Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neutrophil Transmigration under Shear Flow Conditions In Vitro Is Junctional Adhesion Molecule-C Independent1

Endothelial cell junctional adhesion molecule (JAM)-C has been proposed to regulate neutrophil migration. In the current study, we used function-blocking mAbs against human JAM-C to determine its role in human leukocyte adhesion and transendothelial cell migration under flow conditions. JAM-C surface expression in HUVEC was uniformly low, and treatment with inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, or LPS did not increase its surface expression as assessed by FACS analysis. By immunofluorescence microscopy, JAM-C staining showed sparse localization to cell-cell junctions on resting or cytokine-activated HUVEC. Surprisingly, staining of detergent-permeabilized HUVEC revealed a large intracellular pool of JAM-C that showed little colocalization with von Willebrand factor. Adhesion studies in an in vitro flow model showed that functional blocking JAM-C mAb alone had no inhibitory effect on polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) adhesion or transmigration, whereas mAb to ICAM-1 significantly reduced transmigration. Interestingly, JAM-C-blocking mAbs synergized with a combination of PECAM-1, ICAM-1, and CD99-blocking mAbs to inhibit PMN transmigration. Overexpression of JAM-C by infection with a lentivirus JAM-C GFP fusion protein did not increase adhesion or extent of transmigration of PMN or evoke a role for JAM-C in transendothelial migration. These data suggest that JAM-C has a minimal role, if any, in PMN transmigration in this model and that ICAM-1 is the preferred endothelial-expressed ligand for PMN β2 integrins during transendothelial migration.
Adaptive disturbance compensation in linear systems with input arbitrary delay: Internal model approach

In this paper the disturbance compensation problem for the class of linear time-invariant (LTI) plants with known parameters and input delay is addressed. The disturbance is represented as the unknown output of linear model (exosystem) with known order and unknown parameters. The proposed approach is based on design of adjustable predictor of exosystem output and modified adaptation algorithm. The contribution of the paper is that proposed solution allows us to increase the open loop gain (adaptation gain) and the delay without loss of stability and does not require the identification of exosystem parameters.
Progesterone biotransformation by plant cell suspension cultures

Progesterone was converted to 5alpha-pregnane-3alpha-ol-20-one, delta4-pregnene-20alpha-ol-3-one, delta4-pregnene-14alpha-ol-3,20-dione, delta4-pregnene-7beta,14alpha-diol-3,20-dione, and delta4-pregnene-6beta,11alpha-diol-3,20-dione by cell cultures of Lycopersicon esculentum. Cell cultures of Capsicum frutescens (green) metabolized progesterone to delta4-pregnene-20alpha-ol-3-one in very high yield, and Vinca rosea yielded delta4-pregnene-20beta-ol-3-one and delta4-pregnene-14alpha-ol-3,20-dione. A stereospecific reduction of the keto groups and a double bond and stereospecific introduction of hydroxyl groups at the 6, 11, and 14 positions have been observed. The mono- and dihydroxylated progesterones have not previously been reported as metabolic products of progesterone by plant cell systems and represent de novo hydroxylation of a nonglycosylated steroid.
Automated methodology comprised of supervised techniques to assist product selection

