Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Modulates Vascular Permeability and Cell Recruitment in Acute Inflammation In Vivo

The sphingosine kinase (SPK)/sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) pathway recently has been associated with a variety of inflammatory-based diseases. The majority of these studies have been performed in vitro. Here, we have addressed the relevance of the SPK/S1P pathway in the acute inflammatory response in vivo by using different well known preclinical animal models. The study has been performed by operating a pharmacological modulation using 1) l-cycloserine and dl-threo-dihydrosphingosine (DTD), S1P synthesis inhibitors or 2) 2-undecyl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (BML-241) and N-(2,6-dichloro-4-pyridinyl)-2-[1,3-dimethyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-6-yl]-hydrazinecarboxamide (JTE-013), specific S1P2 and S1P3 receptor antagonists. After local injection of carrageenan in mouse paw S1P release significantly increases locally and decreases during the resolution phase. Expression of SPKs and S1P2 and S1P3 receptors is increased in inflamed tissues. Administration of l-cycloserine or DTD caused a significant anti-inflammatory effect. By using different animal models we have also demonstrated that the SPK/S1P pathway contributes to changes in vascular permeability and promotes cell recruitment. The S1P effect on cell recruitment results is receptor-mediated because both JTE-013 and BML-241 inhibited zymosan-induced cell chemotaxis without effect on vascular leakage. Conversely, changes in vascular permeability involve mainly SPK activity, because compound 48/80-induced vascular leakage was significantly inhibited by DTD. In conclusion, the SPK/S1P pathway is involved in acute inflammation and could represent a valuable therapeutic target for developing a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs.
Evaluation of Bax and Bak Gene Mutations and Expression in Breast Cancer

Genetic analyses have provided evidence to suggest that Bax and Bak are the essential genes for apoptosis in mammalians cells. This study aimed to search for biomarkers in breast cancer to be used as prognostic markers for the disease. The Bak and Bax genes expressions were analyzed in 23 breast cancer patients by RT-PCR technique. SSCP technique was used to detect the mobility of the abnormal fragment in Bak exon 4. PCR for Bax promoter was digested with Tau 1 restriction enzyme to identify a single polymorphism G(-248)A. The expression of Bak gene is related to several clinical factors of breast cancer. The analysis of Bax RNA showed 4 isoforms of Bax with different distributions in the normal and tumor tissues. These isoforms were Bax α, d, δ, and ζ. Exon 4 had a normal pattern in all cases of breast cancer. There was a statistically significant difference in the frequency distribution of the G(-248)A genotypes in the breast cancer tissues with grade 3+high, T2 stage, lobular +other, and PR −ve subgroups. In this study, Bak expression seems to lead to development of breast cancer and affects the disease progression. Also, Bax d and Bax δ could be used as risk factor and biomarker for breast cancer with the distribution of G284A.
A Lightweight RFID Authentication Protocol Using Step by Step Symmetric Key Change

The RFID system has the risk of location tracking and user privacy. Even the cryptograph access method using hash function and re-encryption is difficult to it applies because there is a limit of computing and storage capacity of Tag. In this paper, the AES is used for the lightweight authentication, and the step by step procedure could change the key value three times. This could prevent the key exposure. The symmetric keys of the tag and server are successively changed by the random number generated by tag, reader and server. As a result, the output of the tag and reader always changes. These key changes could make it possible to prevent eavesdropping, replay attack, location tracking.
One Company – Two: Outcomes Knowledge Integration vs. Corporate Disintegration in the Absence of Knowledge Management

Purpose – To learn to avoid pitfalls there is need to accept and understand failures. This anonymous case study aims to report a major organisational failure due to the absence of effective knowledge management, where both the reasons for, and organisational consequences of, the failure are fairlyclear.Design/Methodology/Approach – Within a theoretical framework of organisational autopoiesis, the case study compares knowledge management styles from two eras in the history of one engineering project management company: as it grew from an acquired site with a single project to a multi-divisional leader in its regional market, and then as it failed in its original line of business to the point where it divested most of its assets.Findings – In the first era, the executive and line managers were permissive, allowing project teams to work out local solutions for business problems as they arose producing successful and profitable solutions. The decline began and accelerated when management strengthened hierarchical command and control that stifled knowledge sharing and solution development at the work face and exceeded line managers’ limits of rationality.Research limitations/implications – This study has the limitations of any historical study of a single case, exacerbated by a need to maintain the anonymity of the surviving company.Originality/value – Few studies so clearly highlight the critical importance of personal knowledge and its sharing in knowledge intensive organisations for maintaining successful operations. Success may have many parents, but in this case the internal comparisons identify specific factors that caused a successful organisation to disintegrate.
Pilot-Aided Iterative Frequency Offset Estimation for Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Systems

