Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Both central and peripheral tolerance mechanisms play roles in diabetes prevention in NOD-E transgenic mice

The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse spontaneously develops diabetes and is a widely used model of Type 1 Diabetes in humans. The major histocompatibility complex class II plays an important role in governing disease susceptibility in NOD mice. NOD mice express a rare I-A allele, I-Ag7, and do not express I-E molecules. Interestingly, transgenic NOD mice which express I-E (NOD-E) fail to develop diabetes although, the protective mechanism(s) are incompletely understood. Initially, we explored whether diabetes prevention was due to deletion of autoreactive T cells. Through adoptive transfer with depletion of CD25+T cells, we demonstrated that autoreactive T cells were present in the periphery of NOD-E mice. Although, BDC2.5NOD T cells proliferated less in the pancreatic lymph nodes of NOD-E mice, we found that they transferred disease with a similar kinetic in NOD.scid and NOD-E.scid recipients suggesting that there was little difference in peripheral antigen presentation in NOD-E mice. We also found that there were no proportional or functional differences between NOD and NOD-E T regs. Our studies indicate that autoreactive T cells are present within the periphery of NOD-E mice but that these cells are present in low numbers suggesting that peripheral tolerogenic mechanisms are able to prevent them from inducing diabetes.
A Theoretical Study of Substituted Cyclopentanones and their Enols

MINDO-Forces calculations with complete geometry optimization have been performed on cyclopentanone and its enol counter part, perfluorination of cyclop entanone and its enol counterpart and X-cyclopentanones and their X-enols, where X is NO2, CF3, CN, OH, NH2 and O−. It was found that ketone is more stable than its enol counterpart. Perfluorination destabilizes ketone on the expense of enol. These results agree with the experimental results and density functional theory calculations. All substituents are destabilizing except O− in the case of cyclopentanone. It was found that NO2 and CF3 behave as strong electron withdrawing groups, CN and NC show amphielectronic behavior, and the substituents OH,NH2 and O− behave as electron releasing groups with O− being strongest. Geometrical parameters, heats of formation, entropies, and Gibbs free energies are reported
[Effects of magnesium supplementation on calcium and magnesium levels, and redox homeostasis in normolipidemic and food-induced hyperlipidemic rats].

UNLABELLED Magnesium supplementation is quite popular because of intention of health and healthy lifestyle. However, there is no information on the metabolic effects of magnesium supplementation in healthy people and in different diseases. AIMS Authors examined the effects of magnesium-malate on calcium, magnesium levels, and antioxidant parameters in normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic rats. METHODS Male Wistar rats (n = 40; 150-200 g) were divided into 4 groups (control, control-treated, hyperlipidemic, hyperlipidemic-treated). Rats in the control and control-treated groups were fed with normal diet, while hyperlipidemic and hyperlipidemic-treated groups were fed with fat rich diet (2% cholesterol, 20% sunflower oil, 0.5% cholic acid). After the 9-day-long diet the following parameters were measured: routine laboratory parameters with automatic analysator, metal content using ICP-OES, and redox-parameters using spectrophotometric and luminometric methods. RESULTS Magnesium-malate failed to produce significant changes in the measured parameters in control animals in most cases. Magnesium-malate decreased significantly serum glucose concentration, alkaline phosphatase and amylase activities in the hyperlipidemic group. Significantly low induced chemiluminescent activity was measured in the plasma and erythrocytes of hyperlipidemic group. The magnesium supplementation did not increase significantly magnesium concentration in different organs although the calcium/magnesium concentration ratio was decreased. CONCLUSIONS In control animals there was no significant change in the measured parameters in most cases after dietary supplementation with a large amount of magnesium for a short period of time, but magnesium supplementation affected the metal homeostasis, routine laboratory parameters and redox system in hyperlipidemic animals. Although several changes were favorable, it should be emphasized that magnesium supplementation must be applied watchfully particularly in metabolic diseases.
Impact of combination antiretroviral therapy on the risk of tuberculosis among persons with HIV infection

