Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MiR-29a and MiR-140 Protect Chondrocytes against the Anti-Proliferation and Cell Matrix Signaling Changes by IL-1β

As a degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) constitutes a major cause of disability that seriously affects the quality of life of a large population of people worldwide. However, effective treatment that can successfully reverse OA progression is lacking until now. The present study aimed to determine whether two small non-coding RNAs miR-29a and miR-140, which are significantly down-regulated in OA, can be applied together as potential therapeutic targets for OA treatment. MiRNA synergy score was used to screen the miRNA pairs that potentially synergistically regulate OA. An in vitro model of OA was established by treating murine chondrocytes with IL-1β. Transfection of miR-29a and miR-140 via plasmids was investigated on chondrocyte proliferation and expression of nine genes such as ADAMTS4, ADAMTS5, ACAN, COL2A1, COL10A1, MMP1, MMP3, MMP13 and TIMP metal-lopeptidase inhibitor 1 (TIMP1). Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression level of MMP13 and TIMP1, and ELISA was used to detect the content of type II collagen. Combined use of miR-29a and miR-140 successfully reversed the destructive effect of IL-1β on chondrocyte proliferation, and notably affected the MMP13 and TIMP1 gene expression that regulates extracellular matrix. Although co-transfection of miR-29a and miR-140 did not show a synergistic effect on MMP13 protein expression and type II collagen release, but both of them can significantly suppress the protein abundance of MMP13 and restore the type II collagen release in IL-1β treated chondrocytes. Compared with single miRNA transfection, cotransfection of both miRNAs exceedingly abrogated the suppressed the protein production of TIMP1 caused by IL-1β, thereby suggesting potent synergistic action. These results provided novel insights into the important function of miRNAs’ collaboration in OA pathological development. The reduced MMP13, and enhanced TIMP1 protein production and type II collagen release also implies that miR-29a and miR-140 combination treatment may be a possible treatment for OA.
Spin asymmetries A(1) of the proton and the deuteron in the low x and low Q(2) region from polarized high energy muon scattering - art. no. 072004

We present the results of the spin asymmetries Al of the proton and the deuteron in the kinematic region extending down to x = 6 x 10(-5) and Q(2) = 0.01 GeV2. The data were taken with a dedicated low x trigger, which required hadron detection in addition
Network expansion in OpenStack cloud federations

Cloud federation is receiving increasing attention due to the benefits of resilience and locality it brings to cloud providers and users. Our analysis of three diverse use cases shows that existing solutions are not addressing the federation needs of such use case applications. In this paper, we present an alternative approach to network federation, providing a model based on cloud-to-cloud agreements. In our scenarios, companies hosting their own OpenStack clouds need to run machines transparently in another cloud, provided by a company they have an agreement with. Our solution provides multiple benefits to cloud providers and users detailed in this paper. Our implementation outperforms the VPNaaS solution in OpenStack in terms of throughput.
Effect of bacteria on nutritional status and reproductive success of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata

Abstract Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann, Diptera: Tephritidae) harbor a community of diazotrophic bacteria in their digestive system. The present study aims to test the hypothesis that bacteria contribute to fly fitness by enhancing copulatory success and egg production in males and females, respectively. After eclosion, flies were fed a full diet containing peptides, sugar and minerals, or a sugar diet, lacking peptides. Subgroups from each diet were fed a mixture of the antibiotics ciprofloxacin and piperacillin. The presence of bacteria, food consumption, weight gain, lipid and protein levels, oviposition in females and copulatory success of males were quantified in the four groups. The antibiotic treatment effectively cleared the gut of bacteria. The relative amounts of food consumed (with or without antibiotics) are similar in all groups. The antibiotics do not inhibit feeding, and their ingestion does not affect dry weight or the amount of protein stored, yet females feeding on the full diet without antibiotics have increased lipid levels. Females fed the full diet produce significantly more eggs than females on the sugar diet, but the presence of bacteria does not affect numbers of eggs produced. However, in the absence of bacteria, the oviposition rate of nutritionally stressed females is significantly accelerated. The presence of bacteria in sugar fed males does not provide them with a mating advantage. Conversely, in males fed a full diet, the presence of bacteria is associated significantly with a shorter latency to mate. It is concluded that, because the bacterial community is present at all stages of the fly’s life cycle, at least some species are effectively transmitted from parents to offspring, and removal of bacteria affects measurable physiological and behavioural parameters related to fitness, the association between bacteria and the medfly is mutualistic.
The GTPase Rab26 links synaptic vesicles to the autophagy pathway

