Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MicroRNA‐101 regulates expression of the v‐fos FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog (FOS) oncogene in human hepatocellular carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been proposed as a versatile class of molecules involved in regulation of various biological processes. Although there is emerging evidence that some microRNAs can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, the specific role of miRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear at this point. In this study, we examined the microRNA expression profiles in a set of 20 human HCC specimens by miRNA microarray and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that among the 20 HCC samples analyzed, microRNA‐101 was significantly down‐regulated twofold or more (twofold to 20‐fold) in 16 samples compared with the matching nontumoral liver tissues. Using both a luciferase reporter assay and Western blot analysis, we showed that microRNA‐101 repressed the expression of v‐fos FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog (FOS) oncogene, a key component of the activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) transcription factor. Moreover, using a luciferase expression vector (pAP‐1‐Luc) driven by seven copies of an AP‐1 cis‐element, we observed that microRNA‐101 expression inhibited phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA)–induced AP‐1 activity. In in vitro Matrigel invasion and Transwell migration assays, enhanced microRNA‐101 expression inhibited the invasion and migration of cultured HCC cells, respectively. These findings suggest that microRNA‐101 may play an important role in HCC. Conclusion: MicroRNA‐101, which is aberrantly expressed in HCC, could repress the expression of the FOS oncogene. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)
Poststroke Upper Limb Recovery

Abstract Upper limb recovery after a stroke is suboptimal. Only a few individuals achieve full functional use of the hemiparetic arm. Complex primary and secondary impairments may affect recovery of upper limb function in stroke survivors. In addition, multiple personal, social, behavioral, economic, and environmental factors may interact to positively or negatively influence recovery during the different stages of rehabilitation. The current management of upper limb dysfunction poststroke has become more evidence based. In this article, we review the standard of care for upper limb poststroke rehabilitation, the evidence supporting the treatment modalities that currently exist and the exciting new developments in the therapeutic pipeline.
Fabrication and Mechanical Characterization of Glass fibre reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites using Fly ash/Nano clay/Zinc oxide as filler

In this work the characterization of the mechanical behaviour of glass fibre reinforced epoxy hybrid composites were carried out. With three types of fillers- Nano clay- Zinc oxide- fly ash at different weight ratios and combinations were dispersed with matrix material epoxy by ultra-sonication method. Epoxy glass composites with various fillers were fabricated by hand lay-up technique. Mechanical characterization of Glass fibre reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites using Fly ash/Nano clay/Zinc oxide as filler were carried out for tests for tensile, flexural and impact strength properties. Experimental analysis shows Nano clay/fly ash epoxy composites show comparatively higher tensile and impact strength. While Zinc oxide/fly ash epoxy glass composite exhibited better flexural strength. Hybrid filler material dispersed glass fibre reinforced composites can be used for structural application as properties it processes are higher as compared to plain glass fibre reinforced epoxy composites.
Concise Review: Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Acute Lung Injury: Role of Paracrine Soluble Factors

Morbidity and mortality have declined only modestly in patients with clinical acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), despite extensive research into the pathophysiology. Current treatment remains primarily supportive with lung‐protective ventilation and a fluid conservative strategy. Pharmacologic therapies that reduce the severity of lung injury in preclinical models have not yet been translated to effective clinical treatment options. Consequently, further research in translational therapies is needed. Cell‐based therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is one attractive new therapeutic approach. MSCs have the capacity to secrete multiple paracrine factors that can regulate endothelial and epithelial permeability, decrease inflammation, enhance tissue repair, and inhibit bacterial growth. This review will focus on recent studies, which support the potential therapeutic use of MSCs in ALI/ARDS, with an emphasis on the role of paracrine soluble factors. STEM CELLS 2011;29:913–919
On the influence of basic thermodynamics on thermal cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures in cooling tests

The cooling test or Thermal Stress Restrained Specimen Test (TSRST) simulates fully restrained pavements, as they occur in field for laboratory assessment of the thermal cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures. In the TSRST, cryogenic stress builds up due to cooling and prevented shrinkage until the tensile strength of the specimen is exceeded and the specimen fails by cracking. By carrying out TSRST various viscoelastic parameters, e.g. relaxation, evolution of tensile stresses, and tensile strength can be analyzed. Thus, a comprehensive view on the low temperature performance is possible. Standard TSRST is controlled by setting the cooling rate of the air within the chamber at a fixed value, e.g. -10°C/h. In thermodynamics, the actual cooling rate of objects is not only influenced by the cooling but also by external conditions like humidity, air velocity, radiation condition, etc. A current study investigates the impact of additional cooling parameters rather than just the air cooling rate. Two test machines of the same manufacturer that differ in the year of production and the setup of the climate chamber are compared. An initial wide scatter of test results from the two devices could be explained by taking thermodynamics into account and the reproducibility could be significantly enhanced.
Building Graph Representations of Deep Vector Embeddings

