Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[TGF-beta1 reduces connexin43-mediated gap junctional intercellular communication in rat Leydig cells].

OBJECTIVE To observe the effects of TGF-beta on the expression of connexin43 (Cx43) and Cx43-mediated gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) in rat Leydig cells, and investigate the association of its effects on Leydig cells with its ability of changing GJIC. METHODS Primarily cultured purified Leydig cells were divided into a blank control group, a positive control group (treated with the GJIC inhibitor Carbenoxolone), and four TGF-beta1 groups (treated with TGF-beta1 at the concentration of 1, 2, 5 and 10 ng/ml, respectively, for 20 hours). The localization and expression of Cx43 were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blot, and the changes in GJIC analyzed by FRAP assay. RESULTS Cx43 was expressed as scattered bright spots in the cytoplasm and membrane of Leydig cells. TGF-beta1 significantly elevated the expression of Cx43 in the cytoplasm, but caused no evident change in the membrane. Western blot showed an evident increase in the phosphorylation of Cx43 with the increased concentration of TGF-beta1 as compared with that of the blank control group (P < 0.05). After 20 hours of treatment with TGF-beta1 at 5 ng/ml, the fluorescence intensity of Leydig cells was markedly reduced (P < 0.01), with a mean fluorescence recovery rate of merely (43.58 +/- 1.87)%. CONCLUSION TGF-beta1 could significantly down-regulate GJIC between adjacent Leydig cells, and this inhibitory effect may be achieved by promoting the expression of Cx43 in the cytoplasm and elevating the phosphorylation of Cx43.
SpaceTime: adaptive control of the teleported avatar for improved AR tele‐conference experience

With the continued technology innovation in object sensing and human motion tracking, the traditional two‐dimensional video‐based tele‐conference systems are projected to evolve into the three‐dimensional immersive and augmented reality (AR) based on which one can communicate with the teleported remote other as if present, moving and interacting naturally in the same location. One technical hurdle to this vision is the need to resolve the environmental differences and the resulting teleported avatar motion anomaly between the remote and local sites. This paper presents a novel method to first establish a spatial and object‐level match between the remote and local sites and adapts the position and motion of the teleported avatar into the local AR space according to the matched information. This results in a natural looking and spatially correct rendering of the remote user in the local augmented space and a significantly improved tele‐conference experience and communication performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mechanisms of abdominal distension in severe intestinal dysmotility: abdomino‐thoracic response to gut retention

We previously showed that abdominal distension in patients with functional gut disorders is due to a paradoxical diaphragmatic contraction without major increment in intraabdominal volume. Our aim was to characterize the pattern of gas retention and the abdomino‐thoracic mechanics associated with abdominal distension in patients with intestinal dysmotility.
Health care utilization and outcomes among persons with rheumatoid arthritis in fee-for-service and prepaid group practice settings.

OBJECTIVE To compare health care utilization and outcomes over an 11-year period among persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in fee-for-service and prepaid group practice settings. DESIGN Cohort of persons with RA followed up for as long as 11 years. The principal measures were obtained from an annual structured telephone interview conducted by a trained survey worker. SETTING Persons with RA presenting to a random sample of community rheumatologists in northern California. PATIENTS Patients were enrolled in 2 cycles: in 1982 and 1983 and in 1989. Study rheumatologists listed all persons meeting criteria for RA presenting to their offices over a 1-month period. Of the 1062 so listed, we enrolled 1025, or 96.5%. Of the 1025 persons with RA, 227 (22.2%) reported receiving care in prepaid group practice settings. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES As of the end of 1994, 5295 person-years of observation were available for the analysis of the annual level of the utilization and outcome measures; 341 persons had been followed up for all 11 years of the study. The main utilization outcomes measured included office visits, outpatient surgeries, hospital admissions, and painful joints. RESULTS The persons with RA in fee-for-service and prepaid group practice settings did not differ in the quantity of health care used in any 1 year for either RA or non-RA reasons. Among those followed up for all 11 years, the persons in fee-for-service and prepaid group practice settings did not differ in the cumulative quantity of health care used over the entire period of study. The 2 groups did not differ on any outcome measure on either an annual or long-term basis. The results of mortality analyses were inconsistent: using Kaplan-Meier estimates, the persons with RA in prepaid group practice settings survived significantly longer (P<.05 by long-rank test); using Cox proportional hazards methods, the proportion dying each year did not differ signficantly. CONCLUSIONS We could find no evidence that persons with RA in fee-for-service and prepaid group practice settings received different quantities of health care or experienced different outcomes on either an annual or long-term basis.
Shigellosis: the current status of vaccine development

