Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of peptides binding to IgG in the CSF of Multiple Sclerosis patients

Phage displayed random peptide libraries were screened in order to identify phagotopes reacting with the IgG present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Six families of phagotopes each composed of different isolates were identified. These phagotopes were used as reagents, to characterise IgG present in the CSF of MS patients. The following results were obtained: (a) CSF antibodies from different patients display different specificities; (b) anti-phagotope antibodies are also present in the serum of MS patients; (c) Anti-phagotope antibodies are equally frequent in the serum of MS patients and of healthy individuals; (d) some of the anti-phagotope antibodies are enriched in the CSF of MS patients. These data show that the natural antigen(s) recognised by CSF antibodies is rather common in the general population. By using the selected phagotopes as immunogens in rabbits, we have derived large quantities of anti-phagotope antisera which can provide for useful tools toward the identification of the natural antigen(s) recognised by MS CSF antibodies.
SPARSE CODING FOR CLASSIFICATION OF POLSAR IMAGES

Hermitian positive definite (HPD) covariance matrices form one of the most widely-used data representations in PolSAR applications. However, most of these applications either use statistical distribution models on the PolSAR covariance matrices or polarimetric target decomposition. In this paper, we study HPD matrices for PolSAR image classification in the context of sparse coding. More specifically, the PolSAR HPD matrices are first represented as sparse linear combinations of elements from a dictionary, where each element itself is an HPD matrix and the representation loss is measured by the affine-invariant Riemannian metric. We then introduce a sparsity induced similarity measure between two HPD matrices. Finally, we propose a supervised classification scheme using support vector machines on the Riemannian sparse codes and an unsupervised classification scheme encompassing a sparsity induced similarity measure followed by spectral clustering. The proposed methods are validated on the NASA/JPL AIRSAR fully PolSAR data. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our methods.
How Do Local Institutions Mediate Market and Population Pressures on Resources

This article addresses one of the most controversial issues in resource management: how do population and market pressures affect resource use? After examining some shortcomings in several major approaches to the issue, the authors use structural equation analysis to decipher the relative and reciprocal influence of population pressures, markets, and institutional arrangements on forest use in the Kumaon Himalaya in India. By deploying an approach which investigates comparatively the effects of these factors, the article attempts to find a way out of the stultifying positions that participants in the debate on overpopulation and environmental change are forced to adopt. The results presented in the second half of the article are especially interesting, showing that local institutions created by the state play a critical role in mediating the influence of structural and socio-economic variables. The findings thus possess significant implications for all who are interested in co-management of renewable resources by the state and the community.
Roles of glutamate transporters in shaping excitatory synaptic currents in cerebellar Purkinje cells

Several subtypes of glutamate transporters are abundantly expressed near the excitatory synapses on cerebellar Purkinje cells. We investigated the roles of the glutamate transporters in shaping the excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and regulating the levels of extracellular glutamate in the mouse cerebellum using a potent blocker of glutamate transporters, dl‐threo‐β‐benzyloxyaspartate (dl‐TBOA). This drug markedly prolonged AMPA receptor‐mediated EPSCs in Purkinje cells evoked by stimulating both parallel fibres and climbing fibres. The decay phase of the prolonged EPSCs was fitted by double exponentials, of which the slower component was preferentially inhibited by a low‐affinity competitive antagonist of AMPA receptors, γ‐d‐glutamyl‐glycine, indicating that the slow component induced by dl‐TBOA was the AMPA receptor‐mediated current activated by lower concentrations of glutamate than those contributing to the peak of the EPSC. This result suggests that dl‐TBOA prolongs the stay of synaptically released glutamate in the synaptic cleft and also induces glutamate spillover to extrasynaptic targets as well as neighbouring synapses. Furthermore, high concentrations of dl‐TBOA in the presence of cyclothiazide generated a continuous inward current in Purkinje cells, of which the amplitude reached the peak level of the climbing‐fibre EPSC. This continuous inward current was abolished by the blocker of AMPA receptors, indicating that the strong inhibition of glutamate uptake causes the rapid accumulation of glutamate in the extracellular space. These results highlight the importance of glutamate transporters in maintaining the proper glutamatergic transmission in Purkinje cell synapses.
Unbiased cold denaturation: low- and high-temperature unfolding of yeast frataxin under physiological conditions.

