Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the effects of fish oil and olive oil on blood lipids and aortic atherosclerosis in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidaemic rabbits

To compare the effects of fish oil and olive oil on the development of atherosclerosis in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidaemic (WHHL) rabbits, 6-week-old animals were given a daily dose (1·5 ml/kg body weight) of fish oil (n 10) or olive oil (n 10) by oral administration for 16 weeks. Plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerols were measured once monthly, and their concentrations in lipoproteins, together with susceptibility of LDL to oxidation were measured in vitro at the termination of the experiment. Aortic atherosclerosis was quantified biochemically and microscopically. After 4 weeks of treatment, and throughout the study thereafter, blood lipids were significantly (P < 0·05) lower in the fish-oil group than in the olive-oil group (cholesterol: 17·0 v. 30·3 mmol/l, triacylglycerols 2·97 v. 6·25 mmol/l, at termination). In the fish-oil group cholesterol was significantly lower in intermediate-density lipoproteins (2·69 v. 6·76 mmol/l) and VLDL (3·36 v. 11·51 mmol/l). Triacylglycerol levels of intermediate-density lipoproteins and VLDL in the fish-oil group were also significantly lower when compared with the olive-oil group (0·54 v 1·36 mmol/l and 0·92 v. 2·87 mmol/l respectively). No group differences were recorded for LDL- and HDL-cholesterol or triacylglycerol levels. A significantly higher oxidation of LDL was recorded 1 h after exposure to CuSO4 in the fish-oil group when compared with the olive-oil group (0·465 v. 0·202, arbitrary units). The following indicators of atherosclerosis development were significantly lower in the fish-oil group than in the olive-oil group: the cholesterol content (mg/g tissue) in the ascending aorta (29·8 v.48·9), the intima:media value (4·81 v. 18·24) and the area of intima (0·10 v. 0·57 mm2) in the thoracic aorta. It was concluded that fish-oil treatment decreased blood lipids and the development of aortic atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits when compared with olive-oil treatment.
The Kähler–Ricci flow on Hirzebruch surfaces

Abstract We investigate the metric behavior of the Kähler–Ricci flow on the Hirzebruch surfaces, assuming the initial metric is invariant under a maximal compact subgroup of the automorphism group. We show that, in the sense of Gromov–Hausdorff, the flow either shrinks to a point, collapses to or contracts an exceptional divisor, confirming a conjecture of Feldman–Ilmanen–Knopf. We also show that similar behavior holds on higher-dimensional analogues of the Hirzebruch surfaces.
mTOR Inhibition Mitigates Enhanced mRNA Translation Associated with the Metastatic Phenotype of Osteosarcoma Cells In Vivo

Purpose: To successfully metastasize, tumor cells must respond appropriately to biological stressors encountered during metastatic progression. We sought to test the hypothesis that enhanced efficiency of mRNA translation during periods of metastatic stress is required for metastatic competence of osteosarcoma and that this metastasis-specific adaptation is amenable to therapeutic intervention. Experimental Design: We employ novel reporter and proteomic systems that enable tracking of mRNA translation efficiency and output in metastatic osteosarcoma cells as they colonize the lungs. We test the potential to target mRNA translation as an antimetastatic therapeutic strategy through pharmacokinetic studies and preclinical assessment of the prototypic mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, across multiple models of metastasis. Results: Metastatic osteosarcoma cells translate mRNA more efficiently than nonmetastatic cells during critical stressful periods of metastatic colonization of the lung. Rapamycin inhibits translational output during periods of metastatic stress, mitigates lung colonization, and prolongs survival. mTOR-inhibiting exposures of rapamycin are achievable in mice using treatment schedules that correspond to human doses well below the MTDs defined in human patients, and as such are very likely to be tolerated over long exposures alone and in combination with other agents. Conclusions: Metastatic competence of osteosarcoma cells is dependent on efficient mRNA translation during stressful periods of metastatic progression, and the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, can mitigate this translation and inhibit metastasis in vivo. Our data suggest that mTOR pathway inhibitors should be reconsidered in the clinic using rationally designed dosing schedules and clinical metrics related to metastatic progression. Clin Cancer Res; 22(24); 6129–41. ©2016 AACR.
The Spatial Distribution of Faint Fuzzy Star Clusters in NGC 5195

