Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of ecto-5′-nucleotidase (eN, CD73) in cell lines from various stages of human melanoma

Ecto-5′-nucleotidase is a GPI-anchored enzyme localized in cell membrane lipid rafts. Although it is highly expressed in many tumour cells, its specific function during tumorigenesis is unclear. We have found that, among different melanoma cells, upregulated expression of ecto-5′-nucleotidase is associated with a highly invasive phenotype. Analysis of other cell membrane proteins involved in melanoma adhesion and metastasis demonstrated that expression of &agr;5, &bgr;1, &bgr;3-integrin subunits and CD44 was elevated gradually in accordance with increasing metastatic potential. Expression of &agr;v-integrin and caveolin-1 was seen mostly in cells derived from metastatic melanomas. Furthermore, in contrast to N-cadherin, which was unaltered in all lines, we could not detect E-cadherin in any cell type. Functional assays demonstrated that highly expressed ecto-5′-nucleotidase is a catalytically competent protein that is very sensitive to inhibition by concanavalin A. The interaction with concanavalin A also caused increased association of ecto-5′-nucleotidase-rich lipid rafts with much heavier cytoskeletal complexes as determined by density gradient centrifugation. A similar shift towards heavier cytoskeletal fractions also took place with other proteins coexpressed with ecto-5′-nucleotidase, such as &agr;v, &agr;5, &bgr;1 and &bgr;3-integrins, caveolin-1 and CD44. As ConA-induced clustering may reflect the interactions of membrane proteins with extracellular matrix, we also analysed the effect of several extracellular matrix proteins on the in-situ activity of ecto-5′-nucleotidase in WM9 cells and found that tenascin C strongly inhibited ecto-5′-nucleotidase activity and adenosine generation from AMP. We also developed WM9 cells with reduced ecto-5′-nucleotidase expression and tested differences in cell adhesion on various extracellular matrix proteins. WM9(eN−) cells attached significantly weaker to tenascin C layer. These observations indicate that expression of ecto-5′-nucleotidase correlates with a number of metastasis-related markers and thus may have a function in this process. Furthermore, our data suggest that, in addition to generating adenosine, ecto-5′-nucleotidase may have independent roles in adhesion and interaction with extracellular matrix components in melanoma.
TQM in Taiwan's computer and its peripheral industry

Total quality management (TQM) has been widely brought into action to improve the business’s essence in industries. In Taiwan, the computer and its peripheral industry is becoming a real global business. Most of the companies are buying and selling goods and services all through the world’s business community. The current progress toward TQM is one of the most noteworthy changes in Taiwan’s computer and its peripheral industry. Uses questionnaires to survey the implementation issues of TQM in the computer and its peripheral industry in Taiwan. A total of 40 companies responded to the questionnaires in the survey. Observing the survey results, the quality performances of most Taiwan’s computer and its peripheral companies are still vulnerable. Meanwhile, the training programs of related quality management techniques need further conduct to improve the quality management system.
Glomerular Hemodynamics in Moderate Goldblatt Hypertension in the Rat

