Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth Hormone-Releasing Peptide 6 Enhances the Healing Process and Improves the Esthetic Outcome of the Wounds

In addition to its cytoprotective effects, growth hormone-releasing peptide 6 (GHRP-6) proved to reduce liver fibrotic induration. CD36 as one of the GHRP-6 receptors appears abundantly represented in cutaneous wounds granulation tissue. The healing response in a scenario of CD36 agonistic stimulation had not been previously investigated. Excisional full-thickness wounds (6 mmØ) were created in the dorsum of Wistar rats and topically treated twice a day for 5 days. The universal model of rabbit's ears hypertrophic scars was implemented and the animals were treated daily for 30 days. Treatments for both species were based on a CMC jelly composition containing GHRP-6 400 μg/mL. Wounds response characterization included closure dynamic, RT-PCR transcriptional profile, histology, and histomorphometric procedures. The rats experiment indicated that GHRP-6 pharmacodynamics involves attenuation of immunoinflammatory mediators, their effector cells, and the reduction of the expression of fibrotic cytokines. Importantly, in the hypertrophic scars rabbit's model, GHRP-6 intervention dramatically reduced the onset of exuberant scars by activating PPARγ and reducing the expression of fibrogenic cytokines. GHRP-6 showed no effect on the reversion of consolidated lesions. This evidence supports the notion that CD36 is an active and pharmacologically approachable receptor to attenuate wound inflammation and accelerate its closure so as to improve wound esthetic.
Investigation of chromium, cerium and cobalt as markers in digesta. Rate of passage studies.

A new liquid marker, cobalt-ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), and two solid markers, chromium (Cr) and cerium (Ce) mordanted plant cell walls, were investigated. Synthesis and methods of analysis are described for the markers. The Cr- and Ce-cell wall complexes were tested for stability to EDTA, hydrochloric acid and rumen microorganisms. Plant cell walls were rendered indigestible by mordanting with Cr and 98% of the marker remained on the fibre after a simulated sequence (in vitro) of digestion. Ce-mordanted cell walls were 35% digestible in vitro using a rumen culture, and 56% of the marker could be washed off the remaining fibre. Treatment with EDTA removed all Ce and 15% of the Cr. Hydrochloric acid (0.01M) had a negligible effect on the removal of Cr from the cell walls, whereas 0.1M acid removed, on average, 10% of the marker. Losses of Cr from the mordant may be related to the quality of the preparation. Co-EDTA was found to be comparable to Cr-EDTA. The urinary excretion of Cr and Co was 2–3% in most animals except in rabbits, which excreted as much as 30% of the liquid markers in the urine.
Characterization of the Histone H1-binding Protein, NASP, as a Cell Cycle-regulated Somatic Protein*

Nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP), initially described as a highly autoimmunogenic testis and sperm-specific protein, is a histone-binding protein that is a homologue of the N1/N2 gene expressed in oocytes of Xenopus laevis. Here, we report a somatic form of NASP (sNASP) present in all mitotic cells examined, including mouse embryonic cells and several mouse and human tissue culture cell lines. Affinity chromatography and histone isolation demonstrate that NASP from myeloma cells is complexed only with H1, linker histones. Somatic NASP is a shorter version of testicular NASP (tNASP) with two deletions in the coding region arising from alternative splicing and differs from tNASP in its 5′ untranslated regions. We examined the relationship between NASP mRNA expression and the cell cycle and report that in cultures of synchronized mouse 3T3 cells and HeLa cells sNASP mRNA levels increase during S-phase and decline in G2, concomitant with histone mRNA levels. NASP protein levels remain stable in these cells but become undetectable in confluent cultures of nondividing CV-1 cells and in nonmitotic cells in various body tissues. Expression of sNASP mRNA is regulated during the cell cycle and, consistent with a role as a histone transport protein, NASP mRNA expression parallels histone mRNA expression.
Planting Cedar: An Open Source Linked Data Vocabulary Manager at the University of Houston Libraries

Abstract This article describes the rationale for creating and maintaining Cedar, a linked data controlled vocabulary management system for the University of Houston (UH) Libraries, including the systems that support and extend its functionality. It also discusses the design process for Cedar, its interfaces, the vocabulary generation and management process, and how Cedar is utilized by UH Libraries systems and workflows. The article concludes with a discussion of issues encountered during application development, questions remaining to be answered around establishing policies for local term creation, lessons learned, and future plans for Cedar use and development.
Type IV Secretion System of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ehrlichia chaffeensis

