Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Divergent Roles of Interferon-γ and Innate Lymphoid Cells in Innate and Adaptive Immune Cell-Mediated Intestinal Inflammation

Aberrant interferon gamma (IFNγ) expression is associated with the pathogenesis of numerous autoimmune- and inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, the requirement of IFNγ for the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation remains controversial. The aim of this study was thus to investigate the role of IFNγ in experimental mouse models of innate and adaptive immune cell-mediated intestinal inflammation using genetically and microbiota-stabilized hosts. While we find that IFNγ drives acute intestinal inflammation in the anti-CD40 colitis model in an innate lymphoid cell (ILC)-dependent manner, IFNγ secreted by both transferred CD4 T cells and/or cells of the lymphopenic Rag1−/− recipient mice was dispensable for CD4 T cell-mediated colitis. In the absence of IFNγ, intestinal inflammation in CD4 T cell recipient mice was associated with enhanced IL17 responses; consequently, targeting IL17 signaling in IFNγ-deficient mice reduced T cell-mediated colitis. Intriguingly, in contrast to the anti-CD40 model of colitis, depletion of ILC in the Rag1−/− recipients of colitogenic CD4 T cells did not prevent induction of colonic inflammation. Together, our findings demonstrate that IFNγ represents an essential, or a redundant, pro-inflammatory cytokine for the induction of intestinal inflammation, depending on the experimental mouse model used and on the nature of the critical disease inducing immune cell populations involved.
Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of neuropathologically diagnosed Parkinson’s disease subjects

Abstract Objectives: Parkinson’s disease (PD) afflicts approximately 1–2% of the population over 50 years of age. No cures or effective modifying treatments exist and clinical diagnosis is currently confounded by a lack of definitive biomarkers. We sought to discover potential biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of neuropathologically confirmed PD cases. Methods: We compared postmortem ventricular CSF (V-CSF) from PD and normal control (NC) subjects using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). Spots exhibiting a 1·5-fold or greater difference in volume between PD patients and controls were excised from the two-dimensional gels, subjected to tryptic digestion and identification of peptides assigned using mass spectrometric/data bank correlation methods. Results: Employing this strategy six molecules: fibrinogen, transthyretin, apolipoprotein E, clusterin, apolipoprotein A-1, and glutathione-S-transferase-Pi, were found to be different between PD and NC populations. Discussion: These molecules have been implicated in PD pathogenesis. Combining biomarker data from multiple laboratories may create a consensus panel of proteins that may serve as a diagnostic tool for this neurodegenerative disorder.
Effects of phenoxybenzamine on the uptake and metabolism of noradrenaline in the rat heart and vas deferens

1 . In the isolated rat heart perfused with various concentrations of (±)‐3H‐noradrenaline (3H‐NA) the addition of phenoxybenzamine, cocaine or desipramine to the perfusion medium resulted in an inhibition of 3H‐NA uptake which appeared on kinetic analysis to be of a competitive nature. 2 . Phenoxybenzamine also blocked the formation of labelled metabolites of 3H‐NA in the heart at all perfusion concentrations of 3H‐NA; this effect appeared to be unrelated to the inhibition of the neuronal uptake of NA produced by phenoxybenzamine, since no blockade of 3H‐NA metabolism was produced by cocaine in similar experiments. 3 . In slices of rat vas deferens incubated with various concentrations of 3H‐NA, cocaine and desipramine and phenoxybenzamine were also shown to act as competitive inhibitors of NA uptake. Cocaine and phenoxybenzamine were less potent inhibitors of uptake in the vas deferens than they were in the heart; desipramine was equally potent in both tissues. 4 . When vas deferens slices were incubated in a medium containing phenoxybenzamine for 30 min before the addition of 3H‐NA, the resulting inhibition of 3H‐NA uptake was increased and changed to a non‐competitive type of interaction. 5 . In hearts or vasa deferentia taken from animals pretreated in vivo with phenoxybenzamine (20 mg/kg), a significant inhibition of 3H‐NA uptake was found when the tissues were exposed to low concentrations of 3H‐NA but not when higher concentrations of 3H‐NA were used.
Textual diagram layout language and visualization algorithm

