jimnoneill/paper-to-field-training huggingface dataset:
Chemically Modified\nDipeptide Based Hydrogel Supports\nThree-Dimensional Growth and Functions of Primary Hepatocytes

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

A huge shortage of organ donors, particularly in the\ncase of liver,\nhas necessitated the development of alternative therapeutic strategies.\nPrimary hepatocytes (pHCs) transplantation has made a considerable\ntransition from bench to bedside, but the short-term viability and\nfunctionality of pHCs in in vitro limit their use for clinical applications.\nDifferent cell culture strategies are required to maintain the proliferation\nof pHCs for extended periods. Here, we described the formation of\na hybrid scaffold based on a modified dipeptide for the culture of\npHCs. First, the dipeptide (Dp), isoleucine-α,β-dehydrophenylalanine\n(IΔF) was synthesized, purified, and fully characterized. IΔF\nreadily formed a highly stable hydrogel, which was also characterized\nby CD, TEM, and thioflavin T assay. The addition of soluble liver\nextracellular matrix (sLEM) to the dipeptide readily formed a hybrid\nscaffold that was characterized by TEM, and its mechanical strength\nwas determined by rheology experiments. The hybrid scaffold was translucent,\nbiocompatible, and proteolytically stable and, with its mechanical\nstrength, closely mimicked that of the native liver. LEM<sub>1</sub>-Dp matrix exhibited high biocompatibility in the readily available\nadherent liver cell line Huh7 and primary rat hepatocyte cells (pHCs).\npHCs cultured on LEM<sub>1</sub>-Dp matrix also maintained significantly\nhigher cell viability and an escalated expression of markers related\nto the hepatocytes such as albumin as compared to that observed in\ncells cultured on collagen type I (Col I)-coated substrate plate (col-TCTP). <i>Z</i>-stacking of confocal laser microscopy’s volume\nview clearly indicated pHCs seeded on top of the hydrogel matrix migrated\ntoward the <i>Z</i> direction showing 3D growth. Our results\nindicated that low molecular weight dipeptide hydrogel along with\nsLEM can resemble biomimetic 3D-like microenvironments for improved\npHCs proliferation, differentiation, and function. This hybrid scaffold\nis also easy to scale up, which makes it suitable for several downstream\napplications of hepatocytes, including drug development, pHCs transplantation,\nand liver regeneration.
Organocatalytic Enantioselective γ-Position-Selective Mannich Reactions of β-Ketocarbonyl Derivatives

Field: Chemistry (Physical Sciences)

Catalytic asymmetric Mannich reactions of β-ketocarbonyl derivatives (such as β-ketoesters and (2-oxopropyl)phosphonate), resulting in the formation of a C-C bond at the γ-position of the β-ketocarbonyl derivatives with high enantioselectivities, are reported. The bond formation at the α-position of the β-ketoester was reversible, and the γ-position-reacted product δ-amino β-ketoester derivative was kinetically formed and was stable. The dynamic kinetic process was key for the direct access to the γ-position-reacted products from β-ketocarbonyls under catalytic conditions.
Pneumothorax Following Needle Electromyography in a Patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Who Presented with Respiartory Failure As an Initial Symptom

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

Copyright 2008 by The Korean Society for Clinical Neurophysiology 62 침근전도검사는 비교적 비침습적인 방법이지만 잠재적 으로는 의인성 의 다양한 합병증을 일으킬 수 (iatrogenic) 있는데 출혈 국소 감염 신경 손상 기흉 등을 대표적인 , , , 합병증으로 들 수 있다. 그 중 기흉은 침근전도검사 후 발생할 수 있는 심각한 합병증이다 기흉은 주로 경추부 혹은 흉추부 척추주위근 . 검사 시 (paraspinal muscle) 2 혹은 침시술, 신경절차단 술 후 발생한 보고가 있으며 드물지만 전거근(serratus anterior muscle), 극상근(supraspinatus muscle), 능 형근(rhomboids muscle) 등에 대한 침근전도검사 후에 도 보고되어 있다. 저자들은 사지근력이 정상이면서 호흡곤란을 첫 증상으 로 나타난 초기 근육위축가쪽경화증 환자에서 늑간근 침 근전도검사 후 발생한 기흉을 경험하여 보고하는 바이다.
On the possibility that the most massive stars result from binary mergers