Since the cold denaturation of most proteins occurs well below 0 °C, full access to the cold denatured state is normally limited by water freezing. To circumvent this difficulty the temperature of cold denaturation is normally raised, destabilizing the protein by point mutations and using chemical or physical denaturation. The main drawback of these approaches is that it is not generally possible to extrapolate the results to physiological conditions. Following a different approach, we looked for a protein whose cold denaturation could be studied in a normal buffer at physiological pH without the need of destabilization, in a temperature range accessible to several techniques. Here we describe the cold and heat denaturation of yeast frataxin (Yfh1). Both NMR and CD data were fitted by the same equation, showing that the collapse of the hydrophobic core is exactly paralleled by a decrease of the secondary structure content.
Adjunct devices for managing challenging cases in cataract surgery: capsular staining and ophthalmic viscosurgical devices

Purpose of review Cataract surgeons should employ all reasonable technology to facilitate safe and consistent outcomes. Knowledge of adjunct devices to enhance visualization of the capsular bag and appropriate use of ophthalmic viscosurgical devices allow for enhanced protection of intraocular structures and reduced rates of complication. Recent findings Trypan blue is US Food and Drug Administration-approved for facilitating visualization of the anterior capsule. Animal data demonstrate Brilliant Blue G to be an effective capsular stain with a superior safety profile. Healon5 is a safe viscosurgical device that is particularly useful in children, poorly dilating pupils, intraoperative floppy-iris syndrome, and intumescent cataracts. The viscoadaptivity of Healon5 enables its utility throughout the procedure of cataract extraction. The recent literature on capsular dyes and advances in ophthalmic viscosurgical technology is reviewed. Summary Inadequate capsular visualization and poor tissue stabilization/protection increase the chance of discontinuous capsulorhexis, retained nuclear material, vitreous loss and corneal decompensation. Utilization of adjunctive tools in the setting of challenging cataract cases can significantly limit adverse intraoperative outcomes and result in reproducible surgical success.
Suppressors of cytokine signaling: Relevance to gastrointestinal function and disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are a family of Src homology 2 domain-containing proteins. Currently, there are 8 members of the SOCS family, of which a number have been implicated strongly in the negative regulation of cytokine signal transduction pathways. METHODS This review focuses on recent discoveries about 4 SOCS family members, SOCS-1, -2, and -3, and cytokine-inducible SH2-domain containing (CIS), and provides more limited information about other SOCS family members. RESULTS A large number of cytokines and growth factors are now known to induce SOCS proteins. In turn, SOCS inhibit the actions of a growing number of cytokines and growth factors in vitro or in vivo. SOCS proteins exert their inhibitory effects at the level of activation of janus kinases (JAKs) or by competing with transcription factors for binding sites on activated cytokine receptors. SOCS proteins also may mediate the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of the SOCS protein and its bound signaling complex. Genetic modification of SOCS genes in mice has revealed crucial roles in the negative regulation of a number of important physiologic parameters including interferon gamma activity, growth, blood cell production, and placental development. CONCLUSIONS Information about SOCS action in gastrointestinal function and disease is only just emerging, but available data indicate a role in growth of gastrointestinal tissues, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer.
Children and road safety: increasing knowledge does not improve behaviour.

BACKGROUND Programmes designed to teach children about road safety have often failed to assess their effectiveness in terms of either an increase in children's knowledge or an improvement in children's behaviour. AIM The two studies reported here sought to address both issues, by focusing on the abilities of Primary 1 children (5 years old). SAMPLE A total of 120 Primary 1 children within the age range 4-5 years old participated in this study, drawn from three different primary schools within an educational district of Scotland. METHODS In the first study the effects of three different road safety interventions were tested, all of which employed commercially marketed products: 1) a three-dimensional model of the traffic environment; 2) a road safety board game; and 3) illustrated posters and flip-chart materials. In the second study the transfer of knowledge to children's behaviour in a real-life traffic environment was tested, using a subsample of 47 children who had taken part in the first study. RESULTS Results from the first study showed, surprisingly, that all three interventions were effective in increasing children's knowledge about safe and dangerous locations at which to cross the street, and that this knowledge was retained for a period of six months. Study 2, however, showed that increased knowledge did not result in improved traffic behaviour. Children who had received training performed no better than children in a control group. CONCLUSION These findings highlight the need to distinguish between children's road safety knowledge and their behaviour, particularly for teachers and parents, who may mistakenly believe that children who know more will be safer on the road.
A novel in vitro anticancer drug delivery strategy using platinum encapsulated gold nanoparticles.

