Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypoxia Promotes the Differentiated Human Articular Chondrocyte Phenotype through SOX9-dependent and -independent Pathways*

The chondrocyte is solely responsible for synthesis and maintenance of the resilient articular cartilage matrix that gives this load-bearing tissue its mechanical integrity. When the differentiated cell phenotype is lost, the matrix becomes compromised and cartilage function begins to fail. We have recently shown that hypoxia promotes the differentiated phenotype through hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α)-mediated SOX9 induction of the main matrix genes. However, to date, only a few genes have been shown to be SOX9 targets, while little is known about SOX9-independent regulators. We therefore performed a detailed microarray study to address these issues. Analysis involved 35 arrays on chondrocytes obtained from seven healthy, non-elderly human cartilage samples. Genes were selected that were down-regulated with serial passage in culture (as this causes loss of the differentiated phenotype) and subsequently up-regulated in hypoxia. The importance of key findings was further probed using the technique of RNA interference on these human articular chondrocytes. Our results show that hypoxia has a broader beneficial effect on the chondrocyte phenotype than has been previously described. Of especial note, we report new hypoxia-inducible and SOX9-regulated genes, Gdf10 and Chm-I. In addition, Mig6 and InhbA were induced by hypoxia, predominantly via HIF-2α, but were not regulated by SOX9. Therefore, hypoxia, and more specifically HIF-2α, promotes both SOX9-dependent and -independent factors important for cartilage homeostasis. HIF-2α may therefore represent a new and promising therapeutic target for cartilage repair.
C-LabeledProteinsas Markersfor GradientAnalysisof Steroid-Hormone Receptors

Two useful [‘4C]marker proteins-[14C] human serum albumin (4.6S) and [14C]glucose oxidase (7.9S)-can be simply prepared. Both may be used as molecular-mass standards in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. The utility of these markers for estrogen receptor studies was investigated under a variety of conditions, to ensure that they do not interfere with current assay procedures. Their use as internal markers allows more samples to be analyzed per rotor, a significant factor because each centrifugation run requires . 16 h and two bucket spaces for each sample assayed; improves accuracy and overall quality control by eliminating any problems resulting from variations among individual gradients; and facilitates evaluation of changes in gradient profiles, which may provide clinically and biochemically relevant information concerning the microheterogeneity of estrogen receptors.
Energy model techniques in wireless adhoc network

A wireless ad-hoc network is a collection of mobile nodes that makes a multi hop autonomous system without any fixed infrastructure. The nodes use service of other nodes in the network to transmit packet to the destination nodes. Mobile device are battery operated and this is the limited resource. So the energy conservation is the critical issue in the network. There are many approach suggested for energy conservation. We have suggested two energy efficient techniques to reduce energy consumption at protocol level. In first techniques energy conservation done by reducing number of route request message while in the second techniques energy conservation done by power control techniques.
Understanding Online Community Participation

