Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Reconstruction of the Perivascular Space in the Adult Mouse Neurohypophysis During an Osmotic Stimulation

Oxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) neuropeptides in the neurohypophysis (NH) control lactation and body fluid homeostasis, respectively. Hypothalamic neurosecretory neurones project their axons from the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei to the NH to make contact with the vascular surface and release OXT and AVP. The neurohypophysial vascular structure is unique because it has a wide perivascular space between the inner and outer basement membranes. However, the significance of this unique vascular structure remains unclear; therefore, we aimed to determine the functional significance of the perivascular space and its activity‐dependent changes during salt loading in adult mice. The results obtained revealed that pericytes were the main resident cells and defined the profile of the perivascular space. Moreover, pericytes sometimes extended their cellular processes or ‘perivascular protrusions’ into neurohypophysial parenchyma between axonal terminals. The vascular permeability of low‐molecular‐weight (LMW) molecules was higher at perivascular protrusions than at the smooth vascular surface. Axonal terminals containing OXT and AVP were more likely to localise at perivascular protrusions than at the smooth vascular surface. Chronic salt loading with 2% NaCl significantly induced prominent changes in the shape of pericytes and also increased the number of perivascular protrusions and the surface area of the perivascular space together with elevations in the vascular permeability of LMW molecules. Collectively, these results indicate that the perivascular space of the NH acts as the main diffusion route for OXT and AVP and, in addition, changes in the shape of pericytes and perivascular reconstruction occur in response to an increased demand for neuropeptide release.
A phase II study of liposomal daunorubicin, in combination with cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisolone, in elderly patients with previously untreated aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Liposomal daunorubicin (DaunoXome) was substituted for doxorubicin in the CHOP regimen, aiming to reduce toxicity and maintain or improve efficacy in elderly patients. Eligibility criteria included: age ≥60 years; previously untreated aggressive non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and performance status (PS) 0–2. Treatment was cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2, vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 (maximum 2 mg), and DaunoXome 100 mg/m2 iv on day 1, prednisolone 100 mg po on days 1–5 and G-CSF 5 µg/kg/day sc, for 6–8 cycles. For the 51 patients, median age was 70 years (range 60–88), 94% had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and 55% were high-intermediate or high-risk according to the age-adjusted international prognostic index. A mean of 6 cycles was delivered, with dose reductions of DaunoXome in 8.3% of cycles. The combined CR and CRu rate was 65.2%, survival was 566 days and 5-year survival 35%. Three deaths occurred during treatment and may have been related to COP-X. Only 4 (7.8%) of the remaining patients had ≥10% reduction in LVEF. However, 35% of patients were hospitalised during treatment, mostly for febrile neutropenia. The response rate to COP-X was similar to that expected with CHOP, with low cardiac toxicity. The high rate of infectious complications suggests that the DaunoXome dose used may be too high for this patient group. These results support further investigation of this regimen in patients with aggressive NHL.
A Nested Family of $k$-total Effective Rewards for Positional Games

We consider Gillette's two-person zero-sum stochastic games with perfect information. For each $k \in \ZZ_+$ we introduce an effective reward function, called $k$-total. For $k = 0$ and $1$ this function is known as {\it mean payoff} and {\it total reward}, respectively. We restrict our attention to the deterministic case. For all $k$, we prove the existence of a saddle point which can be realized by uniformly optimal pure stationary strategies. We also demonstrate that $k$-total reward games can be embedded into $(k+1)$-total reward games.
Foliicolous microfungi occurring on Encephalartos

Species of Encephalartos, commonly known as bread trees, bread palms or cycads are native to Africa; the genus encompasses more than 60 species and represents an important component of the indigenous African flora. Recently, a leaf blight disease was noted on several E. altensteinii plants growing at the foot of Table Mountain in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens of South Africa. Preliminary isolations from dead and dying leaves of E. alten-steinii, E. lebomboensis and E. princeps, collected from South Africa, revealed the presence of several novel microfungi on this host. Novelties include Phaeomoniella capensis, Saccharata kirstenboschensis, Teratosphaeria altensteinii and T. encephalarti. New host records of species previously only known to occur on Proteaceae include Cladophialophora proteae and Catenulostroma microsporum, as well as a hyperparasite, Dactylaria leptosphaeriicola, occurring on ascomata of T. encephalarti.
Glucose Sensing by Time-Resolved Fluorescence of Sol-Gel Immobilized Glucose Oxidase

