Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bifidobacterium lactis attenuates onset of inflammation in a murine model of colitis.

AIM To assess the anti-inflammatory effect of the probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis (B. lactis) in an adoptive transfer model of colitis. METHODS Donor and recipient mice received either B. lactis or bacterial culture medium as control (deMan Rogosa Sharpe) in drinking water for one week prior to transfer of a mix of naive and regulatory T cells until sacrifice. RESULTS All recipient mice developed signs of colonic inflammation, but a significant reduction of weight loss was observed in B. lactis-fed recipient mice compared to control mice. Moreover, a trend toward a diminution of mucosal thickness and attenuated epithelial damage was revealed. Colonic expression of pro-inflammatory and T cell markers was significantly reduced in B. lactis-fed recipient mice compared to controls. Concomitantly, forkhead box protein 3, a marker of regulatory T cells, was significantly up-regulated by B. lactis. CONCLUSION Daily oral administration of B. lactis was able to reduce inflammatory and T cells mediators and to promote regulatory T cells specific markers in a mouse model of colitis.
The Relationships of Balance and Bilateral Coordination to Skipping in Kindergarten Children.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of balance and bilateral coordination to the fundamental locomotor pattern of skipping in 5and 6-year old children. Subjects were kindergarten students (N=30) who were attending an elementary school in the suburban Kansas City area. The investigators used items from the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency to obtain balance and bilateral coordination scores. They used the Ohio State University Scale of Intra Gross Motor Assessment (0.S.U. SIGMA) for assessment of skipping performance. Based on results of correlational analyses, the correlation of balance and bilateral coordination--combined to skipping was significant (p .05); correlations between balance and skipping and between bilateral coordination and skipping were not significant. (Author) ******R**************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ***********************************************v***********************
The Origin of a Sense of Self in Women

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iii Chapter I: Introduction . 1 Chapter II: Review of the Literature . 5 Stages of Development . 5 Social Stereotypes and Social Conditioning . 16 Society and Female Stereotypes . 18 Current Trends and Appearance Expectations On Women . 21 Chapter III: Methodology . 31 Main Research Question . 34 Research Methods. 34 Chapter IV: Results . 35 Data . 35 Taylor . 35 Summary . 39 Jennifer . 39 Summary . 43 Catherine . 44 Summary . 47 Leslie . 47 Summary . 50 Robyn . 51 Summary . 54 Sabrina . 54 Summary . 58 Susan . 58 Summary . 62 Madeline . 63 Summary . 66 Findings. 67 Summary of Findings . 68 Chapter V: Discussion and Implications. 71 Overview . 71 The Common Themes . 71 Parenting according to gender stereotypes and the derived qualities of self-worth. 71 Body Image . 73 Self-efficacy through family status. 74 Morality and work ethics were indicative of a strong sense of self. 76 Inner voice . 76 Boundaries . 77 The significance of relationships and collaboration. 77 v Summary . 81 Implications. 81 Strengths and Weakness of the Study . 86 Recommendations for Future Studies . 86 Conclusion . 89 References . 91 Appendix A . 95 Consent Form . 95 Appendix B . 97 Form B . 97 Participants . 97 APPENDIX C . 101 Demographic Questionnaire . 101 APPENDIX D . 104 Interview Questionnaire . 104
Long-term treatment of transsexuals with cross-sex hormones: extensive personal experience.

CONTEXT Transsexuals receive cross-sex hormone treatment. Its short-term use appears reasonably safe. Little is known about its long-term use. This report offers some perspectives. SETTING The setting was a university hospital serving as the national referral center for The Netherlands (16 million people). PATIENTS From the start of the gender clinic in 1975 up to 2006, 2236 male-to-female and 876 female-to-male transsexuals have received cross-sex hormone treatment. In principle, subjects are followed up lifelong. INTERVENTIONS Male-to-female transsexuals receive treatment with the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate 100 mg/d plus estrogens (previously 100 microg ethinyl estradiol, now 2-4 mg oral estradiol valerate/d or 100 microg transdermal estradiol/d). Female-to-male transsexuals receive parenteral testosterone esters 250 mg/2 wk. After 18-36 months, surgical sex reassignment including gonadectomy follows, inducing a profound hypogonadal state. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Outcome measures included morbidity and mortality data and data assessing risks of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS Mortality was not higher than in a comparison group. Regarding morbidity, with ethinyl estradiol, there was a 6-8% incidence of venous thrombosis, which is no longer the case with use of other types of estrogens. Continuous use of cross-sex hormones is required to prevent osteoporosis. Androgen deprivation plus an estrogen milieu in male-to-female transsexuals has a larger deleterious effect on cardiovascular risk factors than inducing an androgenic milieu in female-to-male transsexuals, but there is so far no elevated cardiovascular morbidity/mortality. Low numbers of endocrine-related cancers have been observed in male-to-female transsexuals. CONCLUSIONS Cross-sex hormone treatment of transsexuals seems acceptably safe over the short and medium term, but solid clinical data are lacking.
Local star formation triggered by supernova shocks in magnetized diffuse neutral clouds

