Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hispanic Household Spending in 2015

Although the Hispanic population has grown more slowly in recent years, it still exerts a powerful influence on the U.S. economy. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data show that, in 2015, households with a reference person of Hispanic or Latino origin were 13 percent of the sample, compared with 12.2 percent in 2010 and 10.6 percent in 2005. This Beyond the Numbers article uses 2015 CE data to examine spending by households with a Hispanic or Latino reference person, compared with households without a Hispanic or Latino reference person. (In the article, for convenience, “Hispanic or Latino” is shortened to “Hispanic.”) Spending by Hispanic households is compared with spending by households with a non-Hispanic White reference person and spending by households with a non-Hispanic Black or African-American reference person.
Analysis of Mutations in the Pore-Forming Region Essential for Insecticidal Activity of a Bacillus thuringiensis δ-Endotoxin

ABSTRACT The Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal δ-endotoxins have a three-domain structure, with the seven amphipathic helices which comprise domain I being essential for toxicity. To better define the function of these helices in membrane insertion and toxicity, either site-directed or random mutagenesis of two regions was performed. Thirty-nucleotide segments in the B. thuringiensis cry1Ac1gene, encoding parts of helix α4 and the loop connecting helices α4 and α5, were randomly mutagenized. This hydrophobic region of the toxin probably inserts into the membrane as a hairpin. Site-directed mutations were also created in specific surface residues of helix α3 in order to increase its hydrophobicity. Among 12 random mutations in helix α4, 5 resulted in the total loss of toxicity for Manduca sexta and Heliothis virescens, another caused a significant increase in toxicity, and one resulted in decreased toxicity. None of the nontoxic mutants was altered in toxin stability, binding of toxin to a membrane protein, or the ability of the toxin to aggregate in the membrane. Mutations in the loop connecting helices α4 and α5 did not affect toxicity, nor did mutations in α3, which should have enhanced the hydrophobic properties of this helix. In contrast to mutations in helix α5, those in helix α4 which inactivated the toxin did not affect its capacity to oligomerize in the membrane. Despite the formation of oligomers, there was no ion flow as measured by light scattering. Helix α5 is important for oligomerization and perhaps has other functions, whereas helix α4 must have a more direct role in establishing the properties of the channel.
Lifestyle as Medicine: The Case for a True Health Initiative

The power of lifestyle as medicine was perceived thousands of years ago. There is now consistent and compelling science to support the important influence of lifestyle on health. Approximately 80% of chronic disease and premature death could be prevented by not smoking, being physically active, and adhering to a healthful dietary pattern. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, dementia, and cancer are all influenced by lifestyle choices. Despite the ample evidence about what behaviors promote health, confusion still prevails among the general population. This is particularly true with regard to diet. Confusing nutrition messages from scientists, the media, the food industry, and other sources have made it all but impossible for any single authority to convey persuasively the fundamentals of healthful eating. The case is made here that a global coalition of diverse experts has the power to do what no individual can: clarify and popularize an understanding of the fundamentals of a health-promoting, sustainable pattern of diet and lifestyle, and rally the general public to their consistent support.
Genetic Requirements for Homologous Recombination in Autographa californica Nucleopolyhedrovirus

ABSTRACT It is known that baculovirus infection promotes high-frequency recombination between its genomes and plasmid DNA during the construction of recombinant viruses for foreign gene expression. However, little is known about the viral genes necessary to promote homologous recombination (HR). We developed an assay to identify viral genes that are necessary to stimulate HR. In this assay, we used two plasmids containing extensive sequence homology that yielded a visible and quantifiable phenotype if HR occurred. The plasmids contained the green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) that was mutated at either the N or the C terminus and a viral origin of DNA replication. When the plasmids containing these mutant gfp genes were transfected into insect cells alone or together, few green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive cells were observed, confirming that the host cell machinery alone was not able to promote high levels of HR. However, if viral DNA or viral genes involved in DNA replication were cotransfected into cells along with the mutant gfp-containing plasmids, a dramatic increase in GFP-positive cells was observed. The viral genes ie-1, ie-2, lef-7, and p35 were found to be important for efficient HR in the presence of all other DNA replication genes. However, ie-1 and ie-2 were sufficient to promote HR in the absence of other viral genes. Recombination substrates lacking a viral origin of replication had similar genetic requirements for recombination but were less dependent on ie-1. Interestingly, even though HR was stimulated by the presence of a viral origin of DNA replication, virally stimulated HR could proceed in the presence of the DNA synthesis inhibitor aphidicolin.
“Babysitter” Procedure with Concomitant Muscle Transfer in Facial Paralysis

