Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha mutant that binds exclusively to the p55 TNF receptor produces toxicity in the baboon

A number of recent studies have demonstrated that cellular responses to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) mediated by the p55 and the p75 TNF receptors are distinct. To evaluate the relative in vivo toxicities of wild-type TNF alpha (wtTNF alpha) and a novel p55 TNF selective receptor agonist, healthy, anesthetized baboons (Papio sp.) were infused with a near-lethal dose of either wtTNF alpha or a TNF alpha double mutant (dmTNF alpha) that binds specifically to the p55, but not to the p75, TNF receptor. Both wtTNF alpha and dmTNF alpha produced comparable acute hypotension, tachycardia, increased plasma lactate, and organ dysfunction in Papio. However, administration of wtTNF alpha produced a marked granulocytosis and loss of granulocyte TNF receptors, whereas little if any changes in neutrophil number or cell surface TNF receptor density were seen after dmTNF alpha mutant administration. Infusion of dmTNF alpha resulted in a plasma endogenous TNF alpha response that peaked after 90-120 min. We conclude that selective p55 TNF receptor activation is associated with early hemodynamic changes and the autocrine release of endogenous TNF alpha. Significant systemic toxicity results from p55 TNF receptor activation, but the role of the p75 TNF receptor in systemic TNF toxicity requires further study.
METHODS FOR MUSIC INFORMATION RETRIEVAL : CURRENT FINDINGS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Over the past decade and a half, music information retrieval (MIR) has grown into a robust, cross-disciplinary field spanning a variety of research domains. Collaborations between MIR and neuroscience researchers, however, are still rare, and to date only a few studies using approaches from one domain have successfully reached an audience in the other. In this paper, we take an initial step toward bridging these two fields by reviewing studies from the music neuroscience literature, with an emphasis on imaging modalities and analysis techniques that might be of practical interest to the MIR community. We show that certain approaches currently used in a neuroscientific setting align with those used in MIR research, and discuss implications for potential areas of future research. We additionally consider the impact of disparate research objectives between the two fields, and how such a discrepancy may have hindered cross-discipline output thus far. It is hoped that a heightened awareness of this literature will foster interaction and collaboration between MIR and neuroscience researchers, leading to advances in both fields that would not have been achieved independently.
THE ORGANIZATION AND DUPLICATION OF CHROMOSOMES AS REVEALED BY AUTORADIOGRAPHIC STUDIES USING TRITIUM-LABELED THYMIDINEE.

Information on the macromolecular organization of chromosomes and their mode of duplication has been difficult to obtain in spite of numerous attempts. One point of attack, long recognized but until recently unattainable, was the selective labeling of some component of the chromosome, the distribution of which could be seen in succeeding cell divisions. Reichard and Estborn' demonstrated that N15-labeled thymidine was a precursor of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and that it was not diverted to the synthesis of ribonucleic acid. Recently Friedkin et al.2 and Downing and Schweigerl have used C'4-labeled thymidine to study DNA synthesis. In chick embryos and Lactobacillus there was no appreciable diversion of the tracer to ribonucleic acid. In view of these findings, thymidine appeared to be the intermediate required for the experiment, but the labels so far employed have not been satisfactory for microscopic visualization by autoradiographic means. In order to determine whether an individual chromosome among several in a cell is radioactive, autoradiographs with resolution to chromosomal dimensions must be obtained. Resolution at this level is difficult if not impossible to obtain with most isotopes, since the range of their beta particles is relatively great. Theoretically tritium should provide the highest resolution obtainable, since the beta particles have a maximum energy of only 18 Kev, corresponding to a range of little more than a micron in photographic emulsions. Consequently, identification of this label in particles as small as individual chromosomes should be possible. With this in mind; tritium-labeled thymidine was prepared and used to label chromosomes and to follow their distribution in later divisions by the use of photographic emulsions. Materials and Methods. -Tritium-labeled thymidine of high specific activity (3 X 101 mc/mM) was prepared by catalytic exchange of tritium from the carboxyl group of acetic acid to a carbon atom in the pyrimidine ring of thymidine (details of the method to be described elsewhere). Seedlings of Vicia faba (English broad bean) were grown in a mineral nutrient solution containing 2-3 jug/ml of the radioactive thymidine. This plant was selected because it has 121arge chromosomes, one pair of which is morphologically distinct, and because the length of the division cycle and the time of DNA synhesisl in the cycle are known.4 After growth of the seedlings in the isotope solution for the appropriate time, the roots were thoroughly washed with water and the seedlings were transferred to a nonradioactive mineral solution containing colchicine (500 jug/ml) for further growth. At appropriate intervals mots were fixed in ethanol-acetic acid (3:1), hydrolyzed 5 minutes in 1 N HC1, stained by the Feulgen reaction, 'and squashed on microscope slides. Stripping film was applied, and autoradiographs were prepared as described previously.5
PoleStriding exercise and vitamin E for management of peripheral vascular disease.

