nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
CMV-hFasL transgenic mice are sensitive to low doses of streptozotocin-induced type I diabetes mellitus.

To investigate the role of Fas-FasL pathway in the pathogenesis of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type I diabetes mellitus.



Low dose injections of STZ were used to induce type I diabetes mellitus in the CMV-hFasL transgenic mice. Blood glucose concentration was measured with Glucotrand Plus blood glucose test strips. Expression of hFasL was detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The severity of insulitis was determined by histological examination. Expressions of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha mRNA in the pancreas were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis. Fas expression in apoptotic RIN-5F cells was also confirmed by RT-PCR in vitro.



hFasL was expressed in the islets of CMV-hFasL transgenic mice. The transgenic mice were sensitive to diabetic induction than the control WT mice. IL-1beta and TNF-alpha expressions in the pancreas of CMV-hFasL transgenic mice were far more than that in WT mice. We also found STZ and IL-1beta could both induce higher expression of Fas in RIN-5F. The combining of Fas-FasL could lead to the apoptosis of beta cells in the CMV-hFasL transgenic mice.



Fas-FasL interaction plays a significant role in the pathogenic mechanism of type I diabetes mellitus.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
On the Combinatorics of Unramified Admissible Modules

We construct a certain topological algebra Ext �∨ X(χ) from a Deligne-Langlands parameter space X(χ) attached to the group of rational points of a connected split reductive algebraic group G over a non-Archimedean local field K .T hen we prove the equivalence between the category of continuous modules of Ext �∨ X(χ )a nd the category of unramified admissible modules of G(K) with a generalized infinitesimal character corresponding to χ. This is an analogue of Soergel’s conjecture which concerns the real reductive setting.

Field of study: Mathematics
Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering from Ge nanodots self-organized on Si(001) examined with soft X-rays.

Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) measurements with soft X-rays have been applied to Ge nanodots capped with a Si layer. Spatially anisotropic distribution of nanodots resulted in strongly asymmetric GISAXS patterns in the qy direction in the soft X-ray region, which have not been observed with conventional hard X-rays. However, such apparent differences were explained by performing a GISAXS intensity calculation on the Ewald sphere, i.e. taking the curvature of Ewald sphere into account.

Field of study: Physics
Ethanol elevates fetal serum glutamate levels in the rat.

Glutamate is an important excitatory neurotransmitter. However, a sustained elevation of glutamate in the extracellular space may be toxic to neurons. Because the blood-brain barrier is incomplete in the developing fetus, an elevation of fetal serum glutamate could expose the immature, growing brain to potentially toxic levels of extracellular glutamate. Chronic ethanol consumption during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for a complex array of congenital anomalies, including alterations in the CNS, a hallmark of the fetal alcohol syndrome. Some central nervous system changes appear to involve the glutamate receptor, including reduced number and altered function. One mechanism for receptor downregulation may be a sustained elevation in extracellular glutamate. We hypothesize that chronic ethanol exposure during pregnancy leads to an elevation in fetal serum glutamate. When rats were fed ethanol-containing liquid diet throughout pregnancy, growth retardation of fetuses was observed at sacrifice (gestation day 20). Within each group, ethanol-fed, pair-fed, and ad libitum chow-fed, serum glutamate levels were generally higher in the fetus than in the dam. Ethanol treatment had no effect on fetal or maternal serum glutamine, a reciprocal metabolite of glutamate. In contrast, ethanol treatment increased serum glutamate levels in the fetal serum by nearly 50%, compared with either of the control groups. Maternal serum glutamate was not affected. The finding of ethanol-induced elevation of fetal serum glutamate suggests that the developing brain might be concurrently exposed to elevated levels of extracellular glutamate. Chronic exposure to elevated glutamate during critical periods of brain development may contribute to the pathogenesis of the fetal alcohol syndrome.

