Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rifampicin attenuates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by inhibiting pathogenic Th17 cells responses

Rifampicin, a broad‐spectrum antibiotic, has neuroprotective, immunosuppressive, and anti‐inflammatory properties. However, the effect of rifampicin on autoimmune disorders of the nervous system is not clear. In this study, we investigated whether rifampicin was beneficial to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide (MOG33–35)‐induced female C57BL/6 experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice, the well‐established animal model of multiple sclerosis. Rifampicin treatment (daily from the first day after EAE immunization) remarkably attenuated clinical signs and loss of body weight, which are associated with suppression of inflammatory infiltration and demyelination in spinal cords of EAE mice. Furthermore, rifampicin dramatically reduced the disruption of blood–brain barrier integrity, down‐regulated serum concentration of IL‐6 and IL‐17A, inhibited pathological Th17 cell differentiation, and modulated the expression of p‐STAT3 and p‐p65. These results suggest that rifampicin is effective for attenuating the clinical severity of EAE mice, which may be related to its inhibitive ability in differentiation of Th17 cell and secretion of its key effector molecule IL‐17A via regulation of excessive activation of the key signaling molecules of JAK/STAT pathway. Our findings may be helpful for developing therapeutic and preventive strategies for multiple sclerosis.
Characterization of pRGO1, a Plasmid from Propionibacterium acidipropionici, and Its Use for Development of a Host-Vector System in Propionibacteria

ABSTRACT The complete nucleotide sequence of pRGO1, a cryptic plasmid fromPropionibacterium acidipropionici E214, was determined. pRGO1 is 6,868 bp long, and its G+C content is 65.0%. Frame analysis of the sequence revealed six open reading frames, which were designated Orf1 to Orf6. The deduced amino acid sequences of Orf1 and Orf2 showed extensive similarities to an initiator of plasmid replication, the Rep protein, of various plasmids of gram-positive bacteria. The amino acid sequence of the putative translation product of orf3 exhibited a high degree of similarity to the amino acid sequences of DNA invertase in several bacteria. For the putative translation products of orf4,orf5, and orf6, on the other hand, no homologous sequences were found. The function of these open reading frames was studied by deletion analysis. A shuttle vector, pPK705, was constructed for shuttling between Escherichia coli and a Propionibacterium strain containingorf1 (repA), orf2(repB), orf5, and orf6 from pRGO1, pUC18, and the hygromycin B-resistant gene as a drug marker. Shuttle vector pPK705 successfully transformed Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii IFO12426 by electroporation at an efficiency of 8 × 106 CFU/μg of DNA under optimized conditions. Transformation of various species of propionibacteria with pPK705 was also performed at efficiencies of about 104 to 107 CFU/μg of DNA. The vector was stably maintained in strains of P. freudenreichiisubsp. shermanii, P. freudenreichii, P. pentosaceum, and P. freudenreichii subsp.freudenreichii grown under nonselective conditions. Successful manipulation of a host-vector system in propionibacteria should facilitate genetic studies and lead to creation of genes that are useful industrially.
Reading across the Germanic languages: Is equal access just wishful thinking?

To meet increasing needs for multilingual speakers, varied concepts such as Intercomprehension Pedagogy have evolved. Here, speakers of one language concurrently develop reading skills in multiple etymologically related languages. A prerequisite of such projects is information about mutual comprehensibility, including which languages might be easier to comprehend in which situations and for which learners. The present study investigated 73 German university students who read a short text in an unknown Germanic language (Danish, Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish) and then answered specific questions on content and structure. Results showed significantly higher success rates on all measures for Dutch, with isolated significant differences between the other languages and higher success in decoding lexical, in comparison to structural, information. No individual learner variables were found to be correlated with success. These data have implications for planning courses in Germanic intercomprehension, especially regarding time allotted the various languages.
Distributed Storage-Assisted Data-Driven Overlay Network for P2P VoD Services

