Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lysis of human melanoma cells by autologous cytolytic T cell clones. Identification of human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen A2 as a restriction element for three different antigens

From the peripheral blood of the melanoma patient (AV), we derived cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones that lysed the autologous tumor line SK-MEL-29, but not autologous EBV-B cells, K562, and other tumor targets. By immunoselection experiments it was shown that the CTL clones recognized at least three different antigens on the autologous tumor cells. We demonstrate here that these melanoma antigens are presented to the CTL in association with HLA-A2. First, HLA-A2-reactive pregnancy sera as well as an mAb against HLA-A2 inhibited the CTL lysis. Second, immunoselected melanoma subclones that were resistant to lysis by CTL clones against the three antigens described were found to lack expression of HLA-A2. By sensitizing the patient's lymphocytes against an HLA-A2- melanoma clone, we established a new series of CTL clones recognizing autologous AV melanoma cells. However, efficient lysis was only seen when target cells were pretreated with IFN-gamma. The lytic activity of these CTL was selectively inhibited by an mAb against a common HLA-B determinant. These results indicate that in addition to HLA-A2, other class I antigens are involved in the recognition of AV melanoma cells by autologous CTL.
Human brain areas involved in the analysis of auditory movement

This work tests the hypothesis that a network of areas involving bilateral premotor cortex and right parietal cortex subserves the analysis of sound movement. The components of this network have been examined at the level of individual subjects in a study where 720 fMRI scans were acquired per subject. Additionally, the effect of movement direction was investigated by varying this property systematically. Linear sound ramps that are perceived as movement toward one side of the head or the other were used in an experiment in which the principal contrast was between movement, and a stationary control stimulus made up of identical component interaural phase and amplitude cues. In a group analysis, the network of bifrontal and right parietal areas suggested by previous work was confirmed. The frontal activation included both dorsal premotor activity in the region of the frontal eye fields and discrete ventral premotor activation in an area corresponding to primate areas for multimodal spatial analysis and motor planning. The right parietal activation included both superior and inferior parietal cortex. Analysis of the individual data showed a similar pattern of activation in each subject, with the greatest variability within the right parietal area. The pattern of activation did not vary when the direction of movement was varied, suggesting that both directions of movement are represented in the network we have demonstrated. Hum. Brain Mapping 9:72–80, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Refusal strategies to a date invitation used by female Chinese students and female Javanese students in Surabaya

This study aims to identify the differences and the similarities of the refusal strategies used by thirty Javanese and thirty Chinese female university students in refusing a date invitation by comparing the occurrence of each strategy. The data were gathered from three universities in Surabaya, Airlangga, Surabaya, and Petra. There were three main theories that are used in this study: The Refusal Strategies by Carmen Garcia (1992), Head Acts and Supportive Moves by Blum-Kulka (1989), and Politeness Strategies by Scollon and Scollon (1983). The writer found that the female Chinese students preferred using Direct Refusal and Mitigated Refusal as the Head Acts, while female Javanese students preferred using Direct Refusal, Expression of Regret or Sorrow, and Mitigated Refusal as the Head Acts. The writer also found that most of the respondents preferred using Giving Reason or Explanation, and Expression of Regret or Sorrow as the Supportive Moves. These facts may imply that the Javanese students tend to avoid saying ? no? by using Deference Politeness, while the Chinese students tend to be straightforward by using Solidarity Politeness in refusing a date invitation. The last but not the least, the writer found that the female students frequently used Expression of Regret or Sorrow, Direct Refusal/ Mitigated Refusal, Giving Reason as the pattern in refusing a date invitation.
Curcumin prevents and ameliorates trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis in mice.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Curcumin is known to have a variety of pharmacologic effects, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and anti-infectious activities. The pleiotropic effects of curcumin are attributable at least in part to inhibition of transcriptional factor nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB). However, the effect of curcumin on intestinal inflammation has hitherto not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine whether treatment with curcumin prevents and ameliorates colonic inflammation in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS Mice with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis were treated with 0.5%, 2.0%, or 5.0% curcumin in the diet, and changes in body weight together with histologic scores were evaluated. Colonic T-cell subsets were characterized, and NF-kappaB in colonic mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry. NF-kappaB activity in the colonic mucosa was evaluated using electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Cytokine messenger RNA expression in colonic tissue was assessed by semiquantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Treatment of mice with curcumin prevented and improved both wasting and histopathologic signs of TNBS-induced colonic inflammation. Consistent with these findings, CD4(+) T-cell infiltration and NF-kappaB activation in colonic mucosa were suppressed in the curcumin-treated group. Suppression of proinflammatory cytokine messenger RNA expression in colonic mucosa was also observed. CONCLUSIONS This study has shown for the first time that treatment with curcumin can prevent and improve murine experimental colitis. This finding suggests that curcumin could be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Subcision in the Treatment of Acne Scar in Iraqi Patients

