Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation Between Peak Velocity of Saccades and Susceptibility to Motion Blur

A major problem in the subjective evaluation of TV image quality is individual variability among viewers. If observers are not carefully selected for viewing studies, large individual differences in the susceptibility to image blurring result in imprecise evaluations and loss of power to detect statistically significant differences between experimental conditions. In assessments of the picture quality of traditional television, which has a narrow field of view (FOV), observers' visual acuity (VA) should be screened before the subjective evaluations. For emerging TV systems with wide FOV (Ultra-High-Definition TV: UHDTV), in which objects move quickly relative to the display frame, it is unclear whether screening viewers' VA is sufficient for selecting viewers to subjectively evaluate moving picture quality or sharpness. Here, we evaluated saccadic eye movement parameters to identify adequate methods to screen participants for studies evaluating UHDTV motion image quality. Each participant's evaluation of two moving pictures were highly correlated, suggesting that participants evaluated sharpness consistently. A significant correlation was observed between the average subjective evaluation score and the peak saccade velocity, but not the VA of each participant. We conclude that each participant has a certain susceptibility to image blur when evaluating moving pictures, and that this susceptibility correlates with the participant's peak saccade velocity. Thus, the objective measure of peak saccade velocity can be used to screen participants for motion picture evaluation studies.
Involvement of DNA methylation in binding of a highly repetitive DNA component to nuclear scaffold proteins from rat liver.

Experimental reduction of the amount of CpG methylation in a highly repetitive DNA component was achieved by growth of Ac2F cells in the presence of 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine or procainamide, as judged by the results of methyl-sensitive restriction endonuclease digestion and colony hybridization. Modification of genomic DNA with these DNA methylation inhibitors increased the release of 370-bp highly repetitive DNA from rat chromosomal DNA by HindIII digestion. This result indicated that highly repetitive DNA components in the nuclear scaffold fraction are hypermethylated. On the other hand, methylated DNA was used for southwestern analysis to investigate the protein(s) which bind specifically to the DNA in the nuclear scaffold fraction. The introduction of additional methylated cytosines within a highly repetitive DNA component affected the binding of DNA to the nuclear scaffold proteins. Thus, cytosine methylation may be involved in the regulation of gene expression and construction of the higher-order structure of chromatin.
Genetic analysis of feed intake in lactating sows

Records for daily feed intake during lactation were available for 774 sows with 2,234 litters farrowing from May 2002 to November 2006. Genetic parameters were estimated for whole-oflactation feed intake and feed intake averaged over 5-day periods during lactation. Estimates of heritabilities and the permanent environment of the sow were 0.16±0.05 and 0.18±0.04 for total lactation feed intake and 0.19±0.05 and 0.17±0.05 for average lactation feed intake. Both traits were adjusted for lactation length. Heritability estimates for lactation feed intake defined as separate traits for each of the first 3 parities ranged from 0.17 to 0.28. Genetic correlations between lactation feed intake recorded in different parities were 0.45±0.33 and lower suggesting that lactation feed intake of first parity gilts is genetically a different trait than lactation feed intake of sows recorded in later parities. Heritabilities for feed intake averaged over 5-day periods from day 6 to 20 of lactation were similar to total lactation feed intake. These 5-day period measures of average feed intake were genetically the same trait and had high genetic correlations with total lactation feed intake. The use of a 5-day measure of feed intake during the second or third week of lactation reduces costs of recording and should be explored further by evaluating genetic relationships with other performance traits.
Continuum percolation of carbon nanotubes in polymeric and colloidal media

