Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vascular Leakage in Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Is Associated with Dengue Infected Monocytes, Monocyte Activation/Exhaustion, and Cytokines Production

The vascular leakage was shown by the increment of hematocrit (Hct), dengue viral infected monocyte, monocyte status, and cytokines production in patients infected with dengue virus. Dengue viral antigens were demonstrated in monocytes (CD14+) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The increased levels of Hct, interleukin- (IL-) 10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were detected in dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) patients as compared with other febrile illnesses (OFIs). The highest levels of Hct and IL-10 were detected in DSS patients as compared with other groups (P < 0.05) especially on one day before and after defervescence. The unstimulated and lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) stimulated monocytes from DSS patients showed the significantly decreased of intracellular IL-1β and TNF-α. In addition, the lowest level of mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD11b expression on monocytes surface in DSS patients was also demonstrated. Furthermore, the negative correlations between IL-10 levels and intracellular IL-1β and MFI of CD11b expression in unstimulated and LPS-stimulated monocytes were also detected. Nevertheless, not only were the relationships between the prominent IL-10 and the suppression of intracellular monocyte secretion, namely, IL-1β, TNF-α, demonstrated but also the effect of vascular leakage was observed.
The use of phenome‐wide association studies (PheWAS) for exploration of novel genotype‐phenotype relationships and pleiotropy discovery

The field of phenomics has been investigating network structure among large arrays of phenotypes, and genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have been used to investigate the relationship between genetic variation and single diseases/outcomes. A novel approach has emerged combining both the exploration of phenotypic structure and genotypic variation, known as the phenome‐wide association study (PheWAS). The Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) network is a National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)‐supported collaboration of four groups accessing eight extensively characterized epidemiologic studies. The primary focus of PAGE is deep characterization of well‐replicated GWAS variants and their relationships to various phenotypes and traits in diverse epidemiologic studies that include European Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans/Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. The rich phenotypic resources of PAGE studies provide a unique opportunity for PheWAS as each genotyped variant can be tested for an association with the wide array of phenotypic measurements available within the studies of PAGE, including prevalent and incident status for multiple common clinical conditions and risk factors, as well as clinical parameters and intermediate biomarkers. The results of PheWAS can be used to discover novel relationships between SNPs, phenotypes, and networks of interrelated phenotypes; identify pleiotropy; provide novel mechanistic insights; and foster hypothesis generation. The PAGE network has developed infrastructure to support and perform PheWAS in a high‐throughput manner. As implementing the PheWAS approach has presented several challenges, the infrastructure and methodology, as well as insights gained in this project, are presented herein to benefit the larger scientific community. Genet. Epidemiol. 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. 35:410‐422, 2011
Properties of the double β model for intracluster gas

We present an extensive study of the double β model for the X-ray surface brightness profiles of clusters, and derive analytically the gas density and total masses of clusters under the hydrostatic equilibrium hypothesis. It is shown that the employment of the double β model instead of the conventional single β model can significantly improve the goodness-of-fit to the observed X-ray surface brightness profiles of clusters, which will in turn lead to a better determination of the gas and total mass distributions in clusters. In particular, the observationally fitted β parameter for the extended component in a double β model may become larger. This opens a new possibility of resolving the long-standing β discrepancy for clusters. Using an ensemble of 33 ROSAT PSPC observed clusters drawn from the Mohr, Mathiesen & Evrard sample, we find that the asymptotic value of βfit is 0.83±0.33 at large radii, consistent with both the average spectroscopic parameter βspec=0.78±0.37 and the result given by numerical simulations.
Exchange interaction in binuclear complexes with rare-earth and copper ions: A many-body model study

We have used a many-body model Hamiltonian to study the nature of the magnetic ground state of heterobinuclear complexes involving rare-earth and copper ions. We have taken into account all diagonal repulsions involving the rare-earth 4f and 5d orbitals and the copper 3d orbital. In addition, we have included direct exchange interaction, crystal field splitting of the rare-earth atomic levels and spin-orbit interaction in the 4f orbitals. We have identified the interorbital 4f repulsion U-ff and crystal field parameter Delta(f) as the key parameters involved in controlling the type of exchange interaction between the rare earth 4f and copper 3d spins. We have explored the nature of the ground state in the parameter space of U-ff, Delta(f), spin-orbit interaction strength lambda, and the 4f filling n(f). We find that these systems show low-spin or high-spin ground state depending on the filling of the 4f levels of the rare-earth ion and ground state spin is critically dependent on U-ff and Delta(f). In case of half filling [Gd(III)] we find a reentrant low-spin state as U-ff is increased, for small values of Delta(f), which explains the recently reported apparent anomalous antiferromagnetic behavior of Gd(III)-radical complexes. By varying U-ff we also observe a switch over in the ground state spin for other fillings . We have introduced a spin-orbit coupling scheme which goes beyond the L-S or j-j coupling scheme and we find that spin-orbit coupling does not significantly alter the basic picture.
The Effect of Word Length on the Harmonic Content of Microprocessor-Based PWM Waveform Generators