Providing VCR-like operations in peer-to-peer (P2P) environments is a significant challenge. This paper proposes a distributed storage-assisted data-driven overlay network (SDNet) to support P2P video-on-demand (VoD) services. It integrates two networks: a data-driven overlay network (DONet) and a multi-way tree. DONet is enhanced and used for the routine video distribution based on the buffer overlapping mechanism and gossip protocol. A novel algorithm which uses a multi-way tree structure and extra pre-fetching buffers at the nodes is proposed to support efficient VoD operations. Videos are divided into uniform segments, pre-fetched and stored in a distributed manner along the tree topology. The cooperation between DONet-based video delivery and the tree-located multimedia components enable multimedia streaming interactive commands to be performed efficiently. This paper presents and discusses the structure of SDNet and the distributed storage scheme and details the cooperation procedure. Simulation-based testing results show how the proposed SDNet is an efficient interactive streaming solution in a P2P environment.
Connectivity-Based Predictions of Hand Motor Outcome for Patients at the Subacute Stage After Stroke

Background: Connectivity-based predictions of hand motor outcome have been proposed to be useful in stroke patients. We intended to assess the prognostic value of different imaging methods on short-term (3 months) and long-term (6 months) motor outcome after stroke. Methods: We measured resting state functional connectivity (rsFC), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and grip strength in 19 stroke patients within the first days (5–9 days) after stroke. Outcome measurements for short-term (3 months) and long-term (6 months) motor function was assessed by the Motricity Index (MI) of the upper limb and the box and block test (BB). Patients were predominantly mildly affected since signed consent was necessary at inclusion. We performed a multiple stepwise regression analysis to compare the predictive value of rsFC, DWI and clinical measurements. Results: Patients showed relevant improvement in both motor outcome tests. As expected grip strength at inclusion was a predictor for short- and long-term motor outcome as assessed by MI. Diffusion-based tract volume (DTV) of the tracts between ipsilesional primary motor cortex and contralesional anterior cerebellar hemisphere showed a strong trend (p = 0.05) for a predictive power for long-term motor outcome as measured by MI. DTV of the interhemispheric tracts between both primary motor cortices was predictive for both short- and long-term motor outcome in BB. rsFC was not associated with motor outcome. Conclusions: Grip strength is a good predictor of hand motor outcome concerning strength-related measurements (MI) for mildly affected subacute patients. Therefore additional connectivity measurements seem to be redundant in this group. Using more complex movement recruiting bilateral motor areas as an outcome parameter, DTV and in particular interhemispheric pathways might enhance predictive value of hand motor outcome.
Heterogeneity among muscle precursor cells in adult skeletal muscles with differing regenerative capacities

Skeletal muscle has a remarkable capacity to regenerate after injury, although studies of muscle regeneration have heretofore been limited almost exclusively to limb musculature. Muscle precursor cells in skeletal muscle are responsible for the repair of damaged muscle. Heterogeneity exists in the growth and differentiation properties of muscle precursor cell (myoblast) populations throughout limb development but whether the muscle precursor cells differ among adult skeletal muscles is unknown. Such heterogeneity among myoblasts in the adult may give rise to skeletal muscles with different regenerative capacities. Here we compare the regenerative response of a masticatory muscle, the masseter, to that of limb muscles. After exogenous trauma (freeze or crush injuries), masseter muscle regenerated much less effectively than limb muscle. In limb muscle, normal architecture was restored 12 days after injury, whereas in masseter muscle, minimal regeneration occurred during the same time period. Indeed, at late time points, masseter muscles exhibited increased fibrous connective tissue in the region of damage, evidence of ineffective muscle regeneration. Similarly, in response to endogenous muscle injury due to a muscular dystrophy, widespread evidence of impaired regeneration was present in masseter muscle but not in limb muscle. To explore the cellular basis of these different regenerative capacities, we analyzed the myoblast populations of limb and masseter muscles both in vivo and in vitro. From in vivo analyses, the number of myoblasts in regenerating muscle was less in masseter compared with limb muscle. Assessment of population growth in vitro indicated that masseter myoblasts grow more slowly than limb myoblasts under identical conditions. We conclude that the impaired regeneration in masseter muscles is due to differences in the intrinsic myoblast populations compared to limb muscles. Dev. Dyn. 1998;212:495–508. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Who Is Afraid of Evaluation? Ethics in Evaluation Research as a Way to Cope With Excessive Evaluation Anxiety

