Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time course of antilisterial activity by immunologically activated murine peritoneal macrophages

Murine peritoneal macrophages were rapidly rendered listericidal after exposure to lymphokine-rich supernatants (LRSs) derived from antigen-pulsed Listeria monocytogenes-immune spleen cells. A 6-h incubation period with LRSs was sufficient to induce microbicidal activity in resident macrophages. In vitro induction of macrophage listericidal activity by constant exposure to LRSs persisted for 18 h, after which time spleen cell factors were no longer capable of modifying intracellular inactivation of Listeria. Results obtained by utilizing a short assay indicated that the killing kinetics is extremely rapid, with large numbers of bacteria destroyed during the first 15 min of infection. Intracellular killing at this time appeared to be greatly dependent upon the stage of growth from which the microorganisms were harvested. Induction of bactericidal macrophages by infection of mice with a sublethal dose of virulent Listeria cells and subsequent intraperitoneal elicitation with heat-killed homologous bacteria was similarly a transient event. Macrophages harvested 18 h after antigenic challenge displayed dramatic antibacterial activity during the first 22 h in culture. After 22 h, activity was lost, and stasis was observed during the ensuing 23 h. At 68 h, macrophages were devoid of antilisterial action. Activity, however, could be recalled after incubation with LRSs.
Update On Sepsis: Pathophysiology And Treatment

Abstract Sepsis results from the activation of a complex cascade of mediators, an appropriate and necessary body response to infection or insult which can, however, become excessive and detrimental to the host. When the immunological host response is not well controlled, it may lead to multiple organ failure and death. This manuscript reviews the epidemiology and the major factors involved in the development of sepsis, and considers a number of therapeutic interventions that may help to better control the septic process and the related development of multiple organ failure.
Tolerance induction in rats, using a combination of anti-CD154 and donor splenocytes, given once on the day of transplantation1

Background. Donor-specific tolerance induction remains an attractive objective that generates much research in the field of transplantation. Unfortunately, most of the protocols available involve pregraft conditioning, making these treatments incompatible with clinical applications. Methods. LEW.1A rats were grafted with histoincompatible LEW.1W hearts. On the day of transplantation, recipients were treated with anti-CD40L combined with donor splenocytes. The hearts were evaluated for graft survival; cellular infiltrate and intragraft cytokines were determined using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Tolerance induction was assessed by skin grafting and adoptive transfers. Results. The combination of a single injection of anti-CD40L and donor splenocytes, given on the day of surgery, allowed 40% of cardiac allografts to survive long-term (mean survival time=66.3 day). The cellular composition or the extent of graft infiltrate was not modified but was associated with a massive decrease of proinflammatory cytokines expression within the graft. Long-term survivors accepted donor-matched skin grafts, and leukocytes harvested from these animals transferred tolerance into irradiated freshly grafted recipients. Conclusion. A combination of costimulation blockade and donor cells, given once at the time of transplantation, is sufficient to induce allograft tolerance in rats.
Prevalence of Malaria and Anemia among Pregnant Women Attending a Traditional Birth Home in Benin City, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of malaria and anemia among pregnant women attending a traditional birth center as well as the effect of herbal remedies, gravidity, age, educational background and malaria prevention methods on their prevalence. METHODS Blood specimens were collected from 119 pregnant women attending a Traditional Birth Home in Benin City, Nigeria. Malaria parasitemia was diagnosed by microscopy while anemia was defined as hemoglobin concentration <11 g/dL. RESULTS The prevalence of malaria infection was (OR=4.35 95% CI=1.213, 15.600; p=0.016) higher among primigravidae (92.1%). Pregnant women (38.5%) with tertiary level of education had significantly lower prevalence of malaria infection (p=0.002). Malaria significantly affected the prevalence of anemia (p<0.05). Anemia was associated with consumption of herbal remedies (OR=2.973; 95% CI=1.206, 7.330; p=0.017). The prevalence of malaria parasitemia and anemia were not affected by malaria prevention methods used by the participants. CONCLUSION The overall prevalence of malaria infection and anemia observed in this study were 78.9% and 46.2%, respectively. Higher prevalence of malaria infection was associated with primigravidae and lower prevalence with tertiary education of subjects. Anemia was associated with consumption of herbal remedies. There is urgent need to control the prevalence of malaria and anemia among pregnant women attending traditional birth homes.
Use of relaxin in the treatment of scleroderma.

No consistently successful therapy has been reported for scleroderma, a chronic disease of unknown cause associated with remissions and relapses. Relaxin therapy has been found to influence to a significant degree certain distressing features of scleroderma and therein represents a therapeutic advance. The degree of improvement noted varied considerably, but several patients were sufficiently benefited to enable return to gainful occupation. Relief of vasospasm, healing of trophic ulceration, and increase in skin elasticity were the most striking results. Other manifestations of the disease were not materially improved by relaxin treatment.
Combination of penile traction, intralesional verapamil, and oral therapies for Peyronie's disease.

