Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A murine model of peanut anaphylaxis: T- and B-cell responses to a major peanut allergen mimic human responses.

BACKGROUND Peanut allergy affects 0.6% of the US population. At the present time, allergen avoidance is the only therapeutic option. Animal models of food-induced anaphylaxis would facilitate attempts to design novel immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of peanut allergy. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to develop a murine model of IgE-mediated peanut hypersensitivity that closely mimics human peanut allergy. METHODS C3H/HeJ mice sensitized orally with freshly ground whole peanut and cholera toxin as adjuvant were challenged orally 3 and 5 weeks later with crude peanut extract. Anaphylactic reactions were determined. T- and B-cell responses to Ara h 1 and Ara h 2, the major peanut allergens, were characterized by evaluating splenocyte proliferative responses and IgE antibody concentrations. Furthermore, IgE antibodies in the sera of patients with peanut allergy and mice were compared for antibody binding to Ara h 2 isoforms and allergenic epitopes. RESULTS Peanut-specific IgE was induced by oral peanut sensitization, and hypersensitivity reactions were provoked by feeding peanut to sensitized mice. The symptoms were similar to those seen in human subjects. Ara h 1- and Ara h 2-specific antibodies were present in the sera of mice with peanut allergy. Furthermore, these Ara h 2-specific IgE antibodies bound the same Ara h 2 isoforms and major allergenic epitopes as antibodies in the sera of human subjects with peanut allergy. Splenocytes from mice with peanut allergy exhibited proliferative responses to Ara h 1 and Ara h 2. CONCLUSION This murine model of peanut allergy mimics the clinical and immunologic characteristics of peanut allergy in human subjects and should be a useful tool for developing immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of peanut allergy.
Identifying Performance Bottleneck in Shared In-Network Aggregation during Distributed Training

As the emergence of recently popular large language model, distributed training (DT) optimizes the performance via using different parallelization strategies, resource schedulers and advanced compression techniques. Meanwhile, a promising acceleration primitive, In-Network Aggregation (INA), offloads the gradient aggregation to programmable switches to further reduce the communication overhead using the switch memory. However, to the best of our knowledge, how to identify the performance bottleneck in real time remains challenging. In this paper, we build Argus, a performance bottleneck monitoring framework for INA. Argus implements an aggregation digest extracting mechanism for real-time monitoring of DT jobs at the multi-tenant, multi-rack clusters. Argus models aggregation to identify performance bottlenecks in aggregation, which assists the scheduler in deciding the resource allocation. Extensive evaluation and prototype implementation show that Argus provides real-time and packet-level aggregation monitoring for identifying bottlenecks in INA with minimal performance overhead.
Embryo-Specific Reduction of ADP-Glc Pyrophosphorylase Leads to an Inhibition of Starch Synthesis and a Delay in Oil Accumulation in Developing Seeds of Oilseed Rape1

In oil-storing Brassica napus (rape) seeds, starch deposition occurs only transiently in the early stages of development, and starch is absent from mature seeds. This work investigates the influence of a reduction of ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) on storage metabolism in these seeds. To manipulate the activity of AGPase in a seed-specific manner, a cDNA encoding the small subunit of AGPase was expressed in the sense or antisense orientation under the control of an embryo-specific thioesterase promoter. Lines were selected showing an embryo-specific decrease in AGPase due to antisense and cosuppression at different stages of development. At early developmental stages (25 days after flowering), a 50% decrease in AGPase activity was accompanied by similar decreases in starch content and the rate of starch synthesis measured by injecting 14C-Suc into seeds in planta. In parallel to inhibition of starch synthesis, the level of ADP-Glc decreased, whereas Glc 1-phosphate levels increased, providing biochemical evidence that inhibition of starch synthesis was due to repression of AGPase. At 25 days after flowering, repression of starch synthesis also led to a decrease in the rate of 14C-Suc degradation and its further metabolism via other metabolic pathways. This was not accompanied by an increase in the levels of soluble sugars, indicating that Suc import was inhibited in parallel. Flux through glycolysis, the activities of hexokinase, and inorganic pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase, and the adenylate energy state (ATP to ADP ratio) of the transgenic seeds decreased, indicating inhibition of glycolysis and respiration compared to wild type. This was accompanied by a marked decrease in the rate of storage lipid (triacylglycerol) synthesis and in the fatty acid content of seeds. In mature seeds, glycolytic enzyme activities, metabolite levels, and ATP levels remained unchanged, and the fatty acid content was only marginally lower compared to wild type, indicating that the influence of AGPase on carbon metabolism and oil accumulation was largely compensated for in the later stages of seed development. Results indicate that AGPase exerts high control over starch synthesis at early stages of seed development where it is involved in establishing the sink activity of the embryo and the onset of oil accumulation.
Sociological barriers to developing sustainable discretionary air travel behaviour

