Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modification of the cytoprotective protein C pathway during Dengue virus infection of human endothelial vascular cells

Summary Dengue fever (DF) is the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral disease of humans. No safe vaccine is available, there is no experimental animal model and no specific treatment (antiviral) for Dengue virus (DV) infection exists. The pathogenic mechanisms of the severe forms of the disease, such as Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), in which endothelial damage is the pathognomonic sign, are not fully understood. Clinical observations have revealed significant abnormalities in the coagulation and inflammation systems, with increased levels of soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) in the plasma of patients with DHF/DSS (grade III or IV). Blood sTM was proposed as an early predictor of DSS during the febrile stage. However, the role of the DV in endothelial injury during DSS is unclear. Here, we present novel insights into the participation of DV in the downregulation of the thrombomodulin-thrombin-protein C complex formation at the endothelial surface, with a reduction in activated protein C (APC). APC is the most important vasoprotective protein because it downregulates thrombin generation (by the inactivation of procoagulant factors Va and VIIIa) and has anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and barrier protection properties. These biological functions of APC are associated with the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) and pro-tease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) signalling pathways, which link the coagulation-inflammation responses. We found alterations in the antithrombotic and cytoprotective protein C pathways during DV infection of human endothelial vascular cells, which may explain the vasculopathy observed during DHF/DSS. Clarification of the basic principles that underlie these processes has important implications for the design of new therapeutic strategies for DHF/DSS.
ECG-gated 64-MDCT angiography in the differential diagnosis of acute chest pain.

OBJECTIVE The most important differential diagnoses of acute chest pain include myocardial infarction, aortic dissection, and pulmonary embolism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of an ECG-gated 64-MDCT angiography protocol for simultaneous assessment of the pulmonary arteries, coronary arteries, and aorta within a single breath-hold. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In 55 patients with acute chest pain, ECG-gated CT angiography was performed with a CT system in which 64 slices per gantry rotation were acquired. Density measurement and visual assessment of motion artifacts were performed to evaluate image quality. CT findings were correlated with results of laboratory tests and clinical follow-up. For 20 patients, two independent blinded reviewers compared findings on CT angiography with those on X-ray coronary angiography. RESULTS Adequate contrast enhancement of the pulmonary vessels, coronary arteries, and aorta was achieved in all cases. Regarding image quality of the coronary arteries, there was minor blurring in seven patients, and in one examination the images did not provide enough information for diagnosis. The average image quality rating was 1.2 on a scale in which 1 indicated no artifacts; 2, minor motion artifacts; and 3, image insufficient for diagnosis. The cause of chest pain was correctly identified with MDCT in 37 patients. The diagnoses included pulmonary embolism (n = 10), coronary stenosis (n = 9), and aortic dissection (n = 1). In four patients, additional diagnoses were found with other examinations. CONCLUSION With current techniques, ECG-gated CT angiography of the entire chest has very good image quality. The protocol proved helpful in the differential diagnosis of acute chest pain.
Gulf War service is an uncertain trigger for ALS

The suggestion that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was triggered by Gulf War service was first proposed when cases began to occur in young servicemen at an age when ALS is uncommon.1 This proposal gained widespread publicity following the formal recognition of ALS as a Gulf War–related illness by the Veterans Administration of the United States.2 This decision was made on humane and political grounds but has been taken as quasi-scientific validation for the claims. Two articles in this issue of Neurology , one by Haley and the other by Horner et al., allow readers to judge for themselves the scientific basis of claims of an excess risk of developing ALS in Gulf War veterans.3,4⇓ These studies used both passive and active ascertainment of ALS cases using recruitment via military and health records and publicity campaigns among military personnel and their caregivers. Cases were then confirmed by case record review supplemented mostly by telephone and personal inquiries. Both studies almost …
Polarization-Switching FBG Interrogator for Distributed Point Measurement of Magnetic Field Strength and Temperature

