Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
miR-135a Suppresses Calcification in Senescent VSMCs by Regulating KLF4/STAT3 Pathway

Cellular function phenotype is regulated by various microRNAs (miRs), including miR-135a. However, how miR-135a is involved in the calcification in senescent vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is not clear yet. In the present study, we first identified the significantly altered miRNAs in VSMCs, then performed consecutive passage culture of VSMCs and analyzed the expression of miR-135a and calcification genes in the senescent phase. Next, the effects of the miR-135a inhibition on calcification and calcification genes were analyzed. The luciferase assay was used to validate the target protein of miR-135a. The western blotting was used to determine the effects of miR-135a on Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 protein (STAT3) expression, as well as the relationship between KLF4 and STAT3. Finally, the quantified cellular calcification was measured to examine the involvement of miR-135a, KLF4 and STAT3 in VSMCs calcification. Our results showed that miR-135a was significantly altered in VSMCs. Cell calcification and calcification genes were greatly altered by miR-135a inhibition. KLF4 was validated as the target RNA of miR-135a. Expression of KLF4 and STAT3 were both significantly decreased by over expressed miR-135a, while the inhibition of miR-135a and KLF4 siRNA both decreased the STAT3 protein levels. Moreover, the inhibition of miR-135a dramatically increased the calcium concentration, but co-treatment with KLF4 or STAT3 siRNA both decreased the calcium concentration. The present study identified miR-135a as a potential osteogenic differentiation suppressor in senescent VSMCs and revealed that KLF4/STAT3 pathway, at least partially, was involved in the mechanism.
Structure and Function of the Lipolysis Stimulated Lipoprotein Receptor

Lipoproteins provide the means of transport of hydrophobic lipids in the circulation (Havel & Kane, 1995). Composed of a single monolayer of phospholipids surrounding a neutral lipid core, the primary purpose of these spherical lipid particles is to deliver two major classes of lipids – cholesterol and fatty acids (FA) to the different peripheral tissues. Cholesterol is carried in the form of free unesterified form in the phospholipid monolayer, or as cholesteryl esters (CE) in the nucleus of the lipoprotein. FA are transported in the form of triglycerides (TGs), also found in the hydrophobic core of the lipid particles along with the CE. Proteins that are amphipathic in nature are found associated with the lipoprotein and are referred to as apolipoproteins (apo). They serve as cofactors for lipid-modifying enzymes and proteins, including lipoprotein lipase, hepatic lipase, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase and cholesteryl-ester transfer protein. Apolipoproteins also serve as ligands that bind to specific sites of lipoprotein receptors, providing a means by which the lipoproteins are bound and then internalized through endocytosis via these receptors located on cell surface membranes.
Admission Control Methods in IP Networks

Telecommunications operators and research institutions pay close attention to the issue of quality of service. The paper deals with methods of admission control in IP networks, which is only one of the subsets of quality of service. There are two large groups of AC methods: parameter-based admission control and measurement-based admission control. The core of the paper is simulation of AC methods and algorithms for topology model in MATLAB. Our simulations are mainly focused on required bandwidth and loss rates. At the end of the paper there are compared results of simulations.
Analysis of geographic queries in a search engine log

Geography is becoming increasingly important in web search. Search engines can often return better results to users by analyzing features such as user location or geographic terms in web pages and user queries. This is also of great commercial value as it enables location specific advertising and improved search for local businesses. As a result, major search companies have invested significant resources into geographic search technologies, also often called local search. This paper studies geographic search queries, i.e., text queries such as "hotel new york" that employ geographical terms in an attempt to restrict results to a particular region or location. Our main motivation is to identify opportunities for improving geographical search and related technologies, and we perform an analysis of 36 million queries of the recently released AOL query trace. First, we identify typical properties of geographic search (geo) queries based on a manual examination of several thousand queries. Based on these observations, we build a classifier that separates the trace into geo and non-geo queries. We then investigate the properties of geo queries in more detail, and relate them to web sites and users associated with such queries. We also propose a new taxonomy for geographic search queries.
Cross-Seeding Schemes for WDM-Based Next-Generation Optical Access Networks

