Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of myogenic-endothelial progenitor cells in the interstitial spaces of skeletal muscle

Putative myogenic and endothelial (myo-endothelial) cell progenitors were identified in the interstitial spaces of murine skeletal muscle by immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy using CD34 antigen. Enzymatically isolated cells were characterized by fluorescence-activated cell sorting on the basis of cell surface antigen expression, and were sorted as a CD34+ and CD45− fraction. Cells in this fraction were ∼94% positive for Sca-1, and mostly negative (<3% positive) for CD14, 31, 49, 144, c-kit, and FLK-1. The CD34+/45− cells formed colonies in clonal cell cultures and colony-forming units displayed the potential to differentiate into adipocytes, endothelial, and myogenic cells. The CD34+/45− cells fully differentiated into vascular endothelial cells and skeletal muscle fibers in vivo after transplantation. Immediately after sorting, CD34+/45− cells expressed only c-met mRNA, and did not express any other myogenic cell-related markers such as MyoD, myf-5, myf-6, myogenin, M-cadherin, Pax-3, and Pax-7. However, after 3 d of culture, these cells expressed mRNA for all myogenic markers. CD34+/45− cells were distinct from satellite cells, as they expressed Bcrp1/ABCG2 gene mRNA (Zhou et al., 2001). These findings suggest that myo-endothelial progenitors reside in the interstitial spaces of mammalian skeletal muscles, and that they can potentially contribute to postnatal skeletal muscle growth.
BNip3 Regulates Mitochondrial Function and Lipid Metabolism in the Liver

ABSTRACT BNip3 localizes to the outer mitochondrial membrane, where it functions in mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics. While the BNip3 protein is constitutively expressed in adult liver from fed mice, we have shown that its expression is superinduced by fasting of mice, consistent with a role in responses to nutrient deprivation. Loss of BNip3 resulted in increased lipid synthesis in the liver that was associated with elevated ATP levels, reduced AMP-regulated kinase (AMPK) activity, and increased expression of lipogenic enzymes. Conversely, there was reduced β-oxidation of fatty acids in BNip3 null liver and also defective glucose output under fasting conditions. These metabolic defects in BNip3 null liver were linked to increased mitochondrial mass and increased hepatocellular respiration in the presence of glucose. However, despite elevated mitochondrial mass, an increased proportion of mitochondria exhibited loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, abnormal structure, and reduced oxygen consumption. Elevated reactive oxygen species, inflammation, and features of steatohepatitis were also observed in the livers of BNip3 null mice. These results identify a role for BNip3 in limiting mitochondrial mass and maintaining mitochondrial integrity in the liver that has consequences for lipid metabolism and disease.
Shear stress regulates the endothelial Kir2.1 ion channel

Endothelial cells (ECs) line the mammalian vascular system and respond to the hemodynamic stimulus of fluid shear stress, the frictional force produced by blood flow. When ECs are exposed to shear stress, one of the fastest responses is an increase of K+ conductance, which suggests that ion channels are involved in the early shear stress response. Here we show that an applied shear stress induces a K+ ion current in cells expressing the endothelial Kir2.1 channel. This ion current shares the properties of the shear-induced current found in ECs. In addition, the shear current induction can be specifically prevented by tyrosine kinase inhibition. Our findings identify the Kir2.1 channel as an early component of the endothelial shear response mechanism.
The Effects of Acute High-Intensity Interval Training on Hematological Parameters in Sedentary Subjects

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of acute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on hematological parameters in sedentary men. Ten healthy, non-smoker, and sedentary men aged between 18 and 24 years participated in the study. All subjects performed four Wingate tests with 4 min intervals between the tests. Blood samples were collected at pre-exercise, immediately after, 3 and 6 h after the fourth Wingate test. Hematological parameters were analyzed in these samples. The results showed that hematocrit percentage, hemoglobin values, red cell count, mean cell volume, platelet count, total white cell count, and counts of the white cell subgroups increased immediately after the acute HIIT and their values began to return to resting levels 3 h after exercise, and completely returned to resting levels 6 h after exercise. In conclusion, acute HIIT causes an inflammatory response in blood.
A design of 2.4GHz rectifier in 65nm CMOS with 31% efficiency