Field of study: Medicine
GEANT4 simulations of the n_TOF spallation source and their benchmarking

Neutron production and transport in the spallation target of the n_TOF facility at CERN has been simulated with GEANT4. The results obtained with different models of high-energy nucleon-nucleus interaction have been compared with the measured characteristics of the neutron beam, in particular the flux and its dependence on neutron energy, measured in the first experimental area. The best agreement at present, within 20% for the absolute value of the flux, and within few percent for the energy dependence in the whole energy range from thermal to 1 GeV, is obtained with the INCL++ model coupled with the GEANT4 native de-excitation model. All other available models overestimate by a larger factor, of up to 70%, the n_TOF neutron flux. The simulations are also able to accurately reproduce the neutron beam energy resolution function, which is essentially determined by the moderation time inside the target/moderator assembly. The results here reported provide confidence on the use of GEANT4 for simulations of spallation neutron sources.

Field of study: Physics
D1 receptors mediate dopamine action in the fetal suprachiasmatic nuclei: studies of mice with targeted deletion of the D1 dopamine receptor gene.

Studies in rodents suggest the presence of a dopaminergic system that influences the function of a biological clock in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). To provide insights into mechanisms of dopamine action in the SCN, we studied transgenic mice that had either one allele (+¿-) or both alleles (-/-) of the D1 dopamine receptor gene deleted, along with normal (+/+) littermates. As expected, receptor labelling autoradiography studies using [125I]SCH 23982 showed a complete absence of D1 dopamine receptor binding sites in the SCN of -/- animals. When pregnant mice from +¿- x +¿- matings were injected with the D1 receptor agonist SKF 38393, or the dopamine reuptake blocker GBR 12909 at day 19 of gestation, c-fos mRNA expression was observed in the SCN of +/+ fetuses. In contrast, c-fos mRNA induction was not seen in -/- or +¿- litter mates. Injection of cocaine into pregnant dams also resulted in robust SCN c-fos mRNA expression in +/+ mice. Increases in SCN c-fos mRNA expression were also seen in +¿- and -/- mice suggesting that cocaine action in the SCN involves both D1 receptor-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Collectively, our studies of transgenic mice deficient in D1 receptors support the presence of a functional dopaminergic system in the fetal SCN. We also identify D1 receptors as the prominent transducer of dopamine action in the fetal SCN.

Field of study: Biology
Alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes in baboons: tissue distribution, catalytic properties, and variant phenotypes in liver, kidney, stomach, and testis.

Isoelectric focusing and cellulose acetate electrophoresis were used to examine the multiplicity, tissue distribution, and variability of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) among baboons, a primate species used as a model for research on alcohol metabolism and alcohol-induced liver pathology. Five major ADH isozymes were resolved and distinguished on the basis of their isoelectric points, tissue distributions, relative activities with alcohol substrates, and sensitivities to inhibition with 4-methyl pyrazole. ADH-1 and ADH-2 exhibited class I kinetic properties and were observed in high activity in kidney and liver extracts, respectively. ADH-3 showed class II kinetic properties, exhibiting high activity in stomach extracts, and was widely distributed in extracts of other baboon tissues, including kidney, esophagus, heart, testis, brain, and male sex accessory tissues. ADH-4 also showed class II ADH properties but was found only in liver (similar to human "pi-ADH"). ADH-5 exhibited class III ADH kinetic properties, being inactive with ethanol up to 0.5 M (similar to human "chi-ADH") and was distributed widely in baboon tissue extracts. Major activity variation was observed for liver ADH-4 between different animals. An electrophoretic variant for ADH-3 was observed for the enzyme in stomach, kidney, and testis extracts, and activity variation existed for this isozyme in kidney extracts. It is apparent that baboon ADH shares a number of features with the human ADH phenotype; however, several species-specific differences were observed, particularly for the liver and kidney class I isozymes and for stomach ADH.

Field of study: Medicine
Convergence Theorems for Asymptotically Quasi-Nonexpansive Type Mappings in Convex Metric Spaces

The aim of this paper to study a Noor-type iteration process with errors for approximating common fixed point of a finite family of uniformly L-Lipschitzian asymptotically quasi-nonexpansive type mappings in the framework of convex metric spaces. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for strong convergence of said iteration scheme involving a finite family of above said mappings and also establish a strong convergence theorem by using condition (A). The results presented in this paper extend, improve and unify some existing results in the previous work.

