Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence for recipient derived fibroblast recruitment and activation during the development of chronic cardiac allograft rejection1

Background. Allograft fibrosis is a prominent feature of chronic rejection. Although intragraft fibroblasts contribute to this process, their origin and exact role remain poorly understood. Methods. Using a rat model of chronic rejection, LEW to F344, cardiac fibroblasts were isolated at the point of rejection and examined in a collagen gel contraction assay to measure fibroblast activation. The allograft microenvironment was examined using immunohistochemistry for fibrogenic markers (transforming growth factor [TGF]-&bgr;, platelet-derived growth factor [PDGF], tissue plasminogen activator [TPA], plasminogen activator inhibitor [PAI]-1, matrix metalloproteinase [MMP]-2, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase [TIMP]-2). The origin of intragraft fibroblasts was studied using female to male allografts followed by polymerase chain reaction [PCR] and in situ hybridization for the male sry gene. Results. The cardiac fibroblasts isolated from allografts with chronic rejection exhibited higher gel contractibility (50.9% ± 6.1% and 68.2% ± 3.8% at 4 and 24 hr) compared with naive cardiac fibroblasts (30.7% ± 3.5% and 55.3% ± 6.6% at 4 and 24 hr; P <0.05 and <0.05, respectively). Immunostaining for TGF-&bgr;, PDGF, TPA, PAI-1, MMP-2 and TIMP-2 was observed in all allografts at the time of rejection. In situ hybridization demonstrated the presence of sry positive cells in female allografts rejected by male recipients. Sixty-five percent of fibroblast colonies (55 of 85) isolated from female heart allografts expressed the male sry gene. Conclusion. Cardiac fibroblasts are activated and exist in a profibrogenic microenvironment in allografts undergoing chronic rejection. A substantial proportion of intragraft fibroblasts are recruited from allograft recipients in this experimental model of chronic cardiac allograft rejection.
CT‐Guided, Minimally Invasive, Postmortem Needle Biopsy Using the B‐Rob II Needle‐Positioning Robot

CT‐guided, minimally invasive needle biopsy techniques can be used to retrieve tissue or body fluid samples for histologic tissue diagnoses in forensic investigations. The purpose of this study was an evaluation of CT‐guided needle‐positioning robot B‐Rob II. To operate under CT guidance, we adopted the B‐Rob II robotic needle placement system and its workflow. The accuracy and speed of the procedure were tested on a gelatin phantom in a series of 21 biopsies. We achieved an average needle placement accuracy of 1.8 mm (±1.1 mm) using robotic assistance. The procedure required an average of 2 min 21 s. The needle placement accuracy for minimally invasive needle biopsies using the B‐Rob II biopsy robot is sufficiently accurate and fast for forensic postmortem examinations of focal organ changes. Further tests will be performed to test the feasibility of the robot for performing biopsies of focal organ changes in human bodies.
The Cross-Section Predictability of Cyclically-Adjusted Valuation Measures 1

Cyclically-adjusted valuation metrics predict cross-sectional variation in average stock returns. For example, the annually-rebalanced top decile portfolio ranked on Shiller P/E, or cyclically-adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) ratio, earns an annual four-factor alpha of 2 percent a year. More frequent rebalancing and momentum can generate alphas estimates of 8.1% a year. The inflation-adjustment component of cyclically-adjusted measures has little effect on cross-sectional
The validity of the original EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II in patients over the age of seventy.

