Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional regions of the mouse interleukin-10 receptor cytoplasmic domain

The functions of wild-type and mutant mouse interleukin-10 receptors (mIL-10R) expressed in murine Ba/F3 cells were studied. As observed previously, IL-10 stimulates proliferation of IL-10R-expressing Ba/F3 cells. Accumulation of viable cells in the proliferation assay is to a significant extent balanced by concomitant cell death. Moreover, growth in IL-10 also induces a previously unrecognized response, differentiation of the cells, as evidenced both by formation of large clusters of cells in cultures with IL-10 and by induction or enhancement of expression of several cell surface antigens, including CD32/16, CD2, LECAM-1 (v-selectin), and heat-stable antigen. Two distinct functional regions near the C terminus of the mIL-10R cytoplasmic domain which mediate proliferation were identified; one of these regions also mediates the differentiation response. A third region proximal to the transmembrane domain was identified; removal of this region renders the cell 10- to 100-fold more sensitive to IL-10 in the proliferation assay. In cells expressing both wild-type and mutant IL-10R, stimulation with IL-10 leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of the kinases JAK1 and TYK2 but not JAK2 or JAK3 under the conditions tested.
The clinical spectrum of shunt nephritis.

BACKGROUND Shunt nephritis is an immune-complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (GN) associated with chronically infected ventriculoatrial shunts inserted for treatment of hydrocephalus. METHODS Six patients aged 5-22 years with shunt nephritis are reported who have been observed between 1971 and 1994. The clinical course and long-term outcome are analysed in relation to the time of diagnosis and renal histopathology. RESULTS The time of diagnosis of shunt nephritis ranged from 0.3 to 4.5 years after the last shunt operation. Diagnosis was delayed up to 1.5 years after the first clinical manifestations. All patients had signs of infection, i.e. recurrent fever, hepatosplenomegaly, anaemia, and cerebral symptoms. Renal manifestations consisted of haematuria (macroscopic in 3 patients), proteinuria (heavy in 5), renal insufficiency (4) and hypertension (2). Decreased C3 levels, cryoglobulins, and antinuclear factors were frequent. Cultures of blood and cerebrospinal fluid provided growth mainly of S. epidermidis. Renal biopsy revealed endocapillary GN (1), membranoproliferative GN (1) and endocapillary/extracapillary GN with crescents (2). All patients received antibiotics i.v. Complete recovery was observed in three of four patients in whom the shunt was totally removed, supported by transient external drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, and followed by placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. One child with delayed diagnosis, presenting with a serum creatinine of 3.2 mg/dl, hypertension, and severe scarring on renal biopsy, rapidly progressed to irreversible ESRD within 5 months. Two patients without and only partial removal of the shunt died subsequently from sepsis. CONCLUSIONS The renal outcome of shunt nephritis is good if early diagnosis and treatment is provided including i.v. antibiotics and total removal of the infected shunt. The possible progression to ESRD requires frequent nephrological monitoring of patients with ventriculoatrial shunts.
Idiopathic Tracheal Stenosis: A Clinicopathologic Study of 63 Cases and Comparison of the Pathology With Chondromalacia

Tracheal stenosis in adults usually is the result of mechanical injuries either from direct trauma or intubation. Rarely do cases develop in patients without such a precedent history, and there are few reports of the pathology of idiopathic tracheal stenosis (ITS). We reviewed clinicopathologically, 63 tracheal resections for tracheal stenosis in patients who had no antecedent explanation for their stenosis. We contrasted these 63 cases with 34 cases of tracheal stenosis owing to chondromalacia (CM) after mechanical injury. All 63 cases occurred in females, with a mean age of 49 years. The most common symptom was dyspnea on exertion. The average duration of symptoms was greater than 2 years. One-third of the patients gave a history of gastroesophageal reflux. All but one of the cases occurred in the subglottic region and/or upper one-third of the trachea. Pathologically, most cases showed extensive keloidal fibrosis and dilation of mucus glands, a finding that was not obvious in most cases of CM. ITS has relatively normal cartilage with smooth inner and outer perichondrium, whereas CM has extensive degeneration of cartilage with irregular border of inner perichondrium observable at shirt sleeve magnification. Immunohistochemical staining for estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor was positive in fibroblasts cells in most cases. ITS is a rare disease and restricted to females. It may represent some form of fibromatosis. ITS can be distinguished histologically from CM in tracheal resection specimens in most cases.
Methodology for Smooth Connection of Doubly Fed Induction Generators to the Grid