Field: Physics and Astronomy (Physical Sciences)

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey is an ESO Large Program from which we have obtained multi-epoch optical spectroscopy of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. This unprecedented dataset is being used to address outstanding questions in how massive stars evolve from the early main sequence to their deaths as core collapse supernovae. Here we focus on the rotation properties of the population of presumably single O stars and use binary population synthesis predictions to show that the rapid rotators among this population likely are post-interaction binaries. The same type of population synthesis can be used to study the mass function of massive young clusters. We argue – on the basis of predictions for the Arches and Quintuplet clusters – that a sizable fraction of the very massive WNh stars in 30 Doradus may also have such a binary interaction history. We single out the WNh star discovered in the VFTS, VFTS 682, and discuss its properties.
The conversion of mouse skin squamous cell carcinomas to spindle cell carcinomas is a recessive event

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)

Squamous carcinomas of both human and rodent origin can undergo a transition to a more invasive, metastatic phenotype involving reorganization of the cytoskeleton, loss of cell adhesion molecules such as E-cadherin and acquisition of a fibroblastoid or spindle cell morphology. We have developed a series of cell lines from mouse skin tumors which represent different stages of carcinogenesis, including benign papillomas, and clonally related squamous and spindle carcinomas derived from the same primary tumor. Some spindle cells continue to express keratins, but with a poorly organized keratin filament network, whereas in others no keratin expression is detectable. All of the spindle cells lack expression of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin and the desmosomal component desmoplakin. Loss of these cell surface proteins therefore appears to precede the destabilization of the keratin network. At the genetic level, it is not known whether such changes involve activation of dominantly acting oncogenes or loss of a suppressor function which controls epithelial differentiation. To examine this question, we have carried out a series of fusion experiments between a highly malignant mouse skin spindle cell carcinoma and cell lines derived from premalignant or malignant mouse skin tumors, including both squamous and spindle carcinoma variants. The results show that the spindle cell phenotype as determined by cell morphology and lack of expression of keratin, E-cadherin, and desmoplakin proteins, is recessive in all hybrids with squamous cells. The hybrids expressed all of these differentiation markers, and showed suppression of tumorigenicity to a variable level dependent upon the tumorigenic properties of the less malignant fusion partner. Our results suggest that acquisition of the spindle cell phenotype involves functional loss of a gene(s) which controls epithelial differentiation.
The Recent Trends of the Inland Fishery of Basrah Government, Iraq

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

The fish species caught in the inland fishery of Basrah were recorded from seven landing sites between January and December 2022. A total of 14 types of fish from four families were identified in this fishery. The most commonly caught fish were exotic species such as Cyprinus carpio and tilapia species. In contrast, the landings of significant native freshwater fish that are characteristic of Mesopotamian aquatic environments, such as Carasobarbus luteus, Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi, Luciobarbus xanthopterus, and Arabibarbus grypus, dropped considerably. The total fish landing has been steadily increasing since 2009, indicating a positive trend in the overall landing. This growth may be attributed to the expansion of fishing activities and the prevalence of exotic species due to the degradation of the water ecosystem in Southern Iraq. From a fisheries management viewpoint, it is essential to maintain native stocks in the aquatic ecosystems in southern Iraq involving regional cooperation between Iraq, Turkey and Iran to secure the appropriate quantities of water for Iraq from the upper Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, strengthening the stocks of economically native fish by artificially propagating them and then releasing juvenile species into natural waters, and restrict the reproduction of carps and confining them to fish farms, and finally minimizing the impacts of tilapia species by intensifying the fishing activities.
Culturing Mammalian Cells in Three-dimensional Peptide Scaffolds

