Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stat 6-Dependent Induction of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells After Physical Injury Regulates Nitric Oxide Response to Endotoxin

Objective:To delineate the role of T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokines in the induction of trauma induced myeloid suppressor cells (TIMSC) and the regulation of nitric oxide production. Background:Trauma induces myeloid cells that express CD11b+/Gr1+ and arginase 1 and exhibit an immune suppressing activity. This article explores the mechanisms that induce TIMSC and the effects on nitric oxide production in response to endotoxin. Methods:TIMSC were studied in response to Th2 cytokines and a subsequent challenge to endotoxin. The role of Th2 cytokines was studied in STAT6−/− mice. Accumulation of TIMSC in spleens was studied using flow cytometry and immunhistochemistry. Plasma was recovered to measure accumulation of nitric oxide metabolites. Results:TIMSC accumulated in the spleen of injured mice and were particularly sensitive to IL-4 and IL-13 with large inductions of arginase activity. Significant blunting in both the accumulation of TIMSC in the spleen and induction of arginase 1 was observed in STAT6−/− mice after physical injury. Accumulation of nitric oxide metabolites to endotoxin was observed in STAT6−/− mice. Conclusion:This study shows that induction of CD11b+/Gr1+ cells after physical injury play an essential role in the regulation of nitric oxide production after a septic challenge. The accumulation and induction of arginase 1 in TIMSC is Th2 cytokine dependent. To our knowledge, the role of TIMSC in the regulation of nitric oxide is a novel finding. This observation adds to the possibility that TIMSC could play an important role in immunosuppression observed after physical injury.
[Association between HPV infection and HLA-DQB1 alleles polymorphism in the cervical carcinogenesis in Uyghur women in southern Xinjiang].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between HPV infection and HLA-DQB1 alleles polymorphism in the cervical carcinogenesis in Uyghur women in southern Xinjiang. METHODS Twenty-one subtypes of HPV and the 5 alleles of HLA-DQB1 were detected from cervical tissues of 190 cervical cancer cases and 190 normal subjects by flow-through hybridization and gene chip (HybriMax) assay and polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotide technique (PCR-SSO). RESULTS (1) The positive rate of HPV in cervical cancer and control groups were 70.0% and 8.9%, respectively. HPV16 was the most common type in HPV positive cervical cancer patients with a rate of 64.7%, followed by HPV18 (2.6%), HPV68 (2.1%), HPV45 (1.6%), HPV58 (1.6%), HPV39 (1.6%), HPV31 (1.1%), HPV56 (1.1%), HPV59 (0.5%), HPV53 (0.5%) and HPV6 (0.5%), respectively. The positive rates of HPV and HPV16 in the cervical cancer group were significantly higher than that in the control group. (2) The frequency of HLA-DQB1*03 was significantly lower than that in the control group (OR = 0.683, 95%CI = 0.505 - 0.923). The frequency of other HLA alleles had no significant differences between the cervical cancer group and the control group. (3) In the cervical cancer group, the frequency of HLA-DQB1*06 in both HPV positive and HPV16 positive cases were significantly higher than that in both the HPV and HPV16 negative cases. CONCLUSION HPV16 is the most common type in both the cervical cancer and control groups. It appears that HLA-DQB1*03 may be a protective gene in the cervical carcinogenesis in southern Xinjiang Uyghur women, and the HLA-DQB1*06 is a susceptibility gene to HPV/HPV16 infection in Uyghur women. The study of HLA alleles in the cervical carcinogenesis in Uyghur women may play an important role in the intervention research of cervical cancer.
Treatment options for diabetic foot osteomyelitis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Diabetic foot osteomyelitis therapeutical options are based on antibiotic therapy and surgical resection of the infected bone(s). Surgical and medical approaches of patients suffering from a diabetic foot osteomyelitis do not oppose but are complementary and need to be discussed as a tailored manner. Areas covered: The aim of the present article is to discuss data issued from the most recent guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot on the management of the diabetic foot infection and from a search in the current literature using the terms diabetic foot osteomyelitis and treatment/therapy/therapeutical in both PubMed and Medline, restricted to the last five years. Expert opinion: Surgical removal of the entire infected bone(s) has been considered in the past as the standard treatment but medical approach of these patients has now proven efficacy in selected situations. The current emergence of bacteria, especially among Gram negative rods, resistant to almost all the available antibiotics gradually augments the complexity of the management of these patients and is likely to decrease the place of the medical approach and to worsen the outcome of these infections in the next future.
Estimating parameters of a random regression test day model for first three lactation milk production traits using the covariance function approach