Purpose of review Shigellosis, a major form of bacillary dysentery, is caused by infection with Shigella organisms. In poor countries, Shigella-caused dysentery is endemic and causes an estimated 163 million illness episodes annually and more than one million deaths. Although several strategies have been used to develop vaccines targeting shigellosis, none has been licensed for use outside China. Owing to the wide range of Shigella serotypes and subtypes, there is a need for a multivalent vaccine representing prevalent species and serotypes. Recent findings Vaccine development has been limited by the lack of a suitable animal model for vaccine testing. This review discusses the most advanced strategies for Shigella vaccine development including live attenuated, conjugate, broad spectrum, and proteosome-based vaccines and describes current animal models under study. Summary The greatest barrier to the use of vaccine against shigellosis in developing areas is poor immune responses to oral vaccines in children who have minimal maternal antibodies. Clinical studies of promising shigellosis vaccine candidates are urgently needed after confirmation of safety, immunogenicity, and protection in volunteer challenge models.
Determination of Interleukin- 13 and Interleukin 27 on Schizophrenic Serums

There is increasing evidence suggesting that cytokines abnormalities are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of interleukin-27 (IL-27) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) in patients with schizophrenia compare to healthy control subjects. In present study the serum IL-27 and IL-13 levels of 38 schizophrenic patients and 32 age and sex matched healthy control subjects using a sandwich ELISA assay was measured. IL-13 serum level were increased significantly in schizophrenic patients compare to healthy control group (4.32 ± 0.94 vs 2.04 ± 0.17, p<0. 01) and a significant increase in female patients (5.2±5.1) and the healthy females (2.05±.21) (p< 0.01) has found. There was also reported a significant increased in IL-13 on male patients (3.63±2.51) and healthy males (2.03±.144) with (p < 0.01). The findings also have been shown that there is a significant difference between the serum level of interleukin-27 of the patient (171) and healthy) group (231) (p < 0.05). There is a significant decrease between IL-27 in male schizophrenic patients compare to healthy controls. However a significant increase was found between IL-13 schizophrenic patients when compare with healthy control. A non-significant difference was reported in male and female in IL-13 schizophrenic patients.
Comparison of Different Design Methods for the Parallel Resonant Converter

For the voltage-fed parallel resonant converter several different approaches to investigate its steady-state characteristics exist. The exact solution yielded by state-plane analysis is compared to the approximate solution using ing fundamental components of the waveforms and to its extension regarding the first harmonic of discontinuous capacitor voltage waveforms. In addition, the accuracy in predicting important design criteria as well as the mathematical complexity of both methods is compared.
Treatment of Non‐alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with Curcumin: A Randomized Placebo‐controlled Trial

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health problem. Although many aspects of NAFLD pathogenesis have been understood, there is a paucity of effective treatments to be used as the second line when lifestyle modification is insufficient. Curcumin, a natural polyphenol from turmeric, has been shown to be effective against development of hepatic steatosis and its progression to steatohepatitis, yet these beneficial effects have not been explored in clinical practice. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of curcumin on hepatic fat content as well as biochemical and anthropometric features of patients with NAFLD. In this randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled trial, patients with ultrasonographic evidence of NAFLD were randomly assigned to receive an amorphous dispersion curcumin formulation (500 mg/day equivalent to 70‐mg curcumin) or matched placebo for a period of 8 weeks. Liver fat content (assessed through ultrasonography), glycemic and lipid profile, transaminase levels, and anthropometric indices were evaluated at baseline and at the end of follow‐up period. The clinical trial protocol was registered under the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials ID: IRCT2014110511763N18. Compared with placebo, curcumin was associated with a significant reduction in liver fat content (78.9% improvement in the curcumin vs 27.5% improvement in the placebo group). There were also significant reductions in body mass index and serum levels of total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, glucose, and glycated hemoglobin compared with the placebo group. Curcumin was safe and well tolerated during the course of trial. Findings of the present proof‐of‐concept trial suggested improvement of different features of NAFLD after a short‐term supplementation with curcumin. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the realization of a spatial domain data hiding technique based on intermediate significant bit plane embedding (ISBPE) and Post Embedding Pixel Adjustment (PEPA)

Information security assumes a paramount importance in contemporary digital age. Data hiding in images has flourished in recent years as an important field for information security. An Intermediate Significant Bit (ISB) plane based data hiding technique is investigated and presented in this paper. The data to be embedded in a cover image has been scrambled, and embedding has been carried out at the address locations pointed to by Pseudorandom Address Vector (PAV). The perceptual degradation of the image caused due to embedding in ISB planes has been taken care of by using Post Embedding Pixel Adjustment (PEA) technique. The pseudorandom embedding of encrypted data provides a two tier of security to the embedded secret data. The comparison of the proposed technique with an existing data hiding scheme shows that proposed technique is capable of providing better quality stego-images even if the payload is slightly more. This is validated by an improvement in PSNR by about 3dB. Further, an important advantage offered by this technique is that the embedded data is not vulnerable to LSB removal/replacement attack as data is embedded in ISB planes.
Clinical application of sirolimus in renal transplantation: an update

