Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of adhesion molecules and chemotactic cytokines in cultured human mesothelial cells

The mesothelium is a flat epithelial lining of serous cavities that could gate the traffic of molecules and cells between the circulation and these body compartments. The present study was designed to elucidate the capacity of mesothelial cells to express adhesion molecules and chemoattractant cytokines, two fundamental mechanisms of regulation of leukocyte recruitment. Cultured human mesothelial cells express appreciable levels of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM- 1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), and these were increased by in vitro exposure to tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), or TNF and IFN-gamma. Interleukin 1 (IL- 1) was a less consistent stimulus for adhesion molecule expression in vitro. Unlike endothelial cells, used as a reference cell population, resting or stimulated mesothelial cells did not express E-selectin and ICAM-2, as assessed by flow cytometry. Analysis of VCAM-1 mRNA by reverse transcriptase and polymerase chain reaction using appropriate primers revealed that mesothelial cells expressed both the seven- and the six-Ig domain transcripts, with predominance of the longer species. Monocytes bound appreciably to "resting" and, to a greater extent, to stimulated mesothelial cells. Monocytes exposed to IFN-gamma and lipopolysaccharide, used as prototypic activation signals, showed increased capacity to bind mesothelial cells. Anti-CD18 monoclonal antibody significantly inhibited binding of monocytes to mesothelial cells, and this blocking effect was amplified by anti-very late antigen 4. Mesothelial cells were able to express the chemotactic cytokines IL- 8 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 at the mRNA and protein levels. These results indicate that mesothelial cells can express a set of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) overlapping with, but distinct from, that expressed in vascular endothelium (ICAM-1, ICAM-2, VCAM-1, E- selectin), and that these are functionally relevant for interacting with mononuclear phagocytes. The regulated expression of adhesion molecules and chemotactic cytokines by mesothelial cells is probably important in inflammatory and immune reactions that involve serous cavities, such as the long-known macrophage appearance and disappearance reactions.
The pleiotropic vasoprotective functions of high density lipoproteins (HDL)

The pleiotropic functions of circulating high density lipoprotein (HDL) on peripheral vascular health are well established. HDL plays a pivotal role in reverse cholesterol transport and is also known to suppress inflammation, endothelial activation and apoptosis in peripheral vessels. Although not expressed in the central nervous system, HDL has nevertheless emerged as a potential resilience factor for dementia in multiple epidemiological studies. Animal model data specifically support a role for HDL in attenuating the accumulation of β-amyloid within cerebral vessels concomitant with reduced neuroinflammation and improved cognitive performance. As the vascular contributions to dementia are increasingly appreciated, this review seeks to summarize recent literature focused on the vasoprotective properties of HDL that may extend to cerebral vessels, discuss potential roles of HDL in dementia relative to brain-derived lipoproteins, identify gaps in current knowledge, and highlight new opportunities for research and discovery.
A Data Management and Analysis System in Healthcare Cloud

With the improvement of living standards, more and more people start to pay attention to their health. Health care gradually becomes indispensable demands in our daily lives. Many healthcare systems have been developed. Cloud system brings the possibility of storage and computing for large-scale data. It can also provide unified and efficient data analysis and management for health care. However, health care data is usually numerous and complicated. How to manage and analyze data is an important problem in healthcare cloud system. In our paper, we focus on these system problems, and propose methods for data storage and management. We also design a platform system with data analysis model for data analysis. We demonstrate the feasibility of the method, and elaborate the consideration of the efficiency of the system.
On-line learning gossip algorithm in multi-agent systems with local decision rules

This paper is devoted to investigate binary classification in a distributed and on-line setting. In the Big Data era, datasets can be so large that it may be impossible to process them using a single processor. The framework considered accounts for situations where both the training and test phases have to be performed by taking advantage of a network architecture by the means of local computations and exchange of limited information between neighbor nodes. An online learning gossip algorithm (OLGA) is introduced, together with a variant which implements a node selection procedure. Beyond a discussion of the practical advantages of the algorithm we promote, the paper proposes an asymptotic analysis of the accuracy of the rules it produces, together with preliminary experimental results.
Metis: A Thin-Client Application Framework

