Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)-Specific T-Cell Dysfunction in Chronic HBV Infection

ABSTRACT Dysfunctional CD8+ T cells present in chronic virus infections can express programmed death 1 (PD-1) molecules, and the inhibition of the engagement of PD-1 with its ligand (PD-L1) has been reported to enhance the antiviral function of these T cells. We took advantage of the wide fluctuations in levels of viremia which are typical of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection to comprehensively analyze the impact of prolonged exposure to different virus quantities on virus-specific T-cell dysfunction and on its reversibility through the blocking of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway. We confirm that chronic HBV infection has a profound effect on the HBV-specific T-cell repertoire. Despite the use of a comprehensive panel of peptides covering all HBV proteins, HBV-specific T cells were rarely observed directly ex vivo in samples from patients with chronic infection, in contrast to those from patients with acute HBV infection. In chronic HBV infection, virus-specific T cells were detected mainly in patients with lower levels of viremia. These HBV-specific CD8+ T cells expressed PD-1, and their function was improved by the blocking of PD-1/PD-L1 engagement. Thus, a broad spectrum of anti-HBV immunity is expressed by patients with chronic HBV infection and this spectrum is proportional to HBV replication levels and can be improved by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway. This information may be useful for the design of immunotherapeutic strategies to complement and optimize available antiviral therapies.
The extremely rapid rotational braking of the magnetic helium-strong star HD 37776

Context. Light and spectrum variations of the magnetic chemically peculiar (mCP) stars are explained by the oblique rigid rotator model with a rotation period usually assumed to be stable on a long time scale. A few exceptions, such as CU Vir or 56 Ari, have been reported as displaying an increase in their rotation period. A possible increase in the period of light and spectrum variations has also been suggested from observations of the helium-strong mCP star HD 37776 (V901 Ori). Aims. In this paper we attempt to confirm the possible period change of HD 37776 and discuss a possible origin of this change as a consequence of i) duplicity; ii) precession; iii) evolutionary changes; and iv) continuous/discrete/transient angular momentum loss. Methods. We analyse all available observations of the star obtained since 1976. These consist of 1707 photometric measurements obtained in uvby(β), (U)BV, V, BTVT ,a ndHp, including 550 of our own recent observations obtained in 2006 and 2007, 53 spectrophotometric measurements of the Hei λ 4026 A line, 66 equivalent width measurements of Hei spectral lines from 23 CFHT spectrograms acquired in 1986, and 69 Hei equivalent measurements from spectral lines present in 35 SAO Zeeman spectrograms taken between 1994 and 2002. All of these 1895 individual observations obtained by various techniques were processed simultaneously by means of specially developed robust codes. Results. We confirm the previously suspected gradual increase in the 1. 5387 period of HD 37776 and find that it has lengthened by a remarkable 17.7 ± 0.7 s over the past 31 years. We also note that a decrease in the rate of the period change is not excluded by the data. The shapes of light curves in all colours were found to be invariable. Conclusions. After ruling out light-time effects in a binary star, precession of the rotational axis, and evolutionary changes as possible causes for the period change, we interpret this ongoing period increase as a braking of the star’s rotation, at least in its surface layers, due to the momentum loss through events or processes in the extended stellar magnetosphere.
Career goal-related success expectations across two educational transitions: A seven-year longitudinal study

The purpose of this seven-year longitudinal study was to examine the trajectories of adolescents' career goal-related success expectations during two educational transitions. Altogether 850 (48% female, M Age = 16) participants reported their success expectations for their career-related goals, first in the last year of comprehensive school and four times during the following seven years. Overall, the success expectations showed a significant increase. However, there was considerable heterogeneity in the development of these expectations. Growth Mixture Modeling showed that four trajectories fitted the data best: high-increasing (78%), low-increasing (9%), decreasing (6%) and U-shaped (7%). The participants in the high-increasing trajectory were likely to be men, have origins in high SES, appraise career goal as highly important and have high levels of career goal-related parental support. Those in the decreasing trajectory were the least adapted in terms of their career situation at age 23.
Phase Transitions for High Dimensional Clustering and Related Problems

