Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mucosal Vaccination with Recombinant Adenovirus Encoding Nucleoprotein Provides Potent Protection against Influenza Virus Infection

Influenza vaccines that target the highly variable surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin and neuraminidase cause inconvenience of having vaccination every year. For this reason, development of universal vaccines targeting conserved viral components is needed. In this study, we generated recombinant adenovirus (rAd) vaccine encoding nucleoprotein (NP) of A/PR/8/34 influenza virus, designated rAd/NP. BALB/c mice were immunized intranasally or sublingually with rAd/NP vaccine and subsequently challenged with lethal doses of heterologous as well as homologous influenza viruses. We found that intranasal immunization of rAd/NP elicited strong mucosal IgA responses as well as stronger CD8 T-cell responses toward immunodominant Kd-restricted NP147-155 epitope than sublingual immunization. Importantly, only single intranasal but not sublingual immunization of rAd/NP provides potent protection against both homologous and heterologous influenza virus challenges. These results suggest that recombinant rAd/NP could be a universal vaccine candidate for mucosal administration against influenza virus.
Projections from Gudden's tegmental nuclei to the mammillary body region in the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis)

Gudden's tegmental nuclei provide major inputs to the rodent mammillary bodies, where they are thought to be important for learning and navigation. Comparable projections have yet to be described in the primate brain, where part of the problem has been in effectively delineating these nuclei. Immunohistochemical staining of tissue from a series of macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) showed that cells in the region of both the ventral and dorsal tegmental nuclei selectively stain for parvalbumin, thus helping to reveal these nuclei. These same tegmental nuclei were not selectively revealed when tissue was stained for SMI32, acetylcholinesterase, calbindin, or calretinin. In a parallel study, horseradish peroxidase was injected into the mammillary bodies of five cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Retrogradely labeled neurons were consistently found in the three subdivisions of the ventral tegmental nucleus of Gudden, which are located immediately below, within, and above the medial longitudinal fasciculus. Further projections to the mammillary body region arose from cells in the anterior tegmental nucleus, which appears to be a rostral continuation of the infrafascicular part of the ventral tegmental nucleus. In the dorsal tegmental nucleus of Gudden, labeled cells were most evident when the tracer injection was more laterally placed in the mammillary bodies, consistent with a projection to the lateral mammillary nucleus. The present study not only demonstrates that the primate mammillary bodies receive parallel inputs from the dorsal and ventral tegmental nuclei of Gudden, but also helps to confirm the extent of these poorly distinguished nuclei in the monkey brain. J. Comp. Neurol. 520:1128–1145, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Novel Arrangement for an HTS Field Coil for Large-Capacity Superconducting Machines

A high-temperature superconductor (HTS) field coil with a novel, step-shaped cross section is proposed for large-capacity superconducting machine applications. The design of the structure is explained in detail, and comparisons are made with conventional coils. The electromagnetic characteristics are also analyzed in comparison with the conventional alternative. From the analysis, the overlapping topology can reduce the volume of the generator and achieve better electromagnetic characteristics by eliminating the magnetic flux sag produced by the adjacent field coils, while also decreasing the iron loss.
Relationship between microcystin in drinking water and colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of microcystin (MC) in drinking water with the incidence of colorectal cancer. METHODS The study was designed as a retrospective cohort. Eight townships or towns were randomly selected as the study sites in Haining City of Zhejiang Province, China. 408 cases of colon and rectum carcinomas diagnosed from 1977 to 1996 in the study sites were included, and a survey on types of drinking water of these patients was conducted. Samples of different water sources (well, tap, river and pond) were collected separately and microcystin concentrations were determined by indirect competitive ELISA method. RESULTS The incidence rate of colorectal cancer was significantly higher in population who drank river and pond water than those who drank well and tap water. Compared to well water, the relative risk (RR) for colorectal cancer was 1.88 (tap), 7.94 (river) and 7.70 (pond) respectively. The positive rate (> 50 pg/mL) of microcystin in samples of well, tap, river and pond water was 0, 0, 36.23% and 17.14% respectively. The concentration of microcystin in river and pond water was significantly higher than that in well and tap water (P < 0.01). Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that in the study sites, the microcystin concentration of river and pond water was positively associated with the incidence of colorectal cancer (rs = 0.881, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The types of drinking water are positively associated with the incidence of colorectal cancer in the study sites, and this may be related to microcystin contamination of drinking water. Further biological study is needed to support the possible causative role of mycrocystin in carcinogenesis of colon and rectum.
Automated Texture Analysis with Gabor filter

