Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
O 6 ad aeruginosa Pseudomonas Activity of an IgG against Cytotoxicity-Independent Bactericidal Cytotoxicity-and Complement-Dependent Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated

In addition to Ag recognition, some Abs are capable of killing target organisms in the absence of phagocytes and complement. In this study, we report that an anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa O6ad LPS IgG 1 , tobacco-expressed human S20 IgG 1 (te-hS20), as well as its recombinant Fab and single-chain variable fragment (scFv) fragments have cellular-and complement-independent bactericidal activity. te-hS20 and its Fab and scFv significantly reduced viability of P. aeruginosa O6ad in dose-and time-dependent manners in vitro and also showed lower levels of bactericidal activity against P. aeruginosa PAO1, but had no activity against P. aeruginosa O10, Escherichia coli TG1, and Streptococcus agalactiae. The H chain and its Fd fragment both had significant Ag-binding and bactericidal activities against P. aeruginosa O6ad. Bactericidal activity was completely inhibited with specific LPS Ag, suggesting that Ag binding is involved in the bactericidal mechanism. Live/dead cell staining and electron microscopic observations indicate that the bactericidal effect was due to disruption of the cell wall and suggest inhibition of cell division. In addition to te-hS20, the Fab and scFv were also protective in vivo, as leukopenic mice had prolonged and improved survival after administration of these Ab fragments followed by challenge with P. aeruginosa O6ad cells at 80–90% lethal dose, supporting a bactericidal mechanism independent of phagocytes and complement. Understanding of the bactericidal mechanism will allow assessment of the potential for therapeutic application of these Abs. I n the classical view of microbial immunity, Abs typically do not kill microorganisms directly. Ab-mediated elimination of target microorganisms normally involves specific Ag recognition and subsequent Fc region-mediated opsonic phagocytosis or cytotoxic killing via activation of immune system cells through Ab-dependent cell-mediatedphagocytosis,Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), or complement cascade activation through complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) (1, 2). Despite this, some Abs have been found to have the capacity to kill microorganisms or inhibit their growth independent of complement and immune cells (3–5). The direct antimicrobial action of such Abs can be specific to their target microbes or nonspecific to unrelated microorganisms. The antimi-crobial mechanisms of these Abs range from catalytic activities toward either target Ags or nonspecific molecules to interference with biological functions of target organisms upon Ab binding. Because the first independent reports on catalytic Abs, also called abzymes (6, 7), a number of Abs have been discovered or designed to catalyze many distinct classes of chemical reactions (8–15). Certain chemical reactions catalyzed by abzymes result in production of toxic …
Concurrent measurement of the survival of two populations of rabbit platelets labeled with either two PKH lipophilic dyes or two concentrations of biotin.

BACKGROUND To avoid radioisotopic labeling and permit comparison of the survival of two platelet populations concurrently in one animal, we compared simultaneous recoveries and survival times of homologous rabbit platelets labeled in vitro with the lipophilic dyes PKH26 (red fluorescing) and PKH67 (green fluorescing) and with two levels of biotin (low, 1 microg/ml; high, 10 microg/ml). METHODS Blood samples were drawn up to 96 h postinfusion and analyzed by flow cytometry. Biotin-labeled samples were incubated with phycoerythrin-streptavidin before analysis. RESULTS Recovery of PKH26-labeled platelets at 1 h was lower (37.5%) than that of PKH67-labeled platelets (47.3%; P < 0.001). Platelet survival times were 62.4 and 61.9 h. Recoveries at 1 h of platelets labeled with two levels of biotin were similar (86.6% and 84.6%) and greater than those of PKH-labeled platelets (P < 0.001). Survival of platelets labeled with biotin did not differ (low, 83.3 h; high, 85.2 h) and was longer than for PKH-labeled platelets (P < 0.01). Labeling methods did not activate platelets (measured by P-selectin expression), nor did they affect platelet responses to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), collagen, or thrombin. CONCLUSIONS Labeling with two levels of biotin is superior to labeling with PKH dyes, and is useful for measuring concurrently the survival of two differing platelet populations.
Perivascular cells for regenerative medicine