Customer targeted markets are inundated with similar products from multiple vendors and selecting a product of choice is a challenging task. All varieties of a product have pros and cons in plenty, and the task of identifying a suitable product is daunting and cumbersome. To address this, we propose a methodology to identify preferred products in an automated manner. The end result is achieved by analyzing the history of multiple factors involved with the product of study and utilizing a supervised learning algorithm to predict the worthiness of the product with respect to the user. This algorithm is designed by combining and customizing sentiment analysis and automatic ontology construction algorithms. Dependency parsing for ontology construction, HMM/CRF for decision making, and a new personalized algorithm for sentiment analysis were utilized to customize the prediction method. For a product under consideration, the algorithm takes into account all the user specified features and predicts an outcome of it being good (positive) or bad (negative) to the interested user. This outcome is achieved by analyzing the past history of the features specified by the user. Using this algorithm we studied a set of 20 movies released during the period of January - March 2013 and achieved 70% accuracy in predicting their box office outcome. Our results indicate that there is a correlation between the selected features past performance and the overall success of a new product with the same features. Given a wide array of available choices, this algorithm can predict an ideal product for a customer.
Soy Protein Preserves Basement Membrane Integrity through a Synergistic Effect on Nephrin, Matrix Metalloproteinase and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Background/Aims: Soy protein improves renal function and prevents albuminuria in diabetic rats. This study investigates whether the renoprotective effect of soy protein is related to sustenance of basement membrane integrity. Methods: Adult male albino rats were randomized into four groups and fed one of the following semi-synthetic diets consisting of corn starch (60%) and casein (20%; CCD), fructose (60%) and casein (20%; FCD), fructose (60%) and soy protein (20%; FSD), or corn starch (60%) and soy protein (20%; CSD). Plasma chemistry and renal changes were analyzed after 60 days. Results: FCD rats displayed metabolic derangements and renal ultrastructural changes. FSD rats showed reduction in type IV collagen, tissue inhibitor for matrix metallo-proteinase-2, vascular endothelial growth factor and tumor necrosis factor-α expression and improved matrix metallo-proteinase expression. Renal architecture was preserved in these rats. Conclusion: Soy protein supplementation not only improved insulin sensitivity but also markedly attenuated renal basement membrane changes in fructose diet-fed rats. These findings provide evidence in support of the use of dietary soy protein in patients with diabetic kidney disease.
Variation in neonatal mortality and its relation to country characteristics in sub-Saharan Africa: an ecological study

Background A substantial reduction in neonatal mortality is the main priority to reduce under-five mortality. A clear understanding of the variation in neonatal mortality and the underlying causes is important for targeted intervention. We aimed to explore variation in neonatal mortality and identify underlying causes of variation in neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods This ecological study used 2012 publicly available data from WHO, the US Agency for International Development and the World Bank. Variation in neonatal mortality across 49 SSA countries was examined using control chart and explanatory spatial data analysis. Associations between country-level characteristics and neonatal mortality were examined using linear regression analysis. Results The control chart showed that 28 (57%) SSA countries exhibited special-cause variation, 14 countries were below and 14 above the 99.8% control-limits. The remaining 21 (43%) SSA countries showed common-cause variation. No spatial clustering was observed for neonatal mortality (Global Moran’s I statistic −0.10; p=0.74). Linear regression analysis showed HIV/AIDS prevalence among the population of reproductive age to be positively associated with neonatal mortality (β=0.463; 95% CI 0.135 to 0.790; p<0.01). Declining socioeconomic deprivation (β=−0.234; 95% CI −0.424 to −0.044; p<0.05) and high quality of healthcare governance (β=−1.327, 95% CI −2.073 to −0.580; p<0.01) were inversely associated with neonatal mortality. Conclusion This study shows a wide variation in neonatal mortality in SSA. A substantial part of this variation can be explained by differences in the quality of healthcare governance, prevalence of HIV and socioeconomic deprivation. Future studies should validate our findings using more rigorous epidemiological study designs.
The significance of platelet count in traumatic brain injury patients on antiplatelet therapy

