Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factor-Xa-induced mitogenesis and migration require sphingosine kinase activity and S1P formation in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

AIMS Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a cellular signalling lipid generated by sphingosine kinase-1 (SPHK1). The aim of the study was to investigate whether the activated coagulation factor-X (FXa) regulates SPHK1 transcription and the formation of S1P and subsequent mitogenesis and migration of human vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC). METHODS AND RESULTS FXa induced a time- (3-6 h) and concentration-dependent (3-30 nmol/L) increase of SPHK1 mRNA and protein expression in human aortic SMC, resulting in an increased synthesis of S1P. FXa-stimulated transcription of SPHK1 was mediated by the protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) and PAR-2. In human carotid artery plaques, expression of SPHK1 was observed at SMC-rich sites and was co-localized with intraplaque FX/FXa content. FXa-induced SPHK1 transcription was attenuated by inhibitors of Rho kinase (Y27632) and by protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms (GF109203X). In addition, FXa rapidly induced the activation of the small GTPase Rho A. Inhibition of signalling pathways which regulate SPHK1 expression, inhibition of its activity or siRNA-mediated SPHK1 knockdown attenuated the mitogenic and chemotactic response of human SMC to FXa. CONCLUSION These data suggest that FXa induces SPHK1 expression and increases S1P formation independent of thrombin and that this involves the activation of Rho A and PKC signalling. In addition to its key function in coagulation, this direct effect of FXa on human SMC may increase cell proliferation and migration at sites of vessel injury and thereby contribute to the progression of vascular lesions.
Context-sensitive probabilistic phone mapping model for cross-lingual speech recognition

This paper presents a probabilistic phone mapping model (PPM) that makes possible automatic speech recognition us-ing a foreign phonetic system. We formulate the training of the phone mapping model in the framework of maximum likelihood estimation. The model can be learned automatically from the reference phonetic transcript and the phonetic transcript resulting from a foreign phonetic recogniser using the Expectation Maximisation algorithm. This paper also compares the use of temporal and spatial contexts to enchance the phone mapping performance. A decision tree clustering technique is used to tie unseen contexts for robustness. We evaluate the PPM method on cross-lingual phone and isolated word recognition tasks, us-ing the Hungarian and Russian phone recognisers to recognise Czech speech. Consistent improvement is obtained by using context-dependent phone mapping.
Therapy of Mycobacterium abscessus Infections in Solid Organ Transplant Patients

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC), a rapidly growing Mycobacterium, is one of the most common causes of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections in the United States of America, and it has been associated with a wide spectrum of infections in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals. Eradicating MABC is very challenging, even with prolonged combination therapies. The management of MABC infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) patients is usually complex given their net state of immunosuppression, associated comorbidities, and potential drug–drug interactions, among other things. In this manuscript, we discussed the antimicrobial management of pulmonary and extrapulmonary MABC infections. In addition, we reviewed promising novel therapies such as clofazimine, omadacycline, bedaquiline, and inhaled tigecycline that could join the existing antimicrobial armamentarium to fight this infection associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, further studies are needed, especially among the immunocompromised host.
Reconstruction of Advance Head and Neck Cancer Patients After Tumor Ablation With Simultaneous Multiple Free Flaps: Indications and Prognosis

AbstractSimultaneous multiple free flaps have become a useful option in head and neck reconstructions. We performed a 10-year retrospective study between 2001 and 2010. There were 58 men and 1 woman. The overall mortality rate was 51.7%. The longest surviving patient is 9 years and 4 months, whereas the shortest surviving patient was 72 days. The mean survival period was 47.1 (6.8) months. Age (P = 0.755) and tumor size (P = 0.115) did not play a major role, but surgical margin, lymph node, and tumor recurrence were significant in patient survival with a P value of 0.026, 0.01, and 0.026, respectively. If wide excision with a margin that can be free of tumor can be performed, lymph nodes are not involved, and this is a primary tumor, then time and effort should be spent in a successful simultaneous multiple free flap reconstruction.
IgG Placental Transfer in Healthy and Pathological Pregnancies

