Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synovial tissue macrophage populations and articular damage in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relative contribution of individual synovial cell populations to polyarticular destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Serial measurements of disease activity and articular destruction, obtained prospectively in 28 RA patients followed for a mean of 5.8 years, were correlated with synovial cell populations quantified using immunohistochemical techniques. RESULTS The mean radiologic score worsened (from 37 to 86; P = 0.0001) despite significant improvement in disease activity. Synovial lining layer cell depth and sublining layer macrophage, but no lymphocyte, cell counts correlated significantly with radiologic course. Detailed analysis of 11 patients demonstrated reduced synovial lining expression of CD14 compared with CD68 (P = 0.003), whereas sublining expression of CD14 and CD68 was equivalent. CONCLUSION Synovial macrophage numbers correlated with articular destruction in RA. In addition, the study results provided further evidence that lining layer macrophages may represent a distinct subpopulation that is of importance in this process. These findings have implications for the development of new therapies for RA.
Non-Equilibrium Modeling of Inductively Coupled RF Plasmas

Abstract : This paper discusses the modeling of non-equilibrium effects in inductively coupled plasma facilities. The model relies on the solution of the Navier-Stokes and Maxwell equations in a one-dimensional geometry. Steady-state solutions are obtained by means of an implicit Finite Volume method. Non-equilibrium effects are treated by means of a hybrid State-to-State formulation. The electronic states of atoms are treated as separate species, allowing for non-Boltzmann distributions of their populations. Thermal non-equilibrium between the translation and vibrational of heavy-particles is accounted for by means of a multi-temperature approach. The results show that non-equilibrium plays an important role close to the walls, due to the combined effects of Ohming heating, and chemical composition and temperature gradients.
New Tyrosinase Inhibitory Sesquiterpenes from Chloranthus henryi

Chemical investigation of the leaves and stems of Chloranthus henryi resulted in the isolation and characterization of two new eudesmane‐type sesquiterpenes, 1 and 2, and two new germacrane‐type sesquiterpenes, 3 and 4, together with two known compounds. The inhibitory activities against tyrosinase of all isolates were also evaluated.
Enterprise Resource Management in Mesos Clusters

Enterprise data centers increasingly adopt a cloud-like architecture that enables the execution of multiple workloads on a shared pool of resources, reduces the data center footprint and drives down the costs. A number of cluster resource managers have appeared over the last few years, aimed at providing a uniform technology-neutral resource representation and management substrate. Examples include Apache YARN, Google Borg and Omega, Apache Mesos, and IBM Platform EGO. The Apache Mesos project [2] is emerging as a leading open source resource management technology for server clusters. Mesos offers simple yet powerful and flexible APIs, highly available and fault tolerant architecture, scalability to large clusters, isolation between tasks using Linux containers, multi-dimensional resource scheduling, ability to allocate shares of the cluster to roles representing users or user groups, and a clear separation of concerns between the applications (termed frameworks) and the "cluster kernel", which is Mesos. The resource scheduler of Mesos supports a generalization of max-min fairness, termed Dominant Resource Fairness (DRF) [1] scheduling discipline, which allows to harmonize execution of heterogeneous workloads (in terms of resource demand) by maximizing the share of any resource allocated to a specific framework. However, the default Mesos allocation mechanism lacks a number of policy and tenancy capabilities, important in enterprise deployments. We have investigated integration of Mesos with the IBM EGO (enterprise grid orchestrator) technology [3] which underpins various high performance computing, analytics and big data clusters in a variety of industry verticals including financial services, life sciences, manufacturing and electronics. We have designed and implemented an experimental integration prototype, and have tested it with SparkBench workloads. We demonstrate how Mesos can be enriched with new resource policy capabilities, required for managing enterprise data centers, such as • Capturing of the hierarchical structure of an enterprise (organisations, departments, groups, teams, users) by defining the corresponding resource consumer tree; • A fine grained resource plan allowing to define resource share ratio, ownership and lending/borrowing policies for each resource consumer; • A rich set of resource management policies making use of the hierarchical resource consumer model and providing fairness and isolation to the members of hierarchy including an important ability to dynamically change the allocations (time-based policy); • A Web-based GUI providing a centralized console through which the whole cluster is observed and managed. In particular, the cluster-wide resource management policies are applied through this GUI.
Long-term prescribing of proton pump inhibitors in general practice.

