Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fabrication of individual alginate-TCP scaffolds for bone tissue engineering by means of powder printing

The development of polymer-calcium phosphate composite scaffolds with tailored architectures and properties has great potential for bone regeneration. Herein, we aimed to improve the functional performance of brittle ceramic scaffolds by developing a promising biopolymer–ceramic network. For this purpose, two strategies, namely, direct printing of a powder composition consisting of a 60:40 mixture of α/β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) powder and alginate powder or vacuum infiltration of printed TCP scaffolds with an alginate solution, were tracked. Results of structural characterization revealed that the scaffolds printed with 2.5 wt% alginate-modified TCP powders presented a uniformly distributed and interfusing alginate TCP network. Mechanical results indicated a significant increase in strength, energy to failure and reliability of powder-modified scaffolds with an alginate content in the educts of 2.5 wt% when compared to pure TCP, as well as to TCP scaffolds containing 5 wt% or 7.5 wt% in the educts, in both dry and wet states. Culture of human osteoblast cells on these scaffolds also demonstrated a great improvement of cell proliferation and cell viability. While in the case of powder-mixed alginate TCP scaffolds, isolated alginate gels were formed between the calcium phosphate crystals, the vacuum-infiltration strategy resulted in the covering of the surface and internal pores of the TCP scaffold with a thin alginate film. Furthermore, the prediction of the scaffolds’ critical fracture conditions under more complex stress states by the applied Mohr fracture criterion confirmed the potential of the powder-modified scaffolds with 2.5 wt% alginate in the educts as structural biomaterial for bone tissue engineering.
Is there a link between premature ovarian failure and serum concentrations of vitamin D, zinc, and copper?

ObjectiveThe risk of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) increases in association with autoimmune conditions. Adequate intake of vitamin D (vit D) and trace elements is required for the immune system to function efficiently. The aim of this study was to evaluate vit D, zinc, and copper blood levels in women with POI who had given birth to at least one child and in women with normal menstrual cycles. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional, case-control study involving 63 participants divided into two groups: the study group, which is composed of 35 women with POI, and the control group, which is composed of 28 women with normal menstrual cycles. Serum concentrations of zinc, vit D, and copper were determined for each participant. ResultsWomen with POI had significantly higher serum copper levels and copper-to-zinc ratio but significantly lower serum vit D and zinc levels when compared with the healthy control group. Serum follicle-stimulating hormone levels were inversely correlated with zinc and vit D levels and positively correlated with the copper-to-zinc ratio and copper levels. Vit D levels were inversely correlated with follicle-stimulating hormone levels, copper-to-zinc ratio, and copper levels and positively correlated with zinc levels. ConclusionsMost women with POI are deficient in vit D. Zinc, copper, and vit D seem to correlate with hormonal status in the participants. The present study may generate hypotheses for future studies that will investigate the possible mechanisms behind alterations in trace elements and vit D deficiency in women with POI and whether these changes could be used to screen for the risk of developing POI.
Regulated Endocytosis of G-protein-coupled Receptors by a Biochemically and Functionally Distinct Subpopulation of Clathrin-coated Pits*

β-2 Adrenergic receptors (B2ARs) are endocytosed by clathrin-coated pits. This process serves specialized functions in signal transduction and receptor regulation, raising the question of whether B2ARs are associated with biochemically specialized membrane vesicles during their endocytic trafficking. Here we show that B2ARs are endocytosed by a distinct subpopulation of clathrin-coated pits, which represent a limited subset of coated pits present in the plasma membrane, even in cells overexpressing both B2ARs and β-arrestin. Coated pits mediating agonist-induced endocytosis of B2ARs differ from other coated pits mediating constitutive endocytosis of transferrin receptors in their temperature dependence for fission from the plasma membrane and in the association of their membrane coats with β-arrestin. Endocytosis of these coated pits generates endocytic vesicles selectively enriched in B2ARs, which fuse within ∼10 min after their formation with a common population of endosomes containing both B2ARs and transferrin receptors. These observations demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of a functionally and biochemically distinct subpopulation of clathrin-coated pits that mediate the agonist-regulated endocytosis of G-protein-coupled receptors, and they suggest a new model for the formation of compositionally specialized membrane vesicles at the earliest stage of the endocytic pathway.
Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069