An ionization source is disclosed for use with mass spectrometers and electron capture species detectors having an ionization light source excited so as to illuminate a fluid sample which flows past the light source whereby electrons are photoelectrically generated by a light source. Means are also provided to accelerate the photoelectrons and to extract heavy ions generated by the accelerated photoelectrons from the fluid sample. Further means are provided to focus the extracted heavy ions so that they may be detected. Also included is a means to maintain a vacuum between the light source and the sample and the detector.
Physical deployment of digital pheromones through RFID technology

Pheromone-based multiagent interaction has received a growing attention in the past few years. Still, so far, the number of deployed systems exploiting pheromones for coordinating activities of distributed agents/robots situated in physical environments has been very limited. In this context, this paper presents a real-world, low- cost and general-purpose, implementation of pheromone interaction, realized by making use of RFID tags technology. Humans and robots can spread/sense pheromones by properly writing/reading RFID tags that are likely to populate our everyday environments. The proposed solution is tested and evaluated via an application for object-tracking, allowing robots and humans to find "forgot-somewhere" objects. The application works by letting objects spread digital pheromones trails that can be tracked afterwards. The paper presents several experiments to assess the effectiveness of our approach, outlines its limitations, and sketches further potential application scenarios.
SECOND-ORDER ESTIMATES AND REGULARITY FOR FULLY NONLINEAR ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS ON RIEMANNIAN MANIFOLDS

We derive a priori second order estimates for solutions of a class of fully nonlinear elliptic equations on Riemannian manifolds under some very general structure conditions. We treat both equations on closed manifolds, and the Dirichlet problem on manifolds with boundary without any geometric restrictions to the boundary except being smooth and compact. As applications of these estimates we obtain results on regularity and existence.
Integrating Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry with Molecular Modelling to Determine the Architecture of Multiprotein Complexes

Current challenges in the field of structural genomics point to the need for new tools and technologies for obtaining structures of macromolecular protein complexes. Here, we present an integrative computational method that uses molecular modelling, ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) and incomplete atomic structures, usually from X-ray crystallography, to generate models of the subunit architecture of protein complexes. We begin by analyzing protein complexes using IM-MS, and by taking measurements of both intact complexes and sub-complexes that are generated in solution. We then examine available high resolution structural data and use a suite of computational methods to account for missing residues at the subunit and/or domain level. High-order complexes and sub-complexes are then constructed that conform to distance and connectivity constraints imposed by IM-MS data. We illustrate our method by applying it to multimeric protein complexes within the Escherichia coli replisome: the sliding clamp, (β2), the γ complex (γ3δδ′), the DnaB helicase (DnaB6) and the Single-Stranded Binding Protein (SSB4).
No labels : men in relationship with anorexia, Derek Botha : book review