Graphical diagrams are an excellent source of information for understanding models. On the other hand, editing, storing and versioning models are more efficient in textual representations. In order to combine the advantages of these two representations, diagrams have to be generated from models defined in text. The generated diagrams are usually created by autolayout algorithms based on heuristics. In this paper we argue that automatically laid out diagrams are not ideal. Instead, we propose a textual layout description language that allows users to define the arrangement of those diagram elements they consider important. The paper also presents algorithms that create diagrams according to the layout description and arrange the underspecified elements automatically. The paper reports on the implementation of the proposed layout description language as an embedded language in Java. It is used to generate class and state machine diagrams compatible with the Papyrus UML editor.
Preserved ventricular contractility in infarcted mouse heart overexpressing beta(2)-adrenergic receptors.

Effects of cardiac specific overexpression of beta(2)-adrenergic receptors (beta(2)-AR) on the development of heart failure (HF) were studied in wild-type (WT) and transgenic (TG) mice following myocardial infarction (MI) by coronary artery occlusion. Animals were studied by echocardiography at weeks 7 to 8 and by catheterization at week 9 after surgery. Post-infarct mortality, due to HF or cardiac rupture, was not different among WT mice, and there was no difference in infarct size (IS). Compared with the sham-operated group (all P < 0.01), WT mice with moderate (<36%) and large (>36%) IS developed lung congestion, cardiac hypertrophy, left ventricular (LV) dilatation, elevated LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), and suppressed maximal rate of increase of LV pressure (LV dP/dt(max)) and fractional shortening (FS). Whereas changes in organ weights and echo parameters were similar to those in infarcted WT groups, TG mice had significantly higher levels of LV contractility in both moderate (dP/dt(max) 4,862 +/- 133 vs. 3,694 +/- 191 mmHg/s) and large IS groups (dP/dt(max) 4,556 +/- 252 vs. 3,145 +/- 312 mmHg/s, both P < 0.01). Incidence of pleural effusion (36% vs. 85%, P < 0.05) and LVEDP levels (6 +/- 0.3 vs. 9 +/- 0.8 mmHg, P < 0.05) were also lower in TG than in WT mice with large IS. Thus beta(2)-AR overexpression preserved LV contractility following MI without adverse consequence.
A Weighted Topic Model Learned From Local Semantic Space for Automatic Image Annotation

Automatic image annotation plays a significant role in image understanding, retrieval, classification, and indexing. Today, it is becoming increasingly important in order to annotate large-scale social media images from content-sharing websites and social networks. These social images are usually annotated by user-provided low-quality tags. The topic model is considered as a promising method to describe these weak-labeling images by learning latent representations of training samples. The recent annotation methods based on topic models have two shortcomings. First, they are difficult to scale to a large-scale image dataset. Second, they can not be used to online image repository because of continuous addition of new images and new tags. In this paper, we propose a novel annotation method based on topic model, namely local learning-based probabilistic latent semantic analysis (LL-PLSA), to solve the above problems. The key idea is to train a weighted topic model for a given test image on its semantic neighborhood consisting of a fixed number of semantically and visually similar images. This method can scale to a large-scale image database, as training samples involved in modeling are a few nearest neighbors rather than the entire database. Moreover, this proposed topic model, online customized for the test image, naturally addresses the issue of continuous addition of new images and new tags in a database. Extensive experiments on three benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art especially in terms of overall metrics.
Generation of slow waves in the antral region of guinea‐pig stomach ‐ a stochastic process

