Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applying Common Identity and Bond Theory to Design of Online Communities

Online communities depend upon the commitment and voluntary participation of their members. Community design — site navigation, community structure and features, and organizational policies — is critical in this regard. Community design affects how people can interact, the information they receive about one another and the community, and how they can participate in community activities. We argue that the constraints and opportunities inherent in online community design influence how people become attached to the community and whether they are willing to expend effort on its behalf. We examine two theories of group attachment and link these theories with design decisions for online communities. Common identity theory makes predictions about the causes and consequences of people's attachment to the group as a whole. Common bond theory makes predictions about the causes and consequences of people's attachment to individual group members. We review causes of common identity and common bond, and show how they result in different kinds of attachment and group outcomes. We then show how design decisions, such as those focused on recruiting newcomers versus retaining existing members, constraining or promoting off-topic discussion, and limiting group size or allowing uncontrolled growth, can lead to common identity or interpersonal bonds among community members, and consequently to different levels and forms of community participation by those so motivated.
A Phase I Dose-Escalation Study of SR271425, an Intravenously Dosed Thioxanthone Analog, Administered Weekly in Patients With Refractory Solid Tumors

Objectives:The thioxanthone analog, SR271425, is a novel cytotoxic DNA-interacting agent with broad antitumor activity in preclinical models. The objectives of this phase I study were to determine the dose-limiting toxicities, maximum tolerated dose, recommended phase II dose, pharmacokinetic profile, and trend for efficacy in patients with advanced cancer. Methods:SR271425 was administered intravenously over 1-hour, weekly for 2 weeks, followed by 1 week rest. Because of Cmax-related corrected QT (QTc) prolongation in preclinical testing of SR271425, all patients underwent an extensive pretreatment cardiac assessment. Results:Eighteen patients received SR271425 at 5 dose levels ranging from 64 to 675 mg/m2/wk. No dose-limiting toxicities were identified. In all tested dose-levels, Grade 3 adverse events were observed in 10/18 patients (55.6%) and Grade 4 in 4/18 patients (22.2%). QTc prolongation was reported at the 3 highest dose levels but did not exceed Grade 2. Six deaths occurred during the study, 5 of them because of disease progression and 1 because of disease related bowel perforation. SR271425 exposure increased in a near dose-proportional manner. The mean terminal plasma half-life of SR271425 was 6 hours and there was no drug accumulation after repeated dosing. Stable disease was the best outcome observed (5 patients). Conclusions:SR271425 was administered safely at doses up to 675 mg/m2/wk on a 2-week on, 1-week off schedule. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. Grade 2 QTc prolongation was observed at the highest dose levels. Maximum tolerated dose was not reached because of early termination of the SR271425 program by the sponsor.
Phylogenetic Affiliation and Quantification of Psychrophilic Sulfate-Reducing Isolates in Marine Arctic Sediments

ABSTRACT Thirteen psychrophilic sulfate-reducing isolates from two permanently cold fjords of the Arctic island Spitsbergen (Hornsund and Storfjord) were phylogenetically analyzed. They all belonged to the δ subclass of Proteobacteria and were widely distributed within this group, indicating that psychrophily is a polyphyletic property. A new 16S rRNA-directed oligonucleotide probe was designed against the largest coherent cluster of these isolates. The new probe, as well as a set of available probes, was applied in rRNA slot blot hybridization to investigate the composition of the sulfate-reducing bacterial community in the sediments. rRNA related to the new cluster of incompletely oxidizing, psychrophilic isolates made up 1.4 to 20.9% of eubacterial rRNA at Storfjord and 0.6 to 3.5% of eubacterial rRNA at Hornsund. This group was the second-most-abundant group of sulfate reducers at these sites. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and hybridization analysis showed bands identical to those produced by our isolates. The data indicate that the psychrophilic isolates are quantitatively important in Svalbard sediments.
Peak Forces on Wave Energy Linear Generators in Tsunami and Extreme Waves

