Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human Dendritic Cells Stimulated via TLR7 and/or TLR8 Induce the Sequential Production of Il-10, IFN-γ, and IL-17A by Naive CD4+ T Cells

Depending upon which TLRs are triggered, dendritic cells (DCs) may orient the differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells toward either Th1, Th2, regulatory T cells, or the recently defined Th17 lineage. In this study, we report that a dual stimulation of TLR4 and TLR7/8 with LPS plus R848 leads human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) to produce multiple pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-10, IL-12, and IL-23. Surprisingly, a significant variability in the up-regulation of these cytokines is observed in DCs obtained from various healthy donors, with approximately one of three being “high responders. ” High responding MoDCs stimulated via TLR4 and TLR7/8 induce naive allogeneic CD4+ T cell to secrete sequentially IL-10 and IFN-γ, and eventually IL-17A, whereas low responding MoDCs only stimulate IFN-γ production. Both TLR7 and TLR8 play a central role in this phenomenon: TLR4 triggering with LPS up-regulates TLR7 expression on human MoDCs from high responders, silencing of either TLR7 or TLR8 mRNAs inhibits cytokine production in LPS plus R848-treated MoDCs, and plasmacytoid DCs constitutively expressing high levels of TLR7 induce the production of IL-10, IFN-γ, and IL-17A by naive T cells when stimulated with R848 alone. Collectively, our results illustrate the synergy between TLR4 and TLR7/8 in controlling the sequential production of regulatory and proinflammatory cytokines by naive CD4+ T cells. The observed polymorphism in DC responses to such TLR-mediated stimuli could explain differences in the susceptibility to infectious pathogens or autoimmune diseases within the human population.
Effect of sleep quality on hemodynamic response to exercise and heart rate recovery in apparently healthy individuals.

PURPOSE Poor sleep quality has an unfavorable impact on autonomic nervous system activity, especially that of the cardiovascular (CV) system. The heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) at rest and during exercise, along with the heart rate recovery (HRR), were examined in poor sleepers and compared with individuals with good sleep quality. METHODS A total of 113 healthy individuals were enrolled to the study. All participants performed treadmill stress testing. Sleep quality of participants was assessed by using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire: 48 subjects were categorized as ‘poor sleepers’ (PSQI score > 6 points), and the rest were grouped as ‘good sleepers’. RESULTS The poor sleepers showed higher resting HR (p <0.001), higher diastolic BP (p=0.006), similar systolic BP (p=0.095), more frequent hypertensive response to exercise (p=0.046) and less HR increase with exercise (chronotropic incompetence) (p=0.002) compared with individuals who reported good sleep quality. In addition, the poor sleepers demonstrated reduced heart rate recovery at the 1st and 3rd minute of recovery (p=0.005 and 0.037, respectively) compared with good sleepers. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only resting diastolic BP was the independent predictor of HRE. The PSQI score was positively correlated with resting HR; while it was negatively correlated with HR response to exercise, HRR1 and HRR index-1. CONCLUSION This cross-sectional study emphasizes the effect of poor sleep quality on unfavorable cardiovascular outcome indicators of the treadmill stress test.
Heavy Tail Robust Estimation and Inference for Average Treatment Eects

We study the probability tail properties of Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) estimators of the Average Treatment Eect (ATE) when there is limited overlap between the covariate distributions of the treatment and control groups. Under unconfoundedness of treatment assignment conditional on covariates, such limited overlap is manifested in the propensity score for certain units being very close (but not equal) to 0 or 1. This renders IPW estimators possibly heavy tailed, and with a slower than p n rate of convergence. Most existing estimators are either based on the assumption of strict overlap, i.e. the propensity score is bounded away from 0 and 1; or they truncate the propensity score; or trim observations based on a variety of techniques based on covariate or propensity score values. Trimming or truncation is ultimately based on the covariates, ignoring important information about the inverse probability weighted random variable Z that identies ATE by E[Z] = ATE. Using a threshold crossing model for treatment assignment, we explain the possibility of irregular identication by showing Z can have a power law tail under limited overlap, with heavier or thinner tails based on the relative distribution tails of the treatment assignment covariate and error. We then propose a new tail-trimmed IPW estimator whose performance is robust to limited overlap more generally. In terms of the propensity score, which is generally unknown, we plug-in its parametric estimator in the infeasible Z, and then negligibly trim the resulting feasible Z adaptively by its large values. Trimming can lead to bias in general, hence we estimate and remove the bias using new theory and methods. Our estimator sidesteps dimensionality, bias and poor correspondence properties associated with trimming by the covariates or propensity score. Monte Carlo experiments demonstrate that trimming by the covariates or the propensity score requires the removal of a substantial portion of the sample to render a low bias and close to normal estimator, while our estimator has low bias and mean-squared error, and is close to normal, based on very little trimming.
Promoting towel reuse behaviour in guests: A water conservation management and environmental policy in the hotel industry

