Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The autonomy of CD8+ T cells in vitro and in vivo.

Experiments have been carried out in vitro and in vivo to determine to what extent CD8+ T cells in the rat can function independently of any helper activity from CD4+ cells. We have identified the culture conditions required for the autonomous proliferation of CD8+ T cells in the rat mixed leucocyte culture (MLC) and in particular have studied both the kinetics of the response and the effect of replacing the homologous serum, used in our previous MLC experiments, with fetal calf serum (FCS). The results obtained using FCS show that, early in the MLC, CD8+ T-cells proliferate at a comparable rate to the CD4+ subset but that, within 48-72 hr, the proliferation rate of the CD8+ cells ceases to increase with time. In contrast, the proliferation of the CD4+ T cells appears to be limited only by the exhaustion of the culture medium. The results also show that the proliferative responses of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are inhibited in homologous serum but that it is the CD8+ subset that is more affected. When CD8+ T cells, in homologous serum, are co-cultured with irradiated CD4+ T cells the proliferative activity is increased, indicating that the helper activity of the CD4+ T cells can over-ride the inhibitory effect of the serum. In vivo we have compared the abilities of injected CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to mediate rejection of skin allografts on nude rats. Grafts were rejected more rapidly on recipients of low doses of CD4+ T cells than on rats given 200 times as many CD8+ T cells. Thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) obtained 5 weeks after CD8+ T-cell injection always contained a population of CD4+ T cells, even when the injected CD8+ T-cell inoculum contained less than 0.1% CD4+ cells as contaminants. Evidence was obtained that these CD4+ T cells found in TDL displayed alloreactivity in MLC. Further, the intentional injection of very low doses of CD4+ cells led, after 5 weeks, to frequencies of CD4+ T cells, in thoracic duct lymph, equal to that obtained by the injection of 200 times as many cells of the same phenotype. It appears that, in T-cell-deficient rats, CD4+ cells can expand over 2000 times in a few weeks. Such expansion may explain the relatively slow rejection of skin allografts observed in these experiments when nude rats were injected with putatively pure populations of CD8+ T cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Stigma and social identity of people who are not in paid employment

The unifying theme of the chapters presented in this thesis is how people who are not in paid work respond to the stigma of unemployment or the possibility of being regarded as (similar to the) unemployed. Although unemployment is a topic of continuing interdisciplinary interest, most of the extant psychological research has tended to focus on investigating those unemployed people who are officially registered as such. While such an approach is helpful, less research attention has been paid to the fact that there are many groups who are not in paid employment, such as stay-at-home mothers or students. There may be circumstances under which those people may be perceived as very similar to the unemployed. As a consequence, they may perceive a stigma of unemployment. In this thesis we develop this idea by conceptualising people who are not in paid employment in terms of their social identities. The primary goals of this thesis are twofold: first, to demonstrate that the stigma of unemployment not only impacts on the behaviour of registered unemployed people, but also on other people who are not in paid employment. Second, to demonstrate that people not in paid work respond to perceptions of stigma and the possibility of being seen as unemployed by using psychological strategies that are based on their group memberships. Therefore, this thesis investigates how social identification processes interact with perceptions of stigma to influence possible coping behaviour and well-being. In Chapter 1 we begin by reviewing the extant literature on unemployment and stigma. In Chapter 2 we introduce the social identity approach and illustrate how it can be applied to research on groups of people who are not in paid employment in a way
Early CD4+ T Cell Responses Are Associated with Subsequent CD8+ T Cell Responses to an rAd5-Based Prophylactic Prime-Boost HIV Vaccine Strategy

