Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elevated Apoptosis and Impaired Proliferation Contribute to Downregulated Peripheral γ δ T Cells in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective. To investigate the frequency of peripheral γ δ T cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its correlation with disease activity and to analyze the apoptotic status, proliferation ability, and intracellular cytokine profile of these cells. Methods. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the percentage and intracellular cytokine expression of peripheral γ δ T cells from SLE patients. Annexin-V/PI double staining was applied to determine the proportion of apoptotic γ δ and CD3+ T cells. γ δ T cell proliferation was analyzed by CFSE labeling technique. Results. The percentage and absolute number of γ δ T cells were remarkably decreased in active SLE patients compared to those in inactive patients and healthy controls, with γ δ T cell count negatively correlated with disease activity. Compared with healthy controls, peripheral γ δ T cells from active SLE patients exhibited higher apoptotic rate and lower proliferation ability, as well as elevated expression of intracellular IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-β, but not IL-17 or Foxp3. Conclusion. Decreased γ δ T cells in the peripheral blood of SLE patients might be caused by upregulated apoptosis and downregulated cell proliferation. These γ δ T cells may secret both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines to perform their functions in SLE.
Molecular Sciences Isolation and Characterization of Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers from the Chinese Medicinal Herb Atractylodes Macrocephala (asteraceae)

Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (Asteraceae) is an economically important Chinese medicinal herb. In this study, 15 polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed from A. macrocephala using the compound microsatellite marker technique. Levels of polymorphism within the 15 markers were assessed using 83 individuals from two wild and two cultivated populations in China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 20, with an average of 9.9 alleles. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.083 to 1.000 and from 0.097 to 0.938, respectively. These markers will be valuable for germplasm classification and identification, as well as for assessing the genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure among wild and cultivated populations of A. macrocephala.
Prototyping Expressive 3 D Social Worlds

3D virtual worlds are increasingly popular arenas for social interaction. There are new opportunities and possibilities for the style of communication but important aspects present in face-to-face meetings are absent in the artificial environment, including the visual cues of emotion that are provided by facial expressions, and a realistic representation of one’s geographical location. Our research attempts to enhance social interaction within virtual worlds by proposing a framework that would enable fully expressive Internet communication with the use of 3D expressive models. The framework contains three separate systems that support different aspects of social interaction within virtual worlds. Firstly, the Virtual City Maker creates a believable environment by automatically creating realistic identifiable geo-referenced 3D environments from a variety of aerial and GIS image data. Secondly, an automated 3D head modelling system provides a mechanism for generating and displaying expressions. Thirdly, the Emotion Analyser provides a mechanism for triggering the display of appropriate expressions by automatically identifying emotional words contained in text messages, the person to whom the emotional words refer to and the intensity. Each system in the framework is discussed with reference to their contribution to enhancing social interaction within 3D social worlds.
The Rare Third Branchial Cleft Cyst

SUMMARY: Third branchial cleft cysts (BCCs) are rare entities that represent abnormal persistence of the branchial apparatus. On CT examination, these cysts appear as homogeneous low-attenuation masses with well-circumscribed margins; on MR imaging, they demonstrate variable signal intensity on T1-weighted images and are hyperintense relative to muscle on T2-weighted images. Definitive treatment is surgical excision. We present a case of a third BCC and describe its diagnosis and treatment.
Early-Universe thermal production of not-so-invisible axions.

We find that for Peccei-Quinn symmetry-breaking scales less than or equal to 2 x 10/sup 8/ GeV (corresponding to axion masses greater than or equal to 3 x 10/sup -2/eV) thermal production of axions in the early Universe (via the Primakoff and photoproduction processes) dominates coherent production by a factor of about 1200 (m/sub a//eV)/sup 2.175/. The photon luminosity from the decays of these relic axions leads to a model-independent upper limit to the axion mass of order 2 to 5eV. If the axion mass saturates this bound, relic axion decays may well be detectable. 14 refs., 3 figs.
Bombardment of graphite and amorphous carbon surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations: Toward a more realistic experimental model

