Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Fasting on Cocaine-Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript, Neuropeptide Y, and Leptin Receptor Expression in the Non-Human Primate Hypothalamus

Leptin is a cytokine produced by white adipose tissue that circulates in direct proportion to adiposity and is an important signal of energy balance. Leptin inhibits food intake in rodents by inhibiting the orexigenic neuropetides neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti regulated peptide (AgRP) and stimulating the anorexigenic neuropeptides α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and cocaine-amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART). In order to extend our understanding of neuroendocrine regulation of appetite in the primate, we determined the effect of a metabolic challenge on CART, NPY, and leptin receptor (Ob-R) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in the nonhuman primate (NHP) hypothalamus. Ten adult female rhesus monkeys were either maintained on a regular diet or fasted for two days before euthanasia. CART, NPY, and Ob-R mRNA were measured by in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH). A 2-day fast decreased CART expression in the ARC, increased NPY gene expression in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and increased Ob-R expression in the ventromedial nucleus (VMN). This is the first report that fasting inhibits CART expression and stimulates Ob-R expression in monkeys. Increased NPY expression in the SON and PVN, but not the ARC of fasted monkeys also is novel. With some exceptions, our observations are confirmatory of findings in rodent studies. Similarities in the neuroendocrine responses to a metabolic challenge in monkeys and rodents support extending existing hypotheses of neuroendocrine control of energy homeostasis to primates.
Feel American, Watch American, Eat American? Remote Acculturation, TV, and Nutrition Among Adolescent-Mother Dyads in Jamaica.

Globalization prompts remote acculturation toward U.S. culture in Jamaica; this study used a bioecological systems approach to examine its proximal impact on nutrition through U.S. cable TV consumption, and maternal influences in the home. Overall, 330 randomly selected adolescent-mother dyads from schools in Kingston, Jamaica (Madolescent_age = 13.8 years, SDadolescent_age = 1.8) completed questionnaires reporting American identity and behavioral preferences, daily time spent watching U.S.-produced TV programs, and frequency of eating unhealthy foods. Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that girls' American identity/behavior directly predicted their unhealthy eating, whereas girls' mothers and boys' American identity/behavior indirectly predicted unhealthy eating as mediated by their U.S. TV hours. Additionally, mothers' American identity/behavior predicted daughters' unhealthy eating as mediated by mothers' U.S. TV hours. Remote acculturation theory may facilitate more targeted research and prevention/intervention.
Structural Definition of an Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Response Implicated in Reduced Risk for HIV-1 Infection

ABSTRACT The RV144 vaccine trial implicated epitopes in the C1 region of gp120 (A32-like epitopes) as targets of potentially protective antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) responses. A32-like epitopes are highly immunogenic, as infected or vaccinated individuals frequently produce antibodies specific for these determinants. Antibody titers, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against these epitopes, however, do not consistently correlate with protection. Here, we report crystal structures of CD4-stabilized gp120 cores complexed with the Fab fragments of two nonneutralizing, A32-like monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), N5-i5 and 2.2c, that compete for antigen binding and have similar antigen-binding affinities yet exhibit a 75-fold difference in ADCC potency. We find that these MAbs recognize overlapping epitopes formed by mobile layers 1 and 2 of the gp120 inner domain, including the C1 and C2 regions, but bind gp120 at different angles via juxtaposed VH and VL contact surfaces. A comparison of structural and immunological data further showed that antibody orientation on bound antigen and the capacity to form multivalent antigen-antibody complexes on target cells were key determinants of ADCC potency, with the latter process having the greater impact. These studies provide atomic-level definition of A32-like epitopes implicated as targets of protective antibodies in RV144. Moreover, these studies establish that epitope structure and mode of antibody binding can dramatically affect the potency of Fc-mediated effector function against HIV-1. These results provide key insights for understanding, refining, and improving the outcome of HIV vaccine trials, in which relevant immune responses are facilitated by A32-like elicited responses. IMPORTANCE HIV-1 Env is a primary target for antibodies elicited during infection. Although a small number of infected individuals elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies, the bulk of the humoral response consists of antibodies that do not neutralize or do so with limited breadth but may effect protection through Fc receptor-dependent processes, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Understanding these nonneutralizing responses is an important aspect of elucidating the complete spectrum of immune response against HIV-1 infection. With this report, we provide the first atomic-level definition of nonneutralizing CD4-induced epitopes in the N-terminal region of the HIV-1 gp120 (A32-like epitopes). Further, our studies point to the dominant role of precise epitope targeting and mode of antibody attachment in ADCC responses even when largely overlapping epitopes are involved. Such information provides key insights into the mechanisms of Fc-mediated function of antibodies to HIV-1 and will help us understand the outcome of vaccine trials based on humoral immunity.
Accurate and Generic Sender Selection for Dissemination in Low-Power Wireless Networks

