Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thrombin Stimulates Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation From Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells via Protease-Activated Receptor-1, RhoA, and Myocardin

Rationale: Smooth muscle precursor cells have previously been reported to reside in bone marrow and in the circulation, but little is currently known regarding the proximate stimuli for smooth muscle cell differentiation of these putative progenitors. Objective: Because local thrombin generation occurs as an initial response to vascular injury, we hypothesized that thrombin may influence the differentiation of circulating smooth muscle progenitor cells. Methods and Results: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured on type I collagen using a protocol optimized to stimulate smooth muscle cell outgrowth. Thrombin-stimulated upregulation of the transcription factor myocardin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, and both were inhibited by hirudin or the RhoA inhibitor Y27632. After 10 days of culture, smooth muscle outgrowth colonies formed, which stained positive for &agr;-smooth muscle actin, smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, and calponin, in addition to having a contractile response to 100 nmol/L angiotensin II. Coincubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with thrombin, 10 &mgr;mol/L protease-activated receptor-1, but not protease-activated receptor-4 activating peptide significantly increased the number of smooth muscle outgrowth colonies formed. Thrombin-induced enhancement of smooth muscle outgrowth colony formation was inhibited by hirudin, Y27632, and an antibody against protease-activated receptor-1. Conclusions: These data illustrate a novel thrombin-induced pathway for smooth muscle differentiation from putative smooth muscle progenitors in peripheral blood.
Informax-Based Data Fusion for Sensor Network

The data fusion algorithm has been developing extensively with the wide application of sensor networks. An Informax-based data fusion algorithm is proposed in this paper. The fusion matrix can be self-adaptive from the mutual information of the sensors output to obtain the maximal approximation of the original signal. In addition, the effects of step-size factor are analyzed. A Gyroscopes Network that uses the Informax algorithm to fuse the gyroscopes output is introduced as an implementation. Furthermore, a prototype has been built and the precision of the gyroscopes network after data fusion was improved about 6.5 times over that of a single gyroscope in prototype.
Increasing food acceptance and reducing challenging behaviour in a four-year-old girl with autism

The present study replicates and builds on previous research on the treatment of feeding disorders in children. The purpose of this study was to increase the amount and range of food eaten by a 4 year old girl diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Results from a functional assessment indicated that food refusal and challenging behaviour were maintained by escape and avoidance of non-preferred foods. To support the learner, a treatment package comprising of repeated presentations of previously non-preferred foods, visual and communicative supports, and increased opportunities to choose which food to eat was implemented. Assessment was conducted in both school and home setting whilst intervention took place in the school setting only. Results show increases in amount and range of food eaten across a day along with a reduction in challenging behaviours associated with meal-times.
How to Handle Speciose Clades? Mass Taxon-Sampling as a Strategy towards Illuminating the Natural History of Campanula (Campanuloideae)

Background Speciose clades usually harbor species with a broad spectrum of adaptive strategies and complex distribution patterns, and thus constitute ideal systems to disentangle biotic and abiotic causes underlying species diversification. The delimitation of such study systems to test evolutionary hypotheses is difficult because they often rely on artificial genus concepts as starting points. One of the most prominent examples is the bellflower genus Campanula with some 420 species, but up to 600 species when including all lineages to which Campanula is paraphyletic. We generated a large alignment of petD group II intron sequences to include more than 70% of described species as a reference. By comparison with partial data sets we could then assess the impact of selective taxon sampling strategies on phylogenetic reconstruction and subsequent evolutionary conclusions. Methodology/Principal Findings Phylogenetic analyses based on maximum parsimony (PAUP, PRAP), Bayesian inference (MrBayes), and maximum likelihood (RAxML) were first carried out on the large reference data set (D680). Parameters including tree topology, branch support, and age estimates, were then compared to those obtained from smaller data sets resulting from “classification-guided” (D088) and “phylogeny-guided sampling” (D101). Analyses of D088 failed to fully recover the phylogenetic diversity in Campanula, whereas D101 inferred significantly different branch support and age estimates. Conclusions/Significance A short genomic region with high phylogenetic utility allowed us to easily generate a comprehensive phylogenetic framework for the speciose Campanula clade. Our approach recovered 17 well-supported and circumscribed sub-lineages. Knowing these will be instrumental for developing more specific evolutionary hypotheses and guide future research, we highlight the predictive value of a mass taxon-sampling strategy as a first essential step towards illuminating the detailed evolutionary history of diverse clades.
Refinement of under-determined loops of human prion protein by database-derived distance constraints

