Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Therapy versus Intensive Behavior Therapy in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Background: The study was designed to compare cognitive therapy (CT) with intensive behavior therapy (BT) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to study their change process. Methods: Sixty-five outpatients with DSM-4 OCD were randomized into 2 groups for 16 weeks of individual treatment in 3 centers. Group 1 received 20 sessions of CT. Group 2 received a BT program of 20 h in two phases: 4 weeks of intensive treatment (16 h), and 12 weeks of maintenance sessions (4 h). No medication was prescribed. Results: Sixty-two patients were evaluated at week 4, 60 at week 16 (post-test), 53 at week 26 and 48 at week 52 (follow-up). The response rate was similar in the 2 groups. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was significantly more improved by CT (p = 0.001) at week 16. The baseline BDI and Obsessive Thoughts Checklist scores predicted a therapeutic response in CT, while the baseline BDI score predicted a response in BT. At week 16, only the changes in Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and a scale measuring the interpretation of intrusive thoughts correlated in CT, while the changes in Y-BOCS, BDI, and interpretation of intrusive thoughts correlated in BT. Improvement was retained at follow-up without a between-group difference. The intent-to-treat analysis (last observation carried forward) found no between-group differences on obsessions, rituals and depression. Conclusions: CT and BT were equally effective on OCD, but at post-test CT had specific effects on depression which were stronger than those of BT. Pathways to improvement may be different in CT and BT. The outcomes are discussed in the light of an effect size analysis.
Regulative Effect of Mir-205 on Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs): Possible Role of SATB2/Runx2 and ERK/MAPK Pathway

Bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have multiple potentials to differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes, and methods to enhance their osteogenic differentiation are gaining increasing attention. MicroRNAs are critical regulation factors during the process of the osteogenic induction in BMSCs, and mir-205 has been substantiated to be involved in the osteogenic process, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this article is to investigate the role of mir-205 in the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. We found that mir-205 expression was down-regulated in a time-dependent manner during BMSC osteo-induction. Inhibition of mir-205 enhanced osteogenic abilities by up-regulating bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteopontin (OPN) protein levels and increasing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and osteocalcin secretion. Furthermore, we found that mir-205 could regulate protein expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) and runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), and over-expression of SATB2 activated Runx2 and reversed the negative effects of mir-205 on osteoblastic differentiation. Furthermore, we examined the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) pathways during osteogenic induction and our data indicates that mir-205 might exert negative functions on the osteogenic differentiation in BMSCs at least partly via altering phosphorylation of ERK and p38 MAPK. These results shed new light on the molecular mechanisms of microRNAs in governing differentiation of BMSCs.
Clinical Presentation of Fecal Incontinence and Anorectal Function: What Is the Relationship?

OBJECTIVES:Fecal incontinence is classified into various types passive, urge, and combined. Its clinical presentation is thought to be related to the underlying physiological or anatomical abnormality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the associations between the frequency of clinical symptoms and anatomic and functional characteristics of the anorectum of patients with severe fecal incontinence.METHODS:Associations were explored in a consecutive series of 162 patients (91% women, mean age 59 [SD ± 12] yr) with a mean Vaizey incontinence score of 18 (SD ± 3). RESULTS:Urge incontinence was reported as “daily” by 55%, “often” by 27%, and “sometimes” by 7% of all patients. No significant associations were observed between the frequency of urge incontinence and either manometric data, anal mucosal sensitivity testing, or defects of internal anal sphincter (IAS) or external anal sphincter (EAS). A significant relation was observed between the frequency of urge incontinence and maximal tolerable volume (P = 0.03) and atrophy of the EAS (P = 0.05). Passive incontinence was reported as “daily” by 14%, “often” by 30%, and “sometimes” by 14% of all patients. Resting and maximal squeeze pressure were both associated (P < 0.001) with the frequency of passive incontinence. No relationship could be detected between clinical presentation and rectal sensation, anal mucosal sensitivity, defects, or atrophy of IAS or EAS.CONCLUSION:Most patients reported combined incontinence (59%) and underlying pathophysiologic abnormalities were identified. The hypothesized associations between urge and passive incontinence and functional and anatomical impairment of the anorectum are less clear-cut than previously assumed. Patients presenting with fecal incontinence should undergo physiologic investigation.
Fas (CD95) Induces Proinflammatory Cytokine Responses by Human Monocytes and Monocyte-Derived Macrophages12

