Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resveratrol promotes MICA/B expression and natural killer cell lysis of breast cancer cells by suppressing c-Myc/miR-17 pathway

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related proteins A and B (MICA and MICB) are important ligands for recognition of tumor cells by immune effector cells. Here, we report that resveratrol upregulated the protein and mRNA expression of MICA and MICB in breast cancer cells, which in turn promoted breast cancer cell lysis by natural killer (NK) cells in vitro and in vivo. Antibodies against NK group 2 member D blocked this effect. The 3′-untranslated regions of MICA and MICB were found to be direct binding targets of miR-17. MICA and MICB expression increased or decreased in breast cancer cells transfected with a miR-17 inhibitor or mimic, respectively. C-Myc overexpression/knockdown increased/decreased transcription of the miR-17-92 cluster host gene. Resveratrol suppressed c-Myc expression, which inhibited the transcription of miR-17-92 cluster, thereby downregulating miR-17. MiR-17 expression correlated inversely with MICA and MICB expression and overall survival in two sets of breast cancer specimens. Resveratrol thus upregulates MICA and MICB by suppressing the c-Myc/miR-17 pathway in breast cancer cells, and increases the cytolysis of breast cancer cells by NK cells. This suggests resveratrol has the potential to promote antitumor immune responses in breast cancer patients.
MORTALITY AMONG PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

The mortality of all patients seen at the Department of Psychiatry, the General Hospital in Lund, Sweden during 1962 was studied for the years 1962–1968. The number of deaths was 260. The expected number of deaths in a corresponding sample of the general population was 159. The mortality was significantly increased in both men and women. The ratio between observed and expected mortality was highest in the younger age groups. The overmortality was due mainly to an increased number of suicides, accidents and nervous and circulatory diseases in the men and suicide and cancer in women.
Doing it the hard way: How low control drives preferences for high-effort products and services

Consumers often face situations in which their feelings of personal control are threatened. In such contexts, what role should products play in helping consumers pursue their goals (e.g., losing weight, maintaining a clean home)? Across five studies, we challenge the traditional view that low control is detrimental to effort and demonstrate that consumers prefer products that require them to engage in hard work when feelings of control are low. Such high-effort products reassure individuals that desired outcomes are possible while also enabling them to feel as if they have driven their own outcomes. We also identify important boundary conditions, finding that both the nature of individuals' thoughts about control and their perceived rate of progress toward goals are important factors in the desire to exert increased effort.
Detection of Lung Dysfunction Using Ventilation and Perfusion SPECT in a Mouse Model of Chronic Cigarette Smoke Exposure

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) is a major risk factor for developing this chronic airflow impairment, but the early progression of disease is not well defined or understood. Ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) SPECT provides a noninvasive assessment of lung function to further our current understanding of how CS affects the lung. Methods: BALB/c mice were imaged with V/Q SPECT and CT after 8 and 24 wk of whole-body exposure to mainstream CS. Bronchoalveolar lavage was collected and cell differentials produced to determine inflammatory patterns. Histologic lung sections were collected, and a semiautomated quantitative analysis of airspace enlargement was applied to whole histology slices. Results: Exposure to CS induced an inflammatory response that included increases in the numbers of both mononuclear cells and neutrophils. Airspace enlargement was also significantly increased at 8 wk of CS exposure and was still more pronounced at 24 wk. Ventilation and perfusion correlation at the voxel level depicted a significant decrease in matching at 8 wk of CS exposure that was also apparent after 24 wk. The standard deviation (SD) of the log(V/Q) curve, a basic measure of heterogeneity, was increased from 0.44 ± 0.02 in age-matched controls to 0.62 ± 0.05 with CS exposure at 24 wk, indicating an increase in V/Q mismatching between 8 and 24 wk of CS exposure. CT, however, was not capable of discriminating control from CS-exposed animals at either time point, even with greater resolution and respiratory gating. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that, before CT detection of structural changes, V/Q imaging detected changes in gas-exchange potential. This functional impairment corresponded to increased lung inflammation and increased airspace enlargement. In vivo V/Q imaging can detect early changes to the lung caused by CS exposure and thus provides a noninvasive method of longitudinally studying lung dysfunction in preclinical models. In the future, these measures could be applied clinically to study and diagnose the early stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Men's leisure and women's lives: the impact of pornography on women

