Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Head-to-Head Comparison of a Drug-Free Early Programmed Dismantling Polylactic Acid Bioresorbable Scaffold and a Metallic Stent in the Porcine Coronary Artery: Six-Month Angiography and Optical Coherence Tomographic Follow-Up Study

Background—We aimed to evaluate a new drug-free fully bioresorbable lactic acid–based scaffold designed to allow early dismantling synchronized with artery wall healing in comparison with a bare metal stent (BMS). Methods and Results—Twenty-three BMS (3.0×12 mm) and 36 lactic acid–based bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS, 3.0×11 mm) were implanted in porcine coronary arteries. QCA and optical coherence tomographic analyses were performed immediately after implantation and repeated after 1, 3, and 6 months. Microcomputed tomography was used to detect scaffold dismantling. Polymer degradation was evaluated throughout the study. The primary end-point was late lumen loss, and the secondary end-points were scaffold/stent diameter and acute recoil. Acute recoil was low and comparable between the BRS and the BMS groups (4.6±6.7 versus 4.6±5.1%; P=0.98). BRS outer diameter increased significantly from 1 to 6 months indicating late positive scaffold remodeling (P<0.0001), whereas BMS diameter remained constant (P=0.159). Late lumen loss decreased significantly from 1 to 6 months in the BRS group (P=0.003) without significant difference between BRS and BMS groups at 6 months (P=0.68). Microcomputed tomography identified BRS dismantling starting at 3 months, and weight-average molar masses of scaffold parts were 20% and 14% of their initial values at 3 and 6 months. Conclusions—BRS and BMS have similar 6-month outcomes in porcine coronary arteries. Interestingly, BRS dismantling was detected from 3 months and resulted in late lumen enlargement by increased scaffold diameter at 6 months.
Reactivation of Hippocampal Cell Assemblies: Effects of Behavioral State, Experience, and EEG Dynamics

During slow wave sleep (SWS), traces of neuronal activity patterns from preceding behavior can be observed in rat hippocampus and neocortex. The spontaneous reactivation of these patterns is manifested as the reinstatement of the distribution of pairwise firing-rate correlations within a population of simultaneously recorded neurons. The effects of behavioral state [quiet wakefulness, SWS, and rapid eye movement (REM)], interactions between two successive spatial experiences, and global modulation during 200 Hz electroencephalographic (EEG) “ripples” on pattern reinstatement were studied in CA1 pyramidal cell population recordings. Pairwise firing-rate correlations during often repeated experiences accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in these interactions in subsequent SWS or quiet wakefulness and, to a lesser degree, during SWS before the experience on a given day. The latter effect was absent for novel experiences, suggesting that a persistent memory trace develops with experience. Pattern reinstatement was strongest during sharp wave–ripple oscillations, suggesting that these events may reflect system convergence onto attractor states corresponding to previous experiences. When two different experiences occurred in succession, the statistically independent effects of both were evident in subsequent SWS. Thus, the patterns of neural activity reemerge spontaneously, and in an interleaved manner, and do not necessarily reflect persistence of an active memory (i.e., reverberation). Firing-rate correlations during REM sleep were not related to the preceding familiar experience, possibly as a consequence of trace decay during the intervening SWS. REM episodes also did not detectably influence the correlation structure in subsequent SWS, suggesting a lack of strengthening of memory traces during REM sleep, at least in the case of familiar experiences.
Validation of EP1 Antibody Clone for Estrogen Receptor Immunohistochemistry in Breast Cancer

