Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF INFLAMMATORY AND DEMYELINATING WHITE‐MATTER DISEASES OF CHILDHOOD

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 36 children and two adults (with clinical presentation during childhood) with white‐matter disease of the central nervous system. Abnormalities were readily demonstrated in patients with multiple sclerosis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, leucodystrophies and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis: MRI demonstrated the extent and distribution of abnormalities more clearly than computed tomography for all these disorders. The abnormalities tended to be asymmetrical and multifocal in multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and more confluent and symmetrical in the leucodystrophies. Children with clinically isolated optic neuritis had a significantly lower frequency of MRI brain‐lesions than adults with the same disorder. MRI should be regarded as the radiological investigation of choice when white‐matter disease is suspected in children.
The compositional construction of Markov processes II

In an earlier paper we introduced a notion of Markov automaton, together with parallel operations which permit the compositional description of Markov processes. We illustrated by showing how to describe a system of n dining philosophers, and we observed that Perron-Frobenius theory yields a proof that the probability of reaching deadlock tends to one as the number of steps goes to infinity. In this paper we add sequential operations to the algebra (and the necessary structure to support them). The extra operations permit the description of hierarchical systems, and ones with evolving geometry.
Molecular characterization of the planktonic microorganisms in water of two mountain brackish lakes

The prokaryotic diversity in two brackish lakes (Sayram Lake and Chaiwopu Lake) was investigated by constructing bacterial and archaeal clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes. Bacterial clones from Sayram Lake were classified into six phyla (Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria). Of these, Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia were the most dominant, representing 50.4 and 16.8% of the clone library, respectively. Sequences related to Proteobacteria (58.1%), Cyanobacteria (17.2%), Bacteroidetes (15%), Verrucomicrobia (4.3%), Actinobacteria (3.2%) constituted over 97% of the bacterial clone library from Chaiwopu Lake. In addition, 58.8% (Sayram Lake) and 48% (Chaiwopu Lake) of bacterial clones showed high sequence identity to pure cultures. The composition of Archaea was obviously different between the two lakes. Only the Crenarchaeota phylum was found in the Sayram Lake, whereas Archaeal sequences from Chaiwopu Lake were classified into three phyla: Crenarchaeota (5.8%), Thaumarchaeota (81.2%), and Euryarchaeota (13%). Among the archaeal sequences, 94.2% were highly related to cultivable species of the genus Nitrosopumilus, Methanoculleus, and Methanobacterium. These results showed a high diversity of potential cultivable heterotrophic bacteria in Sayram Lake and Chaiwopu Lake. Chaiwopu Lake was a source of potentially novel, cultivable archaea.
Lentivector Immunization Stimulates Potent CD8 T Cell Responses against Melanoma Self-Antigen Tyrosinase-Related Protein 1 and Generates Antitumor Immunity in Mice1

Recombinant lentivector immunization has been demonstrated to induce potent CD8 T cell responses in vivo. In this study, we investigated whether lentivector delivering a self/tumor Ag, tyrosinase related protein 1 (TRP1), could stimulate effective antitumor T cell responses. We found that immunization with lentivector expressing mutated TRP1 Ag elicited potent CD8 T cell responses against multiple TRP1 epitopes. Importantly, the activated CD8 T cells effectively recognize wild-type TRP1 epitopes. At peak times, as many as 10% of CD8 T cells were effector cells against TRP1 Ag. These cells killed wild-type TRP1 peptide-pulsed target cells in vivo and produced IFN-γ after ex vivo stimulation. The CD8 T cell responses were long-lasting (3–4 wk). Immunized mice were protected from B16 tumor cell challenge. In a therapeutic setting, lentivector immunization induced potent CD8 T cell responses in tumor bearing mice. The number of infiltrating T cells and the ratio of CD8/CD4 were dramatically increased in the tumors of immunized mice. The tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells were functional and produced IFN-γ. The potent CD8 T cell responses stimulated by lentivector immunization eliminated small 3-day s.c. B16 tumors and strongly inhibited the growth of more established 5-day tumors. These studies demonstrate that genetic immunization with lentivector expressing mutated self/tumor Ag can generate potent CD8 T cell immune responses and antitumor immunity that prevent and inhibit B16 tumor growth, suggesting that lentivector immunization has the potential for tumor immunotherapy and immune prevention.
Induction by short‐chain fatty acids of alkaline phosphatase activity in cultured mammalian cells

