Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Desmin expression during early mouse tongue morphogenesis.

Occipital somites provide progenitor cells for craniofacial muscle development including the tongue musculature. Serum-derived factors are assumed to be pre-requisite for myogenesis in vitro. To test these assertions, we designed experiments to determine whether early mouse tongue development in general, and desmin localization in particular, were expressed during the development of embryonic mouse first branchial arch explants cultured in serumless, chemically-defined medium. Immunohistochemical techniques determined the chronology and positions of desmin expression during early craniofacial development. Occipital somites expressed desmin at E9 (9 days +/- 2 h post-fertilization, 18-20 somites). A discrete cell migration pathway initiating in the somites and terminating in the lateral lingual processes of the tongue primordium was defined based upon desmin expression patterns in E9-E11 embryos and computer-assisted three dimensional reconstructions. The in vitro model system was permissive for tongue morphogenesis, allowing development and fusion of the lateral lingual processes with the tuberculum impar. During culture myoblasts were not observed to fuse into myotubes with sarcomeric assembly, even though explant myoblasts produced muscle-specific protein. E10 explants cultured for 9 days demonstrated a five-fold increase in cell number that expressed desmin (P less than 0.05) when compared to the E10 starting material. We interpret these results to indicate that the tongue myogenic cell lineage was determined between E8 and E11, and that this resident population expanded within explants cultured in serumless medium by several explanations: (i) cells other than progenitor myoblasts (e.g., satellite cells) were induced to become myoblasts, and/or (ii) progenitor myoblasts within the original explants expanded by cell division in the absence of serum factors. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Who and what set the price of walnuts for small-scale farmers in Southwest China?

Purpose - Domestic demand for walnuts has been on the rise for the last decades. Consumption outstrips domestic production capacities, which led to increasing prices until recently. Small-scale farmers are at the centre of walnut tree planting and walnut collection efforts. Farmers are now integrated into rapidly expanding agrifood value chains. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the walnut value chain originating in Yunnan (the dominant producer of walnuts in China). The authors are especially interested in the position of small-scale farmers in the chain and the factors affecting the price that they receive. Design/methodology/approach - Price and intra-chain governance information were collected through structured interviews with value chain actors like certified and conventional small-scale farmers, traders, processors, food manufacturers and wholesalers. The resultant price data set was analysed using a multiple regression analysis. Findings - Timing of harvest, distance to market and sales volume are correlated with the village-level price. Farmers are in a market governance segment of the chain. Lead firms (e.g. supermarkets) are price-setters and determine the value distribution, with farmers receiving a smaller share relative to downstream actors’ shares. Research limitations/implications - Improved connectivity to markets, transparency of standards and price (formation), processing and certification could improve farmers’ profits. Originality/value - The authors contribute to the growing literature of value chain studies focussing on farmers’ integration into food systems at different scales. The authors investigated the price determinants at the village level and additionally provide information on an organic marketing arrangement.
Automated morphometry of the visual pathway in primary open-angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE To establish whether primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is associated with a change in volume of the visual pathway structures between the eyes and the visual cortex. METHODS To answer this question, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used in combination with automated segmentation and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Eight patients with POAG and 12 age-matched control subjects participated in the study. Only POAG patients with bilateral glaucomatous visual field loss were admitted to the study. The scotoma in both eyes had to include the paracentral region and had to, at least partially, overlap. All participants underwent high-resolution, T(1)-weighted, 3-T MRI scanning[b]. Subsequently, VBM was used to determine the volume of the optic nerves, the optic chiasm, the optic tracts, the lateral geniculate nuclei (LGN), and the optic radiations. Analysis of covariance was used to compare these volumes in the POAG and control groups. The main outcome parameter of the measurement was the volume of visual pathway structures. RESULTS Compared with the controls, subjects with glaucoma showed reduced volume (P < 0.005) of all structures along the visual pathway, including the optic nerves, the optic chiasm, the optic tracts, the LGN, and the optic radiations. CONCLUSIONS POAG adversely affects structures along the full visual pathway, from the optic nerve to the optic radiation. Moreover, MRI in combination with automated morphometry can be used to aid the detection and assessment of glaucomatous damage in the brain.
Structural Differences within Negative and Depressive Syndrome Dimensions in Schizophrenia, Organic Brain Disease, and Major Depression: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale

Objective: The emerging dimensional approach to classification and treatment of psychiatric disorders calls for better understanding of diagnosis-related variations in psychiatric syndromes and for proper validation of psychometric scales used for the evaluation of those syndromes. This study tested the hypothesis that negative and depressive syndromes as measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) are consistent across different diagnoses. Method: We administered the PANSS to subjects with schizophrenia (n = 305), organic brain disease (OBD, n = 66) and major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 75). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to establish if the PANSS items for negative symptoms and for depression fit the hypothesized factor structure and if the item factor loadings were similar among the diagnostic groups. Results: The negative and depressive symptom subscales fit well according to a variety of fit indexes for all groups individually after some modest model modification. However, multisample modeling procedures indicated that the pattern of factor loadings was significantly different among the groups in most cases. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate diagnosis-related variations in the negative and depressive syndrome dimensions in schizophrenia, OBD and MDD. These results also validate limited use of the PANSS for evaluation of negative and depressive syndromes in disorders other than schizophrenia. Larger studies are warranted to further evaluate clinical and nosologic significance of diagnostic categories, dimensions and structures of psychiatric syndromes.
Garlic as an antioxidant: the good, the bad and the ugly

Garlic has played an important dietary and medicinal role throughout the history of mankind. In some Western countries, the sale of garlic preparations ranks with those of leading prescription drugs. The therapeutic efficacy of garlic encompasses a wide variety of ailments, including cardiovascular, cancer, hepatic and microbial infections to name but a few. However, the elucidation of its mechanism for therapeutic action has proved to be more elusive and a unifying theory, which could account for its reported multifarious activities, is yet to emerge. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) seem to be at the core of many disease processes and it is an attractive and convenient hypothesis that garlic might exert its activities through modulatory effects on ROS. A literature search on garlic and its antioxidant potential churned up a surprisingly large amount of data, some of it good, some bad and some of its definitely ugly.
Obeticholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is characterized by progressive nonsuppurative destruction of small bile ducts, resulting in intrahepatic cholestasis, fibrosis and ultimately end-stage liver disease. Timely intervention with ursodeoxycholic acid is associated with excellent survival, although approximately one-third of all patients fail to achieve biochemical response, signifying a critical need for additional therapeutic strategies. Obeticholic acid (OCA) is a potent ligand of the nuclear hormone receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR). Activation of FXR inhibits bile acid synthesis and protects against toxic accumulation in models of cholestasis and facilitates hepatic regeneration in preclinical studies. Data from recent Phase II and III controlled trials suggest a therapeutic impact of OCA in PBC biochemical nonresponders, as evidenced by change in proven laboratory surrogates of long-term outcome. Dose-dependent pruritus is a common adverse effect, but may be overcome through dose-titration. Longer term studies are needed with focus on safety and long-term clinical efficacy.
Migration impact on left-behind women's labour participation and time-use: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan

This paper aims to study the impact of migration on labour supply and time-use of women left behind in Kyrgyzstan. Using the household survey data for 2011, labour supply is measured by occupational choices and working hours. Apart from the labour supply data, this study uses detailed information on daily time-use, which is analysed within women’s occupations. This approach makes it possible to indicate the impact of migration not only through the labour supply analysis, which may be limited by reflecting labour market behaviour only, but also through the measure of allocation of time among different activities at home. To address the issue of endogeneity, the instrumental variable approach is applied. Results show that the migration of a household member increases the choice of left-behind women to be unpaid family workers. Most of the left-behind women choose unpaid family work and work more hours in this occupation. Although in the labour supply analysis wage-employment is not affected by migration, time-use model estimations reveal that wage-employed women are mostly affected through increases in the time for housework.
Primary afferent and propriospinal fibers in the rat dorsal and dorsolateral funiculi

The purpose of this study is to determine the numbers of primary afferent and propriospinal fibers in the dorsal and dorsolateral funiculi of the rat. The reason for concentrating on these areas is that they contain large numbers of unmyelinated axons. Our data are axonal numbers from the S2 segment of spinal cord in animals that had unilateral dorsal rhizotomies or spinal cord isolations. The major conclusions are (1) that 23% of the primary afferent fibers in the dorsal funiculus are unmyelinated; (2) that there are approximately 12,500 unmyelinated primary afferent fibers in the dorsolateral funiculus, which is more than the number of primary afferent fibers in the dorsal funiculus and tract of Lissauer combined, and (3) that approximately 25% of the axons in the dorsal funiculus and 44% of the axons in the dorsolateral funiculus are propriospinal. These data modify and extend previous ideas of the organization of spinal white matter.
Health Behaviour Convergence: Evidence from Fractional (Long Memory) Convergence and British Microdata

This paper uses a fractional methodology to assess convergence in terms of differences in health quality measures, based on six primary criteria, across the English regions. Hence, it uses the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing database and the retrospective interviews from 16,894 participants, aged 50+, with data from three wavesâ€“2004/5, 2006/7 and 2008/9, to establish that health quality is characterized by divergences across six health quality criteria. When the overall sample is differentiated through income, education and employment, the evidence favors convergence, indicating that certain socioeconomic factors impose a uniform behavioral attitude of the population toward health quality criteria.
Mesothelial healing: Morphological and kinetic investigations

