Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Induced Variations in Brassinosteroid Genes Define Barley Height and Sturdiness, and Expand the Green Revolution Genetic Toolkit1[C][W][OPEN]

Historic barley short-culm mutants deficient in brassinosteroid genes are attractive targets for development of lodging-resistant crop plants. Reduced plant height and culm robustness are quantitative characteristics important for assuring cereal crop yield and quality under adverse weather conditions. A very limited number of short-culm mutant alleles were introduced into commercial crop cultivars during the Green Revolution. We identified phenotypic traits, including sturdy culm, specific for deficiencies in brassinosteroid biosynthesis and signaling in semidwarf mutants of barley (Hordeum vulgare). This set of characteristic traits was explored to perform a phenotypic screen of near-isogenic short-culm mutant lines from the brachytic, breviaristatum, dense spike, erectoides, semibrachytic, semidwarf, and slender dwarf mutant groups. In silico mapping of brassinosteroid-related genes in the barley genome in combination with sequencing of barley mutant lines assigned more than 20 historic mutants to three brassinosteroid-biosynthesis genes (BRASSINOSTEROID-6-OXIDASE, CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC DWARF, and DIMINUTO) and one brassinosteroid-signaling gene (BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE1 [HvBRI1]). Analyses of F2 and M2 populations, allelic crosses, and modeling of nonsynonymous amino acid exchanges in protein crystal structures gave a further understanding of the control of barley plant architecture and sturdiness by brassinosteroid-related genes. Alternatives to the widely used but highly temperature-sensitive uzu1.a allele of HvBRI1 represent potential genetic building blocks for breeding strategies with sturdy and climate-tolerant barley cultivars.
Semantic and Syntactic Associations During Word Search Modulate the Relationship Between Attention and Subsequent Memory

ABSTRACT Two experiments were conducted to investigate how linguistic information influences attention allocation in visual search and memory for words. In Experiment 1, participants searched for the synonym of a cue word among five words. The distractors included one antonym and three unrelated words. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to judge whether the five words presented on the screen comprise a valid sentence. The relationships among words were sentential, semantically related or unrelated. A memory recognition task followed. Results in both experiments showed that linguistically related words produced better memory performance. We also found that there were significant interactions between linguistic relation conditions and memorization on eye-movement measures, indicating that good memory for words relied on frequent and long fixations during search in the unrelated condition but to a much lesser extent in linguistically related conditions. We conclude that semantic and syntactic associations attenuate the link between overt attention allocation and subsequent memory performance, suggesting that linguistic relatedness can somewhat compensate for a relative lack of attention during word search.
The Lamellar Structure of the Brain Fiber Pathways

Abstract We present a quantitative statistical analysis of pairwise crossings for all fibers obtained from whole brain tractography that confirms with high confidence that the brain grid theory (Wedeen et al., 2012a) is not supported by the evidence. The overall fiber tracts structure appears to be more consistent with small angle treelike branching of tracts rather than with near-orthogonal gridlike crossing of fiber sheets. The analysis uses our new method for high-resolution whole brain tractography that is capable of resolving fibers crossing of less than 10 degrees and correctly following a continuous angular distribution of fibers even when the individual fiber directions are not resolved. This analysis also allows us to demonstrate that the whole brain fiber pathway system is very well approximated by a lamellar vector field, providing a concise and quantitative mathematical characterization of the structural connectivity of the human brain.
Error-minimizing dead zone for basis function networks

The incorporation of dead zones in the error signal of basis function networks avoids the networks' overtraining and guarantees the convergence of the normalized least mean square (LMS) algorithm and related algorithms. A new so-called error-minimizing dead zone is presented providing the least a posteriori error out of the set of all convergence assuring dead zones. A general convergence proof is developed for LMS algorithms with dead zones, and the error-minimizing dead zone is derived from the resulting convergence condition. The performance is compared with the performance of classical dead zones.
Glycerotoxin from Glycera convoluta stimulates neurosecretion by up‐regulating N‐type Ca2+ channel activity