Estrogen receptor (ER) tumor’s status is critical for breast cancer management. A new rabbit antibody clone, EP1, is now available for ER status determination. The objective was to validate the EP1 antibody clone for its use in breast cancer ER status determination in a clinical setting against the previous standard, SP1. EP1 clone was assessed in 130 consecutive cases, including 50 ER-negative (<1% ER expression), 13 ER-low-positive (1% to 9% ER expression), and 67 ER-positive (≥10% ER expression). Using EP1 versus SP1, positive agreement (sensibility) was 92.5% and negative agreement (specificity) was 100%, leading to an overall agreement of 95.4%. All discordant cases (n=6) were ER-low-positive. SP1 was remeasured in 13 ER-low-positive and in 11 ER-negative cases. Overall agreement between SP1 initial tumor status and reassessment was 70.8% in those negative and low-positive cases. In conclusion, EP1 antibody has been validated for use in breast cancer with a positive agreement ≥90% and a negative agreement ≥95%, as recommended. Also, overall agreement between EP1 and SP1 was as good as between the SP1 initial status and SP1 reassessment.
Pathways for Oxalate Transport in Rabbit Renal Microvillus Membrane Vesicles*

Recent evidence suggests that apical membrane Cl−-oxalate exchange plays a major role in mediating Cl− absorption in the renal proximal tubule. To sustain steady-state Cl− absorption by a mechanism of exchange for intracellular oxalate requires the presence of one or more pathways for recycling oxalate from lumen to cell. Accordingly, we evaluated the mechanisms of oxalate transport in luminal membrane vesicles isolated from the rabbit renal cortex. We found that transport of oxalate by Na+ cotransport is negligible compared to the transport of sulfate. In contrast, we demonstrated that oxalate shares the electroneutral pathway mediating Na+-independent sulfate-carbonate exchange. We also demonstrated the presence of OH−-oxalate exchange (indistinguishable from H+-oxalate cotransport). The process of OH−-oxalate exchange was electrogenic and partially inhibited by Cl−, indicating that it occurs, at least in part, as a mode of the Cl−-oxalate exchanger described previously. An additional component of OH−-oxalate exchange was insensitive to inhibition by either Cl− or sulfate, suggesting that it takes place by neither the Cl−-oxalate exchanger nor the sulfate-carbonate exchanger. We conclude that multiple anion exchange mechanisms exist by which oxalate can recycle from lumen to cell to sustain Cl− absorption occurring via apical membrane Cl−-oxalate exchange in the renal proximal tubule.
Endogenous Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Triggers Fast Calcium Transients at Synapses in Developing Dendrites

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in many aspects of the formation of functional neuronal networks. BDNF signaling regulates neuronal development not only globally, at the level of entire neurons or networks, but also at a subcellular level and with high temporal specificity; however, the spatiotemporal characteristics of intrinsic BDNF signaling are essentially unknown. Here, we used calcium imaging to directly observe intrinsic BDNF signaling in developing hippocampal neurons. We found that blocking intrinsic BDNF signaling with function-blocking BDNF antibodies (αBDNF) or K252-a reduced the frequency of spontaneously occurring fast and localized calcium rises in dendrites. Conversely, focal application of BDNF evoked fast and local dendritic calcium transients, which required activation of TrkB (tropomyosin-related kinase B) receptors as well as activation of voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels. Virus-mediated expression of PSD-95:CFP (postsynaptic density-95 tagged with cyan fluorescent protein) revealed that spontaneous local calcium transients occurred frequently at postsynaptic sites along the dendrite. The frequency of synaptically localized calcium transients was specifically reduced by blocking intrinsic BDNF signaling, whereas nonsynaptic calcium rises were not affected. Furthermore, focal BDNF delivery evoked localized and fast calcium elevations specifically at postsynaptic sites. Together, our results demonstrate that BDNF-dependent calcium signaling in developing hippocampal neurons is fast and occurs at synapses. These temporal and spatial characteristics of intrinsic BDNF signaling as well as its relative abundance renders BDNF an ideal signaling molecule in the establishment of specific synaptic connectivity and functional neuronal networks.
Leptin Signaling in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarii Increases Sympathetic Nerve Activity to the Kidney

