Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Osthole Stimulated Neural Stem Cells Differentiation into Neurons in an Alzheimer's Disease Cell Model via Upregulation of MicroRNA-9 and Rescued the Functional Impairment of Hippocampal Neurons in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most serious neurodegenerative disease worldwide and is characterized by progressive cognitive impairment and multiple neurological changes, including neuronal loss in the brain. However, there are no available drugs to delay or cure this disease. Consequently, neuronal replacement therapy may be a strategy to treat AD. Osthole (Ost), a natural coumarin derivative, crosses the blood-brain barrier and exerts strong neuroprotective effects against AD in vitro and in vivo. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have demonstrated a crucial role in pathological processes of AD, implying that targeting miRNAs could be a therapeutic approach to AD. In the present study, we investigated whether Ost could enhance cell viability and prevent cell death in amyloid precursor protein (APP)-expressing neural stem cells (NSCs) as well as promote APP-expressing NSCs differentiation into more neurons by upregulating microRNA (miR)-9 and inhibiting the Notch signaling pathway in vitro. In addition, Ost treatment in APP/PS1 double transgenic (Tg) mice markedly restored cognitive functions, reduced Aβ plague production and rescued functional impairment of hippocampal neurons. The results of the present study provides evidence of the neurogenesis effects and neurobiological mechanisms of Ost against AD, suggesting that Ost is a promising drug for treatment of AD or other neurodegenerative diseases.
From human-computer interaction to cognitive infocommunications: A cognitive science perspective

In recent years virtual reality, augmented reality, wearables, and deep learning became more and more widely used. Thus emerged a new challenge for human-computer interface design: understanding the human user. In the current work, I describe four areas of understanding, which are human behavior, human limits, human needs and human cognition. These together form the basis of a new way of interaction between computers and us. A way where collaboration replaces commands; where respect of each other's limits is emphasized over limitless freedom; user interfaces become - dynamic and responsive instead of static and unaware; and self-explaining design instead of user guides. I will discuss how these factors are dependent on each other and work as an integrated whole to revolutionize interfaces. I'm presenting this work from a cognitive scientific point of view, which focuses on the human factor in information and communications technology and uses quantitative methods to analyze behavior, limits, needs, and cognition.
The realization of circulation performance using reciprocal metamaterial in free space

In this letter, magnetless reciprocal metamaterials are used to realize the circulation performance in free space. The metamaterials we used in the paper are ideal phase gradient metasurfaces, which is realized by different materials with different index of refraction. The anomalous refraction feature of the phase gradient metasurface is utilized to realize circulation characteristics. In free space, three metasurfaces array in 60 degree angle from each other. With the help of metamaterial, the EM (electromagnetic) wave is refracted in special direction instead of other directions. So some areas have EM wave in strong intensity, while other areas do not. That makes the circulation performance. This work can reduce the weight and is compatible with integrated circuit technologies. Moreover, it is also insensitive to temperature. The circulator provides a way to overcome the major drawbacks of the traditional circulators. The workhas potential value in the future.
Impact of Cytomegalovirus Disease in D+/R– Kidney Transplant Patients Receiving 6 Months Low‐Dose Valganciclovir Prophylaxis

Late‐onset cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease remains common in CMV serology naïve kidney transplant patients of CMV serology positive organs (D+/R–) despite the use of antiviral prophylaxis. We studied clinical efficacy of 6‐month low‐dose valganciclovir (VGCV) prophylaxis, risk factors for late‐onset CMV disease and its impact on kidney transplant outcomes. Between October 2005 and December 2009, 166 consecutive D+/R– kidney alone and simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant patients received VGCV 450 mg daily for 6 months after transplantation. After a median follow‐up of 3.2 years, 30 cases of CMV disease occurred within the first 2 years after transplantation with a cumulative incidence of 11.5 and 18.1% at 1 and 2 years, respectively. The use of an induction agent with rabbit antithymocyte globulin and older donor age were factors associated with the risk of late‐onset CMV disease (AHR 2.91, 95% CI 1.18–7.20, p = 0.021 and AHR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.06, p = 0.016, respectively). Late‐onset CMV disease was associated with increased risk for death‐uncensored graft loss (AHR 2.95, 95% CI 1.15–7.61, p = 0.025). In conclusion, late‐onset CMV disease continues to negatively impact kidney transplant outcome despite 6‐month low‐dose VGCV prophylaxis. Investigations focusing on novel preventive approaches should be emphasized.
Capital gatekeeping or community advocacy: A qualitative study of diversity college admission professionals' perspectives of college access in a local urban context

