Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of Evolutionarily Conserved Md1 Splice Variants That Regulate Innate Immunity through Differential Induction of NF-кB

Although in mammals the TLR4/myeloid differentiation factor (MD)2/CD14 complex is responsible for the recognition of bacterial LPS, and it is known that the RP105/MD1 complex negatively regulates TLR4 signaling, the evolutionary history of LPS recognition remains enigmatic. Thus, zebrafish has orthologs of mammalian TLR4 (Tlr4a and Tlr4b), RP105, and MD1, but MD2 and CD14 seem to be absent from all fish genomes available to date. In addition, and to make the story more intriguing, zebrafish Tlr4a and Tlr4b do not recognize LPS, whereas the zebrafish Rp105/Md1 complex unexpectedly participates in the regulation of innate immunity and viral resistance. In this work, we report the identification of two novel splice variants of Md1, which are expressed at similar levels as full-length Md1 in the main immune-related organs of zebrafish and are highly induced upon viral infection. One of these splice variants, which is also expressed by mouse macrophages, lacks three conserved cysteine residues that have been shown to form disulfide bonds that are crucial for the three-dimensional structure of the MD-2–related lipid recognition domain of Md1. Functional studies in zebrafish demonstrate that this evolutionarily conserved splice variant shows higher antiviral activity than full-length Md1, but reduced proinflammatory activity, due to an impaired ability to activate the master regulator of inflammation, NF-κB. These results uncover a previously unappreciated evolutionarily conserved Md1 splice variant with important functions in the regulation of innate immunity and the antiviral response in zebrafish, and point to the need for additional functional studies in mammals on this little explored molecule.
Effects of feeding polyclonal antibody preparations on rumen fermentation patterns, performance, and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers2

ABSTRACT In a previous study, preparations of polyclonal antibodies (PAP) against Fusobacterium necrophorum (PAP-Fn) or Streptococcus bovis (PAP-Sb) were successful in decreasing ruminal counts of target bacteria and increasing ruminal pH in steers fed high-grain diets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding PAP-Fn or PAP-Sb on performance, carcass characteristics, and ruminal fermentation variables of feedlot steers. In Exp. 1, during 2 consecutive years, 226 or 192 Angus and Angus crossbred steers were fed a high-grain diet containing either PAP-Sb or PAP-Fn, or both. When measured on a BW basis, steers fed only PAP-Sb had a greater G:F (P < 0.05) than those fed no PAP. Nevertheless, when both PAP were fed, feed efficiency was similar (P > 0.10) to steers fed no PAP or only PAP-Sb. Steers receiving PAP-Fn (alone or in combination with PAP-Sb) had a decreased (P < 0.05) dressing percentage. Steers receiving PAP-Fn (alone or in combination with PAP-Sb) had a decreased severity of liver abscess (P < 0.05). No differences (P > 0.10) were observed in any other carcass characteristics. In Exp. 2, sixteen ruminally cannulated Angus crossbred steers (BW = 665 ± 86 kg) were fed a high-grain diet containing either PAP-Sb or PAP-Fn, or both. Feeding only PAP-Fn or PAP-Sb for 19 d decreased (P < 0.05) ruminal counts of S. bovis when compared with steers fed both or no PAP. The ruminal counts of F. necrophorum in steers fed PAP-Fn alone or in combination with PAP-Sb were decreased by 98% (P < 0.05) after 19 d, when compared with the counts in control steers. Mean daily ruminal pH was greater (P < 0.05) in steers fed both PAP when compared with feeding either or no PAP. Ruminal pH in the first 4 h after feeding was greater (P < 0.05) for steers receiving PAP-Fn alone or in combination with PAP-Sb. Steers receiving either PAP alone or in combination had less (P < 0.05) ruminal NH3-N concentrations in the first 4 h after feeding when compared with those of control steers. Polyclonal antibody preparations against S. bovis were effective in enhancing G:F of steers fed high-grain diets, but dressing percentage was decreased. Mechanisms of enhancement of G:F remain unknown but may be related to changes in ruminal counts of target bacteria and associated effects on ruminal fermentation products.
Avotermin for Scar Improvement following Scar Revision Surgery: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Within-Patient, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Clinical Trial