This paper presents the analysis, the efficiency optimization and the design strategy of a Dickson type rectifier using 65nm CMOS technology. The rectifier is used as an on-chip wireless power receiver for wireless power transfer applications. The modeling of this rectifier takes the threshold voltage variation, bulk modulation, and the major parasitic capacitors into account. A mathematical model of the rectifier allows finding the relationship between its performance and the design parameters. Based on parameter discussion and performance analysis, a design procedure is presented to get higher conversion efficiency.
Incorporating homologues into Sequence Embeddings for protein Analysis

Statistical and learning techniques are becoming increasingly popular for different tasks in bioinformatics. Many of the most powerful statistical and learning techniques are applicable to points in a Euclidean space but not directly applicable to discrete sequences such as protein sequences. One way to apply these techniques to protein sequences is to embed the sequences into a Euclidean space and then apply these techniques to the embedded points. In this work we introduce a biologically motivated sequence embedding, the homology kernel, which takes into account intuitions from local alignment, sequence homology, and predicted secondary structure. This embedding allows us to directly apply learning techniques to protein sequences. We apply the homology kernel in several ways. We demonstrate how the homology kernel can be used for protein family classification and outperforms state-of-the-art methods for remote homology detection. We show that the homology kernel can be used for secondary structure prediction and is competitive with popular secondary structure prediction methods. Finally, we show how the homology kernel can be used to incorporate information from homologous sequences in local sequence alignment.
Experimental Investigation of Concrete Shear Walls Reinforced with Glass Fiber–Reinforced Bars under Lateral Cyclic Loading

AbstractThe present study addresses the applicability of reinforced concrete shear walls totally reinforced with glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars to attain reasonable strength and drift requirements as specified in different codes. Four large-scale shear walls—one reinforced with steel bars (as reference specimen) and three totally reinforced with GFRP bars—were constructed and tested to failure under quasistatic reversed cyclic lateral loading. The GFRP-reinforced walls have different aspect ratios covering the range of medium-rise walls. The reported test results clearly show that properly designed and detailed GFRP-reinforced walls could reach their flexural capacities with no strength degradation and that shear, sliding shear, and anchorage failures were not major problems and can be effectively controlled. The results also show recoverable and self-centering behavior up to allowable drift limits before moderate damage occurs and achieving a maximum drift meeting the limitation of most build.
Risk stratification of ischaemic patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators by C-reactive protein and a multi-markers strategy: results of the CAMI-GUIDE study.

AIMS Patients at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) after myocardial infarction (MI) can be offered therapy with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Whether plasma biomarkers can help risk stratify for SCD and ventricular arrhythmias (VT/VF) is unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS The primary objective of the CAMI-GUIDE study is to assess the predictive role of C-reactive protein for SCD or VT/VF in ischaemic patients with the ejection fraction <30% and ICDs. Secondary endpoints included all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, and death from heart failure. Additional analyses incorporated cystatin-C and NT-ProBNP in multi-marker approach for the prediction of adverse outcomes. A total of 300 patients were enrolled. All-cause mortality at 2 years was 22.6%, mortality from heart failure was 8.3%. Primary endpoint occurred in 17.3%. At a competing risk multivariable analysis adjusted for baseline variables, no significant difference in primary endpoint was found between patients with C-reactive protein ≤3 vs. >3 mg/L [heart rate (HR) 0.91 (0.50-1.64) P = 0.76], while C-reactive protein >3 mg/L was strongly associated with mortality due to heart failure [HR: 3.17 (1.54-6.54) P = 0.002]. NT-proBNP above median was significantly associated with the primary endpoint [adjusted HR: 1.46 (1.020-2.129) P = 0.042]. A risk function, including the three biomarkers, NYHA class and resting HR, allowed stratification of patient mortality risk from 5 to 50%. CONCLUSION C-reactive protein >3 mg/L is not associated with SCD or fast VT/VF, however, is a strong predictor of HF mortality. Biomarkers combined with clinical markers allow an excellent risk stratification of mortality at 2 years.
Automatic estimation of one's age with his/her speech based upon acoustic modeling techniques of speakers

