Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurosteroids in Schizophrenia: Pathogenic and Therapeutic Implications

Neurosteroids are a group of important endogenous molecules affecting many neural functions in the brain. Increasing evidence suggests a possible role of these neurosteroids in the pathology and symptomatology of schizophrenia (SZ) and other mental disorders. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about the neural functions of neurosteroids in the brain, and to evaluate the role of the key neurosteroids as candidate modulators in the etiology and therapeutics of SZ. The present paper provides a brief introduction of neurosteroid metabolism and distribution, followed by a discussion of the mechanisms underlying neurosteroid actions in the brain. The content regarding the modulation of the GABAA receptor is elaborated, given the considerable knowledge of its interactions with other neurotransmitter and neuroprotective systems, as well as its ameliorating effects on stress that may play a role in the SZ pathophysiology. In addition, several preclinical and clinical studies suggested a therapeutic benefit of neurosteroids in SZ patients, even though the presence of altered neurosteroid pathways in the circulating blood and/or brain remains debatable. Following treatment of antipsychotic drugs in SZ, therapeutic benefits have also been linked to the regulation of neurosteroid signaling. Specifically, the neurosteroids such as pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone affect a broad spectrum of behavioral functions through their unique molecular characteristics and may represent innovative therapeutic targets for SZ. Future investigations in larger cohorts with long-term follow-ups will be required to ascertain the neuropsychopharmacological role of this yet unexploited class of neurosteroid agents.
Perforin Expression Directly Ex Vivo by HIV-Specific CD8+ T-Cells Is a Correlate of HIV Elite Control

Many immune correlates of CD8+ T-cell-mediated control of HIV replication, including polyfunctionality, proliferative ability, and inhibitory receptor expression, have been discovered. However, no functional correlates using ex vivo cells have been identified with the known ability to cause the direct elimination of HIV-infected cells. We have recently discovered the ability of human CD8+ T-cells to rapidly upregulate perforin—an essential molecule for cell-mediated cytotoxicity—following antigen-specific stimulation. Here, we examined perforin expression capability in a large cross-sectional cohort of chronically HIV-infected individuals with varying levels of viral load: elite controllers (n = 35), viremic controllers (n = 29), chronic progressors (n = 27), and viremic nonprogressors (n = 6). Using polychromatic flow cytometry and standard intracellular cytokine staining assays, we measured perforin upregulation, cytokine production, and degranulation following stimulation with overlapping peptide pools encompassing all proteins of HIV. We observed that HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells from elite controllers consistently display an enhanced ability to express perforin directly ex vivo compared to all other groups. This ability is not restricted to protective HLA-B haplotypes, does not require proliferation or the addition of exogenous factors, is not restored by HAART, and primarily originates from effector CD8+ T-cells with otherwise limited functional capability. Notably, we found an inverse relationship between HIV-specific perforin expression and viral load. Thus, the capability of HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells to rapidly express perforin defines a novel correlate of control in HIV infection.
Vertical Velocities and Available Potential Energy Generated by Landscape Variability—Theory

Abstract It is shown that landscape variability decreases the temperature in the surface layer when, through mesoscale flow, cool air intrudes over warm patches, lifting warm air and weakening the static stability of the upper part of the planetary boundary layer. This mechanism generates regions of upward vertical motion and a sizable amount of available potential energy and can make the environment of the lower troposphere more favorable to cloud formation. This process is enhanced by light ambient wind through the generation of trapped propagating waves, which penetrate into the midtropospheric levels, transporting upward the thermal perturbations and weakening the static stability around the top of the boundary layer. At moderate ambient wind speeds, the presence of surface roughness changes strengthens the wave activity, further favoring the vertical transport of the thermal perturbations. When the intensity of the ambient wind is larger than 5 m s−1, the vertical velocities induced by the surface ro.
3.9 Å structure of the nucleosome core particle determined by phase-plate cryo-EM

