Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Autonomic neurons in the spinal cord of the rhesus monkey: A correlation of the findings of cytoarchitectonics and sympathectomy with fiber degeneration following dorsal rhizotomy

Cytoarchitectonic study of cell groups in the zona intermedia of the spinal cord led to the identification of the following nuclei in the rhesus monkey: n. intermediolateralis thoracolumbalis pars principalis et funicularis (ILp, ILf); n. intercalatus spinalis (IC); n. intercalatus pars paraependymalis (ICpe); n. intermediomedialis (IM); n. intermediolateralis sacralis pars principalis et funicularis (ILSp, ILSf); n. intercalatus disseminata (ICd); and n. torsade. Unilateral thoracic or abdominal sympathectomy, or both, performed in a second group of macaques, resulted in massive numbers of chromatolytic preganglionic neurons in IC, ILp and ILf. In the third group of macaques, dorsal rhizotomy followed sympathectomy. Fiber degeneration in these cases was stained with the Nauta and Fink‐Heimer methods. Despite variations in survivaltime and staining methods, no evidence was found for dorsal root terminal connections with the somata or proximal dendritic stems of chromatolytic sympathetic or parasympathetic visceral motor neurons (IC, ILp, ILf, ILSp, ILSf) although the same cases contained terminal fibers in n. marginalis of Waldeyer, substantia gelatinosa of Rolando, n. proprius cornus dorsalis (Pd), Clarke's column, n. intermediomedialis (IM) and among axial and appendicular somatic motor neurons. The present anatomical data suggest that, within the spinal cord, visceral reflex pathways are polysynaptic. Neurons in two or more spinal cell groups, IM, Pd and Cb (central basilar area of the dorsal horn) perhaps act as intermediary cells connecting dorsal root visceral afferent fibers with visceral motor (preganglionic) neurons. The visceral reflex pathway thus described includes a four neuron chain: dorsal root cell; IM, or Pd neuron, or both; preganglionic neuron; and the postganglionic neuron of the sympathetic system in the paravertebral or collateral ganglia, or the parasympathetic postganglionic neuron lying more distally.
Contribution of the low-frequency, loss-of-function p.R270H mutation in FFAR4 (GPR120) to increased fasting plasma glucose levels

Background We previously reported that the low-frequency, loss-of-function variant p.R270H in FFAR4 encoding the lipid sensor GPR120 was associated with obesity. Gpr120-deficient mice develop obesity and both impaired fasting glucose and glucose intolerance under a high-fat diet. We aimed to assess the contribution of p.R270H to type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk and the variation of glucose-related traits. Methods We genotyped p.R270H in 8996 non-diabetic individuals (among whom 4523 had an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)) and in a T2D case–control study including 4725 cases and 4339 controls. The regression models were adjusted for age, sex and body mass index (BMI). Results We found a significant association between p.R270H and increased fasting glucose levels (β=0.092±0.05 mmol/L; p=4.13×10−4). Furthermore, p.R270H nominally contributed to decreased homeostasis model of pancreatic β-cell function (HOMA-B; β=−0.090±0.06; p=6.01×10−3). Despite a high statistical power, we did not find any significant association between p.R270H and T2D risk or the variation of fasting insulin levels, the homeostasis model of insulin resistance or OGTT-derived indices. Conclusions These results suggest that the low-frequency p.R270H variant which inhibits GPR120 activity might influence fasting glucose levels in a normal physiological range. This study does not exclude that other coding mutations in FFAR4 with stronger functional effect than p.R270H may be associated with T2D.
Antinociception depends on the presence of G protein gamma2-subunits in brain.

