Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural Network Development in Late Adolescents during Observation of Risk-Taking Action

Emotional maturity and social awareness are important for adolescents, particularly college students beginning to face the challenges and risks of the adult world. However, there has been relatively little research into personality maturation and psychological development during late adolescence and the neural changes underlying this development. We investigated the correlation between psychological properties (neuroticism, extraversion, anxiety, and depression) and age among late adolescents (n = 25, from 18 years and 1 month to 22 years and 8 months). The results revealed that late adolescents became less neurotic, less anxious, less depressive and more extraverted as they aged. Participants then observed video clips depicting hand movements with and without a risk of harm (risk-taking or safe actions) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results revealed that risk-taking actions elicited significantly stronger activation in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule, temporal visual regions (superior/middle temporal areas), and parieto-occipital visual areas (cuneus, middle occipital gyri, precuneus). We found positive correlations of age and extraversion with neural activation in the insula, middle temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and precuneus. We also found a negative correlation of age and anxiety with activation in the angular gyrus, precentral gyrus, and red nucleus/substantia nigra. Moreover, we found that insula activation mediated the relationship between age and extraversion. Overall, our results indicate that late adolescents become less anxious and more extraverted with age, a process involving functional neural changes in brain networks related to social cognition and emotional processing. The possible neural mechanisms of psychological and social maturation during late adolescence are discussed.
Combined effects of asbestos and cigarette smoke on the development of lung adenocarcinoma: Different carcinogens may cause different genomic changes

The carcinogens in cigarette smoke are distinct from asbestos. However, an understanding of their differential effects on lung adenocarcinoma development remains elusive. We investigated loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and the p53 mutation in 132 lung adenocarcinomas, for which asbestos body burden (AB; in numbers per gram of dry lung) was measured using adjacent normal lung. All cases were classified into 9 groups based on a matrix of cumulative smoking (CS in pack-years; CS=0, 0<CS<25, ≥25 CS) and AB (AB=0, 0<AB<1,000, ≥1,000 AB). AB=0 indicates a lower level than the detection limit of ~100. LOH frequency increased only slightly with the elevation of CS in the AB=0 groups. In the AB>0 groups, LOH frequency increased as AB and/or CS was elevated and was significantly higher in the ≥1,000 AB, ≥25 CS group (p=0.032). p53 mutation frequency was the lowest in the AB=0, CS=0 group, increased as AB and/or CS rose, and was significantly higher in the ≥1,000 AB, ≥25 CS group (p=0.039). p53 mutations characteristic of smoking were frequently observed in the CS>0 groups contrary to non-specific mutations in the CS=0, AB>0 groups. Combined effects of asbestos and smoking were suggested by LOH and p53 analyses. Sole exposure to asbestos did not increase LOH frequency but increased non-specific p53 mutations. These findings indicate that the major carcinogenic mechanism of asbestos may be tumor promotion, acting in an additive or synergistic manner, contributing to the genotoxic effect of smoking. Since this study was based on a general cancer center’s experience, the limited sample size did not permit the consideration that the result was conclusive. Further investigation with a large sample size is needed to establish the mechanism of asbestos-induced lung carcinogenesis.
Suppressive Effects of Dietary Fiber in Yogurt on the Postprandial Serum Lipid Levels in Healthy Adult Male Volunteers

This study assessed the effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) in yogurt on the elevation of postprandial serum lipid levels. Eleven healthy adult male subjects were given yogurt with or without 6 g of PHGG in a fat tolerance test as a crossover study. Supplementation with 6 g of PHGG significantly suppressed the incremental peaks and areas under the incremental curve (AUIC) of postprandial serum remnant-like lipoprotein particle cholesterol (RLP-C) and triglyceride (TG). The results suggest the potential of PHGG to reduce the risk of hyperlipemia.
MRI Visual Ratings of Brain Atrophy and White Matter Hyperintensities across the Spectrum of Cognitive Decline Are Differently Affected by Age and Diagnosis

