Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long flights do not influence immune responses of a long-distance migrant bird: a wind-tunnel experiment

Heavy physical work can result in physiological stress and suppressed immune function. Accordingly, long-distance migrant birds that fly for thousands of km within days can be expected to show immunosuppression, and hence be more vulnerable to infections en route. The red knot Calidris canutus Linnaeus is a long-distance migrant shorebird. We flew red knots the equivalent of 1500 km over 6 days in a wind tunnel. The humoral and cell-mediated immune responses of the flyers were compared to those of non-flying controls. Humoral immunity was measured as antibody production against injected diphtheria and tetanus antigens, and cell-mediated response as phytohemagglutinin-induced wing-web swelling. Blood corticosterone levels, which may modulate immune function, were measured in parallel. The long flights had no detectable effects on humoral or cell-mediated immune responses, or on corticosterone levels. Thus, flight performance per se may not be particularly stressful or immunosuppressive in red knots. Some birds assigned as flyers refused to fly for extended periods. Before flights started, these non-flyers had significantly lower antibody responses against tetanus than the birds that carried out the full flight program. This suggests that only birds in good physical condition may be willing to take on heavy exercise. We conclude that these long-distance migrants appear well adapted to the work load induced by long flights, enabling them to cope with long flight distances without increased stress levels and suppression of immunity. Whether this also applies in the wild, where the migrating birds may face adverse weather and food conditions, remains to be investigated.
Long-term myocardial functional improvement after autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells transplantation in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: 4 years follow-up

Aims To evaluate the safety profile and efficacy of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC) transplantation for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) by assessing patients and their left ventricular function at up to 4 years follow-up. Methods and results Eighty-six patients with STEMI who had successfully undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were randomized to receive intracoronary injection of BMMNC (n = 41) or saline (n = 45). Left ventricular ejection fraction, as evaluated by UCG, was markedly improved at 6 months (0.484 ± 0.5 vs. 0.457 ± 0.6, P = 0.001), 1 year (0.482 ± 0.7 vs. 0.446 ± 0.6, P < 0.001), and 4 years (0.505 ± 0.8 vs. 0.464 ± 0.8, P < 0.001) after BMMNC transplant when compared with control group. However, the current cell therapy did not improve the myocardial viability of the infarcted area as assessed by single-photon emission computed tomography analysis at 4 years post-transplant (0.263 ± 0.007 in BMMNC group vs. 0.281 ± 0.008 in control group, P = 0.10). During the follow-up period, one control group case (2.2%) of in-stent restenosis was confirmed by coronary angiography and underwent repeat PCI. Also during follow-up, one death (2.2%) occurred in the control group, and one patient (2.4%) in the BMMNC group had transient acute heart failure. Conclusion This study indicates that intracoronary delivery of autologous BMMNC is safe and feasible for STEMI patients who have undergone PCI, and can lead to long-term improvement in myocardial function.
A Computational Model of Liver Iron Metabolism

Iron is essential for all known life due to its redox properties; however, these same properties can also lead to its toxicity in overload through the production of reactive oxygen species. Robust systemic and cellular control are required to maintain safe levels of iron, and the liver seems to be where this regulation is mainly located. Iron misregulation is implicated in many diseases, and as our understanding of iron metabolism improves, the list of iron-related disorders grows. Recent developments have resulted in greater knowledge of the fate of iron in the body and have led to a detailed map of its metabolism; however, a quantitative understanding at the systems level of how its components interact to produce tight regulation remains elusive. A mechanistic computational model of human liver iron metabolism, which includes the core regulatory components, is presented here. It was constructed based on known mechanisms of regulation and on their kinetic properties, obtained from several publications. The model was then quantitatively validated by comparing its results with previously published physiological data, and it is able to reproduce multiple experimental findings. A time course simulation following an oral dose of iron was compared to a clinical time course study and the simulation was found to recreate the dynamics and time scale of the systems response to iron challenge. A disease state simulation of haemochromatosis was created by altering a single reaction parameter that mimics a human haemochromatosis gene (HFE) mutation. The simulation provides a quantitative understanding of the liver iron overload that arises in this disease. This model supports and supplements understanding of the role of the liver as an iron sensor and provides a framework for further modelling, including simulations to identify valuable drug targets and design of experiments to improve further our knowledge of this system.
A generic task ontology for scheduling applications

An ontology can be seen as a reference model to describe the entities which exist in an universe of discourse and their properties. These entities may be individuals, classes, relationships, and functions. In sum anything that may be useful to describe specific models. In this paper we present a generic task ontology for scheduling problems. The ontology is generic in the sense that it is both domain and application independent. We refer to it as a ‘task ontology’ to emphasise that it describes the class of scheduling tasks, independently of the various ways by which these tasks can be solved. The proposed task ontology has been successfully validated to measure its knowledge capturing capability. Our aim is to move beyond current brittle approaches to system development to provide firm theoretical and engineering foundations to various classes of knowledge-based applications. Keyword: Intelligent Scheduling, Ontologies, Knowledge Modelling, Knowledge Acquisition, Reuse.
Micromechanics-Based Analysis of Fiber-Reinforced Laminated Composites

