Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered Cytokine Responses of Dengue-Specific CD4+ T Cells to Heterologous Serotypes 1

The interplay of different inflammatory cytokines induced during a dengue (DEN) virus infection plays a role in either protection or increased disease severity. We measured the frequencies and characterized the cytokine responses of DEN virus-specific memory CD4+ T cells in PBMC of six volunteers who received experimental live attenuated monovalent DEN vaccines. IFN-γ and TNF-α responses to inactivated DEN Ags were detected in up to 0.54 and 1.17% of total circulating CD4+ T cells, respectively. Ags from the homologous serotype elicited the highest IFN-γ response. The ratio of TNF-α- to IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells was higher after stimulation with Ags from heterologous DEN serotypes. Peptide-specific CD4+ T cell frequencies of up to 0.089% were detected by direct staining using HLA class II tetramers. IFN-γ and TNF-α responses to individual HLA class II-restricted peptide epitopes were detected in up to 0.05 and 0.27% of CD4+ T cells, respectively. Peptide sequences from the homologous serotype elicited a variety of cytokine response patterns. TNF-α- to IFN-γ-positive CD4+ T cell ratios varied between peptides, but the ratio of the sum of responses was highest against heterologous serotypes. These results demonstrate epitope sequence-specific differences in T cell effector function. These patterns of effector responses may play a role in the immunopathogenesis of DEN hemorrhagic fever.
Characteristics of sulfate transport across plasmalemma and tonoplast of carrot root cells.

Compartmental analysis of (35)SO(4) (2-) exchange kinetics is used to obtain SO(4) (2-) fluxes and compartment contents in carrot (Daucus carota L.) storage root cells, where 2 to 5% of the SO(4) (2-) taken up is reduced to organic form. The necessary curve fitting is verified by (a) consistency between ;content versus time' and ;rate versus time' plots of washout data; (b) agreement between loading and washout kinetics; and (c) correct identification of the fastest exchange phase as being from extracellular spaces.Sulfate is actively transported up an electrochemical potential gradient at both plasmalemma and tonoplast. The plasmalemma influx is from 2 to 10 times higher than the tonoplast influx, is much greater than the SO(4) (2-) reduction rate, and would not limit the rate of either. This is consistent with the finding that the plasmalemma influx is not regulated by internal SO(4) (2-) or cysteine (Cram 1982 Plant Sci Lett, in press). Both SO(4) (2-) influxes rise with only limited saturation as the external SO(4) (2-) concentration increases up to 50 millimolarity. Both effluxes appear to be passive, with extensive recycling in the plasmalemma influx pump. SO(4) (2-) permeability is about 10(-11) meter per second at both membranes.The high, nonlimiting fluxes of SO(4) (2-) at the plasmalemma relative to the tonoplast (found also in Lemna; Thoiron, Thoiron, Demarty, Thellier 1981 Biochim Biophys Acta 644: 24-35) contrasts with SO(4) (2-) fluxes in bacteria and with Cl(-) fluxes in plant cells. Their implications for work on characteristics and regulation of SO(4) (2-) uptake in roots and tissue cultures are discussed.
Selexipag for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Introduction: Selexipag is a first-in-class orally available selective non-prostanoid IP receptor agonist. This review was based on a PubMed search and focuses on the potential role of selexipag in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Areas covered: Selexipag is rapidly hydrolyzed to an active metabolite, ACT-333679. Both selexipag and its metabolite are highly selective for the IP receptor compared with other prostanoid receptors. This selectivity for the IP receptor offers the potential for improved tolerability with selexipag, as side effects (e.g., nausea and vomiting) that might result from activation of the other prostanoid receptors may be minimized. In addition, the selexipag metabolite has a half-life of 7.9 h, thus permitting oral dosing twice daily. Selexipag showed effects on pharmacodynamic end points obtained with right heart catheterization in a Phase II trial in patients with PAH, and is being evaluated in the ongoing Phase III trial (GRIPHON trial, Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01106014). Expert opinion: The signal of a beneficial effect of selexipag on disease progression may become more robust for long term under prolonged exposure. Pending the GRIPHON trial results, selexipag could provide a convenient first-line prostacyclin treatment option for patients with PAH.
Mirror descent in non-convex stochastic programming