Aim: To assess the associations of age and diagnosis with visual ratings of medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA), parietal atrophy (PA), global cortical atrophy (GCA), and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and to investigate their clinical value in a large memory clinic cohort. Methods: We included 2,934 patients (age 67 ± 9 years; 1,391 [47%] female; MMSE 24 ± 5) from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort (1,347 dementia due to Alzheimer's disease [AD]; 681 mild cognitive impairment [MCI]; 906 controls with subjective cognitive decline). We analyzed the effect of age, APOE e4 and diagnosis on visual ratings using linear regression analyses. Subsequently, we compared diagnostic and predictive value in three age-groups (<65 years, 65–75 years, and >75 years). Results: Linear regression analyses showed main effects of age and diagnosis and an interaction age*diagnosis for MTA, PA, and GCA. For MTA the interaction effect indicated steeper age effects in MCI and AD than in controls. PA and GCA increased with age in MCI and controls, while AD patients have a high score, regardless of age. For WMH we found a main effect of age, but not of diagnosis. For MTA, GCA and PA, diagnostic value was best in patients <65 years (optimal cut-off: ≥1). PA and GCA only discriminated in patients <65 years and MTA in patients <75 years. WMH did not discriminate at all. Taking into account APOE did not affect the identified optimal cut-offs. When we used these scales to predict progression in MCI using Cox proportional hazard models, only MTA (cut-off ≥2) had any predictive value, restricted to patients >75 years. Conclusion: Visual ratings of atrophy and WMH were differently affected by age and diagnosis, requiring an age-specific approach in clinical practice. Their diagnostic value seems strongest in younger patients.
Understandings of Death and Dying for People of Chinese Origin

This article introduces the primary beliefs about ancestor worship, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and traditional Chinese medicine that have influenced Chinese people for thousands of years, particularly in relation to death and dying. These cultures and traditions remain important for Chinese people wherever they live. Over a long period, Chinese people have integrated these philosophies and religions to form the basis of their culture and traditions. Although they agree that death is a natural part of the life span, a unique belief about death and dying has emerged among the Chinese from this integration. From this, the people find a significant definition of death and dying.
cVEMPs: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objective: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the effect of stimulus type, SCM muscle activation method, transducer type, and method to control SCM muscle EMG level on response parameter values for 0.1-ms click-evoked and 500-Hz tone burst cVEMPs. A description of normative response values was attempted. Design: An electronic systematic literature review was performed to obtain normative cVEMP response data. Subsequently a meta-analysis was conducted to determine significant effects on cVEMP response parameters and to obtain norms. Study sample: Scopus was used to identify reports containing normative data. Reports were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria determined beforehand. Weighted means were calculated and compared to identify significant effects and normative data. Results: Sixty-six reports were included in the systematic review. Stimulus type, SCM muscle activation method, transducer type, and method to control SCM muscle EMG level had significant effects on all response parameters. Conclusions: Optimal stimulus and recording parameters suggested by previous research are confirmed by the current systematic review and meta-analysis and are suggested for clinical use. Response parameter values are influenced by variations in stimulus and recording parameters and normative response values are suggested as guideline for cVEMP interpretation.
Proteomics-Based Identification of the Molecular Signatures of Liver Tissues from Aged Rats following Eight Weeks of Medium-Intensity Exercise

