Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum IL-18 Is Closely Associated with Renal Tubulointerstitial Injury and Predicts Renal Prognosis in IgA Nephropathy

Background. IgA nephropathy (IgAN) was thought to be benign but recently found it slowly progresses and leads to ESRD eventually. The aim of this research is to investigate the value of serum IL-18 level, a sensitive biomarker for proximal tubule injury, for assessing the histopathological severity and disease progression in IgAN. Methods. Serum IL-18 levels in 76 IgAN patients and 36 healthy blood donors were measured by ELISA. We evaluated percentage of global and segmental sclerosis (GSS) and extent of tubulointerstitial damage (TID). The correlations between serum IL-18 levels with clinical, histopathological features and renal prognosis were evaluated. Results. The patients were 38.85 ± 10.95 years old, presented with 2.61 (1.43∼4.08) g/day proteinuria. Serum IL-18 levels were significantly elevated in IgAN patients. Baseline serum IL-18 levels were significantly correlated with urinary protein excretion (r = 0.494, P = 0.002), Scr (r = 0.61, P < 0.001), and eGFR (r = −0.598, P < 0.001). TID scores showed a borderline significance with serum IL-18 levels (r = 0.355, P = 0.05). During follow-up, 26 patients (34.21%) had a declined renal function. Kaplan-Meier analysis found those patients with elevated IL-18 had a significant poor renal outcome (P = 0.03), and Cox analysis further confirmed that serum IL-18 levels were an independent predictor of renal prognosis (β = 1.98, P = 0.003).
Identification of Streptococcus pyogenes - Phenotypic Tests vs Molecular Assay (spy1258PCR): A Comparative Study.

INTRODUCTION Traditionally Group A Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS) is differentiated from other beta haemolytic streptococci (BHS) by certain presumptive tests such as bacitracin sensitivity and production of Pyrollidonyl Aryl Sulfatase (PYR). The phenotypic and genotypic confirmatory tests are Lancefield grouping for cell wall carbohydrate antigen and PCR for spy1258 gene respectively. Reliance on presumptive tests alone may lead to misidentification of isolates. AIM To compare the predictive values of routine phenotypic tests with spy1258 PCR for the identification of Streptococcus pyogenes. MATERIALS AND METHODS This comparative analytical study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, JIPMER, Puducherry, over a period of 18 months (1(st) November 2013 to 30(th) April 2015). Two hundred and six consecutive BHS isolates from various clinical samples were subjected to phenotypic tests such as bacitracin sensitivity, PYR test and Lancefield grouping. The results were compared with spy1258 PCR which was considered 95 the confirmatory test for identification. RESULTS The sensitivity and specificity of phenotypic tests were as follows; Susceptibility to bacitracin - 95.42%, 70.96%, PYR test - 95.42%, 77.41%, Lancefield grouping- 97.71%, 80.64%. CONCLUSION Clinical laboratories should not depend on bacitracin sensitivity as a single presumptive test for the routine identification of GAS but should use supplemental tests such as PYR test or latex agglutination test and for best results use spy1258 PCR.
A splitting theorem for Kahler manifolds with constant eigenvalues of the Ricci tensor

It is proved that a compact Kähler manifold whose Ricci tensor has two distinct constant non-negative eigenvalues is locally the product of two Kähler-Einstein manifolds. A stronger result is established for the case of Kähler surfaces. Irreducible Kähler manifolds with two distinct constant eigenvalues of the Ricci tensor are shown to exist in various situations: there are homogeneous examples of any complex dimension n ≥ 2 with one eigenvalue negative and the other one positive or zero; there are homogeneous examples of any complex dimension n ≥ 3 with two negative eigenvalues; there are non-homogeneous examples of complex dimension 2 with one of the eigenvalues zero. The problem of existence of Kähler metrics whose Ricci tensor has two distinct constant eigenvalues is related to the celebrated (still open) Goldberg conjecture [24]. Consequently, the irreducible homogeneous examples with negative eigenvalues give rise to complete Einstein strictly almost Kähler metrics of any even real dimension greater than 4. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 53B20, 53C25
Sequence Reactivation in the Hippocampus Is Impaired in Aged Rats