PURPOSE The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of PoleStriding exercise (a form of walking that uses muscles of the upper and lower body in a continuous movement similar to cross-country skiing) and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) to improve walking ability and perceived quality of life (QOL) of patients with claudication pain secondary to peripheral arterial disease (PAD). METHODS Fifty-two subjects were randomized into four groups: PoleStriding with vitamin E (N = 13), PoleStriding with placebo (N= 14), vitamin E without exercise (N= 13), and placebo without exercise (N = 12). The dose of vitamin E was 400 IU daily. Only the PoleStriding with vitamin E and PoleStriding with placebo groups received PoleStriding instruction and training. Assignment to vitamin E or placebo was double blind. Subjects trained three times weekly for 30-45 min (rest time excluded). Individuals in vitamin E and placebo groups came to the laboratory biweekly for ankle blood-pressure measurements. RESULTS Results of this randomized clinical trial provide strong evidence that PoleStriding significantly (P< 0.001) improved exercise tolerance on the constant work-rate and incremental treadmill tests. Ratings of perceived claudication pain were significantly less after the PoleStriding training program (P= 0.02). In contrast, vitamin E did not have a statistically significant effect on the subjects' ratings of perceived leg pain (P= 0.35) or treadmill walking duration ( P= 0.36). Perceived distance and walking speed (Walking Impairment Questionnaire) and perceived physical function (Rand Short Form-36) improved in the PoleStriding trained group only (P< 0.001, 0.022 and 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION PoleStriding effectively improved the exercise tolerance and perceived QOL of patients with PAD. Little additional benefit to exercise capacity was realized from vitamin E supplementation.
Visual-Evoked Potentials to Onset of Chromatic Red-Green and Blue-Yellow Gratings in Parkinson’s Disease Never Treated With L-Dopa

Summary: The differential dysfunction of chromatic and achromatic visual pathways in early Parkinson’s disease (PD) was evaluated by means of visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) recorded in 12 patients (mean age 60.1 ± 8.3 years; range 46 to 74 years) in the early stages of PD and not yet undergoing treatment with L-dopa, and in 12 age-matched controls. Visual stimuli were full-field (14 deg) equiluminant red-green (R-G), blue-yellow (B-Y), and black-white (B-W) sinusoidal gratings of two cycles per degree, presented in onset (300 milliseconds) – offset (700 milliseconds) mode, at two contrast (K) levels (90% and 25%). The VEP mean latencies were significantly more delayed in PD patients than in controls for chromatic than for luminance stimuli, in particular for B-Y stimuli of low contrast (K90%: B-W = 6.6 milliseconds, R-G = 3.34 milliseconds, B-Y = 15.48 milliseconds; K25%: B-W = 7.8 milliseconds, R-G = 14.8 milliseconds, B-Y = 28.9). Latencies of chromatic VEPs were more variable that achromatic VEP latencies in both normal subjects and PD patients. Therefore, the frequency of latency abnormalities (within 30%) was not significantly different for the three visual stimuli. Our results show that, in addition to achromatic VEPs, chromatic VEPs are impaired in early PD patients not yet undergoing L-dopa therapy, indicating an acquired color deficiency in these patients. The greater delay for the B-Y VEPs suggests a higher vulnerability of visual blue-cone pathway in the early stages of the disease. However, the overall sensitivity of chromatic VEPs in detecting early visual impairment in PD is comparable with that of achromatic VEPs.
Towards comprehensive protection for OpenFlow controllers