Introduction Initial evaluation of a candidate vaccine against HIV includes an assessment of the vaccine’s ability to generate immune responses. However, the dynamics of vaccine-induced immune responses are unclear. We hypothesized that the IFN-γ producing cytotoxic CD8+ (CD8+ IFN-γ+) T cell responses could be predicted by early IL-2 producing CD4+ (CD4+ IL-2+) helper T cell responses, and we evaluated this hypothesis using data from a phase I/II prophylactic HIV vaccine trial. The objective was to assess the dynamics and correlations between CD4+ IL-2+ T cell and CD8+ IFN-γ+ T cell responses after vaccination with a recombinant adenoviral serotype 5 (rAd5) HIV vaccine. Methods We analyzed data from the HVTN 068 HIV vaccine trial, which evaluated the immunogenicity of two different strategies for prime and boost vaccination (rAd5-rAd5 vaccine versus DNA-rAd5) in 66 healthy volunteers. Spearman correlations between immunogenicity markers across time-points were calculated. CD8+ IFN-γ+ T cell response in the rAd5-rAd5 arm was modeled as a function of CD4+ IL-2+ T cell response and time using mixed effects regression models. Results Moderate to high correlations (r = 0.48–0.76) were observed in the rAd5-rAd5 arm between the CD4+ IL-2+ T cell response at week 2 and later CD8+ IFN-γ+ T cell responses (weeks 2–52). Regression models confirmed this relationship with a significant association between the two markers: for a 1.0% increase in CD4+ IL-2+ T cells at week 2 post-prime, a 0.3% increase in CD8+ IFN-γ+ T cell responses across subsequent time points, including post-boost time points, was observed (p<0.01). Conclusion These results suggest an early and leading role of CD4+ T cells in the cellular response to the rAd5-rAd5 vaccine and in particular the stimulation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses. These results could inform better timing of CD4+ T cell measurements in future clinical trials.
Elevated Body Mass Index Increases Early Complications of Surgical Treatment of Pelvic Ring Injuries

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and postoperative complications and to determine the incidence of reoperation after surgical treatment of pelvic ring injuries. Setting: Three Level I trauma centers. Patients/Participants: A retrospective review of 184 consecutive surgically treated pelvic ring injuries (Orthopaedic Trauma Association 61) was performed. Two patients died in the initial postoperative period, and the remaining 182 patients were followed for a minimum of 3 months. Main Outcome Measurements: Complications that were evaluated included wound infection and dehiscence, loss of reduction, iatrogenic nerve injury, deep venous thrombosis, pneumonia, and the development of decubitus ulcers. Body mass index was calculated for each patient, and a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 considered to be obese as defined by the National Institutes of Health. Results: There were 132 males and 50 females with an average age of 36.4 years (range, 14-83 years). There were 48 (26%) patients with a BMI over 30 kg/m2. Complications occurred in 46 of 182 patients (25.3%) with 26 occurring in the 48 patients with BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 (54.2% complication rate) and 20 occurring in the 134 patients with BMI less than 30 kg/m2 (14.9% complication rate). Complications included 20 infections (four superficial wound dehiscence and 16 deep), 23 losses of reduction, five deep vein thromboses, three pulmonary embolus, three pneumonia, two decubitus ulcers, and three iatrogenic nerve injuries. Reoperation was required in 29 of 182 (15.9%) patients with 16 (8.8%) irrigation and débridement, and 17 (9.3%) refixation procedures. All wound complications occurred after open exposures. Open exposures were performed for the anterior pelvic ring in 143 of 182 (78.6%) patients, the posterior pelvic ring in 64 of 182 (35.2%) patients, and percutaneous treatment of the posterior pelvic ring was performed in 80 of 182 (44.0%) patients. Logistic regression modeling analyzing BMI as a continuous variable found a relationship between increasing BMI and complication rate (P < 0.0001) and need for reoperation (P = 0.0013). Odds ratios analysis revealed that obese patients (BMI greater than 30 kg/m2) were 6.87 (95% confidence interval, 3.25-14.49) times more likely to have a complication and 4.68 (95% confidence interval, 2.03-10.76) times more likely to undergo reoperation than patients with BMI less than 30 kg/m2. Conclusions: Body mass index correlates with an increased rate of complications and reoperation after operative treatment of pelvic ring injuries.
Realistic Workload Characterization and Analysis for Networks-on-Chip Design