Race/ethnicity plays an important role in college access for urban students of color. This study explores how race/ethnicity influences college admission policies and practices, which, in turn, impacts college access. The main research question is how institutions of higher education, specifically diversity college admission professionals (DCAPs), play a crucial role in college access for local underrepresented students of color in a northeast local city school district. Using a descriptive study design, I utilize cultural capital theory and critical race theory in a combined theoretical framework to analyze the DCAPs’ narratives. The present study is a qualitative look at DCAPs’ perspectives of the interplay between sociocultural context, cultural capital, and institutional race-conscious admissions policies that impacts college access. Findings show that DCAPs are an authority on college access and have a unique perspective on local diversity recruitment and college access outreach. The DCAPs’ cultural habitus of “critical gatekeeping advocates” portrays their narrative as bicultural middle managers in college admissions. Although DCAPs are concerned about admitting students of color, they are constrained by socio-racial stratification in the P-16 educational system. Furthermore, college admission perpetuates the cultural capital and racialization in higher education. Through sharing the DCAPs’ recommendations for improving college access, I discuss ways to develop policy, programming, and praxis to promote college access and institutional diversity initiatives. The implications of the current research study will further inform how college admission impacts the college access gap.
An improved model for optimal under voltage load shedding: particle swarm approach

Under voltage load shedding is one of the most important tools to avoid voltage instability. In this paper an optimal load shedding algorithm is developed. This approach is based on the concept of the static voltage stability margin and its sensitivity value at the maximum loading point or the collapse point. The traditional load shedding objective is extended to incorporate both technical and economical effects of load shedding. The voltage stability criterion is modeled as a soft constraint into load shedding scheme. The proposed methodology is implemented over the IEEE14 bus system and solved using a mathematical (GAMS/CONOPT) and two heuristic (P.S.O & GA) methods
Isolation of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the New Zealand endemic sand-binder, Ficinia spiralis (Cyperaceae)1

Premise of the study: Ficinia spiralis (Cyperaceae) is a declining sand-binding sedge of ecological and cultural importance. Microsatellite primers were developed in F. spiralis to investigate how population genetic structure is related to the pronounced morphological, physiological, and ecological variation observed in this species. Methods and Results: A 454 shotgun-sequencing approach was used to generate 157,274 raw sequence reads, 536 of which contained microsatellites. After initial primer testing for 40 loci, 14 polymorphic loci were isolated, containing five to 27 alleles per locus. Ten of these loci also amplified in a congener, F. nodosa. Conclusions: These loci will enable the assessment of the population genetic structure of F. spiralis, improving our understanding of the population processes underlying the observed morphological, physiological, and ecological variation in this endemic species. As the first microsatellites developed in Ficinia, these loci are a valuable resource for population genetic studies within this genus.
Quantitative assessment of apoptotic and proliferative gingival keratinocytes in oral and sulcular epithelium in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis.

BACKGROUND Periodontal disease is caused by a chronic infection inducing an inflammatory reaction that leads to a breakdown of tooth-supporting tissue. The maintenance of an equilibrium between the host defence and microorganisms in the sulcus is essential to preserve health. All multicellular organisms have mechanisms for killing their own cells, and use physiological cell death for defence, development, homeostasis and ageing. Apoptosis and proliferation are very important phenomena in regulating this and a disturbance is often associated with disease e.g. cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine whether the number of apoptotic and proliferative gingival keratinocytes differed between patients with gingivitis and those with periodontitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The distribution of neutrophil elastase, PCNA/cyclin, DNA fragmentation (apoptosis) and p53 was determined with immunocytochemical techniques. We used paraffin-embedded sections from gingival biopsies and did quantitative analyses. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION These showed that 5-12% of the keratinocytes in the basal layers of the epithelium proliferated in the two groups. Fewer apoptotic cells were seen in the oral epithelium than in the sulcus in all subjects in both groups. Only in the most apical part of the sulcus, close to the junctional epithelium, did the number of apoptotic keratinocytes exceed the proliferative ones in patients with periodontitis.
Validation of the interleukin‐10 knockout mouse model of colitis: antitumour necrosis factor‐antibodies suppress the progression of colitis

Advances in understanding pathogenesis and developing new therapies are hastened by the use of effective animal models of disease. In inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease, a variety of models have been used, including the IL‐10 knockout mouse. However, in order to be truly valuable, the models need to respond to existing therapy in a way which resembles the human disease. In the light of recent developments, in which refractory Crohn's disease responds well to anti‐TNF antibody therapy, we set out to validate the IL‐10 knockout model of Crohn's disease by examining its response to anti‐TNF therapy. We developed a new scoring system for IL‐10 knockout mice, similar to the Crohn's Disease Activity Index in humans, analysed stool samples for cytokines and compared the findings with histology. We found that anti‐TNF antibody therapy starting at 4 weeks markedly ameliorated the disease, as judged by the clinical score or by histological analysis of the gut. Furthermore, analysis of stool samples for cytokines revealed a marked diminution of inflammatory cytokines, adding a further accurate measure of the improvement. This model may thus be useful for evaluating other therapeutic modalities of relevance to Crohn's disease.
Physical activity resources and changes in walking in a cohort of older men.

