Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PEG-diacrylate / hyaluronic acid semi-interpenetrating network compositions for 3 D cell spreading and migration

To serve as artificial matrices for therapeutic cell transplantation, synthetic hydrogels must incorporate mechanisms enabling localized, cell-mediated degradation that allows cell spreading and migration. Previously, we have shown that hybrid semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) composed of hydrolytically degradable PEG-diacrylates (PEGdA), acrylate-PEGGRGDS, and native hyaluronic acid (HA) support increased cell spreading relative to fully synthetic networks that is dependent on cellular hyaluronidase activity. This study systematically investigated the effects of PEGdA/HA semi-IPN network composition on 3D spreading of encapsulated fibroblasts, the underlying changes in gel structure responsible for this activity, and the ability of optimized gel formulations to support long-term cell survival and migration. Fibroblast spreading exhibited a biphasic response to HA concentration, required a minimum HA molecular weight, decreased with increasing PEGdA concentration, and was independent of hydrolytic degradation at early time points. Increased gel turbidity was observed in semi-IPNs, but not in copolymerized hydrogels containing methacrylated HA that did not support cell spreading; suggesting an underlying mechanism of polymerization-induced phase separation resulting in HAenriched defects within the network structure. PEGdA/HA semi-IPNs were also able to support cell spreading at relatively high levels of mechanical properties (~10 kPa elastic modulus) compared to alternative hybrid hydrogels. In order to support long-term cellular remodeling, the degradation rate of the PEGdA component was optimized by preparing blends of three different PEGdA macromers with varying susceptibility to hydrolytic degradation. Optimized semi-IPN formulations supported long-term survival of encapsulated fibroblasts and sustained migration in a gel-within-gel encapsulation model. These results demonstrate that PEGdA/HA semi-IPNs provide dynamic microenvironments that can support 3D cell survival, spreading, and migration for a variety of cell therapy applications. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Corresponding author: (864)-656-7603, kwebb@clemson.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Acta Biomater. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 March 01. Published in final edited form as: Acta Biomater. 2015 March ; 14: 43–52. doi:10.1016/j.actbio. 2014.12. 007. N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript
Investigation of the Lipid-Lowering Effect of Vitamin C Through GSK-3β/β-Catenin Signaling in Zebrafish

Vitamin C (VC) is an essential nutrient for most fish species because of the absence of L-gulonolactone oxidase in the bodies of fish. VC plays a significant role in maintaining the physiological functions and in improving the growth performance, immunity, and survival of fish. In this study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were treated with 8.2, 509.6, and 1007.5 mg/kg VC diets for 2 weeks, and the muscle samples were collected for gene expression analysis and biochemical index analysis. The results indicated that 509.6 and 1007.5 mg/kg VC diets inhibited glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) expression and induced the expression of β-catenin in the muscle of zebrafish. The mRNA expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), FAS activity, and the content of glycerol and triglyceride (TG) were decreased in the muscle by 509.6 and 1007.5 mg/kg VC diets. In addition, GSK-3β RNA interference was observed in zebrafish fed with 8.2 and 1007.5 mg/kg VC diets. It was found that GSK-3β RNA interference induced the mRNA expression of β-catenin but decreased the mRNA expression of C/EBPα and FAS, FAS activity, as well as the content of glycerol and TG in the muscle of zebrafish. In ZF4 cells, the mRNA expression of GSK-3β, C/EBPα, and FAS was decreased, but β-catenin expression was increased by 0.1 and 0.5 mmol/L VC treatments in vitro. The glycerol and TG content, and FAS activity in ZF4 cells were decreased by 0.1 and 0.5 mmol/L VC treatments. Moreover, the result of western blot indicated that the protein expression level of GSK-3β was significantly decreased and that of β-catenin was significantly increased in ZF4 cells treated with 0.1 and 0.5 mmol/L VC. The results from in vivo and in vitro studies corroborated that VC exerted the lipid-lowering effect through GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling in zebrafish.
Achieving and maintaining real-time rigs

Our characters have a lot of moving parts. This complexity makes achieving and maintaining real-time performance a challenge. Our journey of bringing our rigs to 24 fps consisted of many different milestones. We aggressively adopted cutting edge technology during active production and developed a system to continuously monitor asset "health" performance metrics. New applications were created for production to monitor asset health using Blue Sky's next generation pipeline, Conduit.
Using paired serology and surveillance data to quantify dengue transmission and control during a large outbreak in Fiji