We report here the purification of glycerotoxin from the venom of Glycera convoluta, a novel 320 kDa protein capable of reversibly stimulating spontaneous and evoked neurotransmitter release at the frog neuromuscular junction. However, glycerotoxin is ineffective at the murine neuromuscular junction, which displays a different subtype of voltage‐ dependent Ca2+ channels. By sequential and selective inhibition of various types of Ca2+ channels, we found that glycerotoxin was acting via Cav2.2 (N‐type). In neuroendocrine cells, it elicits a robust, albeit transient, influx of Ca2+ sensitive to the Cav2.2 blockers ω‐conotoxin GVIA and MVIIA. Moreover, glycerotoxin triggers a Ca2+ transient in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells over‐expressing Cav2.2 but not Cav2.1 (P/Q‐type). Whole‐cell patch–clamp analysis of Cav2.2 expressing HEK cells revealed an up‐regulation of Ca2+ currents due to a leftward shift of the activation peak upon glycerotoxin addition. A direct interaction between Cav2.2 and this neurotoxin was revealed by co‐immunoprecipitation experiments. Therefore, glycerotoxin is a unique addition to the arsenal of tools available to unravel the mechanism controlling Ca2+‐regulated exocytosis via the specific activation of Cav2.2.
Comparative Injurious and Proinflammatory Effects of Three Ultrafine Metals in Macrophages from Young and Old Rats

The aim of this study was to compare the ability of ultrafine titanium dioxide (Uf-TiO2), ultra-fine nickel (Uf-Ni), and ultrafine cobalt (Uf-Co) to cause damage and stimulation to alveolar macrophages from rats of different ages. Wistar male rats (SPF), aged 2 mo (young) or 20 mo (old), were sacrificed prior to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Alveolar macrophages (AM) from either young or old rats were incubated with Uf-Co or Uf-Ni at a final Concentration of 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 µg/ml, respectively. Macrophages were also incubated with 40 µg/ml ultrafine metals for 12, 24, or 48 h before biochemical indices were evaluated in the supernatant. There were dose-related increases in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the supernatant of young and old macrophages after treatment with various doses of Uf-Co or Uf-Ni. Both Uf-Co and Uf-Ni caused severe macrophage damage, which was reflected in an increase in the relative LDH activity in supernatant. Furthermore, macrophages from old rats released significantly more TNF-α than macrophages from young rats, especially after 12-h treatment with Uf-Co. The study has confirmed that three ultrafine metals differ in their toxicity and stimulatory effects on rat alveolar macrophages. Uf-TiO2 was relatively inactive in these assays of toxicity. There were clear differences in susceptibility to these effects in macrophages from young or old rats, with old rats showing a substantially greater TNF-α response. The mechanism still remains to be elucidated, but our earlier studies implicated oxidative stress in the proinflammatory effects of these ultrafine metals. In addition, oxidative stress has been implicated in aging. Therefore our data are consistent with the concept that aging is accompanied by oxidative stress that renders the aged lung susceptible to the proinflammatory effects of ultrafines.
Human fetal neural stem cells grafted into contusion‐injured rat spinal cords improve behavior

Grafted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) may help to alleviate functional deficits resulting from spinal cord injury by bridging gaps, replacing lost neurons or oligodendrocytes, and providing neurotrophic factors. Previously, we showed that primed hNSCs differentiated into cholinergic neurons in an intact spinal cord. In this study, we tested the fate of hNSCs transplanted into a spinal cord T10 contusion injury model. When grafted into injured spinal cords of adult male rats on either the same day or 3 or 9 days after a moderate contusion injury, both primed and unprimed hNSCs survived for 3 months postengraftment only in animals that received grafts at 9 days postinjury. Histological analyses revealed that primed hNSCs tended to survive better and differentiated at higher rates into neurons and oligodendrocytes than did unprimed counterparts. Furthermore, only primed cells gave rise to cholinergic neurons. Animals receiving primed hNSC grafts on the ninth day postcontusion improved trunk stability, as determined by rearing activity measurements 3 months after grafting. This study indicates that human neural stem cell fate determination in vivo is influenced by the predifferentiation stage of stem cells prior to grafting. Furthermore, stem cell‐mediated facilitation of functional improvement depends on the timing of transplantation after injury, the grafting sites, and the survival of newly differentiated neurons and oligodendrocytes. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genetic manipulation of mammalian dictyate oocytes: Factors affecting transient expression of microinjected DNA templates

