Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overexpression of RING box protein‐1 (RBX1) associated with poor prognosis of non‐muscle‐invasive bladder transitional cell carcinoma

RING box protein‐1 (RBX1) is a key subunit of the ubiquitin E3 ligase Skp1/Cullin1/Rbx1/F‐box protein complex. Altered expression RBX1 is shown to associate with tumorigenesis and tumor progression. This study detected RBX1 expression for association with clinical significance (such as clinicopathological data and survival of the patients) in non‐muscle‐invasive bladder transitional cell carcinoma (NMIBC).
Speaker–listener neural coupling underlies successful communication

Verbal communication is a joint activity; however, speech production and comprehension have primarily been analyzed as independent processes within the boundaries of individual brains. Here, we applied fMRI to record brain activity from both speakers and listeners during natural verbal communication. We used the speaker's spatiotemporal brain activity to model listeners’ brain activity and found that the speaker's activity is spatially and temporally coupled with the listener's activity. This coupling vanishes when participants fail to communicate. Moreover, though on average the listener's brain activity mirrors the speaker's activity with a delay, we also find areas that exhibit predictive anticipatory responses. We connected the extent of neural coupling to a quantitative measure of story comprehension and find that the greater the anticipatory speaker–listener coupling, the greater the understanding. We argue that the observed alignment of production- and comprehension-based processes serves as a mechanism by which brains convey information.
Multi-subgraph matching for logo localization using genetic algorithm

Given a query graph model, most of existing graph matching algorithms focus on finding a one-to-one mapping in a target graph. However, there are multiple objects in the target image, such as logo retrieval. In this paper, we propose an algorithm, called multi-subgraph matching, for Logo localization. We try to recover an exact one-to-k mapping, which directly constrains multi-objects corresponding to one query logo in the model. Essentially, multi-subgraph matching is a combinatorial problem, so we solve our problem in the genetic algorithm framework. Assignment vector is coded as chromosomes from selection, crossover to mutation to obtain a global optimum. We test our algorithm on the real data for logo localization, and compare with one state of the art - spectral matching (SM). Our algorithm shows better results than SM on the data.
[Proteus mirabilis isolated from urine, resistance to antibiotics and biofilm formation].

BACKGROUND In the rather rare urinary pathogen Proteus mirabilis resistance to antibiotics and ability to form biofilm were studied. MATERIAL AND METHODS The strains Proteus mirabilis were isolated from urine samples from ambulatory and hospitalized patients diagnosed with urinary tract infection (UTI) between April 2008 and April 2010. Resistance to antibiotics was investigated using a disk diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility test. Biofilm formation was demonstrated by modified Christensen method. RESULTS Two hundred and thirteen of P. mirabilis strains were tested. Eighty-two (38.5 %) strains were resistant to ampicillin, 49 (23.0 %) to cefalotin, 83 (39.0 %) to sulfamethoxazole/trimetoprim, 75 (35.2 %) to ciprofloxacin, 95 (44.6 %) to oxolinic acid, 54 (25.4 %) to gentamicin, and 72 (33.8 %) to chloramphenicol. There was significantly lower resistance to cefotaxime - 8 strains (3.8 %), ceftazidime - 8 (3.8 %), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 17 (8.0 %) and aztreonam - 8 (3.8 %). No resistance to imipenem as well as to meropenem was found. Eight P. mirabilis strains were found to produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL). From the total of 213 strains tested, 28 (13.1 %) were able to form a biofilm. CONCLUSIONS P. mirabilis was found to be more frequent in urine of men and older patients. Biofilm formation in urinary P. mirabilis strains was relatively low. The strains showed higher resistance to beta-lactams and quinolones; in the other cases, resistance was low.
Periosteal Remodeling at the Femoral Neck in Nonhuman Primates

Periosteal bone turnover is poorly understood. We documented intramembranous periosteal bone turnover in the femoral neck in intact nonhuman primates and an increase in osteoclast numbers at the periosteal surface in sex steroid–deficient animals. Our studies are the first to systematically document periosteal turnover at the femoral neck.
Linking Atmospheric Rivers and Warm Conveyor Belt Airflows