Data dissemination is a fundamental service offered by low power wireless networks. Sender selection is the key to the dissemination performance and has been extensively studied. Sender impact metric plays a significant role in sender selection since it determines which senders are selected for transmission. Recent studies have shown that spatial link diversity has a significant impact on the efficiency of broadcast. However, the existing metrics overlook such impact. Besides, they consider only gains but ignore the costs of sender candidates. As a result, existing works cannot achieve accurate estimation of the sender impact. Moreover, they cannot well support data dissemination with network coding, which is commonly used for lossy environments. In this paper, we first propose a novel sender impact metric, namely γ , which jointly exploits link quality and spatial link diversity to calculate the gain/cost ratio of the sender candidates. Then we develop a generic sender selection scheme based on the γ metric (called γ-component) that can generally support both types of dissemination using native packets and network coding. Extensive evaluations are conducted through real testbed experiments and large-scale simulations. The performance results and analysis show that γ achieves far more accurate impact estimation than the existing works. In addition, the dissemination protocols based on γ-component outperform the existing protocols in terms of completion time and transmissions (by 20.5% and 23.1%, respectively).
Relationship between Sexual Satiety and Brain Androgen Receptors

Recently we showed that 24 h after copulation to satiety, there is a reduction in androgen receptor density (ARd) in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH), but not in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST). The present study was designed to analyze whether the ARd changes in these and other brain areas, such as the medial amygdala (MeA) and lateral septum, ventral part (LSV), were associated with changes in sexual behavior following sexual satiety. Males rats were sacrificed 48 h, 72 h or 7 days after sexual satiety (4 h ad libitum copulation) to determine ARd by immunocytochemistry; additionally, testosterone serum levels were measured in independent groups sacrificed at the same intervals. In another experiment, males were tested for recovery of sexual behavior 48 h, 72 h or 7 days after sexual satiety. The results showed that 48 h after sexual satiety 30% of the males displayed a single ejaculation and the remaining 70% showed a complete inhibition of sexual behavior. This reduction in sexual behavior was accompanied by an ARd decrease exclusively in the MPOA-medial part (MPOM). Seventy-two hours after sexual satiety there was a recovery of sexual activity accompanied by an increase in ARd to control levels in the MPOM and an overexpression of ARd in the LSV, BST, VMH and MeA. Serum testosterone levels were unmodified during the post-satiety period. The results are discussed on the basis of the similarities and discrepancies between ARd in specific brain areas and male sexual behavior.
Aspects stratégiques et humains de la transmission des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises familiales : résultats d'une enquête

Ainsi, en Belgique, l'etude menee 2 en 1988 sous la direction du Professeur Donckels (1989) aupres de 1.000 dirigeants de PME familiales montre que 1 dirigeant de PME sur 3 a plus de 50 ans et que pres d'1 sur 2 a plus de 45 ans: des lors, puisque plus de la moitie des PME belges peuvent etre aujourd'hui considerees comme des PME de "premiere generation" toujours detenues et gerees par leur fondateur, force est de constater que pres de la moitie de ces PME va logiquement, dans les 10 a 15 prochaines annees, changer de mains au niveau de la propriete, de la gestion ou de ces deux elements ensemble.
Ion‐channels reconstituted into lipid bilayer from human sperm plasma membrane

