Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Erythrocyte morphology reflects the transbilayer distribution of incorporated phospholipids

The transbilayer distribution of exogenous phospholipids incorporated into human erythrocytes is monitored through cell morphology changes and by the extraction of incorporated 14C-labeled lipids. Dilauroylphosphatidylserine (DLPS) and dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC) transfer spontaneously from sonicated unilamellar vesicles to erythrocytes, inducing a discocyte-to-echinocyte shape change within 5 min. DLPC-induced echinocytes revert slowly (t1/2 approximately 8 h) to discocytes, but DLPS-treated cells revert rapidly (10-20 min) to discocytes and then become invaginate stomatocytes. The second phase of the phosphatidylserine (PS)-induced shape change, conversion of echinocytes to stomatocytes, can be inhibited by blocking cell protein sulfhydryl groups or by depleting intracellular ATP or magnesium (Daleke, D. L., and W. H. Huestis. 1985. Biochemistry. 24:5406-5416). These cell shape changes are consistent with incorporation of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and PS into the membrane outer monolayer followed by selective and energy-dependent translocation of PS to the membrane inner monolayer. This hypothesis is explored by correlating cell shape with the fraction of the exogenous lipid accessible to extraction into phospholipid vesicles. Upon exposure to recipient vesicles, DLPC-induced echinocytes revert to discoid forms within 5 min, concomitant with the removal of most (88%) of the radiolabeled lipid. On further incubation, 97% of the foreign PC transfers to recipient vesicles. Treatment of DLPS-induced stomatocytes with acceptor vesicles extracts foreign PS only partially (22%) and does not affect cell shape significantly. Cell treated with inhibitors of aminophospholipid translocation (sulfhydryl blockers or intracellular magnesium depletion) and then incubated with either DLPS or DLPC become echinocytic and do not revert to discocytic or stomatocytic shape for many hours. On treatment with recipient vesicles, these echinocytes revert to discocytes in both cases, with concomitant extraction of 88- 99% of radiolabeled PC and 86-97% of radiolabeled PS. The accessibility of exogenous lipids to extraction is uniformly consistent with the transbilayer lipid distribution inferred from cell shape changes, indicating that red cell morphology is an accurate and sensitive reporter of the transbilayer partitioning of incorporated exogenous phospholipids.
Invited review: Part of an invited issue on carbon allocation Pulse-labelling trees to study carbon allocation dynamics: a review of methods, current knowledge and future prospects