Computational simulations of the conversion from the normal cellular prion (PrPc) to the scrapie prion (PrPSc) are usually based on the structures determined by NMR because of the difficulties in crystallizing prion protein. Due to insufficient experimental restraints, a biologically critical loop region in PrPc (residues 167-171), which is a potential binding site for Protein X, is under-determined in most mammalian species. Here, we show that by adding information about distance constraints derived from a database of high-resolution protein structures, this under-determined loop as well as other secondary structural elements of the E200K variant of human prion protein (hPrPc), a disease-related isoform, can be refined into more realistic structures in the structural ensemble with improved quality and increased accuracy. In particular, the ensemble becomes more compact after the refinement and the percentage of residues in the most favourable region of the Ramachandran diagram is increased to about 90% in the refined structures from the 80 to 85% range in the previously reported structures. Our results not only provide significantly improved structures of the prion protein and hence would facilitate insights into its conversion in the spongiform encephalopathies, but also demonstrate the strong potential for using databases of known protein structures for structure determination and refinement.
Energy-aware centrality for information forwarding in mobile social opportunistic networks

In this paper, we present a forwarding algorithm for mobile social opportunistic networks which is both centrality-based and energy-aware. In opportunistic networks, the nodes usually exploit a contact opportunity to perform hop-by-hop routing, since an end-to-end path between the source node and destination node may not exist. Centrality-based forwarding schemes use the structurally important nodes (i.e. nodes having many contacts with neighbors) as message relays and have been shown to be good candidates for social forwarding in opportunistic network environments. However, the most central nodes which are structurally more important than other network nodes, have the disadvantage to be used very frequently as message relays, thus consuming their energy very quickly. Here, we exploit the advantage of using a centrality-based scheme which is distributed and needs only the history of contacts as social information. In addition, we modulate the computed node centrality value using the node energy level in order to avoid transmissions in nodes more central but with a limited energy budget. Simulating three real-world mobility traces, we show that our scheme is able to achieve better delivery ratio and overhead ratio while sensibly reducing the energy consumption of nodes.
Anthropometric variables and risk of breast cancer

The role of anthropometric variables in the risk of breast cancer has been investigated using pooled data from 2 hospital‐based case‐control studies conducted in Italy for a total data‐set of 3,247 cases and 3,263 controls. No association was observed in pre‐menopausal women between breast cancer risk and height, weight, indices of body mass (W/H2; W/H1.5) and surface area. In post‐menopausal women, the risk of breast cancer was inversely related to height, being 0.8 in taller women (>165 cm) compared with women 155 cm tall or less; the trend in risk, although not constantly decreasing, was statistically significant (ptrend = 0.03). A direct, statistically significant association emerged with weight and indices of body mass and post‐menopausal breast cancer risk. Considering 2 indices of body weight (W/H2 and W/H1.5) and relative to thinner women, the respective estimated risks of post‐menopausal breast cancer increased to 1.4 and 1.3 for grossly obese women, and the corresponding p values for trend were respectively 0.002 and 0.02. The role of overweight was more evident in women with early age at menopause, thus suggesting a duration‐risk effect.
Thermal Modeling of a Claw-Pole Electrical Generator: Steady-State Computation and Identification of Free and Forced Convection Coefficients

