Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human Muscle Progenitor Cells Displayed Immunosuppressive Effect through Galectin-1 and Semaphorin-3A

In human skeletal muscle, myoblasts represent the main population of myogenic progenitors. We previously showed that, beside their myogenic differentiation capacities, myoblasts also differentiate towards osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages, some properties generally considered being hallmarks of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs are also characterized by their immunosuppressive potential, through cell-cell contacts and soluble factors, including prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), interleukine-10, or indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase. We and others also reported that Galectin-1 (Gal-1) and Semaphorin-3A (Sema-3A) were involved in MSCs-mediated immunosuppression. Here, we show that human myoblasts induce a significant and dose-dependant proliferation inhibition, independently of PGE-2 and TGF-β1. Our experiments revealed that myoblasts, in culture or in situ in human muscles, expressed and secreted Gal-1 and Sema-3A. Furthermore, myoblasts immunosuppressive functions were reverted by using blocking antibodies against Gal-1 or Sema-3A. Together, these results demonstrate an unsuspected immunosuppressive effect of myoblasts that may open new therapeutic perspectives.
Examination of the Relationship between Oral Health and Arterial Sclerosis without Genetic Confounding through the Study of Older Japanese Twins

Objective Although researchers have recently demonstrated a relationship between oral health and arterial sclerosis, the genetic contribution to this relationship has been ignored even though genetic factors are expected to have some effect on various diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate oral health as a significant risk factor related to arterial sclerosis after eliminating genetic confounding through study of older Japanese twins. Subjects and Methods Medical and dental surveys were conducted individually for 106 Japanese twin pairs over the age of 50 years. Maximal carotid intima-media thickness (IMT-Cmax) was measured as a surrogate marker of arterial sclerosis. IMT-Cmax > 1.0 mm was diagnosed as arterial sclerosis. All of the twins were examined for the number of remaining teeth, masticatory performance, and periodontal status. We evaluated each measurement related with IMT-Cmax and arterial sclerosis using generalized estimating equations analysis adjusted for potential risk factors. For non-smoking monozygotic twins, a regression analysis using a “between within” model was conducted to evaluate the relationship between IMT-Cmax and the number of teeth as the environmental factor controlling genetic and familial confounding. Results We examined 91 monozygotic and 15 dizygotic twin pairs (males: 42, females: 64) with a mean (± standard deviation) age of 67.4 ± 10.0 years. Out of all of the oral health-related measurements collected, only the number of teeth was significantly related to arterial sclerosis (odds ratio: 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.52-0.99 per five teeth). Regression analysis showed a significant association between the IMT-Cmax and the number of teeth as an environmental factor (p = 0.037). Conclusions Analysis of monozygotic twins older than 50 years of age showed that having fewer teeth could be a significant environmental factor related to arterial sclerosis, even after controlling for genetic and familial confounding.
Autism spectrum disorders: a pediatric overview and update

Purpose of review To provide an updated overview of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), with particular attention to the pediatrician's role in assessing and managing patients with ASDs. Recent findings Clinical perspectives on ASDs continue to evolve. The prevalence of ASDs in the United States continues to rise, and pediatricians are being tasked with the responsibility for universal screening. Further changes in its epidemiology will undoubtedly result from anticipated changes in the diagnostic criteria put forth in the upcoming revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (5th edition). Although there have been considerable advances in identifying a genetic cause in many more cases, the cause remains elusive in most cases. Recent studies of concordant twins suggest there is a stronger environmental component than previously believed. Research suggests earlier diagnosis may be feasible in some cases, and a new treatment approach has been shown to be effective in very young children. Although there have not been any large-scale advances in the medical treatment, some isolated successes have been reported and other promising therapies are now being investigated. Summary Clinical guidelines for ASDs are evolving, with updated diagnostic criteria expected and revised recommendations for evaluation also imminent. This article provides pediatricians with a clinical overview of ASD – with an emphasis on the clinical considerations relating to screening, evaluation, and management.
Searching with Local Information in Complex Networks

Searching in complex networks is different from random and regular networks for existing long range connections and hub nodes. So the research on structure and characters of networks will improve the search speed and lower the load of nodes. Though getting the shortest paths is the best choice, in a real network, it is impossible for a node to get global information. For example, there is not a node that has the whole network information in a peer-to-peer network. The shortest paths are available, but the cost, especially in a dynamical network, will be high. The paper first discusses the main characters of complex network and the existing searching strategies with local information, and then defines and analyzes maximum diffuse nodes. After evaluating the stability of maximum diffuse nodes in dynamical network, the paper designs searching strategy based on maximum diffuse principle. To validate the idea, we numerically simulate the most characteristic complex network model of Barabási and Albert (BA model), and analyze the average path, the network average load and every node’s load in different initial parameter values. The result indicates the new algorithm is effective not only in finding average path but also in load balance.
The androgen receptor controls expression of the cancer-associated sTn antigen and cell adhesion through induction of ST6GalNAc1 in prostate cancer

