Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Marked expression of TNF receptors in human peritendinous tissues including in nerve fascicles with axonal damage - Studies on tendinopathy and tennis elbow

Background: The peritendinous connective tissues can have importance in chronic tendon pain. Recently cytokine TNF-α has been suggested to be involved in tendinopathic processes. It is not known how TNF-α and its receptors TNFR1 and TNFR2 are expressed in peritendinous tissues. Methods: The objective for this study was to immunohistochemically evaluate the expression patterns of these in the peritendinous tissue located between the plantaris and Achilles tendons and the one located superficially to the extensor origin at the elbow region for patients with tendinopathy/tennis elbow. Results: The nerve fascicles were of two types, one type being homogenously stained for the nerve markers βIII-tubulin and neurofilament and the other showing deficits for these suggesting features of axonal damage. Much more distinct TNFR1/TNFR2 immunoreactions were seen for the latter nerve fascicles. TNFR1 was seen in axons, TNFR2 mainly in Schwann cells. TNFR1 and particularly TNFR2 were seen in walls of parts of blood vessels. The dispersed cells showed frequently TNFR1 and TNFR2 immunoreactivity. Discussion: These findings suggest that TNF-α can be related to degenerative events but also attempts for healing concerning the nerve structures. The marked expression of the TNF-α system in the peritendinous tissue suggests an impact of TNF-α in tendinopathy/tennis elbow.
A Transgenic Mouse Line Expressing the Red Fluorescent Protein tdTomato in GABAergic Neurons

GABAergic inhibitory neurons are a large population of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) of mammals and crucially contribute to the function of the circuitry of the brain. To identify specific cell types and investigate their functions labelling of cell populations by transgenic expression of fluorescent proteins is a powerful approach. While a number of mouse lines expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in different subpopulations of GABAergic cells are available, GFP expressing mouse lines are not suitable for either crossbreeding to other mouse lines expressing GFP in other cell types or for Ca2+-imaging using the superior green Ca2+-indicator dyes. Therefore, we have generated a novel transgenic mouse line expressing the red fluorescent protein tdTomato in GABAergic neurons using a bacterial artificial chromosome based strategy and inserting the tdTomato open reading frame at the start codon within exon 1 of the GAD2 gene encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65). TdTomato expression was observed in all expected brain regions; however, the fluorescence intensity was highest in the olfactory bulb and the striatum. Robust expression was also observed in cortical and hippocampal neurons, Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, amacrine cells in the retina as well as in cells migrating along the rostral migratory stream. In cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb and brainstem, 80% to 90% of neurons expressing endogenous GAD65 also expressed the fluorescent protein. Moreover, almost all tdTomato-expressing cells coexpressed GAD65, indicating that indeed only GABAergic neurons are labelled by tdTomato expression. This mouse line with its unique spectral properties for labelling GABAergic neurons will therefore be a valuable new tool for research addressing this fascinating cell type.
Survival Benefit of the Primary Prevention Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Among Older Patients: Does Age Matter? An Analysis of Pooled Data From 5 Clinical Trials

Background—The impact of patient age on the risks of death or rehospitalization after primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placement is uncertain. Methods and Results—Data from 5 major ICD trials were merged: the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial I (MADIT-I), the Multicenter UnSustained Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT), the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial II (MADIT-II), the Defibrillators in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Treatment Evaluation Trial (DEFINITE), and the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT). Median age at enrollment was 62 (interquartile range 53–70) years. Compared with their younger counterparts, older patients had a greater burden of comorbid illness. In unadjusted exploratory analyses, ICD recipients were less likely to die than nonrecipients in all age groups: among patients aged <55 years: hazard ratio 0.48, 95% posterior credible interval 0.33 to 0.69; among patients aged 55 to 64 years: hazard ratio 0.69, 95% posterior credible interval 0.53 to 0.90; among patients aged 65 to 74 years: hazard ratio 0.67, 95% posterior credible interval, 0.53 to 0.85; and among patients aged ≥75 years: hazard ratio 0.54, 95% posterior credible interval 0.37 to 0.78. Sample sizes were limited among patients aged ≥75 years. In adjusted Bayesian–Weibull modeling, point estimates indicate ICD efficacy persists but is attenuated with increasing age. There was evidence of an interaction between age and ICD treatment on survival (two-sided posterior tail probability of no interaction <0.01). Using an adjusted Bayesian logistic regression model, there was no evidence of an interaction between age and ICD treatment on rehospitalization (two-sided posterior tail probability of no interaction 0.44). Conclusions—In this analysis, the survival benefit of the ICD exists but is attenuated with increasing age. The latter finding may be because of the higher burden of comorbid illness, competing causes of death, or limited sample size of older patients. There was no evidence that age modifies the association between ICD treatment and rehospitalization.
Directional instability of kinetochore motility during chromosome congression and segregation in mitotic newt lung cells: a push-pull mechanism

