Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alterations of MicroRNA Expression in the Liver, Heart, and Testis of Mice Upon Exposure to Repeated Low-Dose Radiation

MicroRNAs (miRs), which regulate target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, play a crucial role in inducing biological effects upon high-dose ionizing radiation. Yet, the miR expression profiles in response to repeated low-dose radiation (LDR) in vivo have not been elucidated. This study investigated the response profiles of 11 miRs with functions involved in metabolism, DNA damage and repair, inflammation, and fibrosis in mouse liver, heart, and testis upon repeated LDR exposure for 4 months. The expression profiles were evaluated using stem-loop quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction immediately and at 2 months after LDR exposure. The expression profiles varied significantly at both time points. At the organ level, the heart was the most affected, followed by the liver and testis, in which significant miR upregulation related to DNA damage response was found. Metabolism-related miRs decreased in the liver and increased in the testis. The current results showed immediate and long-lasting alterations in the miR expression profiles in response to repeated LDR in different organs.
An analytic theory of generalization dynamics and transfer learning in deep linear networks

Much attention has been devoted recently to the generalization puzzle in deep learning: large, deep networks can generalize well, but existing theories bounding generalization error are exceedingly loose, and thus cannot explain this striking performance. Furthermore, a major hope is that knowledge may transfer across tasks, so that multi-task learning can improve generalization on individual tasks. However we lack analytic theories that can quantitatively predict how the degree of knowledge transfer depends on the relationship between the tasks. We develop an analytic theory of the nonlinear dynamics of generalization in deep linear networks, both within and across tasks. In particular, our theory provides analytic solutions to the training and testing error of deep networks as a function of training time, number of examples, network size and initialization, and the task structure and SNR. Our theory reveals that deep networks progressively learn the most important task structure first, so that generalization error at the early stopping time primarily depends on task structure and is independent of network size. This suggests any tight bound on generalization error must take into account task structure, and explains observations about real data being learned faster than random data. Intriguingly our theory also reveals the existence of a learning algorithm that proveably out-performs neural network training through gradient descent. Finally, for transfer learning, our theory reveals that knowledge transfer depends sensitively, but computably, on the SNRs and input feature alignments of pairs of tasks.
Spearcon Sequences for Monitoring Multiple Patients: Laboratory Investigation Comparing Two Auditory Display Designs

Objective: The aim was to compare the effectiveness of two auditory displays, implemented with spearcons (time-compressed speech), for monitoring multiple patients. Background: Sequences of sounds can convey information about patients’ vital signs, such as oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate (HR). We tested whether participants could monitor five patients using spearcon-based sound sequences. Method: A 2 × 3 within-subjects design was used. The first factor was interface, with two levels: the ALL interface used spearcons to convey vital signs for all five patients, whereas the ABN (abnormal) interface represented patients who had normal vital signs with a low-pitched single-tone sound and patients who had at least one abnormal vital sign with spearcons. The second factor was the number of patients who had at least one abnormal vital sign: there were one, two, or three such patients in each monitoring sequence. Participants were 40 nonclinicians. Results: Participants identified abnormal patients’ SpO2 and HR levels and located abnormal patients in the sound sequence more accurately with the ABN interface than the ALL interface. Accuracy declined as the number of abnormal patients increased. Participants associated ABN with easier identification of vital signs, resulting in higher ratings of confidence and pleasantness compared with ALL. Conclusion: Sequences of spearcons may support effective eyes-free monitoring of multiple patients. Application: Sequences of spearcons may be useful in monitoring multiple patients and the underlying design principles may extend to monitoring in other domains such as industrial process control or control of multiple autonomous vehicles.
Genetic differences in the behavioral organization of binge eating, conditioned food reward, and compulsive-like eating in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J strains

Binge eating (BE) is a heritable symptom of eating disorders that carries significant health costs, including anxiety and depression, malnutrition, and sometimes obesity. The only FDA-approved drug for BE is an amphetamine-like stimulant; thus, the development of new therapeutics is critical for improving treatment outcome and minimizing side effects for patients. Genome-wide analysis of BE could lead to safer and more efficacious therapeutics. Here, we used our intermittent, limited access paradigm to examine strain differences in BE of palatable food, conditioned food reward, and compulsive-like eating between C57BL/6J (B6J) and DBA/2J (D2J) inbred mouse strains. We identified a robust strain difference in BE, with D2J showing escalation in consumption relative to B6J. Furthermore, D2J, but not B6J, showed a conditioned place preference for the food-paired side. D2J also showed compulsive-like eating in an anxiety-provoking environment, while simultaneously showing avoidance of the environment. Slope analysis of consumption in B6JxD2J F1-mice indicated different modes of inheritance for acute versus escalated food intake, suggesting different genetic factors underlying distinct components of BE. Heritability estimates of BE and compulsive-like eating were 56 and 73 percent, indicating that these traits are amenable to quantitative trait locus mapping. Finally, mice carrying one copy of a deletion in the first coding exon of Hnrnphl, a gene important for methamphetamine sensitivity, showed increased food consumption that was driven primarily by females. To summarize, we established a genetic model of BE and concomitant behaviors that will be useful in a systems genetics approach to understand BE.
TST, QuantiFERON-TB Gold test and T-SPOT.TB test for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in patients with rheumatic disease prior to anti-TNF therapy.