Rayleigh backscattering (RB) and Fresnel reflection (FR) effects can cause severe degradation on the performance of a WDM-PON system utilizing loop-back schemes that provide colorless upstream transmitters. We proposed cross-seeding schemes to overcome these problems and also to improve the utilization efficiency of the seeding lights. The operation principles of two types of cross-seeding schemes: mutual seeding and shared seeding are discussed in detail for different applications. A generalized formulation of the crosstalk from the RB and FR effects is derived for comparing the performance between a conventional WDM-PON and a cross-seeding WDM-PON. It is found that the cross seeding schemes can be most beneficial for the system with low loop-back gain or low reflection at the distribution fiber or drop fiber. This is especially advantageous for the shared seeding scheme in which the seeding light can be transmitted along a separate fiber with high power or by optical amplification such that the gain of the loop-back transmitter can be kept small. Application examples are used to demonstrate the merits and feasibility of the cross-seeding schemes.
Seepage Failure and Erosion Mechanism of Granular Material With Evolution of Air Bubbles Using SPH

Seepage failure of granular material and/or granular ground field causes severe geological disaster problems such as dike damage in floods and erosion in fields near oceans, rivers and so on. Moreover, the generation and development of air bubbles increases the potential of seepage failure and erosion in geological fields. In this paper, we focused on the evolution effect of air bubbles in the pore water of granular material on seepage failure. We performed model tests and developed a new numerical simulation method accounting for flowage deformation and solid‐water‐air bubble interactions using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), verified by a comparison with model test results.
Pilot study of a novel vacuum‐assisted method for decellularization of tracheae for clinical tissue engineering applications

Tissue engineered tracheae have been successfully implanted to treat a small number of patients on compassionate grounds. The treatment has not become mainstream due to the time taken to produce the scaffold and the resultant financial costs. We have developed a method for decellularization (DC) based on vacuum technology, which when combined with an enzyme/detergent protocol significantly reduces the time required to create clinically suitable scaffolds. We have applied this technology to prepare porcine tracheal scaffolds and compared the results to scaffolds produced under normal atmospheric pressures. The principal outcome measures were the reduction in time (9 days to prepare the scaffold) followed by a reduction in residual DNA levels (DC no‐vac: 137.8±48.82 ng/mg vs. DC vac 36.83±18.45 ng/mg, p<0.05.). Our approach did not impact on the collagen or glycosaminoglycan content or on the biomechanical properties of the scaffolds. We applied the vacuum technology to human tracheae, which, when implanted in vivo showed no significant adverse immunological response. The addition of a vacuum to a conventional decellularization protocol significantly reduces production time, whilst providing a suitable scaffold. This increases clinical utility and lowers production costs. To our knowledge this is the first time that vacuum assisted decellularization has been explored. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Leaf and fine root carbon stocks and turnover are coupled across Arctic ecosystems

Estimates of vegetation carbon pools and their turnover rates are central to understanding and modelling ecosystem responses to climate change and their feedbacks to climate. In the Arctic, a region containing globally important stores of soil carbon, and where the most rapid climate change is expected over the coming century, plant communities have on average sixfold more biomass below ground than above ground, but knowledge of the root carbon pool sizes and turnover rates is limited. Here, we show that across eight plant communities, there is a significant positive relationship between leaf and fine root turnover rates (r2 = 0.68, P < 0.05), and that the turnover rates of both leaf (r2 = 0.63, P < 0.05) and fine root (r2 = 0.55, P < 0.05) pools are strongly correlated with leaf area index (LAI, leaf area per unit ground area). This coupling of root and leaf dynamics supports the theory of a whole‐plant economics spectrum. We also show that the size of the fine root carbon pool initially increases linearly with increasing LAI, and then levels off at LAI = 1 m2 m−2, suggesting a functional balance between investment in leaves and fine roots at the whole community scale. These ecological relationships not only demonstrate close links between above and below‐ground plant carbon dynamics but also allow plant carbon pool sizes and their turnover rates to be predicted from the single readily quantifiable (and remotely sensed) parameter of LAI, including the possibility of estimating root data from satellites.
Transport rate of calcareous sand in unidirectional flow

