Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution of KV1.5 Channel to Hydrogen Peroxide–Induced Human Arteriolar Dilation and Its Modulation by Coronary Artery Disease

Rationale: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) regulates vascular tone in the human microcirculation under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. It dilates arterioles by activating large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels in subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD), but its mechanisms of action in subjects without CAD (non-CAD) when compared with those with CAD remain unknown. Objective: We hypothesize that H2O2-elicited dilation involves different K+ channels in non-CAD versus CAD, resulting in an altered capacity for vasodilation during disease. Methods and Results: H2O2 induced endothelium-independent vasodilation in non-CAD adipose arterioles, which was reduced by paxilline, a large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel blocker, and by 4-aminopyridine, a voltage-gated K+ (KV) channel blocker. Assays of mRNA transcripts, protein expression, and subcellular localization revealed that KV1.5 is the major KV1 channel expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells and is abundantly localized on the plasma membrane. The selective KV1.5 blocker diphenylphosphine oxide-1 and the KV1.3/1.5 blocker 5-(4-phenylbutoxy)psoralen reduced H2O2-elicited dilation to a similar extent as 4-aminopyridine, but the selective KV1.3 blocker phenoxyalkoxypsoralen-1 was without effect. In arterioles from CAD subjects, H2O2-induced dilation was significantly reduced, and this dilation was inhibited by paxilline but not by 4-aminopyridine, diphenylphosphine oxide-1, or 5-(4-phenylbutoxy)psoralen. KV1.5 cell membrane localization and diphenylphosphine oxide-1–sensitive K+ currents were markedly reduced in isolated vascular smooth muscle cells from CAD arterioles, although mRNA or total cellular protein expression was largely unchanged. Conclusions: In human arterioles, H2O2-induced dilation is impaired in CAD, which is associated with a transition from a combined large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+- and KV (KV1.5)-mediated vasodilation toward a large-conductance Ca2+–activated K+–predominant mechanism of dilation. Loss of KV1.5 vasomotor function may play an important role in microvascular dysfunction in CAD or other vascular diseases.
Papillary Oncocytic Cystadenoma of the Parotid Glands

BACKGROUND Papillary cystadenoma is a rare salivary gland neoplasm, and oncocytic change can be focal or marked. Papillary oncocytic cystadenoma has been reported mainly in the minor salivary glands and occasionally in the parotid glands. The cytologic features vary. CASES A 26-year-old female presented with a 2.4-cm, cystic right parotid gland mass present for 4 months. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) showed cellular smears with sheets of oncocytic cells and some with micropapillary architecture. The diagnosis ofa neoplasm was rendered and excisional biopsy recommended. Oncocytic neoplasm was diagnosed during intraoperative consultation, and final surgical histology showed a unilocular, cystic, oncocytic neoplasm with variable papillary projections. A 52-year-old male presented with a 1.5-cm, cystic left parotid mass enlarging for the past few months. FNA showed less cellular smears with extensive necrotic debris and a few large sheets of epithelial cells with vague papillary architecture. Oncocytic neoplasm was diagnosed during intraoperative consultation, and final surgical histology showed a unilocular cystic lesion with multiple papillary fronds lined with oncocytic cells and focal metaplastic squamous cells. CONCLUSION Papillary cystadenoma is rare in the parotid glands, and cytologic features may vary. Warthin's tumor, oncocytoma, intraductal papilloma and acinic cell carcinoma may arise in the differential diagnosis. In cases with extensive necrotic debris and metaplastic squamous cells, branchial cyst and cystic metastatic squamous carcinoma may also need to be considered.
Characterizing the Association Between Alcohol and HIV Virologic Failure in a Military Cohort on Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND The effects of at-risk drinking on HIV infection remain controversial. We investigated the impact of self-reported alcohol consumption on surrogate markers of HIV progression among individuals initiated on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS We analyzed individuals who were surveyed on alcohol use within a year of HAART initiation between 2006 and 2014. At-risk drinking was defined as consumption of at least 3 or 4 drinks/d, or 7 and 14 drinks/wk among women and men, respectively. We performed time-updated generalized estimating equation logistic regression to determine the effect of at-risk drinking on virologic failure (VF) and mixed-effects linear regression on CD4 count reconstitution, controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS Of 801 individuals initiated on HAART, 752 individuals with alcohol survey data were included in the analysis. Of these, 45% (n = 336) met criteria for at-risk drinking at HAART initiation on at least 1 survey. The rates of VF were 4.30 per 100 person-years (95% CI [2.86, 6.21]) for at-risk drinkers and 2.45 per 100 person-years (95% CI [1.57, 3.65]) for individuals without at-risk drinking. At-risk drinking was not significantly associated with VF (OR 1.73, 95% CI [0.92, 3.25]) (p = 0.087) or CD4 reconstitution (CD4 increase 11.4; 95% CI [-19.8, 42.7]) in univariate analyses; however, in our multivariate model, a statistically significant relationship between VF and at-risk drinking was observed (OR 2.28, 95% CI [ 1.01, 5.15]). CONCLUSIONS We found a high proportion of at-risk drinking in our military cohort, which was predictive of VF in multivariate analysis. Given alcohol's effect on myriad HIV and non-HIV outcomes, interventions to decrease the prevalence of at-risk drinking among HIV-infected individuals are warranted.
Eyesight quality and Computer Vision Syndrome