In this paper we share our reflections, as evaluators, on an evaluation where we encountered Excessive Evaluation Anxiety (XEA). The signs of XEA which we discerned were particularly evident amongst the program head and staff who were part of a new training program. We present our insights on the evaluation process and its difficulties, as well as our suggestions for coping with them. We suggest that signs of XEA and its consequences can be reduced by means of developing a detailed contract based on clear rules that is acceptable to all parties (evaluators, evaluands, clients and stakeholders) and would address ethical as well as technical issues. Finally, we propose a guide for formulating such evaluation contracts.
Crane gesture recognition using pseudo 3-D hidden Markov models

A recognition technique based on novel pseudo 3D hidden Markov models, which can integrate spatial as well as temporal derived features is presented. The approach allows the recognition of dynamic gestures such as waving hands as well as static gestures such as standing in a special pose. Pseudo 3D hidden Markov models (P3DHMM) are an extension of the pseudo 2D case, which has been successfully used for the classification of images and the recognition of faces. In the P3DHMM case the so-called superstates contain P2DHMM and thus whole image sequences can be generated by these models. Our approach has been evaluated on a crane signal database, which consists of 12 different predefined gestures for maneuvering cranes.
Induction of a Novel Chicken Toll-Like Receptor following Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Infection

ABSTRACT Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a group of highly conserved molecules that initiate the innate immune response to pathogens by recognizing structural motifs expressed by microbes. We have identified a novel TLR, TLR15, by bioinformatic analysis of the chicken genome, which is distinct from any known vertebrate TLR and thus appears to be avian specific. The gene for TLR15 was sequenced and is found on chromosome 3, and it has archetypal TIR and transmembrane domains and a distinctive arrangement of extracellular leucine-rich regions. mRNA for TLR15 was detected in the spleen, bursa, and bone marrow of healthy chickens, suggesting a role for this novel receptor in constitutive host defense. Following in vivo Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection, quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated significant upregulation of TLR15 in the cecum of infected chickens. Interestingly, similar induction of TLR2 expression following infection was also observed. In vitro studies revealed TLR15 upregulation in chicken embryonic fibroblasts stimulated with heat-killed S. enterica serovar Typhimurium. Collectively, these results suggest a role for the TLR in avian defense against bacterial infection. We hypothesize that TLR15 may represent an avian-specific TLR that has been either retained in chicken and lost in other taxa or gained in the chicken.
Investigation of interaction between Pax5 isoforms and thioredoxin using de novo modelling methods

