Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lysophosphatidylcholine Stimulates IL-1β Release from Microglia via a P2X7 Receptor-Independent Mechanism1

IL-1β released from activated macrophages contributes significantly to tissue damage in inflammatory, degenerative, and autoimmune diseases. In the present study, we identified a novel mechanism of IL-1β release from activated microglia (brain macrophages) that occurred independently of P2X7 ATP receptor activation. Stimulation of LPS-preactivated microglia with lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) caused rapid processing and secretion of mature 17-kDa IL-1β. Neither LPC-induced IL-1β release nor LPC-stimulated intracellular Ca2+ increases were affected by inhibition of P2X7 ATP receptors with oxidized ATP. Microglial LPC-induced IL-1β release was suppressed in Ca2+-free medium or during inhibition of nonselective cation channels with Gd3+ or La3+. It was also attenuated when Ca2+-activated K+ channels were blocked with charybdotoxin (CTX). The electroneutral K+ ionophore nigericin did not reverse the suppressive effects of CTX on LPC-stimulated IL-1β release, demonstrating the importance of membrane hyperpolarization. Furthermore, LPC-stimulated caspase activity was unaffected by Ca2+-free medium or CTX, suggesting that secretion but not processing of IL-1β is Ca2+- and voltage-dependent. In summary, these data indicate that the activity of nonselective cation channels and Ca2+-activated K+ channels is required for optimal IL-1β release from LPC-stimulated microglia.
[Comparison of two different vaccination schemes against Hepatitis A and B in Mexican children and adolescents].

BACKGROUND Development of multiple antigens in combined vaccines offers the advantages of reducing costs, increasing compliance and provides dual protection. Hepatitis A is an endemic disease in Mexico and hepatitis B, notwithstanding low prevalence, confers risk of progression to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and high medical costs in consequence. OBJECTIVE Determine immunogenicity and reactogenicity of a combined vaccine when compared with use of conventional vaccines simultaneously. METHODS The present study was a prospective, open, and randomized trial; 73 healthy children and adolescents were included, all with negative serologic markers. They were assigned to one of the following groups: Group 1, combined vaccine (n = 49) Twinrix (HAV 720 UE/HBV 20 micrograms), and group 2, separate vaccines (n = 24) Engerix B 20 micrograms/Havrix 720 UE. Both groups were given two-dose series at months 0 and 6. Geometric titles of antibody production (GMT) anti-HAV and anti-HBV were determined in months 1, 2, 6 and 7. Adverse reactions were registered during the study. RESULTS No difference was observed between the two groups in age or gender. Immunogenicity anti-HAV: 100% of vaccines in both groups reached seroprotective levels (> or = 33 mUI/mL). Antibody titles in group 1 were three times higher than those in group 2 (9,696 mIU/mL vs. 3,940 mIU/mL [p = 0.003]) at the end of the study. Immunogenicity anti-HBV: All subjects in both groups reached seroprotective levels (> or = 10 mIU/mL) with similar antibody titles at the end of the study (group 1: 5,603 mIU/mL vs. group 2: 5,201 mIU/mL [p = 0.55 NS]). Reactogenicity: No serious adverse reactions were observed; main were local, and frequency and characteristics were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Seroprotective levels and reactogenicity obtained from use of a combined vaccine against hepatitis A/B are acceptable when compared with use of conventional vaccines administered separately.
Sexual size dimorphism in Asian colobines revisited

Asian colobines exhibit a wide range of sexual dimorphism in body mass. Some species are monomorphic, whereas others are strongly dimorphic. Strong sexual dimorphism is generally viewed as the consequence of intense male contest competition over access to mates, but this idea appears not to explain variation in sexual dimorphism in Asian colobines. Our results show that modular colobines, i.e. species in which social units aggregate into higher‐level bands or often associate, have significantly higher levels of sexual dimorphism in body mass than the nonmodular ones. This finding was corroborated by means of phylogenetically controlled methods and multiple regression analyses. The results suggest that living in a modular society intensifies the contest competition among males, which is further exacerbated by the continuous presence of all‐male units. Am. J. Primatol. 71:609–616, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A developmental switch in the expression of aquaporin-4 and Kir4.1 from horizontal to Müller cells in mouse retina.

