Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
9 Immunopathogenesis Based Adamantiades-Behcet Disease Vasculitis Treatment

All immune cell lineages arise from the multipotent stem cells in the bone marrow. The development and regulation of immune system cells (immune homeostasis) depends on the programmed appearance of specific cell surface molecules (e.g. receptors) and responsiveness to certain cytokines and chemokines. After maturation, the immune system cells include antigen presenting cells (APCs), other phagocytic cells like neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils and lymphocytes which include T lymphocytes, Β lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. Depending on an initial stimulus and the microenvironmental conditions at a given time, each lymphocyte lineage can be subdivided to different populations with discrete specialized functions. Subpopulations of crucial importance are CD4+ T cells (mainly Th1, Th2, Th17 and T regulatory cells) and CD8+ T cells, CD16and CD16+ NK cells and CD5+ and CD5B cells. As a structure, the immune system consists of central locations of immune cell production and differentiation (bone marrow and thymus) and peripheral organs, where encounter with antigen and response to it occurs, that is the spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils and mucosaassociated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Mucosal surfaces and the skin provide the main primary access for foreign antigens to meet cells of the immune system, where they first react primarily with APCs. Innate immunity includes skin and mucosal barriers, as well as the innate immune cells that are triggered and react in minutes after they encounter ‘foreign’ material. The innate immune system, as it represents the first line of host defense against foreign entities, is regarded as a nonspecific system and its main role is to engulf and eliminate pathogens, trigger pro-inflammatory responses and present antigens to adaptive immune cells, which are subsequently activated. More recently it has been shown that the innate immune system has a necessary degree of specificity that enables it to discriminate between self and foreign particles (e.g. microorganisms). Germline encoded and constitutively expressed pattern recognition receptors (PRRs)like Toll receptors on innate immune cells, help them to discriminate highly conserved pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which activate specific signaling pathways that lead to robust but well-defined innate immune responses. Research on innate immunity is progressively uncovering molecular and cellular mechanisms by which it recognizes environment and reacts to it, leading to protective or
Lay constructions of decision‐making in cancer

In recent years there has been increased emphasis on involving people in decision‐making about their medical care. However, few studies have addressed the questions of why women with cancer want information, and what they believe to be the important factors influencing their decision‐making. In order to examine these questions 20 women with cancer were interviewed via telephone 2 weeks after their first consultation with one of 6 medical oncologists. Recruitment continued until informational redundancy was achieved.
Fish proteome analysis: Model organisms and non‐sequenced species

In the last decade, proteomic technologies have been increasingly used in fish biology research. Proteomics has been applied primarily to investigate the physiology, development biology and the impact of contaminants in fish model organisms, such as zebrafish (Danio rerio), as well as in some commercial species produced in aquaculture, mainly salmonids and cyprinids. However, the lack of previous genetic information on most fish species has been a major drawback for a more general application of the different proteomic technologies currently available. Also, many teleosts of interest in biological research and with potential application in aquaculture hold unique physiological characteristics that cannot be directly addressed from the study of small laboratory fish models. This review describes proteomic approaches that have been used to investigate diverse biological questions in model and non‐model fish species. We will also evaluate the current possibilities to integrate fish proteomics with other “omic” approaches, as well as with additional complementary techniques, in order to address the future challenges in fish biology research.
IT-Based Value Co-Creation: A Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

After more than two decades of IT business value research, organizations continue to seek ways to create value from IT investments. However, as the importance of external resources and inter-firm collaboration for the competitive success of firms continues to grow dramatically, there is a fundamental change taking place in the creation of business value. Now, multiple organizations collectively leverage IT in the context of inter-organizational network settings, raising important new issues that must be addressed. Due to the centrality of research on IT value for our discipline, expanding the agenda on how to best co-create value in these multiform environments is crucial. Therefore, this systematic literature review provides an overview structuring the efforts that have already been invested in this field. By analyzing the existing literature using a concept matrix, we develop a framework for classifying the latest research on IT value and provide promising directions for future research.
Effect of Foliar Fertilizer as Seed Pre-treatment on Yield Components in Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of foliar fertilizer as seed pre-treatment at different concentrations and times to the yield components in the Ikizce 96 common wheat (Triticum aestivum L) under field conditions of Central Anatolia in a split-split plot design with four replications during 1998-99 and 1999-2000 at the University of Ankara, Faculty of Agriculture, Haymana Research and Application Farm, Ankara, Turkey. According to results; plant height, spike length, number of spikes; number of spikelets; number of grain and 1000-grain weight traits showed a positive and statistically significant increasing over the control. In the study, used pre-treatments regimes resulted in improved wheat seed germination and helped to balancing the nutrients at the beginning of growth. Obtained variations in the investigated traits may be explained with the effect of pre-treatment times. Generally, a 10 minutes pre- treatment (S1) with 1% concentration (C1) have been showed that the optimum effect for increasing yield during the first year and all obtained data have been displayed rather stable and higher for second year in the study; but, none of all the parameters have been effected in next year. Foliar fertilizer method as a seed pre-treatment has a potential that can be apply cheap, practical, quick and helper for a healthy first development for the common wheat cultivation in Central
Extreme Fire Severity Patterns in Topographic, Convective and Wind-Driven Historical Wildfires of Mediterranean Pine Forests