Modern bimetallic nanostructures have recently garnered widespread attention as potential carriers for therapeutic payloads due to their extraordinary chemical, biological, optical, surface and mechanical properties. Cancer is a tremendous burden to health care systems and requires innovative strategies to safely ferry encapsulated therapeutic agents to a pathological site against tedious biological barriers. In this study, platinum (core)-gold (shell) bimetallic nanoparticles was synthesised and functionalised with chitosan and doxorubicin (DOX) to display favourable pharmacokinetics, biodegradability, biological activity and safety in vitro. All PtAuBNps and their drug nanocomposites were morphologically and physicochemically characterised through UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM, ATR-FTIR and NTA. Binding studies were performed to determine the efficiency and bio-adhesiveness of platforms. In vitro release kinetics were evaluated under simulated environments, cytotoxicity profiles through MTT and SRB assays and apoptosis induction using the dual EtBr/AO staining. The results obtained indicate that functionalised PtAuBNps displayed favourable physiochemical attributes such as small size (<150 nm), excellent colloidal stability (>24 mV) and high binding capabilities (≥ 10% loading content and 70% encapsulation efficiency), pH-triggered drug release through zero-order release kinetics and cell specific cytotoxicity (≤ 50 % cell death recorded in all cancerous cell lines). Overall the positive attributes of this novel delivery system bodes well for future in vivo studies.
Semiparametric density testing in the contamination model

In this paper we investigate a semiparametric testing approach to answer if the Gaussian assumption made by McLachlan et al. (2006) on the unknown component of their false discovery type mixture model was a posteriori correct or not. Based on a semiparametric estimation of the Eu-clidean parameters of the model (free from the Gaussian assumption), our method compares pairwise the Hermite coefficients of the model estimated directly from the data with the ones obtained by plugging the estimated parameters into the Gaussian version of the false discovery mixture model. These comparisons are incorporated into a sum of square type statistic which order is controlled by a penalization rule. We prove under mild conditions that our test statistic is asymptotically χ 2 (1)-distributed and study its behavior under different types of alternatives, including contiguous non-parametric alternatives. Several level and power studies are numerically conducted on models close to those considered in McLachlan et al. (2006) to validate the suitability of our approach. We also discuss the lack of power of the maximum likelihood version of our test in a neighborhood of certain non identifiable situations and implement our testing procedure on the three microarray real datasets analyzed in McLachlan et al. (2006) and comment our results. Finally we discuss possible extension of this work to more general models. MSC 2010 subject classifications: Primary 62F03, 28C20; secondary 33C45.
Missing a follow-up after mild traumatic brain injury—Does it matter?

Abstract Objective: This study sought to identify potential differing clinical characteristics between patients with a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) who attended a planned follow-up session and not. This study investigated whether clinical characteristics and attendance for a planned follow-up service 2-months after injury could be related to return-to-work (RTW) 1-year later. Method: Prospective cohort study of 343 patients with MTBI admitted consecutively to the Department of Neurosurgery in 2009–2011. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from the hospital files and data about sick leave from The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service. Patients were categorized into two groups according to their attendance. Results: One hundred and sixty-one (67%) patients attended (AG) and 80 (33%) did not (NAG) attend their follow-up appointments. The AG had significantly more frequently intracranial pathology on CT scan, had consumed less alcohol and were older. Logistic regression showed that follow-up attendance (OR = 16.89) and sick leave before injury (OR = 9.70) are unfavourably related to RTW at 12-months. Skull fracture and cause of injury had no influence of the outcome. Conclusion: Not attending the follow-up has a favourable outcome after MBTI, indicating that these patients have a reduced need for medical and rehabilitation support for their brain injury.
Human papillomavirus positive squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx

Epidemiologic evidence points to a connection between viral infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and a subgroup of squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx. To assess the impact of HPV infection on the response of these tumors toward radiotherapy, the authors retrospectively determined the presence of the virus and the integrity of the viral E2 gene in tumors of patients who have undergone curative irradiation.
Mapping the Paths from Styles of Anger Experience and Expression to Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms: The Moderating Roles of Family Cohesion and Adaptability

