Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibodies to human major histocompatibility complex products inhibit Fcγ receptors types I and II

We have analysed the effect of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies of distinct IgG isotypes directed against products of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on the function of Fcγ receptors types I (FcγRI) and II (FcγRII). Human anti‐D sensitized red blood cells (RBC), selectively binding to FcγRI, and bovine or murine IgG1 (bIgG1 or mIgG1) sensitized RBC, selectively binding to FcγRII, were employed as targets for the effector cell in order to distinguish the inhibition of both types. Using these targets it could be shown that human antibodies to products of the human MHC or murine monoclonal antibodies with the same specificity and mIgG2a isotype inhibited both the FcγRI‐ and the FcγRII‐mediated function. In contrast, murine monoclonal antibodies with the same specificity but of the mIgG1 isotype only inhibited the FcγRII‐mediated function. In a control experiment, human and murine antibodies to products of the MHC did not impair the FcγR‐independent phagocytosis of Saccharomyces by monocytes and neutrophils. The present study suggests that this mechanism involves at least two different Fcγ receptors.
A prospective study of coffee drinking and suicide in women.

BACKGROUND Among the many reported central nervous system effects of long-term caffeine use is improvement in mood. OBJECTIVE To examine prospectively the relationship of coffee and caffeine intake to risk of death from suicide. METHODS We conducted a 10-year follow-up study (1980 to 1990) in an ongoing cohort of 86 626 US female registered nurses aged 34 to 59 years in 1980, who were free of diagnosed coronary heart disease, stroke, or cancer. Information on coffee and caffeine intake was collected by a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire in 1980. Deaths from suicide were determined by physician review of death certificates. RESULTS Fifty-six cases of suicide occurred during 832 704 person-years of observation. Compared with non-drinkers of coffee, the age-adjusted relative risk of suicide in women who consumed two to three cups per day was 0.34 (95% confidence interval [CI, 0.17 to 0.68) and 0.42 (95% CI, 0.21 to 0.86) in women who consumed four or more cups per day (P for linear trend=.002). These findings remained essentially unchanged after adjusting for a broad range of potential confounding factors, including smoking habit, alcohol intake, medication use (diazepam and phenothiazine), history of comorbid disease (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or diabetes), marital status, and self-reported stress. A strong inverse relationship was similarly found for caffeine intake from all sources and risk of suicide. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest a strong inverse association between coffee intake and risk of suicide. Whether regular intake of coffee or caffeine has clinically significant effects on the maintenance of affect or the prevention of depression merits further investigation in clinical trials and population-based prospective studies.
Adaptation and validation of a telephone questionnaire--Serbian version for case detection of rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy (multicentric Eular study).

OBJECTIVE To adapt and validate a telephone questionnaire for case detection of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthropathies (SpA) in the Serbian population. METHODS A questionnaire, developed by the French Society of Rheumatology and successfully tested in France, was adapted to the Serbian language using a cross-cultural adaptation process. It was validated in 150 patients: 50 with RA, 50 with SpA and 50 with degenerative rheumatic disorders. They were recruited from Institute of Rheumatology in Belgrade, hospital registry, years 2001 and 2002. The questionnaire validity was assessed in reference to clinical diagnosis and ACR 1987 and ESSG 1991 classification criteria. A logistic regression model was used for RA-control and SpA-control comparison to identify the set of items that best discriminates these groups. RESULTS Cross-cultural adaptation of the Questionnaire was successfully achieved, verifying its equivalence with the original (semantic, idiomatic, experiential, conceptual). According to the logistic regression, two items selected for RA provided 92.1% agreement when using either clinical diagnosis or ACR classification criteria as a standard. SpA-control comparison included five items providing 96.8% agreement with clinical diagnosis and four items providing 94.1% agreement with ESSG criteria. Results of the present study are similar to those found in the French study. CONCLUSION Validation results of the telephone questionnaire, translated and adapted to the Serbian language, confirm that it can be used as a detection tool for RA and SpA cases in the population of Serbia, whose diagnoses would have to be further confirmed.
Acupuncture for Addictions

For centuries opiate addiction has been a difficult health and social problem. The morbidity and mortality related to such addiction affect not only the individual but also bring disastrous effects to the affected families and their communities [1, 2]. Based on Quoting epidemiological data in social surveys done in the last decade, over 13 million opium addicts are living in different countries, while Asia has the largest number. Heroin addiction gives the most severe affections and the number might be exceeding 9 millions [3, 4]. In the city of Hong Kong alone, about 16,000 heroin addicts have registered with the Central Registry of Drug Abuse [5].
Particle rendering engine in DSP and FPGA