We report on the design and implementation of a novel optical fiber system for dual point measurement of magnetic field strength and temperature. The system incorporates a polarization switching technique that enables ratiometric processing of the orthogonal circularly polarized reflections from low-birefringence fiber Bragg gratings. High-resolution magneto-optical measurement of either static or dynamic magnetic fields may be achieved while retaining the capability for serial multiplexing and temperature measurement. The system provides a practical solution to intrinsic fiber point measurement of magnetic field, leading to potential applications in adverse environmental conditions, where electronic or extrinsic optical technologies are unsuitable.
Biodegradable cationic polyester as an efficient carrier for gene delivery to neonatal cardiomyocytes

Viral‐mediated gene delivery has been explored for the treatment and protection of cardiomyocytes, but so far there is only one report using cationic polymer for gene delivery to cardiomyocytes in spite of many advantages of polymer‐mediated gene delivery. In this study, a cationic poly(β‐amino ester) (PDMA) with a degradable backbone and cleavable side chains was synthesized by Michael addition reaction. The toxicity of PDMA to neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes (NMCMs) was significantly lower than that of polyethyleneimine (PEI). PDMA formed stable polyplexes with pEGFP. The dissociation of the polyplexes could be triggered by PDMA degradation, and the dissociation time was tunable via the polymer/pEGFP ratio. In vitro transfection showed that PDMA was an effective and low toxic gene delivery carrier for NMCMs. The PDMA/pEGFP polyplexes transfected EGFP gene to NMCMs with about 28% efficiency and caused little death. In contrast, a significant portion of cardiomyocytes cultured with PEI/pEGFP died. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Hepatitis D: the comeback?

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection has considerably diminished in Europe since the 1970–1980s. The prevalence rates of chronic hepatitis D in HBsAg carriers in Italy have declined from 25% at the beginning of the 1980s to 8% in the 1990s. Similar declines in prevalence have been reported in Spain, Taiwan and Turkey. Better public health standards, HBV vaccination and the effect of measures to control the spread of human immunodeficiency virus have brought about a decline in the numbers of HBsAg carriers and therefore a decline in the HBV‐dependent HDV. However, HDV has not declined further in Europe in the last decade, as the pool of fresh infections in migrants from HDV‐endemic areas is counterbalancing the shrinking cohort of long‐standing domestic infections acquired in the epidemic of the 1970–1980s. Hepatitis D remains an important health problem outside Europe, and new foci of infection continue to be identified in developing countries.
ORGANIZATIONAL RESOURCES AND RETURN ON ASSETS OFLARGE MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

The general objective of this study was to determine the effect of organization resources on return on assets of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. The specific objective of this study was to determine the influence of organizational resources on return on assets of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study was a cross sectional survey targeting 102 large manufacturing firms and the response rate was from 94 firms. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Null hypothesis was tested and results indicated that organizational resources had influence on return on assets of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study was limited in that change of variables of study was not monitored or observed over time as would be the case with longitudinal studies.
Lipoxins, resolvins and protectins: new leads for the treatment of asthma

Background: The pathobiology of asthma is characterized by the production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids that play important roles in regulating airway responses. Recognition of the biosynthetic pathways and sites of action for 5-lipoxygenase-derived leukotrienes has led to the successful development of two different classes of asthma therapeutics. Objectives: In this review, we describe structurally distinct lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid and ω-3 fatty acids that have anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving actions. These counter-regulatory lipid mediators are generated in the airway during asthma and defects in their production are associated with disease severity. Conclusion: These natural small molecules are rapidly inactivated, but serve as rationale templates for the design of stable analogues with protective actions that could serve as new therapeutic leads for asthma.
Energy-Efficient Graphics and Multimedia in 28-nm Carrizo Accelerated Processing Unit

