Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential regulation of Toll‐like receptor signalling in spleen and Peyer’s patch dendritic cells

Toll‐like receptor (TLR) signalling shapes dendritic cell (DC) responses by inducing co‐stimulatory molecule up‐regulation and cytokine secretion while TLR regulatory proteins inhibit this process. We aimed to determine if gene expression of TLRs and TLR regulatory proteins underpins the functionally different lipopolysaccharide (LPS) responses of DCs from murine Peyer’s patches (PP) and spleen and of murine bacteria‐conditioned bone‐marrow‐derived cells. Isolated spleen and PP DCs were analysed for basal expression of TLRs by flow cytometry and real time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). The DCs were stimulated with LPS to determine cytokine secretion by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and expression of TLR regulatory proteins by qRT‐PCR. In vitro results were confirmed following in vivo intraperitoneal LPS injection. In addition, changes in gene expression of TLR regulatory proteins were assessed in bacteria‐conditioned bone‐marrow‐derived cells. Results indicated that surface expression of TLR2 and TLR4 on PP DCs was decreased compared with spleen DCs. The PP DCs secreted a limited profile of cytokines compared with spleen DCs following LPS stimulation. In vivo LPS exposure up‐regulated sigirr, tollip and tmed1 messenger RNA in PP DCs, but not spleen DCs. Similar gene expression changes were observed in bacteria‐conditioned bone‐marrow‐derived cells. Therefore, functionally different LPS responses in PP and spleen DCs reflect their characteristic expression of TLRs and TLR regulatory proteins. Differential regulation of TLR signalling was also evident in bacteria‐conditioned bone‐marrow‐derived cells indicating that bacterial signalling may be a mechanism for inducing altered gene regulation in PP DCs.
Association rule hiding

Large repositories of data contain sensitive information that must be protected against unauthorized access. The protection of the confidentiality of this information has been a long-term goal for the database security research community and for the government statistical agencies. Recent advances in data mining and machine learning algorithms have increased the disclosure risks that one may encounter when releasing data to outside parties. A key problem, and still not sufficiently investigated, is the need to balance the confidentiality of the disclosed data with the legitimate needs of the data users. Every disclosure limitation method affects, in some way, and modifies true data values and relationships. We investigate confidentiality issues of a broad category of rules, the association rules. In particular, we present three strategies and five algorithms for hiding a group of association rules, which is characterized as sensitive. One rule is characterized as sensitive if its disclosure risk is above a certain privacy threshold. Sometimes, sensitive rules should not be disclosed to the public since, among other things, they may be used for inferring sensitive data, or they may provide business competitors with an advantage. We also perform an evaluation study of the hiding algorithms in order to analyze their time complexity and the impact that they have in the original database.
Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia in mice expressing an androgen receptor transgene in prostate epithelium

Prostate cancer (PCa) is an androgen dependent disease that can be treated by androgen ablation therapy, and clinical trials are under way to prevent PCa through the reduction of androgen receptor (AR) activity. However, there are no animal models of AR-mediated prostatic neoplasia, and it remains unclear whether the AR is a positive or negative regulator of cell growth in normal prostate secretory epithelium. To assess the direct effects of the AR in prostate epithelium, a murine AR transgene regulated by the rat probasin promoter (Pb) was used to generate transgenic mice expressing increased levels of AR protein in prostate secretory epithelium. The prostates in younger (<1 year) Pb-mAR transgenic mice were histologically normal, but Ki-67 immunostaining revealed marked increases in epithelial proliferation in ventral prostate and dorsolateral prostate. Older (>1 year) transgenic mice developed focal areas of intraepithelial neoplasia strongly resembling human high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), a precursor to PCa. These results demonstrate that the AR is a positive regulator of cell growth in normal prostate epithelium and provide a model system of AR-stimulated PIN that can be used for assessing preventative hormonal therapies and for identifying secondary transforming events relevant to human PCa.
A Review on Adsorption of Fluoride from Aqueous Solution

