Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TYK2, a Candidate Gene for Type 1 Diabetes, Modulates Apoptosis and the Innate Immune Response in Human Pancreatic β-Cells

Pancreatic β-cells are destroyed by an autoimmune attack in type 1 diabetes. Linkage and genome-wide association studies point to >50 loci that are associated with the disease in the human genome. Pathway analysis of candidate genes expressed in human islets identified a central role for interferon (IFN)-regulated pathways and tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2). Polymorphisms in the TYK2 gene predicted to decrease function are associated with a decreased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. We presently evaluated whether TYK2 plays a role in human pancreatic β-cell apoptosis and production of proinflammatory mediators. TYK2-silenced human β-cells exposed to polyinosinic-polycitidilic acid (PIC) (a mimick of double-stranded RNA produced during viral infection) showed less type I IFN pathway activation and lower production of IFNα and CXCL10. These cells also had decreased expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins, a hallmark of early β-cell inflammation in type 1 diabetes. Importantly, TYK2 inhibition prevented PIC-induced β-cell apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway of cell death. The present findings suggest that TYK2 regulates apoptotic and proinflammatory pathways in pancreatic β-cells via modulation of IFNα signaling, subsequent increase in MHC class I protein, and modulation of chemokines such as CXCL10 that are important for recruitment of T cells to the islets.
Competition of Lactobacillus paracasei with Salmonella enterica for Adhesion to Caco-2 Cells

Competition of commensal and probiotic bacteria with pathogens for adhesion and colonization is one of the important protective mechanisms of gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we examined the ability of Lactobacillus paracasei to inhibit the adhesion of pathogenic Salmonella enterica to human colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells. Caco-2 cells were grown for 6 or 21 days to obtain nondifferentiated or well-differentiated cells, respectively. In adhesion experiments, bacteria were added to the cells for 2 or 4 hours. The number of attached bacteria was expressed as colony-forming units (CFUs), Caco-2 cells were counted in hematocytometer. Both bacterial strains used adhered better to well-differentiated than to nondifferentiated Caco-2 cells, however, the amount of Salmonella adhered to Caco-2 after 2 hours of contact was 12-fold higher in comparison to L. paracasei and almost 27-fold higher after 4 hours of contact. Two types of experiments were done: coincubation (both bacteria were added to Caco-2 cells simultaneously), and preincubation (L. paracasei was incubated with Caco-2 cells first, and then S. enterica was added). In coincubation experiment, the presence of L. paracasei decreased S. enterica adhesion by 4-fold and in preincubation experiment even 7-fold. Generally, Lactobacillus spent culture supernatants (SCSs) acted weaker as inhibitors of Salmonella adhesion in comparison to the whole L. paracasei culture in coincubation experiment. In conclusion, the displacement of pathogens by lactic acid bacteria and its secretions showed here depends on the time of bacteria-epithelial cell contact, and also on the stage of Caco-2 differentiation.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for hallucination in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis

Objective: This study assessed the efficacy and tolerability of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of auditory hallucination of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Data Sources: Online literature retrieval was conducted using PubMed, ISI Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases from January 1985 to May 2012. Key words were “transcranial magnetic stimulation”, “TMS”, “repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation”, and “hallucination”. Study Selection: Selected studies were randomized controlled trials assessing therapeutic efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for hallucination in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Experimental intervention was low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in left temporoparietal cortex for treatment of auditory hallucination in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Control groups received sham stimulation. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was total scores of Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale, Auditory Hallucination Subscale of Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale, Positive and Negative Symptom Scale-Auditory Hallucination item, and Hallucination Change Scale. Secondary outcomes included response rate, global mental state, adverse effects and cognitive function. Results: Seventeen studies addressing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorders were screened, with controls receiving sham stimulation. All data were completely effective, involving 398 patients. Overall mean weighted effect size for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation versus sham stimulation was statistically significant (MD = –0.42, 95%CI: –0.64 to –0.20, P = 0.000 2). Patients receiving repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation responded more frequently than sham stimulation (OR = 2.94, 95%CI: 1.39 to 6.24, P = 0.005). No significant differences were found between active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and sham stimulation for positive or negative symptoms. Compared with sham stimulation, active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation had equivocal outcome in cognitive function and commonly caused headache and facial muscle twitching. Conclusion: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a safe and effective treatment for auditory hallucination in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback with War Veterans with Chronic PTSD: A Feasibility Study