Extreme precipitation associated with extratropical cyclones can lead to flooding if cyclones track over land. However, the dynamical mechanisms by which moist air is transported into cyclones is poorly understood. In this paper we analyze airflows within a climatology of cyclones in order to understand how cyclones redistribute moisture stored in the atmosphere. This analysis shows that within a cyclone’s warm sector the cyclone-relative airflow is rearwards relative to the cyclone propagation direction. This low-level airflow (termed the feeder airstream) slows down when it reaches the cold front, resulting in moisture flux convergence and the formation of a band of high moisture content. One branch of the feeder airstream turns toward the cyclone center, supplying moisture to the base of the warm conveyor belt where it ascends and precipitation forms. The other branch turns away from the cyclone center exporting moisture from the cyclone. As the cyclone travels, this export results in a filament of high moisture content marking the track of the cyclone (often used to identify atmospheric rivers). We find that both cyclone precipitation and water vapor transport increase when moisture in the feeder airstream increases, thus explaining the link between atmospheric rivers and the precipitation associated with warm conveyor belt ascent. Atmospheric moisture budgets calculated as cyclones pass over fixed domains relative to the cyclone tracks show that continuous evaporation of moisture in the precyclone environment moistens the feeder airstream. Evaporation behind the cold front acts to moisten the atmosphere in the wake of the cyclone passage, potentially preconditioning the environment for subsequent cyclone development.
Pharmacogenetics of the antiepileptic drugs phenytoin and lamotrigine

Abstract Patients treated with antiepileptic drugs can exhibit large interindividual variability in clinical efficacy or adverse effects. This could be partially due to genetic variants in genes coding for proteins that function as drug metabolizing enzymes, drug transporters or drug targets. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the pharmacogenetics of two commonly prescribed antiepileptic drugs with similar mechanisms of action; phenytoin (PHT) and lamotrigine (LTG). These two drugs have been selected in order to model the pharmacogenetics of Phase I and Phase II metabolism for PHT and LTG, respectively. In light of the present evidence, patients treated with PHT could benefit from CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 genotyping/phenotyping. For those under treatment with LTG, UGT1A4 and UGT2B7 genotyping might be of clinical use and could contribute to the interindividual variability in LTG concentration to dose ratio in epileptic patients.
DSM-IV Pain Disorder: a case against the diagnosis

Pain Disorder has been modified in each of the recent editions of the DSM to improve its clinical applicability. This diagnosis remains fundamentally flawed because it places medical and psychological causes for pain in opposition. It provides neither clear criteria for diagnosis nor clear implications for therapy. All chronic pain problems are grouped together and important medical differences between them are ignored. Pain Disorder shares some problems with the other DSM-IV Somatoform Disorders. Epidemiological studies support dimensional models of somatization and stronger linkages with affective and anxiety disorders than implied in DSM-IV. Distress related physical symptoms such as pain are very common in medical settings. To improve clinical care of these symptoms, we must escape the dualism of psychogenic versus somatogenic symptom models. Symptoms do not arise only from defects within bodies or minds.
Not All Survey Effort is Equal: Reduction of Nonresponse Bias and Nonresponse Error

Nonexperimental and experimental studies have shown a lack of association between survey effort and nonresponse bias. This does not necessarily mean, however, that additional effort could not reduce nonresponse bias. Theories on nonresponse would suggest the use of different recruiting methods for additional survey effort in order to address nonresponse bias. This study looks at changes in survey estimates as a function of making additional calls under the same protocol and additional calls under a different protocol. Respondents who were interviewed as a result of more than five call attempts were not significantly different on any of the key survey variables than those interviewed with fewer than five calls. Those interviewed under a different survey protocol, however, were different on 5 of 12 measures. Additional interviews under both the same and different protocols contributed to the reduction of total nonresponse error. In sum, the use of multiple protocols for part of the survey effort increased the response rate, changed point estimates, and achieved lower total nonresponse error. Future work is needed on optimizing survey designs that implement multiple survey protocols.
Fibulin-5 Contributes to Microfibril Assembly in Human Periodontal Ligament Cells