Dengue is a major health burden, but it can be challenging to examine transmission dynamics and evaluate control measures because outbreaks depend on multiple factors, including human population structure, prior immunity and climate. We combined population-representative paired sera collected before and after the major 2013/14 dengue-3 outbreak in Fiji with surveillance data to determine how such factors influence dengue virus transmission and control in island settings. Our results suggested the 10-19 year-old age group had the highest risk of acquiring infection, but we did not find strong evidence that other demographic or environmental risk factors were linked to seroconversion. Mathematical modelling showed that temperature-driven variation in transmission and herd immunity could not fully explain observed dynamics. However, there was evidence of an additional reduction in transmission coinciding with a vector clean-up campaign, which may have contributed to the decline in cases and prevented transmission continuing into the following season.
Ultrasonographic diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis )

Article history Received: 26 Oct, 2016 Revised: 8 Nov, 2016 Accepted: 10 Nov, 2016 Abstract A total number of 54 adult dairy buffalos were divided into 3 groups based on California Mastitis Test and Somatic Cell Count; group-1 (38 buffalos) with negative CMT and SCC; group-2 (12 buffalos) with positive CMT and SCC and group-3 (4 buffalos) with positive CMT and negative SCC. Ultrasonography of the mammary gland and supramammary lymph nodes was achieved via 7.5 MHz linear transducer. Subclinical mastitis was characterized ultrasonographically by homogenous hypoechoic parenchyma, hypoechogenic contents of gland cistern, the irregular contour lining of teat canal, slightly thickened teat wall, loss the characteristic threelayered appearance of the teat wall and overlapped ill distinct rosette of Furstenberg, papillary ducts and orifice. Superficial inguinal lymph node was enlarged, easily identified and completely hypoechogenic entire structure. Group 2 suffered from subclinical mastitis revealed significant (P≤0.05) increase in lymph node length, depth, elapse area, elapse volume and teat wall thickness, significant (P≤0.05) decrease in gray scale analysis of lymph node and significant (P≤0.05) increase in gray scale analysis of udder parenchyma and cisterns milk contents than that in group 1 and group 3. In conclusion, ultrasonography provides an accurate, non-invasive and rapid field technique for diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in buffalo.
Internet of Things: Survey on Security and Privacy

—The Internet of Things (IoT) is intended for ubiq- uitous connectivity among different entities or “things”. While its purpose is to provide effective and efﬁcient solutions, security of the devices and network is a challenging issue. The number of devices connected along with the ad-hoc nature of the system further exacerbates the situation. Therefore, security and privacy has emerged as a signiﬁcant challenge for the IoT. In this paper, we aim to provide a thorough survey related to the privacy and security challenges of the IoT. This document addresses these challenges from the perspective of technologies and architecture used. This work focuses also in IoT intrinsic vulnerabilities as well as the security challenges of various layers based on the security principles of data conﬁdentiality, integrity and availability. This survey analyzes articles published for the IoT at the time and relates it to the security conjuncture of the ﬁeld and its projection to the future.
Forecasting of Thailand and Myanmar Border Trade Value for Strategic Planning

Forecasting the values of border trade are needed for strategic planning, especially in the competitive enhancement strategy. This paper applies the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to forecast the border trade value between Thailand and Myanmar on a monthly data basis. The data used are ranged from 2007 to 2016. The results bring about the forecasting model for the further border trade investment of both countries which is useful for making the decision on part of the entrepreneurs, investors, exporters, and importers. Furthermore, the relevant agencies can use these findings to determine the promoting directions of border trade in the future.
Robust Multiple Manifold Structure Learning

We present a robust multiple manifolds structure learning (RMMSL) scheme to robustly estimate data structures under the multiple low intrinsic dimensional manifolds assumption. In the local learning stage, RMMSL efficiently estimates local tangent space by weighted low-rank matrix factorization. In the global learning stage, we propose a robust manifold clustering method based on local structure learning results. The proposed clustering method is designed to get the flattest manifolds clusters by introducing a novel curved-level similarity function. Our approach is evaluated and compared to state-of-the-art methods on synthetic data, handwritten digit images, human motion capture data and motorbike videos. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, which yields higher clustering accuracy, and produces promising results for challenging tasks of human motion segmentation and motion flow learning from videos.
Stubby: A Transformation-based Optimizer for MapReduce Workflows

There is a growing trend of performing analysis on large datasets using workflows composed of MapReduce jobs connected through producer-consumer relationships based on data. This trend has spurred the development of a number of interfaces---ranging from program-based to query-based interfaces---for generating MapReduce workflows. Studies have shown that the gap in performance can be quite large between optimized and unoptimized workflows. However, automatic cost-based optimization of MapReduce workflows remains a challenge due to the multitude of interfaces, large size of the execution plan space, and the frequent unavailability of all types of information needed for optimization. We introduce a comprehensive plan space for MapReduce workflows generated by popular workflow generators. We then propose Stubby, a cost-based optimizer that searches selectively through the subspace of the full plan space that can be enumerated correctly and costed based on the information available in any given setting. Stubby enumerates the plan space based on plan-to-plan transformations and an efficient search algorithm. Stubby is designed to be extensible to new interfaces and new types of optimizations, which is a desirable feature given how rapidly MapReduce systems are evolving. Stubby's efficiency and effectiveness have been evaluated using representative workflows from many domains.
Natural experiment of syphilis treatment with doxycycline or benzathine penicillin in HIV-infected patients

