Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ezrin Promotes Morphogenesis of Apical Microvilli and Basal Infoldings in Retinal Pigment Epithelium

Ezrin, a member of the ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) family, localizes to microvilli of epithelia in vivo, where it bridges actin filaments and plasma membrane proteins. Here, we demonstrate two specific morphogenetic roles of ezrin in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), i.e., the formation of very long apical microvilli and of elaborate basal infoldings typical of these cells, and characterize the role of ezrin in these processes using antisense and transfection approaches. In the adult rat RPE, only ezrin (no moesin or radixin) was detected at high levels by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy at microvilli and basal infoldings. At the time when these morphological differentiations develop, in the first two weeks after birth, ezrin levels increased fourfold to adult levels. Addition of ezrin antisense oligonucleotides to primary cultures of rat RPE drastically decreased both apical microvilli and basal infoldings. Transfection of ezrin cDNA into the RPE-J cell line, which has only trace amounts of ezrin and moesin, sparse and stubby apical microvilli, and no basal infoldings, induced maturation of microvilli and the formation of basal infoldings without changing moesin expression levels. Taken together, the results indicate that ezrin is a major determinant in the maturation of surface differentiations of RPE independently of other ERM family members.
The Effect of Fibrin on the Survival of Ischemic Skin Flaps in Rats

Background: Skin flap necrosis is one of the hazards encountered in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Angiogenic agents may be useful for treating it by increasing blood flow. The angiogenic effect of fibrin in vitro has been demonstrated, but little is known about its in vivo effect. Te authors tested the hypothesis that local application of fibrin can improve the survival of ischemic skin flaps. Methods: A cranially based dorsal skin flap (3 × 7 cm) was made in each rat. Fibrin (8 mg suspended in 400 &mgr;l of phosphate-buffered saline) was applied to the subcutaneous side of elevated skin flaps in the experimental group (n = 15), and phosphate-buffered saline alone was delivered in the control group (n = 15). Tissue blood flow of the skin flaps was measured four times (before the operation and on days 1, 3, and 7) at 1, 3, and 5 cm distal to the baseline of the skin flap. The survival rate of the skin flaps was measured on day 7 and histologic assessments were performed. Results: The blood flow change rate at 5 cm in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group on day 7 (60.9 ± 5.7 percent versus 13.7 ± 4.8 percent, p < 0.001). The survival rate of skin flaps was also significantly improved in the experimental group (77.0 ± 2.0 percent) in comparison with the control group (54.7 ± 2.2 percent, p < 0.01). Histologic analysis showed many more blood vessels in the experimental group in comparison with the control group. Conclusion: The local application of fibrin could improve the blood flow and survival of ischemic skin flaps.
Strong-coupling solver for the quantum impurity model

We propose a fast impurity solver for the general quantum impurity model based on the perturbation theory around the atomic limit, which can be used in combination with the local density approximation (LDA) and the dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). We benchmark the solver in the two band Hubbard model within DMFT against quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and numerical renormalization group (NRG) results. We find that the solver works very well in the paramagnetic Mott insulator phase. We also apply this impurity solver to the DMFT study of the anti-ferromagnetic phase transition in the unfrustrated Bethe lattice. The Neel temperature obtained by the fast impurity solver agrees very well with the QMC results in the large Hubbard U limit. The method is a promising tool to be used in combination with the LDA+DMFT to study Mott insulators starting from first principles.
Topological rigidity and H1-negative involutions on tori

