Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glutamate Attenuates the Survival Property of IGFR through NR2B Containing N-Methyl-D-aspartate Receptors in Cortical Neurons

Glutamate-induced neurotoxicity is involved in various neuronal diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. We have previously reported that glutamate attenuated the survival signaling of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) in cultured cortical neurons, which is viewed as a novel mechanism of glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. However, the phosphorylation sites of IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) affected by glutamate remain to be elucidated, and importantly, which subtype of NMDARs plays a major role in attenuating the prosurvival effect of IGF-1 is still unknown. In the present study, glutamate was found to attenuate the tyrosine phosphorylation of the IGF-1R and the prosurvival effect of IGF-1 in primary cultured cortical neurons. NMDAR inhibitors, MK801 and AP-5, blocked the inhibitory effect of glutamate on the phosphorylation of IGF-1R and increased cell survival, while DNQX, LY341495, and CPCCOEt had no effect. Interestingly, we found that glutamate decreased the phosphorylation of tyrosine residues 1131, 1135/1136, 1250/1251, and 1316, while it had no effect on tyrosine 950 in cortical neurons. Moreover, using specific antagonists and siRNA to downregulate individual NMDAR subunits, we found that the activation of NR2B-containing NMDARs was essential for glutamate to inhibit IGF-1 signaling. These findings indicate that the glutamate-induced attenuation of IGF-1 signaling is mediated by NR2B-containing NMDARs. Our study also proposes a novel mechanism of altering neurotrophic factor signaling by the activation of NMDARs.
Genotypic variation in relative growth rate and carbon isotope discrimination in sunflower is related to photosynthetic capacity

A previous study showed that carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) was negatively related to transpiration efficiency (W, the ratio of dry matter accumulation to transpiration) and biomass accumulation amongst sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) genotypes. Three experiments which explore the physiological basis of relationships between Δ, relative growth rate (RGR) and leaf gas exchange characteristics are reported. Growth was analysed on seven genotypes during the early vegetative stage (up to 31 days after emergence). Carbon isotope discrimination, Δ, W, and photosynthetic CO2 assimilation rate per unit leaf area (A) at ambient concentration of CO2 were measured on plants that made up the final harvest. Six of the seven genotypes were also grown under a low nitrogen (N) regime and harvested at 30 days after emergence. Carbon isotope discrimination was negatively related to relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR) and photosynthetic rate per unit area, which in turn, were all positively correlated with each other. Genotypic variation inA (51%) was greater than that in leaf conductance, g (32%) and there was no relationship between g and Δ. Under the low N regime, A and g declined by 33 and 12%, respectively, across all genotypes producing a significant rise in A of 1.10. In a second experiment, growth analysis on 13 cultivated forms of H. annuus, a wild accession and a H. argophyllus accession, also showed that there was a positive relationship between RGR and NAR, and that both growth indices were negatively related to Δ. In a further experiment, using 14 genotypes (including the wild accession) there was a highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.85, P < 0.001) between photosynthetic capacity, measured using an oxygen electrode, and Δ. These results indicate that variation in photosynthetic capacity can account for genotypic variation in both Δ and RGR during vegetative growth in sunflower. Hence, faster growing sunflower genotypes have higher rates of photosynthesis and use water more efficiently.
Improvement of Resistance to Rice Blast in Zhenshan 97 by Molecular Marker-aided Selection

Fungi blast is one of the most serious diseases of rice worldwide. Breeding resistant varieties have been proved to be the most effective and economical means to control the disease. This paper describes the molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) procedure for a broad-spectrum blast resistant gene Pi1 integrated into an elite hybrid maintainer line, Zhenshan 97. A simple sequence repeat (SSR) based on molecular marker-aided selection system for Pi1 segment was established. Using a backcross population and a blast isolate F1829, Pit gene was mapped on the top of chromosome 11 between markers RZ536 and RM144, with a distance of 9.7 cM and 6.8 cM, respectively. Seventeen families derived from the recurrent parent Zhenshan 97 were obtained with homozygous PH gene. The background of the 17 families was identified with inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) amplification, the highest recovery of the Zhenshan 97 genetic background was 97.01% after the assay of 167 polymorphic bands.
Development of an accurate method for measuring fat percentage on rib-eye area by computer image analysis

