Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential expression of anti‐Müllerian hormone (amh) and anti‐Müllerian hormone receptor type II (amhrII) in the teleost medaka

In mammals, the anti‐Müllerian hormone (Amh) is responsible for the regression of the Müllerian ducts; therefore, Amh is an important factor of male sex differentiation. The amh gene has been cloned in various vertebrates, as well as in several teleost species. To date, all described species show a sexually dimorphic expression of amh during sex differentiation or at least in differentiated juvenile gonads. We have identified the medaka amh ortholog and examined its expression pattern. Medaka amh shows no sexually dimorphic expression pattern. It is expressed in both developing XY male and XX female gonads. In adult testes, amh is expressed in the Sertoli cells and in adult ovaries in granulosa cells surrounding the oocytes, like in mammals. To better understand the function of amh, we cloned the anti‐Müllerian hormone receptor type II (amhrII) ortholog and compared its expression pattern with amh, aromatase (cyp19a1), and scp3. During gonad development, amhrII is coexpressed with medaka amh in somatic cells of the gonads and shows no sexually dimorphic expression. Only the expression level of the Amh type II receptor gene was decreased noticeably in adult female gonads. These results suggest that medaka Amh and AmhrII are involved in gonad formation and maintenance in both sexes. Developmental Dynamics 236:271–281, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Diseño de un proceso de gestión de infraestructura tecnológica y propuesta de un sistema que lo implemente

DevOps – Ansible – Chef – Puppet – Docker – Vagrant – Kanban – Lean – Aprovisionamiento – Ambientes de desarrollo – Gestión de aplicaciones – Ciclo de vida – Testing – Producción – Gestión de DNS – Infraestructura como código – Microservicios – Sistemas inmutables – Metodologías ágiles – Automatización – GIT – Versionado de la infraestructura – Contenedores – LXC – OpenVZ Mejora en la gestión de proyectos haciendo uso de la metodología Kanban. La adopción de DevOps tiene como ventaja tratar a la infraestructura como código, la cual se puede versionar y replicar de manera fácil, mejorando la comunicación entre los grupos de desarrollo y operaciones. Herramientas como Ansible facilitan la tarea de automatizar y aprovisionar cientos de servidores, mejorando sustancialmente la tarea de los administradores de sistemas.
Understanding melatonin receptor pharmacology: Latest insights from mouse models, and their relevance to human disease

Melatonin, the neuro‐hormone synthesized during the night, has recently seen an unexpected extension of its functional implications toward type 2 diabetes development, visual functions, sleep disturbances, and depression. Transgenic mouse models were instrumental for the establishment of the link between melatonin and these major human diseases. Most of the actions of melatonin are mediated by two types of G protein‐coupled receptors, named MT1 and MT2, which are expressed in many different organs and tissues. Understanding the pharmacology and function of mouse MT1 and MT2 receptors, including MT1/MT2 heteromers, will be of crucial importance to evaluate the relevance of these mouse models for future therapeutic developments. This review will critically discuss these aspects, and give some perspectives including the generation of new mouse models.
Eosinophils, bronchial hyperreactivity and late‐phase asthmatic reactions

We have measured airways reactivity (methacholine PC20) and blood eosinophils in eleven asthmatics with allergen‐induced late‐phase reactions. Before challenge there was a significant (P<0.05) inverse correlation between blood eosinophils and the methacholine PC20. After allergen inhalation eosinophil counts were significantly (P<0.01) elevated at 24 hr. These increases in blood eosinophil counts were not observed in patients who developed single early responses. The magnitude of the changes in eosinophil counts (24 hr minus pre‐challenge values) also correlated with the baseline methacholine PC20 (P<0.01) in the late‐phase responders. These observations suggest that there may be a direct association between eosinophils and airway reactivity in subjects who develop late‐phase asthmatic reactions.
Kernel functions for molecular structures and their application to virtual screening with Support Vector Machines