This research was designed to identify and uncover the role of critical factors that elicit towel reuse behaviour in hotel guests. An empirical approach with a survey methodology was employed. The findings suggest that practising towel reuse activities depends on an internally derived sense of obligation to take eco‐friendly action, attitude, overall image, and environmental awareness. The salient role of moral obligation in building the towel reuse intention was also uncovered. Moreover, towel reuse behaviour in everyday life had a significant moderating role in the proposed theoretical framework. Overall, towel reuse intentions in guests were sufficiently accounted for by research variables. This study adds to the extant literature in hospitality and environmental behaviour by offering meaningful insights into how normative, volitional, habitual, and cognitive processes relate to eco‐friendly decisions while guests are staying at a hotel.
Impact of age on the severity, course, and complications of alcohol withdrawal.

BACKGROUND Early identification of alcohol-dependent patients at increased risk for severe or complicated alcohol withdrawal would improve triage and treatment. However, the role of age in predicting alcohol withdrawal outcomes has not been well studied. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of age on the severity, course, and complications of alcohol withdrawal. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study of 284 inpatients admitted for alcohol withdrawal between September 1992 and August 1994. Outcomes included alcohol withdrawal severity measured by the revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol scale, quantity and duration of benzodiazepine therapy, and complications during withdrawal. RESULTS Initial and maximal withdrawal severity scores, amount of benzodiazepine administered, and duration of benzodiazepine treatment for elevated withdrawal severity scores did not change significantly with age. However, patients aged 60 years and older had increased risk for delirium (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-15.0; P = .008), falls (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 0.9-11.2; P = .08), and transient dependency in 2 or more activities of daily living (OR, 5.8; 95% CI, 2.9-11.7; P < .001). As age increased, there were significant increases in length of stay (P < .001) and frequency of discharge to an extended care facility (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Although alcohol withdrawal severity scores and benzodiazepine requirements were similar across age groups, patients aged 60 years and older were at increased risk for cognitive and functional impairment during withdrawal. These findings support recommendations that older patients with alcohol withdrawal are best treated in closely supervised settings.
Effect of Hippocampal and Amygdala Connectivity on the Relationship Between Preschool Poverty and School-Age Depression.

OBJECTIVE In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that poverty experienced in early childhood, as measured by income-to-needs ratio, has an impact on functional brain connectivity at school age, which in turn mediates influences on child negative mood/depression. METHOD Participants were from a prospective longitudinal study of emotion development. Preschoolers 3-5 years of age were originally ascertained from primary care and day care sites in the St. Louis area and then underwent annual behavioral assessments for up to 12 years. Healthy preschoolers and those with a history of depression symptoms underwent neuroimaging at school age. Using functional MRI, the authors examined whole brain resting-state functional connectivity with the left and right hippocampus and amygdala. RESULTS Lower income-to-needs ratio at preschool age was associated with reduced connectivity between hippocampus and amygdala and a number of regions at school age, including the superior frontal cortex, lingual gyrus, posterior cingulate, and putamen. Lower income-to-needs ratio predicted greater negative mood/depression severity at school age, as did connectivity between the left hippocampus and the right superior frontal cortex and between the right amygdala and the right lingual gyrus. Connectivity mediated the relationship between income-to-needs ratio and negative mood/depression at the time of scanning. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that poverty in early childhood, as assessed by at least one measure, may influence the development of hippocampal and amygdala connectivity in a manner leading to negative mood symptoms during later childhood.
Changes in language usage of Puerto Rican mothers and their children: Do gender and timing of exposure to English matter?

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study investigated changes in reported language usage between Puerto Rican mothers and their preschoolers over a 4-year period. It also examined whether differences in language usage occurred depending on the timing of children's exposure to English and children's gender. Seventy-six mothers reported the languages they and their children used when talking to each other during 2 years in Head Start, kindergarten, and first grade. Mothers of children who were exposed to Spanish and English prior to preschool entry reported using more English to their children than mothers of children who were not exposed to English until after preschool entry. The language usage of the children followed the same patterns as their mothers. The difference between the groups was maintained over the 4 years, although both groups increased their English usage. A gender effect was observed. Mothers of girls were five times more likely to use “More or All Spanish” than mothers of sons. In addition, girls who were exposed to Spanish only prior to preschool entry were six times more likely to speak to their mothers in “More or All Spanish” than other participating children. The bidimensional model of acculturation is used to present and interpret the findings.
Immune-Toxicity of Synthetic Pyrethroids : Modulation of Cypermethrin and Permethrin Toxicity by Tamoxifen