Encouraging positive public behaviour change has been touted as a pathway for mitigating the climate impacts of air travel. There is, however, growing evidence that two gaps, one between attitudes and behaviour, and the other between practices of “home” and “away”, pose significant barriers to changing discretionary air travel behaviour. This paper uses both modern sociological theory on tourism as liminoid space, and postmodern theory that views identities as contextual, to provide a deeper understanding of why these gaps occur in the context of tourism spaces. Based on 50 in-depth consumer interviews in Australia, Norway and the United Kingdom, our findings confirm that tourism spaces are often subject to lower levels of environmental concern than daily domestic contexts. The majority of participants reduced, suppressed or abandoned their climate concern when in tourism spaces, and rationalised their resulting behavioural contradictions. Only a minority held there was no difference between the environmental sustainability of their practices in domestic situations versus those on holiday. These findings suggest that scope for voluntary positive behaviour change in the air travel context is limited and will not come without stronger intervention, which is a key finding for policy makers seeking reductions in air travel's climate impacts.
Antiangiogenic and Antineuroinflammatory Effects of Kallistatin Through Interactions With the Canonical Wnt Pathway

Kallistatin is a member of the serine proteinase inhibitor superfamily. Kallistatin levels have been shown to be decreased in the vitreous while increased in the circulation of patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). Overactivation of the Wnt pathway is known to play pathogenic roles in DR. To investigate the role of kallistatin in DR and in Wnt pathway activation, we generated kallistatin transgenic (kallistatin-TG) mice overexpressing kallistatin in multiple tissues including the retina. In the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model, kallistatin overexpression attenuated ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization. In diabetic kallistatin-TG mice, kallistatin overexpression ameliorated retinal vascular leakage, leukostasis, and overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor and intracellular adhesion molecule. Furthermore, kallistatin overexpression also suppressed Wnt pathway activation in the retinas of the OIR and diabetic models. In diabetic Wnt reporter (BAT-gal) mice, kallistatin overexpression suppressed retinal Wnt reporter activity. In cultured retinal cells, kallistatin blocked Wnt pathway activation induced by high glucose and by Wnt ligand. Coprecipitation and ligand-binding assays both showed that kallistatin binds to a Wnt coreceptor LRP6 with high affinity (Kd = 4.5 nmol/L). These observations suggest that kallistatin is an endogenous antagonist of LRP6 and inhibitor of Wnt signaling. The blockade of Wnt signaling may represent a mechanism for its antiangiogenic and antineuroinflammatory effects.
Higher Education for Social Work in Sweden

Abstract The present paper focuses on higher education for social work in Sweden. The development of the past 15 years has been characterized by growth, several amalgamations between federal university and county funded programs, and the development of a stronger research focus. Currently, the Bologna Process and new goals for the Bachelor of Social Work degree are guiding the developmental work. The present paper traces the author's personal reflections on this development and the connection to social work practice. Possibilities, challenges, and obstacles experienced are discussed.
A Trajectory Tracking System for Zebrafish Based on Embedded Edge Artificial Intelligence

