Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skin autofluorescence is increased in systemic lupus erythematosus but is not reflected by elevated plasma levels of advanced glycation endproducts.

OBJECTIVES To examine whether skin advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) accumulation, plasma levels of AGEs-N(epsilon)-carboxymethyllysine (CML) and N(epsilon)-carboxyethyllysine (CEL)-and serum levels of soluble receptor for AGEs (sRAGE) are elevated in SLE patients compared with controls, and whether these parameters are related to disease activity and endothelial cell (EC) activation. METHODS Ten SLE patients (9 women, age 34 +/- 13 yrs, mean +/- s.d.) and 10 age- and sex-matched controls were included. Patients were analysed during inactive as well as active disease. Skin AGE accumulation was estimated using ultraviolet-A (UV-A) light for measurement of autofluorescence obtained by Excitation-Emission matrix Scanner (AF-EEMS). Levels of CML and CEL were determined by tandem mass spectrometry. Levels of sRAGE and of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) were determined by ELISAs. RESULTS Skin AF-EEMS was increased in SLE patients compared with controls (P < 0.05). Levels of CML and CEL were comparable between patients and controls and were not influenced by disease activity. sRAGE and sVCAM-1 levels were higher in quiescent SLE patients compared with controls (P < 0.05) and increased further during active disease (P < 0.05). In patients with quiescent disease and controls, sRAGE levels correlated to sVCAM-1 levels (r = 0.579, P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS Skin AGEs and levels of sRAGE and sVCAM-1 were elevated in SLE patients, whereas levels of CML and CEL were comparable with controls. As sRAGE even further increased during endothelial activation, it might be hypothesized that sRAGE acts as a decoy receptor. Why this proposed mechanism is insufficient to prevent increased AGE accumulation in the skin of SLE patients has to be established.
Absence or Overexpression of the Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) ORF29 Latency-Associated Protein Impairs Late Gene Expression and Reduces VZV Latency in a Rodent Model

ABSTRACT Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) ORF29 encodes the viral single-stranded DNA binding protein and is expressed during latency in human ganglia. We constructed an ORF29 deletion mutant virus and showed that the virus could replicate only in cells expressing ORF29. An ORF29-repaired virus, in which ORF29 was driven by a cytomegalovirus promoter, grew to peak titers similar to those seen with the parental virus. The level of ORF29 protein in cells infected with the repaired virus was greater than that seen with parental virus. Infection of cells with either the ORF29 deletion or repaired virus resulted in similar levels of VZV immediate-early proteins but reduced levels of glycoprotein E compared to those observed with parental virus. Cotton rats infected with the ORF29 deletion mutant had a markedly reduced frequency of latent infection in dorsal root ganglia compared with those infected with parental virus (P < 0.00001). In contrast, infection of animals with the ORF29 deletion mutant resulted in a frequency of ganglionic infection at 3 days similar to that seen with the parental virus. Animals infected with the ORF29-repaired virus, which overexpresses ORF29, also had a reduced frequency of latent infection compared with those infected with parental virus (P = 0.0044). These studies indicate that regulation of ORF29 at appropriate levels is critical for VZV latency in a rodent model.
Intranasal Delivery of Recombinant Parvovirus-Like Particles Elicits Cytotoxic T-Cell and Neutralizing Antibody Responses

ABSTRACT We previously demonstrated that chimeric porcine parvovirus-like particles (PPV:VLP) carrying heterologous epitopes, when injected intraperitoneally into mice without adjuvant, activate strong CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses specific for the foreign epitopes. In the present study, we investigated the immunogenicity of PPV:VLP carrying a CD8+ T-cell epitope from the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) administered by mucosal routes. Mice immunized intranasally with recombinant PPV:VLP, in the absence of adjuvant, developed high levels of PPV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and/or IgA in their serum, as well as in mucosal sites such as the bronchoalveolar and intestinal fluids. Antibodies in sera from mice immunized parenterally or intranasally with PPV:VLP were strongly neutralizing in vitro. Intranasal immunization with PPV:VLP carrying the LCMV CD8+ T-cell epitope also elicited a strong peptide-specific cytotoxic-T-cell (CTL) response. In contrast, mice orally immunized with recombinant PPV:VLP did not develop any antibody or CTL responses. We also showed that mice primed with PPV:VLP are still able to develop strong CTL responses after subsequent immunization with chimeric PPV:VLP carrying a foreign CD8+T-cell epitope. These results highlight the attractive potential of PPV:VLP as a safe, nonreplicating antigen carrier to stimulate systemic and mucosal immunity after nasal administration.
Evaluation of The Relationship between Abundance of Pollinators and Landscape Structure in Hyuganatsu (Citrus tamurana) Orchards in Aya Town, Miyazaki Prefecture

