Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiplexed analysis of biomarkers related to obesity and the metabolic syndrome in human plasma, using the Luminex-100 system.

BACKGROUND The complex pathology of disease has sparked the development of novel protein expression profiling techniques that require validation in clinical settings. This study focuses on multiplexed analyses of adipocytokines and biomarkers linked to the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. METHODS Multiplexed immunoassays using fluorescent microspheres and the Luminex-100 system were performed on plasma from 80 obese patients (40 with the metabolic syndrome) before and after 6-8 weeks of diet-induced weight loss. Leptin, insulin, C-peptide, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), eotaxin, interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and IL-6 concentrations measured with multiplex panels from 3 different manufacturers were compared with results from commercial ELISAs. Detection limits and between- and within-run imprecision were determined for each analyte. Bland-Altman analysis was used to determine agreement between multiplexed immunoassays and ELISAs. RESULTS Correlation between the Luminex multiplexed assays and ELISAs was good for leptin (Linco), insulin (Linco), MCP-1 (Biosource and Upstate), and eotaxin (Biosource) with correlation coefficients of 0.711-0.895; fair for eotaxin (Upstate) and C-peptide (Linco) with correlation coefficients of 0.496-0.582; and poor for TNF-alpha, IL-8, and IL-6 (Linco, Biosource, Upstate, and R&D) with correlation coefficients of -0.107 to 0.318. Within- and between-run imprecision values for the multiplex method were generally <15%. Relative changes in plasma leptin and insulin concentrations after diet-induced weight loss were similar whether assessed by multiplex assay or ELISA. CONCLUSION Although this technology appears useful in clinical research studies, low assay sensitivity and poor correlations with conventional ELISA methods for some analytes with very low plasma concentrations should be considered when using the Luminex platform in clinical studies.
The direct and indirect effects of advertising on materialism of college students in China

In this study, we propose a theoretical framework through which we examine the direct and the indirect effects of advertising on college students’ materialistic attitudes in China. The framework is built on the influence-of-presumed-influence model, which allows us to examine how advertising and peer influence interact with each other and exert joint effects. We conducted a survey of 210 undergraduate students aged from 17 to 24 in Beijing, China. Results of the survey suggest that, in addition to its direct effect, advertising produces an indirect effect on college students’ materialism via their presumed advertising influence on peers. The findings of this study have practical implications for both educators and marketers.
Osmotic stress‐coupled maintenance of polar growth in Aspergillus nidulans

Free‐living cells monitor extracellular ‘osmotic strength’ and respond metabolically to offset unfavourable osmotic intracellular solute concentrations. Here, we report the reconstruction of the Aspergillus nidulans salt stress‐controlling MAP kinase pathway, based on homology analysis with known yeast genes. In A. nidulans, salt stress HOG genes, such as pbsA, hogA, ptpA and msnA, are upregulated when exposed to high concentrations of salt and, in a hogA deletion mutant (SIK1), the accumulation of pbsA is strongly reduced, suggesting a salt‐specific feedback induction mechanism. Growth of SIK1 appears to be unchanged in unstressed cells, but hyphal extension rates are reduced by as much as 60% in the presence of salt. Microscopic observation revealed abnormal hyperbranched hyphal tips, disproportionate accumulation of nuclei and absence of septa. Thus, the inability to maintain turgor pressure depresses cell expansion and results in slower volume increases. In addition, SIK1 fails to partition the apical cell; thus, nuclei are not likely to arrest mitosis in interphase as in normal cells, but continue to divide, accumulating to high levels.
Cryopreservation of Neurospheres Derived from Human Glioblastoma Multiforme

Cancer stem cells have been shown to initiate and sustain tumor growth. In many instances, clinical material is limited, compounded by a lack of methods to preserve such cells at convenient time points. Although brain tumor‐initiating cells grown in a spheroid manner have been shown to maintain their integrity through serial transplantation in immune‐compromised animals, practically, it is not always possible to have access to animals of suitable ages to continuously maintain these cells. We therefore explored vitrification as a cryopreservation technique for brain tumor‐initiating cells. Tumor neurospheres were derived from five patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Cryopreservation in 90% serum and 10% dimethyl sulfoxide yielded greatest viability and could be explored in future studies. Vitrification yielded cells that maintained self‐renewal and multipotentiality properties. Karyotypic analyses confirmed the presence of GBM hallmarks. Upon implantation into NOD/SCID mice, our vitrified cells reformed glioma masses that could be serially transplanted. Transcriptome analysis showed that the vitrified and nonvitrified samples in either the stem‐like or differentiated states clustered together, providing evidence that vitrification does not change the genotype of frozen cells. Upon induction of differentiation, the transcriptomes of vitrified cells associated with the original primary tumors, indicating that tumor stem‐like cells are a genetically distinct population from the differentiated mass, underscoring the importance of working with the relevant tumor‐initiating population. Our results demonstrate that vitrification of brain tumor‐initiating cells preserves the biological phenotype and genetic profiles of the cells. This should facilitate the establishment of a repository of tumor‐initiating cells for subsequent experimental designs. STEM CELLS 2009;27:29–39
Distributed output regulation design for multi-agent systems in output-feedback form

