Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CD271 as a Marker for Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Bone Marrow versus Umbilical Cord Blood

CD271 has been applied to isolate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow and other tissues. Umbilical cord blood is a unique resource of stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells. Isolation of MSCs from umbilical cord blood, however, has been inefficient and inconsistent. This study was designed to examine the potential application of CD271 as a marker for the isolation of MSCs from umbilical cord blood. CD271+ cells were isolated from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow using CD271 antibody-conjugated microbeads, and characterized in osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation. CD271+ cells from umbilical cord blood were slow to proliferate compared with those isolated from bone marrow. While CD271+ cells from bone marrow differentiated into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic lineages, there were no sound indications of differentiation by CD271+ cells from umbilical cord blood under the same differentiation conditions applied to the CD271+ cells from bone marrow. The study also found that bone marrow CD271+ cells remarkably upregulated the expression of chondrogenic genes under chondrogenic differentiation induction. When implanted into bone defects in mice, CD271+ cells from bone marrow regenerated significant bone, but the counterparts in umbilical cord blood formed little bone in the bone defects. In conclusion, CD271 is an efficient marker for MSC isolation from bone marrow but has failed to isolate MSCs from umbilical cord blood. CD271+ cells in bone marrow are particularly chondrogenic. The property of CD271+ cells is unique but varies from different tissues.
Inhibition of the Type I Interferon Response in Human Dendritic Cells by Dengue Virus Infection Requires a Catalytically Active NS2B3 Complex

ABSTRACT Dengue virus (DENV) is the most prevalent arthropod-borne human virus, able to infect and replicate in human dendritic cells (DCs), inducing their activation and the production of proinflammatory cytokines. However, DENV can successfully evade the immune response in order to produce disease in humans. Several mechanisms of immune evasion have been suggested for DENV, most of them involving interference with type I interferon (IFN) signaling. We recently reported that DENV infection of human DCs does not induce type I IFN production by those infected DCs, impairing their ability to prime naive T cells toward Th1 immunity. In this article, we report that DENV also reduces the ability of DCs to produce type I IFN in response to several inducers, such as infection with other viruses or exposure to Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, indicating that DENV antagonizes the type I IFN production pathway in human DCs. DENV-infected human DCs showed a reduced type I IFN response to Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Sendai virus (SeV), and Semliki Forest virus (SFV) infection and to the TLR3 agonist poly(I:C). This inhibitory effect is DENV dose dependent, requires DENV replication, and takes place in DENV-infected DCs as early as 2 h after infection. Expressing individual proteins of DENV in the presence of an IFN-α/β production inducer reveals that a catalytically active viral protease complex is required to reduce type I IFN production significantly. These results provide a new mechanism by which DENV evades the immune system in humans.
Decentralized Stabilization of Uncertain Systems With Interconnection and Feedback Delays: An LMI Approach

This note presents a broad LMI condition that can ascertain the stability of uncertain systems under decentralized feedback in the presence of interconnection and feedback delays. Based on the Lyapunov's direct approach with a four-term energy functional and a three-term quadratic formulation of the given state dynamics, this method has a larger search space than used so far. Numerical examples corroborate the superiority of this method vis-a-vis the existing ones for several subsets of the general problem.
MyD88 But Not TRIF Is Essential for Osteoclastogenesis Induced by Lipopolysaccharide, Diacyl Lipopeptide, and IL-1α

Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) plays essential roles in the signaling of the Toll/interleukin (IL)-1 receptor family. Toll–IL-1 receptor domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon-β (TRIF)-mediated signals are involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced MyD88-independent pathways. Using MyD88-deficient (MyD88−/−) mice and TRIF-deficient (TRIF−/−) mice, we examined roles of MyD88 and TRIF in osteoclast differentiation and function. LPS, diacyl lipopeptide, and IL-1α stimulated osteoclastogenesis in cocultures of osteoblasts and hemopoietic cells obtained from TRIF−/− mice, but not MyD88−/− mice. These factors stimulated receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand mRNA expression in TRIF−/− osteoblasts, but not MyD88−/− osteoblasts. LPS stimulated IL-6 production in TRIF−/− osteoblasts, but not TRIF−/− macrophages. LPS and IL-1α enhanced the survival of TRIF−/− osteoclasts, but not MyD88−/− osteoclasts. Diacyl lipopeptide did not support the survival of osteoclasts because of the lack of Toll-like receptor (TLR)6 in osteoclasts. Macrophages expressed both TRIF and TRIF-related adaptor molecule (TRAM) mRNA, whereas osteoblasts and osteoclasts expressed only TRIF mRNA. Bone histomorphometry showed that MyD88−/− mice exhibited osteopenia with reduced bone resorption and formation. These results suggest that the MyD88-mediated signal is essential for the osteoclastogenesis and function induced by IL-1 and TLR ligands, and that MyD88 is physiologically involved in bone turnover.
Contribution of the Global Subunit Structure and Stargazin on the Maturation of AMPA Receptors

Subunit assembly governs regulation of AMPA receptor (AMPA-R) synaptic delivery and determines biophysical parameters of the ion channel. However, little is known about the molecular pathways of this process. Here, we present single-particle EM three-dimensional structures of dimeric biosynthetic intermediates of the GluA2 subunit of AMPA-Rs. Consistent with the structures of intact tetramers, the N-terminal domains of the biosynthetic intermediates form dimers. Transmembrane domains also dimerize despite the two ligand-binding domains (LBDs) being separated. A significant difference was detected between the dimeric structures of the wild type and the L504Y mutant, a point mutation that blocks receptor trafficking and desensitization. In contrast to the wild type, whose LBD is separated, the LBD of the L504Y mutant was detected as a single density. Our results provide direct structural evidence that separation of the LBD within the intact dimeric subunits is critical for efficient tetramerization in the endoplasmic reticulum and further trafficking of AMPA-Rs. The contribution of stargazin on the subunit assembly of AMPA-R was examined. Our data suggest that stargazin affects AMPA-R trafficking at a later stage of receptor maturation.
Observational study of an Arts-in-Medicine Program in an outpatient hemodialysis unit.

BACKGROUND Long-term hemodialysis is associated with impaired quality of life (QOL) and depression, which are thought to worsen compliance with the treatment regimen. With the success of our hospital's Arts-in-Medicine Program, we launched a similar set of activities in the long-term dialysis unit and sought to measure their effects. METHODS At baseline and 6 months, we administered the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Beck depression scales to 46 patients (44% men; mean age, 52 years) and assessed their percentage of achieved dialysis time, interdialytic weight gain, and predialysis laboratory results. We tested for a relationship between these variables and Arts-in-Medicine Program participation (low and high; 51% and 49%). Arts in Medicine was offered each shift, led by artists, and included artwork, crocheting, crafts, seasonal displays, poetry, and playing musical instruments. RESULTS At 6 months, the patients, nurses, technicians, and physicians subjectively believed that Arts in Medicine had a positive impact on the unit. In paired comparisons to baseline, there was significant improvement in SF-36 scores for Role-Physical (mean values, 34.4 to 38.7; P = 0.04), less weight gain (3.6 to 3.2 kg; P = 0.02), greater serum carbon dioxide content (20.4 to 22.5 mEq/L [mmol/L]; P < 0.01), greater phosphate levels (5.3 to 5.7 mg/dL [1.71 to 1.84 mmol/L]; P = 0.04), and a trend to less depression (Beck score, 15.3 to 12.1; P = 0.07). Regression analyses showed that high participation correlated with improved SF-36 scores for Social Function (11.1-unit increase; P = 0.01), Bodily Pain (7.6-unit increase; P = 0.04), and Role-Physical (6.6-unit increase; P = 0.06), as well as a trend to greater albumin levels (0.11 g/dL [1.1 g/L]; P = 0.08), but with greater phosphate (0.8 mg/dL [0.26 mmol/L]; P = 0.01) and lower calcium levels (0.3 mg/dL [0.07 mmol/L]; P = 0.07). CONCLUSION Participation in a new Arts-in-Medicine Program correlated with improved QOL measures, and there were encouraging trends for depression, as well as certain laboratory and hemodialysis parameters.
Distributed User Association in Energy Harvesting Small Cell Networks: A Probabilistic Bandit Model