Transcription of exogenous DNA templates in mouse ovarian oocytes was investigated by microinjecting constructs encoding for the Escherichia coli lacZ gene under control of promoters from: (1) the mouse hsp68 gene; (2) the human β‐actin gene; and (3) simian virus 40 (SV40) early genes. Various amounts of circular or linear DNA constructs were injected into dictyate oocyte nuclei at different stages of follicle growth, and the β‐galactosidase activity was then cytochemically evaluated in single cells. In middle‐sized growing oocytes, expression of circular constructs was observed with amounts of DNA ranging from 50 to 103 plasmid copies/nucleus and was first observed 10–12 hr after injection. Maximal expression levels were reached by 17 hr after injection and were specific for the constructs used. Circular constructs containing the hsp68 and early SV40 promoters were expressed at similar levels in small‐ and middle‐sized growing oocytes, while the construct carrying the β‐actin promoter was expressed only in small‐sized cell. In contrast to growing oocytes, these constructs were never expressed in fully grown oocytes. DNA linearization depressed construct activity regardless of the site of cleavage. These results show that: (1) lacZ is a valuable reporter gene in the analysis of eukaryotic promote activity in dictyate mouse oocytes; (2) transient construct expression requires the injection of DNA in circular form; and (3) the expression efficiency of different DNA templates is dependent on the presence of a specific promoter and on the differentiation stage of oocytes analyzed. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Human Papillomavirus Oncoproteins E6 and E7 Independently Abrogate the Mitotic Spindle Checkpoint

ABSTRACT The E6 and E7 genes of the high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types encode oncoproteins, and both act by interfering with the activity of cellular tumor suppressor proteins. E7 proteins act by associating with members of the retinoblastoma family, while E6 increases the turnover of p53. p53 has been implicated as a regulator of both the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint and the mitotic spindle checkpoint. When fibroblasts from p53 knockout mice are treated with the spindle inhibitor nocodazole, a rereplication of DNA occurs without transit through mitosis. We investigated whether E6 or E7 could induce a similar loss of mitotic checkpoint activity in human keratinocytes. Recombinant retroviruses expressing high-risk E6 alone, E7 alone, and E6 in combination with E7 were used to infect normal human foreskin keratinocytes (HFKs). Established cell lines were treated with nocodazole, stained with propidium iodide, and analyzed for DNA content by flow cytometry. Cells infected with high-risk E6 were found to continue to replicate DNA and accumulated an octaploid (8N) population. Surprisingly, expression of E7 alone was also able to bypass this checkpoint. Cells expressing E7 alone exhibited increased levels of p53, while those expressing E6 had significantly reduced levels. The p53 present in the E7 cells was active, as increased levels of p21 were observed. This suggested that E7 bypassed the mitotic checkpoint by a p53-independent mechanism. The levels of MDM2, a cellular oncoprotein also implicated in control of the mitotic checkpoint, were significantly elevated in the E7 cells compared to the normal HFKs. In E6-expressing cells, the levels of MDM2 were undetectable. It is possible that abrogation of Rb function by E7 or increased expression of MDM2 contributes to the loss of mitotic spindle checkpoint control in the E7 cells. These findings suggest mechanisms by which both HPV oncoproteins contribute to genomic instability at the mitotic checkpoint.
Environmental sensitivities of quartz oscillators

The frequency, amplitude, and noise of the output signal of a quartz oscillator are affected by a large number of environmental effects. The physical basis for the sensitivity of precision oscillators to temperature, humidity, pressure, acceleration and vibration, magnetic field, electric field, load, and radiation is examined. The sensitivity of quartz oscillators to radiation is a very complex topic and poorly understood. Therefore, only a few general results are mentioned. The sensitivity to most external influences often varies significantly both from one oscillator type to another and from one unit of a given type to another. For a given unit, the sensitivity to one parameter often depends on the value of other parameters and on history. Representative sensitivity to the above parameters is given. <<ETX>>
Bregman-Based Inexact Excessive Gap Method for Multiservice Resource Allocation