Introduction. There is no current consensus as to the most effective non-surgical therapy for Peyronie's disease (PD). Aim. To assess the benefit of penile traction therapy (PTT) when added to intralesional verapamil injections (IVI) combined with oral L-arginine 1g bid and pentoxifylline 400 mg tid in men with PD.Methods. 74 men with PD completed 12 IVI. Patients electing to add PTT were advised to wear the device for 2-8 hours daily, and no longer than 2 hours per session. Subjective responses were measured using patient questionnaires. Stretched penile length (SPL) and erect penile curvature (EPC) using penile duplex ultrasound (DU) were measured. Response to therapy was defined as at least a 10 degree reduction in EPC.Main Outcome Measures. Change in SPL (cm), change in EPC (degrees). Results. 39 patients in the PTT group (I) vs. 35 patients in group (II) completed the protocol. 54% of men in group I responded to therapy vs. 46% in group II (p = 0.75). Responders had a mean EPC improvement of 26.9 degrees in group I vs. 20.9 in group II (p = 0.22). Mean PTT use was 3.3 hours per day, and men with >3 hours per day use gained 0.6 cm in SPL vs 0.07 cm using less than or equal to 3 hours per day (p= 0.09), while men in group I on lost 0.74 cm of SPL on average. Multivariate analysis revealed that duration of PTT use significantly predicts length gain (0.38 cm gain for every additional hour per day of PTT use, p = 0.007). Conclusion. There was a trend toward measured curvature improvement, and a significant gain in SPL in men using the combination therapy protocol. Length improvement is related to duration of use of the traction device [corrected].
Two‐dimensional observations of temperature microstructure in a coastal region

Temperature microstructure is mapped in two dimensions for a section 6.7 km long and 150 m deep in water which is 200 m deep. The section is located on the continental shelf southeast of Point Conception on the southern California coast. Regions of mixing activity are composed of numerous individual events, some of which are observed to collapse onto isopycnal surfaces when plotted in a distance-density coordinate system. Mixing regions with the temperature variance dissipation rate χ exceeding 10−6°C2 s−1 are observed to have isopycnal extents of up to 3 km. Comparison of the distributions of N and χ reveals no consistent relationship between mixing activity and the ambient stratification. Terms in the two-dimensional budget equation for temperature variance (T′)2 are compared with χ for a volume bounded by isopycnal surfaces which is about 17 m thick and which spans the data section. The budget for (T′)2 is consistent with a balance between diapycnal production and dissipation of (T′)2 yielding an effective diapycnal diffusivity of heat of 2.0 × 10−4 m2 s−1. Water within the averaging volume is thermally stratified and the measured temperature variance dissipation rate may be used to estimate the rate at which kinetic energy is irreversibly lost to mixing of local density gradients. This rate is found to be about 3.3×10−8 W kg−1 within the averaging volume and is about a factor of 3 smaller than the kinetic energy dissipation rate e typically found in surface mixed layers.
Challenges in photon-starved space astronomy in a harsh radiation environment using CCDs

The Charge Coupled Device (CCD) has a long heritage for imaging and spectroscopy in many space astronomy missions. However, the harsh radiation environment experienced in orbit creates defects in the silicon that capture the signal being transferred through the CCD. This radiation damage has a detrimental impact on the detector performance and requires carefully planned mitigation strategies. The ESA Gaia mission uses 106 CCDs, now orbiting around the second Lagrange point as part of the largest focal-plane ever launched. Following readout, signal electrons will be affected by the traps generated in the devices from the radiation environment and this degradation will be corrected for using a charge distortion model. ESA’s Euclid mission will contain a focal plane of 36 CCDs in the VIS instrument. Moving further forwards, the World Space Observatory (WSO) UV spectrographs and the WFIRST-AFTA coronagraph intend to look at very faint sources in which mitigating the impact of traps on the transfer of single electron signals will be of great interest. Following the development of novel experimental and analysis techniques, one is now able to study the impact of radiation on the detector to new levels of detail. Through a combination of TCAD simulations, defect studies and device testing, we are now probing the interaction of single electrons with individual radiation-induced traps to analyse the impact of radiation in photon-starved applications.
Grandmothers' Diaries: A Glimpse at Daily Lives

