Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mature Follicular Dendritic Cell Networks Depend on Expression of Lymphotoxin (cid:98) Receptor by Radioresistant Stromal Cells and of Lymphotoxin (cid:98) and Tumor Necrosis Factor by B Cells

Summary The formation of germinal centers (GCs) represents a crucial step in the humoral immune response. Recent studies using gene-targeted mice have revealed that the cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF), lymphotoxin (LT) (cid:97) , and LT (cid:98) , as well as their receptors TNF receptor p55 (TNFRp55) and LT (cid:98) R play essential roles in the development of GCs. To establish in which cell types expression of LT (cid:98) R, LT (cid:98) , and TNF is required for GC formation, LT (cid:98) R (cid:50) / (cid:50) , LT (cid:98) (cid:50) / (cid:50) , TNF (cid:50) / (cid:50) , B cell–deficient (BCR (cid:50) / (cid:50) ), and wild-type mice were used to generate reciprocal or mixed bone marrow (BM) chimeric mice. GCs, herein defined as peanut agglutinin–binding (PNA (cid:49) ) clusters of centroblasts/centrocytes in association with follicular dendritic cell (FDC) networks, were not detectable in LT (cid:98) R (cid:50) / (cid:50) hosts after transfer of wild-type BM. In contrast, the GC reaction was restored in LT (cid:98) (cid:50) / (cid:50) hosts reconstituted with either wild-type or LT (cid:98) R (cid:50) / (cid:50) BM. In BCR (cid:50) / (cid:50) recipients reconstituted with compound LT (cid:98) (cid:50) / (cid:50) /BCR (cid:50) / (cid:50) or TNF (cid:50) / (cid:50) /BCR (cid:50) / (cid:50) BM grafts, PNA (cid:49) cell clusters formed in splenic follicles, but associated FDC networks were strongly reduced or absent. Thus, development of splenic FDC networks depends on expression of LT (cid:98) and TNF by B lymphocytes and LT (cid:98) R by radioresistant stromal cells. R, LT (cid:98) , and TNF for GC development are available. This study demonstrates that engagement of the LT (cid:98) R on radioresistant cells is for creating intact microarchitecture, allowing T–B cell segrega-tion and establishment of GCs. Moreover, for full development of splenic FDC networks, B lymphocytes are required to produce both LT (cid:98) and TNF.
Imagining the Urban - Sanskrit and the City in Early India

In "Imagining the Urban", Shonaleeka Kaul turns to Sanskrit literature to discover the characteristics - both physical and social - of ancient Indian cities. Kaul examines nearly a thousand years of Sanskrit kavyas to see what India's early historic cities were like as living, lived-in entities, and discovers that they were vibrant and teeming with variety and life. As much about Sanskrit literature as about urban spaces - insofar as that literature reveals significant aspects of the Indian urban past - "Imagining the Urban" shows that Sanskrit literature is a rich source for historical understanding. Advocating the kavyas as an important historical source, Kaul provides a fresh view of the early city and shows distinctive ways of thought and behavior that relate to tradition, morality, and authority. With its provocative new questions about early Indian cities and ancient Indian texts, this book will be an essential read for scholars of urban history, Sanskrit writings, and South Asian antiquity.
Measurements of [delta]15N of nitrogen gas and composition of trace gases in air from firn and ice cores