OpenFlow has recently emerged as a powerful paradigm to help build dynamic, adaptive and agile networks. By decoupling control plane from data plane, OpenFlow allows network operators to program a centralized intelligence, OpenFlow controller, to manage network-wide traffic flows to meet the changing needs. However, from the security's point of view, a buggy or even malicious controller could compromise the control logic, and then the entire network. Even worse, the recent attack Stuxnet on industrial control systems also indicates the similar, severe threat to OpenFlow controllers from the commercial operating systems they are running on. In this paper, we comprehensively studied the attack vectors against the OpenFlow critical component, controller, and proposed a cross layer diversity approach that enables OpenFlow controllers to detect attacks, corruptions, failures, and then automatically continue correct execution. Case studies demonstrate that our approach can protect OpenFlow controllers from threats coming from compromised operating systems and themselves.
Maternal cell‐mediated cytolysis of CMV‐infected fetal cells and the outcome of pregnancy in the guinea pig

Cytolytic recognition of CMV‐infected syngeneic fetal guinea pig cells by maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was suppressed late in pregnancies of uninfected guinea pig breeders with < 25% conceptus loss. A small subset of less successful uninfected pregnancies with > 50% fetal wastage exhibited only partial suppression of cytolytic activity against CMV‐infected fetal cells. Primary CMV infection of dams extending into early pregnancy induced augmented cytolysis of CMV‐infected fetal cells, but not MA104 NK cell targets, throughout gestation and resulted in 70% loss of conceptus. Decreased suppression of cytolytic activity against CMV‐infected fetal cells in uninfected pregnancy was also associated with runting of newborn pups, which was not as severe as that observed in congenitally CMV‐exposed or CMV‐infected pups. Congenitally infected pups were affected more than their exposed but uninfected litter mates. Lack of suppression of cytolysis of CMV‐infected syngeneic fetal cells, whether spontaneous or CMV‐infection‐induced, appears to be associated with poor pregnancy outcome.
Wireless Machine-to-Machine Healthcare Solution Using Android Mobile Devices in Global Networks

This paper presents a prototype machine-to-machine (M2M) healthcare solution that combines mobile and IPv6 techniques in a wireless sensor network to monitor the health condition of patients and provide a wide range of effective, comprehensive, and convenient healthcare services. A low-power embedded wearable sensor measures the health parameters dynamically, and is connected, according to the concept of IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area network, to the M2M node for wireless transmission through the internet or external IP-enabled networks via the M2M gateway. A visualization module of the server program graphically displays the recorded biomedical signals on Android mobile devices used by patients and doctors at the end of the networks in real-time. Our approach for a global M2M healthcare solution is managed to process the large amount of biomedical signals through the extended network combining IPv6 technique and mobile technology for daily lifestyle to users appropriately.
Predictors and implications of early left ventricular ejection fraction improvement in new‐onset idiopathic nonischemic cardiomyopathy with narrow QRS complex: A NEOLITH substudy

Predictors and implications of early left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) improvement with guideline‐directed medical therapy (GDMT) in new‐onset idiopathic nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) with narrow QRS complex are not well described. The objectives were to describe predictors of LVEF improvement after 3 months on GDMT and adverse cardiac events based on post‐GDMT LVEF status (≤35% vs. >35%).
CD45 Regulates TLR-Induced Proinflammatory Cytokine and IFN-β Secretion in Dendritic Cells1

