Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MiceAcute and Chronic Allograft Rejection in B Lymphocytes Differentially Influence

The relative contributions of B lymphocytes and plasma cells during allograft rejection remain unclear. Therefore, the effects of B cell depletion on acute cardiac rejection, chronic renal rejection, and skin graft rejection were compared using CD20 or CD19 mAbs. Both CD20 and CD19 mAbs effectively depleted mature B cells, and CD19 mAb treatment depleted plasmablasts and some plasma cells. B cell depletion did not affect acute cardiac allograft rejection, although CD19 mAb treatment prevented allograft-speciﬁc IgG production. Strikingly, CD19 mAb treatment signiﬁcantly reduced renal allograft rejection and abrogated allograft-speciﬁc IgG development, whereas CD20 mAb treatment did not. By contrast, B cell depletion exacerbated skin allograft rejection and augmented the proliferation of adoptively transferred alloantigen-speciﬁc CD4 + T cells, demonstrating that B cells can also negatively regulate allograft rejection. Thereby, B cells can either positively or negatively regulate allograft rejection depending on the nature of the allograft and the intensity of the rejection response. Moreover, CD19 mAb may represent a new approach for depleting both B cells and plasma cells to concomitantly impair T cell activation, inhibit the generation of new allograft-speciﬁc Abs, or reduce preexisting allograft-speciﬁc Ab levels in transplant patients. The Journal of Immunology , 2011, 186: 2643–2654. he relative of B lymphocytes and plasma during allograft rejection remain unclear because B cells perform multiple functions during immune responses. For example, terminally differentiated plasma cells can secrete pathogenic Ab. B cells also positively regulate cellular immune responses by serving as APCs, and B cells are required for optimal Ag-speciﬁc
Gram-Negative Bacteria NADPH Oxidase Function and Killing of Cutting Edge: MyD88 Controls Phagocyte

MyD88 is an adaptor protein for the TLR family of proteins that has been implicated as a critical mediator of innate immune responses to pathogen detection. In this study, we report that MyD88 plays a crucial role in killing Gram-negative bacteria by primary macrophages via influencing NADPH oxidase function. Peritoneal macrophages from MyD88 (cid:1) / (cid:1) mice exhibited a marked inabil-ity to kill Escherichia coli (F18) or an attenuated strain of Salmonella typhimurium ( sseB ) in vitro. This defect in killing was due to diminished NADPH oxidase-mediated production of superoxide anion in response to bacteria by MyD88 (cid:1) / (cid:1) phagocytes as a consequence of defective NADPH oxidase assembly. Defective oxidase assembly in MyD88-deficient macrophages resulted from impaired p38 MAPK activation and subsequent phosphorylation of p47 phox . Together these data demonstrate a pivotal role for MyD88 in killing Gram-negative bacteria via modulation of NADPH oxidase activity in phagocytic cells. The Journal of Immunology, 2005, 175: 5596–5600.
STATE OF CONNECTICUT

The New Source Review (NSR) permitting program is an important element of Connecticut’s strategy to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). As a result of CTDEP’s efforts to implement this strategy, we have seen significant decreases in our ambient emissions levels. Nonetheless, our location in the eastern airshed places us in the path of transported emissions levels so high as to often overwhelm emissions from local sources, thereby hampering our ability to attain compliance for all of the NAAQS. For these reasons, we have worked with EPA and other states in the region to improve both national and state regulations that influence emissions. We offer our comments on the Rule in this context.
Epiphytic Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens strains isolated from symptomless solanaceous vegetables are pathogenic on leguminous but not on solanaceous plants

E. Osdaghi*, S. M. Taghavi, H. Hamzehzarghani, A. Fazliarab, R. M. Harveson, S. Tegli and J. R. Lamichhane Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71441-65186, Iran; Panhandle Research & Extension Center, University of Nebraska, 4502 Ave. I. , Scottsbluff, NE 69361, USA; Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Agroalimentari e dell’Ambiente, Laboratorio di Patologia Vegetale Molecolare, Universit a degli Studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy and Eco-Innov, INRA, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
Cellulase production by two Streptomyces species

Optimization of cellulase production by two actinobacterial species, identified as Streptomyces auranticus and Streptomyces minoensis, was studied on Hutchinson medium containing cellulose as carbon source. The optimal incubation period, temperature and initial pH recorded for maximum enzyme yield of Streptomyces minoensis were 6 days, 35C and 8.0 respectively. Meanwhile, Streptomyces auranticus showed different conditions for maximum enzyme production (8 days, 35C and pH 7.0). The best growth for the two isolates was recorded at 30C. The maximum cellulase production was observed in a medium containing carboxy-methylcellulose (CMC) and xylan as carbon sources for Streptomyces auranticus and Streptomyces minoensis respectively. The addition of tryptone as a nitrogen source exhibited a maximum cellulase activity for the two identified Streptomycetes species.
ON THE INSTABILITY OF MATCHING QUEUES BY PASCAL MOYAL