The focus of this paper is the survivability of wave energy converters (WECs) in extreme waves and tsunamis, using realistic WEC parameters. The impact of a generator damping factor has been studied, and the peak forces plotted as a function of wave height. The paper shows that an increased damping decreases the force in the endstop hit, which is in agreement with earlier studies. However, when analyzing this in more detail, we can show that friction damping and velocity dependent generator damping affect the performance of the device differently, and that friction can have a latching effect on devices in tsunami waves, leading to higher peak forces. In addition, we study the impact of different line lengths, and find that longer line lengths reduce the endstop forces in extreme regular waves, but on the contrary increase the forces in tsunami waves due to the different fluid velocity fields.
Sequencing and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus (Passeriformes, Laniidae)

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of the Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) was 16 821 bp in length. The accession number was KT004451 and the contents of A, T, C, and G were 31.10%(5237 bp), 25.60%(4309 bp), 28.60%(4814 bp), and 14.60%(2461 bp), respectively. Gene organization and length was similar to other species of birds. It comprises of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region. All protein-coding genes use the typical initiation codon ATG, except for COX1 which was initiated with GTG. All the complete stop codon was coincident with the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and the Grey-backed Shrike (Lanius tephronotus), except for ND2, which was terminated with TAG. In addition, the phylogenetic relationships of Passeriformes based on complete mitochondrial genomes showed that the genetic distance of Laniidae and Corvidae was closer than others.
Vascular risk factors are associated with retinal arteriolar narrowing and venular widening in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Abstract Background: The aim of the study was to describe the relationship of retinal arteriolar and venular calibre with vascular risk factors in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Methods: In this hospital-based cross-sectional study, the medical files of 483 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes were audited to collect retinal images and relevant clinical data. Retinal vascular calibre was measured using standardised protocols. Results: After multivariable adjustments, a vascular risk profile that included: older age, higher serum creatinine, higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), higher body mass index (BMI), abnormal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), lower high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, longer duration of diabetes and higher serum sodium was associated with narrower central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE) (95% CI=−4.10/−0.76, p=0.004). A specific risk profile, including higher total cholesterol level, higher BMI, lower physical activity level, higher HbA1c, higher triglyceride levels, female gender and lower socio-economic status, was associated with wider central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) (95% CI=1.14/5.62, p=0.003). Conclusions: In summary, these findings support evidence that cardiovascular disease may have its origins early in life. Prospective and/or intervention studies are required to confirm whether the observed associations are involved in the causal pathway for retinal vascular calibre.
Development and characterization of microsatellite markers from the transcriptome of Firmiana danxiaensis (Malvaceae s.l.)

Premise of the study: Firmiana consists of 12–16 species, many of which are narrow endemics. Expressed sequence tag (EST)–simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed and characterized for size polymorphism in four Firmiana species. Methods and Results: A total of 102 EST-SSR primer pairs were designed based on the transcriptome sequences of F. danxiaensis; these were then characterized in four Firmiana species—F. danxiaensis, F. kwangsiensis, F. hainanensis, and F. simplex. In these four species, 17 primer pairs were successfully amplified, and 14 were polymorphic in at least one species. The number of alleles ranged from one to 13, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0 to 1 and 0 to 0.925, respectively. The lowest level of polymorphism was observed in F. danxiaensis. Conclusions: These polymorphic EST-SSR markers are valuable for conservation genetics studies in the endangered Firmiana species.
Differentiation of the contractile effects of prostaglandin E2 and the C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin in isolated guinea-pig gallbladder.

