Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pandemic Swine-Origin H1N1 Influenza A Virus Isolates Show Heterogeneous Virulence in Macaques

ABSTRACT The first influenza pandemic of the new millennium was caused by a newly emerged swine-origin influenza virus (SOIV) (H1N1). This new virus is characterized by a previously unknown constellation of gene segments derived from North American and Eurasian swine lineages and the absence of common markers predictive of human adaptation. Overall, human infections appeared to be mild, but an alarming number of young individuals presented with symptoms atypical for seasonal influenza. The new SOIV also showed a sustained human-to-human transmissibility and higher reproduction ratio than common seasonal viruses, altogether indicating a higher pathogenic potential for this newly emerged virus. To study the virulence of the SOIV, we used a recently established cynomolgus macaque model and compared parameters of clinical disease, virology, host responses, and pathology/histopathology with a current seasonal H1N1 virus. We here show that infection of macaques with two genetically similar but clinically distinct SOIV isolates from the early stage of the pandemic (A/Mexico/4108/2009 and A/Mexico/InDRE4487/2009) resulted in upper and lower respiratory tract infections and clinical disease ranging from mild to severe pneumonia that was clearly advanced over the mild infection caused by A/Kawasaki/UTK-4/2009, a current seasonal strain. Unexpectedly, we observed heterogeneity among the two SOIV isolates in virus replication, host transcriptional and cytokine responses, and disease progression, demonstrating a higher pathogenic potential for A/Mexico/InDRE4487/2009. Differences in virulence may explain more severe disease, as was seen with certain individuals infected with the emerged pandemic influenza virus. Thus, the nonhuman primate model closely mimics influenza in humans.
Mood enhancement in health-promoting non-aerobic exercise: The role of non-specific mechanisms

Eighty participants took part in a 5-day intervention Qi Gong study to enhance well-being and were randomised to either positive or body focus and either high or low hand position. The high hand position improved negative affect and was reported more intrinsically motivating but was unrelated to perceived effort. Positive focus produced better positive affect. For all groups combined, intrinsic motivation and effort predicted all three outcomes. The association between expectancy and perceived benefit was mediated via intrinsic motivation and perceived effort. Results support motivational concordance and positive focus as mechanisms of benefit but not response expectancy.
Does Influenza Cause Schizophrenia? A Five Year Review

Over the last five years a body of literature has been generated concerning whether or not prenatal exposure to influenza results in an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in the exposed offspring. The studies are reviewed with respect to the traditional epidemiological criteria that help to define causality. There is a modest degree of consistency in support of an association between the 1957 influenza epidemic — and less so, for influenza epidemics in general — and later schizophrenia. Two cohort studies examining the 1957 epidemic do not support an association. The strength and specificity of the association remain weak. The proposed association draws coherence from the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. Suggestions are made for future research that could add to our understanding of the putative association between influenza and schizophrenia.
Assessment of anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction with high-resolution multiplanar reformatted images in MDCT.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to assess the capabilities of MDCT for the diagnosis of an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction using high-resolution multiplanar reformatted (multiplanar reconstruction) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included nine patients with and 54 without an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction confirmed on direct cholangiopancreatography. Multiplanar reconstruction images with 0.5-mm continuous slices were generated from isotropic or nearly isotropic pancreatic phase images. By mainly interpreting the multiplanar reconstruction images using the Scrolling mode, two blinded reviewers independently determined whether the confluence of the pancreatic and biliary ducts joined in the pancreatic parenchyma (in other words, outside the duodenal wall). The results were correlated with the findings of direct cholangiopancreatography. The diagnostic capabilities of CT for revealing associated pancreatobiliary diseases were assessed in patients with this anomaly. RESULTS Interobserver agreement in the classification of the duct confluence was high (kappa = 0.804). The duct confluence was identified in all patients except four without an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CT for diagnosing an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction were 100% (9 of 9 patients), 87% (47 of 54 patients), 89% (56 of 63 patients), 75% (9 of 12 patients), and 100% (47 of 47 patients) in the final decisions, respectively. CT showed all associated pancreatobiliary diseases except bile duct stones in two patients. CONCLUSION MDCT enabled the diagnosis of an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction by showing whether the pancreatic and biliary ducts join within the pancreatic parenchyma on high-resolution multiplanar reconstruction images.
Stage of hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with periodontitis.

