Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Neuroimmunopharmacology of Opioids: An Integrative Review of Mechanisms of Central Immune Signaling and Their Implications for Opioid Analgesia

Vastly stimulated by the discovery of opioid receptors in the early 1970s, preclinical and clinical research was directed at the study of stereoselective neuronal actions of opioids, especially those played in their crucial analgesic role. However, during the past decade, a new appreciation of the non-neuronal actions of opioids has emerged from preclinical research, with specific appreciation for the nonclassic and nonstereoselective sites of action. Opioid activity at Toll-like receptors, newly recognized innate immune pattern recognition receptors, adds substantially to this unfolding story. It is now apparent from molecular and rodent data that these newly identified signaling events significantly modify the pharmacodynamics of opioids by eliciting proinflammatory reactivity from glia, the immunocompetent cells of the central nervous system. These central immune signaling events, including the release of cytokines and chemokines and the associated disruption of glutamate homeostasis, cause elevated neuronal excitability, which subsequently decreases opioid analgesic efficacy and leads to heightened pain states. This review will examine the current preclinical literature of opioid-induced central immune signaling mediated by classic and nonclassic opioid receptors. A unification of the preclinical pharmacology, neuroscience, and immunology of opioids now provides new insights into common mechanisms of chronic pain, naive tolerance, analgesic tolerance, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, and allodynia. Novel pharmacological targets for future drug development are discussed in the hope that disease-modifying chronic pain treatments arising from the appreciation of opioid-induced central immune signaling may become practical.
A Compact Model for the Complex Plant Circadian Clock

The circadian clock is an endogenous timekeeper that allows organisms to anticipate and adapt to the daily variations of their environment. The plant clock is an intricate network of interlocked feedback loops, in which transcription factors regulate each other to generate oscillations with expression peaks at specific times of the day. Over the last decade, mathematical modeling approaches have been used to understand the inner workings of the clock in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Those efforts have produced a number of models of ever increasing complexity. Here, we present an alternative model that combines a low number of equations and parameters, similar to the very earliest models, with the complex network structure found in more recent ones. This simple model describes the temporal evolution of the abundance of eight clock gene mRNA/protein and captures key features of the clock on a qualitative level, namely the entrained and free-running behaviors of the wild type clock, as well as the defects found in knockout mutants (such as altered free-running periods, lack of entrainment, or changes in the expression of other clock genes). Additionally, our model produces complex responses to various light cues, such as extreme photoperiods and non-24 h environmental cycles, and can describe the control of hypocotyl growth by the clock. Our model constitutes a useful tool to probe dynamical properties of the core clock as well as clock-dependent processes.
Fast and Robust Neural Network Joint Models for Statistical Machine Translation

Recent work has shown success in using neural network language models (NNLMs) as features in MT systems. Here, we present a novel formulation for a neural network joint model (NNJM), which augments the NNLM with a source context window. Our model is purely lexicalized and can be integrated into any MT decoder. We also present several variations of the NNJM which provide significant additive improvements.
Narcissism and Anger: An Exploration of Underlying Correlates

Many have posited that narcissistic individuals are sensitive to insults and prone to react to such criticism with anger and hostility. Given that such anger is provoked by criticism from others, it was hypothesized that narcissistic traits which relate to perceived position of authority or superiority and an inflated sense of entitlement would make it easier for someone to perceive a remark as threatening and feel angry. It was hypothesized that these aspects of narcissism, as measured by the subscales of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory by Raskin and Hall would correlate differentially with anger, as measured by the Novaco Anger Scale in a sample of undergraduate men. Results partially confirmed the hypothesis and indicated that scores on Entitlement and Authority were positively associated with anger scores; however, superiority was not. The results imply that specific narcissistic traits such as a perceived position of authority and an inflated sense of entitlement, but not necessarily the global diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, might be important to investigate as correlates of anger.
A millimeter-wave quasi-optical grid phase shifter using liquid crystal