ObjectiveTo assess the association between use of different antiretroviral regimens and incidence of tuberculosis among HIV-infected individuals. DesignObservational, multicenter, prospective cohort study. Setting and patientsTwenty-eight infectious diseases hospital units in Italy. A total of 2160 HIV-infected persons were considered for enrolment in a study on the implementation of tuberculosis preventive therapy between 1 May 1995 and 30 April 1996. The 1360 subjects who completed tuberculin screening at base-line were included in this analysis. Information on the use of antiretroviral therapies over time was collected. The median duration of follow-up was 104 weeks and 997 subjects (73.3%) completed the study. Main outcome measureIncidence of active tuberculosis according to different types of antiretroviral therapy. ResultsEighteen cases of tuberculosis were observed with an overall incidence rate of 0.79 per 100 person–years of observation [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.51–1.31]. Tuberculin positivity and low CD4+ lymphocyte count were the only base-line variables independently associated with the risk of tuberculosis. During follow-up, 637 patients took double combination antiretroviral therapy and 387 took triple combination therapy. After adjusting for base-line characteristics of enrolled individuals, the relative hazard of tuberculosis was 0.16 (95% CI, 0.03–0.74) for double combination therapy and 0.08 (95% CI, 0.01–0.88) for triple combination therapy compared with no therapy or monotherapy. ConclusionsCombination antiretroviral therapy significantly reduced the risk of tuberculosis in HIV-infected persons. In industrialized countries, the widespread use of this treatment may determine a decrease in the incidence of HIV-associated tuberculosis, possibly contributing to a reduction in the overall incidence of tuberculosis.
Exploring Web users ' optimal flow experiences 263

Characterizations of users' experiences on the Web are beginning to appear. Recently released research suggests that Internet use may reduce psychological well-being, for instance by increasing loneliness and depression. Our current study implies that using the Internet may provoke enjoyable experiences through the flow state, which may in turn positively influence an individual's subjective well-being and improve a person's happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect. By surveying 304 Web users through an open-ended questionnaire, this study captures a picture of Web users' flow experiences regarding their optimal situations on the Web. Results suggest that using the World Wide Web is an activity that facilitates flow, which generates an optimal, extremely enjoyable experience with total involvement and concentration. Symptoms and dimensions of flow states on the Web are reported directly from subjects' responses, such as merging of action and awareness, a loss of self-consciousness, the sense of time distortion, enjoyment, and telepresence. Introduction Flow is defined as an optimal, extremely enjoyable experience when an individual engages in an activity with total involvement, concentration and enjoyment, and experiences an intrinsic interest and the sense of time distortion during his/her engagement. When in the flow state, people become absorbed in their activity, and the focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). The concentration is so intense that there is no attention left over. Irrelevant perceptions and thoughts are screened out and worries about problems disappear (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). In short, the term flow was given to describe the best feelings and the most enjoyable experience possible in human lives as `̀ the bottom line of existence'' (Csikszentmihalyi, 1982, p. 13). Recently released research by Kraut et al. (1998) suggests that increased use of the Internet may be associated with the increases in depression and loneliness, and decreases in social involvement and psychological well-being. Contrary to their arguments, a few researchers (Hoffman and Novak, 1996a, 1996b; Chen et al., 1998, 1999) have suggested that using the World Wide Web is an activity that can facilitate the occurrence of flow. If using the Web may potentially cause entry to the flow state, an enjoyable experience, Web users should eventually improve their subjective well-being through accumulated ephemeral moments. Flow seems to be the engine of evolution propelling human beings to a higher level of complexity and to an improved psychological well-being. When The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emerald-library.com
Routine intra-aortic balloon pump support in high-risk cardiac surgery patients: is it time to throw away the pump?*.

2642 www.ccmjournal. org November 2013 • Volume 41 • Number 11 The authors note that these new definitions are dynamic and subject to improvement by an iterative process. Further, these guidelines are tailored strictly for surveillance and are not meant to guide clinical decision making. Future work will be necessary to determine the associations between this new surveillance definition and important clinical outcomes. Ultimately, rather than being simply descriptive, implementation of monitoring guidelines should also drive improved patient outcomes—both through prevention and early detection. The VAE algorithm in its current implementation will facilitate multicentered studies to evaluate preventative strategies to reduce the prevalence of VAP. Additionally, early detection of VACs will require methods to quickly differentiate true VAP from the milieu of VAP-mimics. Use of alternative markers of pulmonary infection—including serum procalcitonin and soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid—have been shown to be of limited utility in the early diagnosis of VAP (11, 12). However, it is possible that molecular diagnostic techniques, such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction, could assist in early detection of nosocomial infections when the antimicrobial burden is low (13). Other promising technologies include volatile metabolic compound detection and analysis using gas chromatography for specific bacterial markers (14). It is possible that these future clinical diagnostic advances could ultimately lead to more timely, responsible, and effective antibiotic use. We welcome the new approach to VAE surveillance described in this issue as a necessary step in ongoing advancement in the field.
Louisiana motorcycle fatalities linked to statewide helmet law repeal.