AIM Periodontitis induces overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This state increases circulating ROS levels and may affect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Japan Integrated Stage (JIS) score is a novel staging system for HCC. The objective of the present study was to compare JIS scores in HCC patients with and without periodontitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS We recruited 64 HCC patients comprising 31 chronic periodontitis subjects (HCC + P) and 33 periodontally healthy controls (HCC + H). Their JIS scores were recorded. Serum levels of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) from HCC + P, HCC + H and healthy age- and gender-matched subjects with healthy gingiva (control, n = 15) were also assessed for circulating ROS levels. RESULTS The HCC + P and HCC + H groups had similar body mass index, habitual drinking and tobacco exposure data. The HCC + P group showed higher JIS scores than the HCC + H group (p = 0.027). Both the HCC + P and HCC + H groups had higher serum levels of ROM than controls (p < 0.001), while serum levels of ROM in the HCC + P group were a further 25.8% higher than those in the HCC + H group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION HCC patients with periodontitis had higher JIS score and circulating ROS level than HCC patients without periodontitis.
A Performance Evaluation of Kokkos & RAJA using the TeaLeaf Mini-App

In this research project we have taken the TeaLeaf ‘miniapp’ and developed several ports using a mixture of new and mature parallel programming models. We have discovered that RAJA is a promising model with an intuitive development approach, that exhibits good performance on central processing units (CPUs), but does not currently support other devices. Kokkos requires greater up-front development, but represents a highly competitive option for performance portability on CPUs and NVIDIA general-purpose graphics processing units (GPUs). The results showed that Kokkos can exhibit portable performance to within 5% of OpenMP and hand-optimised CUDA for some solvers, but our implementation suffered some issues on the Intel Xeon Phi Knights Corner (KNC).
T-body formation precedes virus-like particle maturation in S. cerevisiae

T-bodies are localized S. cerevisiae RNPs containing Ty1 retroviral components and speculated to play a role in the assembly of virus-like particles (VLPs). Mapping requirements for T-body formation, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of immature TyA1/Gag (Gag-p49), a structural component of the Ty1 capsid, is sufficient for T-body formation both under normal conditions as well as in a strain background devoid of endogenous Gag. Moreover, T-bodies are readily formed when Ty1 transposition is blocked. Thus, T-bodies represent an early stage in the Ty1 life cycle, preceding VLP maturation.
Do men have more severe psoriasis than women?

blast, a key mechanism in the development of hypertrophic scars. However, TA causes side effects like telangiectasia and residual erythema. Our study showed that CBL + TA do not aggravate vascularity and pigmentation comparing to AFL + TA. This result suggests that CBL may compensate for the erythema resulting from TA. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that a combination of CBL, AFL and intralesional TA may provide a new treatment option for hypertrophic thyroidectomy scars. Long-term follow-up is needed for re-evaluation of scar changes, including recurrences.
Hymenoptera venom allergy: taking the sting out of difficult cases.