Fas (CD95, APO-1) is regarded as the prototypical cell death receptor of the TNFR superfamily. Fas-induced apoptosis is generally considered to be a noninflammatory process, contributing to the silent resolution of immune and inflammatory responses. However, accumulating evidence indicates that Fas may also induce cellular activation signals. We hypothesized that Fas could activate proinflammatory cytokine responses by normal human monocytes and macrophages. Monocytes were isolated by negative immunoselection from the PBMC fraction of venous blood from healthy volunteers, and monocyte-derived macrophages were cultivated in vitro. Both monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages released TNF-α and IL-8 following Fas ligation, and conditioned medium from Fas-activated monocytes and macrophages induced the directed migration of neutrophils in a chemotaxis assay. Fas-induced monocyte cytokine responses were associated with monocyte apoptosis, nuclear translocation of NF-κB, and cytokine gene expression and were blocked by caspase inhibition but not by inhibition of IL-1β signaling. In contrast, Fas-induced macrophage cytokine responses occurred in the absence of apoptosis and were caspase independent, indicating maturation-dependent differences in the Fas signaling pathways that lead to proinflammatory cytokine induction. Rather than contributing to the resolution of inflammation, Fas ligation on circulating monocytes and tissue macrophages may induce proinflammatory cytokine responses that can initiate acute inflammatory responses and tissue injury.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins: New Proteins, New Functions

The insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), and IGFBP proteases regulate somatic growth and cellular proliferation both in vivo and in vitro. IGFs are potent mitogens whose actions are determined by the availability of free IGFs to interact with IGF receptors. IGFBPs comprise a family of six proteins that bind IGFs with high affinity and specificity and thereby regulate IGF-dependent actions. IGFBPs have recently emerged as IGF-independent regulators of cell growth. Cleavage of IGFBPs by specific proteases modulate levels of free IGFs and IGFBPs and thereby their actions. IGFBP-related proteins (IGFBP-rPs) bind IGFs with low affinity and also play important roles in cell growth and differentiation. The GH-IGF-IGFBP axis is complex and powerful. Future research on its physiology promises exciting insights into cell biology as well as therapies for diseases such as cancer and diabetes mellitus.
Interferon γ Gene Expression in Sensory Neurons: Evidence for Autocrine Gene Regulation

We explored expression and possible function of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in cultured fetal (E15) rat dorsal root ganglion neurons combining whole cell patch-clamp electrophysiology with single cell reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and confocal laser immunocytochemistry. Morphologically, we located IFN-γ protein in the cytoplasm of the neurons in culture as well as in situ during peri- and postnatal development. Transcripts for classic IFN-γ and for its receptor were determined in probes of cytoplasm sampled from individual cultured neurons, which had been identified by patch clamp electrophysiology. In addition, the cultured neurons expressed both chains of the IFN-γ receptor. Locally produced IFN-γ acts back on its cellular source. Phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of the IFN-inducible transcriptional factor STAT1 as well as IFN-γ–dependent expression of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules on the neuronal membrane were noted in untreated cultures. However, both processes were substantially blocked in the presence of antibodies neutralizing IFN-γ. Our findings indicate a role of IFN-γ in autocrine regulation of sensory neurons.
Multi-objective particle swarm optimization on computer grids