In this paper, we examine a class of nonconvex stochastic opti- mization problems which we call variationally coherent , and which properly includes all quasi-convex programs. In view of solving such problems, we focus on the widely used stochastic mirror descent (SMD) family of algorithms, and we establish that the method’s last iterate converges with probability 1 . We further introduce a localized version of variational coherence which ensures local convergence of SMD with high probability. These results contribute to the landscape of nonconvex stochastic optimization by showing that quasicon- vexity is not essential for convergence: rather, variational coherence, a much weaker requirement, suffices. Finally, building on the above, we reveal an interesting insight regarding the convergence speed of SMD: in variationally coherent problems with sharp minima (e.g. generic linear programs), the last iterate of SMD reaches an exact global optimum in a finite number of steps (a.s.), even in the presence of persistent noise. This result is to be contrasted with existing work on black-box stochastic linear programs which only exhibit asymptotic convergence rates.
Neuronal activity and neurotrophic factors regulate GAD‐65/67 mRNA and protein expression in organotypic cultures of rat visual cortex

Environmental factors are known to regulate the molecular differentiation of neocortical interneurons. Their class‐defining transmitter synthetic enzymes are the glutamic acid decarboxylases (GAD); yet, fairly little is known about the developmental regulation of transcription and translation of the GAD‐65/67 isoforms. We have characterized the role of neuronal activity, neurotrophins and afferent systems for GAD‐65/67 expression in visual cortex in organotypic cultures (OTC) compared with in vivo in order to identify cortex‐intrinsic regulatory mechanisms. Spontaneously active OTC prepared at postnatal day 0 displayed from 10 days in vitro (DIV) onwards 12–14% GAD‐65/GAD‐67 neurons similar to in vivo. However, GAD‐65 mRNA was higher, whereas GAD‐67 protein was lower, than in vivo. During the first week neurotrophins increased whereas the Trk receptor inhibitor K252a and MEK inhibitors decreased both GAD mRNAs and proteins. After 10 DIV GAD expression no longer depended on neurotrophin signalling. Activity‐deprived OTC revealed only 6% GAD‐67 neurons and mRNA and protein were reduced by 50%. GAD‐65 mRNA was less reduced, but protein was reduced by half, suggesting translational regulation. Upon recovery of activity GAD mRNAs, cell numbers, and both proteins quickly returned to normal and these ‘adult’ levels were resistant to late‐onset deprivation. In 20 DIV activity‐deprived OTC, only neurotrophin 4 increased GAD‐65/67 mRNAs, rescued the percentage of GAD‐67 neurons and increased both proteins in a TrkB‐dependent manner. Activity deprivation had thus shifted the period of neurotrophin sensitivity to older ages. The results suggested neuronal activity as a major regulator differentially affecting transcription and translation of the GAD isoforms. The early presence of neuronal activity promoted the GAD expression in OTC to a neurotrophin‐independent state suggesting that neurotrophins play a context‐dependent role.
An SDN Architecture for Privacy-Friendly Network-Assisted DASH

Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) is the premier technology for Internet video streaming. DASH efficiently uses existing HTTP-based delivery infrastructures implementing adaptive streaming. However, DASH traffic is bursty in nature. This causes performance problems when DASH players share a network connection or in networks with heavy background traffic. The result is unstable and lower quality video. In this article, we present the design and implementation of a so-called DASH Assisting Network Element (DANE). Our system provides target bitrate signaling and dynamic traffic control. These two mechanisms realize proper bandwidth sharing among clients. Our system is privacy friendly and fully supports encrypted video streams. Trying to improve the streaming experience for users who share a network connection, our system increases the video bitrate and reduces the number of quality switches. We show this through evaluations in our Wi-Fi testbed.
Market Prices, Financial Ratios, And Prediction Of Failure