The study aimed to examine the relationship between pollination service (as an ecosystem service) and the landscape structure of Aya Town, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Our target agricultural crop for the evaluation of pollination service was hyuganatsu ( Citrus tamurana ), and native ( Apis cerana ) and managed honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) were considered the key species of ecosystem service provider. We selected 15 hyuganatsu trees in 5 orchards and counted the number of honey bee visits. We tested local and macro scale landscape indices as explanatory variables to clarify the number of honey bee visits. A model that used the number of flowers, area of adjacent natural forests, and area of agricultural fields within a 1-km radius was selected as the best model. Our results suggest that landscape structure affected the number of honey bee visits to a hyuganatsu tree, which represents the quantity of ecosystem service for the tree, and should be considered in the evaluation of ecosystem services.
Cue-based dialogue act classification

Cue-Based Dialogue Act Classification Nick Webb Supervisors: Yorick Wilks & Mark Hepple In this thesis, we will address three research questions relating to the discovery and use of cue phrases for Dialogue Act classification. Cue phrases are single words, or combinations of words in phrases, that can serve as reliable indicators of some discourse function. In our case, we are looking to automatically discover cue phrases in corpora that are useful for the detection of Dialogue Acts (da). Dialogue Acts are labels attached to utterances in dialogue that serve to concisely characterise a speaker’s intention in producing a particular utterance, a notion that most major theories of dialogue take as central. Our first research question is whether or not we can extract cue phrases automatically from a corpus. We apply a method of cue extraction to the switchboard corpus of annotated human-human dialogues, and experiment with thresholds to identify cue phrases. To determine if these automatically extracted cue phrases are reliable indicators of das, we created a novel, cue-based da classification model. In this model, our cue phrases are exploited directly, by determining if they appear in unseen dialogue utterances. This forms our second research question, and we extensively explore
Validation of the Italian Version of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, the Situational Vertigo Questionnaire, and the Activity-Specific Balance Confidence Scale for Peripheral and Central Vestibular Symptoms

Neurophysiological measurements of the vestibular function for diagnosis and follow-up evaluations provide an objective assessment, which, unfortunately, does not necessarily correlate with the patients’ self-feeling. The literature provides many questionnaires to assess the outcome of rehabilitation programs for disequilibrium, but only for the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) is an Italian translation available, validated on a small group of patients suffering from a peripheral acute vertigo. We translated and validated the reliability and validity of the DHI, the Situational Vertigo Questionnaire (SVQ), and the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC) in 316 Italian patients complaining of dizziness due either to a peripheral or to a central vestibular deficit, or in whom vestibular signs were undetectable by means of instrumental testing or clinical evaluation. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha, the homogeneity index, and test–retest reproducibility, confirmed reliability of the Italian version of the three questionnaires. Validity was confirmed by correlation test between questionnaire scores. Correlations with clinical variables suggested that they can be used as a complementary tool for the assessment of vestibular symptoms. In conclusion, the Italian versions of DHI, SVQ, and ABC are reliable and valid questionnaires for assessing the impact of dizziness on the quality of life of Italian patients with peripheral or central vestibular deficit.
Adverse Intrauterine Environment and Cardiac miRNA Expression