Ion environment and ionic fluxes through membrane are thought to be important in the spermatozoa's maturation, capacitation, and the initiating process of gamete interaction. In this work, the membrane proteins isolated from human sperm plasma membrane were reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers via fusion, and the ion channels activities were observed under voltage clamp mode. In cis 200 // trans 100 mM KCl solution, a TEA‐sensitive cation‐selective channel with a unit conductance of 40 pS was recorded. In a gradient of 200//100 mM NaCl solutions, a Na+‐selective channel with a unit conductance of 26 pS was recorded. In both cases, reversal potential was about −18 mV, which is close to the predicated value of a perfect Nernst K+ or Na+ electrode. In 50//10 mM CaCl2 solution, a cation channel activity with a unit conductance of 40 pS and reversal potential of about −20 mV was usually observed. In 200//100 mM NMDG(N‐methyl‐D‐glucamine)‐Cl solution, where the cation ions were substituted with NMDG, a 30‐pS anion‐selective channel activity was also detected. The variety in the types of ion channels observed in human spermatozoa plasma membrane suggests that ion channels may play a range of different roles in sperm physiology and gamete interaction. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 50:354–360, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Perfil toxicológico de los sedimientos del río Magdalena usando como modelo biológico "Caenorhabditis elegans"

Premio de Estudios Iberoamericanos Grupo La Rabida (2015). Area Cientifico-Tecnica. El rio Magdalena, atraviesa Colombia y desemboca en el mar Caribe, siendo el sumidero de aguas residuales e industriales a lo largo de su recorrido. Estos vertidos de diversas caracteristicas, contienen contaminantes que por sus propiedades fisicoquimicas permanecen en los sedimentos, donde son incorporados al plancton, entrando en la cadena alimenticia en procesos de bioacumulacion y biomagnificacion, ocasionando considerables problemas de toxicidad en todos los niveles troficos. En esta investigacion fue empleado el nematodo Caenorhabditis elegans como modelo biologico para la evaluacion toxicologica de los sedimentos de este cuerpo de agua.
[Assessment of left atrial size and function].

WSTĘP Powiększenie i dysfunkcja lewego przedsionka (LA) wiążą się istotnie z występowaniem niekorzystnych zdarzeń sercowo-naczyniowych, są niezależnym czynnikiem ryzyka migotania przedsionków (AF), udaru mózgu i zgonu [1]. W praktyce stosuje się różne metody oceny wielkości i funkcji LA, od prostych pomiarów wielkości jamy w prezentacji dwuwymiarowej, poprzez czynnościową ocenę techniką doplera tkankowego, po zaawansowane trójwymiarowe metody oceny. Wielkość LA odzwierciedla przewlekłe zwiększenie ciśnienia w jego jamie, które może zależeć od dysfunkcji rozkurczowej lewej komory (LV) lub wad serca. Udowodniono niekorzystne konsekwencje powiększenia LA w bardzo licznych stanach chorobowych, m.in. po zawale serca (MI), w kardiomiopatii przerostowej (HCM) czy w zwężeniu zastawki aortalnej [2–4]. Wielkość LA jest niezależnym czynnikiem rokowniczym w przebiegu AF, MI i niewydolności serca (HF) [5, 6], zwiększa także ryzyko zgonu i częstość hospitalizacji u chorych z kadiomiopatią rozstrzeniową (DCM). Lewy przedsionek wpływa na napełnianie LV poprzez 3 komponenty: pełni rolę zbiornika (rezerwuaru) krwi podczas skurczu LV, kanału dla przepływu krwi we wczesnej fazie rozkurczu komór i aktywnej pompy skurczowej pod koniec rozkurczu LV, pod warunkiem zachowanego rytmu zatokowego. Przy braku efektywnego skurczu przedsionka w przypadku AF frakcja wyrzutowa lewej komory (LVEF) obniża się w porównaniu z wartością wyjściową o ok.15–20% [7, 8]. Aktywna komponenta skurczowa przedsionka staje się szczególnie istotna we wczesnych etapach dysfunkcji rozkurczowej LV, w której wzrasta udział fazy przedsionkowej w napływie mitralnym.
Regulation of intracellular pH in eukaryotic cells.