Abstract : A procedure for three-dimensional nonlinear material modelling of fiber-reinforced laminated composites is presented. The material modelling procedure has a two-level hierarchical structure. At. the bottom level, constitutive information about the fiber and the matrix phases are synthesized using a micromechanical model to yield the effective stress-strain response of a unidirectional lamina. At the top level, a three-dimensional lamination scheme is employed which assembles the laminae within a sublaminate, and delivers the effective stress-strain response of the sublaminate. Local stresses and strains in a lamina or in fiber and matrix phases can be recovered from the effective values at any stage. The material modelling procedure enables the use of standard displacement-based finite elements. The matrix material is characterized using nonlinear-elastic Ramberg-Osgood relations. Micromechanical failure criteria are used for determining various modes of failure, including compression kink-banding. The accuracy of the micromechanical model is demonstrated by comparing its predictions with results from other micromechanical models and experimental data. Examples are also presented for laminated structures; the results are in good agreement with analytical and experimental results available in the literature.
Blood transfusion is associated with prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation in infants undergoing reparative cardiac surgery

Objective: Perioperative transfusion has adverse effects in adults undergoing cardiac surgery. We sought to investigate whether greater use of blood and blood products might be an independent predictor of prolonged postoperative recovery, indicated by duration of mechanical ventilation (DMV), after reparative infant heart surgery. Design: Secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from two randomized trials of hematocrit strategy during cardiopulmonary bypass in infant heart surgery to explore the association of DMV with perioperative transfusion and other variables. Setting: Tertiary pediatric hospital. Patients: Two hundred seventy infants undergoing two ventricle corrective cardiac surgery without aortic arch reconstruction. Measurements and Main Results: In univariable analyses, longer DMV was associated with younger age and lower weight at surgery, diagnostic group, and higher intraoperative and postoperative blood product transfusion (each p < .001). In multivariable proportional hazard regression, longer total support time and greater intraoperative and early postoperative blood products per kg were the strongest predictors of longer DMV. Patients in the highest tertile of intraoperative blood products per kg had an instantaneous risk of being extubated approximately half that of patients in the lowest tertile (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.35, 0.73). Patients who received any blood products on postoperative day 1, compared with those who did not, had a hazard ratio for extubation of 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.50, 0.85). Conclusions: In this exploratory secondary analysis of infants undergoing two ventricular repair of congenital heart disease without aortic arch obstruction, greater intraoperative and early postoperative blood transfusion emerged as potential important risk factors for longer DMV. Future prospective clinical trials are needed to determine whether reduction in blood product administration hastens postoperative recovery after infant heart surgery.
Assessment of the retinal nerve fiber layer of the normal and glaucomatous monkey with scanning laser polarimetry.

PURPOSE To describe and test a method for assessment of the monkey retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) with scanning laser polarimetry. METHODS A scanning laser polarimeter was modified to accommodate a variable corneal polarization compensator. Corneal polarization magnitude (CPM) and corneal polarization axis (CPA) of the anterior segment birefringence of normal and glaucomatous cynomolgus monkey eyes were determined from a polarimetry image of the Henle fiber layer. Next, the variable compensator was adjusted to minimize the anterior segment birefringence. RNFL measurements were then obtained. All images were compared with simultaneous optic disc stereoscopic photographs. RESULTS CPM was small in each of the eyes examined, ranging from 5.7 nm to 9.0 nm. CPA ranged from -62 degrees to 79 degrees. (Nasally upward CPA values were recorded as negative; nasally downward CPA values were recorded as positive.) When eye-specific compensation was used, RNFL retardation profiles mimicked the expected appearance of the RNFL in all eyes. We also observed a substantial decrease in retardation in eyes with experimental glaucoma compared with healthy fellow eyes. CONCLUSIONS Individualized anterior segment compensation can be achieved in the monkey eye so that the measured birefringence appears to largely reflect the birefringence of the RNFL. Observed differences in retardation between healthy eyes and eyes with experimental glaucoma suggest that scanning laser polarimetry may be useful for detecting and monitoring RNFL loss in experimental primate glaucoma.
Aberrant connective tissue differentiation towards cartilage and bone underlies human keloids in African Americans