The main disadvantage of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems is its sensitivity to carrier frequency offset and timing offset. This paper proposes a simple way of improving the performance of the integer frequency offset (IFO) estimator in OFDM-based digital video broadcasting (DVB) system. By modifying the conventional maximum likelihood (ML) estimator to have multi-stage estimation strategy, two IFO estimators are derived. Simulations indicate that the proposed IFO estimators work robustly with reduced computational burden when compared to ML estimator.
Migration and Unemployment Duration: The Case of the OECD Countries

This paper examines whether or not immigration has a positive influence on the duration of unemployment, in a macroeconomic perspective. We analyse also whether the degree of labor market integration can influence migration. The integration of immigrants into the labor market is a recurrence theme in the work on the economic consequences of immigration. However, to our knowledge, no researchers have studied the impact of immigration on unemployment duration, and vice versa. With two methodology of research (panel estimations (OLS and 2SLS) and panel cointegration techniques), we show that migration seems to influence positively the short-term unemployment and negatively long-term unemployment, for 14 OECD destination countries. In addition, immigration seems to be conditioned by the structural and institutional characteristics of the labour market. Keywords—international migration, unemployment duration, OECD countries, panel data
Filamin A mutation associated with normal reading skills and dyslexia in a family with periventricular heterotopia

Periventricular heterotopia (PH) is a disorder of neuronal migration during fetal development that is characterized by morphologically normal neurons being located in an anatomically abnormal position in the mature brain. PH is usually diagnosed in patients presenting with a seizure disorder, when neuroimaging demonstrates the ectopically placed nodules of neurons. PH is a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous disorder. The most commonly identified genetic cause is the X‐linked dominant inheritance of mutations in the Filamin A (FLNA) gene. Multiple lines of evidence support the contribution of genetic factors in dyslexia. As dyslexia does not show a single‐gene pattern of inheritance, it is classified as a complex genetic disorder. We have recently identified a specific reading fluency deficit in a variable group of patients with PH, in the context of normal intelligence. Here, we present a study of a mother–daughter pair who share bilateral widespread gray matter heterotopia caused by a novel mutation in FLNA and the same pattern of X‐chromosome inactivation but who exhibit divergent reading and cognitive profiles. This novel observation highlights the uncertainty of using heterotopia anatomy in clinical practice to predict behavioral outcome. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Improved Estimation and Uncertainty Quantification Using Monte Carlo-Based Optimization Algorithms

In this article, we present a novel method to obtain both improved estimates and reliable stopping rules for stochastic optimization algorithms such as the Monte Carlo EM (MCEM) algorithm. By characterizing a stationary point, θ*, of the algorithm as the solution to a fixed point equation, we provide a parameter estimation procedure by solving for the fixed point of the update mapping. We investigate various ways to model the update mapping, including the use of a local linear (regression) smoother. This simple approach allows increased stability in estimating the value of θ* as well as providing a natural quantification of the estimation uncertainty. These uncertainty measures can then also be used to construct convergence criteria that reflect the inherent randomness in the algorithm. We establish convergence properties of our modified estimator. In contrast to existing literature, our convergence results do not require the Monte Carlo sample size to go to infinity. Simulation studies are provided to illustrate the improved stability and reliability of our estimator.
Anticipation in Real-World Scenes: The Role of Visual Context and Visual Memory

The human sentence processor is able to make rapid predictions about upcoming linguistic input. For example, upon hearing the verb eat, anticipatory eye-movements are launched toward edible objects in a visual scene (Altmann & Kamide, 1999). However, the cognitive mechanisms that underlie anticipation remain to be elucidated in ecologically valid contexts. Previous research has, in fact, mainly used clip-art scenes and object arrays, raising the possibility that anticipatory eye-movements are limited to displays containing a small number of objects in a visually impoverished context. In Experiment 1, we confirm that anticipation effects occur in real-world scenes and investigate the mechanisms that underlie such anticipation. In particular, we demonstrate that real-world scenes provide contextual information that anticipation can draw on: When the target object is not present in the scene, participants infer and fixate regions that are contextually appropriate (e.g., a table upon hearing eat). Experiment 2 investigates whether such contextual inference requires the co-presence of the scene, or whether memory representations can be utilized instead. The same real-world scenes as in Experiment 1 are presented to participants, but the scene disappears before the sentence is heard. We find that anticipation occurs even when the screen is blank, including when contextual inference is required. We conclude that anticipatory language processing is able to draw upon global scene representations (such as scene type) to make contextual inferences. These findings are compatible with theories assuming contextual guidance, but posit a challenge for theories assuming object-based visual indices.
Management of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

