Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective Role of Andrographolide in Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic devastating disease with poor prognosis. Multiple pathological processes, including inflammation, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), apoptosis, and oxidative stress, are involved in the pathogenesis of IPF. Recent findings suggested that nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is constitutively activated in IPF and acts as a central regulator in the pathogenesis of IPF. The aim of our study was to reveal the value of andrographolide on bleomycin-induced inflammation and fibrosis in mice. The indicated dosages of andrographolide were administered in mice with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. On day 21, cell counts of total cells, macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes, alone with TNF-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured. HE staining and Masson’s trichrome (MT) staining were used to observe the histological alterations of lungs. The Ashcroft score and hydroxyproline content of lungs were also measured. TGF-β1 and α-SMA mRNA and protein were analyzed. Activation of NF-κB was determined by western blotting and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). On day 21 after bleomycin stimulation, andrographolide dose-dependently inhibited the inflammatory cells and TNF-α in BALF. Meanwhile, our data demonstrated that the Ashcroft score and hydroxyproline content of the bleomycin-stimulated lung were reduced by andrographolide administration. Furthermore, andrographloide suppressed TGF-β1 and α-SMA mRNA and protein expression in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Meanwhile, andrographolide significantly dose-dependently inhibited the ratio of phospho-NF-κB p65/total NF-κB p65 and NF-κB p65 DNA binding activities. Our findings indicate that andrographolide compromised bleomycin-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis possibly through inactivation of NF-κB. Andrographolide holds promise as a novel drug to treat the devastating disease of pulmonary fibrosis.
An ultra-low-power-consumption high-speed GaAs 256/258 dual-modulus prescaler IC

This paper describes a GaAs divide-by-256/258 dual-modulus static prescaler IC. The prescaler has a pulse swallow counter-type architecture and quasi-differential switch flip-flop (QD-FF) as its basic circuit architecture. For the input buffer circuit, we have developed a circuit that we call a Source coupled push-pull circuit (SCC), which can generate high-frequency complementary signals from a single phase signal at a low supply voltage. The IC operates at up to 14.5 GHz with a power consumption of 22 mW. The power consumption is 1/100 that of a previously reported prescaler.
Pharmacokinetic drug interaction profile of omeprazole with adverse consequences and clinical risk management

Background Omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), is widely used for the treatment of dyspepsia, peptic ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and functional dyspepsia. Polypharmacy is common in patients receiving omeprazole. Drug toxicity and treatment failure resulting from inappropriate combination therapy with omeprazole have been reported sporadically. Systematic review has not been available to address the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction (DDI) profile of omeprazole with adverse consequences, the factors determining the degree of DDI between omeprazole and comedication, and the corresponding clinical risk management. Methods Literature was identified by performing a PubMed search covering the period from January 1988 to March 2013. The full text of each article was critically reviewed, and data interpretation was performed. Results Omeprazole has actual adverse influences on the pharmacokinetics of medications such as diazepam, carbamazepine, clozapine, indinavir, nelfinavir, atazanavir, rilpivirine, methotrexate, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, clopidogrel, digoxin, itraconazole, posaconazole, and oral iron supplementation. Meanwhile, low efficacy of omeprazole treatment would be anticipated, as omeprazole elimination could be significantly induced by comedicated efavirenz and herb medicines such as St John’s wort, Ginkgo biloba, and yin zhi huang. The mechanism for DDI involves induction or inhibition of cytochrome P450, inhibition of P-glycoprotein or breast cancer resistance protein-mediated drug transport, and inhibition of oral absorption by gastric acid suppression. Sometimes, DDIs of omeprazole do not exhibit a PPI class effect. Other suitable PPIs or histamine 2 antagonists may be therapeutic alternatives that can be used to avoid adverse consequences. The degree of DDIs associated with omeprazole and clinical outcomes depend on factors such as genotype status of CYP2C19 and CYP1A2, ethnicity, dose and treatment course of precipitant omeprazole, pharmaceutical formulation of object drug (eg, mycophenolate mofetil versus enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium), other concomitant medication (eg, omeprazole-indinavir versus omeprazole–indinavir–ritonavir), and administration schedule (eg, intensified dosing of mycophenolate mofetil versus standard dosing). Conclusion Despite the fact that omeprazole is one of the most widely prescribed drugs internationally, clinical professionals should enhance clinical risk management on adverse DDIs associated with omeprazole and ensure safe combination use of omeprazole by rationally prescribing alternatives, checking the appropriateness of physician orders before dispensing, and performing therapeutic drug monitoring.
Shear viscosity from R-charged AdS black holes