OBJECTIVES EuroSCORE II, despite improving on the original EuroSCORE system, has not solved all the calibration and predictability issues. We investigated the sensitivity, specificity and predictability of original EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II system in elderly patients. METHODS The original logistic EuroSCORE and EuroSCORE II were assessed via receiver operator characteristic (ROC) and Hosmer-Lemeshow test probability analysis with regard to accuracy of predicting in-hospital mortality. Analysis was performed on isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) (n = 2913), aortic valve replacement (AVR) (n = 814), mitral valve surgery (MVR) (n = 340), combined AVR and CABG cases (n = 517) and the above cases combined (n = 4584). Elderly was defined as ≥70 years old. Age <70 was used for comparative purposes. RESULTS Institutional mortality was 2.9%, for all isolated CABG, AVR, MVR and combined AVR and CABG cases. In all patients aged ≥70 neither the original EuroSCORE nor EuroSCORE II had a ROC c-statistic above 0.7. For isolated CABG, the ROC c-statistic was not acceptable in patients ≥70 years of age, but was fine for patients under the age of 70 years. For isolated AVR the ROC c-statistic was good for patients aged less than 70 years of age for both risk models; however, the ROC was unacceptably low in patients aged ≥70 for both models. For isolated MVR, the ROC c-statistic and Hosmer-Lemeshow test probability was good for all patients regardless of age. For combined AVR and CABG, the ROC c-statistic was unacceptably low for all patients, regardless of age group using the original EuroSCORE, and in those aged ≥70 using the EuroSCORE II risk model. The original EuroSCORE had no issues with the Hosmer-Lemeshow test probability; however, EuroSCORE II had poor model predictability for all patients, P < 0.0001, and for isolated CABG, P = 0.05 and AVR, P = 0.06. CONCLUSIONS The original EuroSCORE and the EuroSCORE II risk models should be used with caution in patients aged 70 or older undergoing cardiac surgery in the modern era. Below the age of 70, both models are sensitive, specific and have good predictive power. Our work needs validation by other large groups.
Maximum Correntropy Adaptive Filtering Approach for Robust Compressive Sensing Reconstruction

Robust compressive sensing(CS) reconstruction has become an attractive research topic in recent years. Robust CS aims to reconstruct the sparse signals under non-Gaussian(i.e. heavy tailed) noises where traditional CS reconstruction algorithms may perform very poorly due to utilizing $l_2$ norm of the residual vector in optimization. Most of existing robust CS reconstruction algorithms are based on greedy pursuit method or convex relaxation approach. Recently, the adaptive filtering framework has been introduced to deal with the CS reconstruction, which shows desirable performance in both efficiency and reconstruction performance under Gaussian noise. In this paper, we propose an adaptive filtering based robust CS reconstruction algorithm, called $l_0$ regularized maximum correntropy criterion($l_0$-MCC) algorithm, which combines the adaptive filtering framework and maximum correntropy criterion(MCC). MCC has recently been successfully used in adaptive filtering due to its robustness to impulsive non-Gaussian noises and low computational complexity. We analyze theoretically the stability of the proposed $l_0$-MCC algorithm. A mini-batch based $l_0$-MCC(MB-$l_0$-MCC) algorithm is further developed to speed up the convergence. Comparison with existing robust CS reconstruction algorithms is conducted via simulations, showing that the proposed $l_0$-MCC and MB-$l_0$-MCC can achieve significantly better performance than other algorithms.
Chemical reactivities of ambient air samples in three Southern California communities

The potential adverse health effects of PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm) and vapor samples from three communities that neighbor railyards, Commerce (CM), Long Beach (LB), and San Bernardino (SB), were assessed by determination of chemical reactivities attributed to the induction of oxidative stress by air pollutants. The assays used were dithiothreitol (DTT)- and dihydrobenzoic acid (DHBA)-based procedures for prooxidant content and a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) assay for electrophiles. Prooxidants and electrophiles have been proposed as the reactive chemical species responsible for the induction of oxidative stress by air pollution mixtures. The PM2.5 samples from CM and LB sites showed seasonal differences in reactivities, with higher levels in the winter, whereas the SB sample differences were reversed. The reactivities in the vapor samples were all very similar, except for the summer SB samples, which contained higher levels of both prooxidants and electrophiles. The results suggest that the observed reactivities reflect general geographical differences rather than direct effects of the railyards. Distributional differences in reactivities were also observed, with PM2.5 fractions containing most of the prooxidants (74–81%) and the vapor phase most of the electrophiles (82–96%). The high levels of the vapor-phase electrophiles and their potential for adverse biological effects point out the importance of the vapor phase in assessing the potential health effects of ambient air. Implications: PM2.5 and its corresponding vapor phase, containing semivolatile organics, were collected in three communities in the Los Angeles Basin and examined with toxicologically relevant chemical assays. The PM2.5 phase contained most of the prooxidants and the vapor phase contained most of the electrophiles, whose content was highest in summer samples from a receptor site that reflected greater photochemical processing of the air parcel during its transport. As electrophiles initiate both adverse and adaptive responses to foreign substances by biological systems, their presence in the vapor phase emphasizes the importance of this phase in the overall health effects of ambient air.
GPU Taint Tracking

