Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing Social Support, Companionship, and Distress: NIH Toolbox Adult Social Relationship Scales

Objective— The quality of our daily social interactions – including perceptions of support, feelings of loneliness, and distress stemming from negative social exchanges – influence physical health and well-being. Despite the importance of social relationships, brief yet precise, unidimensional scales that assess key aspects of social relationship quality are lacking. As part of the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function, we developed brief self-report scales designed to assess aspects of social support, companionship, and social distress across age cohorts. This report details the development and psychometric testing of the adult NIH Toolbox Social Relationship scales. Methods— Social relationship concepts were selected, and item sets were developed and revised based on expert feedback and literature review. Items were then tested across a community-dwelling U.S. internet panel sample of adults aged 18 and above (N=692) using traditional (classic) psychometric methods and item response theory (IRT) approaches to identify items for inclusion in 5–8 item unidimensional scales. Finally, concurrent validity of the newly-developed scales was evaluated with respect to their inter-relationships with classic social relationship validation instruments. Results— Results provide support for the internal reliability and concurrent validity of resulting self-report scales assessing Emotional Support, Instrumental Support, Friendship, Loneliness, Perceived Rejection, and Perceived Hostility. Conclusion— These brief social relationship scales provide the pragmatic utility and enhanced precision needed to promote future epidemiological and social neuroscience research on the impact of social relationships on physical and emotional health outcomes.
C-Reactive Protein and Incident Hypertension in Black and White Americans in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Cohort Study

BACKGROUND More inflammation is associated with greater risk incident hyperten- sion, and Black United States (US) adults have excess burden of hypertension. We investigated whether increased inflammation as quantified by higher C-reactive protein (CRP) explains the excess incidence in hypertension experienced by Black US adults. METHODS We included 6,548 Black and White REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) participants without hypertension at baseline (2003–2007) who attended a second visit (2013–2016). Sex-stratified risk ratios (RRs) for incident hypertension at the second exam in Black compared to White individuals were estimated using Poisson regression adjusted for groups of factors known to partially explain the Black–White differences in incident hypertension. We calculated the percent mediation by CRP of the racial difference in hypertension. RESULTS Baseline CRP was higher in Black participants. The Black–White RR for incident hypertension in the minimally adjusted model was 1.33 (95% confidence interval 1.22, 1.44) for males and 1.15 (1.04, 1.27) for females. CRP mediated 6.6% (95% confidence interval 2.7, 11.3%) of this association in females and 19.7% (9.8, 33.2%) in males. In females, CRP no longer mediated the Black–White RR in a model including waist circumference and body mass index, while in males the Black–White difference was fully attenuated in models including income, education and dietary patterns. females and diet and socioeco-nomic factors in males. Inflammation related to these risk factors might explain part of the Black–White disparity in hypertension.
New design method for multi-stack disc-type hysteresis motors based on analytical calculations

Hysteresis motors are widely employed for a variety of high speed applications, thanks to their unique features. Usual design methods could not be used for these motors since the operation mechanism of hysteresis motors is also unique. However, an appropriately developed design method has not been provided by the few relevant published works. This study presents a new iterative design method, which is capable of being used for almost all hysteresis motor structures. Also, it is almost independent of the approach of obtaining the design equations. Multi-stack disc-type slotless structure has been selected as the case study, because of its interesting capabilities. Its design equations are derived by combining the fundamental laws of electromagnetism with the elliptical model of hysteresis loops. Some new techniques are introduced to increase the accuracy of these equations. A sample motor has been designed by applying the direct search optimisation to the proposed design method. The prototyped sample motor has been subjected to various tests. The measured operating characteristics show a great agreement with the design requirements.
Transient receptor potential vanilloid-4 contributes to stretch-induced hypercontractility and time-dependent dysfunction in the aged heart