Field of study: Mathematics
$rm K$-SVD: An Algorithm for Designing Overcomplete Dictionaries for Sparse Representation

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the study of sparse representation of signals. Using an overcomplete dictionary that contains prototype signal-atoms, signals are described by sparse linear combinations of these atoms. Applications that use sparse representation are many and include compression, regularization in inverse problems, feature extraction, and more. Recent activity in this field has concentrated mainly on the study of pursuit algorithms that decompose signals with respect to a given dictionary. Designing dictionaries to better fit the above model can be done by either selecting one from a prespecified set of linear transforms or adapting the dictionary to a set of training signals. Both of these techniques have been considered, but this topic is largely still open. In this paper we propose a novel algorithm for adapting dictionaries in order to achieve sparse signal representations. Given a set of training signals, we seek the dictionary that leads to the best representation for each member in this set, under strict sparsity constraints. We present a new method-the K-SVD algorithm-generalizing the K-means clustering process. K-SVD is an iterative method that alternates between sparse coding of the examples based on the current dictionary and a process of updating the dictionary atoms to better fit the data. The update of the dictionary columns is combined with an update of the sparse representations, thereby accelerating convergence. The K-SVD algorithm is flexible and can work with any pursuit method (e.g., basis pursuit, FOCUSS, or matching pursuit). We analyze this algorithm and demonstrate its results both on synthetic tests and in applications on real image data

Field of study: Engineering
Correlation between the variation of the diffusion coefficient of the vacancies and their concentration in the partially oxidized spinels in defect phase γ

The oxidation kinetics of preoxidized magnetites (Fe 2+ 1−3 γ □Fe 3+ 2(1+ γ ) ) O 2- 4 and zinc substituted magntites (Zn 2+ x Fe 2+ 1− x Fe 3+ 2 )O 2− 4 into the γ defect phases is found to be governed by the diffusion with a chemical diffusion coefficient depending on vacancy concentration and decreasing with δ and x . For low substitution extents, the rate law written as v = kP n O 2 with n= 1 2 agrees with a total association of defects. For Zn-rich compounds, the law written as v=kP 1 5 O 2 is in better agreement with a partial association of defects.

Field of study: Materials science
RESEARCH ARTICLES A Preliminary Report on the Academic Performance of Pharmacy Students in a Distance Education Program

Specific objectives were to (1) compare the academic performance of students attending the founding versus distance campuses of one college of pharmacy and (2) investigate whether the campus attended was associated with first professional year academic performance.  Data regarding students' academic performance in specific courses and fall semester and cumulative first-professional-year grade point averages (GPAs) were retrieved. Campus attended, prepharmacy science and math GPA, pharmacy college admissions test (PCAT) composite score, highest prepharmacy academic degree, age, and gender were used to predict academic performance.  Campus attended did not predict fall semester GPA (p = 0.44) or cumulative GPA (p = 0.95). Significant predictors were prepharmacy science and math GPA, PCAT composite score, and highest prepharmacy academic degree.  After the first academic year, students on the founding campus and distance campuses performed equally well after considerin...

Field of study: Education, Medicine
Tuning the Kondo effect with back and side gates - Application to carbon nanotube superconducting quantum interference devices and pi-junctions

We recently presented the first superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) with single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) Josephson junctions   (2006).], this http URL . We showed that quantum confinement in each junction induces a discrete quantum dot (QD) energy level structure, which can be controlled with two lateral electrostatic gates. In addition, a backgate electrode can vary the transparency of the QD barriers, thus permitting to change the hybridization of the QD states with the superconducting contacts. This technique is further illustrated in this additional supporting material where we show that the Kondo coupling for a given resonance can be continuously tuned by varying the backgate voltage. It allowed us to show  that CNT Josephson junctions can be used as gate-controlled pi-junctions, that is, the sign of the current-phase relation across the CNT junctions can be tuned with a gate voltage.

Field of study: Physics
Mitochondrial metabolism in different thyroid states.

