Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Marrow-Derived Dendritic Cells Induces Cross-presentation by Bone A Subset of Toll-Like Receptor Ligands

Dendritic cells (DCs) are capable of cross-presenting exogenous Ag to CD8 (cid:1) CTLs. Detection of microbial products by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) leads to activation of DCs and subsequent orchestration of an adaptive immune response. We hypothesized that microbial TLR ligands could activate DCs to cross-present Ag to CTLs. Using DCs and CTLs in an in vitro cross-presentation system, we show that a subset of microbial TLR ligands, namely ligands of TLR3 (poly(inosinic-cytidylic) acid) and TLR9 (immunostimulatory CpG DNA), induces cross-presentation. In contrast to presentation of Ag to CD4 (cid:1) T cells by immature DCs, TLR-induced cross-presentation is mediated by mature DCs, is independent of endosomal acidiﬁcation, and relies on cytosolic Ag processing machinery. The Journal of Immunology, 2003, 170: 4102–4110. ntigen presentation on MHC class I (MHC I) 3 classically involves endogenous, cytosolic Ags. However, an exogenous pathway for MHC I Ag processing exists that allows exogenous Ags to be taken up by APCs and presented on MHC I (cross-presentation) for priming of CD8 (cid:1) T cells (cross-priming) (1–3). The exogenous pathway is important for the de-velopment of CD8 (cid:1) CTL responses against tumors and infectious pathogens that do not directly infect APCs (4, 5). Despite the im-portance of the exogenous pathway, the conditions and mechanisms
Delay Mitigation in Offloaded Cloud Controllers in Industrial IoT

This paper investigates the interplay of cloud computing, fog computing, and Internet of Things (IoT) in control applications targeting the automation industry. In this context, a prototype is developed to explore the use of IoT devices that communicate with a cloud-based controller, i.e., the controller is offloaded to cloud or fog. Several experiments are performed to investigate the consequences of having a cloud server between the end device and the controller. The experiments are performed while considering arbitrary jitter and delays, i.e., they can be smaller than, equal to, or greater than the sampling period. This paper also applies mitigation mechanisms to deal with the delays and jitter that are caused by the networks when the controller is offloaded to the fog or cloud.
Strain-Gage Reinforcement Effects on Low-Modulus Materials

It has been demonstrated, both experimentally and analytically, that the stiffness of a strain gage can produce a significant reinforcing effect when the gage is installed on a material with a low elastic modulus — say, 1 x 106 psi (7 GPa) or less. In tests of strain gages on plastics, for example, errors ranging from -10 percent to -30 percent and greater have been reported.1,2 In principle, the errors could be eliminated by calibrating the gages for their effective gage factors when mounted on plastics. Considering, however, the wide range and variability of mechanical properties found in plastics, there is presently no practical means for the gage manufacturer to supply such information. Nor is it ordinarily feasible for most stress-analysis laboratories to undertake the difficult and exacting task of gage-factor calibration, even for a single gage type on a specific plastic material. For purposes of routine experimental stress analysis of products made from plastics (or other low-modulus materials), this paper offers a relatively simple means of compensation for strain-gage-reinforcement effects.
Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure Is Associated With Polymorphisms in the Sodium-Bicarbonate Cotransporter

Previous studies have demonstrated that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the sodium-bicarbonate co-transporter gene (SLC4A5) are associated with hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that SNPs in SLC4A5 are associated with salt sensitivity of blood pressure in 185 whites consuming an isocaloric constant diet with a randomized order of 7 days of low Na+ (10 mmol/d) and 7 days of high Na+ (300 mmol/d) intake. Salt sensitivity was defined as a ≥7-mm Hg increase in mean arterial pressure during a randomized transition between high and low Na+ diet. A total of 35 polymorphisms in 17 candidate genes were assayed, 25 of which were tested for association. Association analyses with salt sensitivity revealed 3 variants that associated with salt sensitivity, 2 in SLC4A5 (P<0.001) and 1 in GRK4 (P=0.020). Of these, 2 SNPs in SLC4A5 (rs7571842 and rs10177833) demonstrated highly significant results and large effects sizes, using logistic regression. These 2 SNPs had P values of 1.0×10−4 and 3.1×10−4 with odds ratios of 0.221 and 0.221 in unadjusted regression models, respectively, with the G allele at both sites conferring protection. These SNPs remained significant after adjusting for body mass index and age (P=8.9×10−5 and 2.6×10−4 and odds ratios 0.210 and 0.286, respectively). Furthermore, the association of these SNPs with salt sensitivity was replicated in a second hypertensive population. Meta-analysis demonstrated significant associations of both SNPs with salt sensitivity (rs7571842 [P=1.2×10−5]; rs1017783 [P=1.1×10−4]). In conclusion, SLC4A5 variants are strongly associated with salt sensitivity of blood pressure in 2 separate white populations.
Paraphrase Lattice for Statistical Machine Translation