Consider a two-class clustering problem where we observe $X_i = \ell_i \mu + Z_i$, $Z_i \stackrel{iid}{\sim} N(0, I_p)$, $1 \leq i \leq n$. The feature vector $\mu\in R^p$ is unknown but is presumably sparse. The class labels $\ell_i\in\{-1, 1\}$ are also unknown and the main interest is to estimate them. We are interested in the statistical limits. In the two-dimensional phase space calibrating the rarity and strengths of useful features, we find the precise demarcation for the Region of Impossibility and Region of Possibility. In the former, useful features are too rare/weak for successful clustering. In the latter, useful features are strong enough to allow successful clustering. The results are extended to the case of colored noise using Le Cam's idea on comparison of experiments. We also extend the study on statistical limits for clustering to that for signal recovery and that for hypothesis testing. We compare the statistical limits for three problems and expose some interesting insight. We propose classical PCA and Important Features PCA (IF-PCA) for clustering. For a threshold $t > 0$, IF-PCA clusters by applying classical PCA to all columns of $X$ with an $L^2$-norm larger than $t$. We also propose two aggregation methods. For any parameter in the Region of Possibility, some of these methods yield successful clustering. We find an interesting phase transition for IF-PCA. Our results require delicate analysis, especially on post-selection Random Matrix Theory and on lower bound arguments.
Corporate Boards, Ownership Structure and Firm Performance in an Environment of Severe Political and Economic Crisis

This study examines the relationship between board and ownership structures and firm performance in an environment of severe political and economic crisis using panel data from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange for the period 2000–2005. The period is split into the pre-presidential election period (2000–2002) (a relatively stable political and economic period) and the post-presidential election period (2003–2005) (a hostile political and economic period) to capture the differences in the political and economic landscape. It is found that board size, ownership concentration and executive directors’ share ownership increased, while the proportion of non-executive directors fell in the post-presidential election period. Employing a system generalized method of moments approach, the study finds that performance is positively related to board size and ownership concentration in the post- (but not in the pre-) presidential election period. The results also show that performance is negatively related to executive directors’ share ownership in the post-presidential election period, but positively related in the pre-presidential election period. The relationship between performance and the proportion of non-executive directors is negative and significant in both periods. These findings support the notion that the effects of board and ownership structures depend on the nature of the firm's environment, and therefore have important implications for policy-makers.
Education and Cognitive Decline in Older Americans

Although education is consistently related to better cognitive performance, findings on the relationship between education and age-associated cognitive change have been conflicting. Using measures of multiple cognitive domains from four waves of the Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old study, a representative sample of Americans aged 70 years and older, the authors performed growth curve modeling to examine the relationships between education, initial cognitive score, and the rate of decline in cognitive function. More years of education were linked to better initial performance on each of the cognitive tests, and higher levels of education were linked to slower decline in mental status. However, more education was unrelated to the rate of decline in working memory, and education was associated with somewhat faster cognitive decline on measures of verbal memory. These findings highlight the role of early-life experiences not only in long-term cognitive performance but also in old-age cognitive trajectories.
Endogenous Control of Hippocampal Epileptogenesis: A Molecular Cascade Involving Brain‐Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Neuropeptide Y

Summary: Purpose: Seizures increase the expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. Because this neurotrophin exerts modulatory effects on hippocampal neuronal excitability, it may play an important role in epileptogenesis initiated in this structure. Moreover BDNF is known to regulate the expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY), which displays modulatory properties on seizure activity. This suggests that the effects of BDNF on epileptogenesis may be mediated by NPY.
The Power of Perception

Race and class often marginalize students in impoverished urban neighborhoods, and this reality is evident in consistently low student achievement in many of the schools in these neighborhoods. This study examines how a teacher’s sense of agency can help mediate the detrimental impact of poverty on student achievement. Teachers in a large Northeastern urban school district (N = 1,019) were surveyed about how they perceive obstacles to student learning. The study shows that the ways in which teachers think about obstacles to student learning are strong predictors of student achievement regardless of poverty level. The study suggests ways teachers can achieve a greater sense of agency in the classroom.
Mucosal bacterial microflora and mucus layer thickness in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease.

AIM To assess the mucosa-associated bacterial microflora and mucus layer in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS Sixty-one adolescents (mean age 15 years, SD+/-4.13) were included in the study. Intestinal biopsies from inflamed and non-inflamed mucosa of IBD patients and from controls with functional abdominal pain were cultured under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The number of microbes belonging to the same group was calculated per weight of collected tissue. The mucus thickness in frozen samples was measured under a fluorescent microscope. RESULTS The ratios of different bacterial groups in inflamed and non-inflamed mucosa of IBD patients and controls were specific for particular diseases. Streptococcus spp. were predominant in the inflamed mucosa of Crohn's disease (CD) patients (80% of all bacteria), and Lactobacillus spp. were predominant in ulcerative colitis patients (90%). The differences were statistically significant (P=0.01-0.001). Lower number of bifidobacteria was observed in the whole IBD group. A relation was also found between clinical and endoscopic severity and decreased numbers of Lactobacillus and, to a lesser extent, of Streptococcus in biopsies from CD patients. The mucus layer in the inflamed sites was significantly thinner as compared to controls (P=0.0033) and to non-inflamed areas in IBD patients (P=0.031). CONCLUSION The significantly thinner mucosa of IBD patients showed a predominance of some aerobes specific for particular diseases, their numbers decreased in relation to higher clinical and endoscopic activity of the disease.
An impedance-based control architecture for multi-robot cooperative dual-arm mobile manipulation