The production of heat is a key characteristic of a machine's behavior. Heat sources come mainly from energy losses (electrical in copper, magnetic in iron, aerolic in fans, and mechanical in bearings). Temperature changes can be described owing to thermal conduction, convection, and radiation equations. To understand and design a machine, it is important to construct a dedicated model and to know every physical loss. The aim is therefore to build a static thermal model adapted to the simulation and sizing of claw-pole car alternators. Currently, in cars with internal combustion engines, generators rotors are wire wound, doubly excited with a dc concentrated winding and small permanent magnets, and self-air-cooled with fans. This paper proposes a nodal model with 16 nodes, taking all the heat transfers and space directions into account. The thermal characterization of the machine is permitted by only four physical parameters, varying with the temperature T and the rotating velocity Ω, shown to be sufficient to deduce the model conductances. These properties are as follows: the thermal exchange coefficients due to free and forced convection into the air gap and the cavity, the thermal exchange coefficient due to free superficial convection at the external surface, and the thermal equivalent conductivity within the bearings. The consistency and usefulness of both the model and identifications are checked against numerical studies and measurements.
EFFICACY OF HYPERICUM HOOKERIANUM IN REVERSING THE SYMPTOMS OF HALOPERIDOL INDUCED TARDIVE DYSKENESIA, CATATONIA AND CATALEPSY IN SWISS ALBINO MICE - BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS REPORT

With its hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and cognitive deficits, schizophrenia affects the most basic human processes of perception, emotion, and judgment. Haloperidol (HP) is a first generation antipsychotic frequentlyused in the treatment of schizophrenia. It is adrug of the butyrophenone class of neurolepticsUsage of haloperidol is limited by the drug’s tendencyto exhibit a range of extra-pyramidal symptoms such as and tardive dyskinesia and catalepsy. Tardive dyskinesiais a serious neurological syndrome associated withthe chronic use of neuroleptics. Such patients presentwith symptoms such as involuntary lip smacking, sucking or chewing and facial grimacing. Tardive dyskinesia may persist for months or years despite withdrawal and may beirreversible. Catalepsy is a condition characterized by inactivity, decreased responsiveness to stimuli, and a tendency to maintain an immobile posture. The exact pathophysiology of haloperidol-induced catalepsy and Tardive dyskinenesia has yet to be elucidated. Since hypericum species are having very good neuro protective potential, Ethanolic extract from aerial parts of Hypericum hookerianum was investigated for the first time for its efficacy for reversingthe symptoms of tardive dyskenesia, catatonia and catalepsy WO
The need for learning arenas: Non-Indigenous teachers working in Indigenous school contexts

Work contexts shape conditions for work. Teachers working in Indigenous school contexts face conditions different from teachers working in mainstream schools. Challenging working conditions for these teachers result in high teacher turnover, making it even more difficult for already disadvantaged students to progress. From a social justice perspective, this disruption in learning requires looking at the working conditions for teachers in Indigenous school contexts. Using interviews, this article examines how non-Indigenous teachers working in Indigenous school contexts in Australia experience their working conditions. The interviews reveal ‘learning gaps’ that seem to be associated with their lack of opportunities to develop context-specific professional knowledge.
Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Screening for Incarcerated Pregnant Women