A new type of millimeter-wave quasi-optical variable phase shifter which exploits the dielectric anisotropy of liquid crystal (LC) materials is presented. The device is operated in transmission mode and consists of inductive and capacitive metal grids, each patterned on a dielectric substrate, which are separated by a thin layer of LC. The grids together with the LC form a parallel resonant circuit. Prototype devices with a 25-µm-thick LC layer for use at a millimeter-wave frequency of 50GHz were designed and fabricated. Experiments performed at U-band frequencies show that a phase shift of 7.8° is obtained with a low insertion loss of ∼ 0.6dB at the resonant frequency by applying a control signal of 20V. Good time response for the device is demonstrated. It is suggested that the phase shift attainable with the device can be further enhanced by using LC materials with larger dielectric anisotropy and/or thinner dielectric substrates.
Bringing Curriculum Studies and Padägogik Together

Academic debates over the theoretical base of China's curriculum reform reflect a paradigmatic war between two traditions, curriculum studies and Padägogik. This article attempts to reconcile the two traditions by advancing a way of looking at the relationship between curriculum studies and Padägogik as well as the two concepts "curriculum" and "pedagogy. " The implications of curricular and pedagogical theorizing for China's curriculum reform are discussed.
Second order sliding mode control of a perturbed double integrator with state constraints

This paper introduces a second order sliding mode controller for double integrators subject to external disturbances and model uncertainties, with both control and state constraints. The proposed control strategy proves to be able to robustly steer the system state to zero in a finite time, fulfilling the state constraints in spite of the uncertainties, provided that the initial state is inside a given region. The effectiveness of the proposal is then tested on a simulation example.
Enhanced Anxiety Observed in Cocaine Withdrawn Rats Is Associated with Altered Reactivity of the Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex

Discontinuation of drug intake in cocaine abusers commonly produces a variety of adverse withdrawal symptoms among which anxiety and depression-related behavior are prevailing during the initial period of abstinence. The aim of this study was to provide further insight into the neurobiological dysregulations that might contribute to these pathological states. Rats were treated with cocaine or saline for 14 days (20 mg/kg; i.p) and anxiety-related behavior was assessed in different paradigms (elevated plus-maze (EPM), confinement to an open arm of the EPM and shock-probe burying tests) for up to 4 weeks after withdrawal. Depression-like behavior was assessed by the forced swim test and sucrose preference test. Altogether our results demonstrated that cocaine withdrawal induced persistent heightened levels of anxiety that last for at least 28 days but did not affect depression-like behavior. We then used Fos immunohistochemistry to map neuronal activation patterns in withdrawn rats confined to one open arm of an EPM, and a double labeling procedure using Fos immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization of glutamic acid decarboxylase or vesicular glutamate transporter mRNAs to identify the phenotype of the activated neurons. Our data showed that the exacerbated anxiety observed in cocaine withdrawn rats exposed to an elevated open arm was accompanied by an altered reactivity of the dorsal part of the medial prefrontal cortex (anterior cingulate and dorsal prelimbic cortices), the paraventricular thalamic nucleus and the lateral and anterior areas of the hypothalamus. In the medial prefrontal cortex, we evidenced a negative correlation between Fos expression in its dorsal part and open arm-induced freezing in NaCl-treated rats but not in cocaine withdrawn rats. We also found that more than 65% of activated neurons were glutamatergic projection neurons. The present study provides new insights into the neuroanatomical regions and neuronal cell types that may underlie pathological anxiety during cocaine withdrawal.
Approximating and testing k-histogram distributions in sub-linear time

A discrete distribution p, over [n], is a k histogram if its probability distribution function can be represented as a piece-wise constant function with k pieces. Such a function is represented by a list of k intervals and k corresponding values. We consider the following problem: given a collection of samples from a distribution p, find a k-histogram that (approximately) minimizes the l 2 distance to the distribution p. We give time and sample efficient algorithms for this problem. We further provide algorithms that distinguish distributions that have the property of being a k-histogram from distributions that are ε-far from any k-histogram in the l 1 distance and l 2 distance respectively.
Sustained peripheral expression of transgene adiponectin offsets the development of diet-induced obesity in rats