The elastic system fibers comprise oxytalan, elaunin and elastic fibers, which differ in their relative microfibril and elastin content. Human periodontal ligaments (PDL) contain only oxytalan fibers (pure microfibrils) among them. Since fibulin-5 regulates the organization of elastic fibers to link the fibers to cells, we hypothesized that fibulin-5 may contribute to the formation of oxytalan fibers. We used siRNA for fibulin-5 in PDL cell culture to examine the extracellular deposition of fibrillin-1 and -2, which are the major components of microfibrils. Fibulin-5 was labeled on microfibrils positive for fibrillin-1 and -2. Fibulin-5 suppression reduced the level of fibrillin-1 and -2 deposition to 60% of the control level. These results suggest that fibulin-5 may control the formation of oxytalan fibers, and play a role in the homeostasis of oxytalan fibers.
Frequency Domain Analysis Reveals External Periodic Fluctuations Can Generate Sustained p53 Oscillation

p53 is a well-known tumor suppressor protein that regulates many pathways, such as ones involved in cell cycle and apoptosis. The p53 levels are known to oscillate without damping after DNA damage, which has been a focus of many recent studies. A negative feedback loop involving p53 and MDM2 has been reported to be responsible for this oscillatory behavior, but questions remain as how the dynamics of this loop alter in order to initiate and maintain the sustained or undamped p53 oscillation. Our frequency domain analysis suggests that the sustained p53 oscillation is not completely dictated by the negative feedback loop; instead, it is likely to be also modulated by periodic DNA repair-related fluctuations that are triggered by DNA damage. According to our analysis, the p53-MDM2 feedback mechanism exhibits adaptability in different cellular contexts. It normally filters noise and fluctuations exerted on p53, but upon DNA damage, it stops performing the filtering function so that DNA repair-related oscillatory signals can modulate the p53 oscillation. Furthermore, it is shown that the p53-MDM2 feedback loop increases its damping ratio allowing p53 to oscillate at a frequency more synchronized with the other cellular efforts to repair the damaged DNA, while suppressing its inherent oscillation-generating capability. Our analysis suggests that the overexpression of MDM2, observed in many types of cancer, can disrupt the operation of this adaptive mechanism by making it less responsive to the modulating signals after DNA damage occurs.
Assessment of right ventricular function with Doppler echocardiographic indices derived from tricuspid annular motion: comparison with radionuclide angiography

Objective: To assess right ventricular systolic function using indices derived from tricuspid annular motion, and to compare the results with right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) calculated from radionuclide angiography. Design: Pulsed Doppler echocardiography indices were obtained from 10 patients with a normal RVEF (group 1) and from 20 patients whose RVEF was less than 45% (group 2). Results: The patients in the two groups were similar in age, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate. There was a close correlation between the tricuspid annular motion derived indices (D wave integral (DWI), peak velocity of D wave (PVDW), and tricuspid plane systolic excursion (TPSE)) and RVEF (r = 0.72, 0.82, and 0.79, respectively). DWI was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2. PVDW discriminated adequately between individuals with abnormal and normal right ventricular ejection fraction. The sensitivity and specificity of tricuspid annular motion derived indices were very good. Conclusions: Indices derived from tricuspid annular motion appear to be important tools for assessing right ventricular systolic function.
Zoomorphic robots used by elderly people at home

