Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enrichment of Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells for BMPR1A Facilitates Enhanced Adipogenesis.

BACKGROUND Reconstruction of soft tissue defects has traditionally relied on the use of grafts and flaps, which may be associated with variable resorption and/or significant donor site morbidity. Cell-based strategies employing adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs), found within the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of adipose tissue, may offer an alternative strategy for soft tissue reconstruction. In this study, we investigated the potential of a bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 1A (BMPR1A)(+) subpopulation of ASCs to enhance de novo adipogenesis. METHODS Human lipoaspirate was enzymatically digested to isolate SVF and magnetic-activated cell separation was utilized to obtain BMPR1A(+) and BMPR1A(-) cells. These cells, along with unenriched cells, were expanded in culture and evaluated for adipogenic gene expression and in vitro adipocyte formation. Cells from each group were also labeled with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) lentivirus and transplanted into the inguinal fat pads, an adipogenic niche, of immunocompromised mice to determine their potential for de novo adipogenesis. Confocal microscopy along with staining of lipid droplets and vasculature was performed to evaluate the formation of mature adipocytes by transplanted cells. RESULTS In comparison to BMPR1A(-) and unenriched ASCs, BMPR1A(+) cells demonstrated significantly enhanced adipogenesis when cultured in an adipogenic differentiation medium, as evidenced by increased staining with Oil Red O and increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activating receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) and fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4). BMPR1A(+) cells also formed significantly more adipocytes in vivo, as demonstrated by quantification of GFP+ adipocytes. Minimal formation of mature adipocytes was appreciated by BMPR1A(-) cells. CONCLUSIONS BMPR1A(+) ASCs show an enhanced ability for adipogenesis in vitro, as shown by gene expression and histological staining. Furthermore, within an adipogenic niche, BMPR1A(+) cells possessed an increased capacity to generate de novo fat compared to BMPR1A(-) and unenriched cells. This suggests utility for the BMPR1A(+) subpopulation in cell-based strategies for soft tissue reconstruction.
Moment Independent Importance Measures: New Results and Analytical Test Cases

Moment independent methods for the sensitivity analysis of model output are attracting growing attention among both academics and practitioners. However, the lack of benchmarks against which to compare numerical strategies forces one to rely on ad hoc experiments in estimating the sensitivity measures. This article introduces a methodology that allows one to obtain moment independent sensitivity measures analytically. We illustrate the procedure by implementing four test cases with different model structures and model input distributions. Numerical experiments are performed at increasing sample size to check convergence of the sensitivity estimates to the analytical values.
Trial of Interpersonal Counselling after Major Physical Trauma

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to determine if interpersonal counselling (IPC) was effective in reducing psychological morbidity after major physical trauma. Methods: One hundred and seventeen subjects were recruited from two major trauma centres and randomized to treatment as usual or IPC in the first 3 months following trauma. Measures of depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic symptoms were taken at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV diagnoses was conducted at baseline and at 6 months to assess for psychiatric disorder. Results: Fifty-eight patients completed the study. Only half the patients randomized to IPC completed the therapy. At 6 months the level of depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic symptoms and the prevalence of psychiatric disorder did not differ significantly between the intervention and treatment-as-usual groups. Subjects with a past history of major depression who received IPC had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms at 6 months. Conclusion: IPC was not effective as a universal intervention to reduce psychiatric morbidity after major physical trauma and may increase morbidity in vulnerable individuals. Patient dropout is likely to be a major problem in universal multi-session preventative interventions.
The Multiple Perception of Innovation: The Case of Micro and Small Enterprises in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