Placental transfer of maternal IgG antibodies to the fetus is an important mechanism that provides protection to the infant while his/her humoral response is inefficient. IgG is the only antibody class that significantly crosses the human placenta. This crossing is mediated by FcRn expressed on syncytiotrophoblast cells. There is evidence that IgG transfer depends on the following: (i) maternal levels of total IgG and specific antibodies, (ii) gestational age, (iii) placental integrity, (iv) IgG subclass, and (v) nature of antigen, being more intense for thymus-dependent ones. These features represent the basis for maternal immunization strategies aimed at protecting newborns against neonatal and infantile infectious diseases. In some situations, such as mothers with primary immunodeficiencies, exogenous IgG acquired by intravenous immunoglobulin therapy crosses the placenta in similar patterns to endogenous immunoglobulins and may also protect the offspring from infections in early life. Inversely, harmful autoantibodies may cross the placenta and cause transitory autoimmune disease in the neonate.
Effectiveness of Breaded Chicken Coated with Whey Protein Isolate on Oil Absorption during Frying in Antioxidant-Rich Frying Oil

Breaded chicken coated in whey protein isolate (WPI) has been shown to reduce oil absorption during batch frying. What is not known is how this is affected by repeated fryings and whether antioxidant-rich oil will enhance this effect. The objective of this research was to determine how successive daily frying of WPI-coated breaded chicken in antioxidant-rich oil affects oil quality and oil inhibition, moisture retention, color, and texture of the breaded chicken. Chicken fritters with and without a 10% WPI post-breading dip were fried successively for 6 h per day over five days in oil without antioxidant or with either 1000 ppm rosemary extract or propyl gallate. The control oil became spent at 12 h of frying (>24% TPM, <50% DEGLEV). During this time, the oils treated with antioxidants were significantly less spent, and the WPI-treated fritters fried in these oils exhibited 22–49% less lipid; retained 10–18% more moisture; and became darker, less red, and less yellow (lower L*, a*, and b* values) compared to the un-dipped fritters fried in the control oil. These results suggest that the presence of antioxidants in the frying oil mitigated some of the degradative changes in the oil during frying but likely did not play a major role in moisture retention or inhibition of oil absorption.
An adaptive routing algorithm for 3D mesh NoC with limited vertical bandwidth

3D die stacking integration technology offers a feasible and promising solution to overcome the barriers of interconnect efficiency and device scaling in modern systems. The emerging trend from 2D IC to 3D IC obtains better performance by getting more silicon area and shortening wire length. In 3D integration technologies, different layers of active devices are connected through vertical links. Currently, TSV is the most popular and practical way to implement vertical links. Yet, there exist difficulties at the technological level ensuring an acceptable yield number of vertical links. Therefore, the bandwidth of vertical links is often made smaller than horizontal links, which becomes a bottleneck of the whole system. This paper presents a traffic distributing adaptive routing algorithm for 3D systems with limited bandwidth in vertical links. Our simulation with synthetic traffic pattern reveals that in a 4×4×4 3D mesh network architecture, our proposed algorithm can achieve significant performance improvement in network latency and throughput compared to existing routing algorithms and is robust in that the performance is stable under different traffic patterns.
Artificial Language Learning in Adults and Children

This article briefly reviews some recent work on artificial language learning in children and adults. The final part of the article is devoted to a theoretical formulation of the language learning problem from a mechanistic neurobiological viewpoint and we show that it is logically possible to combine the notion of innate language constraints with, for example, the notion of domain general learning mechanisms. A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that the mechanisms involved in artificial language learning and in structured sequence processing are shared with those of natural language acquisition and natural language processing. Finally, by theoretically analyzing a formal learning model, we highlight Fodor's insight that it is logically possible to combine innate, domain-specific constraints with domain-general learning mechanisms.
3D TIME-LAPSE GEOELECTRICAL MONITORING OF MOISTURE CONTENT IN AN EXPERIMENTAL WASTE ROCK PILE: VALIDATION USING HYDROGEOLOGICAL DATA

