Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Phosphatidylinositol Mannosides in the Interaction between Mycobacteria and DC-SIGN

ABSTRACT The C-type lectin dendritic cell (DC)-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) is the major receptor on DCs for mycobacteria of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Recently, we have shown that although the mannose caps of the mycobacterial surface glycolipid lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) are essential for the binding to DC-SIGN, genetic removal of these caps did not diminish the interaction of whole mycobacteria with DC-SIGN and DCs. Here we investigated the role of the structurally related glycolipids phosphatidylinositol mannosides (PIMs) as possible ligands for DC-SIGN. In a binding assay with both synthetic and natural PIMs, DC-SIGN exhibited a high affinity for hexamannosylated PIM6, which contains terminal α(1→2)-linked mannosyl residues identical to the mannose cap on ManLAM, but not for di- and tetramannosylated PIM2 and PIM4, respectively. To determine the role of PIM6 in the binding of whole mycobacteria to DC-SIGN, a mutant strain of M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin deficient in the production of PIM6 (ΔpimE) was created, as well as a double knockout deficient in the production of both PIM6 and the mannose caps on LAM (ΔpimE ΔcapA). Compared to the wild-type strain, both mutant strains bound similarly well to DC-SIGN and DCs. Furthermore, the wild-type and mutant strains induced comparable levels of interleukin-10 and interleukin-12p40 when used to stimulate DCs. Hence, we conclude that, like ManLAM, PIM6 represents a bona fide DC-SIGN ligand but that other, as-yet-unknown, ligands dominate in the interaction between mycobacteria and DCs.
Time Since Immigration and Ethnicity as Predictors of Physical Activity among Canadian Youth: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Little is known about patterns of physical activity engaged in by youth after they immigrate to a new country. This study aims to investigate relationships between immigrant generation and ethnicity with physical activity, and to determine if the relationship between immigrant generation and physical activity was modified by ethnicity. Methods The data sources were Cycle 6 (2009–2010) of the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study and the 2006 Canada Census of Population. Participants (weighted n = 23,124) were young people from grades 6–10 in 436 schools. Students were asked where they were born, how long ago they moved to Canada, their ethnicity, and how many days a week they accumulated at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Results Youth born outside of Canada were less likely to be active than peers born in Canada; 11% vs 15% reported 7 days/week of at least 60 minutes of MVPA (p = .001). MVPA increased with time since immigration. Compared to Canadian-born youth, youth who immigrated within the last 1–2 years were less likely to get sufficient MVPA on 4–6 days/week (odds ratio: 0.66, 95% confidence interval: 0.53–0.82) and 7 days/week (0.62; 0.43–0.89). East and South-East Asian youth were less active, regardless of time since immigration: 4–6 days/week (0.67; 0.58–0.79) and 7 days/week (0.37; 0.29–0.48). Conclusion Time since immigration and ethnicity were associated with MVPA among Canadian youth. Mechanisms by which these differences occur need to be uncovered in order to identify barriers to physical activity participation among youth.
Estimation in Semi-parametric and Additive Regression Using Smoothing and Regression Spline

In this paper, we try to investigate how the current account to gross domestic product (CAGDP) ratio in Turkey reacts to variations in the real effective exchange rate (REER) over the period of 1991:Q4-2007:Q3. For this purpose, we consider two different nonparametric regression models. In both approaches the TIME variable is specified as nonparametrically, but the REER variable is different. Firstly, we discuss a semi-parametric regression model where the parametric part is REER variable. Secondly, we consider an additive model where one of the nonparametric parts is a smooth function of REER variable and, therefore, the model falls within the class of additive models. The obtained findings showed that the response of the CAGDP ratio is negative nonlinear function of REER. Further, our estimations demonstrate that the coefficient giving the response of the CAGDP ratio to a change in REER declines over time when we assume a semi-parametric model.
Quantitative Detection of Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis Subtypes Isolated from Children with and without Diarrhea

