Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of silk fibroin nanofibers containing silver sulfadiazine on wound healing

Background One of the promising applications of silk fibroin (SF) in biomedical engineering is its use as a scaffolding material for skin regeneration. The purpose of this study was to determine the wound healing effect of SF nanofibrous matrices containing silver sulfadiazine (SSD) wound dressings. Methods An SF nanofibrous matrix containing SSD was prepared by electrospinning. The cell attachment and spreading of normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) and normal human epidermal fibroblasts (NHEF) to SF nanofibers containing three different concentrations of SSD contents (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%) were determined. In addition, a rat wound model was used in this study to determine the wound healing effect of SF nanofibers containing SSD compared with that of Acticoat™, a commercially available wound dressing. Results The number of NHEK and NHEF attached to SF nanofibers containing SSD decreased when the concentration of SSD increased. The number of attached NHEF cells was lower than that of attached NHEK cells. The SF matrix with 1.0 wt% SSD produced faster wound healing than Acticoat, although 1.0 wt% SSD inhibited the attachment of epidermal cells to SF nanofibers in vitro. Conclusion The cytotoxic effects of SF nanofibers with SSD should be considered in the development of silver-release dressings for wound healing through its antimicrobial activity. It is challenging to design wound dressings that maximize antimicrobial activity and minimize cellular toxicity.
The Redshift Dependence of Gamma-Ray Absorption in the Environments of Strong-Line AGNs

The case of γ-ray absorption due to photon-photon pair production of jet photons in the external photon environments, such as the accretion disk and the broad-line region radiation fields, of γ-ray-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that exhibit strong emission lines is considered. I demonstrate that this "local opacity," if detected, will almost unavoidably be redshift-dependent in the sub-TeV range. This introduces nonnegligible biases and complicates approaches for studying the evolution of the extragalactic background light with contemporary GeV instruments such as the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), where the γ-ray horizon is probed by means of statistical analysis of absorption features (e.g., the Fazio-Stecker relation) in AGN spectra at various redshifts. It particularly applies to strong-line quasars, where external photon fields are potentially involved in γ-ray production.
The Potential and Hurdles of Targeted Alpha Therapy – Clinical Trials and Beyond

This article presents a general discussion on what has been achieved so far and on the possible future developments of targeted alpha (α)-particle therapy (TAT). Clinical applications and potential benefits of TAT are addressed as well as the drawbacks, such as the limited availability of relevant radionuclides. Alpha-particles have a particular advantage in targeted therapy because of their high potency and specificity. These features are due to their densely ionizing track structure and short path length. The most important consequence, and the major difference compared with the more widely used β−-particle emitters, is that single targeted cancer cells can be killed by self-irradiation with α-particles. Several clinical trials on TAT have been reported, completed, or are on-going: four using 213Bi, two with 211At, two with 225Ac, and one with 212Pb/212Bi. Important and conceptual proof-of-principle of the therapeutic advantages of α-particle therapy has come from clinical studies with 223Ra-dichloride therapy, showing clear benefits in castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Elaboration of a common frame of reference in collaborative virtual environments

Motivation -- To design virtual environments that support collaborative activities. Research approach -- An experimental approach in which 44 students were asked to work in pairs to reconstruct five 3D figures. Findings/Design -- The results show that including a contextual clue in virtual environments improves collaboration between operators. Research limitations -- Further investigative work must be carried out to extract accurate female collaboration profiles. Originality/Value -- The results enable three collaboration profiles to be identified. They also allow the extraction of some characteristics of a contextual clue which can be added to a virtual environment to improve collaboration. Take away message -- The contents of a collaborative virtual environment influences the way that users collaborate.
Testosterone Acts Directly on CD4+ T Lymphocytes to Increase IL-10 Production1

Males are less susceptible than females to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and many other autoimmune diseases. Gender differences in cytokine production have been observed in splenocytes of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice stimulated with myelin proteins and may underlie gender differences in susceptibility. As these differences should not be limited to responses specific for myelin proteins, gender differences in cytokine production upon stimulation with Ab to CD3 were examined, and the mechanisms were delineated. Splenocytes from male mice stimulated with Ab to CD3 produced more IL-10 and IL-4 and less IL-12 than those from female mice. Furthermore, splenocytes from dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-treated female mice produced more IL-10 and less IL-12 than those from placebo-treated female mice, whereas there was no difference in IL-4. IL-12 knockout mice were then used to determine whether changes in IL-10 production were mediated directly by testosterone vs indirectly by changes in IL-12. The results of these experiments favored the first hypothesis, because DHT treatment of female IL-12 knockout mice increased IL-10 production. To begin to delineate the mechanism by which DHT may be acting, the cellular source of IL-10 was determined. At both the RNA and protein levels, IL-10 was produced primarily by CD4+ T lymphocytes. CD4+ T lymphocytes were then shown to express the androgen receptor, raising the possibility that testosterone acts directly on CD4+ T lymphocytes to increase IL-10 production. In vitro experiments demonstrated increased IL-10 production following treatment of CD4+ T lymphocytes with DHT. Thus, testosterone can act directly via androgen receptors on CD4+ T lymphocytes to increase IL-10 gene expression.
Clinical Application of Vascular Regenerative Therapy for Peripheral Artery Disease

