Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Genetic Variant in the IL-17 Promoter Is Functionally Associated with Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease after Unrelated Bone Marrow Transplantation

Interleukin IL-17 is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs2275913, in the promoter region of the IL-17 gene is associated with susceptibility to ulcerative colitis. When we examined the impact of rs2275913 in a cohort consisting of 438 pairs of patients and their unrelated donors transplanted through the Japan Marrow Donor Program, the donor IL-17 197A allele was found to be associated with a higher risk of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD; hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 2.13; P = 0.05). Next, we investigated the functional relevance of the rs2275913 SNP. In vitro stimulated T cells from healthy individuals possessing the 197A allele produced significantly more IL-17 than those without the 197A allele. In a gene reporter assay, the 197A allele construct induced higher luciferase activity than the 197G allele, and the difference was higher in the presence of T cell receptor activation and was abrogated by cyclosporine treatment. Moreover, the 197A allele displayed a higher affinity for the nuclear factor activated T cells (NFAT), a critical transcription factor involved in IL-17 regulation. These findings substantiate the functional relevance of the rs2275913 polymorphism and indicate that the higher IL-17 secretion by individuals with the 197A allele likely accounts for their increased risk for acute GVHD and certain autoimmune diseases.
Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Brain Tumors Delivered via a Novel Intra-Cavity Moldable Polymer Matrix

Introduction Polymer-based delivery systems offer innovative intra-cavity administration of drugs, with the potential to better target micro-deposits of cancer cells in brain parenchyma beyond the resected cavity. Here we evaluate clinical utility, toxicity and sustained drug release capability of a novel formulation of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microparticles. Methods PLGA/PEG microparticle-based matrices were molded around an ex vivo brain pseudo-resection cavity and analyzed using magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography. In vitro toxicity of the polymer was assessed using tumor and endothelial cells and drug release from trichostatin A-, etoposide- and methotrexate-loaded matrices was determined. To verify activity of released agents, tumor cells were seeded onto drug-loaded matrices and viability assessed. Results PLGA/PEG matrices can be molded around a pseudo-resection cavity wall with no polymer-related artifact on clinical scans. The polymer withstands fractionated radiotherapy, with no disruption of microparticle structure. No toxicity was evident when tumor or endothelial cells were grown on control matrices in vitro. Trichostatin A, etoposide and methotrexate were released from the matrices over a 3-4 week period in vitro and etoposide released over 3 days in vivo, with released agents retaining cytotoxic capabilities. PLGA/PEG microparticle-based matrices molded around a resection cavity wall are distinguishable in clinical scanning modalities. Matrices are non-toxic in vitro suggesting good biocompatibility in vivo. Active trichostatin A, etoposide and methotrexate can be incorporated and released gradually from matrices, with radiotherapy unlikely to interfere with release. Conclusion The PLGA/PEG delivery system offers an innovative intra-cavity approach to administer chemotherapeutics for improved local control of malignant brain tumors.
Pyruvate decarboxylase of Zymomonas mobilis: isolation, properties, and genetic expression in Escherichia coli

Pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1) from Zymomonas mobilis purified to homogeneity by using dye-ligand and ion-exchange chromatography. Antibodies produced against the enzyme and the amino-terminal sequence obtained for the pure enzyme were used to select and confirm the identity of a genomic clone encoding the enzyme selected from a genomic library of Z. mobilis DNA cloned into pUC9. The genomic fragment encoding the enzyme expressed high levels of pyruvate decarboxylase in Escherichia coli. Possible RNA polymerase and ribosome-binding sites have been identified in the 5'-untranslated region of the pyruvate decarboxylase gene.
Socioeconomic inequalities in life and health expectancies around official retirement age in 10 Western-European countries

