Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of the neutrophil‐activating CXC chemokine ENA‐78/CXCL5 by human eosinophils

Background Eosinophils are seen at sites of inflammation in diseases such as helminthic infestation, asthma, ulcerative colitis and some neoplastic diseases. They are also associated with connective tissue remodelling, for example in longstanding asthma. In the present study, we investigated whether eosinophils express the CXC chemokine epithelial cell‐derived neutrophil activating peptide (ENA‐78/CXCL5), a chemokine that can activate neutrophils and in addition possesses angiogenic properties.
Closure of patent foramen ovale versus medical therapy after cryptogenic stroke.

BACKGROUND Whether closure of a patent foramen ovale is effective in the prevention of recurrent ischemic stroke in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke is unknown. We conducted a trial to evaluate whether closure is superior to medical therapy alone in preventing recurrent ischemic stroke or early death in patients 18 to 60 years of age. METHODS In this prospective, multicenter, randomized, event-driven trial, we randomly assigned patients, in a 1:1 ratio, to medical therapy alone or closure of the patent foramen ovale. The primary results of the trial were analyzed when the target of 25 primary end-point events had been observed and adjudicated. RESULTS We enrolled 980 patients (mean age, 45.9 years) at 69 sites. The medical-therapy group received one or more antiplatelet medications (74.8%) or warfarin (25.2%). Treatment exposure between the two groups was unequal (1375 patient-years in the closure group vs. 1184 patient-years in the medical-therapy group, P=0.009) owing to a higher dropout rate in the medical-therapy group. In the intention-to-treat cohort, 9 patients in the closure group and 16 in the medical-therapy group had a recurrence of stroke (hazard ratio with closure, 0.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22 to 1.11; P=0.08). The between-group difference in the rate of recurrent stroke was significant in the prespecified per-protocol cohort (6 events in the closure group vs. 14 events in the medical-therapy group; hazard ratio, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.96; P=0.03) and in the as-treated cohort (5 events vs. 16 events; hazard ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.75; P=0.007). Serious adverse events occurred in 23.0% of the patients in the closure group and in 21.6% in the medical-therapy group (P=0.65). Procedure-related or device-related serious adverse events occurred in 21 of 499 patients in the closure group (4.2%), but the rate of atrial fibrillation or device thrombus was not increased. CONCLUSIONS In the primary intention-to-treat analysis, there was no significant benefit associated with closure of a patent foramen ovale in adults who had had a cryptogenic ischemic stroke. However, closure was superior to medical therapy alone in the prespecified per-protocol and as-treated analyses, with a low rate of associated risks. (Funded by St. Jude Medical; RESPECT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00465270.).
StoneHinge: Hinge prediction by network analysis of individual protein structures

Hinge motions are important for molecular recognition, and knowledge of their location can guide the sampling of protein conformations for docking. Predicting domains and intervening hinges is also important for identifying structurally self‐determinate units and anticipating the influence of mutations on protein flexibility and stability. Here we present StoneHinge, a novel approach for predicting hinges between domains using input from two complementary analyses of noncovalent bond networks: StoneHingeP, which identifies domain‐hinge‐domain signatures in ProFlex constraint counting results, and StoneHingeD, which does the same for DomDecomp Gaussian network analyses. Predictions for the two methods are compared to hinges defined in the literature and by visual inspection of interpolated motions between conformations in a series of proteins. For StoneHingeP, all the predicted hinges agree with hinge sites reported in the literature or observed visually, although some predictions include extra residues. Furthermore, no hinges are predicted in six hinge‐free proteins. On the other hand, StoneHingeD tends to overpredict the number of hinges, while accurately pinpointing hinge locations. By determining the consensus of their results, StoneHinge improves the specificity, predicting 11 of 13 hinges found both visually and in the literature for nine different open protein structures, and making no false‐positive predictions. By comparison, a popular hinge detection method that requires knowledge of both the open and closed conformations finds 10 of the 13 known hinges, while predicting four additional, false hinges.
FORE! An Analysis of CEO Shirking