An ice core from Berkner Island, Antarctica, a coastal site on the Weddell Sea facing the Southern Atlantic Ocean, provides a new climate record and insights into north-south teleconnections. Isotopic measurements (δD and δO) show two distinct peaks during Marine Isotopic Stage 3 corresponding to the Antarctic Isotope Maximum 8 and 12 climate events. A novel extraction method was developed to enable high precision and high resolution measurements of δN of N2 in air occluded in bubbles in ice from depths spanning these two events. Changes of ~ +0.07‰ in δN were observed. The δN data correlates with δD data (r = 0.78) and therefore can be regarded as a climate proxy. Another δN change of +0.18 ‰ was observed around 33 kyr BP, which does not correlate to any events in the δD profile but correlates with the period where large altitudinal changes occurred in the ice sheet at Berkner Island. An important aspect of this study is the opportunity it provides to phase δN with methane, the latter being considered as a proxy for climate change in the northern hemisphere. The data indicate that warming in Antarctica precedes Greenland warming. The time lag estimate between the onset of AIM 12 and the onset of DO 12 is 1600 ± 350 yrs and between AIM 8 and DO 8 is 1100 ± 360 yrs. A 20 century atmospheric record for perfluorocarbons (CF4, C2F6, C3F8, c-C4F8), HFC-23, SF6 and SF5CF3 was reconstructed from firn air from the EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) site. The study provides the longest atmospheric history of the perfluorocarbons. The natural variability of CF4 was also investigated in old air extracted from Berkner Island ice cores, showing that atmospheric CF4 during the glacial period was higher than in 19 th century.
Health at a Glance: Europe 2014

This third edition of Health at a Glance: Europe presents a set of key indicators related to health status, determinants of health, health care resources and activities, quality of care, access to care, and health expenditure and financing in 35 European countries, including the 28 European Union member states, four candidate countries and three EFTA countries. The selection of indicators is based largely on the European Core Health Indicators (ECHI) shortlist, a set of indicators that has been developed to guide the reporting of health statistics in the European Union. This is complemented by additional indicators on quality of care, access to care and health expenditure, building on the OECD expertise in these areas. Compared with the previous edition, this third edition includes a greater number of ECHI indicators, reflecting progress in the availability of comparable data in the areas of non-medical determinants of health and access to care. It also includes a new chapter dedicated to access to care, including selected indicators on financial access, geographic access and timely access.
The Atypical Inhibitor of NF- (cid:2) B, I (cid:2) B (cid:3) , Controls Macrophage Interleukin-10 Expression

Macrophages constitute a first line of pathogen defense by triggering a number of inflammatory responses and the secretion of various pro-inflammatory cytokines. Recently, we and othersfoundthatI (cid:2) B (cid:3) ,anatypicalI (cid:2) Bfamilymemberandtran-scriptional coactivator of selected NF- (cid:2) B target genes, is essential for macrophage expression of a subset of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-12, and CCL2. Despite defective pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, however, I (cid:2) B (cid:3) -deficient mice develop symptoms of chronic inflammation. To elucidate this discrepancy, we analyzed a regulatory role of I (cid:2) B (cid:3) for the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines and identified I (cid:2) B (cid:3) as an essential activator of IL-10 expression. LPS-challenged peritoneal and bone marrow-derived macrophages from I (cid:2) B (cid:3) deficient mice revealed strongly decreased transcription and secretion of IL-10 compared with wild-type mice. Moreover, ectopic expression of I (cid:2) B (cid:3) Together, our findings show for the first time the I (cid:2) B (cid:3) -depen-dent expression of an anti-inflammatory cytokine that is crucial in controlling immune responses.
Low‐ and high‐temperature alterations of volcanic rocks in the northwestern Philippine Sea, and association with volcanic settings