This paper introduces a thin-client programming model and then presents an object-oriented framework for developing applications using the model. The programming model and the framework have evolved from interactions with developers and users of commercial applications. The key aspects of the thin-client programming model are that the client downloads application front ends from the network; that these applications rely only on services found on network servers; that the services are bound as late as possible; and that the applications interact with each other within the confines of a workspace. We implemented the framework using Java Beans and JDK 1.1, and developed several sample applications using the framework.
Near outage limit joint network coding and decoding for the Semi-Orthogonal Multiple-Access Relay Channel

In this paper, we investigate the benefit of Joint Network Channel Coding (JNCC) for a new class of Multiple Access Relay Channel (MARC), defined as follows: (1) Independent sources communicate with a single destination in the presence of a relay; (2) The relay is half-duplex and applies a Selective Decode and Forward (SDF) strategy, i.e, it forwards only a deterministic function of the error-free decoded messages; (3) The sources are allowed to transmit simultaneously during the listening phase of the relay, but are constrained to remain silent during its transmission phase. We refer this model to as Semi-Orthogonal MARC (SOMARC), which leverages better the broadcast nature of the radio channel than its more conservative orthogonal counterpart, referred to as Orthogonal MARC (OMARC). All links are subject to slow fading and additive white Gaussian noise. This paper aims at measuring the advantage brought by the SOMARC over OMARC from both an information-theoretic and a practical code design perspective.
Influence of Pokémon Go on Physical Activity: Study and Implications

Background Physical activity helps people maintain a healthy weight and reduces the risk for several chronic diseases. Although this knowledge is widely recognized, adults and children in many countries around the world do not get recommended amounts of physical activity. Although many interventions are found to be ineffective at increasing physical activity or reaching inactive populations, there have been anecdotal reports of increased physical activity due to novel mobile games that embed game play in the physical world. The most recent and salient example of such a game is Pokémon Go, which has reportedly reached tens of millions of users in the United States and worldwide. Objective The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of Pokémon Go on physical activity. Methods We study the effect of Pokémon Go on physical activity through a combination of signals from large-scale corpora of wearable sensor data and search engine logs for 32,000 Microsoft Band users over a period of 3 months. Pokémon Go players are identified through search engine queries and physical activity is measured through accelerometers. Results We find that Pokémon Go leads to significant increases in physical activity over a period of 30 days, with particularly engaged users (ie, those making multiple search queries for details about game usage) increasing their activity by 1473 steps a day on average, a more than 25% increase compared with their prior activity level (P<.001). In the short time span of the study, we estimate that Pokémon Go has added a total of 144 billion steps to US physical activity. Furthermore, Pokémon Go has been able to increase physical activity across men and women of all ages, weight status, and prior activity levels showing this form of game leads to increases in physical activity with significant implications for public health. In particular, we find that Pokémon Go is able to reach low activity populations, whereas all 4 leading mobile health apps studied in this work largely draw from an already very active population. Conclusions Mobile apps combining game play with physical activity lead to substantial short-term activity increases and, in contrast to many existing interventions and mobile health apps, have the potential to reach activity-poor populations. Future studies are needed to investigate potential long-term effects of these applications.
The transition state transcription regulator AbrB of Bacillus subtilis is autoregulated during vegetative growth

The DNA‐binding AbrB protein of Bacillus subtilis is an ambiactive transcriptional regulator of genes expressed during the transition state between vegetative growth and the onset of stationary phase and sporulation. Studies on the transcriptional control of AbrB synthesis using abrB‐lacZ fusions indicated that the abrB gene was autoregulated. This was consistent with the observation that purified AbrB protein bound specifically to the promoter region of its own gene in DNase I protection experiments. The structural gene mutation abrB4 abolished the autoregulatlon and purified AbrB4 protein did not have the promoter binding properties associated with the wild‐type protein. Both AbrB and AbrB4 proteins were shown to be hexamers of 10500 Dalton subunits and subunit exchange occurred between the proteins in vitro. However, the presence of only one or two mutant subunits dramaticaly altered the DNA‐binding ability of the multimeric protein. The results support a model in which autoregulation of the abrB gene is an important factor in preventing sporulation‐associated genes from being expressed during vegetative growth.
Are synchronised swimmers at risk of amenorrhoea?