Lattice decoding in statistical machine translation (SMT) is useful in speech translation and in the translation of German because it can handle input ambiguities such as speech recognition ambiguities and German word segmentation ambiguities. In this paper, we show that lattice decoding is also useful for handling input variations. “Input variations” refers to the differences in input texts with the same meaning. Given an input sentence, we build a lattice which represents paraphrases of the input sentence. We call this a paraphrase lattice. Then, we give the paraphrase lattice as an input to a lattice decoder. The lattice decoder searches for the best path of the paraphrase lattice and outputs the best translation. Experimental results using the IWSLT dataset and the Europarl dataset show that our proposed method obtains significant gains in BLEU scores.
The role of tris in EDTA toxicity and lysozyme lysis.

Surmmary Tris and EDTA combined to form a homologue which has far greater chelating ability than EDTA alone. The weaker serine and NH4Cl homo-logues of EDTA replaced EDTA+tris in causing toxicity and permitting lysozyme lysis in Azotobacter vinelandii. Serine could effectively substitute for tris in these systems for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These compounds had relatively little effect on Escherichia coli. The toxicity of EDTA+tris for these organisms could be alleviated by pre-incubation in physiological saline (0–15 M-NaCl). Subsequent lysozyme lysis was prevented by this treatment. The removal of metals from A. vinelandii cysts by EDTA+tris was also inhibited. The EDTA+tris+metallo chelate complexes were inactivated (dissociated) by saline.
Modelling the Impact of Antiretroviral Use in Resource-Poor Settings

Background The anticipated scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in high-prevalence, resource-constrained settings requires operational research to guide policy on the design of treatment programmes. Mathematical models can explore the potential impacts of various treatment strategies, including timing of treatment initiation and provision of laboratory monitoring facilities, to complement evidence from pilot programmes. Methods and Findings A deterministic model of HIV transmission incorporating ART and stratifying infection progression into stages was constructed. The impact of ART was evaluated for various scenarios and treatment strategies, with different levels of coverage, patient eligibility, and other parameter values. These strategies included the provision of laboratory facilities that perform CD4 counts and viral load testing, and the timing of the stage of infection at which treatment is initiated. In our analysis, unlimited ART provision initiated at late-stage infection (AIDS) increased prevalence of HIV infection. The effect of additionally treating pre-AIDS patients depended on the behaviour change of treated patients. Different coverage levels for ART do not affect benefits such as life-years gained per person-year of treatment and have minimal effect on infections averted when treating AIDS patients only. Scaling up treatment of pre-AIDS patients resulted in more infections being averted per person-year of treatment, but the absolute number of infections averted remained small. As coverage increased in the models, the emergence and risk of spread of drug resistance increased. Withdrawal of failing treatment (clinical resurgence of symptoms), immunologic (CD4 count decline), or virologic failure (viral rebound) increased the number of infected individuals who could benefit from ART, but effectiveness per person is compromised. Only withdrawal at a very early stage of treatment failure, soon after viral rebound, would have a substantial impact on emergence of drug resistance. Conclusions Our analysis found that ART cannot be seen as a direct transmission prevention measure, regardless of the degree of coverage. Counselling of patients to promote safe sexual practices is essential and must aim to effect long-term change. The chief aims of an ART programme, such as maximised number of patients treated or optimised treatment per patient, will determine which treatment strategy is most effective.
Toxicity and bioaccumulation of the insecticide “Raid” in Wister rats