We present a study of a faint fuzzy star cluster system in the nearby SB0 galaxy NGC 5195 interacting with the famous spiral galaxy NGC 5194 (M51), based on HST ACS BVI mosaic images taken by the Hubble Heritage Team. We have found about 50 faint fuzzy star clusters around NGC 5195 that are larger than typical globular clusters with effective radii reff > 7 pc and that are red with (V - I) > 1.0. They are mostly fainter than MV ≈ -8.3 mag. From the comparison of BVI photometry of these clusters with the simple stellar population models, we find that they are as massive as ≈105 M☉ and older than 1 Gyr. Strikingly, most of these clusters are found to be scattered in an elongated region almost perpendicular to the northern spiral arm of NGC 5194, and the center of the region is slightly north of the NGC 5195 center, while normal compact red clusters of NGC 5195 are located around the bright optical body of the host galaxy. This is in contrast to the cases of NGC 1023 and NGC 3384 where the spatial distribution of faint fuzzy clusters shows a ring structure around the host galaxy. We suggest that at least some faint fuzzy clusters are experiencing tidal interactions with the companion galaxy NGC 5194 and must be associated with the tidal debris in the western halo of NGC 5195.
Regional Income Convergence in the Enlarged Europe, 1995-2000: A Spatial Econometric Perspective

This paper adopts a spatial econometric perspective to analyse regional convergence of per capita income in Europe in 1995 to 2000 and, moreover, relaxes the assumption of a single steady-state growth path which appears to be out of tune with reality of empirical dynamics. The two-club spatial error convergence model with groupwise heteroskedasticity is found to be most appropriate for the data at hand. Two empirical key findings are worthwhile to note. The first is that the data provide much support for unconditional s-convergence in Europe. The second is that the usual convergence conclusions hold. But they do so for reasons that are not revealed by the classical test equation that is typical in mainstream economics literature.
Seismic denoising based on modified BP neural network

A new method for seismic random noise reduction based on robust function and back propagation (BP) neural network is proposed in this paper. This method introduces BP neural network utilizing least mean log squares (LMLS) error function or least trimmed squares (LTS) estimator instead of least mean squares (LMS) error function as its error function. The proposed method can diminish the influence of random noise on the accuracy of BP neural network model and improve the denoising capability of neural network, obviously. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed new method can reduce random noise on seismic data and preserve in-phase axes more effectively than some traditional denoising methods and generic BP neural network model.
The requirement for pertussis to induce EAU is strain-dependent: B10.RIII, but not B10.A mice, develop EAU and Th1 responses to IRBP without pertussis treatment.

PURPOSE Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) in mice is an important model for elucidating basic mechanisms in autoimmune eye disease. The need for pertussis toxin (PTX) as an additional adjuvant to elicit EAU has limited the usefulness of this model in some types of studies by introducing a pleiotropic factor with confounding effects on the immune response. METHODS In the present study the authors examined the ability of B10.RIII mice, the most susceptible strain known so far, to develop EAU in response to the retinal antigen, interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), and to a major uveitogenic epitope of IRBP, peptide (p)161-180, in the absence of PTX treatment. RESULTS The data indicate that high disease scores in response to IRBP and p161-180 were found in B10.RIII mice, without the need for PTX as part of the immunization protocol. Unlike the B10.A strain in which appreciable disease did not develop without PTX, B10.RIII mice mounted a high IFN-gamma response to IRBP in the absence of PTX treatment. Interestingly, and unlike the effect with IRBP, in vitro recall response to p161-180 was low in IFN-gamma, despite good EAU scores. CONCLUSIONS The data indicate that an important mechanism through which PTX facilitates induction of cell-mediated autoimmunity is by promoting a Th1 polarization of the immune response. The propensity of B10.RIII mice to mount a more polarized Th1 response to IRBP than other strains may contribute to their ability to develop EAU without pertussis adjuvant. Nevertheless, the induction of EAU by p161-180 in the context of a relatively limited IFN-gamma production indicates that non-Th1- and Th-related mechanisms are likely to act in concert to determine the outcome of disease.
New Generation of Low-Frequency Current Comparators Operated at Room Temperature

This paper details developments in the use of room temperature current comparators operating with low-frequency (<1 Hz) ac for precision resistance metrology. We consider the possible benefits of this technique over traditional reversed-dc operation. We describe the construction of high-sensitivity current comparators suitable for such low frequency. 100 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula> to quantum Hall resistance (QHR) ratio measurements are demonstrated at frequencies below 0.2 Hz and with relative accuracies of 1 part in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10^{8}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> or better. Resistance bridges based on this technology offer a lower cost, more robust alternative to those using cryogenic current comparators, and the results presented here indicate that the achievable uncertainties should be attractive for many applications. The combination of such a bridge with a compact next-generation QHR reference is our ultimate aim, and we include some first measurements on graphene samples with low-frequency ac.
The organization of neural systems in the primate cerebral cortex

