Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum IgA, IgG, and IgM responses to different enteroviruses as measured by a coxsackie B5‐based indirect ELISA

An enterovirus‐specific indirect ELISA, based on a single local isolate of coxsackie B5 as antigen, was used to study the IgA, IgG, and IgM responses in 19 patients with a recent or current enterovirus infection. Twelve different enterovirus serotypes were isolated from 15 patients. Paired serum samples were available from 10 and a single serum from 5 of these 15 patients. In addition, 4 patients diagnosed by a significant titer rise of complement fixing antibodies to enterovirus were included. A serological diagnosis, defined as an increase in titer of enterovirus IgG and/or presence of enterovirus IgM, were established in all 14 patients with paired sera. Enterovirus IgM was present i n either a single serum or in both sera in 13 of them. Out of 5 patients with a single serum sample only, enterovirus IgA or enterovirus IgM was found in 4. Specific IgA was present in either a single serum or i n both sera in 14 of the 19 patients. Seven of the 10 enterovirus isolate patients with paired sera had a significant titer rise of complement fixing antibodies; however, all 10 were diagnosed by ELISA. Among 64 healthy controls 2 had enterovirus IgA and none had enterovirus IgM.
Suppression of the Invasive Capacity of Rat Ascites Hepatoma Cells by Knockdown of Slingshot or LIM Kinase*

Actin cytoskeletal reorganization is essential for tumor cell migration, adhesion, and invasion. Cofilin and actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF) act as key regulators of actin cytoskeletal dynamics by stimulating depolymerization and severing of actin filaments. Cofilin/ADF are inactivated by phosphorylation of Ser-3 by LIM kinase-1 (LIMK1) and reactivated by dephosphorylation by Slingshot-1 (SSH1) and -2 (SSH2) protein phosphatases. In this study, we examined the roles of cofilin/ADF, LIMK1, and SSH1/SSH2 in tumor cell invasion, using an in vitro transcellular migration assay. In this assay, rat ascites hepatoma (MM1) cells were overlaid on a primary-cultured rat mesothelial cell monolayer and the number of cell foci that transmigrated underneath the monolayer in the presence of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) was counted. The knockdown of cofilin/ADF, LIMK1, or SSH1/SSH2 expression by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) significantly decreased the LPA-induced transcellular migration of MM1 cells and their motility in two-dimensional culture. Knockdown of LIMK1 also suppressed fibronectin-mediated cell attachment and focal adhesion formation. Our results suggest that both LIMK1-mediated phosphorylation and SSH1/SSH2-mediated dephosphorylation of cofilin/ADF are critical for the migration and invasion of tumor cells and that LIMK1 is involved in the transcellular migration of tumor cells by enhancing both adhesion and motility of the cells.
TASK Channels Contribute to the K+-Dominated Leak Current Regulating Respiratory Rhythm Generation In Vitro

Leak channels regulate neuronal activity and excitability. Determining which leak channels exist in neurons and how they control electrophysiological behavior is fundamental. Here we investigated TASK channels, members of the two-pore domain K+ channel family, as a component of the K+-dominated leak conductance that controls and modulates rhythm generation at cellular and network levels in the mammalian pre-Bötzinger complex (pre-BötC), an excitatory network of neurons in the medulla critically involved in respiratory rhythmogenesis. By voltage-clamp analyses of pre-BötC neuronal current–voltage (I-V) relations in neonatal rat medullary slices in vitro, we demonstrated that pre-BötC inspiratory neurons have a weakly outward-rectifying total leak conductance with reversal potential that was depolarized by ∼4 mV from the K+ equilibrium potential, indicating that background K+ channels are dominant contributors to leak. This K+ channel component had I-V relations described by constant field theory, and the conductance was reduced by acid and was augmented by the volatile anesthetic halothane, which are all hallmarks of TASK. We established by single-cell RT-PCR that pre-BötC inspiratory neurons express TASK-1 and in some cases also TASK-3 mRNA. Furthermore, acid depolarized and augmented bursting frequency of pre-BötC inspiratory neurons with intrinsic bursting properties. Microinfusion of acidified solutions into the rhythmically active pre-BötC network increased network bursting frequency, halothane decreased bursting frequency, and acid reversed the depressant effects of halothane, consistent with modulation of network activity by TASK channels. We conclude that TASK-like channels play a major functional role in chemosensory modulation of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex in vitro.
Quality of life among opiate-dependent individuals after starting methadone maintenance treatment