Toxicity and bioaccumulation of the insecticide “Raid” was determined to assess total animal dietary exposures in a nonoccupational environment. The study focused primarily on dietary exposure concentrations (25–960 μg/g) of the ingredients of Raid administered to rats for 10 days. Tissue concentrations of the insecticide were determined by a high‐pressure liquid chromatography method, whereas established methods were used to assess the tissue levels of glucose‐6‐phosphate and lactic acid dehydrogenase. Results show that animal mortality progressively increased with increasing concentrations while growth (in weight) decreased. Bioaccumulation of the insecticide in the tissues was in the order of lipid > muscle > liver > brain. The indices of toxicity showed no significant effect in brain, but significant reduction of glucose‐6‐phosphatase and lactic acid dehydrogenase levels were observed in muscle and liver. These results suggest an inhibition of some key metabolic enzymes resulting from accumulation of the insecticide components in the tissues. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2009.
Regulatory T Cells Protect from Local and Systemic Bone Destruction in Arthritis

We previously demonstrated the suppressive effects of regulatory T cells (Treg cells) on osteoclast differentiation in vitro. In this article, we show that blood markers of bone resorption inversely correlate with the amount of circulating Treg cells in healthy controls and rheumatoid arthritis patients, further suggesting that Treg cells may control bone destruction in vivo. Indeed, bone marrow from Foxp3-transgenic (Foxp3tg) mice fully protected human TNF transgenic (hTNFtg) mice from TNF-α–induced bone destruction, whereas Foxp3-deficient bone marrow enhanced local and systemic bone loss. The same protective effect was also obtained by treating hTNFtg mice with the CD28 superagonist mAb (CD28 SA), which increased Treg cell numbers. In both models, bone protection by Treg cells was associated with reduced osteoclast numbers, resulting in less bone-resorbing activity. Reduced osteoclast numbers were not caused by an intrinsic defect in osteoclast differentiation because osteoclast precursors from hTNFtg/Foxp3tg chimeras responded normally to M-CSF and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand. Although a decrease in the clinical signs of arthritis was observed in Foxp3tg bone marrow-transferred and CD28 SA-treated hTNFtg mice, the bone-protective effect of Treg cells was independent of the suppression of inflammation, as demonstrated by the increased systemic bone density observed in wild-type mice treated with CD28 SA. This work demonstrated that increasing Treg cell numbers improved clinical signs of arthritis and suppressed local and systemic bone destruction. Thus, enhancing the activity of Treg cells would be beneficial for the treatment of inflammation-induced bone loss observed in rheumatoid arthritis.
Development and Evaluation of Nanocarriers against Atherosclerosis

