Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Keratinocyte Production of Cathelicidin Provides Direct Activity against Bacterial Skin Pathogens

ABSTRACT Immune defense at an interface with the external environment reflects the functions of physical and chemical barriers provided by epithelial and immune cells. Resident epithelial cells, such as keratinocytes, produce numerous peptides with direct antimicrobial activity but also provide a physical barrier against invading pathogens and signal the recruitment of circulating immune cells, such as neutrophils. Antimicrobial peptides such as cathelicidin are produced constitutively by neutrophils and are inducible in keratinocytes in response to infection. The multiplicity of antimicrobial peptides and their cellular sources has resulted in an incomplete understanding of the role of cathelicidin production by epithelial cells in cutaneous immune defense. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate keratinocyte antimicrobial activity and the potential contribution of keratinocyte cathelicidin to host protection against two leading human skin pathogens. Wild-type mice and those with a targeted deletion of the cathelicidin gene, Cnlp, were rendered neutropenic prior to cutaneous infection. Interestingly, Cnlp-deficient mice remained more susceptible to group A streptococcus infection than mice with Cnlp intact, suggesting the involvement of epithelial cell-derived cathelicidin in host immune defense. Keratinocytes were then isolated in culture and found to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, an effect that was partially dependent on their ability to synthesize and activate cathelicidin. Further, lentivirus-mediated delivery of activated human cathelicidin enhanced keratinocyte antimicrobial activity. Combined, these data illustrate the potential contribution of keratinocyte cathelicidin to the innate immune defense of skin against bacterial pathogens and highlight the need to consider epithelial antimicrobial function in the diagnosis and therapy of skin infection.
Mechanics of myosin function in white muscle fibres of the dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula

Key points • Muscle force and shortening are generated by a structural change called the working stroke in myosin motor proteins that cross‐link the myosin and actin filaments in muscle. • Precise values for two key parameters of the myosin motor – its mechanical stiffness and the size of the working stroke at low load – were previously only available from one type of muscle in one species, fast twitch muscles of the frog, so it was not clear how generally applicable these values were. • We show that in dogfish fast muscle the low‐load working stroke is the same as in frog muscle, but the myosin motor stiffness is smaller. • The results provide new insights into how the molecular properties of myosin motors in different muscle types and species may be adapted for different muscle functions.
Gray Matter Correlates of Emotional Intelligence in Incarcerated Males

Emotional intelligence (EI) is form of social intelligence that is important for navigating one’s social environment. Deficits in these abilities have been associated negative psychological outcomes such as anxiety, substance use, and aggression. Here, we extend current literature that suggests that EI is correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) in limbic regions (e.g. insula ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and cerebellum) in healthy samples, by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to assess the relationship between GMV and EI. In study 1, emotional intelligence was positively correlated with GMV in the cerebellum and anterior cingulate cortex in a sample of incarcerated adult males, and in study 2, emotional intelligence was negatively correlated with GMV in the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex in a sample of incarcerated adolescent males. In study 3, we demonstrate that age moderates the relationship between EI and GMV in these regions. Because incarcerated populations tend to experience increased rates of negative outcomes associated with reduced emotional intelligence, it is important to understand EI in this population to determine whether it is a viable target for treatments to reduce future negative outcomes, including recidivism, upon release.
Working Long Hours and Career Wage Growth

This study establishes empirically a nonlinear relationship between hours worked per week and hourly wage growth: for workers who put in 48 hours per week or more, working 5 extra hours per week increases annual wage growth by about 1 percent. The average effect is zero when hours are below 48. This relationship is especially strong for young professional workers. I provide evidence in support of a model of promotions that combines higher skill-sensitivity of output in upper levels of the job ladder with worker heterogeneity. The results can be used to account for part of the gender wage gap.
MODELING ARTIFICIAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR COMPRESSIBLE FLOW

■ Abstract We review artificial boundary conditions (BCs) for simulation of inflow, outflow, and far-field (radiation) problems, with an emphasis on techniques suitable for compressible turbulent shear flows. BCs based on linearization near the boundary are usually appropriate for inflow and radiation problems. A variety of accurate techniques have been developed for this case, but some robustness and implementation issues remain. At an outflow boundary, the linearized BCs are usually not accurate enough. Variousad hocmodels have been proposed for the nonlinear case, including absorbing layers and fringe methods. We discuss these techniques and suggest directions for future modeling efforts.
Multiresolution analysis and wavelets on S2 and S3

