Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
T-Cell Immunity to Subclinical Cytomegalovirus Infection Reduces Cardiac Allograft Disease

Background— Asymptomatic cytomegalovirus (CMV) replication is frequent after cardiac transplantation in recipients with pretransplantation CMV infection. How subclinical viral replication influences cardiac allograft disease remains poorly understood, as does the importance of T-cell immunity in controlling such replication. Methods and Results— Thirty-nine cardiac recipients who were pretransplantation CMV antibody positive were longitudinally studied for circulating CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses, CMV viral load in blood neutrophils, and allograft rejection during the first posttransplantation year. Nineteen of these recipients were also analyzed for changes of coronary artery intimal, lumen, and whole-vessel area. All recipients received early prophylactic therapy with ganciclovir. No recipients developed overt CMV disease. Those with detectable levels of CMV-specific CD4 T cells in the first month after transplantation were significantly protected from high mean and peak posttransplantation viral load (P<0.05), acute rejection (P<0.005), and loss of allograft coronary artery lumen (P<0.05) and of whole-vessel area (P<0.05) compared with those who lacked this immune response. The losses of lumen and vessel area were both significantly correlated with the time after transplantation at which a CD4 T-cell response was first detected (P<0.05) and with the cumulative graft rejection score (P<0.05). Conclusions— The early control of subclinical CMV replication after transplantation by T-cell immunity may limit cardiac allograft rejection and vascular disease. Interventions to increase T-cell immunity might be clinically useful in limiting these adverse viral effects.
A bending N-Well ballast layout to improve ESD robustness in fully-silicided CMOS technology

Ballast technique has been reported as a cost effective method to improve ESD robustness of fully-silicided devices without using silicide block. In this work, a new ballast technique, the bending N-Well (BNW) ballast structure, is proposed to enhance ESD robustness of fully-silicided NMOS. With a deep N-Well to cover the fully-silicided NMOS with BNW ballast structure, ESD robustness of the NMOS can be further improved by enhancing the turn-on uniformity among the multi-fingers of the NMOS.
Increased risk of stroke after spinal cord injury

Objective: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases but whether or not the risk of cerebrovascular disease also increases remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of stroke in patients with disability caused by SCI. Methods: Study subjects were identified from a nationwide cohort of 18,690,066 people from 1998 to 2002 that was divided into an SCI group (n = 2,806), who were disabled from SCI, and a comparison group (n = 28,060), composed of age-, sex-, and propensity score– matched control subjects. Every subject was followed up for 4 years, unless they died or had a stroke by December 31, 2006. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed. Results: The incidence rate of stroke in the SCI group (5.96 per 1,000 person-years) was higher than that of the comparison group (p < 0.001). Stroke was more likely to occur in the SCI group than in the comparison group (crude hazard ratio 2.93, p < 0.001; adjusted hazard ratio 2.85, p < 0.001). In the SCI group, the incidence of ischemic stroke was higher than that of hemorrhagic stroke (incidence rate ratio 3.42, p < 0.001). Conclusions: SCI patients with disability are at a higher risk of stroke, especially the ischemic type. Strategies to prevent stroke are therefore suggested for them.
Use of positive and negative words in scientific PubMed abstracts between 1974 and 2014: retrospective analysis