Background Discussions on raising pension eligibility age focus more on improvement in life expectancy (LE) and health expectancy measures than on socioeconomic differences in these measures. Therefore, this study assesses the level of socioeconomic differences in these two measures in Western-Europe. Methods Data from seven annual waves (1995–2001) of the European Community Household Panel were used. Health and socioeconomic information was collected using standardised questionnaires. Health was measured in terms of disability in daily activities. Socioeconomic status was determined as education level at baseline. Multi-state Markov modelling was applied to obtain age-specific transition rates between health states for every country, educational level and gender. The multi-state life table method was used to estimate LE and disability free life expectancy (DFLE) according to country, educational level and gender. Results When comparing high and low educational levels, differences in partial DFLE between the ages 50 and 65 years were 2.1 years for men and 1.9 years for women. At age 65 years, for LE the difference between high and low educated groups was 3 years for men and 1.9 years for women, and for DFLE the difference between high and low educated groups was 4.6 years for men and 4.4 years for women. Similar patterns were observed in all countries, although inequalities tended to be greater in the southern countries. Conclusions Educational inequalities, favouring the higher educated, exist on both sides of the retirement eligibility age. Higher educated persons live longer in good health before retirement and can expect to live longer afterwards.
Pictogram-based Method of Visualizing Dietary Intake

Summary Background: Pictograms have been shown by many studies to be an effective way of conveying information. An easy-to-understand pictorial description is essential for communication of dietary intake in the computer era. Objectives: We proposed a novel approach that represents textual descriptions of dietary intake into a pictorial representation with the concept of pictograms. The computational implementation in terms of a web-based tool was investigated on how well the pictograms carry their intended message. Methods: 1) We investigated how well the pictograms are comprehended in terms of subjects’ accuracy rate and response time. In the study (n = 90), pictorial variants with three types of food images (black-and-white sketch, colored sketch, and colored photograph) were tested. 2) We also investigated how well subjects were able to select the standard food size among various food portions with the use of the tool. A comparison was made against the current standard of an educational session taught by a registered dietitian. We recruited 86 university students who were asked to select a standard size out of five different size categories. Three types of shapes were used. The bowl is the container that is widely used in the participants’ country. The pork strip was to represent foods with elliptical cross-section. The apple was used to represent a baseball-like size and shape. Results: Two pictograms with black-and-white food image were low of less than 50% in accuracy rate. The rest of the twenty-seven pictograms derived from portions of the nine foods were well understood with high accuracy rates (above 85%). Participants in using the tool without the dietitian’s session was better than participants in the dietitian education session in selecting a standard portion size of an apple (p < 0.0001; p = 0.0009 after adjustment for gender and age). The rate of correct bowl and pork strip size estimates were similar between the two conditions (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The development of pictograms could be used as a computational visual aid for comprehending and identifying dietary intake. Broader investigation is required for considering the effectiveness of the picto-grams on recall, measurement, or estimation as well as for further evaluation in the clinical practice.
Prevalence of symptoms of depression among patients with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVE Depression is the most common psychiatric illness in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Depression has been shown to affect mortality in end-stage renal disease patients. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence of depressive symptoms among CKD patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study of patients with CKD (Stages 3-5) attending the renal clinic of a tertiary hospital was conducted. Demographic and clinical data were documented. A self-administered Zung depression questionnaire was administered. The Zung depression questionnaire has 20 weighted questions. Individuals with a total score of 50 are considered to be depressed, while a score of 70 and above is indicative of severe depression. RESULTS One hundred and eighteen patients and fifty controls were interviewed. There were 73 (61.9%) males and 45 (38.1%) female patients. The mean age did not differ: males 43.8 ± 15.4 years, females 43.2 ± 14.7 yrs, P = 0.83. The prevalence of depression among the CKD patients was 23.7%, while for the control group was 2%; χ2 = 10.14, P < 0.001. Further analysis showed that CKD patients on dialysis were more likely to be depressed than the pre-dialysis patients with frequency of depressive symptoms of 34.5% for dialysis patients versus 13.3% in pre-dialysis patients; χ2 = 6.17, P = 0.01. No difference was observed in the mean Zung score among males, and female patients mean Zung score was 40.1 in females and 40.7 in male patients; P > 0.05. CONCLUSION Depression is highly prevalent among our patients with CKD and treatment modality was the major predictor of depression among our patients.
Passivity-based output synchronization of dynamical networks with non-identical nodes