As silicon device scaling trends have simultaneously increased transistor density while reducing component costs, architectures incorporating multiple communicating components are becoming more common. In these systems, networks-on-chip (NOCs) connect the components for communication and NOC design is critical to the performance and eﬃciency of the system. Typically, in NOC design traditional synthetic workloads are used to characterize the performance of the sys-tem. Previous work shows, however, that these traditional synthetic workloads do not accurately represent the characteristics of realistic network traﬃc. In this paper we propose the analysis of realistic traﬃc via a set of new workload characteristics. We show that these characteristics more accurately correlate with network congestion in realistic workloads than traditional metrics.
Optimal Income Transfer Programs: Intensive Versus Extensive Labor Supply Responses

This paper investigates the optimal income transfer problem at the low end of the income distribution. The government maximizes a social welfare function and faces the traditional equity-efficiency trade-off. The paper models labor supply behavioral responses along the intensive margin (hours or intensity of work on the job) and along the extensive margin (participation in the labor force). Optimal tax formulas are derived as a function of the behavioral elasticities, the shape of the income distribution and the redistribution tastes of the government. When behavioral responses are concentrated along the intensive margin, the optimal transfer program is a classical Negative Income Tax program with a substantial guaranteed income support that is taxed away at high rates. However, when behavioral responses are concentrated along the extensive margin, the optimal transfer program is an Earned Income Credit program with negative marginal tax rates at low income levels and a small guaranteed income. Numerical simulations calibrated with the actual empirical earnings distribution are presented for a range of behavioral elasticities and redistributive tastes of the government. For realistic elasticities, the optimal program provides a moderate guaranteed income, imposes low tax rates on very low annual earnings levels, and then starts phasing out benefits at substantial rates.
Phase II Clinical Trial of Multiple Peptide Vaccination for Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Patients Revealed Induction of Immune Responses and Improved OS

Purpose: The peptides derived from ideal cancer–testis antigens, including LY6K, CDCA1, and IMP3 (identified using genome-wide cDNA microarray analyses), were used in immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). In this trial, we analyzed the immune response to and safety and efficacy of vaccine therapy. Experimental Design: A total of 37 patients with advanced HNSCC were enrolled in this trial of peptide vaccine therapy, and the OS, PFS, and immunologic response were evaluated using enzyme-linked ImmunoSpot (ELISPOT) and pentamer assays. The peptides were subcutaneously administered weekly with IFA. The primary endpoints were evaluated on the basis of differences between HLA-A*2402-positive [A24(+)] patients treated with peptide vaccine therapy and –negative [A24(−)] patients treated without peptide vaccine therapy among those with advanced HNSCC. Results: Our cancer vaccine therapy was well tolerated. The OS of the A24(+) vaccinated group (n = 37) was statistically significantly longer than that of the A24(−) group (n = 18) and median survival time (MST) was 4.9 versus 3.5 months, respectively; P < 0.05. One of the patients exhibited a complete response. In the A24(+) vaccinated group, the ELISPOT assay identified LY6K-, CDCA1-, and IMP3-specific CTL responses in 85.7%, 64.3%, and 42.9% of the patients, respectively. The patients showing LY6K- and CDCA1-specific CTL responses demonstrated a longer OS than those without CTL induction. Moreover, the patients exhibiting CTL induction for multiple peptides demonstrated better clinical responses. Conclusions: The immune response induced by this vaccine may improve the prognosis of patients with advanced HNSCC. Clin Cancer Res; 21(2); 312–21. ©2014 AACR.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Machine: Protecting Privacy with Ephemeral Channels

Modern systems keep long memories. As we show in this paper, an adversary who gains access to a Linux system, even one that implements secure deallocation, can recover the contents of applications' windows, audio buffers, and data remaining in device drivers-long after the applications have terminated. We design and implement Lacuna, a system that allows users to run programs in "private sessions. " After the session is over, all memories of its execution are erased. The key abstraction in Lacuna is an ephemeral channel, which allows the protected program to talk to peripheral devices while making it possible to delete the memories of this communication from the host. Lacuna can run unmodified applications that use graphics, sound, USB input devices, and the network, with only 20 percentage points of additional CPU utilization.
Comparative validity of MMPI-A scales scores in African American and Caucasian male juvenile delinquents