Objective To investigate whether language used in science abstracts can skew towards the use of strikingly positive and negative words over time. Design Retrospective analysis of all scientific abstracts in PubMed between 1974 and 2014. Methods The yearly frequencies of positive, negative, and neutral words (25 preselected words in each category), plus 100 randomly selected words were normalised for the total number of abstracts. Subanalyses included pattern quantification of individual words, specificity for selected high impact journals, and comparison between author affiliations within or outside countries with English as the official majority language. Frequency patterns were compared with 4% of all books ever printed and digitised by use of Google Books Ngram Viewer. Main outcome measures Frequencies of positive and negative words in abstracts compared with frequencies of words with a neutral and random connotation, expressed as relative change since 1980. Results The absolute frequency of positive words increased from 2.0% (1974-80) to 17.5% (2014), a relative increase of 880% over four decades. All 25 individual positive words contributed to the increase, particularly the words “robust,” “novel,” “innovative,” and “unprecedented,” which increased in relative frequency up to 15 000%. Comparable but less pronounced results were obtained when restricting the analysis to selected journals with high impact factors. Authors affiliated to an institute in a non-English speaking country used significantly more positive words. Negative word frequencies increased from 1.3% (1974-80) to 3.2% (2014), a relative increase of 257%. Over the same time period, no apparent increase was found in neutral or random word use, or in the frequency of positive word use in published books. Conclusions Our lexicographic analysis indicates that scientific abstracts are currently written with more positive and negative words, and provides an insight into the evolution of scientific writing. Apparently scientists look on the bright side of research results. But whether this perception fits reality should be questioned.
Comparison between the Correlations of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Measured by Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography and Visual Field Defects in Standard Automated White-on-White Perimetry versus Pulsar Perimetry

Purpose To compare the structure-function relationships between retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and visual field defects measured either by standard automated perimetry (SAP) or by Pulsar perimetry (PP). Materials and Methods 263 eyes of 143 patients were prospectively included. Depending on the RNFLT, patients were assigned to the glaucoma group (group A: RNFL score 3–6) or the control group (group B: RNFL score 0–2). Structure-function relationships between RNFLT and mean sensitivity (MS) measured by SAP and PP were analyzed. Results Throughout the entire group, the MS assessed by PP and SAP correlated significantly with RNFLT in all sectors. In the glaucoma group, there was no significant difference between the correlations RNFL-SAP and RNFL-PP, whereas a significant difference was found in the control group. Conclusions In the control group, the correlation between structure and function based on the PP data was significantly stronger than that based on SAP.
Silent presentation of multiple metastasis Burkitt lymphoma in a child

Rationale: The Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a very aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It accounts for 34% of lymphoma cases in children. Patient concerns: We present the case of a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with BL, who presented multiple contrasting elements of the disease: silent symptomatology, without involvement of the bone marrow at first, but with multiorgan infiltration and a fast evolution, despite starting the treatment shortly after the symptoms appeared. Diagnoses: He was diagnosed with BL after immunophenotyping from the pleural fluid. Interventions: After a week from admission, chemotherapy was initiated according to protocol NH-BFM therapeutic group III—cytoreductive phase in the acute care ward and subsequently the AA 24 treatment. Outcomes: Following the treatment, the patient developed medullary aplasia and cutaneous toxicity. The patient's general state remained severe during the hospitalization. Lessons: Even though the prognosis of BL has improved over time (up to 90% survival rate), in this case the evolution was unfavorable. In our patient, the symptoms appeared abruptly. They appeared late in the phase of multiple-organ dissemination, which generated the pessimistic prognosis.
Mazi: Tangible Technologies as a Channel for Collaborative Play

This paper investigates how haptic and auditory stimulation can be playfully implemented as an accessible and stimulating form of interaction for children. We present the design of Mazi, a sonic Tangible User Interface (TUI) designed to encourage spontaneous and collaborative play between children with high support needs autism. We report on a five week study of Mazi with five children aged between 6 and 9 years old at a Special Education Needs (SEN) school in London, UK. We found that collaborative play emerged from the interaction with the system especially in regards to socialization and engagement. Our study contributes to exploring the potential of user-centered TUI development as a channel to facilitate social interaction while providing sensory regulation for children with SENs.
DeepSketch2Face

Face modeling has been paid much attention in the field of visual computing. There exist many scenarios, including cartoon characters, avatars for social media, 3D face caricatures as well as face-related art and design, where low-cost interactive face modeling is a popular approach especially among amateur users. In this paper, we propose a deep learning based sketching system for 3D face and caricature modeling. This system has a labor-efficient sketching interface, that allows the user to draw freehand imprecise yet expressive 2D lines representing the contours of facial features. A novel CNN based deep regression network is designed for inferring 3D face models from 2D sketches. Our network fuses both CNN and shape based features of the input sketch, and has two independent branches of fully connected layers generating independent subsets of coefficients for a bilinear face representation. Our system also supports gesture based interactions for users to further manipulate initial face models. Both user studies and numerical results indicate that our sketching system can help users create face models quickly and effectively. A significantly expanded face database with diverse identities, expressions and levels of exaggeration is constructed to promote further research and evaluation of face modeling techniques.
Metabolism and excretion of a new antianxiety drug candidate, CP-93,393, in cynomolgus monkeys: identification of the novel pyrimidine ring cleaved metabolites.