Output synchronization of dynamical networks with non-identical nodes is studied using the passivity property. A synchronization criterion is developed for networks with general outer coupling topologies which need to be neither symmetric nor have the zero-row-sum property. When the passivity property cannot give synchronization for a single outer coupling topology, the problem of how to achieve synchronization by switching among several outer coupling topologies is studied. Synchronization conditions by switching among these topologies are presented and an output-dependent switching law is designed. In particular, it is shown that synchronizability can be checked by verifying if a certain nonlinear programming problem has no feasible solution or has a negative maximum.
Behavioral Regulation Assessment in Exercise: Exploring an Autonomous and Controlled Motivation Index

The main purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2) and to test the hypothesis that the different types of behavioral regulation can be combined on a single factor to assess autonomous and controlled motivation. Data were collected from 550 members of private fitness centres who ranged in age from 14 to 69 years. The analysis supported an 18-item, 5-factor model after excluding one item (S-Bχ2 = 221.7, df = 125, p = .000, S-Bχ2/df = 1.77; SRMR = .06; NNFI = .90; CFI = .92; RMSEA = .04, 90% CI = .03-.05). However, the analysis also revealed a lack of internal consistency. The results of a hierarchical model based on 2 second-order factors that reflected controlled motivation (external and introjected regulation) and autonomous motivation (identified and intrinsic regulation) provided an acceptable fit to the data (S-Bχ2 = 172.6, df = 74, p = .000, SB-χ2/df = 2.33; SRMR = .07; NNFI = .90; CFI = .92; RMSEA= .05, 90% CI = .04-.06), with reliability coefficients of . 75 for controlled motivation and . 76 for autonomous motivation. The study findings indicated that when item 17 was excluded, the Portuguese BREQ-2 was an appropriate measure of the controlled and autonomous motivation in exercise. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue examinar las cualidades psicométricas de la versión portuguesa de Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2) y probar la hipótesis de un modelo jerárquico que permitiese evaluar la motivación autónoma y la motivación controladora a través de un único factor. En el estudio participaron 550 practicantes de ejercicio físico en gimnasios, con edades comprendidas entre los 14 y los 69 años. Los resultados soportan la adecuación de un modelo de 5 factores y 18 ítems, tras la exclusión de un ítem (S-Bχ2 = 221.7; df = 125; p = .000; SB-χ2/df = 1.77; SRMR = .06; NNFI = .90; CFI = .92; RMSEA = .04; 90% IC RMSEA = .03-.05). No obstante, este análisis también reveló la falta de consistencia interna de algunos factores. Los resultados del modelo jerárquico con dos factores de 2º orden, que incluyen la motivación controladora (regulación externa e introyectada) y la motivación autónoma (regulación identificada e intrínseca), revelaron valores de ajuste aceptables (S-Bχ2 = 172.6; df = 74; p = 0.000; S-Bχ2/df = 2.33; SRMR = .07; NNFI = .90; CFI = .92; RMSEA = .05; 90% IC RMSEA = .04-.06), así como una consistencia interna razonable (motivación controlada .75 y motivación autónoma .76). De este modo, se concluye que la versión portuguesa de BREQ-2 (con la exclusión del ítem 17), puede ser utilizada en la evaluación de la motivación controladora y autónoma (a través de la combinación de sus factores), en el contexto del ejercicio practicado en gimnasios.
Stature and Its Estimation Utilizing Arm Span Measurements of both gender Adolescents from Southern Region in Kosovo

