Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Platelet Activation by Streptococcus pyogenes Leads to Entrapment in Platelet Aggregates, from Which Bacteria Subsequently Escape

ABSTRACT Platelet activation and aggregation have been reported to occur in response to a number of Gram-positive pathogens. Here, we show that platelet aggregates induced by Streptococcus pyogenes were unstable and that viable bacteria escaped from the aggregates over time. This was not due to differential activation in response to the bacteria compared with physiological activators. All the bacterial isolates induced significant platelet activation, including integrin activation and alpha and dense-granule release, at levels equivalent to those induced by potent physiological platelet activators that induced stable aggregates. The ability to escape the aggregates and to resist the antibacterial effects of platelets was dependent on active protein synthesis by the bacteria within the aggregate. We conclude that S. pyogenes bacteria can temporarily cover themselves with activated platelets, and we propose that this may facilitate survival of the bacteria in the presence of platelets.
Epithelial ICAM-1 and ICAM-2 regulate the egression of human T cells across the bronchial epithelium

Egression of inflammatory cells from the lung interstitium into the airway lumen is critical for the resolution of inflammation, but the underlying mechanisms of this egression are unclear. Here' we use an in vitro system, in which human T cells migrate across a bronchial epithelial monolayer, to investigate the molecules involved. We show that although inhibition of T‐cell LFA‐1 blocks egression by 75 ± 5.6% (P<0.0001), inhibition of the LFA‐1‐ligand ICAM‐1 on the epithelium only inhibits by 52.7 ± 0.06% (P=0.0001). We, therefore, looked for other epithelial ligands for LFA‐1 and demonstrate that ICAM‐2, but not ICAM‐3, is expressed on the bronchial epithelium. Blocking ICAM‐2 inhibits egression by 50.95 ± 10.79% (P=0.04), and blocking both ICAM‐1 and ICAM‐2 inhibits egression by 69.6 ± 5.2% (P< 0.0001). Inhibition of LFA‐1/ICAM‐1 and ICAM‐2 interactions on the basolateral epithelium does not prevent egressing T cells from adhering, polarizing, or moving over the basal epithelium, but it does prevent their recognition of the interepithelial junctions. In conclusion, we show that egression of T cells involves three distinct sequential steps: adhesion, junctional recognition, and diapedesis; we further demonstrate that ICAM‐2 is expressed on the bronchial epithelium and, together with ICAM‐1, has an essential function in the clearance of T cells from the lung. —Porter, J. C. , Hall, A. Epithelial ICAM‐1 and ICAM‐2 regulate the egression of human T cells across the bronchial epithelium. FASEB J. 23, 492‐502 (2009)
Premature Obituaries: How Can We Tell If the Women's Movement Is Over?

Why have there been so many obituaries for the women's movement, written in so many different countries, despite so many continuing manifestations of life? We argue here that the problem is not simply the short attention span of the media and the constant quest for newness but also the terms in which social movements have been understood. This is partly a methodological question concerning how social movements are distinguished from other political actors, the repertoires that are expected of them, and the associated measurement of social movement activity through protest event databases. It is also a question of how “institutionalization” is understood. It has often been assumed that social movement activism is by definition extrainstitutional or that institutionalization is something that comes after, replaces, or usurps the role of social movements.
The Influence of Naturally Occurring Differences in Birthweight on Ventricular Cardiomyocyte Number in Sheep