The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus was initially regarded as the principal site of leptin action, but there is increasing evidence for functional leptin receptors in extrahypothalamic sites, including the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS). We demonstrated previously that arcuate injection of leptin increases sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) to brown adipose tissue and kidney. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that leptin signaling in the NTS affects sympathetic neural outflow. Using a stereotaxic device in anesthetized rats, we microinjected leptin (0.25 to 1.00 &mgr;g) or saline into the NTS while recording SNA to kidney and brown adipose tissue. Microinjection of leptin into the commissural and medial subnuclei of the caudal NTS at the level of the area postrema in Sprague-Dawley rats produced a dose-related increase in renal SNA (+112±15% with leptin 1 &mgr;g; n=7; P<0.001) but did not increase SNA to brown adipose tissue (−15±12%; P value not significant). This effect depended on intact functional leptin receptors, because it was not observed in Zucker obese rats that have a missense mutation in the leptin receptor. Rostral NTS injection of leptin failed to increase SNA, indicating that leptin signaling in the NTS is probably confined to the caudal NTS at the level of the area postrema. In summary, this study demonstrates that leptin signaling in the caudal NTS increases SNA to the kidney but not to the brown adipose tissue. The study strengthens the concept of a distributed brain network of leptin action and demonstrates that these distributed brain sites can mediate contrasting sympathetic responses to leptin.
Structural basis for self‐recognition by autoimmune T‐cell receptors

T‐cell receptors (TCRs) recognize peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex molecules (pMHC) to discriminate between foreign and self‐antigens. Whereas T‐cell recognition of foreign peptides is essential for protection against microbial pathogens, recognition of self‐peptides by T cells that have escaped negative selection in the thymus can lead to autoimmune disease. Structural studies of autoimmune TCR–pMHC complexes have provided insights into the mechanisms underlying self‐recognition and escape from thymic deletion. Two broad categories of self‐reactive TCRs can be clearly distinguished: (i) TCRs with altered binding topologies to self‐pMHC and (ii) TCRs that bind self‐pMHC in the canonical diagonal orientation, but where there are structural defects or suboptimal anchors in the self‐ligand. For both categories, however, the overall stability of the autoimmune TCR–pMHC complex is markedly reduced compared to anti‐microbial complexes, allowing the autoreactive T cells to evade negative selection, yet retain the ability to be activated by self‐antigens in target organs. Additionally, the structures provide insights into TCR cross‐reactivity, which can contribute to autoimmunity by increasing the likelihood of self‐pMHC recognition. Efforts are now underway to understand the impact of structural alterations in autoimmune TCR–pMHC complexes on higher order assemblies involved in TCR signaling, as well as on immunological synapse formation.
Hub-Centered Gene Network Reconstruction Using Automatic Relevance Determination

Network inference deals with the reconstruction of biological networks from experimental data. A variety of different reverse engineering techniques are available; they differ in the underlying assumptions and mathematical models used. One common problem for all approaches stems from the complexity of the task, due to the combinatorial explosion of different network topologies for increasing network size. To handle this problem, constraints are frequently used, for example on the node degree, number of edges, or constraints on regulation functions between network components. We propose to exploit topological considerations in the inference of gene regulatory networks. Such systems are often controlled by a small number of hub genes, while most other genes have only limited influence on the network's dynamic. We model gene regulation using a Bayesian network with discrete, Boolean nodes. A hierarchical prior is employed to identify hub genes. The first layer of the prior is used to regularize weights on edges emanating from one specific node. A second prior on hyperparameters controls the magnitude of the former regularization for different nodes. The net effect is that central nodes tend to form in reconstructed networks. Network reconstruction is then performed by maximization of or sampling from the posterior distribution. We evaluate our approach on simulated and real experimental data, indicating that we can reconstruct main regulatory interactions from the data. We furthermore compare our approach to other state-of-the art methods, showing superior performance in identifying hubs. Using a large publicly available dataset of over 800 cell cycle regulated genes, we are able to identify several main hub genes. Our method may thus provide a valuable tool to identify interesting candidate genes for further study. Furthermore, the approach presented may stimulate further developments in regularization methods for network reconstruction from data.
Long Distance Parental Caregivers' Experiences with Siblings