A distributed output regulation problem is studied for a class of nonlinearly coupled multi-agent systems, taking a decentralized output-feedback form. By a networked internal model with a preassigned topology and a decentralized stabilization design, a distributed regulator is constructed and solves the problem. As an illustration, for a three-mass-three-spring system, a problem of synchronizing every agent motion to a harmonic oscillator can be solved.
Kallikrein 6 Regulates Early CNS Demyelination in a Viral Model of Multiple Sclerosis

Kallikrein 6 (Klk6) is a secreted serine protease that is elevated in active multiple sclerosis lesions and patient sera. To further evaluate the involvement of Klk6 in chronic progressive demyelinating disease, we determined its expression in the brain and spinal cord of SJL mice infected with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) and assessed the effects of Klk6‐neutralizing antibodies on disease progression. Klk6 RNA expression was elevated in the brain and spinal cord by 7 days postinfection (dpi). Thereafter, Klk6 expression persisted primarily in the spinal cord reaching a peak of fivefold over controls at mid‐chronic stages (60 dpi–120 dpi). Significant elevations in Klk6 RNA were also induced in splenocytes stimulated with viral capsid proteins in vitro and in activated human acute monocytic leukemia cells. Klk6‐neutralizing antibodies reduced TMEV‐driven brain and spinal cord pathology and delayed‐type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses when examined at early chronic time points (40 dpi). Reductions in spinal cord pathology included a decrease in activated monocytes/microglia and reductions in the loss of myelin basic protein (MBP). By 180 dpi, pathology scores no longer differed between groups. These findings point to regulatory activities for Klk6 in the development and progression of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation and demyelination that can be effectively targeted through the early chronic stages with neutralizing antibody.
Burnout Among Public Service Workers

Current literature remains inconclusive regarding the adverse impact of emotional labor requirements on burnout. To address the discrepancy, this study revisited this relationship as well as investigated the potential additive and interactive effects of job resources, namely job control, social support, and rewards. In the sample of 208 public service workers, regression results revealed that display rules that require expression of positive emotions did not account for variance in emotional exhaustion whereas display rules that require suppression of negative emotions were emotionally taxing. Job resources were uniformly associated with decreased emotional exhaustion. Moreover, coworker support significantly attenuated the harmful impact of emotional demands. Based on these findings, this study suggests, rather than emphasizing negative display rules, it is more favorable for organizations to specify appropriate expressions of job-related emotions. When workers are at risk of burnout, provision of job resources can help ease the burden and reduce job stress.
Referees among Most Important Players in Soccer Tournaments

T he claim I want to put forward is that the referees—and in their wake the linesmen and the fourth officials (assuming that the latter have some role to play)—are among the most important players in tournaments such as the European Championship (EC) and World Championship (WC) football, on an equal footing with the star players entering the pitch. If true, this is not as it should be. Which national team wins should be merely dependent on the performance of the football players. The referee should ideally play a strictly neutral role in this respect, but this is not the case, even if the referee has no preference or interest whatsoever in which team wins. The fact is that he has to make hard decisions during the match, which determines to a large extent the ultimate winner. For this to be true, two conditions have to be met. First, there is no towering favorite player who beats all opponents during the course of the tournament with a margin of two goals or more. The most recent exception is the Dutch team in 1974 winning all matches with a margin of two goals or more except finally losing against West Germany. Probably more informative is that only 3 of all 40 matches from the quarterfinals onwards on the important tournaments in between 1994 and 2004—the WC ‘94, the EC ‘96, the WC ‘98, the EC 2000, the WC 2002, and EC 2004 (see Tables 1 and 2 below)—end with a difference of more than one goal. Even after extra time because of a draw in the regular time, 37 matches end with a difference of only one goal or are decided by a series of penalties. Ex ante, it is therefore not exaggerated to say that whether or not the final champion will reach the final and also wins is a matter of brute luck, depending on how the dice rolls and on the crucial decisions made by the refereeing officials during the course of the tournament. Second, the referee has to make many decisions during a match in a split second, so even if he intends to be impartial in an impeccable way, he will inevitably have a huge impact on the course and outcome of a match. There are numerous occasions during a match that the referee or linesmen can decide to give the benefit of doubt to one team or the other (e.g., to give
Effects of syntax in human sentence parsing: Evidence against a structure-based proposal mechanism

