Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Platelet Adhesion to Podoplanin Under Flow is Mediated by the Receptor CLEC-2 and Stabilised by Src/Syk-Dependent Platelet Signalling

Summary Platelet-specific deletion of CLEC-2, which signals through Src and Syk kinases, or global deletion of its ligand podoplanin results in bloodfilled lymphatics during mouse development. Platelet-specific Syk deficiency phenocopies this defect, indicating that platelet activation is required for lymphatic development. In the present study, we investigated whether CLEC-2-podoplanin interactions could support platelet arrest from blood flow and whether platelet signalling is required for stable platelet adhesion to lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) and recombinant podoplanin under flow. Perfusion of human or mouse blood over human LEC monolayers led to platelet adhesion and aggregation. Following α∥bβ3 blockade, individual platelets still adhered. Platelet binding occurred at venous but not arterial shear rates. There was no adhesion using CLEC-2-deficient blood or to vascular endothelial cells (which lack podoplanin). Perfusion of human blood over human Fc-podoplanin (hFcPDPN) in the presence of monoclonal antibody IV.3 to block FcγR∥A receptors led to platelet arrest at similar shear rates to those used on LECs. Src and Syk inhibitors significantly reduced global adhesion of human or mouse platelets to LECs and hFcPDPN. A similar result was seen using Syk-deficient mouse platelets. Reduced platelet adhesion was due to a decrease in the stability of binding. In conclusion, our data reveal that CLEC-2 is an adhesive receptor that supports platelet arrest to podoplanin under venous shear. Src/Syk-dependent signalling stabilises platelet adhesion to podoplanin, providing a possible molecular mechanism contributing to the lymphatic defects of Syk-deficient mice.
A Simple Additive Re-weighting Strategy for Improving Margins

We present a sample re-weighting scheme inspired by recent results in margin theory. The basic idea is to add to the training set replicas of samples which are not classified with a sufficient margin. We prove the convergence of the input distribution obtained in this way. As study case, we consider an instance of the scheme involving a 1-NN classifier implementing a Vector Quantization algorithm that accommodates tangent distance models. The tangent distance models created in this way have shown a significant improvement in generalization power with respect to the standard tangent models. More-over, the obtained models were able to outperform state of the art algorithms, such as SVM.
The 2D AKLT state is a universal quantum computational resource

Quantum computation promises exponential speedup over classical computation by exploiting the quantum mechanical nature of physical processes [1]. In addition to the standard circuit models, surprisingly, local measurement alone provides the same power of computation, given only a prior sufficiently entangled state [2]. Cluster states are the first known resource states for such measurement-based quantum computation (MBQC) [2, 3]. They can arise as the unique ground state of fivebody interacting Hamiltonian on a square lattice; however, they cannot be the exact unique ground state of any two-body Hamiltonian [4, 5]. Fundamentally, could there be unique ground states of any two-body interacting Hamiltonian that are universal resources? In searching for such resourceful ground states of physically reasonable Hamiltonians, Chen et al. made some important progress by constructing a spin-5/2 resourceful state on a honeycomb lattice, which is an unique ground state of a two-body interacting Hamiltonian [6]. Later Cai et al. approached this issue by patching ground states of Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) chains [7] into an effective 2D spin-3/2 state [8]. This construction reduced the local Hilbert-space dimension from 6 of Chen et al. to 4. However, both engineered Hamiltonians, even though consisting of only two-body interaction, turn out be complicated and possess less symmetry than the original AKLT Hamiltonians. After many works on utilizing AKLT chains for quantum computation [9–11], it remains open whether any of the original 2D AKLT states can be universal resources for MBQC.
Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Macau: results from a cross-sectional epidemiological study in Macau, China.

BACKGROUND Awareness of hypertension, as well as its prevalence, treatment, and control status, has not been comprehensively investigated in Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), China. METHODS A survey was conducted on a randomly sampled population of 1,410 participants (n = 638 men) aged 18-93 years in 2012. Blood pressure was individually measured twice. Awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension were assessed by interview-administered questionnaire. RESULTS Prevalence of hypertension was 34% in Macau, similar to the United States (30%) and United Kingdom (31%). Among hypertensives, 69% were aware of their condition, 59% were treated, and 30% were adequately controlled. Older age (≥50 years; odds ratio (OR) = 5.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.6-6.1), being of the male sex (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.9-2.5), having retired (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.8-2.3), being married (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.3-1.9), having a low level of education in women (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.1-2.1), Pinteraction = 0.01), and lack of salt awareness (OR = 1.1; 95% CI = 1.0-1.3) were associated with hypertension. Older age, having retired, and being married were also associated with higher awareness and treatment rates. Those who were older and married were better controlled. These demographic factors differed by sex. Those who had some knowledge of salt intake were more likely to have higher hypertension awareness, treatment, and control rates. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of hypertension in Macau in 2012 has increased compared with 2006 (28%) and is comparable with prevalence rates in developed countries. Specific health promotion campaigns related to knowledge of risk factors such as salt intake and smoking may be useful for hypertension prevention and to improve hypertension awareness, treatment, and control rates.
Evaluation of the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in an elastomeric polyurethane and fatigue test