BACKGROUND Platelet dysfunction has been attributed to progression of initial intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) on repeat head computed tomographic (RHCT) scans in patients on prehospital antiplatelet therapy. However, there is little emphasis on the effect of platelet count and progression of ICH in patients with traumatic brain injury. The aim of this study was to determine the platelet count cutoff for progression on RHCT and neurosurgical intervention in patients on antiplatelet therapy. METHODS We performed a prospective cohort analysis of all traumatic brain injury patients with an ICH on prehospital antiplatelet therapy. Antiplatelet therapy was defined as aspirin, clopidogrel, or a combination of both. Admission platelet count was recorded and used for analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted to identify the optimal platelet count for progression on RHCT scan and neurosurgical intervention in patients on antiplatelet therapy. RESULTS A total of 264 patients were enrolled. Platelet count of 135,000/µL or less (area under the curve, 0.80) and platelet count of 95,000/µL or less (area under the curve, 0.92) were the optimal threshold points for progression on RHCT scan and neurosurgical intervention, respectively. Patients with platelet count of 135,000/µL or less were 12.4 times (95% confidence interval, 7.1–18.4) more likely to have progression on RHCT scan and patients with platelet count 95,000/µL or less were 31.5 times (95% confidence interval, 19.7–96.2) more likely to require neurosurgical intervention. CONCLUSION A platelet count of less than 135,000/µL in patients on antiplatelet therapy is predictive of both radiographic and clinical worsening. This is a clinically relevant target intended to help tailor and improve management in patients on antiplatelet therapy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level III.
Spatial Patterns of Carbonate Biomineralization in Biofilms

ABSTRACT Microbially catalyzed precipitation of carbonate minerals is an important process in diverse biological, geological, and engineered systems. However, the processes that regulate carbonate biomineralization and their impacts on biofilms are largely unexplored, mainly because of the inability of current methods to directly observe biomineralization within biofilms. Here, we present a method for in situ, real-time imaging of biomineralization in biofilms and use it to show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms produce morphologically distinct carbonate deposits that substantially modify biofilm structures. The patterns of carbonate biomineralization produced in situ were substantially different from those caused by accumulation of particles produced by abiotic precipitation. Contrary to the common expectation that mineral precipitation should occur at the biofilm surface, we found that biomineralization started at the base of the biofilm. The carbonate deposits grew over time, detaching biofilm-resident cells and deforming the biofilm morphology. These findings indicate that biomineralization is a general regulator of biofilm architecture and properties.
Heart murmurs recorded by a sensor based electronic stethoscope and e-mailed for remote assessment

Background: Heart murmurs are common in children, and they are often referred to a specialist for examination. A clinically innocent murmur does not need further investigation. The referral area of the University Hospital is large and sparsely populated. A new service for remote auscultation (telemedicine) of heart murmurs in children was established where heart sounds and short texts were sent as an attachment to e-mails. Aim: To assess the clinical quality of this method. Methods: Heart sounds from 47 patients with no murmur (n = 7), with innocent murmurs (n = 20), or with pathological murmurs (n = 20) were recorded using a sensor based stethoscope and e-mailed to a remote computer. The sounds were repeated, giving 100 cases that were randomly distributed on a compact disc. Four cardiologists assessed and categorised the cases as having “no murmur”, “innocent murmur”, or “pathological murmur”, recorded the assessment time per case, their degree of certainty, and whether they recommended referral. Results: On average, 2.1 minutes were spent on each case. The mean sensitivity and specificity were 89.7% and 98.2% respectively, and the inter-observer and intra-observer variabilities were low (kappa 0.81 and 0.87), respectively. A total of 93.4% of cases with a pathological murmur and 12.6% of cases with an innocent murmur were recommended for referral. Conclusion: Telemedical referral of patients with heart murmurs for remote assessment by a cardiologist is safe and saves time. Skilled auscultation is adequate to detect patients with innocent murmurs.
Inhibitory Effect of 2′-Fluoro-5-Methyl-β-l-Arabinofuranosyl-Uracil on Duck Hepatitis B Virus Replication

