Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vivo cutaneous interferon‐γ gene delivery using novel dicationic (gemini) surfactant–plasmid complexes

Localized scleroderma (morphea and linear scleroderma) is a connective tissue disease, accompanied by excessive proliferation and deposition of collagen within the skin, inflammation, vasculopathy and a deranged immune system. Interferon γ (IFNγ), an inhibitor of collagen synthesis and an immunomodulator, could be a potential therapeutic agent if it could be delivered into or expressed locally in affected skin in a non‐invasive manner. In this study, the feasibility of topical delivery of the IFNγ gene and expression of IFNγ were investigated in mice.
Robust Watermarking for Video Using Modulation Technique on RGB Domain

In this paper, a robust invisible watermarking system for digital video encoded by MPEG-4 is presented. The proposed scheme provides watermark hidden by embedding a secret message (watermark) in the sprite area allocated in reference frame (I-frame). The proposed system consists of two main units: (i) Embedding unit and (ii) Extraction unit. In the embedding unit, the system allocates the sprite blocks using motion compensation information. The allocated sprite area in each I–frame is used as hosting area for embedding watermark data. In the extraction unit, the system extracts the watermark data in order to check authentication and ownership of the video. The watermark data embedding method is Blocks average modulation applied on RGB domain. The applied modulation technique is based on making uniform quantization to the block mean value of the color bands. The tests indicated that the proposed block mean modulation method of the sprite blocks showed robust watermark embedding; it was capable to withstand against lossy
Drug use among adolescent mothers: profile of risk.

Adolescent pregnancy and adolescent drug use are important clinical and public health problems. Yet, few studies have systematically investigated the patterns of substance use among pregnant and parenting adolescents. Because adverse outcomes are not found uniformly for all adolescent mothers, use of illicit drugs may be a key factor in determining which mothers and their infants will have poor outcomes. In this study, the patterns of drug use are described and differences in the demographic and psychosocial profile among 253 pregnant adolescents are investigated. Results obtained from interviews and urine assay for marijuana and cocaine indicate that lifetime use was 84% for alcohol, 62% for marijuana, and 23% for cocaine, whereas use in the past year was 40% for marijuana and 17% for cocaine. Compared with nonusers, pregnant adolescent drug users were more likely to be North American black, have a history of elective abortion and venereal disease, report more negative life events and violence during pregnancy, and receive more support from the father of the baby who was more likely to use marijuana and cocaine (P less than .01). Furthermore, according to logistic regression analysis results after controlling for age and ethnicity, adolescents who used illicit substances in the past year were three times more likely to have a male partner who used marijuana or cocaine and were two times more likely to have a history of venereal disease compared with nonusers. The findings suggest that drug use, whether as a mechanism or a marker, is associated with social and medical characteristics that are likely to contribute to negative outcomes among adolescent mothers and their infants. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hepatocyte‐specific gene expression from integrated lentiviral vectors

For many applications, efficient gene therapy will require long‐term, organ‐specific therapeutic gene expression. Lentiviral vectors based on HIV‐1 are promising gene delivery vehicles due to their ability to integrate transgenes into non‐dividing cells. Many experimental vectors express transgenes under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate‐early gene promoter. Although this promoter directs strong gene expression in vitro, it may be shut off rapidly in vivo. This study explores the potential of HIV‐1‐based vectors to transduce hepatocytes and compares gene expression from different promoters in integrated vectors.
Induction of salivary gland epithelial cell injury in Sjogren's syndrome: in vitro assessment of T cell-derived cytokines and Fas protein expression.

