Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum Adiponectin is Associated with Adverse Outcomes of Asthma in Men but Not in Women

Background: Murine studies suggest a beneficial effect of systemic adiponectin on asthma. Our objective was to determine the association between serum adiponectin concentrations and asthma control/severity outcomes in men and women separately. Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of data from years 10, 15, and 20 examinations of the prospective coronary artery risk development in young adults study in the United States were performed. Asthma was defined by self-reported provider diagnosis at or prior to year 15 examination. Outcomes included presence of active disease, number of respiratory symptoms, and number of asthma medications; as well as longitudinal decline in absolute FEV1. Year 15 serum adiponectin concentration was the predictor variable. Results: In a multivariable analysis of 411 eligible subjects, after adjusting for body mass index and covariates, higher serum adiponectin concentrations were associated with more frequent active disease (including more frequent use of any asthma medication), and greater number of respiratory symptoms and asthma medications among men but not among women with asthma (p for interactions between sex and adiponectin for all analyses < 0.05). Conclusions: Higher serum adiponectin concentrations may be independently associated with adverse clinical outcomes of asthma in men but not in women. If biological effect is confirmed in future studies, modification of systemic adiponectin concentrations may open up newer ways to treat asthma in men.
An Efficient Hybrid Usage-based Ranking model for information retrieval systems & web search Engine

There are billions of web pages available on the Internet. Search Engines always have a challenge to find the best ranked list to the user's query from those huge numbers of pages. A lot of search results that corresponding to a user's query are not relevant to the user need. Most of the page ranking algorithms use Link-based ranking (web structure) or Content-based ranking to calculate the relevancy of the information to the user's need, but those ranking algorithms might be not enough to provide a good ranked list. So, in this paper we proposed an Efficient Hybrid Usage-based Ranking Algorithm called EHURA. EHURA was applied to 1033 English Corpus to measure its performance. The result shows improvement of the precision for using EHURA over the Content-based ranking algorithm representation while realizing approximately the same recall percentage.
Scavenger Receptors on Sinusoidal Liver Endothelial Cells Are Involved in the Uptake of Aldehyde-Modified Proteins

Scavenger receptors on sinusoidal liver endothelial cells (SECs) eliminate potentially harmful modified proteins circulating through the liver. It was shown recently that aldehyde-modified proteins bind to scavenger receptors and are associated with the development/progression of alcoholic liver diseases. For these studies, rat livers were perfused in situ with 125I-formaldehyde-bovine serum albumin (f-Alb) or 125I-malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde-bovine serum albumin (MAA-Alb) in the presence of known scavenger receptor ligands as inhibitors. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and scavenger receptor Type A (SRA) knock-out mice were used to assess the role of these receptors in mediating immune responses. The degradation of 125I-f-Alb or 125I-MAA-Alb in whole livers and isolated SECs can be inhibited by known scavenger receptor ligands, including f-Alb, maleylated bovine albumin, and fucoidan. 125I-f-Alb could not be completely inhibited by MAA-Alb. In contrast, 125I-MAA-Alb was only partially inhibited with advanced glycosylated endproduct albumin. RT-PCR data show the presence of a number of scavenger receptors on SECs that may be responsible for the binding of MAA-modified proteins. SRA seems to be one of these receptors involved in the effects mediated by MAA-modified proteins. In a study using SRA knockout mice, it was shown that a decreased antibody response to MAA-Alb resulted. By RT-PCR, CD36, LOX-1, and SR-AI are the scavenger receptors most likely involved in the degradation of MAA-Alb.
Interleukin-1 Inhibits NMDA-Stimulated GnRH Secretion: Associated Effects on the Release of Hypothalamic Inhibitory Amino Acid Neurotransmitters

