Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safe Oral Triiodo-L-Thyronine Therapy Protects from Post-Infarct Cardiac Dysfunction and Arrhythmias without Cardiovascular Adverse Effects

Background A large body of evidence suggests that thyroid hormones (THs) are beneficial for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. We have shown that 3 days of triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) treatment in myocardial infarction (MI) rats increased left ventricular (LV) contractility and decreased myocyte apoptosis. However, no clinically translatable protocol is established for T3 treatment of ischemic heart disease. We hypothesized that low-dose oral T3 will offer safe therapeutic benefits in MI. Methods and Results Adult female rats underwent left coronary artery ligation or sham surgeries. T3 (~6 μg/kg/day) was available in drinking water ad libitum immediately following MI and continuing for 2 month(s) (mo). Compared to vehicle-treated MI, the oral T3-treated MI group at 2 mo had markedly improved anesthetized Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based LV ejection fraction and volumes without significant negative changes in heart rate, serum TH levels or heart weight, indicating safe therapy. Remarkably, T3 decreased the incidence of inducible atrial tachyarrhythmias by 88% and improved remodeling. These were accompanied by restoration of gene expression involving several key pathways including thyroid, ion channels, fibrosis, sympathetic, mitochondria and autophagy. Conclusions Low-dose oral T3 dramatically improved post-MI cardiac performance, decreased atrial arrhythmias and cardiac remodeling, and reversed many adverse changes in gene expression with no observable negative effects. This study also provides a safe and effective treatment/monitoring protocol that should readily translate to humans.
Crocetin Downregulates the Proinflammatory Cytokines in Methylcholanthrene-Induced Rodent Tumor Model and Inhibits COX-2 Expression in Cervical Cancer Cells

The effect of crocetin (C20H24O4) on methylcholanthrene- (MCA-) induced uterine cervical cancer in mice was studied in this paper. After the mice were treated orally with crocetin, maleic dialdehyde (MDA), polymorphonuclear cells (PMN), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were examined by ELISA or immunohistochemistry. The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activation in HeLa cells was analyzed using fluorescence microscopy for light microscopic examination. The MCA mice showed a significant increase in plasma MDA, PMN, IL-1β, TNF-α, and nitrates levels. At the same time, the mRNA level of COX-2 in HeLa cells was also significantly increased. These changes were attenuated by crocetin supplementation in the MCA mice. Crocetin supplementation in the MCA mice also showed protection against cervical cancer. These results suggest that crocetin may act as a chemopreventive and an anti-inflammatory agent.
Binding Specificity of Philyra pisum Lectin to Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns, and Its Secondary Structure

We recently reported a Philyra pisum lectin (PPL) that exerts mitogenic effects on human lymphocytes, and its molecular characterization. The present study provides a more detailed characterization of PPL based on the results from a monosaccharide analysis indicating that PPL is a glycoprotein, and circular dichroism spectra revealing its estimated α-helix, β-sheet, β-turn, and random coil contents to be 14.0%, 39.6%, 15.8%, and 30.6%, respectively. These contents are quite similar to those of deglycosylated PPL, indicating that glycans do not affect its intact structure. The binding properties to different pathogen-associated molecular patterns were investigated with hemagglutination inhibition assays using lipoteichoic acid from Gram-positive bacteria, lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria, and both mannan and β-1,3-glucan from fungi. PPL binds to lipoteichoic acids and mannan, but not to lipopolysaccharides or β-1,3-glucan. PPL exerted no significant antiproliferative effects against human breast or bladder cancer cells. These results indicate that PPL is a glycoprotein with a lipoteichoic acid or mannan-binding specificity and which contains low and high proportions of α-helix and β-structures, respectively. These properties are inherent to the innate immune system of P. pisum and indicate that PPL could be involved in signal transmission into Gram-positive bacteria or fungi.
Driver landmark and traffic sign identification in early Alzheimer’s disease

Objective: To assess visual search and recognition of roadside targets and safety errors during a landmark and traffic sign identification task in drivers with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: 33 drivers with probable Alzheimer’s disease of mild severity and 137 neurologically normal older adults underwent a battery of visual and cognitive tests and were asked to report detection of specific landmarks and traffic signs along a segment of an experimental drive. Results: The drivers with mild Alzheimer’s disease identified significantly fewer landmarks and traffic signs and made more at-fault safety errors during the task than control subjects. Roadside target identification performance and safety errors were predicted by scores on standardised tests of visual and cognitive function. Conclusions: Drivers with Alzheimer’s disease are impaired in a task of visual search and recognition of roadside targets; the demands of these targets on visual perception, attention, executive functions, and memory probably increase the cognitive load, worsening driving safety.
A survey of recent developments in parallel implementations of Gaussian elimination

