Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pronounced antitumor effects and tumor radiosensitization of double suicide gene therapy.

The efficacy of HSV-1 thymidine kinase (TK) and Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase (CD) suicide gene therapies as cancer treatments are currently being examined in humans. We demonstrated previously that compared to single suicide gene therapy, greater levels of targeted cytotoxicity and radiosensitization can be achieved in vitro by genetically modifying tumor cells to express CD and HSV-1 TK concomitantly, as a fusion protein. In the present study, the efficacy of the combined double suicide gene therapy/radiotherapy approach was examined in vivo. Nude mice were injected either s.c. or i.m. with 9L gliosarcoma cells expressing an E. coli CD/HSV-1 TK fusion gene. Double suicide gene therapy using 5-fluorocytosine (500 mg/kg) and ganciclovir (30 mg/kg) proved to be markedly better at delaying tumor growth and achieving a tumor cure than single suicide gene therapy, which used 5-fluorocytosine or ganciclovir administered independently. Importantly, double suicide gene therapy was highly effective against large experimental tumors (>2 cm3), reducing tumor volume an average of 99% and producing a 40% tumor cure. Moreover, double suicide gene therapy profoundly potentiated the antitumor effects of radiation. The results indicate that double suicide gene therapy, particularly when coupled with radiotherapy, may represent a highly effective means of eradicating tumors.
Motion sickness: effect of changes in magnitude of combined lateral and roll oscillation.

BACKGROUND In tilting trains, low-frequency lateral and roll oscillation combine and can cause motion sickness. During a journey, passengers are exposed to motions of varying magnitudes, but the effect of a change in magnitude on motion sickness is not known. It was hypothesized that the rate of increase in motion sickness would be greater during exposure to a high-magnitude motion than during exposure to a low-magnitude motion and that there would be no difference in sickness between motions when the 'motion sickness dose value' was the same. METHOD At intervals of at least 1 wk, 20 subjects were exposed to 4 conditions consisting of 0.1-Hz sinusoidal lateral oscillation with 50% roll compensation. Each condition had four successive 15-min periods of motion presented without a break (total duration 1 h). Each 15-min motion was either a high-magnitude motion (H) (+/- 1.26 ms(-2) lateral oscillation with +/- 3.66 degrees roll oscillation) or a low-magnitude motion (L) (+/- 0.63 ms(-2) lateral oscillation with +/-1.83 degrees roll oscillation). The four conditions involved four different combinations of magnitude: 1) LLLL, 2) HHHH, 3) LHHL, and 4) HLHL. Subjects were seated in a rigid closed cabin and gave ratings of sickness at 1-min intervals. RESULTS Symptoms of motion sickness were experienced in 56 of the 80 sessions. The rate of increase in motion sickness was greater with the high-magnitude motion than with the low-magnitude motion. For the two variable conditions (i.e., LHHL and HLHL), there was no significant difference in accumulated illness ratings when the motion sickness dose values were the same (i.e., between 30 and 60 min of motion). Illness ratings decreased during periods of low-magnitude motion experienced after periods of high-magnitude motion and also after the cessation of all motion. CONCLUSIONS With combined lateral and roll oscillation, the rate of increase in motion sickness is greater during periods of high-magnitude motion than during periods of low-magnitude motion. With motions having the same motion sickness dose value but different sequences of exposure, there were no significant differences in accumulated illness ratings at times when the motion sickness dose values were the same.
Risk factors for relapse after allogeneic transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia is a clonal neoplasm derived from myeloid progenitor cells with a varying outcome. The initial goal of treatment is the achievement of complete remission, defined for over 40 years by morphology. However, without additional post-remission treatment the majority of patients relapse. In many cases of acute myeloid leukemia, allogeneic stem cell transplantation offers the best prospects of cure. In 2013, 5608 stem cell transplantations in acute myeloid leukemia were performed in Europe (5228 allogeneic and 380 autologous stem cell transplantations). Most stem cell transplantations are performed in first complete remission. However, despite a considerable reduction in the chance of relapse, in most studies, overall survival benefit of allogeneic stem cell transplantation is modest due to substantial non-relapse mortality. Here we discuss the many factors related to the risk of relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
Analysis of Antibody and Cytokine Markers for Leprosy Nerve Damage and Reactions in the INFIR Cohort in India