BACKGROUND Correct identification of the culprit venom is a prerequisite for specific venom immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE To assess whether the basophil activation test (BAT) constitutes an additional diagnostic instrument in patients with equivocal or negative specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E or venom skin test (VST) results. METHODS One hundred eighteen patients with a compelling history of IgE-mediated hymenoptera venom allergy were enrolled. Venom-specific IgE was quantified by ImmunoCAP and VST was performed in all patients. Basophil activation was analyzed by flow cytometry after labeling with anti-IgE and anti-CD63. RESULTS In 64 out of 118 patients, diagnosis was considered as definite and the entomologic description was confirmed by unequivocal and concordant positive specific IgE and VST results. In 53 of those 64 patients, BAT confirmed diagnosis, whereas the remaining 11 patients were nonresponsive in the BAT analysis. Forty-seven patients (40%) had a tentative diagnosis of venom allergy, as they had divergent specific IgE or VST results. In 31 of those patients, BAT was positive only for the suspected venom and helped to establish diagnosis of wasp and honeybee venom allergy in 28 and 3 patients, respectively. BAT was diagnostic in 7 patients with complete negative results for specific IgE and VST, despite clear entomologic identification. CONCLUSIONS In about half the patients with diagnosis of venom allergy, unequivocal specific IgE and VST results are obtained and additional tests are not needed. In the remainder, diagnosis is less straightforward due to discrepant or negative specific IgE orVST results. In these patients, BAT constitutes a helpful additional instrument to identify the culprit venom and start venom immunotherapy accordingly.
Molecular forms of tegumental and muscle acetylcholinesterases of Schistosoma

Summary Acetylcholinesterase (ACHE) is present in the muscle and on the tegument of schistosomes. Molecular forms of schistosome AChE were examined because particular AChEs are found in tissues of distinct function elsewhere. The dimeric globular form (G2) is the only form evident in adult Schistosoma haematobium: 32 % of the muscle AChE is hydrophilic and 61 % is membrane associated. A substantial amount of this enzyme is phosphatidylinositol (PI) anchored since it could be released by PI-specific phospholipase C from both muscle and tegumental membranes.
Gold(III) compound is a novel chemocytotoxic agent for hepatocellular carcinoma

Recently, a series of gold(III) meso‐tetraarylporphyrins that are stable against demetallation in physiological conditions have been synthesized. In the present study, the antitumor effects of one of these compounds, gold(III) meso‐tetraarylporphyrin 1a (gold‐1a) was investigated in an orthotopic rat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model as well as using a HCC cell line. The rat HCC model was induced by injection of rat hepatoma cells, McA‐RH7777, into the left lobe of the liver. Seven days after tumor cell inoculation, gold‐1a was injected directly into the tumor nodule at different doses, followed by the same doses via intraperitoneal injection twice a week. Gold‐1a administration significantly prolonged the survival of HCC‐bearing rats. Importantly, gold‐1a induced necrosis as well as apoptosis in the tumor tissues, but not in the normal liver tissues. Furthermore, gold‐1a treatment neither caused significant drop in body weight of the rats nor affected plasma aspartate aminotransferase level. In the in vitro studies, we observed that gold‐1a treatment inhibited the proliferation of McA‐RH7777 cells. Gold‐1a upregulated genes that increase apoptosis, stabilize p53, decrease proliferation and downregulated genes playing roles in angiogenesis, invasion, and metabolism, as demonstrated by microarray. In particular, the compound upregulated 2 members of the growth arrest and DNA damage (Gadd) inducible gene family, Gadd34 and Gadd153. Suppression of Gadd34 and Gadd153 in McA‐RH7777 cells by small hairpin RNA reduced the gold‐1a‐induced apoptosis and growth inhibition, indicating that gold‐1a mediated its effects via upregulation of Gadd34 and Gadd153. Results from our study demonstrated that gold‐1a might be a novel promising chemocytotoxic agent for treating HCC. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Phylogenetic clustering increases with elevation for microbesemi

Jianjun Wang,1,2 Janne Soininen,3 Jizheng He2 and Ji Shen1* State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 China. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085 China. Department of Environmental Sciences, PO Box 65, FIN-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Metabolic Risk Factors and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Role of Sleep in Young, Healthy Adults