Online community participation has not been well understood from the perspective of technology adoption and use. Using a national sample of 537 online community participants in the United States and structural equation modeling, this study demonstrates that the technology acceptance model (TAM) can provide a useful foundation for theoretical explanation. By empirically testing the original TAM and comparing it with an alternative model, our results confirmed that perceived usefulness (PU) outweighs perceived ease of use (PEOU) in explaining actual use. Our final model further suggested a feedback loop between PU and PEOU, which significantly improved the model fit at both global and local levels. In addition, three exogenous variables (i.e., Internet self-efficacy, community environment, and intrinsic motivation) were proposed and validated. These findings have clear implications for the structure of the TAM as well as for its usefulness for the newly burgeoning practice of online community participation.
Clinical Effect of Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation for Residual Lung Metastases from Breast Cancer After Systemic Chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical effect of Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) for residual lung metastases from breast cancer after systemic chemotherapy. STUDY DESIGN An experimental study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China, from January 2008 to October 2014. METHODOLOGY Thirty-five breast cancer patients with 67 pulmonary metastases were involved in this study. All lesions were treated by RFA and followed by CT-scan. Primary endpoint of this clinical study was local control; secondary endpoints were overall survival and treatment-related toxicities. RESULTS Complete Response (CR) was observed in 59 lesions, with Partial Response (PR) in 4 lesions, Stable Disease (SD) in 1 lesion and Progression Disease (PD) in 3 lesions. The lesion diameter > 2 cm was related to poor local control (p=0.04). The median Overall Survival (OS) was 33 months (95%CI: 21.6 - 44.4). One-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates were 88.6%, 59.3% and 42.8% respectively. The mumber of pulmonary metastases (≥2), the diameter of lesion (> 2 cm) and coexisting with liver metastases were significantly correlated to poor OS by multivariate analysis. Log-rank test showed statistically significant difference of OS in diameter of lesion and coexisting with other metastases. CONCLUSION RFA is a promising treatment option for patients with residual lung metastases from breast cancer after systemic chemotherapy in selected patients.
PVA-PEG physically cross-linked hydrogel film as a wound dressing: experimental design and optimization

Abstract The development of hydrogel films as wound healing dressings is of a great interest owing to their biological tissue-like nature. Polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene glycol (PVA/PEG) hydrogels loaded with asiaticoside, a standardized rich fraction of Centella asiatica, were successfully developed using the freeze–thaw method. Response surface methodology with Box–Behnken experimental design was employed to optimize the hydrogels. The hydrogels were characterized and optimized by gel fraction, swelling behavior, water vapor transmission rate and mechanical strength. The formulation with 8% PVA, 5% PEG 400 and five consecutive freeze–thaw cycles was selected as the optimized formulation and was further characterized by its drug release, rheological study, morphology, cytotoxicity and microbial studies. The optimized formulation showed more than 90% drug release at 12 hours. The rheological properties exhibited that the formulation has viscoelastic behavior and remains stable upon storage. Cell culture studies confirmed the biocompatible nature of the optimized hydrogel formulation. In the microbial limit tests, the optimized hydrogel showed no microbial growth. The developed optimized PVA/PEG hydrogel using freeze–thaw method was swellable, elastic, safe, and it can be considered as a promising new wound dressing formulation.
Overcoming the distance between friends

Staying in touch is a fundamental aspect in maintaining a long-distance relationship, whether it is in a family context or a friendship. An effective communication appliance can enable families or friends living apart to have a feeling of connectedness and help them to maintain their relationship despite the physical distance. This paper describes the results of an exploration study on people living far away from their families and friends, with a focus on how they stay in touch with their close friends and overcome the distance. The targeted user group in this study is geographically and physically isolated people. A user study was conducted by means of a survey, focus group and interview. The results show that sharing problems and feelings between two remotely located friends is crucial. Consequently, the design goal was set to enable users to notify and physically comfort each other, in a subtle way, through a remote but shared experience, whenever a problem or feeling occurs.
Ca2+ Channels and Pulmonary Endothelial Permeability: Insights from Study of Intact Lung and Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension

Phenotypic heterogeneity in pulmonary vascular endothelial cells extends to regulation of endothelial permeability, a process which often depends upon Ca2 + entry from the extracellular space. Scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts has documented distinct patterns of barrier disruption. Store depletion and activation of Ca2 + entry via canonical transient potential channels (TRPC1 and TRPC4) disrupts the barrier in extraalveolar vessels. In contrast, numerous other models of acute lung injury, including high vascular pressure‐ or epoxyeicosatrienoic acid‐induced injury, specifically disrupt the alveolar septal barrier. This review discusses Ca2 + permeant channels which potentially could be involved in regulation of barrier integrity in the alveolar septal compartment: transient receptor potential channels, cyclic nucleotide gated channels, purinergic (P2X) channels, and T‐type voltage gated channels. The evidence for the vanilloid transient receptor potential channel TRPV4 in regulating septal barrier function is discussed. Adaptations in barrier function in chronic pulmonary hypertension are reviewed, notably the loss of a store depletion‐dependent permeability response in the intact lung. Finally, the authors propose that since specific disruption of the alveolar septal barrier will have deleterious functional consequences, such as alveolar flooding and impairment of gas exchange, identification of specific molecular targets for Ca2 + entry‐dependent regulation of barrier function in this compartment is needed.
Blood Pressure as a Surrogate End Point for Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To review relevant literature and provide opinions regarding the use of blood pressure as a surrogate measure to predict cardiovascular risk. DATA SOURCES: Primary and review articles were identified by MEDLINE search (1990–January 2001) and through secondary sources. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Studies and review articles that related to the interpretation of blood pressure as a surrogate measure were reviewed. Information that was relevant to this topic was included. DATA SYNTHESIS: The measurement of blood pressure is subject to numerous sources of error and bias. Patients who perform home blood pressure testing and self-report these values frequently leave out high values and add ghost values into logbooks. Additionally, analysis of recent data suggests that at any given level of blood pressure that is achieved, cardiovascular risk reduction may not be the same with different therapeutic agents. It is also now recommended that systolic blood pressure be used in preference to diastolic blood pressure to determine risk and to assess management strategies. Although 24-hour blood pressure measurements may be the best predictors of cardiovascular risk, this has not been demonstrated in a long-term morbidity trial. CONCLUSIONS: Blood pressure is a relatively poor surrogate measure. Unfortunately, no alternatives are available at this time. Therefore, every attempt must be made to accurately determine blood pressure and to assess risk and benefit from specific antihypertensive agents. Systolic blood pressure should be the predominant blood pressure measure used to evaluate patients, especially middle-aged and elderly individuals.
Environmental RNAi in herbivorous insects

Environmental RNAi (eRNAi) is a sequence-specific regulation of endogenous gene expression in a receptive organism by exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Although demonstrated under artificial dietary conditions and via transgenic plant presentations in several herbivorous insects, the magnitude and consequence of exogenous dsRNA uptake and the role of eRNAi remains unknown under natural insect living conditions. Our analysis of coleopteran insects sensitive to eRNAi fed on wild-type plants revealed uptake of plant endogenous long dsRNAs, but not small RNAs. Subsequently, the dsRNAs were processed into 21 nt siRNAs by insects and accumulated in high quantities in insect cells. No accumulation of host plant-derived siRNAs was observed in lepidopteran larvae that are recalcitrant to eRNAi. Stability of ingested dsRNA in coleopteran larval gut followed by uptake and transport from the gut to distal tissues appeared to be enabling factors for eRNAi. Although a relatively large number of distinct coleopteran insect-processed plant-derived siRNAs had sequence complementarity to insect transcripts, the vast majority of the siRNAs were present in relatively low abundance, and RNA-seq analysis did not detect a significant effect of plant-derived siRNAs on insect transcriptome. In summary, we observed a broad genome-wide uptake of plant endogenous dsRNA and subsequent processing of ingested dsRNA into 21 nt siRNAs in eRNAi-sensitive insects under natural feeding conditions. In addition to dsRNA stability in gut lumen and uptake, dosage of siRNAs targeting a given insect transcript is likely an important factor in order to achieve measurable eRNAi-based regulation in eRNAi-competent insects that lack an apparent silencing amplification mechanism.
Innervation of the intrinsic muscles of the cat's larynx by the recurrent laryngeal nerve: a unimodal nerve