Background The ILEP Nerve Function Impairment in Reaction (INFIR) is a cohort study designed to identify predictors of reactions and nerve function impairment (NFI) in leprosy. Aim of the Study Antibodies to mycobacteria, nerve components and serum cytokine were measured as potential markers for their possible association with reactions and NFI. Patients and Methods 303 newly diagnosed leprosy patients from two centres in North India were enrolled. Antibodies to PGL-1, LAM (IgG1 and IgG3), ceramide, S100 and TNFα levels were measured using ELISA techniques. Results S-100, PGL IgG and IgM antibody levels were lowest in patients with BT leprosy and highest in patients with lepromatous leprosy. LAM IgG1 and LAM IgG3 antibody levels were highest in patients with BL leprosy. Ceramide antibody levels were not correlated with type of leprosy. Levels of all the antibodies tested and TNF α were lowest in patients with only skin reaction. PGL IgM antibody levels were elevated in patients with skin reactions and NFI. Old sensory NFI is associated with significant elevation of PGL IgG, LAM IgG and S100 antibody levels. Conclusion These results reveal that the antibody response to mycobacterial antigens, nerve antigens and cytokines are in a dynamic flux and could collectively contribute to NFI in leprosy. The association of multiple markers with old NFI may indicate the contribution of different pathological processes.
Phenotypic conversion of distinct muscle fiber populations to electrocytes in a weakly electric fish

In most groups of electric fish, the electric organ (EO) derives from striated muscle cells that suppress many muscle phenotypic properties. This phenotypic conversion is recapitulated during regeneration of the tail in the weakly electric fish Sternopygus macrurus. Mature electrocytes, the cells of the electric organ, are considerably larger than the muscle fibers from which they derive, and it is not known whether this is a result of muscle fiber hypertrophy and/or fiber fusion. In this study, electron micrographs revealed fusion of differentiated muscle fibers during the formation of electrocytes. There was no evidence of hypertrophy of muscle fibers during their phenotypic conversion. Furthermore, although fish possess distinct muscle phenotypes, the extent to which each fiber population contributes to the formation of the EO has not been determined. By using myosin ATPase histochemistry and anti‐myosin heavy chain (MHC) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), different fiber types were identified in fascicles of muscle in the adult tail. Mature electrocytes were not stained by the ATPase reaction, nor were they labeled by any of the anti‐MHC mAbs. In contrast, mature muscle fibers exhibited four staining patterns. The four fiber types were spatially arranged in distinct compartments with little intermixing; peripherally were two populations of type I fibers with small cross‐sectional areas, whereas more centrally were two populations of type II fibers with larger cross‐sectional areas. In 2‐ and 3‐week regenerating blastema, three fiber types were clearly discerned. Most (> 95%) early‐forming electrocytes had an MHC phenotype similar to that of type II fibers. In contrast, fusion among type I fibers was rare. Together, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical analyses revealed that the fusion of muscle fibers gives rise to electrocytes and that this fusion occurs primarily among the population of type II fibers in regenerating blastema. J. Comp. Neurol. 399:20–34, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Maternal long-chain PUFA supplementation during protein deficiency improves brain fatty acid accretion in rat pups by altering the milk fatty acid composition of the dam