In order to meet the explosive increasing demand of user application data in modern wireless networks, a variety of multiservice resource allocation algorithms have been proposed in the literature. Most of them can be modeled as optimization problems of minimizing a summation function indicated as Σi=1N fi(xi) with additive nonlinear coupling inequality constraints. The existing subgradient methods can only achieve a convergence rate of O(1/√k), which is quite slow for handling big user data generated from modern heterogeneous wireless networks. To develop more efficient multiservice resource allocation algorithms, we consider the regularized Lagrangian function with smoothing accelerated techniques. Specifically, in this paper, we extend the previous research that mainly focuses on linear coupling equality constraints to a challenging scenario with nonlinear coupling inequality constraints. To solve the problem, we propose and analyze a Bregman-based inexact excessive gap (BIEG) algorithm, which, by rigorous mathematical proofs, can asymptotically achieve a faster convergence rate of O(1/k). Furthermore, the BIEG method is applied to develop a novel multiservice resource allocation algorithm, namely, BIEG-RA, which combines the accuracy control mechanism with the Bregman projection technique. Numerical results verify its fast convergence rate in heterogeneous wireless networks.
Does domestic R&D hinder the improvement of China’s total factor productivity?

It’s a common sense that RD activities promote productivity,but it seems not hold in China.An opinion in some literature is that domestic RD plays an impeding role on the TFP improvement,at least not a due improving role.Based on the results of recalculation for China’s TFP in the literature,I observe the effects of our RD and foreign technology spillovers on TFP through the standard method of econometric analysis.The evidence supports the above opinion.An intuitive explanation is given with a basis on the comparison among RD status in different countries.
Citrullinemia stimulation test in the evaluation of the intestinal function.

BACKGROUND Citrullinemia is been reported as a quantitative parameter of the enterocyte mass and function. AIM The objective of this research is to analyse the value of fasting and stimulated citrullinemias in the intestinal function evaluation. METHODS A case-control study was undertaken, including 11 patients with short bowel syndrome, 13 patients submitted to malabsorptive bariatric surgery and 11 healthy controls. Plasma levels of amino acids were determined, before and after a stimulation test with oral Lglutamine, by ion exchange chromatography. RESULTS Citrullinemia was inferior in short bowel patients (28,6 ± 11,3 versus 35,5 ± 11 in operated obese versus 32,2 ± 6,6 μmol/L in controls; n.s.) and lower than 25,5 μmol/L in 54,5% of them (versus 16,7%; p = 0,041; accuracy = 74%; odds ratio = 3, 95%CI 1,2-7,6). ΔCitrullinemia80 (relative variation of citrullinemia at the 80th minute of test) was lower in short bowel patients; its diagnostic accuracy was similar to baseline citrullinemia and also not significant. ΔCitrullinemia80 revealed a high predictive capacity of a short bowel inferior or equal to 50 cm (auR.O.C. = 82,3%; 95%CI 61,7-102,8; p = 0,038). CONCLUSIONS In short bowel syndrome context, citrullinemia stimulation test with oral L-glutamine is feasible and it may improve the predictive capacity of severity. Further investigation is required to determine its clinical relevance and applicability.
Perforated 2×2 Parylene sheath electrode array for chronic intracortical recording

We present the development of a perforated 2×2 Parylene sheath electrode array (PSEA). Parylene C is surface micromachined to create conical sheath structures with electrode sites on the interior and exterior. Individual probes can be configured into a 2×2 array. Building upon previous designs, the sheath geometry was redesigned to have sharper taper and incorporate perforations in order to minimize insertion trauma and facilitate cell-cell signaling, respectively, with the aim of improving long-term recording reliability. Bioactive coatings were applied to the PSEA to encourage dendritic growth and control the immune response. Benchtop electrochemical results confirmed that electrode sites possess appropriate impedance values for neural recording. A custom-made insertion shuttle was fashioned to deliver the PSEA to the target location in the cortical tissue and then retract, leaving only the flexible PSEA in the tissue. This system successfully implanted multiple PSEAs into the rat M1 motor cortex and a 6 month in vivo study is currently underway.
A relevant literary space on the use of the European Foundation for Quality Management model: current state and challenges