Glomerular bemodynamics were studied by mJcropuncture technique in the undipped kidney in rats in which modest two kidney Goldblatt hypertension was maintained for 4 weeks and in normotensive controls. Both groups ingested less than 2 mEq Na+/day. In hypertensive rats at micropuncture, mean hydrostatic pressure was elevated both systemically (128 ± 5 vs 113 ± 3 mm Hg, p < 0.05) and within glomerular capillaries (55 ± 2 vs 48 ± 1 mm Hg, p < 0.05), resulting in an Increase in the transglomerular hydrostatic pressure gradient (40 ± 2 TS 33 ± 1 mm Hg, p < 0.05). The glomerular capillary permeability coefficient, however, was decreased in the hypertensive rats (0.063 ± 0.017 vs 0.115 ± 0.011 nl/s/g kw/mm Hg, p < 0.05), resulting in no change in nephron filtration rate (38.9 ± 2.3 TS 39.9 ± 2.5 nl/min/g kw). Nephron plasma flow also remained unchanged (154 ± 10 vs 140 ± 7 ml/mln/g kw). In separate studies in this model of hypertension, saralasin infusion demonstrated a peripheral effect of circulating angiotensin II which was increased over controls. Kidney mass and GFR were not different between clipped and undipped kidneys. No consistent abnormalities were observed by light or electron microscopy either in glomeruli or in vessels in the undipped kidney. This study demonstrates that glomerular bemodynamics may be altered early In the course of modest hypertension in this model without altering blood flow or fUtration rate. The deaease in glomerular capillary area and/or permeability (LpA) in the hypertensive rats could be either a result of the increased effect of circulating angiotensin II or the direct effect of glomerular capillary hypertension. (Hypertension 4: 51–57, 1982)
The ecotoxicological and environmental behaviour and transformations of silver nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are currently widely used and of special interest due to their anti-microbial properties. They have been used extensively in commercial applications and might be the most worrying of the manufactured nanoparticles because of their inherent toxicity. In this work, stable citrate and PEG stabilized AgNPs of three different core size (7, 10 and 20nm) were synthesized, the stability of citrate capped NPs was assessed in ecotoxicology media (used for OECD for Daphnia magna toxicity testing) and the stability of 20nm NPs in environmentally relevant conditions (like presence of humic substances, sunlight, different types of synthetic water, amongst other). The particles were fully characterized before and during the stability tests with a multimethod approach. The methods used were DLS, UV-vis, TEM, AFM, FI-FFF, HR-STEM, EELS, EDX. Not all methods were used for all the samples.
The response of gamma-H2AX in human lymphocytes and lymphocytes subsets measured in whole blood cultures

Purpose: To assess the use of phosphorylated histone H2AX protein (γ-H2AX) in human blood leukocytes as a rapid screening tool for radiation biodosimetry using a method that examines the characteristics of γ-H2AX phosphorylation in a variety of lymphocyte subsets following exposure to radiation. Materials and methods: Human peripheral blood exposed to 0–10 Gy of 137Cs irradiation and cultured for 0–48 h was analysed using a rapid whole blood flow cytometry assay to measure γ-H2AX phosphorylation in different lymphocyte subpopulations. Results: Lymphocyte subsets displayed a similar linear dose response relationship, although cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+) and CD8+ lymphocytes were found to express H2AX phosphorylation on the order of 1.5 times higher than CD19+ lymphocytes. Phosphorylation of all lymphocyte subsets reached a maximum at 1.5 h and had essentially returned to baseline levels 24 h post-exposure. Conclusions: Differences in the expression level of γ-H2AX between lymphocyte subsets were minimal. The usefulness of this assay for radiation biodosimetry is hampered by its relatively quick lifetime kinetics and large inter-individual variation. Therefore, it could only be useful if samples were obtained within 24 h of exposure. Even in this situation, the assay could only be used as an indicator of exposure and not a dosimeter.
De novo assembly of the sea trout (Salmo trutta m. trutta) skin transcriptome to identify putative genes involved in the immune response and epidermal mucus secretion

In fish, the skin is a multifunctional organ and the first barrier against pathogens. Salmonids differ in their susceptibility to microorganisms due to varied skin morphology and gene expression patterns. The brown trout is a salmonid species with important commercial and ecological value in Europe. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the genes involved in the immune response and mucus secretion in the skin of this fish. Thus, we characterized the skin transcriptome of anadromous brown trout using next-generation sequencing (NGS). A total of 1,348,306 filtered reads were obtained and assembled into 75,970 contigs. Of these contigs 48.57% were identified using BLAST tool searches against four public databases. KEGG pathway and Gene Ontology analyses revealed that 13.40% and 34.57% of the annotated transcripts, respectively, represent a variety of biological processes and functions. Among the identified KEGG Orthology categories, the best represented were signal transduction (23.28%) and immune system (8.82%), with a variety of genes involved in immune pathways, implying the differentiation of immune responses in the trout skin. We also identified and transcriptionally characterized 8 types of mucin proteins–the main structural components of the mucosal layer. Moreover, 140 genes involved in mucin synthesis were identified, and 1,119 potential simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in 3,134 transcripts.
Online Convex Programming and Generalized Infinitesimal Gradient Ascent

