Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconstitution of Intestinal CD4 and Th17 T Cells in Antiretroviral Therapy Suppressed HIV-Infected Subjects: Implication for Residual Immune Activation from the Results of a Clinical Trial

Introduction During HIV infection the severe depletion of intestinal CD4+ T-cells is associated with microbial translocation, systemic immune activation, and disease progression. This study examined intestinal and peripheral CD4+ T-cell subsets reconstitution under combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), and systemic immune activation markers. Methods This longitudinal single-arm pilot study evaluates CD4+ T cells, including Th1 and Th17, in gut and blood and soluble markers for inflammation in HIV-infected individuals before (M0) and after eight (M8) months of cART. From January 2010 to December 2011, 10 HIV-1 naïve patients were screened and 9 enrolled. Blood and gut CD4+ T-cells subsets and cellular immune activation were determined by flow-cytometry and plasma soluble CD14 by ELISA. CD4+ Th17 cells were detected in gut biopsies by immunohistochemistry. Microbial translocation was measured by limulus-amebocyte-lysate assay to detect bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and PCR Real Time to detect plasma bacterial 16S rDNA. Results Eight months of cART increased intestinal CD4+ and Th17 cells and reduced levels of T-cell activation and proliferation. The magnitude of intestinal CD4+ T-cell reconstitution correlated with the reduction of plasma LPS. Importantly, the magnitude of Th17 cells reconstitution correlated directly with blood CD4+ T-cell recovery. Conclusion Short-term antiretroviral therapy resulted in a significant increase in the levels of total and Th17 CD4+ T-cells in the gut mucosa and in decline of T-cell activation. The observation that pre-treatment levels of CD4+ and of CD8+ T-cell activation are predictors of the magnitude of Th17 cell reconstitution following cART provides further rationale for an early initiation of cART in HIV-infected individuals. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02097381
Reasons for initial and continued enrollment in private piano lessons as self-reported by children in northern Indiana and northern Ohio

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons children identify for initially enrolling and for continuing to enroll in piano lessons. Several factors were examined to assess their effect on the reasons for enrollment; these factors were gender, age, who initiated enrollment, and length of enrollment in piano lessons. Study participants included 71 children currently enrolled in private piano lessons in Northern Indiana and Northern Ohio. While previous research has focused on the reasons adults enroll in piano lessons, this study focused on children under the age of 18. The participants each completed the Reasons for Enrollment in Piano Lessons Survey. The survey listed various reasons for enrollment, for which the children rated their level of agreement based on a five-point Likert scale. Results indicated that the most agreed upon reason children initially enrolled in piano lessons was they thought it would be fun, and they continue enrollment in piano lessons because it is fun. In addition, the children also stayed enrolled in piano lessons because they wanted to become better pianists, they wanted to become better musicians, and they enjoy learning new music. An important implication for piano teachers is to consider the interests of students when selecting repertoire and provide ample playing opportunities during the lesson time in an effort to increase the amount of enjoyment for the students. In addition, teachers could take advantage of the increasing desire for improvement by challenging older students with more difficult and diverse repertoire, higher overall lesson preparation expectations, and new activities that address the student’s weaknesses. Suggestions for future research include utilizing a larger population, examining the effect of socio-economic status on
Molecular Diagnosis of Inherited Retinal Diseases in Indigenous African Populations by Whole-Exome Sequencing

Purpose A majority of genes associated with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) have been identified in patients of European origin. Indigenous African populations exhibit rich genomic diversity, and evaluation of reported genetic mutations has yielded low returns so far. Our goal was to perform whole-exome sequencing (WES) to examine variants in known IRD genes in underrepresented African cohorts. Methods Whole-exome sequencing was performed on 56 samples from 16 families with diverse IRD phenotypes that had remained undiagnosed after screening for known mutations using genotyping-based microarrays (Asper Ophthalmics). Variants in reported IRD genes were identified using WES and validated by Sanger sequencing. Custom TaqMan assays were used to screen for identified mutations in 193 unrelated indigenous Africans with IRDs. Results A total of 3494 variants were identified in 217 known IRD genes, leading to the identification of seven different mutations (including six novel) in six genes (RHO, PRPF3, PRPF31, ABCA4, CERKL, and PDE6B) in six distinct families. TaqMan screening in additional probands revealed identical homozygous CERKL and PDE6B variants in four more patients. Conclusions This is the first report of WES of patients with IRDs in indigenous African populations. Our study identified genetic defects in almost 40% of the families analyzed, significantly enhancing the molecular diagnosis of IRD in South Africa. Thus, WES of understudied cohorts seems to present an effective strategy for determining novel mutations in heterogeneous retinal diseases.
Structure of the Parainfluenza Virus 5 (PIV5) Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase (HN) Ectodomain