Two series of polyurethane (PU) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) based composites with 0.0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mass% of CNT were obtained from diluting a commercial masterbatch with 30 mass% CNT and using two different dispersion methods. The quality of the dispersions was assessed using optical microscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopies. These tests showed that high controlled shear stress is necessary to produce composites with nanoscale dispersion: the elastic modulus improved by an average of 38% in the case of the high-shear dispersed materials in comparison with the neat polymer. A specific fatigue test conducted by dynamic mechanical analysis was first used in this work to compare the neat PU with the CNT/PU nanocomposites. The number of cycles to failure increased from 2700 for the neat polymer to 3200 for the 0.5 mass% CNT based nanocomposite; the elongation at failure increased by 145% in the test conditions.
Long-Distance Propagation Measurements of Mobile Radio Channel over Sea at 2 GHz

A long-distance channel measurement campaign with a maximum distance of 45 km was performed in Trondheimsfjorden, Norway. In this paper, we give a detailed description of the channel measurements including route, RX and TX antenna sites and other channel parameters. The results of received signal level (RSL) obtained by using two different signal processing methods are demonstrated, and it is found that the influence of unwanted interference and noise becomes more than 2 dB at distances beyond 20 km, which proves the necessity of employing an interference-reduction method. The inbound trip RSL is found to be larger (~6 dB) than for the outbound trip, which is assumed to be due to the "inbound" TX antenna resting on the furthermost edge of a large horizontal metal plane, which might act as a mirror to create its image. The path loss has been compared with the free-space model, the Okumura-Hata model, the COST 231-Hata model and the ITU-R P.1546-2 model, and it has been found that the ITU-R model for open cold sea corresponding to field-strength value exceeded at 50% of the locations fits the measurement results best. However, some important deep fadings visible in our measurements are not seen in these models. Finally, the channel spatial correlation coefficient between the two RX-antennas is found to be less than 0.7 beyond a distance of 3 km. The ship turning and shadowing effect caused by other ships might, however, reduce the spatial correlation between the two RX channels.
Neuropsychiatric effects of anabolic steroids in male normal volunteers.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the acute effects of anabolic steroids on mood and behavior in male normal volunteers. DESIGN A 2-week, double-blind (subject and rater), fixed-order, placebo-controlled crossover trial of methyltestosterone. SETTING An inpatient research unit at the National Institutes of Health. SUBJECTS A volunteer sample of 20 men who were medication free, free of medical and psychiatric illness, not involved in athletic training, and had no prior history of anabolic steroid use. INTERVENTION A sequential trial for 3 days each of the following four drug conditions: placebo baseline, low-dose methyltestosterone (40 mg/d), high-dose methyltestosterone (240 mg/d), and placebo withdrawal. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mood and behavioral ratings were completed during each drug condition and included both subjective and objective measures. RESULTS Significant (P < .05) albeit subtle increases in symptom scores were observed during high-dose methyltestosterone administration compared with baseline in positive mood (euphoria, energy, and sexual arousal), negative mood (irritability, mood swings, violent feelings, and hostility), and cognitive impairment (distractibility, forgetfulness, and confusion). An acute manic episode was observed in one of the 20 subjects, representing a 5% incidence, even under these conservative conditions. An additional subject became hypomanic. Baseline characteristics including family psychiatric history or previous drug abuse did not predict symptom changes. CONCLUSION This is the first placebo-controlled prospective study demonstrating the adverse and activating mood and behavioral effects of anabolic steroids.
Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription–3 Induces MicroRNA-155 Expression in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

