Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased Number and Distribution of Cerebral Microbleeds Is a Risk Factor for Cognitive Dysfunction in Hemodialysis Patients

AbstractThe aim of this study was to explore the risk factors associated with longitudinal changes in hemodialysis patients including the correlation between number and distribution of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs). Sixty-one hemodialysis patients were enrolled in this prospective study. Twenty-eight patients had follow-up examinations with a mean interval of 24.79 ± 5.17 months. The number of CMBs was manually counted on susceptibility-weighted imaging. Subjects were divided into 2 groups with and without CMBs. In the CMB group, 8 of 33 patients did not have a mini-mental state examination (MMSE) because of blurred vision. Multiple logistic regression was used to investigate the risk factors for CMBs. Partial correlation was used to explore the correlation between the increased number of CMBs and the change of MMSE scores.CMBs were seen in 33 (54%) hemodialysis patients. Both age and pre/postdialysis systolic blood pressure (SBP) positively correlated with CMBs. Serum iron (SI), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) negatively correlated with CMBs (all P < 0.05). Among 25 patients with CMBs and MMSE, 9 patients had scores <27, which was considered as subnormal and most CMBs in these patients were located in the brainstem and basal ganglia. Considering age and follow-up time as the co-confounding factors, the number of new CMBs over the 2 imaging time points negatively correlated with the change of MMSE scores (r = −0.673, P = 0.023). The presence of new CMBs was a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction and the location of CMBs may be correlated with cognitive impairment. Both SI and HDL-c were protective factors for the CMBs. The risk factors for CMBs included age, pre- and postdialysis SBP.
A Mitochondrial Kinase Complex Is Essential to Mediate an ERK1/2-Dependent Phosphorylation of a Key Regulatory Protein in Steroid Biosynthesis

ERK1/2 is known to be involved in hormone-stimulated steroid synthesis, but its exact roles and the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Both ERK1/2 phosphorylation and steroidogenesis may be triggered by cAMP/cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA)-dependent and-independent mechanisms; however, ERK1/2 activation by cAMP results in a maximal steroidogenic rate, whereas canonical activation by epidermal growth factor (EGF) does not. We demonstrate herein by Western blot analysis and confocal studies that temporal mitochondrial ERK1/2 activation is obligatory for PKA-mediated steroidogenesis in the Leydig-transformed MA-10 cell line. PKA activity leads to the phosphorylation of a constitutive mitochondrial MEK1/2 pool with a lower effect in cytosolic MEKs, while EGF allows predominant cytosolic MEK activation and nuclear pERK1/2 localization. These results would explain why PKA favors a more durable ERK1/2 activation in mitochondria than does EGF. By means of ex vivo experiments, we showed that mitochondrial maximal steroidogenesis occurred as a result of the mutual action of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein –a key regulatory component in steroid biosynthesis-, active ERK1/2 and PKA. Our results indicate that there is an interaction between mitochondrial StAR and ERK1/2, involving a D domain with sequential basic-hydrophobic motifs similar to ERK substrates. As a result of this binding and only in the presence of cholesterol, ERK1/2 phosphorylates StAR at Ser232. Directed mutagenesis of Ser232 to a non-phosphorylable amino acid such as Ala (StAR S232A) inhibited in vitro StAR phosphorylation by active ERK1/2. Transient transfection of MA-10 cells with StAR S232A markedly reduced the yield of progesterone production. In summary, here we show that StAR is a novel substrate of ERK1/2, and that mitochondrial ERK1/2 is part of a multimeric protein kinase complex that regulates cholesterol transport. The role of MAPKs in mitochondrial function is underlined.
Amygdala protein kinase C epsilon controls alcohol consumption

Alcoholism is a progressive disorder that involves the amygdala. Mice lacking protein kinase C epsilon (PKCɛ) show reduced ethanol consumption, sensitivity and reward. We therefore investigated whether PKCɛ signaling in the amygdala is involved in ethanol consumption. Local knockdown of PKCɛ in the amygdala reduced ethanol consumption and preference in a limited‐access paradigm. Further, mice that are heterozygous for the PKCɛ allele consume less ethanol compared with wild‐type mice in this paradigm. These mice have a >50% reduction in the abundance of PKCɛ in the amygdala compared with wild‐type mice. We conclude that amygdala PKCɛ is important for ethanol consumption in mice.
Steroids in celiac crisis: doubtful role!