Gaussian elimination is a canonical linear algebra procedure for solving linear systems of equations. In the last few years, the algorithm has received a lot of attention in an attempt to improve its parallel performance. This article surveys recent developments in parallel implementations of Gaussian elimination for shared memory architecture. Five different flavors are investigated. Three of them are based on different strategies for pivoting: partial pivoting, incremental pivoting, and tournament pivoting. The fourth one replaces pivoting with the Partial Random Butterfly Transformation, and finally, an implementation without pivoting is used as a performance baseline. The technique of iterative refinement is applied to recover numerical accuracy when necessary. All parallel implementations are produced using dynamic, superscalar, runtime scheduling and tile matrix layout. Results on two multisocket multicore systems are presented. Performance and numerical accuracy is analyzed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using Power: An Exploration of Control Work in the Sport Marriage

Drawing from long-term ethnographic research, this article provides valuable insight into the power and control processes that emerge from the work/family issues of professional athletes and their wives. It examines from the wives' perspective how these husbands engage in the interrelated processes of gender work and “control work” in their marital relationships and how wives respond. The “spoiled athlete syndrome” is introduced and discussed within the context of a typology of control work. As processes of learning, cultivating, and exerting control, this syndrome begins with early male, sport, and power-control socialization and continues through occupational socialization. This article seeks to explore the possible consequences and implications of such “control management” by husbands who have learned to define the male self and sport involvement as aspects of a hegemonic masculinity and how such definitions affect their wives and marriages.
Wired for motherhood: induction of maternal care but not maternal aggression in virgin female CD1 mice

Virgin adult female mice display nearly spontaneous maternal care towards foster pups after a short period of sensitization. This indicates that maternal care is triggered by sensory stimulation provided by the pups and that its onset is largely independent on the physiological events related to gestation, parturition and lactation. Conversely, the factors influencing maternal aggression are poorly understood. In this study, we sought to characterize two models of maternal sensitization in the outbred CD1 strain. To do so, a group of virgin females (godmothers) were exposed to continuous cohabitation with a lactating dam and their pups from the moment of parturition, whereas a second group (pup-sensitized females), were exposed 2 h daily to foster pups. Both groups were tested for maternal behavior on postnatal days 2–4. Godmothers expressed full maternal care from the first test. Also, they expressed higher levels of crouching than dams. Pup-sensitized females differed from dams in all measures of pup-directed behavior in the first test, and expressed full maternal care after two sessions of contact with pups. However, both protocols failed to induce maternal aggression toward a male intruder after full onset of pup-directed maternal behavior, even in the presence of pups. Our study confirms that adult female mice need a short sensitization period before the onset of maternal care. Further, it shows that pup-oriented and non-pup-oriented components of maternal behavior are under different physiological control. We conclude that the godmother model might be useful to study the physiological and neural bases of the maternal behavior repertoire.
No Money? No Problem! The Value of Sustainability: Social Capital Drives the Relationship among Customer Identification and Citizenship Behavior in Sharing Economy

This work provides a novel approach to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept and to CSR activities, using social capital as the driver of consumer citizenship behavior in the sharing economy business system. An online consumer questionnaire was carried out in Taiwan to examine seven proposed hypotheses to investigate the factors affecting behavior intention. The sample includes 445 participants and investigated their consumer citizenship behavior in response to companies’ participation in CSR activities and sharing of economic opportunities, in this case, Airbnb Inc. This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data. The result explores a new form of entrepreneurship marketing strategy and indicates that CSR has a positive effect on consumer–company (C–C) identification and the perceived value of sustainability. This study also establishes that social capital is the key mediator of the relationship between C–C identification and the perceived value of sustainability in consumer citizenship behavior. This research contributes to the idea that marketers should build well-designed CSR activities and deliver the perceived value of sustainability and consumer identification through social capital accumulation, which has proven to positively increase consumer citizenship behavior in the sharing economy environment. Consequently, the authors can suggest that entrepreneurs/executives should understand that CSR affects the perception of sustainability, consumer–company identification and improve consumer citizenship behavior. Most importantly, CSR activities focusing on sustainability issues and operating with social capital may lower costs and improve efficiencies as well. This finding could be viewed as a pioneering benchmark for further research.
NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT, PERSONALITY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL POTENTIAL: A STUDY OF YOUNG ADULTS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

This paper examines the impact of motivation (i. e., "need for achievement") and, personality traits (i. e., "individualism/collectivism", "introversion/extraversion") on entrepreneurial potential (EP). The study draws on a sample of 503 students enrolled in business courses at a university in the United Arab Emirates. Statistical analysis reveals that need for achievement is the most significant determinant of entrepreneurial potential. Extraversion is also significantly related to entrepreneurial potential. Statistical examination of interactions (i. e., combined effects) of variables reveals that entrepreneurial potential is explained by the interactive effects of need for achievement, extraversion and collectivism. Surprisingly, and contrary to general expectations, greater entrepreneurial potential is not explained by individualistic aspirations, nor is it found to be gender-related. Practical and theoretical implications of the main findings are discussed.
Effects of Training and Feedback on Teachers’ Use of Classroom Preventive Practices