Previous research has shown strong connections of anger experience and expression with obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms. Additionally, studies have demonstrated links between family environment variables and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Our study aims to integrate the perspectives from these two literatures by exploring the moderating roles of family cohesion and family adaptability in the relationship between anger proneness and suppression and OCD symptoms. A total of 2008 college students were recruited from a comprehensive university in Shanghai, China between February and May 2016. The subjects completed self-report inventories, including the Symptom Check List-90, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory 2 (Chinese version), and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale, second edition (Chinese Version). Controlling for age, one-child family status, ethnicity, family income, current depression, and anxiety, our analyses showed that the association between anger proneness and OC symptoms was moderated by family cohesion among men and that family adaptability moderated the connection between anger suppression and OC complaints among women. The findings imply that a more cohesive and empathic family environment may protect male students with high levels of anger proneness from developing OC behaviors or thoughts. The results suggest that for female subjects who are accustomed to suppressing angry feelings, flexible family coping strategies and communication atmospheres would reduce their vulnerability to OC symptoms. The findings are somewhat consistent with those of previous studies on psychotherapy outcomes that showed that OCD patients benefitted from psychotherapeutic interventions that cultivated the clients’ family cohesion and adaptability.
Cultivation of rabbit corneal epithelial cells in serum-free medium.

PURPOSE To establish conditions for cultivation, serial growth, and normal differentiation of corneal epithelial cells in serum-free medium (SFM). METHODS Rabbit corneal epithelial cells were co-cultured with lethally treated 3T3-cell feeder layers. Instead of serum, medium was supplemented with serum albumin, hormones, and other additives. Cell growth was quantitated spectrophotometrically with a new rhodamine-B staining protocol with a sensitivity range of 5 X 10(3) to 1 x 10(5) cells/cm2. Keratin expression was analyzed by immunostaining or sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cell extracts. RESULTS In SFM, without growth factors, cells grew no more than six to eight doublings, but when 10 ng/ml epidermal growth factor were added, serial transfer was possible, and epithelial cells grew to up to 18 to 20 doublings (three cell passages). Two cell colony types were seen: One type was composed of nonstratified proliferating cells, and the other of stratified cells expressing high levels of the differentiation-linked keratins K3 and K12. Confluent cultures formed a four- to five-layer stratified epithelium whose suprabasal cells were stained with anti-K12 antiserum. Acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors and epidermal growth factor reduced the expression of keratins K3 and K12. Transforming growth factor-alpha and epidermal growth factor led to the highest stimulation of cell proliferation. Limbal, peripheral, and central corneal epithelial cells showed similar clonal growth abilities, but colony size was larger for cells derived from limbal epithelium. CONCLUSIONS These SFM conditions support the serial transfer, normal differentiation, and formation of typical corneal epithelium by cultured corneal epithelial cells and are useful in studying and assaying a variety of cytokines and compounds that modulate corneal epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation.
Region merging for image segmentation based on unimodality tests

A novel approach is proposed for image segmentation based on region merging. We define a new criterion to decide on whether to merge two regions that does not require the specification of user defined thresholds. The method begins with an image oversegmentation (based on SLIC superpixels) into small homogeneous regions. At each step regions are iteratively merged to form larger regions based on the result of a merge test that measures unimodality as an indication of visual content homogeneity. More specifically, the merge test employs the dip-dist criterion that decides on the unimodality of a set of data objects through the application of the Hardigans' dip-test for unimodality. We propose a fast version of the dip-dist criterion, where the two feature centroids of the regions to be merged are used to decide on the unimodality of the region that results from merging. To demonstrate the performance of the method, we provide segmentation results for several images from well-known image datasets using CIELAB color as the feature vector of each pixel.
Perceptions of clinicians treating young people with first‐episode psychosis for post‐traumatic stress disorder

Evidence shows that approximately half of young people with first‐episode psychosis have post‐traumatic stress disorder. Yet, post‐traumatic stress disorder is often left untreated in the presence of psychosis. To support the development of a post‐traumatic stress disorder intervention for young people with first‐episode psychosis, clinicians' perceptions of trauma‐focused interventions were sought. Two research questions were explored: What treatment barriers were associated with treating young people with first‐episode psychosis? What supports would be useful to implement post‐traumatic stress disorder intervention?
Medicaid and Mortality: New Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data

We use large-scale federal survey data linked to administrative death records to investigate the relationship between Medicaid enrollment and mortality. Our analysis compares changes in mortality for near-elderly adults in states with and without Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions. We identify adults most likely to benefit using survey information on socioeconomic status, citizenship status, and public program participation. We find that, prior to the ACA expansions, mortality rates across expansion and non-expansion states trended similarly, but beginning in the first year of the policy, there were significant reductions in mortality in states that opted to expand relative to non- expanders. Individuals in expansion states experienced a 0.132 percentage point decline in annual mortality, a 9.4 percent reduction over the sample mean, as a result of the Medicaid expansions. The effect is driven by a reduction in disease-related deaths and grows over time. A variety of alternative specifications, methods of inference, placebo tests, and sample definitions confirm our main result.