Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibitors of phospholipase A2 and their therapeutic potential: an update on patents (2012-2016)

ABSTRACT Introduction: The regulation of the catalytic activity of the various phospholipase A2 enzymes is of high importance because these enzymes are involved in various pathological conditions such as arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, and cancer. Thus, a great effort has been devoted in developing synthetic inhibitors as new agents to treat inflammatory diseases. Some of them have reached clinical trials. Areas covered: This review article discusses the phospholipase A2 inhibitors presented in patent literature from October 2012 to June 2016, their activities in vitro and in vivo as well as the results of clinical trials using synthetic PLA2 inhibitors. Expert opinion: None of the inhibitors studied in clinical trials have reached the market yet. The failure of lipoprotein-associated PLA2 inhibitor darapladib to reduce the risk of major coronary events suggests that this enzyme may be a biomarker of vascular inflammation rather than a causal pathway of cardiovascular diseases. These findings, together with the failure of secreted PLA2 inhibitor varespladib for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, indicate that deeper knowledge on these enzymes is needed. Inhibitors of cytosolic PLA2 are in clinical trials against psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
Large-scale patterns in biodiversity of microbial eukaryotes from the abyssal sea floor

Eukaryotic microbial life at abyssal depths remains “uncharted territory” in eukaryotic microbiology. No phylogenetic surveys have focused on the largest benthic environment on this planet, the abyssal plains. Moreover, knowledge of the spatial patterns of deep-sea community structure is scanty, and what little is known originates primarily from morphology-based studies of foraminiferans. Here we report on the great phylogenetic diversity of microbial eukaryotic communities of all 3 abyssal plains of the southeastern Atlantic Ocean---the Angola, Cape, and Guinea Abyssal Plains---from depths of 5,000 m. A high percentage of retrieved clones had no close representatives in genetic databases. Many clones were affiliated with parasitic species. Furthermore, differences between the communities of the Cape Abyssal Plain and the other 2 abyssal plains point to environmental gradients apparently shaping community structure at the landscape level. On a regional scale, local species diversity showed much less variation. Our study provides insight into the community composition of microbial eukaryotes on larger scales from the wide abyssal sea floor realm and marks a direction for more detailed future studies aimed at improving our understanding of deep-sea microbes at the community and ecosystem levels, as well as the ecological principles at play.
Periodic Tilings as a Dissection Method

1. INTRODUCTION. In geometry it is sometimes useful to prove results about the equivalence of two areas or volumes, here referred to as (equivalent) tiles, by using the dissection method. This method consists of cutting both tiles into the same (finite) number of pieces, or subtiles, in such a way that each piece of a tile has a corresponding congruent piece from the other tile. In this case, the tiles are said to be congruent by addition or (geometrically) equidecomposable. In fact, according to the classic theorem of Bolyai-Gerwin, any two polygonal tiles with equal area are congruent by addition, and the dissection can always be done with straightedge and compasses [1]. However, as Dehn [3] showed, the analogous result for polyhedra does not hold, since a regular tetrahedron and a cube of the same volume are not equidecomposable. For two comprehensive accounts of interesting dissections, see [15] and [7]. Another related approach is to prove that the equivalent tiles are congruent by subtraction or equicomplementable. This means that some corresponding pairs of congruent pieces can be added on in order to get two new tiles that are congruent by addition. In this context, Sydler [20] proved that two equivalent polygons or polyhedra are equicomplementable if and only if they are equidecomposable. Sometimes we require not only that the equivalent tiles be equidecomposable (or equicomplementable) but also that they can be transformed into one another by using certain types of rigid motions (or isometries), such as translations and rotations. Thus, since the allowed transformations always form a group, say G, we then speak about G-equidecomposability. Another classical result in this context is the Hadwiger-Glur theorem [14]: two polygonal planar regions with equal area are always Gs-equidecomposable, where Gs is the group of translations and central symmetries. In fact, Gs is the minimum subgroup of the whole group GK of isometries of the plane bearing this property. Given a discrete group G of transformations of Euclidean n-space, we say that a tile G-periodically tessellates (or, simply, G-tessellates) the space when the transformations of the tile by the elements of G completely cover the space without gaps or overlaps. For example, if G is generated by some translations, the entire space is filled with proper translations (neither rotations nor symmetries are allowed) of the tile, called translates. For any periodic tessellation there is a corresponding underlying lattice, or set of points representing the feasible translations. The reader can find a very extensive treatment of periodic (and nonperiodic) tessellations in [11]. Our aim here is to show the close relationship between some congruent (by addition or subtraction) tiles and their corresponding congruent (that is, with the same lattice) periodic tilings. In particular, this provides a method of obtaining (old and new) dissection proofs of geometric results. The basic concepts and results concerning this approach are dealt with in Section 2, whereas Sections 3 and 4 are devoted to giving some examples of applications of the method.
Statin usage, vascular diagnosis and vascular risk factors in Parkinson’s disease