Objective—Synchronised swimming is a sport that shares certain characteristics with other aesthetically pleasing sports such as gymnastics and dance. The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain whether the highest ranked synchronised swimmers in the United Kingdom experience menstrual abnormalities, a common medical problem seen in these related activities. Methods—Twenty three members of the Great Britain synchronised swimming squad completed a questionnaire on menstrual history. Body composition and Vo2max were measured in the laboratory during regular physiological screening. Results—Three of the 23 subjects were oligomenorrhoeic and none were amenorrhoeic. All were postmenarchal. Mean estimated body fat percentage was 23%, and mean Vo2max was 47.2 ml/kg/min. Conclusions—It appears that synchronised swimmers in the United Kingdom are relatively protected from menstrual disturbances for reasons that cannot be explained in isolation.
A functional polymorphism in MIR196A2 is associated with risk and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Chinese population.

BACKGROUND Genetic variations in microRNAs may alter their processing, expression, and binding to target mRNAs, consequently affecting many cancer-related biological processes. Recently, a polymorphism rs11614913 in MIR196A2 was shown to affect the processing of the precursor microRNA into its mature forms and the repertoire of target mRNAs with which it interacts. We examined whether this polymorphism was relevant to the risk of occurrence or progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the Chinese population. METHODS We genotyped the MIR196A2 rs11614913 in a case-control study of 1084 patients with NPC and 1036 cancer-free controls using the TaqMan assay. The genetic associations with the risk of occurrence and progression of NPC were analyzed by logistic regression. RESULTS We observed a significantly increased occurrence of NPC associated with the rs11614913 T allele (odds ratio [OR]=1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.02-1.32, p=0.026) compared with the C allele. The T allele was also significantly associated with the advanced local tumor invasion (T₃+T₄ vs. T₁+T₂; OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.04-1.54, p=0.015) and advanced lymph node metastasis (N₂+N₃ vs. N₀+N₁; OR=1.23, 95% CI=1.02-1.49, p=0.031) of NPC compared with the C allele. Furthermore, stratified analysis indicated that the increased susceptibility to advanced lymph node metastasis of NPC related to the T allele was more pronounced in patients with a positive family history (N₂+N₃ vs. N₀+N₁; p=0.016, test for homogeneity). CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the functional polymorphism rs11614913 in the MIR196A2 gene may contribute to the risk of occurrence and progression of NPC in the Chinese population.
Distinct Differences in the Expansion and Phenotype of TB10.4 Specific CD8 and CD4 T Cells after Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Background Recently we and others have identified CD8 and CD4 T cell epitopes within the highly expressed M. tuberculosis protein TB10.4. This has enabled, for the first time, a comparative study of the dynamics and function of CD4 and CD8 T cells specific for epitopes within the same protein in various stages of TB infection. Methods and Findings We focused on T cells directed to two epitopes in TB10.4; the MHC class I restricted epitope TB10.4 3–11 (CD8/10.4 T cells) and the MHC class II restricted epitope TB10.4 74–88 (CD4/10.4 T cells). CD4/10.4 and CD8/10.4 T cells displayed marked differences in terms of expansion and contraction in a mouse TB model. CD4/10.4 T cells dominated in the early phase of infection whereas CD8/10.4 T cells were expanded after week 16 and reached 5–8 fold higher numbers in the late phase of infection. In the early phase of infection both CD4/10.4 and CD8/10.4 T cells were characterized by 20–25% polyfunctional cells (IL-2+, IFN-γ+, TNF-α+), but whereas the majority of CD4/10.4 T cells were maintained as polyfunctional T cells throughout infection, CD8/10.4 T cells differentiated almost exclusively into effector