The issue of pornography as a form of leisure practice has received little attention from researchers. In this study, the impact of pornography consumption on women's lives was examined. A diverse group of thirty-two women was interviewed, with discussion focusing on their individual experiences, meanings, and perceptions of pornography. The women's reactions to pornography, especially to violent pornography, were consistently negative. Pornography elicited fear reactions, had a negative effect on women's identities and on their relationships with men, and was seen to reinforce sexist attitudes among men. Despite this, many of the women felt that their opinions were not ‘legitimate’, and overt resistance to pornography was often muted. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of pornography in the reproduction of gender, the ideology of individualism, and the potential for resistance among women.
The Honey Bee Pathosphere of Mongolia: European Viruses in Central Asia

Parasites and pathogens are apparent key factors for the detrimental health of managed European honey bee subspecies, Apis mellifera. Apicultural trade is arguably the main factor for the almost global distribution of most honey bee diseases, thereby increasing chances for multiple infestations/infections of regions, apiaries, colonies and even individual bees. This imposes difficulties to evaluate the effects of pathogens in isolation, thereby creating demand to survey remote areas. Here, we conducted the first comprehensive survey for 14 honey bee pathogens in Mongolia (N = 3 regions, N = 9 locations, N = 151 colonies), where honey bee colonies depend on humans to overwinter. In Mongolia, honey bees, Apis spp. , are not native and colonies of European A. mellifera subspecies have been introduced ~60 years ago. Despite the high detection power and large sample size across Mongolian regions with beekeeping, the mite Acarapis woodi, the bacteria Melissococcus plutonius and Paenibacillus larvae, the microsporidian Nosema apis, Acute bee paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus and Lake Sinai virus strain 2 were not detected, suggesting that they are either very rare or absent. The mite Varroa destructor, Nosema ceranae and four viruses (Sacbrood virus, Black queen cell virus, Deformed wing virus (DWV) and Chronic bee paralysis virus) were found with different prevalence. Despite the positive correlation between the prevalence of V. destructor mites and DWV, some areas had only mites, but not DWV, which is most likely due to the exceptional isolation of apiaries (up to 600 km). Phylogenetic analyses of the detected viruses reveal their clustering and European origin, thereby supporting the role of trade for pathogen spread and the isolation of Mongolia from South-Asian countries. In conclusion, this survey reveals the distinctive honey bee pathosphere of Mongolia, which offers opportunities for exciting future research.
Prevalence and Sequence-Based Identity of Rumen Fluke in Cattle and Deer in New Caledonia

An abattoir survey was performed in the French Melanesian archipelago of New Caledonia to determine the prevalence of paramphistomes in cattle and deer and to generate material for molecular typing at species and subspecies level. Prevalence in adult cattle was high at animal level (70% of 387 adult cattle) and batch level (81%). Prevalence was lower in calves at both levels (33% of 484 calves, 51% at batch level). Animals from 2 of 7 deer farms were positive for rumen fluke, with animal-level prevalence of 41.4% (29/70) and 47.1% (33/70), respectively. Using ITS-2 sequencing, 3 species of paramphistomes were identified, i.e. Calicophoron calicophorum, Fischoederius elongatus and Orthocoelium streptocoelium. All three species were detected in cattle as well as deer, suggesting the possibility of rumen fluke transmission between the two host species. Based on heterogeneity in ITS-2 sequences, the C. calicophorum population comprises two clades, both of which occur in cattle as well as deer. The results suggest two distinct routes of rumen fluke introduction into this area. This approach has wider applicability for investigations of the origin of rumen fluke infections and for the possibility of parasite transmission at the livestock-wildlife interface.
Neurogenesis paradoxically decreases both pattern separation and memory interference

The hippocampus has been the focus of memory research for decades. While the functional role of this structure is not fully understood, it is widely recognized as being vital for rapid yet accurate encoding and retrieval of associative memories. Since the discovery of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus by Altman and Das in the 1960's, many theories and models have been put forward to explain the functional role it plays in learning and memory. These models postulate different ways in which new neurons are introduced into the dentate gyrus and their functional importance for learning and memory. Few if any previous models have incorporated the unique properties of young adult-born dentate granule cells and the developmental trajectory. In this paper, we propose a novel computational model of the dentate gyrus that incorporates the developmental trajectory of the adult-born dentate granule cells, including changes in synaptic plasticity, connectivity, excitability and lateral inhibition, using a modified version of the Restricted Boltzmann machine. Our results show superior performance on memory reconstruction tasks for both recent and distally learned items, when the unique characteristics of young dentate granule cells are taken into account. Even though the hyperexcitability of the young neurons generates more overlapping neural codes, reducing pattern separation, the unique properties of the young neurons nonetheless contribute to reducing retroactive and proactive interference, at both short and long time scales. The sparse connectivity is particularly important for generating distinct memory traces for highly overlapping patterns that are learned within the same context.
The Effect of Low-Dose Remifentanil on Responses to the Endotracheal Tube During Emergence from General Anesthesia