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) are currently the best candidate therapeutic cells for regenerative medicine related to osteoarticular, muscular, vascular and inflammatory diseases, although these cells remain heterogeneous and necessitate a better biological characterization. We and others recently described that MSC originate from two types of perivascular cells, namely pericytes and adventitial cells and contain the in situ counterpart of MSC in developing and adult human organs, which can be prospectively purified using well defined cell surface markers. Pericytes encircle endothelial cells of capillaries and microvessels and express the adhesion molecule CD146 and the PDGFRβ, but lack endothelial and haematopoietic markers such as CD34, CD31, vWF (von Willebrand factor), the ligand for Ulex europaeus 1 (UEA1) and CD45 respectively. The proteoglycan NG2 is a pericyte marker exclusively associated with the arterial system. Besides its expression in smooth muscle cells, smooth muscle actin (αSMA) is also detected in subsets of pericytes. Adventitial cells surround the largest vessels and, opposite to pericytes, are not closely associated to endothelial cells. Adventitial cells express CD34 and lack αSMA and all endothelial and haematopoietic cell markers, as for pericytes. Altogether, pericytes and adventitial perivascular cells express in situ and in culture markers of MSC and display capacities to differentiate towards osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic cell lineages. Importantly, adventitial cells can differentiate into pericyte‐like cells under inductive conditions in vitro. Altogether, using purified perivascular cells instead of MSC may bring higher benefits to regenerative medicine, including the possibility, for the first time, to use these cells uncultured.
The impact of race and higher socioeconomic status on cardiorespiratory fitness.

PURPOSE Previous studies suggest that African Americans (AA) have lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) than their Caucasian (C) counterparts. However, the association between CRF and race/ethnicity in the context of higher socioeconomic status (SES) has not been explored. METHODS We evaluated 589 AA (309 men and 203 women) and 33,015 C (19,399 men and 8753 women) enrolled in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. Education years and access to a preventive health care examination were used as a proxy for higher SES. Data were collected from a questionnaire, maximal treadmill exercise stress test, and other clinical measures. The outcome variable was CRF, which was stratified into low fit (quintile 1 of CRF) and fit (quintiles 2-5). Multivariable regression was used to compare adjusted mean CRF between groups. P values were adjusted for unbalanced sample size and unequal variance between groups. RESULTS The mean education years were similar for AA and C men at 16 yr; however, AA women had more years of education than C (15.8 vs 15.2 yr, P = 0.0062). AA men and women had a significantly higher prevalence of being unfit compared with their C counterparts (men 26.7% vs 12.6%, P < 0.0001; women 21.3% vs 8.4%, P < 0.0001). The adjusted mean estimated maximal METs were 10.9 vs 11.7 and 8.8 vs 9.8 for AA and C men and women, respectively. Fully adjusted odds ratios revealed that AA men had more than twice the risk of being unfit compared with C men. A trend persisted for AA women to have a lower MET value than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS Despite comparable higher SES, lower CRF existed among AA men versus C men. These results suggest that CRF may not be mediated strictly by environmental factors related to SES.
Current Controversies in Lupus Anticoagulant Detection

Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune, acquired thrombophilia diagnosed when vascular thrombosis or pregnancy morbidity are accompanied by persistent antiphospholipid antibodies. Lupus anticoagulants (LA) are one of the criteria antibodies but calibration plasmas are unavailable and they are detected by inference based on antibody behaviour in a medley of coagulation-based assays. Elevated screening tests suggest the presence of a LA, which is confirmed with mixing tests to evidence inhibition and confirmatory tests to demonstrate phospholipid-dependence. At least two screening tests of different principle must be used to account for antibody heterogeneity and controversy exists on whether assays, in addition to dilute Russell’s viper venom time and activated partial thromboplastin time, should be employed. A variety of approaches to raw data manipulation and interpretation attract debate, as does inclusion or exclusion of mixing studies in circumstances where the presence of a LA is already evident from other results. Therapeutic anticoagulation compromises coagulation-based assays but careful data interpretation and use of alternative reagents can detect or exclude LA in specific circumstances, and this aspect of LA detection continues to evolve. This review focuses on the main areas of debate in LA detection.
Experimental Estimates of Education Production Functions