MicroRNA (miR) abnormalities play a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). High levels of miR-155 have been detected in human neoplasms, and overexpression of miR-155 has been found to induce lymphoma in mice. High levels of miR-155 were detected in CLL cells and STAT3, which is known to induce miR-21 and miR-181b-1 expression, is constitutively activated in CLL. Given these findings, we hypothesized that STAT3 induces miR-155. Sequence analysis revealed that the miR-155 promoter harbors two putative STAT3 binding sites. Therefore, truncated miR-155 promoter constructs and STAT3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) were co-transfected into MM1 cells. Of the two putative binding sites, STAT3-siRNA reduced the luciferase activity of the construct containing the 700–709 bp STAT3 binding site, suggesting that this site is involved in STAT3-induced transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay confirmed that STAT3 bound to the miR-155 promoter in CLL cells, and chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase assay confirmed that STAT3 bound to the 700–709 bp but not the 615–624 bp putative STAT3 binding site in CLL cells. Finally, STAT3-small hairpin RNA downregulated miR-155 gene expression, suggesting that constitutively activated STAT3 binds to the miR-155 gene promoter. Together, these results suggest that STAT3 activates miR-155 in CLL cells.
Pinch-drag-flick vs. spatial input: rethinking zoom & pan on mobile displays

The multi-touch-based pinch to zoom, drag and flick to pan metaphor has gained wide popularity on mobile displays, where it is the paradigm of choice for navigating 2D documents. But is finger-based navigation really the gold standard' In this paper, we present a comprehensive user study with 40 participants, in which we systematically compared the Pinch-Drag-Flick approach with a technique that relies on spatial manipulation, such as lifting a display up/down to zoom. While we solely considered known techniques, we put considerable effort in implementing both input strategies on popular consumer hardware (iPhone, iPad). Our results show that spatial manipulation can significantly outperform traditional Pinch-Drag-Flick. Given the carefully optimized prototypes, we are confident to have found strong arguments that future generations of mobile devices could rely much more on spatial interaction principles.
Forward modeling of regional scale tree‐ring patterns in the southeastern United States and the recent influence of summer drought

We use a mechanistic model of tree‐ring formation to simulate regional patterns of climate‐tree growth relationships in the southeastern United States. Modeled chronologies are consistent with actual tree‐ring data, demonstrating that our simulations have skill in reproducing broad‐scale patterns of the proxy's response to climate variability. The model predicts that a decrease in summer precipitation, associated with a weakening Bermuda High, has become an additional control on tree ring growth during recent decades. A nonlinear response of tree growth to climate variability has implications for the calibration of tree‐ring records for paleoclimate reconstructions and the prediction of ecosystem responses to climate change.
A Favorable Response of Dysplastic BarrettÃ¢Â€Â™s Refractory to Ablation Therapy Only after Initiation of an Alginate Solution as Add-on Therapy

Alginates have been shown not only to be beneficial in their relief of symptomatic post-prandial gastroesophageal reflux, but there is also evidence that they may inhibit reflux, including bile acids and pepsin, and in turn attenuate and even prevent the activation and up-regulation of molecules associated with the development of metaplasia and cancer of the esophagus. Here we present the case of a patient with Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) which was initially unresponsive to endoscopic radiofrequency ablation therapy and cryotherapy for highgrade dysplasia. Following initiation of therapy with an alginate solution in addition to twice daily proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, the patient showed a favorable response and eventual complete eradication of his dysplastic Barrett's. The patient's course is suggestive that the alginate solution, through reflux inhibition, prevented persistent esophageal cell changes which occur secondary to gastric and bile acid exposure, thus allowing development of neosquamous epithelium. This case is intriguing with regard to the role of alginates in creating a favorable environment for esophageal healing when treating Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia.
Average core structures and variability measures for protein families: application to the immunoglobulins.

A variety of methods are currently available for creating multiple alignments, and these can be used to define and characterize families of related proteins, such as the globins or the immunoglobulins. We have developed a method for using a multiple alignment to identify an average structural "core", a subset of atoms with low structural variation. We show how the means and variances of core-atom positions summarize the commonalities and differences with a family, making them particularly useful in compiling libraries of protein folds. We show further how it is possible to describe the rotation and translation relating two core structures, as in two domains of a multi-domain protein, in a consistent fashion in terms of a "mean" transformation and a deviation about this mean. Once determined, our average core structures (with their implicit measure of structural variation) allow us to define a measure of structural similarity more informative than the usual root-mean-square (RMS) deviation in atomic position, i.e. a "better RMS. " Our average structures also permit straightforward comparisons between variation in structure and sequence at each position in a family. We have applied our core-finding methodology in detail to the immunoglobulin family. We find that the structural variability we observe just within the VL and VH domains anticipates the variability that others have observed throughout the whole immunoglobulin superfamily; that a core definition based on sequence conservation, somewhat surprisingly, does not agree with one based on structural similarity; and that the cores of the VL and VH domains vary about 5 degrees in relative orientation across the known structures.
Coupling caching and forwarding: benefits, analysis, and implementation