The Volta phase plate is a recently developed electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) device that enables contrast enhancement of biological samples. Here we have evaluated the potential of combining phase-plate imaging and single particle analysis to determine the structure of a small protein–DNA complex. To test the method, we made use of a 200 kDa Nucleosome Core Particle (NCP) reconstituted with 601 DNA for which a high-resolution X-ray crystal structure is known. We find that the phase plate provides a significant contrast enhancement that permits individual NCPs and DNA to be clearly identified in amorphous ice. The refined structure from 26,060 particles has an overall resolution of 3.9 Å and the density map exhibits structural features consistent with the estimated resolution, including clear density for amino acid side chains and DNA features such as the phosphate backbone. Our results demonstrate that phase-plate cryo-EM promises to become an important method to determine novel near-atomic resolution structures of small and challenging samples, such as nucleosomes in complex with nucleosome-binding factors.
The Ralstonia solanacearum effector RipAK suppresses plant hypersensitive response by inhibiting the activity of host catalases

The destructive bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum delivers effector proteins via a type‐III secretion system for its pathogenesis of plant hosts. However, the biochemical functions of most of these effectors remain unclear. RipAK of R. solanacearum GMI1000 is a type‐III effector with unknown functions. Functional analysis demonstrated that in tobacco leaves, ripAK knockout bacteria produced an obvious hypersensitive response; also, infected tissues accumulated reactive oxygen species in a shorter period postinfection, compared with wild type. This strongly indicates that RipAK can inhibit hypersensitive response during infection. Further analysis showed that RipAK localizes to peroxisomes and interacts with host catalases (CATs) in plant cells. Truncation of 2 putative domains of RipAK caused it to fail to target the peroxisome and fail to interact with AtCATs, suggesting that RipAK localization depends on its interaction with CATs. Furthermore, heterologous expression of RipAK inhibited CAT activity in vivo and in vitro. Finally, compared with the ripAK mutant, infection with a bacterial strain overexpressing RipAK inhibited the transcription of many immunity‐associated genes in infected tobacco leaves at 2‐ and 4‐hr postinfection, although mRNA levels of NtCAT1 were upregulated. These data indicate that GMI1000 suppresses hypersensitive response by inhibiting host CATs through RipAK at early stages of infection.
Multiply recurrent retroperitoneal liposarcoma

Retroperitoneal liposarcomas (RPLPS) are rare tumors that represent at least 50% of all retroperitoneal sarcomas. Surgical resection remains the standard of care. Unfortunately, many RPLPS patients will develop a local recurrence and subsequently die in the absence of distant metastasis. This review outlines the factors that predict local recurrence and influence the management of first and subsequent multiply recurrent RPLPS.
Soybean seed protein, oil, fatty acids, N, and S partitioning as affected by node position and cultivar differences

The mechanisms controlling the partitioning of seed composition constituents along the main stem in soybean are still controversial. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate seed protein, oil, and fatty acids partitioning in soybean cultivars along the main stem. The cultivars were DT97-4290, maturity group (MG) IV; Stressland, MG IV; Hutcheson, MG V; TracyM, MG VI. Seeds were harvested based on position on the plant (top nodes, middle nodes, and bottom nodes). At R8 (physiological maturity stage), DT97-4290, Hutcheson, and Stressland had higher percentage of protein and oleic acid and lower percentage of oil and linolenic acid in top node seed compared with bottom node seed. The increase of protein in top node compared with the bottom node across the two experiments ranged from 15.5 to 19.5%, 7.0 to 10.5%, 14.2 to 15.8%, 11.2 to 16.5%, respectively for DT97-4290, Hutcheson, Stressland, and TracyM. Except for TracyM, the increase of oleic acid in the top node ranged from 45.4 to 93%, depending on the cultivar. Conversely, the decrease in the top node seed ranged from 14.4 to 26.8% for oil and from 5.7 to 34.4% for linolenic acid, depending on the cultivar. The partitioning trend of seed composition constituents at R6 (seed - fill stage) was inconsistent. Except for Stressland, seed oleic acid was higher at R6 than at R8. The higher protein and oleic acid concentrations in the top node seed was accom- panied by higher activity of nitrate reductase activity, higher chlorophyll concentration, higher nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) percentages in the fully expanded leaves at R5-R6 growth stage, and higher seed nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) percentages in DT 97-4290 and Stressland. The current research suggests that the partitioning of seed protein, oil, and fatty acids in nodes along the plant depended on the position of node on the main stem, cultivar differences, seed N and S status, and tissue N and S partitioning. The higher nitrate reductase activity at the top nodes, accompanied higher protein and oleic acid, and the changes of oleic acid at R6 and R8 along the stem, were not previously reported, and need further investigation. The current knowledge is useful for soybean germplasm selection for desirable traits such protein and oleic acid, and for accurate measurements of seed composition constituents in breeding lines.
50-GHz optically injection-locked 1.55-/spl mu/m VCSELs

