Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunomodulation of Skin Cytokine Secretion by House Dust Mite Extracts

Background: Skin contact with house dust mites may contribute to atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases. We sought to determine if molecules from house dust mites could influence the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines from epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts grown in a human skin equivalent (HSE) model. Methods: HSEs consisting of an epidermis of keratinocytes with stratum corneum over a dermis of fibroblasts in a collagen matrix were challenged with Dermatophagoides farinae, D. pteronyssinus and Euroglyphus maynei mite extracts. Results: HSEs secreted interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-6, IL-8, cutaneous T cell-attracting chemokine, transforming growth factor-α, granulocyte/macrophage and macrophage colony-stimulating factors and vascular endothelial cell growth factor in response to at least 1 mite extract. Extracts of different mite species stimulated HSEs to release different cytokines. Therefore, extracts of different species contained different molecules or different concentrations of similar molecules. The cytokine release profiles of cells in the HSEs were not the same as for monocultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Conclusions: Molecules from house dust mites are capable of inducing the release of multiple proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines from epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts. Avoiding skin contact with house dust mites would reduce the possibility of mite-induced inflammation in the skin. Therefore, measures to reduce contact with mite molecules such as frequent vacuuming of upholstered furniture and carpets and laundering of clothing and bedding to remove mite molecules and allergens could reduce skin contact with mite molecules and diminish exacerbations of skin inflammation in patients with atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases.
INTEGRATED BROWNIAN MOTION, CONDITIONED TO BE POSITIVE

We study the two-dimensional process of integrated Brownian motion and Brownian motion, where integrated Brownian motion is conditioned to be positive. The transition density of this process is derived from the asymptotic behavior of hitting times of the unconditioned process. Explicit expressions for the transition density in terms of confluent hypergeometric functions are derived, and it is shown how our results on the hitting time distributions imply previous results of Isozaki-Watanabe and Goldman. The conditioned process is characterized by a system of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) for which we prove an existence and unicity result. Some sample path properties are derived from the SDEs and it is shown that $t \to t^{9/10}$ is a “critical curve” for the conditioned process in the sense that the expected time that the integral part of the conditioned process spends below any curve $t \to t^{\alpha}$ is finite for $\alpha < 9 /10$ and infinite for $\alpha \geq 9/10$.
Local Grayvalue Invariants for Image Retrieval

This paper addresses the problem of retrieving images from large image databases. The method is based on local grayvalue invariants which are computed at automatically detected interest points. A voting algorithm and semilocal constraints make retrieval possible. Indexing allows for efficient retrieval from a database of more than 1,000 images. Experimental results show correct retrieval in the case of partial visibility, similarity transformations, extraneous features, and small perspective deformations.
Cross-workplace perspectives: relating studies from hospitals to an oil and gas workplace

This discussion paper highlights how two apparently contrasting professions - an oil and gas refinery operator and a hospital nurse - share similar properties in how they collaborate, communicate and use artifacts. We relate literature on the nursing and hospital contexts with observations and data from our own workplace study at a refinery in Norway. In doing so, we seek to provide an introduction to a context that is not often encountered in CSCW or CHI literature, through the lens of the more familiar hospital setting.
Validation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Versus Mini-Mental State Examination Against Hypertension and Hypertensive Arteriopathy After Transient Ischemic Attack or Minor Stroke

Background and Purpose— Lack of reduced cognitive impairment with blood pressure (BP) lowering in trials may reflect use of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), which is insensitive to mild cognitive impairment after cerebrovascular events compared with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. We determined relationships between impairment on MMSE versus Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) with the major physiological determinant of vascular cognitive impairment: hypertension and hypertensive arteriopathy. Methods— Cognitive impairment in consecutive patients 6 months after transient ischemic attack or minor stroke was defined as significant, mild, or none (MMSE<23, 23–26, ≥27; MoCA<20, 20–24, ≥25) and related to 20 premorbid systolic BP readings, home BP measurement (3 measurements, 3×daily for 1 month), and hypertensive arteriopathy (creatinine, stroke versus transient ischemic attack, leukoaraiosis) by ordinal regression. Results— Of 463 patients, 45% versus 28% had at least mild cognitive impairment on the MoCA versus MMSE (P<0.001). Hypertensive arteriopathy was more strongly associated with cognitive impairment on the MoCA than MMSE (creatinine: odds ratio=3.99; 95% confidence interval, 2.06–7.73 versus 2.16, 1.08–4.33; event: 1.53, 1.06–2.19 versus 1.23, 0.81–1.85; leukoaraiosis: 2.09, 1.42–3.06 versus 1.34, 0.87–2.07). Premorbid and home BP measurement systolic BP were more strongly associated with impairment on vascular subdomains of the MoCA than MMSE (odds ratio/10 mm Hg: visuospatial 1.29 versus 1.05; attention 1.18 versus 1.07; language 1.22 versus 0.91; naming 1.07 versus 0.86). Conclusions— The stronger relationship between impairment on the MoCA with hypertensive arteriopathy, independent of age, indicates a greater sensitivity for vascular-origin cognitive impairment. Use of MoCA should improve sensitivity for cognitive impairment and treatment effects in future studies.
Warmer Weather Linked to Tick Attack and Emergence of Severe Rickettsioses