We apply continuum connectedness percolation theory to realistic carbon nanotube systems and predict how bending flexibility, length polydispersity, and attractive interactions between them influence the percolation threshold, demonstrating that it can be used as a predictive tool for designing nanotube-based composite materials. We argue that the host matrix in which the nanotubes are dispersed controls this threshold through the interactions it induces between them during processing and through the degree of connectedness that must be set by the tunneling distance of electrons, at least in the context of conductivity percolation. This provides routes to manipulate the percolation threshold and the level of conductivity in the final product. We find that the percolation threshold of carbon nanotubes is very sensitive to the degree of connectedness, to the presence of small quantities of longer rods, and to very weak attractive interactions between them. Bending flexibility or tortuosity, on the other hand, has only a fairly weak impact on the percolation threshold.
Distinct Amino Acids in the C-Linker Domain of the Arabidopsis K+ Channel KAT2 Determine Its Subcellular Localization and Activity at the Plasma Membrane1[W]

The C-linker domain of a K+ channel is required for the control of channel gating via its first α-helix located just below the channel pore and for the proper folding of the channel. Shaker K+ channels form the major K+ conductance of the plasma membrane in plants. They are composed of four subunits arranged around a central ion-conducting pore. The intracellular carboxy-terminal region of each subunit contains several regulatory elements, including a C-linker region and a cyclic nucleotide-binding domain (CNBD). The C-linker is the first domain present downstream of the sixth transmembrane segment and connects the CNBD to the transmembrane core. With the aim of identifying the role of the C-linker in the Shaker channel properties, we performed subdomain swapping between the C-linker of two Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Shaker subunits, K+ channel in Arabidopsis thaliana2 (KAT2) and Arabidopsis thaliana K+ rectifying channel1 (AtKC1). These two subunits contribute to K+ transport in planta by forming heteromeric channels with other Shaker subunits. However, they display contrasting behavior when expressed in tobacco mesophyll protoplasts: KAT2 forms homotetrameric channels active at the plasma membrane, whereas AtKC1 is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum when expressed alone. The resulting chimeric/mutated constructs were analyzed for subcellular localization and functionally characterized. We identified two contiguous amino acids, valine-381 and serine-382, located in the C-linker carboxy-terminal end, which prevent KAT2 surface expression when mutated into the equivalent residues from AtKC1. Moreover, we demonstrated that the nine-amino acid stretch 312TVRAASEFA320 that composes the first C-linker α-helix located just below the pore is a crucial determinant of KAT2 channel activity. A KAT2 C-linker/CNBD three-dimensional model, based on animal HCN (for Hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated K+) channels as structure templates, has been built and used to discuss the role of the C-linker in plant Shaker inward channel structure and function.
Pronounced, Episodic Oxygen Desaturation in the Postoperative Period: Its Association with Ventilatory Pattern and Analgesic Regimen

The respiratory effects of two postoperative analgesic regimens were compared in two groups of 16 patients each, recovering from general anesthesia and major surgery. One group received a pain-relieving dose of iv morphine (mean, 18.1 mg), with the same dose repeated as a continuous intravenous infusion over the subsequent 24 h. The other group received regional anesthesia using bupivacaine. The patients were monitored for 16 h after surgery. The two analgesic regimens provided patients with comparable analgesia throughout the study period, but there were quite different respiratory effects in the two groups. Ten patients receiving morphine infusions had a total of 456 episodes of pronounced oxygen desaturation (SaO2 < 80%). These occurred only while the patients were asleep, and all were associated with disturbances in ventilatory pattern, namely, obstructive apnea (144 episodes in eight patients), paradoxic breathing (275 episodes in six patients), and period of slow ventilatory rate (37 episodes in one patient). In contrast, in patients receiving regional anesthesia, oxygen saturation never decreased below 87%. Central apnea, obstructive apnea, and paradoxic breathing occurred more frequently in patients in the morphine group (12, 10, and 10 patients, respectively) than patients in the regional anesthesia group (4, 3, and 5 patients, respectively). The interaction of sleep and morphine analgesia produced disturbances in ventilatory pattern, causing profound oxygen destruction. These results suggest that postoperative pain relief using regional anaesthesia has a greater margin of safety in terms of respiratory side effects than does the continuous administration of opiates.
Pregnancy‐associated melanoma occurring in two generations