Convex programming involves a convex set F ⊆ Rn and a convex cost function c : F → R. The goal of convex programming is to find a point in F which minimizes c. In online convex programming, the convex set is known in advance, but in each step of some repeated optimization problem, one must select a point in F before seeing the cost function for that step. This can be used to model factory production, farm production, and many other industrial optimization problems where one is unaware of the value of the items produced until they have already been constructed. We introduce an algorithm for this domain. We also apply this algorithm to repeated games, and show that it is really a generalization of infinitesimal gradient ascent, and the results here imply that generalized infinitesimal gradient ascent (GIGA) is universally consistent.
Paleo-environmental reconstruction of Lopingian (upper Permian) sediments in the Galilee Basin, Queensland, Australia

ABSTRACT The recent review of the Lopingian (upper Permian) stratigraphic framework of the Galilee Basin, prompted a reconsideration of the paleo-environments of deposition. This study interpreted the distribution of sedimentary facies from geophysical logs across the basin complemented by detailed logging from four key wells (GSQ Tambo 1-1A, OEC Glue Pot Creek 1, CRD Montani 1 and GSQ Muttaburra 1). Seven facies associations were identified: terrestrial fluvial, floodplain, lacustrine and mire; and paralic to marine estuarine shoreline, delta and restricted marine. Coal measures (mire facies) are best developed in the northeastern margin of the basin, whereas the southern Springsure Shelf was dominated by marine conditions throughout the Lopingian, only developing terrestrial facies towards the very uppermost Lopingian. The ‘Colinlea Sandstone equivalent’ was deposited in a fluvial system, with tidal influence exhibited in the southern part of the basin, which decreases further north as lacustrine environments become common. The regional transgression represented by the Black Alley Shale can be mapped into the central part of the basin, but based on new exploration data its northern extent is more limited than previously thought. The ‘Burngrove Formation equivalent’ and Bandanna Formation represent a southerly prograding fluvial-deltaic system during the regional regression in the upper part of the Lopingian.
A review of the properties and limitations of the Ashworth and modified Ashworth Scales as measures of spasticity

Background: The Ashworth Scale and the modified Ashworth Scale are the primary clinical measures of spasticity. A prerequisite for using any scale is a knowledge of its characteristics and limitations, as these will play a part in analysing and interpreting the data. Despite the current emphasis on treating spasticity, clinicians rarely measure it. Objectives: To determine the validity and the reliability of the Ashworth and modified Ashworth Scales. Study design: A theoretical analysis following a structured literature review (key words: Ashworth; Spasticity; Measurement) of 40 papers selected from the BIDS-EMBASE, First Search and Medline databases. Conclusions: The application of both scales would suggest that confusion exists on their characteristics and limitations as measures of spasticity. Resistance to passive movement is a complex measure that will be influenced by many factors, only one of which could be spasticity. The Ashworth Scale (AS) can be used as an ordinal level measure of resistance to passive movement, but not spasticity. The modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) will need to be treated as a nominal level measure of resistance to passive movement until the ambiguity between the ‘1’ and ‘1+’ grades is resolved. The reliability of the scales is better in the upper limb. The AS may be more reliable than the MAS. There is a need to standardize methods to apply these scales in clinical practice and research.
Contrast-induced nephropathy following angiography and cardiac interventions