Using golf play as a measure of leisure, we document that there is significant variation in the amount of leisure that CEOs consume. We find that they consume more leisure when they have lower equity-based incentives. CEOs that golf frequently (i.e., those in the top quartile of golf play, who play at least 22 rounds per year) are associated with firms that have lower operating performance and firm values. Numerous tests accounting for the possible endogenous nature of these relations support a conclusion that CEO shirking causes lower firm performance. We find that boards are more likely to replace CEOs who shirk, but CEOs with longer tenures or weaker governance environments appear to avoid disciplinary consequences.
Recognition of acoustic events using deep neural networks

This paper proposes the use of a deep neural network for the recognition of isolated acoustic events such as footsteps, baby crying, motorcycle, rain etc. For an acoustic event classification task containing 61 distinct classes, classification accuracy of the neural network classifier (60.3%) excels that of the conventional Gaussian mixture model based hidden Markov model classifier (54.8%). In addition, an unsupervised layer-wise pretraining followed by standard backpropagation training of a deep network (known as a deep belief network) results in further increase of 2-4% in classification accuracy. Effects of implementation parameters such as types of features and number of adjacent frames as additional features are found to be significant on classification accuracy.
Parallel thalamic activation of the first and second somatosensory areas in prosimian primates and tree shrews

In Tupaia belangeri and Galago senegalensis, microelectrode recordings immediately after ablation of the representation of the forelimb in the midportion of the first somatosensory area, S‐I, revealed that all parts of the second somatosensory area, S‐II, remained highly responsive to cutaneous stimuli. In this way, prosimian primates, close relatives of simian primates, and tree shrews differ markedly from monkeys in which S‐II is deactivated by comparable ablations, and resemble such mammals as cats and rabbits in which S‐II also remains highly responsive following ablations in S‐I. Thus, it appears that the generalized mammalian condition is that S‐I and S‐II are independently activated via parallel thalamocortical pathways. A dependence of S‐II on serial connections from the thalamus to the S‐I region and then to S‐II apparently evolved with the advent of anthropoid primates, and may be present only in monkeys and perhaps other higher primates.
Original XPCTM Effect on Salmonella Typhimurium and Cecal Microbiota from Three Different Ages of Broiler Chickens When Incubated in an Anaerobic In Vitro Culture System

Feed supplements are utilized in the poultry industry as a means for improving growth performance and reducing pathogens. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of Diamond V Original XPCTM (XPC, a fermented product generated from yeast cultures) on Salmonella Typhimurium ST 97 along with its potential for modulation of the cecal microbiota by using an anaerobic in vitro mixed culture assay. Cecal slurries obtained from three broiler chickens at each of three sampling ages (14, 28, and 42 days) were generated and exposed to a 24 h pre-incubation period with the various treatments: XPC (1% XPC, ceca, and feeds), CO (ceca only), and NC (negative control) group consisting of ceca and feeds. The XPC, CO, and NC were each challenged with S. Typhimurium and subsequently plated on selective media at 0, 24, and 48 h. Plating results indicated that the XPC treatment significantly reduced the survival of S. Typhimurium at the 24 h plating time point for both the 28 and 42 days bird sampling ages, while S. Typhimurium reduction in the NC appeared to eventually reach the same population survival level at the 48 h plating time point. For microbiome analysis, Trial 1 revealed that XPC, CO, and NC groups exhibited a similar pattern of taxa summary. However, more Bacteroidetes were observed in the CO group at 24 and 48 h. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in alpha diversity among samples based on day, hour and treatment. For beta diversity analysis, a pattern shift was observed when samples clustered according to sampling hour. In Trial 2, both XPC and NC groups exhibited the highest Firmicutes level at 0 h but the Bacteroidetes group became dominant at 6 h. Complexity of alpha diversity was increased in the initial contents from older birds and became less complex after 6 h of incubation. Beta diversity analysis was clustered as a function of treatment NC and XPC groups and by individual hours including 6, 12, 24, and 48 h. Overall, addition of XPC influenced microbiome diversity in a similar fashion to the profile of the NC group.
Baroreceptor Dynamics and Their Relationship to Afferent Fiber Type and Hypertension