The metabolism and excretion of a new anxiolytic/antidepressant drug candidate, CP-93,393, ((7S, 9aS)-1-(2-pyrimidin-2-yl-octahydro-pyrido[1, 2-a]-pyrazin-7-yl-methyl)-pyrrolidine-2,5-dione) were investigated in cynomolgus monkeys after oral administration of a single 5 mg/kg dose of 14C-CP-93,393. Urine, bile, feces, and blood samples were collected and assayed for total radioactivity, parent drug, and metabolites. Total recovery of the administered dose after 6 days was 80% with the majority recovered during the first 48 hr. An average of 69% of the total radioactivity was recovered in urine, 4% in bile, and 7% in feces. Mean Cmax and AUC(0-infinity) values for the unchanged CP-93,393 were 143.2 ng/ml and 497.7 ng.hr/ml, respectively, in the male monkeys and 17.2 ng/ml and 13.7 ng.hr/ml, respectively, in the female monkeys. HPLC analysis of urine, bile, feces, and plasma from both male and female monkeys indicated extensive metabolism of CP-93,393 to several metabolites. The identification of metabolites was achieved by chemical derivatization, beta-glucuronidase/sulfatase treatment, and by LC/MS/MS, and the quantity of each metabolite was determined by radioactivity detector. CP-93,393 undergoes metabolism by three primary pathways, aromatic hydroxylation, oxidative degradation of the pyrimidine ring, and hydrolysis of the succinimide ring followed by a variety of secondary pathways, such as oxidation, methylation, and conjugation with glucuronic acid and sulfuric acid. The major metabolites, oxidation on the pyrimidine ring to form 5-OH-CP-93,393 (M15) followed by glucuronide and sulfate conjugation (M7 and M13), accounted for 35-45% of the dose in excreta. Two metabolites (M25 and M26) were formed by further oxidation of M15 followed by methylation of the resulting catechol intermediate presumably by catechol-O-methyl transferase. A novel metabolic pathway, resulting in the cleavage of the pyrimidine ring, was also identified. The metabolites (M18, M20, and M21) observed from this pathway accounted for 8-15% of the dose. Aliphatic hydroxylation of the succinimide ring was a very minor pathway in monkey. 5-Hydroxy-CP-93,393 (M15, 37-49%), its sulfate and glucuronide conjugates (M7 and M13, approximately 34%), and the pyrimidine ring cleaved product (M18, approximately 8%) were the major metabolites in monkey plasma. The identified metabolites accounted for approximately 90, 93, 97, and 92% of the total radioactivity present in urine, bile, plasma, and feces, respectively. The major in vivo oxidative metabolites were also observed after in vitro incubations with monkey liver microsomes.
Intestinal IgA plasma cells of the B1 lineage are IL‐5 dependent