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)

A useful technique for culturing cells in a self-assembling nanofiber three-dimensional (3D) scaffold is described. This culture system recreates an environment that closely mimics the structural features of non-polarized tissue. Furthermore, the particular intrinsic nanofiber structure of the scaffold makes it transparent to visual light, which allows for easy visualization of the sample under microscopy. This advantage was largely used to study cell migration, organization, proliferation, and differentiation and thus any development of their particular cellular function by staining with specific dyes or probes. Furthermore, in this work, we describe the good performance of this system to easily study the redifferentiation of expanded human articular chondrocytes into cartilaginous tissue. Cells were encapsulated into self-assembling peptide scaffolds and cultured under specific conditions to promote chondrogenesis. Three-dimensional cultures showed good viability during the 4 weeks of the experiment. As expected, samples cultured with chondrogenic inducers (compared to non-induced controls) stained strongly positive for toluidine blue (which stains glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) that are highly present in cartilage extracellular matrix) and expressed specific molecular markers, including collagen type I, II and X, according to Western Blot analysis. This protocol is easy to perform and can be used at research laboratories, industries and for educational purposes in laboratory courses.
Knee and hip muscle strength of professional football players from different competitive levels

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

In football, knee and hip muscle strength assessment have been recommended for injury prevention (Mosler et al., 2017; Namazi et al., 2019). Additionally, bilateral strength differences in the knee and hip joints have been related to an increased risk of injury. The aims of this study were threefold: (1) to compare knee and hip muscle strength performance between professional players competing at different levels; (2) to assess bilateral strength differences according to the preferred leg (PL) and the non-preferred leg (NPL); and (3) to compare knee and hip muscle strength performance in two-time moments of the season. This study considered 33 professional football players: 13 were in the elite group (EG) competing in the First Portuguese Football League, and 20 were in the sub-elite group (SEG) competing in the Fourth Portuguese Football League. Participants were assessed for body composition, isokinetic knee strength at 60º/s, and hip adduction strength at two-time moments (TM) separated by five months. Peak torque normalised by bodyweight (PT/BW) of knee extensors (KE) and knee flexors (KF) were used for analysis. The differences between groups in strength were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was conducted to verify differences between the performance of the PL and NPL in each group and to compare the performance between TM1 and TM2. At TM1, the EG presented a significantly better performance in KF PT/BW and hip adduction strength for the PL and NPL (p £ 0.01). In TM2, the EG performed substantially better in KE PT/BW and KF PT/BW (p £ 0.01). In both groups, no substantial bilateral strength differences were observed in knee and hip adduction performance. From TM1 to TM2, significant increases were found in knee strength in both groups (p £ 0.01). Overall, the EG players outperformed their lower-division peers in strength assessments significantly. The results also indicate significant knee and hip muscle strength increases during the season (except for the EG in hip adduction strength), probably as a response to the exposure to training and competition.
The PSI Domain of the MET Oncogene Encodes a Functional Disulfide Isomerase Essential for the Maturation of the Receptor Precursor

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)

The tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the MET oncogene has been extensively studied. Surprisingly, one extracellular domain, PSI, evolutionary conserved between plexins, semaphorins, and integrins, has no established function. The MET PSI sequence contains two CXXC motifs, usually found in protein disulfide isomerases (PDI). Using a scrambled oxidized RNAse enzymatic activity assay in vitro, we show, for the first time, that the MET extracellular domain displays disulfide isomerase activity, abolished by PSI domain antibodies. PSI domain deletion or mutations of CXXC sites to AXXA or SXXS result in a significant impairment of the cleavage of the MET 175 kDa precursor protein, abolishing the maturation of α and β chains, of, respectively, 50 kDa and 145 kDa, disulfide-linked. The uncleaved precursor is stuck in the Golgi apparatus and, interestingly, is constitutively phosphorylated. However, no signal transduction is observed as measured by AKT and MAPK phosphorylation. Consequently, biological responses to the MET ligand—hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)—such as growth and epithelial to mesenchymal transition, are hampered. These data show that the MET PSI domain is functional and is required for the maturation, surface expression, and biological functions of the MET oncogenic protein.
The increase in risk of predation with begging activity in broods of Magpies Pica pica

