Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide donors selectively potentiate thrombin-stimulated p70(S6k) activity and morphological changes in Swiss 3T3 cells.

Thrombin stimulates both DNA synthesis and cell morphological changes in Swiss 3T3 cells, although the mechanism of signal coordination leading to these responses is unknown. We report here that nitric oxide (NO) donors selectively enhance thrombin-stimulated p70(S6k) activity by 40-60%, an effect that was sustained for 24 h. Potentiation of p70(S6k) also was observed with cGMP analogues indicating that this effect is mediated by cGMP-activated protein kinase. NO donors also induced morphological changes characterized by spindle-shaped cells in confluent, nondividing cells or by extended protrusions from the trailing edge in subconfluent, polarized cells. NO donors had no significant effects on intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization, DNA synthesis, proliferation, or ERKs 1 and 2 and p90RSK activities, indicating that mitogenic responses and cell division are not altered by NO donors. We conclude that NO donors modulate the morphological changes associated with cellular motility in response to thrombin stimulation through selective enhancement of p70(S6k) activity.
R3: Reinforced Reader-Ranker for Open-Domain Question Answering

In recent years researchers have achieved considerable success applying neural network methods to question answering (QA). These approaches have achieved state of the art results in simplified closed-domain settings such as the SQuAD (Rajpurkar et al., 2016) dataset, which provides a pre-selected passage, from which the answer to a given question may be extracted. More recently, researchers have begun to tackle open-domain QA, in which the model is given a question and access to a large corpus (e.g., wikipedia) instead of a pre-selected passage (Chen et al., 2017a). This setting is more complex as it requires large-scale search for relevant passages by an information retrieval component, combined with a reading comprehension model that "reads" the passages to generate an answer to the question. Performance in this setting lags considerably behind closed-domain performance. In this paper, we present a novel open-domain QA system called Reinforced Ranker-Reader $(R^3)$, based on two algorithmic innovations. First, we propose a new pipeline for open-domain QA with a Ranker component, which learns to rank retrieved passages in terms of likelihood of generating the ground-truth answer to a given question. Second, we propose a novel method that jointly trains the Ranker along with an answer-generation Reader model, based on reinforcement learning. We report extensive experimental results showing that our method significantly improves on the state of the art for multiple open-domain QA datasets.
Microvasculature of the buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) choroid plexuses: Structural, histochemical, and immunocytochemical study

The choroid plexuses (CPs) in mammals produce the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In the literature, the morphology of CPs and the process that regulates the production of CSF are virtually nonexistent for domestic ruminants. Thus this study has two aims: 1. to investigate the morpho‐structure of the buffalo CP microvasculature utilizing light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques, and 2. to investigate the relationship between the blood vessels and both the elongated cells and the cells with multiple protrusions located in the CPs. SEM and TEM analyses of the CPs from buffalo brain showed morphological and structural features similar those reported in other mammalian species. Moreover the blood microvasculature is the major component responsible for the formation of the CSF, secreted by the encephalic CPs. In addition the chemical composition of this fluid depends on several morpho‐functional characteristics of the vascularization of the CPs. These characteristics are as follows: two shapes of the vascular organization: lamina‐like and ovoid‐like elongated cells of the CPs, which connect the ventricular cavities to the blood capillaries; and the CP capillaries have diverse forms. In the present study the employment of NADPHd and NOS I was taken as indirect evidence for the presence of NO for investigation their specific role in CPs. Then NOS I immunoreactivity is found in the walls of CP blood vessels demonstrating indirectly the presence of NO with a vaso‐dilatatory and autoregulation function of vascular tone by cholinergic nerve stimulation of blood vessel smooth muscle. Microsc. Res. Tech. 74:67‐75, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
HIV seroincidence and risk factors among patients repeatedly tested for HIV attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in the United States, 1991 to 1996. STD Clinic HIV Seroincidence Study Group.

