Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular mechanism of miRNA-23a in sepsis-induced lung injury.

OBJECTIVE MicroRNA-23a-3p (miR-23a) is a novel gene regulator involved in inflammation. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of miR-23a in sepsis-induced lung injury both in vitro and in vivo. METHODS Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and ATP-stimulated human myeloid leukemia mononuclear cells (THP-1) and Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells (BEAS-2B) cell lines were used, while cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis BABL/c mice were constructed. The mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-18, IL-1β, and miR-23a were determined, and Western blotting was used to measure CXCR4/PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling. The concentrations of cytokines and Nod-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lung tissue of mice was subjected to hematoxylin-eosin staining for examining myocardial injury. RESULTS MiR-23a inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in LPS- and ATP-stimulated THP-1 and BEAS-2B cells (P<0.05). Overexpression of miR-23a decreased the lactate dehydrogenase release rate in the cells (P<0.05). Meanwhile, miR-23a overexpression decreased the concentration and gene expression of IL-1β and IL-18 in CXCR4 positive cells (P<0.05). Conversely, miR-23a knockdown increased the concentration and gene expression of IL-1β and IL-18 (P<0.05). Additionally, PTEN and p53 proteins were up-regulated in miR-23a mimic group and down-regulated in miR-23a inhibitor group (P<0.05). Furthermore, miR-23a expression was decreased in sepsis-induced lung injury mice (P<0.05). MiR-23a overexpression reduced the sepsis-induced lung injury probably by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase activity and expression levels of IL-1β, IL-18, capase-1, and NLRP3 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION miR-23a can significantly alleviate sepsis-induced lung injury in CLP-induced septic mice and LPS-stimulated cell lines by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and inflammatory response, while promoting the CXCR4/PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway.
N-Net: 3D Fully Convolution Network-Based Vertebrae Segmentation from CT Spinal Images

Accurate vertebrae segmentation from CT spinal images is crucial for the clinical tasks of diagnosis, surgical planning, and post-operative assessment. This paper describes an [Formula: see text]-shaped 3D fully convolution network (FCN) for vertebrae segmentation: [Formula: see text]-net. In this network, a global structure guidance pathway is designed for fusing the high-level semantic features with the global structure information. Moreover, the residual structure and the skip connection are introduced into traditional 3D FCN framework. These schemes can significantly improve the accuracy of vertebrae segmentation. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our method. A high average DICE score of 0.9499 [Formula: see text] 0.02 can be obtained, which is better than those of existing methods.
Rbp4-Gal4, a germline driver that activates in meiosis, reveals functions for VCP in spermatid development

ABSTRACT Valosin-containing protein (VCP) is a versatile and ubiquitously expressed AAA+ ATPase that regulates multiple stages of Drosophila spermatogenesis. While VCP has documented roles in mitotic spermatogonia and meiotic spermatocytes, it is also highly expressed in post-meiotic spermatids, suggesting potential late-stage developmental functions as well. However, tools to assess late-stage activities of pleiotropic spermatogenesis genes such as VCP are lacking. Available germline-specific Gal4 drivers activate in stem cells or spermatogonia; consequently, knocking down VCP using one of these drivers disrupts or blocks early germ-cell development, precluding analysis of VCP in later stages. A Gal4 driver that activates later in development, such as at the meiotic spermatocyte stage, may permit functional analyses of VCP and other factors in post-meiotic stages. Here, we describe a germline-specific Gal4 driver, Rbp4-Gal4, which drives transgene expression beginning in the early spermatocyte stage. We find that Rbp4-Gal4-driven knockdown of VCP causes defects in spermatid chromatin condensation and individualization without affecting earlier developmental stages. Interestingly, the defect in chromatin condensation appears linked to errors in the histone-to-protamine transition, a key event in spermatid development. Overall, our study reveals roles for VCP in spermatid development and establishes a powerful tool to dissect the functions of pleiotropic spermatogenesis genes.
Cumulative stress, PTSD, and emotion dysregulation during pregnancy and epigenetic age acceleration in Hispanic mothers and their newborn infants

ABSTRACT Pregnancy can exacerbate or prompt the onset of stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is associated with heightened stress responsivity and emotional dysregulation, as well as increased risk of chronic disorders and mortality. Further, maternal PTSD is associated with gestational epigenetic age acceleration in newborns, implicating the prenatal period as a developmental time period for the transmission of effects across generations. Here, we evaluated the associations between PTSD symptoms, maternal epigenetic age acceleration, and infant gestational epigenetic age acceleration in 89 maternal-neonatal dyads. Trauma-related experiences and PTSD symptoms in mothers were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy. The MethylationEPIC array was used to generate DNA methylation data from maternal and neonatal saliva samples collected within 24 h of infant birth. Maternal epigenetic age acceleration was calculated using Horvath’s multi-tissue clock, PhenoAge and GrimAge. Gestational epigenetic age was estimated using the Haftorn clock. Maternal cumulative past-year stress (GrimAge: p = 3.23e-04, PhenoAge: p = 9.92e-03), PTSD symptoms (GrimAge: p = 0.019), and difficulties in emotion regulation (GrimAge: p = 0.028) were associated with accelerated epigenetic age in mothers. Maternal PTSD symptoms were associated with lower gestational epigenetic age acceleration in neonates (p = 0.032). Overall, our results suggest that maternal cumulative past-year stress exposure and trauma-related symptoms may increase the risk for age-related problems in mothers and developmental problems in their newborns.
How Students' Integer Arithmetic Learning Depends on Whether They Walk a Path or Collect Chips.

