Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and its related pathway in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell differentiation co-cultured with mechanically stretched ligament fibroblasts

The occurrence of pelvic floor dysfunctional disease (PFD) is closely related with elasticity, toughness, and functional changes of the connective tissue of the pelvic support tissue. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have been confirmed to have the capacity to differentiate into a variety of cell types such as osteoblasts, chondroblasts, adipocytes and fibroblasts. Therefore, BMSCs have the potential to improve the clinical outcomes for PFD. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), a ligand activated transcription factor, has acquired a great deal of attention as it is involved in the fibrosis and cell differentiation. However, how it is regulated during the process of the differentiation of BMSCs into fibroblasts remains to be defined. The present study investigated the underlying mechanisms of PPAR-γ effect of mechanical stretch on the differentiation of BMSCs induced by pelvic ligament fibroblasts. PPAR-γ expression was decreased during the differentiation of BMSCs into fibroblasts by co-cultured stretched fibroblasts. Addition of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) reduced PPAR-γ expression and promoted the differentiation of BMSCs. With the employment of endogenous ligand, activation of PPAR-γ suppressed the BMSC differentiation. Similar effects were also observed with overexpression of PPAR-γ gene. In addition, decrease of PPAR-γ by the use of shRNA targeting rat PPAR-γ significantly contributed to BMSC differentiation to fibroblasts. These results indicate that PPAR-γ negatively regulates the differentiation of BMSCs into fibroblasts.
Tension, contraction and tissue morphogenesis

D'Arcy Thompson was a proponent of applying mathematical and physical principles to biological systems, an approach that is becoming increasingly common in developmental biology. Indeed, the recent integration of quantitative experimental data, force measurements and mathematical modeling has changed our understanding of morphogenesis – the shaping of an organism during development. Emerging evidence suggests that the subcellular organization of contractile cytoskeletal networks plays a key role in force generation, while on the tissue level the spatial organization of forces determines the morphogenetic output. Inspired by D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form, we review our current understanding of how biological forms are created and maintained by the generation and organization of contractile forces at the cell and tissue levels. We focus on recent advances in our understanding of how cells actively sculpt tissues and how forces are involved in specific morphogenetic processes. Summary: This Review emphasizes the role of the actomyosin meshwork in determining the forces that operate within and between cells and their environment to shape and organize cells and tissues.
TGV for diffusion tensors: A comparison of fidelity functions

We study the total generalised variation regularisation of symmetric tensor fields from medical applications, namely diffusion tensor regularisation. We study the effect of the pointwise positivity constraint on the tensor field, as well as the difference between direct denoising of the tensor field first solved from the Stejskal-Tanner equation, as was done in our earlier work, and of incorporating this equation into the fidelity function. Our results indicate that the latter novel approach provides improved computational results. Mathematics subject classification: 92C55, 94A08, 26B30, 49M29.
Rapid disease progression in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected individuals with adverse reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis.

We studied the relation between the occurrence of adverse reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) prophylaxis and the subsequent course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in a cohort of homosexual men. Adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ were associated with a more rapid progression to AIDS (P < .001) and death (P < .001) and with a more rapid decline in CD4+ cell counts (P = .001). The median time to progression to AIDS was 14.9 months in subjects with adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ and 32.5 months in those without adverse reactions. After exclusion of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and toxoplasmosis from the case definition of AIDS, the differences in the rate of progression to AIDS between subjects with and without adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ were still highly significant (P = .004). A low CD4+ cell count at baseline and the use of antiretroviral agents before the start of prophylaxis were predictors of adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ but did not account for the difference in progression to AIDS between subjects with and without adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ. In a univariate analysis, the relative hazard of adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ for progression to AIDS was 2.54 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-4.28); in a multivariate analysis, it was 2.21 (95% CI, 1.29-3.81). The relative hazards of adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ for progression to AIDS with the exclusion of PCP and toxoplasmosis, CD4+ cell counts of <50/mm3, and death were 2.16 (95% CI, 1.25-3.72), 2.37 (95% CI, 1.36-4.12), and 3.21 (95% CI, 1.80-5.72), respectively. It is unclear whether adverse reactions to TMP-SMZ induce or merely predict progression of HIV disease.
Hydrogen production and transfer in the rumen

