Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of Siglec-E Alters the Proteome of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Activated Macrophages but Does Not Affect LPS-Driven Cytokine Production or Toll-Like Receptor 4 Endocytosis

Siglec-E is a murine CD33-related siglec that functions as an inhibitory receptor and is expressed mainly on neutrophils and macrophage populations. Recent studies have suggested that siglec-E is an important negative regulator of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling and one report (1) claimed that siglec-E is required for TLR4 endocytosis following uptake of Escherichia coli by macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs). Our attempts to reproduce these observations using cells from wild-type (WT) and siglec-E-deficient mice were unsuccessful. We used a variety of assays to determine if siglec-E expressed by different macrophage populations can regulate TLR4 signaling in response to LPS, but found no consistent differences in cytokine secretion in vitro and in vivo, comparing three different strains of siglec-E-deficient mice with matched WT controls. No evidence was found that the siglec-E deficiency was compensated by expression of siglecs-F and -G, the other murine inhibitory CD33-related siglecs. Quantitative proteomics was used as an unbiased approach and provided additional evidence that siglec-E does not suppress inflammatory TLR4 signaling. Interestingly, proteomics revealed a siglec-E-dependent alteration in macrophage protein composition that could be relevant to functional responses in host defense. In support of this, siglec-E-deficient mice exhibited enhanced growth of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in the liver following intravenous infection, but macrophages lacking siglec-E did not show altered uptake or killing of bacteria in vitro. Using various cell types including bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs), splenic DCs, and macrophages from WT and siglec-E-deficient mice, we showed that siglec-E is not required for TLR4 endocytosis following E. coli uptake or LPS challenge. We failed to see expression of siglec-E by BMDC even after LPS-induced maturation, but confirmed previous studies that splenic DCs express low levels of siglec-E. Taken together, our findings do not support a major role of siglec-E in regulation of TLR4 signaling functions or TLR4 endocytosis in macrophages or DCs. Instead, they reveal that induction of siglec-E by LPS can modulate the phenotype of macrophages, the functional significance of which is currently unclear.
Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes

The biological consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are unknown, especially for resident organisms. Here, we report results from a field study tracking the effects of contaminating oil across space and time in resident killifish during the first 4 mo of the spill event. Remote sensing and analytical chemistry identified exposures, which were linked to effects in fish characterized by genome expression and associated gill immunohistochemistry, despite very low concentrations of hydrocarbons remaining in water and tissues. Divergence in genome expression coincides with contaminating oil and is consistent with genome responses that are predictive of exposure to hydrocarbon-like chemicals and indicative of physiological and reproductive impairment. Oil-contaminated waters are also associated with aberrant protein expression in gill tissues of larval and adult fish. These data suggest that heavily weathered crude oil from the spill imparts significant biological impacts in sensitive Louisiana marshes, some of which remain for over 2 mo following initial exposures.
Loss of B-cell Receptor Expression Defines a Subset of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Characterized by Silent BCR/PI3K/AKT Signaling and a Germinal Center Phenotype Displaying Low-risk Clinicopathologic Features

B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling is crucial for the survival of normal and neoplastic B cells, and inhibitors targeting BCR signaling pathways have shown promising therapeutic outcomes for patients with B-cell lymphomas. In the current study, we analyzed de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphoma without BCR expression (DLBCL, BCR−) in 25 cases to determine the BCR/phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/AKT (BCR/PI3K/AKT) signaling status, clinicopathologic features, and underlying causes leading to the loss of BCR. On the basis of clinical features, 15 (60%) DLBCL, BCR− patients were classified into the low-risk group, and 18 (86%) experienced complete remission. Morphologically and immunophenotypically, DLBCL, BCR− demonstrated centroblastic cytology (21/25, 84%) and germinal center B-cell-like cell origin (18/25, 72%). Other components in BCR complexity remained intact, on the basis of immunohistochemical findings. Epstein-Barr virus infection, deficiency in B-lineage transcription factors (PAX5, Oct-2, and Bob.1), and oncogene rearrangement did not seem to be associated with BCR loss. The activated form of signaling proteins (pSYK and pAKT) involved in the BCR/PI3K/AKT pathway were expressed at low levels in DLBCL, BCR− tissue. In vitro validation revealed that in DLBCL, BCR− cell lines, the BCR/PI3K/AKT pathway did not respond to BCR stimulation or inhibition. Our findings suggest that DLBCL, BCR− was characterized by a silent BCR/PI3K/AKT pathway, germinal center phenotype, and low risk and may not be a candidate for BCR-targeted therapies.
Capturing the Dynamics of Mechanical Knobs