A systematic methodology for smooth connection of wind-turbine-driven doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) to the grid is presented. Synchronization of the voltage induced in the DFIG open stator to that of the grid, which needs to be accomplished prior to connection, is thoroughly examined. A particular grid-voltage-oriented rotor control scheme is considered for this purpose. Generic tuning equations for the rotor current integral-proportional (I-P) controllers involved in this scheme are also derived. Transition between the control configurations devoted to synchronization and normal operation-active power generation and reactive power interchange with the grid-at the instant of connection is studied in detail. Mainly due to the reference frame selected for synchronization, the greater part of this transition takes place naturally. However, given that the rotor current dynamics vary significantly depending on whether the DFIG stator is connected to the grid or not, the parameters of the I-P controllers involved in both schemes will accordingly be different. Consequently, a ldquobumplessrdquo strategy is provided that preserves the smoothness of the connection. A simple method for initial rotor positioning, required when performing vector control based on an incremental encoder, is also suggested. The resulting overall methodology is validated on a 7-kW DFIG-based laboratory-scale test bench.
Can Social Media Lead to Labor Market Discrimination? Evidence from a Field Experiment

With the advance of online social networks, the screening of applicants during hiring can extend beyond the usual application material. Although browsing the online profile of an applicant raises ethical issues, this practice potentially improves the job matching, at virtually no cost to the employer. In this paper, we investigate the use of online social networks as a reliable source of information for recruiters on applicants in the French job market.We set up a field experiment using real accountant job offers in the greater Paris area. We adjust the content of Facebook accounts to manipulate the perceived origins of applicants (hometown and language spoken) and analyze the impact on the number of callbacks received from employers. The signal we manipulate to distinguish applicants is available only within the online profile, not the application material. During a 12 month period from March 2012 to March 2013, we submitted more than 800 applications. The test applicant received a third fewer callbacks compared to the control applicant, a significant difference. Our results suggest that online profiles are used indeed to screen applicants, and that this occurs early in the hiring process.During the course of the experiment, a change to the standard Facebook layout sent a part of our signal, namely the language spoken by the applicants, into a sub-tab not directly visible from the front page. This exogenous change (clicking on a tab is now required to access the information) allowed us to measure the recruiter's depth of search. In subsequent months, the gap between the two applicant types shrank and virtually disappeared. This suggests that screening is superficial, illustrating the existence of employer search costs for browsing an entire profile.
Novel and future applications of microarrays in toxicological research

Microarray technologies have both fascinated and frustrated the toxicological community since their introduction around a decade ago. Fascination arose from the possibility offered by the technology to gain a profound insight into the cellular response to chemically mediated stress, and the potential that this genomic signature would be indicative of the biological mechanism by which that stress was induced. Frustrations have arisen primarily from technical factors such as data variance, the requirement for the application of advanced statistical and mathematical analysis, and difficulties associated with actually recognising signature gene expression patterns, and discerning mechanisms. Toxicogenomics was predicted to make toxicological assessment and extrapolation easier, faster and cheaper. The reality has been somewhat different; toxicogenomics is difficult. However, its potential when properly applied has been indicated by some well designed toxicogenomics studies, particularly in the differentiation of genotoxins from non-genotoxins. Technology waits though for no man. While the toxicological community has been working to apply transcriptomics (mRNA levels) in toxicology, the technology has moved beyond this application into new arenas. Some have application to toxicology and are reviewed here, except transcriptomics which has been extensively written about before. This review discusses the application of microarray technologies applied to the genome per se (amplifications, deletions, epigenetic change), mRNA translation and its control mechanisms through miRNA. Which of the new genomics technologies will find most application in toxicology? In the opinion of the author there are three potentially major applications: i) arrayCGH in assessment and recognition of genotoxicity; ii) epigenetic assessment in developmental and transgenerational toxicology; and iii) miRNA assessment in all toxicology types, but particularly developmental toxicology.
Formulation and In Vitro Characterization of Thiolated Buccoadhesive Film of Fluconazole