Adiponectin (Acrp30) is a physiologically active polypeptide hormone secreted by adipose tissue that shows insulin-sensitizing, antiinflammatory, and antiatherogenic properties. In humans, Acrp30 levels are inversely related to the degree of adiposity. In the current study, we tested the long-term weight-reducing and insulin-enhancing effects of Acrp30 cDNA delivered peripherally by a viral vector. To this end, we have generated a series of recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors of serotypes 1 and 5 encoding mouse Acrp30 cDNAs. The long-term expression of recombinant adeno-associated virus-Acrp30 vectors was tested after intramuscular or intraportal injection in female Sprague–Dawley rats with diet-induced obesity. We show that a single peripheral injection of 1012 physical particles of Acrp30-encoding vectors resulted in sustained (up to 280 days) significant reduction in body weight, concomitant with the reduction in daily food intake. Acrp30 treatment resulted in higher peripheral insulin sensitivity measured by the i.p. glucose tolerance test in fasted animals. Ectopic expression of the Acrp30 transgene resulted in modulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, as demonstrated by the reduction of the expression of two key genes: PEPCK (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) and SREBP-1c (sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c) in the liver. These data show successful peripheral therapy in a clinically relevant model for human obesity and insulin resistance.
Differentiation Factor 88 Inflammation: Critical Role of Myeloid Streptococcal Cell Wall-Induced Joint Toll-Like Receptor 2 Pathway Drives

The IL-1R/Toll-like receptor (TLR) superfamily of receptors has a key role in innate immunity and inﬂammation. In this study, we report that streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-induced joint inﬂammation is predominantly dependent on TLR-2 signaling, since TLR-2-deﬁcient mice were unable to develop either joint swelling or inhibition of cartilage matrix synthesis. Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is a Toll/IL-1R domain containing adaptor molecule known to have a central role in both IL-1R/IL-18R and TLR signaling. Mice deﬁcient for MyD88 did not develop SCW-induced arthritis; both joint swelling and disturbance of cartilage chondrocyte anabolic function was completely abolished. Local levels of proinﬂammatory cytokines and chemokines in synovial tissue washouts were strongly reduced in MyD88-deﬁcient mice. Histology conﬁrmed the pivotal role of MyD88 in acute joint inﬂammation. TLR-2-deﬁcient mice still allow inﬂux of inﬂammatory cells into the joint cavity, although the number of cells was markedly reduced. No inﬂux of inﬂammatory cells was seen in joints of MyD88-deﬁcient mice. In addition, cartilage matrix proteoglycan loss was completely absent in MyD88 knockout mice. These ﬁndings clearly demonstrated that MyD88 is a key component in SCW-induced joint inﬂammation. Since agonists of the Toll-like pathway are abundantly involved in both septic and
Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean by Bullying

4 Chapter 1: Importance 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review 11 Definition of Bullying 11 Measures of Bullying 25 Sources of Variation in Self-Reports of Involvement in Bullying 40 Students’ Conceptual Understanding of the Classic Bully Definition 56 Chapter 3: Method 65 Participants 65 Measures 67 Procedures 72 Data Analysis 72 Power Analysis 74 Chapter 4: Results 76 Hypotheses 76 Preliminary Analyses 79 Research Question One Results 81 Research Question Two Results 83 Research Question Three Results 84 Research Question Four Results 85 Chapter 5: Discussion 87 Research Question One 88
New brooms sweep clean - an autonomous robotic cleaning assistant for professional office cleaning

