Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testosterone Effects on the Brain in Transgender Men

Transgender individuals experience incongruence between their gender identity and birth-assigned sex. The resulting gender dysphoria (GD), which some gender-incongruent individuals experience, is theorized to be a consequence of atypical cerebral sexual differentiation, but support for this assertion is inconsistent. We recently found that GD is associated with disconnected networks involved in self-referential thinking and own body perception. Here, we investigate how these networks in trans men (assigned female at birth with male gender identity) are affected by testosterone. In 22 trans men, we obtained T1-weighted, diffusion-weighted, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans before and after testosterone treatment, measuring cortical thickness (Cth), subcortical volumes, fractional anisotropy (FA), and functional connectivity. Nineteen cisgender controls (male and female) were also scanned twice. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was thicker in trans men than controls pretreatment, and remained unchanged posttreatment. Testosterone treatment resulted in increased Cth in the insular cortex, changes in cortico-cortical thickness covariation between mPFC and occipital cortex, increased FA in the fronto-occipital tract connecting these regions, and increased functional connectivity between mPFC and temporo-parietal junction, compared with controls. Concluding, in trans men testosterone treatment resulted in functional and structural changes in self-referential and own body perception areas.
Dynamic cervical length changes: Preliminary observations from 30-minute transvaginal ultrasound recordings

Objective. The purpose of this study was to visualize and quantify dynamic changes in the cervix and to study factors influencing cervical length. Methods. Eighteen women with a gestational age between 23 and 40 weeks were examined by transvaginal ultrasound during a continuous observation period of 30 minutes. Results. All women delivered at >34 weeks of gestation, fourteen at term. The overall mean difference between the shortest and longest cervical length during the 30-minute recordings (cervical length variation) was 10.9 mm (range 1.6–26.7 mm). In the presence of fetal movements directed at the cervix, peristaltic movement of the bowel or contractions, cervical length variation was larger than in the absence of these conditions (mean 12.7 mm, range 5.2–26.7 mm and mean 6.1 mm, range 1.6–9.4 mm, respectively; p = 0.03). Conclusions. Dynamic changes in cervical length are present at early gestation and long before delivery and can be observed either spontaneously or associated with contractions, fetal movements or peristalsis. These conditions must be considered as pitfalls in cervical length measurement. In critical cases, such as early threatened preterm labor, increases in the frequency and duration of sonographic ultrasound measurements may be helpful to obtain a more reliable estimation of the cervical status.
Simultaneous quantification of prostaglandins in human synovial cell-cultured medium using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

A liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS-MS) method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of prostaglandin (PG) E(2), PGF(2alpha), 6-keto-PGF(lalpha) and thromboxane (TX) B(2). These eicosanoids and their deuterium derivatives, using as internal standards, were extracted by solid-phase extraction and analyzed using LC/MS-MS in the selected reaction-monitoring (SRM) mode. A good linear response over the range of 10 pg to 10 ng for each eicosanoid was demonstrated. The accuracy of added eicosanoids ranged from 94.1 to 106.6% and coefficients of variation ranged from 0.62 to 7.8%. Furthermore, we applied this method for the determination of eicosanoids in the human synovial cell-cultured medium, stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS produced each eicosanoid and they increased in a time-dependent manner. The production levels after 24 h stimulation were 6-keto-PGF(1alpha) > PGE(2) > TXB(2) >> PGF(2alpha). This simultaneous quantification method is so useful to clarify the function of synovial cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Heterologous expression of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in insect cells: intracellular distribution of pump subunits.

The Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase is a heterodimeric plasma membrane protein responsible for cellular ionic homeostasis in nearly all animal cells. It has been shown that some insect cells (e.g., High Five cells) have no (or extremely low) Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity. We expressed sheep kidney Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase alpha- and beta-subunits individually and together in High Five cells via the baculovirus expression system. We used quantitative slot-blot analyses to determine that the expressed Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase comprises between 0.5% and 2% of the total membrane protein in these cells. Using a five-step sucrose gradient (0.8-2.0 M) to separate the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and plasma membrane fractions, we observed functional Na(+) pump molecules in each membrane pool and characterized their properties. Nearly all of the expressed protein functions normally, similar to that found in purified dog kidney enzyme preparations. Consequently, the measurements described here were not complicated by an abundance of nonfunctional heterologously expressed enzyme. Specifically, ouabain-sensitive ATPase activity, [(3)H]ouabain binding, and cation dependencies were measured for each fraction. The functional properties of the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase were essentially unaltered after assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, we measured ouabain-sensitive (86)Rb(+) uptake in whole cells as a means to specifically evaluate Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase molecules that were properly folded and delivered to the plasma membrane. We could not measure any ouabain-sensitive activities when either the alpha-subunit or beta-subunit were expressed individually. Immunostaining of the separate membrane fractions indicates that the alpha-subunit, when expressed alone, is degraded early in the protein maturation pathway (i.e., the endoplasmic reticulum) but that the beta-subunit is processed normally and delivered to the plasma membrane. Thus it appears that only the alpha-subunit has an oligomeric requirement for maturation and trafficking to the plasma membrane. Furthermore, assembly of the alpha-beta heterodimer within the endoplasmic reticulum apparently does not require a Na(+) pump-specific chaperone.
GUT2, a gene for mitochondrial glycerol 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A gut2 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is deficient in the mitochondrial glycerol 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase and hence cannot utilize glycerol. Upon transformation of a gut2 mutant strain with a low‐copy yeast genomic library, hybrid plasmids were isolated which complemented the gut2 mutation. The nucleotide sequence of a 3·2 kb PstI‐XhoI fragment complementing a gut2 mutant strain is presented. The fragment reveals an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide with a predicted molecular weight of 68·8 kDa. Disruption of the ORF leads to a glycerol non‐utilizing phenotype. A putative flavin‐binding domain, located at the amino terminus, was identified by comparison with the amino acid sequences of other flavoproteins. The cloned gene has been mapped both physically and genetically to the left arm of chromosome IX, where the original gut2 mutation also maps. We conclude that the presented ORF is the GUT2 gene and propose that it is the structural gene for the mitochondrial glycerol 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase.
Calculation of transient cable conductor temperature based on support vector machine optimized by particle swarm optimization algorithm

It is difficult to directly measure the transient conductor temperature of operating cable, however, which plays a significant role in reflecting its operation state and controlling its load. So it is essential to calculate and monitor the transient cable conductor temperature. A model of calculating transient cable conductor temperature based on support vector machine (SVM) is proposed in this dissertation. In the model, particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is introduced to improve the calculation accuracy and avoid blindly selecting training parameters, taking the skin temperature and load current as input and conductor temperature as output. The comparison of calculated and measured values of temperature rise experiments shows that PSO-SVM model can calculate cable conductor temperature accurately, and the calculation result of conductor temperature is independent of the cable' physical parameters and the laying condition. Moreover, the accuracy is higher than that of result of BP neural network (BPNN) and thermal circuit model, and the model has a good ability of generalization.
Role of Pinin in neural crest, dorsal dermis, and axial skeleton development and its involvement in the regulation of Tcf/Lef activity in mice

Previous in vitro studies have indicated multiple and varied roles of Pinin (PNN); however, its in vivo role has remained unclear. Here, we report generation of null, hypomorphic, and conditional Pnn alleles in mice. We found that insertion of neomycin‐resistance cassette into intron 8 of Pnn resulted in knockdown of Pnn, which allowed Pnn hypomorphic embryos to pass peri‐implantation lethality. These mice are lethal at perinatal stages and exhibit defects in the cardiac outflow tract, palate, dorsal dermis, and axial skeleton. Since Wnt/β‐catenin signaling has been shown to play pivotal roles in development of all tissues affected by Pnn hypomorphism, we speculated that Pnn may affect Wnt/β‐catenin signaling. Supporting this view, we demonstrate abnormal activities of Tcf/Lef transcription factors, and alterations in β‐catenin level in multiple Pnn hypomorphic tissues. Taken together, the data suggest that Pnn plays important roles during mouse development through its involvement in regulation of Tcf/Lef activity. Developmental Dynamics 236:2147–2158, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The potential interactions between polyunsaturated fatty acids and colonic inflammatory processes

n‐3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are recognized as having an anti‐inflammatory effect, which is initiated and propagated via a number of mechanisms involving the cells of the immune system. These include: eicosanoid profiles, membrane fluidity and lipid rafts, signal transduction, gene expression and antigen presentation. The wide‐range of mechanisms of action of n‐3 PUFAs offer a number of potential therapeutic tools with which to treat inflammatory diseases. In this review we discuss the molecular, animal model and clinical evidence for manipulation of the immune profile by n‐3 PUFAs with respect to inflammatory bowel disease. In addition to providing a potential therapy for inflammatory bowel disease there is also recent evidence that abnormalities in fatty acid profiles, both in the plasma phospholipid membrane and in perinodal adipose tissue, may be a key component in the multi‐factorial aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease. Such abnormalities are likely to be the result of a genetic susceptibility to the changing ratios of n‐3 : n‐6 fatty acids in the western diet. Evidence that the fatty acid components of perinodal adipose are fuelling the pro‐ or anti‐inflammatory bias of the immune response is also reviewed.
Effects of chronic heart failure on neuronal nitric oxide synthase‐mediated control of microvascular O2 pressure in contracting rat skeletal muscle

