julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
The centrosome and mitotic spindle apparatus in cancer and senescence
2010-11-15

Altered cell division is associated with overproliferation and tumorigenesis, however, mitotic aberrations can also trigger antiproliferative responses leading to postmitotic cell cycle exit. Here, we focus on the role of the centrosome and in particular of centrosomal TACC (transforming acidic coiled coil) proteins in tumorigenesis and cellular senescence. We have complied recent evidence that inhibition or depletion of various mitotic proteins which take over key in centrosome and kinetochore integrity and mitotic checkpoint function in sufficient to activate a p53-p21(WAF) driven premature senescence phenotype. These findings have direct implications for proliferative tissue homeostasis as well as for cellular and organismal aging.
The D299G/T399I Toll-Like Receptor 4 Variant Associates with Body and Liver Fat: Results from the TULIP and METSIM Studies
2010-11-15

TLR4(D299G/T399I) associates with increased total body fat, visceral fat, liver fat and decreased insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic Caucasians and may contribute to diabetes risk. This finding supports the role of TLR4 as a molecular link between obesity and insulin resistance.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa
2010-11-15

Debate over what to do about previous gross and systematic violations of human rights often arise during times of transition, when societies are moving away from an autocratic regime toward more democratic forms of government. In the criminological literature, many of these acts are considered “political crimes,” meaning crimes committed by people against the state, designed to protest, change, or oust the existing establishment, as well as crimes committed by the state against people to sanction the acts that threaten that same establishment (Parmentier, 2001). The problem is one of “dealing with the past” (Boraine, Levy, & Scheffer, 1997), “transitional justice” (Kritz, 1995), or “post-conflict justice” (Bassiouni, 2002). Over the last decades various transitional justice mechanisms have been developed to deal with the legacy of a dark past: (1) in many cases the violations or crimes were not dealt with at all, thus resulting in a situation of impunity or the incapacity of the judicial system to prosecute; (2) the violations and crimes have become the object of criminal prosecutions, by national courts, courts in a third country, hybrid courts, or international tribunals and courts; or (3) other mechanisms such as amnesty, lustration (i.e., government policies of limiting the participation in public office of civil servants and security personnel attached to the former regime) and truth commissions. Each of these may be used independently or as complementary mechanisms operating alongside others. The truth commission process has been described as a “third way,” in other words, as a mechanism that lies between impunity and formal prosecution.
Subgroups of a Direct Product of Groups that Satisfy the Strong Frattini Argument
2010-11-15

Abstract We give criteria to characterize subgroups of a direct product of finite solvable groups that satisfy the strong Frattini argument. Key Words: Direct productsFinite solvable groupsSubgroup properties2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 20D40Secondary 20D10 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks are due to Ana Martínez-Pastor and Maria Dolores Pérez-Ramos, who hosted the last three authors in Valencia while working on this project, and whose valuable suggestions were crucial to the completion of this article. The final two authors would also like to acknowledge that their work was supported by Project MTM2007-68010-C03-03, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia and FEDER, Spain. Notes Communicated by L. Small.
Cell-Based Microarrays of Infectious Adenovirus Encoding Short Hairpin RNA (shRNA)
2010-11-15

Genome-wide screening procedures have developed into a useful tool for assigning new functions to known proteins or for identifying new interplayers in cell metabolism, especially under pathological conditions. Since primary cells reflect the physiological situation more closely than transformed cell lines, their employment in such screenings is highly desirable. A difficulty to overcome--besides the shortage in cell supply--is that primary cells are less amenable to classical methods of genetic manipulation such as lipofection or electroporation. By using adenovirus as the vehicle for genetic manipulation, efficient transfer of genetic information can be achieved without drastic effects on cell viability, and by using a microarray format even small amounts of cells suffice to perform a screen.
Discriminating Cancer From Noncancer Tissue in the Prostate by 3-Dimensional Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging
2010-11-16