Introduction Before starting tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α blocking agents, standard tests should be used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection. The specificity of traditional tuberculin skin test (TST) is low in immunosuppressed patients due to prior Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccination, non-tuberculous mycobacteria infections, false positive and negative results. In this study, we aimed to compare TST and Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) tests for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in patients with rheumatic disease planned to receive TNF-α blocking agents. Materials and Methods One hundred and nine patients (45 male, 64 female) with the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n= 70) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (n= 39) were included in the study. Age, sex, number of BCG scar, results of TST (using the Mantoux method), QuantiFERON-TB Gold test and T-SPOT.TB test were recorded for all patients. Correlation between the tests was assessed by Pearson correlation coefficient. Result The mean age of RA and AS patients were 50 ± 13 (19-78 years). The prevalence of latent tuberculosis was 43.1% for TST, 39.4% for QuantiFERON-TB Gold test and 13.8% for T-SPOT.TB test, compared with the evaluation using the composite criteria such as close contact with active tuberculosis infection and/or suspicious fibrotic/calcific lesions on chest X-Ray without active tuberculosis infection. There was a moderate correlation between BCG scar number and TST (p< 0.001, r= 0.495), T-SPOT.TB test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (p= 0.007, r= 0.406), T-SPOT.TB test and composite criteria (p= 0.024, r= 0.343). The specificity of QuantiFERON-TB Gold test was 85.7%, and sensitivity was 73.9% for all patients with rheumatic disease. It was 73.5% and 66.7% for T-SPOT.TB test, respectively. The specificity of TST was 60.3% and sensitivity was 47.8% for TST. Conclusions IGRA tests are not affected prior vaccination and useful for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in patients treated with corticosteroid due to lack of correlation between test negativity and corticosteroid therapy. Also, they are useful tests for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection as an alternative to TST due to their specificity and sensitivity.
An Extended Mixed-Integer Programming Formulation and Dynamic Cut Generation Approach for the Stochastic Lot-Sizing Problem

We present an extended mixed-integer programming formulation of the stochastic lot-sizing problem for the static-dynamic uncertainty strategy. The proposed formulation is significantly more time efficient as compared to existing formulations in the literature and it can handle variants of the stochastic lot-sizing problem characterized by penalty costs and service level constraints, as well as backorders and lost sales. Also, besides being capable of working with a predefined piecewise linear approximation of the cost function—as is the case in earlier formulations—it has the functionality of finding an optimal cost solution with an arbitrary level of precision by means of a novel dynamic cut generation approach. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2017. 0792.
Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs among Medical Students and the Relationship With Illicit Drug, Tobacco, and Alcohol Use

Nonmedical use of prescription medications is a growing health problem including not only the opioid painkiller overdose epidemic but also benzodiazepine and stimulants misuse. Medical students express considerable high percentages of prescription drug misuse but also of illicit drug use, with cannabis being the frequently used illicit drug. We report the final results of a cross-sectional study among medical students that examined prevalence and motivation for use and suggest that medical students display similar patterns of misuse, for both licit and illicit drugs, to other students. Furthermore, a correlation was found between illicit drugs use with tranquilizers misuse and between smoking and alcohol misuse with opioids, sleeping drugs, and stimulants use. Considering that substance use during medical school affects students’ personal and professional lives and has potential consequences for their patients, further studies are needed to elucidate the prevalence but also the motivation for that use.
Technology Adoption by Older Adults: Findings From the PRISM Trial