IN BRIEF Diabetic peripheral neuropathy affects up to 50% of older type 2 diabetic patients. Whereas some patients may have extremely painful symptoms, others with a more marked neuropathic deficit may be asymptomatic. Diagnosis requires careful examination of the lower limbs. Management involves establishing that the neuropathy is caused by diabetes instead of more sinister causes and aiming for optimal glycemic control. Medications, usually tricyclic drugs or anticonvulsant agents, may be required. Patients with peripheral neuropathy must be considered at risk of insensate foot ulceration and must receive preventive education and podiatric care.
Adolescent coping styles and response to stress : a study of the relationship between the preferred coping styles of female senior high school students and their levels of anxiety and self-confidence when facing a major academic stressor

A growing body of research indicates the importance of coping strategies when an individual responds to environmental demands. Community concern about the maladaptive responses of some adolescents, limited research with this age group, and the development of a new Australian measure of adolescent coping provided the impetus ior this study. The study was conducted with 141 female students in their final year of High School. They completed the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) in March, and measures of anxiety and self-confidence in November, just before major external examinations. Behavioural rating scales were completed by parents and teachers. The adolescent group reported frequent use of coping strategies which research indicates are likely to be effective, and relatively little use of ineffective strategies. When facing a severe academic stressor, they were self-confident but reported very high levels of anxiety, which was cognitive rather than somatic in focus. The few students whose ACS scores showed relatively high use of ineffective and low use of effective coping strategies were identified as "Atrisk". When compared with a contrasting sub-group, the "At-risk" studenw were significantly more anxious and less self-confident. There was no evidence that parents or teachers were aware of the adolescents' high levels of anxiety. The findings provide support for the predictive validity of the ACS, and have implications for helping adolescents cope with stress and developmental demands. Further research directions are suggested. ii
Maximum ingested food size in captive anthropoids.

OBJECTIVES Maximum ingested food size (Vb ) is an empirically tested performance variable that can shed light on feeding energetics and adaptation in the masticatory system. Until now, this variable had been tested in strepsirrhines alone among primates. Here, we present the first data on Vb in a broad sample of anthropoid primates and describe scaling patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS Vb data on anthropoids were collected under captive conditions at the Philadelphia Zoo and compared with published data on strepsirrhines. Data on Vb were scaled against individual body mass and were compared with experimentally determined toughness and stiffness values for the test foods. RESULTS Unlike in strepsirrhines, where essentially Vb scales isometrically with body mass, Vb in anthropoids scales with negative allometry. There is a significant effect of food material properties on Vb , although bite size in anthropoids varies less based on food properties than in strepsirrhines. Large folivorous strepsirrhines follow the anthropoid trend in bite size scaling, but large frugivorous ones take especially large bites. DISCUSSION Negative scaling of bite size in the anthropoids sampled could be due to reduced adaptation for gape. Some early anthropoids likely evolved adaptations for maximizing mechanical advantage and fatigue resistance in the chewing muscles, resulting in reduced gape. This might have channeled them toward smaller bites of more-resistant foods and away from taking large bites. This might also be the case for some folivorous strepsirrhines.
3D-Culture System for Heart Regeneration and Cardiac Medicine

3D cultures have gained attention in the field of regenerative medicine for their usefulness as in vitro model of solid tissues. Bottom-up technology to generate artificial tissues or organs is prospective and an attractive approach that will expand as the field of regenerative medicine becomes more translational. We have characterized c-kit positive cardiac stem cells after long-term cultures and established a 3D-nanoculture system using collagen scaffolds. By combining informatics-based studies, including proteomic analyses and microarrays, we sought to generate methods that modeled cardiac regeneration which can ultimately be used to build artificial hearts. Here, we describe the use of biodegradable beads or 3D cultures to study cardiac regeneration. We summarize recent work that demonstrates that, by using a combination of molecular analyses with 3D cultures, it is possible to evaluate concise mechanisms of solid tissue stem cell biology.
Classification of Waking, Sleep Onset and Deep Sleep by Single Measures

The study analyses electrophysiological signals (EEG, EOG, ECG and EMG) to select measures and scoring methods suitable for the detection of sleep stages from waking to deep sleep. 85 measures, selected from relevant spectral characteristics and measures inspired by dynamical systems theory are discussed. Some new characteristics proved to be more sensitive than the conventional scoring measures. Discriminant analysis done with Fisher quadratic classifier determined as the best measures power ratios in delta-alpha, theta-alpha, delta-sigma, delta-beta bands, relative power in delta band, fractal dimension, and coefficient of detrended fluctuation analysis.
ARGs-OAP: online analysis pipeline for antibiotic resistance genes detection from metagenomic data using an integrated structured ARG-database