Fluoride is one of the anionic contaminants which is found in excess in surface or groundwater because of geochemical reactions or anthropogenic activities such as the disposal of industrial wastewaters. Among various methods used for defluoridation of water such as coagulation, precipitation, membrane processes, electrolytic treatment, ion-exchange, the adsorption process is widely used. It offers satisfactory results and seems to be a more attractive method for the removal of fluoride in terms of cost, simplicity of design and operation. Various conventional and non-conventional adsorbents have been assessed for the removal of fluoride from water. In this review, a list of various adsorbents (oxides and hydroxides, biosorbents, geomaterials, carbonaceous materials and industrial products and by-products) and its modifications from literature are surveyed and their adsorption capacities under various conditions are compared. The effect of other impurities on fluoride removal has also been discussed. This survey showed that various adsorbents, especially binary and trimetal oxides and hydroxides, have good potential for the fluoride removal from aquatic environments.
5 Autoregressive-moving-average Modeling 5.2 Mathematical Model

Autoregressive-moving-average (ARMA) models are mathematical models of the persistence, or autocorrelation, in a time series. ARMA models are widely used in hydrology, dendrochronology, econometrics, and other fields. There are several possible reasons for fitting ARMA models to data. Modeling can contribute to understanding the physical system by revealing something about the physical process that builds persistence into the series. For example, a simple physical water-balance model with precipitation as input and including terms for evaporation, infiltration, and groundwater storage can be shown to yield a streamflow series as output that follows a particular form of ARMA model. ARMA models can also be used to predict behavior of a time series from past values alone. Such a prediction can be used as a baseline to evaluate the possible importance of other variables to the system. ARMA models are widely used for prediction of economic and industrial time series. Another use of ARMA models is simulation, in which synthetic series with the same persistence structure as an observed series can be generated. Simulations can be especially useful for established confidence intervals for statistics and estimated time series quantities. ARMA models can also be used to remove persistence. In dendrochronology, for example, ARMA modeling is applied routinely to generate residual chronologies – time series of ring-width index with no dependence on past values. This operation, called prewhitening, is meant to remove biologically-related persistence from the series so that the residual may be more suitable for studying the influence of climate and other outside environmental factors on tree growth. ARMA models can be described by a series of equations. The equations are somewhat simpler if the time series is first reduced to zero-mean by subtracting the sample mean. Therefore, we will work with the mean-adjusted series , 1, tt y Y Y t N    (1) where t Y is the original time series, Y is its sample mean, and t y is the mean-adjusted series. One subset of ARMA models are the so-called autoregressive, or AR models. An AR model expresses a time series as a linear function of its past values. The order of the AR model tells how many lagged past values are included. The simplest AR model is the first-order autoregressive, or AR(1), model 11 t t t y a y e   (2) where t y is the mean-adjusted series in year t, 1 t y …
Parent Involvement: Contributions of Teacher Efficacy, School Socioeconomic Status, and Other School Characteristics

The study tested the hypothesis that varying levels of parent involvement would be related to variations in qualities of school settings, specifically school socioeconomic status, teacher degree level, grade level, class size, teachers’ sense of efficacy, principal perceptions of teacher efficacy, organizational rigidity, and instructional coordination. Teacher (n = 1,003) and principal (n = 66) reports and perceptions of the variables of interest were assessed in a sample of 66 elementary schools distributed across a large mid-Southern state. Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that various combinations of the predictors accounted for significant portions of the variance in all parent involvement outcomes: parent conferences (52%), parent volunteers (27%), parent home tutoring (24%), parent involvement in home instruction programs (22%), and teacher perception of parent support (41%). Variables most consistently involved in outcomes were teacher efficacy and school socioeconomic status. Results are discussed with reference to parent-teacher role complementarity and implications for increasing productive interconnections between parents and schools.
Glucocorticoid receptor β and histone deacetylase 1 and 2 expression in the airways of severe asthma