Paramyxoviruses cause a wide variety of human and animal diseases. They infect host cells using the coordinated action of two surface glycoproteins, the receptor binding protein (HN, H, or G) and the fusion protein (F). HN binds sialic acid on host cells (hemagglutinin activity) and hydrolyzes these receptors during viral egress (neuraminidase activity, NA). Additionally, receptor binding is thought to induce a conformational change in HN that subsequently triggers major refolding in homotypic F, resulting in fusion of virus and target cell membranes. HN is an oligomeric type II transmembrane protein with a short cytoplasmic domain and a large ectodomain comprising a long helical stalk and large globular head domain containing the enzymatic functions (NA domain). Extensive biochemical characterization has revealed that HN-stalk residues determine F specificity and activation. However, the F/HN interaction and the mechanisms whereby receptor binding regulates F activation are poorly defined. Recently, a structure of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) HN ectodomain revealed the heads (NA domains) in a “4-heads-down” conformation whereby two of the heads form a symmetrical interaction with two sides of the stalk. The interface includes stalk residues implicated in triggering F, and the heads sterically shield these residues from interaction with F (at least on two sides). Here we report the x-ray crystal structure of parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) HN ectodomain in a “2-heads-up/2-heads-down” conformation where two heads (covalent dimers) are in the “down position,” forming a similar interface as observed in the NDV HN ectodomain structure, and two heads are in an “up position. ” The structure supports a model in which the heads of HN transition from down to up upon receptor binding thereby releasing steric constraints and facilitating the interaction between critical HN-stalk residues and F.
Rapid extraction of event participants in caused motion events

When viewing a complex event, it is necessary to identify and calculate the relationships between different entities in the event. For example, when viewing a caused motion event (e.g. a man raking leaves into a basket.), people need to identify the Agent (man), the affected object or Patient (leaves), the Instrument (rake) and the Goal (basket). In this paper we explore how this process of event apprehension proceeds using eye-tracking methodology. Our study indicates that viewers extract event components rapidly, but some components can be extracted faster than others. Moreover, there is a structure to saccade patterns when participants are asked to identify specific event components. In caused motion events, attention is allocated to the Patient during the early stages of processing even when the Patient is not the target. We discuss implications of this work for how people perceive complex events.
Role of Proprioception in Pathoetiology of Shoulder Instability

Proprioception is a specialized sensory modality that gives information about extremity position and direction of movement. This kind of afferent sensory feedback is probably important in mediating muscular control of the shoulder joint. As this articulation is minimally constrained, such a coordinated dynamic control of muscles about the joint is necessary for stability during arm motion. The authors evaluated proprioception in individuals with normal shoulders, unstable shoulders, and after surgical stabilization, by assessing threshold to detection of passive motion and the ability to passively reposition the arm in space. In normal shoulders there is no difference between the dominant and nondominant shoulder, though in unstable shoulders there is a significantly decreased proprioceptive ability. Surgical stabilization normalizes proprioception of the shoulder.
The information environment of managers

The authors analyze the information behaviors of managers in terms of a model of their information environment . The model is composed of those factors tha view managers as people who work in a specific setting (the organization), take on various roles, and carry out various activities. The model posits that the problematic situations managers face are influenced by these factors and the perceieved importance of different problem dimensions that affect how information is valued. The components of the model are used as the framework for reviewing the literature, with the intent of showing how these factors affect information seeking and use by managers. The review also identified the special challenges that managers pose for the information professional
An exercise in story repair: A guided written disclosure protocol for fostering narrative completeness of traumatic memories.

Flutists have reported musculoskeletal pain from practicing and performing their instrument. This study was a statistical approach to investigate potential causal risk factors for flute related pain among high school and college students. The study focused on the relationship between flute related pain and musical background or anthropometric measurements including size, strength and flexibility. Subjects included thirty high school and college-aged flutists who were assessed using a questionnaire, bi-lateral anthropometric measurements of the upper-extremities, upper-extremity performance tests for range of motion, isometric strength and rotation speed, and instrument specific questions. Four questions regarding pain associated with flute playing were treated as dependent variables and used for correlation and regression analyses with other independent variables. A six-factor regression model was created and each model was statistically significant. Results of this study show that strength, flexibility, pain spots, and exposure are risk factors for flute related pain. Both left and right pinch strength and right isometric pronation strength were significantly correlated to flutists experiencing pain while playing. Knowledge of these factors in relationship to pain is needed in flute pedagogy to help teachers and performers understand why flutists report pain during and after playing. Additional studies are warranted for replication of this study and for determining the clinical and pedagogical relevance of these findings.
A fully integrated physical activity sensing circuit for implantable pacemakers