This paper analyzes data from Project STAR, an experiment in which 11,600 Tennessee kindergarten students and teachers were randomly assigned to one of three types of classes beginning in the 1985-86 school year: small classes (13-17 students), regular-size classes (22-25 students) teacher's aide. According to the original design, students were to remain in their initial class type through the third grade. In practice, however, students in regular-size classes were randomly re-assigned at the end of kindergarten, and about 10 percent of students moved between class types in second and third grade. Attrition was also common. Several statistical methods are used to investigate the impact of these limitations. The main conclusions are: (1) on average, performance on standardized tests increases by about 4 percentile points the first year students are assigned to a small class, irrespective of the grade in which the student first attends a small class; (2) after initial assignment to a small class, student performance increases by about one percentile point per year relative to those in regular-size classes; (3) teacher aides have little effect on student achievement; (4) class size has a larger effect on test scores for minority students and for those on free lunch; (5) the beneficial effect of smaller classes does not appear to result from Hawthorne effects.
Redundancy Allocation for Series-Parallel Systems Using Integer Linear Programming

We consider the problem of maximizing the reliability of a series-parallel system given cost and weight constraints on the system. The number of components in each subsystem, and the choice of components are the decision variables. In this paper, we propose an integer linear programming approach that gives an approximate feasible solution, close to the optimal solution, together with an upper bound on the optimal reliability. We show that integer linear programming is a useful approach for solving this reliability problem. The mathematical programming model is relatively simple. Its implementation is immediate by using a mathematical programming language, and integer linear programming software. And the computational experiments show that the performance of this approach is excellent based on a comparison with previous results.
Endothelial Von Willebrand Factor Promotes Blood–Brain Barrier Flexibility and Provides Protection From Hypoxia and Seizures in Mice

Objective—Aberrant blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability is a hallmark pathology of many central nervous system diseases. von Willebrand factor (VWF) is stored in endothelial Weibel–Palade bodies from where it is released on activation into plasma and basement membrane. The role of VWF in endothelial homeostasis is unclear. The goal of this study was to assess the role of VWF in disease models associated with increased BBB permeability. Approach and Results—We did not find any differences in BBB permeability to Evans blue dye at baseline between wild-type and VWF−/− animals. We next used 2 models presenting with increased BBB permeability, hypoxia/reoxygenation and pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus, to assess the response of VWF−/− animals. In both models, VWF−/− mice maintained a tighter BBB than wild–type mice. VWF−/− mice fared worse in both conditions, with ≈100% of VWF−/− mice dying within 120 minutes after pilocarpine administration, whereas >80% of wild-type animals survived. Investigation into the status of tight junction proteins revealed that VWF−/− mice expressed more claudin-5 at baseline. In vitro work confirmed that the presence of subendothelial VWF is inhibitory to claudin-5 expression. Conclusions—VWF deficiency confers partial preservation of BBB integrity after hypoxia/reoxygenation and seizures. Surprisingly, this decrease in BBB permeability did not result in protection of animals because they demonstrated more severe pathology in both models compared with wild-type animals. These data suggest that a rigid BBB is detrimental (to the organism) during certain disease states and that VWF release may provide desired flexibility under stress.
Ratio of waist circumference to chest circumference is inversely associated with lung function in Chinese children and adolescents

Background and objective: In White children, waist circumference (WC) is positively correlated with forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Because fat distribution differs among different races, the relationship between WC and lung function in Asian children may differ from that in White children. The present study aimed to examine the effect of WC on ventilatory function in Chinese children.
Wavelet Decomposition Method for L2//TV-Image Deblurring