Immune system activation is often accompanied by alterations in the reproductive axis. Interleukin-1 (IL-1), a polypeptide cytokine, has been postulated as a chemical messenger between the immune and the neuroendocrine systems. Using superfused hypothalamic fragments explanted from intact male rats, we evaluated the effects of IL-1 (0.5 and 5 nM) on basal and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-stimulated release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), and the associated modifications in the output of inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitters involved in the control of GnRH secretion. IL-1 did not modify basal GnRH release, but markedly restrained the stimulatory effect of NMDA on GnRH secretion. γ-Aminobutyric acid, glycine and taurine concentrations significantly increased in the superfusion medium only after pretreatment with the higher dose of IL-1 (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that this cytokine inhibits NMDA- stimulated GnRH release, affecting the activity and/or the release of hypothalamic excitatory and inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitters participating in the regulation of GnRH secretion.
$H_{\infty}$  Control of Switched Nonlinear Systems in  $p$-Normal Form Using Multiple Lyapunov Functions

The problem of H∞ control of switched nonlinear systems in p-normal form is investigated in this technical note where the solvability of the H∞ control problem for individual subsystems is unnecessary. Using the generalized multiple Lyapunov functions method and the adding a power integrator technique, we design a switching law and construct continuous state feedback controllers of subsystems explicitly by a recursive design algorithm to produce global asymptotical stability and a prescribed H∞ performance level. Multiple Lyapunov functions are exploited to reduce the conservativeness caused by adoption of a common Lyapunov function for all subsystems, which is usually required when applying the backstepping-like recursive design scheme. An example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.
Effect of Inhaled Steroids on Increased Collagen Synthesis in Asthma

Background: We previously reported that sputum levels of procollagen type I C-terminal peptide (PICP), a marker of ongoing collagen type I deposition, are increased in proportion to airway inflammation in asthma patients. Objectives: In this study, we examined the effect of inhaled corticosteroids on increased collagen synthesis in step 2–4 asthmatics. Methods: We compared the sputum PICP concentrations of 25 steroid-naive asthmatics, 25 normal volunteers, and 10 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Asthma subjects were also instructed to start fluticasone propionate treatment, and the percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 s, sputum eosinophil counts, sputum PICP concentrations, and sputum transforming growth factor-β-positive cell counts before treatment were compared with those 1 month after treatment. Results: Sputum PICP concentrations were detected in the following order: asthma group ≧ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease group > control group. Asthma patients showing high sputum PICP belonged to step 4, although there was no correlation between sputum PICP and asthma severity. Treatment with fluticasone propionate not only significantly improved the mean percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (from 66.7 to 87.2%), but also decreased the mean sputum eosinophil counts (from 13.4 to 5.8%), the mean sputum PICP concentrations (from 30.8 to 10.2 ng/ml), and the mean sputum tumor growth factor-β-positive cells (from 11.3 to 2.8%). Nevertheless, a significant difference in sputum PICP concentrations was still observed between the control group and the steroid-treated asthma group. Conclusions: The present results suggest that inhaled corticosteroid treatment might reduce sputum indexes of collagen metabolism and eosinophilic inflammation in asthma patients.
Optimizing the makespan of washing operations of medical devices in hospital sterilization services

In this paper, we deal with the problem of minimizing the makespan of washing operations in hospitals sterilization services. After use in operating blocs, reusable medical devices (RMD) are sent to the sterilization service which is composed of various processes. In the washing step, different sets of RMD, used for different operations, may be washed together without exceeding washer capacity. An RMD set must be washed in one cycle and so, we are not allowed to split RMD sets. In this case, we consider a batch scheduling problem where RMD sets may have different sizes and different release dates for washing. Note that if all release dates are equal, the problem is reduced to a bin packing problem. We provide a mixed integer linear programming model which aims at minimizing the makespan of washing operations. We provide and also experiment some heuristics based on classical bin packing algorithms.
Spatio-temporal variation of rainfall over Bihar State, India