OBJECTIVES: A prospective multicenter validation of the ability of 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to distinguish cancer from noncancer tissues throughout the prostate with histopathology of the resected organ as the standard of reference. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained for all centers and all participating patients and volunteers provided written informed consent. Ninety-nine patients and 10 age-matched volunteers from 8 participating centers underwent magnetic resonance imaging and 3-dimensional MRSI with an endorectal coil at 1.5 T. Selected MRSI voxels were assigned to the peripheral zone (PZ), the central gland (CG), the periurethral area, and cancer tissue. Signal ratios of choline + creatine to citrate (CC/C) in spectra of these voxels were automatically calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to assess the accuracy by which this ratio can discriminate cancer from noncancer tissue. RESULTS: A total of 70% of voxels in noncancer tissue and 90% of voxels in cancer tissue passed the quality check of the automatically fitted spectra. The median CC/C was significantly different between any noncancer and cancer tissue (P &lt; 0.0001), but not between the different contributing centers. CC/C increased with cancer focus size (P =0.0008) and certainty of voxel mapping to histopathologic cancer site (P 0.0001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for discriminating voxels of cancer tissue from noncancer tissue was 0.88 (confidence interval: 0.84-0.92) in the PZ and 0.76 (confidence interval: 0.71- 0.81) in the CG.
Quantitative diffusion imaging of adipose tissue in the human lower leg at 1.5 T
2010-11-16

Abstract Diffusion‐weighted spin‐echo echo‐planar imaging was developed and applied for assessment of diffusion coefficients of adipose tissue in human lower leg on a 1.5‐T whole‐body MR scanner. Because of the higher molecular weight of triglycerides, apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of adipose tissue are approximately two orders of magnitude smaller compared with water, leading to the necessity of using high b ‐values up to 50,000 sec/mm 2 and an echo time of 240 msec for sufficient diffusion‐related signal attenuation. ADC maps of adipose tissue in the human lower leg were derived for diffusion encoding along orthogonal spatial directions in six healthy volunteers. Mean diffusion coefficients in the tibial bone marrow amounted to (1.81 ± 0.10) × 10 −5 mm 2 /sec (left–right), (1.96 ± 0.10) × 10 −5 mm 2 /sec (anterior–posterior), and (1.96 ± 0.20) × 10 −5 mm 2 /sec (head–feet), respectively. Pixel‐wise calculated ADC values of subcutaneous adipose tissue showed a distinctly higher variation with the smallest ADC values similar to those measured for tibial bone marrow. Some subcutaneous adipose tissue regions showed increased signal attenuation at higher b ‐values resulting in ADC coefficients up to 4.2 × 10 −5 mm 2 /sec. It must be noted that diffusion measurements with extremely high b ‐values in vivo are extremely sensitive to incoherent motion effects in tissue. Nonetheless, it could be shown that in vivo diffusion imaging of adipose tissue in human lower leg is possible at 1.5 T in acceptable measurement time of a few minutes. Potential future applications of fat diffusion imaging are seen in temperature measurements in adipose tissue, detection of free fatty acids in white or brown adipose tissue in case of high lipolysis, differentiation of macro‐ and microvesicular steatosis, or assessment of the mobility of intramyocellular lipids. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in malignant melanoma can occur independently of the BRAF T1799A mutation.
2010-11-16

BRAF exon 15 mutations have been identified in a large proportion of malignant melanomas, melanoma metastases and melanocytic nevi. Mutated BRAF is one of the potential activators of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway by phosphorylating ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase). We therefore analyzed the correlation of BRAF V600E and ERK-activation in 20 malignant melanomas and 21 subsequently evolved, paired metastases of the same donor by BRAF exon 15 DNA sequencing and phospho-specific immunohistochemistry for ERK. Phospho-ERK expression was present in 84% of primary melanomas and in all 19 metastases analyzed. In contrast, BRAF mutational status was concordant in only 12/20 pairs (60%) of the primary melanoma and metastasis of the same patient. Surprisingly, the BRAF mutation did not correlate with pERK expression. As even single tumors showed heterogeneous staining for pERK, we used laser-capture microdissection to study BRAF V600E status in pERK positive and pERK negative cells separately. Even on the single cell level ERK activation did not correlate with the BRAF mutation. Our results demonstrate that, in melanomas, activation of the MAPK pathway can occur through signaling pathways operating independently of BRAF T1799A.
Spectral Analyses Of The Hottest White Dwarfs: Grids Of Spectral Energy\\n Distributions For Extremely Hot, Compact Stars In The Framework Of The\\n Virtual Observatory
2010-11-16

Present X-ray missions like Chandra and XMM-Newton provide high-resolution\\nand high-S/N observations of extremely hot white dwarfs, e.g. burst spectra of\\nnovae. Their analysis requires adequate Non-LTE model atmospheres. The\\nT\\\\"ubingen Non-LTE Model-Atmosphere Package TMAP can calculate such model\\natmospheres and spectral energy distributions at a high level of\\nsophistication. In the framework of the Virtual Observatory, the German\\nAstrophysical Virtual Observatory (GAVO) offers TheoSSA, a Virtual Observatory\\n(VO) service that provides easy access to theoretical SEDs. We present a new\\ngrid of SEDs, that is calculated in the parameter range of novae and supersoft\\nX-ray sources.\\n
Hunting at the highway: traffic noise reduces foraging efficiency in acoustic predators
2010-11-17