In the course of a quantitative study of the vagus nerve of the cat (Agostoni, Chinnock, Daly & Murray, 1957), the number, size and function of the fibres contained within the recurrent laryngeal nerve were investigated. The chief interest in this nerve is that it is one ofthe most characteristic ofthe 'unimodal' nerves. The majority of nerves supplying limb muscles are 'bimodal', having a considerable proportion of their fibres below 8,u and above 14,t in diameter: there are relatively few fibres about 10-12,u in diameter (Eccles & Sherrington, 1930), and both the large and the small fibre groups contain afferent as well as efferent fibres. In contrast, the present investigation shows that the branch of the recurrent laryngeal nerve which enters the larynx to innervate the intrinsic laryngeal muscles of the cat has a unimodal fibre-size distribution, with a fairly sharp peak about 10-12ju and relatively few fibres of much smaller or larger diameter. Furthermore, there are few or no sensory fibres in this branch. The evidence suggests that muscles that are supplied by nerve fibres of intermediate size, unimodally distributed, also have little or no proprioceptor supply.
Degradation of cartilage type II collagen precedes the onset of osteoarthritis following anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

OBJECTIVE To determine if degradation of cartilage matrix in primary osteoarthritis (OA) or in OA secondary to rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a gradual response to excessive loading or an early, initiating event in the disease process. METHODS Biopsy samples were obtained from the low-weight-bearing articular cartilage of the intercondylar notch, in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy (ACL injury) or arthroplasty (late-stage primary OA) or in controls. In some cases, biopsy samples were also removed from the high-weight-bearing articular cartilage of the femoral condyles. Biopsy specimens were extracted and assayed for total and denatured type II collagen (CII) by inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and for proteoglycan using a colorimetric method. All patients were assessed radiographically for cartilage erosion. In addition, the cartilage of patients with ACL injury was assessed at arthroscopy, and the knee function of patients with primary OA was assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). RESULTS Increased CII degradation was detected in the low- as well as the high-weight-bearing cartilage of patients with late-stage OA, and there was a positive correlation between the percentage denatured collagen and the WOMAC score. Most of the patients with ACL injury had no clinical signs of OA or macroscopic cartilage erosion. However, the low-weight-bearing articular cartilage from these patients showed a significant increase in CII degradation, similar to that observed in late-stage OA. The proteoglycan content of articular cartilage did not change significantly in patients with OA or ACL injury compared with controls. CONCLUSION CII degradation is an early event following ACL injury and is unlikely to be a direct result of mechanical loading, since it was observed in cartilage obtained from a low-weight-bearing site.
A preliminary study on cross-language knowledge transfer for low-resource Taiwanese Mandarin ASR

The deep neural networks (DNNs) are the state-of-the-art automatic speech recognition (ASR) technique nowadays. However, the key to success is that a large amount of speech data of the target language is required to well train DNNs. Unfortunately, there are only few small Taiwanese Mandarin Speech corpora available in Taiwan. Therefore, in this paper, two cross-language knowledge transfer approaches are evaluated for building a high performance Taiwanese Mandarin ASR including (1) a borrowed-hidden-layer and (2) a shared-hidden-layer method. Experimental results show that (1) the shared-hidden-layer method achieved the best performance and (2) the system is robustness to different speaker and phone.
IL-10 Regulates Il12b Expression via Histone Deacetylation: Implications for Intestinal Macrophage Homeostasis

