Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic Targeting of B Cells for Rheumatic Autoimmune Diseases

Autoreactive B cells are characterized by their ability to secrete autoantibodies directed against self-peptides. During the last decade, it has become increasingly apparent that B lymphocytes not only produce autoantibodies but also exert important regulatory roles independent of their function as antibody-producing cells. This is especially relevant in the context of autoimmunity, because autoreactive B cells have been shown to possess the ability to activate pathogenic T cells, to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, and to promote the formation of tertiary lymphoid tissue in target organs. The production of monoclonal antibodies against B-cell-surface molecules has facilitated the characterization of several distinct B lymphocyte subsets. These cell-surface molecules have not only served as useful cell differentiation markers but have also helped to unravel the important biological functions of these cells. Some of these molecules, all of which are expressed on the cell surface, have proven to be effective therapeutic targets. In both animal models and in clinical assays, the efficient elimination of B lymphocytes has been shown to be useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. The treatment of most rheumatic autoimmune diseases relies mainly on the use of cytotoxic immunosuppressants and corticosteroids. Although this has resulted in improved disease survival, patients may nonetheless suffer severe adverse events and, in some cases, their relapse rate remains high. The increasing need for safer and more effective drugs along with burgeoning new insights into the pathogenesis of these disorders has fueled interest in biological agents; clinical trials involving the B-cell depletion agent rituximab have been especially promising. This article reviews the current knowledge of B-cell biology and pathogenesis as well as the modern therapeutic approaches for rheumatic autoimmune diseases focusing in particular on the targeting of B-cell-specific surface molecules and on the blocking of B-cell activation and survival.
Dynamic Folding Pathway Models of the Trp-Cage Protein

Using action-derived molecular dynamics (ADMD), we study the dynamic folding pathway models of the Trp-cage protein by providing its sequential conformational changes from its initial disordered structure to the final native structure at atomic details. We find that the numbers of native contacts and native hydrogen bonds are highly correlated, implying that the native structure of Trp-cage is achieved through the concurrent formations of native contacts and native hydrogen bonds. In early stage, an unfolded state appears with partially formed native contacts (~40%) and native hydrogen bonds (~30%). Afterward, the folding is initiated by the contact of the side chain of Tyr3 with that of Trp6, together with the formation of the N-terminal α-helix. Then, the C-terminal polyproline structure docks onto the Trp6 and Tyr3 rings, resulting in the formations of the hydrophobic core of Trp-cage and its near-native state. Finally, the slow adjustment processes of the near-native states into the native structure are dominant in later stage. The ADMD results are in agreement with those of the experimental folding studies on Trp-cage and consistent with most of other computational studies.
Computed Tomography (CT) Simulated Fluoroscopy-Guided Transdiscal Approach in Transcrural Celiac Plexus Block

Conventional transcrural CPB via the "walking off" the vertebra technique may injure vital organs while attempting to proximally spread injectate around the celiac plexus. Therefore, we attempted the CT-simulated fluoroscopy-guided transdiscal approach to carry out transcrural CPB in a safer manner, spreading the injectate more completely and closely within the celiac plexus area. A 54-year-old male patient with pancreatic cancer suffered from severe epigastric pain. The conventional transcrural approach was simulated, but the needle pathway was impeded by the kidney on the right side and by the aorta on the left side. After simulating the transdiscal pathway through the T11-12 intervertebral disc, we predetermined the optimal insertion point (3.6 cm from the midline), insertion angle (18 degrees), and advancement plane, as well as the proper depth. With the transdiscal approach, we successfully performed transcrural CPB within a narrow angle, and the bilateral approach was not necessary as we were able to achieve the bilateral spread of the injectate with the single approach.
The Adult Mouse Hippocampal Progenitor Is Neurogenic But Not a Stem Cell

The aim of this investigation was to characterize the proliferative precursor cells in the adult mouse hippocampal region. Given that a very large number of new hippocampal cells are generated over the lifetime of an animal, it is predicted that a neural stem cell is ultimately responsible for maintaining this genesis. Although it is generally accepted that a proliferative precursor resides within the hippocampus, contradictory reports exist regarding the classification of this cell. Is it a true stem cell or a more limited progenitor? Using a strict functional definition of a neural stem cell and a number of in vitro assays, we report that the resident hippocampal precursor is a progenitor capable of proliferation and multipotential differentiation but is unable to self-renew and thus proliferate indefinitely. Furthermore, the mitogen FGF-2 stimulates proliferation of these cells to a greater extent than epidermal growth factor (EGF). In addition, we found that BDNF was essential for the production of neurons from the hippocampal progenitor cells, being required during proliferation to trigger neuronal fate. In contrast, a bona fide neural stem cell was identified in the lateral wall of the lateral ventricle surrounding the hippocampus. Interestingly, EGF proved to be the stronger mitogenic factor for this cell, which was clearly a different precursor from the resident hippocampal progenitor. These results suggest that the stem cell ultimately responsible for adult hippocampal neurogenesis resides outside the hippocampus, producing progenitor cells that migrate into the neurogenic zones and proliferate to produce new neurons and glia.
A front-tracking method for the computations of multiphase flow