Static characteristics of baroreceptors differ depending on whether receptors are connected to myelinated or unmyelinated axons (MBs and UBs) and whether they come from normotensive or spontaneously hypertensive rats (NTRs and SHRs). Dynamic characteristics are incompletely known and were examined using an in vitro rat aortic arch-aortic nerve preparation in which static characteristics are similar to those present in vivo. Small amplitude sinusoidal pressures were applied at frequencies varying from 0.1 to 20 Hz over the range of linear responses to pressure. MBs from SHRs and NTRs show peaking in curves relating gain to frequency, gain being the ratio of sinusoidal discharge-rate amplitude and sine wave pressure amplitude. Similar curves from UBs of NTRs and SHRs are overdamped and show no such peaking. In MBs, the response phase leads initially, starts to lag around resonant frequencies, and falls behind progressively thereafter. In UBs, the phase also leads initially, then lags monotonically to about −60°. The discharge rectifies at high frequencies probably as the result of nonlinear threshold properties of the spike-initiating zone. The dynamic response curves of SHR and NTR aortas also were determined and found to be flat to much higher frequencies than those of the baroreceptors. Thus aortic wall dynamics do not limit the frequency range of the baroreceptors. There are no differences between NTRs and SHRs in the dynamics of either their aortas or their baroreceptors. The differences in dynamics between MBs and UBs may be due to differences in mechanical coupling related to structural differences between their endings.
Damage resistance of aluminum core honeycomb sandwich panels with carbon/epoxy face sheets

The damage resistance of composite sandwich structures with eight and 16 ply quasi-isotropic, carbon/epoxy face sheets and aluminum honeycomb core is evaluated. The external damage is induced quasi-statically, using spherical steel indentors under displacement control, to be in the vicinity of the barely visible threshold. In addition to the face sheet thickness, other parameters that are varied include the core thickness, core density, face sheet layup, and indentor diameter. The effect of these parameters on the extent of damage is evaluated using the damage metrics of dent depth, dent diameter, and planar area of delamination. When dent depth or dent diameter is considered as the damage metric, specimens containing a higher density core are always found to be the most damage resistant. When planar area of delamination is considered as the damage metric, the eight ply configuration comprised of a lower density core and face sheets containing only small ply angle changes are found to be the most damage resistant. However, this configuration is found to be the least damage resistant when this damage metric is applied to the 16 ply specimens. Rather, the best delamination resistance is provided by a 16 ply configuration with a high density core and face sheets that have ±45° ply groups at the beginning and ending of their stacking sequence.
Angelman syndrome 2005: Updated consensus for diagnostic criteria

In 1995, a consensus statement was published for the purpose of summarizing the salient clinical features of Angelman syndrome (AS) to assist the clinician in making a timely and accurate diagnosis. Considering the scientific advances made in the last 10 years, it is necessary now to review the validity of the original consensus criteria. As in the original consensus project, the methodology used for this review was to convene a group of scientists and clinicians, with experience in AS, to develop a concise consensus statement, supported by scientific publications where appropriate. It is hoped that this revised consensus document will facilitate further clinical study of individuals with proven AS, and assist in the evaluation of those who appear to have clinical features of AS but have normal laboratory diagnostic testing. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analytical model for high-strength concrete columns with square cross-section