Trajectory tracking of zebrafish is an important requirement in studying neurological disorders and developing new psychoactive drug. However, many challenges emerge for stable tracking, since zebrafish are similar in appearance, occlusion, agile, non-linear in moving and easy to swarm, all of which will lead to mistrack for multiple fish. And there is no precedent for tracking zebrafish through embedded edge artificial intelligence device. To overcome these difficulties, we present a tracking system for zebrafish based on RK3588-S. First, We construct an embedded edge AI hardware system consisting of two cameras driven by the RK3588-S, one for the front view and the other for top view of the fish. Then, we develop a 2D tracking algorithm based on YOLOv5 and the Observation-Centric Simple online and real-time tracking (OC-SORT) algorithm, which are transplanted to the RK3588-S for tracking the top and front views of the fish at the edge device. Compared with the previous methods, our method has fewer ID exchanges and highly real-time. Moreover, we apply the MQTT mechanism to establish communication links between the edge and the cloud to reliably transmit data to the cloud. The correspondence between cloud server and embedded AI is 1: N. Finally, we design a multi-view data fusion association algorithm to fuse the data of the two views in the cloud, which are further utilized to build the 3D tracklets of the zebrafish.
Understanding the Molecular Diversity of GABAergic Synapses

GABAergic synapses exhibit a high degree of subcellular and molecular specialization, which contrasts with their apparent simplicity in ultrastructural appearance. Indeed, when observed in the electron microscope, GABAergic synapses fit in the symmetric, or Gray’s type II category, being characterized by a relatively simple postsynaptic specialization. The inhibitory postsynaptic density cannot be readily isolated, and progress in understanding its molecular composition has lagged behind that of excitatory synapses. However, recent studies have brought significant progress in the identification of new synaptic proteins, revealing an unexpected complexity in the molecular machinery that regulates GABAergic synaptogenesis. In this article, we provide an overview of the molecular diversity of GABAergic synapses, and we consider how synapse specificity may be encoded by selective trans-synaptic interactions between pre- and postsynaptic adhesion molecules and secreted factors that reside in the synaptic cleft. We also discuss the importance of developing cataloguing tools that could be used to decipher the molecular diversity of synapses and to predict alterations of inhibitory transmission in the course of neurological diseases.
Common Variants in CRP and LEPR Influence High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels in North Indians

Background High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are shown to be influenced by genetic variants in Europeans; however, little is explored in Indian population. Methods Herein, we comprehensively evaluated association of all previously reported genetic determinants of hsCRP levels, including 18 cis (proximal to CRP gene) and 73 trans-acting (distal to CRP gene) variants in 4,200 North Indians of Indo-European ethnicity. First, we evaluated association of 91 variants from 12 candidate loci with hsCRP levels in 2,115 North Indians (1,042 non-diabetic subjects and 1,073 patients with type 2 diabetes). Then, cis and trans-acting variants contributing maximally to hsCRP level variation were further replicated in an independent 2,085 North Indians (1,047 patients with type 2 diabetes and 1,038 non-diabetic subjects). Results We found association of 12 variants from CRP, LEPR, IL1A, IL6, and IL6R with hsCRP levels in non-diabetic subjects. However, only rs3093059-CRP [β = 0.33, P = 9.6×10−5] and the haplotype harboring rs3093059 risk allele [β = 0.32 µg/mL, P = 1.4×10−4/Pperm = 9.0×10−4] retained significance after correcting for multiple testing. The cis-acting variant rs3093059-CRP had maximum contribution to the variance in hsCRP levels (1.14%). Among, trans-acting variants, rs1892534-LEPR was observed to contribute maximally to hsCRP level variance (0.59%). Associations of rs3093059-CRP and rs1892534-LEPR were confirmed by replication and attained higher significance after meta-analysis [βmeta = 0.26/0.22; Pmeta = 4.3×10−7/7.4×10−3 and βmeta = −0.15/−0.12; Pmeta = 2.0×10−6/1.6×10−6 for rs3093059 and rs1892534, respectively in non-diabetic subjects and all subjects taken together]. Conclusion In conclusion, we identified rs3093059 in CRP and rs1892534 in LEPR as major cis and trans-acting contributor respectively, to the variance in hsCRP levels in North Indian population.
Racial differences in testing motivation and psychological distress following pretest education for BRCA1 gene testing.

