Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The tyrosine kinase substrate p120cas binds directly to E-cadherin but not to the adenomatous polyposis coli protein or alpha-catenin

The tyrosine kinase substrate p120cas (CAS), which is structurally similar to the cell adhesion proteins beta-catenin and plakoglobin, was recently shown to associate with the E-cadherin-catenin cell adhesion complex. beta-catenin, plakoglobin, and CAS all have an Arm domain that consists of 10 to 13 repeats of a 42-amino-acid motif originally described in the Drosophila Armadillo protein. To determine if the association of CAS with the cadherin cell adhesion machinery is similar to that of beta-catenin and plakoglobin, we examined the CAS-cadherin-catenin interactions in a number of cell lines and in the yeast two-hybrid system. In the prostate carcinoma cell line PC3, CAS associated normally with cadherin complexes despite the specific absence of alpha-catenin in these cells. However, in the colon carcinoma cell line SW480, which has negligible E-cadherin expression, CAS did not associate with beta-catenin, plakoglobin, or alpha-catenin, suggesting that E-cadherin is the protein which bridges CAS to the rest of the complex. In addition, CAS did not associate with the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein in any of the cell lines analyzed. Interestingly, expression of the various CAS isoforms was quite heterogeneous in these tumor cell lines, and in the colon carcinoma cell line HCT116, which expresses normal levels of E-cadherin and the catenins, the CAS1 isoforms were completely absent. By using the yeast two-hybrid system, we confirmed the direct interaction between CAS and E-cadherin and determined that CAS Arm repeats 1 to 10 are necessary and sufficient for this interaction. Hence, like beta-catenin and plakoglobin, CAS interacts directly with E-cadherin in vivo; however, unlike beta-catenin and plakoglobin, CAS does not interact with APC or alpha-catenin.
The secrecy capacity of block fading multiuser wireless networks

The resilience of block fading wireless orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks to passive eavesdroppers is investigated. The network secrecy capacity is evaluated in scenarios involving a base station and several terminals, some of which constitute passive eavesdroppers. Assuming a block fading Rayleigh channel, the probability of a secrecy outage during a transmission frame is evaluated with respect to a target secrecy rate τ in the following cases: (i) in the absence of any cooperation between the network nodes, and, (ii) when the full multi-user diversity is exploited both by the legitimate users as well as by the eavesdroppers. Remarkably, it is demonstrated that in a network of as few as 12 legitimate users and a single eavesdropper it is possible to transmit 1 bit/sec/Hz with a probability of secrecy outage less than 1%. Furthermore, the delay constrained secrecy capacity of this network is evaluated when the full channel state information (CSI) is available both at the base station and at all receiving nodes. A secure waterfilling scheme is discussed, satisfying a short-term power constraint.
Various terminologies associated with areca nut and tobacco chewing: A review

Globally, arecanut and tobacco are among the most common addictions. Tobacco and arecanut alone or in combination are practiced in different regions in various forms. Subsequently, oral mucosal lesions also show marked variations in their clinical as well as histopathological appearance. However, it has been found that there is no uniformity and awareness while reporting these habits. Various terminologies used by investigators like ‘betel chewing’,‘betel quid chewing’,‘betel nut chewing’,‘betel nut habit’,‘tobacco chewing’and ‘paan chewing’ clearly indicate that there is lack of knowledge and lots of confusion about the exact terminology and content of the habit. If the health promotion initiatives are to be considered, a thorough knowledge of composition and way of practicing the habit is essential. In this article we reviewed composition and various terminologies associated with areca nut and tobacco habits in an effort to clearly delineate various habits.
Validation of cognitive architectures by use cases: Examplified with the psychoanalytically-inspired ARS model implementation

Evaluation and validation of software architectures in cognitive science often lack objective evaluation criteria and test mechanisms. Hence, in this article we present an in-house developed use case to evaluate the cognitive architecture ARS, together with its psychoanalytically-inspired functionalities. The use case was developed by a team of psychoanalysts and comprehends human's behavior patterns in a competitive situation. We describe the preconditions, the development, and the setting of the use case, followed by the results and screenshots to document the dataflow within the modules. Different outcomes of the use case depending on the variation of personality parameters of the ARS system play a pivotal role. Furthermore, we provide a general description of the ARS system, of the top-down development process, and of the psychoanalytic theory behind it. We give insight into functionalities of ARS like the decision making process and the association of objects. Finally, we evaluate these functionalities by implementing and simulating the developed use case.
TIN-based Tag Map Layout