The objective of this project was to develop advanced nanocarriers such as nanographene and graphene quantum dots against atherosclerosis. Mannosylated-reduced graphene oxide (Man-rGO) was developed as a targeted nanocarrier and its therapeutic efficacy was evaluated. Near-infrared (NIR) irradiation increased the temperature of Man-rGO solution to approximately 45 °C. Man-rGOs mainly accumulated at the subcellular level of M2-phenotype macrophages (Raw264.7 induced by interleukin-4 (IL4)). The cell viability of macrophages significantly decreased upon exposure to Man-rGO irradiated with NIR, but no changes were observed from that of mast cells (for mast cells (RBL-2H3), 98.3±0.3%; for macrophages, 67.8±1.3%, p<0.01). The enhanced photothermal ablation activity of Man-rGO triggered by NIR laser irradiation was mediated through their targetability toward overexpressed mannose receptor (CD206), a marker of M2-phenotype macrophage. Thiolated-graphene quantum dots (SH-GQDs) were explored as a theranostic nanocarrier against atherosclerosis. SH-GQDs with high quantum yields can be utilized to label single-cell biophysics in the absence of any extra fluorescent dyes. SH-GQDs treatment for 24 hr was effective to induce oxidized-low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) efflux as compared to the media control (Media: 72.4±2.4% and SH-GQDs: 39.2±2.2% iv of oxLDL present in macrophages). There was a significant difference in the efflux amount of oxLDL incubated with SH-GQDs between two treatment periods (3 hr: 73.9±1.5% and 24 hr: 39.2±2.2%). The expressions of ABCA1 in macrophages treated with oxLDL decreased (oxLDL: 79.2±1.7%), whereas the level of ABCA1 expression increased as cells were incubated with SH-GQDs in a presence of oxLDL (SH-GQDs: 101.5±3.1%). Disrupted adherence junctions of human umbilical cord-derived vascular endothelial cells (hUVECs) after oxLDL treatment were observed (oxLDL: 67.2±2.2 Ωcm for 24 hr). SH-GQDs (10 μg/ml) showed an improvement in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) (SH-GQDs: 114.6±8.5 Ω-cm for 24 hr), indicating that adherence junctions were protected by SH-GQD treatment. SH-GQD treatment on in vivo zebrafish larvae showed a protective role of SH-GQDs against oxidative stress induced by H2O2. In addition, as the concentration of SH-GQDs increased, the fluorescence intensities lowered, and were close to negative control. The increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels caused by oxidative stress were mostly relieved by the addition of SHGQDs.
Adrenomedullin Enhances Angiogenic Potency of Bone Marrow Transplantation in a Rat Model of Hindlimb Ischemia

Background—Previous studies have shown that adrenomedullin (AM) inhibits vascular endothelial cell apoptosis and induces angiogenesis. We investigated whether AM enhances bone marrow cell–induced angiogenesis. Methods and Results—Immediately after hindlimb ischemia was created, rats were randomized to receive AM infusion plus bone marrow–derived mononuclear cell (MNC) transplantation (AM+MNC group), AM infusion alone (AM group), MNC transplantation alone (MNC group), or vehicle infusion (control group). The laser Doppler perfusion index was significantly higher in the AM and MNC groups than in the control group (0.74±0.11 and 0.69±0.07 versus 0.59±0.07, respectively, P<0.01), which suggests the angiogenic potency of AM and MNC. Importantly, improvement in blood perfusion was marked in the AM+MNC group (0.84±0.08). Capillary density was highest in the AM+MNC group, followed by the AM and MNC groups. In vitro, AM inhibited MNC apoptosis, promoted MNC adhesiveness to a human umbilical vein endothelial cell monolayer, and increased the number of MNC-derived endothelial progenitor cells. In vivo, AM administration not only enhanced the differentiation of MNC into endothelial cells but also produced mature vessels that included smooth muscle cells. Conclusions—A combination of AM infusion and MNC transplantation caused significantly greater improvement in hindlimb ischemia than MNC transplantation alone. This effect may be mediated in part by the angiogenic potency of AM itself and the beneficial effects of AM on the survival, adhesion, and differentiation of transplanted MNCs.
Decentralized control for output synchronization in heterogeneous networks of non-introspective agents

In this paper we consider the output synchronization problem for heterogeneous networks of linear agents. The network provides each agent with a linear combination of its own output relative to that of neighboring agents, and it allows the agents to exchange information about their own internal observer estimates. We design decentralized controllers based on setting the control input of a single root agent to zero and letting the remaining agents synchronize to the root agent. A distinguishing feature of our work is that the agents are assumed to be non-introspective, meaning that they possess no knowledge about their own state or output separate from what is received via the network.
Combination of estrogen and dioxin is involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by promoting chemokine secretion and invasion of endometrial stromal cells.