In 1992, D. C. Mitchell, M. M. B. Corley, and A. Garnham presented new evidence to suggest that contextual information does not influence the parser's initial decisions. They suggested, however, that if sufficient material separates the choice point from the point of syntactic disambiguation, the processor may have sufficient time to revoke an initial structure-based decision in favor of a more contextually compatible analysis, and so avoid the garden path. They described a reading time experiment that they claim is incompatible with an initial context-based decision. In the present article we argue that Mitchell et al.'s contexts were in fact ineffective. We describe an experiment based on a subset of the Mitchell et al. design, but with differently structured contexts, and present eye movement data that are compatible with the claim that contextual information can influence the parser's initial decisions
Chinese Male Addicts' Drug Craving and Their Global and Contingent Self-Esteem

In this study we investigated the relationships among Chinese male addicts’ drug craving and their global and contingent self-esteem. Drug addicts ( N = 195) at a compulsory rehabilitation center in Zhuhai, South China, completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Esteem Contingent Scale, Sensation Seeking Scale V, and a scale of drug craving for addicts who have withdrawn physically from the drug, but who have not received any behavior support or counseling. The results indicated that male drug addicts’ global self-esteem correlated negatively with drug craving whereas their contingent self-esteem correlated positively with drug craving. After controlling for other variables, drug craving was still significantly predicted by global self-esteem and contingent self-esteem. Those addicts with low global and high contingent self-esteem recorded the highest scores for level of drug craving, and those with high global but low contingent self-esteem had the lowest scores.
Conflict styles as indicators of behavioral patterns in interpersonal conflicts

Abstract Relationships were examined between the assertiveness and cooperativeness dimensions of conflict styles, as determined by the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument, and the specific behaviors, as identified through a situational conflict questionnaire, used by American business school students in a recent interpersonal conflict. The results suggest that preferences for assertiveness are reflected in both strategic and tactical use of behaviors, whereas cooperativeness is associated with last-choice behaviors.
Arthroscopic Management of Osteoarthritis of the Knee

&NA; Recent advances in instrumentation and a growing understanding of the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis have led to increased use of arthroscopy for the management of degenerative arthritis of the knee. Techniques include lavage and débridement, abrasion arthroplasty, subchondral penetration procedures (drilling and microfracture), and laser/thermal chondroplasty. In most patients, short‐term symptomatic relief can be expected with arthroscopic lavage and débridement. Greater symptomatic relief and more persistent pain relief can be achieved in patients who have acute onset of pain, mechanical disturbances from cartilage or meniscal fragments, normal lower extremity alignment, and minimal radiographic evidence of degenerative disease. Arthroscopic chondroplasty techniques provide unpredictable results. Concerns include the durability of the fibrocartilage repair tissue in subchondral penetration procedures and thermal damage to subchondral bone and adjacent normal articular cartilage in laser/thermal chondroplasty. Although recent prospective, randomized, double‐blinded studies have demonstrated that outcomes after arthroscopic lavage or débridement were no better than placebo procedure for knee osteoarthritis, controversy still exists. With proper selection, patients with early degenerative arthritis and mechanical symptoms of locking or catching can benefit from arthroscopic surgery.
The Fox and the Raven: The European Union and Hungary Renegotiate the Margins of “Europe”

A series of diplomatic exchanges has recently unfolded between the Hungarian government and the Commission of the European Union. The stakes are historic for the Hungarian side. Hungary formally applied for full membership in the European Union on March 31, 1994, the first country to announce such intentions among the successor states of the former Soviet bloc. Two years later, the Commission sent a lengthy questionnaire about the “state of the applicant” to all—by then, ten—central and east European applicant states. The Hungarian side filed its comprehensive response three months after the receipt of the questionnaire. The Commission waited until all responses were in and acknowledged the Hungarian answer in a document, issued another year later, whose purpose was to determine whether to recommend that the EU Council should start negotiations with the individual candidate countries about full membership.
High-Density Lipoprotein and 4 F Peptide Reduce Systemic Inflammation by Modulating Intestinal Oxidized Lipid Metabolism Novel Hypotheses and Review of Literature