Summary:Antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiated on a prenatal basis in HIV-infected pregnant women is a highly effective method for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. We developed a decision analytic model to project the clinical and economic outcomes of alternative HIV screening strategies (voluntary prenatal screening [VPS], routine prenatal screening [RPS], and mandatory newborn screening [MNS]) for a high-risk population of incarcerated pregnant women. Data for the decision model came from the HIV voluntary counseling and testing program at Connecticut's sole correctional facility for women and a comprehensive anonymously linked serosurvey of all inmates who entered the facility during the 2-year period beginning in October 1994. Based on serosurvey results, in the absence of any HIV screening program, 2.5 cases of pediatric HIV infection would be expected per 1000 pregnancies. Multiplied by the discounted lifetime cost per case of $247,000, this translates to a cost of $624 per testing-eligible prison entrant. Entrants were considered eligible if they were pregnant and their HIV status was unknown. MNS would save money, cost $364 per eligible entrant, and simultaneously reduce the rate of infections to 1.1 per 1000 pregnancies. Doing both MNS and RPS is most effective in reducing the rate of new infections (down to 0.2 per 1000 pregnancies). It would, however, increase costs to $430 per eligible entrant. This would result in an incremental cost of $73,603 per additional pediatric HIV case averted when compared with MNS alone. If mandatory newborn testing was not considered a feasible option, RPS would dominate VPS and would be cost-saving compared with no screening. RPS compares favorably with alternative uses of HIV prevention and treatment resources. In correctional facilities where voluntary newborn screening is already in place, our findings show that there remains a small marginal benefit to be realized from switching to RPS. In settings where HIV screening policies are not in place, however, the implementation of RPS can be expected to significantly reduce pediatric HIV cases and net health care expenditures.
In Vitro Selection and Characterization of HIV-1 Variants with Increased Resistance to Sifuvirtide, a Novel HIV-1 Fusion Inhibitor*

Sifuvirtide, a novel fusion inhibitor against human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1), which is more potent than enfuvirtide (T20) in cell culture, is currently under clinical investigation for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. We now report that in vitro selection of HIV-1 variants resistant to sifuvirtide in the presence of increasing concentrations of sifuvirtide has led to several specific mutations in the gp41 region that had not been previously reported. Many of these substitutions were confined to the N-terminal heptad repeat region at positions 37, 38, 41, and 43, either singly or in combination. A downstream substitution at position 126 (N126K) in the C-terminal heptad repeat region was also found. Site-directed mutagenesis studies have further identified the critical amino acid substitutions and combinations thereof in conferring the resistant genotypes. Furthermore, the mutant viruses demonstrated variable degrees of cross-resistance to enfuvirtide, some of which are preferentially more resistant to sifuvirtide. Impaired infectivity was also found for many of the mutant viruses. Biophysical and structural analyses of the key substitutions have revealed several potential novel mechanisms against sifuvirtide. Our results may help to predict potential resistant patterns in vivo and facilitate the further clinical development and therapeutic utility of sifuvirtide.
A cross-cultural investigation into a reconceptualization of ethnocentrism

This investigation tests a reconceptualization of ethnocentrism based primarily on Sumner's definitions. Ethnocentrism is reconceptualized as ethnic group self-centeredness, with four intergroup expressions of ingroup preference, superiority, purity, and exploitativeness, and two intragroup expressions of group cohesion and devotion. The reconceptualization was supported in Study 1 among 350 New Zealand participants and in Study 2 among 212 US, 208 Serbian, and 279 French participants. Ethnocentrism in each country consisted of two correlated second-order factors representing intergroup and intragroup ethnocentrism and six first-order factors representing the six primary expressions. Analyses in Study 2 supported the measurement invariance of the scale and a third-order factor model, with one ethnocentrism factor at the broadest level of generalization. Ethnocentrism was empirically distinct from outgroup negativity and mere ingroup positivity. Intragroup ethnocentrism appeared primarily based on ethnic insecurity, personal self-transcendence, and ethnic identification, whereas intergroup ethnocentrism appeared primarily based on self-aggrandizement, warlikeness, and generally chauvinistic attitudes. Accordingly, although related, the two kinds of ethnocentrism tend to have quite differential implications for group attitudes and behaviors. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 31 December 2008. Errors were subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected [date to be added later].
A randomized trial of vertebroplasty for osteoporotic spinal fractures.