This study is based on measurements of Southeast region Kosovar adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the stature of adolescents from Southeast region as well relationship between arm span and stature in both Kosovar genders. A total measured subject participated in this research was 190 out of which (100 girls and 90 boys), females average of age is 18.17±0.37 years old (range 18-20 years) and for male 18.25±0.43 years old (range 18-20 years). The anthropometric measurements were done by trained people and were taken according to the ISAK manual. Relationship between stature and arm span has been analyzed by the simple correlation coefficient at a 95% confidence interval. The linear regression analysis was carried out to examine extent to which arm span can reliably predict of stature. Statistical importance was placed at level p<0.05. As a result anthropometric measurements for both sexes showed that the average of stature for boys adolescents from Southeast region are 177.68±6.65 centimeters and have the arm span average of 179.46±7.80 centimeters, while girls from Southeast 164.10±4.61 centimeters tall, and have the arm span average of 164.05±5.81 centimeters. The results have shown that the arm span was estimated as a reliable indicator of stature assessment to the both genders adolescents from Southeast region of Kosovo population. This study also confirms the necessity for developing separate height models for each region in Kosovo.
Wavelet Packets Feasibility Study for the Design of an ECG Compressor

Most of the recent electrocardiogram (ECG) compression approaches developed with the wavelet transform are implemented using the discrete wavelet transform. Conversely, wavelet packets (WP) are not extensively used, although they are an adaptive decomposition for representing signals. In this paper, we present a thresholding-based method to encode ECG signals using WP. The design of the compressor has been carried out according to two main goals: 1) The scheme should be simple to allow real-time implementation; 2) quality, i.e., the reconstructed signal should be as similar as possible to the original signal. The proposed scheme is versatile as far as neither QRS detection nor a priori signal information is required. As such, it can thus be applied to any ECG. Results show that WP perform efficiently and can now be considered as an alternative in ECG compression applications
Efficacy and safety of aztreonam-clindamycin versus tobramycin-clindamycin in the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli

A total of 80 patients were randomized to receive either aztreonam or tobramycin for the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections caused by gram-negative bacilli; all these patients received clindamycin concomitantly. A total of 53 patients were randomized to receive aztreonam-clindamycin; of these, 46 were clinically evaluable and 39 were bacteriologically evaluable. Of the 46 clinically evaluable patients, 41 were considered cured, 3 failed to be cured, and 2 died during the study period of unrelated causes. Of the 39 bacteriologically evaluable patients, 36 were considered cured, and 3 failed to be cured. There were 26 clinically evaluable patients in the group randomized to receive tobramycin-clindamycin. Of them, 22 patients were considered cured, 3 failed to be cured, and 1 died of unrelated causes during the study period. There were 18 bacteriologically evaluable patients in the tobramycin-clindamycin group; 17 were cured, and 1 failed to be cured. The most common pathogens isolated from the patients were Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All of the isolated organisms were susceptible to both tested antibiotics, except for a strain of Pseudomonas cepacia resistant to both tested antimicrobial agents and a strain of Enterobacter aerogenes and one of P. aeruginosa that were resistant to aztreonam. Very few adverse reactions related to the antibiotics were seen. These effects, when present, were transient and comparable in both studied groups, except for renal-function tests, which were altered in 7.7% of the patients randomized to receive tobramycin-clindamycin and in none of the patients randomized to receive aztreonam-clindamycin. Aztreonam-clindamycin is safe and effective for the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli when the organisms are susceptible.
High-Performance, Solution-Processed Indium-Oxide TFTs Using Rapid Flash Lamp Annealing

In this letter, we discuss the temperature distribution of light-illuminated Si substrates with time and the successful fabrication of high-performance, solution-processed indium-oxide thin-film transistors within an annealing time of 2 min using a high-power flash lamp under ambient conditions. The precursor films are completely converted into oxide films within 30 s using flash lamp annealing (FLA). As a result, we obtained the high performance of indium-oxide TFTs with the mobility of impressive 38.9 cm2V-1s-1 with the on/off ratio of ~104 for the irradiation time of 2 min and the mobility of 10.3 cm2V-1s-1 with the on/off ratio of ~5 × 106 for the irradiation time of 10 s for three times, which is the highest mobility ever reported using FLA. This result will be helpful for breaking the barrier in the mass production of the next-generation semiconductors.
Editor’s Highlight: Mechanistic Toxicity Tests Based on an Adverse Outcome Pathway Network for Hepatic Steatosis