This paper proposes a technique which automatically estimates speakers' age only with acoustic, not linguistic, information of their utterances. This method is based upon speaker recognition techniques. In the current work, we firstly divided speakers of two databases, JNAS and S(senior)-JNAS, into two groups by listening tests. One group has only the speakers whose speech sounds so aged that one should take special care when he/she talks to them. The other group has the remaining speakers of the two databases. After that, each speaker group was modeled with GMM. Experiments of automatic identification of elderly speakers showed the correct identification rate of 91 %. To improve the performance, two prosodic features were considered, i.e, speech rate and local perturbation of power. Using these features, the identification rate was improved to 95%. Finally, using scores calculated by integrating GMMs with prosodic features, experiments were carried out to automatically estimate speakers' age. The results showed high correlation between speakers' age estimated subjectively by humans and automatically calculated score of ‘agedness’.
Eliminating handoff latencies in 802.11 WLANs using multiple radios: applications, experience, and evaluation

Deployment of Voice-over IP (VoIP) and other real-time streaming applications has been somewhat limited in wireless LANs today, partially because of the high handoff latencies experienced by mobile users. Our goal in this work is to eliminate handoff latency by exploiting the potential of multiple radios in WLAN devices. Our proposed approach, called MultiScan, is implemented entirely on the client-side, and, unlike prior work, MultiScan requires neither changing the Access Points (APs), nor having knowledge of wireless network topology. MultiScan nodes rely on using their (potentially idle) second wireless interface to opportunistically scan and pre-associate with alternate APs and eventually seamlessly handoff ongoing connections. In this paper we describe our implementation of MultiScan, present detailed evaluations of its effect on handoff latency and evaluate performance gains for MultiScan-enhanced wireless clients running Skype, a popular commercial VoIP application.
Differentiation and proliferation in Barrett's esophagus and the effects of acid suppression.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Maintenance of normal epithelial differentiation and proliferation is an important goal in cancer chemoprevention. Because acid has a dynamic effect on cell proliferation/differentiation of Barrett's esophagus (BE) ex vivo, we investigated the relationship between differentiation, proliferation, and dysplasia in BE biopsy specimens and explored the role of normalization of intraesophageal pH in altering the BE phenotype. METHODS Endoscopic biopsy specimens of BE (with or without dysplasia) were analyzed for (1) villin, a differentiation marker, by immunoblotting; (2) proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), a proliferation marker, by immunohistochemistry; and (3) dysplasia by histology before and after 6 months of normalization of intraesophageal pH (confirmed by 24-hour pH monitoring) with lansoprazole. RESULTS At baseline, there was a negative correlation (r = -0.79) between villin and PCNA expression. Six months later, PCNA expression decreased and villin expression increased (P < 0.001) in 24 patients whose intraesophageal pH normalized. Fifteen patients had persistently pathological intraesophageal acid reflux and no change in villin or PCNA expression. There were no differences in the occurrence of dysplasia after 6 months in either group. CONCLUSIONS In BE, there is an inverse relationship between villin and PCNA. In turn, dysplasia is unrelated to villin expression and well correlated with PCNA expression. Complete symptom eradication with lansoprazole does not guarantee normalization of intraesophageal pH profile in BE patients. Effective intraesophageal acid suppression favors differentiation and decreases proliferation. The intriguing possibility that acid suppression can be used to prevent dysplasia remains to be explored.
Niche partitioning between close relatives suggests trade-offs between adaptation to local environments and competition

