Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatic tissue culture model for study of host-parasite interactions in alveolar echinococcosis

An in vitro model for growth and differentiation of the metacestode tissue of the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is described. This model simulates the organotropism of the parasite toward the liver of the intermediate host. In the presence of collagen-embedded primary hepatocytes from rats and humans, which can be kept in culture for 2 to 3 months, the parasitic vesicles grew by exogenous budding and multiplied about 12-fold within 3 weeks. In contrast, without the hepatocytes, the metacestodes rapidly degenerated. Development of protoscolices was seen only in the presence of rat hepatocytes but not in coculture of the metacestodes with hepatocytes of human origin, thus reflecting the in vivo situation during infection of rodents and in alveolar echinococcosis in humans. The experiments indicated that growth of the metacestodes and development of protoscolices depended on soluble low-molecular-weight factors released by the hepatocytes. The in vitro-grown metacestodes did not differ morphologically from the larvae found in infected intermediate hosts, and their infectivity was completely maintained. This report describes the first in vitro model of alveolar echinococcosis and will be the basis for future studies on host-parasite interactions of this important zoonosis.
Diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment of Mycoplasma genitalium infection: sobering thoughts

The discovery of Mycoplasma genitalium in 1980–1981 eventually led to it becoming recognized as an important cause of non-gonococcal urethritis in men and also some genital tract diseases in women. Subsequent to the original isolation, further attempts failed over the next decade and reliable detection only became possible with the use of nucleic acid amplification techniques. Although tetracyclines, particularly doxycycline, were the first choice for treatment of non-gonococcal urethritis prior to the finding of M. genitalium, they were unsatisfactory for the treatment of M. genitalium-associated disease; the organisms were often not eliminated leading, for example, to chronic urethritis. However, the introduction of azithromycin, used as single-dose therapy for chlamydial infections, resulted in clearance of the mycoplasmal organisms from the genital tract and clinical recovery without the development of chronic disease. Nevertheless, such success was short-lived as M. genitalium, through mutation, began to develop resistance to azithromycin and M. genitalium mutants also began to circulate in some populations. In an attempt to counteract this, clinicians should give extended therapy, and in the future, microbiologists, using real-time PCRs, might be able to determine the existence of resistant strains in the local population and so advise on the most appropriate antibiotic. Other than azithromycin, there are a few options, moxifloxacin being one, although the recently reported resistance to this antibiotic is disturbing. In the short to medium term, combination therapy and/or the advent of a new antibiotic might abate the spread of resistance, but in the long term, there is potential for increasing prevalence of untreatable M. genitalium disease. In the future, attempts to develop a vaccine and, of equal importance, one to Chlamydia trachomatis, would not be out of place.
The effect of essential plant oils on mineral composition of egg mass and blood parameters of laying hens

The aim of study was to analyze the dietary effect of pumpkin and flaxseed oils on mineral composition of egg mass and blood parameters of laying hens. At 38 weeks of age, Lohmann Brown Lite hens were housed in three-floor cages, divided into three dietary groups (C-control, E1-pumpkin oil (3%), E2-flaxseed oil (3%)). There were housed six hens in one cage. A total 18 hens were monitored. In the control group hens were fed with standard complete feed mixture for laying hens and in the experimental groups by feed mixtures with supplementation of pumpkin or flaxseed oils. Vitamin E was added into feed mixture in the experimental groups. The experiment lasted 52 days. Twelve eggs from each dietary treatment were randomly selected and analyzed. As regards the mineral composition of eggs, only concentrations of calcium after both oil supplementations and zinc after flaxseed oil supplementation in diet were significantly (P 0.05) influence on enzymatic and protein profile.
Chapter 9 Ciliary dyskinesias : primary ciliary dyskinesia in adults

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetic disorder of cilia structure and function, chronic infections of the respiratory tract, fertility problems and disorders of organ laterality. Establishing a definitive diagnosis can be challenging, requiring a compatible phenotype and detection of ciliary functional and ultra-structural defects, along with newer screening tools such as nasal nitric oxide and genetics testing. 10 known PCDcausing mutations within two genes are now available in a clinical panel, and in the future, comprehensive genetic testing may serve to identify young infants with PCD to improve the long-term outlook for patients with the disease. Therapy includes regular pulmonary function testing and monitoring of sputum flora to allow a targeted approach to treatment. Referral to an academic centre with expertise in bronchiectasis and/or PCD is prudent to ensure access to the most recent diagnostic testing and therapies. With increased understanding of the disease it is likely that we will expand the definitions of classic and non-classic PCD, as well as its relationship to less common ciliopathies.
Peripheral and Intestinal T-regulatory Cells are Upregulated in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Onset of Disease