In this paper, we construct a multiresolution analysis and a wavelet basis on two specific compact manifolds. Using special charts, the problem is reduced to finding appropriate nested spaces on rectangular domains. The claim of C 1-continuity gives rise to certain boundary conditions on the rectangles. To satisfy these conditions, we use a tensor product approach in which one factor is an exponential spline.
Effects of DPP‐4 inhibitor linagliptin and GLP‐1 receptor agonist liraglutide on physiological response to hypoglycaemia in Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, open‐label, 2‐arm parallel comparative, exploratory trial

Dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) inhibitors reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia, possibly through augmentation of glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) action, but not that of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) on glucagon secretion. To examine this model in Japanese individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), the effects of the DPP‐4 inhibitor linagliptin on glucagon and other counter‐regulatory hormone responses to hypoglycaemia were evaluated and compared with those of the GLP‐1 receptor agonist liraglutide in a multi‐centre, randomized, open‐label, 2‐arm parallel comparative, exploratory trial. Three‐step hypoglycaemic clamp glucose tests preceded by meal tolerance tests were performed before and after 2‐week treatment with the drugs. Glucagon levels were increased during the hypoglycaemic clamp test at 2.5 mmol/L. This increase was similar in the linagliptin and liraglutide groups, both before and after the 2‐week treatment. Changes in other counter‐regulatory hormones (ie, growth hormone, cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine) were also similar between the groups, but were suppressed substantially after 2‐week treatment compared to baseline. In conclusion, we confirmed that the glucagon response to hypoglycaemia was not affected by linagliptin or liraglutide treatment in Japanese individuals with T2D.
Astrocyte-induced cortical vasodilation is mediated by D-serine and endothelial nitric oxide synthase

Astrocytes play a critical role in neurovascular coupling by providing a physical linkage from synapses to arterioles and releasing vaso-active gliotransmitters. We identified a gliotransmitter pathway by which astrocytes influence arteriole lumen diameter. Astrocytes synthesize and release NMDA receptor coagonist, D-serine, in response to neurotransmitter input. Mouse cortical slice astrocyte activation by metabotropic glutamate receptors or photolysis of caged Ca2+ produced dilation of penetrating arterioles in a manner attenuated by scavenging D-serine with D-amino acid oxidase, deleting the enzyme responsible for D-serine synthesis (serine racemase) or blocking NMDA receptor glycine coagonist sites with 5,7-dichlorokynurenic acid. We also found that dilatory responses were dramatically reduced by inhibition or elimination of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and that the vasodilatory effect of endothelial nitric oxide synthase is likely mediated by suppressing levels of the vasoconstrictor arachidonic acid metabolite, 20-hydroxy arachidonic acid. Our results provide evidence that D-serine coactivation of NMDA receptors and endothelial nitric oxide synthase is involved in astrocyte-mediated neurovascular coupling.
Novel pH- and Temperature-Responsive Blend Hydrogel Microspheres of Sodium Alginate and PNIPAAm-g-GG for Controlled Release of Isoniazid

This paper reports the preparation and characterization of novel pH- and thermo-responsive blend hydrogel microspheres of sodium alginate (NaAlg) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAAm)-grafted-guar gum (GG) i.e., PNIPAAm-g-GG by emulsion cross-linking method using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a cross-linker. Isoniazid (INZ) was chosen as the model antituberculosis drug to achieve encapsulation up to 62%. INZ has a plasma half-life of 1.5 h, whose release was extended up to 12 h. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to confirm the grafting reaction and chemical stability of INZ during the encapsulation. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the drug’s physical state, while powder X-ray diffraction confirmed the molecular level dispersion of INZ in the matrix. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed varying surface morphologies of the drug-loaded microspheres. Temperature- and pH-responsive nature of the blend hydrogel microspheres were investigated by equilibrium swelling, and in vitro release experiments were performed in pH 1.2 and pH 7.4 buffer media at 37°C as well as at 25°C. Kinetics of INZ release was analyzed by Ritger–Peppas empirical equation to compute the diffusional exponent parameter (n), whose value ranged between 0.27 and 0.58, indicating the release of INZ follows a diffusion swelling controlled release mechanism.
$p$-adic Cocycles and their Regulator Maps

We derive a power series formula for the $p$-adic regulator on the higher dimensional algebraic K-groups of number fields. This formula is designed to be well suited to computer calculations and to reduction modulo powers of $p$. In addition we describe a series of regulator questions concerning higher dimensional K-theoretic analogues of conjectures of Gross and Serre.
Empirical Essays on Energy Economics and Firm Performance Measurement