We have shown previously [Hosohata, K. , Logan, J.K. , Varga, E. , Burkey, T.H. , Vanderah, T.W. , Porreca, F. , Hruby, V.J., Roeske, W.R. , Yamamura, H.I. , 2000. The role of the G protein gamma2 subunit in opioid antinociception in mice. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 392, R9-R11] that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) treatment of mice with a phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide antisense to the gamma2 subunit (Ggamma2) of the heterotrimeric G proteins (antisense ODN) significantly attenuates antinociception by a delta-opioid receptor agonist. In the present study, we examined the involvement of Ggamma2 in antinociception mediated by other (mu- or kappa-opioid, cannabinoid, alpha2-adrenoreceptor) analgesic agents in a warm (55 degrees C) water tail-flick test in mice. Interestingly, i.c. v. treatment with the antisense ODN attenuated antinociception by each analgesic agent. Missense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide treatment, on the other hand, had no effect on antinociception mediated by these agonists. The antinociceptive response recovered in 6 days after the last antisense ODN injection, indicating a lack of nonspecific tissue damage in the animals. These results suggest a pervasive role for the G protein gamma2 subunits in supraspinal antinociception.
Characterization of the spatial and temporal stability of the east-antarctic plateau in the low-microwave bands

With the development of new low frequency satellite radiometers the characterization of the emission of the East Antarctic plateau become important for cal/val purposes. Also, the availability of further data open new horizons in the understanding of the climate processes of the continent. In this work we analyze the spatial homogeneity and the temporal stability of the east Antarctic plateau at C- and L-band by using a the modified absolute distance metric. Finally we were able to detect some promise areas in the Ridge and Dome C region which seems to be spatially homogeneous and temporally stable.
The Effectiveness of Compensation for Service Recovery:Roles of Perceived Equity and Relationship Level

This study investigated the effectiveness of compensation on behavioral intentions through perceived equity, which is moderated by consumer-service organization relationships. Online survey was conducted to collect data, using hypothetical scenarios manipulating recovery efforts and relationship level conditions. Mediation tests showed that perceived equity fully mediate the effect of compensation on consumer’s future behavioral intentions. The results of Analysis of Variance showed that consumer’s relationship level with the firm moderates the effect of compensation on consumer’s perceived equity and, consequently, their behavioral intentions. Furthermore, when consumers have high customer-organization relationship, there is no difference in the behavioral intentions between those who are compensated and those who are not. Managerial implications for restaurant operations are also discussed.
Book Reviews: Corpus Linguistics: Readings in a Widening Discipline, edited by Geoffrey Sampson and Diana McCarthy

Not that long ago, all linguistics was corpus linguistics. For much of the twentieth century, though, changes in theoretical fashion put linguists for whom collections of texts are the primary object of study at the margins of the field. Now things are shifting again, and a new generation of linguists with a wakening interest in linguistic data is returning to the field's corpus-based roots. What they are finding is that technological and methodological advances have quietly revolutionized corpus linguistics. In Corpus Linguistics: Readings in a Widening Discipline, editors Geoffrey Sampson and Diana McCarthy have put together a volume aimed at filling in some of what has happened in corpus linguistics while no one was watching. This collection of 43 reprinted papers, with original publication dates ranging from 1965 to 2002, includes a few of the usual suspects and a number of more-often-cited-than-read classics, making it an ideal source for an upper division course on corpus linguistics, or to supply what new corpus linguists (or their teachers) wish they had learned in grad school. Beyond these core contributions, however, the editors have wisely included an idiosyncratic selection of more-obscure papers guaranteed to stir the imagination of anyone with a professional interest in language. Papers on, for example, second language teaching, the discourse properties of Internet Relay Chat, and " non-indigenous minority languages " (such as South Asian languages spoken in the UK) show some of the possibilities that corpus-based methods have to offer beyond their philological foundations. While presented in chronological order, the papers in this volume for the most part fall into three classes. The largest is made up of papers on corpus design and methodology , such as Nelson Francis on the construction of the Brown corpus, Burnage and Dunlop on the British National Corpus, and B ¨ ohmová and Hajičová on the Prague Dependency Treebank. The second group are papers on the descriptive analysis of corpora. One, an excerpt from Charles Fries's The Structure of English, predates computational corpus analysis, but most of the rest are quantitative studies of English grammatical features. This group includes papers on cleft and pseudo-cleft constructions (Collins), that vs. null complementizers (Rissanen), and the use of terms of abuse (McEnery et al.). The third class of papers addresses technical issues in computational linguistics. Some of the classics in this group include Gale and Church on smoothing corpus counts, Hindle and Rooth on prepositional …
CPEB controls the cytoplasmic polyadenylation of cyclin, Cdk2 and c‐mos mRNAs and is necessary for oocyte maturation in Xenopus.