The failure of a firm, although infrequent, is extremely costly to suppliers of capital because reorganization or liquidation costs may consume a large portion of the value of the firm. Empirical evidence has indicated that financial ratios signal increases in the probability of failure for as much as five years prior to the failure of a firm. ' The first half of this paper describes an investigation of the extent to which changes in market prices of stocks can also be used to predict failure. The second half is concerned with the reliance investors place on financial ratios in assessing the solvency positions of firms. Financial ratios and market price changes will not be viewed as mutually exclusive or competing predictors of failure. Instead, an attempt will be made to explore the degree of association between the two predictors.
Bug/Drug Resistance: Sometimes Less is More

Increased use of antibiotics in any community increases the risks that future bacterial strains will resist the effects of current antibiotics. The consequences of a resistant bacterial strain include costs for more expensive and powerful drugs, additional hospital days, and on rare occasion, death. A key to understanding the importance of this problem is better knowledge about the rate that resistance increases and persists as antibiotic use rates increase. Using the scant evidence available in the literature, this study conducts a sensitivity analysis to calculate the unrecognized costs of antibiotic use annually in the United States under various possible circumstances. For the estimated 150 million annual antibiotic prescriptions, the unrecognized costs appears to be at least $. 1 billion, and they may exceed $30 billion in the worst case. The estimates of the burden caused by bacterial resistance to antibiotics depend heavily on unknown parameters, including the rate that resistance occurs, the dose-resistance patterns through time, the frequency of inappropriate use of antibiotics, and the frequency with which death occurs due to a resistant bacterial infection. New studies in each of these areas are needed to improve our understanding of the extent of the resistance problem.
A CORRELATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOMESTIC TOURISTS AND NETWORK ATTENTION

Based on the data of domestic tourists and network attention,the time and spacial distribution of domestic tourists and network attention in cities are analyzed.Correlative models of time and spacial distribution of domestic tourists and network attention are founded.Result shows that: ①Factors such as climate comfort degree,holidays are the main factors affecting the time distribution of domestic tourists and network attention.The coefficient of marginal utility of climate comfort degree and holidays to monthly index of domestic tourists and network attention are 0.207,4.173 and 0.743,5.093. ②Factors such as resource abundance,the level of economic development,population,climate comfort degree are the main factors affecting the spacial distribution of domestic tourists and network attention.Their coefficient of marginal utility to spacial distribution of domestic tourists and network attention are 37.102,0.683,1.356,47.175 and 0.397,0.002,0.005,0.786. ③There is a correlative relationship between domestic tourists and network attention both in time and spacial distribution.The monthly index of network attention change one percent,the monthly index of domestic tourists will increase(decrease) 0.611%. Domestic tourists will increase(decrease)1.26 million,if the network attention increase(decrease) 10,000 times.
Teacher Labor Markets in Developed Countries

Helen Ladd takes a comparative look at policies that the world's industrialized countries are using to assure a supply of high-quality teachers. Her survey puts U.S. educational policies and practices into international perspective. Ladd begins by examining teacher salaries—an obvious, but costly, policy tool. She finds, perhaps surprisingly, that students in countries with high teacher salaries do not in general perform better on international tests than those in countries with lower salaries. Ladd does find, however, that the share of underqualified teachers in a country is closely related to salary. In high-salary countries like Germany, Japan, and Korea, for example, only 4 percent of teachers are underqualified, as against more than 10 percent in the United States, where teacher salaries, Ladd notes, are low relative to those in other industrialized countries. Teacher shortages also appear to stem from policies that make salaries uniform across academic subject areas and across geographic regions. Shortages are especially common in math and science, in large cities, and in rural areas. Among the policy strategies proposed to deal with such shortages is to pay teachers different salaries according to their subject area. Many countries are also experimenting with financial incentive packages, including bonuses and loans, for teachers in specific subjects or geographic areas. Ladd notes that many developed countries are trying to attract teachers by providing alternative routes into teaching, often through special programs in traditional teacher training institutions and through adult education or distance learning programs. To reduce attrition among new teachers, many developed countries have also been using formal induction or mentoring programs as a way to improve new teachers' chances of success. Ladd highlights the need to look beyond a single policy, such as higher salaries, in favor of broad packages that address teacher preparation and certification, working conditions, the challenges facing new teachers, and the distribution of teachers across geographic areas.
Magnetostrictive energy harvester with adjustable-air gap for low frequency human walking