The initial NCG dosage for treatment of acute hyperammonemia ranges between 100 to 250 mg/kg/day [2,3]. After the acute episode, the lowest reported effective daily dosage is 15 mg/kg/day [4]. Our patient had no hyperammonemia episodes under NCG treatment with a dose of 10 mg/kg/day. However, it seems that a lower dose is not enough during illness, as he was using a dose of 20 mg/kg/day when he developed hyperammonemia along with an infection. NCG therapy appears to correct the metabolic defect; therefore, dietary protein can be increased to 2-3 g/kg/day in some patients [2,5]. In our child – after the NCG dosage was raised to 30 mg/kg/day – protein restriction was totally removed but the ammonia levels remained normal. We conclude that NCG is effective for controlling hyperammonemia in NAGS deficiency; at a much lower dose, except during acute infections. ERTUGRUL KIYKIM AND TANYEL ZUBARIOGLU Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Nutrition and Metabolism, Istanbul, Turkey. rtugrulkiykim@hotmail.com
Bridgenets: Student-Teacher Transfer Learning Based on Recursive Neural Networks and Its Application to Distant Speech Recognition

Despite the remarkable progress achieved on automatic speech recognition, recognizing far-field speeches mixed with various noise sources is still a challenging task. In this paper, we introduce novel student-teacher transfer learning, BridgeNet which can provide a solution to improve distant speech recognition. There are two key features in BridgeNet. First, BridgeNet extends traditional student-teacher frameworks by providing multiple hints from a teacher network. Hints are not limited to the soft labels from a teacher network. Teacher's intermediate feature representations can better guide a student network to learn how to denoise or dereverberate noisy input. Second, the proposed recursive architecture in the BridgeNet can iteratively improve denoising and recognition performance. The experimental results of BridgeNet showed significant improvements in tackling the distant speech recognition problem, where it achieved up to 13.24% relative WER reductions on AMI corpus compared to a baseline neural network without teacher's hints.
An Event Related Field Study of Rapid Grammatical Plasticity in Adult Second-Language Learners

The present study used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate how Spanish adult learners of Basque respond to morphosyntactic violations after a short period of training on a small fragment of Basque grammar. Participants (n = 17) were exposed to violation and control phrases in three phases (pretest, training, generalization-test). In each phase participants listened to short Basque phrases and they judged whether they were correct or incorrect. During the pre-test and generalization-test, participants did not receive any feedback. During the training blocks feedback was provided after each response. We also ran two Spanish control blocks before and after training. We analyzed the event-related magnetic- field (ERF) recorded in response to a critical word during all three phases. In the pretest, classification was below chance and we found no electrophysiological differences between violation and control stimuli. Then participants were explicitly taught a Basque grammar rule. From the first training block participants were able to correctly classify control and violation stimuli and an evoked violation response was present. Although the timing of the electrophysiological responses matched participants' L1 effect, the effect size was smaller for L2 and the topographical distribution differed from the L1. While the L1 effect was bilaterally distributed on the auditory sensors, the L2 effect was present at right frontal sensors. During training blocks two and three, the violation-control effect size increased and the topography evolved to a more L1-like pattern. Moreover, this pattern was maintained in the generalization test. We conclude that rapid changes in neuronal responses can be observed in adult learners of a simple morphosyntactic rule, and that native-like responses can be achieved at least in small fragments of second language.
False Start?

U.K. sprint coaches' employment of common racial stereotypes in explaining the success of Black and White sprinters was studied. It was hypothesized that Black success would be attributed to innate genetic factors, whereas White success would be attributed to socioeconomic advantages, intelligence, and hard work. Thirty-one sprint coaches participated in success attribution exercises. Quantitative results revealed that Black and White photograph conditions were generally scored similarly in relation to stereotypical factors. However, qualitative results indicated some stereotype replication and susceptibility to natural ability stereotypes due to an overemphasis on biological determinism, and modest recognition of less immediately apparent developmental factors. Although reassuring evidence was gained that U.K. sprint coaches do not widely employ stereotypes in attributing differently the success of Black and White athletes, there was sufficient evidence to necessitate continued vigilance. A theoretical model of stereotype influences in sprinting and recommendations for both coaching and coach education are presented.
Patterns of Stress, Coping Styles and Social Supports among Adolescents

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the nature of stress, social support systems and coping styles among adolescents. Methods: 100 students in Pre University College (II year) of both genders in the age range of 16-19 years were assessed with the Adolescent Stress Scale, a semi-structured interview to elicit social support, and a self-report coping scale. Results: The main sources of stress in both genders were getting up early in the morning, pressure to study, having to concentrate for too long during college hours, not having enough money to buy things, and long college hours. Prayer was the main coping strategy used by both genders. Males had larger social network than females. Conclusions: Schools/colleges should provide opportunities to work through the stresses related to college and studies by instituting specialized programmes
Preparation and release of avermectin‐loaded cellulose acetate ultrafinefibers