BACKGROUND Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) constitute the largest sector of the National Health Service (NHS) community drugs bill (238 m Pounds; 5.6%). Little is known of the long-term prescribing component of this. AIM To study the extent, the reasons for, and the cost implications of the long-term prescription of PPIs in general practice. METHOD Subjects on long-term therapy were identified by searches of computerized and paper records from three practices, comprising 21 GPs with 46,650 patients, representing a population cross section in north-east England. RESULTS Two hundred and nine (0.45%) patients were on long-term PPIs (range between practices = 0.3% to 0.55%): 87% were on omeprazole, 13% lansoprazole; average age = 60 years (male = 56 years, female = 64 years; range = 14 to 91 years); male to female ratio = 47:53. The main indications were 'reflux' (39%), 'oesophagitis' (17%), non-specified 'dyspepsia' (24%), 'peptic ulcer' (8%). During the study year, 1952 prescriptions (28-day courses) were issued: a mean of nine per patient (range = 1 to 8). Sixteen per cent of patients requested fewer than six prescriptions, 27% requested between six and nine prescriptions, and only 21% requested sufficient prescriptions for the entire year. The average cost was 3707 Pounds per general practitioner per annum, or 320,000 Pounds for the district, representing 40% of the total PPI bill. CONCLUSION Of the total population, 0.45% were prescribed long-term PPIs; most for symptom relief. The long-term component comprised 40% of all PPI costs estimated at 100 million Pounds per annum for the United Kingdom. Most patients took their treatment only intermittently. More research is needed into strategies for rationalization of long-term PPI therapy. For most patients, doctors can advise on-demand rather than regular once-daily therapy.
Murine C-type RNA Virus from Spontaneous Neoplasms: in vitro Host Range and Oncogenic Potential

Strain BALB/c mice harbor at least two host range variants of marine leukemia virus. One variant, which is host-cell tropic, is the predominant isolate from neoplastic tissues and produced lymphoreticular neoplasms when injected into BALB/c newborn mice. A second variant, whicht is isolated throughout life, grows poorly in host embryonic cells in culture and was not associated with lymphoreticular neoplasm induction when injected into newborn BALB/c mice.
A Brighter Future for Mormon Theology: Adam S. Miller’s Future Mormon

Adam S. Miller’s Future Mormon, his collection of “Essays in Mormon Theology,” is one of the most intriguing reads I’ve encountered in LDS studies. It is a book intended to make students of Mormonism, especially those within the Church, challenge lazy assumptions in our theological thinking and rethink our approach to help us build a stronger faith. Some of Miller’s work here will be readily grasped and appreciated by LDS students, while other parts may be more radical or opaque. From my perspective, the gems should make the book a valued addition to any LDS library, in spite of my occasional disagreement and failure to grasp a few sections. I look forward to more from this author.
A randomized controlled trial of the effects of muscle stretching, manual therapy and steroid injections in addition to ‘stay active’ care on health-related quality of life in acute or subacute low back pain

Objective: To evaluate the health-related quality of life effects of muscle stretching, manual therapy and steroid injections in addition to ‘stay active’ care in acute or subacute low back pain patients. Study design: A randomized, controlled trial during 10 weeks with four treatment groups. Setting: Nine primary health care and one outpatient orthopaedic hospital department. Subjects: One hundred and sixty patients with acute or subacute low back pain. Interventions: Ten weeks of ‘stay active’ care only (group 1), or ‘stay active’ and muscle stretching (group 2), or ‘stay active’, muscle stretching and manual therapy (group 3), or ‘stay active’, muscle stretching, manual therapy and steroid injections (group 4). Main measures: The Gothenburg Quality of Life instrument subscales Well-being score and Complaint score. Results: In a multivariate analysis adjusted for possible outcome affecting variables other than the treatment given Well-being score was 68.4 (12.5), 72.1 (12.4), 72,3 (12.4) and 72.7 (12.5) in groups 1–4, respectively (P for trend <0.05). There were significant trends for the well-being components patience (P < 0.005), energy (P < 0.05), mood (P < 0.05) and family situation (P < 0.05). The remaining two components and Complaint score showed a non-significant trend towards improvement. Conclusion: The effects on health-related quality of life were greater the larger the number of treatment modalities available. The ‘stay active’ treatment group, with the most restricted number of modalities, had the most modest health-related quality of life improvement, while group 4 with the most generous choice of treatment modalities, had the greatest improvement.
Do exercise and self-management interventions benefit patients with osteoarthritis of the knee? A metaanalytic review.