Objective Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with indicators of poor physical health and sleep disturbance. This study investigated the relationship between PTSD and metabolic risk factors and examined the role of sleep duration in medically healthy and medication-free adults. Methods Participants with PTSD (n = 44, mean age = 30.6 years) and control participants free of lifetime psychiatric history (n = 50, mean age = 30.3 years) recorded sleep using sleep diary for 10 nights and actigraphy for 7 nights. We assessed metabolic risk factors including fasting triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as abdominal fat using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results PTSD was associated with shorter sleep duration (based on self-report, not actigraphy) and higher metabolic risks (controlling for body fat percentage), including increased triglycerides (p = .03), total cholesterol (p < .001), LDL cholesterol (p = .006), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = .002), and cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio (p = .024). In addition, sleep duration was associated with metabolic risks in PTSD (significant correlations ranged from r = −0.20 to r = −0.40) but did not fully account for the association between PTSD and metabolic measures. Conclusions Metabolic risk factors are associated with PTSD even in early adulthood, which highlights the need for early intervention. Future longitudinal research should assess whether sleep disturbance in PTSD is a mechanism that contributes to heightened metabolic risk to elucidate the pathway from PTSD to higher rates of medical disorders such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Bovine and Human Papillomaviruses

Fifty years ago, inoculation with bovine papillomavirus (BPV) was found to cause mesenchymal tumors of the skin in cattle and horses, as well as tumors of the bladder in cattle. Subsequent to these studies of BPVs, human papillomaviruses (HPVs) were found to cause cervical cancer resulting in intense research into papillomaviruses. During the past 50 years, the ways that HPVs and BPVs cause disease have been investigated, and both HPVs and BPVs have been associated with an increasingly diverse range of diseases. Herein, the biology, oncogenic mechanisms, and diseases associated with BPVs are compared with those of HPVs. As reviewed, there are currently significant differences between BPVs and HPVs. However, research 50 years ago into BPVs formed a prologue for the recognition that papillomaviruses have a significant role in human disease, and it is possible that future research may similarly reveal that BPVs are less different from HPVs than is currently recognized.
Update of Rotavirus Strains Circulating in Africa From 2007 Through 2011

Background: The African Rotavirus Surveillance Network has been detecting and documenting rotavirus genotypes in the subcontinent since 1998, largely based on intercountry workshops conducted at Rotavirus Regional Reference Laboratories. This article reports on rotavirus genotypes generated at Regional Reference Laboratories, South Africa between 2007 and 2011 from 16 African countries. Methods: Stool samples were collected from <5-year-old children with diarrhea following World Health Organization criteria of hospital-based rotavirus surveillance. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was performed by National Laboratories. Regional Reference Laboratories retested 10% of randomly selected EIA positives and 10% of EIA negatives from each country as part of quality control. At least 50 rotavirus EIA positives from each country per year were subjected to reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction based on G-/P-types. Sequencing was conducted in 5–10% of each representative G or P genotype to confirm the genotype, as well as to type some of the samples that could not be genotyped with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction-based methods. Results: A total of 2555 of rotavirus EIA positives were genotyped. G1 was the most predominant (28.8%), followed by G9 (17.3%), G2 (16.8%), G8 (8.2%), G12 (6.2%) and G3 (5.9%). Similarly, the P[8] strain was the most prevalent (40.6%), followed by P[6] (30.9%) and P[4] (13.9%). The top G/P combinations detected were G1P[8] (18.4%), G9P[8] (11.7%), G2P[4] (8.6%), G2P[6] (6.2%), G1P[6] (4.9%), G3P[6] (4.3%), G8P[6] (3.8%) and G12P[8] (3.1%). Conclusions: There is high genetic diversity of rotavirus strains circulating in the subcontinent. Understanding the strain diversity pre- and postvaccine introduction are important in Africa to understand the broader impact of the rotavirus vaccines on regionally circulating strains.
Body mass index of North American participants at the World Masters Games

