Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diverse functions of matrix metalloproteinases during fibrosis

ABSTRACT Fibrosis – a debilitating condition that can occur in most organs – is characterized by excess deposition of a collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM). At first sight, the activities of proteinases that can degrade matrix, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), might be expected to be under-expressed in fibrosis or, if present, could function to resolve the excess matrix. However, as we review here, some MMPs are indeed anti-fibrotic, whereas others can have pro-fibrotic functions. MMPs modulate a range of biological processes, especially processes related to immunity and tissue repair and/or remodeling. Although we do not yet know precisely how MMPs function during fibrosis – that is, the protein substrate or substrates that an individual MMP acts on to effect a specific process – experiments in mouse models demonstrate that MMP-dependent functions during fibrosis are not limited to effects on ECM turnover. Rather, data from diverse models indicate that these proteinases influence cellular activities as varied as proliferation and survival, gene expression, and multiple aspects of inflammation that, in turn, impact outcomes related to fibrosis.
Elicited Imitation Testing as a Measure of Oral Language Proficiency at the Missionary Training Center

Elicited Imitation Testing as a Measure of Oral Language Proficiency at the Missionary Training Center Sara Moulton Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology This research study aimed to create an alternative method of measuring the language proficiency of English as a Second Language (ESL) missionaries at the Missionary Training Center (MTC). Elicited imitation (EI) testing was used as this measure of language proficiency and an instrument was designed and tested with 30 ESL missionaries at the MTC. Results from the EI test were compared with an existing Language Speaking Assessment (LSA) currently in use at the MTC. EI tests were rated by human raters and also by a computer utilizing automatic speech recognition technology. Scores were compared across instruments and across scoring types. The EI test correlated highly with the LSA using both scoring methods providing initial validity for future testing and use of the instrument in measuring language proficiency at the MTC.
Global Profiling of Metabolic Adaptation to Hypoxic Stress in Human Glioblastoma Cells

Oncogenetic events and unique phenomena of the tumor microenvironment together induce adaptive metabolic responses that may offer new diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets of cancer. Hypoxia, or low oxygen tension, represents a well-established and universal feature of the tumor microenvironment and has been linked to increased tumor aggressiveness as well as resistance to conventional oncological treatments. Previous studies have provided important insights into hypoxia induced changes of the transcriptome and proteome; however, how this translates into changes at the metabolite level remains to be defined. Here, we have investigated dynamic, time-dependent effects of hypoxia on the cancer cell metabolome across all families of macromolecules, i.e., carbohydrate, protein, lipid and nucleic acid, in human glioblastoma cells. Using GC/MS and LC/MS/MS, 345 and 126 metabolites were identified and quantified in cells and corresponding media, respectively, at short (6 h), intermediate (24 h), and prolonged (48 h) incubation at normoxic or hypoxic (1% O2) conditions. In conjunction, we performed gene array studies with hypoxic and normoxic cells following short and prolonged incubation. We found that levels of several key metabolites varied with the duration of hypoxic stress. In some cases, metabolic changes corresponded with hypoxic regulation of key pathways at the transcriptional level. Our results provide new insights into the metabolic response of glioblastoma cells to hypoxia, which should stimulate further work aimed at targeting cancer cell adaptive mechanisms to microenvironmental stress.
Susceptibility to Experimental Cerebral Malaria Induced by Plasmodium berghei ANKA in Inbred Mouse Strains Recently Derived from Wild Stock

ABSTRACT The neurological syndrome caused by Plasmodium berghei ANKA in rodents partially mimics the human disease. Several rodent models of cerebral malaria (CM) exist for the study of the mechanisms that cause the disease. However, since common laboratory mouse strains have limited gene pools, the role of their phenotypic variations causing CM is restricted. This constitutes an obstacle for efficient genetic analysis relating to the pathogenesis of malaria. Most common laboratory mouse strains are susceptible to CM, and the same major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotype may exhibit different levels of susceptibility. We analyzed the influence of the MHC haplotype on overcoming CM by using MHC congenic mice with C57BL/10 and C3H backgrounds. No correlation was found between MHC molecules and the development of CM. New wild-derived mouse strains with wide genetic polymorphisms were then used to find new models of resistance to CM. Six of the twelve strains tested were resistant to CM. For two of them, F1 progeny and backcrosses performed with the reference strain C57BL/6 showed a high level of heterogeneity in the number and characteristics of the genetic factors associated with resistance to CM.
Timing and tempo of first-year rapid growth in relation to cardiovascular and metabolic risk profile in early adulthood.