Physical activity has emerged as a powerful intervention that promotes healthy aging by maintaining the functional capacity of critical organ systems. Here, by combining functional and proteomics analyses, we examined how hepatic phenotypes might respond to exercise treatment in aged rats. 16 male aged (20 months old) SD rats were divided into exercise and parallel control groups at random; the exercise group had 8 weeks of treadmill training with medium intensity. Whole protein samples of the liver were extracted from both groups and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Alternatively objective protein spots with >2-fold difference in expression were selected for enzymological extraction and MS/MS identification. Results show increased activity of the manganese superoxide dismutase and elevated glutathione levels in the livers of exercise-treated animals, but malondialdehyde contents obviously decreased in the liver of the exercise group. Proteomics-based identification of differentially expressed proteins provided an integrated view of the metabolic adaptations occurring in the liver proteome during exercise, which significantly altered the expression of several proteins involved in key liver metabolic pathways including mitochondrial sulfur, glycolysis, methionine, and protein metabolism. These findings indicate that exercise may be beneficial to aged rats through modulation of hepatic protein expression profiles.
THE NUCLEATION OF MICROCELLULAR THERMOPLASTIC FOAM: PROCESS MODEL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Abstract Microcellular polymer foams exhibit greatly improved mechanical properties compared to standard foams due to the formers' small bubble size. Typical microcellular foams have bubbles with diameters on the order of 10 microns and volume reductions of 30 to 40%. The presence of these bubbles acts to increase the impact strength of a microfoamed structure to six or seven times that of solid parts of the same linear dimensions due to crack blunting and increased craze initiation in the cell walls. The first step in designing techniques to manufacture parts of microcellular foam is a complete understanding of the bubble nucleation process. To this end, a theoretical model for the nucleation of microcellular foams in thermoplastic polymers has been developed and experimentally confirmed. This model explains the effect of various additives and processing conditions on the number of bubble nucleated. At levels of secondary constituents below their solubility limits, an increase in the concentration of the.
Human Herpesvirus 8 Envelope Glycoprotein B Mediates Cell Adhesion via Its RGD Sequence

ABSTRACT Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, implicated in the pathogenesis of Kaposi's sarcoma, utilizes heparan sulfate-like molecules to bind the target cells via its envelope-associated glycoproteins gB and gpK8.1A. HHV-8-gB possesses the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif, the minimal peptide region of many proteins known to interact with subsets of host cell surface integrins. HHV-8 utilizes α3β1 integrin as one of the receptors for its entry into the target cells via its gB interaction and induces the activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) (S. M. Akula, N. P. Pramod, F.-Z. Wang, and B. Chandran, Cell 108:407-419, 2002). Since FAK activation is the first step in the outside-in signaling necessary for integrin-mediated cytoskeletal rearrangements, cell adhesions, motility, and proliferation, the ability of HHV-8-gB to mediate the target cell adhesion was examined. A truncated form of gB without the transmembrane and carboxyl domains (gBΔTM) and a gBΔTM mutant (gBΔTM-RGA) with a single amino acid mutation (RGD to RGA) were expressed in a baculovirus system and purified. Radiolabeled HHV-8-gBΔTM, gBΔTM-RGA, and ΔTMgpK8.1A proteins bound to the human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs), human dermal microvascular endothelial (HMVEC-d) cells, human B (BJAB) cells, and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells with equal efficiency, which was blocked by preincubation of proteins with soluble heparin. Maxisorp plate-bound gBΔTM protein induced the adhesion of HFFs and HMVEC-d and monkey kidney epithelial (CV-1) cells in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, the gBΔTM-RGA and ΔTMgpK8.1A proteins did not mediate adhesion. Adhesion mediated by gBΔTM was blocked by the preincubation of target cells with RGD-containing peptides or by the preincubation of plate-bound gBΔTM protein with rabbit antibodies against gB peptide containing the RGD sequence. In contrast, adhesion was not blocked by the preincubation of plate-bound gBΔTM protein with heparin, suggesting that the adhesion is mediated by the RGD amino acids of gB, which is independent of the heparin-binding domain of gB. Integrin-ligand interaction is dependent on divalent cations. Adhesion induced by the gBΔTM was blocked by EDTA, thus suggesting the role of integrins in the observed adhesions. Focal adhesion components such as FAK and paxillin were activated by the binding of gBΔTM protein to the target cells but not by gBΔTM-RGA protein binding. Inhibition of FAK phosphorylation by genistein blocked gBΔTM-induced FAK activation and cell adhesion. These findings suggest that HHV-8-gB could mediate cell adhesion via its RGD motif interaction with the cell surface integrin molecules and indicate the induction of cellular signaling pathways, which may play roles in the infection of target cells and in Kaposi's sarcoma pathogenesis.
Cell Therapy to Induce Allograft Tolerance: Time to Switch to Plan B?