We present an algorithm for rendering 3D point-clouds, which exploits an FPGA chip coupled with a DSP processor on an experimental board. Point-clouds are sets of graphical data in 3D space, which seem to be more suitable for potentially many purposes than the most frequently, used triangle meshes. The actual experimental implementation, which verifies the concept and reports promising results, is also described.
Demo: Finger and Hand Gesture Recognition using Smartwatch

There has been a sharp increase in the popularity of smartwatches in last 2-3 years. Apart from the fitness applications, the smartwatch provides rich graphical interface to users that has enabled applications like email, messaging and navigation using the smartwatch. Since most current smartwatches come equipped with accelerometer and gyroscope sensors, they provide a unique opportunity for gesture recognition. It is expected that user’s arm movements can be identified using the smartwatch easily, however it is not clear how much of user’s hand and finger gestures can be recognized. For example, when user performs a hand gesture such as volume up by rotating hand right, the amount of motion registered with the smartwatch is likely to be very small. Even worse, when the user performs a finger gesture such as zoom-in or zoom-out using fingers and thumb, the movement recorded at the wrist area can be even smaller than hand gestures. If the hand and finger gestures can be recognized using smartwatch, a plethora of applications can be enabled using gesture recognition. For example, user wearing a smartwatch can remotely control nearby television, computer or smartphone, or user can write different characters on a surface to input the text to the smartwatch. In this work, we will demonstrate the feasibility of finger and hand gesture recognition using a smartwatch. In our recent work [3], we showed that the motion energy recorded in the wrist while doing finger or hand gestures is enough to uniquely identify the gestures. We have identified that different tendons passing through the wrist create a unique signature of wrist movement while doing different gestures. In our implementation, we use various features [2] of motion energy, posture and motion shape to learn and recognize different gestures in real-time. Our gesture recognition sys-
Strategies for void-free liquid filling of micro cavities

We deal with the problem of void-free capillary filling of micro cavities. Special emphasis is given to the effect of critical edges. Analytical, numerical and experimental methods are used to examine the capillary filling of micro cavities. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed in detail. In summary, a brief theory of the capillary dynamics in critical edges is established. Strategies are introduced to conduct a design for void-free filling of microfluidic devices on the basis of critical edges and pinning barriers.
Randomized Trial of Risk Information Formats in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertisements

Background. Federal regulations specify that print advertisements for prescription drugs and biological products must provide a true statement of information “in brief summary” about each advertised product’s “side effects, contraindications, and effectiveness. ” Some of the current approaches to fulfilling the brief summary requirement, although adequate from a regulatory perspective, result in ads that may be difficult to read and understand when used in consumer-directed promotion. Objective. To explore ways in which the brief summary might be improved. Design. The authors conducted an experimental study that examined 300 consumers’ (mall visitors ever told that they were overweight) understanding of and preference for 4 different brief summary formats: traditional (a plain-language version of the risk sections from professional labeling), question and answer (Q&A; with headings framed in the form of questions), highlights (a summary section from revised professional labeling), and prescription drug facts box (similar to the current over-the-counter drug facts label). Results. The format had several effects. For instance, participants who viewed the drug facts format were better able to recall risks (P < .01) and reported greater confidence to perform the tasks (P < .01) than those who saw the traditional format. Differences in preference were noted; for example, the drug facts format was ranked highest, followed by the Q&A format, the traditional format, and finally the highlights format, P < 0.001. Conclusions. Taken together, these data suggest that the traditional method of conveying information in the brief summary is neither the most comprehensible nor the most preferred by consumers. These data provide policy makers and researchers with important information regarding the role of format in consumers’ understanding of the brief summary.
The asymmetric mamillary body: association with medial temporal lobe disease demonstrated with MR.

PURPOSE To determine whether mamillary body atrophy is caused by deafferentation of the mamillary body in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis. METHODS We studied 36 patients with thin-section MR to assess mamillary body symmetry. These patients included 10 control subjects without seizures and 26 patients with a history of seizures. Thin-section T1 scans were available for all cases. The patients with epilepsy underwent axial and coronal T2 scans as well. RESULTS In five of eight cases with prior medial temporal lobe resection for intractable epilepsy, there was evidence of unilateral mamillary body atrophy ipsilateral to the resection. Similar findings were evident in three of six patients with MR findings of mesial temporal sclerosis without surgery. Two patients with medial temporal stroke or tumor also had ipsilateral mamillary body atrophy. CONCLUSION These findings provide support for the proposed mechanism of mamillary body atrophy caused by prior medial temporal lobe injury.
Molecular Identification of Entamoeba spp. in Captive Nonhuman Primates