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is an exocrinopathy characterized by T cell infiltrates, salivary gland epithelial cell (SGEC) apoptosis and high Fas and FasL expression. To address the participation of T cell-derived cytokines and of Fas apoptotic pathway in SS glandular lesions, we utilized non-neoplastic SGEC lines established from SS patients and controls. Possibly attesting to their intrinsic activation, cell lines derived from SS patients displayed significantly higher constitutive Fas and FasL than controls. Surface co-expression of Fas and FasL was not associated with spontaneous fratricide apoptosis. SGEC were resistant to anti-Fas-mediated apoptosis (possibly owing to the constitutive expression of anti-apoptotic proteins cFLIP and Bcl-2), but became sensitive after protein or RNA synthesis inhibition. IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha were able to upregulate surface Fas and FasL, whereas IL-1beta downregulated surface FasL. IFN-gamma (but not several other cytokines) reduced the survival of SGEC in a dose- and time-dependent manner and induced Fas/FasL-mediated apoptosis, directly and via anoikia. Dexamethasone inhibited the upregulation of Fas and FasL by IFN-gamma and the induction of SGEC apoptosis and detachment by anti-Fas mAb or IFN-gamma. Our findings indicate the injurious role of IFN-gamma for the salivary epithelia of SS patients through the induction of Fas-mediated apoptosis and anoikia.
Quick divergence but slow convergence during ecotype formation in lake and stream stickleback pairs of variable age

When genetic constraints restrict phenotypic evolution, diversification can be predicted to evolve along so‐called lines of least resistance. To address the importance of such constraints and their resolution, studies of parallel phenotypic divergence that differ in their age are valuable. Here, we investigate the parapatric evolution of six lake and stream threespine stickleback systems from Iceland and Switzerland, ranging in age from a few decades to several millennia. Using phenotypic data, we test for parallelism in ecotypic divergence between parapatric lake and stream populations and compare the observed patterns to an ancestral‐like marine population. We find strong and consistent phenotypic divergence, both among lake and stream populations and between our freshwater populations and the marine population. Interestingly, ecotypic divergence in low‐dimensional phenotype space (i.e. single traits) is rapid and seems to be often completed within 100 years. Yet, the dimensionality of ecotypic divergence was highest in our oldest systems and only there parallel evolution of unrelated ecotypes was strong enough to overwrite phylogenetic contingency. Moreover, the dimensionality of divergence in different systems varies between trait complexes, suggesting different constraints and evolutionary pathways to their resolution among freshwater systems.
Facet-Driven Blog Feed Retrieval

The faceted blog distillation task retrieves blogs (i.e. RSS feeds) that are not only relevant to a query but also satisfy an interested facet. The facets under consideration are opinionated vs. factual, personal vs. official and in-depth vs. shallow. For the opinionated/factual facets, we propose a classifier that uses syntactic and semantic features to determine whether an opinion in blog documents is relevant to a given query. For the personal/official facets, we propose three classifiers that are learned based on different assumptions to categorize a blog document into either the personal or the official class. For the in-depth/shallow facets, we propose to calculate the depth of the coverage of a blog document on a given query by the occurrences of the concepts related to the query. Dependencies among different facets are also discussed. Experimental results on TREC Blogs06 and Blogs08 collections show that our techniques are not only effective in finding faceted blogs but also significantly outperform the best known results over both collections.
The Helsinki Statement on Health in All Policies.