We present a novel experimental apparatus for the capture and replay of physical controls (mechanical knobs), as well as a set of acquired models and a design discussion related to the characterization approach taken here. Our work extends existing research by addressing problems surrounding identification of physical controls, including sensor gripping techniques for arbitrary target devices; and improved hardware and algorithm combinations for finer capture resolutions. Models were acquired from 5 real knobs, based on 2nd order model fits to torque and kinematic results of swept-sine excitations
Endoscopic laser therapy for watermelon stomach

Eleven patients (nine females, two males) with anaemia due to acute and chronic gastrointestinal blood loss were found to have gastric antral vascular ectasia (watermelon stomach). Nine patients were transfusion‐dependent, receiving a mean of 13.1 units over a mean period of 12.3 months. All patients received neodymium:yttrium‐aluminium‐garnet laser coagulation with a median of 3.0 treatment sessions. Post‐treatment transfusion needs were abolished in six patients and minimal in two patients during a mean follow up of 27.3 months (range 12–60 months). Overall there was a mean reduction in transfusion requirement with treatment from 2.5 units per month to 0.4 units per month (P<0.02). Mean pretreatment haemoglobin improved from 7.7 to 11.9g/dL after treatment (P< 0.001). No complications occurred. Laser coagulation is safe and effective treatment for anaemia due to watermelon stomach and should be considered as first line therapy.
The influence of open government on e-government website: the case of Jordan

The wide spread of the internet, mobile technologies and social networks facilitated the emergence of open concepts. Open data concept means to unfold data to the public free of charge and free of other constrains. With the increasing calls from people for freedom, democracy and participation, the concept of 'Open Government' emerged. Open government is opening government's data to the public and leaving a room for participation, transparency and collaboration. Jordan has adopted open government initiative since 2011. In this paper, we will investigate the perceptions of Jordanian citizens regarding the major concepts of open government. We have developed a research model based on the literature, and then conducted an empirical test on the model based on citizens' responses to a survey. Results indicated that collaboration and transparency have positive influence on citizen's intentions to use E-government websites, and participation has a negative influence.
Influence of Temperature and Predation on Survival of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium and Expression of invA in Soil and Manure-Amended Soil

ABSTRACT The effects of three temperatures (5, 15, and 25°C) on the survival of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in topsoil were investigated in small microcosms by three different techniques: plate counting, invA gene quantification, and invA mRNA quantification. Differences in survival were related to the effect of protozoan predation. Tetracycline-resistant Salmonella serovar Typhimurium was inoculated into soil and manure-amended soil at 1.5 × 108 cells g soil−1. Population densities were determined by plate counting and by molecular methods and monitored for 42 days. Simultaneous extraction of RNA and DNA, followed by quantitative PCR, was used to investigate invA gene levels and expression. Analysis by these three techniques showed that Salmonella serovar Typhimurium survived better at 5°C. Comparing DNA and CFU levels, significantly higher values were determined by DNA-based techniques. invA mRNA levels showed a fast decrease in activity, with no detectable mRNA after an incubation period of less than 4 days in any of the soil scenarios. A negative correlation was found between Salmonella serovar Typhimurium CFU levels and protozoan most probable numbers, and we propose the role of the predator-prey interaction as a factor to explain the die-off of the introduced strain by both culture- and DNA quantification-based methods. The results indicate that temperature, manure, and protozoan predation are important factors influencing the survival of Salmonella serovar Typhimurium in soil.
Determinants of On-Line Consumer Satisfaction: A Conjoint Analysis

Metrics for assessing online customer satisfaction (e-satisfaction) are essential in gauging the success and failure of e-commerce. The Internet business must determine and understand the values of its existing and potential customers. Hence, it’s important for researchers to develop and validate a diverse array of metrics to comprehensively capture the attitudes and feelings of online customers. What factors make on-line shopping appealing? What customer values take priority? This study’s purpose is to answer these questions, examining the role of several technology, shopping, and product factors using a conjoint analysis of consumer preferences to measure e-satisfaction. The study will result in the development of an e-satisfaction conceptual model and metric.
Optimal Filter design for Face Classification using Bacteria Foraging Algorithm

Robust face recognition and classification has been an area of interest for researchers in many disciplines of science and engineering. In this paper, we present a new technique for designing optimal filters for face classification using the bacteria foraging algorithm. The simulation results show that the optimal filter is able to classify the face images correctly into the target and anti-target image sets. This technique will have wide applications in biometric systems for face classification.
eWOM: Extant Research Review and Future Research Avenues

