Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Is Injured by BMP2/4 via Activation of NF-κB Signals after Ischemic Reperfusion

Intestinal ischemic reperfusion (I/R) can cause dysfunction of the intestinal mucosal barrier; however, the mechanism of the intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction caused by I/R remains unclear. In this study, using intestinal epithelial cells under anaerobic cultivation and an in vivo rat intestinal I/R model, we found that hypoxia and I/R increased the expression of BMP2/4 and upregulated BMP type Ia receptor and BMP type II receptor expression. We also found that exogenous BMP2/4 can activate the ERK and AKT signaling pathways in rat small intestine (IEC-6) cells, thereby activating NF-κB signaling, which leads to increased levels of inflammatory factors, such as TNF-α and IL-6. Furthermore, recombinant BMP2/4 decreased the expression of the tight junction protein occludin via the activation of the NF-κB pathway; these effects were abolished by treatment with the BMP-specific antagonist noggin or the NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC). All these factors can destroy the intestinal mucosal barrier, thereby leading to weaker barrier function. On the basis of these data, we conclude that BMP2/4 may act as the pathogenic basis for intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction when the intestines suffer an I/R injury. Our results provide background for the development pharmacologic interventions in the management of I/R injury.
Association between glutathione S-transferase P1, T1, and M1 genetic polymorphism and survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Members of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) superfamily are important in cellular defense mechanisms. These enzymes attach reduced glutathione to electrophilic groups in a wide variety of toxic compounds, including chemotherapeutic agents. Certain polymorphisms in GSTs are associated with changes in enzyme activity, sensitivity to chemotherapy, and overall patient survival. In a retrospective study, we investigated associations between common polymorphisms in genes for several GST subclasses (GSTP1, GSTT1, GSTM1) and survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/oxaliplatin chemotherapy. METHODS During 1998-2000, 107 previously treated patients with advanced colorectal cancer received 5-FU/oxaliplatin combination chemotherapy. Associations between deletion polymorphisms in GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes and between a polymorphism in the GSTP1 gene that generates an Ile(105)Val in the GSTP1 protein and survival were evaluated using relative risks (RRs) of dying and the log-rank test. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Patients heterozygous for the GSTP1 polymorphism had an RR = 0.47 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.27 to 0.81) compared with patients homozygous for the GSTP1 (105)Ile allele. Patients homozygous for the mutant polymorphism had an RR = 0.16 (95% CI = 0.04 to 0.63). After adjustment for performance status and tumor site, the stratified RRs were 0.28 (95% CI = 0.07 to 1.10) for patients with two (105)Val alleles and 0.64 (95% CI = 0.36 to 1.16) for those with one (105)Val allele (P =.042). Patients with the (105)Val/(105)Val genotype survived a median of 24.9 months, those with the (105)Ile/(105)Ile genotype a median of 7.9 months, and those with the (105)Ile/(105)Val genotype a median of 13.3 months (P<.001). The GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were not associated with survival or clinical response. CONCLUSIONS The GSTP1 Ile(105)Val polymorphism is associated in a dose-dependent fashion with increased survival of patients with advanced colorectal cancer receiving 5-FU/oxaliplatin chemotherapy.
Lesion Evidence That Two Distinct Regions within Prefrontal Cortex are Critical for n-Back Performance in Humans

Although prefrontal cortex is clearly important in executive function, the specific processes carried out by particular regions within human prefrontal cortex remain a matter of debate. A rapidly growing corpus of functional imaging work now implicates various areas within prefrontal cortex in a wide range of “executive” tasks. Loss-of-function studies can help constrain the interpretation of such evidence by testing to what extent particular brain areas are necessary for a given cognitive process. Here we apply a component process analysis to understand prefrontal contributions to the n-back task, a widely used test of working memory, in a cohort of patients with focal prefrontal damage. We investigated letter 2-back task performance in 27 patients with focal damage to various regions within prefrontal cortex, compared to 29 demographically matched control subjects. Both “behavior-defined” approaches, using qualitative lesion analyses and voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping methods, and more conventional “lesion-defined” groupwise comparisons were undertaken to determine the relationships between specific sites of damage within prefrontal cortex and particular aspects of n-back task performance. We confirmed a critical role for left lateral prefrontal cortex in letter 2-back performance. We also identified a critical role for medial prefrontal cortex in this task: Damage to dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and adjacent dorsal fronto-medial cortex led to a pattern of impairment marked by high false alarm rates, distinct from the impairment associated with lateral prefrontal damage. These findings provide converging support for regionally specific models of human prefrontal function.
Restriction of Francisella novicida Genetic Diversity during Infection of the Vector Midgut

The genetic diversity of pathogens, and interactions between genotypes, can strongly influence pathogen phenotypes such as transmissibility and virulence. For vector-borne pathogens, both mammalian hosts and arthropod vectors may limit pathogen genotypic diversity (number of unique genotypes circulating in an area) by preventing infection or transmission of particular genotypes. Mammalian hosts often act as “ecological filters” for pathogen diversity, where novel variants are frequently eliminated because of stochastic events or fitness costs. However, whether vectors can serve a similar role in limiting pathogen diversity is less clear. Here we show using Francisella novicida and a natural tick vector of Francisella spp. (Dermacentor andersoni), that the tick vector acted as a stronger ecological filter for pathogen diversity compared to the mammalian host. When both mice and ticks were exposed to mixtures of F. novicida genotypes, significantly fewer genotypes co-colonized ticks compared to mice. In both ticks and mice, increased genotypic diversity negatively affected the recovery of available genotypes. Competition among genotypes contributed to the reduction of diversity during infection of the tick midgut, as genotypes not recovered from tick midguts during mixed genotype infections were recovered from tick midguts during individual genotype infection. Mediated by stochastic and selective forces, pathogen genotype diversity was markedly reduced in the tick. We incorporated our experimental results into a model to demonstrate how vector population dynamics, especially vector-to-host ratio, strongly affected pathogen genotypic diversity in a population over time. Understanding pathogen genotypic population dynamics will aid in identification of the variables that most strongly affect pathogen transmission and disease ecology.
Evoking Audience’s Emotion with Disturbing Images: The Aesthetic of Intense Elegance of Makoto Saito in The Two Hasegawa Posters

Abstract Among Makoto Saito’s masterpieces, the ‘Pelvis’ and ‘Femur’ posters designed for the Hasegawa Company have been widely acclaimed. Yet, there is inadequate research exploring Saito’s design aesthetic, how these posters were originally conceptualized and what their intellectual and aesthetic influences are. This article addresses these issues, paying special attention to the development of disturbing images with reference to how human bones have featured in Japan throughout its history. It examines how the meaning of human bones has been constructed and evolved since the introduction of the Buddhist painting genre kusôzu in the Kamakura Period (1185–1333). To find out how Saito developed his aesthetic of intense elegance and encoded meanings in these two works, the author conducted an interview with Saito in his Tokyo design office on 18 October 2008.
One-stage Exchange Arthroplasty for Periprosthetic Hip and Knee Joint Infections

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of joint replacement surgery. In an aging population of the developed world, the increasing numbers of hip and knee replacements will inevitably lead to increasing incidence of PJI, carrying with (it) significant patient morbidity and cost to the health care system. Two-stage exchange arthroplasty is currently the gold standard but it is associated with multiple operations, prolonged hospitalization and impaired functionality. One-stage exchange arthroplasty is similar to the two-stage procedure but the interval between removal of the prosthesis and reimplantation of a new one is only a few minutes. It has the theoretical benefits of a single anesthetic, shorter hospitalization, less cost and improved function. Methods: We reviewed the current literature regarding the outcomes of one-stage exchange arthroplasties focusing on re-infection rates and functional outcomes. Results: Current themes around the one-stage exchange procedure include the indications for the procedure, definition of re-infection, surgical techniques used to provide fixation and differences in approach for hip and knee replacements. Conclusion: The current literature on one-stage exchange procedure is promising, with comparable results to two-stage revisions for hips and knees in selected patients. However, there is a great need for a large multi-centred randomized control trial, focusing on re-infection rates and functional scores postoperatively, to provide concrete guidelines in managing this complex condition.
Relationship between orthodontic treatment and gingival health: A retrospective study

Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the relationship between orthodontic treatment and gingival health. Materials and Methods: A total of 251 patients among whom 177 were girls and 74 were boys, recruited from the records pool of the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Gazi, were included in the study. Patients′ treatments have been completed by postgraduate students during the period between 2006 and 2012. Patients′ folders were analyzed according to their age, treatment time, and the type of orthodontic treatment. Intra-oral photographs were analyzed, and the presence or absence of visible plaque, visible inflammation, and gingival recession were recorded, and incisor inclinations analyzed on lateral cephalometric films, before and after orthodontic treatment. Results: No statistically significant difference was found in patients treated with functional appliances before and after treatment. In patients treated with fixed orthodontic appliances, visible plaque, visible inflammation, and gingival recession showed significant increases after treatment, gingival biotype did not show any significant difference. Positive correlation was found between lower incisor position and gingival recession in patients treated with fixed appliance and extraction. And also cuspids were the teeth with the highest prevalence of gingival recession. Conclusion: Considering the relationship between orthodontic treatment and gingival health, cooperation among patients, orthodontists, and periodontists is important.
Can one hear the shape of a graph

