Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neutrophil elastase increases MUC 5 AC mRNA and protein expression in respiratory epithelial cells

Voynow, Judith A. , Lisa Rosenthal Young, Yiqiong Wang, Teresa Horger, Mary C. Rose, and Bernard M. Fischer. Neutrophil elastase increases MUC5AC mRNA and protein expression in respiratory epithelial cells. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 20): L835–L843, 1999. — Chronic neutrophil-predominant inflammation and hypersecretion of mucus are common pathophysiological features of cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, and viralor pollutiontriggered asthma. Neutrophils release elastase, a serine protease, that causes increased mucin production and secretion. The molecular mechanisms of elastase-induced mucin production are unknown. We hypothesized that as part of this mechanism, elastase upregulates expression of a major respiratory mucin gene, MUC5AC. A549, a human lung carcinoma cell line that expresses MUC5AC mRNA and protein, and normal human bronchial epithelial cells in an air-liquid interface culture were stimulated with neutrophil elastase. Neutrophil elastase increased MUC5AC mRNA levels in a time-dependent manner in both cell culture systems. Neutrophil elastase treatment also increased MUC5AC protein levels in A549 cells. The mechanism of MUC5AC gene regulation by elastase was determined in A549 cells. The induction of MUC5AC gene expression required serine protease activity; other classes of proteases had no effect on MUC5AC gene expression. Neutrophil elastase increased MUC5AC mRNA levels by enhancing mRNA stability. This is the first report of mucin gene regulation by this mechanism.
QUOTE - UNQUOTE? : the role of prosody in the contextualization of reported speech sequences

This paper investigates how speakers of English can use the prosodic design of utterances to identity parts of these utterances as instances of reported speech. We will show that prosodic changes can function like quotation marks in written texts by clearly delimiting left and right hand boundaries of the reported sequence. In the majority of cases, however, prosodic changes do not coincide with the boundaries of reported speech but occur nearby, functioning like a 'frame' for the interpretation of a sequence as reported or even only as a 'flag' attracting attention and inviting the listener to actively (re-)construct the corresponding boundaries. Our data analysis also provides evidence for the use of prosodic designs to typify a figure in different roles, which - due to their unique 'prosodic design' can be presented without any verbalized projection of upcoming reported speech, once they have been introduced. This is due to the 'referent-tracking' nature of some prosodic designs of reported utterances.
Deformable haptic model generation through manual exploration

Interaction with virtual deformable models is common in several haptic contexts, such as in medical training simulators. This paper presents a methodological procedure for the creation of such virtual models from their real-life counterparts. Both the surface geometry and the elastic parametrization of an object are reconstructed from position/force readings during an operator-assisted exploration of the object. A 3D mesh model is then generated from the surface contact points. The internal elastic modulus is found using the 3D finite element method. This modeling method is compared with two common 1D elastic models, namely Kelvin-Voigt and Hunt-Crossley. Results using three deformable homogeneous silicone samples show successful geometry reconstruction. 1D model parameterizations exhibit high variation dependent on geometry and contact location. In contrast, elastic modulus reconstruction yields a global model parameterization independent of geometry. Elastic moduli estimated in experiments correlated with their known values, and were shown to be reproducible among samples with different geometries.
Rh glycoprotein expression is modulated in pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) during high environmental ammonia exposure