To prevent excessive inflammatory responses to commensal microbes, intestinal macrophages, unlike their systemic counterparts, do not produce inflammatory cytokines in response to enteric bacteria. Consequently, loss of macrophage tolerance to the enteric microbiota plays a central role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases. Therefore, we examined whether the hyporesponsive phenotype of intestinal macrophages is programmed by prior exposure to the microbiota. IL-10, but not in vivo exposure to the microbiota, programs intestinal macrophage tolerance, because wild-type (WT) colonic macrophages from germ-free and specific pathogen-free (SPF)-derived mice produce IL-10, but not IL-12 p40, when activated with enteric bacteria. Basal and activated IL-10 expression is mediated through a MyD88-dependent pathway. Conversely, colonic macrophages from germ-free and SPF-derived colitis-prone Il10−/− mice demonstrated robust production of IL-12 p40. Next, mechanisms through which IL-10 inhibits Il12b expression were investigated. Although Il12b mRNA was transiently induced in LPS-activated WT bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), expression persisted in Il10−/− BMDMs. There were no differences in nucleosome remodeling, mRNA stability, NF-κB activation, or MAPK signaling to explain prolonged transcription of Il12b in Il10−/− BMDMs. However, acetylated histone H4 transiently associated with the Il12b promoter in WT BMDMs, whereas association of these factors was prolonged in Il10−/− BMDMs. Experiments using histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and HDAC3 short hairpin RNA indicate that HDAC3 is involved in histone deacetylation of the Il12b promoter by IL-10. These results suggest that histone deacetylation on the Il12b promoter by HDAC3 mediates homeostatic effects of IL-10 in macrophages.
A Carbon Nanotube Field-Emission Electron Source

A high-intensity electron gun based on field emission from a film of aligned carbon nanotubes has been made. The gun consists of a nanotube film with a 1-millimeter-diameter grid about 20 micrometers above it. Field-emission current densities of about 0.1 milliampere per square centimeter were observed for applied voltages as low as 200 volts, and current densities greater than 100 milliamperes per square centimeter have been realized at 700 volts. The gun is air-stable, easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and functions stably and reliably for long times (short-term fluctuations are on the order of 10 percent). The entire gun is only about 0.2 millimeter thick and can be produced with virtually no restrictions on its area, from less than 1 square millimeter to hundreds of square centimeters, making it suitable for flat panel display applications.
Modelling and robust stability of networked control systems with packet reordering and long delay

In this article, modelling and robust stability of networked control systems (NCS) are discussed. Considering the existence of packet reordering and network-induced delay, a new mathematical model of NCS whose network-induced delay is longer than one sampling period is obtained, which can fully describe packet reordering and effectively eliminate the impact of packet reordering on the performance of NCS such that the newest control input can be executed by the actuator. Based on this model, the time-varying NCS is converted into an uncertain discrete linear system with multi-step delay in terms of matrix theory. Furthermore, a sufficient condition for robust stability of NCS is presented. Linear matrix inequality approach has been employed to solve the controller design problems. Numerical examples are compared with previous schemes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A DOR CRÔNICA SOB O OLHAR DO PROFISSIONAL DA TERAPIA COGNITIVA COMPORTAMENTAL

Este estudo descritivo e quanti/qualitativo objetivou investigar as contribuicoes da Terapia Cognitiva Comportamental no tratamento da dor cronica e da Sindrome Fibromialgia. Participaram desse estudo, 25 psicologos que trabalham em Uberlândia. Os criterios de inclusao dos participantes foram: atuar de acordo com a abordagem Cognitiva Comportamental, e concordar em participar da pesquisa ao assinar o Termo de Compromisso Livre e Esclarecido. Os instrumentos utilizados na pesquisa foram: Questionario Socio Demografico, Questionario de Entrevista Estruturada. Os resultados indicaram que a TCC pode contribuir no tratamento da dor cronica e da sindrome Fibromialgia e na melhora de vida do paciente a partir da mudanca da percepcao desse paciente do estimulo doloroso. Existe uma relacao entre a dor cronica e a sindrome fibromialgia pela otica dos profissionais da terapia cognitiva comportamental para 40% dos participantes. A TCC tem demonstrado resultados satisfatorios no tratamento da cor cronica e da sindrome Fibromialgia. De acordo com os resultados a doenca tem um bom prognostico para 52% dos entrevistados. Esta pesquisa demonstra a importância dos cursos de graduacao de oferecerem disciplinas e estagios nos quais os alunos possam ter contato com a amplidao teorica que constitui o campo da psicologia, incluindo a Abordagem Cognitiva Comportamental, nao se restringindo ou enfocando apenas uma ou outra teoria.