Estimating (co)variance parameters of a random regression model for test day yields of dairy cattle has been proven to be a challenging task due to the complexity of (co)variance structure of the test day yields. Two common approaches have been practised so far for the estimation of parameters: direct random regression model approach and indirect covariance functions (CF) approach. Animal genetic and permanent environmental effects are modelled in the direct approach with a lactation curve function and (co)variance components of random regression coefficients (RRC) for both effects are estimated jointly with other effects in the model. By contrast, in the indirect CF approach (co)variance parameters of genetic and residual effects are estimated using a multivariate model that treats test day yields of different lactation stages as genetically distinct traits, and then CF are fitted to the estimated (co)variance matrices from the first step to obtain (co)variances of RRC for additive genetic as well as permanent environmental effects. The objective of this study was to estimate (co)variance components of RRC of a random regression test day model for first three lactation test day yields via the CF approach.
Risks and Benefits of Preemptive Second Kidney Transplantation

Background Information to guide the timing of a second kidney transplantation is limited. Methods We compared outcomes of 3509 preemptive and 14,075 nonpreemptive second kidney transplant recipients in the U.S. Renal Data System between 1995 and 2007. Results Preemptive recipients had less acute rejection (12% vs. 16%; P<0.0001) and delayed graft function (8% vs. 23%; P<0.0001). Preemptive transplantation was associated with a lower multivariate adjusted risk of allograft failure from any cause including death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.81–0.96) and death with a functioning graft (HR [95% CI], 0.76 [0.66–0.87]) but a similar risk of death-censored graft loss (HR [95% CI], 0.98 [0.88–1.08]). The benefits of preemptive transplantation were evident in all patients groups with first transplant survival equal to or more than 1 year; however, a 34% increased risk of death-censored graft loss was observed in preemptive recipients when first transplant survival was less than 1 year. Conclusions Benefits and risks of preemptive transplantation vary between primary and second transplant recipients. Benefits in second transplant recipients are primarily due to decreased death with a functioning graft, with no difference in death-censored graft survival. Preemptive transplantation was beneficial when first transplant survival was equal to or more than 1 year but associated with increased risk when graft survival was less than 1 year.
STAIR MATRICES AND THEIR GENERALIZATIONS WITH APPLICATIONS TO ITERATIVE METHODS II: ITERATION ARITHMETIC AND PRECONDITIONINGS

Iteration arithmetic is formally introduced based on iteration multiplication and αaddition which is a special multisplitting. This part focuses on construction of convergent splittings and approximate inverses for Hermitian positive definite matrices by applying stair matrices, their generalizations and iteration arithmetic. Analysis of the splittings and the approximate inverses is also presented. Application of some of the results extends the classical convergence result of the SSOR method. In particular, multiplication symmetrization and addition symmetrization are introduced, which produce Hermitian positive definite approximations for the inverse of an Hermitian positive definite matrix. Furthermore, preconditioning average is introduced to improve some preconditioning methods. Numerical results show a significant improvement of preconditioning average to the approximate inverse preconditionings if an anisotropic elliptic equation is solved.
Feedback compensation of the in-domain attenuation of inputs in diffusion processes

