Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetic persons with foot ulcers and their perceptions of hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy.

AIM To elucidate how diabetic patients with limb-threatening foot lesions perceive and evaluate content and organisation of treatment in a multi-place hyperbaric oxygen chamber. BACKGROUND To our knowledge there are no patients' evaluations of diabetes care in a high-technology area like the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The burden on persons with diabetic foot complications might be increased if adjuvant therapy with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) within a locked airtight vessel is given. DESIGN Explorative study. PARTICIPANTS Participants were included in the HODFU study, a prospective randomised double-blind study, designed to evaluate whether HBOT heals more chronic foot ulcers than placebo treatment with hyperbaric air. Six females and 13 males, aged 44-83 years (median 70), with diabetic foot ulcers, participated. METHOD Focus-group interviews by an external evaluator. RESULTS Management was perceived as well-functioning with competent staff delivering quick treatment in a positive manner and in good co-operation. HBOT sessions, in groups, were described as unproblematic and pleasant, through sharing experiences with others, although time-consuming and tiring. Recognising the responsible physician and communication with other physicians in the health-care chain was perceived as problematic. Placebo treatment, when given, did not reveal any problems; many perceived HBOT as the last resort and respondents had a negative view of future health and expressed fears of new wounds and amputation. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE From patients' perspective HBOT in the delivered health-care model was perceived as well-functioning, taking into consideration both technical and relational aspects of care in this high-technology environment. Communication with the patient and between different care givers, with a consistent message given and information about who is responsible and to whom one should turn, wherever treated, is the most crucial aspect of the model. Future fears need to be recognised and group interaction can be encouraged to share the burden of disease.
Acquiring Complex Focus-Marking: Finnish 4- to 5-Year-Olds Use Prosody and Word Order in Interaction

Using a language game to elicit short sentences in various information structural conditions, we found that Finnish 4- to 5-year-olds already exhibit a characteristic interaction between prosody and word order in marking information structure. Providing insights into the acquisition of this complex system of interactions, the production data showed interesting parallels to adult speakers of Finnish on the one hand and to children acquiring other languages on the other hand. Analyzing a total of 571 sentences produced by 16 children, we found that children rarely adjusted input word order, but did systematically avoid marked OVS order in contrastive object focus condition. Focus condition also significantly affected four prosodic parameters, f0, duration, pauses and voice quality. Differing slightly from effects displayed in adult Finnish speech, the children produced larger f0 ranges for words in contrastive focus and smaller ones for unfocused words, varied only the duration of object constituents to be longer in focus and shorter in unfocused condition, inserted more pauses before and after focused constituents and systematically modified their use of non-modal voice quality only in utterances with narrow focus. Crucially, these effects were modulated by word order. In contrast to comparable data from children acquiring Germanic languages, the present findings reflect the more central role of word order and of interactions between word order and prosody in marking information structure in Finnish. Thus, the study highlights the role of the target language in determining linguistic development.
Kinetics of gelation and universality

The exact solution (size distribution ck(t) and moments M, (t)) of Smoluchowski's coagulation equation (S-model) and of a modified equation (F-model) with a coagulation rate K,, = ij for i- and j-clusters is obtained for arbitrary Ck(0) in the sol (t (,) phases, where tc is the gel point. The behaviour of ck(t) and M,(t) is given for k -+CO, t -+ CO and t + I,. The critical exponents, critical amplitudes and scaling function that characterise the singularities near the non-equilibrium phase transition are calculated. For short-range ck(0) (i.e. all M, <a) the F-model belongs to the universality class of classical gelation theories and of bond percolation on Cayley trees; the S-model does not.
Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein Attenuates Ischemic-Induced Microglia Cell Apoptosis and Activation Through NF-κB Pathway

Background: Acute ischemic stroke is one of the most important factors leading to disability and death with the characterization of accumulated neuron death and injured supportive neurovascular structures. Raf-1 kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) is a key molecule in cell response to survival or death stimuli. However, the role of RKIP in stroke is worthy to be further studied. Methods: We used lentivirus mediated RKIP knockdown and overexpression to investigate the effect of RKIP on animal models of focal cerebral ischemia. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, lactate dehydrogenase release analysis, and Annexin V-APC apoptosis assay were used to detect the effect RKIP on microglial cell apoptosis and survival. Transwell migration assay was carried out to evaluate the migration of microglia cells. The releases of inflammatory cytokines were determined by ELISA. The activation of NF-kappaB signaling pathway was determined by western blot. Results: Overexpression of RKIP reduced focal cerebral ischemia injury. RKIP knockdown and overexpression regulated survival, activation, and motility via the NF-κB pathway. NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7082 blocked the changes caused by RKIP down-regulation after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). RKIP overexpression inhibited the upregulation of phosphorylation of NF-κB induced by OGD and cerebral ischemia. Conclusions: The present study showed that RKIP protects against ischemic stroke through inhibition of microglial excessive activation, inhibits its motility, and promotes neuronal survival partly though IKKβ-IκBα-NF-κB signaling axis and indicate that RKIP is a new target for the treatment of ischemic stroke.
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer-Based Intracellular Assay for the Conformation of Hepatitis C Virus Drug Target NS5A