SUMMARY Rhesus (Rh) protein involvement in ammonia transport processes in freshwater fish has received considerable attention; however, parallel investigations in seawater species are scant. We exposed pufferfish to high environmental ammonia (HEA; 1 and 5 mmol l–1 NH4HCO3) and evaluated the patterns of ammonia excretion and gill Rh mRNA and protein expression. Gill H+-ATPase, NHE1, NHE2, NHE3, Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), Na+/K+/2Cl– co-transporter (NKCC1) mRNA, H+-ATPase activity, NKA protein and activity, were also quantified. Activation of NKA by NH4+ was demonstrated in vitro. The downregulation of Rhbg mRNA and simultaneous upregulations of Rhcg1, H+-ATPase, NHE3, NKA, NKCC1 mRNA, H+-ATPase activity, and NKA protein and activity levels suggested that during HEA, ammonia excretion was mediated mainly by mitochondria-rich cells (MRCs) driven by NKA with basolateral NH4+ entry via NKA and/or NKCC1, and apical NH3 extrusion via Rhcg1. Reprotonation of NH3 by NHE3 and/or H+-ATPase would minimise back flux through the Rh channels. Downregulated Rhbg and Rhag mRNA observed in the gill during HEA suggests a coordinated protective response to minimise the influx of external ammonia via the pavement cells and pillar cells, respectively, while routing ammonia excretion through the MRCs. Exposure to hypercapnia (1% CO2 in air) resulted in downregulated gill and erythrocyte Rhag mRNA. Surprisingly, Rhag, Rhbg, Rhcg1 and Rhcg2 proteins responded to both hypercapnia and HEA with changes in their apparent molecular masses. A dual NH3/CO2 transport function of the pufferfish Rh proteins is therefore suggested. The results support and extend an earlier proposed model of pufferfish gill ammonia excretion that was based on immunolocalisation of the Rh proteins. Passive processes and/or Rhbg and Rhcg2 in the pavement cells may maintain basal levels of plasma ammonia but elevated levels may require active excretion via NKA and Rhcg1 in the MRCs.
What Are They Thinking? Students' Affective Reasoning and Attitudes about Course Withdrawal

In this mixed-methods study we identify situations that impact students' decisions to withdraw from a course and examine their affective reasoning and attitudes toward course withdrawal. Exploring students' decision-making processes through the lens of self-authorship, we show that students frequently seek information from people with whom they have a personal rather than academic relationship, make decisions with little awareness of academic consequences, and often experience a feeling of dissonance when withdrawing from courses, even describing themselves as “quitters. ” Our results lead to recommendations that can assist academic advisors in developing meaningful interventions that advance students' decision-making abilities and intellectual development.
Ischemia Induces Changes in the Level of mRNAs Coding for Stress Protein 71 and Creatine Kinase M

Hyperthermia, hypoxia, and other conditions induce the appearance of heat shock or stress proteins in cells. We have previously shown that in the ischemic dog myocardium the level of a messenger RNA (mRNA) coding for a protein with migration characteristics similar to heat shock/stress protein 71 increases. Using a human heat-shock protein (hHSP) 70 genomic clone and anti-HSP70 antibodies as probes, we demonstrate in this report that heart stress protein (SP) 71 mRNA and its translationai products (71 kDa polypeptides) are members of the stress protein family. In rabbit hearts, the ischemia-induced mRNAs translate into three isoforms with different isoelectric points (6.0, 6.1, and 6.15), in contrast to dog heart mRNA that translates into a protein with a pi of 5.8. The levels of SP71 mRNA in the dog and rabbit ischemic myocardium increased by sixfold and 18-fold, respectively. In the same samples, the levels of creatine kinase M mRNA decreased by about 40%, whereas those of myosin heavy chain mRNA remain unaltered. Our comparative analysis of three different mRNAs indicates that ischemia manifests its effects by differentially changing the levels of specific mRNAs coding for proteins with separate and distinct roles in the cell.
Quaternary structure of the human Cdt1-Geminin complex regulates DNA replication licensing