Prognosis of peripheral artery disease (PAD), especially critical limb ischemia, is very poor despite the development of endovascular therapy and bypass surgery. Many patients result in leg amputation and, therefore, vascular regenerative therapy is expected in this field. Gene therapy using vascular endothelial growth factor is the first step of vascular regenerative therapy, but did not confirm effectiveness in a large-scale randomized comparative study. Based on animal experiments, bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNCs), peripheral blood MNCs were used as the cell source for regenerative therapy. Those cells were confirmed to be effective to decrease rest pain and ulcer size, but its effect was not fully satisfied. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are expected as an effective cell source for vascular regeneration and clinical studies are ongoing, because the cells are able to differentiate into various cell types and produce a significant amount of vascular growth factors. Of vascular regeneration therapy, peripheral MNCs and bone marrow MNCs were recognized as advanced medical technology but do not attain to the standard therapy. However, clinical use of MSCs have already started, and induced pluripotent stem cells are surely promising tool for vascular regeneration therapy although further basic studies are required for clinical application.
status using a flexible PCR / LDR / Universal Array assay Multiplexed profiling of candidate genes for CpG island methylation data

Online First articles must include the digital object identifier (DOIs) and date of initial publication. establish publication priority; they are indexed by PubMed from initial publication. Citations to may be posted when available prior to final publication). Online First articles are citable and accepted for publication but have not yet appeared in the paper journal (edited, typeset versions contains unedited articles in manuscript form that have been peer reviewed and Online First
From Space Syntax to Space Semantics: A Behaviorally and Perceptually Oriented Methodology for the Efficient Description of the Geometry and Topology of Environments

Human spatial behavior and experience cannot be investigated independently from the shape and configuration of environments. Therefore, comparative studies in architectural psychology and spatial cognition would clearly benefit from operationalizations of space that provide a common denominator for capturing its behavioral and psychologically relevant properties. This paper presents theoretical and methodological issues arising from the practical application of isovist-based graphs for the analysis of architectural spaces. Based on recent studies exploring the influence of spatial form and structure on behavior and experience in virtual environments, the following topics are discussed: (1) the derivation and empirical verification of meaningful descriptor variables on the basis of classic qualitative theories of environmental psychology relating behavior and experience to spatial properties; (2) methods to select reference points for the analysis of architectural spaces at a local level; furthermore, based on two experiments exploring the phenomenal conception of the spatial structure of architectural environments, formalized strategies for (3) the selection of reference points at a global level, and for (4), their integration into a sparse yet plausible comprehensive graph structure, are proposed. Taken together, a well formalized and psychologically oriented methodology for the efficient description of spatial properties of environments at the architectural scale level is outlined. This method appears useful for a wide range of applications, ranging from abstract architectural analysis over behavioral experiments to studies on mental representations in cognitive science.
MELIOIDOSIS: PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNITY IN MICE AND HAMSTERS

The pathogenesis of acute respiratory melioidosis mice and hamsters is described. Inhaled organisms giving rise to lesions seemed to be first engulfed by the mononuclear alveolar phagocytes, but in less than 1 day polymorphonuclear cells made their appearance. In spite of this defense reaction, the bacteria continued to multiply and their products caused focal necrosis. These foci enlarged and gave rise to septicemia, toxemia, and eventually death, which usually occurred in 3 to 10 days depending on the dose. Melioidosis, is, therefore, an acute septicotoxemic disease resembling plague and anthrax in this respect. In hamsters the disease process developed more rapidly than in mice and death occurred sooner. The course of the disease in hamsters was sometimes complicated by intraglomerular deposits resembling "fibrinoid," which were similar to those of the generalized Shwartzman phenomenon. This phenomenon may have been an indirect cause of both the perifocal hemorrhage and the extremely large number of bacteria in some of the hamster lesions. When low infecting doses of organisms were employed, mice, but not hamsters, developed a chronic type of disease, lasting 2 to 8 weeks. This was characterized by large abscesses in the spleen or lung, marked proliferation of mononuclear phagocytes and plasma cells, and increased immunity against reinfection (about 40-fold against respiratory challenge). When mice and hamsters inhaled high infecting doses of organisms, a peracute disease resulted with death in 1 to 3 days. Increased numbers of bacteria were observed in the lesions, and the histological changes in the spleen resembled those following the intravenous injection of Malleomyces pseudomallei toxin or the intramuscular injection of large doses of cortisone. These changes were characterized by a swelling of the phagocytes of the white pulp with nuclear debris. The peracute, the acute, and the chronic forms of melioidosis in mice are similar to analogous clinical forms found in man.
Global Heuristics for Distributed Cooperative Multi-Agent Planning

