Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lymphoid organisation in labial salivary gland biopsies is a possible predictor for the development of malignant lymphoma in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Objective The development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) confers a high risk of mortality in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients, but the sensitivity and specificity of proposed lymphoma predictors are insufficient for practical use. The performance of lymphoid organisation in the form of germinal centre (GC)-like lesions was evaluated in labial salivary gland biopsies taken at pSS diagnosis as a potential lymphoma-predicting biomarker. Methods Labial salivary gland tissue biopsies available from two Swedish pSS research cohorts (n=175) were re-evaluated by light microscopy in a blind study in order to identify GC-like structures as a sign of ectopic lymphoid tissue formation and organisation. A linkage study was performed with the Swedish Cancer Registry for lymphoma identification. The risk of developing NHL in GC-positive patients in comparison with GC-negative patients was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier statistics and log-rank test. Associations between GC-like structures and clinical and/or laboratory disease markers were also determined using χ2 or Fisher's exact tests. Results At diagnosis, 25% of pSS patients had GC-like structures in their salivary glands. Seven of the 175 patients studied (14% GC+ and 0.8% GC−) developed NHL during 1855 patient-years at risk, with a median onset of 7 years following the initial diagnostic salivary gland biopsy. Six of the seven patients had GC-like structures at diagnosis; the remaining patient was GC negative at the time of diagnosis (p=0.001). Conclusions The detection of GC-like structures by light microscopy in pSS diagnostic salivary biopsies is proposed as a highly predictive and easy-to-obtain marker for NHL development. This allows for risk stratification of patients and the possibility to initiate preventive B-cell-directed therapy.
Personality traits influencing somatization symptoms and social inhibition in the elderly

Purpose Somatization is a common symptom among the elderly, and even though personality disorders have been found to be associated with somatization, personality traits have not yet been explored with regard to this symptom. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between personality traits and somatization, and social inhibition. Patients and methods As part of a cross-sectional study of a community sample, 126 elderly Thais aged 60 years or over completed self-reporting questionnaires related to somatization and personality traits. Somatization was elicited from the somatization subscale when using the Symptom Checklist SCL-90 instrument. Personality traits were drawn from the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire and social inhibition was identified when using the inventory of interpersonal problems. In addition, path analysis was used to establish the influence of personality traits on somatization and social inhibition. Results Of the 126 participants, 51% were male, 55% were married, and 25% were retired. The average number of years in education was 7.6 (standard deviation =5.2). “Emotional stability” and “dominance” were found to have a direct effect on somatization, as were age and number of years in education, but not sex. Also, 35% of the total variance could be explained by the model, with excellent fit statistics. Dominance was found to have an indirect effect, via vigilance, on social inhibition, which was also influenced by number of years in education and emotional stability. Social inhibition was not found to have any effect on somatization, although hypothetically it should. Conclusion “Emotional stability”, “dominance”, and “vigilance”, as well as age and the number of years in education, were found to have an effect on somatization. Attention should be paid to these factors in the elderly with somatization.
A New PCR-Based Approach Indicates the Range of Clonorchis sinensis Now Extends to Central Thailand

Differentiation of the fish-borne trematodes belonging to the Opisthorchiidae, Heterophyidae and Lecithodendriidae is important from a clinical and epidemiological perspective, yet it is impossible to do using conventional coprological techniques, as the eggs are morphologically similar. Epidemiological investigation therefore currently relies on morphological examination of adult worms following expulsion chemotherapy. A PCR test capable of amplifying a segment of the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA for the opisthorchiid and heterophyid flukes eggs taken directly from faeces was developed and evaluated in a rural community in central Thailand. The lowest quantity of DNA that could be amplified from individual adults of Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis and Haplorchis taichui was estimated at 0.6 pg, 0.8 pg and 3 pg, respectively. The PCR was capable of detecting mixed infection with the aforementioned species of flukes under experimental conditions. A total of 11.6% of individuals in rural communities in Sanamchaikaet district, central Thailand, were positive for ‘Opisthorchis-like’ eggs in their faeces using conventional parasitological detection techniques. In comparison to microscopy, the PCR yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 71.0% and 76.7%, respectively. Analysis of the microscopy-positive PCR products revealed 64% and 23% of individuals to be infected with O. viverrini and C. sinensis, respectively. The remaining 13% (three individuals) were identified as eggs of Didymozoidae, presumably being passed mechanically in the faeces following the ingestion of infected fishes. An immediate finding of this study is the identification and first report of a C. sinensis–endemic community in central Thailand. This extends the known range of this liver fluke in Southeast Asia. The PCR developed herein provides an important tool for the specific identification of liver and intestinal fluke species for future epidemiological surveys.
EMPIRICAL LINE LISTS AND ABSORPTION CROSS SECTIONS FOR METHANE AT HIGH TEMPERATURES