Background: The “babysitter” procedure combines cross-facial nerve grafting with segmental transfer of the hypoglossal to the affected facial nerve. Introduced by Terzis in 1984, the technique can produce satisfactory to excellent results. In long-lasting paralysis, nonetheless, the babysitter procedure may need to be combined with a muscle(s) flap(s) for outcome upgrading, which was the focus of the present study. Methods: Thirty-eight patients had the babysitter procedure over a 20-year period (1984 to 2003). Twenty patients had only the babysitter procedure, whereas 18 needed an additional muscle flap(s) (up to three) to enhance function and cosmesis. These muscles included nine free (gracilis, pectoralis minor) and 20 regional (frontalis, minitemporalis, platysma, digastric) muscles for distinct target needs: eye closure, smile restoration, and lower lip depression. The need for a muscle flap was determined at the initial consultation. All free muscles were transferred at the second-stage of the babysitter procedure, whereas regional muscles were also transposed later. Three independent observers graded the results at two time intervals, preoperatively and 2 years after all operations were completed. Results: The average postoperative grading scores were significantly higher compared with preoperative scores for eye closure, smile, lower lip depression, and overall aesthetic outcome (p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon signed ranks test). All patients had upgrading of overall aesthetics and smile, whereas four maintained similar scoring for eye closure and one maintained similar scoring for lip depression. All but two had secondary procedures to further enhance facial symmetry. Conclusion: The babysitter procedure in conjunction with muscle transfers in selected patients with late presentation can provide highly satisfactory results when seeking uncompromising outcome.
Aberrant supplementary motor complex and limbic activity during motor preparation in motor conversion disorder

Conversion disorder (CD) is characterized by unexplained neurological symptoms presumed related to psychological issues. The main hypotheses to explain conversion paralysis, characterized by a lack of movement, include impairments in either motor intention or disruption of motor execution, and further, that hyperactive self‐monitoring, limbic processing or top‐down regulation from higher order frontal regions may interfere with motor execution. We have recently shown that CD with positive abnormal or excessive motor symptoms was associated with greater amygdala activity to arousing stimuli along with greater functional connectivity between the amygdala and supplementary motor area. Here we studied patients with such symptoms focusing on motor initiation. Subjects performed either an internally or externally generated 2‐button action selection task in a functional MRI study. Eleven CD patients without major depression and 11 age‐ and gender‐matched normal volunteers were assessed. During both internally and externally generated movement, conversion disorder patients relative to normal volunteers had lower left supplementary motor area (SMA) (implicated in motor initiation) and higher right amygdala, left anterior insula, and bilateral posterior cingulate activity (implicated in assigning emotional salience). These findings were confirmed in a subgroup analysis of patients with tremor symptoms. During internally versus externally generated action in CD patients, the left SMA had lower functional connectivity with bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. We propose a theory in which previously mapped conversion motor representations may in an arousing context hijack the voluntary action selection system, which is both hypoactive and functionally disconnected from prefrontal top‐down regulation. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
Lack of motor recovery after prolonged denervation of the neuromuscular junction is not due to regenerative failure

