Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mucosal and systemic antibody responses to potential Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine protein antigens in young children with cystic fibrosis following colonization and infection

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important prognostic determinant in cystic fibrosis (CF). Little is known however, about P. aeruginosa induced local mucosal and systemic immune responses. Twenty CF children were categorized according to their P. aeruginosa status: (1) chronic lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), (2) prior successfully treated initial LRTI, (3) isolated upper respiratory tract (URT) colonization, and (4) no known URT colonization or previous LRTI. Their antibody responses, and those of six non-CF disease controls, in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid to potential P. aeruginosa vaccine antigens outer membrane protein F (OprF), outer membrane protein H (OprH), catalase A (KatA) and a whole killed cell (WKC) extract were evaluated. Outer membrane protein G (OprG) responses were also measured in blood. Natural exposure, colonization and infection resulted in detectable antibody levels in BAL and serum in all CF groups. Both chronically infected and URT colonized CF children had substantially elevated immunoglobulin A antibody levels in the BAL fluid and sera toward the WKC extract and OprF antigen compared with the other groups of CF children and non-CF controls. The serum levels of specific P. aeruginosa antibodies involving immunoglobulin G and M isotypes increased with chronic LRTI, especially antibody levels to KatA, OprH and WKC extract, which were substantially greater in chronically infected children compared with all other groups. In conclusion, natural exposure, URT colonization and LRTI with P. aeruginosa all induce substantial mucosal and systemic antibody responses to potential vaccine antigens with chronically infected CF children having the highest levels.
The Health Care Meanings, Values, and Practices of Anglo-American Males in the Rural Midwest

Limited nursing knowledge exists to explain how culture influences men’s health care decisions and practices. The purpose of this collaborative research was to explore the health care meanings, values, expressions, lived experiences, and practices of Anglo-American adult males residing in the rural Midwest. Using the ethnonursing research method, data were collected through interviews with 7 key and 12 general informants residing in Iowa. Four culture values and five themes were supported by the findings. Leininger’s culture care modes were used to explicate culturally meaningful nursing care actions and decisions that are in harmony with the cultural values and practices of rural men.
Do adolescent offspring of women with PTSD experience higher levels of chronic and episodic stress?

Offspring of mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at higher risk for a range of negative developmental outcomes, including differing forms of psychopathology. This study suggests that the multigenerational impact of trauma may be partially attributed to increased levels of stress experienced by these offspring during childhood and adolescence. Diagnostic interviews were conducted with over 800 women and their offspring. Experiences of stress were assessed using multiple measures. Results indicate that offspring of mothers with PTSD or high levels of PTSD symptoms experienced higher levels of lifetime exposure to major stress, η(2) = . 02, current chronic stress due to family relations, η(2) = . 01, and a higher level of objectively rated recent episodic life stress, η(2) = . 01, compared to offspring of women without PTSD. These findings remained significant after controlling for maternal history of depression.
Rosiglitazone-Induced Mitochondrial Biogenesis in White Adipose Tissue Is Independent of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Coactivator-1α

Background Thiazolidinediones, a family of insulin-sensitizing drugs commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, are thought to exert their effects in part by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis in white adipose tissue through the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α (Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Coactivator-1α). Methodology/Principal Findings To assess the role of PGC-1α in the control of rosiglitazone-induced mitochondrial biogenesis, we have generated a mouse model that lacks expression of PGC-1α specifically in adipose tissues (PGC-1α-FAT-KO mice). We found that expression of genes encoding for mitochondrial proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation, tricarboxylic acid cycle or fatty acid oxidation, was similar in white adipose tissue of wild type and PGC-1α-FAT-KO mice. Furthermore, the absence of PGC-1α did not prevent the positive effect of rosiglitazone on mitochondrial gene expression or biogenesis, but it precluded the induction by rosiglitazone of UCP1 and other brown fat-specific genes in white adipose tissue. Consistent with the in vivo findings, basal and rosiglitazone-induced mitochondrial gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was unaffected by the knockdown of PGC-1α but it was impaired when PGC-1β expression was knockdown by the use of specific siRNA. Conclusions/Significance These results indicate that in white adipose tissue PGC-1α is dispensable for basal and rosiglitazone-induced mitochondrial biogenesis but required for the rosiglitazone-induced expression of UCP1 and other brown adipocyte-specific markers. Our study suggests that PGC-1α is important for the appearance of brown adipocytes in white adipose tissue. Our findings also provide evidence that PGC-1β and not PGC-1α regulates basal and rosiglitazone-induced mitochondrial gene expression in white adipocytes.
Means of a Dirichlet process and multiple hypergeometric functions