COMPARATIVE VALIDITY OF MMPI-A SCALES SCORES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN MALE JUVENILE DELINQUENTS Stacy Natasha Wilson Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, 2010 Director: Dr. Richard H. Handel This study examined comparative validity of the MMPI-A scale scores of African American and Caucasian male juvenile delinquents utilizing a step down hierarchical regression procedure proposed by Laughtenschlager & Mendoza (1986). The MMPI-A (Butcher et al., 1992) was administered to 281 African American and Caucasian juvenile delinquents while their caretakers filled out the CBCL (Achenbach, 1991; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and DBRS (Barkley & Murphy, 1998), which were used as extra-test measures. Significant overall prediction bias was detected in 15 out of 56 regressions. Statistically significant prediction bias was found for a subset of criterion variables for Clinical Scales 2, 4, and 9, as well as Content Scales A-dep, A-hea, A-ang, and ? -con and Supplementary Scale IMM. Slope bias was found for A-hea with "DSM-Oriented Somatic Problems". Statistically significant intercept bias was demonstrated for 1 3 out of 56 criterion variables. Overall, when statistically significant intercept bias was found, none exceeded a small effect size. Possible practical implications and directions for future research are presented.
Preserving Utility in Social Network Graph Anonymization

To protect from privacy disclosure, the social network graph is modified in order to hide the information that potentially be used to disclose person's identity. However, when the social network graph is changed, it is a great challenge to balance between the privacy gained and the loss of data utility. In this paper, we address this problem. We propose a new graph topological-based metric to improve utility preservation in social network graph anonymization. We compare the proposed approach with the amount-of-edge-change metric that popularly used in most of previous works. Experimental evaluation shows that our approach generates anonymized social network with improved utility preservation.
Candesartan augments ischemia-induced proangiogenic state and results in sustained improvement after stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We have shown that acute treatment with candesartan in an experimental model of stroke resulted in vascular protection and improved outcomes at 24 hours poststroke, but the mechanisms are unknown. We now examine effects of candesartan on proangiogenic factors and 7-day outcomes using the same treatment paradigm. METHODS Male Wistar rats underwent 3 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. A single dose of 1 mg/kg candesartan intravenously was given at reperfusion. Animals received neurobehavioral testing before middle cerebral artery occlusion, at 24 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion, and at 7 days. Blood pressure was measured by telemetry. Animals euthanized at 24 hours had brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid collected for matrix metalloproteinase activity, vascular endothelial growth factor expression, and tube formation assay. Neurobehavioral testing included elevated body swing test, Bederson, beam walk, and paw grasp. Cerebrovascular density was quantified using immunohistochemistry at 24 hours and 7 days. RESULTS Matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity and vascular endothelial growth factor expression were higher (P=0.035, P=0.042, respectively) and cerebrospinal fluid was significantly more proangiogenic (5x tube formation; P=0.002) in the candesartan group at 24 hours. Although no difference was seen in infarct size at 7 days, treatment improved Bederson scores (2.1 versus 2.9, P=0.0083), elevated body swing test (22.9 versus 39.4, P=0.021), and paw grasp (1.29 versus 2.88, P=0.0001) at 7 days. Candesartan treatment resulted in increased vascular density in the striatum at 7 days (P=0.037). CONCLUSIONS Candesartan after reperfusion augments ischemia-induced angiogenic state and provides long-term benefits. The beneficial effects may involve vascular protection and enhancement of early angiogenic remodeling.
Ozone Discourses. Science and Politics in Global Environmental Cooperation.@@@The Politics of Global Atmospheric Change.