BACKGROUND On August 15, 1999, Louisiana's mandatory motorcycle helmet law was repealed. Our primary objective was to determine if the repeal resulted in an increase in motorcyclist morbidity and mortality. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the frequency of helmet use and morbidity and mortality before and after the repeal of the law. Fatality statistics for Louisiana were obtained through the National Highway Safety Traffic Association between 1994 and 2002. Injury statistics were totaled for motorcyclists admitted to Medical Center of Louisiana New Orleans during the same period of time. RESULTS Statewide, helmet use decreased 21.2% (p < 0.001, chi-square) after repeal of the helmet law, while locally, helmet use decreased 34.7% (p < 0.001). Fatalities significantly increased after the repeal, both statewide (3.0%-3.9%, p < 0.05) and locally (3.8%-5.8%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION Motorcycle helmet use decreased significantly and motorcyclist fatality rates increased significantly after repeal of the Louisiana mandatory helmet law.
Adaptive Scheme for Caching YouTube Content in a Cellular Network: Machine Learning Approach

Content caching at base stations is a promising solution to address the large demands for mobile data services over cellular networks. Content caching is a challenging problem as it requires predicting the future popularity of the content and the operating characteristics of the cellular networks. In this paper, we focus on constructing an algorithm that improves the users’ quality of experience (QoE) and reduces network traffic. The algorithm accounts for users’ behavior and properties of the cellular network (e.g. cache size, bandwidth, and load). The constructed content and network aware adaptive caching scheme uses an extreme-learning machine neural network to estimate the popularity of content, and mixed-integer linear programming to compute where to place the content and select the physical cache sizes in the network. The proposed caching scheme simultaneously performs efficient cache deployment and content caching. Additionally, a simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation method is developed to reduce the number of neurons in the extreme-learning machine method while ensuring a sufficient predictive performance is maintained. Using real-world data from YouTube and a NS-3 simulator, we demonstrate how the caching scheme improves the QoE of users and network performance compared with industry standard caching schemes.
Gene Expression Profiling of the Effect of High-Dose Intravenous Ig in Patients with Kawasaki Disease1

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of infants and young children, preferentially affecting the coronary arteries. Intravenous infusion of high dose Ig (IVIG) effectively reduces systemic inflammation and prevents coronary artery lesions in KD. To investigate the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of IVIG, we examined gene expression profiles of PBMC and purified monocytes obtained from acute patients before and after IVIG therapy. The results suggest that IVIG suppresses activated monocytes and macrophages by altering various functional aspects of the genes of KD patients. Among the 18 commonly decreased transcripts in both PBMC and purified monocytes, we selected six genes, FCGR1A, FCGR3A, CCR2, ADM, S100A9, and S100A12, and confirmed the microarray results by real-time RT-PCR. Moreover, the expressions of FcγRI and FcγRIII on monocytes were reduced after IVIG. Plasma S100A8/A9 heterocomplex, but not S100A9, levels were elevated in patients with acute KD compared with those in febrile controls. Furthermore, S100A8/A9 was rapidly down-regulated in response to IVIG therapy. Persistent elevation of S100A8/A9 after IVIG was found in patients who later developed coronary aneurysms. These results indicate that the effects of IVIG in KD may be mediated by suppression of an array of immune activation genes in monocytes, including those activating FcγRs and the S100A8/A9 heterocomplex.
Nice Guideline on Osteoarthritis: Is it Fair to Acupuncture? No

A new guideline on the care and management of osteoarthritis has recently been published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and makes wide-ranging and authoritative recommendations. The guideline states that there is insufficient evidence to recommend acupuncture. There appears to be three areas where the guidelines may have not used the available evidence in the most appropriate manner. First, data on the long-term effectiveness of acupuncture may have been misinterpreted. Second, the specific rejection of electroacupuncture indicates a restricted understanding of acupuncture as a treatment, and is based on a cost-effectiveness analysis which may not be ideal. Third, the cost-effectiveness calculations used comparisons with sham acupuncture (“placebo”) when comparison with standard care would have been more appropriate. The guideline may therefore lead some patients with osteoarthritis to miss out on a treatment that may be effective for them.
Evaluation of Reagents for Detection of Histoplasma capsulatum Antigenuria

Lindsley and colleagues ([5][1]) reported an antigen assay for diagnosis of histoplasmosis. Although they do not claim to have compared their test to that at MiraVista Diagnostics ([9][2]), the reader may draw that conclusion since the authors note that I provided antibodies, vaccine strain, and
Population compliance with national dietary recommendations and its determinants: findings from the ORISCAV-LUX study