PURPOSE In adult retina, aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and inwardly rectifying K(+) (Kir4.1) channels localize to astrocyte and Müller cell membranes facing vascular and vitreous compartments, optimizing clearance of extracellular K(+) and water from the synaptic layers. However, it is unknown whether these channels are expressed at early developmental stages, before gliogenesis or angiogenesis take place in the neural retina. This study was conducted to determine the presence of AQP4 and Kir4.1 proteins in the developing mouse retina. METHODS Simultaneous AQP4 and Kir4.1 immunodetection was performed in postnatal mice 1, 9, 15, and 30 days of age. Confocal microscopy was used to identify the cellular distribution of AQP4 and Kir4.1 proteins, as well as their coexpression with the cell-selective immunomarkers Prox-1, calbindin, and neurofilament. RESULTS AQP4 and Kir4.1 proteins were coexpressed in calbindin- and Prox1-expressing retinal neurons at birth. These neurons were identified as horizontal cells based on their position and morphology. By P15, when vision starts, AQP4 and Kir4.1 localization coordinately switched from horizontal cells to Müller glial cells. CONCLUSIONS The findings showed that AQP4 and Kir4.1 protein expression is confined to differentiating horizontal cells before its expression in Müller cells. The finding of AQP4 in neurons is novel, since AQP4 expression within the central nervous system is restricted to glia. Also, the results demonstrated that AQP4 is a horizontal cell-specific immunomarker in neonatal retina. The transitory coexpression of AQP4 and Kir4.1 proteins by differentiating horizontal interneurons suggests that these cells mediate K(+) and water transcellular uptake until the initiation of phototransduction, when glial cells assume these functions.
Specific Deficiency of p56lck Expression in T Lymphocytes from Type 1 Diabetic Patients1

Peripheral T lymphocyte activation in response to TCR/CD3 stimulation is reduced in type 1 diabetic patients. To explore the basis of this deficiency, a comprehensive analysis of the signal transduction pathway downstream of the TCR/CD3 complex was performed for a cohort of patients (n = 38). The main result of the study shows that T cell hyporesponsiveness is positively correlated with a reduced amount of p56lck in resting T lymphocytes. Upon CD3-mediated activation, this defect leads to a hypophosphorylation of the CD3ζ-chain and few other polypeptides without affecting the recruitment of ZAP70. Other downstream effectors of the TCR/CD3 transduction machinery, such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase p85α, p59fyn, linker for activation of T cells (LAT), and phospholipase C-γ1, are not affected. In some patients, the severity of this phenotypic deficit could be linked to low levels of p56lck mRNA and resulted in the failure to efficiently induce the expression of the CD69 early activation marker. We propose that a primary deficiency in human type 1 diabetes is a defect in TCR/CD3-mediated T cell activation due to the abnormal expression of the p56lck tyrosine kinase.
A role for granulomatous inflammation in the transmission of infectious disease: schistosomiasis and tuberculosis

The relationship between cell-mediated granulomatous inflammation and transmission of disease in schistosomiasis and tuberculosis has been explored. In 2 experiments involving Schistosoma mansoni-infected normal and T cell-deprived mice, and infected deprived mice that had been variously reconstituted with immune or normal lymphocytes or immune serum, there was a significant positive numerical correlation between mean liver granuloma diameters and faecal egg counts in individual animals. Lymphocytes from donors with recently patent infections were more active than cells from chronically infected or uninfected donors in reconstituting egg excretion rates in deprived recipients, and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells were more active than spleen cells. Modulation of granulomatous activity with increasing chronicity of infection in the donors, resulting in a decrease in granuloma size around freshly produced tissue-bound eggs, was paralleled by a waning of the capacity of transferred lymph node cells to reconstitute egg excretion in the recipients. Serum taken from chronically infected donor mice over the same period and transferred to infected deprived recipients became more active in enhancing egg excretion in the recipients as the cell-mediated activity declined. A recent study in Kenya has found that S. mansoni-infected patients with concurrent human immunodefficiency virus (HIV) infection excrete fewer eggs than patients exposed to the same levels of schistosome infection, but who are not HIV-infected, thus indicating that schistosome egg excretion in humans is also immune-dependent. Attention is drawn to an apparently parallel situation in human tuberculosis, another pathogen which induces a cell-mediated granulomatous immune response. Several studies have shown that patients with tuberculosis who are also HIV-seropositive tend to have fewer tubercle bacilli detectable in their saliva than those with tuberculosis, but who are HIV-negative. This discrepancy, associated with differences in lung pathology in HIV-positive patients, suggests that in tuberculosis immune cell-mediated granulomatous inflammation causes the destruction of host tissue in a manner which facilitates onward transmission of the bacterial pathogen.
Withdrawal of life support--who should decide? Differences in attitudes among the general public, nurses and physicians.