Keloids are benign fibroproliferative tumors more frequently found among African Americans. Until now, keloid etiopathogenesis is not fully understood. To characterize keloids in African Americans, we performed transcriptional profiling of biopsies from large chronic keloids, adjacent non‐lesional (NL) skin (n=3) and a newly formed keloid lesion using Affymetrix HGU133 2.0 plus arrays. Quantitative RT‐PCR (qRT‐PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining were performed to confirm increased expression of relevant genes. We identified 1202 upregulated and 961 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between keloid and NL skin; 1819 up‐ and 1867 downregulated DEGs between newly formed keloid and NL skin; and 492 up‐ and 775 downregulated DEGs between chronic and newly formed keloid (fold change >2, false discovery rate <0.05). Many of the top upregulated DEGs between chronic keloid and NL skin and between newly formed keloid and NL skin are involved in bone/cartilage formation including Fibrillin 2 (FBN2), Collagen type X alpha 1, Asporin (ASPN), Cadherin 11 (CDH11), Bone morphogenic protein 1 (BMP1), Secreted phosphoprotein 1 and Runt‐related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2). qRT‐PCR confirmed significant (P<.05) upregulation of BMP1, RUNX2, CDH11 and FBN2 in chronic keloid compared to NL skin. IHC staining showed increased protein expression of ASPN, CDH11, BMP1 and RUNX2 on chronic and newly formed keloid compared to NL skin. Our study shows that large keloids in African Americans represent a dysplasia of cutaneous connective tissue towards immature cartilage or bone differentiation. The phenotype is potentially regulated by overexpression of RUNX2. This knowledge may give insights to guide the development of better treatment for the disease in the future.
Crawling Ajax-Based Web Applications through Dynamic Analysis of User Interface State Changes

Using JavaScript and dynamic DOM manipulation on the client side of Web applications is becoming a widespread approach for achieving rich interactivity and responsiveness in modern Web applications. At the same time, such techniques---collectively known as Ajax---shatter the concept of webpages with unique URLs, on which traditional Web crawlers are based. This article describes a novel technique for crawling Ajax-based applications through automatic dynamic analysis of user-interface-state changes in Web browsers. Our algorithm scans the DOM tree, spots candidate elements that are capable of changing the state, fires events on those candidate elements, and incrementally infers a state machine that models the various navigational paths and states within an Ajax application. This inferred model can be used in program comprehension and in analysis and testing of dynamic Web states, for instance, or for generating a static version of the application. In this article, we discuss our sequential and concurrent Ajax crawling algorithms. We present our open source tool called Crawljax, which implements the concepts and algorithms discussed in this article. Additionally, we report a number of empirical studies in which we apply our approach to a number of open-source and industrial Web applications and elaborate on the obtained results.
Foam filling effectiveness of conical aluminium tubes under dynamic axial and oblique loading

This paper presents the behaviour of empty and foam-filled conical aluminium tubes under dynamic axial and oblique loading. The effect of foam filling on the energy absorption for variation in geometrical parameter and filler density was evaluated and discussed. This study employs a nonlinear finite element model which was validated against experiment data. Main trends in the experimental results are well captured by the Finite Element (FE) results under axial and oblique loading. Nevertheless, the differences observed under oblique loading between experimental and FE results are as high as 29.3 % particularly for energy absorption. These differences may due to uneven thickness and inability to constraint the movement of the tube at the fixed end (as per simulation) during experiment. The validated model was subsequently used to assess the beneficial of foam filling with respect to the variation of geometry and filler density. The identification of critical effective point (CEP) with the approach taken in varying the semi apical angle and by keeping the bottom diameter constant are advantageous to enhance the SEA of foam-filled tube over that of empty tube. These approaches are however, apply to only particular combination of geometrical parameters and filler density thus highlights the importance of appropriate selection of these parameters in achieving efficient performance of energy absorber. Moreover, it is found that foam filling isalmost ineffectiveness in enhancing the SEA when the foam-filled tubes are subjected to oblique loading. The information established in this study will facilitate the future development of thin-walled tubes for impact applications.
A New Approach of Interference Alignment through Asymmetric Complex Signaling and Multiuser Diversity

In this letter, we consider a new interference alignment (IA) strategy for single-input single-output interference broadcast channels with constant channel coefficients. First, we show that 1.5 degrees of freedom (DOF) is achievable for 3-cell case by utilizing asymmetric complex signaling (AC) and multiuser diversity without symbol extension. It is also investigated that the achievable DOF varies with the user scaling condition and ω(√(SNR)) is required for guaranteeing the DOF of 1.5. To improve the sum-rate performance, user scheduling algorithms combined with the beamforming techniques are suggested which outperform the conventional IA schemes. After introducing an exhaustive scheduling algorithm which shows optimal sum-rate, a simplified scheduling method is also proposed which reduces both scheduling metric computations and the search size.
A single antenna interference cancellation algorithm for increased gsm capacity