Pulse-labelling of trees with stable or radioactive carbon (C) isotopes offers the unique opportunity to trace the fate of labelled CO 2 into the tree and its release to the soil and the atmosphere. Thus, pulse-labelling enables the quantification of C partitioning in forests and the assessment of the role of partitioning in tree growth, resource acquisition and C sequestration. However, this is associated with challenges as regards the choice of a tracer, the methods of tracing labelled C in tree and soil compartments and the quantitative analysis of C dynamics. Based on data from 47 studies, the rate of transfer differs between broadleaved and coniferous species and decreases as temperature and soil water content decrease. Labelled C is rapidly transferred belowground—within a few days or less—and this transfer is slowed down by drought. Half-lives of labelled C in phloem sap (transfer pool) and in mature leaves (source organs) are short, while those of sink organs (growing tissues, seasonal storage) are longer. 13 C measurements in respiratory efflux at high temporal resolution provide the best estimate of the mean residence times of C in respiratory substrate pools, and the best basis for compartmental modelling. Seasonal C dynamics and allocation patterns indicate that sink strength variations are important drivers for C fluxes. We pro pose a conceptual model for temperate and boreal trees, which considers the use of recently assimilated C versus stored C. We recommend best practices for designing and analysing pulse-labelling experiments, and identify several topics which we consider of prime importance for future research on C allocation in trees: (i) whole-tree C source–sink relations, (ii) C allocation to secondary metabolism, (iii) responses to environmental change, (iv) effects of seasonality versus phenology in and across biomes, and (v) carbon–nitrogen interactions. Substantial progress is expected from emerging technologies, but the largest challenge remains to carry out in situ whole-tree labelling experiments on mature trees to improve our understanding of the environmental and physiological controls on C allocation.
Psychosocial and family functioning in children with sickle cell syndrome and their mothers.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare the psychiatric functioning of 61 sickle cell youth and their families with nondiseased sibling controls. METHOD Functioning assessed by multiple informants included indices of behavioral, cognitive, and family/interpersonal functioning, self-esteem, life events, coping strategies, temperament, adaptive behavior, and parental psychopathology. RESULTS Key findings were that sickle cell patients evidenced more depressive symptoms and associated attributional style, and externalizing behavioral difficulties than did nondiseased siblings. With age, sickle cell youth evidence increasing adaptive behavior deficits and internalizing symptoms. Illness severity was related to symptoms of internalizing behavior and fewer daily living skills. Associations were found between maternal and child coping. CONCLUSIONS It is recommended that psychiatric consultations routinely be conducted with these children, particularly at times of family stress and developmental transitions. Psychiatric interventions should focus on ameliorating emotional difficulties via enhancing adaptive coping strategies.
Similar COL1A1 Expression in Fibroblasts from Some Patients with Clinical Otosclerosis and Those with Type I Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Because of the clinical and histopathologic similarities between otosclerosis and type I osteogenesis imperfecta, we examined COL1A1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in cultured fibroblasts from patients with clinical otosclerosis to determine whether abnormalities of expression of COL1A1 were present, as has been reported in type I osteogenesis imperfecta. Type I osteogenesis imperfecta has been found to result from mutations in the COL1A1 gene that result in null expression of the mutant allele. Patients with clinical otosclerosis were genotyped for the presence of an expressed 4 base-pair insertion polymorphism in the 3′ region of the COL1A1 gene. Skin biopsies were performed, and cultured fibroblast cell lines were established from patients who were heterozygous for the polymorphism. Allelic expression was examined by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and silver-stained Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two of 9 patients with clinical otosclerosis demonstrated null or reduced expression of one COL1A1 allele. The differential expression of the Two COL1A1 alleles in all subjects was also examined by a semiquantitative method using an ABI Prism 7700 Sequence Detection System (Taqman). We did this examination to determine whether milder abnormalities in COL1A1 expression might account for the development of otosclerosis in the 7 clinical cases that did not reveal evidence of null expression by the gel technique. Of the same 2 cases of otosclerosis that demonstrated evidence of null expression by gel electrophoresis, both were found to have significant differences in COL1A1 mRNA expression by the Taqman analysis. The remaining 7 cases revealed equal expression of the Two COL1A1 alleles similar to that seen in controls. These results suggest that mutations in COL1A1 that are similar to those that occur in type I osteogenesis imperfecta may account for a small percentage of cases of otosclerosis, and that the majority of cases of clinical otosclerosis are related to other genetic abnormalities that have yet to be identified.
On the Indeterminacy of New-Keynesian Economics

We study identification in a class of three-equation monetary models. We argue that these models are typically not identified. For any given exactly identified model, we provide an algorithm that generates a class of equivalent models that have the same reduced form. We use our algorithm to provide four examples of the consequences of lack of identification. In our first two examples we show that it is not possible to tell whether the policy rule or the Phillips curve is forward or backward looking. In example 3 we establish an equivalence between a class of models proposed by Benhabib and Farmer and the standard new-Keynesian model. This result is disturbing since equilibria in the Benhabib-Farmer model are typically indeterminate for a class of policy rules that generate determinate outcomes in the new-Keynesian model. In example 4, we show that there is an equivalence between determinate and indeterminate models even if one knows the structural equations of the model
Boundary Element Analysis of Coupled Continuum and Skeletal Structures

This paper presents a new technique for solving coupled continuum and skeletal structures. The technique is based on employing the well-known flexibility and stiffness methods within the boundary element method (BEM). The analyzed problem is divided into: continuum parts, which are modeled using the BEM and skeletal parts which are modeled using the flexibility or stiffness methods. The main idea of the presented technique is to set up a methodology to generate flexibility or stiffness matrices for the continuum parts using the BEM. To do so, several flexibility and stiffness models are developed. The developed technique is tested on three problems. Results are compared to those obtained from the finite element method (FEM) to show the validity of the developed technique. The present technique gains both advantages of the BEM and the FEM as it allows boundary-only discretization for the continuum parts and uses the banded assembly technique of FEM for the overall structure.
Learning Indonesian-Chinese Lexicon with Bilingual Word Embedding Models and Monolingual Signals