CONTEXT Growth during infancy appears to be an important determinant of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes later in life. OBJECTIVES To specify which period in the first year of life is related to determinants of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in early adulthood and to investigate the association between tempo of first-year weight gain (>0.67 SDs) and these determinants. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Observational study using longitudinal data collected in the Programming Factors for Growth and Metabolism (PROGRAM) study of 217 healthy participants, aged 18 to 24 years, including a relatively large sample of participants born small for gestational age and participants with short stature, performed at a medical center in The Netherlands between August 2004 and September 2007. The association of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes with tempo of weight gain was assessed in a subgroup of 87 participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Associations between periods of first-year growth and tempo of weight gain and determinants of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in early adulthood. RESULTS Weight gain in the first 3 months of life was inversely associated with insulin sensitivity (beta, -0.223; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.386 to -0.060) and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (beta, -0.053; 95% CI, -0.090 to -0.016) and positively associated with waist circumference (beta, 1.437; 95% CI, 0.066 to 2.808), acute insulin response (beta, 0.210; 95% CI, 0.024 to 0.395), ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (beta, 0.052; 95% CI, 0.010 to 0.094), and level of triglycerides (beta, 0.066; 95% CI, 0.003 to 0.129) in early adulthood. Rapid weight gain during the first 3 months of life resulted in a higher percentage of body fat, more central adiposity, and reduced insulin sensitivity in early adulthood than when slower weight gain occurred during the entire first year. CONCLUSION Rapid weight gain in the first 3 months of life is associated with several determinants of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in early adulthood.
Empirical Methods for Evaluating Dialog Systems

We examine what purpose a dialog metric serves and then propose empirical methods for evaluating systems that meet that purpose. The methods include a protocol for conducting a wizard-of-oz experiment and a basic set of descriptive statistics for substantiating performance claims using the data collected from the experiment as an ideal benchmark or "gold standard" for comparative judgments. The methods also provide a practical means of optimizing the system through component analysis and cost valuation.
PhoneTouch: a technique for direct phone interaction on surfaces

PhoneTouch is a novel technique for integration of mobile phones and interactive surfaces. The technique enables use of phones to select targets on the surface by direct touch, facilitating for instance pick&drop-style transfer of objects between phone and surface. The technique is based on separate detection of phone touch events by the surface, which determines location of the touch, and by the phone, which contributes device identity. Our current implementation uses the phones' internal microphones and the table's camera system for touch detection.
OLDERADO: On‐line database of ensemble representatives and domains

In cases where the structure of a single protein is represented by an ensemble of conformations, there is often a need to determine the common features and to choose a “representative” conformation. This occurs, for example, with structures determined by NMR spectroscopy, analysis of the trajectory from a molecular dynamics simulation, or an ensemble of structures produced by comparative modeling. We reported previously automatic methods for (1) defining the atoms with low spatial variance across an ensemble (i.e., the “core” atoms) and the domains in which these atoms lie, and (2) clustering an ensemble into conformationally related subfamilies. To extend the utility of these methods, we have developed a freely available server on the World Wide Web at http://neon.chem.le.ac. uk/olderado/. This (1) contains an automatically generated database of representative structures, core atoms, and domains determined for 449 ensembles of NMR‐derived protein structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) in May 1997, and (2) allows the user to upload a PDB‐formatted file containing the coordinates of an ensemble of structures. The server returns in real time: (1) information on the residues constituting domains; (2) the structures that constitute each conformational subfamily; and (3) an interactive java‐based three‐dimensional viewer to visualise the domains and clusters. Such information is useful, for example, when selecting conformations to be used in comparative modeling and when choosing parts of structures to be used in molecular replacement. Here we describe the OLDERADO server.
A survey on vehicle-to-vehicle propagation channels

Traffic telematics applications are currently under intense research and development for making transportation safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly. Reliable traffic telematics applications and services require vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communications that can provide robust connectivity, typically at data rates between 1 and 10 Mb/s. The development of such VTV communications systems and standards require, in turn, accurate models for the VTV propagation channel. A key characteristic of VTV channels is their temporal variability and inherent non-stationarity, which has major impact on data packet transmission reliability and latency. This article provides an overview of existing VTV channel measurement campaigns in a variety of important environments, and the channel characteristics (such as delay spreads and Doppler spreads) therein. We also describe the most commonly used channel modeling approaches for VTV channels: statistical as well as geometry-based channel models have been developed based on measurements and intuitive insights. Extensive references are provided.
Investigation of the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and the problematic internet use