ABSTRACT A rapid real-time PCR (RT-PCR) approach was developed to detect the bft gene subtypes in Bacteroides fragilis isolated from fecal samples. DNA obtained from diarrhea (110) and nondiarrhea (150) samples was evaluated. Subtype 1 was observed in 9 (8.2%) diarrhea and 7 (4.7%) nondiarrhea samples. Subtype 2 was not detected in any DNA samples, and subtype 3 was observed in only 1 diarrhea sample. The presence of the bft-1 gene did not show any statistically significant differences between the groups of children. This technique could be used to evaluate a possible correlation between disease and the presence of B. fragilis enterotoxin.
A negative expiratory pressure test during wakefulness for evaluating the risk of obstructive sleep apnea in patients referred for sleep studies

OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by increased upper airway collapsibility during sleep. The present study investigated the use of the negative expiratory pressure test as a method to rule out obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS: Flow limitation was evaluated in 155 subjects. All subjects underwent a diurnal negative expiratory pressure test and a nocturnal sleep study. The severity of sleep apnea was determined based on the apnea-hypopnea index. Flow limitation was assessed by computing the exhaled volume at 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 s (V0.2, V0.5, and V1.0, respectively) during the application of a negative expiratory pressure and expressed as a percentage of the previous exhaled volume. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were constructed to identify the optimal threshold volume at 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 s for obstructive sleep apnea detection. RESULTS: Mean expiratory volumes at 0.2 and 0.5 s were statistically higher (p<0.01) in healthy subjects than in all obstructive sleep apneic groups. Increasing disease severity was associated with lower expiratory volumes. The V0.2 (%) predictive parameters for the detection of sleep apnea were sensitivity (81.1%), specificity (93.1%), PPV (98.1%), and NPV (52.9%). Sensitivity and NPV were 96.9% and 93.2%, respectively, for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, and both were 100% for severe obstructive sleep apnea. CONCLUSION: Flow limitation measurement by V0.2 (%) during wakefulness may be a very reliable method to identify obstructive sleep apnea when the test is positive and could reliably exclude moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea when the test is negative. The negative expiratory pressure test appears to be a useful screening test for suspected obstructive sleep apnea.
Abnormal Liver Enzymes during the First Two Months of Liver Transplantation

A 22-year-old woman, known case of autoimmune hepatitis, underwent liver transplantation. She discharged from the hospital in good condition. After 50 days, she presented with abnormal liver enzyme (ALT=117 IU/L, AST=167 IU/L). Laboratory investigation showed positive IgM anti-CMV antibody. Anti-VCA (EBV) IgM was negative. Liver biopsy was performed (Fig 1). All the bacterial and fungal cultures were negative. Figure 1 Sections from transplanted liver needle biopsy 50 days after the transplantation. a) Low magnification (×100), b) high magnification (×400) H&E staining
Hyperglycemia and diabetes have different impacts on outcome of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke

Introduction Stroke is the second leading cause of long-term disability and death worldwide. Diabetes and hyperglycemia may impact the outcome of stroke. We examined the impact of hyperglycemia and diabetes on in-hospital death among ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. Material and methods Data from 766 consecutive patients with ischemic (83.15%) and hemorrhagic stroke were analyzed. Patients were classified into four groups: ischemic and diabetic; ischemic and non-diabetic; hemorrhagic and diabetic; and hemorrhagic and non-diabetic. Serum glucose was measured on admission at the emergency department together with biochemical and clinical parameters. Results Mean admission glucose in ischemic stroke patients with diabetes was higher than in non-diabetic ones (p < 0.001) and in hemorrhagic stroke patients with diabetes than in those without diabetes (p < 0.05). Mean admission glucose in all patients who died was significantly higher than in patients who survived. In multivariate analysis, the risk factors for outcome in patients with ischemic stroke and without diabetes were age, admission glucose level and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), while in diabetics they were female gender, admission glucose level, and eGFR; in patients with hemorrhagic stroke and without diabetes they were age and admission glucose levels. The cut-off value in predicting death in patients with ischemic stroke and without diabetes was above 113.5 mg/dl, while in diabetics it was above 210.5 mg/dl. Conclusions Hyperglycemia on admission is associated with worsened clinical outcome and increased risk of in-hospital death in ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. Diabetes increased the risk of in-hospital death in hemorrhagic stroke patients, but not in ischemic ones.
TIB: A Time Management Algorithm of PDES for Automatically Detecting Concurrency

Exploiting concurrency is very important for improving the performance of parallel discrete event simulation. In order to exploit more concurrency, a new time management algorithm for parallel discrete event simulation running on multi-core computers is proposed in this paper. It is based on time-index-buffering variable data structure. This structure is used to buffer variable value to increase parallelism. Combined with control algorithm, it can capture before-and-after relationships and detect concurrent events automatically. The new algorithm is robust and with well-organized code. Theoretical analysis shows that in some situations it delivers more concurrent events than traditional conservative synchronization algorithms. The performance is evaluated on multi-core computers. Experimental results demonstrate that if most events in the simulation have heavy computations in contrast to interactions, the new algorithm outperforms the traditional conservative algorithms. A real world application exhibits that the new algorithm is very useful for irregular problems.
Non-intrusive error-correction of text input chords: a language model approach

An error correction strategy that can be applied to existing chord based text entry systems is proposed. The strategy is capable of correcting 99.1% of all single bit errors (insertions and deletions) and 98.1% of certain double bit errors (substitutions) occurring in words. The strategy compares the entered words against entries in a reference wordlist. A genetic algorithm is used to search for the close-to-optimal chord-to-character mapping in terms of single bit errors, certain double bit errors and mean fingers per chord (effort). The paper also explores the magnitude of the error-correcting degradation that occurs with multiple bit errors per word. The chord-to-character mappings proposed is capable of correcting 0.6% more single bit errors than the classic micro writer design, and one design is presented that result in about 17% fewer finger movements.
Visual estimation of lower limb motion using physical and virtual sensors

An approach using virtual-sensor difference and physical-sensor difference based algorithm to visually confirm lower limb posture was proposed and a wearable sensor system was developed. To explicate the lower limb posture, flexion/extension (FE) and abduction/adduction (AA) hip joint angles and FE knee joint angles were estimated for orientations of the lower limb segments, and the knee and ankle joint trajectories were obtained with the segment orientation and length for positions of the lower limb joints. In the wearable sensor system, an accelerometer on the hip joint and two MAG3s (inertial sensor module) on the thigh were in a group to measure the data for the thigh orientation and knee joint position using the double-sensor difference based algorithm, and two MAG3s on the thigh and shank near the knee joint were in a group to measure the data for the shank orientation and ankle joint position using the virtual-sensor based algorithm. Compared with the camera motion capture system, the correlation coefficients in three trials were above 0.89 for the hip FE, higher than 0.9 for the hip AA and better than 0.88 for the knee FE. There was no integration of angular acceleration or angular velocity for the joint rotations and positions in this method. The developed wearable sensor system was available to visually and quantitatively confirm the complete lower limb posture with fewer sensors and high degree of accuracy. And it can also be used in other conditions, such as estimating posture of mechanical arm or upper limb.
Contribution of Low-Dose Computerized Tomography With Digital Multiplanar Reconstructions in Thoracic Epidurography and Correlation With Sensory Block in Postoperative Analgesia

