Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caribbean and La Réunion Chikungunya Virus Isolates Differ in Their Capacity To Induce Proinflammatory Th1 and NK Cell Responses and Acute Joint Pathology

ABSTRACT Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne arthralgic alphavirus that has garnered international attention as an important emerging pathogen since 2005. More recently, it invaded the Caribbean islands and the Western Hemisphere. Intriguingly, the current CHIKV outbreak in the Caribbean is caused by the Asian CHIKV genotype, which differs from the La Réunion LR2006 OPY1 isolate belonging to the Indian Ocean lineage. Here, we adopted a systematic and comparative approach against LR2006 OPY1 to characterize the pathogenicity of the Caribbean CNR20235 isolate and consequential host immune responses in mice. Ex vivo infection using primary mouse tail fibroblasts revealed a weaker replication efficiency by CNR20235 isolate. In the CHIKV mouse model, CNR20235 infection induced an enervated joint pathology characterized by moderate edema and swelling, independent of mononuclear cell infiltration. Based on systemic cytokine analysis, localized immunophenotyping, and gene expression profiles in the popliteal lymph node and inflamed joints, two pathogenic phases were defined for CHIKV infection: early acute (2 to 3 days postinfection [dpi]) and late acute (6 to 8 dpi). Reduced joint pathology during early acute phase of CNR20235 infection was associated with a weaker proinflammatory Th1 response and natural killer (NK) cell activity. The pathological role of NK cells was further demonstrated as depletion of NK cells reduced joint pathology in LR2006 OPY1. Taken together, this study provides evidence that the Caribbean CNR20235 isolate has an enfeebled replication and induces a less pathogenic response in the mammalian host. IMPORTANCE The introduction of CHIKV in the Americas has heightened the risk of large-scale outbreaks due to the close proximity between the United States and the Caribbean. The immunopathogenicity of the circulating Caribbean CHIKV isolate was explored, where it was demonstrated to exhibit reduced infectivity resulting in a weakened joint pathology. Analysis of serum cytokine levels, localized immunophenotyping, and gene expression profiles in the organs revealed that a limited Th1 response and reduced NK cells activity could underlie the reduced pathology in the host. Interestingly, higher asymptomatic infections were observed in the Caribbean compared to the La Réunion outbreaks in 2005 and 2006. This is the first study that showed an association between key proinflammatory factors and pathology-mediating leukocytes with a less severe pathological outcome in Caribbean CHIKV infection. Given the limited information regarding the sequela of Caribbean CHIKV infection, our study is timely and will aid the understanding of this increasingly important disease.
Removing ill-structured arcs in Hierarchical and Concurrent State Diagrams

This paper starts presenting a methodology for embedded systems co-design where statecharts play the role of specification formalism. The system model is expressed using a statechart model, which is a kind of hierarchical and concurrent state diagram, and the methodology relies on the decomposition of the system model into a set of parallel components. The system model is edited using a UML-2.0 compliant graphical editor, and the tool described in this paper produces an intermediary representation of the components using XML (after model partitioning), amenable to feed automatic code generation tools, allowing production of VHDL-code, C-code, or SystemC-code. The paper presents a set of arc lifting mechanisms to be applied to an ill-structured hierarchical and concurrent state diagram in order to obtain a well-structured model, which, according with methodology's requirements, is a requisite for removing hierarchical structures in the model and allow partitioning of the model into a set of concurrent components.
Inhibition of Glioblastoma Angiogenesis and Invasion by Combined Treatments Directed Against Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, and Vascular Endothelial-Cadherin

