Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of hypertension with beta2- and alpha2c10-adrenergic receptor genotype.

The adrenergic receptors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. We hypothesized that hypertension is associated with variants at the beta2-adrenergic receptor locus and at one of the alpha2-adrenergic receptor loci. In unrelated individuals, we measured untreated blood pressure and characterized each subject as hypertensive or normotensive. We then used genomic DNA to identify beta2- and alpha2c10-adrenergic receptor restriction fragment length polymorphisms. In 175 subjects (49 percent with hypertension, 55 percent black), both hypertension and race were associated with genotype at the beta2 locus (chi2 for hypertension = 11, P = .004, chi2 for race = 8.8, P = .012). The association with hypertension persisted in each race group separately (blacks only: chi2 = 9.6, P = .008; whites only; chi2 = 14.2, P = .001). This association persisted in a logistic model that controlled for race (P = .01). Genotype was also significantly associated with baseline systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures (P = .05, .01, and .02, respectively). These data suggest that the beta2-adrenergic receptor gene is a candidate gene for hypertension in blacks and whites. We also genotyped subjects at the alpha2-adrenergic receptor coded on chromosome 10. There was no association between hypertension and genotype at the alpah2c10 locus in the total group or in blacks, but there was significant association in whites (chi2 = 6.7, P = .03). These data suggest that the beta2- and alph2c10-adrenergic receptor genes may contribute, in a race-specific manner, to the inheritance of essential hypertension. Linkage studies in related individuals are needed to confirm these findings.
Vestibular–hippocampal interactions

Since the early 1960s, reseachers have speculated that the vestibular system, the sensory system concerned with the perception of balance and self‐motion, contributes to spatial information processing and the development of spatial memory in the hippocampus. Anatomical studies have suggested that various parts of the thalamus are likely to transmit vestibular information to the hippocampus, perhaps via the parietal cortex; however, more direct pathways are possible. Over the last 2–3 years there have been a number of direct electrophysiological demonstrations that vestibular stimulation affects head direction cells in the anterior thalamic nuclei and place cells in the hippocampus. These studies demonstrate the importance of vestibular–hippocampal interactions for hippocampal function but also raise the possibility that the hippocampus may be important for compensation of vestibular function following peripheral or central vestibular lesions. Hippocampus 1997;7:465–471. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient calculation of sentence semantic similarity: a proposed scheme based on machine learning approaches and NLP techniques

Sentence semantic similarity plays a crucial role in a variety of applications such as Machine Translation, Information Retrieval, Question Answering and Multi-document Summarization. Considering the variability of natural language expression, sentence semantic similarity detection is not a trivial task. This paper tries to make use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) as well as machine learning techniques in order to propose a scheme for sentence semantic similarity. In the first part of the proposed scheme, i.e., the NLP section, different sets of linguistic features including string-based, semantic-based, Named Entity-based and syntax-based features are extracted. In the second part, machine learning algorithms are used to construct classification models on the extracted set of features. Experimental results in the first part indicate that extracted features are valid for sentence semantic similarity. Moreover, by comparing the performance of different classification algorithms in the second part, KNN seems to be the most successful algorithm. Overall, experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can be used to improve the performance of sentence semantic similarity detection especially in terms of accuracy.
The global burden of bacterial and viral zoonotic infections

Abstract Bacterial and viral zoonotic infections comprise a practically endless, ever-expanding list of pathogens that have the potential to induce human disease of varying severity, with varying means of transmission to humans (including vector-borne and foodborne agents) and of varying epidemiology. Not all theoretically zoonotic pathogens are truly zoonotic in practice, the prime example being influenza viruses; aviann H5N1 influenza remains strictly zoonotic, whereas novel H1N1 influenza displays an anthropocentric cycle that led to a pandemic, despite being of zoonotic origin. The burden of disease induced by zoonotic and viral pathogens is enormous: there are more than ten bacterial zoonoses, each of which affects hundreds of thousands patients annually, often leading to chronic infections and causing significant economic losses of a medical and livestock-related nature. Viral zoonotic agents are constantly emerging or re-emerging, and are associated with outbreaks of limited or expanded geographical spread: the typical trends of viral zoonotic infections, however, is to extend their ecological horizon, sometimes in an unexpected but successful manner, as in the case of West Nile virus, and in other instances less effectively, as was the case, fortunately, in the case of avian influenza. The majority of bacterial and viral zoonotic infections attract disproportionately low scientific and public health interest. Understanding their burden may allow for improved surveillance and prevention measures.
A vector for double epitope tagging with a recyclable marker