Petrological and geochemical characteristics of low‐ and high‐temperature alterations were investigated in volcanic rocks from the northern Philippine Sea. The assemblage of secondary minerals is divided into two groups based on microprobe and XRD analyses. The first group, comprising samples from the Kyushu‐Palau Ridge and Urdaneta Plateau, includes calcite, phillipsite, clay minerals and Fe‐oxyhydroxides, reflecting low‐temperature alteration. The content of secondary deposition is high in the Kyushu‐Palau Ridge, but low in the Urdaneta Plateau. The second group, consisting of samples from the Amami Plateau, includes secondary alkali feldspar, analcime, and chlorite, reflecting high‐temperature hydrothermal alteration. As groundmass alteration is dominant in the studied volcanic rocks, the alteration index, defined as the ratio of secondary minerals in voids to the total material count, is useful for estimating alteration degree when precise identification of secondary materials is difficult in highly vesicular rocks. Alteration indexes correlate with bulk H2O+ and loss on ignition (LOI) contents, and bulk major and trace element compositions of the studied volcanic rocks change with alteration. The difference of alteration types in three regions may depend on the tectonic setting of volcanism. That is: (i) the Kyushu‐Palau Ridge is covered with the last lava flow of rifting volcanism associated with spreading of the Shikoku Basin, and the volcanics reacted with circulating seawater under low temperatures and oxidative conditions; (ii) the Urdaneta Plateau was formed as a result of intra‐plate volcanism, and the volcanics were under seafloor weathering without seawater circulation associated with volcanic activity; and (iii) the Amami Plateau was produced by Cretaceous arc volcanism, which suffered high‐temperature alteration associated with intrusive activity of tonalite.
Symptoms in Pediatric Asthmatics and Air Pollution: Differences in Effects

1Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 USA; 2Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA 92103 USA; 3Department of Allergy, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, San Diego, CA 92111 USA; 4Health Advance Institute, San Diego, CA 92123 USA; 5Bayer Corporation, Allergy Products, Independence, OR 97351 USA
Identification of P1 gene domain containing epitope(s) mediating Mycoplasma pneumoniae cytoadherence

A genomic library of Mycoplasma pneumoniae was constructed by cloning sheared genomic DNA into the expression vector lambda gt11. Recombinant clones were screened using anti-M. pneumoniae mAbs reactive with adhesin P1 epitopes that mediate cytadherence. 10 clones with different size inserts were isolated. These clones possessed P1 sequences localized to the COOH terminus of the P1 gene. All clones produced fusion proteins that reacted with acute and convalescent sera of patients infected with M. pneumoniae. Interestingly, one clone, P1-7, contained an epitope that was confined to a region of 13 amino acids present in the M. pneumoniae genome as a single copy. The identification of this cytadherence-related epitope permits the production of a synthetic peptide that can be used as a rational vaccine candidate and serodiagnostic probe.
The prospects of cellulase-producing bacteria for the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass

Lignocellulosic biomass is a renewable and abundant resource with great potential for bioconversion to value-added bioproducts. However, the biorefining process remains economically unfeasible due to a lack of biocatalysts that can overcome costly hurdles such as cooling from high temperature, pumping of oxygen/stirring, and, neutralization from acidic or basic pH. The extreme environmental resistance of bacteria permits screening and isolation of novel cellulases to help overcome these challenges. Rapid, efficient cellulase screening techniques, using cellulase assays and metagenomic libraries, are a must. Rare cellulases with activities on soluble and crystalline cellulose have been isolated from strains of Paenibacillus and Bacillus and shown to have high thermostability and/or activity over a wide pH spectrum. While novel cellulases from strains like Cellulomonas flavigena and Terendinibacter turnerae, produce multifunctional cellulases with broader substrate utilization. These enzymes offer a framework for enhancement of cellulases including: specific activity, thermalstability, or end-product inhibition. In addition, anaerobic bacteria like the clostridia offer potential due to species capable of producing compound multienzyme complexes called cellulosomes. Cellulosomes provide synergy and close proximity of enzymes to substrate, increasing activity towards crystalline cellulose. This has lead to the construction of designer cellulosomes enhanced for specific substrate activity. Furthermore, cellulosome-producing Clostridium thermocellum and its ability to ferment sugars to ethanol; its amenability to co-culture and, recent advances in genetic engineering, offer a promising future in biofuels. The exploitation of bacteria in the search for improved enzymes or strategies provides a means to upgrade feasibility for lignocellulosic biomass conversion, ultimately providing means to a 'greener' technology.
Rheological properties of deep subducted oceanic lithosphere and their geodynamic implications

