Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Playing Mastermind With Many Colors

We analyze the general version of the classic guessing game Mastermind with n positions and k colors. Since the case k ≤ n1 − ε, ε > 0 a constant, is well understood, we concentrate on larger numbers of colors. For the most prominent case k = n, our results imply that Codebreaker can find the secret code with O(nlog log n) guesses. This bound is valid also when only black answer pegs are used. It improves the O(nlog n) bound first proven by Chvátal. We also show that if both black and white answer pegs are used, then the O(nlog log n) bound holds for up to n2log log n colors. These bounds are almost tight, as the known lower bound of Ω(n) shows. Unlike for k ≤ n1 − ε, simply guessing at random until the secret code is determined is not sufficient. In fact, we show that an optimal nonadaptive strategy (deterministic or randomized) needs Θ(nlog n) guesses.
Vascular Endothelial Adrenomedullin-RAMP2 System Is Essential for Vascular Integrity and Organ Homeostasis

Background— Revealing the mechanisms underlying the functional integrity of the vascular system could make available novel therapeutic approaches. We previously showed that knocking out the widely expressed peptide adrenomedullin (AM) or receptor activity-modifying protein 2 (RAMP2), an AM-receptor accessory protein, causes vascular abnormalities and is embryonically lethal. Our aim was to investigate the function of the vascular AM-RAMP2 system directly. Methods and Results— We generated endothelial cell–specific RAMP2 and AM knockout mice (E-RAMP2−/− and E-AM−/−). Most E-RAMP2−/− mice died perinatally. In surviving adults, vasculitis occurred spontaneously. With aging, E-RAMP2−/− mice showed severe organ fibrosis with marked oxidative stress and accelerated vascular senescence. Later, liver cirrhosis, cardiac fibrosis, and hydronephrosis developed. We next used a line of drug-inducible E-RAMP2−/− mice (DI-E-RAMP2−/−) to induce RAMP2 deletion in adults, which enabled us to analyze the initial causes of the aforementioned vascular and organ damage. Early after the induction, pronounced edema with enhanced vascular leakage occurred. In vitro analysis revealed the vascular leakage to be caused by actin disarrangement and detachment of endothelial cells. We found that the AM-RAMP2 system regulates the Rac1-GTP/RhoA-GTP ratio and cortical actin formation and that a defect in this system causes the disruption of actin formation, leading to vascular and organ damage at the chronic stage after the gene deletion. Conclusions— Our findings show that the AM-RAMP2 system is a key determinant of vascular integrity and homeostasis from prenatal stages through adulthood. Furthermore, our models demonstrate how endothelial cells regulate vascular integrity and how their dysregulation leads to organ damage.
Team sports for overweight children: the Stanford Sports to Prevent Obesity Randomized Trial (SPORT).

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an after-school team sports program for reducing weight gain in low-income overweight children. DESIGN Six-month, 2-arm, parallel-group, pilot randomized controlled trial. SETTING Low-income, racial/ethnic minority community. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-one children in grades 4 and 5 with a body mass index at or above the 85th percentile. INTERVENTIONS The treatment intervention consisted of an after-school soccer program. The "active placebo" control intervention consisted of an after-school health education program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Implementation, acceptability, body mass index, physical activity measured using accelerometers, reported television and other screen time, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and weight concerns. RESULTS All 21 children completed the study. Compared with children receiving health education, children in the soccer group had significant decreases in body mass index z scores at 3 and 6 months and significant increases in total daily, moderate, and vigorous physical activity at 3 months. CONCLUSION An after-school team soccer program for overweight children can be a feasible, acceptable, and efficacious intervention for weight control.
Histochemical Demonstration and Localization of H2O2 in Organs of Higher Plants by Tissue Printing on Nitrocellulose Paper

A sensitive tissue-print assay for the detection and histological localization of H2O2 in freshly cut organ sections was developed by impregnating nitrocellulose paper with a mixture of Kl and soluble starch. H2O2 transferred from the cut surface of the section to the dried paper forms I2, which can be visualized by the intensely colored I2-starch complex. The detection limit of the assay is in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 mmol L-1 H2O2. Due to the rapid immobilization of H2O2 in the paper, very clear prints of the tissue distribution of H2O2 can be obtained with a spatial resolution on the level of single cells. The application of this rapid and simple assay is explored in five experimental examples demonstrating that the in vivo level of H2O2 varies strikingly in different tissues and can be regulated by developmental factors such as hormones, light, and wounding. The results show that: (a) In the hypocotyl of soybean (Glycine max L.) seedlings the apoplastic H2O2 level increases strongly from top to base, accompanied by characteristic changes in its histological distribution. (b) In the epicotyl of pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings the induction of lateral expansion by ethylene is correlated with a depletion of H2O2 in the cell walls of the expanding tissues. (c) In the hypocotyl of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seedlings H2O2 is primarily localized in a ring of parenchymatic tissue between xylem and cortex next to lignifying cells but not in the lignifying cells themselves. (d) In the hypocotyl of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings the light-mediated inhibition of elongation growth is correlated with a strong increase in H2O2 in the epidermis and in the vascular bundles. (e) Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers show high levels of H2O2 only in the outer cell layers but are able to accumulate H2O2 in the inner tissue upon wounding.
Effects of socialization in the household on youth susceptibility to smoking: a secondary analysis of the 2004/05 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey.