Multimeric protein complexes play diverse and vital roles in the cell, but following the composition of these complexes under varying growth conditions can be challenging. Toward that goal, we have designed a vector that permits the double epitope tagging of a protein at its carboxy terminus. One ‘universal’ tag, a triple repeat of the HA1 epitope, is fused with every protein to be studied, allowing the composition and stoichiometry of the proteins in a complex to be detected with a single antibody. Each protein also can be tagged with a second epitope specific for that protein. This ‘specific’ tag can be used to immunoprecipitate complexes containing that protein of interest. Any epitope to which a specific antibody is available can be used for this second tag. Because there are a limited number of selection markers for cloning in yeast, the kanamycin cassette, flanked by loxP sites, was incorporated into the vector to permit marker recycling using Cre‐lox recombinase. This vector was used to tag 4 proteins involved in ribosome biogenesis—Ytm1, Cic1, Brx1 and Drs1. An anti‐HA1 antibody could detect all four proteins in crude lysates and yielded the relative abundance of these four proteins, of which Drs1 is reproducibly less abundant than any of the others, which may have implications for the control of ribosome biogenesis. The Ytm1 protein was also tagged with the VSV epitope and can be specifically detected using an anti‐VSV antibody. This vector may prove useful for exploring other protein complexes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of sampling scheme on the inference of sex-biased gene flow in the American badger (Taxidea taxus)

Population genetics has fueled a substantial growth in studies of dispersal, a life-history trait that has important applications in ecology and evolution. Mammals typically exhibit male-biased gene flow, so this pattern often serves as a null hypothesis in empirical studies. Estimation of dispersal using population genetics is not without biases, so we utilized a combination of population genetic methods and simulations to evaluate gene flow within the American badger (Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777)), a highly elusive and poorly understood mustelid. A total of 132 badgers captured between 2001 and 2002 were genotyped at nine microsatellite loci to investigate fine-scale genetic structure consistent with philopatry in females and dispersal in males. Resultant genetic patterns were largely consistent with a panmictic population with little evi- dence for sex-biased dispersal, and simulations confirmed that our sampling scheme did not substantially impact our statis- tics. An overall deficiency of heterozygotes was observed across the Lower Peninsula, which indicates either a Wahlund effect, mixing of separate populations, or inbreeding. Our study emphasizes the importance in deciphering between actual behavioral mechanisms and sampling effects when interpreting genetic data to understand other factors that influence disper- sal like population density and territoriality.
Pollination ecology of Silene acutifolia (Caryophyllaceae): floral traits variation and pollinator attraction.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The floral display influences the composition of pollinators interacting with a plant species. Geographic and temporal variation in pollinator composition complicates the understanding of the evolutionary consequences of floral display variation. This paper analyses the relationships between Silene acutifolia, a hermaphroditic perennial herb, and its pollinators, based on field studies in the north-west of Spain. METHODS Studies were conducted over three years (1997-1999). Firstly, the main pollinators of this species were determined for two years in one population. Secondly, pollen limitation in fruit and seed production was analysed by supplementary hand pollinations, and counting the pollen grains and tubes growing in styles for two different-sized populations. Finally, the effect of flower size and number on the rate of visitation and total seed number was examined for 15 marked plants. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The primary pollinators were long-tongued insects, including Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera, but the composition and visitation frequencies differed between years. Pollen limitation occurred in one of the years of study. There was between-population variation in the number of pollen grains and pollen tubes found in styles, suggesting pollen limitation in one population. Overall, pollinators visited plants with more open flowers more frequently, and pollinated more flowers within these plants. Conversely, petal and calyx sizes had no effect on insect visitation. Plants with higher rates of visits produced higher number of seeds, suggesting that pollinator-mediated limitation of seed and fruit production may be important in some years.
Iterative Decision Feedback Equalization for Filter Bank Multicarrier Systems

—Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) systems are a class of multicarrier modulation schemes for high speed wireless communication. These systems are known for their low adjacent channel leakage. In this paper we focus on the problem of channel equalization for FBMC systems. Most solutions in the literature use a per subcarrier equalization suffering from an error ﬂoor at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) caused by the residual inter-symbol-interference (ISI). We investigate a simple per subcarrier channel equalization method with ISI minimization and an averaging based ISI cancelation technique. We also introduce an iterative decision feedback scheme which outperforms the other known equalization methods. The presented methods are validated using simulation. The results are compared to the performance of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems with cyclic preﬁx (CP).
HIV-1 Env Glycoprotein Phenotype along with Immune Activation Determines CD4 T Cell Loss in HIV Patients