Little information exists about the daily lives of women who are grandmothers, and the differences in daily stresses based on caregiving status to grandchildren. This content analysis examines the stresses of 64 grandmothers as grouped by caregiver status (grandmothers raising grandchildren, grandmothers living in multigeneration homes, non-caregivers to grandchildren) as recorded in three-week diaries. The nature of salient issues and stressful interactions differed by caregiver groups. Grandmothers raising grandchildren reported more stresses related to grandchildren's routines, activities, and school progress, more time pressure, and difficult interactions with grandchildren. The diary entries of grandmothers in multigenerational homes reflected their supplemental role in childcare, and sometimes stressful interactions with other family members. Grandmothers with no routine caregiving to grandchildren reported more involvement with those outside the immediate family. Many general concerns about the well-being of the family represent commonalities in grandmothers despite differences in current caregiving roles to grandchildren.
Susceptibility of Mink (Mustera vision)-Derived Cells to Replication by Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

ABSTRACT In vivo studies for understanding viral transmission and replication, host immune responses, and pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection would greatly benefit from the establishment of a small-animal model. In this study, we explored the potential of American mink (Mustera vison) as a susceptible host. We found that primary cells and cell lines derived from this species efficiently supported trans-activation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat by Tat. Accordingly, the cysteine residue at position 261, which has been shown to be important for interaction of the human cyclin T1 with the HIV-1 regulatory protein Tat, is conserved in the mink homologue. No species-specific defect in Rev function could be detected in mink cells. In addition, primary splenocytes, fibroblasts, and the Mv.1. Lu cell line from American mink supported early as well as late HIV-1 gene expression following infection with vesicular stomatitis G protein-pseudotyped HIV-1 viruses, at levels comparable to those seen with permissive human cells. Furthermore, the mink Mv.1. Lu cell line stably expressing human CD4 and CCR5 receptors supported a spreading HIV-1 infection with few, if any, deficiencies compared to findings in human cell lines. This indicates the potential of HIV-1 to replicate in these cells once the blockade at the stage of virus entry has been removed. These results clearly show that cells from American mink generally pose no functional intracellular block to HIV-1 replication, and collectively they raise the possibility that this animal species could be engineered to support HIV-1 infection, providing a useful small-animal model for evaluating de novo infection by HIV-1.
The course of chronic plaque-type psoriasis in placebo groups of randomized controlled studies.

OBJECTIVE To determine the outcome in placebo-treated patients with plaque-type psoriasis. DATA SOURCES Online search of MEDLINE and EMBASE until January 2001 and the Cochrane Library (2001, issue 1), supplemented by references, reviews, guidelines, and textbooks. STUDY SELECTION Randomized controlled induction of remission trials of patients with chronic plaque-type psoriasis with systemic treatments with a placebo group not treated with antipsoriatic medication. Identified studies were examined by 2 independent reviewers. Through MEDLINE, 290 studies could be identified. Twenty-seven placebo-controlled studies were included (488 patients). DATA EXTRACTION Two independent reviewers extracted data on first author, year of publication, design, comparison, placebo treatment, number of patients, treatment duration, type of psoriasis and baseline severity in the placebo group, mean relative change in outcome measures, and/or percentage of patients with worsening of psoriasis; no change; minimal, moderate, or good improvement; or complete clearance. DATA SYNTHESIS Owing to substantial heterogeneity and differences in the way outcomes were reported, no summary estimates could be obtained. The outcome of placebo treatment was poor in most studies. Some reported a mean relative change of 11% to 47%. The highest percentages of patients ended up in the worsening, no change, or minimal improvement categories. Also, complete clearance was possible. No explanation for the differences in outcome between placebo groups could be found. Description of placebo groups was often insufficient. CONCLUSIONS The effect of treatment in placebo groups varied across studies in an unpredictable way. To evaluate the variability, improvement of the standardization of study designs, entry criteria, and outcome measures is necessary in psoriasis trials.
Approche mixte pour l'extraction de terminologie : statistique lexicale et filtres linguistiques

