Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Individual pathogens, pathogen burden and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Methods We examined the cross-sectional relationships of subclinical atherosclerosis – expressed by carotid intimal–medial thickness and coronary calcification – with antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, hepatitis A virus, and pathogen burden (number of positive pathogens). A random sample of 1056 individuals chosen from 5030 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort participants were included. Results After multiple adjustment, no associations were found between atherosclerosis measures and either individual pathogens or pathogen burden. Interactions with inflammatory and endothelial function markers, demographic factors, BMI, high-density lipoprotein, diabetes, and smoking were also explored. The only interaction that was large, qualitative, statistically significant (P < 0.05) and in the expected direction was that between hepatitis A virus and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 with regard to Agatston calcium score: the difference between hepatitis A virus-positive and hepatitis A virus-negative participants was −186 units in participants with soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 below the median, and +162 units in those with soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 equal or above the median. However, given the number of interactions that were explored, these results must be interpreted cautiously. Conclusion Findings from the present analyses do not provide support for an infectious etiology for subclinical atherosclerosis. However, the study's limitations, which include its cross-sectional design and insufficient statistical power, suggest that inferences from its findings should be made cautiously.
Occupational Exposure to Benzene and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in a Population-Based Cohort: The Shanghai Women’s Health Study

Background The association between benzene exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has been the subject of debate as a result of inconsistent epidemiologic evidence. An International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) working group evaluated benzene in 2009 and noted evidence for a positive association between benzene exposure and NHL risk. Objective We evaluated the association between occupational benzene exposure and NHL among 73,087 women enrolled in the prospective population-based Shanghai Women’s Health Study. Methods Benzene exposure estimates were derived using a previously developed exposure assessment framework that combined ordinal job-exposure matrix intensity ratings with quantitative benzene exposure measurements from an inspection database of Shanghai factories collected between 1954 and 2000. Associations between benzene exposure metrics and NHL (n = 102 cases) were assessed using Cox proportional hazard models, with study follow-up occurring from December 1996 through December 2009. Results Women ever exposed to benzene had a significantly higher risk of NHL [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.96]. Compared with unexposed women, significant trends in NHL risk were observed for increasing years of benzene exposure (ptrend = 0.006) and increasing cumulative exposure levels (ptrend = 0.005), with the highest duration and cumulative exposure tertiles having a significantly higher association with NHL (HR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.07, 4.01 and HR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.17, 3.98, respectively). Conclusions Our findings, using a population-based prospective cohort of women with diverse occupational histories, provide additional evidence that occupational exposure to benzene is associated with NHL risk. Citation Bassig BA, Friesen MC, Vermeulen R, Shu XO, Purdue MP, Stewart PA, Xiang YB, Chow WH, Zheng T, Ji BT, Yang G, Linet MS, Hu W, Zhang H, Zheng W, Gao YT, Rothman N, Lan Q. 2015. Occupational exposure to benzene and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a population-based cohort: the Shanghai Women’s Health Study. Environ Health Perspect 123:971–977; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1408307
Low Power, Low Phase Noise Differential Colpitts VCO∕QVCO using Gm boosting

Recently, the small size and the low power are required as the demand of the wireless communication application field increases. Because there are various problems that it is generated as the size and power consumption become smaller, many efforts are necessary in order to solve it. In the case of an oscillator, 1/f noise is increased as the size of chip becomes smaller. Therefore this affects on directly the phase noise characteristic. Moreover, as the power consumption becomes smaller, the phase noise characteristic will be inferior because the power consumption of an oscillator has an effect on the voltage amplitude of output node. This thesis showed that the insertion of gm boosting circuits to differential Colpitts VCO allows larger voltage amplitude at the output node consuming same amount of power, which guarantees improved phase noise characteristic comparing to that of the differential Colpitts VCO. Also, we can achieve the same phase noise characteristic even though reduce power of oscillator. It can be possible low power VCO design. The formally proposed differential/quadrature VCOs show better phase noise characteristic than conventional differential VCO at overall frequency. The proposed VCO/QVCO are designed for 2 GHz operation based on 0.13 um CMOS technology.
Stress-regulated kinase pathways in the recovery of tip growth and microtubule dynamics following osmotic stress in S. pombe