Dynamic tainting tracks the influence of certain inputs (taint sources) through execution and it is a powerful tool for information flow analysis and security. Taint tracking has primarily targeted CPU program executions. Motivated by recent recognition of information leaking in GPU memory and GPU-resident malware, this paper presents the first design and prototype implementation of a taint tracking system on GPUs. Our design combines a static binary instrumentation with dynamic tainting at runtime. We present new performance optimizations by exploiting unique GPU characteristics--a large portion of instructions on GPU runtime parameters and constant memory can be safely eliminated from taint tracking; large GPU register file allows fast maintenance of a hot portion of the taint map. Experiments show that these techniques improved the GPU taint tracking performance by 5 to 20 times for a range of image processing, data encryption, and deep learning applications. We further demonstrate that GPU taint tracking can enable zeroing sensitive data to minimize information leaking as well as identifying and countering GPU-resident malware.
The Historical Development of Search Engine Optimization

The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the leading and most important internet marketing concept employed by the majority of the online business. Since its appearance till present days SEO as marketing skill, has significantly changed and evolved. Historically, the SEO at the beginning was very simple task and brought instant success to many businesses. In their early development, the search engines were vulnerable to unethical activities (spam) done by some webmasters who did everything to appear high in the search results. The manipulations forced search engines to improve their algorithms constantly. The major changes of the search algorithms usually brought big turbulences in the online business environment causing losses for some and gains for others. Some business learned the hard way to practice ethical, “white hat” SEO, others used the momentum and boosted their business thanks to high inflow of visitors through Search Engines and still, some try to manipulate the search results by using unethical techniques. As the internet developed, the competition grew and the Search Engines advanced the SEO became more demanding and more complex activity, but still it is very important aspect of the strategy of every online business. Keywords: E-Business, Internet Marketing, Search Engines, SEO,
Insulin Binding and Glucose Transport in Adipocytes in Neonatal Streptozocin-Injected Rat Model of Diabetes Mellitus

The neonatal streptozocin (STZ)-injected rat (NSIR) model of diabetes mellitus resembles human non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) with respect to abnormalities in insulin secretory responses. The suggestion that insulin deficiency leads to insulin resistance, a prominent feature of human NIDDM, led us to examine insulin binding and glucose transport in the NSIR during the development of hyperglycemia. Male Wistar rats were injected at 2 days of age with STZ (90 mg/kg i.p.) or vehicle alone. Mild insulin deficiency, reflected by minimally decreased fed plasma insulin concentrations, was apparent at 4 wk (mean ± SE, control vs. NSIR, 2.32 ± 0.19 vs. 1.75 ± 0.21 ng ml) and at 8 wk. Pancreatic insulin content was dramatically reduced in NSIR to 12 and 5% of control values at 4 and 8 wk, respectively (P < .001). Fed plasma glucose concentrations increased in the NSIR between 4 and 5 wk and were significantly elevated at 8 wk (251 ± 25 vs. 527 ± 52 mg/dl, P < .001). 125I-labeled insulin binding showed a progressive increase as a function of adipocyte volume in control and NSIR. Epididymal fat pad weights and adipocyte volumes were significantly decreased in the NSIR. Thus, insulin binding did not differ when expressed per cell number but was increased in NSIR when corrected for cell size (percent specific binding × 102, 8.49 ± 0.96 vs. 11.56 ± 1.08/μl cell vol; P < .05, all ages combined). Insulin-stimulated 3-O-methylglucose transport was similar at 4 wk but significantly decreased in the NSIR at 8 wk (clearance, 272.6 ± 69.2 vs. 106.8 ± 21.0 fl · cell−1 · s−1, P < .05). However, when expressed as fold stimulation above basal or corrected for cell volume, no differences were observed. The abnormalities in insulin action that develop in the NSIR model of diabetes mellitus are characteristic of an insulin-deficient state. Comparison of the features of the insulin resistance demonstrated in this rodent model with those described in human NIDDM reveals both similarities and differences. We suggest that the NSIR model provides an incomplete representation of human NIDDM.
Thermal budget impact on HKMG Al2O3 and La gate stacks for advanced DRAM periphery transistors