The protonmotive force, as well as the mitochondrial and cytosolic concentrations of malate, 2-oxoglutarate, glutamate and aspartate, were determined in livers from hypo-, eu- and hyper-thyroid rats, by density-gradient centrifugation of freeze-clamped livers in non-aqueous solvents [Soboll, Akerboom, Schwenke, Haase & Sies (1980) . The mitochondrial/cytosolic pH difference and the membrane potential were significantly enhanced in hyperthyroid livers compared with the hypothyroid state, resulting in an increased protonmotive force in the presence of thyroid hormones [Soboll & Sies (1989)  Enzymol. 174, 118-130]. The mitochondrial concentrations of 2-oxoglutarate, glutamate and aspartate were significantly higher in the euthyroid than in the hypothyroid state, but only slightly higher in the hyperthyroid state. Mitochondrial malate, on the other hand, increased significantly from the hypothyroid to the hyperthyroid state. The mitochondrial/cytosolic concentration gradients were significantly increased in the presence of thyroid hormones only for malate. The changes in steady-state metabolite concentrations reflect a higher substrate supply and a stimulation of mitochondrial metabolism. However, a clear relationship between the increased protonmotive force, as the driving force for mitochondrial metabolite transport, and the subcellular metabolite concentrations is not observable in different thyroid states.

Field of study: Biology, Computer science
Influence of oxygen on electrical properties of βPbF2 thin films

In this paper, a study of oxygen adsorption by βPbF 2 thin films is presented. In a first part, results of oxygen analysis by nuclear methods and by ESCA are presented. Then, the influence of oxygen on both interfacial and bulk electrical properties is studied. Besides a slow diffusion process in the film, the results seem to show the presence of a thin oxidized layer at the surface.

Field of study: Materials science
[A novel method for multiplex detection of gastroenteritis-associated viruses].

To develop and optimize a simultaneous detection method of RotavirusA, Norovirus GI, GII, Sapovirus, human astrovirus, enteric adenoviruses and HBoV2 with GenomeLab GeXP analysis system. The sensitivity was verified to be 10(4) copies/microL with plasmids containing the viral targets in triplicate on different days, and no cross-reaction with enterovirus71, human Parechovirus and PicobirnavirusII was observed. Finally, we successfully developed a high throughout, rapid and maneuverable multiplex RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of seven viruses related with viral gastroenteritis, which provide a novel method for the molecular diagnosis of diarrhea-associated virus.

Field of study: Biology
Investigation of the Possible Role of Tie2 Pathway and TEK Gene in Asthma and Allergic Conjunctivitis

Tie2, coded by the TEK gene, is a tyrosine kinase receptor and plays a central role in vascular stability. It was suggested that variations in the TEK gene might influence the susceptibility to asthma and allergic conjunctivitis. The aim of this study was to further investigate these suggestions, involving different populations and to study the Tie2 related pathway on a mouse model of asthma. The discovery, stage I cohort involved 306 patients with moderate and severe allergic rhinitis, the stage II study consisted of four cohorts, namely, adult and pediatric asthmatics and corresponding controls. Altogether, there were 1,258 unrelated individuals in these cohorts, out of which 63.9% were children and 36.1% were adults. In stage I, 112 SNPs were screened in the TEK gene of the patients in order to search for associations with asthma and allergic conjunctivitis. The top associated SNPs were selected for association studies on the replication cohorts. The rs3824410 SNP was nominally associated with a reduced risk of asthma in the stage I cohort and with severe asthma within the asthmatic population (p=0.009; OR=0.48) in the replication cohort. In the stage I study, 5 SNPs were selected in conjunctivitis. Due to the low number of adult patients with conjunctivitis, only children were involved in stage II. Within the asthmatic children, the rs622232 SNP was associated with conjunctivitis in boys in the dominant model (p=0.004; OR=4.76), while the rs7034505 showed association to conjunctivitis in girls (p=0.012; OR=2.42). In the lung of a mouse model of asthma, expression changes of 10 Tie2 pathway-related genes were evaluated at three points in time. Eighty percent of the selected genes showed significant changes in their expressions at least at one time point during the process, leading from sensitization to allergic airway inflammation. The expressions of both the Tek gene and its ligands showed a reduced level at all time points. In conclusion, our results provide additional proof that the Tie2 pathway, the TEK gene and its variations might have a role in asthma and allergic conjunctivitis. The gene and its associated pathways can be potential therapeutic targets in both diseases.