We show that the spectrum of the Schroperator on a finite, metric graph determines uniquely the connectivity matrix and the bond lengths, provided that the lengths are non-commensurate and the connectivity is simple (no parallel bonds between vertices and no loops connecting a vertex to itself). That is, one can hear the shape of the graph! We also consider a related inversion problem: a compact graph can be converted into a scattering system by attaching to its vertices leads to infinity. We show that the scattering phase determines uniquely the compact part of the graph, under similar conditions as above.
The Dynamics of Meaning in Memory

"Semantics. The curse of man. " Maxwell (1976, p. 19) ". how a word 'stands for' a thing or 'means' what the speaker intends to say or 'communicates' some condition of a thing to a listener has never been satisfactorily established" B. F. Skinner (1957, pp. 114-115) ". semantic structure of natural languages evidently offers many mysteries" Noam Chomsky (1965, p. 163) Meaning provides the fundamental bridge between the various language, cognitive, and perceptual components of the language comprehension system. As such, it is important to attempt to model how meaning can be acquired from experience and the specific nature of its representational form. In this chapter, we attempt to deal with the particularly difficult problem of how meaning can be specified. In particular, we are interested in how meaning can be represented in a computational model of meaning and the process by which these representations are formed. Although a review of previous models of word meaning would be outside the scope of this chapter (but see Komatsu, 1992), there are three psychological models that deserve mention because they have inspired current computational approaches in many ways. developed a hierarchical network model of semantic memory. It is a node and link model where knowledge is represented by both concepts (the nodes) and the relations among concepts (the links). Superordinate and subordinate relationships (hence, the hierarchical nature of the model) are represented via the links. The later version of the model, the spreading activation model (Collins & Loftus, 1975), de-emphasized the hierarchical nature of the mental representations in favor of a more general notion of semantic relatedness. The information retrieval process occurs as a function of spreading activation in the structured network. There has been considerable support for the model; the spreading activation approach to meaning retrieval and representation has been extensively used (see Neely, 1991, for a review). The notions of semantic connectedness, spreading activation, perceptual thresholds for conceptual retrieval are present in many more contemporary localist in their feature comparison model, hypothesized that there were two types of semantic features: defining features that were essential to the meaning of the concept and characteristic features that were usually true of the concept. Processing in this model hinged on whether an overall feature comparison or only a comparison using defining features was required for a semantic decision. The processing characteristics of both the spreading activation model and the feature comparison model have …
Bright light treatment of winter depression: a placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Bright light therapy is the recommended treatment for winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD). However, the studies with the best placebo controls have not been able to demonstrate that light treatment has a benefit beyond its placebo effect. METHODS Ninety-six patients with SAD completed the study. Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments for 4 weeks, each 1.5 hours per day: morning light (average start time about 6 AM), evening light (average start about 9 PM), or morning placebo (average start about 6 AM). The bright light (approximately 6000 lux) was produced by light boxes, and the placebos were sham negative-ion generators. Depression ratings using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, SAD version (SIGH-SAD) were performed weekly. RESULTS There were no differences among the 3 groups in expectation ratings or mean depression scores after 4 weeks of treatment. However, strict response criteria revealed statistically significant differences; after 3 weeks of treatment morning light produced more of the complete or almost complete remissions than placebo. By 1 criterion (24-item SIGH-SAD score <50% of baseline and < or =8), 61% of the patients responded to morning light, 50% to evening light, and 32% to placebo after 4 weeks of treatment. CONCLUSIONS Bright light therapy had a specific antidepressant effect beyond its placebo effect, but it took at least 3 weeks for a significant effect to develop. The benefit of light over placebo was in producing more of the full remissions.
PCPOR: Public and constant-cost proofs of retrievability in cloud

For data storage outsourcing services, it is important to allow users to efficiently and securely verify that cloud storage servers store their data correctly. To address this issue, a number of Proof of Retrievability (POR) and Proof of Data Possession (PDP) schemes have been proposed wherein servers must prove to a verifier that data are stored correctly. While existing POR and PDP schemes offer decent solutions addressing various practical issues, they either have non-trivial (linear or quadratic) communication and computational complexity, or only consider private verification. In this paper, we propose the first POR scheme with public verifiability, constant communication and computational costs on users. In our scheme, messages exchanged between cloud servers and users are composed of a constant number of group elements and random numbers; computational tasks required on users are also constant; batch auditing of multiple tasks is also efficiently supported. We achieved these by a unique design based on our novel polynomial-based authenticators. Extensive experiments on Amazon EC2 cloud and different client devices (contemporary and mobile devices) show that our design allows a user to audit the integrity of a file of any size with a constant computational cost of 150 ms on PC (2.11 s on mobile device) and a communication cost of 2.34 kB for 99% error detection probability when employing an erasure coding with 1% fault tolerance rate. We prove the security of our scheme based on the Computational Diffie-Hellman problem, the t-Strong Diffie-Hellman problem and the Static Diffie-Hellman problem.
Uniformly Best Biased Estimators in Non-Bayesian Parameter Estimation