Hailed by national leaders as politically diverse as former Vice President Al Gore and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Generations has been heralded by reviewers as a brilliant, if somewhat unsettling, reassessment of where America is heading.William Strauss and Neil Howe posit the history of America as a succession of generational biographies, beginning in 1584 and encompassing every-one through the children of today. Their bold theory is that each generation belongs to one of four types, and that these types repeat sequentially in a fixed pattern. The vision of Generations allows us to plot a recurring cycle in American history -- a cycle of spiritual awakenings and secular crises -- from the founding colonists through the present day and well into this millenium.Generations is at once a refreshing historical narrative and a thrilling intuitive leap that reorders not only our history books but also our expectations for the twenty-first century.
Rostroventral caudate putamen involvement in ethanol withdrawal is influenced by a chromosome 4 locus

Physiological dependence and associated withdrawal episodes are thought to constitute a motivational force that sustains alcohol use and abuse and may contribute to relapse in dependent individuals. Although no animal model duplicates alcoholism, models for specific factors, like withdrawal, are useful for identifying potential genetic and neural determinants of liability in humans. Previously, we identified a quantitative trait locus (QTL) and gene (Mpdz, which encodes the multi‐PDZ domain protein) on chromosome 4 with a large effect on alcohol withdrawal in mice. Using congenic mice that confirm this QTL and c‐Fos expression as a high‐resolution marker of neuronal activation, we report that congenic mice show significantly less neuronal activity associated with alcohol withdrawal in the rostroventral caudate putamen (rvCP), but not other parts of the striatum, compared with background strain mice. Moreover, bilateral rvCP lesions significantly increase alcohol withdrawal severity. Using retrograde (fluorogold) and anterograde (Texas Red conjugated dextran amine) tract tracing, we found that ∼25% of c‐Fos immunoreactive rvCP neurons project to caudolateral substantia nigra pars reticulata (clSNr), which we previously found is crucially involved in withdrawal following acute and repeated alcohol exposure. Our results expand upon work suggesting that this QTL impacts alcohol withdrawal via basal ganglia circuitry associated with limbic function, and indicate that an rvCP‐clSNr projection plays a critical role. Given the growing body of evidence that the syntenic region of human chromosome 9p and human MPDZ gene are associated with alcohol abuse, our results may facilitate research on alcohol dependence and associated withdrawal in clinical populations.
The Colonial World as Geological Metaphor: Strata(gems) of Empire in Victorian Canada

This essay highlights the experience of British North America during the Victorian age as a case study in the complex relationship between science and empire. It analyzes the development of geology as a Victorian (and highly imperialistic) science in colonial Canada, in three chronological phases. During each, the study of geology helped to structure an imperial-colonial dialogue that reflected changing mutual perceptions and relationships. As colonists undertook geological exploration and interpretation, they modified imperial institutions to suit their goals. They also absorbed the means by which to colonize other peoples and regions. In this sense, the quintessential Victorian science exerted powerful cultural influences, transforming new landscapes into readable texts that redefined the future.
Quantitative analysis of trust factors on social network using data mining approach

