Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcription Factor-Dependent Chromatin Remodeling of Il18r1 during Th1 and Th2 Differentiation1

The IL-18Rα-chain is expressed on Th1 but not Th2 cells. We have recently shown that Stat4 is an important component of programming the Il18r1 locus (encoding IL-18Rα) for maximal expression in Th1 cells. Il18r1 is reciprocally repressed during Th2 development. In this report, we demonstrate the establishment of DH patterns that are distinct among undifferentiated CD4 T, Th1, and Th2 cells. Stat6 is required for the repression of Il18r1 expression and in Stat6-deficient Th2 cultures, mRNA levels, histone acetylation, and H3K4 methylation levels are intermediate between levels observed in Th1 and Th2 cells. Despite the repressive effects of IL-4 during Th2 differentiation, we observed only modest binding of Stat6 to the Il18r1 locus. In contrast, we observed robust GATA-3 binding to a central region of the locus where DNase hypersensitivity sites overlapped with conserved non-coding sequences in Il18r1 introns. Ectopic expression of GATA-3 in differentiated Th1 cells repressed Il18r1 mRNA and surface expression of IL-18Rα. These data provide further mechanistic insight into transcription factor-dependent establishment of Th subset-specific patterns of gene expression.
Application of phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to analyse Salmonella enterica isolates from a suspected outbreak in Lagos, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION Inadequate potable water supply and poor sanitation predispose to food- and water-borne diseases associated with Salmonella enterica serovars in developing countries. In this study the possible source of an unprecedented upsurge of Salmonella-associated community gastroenteritis was traced using both phage-typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). METHODOLOGY Nineteen Salmonella Typhimurium (three sporadic isolates included) and 13 Salmonella Enteritidis isolates from clinical, animal, and environmental samples were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phage-typing, and PFGE analysis using standard procedures. RESULTS Eleven (68.8%) of the 16 outbreak-related multidrug resistant S. Typhimurium belonged to DT 71 phage type with cluster PFGE type X3, representing the most prevalent strain identified among human, animal, and environmental isolates. The remaining five (31.2%) outbreak-related strains reacted but did not conform with clear phage types (RDNC) with cluster PFGE types X1 and X2 (96.8% similarity). Sporadic strains were untypable and belonged to X4 PFGE type. However, the evaluated S. Enteritidis strains that were multidrug resistant without a definite phage type belonged to PFGE cluster type X1e and were identified among the water and human strains. None of the Typhimurium and Enteritdis isolates was resistant to the fluoroquinolone antibiotics that were evaluated. CONCLUSION This study emphasizes the epidemiological usefulness of PFGE typing in the detection of emerging strains of multipledrug resistant Salmonella, particularly S. Typhimurium DT71, that pose serious health implications in our environment. The study provides epidemiological links between environmental reservoirs and human infection in this community.
Do we have innate knowledge about phonological markedness ? Comments on Berent , Steriade , Lennertz

In their article ‘What we know about what we have never heard: Evidence from perceptual illusions’, Berent, Steriade, Lennertz, and Vaknin (2007) address the question of whether listeners have innate knowledge of phonological markedness. Focusing on sonority and syllable structure, they answer this question positively. SpeciWcally, they argue that English listeners’ perception of onset clusters is reXected by the markedness of these clusters. Their reasoning is as follows. On the basis of typological facts, onset clusters with a sonority rise (such as /bn/, /b/ being less sonorous than /n/) are said to be universally less marked than those with a sonority plateau (such as /bd/), which are in turn less marked than those with a sonority fall (such as /lb/). Using three diVerent tasks – syllable judgment, discrimination, and lexical decision – the authors show that the more an onset cluster is marked, the more likely it is perceived with an illusory epenthetic vowel by English listeners. English words do not contain any of the onset cluster types used in the experiments; hence, this
Automatic event recognition and annotation in business requirement specifications

This paper describes a supervised approach to the recognition of events from business requirement specification. In unified Modeling Language (UML) based object oriented business modeling, events are key items. Events typically behave as change agents and they also work as information objects by representing a piece of information, since events are important part of Natural Language (NL) Business Requirement specification (BRS); as many events are happening at a time, it is pertinent to identify correct events. An automated approach or event recognition and Annotation can assist a business analyst in building better and complete models. This study can also be incorporated in automated business modeling process.
[Platelets and platelet microparticles glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex in patients with unstable angina].

