Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma Concentrations of Endocannabinoids and Related Primary Fatty Acid Amides in Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Background Endocannabinoids (ECs) and related N-acyl-ethanolamides (NAEs) play important roles in stress response regulation, anxiety and traumatic memories. In view of the evidence that circulating EC levels are elevated under acute mild stressful conditions in humans, we hypothesized that individuals with traumatic stress exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder characterized by the inappropriate persistence and uncontrolled retrieval of traumatic memories, show measurable alterations in plasma EC and NAE concentrations. Methods We determined plasma concentrations of the ECs anandamide (ANA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and the NAEs palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA), stearoylethanolamine (SEA), and N-oleoyldopamine (OLDA) by HPLC-MS-MS in patients with PTSD (n = 10), trauma-exposed individuals without evidence of PTSD (n = 9) and in healthy control subjects (n = 29). PTSD was diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria by administering the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), which also assesses traumatic events. Results Individuals with PTSD showed significantly higher plasma concentrations of ANA (0.48±0.11 vs. 0.36±0.14 ng/ml, p = 0.01), 2-AG (8.93±3.20 vs. 6.26±2.10 ng/ml, p<0.01), OEA (5.90±2.10 vs. 3.88±1.85 ng/ml, p<0.01), SEA (2.70±3.37 vs. 0.83±0.47, ng/ml, p<0.05) and significantly lower plasma levels of OLDA (0.12±0.05 vs. 0.45±0.59 ng/ml, p<0.05) than healthy controls. Moreover, PTSD patients had higher 2-AG plasma levels (8.93±3.20 vs. 6.01±1.32 ng/ml, p = 0.03) and also higher plasma concentrations of PEA (4.06±1.87 vs. 2.63±1.34 ng/ml, p<0.05) than trauma-exposed individuals without evidence of PTSD. CAPS scores in trauma-exposed individuals with and without PTSD (n = 19) correlated positively with PEA (r = 0.55, p = 0.02) and negatively with OLDA plasma levels (r = −0.68, p<0.01). CAPS subscores for intrusions (r = −0.65, p<0.01), avoidance (r = −0.60, p<0.01) and hyperarousal (r = −0.66, p<0.01) were all negatively related to OLDA plasma concentrations. Conclusions PTSD appears to be associated with changes in plasma EC/NAE concentrations. This may have pathophysiological and diagnostic consequences but will need to be reproduced in larger cohorts.
Interacting influences of pregnancy and corneal injury on rabbit lacrimal gland immunoarchitecture and function.

PURPOSE Previous reports indicated that pregnancy and corneal injury (CI) trigger alterations of lacrimal gland (LG) growth factor expression and redistributions of lymphocytes from periductal foci to acini. The purpose of this study was to test our hypothesis that pregnancy would exacerbate the changes induced by CI. METHODS Corneas were injured with scalpel blades, and, 2 weeks later, LGs were collected for immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. Lacrimal fluid was collected under basal- and pilocarpine-stimulated conditions for protein determination and Western blot analyses. RESULTS There were significant increases of immunoreactivity for prolactin, TGF-beta1, and EGF in duct cells during pregnancy and after CI, most prominent in pregnant animals with CI. Pregnancy decreased baseline lacrimal fluid secretion, whereas CI did not have a noticeable effect; pregnancy and CI combined resulted in increased fluid production. Pregnancy and CI each increased pilocarpine-induced lacrimal fluid production, whereas protein concentrations were decreased. Prolactin, TGF-beta1, and EGF were detected in LG by Western blot analysis but were minimally detectable in lacrimal fluid. RTLA+ and CD18+ cells were redistributed from periductal to interacinar sites during pregnancy and after CI, most prominent in pregnant animals with CI. CONCLUSIONS Like pregnancy, CI is associated with redistribution of immune cells from periductal to interacinar sites and enhanced immunoreactivity of prolactin, TGF-beta1, and EGF in ductal cells. Although baseline lacrimal fluid secretion varied, the glands of all three experimental groups produced significant amounts of fluid in response to pilocarpine, but protein concentrations were decreased.
The Effects of Microwaves on Airborne Microorganisms

This paper reports preliminary results of simple experiments carried out to study the effects of microwave irradiation at 2,45 GHz on fungi, yeast and bacteria of the type encountered in food processing plants or in enclosures containing individuals infected with tuberculosis mycobacterium (TB). The results are sufficiently encouraging to justify further multivariable experiments particularly with air circulation schemes in which the air can be sterilized in a circular cylindrical microwave cavity operating at a higher order mode.
Vitamin D Status during Pregnancy in a Multi-Ethnic Population-Representative Swedish Cohort