The mechanism behind the selective depletion of CD4+ cells in HIV infections remains undetermined. Although HIV selectively infects CD4+ cells, the relatively few infected cells in vivo cannot account for the extent of CD4+ T cell depletion, suggesting indirect or bystander mechanisms. The role of virus replication, Env glycoprotein phenotype, and immune activation (IA) in this bystander phenomenon remains controversial. Using samples derived from HIV-infected patients, we demonstrate that, although IA in both CD4+ and CD8+ subsets correlates with CD4 decline, apoptosis in CD4+ and not CD8+ cells is associated with disease progression. Because HIV-1 Env glycoprotein has been implicated in bystander apoptosis, we cloned full-length Envs from plasma of viremic patients and tested their apoptosis-inducing potential (AIP). Interestingly, AIP of HIV-1 Env glycoproteins were found to correlate inversely with CD4:CD8 ratios, suggesting a role of Env phenotype in disease progression. In vitro mitogenic stimulation of PBMCs resulted in upregulation of IA markers but failed to alter the CD4:CD8 ratio. However, coculture of normal PBMCs with Env-expressing cells resulted in selective CD4 loss that was significantly enhanced by IA. Our study demonstrates that AIP of HIV-1 Env and IA collectively determine CD4 loss in HIV infection.
The effects of oral administration of aureomycin, sulfathiazole, sulfamerazine and 4,4'-diamino diphenyl sulfone on toxoplasmosis in mice.

Summary The protective properties of aureomycin hydrochloride, sulfamerazine, sodium sulfathiazole or 4,4′-diamino diphenyl sulfone have been demonstrated and compared by oral administration to mice inoculated with toxoplasma. The sulfone provided a greater degree of protection than any of the others tested. Aureomycin and sulfathiazole afforded approximately equal protection while sulfamerazine was the least effective. Since para-aminobenzoic acid failed to counteract the protective effect of aureomycin it appears that the mode of action of this antibiotic in preventing the death of toxoplasma-infected mice is different than that of sodium sulfathiazole or 4,4′-diamino diphenyl sulfone.
LFA‐1 integrin and the microtubular cytoskeleton are involved in the Ca2+‐mediated regulation of the activity of the tyrosine kinase PYK2 in T cells

Lymphocyte function‐associated antigen (LFA‐1) is a member of the β2 family of integrins that is selectively expressed on leukocytes. Herein, we show that Ca2+ mobilizing agents A23187, thapsigargin, and ionomycin induce an increase in adhesion to the LFA‐1 ligand intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) and activation and redistribution of the proline‐rich tyrosine kinase‐2 (PYK2) to the microtubule‐organizing center (MTOC) in T‐lymphoblasts. These effects are similar to those observed upon direct induction of activation of LFA‐1 with the stimulatory mAb KIM‐127. Most importantly, Ca2+ mobilization did not induce activation of PYK2 when the LFA‐1/ICAM‐1 interaction was prevented with function‐blocking mAb, implying that the Ca2+‐induced activation of PYK2 requires integrin engagement. Furthermore, pretreatment of the cells with the Ca2+ chelator EGTA, which depletes the intracellular Ca2+, inhibited the effects of mAb KIM‐127 on cell morphology and PYK2 activation. This inhibition with EGTA was not reversed by cross‐linking integrin LFA‐1 with specific antibodies, indicating that Ca2+ exerts its effects through a target downstream of this integrin. In this regard, immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis showed that Ca2+ chelators affect the organization of the microtubular cytoskeleton and the localization of PYK2 to the MTOC area, suggesting that these agents could inhibit the activation of PYK2 by interfering with the microtubular network of T cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time an important role for the integrin LFA‐1 and the microtubular cytoskeleton in the Ca2+‐mediated activation of PYK2 in T‐lymphocytes.
Efficient Reformulation of 1-Norm Ranking SVM

SUMMARY Finding linear functions that maximize AUC scores is important in ranking research. A typical approach to the ranking problem is to reduce it to a binary classiﬁcation problem over a new instance space, consisting of all pairs of positive and negative instances. Speciﬁcally, this approach is formulated as hard or soft margin optimization problems over pn pairs of p positive and n negative instances. Solving the optimization problems directly is impractical since we have to deal with a sample of size pn , which is quadratically larger than the original sample size p + n . In this paper, we reformulate the ranking problem as variants of hard and soft margin optimization problems over p + n instances. The resulting classiﬁers of our methods are guaranteed to have a certain amount of AUC scores.
Dual data aggregation for power quality assessment

The increased use of distributed energy resources and the emerging active distribution networks require new models for planning and operation of power systems. Microgrids paradigm proposes an optimal energy transfer using dedicated control algorithms and taking advantage from the ability to offer different levels of power quality. In order to achieve a real time control, a detailed model is required together with new algorithms for information retrieval. Although measurements are able to give insight to such details, the information has to be structured in a new way. Presently there are in use aggregation algorithms inherited from power quality standards like the IEC 61000-4-30 set. A discussion of the time- and space- (i.e. dual) aggregation is proposed in the paper, based on an analysis performed on local measurements in weak LV grid in Romania and MV grid with distributed generation. Data delivered by PMUs with a reporting rate of 50 frames per second is processed to highlight the effect of aggregation algorithms.
Passage of mengovirus through the zona pellucida of the mouse morula.