Hot methane is found in many “cool” sub-stellar astronomical sources including brown dwarfs and exoplanets, as well as in combustion environments on Earth. We report on the first high-resolution laboratory absorption spectra of hot methane at temperatures up to 1200 K. Our observations are compared to the latest theoretical spectral predictions and recent brown dwarf spectra. The expectation that millions of weak absorption lines combine to form a continuum, not seen at room temperature, is confirmed. Our high-resolution transmittance spectra account for both the emission and absorption of methane at elevated temperatures. From these spectra, we obtain an empirical line list and continuum that is able to account for the absorption of methane in high temperature environments at both high and low resolution. Great advances have recently been made in the theoretical prediction of hot methane, and our experimental measurements highlight the progress made and the problems that still remain.
Pharmacodynamic modeling of propofol-induced general anesthesia in young adults

Target controlled infusion (TCI) of intraveneous anesthetics can assist clinical practitioners to provide improved care for General Anesthesia (GA). Pharmacoki-netic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models help in relating the anesthetic drug infusion to observed brain activity inferred from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The parameters in popular population PK/PD models for propofol-induced GA (Marsh and Schnider models) are either verified based on proprietary functions of the EEG signal which are difficult to correlate with the neurophysiological models of anesthesia, or the marker itself needs to be estimated simultaneously with the PD model. Both these factors make these existing paradigms challenging to apply in real-time context where a patient-specific tuning of parameters is desired. In this work, we propose a simpler EEG marker from frequency domain description of EEG and develop two corresponding PK/PD modeling approaches which differ in whether they use existing population-level PK models (approach 1) or not (approach 2). We use a simple deterministic parameter estimation approach to identify the unknown PK/PD model parameters from an existing human EEG data-set. We infer that both approaches 1 and 2 yield similar and reasonably good fits to the marker data. This work can be useful in developing patient-specific TCI strategies to induce GA.
On Being Far from Far and on Dual Problems in Property Testing: [Extended Abstract]

This work studies a new type of problems in property testing, called dual problems. For a set Ϊ in a metric space and δ > 0, denote by Fδ(Ϊ) the set of elements that are δ-far from Ϊ. Then, in property testing, a δtester for π is required to accept inputs from Ϊ and reject inputs from Fδ(Ϊ). A natural dual problem is the problem of δ-testing the set of "no" instances, that is Fδ(Ϊ): A δ-tester for Fδ(Ϊ) needs to accept inputs from Fδ(Ϊ) and reject inputs that are δ-far from Fδ(Ϊ) that is, it rejects inputs from Fδ(Fδ(Ϊ)). When #938;=Fδ(Fδ(Ϊ)) the dual problem is essentially equivalent to the original one, but this equality does not hold in general. Many dual problems constitute appealing testing problems that are interesting by themselves. In this work we study sets of the form Fδ(Fδ(Ϊ)), and apply this study to investigate several natural dual problems. In particular, we derive lower bounds and upper bounds on the query complexity of several classes of natural dual problems: These include dual problems of properties of functions (e.g., testing error-correcting codes and testing monotone functions), of properties of distributions (e.g., testing equivalence to a known distribution), and of various graph properties in the dense graph model and in the bounded-degree model. We also show that testing any dual problem with one-sided error is either trivial or requires a linear number of queries.
Δ98Δ, a minimalist model of antiparallel β‐sheet proteins based on intestinal fatty acid binding protein