ロース芯断面内の脂肪割合を画像解析により客観的に測定する方法について検討した. 脂肪交雑の2値化は,粒子ごとに閾値を決定する多重閾値法により行った. 使用した入力機器はデジタルビデオカメラ,デジタル静止画キャプチャーボードおよびカラーイメージスキャナーである. これらの装置を使うことにより,フルカラー(2553色)の画像をコンピュータに取り込むことが可能となる. 測定対象は畜試式牛標準脂肪交雑(BMS)の標準模型および黒毛和種去勢牛5頭のロース芯断面の写真である. ロース芯断面の写真は,カラーイメージスキャナーで,ビデオイメージはデジタル静止画キャプチャーボードでそれぞれコンピュータに取り込んだ. Visual C++で作成したプログラムで脂肪交雑粒子と赤肉部分とを多重閾値法により2値化し,その面積比から脂肪割合を算出した. 画像解析による算出値と比較するための基準となる脂肪割合は,BMSをデジタルコピー機で,黒毛和種去勢牛のロース芯断面の写真をカラーレーザープリンターでそれぞれ拡大出力し,ロース芯と脂肪交雑の紙片の重量を測定することで算出した. 多重閾値を基にした画像解析により算出した脂肪割合と,重量比により算出したそれとの差はBMS No. 2, No. 4, No. 7, No. 10およびNo. 12でそれぞれ0. 2%,0.5%,2.1%,0.6%および4. 6%以内であった. また,脂肪割合の範囲が13. 6～24.4%であった黒毛和種去勢牛の画像解析による脂肪割合と重量比によるそれとの差は2%以内であった. 画像解析に尾いる画像の解像度の影響は,低解像度において脂肪割合を低く算出する傾向が認められた. 本研究で開発した方法を用いることで,ロース芯断面内脂肪割合の客観的で精度の高い計測が可能となった.
Work, personality and mental health.

To be unemployed when you want to be working is indisputably bad for both mental and physical health. Job insecurity too is bad for health ([Ferrie et al , 1995][1]). Because work itself can be both hazardous and beneficial to mental health and because most adults spend a lot of their life working,
Survey and Case Studies

Local content requirements (LCRs) are a protective device with three simple but powerful appeals: to create jobs at home rather than abroad; to nurture domestic firms so that they become world-class competitors; and to ensure that important industries, such as civil aviation, broadcasting, and electric power, are locally owned (these might be called local ownership requirements). Each appeal has variants that speak to particular conditions. For example, creating jobs at home seems like a natural corollary to public subsidies that support green energy. Nurturing domestic firms can have the added feature of helping disadvantaged groups (such as leatherworkers in Japan). Important industries have been elastically defined to include almost any state-owned enterprise on the verge of privatization (the Russian story) and iconic private firms subject to a foreign takeover bid (the Unocal story). This book uses two approaches to size up and illustrate the LCR phenomenon. The first approach is a global survey of about 100 recent LCR episodes, basically instances identified since the onset of the US financial crisis in 2008, summarized in appendix A. Of course, LCRs predate the Great Recession. The norm for public procurement for at least 100 years has been preferential purchases from local firms. Both to make our task manageable and to keep a focus on contemporary trade and investment challenges, we surveyed only recent episodes. The second approach is the compilation of six case studies. Case studies are, in a sense, anecdotes; their value is to illustrate larger phenomena. Ideally, case studies should be statistically representative of the phenomenon under consideration. We make no claim that our six cases are statistically 3 Survey and Case Studies
Recent developments in seismic site response evaluation and microzonation