Although the results of evaluation studies on the effects of methadone maintenance treatment are mainly positive, there has been a lot of criticism about the one-sided focus on socially desirable outcomes, starting from a utilitarian perspective and the lack of attention to the impact of this treatment on individuals’ quality of life (QoL). Due to the social consequences of substance abuse, most outcome studies in substance abuse research focus on socially desirable aspects such as termination of drug use, reducing the health risks involved with drug use and the absence of criminal involvement, with limited attention to outcomes important for drug users themselves. The central aim of this dissertation is to explore the concept ‘Quality of Life’ (QoL) in opiate-dependent individuals and how QoL can be successfully integrated in the treatment and support for opiate-dependent individuals. Attention is given to how opiate-dependent individuals define the concept of QoL starting from their own perspectives, factors that influence their current QoL and the impact of following methadone treatment on QoL. Based on the orthopedagogical ground of this dissertation, an integration of different methodological approaches (quantitative and qualitative) is used. A cohort of 159 opiate-dependent individuals who started an outpatient methadone treatment at least 5 years ago participated in this study. Drug users perceived the concept QoL as a broad and multidimensional concept, not primarily associated with health. ‘Social inclusion’, ‘self-determination’ and ‘personal relationships’ were most frequently mentioned as important domains of QoL, illustrating the contextual character of the concept. Five to ten years after starting methadone treatment opiate-dependent individuals were still experiencing low QoL-scores on a number of domains (e.g. finances, family relations), illustrating the long-term negative consequences of an opiate-dependent life style. The impact of methadone on QoL was experienced as highly ambivalent. QoL of opiate-dependent individuals was mainly determined by psychosocial and psychological variables, with a limited impact of variables related with a person’s physical health. No direct effect of drug-related variables was retrieved, and the effect of current heroin use was indirect and restricted to a limited number of domains.
Multiway Array Decomposition of EEG Spectrum: Implications of Its Stability for the Exploration of Large-Scale Brain Networks

Multiway array decomposition methods have been shown to be promising statistical tools for identifying neural activity in the EEG spectrum. They blindly decompose the EEG spectrum into spatial-temporal-spectral patterns by taking into account inherent relationships among signals acquired at different frequencies and sensors. Our study evaluates the stability of spatial-temporal-spectral patterns derived by one particular method, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). We focused on patterns’ stability over time and in population and divided the complete data set containing data from 50 healthy subjects into several subsets. Our results suggest that the patterns are highly stable in time, as well as among different subgroups of subjects. Further, we show with simultaneously acquired fMRI data that power fluctuations of some patterns have stable correspondence to hemodynamic fluctuations in large-scale brain networks. We did not find such correspondence for power fluctuations in standard frequency bands, the common way of dealing with EEG data. Altogether, our results suggest that PARAFAC is a suitable method for research in the field of large-scale brain networks and their manifestation in EEG signal.
Observing entrainment in music performance: Video-based observational analysis of Indian musicians' tanpura playing and beat marking

Abstract Entrainment has been suggested as an important phenomenon underlying aspects of musical behaviour, and is attracting increasing attention in music psychology (see e.g. Large and Jones, 1999; Large, 2000), and in ethnomusicology (Clayton, Sager and Will, 2005). Approaches to its study in ethnomusicology must address a significant methodological problem: how to study entrainment phenomena in an ecologically valid manner, and to integrate this process into a programme of ethnographic research. Video recordings contain important data regarding the physical movements of participants in musical events (as well as their audible results), and through the application of observational analysis software these recordings can form the basis of studies of entrainment between different quasi- periodic musical processes as manifested in movement patterns. For the present study a short video clip of an Indian raga performance was selected (taken from a performance of Shree Rag by the singer Veena Sahasrabuddhe). Observational analysis was carried out using The Observer Video-Pro software, configured to record the plucking of tanpura strings and performers’ beat markers (hand or finger taps). Time series data thus generated were analysed using calculations of phase relationships, revealing several instances of both self- and interpersonal entrainment (the stated intention of the performers is, on the contrary, that the tanpura rhythms should each proceed independently). Entrainment between these behaviours points to a complex, but unintended form of emergent order. This unexpected result demonstrates the usefulness of this method in revealing otherwise unnoticed phenomena in musical performance, and raises important questions for future research.
Relevance Feedback for Best Match Term Weighting Algorithms in Information Retrieval