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the duration of daily internet use and intolerance of uncertainty. Another purpose of the research is to determine how the intolerance of uncertainties of participants differs in terms of demographic characteristics. Intolerance uncertainty is regarded as the independent variable; internet use is regarded as the dependent variable. Research is carried out with the relational screening model. The data is analyzed with analysis of variance t-test in unrelated groups and multi stage regression analysis. Keywords: Pathology, Problematic internet use, Intolerance of uncertainty
A multi-voxel pattern analysis of neural representation of vibrotactile location

Previous neural decoding studies have mainly focused on discrimination of activation patterns evoked by active movements. Nonetheless, comparatively, little attention has been devoted toward understanding how brain signals are observed with passive stimulus. In this study, we examined whether the stimulus locations on between fingers, one of the most fundamental features of passive vibrotactile stimulation, can be distinguished from human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Whole brain searchlight multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has found two brain regions, which make a contribution to decode stimulus sites, in contralateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and contralateral secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). No significant area for the decoding of activity to stimulus site in primary somatosensory cortex (S1), which is well-developed brain region for finger somatotopy. On the other hand, a whole brain univariate group analysis has discovered activity in S1, not in PPC and S2 areas. These results suggest that PPC and S2 regions play a key role in the differentiation of passive vibrotactile stimulus locations, and thus decode tactile events from finger somatotopic.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) und Netzwerkgovernance: Eine Projektskizze

Gegenstand der Forschungsinitiative ist die Frage, welchen Beitrag Unternehmen der Wirtschaft bei der Losung gesellschaftlicher Aufgaben, die auf der Schnittstelle von Politik und Wirtschaft angesiedelt sind, leisten konnen und sollen. Dabei wird insbesondere ihre Rolle in interorganisationalen Netzwerken analysiert. Konzeptionelle Basis wird die Entwicklung einer „Stakeholder-Governance-Theorie (SGT)“ sein. Empirisch substanziiert wird dieses Forschungskonzept im Kontext des Human Development, insbesondere im Hinblick auf den Umgang mit knappen und moralisch sensiblen Wasserressourcen, und auf die Managementstandards fur die Wahrnehmung gesellschaftlicher Verantwortung. Hierbei werden die besonderen Chancen und Herausforderungen fur kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) von forschungsleitendem Interesse sein.
Correlatos cognitivos asociados a la experiencia de violencia interparental

Relation between exposure to interparental violence and cognitive correlates. This research tests the relation between level of exposure to marital violence among the subjects, their beliefs about women and their response to several couple's conflicts (estimates of responsability, frecuency, and severity). We developed three instruments that were answered by one hundred and seventy six students of technical schools (98 females and 78 males). Results showed, as we expected, significative differences in the subject's estimates as a function of their level of exposure to violence and their beliefs. The meaning of these results with relation to the process of intergenerational transmission of violence is discussed.
Effects of dietary arginine supplementation on broiler breeder egg production and hatchability

This study investigated the effects of arginine (Arg) supplementation on broiler breeder egg production and egg quality. Male (30) and female (360) Ross ® breeders, totaling 390 birds, were studied. A completely randomized design with five Arg levels (0.943%, 1.093%, 1.243%, 1.393%, 1.543% digestible Arg) and six replicates of 12 females and one male per experimental unit was applied. The following performance and egg quality were evaluated: lay percentage, albumen and yolk contents, average egg weight, egg specific gravity, and eggshell percentage and thickness. Hatchability and and embryo mortality were also determined. The applied dietary digestible Arg levels quadratically influenced egg production (p<0.05), with the highest production obtained when 1.262% digestible Arg was supplemented. Egg weight linearly increased (p<0.05) with digestible Arg dietary level; however, egg specific gravity linearly decreased (p<0.05). Hatchability was not affected (p<0.05) by digestible Arg level. The supplementation of broiler breeder diets with Arg improved egg production and egg weight without any effect on hatchability. Further research is needed to determine the effect of dietary Arg supplementation on the performance of the progeny.
Increased frequency and suppressive activity of CD127low/− regulatory T cells in the peripheral circulation of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma are associated with advanced stage and nodal involvement

