Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of potential diagnostic biomarkers for pneumonia caused by adenovirus infection in children by screening serum exosomal microRNAs

Human adenovirus (HAdV) infection causes serious pneumonia in children, leading to significant morbidity and mortality rates. However, diagnostic biomarkers for HAdV-associated pneumonia are unavailable. Serum microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) have been recently reported as diagnostic biomarkers for several diseases. The present study performed microRNA sequencing to identify potential biomarkers among serum exosomal miRNAs, with the aim of identifying candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis of pneumonia in adenovirus-infected children. To validate the biomarker candidates, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to determine the relative expression levels of miRNAs. As there is no endogenous reference RNA for serum miRNAs, pairwise analysis of RT-qPCR was used in the present study to narrow down the number of biomarker candidates among all the serum exosomal miRNAs to a set of four miRNAs. As a result, the identified miRNAs (namely, miR-450a-5p-miR-103a-3p and miR-103b-5p-miR-98-5p) from 59 samples were considered as potential diagnostic biomarkers in adenovirus-infected children. The results indicated that this four miRNA set could distinguish adenovirus-infected patients from healthy controls. In conclusion, the four exosomal miRNAs identified in the present study could be considered as candidate diagnostic biomarkers for pneumonia in adenovirus-infected children.
Neuroprotective Effect of Lithium Chloride in Rat Model of Cardiac Arrest

Хлорид лития, используемый для коррекции биполярных расстройств, обладает нейропротективным эффектом при состояниях, связанных с острым и хроническим нарушением кровообращения в головном мозге. Цель исследования — оценить эффективность хлорида лития для предотвращения гибели высокочувствительных к гипоксии нейронов гиппокампа в постреанимационном периоде после временной остановки сердца. Материал и методы. Остановку сердца у взрослых крыс-самцов на 10 минут вызывали путем внутриторакального пережатия сосудистого пучка сердца с последующей реанимацией. 9-ти животным вводили раствор 4,2% LiCl за 1 час до остановки сердца (40 мг/кг в/б), на 1-е и на 2-е сутки после реанимации (20 мг/кг в/б, соответственно). 9 нелеченых животных в те же сроки получали эквивалентные дозы физиологического раствора хлорида натрия. Контролем служили ложноперированные крысы (n=10). Через 7 дней методом морфометрического анализа оценили число жизнеспособных нейронов в полях СА1 и СА3/СА4 гиппокампа на срезах, окрашенных крезиловым фиолетовым по Нисслю. В отдельной серии экспериментов с помощью Western-Blot анализа в эти же сроки исследовали влияние хлорида лития на содержание белка GSK3β (киназа гликогенсинтазы киназы-3) в ткани мозга. Результаты. При гистологическом исследовании установили, что 10-минутная остановка сердца приводит к снижению числа жизнеспособных нейронов в поле СА1 гиппокампа — на 37,5% (p 0,001), в поле СА3/СА4 — на 12,9% (p 0,05). Применение LiCl приводило к увеличению числа жизнеспособных нейронов гиппокампа у реанимированных крыс в поле СА1 на 37% (p 0,01), в поле СА3/СА4 — на 11,5% (p 0,1) по сравнению с нелечеными животными. При исследовании белка GSK3β установили, что у реанимированных животных, получавших хлорид лития, содержание его фосфорилированной формы в ткани мозга было выше на 180% по сравнению с контролем (р 0,05), и на 150% выше, чем у нелеченных животных (р 0,05). Заключение. Введение хлорида лития в постреанимационном периоде приводило к выраженной нейропротекции в нейрональных популяциях гиппокампа. Этот эффект может быть обусловлен повышением содержания фосфорилированной формы белка GSK3β. Полученные результаты свидетельствуют о высоком потенциале лития для профилактики и лечения нейродегенеративных нарушений, вызванных временной остановкой кровообращения.
Conflict reduction VS conflict resistance in hybrid organizations