In this work, considering the impact of a supernova remnant (SNR) with a neutral magnetized cloud we derived analytically a set of conditions that are favourable for driving gravitational instability in the cloud and thus star formation. Using these conditions, we have built diagrams of the SNR radius, R SNR , versus the initial cloud density, n c , that constrain a domain in the parameter space where star formation is allowed. This work is an extension to previous study performed without considering magnetic fields (Melioli et al. 2006, hereafter Paper I). The diagrams are also tested with fully three-dimensional MHD radiative cooling simulations involving a SNR and a self-gravitating cloud and we find that the numerical analysis is consistent with the results predicted by the diagrams. While the inclusion of a homogeneous magnetic field approximately perpendicular to the impact velocity of the SNR with an intensity ∼ 1 μG within the cloud results only a small shrinking of the star formation zone in the diagram relative to that without magnetic field, a larger magnetic field (∼10 μG) causes a significant shrinking, as expected. Though derived from simple analytical considerations these diagrams provide a useful tool for identifying sites where star formation could be triggered by the impact of a supernova blast wave. Applications of them to a few regions of our own Galaxy (e.g. the large CO shell in the direction of Cassiopeia, and the Edge Cloud 2 in the direction of the Scorpious constellation) have revealed that star formation in those sites could have been triggered by shock waves from SNRs for specific values of the initial neutral cloud density and the SNR radius. Finally, we have evaluated the effective star formation efficiency for this sort of interaction and found that it is generally smaller than the observed values in our own Galaxy (SFE ∼ 0.01-0.3). This result is consistent with previous work in the literature and also suggests that the mechanism presently investigated, though very powerful to drive structure formation, supersonic turbulence and eventually, local star formation, does not seem to be sufficient to drive global star formation in normal star-forming galaxies, not even when the magnetic field in the neutral clouds is neglected.
Designing parameters for RF MOS cells

Demand of radio frequency switches using Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) technology at high-frequencies for wireless telecommunication system is increasing drastically. This paper presents the results for the development of a cell library that includes the basics of the design parameters for n-MOS transistor and p-MOS transistor to design a RF CMOS switch. The cell library design includes the properties for RF circuit design standard and measurement outcomes are presented. The cell parameters presented here are calculated (designed) using 2.0 μm and 0.8 μm technology MOS integrated circuit. In this paper we discussed and found better result in terms of drain current for gate voltage of 2.1 V compare to 1.2 V, calculate the power for these voltages and time constant with help of contact resistance and capacitances [1].
An Experimental Investigation of Mode of Presentation and Verbally-Induced Distraction on Communication Acceptance.

This study investigated the impact of a verbally-induced distractor (critical response set to either "good" or "bad" arguments or no distraction) on a persuasive message presented across two modes of presentation (audio and audiovisual). The data (N = 124) supported the hypothesis that verballyinduced distraction, when induced as "bad" arguments, increased resistance to the persuasive message. Additionally, as predicted, people viewing the presentation were more susceptable to the message and viewed the message source as more credible and attractive than those merely listening to the same message and source. Results were interpreted in terms of a one-shot persuasive message whereby immediate impact is measured and persuasiveness claimed by the source and expanded to multiple-message situations. AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF MODE OF PRESENTATION AND VERBALLY-INDUCED DISTRACTION ON COMMUNICATION ACCEPTANCE The recent use of one-shot persuasive messages seems to run counter to the claim that persuasion is generally a process in which several messages are presented to an individual, each competing with each other, Current political use of the persuasive message, for example, presents a persuasive message (e.g., state of the economy, need to cut welfare si,ending) to a mass audience through either television or radio and then measures the direct impact through audience telephone feedback or on-the-spot surveys by local and/or national forecasters. Such use of a persuasive message then suggests that the one-time message may be coming more central to the understanding of how we change attitudes than previously believed. The present study investigated a similar phenomenon. Based on the use of one-time persuasive messages presented across at least two media, radio and television, the impact of each was measured. A second variable, that of distraction, was also examined for its induced impact on conferring resistance to the message conveyed through a verbal "slip" to look for different types of arguments. It was thought that differences would be found for both the mode of presentation and the type of critical distractive set the audience was set to. Inducement of Distraction Our interest in distraction as a means of mediating the impact of a persuasive message stems from earlier work by Michael Burgoon and associates (Burgoon, Cohen, Miller, and Montegomery,1978; Miller and Burgoon, 1979) which suggests that people can be made to modify their perception of an on-coming message by distracting them either toward message or source, Such modification comes about when the person's need to counterargue the message is reduced through changes in the perceived threat of the message's position, Since the potential of any
CoDA