ABSTRACT Background/Aims: To determine the proportion of T-regulatory cells (CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ cells) in peripheral blood and the number of FOXP3+ cells in intestinal mucosa of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and to verify whether these parameters correlate with the activity of the disease. Material and methods: 24 patients newly diagnosed for IBD were included in the study: ulcerative colitis (UC; n = 13) and Crohn’s disease (CD; n = 11). Seventeen healthy controls (HC) and 16 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) served as a control group for peripheral and intestinal Tregs assessment, respectively. The disease activity was assessed by Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI) and Pediatric Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (PCDAI). Quantification of regulatory T cells of CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ phenotype in peripheral blood was based on three-color flow cytometry. Mucosal Tregs represented by FOXP3+ cells were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. Results: Median proportion of CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ cells among CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood (5.1%, range 1.7–84% vs. 4.3%, range 2–8.1%, p = 0.023) and median number of intestinal FOXP3+ cells (115.33 per high-power field, hpf, range 39.33–375.67 vs. 10.16 per hpf, range 5–30, p = 0.0001) were significantly higher in children with IBD than in the controls. The proportion of circulating Tregs and the number of intestinal FOXP3+ cells did not correlate with clinical activity of the disease, as well as with endoscopic and histopathologic scoring. No significant correlation was found between the percentage of peripheral CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ cells and the number of intestinal FOXP3+cells. Conclusions: Children with IBD likely do not present with a quantitative deficiency of circulating and intestinal Tregs at the moment of diagnosis.
Doxorubicin-containing regimens for the treatment of stage II breast cancer: The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project experience.

Despite numerous reports of findings obtained following the use of doxorubicin (Adriamycin [A]; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH) for the postoperative treatment of patients with primary breast cancer and positive axillary nodes, no clear consensus exists regarding its worth when used in that setting. In June 1981, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) implemented two randomized clinical trials aimed at evaluating the worth of doxorubicin when administered in conjunction with melphalan (L-PAM) and fluorouracil (5-FU) (PF). A prior NSABP study identified cohorts of patients who did or did not benefit from tamoxifen (TAM, T) when used with chemotherapy. That information was employed in the design of the present studies. Women considered responsive to TAM (1,106) were randomized between PFT and PAFT, and those nonresponsive to TAM (707) were randomized between PF and PAF. Findings through 6 years of follow-up (mean duration of potential time on study, 64 months and 63 months, respectively) indicate that non-TAM-responsive patients who received PAF had a significantly better disease-free survival (DFS) (P = .003) and survival (P = .05) than did those receiving PF. By contrast, there was no significant difference in DFS (P = .6) or survival (P = .7) between PFT- and PAFT-treated patients. No disparity in the amount of drug received, whether related to the median amount or to dose-intensity, is present to account for the difference in findings between the studies. Aside from alopecia and emesis, the toxicity from the doxorubicin-containing regimens was similar to those in which doxorubicin was omitted. Cardiomyopathy was not a significant finding; there were no deaths from cardiac toxicity. The incidence of arterial and venous complications in patients receiving TAM was less than reported by others.
Determination of the depth dose distribution of proton beam using PRESAGE TM dosimeter

PRESAGETM dosimeter dosimeter has been proved useful for 3D dosimetry in conventional photon therapy and IMRT [1–5]. Our objective is to examine the use of PRESAGETM dosimeter for verification of depth dose distribution in proton beam therapy. Three PRESAGETM samples were irradiated with a 79 MeV un-modulated proton beam. Percent depth dose profile measured from the PRESAGETM dosimeter is compared with data obtained in a water phantom using a parallel plate Advanced Markus chamber. The Bragg-peak position determined from the PRESAGETM is within 2 mm compared to measurements in water. PRESAGETM shows a highly linear response to proton dose. However, PRESAGETM also reveals an underdosage around the Bragg peak position due to LET effects. Depth scaling factor and quenching correction factor need further investigation. Our initial result shows that PRESAGETM has promising dosimetric characteristics that could be suitable for proton beam dosimetry.
Surface polysaccharides and quorum sensing are involved in the attachment and survival of Xanthomonas albilineans on sugarcane leaves.