Pax-5 transcription factor plays a crucial role in B-cell development, activation and differentiation. In murine B-cells four different isoforms of Pax-5 have been identified, and their role in the regulation of the activity of the wild-type protein was revealed although still not fully understood. Using theoretical methods, we investigated the properties of one region of the Pax-5e and Pax-5d isoforms (named UDE domain) and we present a possible theoretical model for the interaction of this domain with thioredoxin that have been previously postulated based on the experimental results. Domain UDE (MW 4.8 kDa) is characterised by an extremely high ratio of positively charged residues (8) in comparisons to negatively charged amino acids (3), as well as unusually large concentrations of prolines (11.6%) and cysteines (4.7%). This is indicative of its role in protein-protein interaction. The experimental 3D structure for either UDE domain or for any analogous sequence is not yet available, and therefore we resorted to various bioinformatics methods in order to predict the secondary and 3D structure from the primary sequence of UDE. Physicochemical properties of the predicted UDE structure gave more indication about possibilities for UDE-thioredoxin binding. In addition, UDE domain was shown to have both sequence and structure analogous to a segment of NAD-reducing hydrogenase HOXS a subunit which is believed to interact with thioredoxin. These studies showed that the UDE domain in Pax-5d and Pax-5e represents an ideal binding site for thioredoxin and we developed a model of UDE-TRX complex with two disulphide bridges. The active site of thioredoxin remained exposed after binding to UDE in this model and therefore binding of thioredoxin to Pax-5d could explain the unexpectedly high resistance of this isoform to oxidation. The complex between thioredoxin and Pax-5e can be a method for transportation of thioredoxin into the nucleus and also into the the vicinity of Pax-5a, explaining the observed activator role of Pax-5e.
The Effect of Parental Remarriage following Parental Divorce on Offspring Suicide Attempt

Parental divorce during childhood is associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts for male but not female offspring. This study examines whether parental remarriage has a differential effect on suicide risk for male and female adult offspring. Using the 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), the sample consists of respondents who experienced parental divorce (N = 6,436). Multivariable regressions were estimated. Females who lived with a stepparent were significantly more likely to report a lifetime suicide attempt compared with females who had not. Clinicians should note that female depressed patients who have a history of childhood parental divorce and remarriage may be at more risk for suicide attempt than previously recognized.
Nutrient-stimulated methylation of a membrane protein in Bacillus licheniformis

When nitrogen-starved vegetative cells of Bacillus licheniformis A5 were presented with a good nitrogen source in the presence of chloramphenicol and methyl-labeled methionine, a 40-kilodalton (kDa) protein was found to be reversibly methylated, with a half-life of approximately 10 to 15 min. The 40-kDa protein was strongly methylated in response to the addition of ammonia, glutamine, or sodium glutamate nitrogen sources that produce generation times of less than or equal to 90 min) but was very poorly methylated in the absence of a nitrogen source or in the presence of potassium glutamate or histidine (generation times of greater than 150 min). The methylated protein was found to be membrane associated, but the methylation reaction did not appear to be related to chemotaxis, because the spectrum of nutrients that promoted methylation was different from that which prompted a chemotactic response. In addition, the methyl residue on the 40-kDa protein was found to be alkali stable. Approximately 180 to 640 molecules of the methylated protein were found per cell. The characteristics of this methylated protein were consistent with the hypothesis that the reversible methylation of the protein functions in nutrient sensing to regulate growth, cell division, and the initiation of sporulation.
Integrated adaptation with multi-factor joint-learning for far-field speech recognition

Although great progress has been made in automatic speech recognition (ASR), significant performance degradation still exists in distant talking scenarios due to significantly lower signal power. In this paper, a novel adaptation framework, named integrated adaptation with multi-factor joint-learning, is proposed to improve the recognition accuracy for distant speech recognition. We explore and extract speaker, phone and environment factor representations using deep neural networks (DNNs), which are integrated into the main ASR DNN to improve classification accuracy. In addition, the hidden activations in the main ASR DNN are used to improve the factor extraction, which in turn helps the ASR DNN. All the model parameters, including those in the ASR DNN and factor extractor DNNs, are jointly optimized under the multi-task learning framework. Further more, unlike prior techniques, our novel approach requires no explicit separate stages for factor extraction and adaptation. Experiments on the AMI single distant microphone (SDM) task show that the proposed architecture can significantly reduce word error rate (WER) and additional improvement can be achieved by combining it with the i-vector adaptation. Our best configuration obtained more than 15% and 10% relative reduction on WER over the baselines using the SDM and close-talk data generated alignments, respectively.
Ant Colony Optimization for Multi-Objective Optimization Problems