Abstract—Oxidized phospholipids are found in the vasculature of animal models of atherosclerosis, in human atherosclerotic lesions, and in other inflammatory diseases. Oxidized phospholipids cause vascular and nonvascular cells to initiate an inflammatory reaction. Metabolites of arachidonic acid, such as 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, can mimic some of the inflammatory properties of oxidized phospholipids. In vitro and in vivo normal high-density lipoprotein (HDL), normal apolipoprotein A-I, and apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptides, each likely acting in a different manner, prevent the inflammatory reaction characteristic of atherosclerosis, and this is associated with decreased levels of oxidized lipids in tissues and cells. HDL from animal models of atherosclerosis or from humans with atherosclerosis or from humans or animals with other chronic inflammatory diseases does not prevent the inflammatory reaction characteristic of atherosclerosis and may even enhance the inflammatory reaction. In mice and perhaps humans, ≈30% of the steady-state plasma HDL-cholesterol pool is derived from the small intestine. The metabolism of phospholipids by gut bacteria has been recently implicated in atherosclerosis in both mice and humans. Studies with apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptides suggest that the small intestine is a major tissue regulating systemic inflammation in mouse models of atherosclerosis and may be important for determining the functionality of HDL. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012;32:2553-2560.)
Growth and Reproduction of Earthworm (Eisenia fetida) in Different Organic Media

The study was designed to evaluate the growth and reproduction of Eisenia fetida on different locally available organic manures, i.e . , cow manure, sheep/ goat manure and dry leaves. The growth and reproduction of Eisenia fetida was measured by studying parameters, such as, gain in body weight, number of cocoons produced and number of hatchlings emerged. These worms were grown in these organic manure for about six months. The growth rate of Eisenia fetida was significantly higher (P<0.05) in cow manure as compared to dry leaves, sheep/goat manure and simple soil. Sheep/goat manure showed mortality after about tenth week of inoculation. The cocoon production was significantly greater (P<0.05) in cow manure than in dry leaves. Cocoon production was not observed in sheep/goat manure and simple soil. Hatchlings production was also significantly higher (P<0.05) in cow manure i.e., 120 hatchlings as compared to dry leaves with 73 hatchlings produced during this experiment. It has been concluded that cow manure is a better medium for growth and reproduction of Eisenia fetida.
A European inventory of data elements for patient recruitment

INTRODUCTION In the last few years much work has been conducted in creating systems that support clinical trials for example by utilizing electronic health record data. One of these endeavours is the Electronic Health Record for Clinical Research project (EHR4CR). An unanswered question that the project aims to answer is which data elements are most commonly required for patient recruitment. METHODS Free text eligibility criteria from 40 studies were analysed, simplified and elements were extracted. These elements where then added to an existing inventory of data elements for protocol feasibility. RESULTS We simplified and extracted data elements from 40 trials, which resulted in 1170 elements. From these we created an inventory of 150 unique data elements relevant for patient identification and recruitment with definitions and referenced codes to standard terminologies. DISCUSSION Our list was created with expertise from pharmaceutical companies. Comparisons with related work shows that identified concepts are similar. An evaluation of the availability of these elements in electronic health records is still ongoing. Hospitals that want to engage in re-use of electronic health record data for research purposes, for example by joining networks like EHR4CR, can now prioritize their effort based on this list.
Effects of Sacubitril/Valsartan (LCZ696) on Natriuresis, Diuresis, Blood Pressures, and NT-proBNP in Salt-Sensitive Hypertension

Salt-sensitive hypertension (SSH) is characterized by impaired sodium excretion and subnormal vasodilatory response to salt loading. Sacubitril/valsartan (LCZ696) was hypothesized to increase natriuresis and diuresis and result in superior blood pressure control compared with valsartan in Asian patients with SSH. In this randomized, double-blind, crossover study, 72 patients with SSH received sacubitril/valsartan 400 mg and valsartan 320 mg once daily for 4 weeks each. SSH was diagnosed if the mean arterial pressure increased by ≥10% when patients switched from low (50 mmol/d) to high (320 mmol/d) sodium diet. The primary outcome was cumulative 6- and 24-hour sodium excretion after first dose administration. Compared with valsartan, sacubitril/valsartan was associated with a significant increase in natriuresis (adjusted treatment difference: 24.5 mmol/6 hours, 50.3 mmol/24 hours, both P<0.001) and diuresis (adjusted treatment difference: 291.2 mL/6 hours, P<0.001; 356.4 mL/24 hours, P=0.002) on day 1, but not on day 28, and greater reductions in office and ambulatory blood pressure on day 28. Despite morning dosing of both drugs, ambulatory blood pressure reductions were more pronounced at nighttime than at daytime or the 24-hour average. Compared with valsartan, sacubitril/valsartan significantly reduced N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide levels on day 28 (adjusted treatment difference: −20%; P=0.001). Sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan were safe and well tolerated with no significant changes in body weight or serum sodium and potassium levels with either treatments. In conclusion, sacubitril/valsartan compared with valsartan was associated with short-term increases in natriuresis and diuresis, superior office and ambulatory blood pressure control, and significantly reduced N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide levels in Asian patients with SSH. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT01681576.