Patterns stored within pre-trained deep neural networks compose large and powerful descriptive languages that can be used for many different purposes. Typically, deep network representations are implemented within vector embedding spaces, which enables the use of traditional machine learning algorithms on top of them. In this short paper we propose the construction of a graph embedding space instead, introducing a methodology to transform the knowledge coded within a deep convolutional network into a topological space (i.e. a network). We outline how such graph can hold data instances, data features, relations between instances and features, and relations among features. Finally, we introduce some preliminary experiments to illustrate how the resultant graph embedding space can be exploited through graph analytics algorithms.
Combining Differential Privacy and Secure Multiparty Computation

We consider how to perform privacy-preserving analyses on private data from different data providers and containing personal information of many different individuals. We combine differential privacy and secret sharing based secure multiparty computation in the same system to protect the privacy of both the data providers and the individuals. We have implemented a prototype of this combination and have found that the overhead of adding differential privacy to secure multiparty computation is small enough to be usable in practice.
Exploring the Link between Uric Acid and Osteoarthritis

Both gout and osteoarthritis (OA) are common forms of arthritis that inflict a huge burden to an aging population with the increasing prevalence of obesity. Clinicians have long observed the link between these two conditions. In this review, we summarize the evidence from epidemiologic and immunological studies that described the possible relationship between the two conditions. The recent new understanding on monosodium uric acid crystal-induced inflammation has given insight into probable shared pathogenesis pathways for both conditions. We describe the potential therapeutic implications, particularly regarding the possibility of repurposing traditional gout medications for use in OA.
A New Approach to Adaptive Nonlinear Regulation

This paper shows how the theory of adaptive observers can be effectively used in the design of internal models for nonlinear output regulation. The main result obtained in this way is a new method for the synthesis of adaptive internal models, which substantially enhances the existing theory of adaptive output regulation by allowing nonlinear internal models and more general classes of controlled plants.
Hand hygiene: Back to the basics of infection control

Health care associated infections are drawing increasing attention from patients, insurers, governments and regulatory bodies. This is not only because of the magnitude of the problem in terms of the associated morbidity, mortality and cost of treatment, but also due to the growing recognition that most of these are preventable. The medical community is witnessing in tandem unprecedented advancements in the understanding of pathophysiology of infectious diseases and the global spread of multi-drug resistant infections in health care set-ups. These factors, compounded by the paucity of availability of new antimicrobials have necessitated a re-look into the role of basic practices of infection prevention in modern day health care. There is now undisputed evidence that strict adherence to hand hygiene reduces the risk of cross-transmission of infections. With “Clean Care is Safer Care” as a prime agenda of the global initiative of WHO on patient safety programmes, it is time for developing countries to formulate the much-needed policies for implementation of basic infection prevention practices in health care set-ups. This review focuses on one of the simplest, low cost but least accepted from infection prevention: hand hygiene.
Machine Perfusion for ‘Marginal’ Liver Grafts

Due to the critical shortage of deceased donor grafts, clinicians are continually expanding the criteria for an acceptable liver donor to meet the waiting list demands. However, the reduced ischemic tolerance of those extended criteria grafts jeopardizes organ viability during cold storage. Machine perfusion has been developed to limit ischemic liver damage but despite its proven biochemical benefit, machine liver perfusion is not yet considered clinically due to its low practicability. In this review, we summarize our understanding of the role of machine perfusion in marginal liver preservation. The goal is to highlight advantages or disadvantages of current perfusion techniques and to explain the underlying mechanisms. We provide evidence for the need of a liver perfusion performance shortly before implantation, and point out promising designs.
A functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of motor control in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome during imagined and executed movements

The current study investigated the neural correlates of voluntary motor control in 24 adult Gilles de la Tourette (GTS) patients. We examined whether imagination and the execution of the same voluntary movement – finger oppositions with either hand – were associated with specific patterns of activation. We also explored whether these patterns correlated with the severity of the syndrome, as measured by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) for motor tics. The presence of brain morphometric abnormalities was also assessed using voxel‐based morphometry. Crucial to our experiment was the manipulation of the presence of an explicit motor outflow in the tasks. We anticipated a reduction in the ticking manifestation during the explicit motor task and brain activation differences between GTS patients and 24 age/gender‐matched normal controls. The anticipated differences were all evident in the form of hyperactivations in the GTS patients in the premotor and prefrontal areas for both motor tasks for both hands; however, the motor imagery hyperactivations also involved rostral pre‐frontal and temporo‐parietal regions of the right hemisphere. The blood oxygen level‐dependent responses of the premotor cortices during the motor imagery task were significantly correlated with the YGTSS scores. In contrast, no significant brain morphometric differences were found. This study provides evidence of a different neurofunctional organisation of motor control between adult patients with GTS and healthy controls that is independent from the actual execution of motor acts. The presence of an explicit motor outflow in GTS mitigates the manifestation of tics and the need for compensatory brain activity in the brain regions showing task‐dependent hyperactivations.
Chemical characterization and antimicrobial activity of essential oils of salvia L. species