According to the experimental studies on the rheology of two important mantle rocks (eclogite and harzburgite), the rheological properties of the deep subducted oceanic lithosphere are investigated by assuming a simplified harzburgite type slab model with moderate thickness of basaltic layer. When the mantle convergence rate is small or the subducting slab has been trapped in the mantle for an enough long time, the strength profile of the slab is characterized by a strong subducting crustal component lying on a weak subducting upper mantle. However, if the convergence rate is large enough, the subducting slab will be featured only by a rigid cold center. Our study suggests that the detachment of the subducting crust component from the underlying upper mantle is only likely to happen in hot slow subducting slabs, but not the cold fast subducting lithosphere. Rheological properties of the harzburgitic and the eclogitic upper mantle vary with depths. The eclogitic upper mantle is stronger than the peridotitic upper mantle across the upper mantle. Transition zone is the high strength and high viscosity layer in the upper mantle except the lithosphere.
Altitude profiles of lower thermospheric temperature from RAIDS/NIRS and TIMED/SABER remote sensing experiments

Thermospheric temperatures derived from limb observations of the O2 A‐Band (0,0) emission spectrum obtained from January–July 2010, with the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS) aboard the International Space Station, are compared to temperature results from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) experiment. To account for a lack of simultaneous common volume observations, the observed temperatures were scaled by the NRLMSIS‐00 model temperatures for comparison. It was found that on average SABER, temperatures are warmer than NIRS at all altitudes between 90 and 140 km. In the altitude range 90–100 km, the SABER temperatures were warmer than NIRS by ~10 K consistent with previous validation experiments and in agreement with Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imaging System (OSIRIS) O2 A‐band comparisons in the polar mesopause region. At higher altitudes, the differences between SABER and NIRS exceed 30 K on average. Thus, the NIRS observations reinforce the idea that the SABER temperatures are too warm below ~110 km; and above that altitude, they are increasingly in error consistent with expectations based on estimated inaccuracies in the retrieval algorithm. Large standard deviations of the SABER and NIRS ratios are reflective of substantial variability of the thermospheric temperatures throughout the region.
The history of scientific research on the North Atlantic Oscillation

The North Atlantic Oscillation is one of the most dominant and oldest known world weather patterns. This article will briefly review the intriguing discovery and history of scientific research of this fascinating phenomenon. By reviewing previous scientific investigations, it can be seen that several contemporary themes have recurred ever since the early scientific studies. The review will conclude with a brief speculation on how these themes are likely to develop with future research.
Reexamination of Mesozoic Canadian dinoflagellate cysts published by S. A. J. Pocock (1962, 1972)

Abstract Holotypes and some other illustrated specimens of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous dinoflagellate cysts from Canada, published by S. A. J. Pocock (1962, 1972), were reexamined for new detail and redescribed; their nomenclature has been adjusted to current usage. Not all holotypes could be located; two new lectotypes were designated. One new species, Leptodinium peromatum, is named and fifteen new combinations are proposed: Chytroeisphaeridia gochtii; Circulodinium brevispinosum, C. distinc‐tum; Endoscrinium? variabile; Evansia opeasatos, E. reticulopilosa, E. tripartita, E. tripartita subs, rotunda, E. zabra; Rhynchodiniopsis canadensis, R. downiei, R. gochtii; Scriniocassis klementii, S. reticulata; Sentusidiniwn asymmetricum.
WITH NATURAL