Field of study: Biology
File distribution using a peer-to-peer network--a simulation study

As the Internet became widespread, people saw it as a way of distributing content. But while the average bandwidth capacity is increasing, users around the world are trying to share more data. Although the servers are able to acquire more bandwidth, they cannot keep up with the rapidly increasing requests of the users. Several systems appeared that alleviate the server from the dissemination process. But such systems are not always suitable for disseminating highly anticipated files of considerable size. The evolution of peer-to-peer systems gave a new way of attacking this problem. Each user can assist the dissemination process by acting as a server as well. In this paper the way traditional systems meet users' demands is demonstrated, and simulation results of a peer-to-peer approach based on a mobile agent platform are presented. Our focus is on how different parameters can affect the dissemination process of a highly anticipated file in this network.

Field of study: Computer science, Engineering
Laura Bennion MD CCFP DipSportMed

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D re Laura Bennion est assise sur un banc dans le vestiaire des dames seniors. Elle fait partie de cette equipe de hockey depuis bien des annees. Cette annee, elle est l’entraineur, car elle s’est

Field of study: Medicine
Crystal Growth of Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+{\delta}}$ Whiskers from Pulverized Amorphous Precursors.

High-transition temperature superconducting whiskers of Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+{\delta}}$ were successfully grown from pulverized amorphous precursors. The obtained whiskers revealed a typical composition and diffraction patterns of a superconducting Bi-2212 phase. The whiskers from tiny precursors exhibit a spiral feature, suggesting a contribution from the growth mechanism of both vapor-liquid-solid and compressive stress models. The proposed method provides longer whiskers against the growth period, compared with that from conventional root-growth method.

Field of study: Physics
PGC-1α Participates in the Protective Effect of Chronic Intermittent Hypobaric Hypoxia on Cardiomyocytes

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) or hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury is always characterized by Ca2+ overload, energy metabolism disorder and necrocytosis of cardiomyocytes. We showed previously that chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) improves cardiac function during I/R through improving cardiac glucose metabolism. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of CIHH treatment improving energy metabolism in cardiomyocytes are still unclear. In this study, we determined whether and how CIHH protects cardiomyocytes from Ca2+ overload and necrocytosis through energy regulating pathway.  Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: control (CON) and CIHH group. CIHH rats received a hypobaric hypoxia simulating 5,000-m altitude for 28 days, 6 hours each day, in hypobaric chamber. Rat ventricular myocytes were obtained by enzymatic dissociation. The intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and cTnI protein expression were used to evaluate the degree of cardiomyocytes injury during and after H/R. The mRNA and protein expressions involved in cardiac energy metabolism were determined using quantitative PCR and Western blot techniques. PGC-1α siRNA adenovirus transfection was used to knock down PGC-1α gene expression of cardiomyocytes to determine the effect of PGC-1α in the energy regulating pathway.  H/R increased [Ca2+]i and cTnI protein expression in cardiomyocytes. CIHH treatment decreased [Ca2+]i (p< 0.01) and cTnI protein expression (p< 0.01) in cardiomyocytes after H/R. Both mRNA and protein expression of PGC-1α increased after CIHH treatment, which was reversed by PGC-1α siRNA adenovirus transfection. Furthermore, CIHH treatment increased the expression of HIF-1α, AMPK and p-AMPK in cardiomyocytes, and pretreatment with AMPK inhibitor dorsomorphin abolished the enhancement of PGC-1α protein expression in cardiomyocytes by CIHH (p< 0.01). In addition, PGC-1α knock down also abolished the increased protein level of GLUT4 (p< 0.01) and decreased the protein level of CPT-1b (p< 0.05) in cardiomyocytes by CIHH treatment.  CIHH treatment could reduce the calcium overload and H/R injury in cardiomyocytes by up-regulating the expression of PGC-1α and regulating the energy metabolism of glucose and lipid. The HIF-1α-AMPK signaling pathway might be involved in the process.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry