successfully used to investigate in detail the transcriptome relationships between seed maturation and germination in an important crop plant.
Quantitative computed tomography versus densitometry in diagnostic of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease, which leads to an increased risk of fracture and it is in focus worldwide, due to increase of elderly population. There is a continuous correlation between bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis and risk of fracture. This study deals with approach the two principal diagnostic techniques of the disease: dual energy x-rays absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT). These techniques use BMD to access patient's osteoporotic diagnostic. Although DXA is the only technique with a validate criterion defined by World Health Organization (WHO), QCT is the only image technique able to access exclusively to BMD of trabecular bone, firstly affected in case of disease. In comparative analysis between DXA and QCT exams, the main conclusions are the two-dimensional overlapping which negatively affects the DXA results and the incorrect use of the WHO criterion to analyze QCT results.