The cell-integrity and stress-response MAP kinase pathways (CIP and SRP, respectively) are stimulated by various environmental stresses. Ssp1 kinase modulates actin dynamics and is rapidly recruited to the plasma membrane following osmotic stress. Here, we show that osmotic stress arrested tip growth, induced the deposition of abnormal cell-wall deposits at tips and led to disassociation of F-actin foci from cell tips together with a reduction in the amount of F-actin in these foci. Osmotic stress also `froze' the dynamics of interphase microtubule bundles, with microtubules remaining static for approximately 38 minutes (at 30°C) before fragmenting upon return to dynamic behaviour. The timing with which microtubules resumed dynamic behaviour relied upon SRP activation of Atf1-mediated transcription, but not on either CIP or Ssp1 signalling. Analysis of the recovery of tip growth showed that: (1) the timing of recovery was controlled by SRP-stimulated Atf1 transcription; (2) re-establishment of polarized tip growth was absolutely dependent upon SRP and partially dependent upon Ssp1 signalling; and (3) selection of the site for polarized tip extension required Ssp1 and the SRP-associated polarity factor Wsh3 (also known as Tea4). CIP signalling did not impact upon any aspect of recovery. The normal kinetics of tip growth following osmotic stress of plo1.S402A/E mutants established that SRP control over the resumption of tip growth after osmotic stress is distinct from its control of tip growth following heat or gravitational stresses.
Mobility in Public Environments and Use of Public Transport : exploring the situation for people with acquired cognitive functional limitations

The aim of this thesis was to explore and gain deeper insight into and understanding of mobility in public environments for people with acquired cognitive functional limitations (target group of this thesis) and of reasons why some of them do not use public transport. Using an explorative approach, the target group’s mobility was firstly discussed by experts in focus group interviews. Secondly the reasons for not using public transport anymore after acquiring cognitive functional limitations was described by the target group themselves. The results of this thesis show that mobility and especially use of public transport is not an unproblematic activity for the target group. They face usability problems such as difficulties to manage the serial tasks, the complexity and dynamic in traffic environments. Further, other people’s acts and decisions as well as how the target group dealt with feelings, such as anxiety and fear, play a role for their mobility and use of public transport. Reasons for not using public transport could be that the target group did not consider public transport usable or it could be that they considered use of public transport as completely out of the question. Planning for mobility and usability in public transport for people with acquired cognitive functional limitations would mean to completely integrate a travel-chain perspective, to make sure that information is available on beforehand, to offer routes with calmer surroundings parallel with ordinary public transport used by for example commuters. (Less)
Handbook of social justice in education

Part 1: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives Ken Saltman Part 2: International Perspectives on Social Justice in Education Fazal Rizvi Part 3: Race and Ethnicity, Language and Identity: Seeking Social Justice in Education Annette Henry Part 4: Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice in Education Mara Sapon-Shevin Part 5: Bodies, Disability and the Fight for Social Justice in Education Patricia Hulsebosch Part 6: Youth and Social Justice in Education Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade Part 7: Globalization: Local and World Issues in Education Pauline Lipman, and Karen Monkman Part 8: The Politics of Social Justice Meets Practice: Teacher Education and School Change Joel Westheimer Part 9: Classrooms, Pedagogy, and Practicing Justice Rick Ayers
A Model-Driven Approach to Service Orchestration

Software systems based on Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs) promise high flexibility, improved maintainability, and simple re-use of functionality. A variety of languages and standards have emerged for working with SOA artifacts; however, service computing still lacks an effective and intuitive model-driven approach starting from models written in an established modeling language like UML and, in the end, generating comprehensive executable code. In this paper, we present a conservative extension to the UML2 for modeling service orchestrations at a high level of abstraction, and a fully automatic approach for transforming these orchestrations down to the well known Web Service standard BPEL.
Increased infiltration of M2-macrophages, T-cells and PD-L1 expression in high grade leiomyosarcomas supports immunotherapeutic strategies

ABSTRACT Background: Immunotherapy may be a rational strategy in leiomyosarcoma (LMS), a tumor known for its genomic complexity. As a prerequisite for therapeutic applications, we characterized the immune microenvironment in LMS, as well as its prognostic value. Methods: CD163+ macrophages, CD3+ T-cells, PD-L1/PD-L2 and HLA class I expression (HCA2, HC10 and β2m) were evaluated using immunohistochemistry in primary tumors (n = 75), local relapses (n = 6) and metastases (n = 19) of 87 LMS patients, as well as in benign leiomyomas (n = 7). Correlation with clinicopathological parameters and survival analyses were assessed. Effect of LMS cells on macrophage differentiation was investigated using coculture of CD14+ monocytes with LMS cell lines or their conditioned media (CM). Results: 58% and 52% of the tumors were highly infiltrated with CD163+ macrophages and T-cells, respectively, with HLA class I expression observed in almost all tumors and PD-L1 expression in 30%. PD-L2 expression was also detected in some PD-L1+ tumors. All these immune markers correlated with high tumor grade but only CD163 associated with overall survival (p = 0.003) and disease-specific survival (p = 0.041). In vitro, CD163 was upregulated in the presence of LMS cells producing M-CSF, suggesting that this tumor drives macrophages towards the M2 phenotype. Conclusion: The clinical significance of M2 macrophages, possibly induced by LMS cell-secreted factors, suggests that 2/3 of high-grade LMS patients might benefit from macrophage-targeting agents. Furthermore, PD-L1 expression together with high T-cell infiltrate and HLA class I expression in around 30% of high grade LMS reflects an active immune microenvironment potentially responsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Plasma oxidation of metallic gadolinium deposited on silicon by high pressure sputtering as high permittivity dielectric