The goal of this study was to improve our understan ding about how elderly people use social robots in domes tic environments and in particular whether elderly peop le are able to build relationships with them. Three partic ipants interacted with the Nabaztag, a zoomorphic robot, f or 10 days in their own home environment. The results yie lded some interesting findings, such as (1) utilitarian- , hedonicand social factors are important when accepting zoomorphic robots, (2) the physical location where the Nabaztag is situated is important for acceptance an d use, (3) utilitarian-, hedonic and social factors are import ant for building a relationship with the Nabaztag, (4) ther e is a relationship between name-calling and relationship building and (5) there is a relationship between using non-v erbal and verbal communication and relationship building. Author Keywords
TDP‐43 immunoreactivity in hippocampal sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease

This study aimed to determine the frequency of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitinated inclusions (FTLD‐U) in the setting of hippocampal sclerosis (HpScl) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using immunohistochemistry for TAR DNA binding protein 43 (TDP‐43), a putative marker for FTLD‐U.
Characterization of Dent's disease mutations of CLC-5 reveals a correlation between functional and cell biological consequences and protein structure

Mutations of the human CLCN5 gene, which encodes the CLC-5 Cl−/H+ exchanger, lead to Dent's disease. Mutations result in functional defects that range from moderate reductions to complete loss of whole cell currents, although the severity of the functional defect rarely correlates with the severity of the disease. To further elucidate the basis of CLC-5 mutations causing Dent's disease, we examined the functional and cell biological consequences of seven previously reported missense mutants, utilizing electrophysiological and cell biological techniques. This revealed three classes of Dent's disease-causing CLC-5 mutations. Class 1 mutations lead to endoplasmic reticulum retention and degradation of CLC-5. Class 2 mutations appear to have little effect on subcellular distribution of CLC-5 but cause defective function resulting in severe defects in endosomal acidification. Class 3 mutations lead to alterations in the endosomal distribution of CLC-5 but are otherwise able to support endosomal acidification. Molecular modeling demonstrates a structural basis that may underlie the nature of the defect resulting from each mutation with each class occupying discrete regions of the protein quaternary structure. Thus these results demonstrate that the cell biological consequences of CLC-5 mutations are heterogeneous and can be classified into three major groups and that a correlation between the nature of the defect and the location of the mutation in the structure may be drawn. This model may prove to be useful as a tool to aid in the diagnosis and future therapeutic intervention of the disease.
Effect of Teachers' Professional Education on Students' Achievement in Mathematics

The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of teaching of professionally trained and untrained teachers and the effect of students’ gender on secondary school students’ achievement in Mathematics. Data were collected from four public and private boys and girls high schools’ record. Four hundred secondary school graduates (Two hundred boys and two hundred girls) taught by trained and untrained teachers of mathematics were selected conveniently. The results of the study supported the fact that the students taught by trained teachers showed better results in Mathematics and gender has no significant effect on achievement in mathematics.
A Scatter Learning Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Multimodal Problems

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) has been proved to be an effective tool for function optimization. Its performance depends heavily on the characteristics of the employed exemplars. This necessitates considering both the fitness and the distribution of exemplars in designing PSO algorithms. Following this idea, we propose a novel PSO variant, called scatter learning PSO algorithm (SLPSOA) for multimodal problems. SLPSOA contains some new algorithmic features while following the basic framework of PSO. It constructs an exemplar pool (EP) that is composed of a certain number of relatively high-quality solutions scattered in the solution space, and requires particles to select their exemplars from EP using the roulette wheel rule. By this means, more promising solution regions can be found. In addition, SLPSOA employs Solis and Wets' algorithm as a local searcher to enhance its fine search ability in the newfound solution regions. To verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, we test it on a set of 16 benchmark functions and compare it with six existing typical PSO algorithms. Computational results demonstrate that SLPSOA can prevent premature convergence and produce competitive solutions.
Short-term study abroad: culture and the path of least resistance

American universities are decreasing the length of study abroad programs in an effort to send more students abroad. Recent publications find that “short-term” programs struggle to increase participants’ cultural understanding. However, these research findings fail to offer an explanation as to why shorter programs are falling short. This study suggests that “culture traveling the path of least resistance” is one of the main inhibitors to students’ cultural understanding. Conclusions are based on participant observation, focus group, and semi-structured interview data gathered from two short-term programs. It is concluded that pre-trip and while-abroad activities must be administered in order to allay “least resistance. ”
The geomorphic dynamics and environmental history of an upper deltaic floodplain tract in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, USA

