Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Podocytes express ADAMTS13 in normal renal cortex and in patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

Congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is associated with ADAMTS13 mutations. The major site of ADAMTS13 synthesis is the liver. Expression in other tissues, and in TTP, has not been shown. In this study, ADAMTS13 protein expression was investigated in normal kidney and in renal tissue from two TTP patients, with a compound heterozygous mutation (P353L and P457L) and a homozygous mutation (4143insA). Real‐time polymerase chain reaction demonstrated ADAMTS13 mRNA in normal kidney. ADAMTS13 was detected in the glomeruli and tubuli of normal and TTP kidney using anti‐ADAMTS13 antibodies. In the glomeruli, expression was localised to podocytes (as demonstrated by counterstaining with two podocyte markers) and endothelium. Similar distribution was detected in the TTP kidneys. Electron microscopy detected ADAMTS13 in podocytes, endothelium and glomerular basement membrane. Cultured human podocytes expressed ADAMTS13 mRNA and protein, and podocyte lysate exhibited von Willebrand factor‐cleaving activity. Mutation expression studies of the P353L and P457L mutations showed partially impaired secretion and lower activity of the secreted mutants. Impaired secretion has previously been shown for the 4143insA mutation. Podocyte‐derived ADAMTS13 may offer local protection in the high‐shear microcirculation of the glomerulus. The mutations in the two TTP patients studied enabled protein expression in the podocytes but affected protease secretion.
Arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with allograft versus autograft

Introduction The aim of the study was to compare and analyze retrospectively the outcomes of arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with autograft versus allograft. Material and methods Seventy-one patients who underwent arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with an autograft or allograft met our inclusion criteria. There were 36 patients in the autograft group and 35 patients in the allograft group. All the patients were evaluated by physical examination and a functional ligament test. Comparative analysis was done in terms of operation time, incision length, fever time, postoperative infection rate, incidence of numbness and dysesthesia around the incision, as well as a routine blood test. Results The average follow-up of the autograft group was 3.2 ±0.2 years and that of the allograft group was 3.3 ±0.6 years; there was no significant difference (p > 0.05). No differences existed in knee range of motion, Lysholm scores, International Knee Documentation Committee standard evaluation form and Tegner activity score at final follow-up (p > 0.05), except that patients in the allograft group had a shorter operation time and incision length and a longer fever time (p < 0.05). We found a difference in posterior drawer test and KT-2000 arthrometer assessment (p < 0.05). The posterior tibia displacement averaged 3.8 ±1.5 mm in the autograft group and 4.8 ±1.7 mm in the allograft group (p < 0.05). The incidence of numbness and dysesthesia around the incision in the autograft group was higher than that in the allograft group (p < 0.05). There was no infection postoperatively. The white blood cells and neutrophils in the allograft group increased more than those in the autograft group postoperatively (p < 0.05). Conclusions Both groups of patients had satisfactory outcomes after the operation. However, in the instrumented posterior laxity test, the autograft gave better results than the allograft. No differences in functional scores were found.
Exploiting the hierarchical morphology of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotube films for highly hydrophobic coatings

Self-assembled hierarchical solid surfaces are very interesting for wetting phenomena, as observed in a variety of natural and artificial surfaces. Here, we report single-walled (SWCNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) thin films realized by a simple, rapid, reproducible, and inexpensive filtration process from an aqueous dispersion, that was deposited at room temperature by a dry-transfer printing method on glass. Furthermore, the investigation of carbon nanotube films through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the multi-scale hierarchical morphology of the self-assembled carbon nanotube random networks. Moreover, contact angle measurements show that hierarchical SWCNT/MWCNT composite surfaces exhibit a higher hydrophobicity (contact angles of up to 137°) than bare SWCNT (110°) and MWCNT (97°) coatings, thereby confirming the enhancement produced by the surface hierarchical morphology.
Specification and Refinement of Access Control

We consider the extension of fair event system specifications by concepts of access control (prohibitions, user rights, and obligations). We give proof rules for veri- fying that an access control policy is correctly implemented in a system, and consider preservation of access control by refinement of event systems. Prohibitions and obliga- tions are expressed as properties of traces and are preserved by standard refinement notions of event systems. Preservation of user rights is not guaranteed by construction; we propose to combine implementation-level user rights and obligations to implement high-level user rights. Information systems process ever more sensitive data. They should therefore not only be correct with respect to their functional specification, but most also ensure properties related to information security. For example, data should be accessed only by (or on behalf of) users to the extent that they are authorized to do so, legal or procedural obligations must be enforced, and user rights should be respected by the system implementation. In this paper, we propose to associate descriptions of access control poli- cies with the specification of event systems. We give proof rules that allow us to verify that an event system correctly implements access control annotations, and we study to what extent such properties can be preserved when systems are refined in a framework of stepwise system development. One should note, however, that access control policies are only a part of the requirements needed for describing and assessing the security of information infrastructure. In partic- ular, access control specifications do not constrain the use of data obtained by an authorized user. Hence, they cannot guarantee properties about information flow (McLean 1992), such as confidentiality of information. Several formalisms for describing access control policies have been proposed in the literature. Among the more advanced ones are RBAC (Role-Based Ac-
Atrial-Selective Sodium Channel Block Strategy to Suppress Atrial Fibrillation: Ranolazine versus Propafenone