Crown fires associated with extreme fire severity are extremely difficult to control. We have assessed fire severity using differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) from Landsat imagery in 15 historical wildfires of Pinus halepensis Mill. We have considered a wide range of innovative topographic, fuel and fire behavior variables with the purposes of (1) determining the variables that influence fire severity patterns among fires (considering the 15 wildfires together) and (2) ascertaining whether different variables affect extreme fire severity within the three fire types (topographic, convective and wind-driven fires). The among-fires analysis showed that fires in less arid climates and with steeper slopes had more extreme severity. In less arid conditions there was more crown fuel accumulation and closer forest structures, promoting high vertical and horizontal fuel continuity and extreme fire severity. The analyses carried out for each fire separately (within fires) showed more extreme fire severity in areas in northern aspects, with steeper slopes, with high crown biomass and in climates with more water availability. In northern aspects solar radiation was lower and fuels had less water limitation to growth which, combined with steeper slopes, produced more extreme severity. In topographic fires there was more extreme severity in northern aspects with steeper slopes and in areas with more water availability and high crown biomass; in convection-dominated fires there was also more extreme fire severity in northern aspects with high biomass; while in wind-driven fires there was only a slight interaction between biomass and water availability. This latter pattern could be related to the fact that wind-driven fires spread with high wind speed, which could have minimized the effect of other variables. In the future, and as a consequence of climate change, new zones with high crown biomass accumulated in non-common drought areas will be available to burn as extreme severity wildfires.
Effect of Drug Efficacy and the Eclipse Phase of the Viral Life Cycle on Estimates of HIV Viral Dynamic Parameters

Summary: Fits of mathematic models to the decline in HIV‐1 RNA after antiretroviral therapies have yielded estimates for the life span of productively infected cells of 1 to 2 days. In a previous report, we described the mathematic properties of an extended model that accounts for imperfect viral suppression and the eclipse phase of the viral life cycle (the intracellular delay between initial infection and release of progeny virions). In this article, we fit this extended model to detailed data on the decline of plasma HIV‐1 RNA after treatment with the protease inhibitor ritonavir. Because the therapy in this study was most likely not completely suppressive, we allowed the drug efficacy parameter to vary from 70% to 100%. Estimates for the clearance rate of free virus, c, increased with the addition of the intracellular delay (as reported previously) but were not appreciably affected by changes in the drug efficacy parameter. By contrast, the estimated death rate of virus‐producing cells, &dgr;, increased from an average of 0.49 day‐1 to 0.90 day‐1 (an increase of 84%) because the drug efficacy parameter was reduced from 100% to 70%. Neglecting the intracellular delay, the comparable increase in &dgr; was only about 55%. The inferred increases in &dgr; doubled when the model was extended to account for possible increases in target cell densities after treatment initiation. This work suggests that estimates for &dgr; may be greater than previously reported and that the half‐life of a cell in vivo that is producing virus, on average, may be 1 day.
Role of Enterococcus faecalisSurface Protein Esp in the Pathogenesis of Ascending Urinary Tract Infection

ABSTRACT Enterococcus faecalis bacteria isolated from patients with bacteremia, endocarditis, and urinary tract infections more frequently express the surface protein Esp than do fecal isolates. To assess the role of Esp in colonization and persistence of E. faecalis in an animal model of ascending urinary tract infection, we compared an Esp+strain of E. faecalis to its isogenic Esp-deficient mutant. Groups of CBA/J mice were challenged transurethrally with 108 CFU of either the parent or mutant strain, and bacteria in the urine, bladder, and kidneys were enumerated 5 days postinfection. Significantly higher numbers of bacteria were recovered from the bladder and urine of mice challenged with the parent strain than from the bladder and urine of mice challenged with the mutant. Colonization of the kidney, however, was not significantly different between the parent and mutant strains. Histopathological evaluations of kidney and bladder tissue done at 5 days postinfection did not show marked histopathological changes consistent with inflammation, mucosal hyperplasia, or apoptosis, and there was no observable difference between the mice challenged with the parent and those challenged with the mutant. We conclude that, while Esp does not influence histopathological changes associated with acute urinary tract infections, it contributes to colonization and persistence of E. faecalis at this site.
Purification and characterization of the lethal toxin (alpha-toxin) of Clostridium septicum