In this study, avermectin (AVM) was successfully dispersed in a cellulose acetate (CA) solution. CA/AVM composite fibers were fabricated by electrospinning the blending solution containing different amounts of AVM. Further investigation indicated that the composite fibers showed continuously changed morphologies with the concentration of AVM increasing. The electrospun fibers were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The release behavior of the composite fibers was studied at pH = 7.4 and buffer media at 27°C and the amounts of AVM at different release steps were determined by high performance liquid chromatography analysis. Furthermore, AVM release from the CA/AVM samples showed two stages-initial fast and later slow release. The two stages supplied a continuous release to achieve the effective utilization of AVM. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers
Research on Surface Roughness of Acid Etched Silicon Wafers

With the development of power electronic devices, the market demand for acid etched wafers of monocrystalline silicon, which has good surface properties and minimum surface roughness, increases rapidly. But there has been rarely report about the impact of acid etching process on the wafer surface roughness. This paper studied the surface roughness of the wafer, which was etched by mixture of HNO3, HF and HAC. The results showed that the surface roughness became smaller with the increase of wafer remove amount, while the roughness became worse with the service life extension of the acid; however, fluid infusion discharge method could be adopted in the etching process so that the etching acid system could achieve a relatively balanced state and wafer roughness became stabilized. The process mechanism was studied and analyzed in this investigation.
GenOO: A Modern Perl Framework for High Throughput Sequencing analysis

Background High throughput sequencing (HTS) has become one of the primary experimental tools used to extract genomic information from biological samples. Bioinformatics tools are continuously being developed for the analysis of HTS data. Beyond some well-defined core analyses, such as quality control or genomic alignment, the consistent development of custom tools and the representation of sequencing data in organized computational structures and entities remains a challenging effort for bioinformaticians. Results In this work, we present GenOO [jee-noo], an open-source; object-oriented (OO) Perl framework specifically developed for the design and implementation of HTS analysis tools. GenOO models biological entities such as genes and transcripts as Perl objects, and includes relevant modules, attributes and methods that allow for the manipulation of high throughput sequencing data. GenOO integrates these elements in a simple and transparent way which allows for the creation of complex analysis pipelines minimizing the overhead for the researcher. GenOO has been designed with flexibility in mind, and has an easily extendable modular structure with minimal requirements for external tools and libraries. As an example of the framework’s capabilities and usability, we present a short and simple walkthrough of a custom use case in HTS analysis. Conclusions GenOO is a tool of high software quality which can be efficiently used for advanced HTS analyses. It has been used to develop several custom analysis tools, leading to a number of published works. Using GenOO as a core development module can greatly benefit users, by reducing the overhead and complexity of managing HTS data and biological entities at hand.
Small but Crucial: The Novel Small Heat Shock Protein Hsp21 Mediates Stress Adaptation and Virulence in Candida albicans

Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) have multiple cellular functions. However, the biological function of sHsps in pathogenic microorganisms is largely unknown. In the present study we identified and characterized the novel sHsp Hsp21 of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Using a reverse genetics approach we demonstrate the importance of Hsp21 for resistance of C. albicans to specific stresses, including thermal and oxidative stress. Furthermore, a hsp21Δ/Δ mutant was defective in invasive growth and formed significantly shorter filaments compared to the wild type under various filament-inducing conditions. Although adhesion to and invasion into human-derived endothelial and oral epithelial cells was unaltered, the hsp21Δ/Δ mutant exhibited a strongly reduced capacity to damage both cell lines. Furthermore, Hsp21 was required for resisting killing by human neutrophils. Measurements of intracellular levels of stress protective molecules demonstrated that Hsp21 is involved in both glycerol and glycogen regulation and plays a major role in trehalose homeostasis in response to elevated temperatures. Mutants defective in trehalose and, to a lesser extent, glycerol synthesis phenocopied HSP21 deletion in terms of increased susceptibility to environmental stress, strongly impaired capacity to damage epithelial cells and increased sensitivity to the killing activities of human primary neutrophils. Via systematic analysis of the three main C. albicans stress-responsive kinases (Mkc1, Cek1, Hog1) under a range of stressors, we demonstrate Hsp21-dependent phosphorylation of Cek1 in response to elevated temperatures. Finally, the hsp21Δ/Δ mutant displayed strongly attenuated virulence in two in vivo infection models. Taken together, Hsp21 mediates adaptation to specific stresses via fine-tuning homeostasis of compatible solutes and activation of the Cek1 pathway, and is crucial for multiple stages of C. albicans pathogenicity. Hsp21 therefore represents the first reported example of a small heat shock protein functioning as a virulence factor in a eukaryotic pathogen.
Gonadal steroids and immunity.