Noise pollution from human traffic networks and industrial activity impacts vast areas of our planet. While anthropogenic noise effects on animal communication are well documented, we have very limited understanding of noise impact on more complex ecosystem processes, such as predator–prey interactions, albeit urgently needed to devise mitigation measures. Here, we show that traffic noise decreases the foraging efficiency of an acoustic predator, the greater mouse-eared bat ( Myotis myotis ). These bats feed on large, ground-running arthropods that they find by listening to their faint rustling sounds. We measured the bats' foraging performance on a continuous scale of acoustically simulated highway distances in a behavioural experiment, designed to rule out confounding factors such as general noise avoidance. Successful foraging bouts decreased and search time drastically increased with proximity to the highway. At 7.5 m to the road, search time was increased by a factor of five. From this increase, we predict a 25-fold decrease in surveyed ground area and thus in foraging efficiency for a wild bat. As most of the bats' prey are predators themselves, the noise impact on the bats' foraging performance will have complex effects on the food web and ultimately on the ecosystem stability. Similar scenarios apply to other ecologically important and highly protected acoustic predators, e.g. owls. Our study provides the empirical basis for quantitative predictions of anthropogenic noise impacts on ecosystem processes. It highlights that an understanding of the effects of noise emissions and other forms of ‘sensory pollution’ are crucially important for the assessment of environmental impact of human activities.
High-order perturbations of a spherical collapsing star
2010-11-17

A formalism to deal with high-order perturbations of a general spherical background was developed in earlier work [D. Brizuela, J. M. Martín-García, and G. A. Mena Marugán, Phys. Rev. D 74, 044039 (2006); D. Brizuela, J. M. Martín-García, and G. A. Mena Marugán, Phys. Rev. D 76, 024004 (2007)]. In this paper, we apply it to the particular case of a perfect fluid background. We have expressed the perturbations of the energy-momentum tensor at any order in terms of the perturbed fluid’s pressure, density, and velocity. In general, these expressions are not linear and have sources depending on lower-order perturbations. For the second-order case we make the explicit decomposition of these sources in tensor spherical harmonics. Then, a general procedure is given to evolve the perturbative equations of motions of the perfect fluid for any value of the harmonic label. Finally, with the problem of a spherical collapsing star in mind, we discuss the high-order perturbative matching conditions across a timelike surface, in particular, the surface separating the perfect fluid interior from the exterior vacuum.
Iloprost in dermatology
2010-11-17

Summary Rheologically active pharmacotherapy is of high importance in many dermato‐logical diseases. The intravenous administration of iloprost belongs to the most effective systemic therapeutic agents that serve this pharmacodynamic approach and additionally substantial knowledge on the safety and efficacy exists. We review the dermatologically relevant data in order to offer an easy, thematically focused overview to practicing dermatologists.
Development and reliability of a classification system for gross motor function in children with metachromatic leucodystrophy
2010-11-18

The GMFC-MLD is a highly reliable, feasible tool for standardized assessment of gross motor function in MLD which can be used for the description of the natural course of the disease and for evaluation of therapeutic options such as stem cell transplantation and enzyme replacement, both of which are topics of current research.
Non-Gaussian wave functionals in Coulomb gauge Yang-Mills theory
2010-11-18

A general method to treat non-Gaussian vacuum wave functionals in the\\nHamiltonian formulation of a quantum field theory is presented. By means of\\nDyson--Schwinger techniques, the static Green functions are expressed in terms\\nof the kernels arising in the Taylor expansion of the exponent of the vacuum\\nwave functional. These kernels are then determined by minimizing the vacuum\\nexpectation value of the Hamiltonian. The method is applied to Yang--Mills\\ntheory in Coulomb gauge, using a vacuum wave functional whose exponent contains\\nup to quartic terms in the gauge field. An estimate of the cubic and quartic\\ninteraction kernels is given using as input the gluon and ghost propagators\\nfound with a Gaussian wave functional.\\n
A tool to improve pre-selection for deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease
2010-11-18