A matching queue is described via a graph, an arrival process and a matching policy. Specifically, to each node in the graph there is a corresponding arrival process of items, which can either be queued or matched with queued items in neighboring nodes. The matching policy specifies how items are matched whenever more than one matching is possible. Given the matching graph and the matching policy, the stability region of the system is the set of intensities of the arrival processes rendering the underlying Markov process positive recurrent. In a recent paper, a condition on the arrival intensities, which was named NCOND, was shown to be necessary for the stability of a matching queue. That condition can be thought of as an analogue to the usual traffic condition for traditional queueing networks, and it is thus natural to study whether it is also sufficient. In this paper, we show that this is not the case in general. Specifically, we prove that, except for a particular class of graphs, there always exists a matching policy rendering the stability region strictly smaller than the set of arrival intensities satisfying NCOND. Our proof combines graphand queueing-theoretic techniques: After showing explicitly, via fluid-limit arguments that the stability regions of two basic models is strictly included in NCOND, we generalize this result to any graph inducing either one of those two basic graphs.
Prenatal Loss at Term: The Role of Uteroplacental and Fetal Doppler Assessment

Objective: To examine the association of uterine artery (UtA) Doppler indices and cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) on perinatal outcome at term. Methods: This retrospective cohort study conducted in a single tertiary referral centre included all singleton pregnancies undergoing ultrasound assessment in the third trimester, which subsequently delivered at term. Fetal biometry and Dopplers including the umbilical artery (UA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) and uterine artery were recorded. Data was corrected for gestational age and CPR was calculated as a ratio between the MCA pulsatility index (PI) and UA PI. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine for independent predictors of adverse perinatal outcome. Results: The study included 7013 pregnancies; 12 were complicated by perinatal death. When compared to pregnancies resulting in live birth, pregnancies complicated by perinatal death had significantly more small for gestational age (SGA) infants (27.3% vs 5%, p=0.001) and a higher incidence of low CPR (16.7% vs 4.5%, p= 0.041). A subgroup analysis comparing 1527 low risk pregnancies demonstrated that the UtA PI MoM, CPR <5 centile and estimated fetal weight (EFW) centile were all significantly associated with the risk of perinatal death at term (all p<0.05). After adjusting for confounding variables, only EFW (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93-0.99; p=0.003) and UtA PI MoM (OR 13.10, 95%CI 1.95-87.89; p=0.008) remained independent predictors of perinatal death in the low risk cohort. Conclusion: High uterine artery PI at term is independently associated with increased risk of adverse perinatal outcome regardless of fetal size. These results suggest that perinatal mortality at term is related, not only to EFW and fetal redistribution (CPR), but also on indices of uterine perfusion.
The Archaeology of Wine Production in Roman and Pre-Roman Italy

The world of vinicultural archaeology has expanded exponentially over the past two decades, adding novel discoveries, methodologies, theories, and new archaeological evidence. Despite this, focused regional or site-specific approaches and syntheses dominate scholarship. This article provides an alternate, macroperspective via a comprehensive update and overview of the archaeological evidence for the entire Italian peninsula. When considered as a whole, the sheer quantity of evidence is simply a starting point for future research directions. New data from pre-Roman Italy might suggest localized indigenous winemaking experimentation, contrasting with traditionally dominant east–west colonial diffusionist models. Detailed cataloguing and interpretation of Roman wineries demonstrate that two dominant press types were present simultaneously. Along with these syntheses, previously unpublished evidence is analyzed for the first time, including conspicuous, lavish, and theatrical wine production at the Villa dei Quintili just outside Rome.1
Three-dimensional flow field measurements in the wake of a tethered sphere crossing the onset of vortex induced vibrations

Abstract The changing three-dimensional vortex shedding topology of a heavy, tethered sphere exposed to uniform flow crossing the onset of vortex induced vibrations (VIV) is reported together with simultaneously tracked sphere positions. Transient upstream flow conditions were imposed by increasing the reduced velocity from $U^{*} = 2.2$ to 4.5 (‘lock-in’, mode I). Three-dimensional vortex shedding under these transient conditions strongly resembled those at steady conditions at the same $U^{*}$. Changes in the wake accompanying the onset of VIV indicated several well-defined stages associated with the changing instantaneous location of the velocity deficit centroid and the wake's symmetry plane's orientation. Before the onset of VIV, the appearance of induced vortices led to lock-in of streamwise sphere oscillations prior to lock-in in the transverse direction. Shortly after ($U^{*} \approx 3.6$), preferential vortex shedding (wake symmetry plane aligned with tether) was lost. Upon reaching $U^{*} = 4.5$, flow–structure interaction reorganised vortex shedding and sphere motion, resulting in steady state conditions after some delay. At this stage, the symmetry plane was aligned perpendicular to the tether and pairs of alternately shed, single hairpins exerted transverse forcing on the sphere. At $U^{*} = 7.2$ (mode II, steady upstream flow), pairs of double hairpins were shed per oscillation period with maximum instantaneous vortex force coefficients that were higher than at $U^{*} = 4.5$. While the present Reynolds numbers ($Re$) were chosen low, the different identified stages in the onset of VIV are also expected to be relevant at a higher $Re$ range.
Association between cadmium and lead co-exposure, blood pressure, and hypertension: a cross-sectional study from northwest China

Abstract Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) co-exposure have been inconsistently associated with blood pressure (BP) and hypertension (HTN). This cross-sectional study included 309 participants who completed a health examination and had blood Cd (Cd-B) and Pb (Pb-B) levels measured. The association between Cd, Pb, and their combined exposure levels, with systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and HTN was evaluated using models which were stratified according to sex, age, BMI, and smoking habit categories. The results found both increasing Cd-B and Pb-B were associated with elevated SBP and DBP in the overall population. In addition, increases in Cd-B and Pb-B were also associated with increased risk of HTN in overall and stratified models. Moreover, compared with the low exposure group, co-exposure to high levels of Cd and Pb was associated with increased SBP (β = 10.95, 95% CI: 5.69, 16.21), increased DBP (β = 5.09, 95% CI: 1.53, 8.66), and increased HTN risk (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.15, 5.21) in the overall model, and above results were different in the stratified model. This study provides evidence of an association between Cd and/or Pb exposure levels, BP, and HTN. However, the significance of this association differed according to sex, age, BMI, and smoking habit. Highlights Cadmium/lead exposure is associated with elevated blood pressure and hypertension. Cadmium and lead co-exposure increased blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner. Results revealed differences according to sex, age, BMI, and smoking habit category. Health oversight should be implemented for residents with high heavy metal exposure.
Choosing Answers in ε-Best-Answer Identification for Linear Bandits

In pure-exploration problems, information is gathered sequentially to answer a question on the stochastic environment. While best-arm identification for linear bandits has been extensively studied in recent years, few works have been dedicated to identifying one arm that is $\varepsilon$-close to the best one (and not exactly the best one). In this problem with several correct answers, an identification algorithm should focus on one candidate among those answers and verify that it is correct. We demonstrate that picking the answer with highest mean does not allow an algorithm to reach asymptotic optimality in terms of expected sample complexity. Instead, a \textit{furthest answer} should be identified. Using that insight to choose the candidate answer carefully, we develop a simple procedure to adapt best-arm identification algorithms to tackle $\varepsilon$-best-answer identification in transductive linear stochastic bandits. Finally, we propose an asymptotically optimal algorithm for this setting, which is shown to achieve competitive empirical performance against existing modified best-arm identification algorithms.
$\mathcal{S}$-adic characterization of minimal dendric shifts

Dendric shifts are defined by combinatorial restrictions of the extensions of the words in their languages. This family generalizes well-known families of shifts such as Sturmian shifts, Arnoux-Rauzy shifts and codings of interval exchange transformations. It is known that any minimal dendric shift has a primitive $\mathcal{S}$-adic representation where the morphisms in $\mathcal{S}$ are positive tame automorphisms of the free group generated by the alphabet. In this paper we give an $\mathcal{S}$-adic characterization of this family by means of two finite graphs. As an application, we are able to decide whether a shift space generated by a uniformly recurrent morphic word is (eventually) dendric.
Gameful civic education: A systematic literature review of empirical research

Gameful approaches to learning have gradually been established as the go-to rhetoric when attempting to increase engagement with learning. This has especially been the case in educational activities that have long-term missions or teach abstract concepts, such as life skills, communal tolerance, or civic education at large, where there exist several pedagogical challenges in making the context meaningful to the youth. However, currently there is no clear overall view on what kind of gameful affordances are utilized in teaching these subjects and what are their reported impacts. To investigate the state-of-the-art of this corpus, 36 empirical papers were identified and systematically reviewed. The current literature, overall, draws quite an optimistic image of the benefits of game-based approaches in civic education. Most of the reported gamification designs included characters and roleplay, social aspects such as co-op and chat functions, as well as 3D worlds and game maps for students to navigate in. Furthermore, the corpus reported positive impact of gamification on learning in the context of civic education as well as positive impact on cognitive, emotional, motivational and social experiences and motivation. However, the lack of detailed descriptions of the exact attributes that facilitated these favorable shifts indicates a need for more systematic research to identify the long-term and transferable influence game-based approaches have on formal civic education and students’ civic skills.
The Reversible Temporal Process Language