Seismic hazard and seismic actions for the design of buildings are strongly influenced by site response because of significant amplification expected for the specific stratigraphic and topographic conditions. Different approaches can be applied at the scale of the single building, but in complex morphological and geological contexts studies at the urban scale can provide relevant informations to be incorportated in the evaluation. The paper builds on the recent experience of seismic microzonation studies in central Italy in the aftermaths of the 2016 seismic sequence to provide an insight on the role of studies at different scales. Within this context, an example is also provided to illustrate recent methodologies that have been conceived to account for uncertainties in the characterization that affects both geophysical tests in situ and geotechnical tests in the laboratory for the assessment of the response of soils to cyclic loadings. RÉSUMÉ: L‘aléa sismique et le chargement sismique utilisé pour le dimensionnement sont fortement influencés par les effets de site, à cause des importantes amplifications qui sont attendues pour des stratigraphies spécifiques et des conditions topographiques. Des différentes approches peuvent être employées à l‘échelle d‘un seul bâtiment. Cependant, dans un contexte morphologique et géologique complexe, des études à l‘échelle de la ville peuvent fournir des informations importantes à prendre en compte dans l‘évaluation. Ce papier est basé sur l‘expérience récente de microzonage sismique dans l‘Italie centrale, développé à la suite de la séquence sismique de 2016, pour montrer l‘apport d‘études à différente échelle. Dans ce contexte, un exemple est discuté pour présenter des méthodologies récentes qui ont été conçues pour prendre en compte les incertitudes dans la caractérisation qui concerne les essais géophysiques in-situ et les essais géotechniques en laboratoire, réalisés pour l’estimation de la réponse des sols sous chargement cyclique.
Electronic Light Intensity Control to Simulate Dusk and Dawn Conditions

Simulation of sunrise and sunset light conditions is achieved with an electronic light intensity control using DC- or AC-powered incandescent lamps. The duration of the sunrise and sunset is easily adjusted and the photoperiod is controlled with a standard 24-h timer. The light intensity control is especially useful for behavioral studies of crepuscular insects.
Randomized Trial of Breast Irradiation Schedules After Lumpectomy for Women With Lymph Node-Negative Breast Cancer

Background: Breast irradiation after lumpectomy is an integral component of breast-conserving therapy that reduces the local recurrence of breast cancer. Because an optimal fractionation schedule (radiation dose given in a specified number of fractions or treatment sessions over a defined time) for breast irradiation has not been uniformly accepted, we examined whether a 22-day fractionation schedule was as effective as the more traditional 35-day schedule in reducing recurrence. Methods: Women with invasive breast cancer who were treated by lumpectomy and had pathologically clear resection margins and negative axillary lymph nodes were randomly assigned to receive whole breast irradiation of 42.5 Gy in 16 fractions over 22 days (short arm) or whole breast irradiation of 50 Gy in 25 fractions over 35 days (long arm). The primary outcome was local recurrence of invasive breast cancer in the treated breast. Secondary outcomes included cosmetic outcome, assessed with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Cosmetic Rating System. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: From April 1993 through September 1996, 1234 women were randomly assigned to treatment, 622 to the short arm and 612 to the long arm. Median follow-up was 69 months. Five-year local recurrence-free survival was 97.2% in the short arm and 96.8% in the long arm (absolute difference = 0.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = –1.5% to 2.4%). No difference in disease-free or overall survival rates was detected between study arms. The percentage of patients with an excellent or good global cosmetic outcome at 3 years was 76.8% in the short arm and 77.0% in the long arm; the corresponding data at 5 years were 76.8% and 77.4%, respectively (absolute difference = –0.6%, 95% CI = –6.5% to 5.5%). Conclusion: The more convenient 22-day fractionation schedule appears to be an acceptable alternative to the 35-day schedule. [J Natl Cancer Inst 2002;94:1143–50]
Diel Periodicity of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Dispersion and the Occurrence of Frankliniella williamsi on Onions

Diel periodicity of the intraplant dispersion of thrips on onions, Allium cepa L. , was determined by taking 10-plant samples at hourly intervals on each of four dates from late May to late June 1988, and recording the kinds and numbers of thrips in four onion growth zones (bulb, or portion below ground; neck from soil surface to the point of leaf divergence [i.e., distal end of sheath]; basal half of leaves above the neck; and the remaining apical half of leaves). Thrips tabaci Lindeman was significantly most abundant on the basal half of leaves from late May to mid-June. In late June, T. tabaci was significantly most abundant on both apical and basal halves of leaves, and density declined almost 5-fold during early afternoon hours, indicating flight activity was taking place. Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) was associated mostly with basal half of leaves in late May. In early June, it exhibited a nocturnal pattern of random dispersion, followed by an afternoon aggregation on the apical half of leaves, and subsequent evening return to random dispersion. Although it is not known as an onion pest, Frankliniella williamsi Hood was found consistently throughout the study at a density of ≈1.2 thrips per plant. Numbers of immature thrips of each species were pooled because of difficulty with identifications. In late May and early June, immatures were most abundant in the neck; whereas, in mid- and late June, significance was exhibited for the basal half of leaves.
Comparative Study of Sentiment Analysis in Social Media: Lexicon versus Machine Learning approach

