Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICAM-1 Expression on the Surface of T Lymphocytes in Patients with Uveitis: A Comparative Study between the Eye and Peripheral Blood

Purpose: We studied the surface expression of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) on peripheral and intra-ocular T lymphocytes in patients with active uveitis. Methods: Two-colour flow-cytometric analysis was performed on cells isolated from aqueous humour and peripheral blood of 23 patients with active uveitis and 16 control patients who were to undergo cataract extraction, in order to determine the percentage of cells expressing CD4, CD8 and ICAM-1 (CD54) molecules. Results: In the aqueous humour of patients with uveitis, we found an increase in the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, co-expressing the ICAM-1 molecule as compared to control patients (p < 0.0001). In peripheral blood, these uveitis patients exhibited a significant decrease in the percentage of CD4+ICAM-1+ (p = 0.0106) and CD8+ICAM-1+ (p = 0.0014) as compared to control subjects. The comparative study of cells from the aqueous humour and peripheral blood showed that the percentage of CD4+ICAM-1+ cells was higher in the aqueous humour (p < 0.0001). Comparison of the aqueous humour and peripheral blood for CD8+ICAM-1+ cells revealed no significant differences. In addition, we found a high negative correlation for the CD8+ICAM-1+ subset between the aqueous humour and peripheral blood. Conclusions: Our results suggest a greater local participation for CD4+ICAM-1+ cells but not for CD8+ICAM-1+ cells in the pathogenesis of uveitis.
On The Interface Boundary Condition of Beavers, Joseph, and Saffman

We consider the laminar viscous channel flow over a porous surface. It is supposed, as in the experiment by Beavers and Joseph, that a uniform pressure gradient is maintained in the longitudinal direction in both the channel and the porous medium. After studying the corresponding boundary layers, we obtain rigorously Saffman's modification of the interface condition observed by Beavers and Joseph. It is valid when the pore size of the porous medium tends to zero. Furthermore, the coefficient in the law is determined through an auxiliary boundary-layer type problem.
Increased psychological responses and divergent neuroendocrine responses to m‐CPP and ipsapirone in patients with panic disorder

&NA; In patients with panic disorder and/or agoraphobia (PDA) an increased sensitivity of central 5‐HT2C receptors and a decreased responsiveness of 5‐HT1A receptors has been postulated. In the present study, neuroendocrine challenges were performed using oral doses of the non‐selective 5‐HT2C agonist m‐chlorophenylpiperazine (m‐CPP) (0.4mg/kg), the selective 5‐HT1A antagonist ipsapirone (0.3mg/kg), and placebo in 40 patients with PDA and 12 healthy controls in order to compare 5‐HT2C and 5‐HT1A‐specific psychobehavioural and neuroendocrine response patterns. At baseline, all psychobehavioural variables and the plasma concentration of noradrenaline (NE) were significantly increased in the patient group compared to the controls. The administration of m‐CPP or ipsapirone was followed by comparable psychological symptoms and, in 55% of all patients, panic attacks. In comparison to the control subjects, patients were characterized by significantly higher psychological reactions to both challenge agents and a significantly higher NE response to m‐CPP. In the patient group, there was also a trend towards an increased cortisol response after administration of m‐CPP and a decreased cortisol and hypothermia response after administration of ipsapirone compared to the control group. The neuroendocrine findings of our study support earlier reports of opposite changes in the responsiveness of 5‐HT2C‐ and 5‐HT1A‐related receptors in PDA patients. The behavioural hypersensitivity to both, m‐CPP and ipsapiron, shows that the provocation of anxiety and other psychological symptoms might be influenced by cognitive factors.
A second rabbit kappa isotype

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) from the rabbit strain Basilea was previously shown to contain two distinct populations of molecules one with light chain belonging to the known lambda isotype and the others to a new kappa-like L chain type. Alloantisera prepared against the Basilea IgG are directed against the kappa-like light chain (anti-bas antisera). All Basilea rabbits express kappa-like chains recognized by anti-bas sera, but IgG from other domestic rabbits did not react with these antisera. Genetic studies of wild rabbits belonging to different populations show that the bas+ phenotype could be found in heterozygous rabbits as well as those homozygous at the b locus. The gene encoding the bas+ light chain is closely linked to the b locus. Moreover, antigenic determinants recognized by anti-bas antibodies and antigenic determinants recognized by antibodies directed against allotypic determinants of the b series are located on distinct IgG molecules. These results show that there are two rabbit kappa isotypes: the kappa 1 isotype, bearing allotypic determinants of the b series, and the kappa 2 isotype, for which bas+ chain is one of the allotypic forms. The kappa 1 and kappa 2 isotypes are controlled by closely linked genes.
When the shift hits the critical fan: A Foucauldian analysis