OBJECTIVES We evaluated the influence of physical activity resources and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) on walking among community-dwelling older men. METHODS Participants reported time walked per day at baseline (2000-2002) and follow-up. Residential addresses were linked to a geographic information system database to assess proximity to parks, trails, and recreational facilities. Log-binomial regression analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis that men living near physical activity resources were more likely to increase or maintain time walked. RESULTS Average time walked per day declined by 6 minutes between baseline and follow-up (P < .05). There was a significant interaction of neighborhood SES and physical activity with walking time (P < .1). Proximity to parks and proximity to trails, respectively, were associated with a 22% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01, 1.47) and 34% (95% CI = 1.16, 1.55) higher likelihood of maintaining or increasing walking time in high-SES neighborhoods, but there was no association in low-SES neighborhoods. Proximity to recreational facilities was not associated with walking. CONCLUSIONS Uncovering reasons that proximity to parks and trails is not associated with maintenance of walking activity among men in low-SES neighborhoods could provide new insight into ways to promote physical activity.
TNF-α Is a Critical Effector and a Target for Therapy in Antiphospholipid Antibody-Induced Pregnancy Loss1

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by recurrent fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction, and vascular thrombosis in the presence of antiphospholipid (aPL) Abs. Our studies in a murine model of APS induced by passive transfer of human aPL Abs have shown that activation of complement and recruitment of neutrophils into decidua are required for fetal loss, and emphasize the importance of inflammation in aPL Ab-induced pregnancy loss. In this study, we examine the role of TNF-α in pregnancy complications associated with aPL Abs in a murine model of APS. We show that aPL Abs are specifically targeted to decidual tissue and cause a rapid increase in decidual and systemic TNF-α levels. We identify the release of TNF-α as a critical intermediate that acts downstream of C5 activation, based on the fetal protective effects of TNF-α deficiency and TNF blockade and on the absence of increased TNF-α levels in C5-deficient mice treated with aPL Abs. Our results suggest that TNF-α links pathogenic aPL Abs to fetal damage and identify TNF blockade as a potential therapy for the pregnancy complications of APS.
Height, weight, and body mass index of elderly persons in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND In Taiwan, distributions of body composition are usually generated for children, adolescent, and middle-aged groups. This study describes three anthropometric measures (i.e., height, weight, and body mass index [BMI]) of elderly persons in Taiwan. METHODS The data was derived from a prospective cross-sectional, population-based geriatric survey funded by the National Department of Health in Taiwan in 1991. A total of 2,600 subjects were successfully evaluated. A descriptive analysis was performed to generate distributions of height, weight, and BMI of elderly persons. Based on these descriptive data, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was estimated, and a cross-national comparison on the prevalence of obesity was made. RESULTS Age-group-specific means and standard deviations for height, weight, and BMI of Taiwanese elderly persons were presented. By gender, the elderly men were taller and heavier than the elderly women: however, the women had a higher mean value of BMI (kg/m2). The prevalence of overweight was 27.3% in men and 34.9% in women; the prevalence of obesity was 3.2% in men and 6.4% in women. The prevalence of obesity for the elderly men and women in Taiwan was lower than in Kuwait, Sweden, the United States, and the Native Americans, but higher than in Japan. CONCLUSIONS The comparison indicates cross-cultural differences existing in the prevalence of obesity, which may be due to aging, nutritional status, or environmental factors. For future research, the relationship of anthropometric data to socioeconomic status and behavioral factors will be examined.
An interface compositional framework for data flow-oriented analysis and design

Efforts have been expanded to formulate guidelines for application of analysis and design principles, draw on the many successes in specifying large-scale projects, and provide many "cures" to the commonly encountered problems. Educators and professionals have recognized viewpoint-based analysis as a powerful means to support the requirements analysis process. This paper reports on an initiative to draw closer viewpoint analysis and data flow based methods. This has been a topic of significant interest to us in that a viewpoint approach is by far superior than its data flow counterpart to requirements discovery and gathering for medium or large size student projects. This paper describes a framework in an attempt to: (1) bridge the gap between viewpoint-based requirements analysis and the computational aspects of data flow oriented models; and (2) provide a systematic approach for effective structuring and managing complexity in the system under consideration. These goals have been achieved by introducing a more generalized notion of viewpoints, called interfaces, and their compositions. The adequacy of the framework and its implementation are presented.
Psychosocial Considerations in Occupational Therapy Treatment for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury: A Survey