Background and aims Vascular disease is a common comorbidity in Parkinson’s disease patients. Statins are potentially neuroprotective for Parkinson’s disease through non-vascular mechanisms. We investigated prevailing statin use in a Parkinson’s disease cohort. Methods and results Data on diagnostic indication for statins, anti-Parkinson therapy, vascular risk factors, and statin prescription, were obtained from electronic medical record review for consecutive Parkinson’s disease patients. The ASsessing cardiac risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network system was used to calculate future cardiovascular risk and identify those warranting statin use. Of 441 patients included, 59.9% were male, with a mean age of 68.9 years (standard deviation 10.3). One hundred and seventy-four (39.5%) patients had at least one diagnostic indication for statin use, of whom 136 (78.2%) were prescribed a statin. In the 267 (60.5%) cases without a diagnostic indication, 54 (20.2%) were excluded owing to age limitations defined in ASsessing cardiac risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Of the remaining 213, 62 (29.1%) had an ASsessing cardiac risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network score in the recommended range for statin therapy, of whom 15 (24.1%) were prescribed statins. Conclusion There is suboptimal implementation of statin therapy in Parkinson’s disease patients. Given the possible neuroprotective effects of statins in Parkinson’s disease in addition to reducing cardiovascular risk, reasons for suboptimal implementation warrant further investigation.
The Second International Workshop on Detection of Software Clones: workshop report

This report is intended to summarize the proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Detection of Software Clones (IWDSC'2003). The aim of the workshop was to bring together researchers within the field of clone detection to critically assess the current state of research, and to establish new directions and partnerships for research. There were at least 30 people in attendance. Five position papers were presented and discussed. In addition, an index card-based brainstorming technique was used to focus discussion on assessing the current state of clone analysis and detection. A report and analysis of the results of this brainstorming session is the main content of this report. We recommend another international workshop on clones and clone detection be set to be held alongside another conference sometime in 2004.
Deregulated neddylation in liver fibrosis

Hepatic fibrosis is a global health problem currently without effective therapeutic approaches. Even though the ubiquitin‐like posttranslational modification of neddylation, that conjugates Nedd8 (neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated) to specific targets, is aberrant in many pathologies, its relevance in liver fibrosis (LF) remained unexplored. Our results show deregulated neddylation in clinical fibrosis and both in mouse bileductligation– and CCl4‐induced fibrosis. Importantly, neddylation inhibition, by using the pharmacological inhibitor, MLN4924, reduced liver injury, apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrosis by targeting different hepatic cell types. On one hand, increased neddylation was associated with augmented caspase 3 activity in bile‐acid–induced apoptosis in mouse hepatocytes whereas neddylation inhibition ameliorated apoptosis through reduction of expression of the Cxcl1 and Ccl2 chemokines. On the other hand, chemokine receptors and cytokines, usually induced in activated macrophages, were reduced after neddylation inhibition in mouse Kupffer cells. Under these circumstances, decreased hepatocyte cell death and inflammation after neddylation inhibition could partly account for reduction of hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. We provide evidence that augmented neddylation characterizes activated HSCs, suggesting that neddylation inhibition could be important for resolving LF by directly targeting these fibrogenic cells. Indeed, neddylation inhibition in activated HSCs induces apoptosis in a process partly mediated by accumulation of c‐Jun, whose cullin‐mediated degradation is impaired under these circumstances. Conclusion: Neddylation inhibition reduces fibrosis, suggesting neddylation as a potential and attractive therapeutic target in liver fibrosis. (Hepatology 2017;65:694‐709).
Research and Application of AVC Sub-station System of Phase Modulator in High Voltage Converter Station

With the rapid development of long-distance HVDC transmission, the problems of insufficient dynamic reactive power reserve and low voltage quality in some areas have become increasingly highlighted. In order to improve the level of regional dynamic reactive power reserve for converter station, optimize the voltage stability of power grid, and further improve the effect of phase modulator application in converter station, an improved control method of AVC substation is proposed. It optimizes the traditional control strategy, and makes full use of the characteristics of large capacity and fast response speed of the phase modulator. Fast voltage recovery in transition process and reactive power optimization in steady state process can improve the level of voltage stability and the ability of direct current power transmission.
Link and Path Metries for Broadband Networks: Simulation Studies using the Encourager Program