Almost every planner needs good heuristics to be efficient. Heuristic planning has experienced an impressive progress over the last years thanks to the emergence of more and more powerful estimators. However, this progress has not been translated to multi-agent planning (MAP) due to the difficulty of applying classical heuristics in distributed environments. The application of local search heuristics in each agent has been the most widely adopted approach in MAP but there exist some recent attempts to use global heuristics. In this paper we show that the success of global heuristics in MAP depends on a proper selection of heuristics for a distributed environment as well as on their adequate combination.
Climatologically Aided Mapping of Daily Precipitation and Temperature

Abstract Accurately mapped meteorological data are an essential component for hydrologic and ecological research conducted at broad scales. A simple yet effective method for mapping daily weather conditions across heterogeneous landscapes is described and assessed. Daily weather data recorded at point locations are integrated with long-term-average climate maps to reconstruct spatially explicit estimates of daily precipitation and temperature extrema. The method uses ordinary kriging to interpolate base station data spatially into fields of approximately 2-km grain size. The fields are subsequently adjusted by 30-yr-average climate maps [Parameter-Elevation Regression on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM)], which incorporate adiabatic lapse rates, orographic effects, coastal proximity, and other environmental factors. The accuracy assessment evaluated an interpolation-only approach and the new method by comparing predicted and observed values from an independent validation dataset. The results of the accura.
Log‐Euclidean metrics for fast and simple calculus on diffusion tensors

Diffusion tensor imaging (DT‐MRI or DTI) is an emerging imaging modality whose importance has been growing considerably. However, the processing of this type of data (i.e., symmetric positive‐definite matrices), called “tensors” here, has proved difficult in recent years. Usual Euclidean operations on matrices suffer from many defects on tensors, which have led to the use of many ad hoc methods. Recently, affine‐invariant Riemannian metrics have been proposed as a rigorous and general framework in which these defects are corrected. These metrics have excellent theoretical properties and provide powerful processing tools, but also lead in practice to complex and slow algorithms. To remedy this limitation, a new family of Riemannian metrics called Log‐Euclidean is proposed in this article. They also have excellent theoretical properties and yield similar results in practice, but with much simpler and faster computations. This new approach is based on a novel vector space structure for tensors. In this framework, Riemannian computations can be converted into Euclidean ones once tensors have been transformed into their matrix logarithms. Theoretical aspects are presented and the Euclidean, affine‐invariant, and Log‐Euclidean frameworks are compared experimentally. The comparison is carried out on interpolation and regularization tasks on synthetic and clinical 3D DTI data. Magn Reson Med 56, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Normal Thymocyte Negative Selection in TRAIL-deficient Mice

The molecular basis of thymocyte negative selection, which plays a critical role in establishing and maintaining immunological tolerance, is not yet resolved. In particular, the importance of the death receptor subgroup of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-family has been the subject of many investigations, with equivocal results. A recent report suggested that TRAIL was a critical factor in this process, a result that does not fit well with previous studies that excluded a role for the FADD-caspase 8 pathway, which is essential for TRAIL and Fas ligand (FasL) signaling, in negative selection. We have investigated intrathymic negative selection of TRAIL-deficient thymocytes, using four well-established models, including antibody-mediated TCR/CD3 ligation in vitro, stimulation with endogenous superantigen in vitro and in vivo, and treatment with exogenous superantigen in vitro. We were unable to demonstrate a role for TRAIL signaling in any of these models, suggesting that this pathway is not a critical factor for thymocyte negative selection.
Free field realization of D-brane in group manifold

We construct the boundary state for the D-brane in the SU(2) group manifold directly in terms of the group variables. We propose a matching condition for the left- and the right-moving sectors including the zero modes that describes a D-brane of the Neumann-type. The free field realization of the WZW model is used to obtain the boundary state subject to the matching condition. We show that the resulting state coincides with Cardy's state. The structure of the BRST cohomology is realized by imposing the invariance of the state under the Weyl group of the current algebra.
Genetic design of biologically inspired receptive fields for neural pattern recognition