: We compute the shear viscosity in the supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory dual to the STU background. This is an example of thermal gauge theory with a nonzero chemical potential. The quotient of the shear viscosity over the entropy density exhibits no deviation from the well known result η/s = 1 / 4 π .
Towards trusted software-defined networks using a hardware-based Integrity Measurement Architecture

The rise of software-defined networks in recent years has allowed unprecedented agility in network configuration and orchestration. As physical links and configurations become virtualised, this has created many opportunities for dynamic and transparent deployment of services. This however, opens up a potential attack surface for new forms of attack. Thus, with the combination of SDN elements abstracting their administration to network administrators and the growing attack surface in network element software, this creates the possibility for malicious routers which do not comply with the higher-level abstractions used by their respective controllers. This paper focuses on building an assurable SDN network using Trusted computing mechanisms to: (A) provide a strong hardware-based platform identity to check that network element software is healthy, and (B) increase assurance that traffic flows are being forwarded to their intended destinations by dynamically monitoring the low-level configurations used to route virtual LANs. The architecture as a whole provides a mechanism to check the network posture, bridging the gap between the areas of remote attestation and virtual networking.
Recent climatic trends in nearshore water temperatures in the St. Lawrence Great Lakes

In the Great Lakes region, the observational evidence for climatic change has been primarily limited to changes in lake‐ice conditions, with no long‐term trends identified in water temperatures. Seven nearshore water intake sites (Bay City, Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; St. Joseph, Michigan; Sandusky Bay, Ohio; Put‐In‐Bay, Ohio; and Erie, Pennsylvania) in the Great Lakes were chosen, and their data were examined for any climatic trends. Regression results on the annual mean temperatures showed varying support in favor of a warming trend at five of the seven sites. A new approach facilitated determination of the interannual variability in the timing of the 4°C temperature of maximum density. Two of the three sites with data records extending back to the early part of this century (Sault Ste. Marie and Put‐In‐Bay, respectively) showed a 4‐ and a 6‐h yr−1 rate of increase in the maximum potential duration of summer stratification (DSS). Over the time span of these two data sets, this equates to a 14‐ and 18‐d increase in the potential DSS, respectively. The rate of increase in the duration data was skewed, with most of the increase due to an earlier transition to springlike conditions. Finally, the data do not extend far enough back in time to know if these climatic trends are part of an unresolvable natural cycle or forced by anthropogenic activity.
Benefits of being bilingual? The relationship between pupils’ perceptions of teachers’ appreciation of their home language and executive functioning

Aims: We aimed to investigate whether bilingual pupil’s perceptions of teachers’ appreciation of their home language were of influence on bilingual cognitive advantages. Design: We examined whether Dutch bilingual primary school pupils who speak either German or Turkish at home differed in perceptions of their teacher’s appreciation of their HL, and whether these differences could explain differences between the two groups in executive functioning. Data and analysis: Executive functioning was measured through computer tasks, and perceived home language appreciation through orally administered questionnaires. The relationship between the two was assessed with regression analyses. Findings: German-Dutch pupils perceived there to be more appreciation of their home language from their teacher than Turkish-Dutch pupils. This difference did partly explain differences in executive functioning. Besides, we replicated bilingual advantages in nonverbal working memory and switching, but not in verbal working memory or inhibition. Originality and significance: This study demonstrates that bilingual advantages cannot be dissociated from the influence of the sociolinguistic context of the classroom. Thereby, it stresses the importance of culturally responsive teaching.
Dependability of Two Scaling Approaches to Direct Behavior Rating Multi-Item Scales Assessing Disruptive Classroom Behavior