The intracellular bacterial pathogens Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum have evolved to infect leukocytes and hijack biological compounds and processes of these host defensive cells. Bacterial type IV secretion (T4S) system transports macromolecules across the membrane in an ATP‐dependent manner and is increasingly recognized as a virulence factor delivery mechanism that allows pathogens to modulate eukaryotic cell functions for their own benefit. Genes encoding T4S system homologous to those of a plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens have been identified in E. chaffeensis and A. phagocytophilum. Upon interaction with new host cells, E. chaffeensis and A. phagocytophilum genes encoding the T4S apparatus are upregulated. The delivered macromolecules are referred to as T4S substrates, or effectors, because they affect and alter basic host cellular processes, resulting in disease development. Recently, A. phagocytophilum 160‐kDa AnkA protein was to be delivered by T4S system into the host cytoplasm. Thus, dynamic signal transduction events are likely induced by T4S substrates in the host cells for successful establishment of intracellular infection. Further studies on Ehrlichia and Anaplasma T4S effectors cognate host cell molecules will undoubtedly advance our understanding of the complex interplay between obligatory intracellular pathogens and their hosts. Such data can be applied toward treatment, diagnosis, and control of ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis.
Oxford Review of Education ,

This paper proposes a multilevel modelling approach to the analysis of social segregation in schools. Using data on free school meal eligibility it shows that the underlying variation between schools for the period 1994–1999 has increased. It also shows that the change is greater for selective than non-selective local education authorities (LEAs). It is suggested that the approach of this paper can be applied generally to the modelling of social segregation at institution level.
Distributions of Habitat Suitability and the Abundance‐Occupancy Relationship

Positive abundance‐occupancy relationships (a relationship between the number of sites a species occupies and the average density of individuals in occupied sites) are widespread through a range of taxa. The simplest model for this is the “vital rates” model, which proposes that habitat suitability varies spatially; increasing average habitat quality thus leads to simultaneous increases in average densities within occupied areas, as well as the total area that is habitable. This model has not been tested. We develop a general analytical version of this model and show that it predicts that the skewness of population size or aggregation of individuals within sites should vary systematically with density and occupancy, depending on the distribution of habitat suitability, and that the variance in occupancy should be highest at low densities. We compare these predictions with data from the British Trust for Ornithology’s Common Birds Census, and we find systematic changes in both variance and skewness of density, both intra‐ and interspecifically.
Benign-malignant mass classification in mammogram using edge weighted local texture features

This paper introduces novel Discriminative Robust Local Binary Pattern (DRLBP) and Discriminative Robust Local Ternary Pattern (DRLTP) for the classification of mammographic masses as benign or malignant. Mass is one of the common, however, challenging evidence of breast cancer in mammography and diagnosis of masses is a difficult task. Since DRLBP and DRLTP overcome the drawbacks of Local Binary Pattern (LBP) and Local Ternary Pattern (LTP) by discriminating a brighter object against the dark background and vice-versa, in addition to the preservation of the edge information along with the texture information, several edge-preserving texture features are extracted, in this study, from DRLBP and DRLTP. Finally, a Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis method is incorporated with discriminating features, selected by stepwise logistic regression method, for the classification of benign and malignant masses. The performance characteristics of DRLBP and DRLTP features are evaluated using a ten-fold cross-validation technique with 58 masses from the mini-MIAS database, and the best result is observed with DRLBP having an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.982.
The Drosophila neurogenin Tap functionally interacts with the Wnt-PCP pathway to regulate neuronal extension and guidance

The neurogenin (Ngn) transcription factors control early neurogenesis and neurite outgrowth in mammalian cortex. In contrast to their proneural activity, their function in neurite growth is poorly understood. Drosophila has a single predicted Ngn homolog, Tap, of unknown function. Here we show that Tap is not a proneural protein in Drosophila but is required for proper axonal growth and guidance of neurons of the mushroom body, a neuropile required for associative learning and memory. Genetic and expression analyses suggest that Tap inhibits excessive axonal growth by fine regulation of the levels of the Wnt signaling adaptor protein Dishevelled. Summary: Mammalian neurogenins are proneural factors, but the Drosophila homolog Tap is not, instead acting to prevent axonal outgrowth, likely by regulating the planar cell polarity pathway via Dishevelled.
Adaptive Gaussian predictive process models for large spatial datasets

Large point referenced datasets occur frequently in the environmental and natural sciences. Use of Bayesian hierarchical spatial models for analyzing these datasets is undermined by onerous computational burdens associated with parameter estimation. Low‐rank spatial process models attempt to resolve this problem by projecting spatial effects to a lower‐dimensional subspace. This subspace is determined by a judicious choice of ‘knots’ or locations that are fixed a priori. One such representation yields a class of predictive process models (e.g., Banerjee et al., 2008) for spatial and spatial‐temporal data. Our contribution here expands upon predictive process models with fixed knots to models that accommodate stochastic modeling of the knots. We view the knots as emerging from a point pattern and investigate how such adaptive specifications can yield more flexible hierarchical frameworks that lead to automated knot selection and substantial computational benefits. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Patterns of diversity, endemism and specialization in the root symbiont communities of alder species on the island of Corsica.