Computing trust factors quantitatively is an important task in social network analysis, especially for online social networks where face-to-face interactions are spared. Trust factors can be used to infer degree of friendship as well as investigating what contribute to customer loyalty in e-commerce on online social networks. In the past, trust factors were either obtained via direct questioning during survey or qualitative estimation; questions to be asked are `how much do you trust something/somebody in multi-level Likert scale? ' Respondents replied by indicating one of the following, for example: Very much, Much; Somewhat; Little; Never. The results are then counted usually by simple frequency distribution. In this paper, an alternative method by data mining is presented that infers quantitatively the relative importance of each trust factor with respective to the predicted class. This is done by Feature Selection algorithms prior to constructing a decision tree. The advantage of using data mining method over simple statistic is that each factor (or Relative Importance Factor) acts as a predictor variable that foretells how the likelihood of an expected occurrence. In other words, a-priori knowledge can be assumed in this case; the relative importance can be assumed known without the fact that actually occurred. Such relative importance measures would be useful for estimating the weights of variables that are used in some prediction formula. A case study of estimating trust and therefore inducing recommendation in Facebook is given.
Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis E virus among Japanese blood donors: Identification of three blood donors infected with a genotype 3 hepatitis E virus

Risk factors for acquiring hepatitis E among individuals in industrialized countries including Japan are not fully understood. We investigated whether Japanese blood donors with or without an elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level are likely to have hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. Serum samples were collected from 5,343 voluntary blood donors including 1,087 donors with elevated ALT of 61–966 IU/L and 4,256 donors with normal ALT (≤60 IU/L) at two Japanese Red Cross Blood Centers, and were tested for the presence of anti‐HEV IgG by in‐house enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall, 200 donors (3.7%) were positive for anti‐HEV IgG, including 32 (2.9%) with elevated ALT and 168 (3.9%) with normal ALT. Serum samples with anti‐HEV IgG were further tested for the presence of anti‐HEV IgM by in‐house ELISA and for HEV RNA by reverse transcription (RT)‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Three donors with ALT of 966, 62 or 61 IU/L were positive for anti‐HEV IgM and HEV RNA. The HEV isolates obtained from the three viremic donors segregated into genotype 3, were 91.5–93.4% similar to each other in the 412 nucleotide sequence of open reading frame 2, and had the highest identity of 91.5–94.9% with the JRA1 isolate which was recovered from a Japanese patient with sporadic acute hepatitis E who had never been abroad, suggesting that these three HEV isolates are indigenous to Japan. This study suggests that a small but significant proportion of blood donors in Japan with or without elevated ALT are viremic and are potentially able to cause transfusion‐associated hepatitis E. J. Med. Virol. 73:554–561, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
How the human brain exchanges information across sensory modalities to recognize other people

Recognizing the identity of other individuals across different sensory modalities is critical for successful social interaction. In the human brain, face‐ and voice‐sensitive areas are separate, but structurally connected. What kind of information is exchanged between these specialized areas during cross‐modal recognition of other individuals is currently unclear. For faces, specific areas are sensitive to identity and to physical properties. It is an open question whether voices activate representations of face identity or physical facial properties in these areas. To address this question, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans and a voice‐face priming design. In this design, familiar voices were followed by morphed faces that matched or mismatched with respect to identity or physical properties. The results showed that responses in face‐sensitive regions were modulated when face identity or physical properties did not match to the preceding voice. The strength of this mismatch signal depended on the level of certainty the participant had about the voice identity. This suggests that both identity and physical property information was provided by the voice to face areas. The activity and connectivity profiles differed between face‐sensitive areas: (i) the occipital face area seemed to receive information about both physical properties and identity, (ii) the fusiform face area seemed to receive identity, and (iii) the anterior temporal lobe seemed to receive predominantly identity information from the voice. We interpret these results within a prediction coding scheme in which both identity and physical property information is used across sensory modalities to recognize individuals. Hum Brain Mapp, 36:324–339, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Prediction of rupture risk in abdominal aortic aneurysm during observation: wall stress versus diameter.