In most species including man, cardiomyocytes cease proliferating soon after birth when they become terminally differentiated. A reduced complement of cardiomyocytes in infancy may adversely impact on the function and adaptive capabilities of the heart in later life. Low birthweight is associated with an increased risk of heart disease in adults, but little is known about its effect on the number of cardiomyocytes. Using naturally occurring differences in birthweight, our aim was to determine the effect of birthweight on cardiomyocyte number in postnatal lambs. At 9 weeks after term birth, when the final number of cardiomyocytes is considered to be established, hearts were collected at necropsy from seven singleton and seven twin lambs. Hearts were perfusion‐fixed, and tissue samples were systematically taken from the left ventricle plus intraventricular septum (LV+S) and the right ventricle (RV). The number of cardiomyocyte nuclei was estimated using an unbiased optical disector–fractionator stereological technique, and the total number of cardiomyocytes was determined. Weights of the total heart, LV+S and RV were significantly related to both birthweight and necropsy weight. In the LV+S but not the RV, cardiomyocyte number was significantly and directly related to heart tissue weight, birthweight, and necropsy weight. We conclude that the final number of cardiomyocytes in the LV+S is related to prenatal and early postnatal growth, and is proportionate to the weight of heart tissue. A low cardiomyocyte number in the LV+S following restricted fetal growth may contribute to the increased incidence of heart disease in adults born with low birthweight. Anat Rec, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Selection of mutations in the hepatitis B virus polymerase during therapy of transplant recipients with lamivudine

We describe mutations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase gene in viruses which reactivated in two patients during therapy with ‐2′‐deoxy‐ 3′‐thiacytidine, or lamivudine (3TC), and following orthotopic liver transplantation for chronic hepatitis B. Virus resistance to 3TC is associated with mutations which lead to amino acid substitutions in the highly conserved tyr‐met‐asp‐asp (YMDD) motif, part of the active site of the polymerase, and which parallel those seen in resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Substitutions of valine and isoleucine for methionine were found in the two cases. The significance of single secondary mutations, which differ between viruses from the two patients, remains to be determined. Thus, viral resistance to lamivudine of hepatitis B virus mimics that of HIV and can occur in the setting of immunosuppression after liver transplantations.
An Analysis of the Leakages of Sodium Ions into and Potassium Ions out of Striated Muscle Cells

Net sodium influx under K-free conditions was independent of the intracellular sodium ion concentration, [Na]i, and was increased by ouabain. Unidirectional sodium influx was the sum of a component independent of [Na]i and a component that increased linearly with increasing [Na]i. Net influx of sodium ions in K-free solutions varied with the external sodium ion concentration, [Na]o, and a steady-state balance of the sodium ion fluxes occurred at [Na]o = 40 mM. When solutions were K-free and contained 10-4 M ouabain, net sodium influx varied linearly with [Na]o and a steady state for the intracellular sodium was observed at [Na]o = 13 mM. The steady state observed in the presence of ouabain was the result of a pump-leak balance as the external sodium ion concentration with which the muscle sodium would be in equilibrium, under these conditions, was 0.11 mM. The rate constant for total potassium loss to K-free Ringer solution was independent of [Na]i but dependent on [Na]o. Replacing external NaCl with MgCl2 brought about reductions in net potassium efflux. Ouabain was without effect on net potassium efflux in K-free Ringer solution with [Na]o = 120 mM, but increased potassium efflux in a medium with NaCl replaced by MgCl2. When muscles were enriched with sodium ions, potassium efflux into K-free, Mg++-substituted Ringer solution fell to around 0.1 pmol/cm2·s and was increased 14-fold by addition of ouabain.
Structural determinants of potency and stereoselective block of hKv1.5 channels induced by local anesthetics.