Large data resources are ubiquitous in science and business. For these domains, an intuitive view on the data is essential to fully exploit the hidden knowledge. Often, these data can be semantically structured by concepts. Since the determination of concepts requires a thorough analysis of the data, data mining methods have to be applied. In the field of subspace clustering, some techniques have recently shown to be effective for this task. Although these methods generate concept-based patterns, the user has to provide domain knowledge to gain reasonable concepts out of the data. Our demonstration CoDA (Concept Determination and Analysis) is a tool that supports the user in the final step of concept definition. More concretely, the user is guided through an iterative, interactive process in which concepts are suggested, analyzed, and potentially refined. The core aspect of CoDA is an intuitive, concept-driven presentation of subspace clusters such that concepts can be visually captured.
pirABvp-Bearing Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio campbellii Pathogens Isolated from the Same AHPND-Affected Pond Possess Highly Similar Pathogenic Plasmids

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a severe shrimp disease originally shown to be caused by virulent strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VPAHPND). Rare cases of AHPND caused by Vibrio species other than V. parahaemolyticus were reported. We compared an AHPND-causing V. campbellii (VCAHPND) and a VPAHPND isolate from the same AHPND-affected pond. Both strains are positive for the virulence genes pirABvp. Immersion challenge test with Litopenaeus vannamei indicated the two strains possessed similar pathogenicity. Complete genome comparison showed that the pirABvp-bearing plasmids in the two strains were highly homologous, and they both shared high homologies with plasmid pVA1, the reported pirABvp-bearing plasmid. Conjugation and DNA-uptake genes were found on the pVA1-type plasmids and the host chromosomes, respectively, which may facilitate the dissemination of pirABvp. Novel variations likely driven by ISVal1 in the genetic contexts of the pirABvp genes were found in the two strains. Moreover, the VCAHPND isolate additionally contains multiple antibiotic resistance genes, which may bring difficulties to control its future outbreak. The dissemination of the pirABvp in non-parahaemolyticus Vibrio also rises the concern of missing detection in industrial settings since the isolation method currently used mainly targeting V. parahaemolyticus. This study provides timely information for better understanding of the causes of AHPND and molecular epidemiology of pirABvp and also appeals for precautions to encounter the dissemination of the hazardous genes.
Multicenter quality control of the detection of HIV‐1 genome in semen before medically assisted procreation

Couples in whom the man is HIV‐1‐positive may use medically assisted procreation in order to conceive a child without contaminating the female partner. But, before medically assisted procreation, the semen has to be processed to exclude HIV and tested for HIV nucleic acid before and after processing. The performance was evaluated of the technical protocols used to detect and quantify HIV‐1 in 11 centers providing medically assisted procreation for couples with HIV‐1 infected men by testing panels of seminal plasma and cells containing HIV‐1 RNA and/or DNA. The performance of these tests varied due to the different assays used. False positive results were obtained in 14–19% of cases. The sensitivity for RNA detection in seminal plasma was 500–1,000 RNA copies/ml, over 500 RNA copies/106 cells in semen cells, and for DNA detection in semen cells 50–500 DNA copies/106 cells. The use of silica‐based extraction seemed to increase the assay performance, whereas the use of internal controls to detect PCR inhibitor did not. This first quality control highlights the need for technical improvements of the assays to detect and quantify HIV in semen fractions and for regular evaluation of their performance. J. Med. Virol. 78:877–882, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Data Partition Learning With Multiple Extreme Learning Machines

As demonstrated earlier, the learning accuracy of the single-layer-feedforward-network (SLFN) is generally far lower than expected, which has been a major bottleneck for many applications. In fact, for some large real problems, it is accepted that after tremendous learning time (within finite epochs), the network output error of SLFN will stop or reduce increasingly slowly. This report offers an extreme learning machine (ELM)-based learning method, referred to as the parent-offspring progressive learning method. The proposed method works by separating the data points into various parts, and then multiple ELMs learn and identify the clustered parts separately. The key advantages of the proposed algorithms as compared to the traditional supervised methods are twofold. First, it extends the ELM learning method from a single neural network to a multinetwork learning system, as the proposed multiELM method can approximate any target continuous function and classify disjointed regions. Second, the proposed method tends to deliver a similar or much better generalization performance than other learning methods. All the methods proposed in this paper are tested on both artificial and real datasets.
Polymorphisms in pattern‐recognition genes in the innate immunity system and risk of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma

The pattern‐recognition pathway plays an important role in infection recognition and immune responses, and previous studies have suggested an association between genetic variation in innate immunity genes and non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We evaluated NHL risk associated with genetic variation in pattern‐recognition genes using data from a case–control study of NHL conducted in Connecticut women. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 27 pattern‐recognition genes were genotyped in 432 Caucasian incident NHL cases and 494 frequency‐matched controls. Unconditional logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (ORs) for NHL and common NHL subtypes in relation to individual SNPs and haplotypes. A gene‐based analysis that adjusted for the number of tagSNPs genotyped in each gene showed a significant association with overall NHL for the MBP gene (P = 0.028), with the diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) subtype for the MASP2 gene (P = 0.011), and with the follicular lymphoma (FL) subtype for DEFB126 (P = 0.041). A SNP‐based analysis showed that MBP rs8094402 was associated with decreased risks of overall NHL (allele risk OR = 0.72, P‐trend = 0.0018), DLBCL (allele risk OR = 0.72, P‐trend = 0.036), and FL (allele risk OR = 0.67, P‐trend = 0.021), while MASP2 rs12711521 was associated with a decreased risk of DLBCL (allele risk OR = 0.57, P‐trend = 0.0042). We also observed an increased risk of FL for DEFB126 rs6054706 (allele risk OR = 1.39, P‐trend = 0.033). Our results suggest that genetic variation in pattern‐recognition genes is associated with the risk of NHL or specific NHL subtypes, but these preliminary findings require replication in larger studies. Mol. Mutagen. 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Selecting features from high dimensional datasets using regression analysis

High dimensionality of microarray datasets pose a great challenge to the researchers classifying them. Traditional classifiers perform poorly on these datasets because of their large, redundant and irrelevant feature set. Therefore a small number of features (genes) are always desirable both by the classifier to classify better as well as to the biologist to analyze the cause of disease with fewer important genes. In this study we have proposed an efficient feature selection technique based on linear regression analysis which finds the best feature set using a regression model. The acceptance of the method is evaluated by comparing with several other feature selection approaches in different classifiers.
Partial Least Squares Regression Based Facial Age Estimation

Facial age estimation is an important problem in the field of computer image processing. Because of the difficulty of data collection, one of the most challenges of facial age estimation is that there are not sufficient training data. Label distribution learning is an effective method to address this problem, where its motivation is that facial aging information on adjacent ages can be introduced to enhance the age estimation model due to the fact that human faces change slowly on adjacent ages. Given a certain age to learn, label distribution learning converts the learning target from a continuous value to an age label distribution which is generated according to the description degree of the neighboring ages to the given age. Despite of the successful application of label distribution learning on facial age estimation, the existed methods have some obvious drawbacks. The method based on the maximum entropy builds separated model for each age and has a strong assumption about the data distribution, and the neural network based method has the problem of overfitting. In this paper, we transform the label distribution learning based age estimation problem into the multivariate multiple regression analysis and then solve it by the multivariate partial least squares regression. The proposed method has no assumption about the data distribution and builds an integrated effective model for all ages. Extensive comparative experimental results on the FG-NET dataset show that the proposed partial least squares regression based facial age estimation method has significantly better performance than the state-of-the-art methods.
Morphologic Changes in Autonomic Nerves in Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the major complications of diabetes, and it increases morbidity and mortality in patients with both type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Because the autonomic nervous system, for example, parasympathetic axons, has a diffuse and wide distribution, we do not know the morphological changes that occur in autonomic neural control and their exact mechanisms in diabetic patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN). Although the prevalence of sympathetic and parasympathetic neuropathy is similar in T1DM versus T2DM patients, sympathetic nerve function correlates with parasympathetic neuropathy only in T1DM patients. The explanation for these discrepancies might be that parasympathetic nerve function was more severely affected among T2DM patients. As parasympathetic nerve damage seems to be more advanced than sympathetic nerve damage, it might be that parasympathetic neuropathy precedes sympathetic neuropathy in T2DM, which was Ewing's concept. This could be explained by the intrinsic morphologic difference. Therefore, the morphological changes in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves of involved organs in T1DM and T2DM patients who have DAN should be evaluated. In this review, evaluation methods for morphological changes in the epidermal nerves of skin, and the intrinsic nerves of the stomach will be discussed.
Suppression of Retinal Neovascularization by Inhibition of Galectin-1 in a Murine Model of Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) has been proved to be an important factor in the process of tumor angiogenesis recently. As a small molecule, OTX008 serves as a selective inhibitor of Gal-1. In this study, the role of Gal-1 and the antiangiogenic effect of OTX008 on retinal neovascularization (RNV) were investigated using a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy. The outcome indicated that Gal-1 was overexpressed and closely related to retinal neovessels in OIR. After intravitreal injection of OTX008 at P12, the RNV was significantly reduced at P17, measuring by cross-sectional H&E staining and whole-mount fluorescence. Our results demonstrate the inhibitory function of OTX008 on RNV, which provides a promising strategy of treating retinal angiogenic diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.