The present work is focused on the development of thiolated film for fluconazole buccal delivery. To this end, unmodified polymers chitosan and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) backbone was covalently modified by thioglycolic acid (TGA) and cysteine, respectively. The thiolated buccoadhesive film was evaluated in terms of thickness, weight uniformity, water-uptake capacity, drug content, and release patterns. Moreover, mucoadhesion profile was investigated on buccal mucosa. The resulting chitosan–TGA and NaCMC–cysteine conjugates displayed 171 ± 13 and 380 ± 19 μmol thiol groups per gram of polymer (mean ± SD; n = 3), respectively. The water binding capacity of the thiolated film was significantly ∼2-fold higher (p < 0.05) as compared to unmodified film. The obtained thiolated film displayed 5.8-fold higher mucoadhesive properties compared with corresponding film. Controlled release of drugs from film was observed over 8 h. The transport of fluconazole across excised buccal mucosa was enhanced up to 17-fold in comparison with fluconazole applied in buffer. Based on these findings, thiolated film seems to be promising for fluconazole buccal delivery.
Cloud–Fog–Based Smart Grid Model for Efficient Resource Management

A smart grid (SG) is a modernized electric grid that enhances the reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and economics of electricity services. Moreover, it plays a vital role in modern energy infrastructure. The core challenge faced by SGs is how to efficiently utilize different kinds of front-end smart devices, such as smart meters and power assets, and in what manner to process the enormous volume of data received from these devices. Furthermore, cloud and fog computing provide on-demand resources for computation, which is a good solution to overcome SG hurdles. Fog-based cloud computing has numerous good characteristics, such as cost-saving, energy-saving, scalability, flexibility, and agility. Resource management is one of the big issues in SGs. In this paper, we propose a cloud–fog–based model for resource management in SGs. The key idea of the proposed work is to determine a hierarchical structure of cloud–fog computing to provide different types of computing services for SG resource management. Regarding the performance enhancement of cloud computing, different load balancing techniques are used. For load balancing between an SG user’s requests and service providers, five algorithms are implemented: round robin, throttled, artificial bee colony (ABC), ant colony optimization (ACO), and particle swarm optimization. Moreover, we propose a hybrid approach of ACO and ABC known as hybrid artificial bee ant colony optimization (HABACO). Simulation results show that our proposed technique HABACO outperformed the other techniques.
Screening mammograms: interpretation with computer-aided detection--prospective evaluation.

PURPOSE To prospectively determine the effect of a commercially available computer-aided detection (CAD) system on interpretations of screening mammograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval was granted; informed consent and HIPAA compliance were waived. A total of 21 349 screening mammograms obtained in 18 096 women were interpreted first without and then with review of CAD images to determine the effect of CAD analysis on the screening breast cancer detection rate, recall rate, and positive predictive value (PPV) for biopsy. The percentage of total cancers detected by the radiologists independent of CAD and the percentage correctly marked by the CAD system were determined. RESULTS On the basis of pre-CAD interpretations, 2101 patients were recalled for diagnostic evaluation, 256 biopsies were performed, and 105 breast cancers were diagnosed. The breast cancer detection rate per 1000 screening mammograms was 4.92 (105 of 21 349 mammograms), the recall rate was 9.84% (2101 of 21 349 mammograms), and the PPV for biopsy was 41.0% (105 of 256 biopsies). After CAD image review, 199 additional patients were recalled, 21 additional biopsies were performed, and eight additional cancers were detected. The effect was a 7.62% (eight of 105) increase in the number of breast cancers detected, an increase in the recall rate to 10.77% (2300 of 21 349 mammograms), and a slight decrease in the PPV to 40.8% (113 of 277 biopsies). Radiologists detected 92.9% (105 of 113 cancers) of the total cancers, and CAD correctly marked 76.1% (86 of 113 cancers). CONCLUSION The use of CAD improved the detection of breast cancer, with an acceptable increase in the recall rate and a minimal increase in the number of biopsies with benign results.
Dynamic Epidemic Model for Influenza with Clinical Complications