Most models of mitotic congression and segregation assume that only poleward pulling forces occur at kinetochores. However, there are reports for several different cell types that both mono-oriented and bi- oriented chromosomes oscillate toward and away from the pole throughout mitosis. We used new methods of high resolution video microscopy and computer-assisted tracking techniques to measure the positions over time of individual kinetochores with respect to their poles during mitosis in living newt lung cells. The results show that kinetochores oscillate throughout mitosis when they are tethered to spindle poles by attachment to the plus-ends of kinetochore microtubules (kMTs). Oscillations were not sinusoidal. Instead, kinetochores abruptly (as quick as 6 s or less) switched between persistent (approximately 1.5 min average duration) phases of poleward (P) and away from the pole (AP) movement. This kinetochore "directional instability" was a property of motility at the plus-ends of kMTs since fluorescent marks on the lattice of kMTs have previously been observed to exhibit only relatively slow P movement. Each P and AP phase consisted of one or a few constant velocity domains (approximately 1.7 microns/min average velocity). Velocities of P and AP phases were similar from prometaphase through mid-anaphase. Kinetochores occasionally switched to an indeterminant (N) phase of no or confused motion, which was usually brief compared to the durations of P and AP phases. Net chromosome displacements that occurred during congression to the equator or poleward movement during anaphase were primarily generated by differences in the durations and not the velocities of P and AP movements. Careful analysis of centromere deformation showed that kinetochore P movement produced pulling forces while kinetochore AP movement produced pushing forces. These data show that kinetochore directional instability is fundamental to the processes of chromosome congression and segregation. We argue that tension at the kinetochore attachment site is a key factor which controls the switching between P and AP phases of kinetochore motion.
Bacillus niacini sp. nov., a Nicotinate-Metabolizing Mesophile Isolated from Soil

Bacillus sp. strain DSM 2923T (T = type strain) and five other Bacillus strains isolated from soil were able to grow on nicotinate (niacin) as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy and to produce a blue pigment. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the DNAs of four strains ranged from 37 to 39 mol%. On the basis of the results of common physiological tests, assignment to a previously described Bacillus species was not possible. Thus, these closely related strains are described as a new species, Bacillus niacini.
Test and Diagnosis Algorithm Generation and Evaluation for MRAM Write Disturbance Fault

We proposed the systematic tools, RAMSES-M and TAGS-M, for test and diagnosis algorithms evaluation and development, respectively. In addition to traditional memory fault models, the tools support the MRAM specific fault model, Write Disturbance Fault (WDF) and its specific test operation, Read-previous, which is proposed in this paper, too. The concept of Weighted Fault Coverage (WFC) is introduced and adopted by RAMSES-M. Several test and diagnosis algorithms generated by the proposed tool are compared with other conventional March algorithms. The results show that the proposed algorithms have better performance for testing and diagnosis.
EASE: an effective 3-in-1 keyword search method for unstructured, semi-structured and structured data

Conventional keyword search engines are restricted to a given data model and cannot easily adapt to unstructured, semi-structured or structured data. In this paper, we propose an efficient and adaptive keyword search method, called EASE, for indexing and querying large collections of heterogenous data. To achieve high efficiency in processing keyword queries, we first model unstructured, semi-structured and structured data as graphs, and then summarize the graphs and construct graph indices instead of using traditional inverted indices. We propose an extended inverted index to facilitate keyword-based search, and present a novel ranking mechanism for enhancing search effectiveness. We have conducted an extensive experimental study using real datasets, and the results show that EASE achieves both high search efficiency and high accuracy, and outperforms the existing approaches significantly.
Please Scroll down for Article Journal of Biological Dynamics Monotone Bifurcation Graphs Monotone Bifurcation Graphs

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. In recent work by Angeli and the authors, it was shown that the stability and global behaviour of strongly monotone dynamical systems may be profitably studied using a technique that involves feedback decom-positions into 'well-behaved' subsystems. The present paper generalizes the approach, so that it applies to a far larger class of systems. As an illustration, the techniques are used in the analysis of a nine-variable autoregulatory transcription network. Also, extensions to delay and reaction diffusion systems are considered.
Preventing Privilege Escalation