A monolithic silica gel matrix with entrapped glucose oxidase (GOD) was constructed as a bioactive element in an optical biosensor for glucose determination. Intrinsic fluorescence of free and immobilised GOD was investigated in the visible range in presence of different glucose concentrations by time-resolved spectroscopy with time-correlated single-photon counting detector. A three-exponential model was used for analysing the fluorescence transients. Fractional intensities and mean lifetime were shown to be sensitive to the enzymatic reaction and were used for obtaining calibration curve for glucose concentration determination. The sensing system proposed achieved high resolution (up to 0.17 mM) glucose determination with a detection range from 0.4 mM to 5 mM.
Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza A Viruses Circulating in Japan

ABSTRACT Surveillance studies of the influenza viruses circulating in Europe and other countries in 2007 and 2008 have revealed rates of resistance to oseltamivir of up to 67% among H1N1 viruses. In the present study, we examined 202 clinical samples obtained from patients infected with H1N1 virus in Japan in 2007 and 2008 for oseltamivir resistance and found that three were oseltamivir resistant (1.5%). The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s), as measured by a sialidase inhibition assay with these drug-resistant viruses, were >100-fold higher than those of the nonresistant viruses (median IC50, 12.6 nmol/liter). The His274Tyr (strain N2 numbering) mutation of the neuraminidase protein, which is known to confer oseltamivir resistance, was detected in these three isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that one virus belonged to a lineage that is composed of drug-resistant viruses isolated in Europe and North America and that the other two viruses independently emerged in Japan. Continued surveillance studies are necessary to observe whether these viruses will persist.
Stability of a Long Noncoding Viral RNA Depends on a 9-nt Core Element at the RNA 5' End to Interact with Viral ORF57 and Cellular PABPC1

Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) ORF57, also known as Mta (mRNA transcript accumulation), enhances viral intron-less transcript accumulation and promotes splicing of intron-containing viral RNA transcripts. In this study, we identified KSHV PAN, a long non-coding polyadenylated nuclear RNA as a main target of ORF57 by a genome-wide CLIP (cross-linking and immunoprecipitation) approach. KSHV genome lacking ORF57 expresses only a minimal amount of PAN. In cotransfection experiments, ORF57 alone increased PAN expression by 20-30-fold when compared to vector control. This accumulation function of ORF57 was dependent on a structured RNA element in the 5' PAN, named MRE (Mta responsive element), but not much so on an ENE (expression and nuclear retention element) in the 3' PAN previously reported by other studies. We showed that the major function of the 5' PAN MRE is increasing the RNA half-life of PAN in the presence of ORF57. Further mutational analyses revealed a core motif consisting of 9 nucleotides in the MRE-II , which is responsible for ORF57 interaction and function. The 9-nt core in the MRE-II also binds cellular PABPC1, but not the E1B-AP5 which binds another region of the MRE-II. In addition, we found that PAN RNA is partially exportable in the presence of ORF57. Together, our data provide compelling evidence as to how ORF57 functions to accumulate a non-coding viral RNA in the course of virus lytic infection.
ALMOST SURE FUNCTIONAL LIMIT THEOREMS Part I . The general case

In this paper we formulate and prove the almost sure functional limit theorem in fairly general cases. This limit theorem is a result which states that if a stochastic process X(t, ω), t ≥ 0, is given on a probability space with some nice properties, then an appropriate probability measure λ̄T can be defined on the interval [1, T ] for all T > 1 in such a way that for almost all ω the distributions of the appropriate normalizations of the trajectories Xt(·, ω) = X(t·, ω), considered as random variables ξT (t), t ∈ [1, T ], on the probability spaces ([1, T ],A, λT ) with values in a function space have a weak limit independent of ω as T → ∞. We shall consider self-similar processes which appear in different limit theorems. The almost sure functional limit theorem will be formulated and proved for them and their appropriate discretization under weak conditions. We also formulate and prove a coupling argument which makes it possible to prove the almost sure functional limit theorem for certain processes which converge to a self-similar process. In the second part of this work we shall prove and generalize — with the help of the results of the first part — some known almost sure functional limit theorems for independent random variables.
Investigation of superabsorbent polymer absorbency at reduced chemical potential of water