Direct numerical simulations of multiphase flows, using a front-tracking method, are presented. The method is based on writing one set of governing equations for the whole computational domain and treating the different phases as one fluid with variable material properties. Interfacial terms are accounted for by adding the appropriate sources as δ functions at the boundary separating the phases. The unsteady Navier–Stokes equations are solved by a conventional finite volume method on a fixed, structured grid and the interface, or front, is tracked explicitly by connected marker points. Interfacial source terms such as surface tension are computed on the front and transferred to the fixed grid. Advection of fluid properties such as density is done by following the motion of the front. The method has been implemented for fully three-dimensional flows, as well as for two-dimensional and axisymmetric ones. First, the method is described for the flow of two or more isothermal phases. The representation of the moving interface and its dynamic restructuring, as well as the transfer of information between the moving front and the fixed grid, are discussed. Applications and extensions of the method to homogeneous bubbly flows, atomization, flows with variable surface tension, solidification, and boiling are then presented.
CHEN'S PRIMES AND TERNARY GOLDBACH PROBLEM

We prove that there exists a k0 > 0 such that every sufficiently large odd integer n with 3 | n can be represented as p1 + p2 + p3, where p1, p2 are Chen's primes and p3 is a prime with p3 + 2 has at most k0 prime factors.
Perceived Behaviors of Emergent and Assigned Leaders in Virtual Groups

While considerable research has explored perceptions of groups and members in computer-mediated communication (CMC), and leadership behaviors in face-to-face groups, little research has examined how leadership is identified in CMC groups. Contemporary CMC theories alternatively stress the impact of salient, stereotyped roles on CMC groupsâ€™ perceptions, or the accretion of exaggerated impressions based on behavioral cues. These perspectives, in turn, coincide with predictions about the predominance of alternative forms of leadership: Assigned versus emergent. This study draws on traditional leadership theories from face-to-face group research and applies them to CMC to examine dynamics related to assigned and emergent leaders in online groups. The results of the study demonstrate that CMC groups may identify more than one leader. When identifying emergent leaders, regardless of whether a leader was assigned or not, group members consider perceived amounts of communication, intelligence, and encouraging and authoritarian behaviors.
Impact of community forestry policy on rural livelihoods and food security in Nepal.

This article analyzes the socioeconomic impact of community forestry policy implementation in the Middle Hills region of Nepal. It draws attention to a need to reconsider the approach to community forestry in the light of its socioeconomic objectives. Drawing on various reports and observations it shows that some households have less access to forest products for subsistence use and income than they had before the community forestry intervention. This is especially true among poorer households in which prior to the interventions many poor households earned money by selling fuelwood in nearby markets. In addition it indicates that the few income-generating activities that involve the poor and women have had little impact. Thus there is a need to reconsider the approach to community forestry with a further emphasis on socioeconomic objectives. Field projects should provide support to District Forest Offices and guidance in systematic planning and monitoring of socioeconomic development activities. Finally there is a need for a more balanced approach to community forestry policy intervention which considers both the demand for forest products at the household subsistence level and the demand of forest-based industries.
Photoelastic and Finite Element Analyses of Occlusal Loads in Mandibular Body

This study proposed to evaluate the mandibular biomechanics in the posterior dentition based on experimental and computational analyses. The analyses were performed on a model of human mandible, which was modeled by epoxy resin for photoelastic analysis and by computer-aided design for finite element analysis. To standardize the evaluation, specific areas were determined at the lateral surface of mandibular body. The photoelastic analysis was configured through a vertical load on the first upper molar and fixed support at the ramus of mandible. The same configuration was used in the computer simulation. Force magnitudes of 50, 100, 150, and 200 N were applied to evaluate the bone stress. The stress results presented similar distribution in both analyses, with the more intense stress being at retromolar area and oblique line and alveolar process at molar level. This study presented the similarity of results in the experimental and computational analyses and, thus, showed the high importance of morphology biomechanical characterization at posterior dentition.
BI-based Organizations: A Sensemaking Perspective