### European Society of Cardiology (ESC) curriculum section and guidelines referenced ### Learning objectives Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), also known as contrast-induced acute kidney injury, is an iatrogenic renal injury that follows intravascular administration of radio-opaque contrast media (CM) in susceptible individuals. CIN was first described during the 1950s in case reports of fatal acute renal failure that had occurred following intravenous pyelography in patients with renal disease arising from multiple myeloma.1 ,2 Despite technological advances, CIN remains responsible for a third of all hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (AKI)3 ,4 and affects between 1% and 2% of the general population and up to 50% of high-risk subgroups following coronary angiography (CA) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). 5 The proliferation of imaging methods and interventional procedures involving administration of intravascular CM in both non-cardiac modalities (eg, vascular CT angiography and interventional vascular angiography) and in established (eg, CA and PCI) and emerging cardiac modalities (eg, CT coronary angiography (CTCA) and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)) has significantly increased the number of patients exposed to CM and thus the number at risk of CIN. The widespread adoption of primary PCI for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), despite significantly improving cardiovascular outcomes, has increased the incidence of CIN due to the inherent difficulties in rapidly assessing CIN …
On the benefit of supporting virtual channels in wormhole routers

This paper analyzes the impact of virtual channels on the performance of wormhole routing algorithms. We study wormhole routing on network in which each physical channel, i.e., communication link, can support up to B virtual channels. We show that it is possible to route any set of messages with L flits each, whose paths have congestion C and dilation D in O((L+ D) C(D log D) B B) flit steps, where a flit step is the time taken to transmit B flits, i.e., one flit per virtual channel, across a physical channel. We also prove a nearly matching lower bound; i.e., for any values of C, D, B, and L, where C, D B+1 and L=(1+0(1)) D, we show how to construct a network and a set of L-flit messages whose paths have congestion C and dilation D that require 0(LCD B B) flit steps to route. These upper and lower bounds imply that increasing the buffering capacity and the bandwidth of each physical channel by a factor of B can speed up a wormhole routing algorithm by a superlinear factor, i.e., a factor significantly larger than B. We also present a simple randomized wormhole routing algorithm for the butterfly network. The algorithm routes any q-relation on the inputs and outputs doi:10.1006 jcss.2000. 1701, available online at http: www.idealibrary. com on
Wideband Parametric Speech Synthesis Using Warped Linear Prediction

This paper studies the use of warped linear prediction (WLP) for wideband parametric speech synthesis. As the sampling frequency is increased from the usual 16 kHz, linear frequency resolution of conventional linear prediction (LP) cannot efficiently model the speech spectrum. By using frequency warping that weights perceptually the most important formant information, spectral models with better accuracy and lower model orders can be utilized. In this work, WLP is embedded in a parametric speech synthesizer to efficiently create wideband synthetic speech. Experiments show that WLP-based wideband synthetic speech is rated better compared to narrowband speech and wideband LP-based speech.
The ‘Goldilocks Zone’: Getting the Measure of Manual Asymmetries

Some studies have shown that manual asymmetries decrease in older age. These results have often been explained with reference to models of reduced hemispheric specialisation. An alternative explanation, however, is that hand differences are subtle, and capturing them requires tasks that yield optimal performance with both hands. Whereas the hemispheric specialisation account implies that reduced manual asymmetries should be reliably observed in older adults, the ‘measurement difficulty’ account suggests that manual asymmetries will be hard to detect unless a task has just the right level of difficulty—i.e. within the ‘Goldilocks Zone’, where it is not too easy or too hard, but just right. Experiment One tested this hypothesis and found that manual asymmetries were only detected when participants performed in this zone; specifically, performance on a tracing task was only superior in the preferred hand when task constraints were high (i.e. fast speed tracing). Experiment Two used three different tasks to examine age differences in manual asymmetries; one task produced no asymmetries, whilst two tasks revealed asymmetries in both younger and older groups (with poorer overall performance in the old group across all tasks). Experiment Three revealed task-dependent asymmetries in both age groups, but highlighted further detection difficulties linked with the metric of performance and compensatory strategies used by participants. Results are discussed with reference to structural learning theory, whereby we suggest that the processes of inter-manual transfer lead to relatively small performance differences between the hands (despite a strong phenomenological sense of performance disparities).
Intact CD100–CD72 Interaction Necessary for TCR-Induced T Cell Proliferation