ABSTRACT With the widespread use of tag clouds, multiple map-based variations have been proposed. Like standard tag clouds (also called word clouds), these ‘tag maps’ all share the basic strategy of displaying words within a ‘geographic space’ and scaling the word size to depict frequency (or importance) of those words within some dataset. While some tag maps simply plot a standard tag cloud on top of a map, the subset of tag maps we focus on here are those in which the collection of words are displayed within bounded geographic regions (often of irregular shape) that the words are relevant for. For this form of tag map, map scale and polygon shape add constraints to word size and position that have not been considered in most prior approaches to tag map word layout. In this paper, we present a layout strategy for tag map generation that includes consideration of the shape and size of the geographical regions acting as containers for the tags. The method introduced here uses a triangulated irregular network (TIN) to subdivide the geographical region into many triangle subareas, with the centroid of each triangle being a potential location to centre a tag on. All the triangles are sorted by their area and all the tags are sorted by their weight value (e.g. frequency, importance or popularity). Positioning of tags is undertaken sequentially from most important (or frequent or popular) with potential locations being the TIN triangle centroids (tried from largest to smallest triangle). After each tag placement, the TIN is recalculated to integrate the tag centroid and bounding corners into the TIN creation. The limited whitespace in the geographical region, at any specific scale, is used fully by dynamically adjusting the font size along with the number and the direction of tags. The method can be applied to add tags within geographic polygons that are convex, concave and other more complex regions containing holes or islands.
TLR4 Inhibits Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) STAT3 Activation and Thereby Exerts Deleterious Effects on MSC–Mediated Cardioprotection

Background Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) improve myocardial recovery after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. These effects are mediated in part by the paracrine secretion of angiogenic and tissue growth-promoting factors. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is expressed by MSC and induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation in neuronal progenitors as well as many other cell types. It is unknown whether knock-out (KO) of TLR4 will change the paracrine properties of MSC and in turn improve MSC-associated myocardial protection. Methodology/Principal Findings This study explored the effect of MSC TLR4 on the secretion of angiogenic factors and chemokines in vitro by using ELISA and cytokine array assays and investigated the role of TLR4 on MSC-mediated myocardial recovery after I/R injury in an isolated rat heart model. We observed that MSC isolated from TLR4 KO mice exhibited a greater degree of cardioprotection in a rat model of myocardial I/R injury. This enhanced protection was associated with increased angiogenic factor production, proliferation and differentiation. TLR4-dificiency was also associated with decreased phosphorylation of PI-3K and AKT, but increased activation of STAT3. siRNA targeting of STAT3 resulted in attenuation of the enhanced cardioprotection of TLR4-deficient MSC. Conclusions/Significance This study indicates that TLR4 exerts deleterious effects on MSC-derived cardioprotection following I/R by a STAT3 inhibitory mechanism.
Evolution of the Oropharynx Cancer Epidemic in the United States: Moderation of Increasing Incidence in Younger Individuals and Shift in the Burden to Older Individuals.

PURPOSE Human papillomavirus-positive oropharynx cancer incidence has increased rapidly in cohorts of US white men born during the 1930s to 1950s. It is unknown how the trajectory of the oropharynx cancer epidemic may be changing in the United States. METHODS Using US cancer registry information, we investigated whether increases in oropharynx cancer have continued into recent birth cohorts and forecasted the future burden across age, sex, and race/ethnicity subgroups. Log-linear Joinpoint regression and age-period-cohort models were used to evaluate incidence trends during 1992 to 2015 and projections through 2029. RESULTS Among white men, oropharynx cancer incidence increased rapidly in individuals born during 1939 to 1955 (5.3% per 2-year birth cohort; 95% CI, 4.8% to 5.7%), but this rate of increase significantly moderated in individuals born during 1955 to 1969 (1.7% per 2-year birth cohort; 95% CI, 1.0% to 2.4%). Should these birth-cohort trends continue, from 2016 to 2029 we forecast that incidence will increase dramatically in older white men 65 to 74 years of age (from 40.7 to 71.2 per 100,000) and 75 to 84 years of age (from 25.7 to 50.1 per 100,000), moderately in white men 55 to 64 years of age (from 40.3 to 52.0 per 100,000), and remain stable in white men 45 to 54 years of age (approximately 18 per 100,000). Accounting for population growth, we project an increase in annual number of cases in the United States from 20,124 (95% CI, 19,779 to 20,469) in 2016 to 30,629 (95% CI, 29,413 to 31,845) in 2029, primarily driven by older individuals (age ≥ 65 years; from 7,976 [95% CI, 7,782 to 8,172] to 18,072 [95% CI, 17,271 to 18,895]) and white men (from 14,453 [95% CI, 14,142 to 14,764] to 22,241 [95% CI, 21,119 to 23,364]). CONCLUSION The exponential increase in oropharynx cancer incidence in young white US men has ebbed, and modest increases are occurring/anticipated in cohorts born after 1955. Continued strong increases in incidence in cohorts born before 1955, and an approximate 50% increase in size of the US population age 65 years or older through 2029, portend a substantial shift in burden to elderly white men.
Intralesional injections of Citoprot‐P® (recombinant human epidermal growth factor) in advanced diabetic foot ulcers with risk of amputation

