Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current Therapeutic Strategies of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disease which frequently encountered in the field of clinical medicine. The main motor symptoms are inflexibility, tremor, limb stiffness (akinesia) and instability to posture adding to its, changes in voice, freezing of gait, posture impairment and masking also occur and the non-motor symptoms might include cognitive impairment, autonomic nerve dysfunction, loss of interest and feel sad [1,2]. Various motor and non-motor PD symptoms have complicated the identification besides therapeutic challenges at present. Dopaminergic agents have been used for long term treatment might create the therapy to look forward for continuous recalibration, surgical therapy and further behavioural mechanism of pharmacological drug too in need [3]. For innovative therapeutic approaches, an effective neuroprotective therapy was developed and applied specifically intended for understand the interaction between neurodegeneration and aging, as well as it explained us to reassess the disease mechanism broad [4].
Barn owl nest boxes offer no solution to pocker gopher damage

Author(s): Marsh, Rex E. | Abstract: The belief that native predators such as barn owls (Tyto alba) keep native rodents such as pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) in check has a long history, in spite of a lack of evidence that such predators play any role in lowering pest rodent populations to the extent that their pest status is measurably influenced. Attempts to artificially increase native predators such as barn owls in the hope of increasing predation on native pest rodents is not new and has been explored many times in the past, but as yet evidence of success is absent. Since predation is a slow ongoing process, two biological principles work to nullify any negative effect on populations of rodents with high reproductive propensities. The belief that predators somehow control their prey is challenged as a biological control approach, and proven gopher management methods offered in its place.
The requirement for lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 in homotypic leukocyte adhesion stimulated by phorbol ester

Lymphocytes become adherent and aggregate after stimulation with phorbol esters such as PMA. Time-lapse video showed that aggregating cells were motile and exhibited vigorous pseudopodial movements. Adhesion sites were initiated between pseudopodia of neighboring cells, and then moved to the uropod. PMA-stimulated aggregation by EBV- transformed B cell lines, SKW-3 (a T cell line), differentiated U937 (a monocytic line), and blood lymphocytes was inhibited by mAbs to LFA-1. A number of different mAb to the LFA-1 alpha and beta subunits and F(ab')2 and Fab' fragments inhibited aggregation. Furthermore, lymphoblasts from normal individuals, but not from LFA-1-deficient patients, aggregated in response to PMA. These findings suggest LFA-1 is critically involved in stimulated lymphocyte adhesion. LFA-1 expression was not increased by PMA stimulation, showing that other mechanisms regulate LFA-1-dependent adherence. LFA-1-deficient patient cells were able to coaggregate with LFA-1+ cells, showing that aggregation is not mediated by like-like interactions between LFA-1 molecules on opposite cells. Aggregation was Mg+2-dependent, inhibited by cytochalasin B, and was reversed when LFA-1 mAb was added to preformed aggregates. Previous findings suggesting that LFA-1 is important in a wide variety of leukocyte functions are elucidated by this work, which shows that LFA-1 is a general leukocyte cell adhesion molecule, the activity of which is regulated by cell activation.
The precise mechanism of neutralization of viruses by antibody is at present

The precise mechanism of neutralization of viruses by antibody is at present only poorly understood. In most instances it has been shown that neutralizing antibodies interact with surface '~capsid" polypeptides (1-8). Examples of specific capsid peptides that have been shown to be responsible for the induction of neutralizing antibody include hexon and fiber polypeptides for adenovirus (7, 8) and hemagglutinin for influenza (6). In general, these results have been obtained by purifying individual viral proteins or a group of proteins and then preparing antisera to them (1-5, 7, 8). For reovirus, we have examined this question using a genetic approach. Reovirus contains 10 segments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) ~ surrounded by a double capsid shell; the segments are named according to size classes: three large segments (L1, L2, and L3) with mol wt of -2.3-2.5 × 10 ~, three medium segments (M1, M2, and M3) with tool wt of -1.4-1.6 × 10 e, and four small segments ($1, $2, $3, and $4) with mol wt o f -0 . 6 -0 . 9 × 10 e. The outer capsid consists of three polypeptides, or1, ~3, and ~2 (9). The ~1 and ~3 polypeptides are derived from genome segments $1 and $4, respectively (10). In the nomenclature contained in this paper, we have assigned the ~2 polypeptide as being a product of the M1 gene. This assignment is based on migration of dsRNA segments on gel systems containing Tris-glycine buffers. We have found that what we are defining as the M1 segment migrates as the M2 segment in systems containing Tris-acetate buffers. Thus, our assignment of the ~2 capsid polypeptide to the M1 segment is identical to Joklik's assignment of the p2 polypeptide to the M2 segment (10). There are three serotypes of mammalian reovirus (types 1, 2, and 3) defined on the basis of neutralization antibodies (11). Using hybrid recombinant clones consisting ofgenome segments derived from type 1 or 2 reovirus mixed with genome segments derived from type 3 reovirus, we have determined the gene segregating with, and responsible for, neutralization and type specificity of reovirus. The results below show that the $1 genome segment which codes for or1, the minor outer capsid polypeptide
A System for Real Time Collaborative Transcription Correction