Hydrogen is a central metabolite in rumen fermentation and its partial pressure is an important determinant of rumen methanogenesis. The balance of hydrogen ion (H+) and dissolved hydrogen gas (H2) concentrations directly determine the redox potential of the rumen and therefore the possible extent of oxidation of feedstuffs. Differential permeability of the bacterial membrane to H+ and H2 means the proportions of these metabolites in the extracellular fluid will differ from their proportions within the bacterium. Interpretation of extracellular H2 concentration in the bulk fluid is also complicated by interspecies hydrogen transfer among H2 producing and utilising rumen organisms which live in close physical (syntrophic) associations. The role of H2 concentration in determining the array of fermentation products and the efficiency of energy capture by rumen organisms is discussed. Developing a greater understanding of rumen hydrogen metabolism may present new opportunities for the control of rumen methanogenesis. Hydrogen production and transfer in the rumen
Effects of leucine supplementation and resistance training on myopathy of diabetic rats

Leucine supplementation and resistance training positively influence the protein translation process and the cell signaling mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway that regulates muscle protein balance and muscle remodeling, and thus may be therapeutic to diabetic myopathy. However, the effect of a combined intervention has not been well studied. Forty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups, control (C), diabetic control (D), diabetic + trained (DT), diabetic + L‐leucine (DL), diabetic + L‐leucine + trained (DLT). The supplementation of 5% leucine in chow, and resistance training were conducted for 8 weeks postweaning of rats. The extensor digitorum longus was used to assess signaling proteins involved in muscle protein synthesis, and the gastrocnemius and soleus were used for determination of muscle weight. Blood samples were collected for biochemical assays. Strength and ambulation tests were employed to evaluate motor performance. Results showed that both leucine supplementation and resistance training elevated the activity of mTOR‐p70S6K in diabetic rats (P < 0.05). Moreover, though leucine supplementation in combination with resistance training demonstrated synergistic effects on p70S6K (P < 0.05), both treatments were capable of recovering motor performance (P < 0.05). In conclusion, 5% leucine supplementation combined with resistance training has the potential to attenuate muscle loss and motor performance decrements in diabetic rats, at least in part through increased protein synthesis.
Moderate‐to‐Vigorous Physical Activity and All‐Cause Mortality: Do Bouts Matter?

Background The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults accumulate moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in bouts of ≥10 minutes for substantial health benefits. To what extent the same amount of MVPA accumulated in bouts versus sporadically reduces mortality risk remains unclear. Methods and Results We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2006 and death records available through 2011 (follow‐up period of ≈6.6 years; 700 deaths) to examine the associations between objectively measured physical activity accumulated with and without a bout criteria and all‐cause mortality in a representative sample of US adults 40 years and older (n=4840). Physical activity data were processed to generate minutes per day of total and bouted MVPA. Bouted MVPA was defined as MVPA accumulated in bouts of a minimum duration of either 5 or 10 minutes allowing for 1‐ to 2‐minute interruptions. Hazard ratios for all‐cause mortality associated with total and bouted MVPA were similar and ranged from 0.24 for the third quartile of total to 0.44 for the second quartile of 10‐minute bouts. The examination of jointly classified quartiles of total MVPA and tertiles of proportion of bouted activity revealed that greater amounts of bouted MVPA did not result in additional risk reductions for mortality. Conclusions These results provide evidence that mortality risk reductions associated with MVPA are independent of how activity is accumulated and can impact the development of physical activity guidelines and inform clinical practice.
Computational optimization of synthetic water channels.

Membranes for liquid and gas separations and ion transport are critical to water purification, osmotic energy generation, fuel cells, batteries, supercapacitors, and catalysis. Often these membranes lack pore uniformity and robustness under operating conditions, which can lead to a decrease in performance. The lack of uniformity means that many pores are non-functional. Traditional membranes overcome these limitations by using thick membrane materials that impede transport and selectivity, which results in decreased performance and increased operating costs. For example, limitations in membrane performance demand high applied pressures to deionize water using reverse osmosis. In contrast, cellular membranes combine high flux and selective transport using membrane-bound protein channels operating at small pressure differences. Pore size and chemistry in the cellular channels is defined uniformly and with sub-nanometer precision through protein folding. The thickness of these cellular membranes is limited to that of the cellular membrane bilayer, about 4 nm thick, which enhances transport. Pores in the cellular membranes are robust under operating conditions in the body. Recent efforts to mimic cellular water channels for efficient water deionization produced a significant advance in membrane function. The novel biomimetic design achieved a 10-fold increase in membrane permeability to water flow compared to commercial membranesmore » and still maintained high salt rejection. Despite this success, there is a lack of understanding about why this membrane performs so well. To address this lack of knowledge, we used highperformance computing to interrogate the structural and chemical environments experienced by water and electrolytes in the newly created biomimetic membranes. We also compared the solvation environments between the biomimetic membrane and cellular water channels. These results will help inform future efforts to optimize and tune the performance of synthetic biomimetic membranes for applications in water purification, energy, and catalysis. « less
Analysis on the Friction and Wear Properties of Friction Stir Jointing for 7022 Aluminum Alloy Joining Region

