Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic diversity of marine coastal picoplankton 16S rRNA genes cloned from the continental shelf off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

The phylogenetic diversity of a continental‐shelf picoplankton community was examined by analyzing 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes amplified from environmental DNA with bacterial‐specific primers and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Picoplankton populations collected from the pycnocline (10 m) over the eastern continental shelf of the United States near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, served as the source of bulk nucleic acids used in this study. A large proportion of the 169 rDNA clones recovered (33%) were related to plastid 16S rRNA genes, including plastids from both chromophyte and chlorophyte algae. Most bacterial gene clones (75% of bacterial clones, 50% of the total) were closely related to rRNA gene lineages that had been discovered previously in clone libraries from open‐ocean marine habitats, including the SAR86 cluster (γ‐Proteobacteria), SAR83, SAR11, and SAR116 clusters (all α‐Proteobaeteria), as well as the marine Gram‐positive cluster (high G+C Gram‐positive). Most of the remaining bacterial clones recovered were phylogenetically related to the γ and β subclasses of the Proteobacteria, including an rDNA lineage within the type 1 methylotroph clade of the β subclass. The abundance of plastid rDNAs and the lack of cyanobacterial‐related clones, as well as the presence of β‐Proteobacteria, are features of this coastal picoplankton gene clone library that distinguish it from similar studies of oligotrophic open‐ocean sites. Overall, however, these data indicate that a limited number of as yet uncultured bacterioplankton lineages, related to those previously observed in the open ocean, can account for most cells in this coastal marine bacterioplankton assemblage.
Inhibition of Acid Production from Oral Bacteria by Fluorapatite-derived Fluoride

The inhibitory effect of fluorapatite (FAP)-derived fluoride upon resting cell suspensions of Streptococcus mutans incubated at pH 4.5 and 6.5 was studied using lactic acid production from 0.1% sucrose as an indicator of fermentation activity. Cells incubated with FAP produced significantly less lactic acid than did cells incubated with hydroxyapatite (HAP). Addition of HAP to cell suspensions containing FAP reduced this inhibition, suggesting that dissolution of the FAP was necessary for inhibition. Incubation with low concentrations of NaF showed significant inhibition in cell suspensions incubated with as little as 0.45 μg/mL F at pH 5.0. These results provide further support to the hypothesis that fluoride levels in plaque and enamel, achievable through use of fluoridated water and/or fluoride dentifrices, may produce appreciable inhibition of glycolysis at the acidic pH levels which are readily achieved in plaque. Thus, bacterial acid production may activate plaque and enamel-bound fluoride, resulting in inhibition of further acid production, and thereby contribute substantially to the other cariostatic mechanisms of fluoride.
Altered Astrocyte–Neuronal Interactions After Hypoxia-Ischemia in the Neonatal Brain in Female and Male Rats

Background and Purpose— Increased susceptibility to excitotoxicity of the neonatal brain after hypoxia-ischemia (HI) may be caused by limited capacity of astrocytes for glutamate uptake, and mitochondrial failure probably plays a key role in the delayed injury cascade. Male infants have poorer outcome than females after HI, possibly linked to differential intermediary metabolism. Methods— [1-13C]glucose and [1,2-13C]acetate were injected at zero, 6, and 48 hours after unilateral HI in 7-day-old rats. Intermediary metabolism was analyzed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Results— Mitochondrial metabolism was generally reduced in the ipsilateral hemisphere for ⩽6 hours after HI, whereas contralaterally, it was reduced in neurons but not in astrocytes. Transfer of glutamate from neurons to astrocytes was increased in the contralateral, but not in the ipsilateral hemisphere at 0 hour, and reduced bilaterally at 6 hours after HI. The transfer of glutamine from astrocytes to glutamatergic neurons was unaltered in both hemispheres, whereas the transfer of glutamine to GABAergic neurons was increased ipsilaterally at 0 hour. Anaplerosis (astrocytes) was decreased, whereas partial pyruvate recycling (astrocytes) was increased directly after HI. Male pups had lower astrocytic mitochondrial metabolism than females immediately after HI, whereas that of females was reduced longer and encompassed both neurons and astrocytes. Conclusions— The prolonged depression in mitochondrial metabolism indicates that mitochondria are vulnerable targets in the delayed injury after neonatal HI. The degree of astrocytic malfunction may be a valid indicator of outcome after hypoxic/HI brain injury and may be linked to the differential outcome in males and females.
Antigen-Independent Suppression of the Allergic Immune Response to Bee Venom Phospholipase A2 by DNA Vaccination in CBA/J Mice1