We investigate a distributed downlink user association problem in a dynamic small cell network, where every small base station (SBS) obtains its required energy through ambient energy harvesting. On the one hand, energy harvesting is inherently opportunistic, so that the amount of available energy is a random variable. On the other hand, users arrive at random and require different wireless services, rendering the energy consumption a random variable. In this paper, we develop a probabilistic framework to mathematically model and analyze the random behavior of energy harvesting and energy consumption. We further analyze the probability of QoS satisfaction (success probability), for each user with respect to every SBS. The proposed user association scheme is distributed in the sense that every user independently selects its corresponding SBS with the success probability serving as the performance metric. The success probability however depends on a variety of random factors such as energy harvesting, channel quality, and network traffic, whose distribution or statistical characteristics might not be known at users. Since acquiring the knowledge of these random variables (even statistical) is very costly in a dense network, we develop a bandit-theoretical formulation for distributed SBS selection when no prior information is available at users. The performance is analyzed both theoretically and numerically.
Retrospective privacy: managing longitudinal privacy in online social networks

Online social networks provide access to the user's information for long periods of time after the information's initial publication. In this paper, we investigate the relation between information aging and its sharing preferences on Facebook. Our findings are based on a survey of 193 Facebook users, in which we asked users to specify their sharing preferences and intentions towards posts that were published in different periods of time (from the time of the survey and up to 24 months prior to the time of the survey.) Our results show that willingness to share significantly drops with the time passed since publishing the post. The occurrence of life changes, such as graduating from college or moving to a new town, is correlated with a further decrease in the willingness to share. We discuss our findings by relating it to information aging theories and privacy theories. Finally, we use our results to reflect on privacy mechanisms for long-term usage of online social networks, such as expiry date for content and historical information reviewing processes.
Somatic Chromosomes of the Bornean Sambar Deer and Rusa Deer Interspecific Hybrids

Problem statement: Hybridization has potential benefits to the Malaysian farmed deer industries in terms of increased growth rate and increased proportion of muscle and an improved alignment of feed supply and annual energy requirement. Species or subspecies of different chromosome constitution could mate to produce healthy hybrid offspring in a normal ratio of males and females. If any of the hybrid offspring were sterile, the sterile offspring would be the heterogametic offspring. The study investigated the use of chromosome banding method to detect chromosomal variation and to define the chromosome homology and the possibility of the Bornean Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor brookei) and Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis) hybrids to reproduce. Approach: Samples were collected from the Livestock Breeding Station, Sabrang, Keningau, Sabah, East Malaysia. The animals studied consisted of two deer subspecies namely the Bornean Sambar deer, Rusa deer and their hybrids. The karyotypes of the Bornean Sambar deer, Rusa deer and their F1 hybrids have been investigated by solid giemsa staining, G-banding and Ag-NOR banding techniques. Results: Rusa and Bornean Sambar have different chromosome number; 60 and 62 respectively, but share the same fundamental number of chromosome arm, 70. The hybrids have 2n = 61, consisting of 9 metacentric to submetacentric autosomes and 24 pairs of acrocentric autosomes with two acrocentrics and one submetacentric chromosome being unpaired. The morphology of the sex chromosomes in the F1 hybrids was similar to that of the parental species. The Ag-NOR pattern and the conventional Giemsa staining of chromosomes were effective as markers in the characterization of the karyotypes of the parental lines and hybrids because of the presence of active NORs on different chromosomes of different species. G-band, in contrast, showed complete homology in the presence of euchromatic bands and heterochromatin blocks respectively on each chromosome, suggesting that the two species have few genetic differences. Conclusion: In the present study, natural mating between Bornean Sambar deer and Rusa deer were conducted and the number and chromosomal location of the nucleolar organizer regions in their offsprings were analyzed by the silver staining method. Apart from that, the interspecific dissimilarities with regards to chromosome number and morphology are less extensive and the production of chromosomally balanced gametes could be expected.
Glycine and GABAA receptor subunits on Renshaw cells: Relationship with presynaptic neurotransmitters and postsynaptic gephyrin clusters