How can scientific knowledge be translated into political change? Ozone Discourse examines the first global environment treaty, the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent revisions, which was a highly effective collaboration among scientists, policymakers and activists. The treaties were the work of a small group of experts who, without conventional political or economic resources, were able to persuade most of the world's nations to agree to reduce and then eliminate chlorofluorocarbons. These experts used their understanding of atmospheric science to supplement the policymakers' short-term perspective with a wider, intergenerational timeframe characteristic of global environmental problems. Litfin argues that the discipline of international relations requires a broader conception of power in order to accomodate the knowledge-based problems such as environmental degradation.
Lack of up‐regulation of ferritin is associated with sustained iron regulatory protein‐1 binding activity in the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson's disease

Dopaminergic neurones degenerate during Parkinson's disease and cell loss is most extensive in the subpopulation of melanized neurones located in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Iron accumulation, together with a lack of up‐regulation of the iron‐storing protein, ferritin, has been reported and may contribute to increased oxidative stress in this region. We investigated the binding activity of iron regulatory protein‐1 (IRP1) to the iron‐responsive element that precludes ferritin mRNA translation, in the substantia nigra of a group of parkinsonian patients who presented a statistically significant reduction in the number of nigral melanized‐neurones and an increased iron content, together with unchanged H‐ferritin and L‐ferritin subunit levels as compared to matched controls. The levels of ferritin mRNAs and the binding activity of IRP1 to the iron‐responsive element of ferritin mRNA did not differ significantly between the two groups. Moreover, there was no detectable contribution of the iron regulatory protein‐2 (IRP2) binding activity. No change in IRP1 control of ferritin mRNA translation explains the lack of up‐regulation of ferritin expression in cytoplasmic extracts of SNpc that would be normally expected with cytosolic iron accumulation. The data of this study do not favor changes in transcription and post‐transcriptional regulation of ferritin expression in Parkinson's disease and suggest a ‘compartmentalized’ iron accumulation.
Health services use by urban women with or at risk for HIV-1 infection: the HIV Epidemiology Research Study (HERS).

OBJECTIVE To characterize health services use by urban women with or at risk for HIV-1 infection enrolled in a prospective multicenter study. METHODS 1310 women 16 to 55 years of age who were at risk for HIV-1 infection were recruited between April 1993 and January 1995 at four urban centers (Baltimore, Maryland; The Bronx, New York; Detroit, Michigan; and Providence, Rhode Island). HIV-1-seropositive women without AIDS-defining illness were oversampled in a ratio of 2:1 in comparison with HIV-1-seronegative women. At a baseline study visit, the women received physical and laboratory examinations, including CD4+ counts, and were interviewed regarding HIV risk behavior, health services use, and clinical data. RESULTS 863 women were HIV-1-seropositive and 430 were HIV-1-seronegative. Fifty-two percent of the women reported injection drug use (IDU) since 1985, and 48% acquired HIV through sexual contact. Seventy-seven percent were African American, 23% were white, and 16% were Hispanic. The median age was 35 years. HIV-seronegative women were significantly less likely to have health insurance (19%) than were HIV-seropositive women (30%; p < .001). Among the HIV-seropositive women, 68% had CD4+ cell counts of <500/microl, and 64% were asymptomatic. Sixty-four percent of the HIV-seronegative women had had an outpatient hospital visit in the past 6 months, as had 86% of HIV-seropositive women (p < 0.001). Hospitalization in the past 6 months was also higher in HIV-seropositive women (22% vs. 12%; p < .001). Despite heavy use of health services, only 49% of women with CD4+ counts of <200/microl reported current use of antiretroviral therapy, and only 58% reported current use of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis. Among HIV-seropositive women, and after adjusting for CD4+ count, HIV symptoms, race, and study site, IDUs were significantly less likely to have a regular doctor and a recent outpatient visit and more likely to be hospitalized and use the emergency department (ED) than were non-IDUs. In multivariate analyses of HIV-seropositive persons, African American women had similar access to care and use of antiretroviral therapy and PCP prophylaxis than did white women but were less likely to have an outpatient department visit in the previous 6 months and to be taking PCP and opportunistic infection (OI) prophylaxis. Health services access and use of HIV-related therapies did not significantly differ between Hispanic and white women with HIV infection. CONCLUSION Although both HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women had high levels of use of medical services, current use of antiretrovirals and OI prophylaxis was low throughout, and IDUs used HIV-related primary health services less and were more likely to receive emergency or episodic care. IDU and African American race were independently associated with decreased use of medical services.