This paper explores how innovation is perceived, on the one hand, by the scientific literature and, on the other, by the everyday practice of small and micro enterprises operating in the less developed socioeconomic system of the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Our aim is to find out whether there are different perceptions of innovation from two different “worlds”, the theoretical and the practical. For this, we conducted an introductory and qualitative field research on a sample of small and micro enterprises in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. We found there is a notable distance in the perception of innovation between the scientific theory and the everyday practice of micro and small enterprises in this less developed region in Greece. Research paper Keywords: Innovation multiplicity; Innovation definitions; Micro and small enterprises; Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Vlados, C. , & Chatzinikolaou, D. (2019). The multiple perception of innovation: the case of micro and small enterprises in the region of eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics , 7 (1), 17–41.
Functional Outcomes in Athletes After Modified Anterior Capsulolabral Reconstruction

During a 7-month period, 32 consecutive athletes un derwent anterior capsulolabral reconstruction with modifications, consisting of a horizontal capsulotomy (rather than a T-capsulotomy) and suture anchors (rather than drill holes); 31 patients were available for follow-up examinations. At preoperative examinations all patients demonstrated positive relocation tests; 22 were diagnosed with recurrent anterior subluxation and 9 with recurrent anterior dislocation. After surgery, all patients underwent a rehabilitation program. Followup included physical examination, subjective questions, and radiographs. At a minimum of 24 months' followup, results measured by modified Rowe score were 24 pa tients (77%) excellent, 6 (19%) good, and 1 (3%) failure. Eighty-one percent of the patients returned to the same sport at the same level of competition, 13% returned to the same sport at a lower level of competition, and 6% did not return to the preinjury sport. Radiographic analy ses at 2 years' followup revealed all Mitek anchors were well seated in the bone of the glenoid neck. No com plications of the suture anchors occurred. This modifi cation of anterior capsulolabral reconstruction simpli fied the procedure and allowed a more aggressive early rehabilitation program with 97% good or excellent results.
The ParallelEye Dataset: Constructing Large-Scale Artificial Scenes for Traffic Vision Research

Video image datasets are playing an essential role in design and evaluation of traffic vision algorithms. Nevertheless, a longstanding inconvenience concerning image datasets is that manually collecting and annotating large-scale diversified datasets from real scenes is time-consuming and prone to error. For that virtual datasets have begun to function as a proxy of real datasets. In this paper, we propose to construct large-scale artificial scenes for traffic vision research and generate a new virtual dataset called "ParallelEye". First of all, the street map data is used to build 3D scene model of Zhongguancun Area, Beijing. Then, the computer graphics, virtual reality, and rule modeling technologies are utilized to synthesize large-scale, realistic virtual urban traffic scenes, in which the fidelity and geography match the real world well. Furthermore, the Unity3D platform is used to render the artificial scenes and generate accurate ground-truth labels, e.g., semantic/instance segmentation, object bounding box, object tracking, optical flow, and depth. The environmental conditions in artificial scenes can be controlled completely. As a result, we present a viable implementation pipeline for constructing large-scale artificial scenes for traffic vision research. The experimental results demonstrate that this pipeline is able to generate photorealistic virtual datasets with low modeling time and high accuracy labeling.
Performance of Alamouti Scheme with Transmit Antenna Selection for M-ray Signals

In this letter, we present a comprehensive performance analysis of orthogonal space-time block codes (STBCs) with transmit antenna selection under uncorrelated Rayleigh fading channels. Two best transmit antennas that maximize the instantaneous received signal-to-noise (SNR) are selected. Using the well-known moment generating function-based analysis approach, we derive the exact average symbol error rate (SER) for M-ary signals. Furthermore, we provide tight upper bounds on the SER for any number of transmit antennas and receive antennas. The tightness is verified by simulation results. It is shown that the diversity order, with antenna selection, is maintained as that of the full complexity systems
Effects of prostacyclin on tumor cell-induced platelet aggregation.