In a microprocessor-based pulsewidth modulated (PWM) waveform generator, the quality of the waveform depends on the accuracy with which the position of the switching edges of the waveform can be determined. This in turn depends on the length of the binary word or digital counter used to control the edge positions. The quantization effects experienced in microprocessor-based PWM waveform generators are analyzed for various word lengths. It is demonstrated that good waveform quality can be achieved by an 8-b microprocessor for a wide range of applications, including those in which the carrier frequency is in the ultrasonic range. The microprocessor employs a fast method of voltage control based on addition. Furthermore, an increase in the line-to-line output voltage is obtained without output distortion by adding a measure of third harmonic to the phase waveform.
Video Depth-from-Defocus

Many compelling video post-processing effects, in particular aesthetic focus editing and refocusing effects, are feasible if per-frame depth information is available. Existing computational methods to capture RGB and depth either purposefully modify the optics (coded aperture, light-field imaging), or employ active RGB-D cameras. Since these methods are less practical for users with normal cameras, we present an algorithm to capture all-in-focus RGB-D video of dynamic scenes with an unmodified commodity video camera. Our algorithm turns the often unwanted defocus blur into a valuable signal. The input to our method is a video in which the focus plane is continuously moving back and forth during capture, and thus defocus blur is provoked and strongly visible. This can be achieved by manually turning the focus ring of the lens during recording. The core algorithmic ingredient is a new video-based depth-from-defocus algorithm that computes space-time-coherent depth maps, deblurred all-in-focus video, and the focus distance for each frame. We extensively evaluate our approach, and show that it enables compelling video post-processing effects, such as different types of refocusing.
Childhood sexual abuse and psychosis: data from a cross-sectional national psychiatric survey in England.

BACKGROUND A number of studies in a range of samples attest a link between childhood sexual abuse and psychosis. AIMS To use data from a large representative general population sample (Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007) to test hypotheses that childhood sexual abuse is linked to psychosis, and that the relationship is consistent with mediation by revictimisation experiences, heavy cannabis use, anxiety and depression. METHOD The prevalence of psychosis was established operationally in a representative cross-sectional survey of the adult household population of England (n = 7353). Using computer-assisted self-interview, a history of various forms of sexual abuse was established, along with the date of first abuse. RESULTS Sexual abuse before the age of 16 was strongly associated with psychosis, particularly if it involved non-consensual sexual intercourse (odds ratio (OR) = 10.14, 95% CI 4.8-21.3, population attributable risk fraction 14%). There was evidence of partial mediation by anxiety and depression, but not by heavy cannabis use nor revictimisation in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS The association between childhood sexual abuse and psychosis was large, and may be causal. These results have important implications for the nature and aetiology of psychosis, for its treatment and for primary prevention.
Anticancer activity of MPT0G157, a derivative of indolylbenzenesulfonamide, inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) display multifaceted functions by coordinating the interaction of signal pathways with chromatin structure remodeling and the activation of non-histone proteins; these epigenetic regulations play an important role during malignancy progression. HDAC inhibition shows promise as a new strategy for cancer therapy; three HDAC inhibitors have been approved. We previously reported that N-hydroxy-3-{4-[2-(2-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-ethylsulfamoyl]-phenyl}-acrylamide (MPT0G157), a novel indole-3-ethylsulfamoylphenylacrylamide compound, demonstrated potent HDAC inhibition and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we evaluated its anti-cancer activity in vitro and in vivo. MPT0G157 treatment significantly inhibited different tumor growth at submicromolar concentration and was particularly potent in human colorectal cancer (HCT116) cells. Apoptosis and inhibited HDACs activity induced by MPT0G157 was more potent than that by the marketed drugs PXD101 (Belinostat) and SAHA (Vorinostat). In an in vivo model, MPT0G157 markedly inhibited HCT116 xenograft tumor volume and reduced matrigel-induced angiogenesis. The anti-angiogenetic effect of MPT0G157 was found to increase the hyperacetylation of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and promote hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) degradation followed by down-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. Our results demonstrate that MPT0G157 has potential as a new drug candidate for cancer therapy.
Efficient production of chicken egg yolk antibodies against a conserved mammalian protein