I. Introduction THE remarkable female predominance of such diverse autoimmune diseases as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, and primary biliary cirrhosis has suggested to many clinicians that hormonal differences between the sexes must confer some protective effect on males or enhance the susceptibility of females to these diseases. This review will examine the evidence in support of such an hypothesis. We will examine the effects of gonadal steroids on the function of the normal immune system as well as their impact on autoimmune processes. We will explore current knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which gonadal steroids might modulate both normal and disordered function of the immune system. II. Physiology and Pathophysiology of Gonadal Steroid Effects on Immunity A. Normal immune responses are sexually dimorphic A significant body of data establishes that a number of aspects of immune responsiveness normally differ between males and fe.
Robust Parsing of Spoken Dialogue Using Contextual Knowledge and Recognition Probabilities

In this paper we describe the linguistic processor of a spoken dialogue system. The parser receives a word graph from the recognition module as its input. Its task is to find the best path through the graph. If no complete solution can be found, a robust mechanism for selecting multiple partial results is applied. We show how the information content rate of the results can be improved if the selection is based on an integrated quality score combining word recognition scores and context-dependent semantic predictions. Results of parsing word graphs with and without predictions are reported.
Formally modeling and verifying Ricart&Agrawala distributed mutual exclusion algorithm

One of the promising approaches to creating quality software is to formally model systems, describe the models in a formal specification language, and verify that the systems have some desirable properties based on the formal documents with an automatic model checker or an interactive theorem prover before the systems are implemented in a programming language. The more complicated the systems are, such as distributed systems, the more important the approach is. We have applied the approach to the Ricart&Agrawala distributed mutual exclusion algorithm (G. Ricart and A. K. Agrawala, 1981). We have modeled the algorithm as a UNITY computational model, described the model in CafeOBJ, and verified that the algorithm is actually mutually exclusive based on the CafeOBJ document with the help of the CafeOBJ system.
TeenyLIME: transiently shared tuple space middleware for wireless sensor networks

Recent developments in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are pushing scenarios where application intelligence is no longer relegated to the fringes of the system (i.e., on a data sink running on a powerful node) rather it is distributed within the WSN itself.To support this scenario, we propose TeenyLIME, a tuple space model and middleware supporting applications where sensing and acting devices themselves drive the network behavior. In other words, the application core is not confined to the powerful sinks, rather it is deployed on the devices embedded within the physical world. Tuple space operations are used both for data collection as well as to effect coordination among sensing and acting devices. This paper describes the TeenyLIME model and corresponding middleware implementation.
Tractor calculi for parabolic geometries

Parabolic geometries may be considered as curved analogues of the homogeneous spaces G/P where G is a semisimple Lie group and P C G a parabolic subgroup. Conformal geometries and CR geometries are examples of such structures. We present a uniform description of a calculus, called tractor calculus, based on natural bundles with canonical linear connections for all parabolic geometries. It is shown that from these bundles and connections one can recover the Cartan bundle and the Cartan connection. In particular we characterize the normal Cartan connection from this induced bundle/connection perspective. We construct explicitly a family of fundamental first order differential operators, which are analogous to a covariant derivative, iterable and defined on all natural vector bundles on parabolic geometries. For an important subclass of parabolic geometries we explicitly and directly construct the tractor bundles, their canonical linear connections and the machinery for explicitly calculating via the tractor calculus.
Build It to Understand It: Ludology Meets Narratology in Game Design Space

Building experimental games offers an alternative methodology for researching and understanding games, beyond what can be understood by playing and studying existing games alone. Through a simultaneous process of research and artmaking in the construction of the interactive drama Facade, new theoretical and design insights into several game studies questions were realized, including the hotly debated question of ludology vs. narratology. This paper describes some of the ways that building games can inform researchers about what game scholarship should be focused on and why, and ways that building games can offer new perspectives on existing forms and genres.
Effects of Treatment on the Treated: Identification and Generalization

Many applications of causal analysis call for assessing, retrospectively, the effect of with-holding an action that has in fact been implemented. This counterfactual quantity, sometimes called "effect of treatment on the treated," (ETT) have been used to to evaluate educational programs, critic public policies, and justify individual decision making. In this paper we explore the conditions under which ETT can be estimated from (i.e., identified in) experimental and/or observational studies. We show that, when the action invokes a singleton variable, the conditions for ETT identification have simple characterizations in terms of causal diagrams. We further give a graphical characterization of the conditions under which the effects of multiple treatments on the treated can be identified, as well as ways in which the ETT estimand can be constructed from both interventional and observational distributions.