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Begging activity in broods of Magpies Pica pica was measured as the average total number of begging nestlings and the number of nestlings giving begging calls between 5 and 9 days since the first nestling hatched. There was considerable between‐brood variation in begging activity relative to day‐to‐day variation within broods. Predation between 7 and 20 days of age was more frequent among those broods which had not previously suffered from brood reduction due to nestling starvation. Broods which were preyed upon showed significantly higher levels of begging activity than broods of a comparable size that were not preyed upon. In addition, the time elapsed from hatching to predation showed a negative correlation with the total number of begging nestlings. Within broods, those nestlings with the highest begging motivation (measured as the latency to respond when stimulated) seemed to be more readily taken by predators. These results confirm the existence of costs associated to begging in the form of an enhanced risk of being detected by predators.
Use of Supplemental Food by Breeding Ross's Geese and Lesser Snow Geese: Evidence for Variable Anorexia

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Recent research suggests that foods eaten during laying and incubation play a greater role in supplying energy and nutrients to arctic-nesting geese than previously believed. We conducted food-supplementation experiments with Ross's Geese (Chen rossii) and Lesser Snow Geese (C. caerulescens) geese to evaluate: (1) if supplemental food was consumed by laying and incubating geese, (2) how food consumption influenced mass dynamics of somatic tissues of breeding geese, (3) if patterns of mass loss were consistent with fasting adaptations, and (4) whether energetic constraints would cause smaller Ross's Geese to consume more food relative to their body size than would larger Snow Geese. Quantity of supplemental food eaten by both species during laying and incubation was highly variable among individuals. Consumption of supplemental food during laying resulted in differences in overall body composition between control and treatment females. Treatment female Ross's Geese completed laying at a higher mass and with more abdominal fat than controls, whereas treatment female Snow Geese completed laying with heavier breast muscles and hearts. Overall body composition did not differ between control and treatment geese (both sexes and species) at the end of incubation, but treatment geese had heavier hearts than control geese. This suggests that treatment females did not rely to the same extent on metabolic adaptations associated with anorexia to meet energetic costs of incubation as did controls. Stable-nitrogen isotope analysis revealed patterns of protein maintenance during incubation consistent with metabolic adaptations to prolonged fasting. Our prediction that energetic constraints would cause smaller Ross's Geese to consume more food relative to their size than would Snow Geese was not supported. Mass-specific food consumption by Ross's Geese was 30% lower than that of Snow Geese during laying and 48% higher during incubation.
The age of the applied economist: the transformation of economics since the 1970s

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance (Social Sciences)

It is widely accepted that economics has changed significantly since the 1970s with the development of new data sources, new methods of analysis and the computer. This paper argues that this transformation of the discipline involves more than just a rise of empirical work: it involves a new understanding of the relationship between theoretical and applied work, which raised the prestige of the latter. The meaning of economic theory and applied work and the boundaries between them changed as theory and empirical work alike became more applied in the sense that they were brought to bear on specific social issues, often with a policy orientation. Drawing on an analysis of John Bates Clark medal winners and on papers published in a special volume of History of Political Economy, to which which this is an introduction, we then discuss reasons for this transformation. It resulted from new modeling strategies, data sets and technologies as as well as the changing influence of public and private patrons. A10, B20, B40, C00
Effect of pulvinar lesions on visual pattern discrimination in monkeys

Field: Neuroscience (Life Sciences)