High-speed directly modulated diode lasers are important for optical communications and optical interconnects. In this work, we demonstrate greatly enhanced resonance frequency for vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, from 7 to 50 GHz, under ultrahigh injection-locking conditions. In addition, a 20-dB gain is achieved for small signal modulation below resonance frequency.
Late Fusion in Part-based Person Re-identification

In person re-identification, the purpose is to match persons across, typically, non-overlapping cameras. This introduces challenges such as occlusion and changes in view and lighting. In order to overcome these challenges, discriminative features are extracted and used in combination with a supervised metric learning algorithm. Most often, feature representations are created from the entire body, causing noisy features if certain parts are occluded. Therefore, we propose a system which applies the same learning algorithm separately on feature representations from different body parts and late fuses the outputs, to take advantage of situations in which features from certain body parts are more discriminative than other. By evaluation on features at three abstraction levels, we show that the proposed system increase accuracy by up to 19.87% in the case of high-level features. In addition, we also fuse the features at different abstraction levels to further improve results. Experimental results on VIPeR and CUHK03 show similar performance to state-of-the-art with rank-1 accuracies of 52.72% and 61.50%, respectively, while results on the datasets PRID450S and CUHK01 show rank-1 accuracies of 78.36% and 73.40%, respectively, improvements of 11.74% and 7.76% compared to state-of-the-art.
Sarcopenia and relationships between muscle mass, measured glomerular filtration rate and physical function in patients with chronic kidney disease stages 3–5

Background Sarcopenia and poor physical function are common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our aim was to investigate the relationships between muscle mass and measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and between muscle mass and strength and balance, respectively, in patients with CKD stages 3-5. Methods This is a baseline data analysis of a randomized controlled clinical trial. A total of 148 adult patients with an estimated GFR <30 mL/min/1.72 m2, not on renal replacement therapy, irrespective of the number of comorbidities were included from the Department of Nephrology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, from 2011 to 2016. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). GFR was measured by iohexol clearance. Balance was measured by functional reach and the Berg balance test and strength by handgrip strength and isometric quadriceps strength. Results Measured GFR ranged from 8 to 55 mL/min/1.73 m2. Lean mass (P < 0.05), fat mass (P < 0.05), appendicular skeletal muscle (P < 0.001) and appendicular skeletal muscle index (P < 0.05) were associated with GFR. Functional reach was associated with leg lean mass (P < 0.05) and the Berg balance test score was associated with trunk lean mass (P < 0.05). Handgrip strength was associated with arm lean mass (P < 0.001). Isometric quadriceps strength was associated with leg lean mass (P < 0.001). More men (44%) suffered from low muscle mass than women (22%), whereas more women (36%) suffered from low muscle strength than men (26%). However, when combining both, men (16%) suffered from sarcopenia to a greater extent than women (8%). Conclusions Among patients with CKD stages 3-5, loss of lean body mass, especially appendicular skeletal muscle, was significantly related to GFR decline. Two important markers of physical function, balance and strength, were significantly related to muscle mass. Moreover, men were more prone to sarcopenia than women during kidney function decline.
Human mesenchymal stem cells alter the gene profile of monocytes from patients with Type 2 diabetes and end-stage renal disease.