OBJECTIVES We previously showed that peak abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) wall stress calculated for aneurysms in vivo is higher at rupture than at elective repair. The purpose of this study was to analyze rupture risk over time in patients under observation. METHODS Computed tomography (CT) scans were analyzed for patients with AAA when observation was planned for at least 6 months. AAA wall stress distribution was computationally determined in vivo with CT data, three-dimensional computer modeling, finite element analysis (nonlinear hyperelastic model depicting aneurysm wall behavior), and blood pressure during observation. RESULTS Analysis included 103 patients and 159 CT scans (mean follow-up, 14 +/- 2 months per CT). Forty-two patients were observed with no intervention for at least 1 year (mean follow-up, 28 +/- 3 months). Elective repair was performed within 1 year in 39 patients, and emergent repair was performed in 22 patients (mean, 6 +/- 1 month after CT) for rupture (n = 14) or acute severe pain. Significant differences were found for initial diameter (observation, 4.9 +/-.1 cm; elective repair, 5.9 +/-.1 cm; emergent repair, 6.1 +/-.2 cm; P <.0001) and initial peak wall stress (38 +/- 1 N/cm(2), 42 +/- 2 n/cm(2), 58 +/- 4 N/cm(2), respectively; P <. 0001), but peak wall stress appeared to better differentiate patients who later required emergent repair (elective vs emergent repair: diameter, 3% difference, P =.5; stress, 38% difference, P <.0001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for predicting rupture were better for peak wall stress (sensitivity, 94%; specificity,81%; accuracy, 85% [with 44 N/cm(2) threshold]) than for diameter (81%, 70%, 73%, respectively [with optimal 5.5 cm threshold). With proportional hazards analysis, peak wall stress (relative risk, 25x) and gender (relative risk, 3x) were the only significant independent predictors of rupture. CONCLUSIONS For AAAs under observation, peak AAA wall stress seems superior to diameter in differentiating patients who will experience catastrophic outcome. Elevated wall stress associated with rupture is not simply an acute event near the time of rupture.
Bioactive Isoflavones from Dalbergia vacciniifolia (Fabaceae)

Three new 5-dehydroxy isoflavone compounds, 6,2′-dimethoxy-7,4′-dihydroxyisoflavone (1), 6,2′,4′-trimethoxy-7-hydroxyisoflavone (2), and 6,2′,4′,5′-tetramethoxy-7-O-[β–D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-β–D-glucopyranoside] isoflavone (3), along with a known isoflavone, 6,2′,4′,5′-tetramethoxy-7-hydroxyisoflavone (4), were isolated from the ethanolic extract of Dalbergia vacciniifolia Vatke. Their structures were established by spectroscopic techniques including one- and two-dimension NMR. Compound 1 showed mild cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp larvae with a LC50 value of 266 μg/mL
Efficient DNA Transfection Mediated by the C-Terminal Domain of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Viral Protein R

The replication properties of a thymidine kinase-negative (TK 2 ) mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were exploited to examine the relative contributions of replication at the body surface and within trigeminal ganglia (TG) on the establishment of latent infections. The replication of a TK 2 mutant, 17/tBTK 2 , was reduced by ; 12-fold on the mouse cornea compared to the rescued isolate 17/tBRTK 1 , and no replication of 17/tBTK 2 in the TG of these mice was detected. About 1.8% of the TG neurons of mice infected with 17/tBTK 2 harbored the latent viral genome compared to 23% of those infected with 17/tBRTK 1 . In addition, the latent sites established by the TK 2 mutant contained fewer copies of the HSV-1 genome (average, 2.3/ neuron versus 28/neuron). On the snout, sustained robust replication of 17tBTK 2 in the absence of signiﬁcant replication within the TG resulted in a modest increase in the number of latent sites. Importantly, these latently infected neurons displayed a wild-type latent-genome copy number proﬁle, with some neurons containing hundreds of copies of the TK 2 mutant genome. As expected, the replication of the TK 2 mutant appeared to be blocked prior to DNA replication in most ganglionic neurons in that (i) virus replication was severely restricted in ganglia, (ii) the number of neurons expressing HSV proteins was reduced 30-fold compared to the rescued isolate, (iii) cell-to-cell spread of virus was not detected within ganglia, and (iv) the proportion of infected neurons expressing late proteins was reduced by 89% compared to the rescued strain. These results demonstrate that the viral TK gene is required for the efﬁcient establishment of latency. This requirement appears to be primarily for efﬁcient replication within the ganglion, which leads to a sixfold increase in the number of latent sites established. Further, latent sites with high genome copy number can be established in the absence of signiﬁcant virus genome replication in neurons. This suggests that neurons can be infected by many HSV virions and still enter the latent state. reduced numbers of LAT 1 neurons latently TK that this was due to a TK mutation that not affect the gene or its expression. addition, quantitative PCR analysis of the viral genome revealed a signiﬁcant decrease in the amount of latent DNA present in the TG of mice latently infected with TK-null
Direct observation of a transverse vibrational mechanism for negative thermal expansion in Zn(CN)2: an atomic pair distribution function analysis.