This paper proposes a new method for the design, through simulated evolution, of biologically inspired receptive fields in feedforward neural networks (NNs). The method is intended to enhance pattern recognition performance by creating new neural architectures specifically tuned for a particular pattern recognition problem. It proposes a combined neural architecture composed of two networks in cascade: a feature extraction network (FEN) followed by a neural classifier. The FEN is composed of several layers with receptive fields constructed by additive superposition of excitatory and inhibitory fields. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to select receptive field parameters to improve classification performance. The parameters are receptive field size, orientation, and bias as well as the number of different receptive fields in each layer. Based on a random initial population where each individual represents a different neural architecture, the GA creates new enhanced individuals. The method is applied to handwritten digit classification and face recognition. In both problems, results show strong dependency between NN classification performance and receptive field architecture. GA selected parameters of the receptive fields produced improvements in the classification performance on the test set up to 90.8% for the problem of handwritten digit classification and up to 84.2% for the face recognition problem. On the same test sets, results were compared advantageously to standard feedforward multilayer perceptron (MLP) NNs where receptive fields are not explicitly defined. The MLP reached a maximum classification performance of 84.9% and 77.5% in both problems, respectively.
Preferential influx and decreased fractional loss of lipoprotein(a) in atherosclerotic compared with nonlesioned rabbit aorta.

The aim was to investigate the atherogenic potential of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and to further our understanding of the atherogenic process by measuring rates of transfer into the intima-inner media (i.e., intimal clearance) and rates of loss from the intima-inner media (i.e., fractional loss) of Lp(a) and LDL using cholesterol-fed rabbits with nonlesioned (n = 13) or atherosclerotic aortas (n = 12). In each rabbit, 131I-Lp(a) (or 131I-LDL) was injected intravenously 26 h before and 125I-Lp(a) (or 125I-LDL) 3 h before the aorta was removed and divided into six consecutive segments of similar size. The intimal clearance of Lp(a) and LDL was similar and markedly increased in atherosclerotic compared with nonlesioned aortas (ANOVA, effect of atherosclerosis: P < 0.0001). Fractional losses of labeled Lp(a) and labeled LDL in atherosclerotic aorta were on average 25 and 43%, respectively, of that in nonlesioned aortas (ANOVA, effect of atherosclerosis: P < 0.0001). Fractional loss of Lp(a) was 73% of that of LDL (ANOVA, effect of type of lipoprotein: P = 0.07). These data suggest that the development of atherosclerosis is associated with increased influx as well as decreased fractional loss of Lp(a) and LDL from the intima. Accordingly, Lp(a) may share with LDL the potential for causing atherosclerosis.
GALICS I: A hybrid N-body semi-analytic model of hierarchical galaxy formation

This is the first paper of a series that describes the methods and basic results of the galics model (Galaxies In Cosmological Simulations). galics is a hybrid model for hierarchical galaxy formation studies, combining the outputs of large cosmological N-body simulations with simple, semi-analytic recipes to describe the fate of the baryons within dark matter haloes. The simulations produce a detailed merging tree for the dark matter haloes, including complete knowledge of the statistical properties arising from the gravitational forces. We intend to predict the overall statistical properties of galaxies, with special emphasis on the panchromatic spectral energy distribution emitted by galaxies in the ultraviolet/optical and infrared/submillimetre wavelength ranges. In this paper, we outline the physically motivated assumptions and key free parameters that go into the model, comparing and contrasting with other parallel efforts. We specifically illustrate the success of the model in comparison with several data sets, showing how it is able to predict the galaxy disc sizes, colours, luminosity functions from the ultraviolet to far infrared, the Tully–Fisher and Faber–Jackson relations, and the fundamental plane in the local Universe. We also identify certain areas where the model fails, or where the assumptions needed to succeed are at odds with observations, and pay special attention to understanding the effects of the finite resolution of the simulations on the predictions made. Other papers in this series will take advantage of different data sets available in the literature to extend the study of the limitations and predictive power of galics, with particular emphasis put on high-redshift galaxies.
The State, International Agencies, and Property Transformation in Postcommunist Hungary1

This article challenges evolutionary accounts of property transformation in postcommunist Hungary, which hold that novel property forms based on interenterprise ownership have emerged in that country. It shows that private property has emerged as the predominant category of ownership in Hungary and explains the rapid diffusion of private ownership by focusing on the actions of the state and international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. Following the collapse of communism, state actors in Hungary promoted the domestic accumulation of capital by subsidizing the sale of state enterprises to private parties, particularly enterprise insiders. Pressures from international agencies ultimately forced government officials to abandon this policy, however, and to conform to a neoliberal model of the state that allowed direct foreign investment. The conclusion considers the capacity of states to intervene in economic processes in an environment increasingly dominated by suprastate agencies.