To assess the incidence of HIV infection and risk factors associated with HIV seroconversion among patients attending clinics for sexually transmitted diseases (STD), medical record reviews were conducted in 12 clinics in 7 U.S. cities. The records of all patients who initially tested negative for HIV from 1991 through 1996 and who received at least one additional HIV test during the study period were reviewed. In each of 7 cities, 5 to 112 patients seroconverted. Of the 286 seroconverters identified in total, 53% (152 of 286) were heterosexual men and 28% (81 of 286) were women. HIV incidence rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) ranged by city from 0.81 to 7.0 new infections/100 person-years. Rates among heterosexual men and women ranged from 0.018 to 1.2 infections/100 person-years. Multivariate analyses showed that drug use was associated with HIV seroconversion only among heterosexuals. Most new HIV infections in these clinics are being transmitted heterosexually and are associated with drug use. Nevertheless, MSM, particularly young MSM, are at greatest risk for HIV in this population: 1 of 47 seroconvert/year. The effective use of targeted prevention efforts depends upon the continued ability to monitor the incidence of HIV infection.
Widespread Cutaneous Carcinomas Associated with Human Papillomaviruses 5, 14 and 20 after Introduction of Methotrexate in Two Long-Term PUVA-Treated Patients

Background: PUVA treatment for patients with severe psoriasis has been demonstrated to be highly effective. However, an increased risk of nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers has been reported. It is generally accepted that the risk of squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) is significantly increased in patients with long-term PUVA therapy. The role of methotrexate (MTX) and infection with oncogenic human papillomaviruses which may act as cocarcinogens is poorly documented. Case Reports: Two cases of multiple SCCs associated with numerous PUVA keratoses and PUVA freckles after long-term PUVA therapy and subsequent treatment with MTX are presented. In 1 case, the tumor progressed to metastatic SCC. Tumors and scrapings of psoriatic skin lesions were analyzed for the presence of oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes. The genotype of HPV-5, -14 and -20 was detected in scrapings and skin tumors using PCR amplification. Conclusion: These observations support the concept that long-term PUVA treatment is carcinogenic and rise questions concerning an additional influence of MTX in the development and progression of skin cancer. The risk of metastatic SCC seems to be underestimated in high-dose PUVA-treated patients due to longer latency for developing metastases and the small number of studies with long-term follow-up. Treatment with MTX should be considered cautiously in patients previously exposed to high doses of PUVA. The presence of oncogenic HPVs in carcinomas and psoriatic skin lesions detected only with the highly sensitive nested PCR method is not necessarily a proof of their implication in skin carcinogenesis.
Benefiting from Disaster?: Public and Private Responses to the Wenchuan Earthquake

We provide the first household survey-based evidence on the impact of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake on the welfare of rural households. Asset and income losses were substantial, especially in seriously affected areas. Our main finding is that there was an overwhelming government response to the disaster. Subsidies provided to households in 2008 were so large that mean income per capita was 17.5% higher in 2008 than in 2007 and the poverty rate actually declined from 34% to 19%. Using distance from the epicenter as an instrument for earthquake damage, we find a strong positive statistical relationship between lost value of housing and other assets due to the earthquake and increases in income per capita and government transfers received, and much weaker responsiveness of private transfers, wage labor supply, and borrowing.
Contracting Theory with Competitive Interacting Agents

In a framework close to the one developed by Holmstrom and Milgrom [44], we study the optimal contracting scheme between a Principal and several Agents. Each hired Agent is in charge of one project, and can make efforts towards managing his own project, as well as impact (positively or negatively) the projects of the other Agents. Considering economic Agents in competition with relative performance concerns, we derive the optimal contracts in both first best and moral hazard settings. The enhanced resolution methodology relies heavily on the connection between Nash equilibria and multidimensional quadratic BSDEs. The optimal contracts are linear and each agent is paid a fixed proportion of the terminal value of all the projects of the firm. Besides, each Agent receives his reservation utility, and those with high competitive appetence are assigned less volatile projects, and shall even receive help from the other Agents. From the principal point of view, it is in the firm interest in our model to strongly diversify the competitive appetence of the Agents.
Circulating micro‐RNA expression profiles in early stage nonsmall cell lung cancer