Background: Although doxycycline is widely used as an alternative to benzathine penicillin for the treatment of early and late latent syphilis, data on serological response following treatment with doxycycline among HIV-infected patients are limited. Methods: In this study, we analysed serological response to syphilis treatment with doxycycline among HIV-infected patients treated during a benzathine penicillin shortage period and compared with treatment response among patients treated with benzathine penicillin. Cases with neurosyphilis and those treated with suboptimal doses or with concurrent medications in association with benzathine penicillin or doxycycline were excluded. Results: Fifty patients treated with doxycycline from September 2014 to December 2016 were compared with 115 patients treated with benzathine penicillin for early, late latent or latent syphilis of unknown duration. Patients treated with doxycycline were slightly older [(median 49 years old, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 43–56] than those in the penicillin group (median 44 years old, 95% CI 37–50; P = 0.007). Groups had no statistically significant differences regarding sex, HIV suppression under treatment and syphilis stages. Serological response to treatment, defined as a nonreagent Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) or at least a four-fold reduction in VDRL titres measured 6–12 months after treatment, was seen in 72% (95% CI 58–84) of patients treated with doxycycline and 70% (95% CI 60–78) of patients treated with penicillin (P = 0.753). Conclusion: We found no statistically significant differences in serological response to treatment with doxycycline or benzathine penicillin among HIV-infected patients with early, late latent or latent syphilis of unknown duration. Our findings suggest that doxycycline is an acceptable treatment to HIV-infected patients with nontertiary stages of syphilis.
Analgesic and anti‐inflammatory drugs in sports: Implications for exercise performance and training adaptations

Over‐the‐counter analgesics, such as anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol, are widely consumed by athletes worldwide to increase pain tolerance, or dampen pain and reduce inflammation from injuries. Given that these drugs also can modulate tissue protein turnover, it is important to scrutinize the implications of acute and chronic use of these drugs in relation to exercise performance and the development of long‐term training adaptations. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the studies investigating the effects of analgesic drugs on exercise performance and training adaptations relevant for athletic development. There is emerging evidence that paracetamol might acutely improve important endurance parameters as well as aspects of neuromuscular performance, possibly through increased pain tolerance. Both NSAIDs and paracetamol have been demonstrated to inhibit cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, which might explain the reduced anabolic response to acute exercise bouts. Consistent with this, NSAIDs have been reported to interfere with muscle hypertrophy and strength gains in response to chronic resistance training in young individuals. Although it remains to be established whether any of these observations also translate into detriments in sport‐specific performance or reduced training adaptations in elite athletes, the extensive use of these drugs certainly raises practical, ethical, and important safety concerns that need to be addressed. Overall, we encourage greater awareness among athletes, coaches, and support staff on the potential adverse effects of these drugs. A risk‐benefit analysis and professional guidance are strongly advised before the athlete considers analgesic medicine for training or competition.
Serial Stimulated Jitter Analysis In Juvenile Myasthenia Gravis

Introduction: Clinical and electrophysiological studies to measures disease activity in juvenile myasthenia gravis (JMG) are limited. Methods: Retrospective review of the clinical profile, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) scores, serial stimulated jitter analysis (Stim‐JA) of the orbicularis oculi muscle, grip strength, and spirometry of patients with JMG who were followed in a multidisciplinary clinic was performed. Results: Thirteen patients with JMG (9 females) with mean age of 13.2 ± 4.8 years and follow‐up duration of 25.3 ± 8.3 months (range, 6–39) with ≥ 2 Stim‐JA recordings were included. The mean jitter, mean percentage of apparent single‐fiber action potentials (%ASFAP) with increased jitter, and mean %ASFAP with blocking at baseline values (77.3 ± 54.7 µs, 64.3% ± 35.8%, 39% ± 38.6%, respectively) and at follow‐up (53 ± 45.4 µs, 51.2% ± 34.5%, 17% ± 29.4%, respectively) were abnormal; however, no statistically significant interval difference was noted. The electrophysiological data correlated significantly with Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) class. Grip strength and spirometry did not correlate with MGFA class. Discussion: Stimulated jitter values are sensitive biomarkers in JMG. Muscle Nerve 58: 729–732, 2018
Aspergillus PCR in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Aspergillosis in Patients With Hematological and Non-hematological Conditions