Small GTPases of the Rab family not only regulate target recognition in membrane traffic but also control other cellular functions such as cytoskeletal transport and autophagy. Here we show that Rab26 is specifically associated with clusters of synaptic vesicles in neurites. Overexpression of active but not of GDP-preferring Rab26 enhances vesicle clustering, which is particularly conspicuous for the EGFP-tagged variant, resulting in a massive accumulation of synaptic vesicles in neuronal somata without altering the distribution of other organelles. Both endogenous and induced clusters co-localize with autophagy-related proteins such as Atg16L1, LC3B and Rab33B but not with other organelles. Furthermore, Atg16L1 appears to be a direct effector of Rab26 and binds Rab26 in its GTP-bound form, albeit only with low affinity. We propose that Rab26 selectively directs synaptic and secretory vesicles into preautophagosomal structures, suggesting the presence of a novel pathway for degradation of synaptic vesicles. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.05597. 001
Central Neuraxial Blockade-Assisted External Cephalic Version in Reducing Caesarean Section Rate: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

We review the medical literature on the success, safety and economic value of central neuraxial blockade-assisted (CNB) external cephalic version from randomized controlled studies identified from 1951 to 2009. The result showed that more women had successful ECV with regional anaesthesia with corresponding reduction in caesarean section rate. They were 1.5 times more likely than women not receiving anaesthesia to have a successful ECV. The number to treat is six women needed to receive anaesthesia for 1 baby to be turned from breech to cephalic presentation. Feto-maternal morbidity was not increased in the CNB-aided group consisting of only transient bradycardia. Although the appropriate amount of force for safe version has not been quantified, there was no report of uterine rupture despite removal of these patients from “excessive force-pain biofeedback loop” induced through motor nerve blockade. We can attribute 30% of cost savings amounting to £42,150.00 directly to CNB using the most up to date Health Resource Group Code (HRG4). The initial results are encouraging but until the benefits and safety of CNB-aided ECV are substantiated by large randomized, blinded controlled trials, this practice cannot be universally recommended.
New Insight Into the Association of Apolipoprotein E Genetic Variants With Carotid Plaques and Intima-Media Thickness

Background and Purpose— Carotid plaques and elevated carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) are major predictors of vascular morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to test their association with 2 polymorphisms of the apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene, ϵ and -219G/T. Methods— The study was performed on 5856 subjects aged ≥65 years recruited from the French population for the Three-City Study. Carotid ultrasound examination included an assessment of atherosclerotic plaques in the extracranial carotid arteries and a measurement of IMT in the common carotid arteries (CCA) at a site free of plaques. The genetic association was tested using genotype and haplotype analyses. Results— In a multivariate analysis including both polymorphisms and vascular risk factors, carotid plaques were more frequent in ϵ4 homozygotes (adjusted odds ratio=2.12, 95% CI=1.27 to 3.53) and less frequent in ϵ2 carriers (adjusted odds ratio=0.79, 95% CI=0.66 to 0.95) compared with ϵ3 homozygotes. Adjusting for and stratifying on lipid levels did not modify these results. CCA-IMT was higher in carriers of the ϵ34 genotype (mean CCA-IMT=0.744 mm versus 0.732 mm for the ϵ33 genotype, P=0.002), but the association disappeared after excluding subjects with carotid plaques. No association was found between the -219 polymorphism and either carotid plaques or CCA-IMT, and there was no interaction or cis-effect between -219 and ϵ. Conclusions— This study, conducted on a large population cohort of French elderly, demonstrated that carotid plaques were significantly associated with the apoE ϵ polymorphism independently of the -219 polymorphism and vascular risk factors, in particular lipid levels.
Predictable and distinguishable morphing of vibrotactile rhythm

Vibrotactile (VT) icons are a ubiquitous, increasingly expressive and expected communicative element of many user interfaces, routinely deployed with technology from rumble motors to novel expressive tactile actuators. However, it is still difficult to design, customize, and experiment with VT feedback. Here we consider manipulation of one of the most salient VT design elements, rhythm, through perceptual morphing. The ability to create perceptual morphs between pairs of VT signal parents expands editorial scope and precision for designers, end-users, and hapticians. To assess perceptual morphs, we propose criteria of predictability — a morph has similarities to one or both parents; and distinguishability — a morph is different from its parents. We developed a new algorithm for perceptual rhythm morphing based on dynamic-time warping (DTW), implemented in an open-source online tool, MacaronMix. Two studies revealed limits and conditions under which DTW-produced VT rhythm morphs are predictable and distinguishable.
Role of MAPK Phosphatase-1 in the Induction of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 during the Course of Adipocyte Hypertrophy*