Abstract This study detected, for the first time, the long term annual and seasonal rainfall trends over Bihar state, India, between 1901 and 2002. The shift change point was identified with the cumulative deviation test (cumulative sum – CUSUM), and linear regression. After the shift change point was detected, the time series was subdivided into two groups: before and after the change point. Arc-Map 10.3 was used to evaluate the spatial distribution of the trends. It was found that annual and monsoon rainfall trends decreased significantly; no significant trends were observed in pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter rainfall. The average decline in rainfall rate was –2.17 mm·year−1 and –2.13 mm·year−1 for the annual and monsoon periods. The probable change point was 1956. The number of negative extreme events were higher in the later period (1957–2002) than the earlier period (1901–1956).
Disruption of thalamic functional connectivity is a neural correlate of dexmedetomidine-induced unconsciousness

Understanding the neural basis of consciousness is fundamental to neuroscience research. Disruptions in cortico-cortical connectivity have been suggested as a primary mechanism of unconsciousness. By using a novel combination of positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we studied anesthesia-induced unconsciousness and recovery using the α2-agonist dexmedetomidine. During unconsciousness, cerebral metabolic rate of glucose and cerebral blood flow were preferentially decreased in the thalamus, the Default Mode Network (DMN), and the bilateral Frontoparietal Networks (FPNs). Cortico-cortical functional connectivity within the DMN and FPNs was preserved. However, DMN thalamo-cortical functional connectivity was disrupted. Recovery from this state was associated with sustained reduction in cerebral blood flow and restored DMN thalamo-cortical functional connectivity. We report that loss of thalamo-cortical functional connectivity is sufficient to produce unconsciousness. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.04499. 001
New cranial material of Discosauriscus pulcherrimus (Seymouriamorpha, Discosauriscidae) from the Lower Permian of the Boskovice Basin (Czech Republic)

ABSTRACT We describe four newly discovered and three-dimensionally preserved specimens of the discosauriscid seymouriamorph Discosauriscus pulcherrimus from the Lower Permian lacustrine sediments of the Boskovice Basin (Czech Republic). Their excellent preservation revealed new cranial features that allowed us to present a new skull reconstruction of middle-sized specimens of this tetrapod. The new features include: (1) the sculpturing of the anterior wedge-like process of the parasphenoid consisting of irregular ridges, grooves, low elevations and pits; and (2) the presence of a pair of semicircular crests on the posterodorsal surface of the parasphenoidal plate. We discuss the intraspecific variability of several characters, such as the type of dermal cranial ornamentation, and the morphology of the sensory grooves, nasolacrimal canal, dentition on the pterygoids and parasphenoid. The lengths of the skulls of four new specimens range from about 18 to 31mm and represent larval ontogenetic stages.
Assessing the Seeds of Relationship Decay

Using two longitudinal samples, we sought to identify the beginnings of relationship decay by validating the partner-focused go/no-go association task (partner-GNAT), an implicit measure assessing evaluations of romantic partners. In Study 1, we assessed positive and negative attitudes using generic positive and negative stimulus words (e.g., gift and death, respectively) as targets, whereas in Study 2, we used relationship-specific positive and negative stimulus words (e.g., accepting and attacking, respectively) as targets. Results from both samples showed that positive implicit partner evaluations were associated with a reduced risk of breakup over the following 12 months, even after controlling for self-reported relationship satisfaction, hostile conflict, and neuroticism. This suggests that the earliest seeds of relationship decay might be found within attitudes that subjects might be unaware of or are unable or unwilling to report. Both studies also offered support for the importance of negative implicit partner evaluations. In Study 1, this support was in the form of an interaction (revealing that individuals with both low positive and high negative evaluations were at greatest risk for breakup). In Study 2, this support was in the form of a main effect (negative implicit partner evaluations marginally predicted increased risk of breakup).
Channeling of red and green cone inputs to the zebrafish optomotor response

