Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calcium-dependent O-GlcNAc signaling drives liver autophagy in adaptation to starvation

In this study, Ruan et al. demonstrate that O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is required for glucagon-stimulated liver autophagy and metabolic adaptation to starvation. Their findings delineate a new signaling pathway in which starvation promotes autophagy through OGT phosphorylation and establish the importance of O-GlcNAc signaling in coupling liver autophagy to nutrient homeostasis.
Bone marrow stroma-induced resistance of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells to arsenic trioxide involves Mcl-1 upregulation and is overcome by inhibiting the PI3Kδ or PKCβ signaling pathways

CLL remains an incurable disease in spite of the many new compounds being studied. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) induces apoptosis in all CLL cell types and could constitute an efficient therapy. To further explore this, we have studied the influence of stromal cells, key components of the CLL microenvironment, on the response of CLL cells to ATO. Bone marrow stromal cells induced CLL cell resistance to 2 μM ATO and led to activation of Lyn, ERK, PI3K and PKC, as well as NF-κB and STAT3. Mcl-1, Bcl-xL, and Bfl-1 were also upregulated after the co-culture. Inhibition experiments indicated that PI3K and PKC were involved in the resistance to ATO induced by stroma. Moreover, idelalisib and sotrastaurin, specific inhibitors for PI3Kδ and PKCβ, respectively, inhibited Akt phosphorylation, NF-κB/STAT3 activation and Mcl-1 upregulation, and rendered cells sensitive to ATO. Mcl-1 was central to the mechanism of resistance to ATO, since: 1) Mcl-1 levels correlated with the CLL cell response to ATO, and 2) blocking Mcl-1 expression or function with specific siRNAs or inhibitors overcame the protecting effect of stroma. We have therefore identified the mechanism involved in the CLL cell resistance to ATO induced by bone marrow stroma and show that idelalisib or sotrastaurin block this mechanism and restore sensibility to ATO. Combination of ATO with these inhibitors may thus constitute an efficient treatment for CLL.
Experimental Investigation on SSTT Confined Concrete with Low Lateral Pre-tensioning Stresses

An experimental and analytical study on the application of Steel Strapping Tensioning Technique (SSTT) confinement on twelve high-strength concrete cylinder specimens with dimension of 100 mm and 200 mm in diameter and height respectively has been studied and presented throughout this paper. The specimens were volumetric-identically confined with two different confining materials of different mechanical properties and lateral pre-tensioning stresses, namely SSTT(HC) and SSTT(SS). All concrete specimens were tested under uniaxial compression load. The performance of SSTT-type confined specimens were studied through their stress-strain relationship upon the longitudinal and transverse deformation, mode of failure, level of lateral pre-tensioning stress, and dilatancy behaviour. The results show that high-strength concretes confined with SSTT would significantly reduce the brittleness problem and at the same time, enhancing both ultimate compressive strength and ductility up to 65% and 344%, 36% and 269% for both SSTT(HC) and SSTT(SS), respectively. Those specimens confined with higher lateral pre-tensioning stress exhibits smaller radial expansion and higher rate of axial strain, able to slow down the dilation of confined specimens under loading and thus, helps in enhancing the compressive capacity and ductility. In addition, an analytical comparison between SSTT-type confinement and conventional confinement models have been presented and the results show a linear relationship between the compressive strength enhancement and confinement ratio. Current experimental results were also validated by comparing the observed stress-strain relationship proposed by Mander.
Composition and Activity of Microbial Communities along the Redox Gradient of an Alkaline, Hypersaline, Lake

We compared the composition of microbial communities obtained by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons with taxonomy derived from metatranscriptomes from the same samples. Samples were collected from alkaline, hypersaline Mono Lake, California, USA at five depths that captured the major redox zones of the lake during the onset of meromixis. The prokaryotic community was dominated by bacteria from the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, while the picoeukaryotic chlorophyte Picocystis dominated the eukaryotes. Most (80%) of the abundant (>1% relative abundance) OTUs recovered as amplicons of 16S rRNA genes have been reported in previous surveys, indicating that Mono Lake's microbial community has remained stable over 12 years that have included periods of regular, annual overturn interspersed by episodes of prolonged meromixis that result in extremely reducing conditions in bottom water. Metatranscriptomic sequences binned predominately to the Gammaproteobacteria genera Thioalkalivibrio (4–13%) and Thioalkalimicrobium (0–14%); and to the Firmicutes genera Dethiobacter (0–5%) and Clostridium (1–4%), which were also abundant in the 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries. This study provides insight into the taxonomic affiliations of transcriptionally active communities of the lake's water column under different redox conditions.
High-Quality Schottky Contacts for Limiting Leakage Currents in Ge-Based Schottky Barrier MOSFETs

