Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Immune Factors Involved in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Sjogren's Syndrome

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic, autoimmune disorder characterized by salivary insufficiency and lymphocytic infiltration of the exocrine glands. Even though the mechanism of its pathology and progression has been researched ever since its discovery, the roles of different parts of immune system remain inconclusive. There is no straightforward and simple theory for the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome because of the multiple kinds and functions of autoantibodies, changing proportion of different T-lymphocyte subsets with the progression of disease, unsuspected abilities of B lymphocytes discovered recently, crosstalk between cytokines connecting the factors mentioned previously, and genetic predisposition that contributes to the initiation of this disease. On the other hand, the number of significant reports and open-label studies of B-cell depletion therapy showing clinical efficacy in sjogren's syndrome has continued to accumulate, which provides a promising future for the patients. In a word, further elucidation of the role of different components of the immune system will open avenues for better diagnosis and treatment of SS, whose current management is still mainly supportive.
Situational Evidence

There is unexamined potential for developing and testing rival causal explanations in the type of data that participant observation is best suited to create: descriptions of in situ social interaction crafted from the participants’ perspectives. By intensively examining a single ethnography, we can see how multiple predictions can be derived from and tested with field notes, how numerous strategies are available for demonstrating the patterns of nonoccurrence which causal propositions imply, how qualitative data can be analyzed to negate researcher behavior as an alternative causal explanation, and how folk counterfactuals can add to the evidentiary strength of an ethnographic study. Explicating the potential of field notes for causal explanation may be of interest to methodologists who seek a common logic for guiding and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research, to ethnographic fieldworkers who aim at connecting micro- to macro-social processes, to researchers who use an analogous logic of explanation when working with other forms of qualitative data, and to comparative–analytic sociologists who wish to form concepts and develop theory in conformity with an understanding that social life consists of social interaction processes that may be captured most directly by ethnographic fieldwork.
Construct validity of the Child Behavior Checklist: Effects of item overlap on second-order factor structure.

The broadband factor structure of the Child behavior Checklist (CBCL) was examined for the narrowband scales as measured in pratice (i.e., with items scored on more than 1 narrowband scale). On the basis of parallel and minimum average partial criteria, a 1-factor solution was indicated for boys age 4-5 years, girls age 4-5 years, and girls age 12-16 years; a 2-factor solution, for boys age 6-11 years, girls age 6-11 years, and boys age 12-16 years. The implications of item overlap for research and professional practices associated with the CBCL and related materials are discussed
Developing an expressive language assessment for children in Rochdale with a Pakistani heritage background

This paper reports work in progress to develop an assessment procedure for expressive language, to be used with children living in the Rochdale area of the UK and speaking Mirpuri, Punjabi and/or Urdu. The assessment materials and procedure are described, together with the principles for scoring. Normative data is currently being collected. Children tested so far have demonstrated the need to allow for code-switching and lexical borrowing and that attention to ‘literal’ translation of the target language is required. Discrepancies between reported and actual languages used are also noted. Expressive language appears unexpectedly sparse in some cases. Possible reasons for this are discussed. This research has highlighted many difficulties in attempting to construct an assessment of this kind.
Do computerised training programmes designed to improve working memory work?

A critical review of working memory training research during the last 10 yers is provided. Particular attention is given to research that has attempted to investigate the efficacy of commercially marketed computerised training programmes such as “Cogmed” and “Jungle Memory”. Claimed benefits are questioned on the basis that research methodologies were flawed. It is also argued that the Working Memory model in its current stage of development was under-specified and paradigmatically unsuited to working memory training research. Implications in respect of memory training for applied psychologists working in schools, and possible areas for future research are suggested.
The heritability of leucocyte telomere length dynamics

Background Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is a complex trait associated with ageing and longevity. LTL dynamics are defined by LTL and its age-dependent attrition. Strong, but indirect evidence suggests that LTL at birth and its attrition during childhood largely explains interindividual LTL variation among adults. A number of studies have estimated the heritability of LTL, but none has assessed the heritability of age-dependent LTL attrition. Methods We examined the heritability of LTL dynamics based on a longitudinal evaluation (an average follow-up of 12 years) in 355 monozygotic and 297 dizygotic same-sex twins (aged 19–64 years at baseline). Results Heritability of LTL at baseline was estimated at 64% (95% CI 39% to 83%) with 22% (95% CI 6% to 49%) of shared environmental effects. Heritability of age-dependent LTL attrition rate was estimated at 28% (95% CI 16% to 44%). Individually unique environmental factors, estimated at 72% (95% CI 56% to 84%) affected LTL attrition rate with no indication of shared environmental effects. Conclusions This is the first study that estimated heritability of LTL and also its age-dependent attrition. As LTL attrition is much slower in adults than in children and given that having a long or a short LTL is largely determined before adulthood, our findings suggest that heritability and early life environment are the main determinants of LTL throughout the human life course. Thus, insights into factors that influence LTL at birth and its dynamics during childhood are crucial for understanding the role of telomere genetics in human ageing and longevity.
The Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Model of Perinatal Ischemia

