Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevention of kidney allograft rejection using anti-CD40 and anti-CD86 in primates

Background. Costimulation blockade has been proposed to induce allograft tolerance. We combined an antagonist anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb) with an antagonist anti-CD86 mAb in a rhesus monkey kidney allograft model. We chose this combination because it leaves CD80-CD152 signaling unimpaired, allowing for the down-regulatory effect of CD152 signaling to take place through this pathway. Methods. Rhesus monkeys underwent transplantation with a major histocompatibility complex–mismatched kidney. One group of animals received anti-CD40 alone, and a second group received the combination of anti-CD40 and anti-CD86, twice weekly for 56 days. Results. Three animals with low levels of anti-CD40 rejected the transplanted kidney while still receiving treatment. Three animals with high levels of anti-CD40 rejected at days 91, 134, and 217 with signs of chronic rejection. Animals treated with the combination of anti-CD40 and anti-CD86 mAbs rejected their kidneys at days 61, 75, and 78, shortly after cessation of treatment. Two animals were killed on days 71 and 116 with a blocked ureter. These animals developed virtually no signs of tubulitis or infiltration during treatment and no donor-specific alloantibodies. Conclusions. Both treatment protocols prevented rejection for the duration of the treatment in most animals. Blocking costimulation by anti-CD40 or by anti-CD40 plus anti-CD86 may be an effective method to prevent graft rejection and may obviate the need for other immunosuppressive drugs, especially in the immediate posttransplantation period.
COMPARATIVE MOLECULAR & LABORATORY DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM PARVUM IN DIARRHOIEC HIV POSITIVE INDIVIDUALS IN LAGOS

The swift resurgence of Cryptosporiosis as an opportunist parasitic agent in asymptomatic immunocompromised patients makes it absolutely newly emerging pathogens although selflimiting in immunocompetent individuals. This study evaluates the comparative efficacy of molecular-based Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) over both Florescence microscopy (FM) and Ziehl-Nielsen (ZN) laboratory diagnostic techniques of Cryptosporidiosis in diarrheic HIV positive individuals. 120 volunteered individuals comprising of thirty six (30%) males and eighty four (70%) females participated in this study. Appropriately homogenized fractional stool samples from diarrheic, non-diarrheic HIV positive patients and HIV negative (control) participants collected into separately marked specimen bottles were subjected to PCR analysis and compared to the modified ZN and FM laboratory diagnosis of Cryptosporidium parvum. PCR amplification of purified DNA was done using primers’ sequences for C. parvum tagged DNA Primers (5’
Genetics and management of retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular tumor in childhood. In majority of early stage retinoblastoma, the eyeballs as well as vision can be preserved with chemotherapy and local intraocular therapy with laser or photocoagulation. However, more than half the patients in India and other developing nations present in advanced stage of the disease. This article reviews the genetics, clinical approach, and treatment options for retinoblastoma focussing on advances in chemotherapy for intraocular retinoblastoma (chemoreduction), as well as improvement in survival in advanced retinoblastoma with surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and bone marrow transplantation.
Mexican-origin fertility: new patterns and interpretations.

Recent research has demonstrated that the fertility behavior of immigrant women in the United States is affected by destination opportunity structures source country characteristics selectivity of immigrant streams and disruptions associated with migration. While these studies have increased understanding of the factors that affect fertility levels among immigrant populations they have not been able to consider longer-run patterns among subsequent generations. The absence of questions on country-of-birth of parents in the 1980 and 1990 Censuses has meant that fertility comparisons based on large scale survey data could only be drawn between foreign- and native-born groups of women. However the inclusion of parentage questions in the June fertility supplements to the 1986 and 1988 Current Population Surveys (CPS) allows the classification of the native-born population into second- and third-or-later generational groups thus making possible the study of longer-term fertility change. This research uses these data to examine how fertility levels of Mexican-origin women vary across generational status and how these levels compare with those of the majority (non-Hispanic white) population. Our study is motivated by two related concerns. (excerpt)
Critical Role of Alpha-Toxin and Protective Effects of Its Neutralization by a Human Antibody in Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infections

