Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Three Lipidated Oxytocin Analogs on Behavioral Deficits in CD38 Knockout Mice

Oxytocin (OT) is a nonapeptide that plays an important role in social behavior. Nasal administration of OT has been shown to improve trust in healthy humans and social interaction in autistic subjects. As is consistent with the nature of a peptide, OT has some unfavorable characteristics: it has a short half-life in plasma and shows poor permeability across the blood-brain barrier. Analogs with long-lasting effects may overcome these drawbacks. To this end, we have synthesized three analogs: lipo-oxytocin-1 (LOT-1), in which two palmitoyl groups are conjugated to the cysteine and tyrosine residues, lipo-oxytocin-2 (LOT-2) and lipo-oxytocin-3 (LOT-3), which include one palmitoyl group conjugated at the cysteine or tyrosine residue, respectively. The following behavioral deficits were observed in CD38 knockout (CD38−/−) mice: a lack of paternal nurturing in CD38−/− sires, decreased ability for social recognition, and decreased sucrose consumption. OT demonstrated the ability to recover these disturbances to the level of wild-type mice for 30 min after injection. LOT-2 and LOT-3 partially recovered the behaviors for a short period. Conversely, LOT-1 restored the behavioral parameters, not for 30 min, but for 24 h. These data suggest that the lipidation of OT has some therapeutic benefits, and LOT-1 would be most useful because of its long-last activity.
Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Lymph Node: A Novel Tool for the Monitoring of Immune Responses after Skin Antigen Delivery

Assessment of immune responses in lymph nodes (LNs) is routine in animals, but rarely done in humans. We have applied minimally invasive ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the LN to a before-and-after study of the immune response to intradermally delivered Ag in healthy volunteers (n = 25). By comparison with PBMCs from the same individual, LN cells (LNCs) were characterized by reduced numbers of effector memory cells, especially CD8+ TEMRA cells (3.37 ± 1.93 in LNCs versus 22.53 ± 7.65 in PBMCs; p = 0.01) and a marked increased in CD69 expression (27.67 ± 7.49 versus 3.49 ± 2.62%, LNCs and PBMCs, respectively; p < 0.0001). At baseline, there was a striking absence of IFN-γ ELISPOT responses to recall Ags (purified protein derivative, Tetanus toxoid, or flu/EBV/CMV viral mix) in LN, despite strong responses in the peripheral blood. However, 48 h after tuberculin purified protein derivative administration in the ipsilateral forearm resulting in a positive skin reaction, a clear increase in IFN-γ ELISPOT counts was seen in the draining LN but not in PBMCs. This response was lost by 5 d. These data suggest that the low levels of effector memory cells in the LN may explain the low background of baseline ELISPOT responses in LNs as compared with PBMCs, and the appearance of a response after 48 h is likely to represent migration of effector memory cells from the skin to the LN. Hence, it appears that the combination of intradermal Ag administration and draining LN sampling can be used as a sensitive method to probe the effector memory T cell repertoire in the skin.
Public involvement in health care priority setting: an economic perspective

Background Public involvement in health care decision making and priority setting in the UK is being promoted by recent policy initiatives. In 1993, the British Medical Association called for public consultation where rationing of services was to be undertaken. The approach to priority setting advocated by many health economists is the maximization of quality adjusted life years (QALYs). Typically, for a particular health care programme, the QALY calculation takes account of four features: (1) the number of patients receiving the programme, (2) the survival gain, (3) the gain in quality of life and, (4) the probability of treatment success. Only one feature, that relating to quality of life, is based upon public preferences. If the QALY is to be used as a tool for health care resource allocation at a societal level then it should incorporate broader societal preferences.
Dermatan sulfate proteoglycan biglycan as a potential selectin L/CD44 ligand involved in selective recruitment of peripheral blood CD16(−) natural killer cells into human endometrium