In this paper, we show additional properties of the limit of a sequence produced by the subspace correction algorithm proposed by Fornasier and Schonlieb [SIAM J. Numer. Anal. , 47 (2009), pp. 3397--3428] for $L_2/$TV-minimization problems. An important but missing property of such a limiting sequence in that paper is the convergence to a minimizer of the original minimization problem, which was obtained in [M. Fornasier, A. Langer, and C. -B. Schonlieb, Numer. Math., 116 (2010), pp. 645--685] with an additional condition of overlapping subdomains. We can now determine when the limit is indeed a minimizer of the original problem. Inspired by the work of Vonesch and Unser [IEEE Trans. Image Process. , 18 (2009), pp. 509--523], we adapt and specify this algorithm to the case of an orthogonal wavelet space decomposition for deblurring problems and provide an equivalence condition to the convergence of such a limiting sequence to a minimizer. We also provide a counterexample of a limiting sequence by the algorit.
Differential Effects of Aging on Fore– and Hindpaw Maps of Rat Somatosensory Cortex

Getting older is associated with a decline of cognitive and sensorimotor abilities, but it remains elusive whether age-related changes are due to accumulating degenerational processes, rendering them largely irreversible, or whether they reflect plastic, adaptational and presumably compensatory changes. Using aged rats as a model we studied how aging affects neural processing in somatosensory cortex. By multi-unit recordings in the fore- and hindpaw cortical maps we compared the effects of aging on receptive field size and response latencies. While in aged animals response latencies of neurons of both cortical representations were lengthened by approximately the same amount, only RFs of hindpaw neurons showed severe expansion with only little changes of forepaw RFs. To obtain insight into parallel changes of walking behavior, we recorded footprints in young and old animals which revealed a general age-related impairment of walking. In addition we found evidence for a limb-specific deterioration of the hindlimbs that was not observed in the forelimbs. Our results show that age-related changes of somatosensory cortical neurons display a complex pattern of regional specificity and parameter-dependence indicating that aging acts rather selectively on cortical processing of sensory information. The fact that RFs of the fore- and hindpaws do not co-vary in aged animals argues against degenerational processes on a global scale. We therefore conclude that age-related alterations are composed of plastic-adaptive alterations in response to modified use and degenerational changes developing with age. As a consequence, age-related changes need not be irreversible but can be subject to amelioration through training and stimulation.
Multi-center randomized control trial of etizolam plus NSAID combination for tension-type headache.

OBJECTIVE Benzodiazepines are commonly used for the treatment of tension-type headache (TTH), however, there are few randomized controlled trials recommending the use of these drugs in Japan. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of etizolam, a thienodiazepine derivative, in combination with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) as an acute treatment for TTH. METHODS The study design was a multi-center randomized control trial and included 144 patients. The diagnosis of TTH was based on the criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders-1 and all patients were diagnosed with episodic tension-type headache (ETTH). Changes in the severity of headache and shoulder pain were graded using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after administration of drugs. Patients were randomized into NSAID alone (NSAID, mefenamic acid, 250 mg) group and NSAID (mefenamic acid, 250 mg) plus etizolam (0.5 mg) (NSAID-ET) group prior to treatment. RESULTS Although both groups showed a significant drop in VAS for headache and shoulder pain (p<0.01), there was no overall significant difference between the NSAID-ET and NSAID groups. However, headache was improved significantly in female patients (p<0.05), and shoulder pain was improved in young and female patients (p<0.05, p<0.04) in the NSAID-ET group. CONCLUSION This study indicates that the combination treatment of etizolam and NSAID is useful in young or female patients.
The impact of email on collective action: a field application of the SIDE model

A field experiment conducted in a church community tested the counterintuitive notion that individuals were more likely to respond affirmatively to donation requests made through email than face to face. According to social identity perspectives of computer-mediated communication, email increases the salience of group attributes and reduces cognitive perceptions of interpersonal differences. These processes depersonalize individuals who then become more sensitive to group norms and expectations. Analyses demonstrated that the predicted positive interaction was moderated by the degree of in-group identification, such that low identifiers were more likely to respond to email calls when the salience of social identity was heightened.
Effect of Oxygen on Several Enzymes Involved in the Aerobic and Anaerobic Utilization of Glucose in Escherichia coli

