Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heat Shock Protein 60 as a Mediator of Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Insulin Resistance

The stress protein heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) induces secretion of proinflammatory mediators from murine adipocytes. This study aimed to study Hsp60 as a mediator of adipose tissue inflammation and skeletal muscle cell (SkMC) insulin sensitivity and to quantify plasma Hsp60 concentrations in lean and obese individuals. Regulation of Hsp60 release and Hsp60-induced cytokine secretion and signaling was measured in human adipocytes and SkMCs. Adipocytes exhibited higher Hsp60 release than preadipocytes and SkMCs, which was further stimulated by cytokines and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 activation. Hsp60 activated extracellular signal–related kinase (ERK)-1/2, Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), p38, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and impaired insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation in adipocytes. Furthermore, Hsp60 stimulated adipocytes to secrete tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8. In SkMCs, Hsp60 activated ERK1/2, JNK, and NF-κB and inhibits insulin signaling and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. SkMCs released IL-6, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 on Hsp60 stimulation. Plasma Hsp60 was higher in obese males than in lean males and correlated positively with BMI, blood pressure, leptin, and homeostasis model assessment–insulin resistance. In summary, Hsp60 is released by human adipocytes, increased in plasma of obese humans, and induces insulin resistance. This is accompanied by activation of proinflammatory signaling in human adipocytes and SkMCs. Thus, Hsp60 might be a factor underlying adipose tissue inflammation and obesity-associated metabolic disorders.
Self-Assembled Monolayers of Vinyltriethoxysilane and Vinyltrichlorosilane Deposited on Silicon Dioxide Surfaces

Abstract This study was aimed at deposition of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) using vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) and vinyltrichlorosilane (VTCS) molecules chemisorbed on silicon dioxide surfaces. The kinetics of SAM formation on planar glass substrates and silicon wafers was characterized by contact angle measurements. The surface free energy and its dispersion and polar components enabled to estimate the time of immersion required to deposit compact SAMs. Adsorption of organosilane molecules as a function of immersion time was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The SAM thickness was evaluated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Surface topography of deposited layers was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The VTCS/glass combination exhibited the fastest kinetics but the deposit was not uniform and included local agglomerates. The hydrophobic vinyl groups at deposit surface resulted in a surface free energy of 32 mJ/m2.
Differences in Characteristics of Dying Children Who Receive and Do Not Receive Palliative Care

OBJECTIVE: Comparing demographic and clinical characteristics associated with receipt of palliative care (PC) among children who died in children’s hospitals to those who did not receive PC and understanding the trends in PC use. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used the Pediatric Health Information System database. Children <18 years of age who died ≥5 days after admission to a Pediatric Health Information System hospital between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2011 were included. Receipt of PC services was identified by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code for PC. Diagnoses were grouped using major diagnostic codes. International Classification of Diseases codes and clinical transaction codes were used to evaluate all interventions. RESULTS: This study evaluated 24 342 children. Overall, 4% had coding for PC services. This increased from 1% to 8% over the study years. Increasing age was associated with greater receipt of PC. Children with the PC code had fewer median days in the hospital (17 vs 21), received fewer invasive interventions, and fewer died in the ICU (60% vs 80%). Receipt of PC also varied by major diagnostic codes, with the highest proportion found among children with neurologic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Most pediatric patients who died in a hospital did not have documented receipt of PC. Children receiving PC are different from those who do not in many ways, including receipt of fewer procedures. Receipt of PC has increased over time; however, it remains low, particularly among neonates and those with circulatory diseases.
Characteristics and outcomes of community-onset septic arthritis in adults.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Failure to recognize and to appropriately treat septic arthritis results in substantial morbidity rates. This study compared the demographic characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of patients with community-onset septic arthritis due to Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. METHODS The medical charts of 51 adults with culture-proven community-onset septic arthritis treated at a tertiary medical center in northern Taiwan from January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. The demographic data and clinical features were analyzed. RESULTS There were 39 patients with septic arthritis caused by Gram-positive cocci (76.4%) and 12 with septic arthritis caused by Gram-negative bacteria (23.6%). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus (n = 30; 58.9%). The most frequently involved joint was the knee (n = 33; 63.5%). By multivariate logistic regression analysis, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.13; p = 0.024) and range of motion limitation (OR, 8.23; 95% CI, 1.14-59.49; p = 0.037) were independent predictive factors for septic arthritis caused by Gram-positive cocci. Diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage (OR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.00-0.39; p = 0.007) and malignancy (OR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.00-0.66; p = 0.025) were negative predictive factors for septic arthritis caused by Gram-positive cocci. There were no significant differences in outcomes for patients with Gram-positive and Gram-negative septic arthritis. CONCLUSIONS In adult patients with community-onset septic arthritis, older age and limited range of motion predict for Gram-positive cocci as the causative pathogen, while underlying diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage and malignancy predict for Gram-negative bacteria as the causative pathogen.
EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR-MEDIATED ACTIVATION OF THE MAP KINASE CASCADE RESULTS IN ALTERED EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION OF ABCG 2 ( BCRP )