To investigate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) in advanced diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) A double‐blind trial was carried out to test two rhEGF dose levels in type 1 or 2 diabetes patients with Wagner’s grade 3 or 4 ulcers, with high risk of amputation. Subjects were randomised to receive 75 (group I) or 25 μg (group II) rhEGF through intralesional injections, three times per week for 5–8 weeks together with standardised good wound care. Endpoints were granulation tissue formation, complete healing and need of amputation. Safety was assessed by clinical adverse events (AEs) and laboratory evaluations. Forty‐one patients were included. After 5–8 weeks of treatment, 83% patients in the higher dose group and 61% in group II achieved useful granulation tissue covering more than 98% of the wound area. At long‐term assessment, 13 (56·5%) patients healed in group I and 9 (50%) in group II. The mean time to complete healing in group I was 20·6 weeks (95% CI: 17·0–24·2) and 19·5 weeks (16·3–22·7) in group II. After 1‐year follow‐up, only one patient relapsed. Amputation was not necessary in 65% and 66·7% of groups I and II, respectively. The AEs rates were similar. The most frequent were sepsis (33%), burning sensation (29%), tremors, chills and local pain (25% each). rhEGF local injection enhances advanced DFU healing and reduces the risk of major amputation. No dose dependency was observed.
Color vision impairment in type 2 diabetes assessed by the D‐15d test and the Cambridge Colour Test

Color vision impairment emerges at early stages of diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) and may precede diabetic retinopathy or the appearance of vascular alterations in the retina. The aim of the present study was to compare the evaluation of the color vision with two different tests – the Lanthony desaturated D‐15d test (a traditional color arrangement test), and the Cambridge Colour Test (CCT) (a computerized color discrimination test) – in patients diagnosed with DM2 without clinical signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR), and in sex‐ and age‐matched control groups. Both color tests revealed statistically significant differences between the controls and the worst eyes of the DM2 patients. In addition, the degree of color vision impairment diagnosed by both tests correlated with the disease duration. The D‐15d outcomes indicated solely tritan losses. In comparison, CCT outcomes revealed diffuse losses in color discrimination: 13.3% for best eyes and 29% for worst eyes. In addition, elevation of tritan thresholds in the DM2 patients, as detected by the Trivector subtest of the CCT, was found to correlate with the level of glycated hemoglobin. Outcomes of both tests confirm that subclinical losses of color vision are present in DM2 patients at an early stage of the disease, prior to signs of retinopathy. Considering the advantages of the CCT test compared to the D‐15d test, further studies should attempt to verify and/or improve the efficiency of the CCT test.
Placentomegaly in Cloned Mouse Concepti Caused by Expansion of the Spongiotrophoblast Layer1

Abstract Hypertrophic placenta, or placentomegaly, has been reported in cloned cattle and mouse concepti, although their placentation processes are quite different from each other. It is therefore tempting to assume that common mechanisms underlie the impact of somatic cell cloning on development of the trophoblast cell lineage that gives rise to the greater part of fetal placenta. To characterize the nature of placentomegaly in cloned mouse concepti, we histologically examined term cloned mouse placentas and assessed expression of a number of genes. A prominent morphological abnormality commonly found among all cloned mouse placentas examined was expansion of the spongiotrophoblast layer, with an increased number of glycogen cells and enlarged spongiotrophoblast cells. Enlargement of trophoblast giant cells and disorganization of the labyrinth layer were also seen. Despite the morphological abnormalities, in situ hybridization analysis of spatiotemporally regulated placenta-specific genes did not reveal any drastic disturbances. Although repression of some imprinted genes was found in Northern hybridization analysis, it was concluded that this was mostly due to the reduced proportion of the labyrinth layer in the entire placenta, not to impaired transcriptional activity. Interestingly, however, cloned mouse fetuses appeared to be smaller than those of litter size-matched controls, suggesting that cloned mouse fetuses were under a latent negative effect on their growth, probably because the placentas are not fully functional. Thus, a major cause of placentomegaly is expansion of the spongiotrophoblast layer, which consequently disturbs the architecture of the layers in the placenta and partially damages its function.
Efecto del gradiente altitudinal sobre las reservas decarbono y nitrógeno del suelo en un matorral seco en Ecuador