: An election is an important tool for viewing the public opinion, where a group of people choose the candidate by voting and using certain votes to forecast results. In the present day, social media platforms are playing a major role in influencing peoples sentiment in favour or against a government or an organization. In this technical paper, we show the application of sentimental analysis by using Twitter data to analyse and predict the stand of people towards different political parties. VADAR sentiment analysis and Flair algorithm is used to find the view point in tweets and predict sentiment score. The reason behind taking two algorithms is to do a comparative study of efficiency of these algorithms. The sentiment scores are then divided into positive, negative and neutral, to finally predict the sentiment.
Predictable Financial Crises

Using historical data on post-war financial crises around the world, we show that crises are substantially predictable. The combination of rapid credit and asset price growth over the prior three years, whether in the nonfinancial business or the household sector, is associated with about a 40% probability of entering a financial crisis within the next three years. This compares with a roughly 7% probability in normal times, when neither credit nor asset price growth has been elevated. Our evidence cuts against the view that financial crises are unpredictable “bolts from the sky” and points toward the Kindleberger-Minsky view that crises are the byproduct of predictable, boom-bust credit cycles. The predictability we document favors macro-financial policies that “lean against the wind” of credit market booms. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber. org.
Regulators of Membrane Fluidity

Caenorhabditis elegans PAQR-2 (a homolog of the mammalian AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 proteins) and IGLR-2 (homolog of the mammalian LRIG proteins) form a complex at the plasma membrane that regulates fatty acid desaturation to protect against saturated fatty acid-induced membrane rigidification. Maintenance of membrane homeostasis is fundamental for most cellular processes and, given its importance, robust regulatory mechanisms must exist that adjust lipid composition to compensate for dietary variation. To better understand this phenomenon, we performed forward genetic screens in C. elegans and isolated mutants that improve tolerance to dietary saturated fatty acids. These include eight new loss of function alleles of the novel gene fld-1, one loss of function allele of acs-13 and one gain of function allele of paqr-1. fld1 encodes a homolog of the human TLCD1/2 transmembrane proteins. The FLD-1 protein is localized on plasma membranes and mutations in the fld-1 gene help to suppress the phenotypes of paqr-2 mutant worms, including its characteristic membrane fluidity defects. The wild-type C. elegans FLD-1 and human TLCD1/2 proteins do not regulate the synthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids but rather limit their incorporation into phospholipids. C. elegans acs-13 encodes a homolog of the human acyl-CoA synthetase ACSL1. The ACS-13 protein is localized to mitochondrial membranes where it likely activates and channels long chain fatty acids for import. In human cells, ACSL1 activity potentiates lipotoxicity by the saturated fatty acid palmitate (16:0) because it depletes the cells of membrane-fluidizing unsaturated fatty acids. Echoing our findings in C. elegans, knockdown of ASCL1 in human cells using siRNA also protects against the membranerigidifying effects of palmitate and acts as a suppressor of AdipoR2 knockdown. A novel gain-of-function allele of PAQR-1, a paralog of PAQR-2, takes over the role of PAQR-2 for downstream effectors. Through genetic interaction studies and domain swapping experiments we showed that the transmembrane domains of PAQR-2 are responsible for its functional requirement for IGLR-2. Conversely, PAQR-1 itself does not require IGLR-2 for its function. The less conserved N-terminal cytoplasmic domains of PAQR-1 and PAQR-2 likely regulate the activity of these proteins, speculatively via a “ball and chain” mechanism similar to that found in certain voltage-gated channels. We conclude that inhibition of membrane fluidity regulators, such as fld-1 or acs-13, or a gain-of-function allele of paqr-1 can suppress paqr-2 mutant phenotypes through different mechanisms, which suggests that paqr-2 regulates membrane fluidity in more than one way. Despite acting differently, the effects of these three mutations converge into lowering SFA levels while increasing the PUFA levels within phospholipids, and show that membrane homeostasis is likely essential for our ability to tolerate dietary saturated fats.
A New Species of the Asiatic Genus Stroganowia (Cruciferae) from North America and Its Biogeographic Implications