ABSTRACT The antiviral activity of 2′-fluoro-5-methyl-β-l-arabinofuranosyluracil (l-FMAU), a novel l-nucleoside analog of thymidine known to be an inhibitor of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in hepatoma cells (2.2.1.5 cell line), was evaluated in the duck HBV (DHBV) model. Short-term oral administration (5 days) ofl-FMAU (40 mg/kg of body weight/day) to experimentally infected ducklings induced a significant decrease in the level of viremia. This antiviral effect was sustained in animals when therapy was prolonged for 8 days. The histological study showed no evidence of liver toxicity in the l-FMAU-treated group. By contrast, microvesicular steatosis was found in the livers of dideoxycytidine-treated animals. l-FMAU administration in primary duck hepatocyte cultures infected with DHBV induced a dose-dependent inhibition of both virion release in culture supernatants and intracellular viral DNA synthesis, without clearance of viral covalently closed circular DNA. By using a cell-free system for the expression of an enzymatically active DHBV reverse transcriptase, it was shown that l-FMAU triphosphate exhibits an inhibitory effect on the incorporation of dAMP in the viral DNA primer. Thus, our data demonstrate that l-FMAU inhibits DHBV replication in vitro and in vivo. Long-term administration of l-FMAU for the eradication of viral infection in animal models of HBV infection should be evaluated.
Synthesis of Tissues and Organs

Symbolism that describes the synthetic processes for chemical compounds has been used to describe, in qualitative terms, the synthesis of tissues and organs at the correct anatomical site. The synthetic process is summarized in the reaction diagram, a shorthand representation of the reactants, reactor, and products. Analysis of a large number of independent protocols has led to identification of the simplest synthetic pathways for two organs that have been studied extensively: skin and peripheral nerves. These apparently irreducible reaction diagrams for the two organs are not only simple but surprisingly similar, a fact suggesting the existence of general rules for the synthesis of other organs as well. The only two reactants that are required are an active scaffold (a macromolecular network synthesized as a highly porous analogue of the extracellular matrix) and a seeding of epithelial cells of the organ being synthesized. Scaffolds possessed biological (regenerative) activity provided that they were capable of blocking the contraction process that leads to closure of the injured site. Such activity requires that the density of ligands for binding of contractile cells on the scaffold maintains a sufficiently high level over the period of synthesis.
Natural variation within the principal adhesion domain of the Plasmodium vivax duffy binding protein

The blood-stage development of malaria parasites is initiated by the invasion of merozoites into susceptible erythrocytes. Specific receptor-ligand interactions must occur for the merozoites to first attach to and then invade erythrocytes. Because the invasion process is essential for the parasite's survival and the merozoite adhesion molecules are exposed on the merozoite surface during invasion, these adhesion molecules are candidates for antibody-dependent malaria vaccines. The Duffy binding protein of Plasmodium vivax belongs to a family of erythrocyte-binding proteins that contain functionally conserved cysteine-rich regions. The amino cysteine-rich regions of these homologous erythrocyte-binding proteins were recently identified for P. vivax, Plasmodium knowlesi, and Plasmodium falciparum as the principal erythrocyte-binding domains (C. Chitnis and L. H. Miller, J. Exp. Med. 180:497-506, 1994, and B. K. L. Sim, C. E. Chitnis, K. Wasniowska, T. J. Hadley, and L. H. Miller, Science 264:1941-1944, 1994). We report that amino acids in this critical ligand domain of the P. vivax Duffy binding protein are hypervariable, but this variability is limited. Hypervariability of the erythrocyte-binding domain suggests that this domain is the target of an effective immune response, but conservation of amino acid substitutions indicates that functional constraints limit this variation. In addition, the amino cysteine-rich region and part of the hydrophilic region immediately following it were the site of repeated homologous recombinations as represented by tandem repeat sequence polymorphisms. Similar polymorphisms have been identified in the same region of the homologous genes of P. falciparum and P. knowlesi, suggesting that there is a common mechanism of recombination or gene conversion that occurs in these Plasmodium genes.
Weighted Least‐Squares Method for Right‐Censored Data in Accelerated Failure Time Model

The classical accelerated failure time (AFT) model has been extensively investigated due to its direct interpretation of the covariate effects on the mean survival time in survival analysis. However, this classical AFT model and its associated methodologies are built on the fundamental assumption of data homoscedasticity. Consequently, when the homoscedasticity assumption is violated as often seen in the real applications, the estimators lose efficiency and the associated inference is not reliable. Furthermore, none of the existing methods can estimate the intercept consistently. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a semiparametric approach in this article for both homoscedastic and heteroscedastic data. This approach utilizes a weighted least‐squares equation with synthetic observations weighted by square root of their variances where the variances are estimated via the local polynomial regression. We establish the limiting distributions of the resulting coefficient estimators and prove that both slope parameters and the intercept can be consistently estimated. We evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed approach through simulation studies and demonstrate its superiority through real example on its efficiency and reliability over the existing methods when the data is heteroscedastic.
Efficient Digital Implementation of Extreme Learning Machines for Classification