This study compares the performance (percent correct responses and reaction times) of three unoperated control monkeys with the postoperative performance of eight monkeys with pulvinar lesions, either inferior pulvinar or medial and lateral pulvinar, on a tachistoscopically presented visual pattern-discrimination task highly demanding of attention. To further emphasize and assess the attentional factor in visual pattern discrimination, all monkeys who attained criterion performance (90% correct response on three consecutive sessions of 100 trials each) were tested for the effects of visually distracting interference stimuli added to the original discriminative stimuli. In addition, retention of postoperatively learned discriminations was tested after a 6-wk interval withou training and compared with the performance of control monkeys. Four monkeys with only inferior pulvinar lesions and one monkey with inferior pulvinar plus medial and lateral pulvinar lesions were markedly impaired in the postoperative learning of a visual pattern discrimination. Three of these monkeys failed to acquire criterion perfromance in 9,000 or more training trials, while two learned to ceiterion level only after prolonged training (7,400 and 6,900 trials). In contrast, monkeys with medial and lateral pulvinar lesions showed no deficit in learning ability compared to unoperated control monkeys. Furthermore, the performance of the two monkeys with inferior pulvinar lesions, who attained the criterion level of learning only with difficulty, was further impaired by the addition of distracting interference stimuli, where the performance of monkeys with medial and lateral pulvinar lesions as well as the control monkeys was only temporarily disrupted by this procedure. None of the monkeys with pulvinar lesions, who were tested for retention of the postoperatively learned discrimination, showed appreciable deficits in comparison to control monkeys. All monkeys, including controls and those uith pulvinar lesions who were able to learn the visual pattern discrimination, showed a common pattern of reaction time (RT) change during the course of the learning; that is, RT was low during change-level performance, increased during learning, and decreased once criterion performance was achieved. Reaction times of monkeys with inferior pulvinar lesions tended to be longer than for controls or for those with medial and lateral pulvinar lesions. These results provide the first behavior evidence that the inferior pulvinar of monkeys is involved in visual pattern discrimination and add further support to the concept of a second visual system in which the inferior pulvinar plays a role. The attentional aspects of the visual pattern-discrimination task employed in this study and the additional effects obtained with distracting stimuli suggest that the impairments arising from inferior pulvinar lesions may be dependent in part on visual attentional factors.
Evaluation of simulated O3 production efficiency during the KORUS-AQ campaign: Implications for anthropogenic NOx emissions in Korea

Field: Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)

We examine O3 production and its sensitivity to precursor gases and boundary layer mixing in Korea by using a 3-D global chemistry transport model and extensive observations during the KORea-US cooperative Air Quality field study in Korea, which occurred in May–June 2016. During the campaign, observed aromatic species onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft, especially toluene, showed high mixing ratios of up to 10 ppbv, emphasizing the importance of aromatic chemistry in O3 production. To examine the role of VOCs and NOx in O3 chemistry, we first implement a detailed aromatic chemistry scheme in the model, which reduces the normalized mean bias of simulated O3 mixing ratios from –26% to –13%. Aromatic chemistry also increases the average net O3 production in Korea by 37%. Corrections of daytime PBL heights, which are overestimated in the model compared to lidar observations, increase the net O3 production rate by ~10%. In addition, increasing NOx emissions by 50% in the model shows best performance in reproducing O3 production characteristics, which implies that NOx emissions are underestimated in the current emissions inventory. Sensitivity tests show that a 30% decrease in anthropogenic NOx emissions in Korea increases the O3 production efficiency throughout the country, making rural regions ~2 times more efficient in producing O3 per NOx consumed. Simulated O3 levels overall decrease in the peninsula except for urban and other industrial areas, with the largest increase (~6 ppbv) in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA). However, with simultaneous reductions in both NOx and VOCs emissions by 30%, O3 decreases in most of the country, including the SMA. This implies the importance of concurrent emission reductions for both NOx and VOCs in order to effectively reduce O3 levels in Korea.