Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contraction Potency of Hypertrophic Scar‐derived Fibroblasts in a Connective Tissue Model: In Vitro Analysis of Wound Contraction

Many investigators have reported that collagen gel contraction reflects the mechanism of wound contraction. By using a connective tissue model (CTM) of collagen gel lattice, we analyzed the contraction potency of fibroblasts that had been obtained from hypertrophic scar, normal skin, and normal oral mucosa. We then tried to analyze the mechanism of CTM contraction by immunofluorescent microscopic and transmission electron microscopic examinations. Hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts in CTM possessed the greatest contraction potency and the shortest lag time when compared with those of normal skin and normal oral mucosa-derived CTMs. It became clear that the initial contractive degree of CTM was closely related to morphological changes of fibroblast cells into bipolar and elongated shapes. Hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts elongated their processes faster, and their intracellular actin filaments were more numerous than those of normal fibroblasts. We believe that the hypertrophic scar-derived CTM is a useful pathological model for the research of wound contraction and hypertrophic scar formation.
Energy-budget-compliant adaptive 3D texture streaming in mobile games

Advances in computing hardware and novel multimedia applications have urged the development of handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and PDAs. Amongst the most used applications on handheld devices are mobile 3D graphics such as 3D games and 3D virtual environments. With this significant increase of mobile applications and games, one of the challenges is how to efficiently transmit the bulky 3D information to resource-constrained mobile devices. Despite the many attractive features, 3D graphics impose significant demands on the limited battery capacity of mobile devices. Thus the development of efficient approaches to decrease the amount of streamed data with the aim of increasing the battery lifetime has become a key research topic. In this paper, we design and implement an adaptive priority-based context-aware framework for efficiently streaming 3D textures to mobile devices with limited energy budget over wireless networks. Our results show that using our proposed adaptations significantly improves the gameplay quality per unit of energy consumed to download 3D textures in mobile games.
Accelerated progression of arterial stiffness in dialysis patients compared with the general population

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to compare the progression of aortic stiffness in chronic hemodialysis patients (CHP) with that of general population patients (GPP) over a 36-month period and to evaluate the determinants of this progression. Methods The study group included 80 patients undergoing hemodialysis (aged 59.3 ± 11.8 years; duration of dialysis 5.47 ± 5.16 years). The control group consisted of 60 patients (aged 57.5 ± 10.9 years) with a glomerular filtration rate of > 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was determined from time diversity propagation of the common carotid artery and femoral artery by Doppler ultrasound. Clinical and biochemical parameters were determined in serum using standard laboratory procedures. Results The mean PWV values at baseline and 36 months were 11.18 ± 2.29 and 11.82 ± 2.34 m/sec in the CHP group, and 9.02 ± 1.89 and 9.29 ± 1.93 m/sec in the GPP group, respectively. The average PWV progressions were 63.95 ± 18.373 cm/sec in CHP and 27.28 ± 28.519 cm/sec in GPP. By multiple regression analysis, hemoglobin (standardized coefficient β [βst] = -0.405, p = 0.004; βst = -0.364, p = 0.011), albumin (βst = -0.349, p = 0.042; βst = -0.303, p = 0.034), CRP (βst = 0.458, p = 0.002; βst = 0.187, p = 0.008), and total cholesterol (βst = 0.236, p = 0.038; βst = 0.171, p = 0.078) were independently associated with PWV in the CHP and GPP groups, respectively. Conclusions Accelerated arterial stiffness was more pronounced in the CHP group than in the GPP group. The independent determinants of this progression in both groups include traditional risk factors and blood levels of hemoglobin, albumin and CRP. Cholesterol and uremia-related factors are determinants only in CHP.
Cramér-Rao lower bound for linear filtering with t-distributed measurement noise

The Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB) on the achievable mean square error (MSE) can be used to evaluate approximate estimation algorithms. For linear filtering problems with non-Gaussian noises, the CRLB can be easily computed using the Kalman filter state covariance recursion with the Fisher information in place of the noise covariance term. This work studies a linear filtering problem with t-distributed measurement noise. It is found that for a t distribution with heavy tails, the CRLB significantly underestimates the optimal MSE, the Kalman filter has significantly larger MSE, and a computationally light variational-Bayes algorithm achieves nearly optimal MSE.
Interactions of sclerostin with FGF23, soluble klotho and vitamin D in renal transplantation

Relationships of Sclerostin, a bone anti-anabolic protein, with biomarkers of mineral bone disorders in chronic kidney disease are still unsettled, in particular in kidney transplant (KTR). In 80 KTR patients (31F/49M, 54.7±10.3 years) we studied the relationships of serum Sclerostin with eGFR, Calcium, Phosphate, Alkaline Phosphatase (AP), intact Parathyroid hormone (iPTH), soluble alpha-Klotho (sKlotho), intact Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 (iFGF23), 25-hydroxyvitamin D(25D) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D). Thirty healthy subjects (35.0±12.4 years, eGFR 109.1±14.1 ml /min/1,73m2) served as control for Sclerostin, iFGF23 and sKlotho. With a median eGFR of 46.3 mL/min/1.73m2 (IQR, 36.2–58.3) our KTR had median Sclerostin levels of 23.7 pmol/L (IQR: 20.8–32.8), not different from controls (26.6 pmol/L, IQR: 22.0–32.2; p = n.s). Sclerostin correlated negatively with AP (r = -.251; p = 0.023) and positively with iFGF23 (r = .227; p = 0.017) and 25D (r = .214; p = 0.025). Age-adjusted multiple regression analysis identified AP and 1,25D as negative and 25D and sKlotho as positive best predictors of Sclerostin. No correlation was evident with eGFR. The negative correlation with AP confirms the direct anti-anabolic role of Sclerostin. The associations either negative or positive with iFGF23, sKlotho, and vitamin D metabolites suggest also a modulatory role in mineral homeostasis. In particular, the associations with iFGF23 (positive) and 1,25D (negative) underline the relevant inhibitory action of Sclerostin on vitamin D activation. In conclusion, Sclerostin levels in KTR are normal and influenced more by bone turnover than by eGFR. Its involvement with other hormones of mineral homeostasis (FGF23/Klotho and Vitamin D) is part of the sophisticated cross-talk between bone and the kidney.
The distribution of clinical phenotypes of preterm birth syndrome: implications for prevention.

IMPORTANCE Preterm birth has been difficult to study and prevent because of its complex syndromic nature. OBJECTIVE To identify phenotypes of preterm delivery syndrome in the Newborn Cross-Sectional Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A population-based, multiethnic, cross-sectional study conducted at 8 geographically demarcated sites in Brazil, China, India, Italy, Kenya, Oman, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A total of 60,058 births over a 12-month fixed period between April 27, 2009, and March 2, 2014. Of these, 53,871 had an ultrasonography estimate of gestational age, among which 5828 were preterm births (10.8%). Pregnancies were prospectively studied using a standardized data collection and online data management system. Newborns had anthropometric and clinical examinations using standardized methods and identical equipment and were followed up until hospital discharge. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main study outcomes were clusters of preterm phenotypes and for each cluster, we analyzed signs of presentation at hospital admission, admission rates for neonatal intensive care for 7 days or more, and neonatal mortality rates. RESULTS Twelve preterm birth clusters were identified using our conceptual framework. Eleven consisted of combinations of conditions known to be associated with preterm birth, 10 of which were dominated by a single condition. However, the most common single cluster (30.0% of the total preterm cases; n = 1747) was not associated with any severe maternal, fetal, or placental condition that was clinically detectable based on the information available; within this cluster, many cases were caregiver initiated. Only 22% (n = 1284) of all the preterm births occurred spontaneously without any of these severe conditions. Maternal presentation on hospital admission, newborn anthropometry, and risk for death before hospital discharge or admission for 7 or more days to a neonatal intensive care unit, none of which were used to construct the clusters, also differed according to the identified phenotypes. The prevalence of preterm birth ranged from 8.2% in Muscat, Oman, and Oxford, England, to 16.6% in Seattle, Washington. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE We identified 12 preterm birth phenotypes associated with different patterns of neonatal outcomes. In 22% of all preterm births, parturition started spontaneously and was not associated with any of the phenotypic conditions considered. We believe these results contribute to an improved understanding of this complex syndrome and provide an empirical basis to focus research on a more homogenous set of phenotypes.
A Small RNA Controls Expression of the Chitinase ChiA in Listeria monocytogenes