In recent years, a number of authors have successfully extended particle swarmoptimization to problem domains with multiple objec\-tives. This paper addresses theissue of parallelizing multi-objec\-tive particle swarms. We propose and empirically comparetwo parallel versions which differ in the way they divide the swarminto subswarms that can be processed independently on differentprocessors. One of the variants works asynchronouslyand is thus particularly suitable for heterogeneous computer clusters asoccurring e.g.\ in moderngrid computing platforms.
Ultrafast Carrier and Lattice Dynamics in Highly Photo-Excited Solids

In this dissertation we report femtosecond time-resolved measurements of the spectral dielectric function of amourphous GaAs, GeSb thin films and single-crystalline Te. In all materials we measured the evolution of e(ω) over a broad energy range (1.7 – 3.4 eV), following an impulsive excitation by an ultrashort laser pulse. The e(ω) data on a-GaAs show evidence of a nonthermal, structurally driven semiconductor-to-metal transition. A comparison to previously taken e(ω) data on c-GaAs is especially illuminating in terms of the influence of the initial structure on the phase transition. Our results on GeSb thin films reveal a new nonthermal, metallic phase. The e(ω) data provide a detailed picture of the transition from the amorphous phase to the crystalline phase of these thin films. Furthermore we refute a previous claim on an ultrafast disorder-to-order transformation in these materials. The time resolved e(ω) data on Te reveal a great wealth of new information on impulsively driven coherent phonons, including their influence on the electronic bandstructure. We find evidence indicative of a new nonthermal phase of matter which we call a frustrated metal.
Effect of process variables on the structure, residual stress, and hardness of sputtered nanocrystalline nickel films

Nanocrystalline nickel films of about 0.1 μm thickness grown by sputtering with and without substrate bias possessed average grain sizes of 9–25 nm. Variation in substrate bias at room and liquid nitrogen temperature of deposition strongly affected grain structure and size distribution. Qualitative studies of film surfaces showed variation in roughness and porosity level with substrate bias and film thickness (maximum of 8 μm). The films had tensile residual stress, which varied with deposition conditions. The hardness values were much higher than those of coarse-grained nickel but decreased with an increase in the film thickness because of grain growth.
Mouse Hepatitis Virus Infection Remodels Connexin43-Mediated Gap Junction Intercellular Communication In Vitro and In Vivo

ABSTRACT Gap junctions (GJs) form intercellular channels which directly connect the cytoplasm between neighboring cells to facilitate the transfer of ions and small molecules. GJs play a major role in the pathogenesis of infection-associated inflammation. Mutations of gap junction proteins, connexins (Cxs), cause dysmyelination and leukoencephalopathy. In multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and its animal model experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE), Cx43 was shown to be modulated in the central nervous system (CNS). The mechanism behind Cx43 alteration and its role in MS remains unexplored. Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) infection-induced demyelination is one of the best-studied experimental animal models for MS. Our studies demonstrated that MHV infection downregulated Cx43 expression at protein and mRNA levels in vitro in primary astrocytes obtained from neonatal mouse brains. After infection, a significant amount of Cx43 was retained in endoplasmic reticulum/endoplasmic reticulum Golgi intermediate complex (ER/ERGIC) and GJ plaque formation was impaired at the cell surface, as evidenced by a reduction of the Triton X-100 insoluble fraction of Cx43. Altered trafficking and impairment of GJ plaque formation may cause the loss of functional channel formation in MHV-infected primary astrocytes, as demonstrated by a reduced number of dye-coupled cells after a scrape-loading Lucifer yellow dye transfer assay. Upon MHV infection, a significant downregulation of Cx43 was observed in the virus-infected mouse brain. This study demonstrates that astrocytic Cx43 expression and function can be modulated due to virus stress and can be an appropriate model to understand the basis of cellular mechanisms involved in the alteration of gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in CNS neuroinflammation. IMPORTANCE We found that MHV infection leads to the downregulation of Cx43 in vivo in the CNS. In addition, results show that MHV infection impairs Cx43 expression in addition to gap junction communication in primary astrocytes. After infection, Cx43 did not traffic normally to the membrane to form gap junction plaques, and that could be the basis of reduced functional gap junction coupling between astrocytes. This is an important first step toward understanding how viruses affect Cx43 expression and trafficking at the cellular level. This may provide a basis for understanding how structural alterations of astrocytic gap junctions can disrupt gap junction communication between other CNS cells in altered CNS environments due to infection and inflammation. More specifically, alteration of Cx43 may be the basis of the destabilization of Cx47 in oligodendrocytes seen in and around inflammatory demyelinating plaques in MS patients.
Next-Generation Sequencing of Genomic DNA Fragments Bound to a Transcription Factor in Vitro Reveals Its Regulatory Potential