Gadolinium oxide thin films were deposited on Si by sputtering a metallic gadolinium target at high pressure followed by an in situ plasma oxidation. Different metal deposition times with the same oxidation conditions were studied. The deposition conditions were analyzed by means of glow discharge optical spectroscopy. The oxide films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The films resulted stoichiometric and amorphous. Metal-insulator-semiconductor structures were fabricated with two different metal gates: titanium and platinum. The devices were measured before and after temperature treatments in a forming gas atmosphere. The Ti gated devices scavenge the SiOx interlayer while the Pt ones show no metal reaction.
Increased α-Actinin-2 Expression in the Atrial Myocardium of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Related to Rheumatic Heart Disease

Objectives: Atrial ﬁbrosis, a marker of atrial structural remodeling, plays a critical role in atrial ﬁbrillation (AF). α- Actinin-2 is associated with structural remodeling related to stretching. The transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smad pathway plays an important role in atrial fibrosis. We investigated the effects of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway on α-actinin-2 in atrial fibrosis in patients with AF. Methods: Forty-one right atrial specimens obtained from patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) were divided into a chronic (c)AF group, i.e. RHD + cAF (n = 29), and a sinus rhythm group, i.e. RHD + sinus rhythm (n = 12). Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and sinus rhythm who underwent heart surgery served as controls (n = 10). Fibrosis was assessed by histological examination, and expression of α-actinin-2, TGF-β1 and Smad2/phosphorylated Smad2 (p-Smad2) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. In rat atrial fibroblasts treated with TGF-β1, the collagen content was measured using hydroxyproline detection, and α-actinin-2 and p-Smad2 were evaluated by semiquantitative reverse-transcription PCR and Western blotting. Results: The histology results revealed a significant increase in atrial fibrosis in AF patients. The collagen content, mRNA and protein expression levels of α-actinin-2 and the components of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway were significantly gradually increased in the CHD + sinus rhythm, RHD + sinus rhythm and RHD + cAF groups (p < 0.05). The mRNA and protein levels of α-actinin-2 and TGF-β1 in RHD patients were positively correlated with the collagen volume fraction. A positive correlation between the expression of α-actinin-2 and TGF-β1 was also observed. In rat atrial fibroblasts treated with TGF-β1, the collagen content was greater than that in the control group (p < 0.05), and the expression levels of α- actinin-2 and p-Smad2 were also upregulated (p < 0.05). Conclusions: α-Actinin-2 expression was increased in the atrial tissues of patients with AF secondary to RHD. α-Actinin-2 was upregulated via the TGF-β1/Smad pathway in atrial fibroblasts, which suggests that it may be involved in TGF-β1/Smad pathway-induced atrial fibrosis in patients with AF.
A Testbed for Configuration Management Policy Programming

Even though the number and variety of available configuration management systems has grown rapidly in the past few years, the need for new configuration management systems still remains. Driving this need are the emergence of situations requiring highly specialized solutions, the demand for management of artifacts other than traditional source code and the exploration of entirely new research questions in configuration management. Complicating the picture is the trend toward organizational structures that involve personnel working at physically separate sites. We have developed a testbed to support the rapid development of configuration management systems. The testbed separates configuration management repositories (i.e., the stores for versions of artifacts) from configuration management policies (i.e., the procedures, according to which the versions are manipulated) by providing a generic model of a distributed repository and an associated programmatic interface. Specific configuration management policies are programmed as unique extensions to the generic interface, while the underlying distributed repository is reused across different policies. The authors describe the repository model and its interface and present their experience in using a prototype of the testbed, called NUCM, to implement a variety of configuration management systems.
A Developmental Sequence of Actor-Object Pretend Play in Young Children.