Short‐chain fatty acids, such as propionic, n‐butyric, n‐valeric, isovaleric, n‐caproic, and n‐caprylic acids, induce alkaline phosphatase activity in cultured mammalian cells. Long‐chain fatty acids have no similar effects. With B‐6 cells (mouse × Chinese hamster cell hybrids), n‐butyrate at 2 to 5 mM exhibits the greatest activity. Induction begins exponentially about 24 hours after addition of the fatty acid and continues over 48 hours. Studies on the inducing activity‐structure relationship revealed the necessity of a carboxyl and an ethyl or longer alkyl group.
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics ofAttention to Color : Evidence FromHumanElectrophysiology

This study characterized patterns of brain electrical activity associated with selective attention to the color of a stimulus. Multichannel recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained while subjects viewed randomized sequences of checkerboards consisting of isoluminant red or blue checks superimposed on a grey background. Stimuli were presented foveally at a rapid rate, and subjects were required to attend to the red or blue checks in separate blocks of trials and to press a button each time they detected a dimmer target stimulus of the attended color. An early negative ERP component with an onset latency of 50 ms was sensitive to stimulus color but was unaffected by the attentional manipulation. ERPs elicited by attended and unattended stimuli began to diverge after approximately 100 ms following stimulus onset. Inverse dipole modelling of the attended-minus-unattended difference waveform indicated that an initial positive deflection with an onset latency of 100 ms had a source in lateral occipital cortex, while a subsequent negative deflection with an onset at 160 ms had a source in inferior occipito-temporal cortex. Longer-latency attention-sensitive components were localized to premotor frontal areas (onset at 190 ms) and to more anterior regions of the fusiform gyrus (onset at 240 ms). These source localizations correspond closely with cortical areas that were identified in previous neuroimaging studies as being involved in color-selective processing. The present ERP data thus provide information about the time course of stimulus selection processes in cortical areas that subserve attention to color.Hum. Brain Mapping 6:216–238, 1998. 1998Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Early joint degeneration and antagonism between growth factors and reactive oxygen species. Is non-surgical management possible?

Abstract Purpose: in pathological conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA), overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) may overwhelm the antioxidant defenses of chondrocytes, thus promoting oxidative stress and cell death. It can be hypothesized that increasing the antioxidant machinery of chondrocytes may prevent the age-associated progression of this disease. Growth factors (GFs) play an important role in promoting both the resolution of inflammatory processes and tissue repair. in view of these considerations, we set out to investigate the protective effect, against H2O2-induced oxidative cell death, potentially exerted by fluid drained from the joint postoperatively. Methods: the present study was conducted in 20 patients diagnosed with bilateral knee osteoarthritis and treated, between January 2013 and June 2014, with prosthetic knee implantation on the side more affected by the arthritic process, together with intraoperative placement of a closed-circuit drainage aspiration system. As a result, 20 different serum samples were collected from the drained articular fluid, prepared using two different methodologies. In addition, forty blood serum samples were obtained and prepared: 20 from the surgically treated patients and 20 from healthy controls. The present work was undertaken to investigate the potential protective effect of sera obtained from articular fluid drainage against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in cultured human chondrocytes. Results: exposure of chondrocytes to hydrogen peroxide elicited a dose-dependent increase in oxidative stress and chondrocyte cell death, phenomena that were significantly counteracted by the pre-treatment of cell cultures with sera from articular fluid drainage. Conclusions: oxidatively stressed chondrocytes treated with sera obtained from articular fluid drainage lived longer than those treated with blood serum samples and longer than untreated ones. Clinical Relevance: synovial fluids are usually discarded once the drainage reservoir is full; instead they could benefit the patients from whom they are collected, as they are rich in growth factors and they may act as antagonists of ROS effects. Accordingly, they could be used to treat chondropathies, early OA, and mild OA located in other sites.
Importance of resolution and model configuration when downscaling extreme precipitation