We have previously described cloned populations of mouse leukocytes specialized to perform different immunologic activities (1-9). According to their function and surface glycoprotein expression, individual clones represent antigen-specific suppressor T cells (2, 3) inducer T cells (4, 5), or mast cells (5, 6). Another clone (7-9) mediates natural killer (NK) x cell activity and ant ibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and also expresses plasma membrane receptors (Fc,R) that bind IgE with high affinity. These clones are phenotypical ly stable and can be expanded to >10 s cells in vitro. In addit ion to facilitating studies of leukocyte function, these cloned lines constitute a unique resource for examining the morphology and biochemistry of leukocyte subsets. In this report, we define a constellation of ultrastructural, cytochemical, and biochemical features expressed by both a cloned line with N K activity (CI.LyI 2 N K I + / 1 1 ) and cloned suppressor T cells (C1.Ly-2+3+/4), notably osmiophilic, chondroi t in sulfate-rich cytoplasmic granules similar to those of mouse basophils (8, 10, 11). Cloned inducer T cells (CI .Ly-I+2-/9) lack cytoplasmic granules and also differ from the other clones in ability to take up serotonin and in ultrastructural localization of nonspecific esterase activity. We suggest that the features defined here, when considered together with patterns of surface glycoprotein expression and immunologic activity, may help elucidate questions of leukocyte ontogeny and function.
Transcriptomic and Genetic Analyses Identify the Krüppel-Like Factor Dar1 as a New Regulator of Tube-Shaped Long Tendon Development

To ensure locomotion and body stability, the active role of muscle contractions relies on a stereotyped muscle pattern set in place during development. This muscle patterning requires a precise assembly of the muscle fibers with the skeleton via a specialized connective tissue, the tendon. Like in vertebrate limbs, Drosophila leg muscles make connections with specific long tendons that extend through different segments. During the leg disc development, cell precursors of long tendons rearrange and collectively migrate to form a tube-shaped structure. A specific developmental program underlies this unique feature of tendon-like cells in the Drosophila model. We provide for the first time a transcriptomic profile of leg tendon precursors through fluorescence-based cell sorting. From promising candidates, we identified the Krüppel-like factor Dar1 as a critical actor of leg tendon development. Specifically expressed in the leg tendon precursors, loss of dar1 disrupts actin-rich filopodia formation and tendon elongation. Our findings show that Dar1 acts downstream of Stripe and is required to set up the correct number of tendon progenitors.
Las personas con discapacidad en América Latina a 20 años de los consensos de El Cairo: la necesidad de información para políticas y programas

The main objective of this paper is to examine the progress that the countries of Latin America have made in the collection of data on persons with disabilities through the censuses taken during the two decades originally agreed as the deadline for implementing the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, adopted in 1994, when a section was devoted to this population group. For this analysis the forms used in the last three census rounds were examined, considering the inclusion of this item in the questionnaires, the paradigm underlying its inclusion and adherence to international recommendations. We also describe and analyze some indicators developed using census microdata from the countries of the region for the 2000 and 2010 rounds, in order to illustrate, on the one hand, unresolved issues concerning the gathering of census information on disabilities and, on the other, the potential for using such information in developing a sociodemographic profile of people with disabilities in Latin America.
The impact of dietary restriction, intermittent feeding and compensatory growth on reproductive investment and lifespan in a short-lived fish

While dietary restriction usually increases lifespan, an intermittent feeding regime, where periods of deprivation alternate with times when food is available, has been found to reduce lifespan in some studies but prolong it in others. We suggest that these disparities arise because in some situations lifespan is reduced by the costs of catch-up growth (following the deprivation) and reproductive investment, a factor that has rarely been measured in studies of lifespan. Using three-spined sticklebacks, we show for the first time that while animals subjected to an intermittent feeding regime can grow as large as continuously fed controls that receive the same total amount of food, and can maintain reproductive investment, they have a shorter lifespan. Furthermore, we show that this reduction in lifespan is linked to rapid skeletal growth rate and is due to an increase in the instantaneous risk of mortality rather than in the rate of senescence. By contrast, dietary restriction caused a reduction in reproductive investment in females but no corresponding increase in longevity. This suggests that in short-lived species where reproduction is size dependent, selection pressures may lead to an increase in intrinsic mortality risk when resources are diverted from somatic maintenance to both growth and reproductive investment.