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation is a key mechanism controlling maternal mRNA translation in early development. In most cases, mRNAs that undergo poly(A) elongation are translationally activated; those that undergo poly(A) shortening are deactivated. Poly(A) elongation is regulated by two cis‐acting sequences in the 3′‐untranslated region (UTR) of responding mRNAs, the polyadenylation hexanucleotide AAUAAA and the U‐rich cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE). Previously, we cloned and characterized the Xenopus oocyte CPE binding protein (CPEB), showing that it was essential for the cytoplasmic polyadenylation of B4 RNA. Here, we show that CPEB also binds the CPEs of G10, c‐mos, cdk2, cyclins A1, B1 and B2 mRNAs. We find that CPEB is necessary for polyadenylation of these RNAs in egg extracts, suggesting that this protein is required for polyadenylation of most RNAs during oocyte maturation. Our data demonstrate that the complex timing and extent of polyadenylation are partially controlled by CPEB binding to multiple target sites in the 3′ UTRs of responsive mRNAs. Finally, injection of CPEB antibody into oocytes not only inhibits polyadenylation in vivo, but also blocks progesterone‐induced maturation. This is due to inhibition of polyadenylation and translation of c‐mos mRNA, suggesting that CPEB is critical for early development.
Structural and pathogenic properties of Aeromonas schubertii

We investigated the phenotypic, structural, and pathogenic properties of 11 Aeromonas schubertii strains recovered from extraintestinal sites. Most A. schubertii strains were autoagglutination positive, possessed a high surface charge but low hydrophobicity, and fell into one or two biogroups on the basis of carbon substrate utilization patterns. Fatty acid methyl ester analysis of A. schubertii revealed this species to contain a relatively high percentage of branched fatty acids (i-13:0, i-15:0, i-17:1, i-17:0) compared with A. hydrophila. Immunologic and biochemical analysis of the lipopolysaccharides of A. schubertii strains allowed for two groups to be distinguished, namely, (i) a collection of six strains belonging to serogroup O:11 that possessed a characteristic homogeneous O polysaccharide side chain profile by silver staining and immunoblotting techniques and (ii) a second antigenically diverse group (five strains) that either exhibited a heterogeneous side chain profile or were side chain deficient. A, schubertii O:11 strains were all found to contain a 55-kDa major protein associated with the outer membrane fraction which was glycine-hydrochloride extractable; non-O:11 strains did not harbor a similar protein molecule. Screening of A. schubertii strains for reputed virulence factors indicated (i) that slightly more than half of the isolates produce an apparent contact-dependent hemolysin that is not cell associated or released extracellularly, (ii) a potent cytotoxin active against HEp-2 cells that is devoid of hemolytic activity, and (iii) lack of enterotoxigeniclike activity as determined by suckling mouse assays. All A. schubertii strains were pathogenic for mice as determined by 50% lethal dose assays, although no single factor correlated with mouse pathogenicity.
Computing probable maximum loss in catastrophe reinsurance portfolios on multi‐core and many‐core architectures

In the reinsurance market, the risks natural catastrophes pose to portfolios of properties must be quantified, so that they can be priced, and insurance offered. The analysis of such risks at a portfolio level requires a simulation of up to 800 000 trials with an average of 1000 catastrophic events per trial. This is sufficient to capture risk for a global multi‐peril reinsurance portfolio covering a range of perils including earthquake, hurricane, tornado, hail, severe thunderstorm, wind storm, storm surge and riverine flooding, and wildfire. Such simulations are both computation and data intensive, making the application of high‐performance computing techniques desirable.
Building high-frequency high-voltage switching converters for renewable energy systems

