Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low clinical relevance of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) in predicting fibrosis progression

Abstract Background/Aims. The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score (NAS) is a newly proposed system to grade the necroinflammatory activity in liver biopsies of NAFLD patients. This study evaluates the usefulness of the NAS in predicting clinical deterioration and fibrosis progression in NAFLD. Methods. One hundred and twenty-nine patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD were included in a long-term histological follow-up study. Clinical course and change in fibrosis stage were compared between nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), “borderline NASH,” and “not NASH” patients. Significant fibrosis progression was defined as progression of more than one fibrosis stage or development of end-stage liver disease during follow-up. Results. Eighty-eight patients accepted reevaluation and 68 underwent repeat liver biopsy. Mean time between biopsies was 13.8 ± 1.2 years (range 10.3–16.3). At baseline, NASH was diagnosed in 2 (1.6%) patients, and at follow-up, in 1 (1.5%) patient. A trend toward higher baseline NAS was seen in patients (n = 7) who developed end-stage liver disease (3.1 ± 0.9 vs. 2.2 ± 1.0; p = 0.050). Baseline NAS was associated with progressive disease in a univariate binary logistic regression analysis (p = 0.024), but no difference was seen in the multivariate analysis including the NAS, portal inflammation, and perisinusoidal fibrosis. Moreover, 18% of patients without NASH progressed significantly in fibrosis stage. Conclusions. The ability of the NAS to predict progression of NAFLD is poor. The clinical usefulness of the score is limited due to the significant overlap in clinical development between NAS score groups. To use the NAS as endpoint in treatment trial is not justified.
Effect of doublecortin on self‐renewal and differentiation in brain tumor stem cells

Analysis of microarray probe data from glioma patient samples, in conjunction with patient Kaplan–Meier survival plots, indicates that expression of a glioma suppressor gene doublecortin (DCX) favors glioma patient survival. From neurosphere formation in culture, time‐lapse microscopic video recording, and tumor xenograft, we show that DCX synthesis significantly reduces self‐renewal of brain tumor stem cells (BTSC) in human primary glioma (YU‐PG, HF66) cells from surgically removed human glioma specimens and U87 cells in vitro and in vivo. Time‐lapse microscopic video recording revealed that double transfection of YU‐PG, HF66, and U87 cells with DCX and neurabin II caused incomplete cell cycle with failure of cytokinesis, that is, endomitosis by dividing into three daughter cells from one mother BTSC. Activation of c‐jun NH2‐terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) after simvastatin (10 nM) treatment of DCX+neurabin II+ BTSC from YU‐PG, HF66, and U87 cells induced terminal differentiation into neuron‐like cells. dUTP nick end labeling data indicated that JNK1 activation also induced apoptosis only in double transfected BTSC with DCX and neurabin II, but not in single transfected BTSC from YU‐PG, HF66, and U87 cells. Western blot analysis showed that procaspase‐3 was induced after DCX transfection and activated after simvastatin treatment in YU‐PG, HF66, and U87 BTSC. Sequential immunoprecipitation and Western blot data revealed that DCX synthesis blocked protein phosphatase‐1 (PP1)/caspase‐3 protein–protein interaction and increased PP1–DCX interaction. These data show that DCX synthesis induces apoptosis in BTSC through a novel JNK1/neurabin II/DCX/PP1/caspase‐3 pathway. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 1350–1357)
“I’m Trying To Bring the Scores of My School Up, Man!" Standardized Testing, Stereotypes, and High-Performing African American Elementary School Students