MOTIVATION Environmental dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has become an increasing concern for public health. Metagenomics approaches can effectively detect broad profiles of ARGs in environmental samples; however, the detection and subsequent classification of ARG-like sequences are time consuming and have been severe obstacles in employing metagenomic methods. We sought to accelerate quantification of ARGs in metagenomic data from environmental samples. RESULTS A Structured ARG reference database (SARG) was constructed by integrating ARDB and CARD, the two most commonly used databases. SARG was curated to remove redundant sequences and optimized to facilitate query sequence identification by similarity. A database with a hierarchical structure (type-subtype-reference sequence) was then constructed to facilitate classification (assigning ARG-like sequence to type, subtype and reference sequence) of sequences identified through similarity search. Utilizing SARG and a previously proposed hybrid functional gene annotation pipeline, we developed an online pipeline called ARGs-OAP for fast annotation and classification of ARG-like sequences from metagenomic data. We also evaluated and proposed a set of criteria important for efficiently conducting metagenomic analysis of ARGs using ARGs-OAP. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Perl script for ARGs-OAP can be downloaded from https://github.com/biofuture/Ublastx_stageone ARGs-OAP can be accessed through http://smile.hku.hk/SARGs CONTACT zhangt@hku.hk or tiedjej@msu.edu SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Effect of paternal smoking on the pulmonary functions of adolescent males.

OBJECTIVE The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of paternal smoking on the respiratory function of adolescents. STUDY METHOD The study group comprised thirty healthy males between the ages of 12-18 years whose fathers were smokers (Group 1). They were compared with age and sex matched thirty active smoker males (Group 2). The control group comprised age and sex matched thirty males who were neither active nor passive smokers (Group 3). Pulmonary function was assessed using Sibelmed Datospirl20B spirometer in a closed room. RESULTS FEV1/FVC ratio and FEF25%-75% (forced expiratory flow at 25%-75% of vital capacity) were significantly lower in the subjects exposed to paternal smoking as compared to non-smokers. Vital capacity & expiratory reserve volume were significantly lower in active smokers as compared to non-smokers. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest a significant reduction in indices of lung functions of adolescents exposed to paternal smoke.
Weighted-Sum-Rate-Maximizing Linear Transceiver Filters for the K-User MIMO Interference Channel

This letter is concerned with transmit and receive filter optimization for the K-user MIMO interference channel. Specifically, linear transmit and receive filter sets are designed which maximize the weighted sum rate while allowing each transmitter to utilize only the local channel state information. Our approach is based on extending the existing method of minimizing the weighted mean squared error (MSE) for the MIMO broadcast channel to the K-user interference channel at hand. For the case of the individual transmitter power constraint, however, a straightforward generalization of the existing method does not reveal a viable solution. It is in fact shown that there exists no closed-form solution for the transmit filter but simple one-dimensional parameter search yields the desired solution. Compared to the direct filter optimization using gradient-based search, our solution requires considerably less computational complexity and a smaller amount of feedback resources while achieving essentially the same level of weighted sum rate. A modified filter design is also presented which provides desired robustness in the presence of channel uncertainty.
Pharmacological Activation of Liver X Receptors Promotes Reverse Cholesterol Transport In Vivo

Background— Liver X receptors (LXRs) are ligand-activated transcription factors involved in the control of lipid metabolism and inflammation. Synthetic LXR agonists have been shown to inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis in mice, but the mechanism is uncertain. LXR agonism upregulates the genes encoding ATP binding cassette transporters A1 (ABCA1) and G1 (ABCG1) in macrophages, thus promoting efflux of cholesterol; it also upregulates liver and intestinal ABCG5 and ABCG8, helping to promote biliary and fecal excretion of cholesterol. Thus, LXR agonism may inhibit atherosclerosis through promotion of reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) in vivo, but this has not been proven. We previously described an in vivo method to trace the movement of cholesterol from 3H-cholesterol–labeled J774 macrophages into plasma, into liver, and ultimately into the bile and feces as free cholesterol or bile acids. In the present study we used this approach to test the hypothesis that administration of the synthetic LXR agonist GW3965 would increase the rate of macrophage RCT in vivo. Methods and Results— Three different mouse models—wild-type C57BL/6 mice, LDLR/apobec-1 double knockout mice, and human apolipoprotein (apo)B/cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) double transgenic mice—were treated with either vehicle or GW3965. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with 3H-cholesterol–labeled and cholesterol-loaded macrophages and monitored for the appearance of 3H-tracer in plasma, liver, and feces. Administration of GW3965 significantly increased the levels of 3H-tracer in plasma and feces in all 3 mouse models. Conclusions— These results demonstrate that administration of the LXR agonist GW3965 increases the rate of RCT from macrophages to feces in vivo.