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), an important chemokine whose expression is increased during the course of obesity, plays a role in macrophage infiltration into obese adipose tissue. This study was designed to elucidate the role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) in the induction of MCP-1 during the course of adipocyte hypertrophy. We examined the time course of MKP-1 and MCP-1 mRNA expression and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in the adipose tissue from mice rendered mildly obese by a short term high fat diet. We also studied the role of MKP-1 in the induction of MCP-1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes during the course of adipocyte hypertrophy. MCP-1 mRNA expression was increased, followed by ERK activation and down-regulation of MKP-1, an inducible dual specificity phosphatase to inactivate ERK, in the adipose tissue at the early stage of obesity induced by a short term high fat diet, when macrophages are not infiltrated. Down-regulation of MKP-1 preceded ERK activation and increased production of MCP-1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in vitro during the course of adipocyte hypertrophy. Adenovirus-mediated restoration of MKP-1 in hypertrophied 3T3-L1 adipocytes reduced the otherwise increased ERK phosphorylation, thereby leading to the significant reduction of MCP-1 mRNA expression. This study provides evidence that the down-regulation of MKP-1 is critical for increased production of MCP-1 during the course of adipocyte hypertrophy.
On Using Chi Square Based Term Scoring for Static Index Pruning

In this study, a novel technique for static index pruning based on document relevance with chi square scoring is presented. The term presents in the document are score using the chi-square statistical method. It takes into account the term's occurrences and the expected frequency in the document. The expected frequency is estimated by the term's entropy and the dispersion value of the document. During the computation of document score, the associated terms are averaged by their chi-square based score. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on the FIRE 2010 dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed approach increases the Precision for pruning level 60 and above for the top-30 documents retrieval.
COSMIC REIONIZATION AND EARLY STAR-FORMING GALAXIES: A JOINT ANALYSIS OF NEW CONSTRAINTS FROM PLANCK AND THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

We discuss new constraints on the epoch of cosmic reionization and test the assumption that most of the ionizing photons responsible arose from high-redshift star-forming galaxies. Good progress has been made in charting the end of reionization through spectroscopic studies of z ≃ ? > 6–8 QSOs, gamma-ray bursts, and galaxies expected to host Lyα emission. However, the most stringent constraints on its duration have come from the integrated optical depth, τ, of Thomson scattering to the cosmic microwave background. Using the latest data on the abundance and luminosity distribution of distant galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we simultaneously match the reduced value τ = 0.066 ± 0.012 ? > recently reported by the Planck collaboration and the evolving neutrality of the intergalactic medium with a reionization history within 6 ≲ z ≲ 10 ? > , thereby reducing the requirement for a significant population of very high redshift ( z ≫ 10 ? > ) galaxies. Our analysis strengthens the conclusion that star-forming galaxies dominated the reionization process and has important implications for upcoming 21 cm experiments and searches for early galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope.
Affine Point Processes: Approximation and Efficient Simulation

We establish a central limit theorem and a large deviations principle for affine point processes, which are stochastic models of correlated event timing widely used in finance and economics. These limit results generate closed-form approximations to the distribution of an affine point process. They also facilitate the construction of an asymptotically optimal importance sampling estimator of tail probabilities. Numerical tests illustrate our results.
Covariation assessment for neutral and emotional verbal stimuli in paranoid delusions.

OBJECTIVES Selective processing of emotion-relevant information is considered a central feature in various types of psychopathology, yet the mechanisms underlying these biases are not well understood. One of the first steps in processing information is to gather data to judge the covariation or association of events. The aim of this study was to explore whether patients with persecutory delusions would show a covariation bias when processing stimuli related to social threat. DESIGN AND METHODS We assessed estimations of covariation in-patients with current persecutory (CP) beliefs (N=40), patients with past persecutory (PP) beliefs (N=25), and a non-clinical control (NC) group (N=36). Covariation estimations were assessed under three different experimental conditions. The first two conditions focused on neutral behaviours (Condition 1) and psychological traits (Condition 2) for two distant cultural groups, while the third condition included self-relevant material by exposing the participant to either protective social (positive) or threatening social (negative) statements about the participant or a third person. RESULTS Our results showed that all participants were precise in their covariation estimations. However, when judging covariation for self-relevant sentences related to social statements (Condition 3), all groups showed a significant tendency to associate positive social interaction (protection themed) sentences to the self. Yet, when using sentences related to social-threat, the CP group showed a bias consisting of overestimating the number of self-referent sentences. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that there was no specific covariation assessment bias related to paranoid beliefs. Both NCs and participants with persecutory beliefs showed a similar pattern of results when processing neutral or social threat-related sentences. The implications for understanding of the role of self-referent information processing biases in delusion formation are discussed.
The Price of Sex: Condom Use and the Determinants of the Price of Sex Among Female Sex Workers in Eastern Zimbabwe