Abstract Long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) are important for fetal and neonatal brain development. However, their accretion in the brain is compromised during maternal protein restriction. Hence, we investigated the effect of maternal supplementation with n-3 DHA plus n-6 arachidonic acid (ARA) at a low protein level (9 %) on offspring brain fatty acid accretion using Wistar rats (nine rats per group) randomly fed a control (C), a low-protein (LP) or a low-protein DHA + ARA-supplemented (LPS) diet during gestation and lactation. At birth, pups from the LPS group had the highest brain DHA and n-3 fatty acid levels (P = 0·001), whereas pups from the LP group had the highest MUFA (P = 0·05) but the lowest DHA and total n-3 PUFA levels (P = 0·000). During lactation, pups from the LPS group accrued significantly more α-linolenic acid (P = 0·003), EPA (P = 0·02) and DHA (P = 0·000) in brain lipids than pups from the LP group, whereas brain lipids of pups from the LP group had markedly increased levels of the n-3 deficiency marker docosapentaenoic acid and n-6:n-3 ratio (P = 0·000). Owing to supplementation, milk from LPS dams had the highest DHA and ARA, but lower SCFA and medium-chain fatty acids as compared with milk from C and LP dams during early lactation, but normalised by mid-lactation. To conclude, adverse effects of restricted maternal protein intake on LC-PUFA accretion in the brain of offspring were ameliorated by alterations in maternal milk fatty acid profile due to supplementation. Results underscore the importance of LC-PUFA for protein-deficient mothers during gestation as well as lactation to achieve the optimum brain LC-PUFA status of progeny.
Telencephalic Neural Progenitors Appear To Be Restricted to Regional and Glial Fates before the Onset of Neurogenesis

The contribution of early cell lineage to regional fate in the mammalian forebrain remains poorly understood. Previous lineage-tracing studies using retroviral methods were only begun at mid-neurogenesis and have suffered from region-specific retroviral silencing. We have been able to study cell lineage in the telencephalon from the onset of neurogenesis by using ultrasound backscatter microscopy to label the forebrain neuroepithelium and a modified retroviral lineage library to overcome regional silencing. Our studies suggest that by embryonic day 9.5, forebrain clones are primarily restricted to territories within anatomically demarcated regional boundaries, such as the cortex, striatum and hypothalamus. In addition, we observed a subset of clones that appeared to be composed entirely of glia. These observations suggest that both regional and cell-type restrictions exist within progenitor populations before the first forebrain cells become postmitotic.
Event detection from flickr data through wavelet-based spatial analysis

Detecting events from web resources has attracted increasing research interests in recent years. Our focus in this paper is to detect events from photos on Flickr, an Internet image community website. The results can be used to facilitate user searching and browsing photos by events. The problem is challenging considering: (1) Flickr data is noisy, because there are photos unrelated to real-world events; (2) It is not easy to capture the content of photos. This paper presents our effort in detecting events from Flickr photos by exploiting the tags supplied by users to annotate photos. In particular, the temporal and locational distributions of tag usage are analyzed in the first place, where a wavelet transform is employed to suppress noise. Then, we identify tags related with events, and further distinguish between tags of aperiodic events and those of periodic events. Afterwards, event-related tags are clustered such that each cluster, representing an event, consists of tags with similar temporal and locational distribution patterns as well as with similar associated photos. Finally, for each tag cluster, photos corresponding to the represented event are extracted. We evaluate the performance of our approach using a set of real data collected from Flickr. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach is effective in detecting events from the Flickr photo collection.
The influence of humic acids on the accumulation of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in tobacco leaves grown in different soils