Visual systems break scenes down into individual features, processed in distinct channels, and then selectively recombine those features according to the demands of particular behavioral tasks. In primates, for example, there are distinct pathways for motion and form processing. While form vision utilizes color information, motion pathways receive input from only a subset of cone photoreceptors and are generally colorblind. To explore the link between early channeling of visual information and behavioral output across vertebrate species, we measured the chromatic inputs to the optomotor response of larval zebrafish. Using cone-isolating gratings, we found that there is a strong input from both red and green cones but not short-wavelength cones, which nevertheless do contribute to another behavior, phototaxis. Using a motion-nulling method, we measured precisely the input strength of gratings that stimulated cones in combination. The fish do not respond to gratings that stimulate different cone types out of phase, but have an enhanced response when the cones are stimulated together. This shows that red and green cone signals are pooled at a stage before motion detection. Since the two cone inputs are combined into a single ‘luminance’ channel, the response to sinusoidal gratings is colorblind. However, we also find that the relative contributions of the two cones at isoluminance varies with spatial frequency. Therefore, natural stimuli, which contain a mixture of spatial frequencies, are likely to be visible regardless of their chromatic composition.
The diverse and expanding role of mass spectrometry in structural and molecular biology

The emergence of proteomics has led to major technological advances in mass spectrometry (MS). These advancements not only benefitted MS‐based high‐throughput proteomics but also increased the impact of mass spectrometry on the field of structural and molecular biology. Here, we review how state‐of‐the‐art MS methods, including native MS, top‐down protein sequencing, cross‐linking‐MS, and hydrogen–deuterium exchange‐MS, nowadays enable the characterization of biomolecular structures, functions, and interactions. In particular, we focus on the role of mass spectrometry in integrated structural and molecular biology investigations of biological macromolecular complexes and cellular machineries, highlighting work on CRISPR–Cas systems and eukaryotic transcription complexes.
Low Plasma Levels of FGF-2 and PDGF-BB Are Associated with Cardiovascular Events in Type II Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetes Heart Study)

Objective: We tested associations of the growth factors VEGF, FGF-2, HGF and PDGF-BB with coronary artery calcium scores and cardiovascular events (CVD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A cross-sectional study selected 40 frequency matched (by age, gender and race) subjects with T2DM from the first (0–111) and the third (> 1400) coronary artery calcium (CAC) score tertiles in the Diabetes Heart Study (DHS), in which 36 were with and 41 were without history of CVD events. Plasma levels of VEGF, FGF-2, HGF and PDGF-BB were measured in all subjects. Results: None of the growth factors was significantly different between the first and third CAC score tertiles. Mean plasma FGF-2 and PDGF-BB levels were significantly higher in the group without prior CVD events compared with the group with prior CVD events [mean(95%CI): 219.20 (194.42–247.15) vs. 152.93 (135.64–172.43) pg/ml, p = 0.03] and [mean(95%CI): 106.70 (89.12–127.74) vs. 61.56 (50.91–74.44) pg/ml, p = 0.03], respectively. Subgroup analysis in the first CAC tertile showed a significantly higher PDGF-BB levels in those without compared with those with CVD events [mean (95%CI): 208.36 (190.57–228.15) vs. 102.93 (80.64–125.21) pg/ml, p = 0.004]. Conclusion: Plasma growth factor levels were not significantly different between the extremes of CAC scores in T2DM. However, low plasma levels of PDGF-BB and FGF-2 are associated with prior cardiovascular events in T2DM. Studies are needed to confirm our results and also to establish temporality of this association.
Stress and sex in malaria parasites Why does commitment vary ?

For vector-borne parasites such as malaria, how withinand between-host processes interact to shape transmission is poorly understood. In the host, malaria parasites replicate asexually but for transmission to occur, specialized sexual stages (gametocytes) must be produced. Despite the central role that gametocytes play in disease transmission, explanations of why parasites adjust gametocyte production in response to in-host factors remain controversial. We propose that evolutionary theory developed to explain variation in reproductive effort in multicellular organisms, provides a framework to understand gametocyte investment strategies. We examine why parasites adjust investment in gametocytes according to the impact of changing conditions on their in-host survival. We then outline experiments required to determine whether plasticity in gametocyte investment enables parasites to maintain fitness in a variable environment. Gametocytes are a target for anti-malarial transmission-blocking interventions so understanding plasticity in investment is central to maximizing the success of control measures in the face of parasite evolution. K E Y W O R D S : Plasmodium; transmission; commitment; stress; phenotypic plasticity; gametocyte
Increased K+ Efflux and Apoptosis Induced by the Potassium Channel Modulatory Protein KChAP/PIAS3β in Prostate Cancer Cells*