Background: Skin scarring is associated with psychosocial distress and has a negative effect on quality of life. The transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr; family of cytokines plays a key role in scarring. TGF-&bgr;3 improves scar appearance in a range of mammalian species. This study was performed to assess the efficacy of intradermal avotermin (TGF-&bgr;3) for the improvement of scar appearance following scar revision surgery. Methods: Sixty patients (35 men and 25 women; age, 19 to 78 years; 53 Caucasians; scar length, 5 to 21 cm) received intradermal avotermin (200 ng/100 &mgr;l/linear cm wound margin) and placebo to outer wound segments immediately after, and again 24 hours after, complete (group 1) or staged (group 2) scar revision surgery. A within-patient design was chosen to control for interindividual factors that affect scarring. The primary efficacy variable was a total scar score derived from a visual analogue scale, scored by a lay panel from standardized photographs from months 1 through 7 following treatment. Results: Primary endpoint data from the combined surgical groups showed that avotermin significantly improved scar appearance compared with placebo (total scar score difference, 21.93 mm; p = 0.04). Profilometry showed a greater reduction in scar surface area from baseline with avotermin treatment compared with placebo, significant in group 2 at months 7 and 12 (difference, 41.99 mm and 25.85 mm, respectively; p = 0.03 for both comparisons). Histologic analysis from group 2 showed that, compared with placebo treatment, collagen organization in avotermin-treated scars more closely resembled normal skin in 14 of 19 cases. Avotermin was well tolerated. Conclusion: Avotermin administration following scar revision surgery is well tolerated and significantly improves scar appearance compared with placebo. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, I. Figure. No caption available.
Predicting Future User Actions by Observing Unmodified Applications

Intelligent user interfaces often rely on modified applications and detailed application models. Such modifications and models are expensive to build and maintain. We propose to automatically model the use of unmodified applications to solve this problem. We observe a user’s interactions with the application’s interface and from these observations infer a state space which the user navigates and the stochastic policy he or she follows. ONISI, the algorithm presented here, builds this state space implicitly and on-line, and uses it to predict future user actions. Trials with real users show that this algorithm predicts the next user action significantly better than another current algorithm. Content Areas: plan recognition, human computer interaction, automated modeling, software agents
Meaning of living with severe chronic obstructive lung disease: a qualitative study

Objectives To explore what it means for patients to live with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as an incurable and constantly progressing disease. Design Qualitative longitudinal study using narrative and semistructured interviews. This paper presents findings of the initial interviews. Analysis using grounded theory. Setting Lung care clinics and community care in Lower Saxony, Germany. Participants 17 patients with advanced-stage COPD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) III/IV). Findings Analysis shows that these patients have difficulties accepting their life situation and feel at the mercy of the disease, which could be identified as a core-experienced phenomenon. Over a long period of time, patients have only a vague feeling of being ill, caused by uncertain knowledge, slow progress and doubtful attribution of clinical symptoms of the disease (causal conditions). As an action strategy, patients try to maintain daily routines for as long as possible after diagnosis. Both effective standard and rescue medication, which helps to reduce breathlessness and other symptoms, and the feeling of being faced with one's own responsibility (intervening conditions) support this strategy, whereby patients' own responsibility is too painful to acknowledge. As a consequence, patients try to deny the threat to life for a long period of time. Frequently, they need to experience facing their own limits, often in the form of an acute crisis, to realise their health situation. The experience of the illness is contextualised by a continuous increase in limited mobility and social isolation. Conclusion In order to help patients to improve disease awareness, to accept their life situation and to improve their reduced quality of life, patients may benefit from the early integration of palliative care (PC), considering its multiprofessional patient-centred and team-centred approach. Psychological support and volunteer work, which are relevant aspects of PC, should be appropriate to address psychosocial needs. More research is needed to evaluate how patients could benefit from early PC.
Chronic progressive myelopathy associated with elevated antibodies to human T‐lymphotropic virus type I and adult T‐cell leukemialike cells

Six adult patients had a chronic progressive myelopathy that possessed the following features: (1) high antibody titers to human T‐lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); (2) predominantly upper motor neuron disorder, symmetrical, with mild sensory and bladder disturbances; and (3) presence of adult T‐cell leukemia–like cells in both peripheral blood and CSF. We refer to this entity as HTLV‐I–associated myelopathy (HAM). Electrophoretic studies of immunoglobulin G in CSF using Western blot analysis characteristically demonstrated p24 and p32 bands. Rates of intra‐blood–brain barrier synthesis were determined and found increased in the patients with HAM. Corticosteroid treatment produced clinical improvement in all of 4 patients. A retrospective survey of CSF samples was carried out in 287 patients with neurological disorders, and 6 additional patients with HAM were identified.
Effect of Winemaking on the Composition of Red Wine as a Source of Polyphenols for Anti-Infective Biomaterials