OBJECTIVES We conducted a randomized trial to investigate racial differences in response to two alternate pretest education strategies for BRCA1 genetic testing: a standard education model and an education plus counseling (E + C) model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two hundred twenty-eight Caucasian women and 70 African American women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer were contacted for a baseline telephone interview to assess sociodemographic characteristics, number of relatives affected with cancer, and race before pretest education. Outcome variables included changes from baseline to 1-month follow-up in cancer-related distress and genetic testing intentions, as well as provision of a blood sample after the education session. RESULTS African American women were found to differ significantly from Caucasian women in the effects of the interventions on testing intentions and provision of a blood sample. Specifically, in African American women, E + C led to greater increases than education only in intentions to be tested and provision of a blood sample. These effects were independent of socioeconomic status and referral mechanisms. In Caucasian women, there were no differential effects of the interventions on these outcomes. Reductions in cancer-specific distress were evidenced in all study groups. However, this decrease, although not significantly different, was smallest among African American women who received E + C. CONCLUSIONS In low- to moderate-risk African American women, pretest education and counseling may motivate BRCA1 testing. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms of impact of the alternate pretest education strategies and to increase the cultural sensitivity of education and counseling protocols.
Ultrasonic defect detection of railway wheels based on deep learning

Ultrasonic testing is a highly efficient NDT technique, which is widely used and rapidly developing among the many NDT methods. With the rapid development of high-speed railways, existing testing speeds are often unable to meet demand. Wheel integrity is essential for safety. Existing ultrasonic testing techniques now rely more on the intuition and experience of skilled workers, which often results in a high rate of missed inspections. In this paper, images of wheels with different defect depths are firstly annotated and calibrated. Secondly, the structure of the YOLO v5 algorithm is improved for the characteristics of ultrasonic defects, making it more efficient for recognizing B-scan defect images of wheels. Finally, the data is validated and tested for each category. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm has significantly enhanced the performance of wheel B-scan defect recognition, reducing the false alarm rate while stabilizing the detection speed of one wheel within 10s.
Detection of conserved physico-chemical characteristics of proteins by analyzing clusters of positions with co-ordinated substitutions

MOTIVATION It is known that the physico-chemical characteristics of proteins underlying specific folding of the polypeptide chain and the protein function are evolutionary conserved. Detection of such characteristics while analyzing homologous sequences would expand essentially the knowledge on protein function, structure, and evolution. These characteristics are maintained constant, in particular, by co-ordinated substitutions. In this process, the destabilizing effect of a substitution may be compensated by another substitution at a different position within the same protein, making the overall change in this protein characteristic insignificant. Consequently, the patterns of co-ordinated substitutions contain important information on conserved physico-chemical properties of proteins, requiring their investigation and development of the corresponding methods and software for correlation analysis of protein sequences available to a wide range of users. RESULTS A software package for analyzing correlated amino acid substitutions at different positions within aligned protein sequences was developed. The approach implies searching for evolutionary conserved physico-chemical characteristics of proteins based on the information on the pairwise correlations of amino acid substitutions at different protein positions. The software was applied to analyze DNA-binding domains of the homeodomain class. As a result, two conservative physico-chemical characteristics preserved due to the co-ordinated substitutions at certain groups of positions in the protein sequence. Possible functional roles of these characteristics are discussed. AVAILABILITY The program package is available at http://wwwmgs.bionet. nsc.ru/programs/CRASP/.
Transcriptional Regulation of Xenobiotic Detoxification in Drosophila