Schottky barrier (SB) Ge channel MOSFETs suffer from high drain-body leakage at the required elevated substrate doping concentrations to suppress source-drain leakage. Here, we show that electrodeposited Ni-Ge and NiGe/Ge Schottky diodes on highly doped Ge show low off current, which might make them suitable for SB p-MOSFETs. The Schottky diodes showed rectification of up to five orders of magnitude. At low forward biases, the overlap of the forward current density curves for the as-deposited Ni/n-Ge and NiGe/n-Ge Schottky diodes indicates Fermi-level pinning in the Ge bandgap. The SB height for electrons remains virtually constant at 0.52 eV (indicating a hole barrier height of 0.14 eV) under various annealing temperatures. The series resistance decreases with increasing annealing temperature in agreement with four-point probe measurements indicating the lower specific resistance of NiGe as compared to Ni, which is crucial for high drive current in SB p-MOSFETs. We show by numerical simulation that by incorporating such high-quality Schottky diodes in the source/drain of a Ge channel PMOS, a highly doped substrate could be used to minimize the source-to-drain subthreshold leakage current.
Investigating the Effects of Location-Based Advertising in the Supermarket: Does Goal Congruence Trump Location Congruence?

ABSTRACT Advertising professionals have great expectations for location-based advertising (LBA). The present study therefore set out to investigate whether ads that are tailored to consumers' location are indeed more effective than ads that are not. In addition, it was investigated whether LBA is particularly likely to be effective when the ad is not only location congruent but also relevant to consumers' goals. Therefore, a 2 (location congruence) × 2 (goal relevance) experimental design was employed. These expectations were borne out: the location-congruent ad resulted in more purchases than the location-incongruent ad, but only when the ad was high in goal relevance. These results suggest that it is profitable for advertisers to send “local” messages only when these messages are relevant.
Experiences of substance abusers from methadone maintenance therapy

Background: Substance abusers are not able to withdraw drugs eternally despite the abundance of different treatments; therefore, withdrawal programs are not quite successful and notwithstanding all the successes of methadone maintenance therapy, there are some defects found in the manner this treatment is applied. Thus, this study was conducted to explore the experience of drug abusers regarding methadone maintenance therapy. Methods: This is a qualitative study using content analysis methodology. The research community includes drug abusers admitted to the treatment centers of the western cities of Mazandaran Province, Iran in 2016. The sampling was purposive and the data were collected by face-to-face single interviews with 20 patients. The interviews were continued up to data saturation. Finally, the Lundman and Grenheim method was used to analyze the interviews and the four criteria of Guba and Lincoln were applied to check data integrity. Results: "Buying time," "methadone dependence," and "looking from a narrow view to the patient" were the main three categories that fit the results. Conclusion: Governmental free services for drug abusers; paying attention to different aspects of treatment such as mental, emotional, and social recovery; lifelong support of the family and society members; and balance in prescribing and following the treatment process prescribed by health care providers can enhance both the quality and safety of the treatment process. Psychological consultation alongside social services can facilitate the recovery process in methadone maintenance therapy.
Assessment of Some Indicators of Oxidative Stress in Nigerian Sickle Cell Anemic Patients

Background: Oxidative stress, the imbalance between the productive of reactive species and antioxidant defences notably plays an important role in the pathogenesis of sickle cell disease. Generating the necessary data about oxidative stress in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) would help in developing cost-effective and accessible treatment interventions of SCA in resource-poor countries. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels plasma lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde (MDA), serum nitric oxide (NO), and total antioxidant activity (TAOA) as indicators of oxidative stress in sickle cell individuals. Materials and Methods: In this pilot study, 52 patients; homozygous (Hb SS) sickle cell patients confirmed by cellulose electrophoresis and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy (Hb AA) controls were subjected to analysis of NO, MDA, and TAOA. The plasma MDA was measured by a thiobarbituric reaction, (NO) was evaluated by the method described by Guevara et al. using Griess reagent and the TAOA of serum was determined by the method of Koracevic et al. Results: The results showed a statistically significant decrease and increase in baseline levels of NO and MDA, respectively, in Hb SS group when compared with the control Hb AA (P = 0.000 and 95% confidence interval [CI] of 0.10–0.18 and −9.67–−5.57, respectively). A slight decrease in the TAOA level between the groups was observed although not statistically significant (P = 0.15 95% CI was −0.28–2.90). Conclusion: The results showed of imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant status in patients with SCA. Antioxidant supplementation may be a cheap assessable intervention for in sickle cell individuals (in the steady state or in crisis) to prevent further oxidative damage to the erythrocytes.
Assessing the quality of websites providing information on multiple sclerosis: evaluating tools and comparing sites