OBJECTIVE To determine associations between younger youths' susceptibility to smoking and four household variables related to tobacco socialization: parental and sibling smoking, restrictions on smoking in the home and exposure to smoking in vehicles. METHODS A secondary analysis of the 2004/05 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey used logistic regression to investigate the relationships between youth susceptibility to smoking, gender, and four household variables related to tobacco socialization. Susceptibility to smoking was operationalized by three levels of smoking experience and intention: non-susceptible non-smoker, susceptible non-smoker and experimenter/smoker. The national survey included 29 243 grade 5 to 9 students from randomly sampled public and private schools in ten provinces. RESULTS For non-smokers, the odds of being susceptible to smoking increased with having a sibling who smokes, a lack of a total household smoking ban and riding in a vehicle with a smoker in the previous week, when adjusting for all other variables in the model. These variables also increased the odds of being an experimenter/smoker versus a susceptible non-smoker. Parent smoking status was not significant in these models. CONCLUSION Denormalization messages, through enforced home and vehicle smoking bans, appear to support youth in maintaining a resolve to not smoke, regardless of parental smoking status.
Effect of parents' wartime deployment on the behavior of young children in military families.

OBJECTIVE To describe the effect of wartime military deployments on the behavior of young children in military families. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Childcare centers on a large Marine base. PARTICIPANTS Parents and childcare providers of children aged 1(1/2) to 5 years enrolled in on-base childcare centers. Main Exposure Parental deployment. OUTCOME MEASURES Mean externalizing, internalizing, and total symptom scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (1(1/2)-5 years) and the CBCL-Teacher Report Form (TRF) (1(1/2)-5 years). RESULTS One hundred sixty-nine of 233 consenting families (73%) participated. Nonresponders did not differ from responders in their child's age or TRF scores. Fifty-five children (33%) had a deployed parent. Parents with children aged 3 years or older and a deployed spouse had significantly higher depression scores than those without a deployed spouse. There were no differences in the demographic characteristics between groups. After controlling for respondent's age, stress and depressive symptoms, deployed service member's rank, and total number of children in the home, we found an age by deployment interaction: children aged 3 years or older with a deployed parent had significantly higher CBCL externalizing and total scores (externalizing, 48.50 vs 43.31, P < .05; total, 47.71 vs 42.68, P < .05) and externalizing and total TRF scores (externalizing, 50.21 vs 45.62, P < .05; total, 48.54 vs 43.73, P < .05) compared with same-aged peers without a deployed parent. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first to show that children aged 3 years or older with a deployed parent exhibit increased behavioral symptoms compared with peers without a deployed parent after controlling for caregiver's stress and depressive symptoms.
Diet, microbiota, and microbial metabolites in colon cancer risk in rural Africans and African Americans.

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies have suggested that most cases of sporadic colon cancer can be attributed to diet. The recognition that colonic microbiota have a major influence on colonic health suggests that they might mediate colonic carcinogenesis. OBJECTIVE To examine the hypothesis that the influence of diet on colon cancer risk is mediated by the microbiota through their metabolites, we measured differences in colonic microbes and their metabolites in African Americans with a high risk and in rural native Africans with a low risk of colon cancer. DESIGN Fresh fecal samples were collected from 12 healthy African Americans aged 50-65 y and from 12 age- and sex-matched native Africans. Microbiomes were analyzed with 16S ribosomal RNA gene pyrosequencing together with quantitative polymerase chain reaction of the major fermentative, butyrate-producing, and bile acid-deconjugating bacteria. Fecal short-chain fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography and bile acids by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS Microbial composition was fundamentally different, with a predominance of Prevotella in native Africans (enterotype 2) and of Bacteroides in African Americans (enterotype 1). Total bacteria and major butyrate-producing groups were significantly more abundant in fecal samples from native Africans. Microbial genes encoding for secondary bile acid production were more abundant in African Americans, whereas those encoding for methanogenesis and hydrogen sulfide production were higher in native Africans. Fecal secondary bile acid concentrations were higher in African Americans, whereas short-chain fatty acids were higher in native Africans. CONCLUSION Our results support the hypothesis that colon cancer risk is influenced by the balance between microbial production of health-promoting metabolites such as butyrate and potentially carcinogenic metabolites such as secondary bile acids.
Lack of Analgesic Activity of Morphine‐6‐glucuronide after Short‐term Intravenous Administration in Healthy Volunteers