The impact of climate on the vector behaviour of the worldwide dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a cause of concern. This tick is a vector for life-threatening organisms including Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, R. conorii, the agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, and the ubiquitous emerging pathogen R. massiliae. A focus of spotted fever was investigated in France in May 2007. Blood and tissue samples from two patients were tested. An entomological survey was organised with the study of climatic conditions. An experimental model was designed to test the affinity of Rh. sanguineus for biting humans in variable temperature conditions. Serological and/or molecular tools confirmed that one patient was infected by R. conorii, whereas the other was infected by R. massiliae. Dense populations of Rh. sanguineus were found. They were infected with new genotypes of clonal populations of either R. conorii (24/133; 18%) or R. massiliae (13/133; 10%). April 2007 was the warmest since 1950, with summer-like temperatures. We show herein that the human affinity of Rh. sanguineus was increased in warmer temperatures. In addition to the originality of theses cases (ophthalmic involvements, the second reported case of R. massiliae infection), we provide evidence that this cluster of cases was related to a warming-mediated increase in the aggressiveness of Rh. sanguineus, leading to increased human attacks. From a global perspective, we predict that as a result of globalisation and warming, more pathogens transmitted by the brown dog tick may emerge in the future.
Energetics of Hypoxia in a Mouth‐Brooding Cichlid: Evidence for Interdemic and Developmental Effects

We used a common‐garden rearing experiment to explore environmentally induced tolerance to hypoxia in the African mouth‐brooding cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor. F1 fish originating from three field populations were grown under low or high dissolved oxygen (DO), and their resting routine metabolic rate (RMR), critical oxygen tension (Pcrit), and marginal metabolic scope (MMS) were quantified. In a second rearing experiment, we compared the RMR of brooding and nonbrooding females of low‐DO origin grown under low and high DO. Fish reared under low DO had a lower Pcrit than fish reared under high DO. There was also an interaction between treatment and gender; females had a higher Pcrit than males when reared under normoxia. Variation in RMR was driven primarily by population effects, and there was an interaction between treatment and population. Regardless of population or treatment, males had a higher MMS than females. Fish reared under low DO had a higher MMS than fish reared under high DO, except for the high‐DO population in which there was no treatment effect. Brooding females had a higher RMR than postbrooding females regardless of the growth treatment, indicating an energetic cost to brooding. The results suggest a strong element of developmental plasticity in Pcrit across populations and both plastic and genetic components of variation in the RMR and MMS. This study also highlights the cost of parental care in mouth‐brooding fishes, which may increase the fitness of the offspring at the energetic expense of the parent, a cost that may be elevated under hypoxia.
Specific intensive care management of patients with traumatic brain injury: Present and future

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major global problem and affects approximately 10 million peoples annually; therefore has a substantial impact on the health-care system throughout the world. In this article, we have summarized various aspects of specific intensive care management in patients with TBI including the emerging evidence mainly after the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) 2007 and also highlighted the scope of the future therapies. This review has involved the relevant clinical trials and reviews (from 1 January 2007 to 31 March 2013), which specifically discussed about the topic. Though, BTF guideline based management strategies could provide standardized protocols for the management of patients with TBI and have some promising effects on mortality and morbidity; there is still need of inclusion of many suggestions based on various published after 2007. The main focus of majority of these trials remained to prevent or to treat the secondary brain injury. The future therapy will be directed to treat injured neurons and may benefit the outcome. There is also urgent need to develop some good prognostic indicators as well.
Theoretically informed correlates of hepatitis B knowledge among four Asian groups: the health behavior framework.