BACKGROUND Vertebroplasty is commonly used to treat painful, osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. METHODS In this multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 131 patients who had one to three painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures to undergo either vertebroplasty or a simulated procedure without cement (control group). The primary outcomes were scores on the modified Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) (on a scale of 0 to 23, with higher scores indicating greater disability) and patients' ratings of average pain intensity during the preceding 24 hours at 1 month (on a scale of 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating more severe pain). Patients were allowed to cross over to the other study group after 1 month. RESULTS All patients underwent the assigned intervention (68 vertebroplasties and 63 simulated procedures). The baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups. At 1 month, there was no significant difference between the vertebroplasty group and the control group in either the RDQ score (difference, 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.3 to 2.8; P=0.49) or the pain rating (difference, 0.7; 95% CI, -0.3 to 1.7; P=0.19). Both groups had immediate improvement in disability and pain scores after the intervention. Although the two groups did not differ significantly on any secondary outcome measure at 1 month, there was a trend toward a higher rate of clinically meaningful improvement in pain (a 30% decrease from baseline) in the vertebroplasty group (64% vs. 48%, P=0.06). At 3 months, there was a higher crossover rate in the control group than in the vertebroplasty group (51% vs. 13%, P<0.001) [corrected]. There was one serious adverse event in each group. CONCLUSIONS Improvements in pain and pain-related disability associated with osteoporotic compression fractures in patients treated with vertebroplasty were similar to the improvements in a control group. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00068822.)
Fluxes of copper‐complexing ligands from estuarine sediments

Most studies of the organic complexation of Cu in natural waters have focused on distributions and processes in the water column, where a significant fraction of Cu‐complexing ligands may be biologically produced. We present direct evidence for a flux of Cu‐complexing ligands from estuarine sediments, demonstrating that sediments are a significant, yet previously unrecognized source of the ligands. Fluxes of Cu‐complexing ligands from Chesapeake Bay sediments range from 300 to 1,200 nmol m−2 d−1, exceeding fluxes of total dissolved Cu by 3→40‐fold, suggesting that any Cu fluxing from the sediments is likely to be organically complexed. Our results indicate that benthic fluxes may supply from 10 to 50% of the standing stock of Cu‐complexing ligands in Chesapeake Bay and suggest that such fluxes may strongly influence the biogeochemistry of Cu in shallow water environments and potentially in the ocean as a whole.
No Outbreak of Vancomycin and Linezolid Resistance in Staphylococcal Pneumonia over a 10-Year Period

Background Staphylococci can cause wound infections and community- and nosocomial-acquired pneumonia, among a range of illnesses. Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have been rapidly increasing as a cause of infections worldwide in recent decades. Numerous reports indicate that S. aureus and MRSA are becoming resistant to many antibiotics, which makes them very dangerous. Therefore, this study retrospectively investigated the resistance to antimicrobial agents in all hospitalized patients suffering from community- or nosocomial-acquired pneumonia due to S. aureus and MRSA. Methods Information from the study groups suffering from either community- or nosocomial-acquired pneumonia caused by S. aureus or MRSA was gathered by searching records from 2004 to 2014 at the HELIOS Clinic Wuppertal, Witten/Herdecke University, Germany. The findings of antibiotic resistance were analyzed after the evaluation of susceptibility testing for S. aureus and MRSA. Results Total of 147 patients (63.9%, 95% CI 57.5%–69.8%), mean age 67.9 ± 18.5 years, with pneumonia triggered by S. aureus, and 83 patients (36.1%, 95% CI 30.2%–42.5%), mean age 72.3 ± 13.8 years, with pneumonia due to MRSA. S. aureus and MRSA developed no resistance to vancomycin (P = 0.019 vs. < 0.0001, respectively) or linezolid (P = 0.342 vs. < 0.0001, respectively). MRSA (95.3%) and S. aureus (56.3%) showed a high resistance to penicillin. MRSA (87.7%) was also found to have a high antibiotic resistance against ß-lactam antibiotics, compared to S. aureus (9.6%). Furthermore, MRSA compared to S. aureus, respectively, had increased antibiotic resistance to ciprofloxacin (90.1% vs. 17.0%), cefazolin (89.7% vs. 10.2%), cefuroxime (89.0% vs. 9.1%), levofloxacin (88.2% vs. 18.4%), clindamycin (78.0% vs. 14.7%), and erythromycin (76.5% vs. 20.8%). Conclusion No development of resistance was found to vancomycin and linezolid in patients with pneumonia caused by S. aureus and MRSA.