We present a system to enable efﬁcient, collaborative human correction of ASR transcripts, designed to operate in real-time situations, for example, when post-editing live captions generated for news broadcasts. In the system, confusion networks derived from ASR lattices are used to highlight low-conﬁdent words and present alternatives to the user for quick correction. The system uses a client-server architecture, whereby information about each manual edit is posted to the server. Such information can be used to dynamically update the one-best ASR output for all utterances currently in the editing pipeline. We propose to make updates in three different ways; by ﬁnding a new one-best path through an existing ASR lattice consistent with the correction received; by identifying further instances of out-of-vocabulary terms entered by the user; and by adapting the language model on the ﬂy. Updates are received asynchronously by the client.
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays ( ELISAs ) for Measurement of Antiviral Antibody Levels

The ligand for CD40 (CD40L) is expressed on the surface of activated CD4 + T cells and its role in T-B cell collaborations and thymus-dependent humoral immunity is well established. Recently, by generating CD40L-knockout mice, we have confirmed its previously described role in humoral immunity and defined another important function of this molecule in the in vivo clonal expansion of antigen-specific CD4 + T cells. Here, we investigated the potential in vivo role of CD40L in antiviral immunity by examining the immune response mounted by CD40Ldeficient mice following infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), Pichinde virus, or vesicular stomatitis virus. Humoral immune responses of CD40L-deficient mice to these viruses were severely compromised, although moderate titres of antiviral IgM and some IgG2a were produced by virus-infected CD40L-deficient mice by a CD4 + T cell-independent mechanism. By contrast, CD40L-deficient mice made strong primary CTL responses to all three viruses. Interestingly however, although memory CTL activity was detectable in CD40L-deficient mice two months after infection with LCMV, the memory CTL response was much less efficient than in wild-type mice. Together, the results show that CD40-CD40L interactions are required for strong antiviral humoral immune responses, and reveal a novel role for CD40L in the establishment and/or maintenance of CD8 + CTL memory.
Detection of Focal Cortical Dysplasia lesions in MR images

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is the most common factor leading to intractable epilepsy. It is helpful for doctors to automatically detect the FCD lesion before the operation. In this study, two methods to detect and locate the lesion are proposed. The first method is based on the symmetrical characteristics of the brain image, and can approximately detect abnormal areas caused by FCD in Magnetic Resonance (MR) images. The second method involves detecting local highlighted areas in MR images based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The two methods were applied to 15 specific MR images of 9 epileptic patients. The recognition accuracy of the symmetrical feature algorithm and EM algorithm was 80 % (12/15) and 100% (15/15), respectively, and the detection accuracy of the combination of two algorithms is 80%. The symmetrical feature algorithm can be applied to any of the axial or coronal MR images of the modality, and the EM algorithm is suitable for detecting the local hyperintense of the MR image. The two methods were able to detect lesion areas in MR images and achieve desirable results.
The Role of Big Data for Interactive Online Learning: A Case Study in Students' Participations and Perceptions

The study aimed to gain the performance of students' participations and perceptions in interactive online learning and to understand the role of big data in enhancing it. The study adapted the quantitative method. The respondents amounted 201 students of more than five departments with a different range of semesters. The study measured the participations and perceptions of the respondents when doing teamwork virtually using the online learning management system with the Likert scale on the scale of 1 to 5 with corrected item-total correlations 0.472, and α 0.613 (> 0.5). The performance of it is moderate to low for most of respondents.
Multi-level adaptive networks in tandem and hybrid ASR systems

In this paper we investigate the use of Multi-level adaptive networks (MLAN) to incorporate out-of-domain data when training large vocabulary speech recognition systems. In a set of experiments on multi-genre broadcast data and on TED lecture recordings we present results using of out-of-domain features in a hybrid DNN system and explore tandem systems using a variety of input acoustic features. Our experiments indicate using the MLAN approach in both hybrid and tandem systems results in consistent reductions in word error rate of 5-10% relative.
An Efficient Model-based Diagnosis Engine for Hybrid Systems using Structural Model Decomposition