In the isolated guinea-pig gallbladder, contractions were induced by acetylcholine (ACh), the C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin (C8-CCK), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and the prostaglandin precursor arachidonic acid (ARA). The effects on these contractions induced by the inhibitor of the prostaglandin synthesis indomethacin, and of the prostaglandin antagonists polyphloretin phosphate (PPP), and SC 19220 were investigated. In a concentration of 0.5 μg/ml indomethacin inhibited the response to ARA but did not appreciably affect the contractions produced by ACh, C8-CCK and PGE2. Indomethacin, 10 μg/ml, reduced the responses to all the agonists probably due to a non-specific depressive effect. PPP, 1–10 μg/ml, had no effects on the contractions elicited by ACh, C8-CCK and PGE2. In concentrations of 100–400 μg/ml, PPP caused a transient contraction in the gallbladder strips and reduced the responses to the agonists used. SC 19220, 2 and 8 μg/ml, selectively inhibited the responses to ARA and PGE2, leaving the contractions of ACh and C8-CCK virtually unaffected. The inhibition of the response to PGE2 was surmountable by increasing the bath concentration of the prostaglandin 5–100 times. —It is concluded that local synthesis and release of prostaglandins play no essential role for the mediation of the contractile effect of C8-CCK in guinea-pig gallbladder.
Bit-interleaved coded modulation with signal space diversity in Rayleigh fading

We present a combined method of bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) with coordinate interleaving and a rotated constellation, also known as signal space diversity. The diversity order can be increased to twice the diversity order of BICM, which is the minimum Hamming distance of a code. This greatly improves the performance over Rayleigh fading while preserving minimum squared Euclidean distance of BICM. Our simulation results show that the new combined scheme greatly outperforms BICM and bit-interleaved I-Q TCM as well as coordinate-interleaved TCM over Rayleigh fading channels. We first describe BICM and signal space diversity schemes, then follow with the design of BICM with signal space diversity. The complexity reduction technique is also investigated.
Visualization of neuromuscular junctions over periods of several months in living mice

Identified neuromuscular junctions were followed in the sternomastoid muscle of living mice for several months by repeated staining with the fluorescent dye 4-(4-diethylaminostyryl)-N-methylpyridinium iodide (4- Di-2-ASP; Magrassi et al., 1987). Overall terminal growth occurred at many endplates; however, the branching pattern of presynaptic arbors was largely unchanged, even after several months. The absence of significant remodeling over time was not a result of dye-staining, since sprouting was readily induced at residual motor endings by partial denervation. We conclude that--apart from overall growth--most neuromuscular junctions in the adult mouse are stable over intervals that represent a significant fraction of the animal's lifetime.
A Novel Opposition-Based Particle Swarm Optimization for Noisy Problems

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a simple, reliable, and efficient optimization algorithm. However, it suffers from a weakness, losing the efficiency over optimization of noisy problems. In many real-word optimization problems we are faced with noisy environments. This paper presents a new algorithm to improve the efficiency of PSO to cope with noisy optimization problems. It employs opposition-based learning for swarm initialization, generation jumping, and also improving swarm's best member. A set of commonly used benchmark functions is employed for experimental verification, and the results show clearly the new algorithm outperforms PSO in terms of convergence speed and global search ability.
Association of rs699 (M235T) Polymorphism in the AGT Gene With Power but Not Endurance Athlete Status

Abstract Zarębska, A, Sawczyn, S, Kaczmarczyk, M, Ficek, K, Maciejewska-Karłowska, A, Sawczuk, M, Leońska-Duniec, A, Eider, J, Grenda, A, and Cięszczyk, P. Association of rs699 (M235T) polymorphism in the AGT gene with power but not endurance athlete status. J Strength Cond Res 27(10): 2898–2903, 2013—Thus far, genetic studies of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) with respect to athletic performance or athlete status have mainly focused on the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene and its insertion/deletion polymorphism. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional rs699 (M235T) polymorphism in angiotensinogen (AGT), the second most important gene of the RAS, for association with athletic status and level of performance. The study included 123 endurance athletes and 100 power-oriented athletes, who were classified as elite or sub-elite according to competitive achievements at the international level, and 354 unrelated sedentary control subjects. The M235T genotype and allele distributions differed significantly between power and endurance athletes (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0002, genotypes and alleles, respectively) and between power athletes and control subjects (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0002, genotypes and alleles, respectively). The frequency of the CC genotype in the power athlete group was 2.2 times higher and 3.1 times higher than in the control and endurance groups, respectively. No difference was found in M235T allele distribution between elite and sub-elite athletes, either in power- or endurance-oriented athletes. We conclude that the CC genotype of the M235T polymorphism is overrepresented in Polish power athletes, suggesting that the AGT M235T variant is associated with power athletes' status.
Control of poliomyelitis: a continuing paradox.