Unique CD16(−) NK cells acutely increase in the human uterine endometrium after ovulation. The origin of these NK cells remains unknown, but they may be recruited selectively from the circulation. Proteoglycans and their glycosaminoglycan side‐chains expressed on endometrial microvascular endothelial cells play a key role in lymphocyte tethering/rolling, the initial step of lymphocyte extravasation. In this study, we sought for the potential proteoglycans involved in tethering/rolling of peripheral blood CD16(−) NK cells on endometrial microvascular endothelial cells. As compared with CD16(+) NK cells and non‐NK cells, enriched peripheral blood CD16(−) NK cells bound preferably to immobilized glycosaminoglycans except for keratan sulfate. CD16(−) NK cells bound maximally to dermatan sulfate (DS), which was diminished by enzymatic pretreatment with dermatanase and chondroitinase ABC, but not with chondroitinase ACII. The binding capacity of CD16(−) NK cells to DS was attenuated by blocking antibodies against selectin L and CD44 or pretreatment of CD16(−) NK cells with IL‐15. Of three known DS proteoglycans, biglycan and decorin but not epiphycan were expressed in the human cycling endometrium. In the endometrial microvessels, the immunoreactivity for biglycan was greater in the secretory phase than in the proliferative phase, and there was little, if any, immunoreactivity for decorin throughout the menstrual cycle. The ovarian steroid progesterone enhanced biglycan expression in cultured human uterine microvascular endothelial cells. These findings demonstrated that DS proteoglycan biglycan is a potential selectin L/CD44 ligand involved in tethering/rolling of peripheral blood CD16(−) NK cells on endometrial microvascular endothelial cells.
Long-Run Reversal in Commodity Returns: Insights from Seven Centuries of Evidence

We perform the longest study of long-run reversal in commodity returns ever conducted. Using a unique dataset of prices of 52 agricultural, industrial, and energy commodities, we examine the price behaviour for the years 1265 to 2017. The findings reveal a strong and robust long-run reversal effect. The returns of the past one to three years negatively predict subsequent performance in the cross-section of returns. The effect is robust to extensive subsample and subperiod analysis, and not driven by statistical biases, extreme events, or macroeconomic risk exposure. Our findings support the explanation that the long-term reversal results from supply and demand adjustments following price changes. Finally, the phenomenon is elevated in more volatile commodities and in periods of high return dispersion.
Scheduling Network and Computing Resources for Sliding Demands in Optical Grids

In this paper, we consider the problem of scheduling lightpaths and computing resources for sliding grid demands in WDM networks. Each sliding grid demand is represented by a tuple (<i>v</i>,<i>R</i>,<i>c</i>,<i>p</i>,<i>q</i>,<i>l</i>) , where <i>v</i> is the client node, <i>R</i> is the resource-group which includes a group of predefined resource nodes, <i>c</i> is the required amount of computing resources, [<i>p</i>,<i>q</i>] is the time window and <i>l</i> is the demand duration. With each demand, the scheduling algorithm is required to decide the start time <i>t</i> (<i>p</i> les <i>t</i> les <i>q</i> - <i>l</i>), reserve an amount of <i>c</i> computing resources at a resource node <i>v</i> <sup>'</sup> isin <i>R</i> and provision a primary lightpath as well as a backup lightpath from <i>v</i> <sup>'</sup> to <i>v</i> . The reserved computing resources and lightpaths are used during [<i>t</i>,<i>t</i> + <i>l</i>]. Unlike the sequential approach wherein the start time, the network resources (lightpaths) and the computing resources are considered one after another, in our work we use the joint scheduling approach wherein the resources and the start time are examined jointly. We consider sliding demands with static and dynamic arrival patterns. We develop an integer linear programming (ILP) formulation to obtain optimal results. For the reason of scalability, we propose heuristic algorithms based on joint resource scheduling and study their effectiveness through simulation experiments.
Survival Following Liver Transplantation From Non-Heart-Beating Donors