Placental insufficiency, high altitude pregnancies, maternal obesity/diabetes, maternal undernutrition and stress can result in a poor setting for growth of the developing fetus. These adverse intrauterine environments result in physiological changes to the developing heart that impact how the heart will function in postnatal life. The intrauterine environment plays a key role in the complex interplay between genes and the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate their expression. In this review we describe how an adverse intrauterine environment can influence the expression of miRNAs (a sub-set of non-coding RNAs) and how these changes may impact heart development. Potential consequences of altered miRNA expression in the fetal heart include; Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) activation, dysregulation of angiogenesis, mitochondrial abnormalities and altered glucose and fatty acid transport/metabolism. It is important to understand how miRNAs are altered in these adverse environments to identify key pathways that can be targeted using miRNA mimics or inhibitors to condition an improved developmental response.
Long-Term Survival, Modes of Death, and Predictors of Mortality in Patients With Fontan Surgery

Background— To better define determinants of mortality in patients with univentricular physiology, a database registry was created of patients born in 1985 or earlier with Fontan surgery who were followed up at Children’s Hospital Boston. Methods and Results— A total of 261 patients, 121 of whom (46.4%) were women, had a first Fontan surgery at a median age of 7.9 years: right atrium–to–pulmonary artery connection in 135 (51.7%); right atrium to right ventricle in 25 (9.6%); and total cavopulmonary connection in 101 (38.7%). Over a median of 12.2 years, 76 (29.1%) died, 5 (1.9%) had cardiac transplantation, 5 (1.9%) had Fontan revision, and 21 (8.0%) had Fontan conversion. Perioperative mortality decreased steadily over time and accounted for 68.4% of all deaths. In early survivors, actuarial freedom from death or transplantation was 93.7%, 89.9%, 87.3%, and 82.6% at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years, respectively, with no significant difference between right atrium to pulmonary artery versus total cavopulmonary connection. Late deaths were classified as sudden in 7 patients (9.2%), thromboembolic in 6 (7.9%), heart failure–related in 5 (6.7%), sepsis in 2 (2.6%), and other in 4 (5.2%). Most sudden deaths were of presumed arrhythmic origin with no identifiable predictor. Independent risk factors for thromboembolic death were lack of antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy (hazard ratio [HR], 91.6; P=0.0041) and clinically diagnosed intracardiac thrombus (HR, 22.7; P=0.0002). Independent predictors of heart failure death were protein-losing enteropathy (HR, 7.1; P=0.0043), single morphologically right ventricle (HR, 10.5; P=0.0429), and higher right atrial pressure (HR, 1.3 per 1 mm Hg; P=0.0016). Conclusion— In perioperative survivors of Fontan surgery, gradual attrition occurs predominantly from thromboembolic, heart failure–related, and sudden deaths.
Training a sigmoidal network is difficult

(cid:1) In this paper we show that the loading problem for a (cid:1)(cid:2)node architecture with sigmoidal activation is NP(cid:2)hard if the input dimension varies(cid:3) if the classi(cid:4)cation is performed with a certain accuracy(cid:3) and if the output weights are restricted(cid:5)
Reappraisal of the Surgical Strategy in Treatment of Mandibular Condylar Fractures

Background: Over the past few decades, there has been a trend toward open reduction and internal fixation of mandibular condylar fractures. However, not all patients have fared well following the open surgical approach. A number of clinical parameters have been observed to be related to suboptimal treatment results on a long-term basis. A comprehensive investigation of the role of those risk factors is a worthwhile pursuit. Methods: A total of 23 surgically treated patients were enrolled in the study during an 11-year period. A retrospective chart review was conducted to collect clinical and radiographic information both before and after surgery. Statistical analyses were used to determine the relationship of presurgical clinical variables to the postsurgical complications. Results: Fractures of the condylar neck and head were associated with a high incidence of postoperative morbidity; all cases (seven of seven) suffered from some form of image or clinical disorder. In contrast, the subcondylar fracture fared well following surgery, with maintenance of function, cosmesis, and skeletal integrity in the majority (14 of 16) over long-term follow-up (p < 0.000). Comminution and obliquity of the fracture line were also correlated with the occurrence of postoperative morbidities. Conclusions: Results of the present study suggest that patients with subcondylar fracture fare better with open reduction in comparison with those suffering condylar neck or head fractures. Delayed-onset deformation tends to occur in patients with a short proximal segment, comminuted head, and obliquity of the fracture line. A renewed algorithm is thus provided to address the high condylar fracture problems.
An isolated involvement in mental health care – experiences of parents of young adults