This paper presents a prototype of magnetostrictive material-based vibration energy harvester, which is used to generate electricity during human walking with high power density. According to Villari effect (inverse-magnetostrictive effect), the harvester consists of a coil-wound magnetostrictive rod. In order to improve the harvesting effect, a magnetostrictive/electromagnetic hybrid configuration with an adjustable air gap is designed. It is followed with detailed analysis of mode effects on ΔB induced by single Δσ and ΔH for optimized design. Then, the magnetic field and leakage of the harvester are analyzed, mechanical parameters of the harvester are optimally determined. Lastly, a prototype of harvester is fabricated and tested. The proposed structure has larger piezomagnetic effect than traditional harvesters, especially under the 5–10MPa compress stress (impact of human walking is set about 5–12.5MPa). Also, it has good harvesting effects in 0.01–0.1s impact vibration time, and can be safely used in up to 20MPa transient impact, which is suitable for future researches of power generating floor systems.
First-SIGNAL: first-line single-agent iressa versus gemcitabine and cisplatin trial in never-smokers with adenocarcinoma of the lung.

PURPOSE Gefitinib has shown high response rate and improved progression-free survival (PFS) in never-smokers with lung adenocarcinoma (NSLAs). We compared efficacy of gefitinib with gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) chemotherapy in this group of patients as first-line therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this randomized phase III trial, a total of 313 Korean never-smokers with stage IIIB or IV lung adenocarcinoma, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 2, and adequate organ function were randomly assigned to receive either gefitinib (250 mg daily) or GP chemotherapy (gemcitabine 1,250 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8; cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) on day 1 every 3 weeks, for up to nine courses). The primary objective was to demonstrate better overall survival (OS) for gefitinib compared with GP in chemotherapy-naive NSLAs. RESULTS Three hundred nine patients were analyzed per protocol (gefitinib arm, n = 159; GP arm, n = 150). Gefitinib did not show better OS compared with GP (hazard ratio [HR], 0.932; 95% CI, 0.716 to 1.213; P = .604; median OS, 22.3 v 22.9 months, respectively). The 1-year PFS rates were 16.7% with gefitinib and 2.8% with GP (HR, 1.198; 95% CI, 0.944 to 1.520). Response rates were 55% with gefitinib and 46% with GP (P = .101). Myelosuppression, renal insufficiency, and fatigue were more common in the GP arm, but skin toxicities and liver dysfunction were more common in the gefitinib arm. Two patients (1.3%) in the gefitinib arm developed interstitial lung disease and died. CONCLUSION Gefitinib failed to demonstrate superior OS compared with GP as first-line therapy for NSLAs.
Effects of early and late intravenous norepinephrine infusion on cerebral perfusion, microcirculation, brain-tissue oxygenation, and edema formation in brain-injured rats