The availability of compact fast circuitry for the support of artificial neural systems is a long-standing and critical requirement for many important applications. This brief addresses the implementation of the powerful extreme learning machine (ELM) model on reconfigurable digital hardware (HW). The design strategy first provides a training procedure for ELMs, which effectively trades off prediction accuracy and network complexity. This, in turn, facilitates the optimization of HW resources. Finally, this brief describes and analyzes two implementation approaches: one involving field-programmable gate array devices and one embedding low-cost low-performance devices such as complex programmable logic devices. Experimental results show that, in both cases, the design approach yields efficient digital architectures with satisfactory performances and limited costs.
A comparison of different methods to measure the EGG contact quotient

The results from six published electroglottographic (EGG-based) methods for calculating the EGG contact quotient (CQEGG) were compared to closed quotients derived from simultaneous videokymographic imaging (CQKYM). Two trained male singers phonated in falsetto and in chest register, with two degrees of adduction in both registers. The maximum difference between methods in the CQEGG was 0.3 (out of 1.0). The CQEGG was generally lower than the CQKYM. Within subjects, the CQEGG co-varied with the CQkym, but with changing offsets depending on method. The CQEGG cannot be calculated for falsetto phonation with little adduction, since there is no complete glottal closure. Basic criterion-level methods with thresholds of 0.2 or 0.25 gave the best match to the CQKYM data. The results suggest that contacting and de-contacting in the EGG might not refer to the same physical events as do the beginning and cessation of airflow.
Selective expression of α‐synuclein‐immunoreactivity in vesicular acetylcholine transporter‐immunoreactive axons in the guinea pig rectum and human colon

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and nonmotor impairments, including constipation. The hallmark pathological features of Parkinson's disease are Lewy bodies and neurites, of which aggregated α‐synuclein is a major constituent. Frequently, Lewy pathology is identified in the distal gut of constipated Parkinson's disease patients. The neurons that innervate the distal gut that express α‐synuclein have not been identified. We used multiple‐labeling immunohistochemistry and anterograde tracing to quantify which neurons projecting to the guinea pig rectum and human colon expressed α‐synuclein in their axons. α‐Synuclein‐immunoreactivity was present in 24 ± 0.7% of somatostatin (SOM)‐immunoreactive (IR) varicosities; 20 ± 4.3% of substance P (SP)‐IR varicosities and 9 ± 1.3% vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)‐IR varicosities in guinea pig rectal myenteric ganglia. However, α‐synuclein‐immunoreactivity was localized in significantly more vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT)‐IR varicosities (88 ± 3%, P < 0.001). Of SOM‐IR, SP‐IR, and VIP‐IR varicosities that lacked VAChT‐immunoreactivity, only 1 ± 0.3%, 0 ± 0.3%, and 0% contained α‐synuclein‐immunoreactivity, respectively. 71 ± 0.8% of VAChT‐IR varicosities in myenteric ganglia of human colon were α‐synuclein‐IR. In guinea pig rectal myenteric ganglia, α‐synuclein‐ and VAChT‐immunoreactivity coexisted in 15 ± 1.4% of biotinamide‐labeled extrinsic varicosities; only 1 ± 0.3% of biotinamide‐labeled extrinsic varicosities contained α‐synuclein‐immunoreactivity without VAChT‐immunoreactivity. α‐Synuclein expression in axons to the distal gut correlates closely with expression of the cholinergic marker, VAChT. This is the first report of cell‐selective α‐synuclein expression in the nervous system. Our results suggest cholinergic neurons in the gut may be vulnerable in Parkinson's disease. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:657–676, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.