La terminologie est un probleme dont les enjeux scientifiques et techniques sont cruciaux dans le domaine de la recherche en traitement automatique du langage naturel (taln). La construction d'une banque terminologique est un travail difficile, long, requerant des competences linguistiques et terminologiques rarement reunies, d'ou les problemes en taln imputables essentiellement a une repartition stricte des connaissances et des competences. Au vu de ces difficultes, il est devenu urgent de decouvrir des methodes permettant de creer automatiquement des banques terminologiques. Le stockage informatique des textes fournit un nouvel outil de travail. Il s'agit donc d'extraire automatiquement les termes d'un domaine a partir de corpus. Les methodes statistiques appliquees a l'extraction de terminologie apportent un premier element de reponse meme si les listes incluent un bruit important. Pour reduire l'exces de bruit, nous nous sommes propose d'elaborer une methode combinant donnees linguistiques et calculs statistiques. A partir d'une etude linguistique rigoureuse des termes du domaine des telecommunications, nous avons mis au point des filtres linguistiques qui permettent une premiere selection des sequences susceptibles, sur le plan morphosyntaxique, d'etre des noms composes. C'est sur ces sequences ainsi selectionnees que nous appliquons divers modeles statistiques avant d'en evaluer les resultats. Le meilleur modele statistique qui fournit une liste de noms composes en minimisant au mieux le bruit et le silence est le coefficient de vraisemblance ou les evenements frequents sont pris en compte. Cette conclusion contredit de nombreux travaux sur l'extraction de ressources lexicales qui proclament que leur critere d'association (par exemple, l'information mutuelle) sont de meilleurs indicateurs que la frequence.
Population Pharmacokinetics of Valproic Acid in Adult Chinese Epileptic Patients and its Application in an Individualized Dosage Regimen

Background: There are several reports describing population pharmacokinetic (PPK) models of valproic acid (VPA). However, little was known in Chinese adult patients with epilepsy. The present study aimed to establish a PPK model for VPA in Chinese adult epileptic patients and to demonstrate its use for dose individualization. Methods: Data were obtained from a prospective study of 199 adult epileptic patients at 5 hospitals. The trough concentrations at steady state were measured by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Data were analyzed using the Nonlinear Mixed Effects Model software. The serum trough concentrations at steady state were also measured using samples (n = 20) collected prospectively from a different hospital from those providing the data for deriving the original model. These independent samples served as an evaluation group. Results: The important determinants of apparent VPA clearance were daily dose, body weight, and combination with carbamazepine, phenytoin, or phenobarbital. The final model predicted the individualized doses accurately. A total of 85% of the trough concentrations in the evaluation group were accurately predicted by the final model, whereas the prediction errors of the other patients were all <±31%. Conclusions: A PPK model was developed to estimate the individual clearance for patients taking VPA and could be applied for individualizing doses in the target population.
Predicting, Understanding and Changing

SUMMARY The author presents a paradigmatic categorization and review of the literature that is available regarding lesbians and alcohol. She illuminates the characteristics, shortcomings, and strengths of Empirical Post Positivist, Interpretive, and Critical Social research paradigms. Results of the various studies are presented while research and funding directions are proposed.
The impact of a community-based heart disease prevention program in a low-income, inner-city neighborhood.

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the impact of a 4-year, community-based cardiovascular disease prevention program among adults aged 18 to 65 years living in St-Henri, a low-income, innercity neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec. METHODS Awareness of and participation in the program were monitored in 3 independent sample telephone surveys. Self-reported behaviors were compared in St-Henri and a nearby comparison community before and after program implementation in both a 3-year repeat independent sample survey and a 5-year longitudinal cohort telephone survey. RESULTS Awareness of the program reached 37.4%, but participation was low (2%-3%). There were no secular declines in smoking or high-fat diet; physical inactivity increased in both communities. There were no statistically significant program effects detected in the independent sample surveys, although physical inactivity increased more in the comparison community than in St-Henri. In the longitudinal cohort sample, there was a small, statistically significant increase favoring St-Henri in frequency of cholesterol checkups. CONCLUSIONS Despite careful adaptation of the program to the local social context, there were few community-wide program effects. However, several component interventions showed promise in terms of community penetration and impact.
Effect of Gender, Age, Transmission Category, and Antiretroviral Therapy on the Progression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Using Multistate Markov Models

This article illustrates the use of time-homogeneous Markov models with covariaties to estimate the AIDS incubation period distribution from prevalent cohorts and to evaluate the effect of factors such as gender, age, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission category, and antiretroviral therapy on disease progression. We applied this methodology to the analysis of data from a cohort of 3,027 patients enrolled from a hospital-based surveillance system of HIV infection in the Bordeaux University Hospital and four secondary public hospitals in southwestern France. A total of 998 individuals (33%) progressed to AIDS during a median follow-up period of 34 months. Based on a progressive three-state Markov model, the estimated mean and median incubation periods were 9.1 years [95% confidence interval (CI) = 8.7–9.6] and 7.5 years (95% CI = 7.2–7.9), respectively Our analyses showed a similar disease progression in men and women; we observed a more rapid progression for older subjects compared with younger ones and for homosexual men compared with heterosexuals, intravenous drug users, and transfusion recipients, who had similar disease progression rates after adjusting for age. The use of antiretroviral therapy appeared to slow disease progression. Moreover, the results indicated that a combination therapy of zidovudine with another antiretroviral drug may be more efficient than zidovudine monotherapy. (Epidemiology 1998; 9: 605–612)