Worldwide control of poliomyelitis efforts have encountered numerous complexities and problems. Although the disease has been eradicated from many geographic areas over the past 25 years it continues to defy control efforts in many tropical countries. This article describes the epidemiology and pathogenesis of polio infection and the mechanisms by which the 2 different vaccines inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and attenuated live oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) induce protection against paralytic poliomyelitis. Oral vaccine "take" rates have been as low as 60% in tropical and semitropical areas in contrast to the almost 100% response characteristic in children in temperate climates. This problem appears to reflect a complex of anatomic physiologic and biochemical changes that accompany malnutrition associated with high rates of intestinal infection and diarrhea. The profound alterations of metabolic and immunologic mechanisms that result from repeated infection may produce a chronic state of imbalance. Lameness surveys in subtropical countries have indicated prevalence rates of residual paralysis in the 5-7/1000 range. OPV is currently being used in the Pan American Health Organization Expanded Program on Immunization and a saturation approach to immunization has been effective in countries such as Cuba. There is some evidence that in densely populated areas with constant introduction and circulation of virulent poliovirus a combined OPV-IPV schedule may be necessary to suppress the disease. Recombinant DNA technology should make it possible to construct safe nonvirulent strains of poliovirus vaccine that have the immunogenic advantages of live replicating viruses without the potential to undergo reversion and cause disease. In the interim it is essential that surveillance of cases and immunity levels of target populations continue.
Optimized filters for dynamic RF echo blending in multiple focal zone imaging

For several practical and technical reasons related to e.g. computational cost, hardware complexity, sensitivity to motion artifacts, frame rate and SNR most medical ultrasound machines use a fixed focus on transmit and dynamic focusing and filtering on receive. To further improve image resolution, multiple focal zones may be used. The resulting A-lines are superimposed (blended) after envelope detection by means of depth dependent weighting. Due to this incoherent superposition, the spatial resolution of the resulting image can only reach the resolution of the images that were superimposed. To overcome the shortcomings of incoherent superposition we have developed a technique for coherent filtered blending of the echoes. In addition to echoes representing different transmit foci, echoes from neighboring beam lines may also be considered.
DNA FRAGMENTATION INDEX ( DFI ) OF HUMAN SEMEN BY MODIFIED ANILINE BLUE METHOD

Sperm chromatin condensation forms an important criterion in the assessment of functional potential of the spermatozoa. It is gaining more importance in the scenario of rising infertility rates and advanced infertility management modalities like IVF and ICSI. During the condensation of sperm nucleus histones in DNA are replaced by protamines. Acidic Aniline Blue stain evaluates sperm chromatin defects by differential staining of lysine rich histones and arginine and cystein rich protamines in the sperm nuclei. It has an advantage that the slidescan be examined under light as well as fluorescence microscope.The current study is conducted with the aim of studying the DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) based on chromatin compaction by using Acidic Aniline Blue stain. The impact of nuclear integrity and DFI on assisted reproduction techniques and outcome is discussed in the paper.
A Contraction Assay System Using Established Human Bronchial Smooth Muscle Cells

Background: To further understand the mechanisms of airway obstruction in asthma, it is crucial to investigate contractile responses of human airway smooth muscle. An in vitro assay system employing collagen gels embedded with well-established bronchial smooth muscle cells of human origin was explored in the present study. Methods: Commercially available cultured human bronchial smooth muscle cells were embedded into a collagen gel. Well-known constrictors, histamine and methacholine, were added to the gel. The gel images were captured by an image analyzer, and contractile responses were evaluated. Results: Histamine and methacholine induced contraction of the gels in a dose-dependent manner. Pyrilamine, an H1 receptor antagonist, inhibited gel contraction in an agonist-specific manner. Conclusion: Our contraction assay system, employing widely distributed cultured cells, was highly reproducible and precise. It may go a long way toward understanding mechanisms of asthmatic responses and evaluation of antiasthma drugs.
Immunotherapy with neuraminidase-treated tumor cells after radiotherapy.