Abstract. This study examines the dependability of two scaling approaches for using a five-item Direct Behavior Rating multi-item scale to assess student disruptive behavior. A series of generalizability theory studies were used to compare a traditional frequency-based scaling approach with an approach wherein the informant compares a target student's behavior with that of classroom peers. A total of seven novice raters (i.e., graduate students) used both types of scales to rate 10-min video clips of the classroom behavior of nine middle school students across three occasions. Generalizability of composite scores derived from each type of scale was examined across raters and occasions. Subsequent decision studies were conducted to determine the number of measurement occasions that would be required to obtain an acceptable level of dependability. Results of these studies indicated that the type of scale accounted for a substantial proportion of variance (29%) and that the traditional frequency approach required far fewer assessment occasions to reach the criterion for absolute and relative decisions (4 and 8 occasions, respectively) compared with the comparative scaling approach (>30 occasions). Implications for future research and current practice are discussed.
Metabolic Syndrome Clusters and the Risk of Incident Stroke: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background and Purpose— Little is known about the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the risk of incident stroke. This study is designed to identify particular clusters of MetS components that carry the highest risk of incident stroke. Methods— We analyzed the public use data from the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. At baseline, 14 993 stroke-free middle-aged individuals were followed-up over 9 years for incident stroke. MetS components were defined according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/American Heart Association criteria. Incident stroke was identified using a standardized incident events identification and classification protocol. Proportional hazard models were used to assess the RRs and 95% CIs of ischemic stroke associated with MetS and its different clusters. Results— At baseline, the prevalence of MetS was 39%. The mean age was 54, with 26% blacks and 55% females. The hazard ratio of incident ischemic stroke associated with MetS among women (hazard ratio, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.69 to 3.49) and men (hazard ratio, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.56–2.85) was similar. There was a dose–response relationship between the numbers of MetS components and the risk of incidence stroke. Persons with either elevated blood pressure or elevated fasting glucose in the clusters to form a MetS had the highest risk for incident stroke (hazard ratio, 2.74–4.16 comparing to the reference group) than MetS without these 2 components (hazard ratio, ≤2.00 comparing to the reference group). Conclusions— The data support the need to target MetS, especially MetS, with these 2 highest risk components (elevated blood pressure or elevated fasting glucose) in the clusters.
Bats, emerging infectious diseases, and the rabies paradigm revisited

The significance of bats as sources of emerging infectious diseases has been increasingly appreciated, and new data have been accumulated rapidly during recent years. For some emerging pathogens the bat origin has been confirmed (such as lyssaviruses, henipaviruses, coronaviruses), for other it has been suggested (filoviruses). Several recently identified viruses remain to be ‘orphan’ but have a potential for further emergence (such as Tioman, Menangle, and Pulau viruses). In the present review we summarize information on major bat-associated emerging infections and discuss specific characteristics of bats as carriers of pathogens (from evolutionary, ecological, and immunological positions). We also discuss drivers and forces of an infectious disease emergence and describe various existing and potential approaches for control and prevention of such infections at individual, populational, and societal levels.
Model Based Reinforcement Learning with Final Time Horizon Optimization

We present one of the first algorithms on model based reinforcement learning and trajectory optimization with free final time horizon. Grounded on the optimal control theory and Dynamic Programming, we derive a set of backward differential equations that propagate the value function and provide the optimal control policy and the optimal time horizon. The resulting policy generalizes previous results in model based trajectory optimization. Our analysis shows that the proposed algorithm recovers the theoretical optimal solution on linear low dimensional problem. Finally we provide application results on nonlinear systems.
Active self-adaptive control of high-speed train pantograph

In this paper, in order to degrade the vibration of contact force between Pantograph and Catenary of high-speed railway, a new solution using Cylindrical Linear Induction Motor as active actuator is proposed. Based on the mathematical model of Catenary presented in the reference papers, the 2-degree Spring-Mass model of Pantograph-Catenary System is formed. Then get the self-adaptive control law by applying the Lyapunov direct model reference self adaptive control strategy. In the last part of this paper, the simulation results of active control are presented, the waveforms of contact force between Pantograph and Catenary under different vehicle speed indicate that the new method can suppress the fluctuation of contact force.
Lexico-prosodic anomalies in dialog

In dialog, most words fit nicely with their prosodic context. This enables the prediction of which words are likely to come next, given the recent prosodic context, an ability which is of practical utility. However anomalies exist, cases where the word that comes next seems to be a mismatch for its prosodic context. Examination of 60 such lexico-prosodic anomalies in the Switchboard telephone dialog corpus revealed some patterns: anomalies tend to occur with, or perhaps constitute, bids for dominance, expressions of emotion, idiosyncratic speech patterns, and prosodic amalgams.
Overview of Khare’s proof

An overview will be given of Khare’s proof of Serre’s conjecture in level one. Those who will not attend the rest of the seminar will have an idea of Khare’s proof, and it is hoped that those who will attend the rest of the seminar will now be sufficiently motivated to digest the more technical parts that are to come.
Language Reduced Redundancy Tests: A Reexamination of Cloze Test and C-test

The purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate whether cloze forms with text-driven deletion method, proposed by Farhady and Keramati (1996), will produce better psychometric properties than the standard cloze form; (2) to compare the psychometric properties of cloze test and C-test, both of which belong to the family of language reduced redundancy test; (3) to examine whether different deletion rates lead to difference in test-takers' performance; and (4) to test whether the assumption of test-takers' performance invariance across different texts hold for both cloze test and C-test. Based on two authentic texts with different rhetoric modes, three cloze forms with text-driven deletion method, along with one standard cloze and one form of C-test, were constructed and randomly administered to 237 student subjects at one private university in northern Taiwan. Furthermore, each subject was required to take three subtests (from a sample TOEFL test) as criterion measures for empirical validity. The results of the study indicated that neither the three cloze forms nor the C-test was substantially superior to the standard cloze in terms of reliability and validity. In addition, the findings of the study were inconclusive with regard to whether different deletion rates result in different test-takers' performance. Finally, no strong evidence was found to substantiate the claim that both cloze test and C-test meet the assumption of test-takers' performance invariance across different texts.
Prevalence of Swimming Puppy Syndrome in 2,443 Puppies during the Years 2006–2012 in Thailand