This paper presents various circuit techniques and design considerations for high-voltage integrated switching converters to enable their high-frequency operation, thereby minimizing the converter cost, weight and volume. First, the design considerations of realizing a low-power and high-speed synchronous gate driver for power FETs are explained in order to allow the power converter operating in the MHz range with negligible power efficiency degradation. The high-speed high-accuracy high-voltage sense-FET based current sensor to monitor the peak inductor current is also discussed. To demonstrate above circuit techniques, a 40-V 9.6-W buck converter is implemented in a high-voltage 0.35-μm CMOS process with dual on-chip power nFETs. The proposed converter can operate at 2 MHz. The peak power efficiency of the proposed converter is 93%, while the converter can still provide >90% efficiency under the full-load of 9.6 W at 2 MHz.
Squeezing Light in Wires: Fundamental Optical Properties of Si Nanowire Waveguides

Single-mode Si-wire waveguides, fabricated in the Si-on-insulator platform, are the basis for a growing number of potential applications in linear and nonlinear integrated optical devices and systems. This paper reviews the fundamental optical physics and behavior of these waveguides and demonstrates how their reduced transverse dimensions and index contrast lead to a series of unique and distinct modal properties. These properties include readily tunable waveguide dispersion (including dispersion flattening), large longitudinal fields, a decrease in group velocity over those of the bulk materials, and anisotropic nonlinear optical properties. In turn, new devices and device structures are achievable as a result of these features and examples of new device structures are provided.
A shortcut from GPCR signaling to Rac-mediated actin cytoskeleton through an ELMO/DOCK complex

Chemotaxis, chemoattractant-guided directional cell migration, plays major roles in human innate immunity and in development of a model organism Dictyostelium discoideum. Human leukocytes and D. disscoideum share remarkable similarities in the molecular mechanisms that control chemotaxis. These cells use G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), such as chemokine receptors, to control a signaling network that carries out chemotactic gradient sensing and directs cell migration. Diverse chemokines bind to their receptors to activate small G protein Rac through an evolutionarily conserved mechanism. Elmo and Dock180 proteins form ELMO/Dock180 complexes functioning as guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) for Rac activation. However, the linkage between GPCR to Elmo/Dock180 for Rac activation that controls F-actin dynamics remained unclear. Recently, we discovered a novel function of an ELMO protein in Dictyostelium discoideum linking GPCR signaling from Gβ to actin dynamics through regulating Rac activation during chemotaxis.
Trajectories of Alcohol Consumption Following Liver Transplantation

Any use of alcohol in the years following liver transplantation (LTX) approaches 50% of patients transplanted for alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We collected detailed prospective data on alcohol consumption following LTX for ALD to investigate ongoing patterns of use. Using trajectory modeling we identified four distinct alcohol use trajectories. One group had minimal use over time. Two other groups developed early onset moderate‐to‐heavy consumption and one group developed late onset moderate use. These trajectories demonstrate that alcohol use varies based on timing of onset, quantity and duration. Using discriminant function analysis, we examine characteristics of recipient's pre‐LTX alcohol histories and early post‐LTX psychological stressors to identify the profile of those at risk for these specific trajectories. We discuss the relevance of these findings to clinical care and preliminarily to outcomes.
Sclerostin Serum Levels and Vascular Calcification Progression in Prevalent Renal Transplant Recipients.