The hydrogeological behavior of heterogeneous and unsaturated media can be challenging to assess, especially where classical hydrogeological instrumentation cannot be directly installed such as in the core of waste rock piles. In this paper, the authors present the results of several 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography surveys carried out in 2017 for time-lapse monitoring of water infiltration events in an experimental waste rock pile. This pile was built according to a recently proposed waste rock disposal method at the Lac Tio mine (RTFT, Québec, CA) that aims at diverting water flow from potentially reactive waste rock, thus limiting metal leaching and contamination of the effluent. The pile has been instrumented with soil moisture sensors and lysimeters to monitor water content over time and collect percolating water. In addition, 192 buried electrodes have been used to carry hourly measurements with an optimized protocol of 1000 configurations uploaded on a Terrameter LS (ABEM) to monitor internal flow of water sprinkled on the top of the pile with a water truck. Time-lapse 3D ERT data were inverted to yield the 3D model of soil electrical resistivity over time before, during and after induced infiltration events in the pile. While resistivity results show consistent variations associated with increased moisture content, conversion of resistivity into volumetric water content is not straightforward. This challenge is related, in part, to changes in the distribution of water resistivity over time in the pile, which in turn strongly affects resistivity within the waste rock. Laboratory column measurements have been conducted to assess the relationship between global (waste rock) resistivity, water resistivity and moisture content for samples from the pile. The images of water content obtained with ERT are then validated with hydrogeological measurements and modeling of the pile. This assessment indicates that geoelectrical monitoring is an efficient tool to monitor water moisture in a complex media.
Acupuncture and Standard Emergency Department Care for Pain And/Or Nausea and Its Impact on Emergency Care Delivery: A Feasibility Study

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of delivering acupuncture in an emergency department (ED) to patients presenting with pain and/or nausea. Methods A feasibility study (with historical controls) undertaken at the Northern Hospital ED in Melbourne, Australia, involving people presenting to ED triage with pain (VAS 0–10) and/or nausea (Morrow Index 1–6) between January and August 2010 (n=400). The acupuncture group comprised 200 patients who received usual medical care and acupuncture; the usual care group comprised 200 patients with retrospective data closely matched from ED electronic health records. Results Refusal rate was 31%, with ‘symptoms under control owing to medical treatment before acupuncture’ the most prevalent reason for refusal (n=36); 52.5% of participants responded ‘definitely yes’ for their willingness to repeat acupuncture, and a further 31.8% responded ‘probably yes’. Over half (57%) reported a satisfaction score of 10 for acupuncture treatment. Musculoskeletal conditions were the most common conditions treated n=117 (58.5%), followed by abdominal or flank pain n=49 (24.5%). Adverse events were rare (2%) and mild. Pain and nausea scores reduced from a mean±SD of 7.01±2.02 before acupuncture to 4.72±2.62 after acupuncture and from 2.6±2.19 to 1.42±1.86, respectively. Conclusions Acupuncture in the ED appears safe and acceptable for patients with pain and/or nausea. Results suggest combined care may provide effective pain and nausea relief in ED patients. Further high-quality, sufficiently powered randomised studies evaluating the cost-effectiveness and efficacy of the add-on effect of acupuncture are recommended.
Parallel role for the dopamine D1 receptor in gambling and amphetamine reinforcement in healthy volunteers