AIM Macrophage infiltration contributes to the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess immunomodulatory properties, making them an ideal candidate for therapeutic intervention. This study investigated whether MSCs can modulate the phenotype of monocytes isolated from Type 2 diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease. MATERIALS & METHODS Monocytes from control (n = 4) and Type 2 diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease (n = 5) were assessed using flow cytometry and microarray profiling, following 48 h of co-culture with MSCs. RESULTS Control subjects had a greater proportion of CD14(++)CD16(-) monocytes while diabetic patients had a higher proportion of CD14(++)CD16(+) and CD14(+)CD16(++) monocytes. MSCs promoted the proliferation of monocytes isolated from diabetic patients, reduced HLA-DR expression in both groups and promoted the expression of anti-inflammatory genes. CONCLUSION MSC-derived factors alter the polarization of monocytes isolated from healthy and diabetic subjects toward an M2 phenotype.
An EGARCH-BPNN system for estimating and predicting stock market volatility in Morocco and Saudi Arabia: The effect of trading volume

Article history: Received October 1, 2011 Received in Revised form November, 14, 2011 Accepted 30 January 2012 Available online 20 February 2012 In this study, the backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is tested for the ability to forecast the daily volatility of two stock market indices from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region using volume; namely Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Volatility series were estimated using the Exponential Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) model. The simulation results show that trading volume helps improving the forecasting accuracy of BPNN in Morocco but not in Saudi Arabia. As a result, volume represents valuable information flow to be used in the modeling and prediction of volatility in Morocco. In addition, it is found that BPNN overpredicts volatility during high volatile periods. This finding is important in financial applications such as asset allocation and derivatives pricing. © 2012 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
On an anti‐Ramsey threshold for sparse graphs with one triangle

For graphs G and H, let G→p rb H denote the property that for every proper edge‐coloring of G (with an arbitrary number of colors) there is a rainbow copy of H in G, that is, a copy of H with no two edges of the same color. The authors (2014) proved that, for every graph H, the threshold function pH rb =pH rb (n) of this property for the binomial random graph G(n,p) is asymptotically at most n−1/m(2)(H) , where m(2)(H) denotes the so‐called maximum 2‐density of H. Nenadov et al. (2014) proved that if H is a cycle with at least seven vertices or a complete graph with at least 19 vertices, then pH rb =n−1/m(2)(H) . We show that there exists a fairly rich, infinite family of graphs F containing a triangle such that if p≥Dn−β for suitable constants D=D(F)>0 and β=β(F) , where β>1/m(2)(F) , then G(n,p)→p rb F almost surely. In particular, pF rb ≪n−1/m(2)(F) for any such graph F.
Association of circulating tumour cells with early relapse and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography uptake in resected non-small-cell lung cancers†

OBJECTIVES More than 20% of lung cancer patients develop a recurrence, even after curative resection. We hypothesized that relapse may arise from the dissemination of circulating tumour cells (CTCs). This study evaluates the significance of CTC detection as regards the recurrence of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in surgically resected patients. Secondly, we investigated the association between CTCs and the uptake of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) by the primary tumour on a positron emission tomographic (PET) scan. METHODS In this single-centre prospective study, blood samples for analysis of CTCs were obtained from 102 patients with Stage I-IIIA NSCLC both before (CTC1) and 1 month after (CTC2) radical resection. CTCs were isolated using immunomagnetic techniques. The presence of CTCs was correlated with the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) measured on preoperative FDG PET/computed tomographic scans. Recurrence free survival (RFS) analysis was performed. RESULTS CTCs were detected in 39.2% of patients before and in 27.5% 1 month after the operation. The presence of CTCs after the operation was significantly correlated with SUVmax on PET scans, pathological stage and surgical approach. Only SUVmax was an independent predictor for the presence of CTC2 on multivariate analysis. Postoperative CTCs were significantly correlated with a shorter RFS ( P = 0.005). In multivariate analysis, the presence of CTC2 was associated with RFS, independent of disease staging. CONCLUSIONS Detection of CTCs 1 month after radical resection might be a useful marker to predict early recurrence in Stage I-III NSCLC. The SUVmax value of the primary tumour on preoperative PET scans was associated with the presence of CTC 1 month after the operation.
Health-related quality of life with long-term retention of the PROSthesis of Antibiotic Loaded Acrylic Cement system following infection resolution in low demand patients