This qualitative study investigated factors that produced or perpetuated standardized test-based stereotype threat effects for a group of African American children. Findings revealed 4 themes: a perception of education as strictly test preparation, test-based stress and anxiety, racial salience, and stereotypes. Implications for practice and policy are discussed. The standardized test performance of African American students has long been a serious concern and source of debate. The dominant discourse (e.g., Thernstrom & Thernstrom, 2003) largely focuses on a cultural deficit model to explain the racial test score gap. Such an explanation downplays the effect of racial stereotyping and students’ subsequent responses. Stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) refers to the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group in a particular performance domain (e.g. standardized testing), and has been shown to significantly depress the performance of African American students at all levels (McKown & Weinstein, 2003; Steele & Aronson, 1995). Given the possibility of positive intervention (e.g., Cohen, Garcia, Purdie-Vaughns, Apfel, & Brzustoski, 2009; Good, Aronson, & Inzlicht, 2003; Marx, Ko, & Friedman, 2009), a necessary next step is to examine how children experience stereotype threat. This would seem to be of particular importance when addressing potential remedies for the racial gap in standardized test scores. The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) has substantially increased the importance of standardized testing at the elementary grades (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). This has lead to an unbalanced focus on test practice material in elementary schools serving primarily African American students, and a subsequent tendency for these students to tie their identities to their test scores (Cawelti, 2006; Kozol, 2005). Steele (1997) has suggested that individuals most affected by stereotype threat are those highly identified with the domain in question. In such cases, students who are more domain-identified will not only have traditional testing concerns, but also the added pressure of not confirming a prevailing stereotype about their group. The purpose of this study was to investigate how domain-identified African American children in an urban elementary school navigate through the school year approaching the standardized test, and specifically to explore whether the standardized testing experiences of African American children in an urban elementary school are related to their stereotype
Think twice before reposting it: Promoting accountable behavior on Sina Weibo

Microblogging services, such as Sina Weibo and Twitter, provide a platform on which everyone can easily and quickly get and spread information. While the side effect is that not only valuable information spreads on the platform but also rumors. Rumors, as unconfirmed or false information, spread even faster through social networks and do much more harm to both online and offline society. Traditional technical approaches, like censorship, deleting posts and accounts cannot effectively reduce the impact caused by rumors on microblogging platforms. In this paper, we applied social translucence, a sociotechnical approach to design Sina Weibo Analysis Plug-in (SWAP), which includes a series of strategies to help users check the essential social evidences that would influence users' perceptions on microblog credibility. Our contribution is that we provide a simple and practical approach to support coherent and accountable behaviors on Sina Weibo.
Improved bioluminescence and fluorescence reconstruction algorithms using diffuse optical tomography, normalized data, and optimized selection of the permissible source region

Reconstruction algorithms are presented for two-step solutions of the bioluminescence tomography (BLT) and the fluorescence tomography (FT) problems. In the first step, a continuous wave (cw) diffuse optical tomography (DOT) algorithm is used to reconstruct the tissue optical properties assuming known anatomical information provided by x-ray computed tomography or other methods. Minimization problems are formed based on L1 norm objective functions, where normalized values for the light fluence rates and the corresponding Green’s functions are used. Then an iterative minimization solution shrinks the permissible regions where the sources are allowed by selecting points with higher probability to contribute to the source distribution. Throughout this process the permissible region shrinks from the entire object to just a few points. The optimum reconstructed bioluminescence and fluorescence distributions are chosen to be the results of the iteration corresponding to the permissible region where the objective function has its global minimum This provides efficient BLT and FT reconstruction algorithms without the need for a priori information about the bioluminescence sources or the fluorophore concentration. Multiple small sources and large distributed sources can be reconstructed with good accuracy for the location and the total source power for BLT and the total number of fluorophore molecules for the FT. For non-uniform distributed sources, the size and magnitude become degenerate due to the degrees of freedom available for possible solutions. However, increasing the number of data points by increasing the number of excitation sources can improve the accuracy of reconstruction for non-uniform fluorophore distributions.
Learning Environments and Inquiry Behaviors in Science Inquiry Learning: How Their Interplay Affects the Development of Conceptual Understanding in Physics

