Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primary alveolar epithelial cell surface membrane microdomain function is required for Pneumocystis β-glucan-induced inflammatory responses

Intense lung inflammation characterizes respiratory failure associated with Pneumocystis pneumonia. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) elaborate inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in response to the Pneumocystis carinii cell wall constituent β-(1→3)-glucan (PCBG), and that these responses require lactosylceramide, a prominent glycosphingolipid constituent of certain cell membrane microdomains. The relevance of membrane microdomains, also termed plasma membrane lipid rafts, in cell signaling and macromolecule handling has been increasingly recognized in many biologic systems, but their role in P. carinii-induced inflammation is unknown. To investigate the mechanisms of microdomain-dependent P. carinii-induced inflammation, we challenged primary rat AECs with PCBG with or without pre-incubation with inhibitors of microdomain function. Glycosphingolipid and cholesterol rich microdomain inhibition resulted in significant attenuation of P. carinii-induced expression of TNF-α and the rodent C-X-C chemokine MIP-2, as well as their known inflammatory secondary signaling pathways. We have previously shown that protein kinase C (PKC) is activated by PCBG challenge and herein show that PKC localizes to AEC microdomains. We also demonstrate by conventional microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy and spectrophotofluorimetry that AECs internalize fluorescently-labeled PCBG by microdomain-mediated mechanisms, and that anti-microdomain pretreatments prevent internalization. Taken together, these data suggest an important role for AEC microdomain function in PCBG-induced inflammatory responses. This offers a potential novel target for therapeutics for a condition that continues to exert unacceptable morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised populations.
The touch of your lips: haptic information speeds up auditory speech processing

The human ability to follow speech gestures through the visual modality is a core component of speech perception. Remarkably, speech can be perceived not only by the ear and by the eye but also by the hand, with speech gestures felt from manual tactile contact with the speaker’s face. In the present study, early crossmodal interactions were investigated by comparing early auditory evoked potentials during auditory, audio-visual and audio-haptic speech perception in natural dyadic interactions between a listener and a speaker. Although participants were not experienced with audio-haptic speech perception, shortened latencies of auditory evoked potentials were observed in both audio-visual and audio-tactile modalities compared to the auditory modality. These results demonstrate early cross-modal interactions during face-to-face and hand-to-face speech perception and highlight a predictive role of visual and haptic information on auditory speech processing in dyadic interactions.
Predicting Student Retention from Behavior in an Online Orientation Course

As higher education institutions develop fully online course programs to provide better access for the non-traditional learner, there is increasing interest in identifying students who may be at risk of attrition and poor performance in these online course programs. In our study, we investigate the effectiveness of an online orientation course in improving student retention in an online college program. Using student activity data from the orientation course, Engage, we make use of machine learning methods to develop prediction models of whether students will be retained and continue to register for program-specific courses in the e Versity program. We then discuss the implications of our findings on improvements that may be made to the existing orientation course to improve student retention in the program
Flexible authentication of XML documents

XML is increasingly becoming the format of choice for information exchange, in critical areas such as government, finance, healthcare and law, where integrity is of the essence. As this trend grows, one can expect that documents (or collections thereof) may get quite large, and clients may wish to query for specific segments of these documents. In critical applications, clients must be assured that they are getting complete and correct answers to their queries. Existing methods for signing XML documents cannot be used to establish that an answer to a query is complete. A simple approach has a server processing queries and certifying answers by digitally signing them with an on-line private key; however, the server, and its on-line private key, would be vulnerable to external hacking and insider attacks. We propose a new approach to signing XML documents which allows untrusted servers to answer certain types of path queries and selection queries over XML documents without the need for trusted on-line signing keys. This approach enhances both the security and scalability of publishing information in XML format over the internet. In addition, it provides greater flexibility in authenticating parts of XML documents, in response to commercial or security policy considerations.
Increased Cortical Activity in Binge Drinkers during Working Memory Task: A Preliminary Assessment through a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background Cerebral dysfunction is a common feature of both chronic alcohol abusers and binge drinkers. Here, we aimed to study whether, at equated behavioral performance levels, binge drinkers exhibited increased neural activity while performing simple cognitive tasks. Methods Thirty-two participants (16 binge drinkers and 16 matched controls) were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an n-back working memory task. In the control zero-back (N0) condition, subjects were required to press a button with the right hand when the number “2″ was displayed. In the two-back (N2) condition, subjects had to press a button when the displayed number was identical to the number shown two trials before. Results fMRI analyses revealed higher bilateral activity in the pre-supplementary motor area in binge drinkers than matched controls, even though behavioral performances were similar. Moreover, binge drinkers showed specific positive correlations between the number of alcohol doses consumed per occasion and higher activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, as well as between the number of drinking occasions per week and higher activity in cerebellum, thalamus and insula while performing the N2 memory task. Conclusions Binge alcohol consumption leads to possible compensatory cerebral changes in binge drinkers that facilitate normal behavioral performance. These changes in cerebral responses may be considered as vulnerability factors for developing adult substance use disorders.
Efficiently Searching for Frustrated Cycles in MAP Inference