The hippocampus is thought to coordinate memory consolidation by reactivating traces from behavioral experience when the brain is not actively processing new input. In fact, during slow-wave sleep, the patterns of CA1 pyramidal cell ensemble activity correlations are reactivated in both young and aged rats. In addition to correlated activity patterns, repetitive track running also creates a recurring sequence of pyramidal cell activity. The present study compared CA1 sequence activity pattern replay in young and old animals during rest periods after behavior. Whereas the young rats exhibited significant sequence reactivation, it was markedly impaired in the aged animals. When the spatial memory scores of all animals were compared with the degree of sequence reactivation, there was a significant correlation. The novel finding that weak replay of temporal patterns has behavioral consequences, strengthens the idea that reactivation processes are integral to memory consolidation.
Matrix metalloproteinase gelatinases in sulfur mustard-induced acute airway injury in guinea pigs.

Respiratory tract lesions induced by sulfur mustard (SM), a chemical warfare agent, are characterized by epithelial damage associated with inflammatory cell infiltration. To test the potential role of matrix metalloproteinase gelatinases in these lesions, we evaluated gelatinase activity, albumin content, and total cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of guinea pigs 24 h after an intratracheal injection of 0.2 mg/kg of SM. The bronchial lavage and alveolar lavage fluids were analyzed separately. The increase in inflammatory cell content of the bronchial lavage fluid, mainly macrophages, observed in SM-intoxicated guinea pigs was accompanied by an increase in albumin and in 92-kDa gelatinase activity. There was a significant correlation between albumin content and 92-kDa gelatinase activity ( r = 0.67) and between 92-kDa gelatinase and the number of macrophages. Immunohistochemistry performed on tracheal sections showed the presence of 92-kDa gelatinase at the site of intraepithelial cleavages. Zymography analysis of culture medium conditioned by guinea pig tracheal epithelial cells demonstrated that these cells produced in vitro 92-kDa gelatinase on stimulation. Culture of human bronchial epithelial cells obtained by the explant technique showed a marked increase in 92-kDa gelatinase after exposure to 5 × 10-5 M SM that reinforced the relevance of our animal results to human exposure to SM. These results suggest that in SM respiratory intoxication, 92-kDa gelatinase of both inflammatory and epithelial cell origins could be involved in epithelial cell detachment.
Destabilization of the TAR hairpin affects the structure and function of the HIV-1 leader RNA

The TAR hairpin of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA genome is essential for virus replication. TAR forms the binding site for the transcriptional trans-activator protein Tat and multiple additional TAR functions have been proposed. We previously constructed an HIV-1 variant in which the TAR-Tat transcription control mechanism is replaced by the components of the Tet-ON regulatory system. In this context, the surprising finding was that TAR can be truncated or even deleted, but partial TAR deletions that destabilize the stem structure cause a severe replication defect. In this study, we demonstrate that the HIV-1 RNA genome requires a stable hairpin at its 5′-end because unpaired TAR sequences affect the proper folding of the untranslated leader RNA. Consequently, multiple leader-encoded functions are affected by partial TAR deletions. Upon evolution of such mutant viruses, the replication capacity was repaired through the acquisition of additional TAR mutations that restore the local RNA folding, thus preventing the detrimental effect on the leader conformation.
THE HERSCHEL AND JCMT GOULD BELT SURVEYS: CONSTRAINING DUST PROPERTIES IN THE PERSEUS B1 CLUMP WITH PACS, SPIRE, AND SCUBA-2