Studies comparing virtual and physical manipulative environments (VME and PME) in inquiry-based science learning have mostly focused on students’ learning outcomes but not on the actual processes they engage in during the learning activities. In this paper, we examined experimentation strategies in an inquiry activity and their relation to conceptual learning outcomes. We assigned college students to either use VME or PME for a goaldirected physics inquiry task on mass-spring systems. Our analysis showed that the best predictors of learning outcomes were experimental manipulations that followed a control of variable (CV) strategy, with a delay between manipulations (“systematic inquiry”). Cluster analysis of the prevalence of these manipulations per participant revealed two distinct clusters of participants, systematic inquiry or not. The systematic inquiry cluster had significantly higher learning outcomes than the less systematic one. Furthermore, the majority of the participants using the PME belonged to the more systematic cluster, while most of the participants using the VME fell into the non-systematic cluster, likely because of the specific affordances of the real and virtual equipment they were using. However, beyond this impact on inquiry process, condition had little effect. In light of these results, we argue that investigating processes displayed during learning activities, in addition to outcomes, enables us to properly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different learning environments for inquiry-based learning.
Sample Size and the Accuracy of the Generalized Lambda Distribution

The Generalized Lambda Distribution is a popular tool for generating random numbers following a wide range of non normal, asymmetric distributions. In this article, we assess the accuracy of the technique in replicating moments across a range of “sample sizes. ” We find that accuracy is highly dependent on sample size, particularly with respect to the third and fourth moments. Generally, acceptable accuracy is accomplished with no less than 2,500 observations, but this finding depends critically on the size of the fourth moment.
Corotated Finite Elements Made Fast and Stable

Multigrid finite-element solvers using the corotational formulation of finite elements provide an attractive means for the simulation of deformable bodies exhibiting linear elastic response. The separation of rigid body motions from the total element motions using purely geometric methods or polar decomposition of the deformation gradient, however, can introduce instabilities for large element rotations and deformations. Furthermore, the integration of the corotational formulation into dynamic multigrid elasticity simulations requires to continually rebuild consistent system matrices at different resolution levels. The computational load imposed by these updates prohibits the use of large numbers of finite elements at rates comparable to the small-strain finite element formulation. To overcome the first problem, we present a new method to extract the rigid body motion from total finite element displacements based on energy minimization. This results in a very stable corotational formulation that only slightly increases the computational overhead. We address the second problem by introducing a novel algorithm for computing sparse products of the form RKR T , as they have to be evaluated to update the multigrid hierarchy. By reformulating the problem into the simultaneous processing of a sequential data and control stream, cache miss penalties are significantly reduced. Even though the algorithm increases memory requirements, it accelerates the multigrid FE simulation by a factor of up to 4 compared to previous multigrid approaches. Due to the proposed improvements, finite element deformable body simulations using the corotational formulation can be performed at rates of 17 tps for up to 12k elements.
Impact on human intestinal microflora of an Enterococcus faecium probiotic and vancomycin.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of a fermented milk product containing viable Enterococcus faecium on human intestinal microflora and to evaluate any risk of development of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Twenty Danish and 20 Swedish healthy volunteers were given 150 ml of the fermented milk product once daily, equivalent to a daily dose of 4.5 x 10(9) to 7.5 x 10(9) CFU E. faecium, for 10 d. Half of the volunteers also received 125 mg vancomycin orally q.i. d. for 10 d. Faecal samples were collected on day 0 before intake, on day 10 directly after end of intake and on day 31, 3 weeks after the end of the experiment. There was a significant increase in the total number of enterococci on day 10 (p < 0.01) in the group receiving only the E. faecium supplement, but 3 weeks later the level was as before intake. In the vancomycin group, the total number of enterococci was reduced on day 10 (p < 0.01) but had increased on day 31 (p < 0.01) in relation to day 0. In none of the Swedish and 4 of the Danish volunteers, VRE were sporadically detected, but without relation to intake of the probiotic or vancomycin. In healthy young Danish individuals the VRE carrier rate tended to be higher than previously found.
Knock-Down of Cathepsin D Affects the Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Impairs Swim-Bladder Ontogenesis and Causes Premature Death in Zebrafish