This study examined the effects of in-service training with performance feedback on preschool teachers’ use of classroom preventive practices. Three practices designed to prevent challenging behavior were selected: transition preparations, rule reminders, and social-emotional teaching strategies. Following a brief training on each practice, teaching teams received email feedback on their use of the practice and the effects on child behavior. A multiple baseline design across practices replicated across two teaching teams was used. There were increases in all three preventive practices following training and feedback for both teaching teams. The effects on child behavior were mixed.
Circulating CXCL10 in cirrhotic portal hypertension might reflect systemic inflammation and predict ACLF and mortality

CXCR% ligands play an important role in hepatic injury, inflammation and fibrosis. While CXCL9 and CXCL11 are associated with survival in patients receiving transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), the role of CXCL10 in severe portal hypertension remains unknown.
Deformation Analysis of the Human Femur by Holographic Interferometry

The deformations of the neck and head of the human dried femur were measured and analyzed with loads applied at the femoral head. Particular attention was paid to measurements of bones with osteoporosis. We used double exposures or real-time holographic interferometry to measure precisely. The distal part of each femur was embedded in super hard plaster, and the load was applied at the femoral head. In order to better simulate the situation of a femur under physiological muscles, we used the 3D finite element method (FEM) for our analyses. After modeling the femur, which consisted of meshing as eight noded elements for each section of diaphysis, we used the 3D FEM to calculate stress and strain. We obtained the following results : (l)the deformations increased with the progress of osteoporosis;(2) femur with osteoporosis showed obvious rotational components in the femoral shaft and (3) a compressive stress distribution could be found at the medial side of the diaphyseal region by using the FEM.
Post-Exercise Heart Rate Recovery Independently Predicts Clinical Outcome in Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Background Post-exercise heart rate recovery (HRR) is an index of parasympathetic function associated with clinical outcome in patients with chronic heart failure. However, its relationship with the pro-inflammatory response and prognostic value in consecutive patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) has not been investigated. Methods We measured HRR and pro-inflammatory markers in 107 prospectively and consecutively enrolled, recovered ADHF patients (71 male, 59 ± 15 years, mean ejection fraction 28.9 ± 14.2%) during the pre-discharge period. The primary endpoint included cardiovascular (CV) events defined as CV mortality, cardiac transplantation, or rehospitalization due to HF aggravation. Results The CV events occurred in 30 (28.0%) patients (5 cardiovascular deaths and 7 cardiac transplantations) during the follow-up period (median 214 days, 11–812 days). When the patients with ADHF were grouped by HRR according to the Contal and O’Quigley’s method, low HRR was shown to be associated with significantly higher levels of serum monokine-induced by gamma interferon (MIG) and poor clinical outcome. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that low HRR was an independent predictor of CV events in both enter method and stepwise method. The addition of HRR to a model significantly increased predictability for CV events across the entire follow-up period. Conclusion Impaired post-exercise HRR is associated with a pro-inflammatory response and independently predicts clinical outcome in patients with ADHF. These findings may explain the relationship between autonomic dysfunction and clinical outcome in terms of the inflammatory response in these patients.
Using Neuroimaging to Measure Mental Representations

To date, most neuroimaging studies have tried to localize large regions in the brain that are responsible for specific behaviors or mental operations. Psychological theory, however, is more concerned with the nature of mental functions than with the locations of their neural substrates. This article reviews work that moves beyond functional anatomy to measure how color is represented by neurons in visual cortex. The general approach has three basic steps: First, the areas under investigation are localized in the brain. Second, responses of these areas are measured to sets of systematically varying stimuli, designed to uncover the nature of cortical representations. Third, the neuroimaging data are compared with behavioral data measured with the same stimuli. Results obtained using this approach support the hypothesis that primary visual cortex contains color-opponent neurons that support perception.
Estimating Tree Frontal Area in Urban Areas Using Terrestrial LiDAR Data