All organisms need to ensure that no DNA segments are rereplicated in a single cell cycle. Eukaryotes achieve this through a process called origin licensing, which involves tight spatiotemporal control of the assembly of prereplicative complexes (pre-RCs) onto chromatin. Cdt1 is a key component and crucial regulator of pre-RC assembly. In higher eukaryotes, timely inhibition of Cdt1 by Geminin is essential to prevent DNA rereplication. Here, we address the mechanism of DNA licensing inhibition by Geminin, by combining X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, and functional studies in Xenopus and mammalian cells. Our findings show that the Cdt1:Geminin complex can exist in two distinct forms, a “permissive” heterotrimer and an “inhibitory” heterohexamer. Specific Cdt1 residues, buried in the heterohexamer, are important for licensing. We postulate that the transition between the heterotrimer and the heterohexamer represents a molecular switch between licensing-competent and licensing-defective states.
The relative importance of cysteine peptidases in osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE To assess the activity of cysteine peptidases in cultured human articular chondrocytes as well as in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage and subchondral bone, and to interpret their relative importance in cartilage destruction and remodeling of the subchondral region. METHODS Intracellular and secreted cysteine peptidase activity was measured in chondrocytes using fluorimetric assays, and enzymes were immunolocalized using monospecific antibodies. Enzyme histochemistry in normal and OA femoral heads was used to characterize enzymatic activity in full thickness samples containing cartilage and subchondral bone. The zonal distribution of cathepsin activity was measured in tissue slices of normal and OA femoral heads cut parallel to the joint surface, using fluorogenic substrates. RESULTS Cathepsins B and L were localized by immunohistochemistry with lysosome-like structures in dedifferentiated chondrocytes. Free cysteine peptidase activity (i.e., not requiring prior activation), secreted and intracellularly stored by chondrocytes, was due to cathepsin B, while cathepsin L contributed a minor fraction of the total activity, and was seen only after activation at acidic pH. Histochemistry and activity measurements confirmed cathepsin B as the major, active cysteine peptidase in OA cartilage, particularly at sites where matrix neosynthesis took place. However, free cathepsin L and/or cathepsin K activity was found subchondrally in association with cathepsin B in osteophytes, in zones undergoing bone remodeling, and at sites of inflammation. CONCLUSION Cathepsin B, not cathepsin L or cathepsin K, is a candidate for articular cartilage catabolism in OA. While cathepsin K is the major osteoclastic cysteine peptidase, cathepsin L and cathepsin B may also participate in the remodeling processes of bone as well as in bone erosion by inflammatory cells.
Semantic Modularity and Module Extraction in Description Logics

The aim of this paper is to study semantic notions of modularity in description logic (DL) terminologies and reasoning problems that are relevant for modularity. We define two notions of a module whose independence is formalised in a model-theoretic way. Focusing mainly on the DLs EL and ALC, we then develop algorithms for module extraction, for checking whether a part of a terminology is a module, and for a number of related problems. We also analyse the complexity of these problems, which ranges from tractable to undecidable. Finally, we provide an experimental evaluation of our module extraction algorithms based on the large-scale terminology SNOMED CT.
A qualitative investigation of adaptation in older individuals with multiple sclerosis

Purpose. This qualitative investigation was designed to identify themes that underlie adaptation in older individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Method. Thirteen individuals (age 60 and above) with MS were recruited from an MS Comprehensive Care Centre and local chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Participants completed The Perceptions of Aging Interview by telephone. This open-ended interview was developed to explore two lines of inquiry: MS: Perceptions of Aging, which was based on the literature on adaptation in MS, and Life Strengths, which was adapted from Kivnick's Life Strengths Inventory. Results. The majority of participants reported having adapted to MS and aging. They described several themes and subthemes that seemed to influence their levels of adaptation: Social comparisons, mobility/independence, integration of MS into self-identity, acceptance, pacing and planning, finding meaning/cognitive reframing, social support, religion/spirituality and generativity. Conclusions. The themes identified in this investigation are generally supported by the literatures on adaptation to MS and adaptation to aging. However, this is the first study to examine these factors in an older MS sample. Moreover, many of these themes are potentially modifiable through clinical intervention, and should be examined in future research with this population.
SURFACE-ELECTROMYOGRAPHY: SKIN AND SUBCUTANEOUS FAT TISSUE ATTENUATE AMPLITUDE AND FREQUENCY PARAMETERS