Extant literature on conflicting institutional logics management showed how hybrid organizations can adopt several strategies in order to increase their chance of survival when facing institutional complexity-induced tensions. The positive effect this strategies have is assumed to be caused by the reduction of institutional conflict inside the organization: however, through the use of an in depth longitudinal case study of an hybrid social enterprise, this article shows how this is not necessarily always the case, as certain types of strategies do not reduce such internal conflict despite still increasing the survival chance of the hybrid organization. A new model is provided of the relationships between a) conflicting logics management strategies, b) tensions inside the hybrid organization, and c) survival of the organization, considering also an organizational "threshold of sustainable conflict" as a new element.
Performance Feedback and New Product Innovations : The Role of CEO Financial Orientation

A key insight of the behavioral theory of the firm (BTF) is that firms are sensitive to how they perform vs. their aspirations and how performance feedback shapes innovative behavior. The stylized responses to performance feedback (i.e., problemistic search below aspirations, uncertainty avoidance above aspirations) have been investigated within a broad range of innovative behaviors and industry settings but evidence from these studies is mixed: while some is in sync with the original predictions of the BTF, other evidence is not. We suggest that an important and so far overlooked, factor in understanding the relationship of performance feedback and innovative behavior is that performance-aspiration gaps are observed and interpreted by key organizational decision makers such as CEOs with heterogeneous experiences and training. In particular, we connect the unique characteristics of financially-oriented CEOs to the key building blocks of the BTF (problemistic search, uncertainty avoidance, quasi-resolution of conflicts) to predict how that orientation is a key contingency in explaining new product initiations following performance feedback. We test our theoretical framework in the global bio-pharmaceutical industry between 2000 and 2013, combining data on over 3000 internal and external product development initiatives and over 600 CEO biographies using topic extraction techniques. Our results reveal that only when CEO financial orientation is high, the patterns predicted by the BTF hold. The paper thus provides important insights into the role of CEOs in how performance feedback shapes innovative behavior.
Abstract Mobility Problems in Distributed Search and Combinatorial Games by Ioannis Lamprou

Mobility Problems in Distributed Search and Combinatorial Games by Ioannis Lamprou This thesis examines a collection of topics under the general notion of mobility of agents. We examine problems where a set of entities, perceived as robots or tokens, navigate in some given (discrete or continuous) environment to accomplish a goal. The problems we consider fall under two main research fields. First, Distributed Search where the agents cooperate to explore their environment or search for a specific target location within it. Second, Combinatorial Games, in the spirit of Pursuit-Evasion, where the agents are now divided into two groups with complementary objectives competing against each other. More specifically, we consider three distinct problems: disk evacuation, exploration of dynamic graphs and eternal domination. In Disk Evacuation, two robots with different speeds aim to discover an unknown exit lying on the boundary of a unit disk. For a wide range of speeds, we provide matching upper and lower bounds. In Dynamic Graph Exploration, we analyze the exploration time for a randomly-walking agent wishing to visit all the vertices of a stochastically-evolving graph. In Eternal Domination, we consider rectangular grid graphs and upper bound the amount of guard agents needed to perpetually defend the vertices against an attacker.
Competitive Effects of Modern Patent Pools : The Effect of the MPEG-2 Pool on Incumbents ? Innovative Performance

Patent pools have been proposed and used as one of the major means to overcome technological holdups. Yet, despite their widespread use and significant economic importance, we know little about their competitive effects. While prevailing theories generally predict that modern pools would boost firms? innovative performance, recent empirical works have raised some serious implications about the intricacies of patent tools at the micro level. In order to reconcile seemingly inconsistent predictions and findings, I first develop a theoretical framework that captures the major mechanisms through which patent pools may affect the innovative performance of firms in their technological proximity. Furthermore, I empirically investigate the effect of the MPEG-2 pool on the innovative performance of technologically proximate incumbents using difference-in-difference methodology. Each mechanism is separately analyzed. The results show that MPEG-2 pool formation had a substantial negative impact on proximate incumbents? innovation rate. The results also suggest that the innovation rate decline can be explained by a strategic shift in firms? R&D direction from further technological inventions to implementing the pool technology in current and new products. Increased litigation risk and increased competition intensity after pool formation are unable to explain the effect.
0 Self-confidence and strategic deterrence