Many patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially war veterans, do not respond to available treatments. Here, we describe a novel neurofeedback (NF) intervention using real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging for treating and studying PTSD. The intervention involves training participants to control amygdala activity after exposure to personalized trauma scripts. Three combat veterans with chronic PTSD participated in this feasibility study. All three participants tolerated well the NF training. Moreover, two participants, despite the chronicity of their symptoms, showed clinically meaningful improvements, while one participant showed a smaller symptom reduction. Examination of changes in resting-state functional connectivity patterns revealed a normalization of brain connectivity consistent with clinical improvement. These preliminary results support feasibility of this novel intervention for PTSD and indicate that larger, well-controlled studies of efficacy are warranted.
Individual irrationality and lack of common knowledge of rationality in experimental asset markets VERY PRELIMINARY

We investigate the extent to which the “bubbles” and “crashes” in the experimental asset markets are due to individual irrationality and lack of common knowledge of rationality. We do so by comparing between the forecasted prices initially submitted by subjects in two market environments: (a) All the six traders are human subjects (6H) and (b) One human subject is interacting with five rational computer traders who assume all the traders are rational (1H5C). Results from our pilot experiment show that there is no significant difference in distribution of the initial deviations of the forecasted prices from the fundamental values in two market environments. Thus, we tentatively conclude that lack of common knowledge of rationality plays little role, but individual irrationality does, in experimental asset markets when subjects are inexperienced.
Hyperglycemia and postoperative outcomes in pediatric neurosurgery

Recent studies in adults have demonstrated the deleterious effects of hyperglycemia in intensive care patients and its substantial impact on crucial outcomes such as mortality. As a result, there is an increasing interest in the impact of this complication on the outcomes of critical illness in children.1 Hyperglycemia is prevalent among critically ill children and may be associated with poor outcomes and higher morbidity during hospitalization.2 Few prospective studies have analyzed the occurrence of hyperglycemia and the use of intensive insulin therapy in critically ill children. A recent single-center trial demonstrated the efficacy and safety of an insulin therapy protocol. The trial results indicated improved survival rates among the patients who received the treatment.3 A clear association between hyperglycemia and poorer outcomes has been demonstrated in some specific clinical situations, such as septic shock, cardiac surgery, and traumatic brain injury.4-7 However, hyperglycemia has yet to be fully studied in the context of pediatric surgery, and no pediatric neurosurgical studies have analyzed the association between hyperglycemia, morbidity, and mortality. This study evaluated the postoperative glucose levels of children who underwent neurosurgeries for different indications and analyzed the association of these levels with lengths of mechanical ventilation, intensive care, and hospital stay.
A combinatorial correspondence related to Göllnitz’ (big) partition theorem and applications

In recent work, Alladi, Andrews and Gordon discovered a key identity which captures several fundamental theorems in partition theory. In this paper we construct a combinatorial bijection which explains this key identity. This immediately leads to a better understanding of a deep theorem of G¨ollnitz, as well as Jacobi’s triple product identity and Schur’s partition theorem.
Dynamic imaging of Au-nanoparticles via scanning electron microscopy in a graphene wet cell

High resolution nanoscale imaging in liquid environments is crucial for studying molecular interactions in biological and chemical systems. In particular, electron microscopy is the gold-standard tool for nanoscale imaging, but its high-vacuum requirements make application to in-liquid samples extremely challenging. Here we present a new graphene based wet cell device where high resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-rays (EDX) analysis can be performed directly inside a liquid environment. Graphene is an ideal membrane material as its high transparancy, conductivity and mechanical strength can support the high vacuum and grounding requirements of a SEM while enabling maximal resolution and signal. In particular, we obtain high resolution ( < 5 ? > nm) SEM video images of nanoparticles undergoing Brownian motion inside the graphene wet cell and EDX analysis of nanoparticle composition in the liquid enviornment. Our obtained resolution surpasses current conventional silicon nitride devices imaged in both a SEM and transmission electron microscope under much higher electron doses.
Quantifying the Interaction between Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and Rhizobium on Moong (Vigna radiata)

Pulses are one of the major sources of protein in predominantly vegetarian diet of the people of India. They have a unique feature in plant kingdom as they are extremely endowed with the inherent ability to substantiate nitrogen enrichment of soil through root nodules from the atmospheric nitrogen. Nearly 11,000 species of legumes are known and many are important for industrial and medicinal purpose.Green gram is scientifically known as Vigna radiata and it is commonly known as mung in India. Green gram is an important pulse crop in India next to chickpea and pigeonpea and believed to be originated in India. Green gram occupies a unique place for its use as a grain in various ways in our dietary system. Nematodes are microscopic, highly diverse biotrophic parasites. They use their stylet to feed on root as well as shoot of the plants. An estimated loss of 14.6% in developing countries and 8.8% in developed tropical and subtropical countries makes them major global challenge to ensure food security to global increasing population.
The Comparison of Quality of Life, Self-Efficacy and Resiliency in Infertile and Fertile Women