The design of β‐barrels has always been a formidable challenge for de novo protein design. For instance, a persistent problem is posed by the intrinsic tendency to associate given by free edges. From the opposite standpoint provided by the redesign of natural motifs, we believe that the intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFABP) framework allows room for intervention, giving rise to abridged forms from which lessons on β‐barrel architecture and stability could be learned. In this context, Δ98Δ (encompassing residues 29–126 of IFABP) emerges as a monomeric variant that folds properly, retaining functional activity, despite lacking extensive stretches involved in the closure of the β‐barrel. Spectroscopic probes (fluorescence and circular dichroism) support the existence of a form preserving the essential determinants of the parent structure, albeit endowed with enhanced flexibility. Chemical and physical perturbants reveal cooperative unfolding transitions, with evidence of significant population of intermediate species in equilibrium, structurally akin to those transiently observed in IFABP. The recognition by the natural ligand oleic acid exerts a mild stabilizing effect, being of a greater magnitude than that found for IFABP. In summary, Δ98Δ adopts a monomeric state with a compact core and a loose periphery, thus pointing to the nonintuitive notion that the integrity of the β‐barrel can indeed be compromised with no consequence on the ability to attain a native‐like and functional fold.
Randomised controlled trial of home based motivational interviewing by midwives to help pregnant smokers quit or cut down

Abstract Objective To determine whether motivational interviewing—a behavioural therapy for addictions—provided at home by specially trained midwives helps pregnant smokers to quit. Design Randomised controlled non-blinded trial analysed by intention to treat. Setting Clinics attached to two maternity hospitals in Glasgow. Participants 762/1684 pregnant women who were regular smokers at antenatal booking: 351 in intervention group and 411 in control group. Interventions All women received standard health promotion information. Women in the intervention group were offered motivational interviewing at home. All interviews were recorded. Main outcome measures Self reported smoking cessation verified by plasma or salivary cotinine concentration. Results 17/351 (4.8%) women in the intervention group stopped smoking (according to self report and serum cotinine concentration < 13.7 ng/ml) compared with 19/411(4.6%) in the control group. Fifteen (4.2%) women in the intervention group cut down (self report and cotinine concentration less than half that at booking) compared with 26 (6.3%) in the control group. Fewer women in the intervention group reported smoking more (18 (5.1%) v 44 (10.7%); relative risk 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.28 to 0.81). Birth weight did not differ significantly (mean 3078 g v 3048 g). Conclusion Good quality motivational interviewing did not significantly increase smoking cessation among pregnant women.
Cost-Balancing Tolls for Atomic Network Congestion Games

We investigate the existence of optimal tolls for atomic symmetric network congestion games with unsplittable traffic and arbitrary nondecreasing latency functions. We focus on pure Nash equilibria, and consider a natural toll mechanism, which we call cost-balancing tolls. A set of cost-balancing tolls turns every path with positive traffic on its edges into a minimum-cost path. Hence any given configuration is induced as a pure Nash equilibrium of the modified game with the corresponding cost-balancing tolls. We show how to compute in linear time a set of cost-balancing tolls for the optimal solution such that the total amount of tolls paid by any player in any pure Nash equilibrium of the modified game does not exceed the latency on the maximum-latency path in the optimal solution. Our main result is that for congestion games on series-parallel networks with strictly increasing latency functions, the optimal solution is induced as the unique pure Nash equilibrium of the game with the corresponding cost-balancing tolls. To the best of our knowledge, only linear congestion games on parallel links were known to admit optimal tolls prior to this work. To demonstrate the difficulty of computing a better set of optimal tolls, we show that even for two-player linear congestion games on series-parallel networks, it is NP-hard to decide whether the optimal solution is the unique pure Nash equilibrium or there is another pure Nash equilibrium of total cost at least 6/5 times the optimal cost.
Leptin in Teleost Fishes: An Argument for Comparative Study