ABSTRACT The psychosocial factors of coping, locus of control, and self-efficacy have been shown to be associated positively with real-world outcomes following acquired brain injury (ABI), although to our knowledge there are no studies investigating whether occupational therapists address these factors in practice. This study used on-line survey methodology to investigate whether Canadian occupational therapists working in ABI rehabilitation were addressing these factors in their practice. Of 151 respondents, the majority reported being able to explain the factors to clients and that they and/or their team members were incorporating them into clinical practice. Participants also provided examples that were analyzed for common themes. The majority of examples of how these factors were incorporated into practice were implicit in nature. Further education regarding these factors may be warranted as only 25% of the respondents reported learning about these factors in their occupational therapy education.
Amyloid Precursor Protein Mediates Proinflammatory Activation of Monocytic Lineage Cells*

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by extracellular deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide containing neuritic plaques. Aβ peptides are proteolytically derived from the membrane-bound amyloid precursor protein (APP). Although the function of APP is not entirely clear, previous studies demonstrate that neuronal APP colocalizes with β1 integrin receptors at sites of focal adhesion, suggesting that APP is involved in mediating neuronal process adhesion. Integrin-dependent adhesion is also a well-characterized component of immune cell proinflammatory activation. Using primary mouse microglia and the human monocytic cell line, THP-1, we have begun investigating the role of APP in integrin-dependent activation. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrate that APP is recruited into a multi-receptor signaling complex during β1 integrin-mediated adhesion of monocytes. Stimulation induces a subsequent, specific recruitment of tyrosine phosphorylated proteins to APP, including Lyn and Syk. Antibody cross-linking of cell surface APP leads to a similar response characterized by activation and recruitment of tyrosine kinases to APP as well as subsequent activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and increased proinflammatory protein levels. These data demonstrate that APP can act as a proinflammatory receptor in monocytic lineage cells and provide insight into the contribution of this protein to the inflammatory conditions described in Alzheimer's disease.
Transition from a nucleosome-based to a protamine-based chromatin configuration during spermiogenesis in Drosophila

In higher organisms, the chromatin of sperm is organised in a highly condensed protamine-based structure. In pre-meiotic stages and shortly after meiosis, histones carry multiple modifications. Here, we focus on post-meiotic stages and show that also after meiosis, histone H3 shows a high overall methylation of K9 and K27 and we hypothesise that these modifications ensure maintenance of transcriptional silencing in the haploid genome. Furthermore, we show that histones are lost during the early canoe stage and that just before this stage, hyper-acetylation of histone H4 and mono-ubiquitylation of histone H2A occurs. We believe that these histone modifications within the histone-based chromatin architecture may lead to better access of enzymes and chromatin remodellers. This notion is supported by the presence of the architectural protein CTCF, numerous DNA breaks, SUMO, UbcD6 and high content of ubiquitin, as well as testes-specific nuclear proteasomes at this time. Moreover, we report the first transition protein-like chromosomal protein, Tpl94D, to be found in Drosophila. We propose that Tpl94D – an HMG box protein – and the numerous DNA breaks facilitate chromatin unwinding as a prelude to protamine and Mst77F deposition. Finally, we show that histone modifications and removal are independent of protamine synthesis.
Average-intensity reconstruction and Wiener reconstruction of bioelectric current distribution based on its estimated covariance matrix

Proposes two methods for reconstructing current distributions from biomagnetic measurements. Both of these methods are based on estimating the source-current covariance matrix from the measured-data covariance matrix. One method is the reconstruction of average current intensity distributions. This method first estimates the source-current covariance matrix and, using its diagonal terms, it reconstructs current intensity distributions averaged over a certain time. Although the method does not reconstruct the orientation of each current element at each time instant, it can retrieve information regarding the current time-averaged intensity at each voxel location using extremely low SNR data. The second method is Wiener reconstruction using the estimated source-current covariance matrix. Unlike the first method, this Wiener reconstruction can provide a current distribution with its orientation at each time instant. Computer simulation shows that the Wiener method is less affected by the choice of the regularization parameter, resulting in a method that is more effective than the conventional minimum-norm method when the SNR of the measurement is low. <<ETX>>