ABSTRACT Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes large-scale epidemics of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) within communities across the United States. Animal models that reproduce ABSSSI as they occur in humans are urgently needed to test new therapeutic strategies. Alpha-toxin plays a critical role in a variety of staphylococcal infection models in mice, but its role in the pathogenesis of ABSSSI remains to be elucidated in rabbits, which are similar to humans in their susceptibility to S. aureus superantigens and certain bicomponent pore-forming leukocidins. We report here a new rabbit model of ABSSSI and show that those infected with a mutant deficient in expression of alpha-toxin (Δhla) developed a small dermonecrotic lesion, whereas those infected with isogenic USA300 MRSA wild-type or complemented Δhla strains developed ABSSSI that mimic the severe infections that occur in humans, including the large central dermonecrotic core surrounded by erythema, induration, and marked subcutaneous hemorrhage. More importantly, immunoprophylaxis with MEDI4893*, an anti-alpha-toxin human monoclonal antibody, significantly reduced the severity of disease caused by a USA300 wild-type strain to that caused by the Δhla mutant, indicating that this toxin could be completely neutralized during infection. Thus, this study illustrates a potential high standard for the development of new immunotherapeutic agents in which a toxin-neutralizing antibody provides protection to the same degree achieved with a toxin gene knockout. When MEDI4893* was administered as adjunctive therapy with a subtherapeutic dose of linezolid, the combination was significantly more efficacious than either agent alone in reducing the severity of ABSSSI.
a Stress-Inducible Caleosin , Participates in Stomatal Control , Transpiration and Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

cit conditions by combining molecular, biochemical and morphological changes. At the molecular level, many stress-responsive genes have been isolated, but knowledge of their physiological functions remains fragmentary. Here, we report data for RD20 , a stressinducible Arabidopsis gene that belongs to the caleosin family. As for other caleosins, we showed that RD20 localized to oil bodies. Although caleosins are thought to play a role in the degradation of lipids during seed germination, induction of RD20 by dehydration, salt stress and ABA suggests that RD20 might be involved in processes other than germination. Using plants carrying the promoter RD20::uidA construct, we show that RD20 is expressed in leaves, guard cells and fl owers, but not in root or in mature seeds. Water defi cit triggers a transient increase in RD20 expression in leaves that appeared predominantly dependent on ABA signaling. To assess the biological signifi cance of these data, a functional analysis using rd20 knock-out and overexpressing complemented lines cultivated either in standard or in water defi cit conditions was performed. The rd20 knock-out plants present a higher transpiration rate that correlates with enhanced stomatal opening and a reduced tolerance to drought as compared with the wild type. These results support a role for RD20 in drought tolerance through stomatal control under water defi cit conditions.
Data persistence in planetary surface network using raptor codes and probabilistic broadcasting

This article investigates the data persistence problem in the planetary surface network of interplanetary Internet using the distributed raptor codes. In order to improve the lifetime of space information and space nodes’ energy efficiency in planetary surface network, we propose an efficient data persistence strategy based on raptor codes and probabilistic broadcasting. Unlike most existing data persistence strategies where the random walks are used to disseminate source packets, the probabilistic broadcasting mechanism is employed in the proposed strategy to reduce the data dissemination cost by exploiting the broadcast property of wireless networks. The decoding performance and data dissemination cost are analyzed. Simulation results validate that the proposed strategy consumes the least data dissemination cost while achieving a better decoding performance compared with other representative strategies.
Identification of group-common linear epitopes in structural and nonstructural proteins of enteroviruses by using synthetic peptides

Synthetic peptides were employed in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to identify group-common linear epitopes in the structural and nonstructural proteins of enteroviruses. Nine linear epitopes were recognized by using sera from patients with heterotypic immunoglobulin G antibody responses to enterovirus infections. The most-reactive peptides were derived from conserved regions of the amino-terminal part of VP1, whereas peptides representing sequences from other conserved regions of VP1, as well as VP2, VP3, and VP4, and from a nonstructural region showed no or poor reactivity. These findings may be useful in the development of serological tests for the diagnosis of infections caused by a broad range of enteroviruses.
Healthy worker effect phenomenon

The Healthy Worker Effect (HWE) phenomenon has been under debate since some years. Some epidemiologists regard HWE as an ordinary method problem while others consider it a field of science by itself. This article gives definitions of HWE explained with historical background; discusses factors affecting it and suggests methods to minimize problems associated with it.
Attitudes Toward Patients With Sickle Cell Disease in a Multicenter Sample of Emergency Department Providers

Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) often seek care in the emergency department (ED) for pain associated with vaso-occlusive crises. Research has shown that negative provider attitudes serve as a barrier to care in this patient population. Our aim was to validate a survey that measures attitudes toward SCD patients among ED providers (nurses and physicians) and to compare differences in attitude scores between provider types. We administered the general perceptions about Sickle Cell Disease Patients Scale, previously validated among internal medicine providers, and the Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS) to ED nurses and physicians from two EDs. A total of 215 surveys were returned (63% response rate, 200 with attitude items completed). Three subscales were identified: Negative Attitudes, Uneasiness With Care, and Positive Attitudes. Cronbach's &agr;s exceeded 0.81 for each subscale. Mean (SD) scores for the Negative, Uneasiness, and Positive subscales and MCRS were 61.5 (20.3), 66.1 (17.1), 41.2 (17.8), and 42.2 (8.9), respectively. Compared with physicians, nurses had significantly higher mean Negative Attitude scores and lower Uneasiness scores. A slightly modified version of the general perceptions about Sickle Cell Disease Patients Scale appears to be a valid measure of ED provider attitudes toward SCD patients. Among ED providers, this scale identified a dimension not observed in research with the original instrument among internal medicine providers. Provider attitudes influence patient–provider interactions and quality of care. The scale we present here has major clinical implications, particularly for advanced practice nurses, who can use the scale not only to assess providers' attitudes toward SCD patients but also to determine the effectiveness of tailored interventions to improve those attitudes.
Satisfaction ratings after receiving internet-based cognitive rehabilitation in persons with memory impairments after severe acquired brain injury.