In addition to an analysis of the final results of phase I/II and phase III clinical trials of sirolimus (SRL), this review focuses on the recent results of several studies in renal transplantation, which include diverse combinations of SRL with other immunosuppressive agents. While SRL was initially introduced as an adjunctive agent to calcineurin inhibitors, it is now serving as the base for therapies that spare or avoid these nephrotoxic drugs. However, to optimize the use of SRL as base therapy, further work is necessary to determine target concentrations, requirement for concomitant steroids and/or nucleoside synthesis blockers, and countermeasure therapy to overcome the drug's adverse effects.
Bicriteria Optimization in Wireless Sensor Networks: Link Scheduling and Energy Consumption

Link scheduling is important for reliable data communication in wireless sensor networks. Previous works mainly focus on how to find the minimum scheduling length but ignore the impact of energy consumption. In this paper, we integrate them together and solve them by multiobjective genetic algorithms. As a contribution, by jointly modeling the route selection and interference-free link scheduling problem, we give a systematical analysis on the relationship between link scheduling and energy consumption. Considering the specific many-to-one communication nature of WSNs, we propose a novel link scheduling scheme based on NSGA-II (Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II). Our approach aims to search the optimal routing tree which satisfies the minimum scheduling length and energy consumption for wireless sensor networks. To achieve this goal, the solution representation based on the routing tree, the genetic operations including tree based recombination and mutation, and the fitness evaluation based on heuristic link scheduling algorithm are well designed. Extensive simulations demonstrate that our algorithm can quickly converge to the Pareto optimal solution between the two performance metrics.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Cartilage Regeneration in Traumatic and Osteoarthritic- Cartilage Defects

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects several hundred million people and is one of the leading causes of disability around the world. Aging is the most influential risk factor for developing OA. Cartilage has a limited ability to spontaneously heal; therefore, it needs surgical intervention in case of cartilage defects caused by traumatic injury or degenerative disease. Due to the shortage of autologous chondrocytes and autografts that require additional defects, adult human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the precursors of chondrocytes, become possible options for cartilage regeneration in traumatic and Osteoarthritic cartilage defects.
Alleviate the Effect of Illumination Variation in ICA Subspace

Illumination variation brings in significant difficulties to pattern recognition and consequent robot operations. In this paper an illumination factor for real-world images taken under a wide variety of lighting conditions in ICA subspace was extracted. After normalizing with the combination coefficient of the illumination factors, all the images that originated from the same object but with different illumination intensities were easily classified.
The ATP‐Binding Site of Protein Kinase CK2 Holds a Positive Electrostatic Area and Conserved Water Molecules

CK2 is a highly pleiotropic Ser/Thr protein kinase that is able to promote cell survival and enhance the tumour phenotype under specific circumstances. We have determined the crystal structure of three new complexes with tetrabromobenzimidazole derivatives that display Ki values between 0.15 and 0.30 μM. A comparative analysis of these data with those of four other inhibitors of the same family revealed the presence of some highly conserved water molecules in the ATP‐binding site. These waters reside near Lys68, in an area with a positive electrostatic potential that is able to attract and orient negatively charged ligands. The presence of this positive region and two unique bulky residues that are typical of CK2, Ile66 and Ile174, play a critical role in determining the ligand orientation and binding selectivity.
Annexin A5 promotes macrophage activation and contributes to pulmonary fibrosis induced by silica particles

Objective: To investigate the contributions and underlying molecular mechanisms of annexin A5 toward silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups and instilled intratracheally with silica, saline, or air. Mice were euthanized at 3, 7, 14, or 28 days following treatment. Annexin A5 levels in serum and lung tissues were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) assays or Western blots. The association of annexin A5 levels with silica-induced lung fibrosis was further investigated in the macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. Following exposure of these cells to silica at a concentration of 200 μg/ml for 6 or 12 h, the expression levels of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), interleukin 1α (IL-1α), Fas ligand (FasL), and their downstream targets were evaluated by Western blots. Furthermore, annexin A5 and FasL were knocked down by small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) and TGF-β1 secretion into the cell culture medium was measured by ELISA assays or Western blots. Results: Mice treated with silica demonstrated lung fibrosis at 28 days following exposure, whereas, in controls, only mild and transient inflammation was evident at day 3 and day 7 postinstillation and was not present at day 14. Furthermore, silica-exposed mice exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) elevated levels of annexin A5 in serum and lung tissues, relative to control groups. Consistent with these findings, silica exposure of RAW264.7 cells for 6 or 12 h, led to an annexin A5-dependent increase in the expression levels of TGF-β1, IL-1α, FasL, and their downstream target molecules. These silica-induced changes were reversed by siRNA-mediated knockdown of annexin A5, but downregulation of FasL led to increased annexin A5 expression and reduced levels of TGF-β1, IL-1α, and FasL downstream target molecules. Conclusions: These findings define a role of annexin A5 in promoting macrophage activation via Fas/FasL pathways in silica-induced lung fibrosis.
Welcome to the Neighborhood: How Can Regional Science Contribute to the Study of Neighborhoods?