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a multifunctional growth factor known to play a major role in proliferation and differentiation processes. EGF-induced differentiation is a prerequisite for function of various cell types, among them cytotrophoblasts, a functionally important cellular fraction in human placenta. Stimulation of cytotrophoblasts with EGF results in formation of a multinuclear syncytium representing the feto-maternal interface, which protects the fetus against exogenous substances. It is well established that part of this protection system is based on ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters such as ABCG2 (breast cancer resistance protein, BCRP). However, little is known about regulation of transport proteins in the framework of EGF-mediated cellular differentiation. In the present work we show a significant increase of ABCG2 expression by EGF in cytotrophoblasts, BeWo, and MCF-7 cells on both mRNA and protein levels. This increase resulted in decreased sensitivity to the ABCG2 substrates mitoxantrone and topotecan. In each cell type, EGF increases expression of ABCG2 by activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade via phosphorylation of extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and c-jun NH-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/ SAPK). Consequently, the increase of ABCG2 by EGF was abolished by pretreatment of cells with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor 4-(3-chloroanillino)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (AG1478) or the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor 2 -amino-3 methoxyflavone (PD 98059), thereby reestablishing sensitivity toward mitoxantrone. Moreover, analysis of ABCG2 expression during placental development revealed a significant increase in preterm versus term placenta. Taken together, our data show regulation of ABCG2 expression by EGF. In view of EGF signal transduction as a target for drugs (e.g., gefitinib), which are in turn substrates and/or inhibitors of ABCG2, this regulation has therapeutic conse-
Distribution, Persistence and Interchange of Epstein-Barr Virus Strains among PBMC, Plasma and Saliva of Primary Infection Subjects

Our study aimed at investigating the distribution, persistence and interchange of viral strains among peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), plasma and saliva of primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection subjects. Twelve infectious mononucleosis (IM) patients and eight asymptomatic individuals (AS) with primary EBV infection were followed longitudinally at several time points for one year from the time of diagnosis, when blood and saliva samples were collected and separated into PBMC, plasma and saliva, representing circulating B cell, plasma and epithelial cell compartments, respectively. To survey the viral strains, genotyping assays for the natural polymorphisms in two latent EBV genes, EBNA2 and LMP1, were performed and consisted of real-time PCR on EBNA2 to distinguish type 1 and 2 viruses, fluorescent-based 30-bp typing assay on LMP1 to distinguish deletion and wild type LMP1, and fluorescent-based heteroduplex tracking assays on both EBNA2 and LMP1 to distinguish defined polymorphic variants. No discernible differences were observed between IM patients and AS. Multiple viral strains were acquired early at the start of infection. Stable persistence of dominant EBV strains in the same tissue compartment was observed throughout the longitudinal samples. LMP1-defined strains, China 1, China 2 and Mediterranean+, were the most common strains observed. EBNA2-defined groups 1 and 3e predominated the PBMC and saliva compartments. Concordance of EBNA2 and LMP1 strains between PBMC and saliva suggested ready interchange of viruses between circulating B cell and epithelial cell pools, whilst discordance of viral strains observed between plasma and PBMC/saliva indicated presence of viral pools in other undetermined tissue compartments. Taken together, the results indicated that the distribution, persistence and interchange of viral strains among the tissue compartments are more complex than those proposed by the current model of EBV life cycle.
Equality and Quality in Education

We study the performance of national education systems along two important dimensions: The degree to which they help individuals develop capabilities necessary for their successful social integration (educational quality) and the degree to which they confer equal opportunities for social advancement (educational equality). To investigate how educational quality and equality relate to each other as well as to selected institutional features of national education systems and macro-economic contexts, we draw on comparative data from the International Adult Literacy Survey for 19 OECD nations and caution against the limitations of international student assessment data in speaking to these questions. Our analyses reveal a positive relationship between educational quality and equality and show that education systems with a lower degree of institutional differentiation not only provide more educational equality but are also marked by higher levels of educational quality. While the latter association is partly driven by other institutional and macrostructural factors, we demonstrate that the higher levels of educational equality in less differentiated education systems do not entail an often-assumed trade-off for lower quality. Equality and Quality in Education 3
peripheral artery disease Pharmacological Treatment and Current Management of Peripheral Artery Disease