CONTEXT Vascular calcification (VC) is prevalent and progressive in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Recent cross-sectional data suggest that activated Wnt signaling contributes to VC. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate whether circulating levels of the Wnt antagonist sclerostin associate with progression of VC. DESIGN This was a post hoc analysis of the longitudinal observational Brussels Renal Transplant Cohort study. SETTING The setting was a tertiary care academic hospital. PATIENTS Coronary artery calcification and aorta calcification were measured by multislice spiral computerized tomography in 268 prevalent RTRs (age, 53 ± 13 y; 61% male) at baseline and remeasured in 189 patients after a median follow-up of 4.4 years. Baseline serum sclerostin levels were assessed on stored blood samples. Regression analysis was performed to identify determinants of baseline VC and progression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The main outcome measure was progression of VC. RESULTS VC was present in up to 84% of participants at baseline. Almost half of the patients showed progression of VC, according to Hokanson criteria. The cross-sectional analysis at baseline demonstrated a direct association between sclerostin levels and VC score in univariate analysis, which became inverse after adjustment for age, gender and PTH level. Remarkably, a lower sclerostin level was identified as an independent determinant of a higher baseline aorta calcification score in the final regression model. Moreover, baseline sclerostin levels showed an inverse association with VC progression, at least after adjustment for traditional risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Serum sclerostin levels inversely associated with VC burden and progression in prevalent RTRs after adjustment for traditional risk factors. Our data corroborate previous findings in nontransplanted chronic kidney disease patients and support the notion that sclerostin may be up-regulated in the vascular wall during the VC process as part of a local counterregulatory mechanism directed to suppress VC. Additional clinical and experimental data are required for confirmation.
HIV postexposure prophylaxis in sexual assault: current practice and patient adherence to treatment recommendations in a large urban teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND Although rare, HIV transmission is one of the most feared consequences of sexual assault. While availability of medications to prevent HIV transmission (HIV nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis [HIV nPEP]) is increasing, little is known about emergency department (ED) prescribing practices and patient adherence to treatment recommendations. OBJECTIVES To determine factors associated with offering, following up with, and adhering to treatment when HIV nPEP is initiated for sexual assault victims. METHODS This was a retrospective chart review of female patients presenting with complaint of sexual assault to an urban ED from October 1, 1999, to September 30, 2002. HIV nPEP medications and/or follow-up were provided without charge. Chi-square analysis identified factors associated with being offered or referred for nPEP and follow-up. Variables significant at the p < 0.10 level were entered into logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Two hundred twenty-nine charts were reviewed. The final sample size was 181. Mean age was 29.1 years; median time from assault to presentation was 10.1 hours; 51.5% of the assailants were known to the victims. HIV nPEP was offered to 89 (49%) patients, and 11 patients were referred to an HIV nurse. Eighty-five (85%) patients accepted, 38 of these 85 (45%) followed up, and 18 of the 85 (21%) completed treatment. In multivariate analysis, three variables were statistically significantly associated with increased likelihood of referral or being offered HIV nPEP: unknown assailant, having insurance, and younger age. Treatment was completed by 15 of 82 (18%) of ED-initiated patients, versus three of three (100%) referred for initiation. The authors were unable to identify factors associated with completing treatment. CONCLUSIONS HIV nPEP was offered to less than half of sexual assault patients, and few completed treatment. Further studies are needed to evaluate and improve appropriateness of HIV nPEP administration and follow-up.
Learning Against Non-Stationary Agents with Opponent Modelling and Deep Reinforcement Learning

Humans, like all animals, both cooperate and compete with each other. Through these interactions we learn to observe, act, and manipulate to maximise our utility function, and continue doing so as others learn with us. This is a decentralised non-stationary learning problem, where to survive and ﬂour-ish an agent must adapt to the gradual changes of other agents as they learn, as well as capitalise on sudden shifts in their behaviour. To learn in the presence of such non-stationarity, we introduce the Switching Agent Model (SAM) that combines traditional deep reinforcement learning – which typically performs poorly in such settings – with opponent modelling, us-ing uncertainty estimations to robustly switch between multiple policies. We empirically show the success of our approach in a multi-agent continuous-action environment, demonstrating SAM’s ability to identify, track, and adapt to gradual and sudden changes in the behaviour of non-stationary agents.