The lysosomal aspartic protease Cathepsin D (CD) is ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotic organisms. CD activity is essential to accomplish the acid-dependent extensive or partial proteolysis of protein substrates within endosomal and lysosomal compartments therein delivered via endocytosis, phagocytosis or autophagocytosis. CD may also act at physiological pH on small-size substrates in the cytosol and in the extracellular milieu. Mouse and fruit fly CD knock-out models have highlighted the multi-pathophysiological roles of CD in tissue homeostasis and organ development. Here we report the first phenotypic description of the lack of CD expression during zebrafish (Danio rerio) development obtained by morpholino-mediated knock-down of CD mRNA. Since the un-fertilized eggs were shown to be supplied with maternal CD mRNA, only a morpholino targeting a sequence containing the starting ATG codon was effective. The main phenotypic alterations produced by CD knock-down in zebrafish were: 1. abnormal development of the eye and of retinal pigment epithelium; 2. absence of the swim-bladder; 3. skin hyper-pigmentation; 4. reduced growth and premature death. Rescue experiments confirmed the involvement of CD in the developmental processes leading to these phenotypic alterations. Our findings add to the list of CD functions in organ development and patho-physiology in vertebrates.
Effect of Ceramic Scaffold Architectural Parameters on Biological Response

Numerous studies have focused on the optimization of ceramic architectures to fulfill a variety of scaffold functional requirements and improve biological response. Conventional fabrication techniques, however, do not allow for the production of geometrically controlled, reproducible structures and often fail to allow the independent variation of individual geometric parameters. Current developments in additive manufacturing technologies suggest that 3D printing will allow a more controlled and systematic exploration of scaffold architectures. This more direct translation of design into structure requires a pipeline for design-driven optimization. A theoretical framework for systematic design and evaluation of architectural parameters on biological response is presented. Four levels of architecture are considered, namely (1) surface topography, (2) pore size and geometry, (3) porous networks, and (4) macroscopic pore arrangement, including the potential for spatially varied architectures. Studies exploring the effect of various parameters within these levels are reviewed. This framework will hopefully allow uncovering of new relationships between architecture and biological response in a more systematic way as well as inform future refinement of fabrication techniques to fulfill architectural necessities with a consideration of biological implications.
Appropriability, Preemption, and Firm Performance

The impact of strategies used to appropriate innovation rents on firm performance is analyzed using a sample of U.S. public manufacturing firms. Stronger appropriability at the firm level, achieved through patent protection or the ownership of specialized complementary assets, leads to superior economic performance, as measured by the stock market valuation of a firm's R&D assets. Among commonly used 'non-conventional' patent strategies, preemptive patenting allows incumbents to strengthen their market power. Consistent with theory, such effect is higher for incumbents with higher ex ante market power and facing a higher threat of entry, and lower when R&D competition is characterized by the discovery of drastic innovations.
Basestation-Aided Coverage-Aware Energy-Efficient Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor networks, an energy-efficient routing protocol is a key design factor to prolong network lifetime. Recently, Optimal Coverage-Preserving Scheme (OCoPS) is proposed in [11] as an extension of the Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) routing protocol with the coverage-preserving scheme which saves energy consumption through excluding redundant nodes of which sensing ranges are fully overlapped by their on-duty neighbors. In this paper, we propose a basestation-aided clustering-based routing protocol, namely, the Basestation-aided clustering routing protocol with the Coverage-Preserving Scheme (BCoPS). In BCoPS, the base station substitutes energy intensive tasks for deployed sensor nodes to prolong network lifetime. The performance of BCoPS is compared with the LEACH and OCoPS. The extensive simulation results show that BCoPS outperforms OCoPS by more than 20% on network lifetime and by more than 30% network lifetime until the coverage rate is higher than 80%.
Development and Initial Validation of the Willingness to Compromise Scale