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) is the consequence of systemic asphyxia occurring at birth. Twenty five percent of neonates with HIE develop severe and permanent neuropsychological sequelae, including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. The outcomes of HIE are devastating and permanent, making it critical to identify and develop therapeutic strategies to reduce brain injury in newborns with HIE. To that end, the neonatal rat model for hypoxic-ischemic brain injury has been developed to model this human condition. The HIE model was first validated by Vannucci et al 1 and has since been extensively used to identify mechanisms of brain injury resulting from perinatal hypoxia-ischemia 2 and to test potential therapeutic interventions 3,4. The HIE model is a two step process and involves the ligation of the left common carotid artery followed by exposure to a hypoxic environment. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the ligated carotid artery does not decrease because of the collateral blood flow via the circle of Willis; however with lower oxygen tension, the CBF in the ipsilateral hemisphere decreases significantly and results in unilateral ischemic injury. The use of 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) to stain and identify ischemic brain tissue was originally developed for adult models of rodent cerebral ischemia 5, and is used to evaluate the extent of cerebral infarctin at early time points up to 72 hours after the ischemic event 6. In this video, we demonstrate the hypoxic-ischemic injury model in postnatal rat brain and the evaluation of the infarct size using TTC staining.
Selective L2 cognate retrieval deficit in a bilingual person with aphasia: A case report

Abstract Lexical access in bilinguals has been debated for the last several decades. Although a large majority of bilingual people often experience aphasia in both languages, some show language-selective disturbances. Yet, selective difficulties in retrieving words that share similar semantic and phonological forms in the two languages have seldom been reported. Here, we report the case of a 45-year-old, right-handed, balanced bilingual subject (Kannada–Malayalam) who presented with aphasia following an episode of stroke. Language evaluation revealed word-selection type of anomia with selective naming disturbance in L2 compared to L1 (in spite of having native-like fluency in L2). On further probing into his anomia, he showed an inability to name cognate words in L2 even after successfully naming them in L1. These observations are discussed in the light of lexical access theories in bilinguals.
Conditions of Participation in Rural, Non‐Formal Education Programmes: A Delphi Study

Abstract The Delphi Technique was used to identify those conditions which are most likely to encourage full participation in non‐formal education (NFE) programmes. A panel of experts in international development education was selected for the study. Panelists were asked to rate the importance of individual conditions drawn from the programme development, economics, sociological, political and psychological literature. These experts were also encouraged to identify further critical conditions. The results of the study indicate that the participants believed that if we are to attract full participation at the village level in NFE programmes, then it is essential that we 1. adopt a user‐centred approach which truly identifies local needs, 2. provide a clear linkage between participation and the fulfilment of personal needs, and 3. use outside experts as facilitators rather than dictators. Of the five groups of conditions reviewed political conditions were seen as being of primary importance.
Early dysfunction and progressive degeneration of the subthalamic nucleus in mouse models of Huntington's disease

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an element of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry critical for action suppression. In Huntington's disease (HD) action suppression is impaired, resembling the effects of STN lesioning or inactivation. To explore this potential linkage, the STN was studied in BAC transgenic and Q175 knock-in mouse models of HD. At <2 and 6 months of age autonomous STN activity was impaired due to activation of KATP channels. STN neurons exhibited prolonged NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents, caused by a deficit in glutamate uptake, and elevated mitochondrial oxidant stress, which was ameliorated by NMDA receptor antagonism. STN activity was rescued by NMDA receptor antagonism or the break down of hydrogen peroxide. At 12 months of age approximately 30% of STN neurons had been lost, as in HD. Together, these data argue that dysfunction within the STN is an early feature of HD that may contribute to its expression and course. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.21616. 001
Dynamic Control of Coding for Progressive Packet Arrivals in DTNs

In Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) the core challenge is to cope with lack of persistent connectivity and yet be able to deliver messages from source to destination. In particular, routing schemes that leverage relays' memory and mobility are a customary solution in order to improve message delivery delay. When large files need to be transferred from source to destination, not all packets may be available at the source prior to the first transmission. This motivates us to study general packet arrivals at the source, derive performance analysis of replication-based routing policies and study their optimization under two-hop routing. In particular, we determine the conditions for optimality in terms of probability of successful delivery and mean delay and we devise optimal policies, so-called it piecewise-threshold policies. We account for linear block-codes and rateless random linear coding to efficiently generate redundancy, as well as for an energy constraint in the optimization. We numerically assess the higher efficiency of piecewise-threshold policies compared with other policies by developing heuristic optimization of the thresholds for all flavors of coding considered.
Quantum gravity: a progress report

The problem of reconciling general relativity and quantum theory has fascinated and bedeviled physicists for more than 70 years. Despite recent progress in string theory and loop quantum gravity, a complete solution remains out of reach. I review the status of the continuing effort to quantize gravity, emphasizing the underlying conceptual issues and the various attempts to come to grips with them.
Implementation of image compression algorithm for earth observation satellite

Image compression is the application of data compression on digital images. To overcome the inefficiencies in the JPEG standard and serve emerging areas of mobile and Internet communication, thus the new JPEG2000 standard has been developed based on the principles of DWT. The encoding process for satellite images in this standard are too complex and time consuming which makes the system too slow down in its process. The proposed work involves in providing a better algorithm for compressing images from satellite in terms of area, power and timings.
[Physical activity and body composition in menopausal women].

PURPOSE To analyze the relationship between physical activity and body composition in menopausal women. METHODS The study included 62 menopausal women aged 50 years or more (61.2±7.6). The practice of physical activity was assessed with an accelerometer and is reported as minutes per week of low physical activity and moderate plus vigorous physical activity, and total physical activity in counts. Lean mass and total fat mass were assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and are reported as percentages. The relation between body composition variables and physical activity was evaluated by Spearman and Pearson correlation. Comparisons between groups were performed using the independent t test and Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS The age group 59 years or older had higher mean values of total physical activity in counts (1,307.081 versus 2,843.840) and of minutes per week of moderate-vigorous physical activity (273 versus 156 minutes). Women who completed 150 minutes or more of moderate-vigorous physical activity had significantly lower total fat mass (43.8 versus 47.2 kg), higher lean mass (53.8 versus 49.6 kg) and lower BMI (27.7 versus 30.5 kg/m²) when compared to those with less than 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Only time spent in moderate activities showed a significant negative correlation with the percentage of total fat (r=-0.26, p<0.05), whereas total physical activity in counts correlated with the percentage of lean body mass (r=0,30), percentage of total fat (r=-0.32), trunk fat (r=-0.29), and BMI (r=-0.32); all correlations were statistically significant at p<0.05. CONCLUSION menopausal women aged 50 years or more who spent more minutes in moderate and vigorous activity and higher total physical activity counts showed lower fat mass and higher lean mass.
Design, Construction, and Control of a Stand-Alone Energy-Conditioning System for PEM-Type Fuel Cells

This paper presents the development of an energy-conditioning system for a proton exchange membrane (PEM) type fuel cell (FC). The developed system provides 230 V ac rms at 50 Hz, with a nominal output power of 1 kVA, and is able to handle sporadic high-power demands up to 5 kVA. An auxiliary power unit (APU), using a bank of supercapacitors as energy-storing device, provides this extra power during a certain amount of time. The output current ripple and step response constraints of the FC unit are considered in the design. A frequency-decoupling scheme is used, in which the FC provides only the low-frequency requirements, while the fast/high-frequency demands are supplied by the APU. A detailed description is given for its different constructive modules, their control design, and implementation.
Prediction of meat and meat products by gamma rays, electron beams and X-ray irradiations-A Review

Food quality is directly related to people’s health and social progress. Consumers are looking for quality seals and trust marks on food products, and expect manufacturers and retailers to provide products of high quality. In practice, it is more necessary to develop fast and efficient spectroscopic tools as useful technology to accomplish meat and meat products quality detection. Irradiation, results in physicochemical changes in food products. Ionizing radiation includes gamma rays, electron beams, and X-rays. Ionizing radiation is effective at eliminating food pathogens in poultry and other foods. Some physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of fermented sausages have been realized by E-beam radiation. Gamma irradiation in combination with antioxidant addition (tea poly-phenol) was used in the pork industry to assure quality product with prolonged shelf-life. X-ray irradiations e.g. computed and micro-computed tomography was used successfully for prediction assessment and estimation of salt and water content in dry-cured ham, sodium chloride diffusivity of fresh and frozen/thawed ham muscles during salting and intramuscular fat level and distribution in beef muscles. This review article presents the most recent trends, during the last four years, concerning the ability of Gamma Rays, Electron beams and Xray radiations for quality predictions of meat and meat products.
Wolbachia Mediate Variation of Host Immunocompetence