Four types of soil (red, yellow, cinnamon, and paddy soil) from China were used to conduct experiments in pots to study the influence of humic acid (humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA)) on the accumulation of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in tobacco leaves. In non-polluted soils, the tobacco leaf uptake of Cd was dramatically influenced by the total soil metal concentration and soil properties, with no relationship observed for Pb. However, in soils that were polluted with 500 mg kg -1 of Pb or10 mg kg -1 of Cd, negative relationships were observed between the soil pH and the metal concentration in the tobacco leaves. When the soil was polluted with Pb, the application of 4 g kg -1 humic acids (HA or FA) decreased the leaf Pb concentration by 17.78%-48.32% in the acidic red and paddy soils but increased the concentration by 11.69%-37.54% in the alkaline cinnamon soil. A 8.74%32.84% decrease in the leaf Cd concentration occurred in the acidic soils due to 4 g kg -1 HA, while there was a 4.45%-8.13% decrease and a 14.20%-46.37% increase in leaf Cd concentration in the yellow and cinnamon soils when HA and FA were applied, respectively. This finding suggests that the effects of humic acids on metal availability to plants in soil were pH-dependent, with inhibitory and stimulatory effects on acidic and alkaline soils, respectively. Therefore, humic acids (HA and FA) could be used to reduce Pb and Cd accumulation in plants growing in polluted acidic soil but not in alkaline soils.
Electronic Processes In Non-Crystalline Materials

1. Introduction 2. Theory of Electrons in a Non-Crystalline Medium 3. Phonons and Polarons 4. The Fermi Glass and the Anderson Transition 5. Liquid Metals and Semimetals 6. Non-Crystalline Semiconductors 7. Tetrahedrally-Bonded Semiconductors - Amorphous Germanium and Silicon 8. Aresnic and Other Three-Fold Co-ordinated Materials 9. Chalcogenide and Other Glasses 10. Selenium, Tellurium, and their Alloys
Zona occludens proteins modulate podosome formation and function

Podosomes are highly dynamic structures that are involved in cell adhesion and extracellular matrix remodeling. They present as intracellular columns composed of an actin‐rich core region and a surrounding ring‐like structure containing focal adhesion proteins, actin binders as well as cell signaling molecules. A key player in podosome biogenesis is the scaffolding protein cortactin, which is thought to control actin assembly at the core region. We show that the zona occludens protein 1 (ZO‐1), a pivotal tight junction protein and known binding partner of cortactin, is a component of podosomes. In the smooth muscle cell line A7r5, phorbol ester treatment induced a rapid relocation of ZO‐1 from the cell cortex and cytosolic pools toward newly formed podosomes. Podosomal localization was also observed for the known ZO‐1‐binding proteins l‐afadin, α‐catenin, and phospho‐con‐nexin 43. Truncation studies revealed that the actin‐binding domain but not the association with cortactin is necessary for ZO‐1 recruitment to podosomes. Moreover, impaired ZO‐1 expression leads to significantly reduced podosome formation and concomitant decreased matrix degradation at podosomes. Our findings demonstrate that besides their known function in tight junction assembly and intercellular communication, zona occludens proteins and their binding partners may play a novel role in podosome formation and associated function, thus regulating cell adhesion and matrix remodeling. —Kremerskothen, J., Stolting, M. , Wiesner, C. , Korb‐Pap, A. , van Vliet, V. , Linder, S. , Huber, T. B. , Rottiers, P., Reuzeau, E. , Genot, E. , Pavenstadt, H. Zona occludens proteins modulate podosome formation and function. FASEB J. 25, 505–514 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Effects of Chemical Treatments on Mechanical and Physical Properties of Flax Fiber-reinforced Rotationally Molded Composites

Biofibers have an outstanding potential as a reinforcement in thermoplastics. The advantages of natural fibers over traditional reinforcing materials, such as glass fibers, are low density, relatively high toughness, high strength and stiffness, good thermal properties and biodegradability. Nature fibers are recyclable and renewable raw materials. Natural fiber-reinforced composites have attracted increasing interests because of these advantages of fibers. However, there are disadvantages in the broad use of these fibers in thermoplastics, such as poor compatibility between the fibers and the matrix, the inherent high moisture sorption which brings about dimensional changes in the fiber-based composites and quality variations and low thermal stability. Flax fibers were derived from Saskatchewan-grown flax straws for use in fiber-reinforced composite. In order to improve their interfacial properties, fibers were subjected to different chemical modifications, such as mercerization, peroxide treatment, benzoylation and peroxide treatment. The modified fibers were then extruded with the polymer matrix to form the composite. It is expected to improve the interfacial adhesion significantly as opposed to simple mixing of the two components. These composite blends were then rotation molded for mechanical characterization. The effects of the different chemical treatments and the fiber content on the mechanical properties and the physical properties of natural fiber-reinforced composites were studied.
Towards a SPDY'ier mobile web?