La recherche therapeutique a de plus en plus recours a des techniques de modelisation, dites de criblage virtuel, visant a correler la structure d'une molecule avec ses proprietes biologiques. En particulier, l'utilisation de modeles predictifs quantifiant la toxicite d'une molecule ou son activite vis a vis d'une cible therapeutique, permet de reduire de maniere considerable le temps et les couts necessaires a la mise au point de nouveaux medicaments. Nous nous proposons d'aborder ce probleme dans le cadre des methodes a noyaux, qui permettent de construire de tels modeles de maniere efficace des lors que l'on dispose d'une fonction noyau mesurant la similarite des objets que l'on considere. Plus particulierement, l'objet de cette these est de definir de telles fonctions noyaux entre structures bi- et tri-dimensionnelles de molecules. D'un point de vue methodologique, ce probleme se traduit respectivement comme celui de comparer des graphes representant les liaisons covalentes des molecules, ou des ensembles d'atomes dans l'espace. Plusieurs approches sont envisagees sur la base de l'extraction et la comparaison de divers motifs structuraux qui permettent d'encoder les groupes fonctionnels des molecules a differents niveaux de resolution. Les validations experimentales suggerent que cette methodologie est une alternative prometteuse aux approches classiques en criblage virtuel.
Hyperacuity perimetry. Assessment of macular function through ocular opacities.

"Hyperacuity perimetry" provides localized measures of visual performance across the central visual field that are resistant to the retinal image degradation caused by media opacities. A normal observer, viewing a vernier stimulus through an artificial opacity (ground glass), exhibits a pronounced performance improvement with foveal viewing, relative to viewing at visual field points just 2 degrees to 4 degrees parafoveal. Patients with central lesions exhibit anomalous hyperacuity perimetric profiles, even in the presence of a simulated ocular opacity. We conclude that in patients with media opacities, hyperacuity perimetry can preoperatively evaluate the distribution and size of areas of visual loss across the central visual field and the stability and location of primary fixation. This potentially powerful test of macular function behind media opacities is as easy to apply as any static visual field measurement.
The effects of global severe privation on cognitive competence: extension and longitudinal follow-up. English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team.

The current study extends previous research on a sample of children adopted into the United Kingdom following severe early deprivation and a comparison sample of nondeprived, within-country, early adoptees. We assessed 165 children adopted from Romania and 52 U.K. adoptees at age 6 years. Longitudinal data (at age 4 and 6 years) were available on 111 Romanian adoptees placed into U.K. homes before 24 months of age and on all U.K. adoptees. Results indicated that there was considerable catch-up among late-placed Romanian children from entry into the United Kingdom to age 6, but as a group they exhibited lower cognitive scores and general developmental impairment compared with earlier adopted Romanian children. In addition, the resilience suggested at the assessment at age 4 years was maintained longitudinally, but there was no further evidence of catch-up or recovery.
A Survey on Usage of Mobile Devices for Learning among Tertiary Students in Croatia

For the past few years we are witnessing the explosion of mobile learning (m-learning) at all levels of education. This paper presents characteristics and elements of mobile learning and identifies researches about usage of m-learning in higher education practice. Then it presents results of a web survey conducted among convenience sample of students enrolled into Croatian tertiary education institutions about their usage of mobile devices for learning, and their attitudes about m-learning in general. Research results have shown that there are differences in frequency of usage of m-learning activities on a smartphone compared to the activities used on a tablet.
A Multidisciplinary Experimental Study on the Effects of Breeders Diet on Newborn Seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