OBJECTIVE To examine the attitudes of the general public regarding who should decide about the withdrawal of life support and to compare these attitudes with those of intensive care personnel. DESIGN Nationwide postal questionnaire survey. SETTING Sweden. PARTICIPANTS One thousand one hundred ninety-six randomly selected persons from the Swedish population register, 339 nurses and 121 physicians from 29 randomly selected intensive care units (ICUs). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Respondents' answers to questions related to two clinical scenarios: one with a conscious and competent patient and one with an unconscious patient. The response rates were 64 % for the general public, 86 % for the nurses and 88 % for the physicians. Concerning the competent patient, 48 % of the public, 31 % of the nurses and 8 % of the physicians were of the opinion that a decision about continued ventilator treatment should be made by the patient alone or together with the family, but without the physician. The vast majority of physicians (87 %) wanted to make the decision themselves, either alone or together with the patient or family. Concerning the incompetent patient, 73 % of the general public and 70 % of the nurses advocated a joint decision made by the family and the physician together. The majority of the physicians (61 %) regarded themselves as the sole decision-maker, a view supported by only 5 % of the public and 20 % of the nurses. CONCLUSIONS While existing Swedish guidelines recommend that the physician should be the sole decision-maker, the general public favour more patient and family influence on the decision to withdraw life support as compared with intensive care physicians.
Intensive Rehabilitation Increases BDNF Serum Levels in Parkinsonian Patients

Background. Exercise may decrease the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in humans and reduce PD symptoms in animal models. The beneficial effects have been linked to increased levels of neurotrophic factors. Objective. We examined whether intensive rehabilitation treatment reduces motor disability in patients in the early stages of PD and increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum levels. Methods. Thirty participants in the early stages of PD treated with rasagiline were randomly assigned to 3 hours of rehabilitation treatment that included aerobic exercise for 28 days (Group 1) or to not therapy (control; Group 2). BDNF serum levels were assessed at time T0 (baseline, before treatment), T1 (10 days), T2 (20 days), and T3 (28 days). At T0 and T3, we assessed the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) III in both groups, as well as the UPDRS II and total, Berg Balance Scale, and 6-minute walking test only in Group 1. Results. BDNF levels significantly increased at T1 in Group 1, an increase that was maintained throughout the treatment period. At T3 compared to T0, UPDRS III scores significantly improved in Group 1 along with scores for UPDRS II, total, Berg Balance Scale, and 6-minute walking test. Conclusions. Intensive rehabilitation treatment increases the BDNF levels and improves PD signs in patients in the early stages of the disease. These results are in line with studies on animal models of PD and healthy subjects.
Distinct microbial populations exist in the mucosa‐associated microbiota of sub‐groups of irritable bowel syndrome

Background There is increasing evidence to support a role for the gastrointestinal microbiota in the etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Given the evidence of an inflammatory component to IBS, the mucosa‐associated microbiota potentially play a key role in its pathogenesis. The objectives were to compare the mucosa‐associated microbiota between patients with diarrhea predominant IBS (IBS‐D), constipation predominant IBS (IBS‐C) and controls using fluorescent in situ hybridization and to correlate specific bacteria groups with individual IBS symptoms.
Deterministic entanglement generation from driving through quantum phase transitions