This study investigated the role of dopamine, and specifically the D1 receptor (D1R), in the reinforcing effects of a slot-machine game in healthy volunteers (n=30). To compare gambling and drug effects, subjects received the prototypic psychostimulant drug d-amphetamine (AMPH; 20 mg) in a multi-session, placebo-controlled design. To isolate D1R, half the subjects were pretreated with the preferential D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol (HAL; 3 mg), and the other half with the mixed D1–D2 antagonist fluphenazine (FLU; 3 mg) before the game (Phase I) and AMPH (Phase II). HAL decreased and FLU increased the post-game desire to gamble and post-AMPH desire to take AMPH again, as well as amphetamine scale ratings on the Addiction Research Center Inventory after gambling and AMPH. The effects of the antagonists on desire to gamble and to take AMPH again were significantly intercorrelated. HAL increased and FLU decreased the salience of negative affective words on a rapid reading task after both reinforcers. HAL also decreased the salience of gambling words after AMPH. Both reinforcers increased diastolic blood pressure equally under antagonists and placebo. Results indicate that D1R plays a parallel role in the psychostimulant-like, incentive-motivational, and salience-enhancing effects of gambling and AMPH. Moderate D1R activation appears to optimize these effects in healthy subjects.
Dispersive wave emission and supercontinuum generation in a silicon wire waveguide pumped around the 1550  nm telecommunication wavelength.

We experimentally and numerically study dispersive wave emission, soliton fission, and supercontinuum generation in a silicon wire at telecommunication wavelengths. Through dispersion engineering, we experimentally confirm a previously reported numerical study and show that the emission of resonant radiation from the solitons can lead to the generation of a supercontinuum spanning over 500 nm. An excellent agreement with numerical simulations is observed.
Conductometric and Thermodynamic Studies of Selected Imidazolium Chloride Ionic Liquids in N,N-Dimethylformamide at Temperatures from 278.15 to 313.15 K

This scientific article presents research on the electrical conductivity of imidazole-derived ionic liquids (1-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride) in the temperature range of 278.15–313.15 K in N,N-Dimethylformamide. The measurement methods employed relied mainly on conductometric measurements, enabling precise monitoring of the conductivity changes as a function of temperature. Experiments were conducted at various temperature values, which provided a comprehensive picture of the conducting properties of the investigated ionic liquids. The focus of the study was the analysis of the conductometric results, which were used to determine the conductivity function as a function of temperature. Based on the obtained data, a detailed analysis of association constants (KA) and thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (∆H0), entropy (∆S0), Gibbs free energy (∆G0), Eyring activation enthalpy for charge transport (ΔHλ‡) and diffusion processes (D0) was carried out. The conductometric method proved to be an extremely effective tool for accurately determining these parameters, significantly contributing to the understanding of the properties of imidazole-derived ionic liquids in the investigated temperature range. As a result, the obtained results not only provide new insights into the electrical conductivity of the studied ionic liquids but also broaden our knowledge of their thermodynamic behavior under different temperature conditions. These studies may have significant implications for the field of ionic liquid chemistry and may be applied in the design of modern materials with desired conducting properties.
Urinary leukotriene E4 levels in children with allergic rhinitis treated with specific immunotherapy and anti‐IgE (Omalizumab)

Recently, we were able to demonstrate that Omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti‐IgE antibody, reduces in vitro leukotriene (LT) release of peripheral leukocytes stimulated with allergen in children with allergic rhinitis undergoing allergen immunotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anti‐IgE in combination with specific immunotherapy (SIT) on urinary leukotriene E4 (LTE4) levels. Children and adolescents with sensitization to birch and grass pollens and suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis were included in a phase III, placebo‐controlled, multicenter clinical study. Within the four‐arm study, patients were randomized to receive SIT for either birch or grass pollen and to receive either subcutaneous anti‐IgE or placebo for 24 weeks during the pollen season. From a total population of 225 children, we collected three urine samples in a subgroup of 19 children [n = 12 boys (63%); mean age 11.8 years; range 7.2–17.5 years; Group A (n = 10): SIT (grass or birch) + anti‐IgE; Group B (n = 9): SIT (grass or birch) + placebo]. Urine samples were collected before, during and at the end of treatment. Endogenous urinary LTE4 was separated by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and determined by enzyme immunoassay with a specific antibody. No differences in urinary LTE4 concentrations were observed between the anti‐IgE and the placebo groups before (A: 35.2; B: 36.5 nmol/mol creatinine), during (A: 27.0; B: 29.3) and after treatment (A: 28.9; B: 26.5 nmol/mol creatinine). We conclude that urinary LTE4 levels are not helpful in monitoring patients treated with anti‐IgE and SIT.
A Case of Nephrotic Syndrome, Showing Evidence of Response to Saquinavir