Background: Acne vulgaris is a very common skin disease among young people which might be associated with scarring that has a great impact on the emotional, psychological and social life of the patients as it will go with them for life. Subcision is a new technique for the treatment of acne scars. Objective: To assess objectively and subjectively the efficacy and safety of subcision in the treatment of depressed acne scars. Patients and Methods: This is an open-label therapeutic trial. A total of 16 patients were enrolled in this study. Twelve were males and 4 were females. Their ages ranged from 19 - 39 with a mean of 26.64 ± 5.64. The duration of scar varied between 6 months and 10 years with a mean of 4.14 ± 2.54 years. subcision was done by introducing a sterile, hypodermic, 18-gauge needle. The needle was held by a three ml syringe for better orientation of the sharp tip of the needle. It was kept horizontal to the skin surface with the bevel up, and was introduced in a high sub dermal plane. The needle was slowly advanced parallel to the skin surface. Initially, rapid, repetitive linear back-and-forth motion of the needle makes the skin free of the underlying scar. This procedure was repeated in all directions in a fan-like manner. Results: According to Modified Sharquie’s scoring system for grading acne scars, 4 (25%) patients had severe grade, 11 (68.8%) patients had moderate grade and only 1 (6.2%) patient had mild grade. Evaluation at 6 months after treatment revealed that 8 (50%) patients had mild acne scar, 7 (43.8%) had moderate acne scar and only 1 (6.2%) patient still had severe grade. This change in the grades was statistically significant (p-value = 0.01713441). The average score before treatment was 13.13 ± 2.363; it became 9.50 ± 2.944 after 6 months. By paired t-test comparison, the difference in the score was statistically highly significant (p = 0.000044). Regarding the photographic assessment, the difference in the visual analogue scale before and after treatment was statistically significant (p-value = 0.043823). All patients were satisfied regarding subcision as treatment for their acne scars with variable degrees. In general the reported side effects were transient and vanished within 3 - 7 days apart from firm bumps which resolved within 12 weeks in all patients. Conclusion: Subcision appears to be simple, safe, minimally invasive, well-tolerated, and effective surgical procedure that provides significant long-term betterment for depressed acne scars especially for the rolling type.
Effects of Prenatal Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on Fetal Growth Factors: A Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Trial in Rural Bangladesh