The fact that cytoplasmic pH is strictly regulated has only been appreciated during the last 10 years. Eukaryotic cells clamp cytoplasmic pH at 7.0-7.4 by ion transport mechanisms and a high buffering capacity of the cytosol. The values of internal pH observed (pH 7.0-7.4) are higher than expected if the protons had been passively distributed across the cell membrane according to electrochemical gradients. Thus, when the membrane potential is -59 mV, pHi should be 1 unit less than pHo. The equilibrium relation between membrane potential, Vm, and internal and external H+ concentrations is given by the Nernst expression:
Outcomes in Transplant Recipients Treated With Foscarnet for Ganciclovir-Resistant or Refractory Cytomegalovirus Infection

Background Antiviral-resistant or refractory cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is challenging, and salvage therapies, foscarnet, and cidofovir, have significant toxicities. Several investigational anti-CMV agents are under development, but more information is needed on outcomes of current treatments to facilitate clinical trial design for new drugs. Methods Records of solid organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients at a single center over a 10-year period were reviewed retrospectively to characterize those who had received foscarnet treatment for ganciclovir-resistant or refractory CMV infection. Data were collected on virologic responses, mortality, and nephrotoxicity. Results Of 39 patients (22 SOT, 17 HCT), 15 had documented ganciclovir resistance mutations and 11 (28%) of 39 had tissue-invasive CMV. Median duration of foscarnet was 32 days. Virologic failure occurred in 13 (33%) of 39 and relapses of viremia occurred in 31%. Mortality was 12 (31%) of 39 and was higher in HCT than SOT (P = 0.001), although ganciclovir resistance was more common in SOT (P = 0.003). Doses of ganciclovir or valganciclovir were low in 10 (26%) of 39 at some time before switching to foscarnet. Renal dysfunction occurred in 20 (51%) of 39 by end of treatment and in 7 (28%) of 25 after 6 months. Conclusions Outcomes of existing treatment for ganciclovir-resistant or refractory CMV are suboptimal, in terms of virologic clearance, renal dysfunction, and mortality. These data should provide background information for future clinical trials of newer antiviral agents.
Insights into a key developmental switch and its importance for efficient plant breeding.

Sexual reproduction of plants starts with the formation of gametes and a 2-fold reduction in the number of chromosomes (ploidy) of these cells. Fertilization, the union of sperm and egg cell restores the ploidy level to its normal value again. During the formation of pollen grains, the structures
The importance of intramolecular ion pairing in intermediate filaments.

Nuclear and cytoskeletal networks of 10-nm intermediate filaments (IFs) are probably ubiquitous in multicellular eukaryotes. They likely play a role in maintaining the mechanical integrity of a cell. With the exception of the nuclear lamins, IF proteins can form IFs in vitro in the absence of cofactors or associated proteins. Below we present data suggesting that the large alpha-helical "rod" domains of IF proteins are stabilized by large numbers (up to 50) of intra-helical ion pairs formed by residues of opposite charge situated four residues apart. These many ion pairs, sometimes involving up to 30% of the residues within a coiled-coil IF segment, can potentially contribute as much as 10-25 kcal/mol (1 kcal = 4.18 kJ) to the stability of a single alpha-helical rod. Such stabilization is likely to play a major role in the chemical and physical stability of IF networks in vitro and in vivo. An investigation of other coiled-coil proteins shows that selection for intrahelical ion pairing is not simply a property intrinsic to coiled-coil proteins. Rather, there is a correlation between the degree to which there is selection for intrahelical ion pairs and the extent to which a coiled-coil protein participates in highly ordered multimolecular interactions--e.g., as in IFs and myosin thick filaments. The propensity of putative ion pairs in some IF proteins--e.g., epidermal keratins--suggests that an underlying structural stability at the level of the monomer may play an important role in the extraordinary stability of dimers and higher ordered structures in cytoplasmic IFs.
A decentralized and self organizing architecture for wide area synchronized monitoring of smart grids