Objective. To incorporate clinical complications in the susceptible-infectious-recovered model to estimate parameters needed in dynamic changes of infectious diseases and to further evaluate the impact of disease-controlling methods. Methods. We developed a new extended epidemic model that incorporates of disease-related complications. This model was applied to empirical data on influenza during the epidemic season of 2001–2002 in Taipei County, Taiwan, to estimate the transmission parameters that were converted to the basic reproductive rate (R0). The proposed model, in conjunction with estimated parameters, was applied in quantifying the efficacy of different preventive strategies. Results. During the study period there were 5 outbreaks of influenza. The estimated transmission probability for outbreak 1 was 0.135, with corresponding estimate of R 0, 2.7; for outbreak 2, 0.165, with estimated R 0, 3.3; for outbreak 3, 0.15, with R 0, 4.5; for outbreak 4, 0.165, with R 0, 5; and for outbreak 5, 0.165, with R 0 5. The efficacy of antiviral prophylaxis to reduce the total episodes was 18% (95% CI, 15%–21%) under the coverage rate of 30%, 31% (95% CI, 26%–36%) under the coverage rate of 50%, and 73% (95% CI, 59%–90%) under the coverage rate of 80%. The corresponding figures for the efficacy of vaccination were 17% (95% CI, 15%–20%), 41% (95% CI, 35%–48%), and 76% (95% CI, 61%–95%). Combination of both methods would yield efficacy of 32% (95% CI, 28%–38%), 59% (95% CI, 49%–71%), and 88% (95% CI, 66%–118%), respectively. Conclusions. We demonstrate how to apply a novel extended model to empirical surveillance data of an influenza study for estimating parameters pertaining to dynamic changes in the infection process. These parameters were further used to evaluate the impact of antiviral prophylaxis alone, vaccination alone, or the use of both methods.
Mild to Moderate, but Not Minimal or Severe, Acute Histologic Chorioamnionitis or Intra-Amniotic Inflammation Is Associated with a Decrease in Respiratory Distress Syndrome of Preterm Newborns without Fetal Growth Restriction

Background: Acute histologic chorioamnionitis (acute-HCA) is known to be associated with a decreased risk of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in newborns. However, there is no information about whether the severity of acute-HCA or intra-amniotic inflammation (IAI) is associated with the development of RDS. Objectives: To assess the relationship between the severity of acute-HCA or IAI and the development of RDS in preterm newborns due to preterm labor and intact membranes (PTL) or preterm premature rupture of membranes (preterm-PROM) without fetal growth restriction (FGR). Methods: The frequency of RDS was examined in 378 singleton preterm neonates (24.5-34 weeks' gestation) due to PTL or preterm-PROM without FGR. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to the severity of acute-HCA (i.e. total grade: minimal, 1; mild, 2; moderate, 3-4; severe, 5-6) or IAI (i.e. amniotic fluid MMP-8: minimal, 23-100 ng/ml; mild, 100-400 ng/ml; moderate, 400-800 ng/ml; severe, ≥800 ng/ml). Amniotic fluid MMP-8 was measured in 196 patients delivered within 7 days of amniocentesis. Results: Mild to moderate, but not minimal or severe, acute-HCA (minimal, 24%; mild, 13%; moderate, 19%; severe, 41%; preterm-reference group, 26%) or IAI (minimal, 24%; mild, 11%; moderate, 17%; severe, 25%; preterm reference group, 23%) was associated with a significant decrease in RDS as compared with the preterm reference group (each for p < 0.05 after the adjustment of gestational age at delivery, antenatal corticosteroid use, newborn gender, cesarean delivery and preterm-PROM as a cause of preterm birth). Conclusions: Mild to moderate, but not minimal or severe, acute-HCA or IAI is associated with a significant decrease in RDS among preterm neonates due to PTL or preterm-PROM without FGR.
Myocardial ischemia decreases oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase in subsarcolemmal mitochondria.