remains the greatest cause of mortality in Americans over 65. The stretch-activated transient receptor potential vanilloid-4 (TRPV4) ion channel is expressed in cardiomyocytes of the aged heart. This investigation tests the hypothesis that TRPV4 alters Ca 2 þ handling and cardiac function in response to increased ventricular preload and cardiomyocyte stretch. In preload responsive hearts, P Max prior to and immediately following preload elevation (i.e. Frank–Starling response) was similar between Aged and Aged þ HC. Within 1 min following preload elevation, Aged hearts demonstrated secondary P Max augmentation ( Aged > Aged þ HC) suggesting a role for stretch-activated TRPV4 in cardiac hypercontractility. However, after 20min at 20mmHg Aged exhibited depressed P Max ( Aged < Aged þ HC) suggestive of TRPV4-dependent contractile dysfunction with sustained stretch. To examine stretch-induced Ca 2 þ homeostasis at the single-cell level, isolated cardiomyocytes were stretched 10–15% of slack length while measuring intracellular Ca 2 þ with fura-2. Uniaxial longitudinal stretch increased intracellular Ca 2 þ levels and triggered Ca 2 þ overload and terminal cellular contracture in Aged , but not Aged þ HC. Preload elevation in hearts of young/middle-age (3–12months) mice produced an initial P Max increase (Frank–Starling response) without secondary P Max augmentation, and cardiomyocyte stretch did not affect intracellular Ca 2 þ levels. Hearts of transgenic mice with cardiac-speciﬁc TRPV4 expression exhibited P Max similar to 3- to 12-month control mice prior to and immediately following preload elevation but displayed secondary P Max augmentation. Cardiomyocytes of mice with transgenic TRPV4 expression were highly sensitive to mechanical stimulation and exhibited elevated Ca 2 þ levels, Ca 2 þ overload, and terminal contracture upon cellular attachment and stretch. increased pre-load). 14 The present work tests the hypothesis that TRPV4 alters cardiomyocyte Ca 2 þ homeostasis and cardiac function in the aged heart following stretch. This study shows TRPV4 leads to sarcolemmal cation entry and increased levels of Ca 2 þ following stretch of isolated cardiomyocytes, and augments contractility transiently following preload elevation in hearts of aged mice. However, sustained cardiomyocyte stretch leads to TRPV4-dependent Ca 2 þ overload behaviour and sustained preload elevation leads to a decline in systolic and diastolic contractile performance in aged hearts. TRPV4 stretch-activation may play an important role in Ca 2 þ regulation/dysregulation in the aged heart and provide a potential therapeutic target in elderly populations.
Regulatory T Cells Enhance Mesenchymal Stem Cell Survival and Proliferation following Autologous Co-Transplantation in Ischemic Myocardium

Objectives— This study sought to investigate whether Treg cells provide a protective and supportive role when co-transplanted with MSCs. Methods— In a porcine model of chronic ischemia, autologous MSCs were isolated and expanded ex vivo for 4 wks. Autologous Treg cells were freshly isolated from 100 ml of peripheral blood and purified by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. MSCs and Treg cells were then co-transplanted into the chronic ischemic myocardium of Yorkshire pigs by direct intramyocardial injection (1.2 × 10 8 MSCs plus an average of 1.5 million Treg cells in 25 injection sites). Animals were sacrificed 6 weeks post-injection to study the fate of the cells and compare the effect of combined MSCs +Treg cells transplantation versus MSCs alone. Results— The co- injection of MSCs along with Tregs was safe and no deleterious side effects were observed. Six weeks after injection of the cell combination, spherical MSCs clusters with thin layer capsules were found in the injected areas. In animals treated with MSCs only, the MSC clusters were less organized and not encapsulated. Immunofluorescent staining showed CD25+ cells among the CD90+ (MSC marker) cells, suggesting that the injected Treg cells remained present locally, and survived. Factor VIII positive cells were also prevalent suggesting new angiogenesis. We found no evidence that co-injections were associated with the generation of cardiac myocytes. inhibition of allogeneic reaction against the transplanted MSCs (29). Thus, using Tregs in allogeneic MSC transplantation needs to be explored. This current study provides preliminary data within this field. The functional improvement and cell-to-cell interaction in vitro studies are still needed to be done in order to confirm the true beneficial effects of Tregs and to define their underlining mechanisms of action. This is the first in vivo study of autologous Treg and MSC transplantation in a large animal model of myocardial ischemia. We have shown here that autologous injection of bone marrow-derived MSCs with freshly isolated and purified Tregs is safe. No observable side effects or abnormal cell proliferation was found in the co-transplantation study. This method of co-transplanting Tregs with MSCs showed a beneficial effect on MSC survival and self-renewing. The results from this study will help with future clinical applications of cell-based therapy.
Hyperspectral evaluation of peritoneal fibrosis in mouse models