This paper addresses the problem of compensating for the in-domain attenuation of inputs for a class of process control applications. Specific examples include the challenge of maintaining uniform temperatures or through-cure during thick-film radiative drying and curing processes in the face of the effective input's variation with film depth due to the so-called Beer-Lambert effect. These distributed parameter control problems are modeled with parabolic PDEs for the diffusion processes along with an in-domain input with a spatial attenuation function. The approach presented in this paper involves transforming the original model to an equivalent boundary input problem to which existing output feedback backstepping boundary control design methods can be applied. The resulting compensation scheme includes a mechanism for tuning the closed-loop performance. The performance of this scheme is compared with a controller designed via modal approximation of the PDE.
Linking Theoretical Decision-making Mechanisms in the Simon Task with Electrophysiological Data: A Model-based Neuroscience Study in Humans

A current challenge for decision-making research is in extending models of simple decisions to more complex and ecological choice situations. Conflict tasks (e.g., Simon, Stroop, Eriksen flanker) have been the focus of much interest, because they provide a decision-making context representative of everyday life experiences. Modeling efforts have led to an elaborated drift diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC), which implements a superimposition of automatic and controlled decision activations. The DMC has proven to capture the diversity of behavioral conflict effects across various task contexts. This study combined DMC predictions with EEG and EMG measurements to test a set of linking propositions that specify the relationship between theoretical decision-making mechanisms involved in the Simon task and brain activity. Our results are consistent with a representation of the superimposed decision variable in the primary motor cortices. The decision variable was also observed in the EMG activity of response agonist muscles. These findings provide new insight into the neurophysiology of human decision-making. In return, they provide support for the DMC model framework.
Secret interest groups (SIGs) in social networks with an implementation on Facebook

In this paper we present the first framework that allows the creation of Secret Interest Groups (SIGs) in Online Social Networks; SIGs are self managed groups formed outside of the social network, around secret, sensitive or private topics. Members exchange credentials that can be used inside the social network to authenticate upon friendship requests or to secure user-generated content. To this end we present a set of cryptographic algorithms leveraging on well-studied primitives, and we describe a java implementation of the framework for Facebook.
Men, Masculinities, and the Demise of a State

This article explains why Connell’s classification of masculinities is inadequate for the analysis of clear crisis situations. Based on a study in a small town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the author found two ways in which men renegotiated their masculinities after the war broke out and closure of a sugarcane factory caused 3,000 people to lose their jobs. Some men adopted a victim identity; they placed the blame of their situation outside themselves, and became idle, aggressive, suspicious toward others and nonself-reflective. Other men renegotiated their masculinities and accepted a lower status within the family and society. The latter renegotiation was more conducive for the survival of individuals and families; it decreased sexual and gender-based violence and increased gender equality and general levels of cooperative behavior. Examining men in terms of “victimized” and “effaced” masculinities increases our understanding of how men respond differently to emasculation and it can also inform humanitarian and developmental responses.
Molecular Evolution and Spatial Transmission of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus Based on Complete Genome Sequences

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) was a novel tick-borne bunyavirus that caused hemorrhagic fever with a high fatality rate in East Asia. In this study we analyzed the complete genome sequences of 122 SFTSV strains to determine the phylogeny, evolution and reassortment of the virus. We revealed that the evolutionary rate of three genome segments were different, with highest in the S segment and lowest in the L segment. The SFTSV strains were phylogenetically classified into 5 lineages (A, B, C, D and E) with each genome segment. SFTSV strains from China were classified in all 5 lineages, strains from South Korea were classified into 3 lineages (A, D, and E), and all strains from Japan were classified in only linage E. Using the average evolutionary rate of the three genome segments, we found that the extant SFTSV originated 20–87 years ago in the Dabie Mountain area in central China. The viruses were then transmitted to other areas of China, Japan and South Korea. We also found that six SFTSV strains were reassortants. Selection pressure analysis suggested that SFTSV was under purifying selection according to the four genes (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, glycoprotein, nucleocapsid protein, non-structural protein), and two sites (37, 1033) of glycoproteins were identified as being under strong positive selection. We concluded that SFTSV originated in central China and spread to other places recently and the virus was under purifying selection with high frequency of reassortment.
Older Adults Filter Irrelevant Information During Metaphor Comprehension