By using structural, kinetic and irradiation techniques it is possible to show that mesothelial healing is a local event. Initially, macrophages occupy the surface of a wound on the injured visceral layer, while mesothelial proliferation proceeds at the edge of the wound and the opposing parietal surface. Fibrin is formed on the wound surface within 24 h, even in the absence of much haemorrhage. Mesothelial ingrowth begins with isolated cells migrating from the wound edge as well as from the serosal surface apposing the wound where mesothelial cells are actively replicating. The cells presumably slide over a bridge of fibrin and macrophages, a process likely to be enhanced by the serosal fluid. Early colonization by macrophages results in the removal of debris and probably prevents the formation of adhesions during mesothelial restoration.
The return to Europe : the reintegration of Eastern Europe into the European economy

List of Tables Preface The Background to Eastward Enlargement International Trade Theory and EU Enlargement Statistical Tests and Problems of Measurement East European Economic Relations under Communism The Basic Features of Trade Relations between the EU and the Applicant States Factor Intensity and Technological Levels in Trade in Manufactured Goods between the CEE-10 and the EU Revealed Specialisation and the Competitiveness of the CEE economies Conclusions: Prospects for Integration Bibliography Glossary Index
Methylation profile of the MLH1 promoter region and their relationship to colorectal carcinogenesis

Methylation of the MLH1 promoter region has been suggested to be a principal mechanism of gene inactivation in sporadic microsatellite instability (MSI)–positive colorectal carcinoma. Recently, we have shown a novel methylation profile of the MLH1 promoter region (i.e., full, partial, and no methylation), among which full methylation was strongly associated with MSI. In this study, to confirm whether methylation requires the involvement of both alleles, we studied the MLH1 promoter region concerning the methylation profile and allelic loss. Furthermore, we studied correlations of methylation profiles with genetic alternations such as loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the TP53 locus and KRAS mutation. Eighty‐eight tumors were classified as full (n = 14), partial (n = 26), and no methylation (n = 48). Full methylation was observed in 78% (14/18) of high‐frequency MSI, in which all CpG sites in the promoter region were methylated. Full methylation differed significantly from partial methylation regarding absence of TP53 LOH (0/12) and KRAS mutation (0/14). In cases with full methylation, we could show biallelic methylation by use of a single‐base nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter. However, this did not accompany LOH of the MLH1 locus. In contrast, there were no significant differences in molecular features between partial and no methylation, except for low frequencies of LOH of the MLH1 locus (P = 0.02). In conclusion, biallelic extensive methylation of the MLH1 promoter region plays a significant role in gene inactivation and is independent of KRAS mutation and TP53 LOH. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Survival Analysis of Gastric or Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated With Surgery: Comparison of Capital and a Non-capital City

Objectives The objective of the present study was to compare prognosis of patients with gastric or colorectal cancer according to places where they received surgeries. Methods The cancer patients underwent surgeries in sampled hospitals located in Daegu were matched 1:1 to the patients who visited sampled hospitals in Seoul using propensity score method. After the occurrences of death were examined, Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and the log-rank test was performed to compare the survival curves. Results A total of six out of 291 gastric cancer patients who had surgeries in Daegu died (2.1%) and ten deaths (3.4%) occurred from patients went Seoul hospitals. Out of 84 gastric cancer patients who had chemotherapy after surgeries in Daegu, 13 (15.5%) patients died while 18 (21.4%) deaths occurred among patients underwent surgeries in Seoul. Six deaths (6.9%) out of 87 colorectal cancer patients who had surgeries in Daegu were reported. Five patients (5.7%) died among the patients underwent surgeries in Seoul. Among the colorectal cancer patients with chemotherapy after surgeries, 13 patients (12.4%) who visited hospitals in Daegu and 14 (13.3%) patients who used medical centers in Seoul died. There were no significant differences according to places where patients used medical services. Conclusions The result of this study is expected to be used as basic data for policy making to resolve centralization problem of cancer patients and to help patients to make rational choices in selection of medical centers.
Independently expressed N‐terminal pro‐domain of aqualysin I precursor complements the folding of its mature domain to active form in Escherichia coli