The 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion was held in Helsinki, Finland from 10 to 14 June 2013. The meeting builds upon a rich heritage of ideas, actions and evidence originally inspired by the Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care (1978) and the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986). These identified intersectoral action and healthy public policy as central elements for the promotion of health, the achievement of health equity and the realization of health as a human right. Subsequent WHO global health promotion conferences (Adelaide, 1988; Sundsvall, 1991; Jakarta, 1997; Mexico City, 2000; Bangkok, 2005; Nairobi, 2009) cemented key principles for health promotion action. These principles have been reinforced in the 2011 Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health, the 2011 Political Declaration of the UN High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and the 2012 Rio þ 20 Outcome Document (the Future We Want). They are also reflected in many other WHO frameworks, strategies and resolutions, and contribute to the formulation of the post-2015 development goals.
Prognostic significance of periodic acid-Schiff-positive patterns in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The ability of aggressive tumors to form nonendothelial tumor cell-lined microvascular channels is known as "vasculogenic mimicry" (VM). VM channels are revealed as periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive patterns, and in some tumors their presence predicts clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE We aimed to study VM channels in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (cRCC) tumors and explore their prognostic significance and relationship to other suggested prognostic factors such as thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. METHODS We retrospectively studied 45 patients who had undergone radical nephrectomy for clinically confined cRCC (stage T2-T3NOMO) at the Russian Cancer Research Center. The tumor sections were reviewed for disease stage, nuclear grade, perirenal fat invasion, and lymph node involvement, and we performed immunohistochemical staining for VEGF and TP expression, and PAS staining. Disease-free survival probabilities were determined by Kaplan-Meier estimates and prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate analysis. RESULTS PAS-positive patterns observed in the cRCC tumor included back-to-back closed loops, networks, arcs, and parallel patterns. There was a significant decrease in disease-free survival among patients with PAS-positive networks (p = 0.005), but not among patients with other PAS-positive patterns. TP expression was also a significant predictor of disease-free survival (p = 0.035), but this factor did not correlate with the presence of PAS-positive networks. Notably, in our small sample, the six patients whose tumors were positive for both factors had the highest risk of cancer recurrence. CONCLUSIONS The presence of PAS-positive networks is an independent and relevant prognostic parameter for disease-free survival in patients with cRCC. Our data suggest that the combination of PAS-positive networks and TP expression may identify patients with the highest risk of cancer recurrence.
Sulfosalt systematics: a review. Report of the sulfosalt sub-committee of the IMA Commission on Ore Mineralogy

This report deals with a general reexamination of the systematics of sulfosalts. It represents an update of the activity of the Sulfosalt Sub-Committee within the Commission on Ore Mineralogy of the International Mineralogical Association, in connection with the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC-IMA). Part I presents generali- ties of sulfosalt definition and nomenclature. After an extended chemical definition of sulfosalts, attention is focused on "classic" sulfosalts with As 3+ ,S b 3+ ,B i 3+ or Te 4+ as cations, corresponding to the general formula (Me + , Me' 2+ , etc.)x ((Bi, Sb, As) 3+ , Te 4+ )y ((S, Se, Te) 2− )z (Me, Me': various metals). General aspects of their chemistry and classification principles are summarized, especially with regard to chemical substitutions and modular analysis of complex crystal structures. On this basis, Part II presents a review of sulfosalt systematics. Six main crystal-chemical sub-groups are distinguished (plus some unclassified species), con- cerning more than 220 valid mineral species. Among others whose status is questioned are those considered to be varieties of well-defined species; minerals with ill-defined X-ray data; those that are possibly identical species; and those that represent the potential revalidation of old species. More than 50 crystal structures still remain unsolved, among which about a half probably corresponds to new structure types.
Difference between bacterial and food antigens in mucosal immunogenicity

The mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue may deviate from its systemic counterpart in being able to discriminate between microbial and nonmicrobial antigens. To study this, the systemic and mucosal antibody responses to bacterial and food antigens were followed in parallel in female rats during two pregnancies and lactation periods. Germfree rats were monocolonized with an Escherichia coli O6K13H1 strain, and their diet was switched to pellets containing large amounts of ovalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin. Antibodies against O6 lipopolysaccharide already appeared in serum and bile 1 week after colonization, and those against type 1 fimbriae appeared a few weeks later. Serum immunoglobulin G antibodies against the E. coli enzyme beta-galactosidase were found in moderate titers in all rats after 16 weeks of exposure. In contrast, few rats had detectable antibody levels against the dietary proteins ovalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin in serum or bile even after 16 weeks of exposure. In the milk, antibodies against E. coli beta-galactosidase and type 1 fimbriae reached the highest titers, while moderate titers were found against the food antigens and against O6 lipopolysaccharide. The difference in immune reactivity against bacterial versus dietary antigens was not likely due to insufficient amounts of the latter reaching lymphoid tissue, since (i) uptake studies indicated that ovalbumin was more efficiently taken up than endotoxin and (ii) the same difference in antigenicity between ovalbumin and E. coli was seen after immunization directly into Peyer's patches. We therefore suggest that a prerequisite for a strong mucosal antibody response is that the antigen be encountered by the gut-associated lymphoid tissue within microorganisms capable of stimulating antigen presentation.
Subtyping depression by clinical features:the Australasian database

