Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Long‐Term Survivals of Simultaneous Pancreas–Kidney Transplant between African American and Caucasian Recipients with Basiliximab Induction Therapy

African Americans (AA) have traditionally been thought to have higher immunologic risk than Caucasians (CA) for rejection and allograft loss. The impact of ethnicity on the outcome of simultaneous pancreas–kidney (SPK) transplant with basiliximab induction has not been reported. In this study, we retrospectively analyze the long‐term results of 36 AA and 55 CA recipients of primary SPK. The actual patient survival rates of AA and CA groups were 91.7% vs. 90.1% at 1 year, 93.3% vs. 88.1% at 3 years, and 94.4% vs. 83.3% at 5 years. The actual kidney survival of AA and CA were 91.7% vs. 89.1% at 1 year, 90% vs. 81% at 3 years, and 83.3% vs. 75% at 5 years. The actual pancreas survival of AA and CA were 88.9% vs. 85.5% at 1 year, 83.3% vs. 78.6% at 3 years and 72.2% vs. 70.8% at 5 years. Death‐censored analyses also found no difference in pancreas and kidney graft survival rates over 5 years. Higher rejection rate, but the same low CMV infection, and comparable quality of graft function were noted in AA group. AA may not have worse long‐term outcomes than CA recipients of SPK with basiliximab induction and tacrolimus (TAC), mycophenolate acid (MFA) and steroid maintenance immunotherapy.
Design and processing of porous materials for electronic applications

The use of porosity, either unintentionally or intentionally, in the fabrication of materials for electronic and optoelectronic applications is introduced. Unintentional uses include the fabrication of ceramic magnets, where high electrical resistivities are required to reduce eddy currents at high frequency, and the powder technology, often used, inevitably results in porosity. The generation of light from porous silicon created a huge impact in the early 1990s, followed by extensive work on the mechanism responsible, and has now been followed by a more balanced evaluation of its potential. Porous ferroelectrics have shown significant advantages over dense materials for positive temperature coefficient of resistance applications, and for sensors such as hydrophones, and these will be discussed. Low dielectric constant materials are required for the next generation of silicon integrated circuits, where a reduction compared with silicon dioxide is required, and here porosity is a convenient strategy. Finally, the use of deliberately engineered porous nanostructures, with dimensions in the range of the wavelength of light, are discussed for applications in optical processing.
Prevention of buccal mucosa scarring with transforming growth factor β3

In the treatment of tumorous diseases, scarring often forms after resection or irradiation. Scarring of the buccal mucosa causes difficulty in opening the mouth and mastication, decreasing quality of life. Transforming growth factor (TGF) β3 is an isoform of TGFβ1 that is known to accelerate scarring, although it has different effects on wound healing. TGFβ3 administration into wounds has been associated with improvement in the quality of healing skin in vivo. TGFβ3 is also considered to be an important anti‐scarring factor in buccal mucosa. The present study aimed to examine whether TGFβ3 is effective for prevention and treatment of buccal mucosa scarring.
Handbook on Systemic Risk: Dynamical Models of Market Impact and Algorithms for Order Execution

In this review article, we present recent work on the regularity of dynamical market impact models and their associated optimal order execution strategies. In particular, we address the question of the stability and existence of optimal strategies, showing that in a large class of models, there is price manipulation and no well-behaved optimal order execution strategy. We also address issues arising from the use of dark pools and predatory trading.
Pharmacokinetic-directed dosing of vandetanib and docetaxel in a mouse model of human squamous cell carcinoma