Xanthomonas albilineans, the causal agent of sugarcane leaf scald, is a bacterial plant pathogen that is mainly spread by infected cuttings and contaminated harvesting tools. However, some strains of this pathogen are known to be spread by aerial means and are able to colonize the phyllosphere of sugarcane before entering the host plant and causing disease. The objective of this study was to identify the molecular factors involved in the survival or growth of X. albilineans on sugarcane leaves. We developed a bioassay to test for the attachment of X. albilineans on sugarcane leaves using tissue-cultured plantlets grown in vitro. Six mutants of strain XaFL07-1 affected in surface polysaccharide production completely lost their capacity to survive on the sugarcane leaf surface. These mutants produced more biofilm in vitro and accumulated more cellular poly-β-hydroxybutyrate than the wild-type strain. A mutant affected in the production of small molecules (including potential biosurfactants) synthesized by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) attached to the sugarcane leaves as well as the wild-type strain. Surprisingly, the attachment of bacteria on sugarcane leaves varied among mutants of the rpf gene cluster involved in bacterial quorum sensing. Therefore, quorum sensing may affect polysaccharide production, or both polysaccharides and quorum sensing may be involved in the survival or growth of X. albilineans on sugarcane leaves.
Cleavage of Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase measured in situ in individual cells: relationship to DNA fragmentation and cell cycle position during apoptosis.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), a nuclear enzyme involved in DNA repair, is a target of caspases during apoptosis: its cleavage onto 89- and 24-kDa fragments is considered to be a hallmark of the apoptotic mode of cell death. Another hallmark is the activation of endonuclease which targets internucleosomal DNA. The aim of the present study was to reveal cell cycle phase specificity as well as the temporal and sequence relationships of PARP cleavage vis-à-vis DNA fragmentation in two model systems of apoptosis, one induced by DNA damage via cell treatment with camptothecin (CPT) (mitochondria-induced pathway) and another by the cytotoxic ligand tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) (cell surface death receptor pathway). PARP cleavage was detected immunocytochemically using antibody which recognizes its 89-kDa fragment (PARP p89) while DNA fragmentation was assayed by in situ labeling of DNA strand breaks. The frequency and extent of PARP cleavage as well as DNA fragmentation were measured by mutiparameter flow and laser scanning cytometry. PARP cleavage, selective to S phase cells, was detected 90 min after administration of CPT. PARP cleavage in the cells treated with TNF-alpha was not selective to any cell cycle phase and was seen already after 30 min. DNA fragmentation trailed PARP cleavage by about 30 min and showed a similar pattern of cell cycle specificity. PARP p89 was present in nuclear chromatin but at least in the early phase of apoptosis it did not colocalize with DNA strand breaks. The rate of cleavage of PARP molecules in individual cells whether induced by CPT or TNF-alpha was rapid as reflected by the paucity of cells with a mixture of cleaved and noncleaved PARP molecules. In contrast, DNA fragmentation proceeded stepwise before reaching the maximal number of DNA strand breaks. Although time windows for PARP cleavage vs DNA fragmentation were different at early stages of apoptosis, a good overall correlation between the cytometric assays of apoptotic cells identification based on these events was observed in both CPT- and TNF-alpha-treated cultures.
Sex and Swedish 85-year olds.

To the Editor: Most studies of sexual behavior include few subjects older than 80 years of age and are conducted in highly selected samples. Our knowledge of sexual behavior in this older age group is therefore limited, but a stereotype prevails that elderly persons are asexual. My colleagues and I therefore studied sexual behavior in a representative sample of 321 85-year-olds without dementia who were living in Goteborg, Sweden. The subjects were 223 women (21 married and 202 not married) and 98 men (55 married and 43 not married). The sample has been described in detail previously.1 All subjects were .
Bulk and surface passivation of silicon solar cells accomplished by silicon nitride deposited on industrial scale by microwave PECVD

Bulk and surface passivation by silicon nitride has become an indispensable element in industrial production of multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si) solar cells. Microwave PECVD is a very effective method for high‐throughput deposition of silicon nitride layers with the required properties for bulk and surface passivation. In this paper an analysis is presented of the relation between deposition parameters of microwave PECVD and material properties of silicon nitride. By tuning the process conditions (substrate temperature, gas flows, working pressure) we have been able to fabricate silicon nitride layers which fulfill almost ideally the four major requirements for mc‐Si solar cells: (1) good anti‐reflection coating (refractive index tunable between 2·0 and 2·3); (2) good surface passivation on p‐type FZ wafers (Seff<30 cm/s); (3) good bulk passivation (improvement of IQE at 1000 nm by 30% after short thermal anneal); (4) long‐term stability (no observable degradation after several years of exposure to sunlight). By implementing this silicon nitride deposition in an inline production process of mc‐Si solar cells we have been able to produce cells with an efficiency of 16·5%.
Climate change implications of shifting forest management strategy in a boreal forest ecosystem of Norway