In the past 15 years in the UK, the state has acquired powers, which mark a qualitative shift in its relationship to higher education. Since the introduction and implementation of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 and the Higher Education Act 2004, a whole raft of changes have occurred which include the following: Widening participation; the development of interdisciplinary, experiential and workplace-based learning focused on a theory-practice dialogue; quality assurance; and new funding models which encompass public and private partnerships. The transformation of higher education can be placed in the context of New Labour’s overall strategies for overarching reform of public services, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit’s discussion paper The UK Government’s Approach to Public Service Reform (2006). An optimistic view of changes to higher education is that they simultaneously obey democratic and economic imperatives. There is an avowed commitment through the widening participation agenda to social inclusion and citizenship, and to providing the changing skills base necessary for the global economy. A more cynical view is that, when put under critical scrutiny, as well as being emancipatory, in some senses these changes can be seen to mobilise regulatory and disciplinary practices. This paper reflects on what kinds of teaching and learning are promoted by the new relationship between the state and the university. It argues that, whilst governmental directives for innovations and transformations in teaching and learning allegedly empower students and put their interests at the centre, reforms can also be seen to consist of supervisory and controlling mechanisms with regard both to our own practices as teachers and the knowledge/ learning we provide for the students.
Multidimensional Voice Program Analysis in Profoundly Deaf Children: Quantifying Frequency and Amplitude Control

Characterization of the vocal profile of profoundly deaf children using an objective voice analysis was carried out in a university-based pediatric otolaryngology clinic. 21 persons ages 3.5 to 18 years were assessed. From each sustained phonation of the vowel /a/ the following acoustic variables were extracted: fundamental frequency (F0), jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, fundamental frequency variation (vF0), peak amplitude variation (vAM), and first, second, and third formant frequencies (F1, F2, F3). Mean F0 was 267.8 Hz and consistent with established normative data. Mean measurements of jitter (0.88%) and shimmer (3.5%) were also within normal limits. The notable feature of the acoustic analysis was a statistically significant elevation in vF0 (2.81%) and vAM (23.58%). With the exception of one subject, the F1, F2, and F3 formant frequencies were comparable to those for normal hearing children. Auditory deprivation results in poor long-term control of frequency and amplitude during sustained phonation. The inability to maintain a sustained phonation may represent the partial collapse of an internal model of voice and speech.
Extensive Variation in Natural Competence in Haemophilus influenzae

The ability of some bacteria to take up and recombine DNA from the environment is an important evolutionary problem because its function is controversial; although populations may benefit in the long-term from the introduction of new alleles, cells also reap immediate benefits from the contribution of DNA to metabolism. To clarify how selection has acted, we have characterized competence in natural isolates of H. influenzae by measuring DNA uptake and transformation. Most of the 34 strains we tested became competent, but the amounts of DNA they took up and recombined varied more than 1000-fold. Differences in recombination were not due to sequence divergence and were only partly explained by differences in the amounts of DNA taken up. One strain was highly competent during log phase growth, unlike the reference strain Rd, but several strains did not develop competence under any of the tested conditions. Analysis of competence genes identified genetic defects in two poorly transformable strains. These results show that strains can differ considerably in the amount of DNA they take up and recombine, indicating that the benefit associated with competence is likely to vary in space and/or time.
Separation: Anxiety and Anger

Separation, the second volume of Attachment and Loss, continues John Bowlby's influential work on the importance of the parental relationship to mental health. Here he considers separation and the anxiety that accompanies it: the fear of imminent or anticipated separation, the fear induced by parental threats of separation, and the inversion of the parent-child relationship. Dr Bowlby re-examines the situations that cause us to feel fear and compares them with evidence from animals. He concludes that fear is initially aroused by certain elemental situations - sudden movement, darkness or separation - which, although intrinsically harmless, are indicative of an increased risk of danger. Attachment and Loss is a deeply important series of works that continue to influence the landscape of psychoanalysis and psychology, and its second volume, Separation, provides a unique exploration of anxiety in the parent-child relationship.
Rapid Sequence Induction and Intubation: Current Controversy