Organ transplantation is widely acknowledged as the best option for end stage failure of vital organs. Long-term graft survival is however limited by graft rejection, a destructive process resulting from the response of recipient’s immune system against donor-specific alloantigens. Prevention of rejection currently relies exclusively on immunosuppressive drugs that lack antigen specificity and therefore increase the risk for infections and cancers. Induction of donor-specific tolerance would provide indefinite graft survival without morbidity and therefore represents the grail of transplant immunologists. Progresses in the comprehension of immunoregulatory mechanisms over the last decades have paved the way for cell therapies to induce allograft tolerance. The first part of the present article reviews the promising results obtained in experimental models with adoptive transfer of ex vivo-expanded regulatory CD4+ T cells (CD4+ Tregs) and discuss which source and specificity should be preferred for transferred CD4+ Tregs. Interestingly, B cells have recently emerged as potent regulatory cells, able to establish a privileged crosstalk with CD4+ T cells. The second part of the present article reviews the evidences demonstrating the crucial role of regulatory B cells in transplantation tolerance. We propose the possibility to harness B cell regulatory functions to improve cell-based therapies aiming at inducing allograft tolerance.
[d-Trp8]-γ-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone Exhibits Anti-Inflammatory Efficacy in Mice Bearing a Nonfunctional MC1R (Recessive Yellow e/e Mouse)

Two melanocortin receptors (MC1 and MC3R) have been identified as main transducers of the anti-inflammatory effects of natural and synthetic melanocortins. In this study, we have taken advantage of the recent description of the selective MC3R agonist [d-Trp8]-γ-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and of the recessive yellow (e/e) mouse, bearing a nonfunctional MC1R, thereby incrementing our knowledge on this topic. Culturing peritoneal macrophages of recessive yellow (e/e) mice with [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH led to accumulation of cAMP, indicating MC3R receptor functionality: this effect was blocked by a neutralizing antibody against MC3R. Likewise, release of the chemokine KC by urate crystals was attenuated by [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH, and this effect was prevented by synthetic [Ac-Nle4-c[Asp5-2′-Nal7,Lys10]α-MSH(4-10)-NH2 (SHU9119)] and natural [agouti-related protein (AGRP)] MC3R antagonists but not by the MC4R antagonist Ac-Cys-Nle-Arg-His-d-2-Nal-Arg-Trp-Cys-NH2 (HS024). Systemic treatment of mice with [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH inhibited KC release and polymorphonuclear cell accumulation elicited by urate crystals in the murine peritoneal cavity. SHU9119 and AGRP prevented the inhibitory actions of [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH, whereas HS024 was inactive. We also demonstrate here that [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH displays a dual mechanism of action by inducing the anti-inflammatory protein heme-oxygenase 1 (HO-1). Treatment with the HO-1 inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin IX exacerbated the inflammatory response elicited by urate crystals and abrogated the anti-inflammatory effects of [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH. In conclusion, these data support the development of the selective MC3R agonist [d-Trp8]-γ-MSH for the treatment of inflammatory pathologies, based on a dual mechanism of cytokine/chemokine inhibition and induction of the anti-inflammatory protein HO-1.
Joint Deep Learning for Car Detection

Traditional object recognition approaches apply feature extraction, part deformation handling, occlusion handling and classification sequentially while they are independent from each other. Ouyang and Wang proposed a model for jointly learning of all of the mentioned processes using one deep neural network. We utilized, and manipulated their toolbox in order to apply it in car detection scenarios where it had not been tested. Creating a single deep architecture from these components, improves the interaction between them and can enhance the performance of the whole system. We believe that the approach can be used as a general purpose object detection toolbox. We tested the algorithm on UIUC car dataset, and achieved an outstanding result. The accuracy of our method was 97 % while the previously reported results showed an accuracy of up to 91 %. We strongly believe that having an experiment on a larger dataset can show the advantage of using deep models over shallow ones.
Effects of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery on intravenous ciprofloxacin disposition