: Analysis of morphological changes of the peritoneal membrane is an essential part of animal studies when investigating molecular mechanisms involved in the development of peritoneal ﬁbrosis or testing the eﬀects of potential therapeutic agents. Current methods, such as histology and immunohistochemistry, require time consuming sample processing and analysis and result in limited spatial information. In this paper we present a new method to evaluate structural and chemical changes in an animal model of peritoneal ﬁbrosis that is based on hyperspectral imaging and a model of light transport. The method is able to distinguish between healthy and diseased subjects based on morphological as well as physiological parameters such as blood and scattering parameters. Furthermore, it enables evaluation of changes, such as degree of inﬂammation and ﬁbrosis, that are closely related to histological ﬁndings.
2-CYCLIC DESIGN IN AHP

The simple method called ”2-cyclic design” is proposed to select pairs to be compared from the whole set of pairs in AHP, which reduces the comparing number n ( n − 1) / 2 for n-object AHP to 2 n . The isomorphism of our designs is investigated, by which we can reduce the range of designs to be considered. The standard errors of our designs are calculated for n = 5 , . , 60, by which we know the best 2-cyclic designs in this range. Developing the algebra on our designs we can clarify the characteristics of good designs and further propose several conjectures which give a general method to produce the better or the best designs. These conjectures are valid for n = 5 , . , 60.
Semantic Triangle and Linguistic Sign

In this given work the Semantic Triangle will be examined. This is the most important point of Semantics in general. We will discuss a modern concept of the Semantic triangle with its three basic components . They are: the Object (Referent), the Meaning, and the (Linguistic) Sign. Together with the Semantic Triangle we will discuss the ancient Stoic linguistic concept which also consists of the same three components and is very much like a modern concept of the Semantic Triangle (or the contrary). We will also explain the concept of arbitrariness of a linguistic sign within the context of signifier-signified correlation.
Genetic Risk for Hepatic Fat among an Ethnically Diverse Cohort of Youth: The Epoch Study

Objectives: To assess the importance of genetic and non-genetic risk factors contributing to hepatic fat content in a multiethnic population of youth. Study design: We investigated the relationship between genetic factors and hepatic fat fraction (HFF) in 347 children aged 12.5–19.5 years. We examined 5 SNPs previously associated with HFF and a weighted genetic risk score (GRS) and examined how these associations varied with ethnicity (Hispanic versus non-Hispanic white) and BMI category. We also compared how much variation in HFF was explained by genetic factors versus cardiometabolic factors (BMI z-score and HOMA-IR) or diet. Results: PNPLA3 rs738409 and the GRS were each associated with HFF among Hispanic ( β =0.39; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16, 0.62; p-value=0.001; and β =0.20; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.34; P value = . 007, respectively) but not NHW ( β =0.04; 95% CI: −0.18, 0.26; p-value=0.696; and β =0.03; 95% CI: −0.09, 0.14; p-value=0.651, respectively) youth. Cardiometabolic risk factors explained more of the variation in HFF than genetic risk factors among
Selecting unrelated donors

TEASER— You are selecting an unrelated donor for a 40 year old man with AML in CR2. Which donor would you select? FULL CASE— You are selecting an unrelated donor for a 40 year old man with AML in second complete remission with high-risk cytogenetics. He is CMV seronegative with blood type A−. He is an only child. The search coordinators have identified the following options:
Industry 4.0: state of the art and future trends