There is currently little information on changes in vitamin D status during pregnancy and its predictors. The aim was to study the determinants of change in vitamin D status during pregnancy and of vitamin D deficiency (<30 nmol/L) in early pregnancy. Blood was drawn in the first (T1) and third trimester (T3). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) (N = 1985) was analysed by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. Season-corrected 25(OH)D was calculated by fitting cosine functions to the data. Mean (standard deviation) 25(OH)D was 64.5(24.5) nmol/L at T1 and 74.6(34.4) at T3. Mean age was 31.3(4.9) years, mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.5(4.2) kg/m2 and 74% of the women were born in Sweden. Vitamin D deficiency was common among women born in Africa (51%) and Asia (46%) and prevalent in 10% of the whole cohort. Determinants of vitamin D deficiency at T1 were of non-North European origin, and had less sun exposure, lower vitamin D intake and lower age. Season-corrected 25(OH)D increased by 11(23) nmol/L from T1 to T3. The determinants of season-corrected change in 25(OH)D were origin, sun-seeking behaviour, clothing style, dietary vitamin D intake, vitamin D supplementation and recent travel <35° N. In conclusion, season-corrected 25(OH)D concentration increased during pregnancy and depended partly on lifestyle factors. The overall prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was low but common among women born in Africa and Asia. Among them, the determinants of both vitamin D deficiency and change in season-corrected vitamin D status were fewer, indicating a smaller effect of sun exposure.
Delay Discounting of Different Commodities

ABSTRACT When outcomes are delayed, their value is decreased. Delay discounting is a much-studied topic because it is correlated with certain disorders (e.g., pathological gambling). The present study attempts to determine how people would delay discount a number of different commodities, ranging from money to dating partners to federal education legislation. Participants completed delay discounting tasks pertaining to 5 different commodities, with a different set of 5 commodities for 2 groups. Results showed that different commodities were often discounted differently. Both data sets were also subjected to factor analysis. A 2-factor solution was found for both, suggesting that there are multiple “domains” of commodities. This finding is of interest because it suggests that measuring delay discounting for one commodity within a particular domain of commodities will be predictive of how people discount other commodities within that domain but will not be predictive of how they discount commodities within another domain.
PAC-Bayesian Bound for Gaussian Process Regression and Multiple Kernel Additive Model

We develop a PAC-Bayesian bound for the convergence rate of a Bayesian variant of Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL) that is an estimation method for the sparse additive model. Standard analyses for MKL require a strong condition on the design analogous to the restricted eigenvalue condition for the analysis of Lasso and Dantzig selector. In this paper, we apply PAC-Bayesian technique to show that the Bayesian variant of MKL achieves the optimal convergence rate without such strong conditions on the design. Basically our approach is a combination of PAC-Bayes and recently developed theories of non-parametric Gaussian process regressions. Our bound is developed in a fixed design situation. Our analysis includes the existing result of Gaussian process as a special case and the proof is much simpler by virtue of PAC-Bayesian technique. We also give the convergence rate of the Bayesian variant of Group Lasso as a finite dimensional special case.
Learning to Adapt to Changing Environments in Evolving Neural Networks

To study learning as an adaptive process, one must take into consideration the role of evolution, which is the primary adaptive process. In addition, learning should be studied in (artificial) organisms that live in an independent physical environment in such a way that the input from the environment can be at least partially controlled by the organisms' behavior. To explore these issues, we used a genetic algorithm to simulate the evolution of a population of neural networks, each controlling the behavior of a small mobile robot that must explore efficiently an environment surrounded by walls. Because the environment changes from one generation to the next, each network must learn during its life to adapt to the particular environment into which it happens to be born. We found that evolved networks incorporate a genetically inherited predisposition to learn that can be described as (1) the presence of initial conditions that tend to canalize learning in the right directions; (2) the tendency to behave in a way that enhances the perceived differences between different environments and determines input stimuli that facilitate the learning of adaptive changes; and (3) the ability to reach desirable stable states.
Proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation Tag: a Tiny Aggregation Service for Ad-hoc Sensor Networks

We present the Tiny AGgregation (TAG) service for ag-gregation in low-power, distributed, wireless environments. TAG allows users to express simple, declarative queries and have them distributed and executed efficiently in networks of low-power, wireless sensors. We discuss various generic properties of aggregates, and show how those properties affect the performance of our in network approach. We include a performance study demonstrating the advantages of our approach over traditional centralized , out-of-network methods, and discuss a variety of optimizations for improving the performance and fault-tolerance of the basic solution.
Flooding regimes and life-history characteristics of short-lived species in river forelands