Solano, M. , Ramon, P., Gusman-M, E. , Burneo, J. I. , Quichimbo, P., Jimenez, L. 2018. Effect of the altitudinal gradient on soil carbon and nitrogen reserves in a dry scrub in Ecuador. Ecosistemas 27(3):116-122. Doi. : 10.7818/ECOS.1521 The study of the distribution and reserves of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in the soil is of crucial importance for all terrestrial ecosystems, particularly in dry mountain areas where there is a high spatial heterogeneity due to the differences in soils, climate and vegetation along altitudinal gradients. The objective of this investigation was to determine if altitude affects the soil C and N reserves of a neotropical dry scrub ecosystem in the south of Ecuador. We selected an altitudinal transect ranging from 1200 to 1800 m a.s. l. where eight plots were sampled at two depths (0-10 and 10-20 cm). The results show that the reserves of C and N varied along the altitudinal gradient, with the highest values sampled at 1800 m a.s. l. and the lowest at 1200 m a.s. l. This variation in the reserves is mainly related to the decrease in temperature and the increase in precipitation with altitude, as athigher elevations decomposition rates of organic matter is usually slower. Our results suggest that elevation should be included in models and estimatesof reserves of C and N at a local and regional scale in this type of ecosystem, which would allow identifying the most vulnerable areas to the effects of climate change. In addition, the information generated in this study could be useful to assign conservation priorities to this type of ecosystem. Overall, our results contribute and add information to the scarce literature found on the C and N in these arid ecosystems of Ecuador.
Revascularization Versus Medical Treatments in Stable Coronary Artery Disease: Predicting the Future of Novel Drug Therapies for Stable Angina

Abstract: Over the past 2 decades, drug therapy of patients with stable angina pectoris has improved, with a marked impact on the hard clinical outcomes of mortality and myocardial infarction. In contrast, recent trials have not demonstrated beneficial effects of revascularization on mortality. However, in the large trials that compared medical treatment with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or surgery, high-risk patients, such as those with severe 3-vessel disease with or without left ventricular dysfunction, were excluded. In the COURAGE and FAME 2 trials, the only difference between the PCI and medical therapy groups was a higher rate of revascularization in the latter. Similar findings were made in studies comparing medical treatment with coronary surgery. New pharmacological approaches are being developed to further delay the progression of atherosclerosis. These include new lipid-lowering drugs acting in concert with statins (cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors), aldosterone antagonists, colchicine, methotrexate, and interleukin-1 inhibitors. In conclusion, from the available data, PCI and coronary surgery have not been shown to improve hard end points and routine use of invasive revascularization should be avoided in patients with chronic stable angina. Evidence-based secondary prevention remains the most important approach.
Deep Belief Network for clustering and classification of a continuous data

Deep Belief Network (DBN) is a deep architecture that consists of a stack of Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBM). The deep architecture has the benefit that each layer learns more complex features than layers before it. DBN and RBM could be used as a feature extraction method also used as neural network with initially learned weights. The approach proposed depends on DBN in clustering and classification of continuous input data without using back propagation in the DBN architecture. DBN should have a better a performance than the traditional neural network due the initialization of the connecting weights rather than just using random weights in NN. Each layer in DBN (RBM) depends on Contrastive Divergence method for input reconstruction which increases the performance of the network.
Characterization of periodontitis in people with type 1 diabetes of 50 years or longer duration.

BACKGROUND Periodontitis is more common and severe in people with diabetes than the general population. We have reported in the Joslin Medalist Study that people with type 1 diabetes of ≥50 years (Medalists) may have endogenous protective factors against diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence of periodontitis according to the Centers for Disease Control/American Academy of Periodontology classification in a subset (n = 170, mean age = 64.6 ± 6.9 years) of the Medalist cohort, and its associations to various criteria of periodontitis and diabetic complications were assessed. RESULTS The prevalence of severe periodontitis in Medalists was only 13.5% which was lower than reported levels in diabetic patients of similar ages. Periodontal parameters, including bleeding on probing, plaque index, gingival index, and demographic traits, including male sex, chronological age, and age at diagnosis were significantly associated with severity of periodontitis, which did not associate with diabetes duration, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), body mass index, and lipid profiles. Random serum C-peptide levels inversely associated with severity of periodontitis (P = 0.03), lower probing depth (P = 0.0002), and clinical attachment loss (P = 0.03). Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and systemic inflammatory markers, plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), and serum immunoglobulin G titer against Porphyromonas gingivalis positively associated with severity of periodontitis (P = 0.002 and 0.02, respectively). Antibody titer to P. gingivalis correlated positively and significantly with CVD, serum IL-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. CONCLUSIONS Some Medalists could be protected from severe periodontitis even with hyperglycemia. Endogenous protective factors for periodontitis could possibly be related to residual insulin production and lower levels of chronic inflammation.