Dynamical downscaling is frequently used to investigate the dynamical variables of extra-tropical cyclones, for example, precipitation, using very high-resolution models nested within coarser resolution models to understand the processes that lead to intense precipitation. It is also used in climate change studies, using long timeseries to investigate trends in precipitation, or to look at the small-scale dynamical processes for specific case studies. This study investigates some of the problems associated with dynamical downscaling and looks at the optimum configuration to obtain the distribution and intensity of a precipitation field to match observations. This study uses the Met Office Unified Model run in limited area mode with grid spacings of 12, 4 and 1.5 km, driven by boundary conditions provided by the ECMWF Operational Analysis to produce high-resolution simulations for the Summer of 2007 UK flooding events. The numerical weather prediction model is initiated at varying times before the peak precipitation is observed to test the importance of the initialisation and boundary conditions, and how long the simulation can be run for. The results are compared to raingauge data as verification and show that the model intensities are most similar to observations when the model is initialised 12 hours before the peak precipitation is observed. It was also shown that using non-gridded datasets makes verification more difficult, with the density of observations also affecting the intensities observed. It is concluded that the simulations are able to produce realistic precipitation intensities when driven by the coarser resolution data.
Heterotypic serologic responses after yellow fever vaccination; detection of persons with past St. Louis encephalitis or dengue.

Antibody responses after 17D yellow fever (YF) vaccination in persons with no known previous arbovirus infection or only prior vaccination, were compared with similar measurements in those who had recovered from St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) or dengue. All of the eight subjects infected with SLE virus 20 to 69 months before, and five of eight with dengue six to 19 months earlier had a broad heterotypic hemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibody response to all eight antigens used, whereas the nine uninfected and the six prior vaccinated individuals developed HI antibodies to YF alone. Three persons with past dengue but with no changes in HI antibody titer after vaccination, had prevaccination HI antibody titers of 1:40 or more to at least one of the arbovirus antigens; only one of the five dengue subjects with HI antibody increases had prevaccination titers of this level. By contrast, the prevaccination titers in persons who had recovered from SLE infection were unrelated to their subsequent serologic responses. In addition to a heterotypic response, those who had recovered from both diseases had a greater homotypic response than did the others. HI antibodies to group B arboviruses were measured in 38 Miccosukee Indians of South Florida before and after 17D yellow fever vaccination. Initially, antibodies were present in only three individuals. Following vaccination all Indians showed a YF response and 14 developed a heterotypic response similar to that of persons with past SLE infection and dengue. The CF antibody responses after vaccination in general followed the same pattern as the HI responses but were at considerably low levels and were more variable. There was no firm correlation with prior group B arbovirus exposure and heterotypic CF responses. It is concluded that YF vaccination is a potent tool to recall past elevated HI titers of SLE and dengue antibodies for epidemiologic purposes in order to detect populations in which outbreaks of group B arbovirus infections have previously occurred and may recur.
Nucleotide sequence of the cohesive single-stranded ends of Bacillus subtilis temperate bacteriophage phi 105

The cohesive single-stranded ends of temperate Bacillus subtilis phage phi 105 were analyzed with the exonuclease activities of the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I and with exonuclease III and were found to be 3' extensions. Chemical sequencing of 3'-end-labeled fragments showed that the ends are 7-base extended 3' single strands and have the sequence: 5'-GCGCTCC-3'. 3'-CGCGAGG-5'
Factors Affecting Willingness to Use Hospice in Racially/Ethnically Diverse Older Men and Women