This paper shows the implementation of a fully integrated G/sub m/-C 0.5-7 Hz bandpass filter-amplifier with gain G=400, for a piezoelectric accelerometer which is part of a rate adaptive pacemaker. The fabricated circuit operates up to 2 V power supply, consumes only 230 nA current, and achieves 2.1 /spl mu/V/sub rms/ input noise. Detailed circuit specifications, measurements, and a comparative analysis of the system performance are presented.
Theory and algorithm of local-refinement-based optimization with application to device and interconnect sizing

In this paper we formulate three classes of optimization problems: the simple, monotonically constrained, and bounded Cong-He (CH)-programs. We reveal the dominance property under the local refinement (LR) operation for the simple CH-program, as well as the general dominance property under the pseudo-LR operation for the monotonically constrained CH-program and the extended-LR operation for the bounded CH-program. These properties enable a very efficient polynomial-time algorithm, using different types of LR operations to compute tight lower and upper bounds of the exact solution to any CH-program. We show that the algorithm is capable of solving many layout optimization problems in deep submicron iterative circuit and/or high-performance multichip module (MCM) and printed circuit board (PCB) designs. In particular, we apply the algorithm to the simultaneous transistor and interconnect sizing problem, and to the global interconnect sizing and spacing problem considering the coupling capacitance for multiple nets. We use tables precomputed from SPICE simulations and numerical capacitance extractions to model device delay and interconnect capacitance, so that our device and interconnect models are much more accurate than many used in previous interconnect optimization algorithms. Experiments show that the bound-computation algorithm can efficiently handle such complex models, and obtain solutions close to the global optimum in most cases. We believe that the CH-program formulations and the bound-computation algorithm can also be applied to other optimization problems in the computer-aided design field.
Dynamic and thermodynamic stability and negative modes in Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black holes

The thermodynamic properties of Schwarzschild\char21{}anti-de Sitter black holes confined within finite isothermal cavities are examined. In contrast with the Schwarzschild case, the infinite cavity limit may be taken which, if suitably stated, remains double valued. This allows the correspondence between the nonexistence of negative modes for classical solutions and local thermodynamic stability of the equilibrium configuration of such solutions to be shown in a well defined manner. This is not possible in the asymptotically flat case. Furthermore, the nonexistence of negative modes for the larger black hole solution in the Schwarzschild\char21{}anti-de Sitter case provides strong evidence in favor of the recent positive energy conjecture of Horowitz and Myers.
Automatic Evaluation of Information Ordering: Kendall’s Tau

This article considers the automatic evaluation of information ordering, a task underlying many text-based applications such as concept-to-text generation and multidocument summarization. We propose an evaluation method based on Kendall's , a metric of rank correlation. The method is inexpensive, robust, and representation independent. We show that Kendall's correlates reliably with human ratings and reading times.
Illusory ownership of a virtual child body causes overestimation of object sizes and implicit attitude changes

An illusory sensation of ownership over a surrogate limb or whole body can be induced through specific forms of multisensory stimulation, such as synchronous visuotactile tapping on the hidden real and visible rubber hand in the rubber hand illusion. Such methods have been used to induce ownership over a manikin and a virtual body that substitute the real body, as seen from first-person perspective, through a head-mounted display. However, the perceptual and behavioral consequences of such transformed body ownership have hardly been explored. In Exp. 1, immersive virtual reality was used to embody 30 adults as a 4-y-old child (condition C), and as an adult body scaled to the same height as the child (condition A), experienced from the first-person perspective, and with virtual and real body movements synchronized. The result was a strong body-ownership illusion equally for C and A. Moreover there was an overestimation of the sizes of objects compared with a nonembodied baseline, which was significantly greater for C compared with A. An implicit association test showed that C resulted in significantly faster reaction times for the classification of self with child-like compared with adult-like attributes. Exp. 2 with an additional 16 participants extinguished the ownership illusion by using visuomotor asynchrony, with all else equal. The size-estimation and implicit association test differences between C and A were also extinguished. We conclude that there are perceptual and probably behavioral correlates of body-ownership illusions that occur as a function of the type of body in which embodiment occurs.
Functional units of a compound nose: Aesthetasc sensilla house similar populations of olfactory receptor neurons on the crustacean antennule