BACKGROUND Few studies have examined theoretically informed constructs related to hepatitis B (HBV) testing, and comparisons across studies are challenging due to lack of uniformity in constructs assessed. The present analysis examined relationships among Health Behavior Framework factors across four Asian American groups to advance the development of theory-based interventions for HBV testing in at-risk populations. METHODS Data were collected from 2007-2010 as part of baseline surveys during four intervention trials promoting HBV testing among Vietnamese-, Hmong-, Korean- and Cambodian-Americans (n = 1,735). Health Behavior Framework constructs assessed included: awareness of HBV, knowledge of transmission routes, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, doctor recommendation, stigma of HBV infection, and perceived efficacy of testing. Within each group we assessed associations between our intermediate outcome of knowledge of HBV transmission and other constructs, to assess the concurrent validity of our model and instruments. RESULTS While the absolute levels for Health Behavior Framework factors varied across groups, relationships between knowledge and other factors were generally consistent. This suggests similarities rather than differences with respect to posited drivers of HBV-related behavior. DISCUSSION Our findings indicate that Health Behavior Framework constructs are applicable to diverse ethnic groups and provide preliminary evidence for the construct validity of the Health Behavior Framework.
Learning Ensembles from Bites: A Scalable and Accurate Approach

Bagging and boosting are two popular ensemble methods that typically achieve better accuracy than a single classifier. These techniques have limitations on massive data sets, because the size of the data set can be a bottleneck. Voting many classifiers built on small subsets of data ("pasting small votes") is a promising approach for learning from massive data sets, one that can utilize the power of boosting and bagging. We propose a framework for building hundreds or thousands of such classifiers on small subsets of data in a distributed environment. Experiments show this approach is fast, accurate, and scalable.
More or less?: Methods to compare VA and non-VA health care costs.

OBJECTIVE To examine past comparisons of the costs of the Veterans Health Administration (VA) and of non-VA providers to determine lessons and data requirements for future cost comparisons, particularly those assessing VA efficiency and to determine whether VA should purchase care from non-VA providers. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Over the past two decades, researchers have tried to establish how VA costs compare to those of non-VA health care delivery systems. Existing studies of overall acute care costs address one of two distinct questions: How do VA costs compare to costs in private sector hospitals? and Would it cost more to have VA patients treated in nonfederal hospitals? For both questions, the major factors underlying differences in health care costs are variations in outputs, input prices, and levels of efficiency. Health care cost comparisons across systems must also wrestle with accounting differences. CONCLUSIONS That review finds no convincing evidence that VA has been significantly more or less efficient than nonfederal hospitals in delivering care. However, VA costs do appear to have been significantly lower than fee-for-service charges that the federal government might have to pay if veterans were treated in private sector hospitals for the same diagnoses. Future comparisons of costs in the era of managed care will require better diagnostic and population data to control for observable and unobservable case-mix differences. They should also include measures of the quality of outcomes. Finally, consistent accounting practices, particularly in the treatment of capital costs, are needed.
Selective non-intubation of a silicone tube in external dacryocystorhinostomy.

PURPOSE To evaluate whether silicone tube insertion is always necessary in external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). METHODS During external DCR for primary nasolacrimal duct obstruction carried out between January 2001 and October 2004, silicone intubation was not performed selectively if the lacrimal sac was large and the nasal cavity was not severely narrowed. RESULTS Of a total of 166 DCR cases in 153 patients, no silicone tube was placed in 74 eyes of 69 patients (44.6%). Anatomic patency of rhinostomy was achieved in all non-intubation group eyes. However, four (6.7%) of these 69 eyes showed persistent epiphora even with anatomic patency. CONCLUSIONS Silicone tubing can be avoided in about 50% of cases of external DCR without detrimentally affecting the success rate. Cases in which intubation was avoided had a large lacrimal sac and a wide nasal cavity.
A Proton Leak Current through the Cardiac Sodium Channel Is Linked to Mixed Arrhythmia and the Dilated Cardiomyopathy Phenotype

Cardiac Na+ channels encoded by the SCN5A gene are essential for initiating heart beats and maintaining a regular heart rhythm. Mutations in these channels have recently been associated with atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, conduction disorders, and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We investigated a young male patient with a mixed phenotype composed of documented conduction disorder, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia associated with DCM. Further family screening revealed DCM in the patient's mother and sister and in three of the mother's sisters. Because of the complex clinical phenotypes, we screened SCN5A and identified a novel mutation, R219H, which is located on a highly conserved region on the fourth helix of the voltage sensor domain of Nav1.5. Three family members with DCM carried the R219H mutation. The wild-type (WT) and mutant Na+ channels were expressed in a heterologous expression system, and intracellular pH (pHi) was measured using a pH-sensitive electrode. The biophysical characterization of the mutant channel revealed an unexpected selective proton leak with no effect on its biophysical properties. The H+ leak through the mutated Nav1.5 channel was not related to the Na+ permeation pathway but occurred through an alternative pore, most probably a proton wire on the voltage sensor domain. We propose that acidification of cardiac myocytes and/or downstream events may cause the DCM phenotype and other electrical problems in affected family members. The identification of this clinically significant H+ leak may lead to the development of more targeted treatments.
Interaction between Endogenous Human Capital and Technological Change