The Lauricella theory of multiple hypergeometric functions is used to shed some light on certain distributional properties of the mean of a Dirichlet process. This approach leads to several results, which are illustrated here. Among these are a new and more direct procedure for determining the exact form of the distribution of the mean, a correspondence between the distribution of the mean and the parameter of a Dirichlet process, a characterization of the family of Cauchy distributions as the set of the fixed points of this correspondence, and an extension of the Markov-Krein identity. Moreover, an expression of the characteristic function of the mean of a Dirichlet process is obtained by resorting to an integral representation of a confluent form of the fourth Lauricella function. This expression is then employed to prove that the distribution of the mean of a Dirichlet process is symmetric if and only if the parameter of the process is symmetric, and to provide a new expression of the moment generating function of the variance of a Dirichlet process.
Strategic Insight and Age-Related Goal-Neglect Influence Risky Decision-Making

Maximizing long-run gains often requires taking on some degree of risk, yet decision-makers often exhibit risk aversion (RA), rejecting risky prospects even when these have higher expected value (EV) than safer alternatives. We investigated whether explicit strategy instruction and practice can decrease prepotent RA, and whether aging impacts the efficacy of such an intervention. Participants performed a paired lottery task with options varying in risk and magnitude, both before and after practice with a similar task that encouraged maximization of EV and instruction to use this strategy in risky decisions. In both younger and older adults (OAs), strategy training reduced RA. Although RA was age-equivalent at baseline, larger training effects were observed in younger adults (YAs). These effects were not explained by risk-related (i.e., affective) interference effects or computation ability, but were consistent with a progressive, age-related neglect of the strategy across trials. Our findings suggest that strategy training can diminish RA, but that training efficacy is reduced among OAs, potentially due to goal neglect. We discuss implications for neural mechanisms that may distinguish older and YAs’ risky decision-making.
Outsourcing Decisions: Theory and Evidence

This paper attempts to theoretically and empirically examine outsourcing decisions. We develop a partial equilibrium model of outsourcing decisions in which heterogeneous firms face choices between disintegration and internalisation. We show that more productive firms are inclined to contract out production activities at arm’s length. The key driver of this result rests with the spirit of Grossman and Helpman (2002) who posited that an outsourcing decision involves a trade-off between efficiency gains from core competences and specialisation and transaction costs in terms of searching for potential suppliers and contractual enforcement. Having established the theoretical proposition, we then turn attention to an empirical investigation of international outsourcing determinants using the establishment-level data of Thailand’s manufacturing industries. We employ the Probit model of international outsourcing decisions taking into account various econometric issues. These include the endogeneity bias problem, unobserved industry-specific characteristics, and heteroscedasticity. The consistent estimates reveal a positive correlation between productivity levels and probability that the outsourcing decision is made, and therefore sheds light on our theoretical prediction. In addition to productivity levels, the empirical framework highlights several establishment-specific characteristics as a key determinant of international outsourcing. These comprise their export statuses, foreign ownership
Drug‐related adverse events may predict efficacy in sorafenib therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