BACKGROUND The CC chemokines, regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and macrophage-inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), have been identified as potential contributors to the pathogenesis and the progression of endometriosis. Dioxin, an air pollutant, and estrogen also appear to be involved in endometriosis. The aim of this study was to probe into the effect of dioxin and estrogen on expression of the chemokines in endometriosis-associated cells, and to explore the pathogenesis of endometriosis. METHODS Co-culture models were established to evaluate the secretion of human RANTES and MIP-1alpha. The effects of a dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, TCDD) and estrogen on the invasion of endometrial stromal cells (ESC) were also examined by using an invasion assay, and the translation and proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and MMP-2 in ESC were determined by western blot and zymography, respectively. RESULTS Our results showed that the combination of 17beta-estradiol and TCDD increased the secretion of RANTES and MIP-1alpha, promoted the invasiveness of ESC and increased the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in ESC. Anti-RANTES, anti-MIP-1alpha neutralizing antibody or antibody against their receptors could effectively inhibit the invasiveness of ESC and the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9. CONCLUSIONS The combination of 17beta-estradiol with TCDD may facilitate the onset of endometriosis and contribute to its development by increasing the invasion of ESC mediated by CC-motif chemokines.
Enhancing Robot Programming with Visual Feedback and Augmented Reality

In our previous research, we showed that students using the educational robot Thymio and its visual programming environment were able to learn the important computer-science concept of event-handling. This paper extends that work by integrating augmented reality (AR) into the activities. Students used a tablet that displays in real time the event executed on the robot. The event is overlaid on the tablet over the image from a camera, which shows the location of the robot when the event was executed. In addition, visual feedback (FB) was implemented in the software. We developed a novel video questionnaire to investigate the performance of the students on robotics tasks. Data were collected comparing four groups: AR+FB, AR+non-FB, non-AR+FB, non-AR+non-FB. The results showed that students receiving feedback made significantly fewer errors on the tasks. Those using AR made fewer errors, but this improvement was not significant, although their performance improved. Technical problems with the AR hardware and software showed where improvements are needed.
Synthesis of High Performance Polycarboxylate Superplasticizer through Redox Initiation System and its Application in Concrete

A high performance polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE) was successfully synthesized by a polymerization reaction among acrylic acid (AA), maleic anhydride (MA) and isopentenyl polyethylene glycol (IPEG) through redox initiation system. The composition and amounts of initiation system, and the ratio of monomers were investigated respectively. The proportion of IPGE: MA: AA: sodium methallyl sulfonate (SMAS): ammonium persulfate (APS): ascorbic acid (ASA) was determined as 1: 3: 1.5: 0.3: 0.015: 0.012. Moreover, the effect of polymerization temperature on PCE’s cement paste fluidity was studied. The results showed that the cement pastes mixed with PCE synthesized at 10°C, 20°C and 30°C respectively exhibited better fluidity performances than that mixed with common PCE. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements were used for the structural characterization. The results confirmed the occurrence of polymerization reaction and the ideal structure. Furthermore, the application performances of PCE synthesized through redox initiation system in mortar and concrete were tested. The results showed that the water reducing rate of PCE in mortar and the slump performances of PCE in concrete were better than those of the common commercial PCEs. This synthesis method presents the great research value and application prospect for the PCE preparation in concrete engineering.
Cellular-Resolution Population Imaging Reveals Robust Sparse Coding in the Drosophila Mushroom Body

Sensory stimuli are represented in the brain by the activity of populations of neurons. In most biological systems, studying population coding is challenging since only a tiny proportion of cells can be recorded simultaneously. Here we used two-photon imaging to record neural activity in the relatively simple Drosophila mushroom body (MB), an area involved in olfactory learning and memory. Using the highly sensitive calcium indicator GCaMP3, we simultaneously monitored the activity of >100 MB neurons in vivo (∼5% of the total population). The MB is thought to encode odors in sparse patterns of activity, but the code has yet to be explored either on a population level or with a wide variety of stimuli. We therefore imaged responses to odors chosen to evaluate the robustness of sparse representations. Different odors activated distinct patterns of MB neurons; however, we found no evidence for spatial organization of neurons by either response probability or odor tuning within the cell body layer. The degree of sparseness was consistent across a wide range of stimuli, from monomolecular odors to artificial blends and even complex natural smells. Sparseness was mainly invariant across concentrations, largely because of the influence of recent odor experience. Finally, in contrast to sensory processing in other systems, no response features distinguished natural stimuli from monomolecular odors. Our results indicate that the fundamental feature of odor processing in the MB is to create sparse stimulus representations in a format that facilitates arbitrary associations between odor and punishment or reward.