Dr Derek Botha, who practices narrative therapy in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, provides new insight into the greatly disregarded world of men with anorexia in No Labels: Men in relationship with anorexia. He tackles the problem from a postmodern perspective and challenging the traditional approaches that too often assume detached and objective positions. From the start he acknowledges to the reader that his presence within the book must be accounted for as he does not assume the neutral position of the traditional researcher; having had his own relationship with anorexia nervosa through his son's struggle.
Aetiology of preterm labour: bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common condition characterised by a polymicrobial disorder, with an overgrowth of several anaerobic or facultative bacteria and with a reduction or absence of lactobacillus colonisation. The prevalence of BV ranges from 4 to 64%, depending on the racial, geographic and clinical characteristics of the study population. In asymptomatic women, the prevalence varies from 12 to 25%, and similar percentages are observed in pregnant women. Although BV is associated with several adverse outcomes, such as upper genital tract infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis, preterm birth and low birthweight, many basic questions regarding the pathogenesis of BV remain unanswered. Mucosal immune system activation may represent a critical determinant of adverse consequences associated with BV. An unequal risk for BV acquisition and\or recurrence could derive from different mucosal immune host abilities and\or capability of invading microbes to produce factors that inactivate the local immune response. BV is associated with a two‐fold increased risk of preterm birth, with the greatest risk when BV is present before 16 weeks of gestation (odds ratio = 7.55). This may indicate a critical period during early gestation when BV‐related organisms can gain access to the upper genital tract and set the stage for spontaneous preterm labour later in gestation. The results of treatment trials for pregnant women with BV have been heterogeneous, with anywhere from an 80% reduction to a two‐fold increase in preterm birth among women who received treatment. For this reason, in current clinical practice significant controversy surrounds determining not only who and when to screen but also who and how to treat. Recent evidence shows that individual genetic backgrounds can affect chemokine production. This is an interesting area for future research and could lead to trials of treatment only for women genetically predisposed to preterm birth.
Debug Support for Model-Based GUI Testing

The fact that model-based testing has not yet attained a high rate of adoption in industry can in part be attributed to the perceived difficulty of debugging long error traces often produced by the online version of this technology. Given the extensive manual labor commonly involved in the debugging phase, automating parts of this process could yield considerable productivity benefits. This paper presents viable debugging strategies applicable in model-based graphical user interface testing, from which two methods were refined and experimented with. The first is based on superimposing log-derived, synchronized subtitles on recorded test run footage, while the second addresses error trace shortening. The results obtained from applying these methods in real-life case studies demonstrate the practical utility of these methods.
Versatile High Resolution Oligosaccharide Microarrays for Plant Glycobiology and Cell Wall Research*

Background: Microarrays of plant-derived oligosaccharides are potentially powerful tools for the high throughput discovery and screening of antibodies, enzymes, and carbohydrate-binding proteins. Results: Oligosaccharide microarrays were produced, and their utility was demonstrated in several applications. Conclusion: A new generation of oligosaccharide microarrays will make an important contribution to plant glycomic research. Significance: High throughput screening technology enables the more effective production of carbohydrate active enzymes and molecular probes. Microarrays are powerful tools for high throughput analysis, and hundreds or thousands of molecular interactions can be assessed simultaneously using very small amounts of analytes. Nucleotide microarrays are well established in plant research, but carbohydrate microarrays are much less established, and one reason for this is a lack of suitable glycans with which to populate arrays. Polysaccharide microarrays are relatively easy to produce because of the ease of immobilizing large polymers noncovalently onto a variety of microarray surfaces, but they lack analytical resolution because polysaccharides often contain multiple distinct carbohydrate substructures. Microarrays of defined oligosaccharides potentially overcome this problem but are harder to produce because oligosaccharides usually require coupling prior to immobilization. We have assembled a library of well characterized plant oligosaccharides produced either by partial hydrolysis from polysaccharides or by de novo chemical synthesis. Once coupled to protein, these neoglycoconjugates are versatile reagents that can be printed as microarrays onto a variety of slide types and membranes. We show that these microarrays are suitable for the high throughput characterization of the recognition capabilities of monoclonal antibodies, carbohydrate-binding modules, and other oligosaccharide-binding proteins of biological significance and also that they have potential for the characterization of carbohydrate-active enzymes.
Some relationships of the somatic antigens of a group of Serratia marcescens cultures.

Using heated antigens, antisera were prepared against the somatic antigens of 16 strains of Serratia marcescens. By means of cross-agglutination tests it was possible to divide the strains into six groups. Groups II and VI each contained mutually adsorptive strains, which indicated that the members within respective groups are closely related. No correlation was observed of serological activity and pigment production among the pigmented and non-pigmented strains.
[Dysbiosis, a new medical concept].

: table). Ceux-ci creeront a terme une flore intestinale commu-nement appelee microbiote. Compose de milliers d’especes bacteriennes, le microbiote intestinal peut etre consi-dere comme un organe a part entiere, qui consomme, stocke et redistribue l’energie a partir du bol alimentaire. Sur la base de cette perception volontaire-ment simpliste du microbiote, il est fas-cinant de contempler la dynamique de la symbiose
Proteomic Analysis of Serum, Outflow Dialysate and Adsorbed Protein onto Dialysis Membranes (Polysulfone and PMMA) during Hemodialysis Treatment Using SELDI-TOF-MS

Aims: Alterations in the profiling of peptides and proteins in the serum, outflow dialysate and adsorbed protein on the dialysis membrane were investigated. Methods: Alterations in the protein profiling of routine hemodialysis using polysulfone (TS-UL) and PMMA (moderate flux membrane of polymethylmethacrylate: BK-U) in 8 patients and that of adsorption onto polysulfone and PMMA membranes in 4 patients were evaluated by SELDI-TOF-MS and ProteinChip array. Mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) between 2,000 and 120,000 were analyzed. Results: The protein with a relative intensity of m/z 11,730 measured by SELDI-TOF-MS was present in a small amount in the outflow dialysate and in a large amount in adsorption (identified as β2-microglobulin) onto PMMA membrane. Unexpectedly, 68 molecular masses of peptides that were adsorbed more onto polysulfone than onto PMMA membrane were observed. There were more peptides less than m/z 11,730 adsorbed onto polysulfone membrane than onto PMMA membrane. Dominant peaks, m/z 6,629 and 6,431 adsorbed onto polysulfone membrane were identified as apolipoprotein CI and truncated apolipoprotein CI, respectively. 37 proteins with molecular weights larger than m/z 11,730 showed greater filtration through PMMA membrane than through polysulfone membrane. 149 molecular masses that were adsorbed onto PMMA or more onto PMMA membrane than onto polysulfone membrane were observed. Conclusion: This experiment suggests that membrane adsorption is an important mechanism for the removal of middle-molecular-weight proteins by hemodialysis using not only PMMA membrane but also polysulfone membrane. Adsorption of peptide or protein onto a dialysis membrane may depend not only on the membrane material, but also on the peptide or protein.
Histopathological and immunohistochemical aspects of American cutaneous leishmaniasis before and after different treatments*

BACKGROUND The histopathology and immune responses of the healing process of leishmaniasis are still poorly studied. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to examine the histopathological and immunological aspects of lesions of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis before and after different therapeutic methods. METHODS We studied 23 individuals grouped according to the treatments: Glucantime, Glucantime + Leishvacin and Glucantime + Leishvacin associated with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. For analysis of the histopathological changes present in the dermis and epidermis, histological sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The samples were immunostained before and after treatment to analyze the expression of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL) 12, IL-10 and IL-4. RESULTS Before treatment the presence of intense infiltrates of mononuclear cells was noticed and after treatment, even with a diagnosis of clinical cure, the subjects still showed a moderate inflammatory process. In the immunohistochemical analyses, we noticed a difference between the cytokines, with increased expression of cytokines IFN-γ and IL-12 compared to IL 10 and IL-4, both before and after treatment and, comparatively, the difference in this expression was more intense before treatment. However, the cytokine expression analyzed by treatment group showed no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION We conclude that a clinical cure does not always coincide with the histopathological one, and that before treatment there is a predominance of Th1 cytokines. In terms of treatment type, there was no difference in the progression of healing for all the three types of treatment, indicating their clinical equivalence.
Inverse Association between Skin Response to Aeroallergens and Schistosoma mansoni Infection