In this paper, the effects of various DRAM related thermal budgets on DRAM peripheral gate stacks using Al2O3, capping, La capping, and As I/I are evaluated. It is shown that Al2O3 (PMOS stacks) and As I/I (NMOS stacks) are relatively immune to the aggressive thermal budgets imposed by the DRAM process flow. Apart from the traditional trade-off between eWF shift and gate stack mobility, it is shown that La based stacks are more seriously impacted. The eWF is reduced, but the mobility is degraded through an interface state density increase. However, PBTI is improved with thermal budget owing to thinner EOT, despite a small interfacial layer consumption.
Intracellularly Degradable, Self‐Assembled Amphiphilic Block Copolycurcumin Nanoparticles for Efficient In Vivo Cancer Chemotherapy

Intracellularly degradable, self-assembled amphiphilic biotin-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(curcumin-dithiodipropionic acid) nanoparticles are developed. They display excellent in vivo anticancer efficacy, benefitted from their high tumor-targeted accumulation and stimuli-triggered intracellular drug release. They can be loaded with other anticancer drugs (e.g., doxorubicin) to exploit the synergy of combinational dual-drug therapy to further enhance in vivo anticancer efficacy.
The Zebrafish pob Gene Encodes a Novel Protein Required for Survival of Red Cone Photoreceptor Cells Sequence data from this article have been deposited with the EMBL/GenBank Data Libraries under accession no. AY745978.

The zebrafish mutant, partial optokinetic response b (pob), was isolated using an N-ethyl N-nitrosourea (ENU)-based screening strategy designed to identify larvae with defective optokinetic responses in red but not white light. Previous studies showed that red-light blindness in pob is due to the specific loss of long-wavelength photoreceptor cells via an apoptotic mechanism. Here, we used positional cloning to identify the mutated pob gene. We find that pob encodes a highly conserved 30-kDa protein of unknown function. To demonstrate that the correct gene was isolated, we used the Tol2 transposon system to generate transgenic animals and rescue the mutant phenotype. The Pob protein contains putative transmembrane regions and protein-sorting signals. It is localized to the inner segment and synapse in photoreceptor cells, and when expressed in COS-7 cells it localizes to intracellular compartments. We also show that the degeneration of red cone photoreceptors in the mutants occurs independently of light. On the basis of our findings, we propose that Pob is not involved in phototransduction but rather plays an essential role in protein sorting and/or trafficking.
Obesity and age as dominant correlates of low testosterone in men irrespective of diabetes status

Although men with type 2 diabetes (T2D) frequently have lowered testosterone levels, it is not well established whether this is ascribable to the diabetic state per se, or because of other factors, such as obesity. Our objective was to determine the prevalence and correlates of low testosterone in middle‐aged men with diabetes. We conducted a cross‐sectional study in 240 men including 80 men with type 1 diabetes (T1D), 80 men with T2D and 80 men without diabetes. Prevalence of a total testosterone ≤8 nmol/L was low, occurring in none of the men with T1D, 6.2% of men with T2D and 2.5% of men without diabetes. Men with T1D had higher testosterone levels compared with men without diabetes (p < 0.001), even after adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and age (p < 0.02). While men with T2D had lower testosterone compared with controls (p = 0.03), this was no longer significant when BMI and age were taken into account (p = 0.16). In the entire cohort, TT remained inversely associated with BMI independent of age, sex hormone‐binding globulin and diabetic status (p = 0.01), whereas calculated free testosterone (cFT) was independently and inversely associated with age (p < 0.001), but not with BMI (p = 0.47). These results suggest that marked reductions in circulating testosterone are uncommon in middle‐aged men with diabetes. Increasing BMI and age are dominant drivers of lowered total and cFT, respectively, independent of the presence or absence of diabetes.
Accounting Data And The Prediction Of Business Failure - The Setting Of Priors And The Age Of Data