Transitional approach to entanglement In an entangled many-particle system, changing the state of one constituent affects the rest of the system. This property can be used as a resource in quantum information processing, but getting many particles to participate in entanglement is tricky. Luo et al. used another collective phenomenon, a quantum phase transition, to entangle more than 900 atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate. The size of the entangled ensemble remained stable, making the approach practical for precision measurements. Science, this issue p. 620 A large entangled 87Rb atom ensemble robust to number fluctuations was created. Many-body entanglement is often created through the system evolution, aided by nonlinear interactions between the constituting particles. These very dynamics, however, can also lead to fluctuations and degradation of the entanglement if the interactions cannot be controlled. Here, we demonstrate near-deterministic generation of an entangled twin-Fock condensate of ~11,000 atoms by driving a rubidium-87 Bose-Einstein condensate undergoing spin mixing through two consecutive quantum phase transitions (QPTs). We directly observe number squeezing of 10.7 ± 0.6 decibels and normalized collective spin length of 0.99 ± 0.01. Together, these observations allow us to infer an entanglement-enhanced phase sensitivity of ~6 decibels beyond the standard quantum limit and an entanglement breadth of ~910 atoms. Our work highlights the power of generating large-scale useful entanglement by taking advantage of the different entanglement landscapes separated by QPTs.
Cash Flow Duration and the Term Structure of Equity Returns

The term structure of equity returns is downward-sloping: stocks with high cash flow duration earn 1.10% per month lower returns than short-duration stocks in the cross section. I create a measure of cash flow duration at the firm level using balance sheet data to show this novel fact. Factor models can explain only 50% of the return differential, and the difference in returns is three times larger after periods of high investor sentiment. I use institutional ownership as a proxy for short-sale constraints, and find the negative cross-sectional relationship between cash flow duration and returns is only contained within short-sale constrained stocks.
BARTONELLA SP. INFECTION OF VOLES TRAPPED FROM AN INTERIOR ALASKAN SITE WHERE TICKS ARE ABSENT

To determine whether Bartonella species may perpetuate in sites where ticks are absent, we analyzed blood and spleen samples from small mammals trapped near Cantwell, Alaska during September 1999. Blood smears from seven of 48 Myodes (Clethrionomys) rutilus suggested a Bartonella species infection; five of the seven yielded cultures consistent with Bartonella species; PCR of rrs, gltA, and rpoB genes confirmed Bartonella infection in four of these culture samples. Phylogenetic analysis of rrs, gltA, and rpoB genes demonstrated that the sequences clustered with the Bartonella vinsonii clade. Based on PCR, two additional blood samples and four of 22 spleen samples also contained DNA of this Bartonella species for an overall prevalence of 14% (10/70) among the 70 M. rutilus sampled in this study. We conclude that Bartonella species may commonly infect M. rutilus in a site where ticks are absent.
Investigation of Multilayer TiNi Alloys as the Gate Metal for nMOS In0.53Ga0.47As

To achieve low power consumption for CMOS devices, the gate metals must have effective work function (EWF) aligned with the band edges of the channel material and have a small WF variation (WFV). The multilayer TiNi alloys have been successfully applied as the gate metals for HfO2/In0.53Ga0. 47As MOS devices in this paper. The EWF of TiNi alloys was found to increase from 4.41 eV for as-deposited sample to 4.62 eV after the alloy was annealed due to the diffusion of Ni atoms into Ti layer. The multilayer TiNi alloy remained amorphous phase with small WFV until annealed at 600 °C. The TiNi alloy is thermally more stable as compared with either Ti or Ni metal, because the TiOxNi interfacial layer prevents the diffusion of Ni atoms into HfO2 film and the further reaction of Ti with HfO2. The results can be applied for InGaAs nMOS fabrication.
Characterization by Multilocus Enzyme Electrophoresis of Listeria monocytogenes Isolates Involved in Ovine Listeriosis Outbreaks in Scotland from 1989 to 1991

Initial results from a study of five small ovine listeriosis outbreaks in Scotland in 1989 to 1991 are presented. Forty-eight isolates including three from silage were typed at 10 polymorphic enzyme loci by using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis resulting in the identification of 12 electrophoretic types. Phylogenetic analysis partitioned the 12 electrophoretic types into two statistically distinct divisions distinguishing 1/2a serotypes from non-1/2a serotypes.
An in–vitro Evaluation of Kodak Insight and Ektaspeed Plus Film with a CMOS Detector for Natural Proximal Caries: ROC Analysis