Ranolazine has been shown to produce atrial-selective depression of sodium channel-dependent parameters and suppress atrial fibrillation (AF) in a variety of experimental models. The present study contrasts the effects of ranolazine and those of a clinically used anti-AF class IC agent, propafenone. Electrophysiological and anti-AF effects of propafenone and ranolazine were compared at clinically relevant concentrations (i.e., 0.3–1.5 and 1–10 μM, respectively) in canine isolated coronary-perfused atrial and ventricular preparations. Transmembrane action potential and pseudo-ECG were recorded. Both ranolazine and propafenone produced atrial-selective prolongation of action potential duration. Propafenone depressed sodium channel-mediated parameters [maximum rate of rise of the action potential upstroke (Vmax), conduction time, and diastolic threshold of excitation] and induced postrepolarization refractoriness to a greater degree than ranolazine, and these effects, unlike those induced by ranolazine, were not or only mildly atrial-selective at normal rates (cycle length 500 ms). At fast pacing rates, however, the effects of propafenone on Vmax and conduction time became atrial-selective, because of the elimination of diastolic interval in atria, but not in ventricles. Propafenone (1.5 μM) and ranolazine (10.0 μM) were effective in preventing the initiation of persistent acetylcholine-mediated AF (6/7 and 9/11 atria, respectively), its termination (8/10 and 8/12 atria, respectively), and subsequent reinduction (8/8 and 7/8 atria, respectively). Thus, propafenone and ranolazine both suppress AF, but ranolazine, unlike propafenone, does it with minimal effects on ventricular myocardium, suggesting a reduced potential for promoting ventricular arrhythmias.
Fungal effector Ecp6 outcompetes host immune receptor for chitin binding through intrachain LysM dimerization

While host immune receptors detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns to activate immunity, pathogens attempt to deregulate host immunity through secreted effectors. Fungi employ LysM effectors to prevent recognition of cell wall-derived chitin by host immune receptors, although the mechanism to compete for chitin binding remained unclear. Structural analysis of the LysM effector Ecp6 of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum reveals a novel mechanism for chitin binding, mediated by intrachain LysM dimerization, leading to a chitin-binding groove that is deeply buried in the effector protein. This composite binding site involves two of the three LysMs of Ecp6 and mediates chitin binding with ultra-high (pM) affinity. Intriguingly, the remaining singular LysM domain of Ecp6 binds chitin with low micromolar affinity but can nevertheless still perturb chitin-triggered immunity. Conceivably, the perturbation by this LysM domain is not established through chitin sequestration but possibly through interference with the host immune receptor complex. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.00790. 001
Framing, Value Words, and Citizens' Explanations of Their Issue Opinions

This study examines the effects of framing on how citizens use value language to explain their views on political issues. An experiment simulated exposure to framing in media coverage of gay rights. The results show that participants who received an "equality" frame were particularly likely to explain their views on gay rights in terms of equality and that participants who received a "morality" frame were particularly likely to cast their opinions in the language of morality. A closer examination, however, showed that exposure to the frames encouraged participants to use value language not only in ways suggested by the frames but also in ways that challenged the frames. Moreover, the results indicated that exposure to the "morality" frame interfered with the impact of the "equality" frame, suggesting that the presence of alternative frames can dampen framing effects.
Identity and cross-border student mobility : the mainland China–Hong Kong experience.

This article is drawn from research in an ongoing multiple case study of the identity constructions of tertiary-level border-crossing students from mainland China to Hong Kong. It begins by outlining the contextual and conceptual background of the study, followed by the presentation and discussion of the three aspects of identity being constructed, including contestation against place-of-origin stereotypical identification, passive resistance against power regulations exerted by the original context and critical critiques of the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese societies. This paper argues that, compared with the Bologna process, the parallel but inverse-directional characteristics of the border crossing between mainland China and Hong Kong have significant implications on student mobility across the internal and external European borders, which are greatly influenced by the global context, against a background of the internationalisation of higher education worldwide.
Organizational Factors and Perceptions of Climate in Three Psychiatric Units