In a recent issue of this Journal, both Casey [1980] and Zimmer [1980] reported the results of almost identical studies. In extending Libby's [1975] study on bankers' ability to predict corporate failure (loan default), both gave participating bankers a three-year series of financial ratios of real (but disguised) companies, half of which had failed, half of which had not. In contrast, Libby's subjects used ratios of a single year. The results of the studies of Casey and Zimmer were inconsistent (see table 1) in that Zimmer's Australian bankers achieved a mean prediction accuracy of 77.1%, whereas Casey's U.S. bankers achieved only 56.7%. This difference occurred even though it does not appear that the diagnostic power of the data for the sets of companies used by the two researchers was markedly different. According to Libby [1981, p. 126] the most likely reason for these inconsistent results is the fact that since the actual ratio of failed to nonfailed companies (50/50) used in the experiment was much higher than what the participants were used to (e.g., 1/99) the specification of that ratio to participants as part of the background information (as in the Zimmer study) should have resulted in significantly more accurate predictions than if no mention was made of the ratio (as in Casey's
Decreased expression level of SH2 domain‐containing protein tyrosine phosphatase‐1 (Shp1) is associated with progression of chronic myeloid leukaemia

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is characterized by t(9;22)(q34;q11) and the aberrant expression of the fusion protein Bcr‐Abl that leads to constitutive activation of c‐Abl kinase. Bcr‐Abl plays a major role in the development and progression of CML through chronic, accelerated, and blast phases. The interaction between Bcr‐Abl and other oncogenic molecules has been extensively documented. Nonetheless, negative regulatory mechanisms of Bcr‐Abl are not completely defined. One major inhibitory pathway is mediated via the SH2 domain‐containing protein tyrosine phosphatase Shp1. In the present study, we demonstrate that Shp1 levels are markedly decreased in advanced stage CML patients compared with those in chronic phase. This process was independent of DNA methylation. Furthermore, we did not detect mutations in the Shp1 gene in CML cell lines or patient samples. These data suggest that the decrease in Shp1 in advanced stage CML patients is due to post‐transcriptional modifications. Our findings suggest that the decrease in Shp1 expression levels plays a role in the progression of CML. Also, the decrease in Shp1 and subsequently its inhibitory effect on Bcr‐Abl could provide an explanation for imatinib resistance seen in advanced stage CML patients. Copyright © 2007 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improvement of Sun Flare Prediction by SVM Integrated GA

Solar activity has various influences on the global environment, in particular on the weather and the likelihood of natural disasters. In particular, it may have serious impacts on Earth such as failure of satellite communication and navigation (GPS), satellite damage, increased radiation exposure to astronauts, geomagnetic storm and aurora, and power plant failures causing more serious disaster. For a precise forecast of larger scale solar flares causing serious disaster, it is important to improve the space weather forecast, which is basically a daily forecast of the solar flare. In our work so far, a machine-learning algorithm called Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used to forecast the space weather. Here, we propose to extend this technology by integrating a Genetic Algorithm (GA) for a more precise forecast and present an evaluation of this approach.
Determinants Of Domestic Water Demand ForThe Beijing Region

The analysis of demand for water, including realistically forecasting future levels of demand, is an important and critical step in the economic analysis of water supply projects. The results of demand analysis will enable to determine the service levels to be provided, determine the size and timing of investments, estimate the financial and economic benefits of projects, and assess the ability and willingness to pay of the project beneficiaries. Furthermore, the surveys carried out during the demand assessment will provide data on cost savings, willingness to pay, income and other data needed for economic analysis. In this paper, methods of statistical analysis (correlation, regression, etc) will be used to determine the factors, which influence water demand. Each model region may have its own set determinants for domestic water demand and the importance of a given factor may vary from one region to another. Therefore, this paper focuses on the major determinants of domestic water demand for the Beijing region. Several models analyzing the determinants were compared. The models based on a feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) analysis.