Objective:To determine whether patient and graft survival following transplantation with non-heart-beating donor (NHBD) hepatic allografts is equivalent to heart-beating-donor (HBD) allografts. Summary Background Data:With the growing disparity between the number of patients awaiting liver transplantation and a limited supply of cadaveric organs, there is renewed interest in the use of hepatic allografts from NHBDs. Limited outcome data addressing this issue exist. Methods:Retrospective evaluation of graft and patient survival among adult recipients of NHBD hepatic allografts compared with recipients of HBD livers between 1993 and 2001 using the United Network of Organ Sharing database. Results:NHBD (N = 144) graft survival was significantly shorter than HBD grafts (N = 26,856). One- and 3-year graft survival was 70.2% and 63.3% for NHBD recipients versus 80.4% and 72.1% (P = 0.003 and P = 0.012) for HBD recipients. Recipients of an NHBD graft had a greater incidence of primary nonfunction (11.8 vs. 6.4%, P = 0.008) and retransplantation (13.9% vs. 8.3%, P = 0.04) compared with HBD recipients. Prolonged cold ischemic time and recipient life support were predictors of early graft failure among recipients of NHBD livers. Although differences in patient survival following NHBD versus HBD transplant did not meet statistical significance, a strong trend was evident that likely has relevant clinical implications. Conclusions:Graft and patient survival is inferior among recipients of NHBD livers. NHBD donors remain an important source of hepatic grafts; however, judicious use is warranted, including minimization of cold ischemia and use in stable recipients.
Chance constrained stochastic MPC with additive disturbance as robust charge-sustaining strategy for hybrid electric vehicles

This contribution presents the design of a stochastic tube-based model predictive controller for the application of energy management in hybrid electric vehicles. While previously proposed strategies commonly assume the driving profile to be perfectly known, the effects of uncertain driver behavior, i.e. uncertain driver torque demands, are neglected. In this paper, a stochastic control strategy is introduced which also expects some apriori knowledge of the driving profile but is able to react on variations in this profile. By using chance constraints on the state of charge, the strategy is capable of being charge sustaining while optimizing fuel consumption in presence of uncertainties.
Bactericidal Potencies of New Regimens Are Not Predictive of Their Sterilizing Potencies in a Murine Model of Tuberculosis

ABSTRACT TMC207, rifapentine, and moxifloxacin are in clinical testing for the treatment of tuberculosis. Five experimental regimens with various combinations of TMC207, rifapentine, moxifloxacin, and pyrazinamide were tested for their bactericidal and sterilizing potencies in Swiss mice intravenously inoculated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli. TMC207 had the strongest bactericidal efficacy, while rifapentine was the strongest contributor to sterilizing efficacy. The rank order of sterilizing potencies was different from the rank order of bactericidal potencies, underlining the importance of prioritizing new regimens designed to shorten the treatment duration by their sterilizing potencies rather than by their bactericidal potencies. Both 3 months of treatment with a regimen combining TMC207, pyrazinamide, and rifapentine and 5 months of treatment with a regimen combining TMC207, pyrazinamide, and moxifloxacin resulted in relapse rates similar to the rate obtained by 6 months of treatment with rifampin-isoniazid-pyrazinamide.
Computed Tomography Assessment of Hip Joints in Asymptomatic Individuals in Relation to Femoroacetabular Impingement

Background: Femoroacetabular impingement has become a well-recognized entity predisposing to acetabular labral tears and chondral damage, and subsequently development of osteoarthritis of the hip joint. In the authors’ experience, it is common to see bony abnormalities predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement in the contralateral asymptomatic hips in patients with unilateral femoroacetabular impingement. Purpose: This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of bony abnormalities predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement in asymptomatic individuals without exposing study participants to unnecessary radiation. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Fifty individuals (100 hip joints), ranging from 15 to 40 years of age, who were seen at a local hospital between March and August 2008 with abdominal trauma or nonspecific abdominal pain in whom abdominal computed tomography was performed to aid diagnosis were prospectively studied. These patients were not known to have any history of hip-related problems. Raw data from the abdominal computed tomography scan, performed on a 64-slice multidetector computed tomography scanner, were reformatted using bone algorithm into several different planes. Several measurements and observations of the hip joints were made in relation to femoroacetabular impingement. Results: The 100 hip joints from 50 patients with no history of hip problems demonstrated that 39% of the joints (31% of female, 48% of male joints) have at least 1 morphologic aspect predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement. The majority (66% to 100% ) of the findings were bilateral; 33% of female and 52% of male asymptomatic participants in our study had at least 1 predisposing factor for femoroacetabular impingement in 1 or both of their hip joints. Based on the data collected from this study, the acetabular crossover sign had a 71% sensitivity and 88% specificity for detecting acetabular retroversion. Nonquantitative assessment of the femoral head at the anterior, anterolateral, and lateral head/neck junctions demonstrated that 74% of the joints had an aspherical femoral head. Conclusion: The study demonstrated substantial prevalence of bony characteristics predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement in asymptomatic individuals according to the established measurement parameters in current literature.
A Context-Dependent Role for IL-21 in Modulating the Differentiation, Distribution, and Abundance of Effector and Memory CD8 T Cell Subsets