Clostridium septicum lethal (alpha-toxin) was purified and found to be a basic protein (pI 8.4) of approximately 48 kDa that is both lethal and hemolytic. The alpha-toxin had a hemolytic activity of approximately 2 x 10(7) hemolytic units per mg and a 50% lethal dose of approximately 10 micrograms/kg of body weight for mice. The alpha-toxin formed concentration-dependent, sodium dodecyl sulfate-resistant aggregates of approximately 230 kDa. Mice immunized with alpha-toxin showed a significant increase in survival time over mock-immunized mice when challenged with C. septicum. Rabbit polyclonal antibody was generated against the purified toxin and was used to confirm that toxin with the same molecular weight was present in seven different C. septicum isolates. No proteins in the supernatants from cultures of Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium histolyticum, Clostridium chauvoei, or Clostridium difficile were found to react with the C. septicum alpha-toxin-specific antibody.
Down-regulation of Ras-related Protein Rab 5C-dependent Endocytosis and Glycolysis in Cisplatin-resistant Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines*

Drug resistance poses a major challenge to ovarian cancer treatment. Understanding mechanisms of drug resistance is important for finding new therapeutic targets. In the present work, a cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell line A2780-DR was established with a resistance index of 6.64. The cellular accumulation of cisplatin was significantly reduced in A2780-DR cells as compared with A2780 cells consistent with the general character of drug resistance. Quantitative proteomic analysis identified 340 differentially expressed proteins between A2780 and A2780-DR cells, which involve in diverse cellular processes, including metabolic process, cellular component biogenesis, cellular processes, and stress responses. Expression levels of Ras-related proteins Rab 5C and Rab 11B in A2780-DR cells were lower than those in A2780 cells as confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The short hairpin (sh)RNA-mediated knockdown of Rab 5C in A2780 cells resulted in markedly increased resistance to cisplatin whereas overexpression of Rab 5C in A2780-DR cells increases sensitivity to cisplatin, demonstrating that Rab 5C-dependent endocytosis plays an important role in cisplatin resistance. Our results also showed that expressions of glycolytic enzymes pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, lactate dehydrogenase, and phosphoglycerate kinase 1 were down-regulated in drug resistant cells, indicating drug resistance in ovarian cancer is directly associated with a decrease in glycolysis. Furthermore, it was found that glutathione reductase were up-regulated in A2780-DR, whereas vimentin, HSP90, and Annexin A1 and A2 were down-regulated. Taken together, our results suggest that drug resistance in ovarian cancer cell line A2780 is caused by multifactorial traits, including the down-regulation of Rab 5C-dependent endocytosis of cisplatin, glycolytic enzymes, and vimentin, and up-regulation of antioxidant proteins, suggesting Rab 5C is a potential target for treatment of drug-resistant ovarian cancer. This constitutes a further step toward a comprehensive understanding of drug resistance in ovarian cancer.
Regular Physical Activity and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background—Although previous studies have suggested that competitive athletes have a higher risk of atrial fibrillation than the general population, limited and inconsistent data are available on the association between regular physical activity and the risk of atrial fibrillation. Methods and Results—A systematic, comprehensive literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and COCHRANE until 2011. Extracted data from the eligible studies were meta-analyzed using fixed effects model. Four studies, which included 95 526 subjects, were eligible for meta-analysis. For all of the studies included, the extreme groups (ie, maximum versus minimal amount of physical activity) were used for the current analyses. The total number of participants belonging to the extreme groups was 43 672. The pooled odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for atrial fibrillation among regular exercisers was 1.08 (0.97–1.21). Conclusions—Our data do not support a statistically significant association between regular physical activity and increased incidence of atrial fibrillation.
Regulation of Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene Expression by Anoxia and Reoxygenation in Primary Rat Hepatocyte Cultures

