Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Laboratory Strains of Murine Cytomegalovirus Are Genetically Similar to but Phenotypically Distinct from Wild Strains of Virus

ABSTRACT Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is widely used to model human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. However, it is known that serially passaged laboratory strains of HCMV differ significantly from recently isolated clinical strains of HCMV. It is therefore axiomatic that clinical models of HCMV using serially passaged strains of MCMV may not be able to fully represent the complexities of the system they are attempting to model and may not fully represent the complex biology of MCMV. To determine whether genotypic and phenotypic differences also exist between laboratory strains of MCMV and wild derived strains of MCMV, we sequenced the genomes of three low-passage strains of MCMV, plus the laboratory strain, K181. We coupled this genetic characterization to their phenotypic characteristics. In contrast to what is seen with HCMV (and rhesus CMV), there were no major genomic rearrangements in the MCMV genomes. In addition, the genome size was remarkably conserved between MCMV strains with no major insertions or deletions. There was, however, significant sequence variation between strains of MCMV, particularly at the genomic termini. These more subtle genetic differences led to considerable differences in in vivo replication with some strains of MCMV, such as WP15B, replicating preferentially in otherwise-MCMV-resistant C57BL/6 mice. CBA mice were no more resistant to MCMV than C57BL/6 mice and for some MCMV strains appeared to control infection less well than C57BL/6 mice. It is apparent that the previously described host resistance patterns of inbred mice and MCMV are not consistently applicable for all MCMV strains.
Effects of High-Intensity Training on Physiological and Hormonal Adaptions in Well-Trained Cyclists

Purpose Investigate development of specific performance adaptions and hormonal responses every fourth week during a 12-wk high-intensity training (HIT) period in groups with different interval-training prescriptions. Methods Sixty-three well-trained cyclists performing a 12-wk intervention consisting of two to three HIT sessions per week in addition to ad libitum low-intensity training. Groups were matched for total training load, but increasing HIT (INC) group (n = 23) performed interval-sessions as 4 × 16 min in weeks 1–4, 4 × 8 min in weeks 5–8, and 4 × 4 min in weeks 9–12. Decreasing HIT (DEC) group (n = 20) performed interval sessions in the opposite order as INC, and mixed HIT (MIX) group (n = 20) performed all interval-sessions in a mixed distribution during 12 wk. Cycling-tests and measures of resting blood hormones were conducted pre, weeks 4, 8, and 12. Results INC and MIX achieved >70% of total change in workload eliciting 4 mmol·L−1 [la−] (Power4mM) and V˙O2peak during weeks 1–4, versus only 34%–38% in DEC. INC induced larger improvement versus DEC during weeks 1–4 in Power4mM (effect size, 0.7) and V˙O2peak (effect size, 0.8). All groups increased similarly in peak power output during weeks 1–4 (64%–89% of total change). All groups’ pooled, total and free testosterone and free testosterone/cortisol ratio decreased by 22% ± 15%, 13% ± 23%, and 14% ± 31% (all P < 0.05), and insulin-like growth factor-1 increased by 10% ± 14% (P < 0.05) during weeks 1–4. Conclusions Most of progression in Power4mM, V˙O2peak and peak power output was achieved during weeks 1–4 in INC and MIX, and accompanied by changes in resting blood hormones consistent with increased but compensable stress load. In these well-trained subjects, accumulating 2–3 h·wk−1 performing 4 × 16 min work bouts at best effort induces greater adaptions in Power4mM and V˙O2peak than accumulating ~1 h·wk−1 performing best effort intervals as 4 × 4 min.
A Rule-Based Meronymy Extraction Module for Portuguese

In this article, we improve the extraction of semantic relations between textual elements as it is currently performed by STRING, a hybrid statistical and rulebased Natural Language Processing (NLP) chain for Portuguese, by targeting whole-part relations (meronymy), that is, a semantic relation between an entity that is perceived as a constituent part of another entity, or a member of a set. In this case, we focus on the type of meronymy involving human entities and body-part nouns (Nbp) (e.g., O Pedro partiu uma perna `Pedro broke a leg': WHOLE-PART(Pedro,perna) 'WHOLE-PART(Pedro,leg)'). In order to extract this type of whole-part relations, a rule-based meronymy extraction module has been built and integrated in the grammar of the STRING system. The module was evaluated with promising results.
Basic fibroblast growth factor enhancement of adenovirus-mediated delivery of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene results in augmented therapeutic benefit in a murine model of ovarian cancer.