We introduce a system that eliminates the need to run programs in privileged process contexts. Using our system, programs run unprivileged but may execute certain operations with elevated privileges as determined by a configurable policy eliminating the need for suid or sgid binaries. We present the design and analysis of the "Systrace" facility which supports fine grained process confinement, intrusion detection, auditing and privilege elevation. It also facilitates the often difficult process of policy generation. With Systrace, it is possible to generate policies automatically in a training session or generate them interactively during program execution. The policies describe the desired behavior of services or user applications on a system call level and are enforced to prevent operations that are not explicitly permitted. We show that Systrace is efficient and does not impose significant performance penalties.
Nutritional supplement practices in UK junior national track and field athletes

Methods: The nutritional supplementation practices of 32 national track and field athletes competing at the 2004 World Junior Championships were studied using an anonymous questionnaire. Information was sought on the prevalence and type of supplement used, the reasons for use, knowledge of supplements, and sources of information. Results: Use of supplements was widespread with 62% of respondents declaring supplement use. Prevalence in female athletes (75%) was higher than in males (55%) but was not statistically significant. No differences were found for age, training volume, or type of event. Seventeen different supplements were taken, with each athlete using an average of 2.4 products, multivitamins and minerals being the most popular. Reasons for using supplements were for health (45%), to enhance the immune system (40%), and to improve performance (25%). Of all respondents 48% believed they had an average knowledge of supplements, but three quarters felt that they required further information. Those not using supplements were more likely to think supplements were associated with health risks than those taking them (p = 0.03). Most athletes (72%) have access to a sports dietician but underutilise this resource. Coaches (65%) had the greatest influence on supplementation practices, with doctors (25%) and sports dieticians (30%) being less important. Conclusions: Supplementation practices were widespread among the population studied. The findings of this investigation could be used to enable the sports dietician and physician to identify common misconceptions held by adolescent athletes regarding nutritional supplements and to implement educational programs, which should include members of the non-medical support team.
Pursuing the quest for better understanding the taxonomic distribution of the system of doubly uniparental inheritance of mtDNA

There is only one exception to strict maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the animal kingdom: a system named doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI), which is found in several bivalve species. Why and how such a radically different system of mitochondrial transmission evolved in bivalve remains obscure. Obtaining a more complete taxonomic distribution of DUI in the Bivalvia may help to better understand its origin and function. In this study we provide evidence for the presence of sex-linked heteroplasmy (thus the possible presence of DUI) in two bivalve species, i.e., the nuculanoid Yoldia hyperborea(Gould, 1841)and the veneroid Scrobicularia plana(Da Costa,1778), increasing the number of families in which DUI has been found by two. An update on the taxonomic distribution of DUI in the Bivalvia is also presented.
Socio-economic Determinants of Smoking Prevalence and Intensity in Nepal

This study examines the socioeconomic determinants of smoking and smoking intensity in Nepal. Leveraging data from the nationally representative Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019, a logistic regression is utilized to identify predictors of individual smoking while the study relies on Poisson estimation technique to examine the determinants of smoking quantity. Our results indicate that individual characteristics—particularly age, level of education, history of alcohol use, and consumption of smokeless tobacco—play a significant role in predicting the prevalence of smoking. On the other hand, household factors like wealth scores, household size, and house-specific attributes are only weakly associated with both smoking behavior and intensity. Our results also support that similar set of socio-economic variables influence the likelihood of smoking and the quantity of cigarettes consumed. These findings emphasize the need for demand-side interventions targeted to specific socioeconomic groups, and supplementing the existing supply-side policy and regulatory measures implemented by the Government of Nepal.
Characterization of mouse CD4 T cell subsets defined by expression of KLRG1

The mouse killer cell lectin‐like receptor G1 (KLRG1) is an inhibitory receptor known to be expressed on a subset of NK cells and antigen‐experienced CD8 T cells. Here, we have characterized expression of KLRG1 on CD4+ T cells from normal mice. While a polyclonal TCR repertoire suggests thymic origin of KLRG1+ CD4+ cells, KLRG1 expression was found to be restricted to peripheral CD4+ T cells. Based on phenotypic analyses, a minority of KLRG1+ CD4+ cells are effector/memory cells with a proliferative history. The majority of KLRG1+ CD4+ cells are, however, bona fide Treg cells that depend on IL‐2 and/or CD28 and express both FoxP3 and high levels of intracellular CD152. KLRG1‐expressing Treg are contained within the CD38+ subset but are only partially overlapping with the CD25+ CD4+ Treg subset. In functional assays, KLRG1+ CD4+ cells were anergic to TCR stimulation with respect to proliferation, and sorted KLRG1+ CD25+ CD4+ cells were equal or superior to KLRG1+ CD25– CD4+ cells, which were more potent than KLRG1– CD25+ CD4+ cells in suppressing responder cell proliferation. Together, our results demonstrate that KLRG1 expression defines novel and distinctive subsets of senescent effector/memory and potent regulatory CD4+ T cells.
Mitigating disorderly leaving events in G.fast