Cypermethrin and permethrin are widely used in the agriculture in many countries. Continuous low level exposure of human to such chemicals may increase the susceptibility to various diseases due to the suppression of immune system. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to evaluate the toxicity of these pesticides at immunological, hematological and biochemical levels using tamoxifen as a modulatory agent against the toxicity of pyrethroids. The animal groups were intoxicated for 30 or 60 days with either cypermethrin or permethrin. The single effects of either pyrethroids or tamoxifen were studied. The double effects of both of tamoxifenpyrethroids were also investigated. It was found that pyrethroids alone decreased IgG level, while tamoxifen and tamoxifen plus pyrethroids increased its concentration. Pyrethroids, tamoxifen and tamoxifen in combination with pyrethroids had an inhibitory effect on lymphocyte stimulation index measured in vitro, phagocytic function of neutrophil and catalase activity. These treatment, however, increased relative ear thickness and contact hypersensitivity. In conclusion, these results raise some concerns about the possibility that tamoxifen may potentiate or attenuate the effects caused by pyrethroids.
Sequential Organ Failure Assessment predicts outcomes of pulse indicator contour continuous cardiac output-directed goal therapy

Abstract According to the new sepsis definitions, septic shock is defined as a subset of sepsis in which the underlying circulatory and cellular/metabolic abnormalities are profound enough to substantially increase mortality. We evaluated the predictive efficacy of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score in critically ill patients with septic shock undergoing pulse indicator contour continuous cardiac output (PiCCO)-directed goal therapy (PDGT). We conducted a single-center, prospective, observational study of 52 patients with septic shock undergoing PDGT. The putative prognostic factors, including the severity scores (SOFA and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II [APACHE II] scores), were analyzed within 24 hours after diagnosis of septic shock. We assessed and compared the predictive efficacy of risk factors for 28-day mortality of patients with septic shock undergoing PDGT. Among the patients with septic shock undergoing PDGT, the SOFA scores of nonsurvivors were significantly higher than those of survivors (P < .001); the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was higher for SOFA than for APACHE II (P = .005). The outcomes of the logistic regression analysis for 28-day mortality showed that the odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, and P-value of SOFA were 1.6, 1.2 to 2.1, and <. 001, respectively. The predictive model of the SOFA score is able to accurately predict the outcomes of critically ill patients with septic shock undergoing PDGT.
Surgical complications of epilepsy surgery procedures : experience of 179 procedures in a single institute.

OBJECTIVE There are a few reports on the complications of surgery for epilepsy. We surveyed our data to present complications of epilepsy surgeries from the neurosurgeon's point of view and compare our results with other previous reports. METHODS A total of 179 surgical procedures for intractable epilepsy (41 diagnostic, 138 therapeutic) were performed in 92 consecutive patients (10 adults, 82 children) during the last 9.2 years (February. 1997-April. 2006). Their medical records and radiological findings were reviewed to identify and analyze the surgical complications. RESULTS The diagnostic procedures encompassed various combinations of subdural grid, subdural strips, and depth electrodes. Four minor transient complications developed in 41 diagnostic procedures (4/41=9.8%). A total of 138 therapeutic procedures included 28 anterior temporal lobectomies, 21 other lobectomies, 6 lesionectomies, 21 topectomies, 13 callosotomies, 20 vagus nerve stimulations, 13 multiple subpial transections, and 16 hemispherectomies. Twenty-six complications developed in therapeutic procedures (26/138=18.8%). Out of the 26 complications, 21 complications were transient and reversible (minor; 21/138=15.2%), and 5 were serious complications (major; 5/138=3.6%). Five major complications were one visual field defect, two mortality cases and two vegetative states. There were 2 additional mortality cases which were not related to the surgery itself. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that complication rate was higher than previous other reports in minor complications and was comparable in major complications. However, our results show relatively high frequency of mortality cases and severe morbidity case compared to other previous reports. The authors would like to emphasize the importance of acute postoperative care in young pediatric patients as well as meticulous surgical techniques to reduce morbidity and mortality in epilepsy surgery.
Failure to confirm high blood pressures in pediatric care—quantifying the risks of misclassification