Patterns of glycosylation are important in cancer, but the molecular mechanisms that drive changes are often poorly understood. The androgen receptor drives prostate cancer (PCa) development and progression to lethal metastatic castration-resistant disease. Here we used RNA-Seq coupled with bioinformatic analyses of androgen-receptor (AR) binding sites and clinical PCa expression array data to identify ST6GalNAc1 as a direct and rapidly activated target gene of the AR in PCa cells. ST6GalNAc1 encodes a sialytransferase that catalyses formation of the cancer-associated sialyl-Tn antigen (sTn), which we find is also induced by androgen exposure. Androgens induce expression of a novel splice variant of the ST6GalNAc1 protein in PCa cells. This splice variant encodes a shorter protein isoform that is still fully functional as a sialyltransferase and able to induce expression of the sTn-antigen. Surprisingly, given its high expression in tumours, stable expression of ST6GalNAc1 in PCa cells reduced formation of stable tumours in mice, reduced cell adhesion and induced a switch towards a more mesenchymal-like cell phenotype in vitro. ST6GalNAc1 has a dynamic expression pattern in clinical datasets, being significantly up-regulated in primary prostate carcinoma but relatively down-regulated in established metastatic tissue. ST6GalNAc1 is frequently upregulated concurrently with another important glycosylation enzyme GCNT1 previously associated with prostate cancer progression and implicated in Sialyl Lewis X antigen synthesis. Together our data establishes an androgen-dependent mechanism for sTn antigen expression in PCa, and are consistent with a general role for the androgen receptor in driving important coordinate changes to the glycoproteome during PCa progression.
Comparison of local radiation boundary conditions for the scalar Helmholtz equation with general boundary shapes

The relative accuracy of several local radiation boundary conditions based on the second-order Bayliss-Turkel (1980) condition are evaluated. These boundary conditions permit the approximate solution of the scalar Helmholtz equation in an infinite domain using traditional finite element and finite difference techniques. Unlike the standard Bayliss-Turkel condition, the generalizations considered here are applicable to noncircular solution domains. The accuracy of these conditions are investigated for elliptical and linear/circular boundaries. >
Prosodic marking of information status in Dutch and Italian: a comparative analysis

Abstract This article reports on a comparative analysis of accentuation strategies within Italian and Dutch noun phrases (NPs). Its goal is not only to gain insight into what speakers do, but also into how listeners' perception and interpretation of incoming speech in different languages is affected by the distribution of accents. To this end, use is made of a particular experimental paradigm, which makes it possible to compare accent patterns in different languages from an acoustic, perceptual and functional point of view. Accent patterns were obtained via a simple dialogue game played by eight Dutch speakers and eight Italian ones. In this way, target descriptions of all speakers were obtained in the following four contexts: all new, single contrast in the adjective, single contrast in the noun, and double contrast. The accent patterns in these Dutch and Italian utterances were then compared in three different studies. Study 1 looks at accent distribution and finds that, in Dutch, new and contrastive information are accented, while given information is not; in Italian, distribution is not a significant factor in distinguishing information status, since within the elicited NPs both adjective and noun are always accented, irrespective of the status of the discourse context. Study 2 consists of prominence tests to investigate whether the accents differ in the degree of perceived emphasis. In Dutch, information status is reflected in these prominence differences: single contrastive accents are perceived to be the most emphatic, and given words the least emphatic. In Italian, it is less clear how gradient differences between accents can be linked to aspects of the discourse context. Study 3 presents a functional analysis of accent patterns exploring whether listeners are able to reconstruct a preceding utterance on the basis of prosodic properties of the current utterance. While this is possible for Dutch listeners, this is not at all the case for Italian listeners.
Tight-binding potentials for sputtering simulations with fcc and bcc metals

Abstract The parameters of many-body tight-binding (TB) potentials have been determined for 26 fcc and bcc metallic elements. The potentials are intended for application in classical dynamics simulations of sputtering phenomena. The potentials are fitted to the cohesive energy, lattice constant, elastic constants and vacancy formation energy of each element, using a cut off beyond the second (fcc) or third (bcc) neighbour distance. The surface binding energies, surface energies, and cluster (dimer and trimer) binding energies predicted by the TB potentials are reported. Practical issues relating to the incorporation of the potentials into sputtering simulation codes are discussed.
Anticancer Targets in the Glycolytic Metabolism of Tumors: A Comprehensive Review