We present a research on learning Indonesian-Chinese bilingual lexicon using monolingual word embedding and bilingual seed lexicons to build shared bilingual word embedding space. We take the first attempt to examine the impact of different monolingual signals for the choice of seed lexicons on the model performance. We found that although monolingual signals alone do not seem to outperform signals coverings all words, the significant improvement for learning word translation of the same signal types may suggest that linguistic features possess value for further study in distinguishing the semantic margins of the shared word embedding space.
Low-Dose Risperidone as Adjunctive Therapy for Irritable Aggression in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Increased aggressive behavior can occur in association with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study tested the hypothesis that low-dose risperidone reduces aggression and other PTSD-related symptoms in combat veterans. Subjects were male combat veterans with PTSD who scored 20 or higher on cluster D (hyperarousal) of the Patient Checklist for PTSD–Military Version (PCL-M). Subjects were randomly assigned to either risperidone or placebo treatment groups. Drugs were administered over a 6-week treatment period in a double-blind manner. Subjects received either risperidone (0.5 mg/day; n = 7) or matched placebo (n = 8) tablets during the first 2 weeks of the treatment period. The dose of risperidone could then be increased up to 2.0 mg/day on the basis of response. Prerandomization psychotropic regimens were continued. Subjects were evaluated with the PCL-M and the Overt Aggression Scale–Modified for Outpatients (OAS-M). In comparison with placebo treatment, reductions in scores between baseline and the last week of treatment were significantly greater for OAS-M irritability and PCL-M cluster B (intrusive thoughts) subscales and on the PCL-M total scale. These results suggest that low-dose risperidone administration reduces irritability and intrusive thoughts in combat-related PTSD.
Reconstructing the topology of clones

Function clones are sets of functions on a fixed domain that are closed under composition and contain the projections. They carry a natural algebraic structure, provided by the laws of composition which hold in them, as well as a natural topological structure, provided by the topology of pointwise convergence, under which composition of functions becomes continuous. Inspired by recent results indicating the importance of the topological ego of function clones even for originally algebraic problems, we study questions of the following type: In which situations does the algebraic structure of a function clone determine its topological structure? We pay particular attention to function clones which contain an oligomorphic permutation group, and discuss applications of this situation in model theory and theoretical computer science.
Watershed-Scale Fungal Community Characterization along a pH Gradient in a Subsurface Environment Cocontaminated with Uranium and Nitrate

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to characterize fungal communities in a subsurface environment cocontaminated with uranium and nitrate at the watershed scale and to determine the potential contribution of fungi to contaminant transformation (nitrate attenuation). The abundance, distribution, and diversity of fungi in subsurface groundwater samples were determined using quantitative and semiquantitative molecular techniques, including quantitative PCR of eukaryotic small-subunit rRNA genes and pyrosequencing of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. Potential bacterial and fungal denitrification was assessed in sediment-groundwater slurries amended with antimicrobial compounds and in fungal pure cultures isolated from the subsurface. Our results demonstrate that subsurface fungal communities are dominated by members of the phylum Ascomycota, and a pronounced shift in fungal community composition occurs across the groundwater pH gradient at the field site, with lower diversity observed under acidic (pH <4.5) conditions. Fungal isolates recovered from subsurface sediments, including cultures of the genus Coniochaeta, which were detected in abundance in pyrosequence libraries of site groundwater samples, were shown to reduce nitrate to nitrous oxide. Denitrifying fungal isolates recovered from the site were classified and found to be distributed broadly within the phylum Ascomycota and within a single genus of the Basidiomycota. Potential denitrification rate assays with sediment-groundwater slurries showed the potential for subsurface fungi to reduce nitrate to nitrous oxide under in situ acidic pH conditions.
Higher-Order Reasoning Training Years After Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults

Objective:To conduct a feasibility study to compare the effects of top-down Strategic Memory and Reasoning Training (SMART) versus information-based Brain Health Workshop (BHW, control) on gist-reasoning (ie, abstracting novel meaning from complex information), memory, executive functions, and daily function in adults with traumatic brain injury. Participants:Twenty-eight participants (of the 35 recruited), 16 men & 12 women, aged 20 to 65 years (M = 43, SD = 11.34) at chronic stages posttraumatic brain injury (2 years or longer) completed the training. Fourteen participants that received SMART and 14 participants that completed BHW were assessed both pre- and posttraining. Thirteen of the SMART trained and 11 from BHW participated in a 6-month testing. Design:The study was a single blinded randomized control trial. Participants in both groups received a minimum of 15 hours of training over 8 weeks. Results:The SMART group significantly improved gist-reasoning as compared to the BHW group. Benefits of the SMART extended to untrained measures of working memory and participation in functional activities. Exploratory analyses suggested potential transfer effects of SMART on memory and executive functions. The benefits of the SMART program as compared to BHW were evident at immediately posttraining and 6 months posttraining. Conclusion:This study provides preliminary evidence that short-term intensive training in top-down modulation of information benefits gist-reasoning and generalizes to measures of executive function and real life function at chronic stages of post-TBI.
Effect of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on the Elution of Antibiotics From Polymethylmethacrylate Beads in a Porcine Simulated Open Femur Fracture Model