The lateral flagellum of the antennule of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus houses more than 1,000 morphologically similar olfactory sensilla, called aesthetascs. By using a high‐resolution activity labeling technique that depends on entry of agmatine into olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) through cation channels during odor stimulation, we examined the distribution of different functional types of ORNs within and across mature aesthetascs. A significant number of ORNs in mature aesthetascs are labeled with agmatine during stimulation by single odorants, including adenosine‐5`‐monophosphate, ammonium chloride, cysteine, glycine, proline, and taurine. The percentage of ORNs per aesthetasc that was agmatine labeled during odor stimulation averaged 0.5–1.6% for single compounds and 4.6% for a 33‐component mimic of oyster tissue. For most antennules and antennular regions studied, the percentage of agmatine‐labeled ORNs by stimulation with single or complex odorants was statistically homogeneous across most or all aesthetascs. The extent of heterogeneity among mature aesthetascs was correlated with their age: extensive heterogeneity was observed only in the distal part of the flagellum containing the oldest aesthetascs and their ORNs. Thus, it appears that over most of the length of the aesthetasc‐bearing region of the lateral flagellum, different and distinct functional types of aesthetascs do not exist. Rather, aesthetascs appear to be repetitive morphological and functional units in olfactory coding. However, because odor sensitivity of ORNs can change with the age of an aesthetasc, some development‐related functional heterogeneity exists among aesthetascs. J. Comp. Neurol. 418:270–280, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Crystal Structure of a Mucus-binding Protein Repeat Reveals an Unexpected Functional Immunoglobulin Binding Activity*

Lactobacillus reuteri mucus-binding protein (MUB) is a cell-surface protein that is involved in bacterial interaction with mucus and colonization of the digestive tract. The 353-kDa mature protein is representative of a broadly important class of adhesins that have remained relatively poorly characterized due to their large size and highly modular nature. MUB contains two different types of repeats (Mub1 and Mub2) present in six and eight copies, respectively, and shown to be responsible for the adherence to intestinal mucus. Here we report the 1.8-Å resolution crystal structure of a type 2 Mub repeat (184 amino acids) comprising two structurally related domains resembling the functional repeat found in a family of immunoglobulin (Ig)-binding proteins. The N-terminal domain bears striking structural similarity to the repeat unit of Protein L (PpL) from Peptostreptococcus magnus, suggesting binding in a non-immune Fab-dependent manner. A distorted PpL-like fold is also seen in the C-terminal domain. As with PpL, Mub repeats were able to interact in vitro with a large repertoire of mammalian Igs, including secretory IgA. This hitherto undetected activity is consistent with the current model that antibody responses against commensal flora are of broad specificity and low affinity.
Role of Endothelin-1 in the Active Constriction of Human Atherosclerotic Coronary Arteries

Background—Atherosclerotic coronary arteries are prone to constriction but the underlying causes are incompletely understood. We tested the hypothesis that endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstrictor, contributes to the heightened tone of atherosclerotic human coronary arteries. Methods and Results—In 8 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 8 patients with angiographically smooth coronary arteries (normal), we infused BQ-123, an antagonist of the ETA receptor, into a major coronary artery (infused artery) at 40 nmol/min for 60 minutes. The infused artery in the CAD patients contained a >50% stenosis. Using quantitative angiography, we compared the dilation of the infused artery with another, noninfused coronary artery. To estimate the magnitude of the contribution of ET-1 to coronary tone, we compared the dilation to BQ-123 with that elicited by intracoronary nitroglycerin (200 &mgr;g). BQ-123 induced significant dilation in the normal arteries (7.3% at 60 minutes, P <0.001 versus noninfused arteries) and a greater dilation in the CAD arteries (16.3% at 60 minutes, P <0.001 versus infused normal arteries). The dilation at stenoses was particularly pronounced (21.6% at 60 minutes, P <0.001 versus infused CAD arteries). Compared with the dilation from nitroglycerin, ET-1 contributed to 39% of the coronary tone in normal arteries, 74% of tone in CAD arteries, and 106% of tone at stenoses (P <0.01). Conclusions—ET-1 accounts for nearly all the resting tone in atherosclerotic coronary arteries, especially at stenoses. Inhibitors of ET-1, by relieving constriction, may significantly lessen the hemodynamic significance of coronary stenoses and thereby reduce myocardial ischemia.
Long-Term Results of Toe Transfer: Retrospective Analysis

Between February 1966 and February 1994, 400 cases of toe transplantation were analyzed, to evaluate toe-transfer procedures in thumb and finger reconstruction. Techniques utilized included single second-toe transfer, with and without the metatarsophalangeal joint (299): second- and third-toe transfer (28); second-toe and third proximal phalanx transfer (1); second-toe with flap transfers (66); and hallux nail flap with second toe or second and third toe transfer (6). There was a survival rate of 96.5 percent, with 386 cases surviving and 14 failing. A more than 2-year follow-up was possible in 240 cases. Excellent motor and sensory function (more than 90 percent of normal) was achieved in the reconstructed fingers and thumbs, as well as satisfactory function (between 86 and 91 percent of normal) in the donor foot.