OBJECTIVE This study looked at patient satisfaction with an Internet-based cognitive rehabilitation program, which has been previously shown to be associated with functional improvements. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fourteen individuals with documented traumatic brain injury and memory impairments completed this study. Participants completed 60 sessions of Internet-based cognitive rehabilitation: 30 sessions of an active calendar intervention and 30 sessions of a control diary intervention. A four-question satisfaction questionnaire (responses were generated using a seven-point Likert scale) was completed after 30 sessions and again after 60 sessions. RESULTS No significant differences in satisfaction were found between time of assessment and treatment condition. In addition, a higher level of calendar use prior to beginning the study was associated with greater satisfaction at study completion. CONCLUSION These results suggest that persons with traumatic brain injury are not only willing to use the Internet to receive cognitive rehabilitation treatment, but are generally highly satisfied with the treatment. Further, individuals with some baseline compensatory strategies may be particularly well suited to this method of treatment.
Cylindrical polarimetric phased array radar demonstrator: Design and analysis of a frequency scanning antenna array

The design, modeling and measurement results of a mid-size cylindrical polarimetric phased array radar (CPPAR) antenna for weather sensing applications is presented. The beam scanning in the elevation is obtained using the frequency scanning concept while the azimuth scanning is achieved using both the commutation and the beam scanning. The maximum elevation scan angle is about 20 degrees and the frequency range is from 2.7 to 3.0 GHz. The cylindrical array consists of 96 frequency scanning vertical columns mounted on the surface of cylinder with the diameter and height of 2 meters. Each antenna column consists of 19 stacked microstrip patch elements fed by two series feed striplines terminated to matched loads. The patch elements are excited through the aperture on the ground plane. The antenna column is modeled using a full wave solution and then it is fabricated and tested in an anechoic chamber. In addition, the simulation results of the full cylinder consisting of 96 antenna columns are presented.
Predicting methicillin resistance and the effect of inadequate empiric therapy on survival in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

BACKGROUND The restriction of vancomycin hydrochloride use is recommended as a measure to decrease the emergence of vancomycin resistance in gram-positive organisms; however, vancomycin also is the treatment of choice for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. If vancomycin use is restricted to patients with documented infections due to methicillin-resistant organisms, then patients with MRSA infections may not initially receive vancomycin. This study was performed to determine factors that predict MRSA bacteremia and if ineffective empiric antibiotic therapy increased the risk of death in patients with S aureus bacteremia. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all patients with clinically significant S aureus bacteremia (132 episodes in 128 patients) diagnosed between October 1, 1995, and January 1, 1998, at an urban acute care Veterans Affairs medical center (approximately 200 acute care beds) in Baltimore, Md. During the study period, vancomycin was a restricted antibiotic. Empiric use had to be approved by an attending physician specializing in infectious diseases. RESULTS Compared with patients who had methicillin-sensitive S aureus bacteremia, patients with MRSA bacteremia were significantly older (70 vs 58 years; P<.01), more likely to have a history of MRSA (47% vs 6%; P<.01) and a nosocomial infection (76% vs 50%; P<.01), and less likely to use injection drugs (8% vs 32%; P<.01). In addition, compared with patients who had methicillin-sensitive S aureus bacteremia, patients with MRSA bacteremia were significantly less likely (45% vs 98%; P<.01) to receive effective antibiotic therapy during the first 48 hours of hospitalization. However, the risk of death due to ineffective empiric therapy was less than 1 (relative risk, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-1.88) and did not change significantly when adjusted for age, occurrence of sepsis, or nosocomial infection. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study support the safety of the restriction of vancomycin use in patients with clinically significant S aureus bacteremia. However, patients with a history of MRSA are more likely to have future MRSA infections and should receive empiric therapy using vancomycin for possible S aureus infections, particularly for nosocomial infections.
The Hubble Deep Field-North SCUBA Super-map - IV. Characterizing submillimetre galaxies using deep Spitzer imaging