The global trade in seahorses is increasing and new rearing techniques are currently available for a few species. One of the main bottlenecks in seahorse production is reproductive success, which is dependent upon the administration of high quality diets to breeders. However, little is known about the most adequate diets, on how they should be administered and on how they might affect newborn performance. In this study, three homogeneous groups of adult seahorses Hippocampus guttulatus were maintained in captivity. Each group was fed on one of the following diets since the onset of the breeding period: unenriched adult Artemia (diet A), unenriched adult Artemia and mysidaceans (diet AM) and mysidaceans (diet M). As a positive control, a wild pregnant male was used. The mixed diet AM provided the highest overall breeding success and reasonable fatty acid profiles, and better resembled newborn from a wild male. The use of mysidaceans solely (Diet M) provided the worse results in spite of the high DHA content. Significant differences were observed in newborn characteristics and fatty acid profiles among dietary groups and along the breeding season, especially in total n-3 HUFA and DHA. Monospecific diets including Artemia or mysidaceans very likely suffered nutritional deficiencies, which were reflected in morphological alterations of the muscle tissue (diet A) or abnormal early mortalities in newborn (diet M). Three progressive stages were identified along the whole breeding period: initial mixed capital-income period (100–120 days since the onset of the breeding period), followed by an inflection period (short transitional stage – income sources), and finally a long period characterized by the use of income sources and the progressive exhaustion of body reserves. Special attention should be deserved to the progressive changes in fatty acid profiles along the breeding season, resulting in a decrease in newborn performance. Considering the time required for a diet to be reflected in newborn, we recommend Hippocampus guttulatus breeders to be fed on a high quality diet for at least 3 months prior the breeding period.
Alloy Design and Microstructure Evolution in the AlxCoCrFeNi Alloy System Synthesized by Laser Metal Deposition

In this contribution the AlxCoCrFeNi alloy system is explored thoroughly over a wide compositional range of x = 0.2 to 1.5 (5 to 30 at% Al). For this alloy system compositional gradient structures were produced by laser metal deposition of pre-alloyed CoCrFeNi and elemental Al powders using an in-house developed coaxial cladding system COAXpowerline. The evolution of the microstructure with increasing Al content was analyzed in the as built as well as the homogenized condition (1350 K for 20 h). Metallographic cross sections were prepared and thoroughly analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron backscattered diffraction. Additionally, the evolution of the sample hardness with increasing Al contents was determined for both sample conditions. In the AlxCoCrFeNi alloy system the lattice structure as well as the sample hardness can easily be adjusted by the variation of Al. With increasing Al content a phase transition from a solid solution fcc phase toward a multiphase bcc microstructure consisting of a Fe and Cr rich solid solution bcc phase and an ordered Al and Ni rich bcc B2 phase can be observed. This is combined with an increase in sample hardness from around 200 HV up to around 500 HV in the as built condition. The compositional regions of the phase transitions for both sample conditions were compared to ab initio thermodynamic calculations done using a CALPHAD approach. For the as built condition a strong deviation from the calculated transition regime could be observed. After homogenization the experimental and calculated data are in good agreement.
Independent effects of step length and foot strike pattern on tibiofemoral joint forces during running

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of step length and foot strike pattern along with their interaction on tibiofemoral joint (TFJ) and medial compartment TFJ kinetics during running. Nineteen participants ran with a rear foot strike pattern at their preferred speed using a short (−10%), preferred, and long (+10%) step length. These step length conditions were then repeated using a forefoot strike pattern. Regardless of foot strike pattern, a 10% shorter step length resulted in decreased peak contact force, force impulse per step, force impulse per kilometre, and average loading rate at the TFJ and medial compartment, while a 10% increased step length had the opposite effects (all P < 0.05). A forefoot strike pattern significantly lowered TFJ and medial compartment TFJ average loading rates compared with a rear foot strike pattern (both <0.05) but did not change TFJ or medial compartment peak force, force impulse per step, or force impulse per km. The combination of a shorter step length and forefoot strike pattern produced the greatest reduction in peak medial compartment contact force (P < 0.05). Knowledge of these running modification effects may be relevant to the management or prevention of TFJ injury or pathology among runners.
Novel antihypertensive agents

Coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease continue to be the leading causes of illness and death among adults from developed countries. Their prevalence is strongly related to the effects of many different risk factors, including high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, dyslipidaemia and diabetes. The management of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors should be viewed as an integrated strategy of intervention aimed at correcting as many of the underlying causes of CV disease as possible. Blocking the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system with new, well-tolerated antihypertensive drugs, and blood pressure regulation by means of new drugs that also reduce plasma cholesterol levels or improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance, could lead to a reduction of CV diseases.
Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture in the Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent is a high biodiversity region where most temperate-zone agricultural species originated and were first domesticated. A favorable environment, a special plant community, and an adaptive population combined to initiate the Neolithic—the New Stone Age—in the Fertile Crescent. However, over time, valuable plant genetic resources of the region are being eroded through degradation of natural habitats, intensification of the cultivation of arable lands, expansion of cultivation into marginal areas, replacement of diverse and widely adapted landraces by new cultivars based on a narrow genetic base, and over-exploitation of natural pastures and grazing lands. There is a grave risk that much of the inherent biodiversity of the Fertile Crescent will be lost unless a holistic approach to the management of ecosystems, based on sustainable agriculture and sustainable development, is implemented. Components of the holistic approach are presented and discussed under the following five themes: (i) assessment of problems, obstacles and needs (ii) land use management, including soils, water and vegetation (iii) the conservation of agricultural biodiversity and its utilization in agricultural production systems (iv) social, political and economic factors, including indigenous knowledge and (v) human resources. It is hypothesized that food security for future generations in the Fertile Crescent will be strengthened by the conservation and utilization of agricultural biodiversity. This can be achieved through the development of productive and sustainable resource management strategies in the agroecosystems of the region. INTRODUCTION The modern territories Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria, western Iran, and southeast Turkey encompass the region often referred to as the Fertile Crescent. Here, many of the species of temperate-zone agriculture originated and were first domesticated. Their wild relatives and landraces are still found in the region (Harlan 1992; Zohary and Hopf 1993). It is an area of megadiversity of important food, feed, medicinal, horticultural crops, spices, pasture and rangeland species. However, the area under arable, annual and perennial crops and forests is small, leaving the bulk of the land as steppe, desert, or semi-desert. Much of the land has steep slopes and/or shallow, or saline, soils that are unsuitable for cultivation without extensive and expensive reclamation work. The land resource is fragile and the conservation and maintenance of its biodiversity and productivity are of crucial concern (Held 1994). THE FERTILE CRESCENT: CENTER OF ORIGIN AND CENTER OF DIVERSITY The Fertile Crescent is at the core of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region (see Kouchoukos et al., this volume). The WANA region straddles three important centers of biological diversity: the Near Eastern, the Mediterranean and the Central Asian. Many major crops, including cereals, pulses, spices, oil crops, fiber
Blind-Matched Filtering for Speech Enhancement with Distributed Microphones