Complex hybrid systems are present in a large range of engineering applications, like mechanical systems, electrical circuits, and embedded computation systems. The behavior of these systems is made up of continuous and discrete event dynamics that increase the difficulties for accurate and timely online fault diagnosis. The Hybrid Diagnosis Engine (HyDE) architecture offers flexibility to the diagnosis application designer to choose the modeling paradigm and the reasoning algorithms. The HyDE architecture supports the use of multiple modeling paradigms at the component and system level. How- ever, HyDE faces some problems regarding performance in terms of time and space complexity. This paper focuses on developing efficient model-based methodologies for online fault diagnosis in complex hybrid systems. To do this, we propose a diagnosis framework where structural model decomposition is integrated within the HyDE diagnosis framework to reduce the computational complexity associated with the fault diagnosis of hybrid systems. As a case study, we apply our approach to a diagnostic benchmark problem, the Advanced Diagnostics and Prognostics Testbed (ADAPT), using real data.
I. ~IECHANISM OF ENTRY AND INTRACELLULAR FATE OF TtIE PARASITE* BY THOMAS C. JONES, SHIRLEY YEH, AND JAMES G. HIRSCH

Electron microscope studies have established the ultrastructure of toxoplasmas and the mechanism of their intracellular multiplication by an unusual process called endodyogeny (2, 3), but little or no information is available on the precise mechanism by which toxoplasmas enter the host cells, or on aspects of host cell physiology that allow the parasites to thrive. Phase-contrast motion pictures have demonstrated the entry of toxoplasmas into cells to be rapid, occurring within seconds of parasite-host cell contact, and the entry is furthermore characterized by a constriction of the parasite as it appears to traverse the cell membrane (4, 5). The term penetration has been widely used to describe this entry process.
Regularized Exploratory Bifactor Analysis With Small Sample Sizes

Several methods of factor extraction have recently gained popularity as a procedure for dealing with estimation problems associated with small sample sizes, which can be found in the various behavioral science disciplines, such as comparative psychology and behavior genetics. Two popular approaches for particularly small samples (below 50) include unweighted least squares factor analysis (ULS-FA) and regularized exploratory factor analysis (REFA). However, it is unclear how well each of the approaches performs with small samples in the context of exploratory bifactor modeling. In the current study, a comprehensive simulation study was conducted to evaluate the small sample behavior of the two approaches in terms of bifactor structure recovery under different sample size, factor loading, number of variables per factor, number of factors, and factor correlation experimental conditions. The results show that REFA is recommended for use over ULS-FA, particularly in the conditions involving low factor loadings, few group factors, or a small number of variables per factor.
Effect of crop establishment methods and irrigation schedules on economics of wheat (Triticum aestivum) production, moisture depletion pattern, consumptive use and crop water-use efficiency

A field experiment was conducted during winter (rabi) season of 2003-04 and 2004-05 at Kumarganj, Uttar Pradesh to study the effect of crop establishment method and irrigation schedule on water parameters and economics of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori & Paol.) production. Highest net returns (Rs 14 965/ha) and net returns/rupee invested (Rs 1.03) were recorded under rota till drill against minimum value recorded under conventional (drill) method of crop establishment. The highest consumptive use (32.79 and 28.51 cm) was recorded under conventional (drill) method of crop establishment. While, water-use efficiency (131.38 and 173.88 kg/ha-cm) was highest under the bed planting. The highest consumptive use (33.91 and 28.49 cm) was recorded with 6 cm irrigation at 1.2 IW: CPE.
Editorial: Resistance to Endocrine Therapies in Cancer

Therapeutic resistance in cancer is one of the major and persistent problems in disease management. It is a major challenge for radiotherapy as well as both targeted and non-targeted chemotherapies. Understanding of the underlying genetic, epigenetic and signaling mechanisms, both within the tumor (intrinsic) as well as in the tumor microenvironment (extrinsic) would facilitate development of better disease management strategies. Endocrine therapy refers to a group of chemotherapies which are targeted to disrupt hormonal signaling pathways. The most commonly targeted pathways are the estrogen and androgen signaling pathways, which have major roles to play in the cancers of breast and prostate, respectively. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women and prostate the second among men1. Both these organs and also the cancers originating in these organs are heavily dependent on the steroid hormones for their growth, survival and proliferation. Hence, the obvious choice of first line of therapy for these cancers is to disrupt the steroid hormone synthesis and action, i.e., endocrine therapy. Although initially very effective, a majority of the hormone-dependent cancers develop resistance to hormonal ablation and evolve into a hormone-independent phenotype, rendering the endocrine therapies ineffective. Once this refractoriness sets in, the cancers become very aggressive and difficult to treat.Whether it is primary or adaptive/acquired resistance to endocrine therapy, it remains a yet unsolved clinical challenge. For the last several years, attempts have been made to understand the mechanisms responsible for resistance to endocrine therapies with the aim of developing more effective and less toxic treatment strategies. Among the relatively well-understood mechanisms of endocrine therapy resistance are de novomutations in the hormone receptor genes such as ESR 1 and ESR 2, although seen in a small percentage of cases. Differential activation of signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt and Ras-MAPK is seen more often in tumors with acquired resistance. Aberrations in cell cycle regulators such as Cyclin D1, RB, or MYC and activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (examples ErbB2, FGFR, IR, IGF1R) have also been implicated in development of endocrine therapy resistance [reviewed in (1)]. More recently, alterations in autophagy (2), metabolism (3), etc. have been associated with acquisition of endocrine-therapy resistance.
Candidate Gene Analysis Reveals That the Fruit Color Locus C1 Corresponds to PRR2 in Pepper (Capsicum frutescens)