The objective of the present study was to determine the proportion of adults meeting national recommendations for food and nutrient intake and to identify the demographic, socio-economic and behavioural factors that may contribute to weaken dietary compliance. ORISCAV-LUX is a cross-sectional study that took place in Luxembourg (2007–8). A representative stratified random sample of 1352 adults aged 18–69 years participated in the nationwide cardiovascular health survey. A FFQ was used to estimate food intake. Radar charts were built to compare graphically the compliance of the participants with different key dietary guidelines on the same set of axes. The thirteen food- and nutrient-based recommendations were scored and summed to create a recommendation compliance index (range − 0·5 to 14). Ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the factors contributing to poor dietary compliance. Several food- and nutrient-based guidelines were insufficiently respected compared with others. The greatest gaps occurred in the adherence to grain and dairy product consumption guidelines, as well as to total fat and notably to SFA recommendations. Age, country of birth, economic status, smoking status and subject's awareness of the importance of balanced meals emerged as independently associated with weak dietary compliance. Obese subjects conformed more to dietary recommendations compared with normal-weight subjects. The findings underscore the need for specific nutrition education messages along with targeted interventions. Efforts should be continued to increase population awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet.
Evolutionarily conserved primary TNF sequences relate to its primitive functions in cell death induction

ABSTRACT TNF is a primitive protein that has emerged from more than 550 million years of evolution. Our bioinformatics study of TNF from nine different taxa in vertebrates revealed several conserved regions in the TNF sequence. By screening overlapping peptides derived from human TNF to determine their role in three different TNF-induced processes – apoptosis, necrosis and NF-κB stimulation – we found that TNF conserved regions are mostly related to cell death rather than NF-κB stimulation. Among the most conserved regions, peptides (P)12, P13 and P1213 (comprising P12 and P13) induced apoptosis, whereas P14, P15, P16 and P1516 (comprising P15 and P16) induced necrosis. Cell death induced by these peptides was not through binding to the TNF receptor. P16-induced necrosis was mainly through disruption of the cell membrane, whereas P1213-induced apoptosis involved activation of TRADD followed by formation of complex II. Finally, using a monoclonal antibody and a mutant TNF protein, we show that TNF-induced apoptosis is determined by a conserved linear sequence that corresponds to that within P1213. Our results reveal the determinant sequence that is key to the TNF primitive function of inducing apoptosis. Summary: By using a series of overlapping human TNF-derived peptides, it is shown that the evolutionarily conserved primary sequences of TNF relate to its primitive role in cell death.
Lightness of an Object under Two Illumination Levels

Anchoring theory (Gilchrist et al, 1999 Psychological Review 106 795 – 834) predicts a wide range of lightness errors, including failures of constancy in multi-illumination scenes and a long list of well-known lightness illusions seen under homogeneous illumination. Lightness values are computed both locally and globally and then averaged together. Local values are computed within a given region of homogeneous illumination. Thus, for an object that extends through two different illumination levels, anchoring theory produces two values, one for the patch in brighter illumination and one for the patch in dimmer illumination. Observers can give matches for these patches separately, but they can also give a single match for the whole object. Anchoring theory in its current form is unable to predict these object matches. We report eight experiments in which we studied the relationship between patch matches and object matches. The results show that the object match represents a compromise between the match for the patch in the field of highest illumination and the patch in the largest field of illumination. These two principles are parallel to the rules found for anchoring lightness: highest luminance rule and area rule.
Hierarchical processing of sound location and motion in the human brainstem and planum temporale

Horizontal sound localization relies on the extraction of binaural acoustic cues by integration of the signals from the two ears at the level of the brainstem. The present experiment was aimed at detecting the sites of binaural integration in the human brainstem using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a binaural difference paradigm, in which the responses to binaural sounds were compared with the sum of the responses to the corresponding monaural sounds. The experiment also included a moving sound condition, which was contrasted against a spectrally and energetically matched stationary sound condition to assess which of the structures that are involved in general binaural processing are specifically specialized in motion processing. The binaural difference contrast revealed a substantial binaural response suppression in the inferior colliculus in the midbrain, the medial geniculate body in the thalamus and the primary auditory cortex. The effect appears to reflect an actual reduction of the underlying activity, probably brought about by binaural inhibition or refractoriness at the level of the superior olivary complex. Whereas all structures up to and including the primary auditory cortex were activated as strongly by the stationary as by the moving sounds, non‐primary auditory fields in the planum temporale responded selectively to the moving sounds. These results suggest a hierarchical organization of auditory spatial processing in which the general analysis of binaural information begins as early as the brainstem, while the representation of dynamic binaural cues relies on non‐primary auditory fields in the planum temporale.