In this work, the essential oils of S. officinalis, S. sclarea, S. lavandulifolia and S. triloba were chemically analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometry detector (GC/MSD), and their antimicrobial activity was tested against 10 microorganisms using the disk diffusion method and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) technique. The following major compounds were identified in the essential oils: α - and β-thujone, camphor and 1,8-cineole, except in S. sclarea, where linalool, linalyl acetate and α-terpineol were the major constituents. The antimicrobial activity showed significant differences (p < 0.05) only when obtained by the MIC method. Gram-positive microorganisms presented larger sensitivity for the essential oils. The lowest MIC was observed when Staphylococcus aureus was exposed to 2.31 mg.mL-1 of S. lavandulifolia essential oil, while the highest MIC value was obtained when Shigella flexneri was exposed to 9.25 mg.mL-1 of the same essential oil, thus demonstrating that this essential oil may be effective as a bacteriostatic agent against Gram-positive microorganisms.
Micro MRI of the mouse brain using a novel 400 MHz cryogenic quadrature RF probe

The increasing number of mouse models of human disease used in biomedical research applications has led to an enhanced interest in non‐invasive imaging of mice, e.g. using MRI for phenotyping. However, MRI of small rodents puts high demands on the sensitivity of data acquisition. This requirement can be addressed by using cryogenic radio‐frequency (RF) detection devices. The aim of this work was to investigate the in vivo performance of a 400 MHz cryogenic transmit/receive RF probe (CryoProbe) designed for MRI of the mouse brain. To characterize this novel probe, MR data sets were acquired with both the CryoProbe and a matched conventional receive‐only surface coil operating at room temperature (RT) using conventional acquisition protocols (gradient and spin echo) with identical parameter settings. Quantitative comparisons in phantom and in vivo experiments revealed gains in the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of 2.4 and 2.5, respectively. The increased sensitivity of the CryoProbe was invested to enhance the image quality of high resolution structural images acquired in scan times compatible with routine operation (< 45 min). In high resolution (30 × 30 × 300 µm3) structural images of the mouse cerebellum, anatomical details such as Purkinje cell and molecular layers could be identified. Similarly, isotropic (60 × 60 × 60 µm3) imaging of mouse cortical and subcortical areas revealed anatomical structures smaller than 100 µm. Finally, 3D MR angiography (52 × 80 × 80 µm3) of the brain vasculature enabled the detailed reconstruction of intracranial vessels (anterior and middle cerebral artery). In conclusion, this low temperature detection device represents an attractive option to increase the performance of small animal MR systems operating at 9.4 Tesla. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic activities of aqueous extract of Morinda citrifolia fruit

Morinda citrifolia (Indian mulberry or noni) fruit has been long used as a folk medicine for a wide range of health purposes as it is claimed to have analgesic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, detoxifier, and cell-rejuvenator properties. A recent study has revealed central nervous system suppressant nature of its extract. Hence, the present study has evaluated the anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic effects of the aqueous extracts of Morinda citrifolia in rodents in comparison to diazepam. Anxiety was assessed by ′Isolation-induced aggression′ model, sedation by ′Spontaneous locomotor activity using actophotometer′ and hypnotic activity by ′Prolongation of ketamine-induced sleeping time′. Six male mice were used for each of the groups and postdose, all the six that received diazepam had shown an inhibition of aggression, whereas in the test group, five of six mice and none in the control group had shown an inhibition of aggression (P = 0.0007). Similarly, for the sedative activity, the total number of spontaneous locomotor activity at 30 min following drug administration was found to be 364.67 + 10.74, 123.16 + 8.33, and 196.67 + 3.7, while at 60 min it was found to be 209 + 12.98, 49 + 5.78, and 92 + 2.5 (mean + SD) for the control, standard, and test groups of mice respectively (P < 0.001). Hypnotic activity was measured by prolongation of ketamine-induced sleeping time wherein the onset and duration of loss of righting reflex were compared among each group of mice. The time in minutes for the onset in control, standard, and test groups was 4.01 + 0.22, 1.23 + 0.05, and 2.23 + 0.07, respectively. The duration of loss of righting reflex was 44.23 + 0.59, 56.03 + 1.34, and 50.57 + 0.36, respectively. Both these were statistically significant (P < 0.001). However, more clinical studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of the extract in humans.
Quorum Sensing and Bacterial Social Interactions in Biofilms