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a useful computational tool in fields such as fusion research. Small but vital portions of fusion reactors are essential to their correct operation and longevity. Using the reactive bond order (REBO) and adaptive intermolecular REBO potentials, it is possible to model carbon-based systems, such as graphite diverter plates, under simulated bombardment. The degradation of these plates due to random bombardments from plasma can eventually incur costly shut downs. To gain a better understanding of the atomic-level dynamics that occur when a graphite and amorphous carbon surface undergo energetic, serial bombardment by atoms such as hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium, these two systems were evolved with the REBO and AIREBO potentials. It was found that the AIREBO potential gave different results with regards to surface evolution, sputter yield, and steady state formation. Graphite surfaces evolved to a much different steady state when compared to amorphous carbon, which lead to varied surface structure and may also lead to differing sputtering yields. An additional round of simulations was performed on graphite surfaces that were deeper in the direction normal to the surface. Based on the previous results, the AIREBO potential and two different bombardment energies were used, and the additional layers added allowed for greater fluences, defined by the number of impacts per unit area, to be achieved. As an additional improvement of the previous work, thermostats were set by using zones of control rather than employing the thermostat on the entire system, achieving atomic layer control of the thermostatted regions during the simulation. After employing these changes and evolving the simulations for only slightly larger fluences than previous simulations, the formation of voids within the graphite layers, or ”bubbles”, was produced. Particle build-up consisting of gaseous D, D2, and other small molecules near the penetration depth caused the formation of these bubbles. It was found for 20 eV impact energies the penetration
SOME MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF THE SPIRILLA (VIBRIO FETUS, N. SP.) ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE OF THE FETAL MEMBRANES IN CATTLE

Twenty-two fetal and two calf strains of spirilla have been studied chiefly with regard to the problem of identity. Twenty-one fetal strains are probably specifically the same. One fetal strain differs slightly from these, but in its agglutination affinities it belongs to the same group. Of two strains isolated from calves one has definite agglutination relations with the fetal strains, the other none. In the morphological and biological characters so far investigated all the strains agree closely with one another.
Validity of diagnostic and drug data in standardized nursing home resident assessments: potential for geriatric pharmacoepidemiology. SAGE Study Group. Systematic Assessment of Geriatric drug use via Epidemiology.

OBJECTIVES The Health Care Financing Administration requires that patients admitted to certified nursing homes be assessed with the Minimum Data Set, a data collection instrument containing more than 300 demographic, diagnostic, clinical, and treatment variables. Long-term care databases potentially may be used to assess the outcomes of specific treatments as well as drug effectiveness. The authors sought to ascertain reliability and validity of diagnostic and drug data in a database obtained by merging the Minimum Data Set with detailed information on drugs consumed by each resident. METHODS A population of 296,379 residents of 1,492 nursing homes in Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, New York, and South Dakota participated in the study between 1992 and 1994. Minimum Data Set clinical diagnoses were contrasted with selected resident characteristics and a variety of symptoms and treatments. Limited to individuals who had been hospitalized in the 6 months preceding the first assessment, Minimum Data Set diagnoses were compared with those on the hospital discharge claims maintained in the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review database. Finally, the probability that the use of selected drugs predicted the correspondent gender-specific, age-specific, or unique labeled indication was estimated. RESULTS The positive predictive value for Minimum Data Set diagnoses compared with gender or function measures exceeded 0.9, and it was 0.8 for specific symptoms and 0.6 for virtually all other comparisons. The positive predictive value for Minimum Data Set diagnoses compared with those from hospital claims was approximately 0.7 for all chronic medical conditions, except for depression and asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/emphysema. The positive predictive value for acute/subacute diagnoses (ie, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, anemia) that may resolve during hospital stay was less than 0.5. The positive predictive value for selected drugs, except estrogens, compared with age and gender was close to 1.0 in all cases. When compared to their labeled indication, the positive predictive value was more than 0.6 for all drugs considered, with 0.97, 0.91, and 0.87 for tacrine and Alzheimer's disease, antidiabetics and diabetes mellitus, and L-dopa and Parkinson's disease, respectively. CONCLUSIONS These findings point to the overall validity of the drug and clinical data in this Minimum Data Set-based data set. Additional validation efforts will determine whether this data set can be used for studies of geriatric pharmacoepidemiology and for analyses of the influence of different policies and practices on residents' outcomes.
On-Line Measurement of Fabric Bending Behavior

A nonlinear, dynamic fabric bending model is introduced to study the dynamic effects on loop formation and measured characteristic parameters. In order to verify the theoretical results and test the measurement principle, an experimental system based on the principles of loops 3 and 4 is developed. The influence of fabric linear speed and movement direction on the measured values is discussed. Discrepancies between theoretical and experimental observations indicate that a full understanding of the ef fects of the fabric bending rate on bending properties is necessary to accurately model bending behavior when a high bending rate is involved. The work demonstrates a strong correlation between the on-line and off-line measured results.
The Zombie Roundup: Understanding, Detecting, and Disrupting Botnets