The effect of myocardial ischemia on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation was investigated using isolated, buffer-perfused rabbit hearts. After 45 min of global ischemia, oxidative phosphorylation was decreased only in the subsarcolemmal population of mitochondria with all substrates tested. The oxidation of N,N,N',N' tetramethyl p-phenylenediamine-ascorbate, an electron donor to cytochrome oxidase via cytochrome c, was decreased in subsarcolemmal mitochondria [ischemia (n = 6): 76 +/- 3 vs. control (n = 5): 105 +/- 6 nanoatoms O.min-1.mg-1, P < 0.01] but not in interfibrillar mitochondria. Only minor morphological changes were observed by electron microscopy in the isolated mitochondria after ischemia. Neither cytochrome oxidase activity measured under conditions for maximal activity nor the apparent Michaelis constant and maximum velocity values of the two cytochrome c binding sites were different in subsarcolemmal mitochondria isolated from ischemic and control hearts. The cytochrome c content was decreased in subsarcolemmal mitochondria after ischemia (ischemia: 0.111 +/- 0.013 vs. control: 0.156 +/- 0.007 nmol/mg protein, P < 0.05). Thus ischemia decreased the rate of oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase selectively in intact subsarcolemmal mitochondria. Ischemic damage to the terminal segment of the electron transport chain involves a decrease in the content of cytochrome c, whereas the expressible catalytic activity of cytochrome oxidase remains unchanged.
Potential use of 10-year and lifetime coronary risk information for preventive cardiology prescribing decisions: a primary care physician survey.

BACKGROUND Data are sparse regarding how physicians use coronary risk information for prescribing decisions. METHODS We presented 5 primary prevention scenarios to primary care physicians affiliated with an academic center and surveyed their responses after they were provided with (1) patient risk factor information, (2) 10-year estimated coronary disease risk information, and (3) 10-year and lifetime risk estimates. We asked about aspirin prescribing, lipid testing, and lipid-lowering drug prescribing. RESULTS Of 202 physicians surveyed, 99 (49%) responded. The physicians made guideline-concordant aspirin decisions 51% to 91% of the time using risk factor information alone. Providing 10-year risk estimates increased concordant aspirin prescribing when the 10-year coronary risk was moderately high (15%) and decreased guideline-discordant prescribing when the 10-year risk was low (2 of 4 cases). Providing the lifetime risk information sometimes increased guideline-discordant aspirin prescribing. The physicians selected guideline-concordant thresholds for initiating treatment with lipid-lowering drugs 44% to 75% of the time using risk factor information alone. Selecting too low or too high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol thresholds was common. Ten-year risk information improved concordance when the 10-year risk was moderately high. Providing lifetime risk information increased willingness to initiate pharmacotherapy at low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels that were lower than those recommended by guidelines when the 10-year risk was low but the lifetime risk was high. CONCLUSIONS Providing 10-year coronary risk information improved some hypothetical aspirin-prescribing decisions and improved lipid management when the short-term risk was moderately high. High lifetime risk sometimes led to more intensive prescription of aspirin or lipid-lowering medication. This outcome suggests that, to maximize the benefits of risk-calculating tools, specific guideline recommendations should be provided along with risk estimates.