The activation of naive CD8 T cells typically results in the formation of effector cells (TE) as well as phenotypically distinct memory cells that are retained over time. Memory CD8 T cells can be further subdivided into central memory, effector memory (TEM), and tissue-resident memory (TRM) subsets, which cooperate to confer immunological protection. Using mixed bone marrow chimeras and adoptive transfer studies in which CD8 T cells either do or do not express IL-21R, we discovered that under homeostatic or lymphopenic conditions IL-21 acts directly on CD8 T cells to favor the accumulation of TE/TEM populations. The inability to perceive IL-21 signals under competitive conditions also resulted in lower levels of TRM phenotype cells and reduced expression of granzyme B in the small intestine. IL-21 differentially promoted the expression of the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 and the integrin α4β7 on CD8 T cells primed in vitro and on circulating CD8 T cells in the mixed bone marrow chimeras. The requirement for IL-21 to establish CD8 TE/TEM and TRM subsets was overcome by acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection; nevertheless, memory virus-specific CD8 T cells remained dependent on IL-21 for optimal accumulation in lymphopenic environments. Overall, this study reveals a context-dependent role for IL-21 in sustaining effector phenotype CD8 T cells and influencing their migratory properties, accumulation, and functions.
Reconfigurable Electromagnetics Through Metamaterials—A Review

The introduction of electromagnetic (EM) media with unique field manipulation properties, collectively labelled as metamaterials, has boosted the interest toward the design, the fabrication, and the testing of artificial materials whose features can be engineered according to the applicative requirements and user objectives. In this framework, the long-term promise of reconfigurable metamaterial theory (i.e., the possibility to change the EM response of a 2-D/3-D material arbitrarily and in real time) has given the designers an extremely wide number of new degrees of freedom for the synthesis of innovative adaptive systems. Moreover, successful experimental validations of reconfigurable metamaterials in the entire EM spectrum from microwaves to optical frequencies have further stimulated academic and industrial interests in developing devices with enhanced performances, efficiency, and robustness. Nevertheless, the exploitation of reconfigurable metamaterials in commercial devices is still an open problem with several challenges from both the theoretical and technological viewpoints. This paper is then aimed at reviewing the latest advances on reconfigurable metamaterial engineering from the methodological perspective also providing a comprehensive and balanced survey on latest concepts, current trends, and envisaged future developments on this active field of research.
An Energy-Efficient Cooperative SIMO Transmission Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents a cooperative single-input multiple-output (SIMO) transmission scheme for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), where the number of antennas and the constellation size of modulation are jointly optimized for different transmission distances such that the energy consumption is minimized. As compared to previous cooperative MIMO schemes for WSNs, the proposed one achieves higher energy efficiency and has a smaller critical distance above which cooperative MIMO/SIMO outperforms single-input single-output (SISO). The proposed optimization method is further extended to a clustered multi-hop WSN scenario. Through joint optimization of the number of transmitter antennas, the number of receiver antennas, the constellation size, and the hop length, we derive an energy-efficient clustered cooperative SIMO multi-hop scheme. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme not only reduces the overall energy consumption but also balances the energy consumption among clusters.
Host Immune Status Influences the Development of Attaching and Effacing Lesions in Weaned Pigs

