Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of the Class II Transactivator (CIITA) in MHC Class I and II Regulation and Graft Rejection in Kidney

Class II transactivator (CIITA) induces transcription of MHC class II genes, and induces class I in some cell lines. We examined the effect of CIITA deficiency on class I and II expression in mouse kidney. In CIITA knockout (CIITAKO) mice, basal class II was absent, but class I levels were mildly but significantly increased. Allogeneic stimulation or ischemic injury increased class I and II expression in kidneys of control (wild‐type, WT) mice but induced only class I in CIITAKO mice. Thus, in kidney, all basal and induced class II expression was CIITA‐dependent, but neither basal nor induced class I was CIITA‐dependent. Rejecting kidney allografts from CIITAKO mice in CBA hosts manifested intense induction of donor class I but no donor class II expression. Rejecting kidneys from both WT and CIITAKO donors showed predominantly CD8 T‐cell infiltration at days 7 and 21, with increasing tubulitis and arteritis at day 21. CIITAKO kidneys showed fewer infiltrating cells than WT kidneys at day 21. Thus CIITA‐deficient kidneys have no basal and induced class II expression but display intense induction of class I expression, and evoke typical rejection lesions, although some indices of infiltration are reduced at day 21.
Festival Tourists’ Emotion, Perceived Value, and Behavioral Intentions: A Test of the Moderating Effect of Festivalscape

The purpose of this study is to examine the interrelationship among festival tourists’ emotion, perceived value, and behavioral intentions, as well as to test the moderating effect of festivalscape on behavioral intentions. A survey was conducted at the 2009 Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival, and the model was tested by structural equation modeling. The results show that tourist emotion is positively related to perceived value and behavioral intentions, and perceived value is positively related to behavioral intentions in the context of the festival tourism in China. The results also indicate that there is no moderating effect of festivalscape on behavioral intentions.
Resilience and Coping Strategies Influencing the Quality of Life in Patients With Brain Tumor

The study purpose was to evaluate how much of the variance in quality of life (QOL) among Taiwanese patients with brain tumor could be accounted for by resilience and coping strategy. This cross-sectional study included 95 patients who had undergone a treatment of operations or chemotherapy or radiotherapy relevant to brain tumor after at least 1 month and completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QOL Questionnaire–Brain Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-BN20), Resilience Scale (RS), and Ways of Coping Checklist–Revised (WCC-R). There was a significant negative correlation between resilience and future uncertainty QOL and motor dysfunction QOL. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between the emotion-focused coping and future uncertainty QOL, as well as a significant negative correlation between problem-focused coping and motor dysfunction QOL. Resilience accounted for 4.8% and the emotion-focused coping accounted for 10.20% of the variance in separately predicting the future uncertainty QOL. This study highlights the potential importance of resilience and coping strategies in patients’ QOL, which is relevant to brain tumor treatment.
Desired and Experienced Levels of Premarital Affection and Sexual Intercourse During Dating

Attitudes toward and experience of sexual intercourse among young people during dating stages were investigated. The proportion of young Australian adults who desired intercourse, who had experienced intercourse, who had both desired and experienced intercourse, or who neither wanted to nor had experienced intercourse at various stages of dating was studied. The type of relationship within which intercourse occurred was also investigated by considering the affectional aspects of dating. Desire for and experience of high levels of caring, commitment, sincerity, and other measures of interpersonal involvement were determined. The sample consisted of 1,637 young people between 16 and 25 years of age, drawn from a wide range of backgrounds. More men than women both desired and had experienced sexual intercourse. At any particular stage of dating, the desired level of intercourse for men was more than actual experience. With increasing involvement in the dating relationship and with increasing age, more men an.
Experimental Procedure for Determination of the Dielectric Properties of Biological Samples in the 2-50 GHz Range

The objective of this paper was to test and evaluate an experimental procedure for providing data on the complex permittivity of different cell lines in the 2-50-GHz range at room temperature, for the purpose of future dosimetric studies. The complex permittivity measurements were performed on cells suspended in culture medium using an open-ended coaxial probe. Maxwell's mixture equation then allows the calculation of the permittivity profiles of the cells from the difference in permittivity between the cell suspensions and pure culture medium. The open-ended coaxial probe turned out to be very sensitive to disturbances affecting the measurements, resulting in poor precision. Permittivity differences were not large in relation to the spread of the measurements and repeated measurements were performed to improve statistics. The 95% confidence intervals were computed for the arithmetic means of the measured permittivity differences in order to test the statistical significance. The results showed that for bone cells at the lowest tested concentration (33 500/ml), there were significance in the real part of the permittivity at frequencies above 30 GHz, and no significance in the imaginary part. For the second lowest concentration (67 000/ml) there was no significance at all. For a medium concentration of bone cells (135 000/ml) there was no significance in the real part, but there was significance in the imaginary part at frequencies below about 25 GHz. The cell suspension with a concentration of 1 350 000/ml had significance in the real part for both high (above 30 GHz) and low (below 15 GHz) frequencies. The imaginary part showed significance for frequencies below 25 GHz. In the case of an osteosarcoma cell line with a concentration of 2 700 000/ml, only the imaginary part showed significance, and only for frequencies below 15 GHz. For muscle cells at a concentration of 743 450/ml, there was only significance in the imaginary part for frequencies below 5 GHz. The experimental data indicated that the complex permittivity of the culture medium may be used for modeling of cell suspensions.
Creatinine Reduction Ratio: A Useful Marker to Identify Medium and High-Risk Renal Transplants