Dual decomposition provides a tractable framework for designing algorithms for finding the most probable (MAP) configuration in graphical models. However, for many real-world inference problems, the typical decomposition has a large integrality gap, due to frustrated cycles. One way to tighten the relaxation is to introduce additional constraints that explicitly enforce cycle consistency. Earlier work showed that cluster-pursuit algorithms, which iteratively introduce cycle and other higherorder consistency constraints, allows one to exactly solve many hard inference problems. However, these algorithms explicitly enumerate a candidate set of clusters, limiting them to triplets or other short cycles. We solve the search problem for cycle constraints, giving a nearly linear time algorithm for finding the most frustrated cycle of arbitrary length. We show how to use this search algorithm together with the dual decomposition framework and clusterpursuit. The new algorithm exactly solves MAP inference problems arising from relational classification and stereo vision.
Explaining the High-Energy Spectral Component in GRB 941017

The gamma-ray burst (GRB) of 1994 October 17 (GRB 941017) showed a distinct high-energy spectral component extending from ≲a few to ≳200 MeV, in addition to the typical GRB emission, which peaked at ≲a few hundred keV. The high-energy component carried at least ~3 times more energy than the lower energy component. It displayed an almost constant flux with a rather hard spectrum (Fν ∝ ν-α with α ~ 0) from ≲20 s into the burst up to ~200 s, while the duration of the GRB, where 90% of the energy in the lower energy component was emitted, was only 77 s. Such a high-energy component was seen in only one out of ~30 GRBs in which a similar component could have been detected and thus appears to be quite rare. We examine possible explanations for this high-energy spectral component and find that most models fail. The only emission region that provides the right temporal behavior is the reverse shock that goes into the GRB ejecta as it is decelerated by the ambient medium, or possibly the very early forward shock while the reverse shock is still going on. The best candidate for the emission mechanism is synchrotron self-Compton emission from the reverse shock. Even in this model the most natural spectral slope is only marginally consistent with the observed value, and some degree of fine-tuning is required in order to improve the agreement. This might suggest that an additional or alternative emission mechanism is at work here. A prediction of this interpretation is that such a high-energy component should be accompanied by a bright optical transient, similar to the one observed in GRB 990123.
Pairwise-slopes statistics for testing curvature ∗

This paper considers the problem of testing curvature (e.g., linearity, concavity, convexity) in a nonparametric regression model. We first introduce descriptive measures of curvature based on pairwise slopes in the data. These pairwise-slopes statistics (and their asymptotic standard errors) do not require bandwidth choice, making them easy to compute. Tests of curvature (e.g., linearity, concavity, convexity) based on these statistics are analogous to the test of independence based on the rank correlation statistic (“tau”) of Kendall (1938). Since these (global) tests are not consistent against general alternatives, we propose consistent versions of the curvature tests using a discretized process of localized versions of the pairwise-slopes statistics. Although these tests require bandwidth choice, they are easy to implement and are robust to non-normal and heteroskedastic disturbances. Monte Carlo simulations investigate the small-sample properties of the pairwise-slopes statistics and the associated tests. An empirical application to earnings equations is considered. Modified versions of the pairwise-slopes statistics are developed for other models of interest, including a semilinear regression model and a nonparametric fixed-effects model.
Tuning the Transcriptional Response to Hypoxia by Inhibiting Hypoxia-inducible Factor (HIF) Prolyl and Asparaginyl Hydroxylases*

The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) system orchestrates cellular responses to hypoxia in animals. HIF is an α/β-heterodimeric transcription factor that regulates the expression of hundreds of genes in a tissue context-dependent manner. The major hypoxia-sensing component of the HIF system involves oxygen-dependent catalysis by the HIF hydroxylases; in humans there are three HIF prolyl hydroxylases (PHD1–3) and an asparaginyl hydroxylase (factor-inhibiting HIF (FIH)). PHD catalysis regulates HIFα levels, and FIH catalysis regulates HIF activity. How differences in HIFα hydroxylation status relate to variations in the induction of specific HIF target gene transcription is unknown. We report studies using small molecule HIF hydroxylase inhibitors that investigate the extent to which HIF target gene expression is induced by PHD or FIH inhibition. The results reveal substantial differences in the role of prolyl and asparaginyl hydroxylation in regulating hypoxia-responsive genes in cells. PHD inhibitors with different structural scaffolds behave similarly. Under the tested conditions, a broad-spectrum 2-oxoglutarate dioxygenase inhibitor is a better mimic of the overall transcriptional response to hypoxia than the selective PHD inhibitors, consistent with an important role for FIH in the hypoxic transcriptional response. Indeed, combined application of selective PHD and FIH inhibitors resulted in the transcriptional induction of a subset of genes not fully responsive to PHD inhibition alone. Thus, for the therapeutic regulation of HIF target genes, it is important to consider both PHD and FIH activity, and in the case of some sets of target genes, simultaneous inhibition of the PHDs and FIH catalysis may be preferable.
Broader Visual Orientation Tuning in Patients with Schizophrenia