This thesis comprises four empirical essays on energy economics that each address one specific question related to liberalized energy markets. The first essay empirically investigates price determinants in the German natural gas wholesale market with a special focus on the impact of supply interruptions. For this purpose, a structural vector autoregressive model (VAR) is specified, enabling the incorporation of a rich set of fundamental variables. The empirical results show that weather conditions and supply disruptions affect gas prices in the short run, while gas prices are closely tied to prices of other commodities, namely crude oil and coal, in the long run. The second essay of the thesis investigates the informational efficiency of the European natural gas market by analysing price formation and intertemporal arbitrage dynamics on spot and futures markets of three different European gas hubs. The empirical results reveal that price formation takes place on the futures market at all hubs. The theory of storage seems to hold for all hubs in the long run. However, there is empirical evidence of significant short-run inefficiency resulting from impediments to intertemporal arbitrage. The dynamic investigation using a time-varying coefficient model suggests that there has been a convergence in the informational efficiency at the hubs considered during the sample period. The third essay included in this thesis deals with the incorporation of dynamic elements in the benchmarking process carried out in the context of incentive-based regulation schemes. In specific, it analyses the impact of an explicit consideration of adjustment costs resulting from investments on the benchmarking outcome. The empirical results for a sample of US transmission and distribution firms suggest that the incorporation of adjustment costs significantly affects the benchmarking result, both on firm-specific and industrial level. In particular, firms with large investments suffer from the application of static benchmarking methods as the resulting cost saving targets may be too strict. The fourth essay of the thesis seeks to quantify the economic costs of power interruptions for Germany. Using a macroeconomic approach, outage costs are approximated by losses in output for both firms and private households. The empirical results suggest that a power interruption of one hour on national level causes costs of about 430 Mio EUR, while a missing megawatt hour on average induces costs of 7.6 Mio EUR. Overall, both specific and absolute outage costs are very heterogeneous among the considered economic sectors and regions.
Non-invasive ventilation in elderly patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure: a randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE older patients usually receive less invasive and costly hospital care, even if they meet the criteria for Intensive Care Unit admission or have a 'do not intubate'(DNI) order. The aim of this randomised, controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) versus the standard medical therapy (SMT) in reducing the need of intubation, improving survival and reducing respiratory distress in very old patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF). PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN eighty-two patients aged >75 years (mean age 81.3 ± 3.5 years) were randomised to receive NIV or SMT. SETTINGS three respiratory units. MEASUREMENTS the primary outcome was the rate of meeting the endotracheal intubation (ETI) criteria. Secondary outcomes were the mortality rate, the respiratory rate, dyspnoea score, arterial blood gases. RESULTS the rate of meeting the ETI criteria was lower in the NIV group compared with the SMT group (7.3 versus 63.4%, respectively; P < 0.001), as was the mortality rate [(odds ratios) OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.19-0.83; P = 0.014]. Twenty-two of 41 SMT patients with DNI orders received NIV as a rescue therapy. The mortality rate in this subgroup was comparable with the NIV group and significantly lower compared with patients receiving ETI (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.18-1.92 versus 4.03, 95% CI: 2.35-6.94, respectively; P = 0.009). Arterial blood gases, respiratory rate and dyspnoea improved significantly faster with NIV than with SMT. CONCLUSIONS compared with SMT, NIV decreased the rate of meeting the ETI criteria and the mortality rate of very old patients with AHRF. NIV should be offered as an alternative to patients considered poor candidates for intubation and those with a DNI order.
Comparison between Principal Component Analysis and Independent Component Analysis in Electroencephalograms Modelling

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a classical technique in statistical data analysis, feature extraction and data reduction, aiming at explaining observed signals as a linear combination of orthogonal principal components. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a technique of array processing and data analysis, aiming at recovering unobserved signals or ‘sources’ from observed mixtures, exploiting only the assumption of mutual independence between the signals. The separation of the sources by ICA has great potential in applications such as the separation of sound signals (like voices mixed in simultaneous multiple records, for example), in telecommunication or in the treatment of medical signals. However, ICA is not yet often used by statisticians. In this paper, we shall present ICA in a statistical framework and compare this method with PCA for electroencephalograms (EEG) analysis.We shall see that ICA provides a more useful data representation than PCA, for instance, for the representation of a particular characteristic of the EEG named event‐related potential (ERP). (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Parallel Smoothing 1

This paper describes a smoothing algorithm that involves the parallel processing of the data in subintervals with little communication among the processors. Data in the subintervals are first processed in parallel starting from subinterval centers and processing outward to the subinterval boundaries. After an exchange of information among processors, a final set of parallel recursions, proceeding inward in each subinterval, yields the desired estimates. The proposed procedure is found in general to have a total on-line computational complexity slightly higher than that of the non-parallel implementations. However, since several processors are used in parallel, the running time of this algorithm is much smaller than that of a single smoother solution. Furthermore when the process to be estimated is reversible, an even-odd decomposition of the process yields a block diagonalization that yields a further, considerable reduction in the required computations. 1This work was performed at MIT and was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant ECS-8700903 and in part by the Army Research Office under Grant DAAL03-86-K-0171. 2Department of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455. 3Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139. 4Department of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616. 1
Modelling circular optical microresonators using whispering gallery modes