Motor axons in peripheral nerves have the capacity to regenerate after injury. However, full functional motor recovery rarely occurs clinically, and this depends on the nature and location of the injury. Recent preclinical findings suggest that there may be a time after nerve injury where, while regrowth to the muscle successfully occurs, there is nevertheless a failure to re‐establish motor function, suggesting a possible critical period for synapse reformation. We have now examined the temporal and anatomical determinants for the re‐establishment of motor function after prolonged neuromuscular junction (NMJ) denervation in rats and mice. Using both sciatic transection–resuture and multiple nerve crush models in rats and mice to produce prolonged delays in reinnervation, we show that regenerating fibres reach motor endplates and anatomically fully reform the NMJ even after extended periods of denervation. However, in spite of this remarkably successful anatomical regeneration, after 1 month of denervation there is a consistent failure to re‐establish functional recovery, as assessed by behavioural and electrophysiological assays. We conclude that this represents a failure in re‐establishment of synaptic function, and the possible mechanisms responsible are discussed, as are their clinical implications.
SU(VAR)3‐7, a Drosophila heterochromatin‐associated protein and companion of HP1 in the genomic silencing of position‐effect variegation

An increase in the dose of the Su(var)3‐7 locus of Drosophila melanogaster enhances the genomic silencing of position‐effect variegation caused by centromeric heterochromatin. Here we show that the product of Su(var)3‐7 is a nuclear protein which associates with pericentromeric heterochromatin at interphase, whether on diploid chromosomes from embryonic nuclei or on polytene chromosomes from larval salivary glands. The protein also associates with the partially heterochromatic chromosome 4. As these phenotypes and localizations resemble those described by others for the Su(var)2‐5 locus and its heterochromatin‐associated protein HP1, the presumed co‐operation of the two proteins was tested further. The effect of the dose of Su(var)3‐7 on silencing of a number of variegating rearrangements and insertions is strikingly similar to the effect of the dose of Su(var)2‐5 reported by others. In addition, the two loci interact genetically, and the two proteins co‐immunoprecipitate from nuclear extracts. The results suggest that SU(VAR)3‐7 and HP1 co‐operate in building the genomic silencing associated with heterochromatin.
REST API based image processing interactive person tracking application

In today's conditions, parents have to work for home economics. For this reason, it is not always possible for parents to meet their children's needs, to protect them from dangers and to help them. Parents agree with a fee-paying caregiver to ensure that their children's needs are provided. Looking after a child by a caregiver can create a variety of security problems for the mother and the father. In addition, because of the child's development levels, there is always the possibility of encountering an extreme situation everywhere. This project has been developed for observing Alzheimer's patients as well as children. Alzheimer's disease is a disorder of phases. The individual with this disorder is in need of care after a certain level. For this reason, observation of the individuals with this disease and their caregivers is also important for safety. In this completed project, Raspberry Pi microcomputer has been used. A camera has been placed on the chest line. An image is taken every 5 minutes by the camera. This image is transferred to the REST API based web service. In addition, facial analysis has been performed on the photographs using image processing techniques. The faces found have been stored in a separate directory on the REST API based web service. The SIM808 GSM / GPS module has been used to enable the system to be active everywhere. Family members can follow the images transferred by the module with the help of the user panel in the web service.
Elevated serum sialic acid in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: Serum sialic acid has recently gained interest as a possible cardiovascular risk factor as well as a potential tumour marker. The effect of pregnancy on serum sialic acid is unclear particularly in the post-partum period. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort. SETTING: Teaching hospital antenatal clinic. POPULATION: 29 pregnant women, 27 age matched non-pregnant women. METHODS: Specific enzymatic assay for sialic acid. The first serum sample was taken between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation; in 22 women this was followed by a second serum sample at 12 weeks postpartum. Serum sialic acid concentration was also measured in the 27 controls. RESULTS: Mean (SD) serum sialic acid concentration was higher during pregnancy than post-partum: 91.1 (11.1) v 77.5 (11.1) mg/dl (p < 0.001); or in the control group: 66.0 (9.7) mg/dl (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum sialic acid is elevated during pregnancy and postpartum.
Suppressors of a Host Range Mutation in the Rabbitpox Virus Serpin SPI-1 Map to Proteins Essential for Viral DNA Replication