Objectives: To determine whether negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) affects antibiotic elution in simulated femur fractures treated with antibiotic impregnated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads and whether fascial closure between beads and sponge affects the outcome. Methods: PMMA beads containing vancomycin and tobramycin were placed adjacent to bilateral corticotomies created in 20 anesthetized pigs. In 1 leg, NPWT was applied with the sponge either in direct contact with the beads or superficial to reapproximated fascia lata. The contralateral wound was conventionally closed. Vancomycin and tobramycin concentrations in wound drainage were measured every 12 hours for 72 hours, and tobramycin levels were measured in periosteal tissue obtained at 72 hours. Results: Drainage vancomycin and tobramycin concentrations were highest at 12 hours and fell rapidly by 24 hours but remained steady thereafter. At each 12-hour interval, there were no significant differences in the vancomycin and tobramycin concentrations between NPWT and control wound drainage, although whether the fascia was closed or left open had an influence on vancomycin levels. The total vancomycin and tobramycin eluted into the drains was significantly less in the NPWT group with open fascia. The antibiotic levels measured in wound drainage remained above the minimum inhibitory concentration for common wound organisms throughout the study period. Neither NPWT nor fascial closure had a significant effect on tobramycin periosteal tissue concentrations. Conclusions: Concurrent application of NPWT with antibiotic impregnated PMMA beads to simulated open femur fractures in pigs did not decrease local antibiotic concentrations but did decrease the total amount of eluted vancomycin and tobramycin locally available when the fascia was left open.
The Second Dialog State Tracking Challenge

A spoken dialog system, while communicating with a user, must keep track of what the user wants from the system at each step. This process, termed dialog state tracking, is essential for a successful dialog system as it directly informs the system’s actions. The first Dialog State Tracking Challenge allowed for evaluation of different dialog state tracking techniques, providing common testbeds and evaluation suites. This paper presents a second challenge, which continues this tradition and introduces some additional features ‐ a new domain, changing user goals and a richer dialog state. The challenge received 31 entries from 9 research groups. The results suggest that while large improvements on a competitive baseline are possible, trackers are still prone to degradation in mismatched conditions. An investigation into ensemble learning demonstrates the most accurate tracking can be achieved by combining multiple trackers.
Small Vessels – Big Problems : Novel Insights into Microvascular Mechanisms of Diseases Impaired microcirculatory perfusion in a rat model of cardiopulmonary bypass : the role of hemodilution

Nick J. Koning, Fellery de Lange, Alexander B. A. Vonk, Yunus Ahmed, Charissa E. van den Brom, Sylvia Bogaards, Matijs van Meurs, Rianne M. Jongman, Casper G. Schalkwijk, Mark P. V. Begieneman, Hans W. Niessen, Christophe Baufreton, and Christa Boer Department of Anesthesiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pathology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, Medical Center Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands; Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Medical Center Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands; Department of Anesthesiology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Critical Care, Pathology, and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Internal Medicine, Laboratory for Metabolism and Vascular Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, INSERM U1083, CNRS UMR 6214, LUNAM University, Université d’Angers, Angers, France; and Department of Integrated Neurovascular Biology, INSERM U1083, CNRS UMR 6214, LUNAM University, Université d’Angers, Angers, France
Fibroblast Growth Factor‐23 and Incident Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, and Cardiovascular Mortality: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study

Background Fibroblast growth factor‐23 (FGF‐23) is a hormone involved in phosphorous regulation and vitamin D metabolism that may be associated with cardiovascular risk, and it is a potential target for intervention. We tested whether elevated FGF‐23 is associated with incident coronary heart disease, heart failure, and cardiovascular mortality, even at normal kidney function. Methods and Results A total of 11 638 Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities study participants, median age 57 at baseline (1990–1992), were followed through 2010. Cox regression was used to evaluate the independent association of baseline serum active FGF‐23 with incident outcomes. Models were adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and estimated glomerular filtration rate. During a median follow‐up of 18.6 years, 1125 participants developed coronary heart disease, 1515 developed heart failure, and 802 died of cardiovascular causes. For all 3 outcomes, there was a threshold, whereby FGF‐23 was not associated with risk at <40 pg/mL but was positively associated with risk at >40 pg/mL. Compared with those with FGF‐23 <40 pg/mL, those in the highest FGF‐23 category (≥58.8 pg/mL) had a higher risk of incident coronary heart disease (adjusted hazard ratio, 95% CIs: 1.65, 1.40 to 1.94), heart failure (1.75, 1.52 to 2.01), and cardiovascular mortality (1.65, 1.36 to 2.01). Associations were modestly attenuated but remained statistically significant after further adjustment for estimated glomerular filtration rate. In stratified analyses, similar results were observed in African Americans and among persons with normal kidney function. Conclusions High levels of serum FGF‐23 were associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure, and cardiovascular mortality in this large, biracial, population‐based cohort. This association was independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and kidney function.