We report of a case of malignant melanoma occurring during pregnancy in a woman whose mother had a melanoma excised during pregnancy. There was no other family history of melanoma. To our knowledge, this has not been previously reported. A review of the recent literature suggests that pregnant women with melanoma do not have a worse prognosis when compared to matched controls, but may present with worse prognostic features. J. Surg. Oncol. 2000;73:231–233. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Learning by subtraction: Hippocampal activity and effects of ethanol during the acquisition and performance of response sequences

Learning is believed to be reflected in the activity of the hippocampus. However, neural correlates of learning have been difficult to characterize because hippocampal activity is integrated with ongoing behavior. To address this issue, male rats (n = 5) implanted with electrodes (n = 14) in the CA1 subfield responded during two tasks within a single test session. In one task, subjects acquired a new 3‐response sequence (acquisition), whereas in the other task, subjects completed a well‐rehearsed 3‐response sequence (performance). Both tasks though could be completed using an identical response topography and used the same sensory stimuli and schedule of reinforcement. More important, comparing neural patterns during sequence acquisition to those during sequence performance allows for a subtractive approach whereby activity associated with learning could potentially be dissociated from the activity associated with ongoing behavior. At sites where CA1 activity was closely associated with behavior, the patterns of activity were differentially modulated by key position and the serial position of a response within the schedule of reinforcement. Temporal shifts between peak activity and responding on particular keys also occurred during sequence acquisition, but not during sequence performance. Ethanol disrupted CA1 activity while producing rate‐decreasing effects in both tasks and error‐increasing effects that were more selective for sequence acquisition than sequence performance. Ethanol also produced alterations in the magnitude of modulations and temporal pattern of CA1 activity, although these effects were not selective for sequence acquisition. Similar to ethanol, hippocampal micro‐stimulation decreased response rate in both tasks and selectively increased the percentage of errors during sequence acquisition, and provided a more direct demonstration of hippocampal involvement during sequence acquisition. Together, these results strongly support the notion that ethanol disrupts sequence acquisition by disrupting hippocampal activity and that the hippocampus is necessary for the conditioned associations required for sequence acquisition. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Activation-induced cytidine deaminase prevents pro-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia by functioning as a negative regulator in Rag1 deficient pro-B cells

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is essential for somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination in mature B-cells, while AID was also shown to play a role in developing pre-BCR/BCR-positive B-cells of the bone marrow. To further elucidate a potential function of Aid in the bone marrow prior to V(D)J-recombination, we utilized an in vivo model which exerts a B-cell developmental arrest at the pro-B cell stage with low frequencies of pro-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pro-B ALL) development. Therefore, p19Arf-/-Rag1-/- (AR) mice were crossed with Aid-deficient mice (ARA). Surprisingly, loss of Aid expression in pro-B cells accelerated pro-B ALL incidence from 30% (AR) to 98% (ARA). This effect was Aid dose dependent, since Aid+/- animals of the same background displayed a significantly lower incidence (83%). Furthermore, B-cell-specific Aid up-regulation was observed in Aid-competent pro-B ALLs. Additional whole exome/sanger sequencing of murine pro-B ALLs revealed an accumulation of recurrent somatic Jak3 (p.R653H, p.V670A) and Dnm2 (p.G397R) mutations, which highlights the importance of active IL7R signaling in the pro-B ALL blast cells. These findings were further supported by an enhanced proliferative potential of ARA pro-B cells compared to Aid-competent cells from the same genetic background. In summary, we show that both Aid and Rag1 act as a negative regulators in pro-B cells, preventing pro-B ALL.
Current-Dependent Switching Characteristics of PI-Diphenyl Carbamyl Films