The primate cerebral cortex is a sheet composed of many distinct areas. Each of these areas receives a large number of afferent inputs from other cortical areas (and elsewhere) and in return issues a large number of output projections. The cortex is thus innervated by a very large number of cortico-cortical connections, so that the areas and their interconnections form a network of startling complexity. The complexity of this network presents a formidable topological problem that hinders understanding of its organization. Recently, however, an optimization analysis has been applied to the connections between visual cortical areas. This optimization analysis derived a structure for the cortical visual system, a system whose organization has been extensively explored, that is consistent with known organizational features. This paper concerns an application of the same approach to the cortico-cortical connections of other major sensory systems in the primate brain, and to the connections of the entire cerebral cortex, whose organizations have not been extensively explored. The latter analysis suggests the gross topological organization of the cortical information processing system of this animal, and shows the ‘place’ of individual areas within this organization. The results may be suggestive for further theory and experiment.
DTN routing as a resource allocation problem

Many DTN routing protocols use a variety of mechanisms, including discovering the meeting probabilities among nodes, packet replication, and network coding. The primary focus of these mechanisms is to increase the likelihood of finding a path with limited information, so these approaches have only an incidental effect on such routing metrics as maximum or average delivery latency. In this paper, we present RAPID, an intentional DTN routing protocol that can optimize a specific routing metric such as worst-case delivery latency or the fraction of packets that are delivered within a deadline. The key insight is to treat DTN routing as a resource allocation problem that translates the routing metric into per-packet utilities which determine how packets should be replicated in the system. We evaluate RAPID rigorously through a prototype of RAPID deployed over a vehicular DTN testbed of 40 buses and simulations based on real traces. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to report on a routing protocol deployed on a real DTN at this scale. Our results suggest that RAPID significantly outperforms existing routing protocols for several metrics. We also show empirically that for small loads RAPID is within 10% of the optimal performance.
PTCH Mutations in Sporadic and Gorlin-syndrome-related Odontogenic Keratocysts

Odontogenic keratocysts are relatively common lesions that may occur in isolation or in association with nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (or Gorlin syndrome). The PTCH gene has been reported to be associated with Gorlin syndrome. We investigated 10 cases of non-syndromic keratocysts and two other cases associated with Gorlin syndrome, looking for PTCH mutations. Four novel and 1 known PTCH mutations were identified in five individual patients. Of the 5 mutations identified, 2 were germ-line mutations (2619C>A; 1338_1339insGCG) in 2 cysts associated with Gorlin syndrome, and 3 were somatic mutations (3124_3129dupGTGTGC; 1361_1364delGTCT; 3913G>T) in 3 non-syndromic cysts. This report describes PTCH mutations in both non-syndromic and Gorlin-syndrome-related odontogenic keratocysts in Chinese patients, and suggests that defects of PTCH are associated with the pathogenesis of syndromic as well as a subset of non-syndromic keratocysts.
Outcome of Early Breast Cancer Treated in an Urban and a Rural Breast Cancer Unit in Germany

Background: Conflicting evidence has been published concerning survival disadvantages in the outcome of breast cancer patients in relationship to their residency in urban or rural communities. Methods: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate differences in patients and treatment characteristics between an urban and a rural breast cancer unit. Therefore, all early breast cancer patients treated consecutively between 1999 and 2007 in a rural and an urban breast cancer unit were included. Patient and tumor characteristics, treatment strategies, and guideline adherence were included to evaluate the prognoses of both populations. Results: Overall, data from 2,566 patients were included in this analysis. The 610 patients treated in the rural unit showed significantly more negative prognostic criteria than the 1,956 patients treated in the urban center. No differences were observed with respect to surgical and systemic treatment after adjustment for prognostic parameters. Adherence to national guidelines did not differ significantly between both settings and ranged between 78.0 and 95.6%. Furthermore, no differences regarding recurrence-free and overall survival were observed. Conclusions: The stage-adjusted pattern of care was similar in 2 German breast care units in a rural region and an urban area. Nevertheless, an earlier diagnosis of breast cancer should be enforced in rural areas to avoid extended treatment burden.
Towards a synthesis of frameworks in nutritional ecology: interacting effects of protein, carbohydrate and phosphorus on field cricket fitness

Phosphorus has been identified as an important determinant of nutrition-related biological variation. The macronutrients protein (P) and carbohydrates (C), both alone and interactively, are known to affect animal performance. No study, however, has investigated the importance of phosphorus relative to dietary protein or carbohydrates, or the interactive effects of phosphorus with these macronutrients, on fitness-related traits in animals. We used a nutritional geometry framework to address this question in adult field crickets (Gryllus veletis). Our results showed that lifespan, weight gain, acoustic mate signalling and egg production were maximized on diets with different P : C ratios, that phosphorus did not positively affect any of these fitness traits, and that males and females had different optimal macronutrient intake ratios for reproductive performance. When given a choice, crickets selected diets that maximized both lifespan and reproductive performance by preferentially eating diets with low P : C ratios, and females selected diets with a higher P : C ratio than males. Conversely, phosphorus intake was not regulated. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of disentangling the influences of different nutrients, and of quantifying both their individual and interactive effects, on animal fitness traits, so as to gain a more integrative understanding of their nutritional ecology.
Studies of Energy-Relevant Materials by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