Rationale Upregulation of glucocorticoid receptor β (GRβ) has been implicated in steroid resistance in severe asthma, although previous studies are conflicting. GRβ has been proposed as a dominant negative isoform of glucocorticoid receptor α (GRα) but it has also been suggested that GRβ can cause steroid resistance via reduced expression of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), a key regulator of steroid responsiveness in the airway. Objectives To examine GRβ, GRα, HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression at transcript and protein levels in bronchial biopsies from a large series of patients with severe asthma, and to compare the findings with those of patients with mild to moderate asthma and healthy volunteers. Methods Bronchoscopic study in two UK centres with real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry performed on biopsies, western blotting of bronchial epithelial cells and immunoprecipitation with anti-GRβ antibody. Measurements and main results Protein and mRNA expression for GRα and HDAC2 did not differ between groups. GRβ mRNA was detected in only 13 of 73 samples (seven patients with severe asthma), however immunohistochemistry showed widespread epithelial staining in all groups. Western blotting of bronchial epithelial cells with GRβ antibody detected an additional ‘cross-reacting’ protein, identified as clathrin. HDAC1 expression was increased in patients with severe asthma compared with healthy volunteers. Conclusions GRβ mRNA is expressed at low levels in a minority of patients with severe asthma. HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression was not downregulated in severe asthma. These data do not support upregulated GRβ and resultant reduced HDAC expression as the principal mechanism of steroid resistance in severe asthma. Conflicting GRβ literature may be explained in part by clathrin cross-reactivity with commercial antibodies.
Effects of Ding‐Chuan‐Tang on Bronchoconstriction and Airway Leucocyte Infiltration in Sensitized Guinea Pigs

Ding‐Chuan‐Tang (DCT), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used in treatment of the bronchial asthma for several centuries. However, the therapeutic mechanism of these Chinese medicine are still far from clear. To understand the mechanism of antiasthmatic property of DCT. A guinea pig model of allergic asthma was used to investigate the effects of DCT on ovalbumin‐induced early and late asthmatic responses and airway inflammation, particularly the extent of eosinophil infiltration, and examine it direct β2‐adrenoceptor agonist activity in guinea‐pig isolated trachea. We had used three different protocals in ovalbumin sensitized guinea pigs by administrating 10 g/kg of DCT extracts to sensitized guinea pigs 30 min before antigen challenge (group I), 5 hr after antigen challenge (group II) and 2.5 g/kg once daily from the day of sensitization to the day of challenge. Our result showed that administration of DCT singificantly inhibited the antigen induced immediate asthmatic responses (IAR) in group I and inhibited both IRA and late asthmatic responses (LAR) in actively sensitized guinea pig in group III. DCT caused concentration‐dependent relaxations in strips of guinea pig trachea contracted with carbachol, however ICI‐118551, a selective β2‐adrenoceptor antagonist, didn't significantly competitively inhibit the relaxations caused by DCT. Furthermore, examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) revealed that DCT significantly inhibited the increase in percent of eosinophils in the airway after antigen challenge in three group. Histopathologic examination showed DCT suppressed the eosinophil infiltration into lung tissue. These results suggest that the antiasthmatic effect of DCT is mainly due to its bronchodilatation effect and its ability to inhibit the eosinophil into the airway and there is prophylactic effect of DCT on allergen‐induced airway inflammation.
Experimental demonstration of outdoor 2.2 Tbps super-channel FSO transmission system

Free space optic (FSO) is a wireless technology that promises high speed data rate with low deployment cost. Next generation wireless networks require more bandwidth which is not supported by todays wireless techniques. FSO can be a potential candidate for last mile bottle neck in wireless network and for many other applications. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate a high speed FSO system using super-channel source and multi-format transmitter. The FSO system was installed outdoor on the building roof over 11.5 m distance and built using off-the-shelf components. We designed a comb source capable of generating multi-subcarriers with flexible spacing. Also we designed a multi-format transmitter capable of generating different complex modulation schemes. For single carrier transmission, we were able to transmit a 23 Gbaud 16-QAM signal over FSO link, achieving 320 Gbps with 6 b/s/Hz spectral efficiency. Then using our super-channel system, 12 equal gain subcarriers are generated and modulated by a DP-16QAM signal with different symbol rates. We achieved maximum symbol rate of 23 Gbaud (i.e. 2.2 Tbps) and spectral efficiency of 7.2 b/s/Hz.
Molecular mechanism of immune response induced by foreign plasmid DNA after oral administration in mice.