BACKGROUND: Emergence from general anesthesia can be associated with coughing, agitation, and hemodynamic disturbances. Remifentanil may attenuate these responses. METHODS: In a prospective, double-blind, randomized trial, we enrolled 60 adult patients undergoing nasal surgery using remifentanil-based anesthesia. During the emergence phase, the remifentanil group had remifentanil reduced to one tenth of the maintenance rate, whereas the control group had remifentanil discontinued. RESULTS: Times to awakening and tracheal extubation were similar between the two groups. During emergence, the remifentanil group (infusion rate 0.014 ± 0.011 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1) had a significantly lower incidence (40% vs 80%, P = 0.002) and less severe coughing compared with the control group, as well as a lower incidence of nonpurposeful movement (3.3% vs 30%, P = 0.006) and slower heart rates. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose remifentanil during emergence did not prolong wake-up but reduced the incidence and severity of coughing from the endotracheal tube.
Circulating chemokines in relation to coronary plaque characteristics on radiofrequency intravascular ultrasound and cardiovascular outcome

Abstract Objective: To investigate relations of several circulating chemokines with extent and phenotype of coronary atherosclerosis and with 1-year clinical outcome. Methods: Intravascular ultrasound virtual histology (IVUS-VH) imaging of a coronary artery was performed in 581 patients. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), MIP-1β and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) were measured in plasma. Results: Higher MCP-1, MIP-1α and lower RANTES were associated with coronary plaque burden. Higher MCP-1, MIP-1α and lower RANTES were associated with the presence of IVUS-VH-derived thin-cap fibroatheroma lesions. RANTES was associated with major adverse cardiac events. Conclusions: RANTES is a promising biomarker that is inversely associated with coronary plaque burden and vulnerability, as well as with death and acute coronary syndrome. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01789411.
A Weighted Essentially Nonoscillatory, Large Time-Step Scheme for Hamilton-Jacobi Equations

We investigate the application of weighted essentially nonoscillatory (WENO) reconstructions to a class of semi-Lagrangian schemes for first order time-dependent Hamilton--Jacobi equations. In particular, we derive a general form of the scheme, study sufficient conditions for its convergence with high-order reconstructions, and perform numerical tests to study its efficiency. In addition, we prove that the weights of the WENO interpolants are positive for any order.
RAPPORT Branching Time and Orthogonal Bisimulation Equivalence

We propose a refinement of branching bisimulation equivalence that we call orthogonal bisimulation equivalence. Typically, internal activity (i.e., the performance of τ -steps) may be compressed, but not completely discarded. Hence, a process with τ -steps cannot be equivalent to one without τ -steps. Also, we present a modal characterization of orthogonal bisimulation equivalence. This equivalence is a congruence for ACP extended with abstraction and priority operations. We provide a complete axiomatization, and describe some expressiveness results. Finally, we present the verification of a PAR protocol that is specified with use of priorities. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 68Q55; 68Q60; 68Q70; 68Q85
Evaluation of left gastric vein in Chinese healthy adults with multi-detector computed tomography

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the classification and diameter of left gastric vein (LGV) in healthy Chinese adults with multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT). Methods: MDCT angiography was performed in 234 healthy adults for the portal venous system. CT cross-sectional thin-layer reconstruction combined with maximum intensity projection, volume rendering and multiplanar reconstruction were applied. The diameter of LGV was measured at the point within 2 cm from LGV origination. Results: Of 234 subjects, 11 subjects (4.70%) who did not have clear images were excluded, and 223 subjects (95.30%) with excellent images were included. The LGV was originated from the portal vein in 46.15%, splenic vein in 30.77%, portal splenic angle in 14.53%, and the left branch of the portal vein in 3.85%. The maximal diameter of LGV was 4.74 ± 0.84 mm with a 95% confidence interval of 4.63–4.85 mm, and the LGV diameter was positively correlated with the weight of patients (R = 0.26, P = 0.006). No significant difference existed in the maximal diameter of LGV at different origination sites (P = 0.35). The diameter of LGV was significantly greater in males than in females (4.90 ± 0.85 vs. 4.56 ± 0.80 mm, P = 0.002), and the maximal diameter of LGV was significantly (P = 0.02) greater in the age range of 30–39 and 40–49 years than in the range of >70 years. No statistical significance (P = 0.36) was detected in the other groups. Conclusion: MDCT can clearly display the detailed anatomy and variation of LGV in healthy adults, providing a normal range of LGV diameter for clinical reference for diagnosing possible portal hypertension and for possible intervention.
Modelling and experimental investigations of thin filmsof Mg phosphorus‐doped tungsten bronzes obtainedby ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