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is one of the major honey bee venom allergens for humans. To assess the long-term prevention of allergic reactions by DNA vaccination, a PLA2-CBA/J mouse model was employed using empty or PLA2 sequence-carrying DNA plasmids. Early skin application of either DNA construct before (prophylactic approach) or after (therapeutic approach) sensitization with PLA2/alum led to reduced PLA2-specific IgE and IgG1 titers at 7 mo, with concomitant rise in IgG2a and IgG3. Splenocytes recovered at 5–6 mo after the last DNA administration exhibited a sustained IFN-γ and IL-10 secretion and reduced IL-4 production. Recall challenge with PLA2 boosted IFN-γ and IL-10 secretion, suggesting the reactivation of quiescent memory Th1 lymphocytes. Mice from the prophylactic groups were fully protected against anaphylaxis, whereas 65% of the animals recovered in the therapeutic groups. Th1-polarized immune responses were also active in mice vaccinated with an empty plasmid 32 wk before sensitization with another Ag (OVA). This is the first demonstration that the Ag-coding sequence in DNA vaccine is not necessary to promote immune modulation in naive and sensitized animals for a prolonged period, and has relevance for the understanding of the innate and induced mechanisms underlying gene immunotherapy in long-term treatment of allergy.
Visualizing the Signatures of Social Roles in Online Discussion Groups

Social roles in online discussion forums can be described by patterned characteristics of communication between network members which we conceive of as 'structural signatures. ' This paper uses visualization methods to reveal these structural signatures and regression analysis to confirm the relationship between these signatures and their associated roles in Usenet newsgroups. Our analysis focuses on distinguishing the signatures of one role from others, the role of "answer people. " Answer people are individuals whose dominant behavior is to respond to questions posed by other users. We found that answer people predominantly contribute one or a few messages to discussions initiated by others, are disproportionately tied to relative isolates, have few intense ties and have few triangles in their local networks. OLS regression shows that these signatures are strongly correlated with role behavior and, in combination, provide a strongly predictive model for identifying role behavior (R =.72). To conclude, we consider strategies for further improving the identification of role behavior in online discussion settings and consider how the development of a taxonomy of author types could be extended to a taxonomy of newsgroups in particular and discussion systems in general. 2
Pulmonary Hypertension and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Dastardly Duo

Abstract:Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a well-recognized complication of interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The underlying pathogenesis was initially hypothesized to be inflammatory but now is characterized as an over exuberant fibroproliferative process. The prevalence of PH in the setting of IPF has not been well described in the literature, with a reported occurrence from 32% to 85%. Diagnostically, recognizing underlying PH in the setting of IPF remains challenging because of nonspecific clinical symptoms and unrevealing ancillary testing. A high degree of clinical suspicion is paramount. The only reliable diagnostic tool for PH is right heart catheterization. The treatment of PH, in patients with IPF, is based on multiple factors, including disease severity, functional status and degree of hypoxemia. Medications currently approved to treat PH have been administered for PH in the setting of IPF, such as phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, nonselective endothelin receptor antagonists and prostacyclin analogues. The treatment of PH in the setting of IPF may also be difficult due to worsening ventilation-perfusion mismatch induced by selective pulmonary artery vasodilator therapy. Lung transplantation should be considered with patients refractory to pharmacological treatment. Identification of PH in IPF patients is crucial, as functional status and prognosis are greatly reduced. Given the high mortality rate and propensity for acute decompensation, IPF and PH patients should be evaluated for transplant early in their disease course.
The Corrosion Behavior of Multiphase Ceramic Protective Coatings on China Low Activation Martensitic Steel Surface in Flowing Liquid Lead‐Bismuth Eutectic