Background: Pregnancy and infertility are important life events that are associated with specific psychosocial aspects, and infertility is usually regarded as a stressful and threatening event that is influenced by psychological factors. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the quality of life, self-efficacy and resiliency in infertile and fertile women. Method: This causal comparative study, included all fertile and infertile women referred to Arash Hospital and Mirza Kuchak Khan Hospital in Tehran; 60 infertile women and 60 fertile women were selected using convenience sampling method. To collect data, the quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOLBREF), Sherer’s self-efficacy Questionnaire, and Conner and Davidson’s Resilience Questionnaire were used. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation test and regression analysis) were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that mean (standard deviation) of quality of life, self-efficacy and resiliency in fertile women was 86.62 (11.162), 64.40 (9.048), and 71.40 (11.640), respectively. The mean (standard deviation) of quality of life, self-efficacy and resiliency for fertile women was 79.13 (10.829), 58.05 (7.688), and 66.92 (10.339), respectively. The results of t-test showed that between fertile and infertile women, in terms of quality of life, self-efficacy and resiliency there is a significant difference. Discussion and Conclusion: The results showed that the level of quality of life, self-efficacy and resiliency in infertile women is less than in fertile women. Based on these results, it can be said that considering the importance of psychological factors in exacerbating the physical and mental damage associated with infertility, psychological interventions focused on quality of life, self-efficacy and resiliency with the aim of improving the mental health of the infertile people, is necessary.
Solving Very Large Traveling Salesman Problems by SOM Parallelization on Cluster Architectures

This paper describes how to solve very large Traveling- Salesman Problems heuristically by the parallelization of self-organizing maps on cluster architectures. The used way of parallelizing is a sophisticated Structural Data Parallel approach based on the SPMD model. We distinguish between a non-sophisticated and a sophisticated approach for efficient and simple parallelization of the SOMs.
The Modulation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress by Chemical Chaperone Upregulates Immune Negative Cytokine IL-35 in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice

Interleukin (IL)-35 is a newly identified immune negative molecule which is secreted by CD4+Foxp3+ T regulatory cells (Tregs) and contributes to their suppressive capacity. Early data have shown that IL-35 inhibits development of several autoimmune diseases. However, the role of IL-35 in atherosclerosis, a lipid-driven chronic inflammatory disease in arterial wall, remains to be investigated. Here, we found that IL-35 was involved in atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice. ApoE−/− mice with established atherosclerotic lesion displayed a lower level of IL-35 compared to age-matched wild type C57BL/6 mice without plaque. However, IL-35 expression increased significantly in ApoE−/− mice with attenuated plaque. More importantly, we found that modulation of ER stress treated by chemical chaperone, 4-Phenyl butyric acid (PBA) in vivo, mainly upregulated immune negative regulating molecule IL-35, as well as IL-10 and Foxp3, accompanied by increased Tregs. However, no obvious impact on pro-inflammatory molecules such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17 and IL-23 was observed, which provides new insight into the benefit of ER stress recovery from attenuated plaque. Our results suggest that IL-35 might have a potential value for atherosclerotic therapy.
Mobile Device Use Among Rural, Low-Income Families and the Feasibility of an App to Encourage Preschoolers’ Physical Activity: Qualitative Study

Background As mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous, technology-based interventions provide a promising strategy to positively influence health behaviors of families with young children. However, questions remain about the feasibility and acceptability of intervention delivery via mobile apps in low-income, rural settings and among families with preschoolers. Objective The aims of this study were to understand the content and context of mobile device use for preschoolers; explore parent beliefs on this topic, including the acceptability of intervention delivery via mobile devices; and test a prototype of an app to encourage preschoolers’ physical activity with both parents and children. Methods Parents (n=29) were recruited from 5 preschool centers in eastern, rural Colorado to complete a semistructured telephone interview regarding preschoolers’ mobile device use. A second sample of parents (n=31) was recruited from the same preschool centers to view the app prototype independently and provide feedback. A third sample of preschool children (n=24) was videotaped using the app in small groups to measure engagement and record their responses to the app. Results Five key content areas emerged from the telephone interviews: (1) mobile devices are an important part of families’ everyday routines, and parents have parameters governing their use; (2) parents often use mobile devices as a tool for behavior management; (3) parents clearly distinguish between mobile device use for learning versus entertainment; (4) parents have an overarching desire for balance in regard to their child’s mobile device use; and (5) parents were generally supportive of the idea of using mobile apps for intervention delivery. From the app prototype testing with parents, participants reacted positively to the app and felt that it would be useful in a variety of situations. Testing with preschoolers showed the children were highly engaged with the app and a majority remained standing and/or actively moving through the entire length of the app. Conclusions Mobile devices are already integrated into most families’ daily routines and appear to be an acceptable method of intervention delivery in low-income families in rural Colorado. The physical activity app represents an innovative way to reach these families and, with further improvements based on participant feedback, will provide children with a unique opportunity to practice key movement skills.
Who is responsible? The impact of emotional personalization on explaining the origins of social problems