We examine factors that may contribute to ‘overconfidence’ in relative ability on an intelligence test. We test experimentally for evidence of self-esteem concerns and instrumental strategic concerns. Errors in Bayesian updating are rare when the information does not involve own relative ability, but far more common when it does, suggesting self-esteem issues. There is also strong evidence that males state higher levels of confidence in relative ability when this precedes a tournament; as entry is predicted by relative confidence, this can be an effective deterrent. Inflating confidence can be part of an equilibrium strategy, providing a rationale for strategic overconfidence.
Impacts of Transformational Leadership on Effective Implementation of CSR 2 . 0 – The Case of Croatia Tea

Lack of confidence in businesses, lack of transparency and new demands from various interested and responsible stakeholders calls for the application of new leadership styles that encourage simpler, faster and effective implementation of socially responsible practices in the organization. There are many definitions of leadership as it means different things to different people. Leadership is about setting vision, empowering, inspiring and influencing people and reaching the set goals. Leadership is not a synonym for management. Corporate social responsibility requires finding the appropriate balance of economic, ecological and socio-cultural determinants in any organizational system. It is important to develop and nurture leadership style that leads to healthy implementation of socially responsible practices and promotes positive organizational culture. Poor leadership brings a plethora of negative consequences. Transformational leadership, with more supportive and responsive leaders, boosts the transition towards Corporate Social Responsibility 2.0 or the so-called systematic or radical corporate social responsibility a concept introduced and investigated by Visser (2012). This article analyses, evaluates and discusses CSR 2.0 and presents perspectives of senior level managers (hotel managers) on the concept of CSR 2.0. Hotel managers from the biggest Croatian hotel companies were interviewed. Author elaborates the applied leadership style and the interrelatedness of CSR 2.0 with the transformational leadership that can be seen as Leadership 2.0. Author further argues the importance of transformational leadership for the effective implementation of CSR 2.0. A set of required leadership competences for adopting and successfully implementing and/or reaffirming corporate social responsibility 2.0 is presented.
Action Intention-based and Stimulus Regularity-based Predictions: Same or Different?

We act on the environment to produce desired effects, but we also adapt to the environmental demands by learning what to expect next, based on experience: How do action-based predictions and sensory predictions relate to each other? We explore this by implementing a self-generation oddball paradigm, where participants performed random sequences of left and right button presses to produce frequent standard and rare deviant tones. By manipulating the action–tone association as well as the likelihood of a button press over the other one, we compare ERP effects evoked by the intention to produce a specific tone, tone regularity, and both intention and regularity. We show that the N1b and Tb components of the N1 response are modulated by violations of tone regularity only. However, violations of action intention as well as of regularity elicit MMN responses, which occur similarly in all three conditions. Regardless of whether the predictions at sensory levels were based on either intention, regularity, or both, the tone deviance was further and equally well detected at hierarchically higher processing level, as reflected in similar P3a effects between conditions. We did not observe additive prediction errors when intention and regularity were violated concurrently, suggesting the two integrate despite presumably having independent generators. Even though they are often discussed as individual prediction sources in the literature, this study represents to our knowledge the first to directly compare them. Finally, these results show how, in the context of action, our brain can easily switch between top–down intention-based expectations and bottom–up regularity cues to efficiently predict future events.
Macrophages Are Key Regulators of Stem Cells during Skeletal Muscle Regeneration and Diseases