Rapid advances in industrialisation and informatisation methods have spurred tremendous progress in developing the next generation of manufacturing technology. Today, we are on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In 2013, amongst one of 10 ‘Future Projects’ identified by the German government as part of its High-Tech Strategy 2020 Action Plan, the Industry 4.0 project is considered to be a major endeavour for Germany to establish itself as a leader of integrated industry. In 2014, China’s State Council unveiled their ten-year national plan, Made-in-China 2025, which was designed to transform China from the world’s workshop into a world manufacturing power. Made-in-China 2025 is an initiative to comprehensively upgrade China’s industry including the manufacturing sector. In Industry 4.0 and Made-in-China 2025, many applications require a combination of recently emerging new technologies, which is giving rise to the emergence of Industry 4.0. Such technologies originate from different disciplines including cyber-physical Systems, IoT, cloud computing, Industrial Integration, Enterprise Architecture, SOA, Business Process Management, Industrial Information Integration and others. At this present moment, the lack of powerful tools still poses a major obstacle for exploiting the full potential of Industry 4.0. In particular, formal methods and systems methods are crucial for realising Industry 4.0, which poses unique challenges. In this paper, we briefly survey the state of the art in the area of Industry 4.0 as it relates to industries.
in patients lurking in the intensive care An important often ignored nosocomial

Two Isolates of Proteus penneri, one ceftriaxone-susceptible and one ceftriaxone-resistant, isolated from a patient treated by ceftriaxone, produce the same beta-lactamase but with different levels of production. Abstr Intersci
Pseudosubstrate regulation of the SCF (cid:1) -TrCP ubiquitin ligase by hnRNP-U

(cid:1) -TrCP/E3RS (E3RS) is the F-box protein that functions as the receptor subunit of the SCF (cid:1) -TrCP ubiquitin ligase (E3). Surprisingly, although its two recognized substrates, I (cid:2) B (cid:3) and (cid:1) -catenin, are present in the cytoplasm, we have found that E3RS is located predominantly in the nucleus. Here we report the isolation of the major E3RS-associated protein, hnRNP-U, an abundant nuclear phosphoprotein. This protein occupies E3RS in a specific and stoichiometric manner, stabilizes the E3 component, and is likely responsible for its nuclear localization. hnRNP-U binding was abolished by competition with a pI (cid:2) B (cid:3) peptide, or by a specific point mutation in the E3RS WD region, indicating an E3–substrate-type interaction. However, unlike pI (cid:2) B (cid:3) , which is targeted by SCF (cid:1) -TrCP for degradation, the E3-bound hnRNP-U is stable and is, therefore, a pseudosubstrate. Consequently, hnRNP-U engages a highly neddylated active SCF (cid:1) -TrCP , which dissociates in the presence of a high-affinity substrate, resulting in ubiquitination of the latter. Our study points to a novel regulatory mechanism, which secures the localization, stability, substrate binding threshold, and efficacy of a specific protein-ubiquitin ligase.
Upregulation of Alzheimer’s amyloid- β protein precursor in astrocytes both in vitro and in vivo

The amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) posits that amyloid- β (A β ) protein accumulation underlies the pathogenesis of the disease by leading to formation of β -amyloid plaques, a pathologic hallmark of AD. A β is a proteolytic product of β -amyloid protein precursor (A β PP; APP), which is expressed in both neurons and astrocytes. Although considerable evidence shows that astrocytes may play critical roles in the pathogenesis of AD, the longitudinal changes of β -amyloid plaques in relationship to APP expression in astrocytes and cellular consequences are largely unknown. Here, we aimed to investigate astrocyte-related pathologic changes of β amyloid and APP using immunohistochemistry and biochemical studies in both animal and cell models. We utilized 5XFAD transgenic mice and found age-dependent upregulation of APP in astrocytes demonstrated with astrocytic reactive properties, which followed appearance of amyloid plaques in the brain. We also observed that APP proteins presented well-defined punctate immunoreactivity in young animals that in contrast showed disrupted structures surrounding amyloid plaques in older mice. Moreover, we utilized astrocyte cell models and showed that pretreatment of A β 42 resulted in down-stream astrocyte autonomous changes, including upregulation in APP and BACE1 levels, as well as prolonged amyloidogenesis that can be reduced by pharmacological inhibition of BACE1. Collectively, our results showed that age-dependent APP up-regulation in astrocytes is a key feature in AD, which will not only provide novel insights for understanding AD progression, but also may offer new therapeutic strategies for treating AD.
COMMON INDICATIONS FOR STENTING