This paper examines the transport of calcareous sand in unidirectional flow and its prediction through existing sediment transport models. A flume experiment of four sand samples collected on Oahu, Hawaii, provides 29 sets of sediment transport data in the bed‐form and suspended transport stages. The measured transport data are compared with direct predictions from four energy‐based transport models developed for siliceous particles. Corrections for the grain‐size, fall velocity, and critical velocity of calcareous sand based on recent research are applied to the models and the results are compared with the direct calculations and measured data. The comparison illustrates the important role particle shape plays in the transport of calcareous sand. All four sediment transport models give consistent predictions and good agreement with the majority of the measured data. Two of the models respond positively to the corrections in both the bed‐form and suspended transport stages indicating that such an approach may provide an interim solution for the transport of calcareous sand.
Design and test of latch-based circuits to maximize performance, yield, and delay test quality

The performance benefits of latch-based circuits have been known for some time. These benefits are due to the timing flexibility and skew-tolerance enabled by the ability of combinational logic blocks to borrow time from each other across the intervening level-sensitive latches. It has also been known that, by accommodating higher levels of process variations and small delay-defects, time borrowing can enhance yield at high clock frequencies. The main roadblock was that conventional scan-based delay testing approaches cannot be adapted from flip-flop-based (FF-based) circuits to latch-based circuits in a manner that can harvest above benefits. Recently, a scan-based delay testing approach has been proposed for latch-based circuits which holds the promise of harvesting the abovementioned performance and yield benefits. In this paper, we investigate two main questions. First, can this new scan-based delay testing approach provide high coverage of delay faults for all latch-based circuits- independent of the pervasiveness of time borrowing? Second, how do we design the circuit and develop tests so as to harvest maximal performance and yield benefits? We prove that the above delay testing approach for latch-based circuits obtains the maximum path delay fault coverage possible for any scan-based test methodology and this test quality is always greater than (or equal to) that obtainable for the corresponding FF-based circuit. We derive the conditions to satisfy during design and test development to guarantee maximal performance and yield benefits of latch-based designs vs. their FF-based counterparts. Hence, we show for the first time that it is possible for latch-based circuits to provide higher performance and yield and also to certify the higher performance via high delay test quality.
Spitzer-MIPS Observations of the η Chamaeleontis Young Association

We have mapped the η Chamaeleontis young stellar association in the far-infrared with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All 16 members within the map region were detected at 24 μm, along with five members at 70 μm and two at 160 μm. Ten stars show far-infrared excess emission indicating the presence of circumstellar disks; six of these have central clearings as evidenced by the onset of excess emission at λ > 5 μm. No new infrared-excess sources are identified among the 113 2MASS field stars with 24 μm photometry but not seen as X-ray sources, indicating that membership lists derived from X-ray surveys are reasonably complete. Circumstellar disks in the η Cha association span the range from 10−1 to 10−4 in their fractional infrared luminosity, with a median Ld/L* of 0.04. The presence of optically thick, optically thin, and intermediate optical depth disks within the same stellar group, in combination with the large fraction of disks with inner holes, indicates that the η Cha association represents a crucial stage in circumstellar disk evolution.
Distinguishing Qualitatively Different Kinds of Learning Using Log Files and Learning Curves