• Nitric oxide (NO) is an important vasodilatory signalling molecule that regulates O2 pressure within the skeletal muscle microvasculature (). In healthy subjects, NO is derived from two principal NO synthase (NOS) isoforms: neuronal NOS (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS). • Chronic heart failure (CHF) results in peripheral vascular dysfunction that is attributed, in part, to impaired NO function. This NO‐mediated impairment is attributed generally to eNOS dysfunction. It is unknown if nNOS‐mediated regulation of function is impaired in CHF. • Our present results demonstrate that skeletal muscle blood flow reductions and alterations during contractions observed following nNOS inhibition in healthy rats are markedly attenuated or absent in CHF rats, which is indicative of impaired nNOS function. • Identification of the mechanisms underlying impaired microvascular function in CHF is an important step in the development of treatments designed to improve CHF‐induced skeletal muscle microvascular pathology.
A New Role for the STAT3 Inhibitor, PIAS3

In vitro and in vivoevidence suggest that microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF) plays a key regulatory role in tissue-specific gene regulation in several cell types, including melanocytes, osteoclasts, and mast cells. A yeast two-hybrid search, using a portion of a nonmutated MITF gene as the bait in the screening of a mast cell library, resulted in the isolation of the STAT3 inhibitor, PIAS3. PIAS3 is a transcriptional inhibitor that acts by specifically inhibiting STAT3's DNA binding activity. We found that it can directly associate with MITF using an in vitro pull-down assay. Immunoprecipitation of MITF from rat basophilic leukemic cells or mouse melanocytes resulted in the specific co-immunoprecipitation of PIAS3. Co-transfection of MITF with PIAS3 in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts containing an mMCP-6 promoter-luciferase reporter demonstrated up to 94% inhibition of MITF-mediated transcriptional activation. Using a gel-shift assay, it was shown that PIAS3 can block DNA binding activity. It was also found that STAT3 does not interfere, either in vitro or in vivo, with the interaction between PIAS3 and MITF. These data suggest that PIAS3 functions in vivo as a key molecule in supressing the transcriptional activity of MITF, a role of considerable importance in mast cell and melanocyte development.
Heterogeneity of Ghrelin/Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptors

Ghrelin is a gastric polypeptide displaying strong GH-releasing activity by activation of the type 1a GH secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a) located in the hypothalamus-pituitary axis. GHS-R1a is a G-protein-coupled receptor that, upon the binding of ghrelin or synthetic peptidyl and non-peptidyl ghrelin-mimetic agents known as GHS, preferentially couples to Gq, ultimately leading to increased intracellular calcium content. Beside the potent GH-releasing action, ghrelin and GHS influence food intake, gut motility, sleep, memory and behavior, glucose and lipid metabolism, cardiovascular performances, cell proliferation, immunological responses and reproduction. A growing body of evidence suggests that the cloned GHS-R1a alone cannot be the responsible for all these effects. The cloned GHS-R1b splice variant is apparently non-ghrelin/GHS-responsive, despite demonstration of expression in neoplastic tissues responsive to ghrelin not expressing GHS-R1a; GHS-R1a homologues sensitive to ghrelin are capable of interaction with GHS-R1b, forming heterodimeric species. Furthermore, GHS-R1a-deficient mice do not show evident abnormalities in growth and diet-induced obesity, suggesting the involvement of another receptor. Additional evidence of the existence of another receptor is that ghrelin and GHS do not always share the same biological activities and activate a variety of intracellular signalling systems besides Gq. The biological actions on the heart, adipose tissue, pancreas, cancer cells and brain shared by ghrelin and the non-acylated form of ghrelin (des-octanoyl ghrelin), which does not bind GHS-R1a, represent the best evidence for the existence of a still unknown, functionally active binding site for this family of molecules. Finally, located in the heart and blood vessels is the scavenger receptor CD36, involved in the endocytosis of the pro-atherogenic oxidized low-density lipoproteins, which is a pharmacologically and structurally distinct receptor for peptidyl GHS and not for ghrelin. This review highlights the most recently discovered features of GHS-R1a and the emerging evidence for a novel group of receptors that are not of the GHS1a type; these appear involved in the transduction of the multiple levels of information provided by GHS and ghrelin.
The association of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and physician recommendation for mammography: who gets the message about breast cancer screening?