1 Slow waves were recorded from the circular muscle layer of the antral region of guinea‐pig stomach. Slow waves were abolished by 2APB, an inhibitor of IP3‐induced Ca2+ release. 2 When the rate of generation of slow waves was monitored it was found to vary from cycle to cycle around a mean value. The variation persisted after abolishing neuronal activity with tetrodotoxin. 3 When simultaneous recordings were made from interstitial cells in the myenteric region (ICCMY) and smooth muscle cells of the circular layer, variations in the rate of generation of slow waves were found to be linked with variations in the rate of generation of driving potentials by ICCMY. 4 A preparation was devised which consisted of the longitudinal muscle layer and ICCMY. In this preparation ICCMY and smooth muscle cells lying in the longitudinal muscle layer generated driving potentials and follower potentials, synchronously. 6 Driving potentials had two components, a rapid primary component that was followed by a prolonged plateau component. Caffeine (3 mM) abolished the plateau component; conversely reducing the external concentration of calcium ions [Ca2+]o mainly affected the primary component. 7 Analysis of the variations in the rate of generation of driving potentials indicated that this arose because both the duration of individual driving potentials and the interval between successive driving potentials varied. 8 It is suggested that the initiation of pacemaker activity in a network of ICCMY is a stochastic process, with the probability of initiating a driving potential slowly increasing, after a delay, from a low to a higher value following the previous driving potential.
Evaluation of a Single Dilution ELISA System for Detection of Seroconversion to Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus, Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Parainfluenza-3 Virus, and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis Virus: Comparison with Testing by Virus Neutralization and Hemagglutination Inhibition

A single-dilution quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system, based on commercial ELISA kits, for the simultaneous detection of seroconversion to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), parainfluenza-3 virus (PI3V), and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) was evaluated by testing acute and convalescent serum pairs from 564 cattle in 145 outbreaks of respiratory disease. Seroconversion to BVDV, BRSV, PI3V and IBRV was detected in 8.0%, 19.0%, 13.7%, and 7.4%, respectively, of serum pairs tested. Seroconversion was detected in 60.7% of herds and 34.6% of animals tested. Infection with 2 or more viruses was found in 46.6% of these herds and in 27.2% of these animals. The majority of BVDV infections (62%) were associated with other virus infections, suggesting that BVDV may potentiate infection with other agents rather than being a primary pathogen of the respiratory tract. The results were compared with those obtained by virus neutralization and hemagglutination inhibition testing, and the sensitivity, specificity, and overall correlation were calculated. Sensitivities of 92%, 95%, 100%, and 100% were obtained for BVDV, BRSV, PI3V, and IBRV, respectively. The corresponding specificity values were 89%, 92%, 86%, and 91%. The overall correlation for each virus was 90%, 93%, 90%, and 93%, respectively. These results demonstrate that this ELISA system may be used successfully to detect seroconversion in serum pairs, highlight the frequency of multiple viral infections in outbreaks of respiratory disease, and provide further evidence of an immunosuppressive role for BVDV infections.
Sparse Representation of Images based on RBF Neural Network

In this paper, we present a model and corresponding algorithm for sparse representing of image data. We use a RBF neural network with a small number of ellipse Gaussian functions to approximate the input images. The sparisty of the image data is achieved by solving a nonlinear optimization problem with $L_{1}$-regularization in our model. Experimental results illustrate that our method can represent the input images with good accuracy by much less number of ellipse Gaussian functions. The method is applicable for representing general surfaces and shapes.
The Khrushchev Kitchen: Domesticating the Scientific-Technological Revolution