Several transcription factors (TFs) coordinate to regulate expression of specific genes at the transcriptional level. In Arabidopsis thaliana it is estimated that approximately 10% of all genes encode TFs or TF-like proteins. It is important to identify target genes that are directly regulated by TFs in order to understand the complete picture of a plant’s transcriptome profile. Here, we investigate the role of the LONG HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5) transcription factor that acts as a regulator of photomorphogenesis. We used an in vitro genomic DNA binding assay coupled with immunoprecipitation and next-generation sequencing (gDB-seq) instead of the in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-based methods. The results demonstrate that the HY5-binding motif predicted here was similar to the motif reported previously and that in vitro HY5-binding loci largely overlapped with the HY5-targeted candidate genes identified in previous ChIP-chip analysis. By combining these results with microarray analysis, we identified hundreds of HY5-binding genes that were differentially expressed in hy5. We also observed delayed induction of some transcripts of HY5-binding genes in hy5 mutants in response to blue-light exposure after dark treatment. Thus, an in vitro gDNA-binding assay coupled with sequencing is a convenient and powerful method to bridge the gap between identifying TF binding potential and establishing function.
Highly Reliable High-Speed 1.1- $\mu$m-Range VCSELs With InGaAs/GaAsP-MQWs

In this paper, we describe high-speed 1.1-μm-range oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for large-scale optical interconnection applications. For achieving high data rates up to 25 Gbit/s under high temperature, we applied InGaAs/GaAsP strain-compensated multiple quantum wells (SC-MQWs) as the active layer. The developed device showed 25 Gbit/s error-free operation at 100°C. We also examined reliability of the VCSELs through accelerated life tests. The result showed an extremely long lifetime of about 10 thousand hours in MTTF under an ambient temperature of 150°C and a current density of about 19 kA/cm2. The level of reliability either equaled or surpassed that of conventional 0.85-μm VCSELs. Moreover, we revealed a typical failure mode of the device, which was caused by ≪110≫ dark line defects (DLDs) generated in the n-DBR layers under the current aperture area.
Depth Distribution and Assembly of Sulfate-Reducing Microbial Communities in Marine Sediments of Aarhus Bay

ABSTRACT Most sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) present in subsurface marine sediments belong to uncultured groups only distantly related to known SRMs, and it remains unclear how changing geochemical zones and sediment depth influence their community structure. We mapped the community composition and abundance of SRMs by amplicon sequencing and quantifying the dsrB gene, which encodes dissimilatory sulfite reductase subunit beta, in sediment samples covering different vertical geochemical zones ranging from the surface sediment to the deep sulfate-depleted subsurface at four locations in Aarhus Bay, Denmark. SRMs were present in all geochemical zones, including sulfate-depleted methanogenic sediment. The biggest shift in SRM community composition and abundance occurred across the transition from bioturbated surface sediments to nonbioturbated sediments below, where redox fluctuations and the input of fresh organic matter due to macrofaunal activity are absent. SRM abundance correlated with sulfate reduction rates determined for the same sediments. Sulfate availability showed a weaker correlation with SRM abundances and no significant correlation with the composition of the SRM community. The overall SRM species diversity decreased with depth, yet we identified a subset of highly abundant community members that persists across all vertical geochemical zones of all stations. We conclude that subsurface SRM communities assemble by the persistence of members of the surface community and that the transition from the bioturbated surface sediment to the unmixed sediment below is a main site of assembly of the subsurface SRM community. IMPORTANCE Sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) are key players in the marine carbon and sulfur cycles, especially in coastal sediments, yet little is understood about the environmental factors controlling their depth distribution. Our results suggest that macrofaunal activity is a key driver of SRM abundance and community structure in marine sediments and that a small subset of SRM species of high relative abundance in the subsurface SRM community persists from the sulfate-rich surface sediment to sulfate-depleted methanogenic subsurface sediment. More generally, we conclude that SRM communities inhabiting the subsurface seabed assemble by the selective survival of members of the surface community.
Practical Routing in a Cyclic MobiSpace