Millions of office workplaces are cleaned by a surprisingly small group of cleaning workers every day, however, cleaning companies struggle to recruit enough personnel these days. One solution to this challenge is to schedule available professionals for demanding tasks while relieving them from simpler activities which are transferred to a robotic cleaning assistant. Two of such tasks are floor cleaning and waste disposal which account for 70% of the daily cleaning efforts. This paper presents the world's first autonomous cleaning robot prototype that masters both of these tasks and whose development was accompanied by the advice of a large cleaning company. Besides a detailed description of the overall system and its individual components an evaluation is provided based on real world experiments. The results indicate that both cleaning tasks can be solved at high quality but with potential for increased efficiency to meet the required performance. Hence, the paper concludes with a discussion on measures necessary for the development of a commercial prototype.
A New Species of Trouble: The Human Experience of Modern Disasters

Unlike earthquakes and other natural catastrophes, this "new species of trouble" afflicts persons and groups in particularly disruptive ways. With clear-eyed compassion, in vivid narrative and in participants' own words, Kai Erikson describes how certain communities have faced such disasters. He shows conclusively that new attention must be paid to their experiences if people are to maintain elementary confidence not only in themselves but in society, government, and even life itself.
Concussion in Professional Football: Epidemiological Features of Game Injuries and Review of the Literature—Part 3

OBJECTIVEA 6-year study was performed to determine the circumstances, causes, and outcomes of concussions in the National Football League. METHODSBetween 1996 and 2001, the epidemiological features of concussions were recorded by National Football League teams with a standardized reporting form. Symptoms were reported and grouped as general symptoms, cranial nerve symptoms, memory or cognitive problems, somatic complaints, and loss of consciousness. The medical actions taken were recorded. In total, 787 game-related cases were reported, with information on the players involved, type of helmet impact, symptoms, medical actions, and days lost. Concussion risks were calculated according to player game positions. RESULTSThere were 0.41 concussions per National Football League game. The relative risk was highest for quarterbacks (1.62 concussions/100 game-positions), followed by wide receivers (1.23 concussions/100 game-positions), tight ends (0.94 concussion/100 game-positions), and defensive secondaries (0.93 concussion/100 game-positions). The majority of concussions (67.7%) involved impact by another player’s helmet. The remainder involved impact by other body regions of the striking player (20.9%) or ground contact (11.4%). The three most common symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury were headaches (55.0%), dizziness (41.8%), and blurred vision (16.3%). The most common signs noted in physical examinations were problems with immediate recall (25.5%), retrograde amnesia (18.0%), and information-processing problems (17.5%). In 58 of the reported cases (9.3%), the players lost consciousness; 19 players (2.4%) were hospitalized. A total of 92% of concussed players returned to practice in less than 7 days, but that value decreased to 69% with unconsciousness. CONCLUSIONThe professional football players most vulnerable to concussions are quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive secondaries. Concussions involved 2.74 symptoms/injury, and players were generally removed from the game. More than one-half of the players returned to play within 1 day, and symptoms resolved in a short time in the vast majority of cases.
R5X4 Viruses Are Evolutionary, Functional, and Antigenic Intermediates in the Pathway of a Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Coreceptor Switch

ABSTRACT To examine the pathway of the coreceptor switching of CCR5-using (R5) virus to CXCR4-using (X4) virus in simian-human immunodeficiency virus SHIVSF162P3N-infected rhesus macaque BR24, analysis was performed on variants present at 20 weeks postinfection, the time when the signature gp120 V3 loop sequence of the X4 switch variant was first detected by PCR. Unexpectedly, circulating and tissue variants with His/Ile instead of the signature X4 V3 His/Arg insertions predominated at this time point. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of the C2 conserved region to the V5 variable loop of the envelope (Env) protein showed that viruses bearing HI insertions represented evolutionary intermediates between the parental SHIVSF162P3N and the final X4 HR switch variant. Functional analyses demonstrated that the HI variants were phenotypic intermediates as well, capable of using both CCR5 and CXCR4 for entry. However, the R5X4 intermediate virus entered CCR5-expressing target cells less efficiently than the parental R5 strain and was more sensitive to both CCR5 and CXCR4 inhibitors than either the parental R5 or the final X4 virus. It was also more sensitive than the parental R5 virus to antibody neutralization, especially to agents directed against the CD4 binding site, but not as sensitive as the late X4 virus. Significantly, the V3 loop sequence that determined CXCR4 use also conferred soluble CD4 neutralization sensitivity. Collectively, the data illustrate that, similar to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in individuals, the evolution from CCR5 to CXCR4 usage in BR24 transitions through an intermediate phase with reduced virus entry and coreceptor usage efficiencies. The data further support a model linking an open envelope gp120 conformation, better CD4 binding, and expansion to CXCR4 usage.
Pacemaker Reed Switch Behavior in 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging Units: Are Reed Switches Always Closed in Strong Magnetic Fields?