: We consider the implementation of a broadband system using digital cross connect switches or ATM where a variety ofpaths may be established between the source and destination nodes. A heuristic path selection approach based on encouragement factors [2] is considered for implementation. We suggest a mathematical basis for this heuristic and study its performance using a PC based tool, the Encourager program. The design of this tool and the results obtained from it for typical networks are presented. Future work will permit the testing of a number of extension strategies .
3D lightning strikes probability program

This paper presents a program for calculating the probability of lightning strikes at 3D complex structures. The calculations are based on a dynamic electromagnetic model. This model is based on the analytical Wave-Pair concept for calculating the electric field strengths at a desired observation point. Based on that model the electric field strength values are calculated at chosen points. When those fields exceed critical field strength, an up going discharge starts from each point and the striking point is the one that meets the down going discharge first. The computer program is based on architectural structures models drawn in Google Sketchup. The models are exported to MATLAB and the probability of lightning strikes at any desired point or building is calculated by a Monte Carlo algorithm. A study case of calculating the probability of lightning stroke to a complex of buildings and installations is also shown and compared to other works.
Eosinophilia in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, external genitalia and anus—clinical correlations

The incidence and pattern of tumour‐associated eosinophilia is described in squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity, vulva, penis, scrotum and anus. Massive tissue eosinophilia appears to be related to the histological differentiation of the tumours in which it occurs, and in the cases in this series was associated with a favourable prognosis. Circulating eosinophilia occurred in patients with metastatic disease and a poor prognosis.
Neural networks complemented with genetic algorithms and fuzzy systems for predicting nitrogenous effluent variables in wastewater treatment plants

This work focuses on the prediction of the two main nitrogenous variables that describe the water quality at the effluent of a Wastewater Treatment Plant. We have developed two kind of Neural Networks architectures based on considering only one output or, in the other hand, the usual five effluent variables that define the water quality: suspended solids, biochemical organic matter, chemical organic matter, total nitrogen and total Kjedhal nitrogen. Two learning techniques based on a classical adaptative gradient and a Kalman filter have been implemented. In order to try to improve generalization and performance we have selected variables by means genetic algorithms and fuzzy systems. The training, testing and validation sets show that the final networks are able to learn enough well the simulated available data specially for the total nitrogen
ARISE-PIE: A People Information Integration Engine over the Web

Searching for people information on the Web is a common practice in life. However, it is time consuming to search for such information manually. In this paper, we aim to develop an automatic people information search system, named ARISE-PIE. To build such a system, we tackle two major technical challenges: data harvesting and data integration. For data harvesting, we study how to leverage search engine to help crawl the relevant Web pages for a target entity; then we propose a novel learning to query model that can automatically select a set of “best” queries to maximize collective utility ( e.g. , precision or recall). For data integration, we study how to leverage ﬂexible forms of constraints as weak supervision to achieve collective information extraction from a target entity’s Web page corpus; then we propose a novel conditional probabilistic formulation to model constraints and an efﬁcient realization to enable the inference with constraints. We evaluate our data harvesting and data integration solutions on the real-world data sets, and show that they both achieve better performance than the state-of-the-art base-lines. We also evaluate our system on a benchmark data set and with a user study, in which we both show promising results.
Assembly task recognition with planar, curved and mechanical contacts

The assembly-plan-from-observation (APO) method for robot programming is described. The APO method aims to build a system that has threefold capabilities. The method observes a human performing an assembly task, it understands the task based on this observation, and it generates a robot program to achieve the same task. Emphasis is placed on the main loop of the APO, which is task recognition. Using object recognition results, the task recognition module determines what kind of assembly task is performed. The method extends the task recognition module to handling curved objects and other mechanical contacts. Task models for these cases are defined. Two concepts are verified, i.e., that such task models are useful in recognizing assembly tasks, and that it is possible to generate robot motion commands for repeating the same assembly task. <<ETX>>
Empirical Health Law Scholarship: The State of the Field

The last three decades have seen the blossoming of the fields of health law and empirical legal studies and their intersection - empirical scholarship in health law and policy. Researchers in legal academia and other settings have conducted hundreds of studies using data to estimate the effects of health law on accident rates, health outcomes, health care utilization, and costs, as well as other outcome variables. Yet the emerging field of empirical health law faces significant challenges: practical, methodological, and political. The purpose of this Article is to survey the current state of the field by describing commonly used methods, analyzing enabling and inhibiting factors in the production and uptake of this type of research by policymakers, and suggesting ways to increase the production and impact of empirical health law studies. In some areas of inquiry, high-quality research has been conducted, and the findings have been successfully imported into policy debates and used to inform evidence-based lawmaking. In other areas, the level of rigor has been uneven, and the best evidence has not translated effectively into sound policy. Despite challenges and historical shortcomings, empirical health law studies can and should have a substantial impact on regulations designed to improve public safety, increase both access to and quality of health care, and foster technological innovation.
Resolving the 50‐year debate around using and misusing Likert scales