In this paper, a new structured approach for obtaining uniformly best non-Bayesian biased estimators, which attain minimum-mean-square-error performance at any point in the parameter space, is established. We show that if a uniformly best biased (UBB) estimator exists, then it is unique, and it can be directly obtained from any locally best biased (LBB) estimator. A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a UBB estimator is derived. It is shown that if there exists an optimal bias, such that this condition is satisfied, then it is unique, and its closed-form expression is obtained. The proposed approach is exemplified in two nonlinear estimation problems, where uniformly minimum-variance-unbiased estimators do not exist. In the considered examples, we show that the UBB estimators outperform the corresponding maximum-likelihood estimators in the MSE sense.
Re/assembling ‘innovative’ learning environments: Affective practice and its politics

Abstract In this article, we argue that the interest being taken by governments in establishing innovative learning environments (ILEs) in schools relies on a conception of space as a largely neutral arena. In consequence, relations of space and power inherent in the infrastructural shift to ILEs tend to drop from view. Adopting an assemblage approach to investigating learning environments, and exploring ILEs as they are playing out in Australian schools, we strive to surface what drops from view. Taking ILEs to be sociomaterial assemblages, we work with empirical material and trace how they assemble and reassemble. The account is less concerned with what works in ILEs; rather, its focus is on their ‘workings’ as assemblages of relations and most particularly, affective relations. Thus, we explore two affective encounters involving school leaders, teachers and students showing the ways in which they position and are positioned within ILEs. The argument is made that the assemblage approach which is non-deterministic and relational affords new ways of understanding what ILEs are and how they work and who they work for. And, that attending to affective practice brings into view the micropolitics through which infrastructural shifts and infrastructural policy-making are made.
Second Attempt of Cabergoline Withdrawal in Patients with Prolactinomas after a Failed First Attempt: Is it Worthwhile?

Successful discontinuation of cabergoline (CAB) treatment has been reported in 31–75% of prolactinomas patients treated for at least 2 years. In contrast, it is not well established whether CAB therapy can be successfully withdrawn after a failed first attempt. This prospective open trial was designed to address this topic and to try to identify possible predictor factors. Among 180 patients with prolactinomas on CAB therapy, the authors selected those who fulfilled very strict criteria, particularly additional CAB therapy for at least 2 years, normalization of serum prolactin (PRL) levels following CAB restart, no tumor remnant >10 mm, no previous pituitary radiotherapy or surgery; and current CAB dose ≤1.0 mg/week. Recurrence was defined as an increase of PRL levels above the upper limit of normal. A total of 34 patients (70.6% female) treated with CAB for 24–30 months were recruited. Ten patients (29.4%) remained without evidence of recurrence after 24–26 months of follow-up. Twenty-four patients (70.6%) recurred within 15 months (75% within 12 months) after drug withdrawal and ~80% were restarted CAB. Median time to recurrence was 10.5 months (range, 3–15). Despite overlapping values, non-recurring patients had significantly lower mean PRL levels before withdrawal. Moreover, the recurrence rate was lower in subjects without visible tumor on pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) than in those with small remnant tumor (60 vs. 79%), though the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.20). No other characteristic could be identified as a predictor of successful CAB discontinuation. In conclusion, a second attempt of CAB withdrawal after two additional years of therapy may be successful, particularly in patients with lower PRL levels and no visible tumor on pituitary MRI. Close monitoring of PRL level is mandatory, especially within the first year after withdrawal, where most recurrences are detected.
Title: Location, Location, Location: Presenting Evidence for Genetically Modified Crops

This paper describes the results of a literature survey to determine the most common methods of analysis and measures of data location employed in journal papers that explore the agronomic and economic differences between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crop varieties. A total of 108 articles were reviewed and the most common measure of location employed was the arithmetic mean. Only a small minority of articles employed the median or stated that the data had been tested for normality. Yet the choice of measure of location can make a difference in terms of presenting differences between GM and non-GM to a readership. This is illustrated using data from one of the first field-level studies of GM crops in Africa (GM cotton in Makhathini Flats, South Africa), where the median actually gave a greater percentage yield advantage for GM over non-GM cotton than did the mean. However while the median could be justified in statistical terms this could be a source of suspicion amongst those who are opponents of GM.