Reduced gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in cerebral cortex are thought to contribute to information processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia (SZ), and we have previously reported lower in vivo GABA levels in the visual cortex of patients with SZ. GABA-mediated inhibition plays a role in sharpening orientation tuning of visual cortical neurons. Therefore, we predicted that tuning for visual stimulus orientation would be wider in SZ. We measured orientation tuning with a psychophysical procedure in which subjects performed a target detection task of a low-contrast oriented grating, following adaptation to a high-contrast grating. Contrast detection thresholds were determined for a range of adapter–target orientation offsets. For both SZ and healthy controls, contrast thresholds decreased as orientation offset increased, suggesting that this tuning curve reflects the selectivity of visual cortical neurons for stimulus orientation. After accounting for generalized deficits in task performance in SZ, there was no difference between patients and controls for detection of target stimuli having either the same orientation as the adapter or orientations far from the adapter. However, patients’ thresholds were significantly higher for intermediate adapter–target offsets. In addition, the mean width parameter of a Gaussian fit to the psychophysical orientation tuning curves was significantly larger for the patient group. We also present preliminary data relating visual cortical GABA levels, as measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and orientation tuning width. These results suggest that our finding of broader orientation tuning in SZ may be due to diminished visual cortical GABA levels.
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the scalp: case report and review of the literature.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are uncommon malignant spindle cell tumors that account for 5% to 10% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Approximately 50% of MPNSTs arise from neurofibromas with or without neurofibromatosis type 1, whereas most of the remainder develop sporadically from large and medium-sized nerve trunks in deep anatomic locations on the proximal extremities or the trunk. Rarely, MPNSTs arise after radiation treatment. The tumor is considered to be derived from components of the nerve sheath such as perineural fibroblasts or Schwann cells. MPNSTs are highly aggressive with rapid invasive growth and early hematogenous dissemination. Even after radical surgical treatment MPNSTs have a dismal prognosis, with reported 5-year survival rates of less than 50%.
Effect of using Femi-band acupressure on primary dysmenorrhea: Randomized controlled trial

Introduction and aim : Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common gynecological disorders. It is affects more than half of menstruating women. The study aim was to investigate the effect of using Femi-band acupressure on primary dysmenorrhea. Methods : Study Design: Randomized controlled trial design was utilized in this study. Study subjects: A purposive sample was used to collect one hundred and fifty students who were randomly divided into two groups an intervention group: consisted of 75 students who applied the acupressure Femi-bands to both legs three times daily for first three days of menstruation with application to each leg for 1 minute. The control group: consisted of 75 students who applied a placebo band three times daily for first three days of menstruation to each leg for 1 minute. Tools: Five tools were be used for data collection: An interviewing schedule, Visual Analogue Scale, Femi-band, Follow up chart and Satisfaction likert scale. Results : In the intervention group, the severity of pain decreased from 8.27 to 2.92 following intervention, the severity of pain decreased after using the Femi-band (immediately, 30 min, one hour, and 2 hours) at 1st, 2ed, and 3rd month in the intervention group. When the severity of pain was analyzed at each time period, significant differences were observed (immediately, 30 min, one hour, and 2 hours) after applying the band at 1st, 2ed, and 3rd month. Conclusions : Intervention group had significant reduction in the severity of dysmenorrhea after using the Femi-band acupressure. Recommendation: Encouraging the use of Femi-band acupressure during the first days of menstruation to reduce menstrual pain.
Automatically Bridging the Semantic Gap using C Interpreter

describe min-c, a C interpreter that solves the generalized problem of the " semantic gap ". The semantic gap exists in virtual machine introspection (VMI) and in volatile memory forensics because there is not a native hardware environment. For example, a pointer in a data structure in a process cannot be used without translation to a physical address, a function of the native hardware and operating system. The usual solution is to build an OS interface library to provide the necessary translations. This is brittle as it must constantly track OS versions. Min-c solves this problem by enabling automatic generation of the OS interface library using native OS code itself, or debugging symbols when source is not available. We describe the design of min-c and our method for automatically building the semantic interface database required for type interpretation for both Linux and Windows OSs.
Epidemiologic study of migraine symptoms in young women