ABSTRACT This study describes the molecular identification of 520 Entamoeba-positive fecal samples from a large and diverse population of captive nonhuman primates (NHP). The results revealed the presence of Entamoeba histolytica (NHP variant only), E. dispar, E. moshkovskii, E. hartmanni, E. coli, and E. polecki-like organisms.
Localization with a Mobile Beacon Based on Compressive Sensing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Node localization technology is especially important to most applications of wireless sensor network. However, each mobile beacon needs to broadcast its current position many times, and locating all the nodes must take a long time in most of the localization algorithms. In order to solve these problems, we propose a novel range-free localization algorithm—localization with a mobile beacon based on compressive sensing (LMCS). LMCS makes use of compressive sensing (CS) to get the related degree of the sensor nodes and all the mobile beacon points. According to the related degree, the algorithm decides the weight value of each beacon point for the mass coordinate, and estimates the sensor node location. LMCS does not ask for all nodes hearing directly with beacon node, so it is more suitable for practical application than other localization algorithms. The simulation results show that compared with MAP schemes, LMCS has better localization performance, especially under irregularity of radio range and obstacle environment. Therefore, LMCS is a reliable, useful, and effective localization algorithm.
A real-time PCR-based method for determining the surface coverage of thiol-capped oligonucleotides bound onto gold nanoparticles

Here we report a real-time PCR-based method for determining the surface coverage of dithiol-capped oligonucleotides bound onto gold nanoparticles alone and in tandem with antibody. The detection of gold nanoparticle-bound DNA is accomplished by targeting the oligonucleotide with primer and probe binding sites, amplification of the oligonucleotide by PCR, and real-time measurement of the fluorescence emitted during the reaction. This method offers a wide dynamic range and is not dependant on the dissociation of the oligonucleotide strands from the gold nanoparticle surface; the fluorophore is not highly quenched by the gold nanoparticles in solution during fluorescence measurements. We show that this method and a fluorescence-based method give equivalent results for determining the surface coverage of oligonucleotides bound onto 13 or 30 nm gold nanoparticles alone and in tandem with antibody. Quantifying the surface coverage of immobilized oligonucleotides on metallic nanoparticle surfaces is important for optimizing the sensitivity of gold nanoparticle-based detection methods and for better understanding the interactions between thiol-functionalized oligonucleotides and gold nanoparticles.
Poster: Paving the way into virtual reality - A transition in five stages

Many of today's virtual reality (VR) setups are very much focused on technical aspects rather then the benefits of a coherent user experience. This work explores the idea of enhancing the VR experience with a transition phase. On a physical level, this transition offers the user a meaningful metaphor for entering a new world, mimicking a real physical translation from one place to another. On a mental level, it captures the user's attention and evokes anticipation and involvement with the final goal of engaging the user's mind in active co-creation of the experience. We present a conceptual model of a 5-stage transition and describe an implementation we are currently developing, including possible evaluation procedures.
Screening of Probiotic Candidates in Human Oral Bacteria for the Prevention of Dental Disease

The oral cavity in healthy subjects has a well-balanced microbiota that consists of more than 700 species. However, a disturbance of this balance, with an increase of harmful microbes and a decrease of beneficial microbes, causes oral disorders such as periodontal disease or dental caries. Nowadays, probiotics are expected to confer oral health benefits by modulating the oral microbiota. This study screened new probiotic candidates with potential oral health benefits and no harmful effects on the oral cavity. We screened 14 lactobacillus strains and 36 streptococcus strains out of 896 oral isolates derived from healthy subjects. These bacteria did not produce volatile sulfur compounds or water-insoluble glucan, had higher antibacterial activity against periodontal bacteria, and had higher adherence activity to oral epithelial cells or salivary-coated hydroxyapatite in vitro. We then evaluated the risk of primary cariogenicity and infective endocarditis of the selected oral isolates. As a result, Lactobacillus crispatus YIT 12319, Lactobacillus fermentum YIT 12320, Lactobacillus gasseri YIT 12321, and Streptococcus mitis YIT 12322 were selected because they showed no cariogenic potential in an artificial mouth system and a lower risk of experimental infective endocarditis in a rat model. These candidates are expected as new probiotics with potential oral health benefits and no adverse effects on general health.
Preparation and characterization of an NH2-terminal fragment of human serum transferrin containing a single iron-binding site.