Muscle regeneration is a closely regulated process that involves a variety of cell types such as satellite cells, myofibers, fibroadipogenic progenitors, endothelial cells, and inflammatory cells. Among these different cell types, macrophages emerged as a central actor coordinating the different cellular interactions and biological processes. Particularly, the transition of macrophages from their proinflammatory to their anti-inflammatory phenotype was shown to regulate inflammation, myogenesis, fibrosis, vascularization, and return to homeostasis. On the other hand, deregulation of macrophage accumulation or polarization in chronic degenerative muscle disorders was shown to impair muscle regeneration. Considering the key roles of macrophages in skeletal muscle, they represent an attractive target for new therapeutic approaches aiming at mitigating various muscle disorders. This review aims at summarizing the novel insights into macrophage heterogeneity, plasticity, and functions in skeletal muscle homeostasis, regeneration, and disease.
Influence of acute combined physical and cognitive exercise on cognitive function: an NIRS study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of different types of acute exercise on cognitive function and cerebral oxygenation. A within-subject design was adopted. In total, 20 healthy older adults were enrolled in the study. They came to the laboratory individually on four separate days and completed four conditions of activity. Four conditions were sedentary reading control (RC), cognitive exercise (CE), physical exercise (PE) and cognitive + physical exercise (CE + PE). During these visits, participants completed the Stroop task before and immediately after the experimental condition, which consisted of 15 min of aerobic exercise, verbal fluency task (VFT), and dual task. The Stroop task included the following two conditions: a naming condition and an executive condition. The fNIRS is an optical method using near-infrared light to measure relative changes of oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin in the cortex. The results indicate that acute exercise facilitates performance for executive tasks, not only combined cognition, but also the different results between combined exercise and single exercise. The fNIRS findings showed that acute single exercise influences oxygenation for executive tasks but not for naming tasks. Greater improvement was observed in the post-exercise session of combined exercise during the modified Stroop. These findings demonstrate that acute single exercise, single cognition exercise, and combined exercise enhanced the performance of the inhibition control task. Only acute combined exercise has a general facilitative effect on inhibition control. Combined exercise was shown to be superior to single exercise for task-efficient cerebral oxygenation and improved oxygen utilization during cortical activation in older individuals. Also, to maximize the performance of cognition it may be important for older adults to take part in more cognitive demand exercise or take more kinds of exercise.
Gaussian Belief Propagation for Solving Network Utility Maximization with Delivery Contracts

Classical network utility maximization (NUM) models fail to capture network dynamics, which are of increasing importance for modeling network behaviors. In this paper, we consider the NUM with delivery contracts, which are constraints to the classical model to describe network dynamics. This paper investigates a method to distributively solve the given problem. We first transform the problem into an equivalent model of linear equations by dual decomposition theory, and then use Gaussian belief propagation algorithm to solve the equivalent issue distributively. The proposed algorithm has faster convergence speed than the existing first-order methods and distributed Newton method. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed approach.
Concurrent Training and Detraining: The Influence of Different Aerobic Intensities.

Sousa, AC, Neiva, HP, Gil, MH, Izquierdo, M, Rodríguez-Rosell, D, Marques, MC, and Marinho, DA. Concurrent training and detraining: the influence of different aerobic intensities. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-The aim of this study was to verify the effects of different aerobic intensities combined with the same resistance training on strength and aerobic performances. Thirty-nine men were randomly assigned to a low-intensity group (LIG), moderate-intensity group (MIG), high-intensity group (HIG), and a control group. The training program consisted of full squat, jumps, sprints, and running at 80% (LIG), 90% (MIG), or 100% (HIG) of the maximal aerobic speed for 16-20 minutes. The training period lasted for 8 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of detraining. Evaluations included 20-m sprints (0-10 m: T10; 0-20 m: T20), shuttle run, countermovement jump (CMJ), and strength (1RMest) in full squat. There were significant improvements from pre-training to post-training in T10 (LIG: 4%; MIG: 5%; HIG: 2%), T20 (3%; 4%; 2%), CMJ (9%; 10%; 7%), 1RMest (13%; 7%; 8%), and oxygen uptake (V[Combining Dot Above]O2max; 10%; 11%; 10%). Comparing the changes between the experimental groups, 1RMest gains were significantly higher in the LIG than HIG (5%) or MIG (6%). Furthermore, there was a tendency for higher gains in LIG and MIG compared with HIG, with "possibly" or "likely" positive effects in T10, T20, and CMJ. Detraining resulted in performance decrements, but minimal losses were found for V[Combining Dot Above]O2max in LIG (-1%). Concurrent training seems to be beneficial for strength and aerobic development regardless of the aerobic training intensity. However, choosing lower intensities can lead to increased strength and is recommended when the cardiorespiratory gains should be maintained for longer.
Clinico-radiological outcomes of single level TLIF using local morselized impacted bone graft vs cage with local bone graft