Aqualysin I is a subtilisin‐type serine protease secreted into the culture medium by Thermus aquaticus YT‐1. It is first produced as a large precursor that consists of a signal peptide, an N‐terminal pro‐domain, the mature protease domain and a C‐terminal pro‐domain. To investigate whether the N‐terminal pro‐domain supplied in trans as an independent peptide plays an important role in the folding and secretion of the protease, the N‐terminal pro‐domain in E. coli has been expressed independent of the mature domain with or without the C‐terminal pro‐domain using an expression system with separate promoters and signal peptides. Protease assay and SDS‐PAGE clearly showed that the N‐terminal pro‐domain plays an essential role in guiding the proper folding in trans of the enzymatically active conformation of aqualysin I. The N‐terminal amino acid sequences of the purified enzymes were identical and had no signal peptides. These results indicate that independently expressed domains are secreted into the periplasmic space before the N‐terminal pro‐domain‐assisted folding of the mature domain.
Cytotoxicity studies of Dynasan 114 solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) on RAW 264.7 macrophages—impact of phagocytosis on viability and cytokine production

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) based on Dynasan 114 (D114) were tested using RAW 264.7 cells. The influence of different surfactants on the cytotoxicity of this type of SLN was examined, expressed as 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) viability and the production of cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL‐6), IL‐12 and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). Results were compared with previously obtained data when peritoneal mouse macrophages were used. SLN produced with stabilizers/surfactants such as poloxamer 188, sodium cholate, Lipoid S75, Tween 80, Poloxamine 908 and sodium dodecylsulfate were shown to be nontoxic towards RAW 264.7 cells. Cytokine production was reduced and stimulation, expressed in elevated cytokine levels, could not be found. Using cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as stabilizing surfactant, SLN became cytotoxic in a concentration‐dependent manner. Not only were the viabilities reduced but also cytokine production. Cytotoxic effects of CPC stabilized SLN could be antagonized using cytochalasin B to block phagocytosis. D114‐SLN produced with pharmaceutically accepted surfactants for intravenous injection (poloxamer 188, Lipoid S75, sodium cholate, Tween 80) were very well tolerated by the cells. Even sodium dodecylsulfate‐stabilized D114‐SLN did not exert toxic effects. Comparison of the RAW 264.7 data with previously obtained data from toxicity studies of D114‐SLN towards peritoneal mouse macrophages showed similar results. This offers the possibility of using the RAW 264.7 cell line for cytotoxicity studies of colloidal drug carrier systems, rather than using laboratory animals as source of macrophages for these kinds of studies.
Achieving intelligent task-based mobile widget organization and customization through machine learning techniques and user model generalization

Thesis (M.S.)--Georgetown University, 2010. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. In a paper by Bostrom et al., an interface was presented providing rapid access to widget applications on mobile devices. Icons representing widgets were added and removed by users to a "canvas" that enabled them customize the interface to suit their primary objective. Though this implementation was sound and well received, we believed that it could be improved through the combination of two methods grounded in machine learning. These are the generalization of a data set for modeling a default user and a new algorithm named KAWS (K-Based Algorithm for Widget Selection). By accurately predicting potentially desirable widgets and automatically populating the widget canvas, there was potential to mitigate the amount of necessary interaction between the user and device resulting in a diminished physical and cognitive burden. To evaluate the ability of our collected data to form a generalized user model, we ran it against four machine learning algorithms IBK, KStar, Naive Bayes and J48 using 10-fold cross validation. We found that we were able to achieve an average of 56.9 percent correct class predictions while maintaining a relatively low variance and strong kappa statistic. When compared to a purchasing recommendation system and a personal assistant scheduling system that both use collaborative filtering and machine learning techniques to predict user preferences, our data generalization model was consistent with the two who maintained accuracies of around 50 percent. When this data was subsequently run against our new implementation, KAWS, we were able to reduce the average amount of requisite interaction by 11 percent when compared to the implementation by Bostrom et al.
Web Proxy Cache Replacement Strategies: Simulation, Implementation, and Performance Evaluation

This work presents a study of cache replacement strategies designed for static web content. Proxy servers can improve performance by caching static web content such as cascading style sheets, java script source files, and large files such as images. This topic is particularly important in wireless ad hoc networks, in which mobile devices act as proxy servers for a group of other mobile devices. Opening chapters present an introduction to web requests and the characteristics of web objects, web proxy servers and Squid, and artificial neural networks. This is followed by a comprehensive review of cache replacement strategies simulated against different performance metrics. The work then describes a novel approach to web proxy cache replacement that uses neural networks for decision making, evaluates its performance and decision structures, and examines its implementation in a real environment, namely, in the Squid proxy server.
AN ALTERNATIVE SPECIFICATION FOR MODELING GROUNDWATER DYNAMICS

This research extends previous work with dynamic models to manage groundwater quality by using the consumptive nitrate use rate instead of the nitrate application rate. The analysis indicates that misspecification results in overestimation of economic benefits, and supra‐optimum nitrogen fertilizer application rates and groundwater nitrate stocks at a steady state.