ABSTRACT The orthopoxvirus serpin SPI-1 is an intracellular serine protease inhibitor that is active against cathepsin G in vitro. Rabbitpox virus (RPV) mutants with deletions of the SPI-1 gene grow on monkey kidney cells (CV-1) but do not plaque on normally permissive human lung carcinoma cells (A549). This reduced-host-range (hr) phenotype suggests that SPI-1 may interact with cellular and/or other viral proteins. We devised a genetic screen for suppressors of SPI-1 hr mutations by first introducing a mutation into SPI-1 (T309R) at residue P14 of the serpin reactive center loop. The SPI-1 T309R serpin is inactive as a protease inhibitor in vitro. Introduction of the mutation into RPV leads to the same restricted hr phenotype as deletion of the SPI-1 gene. Second-site suppressors were selected by restoration of growth of the RPV SPI-1 T309R hr mutant on A549 cells. Both intragenic and extragenic suppressors of the T309R mutation were identified. One novel intragenic suppressor mutation, T309C, restored protease inhibition by SPI-1 in vitro. Extragenic suppressor mutations were mapped by a new procedure utilizing overlapping PCR products encompassing the entire genome in conjunction with marker rescue. One suppressor mutation, which also rendered the virus temperature sensitive for growth, mapped to the DNA polymerase gene (E9L). Several other suppressors mapped to gene D5R, an NTPase required for DNA replication. These results unexpectedly suggest that the host range function of SPI-1 may be associated with viral DNA replication by an as yet unknown mechanism.
Acute Dynamin Inhibition Dissects Synaptic Vesicle Recycling Pathways That Drive Spontaneous and Evoked Neurotransmission

Synapses maintain synchronous, asynchronous, and spontaneous forms of neurotransmission that are distinguished by their Ca2+ dependence and time course. Despite recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie these three forms of release, it remains unclear whether they originate from the same vesicle population or arise from distinct vesicle pools with diverse propensities for release. Here, we used a reversible inhibitor of dynamin, dynasore, to dissect the vesicle pool dynamics underlying the three forms of neurotransmitter release in hippocampal GABAergic inhibitory synapses. In dynasore, evoked synchronous release and asynchronous neurotransmission detected after activity showed marked and unrecoverable depression within seconds. In contrast, spontaneous release remained intact after intense stimulation in dynasore or during prolonged (∼1 h) application of dynasore at rest, suggesting that separate recycling pathways maintain evoked and spontaneous synaptic vesicle trafficking. In addition, simultaneous imaging of spectrally separable styryl dyes revealed that, in a given synapse, vesicles that recycle spontaneously and in response to activity do not mix. These findings suggest that evoked synchronous and asynchronous release originate from the same vesicle pool that recycles rapidly in a dynamin-dependent manner, whereas a distinct vesicle pool sustains spontaneous release independent of dynamin activation. This result lends additional support to the notion that synapses harbor distinct vesicle populations with divergent release properties that maintain independent forms of neurotransmission.
Differentiation‐specific alterations to glutathione synthesis in hormonally stimulated release from human skeletal muscle cells

Muscle atrophy and cachexia are associated with many human diseases. These catabolic states are often associated with the loss of glutathione (GSH), which is thought to contribute to the induction of oxidative stress within the muscle. Glutathione synthesis and secretary characteristics were studied in human skeletal muscle myoblasts and myotube‐like cells derived from the myoblasts by growth factor restriction. Differentiation was associated with a shift in the sulfur amino acid precursor specificity for synthesis of GSH from cystine to cysteine, as well as loss in ability to use extracellular glutathione and activation of methionine use. The thiol drug N‐acetylcysteine was also shown to be an effective precursor irrespective of the state of differentiation. Additionally, myoblasts and myotube cultures were shown to secrete GSH continually, but only the differentiated cells responded to stress hormones such as glucagon, vasopressin, and phenylephrine, by increased secretion of the tripeptide. The data suggest that the skeletal muscle cells may provide an important hormonally regulated extra‐hepatic source of systemic GSH and also shed light on the mechanisms of accelerated turnover of GSH operating during strenuous muscle activity and trauma. The data may also provide biochemical rationales for the nutritional and/or pharmacological manipulation of GSH with sulfur amino acid precursors during the treatment of muscle‐specific oxidative stress and atrophy.
Differential Foci and Synaptic Organization of the Principal and Spinal Trigeminal Projections to the Thalamus in the Rat