Prenatal multiple micronutrient (MM) supplementation improves birth weight through increased fetal growth and gestational age, but whether maternal or fetal growth factors are involved is unclear. Our objective was to examine the effect of prenatal MM supplementation on intrauterine growth factors and the associations between growth factors and birth outcomes in a rural setting in Bangladesh. In a double-blind, cluster-randomized, controlled trial of MM vs. iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation, we measured placental growth hormone (PGH) at 10 weeks and PGH and human placental lactogen (hPL) at 32 weeks gestation in maternal plasma (n = 396) and insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and IGF binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in cord plasma (n = 325). Birth size and gestational age were also assessed. Early pregnancy mean (SD) BMI was 19.5 (2.4) kg/m2 and birth weight was 2.68 (0.41) kg. There was no effect of MM on concentrations of maternal hPL or PGH, or cord insulin, IGF-1, or IGFBP-1. However, among pregnancies of female offspring, hPL concentration was higher by 1.1 mg/L in the third trimester (95% CI: 0.2, 2.0 mg/L; p = 0.09 for interaction); and among women with height <145 cm, insulin was higher by 59% (95% CI: 3, 115%; p = 0.05 for interaction) in the MM vs. IFA group. Maternal hPL and cord blood insulin and IGF-1 were positively, and IGFBP-1 was negatively, associated with birth weight z score and other measures of birth size (all p<0.05). IGF-1 was inversely associated with gestational age (p<0.05), but other growth factors were not associated with gestational age or preterm birth. Prenatal MM supplementation had no overall impact on intrauterine growth factors. MM supplementation altered some growth factors differentially by maternal early pregnancy nutritional status and sex of the offspring, but this should be examined in other studies. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00860470
Context-Mediated Behavior: An Approach to Explicitly Representing Contexts and Contextual Knowledge for AI Applications

Explicit representation of context and contextual knowledge is critical to AI applications. In this paper, we discuss conclusions drawn from several years of work on representing and using contextual knowledge. We describe our approach to context-sensitive reasoning, called context-mediated behavior (CMB), and discuss our experience related to reasoning in context in AI applications and our ongoing and future work in
Body Mass Index and Pregnancy Outcome after Assisted Reproduction Treatment

The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on pregnancy outcome after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The study analyzed pregnancy outcome of 349 women who underwent ICSI by their BMI: <25, 25–<30, and ≥30 kg/m2. The associations were generated by applying logistic regression models. A significant reduction in positive pregnancy outcome was observed among overweight and obese women (odds ratio (OR) = 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.25–0.99 for overweight women and OR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.20–0.89 for obese women). These estimates show that the pregnancy rates are reduced with increasing BMI. The effect of obesity on pregnancy outcome was absent when three and more embryos were transferred. Our study contributes to the reports linking overweight and obesity with decreased positive pregnancy outcome after ICSI and suggests women's age, infertility type, and number of embryos transferred to modify this reducing effect.
Sets of Mutually Orthogonal Sudoku Latin Squares

Ryan Pedersen (Ryan.Pedersen@ucdenver.edu) received his B.S. in mathematics and his B.A. in physics from the University of the Pacific, and his M.S. in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado Denver, where he is currently finishing his Ph.D. His research is in the field of finite projective geometry. He is currently teaching mathematics at Los Medanos College, in Pittsburg California. When not participating in something math related, he enjoys spending time with his wife and 1.5 children, working outdoors with his chickens, and participating as an active member of his local church.
Robust techniques for watermarking sequential circuit designs

We present a methodology for the watermarking of synchronous sequential circuits that makes it possible to identify the authorship of designs by imposing a digital watermark on the state transition graph of the circuit. The methodology is applicable to sequential designs that are made available as firm Intellectual Property (IP), the designation commonly used to characterize designs specified as structural descriptions or circuit netlists. The watermarking is obtained by manipulating the state transition graph of the design in such a way as to make it exhibit a chosen property that is extremely rare in non-watermarked circuits, while, at the same time, not changing the functionality of the circuit. This manipulation is performed without ever actually computing this graph in either implicit or explicit form. We present both theoretical and experimental results that show that the watermarking can be created and verified efficiently.
Air travel and fatal pulmonary embolism