Inhibitory synapses with large and gephyrin‐rich postsynaptic receptor areas are likely indicative of higher synaptic strength. We investigated the presynaptic inhibitory neurotransmitter content (GABA, glycine, or both) and the presence and subunit composition of GABAA and glycine postsynaptic receptors in one example of gephyrin‐rich synapses to determine neurochemical characteristics that could also contribute to enhance synaptic strength. Hence, we analyzed subunit receptor expression in gephyrin patches located on Renshaw cells, a type of spinal interneuron that receives powerful excitatory and inhibitory inputs and displays many large gephyrin patches on its surface. GABAA and glycine receptors were almost always colocalized inside Renshaw cell gephyrin clusters. According to the subunit‐immunoreactivities detected, the composition of GABAA receptors was inferred to be either α3β(2or3)γ2, α5β(2or3)γ2, α3α5β(2or3)γ2 or a combination of these. The types of neurotransmitters contained inside boutons presynaptic to Renshaw cell gephyrin patches were also investigated. The majority (60–75%) of terminals presynaptic to Renshaw cell gephyrin patches contained immunocytochemical markers for GABA as well as glycine, but a proportion contained markers only for glycine. Significantly, 40% of GABAA receptor clusters were opposed to presynaptic boutons that contained only glycinergic markers. We postulate that GABA and glycine corelease, and the presence of α3‐containing GABAA receptors can enhance the postsynaptic current and contribute to strengthen inhibitory input on Renshaw cells. In addition, a certain degree of imprecision in the localization of postsynaptic GABAA receptors in regard to GABA release sites onto adult Renshaw cells was also found. J. Comp. Neurol. 444:275–289, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Liquid based cytology: examination of its potential in a chlamydia screening programme

Objective: To assess the feasibility of testing for chlamydia directly on a single liquid based specimen (ThinPrep test) collected for cervical screening. Method: Cervical smears were taken using a Cervex spatula and rinsed in the liquid based cytology collection vial. Following this, the conventional sample for chlamydia testing was taken from the endocervix using an Abbott Collection kit. Cytological specimens were prepared using an automated slide processor. Residual cellular material and the conventional samples were sent to the laboratory where both were tested for chlamydia by ligase chain reaction (LCR). The manufacturer’s protocol for LCR urine testing was modified to substitute 1 ml of PreservCyt suspension. Results: 581 women had both swab and cytology suspension tested for Chlamydia trachomatis with LCR. There were 19 concordant positive and 562 concordant negative reports. The stability of chlamydia in the cytology suspension was maintained for at least 5 months. Conclusion: The findings lead us to conclude that samples collected for liquid based cytology using the ThinPrep test collection vial provide a potential platform for chlamydia screening, though the study established several issues to be addressed to make this a practical proposition.
Noncovalent interactions between cisplatin and graphene prototypes