The diverse fruit colors of peppers (Capsicum spp.) are due to variations in carotenoid composition and content. Mature fruit color in peppers is regulated by three independent loci, C1, C2, and Y. C2 and Y encode phytoene synthase (PSY1) and capsanthin-capsorubin synthase (CCS), respectively; however, the identity of the C1 gene has been unknown. With the aim of identifying C1, we analyzed two pepper accessions with different fruit colors: Capsicum frutescens AC08-045 and AC08-201, whose fruits are light yellow and white, respectively. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography showed that the total carotenoid content was six times higher in AC08-045 than in AC08-201 fruits, with similar composition of main carotenoids and slight difference in minor components. These results suggest that a genetic factor in AC08-201 may down-regulate overall carotenoid biosynthesis. Analyses of candidate genes related to carotenoid biosynthesis and plastid abundance revealed that both accessions carry non-functional alleles of CCS, golden2-like transcription factor (GLK2), and PSY1. However, a nonsense mutation (C2571T) in PRR2, a homolog of Arabidopsis pseudo response regulator2-like (APRR2), was present in only AC08-201. In a population derived from a cross between AC08-045 and AC08-201, a SNP marker based on the nonsense mutation co-segregated fully with fruit color, implying that the mutation in PRR2 may cause the white color of AC08-201 fruits. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of AC08-201 fruit pericarp also showed less developed granum structure in chloroplast and smaller plastoglobule in chromoplast compared to those of AC08-045. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of PRR2 significantly reduced carotenoid accumulation in Capsicum annuum ‘Micropep Yellow’, which carries non-functional mutations in both PSY1 and CCS. Furthermore, sequence analysis of PSY1, CCS, and PRR2 in other white pepper accessions of C. annuum and Capsicum chinense showed that they commonly have non-functional alleles in PSY1, CCS, and PRR2. Thus, our data demonstrate that the fruit color locus C1 in Capsicum spp. corresponds to the gene PRR2.
Neurodiagnostics in Sports: Investigating the Athlete’s Brain to Augment Performance and Sport-Specific Skills

Enhancing performance levels of athletes during training and competition is a desired goal in sports. Quantifying training success is typically accompanied by performance diagnostics including the assessment of sports-relevant behavioral and physiological parameters. Even though optimal brain processing is a key factor for augmented motor performance and skill learning, neurodiagnostics is typically not implemented in performance diagnostics of athletes. We propose, that neurodiagnostics via non-invasive brain imaging techniques such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will offer novel perspectives to quantify training-induced neuroplasticity and its relation to motor behavior. A better understanding of such a brain-behavior relationship during the execution of sport-specific movements might help to guide training processes and to optimize training outcomes. Furthermore, targeted non-invasive brain stimulation such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) might help to further enhance training outcomes by modulating brain areas that show training-induced neuroplasticity. However, we strongly suggest that ethical aspects in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation during training and/or competition need to be addressed before neuromodulation can be considered as a performance enhancer in sports.
Animal Models of ANCA Associated Vasculitis

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) is a rare and severe autoimmune multisystemic disease. Its pathogenesis involves multiple arms of the immune system, as well as complex interactions between immune cells and target organs. Experimental animal models of disease can provide the crucial link from human disease to translational research into new therapies. This is particularly true in AAV, due to low disease incidence and substantial disease heterogeneity. Animal models allow for controlled environments in which disease mechanisms can be defined, without the clinical confounders of environmental and lifestyle factors. To date, multiple animal models have been developed, each of which shed light on different disease pathways. Results from animal studies of AAV have played a crucial role in enhancing our understanding of disease mechanisms, and have provided direction toward newer targeted therapies. This review will summarize our understanding of AAV pathogenesis as has been gleaned from currently available animal models, as well as address their strengths and limitations. We will also discuss the potential for current and new animal models to further our understanding of this important condition.