We prove there is only one involution (up to conjugacy) on the n-torus which acts as $-\mathrm{Id}$ on the first homology group when $n$ is of the form $4k$, is of the form $4k+1$, or is less than $4$. In all other cases we prove there are infinitely many such involutions up to conjugacy, but each of them has exactly $2^n$ fixed points and is conjugate to a smooth involution. The key technical point is that we completely compute the equivariant structure set for the corresponding crystallographic group action on $\mathbb{R}^n$ in terms of the Cappell $\mathrm{UNil}$-groups arising from its infinite dihedral subgroups. We give a complete analysis of equivariant topological rigidity for this family of groups.
Nutritional and other postoperative management of neonates with short bowel syndrome correlates with clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To determine correlates of clinical outcomes in patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS). METHODS Retrospective medical record review of neonates treated between 1986 and 1998 who met our criteria for SBS: dependence on parenteral nutrition (PN) for at least 90 days after surgical therapy for congenital or acquired intestinal diseases. RESULTS Thirty subjects with complete data were identified; 13 (43%) had necrotizing enterocolitis, and 17 (57%)had intestinal malformations. Mean (SD) residual small bowel length was 83 (67) cm. Enteral feeding with breastmilk (r = -0.821) or an amino acid-based formula (r = -0.793) was associated with a shorter duration of PN, as were longer residual small bowel length (r = -0.475) and percentage of calories received enterally at 6 weeks after surgery(r = -0.527). Shorter time without diverting ileostomy or colostomy (r = 0.400), enteral feeding with a protein hydrolysate formula (r = -0.476), and percentage of calories received enterally at 6 weeks after surgery (r = -0.504) were associated with a lower peak direct bilirubin concentration. Presence of an intact ileocecal valve and frequency of catheter-related infections were not significantly correlated with duration of PN. In multivariate analysis, only residual small bowel length was a significant independent predictor of duration of PN, and only less time with a diverting ostomy was an independent predictor of peak direct bilirubin concentration. CONCLUSIONS Although residual small bowel length remains an important predictor of duration of PN use in infants with SBS, other factors, such as use of breast milk or amino acid-based formula, may also play a role in intestinal adaptation. In addition, prompt restoration of intestinal continuity is associated with lowered risk of cholestatic liver disease. Early enteral feeding after surgery is associated both with reduced duration of PN and less cholestasis.
Construction of a Word Sense Tagged Corpus for SENSEVAL-2 Japanese Dictionary Task

This paper reports the details of a Japanese word sense tagged corpus developed as an evaluation data for SENSEVAL-2 Japanese dictionary task. The corpus made up of 2,130 newspaper articles. Not all but only 10,000 words in the articles were manually annotated with sense IDs, which was used as a gold standard data. Word senses were deÞned according to the Iwanami Kokugo Jiten, a Japanese dictionary published by Iwanami Shoten. Two annotators chose a sense ID for each instance separately. If they did not agree, the third annotator chose the correct sense ID between them. Inter-tagger agreement and Cohens κ was 86.3% and 0.677, respectively.
Swedish students’ beliefs about learning English in and outside of school

In Sweden students’ encounters with English in and out of school are very different. Spending around 20 hours per week in English-mediated environments outside of school, they are often engaged in richly meaningful activities. Consequently, many young people believe they learn as much of their English as a result of participation in English-mediated leisure time activities as they do from textbook-dominated classroom instruction. Drawing on emerging discussions on the ways in which learners’ beliefs about the primacy of learning English in natural environments can have negative effects on learning behaviours in formal settings (e.g. Mercer & Ryan, 2010), and how learners’ beliefs about the causes of success in language learning can impact on motivation (e.g. Hsieh, 2012), this chapter examines the ways in which such beliefs may impact on Swedish students’ responses to classroom learning. Further, in view of the fact that beliefs about the context in which English is mostly acquired differ substantially between girls and boys, the chapter examines the ways in which gender differences in the nature of self-regulation can impact on students’ beliefs.
The Influence of Social Presence on Acceptance of an Assistive Social Robot and Screen Agent by Elderly Users

Abstract When using a robot or a screen agent, elderly users might feel more enjoyment if they experience a stronger social presence. In two experiments with a robotic agent and a screen agent (both n=30) this relationship between these two concepts could be confirmed. Besides, both studies showed that social presence correlates with the Intention to Use the system, although there were some differences between the agents. This implicates that factors that influence social presence are relevant when designing assistive agents for elderly people.
The Asymptotic Configuration of Application Components in a Distributed System