Circulating micro‐RNA (miR) profiles have been proposed as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for cancer, including lung cancer. We have developed methods to accurately and reproducibly measure micro‐RNA levels in serum and plasma. Here, we study paired serum and plasma samples from 220 patients with early stage nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 220 matched controls. We use qRT‐PCR to measure the circulating levels of 30 different miRs that have previously been reported to be differently expressed in lung cancer tissue. Duplicate RNA extractions were performed for 10% of all samples, and micro‐RNA measurements were highly correlated among those duplicates. This demonstrates high reproducibility of our assay. The expressions of miR‐146b, miR‐221, let‐7a, miR‐155, miR‐17‐5p, miR‐27a and miR‐106a were significantly reduced in the serum of NSCLC cases, while miR‐29c was significantly increased. No significant differences were observed in plasma of patients compared with controls. Overall, expression levels in serum did not correlate well with levels in plasma. In secondary analyses, reduced plasma expression of let‐7b was modestly associated with worse cancer‐specific mortality in all patients, and reduced serum expression of miR‐223 was modestly associated with cancer‐specific mortality in stage IA/B patients. MiR profiles also showed considerable differences comparing African American and European Americans. In summary, we found significant differences in miR expression when comparing cases and controls and find evidence that expression of let‐7b is associated with prognosis in NSCLC.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lipomannan Induces Apoptosis and Interleukin-12 Production in Macrophages

ABSTRACT The mycobacterial cell wall component lipoarabinomannan (LAM) has been described as a virulence factor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and modification of the terminal arabinan residues of this compound with mannose caps (producing mannosyl-capped LAM [ManLAM]) in M. tuberculosis or with phosphoinositol caps (producing phosphoinositol-capped LAM [PILAM]) in Mycobacterium smegmatis has been implicated in various functions associated with these lipoglycans. A structure-function analysis was performed by using LAMs and their biosynthetic precursor lipomannans (LMs) isolated from different mycobacterial species on the basis of their capacity to induce the production of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and/or apoptosis of macrophage cell lines. Independent of the mycobacterial species, ManLAMs did not induce IL-12 gene expression or apoptosis of macrophages, whereas PILAMs induced IL-12 secretion and apoptosis. Interestingly, uncapped LAM purified from Mycobacterium chelonae did not induce IL-12 secretion or apoptosis. Furthermore, LMs, independent of their mycobacterial origins, were potent inducers of IL-12 and apoptosis. The precursor of LM, phosphatidyl-myo-inositol dimannoside, had no activity, suggesting that the mannan core of LM was required for the activity of LM. The specific interaction of LM with Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) but not with TLR-4 suggested that these responses were mediated via the TLR-2 signaling pathway. Our experiments revealed an important immunostimulatory activity of the biosynthetic LAM precursor LM. The ratio of LAM to LM in the cell wall of mycobacteria may be an important determinant of virulence, and enzymes that modify LM could provide targets for development of antituberculosis drugs and for derivation of attenuated strains of M. tuberculosis.
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia treatment in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-positive women

Summary We set out to consider the level of agreement between referral and treatment pathology and to investigate the effectiveness of standard surgical treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-positive women. This was a case-note review of all women who underwent treatment for CIN between 1995 and 2004. Information on the referral and follow-up smear and biopsy results and the status of the excision margins at treatment were collected. A total of 71 women had at least one large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) for CIN. Agreement between the referral smear and biopsy was poor (κ = 0.20) and between the referral and treatment pathology was only fair (κ = 0.37). Ten treatment samples showed no histological evidence of CIN and were excluded from analysis of the presence of CIN at the resection margins. In only 32.8% of treatment samples were both margins clear of CIN. A high pre-LLETZ CD4 count was strongly associated with clear margins. A total of 55.6% patients had CIN at follow-up, despite both margins being clear. The follow-up smear/biopsy had decreased by ≥1 grade of CIN in only 50.8% patients. Our results show a high degree of discrepancy between cytology/biopsy and LLETZ histology in HIV-positive women. Additionally, there is often incomplete clearance of CIN at the resection margins emphasing the need for close follow-up after surgery.
An Equivalence of Fully Connected Layer and Convolutional Layer