China low activation martensitic (CLAM) steel is the preferred candidate structural material for the Chinese international thermonuclear experimental reactor test blanket module (ITER TBM). Surface coating technology is often adopted to alter or improve the performance of materials. In CLAM steel, surface treatment plays a key role in rendering them appropriate for application in accelerator driven sub‐critical system (ADS). Here, the authors prepare multiphase ceramic coatings on CLAM steel via laser in‐situ reaction technology. The prepared multiphase ceramic coatings exhibit optimal corrosion resistance. The liquid lead‐bismuth eutectic (LEB) corrosion resistance can be attributed to inferior wettability of interface between the LEB and multiphase ceramic coatings, faint shear force produced by LEB, and stable chemical and physical property of the coatings. Moreover, the irradiated specimens also display excellent corrosion resistance against helium ions irradiation. The CLAM steel is found to suffer significant corrosion in the flowing LEB. Such multiphase ceramic coatings as a protective layer on the ADS candidate structural materials CLAM steel surface exhibit the strongest LEB corrosion resistance, which can be applied to handle nuclear waste under extreme conditions.
Local Translation Prediction with Global Sentence Representation

Statistical machine translation models have made great progress in improving the translation quality. However, the existing models predict the target translation with only the source- and target-side local context information. In practice, distinguishing good translations from bad ones does not only depend on the local features, but also rely on the global sentence-level information. In this paper, we explore the source-side global sentence-level features for target-side local translation prediction. We propose a novel bilingually-constrained chunkbased convolutional neural network to learn sentence semantic representations. With the sentencelevel feature representation, we further design a feed-forward neural network to better predict translations using both local and global information. The large-scale experiments show that our method can obtain substantial improvements in translation quality over the strong baseline: the hierarchical phrase-based translation model augmented with the neural network joint model.
Enoxaparin 0.3 mg/kg IV supplement for patients transitioning to PCI after subcutaneous enoxaparin therapy for NSTE ACS: A subgroup analysis from the SYNERGY trial

Objective: To explore clinical and bleeding outcomes in patients enrolled in the SYNERGY trial who had percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) based on adherence to the dosing regimens of enoxaparin mandated by the protocol. Background: In SYNERGY, 4,687 patients underwent PCI during index hospitalization. Patients in the subcutaneous (sc) enoxaparin group were to be given an 0.3 mg/kg IV bolus immediately before PCI if balloon inflation occurred ≥8 hr after their last sc dose of enoxaparin. Methods: The incidence of the 1° efficacy end point (death/myocardial infarction [MI] post PCI and through 30 days), and the rates of post‐PCI in‐hospital TIMI major and GUSTO severe bleeding were compared between patients randomized to unfractionated heparin (UFH) and those randomized to sc enoxaparin who did or did not receive a supplemental IV bolus of enoxaparin in accord with protocol‐mandates. Results: A total of 4,687 patients had PCI; 2,323 were assigned sc enoxaparin and 1,332 received protocol‐mandated IV enoxaparin bolus, while 215 enoxaparin patients received inappropriate IV therapy (either receiving IV enoxaparin before the 8‐hr protocol time or not receiving the IV enoxaparin as directed after 8 hr). Death or MI occurring post PCI through 30‐day follow‐up tended to be lower in the enoxaparin patients who were treated according to protocol than in those who were not (12.3% vs. 14.4%; adjusted P = 0.25), as was TIMI major bleeding (3.0% vs. 4.7%, adjusted P = 0.08). Conclusion: These exploratory analyses show that patients in SYNERGY who received the protocol‐mandated supplemental IV bolus of 0.3 mg/kg enoxaparin before PCI performed 8–12 hr after their last sc enoxaparin dose tended to have improved outcomes compared with those who did not. Strategies to ensure adherence to dosing guidelines of enoxaparin during PCI should be considered. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lung function is abnormal in 3-month-old infants with cystic fibrosis diagnosed by newborn screening