Purpose: Inhibition of angiogenesis can influence tumor cell invasion and metastasis. We previously showed that blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) with the monoclonal antibody DC101 inhibited intracerebral glioblastoma growth but caused increased tumor cell invasion along the preexistent vasculature. In the present study, we attempted to inhibit glioma cell invasion using a monoclonal antibody against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which in the context of human glioblastomas, has been implicated in tumor cell invasion. In addition, we analyzed whether blockade of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin as a different antiangiogenic target could also inhibit glioblastoma angiogenesis and growth. Experimental Designs: Nude mice who received intracerebral glioblastoma xenografts were treated using monoclonal antibodies against VEGFR-2 (DC101), EGFR (C225), and VE-cadherin (E4G10) either alone or in different combinations. Results: Increased tumor cell invasion provoked by DC101 monotherapy was inhibited by 50% to 66% by combined treatment with C225 and DC101. C225 inhibited glioblastoma cell migration in vitro, but had no effect on the volume of the main tumor mass or on tumor cell proliferation or apoptosis in vivo, either alone or in combination with DC101. The anti-VE-cadherin monoclonal antibody E4G10 was a weaker inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis and growth than DC101, and also caused a weaker increase in tumor cell invasion. Conclusions: Inhibition of angiogenesis achieved by blocking either VEGFR-2 or VE-cadherin can cause increased glioma cell invasion in an orthotopic model. Increased tumor cell invasion induced by potent inhibition of angiogenesis with DC101 could be inhibited by simultaneous blockade of EGFR.
Use of climate information in soybean farming on the Argentinean pampas

The availability of enhanced climate forecasts offers the potential for farmers to improve responses to climate variability. However, few studies have demonstrated actual effective uses of cli- mate forecasts. Through interaction with regional agricultural experts, we evaluated the opportuni- ties and constraints involved in the use of climate information in decision making regarding soybean farming in the Argentinean pampas. Our results showed that opportunities exist for the successful application of climate information, but consistent with previous research, there is a need to consider the broad and complex context influencing decisions, since climate is just one of the many factors affecting farmers' decisions. More importantly, we showed that adaptive management strategies pro- posed by experts in response to hypothetical climate scenarios produced diverging economic out- comes (both positive and negative). We hypothesized that inconsistency of the observed results could be due to a poor understanding by the agricultural experts of the impacts on regional climate of global climate signals (e.g. a given ENSO phase). An alternative hypothesis was that crop consultants had difficulties in anticipating the agronomic outcomes of management decisions made in response to a given climate forecast. Further research is needed to elucidate to what extent these hypotheses are valid. However, our results suggest that the mere availability of climate forecasts will not neces- sarily benefit growers. In order for there to be an improvement in the use of seasonal forecasts, appro- priate interventions are necessary to enhance decision makers' understanding of the sources and impacts of climate variability, and of the consequences of different responses to a range of climate scenarios.
The Integrated Use of DMSP-OLS Nighttime Light and MODIS Data for Monitoring Large-Scale Impervious Surface Dynamics: A Case Study in the Yangtze River Delta

Abstract: The timely and reliable estimation of imperviousness is essential for the scientific understanding of human-Earth interactions. Due to the unique capacity of capturing artificial light luminosity and long-term data records, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)’s Operational Line-scan System (OLS) nighttime light (NTL) imagery offers an appealing opportunity for continuously characterizing impervious surface area (ISA) at regional and continental scales. Although different levels of success have been achieved, critical challenges still remain in the literature. ISA results generated by DMSP-OLS NTL alone suffer from limitations due to systemic defects of the sensor. Moreover, the majority of developed methodologies seldom consider spatial heterogeneity, which is a key issue in coarse imagery applications. In this study, we proposed a novel method for multi-temporal ISA estimation. This method is based on a linear regression model developed between the sub-pixel ISA fraction and a multi-source index with the integrated use of DMSP-OLS NTL and MODIS NDVI. In contrast with traditional regression analysis, we incorporated spatial information to the regression model for obtaining spatially adaptive coefficients at the per-pixel level. To produce multi-temporal ISA maps using a mono-temporal reference dataset, temporally stable samples were extracted for model training and validation. We tested the proposed method in the Yangtze River Delta and generated annual ISA fraction maps for the decade 2000–2009. According to our assessments, the proposed method exhibited substantial improvements compared
Inferring Speciation Processes from Patterns of Natural Variation in Microbial Genomes