The relationships of perceived organizational structure, leader behaviors, and communication processes with perceptions of the work environment and ward atmosphere by staff in three psychiatric units were assessed. Satisfaction with communication and participation in decision making emerged as the most consistent correlates of staff views about their work environment, while dimensions of ward atmosphere were most frequently related to satisfaction with communication. Patient scores on the ward atmosphere scales were most closely associated with staff receptiveness and interest, along with patient involvement in decisions and satisfaction with the degree of patient-staff communication. These findings highlight the salience of organizational climate variables and illustrate the utility of ward atmosphere and work environment perceptions as components of a multi-dimensional climate construct.
Tuning of striping units in disk-array-based file systems

Striping files across the disks of a disk array is a promising approach to improve the I/O performance of data management systems. An important tuning parameter of this method is the striping unit that is, the maximum number of logically consecutive blocks that are allocated on one disk. The striping unit determines the degree of parallelism in servicing a request by multiple disks, and its affects the achievable throughput of I/O requests. Since a good choice of a file's striping unit depends on the file's access characteristics such as average request size, it is proposed that file-specific striping units be chosen rather than choosing the same global striping unit for all files. The paper presents a method for tuning file-specific striping units, based on the access characteristics of the individual files and the throughput requirements of the application. Performance experiments are presented, based on a synthetic benchmark that was run on the file system prototype FIVE and a simulation testbed for disk-arrays. The experiments indicate significant performance gains of file-specific striping units compared to an optimally chosen global striping unit. <<ETX>>
The Reliability of Neurons

The prevalent probabilistic view is virtually untestable; it remains a plausible belief. The cases usually cited can not be taken as evidence for it. Several grounds for this conclusion are developed. Three issues are distinguished in an attempt to clarify a murky debate: (a) the utility of probabilistic methods in data reduction, (b) the value of models that assume indeterminacy, and (c) the validity of the inference that the nervous system is largely indeterministic at the neuronal level. No exception is taken to the first two; the second is a private heuristic question. The third is the issue to which the assertion in the first two sentences is addressed. Of the two kinds of uncertainty, statistical mechanical (= practical unpredictability) as in a gas, and Heisenbergian indeterminancy, the first certainly exists, the second is moot at the neuronal level. It would contribute to discussion to recognize that neurons perform with a degree of reliability. Although unreliability is difficult to establish, to say nothing of measure, evidence that some neurons have a high degree of reliability, in both connections and activity is increasing greatly. An example is given from sternarchine electric fish.
Rumen Fermentation and Performance of Lactating Dairy Cows Affected by Physical Forms and Urea Treatment of Rice Straw

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different physical forms and urea treatment of rice straw on feed intake, rumen fermentation, and milk production. Four, multiparous Holstein crossbred dairy cows in mid-lactation with initial body weight (BW) of 409±20 kg were randomly assigned according to a 4×4 Latin square design to receive four dietary treatments. The dietary treatments were as follows: untreated, long form rice straw (LRS), urea-treated (5%), long form rice straw (5% ULRS), urea-treated (2.5%), long form rice straw (2.5% ULRS) and urea-treated (2.5%), chopped (4 cm) rice straw (2.5% UCRS). Cows were fed with concentrate diets at a ratio of concentrate to milk yield of 1:2 and rice straw was fed ad libitum. The findings revealed significant improvements in total DM intake and digestibility by using long and short forms of urea-treated rice straw (p<0.05). Ruminal pH was not altered among all treatments (p>0.05), whereas ruminal NH3-N, BUN and MUN were found to be increased (p<0.01) by urea-treated rice straw as compared with untreated rice straw. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations especially those of acetic acid were decreased (p<0.05) and those of propionic acid were increased (p<0.05), thus acetic acid:propionic acid was subsequently lowered (p<0.05) in cows fed with long or short forms of urea-treated rice straw. The 2.5% ULRS and 2.5% UCRS had greater microbial protein synthesis and was greatest when cows were fed with 5% ULRS. The urea-treated rice straw fed groups had increased milk yield (p<0.05), while lower feed cost and greater economic return was in the 2.5% ULRS and 2.5% UCRS (p<0.01). From these results, it could be concluded that 2.5% ULRS could replace 5% ULRS used as a roughage source to maintain feed intake, rumen fermentation, efficiency of microbial protein synthesis, milk production and economical return in mid-lactating dairy cows.
Obesity on a High-Fat Diet: Role of Hypothalamic Galanin in Neurons of the Anterior Paraventricular Nucleus Projecting to the Median Eminence