Many distributed applications depend on explicit ordering to affect their lifecycle operations (start up, shutdown, re-configuration, etc.). Normally this procedure is carried out in a serialized manner. Consequently for applications containing large numbers of components, state and configuration changes are something to be avoided. They are costly, error prone and time consuming. This paper details an approach to application configuration which is specifically designed to address the issues of scale and reliability inherent in large distributed applications. The proposed architecture leads to applications which are ‘self healing’ in nature, and whose configuration mechanism is only loosely coupled to the number of components in a deployed system. Additionally, in applications where configuration changes can be planned in advance, the proposed mechanism can be used to make effective use of network resources in bandwidth limited environments.
Generalized Statistics Framework for Rate Distortion Theory

A statistical physics analysis for the variational problem encountered in rate distortion (RD) theory and the information bottleneck (IB) method, derived within the generalized nonextensive statistics framework of Tsallis, is presented. The governing equations of the alternate minimization algorithm for the generalized Bergman RD (GBRD) model are described.
Infectivity and Pathogenicity of a Novel Baculovirus, CuniNPV from Culex nigripalpus (Diptera: Culicidae) for Thirteen Species and Four Genera of Mosquitoes

Abstract The infectivity and pathogenicity of newly discovered baculovirus, CuniNPV (family Baculoviridae, genus Nulclepolyhedrovirus) originally isolated from the mosquito Culex nigripalpus Theobald, was evaluated in laboratory bioassys against thirteen species and four genera of mosquitoes native to the northeastern U.S. Purified virus at a dosage rate of 1.6 × 107 occlusion bodies/ml with 10 mM Mg2+ added was used in exposures with second through fourth instars at temperatures ranging from 17 to 27°C. High infection rates and accompanying mortality were achieved in Cx. pipiens L. (83.0–14.4%), Cx. pipiens f. molestus (80.4% infection), and Cx. salinarius Coquillett (48.0–43.1%). Cx. restuans Theobald was also susceptible but infection rates were lower (21.3–12.5%). The gross pathology associated with infection was identical to that reported in Cx. nigripalpus. Infected larvae were lethargic and were often suspended at the water surface. Development of CuiNPV was observed in the nuclei of the midgut epitheial cells in the gastric caeca and posterior region of the stomach of host larvae. One hundred percent mortality was observed in all larvae that exhibited gross symptoms of infection within 4-d p.i. Cx. territans Walker (subgenus Neoculex Dyar) was the only Culex mosquito that was not susceptible. No infections were obtained with any species of Aedes [Ae. vexans (Meigen)], Culiseta [Culiseta morsitans (Theobald)] or Ochlerotatus [Ochlerotatus canadensis (Theobald), Oc. cantator (Coquillett), Oc. communis (De Geer), Oc. excrucians (Walker), Oc. japonicus (Theobald), Ochlerotatus stimulans (Walker), and Ochlerotatus triseriatus (Coquillett)]. The host range of CuniNPV appears to be restricted to Culex mosquitoes within the subgenus Culex. An inhibitory effect on transmission of CuniNPV was observed when a liver powder/Brewer’s yeast mixture was used as a source of food reinforcing the critical role of Mg2+ and sensitivity of the infection process to the presence other divalent cations (Cu2+, Fe2+, and Zn2+) in the larval medium that interfered with the infection process. The high infectivity and pathogenicity of CuniNPV for the principal vectors of West Nile virus in North America make CuniNPV an attractive candidate for future development as a biopesticide.
Clinicopathological significance and potential drug target of RUNX3 in non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis

Background Emerging evidence indicates that RUNX3 is a candidate tumor suppressor in several types of human tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the correlation between RUNX3 hypermethylation and clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC remains unclear. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the effects of RUNX3 hypermethylation on the incidence of NSCLC and clinicopathological characteristics. Methods A detailed literature search was made using Medline, Embase and Web of Science for related research publications written in English. The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated. The data were extracted and assessed independently by two reviewers. Analysis of pooled data was performed. The odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio were calculated and summarized. Results Final analysis of 911 NSCLC patients from 13 eligible studies was performed. We observed that RUNX3 hypermethylation was significantly higher in NSCLC than in normal lung tissue; the pooled OR from seven studies including 361 NSCLC and 345 normal lung tissue (OR 7.08, confidence interval 4.12–12.17, P<0.00001). RUNX3 hypermethylation may also be associated with pathological types. The pooled OR was obtained from eleven studies including 271 squamous cell carcinoma and 389 adenocarcinoma (OR 0.41, confidence interval 0.19–0.89, P=0.02), which indicated that RUNX3 hypermethylation is significantly higher in adenocarcinoma that in squamous cell carcinoma. We did not find that RUNX3 hypermethylation was correlated with clinical stage or differentiated status. However, NSCLC patients with RUNX3 hypermethylation had a lower survival rate than those without RUNX3 hypermethylation. Conclusion The results of this meta-analysis suggest that RUNX3 hypermethylation is associated with an increased risk and worse survival in NSCLC. RUNX3 hypermethylation, which induces inactivation of the RUNX3 gene, plays an important role in lung carcinogenesis and clinical outcome.
Migration of Fasciola hepatica newly excysted juveniles is inhibited by high-mannose and oligomannose-type N-glycan-binding lectins

SUMMARY Fasciola hepatica has both zoonotic importance and high economic impact in livestock worldwide. After ingestion by the definitive host, the Newly Excysted Juveniles (NEJ) penetrate the intestine before reaching the peritoneal cavity. The role of some NEJ-derived proteins in invasion has been documented, but the role of NEJ glycans or lectin-binding receptors during initial infection in the gut is still unknown. To address these questions, the migration of NEJ through rat intestine was recorded at 30 min intervals up to 150 min by two ex vivo methods. Firstly, jejunal sheets were challenged with NEJ incubated with biotinylated lectins. Secondly, untreated NEJ were incubated with distal jejunum pre-treated with lectins. Both Concanavalin A (ConA) and Galanthus nivalis (GNL), which recognize mannose-type N-glycans, significantly inhibited NEJ migration across the jejunum. Most of the lectins bound to the tegument and oral sucker of the NEJ, but only ConA and GNL maintained this interaction over 150 min. None of the lectins examined significantly reduced NEJ migration when pre-incubated with jejunal sheets, suggesting that host glycans might not be essential for initial binding/recognition of the gut by NEJ. Agents capable of blocking mannose-type N-glycans on the NEJ tegument may have potential for disrupting infection.
Time series analysis of influenza incidence in Chinese provinces from 2004 to 2011

AbstractInfluenza as a severe infectious disease has caused catastrophes throughout human history, and every pandemic of influenza has produced a great social burden. We compiled monthly data of influenza incidence from all provinces and autonomous regions in mainland China from January 2004 to December 2011, comprehensively evaluated and classified these data, and then randomly selected 4 provinces with higher incidence (Hebei, Gansu, Guizhou, and Hunan), 2 provinces with median incidence (Tianjin and Henan), 1 province with lower incidence (Shandong), using time series analysis to construct an ARIMA model, which is based on the monthly incidence from 2004 to 2011 as the training set. We exerted the X-12-ARIMA procedure for modeling due to the seasonality these data implied. Autocorrelation function (ACF), partial autocorrelation function (PACF), and automatic model selection were to determine the order of the model parameters. The optimal model was decided by a nonseasonal and seasonal moving average test. Finally, we applied this model to predict the monthly incidence of influenza in 2012 as the test set, and the simulated incidence was compared with the observed incidence to evaluate the model's validity by the criterion of both percentage variability in regression analyses (R 2) and root mean square error (RMSE). It is conceivable that SARIMA (0,1,1)(0,1,1)12 could simultaneously forecast the influenza incidence of the Hebei Province, Guizhou Province, Henan Province, and Shandong Province; SARIMA (1,0,0)(0,1,1)12 could forecast the influenza incidence in Gansu Province; SARIMA (3,1,1)(0,1,1)12 could forecast the influenza incidence in Tianjin City; and SARIMA (0,1,1)(0,0,1)12 could forecast the influenza incidence in Hunan Province. Time series analysis is a good tool for prediction of disease incidence.
Street network structure and household activity spaces