The aim of the study was to analyze the effects that gadgets have on eyesight quality. A prospective observational study was conducted from January to July 2016, on 60 people who were divided into two groups: Group 1 – 30 middle school pupils with a mean age of 11.9 ± 1.86 and Group 2 – 30 patients evaluated in the Ophthalmology Clinic, “Sf. Spiridon” Hospital, Iași, with a mean age of 21.36 ± 7.16 years. The clinical parameters observed were the following: visual acuity (VA), objective refraction, binocular vision (BV), fusional amplitude (FA), Schirmer’s test. A questionnaire was also distributed, which contained 8 questions that highlighted the gadget’s impact on the eyesight. The use of different gadgets, such as computer, laptops, mobile phones or other displays become part of our everyday life and people experience a variety of ocular symptoms or vision problems related to these. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) represents a group of visual and extraocular symptoms associated with sustained use of visual display terminals. Headache, blurred vision, and ocular congestion are the most frequent manifestations determined by the long time use of gadgets. Mobile phones and laptops are the most frequently used gadgets. People who use gadgets for a long time have a sustained effort for accommodation. A small amount of refractive errors (especially myopic shift) was objectively recorded by various studies on near work. Dry eye syndrome could also be identified, and an improvement of visual comfort could be observed after the instillation of artificial tears drops. Computer Vision Syndrome is still under-diagnosed, and people should be made aware of the bad effects the prolonged use of gadgets has on eyesight.
Impact of exercise selection on hamstring muscle activation

Objective To determine which strength training exercises selectively activate the biceps femoris long head (BFLongHead) muscle. Methods We recruited 24 recreationally active men for this two-part observational study. Part 1: We explored the amplitudes and the ratios of lateral (BF) to medial hamstring (MH) normalised electromyography (nEMG) during the concentric and eccentric phases of 10 common strength training exercises. Part 2: We used functional MRI (fMRI) to determine the spatial patterns of hamstring activation during two exercises which (1) most selectively and (2) least selectively activated the BF in part 1. Results Eccentrically, the largest BF/MH nEMG ratio occurred in the 45° hip-extension exercise; the lowest was in the Nordic hamstring (Nordic) and bent-knee bridge exercises. Concentrically, the highest BF/MH nEMG ratio occurred during the lunge and 45° hip extension; the lowest was during the leg curl and bent-knee bridge. fMRI revealed a greater BF(LongHead) to semitendinosus activation ratio in the 45° hip extension than the Nordic (p<0.001). The T2 increase after hip extension for BFLongHead, semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles was greater than that for BFShortHead (p<0.001). During the Nordic, the T2 increase was greater for the semitendinosus than for the other hamstring muscles (p≤0.002). Summary We highlight the heterogeneity of hamstring activation patterns in different tasks. Hip-extension exercise selectively activates the long hamstrings, and the Nordic exercise preferentially recruits the semitendinosus. These findings have implications for strategies to prevent hamstring injury as well as potentially for clinicians targeting specific hamstring components for treatment (mechanotherapy).
Error-Driven Incremental Learning in Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Large-Scale Image Classification

Supervised learning using deep convolutional neural network has shown its promise in large-scale image classification task. As a building block, it is now well positioned to be part of a larger system that tackles real-life multimedia tasks. An unresolved issue is that such model is trained on a static snapshot of data. Instead, this paper positions the training as a continuous learning process as new classes of data arrive. A system with such capability is useful in practical scenarios, as it gradually expands its capacity to predict increasing number of new classes. It is also our attempt to address the more fundamental issue: a good learning system must deal with new knowledge that it is exposed to, much as how human do. We developed a training algorithm that grows a network not only incrementally but also hierarchically. Classes are grouped according to similarities, and self-organized into levels. The newly added capacities are divided into component models that predict coarse-grained superclasses and those return final prediction within a superclass. Importantly, all models are cloned from existing ones and can be trained in parallel. These models inherit features from existing ones and thus further speed up the learning. Our experiment points out advantages of this approach, and also yields a few important open questions.
Heat and Drought Stresses in Crops and Approaches for Their Mitigation