In recent years, more than 60 small RNAs (sRNAs) have been identified in the gram-positive human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, but their putative roles and mechanisms of action remain largely unknown. The sRNA LhrA was recently shown to be a post-transcriptional regulator of a single gene, lmo0850, which encodes a small protein of unknown function. LhrA controls the translation and degradation of the lmo0850 mRNA by an antisense mechanism, and it depends on the RNA chaperone Hfq for efficient binding to its target. In the present study, we sought to gain more insight into the functional role of LhrA in L. monocytogenes. To this end, we determined the effects of LhrA on global-wide gene expression. We observed that nearly 300 genes in L. monocytogenes are either positively or negatively affected by LhrA. Among these genes, we identified lmo0302 and chiA as direct targets of LhrA, thus establishing LhrA as a multiple target regulator. Lmo0302 encodes a hypothetical protein with no known function, whereas chiA encodes one of two chitinases present in L. monocytogenes. We show here that LhrA acts as a post-transcriptional regulator of lmo0302 and chiA by interfering with ribosome recruitment, and we provide evidence that both LhrA and Hfq act to down-regulate the expression of lmo0302 and chiA. Furthermore, in vitro binding experiments show that Hfq stimulates the base pairing of LhrA to chiA mRNA. Finally, we demonstrate that LhrA has a negative effect on the chitinolytic activity of L. monocytogenes. In marked contrast to this, we found that Hfq has a stimulating effect on the chitinolytic activity, suggesting that Hfq plays multiple roles in the complex regulatory pathways controlling the chitinases of L. monocytogenes.
Nonbelieved Memories Across the Adult Lifespan

Nonbelieved memories (NBMs) are vivid memories that people no longer believe represent events that happened. This study examined NBMs across the adult life span. Participants (N 138, ages 18 –72) described a nonbelieved memory, why they stopped believing the memory, dated the memory, and rated the memory on metacognitive and recollective features. Participants also rated age-matched believed memories and believed-not-remembered events (e.g., family stories). While the NBMs were dated across the life span, the majority were dated in mid-to-late childhood (ages 4 –12), indicating that autobiographical belief for memories from this period is vulnerable to revision later in life. Commensurate with prior findings, believed and nonbelieved memories shared similar recollective qualities, and NBMs were rated as less important and less coherent. This pattern did not differ as a function of age, time since the event, or time since withdrawal of belief. NBMs remain vivid for long periods of time once formed.
Topography of a 2.0 Å structure of α1‐antitrypsin reveals targets for rational drug design to prevent conformational disease

Members of the serpin family of serine proteinase inhibitors play important roles in the inflammatory, coagulation, fibrinolytic, and complement cascades. An inherent part of their function is the ability to undergo a structural rearrangement, the stressed (S) to relaxed (R) transition, in which an extra strand is inserted into the central A β‐sheet. In order for this transition to take place, the A sheet has to be unusually flexible. Malfunctions in this flexibility can lead to aberrant protein linkage, serpin inactivation, and diseases as diverse as cirrhosis, thrombosis, angioedema, emphysema, and dementia. The development of agents that control this conformational rearrangement requires a high resolution structure of an active serpin. We present here the topology of the archetypal serpin α1‐antitrypsin to 2 Å resolution. This structure allows us to define five cavities that are potential targets for rational drug design to develop agents that will prevent conformational transitions and ameliorate the associated disease.
Distribution and Evolution of Peroxisomes in Alveolates (Apicomplexa, Dinoflagellates, Ciliates)