This article demonstrates that convolutional operation can be converted to matrix multiplication, which has the same calculation way with fully connected layer. The article is helpful for the beginners of the neural network to understand how fully connected layer and the convolutional layer work in the backend. To be concise and to make the article more readable, we only consider the linear case. It can be extended to the non-linear case easily through plugging in a non-linear encapsulation to the values like this $\sigma(x)$ denoted as $x^{\prime}$.
Expression of adhesion molecules in leprosy lesions

Leprosy presents as a clinical spectrum that is precisely paralleled by a spectrum of immunological reactivity. The disease provides a useful and accessible model, in this case in the skin, in which to study the dynamics of cellular immune responses to an infectious pathogen, including the role of adhesion molecules in those responses. In lesions characterized by strong delayed-type hypersensitivity against Mycobacterium leprae (tuberculoid, reversal reaction, and Mitsuda reaction), the overlying epidermis exhibited pronounced keratinocyte intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) expression and contained lymphocytes expressing the ICAM-1 ligand, LFA-1. Conversely, in lesions in which delayed-type hypersensitivity was lacking (lepromatous), keratinocyte ICAM-1 expression was low and LFA-1+ lymphocytes were rare. Expression of these adhesion molecules on the cells within the dermal granulomas was equivalent throughout the spectrum of leprosy. The percentage of lymphocytes in these granulomas containing mRNA coding for gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor alpha, synergistic regulators of ICAM-1 expression, paralleled epidermal ICAM-1 expression. In lesions of erythema nodosum leprosum, a reactional state of lepromatous leprosy thought to be due to immune complex deposition, keratinocyte ICAM-1 expression and gamma interferon mRNA+ cells were both prominent. Antibodies to LFA-1 and ICAM-1 blocked the response of both alpha beta and gamma delta T-cell clones in vitro to mycobacteria. Overall, the expression of adhesion molecules by immunocompetent epidermal cells, as well as the cytokines which regulate such expression, correlates with the outcome of the host response to infection.
Reduction of Adipogenesis and Lipid Accumulation by Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) Extracts in 3T3L1 Adipocytes: An in vitro Study

In this in vitro study, we have investigated the ability of Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) to inhibit adipocyte differentiation and lipogenesis in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes. HPLC analysis of the three plant extracts used in this study—leaf and root extracts and a commercial root powder—identified caffeic and chlorogenic acids as the main phenolic constituents. Oil Red O staining and triglyceride levels analysis showed decreased lipid and triglyceride accumulation, respectively. Cytotoxicity was assessed with the MTT assay showing non‐toxic effect among the concentrations tested. DNA microarray analysis showed that the extracts regulated the expression of a number of genes and long non‐coding RNAs that play a major role in the control of adipogenesis. Taken together, our results indicate that the dandelion extracts used in this study may play a significant role during adipogenesis and lipid metabolism, and thus, supporting their therapeutic interest as potential candidates for the treatment of obesity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interactions between the jasmonic and salicylic acid pathway modulate the plant metabolome and affect herbivores of different feeding types.

The phytohormones jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) mediate induced plant defences and the corresponding pathways interact in a complex manner as has been shown on the transcript and proteine level. Downstream, metabolic changes are important for plant-herbivore interactions. This study investigated metabolic changes in leaf tissue and phloem exudates of Plantago lanceolata after single and combined JA and SA applications as well as consequences on chewing-biting (Heliothis virescens) and piercing-sucking (Myzus persicae) herbivores. Targeted metabolite profiling and untargeted metabolic fingerprinting uncovered different categories of plant metabolites, which were influenced in a specific manner, indicating points of divergence, convergence, positive crosstalk and pronounced mutual antagonism between the signaling pathways. Phytohormone-specific decreases of primary metabolite pool sizes in the phloem exudates may indicate shifts in sink-source relations, resource allocation, nutrient uptake or photosynthesis. Survival of both herbivore species was significantly reduced by JA and SA treatments. However, the combined application of JA and SA attenuated the negative effects at least against H. virescens suggesting that mutual antagonism between the JA and SA pathway may be responsible. Pathway interactions provide a great regulatory potential for the plant that allows triggering of appropriate defences when attacked by different antagonist species.
Continuous Use of Thienopyridine May Be as Safe as Low-Dose Aspirin in Endoscopic Resection of Gastric Tumors