Background. Higher prices for unprotected sex threaten the high levels of condom use that contributed to the decline in Zimbabwe's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. To improve understanding of financial pressures competing against safer sex, we explore factors associated with the price of commercial sex in rural eastern Zimbabwe. Methods. We collected and analyzed cross-sectional data on 311 women, recruited during October–December 2010, who reported that they received payment for their most-recent or second-most-recent sex acts in the past year. Zero-inflated negative binomial models with robust standard errors clustered on female sex worker (FSW) were used to explore social and behavioral determinants of price. Results. The median price of sex was $10 (interquartile range [IQR], $5–$20) per night and $10 (IQR, $5–$15) per act. Amounts paid in cash and commodities did not differ significantly. At the most-recent sex act, more-educated FSWs received 30%–74% higher payments. Client requests for condom use significantly predicted protected sex (P < .01), but clients paid on average 42.9% more for unprotected sex. Conclusions. Within a work environment where clients' preferences determine condom use, FSWs effectively use their individual capital to negotiate the terms of condom use. Strengthening FSWs' preferences for protected sex could help maintain high levels of condom use.
Combining affinity proteomics and network context to identify new phosphatase substrates and adapters in growth pathways

Protein phosphorylation homoeostasis is tightly controlled and pathological conditions are caused by subtle alterations of the cell phosphorylation profile. Altered levels of kinase activities have already been associated to specific diseases. Less is known about the impact of phosphatases, the enzymes that down-regulate phosphorylation by removing the phosphate groups. This is partly due to our poor understanding of the phosphatase-substrate network. Much of phosphatase substrate specificity is not based on intrinsic enzyme specificity with the catalytic pocket recognizing the sequence/structure context of the phosphorylated residue. In addition many phosphatase catalytic subunits do not form a stable complex with their substrates. This makes the inference and validation of phosphatase substrates a non-trivial task. Here, we present a novel approach that builds on the observation that much of phosphatase substrate selection is based on the network of physical interactions linking the phosphatase to the substrate. We first used affinity proteomics coupled to quantitative mass spectrometry to saturate the interactome of eight phosphatases whose down regulations was shown to affect the activation of the RAS-PI3K pathway. By integrating information from functional siRNA with protein interaction information, we develop a strategy that aims at inferring phosphatase physiological substrates. Graph analysis is used to identify protein scaffolds that may link the catalytic subunits to their substrates. By this approach we rediscover several previously described phosphatase substrate interactions and characterize two new protein scaffolds that promote the dephosphorylation of PTPN11 and ERK by DUSP18 and DUSP26, respectively.
Agreement Among Four Models Used for Diagnosing Learning Disabilities

We compared the level of agreement among four models used to diagnose learning disabilities (LD), including the simple discrepancy, intraindividual, intellectual ability—achievement, and underachievement models. The sample included 170 clinic-referred university students. The simple discrepancy model diagnosed significantly more students with LD than the other three models. The highest degree of agreement occurred between the intraindividual and intellectual ability—achievement models (70%); the lowest level of agreement occurred between the simple discrepancy and underachievement models (48%). Finally, only two of the six comparisons among the four models demonstrated significant correlations. We conclude that even when discrepancy models diagnose similar numbers of students with LD, the same students are not diagnosed across different models.
Detecting Flood Variations in Shanghai over 1949-2009 with Mann-Kendall Tests and a Newspaper-Based Database

A valuable aid to assessing and managing flood risk lies in a reliable database of historical floods. In this study, a newspaper-based flood database for Shanghai (NFDS) for the period 1949–2009 was developed through a systematic scanning of newspapers. After calibration and validation of the database, Mann-Kendall tests and correlation analysis were applied to detect possible changes in flood frequencies. The analysis was carried out for three different flood types: overbank flood, agricultural waterlogging, and urban waterlogging. The compiled NFDS registered 146 floods and 92% of them occurred in the flood-prone season from June to September. The statistical analyses showed that both the annual flood and the floods in June–August increased significantly. Urban waterlogging showed a very strong increasing trend, probably because of insufficient capacity of urban drainage system and impacts of rapid urbanization. By contrast, the decrease in overbank flooding and the slight increase in agricultural waterlogging were likely because of the construction of river levees and seawalls and the upgrade of agricultural drainage systems, respectively. This study demonstrated the usefulness of local newspapers in building a historical flood database and in assessing flood characterization.
The solution of the point contact elasto-hydrodynamic problem

A numerical solution method is described for the determination of oil film shape and film pressure in the lubricated contact between an elastic sphere rolling on an elastic plane. Steady loading and an isothermal film are assumed. The Reynolds equation (governing film pressure) and the elasticity equation (governing deformation) are solved simultaneously for a lubricant with the pressure-viscosity characteristic η = η0eαp treatment of the elasticity equation is described such that the deformation matrix is sufficiently compact. To give generality to the solution a set of results was subjected to multiple regression, which indicated that the influence of load on film thickness was very small. The regression results compare well with published data. The effect of restricting the amount of lubricant to the contact was also studied. The computed film shapes under such ‘starved’ conditions were found to be very close to those found by optical interferometry.