The purpose of this study was to identify the attenuating influence on surface-EMG amplitude (IEMG) and mean power frequency (MPF) by skin and subcutaneous fat tissue. The electrode-muscle-distance (ΔEM) of the left m. biceps brachii is determined by tissue thickness. This was established by ultrasound in 12 females and 15 males six times each during a 43-week period (n=162). IEMG and MPF were measured during isometric maximum voluntary contractions (MVC). ΔEM explained up to 31 % of the variance of EMG-amplitude during MVC, which corresponds to previous studies on submaximum and maximum contractions. MPF variation was explained by ΔEM with up to 16 % and requires further validation. These results are important for the assessment of long-term training studies and neuromuscular fatigue measurements.
Time‐lapse monitoring of rock properties with coda wave interferometry

[1] The coda of seismic waves consists of that part of the signal after the directly arriving phases. In a finite medium, or in one that is strongly heterogeneous, the coda is dominated by waves which have repeatedly sampled the medium. Small changes in a medium which may have no detectable influence on the first arrivals are amplified by this repeated sampling and may thus be detectable in the coda. We refer to this use of multiple-sampling coda waveforms as coda wave interferometry. We have exploited ultrasonic coda waves to monitor time-varying rock properties in a laboratory environment. We have studied the dependence of velocity on uniaxial stress in Berea sandstone, the temperature dependence of velocity in granite and in aluminum, and the change in velocity due to an increase of water saturation in sandstone. There are many other possible applications of coda wave interferometry in geophysics, including dam and volcano monitoring, time-lapse reservoir characterization, earthquake relocation, and stress monitoring in mining and rock physics.
Scientific lectures: a history of performance

Abstract In the anatomy theatres of Renaissance Europe, professors became performers; and right down into the nineteenth century, seeing corpses cut up could entertain as well as enlighten an audience. From about 1700, lectures on natural philosophy escaped from universities and attracted a public looking for polite learning, and valuing science as a momentous part of high culture. A calm eloquence, some exciting experiments, and a framework of natural theology were the recipe for success. In 1799 the Royal Institution in London began its project of attracting the fashionable, unable to visit the Continent, to lectures, with experiments that always worked. Davy was a great lecturer there, in a century where such performances promoted a scientific reputation; and he competed successfully with the theatres andopera houses nearby in the West End. His was a rhetoric of intellectual excitement, patriotism, and usefulness, and he held audiences spellbound. So, a generation later, did Faraday, with a more sober eloquence appropriate to the Victorian era. The wealthy and fashionable were not the only audiences for scientific lectures: T. H. Huxley among others delighted in addressing working men, to whom he never spoke down—whereas at the Royal Institution he might as a plebeian decide to affront his hearers, making excellent theatre. If education is a matter of lighting fires rather than filling bottles, then we should still see professing as a performance art.
Graphical MultiTask Learning

We investigate the problem of learning multiple tasks that are related according to a network structure, using the multi-task kernel framework proposed in (Evgeniou et al., 2006). Our method combines a graphical task kernel with an arbitrary base kernel. We demonstrate its effectiveness on a real ecological application that inspired this work.
[Clinical analysis of patients underwent hysterectomy for stage I cervical cancer or high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia with vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia].

OBJECTIVE To analyse the necessity of colposcopic directed biopsy to vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN) before hysterectomy due to early stage cervical cancer (stage I) or high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). METHODS A total of 669 patients who underwent a hysterectomy due to early stage cervical cancer (stage I) and CIN III in Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2013 and followed up, 99 patients with VAIN were enrolled. The clinical data and following up the prognosis were prospectively analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS The occurrence rate of VAIN before and after hysterectomy due to cervical dysplasia was 14.8% (99/669), the occurrence rate and the grade of VAIN showed that significantly increased from CIN III to cervical cancer stage I (P < 0.05); Only 15 patients enrolled had undergone vaginal wall biopsy by colposcopy pre-hysterectomy, including 11 patients who were diagnosed with VAIN II-III and underwent vagina extended resection during the hysterectomy. The 5 year recurrence rate of vaginal stump VAIN after hysterectomy was 12.1% (12/99) and the progression rate was 4.0% (4/99), the recurrent rate was 2.0% (2/99). CONCLUSIONS For all the patients who are planning to undergo hysterectomy due to stage I cervical cancer and CIN III, routine upper side of the vagina wall colposcopic-directed biopsy prehysterectomy is strongly recommended. All the patients after hysterectomy due to cervical dysplasia should be followed up regularly within 3 years after hysterectomy.
Improved outdoor augmented reality through "Globalization"