We present spectral energy distributions (SEDs), Spitzer colours, and infrared (IR) luminosities for 850-μm selected galaxies in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey Northern (GOODS-N) field. Using the deep Spitzer Legacy images and new data and reductions of the Very Large Array-Hubble Deep Field (VLA-HDF) radio data, we find statistically secure counterparts for 60 per cent (21/35) of our submillimetre (submm) sample, and identify tentative counterparts for another 12 objects. This is the largest sample of submm galaxies with statistically secure counterparts detected in the radio and with Spitzer. Half of the secure counterparts have spectroscopic redshifts, while the other half have photometric redshifts. We find that in most cases the 850-μm emission is dominated by a single 24-μm source, with a median flux density of 241 μJy, leading to a median 24-to-850-μm flux density ratio of 0.040. A composite rest-frame SED shows that the submm sources peak at longer wavelengths than those of local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). Using a basic grey-body model, 850-μm selected galaxies appear to be cooler than local ULIRGs of the same luminosity. This demonstrates the strong selection effects, both locally and at high redshift, which may lead to an incomplete census of the ULIRG population. The SEDs of submm galaxies are also different from those of their high-redshift neighbours, the near-IR selected BzK galaxies, whose mid-IR-to-radio SEDs are more like those of local ULIRGs. Using 24-μm, 850-μm and 1.4-GHz observations, we fit templates that span the mid-IR through radio to derive the integrated IR luminosity (LIR) of the submm galaxies and find a median value of LIR(8–1000 μm) = 6.0 × 1012 L. By themselves, 24-μm and radio fluxes are able to predict LIR reasonably well because they are relatively insensitive to temperature. However, the submm flux by itself consistently overpredicts LIR when using spectral templates which obey the local ULIRG temperature–luminosity relation. The shorter Spitzer wavelengths sample the stellar bump at the redshifts of the submm sources, and we find that the Spitzer photometry alone provides a model-independent estimate of the redshift, σ[Δz/(1 + z)] = 0.07. The median redshift for our secure submm counterparts is 2.0. Using X-ray and mid-IR data, only 5 per cent of our secure counterparts (1/21) show strong evidence for an active galactic nucleus dominating the LIR.
Season, Climate and Suicide in Singapore

In Singapore, an island city state in the tropics, climatic variables like sunlight, windspeed, temperature, rainfall and humidity are significantly correlated with subgroups of suicidal subjects such as Malays, young adults and youths. In the young age group (0–19 years) the relationship between meteorological factors and suicide appear to be greater than in the other two groups.
Modeling the "Effective capacitance" for the RC interconnect of CMOS gates

With finer line widths and faster switching speeds, the resistance of on-chip metal interconnect is having a dominant impact on the timing behavior of logic gates. Specifically, the gates are switching faster and the interconnect delays are getting longer due to scaling. This results in a trend in which the RC interconnect delay is beginning to comprise a larger portion of the overall logic stage delay. This shift in relative delay dominance from the gate to the RC interconnect is increased by resistance shielding. That is, as the gate "resistance" gets smaller and the metal resistance gets larger, the gate no longer "sees" the total net capacitance and the gate delay may be significantly less than expected. This trend complicates the timing analysis of digital circuits, which relies upon simple, empirical gate delay equations for efficiency. In this paper, we develop an analytical expression for the "effective load capacitance" of a pc interconnect. In addition, when there is significant shielding, the response waveforms at the gate output may have a large exponential tail. We show that this waveform tail can strongly influence the delay of the RC interconnect. Therefore, we propose an extension of the effective capacitance equation that captures the complete waveform response accurately, with a two-piece gate-output-waveform approximation. >
Synaptic concentration of type‐I adenylyl cyclase in cerebellar neurons

Specific subcellular targeting and spatial arrangement of signaling molecules are important for efficient signal transduction. The neuro‐specific type‐I adenylyl cyclase (AC1) is stimulated by Ca2+, and plays an essential role in neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity. We generated hemagglutinin (HA)‐tagged AC1 to study its subcellular localization in cultured neurons. The HA‐tagged AC1 has similar enzymatic activity and regulatory properties to that of non‐tagged protein. HA‐AC1 targeted to both apical and basolateral domains in the epithelial Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, and it was found in both axons and dendrites in cultured hippocampal neurons as well as in cerebellar granule neurons. Interestingly, AC1 showed a distinct punctate form of immunostaining in MDCK cells and transfected neurons, suggesting it targets to specific subcellular domains. By immunostaining with different synaptic markers, we found that AC1 puncta were located at the excitatory synapses in cerebellar granule neurons. Our data provide a possible cellular mechanism for the physiological role of AC1 in neuroplasticity.