Objective: To distinguish psychotic, melancholic and a residual non‐melancholic class on the basis of clinical features alone. Previous studies at our Mood Disorders Unit (MDU) favour a hierarchical model, with the classes able to be distinguished by two specific clinical features, but any such intramural study risks rater bias and requires external replication. Method: This replication study involved 27 Australasian psychiatrist raters, thus extending the sample and raters beyond the MDU facility. They collected clinical feature data using a standardized assessment with precoded rating options. A psychotic depression (PD) class was derived by respecting DSM‐IV decision rules while a cluster analysis distinguished melancholic (MEL) and non‐melancholic classes. Results: The MELs were distinguished virtually entirely by the presence of significant psychomotor disturbance (PMD), as rated by the observationally based CORE measure, with over‐representation on only three of an extensive set of ‘endogeneity symptoms’. Conclusion: In comparison to PMD, endogeneity symptoms appear to be poor indicators of ‘melancholic’ type, confounding typology with severity. Results again support the hierarchical model.
Focus on: Mobilizing Investors Networks behind Shareholder Activism in France

This paper makes three contributions: first, it analyses and conceptualizes professional shareholder activists and their use of international investor networks to engage French companies. We explain the changes in French legislation and corporate governance that facilitated the professionalization of shareholder activism. We then develop the conceptual model concerning the collaborative dimension of investor networks in France. Second, the paper determines the roles they play within the shareholder activism process in France. We document the functioning of shareholder activist actors that mobilize international investor networks. Finally, the third contribution is to illustrate the roles played by these professional actors and international investor networks in the shareholder activism process in France with two case examples.
Acute effects of smoking on fetal heart‐rate variability

Summary. Smoking a standard filter cigarette caused an acute decrease both in the interval index and the differential index of fetal heart‐rate variability in eight healthy pregnant women at term. The maximum effect occurred 5–10 min after smoking and the indices returned to the presmoking level in 20 min. We suggest that smoking has a dual effect on the fetus: one being narcotic, leading to a lowered interval index, and the other hypoxic, leading to a lowered differential index.
Metabolism of free and conjugated 17-hydroxycorticosteroids in subjects with uremia.

In subjects with chronic renal disease, levels of free 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OHCS) in plasma were measured at 8 a.m. and were normal. Conjugated levels were elevated, correlating inversely with endogenous creatinine clearance (Clcr.). After standard infusions of cortisol, free levels decayed exponentially but more slowly than normal, while conjugated levels rose further than in normal subjects. Conjugated, but not free, 17-OHCS again correlated inversely with Clcr. Cortisol was partially identified in the free fraction and tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone in the conjugated fraction of plasma following infusion. Urinary excretion of 17-OHCS and the increment after infusion were less than normal and correlated directly with Clcr. A patient with anasarca provided an exception to the noted patterns and correlations. In subjects with acute renal failure, elevated levels of conjugated 17-OHCS in plasma did not decline with the onset of diuresis but fell in parallel with levels of blood urea. D.
Plasma carotenoids, vitamin C, retinol and tocopherols levels and pancreatic cancer risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: A nested case–control study