AIM To study immune response induced by foreign plasmid DNA after oral administration in mice. METHODS Mice were orally administered with 200 mug of plasmid pcDNA3 once and spleen was isolated 4 h and 18 h after administration. Total RNA was extracted from spleen and gene expression profile of BALB/c mice spleen was analyzed by using Affymetrix oligonucleotide GeneChip. Functional cluster analysis was conducted by GenMAPP software. RESULTS At 4 h and 18 h after oral plasmid pcDNA3 administration, a number of immune-related genes, including cytokine and cytokine receptors, chemokines and chemokine receptor, complement molecule, proteasome, histocompatibility molecule, lymphocyte antigen complex and apoptotic genes, were up-regulated. Moreover, MAPPFinder results also showed that numerous immune response processes were up-regulated. In contrast, the immunoglobulin genes were down-regulated. CONCLUSION Foreign plasmid DNA can modulate the genes expression related to immune system via the gastrointestinal tract, and further analysis of the related immune process may help understand the molecular mechanisms of immune response induced by foreign plasmid via the gastrointestinal tract.
Loss of outer retinal neurons and circuitry alterations in the DBA/2J mouse.

PURPOSE The DBA/2J mouse line develops essential iris atrophy, pigment dispersion, and glaucomatous age-related changes, including an increase of IOP, optic nerve atrophy, and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible morphological changes in the outer retina of the DBA/2J mouse concomitant with disease progression and aging, based on the reduction of both the a- and b-waves and photopic flicker ERGs in this mouse line. METHODS Vertically sectioned DBA/2J mice retinas were evaluated at 3, 8, and 16 months of age using photoreceptor, horizontal, and bipolar cell markers. Sixteen-month-old C57BL/6 mice retinas were used as controls. RESULTS The DBA/2J mice had outer retinal degeneration at all ages, with the most severe degeneration in the oldest retinas. At 3 months of age, the number of photoreceptor cells and the thickness of the OPL were reduced. In addition, there was a loss of horizontal and ON-bipolar cell processes. At 8 months of age, RGC degeneration occurred in patches, and in the outer retina overlying these patches, cone morphology was impaired with a reduction in size as well as loss of outer segments and growth of horizontal and bipolar cell processes into the outer nuclear layer. At 16 months of age, connectivity between photoreceptors and horizontal and bipolar cell processes overlying these patches was lost. CONCLUSIONS Retinal degeneration in DBA/2J mice includes photoreceptor death, loss of bipolar and horizontal cell processes, and loss of synaptic contacts in an aging-dependent manner.
Nurses’ Research Capacity and Use of Evidence in Acute Care: Baseline Findings From a Partnership Study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to report baseline findings from a research-focused academic-service partnership. BACKGROUND: Despite widespread efforts, the research-practice gap remains considerable. A research-focused academic-service partnership may offer a strategy for decreasing this gap. METHODS: With the use of a shared model and a descriptive correlational design, 75 acute care nurses were sampled from July to October 2013. RESULTS: Attitudes toward evidence-based practice (EBP) were favorable, but knowledge of common research language was low and EBP confidence was reported as moderate. Evidence-based practice confidence had the strongest relationship to EBP use and was greatest in those who held professional certification and were more educated. CONCLUSION: Findings continue to demonstrate the need for new approaches to reduce the research-practice gap.
The world's languages in crisis