Contemporary treatment for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) uses strategies to reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular events, improve functional capacity, and preserve limb viability. Risk factor modification and antiplatelet drugs are the mainstay for secondary prevention of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in patients with PAD. Other than exercise training, there are woefully few noninterventional therapies that improve limbs symptoms or prevent amputation. This review will explore the evidence supporting recommendations for current medical treatment and discuss findings from recent studies that have therapeutic implications for patients with PAD. Unfortunately, indicated pharmacological treatments are greatly underutilized in PAD patients, especially in those patients without concomitant symptomatic coronary disease (Figure 1). Management of a patient with PAD must first take into consideration that PAD is both a potent risk marker for systemic atherothrombotic events, as well a distinct disease state with associated morbidity related specifically to atherosclerosis and thrombotic complications in the limb vasculature. Patients with PAD often have concomitant ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease, and clinicians must take those disease states into account when determining an optimal treatment strategy. This is particularly the case with intensive antithrombotic therapy, which may have a heterogeneous risk-benefit profile, where intensive treatment with multiple Peripheral Artery Disease Compendium
A new statistical approach to estimate global file populations in the eDonkey P2P file sharing system

In this paper, we propose a new statistical approach, also known in biology under the name capture-recapture methods in order to estimate global population statistics from local observations. Evaluating population sizes in P2P systems has received much attention lately as these may be useful to set system parameters, to derive other system statistics or to predict system performance. As these systems are very large, encompassing several millions of users and since they are highly distributed estimating population sizes is a challenging task. More precisely we are interested in estimating the number of file replicas in the system, i.e., the size of the population of users possessing given files. To this end we propose a capture-recapture method which is both computationally efficient and accurate. The method proposed allows deriving global population statistics from local and time limited observations. We apply the method on a measurement data set of several days on a residential network. We compare the results obtained from direct counting procedures with those derived with the proposed methodology.
GUIDING AND LOCALISING IN REAL-TIME A MOBILE ROBOT WITH A MONOCULAR CAMERA IN NON-FLAT TERRAINS

Abstract In this paper we present a real-time active motion strategy for a mobile robot navigating in a non-flat terrain and its 3D constrained motion model. The aim is to control the robot with measurements from only one camera that autonomously builds a visual feature map while at the same time optimises its localisation within this map. The technique chooses the most appropriate commands maximising the expected information gain between prior states and measurements, while performing 6DOF bearing-only SLAM at real-time. The constrained 3D motion model presented here is used to infer the position of the vehicle in order to evaluate the mutual information for all possible actions at the same time. To validate the approach, not only simulations over uneven terrain have been performed, but also experimental results are shown for the technique being tested with a synchro-drive mobile robot platform with a wide-angle camera.
Hbp1 regulates the timing of neuronal differentiation during cortical development by controlling cell cycle progression

In the developing mammalian brain, neural stem cells (NSCs) initially expand the progenitor pool by symmetric divisions. NSCs then shift from symmetric to asymmetric division and commence neurogenesis. Although the precise mechanisms regulating the developmental timing of this transition have not been fully elucidated, gradual elongation in the length of the cell cycle and coinciding accumulation of determinants that promote neuronal differentiation might function as a biological clock that regulates the onsetofasymmetricdivisionandneurogenesis.Weconductedgene expression profiling of embryonic NSCs in the cortical regions and found that expression of high mobility group box transcription factor 1 ( Hbp1 ) was upregulated during neurogenic stages. Induced conditional knockout mice of Hbp1 , generated by crossing with Nestin-CreER T2 mice, exhibited a remarkable dilatation of the telencephalic vesicles with a tangentially expanded ventricular zone and a thinner cortical plate containing reduced numbers of neurons. In these Hbp1 -deficient mouse embryos, neural stem/ progenitor cells continued to divide with a shorter cell cycle length. Moreover, downstream target genes of the Wnt signaling, such as cyclin D1 ( Ccnd1 ) and c-jun ( Jun ), were upregulated in the germinal zone of the cortical regions. These results indicate that Hbp1 plays a crucial role in regulating the timing of cortical neurogenesis by elongating the cell cycle and that it is essential for normal cortical development.
Prior fear conditioning and reward learning interact in fear and reward networks

The ability to flexibly adapt responses to changes in the environment is important for survival. Previous research in humans separately examined the mechanisms underlying acquisition and extinction of aversive and appetitive conditioned responses. It is yet unclear how aversive and appetitive learning interact on a neural level during counterconditioning in humans. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated the interaction of fear conditioning and subsequent reward learning. In the first phase (fear acquisition), images predicted aversive electric shocks or no aversive outcome. In the second phase (counterconditioning), half of the CS+ and CS− were associated with monetary reward in the absence of electric stimulation. The third phase initiated reinstatement of fear through presentation of electric shocks, followed by CS presentation in the absence of shock or reward. Results indicate that participants were impaired at learning the reward contingencies for stimuli previously associated with shock. In the counterconditioning phase, prior fear association interacted with reward representation in the amygdala, where activation was decreased for rewarded compared to unrewarded CS− trials, while there was no reward-related difference in CS+ trials. In the reinstatement phase, an interaction of previous fear association and previous reward status was observed in a reward network consisting of substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), striatum and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), where activation was increased by previous reward association only for CS− but not for CS+ trials. These findings suggest that during counterconditioning, prior fear conditioning interferes with reward learning, subsequently leading to lower activation of the reward network.
Distal symmetric polyneuropathy: A definition for clinical research