We investigated whether the diversity, endemicity and specificity of alder symbionts could be changed by isolation in a Mediterranean glacial refugium. We studied both ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi and nitrogen-fixing actinobacteria associated with alders, and compared their communities in Corsica and on the European continent. Nodules and root tips were sampled on the three alder species present in Corsica and continental France and Italy. Phylogenies based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and a multilocus sequence analysis approach were used to characterize fungal and Frankia species, respectively. Patterns of diversity, endemism and specialization were compared between hosts and regions for each symbiont community. In Corsica, communities were not generally richer than on the mainland. The species richness per site depended mainly on host identity: Alnus glutinosa and Alnus cordata hosted richer Frankia and EM communities, respectively. Half of the Frankia species were endemic to Corsica against only 4% of EM species. Corsica is not a hotspot of diversity for all alder symbionts but sustains an increased frequency of poor-dispersers such as hypogeous fungi. Generalist EM fungi and host-dependent profusely sporulating (Sp+) Frankia were abundantly associated with Corsican A. cordata, a pattern related to a more thermophilic and xerophylic climate and to the co-occurrence with other host trees.
Analysis of microangiography images using optical coherence tomography

In this paper, we present an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) processing system to in vivo imaging of vascular remodeling of the skin. The main processing steps consist of vascular segmentation and vascular reconstruction. Firstly, image preprocessing algorithms, i. e. , image enhancememt with mean filter and de-shadowing by projection-based strategies, are proposed for vascular segmentation. Then, morphological operators are employed to build a basic outline of vessels maps. Finally, the three-dimensional (3D) image of outlines is reconstructed and vessel diameter and capillary density is extracted for early diagnosis of microvascular disease. The results also show that the microcirculation maps of the skin can be generated by the proposed scheme successfully.
A new way for underwater acoustic signal analysis: The morphological filtering

This study presents an innovative way for underwater acoustic signal analysis. It is based on multi-directional filters implementation on time-frequency representation, where each filter is designed to enhance a given direction on the time-frequency plane. To do so, the proposed technique processes the time-frequency plane by taking into account the actual atom and its neighborhood for each direction, up to a given distance. Thus, such an approach emphases information about signal directional features into the time-frequency plane. Derivation of the technique relies first on the use of a recursive algorithm which estimates noise level. Then, after establishing filters responses for one direction, the design method is extended to all-direction, leading to the morphological filtering, which allows specific morphological feature patterns detection from the time-frequency plane. This paper finally presents experimentations on real underwater acoustic recordings to show performances obtained with this technique when objective is SNR enhancement and acoustic signature features preservation.
Design of Spin-Torque Transfer Magnetoresistive RAM and CAM/TCAM with High Sensing and Search Speed

With a great scalability potential, nonvolatile magnetoresistive memory with spin-torque transfer (STT) programming has become a topic of great current interest. This paper addresses cell structure design for STT magnetoresistive RAM, content addressable memory (CAM) and ternary CAM (TCAM). We propose a new RAM cell structure design that can realize high speed and reliable sensing operations in the presence of relatively poor magnetoresistive ratio, while maintaining low sensing current through magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs). We further apply the same basic design principle to develop new cell structures for nonvolatile CAM, and TCAM. The effectiveness of the proposed RAM, CAM and TCAM cell structures has been demonstrated by circuit simulation at 0.18 ¿m CMOS technology.
Exchange Market Pressure on the Croatian Kuna

Currency crises exert strong pressure on currencies often causing costly economic adjustment. A measure of exchange market pressure (EMP) gauges the severity of such tensions. Measuring EMP is important for monetary authorities that manage exchange rates. It is also relevant in academic research that studies currency crises. A precise EMP measure is therefore important and this paper re-examines the measurement of EMP on the Croatian kuna. It improves it by considering intervention data and thresholds that account for the EMP distribution. It also tests the robustness of weights. A discussion of the results demonstrates a modest improvement over the previous measure and concludes that the new EMP on the Croatian kuna should be used in future research.
STS-UHH at SemEval-2017 Task 1: Scoring Semantic Textual Similarity Using Supervised and Unsupervised Ensemble