All organisms face tradeoffs with regard to how limited energy resources should be invested. When is it most favorable to grow, to reproduce, how much lipid should be allocated to storage in preparation for a period of limited resources (e.g., winter), instead of being used for growth or maturation? These are a few of the high consequence fitness “decisions” that represent the balance between energy acquisition and allocation. Indeed, for animals to make favorable decisions about when to grow, eat, or reproduce, they must integrate signals among the systems responsible for energy acquisition, storage, and demand. We make the argument that leptin signaling is a likely candidate for an integrating system. Great progress has been made understanding the leptin system in mammals, however our understanding in fishes has been hampered by difficulty in cloning fish orthologs of mammalian proteins and (we assert), underutilization of the comparative approach.
IL13 gene polymorphism is a marker for psoriatic arthritis among psoriasis patients

Aim To study the association between smoking and IL13 gene polymorphisms with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and psoriasis. Methods The authors genotyped three groups of Caucasians: those with PsA, those with psoriasis without arthritis (PsC) and healthy controls for the rs20541 and rs848 IL13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). An additional SNP, rs1800925, was genotyped only in the PsA and PsC groups. The differences in allelic distributions were compared by χ2 test. The prevalence of smoking was compared between people with PsA and those with PsC. The combined effect of genotype and smoking was tested by comparing the frequencies of different combinations of rs1800925 genotype and smoking status in PsA and PsC. Results 555 PsA patients, 342 PsC patients and 217 healthy controls were included in the study. Smoking was less prevalent in patients with PsA compared with PsC (47.4% vs 59.4%, p<0.0006). rs20541*G and rs848*C alleles were associated with PsA compared with controls (OR 1.64, p=0.0005, OR 1.61, p=0.0007 respectively). The association between these alleles and PsC compared with controls was only of borderline significance (OR 1.33, p=0.06, OR 1.26, p=0.11 respectively). Two major alleles, rs1800925*C (OR 1.28, p=0.045) and rs848*C (OR 1.30, p=0.047) were increased in PsA compared with PsC. The combination of non-smoking and the genotype rs1800925*CC was associated with increased susceptibility to PsA compared with PsC. Among smokers, rs1800925*CC was not associated with PsA compared with PsC. Conclusions IL13 gene polymorphism is associated with increased susceptibility to PsA in psoriasis patients.
Diiodido(2,3,5,6-tetrapyridin-2-ylpyrazine-κ3 N 2,N 1,N 6)zinc(II)

In the title compound, [ZnI2(C24H16N6)], the ZnII ion is five-coordinated in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry by an N,N,N-tridentate 2,3,5,6-tetra-2-pyridinylpyrazine ligand and two iodide ions. The I− ions both occupy equatorial sites. Within the ligand, the dihedral angles between the central pyrazine ring and the two chelating pyridine (py) rings are 14.74 (17) and 26.72 (18)°. The equivalent angles for the non-coordinating py rings are 28.63 (16) and 42.19 (17)°. There is no aromatic π–π stacking in the crystal.
Mirid Bug Outbreaks in Multiple Crops Correlated with Wide-Scale Adoption of Bt Cotton in China

Collateral Damage Cotton crops that have been bioengineered to express the insecticidal toxin derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) carry their own insect control, particularly against the cotton bollworm, and are less dependent on externally applied pesticides. Lu et al. (p. 1151, published online 13 April) now show that reduction in general pesticide use in cotton-growing regions of northern China has shifted the balance of regional pest populations. Bt-expressing cotton now serves as a source of herbivorous insects of the Miridae family, rather than the sink that nonengineered cotton was when less specific pesticides were used. Because these insects will eat a variety of plants, they are emerging as a threat to other crops, including grape, apple, peach, and pear. The use of more specific pesticides results in the resurgence of nontargeted insect populations. Long-term ecological effects of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops on nontarget pests have received limited attention, more so in diverse small holder–based cropping systems of the developing world. Field trials conducted over 10 years in northern China show that mirid bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae) have progressively increased population sizes and acquired pest status in cotton and multiple other crops, in association with a regional increase in Bt cotton adoption. More specifically, our analyses show that Bt cotton has become a source of mirid bugs and that their population increases are related to drops in insecticide use in this crop. Hence, alterations of pest management regimes in Bt cotton could be responsible for the appearance and subsequent spread of nontarget pests at an agro-landscape level.
Joint Beamforming and Scheduling for SDMA Systems with Limited Feedback