Reversible debuggers help programmers to find the causes of misbehaviours in concurrent programs more quickly, by executing a program backwards from the point where a misbehaviour was observed, and looking for the bug(s) that caused it. Reversible debuggers can be founded on the well-studied theory of causal-consistent reversibility, which only allows one to undo an action provided that its consequences, if any, are undone beforehand. Causal-consistent reversibility yields more efficient debugging by reducing the number of states to be explored when looking backwards. Till now, causal-consistent reversibility has never considered time, which is a key aspect in real-world applications. Here, we study the interplay between reversibility and time in concurrent systems via a process algebra. The Temporal Process Language (TPL) by Hennessy and Regan is a well-understood extension of CCS with discrete-time and a timeout operator. We define revTPL, a reversible extension of TPL, and we show that it satisfies the properties expected from a causal-consistent reversible calculus. We show that, alternatively, revTPL can be interpreted as an extension of reversible CCS with time.
Reflection on the Octalysis framework as a design and evaluation tool

The Octalysis framework is a gamification framework used for the design and evaluation of “human-focused” systems. Although several practitioners have applied it within their daily work, only a few academic articles have reflected on its applicability. With this study, we present how and where the framework is currently applied based on a large-scale literature study and reflect on the potentials and obstacles of using it within a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) master’s class. Our empirical findings show that the use of the Octalysis framework is often simplified and can also be overwhelming. The results further reveal that the framework itself can be helpful in the creation and evaluation of concepts, especially when extensive user research is not possible (e.g., due to time constraints). We contribute to the field of gamification by critically reflecting on the use of the Octalysis framework.
Functional Interaction between p 2 raPlPA and Components of the Budding Pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The raplA gene encodes a 21-kDa, ras-related GTP-binding protein (p2lPIlA) of unknown function. A close structural homolog of p2l'aPA (65% identity in the amino-terminal two-thirds) is the RSRI gene product (Rsrlp) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although Rsrlp is not essential for growth, its presence is required for nonrandom selection ofbud sites. To assess the similarity of these proteins at the functional level, wild-type and mutant forms of p21'aPlA were tested for complementation of activities known to be fulfilled by Rsrlp. Expression of p2l'PlA, like multicopy expression of RSRI, suppressed the conditional lethality of a temperature-sensitive cdc24 mutation. Point mutations predicted to affect the localization of p2lmPlA or its ability to cycle between GDP and GTP-bound states disrupted suppression of cdc24e, while other mutations in the 61-65 loop region improved suppression. Expression of p2l'IPlA could not, however, suppress the random budding phenotype of rsrl cells. p2l'PlA also apparently interfered with the normal activity of Rsrlp, causing random budding in diploid wild-type cells, suggesting an inability of p2l'YIIA to interact appropriately with Rsrlp regulatory proteins. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found an Rsrlp-specific GTPase-activating protein (GAP) activity in yeast membranes which was not active toward p21l*PlA, indicating that p21IPJA may be predominantly GTP bound in yeast cells. Coexpression of human Rapl-specific GAP suppressed the random budding due to expression of p2l'EPlA or its derivatives, including RaplAVaIl2. Although Rapl-specific GAP stimulated the GTPase of Rsrlp in vitro, it did not dominantly interfere with Rsrlp function in vivo. A chimera consisting of RaplA1-165::Rsr1p66 '272 did not exhibit normal Rsrlp function in the budding pathway. These results indicated that p21l'PlA and Rsrlp share at least partial functional homology, which may have implications for p2lrPA function in mammalian cells.
Thermal simulation of a continuous casting process subjected to water-sprays cooling

As in many thermal processing technologies, there is a delicate balance between productivity and quality during ingot cooling process. Higher cooling velocities increase productivity but also create higher temperature gradients inside the ingot. Such a fast cooling does not leave sufficient time to establish the equilibrium within the solid, thus the final metal structure is strongly affected by the set up cooling mode throughout the liquid metal solidification. The first intention in this paper is to compare between three cooling modes in order to identify the required mode for a continuous casting process. Then, we study the influence of heat transfer coefficient on metal liquid-to-solid transition through the spray-cooled zone temperature and the metal latent heat of solidification. A gray iron continuous casting process subjected to water-sprays cooling was simulated using the commercial software for modeling and simulating multiphysics and engineering problems. The primary conclusions, from the obtained results, show the forcefulness of water spray cooling regarding standard cooling. Afterward, we highlight the great influence of heat transfer coefficient on the location of transition region as well as the relationship between heat transfer coefficient, wall outer temperature, latent heat dissipation, and the solidification time.