Biomaterials releasing bactericides have currently become tools for thwarting medical device-associated infections. The ideal anti-infective biomaterial must counteract infection while safeguarding eukaryotic cell integrity. Red wine is a widely consumed beverage to which many biological properties are ascribed, including protective effects against oral infections and related bone (osteoarthritis, osteomyelitis, periprosthetic joint infections) and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, fifteen red wine samples derived from grapes native to the Oltrepò Pavese region (Italy), obtained from the winemaking processes of “Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese” red wine, were analyzed alongside three samples obtained from marc pressing. Total polyphenol and monomeric anthocyanin contents were determined and metabolite profiling was conducted by means of a chromatographic analysis. Antibacterial activity of wine samples was evaluated against Streptococcus mutans, responsible for dental caries, Streptococcus salivarius, and Streptococcus pyogenes, two oral bacterial pathogens. Results highlighted the winemaking stages in which samples exhibit the highest content of polyphenols and the greatest antibacterial activity. Considering the global need for new weapons against bacterial infections and alternatives to conventional antibiotics, as well as the favorable bioactivities of polyphenols, results point to red wine as a source of antibacterial substances for developing new anti-infective biomaterials and coatings for biomedical devices.
Identification of a Widespread Palmitoylethanolamide Contamination in Standard Laboratory Glassware

Abstract Introduction: Fatty acid ethanolamides (FAEs) are a family of lipid mediators that participate in a host of biological functions. Procedures for the quantitative analysis of FAEs include organic solvent extraction from biological matrices (e.g., blood), followed by purification and subsequent quantitation by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC/MS) or gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. During the validation process of a new method for LC/MS analysis of FAEs in biological samples, we observed unusually high levels of the FAE, palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), in blank samples that did not contain any biological material. Materials and Methods: We investigated a possible source of this PEA artifact via liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, as well as accurate mass analysis. Results: We found that high levels of a contaminant indistinguishable from PEA is present in new 5.75″ glass Pasteur pipettes, which are routinely used by laboratories to carry out lipid extractions. This artifact might account for discrepancies found in the literature regarding PEA levels in human blood serum and other tissues. Conclusions: It is recommended to take into account this pitfall by analyzing potential contamination of the disposable glassware during the validation process of any method used for analysis of FAEs.
Building parallel applications without programming

To counter the problems of the parallel programming, we propose an approach based on using a xed range of computation patterns, which we call skeletons. This approach provides a path to eecient but correct programs by separating the issues of behaviour and meaning, and through the exploitation of the knowledge we have about the xed patterns of computation and communication of the skeletons. The method can be applied to speciic application domains by observing that recurring patterns of data and control structures appear in these domains. Often, for any one domain, there may be many diierent sets of patterns reeecting abstract and concrete structures. Equivalences can be derived between these sets, through transformations, to enable problem expression at an application's level, but eecient execution at the machine level. We demonstrate this through an example in solid modelling. 1.1 Introduction Even though there has been a rise in the number of commercially available parallel machines, there are still too few real applications which use them. The main factor in this is software. Programming parallel machines is considered to be more diicult than is the case for sequential machines. The diversity of parallel machine architectures and their associated computational models make predictability of performance and portabil-ity of software diicult. These problems did not arise so critically for sequential machines because there exists a single computational model, the von-Neumann model, to which all sequential machines adhere. The von-Neumann model of computation provides a simple relationship between language constructs and their implementation. Issues such as memory allocation are resolved by the compiler with no performance implications, allowing the programmer to concentrate on higher level aspects of programming. Thus the programmer can predict the performance of their program without worrying about the run-time resource allocation.
Lumbar Plexus Block for Post-Operative Analgesia following lower limb Orthopedic Surgery: A Comparison of ‘3 in 1’ and psoas compartment block -

Background: Pain is the most common symptom for which patient seeks medical care. Severe postoperative pain is common following orthopaedic surgery. There are a variety of methods used to address orthopedic postoperative pain like Opioids, epidural analgesia, patient-controlled analgesia, nerve blocks, Opioids-sparing NSAIDs, such as ketorolac and Lumbar Plexus Block. Here in this study two approaches of Lumbar plexus Block method used to provide postoperative analgesia following lower limb orthopedic surgery. Aims & Objectives: to compare efficacy for post operative analgesia by two different methods of lumbar plexus block namely Psoas compartment block and “3 in 1 block”. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in 60 adult patients. In pre-operative room pulse rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) for pain at rest and at movement were noted. Patients were divided into 2 groups in group ‘A’ patients received ‘3 in 1’ block following spinal anaesthesia at the end of surgery, in group ‘B’ Patient received Psoas Compartment Block following spinal anaesthesia at the end of surgery. In the postoperative period, patients were assessed at 1, 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 hours after operation regarding the pain at operative site using four points verbal rating scale (none, mild, moderate or severe) both during rest and mobilization.The time of first analgesic, total doses of analgesics and any side effects were also recorded. Results: In group A (SA+'3 in 1' block) mean duration of analgesia was 11.83 hours whereas in group B duration of analgesia was 12.56 hours. There was no difference between two groups in respect of supplemental analgesia. Conclusion: Both approaches of single shot lumbar plexus block were effective in providing post operative analgesia after lower limb orthopedic surgery. Original article Lumbar Plexus Block for Post-Operative Analgesia following lower limb Orthopedic Surgery: A Comparison of ‘3 In 1’ and Psoas compartment block Mohammed Abid Ziyauddin Chauhan et al. 2015 SEAJCRR MAY-JUNE 4(3) ISSN ONLINE: 2319-1090 Page 1713
Formal Banking and Economic Growth : Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Analysis in India