A number of preclinical and human clinical gene therapy trials using adenoviral vectors have shown that the number of viral particles necessary to give adequate levels of gene transfer can be associated with significant vector-related toxicity. In an effort to reduce the number of adenoviral particles required for a given level of gene transfer, we sought to redirect adenoviral infection via a receptor that is highly expressed on the target cells. By using basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) as the targeting ligand, adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to the human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3.ip1 was significantly enhanced, permitting the transduction of a greater number of target cells to be achieved by a given dose of virus. In a murine model of human ovarian carcinoma, an FGF2-redirected adenoviral vector carrying the gene for herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (AdCMVHSV-TK) was shown to result in a significant prolongation of survival compared with the same number of particles of unmodified AdCMVHSV-TK. In addition, equivalent survival rates were achieved with a 10-fold lower dose of the FGF2-redirected AdCMVHSV-TK compared with the unmodified vector. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that strategies to enhance the efficiency of in vivo transduction of adenoviral vectors will be of clinical utility.
A review paper on Privacy-Preserving Data Mining

Data mining technology help us in extraction of useful knowledge from large data sets. The process of data collection and data dissemination may, however, result in an inherent risk of privacy threats. Some private information about individuals, businesses and organizations has to be suppressed before it is shared or published. The privacypreserving data mining (PPDM) has thus become an important issue in current years. This paper we propose an evolutionary privacy-preserving data mining technology to find appropriate method to perform secure transactions into a
Unenhanced and Contrast-Enhanced MR Angiography and Perfusion Imaging for Suspected Pulmonary Thromboembolism.

OBJECTIVE This article discusses the basics of unenhanced MR angiography (MRA) and MR venography (MRV), time-resolved contrast-enhanced (CE) MRA and dynamic first-pass CE perfusion MRI, and unenhanced and CE MRV, in addition to assessing the clinical relevance of these techniques for evaluating patients with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism and deep venous thrombosis. CONCLUSION Since the 1990s, the efficacy of MRA or MRV and dynamic perfusion MRI for patients with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism and deep venous thrombosis has been evaluated. On the basis of the results of single-center trials, comprehensive MRI protocols, including pulmonary unenhanced and CE MRA, perfusion MRI, and MRV, promise to be safe and time effective for assessing patients with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism, although future multicenter trials are required to assess the real clinical value of MRI.
Supporting the intimate relationship needs of service users with psychosis: what are the barriers and facilitators?

Abstract Background: Mental health services aim to provide holistic care, but the intimacy needs of clients are neglected. Currently there is limited understanding of the challenges mental health professionals (MHPs) face when considering supporting the relationship needs of people with psychosis. Aim: This study investigated the views of community-based MHPs from a range of disciplines regarding the barriers and facilitators to supporting clients with their romantic relationship needs. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 professionals and analysed from a realist perspective using thematic analysis. Results: Barriers identified were: (1) “They will never be able to form close attachments. ” (2) “Modern social care teaches us reduce risk, reduce risk, reduce risk. ” (3) “You’re only relying on what you’ve picked up over the years”. Facilitators were: (1) “If they could find a partner they would progress a lot more”. (2) “It’s all to do with the relationship you’ve got between you and your client”. (3) “It’s having the resources”. Conclusions: Results highlight areas for service improvement and will help inform the development of future interventions.
Genetic Differences in Sensitivity to Alterations of Mandible Structure Caused by the Teratogen 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin

The contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is an environmental pollutant and teratogen that has been shown to alter craniofacial development. Differences in sensitivity to TCDD are attributed primarily to differences in alleles at the Ahr locus coding for the aryl–hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) that binds TCDD and mediates its effects by altering gene expression. The authors used geometric morphometric methods to evaluate differences in the effects of small in utero exposures of TCDD on adult mandible size and shape in five different inbred mouse strains with the same Ahr alleles. Because of the known effects of this toxicant on bone and craniofacial structures, the authors hypothesized that TCDD would decrease mandible size and alter mandible shape, but that the effects of TCDD exposure would differ among the inbred strains. The authors found that TCDD did alter mandible size and shape, but these effects were limited to specific strains and also differed between the sexes. The relative sensitivity to TCDD’s effects on mandibles did not correspond with the previously reported sensitivity to TCDD’s effects on molars. The authors hypothesize that beyond Ahr-related effects, variation in response to TCDD reflects differences in the genetic architecture controlling the trait being evaluated, thus explaining the species, strain, and trait specificity of TCDD.
Healthcare Big Data Voice Pathology Assessment Framework

The fast-growing healthcare big data plays an important role in healthcare service providing. Healthcare big data comprise data from different structured, semi-structured, and unstructured sources. These data sources vary in terms of heterogeneity, volume, variety, velocity, and value that traditional frameworks, algorithms, tools, and techniques are not fully capable of handling. Therefore, a framework is required that facilitates collection, extraction, storage, classification, processing, and modeling of this vast heterogeneous volume of data. This paper proposes a healthcare big data framework using voice pathology assessment (VPA) as a case study. In the proposed VPA system, two robust features, MPEG-7 low-level audio and the interlaced derivative pattern, are used for processing the voice or speech signals. The machine learning algorithms in the form of a support vector machine, an extreme learning machine, and a Gaussian mixture model are used as the classifier. In the experiments, the proposed VPA system shows its efficiency in terms of accuracy and time requirement.
Data-Driven Optimization Control for Safety Operation of Hematite Grinding Process

Grinding particle size (GPS) of a hematite grinding process (HGP) is characteristic of sensitivity to disturbances of ore hardness and size distribution, difficulty in establishing a mathematic model, and absence of measurement, which make the existing operational optimization and control approaches difficult to be applied. This leads to that it is always difficult to obtain a proper ore feed rate and water flow rate during process operation, and consequently, overload fault often occurs. To tackle this problem, based on characteristic analysis of GPS, a GPS prediction algorithm is first developed using an improved neural network (NN), and a data-driven optimization control approach for safety operation of HGP is proposed. The proposed method adopts a two-layer structure, the higher-level operational feedback control, and lower-level basic loop control. The operational feedback control consists of a cascade NN-based loop setpoint optimizer and an overload diagnosis and self-healing controller. The main advantage of the proposed method is that it requires only the available operating data, without knowing the process dynamics. Experiments have been carried out in a self-developed hardware-in-the-loop experiment system with actual data, demonstrating that the proposed method cannot only keep the HGP operation from mill overload fault but also achieve the optimization control with respect to the quadratic performance index of GPS deviation.
Linearly-polarized electronically reconfigurable transmitarray antenna with 2-bit phase resolution in Ka-band

This paper demonstrates the numerical results of a 196-element linearly-polarized electronically reconfigurable transmitarray in Ka-band. The proposed array architecture is based on a wideband and low-loss unit-cell with 2 bits of phase resolution (90°-step between two consecutive phase states). The unit-cell size (length × width × height) is equal to 5.1×5.1×1.3 mm3 and it is composed of six metal layers, three dielectric substrates and two bonding films. Four p-i-n diodes are soldered on the radiating elements in order to control the transmission phase. The full-wave simulations of the transmitarray are in agreement with the results predicted by using an ad-hoc simulation tool based on analytical model and electromagnetic simulations. The transmitarray antenna presents a maximum gain of 22.9 dBi, corresponding to an aperture efficiency of 32.3%, and a side-lobe level equal to −18.1 dB at 29 GHz. The computed 3-dB gain-bandwidth is larger than 15.9% around 29 GHz.
Gamifying smart city services to flourish our society