Aim: To study the fusion rate and clinical outcome of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) with cage and TLIF with local morselized graft. Design: Retrospective. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively studied thirty patients who received the TLIF with local morselized impacted bone grafts without a cage (Group 1), thirty patients who received TLIF with local bone graft combined with one titanium cage with 4° lordosis (Group 2) with an average follow-up of 15 months. Patients were clinically evaluated at regular intervals along with radiographs. Computed tomography (CT) scans were also performed at 6 months and 1 year after surgery. Functional outcome was assessed using the Modified Oswestry Score (MOS) and Visual Analog Score (VAS) for back pain preoperatively, immediate postoperatively, and at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Statistical Analysis Used:P < 0.05 was taken as the level of significance. SPSS software version 17 was used for analysis. Results: The VAS scores in group 2 (TLIF with cage group) at preoperatively, 3 months, 6 months, and at the end of 1 year improved significantly from 8.47, 3.53, 2.27, and 1.60, respectively; in TLIF without cage group (Group 1), it improved from 8.73, 4.00, 2.53, and 1.47, respectively. The MOS improved from 75.87 preoperatively in the TLIF with cage group (Group 2) to 34.53 at the end of 1 year. In the TLIF without cage group (Group 1), it improved from the preoperative P value of 75.47 to 35.30. Fusion was present in all the cases radiologically. Brantigan criteria were used to assess fusion on CT scan. The mean lordotic angle in the cage group decreased from 17.3° immediately after surgery to 16.5° at 1 year. The mean change was 0.80° in Group 1 (no cage), and the mean lordotic angle decreased from 16.5° immediately after surgery to 14.4° in group 2 (with cage) at 1 year. Conclusion: If we compare clinical and radiological results between the local bone graft with a cage and the morselized impacted bone graft groups, for one-level TLIF, the difference is not significant.
An Unconventional and Novel Therapeutic Technique of Anterior Indirect Decompression in a Case of C6–C7 Synovial Cyst Associated with Radiculopathy

Synovial cysts are infrequent findings in the spine and mostly located in the lumbar area. Even rarer is the occurrence of a synovial cyst in the cervical spine. The pathology arises from the facet joint and may cause pain, radiculopathy, or myelopathy. Few cases of symptomatic subaxial synovial cysts have been reported in the literature. Surgery is indicated in the presence of severe pain and neurologic compromise and involves the decompression of the cyst and the associated neural elements. Hemilaminectomy is the surgical treatment most commonly reported in the literature. However, other procedures such as complete laminectomy, CT-guided aspiration, and anterior corpectomy have been described. On the background of available literature till date, we report an unconventional and novel therapeutic technique of anterior indirect decompression in an uncommon case of a C6-C7 synovial cyst. A 67-year-old female patient had left upper limb radicular pain along the forearm and lateral fingers for 2 months. She had severe neck pain in extension and weak triceps (4/5) with the Neck Disability Index (NDI) score of 51.11% and visual analog scale (VAS) score of 8/10. Plain x-rays were suggestive of spondylosis. T2WI of MRI scan demonstrated cystic lesion on ventral aspect of C6-C7 (L) facet suggestive of synovial cyst. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion was done, and indirect posterior decompression of the cyst was achieved. There was a complete resolution of radiculopathy immediate postoperative period with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showing the evidence. Motor weakness resolved by 3 months with NDI score of 8.88% and VAS of 2/10. She was asymptomatic with no evidence of disease recurrence on MRI at 24 months.