We present Herschel observations from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey and SCUBA-2 science verification observations from the JCMT Gould Belt Survey of the B1 clump in the Perseus molecular cloud. We determined the dust emissivity index using four different techniques to combine the Herschel PACS+SPIRE data at 160–500 μm with the SCUBA-2 data at 450 μm and 850 μm. Of our four techniques, we found that the most robust method was filtering out the large-scale emission in the Herschel bands to match the spatial scales recovered by the SCUBA-2 reduction pipeline. Using this method, we find β ≈ 2 toward the filament region and moderately dense material and lower β values (β ≳ 1.6) toward the dense protostellar cores, possibly due to dust grain growth. We find that β and temperature are more robust with the inclusion of the SCUBA-2 data, improving estimates from Herschel data alone by factors of ∼2 for β and by ∼40% for temperature. Furthermore, we find core mass differences of ≲ 30% compared to Herschel-only estimates with an adopted β = 2, highlighting the necessity of long-wavelength submillimeter data for deriving accurate masses of prestellar and protostellar cores.
Validation of a Reliable Instrument (QUOTE-IBD) for Assessing the Quality of Health Care in Greek Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Given the early onset, the chronic and recurrent nature of their disease and their normal life expectancy, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may need considerable health care. The purpose of this study is to validate the Greek translation of the QUOTE-IBD questionnaire (GR-QUOTE-IBD). For that purpose we assessed its construct validity, and reliability. Fifty patients (33 ulcerative colitis, 17 Crohn’s disease) completed the GR-QUOTE-IBD and visual-analogue scales (VAS) for the patients’ evaluation of the quality of separate care dimensions, and of the total care. A subgroup of 33 patients (64%) completed the GR-QUOTE-IBD for a second time. Quality of life was assessed by the short version of the IBDQ. Clinical activity was assessed by Harvey-Bradshaw index and Colitis Activity Index. Correlations among all care dimensions and VAS were positive and highly significant (p < 0.001). The total care and all eight dimensional care scores (quality impact and importance) had no significant differences between the baseline and the follow-up visit. Similarly, the correlation coefficients between the scores of the two occasions were all positive (close to one) and highly significant (p < 0.001). The GR-QUOTE-IBD proved to be a valid and reliable instrument, applicable in international clinical studies.
Effects of the Antipsychotic Risperidone on Dopamine Synthesis in Human Brain Measured by Positron Emission Tomography with l-[β-11C]DOPA: A Stabilizing Effect for Dopaminergic Neurotransmission?

Effects of antipsychotic drugs have widely been considered to be mediated by blockade of postsynaptic dopamine D2 receptors. Effects of antipsychotics on presynaptic functions of dopaminergic neurotransmission might also be related to therapeutic effects of antipsychotics. To investigate the effects of antipsychotics on presynaptic functions of dopaminergic neurotransmission in relation with occupancy of dopamine D2 receptors, changes in dopamine synthesis capacity by antipsychotics and occupancy of dopamine D2 receptors were measured by positron emission tomography (PET) in healthy men. PET studies using [11C]raclopride and l-[β-11C]DOPA were performed under resting condition and oral administration of single dose of the antipsychotic drug risperidone on separate days. Although occupancy of dopamine D2 receptors corresponding dose of risperidone was observed, the changes in dopamine synthesis capacity by the administration of risperidone were not significant, nor was the relation between the occupancy of dopamine D2 receptors and these changes. A significant negative correlation was observed between the baseline dopamine synthesis capacity and the changes in dopamine synthesis capacity by risperidone, indicating that this antipsychotic can be assumed to stabilize the dopamine synthesis capacity. The therapeutic effects of risperidone in schizophrenia might be related to such stabilizing effects on dopaminergic neurotransmission responsivity.
Inferring human stem cell behaviour from epigenetic drift

Although conventional experimental manipulations are impractical, it may be possible to infer human stem cell fates by ‘reading’ histories recorded within their genomes. Genomes are almost perfect copies of copies, and ancestries may be surreptitiously recorded by replication errors that inevitably accumulate. The greater the number of divisions, the greater the number of replication errors (‘a molecular clock hypothesis’). Mutations rarely occur during a lifetime, but DNA methylation patterns are also copied after DNA replication and measurably drift with ageing at certain CpG sites in mitotic tissues, such as the colon. Such passenger methylation pattern variation may effectively function as ‘epigenetic’ somatic cell mitotic clocks. Replication errors can only accumulate in long‐lived stem cell lineages, so methylation pattern drift largely records stem cell behaviour. How methylation patterns may encode stem cell ancestries is illustrated with two types of small reproductive units—colon crypt niches with continuous genealogies, and hair follicles with punctuated genealogies. Potentially, the genealogy of any human cell may be inferred by ‘reading’ its genome. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Integration of Multiple Motion Vectors Over Space: An fMRI Study of Transparent Motion Perception