OBJECTIVE Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent health condition among seniors and it causes significant pain and disability. We assessed the influence of patient education and exercise regimens on the well-being of patients with knee OA. METHODS A metaanalysis was conducted on 16 studies reporting exercise and/or self-management interventions for patients with knee OA. The effects on physical and psychological well-being were assessed immediately after the interventions. RESULTS Compared to control conditions, exercise regimens led to improvement in physical health (by self-report and direct measures) and in overall impact of OA. Perceived psychological health remained unchanged by the exercise programs. Although the effect sizes for the self-management programs were significant for psychological outcomes and for the overall effect of OA, there was a significant difference between self-management and control groups only in psychological outcomes. CONCLUSION Overall, both patient education and exercise regimens had a modest, yet clinically important, influence on patients' well-being.
A fast power flow for real-time monitoring in smart grid environments

The new reality of smart distribution systems with increasing of remote controlled equipment and generation sources of small and medium sizes brings new challenges for the operation of these systems. The complexity and the large number of nodes in distribution systems require use of methods which can reduce the processing time of algorithms such as power flow, allowing its use in real time. This paper presents a developed methodology for calculating the three phase power flow using backward/forward sweep method, and also considering others network elements such as voltage regulators, shunt capacitors and distributed energy resources. After that, new elements are introduced that allow the parallelization of this algorithm and an adequate work distribution between the available processors. The algorithm was implemented using a multi-tiered architecture, which will be base for future smart grid applications. The processing times were measured in many network configurations and compared with the same algorithm in the serial version.
ROUTING DOMAIN AUTOCONFIGURATION FOR MORE EFFICIENT AND RAPIDLY DEPLOYABLE MOBILE NETWORKS

One approach to achieving scalability in rapidly deployed dynamic networks, such as Future Combat Systems (FCS), is to automatically divide nodes into small (e.g., 30 node) interconnected IP domains and assigning each a routing protocol that best meets the domain’s characteristics (Morera and McAuley, 2002). Although an attractive idea, it has not been tested. This paper presents the first realization of domain autoconfiguration through extensions to the IP Autoconfiguration Suite (IPAS) (McAuley et al., 2001; McAuley et al., 2002; Cheng et al., 2002). While IPAS already configures and reconfigures information such as interface IP address and server locations, it assumes a single domain. We describe IPAS enhancements that support the automatic creation and configuration of multiple domains and describe a prototype implementation where interfaces are dynamically assigned to run different routing protocols. Finally, we show some initial performance results that show configuration time for even large (1000 node) sparse networks in a few seconds and small bandwidth overhead (a few hundred bytes per link).
Accuracy of testing for anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG in urine for H. pylori infection diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives This meta-analysis aims to systematically measure the potential diagnostic value of anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG in urine for infection diagnosis, using all eligible studies published in English and Chinese languages. Design The random effect model was used to analyse the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative LR (NLR), diagnostic OR (DOR), together with the summary receiver operator characteristic curve. Setting Literature searches of databases including PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases were performed to retrieve studies evaluating the diagnostic value of urine IgG antibody for H.pylori infection. Primary outcome measure Twenty-three studies with 4963 subjects were included in the current meta-analysis. Results The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR and area under the curve (AUC) were 0.83 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.85), 0.89 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.90), 8.81 (95% CI 6.37 to 12.2), 0.13 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.2), 73 (95% CI 46.45 to 114.74) and 0.9551, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that diagnostic accuracy of the urine IgG assay was no different in age, region, study population and assay method. Conclusions Anti-H. pylori antibody in urine might serve as a good marker in diagnosing H. pylori infection. However, further validation based on a larger sample is still required.
SOX9 is required for maintenance of the pancreatic progenitor cell pool

The factors necessary to maintain organ-specific progenitor cells are poorly understood and yet of extreme clinical importance. Here, we identify the transcription factor SOX9 as the first specific marker and maintenance factor of multipotential progenitors during pancreas organogenesis. In the developing pancreas, SOX9 expression is restricted to a mitotically active, Notch-responsive subset of PDX1+ pluripotent progenitors and is absent from committed endocrine precursors or differentiated cells. Similar to Notch mutations, organ-specific Sox9 inactivation in mice causes severe pancreatic hypoplasia resulting from depletion of the progenitor cell pool. We show that Sox9 maintains pancreatic progenitors by stimulating their proliferation, survival, and persistence in an undifferentiated state. Our finding that SOX9 regulates the Notch-effector HES1 suggests a Notch-dependent mechanism and establishes a possible genetic link between SOX factors and Notch. These findings will be of major significance for the development of in vitro protocols for cell replacement therapies.
Activation of Transcription Factor NF-κB Requires ELKS, an IκB Kinase Regulatory Subunit

The nuclear factor–kappa B (NF-κB) family of transcription factors plays a seminal role in inflammation, apoptosis, development, and cancer. Modulation of NF-κB–mediated gene expression in response to diverse signals is coordinated by the IκB kinase (IKK) complex. We identified ELKS, an essential regulatory subunit of the IKK complex. Silencing ELKS expression by RNA interference blocked induced expression of NF-κB target genes, including the NF-κB inhibitor IκBα and proinflammatory genes such as cyclo-oxygenase 2 and interleukin 8. These cells were also not protected from apoptosis in response to cytokines. ELKS likely functions by recruiting IκBα to the IKK complex and thus serves a regulatory function for IKK activation.
Complete Atrioventricular Block in Patients with Atrioventricular Discordance