LUECHINGER, R. , et al.: Pacemaker Reed Switch Behavior in 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging Units: Are Reed Switches Always Closed in Strong Magnetic Fields? MRI is established as an important diagnostic tool in medicine. However, the presence of a cardiac pacemaker is usually regarded as a contraindication for MRI due to safety reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate the state of a pacemaker reed switch in different orientations and positions in the main magnetic field of 0.5‐, 1.5‐, and 3.0‐T MRI scanners. Reed switches used in current pacemakers and ICDs were tested in 0.5‐, 1.5‐, and 3.0‐T MRI scanners. The closure of isolated reed switches was evaluated for different orientations and positions relative to the main magnetic field. The field strengths to close and open the reed switch and the orientation dependency of the closed state inside the main magnetic field were investigated. The measurements were repeated using two intact pacemakers to evaluate the potential influence of the other magnetic components, like the battery. If the reed switches were oriented parallel to the magnetic fields, they closed at 1.0 ± 0.2 mT and opened at 0.7 ± 0.2 mT. Two different reed switch behaviors were observed at different magnetic field strengths. In low magnetic fields (< 50 mT), the reed switches were closed. However, in high magnetic fields (> 200 mT), the reed switches opened in 50% of all tested orientations. No difference between the three scanners could be demonstrated. The reed switches showed the same behavior whether they were isolated or an integral part of the pacemakers. The reed switch in a pacemaker or an ICD does not necessarily remain closed in strong magnetic fields at 0.5, 1.5, or 3.0 T and the state of the reed switch may not be predictable with certainty in clinical situations.
Pulmonary atelectasis and survival in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma

Abstract Atelectasis was reported as a favorable prognostic sign of pulmonary carcinoma; however, the underlying mechanism in those patients is not known. In this study, we aimed to investigate prospectively the potential impact of atelectasis and/or obstructive pneumonitis (AO) on survival and the relation between atelectasis and some laboratory blood parameters. The study was conducted on 87 advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Clinical and laboratory parameters of patients at first presentation were recorded, and patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of AO in thorax computed tomography (CT). Survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier and univariate Cox's regression analyses. Laboratory parameters that might be related with prolonged survival in atelectasis were compared using chi-square, Student's t, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Of the patients, 54% had stage IV disease, and AO was detected in 48.3% of all cases. Overall median survival was 13.2 months for all cases, 10.9 months for patients without AO, and 13.9 months for patients with AO (P = 0.067). Survival was significantly longer in stage III patients with AO (14.5 months versus 9.2 months, P = 0.032), but not in stage IV patients. Patients with AO in stage III had significantly lower platelet counts (P = 0.032) and blood sedimentation rates than did those with no AO (P = 0.045). We concluded that atelectasis and/or obstructive pneumonitis was associated with prolonged survival in locally advanced NSCLC. There was also a clear association between atelectasis and/or obstructive pneumonitis and platelets and blood sedimentation rate.
A novel method for face recognition under partial occlusion or facial expression variations

Thir paper presents a new techniqzre for face recognition that can cope with partial occlussion or shong vuriations in facial expression. The method hies to solve the face recognition problem Pom a near- holistic perspective. The main idea is to "eliminate" some features which may came a reduction of the recognition accuracy tinder occlwion or expression changing. To test and evaluate the performance of the new technique. a series of experiments have been carried out which have shown improved pei$onnance and robustness when compared to the classical PCA.