Docetaxel, usually administered according to maximum tolerated dose (MTD), can inhibit endothelial cell proliferation at low nanomolar concentrations. Docetaxel may exert antiangiogenic effects if dosed so plasma levels are maintained at low nanomolar concentrations over a prolonged time. We evaluated metronomic and MTD-based dosing of docetaxel with and without vandetanib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor with antiangiogenic and antitumor activity, in a head and neck xenograft model. A murine physiologically based pharmacokinetic model was modified to predict docetaxel distribution following i.p. administration to design dosing regimens that target prespecified plasma concentrations, for antiendothelial effects (metronomic), or exposure, to mimic 30 mg/m2 (weekly/MTD) docetaxel in humans. Animals were treated for 28 days with 1 mg/kg/d (DTX1) or 6 mg/kg q4d (DTX6) docetaxel with or without vandetanib (15 mg/kg/d p.o.) in mice bearing UMSCC2 tumor xenografts. The DTX1 dosing scheme was adjusted to treatment for 10 days followed by 9 days off due to severe gastrointestinal toxicity. All treatment groups significantly reduced tumor volume, tumor proliferation (Ki-67), and tumor endothelial cell proliferation (Ki-67/von Willebrand factor) compared with control. Addition of vandetanib to docetaxel treatment significantly enhanced tumor growth inhibition over single-agent therapy. A positive correlation of tumor endothelial cell proliferation with tumor growth rates demonstrates vandetanib and docetaxel antiangiogenic effects. Due to the morbidity observed with DTX1 treatment, it is difficult to clearly ascertain if metronomic schedules will be effective for treatment. Docetaxel with vandetanib is effective in treating UMSCC2 xenografts at concentrations relevant to exposures in humans. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(9):3006–17]
Tricuspid regurgitation as a complication of Edwards Sapien XT valve implantation in pulmonary position a problem to deal with

Nowadays, percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) is a suitable alternative to surgical procedure in patients with right ventricle outflow tract dysfunction. Two valves are currently available for PPVI: the Melody valve and the Edwards Sapien valve. The following complications may occur: coronary artery compression, deformation of the aortic root, stent or valve embolization, damage of distal pulmonary arteries, access site injuries. Here, we report on three cases of severe tricuspid regurgitation due to valvular and subvalvular apparatus damage during Edwards Sapien XT valve implantation.
Heteroplasmy in Bovine Fetuses Produced by Intra- and Inter-Subspecific Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer: Neutral Segregation of Nuclear Donor Mitochondrial DNA in Various Tissues and Evidence for Recipient Cow Mitochondria in Fetal Blood1

Abstract Varying degrees of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy have been observed in nuclear transfer embryos, fetuses, and offspring, but the mechanisms leading to this condition are unknown. We have generated a clone of 12 bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer fetuses, using nuclear donor cells, recipient oocytes, and recipient heifers with defined mtDNA genotypes, to study nuclear-mitochondrial interactions and the origins of mtDNA heteroplasmy. Embryos were reconstructed from granulosa cells with Bos taurus mtDNA type A and recipient oocytes collected from three different maternal lineages with B. taurus mtDNA type B, B. taurus mtDNA type C, or B. indicus mtDNA. Sequence differences in the control region (CR) of B. taurus mtDNAs ranged from 6 to 11 nucleotides and differences between B. taurus and B. indicus CRs from 45 to 50 nucleotides. Fetuses were recovered from recipient heifers with B. taurus mtDNA type B on Day 80 after nuclear transfer (eight B. taurus A/B, two B. taurus A/C, and two B. taurus A/B. indicus). Agarose gel analysis of the CR by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism failed to detect nuclear donor mtDNA in 11 investigated tissues of 10 viable fetuses and in DNA samples of two fetuses in resorption (one B. taurus A/B and one B. taurus A/C). A more sensitive analysis of 1801 plasmid clones with CR inserts derived from tissues of a B. taurus A/B. indicus fetus detected no or very low levels of heteroplasmy (0.5–0.7%). However, the analyses detected considerable amounts (∼2.5% and 5%) of recipient heifer mtDNA in blood samples from two fetuses. Our data do not suggest a replicative advantage of somatic nuclear donor cell mtDNA in bovine transmitochondrial clones produced with oocytes from domestic forms of the same or a different aurochs (B. primigenius) subspecies. Detection of mtDNA from the recipient animal in the circulation of two fetuses points to leakage of the placental barrier, mimicking heteroplasmy.
Dioxin Receptor Deficiency Impairs Angiogenesis by a Mechanism Involving VEGF-A Depletion in the Endothelium and Transforming Growth Factor-β Overexpression in the Stroma*