Mengo encephalitis virus, a member of the encephalomyocarditis group of picornaviruses, has been shown to pass through the zona pellucida of the 2-cell mouse embryo (Gwatkin, 1963; Gwatkin & Auerbach, 1966). Penetration presumably occurs along channels left when the follicle cell processes are with¬ drawn. Recently, Austin (1965) has observed by electron microscopy that the zona substance tends to close in and obliterate these channels after ovulation, so the question has arisen whether the zona becomes less permeable as the embryo develops (McLaren, 1965). I have explored this question by deter¬ mining whether Mengovirus is capable of penetrating the pre-implantation
Collected maxims and other reflections

'Our virtues are, most often, only vices in disguise. ' Deceptively brief and insidiously easy to read, La Rochefoucauld's shrewd, unflattering analyses of human behaviour have influenced writers, thinkers, and public figures as various as Voltaire, Proust, de Gaulle, Nietzsche, and Conan Doyle. The author gave himself the following advice: 'The reader's best policy is to assume that none of these maxims is directed at him, and that he is the sole exception.After that, I guarantee that he will be the first to subscribe to them. ' This is the fullest collection of La Rochefoucauld's writings ever published in English, and includes the first complete translation of the Reflexions diverses (Miscellaneous Reflections). A table of alternative maxim numbers and an index of topics help the reader to locate any maxim quickly and to appreciate the full range of La Rochefoucauld's thought on any of his favourite themes, such as self-love, vice and virtue, love and jealousy, friendship and self-interest, passion and pride. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Accuracy of frozen section measurements for the determination of Breslow tumour thickness in primary malignant melanoma

Microstaging of primary malignant melanoma (MM) and the width of surgical margins depend mainly on Breslow tumour thickness (BTT). The use of frozen section (FS) measurements of BTT has been doubted, and previous reports have shown conflicting results regarding the comparability to paraffin sections (PS). To look for significant differences of BTT due to freezing or paraffin embedding, we evaluated a larger series of melanocytic lesions as far as possible excluding other technical influences.
XENOBIOTIC-METABOLIZING CYTOCHROME P 450 ENZYMES IN HUMAN LUNG JANNE HUKKANEN

The cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme system in human lung is an essential component in the pulmonary carcinogenicity of several inhaled xenobiotic compounds. The aim of this study was to elucidate the expression and regulation of xenobiotic-metabolizing CYP enzymes in human lung. To evaluate which of the two is a better surrogate cell model for lung tissue, the expression patterns of CYP enzymes in alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood lymphocytes were clarified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and compared to the expression in lung tissue. The pattern of CYP expression in alveolar macrophages was found to closely resemble the expression pattern in human lung tissue, while the pattern in lymphocytes was markedly different. The expression of CYP2B6, CYP2C, CYP3A5, and CYP4B1 mRNAs in alveolar macrophages was demonstrated for the first time. To facilitate mechanistic studies on human pulmonary CYP induction, the A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line was characterized by RT-PCR, and the CYP expression pattern was found to compare reasonably well to human lung epithelial cells. The induction of CYP1A1 by 2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) behaved as predicted, and CYP1B1 and CYP3A5 were also inducible by TCDD and dexamethasone, respectively. TCDD elevated the level of CYP1A1 mRNA (56-fold), while the induction of CYP1B1 mRNA was more modest (2.5-fold). The tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein and the protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine blocked CYP1A1 induction by TCDD, but did not affect CYP1B1 induction. The serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitor calyculin A and okadaic acid enhanced CYP1B1 induction slightly, but did not alter CYP1A1 induc-
[Model of high-fat diet-induced obesity associated to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance].

OBJECTIVE Validate a model of high-fat diet-induced obesity, of low cost, easy reproducibility, that could express characteristics observed in human, and would enable subsequent therapy proposals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixteen Swiss mice received a standard diet (DP) or high-fat diet (DH) for 10 weeks. RESULTS Although the DP group had greater water (p < 0.01) and feed (p < 0.001) consumption, the DH group had greater body weight (p < 0.5) and adipose tissue gain (p < 0.001), favoring higher adiposity index (p < 0.001), glucose (p < 0.01), and area under the curve in the insulin (p < 0.001) and glucose (p < 0.01) tolerance tests. CONCLUSION A high-fat diet-induced obesity model has been validated, which was also associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance after a period of 10 weeks.