Different types of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) exhibiting varied absorbency properties were investigated for their performances at varying concentrations of an electrolyte. Water chemical potential, which is a function of concentration and pressure, was interpreted as a major parameter for absorbency and swelling properties of SAP. Superabsorbent polymers that were investigated gave different values of permeability which was carried out in a layer of swelled superabsorbent polymer. This result revealed differences on the structure of the superabsorbent polymers particularly on the crosslinking density. SAP’s absorbency properties were further tested and a correlation between the quantity of absorption and the chemical potential of water in terms of sodium chloride concentration was developed using experimental data on free swelling capacity and absorption under pressure. Results showed decreasing quantity of absorption by the superabsorbent polymers with decreasing chemical potential of water with higher reduction in the absorbency at higher pressure applied on the swelled SAP.
Cardiovascular Critical Care: A Perceived Deficiency Among U.S. Trainees*

Objective:Acute and chronic cardiovascular comorbidities are common among critically ill individuals. It is unclear if current critical care fellowship trainees feel adequately prepared to manage these conditions. Design:Prospective, cross-sectional survey. Patients or Subjects:Trainees enrolled in U.S. critical care training programs. Setting:Accredited pulmonary/critical care, surgery/critical care, anesthesiology/critical care, and stand-alone critical care training programs. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:A 19-item survey assessing trainee confidence in the management of cardiac critical illness and the performance of cardiac-specific critical care interventions was constructed using Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recommendations as a reference. After validation, the survey was electronically sent to all training programs for dissemination to their trainees. Confidence scores were measured on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. A total of 134 completed surveys were analyzed. Overall, respondents reported lower confidence in managing cardiovascular compared with noncardiovascular diseases in the ICU (4.0 vs 4.6 out of 5). Likewise, they reported lower perceived competence in performing cardiovascular procedures specific to the ICU (2.9 vs 4.5 out of 5). The majority (88%) of those surveyed felt that they would benefit from increased didactic and clinical experience in the management of cardiovascular critical illness. Conclusions:Current critical care fellows may be unprepared to deal with the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular illness in the ICU. This potential educational gap warrants timely attention to ensure that future graduates have the requisite skills necessary to manage these critically ill patients and presents a unique opportunity to develop multidisciplinary partnerships for enhancing training.
Bayesian inductive logic programming

Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) involves the construction of first-order definite clause theories from examples and background knowledge. Unlike both traditional Machine Learning and Computational Learning Theory, ILP is based on lock-step development of Theory, Implementations and Applications. ILP systems have successful applications in the learning of structure-activity rules for drug design, semantic grammars rules, finite element mesh design rules and rules for prediction of protein structure and mutagenic molecules. The strong applications in ILP can be contrasted with relatively weak PAC-learning results (even highly restricted forms of logic programs are known to be prediction-hard). It has been recently argued that the mismatch is due to distributional assumptions made in application domains. These assumptions can be modelled as a Bayesian prior probability representing subjective degrees of belief. Other authors have argued for the use of Bayesian prior distributions for reasons different to those here, though this has not lead to a new model of polynomial-time learnability. Incorporation of Bayesian prior distributions over time-bounded hypotheses in PAC leads to a new model called U-learnability. It is argued that U-learnability is more appropriate than PAC for Universal (Turing computable) languages. Time-bounded logic programs have been shown to be polynomially U-learnable under certain distributions. The use of time bounded hypotheses enforces decidability and allows a unified characterization of speed-up learning and inductive learning. U-learnability has as special cases PAC and Natarajan's model of speed-up learning.
Limited variation found among Norway spruce half-sib families in physiological response to drought and resistance to embolism.

Projections of future climates suggest that droughts (Ds) may become more frequent and severe in many regions. Genetic variation, especially within populations in traits related to D resistance, is poorly investigated in forest trees, but this knowledge is necessary to better understand how forests will respond to water shortages. In this study, we investigated variability among seven open-pollinated half-sib families of a single population and two population-level progenies of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. ) in their gas exchange response to imposed D and xylem vulnerability to embolism. During their third growing season, saplings were subjected to three treatments-control (C), D (for 19 weeks) and broken drought (BD, 54 days without watering starting in mid-July, then well-watered). In response to D, all families reduced their stomatal conductance (gs) and light-saturated rates of photosynthesis (Amax) in a similar way. After rewatering, the xylem water potential (Ψ) recovered in the BD treatment, but gs and Amax remained lower than in C. Needle starch concentration was altered in both D treatments compared with C. Xylem of D-exposed trees was more vulnerable to embolism than in C. The minimum attained safety margin remained positive for all families, indicating that no catastrophic hydraulic failure occurred in stem xylem during D. Significant family variation was found for Ψ early in the D (midday Ψ between -1.2 and -1.8 MPa), and for needle damage, but not for sapling mortality. Family variation found at the initial stages of D, and not afterward, suggests that all families responded similarly to greater D intensity, exhibiting the species-specific response. Limited variation at the family level indicates that the response to D and the traits we examined were conservative within the species. This may limit breeding opportunities for increased D resistance in Norway spruce in light of expected climatic changes.
Review: Genetics of diabetic nephropathy