Targeting CD100 by antibody blockade is a potential therapeutic strategy for cancers, but the functional effects on T cells following blockade of this immune activating molecule are rarely considered. Indeed, CD100 is highly expressed in T cells and anti-CD100 antibodies play a role during T cell proliferation; however, the outcome varies from different studies and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. To address this, monoclonal antibody clones directed against CD100 were evaluated. In their soluble form, four of these antibodies significantly reduced the expansion of T cells in the presence of bead-bound anti-CD3/CD28, either in total peripheral blood mononuclear cell or purified T cell culture systems. Similar inhibition was seen when blocking CD100–CD72 interaction by soluble anti-CD72 instead of anti-CD100 antibodies. Conversely, restoring the interaction by CD72-Fc eliminated the soluble anti-CD100-induced inhibitory effect. Taken together, these results reveal that T cell proliferation is regulated by CD100 via interaction with CD72. They further establish an in vitro system to evaluate the inhibitory effect of anti-CD100 antibodies on T cells, to which attention should be paid in clinical trials in order to avoid potential side effects.
Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus Infection in Twin Infants

ABSTRACT Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus, previously known as Streptococcus bovis biotype II.2, is an uncommon pathogen in neonates. Nevertheless, it can cause severe neonatal sepsis and meningitis often clinically indistinguishable from those caused by group B streptococci and has been associated with considerable morbidity. We report the first known cases of S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus infection in twin infants.
Fault Prediction Using Statistical and Machine Learning Methods for Improving Software Quality

Abstract —An understanding of quality attributes is relevant for the software organization to deliver high software reliability. An empirical assessment of metrics to predict the quality attributes is essential in order to gain insight about the quality of software in the early phases of software development and to ensure corrective actions. In this paper, we predict a model to estimate fault proneness using Object Oriented CK metrics and QMOOD metrics. We apply one statistical method and six machine learning methods to predict the models. The proposed models are validated using dataset collected from Open Source software. The results are analyzed using Area Under the Curve (AUC) obtained from Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis. The results show that the model predicted using the random forest and bagging methods outperformed all the other models. Hence, based on these results it is reasonable to claim that quality models have a significant relevance with Object Oriented metrics and that machine learning methods have a comparable performance with statistical methods
Clinical Relevance of Environmental Factors in the Pathogenesis of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

Genetic factors contribute for about 70% to 80% and environmental factors for about 20% to 30% to the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). Relatives of AITD patients carry a risk to contract AITD themselves. The 5-year risk can be quantified by the so-called Thyroid Events Amsterdam-score, based on serum thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroid peroxidase (TPO)-antibodies and family history. Subjects at risk may ask what they can do to prevent development of AITD. This review summarizes what is known about modulation of exposure to environmental factors in terms of AITD prevention. To stop smoking decreases the risk on Graves disease but increases the risk on Hashimoto disease. Moderate alcohol intake provides some protection against both Graves and Hashimoto disease. Low selenium intake is associated with a higher prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity, but evidence that selenium supplementation may lower TPO antibodies and prevent subclinical hypothyroidism remains inconclusive. Low serum vitamin D levels are associated with a higher prevalence of TPO antibodies, but intervention studies with extra vitamin D have not been done yet. Stress may provoke Graves hyperthyroidism but not Hashimoto thyroiditis. Estrogen use have been linked to a lower prevalence of Graves disease. The postpartum period is associated with an increased risk of AITD. Taking together, preventive interventions to diminish the risk of AITD are few, not always feasible, and probably of limited efficacy.