By using the continuous culture technique, the transition from aerobiosis to anaerobiosis and its effect on a number of enzymes has been investigated in Escherichia coli K-12. A decrease in the oxygen partial pressure below 28.0 mm of Hg resulted firstly in an increase of the respiratory enzymes (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide [NADH] oxidase, 2.53-fold; succinic dehydrogenase, 1.4-fold; cytochrome b1, 3.91-fold; and cytochrome a2, 2.45-fold) before the electron transport system gradually collapsed as cytochrome a2, followed by cytochrome b1, succinic dehydrogenase, and finally NADH oxidase decreased in activity. The change from respiration to fermentation was initiated well before the oxygen tension reached zero by the increase in levels of fructose diphosphate-aldolase, glucose 6-phosphate, and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenases and a decrease in 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. Whem the dissolved oxygen tension reached zero, dry weight and CO2 formation together with isocitrate dehydrogenase decreased, whereas acid production and phosphofructokinase synthesis started to increase. Enzymatic investigations revealed that the kinetics of the enzyme phosphofructokinase from strict aerobic cultures (6.9 ppm oxygen in solution) was adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-insensitive, whereas the same enzyme from anaerobic cultures was ATP-sensitive. A mechanism is proposed for the change from aerobiosis to anaerobiosis together with the occurring change in glucose regulation.
Associations of Birth Weight and Postnatal Weight Gain With Cardiometabolic Risk Parameters at 5 Years of Age

The present prospective study assessed the impact of birth weight (BW) and postnatal weight gain on blood pressure and metabolic profile during the first 5 years of life. One hundred thirty-nine newborns (63 women) born at term after uncomplicated pregnancies and in the absence of perinatal illness were included. Subjects were divided according to size at birth in small, appropriate, and large for gestational age. After the initial evaluation on the second day of life, infants were followed up at 6 months and 2 and 5 years. Anthropometric parameters and blood pressure were measured at each visit and metabolic assessment was performed at 5 years of age. Among the BW groups, mothers did not differ in terms of age, smoking, and weight gain during pregnancy. BW was a positive determinant of systolic blood pressure at birth. Afterward, current weight was the strongest determinant, becoming significant at 2 years of age and progressively increasing in influence. At 5 years insulin, the homeostasis model assessment index and triglycerides were dependent on BW, current weight, and postnatal weight gain. In addition, BW was positively associated with high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and inversely so to uric acid. A positive relationship among insulin, blood pressure values, and uric acid was observed even early in life. In conclusion, the acceleration of early infant weight gain may aggravate the effects of low BW. Multiple interactions between hemodynamic and metabolic parameters foreshadow the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors later in life.
CHARACTERIZATION OF A RABE (RAS GENE FROM RAT BRAIN E) GTPASE EXPRESSED DURING MORPHOGENESIS IN THE UNICELLULAR GREEN ALGA MICRASTERIAS DENTICULATA (ZYGNEMATOPHYCEAE, STREPTOPHYTA) 1

Rab GTPases are central regulators of cell shape in land plants by coordinating vesicle trafficking during morphogenesis. To date, relatively little is known about the role of these ubiquitous signaling proteins during cell growth in microalgae, in particular in the related charophyte algae. This article identifies the first charophyte Rab GTPase, MdRABE1, in Micrasterias denticulata Bréb. , a convenient model organism for studying morphogenesis. Its expression correlated with the onset of morphogenesis, and structural analysis indicated that it belongs to the RABE (Ras gene from rat brain E) subclass. Confocal fluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) of transiently GFP‐MdRABE1 overexpressing interphase cells demonstrated that the GFP‐MdRABE1 protein was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, dictyosomes, exocytotic vesicles, the cell margin, the membranes of cell organelles, and in the isthmus zone around the nucleus. Although overexpression phenotyping of both N‐ and C‐terminal green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions failed to indicate additional functional evidence of the MdRABE1 protein due to mortality of those transgenic cells, its expression profile, bioinformatics, and intracellular localization suggest a role in vesicle trafficking during morphogenesis.