In this letter, we investigated the current-dependent switching characteristics of Al/6F-HAB-diphenyl carbamyl (PI-DPC)/Al devices fabricated by spin coating. The current required to switch off the device increased with an increase in the current compliance, limiting the on-state current, whereas the on and off voltages were almost constant. In addition, the turn-off current and the on and off voltages remained almost constant at the constant current compliance. The observed phenomenon indicates that the bistability of the PI-DPC device that is induced by controlling the current is attributed to filament formation and repulsive Coulomb interaction by charge trapping.
PROCJENA TEŽINE OŠTEĆENJA JETRE U BOLESNIKA S KRONIČNIM VIRUSNIM HEPATITISOM

Kronični virusni hepatitis (KVH) dovodi do oštećenja jetre koje je patohistološki obilježeno nekrozom i apoptozom hepatocita, infiltracijom upalnih stanica u jetri, te reparatornim odgovorom u obliku proliferacije vezivnog tkiva (1). Te se promjene razvijaju različitom dinamikom i pod utjecajem su niza čimbenika povezanih s virusom, domaćinom i djelovanjem okoliša (2). Napredovanjem bolesti mijenjaju se relativni odnosi broja hepatocita i drugih staničnih linija u jetri, omjer stanične populacije i količine veziva, te kvalitativni sastav vezivnog tkiva. Upravo napredovanje fibroze i remodeliranje mikroskopske arhitekture jetre ključno je patofiziološko zbivanje koje u konačnici može rezultirati nastankom ciroze (3,4). U tom smislu, ako se govori o težini oštećenja jetre u KVH, ono se najbolje može procijeniti određivanjem uznapredovalosti fibroze što se označava pojmom stadija fibroze (3,5).
Nanowire transformation and annealing by Joule heating

Joule heating of bundles of Mo6S3I6 nanowires, in real time, was studied using in situ TEM probing. TEM imaging, electron diffraction, and conductivity measurements showed a complete transformation of Mo6S3I6 into Mo via thermal decomposition. The resulting Mo nanowires had a conductivity that was 2–3 orders higher than the starting material. The conductivity increased even further, up to 1.8 × 106 S m − 1, when the Mo nanowires went through annealing phases. These results suggest that Joule heating might be a general way to transform or anneal nanowires, pointing to applications such as metal nanowire fabrication, novel memory elements based on material transformation, or in situ improvement of field emitters.
Negative biomarkers of sperm quality and male fertility

Semen evaluation via traditional light microscopy provides useful information about sperm motility and morphology, yet it has a limited utility in predicting reproductive performance due to its subjective nature and inconsistency among technicians and laboratories. Furthermore, not all sperm abnormalities are detectable with standard light microscopy. As a result, flow cytometric evaluation using biomarkers to detect specific spermatozoon characteristics is growing in popularity in both andrology laboratories and agricultural studs. Fluorescentlylabeled biomarkers can be used to assess a variety of structural and functional properties, including sperm chromatin integrity, acrosomal status, mitochondrial membrane potential, and viability. A variety of vital stains, DNA and mitochondrial dyes, and lectins are best used as fluorescent conjugates in conjunction with sperm flow cytometry. Antibodies are used to detect and quantify proteins that are upor down-regulated in defective sperm. Biomarkers, uniquely found in defective sperm are indicative of poor semen quality and decreased fertility after breeding. Thus, such biomarkers are described as “negative” biomarkers of fertility. Inversely, defective sperm may lack proteins associated with normal sperm structure and function. In conjunction with the availability of sperm-specific probes and biomarkers, the use of new instrumentation is being implemented to disseminate flow cytometry-based semen analysis among andrologists. The advent of sperm quality biomarkers and the implementation of flow cytometry are expected to benefit the cattle industry through cost reduction of sire evaluation and increase of reproductive performance with artificial insemination.
MODERN AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR NATURAL HYBRIDIZATION BETWEEN SYMPATRIC SPECIES IN MANDARINA (PULMONATA: CAMAENIDAE)