ObjectivesReduction of cerebral perfusion during the early phase after traumatic brain injury is followed by a later phase of normal to increased perfusion. Thus, pharmacologically elevating mean arterial blood pressure with the aim of improving cerebral perfusion may exert different time-dependent effects on cortical perfusion, microcirculation, tissue oxygenation and brain edema formation after traumatic brain injury. DesignRandomized, placebo-controlled trial. SettingExperimental laboratory at a university hospital. SubjectsA total of 37 male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to a focal cortical contusion. InterventionsAt 4 or 24 hrs after focal traumatic brain injury, mean arterial blood pressure was increased to 120 mm Hg for 90 mins by infusing norepinephrine. In rats receiving physiologic saline, mean arterial blood pressure remained unchanged. In the first series, pericontusional cortical perfusion was measured using the laser Doppler flowmetry scanning technique before injury and before, during, and after the infusion period. In a second series, intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressure and intraparenchymal perfusion and tissue oxygen measured within the contused and pericontusional cortex were recorded continuously before, during, and after norepinephrine infusion. Changes in cortical microcirculation were investigated by orthogonal polarization spectral imaging. At the end of each experiment, hemispheric swelling and water content were determined gravimetrically. Measurements and Main ResultsAt 4 and 24 hrs after traumatic brain injury, intravenous norepinephrine significantly increased pericontusional cortical perfusion, which was also reflected by an increase in diameters and flow velocities of pericontusional arterioles and venules. Cerebral perfusion pressure and intraparenchymal perfusion and tissue oxygen were significantly increased during norepinephrine infusion at 4 and 24 hrs. Hemispheric swelling and water content showed no difference between the groups. ConclusionsAfter cortical impact injury, early and late intravenous norepinephrine infusion pressure-dependently increased cerebral perfusion and tissue oxygenation without aggravating or reducing brain edema formation. Future studies are warranted to determine long-term changes of short and prolonged norepinephrine-induced increases in mean arterial blood pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure.
Role of WTO in promoting merchandise trade of BRICS

Abstract World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established on 1 January 1995 after the collapse of GATT and countries joined with the aim of better international trade. An important economic union of the present time is BRICS, all countries of the union being members of WTO. This study is based on identifying the role of WTO in promotion of merchandise trade of BRICS. The time period of the study is post WTO era from 1995 to 2014 and the estimation relies on the usage of econometric model developed on Baseline Gravity Model.
Incomplete healing of the uterine incision after caesarean section: Is it preventable?

OBJECTIVE To find out whether a change in suturing technique might affect the healing of the uterine scar after caesarean section (CS). STUDY DESIGN In this randomised prospective study, 78 term pregnant patients delivered by CS were allocated to two different suturing techniques either including or excluding the endometrial layer. The integrity of the uterine incision was checked by ultrasound 40-42 days after the operation. Any deviation from the full thickness apposition of the anterior uterine wall (with the ratio: [anterior wall thickness/(anterior wall thickness+height of the wedge shaped defect)]<1) was considered to represent incomplete healing. Both groups were then compared in terms of the frequency of incomplete healing. Chi square and Student's t-test were used where appropriate. A logistic regression model was used to adjust for confounding factors. RESULTS The frequency of incomplete healing was significantly lower in the group treated by full thickness suturing (44.7% versus 68.8%); (OR: 2.718; CI: 1.016-7.268). Similarly the mean values for the incomplete healing ratio were 0.77+/-0.17 and 0.86+/-0.17 (p = 0.03) in split and full thickness groups, respectively. After adjusting for other confounding factors the suture technique still remained as a significant determinant of the incisional healing (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION By selecting full thickness suturing technique one may significantly lower the incidence of incomplete healing of the uterine incision after CS.
Three-Dimensional Analysis of Chloroplast Structures Associated with Virus Infection1

Three-dimensional visualization identifies structural remodeling in chloroplasts during barley stripe mosaic virus infection. Chloroplasts are multifunctional organelles whose morphology is affected by environmental stresses. Although the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of thylakoid membranes has been reported previously, a 3D visualization of chloroplast under stress has not been explored. In this work, we used a positive-strand RNA ((+)RNA) virus, barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) to observe chloroplast structural changes during infection by electron tomography. The analyses revealed remodeling of the chloroplast membranes, characterized by the clustering of outer membrane-invaginated spherules in inner membrane-derived packets. Diverse morphologies of cytoplasmic invaginations (CIs) were evident with spherules at the periphery and different sized openings connecting the CIs to the cytoplasm. Immunoelectron microscopy of these viral components verified that the aberrant membrane structures were sites for BSMV replication. The BSMV αa replication protein localized at the surface of the chloroplasts and played a prominent role in eliciting chloroplast membrane rearrangements. In sum, our results have revealed the 3D structure of the chloroplasts induced by BSMV infection. These findings contribute to our understanding of chloroplast morphological changes under stress conditions and during assembly of plant (+)RNA virus replication complexes.