A large-scale outdoor experiment was carried out to study the effect of flooding on growth, survival and reproduction in relation to developmental stage in three short-lived species. Several cohorts of Chenopodium rubrum, Rumex maritimus and R. palustris were raised in accordance with a flooding regime which was based on the average flooding conditions of their natural habitats in river forelands. Survival of submergence in the pre-reproductive phase was high in both species of Rumex, but relatively low in C. rubrum. Biomass reduction following flooding depended on plant size before flooding and on the mean temperature of the flood-water. Both Rumex spp. were less reduced in size during flooding, and better capable of regeneration afterwards, than C. rubrum. Later-raised cohorts of the short-day species C. rubrum started to flower after a shorter time and at an ealier developmental stage than earlier cohorts (.)
Algorithm of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

From the *Depa (DIMES), Bologn cine Newcastle U Newcastle, United xMichigan State U kDivision of Respi & National Cente Chinese Academy Surgery, Medical **Cardiovascular D Medicine, The Un Care and Sleep Di Boston, Massachu Jolla, California; k Mexico City, Me Universities of Gie and the ##Heart T has served on the a Pfizer, Bayer-Sche Lilly and Compa institutional grant he demands on a pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) treatment algorithm are multiple and in some ways conflicting. The treatment algorithm usually includes different types of recommendations with varying degrees of scientific evidence. In addition, the algorithm is required to be comprehensive but not too complex, informative yet simple and straightforward. The type of information in the treatment algorithm are heterogeneous including clinical, hemodynamic, medical, interventional, pharmacological and regulatory recommendations. Stakeholders (or users) including physicians from various specialties and with variable expertise in PAH, nurses, patients and patients’ associations, healthcare providers, regulatory agencies and industry are often interested in the PAH treatment algorithm for different reasons. These are the considerable challenges faced when proposing appropriate updates to the current evidence-based treatment algorithm.The current treatment algorithm may be divided into 3 main areas: 1) general measures, supportive therapy, referral strategy, acute vasoreactivity testing and chronic treatment with calcium channel blockers; 2) initial therapy with approved PAH drugs; and 3) clinical response to the initial therapy, combination therapy, balloon atrial septostomy, and lung transplantation. All three sections will be revisited highlighting information newly available in the past 5 years and proposing updates where appropriate. The European Society of Cardiology grades of recommendation and levels of evidence will be adopted to rank the proposed treatments. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2013;62:D60–72) a 2013 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation
P300 and tracking difficulty: evidence for multiple resources in dual-task performance.

Subjects performed a visual tracking task while performing a concurrent task in which tones were covertly counted. The P300 component of the event-related potentials elicited by the tones was examined to determine the extent to which its amplitude was affected by variations in the forcing-function bandwidth, or difficulty, of the tracking task. P300 decreased in magnitude when tones were counted in conjunction with the performance of the tracking task, relative to a single-task counting condition. Increasing tracking difficulty failed to reduce P300 amplitude further. A second experiment obviated the possibility that movement-related potentials caused the P300 attenuation resulting from the introduction of the tracking task. In Experiment 3, subjects performed a reaction time task in conjunction with tracking in order to establish the validity of the tracking difficulty manipulation. The results are interpreted in terms of a theory of functionally-specific processing resources.
Building Efficiency and Sustainability in the Tropics ( SinBerBEST ) Title Model Predictive Control Approach to Online Computation of Demand-Side Flexibility of Commercial Buildings HVAC Systems for Supply Following Permalink

Commercial buildings have inherent flexibility in how their HVAC systems consume electricity. We investigate how to take advantage of this flexibility. We first propose a means to define and quantify the flexibility of a commercial building. We then propose a contractual framework that could be used by the building operator and the utility to declare flexibility on the one side and reward structure on the other side. We then design a control mechanism for the building to decide its flexibility for the next contractual period to maximize the reward, given the contractual framework. Finally, we perform at-scale experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm.
The Temporal Stability of the Effects Induced by the Cued Reaction Time Task

The temporal stability of the effects induced by the Cued Reaction Time Task (CRTT) on the orienting of attention was assessed across four weekly sessions. Benefits, costs, and validity effects were computed for each session, and the correlation coefficients between each session were calculated (interindividual stability index). Intraindividual stability indices, the percentage of individuals showing both costs and benefits or the validity effect, were also calculated. The results (based on 41 participants) show a low stability for the effects in which the neutral trials were involved (benefits and costs) but an acceptable reliability for the validity effect, especially when evaluated using the intraindividual index. To maximize the reliability of the data collected using the CRTT, the validity effect seems to be a better probe of spatial orienting of attention.
Opioid Analgesia in P450 Gene Cluster Knockout Mice: A Search for Analgesia-Relevant Isoforms