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To explore parents' involvement in the informal and professional care of their young adult child with mental illness. A further aim was to examine concepts in the caring theory of 'Involvement in the light-Involvement in the dark' in the context of mental health care. BACKGROUND Mental illness has increased among young people in high-income countries, and suicide is now the leading cause of death for this group. Because of their disease, these young people may have difficulty in carrying out daily, taken-for-granted, tasks. Consequently, they often become dependent on their parents, and their parents shoulder a considerable responsibility. DESIGN A secondary descriptive design with a deductive content analysis was used. METHODS Ten parents who have a son or daughter with long-term mental illness (aged 18-25 years) were interviewed. The deductive analysis was based on the caring theory of 'Involvement in the light-Involvement in the dark'. RESULTS The results are described using the following concepts in the theory: 'Knowing', 'Doing', 'Being' and 'Attitude of the health professionals'. The result are to a great extent consistent with the 'Involvement in the dark' metaphor, which describes an isolated involvement in which the parents were not informed, seen or acknowledged by the health professionals. Continuous support by professionals with a positive attitude was described as being of decisive importance for meaningful involvement. The theory's transferability is strengthened to the mental health care context. CONCLUSIONS Parents have a considerable need for knowledge that can enable them to choose how they should act (be) and what they should do, in order to help and support their child. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Since the patient, the family members and the professionals are mutually dependent, it is important to make use of each other's knowledge in a partnership to achieve a common caring strategy.
Modeling afterslip and aftershocks following the 1992 Landers earthquake

One way to probe the rheology of the lithosphere and fault zones is to analyze the temporal evolution of deformation following a large earthquake. In such a case, the lithosphere responds to a known stress change that can be assessed from earthquake slip models constrained from seismology and geodesy. Here, we model the postseismic response of a fault zone that is assumed to obey a rate-strengthening rheology, where the frictional stress varies as aσ ln(e), e being the deformation rate and aσ > 0 a rheological parameter. The model is simple enough that these parameters can be estimated by inversion of postseismic geodetic data. We apply this approach to the analysis of geodetic displacements following the M_w 7.3, 1992, Landers earthquake. The model adjusts well the measured displacements and implies aσ ≈ 0.47–0.53 MPa. In addition, we show that aftershocks and afterslip follow the same temporal evolution and that the spatiotemporal distribution of aftershocks is consistent with the idea that they are driven by reloading of the seismogenic zone resulting from frictional afterslip.
MABC: Power-Based Location Planning with a Modified ABC Algorithm for 5G Networks

The modernization of smart devices has emerged in exponential growth in data traffic for a high-capacity wireless network. 5G networks must be capable of handling the excessive stress associated with resource allocation methods for its successful deployment. We also need to take care of the problem of causing energy consumption during the dense deployment process. The dense deployment results in severe power consumption because of fulfilling the demands of the increasing traffic load accommodated by base stations. This paper proposes an improved Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm which uses the set of variables such as the transmission power and location of each base station (BS) to improve the accuracy of localization of a user equipment (UE) for the efficient energy consumption at BSes. To estimate the optimal configuration of BSes and reduce the power requirement of connected UEs, we enhanced the ABC algorithm, which is named a Modified ABC (MABC) algorithm, and compared it with the latest work on Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm (RCGA) and Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm. The proposed algorithm not only determines the optimal coverage of underutilized BSes but also optimizes the power utilization considering the green networks. The performance comparisons of the modified algorithms were conducted to show that the proposed approach has better effectiveness than the legacy algorithms, ABC, RCGA, and DE.
Treatment of Wastewater Contaminated with Nickel Using Khulays Activated Bentonite