The objective of this report was to develop a case definition of distal symmetric polyneuropathy to standardize and facilitate clinical research and epidemiologic studies. A formalized consensus process was employed to reach agreement after a systematic review and classification of evidence from the literature. The literature indicates that symptoms alone have relatively poor diagnostic accuracy in predicting the presence of polyneuropathy; signs are better predictors of polyneuropathy than symptoms; and single abnormalities on examination are less sensitive than multiple abnormalities in predicting the presence of polyneuropathy. The combination of neuropathic symptoms, signs, and electrodiagnostic findings provides the most accurate diagnosis of distal symmetric polyneuropathy. A set of case definitions was rank ordered by likelihood of disease. The highest likelihood of polyneuropathy (useful for clinical trials) occurs with a combination of multiple symptoms, multiple signs, and abnormal electrodiagnostic studies. A modest likelihood of polyneuropathy (useful for field or epidemiologic studies) occurs with a combination of multiple symptoms and multiple signs when the results of electrodiagnostic studies are not available. A lower likelihood of polyneuropathy occurs when electrodiagnostic studies and signs are discordant. For research purposes, the best approach to defining distal symmetric polyneuropathy is a set of case definitions rank ordered by estimated likelihood of disease. The inclusion of this formalized case definition in clinical and epidemiologic research studies will ensure greater consistency of case selection.
Prognostic value of lymphocyte/monocyte ratio in advanced Hodgkin lymphoma: correlation with International Prognostic Score and tumor associated macrophages

Abstract We studied the prognostic significance of the absolute lymphocyte/monocyte count ratio (ALC/AMC), its contribution to the prognostic value of the International Prognostic Score (IPS), and evaluated if ALC/AMC could serve as a proxy for the frequency of CD68 + tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in 101 patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve identified best cut-off values of 2.0 for ALC/AMC and 25% for CD68 + TAM. Patients with ALC/AMC < 2, IPS > 2 and > 25% CD68 + TAM had an inferior overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS). Spearman’s test also uncovered a significant correlation between the ALC/AMC and TAM. Multivariate analysis identified ALC/AMC < 2, IPS > 2 and > 25% CD68 + TAM as poor prognostic factors of OS and EFS. After evaluating ALC/AMC and IPS, we stratified patients into three progressively-worse-outcome groups (low-risk: 0 risk factors; intermediate: 1 risk factor; high: 2 risk factors). Our study encourages the combination of ALC/AMC with IPS, for refining risk prediction in advanced HL patients.
Growth Promotion of Yunnan Pine Early Seedlings in Response to Foliar Application of IAA and IBA

A field experiment was conducted using a 3 × 3 orthogonal regression design to explore the growth promotion of one-year-old Yunnan pine seedlings (Pinus yunnanensis Franch.) in response to foliar application of IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) at rates of 0, 200 and 400 mg·L−1 and IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) at rates of 0, 200 and 400 mg·L−1 in order to promote the growth during the seedlings’ early stage. The experiment was conducted at the Lufeng Village Forest Farm of Yiliang County in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The results showed that IAA and IBA were effective in growth promotion of Yunnan pine seedlings. The response of both growth increment and biomass accumulation to the concentration of IAA and IBA can be modeled using a bivariate surface response, and each growth index had a peak value. Growth indexes increased with the increase of the dosage of photohormones before reaching a peak value, and then decreased. The different growth indexes had various responses to the concentrations and ratio of IAA and IBA. The foliar application of IAA in combination with IBA showed the largest improvement on the biomass of the needles, followed by stems and roots. The higher ratio of IAA promoted stem diameter growth, root system development and biomass accumulation in the needles, while a higher ratio of IBA contributed to height growth and biomass accumulation in the stem. Based on the auxin effect equations on the different growth indexes and surface response, the optimum concentrations and the (IAA:IBA) ratios can be obtained. The optimum concentrations of IAA and IBA were 167 and 186, 310 and 217, 193 and 159, 191 and 221, and 206 and 186 mg·L−1, with corresponding ratios of 1:1.11, 1:0.70, 1:0.82, 1:1.15 and 1:0.90, respectively, at the maximum seedling height and collar diameter growth as well as biomass accumulation at the root, stem and needle. The above growth indexes were 22.00%, 79.80%, 48.65%, 82.20% and 107.00% higher than the control treatment.