A fragment of M, = 35,600 containing a single ironbinding site has been prepared from diferric human serum transferrin by digestion with thermolysin at 37°C and purified by gel filtration. Prolonged digestion led to greater hydrolysis of the diferric protein and lower yields of the fragment. However, a similar ratio of fragment to uncleaved protein was obtained at all incubation times suggesting that the fragment represents a stable intermediate in the digestion of the protein. Similar yields of fragment were obtained when digestion was carried out at pH values between 6.1 and 7.5. The fragment is devoid of carbohydrate. Following CNBr (cyanogen bromide) cleavage, fragments corresponding to those present in the NH2-terminal region of transferrin (CN-6, CN-5, CN-2, and CN-7) were isolated and identified. An additional fragment, characterized by amino acid composition and sequence analysis, was obtained which consists of part of a CNBr fragment (CN-4) of transferrin that spans the region of the molecule between the two homologous domains. From this, the site of cleavage between the NH2and COOH-terminal domains was identified as a Pro-Val bond within CN-4. Internal cleavages within the fragment were identified, one resulting in the loss of a tyrosine-rich region near the COOH terminus of the domain, and another being the cleavage of a Tyr-Leu bond between residues 7 1 and 72. Studies of the pH stability of the metal-binding site of the fragment suggest that it may correspond to a site which is stable at pH 6.0.
Severe Brain Metabolic Decreases Associated with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in a sample of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients and compare the patterns of brain glucose metabolism in DLB patients with or without the sleep disturbances. METHODS In this retrospective study, the presence of probable RBD was ascertained for 27 clinically diagnosed DLB patients and 11 AD patients by a self-administered RBD Single-Question Screen (RBD1Q), followed by a sleep structured interview by experts in sleep disorders blinded to clinical information. For 18F-FDG-PET metabolic comparisons, we considered an additional 13 DLB patients with negative history for sleep disturbance. We performed DLB within-group comparisons covarying for age and disease duration. RESULTS The RBD1Q questionnaire identified 20 out of 27 DLB RBD+ and 7 out of 27 DLB RBD-. None of the AD patients was positive to RBD1Q test. 18F-FDG-PET hypometabolism at the single- and group-level tested by means of an optimized SPM approach revealed the typical DLB metabolic pattern. Each DLB patient showed a predominant occipital hypometabolism. The SPM voxel-based comparisons revealed significant brain metabolic differences, namely a more severe metabolic decrease in DLB RBD+ in the dorsolateral and medial frontal regions, left precuneus, bilateral superior parietal lobule and rolandic operculum, and amygdala. DISCUSSION We found a high prevalence of RBD in DLB and none in AD, as identified by the RBD1Q questionnaire, indicating its utility in clinical practice. DLB patients with or without RBD show different hypometabolism patterns that might reflect differences in underlying pathology.
Control scheme for optimizing the interferometer phase bias in a symmetric-Mach-Zehnder-type all-optical switch

A control scheme for accurately optimizing (and also automatically stabilizing) the interferometer phase bias of symmetric-Mach-Zehnder (SMZ)-type ultrafast all-optical switches is proposed. In this control scheme, weak continuous-wave light is used as supervisory input light and its spectral power ratio at the switch output is used as a bipolar error signal. Our experimental results for 168-Gb/s 16:1 demultiplexing with a hybrid-integrated SMZ switch indicate the feasibility and the sensitivity of this control scheme.
Interpretation of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Models: Past, Present, and Future

This paper is an overview of the most significant and impactful interpretation approaches of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models, their development, and application. The evolution of the interpretation paradigm from "model → descriptors → (structure)" to "model → structure" is indicated. The latter makes all models interpretable regardless of machine learning methods or descriptors used for modeling. This opens wide prospects for application of corresponding interpretation approaches to retrieve structure-property relationships captured by any models. Issues of separate approaches are discussed as well as general issues and prospects of QSAR model interpretation.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Vaccination with Irradiated Tumor Cells Pulsed with an Adjuvant That Stimulates NKTCells Is an Effective Treatment for Glioma

Purpose: The prognosis for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains extremely poor despite recent treatment advances. There is an urgent need to develop novel therapies for this disease. Experimental Design: We used the implantable GL261 murine glioma model to investigate the therapeutic potential of a vaccine consisting of intravenous injection of irradiated whole tumor cells pulsed with the immuno-adjuvant a-galactosylceramide (a-GalCer). Results: Vaccine treatment alone was highly effective in a prophylactic setting. In a more stringent therapeutic setting, administration of one dose of vaccine combined with depletion of regulatory T cells (Treg) resulted in 43% long-term survival and the disappearance of mass lesions detected by MRI. Mechanistically, the a-GalCer component was shown to act by stimulating "invariant" natural killer–like T cells (iNKT cells) in a CD1d-restricted manner, which in turn supported the development of a CD4þ T-cell–mediated adaptive immune response. Pulsinga-GalCer onto tumor cells avoided the profound iNKT cell anergy induced by free a-GalCer. To investigate the potential for clinical application of this vaccine, the number and function of iNKT cells was assessed in patients with GBM and shown to be similar to agematched healthy volunteers. Furthermore, irradiated GBM tumor cells pulsed with a-GalCer were able to stimulate iNKT cells and augment a T-cell response in vitro. Conclusions: Injection of irradiated tumor cells loaded with a-GalCer is a simple procedure that could provide effective immunotherapy for patients with high-grade glioma. Clin Cancer Res; 18(23);