In the present paper a mechanical model to predict the compressive response of high strength short concrete columns with square cross-section confined by transverse steel is presented. The model allows one to estimate the equivalent confinement pressures exercised by transverse steel during the loading process taking into account of the interaction of the stirrups with the inner core both in the plane of the stirrups and in the space between two successive stirrups. The lateral pressure distributions at hoop levels are obtained by using a simple model of elastic beam on elastic medium simulating the interaction between stirrups and concrete core, including yielding of steel stirrups and damage of concrete core by means of the variation in the elastic modulus and in the Poisson`s coefficient. Complete stress-strain curves in compression of confined concrete core are obtained considering the variation of the axial forces in the leg of the stirrup during the loading process. The model was compared with some others presented in the literature and it was validated on the basis of the existing experimental data. Finally, it was shown that the model allows one to include the main parameters governing the confinement problems of high strength concrete members such as: - the strength of plain concrete and its brittleness; - the diameter, the pitch and the yielding stress of the stirrups; - the diameter and the yielding stress of longitudinal bars; - the side of the member, etc.
Towards Tight Lower Bounds for Range Reporting on the RAM

In the orthogonal range reporting problem, we are to preprocess a set of $n$ points with integer coordinates on a $U \times U$ grid. The goal is to support reporting all $k$ points inside an axis-aligned query rectangle. This is one of the most fundamental data structure problems in databases and computational geometry. Despite the importance of the problem its complexity remains unresolved in the word-RAM. On the upper bound side, three best tradeoffs exists: (1.) Query time $O(\lg \lg n + k)$ with $O(nlg^{\varepsilon}n)$ words of space for any constant $\varepsilon>0$. (2.) Query time $O((1 + k) \lg \lg n)$ with $O(n \lg \lg n)$ words of space. (3.) Query time $O((1+k)\lg^{\varepsilon} n)$ with optimal $O(n)$ words of space. However, the only known query time lower bound is $\Omega(\log \log n +k)$, even for linear space data structures. All three current best upper bound tradeoffs are derived by reducing range reporting to a ball-inheritance problem. Ball-inheritance is a problem that essentially encapsulates all previous attempts at solving range reporting in the word-RAM. In this paper we make progress towards closing the gap between the upper and lower bounds for range reporting by proving cell probe lower bounds for ball-inheritance. Our lower bounds are tight for a large range of parameters, excluding any further progress for range reporting using the ball-inheritance reduction.
Hydrogen Embrittlement Behavior of High Mn TRIP/TWIP Steels

The hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of high strength TRIP/TWIP steels with the tensile strength of 600Mpa to 900Mpa grade was investigated using cathodically hydrogen charged specimens. TWIP steels with full austenite structure show a lower hydrogen content than do TRIP steels. The uniform distribution of strong traps throughout the matrix in the form of austenite is considered beneficial to reduce the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of TWIP steels. Moreover, an austenite structure with very fine deformation twins formed during straining could also improve the ductility and reduce notch sensitivity. In Ubend and deep drawing cup tests, TWIP steels show a good resistance to hydrogen embrittlement compared with TRIP steels.
Wikipedia Information Flow Analysis Reveals the Scale-Free Architecture of the Semantic Space

In this paper we extract the topology of the semantic space in its encyclopedic acception, measuring the semantic flow between the different entries of the largest modern encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and thus creating a directed complex network of semantic flows. Notably at the percolation threshold the semantic space is characterised by scale-free behaviour at different levels of complexity and this relates the semantic space to a wide range of biological, social and linguistics phenomena. In particular we find that the cluster size distribution, representing the size of different semantic areas, is scale-free. Moreover the topology of the resulting semantic space is scale-free in the connectivity distribution and displays small-world properties. However its statistical properties do not allow a classical interpretation via a generative model based on a simple multiplicative process. After giving a detailed description and interpretation of the topological properties of the semantic space, we introduce a stochastic model of content-based network, based on a copy and mutation algorithm and on the Heaps' law, that is able to capture the main statistical properties of the analysed semantic space, including the Zipf's law for the word frequency distribution.
An Equivalent Presentation of the Bezem-Coquand-Huber Category of Cubical Sets