Xenobiotic compounds pose a constant threat to the survival of all organisms and to overcome this, animals mount an elaborate transcriptional response, regulating a battery of enzymes that detoxify these compounds. Several transcription factors have been identified in vertebrates that regulate this response. In contrast, little is known about this pathway in insects. We show that the Drosophila Nrf2 ortholog, CncC, is a central regulator of xenobiotic detoxification responses. A binding site for CncC and its heterodimer partner Maf is sufficient and necessary for robust transcriptional responses to three xenobiotic compounds, phenobarbital (PB), chlorpromazine, and caffeine. Genetic manipulations that alter the levels of CncC, or its negative regulator Keap1, lead to predictable changes in xenobiotic‐inducible gene expression. Transcriptional profiling studies reveal that more than half of the genes regulated by PB are also controlled by CncC. Consistent with these effects on detoxification gene expression, activation of the CncC/Keap1 pathway in Drosophila is sufficient to confer resistance to the pesticide malathion. Further, in the two pesticide‐resistant strains of Drosophila, the pathway is constitutively active, leading to overexpression of several detoxification genes. Our current efforts are aimed at identifying the mutations that constitutively activate the pathway in these strains.
Fos expression in GABAergic cells and cells immunopositive for NMDA receptors in the inferior and superior colliculi following audiogenic seizures in rats

Given the evidence that the inferior colliculus (IC) and superior colliculus (SC) seem to play key roles in connecting auditory pathways and seizure output pathways in the neuronal network for audiogenic seizures (AS) in rats, we examined Fos activation in GABAergic cells and cells immunopositive for glutamate N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the IC and SC following AS using the double‐labeling procedure. Generalized tonic‐clonic seizures (GTCS), which developed as an advanced form of AS in some of the susceptible rats, induced an increase in Fos expression in three IC substructures—the dorsal cortex of IC (DCIC), central nucleus of IC (CIC), and external cortex of IC (ECIC)—and in one SC substructure, the deep gray layer of SC (DpG). Compared with the rats showing GTCS, rats exhibiting wild running (WR) without proceeding to GTCS showed a different pattern of AS‐induced Fos expression. The DpG in the WR animals showed no significant increase in the levels of Fos‐like immunoreactivity. The degrees of Fos activation that occurred in GABAergic cells and cells immunopositive for NMDA receptors were similar in the DCIC, CIC, ECIC, and DpG following AS. These results suggest that Fos activation in the DpG is involved in the development from WR to GTCS in AS‐susceptible rats. They also provide some evidence that some GABAergic neurons in the IC and SC and glutamatergic afferents (via NMDA receptors) to these structures are activated by AS. Synapse 46:100–107, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Neuropeptides regulate swimming depth of Platynereis larvae

Cilia-based locomotion is the major form of locomotion for microscopic planktonic organisms in the ocean. Given their negative buoyancy, these organisms must control ciliary activity to maintain an appropriate depth. The neuronal bases of depth regulation in ciliary swimmers are unknown. To gain insights into depth regulation we studied ciliary locomotor control in the planktonic larva of the marine annelid, Platynereis. We found several neuropeptides expressed in distinct sensory neurons that innervate locomotor cilia. Neuropeptides altered ciliary beat frequency and the rate of calcium-evoked ciliary arrests. These changes influenced larval orientation, vertical swimming, and sinking, resulting in upward or downward shifts in the steady-state vertical distribution of larvae. Our findings indicate that Platynereis larvae have depth-regulating peptidergic neurons that directly translate sensory inputs into locomotor output on effector cilia. We propose that the simple circuitry found in these ciliated larvae represents an ancestral state in nervous system evolution.
Investigation of X-ray Irradiation Impact on CeRAM

CeRAM devices were fabricated and electrically characterized following x-ray irradiation exposure for the purpose of investigating device reliability and operation in harsh environments. CeRAM were subjected to a total ionizing dose (TID) of up to 1 Mrad, which was found to induce resistance switching (RS) of the memory state. TID was determined to have no impact on RS parameters, including both switching voltages and resistance levels.