Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased frequencies of circulating and tumor-resident Vδ1+ T cells in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract Gamma-delta (γδ) T cells contribute to the innate immune response against cancer. In samples of 20 patients upon DLBCL diagnosis, we found that Vδ1+ T cells were the major γδ T cell subset in tumors and PBMCs of patients, while Vδ2 T cells were preponderant in PBMCs of healthy subjects. Interestingly, the germinal center (GC) subtype was associated with an increase in Vδ1+ T cells in tumors, whereas the non-GC subtype was associated with a lower frequency of γδ T cells. While circulating Vδ1+ T cells of patients or HSs mostly exhibited a naïve phenotype, the majority of tumor Vδ1+ T cells showed a central memory phenotype. Resident or circulating γδ T cells from patients were not functionally impaired since they produced high levels of IFN-γ. Collectively, our findings are in favor of γδ T cell activation in tumors and open new perspectives for their modulation in DLBCL immunotherapy.
Effect of Low-Level Laser Stimulation on EEG Power in Normal Subjects with Closed Eyes

In a previous study, we found that the low-level laser (LLL) stimulation at the palm with a frequency of 10 Hz was able to induce significant brain activation in normal subjects with opened eyes. However, the electroencephalography (EEG) changes to LLL stimulation in subjects with closed eyes have not been studied. In the present study, the laser array stimulator was applied to deliver insensible laser stimulations to the palm of the tested subjects with closed eyes (the laser group). The EEG activities before, during, and after the laser stimulation were collected. The EEG amplitude powers of each EEG frequency band at 19 locations were calculated. These power data were then analyzed by SPSS software using repeated-measure ANOVAs and appropriate posthoc tests. We found a pronounced decrease in the EEG power in alpha-bandwidth during laser simulation and then less decrease in the EEG power in delta-bandwidth in normal subjects with laser stimulation. The EEG power in beta-bandwidth in the right occipital area also decreased significantly in the laser group. We suggest that LLL stimulation might be conducive to falling into sleep in patients with sleep problems.
Development of a Master Health Facility List in Nigeria

Abstract Introduction Routine Health Information Systems (RHIS) are increasingly transitioning to electronic platforms in several developing countries. Establishment of a Master Facility List (MFL) to standardize the allocation of unique identifiers for health facilities can overcome identification issues and support health facility management. The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) recently developed a MFL, and we present the process and outcome. Methods The MFL was developed from the ground up, and includes a state code, a local government area (LGA) code, health facility ownership (public or private), the level of care, and an exclusive LGA level health facility serial number, as part of the unique identifier system in Nigeria. To develop the MFL, the LGAs sent the list of all health facilities in their jurisdiction to the state, which in turn collated for all LGAs under them before sending to the FMOH. At the FMOH, a group of RHIS experts verified the list and identifiers for each state. Results The national MFL consists of 34,423 health facilities uniquely identified. The list has been published and is available for worldwide access; it is currently used for planning and management of health services in Nigeria. Discussion Unique identifiers are a basic component of any information system. However, poor planning and execution of implementing this key standard can diminish the success of the RHIS. Conclusion Development and adherence to standards is the hallmark for a national health information infrastructure. Explicit processes and multi-level stakeholder engagement is necessary to ensuring the success of the effort.
A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming

stream of mainly short papers that were published in house or academic journals, or as chapters in books; she was also active in various German technological societies. The Second World War did not substantially affect her type of work, but it changed her attitude to it. Long an adherent to social democracy, she never joined the Nazi party, but the threat of war increased her interest in switching to the history of science. In 1934 George Sarton tried to secure a post for her at Harvard as his assistant. He failed, but she was to contribute to the history of spectroscopy, another speciality of her father. She also wrote a biography of him, which was eventually published as book in 1949. Three years earlier she had been appointed to a lectureship in physics at Humboldt University in East Berlin; in 1950 she was given a full professorship (the only female at that level in the University), from which she retired in 1952. Profiting from the Runge family archives and a wealth of other sources, the author has produced a rich history not only of Iris but also of the context, for she provides much information on fellow industrial mathematicians and scientists; Iris was not alone either as female industrial scientist, or as a holder of a doctorate. Several colleagues are shown in a suite of photographs that also includes family members and groups. The bibliography is substantial in both original and historical sources; it is a pity that there is only a name index. The original edition of this book appeared from Steiner Verlag in 2010; the translation is good enough to be unnoticable. The author includes a wide range of documents, here just in English. Some texts are biographical, especially a remarkably long account of conditions in Berlin in May 1945, during and after the Russian army came through, that Iris wrote for her family. An exceptional life has been captured in an exceptional biography.
Data Series Similarity Using Correlation-Aware Measures

The increased availability of unprecedented amounts of sequential data (generated by Internet-of-Things, as well as scientific applications) has led in the past few years to a renewed interest and attention to the field of data series processing and analysis. Data series collections are processed and analyzed using a large variety of techniques, most of which are based on the computation of some distance function. In this study, we revisit this basic operation of data series distance calculation. We observe that the popular distance measures are oblivious to the correlations inherent in neighboring values in a data series. Therefore, we evaluate the plausibility and benefit of incorporating into the distance function measures of correlation, which enable us to capture the associations among neighboring values in the sequence. We propose four such measures, inspired by statistical and probabilistic approaches, which can effectively model these correlations. We analytically and experimentally demonstrate the benefits of the new measures using the 1NN classification task, and discuss the lessons learned. Finally, we propose future research directions for enabling the proposed measures to be used in practice.
Comparative Evaluation of Iron Deficiency among Obese and Non-obese Children

Background Obese children are at the risk of micronutrient deficiency especially iron deficiency. Given the importance of iron deficiency in this age group and considering the existing discrepancies, present study was performed with the aim of evaluating iron deficiency in obese children. Material and Method This study was conducted, in the form of a case-control study, on 100 children aged between 5 to 15 during June and November 2013 in Kashan. Cases consisted of 50 obese children and controls were 50 children who were not obese.Blood sample was drawn to check for serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) by biochemistry method and plasma ferritin by ELISA method. The obtained data were entered into SPSS software version 16 and statistically analyzed. P < 0.05 was identified as statistically significance. Results The mean values of serum iron were 52.38 and 64.50 microg/dL for the case and control groups (P<0.02). TIBC levels in obese and non-obese Children were 434.80 and 382.28 microg/dL (P<0.008). The ferritin level in the study group was 70.56 versus 68.06 ng/ml in the control group (P=0.79). In the obese children group, 8.3% (n=2) of children with iron deficiency had ferritin levels less than 15 while in control group 100% (n=14) of iron deficient children had ferritin levels below 15 (P<0.001). Conclusion In our study, mean serum iron levels were lower among obese children in comparison with control group. However, ferritin concentrations were similar in both groups. It is supposed that due to inflammatory state caused by obesity, serum ferritin levels are naturally higher in obese people. It is suggested that higher levels of ferritin considered as normal reference values in obese people.
The dimensional structure of the perceived behavioral control construct

Following concerns in the literature about the conceptualization and operationalization of the perceived behavioral control (PBC) construct within the Theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991), 2 studies were conducted to examine whether questionnaire items explicitly assessing perceived difficulty and perceived control issues would attract a different pattern of responses. In applications of the theory of planned behavior to the reduction of red meat consumption and the reduction of potato chip (French fries) consumption, Principal Components Analysis showed that items reflecting perceived difficulty and items reflecting perceived control loaded onto different components. Furthermore, measures of perceived difficulty and not measures of perceived control contributed independent predictive effects in multiple regressions of respondents' behavioral intentions to make the dietary changes.
Gut Instinct: The body and learning

In the current socio‐political climate pedagogies consistent with rationalism are in the ascendancy. One way to challenge the purchase of rationalism within educational discourse and practice is through the body, or by re‐thinking the nature of mind‐body relations. While the orientation of this paper is ultimately phenomenological, it takes as its point of departure recent feminist scholarship, which is demonstrating that attending to physiology can provide insight into the complexity of mind‐body relations. Elizabeth Wilson's account of the role of the gut in psychological processes suggests a far less hierarchical relation between brain and body than rationalism allows. Such insights are also supported by recent phenomenological inquiries into cognition and the body. My question is, what implications do these insights have for how the nature of embodiment is understood, and, by extension, learning? This paper explores how informal, non‐cognitive modes of knowing, or of engaging with the world, inform learning in higher education contexts. More specifically, it raises the question of what role non‐cognitive modes of engagement, such as sensibility, have in augmenting, enabling or delimiting the learning process.
Ginkgolic acid inhibits the invasiveness of colon cancer cells through AMPK activation

Tumor cell invasion and metastasis are important processes in colorectal cancer that exert negative effects on patient outcomes; consequently, a prominent topic in the field of colorectal cancer study is the identification of safe and affordable anticancer drugs against cell invasion and metastasis, with limited side effects. Ginkgolic acid is a phenolic acid extracted from ginkgo fruit, ginkgo exotesta and ginkgo leaves. Previous studies have indicated that ginkgolic acid inhibits tumor growth and invasion in a number of types of cancer; however, limited studies have considered the effects of ginkgolic acid on colon cancer. In the present study, SW480 colon cancer cells were treated with a range of concentrations of ginkgolic acid; tetrazolium dye-based MTT, wound-scratch and transwell migration assays were performed to investigate the effects on the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells, and potential mechanisms for the effects were explored. The results indicated that ginkgolic acid reduced the proliferation and significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of SW480 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Additional experiments indicated that ginkgolic acid significantly decreased the expression of invasion-associated proteins, including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, urinary-type plasminogen activator and C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4, and activated adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) in SW480 cells. Small interfering RNA silencing of AMPK expression reversed the effect of ginkgolic acid on the expression of invasion-associated proteins. This result suggested that ginkgolic acid inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of SW480 colon cancer cells by inducing AMPK activation and inhibiting the expression of invasion-associated proteins.
Education and the masculinization of hospital administration

Purpose – Hospital administration in the USA represents a rare instance of a female‐dominated occupation that masculinized. Advocacy for the change in social identity began in the early decades of the twentieth century and had succeeded by the second half of the century. The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of university programs in hospital administration to the change.Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of the American Hospital Association's Guide to Hospitals, of journals published during the study period, and of archival material from universities, hospitals, as well as the American College of Healthcare Executives.Findings – Graduate programs in hospital administration contributed to the occupation's masculinization because they admitted virtually no female students. At the same time, many hospitals switched to untrained male administrators even before graduates became available in significant numbers. This reflects normative and mimetic pressures to retain a male administrator.
Learning through working life: self and individuals’ agentic action

An individual’s capacity to be effective throughout their working life is now claimed to be necessary to sustain individual, local and national well‐being. Yet without knowing more about an individual’s motivations to continually learn throughout their working life, it remains uncertain how realistic these expectations are. This paper examines the transitions and continuities in a year in the working lives of five individuals. It illuminates how their identities, subjectivities and sense of selves are exercised through the churning and transformations that comprise their working lives. Although accepting the intertwining between the individual and social, the primary focus here is on individuals and their sense of self. Against some predictions, the five individuals were able to enact their working lives in ways that broadly served their personal interests and goals, even to their detriment. This included achieving continuities associated with their sense of self in negotiating transformational workplace requirements. These findings from just five workers prompt consideration of a more relational basis for conceptualizing learning throughout the working life and the role of the self in that process. It suggests that learning throughout life is aligned with the personal as much as the social suggestion of the workplace, employers or government and that external mandates and regulatory practices may be insufficient and ineffective in securing lifelong learning goals.
Preparation of GM1 ganglioside with sialidase-producing marine bacteria as a microbial biocatalyst

This paper describes the preparation of monosialoganglioside GM1 with sialidase-producing marine bacteria as a microbial biocatalyst. A new sialidase-producing bacterium, identified tentatively as Pseudomonas sp. strain YF-2, was isolated from seawater by enrichment culture with ganglioside as the sole source of carbon. When YF-2 was cultured in a synthetic medium containing crude bovine brain gangliosides at 25 degrees C for 3 days, 80 to 90% of the gangliosides were converted to GM1. GM1 was then purified from the supernatant of YF-2 culture by C18 reverse-phased chromatography, followed by DEAE-Sephadex A25 anion-exchange chromatography. In a typical experiment, 178 mg of highly purified GM1 was obtained from 500 mg of the crude ganglioside fraction. The GM1 induced neurite outgrowth of neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells at a concentration of 33 to 100 microM in the presence of fetal calf serum. Sialidase was purified 33-fold with 13.3% recovery from the culture supernatant of YF-2. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed polysialogangliosides to produce GM1 but did not act on GM1. It was therefore concluded that polysialogangliosides in the culture of strain YF-2 were converted to GM1 by this sialidase.
Ionizing Radiation Impacts on Cardiac Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Little is known about the effects of ionizing radiation on the earliest stages of embryonic development although it is well recognized that ionizing radiation is a natural part of our environment and further exposure may occur due to medical applications. The current study addresses this issue using D3 mouse embryonic stem cells as a model system. Cells were irradiated with either X-rays or carbon ions representing sparsely and densely ionizing radiation and their effect on the differentiation of D3 cells into spontaneously contracting cardiomyocytes through embryoid body (EB) formation was measured. This study is the first to demonstrate that ionizing radiation impairs the formation of beating cardiomyocytes with carbon ions being more detrimental than X-rays. However, after prolonged culture time, the number of beating EBs derived from carbon ion irradiated cells almost reached control levels indicating that the surviving cells are still capable of developing along the cardiac lineage although with considerable delay. Reduced EB size, failure to downregulate pluripotency markers, and impaired expression of cardiac markers were identified as the cause of compromised cardiomyocyte formation. Dysregulation of cardiac differentiation was accompanied by alterations in the expression of endodermal and ectodermal markers that were more severe after carbon ion irradiation than after exposure to X-rays. In conclusion, our data show that carbon ion irradiation profoundly affects differentiation and thus may pose a higher risk to the early embryo than X-rays.
Lactate as a Biomarker for Sepsis Prognosis?