Block of hKv1.5 channels by bupivacaine is stereoselective, with (R)-(+)-bupivacaine being 7-fold more potent than (S)-(-)-bupivacaine. The study of the effects of chemically related enantiomers on these channels may help to elucidate the structural determinants of stereoselective hKv1.5 channels block by local anesthetics. In this study, we analyzed the effects of (R)-(+)-ropivacaine, (R)-(+)-mepivacaine, and (S)-(-)-mepivacaine on hKv1.5 channels stably expressed in Ltk- cells. (R)-(+)-Ropivacaine inhibited hKv1.5 current and induced a fast initial decline superimposed to the slow inactivation during the application of depolarizing pulses, which reached steady state at the end of 250-msec depolarizing pulses. The concentration-dependence block induced by (R)-(+)-ropivacaine yielded a KD value of 32 +/- 1 microM [i.e., 2.5-fold more potent than (S)-(-)-ropivacaine]. (R)-(+)-Ropivacaine block also was voltage dependent, with a fractional electrical distance (delta) of 0.156 +/- 0.003 (n = 14) referred to the inner surface. Both (S)-(-)- and (R)-(+)-mepivacaine blocked hKv1.5 channels, with KD values of 286.8 +/- 34.1 and 379.0 +/- 56.0 microM, respectively [i.e., block was not stereoselective (p > 0.05)]. (S)-(-)-Mepivacaine and (R)-(+)-mepivacaine block displayed no apparent time-dependence due to a very fast dissociation rate constant. However, block by mepivacaine enantiomers was voltage dependent, with delta values of 0.154 +/- 0.015 and 0.160 +/- 0.008 for the (S)-(-)- and (R)-(+)-enantiomers, respectively. We conclude that (1) (R)-(+)-ropivacaine and mepivacaine enantiomers block the open state of hKv1.5 channels and (2) the length of their alkyl substituent at position 1 determines the potency and the degree of stereoselectivity.
A Society without Fathers or Husbands: The Na of China

The Na of China, farmers in the Himalayan region, live without the institution of marriage. Na brothers and sisters live together their entire lives, sharing household responsibilities and raising the women's children. Because the Na, like all cultures, prohibit incest, they practice a system of sometimes furtive, sometimes conspicuous nighttime encounters at the woman's home. The woman's partners--she frequently has more than one--bear no economic responsibility for her or her children, and "fathers," unless they resemble their children, remain unidentifiable.This lucid ethnographic study shows how a society can function without husbands or fathers. It sheds light on marriage and kinship, as well as on the position of women, the necessary conditions for the acquisition of identity, and the impact of a communist state on a society that it considers backward.
A New Look at an Immortal DNA Hypothesis for Stem Cell Self-Renewal

Copyright: © 2012 Mull JL, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Thirty years ago Cairns and Potten first noted that intestinal epithelial cells fail to produce carcinomas at a rate proportionate to the number of divisions they undergo throughout their lifetimes [1,2]. This observation led to the formation of the immortal DNA strand hypothesis: the suggestion that somatic stem cells segregate their DNA asymmetrically, retaining an “immortal” DNA template while passing on newly formed chromatids to daughter cells. A distinct, yet related, idea posits that somatic stem cells divide infrequently, maintaining a state of relative quiescence. In tandem, mitotic quiescence and asymmetric DNA segregation are thought to spare stem cells from accumulating mutations as they divide to replenish their respective tissues [3].
Comparison of symptoms and presentation of women with benign, low malignant potential and invasive ovarian tumors.

OBJECTIVES To describe symptoms, delay in presentation and reasons for non-presentation among women diagnosed with benign, low malignant potential and malignant ovarian tumors. METHODS Study participants included 457 women who underwent surgery for an ovarian tumor in Queensland, Australia, between July 1999 and February 2002 (244 with invasive cancer, 62 with low malignant potential tumors, and 151 with benign ovarian tumors). Women were contacted a minimum of three months post-diagnosis. Information concerning symptoms and presentation history was obtained via interview. RESULTS Overall, only 8% of the women were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis. Women with invasive cancer reported a greater number of symptoms (3.1 and 3.6 for Stages I-II and III-IV, respectively) than women with benign or low malignant potential tumors (2.8 and 2.2 respectively; p < 0.0001). Women with invasive disease were more likely to experience weight loss or gain, general malaise, chest/respiratory pain, abdominal swelling and bowel symptoms than women with benign ovarian tumors, however the symptom pattern for early- and late-stage invasive ovarian cancer could not be clearly differentiated. There was no suggestion that women with advanced stage disease had delayed longer before presenting to their doctor. The most common reasons given for not telling their doctor about specific symptoms were the woman's perception that the symptom was not serious enough, it was mild or intermittent, or was related to normal physical changes associated with age or menopause. CONCLUSIONS We found only marginal differences in the symptom patterns of early and advanced stage invasive cancer. Delay in presentation was not associated with more advanced disease suggesting that earlier diagnosis may not increase the proportion of cancers diagnosed at an early stage.
Predictive factors in eradicating hepatitis C virus using a relatively small dose of interferon