Background and Objectives There is growing evidence of the benefits of computers for older adults. Yet, adoption rates are lower compared with younger adults. Extant theoretical models of technology acceptance are limited in their application to older adults-studies on which these models are based included a limited sample of older adults or none at all; none assessed use of a technology specifically designed for older adults; and most only measured intention to use a technology or short-term use, rather than longer-term use (i.e., adoption). We assessed adoption of a computer system specifically designed for older users, for a diverse sample, over an extended period of time. Research Design and Methods We analyzed archival data from 150 ethnically diverse older adults (65-98 years of age) who participated in the Personal Reminder Information and Social Management (PRISM) randomized controlled trial (Czaja SJ, Boot WR, Charness N, Rogers WA, Sharit J, Fisk AD,…Nair SN. The personalized reminder information and social management system (PRISM) trial: Rationale, methods and baseline characteristics. Contemp Clin Trials. 2015;40:35-46; Czaja SJ, Boot WR, Charness N, Rogers WA, Sharit J. Improving social support for older adults through technology: Findings from the PRISM randomized controlled trial. Gerontologist. 2017;58:467-477). We examined the extent to which attitudes, personal characteristics (e.g., age, gender, and personality), and cognitive abilities predicted mid-term and long-term adoption of a computer system designed for older adults. Results There were individual differences in PRISM use over time. Regression analyses indicated that individual differences in earlier use of the system, executive functioning, and computer efficacy predicted long-term use. Discussion and Implications These data provide insights for broader-based models of technology acceptance to guide design, instruction, and deployment of products for older adults. Specifically, the provision of opportunities to foster efficacy and gain positive experience with computer technologies may play a critical role in the likelihood that older adults adopt such technologies. Trial Registration NCT01497613.
Improved Stability of Atomic Layer Deposited Amorphous TiO2 Photoelectrode Coatings by Thermally Induced Oxygen Defects

Amorphous titanium dioxide (a-TiO2) combined with an electrocatalyst has shown to be a promising coating for stabilizing traditional semiconductor materials used in artificial photosynthesis for efficient photoelectrochemical solar-to-fuel energy conversion. In this study we report a detailed analysis of two methods of modifying an undoped thin film of atomic layer deposited (ALD) a-TiO2 without an electrocatalyst to affect its performance in water splitting reaction as a protective photoelectrode coating. The methods are high-temperature annealing in ultrahigh vacuum and atomic hydrogen exposure. A key feature in both methods is that they preserve the amorphous structure of the film. Special attention is paid to the changes in the molecular and electronic structure of a-TiO2 induced by these treatments. On the basis of the photoelectrochemical results, the a-TiO2 is susceptible to photocorrosion but significant improvement in stability is achieved after heat treatment in vacuum at temperatures above 500 °C. On the other hand, the hydrogen treatment does not increase the stability despite the ostensibly similar reduction of a-TiO2. The surface analysis allows us to interpret the improved stability to the thermally induced formation of O– species within a-TiO2 that are essentially electronic defects in the anionic framework.
Antibacterial Activity and Mechanism of Action of Bovine Lactoferricin Derivatives with Symmetrical Amino Acid Sequences

In recent years, the overuse of antibiotics has become very serious. Many pathogenic bacteria have become resistant to them, with serious potential health consequences. Thus, it is urgent that we develop new antibiotic drugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important endogenous antibacterial molecules that contribute to immunity. Most have spectral antibacterial properties and do not confer drug resistance. In this paper, an 11-residue peptide (LFcinB18–28) with a sequence of KCRRWQWRMKK was modified by amino acid substitution to form a symmetrical amino acid sequence. The antibacterial activities and mechanisms of action of engineered peptides including KW-WK (KWRRWQWRRWK), FP-PF (FPRRWQWRRPF), FW-WF (FWRRWQWRRWF), and KK-KK (KKRRWQWRRKK) were investigated. The four engineered peptides could more effectively inhibit bacteria than the original peptide, LFcinB18–28. This suggested that a symmetrical amino acid sequence might enhance the antibacterial activity of AMPs. However, only peptides KW-WK, FP-PF, and KK-KK were safe; FW-WF displayed hemolytic activity. The engineered peptides shared cationic and amphipathic characteristics that facilitated interactions with the anionic microbial membranes, leading to disruption of membrane integrity and permeabilizing microbial membranes, resulting in cell death. Therefore, a symmetrical amino acid sequence and related structural parameters offer an alternative approach to the design of AMPs. This will provide a scientific basis for the design and synthesis of new AMPs.
Personality and Emotional Intelligence in Older Adults: A Predictive Model Based on Structural Equations Modeling

Abstract Recent research on emotions in aging points to emotional intelligence (EI) as a factor that plays an important role in this process, and different conceptualizations of EI show that this construct is closely linked to personality in the general population. The main purpose of this study was to find out whether findings obtained in the general population indicating a predictive relationship between personality and EI are also confirmed during the aging process. A sample of 233 healthy older subjects between 60 and 90 years old was used. Participants answered two self-report scales on EI and personality, respectively. Structural equation modeling was used to test the predictive role of personality in EI. Personality was found to be a predictor of EI in older people, and the weight of the prediction was significant in all the dimensions of the big five personality factors, except the dimension of neuroticism, which is known to vary greatly during the aging process. These results indicate that personality influences EI differently in the older adult population, compared to the general population. This is a relevant finding that should be examined further in order to better understand the influence of personality on positive emotional development in this population.
miR-497 suppresses cycle progression through an axis involving CDK6 in ALK-positive cells

Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, a T-cell neoplasm, is primarily a pediatric disease. Seventy-five percent of pediatric anaplastic large-cell lymphoma cases harbor the chromosomal translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35) leading to the ectopic expression of NPM-ALK, a chimeric tyrosine kinase. NPM-ALK consists of an N-terminal nucleophosmin (NPM) domain fused to an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) cytoplasmic domain. Pediatric NPM-ALK+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is often a disseminated disease and young patients are prone to chemoresistance or relapse shortly after chemotherapeutic treatment. Furthermore, there is no gold standard protocol for the treatment of relapses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the potential role of the microRNA, miR-497, in NPM-ALK+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma tumorigenesis. Our results show that miR-497 expression is repressed in NPM-ALK+ cell lines and patient samples through the hypermethylation of its promoter and the activity of NPM-ALK is responsible for this epigenetic repression. We demonstrate that overexpression of miR-497 in human NPM-ALK+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma cells inhibits cellular growth and causes cell cycle arrest by targeting CDK6, E2F3 and CCNE1, the three regulators of the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Interestingly, we show that a scoring system based on CDK6, E2F3 and CCNE1 expression could help to identify relapsing pediatric patients. In addition, we demonstrate the sensitivity of NPM-ALK+ cells to CDK4/6 inhibition using for the first time a selective inhibitor, palbociclib. Together, our findings suggest that CDK6 could be a therapeutic target for the development of future treatments for NPM-ALK+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.
Demonstrating the Potential of Using Transcutaneous Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Tensions to Assess the Risk of Pressure Injuries

Pressure injuries have a high incidence in elderly and critically ill patients, and can endanger lives in severe cases. The key to reducing the incidence of pressure injuries is to find an objective, noninvasive, automatic and consistent scientific method for assessing pressure injuries. To serve this need, we conducted a clinical study to investigate the potential of using transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) and transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension (TcPCO2) for assessing pressure injuries. From the results of the study we found that first, the values of TcPO2 and TcPCO2 are sensitive to the change of pressure imposed on the measured region and to the risk status of a pressure injury when a pressure is imposed. Second, the magnitude of change in TcPO2 and TcPCO2 is higher in patients with a high risk of a pressure injury compared with those who have a low risk. Third, TcPO2 and TcPCO2 are both significantly correlated with the Braden score, the widely used score for assessing the risk of a pressure injury. Therefore, TcPO2 and TcPCO2 have a potential to be an effective and convenient scientific tool for assessing the risk of pressure injuries.
Emotional Intelligence and Self-Perception in Adolescents

Emotional intelligence includes self-perception regarding attention to feelings, clarity of feelings and mood repair. The aim of this work is to study the relationship between emotional intelligence, self-concept, and self-esteem. The sample included 137 adolescents from Buenos Aires City, that attended middle school, with a mean age of 13.12 years old (SD = 1.79). Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were performed. Results showed significant positive correlations between self-esteem and clarity of feelings on the complete sample and the female subsample, and between mood repair and self-esteem on the male subsample. The linear regression analyses showed results on the same line. It´s concluded that positive self-evaluation regarding emotions, emotion comprehension and recovery can minimize the effect of negative experiences.
Self-Assembly and Applications of Amphiphilic Hybrid POSS Copolymers

Understanding the mechanism of molecular self-assembly to form well-organized nanostructures is essential in the field of supramolecular chemistry. Particularly, amphiphilic copolymers incorporated with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) have been one of the most promising materials in material science, engineering, and biomedical fields. In this review, new ideas and research works which have been carried out over the last several years in this relatively new area with a main focus on their mechanism in self-assembly and applications are discussed. In addition, insights into the unique role of POSSs in synthesis, microphase separation, and confined size were encompassed. Finally, perspectives and challenges related to the further advancement of POSS-based amphiphilics are discussed, followed by the proposed design considerations to address the challenges that we may face in the future.
Multiple origins and modularity in the spatiotemporal emergence of cerebellar astrocyte heterogeneity

The morphological, molecular, and functional heterogeneity of astrocytes is under intense scrutiny, but how this diversity is ontogenetically achieved remains largely unknown. Here, by quantitative in vivo clonal analyses and proliferation studies, we demonstrate that the major cerebellar astrocyte types emerge according to an unprecedented and remarkably orderly developmental program comprising (i) a time-dependent decline in both clone size and progenitor multipotency, associated with clone allocation first to the hemispheres and then to the vermis(ii) distinctive clonal relationships among astrocyte types, revealing diverse lineage potentials of embryonic and postnatal progenitors; and (iii) stereotyped clone architectures and recurrent modularities that correlate to layer-specific dynamics of postnatal proliferation/differentiation. In silico simulations indicate that the sole presence of a unique multipotent progenitor at the source of the whole astrogliogenic program is unlikely and rather suggest the involvement of additional committed components.