Purpose: Localise and characterise a relevant literary space on the use of the European Foundation for Quality Management model, portraying the current state of its use and its challenges under systematic review methods. Methodology: The work is cross-cutting descriptive. The following stages were involved: (1) identifying (3 search terms, 11 inclusion/exclusion criteria, sample of 22 studies: 25.9% of an 85-study population); (2) describing (lessons learned from each article); (3) characterising (15 variables, e.g. aims, contexts of use, analysis techniques); and (4) documenting (1. Aims and contexts, 2. Methodology criteria, and 3. Framework portraying the state of the use and emerging questions). Findings: Many studies have explored: (1) utility of the model in decision-making and (2) internal validity. Although the model aims for balanced stakeholder results, main source of data is the employees. The study deduces 14 questions that help define research agendas. It also summarises the methods used to g.
Hyposensitization to allergic reaction in rDer f 2‐sensitized mice by the intranasal administration of a mutant of rDer f 2, C8/119S

C8/119S is a mutant of recombinant Der f 2 (rDer f 2), and lacks a disulphide bond possessed by wild‐type rDer f 2. In humans and mice, C8/119S has a very weak IgE‐binding capacity compared with the wild‐type, but possesses a T cell reactivity comparable to that of the wild‐type. C8/119S may thus be a safe immunotherapeutic agent for house dust mite allergy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the intranasal administration of C8/119S could suppress an immediate allergic reaction in mice sensitized with wild‐type rDer f 2, possessing an allergic activity comparable to native counterparts purified from mite extract. Seven‐week‐old male A/J mice were immunized with wild‐type rDer f 2 four times, and then intranasally administered 0.2–2 μg of wild‐type, 0.2–20 μg of C8/119S, or PBS alone, three times a week for 4 weeks. Seven days after the last administration, the mice were examined for an immediate allergic reaction. The animals administered 2 μg of C8/119S (C2.0 group) showed significantly reduced immediate bronchoconstriction provoked by the i.v. injection of 1 and 10 μg of wild‐type rDer f 2, compared with the PBS‐treated mice. Similar results were obtained when we examined mice 10 weeks after the last administration. The reactions in the other groups given wild‐type or C8/119S also tended to decrease in severity in comparison with the animals of the PBS group. The allergic phenotypes of the T cells, B cells, and basophils in the C2.0 group were shifted to that of naive mice without immunization. We conclude that C8/119S has hyposensitizing activities in mice sensitized with wild‐type rDer f 2. C8/119S may be useful for immunotherapy of house dust mite allergy.
Electrocardiographic abnormalities during exercise 3 weeks to 18 months after anterior myocardial infarction.

abnormalities produced byexercise atvarying time intervals after an anterior myocardial infarction werestudied in12patients. Three weeks after theinfarction, exercise induced anobvious rise intheSTsegment inleads over theinfarcted areainIOpatients. Inthecourse oftheensuing months this reaction toexercise gradually disappeared, andinsome subjects exercise then produced ST segment depression. TheSTrise produced byexercise in theearly phase after aninfarction isinterpreted asasign ofanoxia intheinfarcted zone, andthe rate atwhich this pattern resolves maybeofprognostic value. These changes intheST-Twave produced byexercise werenotfound inleft praecordial leads distant fromthesite ofinfarction. TheTwaveamplitude wasfound tobeincreased during exercise atalltimes after infarction, but this change isnonspecific. Theeffect ofexercise ontheelectrocardiogramisusedextensively asamethodofdiagnosisofthepresence ofischaemic heart disease. However, little attention hasbeen paidtotheeffects ofexercise ontheelectrocardiogram during theperiod after acuteinfarction. Thepurpose ofthepresent study was therefore toexamine theelectrocardiographic pattern andsequential effects ofexercise duringthetimecourse inagroupofpatients at intervals from3weekstoI8monthsafter the onset ofacute myocardial infarction. Furthermore, itwasconsidered tobeofinterest tosee ifthechanges mightbeofprognostic value.