Ann Pediatr Card 2009 Vol 2 Issue 1 Address for correspondence: Dr. Bjoern Peters, Abteilung für Angeborene Herzfehler, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: peters@dhzb.de Although intravascular stents still do not have the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) approval for use in congenital lesions and pediatric patients, since 1996, their use for congenital vascular lesions has been accepted as the standard of care by all centers and professional medical societies associated with the treatment of pediatric and CHD. This review will address some key questions in the common practice of the use of stents in the CHD population. Advantages and disadvantages of the different types of stents and stent designs currently used in CHD are presented. Furthermore, recent developments in stent technology intended to overcome some of the present problems in stent therapy that might expand the spectrum of indications for stenting are addressed. As this paper focuses on stent therapy within the heart and the central great vessels, the use of stents in peripheral arteries and veins is not discussed.
PKC β -induced Selective IRS1 Dysfunction and Insulin Resistance in Renal Glomeruli of Rodent Models of Diabetes and Obesity

Insulin resistance has been associated with the progression of chronic kidney disease in both diabetes and obesity. This study characterizes insulin signaling in renal tubules and glomeruli in insulin resistant and diabetic states. Insulin-induced phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1), Akt, endothelial nitric oxide (eNOS), and glycogen synthase kinase 3 α (GSK3 α ) were selectively inhibited in the glomeruli but not in the renal tubules of both streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic and Zucker fatty, insulin resistant rats compared to non-diabetic and Zucker lean rats. Protein levels, but not the mRNA expression, of IRS1 were decreased only in the glomeruli of STZ-diabetic rats and increased its association with ubiquitination. Protein kinase C (PKC) β isoform inhibitor, ruboxistaurin (RBX), treatment enhanced insulin actions and elevated IRS1 expression. In glomerular endothelial cells, high glucose inhibited phosphorylation of Akt, eNOS and GSK3 α , decreased IRS1 protein expression and increased association with ubiquitination. Overexpression of IRS1 or the addition of RBX reversed the inhibitory effects of high glucose. Selective inhibition of the IRS1/PI3K/Akt pathway and insulin activation of eNOS and GSK3 α in the glomeruli in diabetes and insulin resistance is partly due to increased IRS1 degradation and PKC β activation. The loss of insulin's effect on endothelial eNOS and GSK3 α activation may contribute to the glomeropathy observed in diabetes and obesity.
Multiplex PCR method to detect Cyclospora, Cystoisospora , and Microsporidia in stool samples

Cyclospora, Cystoisospora and Microsporidia are eukaryotic enteropathogens that are difficult to detect in stool samples because they require special stains and microscopy. We developed a multiplex PCR reaction with 4 primer sets to amplify Cyclospora cayetanensis, Cystoisospora belli, Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis . Detection of the amplicon is through specific probes coupled to Luminex beads. Sensitivity of the assay was evaluated using Encephalitozoon intestinalis spores and revealed detection of 10 1 spores spiked into stool. No cross reactivity was observed. We evaluated the assay on diarrheal specimens from Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, and the Netherlands that had been previously tested by microscopy and the assay yielded 87–100% sensitivity and 88–100% specificity. Microscopy negative/PCR positive samples had lower Luminex values suggesting they were true but lower burden infections. In summary this is a convenient single PCR reaction that can detect Cyclospora, Cystoisospora , and Microsporidia without the