Interferon (IFN) can reduce hepatitis C virus load and even eliminate the virus in 30‐40% of patients. Several predictive factors for eradication of the virus have been reported and a higher dose of IFN tends to result in elimination of the virus. However, a small dose of IFN sometimes is as effective as a large dose in eradicating the virus. The predictive factors for such a response are not well established. We retrospectively analysed 50 patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with relatively small amounts of IFN (equal or less than 252 million units). Eleven patients were responders (elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and normalization of alanine amino transferase (ALT) for at least 6 months), but the remaining 39 were non‐responders. Multivariate analysis showed that the pretreatment viral load and total dose of IFN per kilogram of bodyweight were significant predictive factors of response to therapy. We also assessed the amino acid substitutions in the IFN sensitivity determining region (ISDR), NS5A codon 2209‐2248, of HCV in serum samples obtained from 31 patients with HCV genotype 1 b. The presence of more than one amino acid substitution in the ISDR tended to correlate with HCV genotype lb elimination. As IFN is expensive and has a number of serious side effects, our study suggests that the optimal dose of IFN may vary from one patient to another and that more stringent criteria should be used to select the optimal dose for therapy.
A linear predictive HMM for vector-valued observations with applications to speech recognition

The authors describe a new type of Markov model developed to account for the correlations between successive frames of a speech signal. The idea is to treat the sequence of frames as a nonstationary autoregressive process whose parameters are controlled by a hidden Markov chain. It is shown that this type of model performs better than the standard multivariate Gaussian HMM (hidden Markov model) when it is incorporated into a large-vocabulary isolated-word recognizer. >
More Than Parents in Prison: The Broader Overlap Between the Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems

Because of the dramatic rise in incarceration rates during the past two decades, children of incarcerated parents have been a topic of increasing interest. Children who have parents in jail or prison, however, are only a subgroup of the children child protective services agencies encounter who have parents who are involved with the criminal justice system. According to data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the primary caregivers of one in three children in in-home settings have been arrested, but are not currently incarcerated. Households headed by caregivers who have been arrested have higher levels of substance abuse, domestic violence, and extreme poverty than households with never-arrested caregivers. Children of arrested and never-arrested caregivers have comparable levels of clinically significant emotional and behavioral problems, but these problems are more prevalent in both groups than is typical for children in the general population. There are special considerations in working with families in which a parent is incarcerated, but the child welfare field should not overlook opportunities to improve outcomes related to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children whose parents are involved at other points within the criminal justice system.
Perceiving and responding to job insecurity: a workplace spirituality perspective

With unemployment at record highs and rising job insecurity due to the fear of unemployment, it is important to understand the behavioral, physical, psychological, and social ramifications of such insecurity. More importantly, it is crucial to identify variables that may help to prevent and/or alleviate the effects of such job insecurity. To date, there has been scant theorizing or empirical research examining how spirituality may influence the experience of job insecurity or fear of job loss. The purpose of our paper is to develop theoretical propositions regarding the roles that spirituality may play in the appraisal of and response to job insecurity. We begin by briefly reviewing known correlates of job insecurity. Next, we define spirituality for the purposes of this paper; and finally, we develop propositions regarding the role of spirituality in these processes and suggest avenues for empirically testing these propositions. As research on the efficacy of spirituality is growing, investigators look to non‐traditional but complementary methods of treating disease, trauma, and other adverse life events. In a similar vein, we call upon researchers to examine the role that spirituality may play in how employees react to the stressor of job insecurity.
Contrast sensitivity function of sine-wave gratings in children with acute malnutrition