Microbial species concepts have long been the focus of contentious debate, fueled by technological limitations to the genetic resolution of species, by the daunting task of investigating phenotypic variation among individual microscopic organisms, and by a lack of understanding of gene flow in reproductively asexual organisms that are prone to promiscuous horizontal gene transfer. Population genomics, the emerging approach of analyzing the complete genomes of a multitude of closely related organisms, is poised to overcome these limitations by providing a window into patterns of genome variation revealing the evolutionary processes through which species diverge. This new approach is more than just an extension of previous multilocus sequencing technologies, in that it provides a comprehensive view of interacting evolutionary processes. Here we argue that the application of population genomic tools in a rigorous population genetic framework will help to identify the processes of microbial speciation and ultimately lead to a general species concept based on the unique biology and ecology of microorganisms.
Vertical handover between wireless service providers

We discuss the dynamics of user handover between two coexisting wireless service providers and analyze the consequent exploitation of the offered diversity by the use of multi-standard terminals. We show that the potential capacity benefits of mobile-initiated vertical handovers (VHO) are substantial, but it is important to choose the correct VHO criteria in order to achieve optimum load balancing and equilibrium states (both globally and socially). A fast-handover scheme, based on replicator dynamics is presented, which exhibits fast convergence to the socially optimal states by allowing only a subset of the necessary VHOs among the air interfaces to take place.
Isolation of Mature Spinal Motor Neurons and Single-cell Analysis Using the Comet Assay of Early Low-level DNA Damage Induced In Vitro and In Vivo

We developed an isolation technique for motor neurons from adult rat spinal cord. Spinal cord enlargements were discretely microdissected into ventral horn tissue columns that were trypsin-digested and subjected to differential low-speed centrifugation to fractionate ventral horn cell types. A fraction enriched in α-motor neurons was isolated. Motor neuron enrichment was verified by immunofluorescence for choline acetyltransferase and prelabeling axon projections to skeletal muscle. Adult motor neurons were isolated from naïve rats and were exposed to oxidative agents or were isolated from rats with sciatic nerve lesions (avulsions). We tested the hypothesis, using single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay), that hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, and peroxynitrite exposure in vitro and axotomy in vivo induce DNA damage in adult motor neurons early during their degeneration. This study contributes three important developments in the study of motor neurons. It demonstrates that mature spinal motor neurons can be isolated and used for in vitro models of motor neuron degeneration. It shows that adult motor neurons can be isolated from in vivo models of motor neuron degeneration and evaluated on a single-cell basis. This study also demonstrates that the comet assay is a feasible method for measuring DNA damage in individual motor neurons. Using these methods, we conclude that motor neurons undergoing oxidative stress from reactive oxygen species and axotomy accumulate DNA damage early in their degeneration. (J Histochem Cytochem 49:957–972, 2001)
Inertial Navigation Position Algorithm in Frequency-Domain with Gibbs Oscillation Restraining in Acceleration Signal Reconstruction

Accelerometer is one of the most important units in inertial navigation system. Its mathematical model is established, and its output equation is derived. Reconstructing acceleration signal in frequency-domain is adopted in order to reduce the integration error in inertial navigation position calculation. To restrain the Gibbs phenomenon in the reconstruction of acceleration signal, a new method is proposed which retains original length of block-process data and is convenient to be integrated. The method is proved to have higher precision than the conventionally used 3-sample algorithm by digital simulation experiment.
Assessment of Air Pollution Impacts on Population Health in Bejaia City, Northern Algeria