In this study, the synthesis of thin films of Mg phosphorus doped tungsten bronzes (MgPTB; MgHPW12O40·29H2O) by the self‐assembly of nano‐structured particles of MgPTB obtained using the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method was investigated. As the precursor, MgPTB, prepared by the ionic exchange method, was used. Nano‐structured particles of MgPTB were obtained using the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. The nano‐structure of the particles used as the building blocks in the MgPTB thin film were investigated experimentally and theoretically, applying the model given in this article. The obtained data for the mean particle size and their size distribution show a high degree of agreement. These previously tailored particles used for the preparation of thin films during the next synthesis step, by their self‐assembly over slow deposition on a silica glass substrate, show how it is possible to create thin MgPTB films under advance projected conditions of the applied physical fields with a fully determined nanostructure of their building block particles, with a relatively small roughness and unique physical properties.
That sounds sweet: using cross-modal correspondences to communicate gustatory attributes

Building on existing research into sound symbolism and cross-modal correspondences, this article proposes that cross-modal correspondences—systematic mappings between different sensory modalities—can be used to communicate nonmusical, low-level sensory properties such as basic tastes through music. A series of three experiments demonstrates that cross-modal correspondences enable people to systematically encode basic taste properties into parameters in musical space (Experiment 1), and that they are able to correctly decode basic taste information embedded in complex musical compositions (Experiments 2 and 3). The results also suggest some culture-specificity to these mappings, given that decoding performance, while still above chance levels, was lower in Indian participants than in those from the United States (Experiment 3). Implications and potential applications of these findings are discussed.
Occlusion robust adaptive template tracking

We propose a new method for tracking rigid objects in image sequences using template matching. A Kalman filter is used to make the template adapt to changes in object orientation or illumination. This approach is novel since the Kalman filter has been used in tracking mainly for smoothing the object trajectory. The performance of the Kalman filter is further improved by employing a robust and adaptive filtering algorithm. Special attention is paid to occlusion handling.
The Organization of Projections from Subdivisions of the Auditory Cortex and Thalamus to the Auditory Sector of the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus in Galago

Anterograde and retrograde transport techniques were used to study the connexions between different subdivisions of the auditory cortex and thalamus with the thalamic reticular nucleus in the prosimian, Galago. In particular, the goal was to determine whether the primary auditory nucleus, GMv, and its cortical target, area I of the auditory cortex (A I), project to a different region of the auditory sector of the reticular nucleus from the secondary auditory nuclei, GMmc and Po and their cortical targets outside A I. The results show that the projections to and from the auditory sector are indeed segregated: injections of wheatgerm agglutinin‐conjugated horseradish peroxidase into either GMmc or Po labelled cells and terminals along the medial, lateral and ventral borders of the auditory sector, forming a U‐shaped pattern. Projections from area II of the auditory cortex produced almost an identical pattern of the terminal labelling in the auditory sector. In contrast, injections into GMv‐labelled cells and terminals in the centre region of the auditory sector, in the ‘interior’ of the U‐shaped region. Projections from A I were distributed to both the U‐shaped border region and the central core of the auditory sector probably because A I received projections from GMmc, Po and GMv. The significance of these results depends on a comparison between the auditory and visual sectors of the reticular nucleus. Both sectors are divided into tiers or subsectors–one related to the primary relay nucleus, i.e. GLd or GMv, and the other related to the secondary relay nuclei, i.e. pulvinar nucleus, GMmc, Po, etc.
Examining Teacher Evaluation Validity and Leadership Decision Making Within a Standards-Based Evaluation System

Purpose: The article reports on a study of school leader decision making that examined variation in the validity of teacher evaluation ratings in a school district that has implemented a standards-based teacher evaluation system. Research Methods: Applying mixed methods, the study used teacher evaluation ratings and value-added student achievement data to identify 23 school leaders with “more” and “less” valid results. These leaders were interviewed to learn about their attitudes on teacher evaluation, their decision-making strategies, and school contexts. Results from interviews with a subset of eight school leaders with 2 years of consistent validity scores (n = 4 more valid and n = 4 less valid) were analyzed. Findings: Substantial variation was found in the relationship of evaluators' ratings of teachers and value-added measures of the average achievement of the teachers' students. The results did not yield a simple explanation for the differences in validity of evaluators' ratings. Instead, evaluators' decisions were found to be a complex and idiosyncratic function of motivation, skill, and context. Conclusion: The results suggested why overall validity of ratings was lower than expected and highlighted challenges in research on school leader decision making and cautions for using such decisions for high stakes purposes. Recommendations are provided for improving evaluation accuracy and validity, with considerations for performance evaluation policy and future research on school leader decision making and teacher evaluation.