The egg yolk of immunized chicken is a rich and inexpensive source of specific polyclonal antibodies. In this paper we show that 20‐30 μg of a highly conserved mammalian protein, as exemplified by proliferating cell nuclear antigen, are sufficient to induce an immune response. Immunoblot analysis revealed that specific antibodies appeared 20 days after immunization, reached a plateau after 30 days, and remained high until at least day 81. A total amount of 4 g immunoglobulin was extracted from 62 eggs of one immunized hen, yielding approximately 130 mg of specific antibodies. — Gassmann, M. ; Thömmes, P.; Weiser, T. ; Hübscher, U. Efficient production of chicken egg yolk antibodies against a conserved mammalian protein. FASEB J. 4: 2528‐2532; 1990.
Admission Screening of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus with Rapid Molecular Detection in Intensive Care Unit: A Three-Year Single-Centre Experience in Hong Kong

Background. The admission screening of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by rapid molecular assay is considered to be an effective method in reducing the transmission of MRSA in intensive care unit (ICU). Method. The admission screening on patients from ICU once on their admissions by BD GeneOhm MRSA assay has been introduced to Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, since 2008. The assay was performed on weekdays and reported on the day of testing. Patients pending for results were under standard precautions until the negative screening results were notified, while contact precautions were implemented for MRSA-positive patients. In this study, we compared the MRSA transmission rate in molecular screening periods (2008 to 2010) with the historical culture periods (2006 to 2007) as control. Results. A total of 4679 samples were tested; the average carriage rate of MRSA on admission was 4.45%. By comparing with the historical culture periods, the mean incidence ICU-acquired MRSA infection was reduced from 3.67 to 1.73 per 1000 patient bed days. Conclusion. The implementation of admission screening of MRSA with molecular method in intensive care unit could reduce the MRSA transmission, especially in the area with high MRSA prevalence situation in Hong Kong.
The Effects of Electrical and Optical Stimulation of Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons on Rat 50-kHz Ultrasonic Vocalizations

Rationale: Adult rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) at around 50-kHz; these commonly occur in contexts that putatively engender positive affect. While several reports indicate that dopaminergic (DAergic) transmission plays a role in the emission of 50-kHz calls, the pharmacological evidence is mixed. Different modes of dopamine (DA) release (i.e., tonic and phasic) could potentially explain this discrepancy. Objective: To investigate the potential role of phasic DA release in 50-kHz call emission. Methods: In Experiment 1, USVs were recorded in adult male rats following unexpected electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). In parallel, phasic DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) was recorded using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. In Experiment 2, USVs were recorded following response-contingent or non-contingent optogenetic stimulation of midbrain DAergic neurons. Four 20-s schedules of optogenetic stimulation were used: fixed-interval, fixed-time, variable-interval, and variable-time. Results: Brief electrical stimulation of the MFB increased both 50-kHz call rate and phasic DA release in the NAcc. During optogenetic stimulation sessions, rats initially called at a high rate comparable to that observed following reinforcers such as psychostimulants. Although optogenetic stimulation maintained reinforced responding throughout the 2-h session, the call rate declined to near zero within the first 30 min. The trill call subtype predominated following both electrical and optical stimulation. Conclusion: The occurrence of electrically-evoked 50-kHz calls, time-locked to phasic DA (Experiment 1), provides correlational evidence supporting a role for phasic DA in USV production. However, in Experiment 2, the temporal dissociation between calling and optogenetic stimulation of midbrain DAergic neurons suggests that phasic mesolimbic DA release is not sufficient to produce 50-kHz calls. The emission of the trill subtype of 50-kHz calls potentially provides a marker distinguishing positive affect from positive reinforcement.
A Thermal Pattern Design for Providing Dynamic Thermal Feedback on the Face with Head Mounted Displays

This paper presents our preliminary exploration of providing dynamic thermal haptic feedback on the face. We have designed a thermal feedback prototype that integrates Peltier modules directly with a head mounted display which is able to provide thermal output directly on users' faces. We explored the possibility of providing dynamic thermal feedback which could present information and enhance user experience through designing four initial dynamic thermal patterns of our prototype. We also conducted a preliminary user experiment and analysis of the design of different patterns ("dynamic information") to evaluate the design on three aspects, the accuracy of recognition of dynamic stimuli, smoothness of the movement and comfort level. Our results indicate that the accuracy of recognition of dynamic stimuli was approximately 71.84%.
MoodCast: Emotion Prediction via Dynamic Continuous Factor Graph Model