Abstract The peroxisome was the last organelle to be discovered and five decades later it is still the Cinderella of eukaryotic compartments. Peroxisomes have a crucial role in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species, the beta-oxidation of fatty acids, and the biosynthesis of etherphospholipids, and they are assumed to be present in virtually all aerobic eukaryotes. Apicomplexan parasites including the malaria and toxoplasmosis agents were described as the first group of mitochondriate protists devoid of peroxisomes. This study was initiated to reassess the distribution and evolution of peroxisomes in the superensemble Alveolata (apicomplexans, dinoflagellates, ciliates). We established transcriptome data from two chromerid algae (Chromera velia, Vitrella brassicaformis), and two dinoflagellates (Prorocentrum minimum, Perkinsus olseni) and identified the complete set of essential peroxins in all four reference species. Our comparative genome analysis provides unequivocal evidence for the presence of peroxisomes in Toxoplasma gondii and related genera. Our working hypothesis of a common peroxisomal origin of all alveolates is supported by phylogenetic analyses of essential markers such as the import receptor Pex5. Vitrella harbors the most comprehensive set of peroxisomal proteins including the catalase and the glyoxylate cycle and it is thus a promising model organism to investigate the functional role of this organelle in Apicomplexa.
Construction of a Lytically Replicating Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus

ABSTRACT Karposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is found predominantly in a latent state in most cell types, impeding investigations of the lytic replication cycle. Here, we engineered the cloned KSHV genome, bacterial artificial chromosome 36 (BAC36), to enforce constitutive expression of the main lytic switch regulator, the replication and transcription activator (RTA) (open reading frame 50 [ORF50]). The resulting virus, KSHV-lyt, activated by default the lytic cycle and replicated to high titers in various cells. Using KSHV-lyt, we showed that ORF33 (encoding a tegument protein) is essential for lytic KSHV replication in cell culture, but ORF73 (encoding the latent nuclear antigen [LANA]) is not. Thus, KSHV-lyt should be highly useful to study viral gene function during lytic replication.
Blood donors in Kenya: a comparison of voluntary and family replacement donors based on a population‐based survey

Background and Objectives Blood safety and sufficiency are major challenges in Kenya and other sub‐Saharan African countries forcing many countries to rely on family replacement donors (FRD). We analysed data from a national AIDS indicator survey to describe blood donors in Kenya and potential risks of transfusion transmissible infections (TTI) comparing voluntary donors and FRD.
Combinatorial Auctions with Budgets

We consider budget constrained combinatorial auctions where bidderihas a private valuev i for each of the items in some setS i ,a gentialso has a budget constraintb i . The value to agent iof a set of itemsRis|R! S i |· v i . Such auctions capture adword auctions, where advertisers o! er a bid for those adwords that (hopefully) reach their target audience, and advertisers also have budgets. It is known that even if all items are identical and all budgets are public it is not possible to be truthful and e"cient. Our main result is a novel auction that runs in polynomial time, is incentive compatible, and ensures Pareto-optimality. The auction is incentive compatible with respect to the private valuations,v i ,w hereas the budgets,b i , and the sets of interest, S i , are assumed to be public knowledge. This extends the result of Dobzinski et al. [3, 4] for auctions of multipleidenticalitems and public budgets to single-valuedcombinatorialauctions with public budgets.
Informal Science Learning Experience for State Legislators: Influence of a Science Museum Exhibition on Legislator Knowledge of Early Childhood Issues