Background Long-term benefits of newborn screening (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) have been established with respect to nutritional status, but effects on pulmonary health remain unclear. Hypothesis With early diagnosis and commencement of standardised treatment, lung function at ∼3 months of age is normal in NBS infants with CF. Methods Lung clearance index (LCI) and functional residual capacity (FRC) using multiple breath washout (MBW), plethysmographic (pleth) FRC and forced expirations from raised lung volumes were measured in 71 infants with CF (participants in the London CF Collaboration) and 54 contemporaneous healthy controls age ∼3 months. Results Compared with controls, and after adjustment for body size and age, LCI, FRCMBW and FRCpleth were significantly higher in infants with CF (mean difference (95% CI): 0.5 (0.1 to 0.9), p=0.02; 0.4 (0.1 to 0.7), p=0.02 and 0.9 (0.4 to 1.3), p<0.001, z-scores, respectively), while forced expiratory volume (FEV0.5) and flows (FEF25–75) were significantly lower (−0.9 (−1.3 to −0.6), p<0.001 and −0.7 (−1.1 to −0.2), p=0.004, z-scores, respectively). 21% (15/70) of infants with CF had an elevated LCI (>1.96 z-scores) and 25% (17/68) an abnormally low FEV0.5 (below −1.96 z-scores). While only eight infants with CF had abnormalities of LCI and FEV0.5, using both techniques identified abnormalities in 35% (24/68). Hyperinflation (FRCpleth >1.96 z-scores) was identified in 18% (10/56) of infants with CF and was significantly correlated with diminished FEF25–75 (r=−0.43, p<0.001) but not with LCI or FEV0.5. Conclusion Despite early diagnosis of CF by NBS and protocol-driven treatment in specialist centres, abnormal lung function, with increased ventilation inhomogeneity and hyperinflation and diminished airway function, is evident in many infants with CF diagnosed through NBS by 3 months of age.
Strong consistency of MLE for finite mixtures of location-scale distributions when the ratios of the scale parameters are exponentially small

In a finite mixture of location-scale distributions maximum likelihood estimator does not exist because of the unboundedness of the likelihood function when the scale parameter of some mixture component approaches zero. In order to study the strong consistency of maximum likelihood estimator, we consider the case that the scale parameters of the component distributions are restricted from below by $c_n$, where $c_n$ is a sequence of positive real numbers which tend to zero as the sample size $n$ increases. We prove that under mild regularity conditions maximum likelihood estimator is strongly consistent if the scale parameters are restricted from below by $c_{n} = \exp(-n^d)$, $0 < d < 1$.
Learning Complex Event Descriptions by Abstraction

The presence of long gaps dramatically increases the difficulty of detecting and characterizing complex events hidden in long sequences. In order to cope with this problem, a learning algorithm based on an abstraction mechanism is proposed: it can infer a Hierarchical Hidden Markov Model, from a learning set of sequences. The induction algorithm proceeds bottom-up, progressively coarsening the sequence granularity, and letting correlations between subsequences, separated by long gaps, naturally emerge. As a case study, the method is evaluated on an application of user profiling. The results show that the proposed algorithm is suitable for developing real applications in network security and monitoring.
Development of radio frequency energy harvesting module

Energy harvesting is the need of the hour to operate small, portable and low power electronic devices for self-reliance. We focus our research on radio frequency energy harvesting. We have designed micro strip patch antenna to operate at 2.4GHz. We have analyzed the capture of ambient radio frequency energy at various physical locations. We have successfully demonstrated the RF energy harvesting technique proposed for operating devices like LED, scientific calculator and battery charging. In this paper we have verified the RF energy harvesting technique through simulation and experiments.
Urinary Concentrations of Four Parabens in the U.S. Population: NHANES 2005–2006