Background/Aims Current guidelines recommend withholding antiplatelets for 5–7 days before high-risk endoscopic procedures. We investigated whether this reduces post-endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) bleeding. Methods Gastric ESD cases with antiplatelets were retorospectively reviewed. Withholding antiplatelets for 5–7 days before ESD was defined as cessation and 0–4 days as continuation. The rate and risk of post-ESD bleeding according to the types and cessation of antiplatelets were assessed. Results Among the 215 patients (117 adenoma and 98 early gastric cancer), 161 patients were on single (94 aspirin, 56 thienopyridine, and 11 other agents), 51 on dual, and 3 on triple antiplatelets. Post-ESD bleeding rates were 12.8% in aspirin users, 3.6% in thienopyridine, 27.5% in dual, 33.3% in triple therapy, and 9.7% in the cessation and 15.0% in the continuation group. Multiple antiplatelets (odds ratio [OR], 2.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 5.76) and specimen size ≥ 5.5 cm (OR, 2.84; 95% CI, 1.04 to 7.73) were the risk of bleeding, while continuation of thienopyridine (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.05 to 1.09) and antiplatelets (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 0.68 to 4.94) did not increase the risk of bleeding. Conclusions Continuing thienopyridine and aspirin did not increase the risk of post-ESD. Multiple antiplatelet therapy and a large specimen size were independent risk factors of post-ESD bleeding.
Cardiovascular Effects of Caffeine in Elderly Men

Ten healthy elderly male volunteers were given 4 mg/kg of caffeine by intravenous infusion on three separate occasions. This resulted in mean peak plasma concentrations of caffeine of 7.4 ± 0.7 μg/ml. Immediately after each of the three caffeine infusions, the mean systolic blood pressures increased 14, 7, and 16 mm Hg, and the mean diastolic blood pressures increased 7, 4, and 7 mm Hg, respectively. Both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressures returned to preinfusion values within 4 hours. The QS2 index and the left ventricular ejection time (LVET) index increased after caffeine, probably as a result of the caffeine‐induced increase in arterial blood pressure. The pre‐ejection period (PEP), the PEP/LVET ratio, and the diastolic time remained unchanged. Caffeine, in doses equal to those contained in 2 to 3 cups of coffee, produces an increase in blood pressure but has no demonstrable positive inotropic effect in healthy elderly men.
Fascial fibroblast kinetic activity is increased during abdominal wall repair compared to dermal fibroblasts

Abdominal wall fascial wound healing failure is a common clinical problem for general surgeons, manifesting in early postoperative fascial dehiscence as well as delayed development of incisional hernias. We previously reported that abdominal wall fascial incisions normally recover breaking strength faster than simultaneous dermal incisions in a rodent model. The accelerated fascial repair was associated with greater fibroblast cellularity within fascial wounds and increased wound collagen deposition. The current study was designed to determine whether accelerated fascial healing is the result of increased fascial fibroblast kinetic activity as measured by a more efficient fibroblast phenotype for binding to and remodeling a collagen matrix. Using a new model of abdominal wall repair, fibroblast cell cultures were developed from uninjured and wounded fascia and compared to dermal fibroblasts in order to define the fibroproliferative kinetic properties of abdominal wall fibroblasts. Fascial wound fibroblasts produced a more efficient and greater overall collagen lattice compaction compared to dermal fibroblasts. Acute fascial wound fibroblasts also showed enhanced cell proliferation compared to dermal fibroblasts but no significant differences in collagen production when normalized to cell number. These results suggest that fascial fibroblasts express distinct acute repair phenotypes and therefore a specific mechanism for fascial repair following injury.