WMG (World Masters Games) athletes have either pursued a physically active lifestyle for an extended period of time or have initiated exercise/sport in later life. This unique cohort of middle-aged to older-aged adults remains relatively uninvestigated with regards to various measures of health. With a need for multifaceted solutions to the obesity epidemic, investigating special populations such as those competing in sport at older ages may further the understanding of the nexus between aging, physical activity and obesity. This study aims to investigate the BMI (body mass index) of North American WMG competitors with respect to national health guidelines and demographics. An online survey was utilized to collect demographic information from athletes competing at the Sydney WMG. BMI was derived using the participant’s height and body mass. A total of 928 (46.7% male, 53.3% female) participants from Canada and the United States (age: 52.6 ± 9.8 years) completed the survey. The top 5 sports in which participants competed were football (25.6%), track/field (15.4%), swimming (8.4%), volleyball (8.2%), and softball (7.8%). Female and male BMI (kg/m2) across all sports were: > 30 (obese: 13.9%), 25-29.9 (overweight: 34.1%), 18.5-24.9 (normal: 50.3%), and
Business process simulation: transformation of BPMN 2.0 to DEVS models (WIP)

Industrial enterprises have gradually moved their goals towards production of physical products supplemented by intangible services to differentiate themselves in a compatible market. The study of these services, their set up, and the evaluation of their efficiency is a rising research domain. In the frame of Model Driven Service Engineering Architecture (MDSEA), a service system is modeled from different point of views (static and dynamic) at the different MDSEA levels: Business Service Model (BSM), Technology Independent Model (TIM), and Technology Specific Model (TSM). Simulation is a dynamic feature of MDSE and which explains the need of coherent M&S formalisms for simulation activities. Accordingly, this paper presents the simulation of service systems based on DEVS models. It defines a transformation approach of BPMN models into DEVS simulation models based on the metamodel approach, and describes the enrichment of obtained DEVS models through performance indicators (time and costs).
Reversed Spatial Asymmetries between El Niño and La Niña and Their Linkage to Decadal ENSO Modulation in CMIP3 Models

AbstractThis study examines preindustrial simulations from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 3 (CMIP3), models to show that a tendency exists for El Nino sea surface temperature anomalies to be located farther eastward than La Nina anomalies during strong El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events but farther westward than La Nina anomalies during weak ENSO events. Such reversed spatial asymmetries are shown to force a slow change in the tropical Pacific Ocean mean state that in return modulates ENSO amplitude. CMIP3 models that produce strong reversed asymmetries experience cyclic modulations of ENSO intensity, in which strong and weak events occur during opposite phases of a decadal variability mode associated with the residual effects of the reversed asymmetries. It is concluded that the reversed spatial asymmetries enable an ENSO–tropical Pacific mean state interaction mechanism that gives rise to a decadal modulation of ENSO intensity and that at least three CMIP3 models realistically simu.
Improved Upper Bounds Concerning the Erdős-Ko-Rado Theorem

A family ℱ of k-element sets of an n-set is called t-intersecting if any two of its members overlap in at least t-elements. The Erdős-Ko-Rado Theorem gives a best possible upper bound for such a family if n ≥ n0(k, t). One of the most exciting open cases is when t = 2, n = 2k. The present paper gives an essential improvement on the upper bound for this case. The proofs use linear algebra and yield more general results.
VNTR Polymorphism of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene and Schizophrenia in the Korean Population

This study aimed to test the association of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene with schizophrenia in the Korean population. 334 patients with schizophrenia and 391 healthy volunteers were included. Intron 1 VNTR polymorphism of TH gene was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction techniques. The genotype and allele distribution between patients and controls were not significantly different. However, the positive score of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was higher in the group expressing the TH10 allele (t = 2.245, p = 0.02), although no significant differences were present in the distribution of age of onset, degree of improvement using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) change, total PANSS score and negative score. This finding suggests that the TH10 allele may be a liability factor for positive schizophrenia in the Korean population.