Background After decades during which endosymbionts were considered as silent in their hosts, in particular concerning the immune system, recent studies have revealed the contrary. In the present paper, we addressed the effect of Wolbachia, the most prevalent endosymbiont in arthropods, on host immunocompetence. To this end, we chose the A. vulgare-Wolbachia symbiosis as a model system because it leads to compare consequences of two Wolbachia strains (wVulC and wVulM) on hosts from the same population. Moreover, A. vulgare is the only host-species in which Wolbachia have been directly observed within haemocytes which are responsible for both humoral and cellular immune responses. Methodology/Principal Findings We sampled gravid females from the same population that were either asymbiotic, infected with wVulC, or infected with wVulM. The offspring from these females were tested and it was revealed that individuals harbouring wVulC exhibited: (i) lower haemocyte densities, (ii) more intense septicaemia in their haemolymph and (iii) a reduced lifespan as compared to individuals habouring wVulM or asymbiotic ones. Therefore, individuals in this population of A. vulgare appeared to suffer more from wVulC than from wVulM. Symbiotic titer and location in the haemocytes did not differ for the two Wolbachia strains showing that these two parameters were not responsible for differences observed in their extended phenotypes in A. vulgare. Conclusion/Significance The two Wolbachia strains infecting A. vulgare in the same population induced variation in immunocompetence and survival of their hosts. Such variation should highly influence the dynamics of this host-symbiont system. We propose in accordance with previous population genetic works, that wVulM is a local strain that has attenuated its virulence through a long term adaptation process towards local A. vulgare genotypes whereas wVulC, which is a widespread and invasive strain, is not locally adapted.
Soft X-ray properties of a spectroscopically selected sample of interacting and isolated Seyfert galaxies

We present a catalogue of ROSAT detected sources in the sample of spectroscopically selected Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies of Rafanelli et al. ([CITE]). The catalogue contains 102 Seyfert 1 and 36 Seyfert 2 galaxies. The identification is based on X-ray contour maps overlaid on optical images taken from the Digitized Sky Survey. We have derived the basic spectral and timing properties of the X-ray detected Seyfert galaxies. For Seyfert 1 galaxies a strong correlation between photon index and X-ray luminosity is detected. We confirm the presence of generally steeper X-ray continua in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) compared to broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. Seyfert 2 galaxies show photon indices similar to those of NLS1s. Whereas a tendency for an increasing X-ray luminosity with increasing interaction strength is found for Seyfert 1 galaxies, such a correlation is not found for Seyfert 2 galaxies. For Seyfert 1 galaxies we found also a strong correlation for increasing far-infrared luminosity with increasing interaction strength. Both NLS1s and Seyfert 2 galaxies show the highest values of far-infrared luminosity compared to Seyfert 1 galaxies, suggesting that NLS1s and Seyfert 2 galaxies host strong (circumnuclear) star formation. For variable Seyfert galaxies we present the X-ray light curves obtained from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and from ROSAT PSPC and HRI pointed observations. Besides the expected strong short- and long-term X-ray variability in Seyfert 1 galaxies, we find indications for X-ray flux variations in Seyfert 2 galaxies.
GPFARM : An Integrated Decision Support System for Sustainable Great Plains Agriculture

*James C. Ascough II, Marvin J. Shaffer, Gregory S. McMaster, Gale H. Dunn, Lajpat R. Ahuja, and Mark A. Weltz, USDA-ARS-NPA, Great Plains Systems Research Unit, 301 S. Howes St., P.O. Box E, Fort Collins, CO 80522; Dana L. Hoag, Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Fort Collins, CO 80523; *Corresponding Author: ascough@gpsr.colostate. edu ABSTRACT The Great Plains is generally defined as North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, the southern part of Manitoba, Canada, and eastern regions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Throughout the Great Plains, agricultural production is limited by soil water and nutrient availability. Using and supplementing these resources to enhance production without damaging the environment is a major challenge. To meet this challenge, the GPFARM DSS was developed. GPFARM provides crop/livestock management support at the whole farm and ranch level with emphasis on water, nutrient, and pesticide management. In addition, GPFARM has strong links to economic and environmental analysis, site database generation, and site-specific management from which alternative farm and ranch agricultural management strategies can be developed and tested.