Two lineages of B cells, designated B1 and B2 cells, have been identified based upon their origins, anatomical distribution, cell surface markers, antibody repertoire and self‐replenishing potential. B1 cells are maintained by self‐renewal of cells resident in the peritoneal cavity (PerC) and they utilize a limited repertoire of germline V‐region genes, mostly directed against ubiquitous bacterial antigens such as phosphoryl choline (PC). B2 cells are replenished from bone marrow precursors and use a larger repertoire of immunoglobulin V‐region genes. Whereas most immunoglobulin A (IgA) plasma cells in the intestine derive from B2 lineage precursors in the Peyer’s patch, a subpopulation of Per C‐derived B1 cells populate the intestinal lamina propria where they mature into IgA plasma cells. In previous in vivo studies we have shown that whereas IgA+ B2 cells are interleukin (IL)‐6 dependent, B1 cells are IL‐6 independent. In view of the in vitro evidence that IL‐5 is also involved in IgA expression, in the studies reported here we have used IL‐5‐deficient mice to evaluate the role of IL‐5 in vivo in IgA expression in the gut. The results demonstrate that although total IgA cell numbers are only marginally depressed in IL‐5‐deficient mice, there is a marked selective depletion of IgA+ cells of the B1 lineage in the gut and a corresponding depression in the capacity of these mice to mount an intestinal response to a B1 antigen (PC) but not to a B2 antigen (oralbumin; OVA), reflecting intact B2‐derived IgA cell function but a defect in the B1 cell contribution to IgA responses in IL‐5 deficient mice. Collectively these data demonstrate differential cytokine regulation of subsets of IgA+ cells in the gut in that IgA+ cells of the B2 lineage are IL‐6 dependent but IL‐5 independent, but B1‐derived IgA+ cells are IL‐5 dependent and IL‐6 independent.
Staggered Wages and Output Dynamics Under Disinflation

We study the output costs of a reduction in monetary growth in a dynamic general equilibrium model with staggered wages. The money wage is fixed for two periods, and is chosen according to intertemporal optimisation. Agents have labour market monopoly power. We show that the introduction of microfoundations helps to resolve the puzzle raised by directly postulated models, namely that disinflation in staggered pricing models causes a boom. In our model disinflation, whether unanticipated or anticipated, unambiguously causes a slump.
YM500v2: a small RNA sequencing (smRNA-seq) database for human cancer miRNome research

We previously presented YM500, which is an integrated database for miRNA quantification, isomiR identification, arm switching discovery and novel miRNA prediction from 468 human smRNA-seq datasets. Here in this updated YM500v2 database (http://ngs.ym.edu.tw/ym500/), we focus on the cancer miRNome to make the database more disease-orientated. New miRNA-related algorithms developed after YM500 were included in YM500v2, and, more significantly, more than 8000 cancer-related smRNA-seq datasets (including those of primary tumors, paired normal tissues, PBMC, recurrent tumors, and metastatic tumors) were incorporated into YM500v2. Novel miRNAs (miRNAs not included in the miRBase R21) were not only predicted by three independent algorithms but also cleaned by a new in silico filtration strategy and validated by wetlab data such as Cross-Linked ImmunoPrecipitation sequencing (CLIP-seq) to reduce the false-positive rate. A new function ‘Meta-analysis’ is additionally provided for allowing users to identify real-time differentially expressed miRNAs and arm-switching events according to customer-defined sample groups and dozens of clinical criteria tidying up by proficient clinicians. Cancer miRNAs identified hold the potential for both basic research and biotech applications.
Event-triggered model predictive control for wireless networked control systems with packet losses

This study investigates an event-triggered model predictive control for wireless networked control system with packet losses in the sensor-to-controller channel. Based on a predictive control compensation strategy, the closed-loop model with packet losses is established. The event-triggered conditions are derived by choosing the performance objective function of MPC as a Lyapunov function. Further, the maximal allowable number of successive packet losses is presented. Under the proposed mechanism, the energy consumption of the wireless network is alleviated and closed-loop stability is guaranteed. Finally, simulation results are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
How pathogens drive genetic diversity: MHC, mechanisms and misunderstandings

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes have been put forward as a model for studying how genetic diversity is maintained in wild populations. Pathogen-mediated selection (PMS) is believed to generate the extraordinary levels of MHC diversity observed. However, establishing the relative importance of the three proposed mechanisms of PMS (heterozygote advantage, rare-allele advantage and fluctuating selection) has proved extremely difficult. Studies have attempted to differentiate between mechanisms of PMS using two approaches: (i) comparing MHC diversity with that expected under neutrality and (ii) relating MHC diversity to pathogen regime. Here, we show that in many cases the same predictions arise from the different mechanisms under these approaches, and that most studies that have inferred one mechanism of selection have not fully considered the alternative explanations. We argue that, while it may be possible to demonstrate that particular mechanisms of PMS are occurring, resolving their relative importance within a system is probably impossible. A more realistic target is to continue to demonstrate when and where the different mechanisms of PMS occur, with the aim of determining their relative importance across systems. We put forward what we believe to be the most promising approaches that will allow us to progress towards achieving this.
Sex differences in clinical measures of lower extremity alignment.