The growth of the Internet during the past years led to an increased demand for capacities in long distance communication. This was partly met by techniques for all optical multiplexing. One of the ways to multiplex optical signals is using a circular optical microresonator. A circular cavity can act as an optical filter by placing it between two straight waveguides. Light is launched into one of these. If the input wavelength matches the cavity a resonance will occur and the power will be transferred to the other waveguide. Otherwise, no resonance occurs and the light will stay in the first waveguide. This thesis treats ring and disc microresonators within a 2D model. The resonant electomagnetic fields supported by such a free circular cavity are determined in the form of whispering gallery modes. From the Maxwell equations an ansatz for the electric field is derived and from that the resonances are calculated. For this a Matlab program was written which solves for the complex resonance frequency, but needs a good estimate as starting point. The simulation results agree well with the results from [9] and [16].
Volatiles from Plants Induced by Multiple Aphid Attacks Promote Conidial Performance of Lecanicillium lecanii

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are clues that help predatory insects search for food. The hypothesis that entomopathogenic fungi, which protect plants, benefit from the release of HIPVs was tested. The plant Arabidopsis thaliana was used as the source of HIPVs. The insect herbivore Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach) was used as the inducer, and the fungal pathogen of the aphid Lecanicillium lecanii was exposed to HIPVs to test our hypothesis. When exposed to aphid-induced A. thaliana volatiles, the mortality of aphids pre-treated with a conidial suspension of L. lecanii, the conidial germination and the appressorial formation were significantly increased compared with the control. The decan-3-ol and 4-methylpentyl isothiocyanate that were detected in the headspace seemed to have positive and negative affection, respectively. Moreover, HIPVs generated from groups of eight aphids per plant promoted significantly increased conidial germination and appressorial formation compared with HIPVs from groups of one, two and four aphids per plant. Our results demonstrated that the pathogenicity of the entomopathogenic fungus L. lecanii was enhanced when exposed to HIPVs and that the HIPVs were affected by the number of insect herbivores that induced them.
Towards face unlock: on the difficulty of reliably detecting faces on mobile phones

Currently, reliable face detection and recognition are becoming more important on mobile devices -- e.g. to unlock the screen. However, using only frontal face images for authentication purposes can no longer be considered secure under the assumption of easy availability of frontal snapshots of the respective device owners from social networks or other media. In most current implementations, a sufficiently high-resolution face image displayed on another mobile device will be enough to circumvent security measures. In this paper, we analyze current methods to face detection and recognition regarding their usability in the mobile domain, and then propose an approach to a Face Unlock system on a smart phone intended to be more secure than current approaches while still being convenient to use: we use both frontal and profile face information available during a pan shot around the user's head, by combining camera images and movement sensor data. Current results to face detection are promising, but reliable face recognition needs further research.
Glycemic patterns detected by continuous subcutaneous glucose sensing in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus treated by multiple daily injections vs continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.

OBJECTIVE To compare glycemic patterns by mode of therapy in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus using the Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGMS). DESIGN Open randomized crossover comparing 3(1/2) months of multiple daily injections (MDI) and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). SETTING Tertiary care, university-affiliated medical center. Patients Twenty-three children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. INTERVENTIONS The CGMS was applied for 72 hours after 1 month and at the end of each study arm. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Hemoglobin A(1c) levels and glucose level profiles were compared between the 2 study arms and the 2 sensor applications for each arm. RESULTS The arms were similar for mean (SD) hemoglobin A(1c) levels (CSII, 8.0% [0.8%]; and MDI, 8.2% [0.8%]) and glucose levels. Areas under the curve were significantly larger during MDI for nocturnal and 24-hour hypoglycemia (P =.01 and.04, respectively) and for postprandial hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia (P =.03 and.05, respectively). The rate of hyperglycemia increased during CSII (P =.03), but 24-hour duration and area under the curve for hyperglycemia were similar. Compared with the first CGMS reading in each arm, the second had a longer mean duration of postprandial within-target glucose levels (P =.04), tendency for lower rate of diurnal hypoglycemic events (P =.1), shorter duration of nocturnal hypoglycemia (P =.05), and smaller 24-hour area under the curve for hypoglycemia (P =.04). CONCLUSIONS Intensive treatment with CSII seemed to be associated with slightly better prebreakfast, postprandial, and within-target glucose profiles than MDI, as well as a smaller area under the curve for hypoglycemia. Lower hypoglycemia-related variables in the second sensor reading in each arm indicate that the CGMS may serve as an educational tool to decrease the rate and magnitude of hypoglycemia.