This paper illustrates a technique for determining whether the knowledge acquired by students over the course of an instructional intervention can be used flexibly across problem contexts. The technique relies on power law fits to training data obtained from log files. Power law curves can also provide insight into the learning rate and helps researchers determine when differences among instructional conditions begin to emerge.
Estrogen provides neuroprotection in transient forebrain ischemia through perfusion-independent mechanisms in rats.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Estrogen-related neuroprotection in association with animal models of transient forebrain and focal ischemia has been documented in several recent reports. Some of those studies indicated that part of that benefit was a function of improved intraischemic vasodilating capacity. In the present study we examined whether chronic estrogen depletion and repletion affected ischemic neuropathology through perfusion-independent mechanisms. METHODS Normal, ovariectomized (OVX), and OVX female rats treated with 17beta-estradiol (E2) were subjected to 30 minutes of transient forebrain ischemia (right common carotid occlusion plus hemorrhagic hypotension) and reperfusion. Neurological function and brain histopathology were assessed over the 72-hour recovery period. In all rats, preischemic and intraischemic cortical cerebral blood flow (CBF) levels were monitored with laser-Doppler flowmetry. In additional rats, CBF changes in the striatum and hippocampus were also monitored with laser-Doppler flowmetry probes and radiolabeled microspheres. In each experiment, the level of ischemia was targeted to a 75% to 80% reduction in cortical CBF. RESULTS The similarity in ischemic severity among groups was supported by measurements of comparable patterns of electroencephalographic power changes during the ischemic period. Compared with normal females, OVX rats showed diminished neurological outcomes and more severe histopathology in the hippocampus and striatum. Two-week treatment of OVX rats with E2 was accompanied by postischemic neuropathological changes similar to those seen in normal females. Intraischemic CBF reductions in the hippocampus and striatum were similar in all groups (to 35% to 50% of the preischemic value) but significantly less than the cortical CBF reductions. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that estrogen provides ischemic neuroprotection through mechanisms unrelated to improvement of intraischemic cerebral perfusion.
Universal Convexification via Risk-Aversion

We develop a framework for convexifying a fairly general class of optimization problems. Under additional assumptions, we analyze the suboptimality of the solution to the convexified problem relative to the original nonconvex problem and prove additive approximation guarantees. We then develop algorithms based on stochastic gradient methods to solve the resulting optimization problems and show bounds on convergence rates. %We show a simple application of this framework to supervised learning, where one can perform integration explicitly and can use standard (non-stochastic) optimization algorithms with better convergence guarantees. We then extend this framework to apply to a general class of discrete-time dynamical systems. In this context, our convexification approach falls under the well-studied paradigm of risk-sensitive Markov Decision Processes. We derive the first known model-based and model-free policy gradient optimization algorithms with guaranteed convergence to the optimal solution. Finally, we present numerical results validating our formulation in different applications.
QoS-aware Composite Service Selection in Grids

Grid computing powered by Web service technology is creating abundant service-oriented applications which are promoting the sharing and collaboration of global resources. Complex tasks can be fulfilled quickly and efficiently by combining (physically distributed) individual services into a competent composite service. Since a lot of available individual services have the same functional properties while different non-functional properties (e.g. quality of service), decisions have to be made to select superior individual services from candidates for service composition. In this paper, the authors present a quality of service (QoS) model of service composition, as well as a composite service selection approach which can optimally choose the competent services, in the sense of satisfying users QoS requirement, for the demanded composite services with specified composite structures
Prognostic value of computed tomographic pulmonary angiography and the pulmonary embolism severity index in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism is a serious and potentially fatal disorder. Pulmonary embolism risk stratification may allow early hospital discharge and outpatient treatment for low-risk patients. Also, it may prevent death by early medical intervention in high-risk groups. We evaluated objectively confirmed pulmonary embolism in 126 patients by multidetector computed tomographic pulmonary angiography at a single center from January 2008 to January 2010. The Pulmonary Severity Embolism Index (PESI), the right ventricle (RV) to left ventricle (LV) diameter (RV/LV) ratio and the vascular obstruction index (VOI) were derived from data extracted from electronic hospital records and image database. A total of six out of 96 patients (6.3%) died during follow-up. There was an association between PESI and mortality (P-value < 0.001 &khgr;2 test). PESI class I–II had a 100% negative predictive value for death in 90 days. No association was found between the RV/LV ratio, the VOI and mortality (P-value > 0.05 &khgr;2 test). Also, no association was found between the RV/LV ratio and the VOI and PESI (P-value > 0.05 &khgr;2 test). PESI is an accurate tool for pulmonary embolism prognostic stratification. It safely discriminates low-risk from high-risk patients regarding death outcome. We were unable to demonstrate an association between image scores and mortality.
Dexmedetomidine fails to cause hyperalgesia after cessation of chronic administration.