The quality of health information available on the Internet has proved difficult to assess objectively. The Internet's growing popularity as a source of health information, accompanied by the lack of regulation of websites, has resulted in research that has developed and tested tools to evaluate health website quality. However, only a few studies have tested the validity and reliability of these tools. There is a lack of consensus about appropriate indicators with which to operationalize the concept of quality health information. This study aimed to contribute to this research by testing the validity and reliability of existing tools, through their application to websites that provided information about multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, a specific tool for evaluating multiple sclerosis information was developed, contributing to the debate about suitable criteria for measuring the `quality' of health information on the web.
Effects of interaction of incubator CO2 levels and mixing hatching eggs of different embryo growth trajectory on embryo physiological and hatching parameters

1. Two experiments were designed to investigate the effects of mixing eggs of different genotype and incubating with different CO2 concentrations on embryonic parameters. Half of the eggs were incubated in a CO2 controlled incubator (VCO2) during the first 10 d of incubation and the other half was incubated at standard incubation ventilation rate (SV). 2. From 10 to 18 d of incubation, thick albumen and embryos were weighed. Blood samples were collected at d 18 of incubation, at internal pipping and at hatch for determination of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and corticosterone concentration. During the last 2 d of incubation, hatching events of individual eggs were monitored every 2 h. 3. From 4 to 5 d of incubation in the SV group of Experiment 1, pH values of Ross strain chickens were lower than those of Isa Brown. From d 12 of incubation onwards, Ross embryos grew faster than those of Isa Brown. At 14 and 16 d of incubation, Ross eggs in the CO2 controlled incubator had lower albumen weights compared to all other treatments. 4. T3 concentrations in Ross embryos were higher than those of Isa Brown embryos. Chicken weight at hatch was in the following order: Isa Brown SV < Isa Brown VCO2 = Ross SV < Ross VCO2. 5. In Experiment 2, incubation time of VCO2 eggs until internal pipping, external pipping and hatch was significantly shorter than that of SV eggs. 6. It was concluded that mixing of hatching eggs of differential embryo developmental trajectory affects their hatching process.
The Impact of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures on Market Entry and Trade Flows

In an attempt to disentangle the impact of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on trade patterns, we estimate a Heckman selection model on the HS4 disaggregated level of trade. We find that aggregated SPS measures constitute barriers to agricultural and food trade consistently to all exporters. But conditional on market entry, trade flows are positively affected by SPS measures. Additionally, we find that SPS measures related to conformity assessment hamper market entry and trade flows, while SPS measures related to product characteristics pose an entry barrier but increase bilateral trade flows conditional on meeting the standard.
Defensive denoising methods against adversarial attack

Deep neural networks are highly vulnerable to adversarial examples. An adversarial example is an image with a small perturbation designed to make networks misclassify it. In this paper, we propose two defensive methods. First, we apply denoising methods using ROF model and NL-means model before classification to remove adversarial noise. Second, we perturb images in certain directions to escape from the adversarial area. Experiments on the universal adversarial perturbations show that proposed methods can remove adversarial noise and perform better classification.
Covariate‐adjusted borrowing of historical control data in randomized clinical trials

The borrowing of historical control data can be an efficient way to improve the treatment effect estimate of the current control group in a randomized clinical trial. When the historical and current control data are consistent, the borrowing of historical data can increase power and reduce Type I error rate. However, when these 2 sources of data are inconsistent, it may result in a combination of biased estimates, reduced power, and inflation of Type I error rate. In some situations, inconsistency between historical and current control data may be caused by a systematic variation in the measured baseline prognostic factors, which can be appropriately addressed through statistical modeling. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian hierarchical model that can incorporate patient‐level baseline covariates to enhance the appropriateness of the exchangeability assumption between current and historical control data. The performance of the proposed method is shown through simulation studies, and its application to a clinical trial design for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is described. The proposed method is developed for scenarios involving multiple imbalanced prognostic factors and thus has meaningful implications for clinical trials evaluating new treatments for heterogeneous diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Phase and Shape Evolutions of Ion Beam Synthesized Ge Based Nanostructures