Introduction. Delayed graft function (DGF) has a major impact on long-term renal transplant survival. However, it is a diagnosis made retrospectively with little opportunity to modify treatment protocols. A classification based on creatinine reduction ratio between days 1 and 2 (CRR2) suggests that patients with CRR2 less than or equal to 30% (nondialysis requiring DGF [ND-DGF]) have similar outcomes to those with dialysis-requiring delayed graft function (D-DGF). We retrospectively applied this definition in our cohort of patients to examine outcomes. Methods. We studied the association between CRR2 and graft outcomes in all 367 patients transplanted between 1996 and 2004 at our center. Patients were divided into the following three groups: IGF (immediate graft function; CRR2 >30%), D-DGF, and ND-DGF. Mean follow-up was 4.2 years. Results. IGF accounted for 36% of patients, D-DGF for 22%, and ND-DGF for 42%. CRR2 was inversely correlated with serum creatinine on days 7, 30, 90, and 365 (r ranging from −0.65 to −0.22, P<0.001). Graft survival at 5 years was 98% (IGF), 74% (D-DGF), and 89% (ND-DGF). There was a significant difference in graft survival between IGF and D-DGF (P<0.001) and IGF and ND-DGF (P=0.005). In a multivariate analysis adjusting for recipient age and sex, donor age and sex, and human leukocyte antigen mismatch, graft failure was 2.4 times more likely to occur in patients with D-DGF than those with ND-DGF(P=0.02). Conclusions. Our study shows CRR2 influences long-term graft outcomes. Unlike the original description, patients with ND-DGF carry an intermediate risk and perhaps should be considered on day 2 for alternative treatment protocols.
Regression of Medial Elastocalcinosis in Rat Aorta: A New Vascular Function for Carbonic Anhydrase

Background—We sought to determine whether carbonic anhydrase (CA), which plays an important role in bone resorption, contributes to vascular mineral loss induced by an endothelin receptor antagonist. Methods and Results—Wistar rats were compared with rats receiving warfarin and vitamin K1 (WVK) for 8 weeks alone or in association with the endothelin receptor antagonist darusentan (30 mg/kg per day), the CA inhibitor acetazolamide (100 mg/kg per day), or both for the last 4 weeks. Rats were also treated with WVK for 5 or 6 weeks, and darusentan was added for the last week or last 2 weeks of treatment, respectively. Treatment with WVK produced medial elastocalcinosis in the aorta and carotid arteries. Immunohistochemistry revealed that CA II was already abundant in the adventitia and in calcified areas of aortic sections from WVK-treated rats. Darusentan did not significantly modify its abundance or distribution. In contrast, CA IV immunostaining, which was weak in WVK-treated rats, became apparent after 1 week of darusentan treatment and declined toward basal levels thereafter. These findings were confirmed by a parallel increase in CA IV protein abundance and activity in the aorta. The mineral loss induced by darusentan was blunted by acetazolamide treatment, confirming the functional relevance of the biochemical findings. Moreover, CA IV immunostaining was enhanced much later in the carotids, where darusentan did not cause regression of elastocalcinosis. Conclusions—Vascular mineral loss induced by the blockade of endothelin receptors seems dependent on the activation of membrane-bound CA IV, suggesting that mineral loss may proceed via local changes in pH similar to that seen in bone resorption.
Technical Oral Presentation: Analyzing Communicative Competence of Engineering Students of Pakistan for Workplace Environment