A multichannel noise reduction and equalization approach for distributed microphones is presented. The speech enhancement is based on a blind-matched filtering algorithm that combines the microphone signals such that the output SNR is maximized. The algorithm is developed for spatially uncorrelated but nonuniform noise fields, that is, the noise signals at the different microphones are uncorrelated, but the noise power spectral densities can vary. However, no assumptions on the array geometry are made. The proposed method will be compared to the speech distortion-weighted multichannel Wiener filter (SDW-MWF). Similar to the SDW-MWF, the new algorithm requires only estimates of the input signal to noise ratios and the input cross-correlations. Hence, no explicit channel knowledge is necessary. A new version of the SDW-MWF for spatially uncorrelated noise is developed which has a reduced computational complexity, because matrix inversions can be omitted. The presented blind-matched filtering approach is similar to this SDW-MWF for spatially uncorrelated noise but additionally achieves some improvements in the speech quality due to a partial equalization of the acoustic system.
Altered expression of the retinoblastoma gene product: prognostic indicator in bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND It has been reported that 50%-70% of patients with bladder cancer experience recurrence after initial successful treatment and about 10%-20% of these patients die of the disease. Despite precise pathologic staging and grading, we are unable to predict clinical outcome in all patients. The retinoblastoma-susceptibility (RB) gene, a prototype of tumor suppressor genes, has recently been associated with development and/or progression of bladder cancer, as well as sarcoma and small-cell lung cancer. In transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder, we have observed altered expression of the Rb gene product--a nuclear phosphoprotein thought to function as a cell cycle regulator. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that altered patterns of Rb expression correlate with prognosis in bladder cancer. METHODS Expression of the RB gene was evaluated in specimens from 48 primary bladder tumors obtained by cystectomy or transurethral resection. Rb protein expression was correlated with disease outcome in these patients. Rb expression was examined by immunohistochemistry, using the mouse monoclonal antibody Rb-PMG3-245 on frozen tissue sections. Computerized image analysis was used to quantify the level of Rb protein in individual tumor cells. RESULTS The overall 5-year disease-free survival was 66%, with a median follow-up of 42 months. Normal levels of Rb protein expression were found in 34 patients (Rb-positive group). A spectrum of altered patterns of expression from undetectable levels to heterogeneous expression, however, was observed in 14 patients (altered Rb group). Of the 38 patients with muscle-invasive tumors, 13 were categorized as having altered expression of Rb protein. Only one of 10 patients with superficial carcinomas had altered expression of Rb protein. The 5-year survival was significantly decreased in patients with altered Rb protein compared with the survival in patients with positive Rb expression (P less than .001). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that tumors exhibiting decreased expression of the RB gene-coded product (Rb protein) had a more aggressive biological behavior than those that expressed the Rb protein in the majority of their tumor cells. IMPLICATIONS This study demonstrates that altered patterns of Rb protein expression may be an important prognostic variable in patients presenting with invasive bladder cancer.
Inhibition of Gene Expression of Trehalase Enhances Drought Resistance in Transgenic Tobacco

The representative individuals, CK (non-transgenic), 121 (with pBI121 vector), 1285 (with pGSA1285 vector), T4 (with gene of trehalase, TRE), S1 (with gene of trehalose -6 - phosphate synthase, TPS), P3 (with gene of trehalose -6 - phosphate phosphatase, TPP), a3 (with anti-TRE gene), i2 (with RNAi-TRE gene), were selected for identification of drought resistance, and the Malondialdehyde (MDA), relative conductivity have been measured after water-stress during this experiment. The results showed that the transgenic tobaccos with anti-TRE and RNAi-TRE grew better than other individuals under water-stress conditions; conductivity of i2 was lower than other plants. Meantime, i2 has performance of some special features. These indicate that through application the antisense RNA and RNA interference technology to trehalase gene, it is possible to make the receptor trehalose metabolism changes. The inhibition of gene expression of trehalase can led to the accumulation of trehalose content and the enhancement of drought resistance in the transgenic tobaccos.
Interleukin‐11: A gp130 Cytokine

ABSTRACT: Interleukin (IL)‐11 is a member of the gp130 family of cytokines. Comparison of IL‐11 with another gp130 family member, IL‐6, indicates that these two cytokines share many overlapping signal transduction mechanisms. However, unlike IL‐6, treatment of patients with a recombinant human form of IL‐11 (rhIL‐11) does not increase body temperature, suggesting significant differences in the in vivo function of these two molecules. Recent studies demonstrate that IL‐11 has potent anti‐inflammatory activity in a variety of preclinical animal models of disease. rhIL‐11 reduces production of proinflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor‐α and IL‐12 from activated macrophages. This effect on proinflammatory cytokine production is mediated at the transcriptional level by inhibition of the transcription factor, NF‐ΚB. To further understand the anti‐inflammatory mechanisms of action of rhIL‐11 and to elucidate differences between IL‐11 and IL‐6 signal transduction pathways, the effects of these two cytokines on in vitro macrophage function were compared.