Angiogenesis has key roles in development and in the progression of human diseases such as cancer. Consequently, identifying the novel markers and regulators of angiogenesis is a critical task. The dioxin receptor (AhR) contributes to vascular homeostasis and to the endothelial response to toxins, although the mechanisms involved are largely uncharacterized. Here, we show that AhR-null mice (AhR−/−) have impaired angiogenesis in vivo that compromises tumor xenograft growth. Aortic rings emigration experiments and RNA interference indicated that AhR−/− endothelial cells failed to branch and to form tube-like structures. Such a phenotype was found to be vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependent, as AhR−/− aortic endothelial cells (MAECs) secreted lower amounts of active VEGF-A and their treatment with VEGF-A rescued angiogenesis in culture and in vivo. Further, the addition of anti-VEGF antibody to AhR+/+ MAECs reduced angiogenesis. Treatment under hypoxic conditions with 2-methoxyestradiol suggested that HIF-1α modulates endothelial VEGF expression in an AhR-dependent manner. Importantly, AhR-null stromal myofibroblasts produced increased transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) activity, which inhibited angiogenesis in human endothelial cells (HMECs) and AhR−/− mice, whereas the co-culture of HMECs with AhR−/− myofibroblasts or with their conditioned medium inhibited branching, which was restored by an anti-TGFβ antibody. Moreover, VEGF and TGFβ activities cooperated in modulating angiogenesis, as the addition of TGFβ to AhR−/− MAECs further reduced their low basal VEGF-A activity. Thus, AhR modulates angiogenesis through a mechanism requiring VEGF activation in the endothelium and TGFβ inactivation in the stroma. These data highlight the role of AhR in cardiovascular homeostasis and suggest that this receptor can be a novel regulator of angiogenesis during tumor development.
Integratable High Linearity Compact Waveguide Coupled Tapered InGaAsP Photodetectors

We investigate high linear response tapered photodiodes composed of bulk and multiquantum-well absorption layers based on the integratable asymmetric twin waveguide architecture. The tapered shape reduces space-charge induced nonlinearities, enhancing the saturation current densities at high input optical powers. The 1-dB compression current density for an InGaAsP bulk active layer photodiode (BPD) is in excess of (2.8 plusmn 0.3) kA/cm2, compared to quantum-well photo- diodes (QWPD) in the same materials system that saturate at (1.2 plusmn 0.1) kA/cm2. We find that the limited density of states of QWPDs leads to the early onset of current saturation. The BPD has a polarization sensitivity of SPol = (1.0 plusmn 0.5) dB and responsivity R = (0.3plusmn0.03) A/W at a wavelength of 1.55 mum, whereas the QWPD has SPol = (7plusmn1) dB and R = (0.55plusmn0.05) A/W, while both have a bandwidth of (11 plusmn 1) GHz.
The intestinal cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway

The main task of the immune system is to distinguish and respond accordingly to ‘danger’ or ‘non‐danger’ signals. This is of critical importance in the gastrointestinal tract in which immune cells are constantly in contact with food antigens, symbiotic microflora and potential pathogens. This complex mixture of food antigens and symbionts are essential for providing vital nutrients, so they must be tolerated by the intestinal immune system to prevent aberrant inflammation. Therefore, in the gut the balance between immune activation and tolerance should be tightly regulated to maintain intestinal homeostasis and to prevent hypersensitivity to harmless luminal antigens. Loss of this delicate equilibrium can lead to abnormal activation of the intestinal immune system resulting in devastating gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Recent evidence supports the idea that the central nervous system interacts dynamically via the vagus nerve with the intestinal immune system to modulate inflammation through humoral and neural pathways, using a mechanism also referred to as the intestinal cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway. In this review, we will focus on the current understanding of the mechanisms and neuronal circuits involved in the intestinal cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway. Further investigation on the crosstalk between the nervous and intestinal immune system will hopefully provide new insights leading to the identification of innovative therapeutic approaches to treat intestinal inflammatory diseases.
The Smaug RNA-Binding Protein Is Essential for microRNA Synthesis During the Drosophila Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition

Metazoan embryos undergo a maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) during which maternal gene products are eliminated and the zygotic genome becomes transcriptionally active. During this process, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and the microRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC) target maternal mRNAs for degradation. In Drosophila, the Smaug (SMG), Brain tumor (BRAT), and Pumilio (PUM) RBPs bind to and direct the degradation of largely distinct subsets of maternal mRNAs. SMG has also been shown to be required for zygotic synthesis of mRNAs and several members of the miR-309 family of microRNAs (miRNAs) during the MZT. Here, we have carried out global analysis of small RNAs both in wild-type and in smg mutants. Our results show that 85% of all miRNA species encoded by the genome are present during the MZT. Whereas loss of SMG has no detectable effect on Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), zygotic production of more than 70 species of miRNAs fails or is delayed in smg mutants. SMG is also required for the synthesis and stability of a key miRISC component, Argonaute 1 (AGO1), but plays no role in accumulation of the Argonaute family proteins associated with piRNAs or siRNAs. In smg mutants, maternal mRNAs that are predicted targets of the SMG-dependent zygotic miRNAs fail to be cleared. BRAT and PUM share target mRNAs with these miRNAs but not with SMG itself. We hypothesize that SMG controls the MZT, not only through direct targeting of a subset of maternal mRNAs for degradation but, indirectly, through production and function of miRNAs and miRISC, which act together with BRAT and/or PUM to control clearance of a distinct subset of maternal mRNAs.
Parameter estimation and elimination for stochastic noise from Fiber Optical Gyro in wavelet domain

Stochastic noise of Fiber Optical Gyro (FOG) mainly appears as White Noise (WN) and 1/ ƒ γ fractal noise. Based on the calculation and analysis of the auto-correlation function of sampling data from an Interferometric FOG, it can estimate the variance of WN. Then according to the properties of fractal noise in wavelet domain, it can figured out the parameters of fractal noise through fitting practical variances, which are the results of subtracting the variance of WN from that of wavelet coefficients at each scale, by an optimum exponential function. To get a high SNR signal, it selects an improved threshold-value of wavelet filter. The experiment result shows that it achieved a better effect, even if the distribute of white noise do not know beforehand.
IL-17A and IL-17F genes variants and susceptibility to childhood asthma in Tunisia

Abstract Objectives: IL-17A and IL-17F are new pro-inflammatory cytokines implicated in neutrophilic inflammation and thus, involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. We investigated the possible association among asthma and IL-17A -197G/A (rs2275913), IL-17F 7488A/G (rs763780) and IL-17F 7383A/G (rs2397084). Methods: The study was performed in 171 patients with asthma (mean age 9.5 years, 105 boys, and 66 girls) and 171 healthy individuals matched with patients in age and sex. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to detect genes’ polymorphisms. Results: IL-17A -197G/A and IL-17F 7383A/G were associated with asthma in children (p = 0.008, p = 0.001, respectively). No association was found with IL-17F 7488A/G polymorphism. Haplotype analysis revealed a significant association between GA and AG haplotypes and asthma (p = 0.004, p = 0.02). When patients were stratified according to the atopic status, no significant association was detected with any of the three studied variants. Conclusion: Our results suggested that SNPs in IL-17A and IL-17F confer susceptibility to childhood asthma in Tunisia.
Differential Contributions of the Intraparietal Sulcus and the Inferior Parietal Lobe to Attentional Blink: Evidence from Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

When two targets (T1 and T2) are to be identified in rapid serial visual presentation, the response to T1 induces impairment of T2 report if T2 appears within 500 msec after T1 (attentional blink: AB). AB is thought to reflect temporal limitations of attention which affect target perception. Recent research suggests that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) contributes to an attentional set associated with task goals, whereas the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) is associated with the disengagement and reorienting of attention to a relevant stimulus presented outside the current focus of attention. We investigated respective involvement of the IPS and the IPL in AB using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The results of Experiment 1 showed that the magnitude of AB deficit decreased TMS disrupted activity of the IPS after T1 onset. In addition, an increased AB deficit occurred when TMS was delivered over the IPS or IPL after T2 onset. In Experiment 2, where participants were instructed to ignore T1, they showed an AB-like T2 deficit only when TMS was delivered to the IPS after a T2 onset. Findings are discussed in terms of hypotheses about the respective roles of the IPS, in realizing an attentional set, and the IPL, in contributing to a disengagement of attention (from T1 to T2) during an AB period.
Inclusion education in an age of individualism