Niche partitioning among close relatives may reflect trade-offs underlying species divergence and coexistence (e.g., between stress tolerance and competitive ability). We quantified the effects of habitat and congeneric species interactions on fitness for two closely related herbaceous plant species, Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus laciniatus, in three common habitat types within their sympatric range. Drought stress strongly reduced survival of M. guttatus in fast-drying seeps occupied by M. laciniatus, suggesting that divergent habitat adaptation maintains this niche boundary. However, neither seedling performance nor congeneric competition explained the absence of M. laciniatus from shady streams where M. guttatus thrives. M. laciniatus may be excluded from this habitat by competition with other species in the community or mature M. guttatus. Species performance and competitive ability were similar in sympatric meadows where plant community stature and the growing season length are intermediate between seeps and streams. Stochastic effects (e.g., dispersal among habitats or temporal variation) may contribute to coexistence in this habitat. Habitat adaptation, species interactions, and stochastic mechanisms influence sympatric distributions for these recently diverged species.
The Impact of Social, Cognitive and Attitudinal Dimensions on College Students' Support for Organ Donation

This study investigates how college students can be social support catalysts for organ donation and how social, cognitive and attitudinal dimensions impact organ donor registration. A total of 317 people participated in the exploratory portion of the project and a total of 1800 responses were obtained from an online survey to members of a national student organization. The findings show that perceptions of the benefits of organ donation and altruistic motives had the greatest impact on the support for organ donation while respondents' knowledge about how to register to be an organ donor was the dominant dimension for donor registration status. Social‐based communications had the next greatest impact for both support and donor registration. Based on the findings, an 18‐month social media campaign was launched with the student organization that had 20 421 website visitors, 4473 Facebook members, 1189 YouTube video submissions with 164 000 views, motivated 19 623 people to go to a state's organ donor registration page, and had 9000 documented organ donor registrations. Within the student organization, organ donor registration increased by 28%. On the basis of these project results, Donate Life America and other sponsors have provided funding for two additional years.
Open Access Research Article the Association between Problematic Cellular Phone Use and Risky Behaviors and Low Self-esteem among Taiwanese Adolescents

Background: Cellular phone use (CPU) is an important part of life for many adolescents. However, problematic CPU may complicate physiological and psychological problems. The aim of our study was to examine the associations between problematic CPU and a series of risky behaviors and low self-esteem in Taiwanese adolescents. Methods: A total of 11,111 adolescent students in Southern Taiwan were randomly selected into this study. We used the Problematic Cellular Phone Use Questionnaire to identify the adolescents with problematic CPU. Meanwhile, a series of risky behaviors and self-esteem were evaluated. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the associations between problematic CPU and risky behaviors and low self-esteem regarding gender and age. Results: The results indicated that positive associations were found between problematic CPU and aggression, insomnia, smoking cigarettes, suicidal tendencies, and low self-esteem in all groups with different sexes and ages. However, gender and age differences existed in the associations between problematic CPU and suspension from school, criminal records, tattooing, short nocturnal sleep duration, unprotected sex, illicit drugs use, drinking alcohol and chewing betel nuts. Conclusions: There were positive associations between problematic CPU and a series of risky behaviors and low self-esteem in Taiwanese adolescents. It is worthy for parents and mental health professionals to pay attention to adolescents' problematic CPU. Background Cellular phone use (CPU) is an important part of life for many people. However, there have been increasing numbers of studies indicating that problematic CPU may complicate physiological and psychological problems [1-3]. In respective studies of physiological complications, the carcinogenic effects of CPU are still controversial [4,5], while the thermal [6] and non-thermal effects [7,8] of CPU have been confirmed. However, studies on the association between problematic CPU and psychological problems have been relatively few until now. Previously researchers have found that problematic CPU was associated with low self-esteem in adult populations [9] in addition to alcohol drinking [10] and depression [11] in
Drug Metabolism