Author(s): Shin, Swanee | Advisor(s): Haller, Eugene E | Abstract: Synthesis and characterization of Ge based nanostructures are presented. Ion beam synthesis of pure Ge nanocrystals by 74Ge+ implantation into a silica matrix is presented and the strategy to narrow the size distribution by controlling the substrate temperature during implantation is discussed. The size distribution of the sputter synthesized Ge nanocrystals is compared with that of ion beam synthesized Ge nanocrystals. Co-implantation of 74Ge and 120Sn forms binary eutectic alloy nanocrystals. The morphology of the nanocrystals is characterized with transmission electron microscopy and the thermodynamic implication of the equilibrium shape is discussed. It is demonstrated that nanocrystals with a metastable state can be formed with a single excimer laser pulse. The detailed structures and crystallinity of both equilibrium and metastable states are characterized using Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Initial composition dependent recovery of the equilibrium crystalline state upon heating of the metastable structure is investigated with ex-situ Raman spectroscopy and in-situ transmission electron microscopy equipped with a heating stage. The observed temperature tuning range extends from near room temperature to over 500 °C depending on the Sn content, indicating metal mediated lowering of the crystallization temperature. The phase maps of each phase transformation step of the GeSn alloy nanocrystals are shown using energy filtered transmission electron microscopy, and the position shift of the bulk plasmon peak is demonstrated. One dimensional binary eutectic alloy nanostructures, GeAu nanowires, are also synthesized and characterized. In GeAu nanowires, composition dependent post-growth engineering produced various types of morphologies due to the effectively infinite length for atomic diffusion in one direction. The possibility of creating nanostructures with a combination of ion beam implantation and electron beam irradiation is visited and remaining issues are discussed.
Breast Cancer Screening in Older African-American Women: Qualitative Research Findings

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the cultural meanings that shape the breast cancer screening behavior of older African-American women. Design. Qualitative research methods elicited social and cultural themes related to breast cancer screening. Setting. Focus group interviews were conducted in the natural settings (churches, etc.) of older African-American women. Subjects. Interviews were conducted with 132 members from 14 social networks of older African-American women. Measures. A focus group guide asked about 1) perceived risk of breast cancer, 2) behavioral intentions about breast cancer screening, 3) health seeking behavior, and 4) social support. Results. For older African-American women: other health concerns are of more concern than breast cancer; age is generally not recognized as a risk factor for breast cancer; fear of finding breast cancer and its social consequences are salient barriers to mammography; they tend to rely on breast self-exam rather than mammography to detect a breast problem; cost may be more an issue of competing priorities than cost per se; the tradition is to go to doctors for a problem, not prevention; and women in their own social networks are important sources of social support for health concerns. Conclusions. These data offer explanations for mammography screening in older African-American women and emphasize the strength of naturally existing sources of social support for designing interventions to increase breast cancer screening.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Brachythemis contaminata (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Abstract In this study, we reported the complete mitochondrial genome of the dragonfly Brachythemis contaminate (Odonata: Libellulidae). The entire circular genome is 15,056 bp in length and represents the smallest in presently known odonatan mitogenomes. The DNA molecule contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a non-coding control region of 323 bp. There were a total of 137 bp short intergenic spacers and 89 bp overlaps in the genome. The gene arrangement is similar to other dragonflies. The base composition of the genome is A (40.2%), T (32.8%), C (15.6%) and G (11.4%) with an AT content of 73.0%. Four start codons (ATA, ATT, ATC and ATG) and two stop codons (TAG and TAA/TA) were found in 13 protein-coding genes. The length of 22 tRNA genes ranged from 63 (trnP) to 72 bp (trnK).
Dexmedetomidine protects against oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation injury-induced apoptosis via the p38 MAPK/ERK signalling pathway

Objective To investigate the protective effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury, which is involved in a number of ischaemic diseases. Methods An in vitro OGD/R injury model was generated using mouse Neuro 2A neuroblastoma (N2A) cells. Different concentrations of DEX were administrated to OGD/R cells. CV-65 was used to inhibit p38 microtubule associated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinases (MAPK/ERK) signalling. Cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and the levels of proteins related to p38 MAPK/ERK signalling and apoptosis were evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8, flow cytometry, TdT-UTP nick end labelling and Western blot analysis, respectively. Results DEX treatment of OGD/R cells promoted cell survival and attenuated OGD/R-induced cell apoptosis. It also activated the p38 MAPK/ERK signalling pathway, increased the levels of Bcl-2, and decreased the levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3. Treatment with the p38 MAPK/ERK inhibitor CV-65 inhibited the activation of p38 MAPK/ERK and abrogated the DEX-induced effects on cell survival and apoptosis. Conclusions DEX protects N2A cells from OGD/R-induced apoptosis via the activation of the p38 MAPK/ERK signalling pathway. DEX might be an effective agent for the treatment of ischaemic diseases.