Background: Helminthic infections and allergic disease are highly prevalent in many areas of the world. It is known that IgE antibodies are involved in the pathogenesis of both helminthiasis and atopy. However, the consequences of the presence of helminthic infections in atopic patients are still not completely understood. Methods: Subjects infected by Schistosoma mansoni with more than 200 eggs/g of feces (n = 42) and uninfected subjects (n = 133) were selected from an endemic area of schistosomiasis. The history of allergy and results of the immediate hypersensitivity prick tests with inhalant allergen extracts were registered. Total IgE and IgE specific to S. mansoni and aeroallergens were measured in serum by ELISA. Results: The proportion of individuals with a positive skin test to allergens was higher in the uninfected group (24.3%) than in the group with more than 200 eggs/g of feces (4.8%). The odds of atopy (defined as a positive test for at least one of the antigens) were 5 times higher (odds ratio = 7.0; 95% confidence interval = 1.6–31.1%; p = 0.01) in the uninfected group, after taking into account the potential influence of gender and age. While there was a tendency for higher total and S. mansoni-specific IgE levels in infected patients, an opposite trend, that is higher aeroallergen-specific IgE, was observed in uninfected subjects. Conclusions: There was a strong and statistically significant inverse association between the immediate skin test response to common aeroallergens and infection by S. mansoni. The results indicate that immediate hypersensitivity reactions may be suppressed in S. mansoni-infected individuals.
Liest du noch oder vergisst du schon? Ein Experimententwurf über den Zusammenhang zwischen Erinnerungsleistung, Berufserfahrung und Dokumentationsformaten

Einleitung und Motivation Anforderungsdokumente sollen uns dabei helfen, Anforderungen zu konservieren, um sie bei Bedarf verfügbar zu haben. Beispielsweise, um die Anforderungen umzusetzen oder auf Basis der Anforderungen eine Architektur zu entwickeln. Im RE wird daher eine Vielzahl verschiedener Formen und Formate für die Dokumentation von Anforderungen genutzt (vgl. [1]), generell können modellbasierte Dokumentation und natürlichsprachliche Dokumentation unterschieden werden, die natürlichsprachliche Dokumentation kann weiter unterschieden werden in Prosa-Dokumente (bspw. IEEE830) und Template-basierte Dokumente (bspw. Use Cases). Unabhängig von der gewählten Dokumentationsform können Anforderungsdokumente schnell sehr umfangreich werden. Nach Erfahrung der Autoren sind 3 bis 4-stellige Seitenumfänge bzw. eine 3 bis 4stellige Anzahl von Anforderungen bereits für überschaubare Systeme keine Seltenheit. Unabhängig davon, wie umfangreich ein Dokument ist oder wie viele Anforderungen es enthält, werden Anforderungsdokumente von ihren Nutzern (bspw. Entwicklern, Requirements Engineers oder Stakeholdern) in der täglichen Arbeit nicht kontinuierlich konsultiert. Stattdessen verlassen sich die Beteiligten im Rahmen ihrer Arbeit oft auf ihr Gedächtnis, wenn sie auf Anforderungswissen zurückgreifen. Der Grund liegt darin, dass die Recherche einen kleinen Aufwand darstellt, der vermeidbar erscheint, denn der Nutzer glaubt sich an die Anforderung präzise zu erinnern.
Multiple label-free biodetection and quantitative DNA-binding assays on a nanomechanical cantilever array

We report a microarray of cantilevers to detect multiple unlabeled biomolecules simultaneously at nanomolar concentrations within minutes. Ligand-receptor binding interactions such as DNA hybridization or protein recognition occurring on microfabricated silicon cantilevers generate nanomechanical bending, which is detected optically in situ. Differential measurements including reference cantilevers on an array of eight sensors can sequence-specifically detect unlabeled DNA targets in 80-fold excess of nonmatching DNA as a background and discriminate 3′ and 5′ overhangs. Our experiments suggest that the nanomechanical motion originates from predominantly steric hindrance effects and depends on the concentration of DNA molecules in solution. We show that cantilever arrays can be used to investigate the thermodynamics of biomolecular interactions mechanically, and we have found that the specificity of the reaction on a cantilever is consistent with solution data. Hence cantilever arrays permit multiple binding assays in parallel and can detect femtomoles of DNA on the cantilever at a DNA concentration in solution of 75 nM.