In light of conceptual metaphor theory, historical mathematicians’ and students’ difficulty with negative numbers reveals that the collecting objects metaphor may be a cognitive obstacle to those first learning about negative numbers. Moreover, consistency of physical motions with targeted ideas is a factor of cognition. Thus, this pre-post-delayed post study randomly assigned 8 classes of initial learners to a collecting objects integer model (chip model) or a moving-along-a-path metaphorbased model (number line model) to learn integer arithmetic with the four primary operations during an eight-day mini-unit. The study investigated the questions: What do students demonstrate learning with each model and what, if any differences in learning are found between models? Findings did support theory that a motion-aligned model using a moving-along-a-path metaphor would likely support learning better than collecting objects.
Explainable machine learning model for predicting skeletal muscle loss during surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer

Skeletal muscle loss during treatment is associated with poor survival outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer. Although changes in muscle mass can be assessed on computed tomography (CT) scans, this labour‐intensive process can impair its utility in clinical practice. This study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict muscle loss based on clinical data and to interpret the ML model by applying SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method.
Controllable Tunneling of Light through a Quantum-Dot-Molecule Dielectric Film via Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Since discrete multilevel transitions of quantum-dot molecules driven by external electromagnetic fields can exhibit quantum coherence effects, such an optical characteristic can be utilized to control propagation of electromagnetic wave through a quantum-dot molecule dielectric film. Since inner-dot tunneling in quantum-dot molecules can be controlled by a gate voltage, destructive quantum coherence among multilevel transitions in quantum-dot molecule would give rise to EIT (electromagnetically induced transparency). In this report, we shall investigate controllable on- and off-resonance tunneling effects of an incident electromagnetic wave through such a quan-tum-dot-molecule dielectric film, of which the optical response is tuned by the switchable gate voltage. We have found from the theoretical mechanism that a high gate voltage can cause the EIT phenomenon of quan-tum-dot-molecule systems, and under the condition of on-resonance light tunneling through the thin film, the probe field will propagation without loss if the probe frequency detuning is zero. By taking advantage of these effects sensitive to the tunable gate voltage, such quantum coherence would be inte-grated in certain photonic structures, and some devices such as photonic switching and transistors can be designed. Transient evolution of optical characteristics in the quantum-dot-molecule dielectric film (once the tunable gate voltage is turned on or off) is also considered in this report.
Liver fibrosis is associated with an increased risk of non‐fatal myocardial infarction

Liver fibrosis is a risk factor for liver‐related adverse outcomes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, the non‐invasive Hepamet fibrosis score (HFS) has been validated as a tool capable to identify with good diagnostic accuracy subjects with advanced liver fibrosis. It is unsettled whether HFS is capable to identify individuals at higher risk of CVD. To investigate whether individuals with liver fibrosis measured with HFS have higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in adults participating in the CATAnzaro MEtabolic RIsk factors (CATAMERI) study.
Integrating spheroid‐on‐a‐chip with tubeless rocker platform: A high‐throughput biological screening platform

Spheroid‐on‐a‐chip platforms are emerging as promising in vitro models that enable screening of the efficacy of biologically active ingredients. Generally, the supply of liquids to spheroids occurs in the steady flow mode with the use of syringe pumps; however, the utilization of tubing and connections, especially for multiplexing and high‐throughput screening applications, makes spheroid‐on‐a‐chip platforms labor‐ and cost‐intensive. Gravity‐induced flow using rocker platforms overcomes these challenges. Here, a robust gravity‐driven technique was developed to culture arrays of cancer cell spheroids and dermal fibroblast spheroids in a high‐throughput manner using a rocker platform. The efficiency of the developed rocker‐based platform was benchmarked to syringe pumps for generating multicellular spheroids and their use for screening biologically active ingredients. Cell viability, internal spheroid structure as well as the effect of vitamin C on spheroids' protein synthesis was studied. The rocker‐based platform not only offers comparable or enhanced performance in terms of cell viability, spheroids formation, and protein production by dermal fibroblast spheroids but also, from a practical perspective, offers a smaller footprint, requires a lower cost, and offers an easier method for handling. These results support the application of rocker‐based microfluidic spheroid‐on‐a‐chip platforms for in vitro screening in a high‐throughput manner with industrial scaling‐up opportunities.
Vinpocetine improved neuropsychiatric and epileptic outcomes in a patient with a GABRA1 loss‐of‐function variant