A prospective multi-center cohort study entitled "Field-practice study of sorafenib therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective multicenter study in Italy" was published in "Hepatology" in 2011. We read with great interest the recent study providing stronger evidence of the treatment of sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with intermediate stage. The authors reported that the patients receiving a half-dose of sorafenib for 70% of the treatment period had a longer median survival than those who maintained on a full dose(21.6 vs 9.6 months). We considered that the patients in this study who experienced adverse events responded better to sorafenib than those who did not. Thus we wrote a correspondence to the journal proposing that the drug-related adverse events might presumably predict the efficacy of sorafenib therapy.
Urban Climate Influence on Building Energy Use

Building energy demand in cities is expected to be affected as a warming climate, increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events, and the urban heat island effect (UHI) cumulatively exacerbate heat related risks. To mitigate such climate loading and reduce energy bills, the way that buildings are constructed have changed over recent decades. This paper examines not only how the UHI affects space-conditioning loads within urban office buildings, but also how the trend of replacing traditional heavyweight stone facades with lightweight highly glazed and insulated ones affects both the magnitude and timing of the UHI and resulting building energy use. The paper addresses this through a simulation study of a typical street canyon based on the Moorgate area of London. Results show that including the UHI within a dynamic thermal simulation has an adverse effect on annual space-conditioning, with a 4 % increase in demand for buildings with stone facades, while those with a glazed construction show a 10 % increase. The study therefore demonstrates that the trend in urban centres to construct highly glazed buildings with lightweight insulated facades increases space-conditioning loads and consequently adversely affects the UHI, thereby creating a vicious cycle of additional urban heating that exacerbates the impacts of climate change. The study in turn stresses the significance of accounting for UHI loads in estimating urban energy use, for which a combined simulation approach has been presented as a practical pathway.
Short-term impact of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) applications on the physico-chemical and microbiological soil properties of an olive grove in Argentina

The purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of spreading olive oil mill wastewater (OMWW) on soil biochemical parameters and olive production in an organically managed olive orchard. The experiment was carried out with three different doses of OMWW (80, 160 and 500 m3 ha−1) and a control (untreated soil). Three samplings were done at 10, 30 and 90 days after the administration of the byproduct. OMWW application differentially modified the biochemical properties of the soil analyzed. Organic matter, organic carbon, total nitrogen and extractable phosphorus soil contents increased proportionally with each increasing dose. The values of these parameters decreased gradually with time. Total microbial activity was altered and the OMWW 500 m3 ha−1 treatment proved to be the most active when compared with the other applied doses. OMWW agricultural application also modified the structure of soil microbial communities, particularly affecting Gram positive and negative bacteria, while fungal biomass did not show consistent changes. Although there was a salinity increase in the treated soil, especially at the highest dose, the productive parameters analyzed (fruit and oil tree−1) were not affected. In light of the obtained results, we consider that low dose of OMWW could be considered an alternative farming practice for semiarid regions.
Decidability of the Interval Temporal Logic ABB over the Natural Numbers

In this paper, we focus our attention on the interval temporal logic of the Allen's relations ``meets'', ``begins'', and ``begun by'' ($\ABB$ for short), interpreted over natural numbers. We first introduce the logic and we show that it is expressive enough to model distinctive interval properties, such as accomplishment conditions, to capture basic modalities of point-based temporal logic, such as the until operator, and to encode relevant metric constraints. Then, we prove that the satisfiability problem for $\ABB$ over natural numbers is decidable by providing a small model theorem based on an original contraction method. Finally, we prove the EXPSPACE-completeness of the problem.
Internal medicine residents' perceived ability to direct patient care: impact of gender and experience.