We argue in this paper that neighborhoods are highly relevant for the types of issues at the heart of regional science. First, residential and economic activity takes place in particular locations, and particular neighborhoods. Many attributes of those neighborhood environments matter for this activity, from the physical amenities, to the quality of the public and private services received. Second, those neighborhoods vary in their placement in the larger region and this broader arrangement of neighborhoods is particularly important for location choices, commuting behavior and travel patterns. Third, sorting across these neighborhoods by race and income may well matter for educational and labor market outcomes, important components of a region's overall economic activity. For each of these areas we suggest a series of unanswered questions that would benefit from more attention. Focused on neighborhood characteristics themselves, there are important gaps in our understanding of how neighborhoods change – the causes and the consequences. In terms of the overall pattern of neighborhoods and resulting commuting patterns, this connects directly to current concerns about environmental sustainability and there is much need for research relevant to policy makers. And in terms of segregation and sorting across neighborhoods, work is needed on better spatial measures. In addition, housing market causes and consequences for local economic activity are under researched. We expand on each of these, finishing with some suggestions on how newly available data, with improved spatial identifiers, may enable regional scientists to answer some of these research questions.
Aquatic-treadmill walking: quantifying drag force and energy expenditure.

CONTEXT Quantification of the magnitudes of fluid resistance provided by water jets (currents) and their effect on energy expenditure during aquatic-treadmill walking is lacking in the scientific literature. OBJECTIVE To quantify the effect of water-jet intensity on jet velocity, drag force, and oxygen uptake (VO2) during aquatic-treadmill walking. DESIGN Descriptive and repeated measures. SETTING Athletic training facility. PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTION, AND MEASURES Water-jet velocities were measured using an electromagnetic flow meter at 9 different jet intensities (0-80% maximum). Drag forces on 3 healthy subjects with a range of frontal areas (600, 880, and 1250 cm2) were measured at each jet intensity with a force transducer and line attached to the subject, who was suspended in water. Five healthy participants (age 37.2 ± 11.3 y, weight 611 ± 96 N) subsequently walked (~1.03 m/s or 2.3 miles/h) on an aquatic treadmill at the 9 different jet intensities while expired gases were collected to estimate VO2. RESULTS For the range of jet intensities, water-jet velocities and drag forces were 0-1.2 m/s and 0-47 N, respectively. VO2 increased nonlinearly, with values ranging from 11.4 ± 1.0 to 22.2 ± 3.8 mL · kg-1 · min-1 for 0-80% of jet maximum, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This study presented methodology for quantifying water-jet flow velocities and drag forces in an aquatic-treadmill environment and examined how different jet intensities influenced VO2 during walking. Quantification of these variables provides a fundamental understanding of aquatic-jet use and its effect on VO2. In practice, the results indicate that VO2 may be substantially increased on an aquatic treadmill while maintaining a relatively slow walking speed.
Multifocal electroretinogram and short-wavelength automated perimetry measures in diabetic eyes with little or no retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE To compare severity and locations of abnormalities detected by the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) and short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) in diabetic eyes with early or no retinopathy. METHODS One eye from each of 22 patients with diabetes mellitus who had early retinopathy and 18 patients with diabetes mellitus who had no retinopathy were tested on mfERG and SWAP. The mfERG implicit times were interpolated based on SWAP stimulus locations and compared with normative values obtained from 30 age-similar control subjects. The SWAP total threshold deviations were analyzed using an age-based control data set from 255 healthy subjects. The z scores of both measures were derived to allow measurement comparisons. RESULTS Most responses for the 2 measurements were subnormal in both groups with diabetes mellitus. The 2 measurements showed a similar number of significant abnormalities (z score >/=2), about 40% and 20% of responses for diabetic patients with retinopathy and diabetic patients with no retinopathy, respectively. Local mfERG and SWAP results showed some spatial agreement for subjects with retinopathy (r = -0.38, P<.001) but not for those with no retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS Both mfERG and SWAP are sensitive measurements of diabetic dysfunction, even prior to retinopathy. The lack of spatial correspondence between mfERG and SWAP abnormalities in diabetic patients with no retinopathy reflects overlapping, but different, retinal anomalies in early diabetic eye disease.