In mobile communications networks, system capacity is often limited by cochannel interference. Therefore, receiver algorithms for cancellation of cochannel interference have recently attracted much interest. At the mobile terminal, algorithms can usually rely only on one received signal delivered by a single receive antenna. In this letter, a low-complexity single antenna interference cancellation (SAIC) algorithm for real-valued modulation formats referred to as mono interference cancellation (MIC) is introduced which is well suited for practical applications. Field trials in commercial GSM networks using prototype terminals with the proposed MIC algorithm have demonstrated that the novel concept may yield capacity improvements of up to 80%. The underlying principle is also beneficial for adjacent channel interference and receivers with multiple antennas. Furthermore, in coverage-limited scenarios, there is no performance degradation compared with conventional receivers
Mating activates the heme peroxidase HPX15 in the sperm storage organ to ensure fertility in Anopheles gambiae

Significance Successful fertilization requires viable sperm and eggs to meet. Some insects, such as the Anopheles gambiae female mosquito, the principal vector of malaria, mate only once and keep sperm received from a male in a specialized sperm storage organ while eggs are developed after taking a blood meal. Sperm are kept functional for several weeks, but the factors and mechanisms that achieve this preservation are unknown in this mosquito. Here we identify a heme peroxidase HPX15 and other mechanisms activated by sex that are important to preserve the functionality of stored sperm and long-term fertility. Disrupting the reproductive cycle in field Anopheles would reduce numbers of mosquitoes transmitting malaria, aiding in the fight against one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are major African vectors of malaria, a disease that kills more than 600,000 people every year. Given the spread of insecticide resistance in natural mosquito populations, alternative vector control strategies aimed at reducing the reproductive success of mosquitoes are being promoted. Unlike many other insects, An. gambiae females mate a single time in their lives and must use sperm stored in the sperm storage organ, the spermatheca, to fertilize a lifetime's supply of eggs. Maintenance of sperm viability during storage is therefore crucial to the reproductive capacity of these mosquitoes. However, to date, no information is available on the factors and mechanisms ensuring sperm functionality in the spermatheca. Here we identify cellular components and molecular mechanisms used by An. gambiae females to maximize their fertility. Pathways of energy metabolism, cellular transport, and oxidative stress are strongly regulated by mating in the spermatheca. We identify the mating-induced heme peroxidase (HPX) 15 as an important factor in long-term fertility, and demonstrate that its function is required during multiple gonotrophic cycles. We find that HPX15 induction is regulated by sexually transferred 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E), a steroid hormone that is produced by the male accessory glands and transferred during copulation, and that expression of this peroxidase is mediated via the 20E nuclear receptor. To our knowledge, our findings provide the first evidence of the mechanisms regulating fertility in Anopheles, and identify HPX15 as a target for vector control.
EXTENDED PERTURBATION THEORY FOR THE LOCAL DENSITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION

Perturbation theory makes it possible to calculate the probability distribution function (PDF) of the large scale density field in the small variance limit. For top hat smoothing and scale-free Gaussian initial fluctuations, the result depends only on the linear variance, sigma_linear, and its logarithmic derivative with respect to the filtering scale -(n_linear+3)=dlog sigma_linear^2/dlog L (Bernardeau 1994). In this paper, we measure the PDF and its low-order moments in scale-free simulations evolved well into the nonlinear regime and compare the results with the above predictions, assuming that the spectral index and the variance are adjustable parameters, n_eff and sigma_eff=sigma, where sigma is the true, nonlinear variance. With these additional degrees of freedom, results from perturbation theory provide a good fit of the PDFs, even in the highly nonlinear regime. The value of n_eff is of course equal to n_linear when sigma > 1. In this regime, the difference between n_eff and n_linear increases when n_linear decreases. For initial power-spectra with n_linear=-2,-1,0,+1, we find n_eff ~ -9,-3,-1,-0.5 when sigma^2 ~ 100.
Novel therapies for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: what does the future hold?

Introduction: Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) represent a group of extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas, of which mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most frequent. Standard therapeutic approaches are well established and often achieve stable disease. However, cure for MF is rare and thus novel therapies are needed. Areas covered: This review provides a discussion of the most promising new therapeutic approaches in the management of MF and other rare CTCLs. It includes targeted therapies with antibodies against surface molecules on malignant T cells (e.g., brentuximab), novel chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., pralatrexate), small-molecule compounds (e.g., panobinostat) and evidence of emerging targets in CTCLs (e.g., anti-IL-31). It also provides discussion of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD1 that are worth considering in the treatment of leukaemic CTCL variants. Finally, it gives a brief overview of the possible use of stem-cell transplantation. Expert opinion: There is no doubt that progress has been made in the treatment of CTCLs with new, innovative and promising therapies approaching. However, there is still an urgent need to identify and test additional targets in well-designed clinical trials.