Stroganowia tiehmii, discovered in Nevada by Arnold Tiehm and his associates, is the only New World member of this otherwise central Asiatic genus. The disjunction evident in Stroganowia is an extreme case. Other genera of the Cruciferae show several patterns of disjunction but their geographical distributions also point to a definite relationsip between the floras of central Asia and interior western North America. The number of crucifer species adventive in North America from other parts of the world are sufficiently great (Rollins 1982) to call for caution when working out the identity of a member of the family not previously seen. Having recently recorded the presence of the perennial Brassica elongata Ehrh. (a native of eastern Europe and western Asia) as a roadside weed in Nevada (Rollins 1980), I was particularly sensitive to the possibility that a specimen of an unknown species, sent to me for identification by Arnold Tiehm of Reno, could be adventive. A preliminary study of literature and herbarium material showed that the unknown had many features in common with Stroganowia, a genus of about 16 species centered in middle Asia. Could the plant found in Nevada by Tiehm, Frank Almeda, and Margaret Williams be an introduced species of Stroganowia? There are only eight specimens of Stroganowia in GH and but a single specimen in US. This indicates that there is too little comparative material in the United States to be sure whether or not the unknown belongs to one of the known species of Stroganowia. Material sent to Dr. V. Botschantzev, a crucifer specialist at the V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute in Leningrad, and to Dr. Ian Hedge of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinbugh, also interested in the Cruciferae, brought replies that the Nevada plant did not belong to any known species of Stroganowia. Both believed it to be similar to some species of Stroganowia but allowed for the possibility that a new genus was represented. A second line of evidence bearing on whether the plant in question is a native or an adventive came from an examination of the site where it was found. I was taken there by Loring and Margaret Williams in June, 1981. A close examination of the rocky slope where the plants occur in the crevices of close-fitting, metamorphosed rocks of volcanic origin and of varying size, showed that this was an undisturbed locality. The plant associates are known to be native species and together with other aspects of the site, it seems certain that the plant under study is also native. Thus, the first question regarding it was answered.
Integration of Information Communication Technology in Teaching: The Underpinning Factors Among Kenya’s Primary School Teachers

This study was carried out with 86 primary school teachers in Kenya’s Narok County and explored factors affecting integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Multiple regression was used for data analysis. The results revealed that 32.5% of the variance was explained by the independent and extraneous variables (R2 =0.325, P=0.001) and was statistical significant. Attitude was found to be a significant predictor of teachers’ behavioural intention to use ICT in teaching and learning (β=0.259, p<0.05) while Performance expectancy (β=0.148, p>0.05), Effort expectancy (β=-0.185, p>0.05), Social influence (β=0.029, p>0.05), facilitating condition (β=0.194, p>0.05), Self-efficacy (β=0.195, p>0.05) and anxiety (β=0.074, p>0.05) were not significant predictors. The study recommends training of teachers on subject specific ICT technologies, laptops and computers be availed for use by teachers and pupils, school heads be trained on how to monitor and support integration of ICT by teachers and governments to provide schools with requisite ICT infrastructures.
Hierarchical modeling of sequential behavioral data: An empirical bayesian approach

The authors review the common methods for measuring strength of contingency between 2 behaviors in a behavioral sequence, the binomial z score and the adjusted cell residual, and point out a number of limitations of these approaches. They present a new approach using log odds ratios and empirical Bayes estimation in the context of hierarchical modeling, an approach not constrained by these limitations. A series of hierarchical models is presented to test the stationarity of behavioral sequences, the homogeneity of sequences across a sample of episodes, and whether covariates can account for variation in sequences across the sample. These models are applied to observational data taken from a study of the behavioral interactions of 254 couples to illustrate their use.