Cancer is a metabolic disease and the solution of two metabolic equations: to produce energy with limited resources and to fulfill the biosynthetic needs of proliferating cells. Both equations are solved when glycolysis is uncoupled from oxidative phosphorylation in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, a process known as the glycolytic switch. This review addresses in a comprehensive manner the main molecular events accounting for high-rate glycolysis in cancer. It starts from modulation of the Pasteur Effect allowing short-term adaptation to hypoxia, highlights the key role exerted by the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor HIF-1 in long-term adaptation to hypoxia, and summarizes the current knowledge concerning the necessary involvement of aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) in cancer cell proliferation. Based on the many observations positioning glycolysis as a central player in malignancy, the most advanced anticancer treatments targeting tumor glycolysis are briefly reviewed.
Interaction in Semi-Immersiv e Large Display Environments

This paper evaluates interaction methods within the general framework of navigation, selection, and manipulation. It considers large display environments and, in particular, the virtual workbench, comparing this system with HMD and CAVE systems. The paper addresses three issues: (a) identifying the characteristics that set the workbench apart from other virtual environments; (b) determining types, organization, and examples of interaction techniques: (c) evaluating how these techniques perform on the workbench to determine which perform best. The evaluations are based on an extensive set of user observations. Also discussed are some problems that stereoscopic display coupled with interaction bring out.
The Relationship Between Parental Mediation of Adolescent Media Use and Ugandan Adolescents' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

ABSTRACT In sub-Saharan Africa, research about the role of media as an influence on adolescent sexual behavior has focused almost exclusively on the effects of health communication campaigns. Little research has explored the association between parents' attempts to guide their children's entertainment media intake, and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors. The authors surveyed 360 Ugandan high school students regarding their parents' mediation of their media use; their attitudes about stereotypical gender roles in sexual relationships and casual sex; and their sexual behaviors. Co-using media with opposite sex friends was associated with higher endorsement of casual sex. Adolescents who reported their parents limited the amount of time they spent with media were less likely to report having ever had sex. However, both effects were smaller than the effects of relationship and demographic variables.
Speech emotion recognition: Un sistema de reconocimiento de emociones por voz basado en Ivectors

The Speech Emotion Recognition project verses about the design and implementation of an emotion recognition system by analyzing the characteristics of the voice signal, based on the use of the Ivectors technique, which is considered the state of the art in the area in treatment. The use of this technique is compared with two baseline systems (Gaussian Mixture Models and Speaker factors) and it is shown that the degree of recognition improves. The aim of this project is to recognize, with as much precision as possible, a set of 7 emotions, available in the INTERFACE database, partially developed by UPC. To achieve this, we design a series of experiments that are used to test the performance of the system under different situations.
GABOR FEATURED STATISTICAL MODELING IN FACE RECOGNITION WITH CHAOTIC DATABASE

For a real time face recognition system, restraints like orientation, lighting and pose are the major challenges to be addressed. In the proposed work, to eliminate the variations due to pose, lighting and features to some extent, Gabor wavelets are used in preprocessing of human face image. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been widely adopted as the unpretentious potential face recognition algorithm which extracts low dimensional feature vectors from face. Linear Discriminant analysis (LDA) is applied on the reduced features from PCA, to get more discriminating features. The classification is done using distance measure classifiers and Support Vector Machine. Here, the train dataset is considered in randomized fashion, means the database contains a set of images of an individual in which different set of train dataset is generated randomly to choose the trained set that gives high rate of recognition. This will support in plummeting the overall database size and upsurge the enactment of the system. The system has been successfully tested on ORL face database with 400 frontal images corresponding to 40 different subjects of variable illumination and facial expressions. The proposed system gives a better recognition rate when compared to other standard techniques and achieves better accuracy with increased number of features.
CarboxyTerminal Deletion Analysis of Oat Phytochrome A Reveals the Presence of Separate Domains Required for Structure and Biological Activity