Carrizo is AMD's sixth-generation accelerated processing unit (APU), optimized to deliver performance uplifts and battery-life improvements in thinner and lighter notebook platforms. Its primary goals are to deliver a differentiated gaming and multimedia experience to the end user and to make progress toward AMD's goal of improving energy efficiency in its APUs by 25 times by year 2020. This article describes the new features, low-power architecture, and power management algorithms used to achieve these goals. Carrizo delivered a 63 percent increase in the 3DMark11 benchmark score, a 350 percent increase in video transcoding throughput, a 60 percent reduction in full-screen HD video playback power, and a 50 percent reduction in Windows idle power compared to its predecessor, the Kaveri APU.
The E ect of Firm Finances on Workplace Safety∗

This paper studies the impact of a rm's nancial structure and condition on workplace safety using establishment-level injury data. We nd that injury rates increase with leverage, controlling for a number of other factors (including establishment xed e ects). They also increase (decrease) in response to plausibly exogenous negative (positive) cash ow shocks, especially in more leveraged rms. We interpret these results as evidence that rms cut investment in activities that enhance workplace safety when they lack nancing. This represents a previously unexplored channel through which a rm's nances can impact the well-being of its employees, an important set of nonnancial stakeholders in the rm. ∗Jonathan Cohn: jonathan.cohn@mccombs.utexas. edu (512) 232-6827. Malcolm Wardlaw: malcolm.wardlaw@utdallas.edu (972) 883-5903. We would like to thank Ashwini Agrawal, Andres Almazan, Aydo§an Alt , Sugato Bhattacharyya, Andres Donangelo, Jay Hartzell, Marcin Kacperczyk, David Matsa, Marco Pagano, Giovanni Pica, Uday Rajan, Avri Ravid, Bill Schwert, Amit Seru, Denis Sosyura, Sheridan Titman, Toni Whited, and seminar participants at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, New York University, University of Rochester, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 2013 CSEF Conference on Finance and Labor for their comments. We would also like to thank Nicole Nestoriak from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for her assistance with the injury data. The E ects of Firm Financing on Workplace Safety
Rôle de PGC-1α dans le système cardiovasculaire : recherche d’activateurs cœur-spécifiques et étude de ses mécanismes de régulation dans le muscle lisse aortique

L’insuffisance cardiaque (IC) reste la cause majeure de morbimortalite dans les pays industrialises justifiant ainsi la recherche de traitements plus cibles. Caracterisee par des desordres metaboliques importants qui impliquent notamment une dysfonction mitochondriale, le metabolisme energetique apparait comme une composante majeure du developpement de l’IC. Ces dernieres annees, le co-activateur transcriptionnel PGC-1α a ete propose comme un acteur central du controle de la fonction mitochondriale et constitue ainsi une cible therapeutique d’interet. Ainsi, l’objectif principal de ce travail est de developper un test cellulaire robotise permettant la recherche d’activateurs de PGC-1α dans un contexte cardiaque.La mise en place de ce test cellulaire de criblage dans des cellules H9c2 differenciees en cellules pseudo-cardiaques a permis l’identification de trois familles majeures : les hormones steroidiennes, les vitamines B et les acides gras, capables d’activer l’expression de PGC-1α et par ce biais d’induire une biogenese mitochondriale ainsi qu’une augmentation de la respiration mitochondriale. La validation de ces effets dans des cardiomyocytes de rat adulte a permis d’une part de valider la pertinence du test et du choix du modele cellulaire et d’autre part de verifier qu’une induction de l’expression de PGC-1α se repercute bien sur la cascade transcriptionnelle de la biogenese mitochondriale. Ce test constitue donc un atout majeur dans le recherche de nouveaux activateurs de PGC-1α pour mieux comprendre ses mecanismes de regulation dans le cœur, mais offre aussi des perspectives interessantes pour la recherche de composes pharmacologiques a visee therapeutique.Par ailleurs, peu de connaissances sont disponibles dans la litterature concernant le controle de la biogenese mitochondriale dans le muscle lisse vasculaire et plus particulierement dans l’hypertension arterielle. Ainsi, la deuxieme partie de ce travail a ete de caracteriser la biogenese mitochondriale dans un contexte d’hypertension. A travers l’utilisation d’un modele experimental d’hypertension et apres confirmation dans des cellules musculaires lisses en culture, nous avons montre une induction importante de la biogenese mitochondriale dans l’hypertension par un mecanisme stress oxydant-dependant. De plus, cette induction est correlee a une forte activation de la CaMKII, totalement bloquee par la presence d’un anti-oxydant : le resveratrol. Ces resultats suggerent donc un controle de la biogenese mitochondriale dependante de la balance pro/anti-oxydante via l’activation de la CaMKII dans le muscle lisse vasculaire.
Myt1: A Membrane-Associated Inhibitory Kinase That Phosphorylates Cdc2 on Both Threonine-14 and Tyrosine-15