Vinpocetine is a synthetic derivative of the alkaloid vincamine and has been used as a dietary supplement for decades. Following a positive report of the use of vinpocetine in a patient with a loss‐of‐function GABRB3 variant, we here describe another patient with a loss‐of‐function GABRA1 variant (p.(Arg112Gln)) who benefited from vinpocetine treatment. This patient was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, psychiatric complications, and therapy‐resistant focal epilepsy. Upon add‐on treatment with 40 mg vinpocetine daily for 16 months, the patient experienced an overall improved quality of life as well as seizure freedom. Our findings corroborate that vinpocetine can attenuate epilepsy‐associated behavioral issues in patients with loss‐of‐function GABAA receptor gene variants.
Hearing Aid Delay Effects on Neural Phase Locking

Objectives: This study was designed to examine the effects of hearing aid delay on the neural representation of the temporal envelope. It was hypothesized that the comb-filter effect would disrupt neural phase locking, and that shorter hearing aid delays would minimize this effect. Design: Twenty-one participants, ages 50 years and older, with bilateral mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss were recruited through print advertisements in local senior newspapers. They were fitted with three different sets of hearing aids with average processing delays that ranged from 0.5 to 7 msec. Envelope-following responses (EFRs) were recorded to a 50-msec /da/ syllable presented through a speaker placed 1 meter in front of the participants while they wore the three sets of hearing aids with open tips. Phase-locking factor (PLF) and stimulus-to-response (STR) correlations were calculated from these recordings. Results: Recordings obtained while wearing hearing aids with a 0.5-msec processing delay showed higher PLF and STR correlations compared with those with either 5-msec or 7-msec delays. No differences were noted between recordings of hearing aids with 5-msec and 7-msec delays. The degree of difference between hearing aids was greater for individuals who had milder degrees of hearing loss. Conclusions: Hearing aid processing delays disrupt phase locking due to mixing of processed and unprocessed sounds in the ear canal when using open domes. Given previous work showing that better phase locking correlates with better speech-in-noise performance, consideration should be given to reducing hearing aid processing delay in the design of hearing aid algorithms.
Opium, phencyclidine, and crack cocaine smoking associations with lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers: exploratory findings from a case-control study in Los Angeles County

ABSTRACT Background: Illicit drug use has become a global epidemic, yet it is unclear if drug smoking increases the risk of tobacco-related cancers. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate hypothesized associations between smoking three drugs – opium, phencyclidine (PCP) and crack cocaine and lung and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers. Methods: A population-based case-control study with 611 lung cancer cases (50% male), 601 UADT cancers cases (76% male), and 1,040 controls (60% male) was conducted in Los Angeles County (1999–2004). Epidemiologic data including drug smoking histories were collected in face-to-face interviews. Associations were estimated with logistic regressions. Results: Adjusting for potential confounders, ever vs. never crack smoking was positively associated with UADT cancers (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.33), and a dose-response relationship was observed for lifetime smoking frequency (p for trend = .024). Heavy (> median) vs. never crack smoking was associated with UADT cancers (aOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.08) and lung cancer (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 0.88, 2.83). A positive association was also observed between heavy PCP smoking and UADT cancers (aOR = 2.29, 95% CI: 0.91, 5.79). Little or no associations were found between opium smoking and lung cancer or UADT cancers. Conclusion: The positive associations between illicit drug use and lung and/or UADT cancers suggest that smoking these drugs may increase the risk of tobacco-related cancers. Despite the low frequency of drug smoking and possible residual confounding, our findings may provide additional insights on the development of lung and UADT cancers.
Single Objective Optimal Power Flow Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem in electrical power systems is considered as a static, non-linear, multi-objective or a single objective optimization problem. As the power industrial companies have been moving into a more competitive environment, OPF has been used as a tool to define the level of the inter-utility power exchange. Basically, this thesis work provides a new approach to solve the single objective OPF problem considering critical objective function of generation fuel cost minimization for utility/industrial companies, while satisfying a set of system operating constraints, including constraints dictated by the electrical network. Particle Swarm Optimization technique (PSO) has been used for this purpose. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a population based stochastic optimization technique. The system is initialized with a population of random feasible solutions and searches for optima by updating generations. The IEEE-30 bus system is considered throughout this project work to test the proposed algorithm. LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 6.1 IEEE 30-Bus Basic Power Flow Results before Applying Optimization (Bus Results) 34 6.2 IEEE 30-Bus Basic Power Flow Results before Applying Optimization (Line Flow and Losses) 35 6.3 Objective Function : Generation Fuel Cost Minimization (Bus Result) 39 6.4 Objective Function : Generation Fuel Cost Minimization 40 (Line Flow & Losses) 6.5 Optimal generation values reported in the literature 44 6.6 Optimal generation values calculated in thesis 44 A.1 IEEE-30 Bus System Line Data 47 A.2 IEEE-30 Bus System Bus Data 48 A.3 IEEE 30-Bus System Generation Fuel Cost Coefficients 49 A.4 IEEE 30 Bus-System Control Variable Constraints 49 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 5.1 A Modified PSO Flowchart for Solving OPF Problem 31 6.1 Single Line Diagram of IEEE-30 Bus Test System 33 6.2 Generation Fuel Cost Minimization Using PSO Algorithm 44
Dynamics of the energy critical nonlinear Schrödinger equation with inverse square potential