Determining the eligibility of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) for deep brain stimulation (DBS) can be challenging for general (non-specialised) neurologists. We evaluated the use of an online screening tool (Stimulus) that aims to support appropriate referral to a specialised centre for the further evaluation of DBS. Implementation of the tool took place via an ongoing European multicentre educational programme, currently completed in 15 DBS centres with 208 referring neurologists. Use of the tool in daily practice was monitored via an online data capture programme. Selection decisions of patients referred with the assistance of the Stimulus tool were compared to those of patients outside the screening programme. Three years after the start of the programme, 3,128 patient profiles had been entered. The intention for referral was made for 802 patients and referral intentions were largely in accordance with the tool recommendations. Follow-up at 6 months showed that actual referral took place in only 28%, predominantly due to patients' reluctance to undergo brain surgery. In patients screened with the tool and referred to a DBS centre, the acceptance rate was 77%, significantly higher than that of the unscreened population (48%). The tool showed a sensitivity of 99% and a specificity of 12% with a positive and negative predictive value of 79 and 75%, respectively. The Stimulus tool is useful in assisting general neurologists to identify appropriate candidates for DBS consideration. The principal reason for not referring potentially eligible patients is their reluctance to undergo brain surgery.
Ground-state and collective modes of a spin-polarized dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate in a harmonic trap
2010-11-18

We report new results for the Thomas-Fermi groundstate and the quadrupolar\\nmodes of density oscillations of a spin- polarized dipolar interacting\\nBose-Einstein condensate for the case when the external magnetic field is not\\norientated parallel to a principal axis of a harmonic anisotropic trap.\\n
Combining ocFLIM and FIDSAM reveals fast and dynamic physiological responses at subcellular resolution in living plant cells
2010-11-18

For a deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms within cells and for the realization of predictive biology for intracellular processes at subcellular level, quantitative biology is required. Therefore, novel optical and spectroscopic technologies with quantitative and dynamic output are needed in cell biology. Here, we present a combined approach of novel one-chromophore fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to probe the local environment of fluorescent fusion proteins and fluorescence intensity decay shape analysis microscopy to suppress interfering autofluorescence. By applying these techniques, we are able to analyse the subcellular localization and partitioning of a green fluorescence protein fusion of the salt stress-induced protein low temperature induced (LTI)6b in great detail with high spatial and temporal resolution in living cells of Arabidopsis plants.
Meteorological profiling of the lower troposphere using the research UAV "M2AV Carolo"
2010-11-18

Abstract. Vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and wind up to a height of 1500 m a.g.l. (above ground level) were measured with the automatically operating small unmanned research aircraft M2AV (Meteorological Mini Aerial Vehicle) during the LITFASS-2009 (LIndenberg-To-Falkenberg: Aircraft, Scintillometer and large-eddy Simulation) experiment. The campaign took place in July 2009 over the heterogeneous landscape around the Meteorologcial Observatory Lindenberg – Richard-Aßmann-Observatory in the eastern part of Germany. Due to a high vertical resolution of about 10 cm the M2AV data show details of the turbulent structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). One profile takes about 10–15 min allowing for a continuous monitoring of certain phases of ABL development by successive ascents and descents during one flight (50–60 min duration). Two case studies of measurements performed during the morning and evening ABL transition periods are discussed in detail. Comparison of the aircraft-based temperature, humidity and wind profiles with tower, sodar/RASS, wind profiler/RASS, radiosoundings and microwave radiometer profiler measurements show good agreement taking into account the different sampling strategies of these measurement systems.
Neurovascular Coupling in the Human Visual Cortex Is Modulated by Cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) Gene Variant
2010-11-19

Functional hyperemia, the brain's capability to alter microvascular blood flow in response to the metabolic demands of active neurons, is essential for sustained mammalian brain function. Pharmacological studies in mice suggest neurovascular coupling to centrally involve cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) metabolites such as prostaglandins. In humans, however, genetic variation of the COX-1 gene impacting the coupling of neural activity to hemodynamic responses (HRs) has not been investigated yet. In this study, we determined whether COX-1 genotype-dependent enzymatic function impacts HRs in humans. Specifically, using a double-blind Imaging Genetics approach utilizing functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we measured HRs following visual checkerboard stimulation. COX-1 genotype (L237M, rs5789)-dependent decrease in enzymatic function in heterozygous L/M carriers is associated with a 42% reduction of the HR amplitude. This finding is discussed in the context of potentially imbalanced neurovascular mechanisms involving arachidonic acid, which underlie vasodilatory and vasoconstrictive forces of functional hemodynamics. Generally, these findings might help to improve our understanding of pathologies such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease in which neurovascular coupling is altered. Additionally, our results may have important implications for functional brain imaging in which HRs are commonly used as a surrogate for neural activation.