The thalamus is known to receive single‐whisker ‘lemniscal’ inputs from the trigeminal nucleus principalis (Prv) and multiwhisker ‘paralemniscal’ inputs from the spinal trigeminal nucleus (Spv), yet the responses of cells in the thalamic ventroposteromedial nucleus (VPM) are most similar to and contingent upon inputs from PrV. This may reflect a differential termination pattern, density and/or synaptic organization of PrV and SpV projections. This hypothesis was tested in adult rats using anterograde double‐labelling with fluorescent dextrans, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and choleragenoid, referenced against parvalbumin and calbindin immunoreactivity. The results indicated that Prv's most robust thalamic projection is to the whisker‐related barreloids of VPM. The SpV had robust projections to non‐barreloid thalamic regions, including the VPM ‘shell’ encapsulating the barreloid area, a caudal and ventral region of VPM that lacks barreloids and PrV inputs, the posterior thalamic nucleus, nucleus submedius and zona incerta. Within the barreloid portion of VPM, SpV projections were sparse relative to those from PrV, and most terminal labelling occurred in the peripheral fringes of whisker‐related patches and in inter‐barreloid septae. Thus, PrV and SpV have largely complementary projection foci in the thalamus. Intra‐axonal staining of a small sample of trigeminothalamic axons with whisker or guard hair receptive fields revealed highly localized and somatotopic terminal aggregates in VPM that spanned areas no larger than that of a single barreloid. In the electron microscopic component of this study, HRP transport to the barreloid region of VPM from left SpV and right PrV in the same cases revealed PrV terminals contacting dendrites with a broad range of minor axis diameters (mean ± SD: 1. 51 ± 0. 10 μm). SpV terminals were indistinguishable from those of PrV, but they had a disproportionate number of contacts on narrow dendrites (1. 27 ± 0. 07 μm, P 0. 01). PrV endings were also more likely to contact VPM somata (11. 0 ± 4. 2% of all labelled terminals) than those from SpV (3. 0 ± 1. O%, P 0. 01). Insofar as primary dendrites are thicker than distal dendrites in VPM, these data suggest a differential distribution of PrV and SpV inputs onto VPM cells that may account for their relative efficacies in dictating the responses of VPM cells to whisker stimulation. Multiwhisker receptive fields in VPM may also reflect direct transmission of convergent inputs from PrV.
Three-dimensional hippocampal MR morphometry with high-dimensional transformation of a neuroanatomic atlas.

PURPOSE To test automated three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging morphometry of the human hippocampus, to determine the potential gain in precision compared with conventional manual morphometry. MATERIAL AND METHODS A canonical three-dimensional MR image atlas was used as a deformable template and automatically matched to three-dimensional MR images of 10 individuals (five healthy and five schizophrenic subjects). A subvolume containing the hippocampus was defined by using 16 landmarks that constrained the automated search for hippocampal boundaries. Transformation of the hippocampus template was automatically performed by using global pattern matching through a sequence of low-then high-dimensional translations, rotations, and scalings. RESULTS The average test-retest volume difference measured with the automatic method was 3.1%, compared with the manual test-retest difference of 7.1%. Correlation between automated and manually determined volumes demonstrated the validity of the automated technique (intraclass correlation coefficient = .86). CONCLUSION The automated method estimates hippocampal volumes with less variability (ie, lower variance) than that of manual out-lining.