This research project investigates the application of Khulays activated clay (bentonite) to remove nickel from wastewater. The removal characteristics of nickel ions from wastewater using Khulays activated bentonite were investigated under various operating variables like shaking time, solution pH, clay dosage and initial metal concentration. The results showed that the sorption of nickel ions on Saudi activated clay was relatively fast and the equilibrium was reached after 40 min. They also showed that increasing the initial nickel concentration decreased nickel removal percentage due to the saturation of clay with nickel ions. Furthermore, the adsorption of nickel increases from 70 to 100 % with an increase in solution pH from 2.0 to 9.0. The adsorption isotherm data were well fitted with both the linearized Langmuir and Freundlich models. Nickel adsorption onto Saudi activated bentonite was well represented by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.
The Noise-Sensitivity Phase Transition in Compressed Sensing

Consider the noisy underdetermined system of linear equations: y = Ax<sub>0</sub> + z, with A an n × N measurement matrix, n <; N, and z ~ N(0, σ<sup>2</sup>I) a Gaussian white noise. Both y and A are known, both x<sub>0</sub> and z are unknown, and we seek an approximation to x<sub>0</sub>. When x<sub>0</sub> has few nonzeros, useful approximations are often obtained by ℓ<sub>1</sub>-penalized ℓ<sub>2</sub> minimization, in which the reconstruction x̂<sup>1,λ</sup> solves min{||y - Ax||<sub>2</sub><sup>2</sup>/2 + λ||x||<sub>1</sub>}. Consider the reconstruction mean-squared error MSE = E|| x̂<sup>1,λ</sup> - x<sub>0</sub>||<sub>2</sub><sup>2</sup>/N, and define the ratio MSE/σ<sup>2</sup> as the noise sensitivity. Consider matrices A with i.i. d. Gaussian entries and a large-system limit in which n, N → ∞ with n/N → δ and k/n → ρ. We develop exact expressions for the asymptotic MSE of x̂<sup>1,λ</sup> , and evaluate its worst-case noise sensitivity over all types of k-sparse signals. The phase space 0 ≤ 8, ρ ≤ 1 is partitioned by the curve ρ = ρ<sub>MSE</sub>(δ) into two regions. Formal noise sensitivity is bounded throughout the region ρ = ρ<sub>MSE</sub>(δ) and is unbounded throughout the region ρ = ρ<sub>MSE</sub>(δ). The phase boundary ρ = ρ<sub>MSE</sub>(δ) is identical to the previously known phase transition curve for equivalence of ℓ<sub>1</sub> - ℓ<sub>0</sub> minimization in the k-sparse noiseless case. Hence, a single phase boundary describes the fundamental phase transitions both for the noise less and noisy cases. Extensive computational experiments validate these predictions, including the existence of game-theoretical structures underlying it (saddlepoints in the payoff, least-favorable signals and maximin penalization). Underlying our formalism is an approximate message passing soft thresholding algorithm (AMP) introduced earlier by the authors. Other papers by the authors detail expressions for the formal MSE of AMP and its close connection to ℓ<sub>1</sub>-penalized reconstruction. The focus of the present paper is on computing the minimax formal MSE within the class of sparse signals x<sup>0</sup>.
Cost‐effectiveness analysis of two caries prevention methods in the first permanent molar in children

BACKGROUND Evidence supports two methods for preventing dental caries lesions in children: pit and fissure sealants (PFS) and fluoride varnishes (FV). The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of these two strategies in preventing dental caries lesions on the occlusal surface of the first permanent molar in children. METHODS A Markov model was used to simulate the progression of dental caries on the occlusal surface of the first permanent molar in a hypothetical cohort of children over a 9-year period. Transition probabilities were extracted from the published literature and costs were calculated from a payer's perspective. Two scenarios were evaluated based on the probability of replacing a failed PFS. Sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the model. RESULTS Over the 9-year study period PFS were less expensive and more effective than FV in preventing occlusal dental caries lesions. For the base case scenario the probability of replacing a failed PFS was 100 percent and the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) for PFS was $156.87 per first episode of caries lesion averted. For the second scenario, the probability of replacing a failed PFS was lowered to 50 percent. Here, the ICER dropped to $113.00 per first episode of caries lesion averted and remained the dominant strategy. CONCLUSION PFS should be the preferred method for the prevention of dental caries lesion on the occlusal surface of the first permanent molar, especially in children who are at high risk and have barriers of access to dental care.