Objectives Tuberculosis affects a third of the world’s population. Treatment failure resulting from non-compliance, incomplete drug supply or malabsorption (Shishoo et al 1999) can induce multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is not routinely undertaken. Dried blood on specimen collection cards does not require specific storage or transportation conditions. This study aimed to develop methods to quantify pyrazinamide (PZA) and isoniazid (INH), in blood spots (BS). Methods PZA and nicotinamide (internal standard, IS) were extracted from BS with ammonium acetate pH4.0 (400 mL) and acetonitrile (ACN) (3 mL). PZA was also extracted from plasma by protein precipitation with ACN (1 mL). Both samples were centrifuged (3500 g, 7 min) and the supernatants reduced to dryness under a stream of nitrogen. PZA was derivatised with Bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) + 10% v/v trichloromethylsiloxane (TMCS) and analysed by GC-MS on an OV-1 column (60 m × 0.25 mm i.d.) using a gradient temperature programme. Ionisation was by electron ionisation (70 eV): the MS was operated in SIM mode (m/z 179, 195, 266). The release of hydrazine (HYD) after spotting INH onto the cards was detected by the Silver Nitrate test (Sant, 1958). HYD was extracted from the cards using a small volume of water or phosphate buffer (1% w/v, p H5) and analysed by GC-MS after derivatisation with acetone or reaction with phthalimide (Gabriel Synthesis; Gibson & Bradshaw 1968). Results The results from PZA (BS) method (Figure 1) show linearity over 10– 60 mg/mL (r = 0.98) and reproducibility: RSD of peak area ratios (PZA/IS) = 9.7%, n = 6. Recovery from BS is approximately 50% and from plasma approximately 76.24%, RSD = 8.3% (n = 3). INH appears to bind to the BS cards via an oxidation reaction involving HYD release. The presence of HYD was proven by the silver nitrate test. Quantification of HYD by GC-MS directly or indirectly was unsuccessful. Conclusions A potential method for TDM of PZA has been developed. The method is reproducible and linear within the therapeutic Cmax range for PZA. INH cannot be analysed on the cards due to irreversible binding to cellulose.
Numerical simulation of Dean number and curvature effects on magneto-biofluid flow through a curved conduit

A numerical study is performed to investigate the magnetohydrodynamic viscous steady biofluid flow through a curved pipe with circular cross section under various conditions. A spectral method is applied as the principal tool for the numerical simulation with Fourier series, Chebyshev polynomials, collocation methods and an iteration method as secondary tools. The combined effects of Dean number, Dn, magnetic parameter, Mg, and tube curvature, δ, are studied. The flow patterns have been shown graphically for large Dean numbers as well as magnetic parameter and a wide range of curvatures, 0.01 ≤δ≤ 0.2. Two-vortex solutions have been found. Axial velocity has been found to increase with an increase of Dean number, whereas it is suppressed with greater curvature and magnetic parameters. For high magnetic parameter and Dean number and low curvature, almost all the fluid vortex strengths are weak. The study is relevant to magnetohydrodynamic blood flow in the cardiovascular system.
Internal Sources of Finance and the Great Recession

The rising stockpile of cash as a share of total assets at U.S. firms has intrigued economists since at least the paper of Bates, Kahle, and Stulz (2006), yet there has been relatively little work on where this cash has come from and how it is related to investment performance. We exploit Statement of Cash Flows data from Compustat to decompose firms' cash stocks and show that the rise in cash holdings has coincided with an increased willingness to save internally generated cash. We show that although investment is normally sensitive to externally generated cash, the increased sensitivity of investment to cash during the Great Recession is driven by cash from internal sources. Smaller firms were also more affected by the recent downturn than larger firms. Our results agree with the findings of Almeida, Campello, and Weisbach (2004) on cash hoarding and financial constraints, as well as the estimates in Duchin, Ozbas, and Sensoy (2010) on the important role of saved cash during the financial crisis.