Background: The analgesic activity of morphine‐6‐glucuronide (M‐6‐G) is well recognized for its contribution to the effects of morphine and its possible use as an opioid analgesic with a wider therapeutic range than morphine. The present study attempted to quantify the relative contribution of M‐6‐G to analgesia observed after systemic administration of morphine. Methods: In a placebo‐controlled, sixfold crossover study in 20 healthy men, the effects of M‐6‐G were assessed at steady‐state plasma concentrations of M‐6‐G identical to and two and three times higher than those measured after administration of morphine. Morphine and M‐6‐G were administered as an intravenous bolus followed by infusion over 4 h. Dosage A was M‐6‐G‐bolus of 0.015 mg/kg plus infusion of 0.0072 mg [center dot] kg sup ‐1 [center dot] h sup ‐1. Dosage B was M‐6‐G‐bolus of 0.029 mg/kg plus infusion of 0.014 mg [center dot] kg sup ‐1 [center dot] h sup ‐1. Dosage C was M‐6‐G‐bolus of 0.044 mg/kg plus infusion of 0.022 mg [center dot] kg sup ‐1 [center dot] h sup ‐1. Dosage D was a morphine bolus of 0.14 mg/kg plus infusion of 0.05 mg [center dot] kg sup ‐1 [center dot] h sup ‐1 for 4 h. Dosage E was M‐6‐G combined with morphine (doses A + D). Dosage F was a placebo. The analgesic effects of M‐6‐G and morphine were measured before administration of the bolus and after 3.5 h using an experimental pain model based on pain‐related cortical potentials and pain ratings after specific stimulation of the nasal nociceptor with short pulses of gaseous carbon dioxide. Results: Morphine significantly reduced subjective and objective pain correlates compared with placebo. In contrast, M‐6‐G produced no statistically significant effects. The addition of M‐6‐G to morphine did not increase the effects of morphine. Morphine produced significantly more side effects than M‐6‐G. Conclusion: After short‐term intravenous administration at doses that produce plasma concentrations of M‐6‐G similar to those seen after administration of morphine, M‐6‐G had no analgesic effects in the present placebo‐controlled study in healthy volunteers.
Stress Markers in Relation to Job Strain in Human Service Organizations

Background: Workers in human service organizations are often confronted with conflicting demands in providing care or education. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to relate levels of endocrine stress markers to perceived job strain in two human service organizations. Methods: Employees in two local units of the social insurance organization and two local units of the individual and family care sections of the social welfare in Sweden were selected and 103 employees participated (56% participation rate). The perceived job strain was assessed with a standardized questionnaire containing questions of the demand-control model. Questions specially designed to measure emotional demands were also included. The stress markers cortisol, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, testosterone and IgA and IgG were analysed in blood samples. Results: The main finding was an association between high emotional strain and increased levels of prolactin. The levels of cortisol, but none of the other four stress markers, increased slightly with emotional strain. Conclusions: Emotional strain experienced in human service work may cause psychological stress. The increase in prolactin was modest but consistent with findings in other published studies on stress-related endocrine alterations.
Differences Between Methods of Detecting Medication Errors: A Secondary Analysis of Medication Administration Errors Using Incident Reports, the Global Trigger Tool Method, and Observations

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Objectives This study aimed to compare medication administration errors detected by 3 different methods in terms of severity, type, and contributing factors. Methods The study was performed in one university hospital in Finland. A convenience sample of medication administration errors (n = 451) reported on incident reports or detected by reviewing randomly selected patient records via the Global Trigger Tool method and direct observations of patient record reviews were collected for reanalysis. The severity of the medication administration errors, the types thereof, and factors contributing to such errors were reclassified using the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention’s taxonomy of medication errors. Results The observational method revealed fewer medication errors that were more likely to cause harm to patients than did the incident reports or the Global Trigger Tool method. The incident reports and the Global Trigger Tool method mainly revealed wrong doses, whereas most medication administration errors in the observational data were errors involving the use of the incorrect technique. In addition, each method produced different information regarding the factors contributing to medication administration errors. Conclusions Based on the study’s findings and the limitations of each method, a combination of different methods should be used to discover representative information concerning medication administration errors. To increase medication administration safety, advanced multiprofessional collaboration, effective communication, adequate skills, more systematic medication processes, and distraction-free work environments are needed.
The Kinesin-12 Kif15 is a processive track-switching tetramer