This study compared the diagnostic efficacy of Kodak Ektaspeed Plus film, Kodak Insight film, a newly introduced E/F–speed film, and Schick CMOS–APS digital sensor, with respect to caries detection in 92 proximal surfaces of extracted unrestored teeth, 51 of which were carious. Ground truth was evaluated histologically and the lesions classified as enamel or dentinal. Eight observers read the radiographs using a five–point confidence rating scale to record their diagnoses. Analyses using receiver operating characteristic curves revealed the areas under each curve that indicated the diagnostic accuracy (Ektaspeed Plus – 0.760, Insight – 0.778 and CMOS–APS sensor – 0.732). ANOVA revealed significant differences with respect to caries depth (p<0.031) and observers (p<0.0001). Weighted kappa analyses indicated moderate to substantial inter– and intra–observer agreement (0.42 and 0.66, respectively). The results suggest that none of the imaging modalities evaluated in this study differed in their diagnostic capabilities with respect to proximal decay detection and that the Insight film which was used with 20% less radiation exposure than Ektaspeed Plus film was as good as the other two sensors for this purpose.
Modification of cysteine 111 in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase results in altered spectroscopic and biophysical properties

Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) mutations are involved in about 20% of all cases of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS). Recently, it has been proposed that aberrant copper activity may be occurring within SOD at an alternative binding, and cysteine 111 has been identified as a potential copper ligand. Using a commercial source of human SOD isolated from erythrocytes, an anomalous absorbance at 325 nm was identified. This unusual property, which does not compromise SOD activity, had previously been shown to be consistent with a sulfhydryl modification at a cysteine residue. Here, we utilized limited trypsin proteolysis and mass spectrometry to show that the modification has a mass of 32 daltons and is located at cysteine 111. The reaction of SOD with sodium sulfide, which can react with cysteine to form a persulfide group, and with potassium cyanide, which can selectively remove persulfide bonds, confirmed the addition of a persulfide group at cysteine 111. Gel electrophoresis and glutaraldehyde cross‐linking revealed that this modification makes the acid‐induced denaturation of SOD fully irreversible. Furthermore, the modified protein exhibits a slower acid‐induced unfolding, and is more resistant to oxidation‐induced aggregation caused by copper and hydrogen peroxide. Thus, these results suggest that cysteine 111 can have a biochemical and biophysical impact on SOD, and suggest that it can interact with copper, potentially mediating the copper‐induced oxidative damage of SOD. It will be of interest to study the role of cysteine 111 in the oxidative damage and aggregation of toxic SOD mutants.
A Generalized Laplacian of Gaussian Filter for Blob Detection and Its Applications

In this paper, we propose a generalized Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) (gLoG) filter for detecting general elliptical blob structures in images. The gLoG filter can not only accurately locate the blob centers but also estimate the scales, shapes, and orientations of the detected blobs. These functions can be realized by generalizing the common 3-D LoG scale-space blob detector to a 5-D gLoG scale-space one, where the five parameters are image-domain coordinates (x, y), scales (σx, σy), and orientation (θ), respectively. Instead of searching the local extrema of the image's 5-D gLoG scale space for locating blobs, a more feasible solution is given by locating the local maxima of an intermediate map, which is obtained by aggregating the log-scale-normalized convolution responses of each individual gLoG filter. The proposed gLoG-based blob detector is applied to both biomedical images and natural ones such as general road-scene images. For the biomedical applications on pathological and fluorescent microscopic images, the gLoG blob detector can accurately detect the centers and estimate the sizes and orientations of cell nuclei. These centers are utilized as markers for a watershed-based touching-cell splitting method to split touching nuclei and counting cells in segmentation-free images. For the application on road images, the proposed detector can produce promising estimation of texture orientations, achieving an accurate texture-based road vanishing point detection method. The implementation of our method is quite straightforward due to a very small number of tunable parameters.
An intracellular redox sensor for reactive oxygen species at the M3‐M4 linker of GABAAρ1 receptors

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are normally involved in cell oxidative stress but also play a role as cellular messengers in redox signalling; for example, modulating the activity of neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels. However, the direct actions of ROS on GABAA receptors were not previously demonstrated. In the present work, we studied the effects of ROS on GABAAρ1 receptor function.