CD45 is a leukocyte-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase and an important regulator of AgR signaling in lymphocytes. However, its function in other leukocytes is not well-understood. In this study, we examine the function of CD45 in dendritic cells (DCs). Analysis of DCs from CD45-positive and CD45-null mice revealed that CD45 is not required for the development of DCs but does influence DC maturation induced by TLR agonists. CD45 affected the phosphorylation state of Lyn, Hck, and Fyn in bone marrow-derived DCs and dysregulated LPS-induced Lyn activation. CD45 affected TLR4-induced proinflammatory cytokine and IFN-β secretion and TLR4-activated CD45-null DCs had a reduced ability to activate NK and Th1 cells to produce IFN-γ. Interestingly, the effect of CD45 on TLR-induced cytokine secretion depended on the TLR activated. Analysis of CD45-negative DCs indicated a negative effect of CD45 on TLR2 and 9, MyD88-dependent cytokine production, and a positive effect on TLR3 and 4, MyD88-independent IFN-β secretion. This indicates a new role for CD45 in regulating TLR-induced responses in DCs and implicates CD45 in a wider regulatory role in innate and adaptive immunity.
KOC (K Homology Domain Containing Protein Overexpressed in Cancer): A Novel Molecular Marker That Distinguishes Between Benign and Malignant Lesions of the Pancreas

KOC (K homology domain containing protein overexpressed in cancer) is a novel oncofetal RNA-binding protein highly expressed in pancreatic carcinomas. Recently, Corixa Corporation developed a monoclonal antibody specific for KOC that can be used with standard immunohistochemical techniques. The purposes of this study were 1) to assess KOC mRNA expression in pancreatic carcinoma, 2) to determine the pattern of KOC immunoexpression among benign, borderline, and malignant pancreatic epithelial lesions, and 3) to evaluate the utility of the KOC antibody in distinguishing between these entities. mRNA was isolated from fresh pancreatic tissues (19 carcinomas, 2 normal pancreas, 1 chronic pancreatitis) and amplified using standard RT-PCR techniques. Fifteen of 19 (79%) carcinomas overexpressed KOC mRNA relative to non-neoplastic tissue samples and expression increased progressively with tumor stage: the mean copy number of KOC mRNA transcripts was 1.5, 11.1, 31, and 28 for stage I, II, III, and IV carcinomas, respectively, compared with 0.9 and 1 for normal pancreatic tissue and chronic pancreatitis, respectively. Immunostains using the KOC antibody were performed on 50 surgical resection specimens (38 invasive adenocarcinomas, 3 intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasms, 2 mucinous cystic neoplasms, 7 chronic pancreatitis). KOC staining was present in 37 of 38 (97%) carcinomas: the staining reaction was moderate or strong in 36 of 38 (94%) and present in >50% of the tumor cells in 35 of 38 (92%) cases. Severe dysplasia of the ductal epithelium, present in 19 foci of intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma, mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, and grade 3 pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN3) showed strong or moderate staining in 15 (79%) cases, whereas foci of mild and moderate dysplasia (intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasms and mucinous cystic neoplasms with adenoma and/or moderate dysplasia, PanIN1, and PanIN2) were uniformly negative for this marker in 25 and 22 cases, respectively. In the normal pancreas, weak background staining of acini was present in 12 of 50 (24%) cases but was easily distinguishable from the type of staining identified in neoplastic epithelium, and benign ducts and ductules were negative in all cases. Four of 38 (11%) foci of chronic pancreatitis, present in the 7 resections performed for chronic pancreatitis as well as 31 foci of peritumoral chronic pancreatitis, showed weak staining in <10% of the ductules. We conclude that KOC is a sensitive and specific marker for carcinomas and high-grade dysplastic lesions of the pancreatic ductal epithelium. Therefore, immunostains directed against KOC may be of diagnostic utility in the evaluation of pancreatic lesions, particularly when biopsy material is limited.
Is prioritized sweeping the better episodic control?