xxvii CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND OF ENERGY-RELEVANT MATERIALS . 1 1.1 Overview . 1 1.2 Iron-based Superconductors . 2 1.2. 1 Historical overview of superconductivity . 2 1.2. 2 Structural properties . 6 1.2. 3 Magnetic properties and phase diagram . 8 1.2. 4 Superconducting properties . 13 1.2. 5 NMR studies of 122 families of FeSCs . 14 1.2. 6 Motivation . 19 1.3 Thermoelectric Tellurides . 22 1.3. 1 Thermoelectric material properties . 22 1.3. 2 State-of-the-art high-zT thermoelectrics and advanced approaches . 25 1.3. 3 NMR studies of thermoelectric tellurides . 27 1.3. 4 Motivation . 29 1.4 Detonation Nanodiamond . 30 1.4. 1 Detonation synthesis of nanodiamond and purification . 31 1.4. 2 Surface chemistry and modification . 33 1.4. 3 Structure and characterization . 34
Approach-Avoidance Individual Differences in Changing Students' Responses to Physical Education

The purpose of this report was to examine the effects of physical education acrobatic activities as a function of individual differences on approach-avoidance tendencies for acrobatics. The data of a study conducted by Robazza, Bortoli, Carraro, and Bertollo (2006) were analyzed after having classified students as high- or low-avoiders. Approach-avoidance tendencies and idiosyncratic emotions related to acrobatic tasks and adventurous sports were originally assessed for 72 Italian male high school students. Experimental participants engaged in acrobatic tasks of physical education for 12 lessons, while control participants were involved in team sports. Analysis showed that high-avoiders changed their emotions positively toward physical education tasks more than low-avoiders, whereas the latter modified their attitudes for adventurous sports. Approach-avoidance tendencies can be expected to moderate involvement in challenging physical activities.
IL-1 Signaling Is Critically Required in Stromal Cells in Kawasaki Disease Vasculitis Mouse Model: Role of Both IL-1&agr; and IL-1&bgr;

Objective—Kawasaki disease (KD) is the most common cause of acute vasculitis and acquired cardiac disease among US children. We have previously shown that both TLR2/MyD88 and interleukin (IL)-1&bgr; signaling are required for the Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract–induced KD vasculitis mouse model. The objectives of this study were to investigate the cellular origins of IL-1 production, the role of CD11c+ dendritic cells and macrophages, and the relative contribution of hematopoietic and stromal cells for IL-1 responsive cells, as well the MyD88 signaling, in Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract–induced KD mouse model of vasculitis. Approach and Results—Using mouse knockout models and antibody depletion, we found that both IL-1&agr; and IL-1&bgr; were required for Lactobacillus casei cell wall extract–induced KD. Both dendritic cells and macrophages were necessary, and we found that MyD88 signaling was required in both hematopoietic and stromal cells. However, IL-1 response and signaling were critically required in nonendothelial stromal cells, but not in hematopoietic cells. Conclusions—Our results suggest that IL-1&agr; and IL-1&bgr;, as well as CD11c+ dendritic cells and macrophages, are essential for the development of KD vasculitis and coronary arteritis in this mouse model. Bone marrow chimera experiments suggest that MyD88 signaling is important in both hematopoietic and stromal cells, whereas IL-1 signaling and response are required only in stromal cells, but not in endothelial cells. Determining the role of IL-1&agr; and IL-1&bgr; and of specific cell types in the KD vasculitis mouse model may have important implications for the design of more targeted therapies and understanding of the molecular mechanisms of KD immunopathologies.
Boundary Stabilization of a 1-D Wave Equation with In-Domain Antidamping

We consider the problem of boundary stabilization of a 1-D (one-dimensional) wave equation with an internal spatially varying antidamping term. This term puts all the eigenvalues of the open-loop system in the right half of the complex plane. We design a feedback law based on the backstepping method and prove exponential stability of the closed-loop system with a desired decay rate. For plants with constant parameters the control gains are found in closed form. Our design also produces a new Lyapunov function for the classical wave equation with passive boundary damping.
Spatial Cognition and the Hippocampus: The Anterior–Posterior Axis

We discuss the question of differentiation along the anterior–posterior longitudinal axis of the hippocampus. Data from a recent fMRI study are reanalyzed to determine whether activations in these hippocampal regions are affected by the nature of the information being accessed during a scanning session in which participants thought about episodes from their lives. Retrieving detailed spatial relational information preferentially activated the posterior hippocampus, whereas retrieving information about locales (or contexts) preferentially activated the anterior hippocampus. These data support the view that there is functional differentiation along the longitudinal axis in humans that matches what has been seen in rats, namely, that the posterior (dorsal) hippocampus is crucial for precise spatial behavior, and the anterior (ventral) hippocampus is crucial for context coding.