A multi‐proxy approach was used to examine the geomorphic dynamics and environmental history of an upper deltaic ﬂoodplain tract in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California. Three long cores were collected from the McCormack–Williamson Tract (MWT) and these cores were analyzed for bulk density, loss‐on‐ignition, ﬁne (clay and silt) content, Al concentration, magnetic susceptibility, pollen, and charcoal. Radiocarbon dates obtained for the cores were converted into calendar years and an age–depth model was constructed. Long‐term vertical accretion and sedimentation rates were estimated from the age–depth model. Cross‐core relations show that coarse sediment generally accumulates more rapidly and has greater magnetic susceptibility compared to ﬁne sediment. Percentage ﬁne and LOI data show a strong linear relationship that indicates ﬂooding is the primary mechanism for the deposition of particular organic matter on the ﬂoodplain and that landscape wash load has contributed a highly consistent fraction of persistent organic matter averaging 5·5 per cent to the site. Down‐core grain size proﬁles show two hydrological domains in the cores, namely millennial ﬁne–coarse ﬂuctuations superimposed on general up‐core ﬁning. Coarse sediment is viewed as channel or near‐channel overbank deposits, whereas ﬁne deposits are considered to be distal overbank ﬂood deposits. The coarse–ﬁne ﬂuctuations are indicative of changing depositional settings as channels migrated laterally across MWT, whereas the upward ﬁning trend reﬂects a combination of self‐limiting overbank deposition as ﬂoodplain elevation increased and decreasing competence as sea‐level rise reduced ﬂood‐pulse energy slopes. MWT has been cross‐cut and incised numerous times in the past, only to have the channels abandoned and subsequently ﬁlled by ﬁne sediment. The channels around MWT attained their modern conﬁguration about 4000 years ago. MWT likely came under tidal inﬂuence at about 2500 cal BP. Wetlands have recently developed on MWT, but they are inorganic sediment dominated. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Protective or Deleterious Role of Scavenger Receptors SR-A and CD36 on Host Resistance to Staphylococcus aureus Depends on the Site of Infection

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human opportunistic pathogen responsible for a broad spectrum of infections ranging from benign skin infection to more severe life threatening disorders (e.g. pneumonia, sepsis), particularly in intensive care patients. Scavenger receptors (SR-A and CD36) are known to be involved in S. aureus recognition by immune cells in addition to MARCO, TLR2, NOD2 and α5β1 integrin. In the present study, we further deciphered the contribution of SR-A and CD36 scavenger receptors in the control of infection of mice by S. aureus. Using double SR-A/CD36 knockout mice (S/C-KO) and S. aureus strain HG001, a clinically relevant non-mutagenized strain, we showed that the absence of these two scavenger receptors was protective in peritoneal infection. In contrast, the deletion of these two receptors was detrimental in pulmonary infection following intranasal instillation. For pulmonary infection, susceptible mice (S/C-KO) had more colony-forming units (CFU) in their broncho-alveolar lavages fluids, associated with increased recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils. For peritoneal infection, susceptible mice (wild-type) had more CFU in their blood, but recruited less macrophages and neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity than resistant mice. Exacerbated cytokine levels were often observed in the susceptible mice in the infected compartment as well as in the plasma. The exception was the enhanced compartmentalized expression of IL-1β for the resistant mice (S/C-KO) after peritoneal infection. A similar mirrored susceptibility to S. aureus infection was also observed for MARCO and TLR2. Marco and tlr2 -/- mice were more resistant to peritoneal infection but more susceptible to pulmonary infection than wild type mice. In conclusion, our results show that innate immune receptors can play distinct and opposite roles depending on the site of infection. Their presence is protective for local pulmonary infection, whereas it becomes detrimental in the peritoneal infection.