Drought and heat are major abiotic stresses that reduce crop productivity and weaken global food security, especially given the current and growing impacts of climate change and increases in the occurrence and severity of both stress factors. Plants have developed dynamic responses at the morphological, physiological and biochemical levels allowing them to escape and/or adapt to unfavorable environmental conditions. Nevertheless, even the mildest heat and drought stress negatively affects crop yield. Further, several independent studies have shown that increased temperature and drought can reduce crop yields by as much as 50%. Response to stress is complex and involves several factors including signaling, transcription factors, hormones, and secondary metabolites. The reproductive phase of development, leading to the grain production is shown to be more sensitive to heat stress in several crops. Advances coming from biotechnology including progress in genomics and information technology may mitigate the detrimental effects of heat and drought through the use of agronomic management practices and the development of crop varieties with increased productivity under stress. This review presents recent progress in key areas relevant to plant drought and heat tolerance. Furthermore, an overview and implications of physiological, biochemical and genetic aspects in the context of heat and drought are presented. Potential strategies to improve crop productivity are discussed.
Immediate synergistic effect of a trunk orthosis with joints providing resistive force and an ankle–foot orthosis on hemiplegic gait

Purpose The synergistic effects of a trunk orthosis and an ankle–foot orthosis (AFO) in stroke patients with a hemiplegic gait are unclear. We previously developed a trunk orthosis with joints providing resistive force (TORF) to modify malalignment of the trunk and pelvis and confirmed its positive effects in stroke patients during level walking without an AFO. The aim of the present study was to determine if this trunk orthosis and an AFO have synergistic effects during level walking in community-dwelling patients with chronic stroke. Methods Twenty-eight community-dwelling stroke patients performed level walking at a self-selected speed with an AFO and again while wearing a TORF (TORF group) or a corset (control group). Spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic data were recorded using a three-dimensional motion analysis system. Results When compared with the control group, the TORF group showed significant increases in walking speed, number of steps on the paretic leg per minute, and peak ankle plantar flexion moment during the single stance phase. Conclusion The TORF increased the ankle joint plantar flexion moment at the end of the single stance phase during level walking in stroke patients, leading to an increase in their gait speed because of the modified trunk and pelvis alignment.
Fine Needle Aspiration of Borderline Ovarian Lesions

Borderline ovarian tumors are a low grade form of epithelial ovarian carcinoma with a low rate of growth and a low potential to invade or metastasize. According to the new World Health Organization classification, these tumors are placed between clearly benign and obviously malignant tumors because they exhibit some, but not all, of the morphologic features of malignancy. For a distinction between borderline lesions and cystadenomas or carcinomas, 2 criteria are of the utmost importance: presence of nuclear atypia and absence of stromal invasion. The pathologic subtype ofperitoneal implants is probably one of the main prognosticfactors in patients with serous tumors of low malignant potential, while the prognostic value of micropapillary serous carcinoma in patients with noninvasive implants remains debatable. Although fine needle aspiration (FNA) is the most accurate diagnostic method in cytopathology, its value in the diagnosis of borderline lesions is limited, mainly because of its inability to establish the absence of stromal invasion. The diagnostic accuracy of RNA can be improved by supplementing cytologic examination with such diagnostic techniques as immunocytochemistry and cytometry.
Robust PV Degradation Methodology and Application

The degradation rate plays an important role in predicting and assessing the long-term energy generation of photovoltaics (PV) systems. Many methods have been proposed for extracting the degradation rate from operational data of PV systems, but most of the published approaches are susceptible to bias due to inverter clipping, module soiling, temporary outages, seasonality, and sensor degradation. In this paper, we propose a methodology for determining PV degradation leveraging available modeled clear-sky irradiance data rather than site sensor data, and a robust year-over-year rate calculation. We show the method to provide reliable degradation rate estimates even in the case of sensor drift, data shifts, and soiling. Compared with alternate methods, we demonstrate that the proposed method delivers the lowest uncertainty in degradation rate estimates for a fleet of 486 PV systems.
Participant Characteristics That Influence Consent for Genetic Research in a Population-Based Survey: The Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Follow-Up

Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate the sociodemographic and health characteristics associated with the willingness to donate a DNA sample, and consent to testing and long-term storage of that sample, among participants in a longitudinal community-based survey. Sample: Eighty-three percent of the 1,071 participants interviewed in 2004/5 agreed to donate a biological specimen (blood or buccal). Results: Age was consistently inversely associated with the willingness to allow genetic testing (OR 0.97; p < 0.05), but was unrelated to the willingness to donate or allow storage.There was no association between race and the consent to donate a specimen, but Blacks were less likely to consent to DNA storage for future research as compared with members of other racial groups (OR 0.50; p < 0.01). Four conditions were listed on the consent form as relevant to the genes targeted for assay. Participants with a family history of 1 or more of these conditions were more likely to donate than those without (OR 1.68; p < 0.01). Participants with a personal history of 1 of the 4 conditions listed were not more or less likely to donate, allow testing or allow storage than respondents without such a history. Conclusions: Sociodemographic characteristics were unrelated to the willingness to donate a biological sample. Age, but not race, sex or education, was related to consent to genetic testing. Race, but not age, sex or education, was related to consent to storage. A family history of health conditions listed as relevant to the assays being requested was related to the willingness to donate. Factors that affect the willingness to donate a biological sample in an epidemiologic study are not the same as those associated with the willingness to allow genetic testing or storage of that sample for unspecified future research.
Brain SCALE: Brain Structure and Cognition: an Adolescent Longitudinal Twin Study into the Genetic Etiology of Individual Differences

From childhood into adolescence, the child's brain undergoes considerable changes in both structure and function. Twin studies are of great value to explore to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain individual differences in brain development and cognition. In The Netherlands, we initiated a longitudinal study in which twins, their siblings and their parents are assessed at three year intervals. The participants were recruited from The Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) and at baseline consisted of 112 families, with 9-year-old twins and an older sibling. Three years later, 89 families returned for follow-up assessment. Data collection included psychometric IQ tests, a comprehensive neuropsychological testing protocol, and parental and self-ratings of behavioral and emotional problems. Physical maturation was measured through assessment of Tanner stages. Hormonal levels (cortisol, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone, and estrogens) were assessed in urine and saliva. Brain scans were acquired using 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which provided volumetric measures and measures of cortical thickness. Buccal swabs were collected for DNA isolation for future candidate gene and genome-wide analysis studies. This article gives an overview of the study and the main findings. Participants will return for a third assessment when the twins are around 16 years old. Longitudinal twin-sibling studies that map brain development and cognitive function at well-defined ages aid in the understanding of genetic influences on normative brain development.
NoSQL databases: a step to database scalability in web environment

The paper is focused on so called NoSQL databases. In context of cloud computing, architectures and basic features of these databases are studied, particularly their horizontal scalability and concurrency model, that is mostly weaker than ACID transactions in relational SQL-like database systems. Some characteristics like a data model and querying capabilities are discussed in more detail. The paper also contains an overview of some representatives of NoSQL databases.
Nanoparticles for the Induction of Antigen-Specific Immunological Tolerance

Antigen-specific immune tolerance has been a long-standing goal for immunotherapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and allergies and for the prevention of allograft rejection and anti-drug antibodies directed against biologic therapies. Nanoparticles have emerged as powerful tools to initiate and modulate immune responses due to their inherent capacity to target antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and deliver coordinated signals that can elicit an antigen-specific immune response. A wide range of strategies have been described to create tolerogenic nanoparticles (tNPs) that fall into three broad categories. One strategy includes tNPs that provide antigen alone to harness natural tolerogenic processes and environments, such as presentation of antigen in the absence of costimulatory signals, oral tolerance, the tolerogenic environment of the liver, and apoptotic cell death. A second strategy includes tNPs that carry antigen and simultaneously target tolerogenic receptors, such as pro-tolerogenic cytokine receptors, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, FAS receptor, and the CD22 inhibitory receptor. A third strategy includes tNPs that carry a payload of tolerogenic pharmacological agents that can “lock” APCs into a developmental or metabolic state that favors tolerogenic presentation of antigens. These diverse strategies have led to the development of tNPs that are capable of inducing antigen-specific immunological tolerance, not just immunosuppression, in animal models. These novel tNP technologies herald a promising approach to specifically prevent and treat unwanted immune reactions in humans. The first tNP, SEL-212, a biodegradable synthetic vaccine particle encapsulating rapamycin, has reached the clinic and is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials.
On poverty, politics and psychology: the socioeconomic gradient of mental healthcare utilisation and outcomes

Summary Since 2008, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme has disseminated evidence-based interventions for depression and anxiety problems. In order to maintain quality standards, government policy in England sets the expectation that 50% of treated patients should meet recovery criteria according to validated patient-reported outcome measures. Using national IAPT data, we found evidence suggesting that the prevalence of mental health problems is greater in poorer areas and that these areas had lower average recovery rates. After adjusting benchmarks for local index of multiple deprivation, we found significant differences between unadjusted (72.5%) and adjusted (43.1%) proportions of underperforming clinical commissioning group areas.