Summary Although long-distance air travel is commonly regarded as a risk factor for venous thromboembolism, the risk of clinically important events has not been well defined. We estimated the absolute risk of dying from pulmonary embolism following longdistance air travel in a national population-based descriptive study of 121 men and women who were aged 15–59 years (the age range in which the majority of international arrivals are found) and whose underlying cause of death was certified as codes 415.1, 451, or 453 of the International Classification of Diseases (ninth revision). Eleven cases had undertaken longdistance air travel in the four weeks before the onset of the fatal episode. The estimated risks of fatal pulmonary embolism following a flight of at least three hours’ duration were 0.5 (95% CI 0.2–1.2) and 0.6 (95% CI 0.2–1.4) per million arrivals for overseas visitors and New Zealand residents, respectively. For air travel of more than eight hours’ duration, the risk in New Zealand residents was 1.3 (95% CI 0.4–3.0) per million arrivals. We also conducteda case-control study based on those cases who were normally resident in New Zealand and registered on the electoral roll (n=99). For each case, four controls matched for sex, age, and electorate, were randomly selected from the electoral roll. In the key analysis (based on 88 cases and 334 controls), the adjusted odds ratio for travellers who had flown for more than eight hours was 7.9 (95% CI 1.1–55.1) compared with those who did not undertake a long-distance flight. Longdistance air travellers have a higher risk of dying from pulmonary embolism than non-travellers, but the absolute risk in people aged 15–59 years appears to be very small.
Diverse functionality among human NK cell receptors for the C1 epitope of HLA-C: KIR2DS2, KIR2DL2, and KIR2DL3

Interactions between killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and their HLA-A, -B, and -C ligands diversify the functions of human natural killer cells. Consequently, combinations of KIR and HLA genotypes affect resistance to infection and autoimmunity, success of reproduction and outcome of hematopoietic cell transplantation. HLA-C, with its C1 and C2 epitopes, evolved in hominids to be specialized KIR ligands. The system’s foundation was the C1 epitope, with C2 a later addition, by several million years. The human inhibitory receptor for C1 is encoded by KIR2DL2/3, a gene having two divergent allelic lineages: KIR2DL2 is a B KIR haplotype component and KIR2DL3 an A KIR haplotype component. Although KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL3 exhibit quantitative differences in specificity and avidity for HLA-C, they qualitatively differ in their genetics, functional effect, and clinical influence. This is due to linkage disequilibrium between KIR2DL2 and KIR2DS2, a closely related activating receptor that was selected for lost recognition of HLA-C.
Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the maxilla

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) is a distinctive aggressive variant of squamous cell carcinoma. We present a case of a 60-year-old man with tender swelling in the right cheek region for 6 months and continuous unilateral nasal discharge for 2 months. Extraoral examination revealed an ovoid, well-defined swelling from the right infraorbital rim to the angle of the mouth superoinferiorly and the right lateral wall of the nose to preauricular region anteroposteriorly. Intraorally, an ulceroproliferative growth from right upper gingivobuccal sulcus to mid palatine raphe with bicortical expansion was evident. CT revealed a hypodense mass obliterating the right maxillary sinus. Histopathology showed closely packed basaloid cells, with hyperchromatic palisading nuclei, arranged in a solid pattern with a lobular configuration. Prominent areas of comedo necrosis and keratin pearl formation were seen. These features suggested BSCC. The patient underwent surgical excision with adjuvant radiation but was lost to follow-up after 6 months of radiation therapy.
The effect of early–life exposure of rats to venlafaxine on behaviour and neurological markers of antidepressant action in adulthood

The Effect of Early-Life Exposure of Rats to Venlafaxine on Behaviour and Neurobiological Markers of Antidepressant Action in Adulthood Renier Kruger, Stephanus F. Steyn, Christiaan B. Brink Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Division of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa. Introduction Recent epidemiological studies have shown there is a persistent escalation in the diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) in children and adolescents. This has been accompanied by an escalation in the prescription rate of antidepressants, specifically fluoxetine and escitalopram, for this age group. In fact, these two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the only drugs currently approved by the Federal Drug Agency of the United States for the treatment of depression in children and adolescents. A black box warning has been issued about a potential increase in suicidal ideation during therapy onset (i.e. short-term untoward effect). This said little is known about the long-term neurodevelopmental effects of antidepressant treatment in children and adolescents, and particularly whether early-life treatment may affect the susceptibility to and development of psychiatric illness in adulthood. The objective of the current study was to investigate in stress-sensitive rats the effects of early-life chronic treatment (pre-natal and/or postnatal) with venlafaxine on behavioural and neurobiological biomarkers later in life. The pre-natal and postnatal phases described above are associated with marked development of both the serotonin and noradrenalin neurological pathways, justifying the use of the dual action serotonin-noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine. The aforementioned behavioural and neurological biomarkers represent measurements of cognition, anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviour and monoamine levels in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Appendix A Congress Contribution
NP1 Regulates Neuronal Activity-Dependent Accumulation of BAX in Mitochondria and Mitochondrial Dynamics