Synchronized Wide-Area Monitoring Systems WAMS involve the use of power system-wide measurements to avoid large disturbances and reduce the probability of catastrophic events. In these systems a large volume of raw data is collected by distributed sensors and sent to central servers for post processing activities.Many research works conjectured that this hierarchical monitoring paradigm could be not affordable in addressing the increasing network complexity and the massive data exchanging characterizing modern smart grids. Unaffordable complexity, hardware redundancy, network bandwidth and data storage resources are the main barriers imposed by technology and costs.Moreover, in WAMS the global absolute time reference for sensors synchronization is typically obtained by satellite-based timing signals processing. Since these signals are extremely vulnerable to radiofrequency interference i.e. cyber-attacks, effective countermeasures aimed at increasing the resilience of synchronized WAMS to external and internal interferences need to be designed.In trying and addressing these challenges, in this paper the role of decentralized consensus protocols for decentralized and synchronized wide area smart grids monitoring is analyzed.
Effects of RF amplifier distortion on selective excitation and their correction by prewarping

In a magnetic resonance imaging system, an RF power amplifier is employed to boost an RF pulse to sufficient strength to excite the nuclear spins in a subject. The nonideal behavior of this amplifier distorts a selective‐excitation pulse, and this distortion in turn degrades the slice profile. We have found two types of nonideal behavior particularly troublesome: nonlinearity and incidental phase modulation. One of their effects is the introduction of an unwanted “skirt” in the out‐of‐slice region of a slice profile. We present an effective method of correction in which a selective‐excitation pulse is prewarped to compensate for the distortion. © 1992 Academic Press, Inc.
An introduction to stochastic approximation

We propose to start the exposition of the topic by an example. The arguments are given in a crude manner. Formal proofs will be given in section 2. This example is taken from the very article [6] which introduced stochastic approximation. Consider x ∈ R the parameter of a system and g(x) ∈ R an output value from this system when parameter x is used. We assume g to be a smooth, increasing function. An agent wants to determine sequentially x∗ ∈ R the value such that the system output equals a target value g∗. If for all x, the value of g(x) can be observed directly from the system, then determining g∗ could be solved by a simple search technique such as binary search or golden ratio search. Here we assume that only a noisy version of g can be observed. Namely, at time n ∈ N, the decision maker sets the parameter equal to xn, and observes Yn = g(xn) +Mn with Mn a random variable denoting noise, with E[Mn] = 0. In order to determine g(x), a crude approach would be to sample parameter x repeatedly and average the result, so that the effect of noise would cancel out, and apply a deterministic line search (such as binary search). [6] proposed a much more elegant approach. If xn > x ∗ , we have that g(xn) > g ∗, so that diminishing xn by a small amount proportional to g −g(xn) would guarantee xn+1 ∈ [x∗, xn]. Therefore, define n a sequence of small positive numbers, and consider the following update scheme: xn+1 = xn + n(g ∗ − Yn) = xn + n(g − g(xn)) + nMn.
Assessing the mineralogy of the watershed and fan deposits of the Jezero crater paleolake system, Mars

We present results from geomorphic mapping and visible to near‐infrared spectral analyses of the Jezero crater paleolake basin and its associated watershed. The goal of this study is to understand the provenance of the sedimentary deposits within this open‐basin lake using a source‐to‐sink approach. Two fan deposits located within the basin have distinct visible to near‐infrared mineralogic signatures measured by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM). The northern fan is spectrally characterized by a mixture of Mg‐rich carbonate and olivine, while the western fan is characterized by Fe/Mg‐smectite (e.g., saponite or nontronite) with variable amounts of Mg‐rich carbonate and olivine in isolated exposures. The watersheds of these deposits contain a variety of geomorphic units that are likely to have supplied sediment to the Jezero crater paleolake, as the fluvial valleys that fed the basin incise these units. The geomorphic units include exposures of Fe/Mg‐smectite‐, olivine‐, and Mg‐rich carbonate‐bearing terrain. We show that the difference in fan deposit mineralogy is a function of the areal exposure of the major geomorphic units within their watersheds. This indicates that the spectrally dominant aqueous alteration minerals in the fan deposits are primarily detrital, or transported, in nature and did not form in situ. We conclude that the aqueous alteration of the units in the watershed occurred prior to the fluvial activity that carved the valleys of the Jezero crater paleolake system, and that the two periods of aqueous activity are not genetically related.