As measures of symbolic representation, pretend play behaviors were used to assess a child's cognitive level. To revise and extend previous models of pre tense and to provide detailed information on sequences of pretense in different contexts, 48 children between 14 and 26 months of age were tested on six mod eled play tasks in two different contexts and on two actor-role tasks. The eight actor-object play types produced by the children formed a scalable 5-step de velopmental sequence; the production of multischeme combinations was re lated to the production of symbolic substitutions. Different experimental con texts affected the number of play schemes produced and the total number of play types produced. Results were interpreted to suggest needed modifications of the simple additive models previously proposed to account for relationships between various play combinations involving pretend actors and objects.
Dopamine action on hippocampal pyramidal cells

Dopamine (DA) was applied to CA1 region pyramidal cells in slices of guinea pig hippocampus maintained in vitro in order to examine its electrophysiological effect on CNS neurons. DA induced hyperpolarization of membrane potential and an increased conductance in 75% the 21 CA1 neurons to which it was applied. DA also augmented the afterhyperpolarizations and increased conductance which normally follow spike trains in these neurons. These effects were not altered by intracellular injections of Cl- but were blocked when slices were bathed in Mn2+ solutions. The Mn2+ blockade of DA-induced hyperpolarizations could be overcome when large amounts of agonists were applied. The DA effects were long lasting, were mimicked by the dopamine agonists apomorphine and Epinine, and were blocked by the dopamine antagonists flupenthixol and chlorpromazine. Extracellular or intracellular application of cyclic AMP mimicked the effects of DA. The results suggest that DA-induced hyperpolarization and conductance changes are mediated by a Ca2+-activated K+ conductance. DA may increase the intracellular Ca2+ concentration through effects on one of the Ca2+ buffering mechanisms. The long duration of these effects suggest that DA works though some intracellular intermediary, perhaps cyclic AMP, considering that the actions of cyclic AMP on membrane properties are similar to those of DA. The dopaminergic projection to the hippocampus should have a powerful inhibitory action, which would be most effective in modulating the activities of neurons exhibiting high levels of excitability, particularly cells involved in cyclical burst generation.
Proactive versus Reactive Teaching: Focusing Observation on Specific Aspects of Instruction.

Certainly one of the most important components in the process of increasing the proportion of teacher approval feedback is the ability of teachers to structure learning situations in which the probability of their students' success is high. Teachers who are unable to plan and implement strategies that actively promote correct student responses often find it difficult to accurately specify positive aspects of their students' behavior, but these same teachers may sincerely attempt to increase the ratio of approval feedback (both social and academic) in their classrooms, only to be discouraged when improvements in students' attitudes and behavior are not forthcoming. The persistence of inappropriate student behavior or incorrect student responses often is a result of the noncontingent relationship between the behavior of the students and the positive feedback from the teacher.
Characterisation of Commensal Escherichia coli Isolated from Apparently Healthy Cattle and Their Attendants in Tanzania

While pathogenic types of Escherichia coli are well characterized, relatively little is known about the commensal E. coli flora. In the current study, antimicrobial resistance in commensal E. coli and distribution of ERIC-PCR genotypes among isolates of such bacteria from cattle and cattle attendants on cattle farms in Tanzania were investigated. Seventeen E. coli genomes representing different ERIC-PCR types of commensal E. coli were sequenced in order to determine their possible importance as a reservoir for both antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors. Both human and cattle isolates were highly resistant to tetracycline (40.8% and 33.1%), sulphamethazole-trimethoprim (49.0% and 8.8%) and ampicillin (44.9% and 21.3%). However, higher proportion of resistant E. coli and higher frequency of resistance to more than two antimicrobials was found in isolates from cattle attendants than isolates from cattle. Sixteen out of 66 ERIC-PCR genotypes were shared between the two hosts, and among these ones, seven types contained isolates from cattle and cattle attendants from the same farm, suggesting transfer of strains between hosts. Genome-wide analysis showed that the majority of the sequenced cattle isolates were assigned to phylogroups B1, while human isolates represented phylogroups A, C, D and E. In general, in silico resistome and virulence factor identification did not reveal differences between hosts or phylogroups, except for lpfA and iss found to be cattle and B1 phylogroup specific. The most frequent plasmids replicon genes found in strains from both hosts were of IncF type, which are commonly associated with carriage of antimicrobial and virulence genes. Commensal E. coli from cattle and attendants were found to share same genotypes and to carry antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes associated with both intra and extraintestinal E. coli pathotypes.