cells (IFN-γ+, TNF-α+). Both CD4/10.4 and CD8/10.4 T cells exhibited cytotoxicity in vivo in the early phase of infection, but whereas CD4/10.4 cell mediated cytotoxicity waned during the infection, CD8/10.4 T cells exhibited increasing cytotoxic potential throughout the infection. Conclusions/Significance Our results show that CD4 and CD8 T cells directed to epitopes in the same antigen differ both in their kinetics and functional characteristics throughout an infection with M. tuberculosis. In addition, the observed strong expansion of CD8 T cells in the late stages of infection could have implications for the development of post exposure vaccines against latent TB.
Strong Association between Two Polymorphisms on 15q25.1 and Lung Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Background The association between polymorphisms on 15q25.1 and lung cancer has been widely evaluated; however, the studies have yielded contradictory results. We sought to investigate this inconsistency by performing a comprehensive meta-analysis on two polymorphisms (CHRNA3 gene: rs1051730 and AGPHD1 gene: rs8034191) on 15q25.1. Methods Data were extracted from 15 and 14 studies on polymorphisms rs1051730 and rs8034191 involving 12301/14000 and 14075/12873 lung cancer cases/controls, respectively. The random-effects model was applied, addressing heterogeneity and publication bias. Results The two polymorphisms followed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all studies (P>0.05). For rs1051730-G/A, carriers of A allele had a 36% increased risk for lung cancer (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27–1.46; P<0.0005), without heterogeneity (P = 0.258) or publication bias (PEgger = 0.462). For rs8034191-T/C, the allelic contrast indicated that C allele conferred a 23% increased risk for lung cancer (95% CI: 1.08–1.4; P = 0.002), with significant heterogeneity (P<0.0005), without publication bias (PEgger = 0.682). Subgroup analyses suggested that the between-study heterogeneity was derived from ethnicity, study design, matched information, and lung cancer subtypes. For example, the association of polymorphisms rs1051730 and rs8034191 with lung cancer was heterogeneous between Caucasians (OR = 1.32 and 1.22; 95% CI: 1.25–1.44 and 1.05–1.42; P<0.0005 and 0.008, respectively) and East Asians (OR = 1.51 and 1.03; 95% CI: 0.76–3 and 0.47–2.27; P = 0.237 and 0.934, respectively) under the allelic model, and this association was relatively strengthened under the dominant model. There was no observable publication bias for both polymorphisms. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that CHRNA3 gene rs1051730-A allele and AGPHD1 gene rs8034191-T allele might be risk-conferring factors for the development of lung cancer in Caucasians, but not in East-Asians.
Finger-Shaped GelForce: Sensor for Measuring Surface Traction Fields for Robotic Hand

It is believed that the use of haptic sensors to measure the magnitude, direction, and distribution of a force will enable a robotic hand to perform dexterous operations. Therefore, we develop a new type of finger-shaped haptic sensor using GelForce technology. GelForce is a vision-based sensor that can be used to measure the distribution of force vectors, or surface traction fields. The simple structure of the GelForce enables us to develop a compact finger-shaped GelForce for the robotic hand. GelForce that is developed on the basis of an elastic theory can be used to calculate surface traction fields using a conversion equation. However, this conversion equation cannot be analytically solved when the elastic body of the sensor has a complicated shape such as the shape of a finger. Therefore, we propose an observational method and construct a prototype of the finger-shaped GelForce. By using this prototype, we evaluate the basic performance of the finger-shaped GelForce. Then, we conduct a field test by performing grasping operations using a robotic hand. The results of this test show that using the observational method, the finger-shaped GelForce can be successfully used in a robotic hand.
A Case Study in Optimizing HTM-Enabled Dynamic Data Structures : Patricia Tries