Previous studies have suggested that the peptide galanin (GAL) in the hypothalamus is related to the preference of an animal for dietary fat. The present report investigates this relationship further to identify the specific GAL-synthesizing cell groups involved and to characterize their association to circulating glucose or hormones and their possible contribution to body fat deposition. Male albino Sprague Dawley rats were tested in different feeding paradigms with diets containing the macronutrients, fat, carbohydrate, or protein. These studies, using multiple techniques, identify a cell group in the hypothalamus that expresses GAL and that shows a shift in peptide activity in close relation to dietary fat, circulating glucose, and body fat. In all paradigms, a rise in fat intake, from 10 to 30%, is associated with reduced levels of insulin and corticosterone and normal glucose levels, whereas a further increase in fat ingestion (>30%) leads to hyperglycemia along with greater adiposity. In the hypothalamus, GAL gene expression, peptide production, and peptide release rise significantly (by 40%) in association with fat ingestion, showing no relation to either carbohydrate or protein ingestion. This change is highly site specific, evident predominantly in GAL-synthesizing neurons in the anterior parvocellular region of the paraventricular nucleus (aPVN) and in GAL-containing terminals in the external zone of the median eminence (ME). Positive correlations detected between mRNA abundance in the aPVN and GAL peptide in the ME support the existence of an aPVN–ME projection system related to fat intake and fat deposition. When activated by dietary fat, the contribution of this projection to body fat is suggested by consistent positive correlations between aPVN–ME GAL and either dietary fat, circulating glucose, or body fat and by significantly higher GAL levels (+30%) in obesity-prone compared with obesity-resistant rats. This evidence supports a role for this hypothalamic GAL projection system in the development of obesity produced by the overconsumption of fat.
Politics of Urban Development and Wildfires in California and Turkey

While Turkey and California suffer similar wildfire risks, they have developed diametrically opposed fire-suppression strategies: the former adopted an increasingly centralized strategy, while the latter depends upon a highly decentralized system. This paper is a comparative analysis that relates the politics of land use in wildland–urban interfaces (WUIs) to this divergence in firefighting strategies. Our argument is that the evolution of the divergent fire-suppression strategies in California and Turkey are linked to two different types of rent-seeking behavior. Developers and landed interest seek absolute rent in Turkey and differential rent in California. The decentralized strategy in California allows property prices to be distinguished between areas of low and high protection, and commodifies safety as a form of investment regulating the market prices of land. In Turkey, the tendency toward centralization of firefighting is a part of the composite political strategy to open new land for development by completing the hitherto unfinished cadastral records of the WUIs. Thus, the centralized firefighting strategy leads indirectly to extensive commodification of the WUIs in Turkey and expands the national land market.
Circulating visfatin level is correlated with inflammation, but not with insulin resistance

Objective Recent studies, both in vitro and in vivo, have indicated that visfatin is one of the inflammatory cytokines, although the relationship between visfatin and insulin resistance remains inconclusive. Accordingly, we assessed the association between visfatin concentrations in serum and those of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and C‐reactive protein (CRP), known as markers of systemic inflammation, and also investigated the relationship between these serum concentrations and insulin resistance.
Spieltheorie und das Gehirn

What is the neural basis of why you trust one person, but not the other? How do emotions in response to unfairness guide our interactions? What are the neural responses associated with cooperation? The field of social neuroeconomics aims to answer these and other questions to better understand the neural circuitry of decision-making in social interactions. In addition to neuroimaging studies, which can give insight into a possible correlation between brain activation and a cognitive process, (virtual) lesion studies allow drawing causal inferences about the role of a particular brain area in the social decision-making process. This paper will review some of the more recent findings on the neural basis of fairness, trust and cooperation identified using neuroimaging or lesion studies.
Noninvasive Young's modulus evaluation of tissues surrounding pulsatile vessels using ultrasound doppler measurement

This paper presents an indirect approach to estimating the mechanical properties of tissues surrounding the arterial vessels using ultrasound (US) Doppler measurements combined with an inverse problem-solving method. The geometry of the structure and the dynamic behavior of the inner fluid are first evaluated using a novel dual-beam US system. A numerical phantom associated with a parametric finite element simulator that calculates the hydrodynamic pressure and the displacement on the walls' boundaries is then built. The simulation results are iteratively compared to the US measurement results to deduce the value of the unknown parameters, i.e., the Young's modulus and the pressure resulting from the downstream load. The feasibility of the proposed approach was experimentally tested in vitro using a phantom composed of a latex tube surrounded by a cryogel tissue-mimicking material.
An Empirical Analysis of Domain Adaptation Algorithms for Genomic Sequence Analysis

We study the problem of domain transfer for a supervised classification task in mRNA splicing. We consider a number of recent domain transfer methods from machine learning, including some that are novel, and evaluate them on genomic sequence data from model organisms of varying evolutionary distance. We find that in cases where the organisms are not closely related, the use of domain adaptation methods can help improve classification performance.