In the Soviet Union in the late 1950s, the Khrushchev regime launched an intensive campaign to build mass housing. This period, known as The Thaw, is generally regarded as one of liberalization in comparison to the preceding Stalin era. Moreover, the proposed new housing, promising separate, one-family flats to replace the communal apartments and barracks in which most urban dwellers lived, seemed to offer the possibility of a ‘private’ home life. The Khrushchev flat, in particular its small kitchen, subsequently became mythologized as the heart of an ideology-free zone of sincerity where one could shut the door on the public realm and its values. This article proposes that, far from falling outside the domain of public discourse, the new flat — and, above all, the kitchen, along with the labour it accommodated and the lone female worker it presupposed — was a central site for the linked projects of modernization and the construction of communism. However, with its complex mixture of functions, the kitchen was also the site where the contradictions of Khrushchev-era design and centrally-planned production became most evident. Far from a paragon of rational socialist planning, the kitchen could become a microcosm of its dysfunction.
Sickle cell disease and complex congenital cardiac surgery: a case report and review of the pathophysiology and perioperative management

Sickle cell anemia and thalassemia are hemoglobinopathies rarely encountered in the United States. Compounded with congenital heart disease, patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) requiring cardiopulmonary bypass and open-heart surgery represent the proverbial “needle in the haystack”. As such, there is some trepidation on the part of clinicians when these patients present for complex cardiac surgery. SCD is an autosomal, recessive condition that results from a single nucleotide polymorphism in the β-globin gene. Hemoglobin SS molecules (HgbSS) with this point mutation can polymerize under the right conditions, stiffening the erythrocyte membrane and distorting the cellular structure to the characteristic sickle shape. This shape change alters cellular transit through the microvasculature. As a result, circumstances such as hypoxia, hypothermia, acidosis or diminished blood flow can lead to aggregation, vascular occlusion and thrombosis. Chronically, SCD can give rise to multiorgan damage secondary to hemolysis and vascular obstruction. This review and case study details an 11-year-old African-American male with known SCD who presented to the cardiothoracic surgical service with congenital heart disease consisting of an anomalous, intramural right coronary artery arising from the left coronary sinus for surgical consultation and subsequent surgical correction. This case report will include a review of the pathophysiology and current literature regarding preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of SCD patients.
The Centriole Cartwheel Protein SAS-6 in Trypanosoma brucei Is Required for Probasal Body Biogenesis and Flagellum Assembly

ABSTRACT The centriole in eukaryotes functions as the cell's microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) to nucleate spindle assembly, and its biogenesis requires an evolutionarily conserved protein, SAS-6, which assembles the centriole cartwheel. Trypanosoma brucei, an early branching protozoan, possesses the basal body as its MTOC to nucleate flagellum biogenesis. However, little is known about the components of the basal body and their roles in basal body biogenesis and flagellum assembly. Here, we report that the T. brucei SAS-6 homolog, TbSAS-6, is localized to the mature basal body and the probasal body throughout the cell cycle. RNA interference (RNAi) of TbSAS-6 inhibited probasal body biogenesis, compromised flagellum assembly, and caused cytokinesis arrest. Surprisingly, overexpression of TbSAS-6 in T. brucei also impaired probasal body duplication and flagellum assembly, contrary to SAS-6 overexpression in humans, which produces supernumerary centrioles. Furthermore, we showed that depletion of T. brucei Polo-like kinase, TbPLK, or inhibition of TbPLK activity did not abolish TbSAS-6 localization to the basal body, in contrast to the essential role of Polo-like kinase in recruiting SAS-6 to centrioles in animals. Altogether, these results identified the essential role of TbSAS-6 in probasal body biogenesis and flagellum assembly and suggest the presence of a TbPLK-independent pathway governing basal body duplication in T. brucei.
Quantitative analysis of rapid pointing movements in Cree subjects exposed to mercury and in subjects with neurological deficits.