Genetic susceptibility has been proposed as an important factor for the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy, and research efforts have been invested worldwide to identify the susceptibility gene for diabetic nephropathy. Although, several candidate genes were shown to be associated with the disease, the results were not always consistent; most of the genes conferring susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy remain to be identified. Recent development of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing technology and collation of information on linkage disequilibrium in the human genome have facilitated genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for investigating novel disease-susceptibility genes across the entire human genome. GWASs are considered a powerful and promising approach and are expected to be useful for identifying convincing susceptibility genes for several common diseases; however, to date, these studies have not been able to completely cover the entire human genome.
Beta blockers therapy is associated with improved left ventricular systolic function and sustained exercise capacity in elderly patients with heart failure. CIBIS-ELD sub-study

Background: Exercise capacity is critical for therapy and prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF). Effect of beta-blockers (BB) on exercise capacity in elderly patients with HF remains unclear. Objectives: To assess contribution of BB to functional capacity and left ventricular (LV) function in the elderly with HF. Design: According to the protocol of CIBIS-ELD study group, elderly patients were treated with BB during 12 weeks. In CPET subgroup, an integral part of the CIBIS ELD study group, patients were performed Doppler echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) before BB therapy and after 12 weeks. Setting: Randomized patients with HF beta blockers naïve. Participants: thirty patients with HF aged over 65 years were included in CPET subgroup, while 847 were incorporated in CIBIS ELD study group. Results: Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) after BB significantly decreased at rest (p<0.001) and during exercise (p<0.05), with sustained level of peak VO2. Observed changes of resting HR and peak HR were closely correlated (p<0.001). Significant improvement of LV ejection fraction after BB was obtained (p=0.003) and symptoms of breathlessness were reduced (p=0.001). Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction at rest significantly contributed to exercise capacity (p=0.019). Conclusions: Beta-blockers in elderly patients with HF are related to a significant decrease of HR and SBP, improvement of systolic LV function and sustained exercise tolerance. Resting LV diastolic dysfunction is strongly associated with lower exercise capacity.
Singular link Floer homology

We define a grid presentation for singular links, ie links with a finite number of rigid transverse double points. Then we use it to generalize link Floer homology to singular links. Besides the consistency of its definition, we prove that this homology is acyclic under some conditions which naturally make its Euler characteristic vanish. 57M25
Networked non-linear control for an aluminum plate thermal process with time-delays

This article considers networked non-linear control for an aluminum plate thermal process. This is done by using operator-based robust right coprime factorisation approach and Bezout identity to guarantee robust stable networked control system, as well as an operator-based tracking controller to ensure the controlled process output tracking the desired reference input. An experimental result is given for the case of temperature control of the aluminum plate thermal process.
Emotion regulation difficulties in social anxiety disorder and their specific contributions to anxious responding.

OBJECTIVE Recent theories emphasize the contribution of emotion regulation (ER) difficulties to psychopathology. The present study sought to identify patterns of ER difficulties in social anxiety disorder (SAD) and to test the predictive value of these difficulties for actual anxious responding during the anticipation of a social evaluative task. METHOD Participants diagnosed with SAD (n = 67) and healthy controls (n = 59) completed self-ratings of ER difficulties (DERS) and depressive symptoms. This was followed by the announcement of an impromptu speech. During the anticipation period, subjective ratings of anxiety and arousal were assessed. RESULTS Compared to healthy controls, SAD participants reported significantly higher levels of ER difficulties. With the exception of "lack of emotional awareness," these differences remained significant when controlling for depression. ER difficulties also contributed to anxious responding during the stress test; but this held true only for nonclinical participants. CONCLUSION SAD is characterized by a wide range of ER deficits. However, the associations between ER difficulties and symptoms of anxiety remain poorly understood.
Immune Regulation during Chronic Visceral Leishmaniasis

Visceral leishmaniasis is a chronic parasitic disease associated with severe immune dysfunction. Treatment options are limited to relatively toxic drugs, and there is no vaccine for humans available. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand immune responses following infection with Leishmania species by studying animal models of disease and clinical samples from patients. Here, we review recent discoveries in these areas and highlight shortcomings in our knowledge that need to be addressed if better treatment options are to be developed and effective vaccines designed.