The changing opinion regarding some of the traditional components of rapid sequence induction and intubation (RSII) creates wide practice variations that impede attempts to establish a standard RSII protocol. There is controversy regarding the choice of induction drug, the dose, and the method of administration. Whereas some prefer the traditional rapid injection of a predetermined dose, others use the titration to loss of consciousness technique. The timing of neuromuscular blocking drug (NMBD) administration is different in both techniques. Whereas the NMBD should immediately follow the induction drug in the traditional technique, it is only given after establishing loss of consciousness in the titration technique. The optimal dose of succinylcholine is controversial with advocates and opponents for both higher and lower doses than the currently recommended 1.0 to 1.5 mg/kg dose. Defasciculation before succinylcholine was traditionally recommended in RSII but is currently controversial. Although the priming technique was advocated to accelerate onset of nondepolarizing NMBDs, its use has decreased because of potential complications and the introduction of rocuronium. Avoidance of manual ventilation before tracheal intubation was traditionally recommended to avoid gastric insufflation, but its use is currently acceptable and even recommended by some to avoid hypoxemia and to “test” the ability to mask ventilate. Cricoid pressure remains the most heated controversy; some believe in its effectiveness in preventing pulmonary aspiration, whereas others believe it should be abandoned because of the lack of scientific evidence of benefit and possible complications. There is still controversy regarding the best position and whether the head-up, head-down, or supine position is the safest during induction of anesthesia in full-stomach patients. These controversial components need to be discussed, studied, and resolved before establishing a standard RSII protocol.
The C Terminus of the Polerovirus P5 Readthrough Domain Limits Virus Infection to the Phloem

ABSTRACT Poleroviruses are restricted to vascular phloem tissues from which they are transmitted by their aphid vectors and are not transmissible mechanically. Phloem limitation has been attributed to the absence of virus proteins either facilitating movement or counteracting plant defense. The polerovirus capsid is composed of two forms of coat protein, the major P3 protein and the minor P3/P5 protein, a translational readthrough of P3. P3/P5 is required for insect transmission and acts in trans to facilitate long-distance virus movement in phloem tissue. Specific potato leafroll virus mutants lacking part or all of the P5 domain moved into and infected nonvascular mesophyll tissue when the source-sink relationship of the plant (Solanum sarrachoides) was altered by pruning, with the progeny virus now being transmissible mechanically. However, in a period of months, a phloem-specific distribution of the virus was reestablished in the absence of aphid transmission. Virus from the new phloem-limited infection showed compensatory mutations that would be expected to restore the production of full-length P3/P5 as well as the loss of mechanical transmissibility. The data support our hypothesis that phloem limitation in poleroviruses presumably does not result from a deficiency in the repertoire of virus genes but rather results from P3/P5 accumulation under selection in the infected plant, with the colateral effect of facilitating transmission by phloem-feeding aphid vectors.
A user-orientated approach to provenance capture and representation for in silico experiments, explored within the atmospheric chemistry community

We present a novel user-orientated approach to provenance capture and representation for in silico experiments, contrasted against the more systems-orientated approaches that have been typical within the e-Science domain. In our approach, we seek to capture the scientist's reasoning in the form of annotations as an experiment evolves, while using the scientist's terminology in the representation of process provenance. Our user-orientated approach is applied in a case study within the atmospheric chemistry domain: we consider the design, development and evaluation of an electronic laboratory notebook, a provenance capture and storage tool, for iterative model development.
High dynamic range imaging using a plenoptic camera

Light field (or plenoptic) imaging has become an attractive research field due to its post-capture capabilities, including refocusing, perspective change and depth estimation. Micro-lens array based cameras that recently emerged have made the light field acquisition process a practical task. In this paper, we propose to convert such a plenoptic camera into a high-dynamic range camera through a minor optical modification. The optical modification is an optical mask placed in front of the main lens to increases the vignetting effect, which darkening towards the borders of the image plane due to loss of light. As a result, different parts of the dynamic range are captured with different sub-aperture images of the light field. These sub-aperture images are then fused through photometric registration and optical flow vectors to produce a high-dynamic range image.
(Pro)renin Receptor–Mediated Signal Transduction and Tissue Renin-Angiotensin System Contribute to Diabetes-Induced Retinal Inflammation