A key challenge of routing in delay-tolerant networks (DTNs) is finding routes that have high delivery rates and low end-to-end delays. When future connectivity information is not available, opportunistic routing is preferred in DTNs, in which messages are forwarded to nodes with higher delivery probabilities. We observe that real objects have repetitive motions, whereas no prior research work has investigated the time-varying delivery probabilities of messages between nodes at different times during a repetition of motion of the nodes. We propose to use the expected minimum delay (EMD) as a new delivery probability metric in DTNs with repetitive but nondeterministic mobility. First, we model the network as a probabilistic time-space graph with historical contact information or prior knowledge about the network. We then translate it into a probabilistic state-space graph, in which the time dimension is removed. With the state-space graph, we apply the Markov decision process to derive the EMDs of the messages. We propose an EMD-based probabilistic routing protocol, called routing in cyclic MobiSpace (RCM). To make RCM more practical, we show a simple extension that reduces routing information exchanged among nodes. We perform simulations with real and synthetic traces. Simulation results show that RCM outperforms several existing opportunistic routing protocols.
In vivo knockdown of Piccolino disrupts presynaptic ribbon morphology in mouse photoreceptor synapses

Piccolo is the largest known cytomatrix protein at active zones of chemical synapses. A growing number of studies on conventional chemical synapses assign Piccolo a role in the recruitment and integration of molecules relevant for both endo- and exocytosis of synaptic vesicles, the dynamic assembly of presynaptic F-actin, as well as the proteostasis of presynaptic proteins, yet a direct function in the structural organization of the active zone has not been uncovered in part due to the expression of multiple alternatively spliced isoforms. We recently identified Piccolino, a Piccolo splice variant specifically expressed in sensory ribbon synapses of the eye and ear. Here we down regulated Piccolino in vivo via an adeno-associated virus-based RNA interference approach and explored the impact on the presynaptic structure of mouse photoreceptor ribbon synapses. Detailed immunocytochemical light and electron microscopical analysis of Piccolino knockdown in photoreceptors revealed a hitherto undescribed photoreceptor ribbon synaptic phenotype with striking morphological changes of synaptic ribbon ultrastructure.
Synergistic Thermal-Moisture Damage Mechanisms of Epoxies and Their Carbon Fiber Composites

Experiments were conducted measuring the changes in weight of neat epoxy resins and carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites during immersion in distilled water in temperature range from 0.5°C to 80°C. From the weight change data, the values of maximum moisture contents and diffusion coefficients were determined. Systematic studies were carried out on the "reverse thermal effect" for both neat resin and composite. A critical temperature was observed below which the materials exhibit normal behavior (the rate of absorption of water into epoxy resin increases with increasing temperature) and once the materials saturated with water at temperatures above it, the reversibility of reverse thermal effect was observed. A possible mechanism involving moisture-induced elastic cavities is suggested to explain the effect. The effects of water on Tg , thermal expan sion and yield stress of neat epoxy resin were studied.