SONG, C. W. , AND LEVITT, S. H. , Immunotherapy with Neuraminidase-Treated Tumor Cells after Radiotherapy. Radiat. Res. 64, 485-491 (1975). The effect of active immunotherapy with Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase-treated syngeneic tumor cells (VCN-cells) following radiotherapy has been studied with 3methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma, M-79, transplanted to the thigh of C3H/HeJ mice. When the tumors reached 4-8 mm in diameter, various treatments were started. X-irradiation with 2000 rad in a single dose induced a complete regression of 24 out of 103 tumors (23.3%). The inoculation of 1 X 106 of VCN-cells to the tumor-bearing animals, every other day for a total of three doses, caused a complete regression of 6 out of 57 tumors (10.5%). Treatments of animals with the immunotherapy starting 1 day after X-irradiation of tumors with 2000 rad resulted in a complete regression of 22 out of 58 tumors (37.9%). The median survival time of animals that received combined radiotherapy and immunotherapy was longer than that observed after either treatment alone.
Formal derivation of efficient parallel programs by construction of list homomorphisms

It has been attracting much attention to make use of list homomorphisms in parallel programming because they ideally suit the divide-and-conquer parallel paradigm. However, they have been usually treated rather informally and ad hoc in the development of efficient parallel programs. What is worse is that some interesting functions, e.g., the maximum segment sum problem, are basically not list homomorphisms. In this article, we propose a systematic and formal way for the construction of a list homomorphism for a given problem so that an efficient parallel program is derived. We show, with several well-known but nontrivial problems, how a straightforward, and “obviously” correct, but quite inefficient solution to the problem can be successfully turned into a semantically equivalent “almost list homomorphism. ” The derivation is based on two transformations, namely tupling and fusion, which are defined according to the specific recursive structures of list homomorphisms.
Identification of a Homozygous Single Base Pair Deletion in the Gene Coding for the Human Platelet Glycoprotein Ibα Causing Bernard-Soulier Syndrome

Summary Bernard-Soulier Syndrome (BSS) is a hereditary bleeding disorder which is caused by the absence or the dysfunction of the platelet glycoprotein Ib/IX/V (GP Ib/IX/V) complex, the major receptor for von Willebrand factor (vWf). BSS is characterized by the presence of giant platelets that show a reduced binding of vWf. Although BSS is a well-characterized disease, and many cases have been described in the literature, the molecular genetic basis of this disorder has been studied in only a few patients. We have studied the genetic basis of the defect in a BSS patient. Flow cytometric analysis of the platelet membrane glycoproteins revealed a significant decrease or absence of GP Ibα on the platelet surface, and low levels of GP V and GP IX. In subsequent immunopre-cipitation experiments, we confirmed the presence of GP V (although in significantly decreased amounts) on the platelet surface. These results indicated a defect in the GP Ibα chain Genomic DNA coding for GP Ibα was amplified, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequent direct sequence analysis demonstrated a homozygous deletion of T317 resulting in a frameshift deletion and predicting a substitution of Arg for Leu76. This deletion causes a shift in the reading frame, predicting a premature stop codon after 19 altered amino-acids, leading to a severily truncated molecule. The molecular genetic defect found in this patient differed from the mutations observed in three other BSS patients described in the literature. This points to a marked hetereogeneity of this disease. The single basepair deletion created a target site for the restriction enzyme Hhal. This allowed us to perform PCR-ASRA (Allele-Specific Restriction enzyme Analysis) on all available family members. Both parents and the daughter of the patient appeared to be heterozygous for the deletion, while the homozygosity of the propositus for the mutant allele was confirmed.