Many bacteria are known to regulate their cooperative activities and physiological processes through a mechanism called quorum sensing (QS), in which bacterial cells communicate with each other by releasing, sensing and responding to small diffusible signal molecules. The ability of bacteria to communicate and behave as a group for social interactions like a multi-cellular organism has provided significant benefits to bacteria in host colonization, formation of biofilms, defense against competitors, and adaptation to changing environments. Importantly, many QS-controlled activities have been involved in the virulence and pathogenic potential of bacteria. Therefore, understanding the molecular details of quorum sensing mechanisms and their controlled social activities may open a new avenue for controlling bacterial infections.
Decreased miR-181a expression in monocytes of obese patients is associated with the occurrence of metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease.

CONTEXT Inflammation during obesity is associated with higher risk of metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease (CAD). Activation of the inflammatory toll-like receptor (TLR)/nuclear factor κB (NFκB) signaling in monocytes contributes to inflammation. Weight loss after bariatric surgery leads to significant improvement of obesity-related comorbidities. MicroRNA (miR), a class of small noncoding RNA, have been implicated as negative regulators of inflammatory processes. OBJECTIVE This study sought to identify dysregulated miR in monocytes of obese patients associated with TLR/NFκB signaling, metabolic syndrome, and CAD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS This retrospective study included two independent cohorts of 21 morbidly obese and 125 high-risk obese and nonobese patients in a hospitalized care setting. INTERVENTION INTERVENTION included bariatric surgery (n = 21) with a 3-month follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES miR expressions in CD14(+) monocytes were determined by microarray analysis. TLR/NFκB-related miR were identified by an in silico target prediction analysis. Their expression was validated by quantitative RT-PCR. Their association with metabolic syndrome and angiographically documented CAD was assessed. RESULTS miR-181a, -181b, and -181d, identified as possible regulators of the TLR/NFκB signaling, were decreased in obese monocytes, and weight loss normalized their expression to levels observed in monocytes of lean persons. miR-181a but not miR-181b and miR-181d was associated with a higher number of metabolic syndrome components and with CAD even after adjustment for traditional risk factors, obesity and the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that the TLR/NFκB-related miR-181a is down-regulated in monocytes of obese patients and suggests that it is a putative biomarker of metabolic syndrome and CAD.
Search for Information on Multiple Products

We develop a framework for continuous search for information on a choice set of multiple alternatives and apply it to consumer search in a product market. When a consumer considers purchasing a product in a product category, the consumer can gather information sequentially on several products. At each moment, the consumer can choose which product to gather more information on and whether to stop gathering information and purchase one of the products or to exit the market with no purchase. Given costly information gathering, consumers end up not gathering complete information on all the products and need to make decisions under imperfect information. Under the assumption of constant informativeness of search, we solve for the optimal search, switch, and purchase or exit behavior in such a setting, which is characterized by an optimal consideration set and a purchase threshold structure. This paper shows that a product is only considered for search or purchase if it has a sufficiently high expected utility. Given multiple products in the consumer’s consideration set, the consumer only stops searching for information and purchases a product if the difference between the expected utilities of the top two products is greater than some threshold. Comparative statics show that negative information correlation among products widens the purchase threshold, and so does an increase in the number of the choices. Under our rational consumer model, we show that choice overload can occur when consumers search or evaluate multiple alternatives before making a purchase decision. We also find that it is optimal for a monopolistic seller of multiple products to facilitate information search for low-valuation consumers and obfuscate information for those with high valuations. This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing .
Effectiveness of Google keyword suggestion on users' relevance judgment: A mixed method approach to query expansion

Purpose – One of the most effective ways information retrieval (IR) systems including Web search engines can improve relevance performance is to provide their users with tools for facilitating query expansion. Search engines such as Google provide users with keyword suggest tools. This paper aims to investigate users’ criteria in relevance judgment regarding Google’s keywords suggest tool and to see how such keywords would lead to more relevant results from the viewpoint of users. Design/methodology/approach – Through a mixed method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 60 postgraduate students at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, using four different instruments (questionnaire, thinking aloud technique, query logs and interviews). Findings – Among other criteria, the “relation between suggested keywords and the information need” (with the mean rate of 3.53 of four) was considered the most important by searchers in selecting suggested keywords for query expansion. Also, the “.