In cultured cerebellar granule neurons, low neuronal activity triggers the intrinsic program of apoptosis, which requires protein synthesis-dependent BAX translocation to mitochondria, a process that may underlie neuronal damage in neurodegeneration. However, the mechanisms that link neuronal activity with the induction of the mitochondrial program of apoptosis remain unclear. Neuronal pentraxin 1 (NP1) is a pro-apoptotic protein induced by low neuronal activity that is increased in damaged neurites in Alzheimer's disease-affected brains. Here we report that NP1 facilitates the accumulation of BAX in mitochondria and regulates mitochondrial dynamics during apoptosis in rat and mouse cerebellar granule neurons in culture. Reduction of neuronal activity increases NP1 protein levels in mitochondria and contributes to mitochondrial fragmentation in a Bax-dependent manner. In addition, NP1 is involved in mitochondrial transport in healthy neurons. These results show that NP1 is targeted to mitochondria acting upstream of BAX and uncover a novel function for NP1 in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and trafficking during apoptotic neurodegeneration.
Fibroblast Angiotensin II Type 1a Receptors Contribute to Angiotensin II–Induced Medial Hyperplasia in the Ascending Aorta

Objective—Angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion causes aortic medial thickening via stimulation of angiotensin II type 1a (AT1a) receptors. The purpose of this study was to determine the cellular loci of AT1a receptors that mediate this Ang II–induced aortic pathology. Approach and Results—Saline or Ang II was infused into AT1a receptor floxed mice expressing Cre under control of cell-specific promoters. Initially, AT1a receptors were depleted in aortic smooth muscle cell and endothelium by expressing Cre under control of SM22 and Tie2 promoters, respectively. Deletion of AT1a receptors in either cell type had no effect on Ang II–induced medial thickening. To determine whether this effect was related to neural stimulation, AT1a receptors were depleted using an enolase 2–driven Cre. Depletion of AT1a receptors in neural cells attenuated Ang II–induced medial thickening of the ascending, but not descending aorta. Lineage tracking studies, using ROSA26-LacZ, demonstrated that enolase 2 was also expressed in adventitial cells adjacent to the region of attenuated thickening. To determine whether adventitial fibroblasts contributed to this attenuation, AT1a receptors in fibroblasts were depleted using S100A4 driven Cre. Similar to enolase 2-Cre, Ang II–induced medial thickening was attenuated in the ascending, but not the descending aorta. Lineage tracking demonstrated an increase of S100A4-LacZ positive cells in the media of the ascending region during Ang II infusion. Conclusions—AT1a receptor depletion in fibroblasts attenuates Ang II–induced medial hyperplasia in the ascending aorta.
Initial experiments on learning-based randomized bin-picking allowing finger contact with neighboring objects

This paper proposes a novel method for randomized bin-picking based on learning. When a two-fingered gripper tries to pick an object from the pile, a finger often contacts a neighboring object. Even if a finger contacts a neighboring object, the target object will be successfully picked depending on the configuration of neighboring objects. In our proposed method, we use the visual information on neighboring objects to train the discriminator. Corresponding to a grasping posture of an object, the discriminator predicts whether or not the pick will be successful even if a finger contacts a neighboring object. We examine two learning algorithms, the linear support vector machine (SVM) and the random forest (RF) approaches. By using both methods, we demonstrate that the picking success rate is significantly higher than with conventional methods without learning.