UNLABELLED Hyperalgesia occurring after the cessation of chronic opioid administration occurs in humans and has been modeled in rodents with chronic systemic and intrathecal administration paradigms. It is, however, unclear if this type of postanalgesic hyperalgesia is unique to opioids. The alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist, dexmedetomidine (Dex), is similar to opioids in that it is an analgesic that interacts with cell-surface receptors linked to the inhibition of adenylate cyclase and the modulation of ion channel activity. In these studies, we first constructed antinociceptive dose-response curves for Dex and morphine (MSO4). The 50% effective doses for Dex and MSO4 administered intraperitoneally to C57Bl/6 mice were 75 micro g/kg and 5.2 mg/kg, respectively. Using equally effective doses, we treated separate groups of mice with twice-daily injections of Dex or MSO4 for 5 days. Tolerance to these drugs was documented after this period. In the 16-72 h after cessation of administration, MSO4-treated mice demonstrated both thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. However, the Dex-treated mice showed no changes in their thermal or mechanical withdrawal thresholds. We conclude that using this experimental paradigm, opioids but not an alpha(2)-adrenergic agonist, cause hyperalgesia and allodynia after cessation of chronic administration. IMPLICATIONS The cessation of the administration of opioids is associated with hyperalgesia in both humans and other animals. However, antinociceptive dexmedetomidine does not seem to be associated with this type of hyperalgesia syndrome during periods of abstinence.
Organic sediment formed during inundation of a degraded fen grassland emits large fluxes of CH4 and CO2

Abstract. Peatland restoration by inundation of drained areas can alter local greenhouse gas emissions as CO2 and CH4. Factors that can influence these emissions include the quality and amount of substrates available for anaerobic degradation processes and the sources and availability of electron acceptors. In order to learn about possible sources of high CO2 and CH4. emissions from a rewetted degraded fen grassland, we performed incubation experiments that tested the effects of fresh plant litter in the flooded peats on pore water chemistry and CO2 and CH4. production and emission. The position in the soil profile of the pre-existing drained peat substrate affected initial rates of anaerobic CO2 production subsequent to flooding, with the uppermost peat layer producing the greatest specific rates of CO2 evolution. CH4 production rates depended on the availability of electron acceptors and was significant only when sulfate concentrations were reduced in the pore waters. Very high specific rates of both CO2 (maximum of 412 mg C d−1 kg−1 C) and CH4 production (788 mg C d−1 kg−1 C) were observed in a new sediment layer that accumulated over the 2.5 years since the site was flooded. This new sediment layer was characterized by overall low C content, but represented a mixture of sand and relatively easily decomposable plant litter from reed canary grass killed by flooding. Samples that excluded this new sediment layer but included intact roots remaining from flooded grasses had specific rates of CO2 (max. 28 mg C d−1 kg−1 C) and CH4 (max. 34 mg C d−1 kg−1 C) production that were 10–20 times lower than for the new sediment layer and were comparable to those of a newly flooded upper peat layer. Lowest rates of anaerobic CO2 and CH4 production (range of 4–8 mg C d−1 kg−1 C and