The instantaneous structure of the cyanide-bridged negative thermal expansion (NTE) material Zn(CN)(2) has been probed using atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of high energy X-ray scattering data (100-400 K). The temperature dependence of the atomic separations extracted from the PDFs indicates an increase of the average transverse displacement of the cyanide bridge from the line connecting the Zn(II) centers with increasing temperature. This allows the contraction of non-nearest-neighbor Zn.Zn' and Zn.C/N distances despite the observed expansion of the individual direct Zn-C/N and C-N bonds. Thus, this analysis provides definitive structural confirmation that an increase in the average displacement of bridging atoms is the origin of the NTE behavior. The lattice parameters reveal a slight reduction in the NTE behavior at high temperature from a minimum coefficient of thermal expansion (alpha = dl/ldT) of -19.8 x 10(-6) K(-1) below 180 K, which is attributed to interaction between the doubly interpenetrated frameworks that comprise the structure.
Public Sentiment Analysis in Twitter Data for Prediction of a Company's Stock Price Movements

There has recently been some effort to mine social media for public sentiment analysis. Studies have suggested that public emotions shown through Tweeter may well be correlated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However, can public sentiment be analyzed to predict the movements of the stock price of a particular company? If so, is it possible for the stock price of one company to be more predictable than that of another company? Is there a particular kind of companies whose stock price are more predictable based on analyzing public sentiments as reflected in Twitter data? In this article, we propose a method to mine Twitter data for answers to these questions. Specifically, we propose to use a data mining algorithm to determine if the price of a selection of 30 companies listed in NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange can actually be predicted by the given 15 million records of tweets (i.e., Twitter messages). We do so by extracting ambiguous textual tweet data through NLP techniques to define public sentiment, then make use of a data mining technique to discover patterns between public sentiment and real stock price movements. With the proposed algorithm, we manage to discover that it is possible for the stock closing price of some companies to be predicted with an average accuracy as high as 76.12%. In this paper, we describe the data mining algorithm that we use and discuss the key findings in relation to the questions posed.
Signal Cancellation Techniques for RF Watermark Detection in an ATSC Mobile DTV System

The popularity of Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) mobile digital television (DTV) [mobile/handheld (M/H)] cultivates a fast growing demand on transmitter identification (TxID) in a mobile environment. The ATSC A/110 standard addresses this need with a TxID system using a radio-frequency (RF) watermark. This paper studies the use of DTV signal cancellation techniques in RF watermark detection. In particular, we develop two schemes, namely, decision feedback convolution and decision feedback equalizer (DFE) decision-directed (DD) error, to meet different application scenarios. The first scheme is designed for static and slow-fading channels, whereas the second scheme is designed for dynamic and fast-fading channels. We have conducted computer simulation on TxID over various channel conditions to evaluate the performance of our schemes. Numerical results show that DTV signal cancellation can significantly boost the signal-to-noise (SNR) level of RF watermark and thus reinforce TxID in a mobile environment.