Surface roughness parameters, such as roughness length and displacement height, impact the estimation of surface moisture, and the frontal areas of buildings and trees are two components that contribute to surface roughness in urban areas. Research on tree frontal area has not been conducted in urban areas before, and we hope to fill that gap in the literature with this study by using Terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to estimate tree frontal areas in Warren Township, Indianapolis, IN, USA. We first estimated the frontal areas of individual trees based on their morphology, then calibrated a regression model to estimate the tree frontal area in 30 m pixels using parameters derived from LiDAR data and tree inventory data. The parameters included tree crown base area, height, width, conditions, defects, maintenances, genera, and land use. The validation shows that R2 yielded values ranging from 0.84 to 0.88, and RMSEs varied with tree category. The tree categories were identified based on the height and broadness of the canopy, which indicated the degree of resistance to air flow. This type of model can be used to empirically determine local roughness values at the tree-level for any city with a complete tree inventory. With the strong correlation between trees’ frontal area and crown base area, this model may also be used to determine local roughness value at 30 m resolution with NLCD (National Land Cover Database) tree canopy cover data as a component. A proper tree categorization according to the vertical air resistance, e.g., height and canopy density, was effective to reduce the RMSE in tree frontal area estimation. Geometric parameters, such as height, crown base height, and crown base area extracted from Airborne LiDAR, which demand less storage and computation capacity, may also be sufficient for tree frontal area estimation in the areas where Terrestrial LiDAR is not available.
Migration as a Risk Factor for HIV Infection among Youths in Sub-Saharan Africa

Of the estimated 10 million youths living with HIV worldwide, 63 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa. This article focuses on migration as a risk factor of HIV infection among the youths in sub-Saharan Africa. The study is based on multilevel modeling, applied to the youth sample of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), conducted from 2003 to 2008 in nineteen countries. The analysis takes into account country-level and regional-level variations. The results suggest that across countries in sub-Saharan Africa, migrants have on average about 50 percent higher odds of HIV infection than nonmigrants. The higher risk among migrants is to a large extent explained by differences in demographic and socioeconomic factors. In particular, migrants are more likely to be older, to have been married, or to live in urban areas, all of which are associated with higher risks of HIV infection. The higher risk among youths who have been married is particularly pronounced among young female migrants.
Peripheral adrenergic receptors in hypertension.

Increased sympathoadrenal activity appears to play an important role in the development or maintenance of elevated blood pressure in hypertensive patients and various animal models of hypertension. Alterations of adrenergic receptor number or responsiveness might contribute to this increased activity. We therefore reviewed the data on adrenergic receptor alterations in hypertension with special emphasis on several key cardiovascular tissues (i.e., heart, vascular smooth muscle, and kidney) and on lymphocytes and platelets as human tissues available for such studies. The data suggest that the number of alpha-adrenergic receptors in hypertension is regulated by catecholamines, dietary salt intake, and genetic factors. Increases in renal alpha-adrenergic receptor number may be etiologic in genetic forms of essential hypertension. beta-Adrenergic receptor alterations in states of elevated blood pressure do not appear to be specific for genetic hypertension. Desensitization of beta-adrenergic receptor function in hypertensive animals and patients contrasts with reports of decreased, unchanged, and increased beta-adrenergic receptor number, suggesting that signal transduction of beta-adrenergic (and possibly other) receptors that stimulate adenylyl cyclase is disturbed in hypertension. The mechanisms of such heterologous desensitization in states of elevated blood pressure remain to be elucidated.
Clinical experience in the screening and management of a large kindred with familial isolated pituitary adenoma due to an aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) mutation.

CONTEXT Germline AIP mutations usually cause young-onset acromegaly with low penetrance in a subset of familial isolated pituitary adenoma families. We describe our experience with a large family with R304* AIP mutation and discuss some of the diagnostic dilemmas and management issues. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to identify and screen mutation carriers in the family. PATIENTS Forty-three family members participated in the study. SETTING The study was performed in university hospitals. OUTCOME We conducted genetic and endocrine screening of family members. RESULTS We identified 18 carriers of the R304* mutation, three family members with an AIP-variant A299V, and two family members who harbored both changes. One of the two index cases presented with gigantism and pituitary apoplexy, the other presented with young-onset acromegaly, and both had surgery and radiotherapy. After genetic and clinical screening of the family, two R304* carriers were diagnosed with acromegaly. They underwent transsphenoidal surgery after a short period of somatostatin analog treatment. One of these two patients is in remission; the other achieved successful pregnancy despite suboptimal control of acromegaly. One of the A299V carrier family members was previously diagnosed with a microprolactinoma; we consider this case to be a phenocopy. Height of the unaffected R304* carrier family members is not different compared to noncarrier relatives. CONCLUSIONS Families with AIP mutations present particular problems such as the occurrence of large invasive tumors, poor response to medical treatment, difficulties with fertility and management of pregnancy, and the finding of AIP sequence variants of unknown significance. Because disease mostly develops at a younger age and penetrance is low, the timing and duration of the follow-up of carriers without overt disease requires further study. The psychological and financial impact of prolonged clinical screening must be considered. Excellent relationships between the family, endocrinologists, and geneticists are essential, and ideally these families should be managed in centers with specialist expertise.