Pediatric practice guidelines call for repeating an elevated office blood pressure (BP) at the same visit, but there are few data available to support this recommendation. We compared the visit results in children aged 3 to 17 years with a BP reading ≥95th percentile (n = 186 732) based on the initial BP and the mean of two BP readings, using electronic medical records from 2012–2015. Failure to repeat an initial BP reading ≥95th percentile would lead to a false “hypertensive” visit result in 54.1% of children who would require follow‐up visits. After an initial visit result indicating hypertension, hypertension stage I or stage II was sustained in 2.3% and 11.3% of youth during their next visits, respectively. In conclusion, only approximately half of the pediatric patients would be correctly classified based on their initial BP. The recommendation to repeat high BP during the same visit needs to be emphasized because it saves unnecessary follow‐up visits.
Investor attention and currency performance: international evidence

ABSTRACT This article investigates the relationship between investor attention measured by Google search volume index and the performance of several currencies. We find that currency performance is remarkably responsive to changes in investor attention. These impacts, generated rapidly, are present over the relatively long term, especially for emerging currencies, and are intensified during periods of high uncertainty. We also demonstrate that there is a prominent asymmetric effect for the impact of attention, as past currency performance also influences attention. Typically, past currency performance can determine the magnitude of the impact on current currency performance. Moreover, we confirm that investor attention has a predictive power for forecasting emerging currency performance in the out-of-sample analysis. Further, these forecasts generate substantial economic value in the framework of asset allocation. By contrast, statistical predictability and economic value do not exist in the currencies from developed markets. These results indicate that investor attention can alter currency performance and its predictability. More broadly, our study emphasizes the potential of employing investor attention for emerging currency performance forecasting applications.
Secure and reliable XOR arbiter PUF design: An experimental study based on 1 trillion challenge response pair measurements

This paper shows that performing an XOR operation between the outputs of parallel arbiter PUFs generates a more secure output at the expense of reduced stability. In this work, we evaluate the security and stability of XOR PUFs using 1,000,000 randomly chosen challenges, applied to 10 custom-designed PUF chips, tested for 100,000 cycles per challenge, under different voltage and temperature conditions. Based on extensive hardware data, we propose a practical method for selecting challenges that will produce stable responses. A linear regression approach based on soft responses collected during enrollment phase was used to build accurate models for each individual arbiter PUF. Hardware data from fabricated chips verify that the approach is highly effective.
Comparison of the short-term effects of salmeterol and formoterol on heart rate variability in adult asthmatic patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVES We investigated the effects of beta2-adrenergic agonists salmeterol and formoterol on heart rate variability (HRV) in adult asthmatic patients using time-domain measures of HRV. PATIENTS Thirty-nine adult patients with asthma were studied. All patients showed a mild-to-moderate decrease in baseline FEV1. Any diseases that might have influenced the autonomic function were excluded. All patients underwent a complete physical examination and medical history that revealed no cardiovascular disease or medication. METHODS The beta2-adrenergic inhaled agonists salmeterol, 50 microg, and formoterol, 12 microg, were used in the study. HRV analysis was performed for each 5-min segment: 5 min and 10 min before inhalation of the study drug, and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min after inhalation. Time-domain parameters of HRV were calculated: (1) the SD all normal-to-normal intervals; (2) the SD of the mean of all normal-to-normal intervals in all 5-min segments of the entire recording; (3) the root mean square of differences between adjacent normal-to-normal intervals; (4) the mean of the SD of all normal-to-normal intervals in all the 5-min intervals; and (5) the SD of the SD of all normal-to-normal intervals in all the 5-min intervals. RESULTS Baseline HRV parameters were not significantly different between formoterol and salmeterol groups. There were no significant differences in HRV parameters after formoterol and salmeterol inhalation. The HRV parameters in each 5-min segment in the formoterol group were not statistically significant different when compared to the same segment in the salmeterol group. CONCLUSION Salmeterol and formoterol have no short-term adverse effects on HRV.
Common deactivation patterns during working memory and visual attention tasks: An intra‐subject fMRI study at 4 Tesla

This parametric functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigates the balance of negative and positive fMRI signals in the brain. A set of visual attention (VA) and working memory (WM) tasks with graded levels of difficulty was used to deactivate separate but overlapping networks that include the frontal, temporal, occipital, and limbic lobes; regions commonly associated with auditory and emotional processing. Brain activation (% signal change and volume) was larger for VA tasks than for WM tasks, but deactivation was larger for WM tasks. Load‐related increases of blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) responses for different levels of task difficulty cross‐correlated strongly in the deactivated network during VA but less so during WM. The variability of the deactivated network across different cognitive tasks supports the hypothesis that global cerebral blood flow vary across different tasks, but not between different levels of task difficulty of the same task. The task‐dependent balance of activation and deactivation might allow maximization of resources for the activated network. Hum Brain Mapp, 2005. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.