K+ channel-associated protein/protein inhibitor of activated STAT (KChAP/PIAS3β) is a potassium (K+) channel modulatory protein that boosts protein expression of a subset of K+ channels and increases currents without affecting gating. Since increased K+efflux is an early event in apoptosis, we speculated that KChAP might induce apoptosis through its up-regulation of K+ channel expression. KChAP belongs to the protein inhibitor of activated STAT family, members of which also interact with a variety of transcription factors including the proapoptotic protein, p53. Here we report that KChAP induces apoptosis in the prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP, which expresses both K+ currents and wild-type p53. Infection with a recombinant adenovirus encoding KChAP (Ad/KChAP) increases K+ efflux and reduces cell size as expected for an apoptotic volume decrease. The apoptosis inducer, staurosporine, increases endogenous KChAP levels, and LNCaP cells, 2 days after Ad/KChAP infection, show increased sensitivity to staurosporine. KChAP increases p53 levels and stimulates phosphorylation of p53 residue serine 15. Consistent with activation of p53 as a transcription factor, p21 levels are increased in infected cells. Wild-type p53 is not essential for induction of apoptosis by KChAP, however, since KChAP also induces apoptosis in DU145 cells, a prostate cancer cell line with mutant p53. Consistent with its proapoptotic properties, KChAP prevents growth of DU145 and LNCaP tumor xenografts in nude mice, indicating that infection with Ad/KChAP might represent a novel method of cancer treatment.
Mental health problems in the elderly in residential care in Greece—A pilot study

The aim of this study is to examine the mental health problems of older adults living in a residential home in a Greek rural area. A sample of 40 residents was compared with 40 matched controls attending a community open care centre for the elderly (OCCE). The following measures were used: Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Geriatric Depression Screening Scale (GDSS), and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The group of the residents had a lower educational level and presented with a higher prevalence of depression and suicidality. Suicidal ideation was not significantly correlated to any of the examined independent social or psychological factors and was persistent during a period of two years follow-up. It is possible that, especially in rural areas, admission in the institution is per se a traumatic event precipitating suicidality. The issues of effective psychological care for older adults in residential care are discussed.
Credit Spread and Decomposed Institutional Equity Ownership: An Information Asymmetry Perspective

This paper investigates whether information asymmetry affects corporate bond credit spreads. To gauge the extent of information asymmetry, we use decomposed equity institutional ownership based on the past investment and trading styles (Bushee(1998, 2001)). First, we detect that different institutional groups are associated with firms with varying degrees of information asymmetry. Moreover, we find that decomposed IOs contribute to cross-sectional variations in corporate bond yield spreads even after controlling for measures of information asymmetry, including probability of informed trading, analyst forecast dispersion, and accounting disclosure rankings. The effects are most prominent for short-term bonds, and for bonds with lower rating, higher leverage and higher equity return volatility. They survive adjustments for equity style of the issuing company. Finally, the time-series variation in a firm’s information asymmetry condition, as captured by changes in decomposed IOs, is found to provide important information for changes in credit spread.
Boosting N-gram Coverage for Unsegmented Languages Using Multiple Text Segmentation Approach

Automatic word segmentation errors, for languages having a writing system without word boundaries, negatively affect the performance of language models. As a solution, the use of multiple, instead of unique, segmentation has recently been proposed. This approach boosts N-gram counts and generates new N-grams. However, it also produces bad N-grams that affect the language models' performance. In this paper, we study more deeply the contribution of our multiple segmentation approach and experiment on an efficient solution to minimize the effect of adding bad N-grams.