MICHAEL KRAUSS University of Alaska, Fairbanks The Eyak language of Alaska now has two aged speakers; Mandan has 6, Osage 5, Abenaki-Penobscot 20, and Iowa has 5 fluent speakers. According to counts in 1977, already 13 years ago, Coeur d'Alene had fewer than 20, Tuscarora fewer than 30, Menomini fewer than 50, Yokuts fewer than 10. On and on this sad litany goes, and by no means only for Native North America. Sirenikski Eskimo has two speakers, Ainu is perhaps extinct. Ubykh, the Northwest Caucasian language with the most consonants, 80-some, is nearly extinct, with perhaps only one remaining speaker. Here we might be accused of jumping the gun, prematurely announcing the extinction of a language, since-as I heard somewhere-two or three more speakers of Ubykh had reportedly been found. '1 But what difference does it make in human history that a language became extinct in 1999 instead of 1989? What difference does it make if the youngest speaker is 90 or in fact 9? Only 81 years in the date of the inevitable extinction of the language, a mere moment in human historythough a crucial moment for linguists today, as we shall see. Language endangerment is significantly comparable to-and related toendangerment of biological species in the natural world. The term itself is presumably drawn from biological usage. For language we need our own definition of terms. Languages no longer being learned as mother-tongue by children are beyond mere endangerment, for, unless the course is somehow dramatically reversed, they are already doomed to extinction, like species lacking reproductive capacity. Such languages I shall define as 'moribund'. (There is an important difference here from biological extinction, because under certain conditions language is potentially revivable, as shown by the case of Hebrew.) In assessing the modern situation of language endangerment, let us set aside the languages already known to have become extinct-that is yet another issue, which we shall not get into. The question for us here is this: how many languages still spoken today are no longer being learned by children? This is a key question, as such languages are no longer viable, and can be defined as moribund, thus to become extinct during the century nearly upon us. Statistics on language viability are very hard to come by. This is partly because in some parts of the world we hardly know what languages are spoken, let alone how viable each is, and partly, perhaps even more, because governments generally favor one language over another and have reason not to provide figures for nonfavored languages. Or, if they do so at all, for various reasons
Angular resolution improvement of ocean surface current radar

Ocean surface current radar is a Doppler radar to observe oceanographic information using the Bragg scattering resonance mechanism [1]. In this paper, we consider angular resolution enhancement of the ocean surface current radar. The radar employs an antenna array with FM-i-CW operation, then it can resolve angular distribution by Digital Beam Forming (DBF) method and distance can be discriminated by the FM-i-CW radar. In order to obtain sufficient angular resolution, array length should be expanded by increasing the number of elements of the array. Recently, a signal processing technique which can extend the aperture length virtually has proposed, that is called the Khatri-Rao (KR) product array. The angular resolution can be improved without changing the physical aperture length of the array antenna by using this method [2]. The ocean surface current radar is operated in very low frequency. Therefore it is the very important factor to achieve required angular resolution with narrower array length. In this paper, to ensure that the KR product array processing is valid in angular resolution enhancement for the ocean surface current radar, we apply the KR product array to actual data set of the radar and verify the performance.
Simulations of global seismic wave propagation for 3-D Earth model

We use a spectral-element method implemented on the Earth Simulator in Japan to simulate broadband seismic waves generated by various earthquakes. The spectral-element method is based on a weak formulation of the equations of motion and has both the flexibility of a finite-element method and the accuracy of a pseudospectral method. The method has been developed on a large PC cluster and optimized on the Earth Simulator. We perform numerical simulation of seismic wave propagation for a three-dimensional Earth model, which incorporates 3D variations in compressional wave velocity, shear-wave velocity and density, attenuation, anisotropy, ellipticity, topography and bathymetry, and crystal thickness. The simulations are performed on 4056 processors, which require 507 out of 640 nodes of the Earth Simulator. We use a mesh with 206 million spectral-elements, for a total of 13.8 billion global integration grid points (i.e., almost 37 billion degrees of freedom). We show examples of simulations for several large earthquakes and discuss future applications in seismological studies.