Despite its widespread adoption and popularity, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) suffers from fundamental performance limitations. SPDY, a recently proposed alternative to HTTP, tries to address many of the limitations of HTTP (e.g., multiple connections, setup latency). With cellular networks fast becoming the communication channel of choice, we perform a detailed measurement study to understand the benefits of using SPDY over cellular networks. Through careful measurements conducted over four months, we provide a detailed analysis of the performance of HTTP and SPDY, how they interact with the various layers, and their implications on web design. Our results show that unlike in wired and 802.11 networks, SPDY does not clearly outperform HTTP over cellular networks. We identify, as the underlying cause, a lack of harmony between how TCP and cellular networks interact. In particular, the performance of most TCP implementations is impacted by their implicit assumption that the network round-trip latency does not change after an idle period, which is typically not the case in cellular networks. This causes spurious retransmissions and degraded throughput for both HTTP and SPDY. We conclude that a viable solution has to account for these unique cross-layer dependencies to achieve improved performance over cellular networks.
A study of a class of detection waveforms having nearly ideal range&#8212;Doppler ambiguity properties

A special class of permutation matrices is considered. It is shown that these matrices may be beneficially used to determine the frequency-time pattern of a uniform pulse train. Proper choice of burst waveform parameters is shown to result in a detection wave-form having range and Doppler resolution properties consistent with the overall signal duration and bandwidth. The range-Doppler sidelobe peaks are well-controlled so that the ideal "thumbtack" ambiguity function behavior is closely approximated by the synthesis procedure presented.
Embodying Inequality: A Review of Concepts, Measures, and Methods for Studying Health Consequences of Discrimination

Investigating effects of discrimination upon health requires clear concepts, methods, and measures. At issue are both economic consequences of discrimination and accumulated insults arising from everyday and at times violent experiences of being treated as a second-class citizen, at each and every economic level. Guidelines for epidemiologic investigations and other public health research on ways people embody racism, sexism, and other forms of social inequality, however, are not well defined, as research in this area is in its infancy. Employing an ecosocial framework, this article accordingly reviews definitions and patterns of discrimination within the United States; evaluates analytic strategies and instruments researchers have developed to study health effects of different kinds of discrimination; and delineates diverse pathways by which discrimination can harm health, both outright and by distorting production of epidemiologic knowledge about determinants of population health. Three methods of studying health consequences of discrimination are examined (indirect; direct, at the individual level, in relation to personal experiences of discrimination; at the population level, such as via segregation), and recommendations are provided for developing research instruments to measure acute and cumulative exposure to different aspects of discrimination.
Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Microvesicles Support Ex Vivo Expansion of Cord Blood-Derived CD34+ Cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to support the characteristic properties of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the bone marrow hematopoietic microenvironment. MSCs are used in coculture systems as a feeder layer for the ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood (CB) to increase the relatively low number of HSPCs in CB. Findings increasingly suggest that MSC-derived microvesicles (MSC-MVs) play an important role in the biological functions of their parent cells. We speculate that MSC-MVs may recapitulate the hematopoiesis-supporting effects of their parent cells. In the current study, we found MSC-MVs containing microRNAs that are involved in the regulation of hematopoiesis. We also demonstrated that MSC-MVs could improve the expansion of CB-derived mononuclear cells and CD34+ cells and generate a greater number of primitive progenitor cells in vitro. Additionally, when MSC-MVs were added to the CB-MSC coculture system, they could improve the hematopoiesis-supporting effects of MSCs. These findings highlight the role of MSC-MVs in the ex vivo expansion of CB, which may offer a promising therapeutic approach in CB transplantation.