ABSTRACT Nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) is essential for hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication and assembly and is a critical drug target. Biochemical data suggest large parts of NS5A are unfolded as an isolated protein, but little is known about its folded state in the cell. We used fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to probe whether or not different regions of NS5A are in close proximity within the cell. Twenty-three separate reporter constructs were created by inserting one or more fluorophores into different positions throughout the three domains of NS5A. FRET efficiency was maximal when donor and acceptor fluorophores were positioned next to each other but also could be observed when the two fluorophores flanked NS5A domain 1 or domain 3. Informatic and biochemical analysis suggests that large portions of the carboxy terminus of NS5A are in an unfolded and disordered state. Quercetin, a natural product known to disrupt NS5A function in cells, specifically disrupted a conformationally specific domain 3 FRET signal. Intermolecular FRET indicated that the NS5A amino termini, but not other regions, are in close proximity in multimeric complexes. Overall, this assay provides a new window on the intracellular conformation(s) of NS5A and how the conformation changes in response to cellular and viral components of the replication and assembly complex as well as antiviral drugs.
Human dendritic cells differentiated in hypoxia down‐modulate antigen uptake and change their chemokine expression profile

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen‐presenting cells and fine‐tune the immune response. We have investigated hypoxia's effects on the differentiation and maturation of DCs from human monocytes in vitro, and have shown that it affects DC functions. Hypoxic immature DCs (H‐iDCs) significantly fail to capture antigens through down‐modulation of the RhoA/Ezrin‐Radixin‐Moesin pathway and the expression of CD206. Moreover, H‐iDCs released higher levels of CXCL1, VEGF, CCL20, CXCL8, and CXCL10 but decreased levels of CCL2 and CCL18, which predict a different ability to recruit neutrophils rather than monocytes and create a proinflammatory and proangiogenic environment. By contrast, hypoxia has no effect on DC maturation. Hypoxic mature DCs display a mature phenotype and activate both allogeneic and specific T cells like normoxic mDCs. This study provides the first demonstration that hypoxia inhibits antigen uptake by DCs and profoundly changes the DC chemokine expression profile and may have a critical role in DC differentiation, adaptation, and activation in inflamed tissues.
Evaluation of Depression and Coping Skill among HIV-Positive People in Kolkata, India

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate depressive symptoms and coping strategy among HIV-positive women and men. This cross-sectional study was done among 164 newly diagnosed HIV-positive people through a structured questionnaire. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale was used to measure depression. A 16-items coping scale, Coping with AIDS - Fleishman (CWAF) Instrument, was used to assess coping strategy. χ2 test was used to compare proportions. Men had significantly higher mean BDI somatic score. Odds for being depressed were 3.6 times higher among men (P value .001, 95% C.I. 1.64-8.07). Analysis of the coping strategies showed that women had better coping skill. Significant correlation was observed between BDI score and emotion-focused coping score (correlation coefficient −0.258, P value .01). HIV-positive men had more depression. Gender-sensitive strategies needed to provide better care for them.
High pressure photoluminescence studies of diamond with GeV centers

We report low temperature (80 K) photoluminescence studies of microcrystalline diamond with germanium-vacancy (GeV) centers under hydrostatic pressure up to 6 GPa. Powders of Ge-doped diamond crystals were synthesized from hydrocarbons at high-pressures and high-temperatures. Due to the high quality of the samples, we were able to resolve the distinct quadruplet structure of the zero-phonon line (ZPL) of the GeV center already at 80 K and to trace it up to ∼ 6 GPa. The pressure dependence of ZPL was found to be linear with the pressure coefficient dE/dP = 3 . 1 meV/GPa, which is nearly 3 times higher than that for the isomorphic SiV − center. The experimentally observed pressure coefficients of GeV − , NV − and NV 0 centers are compared with results of ab-initio DFT calculations, using Quantum ESPRESSO software package.
A preclinical algorithm of soluble surrogate biomarkers that correlate with therapeutic inhibition of the MET oncogene in gastric tumors