ABSTRACT Personalization refers to the journalistic practice of including emotional case studies of ordinary people in news stories, increasing vividness and emotional charge of news and eliciting identification and empathy in news consumers. Previous research suggests that personalization of news stories increases collectivistic (compared with individualistic) causal attributions by the news audience. In response, an experiment was conducted with a week time delay between stimuli presentation and open-ended participant responses to examine the influence of news personalization on how news consumers attribute causes for social issues. Participant (N = 80) trait empathy was included as an additional factor. Findings show that participants with high trait empathy expressed a greater shift to collectivistic attribution after watching personalized news stories than participants with low trait empathy, suggesting that individual differences in trait empathy may be an important factor in how individuals construct their own understanding of social problems.
The SBA: Exploiting Orthogonality in AND-OR Parallel Systems

One of the advantages of logic programming is the fact that one can exploit implicit parallelism in logic programs, such as and-parallelism and or-parallelism. Recently, research has been concentrated on integrating the diierent forms of parallelism into a single combined system. In this work we concentrate on the problem of integrating or-parallelism and independent and-parallelism for parallel Prolog systems. We contend that previous data structures require pure recomputation and therefore do not allow for orthogonality between and-parallelism and or-parallelism. In contrast, we submit that a simpler solution, the sparse binding array, does guarantee this goal, and explain in detail how independent and-parallelism and or-parallelism can thus be eeciently combined.
Estimation of the Space Density of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

The space density of low surface brightness and tiny gas-rich dwarf galaxies are estimated for two recent catalogs: the Arecibo Survey of Northern Dwarf and Low Surface Brightness Galaxies and the Catalog of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies, List II. The goals are (1) to evaluate the additions to the completeness of the Fisher & Tully 10 Mpc sample and (2) to estimate whether the density of galaxies contained in the new catalogs adds a significant amount of neutral gas mass to the the inventory of H I already identified in the nearby, present-epoch universe. Although tiny dwarf galaxies (MH I ≲ 107 M☉) may be the most abundant type of extragalactic stellar system in the nearby universe, if the new catalogs are representative, the low surface brightness and dwarf populations they contain make only a small addition (≲10%) to the total H I content of the local universe and probably constitute even smaller fractions of its luminous and dynamical mass.
Influence of different storage times and temperatures on blood gas and acid-base balance in ovine venous blood

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of storage temperature and time on blood gas and acid-base balance of ovine venous blood. Ten clinically healthy sheep were used in this study. A total number of 30 blood samples, were divided into three different groups, and were stored in a refrigerator adjusted to +4 ºC (Group I, n = 10), at RT of about 22-25 ºC (Group II, n = 10) and in an incubator adjusted to 37 ºC (Group III, n = 10) for up to 48 h. Blood samples were analysed for blood gas and acid-base indices at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h of storage. In comparison to the baseline value (0), there were significant decreases of blood pH of samples stored at RT and in the incubator after 1 h (p<0.05), the pH value of refrigerated blood samples exhibited insignificant changes during the study (p<0.05). Mean values of pCO2 showed a significant increase in Group I and Group III after 1 h then a progressive decrease after 12 h in all Groups. Mean pO2 values were significantly higher for Group I after 2 h and for Groups II and III after 1 h (p<0.05). In general, base excess decreased significantly for all the groups during the study especially in Groups II and III. In comparison with baseline values, in all groups, bicarbonate (HCO3) increased between 1 h and 6 h (p<0.05), and later decreased at the end of the study (p<0.05). In conclusion, status of acid-base indices of the samples stored at refrigerator and RT were found within normal reference range and it may be of clinical diagnostic use for up to 6 h.