Cisplatin (CP) has been widely used as an anticancer drug for more than 30 years despite severe side effects due to its low bioavailability and poor specificity. For this reason, it is paramount to study and design novel nanomaterials to be used as vectors capable to effectively deliver the drug to the biological target. The CP square‐planar geometry, together with its low water solubility, suggests that it could be possibly easily adsorbed on 2D graphene nanostructures through the interaction with the related highly conjugated π‐electron system. In this work, pyrene has been first selected as the minimum approximation to the graphene plane, which allows to properly study the noncovalent interactions determining the CP adsorption. In particular, electronic structure calculations at the MP2C and DFT‐SAPT levels of theory have allowed to obtain benchmark interaction energies for some limiting configurations of the CP–pyrene complex, as well as to assess the role of the different contributions to the total interaction: it has been found that the parallel configurations of the aggregate are mainly stabilized around the minimum region by dispersion, in a similar way as for complexes bonded through π‐π interactions. Then, the benchmark interaction energies have been used to test corresponding estimations obtained within the less expensive DFT to validate an optimal exchange‐correlation functional which includes corrections to take properly into account for the dispersion contribution. Reliable DFT interaction energies have been therefore obtained for CP adsorbed on graphene prototypes of increasing size, ranging from coronene, ovalene, and up to C150H30. Finally, DFT geometry optimizations and frequency calculations have also allowed a reliable estimation of the adsorption enthalpy of CP on graphene, which is found particularly favorable (about −20 kcal/mol at 298 K and 1 bar) being twice that estimated for the corresponding benzene adsorption. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analysis of the Effects of Technological and Organizational Features on Intranet and Portal Usage

The paper’s purpose is to analyze the effects of technological and organizational features on intranet and portal usage. Technological features comprise common intranet functions such as collaboration, search engine, personalization, workflow and content management. Intranet organizational features were associated with intranet support team’s profile, existence of specific budget for the intranet project and relationship with users. The research model was based on TAM, TTF and on several checklists from intranet literature. A survey was conducted with intranet managers from 98 Brazilian and 70 Portuguese organizations. Factor analysis revealed intranet integration features as a separate construct from technological features. The results showed that many analyzed intranets were at the basic stages. There was evidence that intranet integration and organizational features had more impact on intranet quality and usage than technological features.
Primary Care for Urban Adolescent Girls from Ethnically Diverse Populations: Foregone Care and Access to Confidential Care

Adolescent girls face unique challenges in health care utilization, which can result in unmet needs. We sought to describe settings of usual care and primary care use, and to identify predictors of foregone care and experience of confidential care in a primarily racial/ethnic minority low-income sample. We conducted an anonymous computer-assisted self-administered survey of 9th–12th grade girls (n=819) in three Bronx public high schools, the majority of whom were Hispanic (69.8%) and Black (21.4%). Most (80%) reported having a usual source of care. Of these, 77.2% had a regular doctor. Those least likely to have a usual source of care were non-U.S. born girls (73.1% vs. 83.1%) and less acculturated girls. Predictors of foregone care in the last year include being sexually active, poor family social support, and low self esteem. Predictors of access to confidential care at last visit were age, self-efficacy for confidential care, having a regular doctor, setting of care, and having had a recent physical exam. Many urban adolescent girls, especially non-U.S. born girls, lack a usual source of care and regular health care provider. Continued attention to reducing both financial and non-financial barriers to care is required to ensure access to and quality of care for diverse populations.
The challenges in improving outcome of cataract surgery in low and middle income countries

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness globally and surgery is the only known measure to deal with it effectively. Providing high quality cataract surgical services is critical if patients with cataract are to have their sight restored. A key focus of surgery is the outcome of the procedure. In cataract surgery this is measured predominantly, using visual acuity. Population- and hospital-based studies have revealed that the visual outcome of cataract surgery in many low and middle income settings is frequently sub-optimal, often failing to reach the recommended standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Another way of measuring outcome of cataract surgery is to ask patients for their views on whether surgery has changed the functioning of their eyes and their quality of life. There are different tools available to capture patient views and now, these patient-reported outcomes are becoming more widely used. This paper discusses the visual outcome of cataract surgery and frames the outcome of surgery within the context of the surgical service, suggesting that the process and outcome of care cannot be separated. It also discusses the components of patient-reported outcome tools and describes some available tools in more detail. Finally, it describes a hierarchy of challenges that need to be addressed before a high quality cataract surgical service can be achieved.