Empirical models alongside remotely sensed and station measured meteorological observations are employed to investigate both the local and global direct climate change impacts of alternative forest management strategies within a boreal ecosystem of eastern Norway. Stand‐level analysis is firstly executed to attribute differences in daily, seasonal, and annual mean surface temperatures to differences in surface intrinsic biophysical properties across conifer, deciduous, and clear‐cut sites. Relative to a conifer site, a slight local cooling of −0.13 °C at a deciduous site and −0.25 °C at a clear‐cut site were observed over a 6‐year period, which were mostly attributed to a higher albedo throughout the year. When monthly mean albedo trajectories over the entire managed forest landscape were taken into consideration, we found that strategies promoting natural regeneration of coniferous sites with native deciduous species led to substantial global direct climate cooling benefits relative to those maintaining current silviculture regimes – despite predicted long‐term regional warming feedbacks and a reduced albedo in spring and autumn months. The magnitude and duration of the cooling benefit depended largely on whether management strategies jointly promoted an enhanced material supply over business‐as‐usual levels. Expressed in terms of an equivalent CO2 emission pulse at the start of the simulation, the net climate response at the end of the 21st century spanned −8 to −159 Tg‐CO2‐eq., depending on whether near‐term harvest levels increased or followed current trends, respectively. This magnitude equates to approximately −20 to −300% of Norway's annual domestic (production) emission impact. Our analysis supports the assertion that a carbon‐only focus in the design and implementation of forest management policy in boreal and other climatically similar regions can be counterproductive – and at best – suboptimal if boreal forests are to be used as a tool to mitigate global warming.
Induction of oxidative DNA damage in human foreskin fibroblast Hs68 cells by oxidized β-carotene and lycopene

Two recent clinical trials suggest that β-carotene may be harmful to smokers. In this study we examined the hypothesis that β-carotene may become toxic when degradation occurs. β-Carotene (BC) and lycopene (LP) with or without prior heat treatment (60°C for 1h in open air) were incubated at 20 and 40 μM with calf thymus DNA or human fibroblasts Hs68 cells. The heat treatment resulted in ca. 80% and 35% bleaching of BC and LP, respectively. When Hs68 cells were incubated with the oxidized β-carotene (OBC) or oxidized lycopene (OLP) at 37°C for 20h, cell viability was significantly and dose-dependently decreased whereas cell viability was not affected by BC or LP. Cell death, which was already evident at 4h after incubation with OBC or OLP, was possibly attributable to apoptosis, as shown by the increased histone-associated DNA fragmentation. However, cell lysis, measured as release of lactate dehydrogenase, also occurred at 4h after incubation with OBC and OLP, although the extent was relatively small and was greater for OLP than for OBC. When calf thymus DNA was incubated with OBC or OLP at 37°C for 20h, the 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) level was significantly and dose-dependently increased by OLP whereas the increase by OBC was only significant at 40 μM. When Hs68 cells were incubated with OBC and OLP for 20h, both compounds increased the 8-OH-dG level, but the effect was only significant for 40 μM OLP. Comet (single-cell gel electrophoresis) assay of DNA damage in Hs68 cells was determined at 2h after incubation with OBC or OLP because of its high sensitivity. Both OBC and OLP significantly and dose-dependently increased DNA breakage while BC and LP had no effect. Inclusion of BHT during incubation of cells with 40 μM OBC or OLP partially inhibited (ca. 40%, p<.05) the extent of comet formation. Intriguingly, OBC and OLP neither induce lipid peroxidation in Hs68 cells (measured as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances released into the medium) nor increased the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species. Although it is presently unclear about what degradation products are formed, this study has demonstrated that, when oxidized, BC and LP lead to oxidative damage to both purified DNA and cellular DNA. The results suggest that such damage may contribute to the adverse effects of β-carotene reported in recent clinical studies and caution that it is important to prevent oxidation of BC and LP for human uses such as in supplemental studies.
Identification of Human Autoantibodies to the DNA Ligase IV/XRCC4 Complex and Mapping of an Autoimmune Epitope to a Potential Regulatory Region1

The nonhomologous end-joining pathway is the principal mechanism for repair of ionizing radiation-induced, double-strand breaks in mammalian cells. Three polypeptides in this pathway, including the two subunits of Ku protein and the catalytic subunit of the DNA-dependent protein kinase, are known targets of autoantibodies in systemic rheumatic diseases. Here we show that two additional polypeptides in the pathway, DNA ligase IV and XRCC4, are also targets of autoantibodies. These Abs were present in 20% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and overlap syndrome. Previous work has shown that XRCC4 is subject to radiation-induced post-translational modification, including phosphorylation by DNA-dependent protein kinase and cleavage by caspase 3. We mapped a major autoimmune epitope in XRCC4 and found that it encompassed a DNA-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site, which is located at serine 260; that it was adjacent to a site for caspase 3, which cleaves after residue 265; and that it also spanned a site for the inflammatory protease, granzyme B, which cleaves after residue 254. The finding that five different polypeptides in the nonhomologous end-joining pathway are potential targets of autoantibodies together with the observation that one of the autoimmune epitopes in XRCC4 coincides with a sequence that is a nexus for radiation-induced regulatory events suggest that exposure to agents that introduce DNA double-strand breaks may be one of the factors that influences the development of an autoimmune response in susceptible individuals.