The friction and wear properties of the friction stir jointing 7022 aluminum alloy joining region were tested in this paper. The friction coefficients and wearing capacities of the joining regions under different joining process parameters were obtained. The experiment results showed that the friction coefficients and wearing capacities of the joining regions had a certain relationship with the hardness, but not became direct ratio relation. The friction coefficient of the joining region was smaller than that of the base metal. This main reason was base metal was lath-shaped grain, and the joining region was isometric crystal. The wear volume under 400/30 parameters was minimum. The wear volume was greatly influenced by the hardness of the joining region, but was not direct proportion relationship. Due to the random factors influence in friction process, the law of the friction coefficient reflecting friction and wear was not the same with the law of wear volume reflecting friction and wear. The friction form was abrasive wear and adhesive wear.
Do Implicit and Explicit Measures of the Sense of Agency Measure the Same Thing?

The sense of agency (SoA) refers to perceived causality of the self, i.e. the feeling of causing something to happen. The SoA has been probed using a variety of explicit and implicit measures. Explicit measures include rating scales and questionnaires. Implicit measures, which include sensory attenuation and temporal binding, use perceptual differences between self- and externally generated stimuli as measures of the SoA. In the present study, we investigated whether the different measures tap into the same self-attribution processes by determining whether individual differences on implicit and explicit measures of SoA are correlated. Participants performed tasks in which they triggered tones via key presses (operant condition) or passively listened to tones triggered by a computer (observational condition). We replicated previously reported effects of sensory attenuation and temporal binding. Surprisingly the two implicit measures of SoA were not significantly correlated with each other, nor did they correlate with the explicit measures of SoA. Our results suggest that some explicit and implicit measures of the SoA may tap into different processes.
DISSOLUTION ENHANCEMENT OF CURCUMIN BY HYDROXYPROPYL-β-CYCLODEXTRIN COMPLEXATION

Objectives: The purpose of this study describes the formation of inclusion complex by coevaporation of curcumin using hydroxypropyl-βcyclodextrin as carriers, to improve the solubility and dissolution of drug. Methods: The preparation of inclusion complex was carried out by using solvent method. The drug and carrier were dissolved in alcohol and subjected to solvent evaporation by a rotary evaporator. The residual powder preparation was allowed to dry overnight in vacuum desiccator, pulverized and sieved through # 60 mesh. The invitro dissolution testing was performed media in HCl 0.1 N aqueous solution. Characterization of inclusion complex and physical mixture was further evaluation using differential thermal analysis (DTA), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), FTIR spectrophotometry and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results: Evaluation of the phase solubility studies revealed a AL type diagram with complexation of equimolar ratio and solubility constant of 30.09 mM -1 . In-vitro dissolution studies showed that the curcumin entrapped in coevaporated complexes dissolved much faster than the incomplexed dissolved drug and physical mixtures. X-ray diffraction indicated loss a crystalline nature of the drug, FTIR, DTA studies revealed no interaction between curcumin and HPβCD.
Histone deacetylase–mediated regulation of endolysosomal pH

The pH of the endolysosomal system is tightly regulated by a balance of proton pump and leak mechanisms that are critical for storage, recycling, turnover, and signaling functions in the cell. Dysregulation of endolysosomal pH has been linked to aging, amyloidogenesis, synaptic dysfunction, and various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that regulate luminal pH may be key to identifying new targets for managing these disorders. Meta-analysis of yeast microarray databases revealed that nutrient-limiting conditions inhibited the histone deacetylase (HDAC) Rpd3 and thereby up-regulated transcription of the endosomal Na+/H+ exchanger Nhx1, resulting in vacuolar alkalinization. Consistent with these findings, Rpd3 inhibition by the HDAC inhibitor and antifungal drug trichostatin A induced Nhx1 expression and vacuolar alkalinization. Bioinformatics analysis of Drosophila and mouse databases revealed that caloric control of the Nhx1 orthologs DmNHE3 and NHE6, respectively, is also mediated by HDACs. We show that NHE6 is a target of the transcription factor cAMP-response element–binding protein (CREB), a known regulator of cellular responses to low-nutrient conditions, providing a molecular mechanism for nutrient- and HDAC-dependent regulation of endosomal pH. Of note, pharmacological targeting of the CREB pathway to increase NHE6 expression helped regulate endosomal pH and correct defective clearance of amyloid Aβ in an apoE4 astrocyte model of Alzheimer's disease. These observations from yeast, fly, mouse, and cell culture models point to an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for HDAC-mediated regulation of endosomal NHE expression. Our insights offer new therapeutic strategies for modulation of endolysosomal pH in fungal infection and human disease.
Distributed Wireless Video Scheduling With Delayed Control Information