In general, older adults are less likely than younger adults to inhibit irrelevant information when reading literal text (Hasher & Zacks, 1988). Are older adults also less likely to inhibit irrelevant information during metaphor comprehension? Young (mean age 19.2 years) and older adults (mean age 73.6 years) participated in a timed property-verification task. Although the older adults were generally slower than the younger, they displayed the same pattern of data. After reading metaphors, both groups verified metaphor-relevant properties more quickly after a metaphor prime than after a literal control prime, whereas metaphor-irrelevant properties were responded to more slowly after metaphor primes, relative to the controls. These results suggest that older adults, like younger ones, enhance metaphor-relevant properties and filter out metaphor-irrelevant properties during metaphor comprehension. Older adults' metaphor comprehension processes thus seem intact. Mechanisms for filtering out metaphor-irrelevant information are considered.
Nek2 siRNA therapy using a portal venous port–catheter system for liver metastasis in pancreatic cancer

Nek2 (NIMA‐related kinase 2) is a serine‐threonine kinase and human homolog of the mitotic regulator NIMA of Aspergillus nidulan. We reported the efficiency of Nek2 siRNA in several cancer xenograft models using cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat due to its rapid progression and resistance to chemotherapy. Novel treatments are urgently required to improve survival in pancreatic cancer, and siRNA are a promising therapeutic option. However, finding an in vivo drug delivery system of siRNA remains a major problem for clinical application. In this study, the overexpression of Nek2 was identified in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Nek2 siRNA inhibited tumor growth in a subcutaneous xenograft mouse model of pancreatic cancer, prolonged the survival time in an intraperitoneal xenograft mouse model and efficiently prevented the progression of liver metastasis using a portal venous port–catheter system. Taken together, Nek2 is an effective therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer. An adequate delivery system is considered important in treating advanced pancreatic cancer, such as peritoneal dissemination and liver metastasis. Further investigations are required on the safety and side effects of the portal venous port–catheter system. We hope that Nek2 siRNA will be a novel therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis and peritoneal dissemination.
Nanopatterning reveals an ECM area threshold for focal adhesion assembly and force transmission that is regulated by integrin activation and cytoskeleton tension

Summary Integrin-based focal adhesions (FA) transmit anchorage and traction forces between the cell and the extracellular matrix (ECM). To gain further insight into the physical parameters of the ECM that control FA assembly and force transduction in non-migrating cells, we used fibronectin (FN) nanopatterning within a cell adhesion-resistant background to establish the threshold area of ECM ligand required for stable FA assembly and force transduction. Integrin–FN clustering and adhesive force were strongly modulated by the geometry of the nanoscale adhesive area. Individual nanoisland area, not the number of nanoislands or total adhesive area, controlled integrin–FN clustering and adhesion strength. Importantly, below an area threshold (0.11 µm2), very few integrin–FN clusters and negligible adhesive forces were generated. We then asked whether this adhesive area threshold could be modulated by intracellular pathways known to influence either adhesive force, cytoskeletal tension, or the structural link between the two. Expression of talin- or vinculin-head domains that increase integrin activation or clustering overcame this nanolimit for stable integrin–FN clustering and increased adhesive force. Inhibition of myosin contractility in cells expressing a vinculin mutant that enhances cytoskeleton–integrin coupling also restored integrin–FN clustering below the nanolimit. We conclude that the minimum area of integrin–FN clusters required for stable assembly of nanoscale FA and adhesive force transduction is not a constant; rather it has a dynamic threshold that results from an equilibrium between pathways controlling adhesive force, cytoskeletal tension, and the structural linkage that transmits these forces, allowing the balance to be tipped by factors that regulate these mechanical parameters.
Decreased Global Network Efficiency in Young Male Smoker: An EEG Study during the Resting State