Cdc2 is the cyclin-dependent kinase that controls entry of cells into mitosis. Phospho-rylation of Cdc2 on threonine-14 and tyrosine-15 inhibits the activity of the enzyme and prevents premature initiation of mitosis. Although Wee1 has been identified as the kinase that phosphorylates tyrosine-15 in various organisms, the threonine-14-specific kinase has not been isolated. A complementary DNA was cloned from Xenopus that encodes Myt1, a member of the Wee1 family that was discovered to phosphorylate Cdc2 efficiently on both threonine-14 and tyrosine-15. Myt1 is a membrane-associated protein that contains a putative transmembrane segment. Immunodepletion studies suggested that Myt1 is the predominant threonine-14-specific kinase in Xenopus egg extracts. Myt1 activity is highly regulated during the cell cycle, suggesting that this relative of Wee1 plays a role in mitotic control.
Network slicing in 5G: An auction-based model

The 5G mobile network is expected to meet the diverse demands from multiple types of business services. At the same time, some of the 5G use cases come with hard, and often expensive to meet, requirements in terms of latency and bandwidth. It is a common understanding that one system can not fit all and there is a need for customizing network according to the requirements of specific business use cases. Network slicing is introduced to partition the physical network to different slices to be configured for providing different quality of service as requested by the slice' operator and required by the slice' users. Since these slices will be used by the businesses, e.g. verticals, allocating physical resources to the network slices, is not anymore only a matter of performance but also a matter of revenue and business model. In this paper, we address a joint resource and revenue optimization a novel auction based model. Through extensive simulation study, we demonstrate our proposed auction model can allocate network resources to network slices for providing (i) higher satisfaction of requirements per network slice, and (ii) increased network revenue1.
Molecular characterization of the kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 genes from the parasite Trypanosoma rangeli

Trypanosomatids are early divergent parasites which include several species of medical interest. Trypanosoma rangeli is not pathogenic for humans but shows a high immunological cross-reactivity with Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease that affects more than 17 million people throughout the world. Recent studies have suggested that T. cruzi KMP-11 antigen could be a good candidate for the induction of immunoprotective cytotoxic responses against T. cruzi natural infection. In the present paper the genes coding for the T. rangeli kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 have been characterized. The results show that the locus encoding this protein is formed by 4 gene units measuring 550 nucleotides in length, organized in tandem, and located in different chromosomes in KP1(+) and KP1(−) strains. The gene units are transcribed as a single mRNA of 530 nucleotides in length. Alignment of the T. rangeli KMP-11 deduced amino acid sequence with the homologous KMP-11 protein from T. cruzi revealed an identity of 97%. Interestingly, the T and B cell epitopes of the T. cruzi KMP-11 protein are conserved in the T. rangeli KMP-11 amino acid sequence.
To proliferate, not to proliferate or to die. The liver itself decides as needed.