Racial/ethnic minorities tend to underutilize hospice services. Guided by Andersen behavioral health model, the purpose of this study was to explore the predictors of the willingness to use hospice services in racially/ethnically diverse older men and women. Data were drawn from the Survey of Older Floridians: 504 non-Hispanic whites, 360 African Americans, 328 Cuban Americans, and 241 non-Cuban Hispanics. In each group, logistic regression models of the willingness to use hospice were estimated. A greater likelihood of willingness was observed among younger non-Hispanic whites and among African Americans with fewer functional disabilities. In non-Cuban Hispanics, English proficiency increased the willingness by 3.1 times. Findings of the study identified group-specific factors contributing to the willingness to use hospice services and hold implications for tailored intervention programs.
Structure and Function of p97 and Pex1/6 Type II AAA+ Complexes

Protein complexes of the Type II AAA+ (ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities) family are typically hexamers of 80–150 kDa protomers that harbor two AAA+ ATPase domains. They form double ring assemblies flanked by associated domains, which can be N-terminal, intercalated or C-terminal to the ATPase domains. Most prominent members of this family include NSF (N-ethyl-maleimide sensitive factor), p97/VCP (valosin-containing protein), the Pex1/Pex6 complex and Hsp104 in eukaryotes and ClpB in bacteria. Tremendous efforts have been undertaken to understand the conformational dynamics of protein remodeling type II AAA+ complexes. A uniform mode of action has not been derived from these works. This review focuses on p97/VCP and the Pex1/6 complex, which both structurally remodel ubiquitinated substrate proteins. P97/VCP plays a role in many processes, including ER- associated protein degradation, and the Pex1/Pex6 complex dislocates and recycles the transport receptor Pex5 from the peroxisomal membrane during peroxisomal protein import. We give an introduction into existing knowledge about the biochemical and cellular activities of the complexes before discussing structural information. We particularly emphasize recent electron microscopy structures of the two AAA+ complexes and summarize their structural differences.
An Antisymmetric Design of a Permanent-Magnet Phase Shifter for a Tandem EPU at TPS

A permanent-magnet (PM) phase shifter is designed for a phase match between a tandem elliptically polarized undulator (EPU) at TPS. The requirements and specifications of the phase match are explained in detail for the boundary conditions at TPS. An antisymmetric magnetic circuit with vertically magnetized end blocks serves to minimize the multipole errors and the fringe-field effect for a varied gap. The R56 created by the phase shifter is also investigated with the stability of the longitudinal beam.
Subclinical Atherosclerosis In Young β-thalassemia Major Patients

Subclinical atherosclerosis in young β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients and its risk factors including dyslipidemia compared to type 1 diabetic patients were assessed. Ninety subjects were included and divided into three groups: group I comprised 30 β-TM patients with a mean age of 18.4 ± 6.18 years; group II comprised of 30 type 1 diabetic patients with a mean age of 19.23 ± 4.25 years, and 30 healthy subjects served as controls in group III. Fasting lipid profiles, hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis, serum ferritin and high resolution ultrasound for the measurement of carotid artery intima media thickness (CIMT) were done. Serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, apoprotein A (ApoA), and CIMT were significantly elevated, while high density lipoproteins (HDL) were significantly lowered in thalassemic and diabetic patients compared to controls. In thalassemic patients, CIMT was positively correlated with age, Hb F, ferritin and cholesterol levels. Atherogenic lipid profiles in young thalassemic patients with increased CIMT highlights their importance as prognostic factors for vascular risk stratification.
Brain Penetration of Intrathecal Iomeprol in Dogs