The purpose of this study was to report on the prevalence of swimming puppy syndrome (SPS) and investigate predisposing factors. Data were recorded from 2,443 puppies (1,183 males and 1,260 females) in Thailand, October 2006–September 2012, including breed, sex, number of puppies per litter, type of nest floor, number of affected limbs, and occurrence of pectus excavatum. Fifty-two puppies (2.13%) were diagnosed with SPS. The breed most frequently affected was English Bulldog (8.33%). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between presence and absence of disease based on sex, breed, and nest floor type. The number of puppies per litter was associated with SPS; puppies from smaller litters (1.92 ± 1.12) had a higher prevalence of the disease (P < 0.01) than puppies from larger litters (3.64 ± 2.24). Moreover, 15.38% of puppies with affected limbs showed signs of pectus excavatum (8/52); this clinical sign was more prevalent (P < 0.01) in puppies with all four limbs affected with SPS.
Model of Tryptophan Metabolism, Readily Scalable Using Tissue-specific Gene Expression Data*

Background: Changes in tryptophan metabolism are associated with various diseases. Results: A comprehensive model of human tryptophan metabolism was constructed and verified with existing experimental data. Conclusion: The subtle balance of tryptophan derivatives required for proper brain function is sensitive to alterations in peripheral tissues. Significance: The model is applicable as a diagnostic tool to study disease related changes in tryptophan metabolism. Tryptophan is utilized in various metabolic routes including protein synthesis, serotonin, and melatonin synthesis and the kynurenine pathway. Perturbations in these pathways have been associated with neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Here we present a comprehensive kinetic model of the complex network of human tryptophan metabolism based upon existing kinetic data for all enzymatic conversions and transporters. By integrating tissue-specific expression data, modeling tryptophan metabolism in liver and brain returned intermediate metabolite concentrations in the physiological range. Sensitivity and metabolic control analyses identified expected key enzymes to govern fluxes in the branches of the network. Combining tissue-specific models revealed a considerable impact of the kynurenine pathway in liver on the concentrations of neuroactive derivatives in the brain. Moreover, using expression data from a cancer study predicted metabolite changes that resembled the experimental observations. We conclude that the combination of the kinetic model with expression data represents a powerful diagnostic tool to predict alterations in tryptophan metabolism. The model is readily scalable to include more tissues, thereby enabling assessment of organismal tryptophan metabolism in health and disease.
Varieties of Attention

The standard view in cognition is that the identification of visually presented words, up to and including semantic activation, is automatic in various senses. The perspective favored here is that various kinds of attention are intimately involved in the identification of words. Some forms of attention are necessary, whereas others (i.e., executive attention) are recruited to optimize performance. We briefly review results from a variety of literatures that (a) support the latter perspective and (b) are difficult to reconcile with an automatic-processing account.
Social TV and the participation dilemma in NBC's The Voice.

In this article, I explore the perks and perils of social TV as a strategy for networks to drive tune-in to episodes as they air and to strengthen audience engagement. I do so by examining reality singing competitions in the United States, and specifically the NBC show The Voice. In analyzing the development of social media use in the program over the course of its first seven seasons, I identify a participation dilemma. This dilemma results from the fact that in giving viewers influence over aspects of the production to create an emotional investment, producers relinquish control over the contents of the show, which needs to appeal to large audiences. In addition, I classify the applications of social media: promotional, affective, functional, and phatic. In discussing these examples, I show how the “new” strategies of social TV hark back to “old” strategies that predate their use.
POSITIVE SOLUTIONS AND MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS AT NON-RESONANCE, RESONANCE AND NEAR RESONANCE FOR HEMIVARIATIONAL INEQUALITIES WITH p-LAPLACIAN

In this paper we study eigenvalue problems for hemivariational inequalities driven by the p-Laplacian differential operator. We prove the existence of positive smooth solutions for both non-resonant and resonant problems at the principal eigenvalue of the negative p-Laplacian with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. We also examine problems which are near resonance both from the left and from the right of the principal eigenvalue. For nearly resonant from the right problems we also prove a multiplicity result.