Increasing numbers of middle-aged adults provide long-distance care for their parents, yet relatively few studies have addressed their experiences. Particularly neglected themes include siblings' communication and division of labor when one or more live at a distance from the parent. The researchers interviewed 22 adult children (10 women and 12 men) aged 37 to 65. Participants were members of sibling groups numbering two to seven. Using open-ended questions, the researchers addressed aspects of caregiving including: coordination of care, division of labor, distant siblings' views of caregiving activities, and caregiving and sibling relationships. The researchers used QSR Nu*dist software to assist with coding and analysis of the qualitative data. The study showed different experiences and expectations of hometown siblings compared with long distance siblings. Participants' perceptions of their siblings' caregiving competencies, willingness to care, financial ability to help, and personal relationships with the parent affected caregiving decision making and division of labor.
Uncertainty representation, quantification and evaluation for data and information fusion

Mathematical and uncertainty modelling is an important component of data fusion (the fusion of unprocessed sensor data) and information fusion (the fusion of processed or interpreted data). If uncertainties in the modelling process are not or are incorrectly accounted for, fusion processes may provide under- or overconfident results, or in some cases incorrect results. These are often owing to incorrect or invalid simplifying assumptions during the modelling process. The authors investigate the sources of uncertainty in the modelling process. In particular, four processes of abstraction are identified where uncertainty may enter the modelling process. These are isolation abstraction (where uncertainty is introduced by isolating a portion of the real world to be modelled), datum uncertainty (where uncertainty is introduced by representing real world information by a mathematical quantity), data generation abstraction (where uncertainty is introduced through a mathematical representation of the mapping between a real-world process and an observable datum), and process abstraction (where uncertainty is introduced through a mathematical representation of real world entities and processes). The uncertainties associated with these abstraction processes are characterised according to the uncertainty representation and reasoning evaluation framework (URREF) ontology. A Bayesian network information fusion use case that models the rhino poaching problem is utilised to demonstrate the taxonomies introduced in this paper.
A tale of one letter: Morphological processing in early Arabic spelling

The study examined spelling of the letter ت in Arabic among first-, second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade native Arabic-speaking children (N = 150). The letter is among the most frequent letters in Arabic and it participates in the encoding of three productive morphological entities: root, word-pattern and affix. The letter is also homographic and may represent the default voiceless dental-alveolar stop phoneme /t/ as well as its emphatic allophonic variant [ṭ] coinciding, hence, with the phoneme typically represented by the letter ط. The study tested whether children use morphological cues in spelling the letter in Arabic, and whether morphological processing is different for different morphemes and in different grades. The results indicate that morphological processing is functional very early on in Arabic spelling among children. Yet, morphological processing appears to depend on the specific morpheme targeted, with some morphemes lending themselves more strongly to morphological processing than others. The results are discussed within the framework of the morphological and morpho-orthographic structure of Arabic.
Face Familiarity, Distinctiveness, and Categorical Perception

Four experiments with faces support the original interpretation of categorical perception (CP) as only present for familiar categories. Unlike in the results of Levin and Beale (2000), no evidence is found for face identity CP with unfamiliar faces. Novel face identities were shown to be capable of encoding for immediate sorting purposes but the representations utilized do not have the format of perceptual categories. One possibility explored was that a choice of a distinctive face as an end-point in a morphed continuum can spuriously produce effects that resemble CP. Such morphed continua provided unequal psychological responses to equal physical steps though much more so in a better likeness paradigm than for forced-choice recognition. Thus, researchers doing almost the same experiments may produce very different results and come to radically different conclusions.
A Cross-cultural Analysis of English Newspaper Editorials