BACKGROUND Physicians are expected to effect patient care by giving orders to members of a healthcare team. Because women are socialized to be less directive than men, the assertive behavior required of new physicians may be experienced differently by male and female residents. We sought to explore the effects of gender and year of training on residents' experiences and perceived ability to direct patient care. METHODS This was a mixed-methods, cross-sectional, descriptive study employing a quantitative written survey and qualitative interviews among internal medicine residents at an academic health center. Measurements included questionnaires and interviews about stress, assertiveness, and personal factors that influence their effectiveness in directing patient care. Analyses examined differences by gender and year of training. RESULTS One hundred residents were invited to participate; 65 returned questionnaires, and 16 of these residents were interviewed. Compared with male residents, female residents selected less assertive behaviors for clinical scenarios (p = 0.047) and were more likely to perceive gender as inhibiting their ability to influence patient care (p < 0.01). Stress associated with being assertive varied more with experience than gender. Interviews corroborated these findings and supported the complexity of gender norms for behavior for female residents in a directive leadership position. CONCLUSIONS When compared with male peers, female residents reported more gender issues in residency and chose less assertive behaviors in clinical scenarios. Experience mitigated some gender differences. Our findings suggest that discussion of the existing research on prescriptive gender norms for behavior and leadership may be warranted in resident orientation.
Disruption of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Factor 5 Exacerbates Murine Experimental Colitis via Regulating T Helper Cell-Mediated Inflammation

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 5 (TRAF5) is a key mediator of TNF receptor superfamily members and is important in both T helper (Th) cell immunity and the regulation of multiple signaling pathways. To clarify TRAF5's influence on inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), we investigated TRAF5 deficiency's effect on dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced colitis. Colitis was induced in TRAF5 knockout (KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates by administering 3% DSS orally for 7 days. The mice were then sacrificed, and their colons were removed. Our data suggested that KO mice were more susceptible to DSS-induced colitis. TRAF5 deficiency significantly enhanced IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-17a mRNA and protein levels in the colons of DSS-fed mice, and the mRNA expression of T-bet and GATA-3 was also markedly elevated. However, ROR-α and ROR-γt mRNA levels did not differ between DSS-induced KO and WT mice. Flow cytometry showed increased frequencies of Th2 and IFN-γ/IL-17a-coproducing CD4+ T cells in the colons of DSS-induced KO mice. Additionally, TRAF5 deficiency significantly enhanced the activation of NF-κB in CD4+ T cells after DSS administration. These results indicated that TRAF5 deficiency significantly aggravated DSS-induced colitis, most likely by regulating Th cell-mediated inflammation.
Robust stability of time-delay systems with interval delays

Stability analysis of uncertain time-delay systems is considered in a quadratic separation framework. Results are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMI) which prove to be conservative. But this conservatism is significantly reduced by combining several tools. Firstly, a fractioning of the delay is performed thus introducing knowledge on the functional defining the current state of the system. Secondly, a Taylor series approximation of the delay operator is performed and the Taylor remainder is explicitly taken into account with a new uncertainty-type approximation. Thanks to LMI formulation, and with the use of slack variables, robustness is guaranteed for all uncertainties and all delays included in some bounded interval which may not include zero.
Regulation of Intestinal Cytochrome P450 Expression by Hepatic Cytochrome P450: Possible Involvement of Fibroblast Growth Factor 15 and Impact on Systemic Drug Exposure