Abstract Background To assess the health impact of air pollution on Bejaia population in the north of Algeria, we carried out a descriptive epidemiologic inquiry near the medical establishments of three areas. Methods From hospital admissions registers, we collected data on the hospital mortality and admissions relating to the various cardiorespiratory pathologies generated by this type of pollution. In parallel, data on the automobile fleet of Bejaia and other measurements were exploited to show that the pollutants concentrations are strongly correlated with the urban traffic concentration. Results This study revealed that the whole of the population is touched, but the sensitivity to pollution can show variations according to the age, the sex and the residence place. Population of Bejaia town marked the most raised death and morbidity rates, followed by that of Kherrata. Weak rates are recorded for the rural population of Feraoun. Stronger correlation (>0.9) is evident amongst CO and deaths due to asthma and COPD in Béjaia city. Conclusion This approach enables us to conclude that the population of Béjaia could not escape the urban pollution generated by her old automobile fleet. Installation of a monitoring and measuring site of air pollution in this city could provide a beneficial tool to protect its inhabitants by informing on air quality they breathe and the measures to following order to minimize the impacts on their health and by alerting the authorities during the critical situations.
Emerging functions of pannexin 1 in the eye

Pannexin 1 (Panx1) is a high-conductance, voltage-gated channel protein found in vertebrates. Panx1 is widely expressed in many organs and tissues, including sensory systems. In the eye, Panx1 is expressed in major divisions including the retina, lens and cornea. Panx1 is found in different neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. The channel is mechanosensitive and responds to changes in extracellular ATP, intracellular calcium, pH, or ROS/nitric oxide. Since Panx1 channels operate at the crossroad of major signaling pathways, physiological functions in important autocrine and paracrine feedback signaling mechanisms were hypothesized. This review starts with describing in depth the initial Panx1 expression and localization studies fostering functional studies that uncovered distinct roles in processing visual information in subsets of neurons in the rodent and fish retina. Panx1 is expressed along the entire anatomical axis from optical nerve to retina and cornea in glia, epithelial and endothelial cells as well as in neurons. The expression and diverse localizations throughout the eye points towards versatile functions of Panx1 in neuronal and non-neuronal cells, implicating Panx1 in the crosstalk between immune and neural cells, pressure related pathological conditions like glaucoma, wound repair or neuronal cell death caused by ischemia. Summarizing the literature on Panx1 in the eye highlights the diversity of emerging Panx1 channel functions in health and disease.
Prevalence of Dental Caries in Kosovar Adult Population

Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental caries in the Kosovar adult population. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study in Kosovo was conducted examining 9387 patients, aged 18 upwards, between January 2010 and December 2011. Clinical evaluation was done using WHO criteria for evaluation of dental health status and data collection. Results. The prevalence of caries for the whole study was 72.80%. The mean DMFT index was 9.61 (±5.12) in the 18–34-year age group, 11.6 (±6.42) in the 35–44-year age group, 13.68 (±8.12) among the 45–64-year age group, 17.98 (±9.81) in the 65–74-year age group, and 23.19 (±9.41) in the age group of 75+ years, respectively. A significant difference of mean DMFT and its each component was observed between the ages (P < 0.001). Conclusion. This study comes out with the significant levels of dental caries among young Kosovar population (18–34 years old).
EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTATION OF ZINC AND VITAMIN-E AND THEIR COMBINATION ON PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS OF BROILER CHICKENS UNDER OXIDATIVE STRESS CONDITION