Prostacyclin has been evaluated for its ability to inhibit tumor cell-induced platelet aggregation (TCIPA) induced by several rodent tumor lines: B16a (melanoma); 3LL (carcinoma); 15091A (adenocarcinoma); and W256 (carcinosarcoma). Aggregation of human platelets by all four lines was inhibited by prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) in a dose-dependent manner, with complete inhibition observed at 10 ng/ml. However, higher PGI2 concentrations were required to inhibit aggregation of homologous rat platelets induced by W256 cells. Prostacyclin was compared to other icosanoids known to inhibit platelet aggregation and was found to be 100-fold more potent than either prostaglandin E1 or prostaglandin D2 and 1000-fold more potent than its stable nonenzymatic metabolite (6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha). Prostaglandin E2 in contrast to prostaglandin E1 and prostaglandin D2, did not inhibit TCIPA; however, both prostaglandin E2 and its enzymatic metabolite (13,14-dihydro-15-ketoprostaglandin E2) prevented PGI2 inhibition of TCIPA. The addition of prostaglandin I2 (100 ng/ml) after initiation of TCIPA (50% of maximum response) resulted in immediate arrest of TCIPA followed by reversal of platelet aggregation. Prostacyclin partially reversed platelet aggregation when added at 100% of maximum response. Platelets enhanced the adhesion of [125I]uridine-labeled W256 cells to plastic culture dishes under both aggregatory and nonaggregatory conditions. Prostacyclin in vitro inhibited platelet-facilitated tumor cell adhesion. These in vitro results demonstrated that PGI2 is a potent inhibitor of TCIPA and of tumor cell adhesion; we suggest that these are possible mechanisms to explain the antimetastatic effects of PGI2 in vivo [Honn, K. V. , Cicone, B. , and Skoff, A. Science (Wash. D.C.), 212: 1270-1272, 1981].
The role of E‐cadherin in nevogenesis: an experimental study using epidermal reconstructs

Background: In the development of congenital nevi, how nevus cells migrate in the dermis remains unclear. As shown in an earlier study designed to investigate Unna's Abtropfung hypothesis, dermal invasion does not occur when nevus cells are seeded on epidermal reconstructs. In melanoma, the decrease of E‐cadherin expression is associated with the dermal invasion of melanoma cells. Objective: To study the expression of E‐cadherin in dermal‐cultured nevus cells from congenital nevi and its relevance to explain the absence of dermal invasion noted in epidermis reconstructed with cultured nevus cells. Methods: Comparison of the immunohistochemical expression pattern of E‐cadherin in congenital nevi in vivo and after culture in monolayers and in a three‐dimensional system. Results: E‐cadherin was not expressed in vivo by dermal nevus cells, either isolated or in nests. However, in monolayer cultures, dermal nevus cells expressed E‐cadherin. When these cells were used in reconstructed epidermis, nevus cells did not invade the dermis and they expressed E‐cadherin when isolated and just weakly or not when grouped in junctional nests. Conclusions: The absence of dermal invasion of nevus cells could be due to the expression of E‐cadherin in these cells in reconstructed epidermis. Our experiments suggest, a restoration of the control of keratinocytes, that nevus cells escape in the dermal compartment.
HOW MUCH OF COMMODITY PRICE BEHAVIOR CAN A RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS STORAGE MODEL EXPLAIN

A rational expectations competitive storage model is applied to the U.S. corn market to assess the aptness of this framework in explaining monthly price behavior in an actual commodity market. Relative to previous models, extensive realism is added to the model in terms of how production activities and storage costs are specified. By modeling convenience yield, "backwardation" in prices between crop years does not depend on the unrealistic assumption of zero ending stocks. Our model produces cash prices that are distributed with positive skewness and kurtosis, and mean and variance that increase over the storage season, consistent with the persistence and the occasional spikes observed in commodity prices. Futures prices are generated as conditional expectations of spot prices at contract maturity, and the variances of futures prices have realistic time-to-maturity and seasonal patterns. Model realizations of cash and futures prices over many "years" are used to demonstrate the wide variety of price behaviors that can be observed in an efficient market with a similar market structure, implying that marketing strategies based on short, historical samples of prices to manage price risk can be misleading.
Prophylactic mastectomy and inherited predisposition to breast carcinoma