We propose in this paper a generic algorithm based on ant colony optimization to solve multi-objective optimization problems. The proposed algorithm is parameterized by the number of ant colonies and the number of pheromone trails. We compare different variants of this algorithm on the multi-objective knapsack problem. We compare also the obtained results with other evolutionary algorithms from the literature.
Household robotics: autonomous devices for vacuuming and lawn mowing [Applications of control]

Service robots are programmable automated or semiautomated mechanical devices designed to perform a specific service rather than a manufacturing function. Robots were initially used in the automation sector to handle repetitive and simple tasks reliably, with the objective of cost reduction per product. Along with the increased speed of embedded microcontrollers, the service robotic sector has started to grow. This article is focused on domestic robots for vacuuming and lawn mowing. Domestic robots for vacuuming and lawn mowing are mobile units that use autonomous mobile robotics technology
‘Communism … is the affirmation of a new community’: Notes on Jacques Camatte

This article explores the work of the primitivist communist Jacques Camatte. Camatte emerges from the Bordigist current of Marxism, and the article begins with an examination of the major emphases in Amadeo Bordiga’s thought: the central role of the party as ‘social brain’; the critique of democracy and electoral activity; the rejection of individualism, and the insistence on the social, community-centred character of communism. This background is crucial to Camatte’s early work, but also to his later break from Bordigism and Marxism. This break occurred at the end of the 1960s, and the second part of the article follows Camatte’s primitivist writings. Here, Camatte continues to think of communism as community/Gemeinwesen, but fundamentally re-orients his thinking on class, organisation, and communist transformation, in light of an extension of his initial focus on capital’s ‘running away’, its establishment as material community. The concluding note critically draws together Camatte’s thinking and later English-language primitivist work, suggesting that despite major problems, his work remains of interest.
Evaluation of the Soil Moisture Operational Estimates From SMOS in Europe: Results Over Diverse Ecosystems

This study presents the results of an extensive validation of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission (SMOS) soil moisture operational product from selected European sites representative of a variety of climatic, environmental, biome, and seasonal conditions. SMOS soil moisture estimates were compared against corresponding in-situ measurements from the CarboEurope observational network. The agreement between the two datasets was evaluated on the basis of a series of statistical metrics. In addition, the effect of variability of site characteristics such as land cover, seasonality, and also that of the Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) effect on SMOS was explored. In overall, the SMOS soil moisture product estimates agreed reasonably well with near concurrent CarboEurope in-situ measurements acquired from the 0-5 cm soil moisture layer. Significant changes in the SMOS performance were observed with local adjustments, such as land cover and seasonal changes. Agreement was found to be higher over low vegetation cover and during the autumn season. The RFI contaminated pixels were filtered out from the pooled datasets, as well as from the seasonally discriminated datasets, which resulted in noticeably improved performances. This paper provides strong supportive evidence of the potential value of the SMOS soil moisture product for hydrometeorological and related studies.
Non‐Cartesian data reconstruction using GRAPPA operator gridding (GROG)

A novel approach that uses the concepts of parallel imaging to grid data sampled along a non‐Cartesian trajectory using GRAPPA operator gridding (GROG) is described. GROG shifts any acquired data point to its nearest Cartesian location, thereby converting non‐Cartesian to Cartesian data. Unlike other parallel imaging methods, GROG synthesizes the net weight for a shift in any direction from a single basis set of weights along the logical k‐space directions. Given the vastly reduced size of the basis set, GROG calibration and reconstruction requires fewer operations and less calibration data than other parallel imaging methods for gridding. Instead of calculating and applying a density compensation function (DCF), GROG requires only local averaging, as the reconstructed points fall upon the Cartesian grid. Simulations are performed to demonstrate that the root mean square error (RMSE) values of images gridded with GROG are similar to those for images gridded using the gold‐standard convolution gridding. Finally, GROG is compared to the convolution gridding technique using data sampled along radial, spiral, rosette, and BLADE (a.k.a. periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction [PROPELLER]) trajectories. Magn Reson Med, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.