Background The level of sensory block in postoperative epidural analgesia has been correlated with conventional contrast epidurography in only one study, while low-dose CT scan epidurography with multiplanar reconstruction may be a better tool for this purpose. Objectives The primary objective of this study was to evaluate, by CT imaging and digital multiplanar reconstruction, the spread and distribution of contrast medium injected into the epidural space through a catheter inserted in a low thoracic position for postoperative analgesia. Materials and Methods Ten patients undergoing major abdominal cancer surgery with effective epidural analgesia were prospectively included at postoperative day three. Two consecutive boluses of 5 mL of a mixture of ropivacaine and contrast medium were injected at 15 minutes intervals into the epidural space. Multislice low-dose CT scan epidurography and an assessment of the sensory block were performed before and after injection of the second bolus. The primary objective was to assess the contribution of CT scan epidurography to predict a correlation between the level of sensory block and the spread of the contrast medium in the epidural space; the secondary objective was to determine the agreement between the two methods. Results The spread of contrast material and the clinical sensory block significantly increased after the second injection (32%; P < 0.05). However, no highly significant correlation was observed between the two methods. A gap of two spinal segments of CT opacification was observed in two patients and was confirmed by clinical assessment. Conclusions CT epidurography is not closely correlated with a clinical assessment of epidural block; thus, a clinical assessment of the sensory block is mandatory. The use of opioid analgesia in combination with local anesthetics may compensate for the lack of efficacy of local anesthetics alone.
Cerebellar cortex lesions disrupt learning-dependent timing of conditioned eyelid responses

Among the many issues surrounding the involvement of the cerebellum in motor learning, the relative roles of the cerebellar cortex and cerebellar nuclei in Pavlovian conditioning have been particularly difficult to assess. While previous studies have investigated the effects of cerebellar cortex lesions on the acquisition and retention of conditioned movements, we have examined the effects of these lesions on the timing of Pavlovian eyelid responses. The rationale for this approach arises from previous studies indicating that this timing is a component of Pavlovian eyelid responses that is learned and that involves temporal discrimination. To permit within-animal comparisons, rabbits were trained to produce differently timed responses to high- and low-frequency auditory conditioned stimuli (CSs). Before the lesion the conditioned responses to both CSs were appropriately timed--each peaked near the time at which the unconditioned stimulus was presented for that CS. However, after the lesion both CSs could elicit similarly timed conditioned responses that peaked inappropriately at very short latencies. The changes in responses timing were sensitive to the size of the lesion, particularly its rostral-caudal extent. Similar results were obtained in animals trained with one CS, indicating that the disruption of response timing is not related to impaired auditory discrimination. Because response timing is learned and therefore requires synaptic plasticity, these data suggest that there are at least two sites of plasticity involved in the motor expression of Pavlovian eyelid responses. Plasticity at one site is necessary for the learned timing of conditioned responses, while plasticity at another site is revealed by the inappropriately timed responses observed following removal of the cerebellar cortex. This lesion-induced dissociation of the expression of motor responses and their learned timing supports a synthesis of competing views by suggesting that motor learning involves both the cerebellar cortex and cerebellar nuclei. We hypothesize that motor learning involves a decrease in strength of the granule cell-Purkinje cell synapses (e.g., Ito and Kano, 1982) in the cerebellar cortex and an increase in strength of the mossy fiber- cerebellar nuclei synapses (e.g., Racine et al., 1986). Finally, these data suggest that the cerebellar cortex may mediate the temporal discriminations that are necessary for the learned timing of conditioned responses.
Hunting for acceptance: Ohio’s experience with recent bobcat harvest proposals reveals a dilemma agencies will increasingly face