Executive Summary Word-of-mouth (WOM) communication is widely accepted as a critical factor in building marketing strategies and communications. Invention of the Internet and proliferation of social media have added a new electronic dimension to traditional WOM, thereby converting it into electronicWOM (eWOM). The extant literature has focused on various aspects of eWOM such as its effect on consumer’s purchase decision process, utilization of eWOM to build brand strength and consumer loyalty, information diffusion, and creating buzz among potential consumers. The purpose of this study is to do a systematic review and meet the two objectives: (1) summarize the extant literature in eWOM domain and (2) identify a few areas for future research. This article has been organized as follows. It starts with the definition and interrelationship between three keywords used in literature, which are traditional word-of-mouth (WOM), electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM, also referred as online word-of-mouth [OWOM]), and viral marketing. The article focuses on theoretical foundations and frameworks which form the basis of eWOM in the literature. eWOM borrows its foundation from different disciplines based on the research perspective. It highlights theories based on social perspective (sociology literature), information perspective (IS literature), and marketing perspective (specific theories from marketing literature). It identifies the motivational factors for consumer involvement in eWOM creation and diffusion process and summarizes the findings of literature on what drives consumer to spread eWOM on various channels. It discusses the findings from literature review on importance and effects of eWOM for marketing communications and marketing strategies. It provides actionable strategies for practitioners and marketers to suggest how they can utilize eWOM to improve performance, generate more sales and to communicate with consumers? It also looks at how to deal with negative eWOM and how a firm should respond to it. Finally, it analyses the current status of research and suggests a few areas for future researchers.
The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Thought Control Strategies in the Connection between Attachment Styles and Domestic Violence in Couples

The present study aims to investigate the role of cognitive emotion regulation and thought control strategies in the connection between attachment styles and domestic violence in couples in Arak. The population consists of married students in public and Azad universities in 2014-2015 academic years. The sample size of 361 people was estimated using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table. To have a representative sample and to prevent possible loss of participants, the sample of 380 people is selected using multistage cluster sampling method. The study is correlational. Three tools including Garnefski et al. (2001) cognitive emotion regulation, Collins & Read’s Attachment Questionnaire (1990) and domestic violence questionnaire have been used in the present study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and Pearson's correlation coefficient method. The results showed that cognitive emotion regulation strategies and thought control strategies significantly affected the connection between attachment styles and domestic violence in student couples which led to the confirmation of the research hypothesis. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016. v7n4S1p128
Temporal Changes in Soil and Biomass Nitrogen for Irrigated Wheat Grown under Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE)

Increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations are expected to increase plant production and demand for N and other nutrients. The objectives of this investigation were to characterize and quantify the temporal trends in soil mineral N and aboveground biomass N during the growing season of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with adequate N, ambient and elevated CO 2 , and two levels of water stress. The free-air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) technique was used to enrich the air from 370 to 550 μmol mol -1 CO 2 . Spring wheat was planted in late December of 1992 and 1993 and harvested at the end of May. Each main plot (CO 2 level) was split into two irrigation treatments to replace 100 and 50% of the potential evapotranspiration. Soil and plant samples were taken for N analysis six times each year. Elevated CO 2 lowered soil mineral N concentrations in the top 0.3 m of soil as much as 40% and increased aboveground biomass N by as much as 16% compared with the ambient treatment. Before anthesis, irrigation level had little effect on either soil mineral N or aboveground biomass N, but at harvest in 1992-1993 and at dough stage in 1993-1994 deficit-irrigated plots had higher soil mineral N (p < 0.05) and lower aboveground biomass N than plots that received adequate irrigation. There was little variation in the concentrations of N in the aboveground biomass among treatments within a sampling date. The data suggest elevated CO 2 may lead to rapid N uptake, which could result in increased early vegetative growth.
Design Patterns for Rapid Visualization Prototyping

In this paper we present three software design patterns for rapid prototyping of information visualization applications. The first pattern describes a mapping of object oriented models to relational data tables used in many visualization frameworks. The second pattern describes a script based approach for the configuration of visualization applications. The third pattern addresses the problem of performing online changes on the visual mapping by enhancing fine-grained mapping operators with scripting capabilities. We present an implementation of the patterns, which is based on the Prefuse toolkit. Finally we discuss some experimental results according to performance issues.
MixMC: A Multivariate Statistical Framework to Gain Insight into Microbial Communities

Culture independent techniques, such as shotgun metagenomics and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing have dramatically changed the way we can examine microbial communities. Recently, changes in microbial community structure and dynamics have been associated with a growing list of human diseases. The identification and comparison of bacteria driving those changes requires the development of sound statistical tools, especially if microbial biomarkers are to be used in a clinical setting. We present mixMC, a novel multivariate data analysis framework for metagenomic biomarker discovery. mixMC accounts for the compositional nature of 16S data and enables detection of subtle differences when high inter-subject variability is present due to microbial sampling performed repeatedly on the same subjects but in multiple habitats. Through data dimension reduction the multivariate methods provide insightful graphical visualisations to characterise each type of environment in a detailed manner. We applied mixMC to 16S microbiome studies focusing on multiple body sites in healthy individuals, compared our results with existing statistical tools and illustrated added value of using multivariate methodologies to fully characterise and compare microbial communities.
Effects of Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation on Soluble P-Selectin, Von Willebrand Factor and IL-6 in the Peripheral and Cardiac Circulation