To quantify rapid and precise proximo-distal movements, we have developed a simple system (eurythmokinesimeter or EKM) which requires the subject to touch alternately the center of proximal and distal targets with a stylus. Ninety-six participants, including 30 controls subjects, 36 Cree subjects exposed to mercury, 21 subjects with Parkinson disease, 6 with presumed cerebellar deficit, and 3 with essential tremor, participated in the study. A total of nine measures, including precision, imprecision, contact duration, unsureness, tremor, transit time, irregularity, speed, and Fitts' constant, were calculated. Test-retest reliability was above 0.8 for most measures and above 0.9 for many measures. Correlations between measures and number of outliers with respect to the control group distribution for each measure were used to reduce the set of measures to five (i.e., precision, imprecision, tremor, Fitts' constant, and irregularity). An ANOVA on the three largest groups generated significant results for tremor, Fitts' constant, and irregularity between the Cree and the control subjects and on Fitts' constant and irregularity between the subjects with Parkinson's disease and the control subjects. Three subgroups of the same mean age composed of six subjects each were selected. One was composed of Cree subjects with the highest level of mercury exposure, another with Cree subjects having a low level of mercury exposure, and a third with control subjects. An ANOVA on these three groups revealed a significant difference between both groups of Cree subjects and the control group for Fitts' constant and irregularity. These preliminary results suggest that the EKM system is able to discriminate the performance of different groups of subjects.
The use of Phadiatop® in mass‐screening programmes of inhalant allergies: advantages and limitations

The validity of Phadiatop® as a tool in the mass screening for inhalant allergies was investigated. Seventy‐nine out of 600 recruits (13.2%) were classified as allergic to inhalant allergens (68 oculorhinitis; 11 asthma) on the basis of positive history, confirmed by skin testing and/or RAST for the seven most common aero‐allergens in Italy. Another 74 subjects had positive RAST and/or skin tests, yet had never experienced allergic symptoms. Phadiatop was positive in 145/600: in 78 out of 79 allergies and in 67 RAST‐positive non‐allergies. Correlation between Phadiatop and RAST was statistically significant, though higher for grass pollens (r= 0.85, P < 0.001) than for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (r= 0.68, P < 0.01). PRIST (cut‐off 220IU/ml) identified 36/79 allergies (45.6% sensitivity, whereas that of Phadiatop was 98.7%). As the high percentage of cases in the unselected population had specific serum IgE against inhalant allergens and no allergic symptomatology, the Phadialop‐positive predictive value falls to 53.7%, thus creating the need for Phadiatop‐positive subjects to undergo further investigation for an appropriate diagnosis. Given this limitation, Phadiatop appears to be an important step forward in the field of mass‐screening programmes for inhalant allergies.
Increase in activated CD8+ T lymphocytes expressing perforin and granzyme B correlates with disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated killing using granzyme B has recently been proposed to be a preferential and selective source of autoantigens in systemic autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), while other reports have indicated that cytolytic activity in SLE patients was decreased. The aim of this study was to examine the phenotypic and functional status of the CD8+ T cells in SLE patients. METHODS Phenotype analysis of CD8+ T cells was carried out using flow cytometry. The cytotoxic potential of CD8+ T cells and its consequences were examined in redirected-killing experiments. SLE patients with quiescent disease (n = 41) were compared with SLE patients with active disease (n = 20), normal individuals (n = 36), and control patients with vasculitis (n = 14). Cytotoxic CD8+ T cell differentiation was examined by coculture with differentiated dendritic cells (DCs) in the presence of SLE patient sera. RESULTS Patients with disease flares were characterized by higher proportions of perforin- and/or granzyme B-positive lymphocytes with a differentiated effector phenotype (CCR7- and CD45RA+). The frequency of these cells in peripheral blood correlated with clinical disease activity as assessed by the SLE Disease Activity Index. These cells generated high amounts of soluble nucleosomes as well as granzyme B-dependent unique autoantigen fragments. Finally, the activation of DCs with serum from a patient with active lupus induced granzyme B expression in CD8+ T lymphocytes. CONCLUSION DCs generated in the presence of sera from SLE patients with active disease could promote the differentiation of CD8+ effector T lymphocytes that are fully functional and able to generate SLE autoantigens. Our data disclose a new and pivotal role of activated CD8+ T lymphocytes in SLE pathogenesis.