State fish and wildlife management agencies in the United States (hereafter, agencies) traditionally rely heavily on natural science disciplines (e.g., population ecology) to evaluate management interventions – for example, to determine how much harvest a wildlife population can sustain. These disciplines, however, cannot address the more fundamental question of whether or not humans should harvest animals from a particular population. Although regulated harvest of furbearing species through trapping and hunting has long been the status quo in management, shifts in social values and attitudes have resulted in a variety of regulatory changes, including bans on practices such as baiting, as well as the outright bans on harvest of some species (Manfredo, Teel, Sullivan, & Dietsch, 2017). Long-term changes in attitudes toward carnivores, in particular, complicates any regulatory changes concerning these species (Slagle, Bruskotter, Singh, & Schmidt, 2017). We provide a case study of an agency faced with tensions between stakeholders in Ohio, where the long-term recovery of locally threatened bobcats (Lynx rufus) coincided with calls for their harvest (Renault, 2018). We echo others in pointing out that relevance of agencies in the future depends on how such tensions are addressed (Decker et al., 2017). We sampled adult Ohioans via GfK’s KnowledgePanel and collected survey responses online via Qualtrics during the summer of 2016 (response rate = 63%, n = 406). All respondents initially received the same biological information about bobcats, as well as four images: two of bobcats hunting prey species, one image of a bobcat in a foothold trap, and one image of a bobcat near a stream. We then asked respondents to (a) provide the first thought or image that came to mind when they thought of bobcats, and (b) rate how positively or negatively they felt about the thought or image that came to mind – a concise measure of affect (Finucane, Alhakami, Slovic, & Johnson, 2000). We randomly assigned respondents to 2 of 4 possible management scenarios and asked respondents to select the most appropriate management action for each scenario. Scenarios occurred in an agricultural area (one with lamb depredation and one without depredation) or a residential area (one with pet depredation and one without depredation). Finally, we assessed support for regulated public trapping of bobcats, and more generally, regulated public hunting as a recreational activity. A majority of respondents (58%) reported positive feelings towards bobcats, while 29% selected ‘neither positive nor negative’, and 13% felt negative about bobcats. The top five
The Viral G Protein-Coupled Receptor ORF74 Hijacks β-Arrestins for Endocytic Trafficking in Response to Human Chemokines

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-infected cells express the virally encoded G protein-coupled receptor ORF74. Although ORF74 is constitutively active, it binds human CXC chemokines that modulate this basal activity. ORF74-induced signaling has been demonstrated to underlie the development of the angioproliferative tumor Kaposi’s sarcoma. Whereas G protein-dependent signaling of ORF74 has been the subject of several studies, the interaction of this viral GPCR with β-arrestins has hitherto not been investigated. Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer experiments demonstrate that ORF74 recruits β-arrestins and subsequently internalizes in response to human CXCL1 and CXCL8, but not CXCL10. Internalized ORF74 traffics via early endosomes to recycling and late endosomes. Site-directed mutagenesis and homology modeling identified four serine and threonine residues at the distal end of the intracellular carboxyl-terminal of ORF74 that are required for β-arrestin recruitment and subsequent endocytic trafficking. Hijacking of the human endocytic trafficking machinery is a previously unrecognized action of ORF74.
Call for Protection : Situating Journalists in Post-Cold War Romania in a Global Media Development Discourse

This study deals with the development of journalism in post-Cold War Romania, and it does so with a particular interest in the transnational dimension this entails.Many NGOs and international organizations are currently seeking to monitor journalists’ situations in countries around the world, while at the same time aiming at having the whole world aligned with international standards of the journalistic profession. Much attention is put on the safety of individual journalists and on the need to protect them from both legal and physical harm. Reports are continuously launched, frequently worded to impart a sense of emergency, effectively linking putative universal values of journalism with the image of vulnarable journalists carrying out dangerous work for the benefit of large publics.Romania is a fertile place for this kind of global activism, partly due to the country’s totalitarian past and to what many commentators see as an unfulfilled process of democratization where powerful media owners and executives influence journalistic standards with business interests foremost in mind, and where harassments of journalists have been on the rise during the last decade.By combining an ethnographic account of the journalism field with an exploration of how global media development activities are operating in contemporary Romania, the prime question of the thesis is how journalism is constructed and made meaningful in a transnational context.The study is based on ethnographic material collected during the period of 2000-2002 among journalists and NGO activists in Bucharest, Romania.