A series of seven carboxy-terminal deletion mutants of oat phytochrome A were stably expressed in transgenic tobacco to localize phytochrome domains involved in chromophore attachment, spectral integrity, photoreversibility between the red light (Pr)and far-red light (Pfr)-absorbing forms, dimerization, and biological activity. Amino acids necessary for chromophore attachment in vivo were localized to the amino-terminal398 residues because mutant proteins this small had covalently bound chromophore. Deletion mutants from the carboxy terminus to residue 653 were spectrally indistinguishable from the full-length chromoprotein. In contrast, further truncation to residue 399 resulted in a chromoprotein with a bleached Pfr absorbance spectrum, Pr and Pfr absorbance maxima shifted toward shorter wavelengths, and reduced Pfr to Pr phototransformation efficiency. Thus, residues between 399 and 652 are required for spectral integrity but are not essential for chromophore attachment. The sequence(s) between residues 919 and 1093 appears to be necessary for dimerization. Carboxy-terminal mutants containing this region behaved as dimers under nondenaturing conditions in vitro, whereas truncations without this region behaved as monomers. None of the plants expressing high levels of deletion mutants lacking the 35 carboxy-terminal amino acids displayed the light-exaggerated phenotype characteristic of plants expressing biologically active phytochrome A, even when the truncated phytochromes were expressed at levels 6to l b fo ld greater than that effective for the full-length chromoprotein. Collectively, these data show that the phytochrome protein contains severa1 separable carboxy-terminal domains required for structure/function and identify a domain within 35 residues of the carboxy terminus that is critical for the biological activity of the photoreceptor in vivo.
Structure and Function of A41, a Vaccinia Virus Chemokine Binding Protein

The vaccinia virus (VACV) A41L gene encodes a secreted 30 kDa glycoprotein that is nonessential for virus replication but affects the host response to infection. The A41 protein shares sequence similarity with another VACV protein that binds CC chemokines (called vCKBP, or viral CC chemokine inhibitor, vCCI), and strains of VACV lacking the A41L gene induced stronger CD8+ T-cell responses than control viruses expressing A41. Using surface plasmon resonance, we screened 39 human and murine chemokines and identified CCL21, CCL25, CCL26 and CCL28 as A41 ligands, with Kds of between 8 nM and 118 nM. Nonetheless, A41 was ineffective at inhibiting chemotaxis induced by these chemokines, indicating it did not block the interaction of these chemokines with their receptors. However the interaction of A41 and chemokines was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by heparin, suggesting that A41 and heparin bind to overlapping sites on these chemokines. To better understand the mechanism of action of A41 its crystal structure was solved to 1.9 Å resolution. The protein has a globular β sandwich structure similar to that of the poxvirus vCCI family of proteins, but there are notable structural differences, particularly in surface loops and electrostatic charge distribution. Structural modelling suggests that the binding paradigm as defined for the vCCI–chemokine interaction is likely to be conserved between A41 and its chemokine partners. Additionally, sequence analysis of chemokines binding to A41 identified a signature for A41 binding. The biological and structural data suggest that A41 functions by forming moderately strong (nM) interactions with certain chemokines, sufficient to interfere with chemokine-glycosaminoglycan interactions at the cell surface (μM–nM) and thereby to destroy the chemokine concentration gradient, but not strong enough to disrupt the (pM) chemokine–chemokine receptor interactions.
Effects of Signaling Attacks on LTE Networks

Attacks on the signaling plane have been well documented for different generations of cellular networks. The effects of these attacks vary from a decrease in the quality of service (QoS) all the way to a denial of service (DoS). Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the next generation cellular network that is primarily designed based on the IP protocol and is expected to achieve wide scale adoption worldwide. LTE employs a different network architecture than its predecessors that should allow for more efficient processing of signaling and data packets. In this paper, we investigate the effects of signaling attacks against Timeworks. An attack consists of malicious users who take advantage of the signaling overhead required to setup and release dedicated bearers in order to overload the signaling plane by repeatedly triggering dedicated bearers requests. The attack is simulated in OPNET under diverse scenarios in order to assess the effects of the increased signaling on the different LTE network entities. The results show that the increased signaling traffic causes higher processing loads at the Enhanced Node-B(eNB) as well as the Evolved Packet Core. We also present a comparison of the signaling requirements in LTE and UMTS.
Programming Research Group Some Extensions to the Probabilistic, Biased Model of Timed Csp Some Extensions to the Probabilistic, Biased Model of Timed Csp

In a previous paper Low92] we presented two languages based upon timed CSP, with associated semantic models. The rst language included biased operators in the syntax, which could be used to model diierent priorities on actions. The second language extended this by adding a probabilistic choice operator to the syntax; this allowed us to give a semantics which modelled the probabilities of diierent behaviours occurring. In this paper we aim to extend these two languages, to bring them up to the full expressive strength of timed CSP. We add environments (variable bindings) to our semantics; this allows us to give a more satisfactory model of recursion and allows us to model mutual recursion. Our previous language did not allow us to model communication of values over a channel. We extend our language and semantic model to overcome this. We prove a new property that holds of all behaviours of a process; this basically says that if a process can refuse two actions seperately then it can refuse their union. We also add innnite probabilistic choice, timeout, timed transfer, event interrupt and communicating parallel operators to our syntax, and give corresponding semantic deeni-tions.