We consider the Cauchy problem for the focusing energy critical NLS with inverse square potential. The energy of the solution, which consists of the kinetic energy and potential energy, is conserved for all time. Due to the focusing nature, solution with arbitrary energy may exhibit various behaviors: it could exist globally and scatter like a free evolution, persist like a solitary wave, blow up at finite time, or even have mixed behaviors. Our goal in this thesis is to fully characterize the solution when the energy is below or at the level of the energy of the ground state solution Wa. Our main result contains two parts. First, we prove that when the energy and kinetic energy of the initial data are less than those of the ground state solution, the solution exists globally and scatters. Second, we show a rigidity result at the level of ground state solution. We prove that among all solutions with the same energy as the ground state solution, there are only two (up to symmetries) solutions W a ,W − a that are exponential close to Wa and serve as the threshold of scattering and blow-up. All solutions with the same energy will blow up both forward and backward in time if they go beyond the upper threshold W a ; all solutions with the same energy will scatter both forward and backward in time if they fall below the lower threshold W− a . In the case of NLS with no potential, this type of results was first obtained by Kenig-Merle [26] and Duyckaerts-Merle [17]. However, as the potential has the same scaling as ∆, one can not expect to extend their results in a simple perturbative
Rotating potential of a stochastic parametric pendulum

The parametric pendulum is a fruitful dynamical system manifesting some of the most interesting phenomena of nonlinear dynamics, well-known to exhibit rather complex motion including period doubling, fold and pitchfork bifurcations, let alone the global bifurcations leading to chaotic or rotational motion. In this thesis, the potential of establishing rotational motion is studied considering the bobbing motion of ocean waves as the source of excitation of a floating pendulum. The challenge within this investigation lies on the fact that waves are random, as well as their observed low frequency, characteristics which pose a broader significance within the study of vibrating systems. Thus, a generic study is conducted with the parametric pendulum being excited by a narrow-band stochastic process and particularly, the random phase modulation is utilized. In order to explore the dynamics of the stochastic system, Markov-chain Monte-Calro simulations are performed to acquire a view on the influence of randomness onto the parameter regions leading to rotational response. Furthermore, the Probability Density Function of the response is calculated, applying a numerical iterative scheme to solve the total probability law, exploiting the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation inherent to Markov processes. A special case of the studied structure undergoing impacts is considered to account for extreme weather conditions and finally, a novel design is investigated experimentally, aiming to set the ground for future development.
Adolescent alcohol use: use of social network analysis and cross-classified multilevel modeling to examine peer group, school, and neighborhood-level influences

ABSTRACT Background: Neighborhood-, school-, and peer-contexts play an important role in adolescent alcohol use behaviors. Methodological advances permit simultaneous modeling of these contexts to understand their relative and joint importance. Few empirical studies include these contexts, and studies that do typically: examine each context separately; include contexts for the sole purpose of accounting for clustering in the data; or do not disaggregate by sex. Objectives: This study takes an eco-epidemiologic approach to examine the role of socio-contextual contributions to variance in adolescent alcohol use. The primary parameters of interest are therefore variance rather than beta parameters (i.e. random rather than fixed effects). Sex-stratified models are also used to understand how each context may matter differently for male and female adolescents. Method: Data come from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 8,534 females, n = 8,102 males). We conduct social network analysis and traditional and cross-classified multilevel models (CCMM) in the full and sex-disaggregated samples. Results: In final CCMM, peer groups, schools, and neighborhoods contributed 10.5%, 10.8%, and 0.4%, respectively, to total variation in adolescent alcohol use. Results do not differ widely by gender. Conclusions: Peer groups and schools emerge as more salient contributing contexts relative to neighborhoods in adolescent alcohol use for males and females. These findings have both methodological and practical implications. Multilevel modeling can model contexts simultaneously to prevent the overestimation of variance in youth alcohol use explained by each context. Primary prevention strategies addressing youth alcohol use should focus on schools and peer networks.