This paper examines how interaction between endogenous human capital accumulation and technological change affects relative wages and economic growth. Private incentives to invest in human capital finance the employment of skilled labour in the education sector, while non-rival technology is a by-product of the education process. The absorption of new technologies into production is skill intensive, creates skill-biased labour demand, and increases the relative wage of skilled to unskilled labour. In contrast to recent models of endogenous growth, higher rates of technological change and growth may be accompanied by a higher relative wage but lower relative supply of skilled labour. Thus the model provides a theoretical foundation for the empirically observed relation between technological change and relative demand, supply and wages of skilled labour.
Optimal Energy Allocation for Wireless Communications With Energy Harvesting Constraints

We consider the use of energy harvesters, in place of conventional batteries with fixed energy storage, for point-to-point wireless communications. In addition to the challenge of transmitting in a channel with time selective fading, energy harvesters provide a perpetual but unreliable energy source. In this paper, we consider the problem of energy allocation over a finite horizon, taking into account channel conditions and energy sources that are time varying, so as to maximize the throughput. Two types of side information (SI) on the channel conditions and harvested energy are assumed to be available: causal SI (of the past and present slots) or full SI (of the past, present and future slots). We obtain structural results for the optimal energy allocation, via the use of dynamic programming and convex optimization techniques. In particular, if unlimited energy can be stored in the battery with harvested energy and the full SI is available, we prove the optimality of a water-filling energy allocation solution where the so-called water levels follow a staircase function.
Sequential Aiming with Two Limbs and the One-Target Advantage

ABSTRACT Movement times to the first target in a 2-target sequence are typically slower than in 1-target aiming tasks. The 1-target movement time advantage has been shown to emerge regardless of hand preference, the hand used, the amount of practice, and the availability of visual feedback. The authors tested central and peripheral explanations of the 1-target advantage, as postulated by the movement integration hypothesis, by asking participants to perform single-target movements, 2-target movements with 1 limb, and 2-target movements in which they switched limbs at the first target. Reaction time and movement time data showed a 1-target advantage that was similar for both 1- and 2-limb sequential aiming movements. This outcome demonstrates that the processes underlying the increase in movement time to the 1st target in 2-target sequences are not specific to the limb, suggesting that the 1-target advantage originates at a central rather than a peripheral level.
The influence of Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies on the North Atlantic oscillation

Abstract The influence of Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic sector during winter is investigated by performing experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model. These consist of a 30-yr run with observed SST anomalies for the period 1961–90 confined geographically to the Atlantic Ocean, and of a control run with climatological SSTs prescribed globally. A third 30-yr integration with observed SSTs confined to the South Atlantic is made to confirm present findings. The simulated interannual variance of 500-hPa wintertime geopotential heights over the North Atlantic attains much more realistic values when observed Atlantic SSTs are prescribed. Circulation patterns that resemble the positive phase of the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO) become more pronounced in terms of the leading EOF of winter means, and a cluster analysis of daily fields. The variance of an interannual NAO index increases by fivefold over its control value. Atl.
Oral burning symptoms and burning mouth syndrome-significance of different variables in 150 patients.

OBJECTIVES Despite the extensive amount of published literature upon burning symptoms in patients with clinically healthy appearance of the oral mucosa, as well as burning mouth syndrome (BMS) itself, they both remain still challenging topics. The aim of this study was to determine the real prevalence of "true" BMS in comparison to other patients with burning symptoms with clinically healthy appearance of the oral mucosa and then to compare "true" BMS patients with healthy controls regarding gastritis and intake of anxiolytics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. STUDY DESIGN In 150 patients with burning symptoms of clinically healthy oral mucosa, local and systemic investigations were performed and they included detection of candidal infection, salivary flow rate, presence of oral galvanism and parafunctional habits as well as complete blood count, serum ferritin, serum glucose levels, serum antibodies to Helicobacter pylori together with detailed medical history with special regard to medication intake. After "true" BMS patients were identified they have been compared to the controls with regard to the presence of gastritis and the intake of anxiolytics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. RESULTS Our results show that gastritis were significantly more present among "true" BMS patients and that they also significantly more intake anxiolitics, when compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS Our findings might lead to the conclusion that every "true" BMS patient should be referred to the gastroenterologist and psychiatrist.