Traditional distributed wireless video scheduling is based on perfect control channels in which instantaneous control information from the neighbors is available. However, it is difficult, sometimes even impossible, to obtain this information in practice, especially for dynamic wireless networks. Thus, neither the distortion-minimum scheduling approaches aiming to meet the longterm video quality demands nor the solutions that focus on minimum delay can be applied directly. This motivates us to investigate the distributed wireless video scheduling with delayed control information (DCI). First, to exploit in a tractable framework, we translate this scheduling problem into a stochastic optimization rather than a convex optimization problem. Next, we consider two classes of DCI distributions: 1) the class with finite mean and variance and 2) a general class that does not employ any parametric representation. In each case, we study the relationship between the DCI and scheduling performance, and provide a general performance property bound for any distributed scheduling. Subsequently, a class of distributed scheduling scheme is proposed to achieve the performance bound by making use of the correlation among the time-scale control information. Finally, we provide simulation results to demonstrate the correctness of the theoretical analysis and the efficiency of the proposed scheme.
The Breaking Down and Agglomerating of Fillers in Polymer Melt: A Physical Model for Mathematical Description

The filling and reinforcement of polymers represents an essential process task in manufacturing technology. For this reason, in the course of working in the filling substances, the distribution should also be accompanied by a break down of agglomerates. A description of the dispersion process during manufacture is of great importance for the design of process zones in a production machine. In addition to the basic principles, a mathematical description of the dispersion of additives in a polymer melt will be presented. Here, because of the complexity of the dispersion process, the form of the model assumes simple physical theorems for description of the problem. This procedure leads to a description employing mathematical relationships, with the help of which the agglomerate size can be calculated in relation to material and process values.
Eocene Diversification of Crown Group Rails (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae)

Central to our understanding of the timing of bird evolution is debate about an apparent conflict between fossil and molecular data. A deep age for higher level taxa within Neoaves is evident from molecular analyses but much remains to be learned about the age of diversification in modern bird families and their evolutionary ecology. In order to better understand the timing and pattern of diversification within the family Rallidae we used a relaxed molecular clock, fossil calibrations, and complete mitochondrial genomes from a range of rallid species analysed in a Bayesian framework. The estimated time of origin of Rallidae is Eocene, about 40.5 Mya, with evidence of intrafamiliar diversification from the Late Eocene to the Miocene. This timing is older than previously suggested for crown group Rallidae, but fossil calibrations, extent of taxon sampling and substantial sequence data give it credence. We note that fossils of Eocene age tentatively assigned to Rallidae are consistent with our findings. Compared to available studies of other bird lineages, the rail clade is old and supports an inference of deep ancestry of ground-dwelling habits among Neoaves.
Wikipedia and Machine Translation: killing two birds with one stone

In this paper we present the free/open-source language resources for machine translation created in OpenMT-2 wikiproject, a collaboration framework that was tested with editors of Basque Wikipedia. Post-editing of Computer Science articles has been used to improve the output of a Spanish to Basque MT system called Matxin. For the collaboration between editors and researchers, we selected a set of 100 articles from the Spanish Wikipedia. These articles would then be used as the source texts to be translated into Basque using the MT engine. A group of volunteers from Basque Wikipedia reviewed and corrected the raw MT translations. This collaboration ultimately produced two main benefits: (i) the change logs that would potentially help improve the MT engine by using an automated statistical post-editing system, and (ii) the growth of Basque Wikipedia. The results show that this process can improve the accuracy of a Rule Based Machine Translation system in nearly 10% benefiting from the post-edition of 50,000 words in the Computer Science domain. We believe that our conclusions can be extended to MT engines involving other less-resourced languages lacking large parallel corpora or frequently updated lexical knowledge, as well as to other domains.
MICROWAVE VACUUM DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD

Microwave-vacuum (MV) drying characteristic of plantation Masson Pine were studied experimentally for various levels of microwave radiation time, initial moisture content (MC) and wood thickness. The results show that the process of MV drying for wood can be significantly divided into a short accelerating rate drying period, a long constant rate drying period and falling rate drying period, and the second drying period can extend to levels of mean moisture content below the fiber saturation point; With the increase of initial MC and microwave radiation time, the drying rate of wood increases significantly; Within the range of 2cm to 6cm, the effects of sample thickness on the drying rate can be negligible