Background: The study purpose was to (1) evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQL) with the PROSthesis of Antibiotic Loaded Acrylic Cement (PROSTALAC) in situ for infected total hip arthroplasty (THA), (2) determine infection resolution, and (3) compare subjects who underwent second stage surgery with those who retained the PROSTALAC on a longer term basis. Methods: Demographics, physical demand level, and comorbidities were recorded prospectively in 29 subjects followed to at least 24 months after initial PROSTALAC insertion. HRQL was evaluated using the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and RAND 36-Item Health Survey. Infection resolution was determined using a pre-specified clinical definition. Results: Twenty-five of 29 (86%) subjects’ infections resolved. Three subjects died, of whom two had resolved infections. For survivors, 22/26 (85%) completed HRQL evaluations. After PROSTALAC insertion, pain and function improved within 3–6 months and was retained at 24 months. Of those followed to 24 months, 7/22 (32%) subjects underwent second stage surgery. They were higher physical demand subjects (p = 0.03) than those not undergoing second stage surgery. We found no difference in WOMAC scores at 24 months between those who underwent second stage surgery and those who retained the PROSTALAC (p > 0.32). Discussion: The PROSTALAC system for THA appears to allow acceptable HRQL while in situ for at least 2 years in low physical demand patients. Subjects with higher physical demand levels are more likely to undergo second stage surgery. Conclusion: Further evaluation is required to determine whether longer term PROSTALAC retention may be appropriate for specific patient groups.
Influence of Information and Communication Technologies on the Resilience and Coping of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in the United States and Canada (Project #Queery): Mixed Methods Survey

Background Sexual and gender minority youth are a population in peril, exemplified by their disproportionate risk of negative experiences and outcomes. Sexual and gender minority youth may be particularly active users of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and it is important to identify the potential contributions of ICTs to their resilience and well-being. Objective Our aim was to (1) investigate the use of ICTs by sexual and gender minority youth, (2) identify the ways that ICTs influence the resilience and coping of sexual and gender minority youth, focusing on promotion of well-being through self-guided support-seeking (particularly using mobile devices), (3) develop a contextually relevant theoretical conceptualization of resilience incorporating minority stress and ecological approaches, (4) generate best practices and materials that are accessible to multiple interested groups, and (5) identify whether video narratives are a viable alternative to collect qualitative responses in Web-based surveys for youth. Methods Mixed methods, cross-sectional data (N=6309) were collected via a Web-based survey from across the United States and Canada from March-July 2016. The sample was generated using a multipronged, targeted recruitment approach using Web-based strategies and consists of self-identified English-speaking sexual and gender minority youth aged 14-29 with technological literacy sufficient to complete the Web-based survey. The survey was divided into eight sections: (1) essential demographics, (2) ICT usage, (3) health and mental health, (4) coping and resilience, (5) sexual and gender minority youth identities and engagement, (6) fandom communities, (7) nonessential demographics, and (8) a video submission (optional, n=108). The option of a 3-5 minute video submission represents a new research innovation in Web-based survey research. Results Data collection is complete (N=6309), and analyses are ongoing. Proposed analyses include (1) structural equation modeling of quantitative data, (2) grounded theory analysis of qualitative data, and (3) an integrative, mixed methods analysis using a data transformation design. Theoretical and methodological triangulation of analyses integrates an interwoven pattern of results into a comprehensive picture of a phenomenon. Results will be reported in 2017 and 2018. Conclusions This research study will provide critical insights into the emerging use of ICTs by sexual and gender minority youth and identify intervention strategies to improve their well-being and reduce risks encountered by this vulnerable population. Implications for practice, research, and knowledge translation are provided.