Visual scenes are frequently composed of objects that move in different directions. To segment such scenes into distinct objects or image planes, local motion cues have to be evaluated and integrated according to criteria of global coherence. When several populations of coherently moving random dots penetrate each other, the visual system tends to assign them to different planes-perceived as transparent motion. This process of integration was studied by changing the angle of motion trajectories with which groups of dots penetrate each other or by varying the spatial constellation of dots moving in opponent directions. Psychophysical testing revealed that stimuli providing almost identical local motion cues could be perceived in three very different ways: (1) as a matrix of stationary flickering dots, (2) as a single surface of coherently moving dots, and (3) as two transparent dot matrices moving in different directions. Behaviorally controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to identify brain regions that contribute to the integration of local motion cues into coherently moving surfaces. Activation of the human motion complex (hMT+/V5) and of areas in the fusiform gyrus (FG) as well as in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS-occ) was correlated with the perception of coherent motion and especially hMT+/V5 took a central role in differentiating transparent motion from single-surface coherent motion.
Cone-beam computed tomography evaluation of Pont's index predictability for Malay population in orthodontics

Introduction: In orthodontic treatment, three-dimensional (3D) dental casts has a significant role in diagnosis and treatment planning. The aim of this study was to evaluate Pont's index predictability in orthodontics. Materials and Methods: Premolar arch width, molar arch width and mesiodistal width of the maxillary incisors were measured three-dimensionally to assess shape of dental arches. The data source was cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) high volumetric data acquisitions from Malay ethnic background. Arch widths were measured and recorded from 53 subjects (32 male and 21 female with the mean age, 25.81), both the maxillary and mandibular arches, to obtain CBCT high volumetric data. All measurements were obtained through CBCT Planmeca Romexis TM Software 2.3. 1.R (Helsinki, Finland). Results: Pont's formula overestimated the upper and lower interpremolar distance, with mean differences of 8.35 ± 3 mm and 12.02 ± 3.20 mm, respectively. Furthermore, the formula overestimated the upper and lower intermolar distance, with mean differences of 7.87 ± 3 mm and 16.14 ± 5.86 mm, respectively. Conclusions: The results indicate that Pont's index is not practical for use with the Malaysian population since the index overestimated interpremolar and intermolar widths. This raises questions whether the index is a true predictor of arch width measurements.
Strategies for enhancing information, motivation, and skills for self-management behavior changes: a qualitative study of diabetes care for older adults in Korea

Purpose To describe strategies for enhancing information, motivation, and skills related to changes in diabetes self-management behavior among community-dwelling older adults in Korea. Patients and methods A total of five focus group interviews (three separate focus groups) were conducted with 12 older adults with type 2 diabetes and five diabetes educators. Qualitative content analysis was used. Results “One’s own willingness and ability” emerged as a fundamental belief about the strategies for diabetes self-management. Six major themes under three categories were identified. Under the information category, the recurrent themes were: 1) repeatedly offering detailed knowledge regarding self-management, 2) providing information about current health status, and 3) identifying experiential knowledge of blood glucose control. The recurrent themes in the motivation category were: 1) ensuring a positive attitude regarding self-management, and 2) encouragement or feedback from significant others. Furthermore, in the skills category, we found that the following theme emerged: hands-on skills training with numerical standards. Conclusion This study identified six tailored strategies for enhancing information, motivation, and skills for diabetes self-management behavior changes. These strategies can be used in the development of a culturally sensitive diabetes self-management program for older adults.
Bistability and biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis

Biofilms of Bacillus subtilis consist of long chains of cells that are held together in bundles by an extracellular matrix of exopolysaccharide and the protein TasA. The exopolysaccharide is produced by enzymes encoded by the epsA‐O operon and the gene encoding TasA is located in the yqxM‐sipW‐tasA operon. Both operons are under the control of the repressor SinR. Derepression is mediated by the antirepressor SinI, which binds to SinR with a 1:1 stoichiometry. Paradoxically, in medium promoting derepression of the matrix operons, the overall concentration of SinR in the culture greatly exceeded that of SinI. We show that under biofilm‐promoting conditions sinI, which is under the control of the response regulator Spo0A, was expressed only in a small subpopulation of cells, whereas sinR was expressed in almost all cells. Activation of Spo0A is known to be subject to a bistable switch, and we infer that SinI reaches levels sufficient to trigger matrix production only in the subpopulation of cells in which Spo0A is active. Additionally, evidence suggests that sinI is expressed at intermediate, but not low or high, levels of Spo0A activity, which may explain why certain nutritional conditions are more effective in promoting biofilm formation than others.
Artificial curiosity with planning for autonomous perceptual and cognitive development

Autonomous agents that learn from reward on high-dimensional visual observations must learn to simplify the raw observations in both space (i.e., dimensionality reduction) and time (i.e., prediction), so that reinforcement learning becomes tractable and effective. Training the spatial and temporal models requires an appropriate sampling scheme, which cannot be hard-coded if the algorithm is to be general. Intrinsic rewards are associated with samples that best improve the agent's model of the world. Yet the dynamic nature of an intrinsic reward signal presents a major obstacle to successfully realizing an efficient curiosity-drive. TD-based incremental reinforcement learning approaches fail to adapt quickly enough to effectively exploit the curiosity signal. In this paper, a novel artificial curiosity system with planning is implemented, based on developmental or continual learning principles. Least-squares policy iteration is used with an agent's internal forward model, to efficiently assign values for maximizing combined external and intrinsic reward. The properties of this system are illustrated in a high-dimensional, noisy, visual environment that requires the agent to explore. With no useful external value information early on, the self-generated intrinsic values lead to actions that improve both its spatial (perceptual) and temporal (cognitive) models. Curiosity also leads it to learn how it could act to maximize external reward.
Are mountain passes higher in the tropics? Janzen's hypothesis revisited.

Synopsis In 1967 Daniel Janzen published an influential paper titled "Why Mountain Passes Are Higher in the Tropics. " Janzen derived a simple climatic-physiological model predicting that tropical mountain passes would be more effective barriers to organismal dispersal than would temperate-zone passes of equivalent altitude. This prediction derived from a recognition that the annual variation in ambient temperature at any site is relatively low in the tropics. Such low variation within sites not only reduces the seasonal overlap in thermal regimes between low- and high-altitude sites, but should also select for organisms with narrow physiological tolerances to temperature. As a result, Janzen predicted that tropical lowland organisms are more likely to encounter a mountain pass as a physiological barrier to dispersal (hence "higher"), which should in turn favor smaller distributions and an increase in species turnover along altitudinal gradients. This synthetic hypothesis has long been at the center of discussions of latitudinal patterns of physiological adaptation and of species diversity. Here we review some of the key assumptions and predictions of Janzen's hypothesis. We find general support for many assumptions and predictions, but call attention to several issues that somewhat ameliorate the generality of Janzen's classic hypothesis.
Vortex pinning vs superconducting wire network: origin of periodic oscillations induced by applied magnetic fields in superconducting films with arrays of nanomagnets

Hybrid magnetic arrays embedded in superconducting films are ideal systems to study the competition between different physical (such as the coherence length) and structural length scales such as are available in artificially produced structures. This interplay leads to oscillation in many magnetically dependent superconducting properties such as the critical currents, resistivity and magnetization. These effects are generally analyzed using two distinct models based on vortex pinning or wire network. In this work, we show that for magnetic dot arrays, as opposed to antidot (i.e. holes) arrays, vortex pinning is the main mechanism for field induced oscillations in resistance R(H), critical current Ic(H), magnetization M(H) and ac-susceptibility χ ac(H) in a broad temperature range. Due to the coherence length divergence at Tc, a crossover to wire network behaviour is experimentally found. While pinning occurs in a wide temperature range up to Tc, wire network behaviour is only present in a very narrow temperature window close to Tc. In this temperature interval, contributions from both mechanisms are operational but can be experimentally distinguished.