Business intelligence (BI) offers opportunities for managers to master vast data resources for operational and strategic gains, and allows BI-based organizations to generate significant business value. While several researchers emphasized the importance of BI to assist making quality decisions, no study explored the use of BI for improved understanding of business before such decisions are made and assessing the impact of the actions derived from these decisions. To fill this gap we use the theory of organizational sensemaking. The presented research uses hermeneutic phenomenology to study the experiences of decision-makers in using BI-generated insights to guide their actions while altering business processes, structures and information. The study emphasizes the necessity of using BI in the creation and maintenance of individual and organizational identity, as well as, enactment of this identity on the business and its environment, which need to be molded in response to changing circumstances.
Understanding poverty and disability in Johannesburg

Contact Info: Postal Address: Centre for Social Development in Africa University of Johannesburg P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park Johannesburg, 2006 South Africa Physical Address: House 9 Humanities Research Village Auckland Park Bunting Road Campus Bunting Road Auckland Park This peer-reviewed monograph examines the relationship between poverty and disability by drawing on the experiences of people who are disabled or chronically ill, living in some of the poorest wards in Johannesburg. The paper explores: • Access to basic services and healthcare • Educational attainment and livelihood opportunities • Social protection mechanisms The paper puts forward a revised livelihoods framework as a conceptual tool to better understand the relationship between poverty and disability.
Seasonal changes in planktonic bacterivory rates under the ice‐covered coastal Arctic Ocean

Bacterivory was determined in surface waters of Franklin Bay, western Arctic, over a seasonal ice‐covered period (winter‐spring, 2003‐2004). The objectives were to obtain information on the functioning of the microbial food web under the ice, during winter (from 21 December 2003 to 21 March 2004) and during spring (from 22 March 2004 to 29 May 2004), and to test whether bacterial losses would increase after the increase in bacterial production following the spring phytoplankton bloom. Chl a concentrations ranged from 0.04 to 0.36 µg L−1, increasing in March and reaching a peak in April. Bacterial biomass showed no consistent trend for the whole period, and protist biomass followed a pattern similar to that of Chl a. Bacterial production increased 1 week after Chl a concentrations started to increase, while bacterivory rates increased very slightly. Average bacterivory rates in winter (0.16 ± 0.07 µg C L−1 d−1) were not significantly different from those in spring (0.29 ± 0.24 µg C L−1 d−1). Average bacterial production, on the other hand, was similar to bacterivory rates in winter (0.19 ± 0.38 µg C L−1 d−1), but higher than bacterivory in spring (0.93 ± 0.28 µg C L−1 d−1). Therefore, bacterial production was controlled by grazers during winter and by substrate concentration in spring.
Use of stochastic sources for the lattice determination of light quark physics

In this paper we investigate the benefits of using (2)⊗(2) single timeslice stochastic sources for the calculation of light quark physics on the lattice. Meson 2-point correlators measured using sources stochastic in only spin and those stochastic in both spin and colour indices are compared to point source correlators on the unit gauge and on a 163 × 32 Domain Wall QCD ensemble. It is found that the use of stochastic sources gives a considerable improvement in statistics for the same computational cost. The neutral kaon mixing matrix element BK is also calculated on this ensemble with stochastic sources, but we conclude that the stochastic method offers no significant advantage over the traditional gauge-fixed wall source approach which already offers an exact volume average. We also discuss the application to semileptonic form factors in conjunction with partially twisted boundary conditions.
The Social Origins of Networks and Diffusion1

Recent research on social contagion has demonstrated significant effects of network topology on the dynamics of diffusion. However, network topologies are not given a priori. Rather, they are patterns of relations that emerge from individual and structural features of society, such as population composition, group heterogeneity, homophily, and social consolidation. Following Blau and Schwartz, the author develops a model of social network formation that explores how social and structural constraints on tie formation generate emergent social topologies and then explores the effectiveness of these social networks for the dynamics of social diffusion. Results show that, at one extreme, high levels of consolidation can create highly balkanized communities with poor integration of shared norms and practices. As suggested by Blau and Schwartz, reducing consolidation creates more crosscutting circles and significantly improves the dynamics of social diffusion across the population. However, the author finds that further reducing consolidation creates highly intersecting social networks that fail to support the widespread diffusion of norms and practices, indicating that successful social diffusion can depend on moderate to high levels of structural consolidation.
Micro-Computed Tomography Detection of Gold Nanoparticle-Labelled Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Rat Subretinal Layer