Staton has shown that there is an equivalence between the category of presheaves on (the opposite of) finite sets and partial bijections and the category of nominal restriction sets: see [2, Exercise 9.7]. The aim here is to see that this extends to an equivalence between the category of cubical sets introduced in [1] and a category of nominal sets equipped with a ‘01-substitution’ operation. It seems to me that presenting the topos in question equivalently as 01-substitution sets rather than cubical sets will make it easier (and more elegant) to carry out the constructions and calculations needed to build the intended univalent model of intentional constructive type theory.
Selenium sensitizes MCF-7 breast cancer cells to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis through modulation of phospho-Akt and its downstream substrates

Doxorubicin is an effective drug against breast cancer. However, the favorable therapeutic response to doxorubicin is often associated with severe toxicity. The present research was aimed at developing a strategy of increasing doxorubicin sensitivity so that lower doses may be used without compromising efficacy. The MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line currently in use in our laboratory did not respond to doxorubicin cell killing during a 24-h treatment period. By combining doxorubicin with selenium, we were successful in producing a brisk enhancement of apoptosis. We examined the effects of these two agents on Akt activation and found that selenium was capable of depressing doxorubicin-induced Akt phosphorylation. Several lines of evidence converged to support the notion that this effect is important in mediating the synergy between selenium and doxorubicin. Selenium was no longer able to sensitize cells to doxorubicin under a condition in which Akt was constitutively activated. Increased Akt phosphorylation following treatment with doxorubicin was accompanied by increased phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) and FOXO3A, which are substrates of Akt (both GSK3β and FOXO3A lose their proapoptotic activities when they are phosphorylated). Selenium reduced the abundance of phospho-GSK3β induced by doxorubicin, whereas chemical inhibition of GSK3β activity muted the apoptotic response to the selenium/doxorubicin combination. Additional experiments showed that selenium increased the transactivation activity of FOXO3A, as evidenced by a reporter gene assay, as well as by the elevated expression of Bim (a target gene of FOXO3A). The functional significance of Bim was confirmed by the observation that RNA interference of Bim markedly reduced the potency of selenium/doxorubicin to induce apoptosis. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(3):OF1–8
Can analysts predict stock returns ? Implied cost of capital and value-to-price ratio in international capital markets †

This study demonstrates that analysts can help to predict the cross-section of stock returns across international capital markets. Analyst estimates are captured by the implied cost of capital (ICC) and the value-to-price (V/P) ratio, two risk and valuation measures derived from analyst forecasts. This paper shows that both measures can explain the cross-section of stock returns beyond the risk-return trade-off implied by standard asset pricing models. However, the predictive power of ICC and V/P ratio varies across countries. Analysts are most valuable in France, Japan and the United States, whereas they are only marginally useful in Germany and Italy. JEL Classification: G12, G14, G15, M41
Outcome of the Stryker® Trident ‘All-Poly’ Constraint Acetabular Insert: A District General Hospital Experience

Introduction Constrained acetabular inserts are designed as revision solutions for unstable total hip arthroplasties to prevent dislocation and as a possible primary option for elderly patients at risk of recurrent dislocation. Purpose Our aim was to establish clinical and radiological outcomes of an ‘all-poly’ constrained acetabular device and to highlight reasons for component failure. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our use of the Stryker® Trident ‘all-poly’ constrained acetabular insert between 2008 and 2013. All inserts were cemented directly into the acetabulum. Demographic data was collated. The indication for use of a constrained insert and postoperative complications were determined. Patients were reviewed clinically and underwent radiographic follow-up. Results A total of 56 constrained inserts were utilised during the study period. Follow-up was for a minimum of 2 years (mean 4.0 years and range 2.0-6.8 years). The mean latest follow-up Oxford hip score was 34.6 (11-48). One postoperative superficial wound infection, 1 breakage of the constraining ring without clinical consequence and 1 recognised complication of liner failure at the bipolar interface were noted. Conclusions In the short to medium term, acetabular constraint offers a useful primary or revision option in patients at risk or with recurrent dislocation.