Background Catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with inflammatory response, endothelial damage and with increased risk of thrombosis. However, whether these processes differ in peripheral and cardiac circulation is unknown. Methods Plasma markers (von Willebrand factor (vWf), soluble P-selectin (sPsel) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) were measured by ELISA at three time points in 80 patients (62±10 years, 63% males, 41% paroxysmal AF) undergoing CA. These were at baseline – from femoral vein (FV) and left atrium (LA) before ablation; directly after ablation – from the pulmonary vein (PV), LA and FV; and 24 hours after procedure – from a cubital vein (CV). Results The levels of vWF and IL6 – but not sP-sel – increased significantly 24h after procedure (p<0.001). Baseline vWF was significantly associated with persistent AF (Beta = .303, p = 0.006 and Beta = .300, p = 0.006 for peripheral and cardiac levels, respectively), while persistent AF (Beta = .250, p = 0.031) and LAA flow pattern (Beta = .386, p<0.001) remained associated with vWF in cardiac blood after ablation. Advanced age was significantly associated with IL6 levels at baseline and after ablation in peripheral and cardiac blood. There were no clinical, procedural or anti-coagulation characteristics associated with sP-sel levels in cardiac blood, while peripheral sP-sel levels were associated with hypertension before (Beta = −.307, p = 0.007) and with persistent AF after ablation (Beta = −.262, p = 0.020). Conclusions vWF levels are higher in persistent AF and are associated with LAA rheological pattern after AF ablation. Increase of peripheral vWF and IL6 levels after procedure supports current AF ablation management with careful control of post-procedural anticoagulation to avoid ablation-related thromboembolism.
Flexible threshold voltage FinFETs with independent double gates and an ideal rectangular cross-section Si-Fin channel

The FT-FinFETs with independent double gates and an ideal rectangular cross-section Si-Fin channel have successfully been fabricated by using newly developed orientation-dependent wet etching. The flexible V/sub th/ controllability by using one of the double gates as a control gate and by the synchronized driving mode operation is experimentally confirmed. The developed processes are attractive for the fabrication of the advanced separate-gates FinFET for a flexible function VLSI circuit.
Voices, Not Numbers: Towards a Greater Democracy in Education

U.S. educational policy and practice adhere to the old proverb that "children should be seen and not heard. "… Arguments for children—often made by children themselves—having voice and taking action on matters that affect their lives are rarely taken seriously. … Nevertheless, protecting children's welfare need not exclude inviting them to speak on education issues. In some countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, children's voices and opinions are considered vital…. In the United States, children's voices are not sought out. They are most often the "objects of inquiry,"… [seen]…"as either a window onto universal psychological laws or as indicators of treatment effects. In both cases, the children themselves are simply instruments…vehicles for measuring outcomes. "… Black and brown children in particular are made into "objects of inquiry," and are accordingly more watched, restricted, and disciplined. … Further, black and brown children, especially in poor and urban communities, have had their humanity devalued against that of children in whiter, wealthier schools.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
A Single-Item Self-Rated Health Measure Correlates with Objective Health Status in the Elderly: A Survey in Suburban Beijing

Introduction: The measurement of health status of the elderly remains one important topic. Self-rated health status (SRH) is considered to be a simple indicator to measure the health status of the old population. But some researchers still take a skeptical view about its reliability. This study aims to investigate the association between SRH indicator and health status of the elderly and discuss its subsequent public health implications. Methods: In a total 1096 people who were 60 years of age or older from 1784 households from a suburban area of Beijing were interviewed using multistage stratified cluster sampling. SRH was measured by a single question “please choose one point in this 0–100 scale, which can best represent your health today. ” The disease status and physical functional status were also obtained. A multiple linear regression was conducted to test the associate between SRH and individual’s disease/functional status. Results: The average of SRH scores of the elderly was 72.49 ± 15.64 (on a 1–100 scale). The SRH scores declined not only with the severity of self-reported mental/disease status, but also with the decrease of physical functional status. Multiple linear regression showed that after adjustment for other variables, 2-week sickness, chronic diseases, hospitalization, and ability of self-care (washing and dressing) were able to explain 35% of the variation in SRH among the elderly. Among them, disease status and self-care ability were the most powerful predictor of SRH. After adjusting other variables, physical functional status could explain only 5% of the variation in SRH. Conclusion: Self-rated health reflects the disease/functional health status of the elderly. It is an easy-to-implement variable and it can reduce both recall bias and investigator bias, thus being widely used in health surveys. It is a cost-effective means of measuring the health status. However, the comparability of SRH in different populations should be studied in future.