Relative to her risk of breast carcinoma, the woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation can be managed either by intensive screening (with or without chemoprevention) or by prophylactic mastectomy. Although it would be preferable to avoid prophylactic surgery, the current level of screening technology and the rudimentary state of chemoprevention do not guarantee a good outcome with intensive surveillance. A review of the currently available data was undertaken to determine the efficacy of prophylactic surgery, intensive screening, and chemoprevention. An attempt then was made to extrapolate the efficacy of the various approaches to the management of women who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations. Intensive surveillance may not detect breast carcinoma at an early, curable stage in young women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations because the growth rate of the tumors in these women most likely will be rapid and the density of the breast tissue may compromise detection. Chemoprevention is in its infancy, and its efficacy in this population is unknown. Conversely, prophylactic surgery may not be completely effective in preventing breast carcinoma. The authors are hopeful that sometime in the next decade advances in chemoprevention, screening technology, or breast carcinoma treatment will make mastectomy obsolete. However, for the time being prophylactic mastectomy has attributes that make it an alternative for this population that must be considered. Careful discussion of all options is essential in the management of these women. Cancer 1999;86:2502–16. © 1999 American Cancer Society.
Recent Trends in Economic Activity and TFP in Italy with a Focus on Embodied Technical Progress

In this paper we provide fresh evidence on TFP performance in the Italian economy since 1995, taking into account the changing composition of primary inputs across different capital goods and employment skills, as well as technical progress embodied in different vintages of the productive assets. We first estimate a technical depreciation rate by using individual data on Italian industrial firms. We then obtain an experimental measure of the capital stock adjusted for technical efficiency, by augmenting the standard depreciation rate by our own estimate of technical depreciation (about 5% per year). Once we introduce our measure of capital stock in a standard growth accounting exercise, we find a less dismal performance of the Italian TFP than usually estimated. Focusing on the years between 2007 and 2016, the upward correction in TFP amounts to around 1.5% points in the overall period for the total economy and to about 2.5% points when only considering manufacturing. These findings shed a somewhat more positive light on future TFP developments in Italy, even more so should the efficiency of installed capital resumes improving following the fall during the crisis of years 2008–2013 caused by the slump in investment spending. Higher capital formation would imply a faster replacement of old vintages with more technically advanced ones.
Advances in the Endoscopic Diagnosis of Barrett Esophagus.

BACKGROUND Barrett esophagus (BE) continues to be a major risk factor for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma. METHODS We review the risk factors, diagnosis, and management of BE, with an emphasis on the most current endoscopic diagnostic modalities for BE. RESULTS Novel diagnostic modalities have emerged to address the inadequacies of standard, untargeted biopsies, such as dye-based and virtual chromoendoscopy, endoscopic mucosal resection, molecular biomarkers, optical coherence tomography, confocal laser endomicroscopy, volumetric laser endomicroscopy, and endocytoscopy. Treatment of BE depends on the presence of intramucosal cancer or dysplasia, particularly high-grade dysplasia with or without visible mucosal lesions. CONCLUSIONS Recent advances in endoscopic diagnostic tools demonstrate promising results and help to mitigate the shortcomings of the Seattle protocol. Future research as well as refining these tools may help aid them in replacing standard untargeted biopsies.
[Prevalence of dental fluorosis in children between 6 to 15 years old].