Personalisation in full text retrieval or full text filtering implies reweighting of the query terms based on some explicit or implicit feedback from the user. Relevance feedback inputs the user's judgements on previously retrieved documents to construct a personalised query or user profile. This paper studies relevance feedback within two probabilistic models of information retrieval: the first based on statistical language models and the second based on the binary independence probabilistic model. The paper shows the resemblance of the approaches to relevance feedback of these models, introduces new approaches to relevance feedback for both models, and evaluates the new relevance feedback algorithms on the TREC collection. The paper shows that there are no significant differences between simple and sophisticated approaches to relevance feedback.
Increased IL-15 Production Is Associated with Higher Susceptibility of Memory CD4 T Cells to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus during Acute Infection12

Acute SIV infection is characterized by explosive infection of memory CD4 T cells in peripheral and mucosal tissues. Interestingly, relatively few memory CD4 T cells are infected until as late as days 7–8 after challenge. However, by day 10 postinfection, most of the memory CD4 T cells are infected and carry viral DNA. The rapidity with which infection expands within 2–3 days to encompass virtually the entire memory CD4 T cell compartment suggests significant alterations in the susceptibility of memory CD4 T cells to infection during this period. The mechanism(s) underlying this increased permissiveness to infection is not known. In this study, we show that IL-15 secretion significantly correlates with the up-regulated expression of CD4 on memory CD4 T cells that is associated with increased permissiveness to SIV infection. Activation and proliferation of memory CD8, but not memory CD4 T cells, preceded the amplification of viral infection. Although memory CD4 T cells did not express normal activation markers, they displayed a significant up-regulation in the density of CD4 but not CCR5 expression between days 7 and 10 postinfection that correlated with increased plasma IL-15 levels and infection in these cells. Culture of purified CD4 T cells with IL-15 and/or SIV was associated with a significant increase in the expression of CD4 and infection of these sorted cells. Our results demonstrate that IL-15 contributes to the increased susceptibility of memory CD4 T cells to SIV during the early phase of acute SIV infection.
An Empirical Study of Probability Elicitation Under Noisy-OR Assumption

Bayesian network is a popular modeling tool for uncertain domains that provides a compact representation of a joint probability distribution among a set of variables. Even though Bayesian networks significantly reduce the number of probabilities required to specify probabilistic relationships in the domain, the number of parameters required to quantify large models is still a serious bottleneck. Further reduction of parameters in a model is usually achieved by utilization of parametric probability distributions such as noisy-OR gates. In this paper report the results of an empirical study that suggests that under the assumption, that the underlying modeled distribution follows the noisy-OR assumptions, human experts provide parameters with better accuracy using elicitation of noisy-OR parameters than when eliciting conditional probability tables directly. It also seems that of the two alternative noisy-OR parameterizations due to Henrion and D´ the latter results in better elicitation accuracy.
How the Double Spherules of Infectious Bronchitis Virus Impact Our Understanding of RNA Virus Replicative Organelles