The term hepatic regeneration, although commonly used, is biologically incorrect since the response induced by the resection of hepatic tissue is not truly regenerative. The resected lobes do not develop again. The restoration of hepatic mass occurs by compensatory cell hyperplasia in the remaining lobes, with a consequent increase in its dimensions
HEXIM1: a new player in myocardial hypertrophy?

This editorial refers to ‘Inducible re-expression of HEXIM1 causes physiological cardiac hypertrophy in the adult mouse’ by M.M. Montano et al . , pp. 74–82, this issue. Cardiac hypertrophy is a consequential response to stress; however, not all types of hypertrophy are the same. In fact, the molecular signatures underlying different forms of hypertrophy depend on the type of stress and of the subsequent activated signalling cascade. Preferential activation of specific signal transduction cascades, such as the calcineurin and MAPK pathways, is characteristic for pathological cardiac hypertrophy (e.g. in response to ventricular pressure overload), while the PI3 K/Akt/mTOR signalling cascade seems to be preferentially activated in exercise- or IGF1-dependent physiological hypertrophy.1–3 Remarkably, the activation of each signalling pathway is not specific but rather preferential for one type of hypertrophy. For instance, the PI3 K/Akt pathway is activated in both pressure-overload and exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy.2,4 Akt induction indirectly activates mTOR, which, in turn, promotes protein synthesis through mRNA translation, while at the same time activating vasculogenesis.5 This increase in capillary density is a fundamental component of the cardiac response to stress since it counterbalances the augmented demand for oxygen by increasing its supply. On the other hand, in the absence of Akt, angiogenesis is impaired and the pressure-overloaded heart goes into failure more quickly.6,7 A different situation is found in exercise-induced hypertrophy, where the match between cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and angiogenesis is more balanced compared with the models of continuous pressure overload.8 A typical hallmark of cardiac hypertrophy, and in particular the maladaptive condition, is an overall increase in RNA synthesis. …
Proliferation of Immunocytochemically Identified Islet Beta Cells in Culture: Effect of Growth Factors, Hormones, and Nutrients

Immunocytochemically identified, differentiated, single β-cells proliferate to form colonies, which then grow into hillocks and islets. β-cells proliferation is most easily quantified during the first week, when colonies are forming. The experimental objective was stimulation of β-cells proliferation by culture medium supplementation with growth factors, hormones, or nutrients. We found that β-cells proliferation is stimulated by iron-saturated transferrin, interleukin-1-α, fetal calf serum, and glucose. In response to transferrin, proliferation of β-cells is progressively stimulated, reaching a maximum at 30 μg/ml. At greater concentrations the stimulatory effect is progressively lost. Interleukin-1-α maximally stimulates β-cells proliferation at 10 μg/ml, regresses to control levels at lo3 μg/ml, and inhibits proliferation progressively at greater concentrations. Fetal calf serum maximally stimulates β-cells proliferation at concentrations of lo%, and glucose stimulates maximally at 15 mM concentrations. The proliferative response to transferrin, interleukin-1-α or glucose is serum dependent. Serum and transferrin synergistically stimulate glucose-induced β-cells proliferation. Interleukin-1-β, interleukin-2, rat growth hormone, and rat prolactin fail to stimulate β-cells proliferation.
Open Peer-to-Peer Systems over Blockchain and IPFS: an Agent Oriented Framework

In recent years, the increasing concerns around the centralized cloud web services (e.g. privacy, governance, surveillance, security) have triggered the emergence of new distributed technologies, such as IPFS or the Blockchain. These innovations have tackled technical challenges that were unresolved until their appearance. Existing models of peer-to-peer systems need a revision to cover the spectrum of potential systems that can be now implemented as peer-to-peer systems. This work presents a framework to build these systems. It uses an agent-oriented approach in an open environment where agents have only partial information of the system data. The proposal covers data access, data discovery and data trust in peer-to-peer systems where different actors may interact. Moreover, the framework proposes a distributed architecture for these open systems, and provides guidelines to decide in which cases Blockchain technology may be required, or when other technologies may be sufficient.