BACKGROUND dental fluorosis is a defect in the formation of the enamel by high fluoride concentrations during tooth development. It produces hypomineralization of the enamel by increasing the porosity, thus exposing the tooth to decay. OBJECTIVE to determine the prevalence and severity of fluorosis in children aged 6 to 15 years. METHODS a sample of 456 children was evaluated. The diagnosis of fluorosis was made through physical examination and the severity of the damage was described by using a modified version of Dean's scale. RESULTS 270 children presented fluorosis (59.2 %). The most affected were children of 8 to 12 years, students of first to fifth year of primary school. The severity was mild and very mild in 90 % of cases. Tooth decay appeared in 55 % of children with fluorosis and in 43 % of children without fluorosis. CONCLUSIONS the prevalence of dental fluorosis is rapidly increasing. Tooth decay affected more often children with fluorosis. Assuming that the prevalence of fluorosis is due to excessive fluoride application rather than to environmental exposure is possible.
Interferon-Mediated Immunopathological Events Are Associated with Atypical Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

ABSTRACT It is not understood how immune inflammation influences the pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). One area of strong controversy is the role of interferon (IFN) responses in the natural history of SARS. The fact that the majority of SARS patients recover after relatively moderate illness suggests that the prevailing notion of deficient type I IFN-mediated immunity, with hypercytokinemia driving a poor clinical course, is oversimplified. We used proteomic and genomic technology to systematically analyze host innate and adaptive immune responses of 40 clinically well-described patients with SARS during discrete phases of illness from the onset of symptoms to discharge or a fatal outcome. A novel signature of high IFN-α, IFN-γ, and IFN-stimulated chemokine levels, plus robust antiviral IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, accompanied early SARS sequelae. As acute illness progressed, SARS patients entered a crisis phase linked to oxygen saturation profiles. The majority of SARS patients resolved IFN responses at crisis and expressed adaptive immune genes. In contrast, patients with poor outcomes showed deviated ISG and immunoglobulin gene expression levels, persistent chemokine levels, and deficient anti-SARS spike antibody production. We contend that unregulated IFN responses during acute-phase SARS may culminate in a malfunction of the switch from innate immunity to adaptive immunity. The potential for the use of the gene signatures we describe in this study to better assess the immunopathology and clinical management of severe viral infections, such as SARS and avian influenza (H5N1), is therefore worth careful examination.
Lectin and peritrophic membrane development in the gut of Glossina m.morsitans and a discussion of their role in protecting the fly against trypanosome infection

Abstract. Newly emerged Glossina m.morsitans Westwood tsetse flies lack a peritrophic membrane which develops to fully line the midgut after c. 80‐90h. Midgut lectins are mainly associated with the peritrophic membrane. Lectin levels in the blood‐free gut of adult flies rise slowly up to 8 days and then rapidly to at least 14 days post‐eclosion (when the last of our recordings was made). Despite starving flies for 4 days prior to the agglutination assay, gut lectin levels in older flies are 100–200 times more than those in newly ecloded flies. This is inconsistent with the idea that there is a simple relationship between lectins and the protection of tsetse flies against trypanosome infection. Various theories put forward to account for age‐dependent variation in the ability of tsetse to become infected with trypanosomes are discussed in the light of these findings.
Connecting the dots between brand logo and brand image

Purpose Although the prominence of brand logo for companies is widely acknowledged, a close examination of the literature reveals lack of empirical research pertaining to effect of brand logo on consumer perception toward brand. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in marketing studies concerning the effect of a logo on consumer evaluations. The research addresses two questions: first, how brand logo favorability helps to increase brand image; and second, how brand logo form consumer perceptions toward brand through brand personality dimensions and brand familiarity? Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 816 respondents using mall-intercept technique. Structural equation modeling via AMOS was conducted to test the proposed model to gain insight into the various relevant influences and relationships. Findings The findings revealed the importance of the company’s brand logo in enhancing the brand image. The results further highlighted that brand personality dimensions and brand familiarity mediate the relationship between brand logo and brand image. Practical implications The study offers managers a new perspective for building strong brand identity with the help of logos along with the brand personality dimensions and brand familiarity to enhance brand image. Originality/value This study provides novel insights on the impact of brand logo on brand image. This is the first study to determine the mediating role of brand personality in the relationship between brand logo and brand image. It thereby adds to the literature of visual identity by developing the sphere of influence of brand logo and its effects toward brands.