Despite the major interest in live tracking and mapping (e.g., SLAM), the field of augmented reality has yet to truly make use of the rich data provided from large-scale reconstructions generated by structure from motion. This dissertation focuses on extensible tracking and mapping for large-scale reconstructions that enables SfM and SLAM to operate cooperatively to mutually enhance the performance. We describe a multi-user, collaborative augmented reality system that will collectively extend and enhance reconstructions of urban environments at city-scales. Contrary to current outdoor augmented reality systems, this system is capable of continuous tracking through areas previously modeled as well as new, undiscovered areas. Further, we describe a new process called globalization that propagates new visual information back to the global model. Globalization allows for continuous updating of the 3D models with visual data from live users, providing data to fill coverage gaps that are common in 3D reconstructions and to provide the most current view of an environment as it changes over time. The proposed research is a crucial step toward enabling users to augment urban environments with location-specific information at any location in the world for a truly global augmented reality.
Copy limited flooding over opportunistic networks

Mobile devices with local wireless interfaces can be organized into opportunistic networks which exploit communication opportunities arising from the movement of their users. With the proliferation and increasing capabilities of these devices, it is significant to investigate message dissemination over opportunistic networks to maximize the potential of those networks. In this paper, we analyze the performance of copy-limited flooding over opportunistic networks, where each node can only send no more than k copies of the same message. For this purpose, we propose a network model called Markov and Random graph Hierarchic Model (MRHM), where a node transfers among different Main-areas (places frequently visited by nodes) according to the Markov rule, and two different nodes in the same Main-area can establish a connection with a certain probability. We theoretically analyze the performance of k-copy limited flooding over MRHM in terms of delivery rate and delay. Our extensive experiments over MRHM and real traces reveal that when k equals 3, the performance of k-copy limited flooding is very close to that of Epidemic Routing.
Job Opportunity Evaluation Matrix: Ability to Perform and Job Attractiveness

and potentially negative outcomes. This paper demonstrates how an adaptation of an opportunity evaluation scheme used in business (Aaker, 1998) can be used by the job seeker. The evaluation scheme utilizes a two-dimensional matrix that simultaneously represents job attractiveness (JA) from the perspective of the job seeker and the job seeker’s ability to perform the job (ATP). This matrix simplifies the opportunity assessment process by combining multiple variables that determine job attractiveness and that determine ability to perform into one summary variable for each and then generates a recommended course of action for the job seeker based on the coordinates of
Wireless PWM control of a parallel DC-DC buck converter

We demonstrate a new concept for wireless pulse-width modulation (PWM) control of a parallel dc-dc buck converter. It eliminates the need for multiple physical connections of gating/PWM signals among the distributed converter modules. The new scheme relies on radio-frequency (RF) based communication of the PWM control signals from a master to the slave modules. We analyze the system stability and demonstrate the experimental effectiveness of the wireless control scheme for a two-module parallel buck converter for 10-kHz and 20-kHz switching frequencies and for channel lengths of 1.5 and 15ft, respectively. The proposed control concept may lead to easier distributed control implementation of parallel dc-dc converters and distributed power systems, and may lead to redundancy that is achievable using droop method. It may also be used as a backup for wire-based control of parallel converters to provide fault tolerance.