A recent debate revolves around the usefulness of pervasive caching, i.e., adding caching capabilities to possibly every router of the future Internet. Recent research argues against it, on the ground that it provides only very limited gain with respect to the current CDN scenario, where caching only happens at the network edge. In this paper, we instead show that advantages of ubiquitous caching appear only when meta-caching (i.e., whether or not cache the incoming object) and forwarding (i.e., where to direct requests in case of cache miss) decisions are tightly coupled. Summarizing our contributions, we (i) show that gains can be obtained provided that ideal Nearest Replica Routing (iNRR) forwarding and Leave a Copy Down (LCD) meta-caching are jointly in use, (ii) model the iNRR forwarding policy, (iii) provide two alternative implementations that arbitrarily closely approximate iNRR behavior, and (iv) promote cross-comparison by making our code available to the community.
Laryngeal Papillary Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective Papillary squamous cell carcinoma has emerged as a distinct entity from the more common keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. The basis behind this distinction relates not only to its histologic variation but also to its overall prognosis and survival. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the incidence, demographics, and long-term survival of laryngeal papillary squamous cell carcinoma (LPSCC) and how it relates to other laryngeal malignancies using a population-based database. Study Design Analysis of a population-based tumor registry. Methods The United States National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry was used to perform a retrospective analysis. Patients diagnosed with LPSCC from 1973 to 2011 were identified. Data endpoints extracted included patient demographics, incidence, and survival. Results Three-hundred seventy cases of LPSCC were identified, corresponding to 0.5% of all laryngeal tumors. There was a 3:1 male predilection, without a significant racial preference. Most tumors identified were localized (T1) and at stage 1. The 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year disease-specific survival (DSS) for LPSCC was 97.1%, 83.1%, and 73.9%, respectively, compared with 87.9%, 64.5%, and 50.5% for other laryngeal malignancies (P values <.0001). Surgery was associated with a higher overall DSS in both LPSCC (87.4% vs 78.8%) and other laryngeal malignancies (70% vs 59.4%) when compared with other treatment modalities. Conclusion This analysis of the largest sample of LPSCC demonstrates a better prognosis for this pathology compared with other laryngeal malignancies.
Distinct Subfamilies of Odorant Binding Proteins in Locust (Orthoptera, Acrididae): Molecular Evolution, Structural Variation, and Sensilla-Specific Expression

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) play an important role in insect olfaction, facilitating transportation of odorant molecules in the sensillum lymph. While most of the researches are concentrated on Lepidopteran and Dipteran species, our knowledge about Orthopteran species is still very limited. In this study, we have investigated OBPs of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria, a representative Orthopteran species. We have identified 14 transcripts from a S. gregaria antennal transcriptome encoding SgreOBPs, and recapitulated the phylogenetic relationship of SgreOBPs together with OBPs from three other locust species. Two conserved subfamilies of classic OBPs have been identified, named I-A and II-A, exhibiting both common and subfamily-specific amino acid motifs. Distinct evolutionary features were observed for subfamily I-A and II-A OBPs. Surface topology and interior cavity were elucidated for OBP members from the two subfamilies. Antennal topographic expression revealed distinct sensilla- and cellular- specific expression patterns for SgreOBPs from subfamily I-A and II-A. These findings give first insight into the repertoire of locust OBPs with respect to their molecular and evolutionary features as well as their expression in the antenna, which may serve as an initial step to unravel specific roles of distinct OBP subfamilies in locust olfaction.
The Identification of Competencies for Online Teaching Success

This exploratory study examined teaching behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs (referred to as tasks) that reflect potential competencies for online teaching success. In this study, teaching tasks are those tasks performed during course delivery. Based on faculty interviews and a review of relevant research, 64 teaching tasks were identified and included in 7-point Likert scale survey instrument. It was distributed to experienced online faculty and staff asking them to rate the level of importance of a list of teaching tasks and resulted in a sample of 197 responses. Of interest was the fact that over half of the teaching tasks had a rating of 6.0 on the 7-point scale and more than half of the tasks that were rated 6.0 or higher did not load into categories using factor analysis. Further examination of the results is required to determine why highly rated teaching tasks did not fall (load onto) into any factor. Results of the importance of the tasks will form the basis of faculty development efforts aimed at providing faculty with professional development in critical competencies to ensure online teaching success.
Success of Open Source Projects: Patterns of Downloads and Releases with Time

The success of software projects has many different facets: meeting user requirements, being developed within given budget and time constraints, and actually being used. We focus on one of them: the pattern of adoption by users, and its possible relationship with continued development. This is done based on readily available data for open source projects, namely their releases and downloads. Rather than just classifying projects as "successful" or "failure", we identify six distinct patterns of how the download rate changes with time that illuminate different aspects of successful or failed projects. "You're not thinking fourth dimensionally! " Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, Back To The Future III, scene 8