ABSTRACT Attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) has been associated with naturally occurring attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions in weaned pigs, and although A/E lesions have been experimentally reproduced in newborn piglets, such lesions have been much more difficult to induce in older conventional pigs. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of oral administration of dexamethasone on the development of A/E lesions in weaned pigs challenged with a porcine enteropathogenic E. coli (PEPEC) strain and to investigate the involvement of local intestinal cytokine response. Dexamethasone, given orally at a dosage of 3 mg kg of body weight−1, significantly enhanced both the colonization of the challenge strain and the prevalence of foci of intimately adherent bacteria, resulting in extensive A/E lesions in the ileum, cecum, and colon of challenged pigs. We also confirmed the expression of both intimin and Tir by PEPEC strain ECL1001 in A/E lesions in vivo, which is, to our knowledge, the first report of the involvement of the latter proteins in any AEEC infections in vivo. Moreover, semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR demonstrated that interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, and, to a lesser extent, IL-12p40 are significantly upregulated in the ileum following challenge with strain ECL1001, whereas dexamethasone blocks such upregulation. Taken together, our results strongly suggested that host immune status influences the development of A/E lesions in weaned pigs, and it appears that IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and, to a lesser extent, IL-12p40 are expressed during infection of weaned pigs by PEPEC and may contribute to the natural resistance of the host against PEPEC infection.
Payer Mix and EHR Adoption in Hospitals

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Payers are known to influence the adoption of health information technology (HIT) among hospitals. However, previous studies examining the relationship between payer mix and HIT have not focused specifically on electronic health record systems (EHRs). Using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, we examine how Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance, and managed care caseloads are associated with EHR adoption in hospitals. Overall, we found a weak relationship between payer mix and EHR adoption. Medicare and, separately, Medicaid volumes were not associated with EHR adoption. Furthermore, commercial insurance volume was not associated with EHR adoption; however, a hospital located in the third quartile of managed care caseloads had a decreased likelihood of EHR adoption. We did not find empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that payer generosity and other indirect mechanisms influence EHR adoption in hospitals. The direct incentives embedded in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act may have a positive influence on EHR adoption—especially for hospitals with high Medicare and/or Medicaid caseloads. However, it is still uncertain whether the available incentives will offset the barriers many hospitals face in achieving meaningful use of EHRs.
Acute exacerbation in chronic type B hepatitis: Comparison between HBeAg and antibody‐positive patients

The incidence, clinicopathological features and etiology of acute exacerbation occurring in patients with chronic type B hepatitis were assessed prospectively among 385 patients who had HBeAg and 279 who had anti‐HBe in serum. During an average follow‐up of 23.5 months, acute exacerbations occurred in 197 HBeAg‐positive patients and in 56 anti‐HBe positive patients, with a calculated annual incidence of 28.6 and 10.3%, respectively (p < 0.001). The clinical and laboratory findings of acute exacerbations were similar in the HBeAg‐positive and anti‐HBe positive patients. The mean serum bilirubin and α‐fetoprotein levels were higher in anti‐HBe positive patients (p < 0.01), but actual differences were small. The histologic features of acute exacerbations were also similar in the HBeAg‐positive patients and anti‐HBe positive patients. Lobular alterations were the main histologic findings; in addition, one‐fourth of patients had bridging necrosis and one‐fourth had piecemeal necrosis. Spontaneous reactivation of hepatitis B was the major cause of these exacerbations in both HBeAg‐positive patients (91.5%) as well as anti‐HBe positive patients (62.5%). Hepatitis delta virus superinfection accounted for a higher percentage of exacerbations in anti‐HBe positive patients (14.3%) than in HBeAg‐positive cases (6.5%). Hepatitis A and possibly non‐A, non‐B virus superinfections also contributed to some episodes of exacerbation. Thus, acute exacerbations of disease occurred more frequently in HBeAg‐positive patients than in anti‐HBe positive patients with chronic type B hepatitis, but the clinicopathological features and etiologies were similar.