Mesenchymal stem cells are widely used in many pre-clinical and clinical settings. Despite advances in molecular technology; the migration and homing activities of these cells in in vivo systems are not well understood. Labelling mesenchymal stem cells with gold nanoparticles has no cytotoxic effect and may offer suitable indications for stem cell tracking. Here, we report a simple protocol to label mesenchymal stem cells using 80 nm gold nanoparticles. Once the cells and particles were incubated together for 24 h, the labelled products were injected into the rat subretinal layer. Micro-computed tomography was then conducted on the 15th and 30th day post-injection to track the movement of these cells, as visualized by an area of hyperdensity from the coronal section images of the rat head. In addition, we confirmed the cellular uptake of the gold nanoparticles by the mesenchymal stem cells using transmission electron microscopy. As opposed to other methods, the current protocol provides a simple, less labour-intensive and more efficient labelling mechanism for real-time cell tracking. Finally, we discuss the potential manipulations of gold nanoparticles in stem cells for cell replacement and cancer therapy in ocular disorders or diseases.
When Fair Trade increases unfairness: The case of quinoa from Bolivia

Fair Trade movement tackles the question of global justice. It is experiencing growing success. Fair Trade therefore sorts the beneficiaries, usually by means of certification. Numerous impact studies have assessed the beneficial effects of Fair Trade on the intended beneficiaries. Several studies have nevertheless called into question both the impact of certification and Fair trade. Following these studies this paper shows that Fair Trade in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is actually increasing inequalities between Bolivian producers.
Transition to adulthood for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: current issues and future perspectives

Rising autism prevalence rates have lent urgency to efforts to improve outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Stakeholders have focused, in particular, on the transition to adulthood that can occur over a range of ages, typically between 18 and 22 years, and often corresponding to when the youth finishes secondary school. This represents a particularly vulnerable time, as the entitlements of the children’s service system end and young adults with ASD and their families encounter fragmented and underfunded systems of care. Research across multiple domains – education, vocational training and employment, social support and community involvement, housing and healthcare – reveals poor outcomes for this population during the transition to adulthood, suggesting that the current models of school-based transition planning are not meeting the needs of youth with ASD. This article highlights findings from some of this literature, examines financial aspects of the transition process, and offers our perspectives on current practices and recommendations for future study. An organized program of research coupled with aggressive policy and service system changes are needed to achieve more favorable transition outcomes for the ASD population.
Mesenchymal stem cells regulate airway contractile tissue remodeling in murine experimental asthma

Mesenchymal stem cells may offer therapeutic potential for asthma due to their immunomodulatory properties and host tolerability, yet prior evidence suggests that bloodborne progenitor cells may participate in airway remodeling. Here, we tested whether mesenchymal stem cells administered as anti‐inflammatory therapy may favor airway remodeling and therefore be detrimental.
Worst-case error analysis of lifting-based fast DCT-algorithms

Integer DCTs have a wide range of applications in lossless coding, especially in image compression. An integer-to-integer DCT of radix-2-length n is a nonlinear, left-invertible mapping, which acts on /spl Zopf//sup n/ and approximates the classical discrete cosine transform (DCT) of length n. All known integer-to-integer DCT-algorithms of length 8 are based on factorizations of the cosine matrix C/sub 8//sup II/ into a product of sparse matrices and work with lifting steps and rounding off. For fast implementation one replaces floating point numbers by appropriate dyadic rationals. Both rounding and approximation leads to truncation errors. In this paper, we consider an integer-to-integer transform for (2/spl times/2) rotation matrices and give estimates of the truncation errors for arbitrary approximating dyadic rationals. Further, using two known integer-to-integer DCT-algorithms, we show examplarily how to estimate the worst-case truncation error of lifting based integer-to-integer algorithms in fixed-point arithmetic, whose factorizations are based on (2/spl times/2) rotation matrices.
Metal-Free Carbon-Based Materials: Promising Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Microbial Fuel Cells

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising green approach for wastewater treatment with the simultaneous advantage of energy production. Among the various limiting factors, the cathodic limitation, with respect to performance and cost, is one of the main obstacles to the practical applications of MFCs. Despite the high performance of platinum and other metal-based cathodes, their practical use is limited by their high cost, low stability, and environmental toxicity. Oxygen is the most favorable electron acceptor in the case of MFCs, which reduces to water through a complicated oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Carbon-based ORR catalysts possessing high surface area and good electrical conductivity improve the ORR kinetics by lowering the cathodic overpotential. Recently, a range of carbon-based materials have attracted attention for their exceptional ORR catalytic activity and high stability. Doping the carbon texture with a heteroatom improved their ORR activity remarkably through the favorable adsorption of oxygen and weaker molecular bonding. This review provides better insight into ORR catalysis for MFCs and the properties, performance, and applicability of various metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts in MFCs to find the most appropriate cathodic catalyst for the practical applications. The approaches for improvement, key challenges, and future opportunities in this field are also explored.