This paper investigates the effects of formal banking expansion on economic growth. I exploit a previously unstudied reform to bank branching policy in India, which led to a large expansion in private credit to financially underserved areas. Using a regression discontinuity design at the district level, I trace the exogenous expansion of banking services through time and estimate their effect on agricultural and industrial growth. I am able to address concerns raised in other studies of policy driven banking expansion by accounting for the incentives generated by the reform in the context of India’s unique banking environment. I show first that the expansion of financial services led to significant growth in agricultural yield and output of cotton, wheat, and other important revenuegenerating crops. I then show that enterprises in states most affected by the reform experience faster growth in their total investments and capital labor ratios. Finally, I confirm the aggregate effect on local GDP growth by showing that areas with expanding banking services experienced higher rates of growth in nighttime light intensity in the years following the reform. The estimates imply that each additional private bank branch led to a 0.36% increase in local GDP. Overall, these findings offer strong causal evidence that the expansion of the financial system facilitates growth in productive activities important for driving economic development. ∗Email: nvcyoung@bu.edu. PhD Candidate in Economics Department, Boston University. I gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Center for Finance, Law and Policy, the Institute for Economic Development and a Boston University Department of Economics Summer Research Grant. Thank you to my advisors Dilip Mookherjee, Marc Rysman, Francesco Decarolis and Samuel Bazzi for their excellent guidance and support. I also wish to thank Kehinde Ajayi, Gabriela Aparicio, Rajeev Dehejia, Jordi Jaumandreu, Jason Kerwin, Anjini Kochar, Andy Newman, Johannes Schmieder and seminar participants at Boston University, EconCon, IGIDR, and NEUDC for their helpful comments. Additional thanks to the scholars and researchers at ISI-Kolkata, NIPFP-Delhi, IGIDR-Mumbai, IFMR-Chennai, CDS-Thiruvananthapuram for hosting me during the early stages of this work and the many helpful conversations, and the officials at the Reserve Bank of India for their excellent help with interpreting regulations and understanding the data. All errors are my own.
Placental antibody transfer: influence of maternal HIV infection and placental malaria

AIM To determine the influence of placental malaria, maternal HIV infection, and maternal hypergammaglobulinaemia on transplacental IgG antibody transfer. METHODS One hundred and eighty materno-neonatal pairs from a Malawian population were assessed. Cord and maternal serum samples were tested for total serum IgG antibody titres using nephelometry, and for specific IgG antibody titres toStreptococcus pneumoniae, measles, and tetanus toxoid antibodies using an enzyme linked immunsorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS Multiple regression analyses showed that placental malaria was associated with a decrease in placental IgG antibody transfer to S pneumoniae and measles to 82% and 81%, respectively. Maternal HIV infection was associated with a reduction in IgG antibody transfer to S pneumoniae to 79%; raised maternal total serum IgG titres were correlated withS pneumoniae and measles IgG antibody transfer reduction to 86% and 87%, respectively. No effect was seen with tetanus toxoid antibody transfer. CONCLUSION The combined influence of placental malaria, maternal HIV infection, and maternal hypergammaglobulinaemia seems to be linked to the low transplacental antibody transfer observed in the Malawian population.
Efficient Windowing Scheme for MDCT-Based TCX in AMR-WB+

Although the AMR-WB+ coder provides excellent quality for speech signal, its coding model for music signals is not as optimal as the HE-AAC v2. The main causes of the poor quality of the AMR-WB+ TCX are the non-critical sampling and block artifacts. The new TCX windowing scheme proposed in this paper uses an MDCT with a 50% frame overlap, so that the problems of non-critical sampling and blocking artifacts are significantly mitigated. Due to long overlaps, the proposed scheme involves an additional codec delay. It is, however, moderate for audio services. The results of objective and subjective tests indicate that the proposed scheme achieves noticeable quality improvements for music signals over the previous TCX schemes.
Coherence Approach to Logic Program Revision

In this paper, we present a new approach to the problem of revising extended programs; we base this approach on the coherence theory initially advocated by Gardenfors for belief revision. Our approach resolves contradiction by removing only conflicting information, not the believed source of it, and therefore, keeps information loss minimal. Furthermore, since there is no need to search for problematic assumptions, as is done in the traditional assumption-removal approach, our approach provides a skeptical revision semantics that is tractable. We define the skeptical and credulous coherence semantics and show that both semantics can be characterized in terms of the fixpoint semantics of a revised program using a simple program-revision technique. These semantics provide a suitable framework for knowledge and belief revision in the context of logic programs. Semantical properties and advantages of the proposed revision semantics are also analyzed.