The MET oncogene is amplified in a fraction of human gastric carcinoma cell lines, with consequent overexpression and constitutive activation of the corresponding protein product, the Met tyrosine kinase receptor. This genetically driven hyperactivation of Met is necessary for cancer cell growth and survival, so that Met pharmacological blockade results in cell‐cycle arrest or apoptosis (oncogene addiction). MET gene amplification also occurs in vivo in a number of human gastric carcinomas, and clinical trials are now ongoing to assess the therapeutic efficacy of Met inhibitors in this type of malignancy. The aim of our study was to identify a preclinical algorithm of soluble surrogate biomarkers indicative of response to Met inhibition in gastric tumors, as a potential tool to integrate imaging criteria during patient follow‐up. We started from a survey of candidate molecules based on antibody proteomics and gene expression profiling; after ELISA validation and analytical quantification, four biomarkers were identified that appeared to be strongly and consistently modulated by Met inhibition in a panel of Met‐addicted gastric carcinoma cell lines, but not in Met‐independent cell lines. Pharmacologic blockade of Met using specific small‐molecule inhibitors led to reduced secretion of IL‐8, GROα and the soluble form of uPAR and to increased production of IL‐6 both in vitro (in culture supernatants) and in vivo (in the plasma of xenografted mice). If confirmed in patients, this information might prove useful to monitor clinical response to Met‐targeted therapies in MET‐amplified gastric carcinomas.
Exploring the Genetic Architecture of Circulating 25‐Hydroxyvitamin D

The primary circulating form of vitamin D is 25‐hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D), a modifiable trait linked with a growing number of chronic diseases. In addition to environmental determinants of 25(OH)D, including dietary sources and skin ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure, twin‐ and family‐based studies suggest that genetics contribute substantially to vitamin D variability with heritability estimates ranging from 43% to 80%. Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in four gene regions associated with 25(OH)D. These SNPs collectively explain only a fraction of the heritability in 25(OH)D estimated by twin‐ and family‐based studies. Using 25(OH)D concentrations and GWAS data on 5,575 subjects drawn from five cohorts, we hypothesized that genome‐wide data, in the form of (1) a polygenic score comprised of hundreds or thousands of SNPs that do not individually reach GWAS significance, or (2) a linear mixed model for genome‐wide complex trait analysis, would explain variance in measured circulating 25(OH)D beyond that explained by known genome‐wide significant 25(OH)D‐associated SNPs. GWAS identified SNPs explained 5.2% of the variation in circulating 25(OH)D in these samples and there was little evidence additional markers significantly improved predictive ability. On average, a polygenic score comprised of GWAS‐identified SNPs explained a larger proportion of variation in circulating 25(OH)D than scores comprised of thousands of SNPs that were on average, nonsignificant. Employing a linear mixed model for genome‐wide complex trait analysis explained little additional variability (range 0–22%). The absence of a significant polygenic effect in this relatively large sample suggests an oligogenetic architecture for 25(OH)D.
Selecting Science Information in Web 2.0: How Source Cues, Message Sidedness, and Need for Cognition Influence Users' Exposure to Blog Posts

This research investigates how cues describing the authors of user-generated online science articles in blogs, and indications about whether the articles are 1-sided or 2-sided, affect others' decision about which content to read. It extended the elaboration likelihood model (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), to predict whether better-quality arguments and individuals' need for cognition affected their content selections. In 2 experiments, 121 parents were asked to search for information on a blog concerning the effects of violent media. Results showed a general preference for texts composed by users with greater expertise and for 2-sided messages. Need for cognition magnified the effect of message sidedness, suggesting that the ELM is relevant for blogs and the selection of user-generated science stories. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
On Variant Strategies to Solve the Magnitude Least Squares Optimization Problem in Parallel Transmission Pulse Design and Under Strict SAR and Power Constraints

Parallel transmission is a very promising candidate technology to mitigate the inevitable radio-frequency (RF) field inhomogeneity in magnetic resonance imaging at ultra-high field. For the first few years, pulse design utilizing this technique was expressed as a least squares problem with crude power regularizations aimed at controlling the specific absorption rate (SAR), hence the patient safety. This approach being suboptimal for many applications sensitive mostly to the magnitude of the spin excitation, and not its phase, the magnitude least squares (MLS) problem then was first formulated in 2007. Despite its importance and the availability of other powerful numerical optimization methods, the MLS problem yet has been faced almost exclusively by the pulse designer with the so-called variable exchange method. In this paper, we investigate various two-stage strategies consisting of different initializations and nonlinear programming approaches, and incorporate directly the strict SAR and hardware constraints. Several schemes such as sequential quadratic programming, interior point methods, semidefinite programming and magnitude squared least squares relaxations are studied both in the small and large tip angle regimes with RF and static field maps obtained in vivo on a human brain at 7T. Convergence and robustness of the different approaches are analyzed, and recommendations to tackle this specific problem are finally given. Small tip angle and inversion pulses are returned in a few seconds and in under a minute respectively while respecting the constraints, allowing the use of the proposed approach in routine.
Are Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecules Involved in the Survival of Naive CD 4 T Cells ?