ABSTRACT Powered by advances in electron tomography, recent studies have extended our understanding of how viruses construct “replication factories” inside infected cells. Their function, however, remains an area of speculation with important implications for human health. It is clear from these studies that whatever their purpose, organelle structure is dynamic (M. Ulasli, M. H. Verheije, C. A. de Haan, and F. Reggiori, Cell. Microbiol. 12:844-861, 2010) and intricate (K. Knoops, M. Kikkert, S. H. Worm, J. C. Zevenhoven-Dobbe, Y. van der Meer, et al., PLOS Biol. 6:e226, 2008). But by concentrating on medically important viruses, these studies have failed to take advantage of the genetic variation inherent in a family of viruses that is as diverse as the archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes combined (C. Lauber, J. J. Goeman, M. del Carmen Parquet, P. T. Nga, E. J. Snijder, et al., PLOS Pathog. 9:e1003500, 2013). In this climate, Maier et al. (H. J. Maier, P. C. Hawes, E. M. Cottam, J. Mantell, P. Verkade, et al., mBio 4:e00801-13, 2013) explored the replicative structures formed by an avian coronavirus that appears to have diverged at an early point in coronavirus evolution and shed light on controversial aspects of viral biology.
Dynamics of Individual Television Viewing Behavior: Models, Empirical Evidence, and a Research Program

Television viewing often is a sequence of a multitude of activities that can vary tremendously from the moment the TV set is turned on until it is turned off again. Previous models of individual viewing behavior as well as empirical studies have focused on isolated aspects of viewing only, such as the frequency and duration of viewing or patterns of selecting a specific program. This paper draws attention to the complete process of TV viewing. We develop a process model to describe whole viewing sessions. Furthermore, a review of the empirical evidence on viewing behavior and a typology of factors influencing the viewing process are presented, concluded by a research program.
Food webs in phytotelmata: "bottom-up" and "top-down" explanations for community structure.

The field study of food webs and the processes maintaining them is hampered by the sheer complexity and unreplicated nature of natural systems. The animal communities in phytotelmata--plant-held waters--are a convenient exception to this generalization. Tree holes, bamboo internodes, pitcher plants, tank bromeliads, and water-retaining plant axils contain a rich fauna, principally of arthropods, which constitute more or less complex, highly discrete food webs. They are widespread and replicated. The explanations for the community structure observed in these systems may call on "bottom-up" mechanisms such as simple environmental limitations, competition, predation, and facilitation, or they may adduce grander "top-down" theories, which explore biogeographic, energetic, dynamic, or biodiversity-related constraints. The existence of the bottom-up mechanisms is well established in experimental systems, and their consequences may be apparent in naturally occurring food webs. Top-down mechanisms demand a more holistic approach and are more difficult to test either by pattern analysis or experimental manipulation. The synoptic explanation of community composition and structure demands a multidimensional approach best expressed as a heuristic "template. " Phytotelmata represent nearly ideal natural instruments for further study of food web dynamics, and exciting opportunities exist for the development and testing of community theories through their manipulation.
Measuring Elite Personality Using Speech

We apply recent advances in machine learning to measure Congressmember personality traits using floor speeches from 1996 to 2014. We also demonstrate the superiority of text-based measurement over survey-based measurement by showing that personality traits are correlated with survey response rates for members of Congress. Finally, we provide one empirical application showcasing the importance of personality on congressional behavior.
Characterization of interactions of methylmercury with Ca2+ channels in synaptosomes and pheochromocytoma cells: radiotracer flux and binding studies.