The advent of multi-core microprocessors with restricted transactional memory (RTM) and accompanying compiler support allows us to revisit fundamental data structures with an eye to extracting more parallelism. The Patricia trie is one such common data structure used for storing both sets and dictionaries in a variety of contexts. This paper presents a concurrent implementation of a dynamically sized Patricia trie using a lock teleportation RTM fast path for find, add and remove operations, and a slow path based on atomic exchange spinlocks. We weigh the tradeoffs between alphabet size and tree depth inherent to tries and propose a novel means of determining the optimal number of retry attempts for specific operations on dynamically allocated data structures. The strategy proposed separates the retry policy governing operations that potentially interact with the operating system’s memory management facilities from read-only operations, and we find that this transactional trie can support considerably higher multiprogramming levels than its lock-based equivalent. A notable result is that this scheme keeps throughput from collapsing at high thread counts, even when the number of threads interacting with the data structure exceeds the number of hardware contexts available on the system.
Adaptation-Induced Blindness Is Orientation-Tuned and Monocular

We examined the recently discovered phenomenon of Adaptation-Induced Blindness (AIB), in which highly visible gratings with gradual onset profiles become invisible after exposure to a rapidly flickering grating, even at very high contrasts. Using very similar stimuli to those in the original AIB experiment, we replicated the original effect across multiple contrast levels, with observers at chance in detecting the gradual onset stimuli at all contrasts. Then, using full-contrast target stimuli with either abrupt or gradual onsets, we tested both the orientation tuning and interocular transfer of AIB. If, as the original authors suggested, AIB were a high-level (perhaps parietally mediated) effect resulting from the ‘gating’ of awareness, we would not expect the effects of AIB to be tuned to the adapting orientation, and the effect should transfer interocularly. Instead, we find that AIB (which was present only for the gradual onset target stimuli) is both tightly orientation-tuned and shows absolutely no interocular transfer, consistent with a very early cortical locus.
Automated Real-Time Epileptic Seizure Detection in Scalp EEG Recordings Using an Algorithm Based on Wavelet Packet Transform

A novel wavelet-based algorithm for real-time detection of epileptic seizures using scalp EEG is proposed. In a moving-window analysis, the EEG from each channel is decomposed by wavelet packet transform. Using wavelet coefficients from seizure and nonseizure references, a patient-specific measure is developed to quantify the separation between seizure and nonseizure states for the frequency range of 1-30 Hz. Utilizing this measure, a frequency band representing the maximum separation between the two states is determined and employed to develop a normalized index, called combined seizure index (CSI). CSI is derived for each epoch of every EEG channel based on both rhythmicity and relative energy of that epoch as well as consistency among different channels. Increasing significantly during ictal states, CSI is inspected using one-sided cumulative sum test to generate proper channel alarms. Analyzing alarms from all channels, a seizure alarm is finally generated. The algorithm was tested on scalp EEG recordings from 14 patients, totaling 75.8 h with 63 seizures. Results revealed a high sensitivity of 90.5% , a false detection rate of 0.51 h-1 and a median detection delay of 7 s. The algorithm could also lateralize the focus side for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.
APPLICATION OF COMPRESIBILLITY PARAMETERS IN THE SETLLEMENT ANALYSIS OF WASTE DISPOSAL

In order to enable accurate modeling and numerical simulation of long-term behavior of the landfill, which is of great importance in the design of cover systems and closure of the waste disposal, it is necessary to know compressibility parameters. In contrast to the native soil, the main component of the overall settlement of waste is secondary compression. Therefore, the determination of the secondary compression index (Cα) or modified secondary compression index (Cα') is especially important. This paper presents some of laboratory results for municipal waste consolidation tests method as well as their role in settlement analysis of waste material. Sample tested was prepared artificially in line with the recommendations for sizes of the apparatus used and the largest particles in a sample (EN 1997-2, ASTM 2007a, 2007b). Different conventional models for prediction of municipal waste settlement were used settlement analysis was performed using the parameters of compressibility.