STUDY DESIGN Descriptive, cohort design. OBJECTIVES To comprehensively examine sex differences in clinical measures of static lower extremity alignment (LEA). BACKGROUND Sex differences in LEA have been included among a myriad of risk factors as a potential cause for the increased prevalence of knee injury in females. While clinical observations suggest that sex differences in LEA exist, little empirical data are available to support these sex differences or the normal values that should be expected in a healthy population. METHODS AND MEASURES The right and left static LEA of 100 healthy college-age participants (50 males [mean +/- SD age, 23.3 +/- 3.6 years; height, 177.8 +/- 8.0 cm, body mass, 80.4 +/- 11.6 kg] and 50 females [mean +/- SD age, 21.8 +/- 2.5 years; height, 164.3 +/- 6.9 cm; body mass, 67.4 +/- 15.2 kg]) was measured. Each alignment characteristic was analyzed via separate repeated-measures analyses of variance, with 1 between-subject factor (sex) and 1 within-subject factor (side). RESULTS There were no significant sex-by-side interactions and no differences between sides. Females had greater mean anterior pelvic tilt, hip anteversion, quadriceps angles, tibiofemoral angles, and genu recurvatum than males (P < .0001). No sex differences were observed in tibial torsion (P = .131), navicular drop (P = .130), and rearfoot angle (P = .590). CONCLUSION Sex differences in LEA indicate that females, on average, have greater anterior pelvic tilt, thigh internal rotation, knee valgus, and genu recurvatum. These sex differences were not accompanied by differences in the lower leg, ankle, and foot. Understanding these collective sex differences in LEA may help us to better examine the influence of LEA on dynamic lower extremity function and clarify their role as a potential injury risk factor.
Robust Selection Algorithm (RSA) for Multi-Omic Biomarker Discovery; Integration with Functional Network Analysis to Identify miRNA Regulated Pathways in Multiple Cancers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis by regulating the expression of their target genes. As such, the dysregulation of miRNA expression has been frequently linked to cancer. With rapidly accumulating molecular data linked to patient outcome, the need for identification of robust multi-omic molecular markers is critical in order to provide clinical impact. While previous bioinformatic tools have been developed to identify potential biomarkers in cancer, these methods do not allow for rapid classification of oncogenes versus tumor suppressors taking into account robust differential expression, cutoffs, p-values and non-normality of the data. Here, we propose a methodology, Robust Selection Algorithm (RSA) that addresses these important problems in big data omics analysis. The robustness of the survival analysis is ensured by identification of optimal cutoff values of omics expression, strengthened by p-value computed through intensive random resampling taking into account any non-normality in the data and integration into multi-omic functional networks. Here we have analyzed pan-cancer miRNA patient data to identify functional pathways involved in cancer progression that are associated with selected miRNA identified by RSA. Our approach demonstrates the way in which existing survival analysis techniques can be integrated with a functional network analysis framework to efficiently identify promising biomarkers and novel therapeutic candidates across diseases.
PledgeWork: Online Volunteering through Crowdwork

In this paper, we explore an alternative form of volunteer work, PledgeWork, where individuals, rather than working directly for a charity, make indirect donations by completing tasks provided by a third party task provider. PledgeWork poses novel research questions on issues of user acceptance of on-line volunteerism, on quality and quantity of work performed as a volunteer, and on the benefits low-barrier volunteerism might provide to charities. To evaluate these questions, we conduct a mixed methods study that compares the quality and quantity of work between volunteer workers and paid workers and user attitudes toward PledgeWork, including perceived benefits and drawbacks. We find that PledgeWork can improve the quality of simple tasks and that the vast majority of our participants expressed interest in using our PledgeWork platform to contribute to a charity. Our interview also reveals current problems with volunteering and online donations, thus highlighting additional strengths of PledgeWork.