The interaction of methylmercury (MeHg) with neuronal Ca2+ channels in rat forebrain synaptosomes and dihydropyridine (DHP)-sensitive Ca2+ channels in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells was examined using radiotracer flux assays and radioligand binding analyses. In synaptosomes, the influx of 45Ca2+ was used to examine the voltage and state dependence of block of Ca2+ channels by MeHg, as well as the effects of MeHg on apparent inactivation of 45Ca2+ influx. In addition, the differential influx of 45Ca2+, 85Sr2+, and 133Ba2+ was used to examine the effect of MeHg on the ionic selectivity of synaptosomal Ca2+ channels. The ability of MeHg to block 45Ca2+ influx via a DHP-sensitive Ca2+ channel was examined in PC12 cells. Effects of MeHg on binding of [3H]nitrendipine in synaptosomes and 125I-omega-conotoxin GVIA (CgTx) in synaptosomes and PC12 cells were measured. In synaptosomes, MeHg blocked 45Ca2+ influx in a voltage-dependent manner, inasmuch as increasing the extracellular K+ concentration increased the magnitude of block by 100 microM MeHg. When synaptosomes were incubated for 10 sec in either a nondepolarizing or a depolarizing solution before measurement of 1 sec of depolarization-induced 45Ca2+ influx, the potency and efficacy of the block of 45Ca2+ influx by MeHg were similar. Thus, block of Ca2+ channels by MeHg does not appear to be state dependent. To determine the kinetics of apparent inactivation of 45Ca2+ influx, synaptosomes were predepolarized in Ca2(+)-free high [K+] solution, for intervals varying from 1 to 10 sec, before measurement of 1 sec of K(+)-induced 45Ca2+ influx. When compared with control, MeHg (100 microM) altered the rate constant for apparent inactivation and decreased the fraction of 45Ca2+ influx that does not inactivate. Influx of 45Ca2+, 85Sr2+, and 133Ba2+ during 1 sec of depolarization was blocked in a dose-dependent manner by MeHg, with estimated IC50 values of 125, 150, and greater than 150 microM for 45Ca2+, 85Sr2+, and 133Ba2+, respectively. In triple-label experiments, the relative flux of radiolabeled Ca2+:Sr2+:Ba2+ was altered from approximately 6:2:3 to 6:1:3 in the presence of 100 microM MeHg. In undifferentiated and nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells, K(+)-induced 45Ca2+ influx was blocked by the DHP nifedipine, with an approximate IC50 value of 5 nM. MeHg reduced 45Ca2+ influx in PC12 cells with an estimated IC50 value of 50 microM, and 125 microM MeHg reduced uptake by greater than 90%. [3H]Nitrendipine bound to synaptosomes with high affinity in normal and elevated [K+] solutions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
CIRCADIAN AND HOMEOSTATIC VARIATION IN SUSTAINED ATTENTION

Human performance is modulated by circadian rhythms and homeostatic changes. Changes in efficiency in the performance of many tasks might be produced by variation in a basic cognitive process, such as sustained attention. This cognitive process is the capacity to respond efficiently to the environment during prolonged periods (from minutes to hours). There are three indices of sustained attention: general stability of efficiency, time on task stability, and short-term stability. The objective of this work was to analyze circadian and homeostatic influences on the indices of sustained attention. Participants were nine undergraduate female student volunteers (mean age 17.67 yrs, SD = 1.00, range 16–19 yrs) who attended school from 07:00–13:30 h, Monday to Friday. They were assessed while adhering to a modified 28 h constant-routine protocol during which feeding, room temperature, motor activity, and room illumination were controlled. Rectal temperature was recorded each minute, and indices of sustained attention were assessed hourly through a continuous performance task (CPT). General stability was measured as standard deviation of correct responses and reaction time, time on task stability was measured as the linear regression of correct responses and reaction time throughout the task, and short-term stability was measured as hit runs and error runs. Rectal temperature showed circadian variation; subjective somnolence and tiredness increased, while general performance and all indices of sustained attention declined throughout the 28 h recording session. General stability exhibited circadian variation, whereas time on task did not. Short-term stability showed circadian variations in short-error runs, long-error runs, and short-hit runs, but long-hit runs did not. There was a 26 sec short interval at the beginning of the task, characterized by a very high efficiency level of performance. Execution during this safe period was not affected by time awake and did not show circadian variation. Overall, these results suggest a dissociation of the effects of circadian and homeostatic factors on the indices of sustained attention. General stability, short- and long-error runs, and short-hit runs were modulated by both a homeostatic factor and a circadian effect, while long-hit runs and time on task stability were modulated only by a homeostatic factor and did not show circadian variation. There was also a 26 sec “safe period” that seems to be independent of circadian and homeostatic influences. These results suggest that performance at work deteriorates at the end of a shift due to a decrease in general stability, an increase in error runs, decrease of long-hit runs, and decline with time on task. Night shiftworkers are exposed to an additional deterioration of performance during the nighttime due to a decrease in general stability and an increase in error runs. (Author correspondence: valdez.pa@gmail.com)