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), which are well-known drug-metabolizing enzymes, are thought to play a signal transduction role in µ opioid analgesia and may serve as high-affinity 3H-cimetidine (3HCIM) binding sites in the brain. 3HCIM binding sites may also be related to opioid or nonopioid analgesia. However, of the more than 100 murine P450 enzymes, the specific isoform(s) responsible for either function have not been identified. Presently, three lines of constitutive P450 gene cluster knockout (KO) mice with full-length deletions of 14 Cyp2c, 9 Cyp2d, and 7 Cyp3a genes were studied for deficiencies in 3HCIM binding and for opioid analgesia. Liver and brain homogenates from all three genotypes showed normal 3HCIM binding values, indicating that gene products of Cyp2d, Cyp3a, and Cyp2c are not 3HCIM-binding proteins. Cyp2d KO and Cyp3a KO mice showed normal antinociceptive responses to a moderate systemic dose of morphine (20 mg/kg, s.c.), thereby excluding 16 P450 isoforms as mediators of opioid analgesia. In contrast, Cyp2c KO mice showed a 41% reduction in analgesic responses following systemically (s.c.) administered morphine. However, the significance of brain Cyp2c gene products in opioid analgesia is uncertain because little or no analgesic deficits were noted in Cyp2c KO mice following intracerebroventricular or intrathecalmorphine administration, respectively. These results show that the gene products of Cyp2d and Cyp3a do not contribute to µ opioid analgesia in the central nervous system. A possible role for Cyp2c gene products in opioid analgesia requires further consideration.
H∞ control for stochastic switched delay systems with missing measurements: An average dwell time approach

In this paper, the problem of non-fragile observer-based H∞ control for discrete-time switched delay systems is investigated. Both data missing and time delays are taken into account in the links from sensors to observers and from controllers to actuators. Such problem is transformed into an H∞ control problem for stochastic switched delay systems. Average dwell time (ADT) approach is used to obtain sufficient conditions on the solvability of such problems. An example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A 1.55 Å resolution X‐ray crystal structure of HEF2/ERH and insights into its transcriptional and cell‐cycle interaction networks

Functional complementation screens can identify known or novel proteins with important intracellular activities. We have isolated human enhancer of filamentation 2 (HEF2) in a screen to find human genes that promote pseudohyphal growth in budding yeast. HEF2 is identical to enhancer of rudimentary homolog (ERH), a highly conserved protein of 104 amino acids. In silico protein‐interaction mapping implies that HEF2/ERH interacts with transcription factors, cell‐cycle regulators, and other proteins shown to enhance filamentous growth in S. cerevisiae, suggesting a context for studies of HEF2/ERH function. To provide a mechanistic basis to study of HEF2/ERH, we have determined the crystal structure of HEF2/ERH at 1.55 Å. The crystal asymmetric unit contains a HEF2/ERH monomer. The two monomers of the physiological dimer are related by the y, x, –z crystal symmetric operation. The HEF2/ERH structure is characterized by a novel α + β fold, a four‐strand antiparallel β‐sheet with three α‐helixes on one side of the sheet. The β‐sheets from the two monomers together constitute a pseudo‐β‐barrel, and form the center of the functional HEF2/ERH dimer, with a cavity channel at the dimer interface. Docking of this structure to the HEF2/ERH partner protein DCOH/PCD suggests that HEF2/ERH may regulate the oligomeric state of this protein. These data suggest that HEF2/ERH may be an important transcription regulator that also functions in the control of cell‐cycle progression. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Convergent evolution as an indicator for selection during acute HIV-1 infection

Convergent evolution describes the process of different populations acquiring similar phenotypes or genotypes. Complex organisms with large genomes only rarely and only under very strong selection converge to the same genotype. In contrast, independent virus populations with very small genomes often acquire identical mutations. Here we test the hypothesis of whether convergence in early HIV-1 infection is common enough to serve as an indicator for selection. To this end, we measure the number of convergent mutations in a well-studied dataset of full-length HIV-1 env genes sampled from HIV-1 infected individuals during early infection. We compare this data to a neutral model and find an excess of convergent mutations. Convergent mutations are not evenly distributed across the env gene, but more likely to occur in gp41, which suggests that convergent mutations provide a selective advantage and hence are positively selected. In contrast, mutations that are only found in an HIV-1 population of a single individual are significantly affected by purifying selection. Our analysis suggests that comparisons between convergent and private mutations with neutral models allow us to identify positive and negative selection in small viral genomes. Our results also show that selection significantly shapes HIV-1 populations even before the onset of the adaptive immune system.
The Challenge of Finding a Cure for HIV Infection

Although combination therapy for HIV infection represents a triumph for modern medicine, chronic suppressive therapy is required to contain persistent infection in reservoirs such as latently infected CD4+ lymphocytes and cells of the macrophage-monocyte lineage. Despite its success, chronic suppressive therapy is limited by its cost, the requirement of lifelong adherence, and the unknown effects of long-term treatment. This review discusses our current understanding of suppressive antiretroviral therapy, the latent viral reservoir, and the needs for and challenges of attacking this reservoir to achieve a cure.