Geographical and temporal variation in gene exchange between two endemic land snail species, Mandarina aureola and Mandarina ponderosa, was studied on Hahajima Island of the Bonin Islands. Allozyme variation in modern samples, and variation in the color and shell morphology of modern and fossil samples, suggest a complex geographical and historical pattern of hybridization. These two species occur in sympatry, and their shell morphologies and protein genotypes are markedly divergent. However, many specimens of M. aureola, collected from the middle region of the island, exhibit intermediate shell morphologies and possess marker alleles of M. ponderosa. Fossil samples of the two species strongly suggest that these intermediates were hybrids with M. ponderosa that were produced since the end of the Pleistocene. Each of these species, in addition, is subdivided into two genetically and morphologically divergent parapatric races. Interspecific hybridization appears to have produced genetical and morphological admixture among these four distinctive groups of populations. The past distribution and geographic variation of M. ponderosa can be traced in the distribution of M. ponderosa‐derived genotypes in current populations of M. aureola. Temporal changes of the color pattern in the fossil populations of hybrids suggest that the traits introduced from M. ponderosa to M. aureola have been affected by natural selection and could replace traits of living species when advantageous. Moreover, these introgressed genes appeared to provide novel properties that enabled M. aureola to advance into a new environment. Relatively independent change in shell color and morphology further suggests mosaic evolution following the hybridization events. Connectively, these data reveal how hybridization events may be an important source of evolutionary novelties and make it clear that the phenomenon of reticulate evolution cannot be ignored.
Evidence for trends in UK flooding

Recent major flooding in the UK has raised concern that climate change is causing increases in flood frequency and flood magnitude. This paper considers whether UK flood data provide evidence of increasing trends in fluvial floods. The analysis examines both local and national flood series and investigates the effect of climate variability on trend detection. The results suggest that there have been trends towards more protracted high flows over the last 30–50 years, but that this could be accounted for as part of climatic variation rather than climate change. There is no statistical evidence of a long–term trend in flooding over the last 80–120 years. Thus, although climate change could be influencing floods, direct analysis of flood records does not yet provide proof.
Polarized cytokinesis in vacuolate cells of Arabidopsis

The view of plant-cell cytokinesis commonly depicted in textbooks is of a symmetrical process, with the phragmoplast initiating in the center of the cell and growing outward to the parental cell membrane. In contrast to this picture, we observe that cell-plate development in Arabidopsis shoot cells is highly polarized along the plane of division. Three-dimensional live-cell imaging reveals that the mitotic spindle and phragmoplast are laterally displaced, and that the growing cell plate anchors on one side of the cell at an early stage of cytokinesis. Growth of phragmoplast across the cell creates a new partition in its wake, giving the visual effect of a curtain being pulled across the cell. Throughout this process, the advancing front of the phragmoplast is in intimate contact with the parental wall, suggesting that short-range interactions between the phragmoplast and plasma membrane may play important roles in guiding the cell plate throughout much of its development. Polarized cytokinesis was observed in a wide variety of vacuolate shoot cells and in some small root cells, implying that it is not solely a function of cell size. This mode of cytokinesis may provide a mechanically robust mechanism for cell-plate formation in large cells and suggests a simple explanation for the occurrence of cell wall stubs observed upon drug treatment or in cytokinetic mutants.
Fetal loss rate after ultrasonically documented cardiac activity between 6 and 14 weeks, menstrual age

The pregnancy outcome of 347 patients with a confirmed, viable intrauterine pregnancy between 6.0 and 14.0 weeks, menstrual age, was determined. The miscarriage rate was 4.2% in a subgroup of patients without vaginal bleeding, as compared with 12.7% in a subgroup with bleeding (χ2 = 7.4, p < 0.006). First trimester vaginal bleeding was a significant covariate in the determination of the spontaneous miscarriage rate after fetal cardiac activity has been confirmed.