OBJECTIVES This study investigated the association between physician recommendation for mammography and race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other characteristics in a rural population. METHODS In 1993 through 1994, we surveyed 1933 Black women and White women 52 years and older in 10 rural counties. RESULTS Fifty-three percent of the women reported a physician recommendation in the past year. White women reported recommendations significantly more often than did Black women (55% vs 45%; odds ratio = 1.49). Controlling for educational attainment and income eliminated the apparent racial/ethnic difference. After control for 5 personal, 4 health, and 3 access characteristics, recommendation for mammography was found to be more frequent among women who had access to the health care system (i.e., had a regular physician and health insurance). Recommendation was less frequent among women who were vulnerable (i.e., were older, had lower educational attainment, had lower annual family income). CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomic status, age, and other characteristics--but not race/ethnicity--were related to reports of a physician recommendation, a precursor strongly associated with mammography use. Efforts to increase physician recommendation should include complementary efforts to help women address socioeconomic and other barriers to mammography use.
IL‐17 and IFN‐γ expression in lymphocytes from patients with active tuberculosis correlates with the severity of the disease

Th1 lymphocytes are crucial in the immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nevertheless, IFN‐γ alone is not sufficient in the complete eradication of the bacteria, suggesting that other cytokines might be required for pathogen removal. Th17 cells have been associated with M. tuberculosis infection, but the role of IL‐17‐producing cells in human TB remains to be understood. Therefore, we investigated the induction and regulation of IFN‐γ and IL‐17 during the active disease. TB patients were classified as High and Low Responder individuals according to their T cell responses against the antigen, and cytokine expression upon M. tuberculosis stimulation was investigated in peripheral blood and pleural fluid. Afterwards, the potential correlation among the proportions of cytokine‐producing cells and clinical parameters was analyzed. In TB patients, M. tuberculosis induced IFN‐γ and IL‐17, but in comparison with BCG‐vaccinated healthy donors, IFN‐γ results were reduced significantly, and IL‐17 was markedly augmented. Moreover, the main source of IL‐17 was represented by CD4+IFN‐γ+IL‐17+ lymphocytes, a Th1/Th17 subset regulated by IFN‐γ. Interestingly, the ratio of antigen‐expanded CD4+IFN‐γ+IL‐17+ lymphocytes, in peripheral blood and pleural fluid from TB patients, was correlated directly with clinical parameters associated with disease severity. Indeed, the highest proportion of CD4+IFN‐γ+IL‐17+ cells was detected in Low Responder TB patients, individuals displaying severe pulmonary lesions, and longest length of disease evolution. Taken together, the present findings suggest that analysis of the expansion of CD4+IFN‐γ+IL‐17+ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood of TB patients might be used as an indicator of the clinical outcome in active TB.
Role of Base Plate Rotational Speed in Controlling Spheroid Size Distribution and Minimizing Oversize Particle Formation During Spheroid Production by Rotary Processing

The occurrence of material adhesion and formation of oversize particles in the product yield during one-pot spheroid production by rotary processing leads to a less predictable process and a decrease in the usable portion of the total product yield obtained from each production run. The use of variable speeds of the rotating frictional base plate during the spheronization run was investigated for achieving optimal spheroid production. When the base plate speed was increased during liquid addition, the greater centrifugal forces generated improved liquid distribution and the mixing of the moist powder mass, resulting in a decrease in the amount of oversize particles formed. When the base plate was maintained at a high speed throughout the run, the amount of oversize particles and mean spheroid size increased, and a greater “between batch” mean spheroid size variability was also observed. The findings showed that, when higher speeds were used, the residence time must be adjusted accordingly to avoid excessive coalescence and growth while maintaining even liquid distribution. A “low-high-low” speed variation during rotary processing may be used to produce spheroids with a narrow size distribution and with a minimal amount of oversize particles in the total product yield.
A macro econometric model for forecasting the hotel-room night demand :

This article proposes a macroeconomic-oriented method to forecast hotel room demand in Switzerland for the period stretching from the third quarter of 1974 to the fourth quarter of 2013. The method increases accuracy by weighting characteristics of the inbound tourists’ economies for their relative contribution. It adopts the VECM technique, which produces reliable forecasts in both the short and long run without making ex ante assumptions regarding the causality of the explanatory variables. The results indicate that the method outperforms alternative forecasting methods in both the short and long run. The analysis shows that in the short run hotel room demand depends on income in visiting countries but not on the real GDP of Switzerland while in the long run demand depends on the real exchange rate and the real GDP of Switzerland.
Performance evaluation of viewpoint covariant keypoint detection in rgbd images

The tremendous growth in the availability of texture+depth(RGBD) content has motivated researchers to focus into the area of features that uses geometrical information given by depth. These features are more efficient and robust than the existing 2D features under large variations in camera viewing angles. In this paper, the performance evaluation of the keypoint detector for two views of a scene taken from different camera viewing angle is discussed. As a first step, an RGBD model is proposed for the keypoint detector. Using this model, a keypoint detector is implemented which is obtained from the numerical solution of a Partial Differential Equation (PDE). It is then extended to a multiscale representation from which the keypoints are extracted. This extraction technique is then compared with Speeded Up Robust Feature (SURF) extraction technique. Also the behaviour of the keypoint detector for scenes affected by different noises and for high contrast or low contrast images are analyzed.