Human emotion is one important underlying force affecting and affected by the dynamics of social networks. An interesting question is “can we predict a person’s mood based on his historic emotion log and his social network? ”. In this paper, we propose a Mood Cast method based on a dynamic continuous factor graph model for modeling and predicting users’ emotions in a social network. Mood Cast incorporates users’ dynamic status information (e.g., locations, activities, and attributes) and social influence from users’ friends into a unified model. Based on the historical information (e.g., network structure and users’ status from time 0 to t−1), Mood Cast learns a discriminative model for predicting users’ emotion status at time t. To the best of our knowledge, this work takes the first step in designing a principled model for emotion prediction in social networks. Our experimental results on both real social network and virtual web-based network show that we can accurately predict emotion status of more than 62% of users and 8+% improvement than the baseline methods.
Comparison of serum amyloid A protein and C-reactive protein levels as inflammatory markers in periodontitis

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare serum amyloid A (SAA) protein levels with high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels as markers of systemic inflammation in patients with chronic periodontitis. The association of serum titers of antibodies to periodontal microbiota and SAA/hs-CRP levels in periodontitis patients was also studied. Methods A total of 110 individuals were included in this study. Patients were assessed for levels of hs-CRP and SAA. Nonfasting blood samples were collected from participants at the time of clinical examination. The diagnosis of adipose tissue disorders was made according to previously defined criteria. To determine SAA levels, a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was utilized. Paper points were transferred to a sterile tube to obtain a pool of samples for polymerase chain reaction processing and the identification of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Tannerella forsythia. The serum level of IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies to P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and T. forsythia was also determined. Results SAA and hs-CRP levels were higher in periodontitis patients than in controls (P<0.05). In bivariate analysis, high levels of hs-CRP (>3 mg/L) and SAA (>10 mg/L) were significantly associated with chronic periodontitis (P=0.004). The Spearman correlation analysis between acute-phase proteins showed that SAA positively correlated with hs-CRP (r=0.218, P=0.02). In the adjusted model, chronic periodontitis was associated with high levels of SAA (odds ratio [OR], 5.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-18.2; P=0.005) and elevated hs-CRP levels (OR, 6.1, 95% CI, 1.6-23.6; P=0.008). Increased levels of serum IgG2 antibodies to P. gingivalis were associated with high levels of SAA (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.4-8.5; P=0.005) and high concentrations of hs-CRP (OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.9-9.8; P<0.001). Conclusions SAA and hs-CRP concentrations in patients with chronic periodontitis are comparably elevated. High serum titers of antibodies to P. gingivalis and the presence of periodontal disease are independently related to high SAA and hs-CRP levels. Graphical Abstract
Hardness and Elastic Modulus on Six-Fold Symmetry Gold Nanoparticles

The chemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles (NP) by using gold (III) chloride trihydrate (HAuCl∙3H2O) and sodium citrate as a reducing agent in aqueous conditions at 100 °C is presented here. Gold nanoparticles areformed by a galvanic replacement mechanism as described by Lee and Messiel. Morphology of gold-NP was analyzed by way of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy; results indicate a six-fold icosahedral symmetry with an average size distribution of 22 nm. In order to understand the mechanical behaviors, like hardness and elastic moduli, gold-NP were subjected to nanoindentation measurements—obtaining a hardness value of 1.72 GPa and elastic modulus of 100 GPa in a 3–5 nm of displacement at the nanoparticle’s surface.
Developing Countries, China and Economic Institutions

A long series of studies have shown that it is the institutions that are responsible for various developmental progress. A large number of empirical analysis ranging from firm level to country level suggests that there is a very close and positive link between the functioning of the financial system and a long run growth and that the development of the financial system is a precursor and a necessary condition for sustained growth and economic transformation, especially in transition economies. It has also been argued that growth has a positive relationships with lending to the private sector. They have also found that lending to the public sector reduces growth. Some of the important institutions identified by these researchers are Financial institutions such as banks, stock exchanges, shares, the financial system such as currencies exchange system and others A proper legal system with an effective and impartial judicial system The impartial and reliable contract enforcement system is sine qua non of equitable and impartial enforcement relationships. The legal system is also responsible for certainty in property rights whether economic property or intellectual property. Political and Government institutions and other administrative organizations like My study did not find the development of the above institutions on the line of either Western Institutions or Japanese institutions in China. China does have banks but they are state owned and meant for financing state-owned enterprises, it has stock exchanges where private enterprise shares cannot be traded, nebulous property rights, a legal system that is still in its infancy. This study showed that these conventional institutions do not exist or they exist in an infant stage in China. However, the ethnic Chinese network along with preferential treatment given to the goods from China by Western countries together with no perceptible democratic labor rights appear to be responsible for phenomenal increase in foreign direct investment and exports from China in the last decade or so.