How Likert type measurement scales should be appropriately used and analysed has been debated for over 50 years, often to the great confusion of students, practitioners, allied health researchers and educators. Basically, there are two major competing views that have evolved somewhat independently of one another and of the associated empirical research literature on this ‘great debate’. Most recently in this journal, Jamieson outlined the view that ‘Likert scales’ are ordinal in character (i.e., produce rank order data) and that they, therefore, must be analysed using non-parametric statistics. Non-parametric statistics, however, are less sensitive and less powerful than parametric statistics and are, therefore, more likely to miss weaker or emerging findings.
Response: The Effect of 12 Weeks Aerobic, Resistance, and Combined Exercises on Omentin-1 Levels and Insulin Resistance among Type 2 Diabetic Middle-Aged Women (Diabetes Metab J 2017;41:205-12)

Corresponding author: Mostafa Dianatinasab https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0185-5807 Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran E-mail: dianati.epid@gmail.com We appreciate Dr. Kim’s interest and comments on our article entitled “The effect of 12 weeks aerobic, resistance, and combined exercises on omentin-1 levels and insulin resistance among type 2 diabetic middle-aged women” which was published in Diabetes and Metabolism Journal [1]. Omentin is an adipokine, which is expressed and secreted from adipose tissue [2]. Among total body fat storages, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is distinct in omentin secretion. Serum omentin concentration is related to obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus [3]. In addition, recent studies reported that omentin level in the bloodstream is increased by lifestyle modification or exercise [4,5]. To understand what is the exact mechanisms of rise in omentin-1 secretion when the above interventions are applied and whether fat depots is only a causal link between lifestyle and change in omentin production or both healthy lifestyle (including physical exercise) and change in fat depots are the main causes for this achievement, measurement of body fat storage is indispensable. In this regard, we completely agree with Dr. Kim that measurement of abdominal circumference could have improved our understanding of the effect of exercise on central obesity and omentin secretion. However, because of cultural and religious sensitivities, we preferred not to measure abdominal circumference of female participants as otherwise, we would have significant decrease in participation rate. Anyhow, due to the following reasons we believe our decision did not critically limit the findings of our study. VAT can be divided into omental, mesenteric, retroperitoneal, gonadal, and pericardial [6]. As Yang et al. [7] suggested, omental fat expresses and secrets much greater omentin compare to other VAT components and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Abdominal circumference is a good meter for change in SAT and mesenteric but not omental fat and in return omentin production [8]. Indeed, more accurate methods for measuring different parts of VAT are high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scan. Not of these methods were decided to be used in our study due to high costs and potential side effects [9,10]. As suggested by Dr. Kim, We also believe more studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms that physical exercise affect omentin secretion from visceral fat depots.
Antibody-Secreting Cells in the Stomachs of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Helicobacter pylori-Infected Subjects

ABSTRACT In this study we analyzed whether infection with Helicobacter pylori gives rise to specific B-cell responses against a number of putative virulence factors of H. pylori, e.g., urease, flagellin, and different bacterial surface antigens, locally in the gastric mucosa. This was studied in antrum and corpus biopsies collected from 11 H. pylori-infected patients with duodenal ulcers, 11 asymptomatic H. pylori carriers, and 13 noninfected, healthy controls. Mononuclear cells were isolated from the biopsies and assayed for frequencies of total and H. pylori-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) by means of the enzyme-linked immunospot technique. The H. pylori-infected subjects had remarkably higher frequencies of total immunoglobulin A (IgA)- and IgM-secreting cells than the noninfected subjects, while the frequencies of IgG-secreting cells were virtually the same in the different groups. In addition, most of the infected subjects had IgA ASCs reacting with H. pylori membrane proteins, flagellin, and urease, while none of the noninfected subjects had any detectable H. pylori-reactive ASCs. Furthermore, half of the infected subjects also had ASCs reacting with aHelicobacter-specific 26-kDa protein, while only a few of them had ASCs reacting with neutrophil-activating protein, the neuraminyllactose-binding hemagglutinin HpaA, or lipopolysaccharides purified from different H. pylori strains. The frequencies of H. pylori-specific ASCs in the antrum and corpus were almost identical, and no differences in either antigen specificity or magnitude of the B-cell response in the stomach could be detected between the ulcer patients and the asymptomaticH. pylori carriers. This study demonstrates that H. pylori infection induces strong antibody responses in the human gastric mucosa, both in asymptomatic carriers and in duodenal ulcer patients. However, the outcome of infection could not be explained by differences in the local B-cell response to any of the antigens used in this study.