This study introduced an individual difference construct of willingness to compromise and examined its implications for understanding and predicting career-related decisions in work settings. In Study 1 (N = 53), critical incidents of career decisions were analyzed to identify commonalities across different types of career-related compromises. In Study 2 (N = 171), an initial 17-item scale was developed and revised. In Study 3 (N = 201), the convergent and criterion-related validity of the scale was examined in relation to specific personality traits, regret, dealing with uncertainty, career adaptability, and a situational dilemma task. Willingness to compromise was negatively related to neuroticism, and positively related to dealing with uncertainty, openness to experience, and career adaptability; it also predicted responses to the situational dilemma task. Results provided support for the reliability and validity of the scale.
Radiosynthesis and biological evaluation of the new PDE10A radioligand [18 F]AQ28A.

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) regulates the level of the second messengers cAMP and cGMP in particular in brain regions assumed to be associated with neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. A better understanding of the pathophysiological role of the expression of PDE10A could be obtained by quantitative imaging of the enzyme by positron emission tomography (PET). Thus, in this study we developed, radiolabeled, and evaluated a new PDE10A radioligand, 8-bromo-1-(6-[18 F]fluoropyridin-3-yl)-3,4-dimethylimidazo[1,5-a]quinoxaline ([18 F]AQ28A). [18 F]AQ28A was radiolabeled by both nucleophilic bromo-to-fluoro or nitro-to-fluoro exchange using K[18 F]F-K2.2. 2 -carbonate complex with different yields. Using the superior nitro precursor, we developed an automated synthesis on a Tracerlab FX F-N module and obtained [18 F]AQ28A with high radiochemical yields (33 ± 6%) and specific activities (96-145 GBq·μmol-1 ) for further evaluation. Initially, we investigated the binding of [18 F]AQ28A to the brain of different species by autoradiography and observed the highest density of binding sites in striatum, the brain region with the highest PDE10A expression. Subsequent dynamic PET studies in mice revealed a region-specific accumulation of [18 F]AQ28A in this region, which could be blocked by preinjection of the selective PDE10A ligand MP-10. In conclusion, the data suggest [18 F]AQ28A is a suitable candidate for imaging of PDE10A in rodent brain by PET.
Activated PKCδ and PKCϵ Inhibit Epithelial Chloride Secretion Response to cAMP via Inducing Internalization of the Na+-K+-2Cl− Cotransporter NKCC1*

The basolateral Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC1) is a key determinant of transepithelial chloride secretion and dysregulation of chloride secretion is a common feature of many diseases including secretory diarrhea. We have previously shown that activation of protein kinase C (PKC) markedly reduces transepithelial chloride secretion in human colonic T84 cells, which correlates with both functional inhibition and loss of the NKCC1 surface expression. In the present study, we defined the specific roles of PKC isoforms in regulating epithelial NKCC1 and chloride secretion utilizing adenoviral vectors that express shRNAs targeting human PKC isoforms (α, δ, ϵ) (shPKCs) or LacZ (shLacZ, non-targeting control). After 72 h of adenoviral transduction, protein levels of the PKC isoforms in shPKCs-T84 cells were decreased by ∼90% compared with the shLacZ-control. Activation of PKCs by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) caused a redistribution of NKCC1 immunostaining from the basolateral membrane to intracellular vesicles in both shLacZ- and shPKCα-T84 cells, whereas the effect of PMA was not observed in shPKCδ- and shPKCϵ- cells. These results were further confirmed by basolateral surface biotinylation. Furthermore, activation of PKCs by PMA inhibited cAMP-stimulated chloride secretion in the uninfected, shLacZ- and shPKCα-T84 monolayers, but the inhibitory effect was significantly attenuated in shPKCδ- and shPKCϵ-T84 monolayers. In conclusion, the activated novel isoforms PKCδ or PKCϵ, but not the conventional isoform PKCα, inhibits transepithelial chloride secretion through inducing internalization of the basolateral surface NKCC1. Our study reveals that the novel PKC isoform-regulated NKCC1 surface expression plays an important role in the regulation of chloride secretion.