Episodic control has been proposed as a third approach to reinforcement learning, besides model-free and model-based control, by analogy with the three types of human memory. i.e. episodic, procedural and semantic memory. But the theoretical properties of episodic control are not well investigated. Here I show that in deterministic tree Markov decision processes, episodic control is equivalent to a form of prioritized sweeping in terms of sample efficiency as well as memory and computation demands. For general deterministic and stochastic environments, prioritized sweeping performs better even when memory and computation demands are restricted to be equal to those of episodic control. These results suggest generalizations of prioritized sweeping to partially observable environments, its combined use with function approximation and the search for possible implementations of prioritized sweeping in brains.
Patterns of trade, delocalization choices and catching-up

In this paper we look at the role of export composition in the growth process, considering how increased similarity in trade structure among countries can induce catching-up in income levels. We apply our analysis to the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) using the EU as a benchmark. We explicitly consider the sectoral export patterns of the CEECs by comparing them to those of the current members of the EU, focusing on countries’ specialization as suppliers for the EU market. Our main result is that similarity in export composition has a positive, significant and nonlinear impact on catching-up, and seems to be driven by the growth of the main export market more than by other factors. Results are robust to controlling for openness and country-size and for investment, schooling, and the quality of institutions.
Measuring patients' experiences and views of the emergency and urgent care system: psychometric testing of the urgent care system questionnaire

Background Patients seeking emergency and urgent care tend to experience a system, making choices about which service to use and making use of a number of services within a healthcare episode. The aim was to psychometrically test the Urgent Care System Questionnaire (UCSQ) for the routine measurement of the patient perspective of the emergency and urgent care system. Methods The UCSQ was developed based on qualitative research with recent users of the system. It consisted of a screening question to identify recent users and questions on the patient experience of, and satisfaction with, their most recent event. The acceptability, validity and reliability of the UCSQ were tested in a postal survey of 900 members of the general population and a telephone survey of a quota sample of 1000 members of the general population. Results The response rate to the postal survey was 51% (457/893). In the telephone survey, 11 604 calls were made to obtain a quota sample of 1014 people. These surveys identified 250 system users in the previous 3 months. A principal-components analysis identified three satisfaction components with good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha between 0.7 and 0.93): ‘progress through the system’ (10 items), ‘entry into the system’ (three items) and ‘patient convenience’ (five items). These components varied as expected by age and overall rating of the system. Conclusion Preliminary testing suggests that the UCSQ has reasonable acceptability, validity and reliability. Further testing is required, particularly its responsiveness to changes in emergency and urgent care systems.
Feasibility study of cavitation-induced liposomal doxorubicin release in an AT2 Dunning rat tumor model

Background: Targeted and triggered release of liposomal drug using heat or ultrasound represents a promising treatment modality able to increase the therapeutic-totoxicity ratio of encapsulated drugs. Purpose: To study the ability for high-intensity focused ultrasound to induce liposomal drug release mainly by focused inertial cavitation in vitro and in an animal model. Methods: A 1 MHz ultrasound setup has been developed for in vitro and in vivo drug release from a specific liposomal doxorubicin formulation at a target cavitation dose. Results: Controlled cavitation at 1 MHz was applied within the tumors 48 hours after liposome injection according to preliminary pharmacokinetic study. A small non-significant therapeutic effect of US-liposomal treatment was observed compared to liposomes alone suggesting no beneficial effect of ultrasound in the current setup. Conclusion: The in vitro study provided a suitable ultrasound setup for delivering a cavitation dose appropriate for safe liposomal drug release. However, when converting to an in vivo model, no therapeutic benefit was observed. This may be due to a number of reasons, one of which may be the difficulty in converting in vitro findings to an in vivo model. In light of these findings, we discuss important design features for future studies.