Inclusion is a term that, although seeming to have a commonly understood meaning, has changed its conceptual focus over the past 50 years. These changes emerge from the national shift in values and policy away from welfarism to post-welfarism and, more recently, austerity-as-ideology (Ignagni et al., 2015) - changes which have affected the societal territory, and the type of citizen into which inclusion is seen to be desirable. The effect on its application to primary schools has been to move away from a welfarist diversity discourse, in which opportunities were opened up for all children through a universalised education system, to the actuarial elitism of a standards discourse of post-welfarism, embodied in the form of National Curriculum learning expectations. It is the balancing of these two discourses within the context of three case-study primary schools that is the central focus of this research. It employs a mixed-method approach to gather data from children, staff and school leaders – including the use of photography to capture meanings of inclusion. It also uses a conceptual framework constructed from the canon of work of Pierre Bourdieu as the basis for interpreting and analysing the contextual uniqueness of inclusion within these schools. The research considers some overarching themes that arise from this analysis: inclusion as a means of social justice as it changed over the past 50 years to become synonymous with social mobility; the struggles of school leaders to find leadership pathways through the ‘tug’ of each discourse; the changing nature of citizenship and its effect upon inclusion as a means of induction into it and how this has impacted upon categorisations of children. Key to this has been the changing relationship between agent (child) and structure (school and government policy) with the latter currently demanding the compliance and conformity of the former. It is here that the current use of the term inclusion is misplaced, for it implies the integration of children into a structured system. It is this ‘messiness’ and confusion around the concept of inclusion that this research aims to clarify.
VSC of the third order systems with state and input signal constraints

In this paper the design of a time-varying switching plane for the sliding mode control of the third order system subject to velocity, acceleration and input signal constraints is considered. Initially, the plane passes through the system representative point in the error state space and then it moves with a constant velocity to the origin of the space. Having reached the origin the plane stops moving and remains fixed. The plane parameters (determining angles of inclination and the velocity of its motion) are selected to ensure the minimum integral absolute error (IAE) without violating velocity, acceleration and input signal constraints simultaneously. The switching plane is chosen in such a way that the reaching phase is eliminated, insensitivity of the system with reference to the external disturbances and the model uncertainty is guaranteed from the very beginning of the proposed control action and fast, monotonic error convergence to zero is achieved.
Institutional Trading Before Dividend Reduction Announcements

Using a large proprietary database of transaction-level institutional trades for the 1997–2011 period, we find that institutional investors are net sellers in dividend reduction firms during the two quarters prior to the announcements. They also trade more intensively in firms that do not prepare the market for dividend cuts or that have greater information asymmetry. Trading by both pension plan sponsors and money managers affects the market's reaction to the dividend reduction announcements. Finally, all institutional investors earn significant profits by trading in the two quarters prior to the announcements, and money managers outperform pension plan sponsors.
Glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase from watermelon is synthesized with an amino-terminal transit peptide.

The isolation and sequence of a cDNA clone encoding the complete glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase [gMDH; (S)-malate:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1. 1.37] of watermelon cotyledons are presented. Partial cDNA clones were synthesized in a three part strategy, taking advantage of the polymerase chain reaction technology with oligonucleotides based on directly determined amino acid sequences. Subsequently, the complete clone for gMDH was synthesized with a sense primer corresponding to the nucleotide sequence of the N-terminal end of pre-gMDH and an antisense primer corresponding to the adenylylation site found in the mRNA. The amino acids for substrate and cofactor binding identified by x-ray crystallography for pig heart cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase are conserved in the 319-amino-acid-long mature plant enzyme. The pre-gMDH contains an N-terminal transit peptide of 37 residues. It has a net positive charge, lacks a long stretch of hydrophobic residues, and contains besides acidic amino acids a cluster of serine residues. This N-terminal extension is cleaved off upon association with or import into glyoxysomes. It contains a putative AHL topogenic signal for microbody import and has no sequence similarity to the 27-residue-long presequence of the watermelon mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase precursor.