The treatment of primary nephrotic syndrome such as minimal change nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis nephropathy remains challenging. Whilst most cases of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome respond to steroid therapy and experience a limited number of relapses prior to complete remission, some cases suffer from frequent relapses and become steroid dependent or are primarily steroid resistant. Treatment options are limited to immunosuppressive drugs with significant side effect profiles. New modalities targeting novel pathways in the pathogenesis of nephrotic syndrome are actively sought. Here we report the case of a patient with steroid dependent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) nephrotic syndrome with a favourable response to a novel proteasome inhibitor saquinavir.
Strategies for blocking angiogenesis in diabetic retinopathy: from basic science to clinical practice

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) demands both more effective and less expensive biologically based treatments. Our understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease is increasing as new biochemical pathways are identified. Most reports emphasize proangiogenic stimuli, with the natural inhibitory elements receiving little attention. There are two therapeutic strategies for blocking retinal angiogenesis in PDR: systemic drug administration (protein kinase C inhibitors and somatostatin analogs) or local therapies (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor strategies, anti-inflammatory agents, gene therapy and stem cell therapy). This review mainly focuses on the role of local therapies, especially intravitreous delivery, in the management of PDR. The potential for adverse effect are also discussed. The availability of these new strategies or the combination of them will not only be beneficial in treating PDR but may also result in a shift towards treating earlier stages of diabetic retinopathy, thus easing the burden of this devastating disease.
An Automated Agent for Bilateral Negotiation with Bounded Rational Agents with Incomplete Information

Many day-to-day tasks require negotiation, mostly under conditions of incomplete information. In particular, the opponent's exact tradeoff between different offers is usually unknown. We propose a model of an automated negotiation agent capable of negotiating with a bounded rational agent (and in particular, against humans) under conditions of incomplete information. Although we test our agent in one specific domain, the agent's architecture is generic; thus it can be adapted to any domain as long as the negotiators' preferences can be expressed in additive utilities. Our results indicate that the agent played significantly better, including reaching a higher proportion of agreements, than human counterparts when playing one of the sides, while when playing the other side there was no significant difference between the results of the agent and the human players.
Performance Analysis of Linear Modulation Schemes With Generalized Diversity Combining on Rayleigh Fading Channels With Noisy Channel Estimates

Generalized diversity combining (GDC), also known as hybrid selection/maximal ratio combining or generalized selection combining, is a low-complexity diversity combining technique by which a fixed subset of a large number of available diversity channels is chosen and then combined using the rules of maximal ratio combining. In this paper, we analyze the performance of GDC on time-correlated Rayleigh fading channels with noisy channel estimates. We derive expressions for the probability of error for various linear modulation schemes with coherent detection, and discuss the conditions under which the analysis can be extended to noncoherent and differentially coherent receiver structures. Throughout the paper, using a fundamental approach to obtain the decision statistic at the combiner output, a number of new expressions for the error probabilities are obtained in a rigorous way, along with a presentation of their performance with channel estimation errors. The final expressions have roughly the same complexity of evaluation as that for the channel with only additive Gaussian noise. Our results correct various inaccuracies in the literature, and show that coherent receivers based on imperfectly estimated channel knowledge incur a significant performance loss.
Single‐dose lentiviral gene transfer for lifetime airway gene expression

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by a defect in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) activity, often resulting in an incurable airway disease. Gene therapy into the conducting airway epithelium is a potential cure for CF; however, most gene vectors do not result in long‐lived expression, and require re‐dosing. Perversely, intrinsic host immune responses can then block renewed gene transfer.