We are now living in smart cities, where information technologies enhance our everyday life. For example, our energy management and traffic management have become smarter, making our daily lives more convenient and efficient. However, from a citizen's point of view, a person's well-being needs to be more important than achieving efficient and convenient smart city infrastructures. This is, in particular, an essential issue for achieving human-centered smart city design. In this paper, we propose a design abstraction referred to as persuasive digital affordance to design meaning in the real world. Persuasive digital affordance contains two models to enhance meaning in the real world based on the concepts typically used in digital games and thereby assist in the design of virtual world.
Incidence and Risk Factors of Acute Kidney Failure in Patients Receiving Colistin in a Provincial Hospital

The objectives of this study were to determine incidence and risk factors associated with acute kidney failure in patients receiving colistin. This study was a retrospective cohort study from medical records of patients who received colistin at Nakornping Hospital, Chiang Mai, during January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013. The statistical analyses include descriptive statistic, multivariate analysis and Kaplan-Meier method. The results showed that most patients were male (65.7%) with the median age of 67 years (range of 19-95 years). The median value of serum creatinine was 0.9 mg/dl (range of 0.3-6.7 mg/dl). Approximately half of the patients (50.7%) received loading doses and 46% (171 pateints) of them received colistin more than 5 mg/kg/day. The study observed 262 patients (70.8%) developed nephrotoxicity with the median onset of 7 days (95% CI 6-7). Among the patients who experienced nephrotoxicity, the severity of acute kidney failure of 101 cases (27.3 %) were classified as “failure”, 95 cases (25.7%) were classified as “risk” and 66 cases (17.8%) were classified as “injury”. Multivariable analysis revealed the risk factors associated with acute kidney failure as follows: (1) age older than 70 years old (OR = 4.0; p = 0.001), (2) having diseases that may decrease renal blood flow (OR. = 2.1; p = 0.008), (3) receiving colistin more than 5 mg/kg/day (OR = 2.1; p = 0.007), and (4) co-administration of nephrotoxic drugs or drug affecting the glomuerulus filtration rate (OR = 1.8; p = 0.023). However, the patients with baseline serum creatinine more than 1.2 mg/dl appeared to have lower risk of acute kidney failure than the patients with the values of serum creatinine less than or equal to 1.2 mg/dl. This study showed high incidence (70.8%) of acute kidney failure in patients receiving colistin. Thus, renal functions should be closely monitored, especially in elderly patients, patients with diseases that may decrease renal blood flow, patients concurrently received nephrotoxic drugs or drug affecting the glomerular filtration rate. Besides, the patients’ weight should be used to determine the appropriate colistin dose and adjusting dose should be performed based on the pateints’ renal functions or avoiding the use of colistin doses greater than 5 mg/kg/day. Keywords: colistin, acute kidney failure, nephrotoxicity
Preconditioning: Evolution of Basic Mechanisms to Potential Therapeutic Strategies

Preconditioning describes the phenomenon by which a traumatic or stressful stimulus confers protection against subsequent injury. Originally recognized in dog heart subjected to ischemic challenges, preconditioning has been demonstrated in multiple species, can be induced by various stimuli, and is applicable in different organ systems. Tremendous progress has been made elucidating the signal transduction cascade of preconditioning. Preconditioning represents a potent tissue-protective condition, and mechanistic understanding may allow safe clinical application. This review recalls the history of preconditioning and how it relates to the history of the investigation of endogenous adaptation; summarizes the current mechanistic understanding of acute preconditioning; outlines the signal transduction cascade leading to the development of delayed preconditioning; discusses preconditioning in noncardiac tissue; and explores the potential of using preconditioning clinically.
Oncolytic virus therapy: A new era of cancer treatment at dawn