Objectives: We evaluated the usefulness of an Aspergillus fumigatus quantitative PCR assay performed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) for the diagnosis and prognosis of both invasive and non-invasive aspergillosis. Methods: This 4-year retrospective study involved 613 at-risk patients who had either hematological disorders or other immunosuppressive conditions, notably solid organ transplants. Thirty-five patients had proven/probable aspergillosis and thirteen had chronic non-invasive aspergillosis. We compared PCR, galactomannan index and mycological analysis of BAL. Results: For invasive aspergillosis (IA), PCR performed in BAL yielded 88.6% sensitivity and 95.5% specificity. Comparatively, galactomannan index and mycological examination yielded only 56.3 and 63.6% sensitivity and 97.6 and 94.5% specificity, respectively. Considering the 13 chronic aspergillosis cases, PCR, galactomannan index and mycological examination yielded 76.9, 15.4, and 84.6% sensitivity and 92.2, 94.9, and 93% specificity, respectively. Fungal load in BAL evaluated by PCR was able to discriminate between aspergillosis and contamination, but not between invasive and non-invasive forms. Finally, fungal load was predictive of 90-day mortality, with 23.1% mortality for patients with less than 500 copies/mL versus 68.4% for patients above that cut-off (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicate that Aspergillus PCR in BAL is of particular interest for both the diagnosis and the prognosis of IA. It is likewise an interesting tool for the diagnosis of non-invasive forms.
APISAT 2014 Aerodynamic Design Optimization of a Kind of Reentry Capsule Based on CFD and Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm

This paper presents a new kind of aerodynamic shape for reentry capsule, called spherical cap cubic curve segment(SCCS) shape, which is modeled by replacing the reversing cone segment of the traditional spherical cap segment-reversing cone(SCSC) shape with a more various cubic curve segment, however the spherical cap section is retained. In the assumed allowable axial range of centroid under a designed Mach number, a multi-point/objective design optimization mathematical programming model was established against aerodynamic static longitudinal stability characteristics, hypersonic lift-to-drag ratio characteristics under trim angle of attack and off-set location placement of gravity center for the above reentry capsule. Then the aerodynamic design optimization problem of the proposed reentry capsule was investigated through multi-objective genetic algorithm(MOGA) combined numeric parallel field simulation methods, and finally the optimal Pareto front was given. Comparing with the results of the SCSC shape in the literature[1], it shows that the optimal Pareto front of the current cubic curve shape has a wider distribution range relative to the counterparts of the segment-reversing cone shape, however both are relatively close in the overlapping area. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA).
Repair of Damaged Articular Cartilage: Current Approaches and Future Directions

Articular hyaline cartilage is extensively hydrated, but it is neither innervated nor vascularized, and its low cell density allows only extremely limited self-renewal. Most clinical and research efforts currently focus on the restoration of cartilage damaged in connection with osteoarthritis or trauma. Here, we discuss current clinical approaches for repairing cartilage, as well as research approaches which are currently developing, and those under translation into clinical practice. We also describe potential future directions in this area, including tissue engineering based on scaffolding and/or stem cells as well as a combination of gene and cell therapy. Particular focus is placed on cell-based approaches and the potential of recently characterized chondro-progenitors; progress with induced pluripotent stem cells is also discussed. In this context, we also consider the ability of different types of stem cell to restore hyaline cartilage and the importance of mimicking the environment in vivo during cell expansion and differentiation into mature chondrocytes.
Greedy Methods, Randomization Approaches, and Multiarm Bandit Algorithms for Efficient Sparsity-Constrained Optimization

Several sparsity-constrained algorithms, such as orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) or the Frank–Wolfe (FW) algorithm, with sparsity constraints work by iteratively selecting a novel atom to add to the current nonzero set of variables. This selection step is usually performed by computing the gradient and then by looking for the gradient component with maximal absolute entry. This step can be computationally expensive especially for large-scale and high-dimensional data. In this paper, we aim at accelerating these sparsity-constrained optimization algorithms by exploiting the key observation that, for these algorithms to work, one only needs the coordinate of the gradient’s top entry. Hence, we introduce algorithms based on greedy methods and randomization approaches that aim at cheaply estimating the gradient and its top entry. Another of our contribution is to cast the problem of finding the best gradient entry as a best-arm identification in a multiarmed bandit problem. Owing to this novel insight, we are able to provide a bandit-based algorithm that directly estimates the top entry in a very efficient way. Theoretical observations stating that the resulting inexact FW or OMP algorithms act, with high probability, similar to their exact versions are also given. We have carried out several experiments showing that the greedy deterministic and the bandit approaches we propose can achieve an acceleration of an order of magnitude while being as efficient as the exact gradient when used in algorithms, such as OMP, FW, or CoSaMP.