This paper reports the STS-UHH participation in the SemEval 2017 shared Task 1 of Semantic Textual Similarity (STS). Overall, we submitted 3 runs covering monolingual and cross-lingual STS tracks. Our participation involves two approaches: unsupervised approach, which estimates a word alignment-based similarity score, and supervised approach, which combines dependency graph similarity and coverage features with lexical similarity measures using regression methods. We also present a way on ensembling both models. Out of 84 submitted runs, our team best multi-lingual run has been ranked 12th in overall performance with correlation of 0.61, 7th among 31 participating teams.
Comparison of HIV/AIDS-Specific Quality of Life Change in Zimbabwean Patients at Western Medicine Versus Traditional African Medicine Care Sites

Context:The rollout of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for the 25 million sub-Saharan Africans living with HIV/AIDS has been hampered by the lack of a western medical infrastructure. Given limited infrastructure, many Africans seek and receive HIV care from traditional African healers. This reality calls for culturally sensitive approaches to ART rollout that make use of local alternative health care providers, and an assessment of the potential quality of life (QOL) benefits of traditional African care (TAC) is imperative. Objective:To examine changes in self-reported health status resulting from TAC and western medical care (WC). Design, Setting, and Patients:QOL in 254 consecutively sampled Zimbabwean patients seeking care at TAC and WC sites was assessed over 1 month. Main Outcome Measures:Shona translations of the HIV/AIDS-targeted QOL instrument and Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey. Results:After adjustment for baseline QOL scores and variables that differed across care sites, all dimensions of both instruments revealed QOL improvements only in the 155 (61%) patients from TAC sites when compared with the 99 (39%) patients from WC sites. These improvements were significant (P ≤ 0.01) for the HIV/AIDS-targeted QOL instrument dimensions of overall function, health worries, illness mastery, medication worries, and provider trust, and for the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey dimensions of general health perceptions, physical function, role function, pain, health distress, and energy/fatigue (range of regression coefficients, 10.0-18.3). Conclusions:Patients from TAC versus WC sites demonstrated significantly greater health status improvement across the majority of QOL dimensions assessed over 1 month. Though these data are from 1 rural community and capture only 1 month of disease progression, they strongly suggest that the potential benefit of integrating TAC sites in ART rollout programs-particularly in resource-poor settings-may go well beyond cultural sensitivity to impact on health itself and the likely related issues of ART adherence.
Extracting Semantic Frames using hfst-pmatch

We use hfst-pmatch (Linden et al., 2013), a pattern-matching tool mimicking and extending Xerox fst (Karttunen, 2011), for demonstrating how to develop a semantic frame extractor. We select a FrameNet (Baker et al., 1998) frame and write shallowly syntactic pattern-matching rules based on part-of-speech information and morphology from either a morphological automaton or tagged text.
Head-to-Head Comparison of the RNA-Based Aptima Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Assay and the DNA-Based Hybrid Capture 2 HPV Test in a Routine Screening Population of Women Aged 30 to 60 Years in Germany

ABSTRACT Testing for E6/E7 mRNA in cells infected with high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) might improve the specificity of HPV testing for the identification of cervical precancerous lesions. Here we compared the RNA-based Aptima HPV (AHPV) assay (Hologic) and the DNA-based Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) HPV test (Qiagen) to liquid-based cytology (LBC) for women undergoing routine cervical screening. A total of 10,040 women, 30 to 60 years of age, were invited to participate in the study, 9,451 of whom were included in the analysis. Specimens were tested centrally by LBC, the AHPV test, and the HC2 test, and women who tested positive on any test were referred for colposcopy. Genotyping was performed on all HR-HPV-positive samples. Test characteristics were calculated based on histological review. As a result, we identified 90 women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2+ (CIN2+), including 43 women with CIN3+. Sensitivity differences between the AHPV test and the HC2 test in detecting CIN2+ (P = 0.180) or CIN3+ (P = 0.0625) lesions were statistically nonsignificant. Of three CIN3 cases that were missed with the AHPV test, two cases presented lesion-free cones and one had a non-HR HPV67 infection. The specificity (<CIN2) and positive predictive value (CIN2+) of the AHPV test were significantly higher (both P < 0.001) than those of the HC2 test. The overall agreement between the tests was substantial (κ = 0.77). Finally, we present results for several possible triage strategies, based on the primary screening test being either the AHPV test or the HC2 test. In summary, the AHPV assay is both specific and sensitive for the detection of high-grade precancerous lesions and may be used in primary cervical cancer screening for women ≥30 years of age.