Risk assessors use liver endpoints in rodent toxicology studies to assess the safety of chemical exposures. Yet, rodent endpoints may not accurately reflect human responses. For this reason and others, human-based invitro models are being developed and anchored to adverse outcome pathways to better predict adverse human health outcomes. Here, a networked adverse outcome pathway-guided selection of biology-based assays for lipid uptake, lipid efflux, fatty acid oxidation, and lipid accumulation were developed. These assays were evaluated in a metabolically competent human hepatocyte cell model (HepaRG) exposed to compounds known to cause steatosis (amiodarone, cyclosporine A, and T0901317) or activate lipid metabolism pathways (troglitazone, Wyeth-14,643, and 22(R)-hydroxycholesterol). All of the chemicals activated at least one assay, however, only T0901317 and cyclosporin A dose-dependently increased lipid accumulation. T0901317 and cyclosporin A increased fatty acid uptake, decreased lipid efflux (inferred from apolipoprotein B100 levels), and increased fatty acid synthase protein levels. Using this biologically-based evaluation of key events regulating hepatic lipid levels, we demonstrated dysregulation of compensatory pathways that normally balance hepatic lipid levels. This approach may provide biological plausibility and data needed to increase confidence in linking invitro-based measurements to chemical effects on adverse human health outcomes.
Pulmonary infection with Corynebacterium hofmannii complicating systemic lupus erythematosus.

Syndrome. A 30-year-old man with systemic lupus erythematosus was being treated for rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Immunosuppressive therapy consisted of prednisolone (40-60 mg per day) for two months, cyclophosphamide (3 mg/kg of body weight per day) for one month, and 12 4-liter plasma exchanges. Pyrexia of 38.5 C developed accompanied by a dry cough and pulmonary crepitations. A chest radiograph showed patchy consolidation in the middle and lower zones. The white blood cell count never fell
Learning Operations on a Stack with Neural Turing Machines

Multiple extensions of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have been proposed recently to address the difficulty of storing information over long time periods. In this paper, we experiment with the capacity of Neural Turing Machines (NTMs) to deal with these long-term dependencies on well-balanced strings of parentheses. We show that not only does the NTM emulate a stack with its heads and learn an algorithm to recognize such words, but it is also capable of strongly generalizing to much longer sequences.
Impact of Atmospheric Inversion Effects on Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence: Exploitation of the Apparent Reflectance as a Quality Indicator

In the last decade, signiﬁcant progress has been made in estimating Solar-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) by passive remote sensing techniques that exploit the oxygen absorption spectral regions. Although the O2–B and the deep O2–A absorption bands present a high sensitivity to detect SIF, these regions are also largely inﬂuenced by atmospheric effects. Therefore, an accurate Atmospheric Correction (AC) process is required to measure SIF from oxygen bands. In this regard, the suitability of a two-step approach, i.e., ﬁrst an AC and second a Spectral Fitting technique to disentangle SIF from reﬂected light, has been evaluated. One of the advantages of the two-step approach resides in the derived intermediate products provided prior to SIF estimation, such as surface apparent reﬂectance. Results suggest that errors introduced in the AC, e.g., related to the characterization of aerosol optical properties, are propagated into systematic residual errors in the apparent reﬂectance. However, of interest is that these errors can be easily detected in the oxygen bands thanks to the high spectral resolution required to measure SIF. To illustrate this, the predictive power of the apparent reﬂectance spectra to detect and correct inaccuracies in the aerosols characterization is assessed by using a simulated database with SCOPE and MODTRAN radiative transfer models. In 75% of cases, the aerosol optical thickness, the Angstrom coefﬁcient and the scattering asymmetry factor are corrected with a relative error below of 0.5%, 8% and 3%, respectively. To conclude with, and in view of future SIF monitoring satellite missions such as FLEX, the analysis of the apparent reﬂectance can entail a valuable quality indicator to detect and correct errors in the AC prior to the SIF estimation.