OBJECTIVE The term “receptor-associated prorenin system” (RAPS) refers to the pathogenic mechanisms whereby prorenin binding to its receptor dually activates the tissue renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and RAS-independent intracellular signaling via the receptor. The aim of the present study was to define the association of the RAPS with diabetes-induced retinal inflammation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Long-Evans rats, C57BL/6 mice, and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-R)-deficient mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were treated with (pro)renin receptor blocker (PRRB). Retinal mRNA expression of prorenin and the (pro)renin receptor was examined by quantitative RT-PCR. Leukocyte adhesion to the retinal vasculature was evaluated with a concanavalin A lectin perfusion–labeling technique. Retinal protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 were examined by ELISA. Retinal extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) activation was analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS Induction of diabetes led to significant increase in retinal expression of prorenin but not the (pro)renin receptor. Retinal adherent leukocytes were significantly suppressed with PRRB. Administration of PRRB inhibited diabetes-induced retinal expression of VEGF and ICAM-1. To clarify the role of signal transduction via the (pro)renin receptor in the diabetic retina, we used AT1-R–deficient mice in which the RAS was deactivated. Retinal adherent leukocytes in AT1-R–deficient diabetic mice were significantly suppressed with PRRB. PRRB suppressed the activation of ERK and the production of VEGF, but not ICAM-1, in AT1-R–deficient diabetic mice. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate a significant contribution of the RAPS to the pathogenesis of diabetes-induced retinal inflammation, suggesting the possibility of the (pro)renin receptor as a novel molecular target for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
Framing of the Sino–Africa relationship in diasporic/pan-African news magazines

Using the New African magazine and the African Business magazine as its case study, this paper examines the coverage of the Sino–African relationship in the pan-African news magazines of the African diaspora. The objectives of the study are twofold. The first objective is to provide insights on the level of coverage of Sino–African relationship by the diasporic African media. The second objective is to understand how the presence of China in the socioeconomic and political spheres of many African countries is portrayed. The findings show that the African Business provides extensive coverage of the multidimensional complexity of China's presence in Africa, as opposed to the episodic-oriented coverage that Sino–African relationships get in the New African magazine. While the thematic framing of the Sino–African relationships are similar in both magazines, the New African magazine takes a dogmatic approach in its portrayal of the relationship in an overly positive manner in comparison to the African Business's more contextual and nuanced coverage.
The Linguistics of British Sign Language: Mouth patterns and other non-manual features in BSL

‘BSL is a language that uses the hands to communicate instead of the tongue. ’ This statement is only true up to a point, because other parts of the body are also very important in BSL. Signers actually look at each other's faces, not their hands, when communicating. This chapter will explore the role of nonmanual features in BSL, focusing especially on the role of the mouth, but also on the rest of the face, and the head. There are many mouth patterns that convey grammatical and phonological information in BSL (see also chapter 9). Although BSL is independent of English, it has been influenced by English, and has borrowed from English. One of the things it has borrowed is the mouth patterns from English words. BSL has not just borrowed randomly, though, and there are times when English mouth patterns are borrowed, and times when they are not. More importantly, BSL changes the English mouth patterns, so that when they are used, they are not always used as they are in English. Understanding the use of mouth patterns in BSL is important. Knowing how and when to use appropriate mouth patterns is a difficult skill for learners of BSL. This discussion of mouth patterns also reinforces the point that it is not possible to sign BSL and speak English at the same time, because we will see that there are many occasions when an English mouth pattern is inappropriate while signing BSL.
Antarctica. In ground-based astronomy's final frontier, China aims for new heights.

AntarcticaNo place on Earth rivals the Antarctic Plateau for stargazing. The air is thin and bone-dry; dust is minimal. As observatories go, the higher the better—and at 4093 meters above sea level, it doesn't get any higher on the East Antarctic icecap than Dome A. Last year, Chinese researchers opened Kunlun Station near Dome A. Now they intend to find out if a superior vantage point translates into superior astronomy. At a workshop last month, astronomers unveiled plans to build two major telescopes at Dome A during the Chinese government's next 5-year plan, to start in 2011.
On the use of lumped sources in lightning return stroke models

[1] We consider the use of lumped voltage and current sources in engineering lightning return stroke models with emphasis on those including a tall strike object. If the model is to be used for computing remote electric and magnetic fields, we suggest a representation of the lightning channel as a transmission line energized by a lumped voltage source, with the voltage magnitude being expressed in terms of the lightning short-circuit current and equivalent impedance of the lightning channel. Such a representation assures appropriate boundary conditions (reflection and transmission coefficients) at the channel attachment point and is equivalent to a distributed-shunt-current-source representation of the lightning channel. This is in contrast with the use of series ideal current source which presents infinitely large impedance to current waves reflected from the ground and/or from discontinuities in the lightning channel, such as the moving return stroke front or branches, and therefore is inadequate when such reflections are involved. If the model is to be used only for injecting lightning current into a grounded object or system, a Norton equivalent circuit (an ideal current source in parallel with the equivalent impedance of the lightning channel) is sufficient to represent the lightning discharge.