Kinesin-12 motors are a little studied branch of the kinesin superfamily with the human protein (Kif15) implicated in spindle mechanics and chromosome movement. In this study, we reconstitute full-length hKif15 and its microtubule-targeting factor hTpx2 in vitro to gain insight into the motors mode of operation. We reveal that hKif15 is a plus-end-directed processive homotetramer that can step against loads of up to 3.5 pN. We further show that hKif15 is the first kinesin that effectively switches microtubule tracks at intersections, enabling it to navigate microtubule networks, such as the spindle. hKif15 tetramers are also capable of cross-linking microtubules, but unexpectedly, this does not depend on hTpx2. Instead, we find that hTpx2 inhibits hKif15 stepping when microtubule-bound. Our data reveal that hKif15 is a second tetrameric spindle motor in addition to the kinesin-5 Eg5 and provides insight into the mechanisms by which hKif15 and its inhibitor hTpx2 modulate spindle microtubule architecture. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.01724. 001
Nickel-free Stainless Steel for Medical Applications

BIOSS4 steel is essentially a nickel-free austenitic stainless steel developed by the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in response to nickel allergy problems associated with nickel-containing stainless steels that are widely used in medical applications. The high nitrogen content of this steel effectively maintains the austenitic stability and also contributes to the high levels of corrosion resistance and strength. BIOSS4 steel possesses a good combination of high strength and toughness, better corrosion resistance, and better blood compatibility, in comparison with the medical 316L stainless steel. Potential applications of BIOSS4 steel can include medical implantation material and orthodontic or orthopedic devices, as well as jewelries and other decorations.
Sib mating without inbreeding in the longhorn crazy ant

Sib matings increase homozygosity and, hence, the frequency of detrimental phenotypes caused by recessive deleterious alleles. However, many species have evolved adaptations that prevent the genetic costs associated with inbreeding. We discovered that the highly invasive longhorn crazy ant, Paratrechina longicornis, has evolved an unusual mode of reproduction whereby sib mating does not result in inbreeding. A population genetic study of P. longicornis revealed dramatic differences in allele frequencies between queens, males and workers. Mother–offspring analyses demonstrated that these allele frequency differences resulted from the fact that the three castes were all produced through different means. Workers developed through normal sexual reproduction between queens and males. However, queens were produced clonally and, thus, were genetically identical to their mothers. In contrast, males never inherited maternal alleles and were genetically identical to their fathers. The outcome of this system is that genetic inbreeding is impossible because queen and male genomes remain completely separate. Moreover, the sexually produced worker offspring retain the same genotype, combining alleles from both the maternal and paternal lineage over generations. Thus, queens may mate with their brothers in the parental nest, yet their offspring are no more homozygous than if the queen mated with a male randomly chosen from the population. The complete segregation of the male and female gene pools allows the queens to circumvent the costs associated with inbreeding and therefore may act as an important pre-adaptation for the crazy ant's tremendous invasive success.
Morphological and molecular analyses of larval trematodes in the intertidal bivalve Perumytilus purpuratus from central Chile

Abstract The bivalve Perumytilus purpuratus is a common species that is widely distributed throughout rocky intertidal zones in Chile. This bivalve is the first intermediate host for three trematode species: one bucephalid (an undetermined species) and two fellodistomids (Proctoeces lintoni and one undetermined species). A few studies based on morphological comparisons, experimental infection and molecular analyses have been performed to ascertain the taxon (at least at the family level) to which these trematodes belong; yet, there remains no clarification about the specific identity of these trematodes. Therefore, in this study, we compared the V4 region nucleotide sequences of the 18S rRNA of these three sporocyst species, classified as morphotypes, found in P. purpuratus and nine adult trematode species from intertidal fishes that are likely definitive hosts for these parasites. The sequences from two of the sporocyst morphotypes matched with adult trematodes from the intertidal fish: type 1 sporocyst was similar to Prosorhynchoides carvajali (Bucephalidae), with a mean genetic divergence of 0.78%, and type 2 sporocyst was similar to Proctoeces sp. (but not P. lintoni), with 0% genetic divergence. The third species (type 3 sporocyst) was classified to the family Fellodistomidae; however, the sequence from this species differed greatly from the three other fellodistomid species documented in the marine fish of Chile and from other fellodistomids in public databases. Moreover, this morphotype has a particular cercarial morphology that greatly differs from other fellodistomid species described thus far. Therefore, this intriguing trematode remains a mystery.
Antibody-mediated autoimmune myocarditis depends on genetically determined target organ sensitivity

Injury to cardiac myocytes often leads to the production of anti-myosin antibodies. While these antibodies are a marker of myocardial injury, their contribution to pathogenesis in diseases such as autoimmune myocarditis or rheumatic fever is much less clear. We demonstrate in this report that monoclonal anti-myosin antibodies can mediate myocarditis in a susceptible mouse strain. Additionally, we show disease susceptibility depends on the presence of myosin or a myosin- like molecule in cardiac extracellular matrix. This study demonstrates that susceptibility to autoimmune heart disease depends not only on the activation of self-reactive lymphocytes but also on genetically determined target organ sensitivity to autoantibodies.