The exact role of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in the peripheral survival of naive T cells is controversial, as some studies have suggested that they are critically required whereas others have suggested that they are not. Here we controlled for some of the features that differed among the earlier studies, and analyzed both the survival and expansion of naive CD4 T cells transferred into MHC syngeneic, allogeneic, or MHC negative environments. We found that naive T cells transferred into MHC negative or allogeneic environments often fail to survive because of rejection and/or competition by natural killer (NK) cells, rather than failure to recognize a particular MHC allele. In the absence of NK cells, naive CD4 T cells survived equally well regardless of the MHC type of the host. There was, however, an MHC requirement for extensive space-induced “homeostatic” expansion. Although the first few divisions occurred in the absence of MHC molecules, the cells did not continue to divide or transit to a CD44 hi phenotype. Surprisingly, this MHC requirement could be satisfied by alleles other than the restricting haplotype. Therefore, space-induced expansion and survival are two different phenomena displaying different MHC requirements. Memory CD4 T cells, whose survival and expansion showed no requirements for MHC molecules at all, dampened the space-induced expansion of naive cells, showing that the two populations are not independent in their requirements for peripheral niches.
Estrogen modulates sexually dimorphic contextual fear extinction in rats through estrogen receptor β

Females and males are different in brain and behavior. These sex differences occur early during development due to a combination of genetic and hormonal factors and continue throughout the lifespan. Previous studies revealed that male rats exhibited significantly higher levels of contextual fear memory than female rats. However, it remains unknown whether a sex difference exists in the contextual fear extinction. To address this issue, male, normally cycling female, and ovariectomized (OVX) female Sprague‐Dawley rats were subjected to contextual fear conditioning and extinction trials. Here we report that although male rats exhibited higher levels of freezing than cycling female rats after contextual fear conditioning, female rats subjected to conditioning in the proestrus and estrus stage exhibited an enhancement of fear extinction than male rats. An estrogen receptor (ER) β agonist diarylpropionitrile but not an ERα agonist propyl‐pyrazole‐triol administration also enhanced extinction of contextual fear in OVX female rats, suggesting that estrogen‐mediated facilitation of extinction involves the activation of ERβ. Intrahippocampal injection of estradiol or diarylpropionitrile before extinction training in OVX female rats remarkably reduced the levels of freezing response during extinction trials. In addition, the locomotion or anxiety state of female rats does not vary across the ovarian cycle. These results reveal a crucial role for estrogen in mediating sexually dimorphic contextual fear extinction, and that estrogen‐mediated enhancement of fear extinction involves the activation of ERβ. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Abstract Answer Set Solvers for Cautious Reasoning

Abstract solvers are a recently employed method to formally analyze algorithms that earns some advantages w.r. t. traditional ways such as pseudo-code-based description. Abstract solvers proved to be a useful tool for describing, comparing and composing solving techniques in various fields such as SAT, SMT, ASP, CASP. In ASP, abstract solvers have been so far employed for describing solvers for brave reasoning tasks. In this paper we apply, for the first time, this methodology to the analysis of ASP solvers for cautious reasoning tasks. We describe and compare the available approaches in the literature, which employ techniques for computing over- and under-approximations of the solution, the last including "coherence tests" for deciding the inclusion of a single atom in the solution, a technique borrowed from backbone computation of CNF formulas. Then, we show how to improve the current abstract solvers with new techniques, in order to design new solving algorithms. Abstract solvers are a relatively recently employed method to formally analyse algorithms that earns some advantages w.r. t. traditional ways such as pseudo-code-based description. In this methodology, the states of computation are represented as nodes of a graph, the solving techniques as edges between such nodes, the solving process as a path in the graph and formal properties of the algorithms are reduced to related graph properties. Abstract solvers proved to be a useful tool for describing, comparing and composing solver design techniques in various fields such as CNF satisfiability (SAT) and Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) (Nieuwenhuis et al. 2006), Answer Set Programming (Lierler 2011; Lier- ler and Truszczynski 2011; Brochenin et al. 2014), and Constraint ASP (Lierler 2014). In ASP, such methodology led to the development of a new ASP solver, SUP (Lierler 2011); however,abstract solvers have been so far applied to ASP solvers for brave reasoning tasks where,givenan inputqueryanda knowledgebase expressedinASP, answersare witnessed by ASP solutions, i.e. stable models (Baral 2003; Eiter et al. 1997; Gelfond and Lifschitz