The pharmacokinetic parameters of intravenous ciprofloxacin were examined in five adult male patients on three separate occasions of open heart surgery: the 24 h before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery, (PRE), during surgery (SURG), and 48 to 72 h after surgery (POST). Serial blood (n = 16), urine, and SURG tissue samples were collected after intravenous administration of a single 300-mg dose of ciprofloxacin during each study period. All samples were assayed for ciprofloxacin by a specific high-performance liquid chromatographic method. Serum ciprofloxacin concentrations remained constant or continued to decline during the course of CPB surgery. A significant (P < 0.05) decrease in total body clearance was observed during the SURG and POST phases (298 and 306 ml/min/1.73 m2, respectively) compared with that during the PRE phase (364 ml/min/1.73 m2). Renal clearances and elimination half-lives were similar during all three study phases. A nonsignificant decline occurred in the apparent volume of distribution, from mean values of 2.1 and 2.0 liters/kg during the PRE and POST phases, respectively, to 1.7 liters/kg during the SURG phase. The mediastinal fat tissue ciprofloxacin concentrations ranged from 0.45 to 2.89 micrograms/g. Overall, little significant difference was noted in the disposition of intravenous ciprofloxacin during CPB surgery compared with that before and after surgery.
Prevalence of obesity in the United States.

Author Contributions: Mr Scheller had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Study concept and design: All authors. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors. Drafting of the manuscript: Scheller. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors. Statistical analysis: Scheller, Svanström. Study supervision: Pasternak, Svanström, Hviid.
Textpresso: An Ontology-Based Information Retrieval and Extraction System for Biological Literature

We have developed Textpresso, a new text-mining system for scientific literature whose capabilities go far beyond those of a simple keyword search engine. Textpresso's two major elements are a collection of the full text of scientific articles split into individual sentences, and the implementation of categories of terms for which a database of articles and individual sentences can be searched. The categories are classes of biological concepts (e.g., gene, allele, cell or cell group, phenotype, etc.) and classes that relate two objects (e.g., association, regulation, etc.) or describe one (e.g., biological process, etc.). Together they form a catalog of types of objects and concepts called an ontology. After this ontology is populated with terms, the whole corpus of articles and abstracts is marked up to identify terms of these categories. The current ontology comprises 33 categories of terms. A search engine enables the user to search for one or a combination of these tags and/or keywords within a sentence or document, and as the ontology allows word meaning to be queried, it is possible to formulate semantic queries. Full text access increases recall of biological data types from 45% to 95%. Extraction of particular biological facts, such as gene-gene interactions, can be accelerated significantly by ontologies, with Textpresso automatically performing nearly as well as expert curators to identify sentences; in searches for two uniquely named genes and an interaction term, the ontology confers a 3-fold increase of search efficiency. Textpresso currently focuses on Caenorhabditis elegans literature, with 3,800 full text articles and 16,000 abstracts. The lexicon of the ontology contains 14,500 entries, each of which includes all versions of a specific word or phrase, and it includes all categories of the Gene Ontology database. Textpresso is a useful curation tool, as well as search engine for researchers, and can readily be extended to other organism-specific corpora of text. Textpresso can be accessed at http://www.textpresso. org or via WormBase at http://www.wormbase. org.
Processing Chinese Relative Clauses: Evidence for the Subject-Relative Advantage

A general fact about language is that subject relative clauses are easier to process than object relative clauses. Recently, several self-paced reading studies have presented surprising evidence that object relatives in Chinese are easier to process than subject relatives. We carried out three self-paced reading experiments that attempted to replicate these results. Two of our three studies found a subject-relative preference, and the third study found an object-relative advantage. Using a random effects bayesian meta-analysis of fifteen studies (including our own), we show that the overall current evidence for the subject-relative advantage is quite strong (approximate posterior probability of a subject-relative advantage given the data: 78–80%). We argue that retrieval/integration based accounts would have difficulty explaining all three experimental results. These findings are important because they narrow the theoretical space by limiting the role of an important class of explanation—retrieval/integration cost—at least for relative clause processing in Chinese.