Evidence of a protective effect of several antioxidants and other nutrients on pancreatic cancer risk is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association for prediagnostic plasma levels of carotenoids, vitamin C, retinol and tocopherols with risk of pancreatic cancer in a case–control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). 446 incident exocrine pancreatic cancer cases were matched to 446 controls by age at blood collection, study center, sex, date and time of blood collection, fasting status and hormone use. Plasma carotenoids (α‐ and β‐carotene, lycopene, β‐cryptoxanthin, canthaxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein), α‐ and γ‐tocopherol and retinol were measured by reverse phase high‐performance liquid chromatography and plasma vitamin C by a colorimetric assay. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for pancreatic cancer risk were estimated using a conditional logistic regression analysis, adjusted for smoking status, smoking duration and intensity, waist circumference, cotinine levels and diabetes status. Inverse associations with pancreatic cancer risk were found for plasma β‐carotene (IRR highest vs. lowest quartile 0.52, 95%CI 0.31–0.88, p for trend = 0.02), zeaxanthin (IRR highest vs. lowest quartile 0.53, 95%CI 0.30–0.94, p for trend = 0.06) and α‐tocopherol (IRR highest vs. lowest quartile 0.62, 95%CI 0.39–0.99, p for trend = 0.08. For α‐ and β‐carotene, lutein, sum of carotenoids and γ‐tocopherol, heterogeneity between geographical regions was observed. In conclusion, our results show that higher plasma concentrations of β‐carotene, zeaxanthin and α‐tocopherol may be inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer, but further studies are warranted.
MEDETOMIDINE/TILETAMINE/ZOLAZEPAM AND XYLAZINE/TILETAMINE/ZOLAZEPAM COMBINATIONS FOR IMMOBILIZATION OF FALLOW DEER (CERVUS DAMA)

Abstract Eleven adult fallow deer (Cervus dama) were anesthetized using a mixture of xylazine/tiletamine/zolazepam, and 10 were anesthetized with a mixture of medetomidine/tiletamine/zolazepam. Anesthesia was adequate for capture in all instances, and minor surgical procedures were possible in seven of the animals treated with xylazine/tiletamine/zolazepam and in all of the animals treated with medetomidine/tiletamine/zolazepam. Blood gas, hematologic, serum biochemical, and cardiorespiratory parameters were measured during all immobilizations. The deer immobilized with xylazine/tiletamine/zolazepam had significantly higher lactate and cortisol values than the deer immobilized with the medetomidine combination. Although both methods were adequate for fallow deer, the medetomidine/tiletamine/zolazepam combination produced superior results.
Sustained and NK/CD4+ T Cell-Dependent Efficient Prevention of Lung Metastasis Induced by Dendritic Cells Harboring Recombinant Sendai Virus1

We recently demonstrated efficient antitumor immunity against murine tumors using dendritic cells (DCs) activated by recombinant Sendai viruses (rSeVs), and proposed a new concept, “immunostimulatory virotherapy,” for cancer immunotherapy. However, there has been little information on the efficacy of this method in preventing metastatic diseases. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of vaccinating DCs activated by fusion gene-deleted nontransmissible rSeV (rSeV/dF) using a murine model of lung metastasis. Bolus and i.v. administration of DCs harboring rSeV/dF-expressing GFP without pulsation of tumor Ag (DC-rSeV/dF-GFP) 2 days before tumor inoculation showed efficient prevention against lung metastasis of c1300 neuroblastoma, but not of RM-9 prostatic cancer. We found that the timing of DC therapy was critical for the inhibition of pulmonary metastasis of RM-9, and that the optimal effect of DCs was seen 28 days before tumor inoculation. Interestingly, the antimetastatic effect was sustained for over 3 mo, even when administered DCs were already cleared from the lung and organs related to the immune system. Although NK cell activity had already declined to baseline at the time of tumor inoculation, Ab-mediated depletion studies revealed that CD4+ cells as well as the presence of, but not the activation of, NK cells were crucial to the prevention of lung metastasis. These results are the first demonstration of efficient inhibition of lung metastasis via bolus administration of virally activated DCs that was sustained and NK/CD4+ cell-dependent, and may suggest a potentially new mechanism of DC-based immunotherapy for advanced malignancies.