Abstract Despite the growth of scientific understanding of early childhood development over the past few decades, there remains a sizable gap between what scientists know about early childhood and policymakers’ use of scientific information in creating and implementing policy. Informal science institutions like museums provide opportunities to reach lay audiences. This study sought to examine the degree to which a science museum exhibition about the science of early childhood was a useful source of research information for state legislators, and whether that information informed legislators’ policy decision-making. Results highlight challenges in engaging state legislators in learning from informal science settings, but suggest increased consideration is warranted for science museums’ to use exhibitions as a way to translate and distill scientific concepts for state legislators. Though the exhibition did not have direct impact on policy decision-making, some legislators indicated it added to their cumulative knowledge on research topics pertinent to early childhood policies.
Cross-protection among feline caliciviruses

Each of five groups of specific-pathogen-free and conventionally reared cats was infected with a different strain of feline calicivirus. Two of the strains were pathogenic, producing characteristically fever, depression, loss of appetite, buccal ulceration, and occasionally increased ocular and nasal secretion. Two of the other strains were midly pathogenic and associated with fever or buccal ulceration or both; the fifth strain was nonpathogenic. The two pathogenic strains plus three others shown also to be pathogenic were used 3 months after the initial infection to challenge the cats in rearranged groupings. Of the 28 conventional cats challenged six (21.4%) showed at least a febrile response, although none of the 30 specific-pathogen-free cats showed any clinical signs. After challenge, virus was recovered from throat swabs of 37 or the 58 cats (63.8%) including the six which showed symptoms, but the duration of the excretion of virus was significantly less than that seen with the initial infection. The homologous and heterotypic antibody responses correlated well with the clinical protection, or lack of it, seen on challenge. The results provide further evidence for significant cross-relationships between feline caliciviruses.
Minimal response levels for visual reinforcement audiometry in infants: Niveles mínimos de respuesta en la audiometría por reforzamiento visual en niños

The aim of this study was to determine normative values for minimal response levels (MRLs) for normal-hearing young infants using insert earphone visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA). The subjects were 46 normally developing infants aged between 33 and 50 weeks who had hearing sensitivity assumed to be within normal limits and no evidence of middle ear dysfunction. VRA was carried out using insert earphones with warble tone stimuli, generated from an AC33 audiometer and calibrated to ISO 389–2 for insert earphones in adults. The frequencies assessed were 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 4 kHz. In total, 102 MRLs were obtained, with an approximately equal number of MRLs per frequency. Mean MRLs for 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 4 kHz were 16 dB HL, 13 dB HL, 7 dB HL and 6 dB HL, respectively. Standard deviations were close to 6 dB for all frequencies. Mean MRLs at the lower frequencies were significantly greater than MRLs at the two higher frequencies. MRLs did not vary significantly with age. The results obtained from this study suggest significant infant-adult differences when testing hearing using VRA with insert earphones, particularly at lower frequencies. Possible reasons for this and the clinical use of these normative values arc discussed.
Kolb’s learning styles and learning preferences: Is there a linkage?

Much has been written about the relationships between learning styles and learning preferences with the aim of tailoring teaching methods to the ways that students prefer to learn. This study used a sample of 201 management undergraduates to examine the relationships between Kolb's four learning styles and four learning types, and 12 different learning preferences. Only three significant relationships were found. It is suggested that large individual differences in learning preferences within each style and type, and small differences in learning preference mean scores show that, overall, there are weak linkages between learning styles and learning preferences. It is recommended that researchers control for Type I error rates and present effect sizes when statistically significant relationships are found to prevent chance and trivial findings from influencing educators. It is recommended that educators use a variety of learning methods and encourage students to be receptive to different learning methods r.
Voting with a parameterized veto strategy: solving the KDD Cup 2006 problem by means of a classifier committee

This paper presents our winner solution for the KDD Cup 2006 problem. It is based on the results of three different supervised learning techniques which are then combined in a classifier committee, and finally a single solution is obtained with a voting procedure. The voting procedure assigns weights to each member of the committee according to their average performance on a ten-fold cross-validation test and it also takes into account the confidence values returned by the three algorithms. The final decision of the committee is determined by means of a parameterized veto strategy, which takes into consideration the maximal allowed error rate beside the confidence values of the committee members. The solution presented here won Task 2 and became runner-up at Task 1 in the competition.