Tissue-specific deletion of the gene for NADPH-cytochrome P450 (P450) reductase (CPR), the essential electron donor to all microsomal P450 enzymes, in either liver or intestine, leads to upregulation of many P450 genes in the tissue with the Cpr deletion. Here, by studying the liver-specific Cpr-null (LCN) mouse, we examined whether an interorgan regulatory pathway exists, such that a loss of hepatic CPR would cause compensatory changes in intestinal P450 expression and capacity for first-pass metabolism of oral drugs. We show for the first time that intestinal expression of CYP2B, 2C, and 3A proteins was increased in LCN mice by 2- to 3-fold compared with wild-type (WT) mice, accompanied by significant increases in small intestinal microsomal lovastatin-hydroxylase activity and systemic clearance of oral lovastatin (at 5 mg/kg). Additional studies showed that the hepatic Cpr deletion, which caused large decreases in bile acid (BA) levels in the liver, intestine, plasma, and intestinal content, led to drastic decreases in the mRNA levels of intestinal fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15), a target gene of the BA receptor farnesoid X receptor. Furthermore, treatment of mice with FGF19 (the human counterpart of mouse FGF15) abolished the difference between WT and LCN mice in small intestinal (SI) CYP3A levels at 6 hours after the treatment. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized direct role of intestinal FGF15/19 in the regulation of SI P450 expression and may have profound implications for the prediction of drug exposure in patients with compromised hepatic P450 function.
Gamma-Irradiated Influenza Virus Uniquely Induces IFN-I Mediated Lymphocyte Activation Independent of the TLR7/MyD88 Pathway

Background We have shown previously in mice, that infection with live viruses, including influenza/A and Semliki Forest virus (SFV), induces systemic partial activation of lymphocytes, characterized by cell surface expression of CD69 and CD86, but not CD25. This partial lymphocytes activation is mediated by type-I interferons (IFN-I). Importantly, we have shown that γ-irradiated SFV does not induce IFN-I and the associated lymphocyte activation. Principal Findings Here we report that, in contrast to SFV, γ-irradiated influenza A virus elicits partial lymphocyte activation in vivo. Furthermore, we show that when using influenza viruses inactivated by a variety of methods (UV, ionising radiation and formalin treatment), as well as commercially available influenza vaccines, only γ-irradiated influenza virus is able to trigger IFN-I-dependent partial lymphocyte activation in the absence of the TLR7/MyD88 signalling pathways. Conclusions Our data suggest an important mechanism for the recognition of γ-irradiated influenza vaccine by cytosolic receptors, which correspond with the ability of γ-irradiated influenza virus to induce cross-reactive and cross-protective cytotoxic T cell responses.
Interactive Displays in Vehicles: Improving Usability with a Pointing Gesture Tracker and Bayesian Intent Predictors

Interactive displays are becoming an integrated part of the modern vehicle environment. Their use typically entails dedicating a considerable amount of attention and undertaking a pointing gesture to select an interface item/icon displayed on a touchscreen. This can have serious safety implications for the driver. The pointing gesture can also be highly perturbed due to the road and driving conditions, resulting in erroneous selections. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic intent prediction approach that facilitates establishing the targeted icon on the interface early in the pointing gesture. It employs a 3D vision sensory device to continuously track the pointing hand/finger in conjunction with suitable Bayesian prediction algorithms. The introduced technique can significantly reduce the pointing task completion time, the necessary associated visual, cognitive and movement efforts as well as enhance the selection accuracy. The substantial furnished gains and the pointing gesture characteristics are demonstrated using data collected in an instrumented vehicle.
Systems biology approaches for the study of multiple sclerosis

• Introduction • Genomics • Transcriptomics ‐ Characterization of the MS lesion ‐ Characterization of the immune response • Proteomics ‐ Identification of new pathogenic processes ‐ Role of environmental triggers in MS ‐ Characterization of the autoimmune response: ‐ antibodies • Metabolomics • Integration of data from different ‘omics' approaches • New experimental models • Conclusions
Compressing nearly hard sphere fluids increases glass fragility

We use molecular dynamics to investigate the glass transition occurring at large volume fraction, φ, and low temperature, T, in assemblies of soft repulsive particles. We find that equilibrium dynamics in the (φ, T)-plane obey a form of dynamic scaling in the proximity of a critical point at T=0 and φ=φ0, which should correspond to the ideal glass transition of hard spheres. This glass point, “point G", is distinct from athermal jamming thresholds. A remarkable consequence of scaling behaviour is that the dynamics at fixed φ passes smoothly from that of a strong glass to that of a very fragile glass as φ increases beyond φ0. Correlations between fragility and various physical properties are explored.