Purpose: Iomeprol, a new nonionic iodinated compound for intravascular use, is being evaluated as a myelographic contrast agent because of its low neurotoxicity. This study aimed to assess the degree of brain penetration of iomeprol after intrathecal administration. Material and Methods: Brain penetration in dogs was investigated by CT and compared with that of iopamidol, iohexol, and ioversol, currently used as myelographic contrast media (CM). Nervous tissue density was determined in different brain structures by recording Hounsfield values. Results: The experiments revealed that CM diffused from the cisternae into the parenchyma, reaching a maximum at 5–24 h after injection. The density of the examined brain regions was still higher than the preinjection levels 24 h later. No differences in brain penetration were observed among the CM investigated. Conclusion: The study has shown that iomeprol penetrates into the brain to the same extent as the most widely used myelographic CM.
Tagged Dependence Graph Dependence Graph Construction Tag and Policy-Based Attack Detection Tag-Based Root-Cause and Impact Analysis Scenario Graph Alarms Audit Stream Audit Stream FreeBSD Windows Linux Audit Stream Customizable

We present an approach and system for real-time reconstruction of attack scenarios on an enterprise host. To meet the scalability and real-time needs of the problem, we develop a platform-neutral, main-memory based, dependency graph abstraction of audit-log data. We then present efficient, tag-based techniques for attack detection and reconstruction, including source identification and impact analysis. We also develop methods to reveal the big picture of attacks by construction of compact, visual graphs of attack steps. Our system participated in a red team evaluation organized by DARPA and was able to successfully detect and reconstruct the details of the red team’s attacks on hosts running Windows, FreeBSD and Linux.
Back Pain Reporting Pattern in a Danish Population-Based Sample of Children and Adolescents

Study Design. A cross-sectional survey of 806 pupils in Odense, Denmark was performed. This survey included children and adolescents ages 8 to 10 and 14 to 16 years obtained through two-stage cluster sampling from schools stratified according to school type, location, and socioeconomic character of the uptake area. Objectives. To establish the 1-month prevalence of neck, middle back, and low back pain and the consequences this disorder may have in relation to age and gender. Summary of Background Data. The differences in definitions of back pain and the variety of age groups included in previous studies make it difficult to draw clear conclusions about the onset of pain for various spinal regions in the young. Methods. Information on back pain within the preceding month, obtained through a standardized interview of 481 children and 325 adolescents, was categorized according to area of pain, age, and gender. The consequences of back pain also were studied. Results. The 1-month prevalence of back pain was 39%. Thoracic pain is most common in childhood, whereas thoracic pain and lumbar pain are equally common in adolescence. Neck pain and pain in more than one area of the spine are rare in both age groups. No gender differences were found. Of those who had back pain, 38% also reported some type of consequence, usually either visits to a medical physician or diminished physical activities. Conclusions. For clinical and research purposes, neck pain, middle back pain, and low back pain in childhood should be regarded as three specific entities. In future research the data for different age groups should be reported separately.
Complex therapeutical effect of ionized air: stimulation of the immune system and decrease in excessive serotonin. H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ as a link between the two counterparts

We investigated the therapeutic effect of breathing ionized air in patients with chronic inflammation and decreased immune reactivity. Air ions were generated by an electroionizer, Tchijevsky Lustre. The air at the place of breathing contained 120 000 negative charges/cm/sup 3/. By chemical nature, the negative air ions are superoxide at a concentration of less than 1 /spl mu/M, and hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of about 1 /spl mu/M. A three-week inhalation, for 1h daily, resulted in a decrease in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-1 (IL-1), as well as excessive serotonin, while the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interferon tended to increase. These changes in inflammatory mediators are accompanied by a diminishing of the clinical manifestations of inflammation. The finding that NAI decrease the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF and IL-1, and excessive serotonin explains the mechanism of their known curative effect in treatment of burns and opens a new area of their clinical applications for the treatment of other diseases related to the rise of TNF level, such as sepsis and even heart failure. The observed effects of negative air ions can be attributed to their ability to maintain a continuous flow of low concentration of H/sub 2/O/sub 2/, resulting from superoxide and serotonin oxidation. H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ at a low concentration, is a necessary activator of the immune system.