Communicative competence plays significant role for engineering students to perform various oral communicative tasks efficiently at workplace following graduation. The respondents for this study were twenty five engineering students who participated in this study from two engineering universities of Pakistan. This study employed purposive sampling method since respondents were drawn on specific criteria of only final year engineering students. The instruments used for this study for data collection purpose were recording of oral presentations to capture communication strategies employed by engineering students to overcome communication deficiencies during oral presentations. Data were analyzed qualitatively using strategic competence framework of Canale and Swain (1980). Additionally, Dornyei and Scott’s (1995) compiled Inventory of Strategic Language Devices was used to explore the types of strategies that engineering students employ to overcome communication deficiencies when they face any communication deficiencies. Open coding (Richards, 2005; Strauss and Corbin, 1998) was used to code the oral presentation data. The results of the study revealed that engineering students used three communication strategies namely message reduction, code switching, use of fillers and self repetition strategies to overcome communication deficiencies during oral presentations. The findings of the study can be used as a guideline to focus strategic competence of engineering students to prepare them productive engineers for modern industry. Keywords: Communicative competence, Engineering students, Workplace environment
Cord blood LC-PUFA composition and allergic diseases during the first 10 yr. Results from the LISAplus study

It has been suggested that n‐6 and n‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC‐PUFAs) in blood are associated with risk of allergic diseases, although results are inconclusive. Low levels of n‐6 LC‐PUFA and high levels of n‐3 LC‐PUFA are anticipated to have beneficial effects. Pregnancy is considered a critical time period for imprinting the developing immune system. We examined whether n‐6 LC‐PUFA, n‐3 LC‐PUFA concentrations or the n‐6/n‐3 ratio in cord blood (CB) serum are associated with allergic diseases up to the age of 10 yr.
Tremor in the elderly: Essential and aging‐related tremor

Isolated tremor in the elderly is commonly diagnosed as essential tremor (ET). The prevalence of tremor increases steeply with increasing age, whereas hereditary tremor is becoming less common. Moreover, late‐manifesting tremor seems to be associated with dementia and earlier mortality. We hypothesize that different entities underlie tremor in the elderly.
Mechanistic studies on DNA damage by minor groove binding copper–phenanthroline conjugates

Copper–phenanthroline complexes oxidatively damage and cleave nucleic acids. Copper bis-phenanthroline and copper complexes of mono- and bis-phenanthroline conjugates are used as research tools for studying nucleic acid structure and binding interactions. The mechanism of DNA oxidation and cleavage by these complexes was examined using two copper–phenanthroline conjugates of the sequence-specific binding molecule, distamycin. The complexes contained either one or two phenanthroline units that were bonded to the DNA-binding domain through a linker via the 3-position of the copper ligand. A duplex containing independently generated 2-deoxyribonolactone facilitated kinetic analysis of DNA cleavage. Oxidation rate constants were highly dependent upon the ligand environment but rate constants describing elimination of the alkali-labile 2-deoxyribonolactone intermediate were not. Rate constants describing DNA cleavage induced by each molecule were 11–54 times larger than the respective oxidation rate constants. The experiments indicate that DNA cleavage resulting from β-elimination of 2-deoxyribonolactone by copper–phenanthroline complexes is a general mechanism utilized by this family of molecules. In addition, the experiments confirm that DNA damage mediated by mono- and bis-phenanthroline copper complexes proceeds through distinct species, albeit with similar outcomes.
Natural and recombinant interferons inhibit epithelial cell invasion by Shigella spp

The effect of natural and recombinant interferons (IFNs) on the abilities of Shigella flexneri, S. sonnei, and Salmonella typhimurium to invade different human and murine cells was examined. Pretreatment of cell monolayers with natural and recombinant IFNs reduced the number of Shigella-infected cells in a dose-dependent manner. Establishment of an anti-invasive cellular state was time dependent, requiring 10 h for 50% inhibition of bacterial invasion. The inhibitory effect of IFN was species specific, with human or murine IFN effective against homologous but not heterologous cells. Gamma IFN was slightly more potent than alpha IFN at inhibiting bacterial invasion. Inhibition of Shigella invasion was dependent on the challenge dose of bacteria. Little inhibition of invasion was seen when cells were pretreated with low concentrations of IFN and challenged with high multiplicities of infection of Shigella sp. In contrast to Shigella invasion, the maximum inhibitory effect of IFN on Salmonella invasion of cells was observed at low levels (5 to 50 U) of IFN. These results suggest that Shigella and Salmonella invasions occur at unique sites on eucaryotic cells or by different penetration mechanisms. More importantly, these data suggest that IFN may play a significant role in host defense against Shigella and Salmonella infections.
Blind iterative frequency offset estimator for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems

This study presents an iterative carrier frequency offset estimator for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The proposed estimator is based on the efficient Viterbi-and-Viterbi (VAV) algorithm. The proposed estimator is blind and can be used with non-constant modulus subcarrier modulations such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The performance of the proposed estimator is assessed theoretically and via Monte Carlo simulations over various channel models and compared to the performance of other well established blind techniques in addition to the Cramer–Rao lower bound. The comparison results demonstrate that the proposed estimator outperforms other well-established blind estimators by more than 12 dB at moderate and high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
Hippocampal contribution to verbal recent memory following dominant-hemisphere temporal lobectomy.