Global Internet threats are undergoing a profound transformation from attacks designed solely to disable infrastructure to those that also target people and organizations. Behind these new attacks is a large pool of compromised hosts sitting in homes, schools, businesses, and governments around the world. These systems are infected with a bot that communicates with a bot controller and other bots to form what is commonly referred to as a zombie army or botnet. Botnets are a very real and quickly evolving problem that is still not well understood or studied. In this paper we outline the origins and structure of bots and botnets and use data from the operator community, the Internet Motion Sensor project, and a honeypot experiment to illustrate the botnet problem today. We then study the effectiveness of detecting botnets by directly monitoring IRC communication or other command and control activity and show a more comprehensive approach is required. We conclude by describing a system to detect botnets that utilize advanced command and control systems by correlating secondary detection data from multiple sources.
Data-driven understanding and refinement of schema mappings

At the heart of many data-intensive applications is the problem of quickly and accurately transforming data into a new form. Database researchers have long advocated the use of declarative queries for this process. Yet tools for creating, managing and understanding the complex queries necessary for data transformation are still too primitive to permit widespread adoption of this approach. We present a new framework that uses data examples as the basis for understanding and refining declarative schema mappings. We identify a small set of intuitive operators for manipulating examples. These operators permit a user to follow and refine an example by walking through a data source. We show that our operators are powerful enough both to identify a large class of schema mappings and to distinguish effectively between alternative schema mappings. These operators permit a user to quickly and intuitively build and refine complex data transformation queries that map one data source into another.
JamBot: Music Theory Aware Chord Based Generation of Polyphonic Music with LSTMs

We propose a novel approach for the generation of polyphonic music based on LSTMs. We generate music in two steps. First, a chord LSTM predicts a chord progression based on a chord embedding. A second LSTM then generates polyphonic music from the predicted chord progression. The generated music sounds pleasing and harmonic, with only few dissonant notes. It has clear long-term structure that is similar to what a musician would play during a jam session. We show that our approach is sensible from a music theory perspective by evaluating the learned chord embeddings. Surprisingly, our simple model managed to extract the circle of fifths, an important tool in music theory, from the dataset.
Scientific Evidence and Rationale for the Development of Curcumin and Resveratrol as Nutraceutricals for Joint Health

Interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) are key cytokines that drive the production of inflammatory mediators and matrix-degrading enzymes in osteoarthritis (OA). These proinflammatory cytokines bind to their respective cell surface receptors and activate inflammatory signaling pathways culminating with the activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), a transcription factor that can be triggered by a host of stress-related stimuli including, excessive mechanical stress and ECM degradation products. Once activated, NF-κB regulates the expression of many cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, inflammatory mediators, and several matrix-degrading enzymes. Therefore, proinflammatory cytokines, their cell surface receptors, NF-κB and downstream signaling pathways are therapeutic targets in OA. This paper critically reviews the recent literature and outlines the potential prophylactic properties of plant-derived phytochemicals such as curcumin and resveratrol for targeting NF-κB signaling and inflammation in OA to determine whether these phytochemicals can be used as functional foods.
Accumulation of Self-Reactive Naïve and Memory B Cell Reveals Sequential Defects in B Cell Tolerance Checkpoints in Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterised by breach of self-tolerance towards nuclear antigens resulting in high affinity circulating autoantibodies. Although peripheral B cell disturbances have been described in SS, with predominance of naïve and reduction of memory B cells, the stage at which errors in B cell tolerance checkpoints accumulate in SS is unknown. Here we determined the frequency of self- and poly-reactive B cells in the circulating naïve and memory compartment of SS patients. Single CD27−IgD+ naïve, CD27+IgD+ memory unswitched and CD27+IgD− memory switched B cells were sorted by FACS from the peripheral blood of 7 SS patients. To detect the frequency of polyreactive and autoreactive clones, paired Ig VH and VL genes were amplified, cloned and expressed as recombinant monoclonal antibodies (rmAbs) displaying identical specificity of the original B cells. IgVH and VL gene usage and immunoreactivity of SS rmAbs were compared with those obtained from healthy donors (HD). From a total of 353 VH and 293 VL individual sequences, we obtained 114 rmAbs from circulating naïve (n = 66) and memory (n = 48) B cells of SS patients. Analysis of the Ig V gene repertoire did not show significant differences in SS vs. HD B cells. In SS patients, circulating naïve B cells (with germline VH and VL genes) displayed a significant accumulation of clones autoreactive against Hep-2 cells compared to HD (43.1% vs. 25%). Moreover, we demonstrated a progressive increase in the frequency of circulating anti-nuclear naïve (9.3%), memory unswitched (22.2%) and memory switched (27.3%) B cells in SS patients. Overall, these data provide novel evidence supporting the existence of both early and late defects in B cell tolerance checkpoints in patients with SS resulting in the accumulation of autoreactive naïve and memory B cells.
Sparse Discriminant Analysis