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of adding zinc and vitamin E and their combination to the broiler chicken diet on physiological traits of broiler chickens under oxidative stress condition. Oxidative stress was introduced by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to drinking water from the age of 10 days with 0.5% for all treatments except the negative control treatment (T1). Two hundred eighty two, unsexed one day old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were reared at average body weight (BW) of 38 g, were randomly allotted into 8 treatments with 3 replicates per treatment (each replicate represents one pen) and 12 birds per replicate for 42 d. The treatments were included T1 free of any addition (negative control), T2 basal diet + 0.5% of H2O2 (positive control), T3 basal diet+ 80 of mg/kg of vitamin E, T4 basal diet + 160 mg/kg of vitamin E, T5 basal diet + 40 mg/kg of zinc, T6 basal diet + 80 mg/kg of zinc, T7 basal diet + 40 mg/kg of zinc + 80 mg/kg of vitamin E, and T8 basal diet + 80 mg/kg of zinc + 160 mg/kg of vitamin E. The obtained results of blood characteristics of broilers in 42 days showed insignificant differences between different experimental treatments in the value of hemoglobin and the number of red blood cells while T6 was significantly (P <0.05) exceeded in the percentage of hematocrit compared to all experimental treatments. In regard to the number of white blood cells, the percentage of heterophils, rate of sedimentation velocity of blood cells, it was observed a highly significant (P <0.01) in T2 compared to all experimental treatments and with respect to the percentage of lymphocytes T6 treatment was recorded a highly significant (P <0.01) compared to all experimental treatments, as well as for the characteristics ofbiochemical blood plasma, T2 recorded a highly significant (P<0.01) in the glucose of blood plasma compared with other experimental treatments in addition to a highly significant (P <0.01) in T1 in the total protein rate was observed which was not significantly different with T5, T7 and T8. In terms of the albumin level, it was highly significant (P <0.01) in T2 compared to all experimental treatments, while the level of globulin was significantly (P<0.05) exceeded in T1 compared to T2 and T6. For the level of cholesterol, T2 was significantly exceeded compared to the other treatments, and with regard to the level of zinc, T8 did not differ significantly with T1, T3 and T6. In relation to the efficacy of the AST enzyme, T2 was significantly (P<0.05) exceeded compared to other treatments, and with regard to the effectiveness of the enzyme ALT a significant decrease (P<0.05) in T2 compared with other experimental treatments was observed. Additionally, T2 showed a significant increase in the level of Malondialdehyde (MDA), the Peroxide Value (P.V) and Free Fatty Acid (FFA) in liver tissue compared to the other treatments.
On the Expressive Power of Three-Valued and Four-Valued Languages

We investigate the expressive power relative to three-valued and four-valued logics of various subsets of the set of connectives which are used in the bilattices-based logics. Our study of a language is done in two stages. In the rst stage the ability of the language to characterize sets of tuples of truth-values is determined. In the second stage the results of the rst are used to determine its power to represent operations. Special attention is given to the role of monotonicity, closure and freedom properties in classifying languages, as well as to maximality properties (for example: we prove that by adding any nonmonotonic connective to the set of four-valued monotonic connectives, we get a functionally complete set). 1 Introduction In Be77a, Be77b] Belnap introduced a logic intended to deal in a useful way with inconsistent and incomplete information. This logic is based on four truth values: the classical ones, denoted here by t and f, and two new ones: ? , that intuitively denotes lack of information (no knowledge), and >, that indicates inconsistency (\over"-knowledge). The truth values of Belnap's logic have two natural orderings: One, t , intuitively reeects diierences in the \measure of truth" that every value represents. According to this order, f is the minimal element, t is the maximal one, and ? ; > are two intermediate values that are incomparable. (ft; f; >; ? g; t) is a distributive lattice with an order reversing involution :, for which :> = > and :? =? We shall denote the meet and the join of this lattice by ^ and _, respectively. The other partial order, k , is understood (again, intuitively) as reeecting diierences in the amount of knowledge or information that each truth value exhibits. Again, (ft; f; >; ? g; k) is a distributive lattice where ? is its minimal element, > { the maximal element, and t, f are incomparable. Following Fitting Fi90] we shall denote the meet and the join of the k-lattice by 1
The energetics and structure of nickel clusters: Size dependence

The energetics of nickel clusters over a broad size range are explored within the context of the many‐body potentials obtained via the embedded atom method. Unconstrained local minimum energy configurations are found for single crystal clusters consisting of various truncations of the cube or octahedron, with and without (110) faces, as well as some monotwinnings of these. We also examine multitwinned structures such as icosahedra and various truncations of the decahedron, such as those of Ino and Marks. These clusters range in size from 142 to over 5000 atoms. As in most such previous studies, such as those on Lennard‐Jones systems, we find that icosahedral clusters are favored for the smallest cluster sizes and that Marks’ decahedra are favored for intermediate sizes (all our atomic systems larger than about 2300 atoms). Of course very large clusters will be single crystal face‐centered‐cubic (fcc) polyhedra: the onset of optimally stable single‐crystal nickel clusters is estimated to occur at 17 000 at.