Oncolytic virus therapy is perhaps the next major breakthrough in cancer treatment following the success in immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors. Oncolytic viruses are defined as genetically engineered or naturally occurring viruses that selectively replicate in and kill cancer cells without harming the normal tissues. T‐Vec (talimogene laherparepvec), a second‐generation oncolytic herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) armed with GM‐CSF, was recently approved as the first oncolytic virus drug in the USA and Europe. The phase III trial proved that local intralesional injections with T‐Vec in advanced malignant melanoma patients can not only suppress the growth of injected tumors but also act systemically and prolong overall survival. Other oncolytic viruses that are closing in on drug approval in North America and Europe include vaccinia virus JX‐594 (pexastimogene devacirepvec) for hepatocellular carcinoma, GM‐CSF‐expressing adenovirus CG0070 for bladder cancer, and Reolysin (pelareorep), a wild‐type variant of reovirus, for head and neck cancer. In Japan, a phase II clinical trial of G47∆, a third‐generation oncolytic HSV‐1, is ongoing in glioblastoma patients. G47∆ was recently designated as a “Sakigake” breakthrough therapy drug in Japan. This new system by the Japanese government should provide G47∆ with priority reviews and a fast‐track drug approval by the regulatory authorities. Whereas numerous oncolytic viruses have been subjected to clinical trials, the common feature that is expected to play a major role in prolonging the survival of cancer patients is an induction of specific antitumor immunity in the course of tumor‐specific viral replication. It appears that it will not be long before oncolytic virus therapy becomes a standard therapeutic option for all cancer patients.
POLITECNICO DI TORINO Repository ISTITUZIONALE Identification of miRNAs Potentially Involved in Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome : A Computational Study /

The pathogenesis of Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), the main clinical phenotype of chronic lung allograft dysfunction, is poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic regulation of microRNAs might play a role in its development. In this paper we present the application of a complex computational pipeline to perform enrichment analysis of miRNAs in pathways applied to the study of BOS. The analysis considered the full set of miRNAs annotated in miRBase (version 21), and applied a sequence of filtering approaches and statistical analyses to reduce this set and to score the candidate miRNAs according to their potential involvement in BOS development. Dysregulation of two of the selected candidate miRNAs–miR-34a andmiR-21 –was clearly shown in in-situ hybridization (ISH) on five explanted human BOS lungs and on a rat model of acute and chronic lung rejection, thus definitely identifyingmiR-34a andmiR-21 as pathogenic factors in BOS and confirming the effectiveness of the computational pipeline.
Uncovering How Urban Regeneration Programs May Stimulate Leisure-time Walking Among Adults in Deprived Areas: A Realist Review

Evidence suggests that urban regeneration programs can stimulate leisure-time walking (LTW) in deprived areas. However, underlying pathways remain unclear. This study explored how urban regeneration might stimulate LTW among adults in deprived areas. We conducted a realist review, a theory-driven approach to evidence synthesis that focuses on mechanisms. We searched three electronic databases for peer-reviewed literature that describes how the neighborhood environment or urban regeneration influences LTW among adults in deprived areas. Evidence from 13 qualitative studies was synthesized. All studies indicated that safety problems and poor physical neighborhood design make adults fearful of walking. Seven studies indicated that poor aesthetics makes walking less relaxing and stress releasing. Seven studies indicated that poor infrastructure makes it inconvenient for adults to walk. A limited number of studies indicated that a lack of LTW facilities creates a shortage of settings for walking and that low levels of social capital constrain social support for walking and social interaction while walking. Evidence from this study suggests that urban regeneration might stimulate LTW among adults in deprived areas by creating a neighborhood that is less frightening, more relaxing, and more convenient to walk in.