On a multi-antenna broadcast channel, exploiting spatial degrees of freedom supports simultaneous transmission to multiple users in the same time and frequency slot. Unfortunately, the optimal approach for such multi-user transmission, namely dirty paper coding, requires non-causal channel state information (CSI) and is hence not directly realizable. Therefore, this paper proposes a practical joint beamforming and scheduling algorithm, which supports multi-user simultaneous transmission, relies on quantized CSI feedback, and furthermore is capable of exploiting multi-user diversity. Using this algorithm, each user quantizes CSI using a codebook comprised of multiple orthonormal vector sets and sends back quantized CSI to the base station. Next, using feedback CSI, the base station jointly performs beamforming and scheduling. For a large number of users, the proposed algorithm is shown to achieve the optimal sum capacity scaling, which scales double logarithmically with the number of users and linearly with the number of antennas at the base station. To constrain the capacity loss due to CSI quantization, the required quantizer codebook size is derived as a polynomial function of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Moreover, fixing the codebook size is found to prevent the sum capacity from growing continuously with the SNR. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm achieves higher throughput than the conventional algorithms for the same amount of CSI feedback.
Identification of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein PE‐PGRS62 as a novel effector that functions to block phagosome maturation and inhibit iNOS expression

Using a genetic screen in yeast we found that Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE‐PGRS62 was capable of disrupting yeast vacuolar protein sorting, suggesting effects on endosomal trafficking. To study the impact of PE‐PGRS62 on macrophage function, we infected murine macrophages with Mycobacterium smegmatis expressing PE‐PGRS62. Infected cells displayed phagosome maturation arrest. Phagosomes acquired Rab5, but displayed a significant defect in Rab7 and LAMP‐1 acquisition. Macrophages infected with M. smegmatis expressing PE‐PGRS62 also expressed two‐ to threefold less iNOS protein when compared with cells infected with wild‐type bacteria. Consistent with this, cells infected with a Mycobacterium marinum transposon mutant for the PE‐PGRS62 orthologue showed greater iNOS protein expression when compared to cells infected with wild‐type organisms. Complementation restored the ability of the mutant to inhibit iNOS expression. No differences in iNOS transcript levels were observed, suggesting that PE‐PGRS62 effects on iNOS expression occurred post‐transcriptionally. Marked differences in colony morphology were also seen in M. smegmatis expressing PE‐PGRS62 and in the M. marinum transposon mutant,suggesting that PE‐PGRS62 may affect cell wall composition. These findings suggest that PE‐PGRS62 supports virulence via inhibition of phagosome maturation and iNOS expression, and these phenotypes may be linked to effects on bacterial cell wall composition.
Nuclei from normal and leukemic mouse spleen. II. The nucleic acid content of normal and leukemic nuclei.

Nuclei have been isolated from the spleens of mice bearing spontaneous or transplanted leukemia. In spontaneous leukemia, which develops slowly, the PNA per nucleus is increased to 1.6 times the normal amount, and there is no change in DNA or nitrogen. In transplanted leukemia, which develops rapidly, the PNA, DNA, and nitrogen per nucleus are increased to 4.2, 1.45, and 1.69 times their respective amounts in normal spleen. The differences in nucleic acid content found in the nuclei from the transplanted leukemia are similar to those reported for rapidly growing tissues, while the nuclei from the spontaneous leukemia more closely resemble the normal nuclei. Thus, the changes seem to be characteristic of rapid growth rather than of any primary neoplastic process.