Previous electroencephalogram (EEG) studies revealed reduced spectral power during the resting state in smokers. However, few studies investigated the changes of global brain networks during the resting state in young smokers by EEG. In the present study, we used minimum spanning tree (MST) to assess the differences of global network efficiency between young smoker (n = 20) and nonsmokers (n = 20). Compared with healthy nonsmokers, young smokers showed decreased leaf fraction, kappa value, increased diameter and eccentricity value in alpha band (r = 0.574, p = 0.008), which suggested the global network efficiency was decreased in young smokers. We also found positive correlation between leaf fraction and onset time of smoking in smokers. These results provided more scientific evidence of the abnormal neural oscillations of young smokers and improved our understanding of smoking addiction.
A Preliminary Analysis of Network Outages During Hurricane

This document describes our analysis of Internet outages during the October 2012 Hurricane Sandy. We assess network reliability by pinging a sample of networks and observing those that respond and then stop responding. While there are always occasional network outages, we see that the outage rate in U.S. networks doubled when the hurricane made landfall, then took about four days to recover. We confirm that this increase was due to outages in New York and New Jersey.
Stability of high-mass molecular libraries: the role of the oligoporphyrin core

Molecular beam techniques are a key to many experiments in physical chemistry and quantum optics. In particular, advanced matter-wave experiments with high-mass molecules profit from the availability of slow, neutral and mass-selected molecular beams that are sufficiently stable to remain intact during laser heating and photoionization mass spectrometry. We present experiments on the photostability with molecular libraries of tailored oligoporphyrins with masses up to 25 000 Da. We compare two fluoroalkylsulfanyl-functionalized libraries based on two different molecular cores that offer the same number of anchor points for functionalization but differ in their geometry and electronic properties. A pentaporphyrin core stabilizes a library of chemically well-defined molecules with more than 1600 atoms. They can be neutrally desorbed with velocities as low as 20 m/s and efficiently analyzed in photoionization mass spectrometry. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Effect of Psychological Climate for Innovation on Salespeople’s Creativity and Turnover Intention

Psychological climate for innovation (PCI) has received little attention in sales research, although psychological climate as a general construct has been studied extensively in social psychology. This study examines two outcomes of PCI in the sales context: salespeople’s creativity and voluntary turnover intention (VTI). We conceptualize and test a partial mediating mechanism composed of learning orientation and job satisfaction. Data collected from a sample of business-to-business salespeople from multiple companies in the northeast United States provide general support for the model. Overall, PCI is found to enhance sales creativity and reduce VTI. It positively affects salespeople’s learning orientation and job satisfaction, and learning orientation further enhances job satisfaction and sales creativity. However, job satisfaction actually reduces creativity. While PCI positively influences creativity through learning orientation, it exerts a negative effect through job satisfaction. Finally, we find that PCI reduces VTI both directly and indirectly through its positive effects on learning orientation and job satisfaction. The results offer insights and challenges for sales managers on how to retain a learning and creative sales force in an innovative work environment.
“Do You Know Your Real Parents?” and Other Adoption Microaggressions

ABSTRACT Myths, fairy tales, films, books, and everyday communication contain images and stories of orphans and adoptees that convey societal discomfort and judgment about adoption (i.e., adoption stigma). In this article, I apply the microaggression model to adoption-related experiences using the literature and theory on adoption stigma. Definitions for adoption-related microaggressions (microassaults, microinvalidations, and microinsults) and a fourth type of microaggression called microfictions (i.e., shared and hidden narratives that contribute to and define the secrecy in adoption) are introduced. Thirteen themes for adoption microaggressions and examples for each are proposed.