Heme oxygenase (HO) catalyzes the rate-limiting enzymatic step of heme degradation and regulates the cellular heme content. Gene expression of the inducible isoform of HO, HO-1, is upregulated in response to various oxidative stress stimuli. To investigate the regulatory role of anoxia and reoxygenation (A/R) on hepatic HO-1 gene expression, primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were exposed after an anoxia of 4 hr to normal oxygen tension for various lengths of time. For comparison, gene expression of the noninducible HO isoform, HO-2, and that of the heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) were determined. During reoxygenation, a marked increase of HO-1 and HSP70 steady-state mRNA levels was observed, whereas no alteration of HO-2 mRNA levels occurred. Corresponding to HO-1 mRNA, an increase of HO-1 protein expression was determined by Western blot analysis. The anoxia-dependent induction of HO-1 was prevented by pretreatment with the transcription inhibitor, actinomycin D, but not by the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, suggesting a transcriptional regulatory mechanism. After exposure of hepatocytes to anoxia, the relative levels of oxidized glutathione increased within the first 40 min of reoxygenation. Pretreament of cell cultures with the antioxidant agents, β-carotene and allopurinol, before exposure to A/R led to a marked decrease of HO-1 and HSP70 mRNA expression during reoxygenation. An even more pronounced reduction of mRNA expression was observed after exposure to desferrioxamine. Taken together, the data demonstrate that HO-1 gene expression in rat hepatocyte cultures after A/R is upregulated by a transcriptional mechanism that may be, in part, mediated via the generation of ROS and the glutathione system.
Chemokines, chemokine receptors and hematopoiesis

Hematopoiesis during steady state conditions is regulated and finely tuned by a network of cytokines and their effects on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and on accessory cells that influence the stem and progenitor cells. Amongst the numerous cytokines implicated in this regulation are members of the CC, CXC and C family of chemokines. Twenty-five chemokine members have been demonstrated to have the capacity to suppress the proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells. Three chemokines have been implicated in the chemotaxis of these stem and progenitor cells, and one has been linked to their survival after growth factor withdrawal. This review focuses on the proliferation-suppressing, chemotaxis-induced, and cell survival effects of different chemokine family members on myeloid progenitor cells. This is placed in the context of what we know and don't know about the intracellular signaling events mediating these effects. This information and what is yet to be learned in this area could have important clinical implications for treatment of disease.
High-risk learning: acquiring new word vectors from tiny data

Distributional semantics models are known to struggle with small data. It is generally accepted that in order to learn ‘a good vector’ for a word, a model must have sufficient examples of its usage. This contradicts the fact that humans can guess the meaning of a word from a few occurrences only. In this paper, we show that a neural language model such as Word2Vec only necessitates minor modifications to its standard architecture to learn new terms from tiny data, using background knowledge from a previously learnt semantic space. We test our model on word definitions and on a nonce task involving 2-6 sentences’ worth of context, showing a large increase in performance over state-of-the-art models on the definitional task.
Changes in adult neurogenesis in neurodegenerative diseases: cause or consequence?

This review addresses the role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and stem cells in some of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and their related animal models. We discuss recent literature in relation to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, alcoholism, ischemia, epilepsy and major depression.
Antisaccade performance in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia: the Maudsley twin study.

OBJECTIVE Deficiency in antisaccade performance has been proposed as a schizophrenia endophenotype. METHOD The authors assessed performance on an antisaccade task (and a prosaccade control condition) by 10 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for DSM-IV schizophrenia and 10 monozygotic healthy twin pairs matched for age, sex, and parental socioeconomic status. The authors computed antisaccade gain, latency, and error rate, as well as prosaccade gain and latency. RESULTS The schizophrenic twins made more antisaccade reflexive errors than the nonschizophrenic co-twins and comparison twins, who did not significantly differ from each other. The nonschizophrenic members of discordant pairs performed worse than the comparison twins on antisaccade gain and latency but did not differ from their schizophrenic co-twins on these variables. There were no differences on prosaccade performance. Antisaccade errors were correlated with negative symptoms in the patients. CONCLUSIONS Antisaccade spatial accuracy and latency deficits may serve as markers of genetic liability for schizophrenia.
On the MIMO channel capacity of multidimensional signal sets

In this contribution, the capacity of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems using multidimensional phase-shift keying/quadratic-amplitude modulation signal sets is evaluated. It was shown that transmit diversity is capable of narrowing the gap between the capacity of the Rayleigh-fading channel and that of the additive white Gaussian noise channel. However, because this gap becomes narrower when the receiver diversity order is increased, for higher order receiver diversity, the performance advantage of transmit diversity diminishes. A MIMO system having full multiplexing gain has a higher achievable throughput than the corresponding MIMO system designed for full diversity gain, although this is attained at the cost of a higher complexity and a higher signal-to-noise ratio. The tradeoffs between diversity gain, multiplexing gain, complexity, and bandwidth are studied.