Background Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage processing. Objectives We assessed exposure to methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl parabens in a representative sample of persons ≥ 6 years of age in the U.S. general population from the 2005–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods We analyzed 2,548 urine samples by using online solid-phase extraction coupled to isotope dilution–high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Results We detected methyl paraben (MP) and propyl paraben (PP) in 99.1% and 92.7% of the samples, respectively. We detected ethyl (42.4%) and butyl (47%) parabens less frequently and at median concentrations at least one order of magnitude lower than MP (63.5 μg/L) and PP (8.7 μg/L). Least-square geometric mean (LSGM) concentrations of MP were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.01) among non-Hispanic blacks than among non-Hispanic whites except at older ages (≥ 60 years). Adolescent and adult females had significantly higher (p < 0.01) LSGM concentrations of MP and PP than did adolescent and adult males. Females were more likely than males [adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs): MP, 3.2 (2.99–5.27); PP, 4.19 (2.34–7.49)] and non-Hispanic blacks were more likely than non-Hispanic whites [MP, 4.99 (2.62–9.50); PP, 3.6 (1.86–7.05)] to have concentrations above the 95th percentile. Conclusions The general U.S. population was exposed to several parabens during 2005–2006. Differences in the urinary concentrations of MP and PP by sex and race/ethnicity likely reflect the use of personal care products containing these compounds.
Melatonin induces browning of inguinal white adipose tissue in Zucker diabetic fatty rats

Melatonin limits obesity in rodents without affecting food intake and activity, suggesting a thermogenic effect. Identification of brown fat (beige/brite) in white adipose tissue (WAT) prompted us to investigate whether melatonin is a brown‐fat inducer. We used Zücker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, a model of obesity‐related type 2 diabetes and a strain in which melatonin reduces obesity and improves their metabolic profiles. At 5 wk of age, ZDF rats and lean littermates (ZL) were subdivided into two groups, each composed of four rats: control and those treated with oral melatonin in the drinking water (10 mg/kg/day) for 6 wk. Melatonin induced browning of inguinal WAT in both ZDF and ZL rats. Hematoxylin–eosin staining showed patches of brown‐like adipocytes in inguinal WAT in ZDF rats and also increased the amounts in ZL animals. Inguinal skin temperature was similar in untreated lean and obese rats. Melatonin increased inguinal temperature by 1.36 ± 0.02°C in ZL and by 0.55 ± 0.04°C in ZDF rats and sensitized the thermogenic effect of acute cold exposure in both groups. Melatonin increased the amounts of thermogenic proteins, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) (by ~2‐fold, P < 0.01) and PGC‐1α (by 25%, P < 0.05) in extracts from beige inguinal areas in ZL rats. Melatonin also induced measurable amounts of UCP1 and stimulated by ~2‐fold the levels of PGC‐1α in ZDF animals. Locomotor activity and circulating irisin levels were not affected by melatonin. These results demonstrate that chronic oral melatonin drives WAT into a brown‐fat‐like function in ZDF rats. This may contribute to melatonin′s control of body weight and its metabolic benefits.
Guideline implementation in allied health professions: a systematic review of the literature

Background: Clinical guidelines aim to improve the safety and quality of patient care by providing clinicians with graded recommendations based on evidence of best practice. Objective: To evaluate the effects of the introduction of clinical guidelines for allied health professionals, and to estimate the effectiveness of the guideline dissemination and implementation strategies used. Methods: A comprehensive search of six electronic databases to June 2006 and the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care database was conducted. Randomised controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series studies were included if the intervention was aimed at implementing guidelines in the allied health professions. Articles were screened for eligibility and their methodological quality was assessed; data were extracted independently by two reviewers. Results: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The methodological quality varied greatly, with the proportion of quality criteria met ranging from 0 to 6 out of seven. In most studies, the effects reported for patient and process outcomes were small and in favour of the intervention group. Of the 14 included studies, 10 focused on educational interventions. Six of the 14 studies used a single intervention strategy and seven used a multi-faceted implementation strategy. One study compared both single and multi-faceted strategies. Multi-faceted interventions were no more effective than single intervention strategies and effects of the same strategy varied across trials. Conclusions: There is no evidence to support a set guideline implementation strategy for allied health professionals. When implementing clinical guidelines it is important to first identify specific barriers to change using theoretical frameworks of behaviour change and then develop strategies that deal with these barriers. When measuring the effectiveness of these strategies, professionals should consider the use of both patient and process outcomes and choose outcomes that reflect their aims.