Classi(cid:12)cation in high-dimensional feature spaces where interpretation and dimension reduction are of great importance is common in biological and medical applications. For these applications standard methods as microarrays, 1D NMR, and spectroscopy have become ev-eryday tools for measuring thousands of features in samples of interest. Furthermore, the samples are often costly and therefore many such problems have few observations in relation to the number of features. Traditionally such data are analyzed by (cid:12)rst performing a feature selection before classi(cid:12)cation. We propose a method which performs linear discriminant analysis with a sparseness criterion imposed such that the classi(cid:12)cation, feature selection and dimension reduction is merged into one analysis. The sparse discriminant analysis is faster than traditional feature selection methods based on computationally heavy criteria such as Wilk’s lambda, and the results are better with regards to classi(cid:12)cation rates and sparseness. The method is extended to mixtures of Gaussians which is useful when e.g. biological clusters are present within each class. Finally, the methods proposed provide low-dimensional views of the discriminative directions. training set. The covariance matrix in the reduced-rank eas ridge regularized since p >> n.
Validation of the Eichner index in relation to occlusal force and masticatory performance.

PURPOSE Eichner Indices (A, B, and C), especially the Eichner subgroups (A1-A3, B1-B4, C1-C3), have not been validated in relation to oral functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of posterior occlusal contact loss with occlusal force and masticatory performance in subjects who had a normal dentition or partially edentulous arches restored with removable prostheses. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study sample consisted of 1,288 independently living patients over the age of 60 years. Subjects were grouped into 10 subgroups by posterior occlusal contacts according to the Eichner Index. Bilateral maximum occlusal force in the intercuspal position was measured using pressure-sensitive sheets. Masticatory performance was determined by the concentration of dissolved glucose obtained from comminuted gummy jellies. RESULTS Occlusal force and masticatory performance were significantly associated with posterior occlusal contacts. Occlusal force measured in subgroups A2 to B2 and B3 to C3 did not differ statistically, although overall occlusal force decreased significantly as the loss of occlusal contacts increased. Similarly, masticatory performance was reduced with decreasing occlusal contact, although the decline was more gradual. Masticatory performance among subgroups A1 to B1, A3 to B2, B2 to B3, B4 to C2, and C1 to C3 did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS The Eichner Index subgroups were significantly associated with reduced oral functions, even if the teeth were restored with removable prostheses. Preservation of occlusal contacts of the bilateral (B2) and unilateral (B3) premolars was critical for occlusal force and masticatory performance, respectively.
Superparamagnetic Polymer Nanocomposites with Uniform Fe3O4 Nanoparticle Dispersions

Magnetic nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrices are good examples of functional nanostructures with excellent potential for applications such as electromagnetic interference shielding, magneto‐optical storage, biomedical sensing, flexible electronics, etc. Control over the dispersion of the nanoparticle phase embedded in a polymer matrix is critical and often challenging. To achieve excellent dispersion, competition between polymer–polymer and polymer–particle interactions have to be balanced to avoid clustering of particles in polymer nanocomposites. We report the first deposition of magnetic nanocomposite poly(methyl methacrylate)/polypyrrole bilayers from solution using spin‐coating. Fe3O4 nanoparticles have been synthesized using a chemical co‐precipitation route. Using a combination of dissolving the polymer and mixing fatty acid surfactant coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles, we have demonstrated the formation of nanocomposites with uniform nanoparticle dispersion. Cross‐sectional scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and magnetic measurements confirm the excellent dispersion and superparamagnetic response. Low‐frequency impedance measurements on these bilayers are also presented and analyzed.
STAR-Vote: A Secure, Transparent, Auditable, and Reliable Voting System

In her 2011 EVT/WOTE keynote, Travis County, Texas County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir described the qualities she wanted in her ideal election system to replace their existing DREs. In response, in April of 2012, the authors, working with DeBeauvoir and her staff, jointly architected STAR-Vote, a voting system with a DRE-style human interface and a "belt and suspenders" approach to verifiability. It provides both a paper trail and end-to-end cryptography using COTS hardware. It is designed to support both ballot-level risk-limiting audits, and auditing by individual voters and observers. The human interface and process flow is based on modern usability research. This paper describes the STAR-Vote architecture, which could well be the next-generation voting system for Travis County and perhaps elsewhere.