The effects of hippocampal encroachment in the language dominant-hemisphere were studied in 41 patients who underwent previous temporal lobectomy (TL). Patients undergoing dominant-hemisphere TL including anterior hippocampus (n = 13) performed significantly worse than nondominant TL patients (n = 16) on a verbal learning test (Selective Reminding; p less than or equal to .00001), thereby confirming the sensitivity of this procedure to lateralized temporal-lobe dysfunction. However, no significant difference was present on this or other primary measures of material-specific memory when contrasting dominant TL patients in whom the anterior hippocampus was spared (n = 12) to those in whom anterior hippocampus was resected. These data suggest that more extensive and posterior mesial temporal-lobe resection is not necessarily associated with a greater verbal material-specific memory deficit following dominant-hemisphere temporal lobectomy.
On the performance of wide-bandwidth signal acquisition in dense multipath channels

This paper investigates important properties of acquisition receivers that employ commonly used serial-search strategies. In particular, we focus on the properties of the mean acquisition time (MAT) for wide bandwidth signals in dense multipath channels. We show that a lower bound of the MAT over all possible search strategies is the solution to an integer programming problem with a convex objective function. We also give an upper bound expression for the MAT over all possible search strategies. We demonstrate that the MAT of the fixed-step serial search (FSSS) does not depend on the timing delay of the first resolvable path, thereby simplifying the evaluation of the MAT of the FSSS. The results in this paper can be applied to design and analysis of fast acquisition systems in various wideband scenarios.
Sodium-bicarbonated mineral water decreases aldosterone levels without affecting urinary excretion of bone minerals

Aim To assess in healthy postmenopausal women the influence of consuming sodium-bicarbonated mineral water on postprandial evolution of serum aldosterone and urinary electrolyte excretion. Methods Eighteen postmenopausal women consumed 500 ml of two sodium-bicarbonated mineral waters (sodium-bicarbonated mineral water 1 and sodium-bicarbonated mineral water 2) and a low-mineral water with a standard meal. Postprandial blood samples were taken at 60, 120, 240, 360 and 420 min and aldosterone concentrations were measured. Postprandial urinary minerals were determined. Results Urinary and total mineral excretion and urinary mineral concentrations did not differ except for sodium concentration, which was significantly higher with sodium-bicarbonated mineral water 1 than with low-mineral water (P=0.005). There was a time effect (P=0.003) on the aldosterone concentration. At 120 min, aldosterone concentrations were lower with sodium-bicarbonated mineral water 1 (P=0.021) and sodium-bicarbonated mineral water 2 (P=0.030) compared with low-mineral water. Conclusion Drinking a sodium-rich bicarbonated mineral water with a meal increases urinary sodium concentration excretion without changes in the excretion of potassium and bone minerals.
The Effect of Competition on the Creativity and Motivation of Swedish Schoolchildren

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of competition on creativity in a Swedish context. Ninety-nine 5th grade children were divided into two groups and examined on the hypothesis that competition in one group would create an extrinsic constraint and therefore diminish the intrinsic motivation resulting in less creative outcome. Furthermore we hypothesized that the participants in the competition group that reported themselves as more intrinsically motivated would be more creative compared to extrinsically motivated participants. The study did not provide support for the hypotheses; there was no significant difference between the competition group and the control group on creativity outcome. In addition the participants who reported themselves as intrinsically motivated did not produce more creative products than the participants in the control group. These results were not in line with those of studies conducted in an American context. A thorough discussion on why these differences between American and Swedish schoolchildren exist is conducted.
Magnetic resonance imaging for detection of depth of myometrial invasion and cervical invasion in patients with endometrial carcinoma.

AIMS The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical significance of depth of myometrial invasion and cervical invasion by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with endometrial carcinoma. METHODS Between September 2011 and October 2014 on 98 patients who were diagnosed with and treated for endometrial carcinoma at Subei People's Hospital in China included in this study. Main outcome measure was the correlation between the depth of myometrial invasion and cervical invasion by preoperative MRI, transvaginal sonography, hysteroscopy with directed biopsy study and the subsequent histopathological findings following examination of the hysterectomy specimen. RESULTS The mean age was 54.6 years old and the most common histological subtype was the endometrioid type of endometrial adenocarcinoma (87.8%). In the evaluation of deep myometrial invasion (>50%), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and positive and negative likelihood ratios of MRI were 70.00%, 94.87%, 77.78%, 92.50%, 13.65, 0.316, respectively. For cervical invasion, these values were 72.73%, 98.85%, 88.89%, 96.63%, 63.27, 0.30, respectively. CONCLUSION MRI is the superior diagnostic method to detect the myometrial invasion and cervical invasion.