■ It is true that analyses of English language texts dominate the literature. It is equally true that a flourishing field of Contrastive Rhetoric (CR) research has begun to address the way various text types and/or genres may differ across cultures and languages (see Connor 1996, 2003). Very much in line with these developments, this study was an attempt to first characterize the global and/or macro-rhetorical structure of English newspaper editorials and formulate what Halliday and Hasan (1989: 64) call `the Generic Structure Potential' (GSP) of a genre. Secondly, this study attempted to cross-examine whether there is significant macro-structural variation from one culture to another within the same genre. To this end, a total of 90 editorials culled from three English newspapers (30 editorials each) published in three different socio-cultural environments by native speakers of English (The Washington Times), and non-native speakers (The Iran News, and The Pakistan Today) were text-analyzed. The results of a GSP analysis of texts indicated that, in terms of the rhetorical elements of structure, there is `statistically' no significant difference (α = .05) between editorials written by (non-)native editorial writers, in whatever socio-cultural and socio-political context they are produced and disseminated. In plain words, results revealed that an `unmarked' English newspaper editorial, published either in Iran or Pakistan or the USA, typically consists of four obligatory and two optional generic rhetorical elements.
Mutant Selection Window and Characterization of Allelic Diversity for Ciprofloxacin-Resistant Mutants of Rhodococcus equi

ABSTRACT The mutant prevention concentration (MPC) for ciprofloxacin was determined for two Rhodococcus equi strains. The MPC for both strains was 32 μg/ml, which is above the peak serum concentration of ciprofloxacin obtainable by oral administration in humans. Nine single nucleotide changes corresponding to eight amino acid substitutions in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of DNA gyrase subunits A and B were characterized. Only mutants with amino acid changes in Ser-83 of GyrA were highly resistant (≥64 μg/ml). Our results suggest that ciprofloxacin monotherapy against R. equi infection may result in the emergence of ciprofloxacin-resistant mutants.
Life Reflection: A Social–Cognitive Analysis of Life Review

Life review and reminiscence are 2 concepts used to describe the phenomenon of people reflecting on their lives. Rather than used synonymously, these 2 concepts need to be distinguished on the basis of a social–cognitive process analysis. For that purpose, life reflection is introduced as a new term. Evidence shows that life reflection is a social–cognitive process that begins in adolescence and continues across the life span. It serves different functions across the life span, but at all ages it contributes to self-insight and a self-critical perspective. Striving for new insights about oneself and about life in general is challenging and taxing. Reflecting together with a trusted person, thus, may facilitate the process. A study testing and supporting some of these propositions is reported. Results are discussed in the context of lifespan theory.
Improving timely surgical antibiotic prophylaxis redosing administration using computerized record prompts.

BACKGROUND Timely prophylactic antibiotic administration aids in preventing postoperative superficial surgical site infections. However, during lengthy surgical procedures, redosing of prophylactic antibiotics may be unintentionally omitted. We assessed the utility of a computerized reminder as part of the anesthesia charting system to increase the rate of timely intraoperative prophylactic antibiotic redosing. METHODS A retrospective observational analysis was performed on consecutive patients undergoing non-cardiac surgical procedures at a university-affiliated hospital prior to and after the institution of a computerized reminder system. The reminder system presented the clinician with a series of on-screen dialog boxes prior to the redose time for the specific prophylactic antibiotic administered preoperatively. Antibiotic redosing was defined as appropriate if it occurred within 30 min prior to or after the due time, calculated as twice the half-life of the specific antibiotic. Patients were excluded if the case duration was less than twice the half-life of the administered prophylactic antibiotic, or if no prophylactic antibiotic was given. RESULTS A total of 287 cases were included in the study (148 pre-intervention, 139 post-intervention). Patient age, case length, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score stratification did not differ between the groups. Use of the reminder system resulted in an increase in the appropriate redosing of antibiotics from 20% prior to institution of the reminder to 58% after institution (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A computerized reminder system is an effective tool to assist in appropriate intraoperative redosing of prophylactic antibiotics during lengthy surgical procedures.