Blood lactate concentrations reflect the balance between lactate production and clearance. During glycolysis in resting state, most glucose is converted to pyruvate. Pyruvate is metabolized through the aerobic pathway, to acetyl-CoA by pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) to enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle that is the main source of energy for cellular metabolism. In times of stress, tissue oxygen (O2) needs are no longer met by O2 delivery, which results in cellular hypoxia. Cell hypoxia induces a switch from aerobic metabolism to the less efficient anaerobic metabolism in which PDH is inhibited and lactate formation from pyruvate by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is favored. On the other hand, high inflammatory states such as sepsis accelerated glycolysis leads to overproduction of lactate [1]. However, as lactate is a normal product of glucose metabolism, many other factors could increase lactate levels in the absence of tissue hypoperfusion due to malignancy, liver disease, or mitochondrial disorder. Normally, the liver removes 70% of lactate. When hepatic blood flow decreases to 25% of normal, the capacity of the liver to metabolize lactate is diminished and lactate clearance is reduced [2]. Although overproduction of lactate in response to endotoxin or tissue hypoxia accounts for some of the rise in lactate in septic states, a decrease in hepatic lactate extraction and utilization also occurs.
Cloud Technologies for Microsoft Computational Biology Tools

Executing large number of self-regulating tasks or tasks that execute minimal inter-task communication in analogous is a common requirement in many domains. In this paper, we present our knowledge in applying two new Microsoft technologies Dryad and Azure to three bioinformatics applications. We also contrast with traditional MPI and Apache Hadoop MapReduce completion in one example. The applications are an EST (Expressed Sequence Tag) series assembly program, PhyloD statistical package to recognize HLA-associated viral evolution, and a pairwise Alu gene alignment application. We give detailed presentation discussion on a 768 core Windows HPC Server cluster and an Azure cloud. All the applications start with a “doubly data parallel step” connecting independent data chosen from two parallel (EST, Alu) or two different databases (PhyloD). There are different structures for final stages in each application.
Cardiopulmonary Bypass-Induced Inflammatory Response: Pathophysiology and Treatment

Objectives: The objectives of this review are to discuss the pathophysiology of the pro-inflammatory response to the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit, the impact of ischemia reperfusion injury on post-operative organ function, the compensatory anti-inflammatory response and the evidence for immune-modulatory strategies and their impact on outcomes. Data Source: MEDLINE, PubMed. Conclusion: Innovations such as the development of more biocompatible surfaces and miniaturized circuits, as well as the increasing expertise of surgeons, anesthesiologists and perfusionists has transformed cardiac surgery and the use of cardiopulmonary bypass into a relatively routine procedure with favorable outcomes. Despite these refinements, the attendant inflammatory response to bypass, ischemia reperfusion injury and the compensatory anti-inflammatory response contribute to post-operative morbidity and mortality. Additional studies are needed to further delineate the impact of immunomodulatory strategies on outcomes.
Discovery of convoys in trajectory databases

As mobile devices with positioning capabilities continue to proliferate, data management for so-called trajectory databases that capture the historical movements of populations of moving objects becomes important. This paper considers the querying of such databases for convoys, a convoy being a group of objects that have traveled together for some time. More specifically, this paper formalizes the concept of a convoy query using density-based notions, in order to capture groups of arbitrary extents and shapes. Convoy discovery is relevant for real-life applications in throughput planning of trucks and carpooling of vehicles. Although there has been extensive research on trajectories in the literature, none of this can be applied to retrieve correctly exact convoy result sets. Motivated by this, we develop three efficient algorithms for convoy discovery that adopt the well-known filter-refinement framework. In the filter step, we apply line-simplification techniques on the trajectories and establish distance bounds between the simplified trajectories. This permits efficient convoy discovery over the simplified trajectories without missing any actual convoys. In the refinement step, the candidate convoys are further processed to obtain the actual convoys. Our comprehensive empirical study offers insight into the properties of the paper's proposals and demonstrates that the proposals are effective and efficient on real-world trajectory data.