The presence of regulatory T (Treg) cells is thought to be an important mechanism by which head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) successfully evades the immune system. Using multicolour flow cytometry, the frequency and functional capacity of two CD4+ CD127low/− Treg cell populations, separated on the basis of different levels of CD25 expression (CD25inter and CD25high), from the peripheral circulation of newly presenting HNSCC patients were assessed with regard to clinicopathological features and healthy controls. The frequency of circulating Treg cells was similar between HNSCC patients and healthy controls, and for patients with HNSCC developing from different subsites (laryngeal compared with oropharyngeal). However, patients with advanced stage tumours and those with nodal involvement had significantly elevated levels of CD4+ CD25high CD127low/− Treg cells compared with patients who had early stage tumours (P = 0·03) and those without nodal involvement (P = 0·03), respectively. CD4+ CD25high CD127low/− Treg cells from the entire HNSCC patient cohort and from patients whose tumours had metastasized to the lymph nodes were also shown to suppress the proliferation of effector T cells significantly more, compared with those from healthy controls (P = 0·04) or patients with no nodal involvement (P = 0·04). Additionally, CD4+ CD25inter CD127low/− Treg cells consistently induced greater suppressive activity than CD4+ CD25high CD127low/− Treg cells on the proliferation of the effector T‐cell populations (CD4+ CD25− CD127−/+ and CD4+ CD25+ CD127+). Peripheral Treg cells, identified by the CD127low/− phenotype, have been shown to be influenced by a patient's tumour stage and/or nodal status in HNSCC; suggesting a role in tumour progression that could be manipulated by future immunotherapy.
Hospital Variation in Survival After In‐hospital Cardiac Arrest

Background In‐hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is common and often fatal. However, the extent to which hospitals vary in survival outcomes and the degree to which this variation is explained by patient and hospital factors is unknown. Methods and Results Within Get with the Guidelines‐Resuscitation, we identified 135 896 index IHCA events at 468 hospitals. Using hierarchical models, we adjusted for demographics comorbidities and arrest characteristics (eg, initial rhythm, etiology, arrest location) to generate risk‐adjusted rates of in‐hospital survival. To quantify the extent of hospital‐level variation in risk‐adjusted rates, we calculated the median odds ratio (OR). Among study hospitals, there was significant variation in unadjusted survival rates. The median unadjusted rate for the bottom decile was 8.3% (range: 0% to 10.7%) and for the top decile was 31.4% (28.6% to 51.7%). After adjusting for 36 predictors of in‐hospital survival, there remained substantial variation in rates of in‐hospital survival across sites: bottom decile (median rate, 12.4% [0% to 15.6%]) versus top decile (median rate, 22.7% [21.0% to 36.2%]). The median OR for risk‐adjusted survival was 1.42 (95% CI: 1.37 to 1.46), which suggests a substantial 42% difference in the odds of survival for patients with similar case‐mix at similar hospitals. Further, significant variation persisted within hospital subgroups (eg, bed size, academic). Conclusion Significant variability in IHCA survival exists across hospitals, and this variation persists despite adjustment for measured patient factors and within hospital subgroups. These findings suggest that other hospital factors may account for the observed site‐level variations in IHCA survival.
A new approach to trajectories planner design for a subsonic autonomous aerial fixed wing vehicle

In this study, our aim is to propose an approach to generate the global trajectory an airplane must follow during its mission. In this approach, the problem of piloting an autonomous airplane is treated in two stages: generate and follow the reference trajectory. The first problem is rather an optimization problem with constraints; the second is a problem of control. Toward this aim, we decompose the global trajectory into a set of four elementary trajectories (horizontal level flight, climb, descent and horizontal turn). The second problem to be treated is the interconnection between these elementary trajectories. For this the airplane must follow a non trim trajectory. In this article, we start by defining the two dynamic constraints of equality type related to the under actuation (two differential equations), then we introduce the concept of (permanent) trim trajectories and the (transitional) non trim trajectories. Then, for the first type, we formulate an optimization problem with constraints, minimizing the necessary time for each elementary trajectory; for the transitional trajectories, we solve the equations of underactuation
Characterization of the Na+/H+ Antiporter from Yersinia pestis

Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that historically accounts for the Black Death epidemics, has nowadays gained new attention as a possible biological warfare agent. In this study, its Na/H antiporter is investigated for the first time, by a combination of experimental and computational methodologies. We determined the protein's substrate specificity and pH dependence by fluorescence measurements in everted membrane vesicles. Subsequently, we constructed a model of the protein's structure and validated the model using molecular dynamics simulations. Taken together, better understanding of the Yersinia pestis Na/H antiporter's structure-function relationship may assist in studies on ion transport, mechanism of action and designing specific blockers of Na/H antiporter to help in fighting Yersinia pestis -associated infections. We hope that our model will prove useful both from mechanistic and pharmaceutical perspectives.
International Union of Pharmacology. LX. Retinoic Acid Receptors

Retinoid is a term for compounds that bind to and activate retinoic acid receptors (RARα, RARβ, and RARγ), members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily. The most important endogenous retinoid is all-trans-retinoic acid. Retinoids regulate a wide variety of essential biological processes, such as vertebrate embryonic morphogenesis and organogenesis, cell growth arrest, differentiation and apoptosis, and homeostasis, as well as their disorders. This review summarizes the considerable amount of knowledge generated on these receptors.