This research analyses the influence of street network structure on household travel patterns, as measured by activity spaces. The analysis uses street network and travel survey data from the Minneapolis – St. Paul (Twin Cities) and Miami – Ft. Lauderdale (South Florida) metropolitan areas. Various measures of street network structure are used to quantify street network structure. The activity space polygon for each household in the travel survey data set is identified by combining the destinations reached by all household members on the given travel day including the household location. Statistical regression models are then estimated for each study area to test the relationship between street network structure and household activity space. The results show that network structure has a significant influence on household travel patterns, after controlling for other non-network variables such as accessibility to jobs and shops, and car ownership.
Visualization techniques for circular tabletop interfaces

This paper presents visualization and layout schemes developed for a novel circular user interface designed for a round, tabletop display. Since all the displayed items are in a polar coordinate system, many interface and visualization schemes must be revisited to account for this new layout of UI elements. We discuss the direct implications of such a circular interface on document orientation. We describe two types of fisheye deformation of the circular layout and explain how to use them in a multi-person collaborative interface. These two schemes provide a general layout framework for circular interfaces. We have also designed a new visualization technique derived from the particularities of the circular layout we have highlighted. In this technique the user controls the layout of the elements of a hierarchical tree. Our approach is to provide the user rich interaction possibilities to easily and quickly produce a layout comparable to the hyperbolic view developed at Xerox PARC. The visualization work presented in this paper is part of our ongoing Personal Digital Historian (PDH) research project. The overall goal of PDH is to investigate ways to effectively and intuitively organize, navigate, browse, present and visualize digital data in an interactive multi-person conversational setting.
Wilson loop. Regge trajectory, and hadron masses in a Yang-Mills theory from semiclassical strings

We compute the one-loop string corrections to the Wilson loop, glueball Regge trajectory and stringy hadron masses in the Witten model of nonsupersymmetric, large-$N$ Yang-Mills theory. The classical string configurations corresponding to the above field theory objects are, respectively: open straight strings, folded closed spinning strings, and strings orbiting in the internal part of the supergravity background. For the rectangular Wilson loop we show that besides the standard L\"uscher term, string corrections provide a rescaling of the field theory string tension. The one-loop corrections to the linear glueball Regge trajectories render them nonlinear with a positive intercept, as in the experimental soft Pomeron trajectory. Strings orbiting in the internal space predict a spectrum of hadroniclike states charged under global flavor symmetries which falls in the same universality class of other confining models.
Subjective ratings of emotional health as a risk factor for major depression in a community sample

Background Although subjective ratings of health have been shown to be accurate predictors of physical health outcomes, there is little research on the association between subjective emotional health (SEH) and psychiatric outcomes. Method This paper utilises data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study to explore the relationship between baseline SEH and the risk for major depression in the next year. Both recurrent and incident episodes of depression are outcomes of interest. Results The age- and gender-adjusted relationship between SEH and depression is quite significant, and remains so after adjusting for other factors associated with major depression. The more positive the SEH rating, the lower the risk of an episode of depression in the next year. Conclusions Some possible explanations for this association are explored, including possible confounders that were not accounted for and the possibility that SEH ratings pose an independent risk for major depression.