Vectoring is a vital component of wideband wireline communication systems. A disorderly leaving event (DLE) disturbs the vectoring operation since the precoder, which was designed for the channel before the change, is no longer up to date. Measurements indicate that the impact of a DLE can be serious for frequencies beyond 30 MHz, which corresponds to the band used by emerging wideband communication systems over short multi-pair copper cables such as G.fast. As an alternative to the state-of-the-art update procedure, this paper presents an approach to mitigating the DLE problem. By interpreting DLE with the FEXT-reflected-NEXT (FRN) model, we propose a scheme that enables the showtime lines to return to disturbance-free transmission once the loss of signal on a certain line is detected while updating the precoder as a background process. Furthermore, the estimation complexity for a K-user vectoring group is reduced from O(K2) to O(K).
Immunosuppressant Pharmacokinetics and Dosing Modifications in HIV‐1 Infected Liver and Kidney Transplant Recipients

Solid organ transplantation in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected individuals requiring concomitant use of immunosuppressants (IS) (e.g. cyclosporine [CsA], sirolimus [SrL], tacrolimus [FK]) and antiretrovirals (ARVs) (e.g. protease inhibitors [PIs] and/or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NNRTIs]) is complicated by significant drug interactions. To assist in appropriate clinical management, we describe the pharmacokinetics and dosing modifications in 35 patients (20 kidney, 13 liver and two kidney‐liver HIV‐infected subjects with end‐stage kidney or liver disease), on both IS and NNRTIs, PIs, and combined NNRTIs + PIs, in studies done at weeks 2–4 and/or 12 weeks after transplantation or after a change in IS or ARV drug regimen (n = 97 studies). CsA, SrL and FK concentrations were measured in whole blood by LC/MS. HIV‐infected transplant recipients using PIs with IS had marked increases in CsA, FK or SrL trough levels compared to those on NNRTIs alone or to patients not on ARVs, necessitating either a reduction in dose or an increase in dosing interval. Subjects on efavirenz (EFV) and CsA required much higher doses of CsA than those using any other ARV. Changes in antiretroviral therapy should be carefully managed to avoid insufficient immunosuppression or toxicity due to drug interactions.
Healing Together: A Narrative Review on How Psychiatric Treatment for Parental Depression Impacts Children

It is well known that parental depression is correlated to adverse child mental health outcomes; but what is the effect of treating parental depression on the child? This narrative review aims to explore this question, and how certain specific interventions designed to help depressed parents affect mental health outcomes in their children. The academic database APA PsychInfo was searched for articles that broadly included interventions for parents with depression as well as child wellbeing or outcomes as of October 2023. Additional searches were conducted in the academic database PubMed in December 2023 and January 2024. Forty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria and were examined closely for this review. The studies included were divided into the following categories: psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, parenting support, and paternal interventions. We discuss the implications of our review on clinical practice and recommend further research in this area.
Agriculturally Relevant Climate Extremes and Their Trends in the World's Major Growing Regions

Climate extremes can negatively impact crop production, and climate change is expected to affect the frequency and severity of extremes. Using a combination of in situ station measurements (Global Historical Climatology Network's Daily data set) and multiple other gridded data products, a derived 1° data set of growing season climate indices and extremes is compiled over the major growing regions for maize, wheat, soybean, and rice for 1951–2006. This data set contains growing season climate indices that are agriculturally relevant, such as the number of hot days, duration of dry spells, and rainfall intensity. Before 1980, temperature‐related indices had few trends; after 1980, statistically significant warming trends exist for each crop in the majority of growing regions. In particular, crops have increasingly been exposed to extreme hot temperatures, above which yields have been shown to decline. Rainfall trends are less consistent compared to temperature, with some regions receiving more rainfall and others less. Anomalous temperature and precipitation conditions are shown to often occur concurrently, with dry growing seasons more likely to be hotter, have larger drought indices, and have larger vapor pressure deficits. This leads to the confluence of a variety of climate conditions that negatively impact crop yields. These results show a consistent increase in global agricultural exposure to negative climate conditions since 1980.