The aim of this study was to determine the contrast sensitivity curves of sine-wave gratings with spatial frequencies of 0.25, 1.0, 2.0 and 8.0 cycles per degree (cpd) of visual angle in 16 female subjects aged 7 to 9 years old, eight well-nourished and eight with acute protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). All participants had normal visual acuity and were free of identifiable ocular illness. Contrast threshold was measured using a temporal two-alternative forced-choice psychophysical method, at a distance of 150 cm of the stimuli, binocularly, with mean luminance of 40.1 cd/m2. We detected a general decline in contrast sensitivity for children with acute malnutrition at all spatial frequencies compared to well-nourished children. The malnourished group needed in average 1.37 times more contrast to detect the stimulus in comparison with the well-nourished one. Differences between the groups were statistically significant at all spatial frequencies (p < .001). These results suggest that acute PEM changes the visual perception for sine-wave gratings.
Fixed-interval pause duration in chained fixed-ratio, fixed-interval schedules

rats were submitted to chained fixed-ratio (FR), fixed-interval (FI) schedules of reinforcement. A FR schedule at one lever produced a discriminative stimulus associated with a FI 60-s schedule of primary reinforcement (water) at the second response lever. In Experiment 1, the FI schedule was kept constant while the FR requirement was changed from one to seven responses under five different experimental conditions for five rats. Increases in the FR requirement resulted in increases in post- reinforcement pauses but also decreases in pauses in the FI schedule. Using another five rats, Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis that short pauses in the FI schedule result from the use of the chained schedules procedure. Baseline was a FI 80-s schedule. In the second condition, chained FR 1 FI 80-s schedules were programmed. The third condition was a return to baseline. In baselines 1 and 2, the FI pause was compatible with the literature but decreased considerably when a chained schedule was used. The present results support the hypothesis that the time between primary reinforcement presentations dominates the control of FI pauses over control by the onset of a discriminative stimulus. Keywords: timing; chained schedules; fixed ratio; fixed interval; water; rats.
Cosmic Confusions: Not Supporting versus Supporting Not*

Bayesian probabilistic explication of inductive inference conflates neutrality of supporting evidence for some hypothesis H (“not supporting H”) with disfavoring evidence (“supporting not-H”). This expressive inadequacy leads to spurious results that are artifacts of a poor choice of inductive logic. I illustrate how such artifacts have arisen in simple inductive inferences in cosmology. In the inductive disjunctive fallacy, neutral support for many possibilities is spuriously converted into strong support for their disjunction. The Bayesian “doomsday argument” is shown to rely entirely on a similar artifact.
Private proximity testing with an untrusted server

The privacy of location-based services has gained attention with their increased popularity. To date, citing insufficient privacy demand and inefficient/immature privacy preserving technologies, service providers have not been willing to build private-enhanced systems in which they do not have access to users' location information. However, current practice is likely to change in coming years with increasing privacy awareness and technological advances. For instance, Narayanan et al. recently introduced a fast private equality testing protocol for proximity testing with an untrusted server. In the current work, based on basic notions of geometry and linear algebra, we describe a new three-party protocol for solving the same problem. Our proposed protocol decreases the number of encryptions needed and gives a more efficient solution for private equivalence testing.
The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement

Unlike interstate wars, civil wars rarely end in negotiated settlements. Between 1940 and 1990 55 percent of interstate wars were resolved at the bargaining table, whereas only 20 percent of civil wars reached similar solutions. Instead, most internal wars ended with the extermination, expulsion, or capitulation of the losing side. In fact, groups fighting civil wars almost always chose to fight to the finish unless an outside power stepped in to guarantee a peace agreement. If a third party agreed to enforce the terms of a peace treaty, negotiations always succeeded regardless of the initial goals, ideology, or ethnicity of the participants. If a third party did not intervene, these talks usually failed.