Cooperative manipulation in robotic teams likely results in an increased manipulation performance due to complementary sensing and actuation capabilities or increased redundancy. However, a precise coordination of the involved manipulators is required in order to avoid undesired stress on the manipulated object. Extending the workspace of the robots by means of mobile platforms greatly enlarges the potential task spectrum but simultaneously poses new challenges for example in terms of increased kinematic errors. In this paper we show how kinematic errors in the closed kinematic chain originating from uncertainties in the geometry of object and manipulators limit the cooperative task performance. We extend an impedance-based coordination control scheme towards mobile multi-robot manipulation to limit undesired internal forces in the presence of kinematic uncertainties. Furthermore, we employ a task-space decoupling approach to reduce the impact of disturbances at the mobile platforms on the end effectors. The presented control scheme for cooperative, mobile dualarm manipulation is applicable in real-time and suitable for a team of heterogeneous manipulators. We evaluate the presented architecture by means of a large-scale experiment with four 7DoF manipulators on two mobile platforms.
Radio Resource Allocation for Collaborative OFDMA Relay Networks with Imperfect Channel State Information

This paper addresses the resource allocation problem in collaborative relay-assisted OFDMA networks. Recent works on the subject usually ignored either the selection of relays, asymmetry of the source-to-relay and relay-to-destination links or the imperfections of channel state information. In this article we take into account all these together and our focus is two-fold. Firstly, we consider the problem of asymmetric radio resource allocation, where the objective is to maximize the system throughput of the source-to-destination link under various constraints. In particular, we consider optimization of the set of collaborative relays and link asymmetries together with subcarrier and power allocation. Using a dual approach, we solve each sub-problem in an asymptotically optimal and alternating manner. Secondly, we pay attention to the effects of imperfections in the channel-state information needed in resource allocation decisions. We derive theoretical expressions for the solutions and illustrate them through simulations. The results validate clearly the additional performance gains through an asymmetric cooperative scheme compared to the other recently proposed resource allocation schemes.
Prototypical Leaders Do Not Always Get Our Support: Impact of Self-Uncertainty and Need for Cognition

Social identity theory of leadership research confirms that followers prefer group prototypical to non-prototypical leaders. Drawing on uncertainty–identity theory, we argue that self-uncertainty interacts with need for cognition (NC) to influence this preference. Student participants (N = 100) reported their self-uncertainty and NC before evaluating a prospective prototypical or non-prototypical student leader. We reasoned that self-uncertainty is a cognitive demand causing low NC participants to use prototypicality as a leadership heuristic—uncertainty strengthens the leader prototypicality advantage. In contrast, high NC participants rely less on prototypicality as a heuristic—uncertainty weakens the leader prototypicality advantage. These hypotheses were supported—elevated uncertainty strengthened the leader prototypicality advantage when NC was low, but weakened it when NC was high.
Universal Design for Learning Principles in a Hybrid Course

1. Rebecca Elder Hinshaw[1][1] 2. Suad Sakalli Gumus[2][2] 1. 1Indiana State University, Terre Haute, USA 2. 2Mustafa Kemal University, Antakya, Turkey 1. Rebecca Elder Hinshaw, Indiana State University, 7th street, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA. Email: rebecca.hinshaw{at}indstate.edu Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a promising approach of differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all students. While differentiation is not unique to special educators, it is an expectation of the profession that special educators know ways to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. Furthermore, as more practicing educators seek out online education opportunities offered by teacher education programs, it is beneficial that instructors understand how these participants interpret what they learn and translate it into practice. This article focuses on a case study of the experiences of five special educators who participated in a hybrid graduate course using UDL concepts. The case study design utilized interviews, observation, and course products. Inductive data analysis uncovered three emerging themes that corresponded to the participants’ perception and practice of UDL. [1]: #aff-1 [2]: #aff-2
Improved delivery of angiogenesis inhibitors from PLGA:poloxamer blend micro- and nanoparticles

Clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of new strategies in cancer therapy, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, associated to the administration of tumour vascularization inhibitors. A critical limitation for the clinical application of angiogenesis inhibitors relies in their instability in biological environment and high-dose requirements. This work has attempted to overcome this limitation by designing an adequate delivery vehicle consisting of PLGA:poloxamer blend micro- and nanoparticles. The potential of this delivery system was investigated for a new synthetic angiogenesis inhibitor named polyaminoacid JS-2892b. PLGA:poloxamer (ratio 10 : 1) blend microparticles were prepared by the oil-in-oil emulsion technique, while PLGA:poloxamer (ratio 1 : 1) blend nanoparticles were obtained by a modified solvent diffusion technique. The results showed that, by adjusting the formulation conditions, it was possible to efficiently encapsulate the polyaminoacid JS-2892b within PLGA:poloxamer micro- (particle size of 20 µm and encapsulation efficiency higher than 90%) and nanoparticles (particle size of less than 280 nm and encapsulation efficiency of 52%). In addition, the delivery of the polyaminoacid JS-2892b from the particles could be controlled, without altering its stability, for extended periods of time (from a few days to over a month). The release of the encapsulated compound was significantly affected by the particle size and the way the drug is dispersed into the polymeric matrix. Therefore, this study provides information about the formulation conditions and potential of biodegradable particles for the controlled release of polyaminoacid JS-2892b.
P-dominance and belief potential

This paper elucidates on the logic behind recent papers which show that a unique equilibrium is selected in the presence of higher order uncertainty, i.e., when players lack common knowledge. We introduce two new concepts: stochastic potential of the information system and p-dominance of Nash-equilibria of the game, and show that a Nash-equilibrium is uniquely selected whenever its p-dominance is below the stochastic potential. This criterion applies to many-action games, not merely 2 by 2 games. It also applies to games without dominant strategies, where the set of equilibria is shown to be smaller and simpler than might be initially conjectured. Finally, the new concepts help understand the circumstances under which the set of equilibria varies with the amount of common knowledge among players. Copyright 1995 by The Econometric Society.
Impact of Histological Response After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy on Recurrence-Free Survival in UICC-T3 Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma But Not in UICC-T4

Objectives Although the prognostic benefit of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) against pancreatic cancer has been indicated by several reports, it is controversial whether histological response is associated with prognosis. The objective was to explore the relationship between histological response and prognosis in T3 and T4 pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Methods We histologically examined the resected specimens obtained from 58 patients (T3, n = 40; and T4, n = 18) for whom we performed curative-intent resection after NCRT. Histological response was evaluated according to Evans’s criteria to determine whether it influenced survival. Results In T3 tumors, 13 (32.5%) belonged to high responders (tumor destruction of >50%) (R0, n = 13) and 27 (67.5%) belonged to low responders (tumor destruction of ⩽50%) (R0, n = 22, R1, n = 3, R2, n = 2). Recurrence-free survival rate was significantly higher in high responders than in low responders (3-year recurrence-free survival rates: 71.3% vs 13.1%, P = 0.0095). In T4 tumors, however, only 1 (5.6%) was a high responder, and R0 resection was obtained only in 5 patients (27.8%). Conclusions In T3 tumors, histological response is considered a significant prognostic indicator, securing the surgical margin, whereas in T4 tumors, NCRT did not provide beneficial histological response, not securing the surgical margin.
Reaction-controlled morphology of phase-separating mixtures.

The role of externally-controlled chemical reactions in the selection of patterns in phase-separating mixtures is presented. Linearized theory and computer simulation show that the initial long-wavelength instability characteristic of spinodal decomposition is suppressed by chemical reactions, which restrict domain growth to intermediate length scales even in the late stages of phase separation. Our findings suggest that such reactions may provide a novel way to stabilize and tune the steady-state morphology of phase-separating materials. Pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems occurs throughout nature. It is well known, for example, that spiral waves and other interesting steady-state patterns can be generated by simple chemical reactions [1]. In contrast, transient patterns are formed during phase separation by spinodal decomposition in both small molecule and polymer mixtures [2,3]. These patterns, whose characteristic length scale depends on the specificity of the components of the mixture, coarsen and disappear when macroscopic phase separation is achieved at asymptotically long times. It would be desirable to devise a mechanism by which these phase-separating morphologies could be stabilized. In this Letter, we argue that chemical reactions can be used to stabilize and tune the characteristic length scale of patterns arising in phase-separating materials. Unlike the usual scenario of spinodal decomposition, where concentration fluctuations of all length scales larger than a certain critical length scale spontaneously grow with time, we show that chemical reactions introduce two cutoff lengths, thereby