Although patients with atrioventricular (AV) discordance (corrected transposition) have abnormal conduction pathways and may spontaneously develop high-grade AV block, no quantitative assessment of the risk of this happening is available. We reviewed the data on 107 patients with AV discordance ages 2–76 years (mean 22 years) at follow-up. Eighty-two patients (77%) had a ventricular septal defect, 57 (53%) had pulmonary stenosis, 35 (34%) had tricuspid insufficiency and 24 (23%) had dextrocardia. Twenty-three patients (22%) had complete AV block. This condition was present in four patients at birth and developed in 19 patients at ages 4 months to 53 years (mean 18.1 years). Nine of these patients had permanent pacemaker implantation, four at the onset of complete block and five an average of 11 years later. Nine patients have AV block but no pacemaker. One patient died suddenly. Detailed data analysis showed that with increasing follow-up the risk of natural onset AV block continued at a rate of approximately 2% per year after diagnosis. The presence of an intact ventricular septum made AV block more likely. We conclude that patients with AV discordance are at risk of developing complete AV block throughout their lives. With increasing age, this risk is approximately constant and is probably not significantly increased by corrective or palliative surgery if acute surgical AV block does not occur. Pacemaker implantation is not necessary in some children with spontaneous AV block.
Cell Encapsulating Biomaterial Regulates Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cell Differentiation and Macrophage Immunophenotype

Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSC) encapsulation within a biomatrix could improve cellular delivery and extend survival and residence time over conventional intravenous administration. Although MSCs modulate monocyte/macrophage (Mø) immunophenotypic properties, little is known about how such interactions are influenced when MSCs are entrapped within a biomaterial. Furthermore, the impact of the cell‐encapsulating matrix on MSC multipotency and on Møs, which infiltrate biomaterials, remains poorly understood. Here we elucidate this three‐way interaction. The Mø immunophenotype and MSC differentiation were examined with regard to established and experimental collagen‐based biomaterials for MSC entrapment. Tumor necrosis factor‐α secretion was acutely inhibited at 4 days. MSCs cocultured with Møs demonstrated attenuated chondrocyte differentiation, whereas osteoblast differentiation was enhanced. Adipocyte differentiation was considerably enhanced for MSCs entrapped within the gelatin/polyethylene glycol‐based matrix. A better understanding of the effect of cell encapsulation on differentiation potency and immunomodulation of MSCs is essential for MSC‐based, biomaterial‐enabled therapies.
Protein characterization of Australian spotted fever group rickettsiae and monoclonal antibody typing of Rickettsia honei

Rickettsial proteins rOmp A and rOmp B exist in both Rickettsia australis and Rickettsia honei but differ in molecular weight and antigenicity; in addition, they produce distinct immunogenic responses and appear to be to conformationally dependent antigens. Species-specific monoclonal antibodies for other spotted fever group rickettsial species did not react with R. honei. A PCR product of the repeat region of the rOmp A gene from R. honei was amplified and calculated to contain 11 repeat units.
An on-line model to design heterogeneous wireless sensor networks based on small world concepts

In this work, we propose an on-line model to design heterogeneous sensor network topologies with small world features. The proposed model takes into account the data communication flow in this kind of network to create network shortcuts toward the sink node in a way that the communication between the sink and the sensor nodes is optimized. The end-points of these shortcuts are nodes with more powerful hardware, leading to a heterogeneous sensor network. We evaluate the on-line model and show that it presents the same small world features observed in the theoretical model. When the shortcuts are created toward the sink node, with a few number of powerful sensors, the network presents better small world features and interesting tradeoffs between energy and latency in the data communication when compared with the original model proposed in the literature.
Regular use of hair dyes and risk of lymphoma in Spain.

BACKGROUND The use of hair dyes has been inconsistently associated with an increased risk of lymphomas. We explore hair dye use and lymphoma risk in a case-control study in Spain. METHODS We studied 574 incident lymphoma cases and 616 hospital controls in a multicentric study in Spain. Information on hair dye use was obtained through a personal interview together with information on other known or putative risk factors for lymphoma. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). All ORs were adjusted for pathology center, sex, age, and house ownership. RESULTS Ever use of hair dyes was associated with a non-significant 20% increased risk of lymphoma (OR = 1.2, 95% CI 0.9-1.7) with a slightly higher risk observed for those using permanent hair dyes (OR = 1.3, 95% CI 0.9-1.9). No association was observed with duration of use or lifetime doses of hair dyes. Among all lymphomas categories, only chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) was significantly associated with the use of hair dyes (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.7). The risk of CLL increased with lifetime doses received. CONCLUSIONS Ever use of hair dye products is unlikely to substantially modify the risk of lymphoma. The observed association with CLL needs to be replicated.