Information about headache was collected from a nonclinical sample of 451 women, aged 15 to 44, in 12 major U.S. cities. Questions were asked in regard to the presence in the past year of headache, and of the following characteristic symptoms of migraine: unilateral location, throbbing quality, visual aura, vomiting, and severity sufficient to affect daily activities. Twenty-three percent of the women had headaches with two or more of these characteristics. The frequency of such symptoms was significantly greater in women who smoked or formerly had smoked cigarettes, in women with lower incomes and poor education, and in women with a history of hypertension, stomach ulcer, fainting, and a variety of emotional complaints. The frequency of reported symptoms of migraine did not vary significantly according to age, race, marital status, use of oral contraceptives, or number of living children. These findings do not support the commonly held clinical impression that migraine is uncommon among blacks or among the poorly educated.
Water transport through porous media and in flow channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been known as a promising power source for different applications such as automotive, residential and stationary. During the operation of a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen is oxidized in anode and oxygen is reduced in the cathode to produce the intended power. Water and heat are inevitable byproducts of these reactions. The water produced in the cathode should be properly removed from inside the cell. Otherwise, it may block the path of reactants passing through the gas channels and/or gas diffusion layer (GDL). This deteriorates the performance of the cell and eventually can cease the operation of the cell. Water transport in PEM fuel cell has been the subject of this PhD study. Water transport on the surface of the GDL, through the gas flow channels, and through GDL has been studied in details. For water transport on the surface of the GDL, droplet detachment has been measured for different GDL conditions and for anode and cathode gas flow channels. Water transport through gas flow channels has been investigated by measuring the two-phase flow pressure drop along the gas flow channels. As accumulated liquid water within gas flow channels resists the gas flow, the pressure drop increases along the flow channels. The two-phase flow pressure drop can reveal useful information about the amount of liquid water accumulated within gas flow channels. Liquid water transport though GDL has also been investigated by measuring the liquid water breakthrough pressure for the region between the capillary fingering and the stable displacement on the drainage phase diagram. The breakthrough pressure has been measured for different variables such as GDL thickness, PTFE/Nafion content within the GDL, GDL compression, the inclusion of a micro-porous layer (MPL), and different water flow rates through the GDL. Prior to all these studies, GDL microstructural properties have been studied. GDL mi-
Daerah Bahaya Banjir Di Sub Daerah Aliran Sungai Sepauk Dan Tempunak, Kabupaten Sintang, Provinsi Kalimantan Barat (Flood Hazard in Sepauk and Tempunak Sub Watersheds, Sintang Regency, West Kalimantan Province)

Flood-prone areas mapping is often constrained by limited data availability at the site level. A q uick assessment of sub watershed degradation method can be used to identify the degradation level of a sub watershed includes the flood hazard areas. This method is very easy to be applied at a site level using Geographic Information System (GIS), although it has minimum data. The aim of this study was to analyze the level of flood hazard in Sepauk and Tempunak Sub Watershed s , Sintang Regency , West Kalimantan Province. The required data were DEM/ SRTM (Digital Elevation Model/ Shuttle Radar Topography Mission), daily rainfall, and land cover. Quick assessment of sub watershed degradation method was applied to classify the flood-prone level of the study areas. The results showed that most of the study areas were categorized as high level of flood hazard (78% for Sepauk and 56% for Tempunak). The land cover s of those areas were dominated by mixed dryland agriculture, bare land, and settlements. In addition, high level of flood hazard areas in Sepauk S ub W atershed w as also affected by the existence of mining and dryland agriculture areas. Since the land cover change is a dynamic process, the flood hazard areas mapping should also be adjusted continuously to minimize the flood impact.
Distinct RNA Elements Confer Specificity to Flavivirus RNA Cap Methylation Events

ABSTRACT The 5′ end of the flavivirus plus-sense RNA genome contains a type 1 cap (m7GpppAmG), followed by a conserved stem-loop structure. We report that nonstructural protein 5 (NS5) from four serocomplexes of flaviviruses specifically methylates the cap through recognition of the 5′ terminus of viral RNA. Distinct RNA elements are required for the methylations at guanine N-7 on the cap and ribose 2′-OH on the first transcribed nucleotide. In a West Nile virus (WNV) model, N-7 cap methylation requires specific nucleotides at the second and third positions and a 5′ stem-loop structure; in contrast, 2′-OH ribose methylation requires specific nucleotides at the first and second positions, with a minimum 5′ viral RNA of 20 nucleotides. The cap analogues GpppA and m7GpppA are not active substrates for WNV methytransferase. Footprinting experiments using Gppp- and m7Gppp-terminated RNAs suggest that the 5′ termini of RNA substrates interact with NS5 during the sequential methylation reactions. Cap methylations could be inhibited by an antisense oligomer targeting the first 20 nucleotides of WNV genome. The viral RNA-specific cap methylation suggests methyltransferase as a novel target for flavivirus drug discovery.