UNLABELLED Platelet activation is known to play a key role in pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Platelet activation leads to increased numbers of glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa complex on the platelet membrane. On the other side antiplatelet therapy in patient with unstable angina can suppress the actions of platelet. THE AIM To estimate by flow cytometry GP IIb/IIIa expression on the platelets and platelet microparticles membrane. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 21 patients with unstable angina, before (group B1) and after treatment (group B2). All subjects received aspirin, heparin (Clexane) and b-blocker. The control group consisted of 24 healthy subjects. RESULTS Patients with unstable angina in group B1 were by 12% higher expression of GP IIb/IIIa than control group (62.6 vs 55.1%). In group B2- before treatment- the percentage of platelet expressing GP IIb/IIIa was lower (60.1%) than in the group B1. In both groups, B1 and B2, percentage of platelet microparticles expressions GP IIb/IIIa was elevated 8.5% and it was significantly higher than in the control group (5.3%). CONCLUSIONS Our study show that patients with unstable angina had a higher expression GP IIb/IIIa on the platelets membrane and elevated percentage of platelet microparticles confirm platelet activation. There was no significantly different in platelet GP IIb/IIIa expression after the antiplatelet therapy in patients with unstable angina.
Local anesthetic failure associated with inflammation: verification of the acidosis mechanism and the hypothetic participation of inflammatory peroxynitrite

The presence of inflammation decreases local anesthetic efficacy, especially in dental anesthesia. Although inflammatory acidosis is most frequently cited as the cause of such clinical phenomena, this has not been experimentally proved. We verified the acidosis mechanism by studying the drug and membrane lipid interaction under acidic conditions together with proposing an alternative hypothesis. Liposomes and nerve cell model membranes consisting of phospholipids and cholesterol were treated at different pH with lidocaine, prilocaine and bupivacaine (0.05%–0.2%, w/v). Their membrane-interactive potencies were compared by the induced-changes in membrane fluidity. Local anesthetics fluidized phosphatidylcholine membranes with the potency being significantly lower at pH 6.4 than at pH 7.4 (p < 0.01), supporting the acidosis theory. However, they greatly fluidized nerve cell model membranes even at pH 6.4 corresponding to inflamed tissues, challenging the conventional mechanism. Local anesthetics acted on phosphatidylserine liposomes, as well as nerve cell model membranes, at pH 6.4 with almost the same potency as that at pH 7.4, but not on phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and sphingomyelin liposomes. Since the positively charged anesthetic molecules are able to interact with nerve cell membranes by ion-paring with anionic components like phosphatidylserine, tissue acidosis is not essentially responsible for the local anesthetic failure associated with inflammation. The effects of local anesthetics on nerve cell model membranes were inhibited by treating with peroxynitrite (50 μM), suggesting that inflammatory cells producing peroxynitrite may affect local anesthesia.
The Evolution of Dopamine Systems in Chordates

Dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS) is found throughout chordates, and its emergence predates the divergence of chordates. Many of the molecular components of DA systems, such as biosynthetic enzymes, transporters, and receptors, are shared with those of other monoamine systems, suggesting the common origin of these systems. In the mammalian CNS, the DA neurotransmitter systems are diversified and serve for visual and olfactory perception, sensory–motor programming, motivation, memory, emotion, and endocrine regulations. Some of the functions are conserved among different vertebrate groups, while others are not, and this is reflected in the anatomical aspects of DA systems in the forebrain and midbrain. Recent findings concerning a second tyrosine hydroxylase gene (TH2) revealed new populations of DA-synthesizing cells, as evidenced in the periventricular hypothalamic zones of teleost fish. It is likely that the ancestor of vertebrates possessed TH2 DA-synthesizing cells, and the TH2 gene has been lost secondarily in placental mammals. All the vertebrates possess DA cells in the olfactory bulb, retina, and in the diencephalon. Midbrain DA cells are abundant in amniotes while absent in some groups, e.g., teleosts. Studies of protochordate DA cells suggest that the diencephalic DA cells were present before the divergence of the chordate lineage. In contrast, the midbrain cell populations have probably emerged in the vertebrate lineage following the development of the midbrain–hindbrain boundary. The functional flexibility of the DA systems, and the evolvability provided by duplication of the corresponding genes permitted a large diversification of these systems. These features were instrumental in the adaptation of brain functions to the very variable way of life of vertebrates.
The Future Fast Fourier Transform?

It seems likely that improvements in arithmetic speed will continue to outpace advances in communication bandwidth. Furthermore, as more and more problems are working on huge datasets, it is becoming increasingly likely that data will be distributed across many processors because one processor does not have sufficient storage capacity. For these reasons, we propose that an inexact DFT such as an approximate matrix-vector approach based on singular values or a variation of the Dutt--Rokhlin fast-multipole-based algorithm may outperform any exact parallel FFT. The speedup may be as large as a factor of three in situations where FFT run time is dominated by communication. For the multipole idea we further propose that a method of "virtual charges" may improve accuracy, and we provide an analysis of the singular values that are needed for the approximate matrix-vector approaches.
The Influence of Relative Particle Size and Material Interactions on the Flow-Induced Detachment of Particles from a Microchannel

Mayfield, Morgan Brittany M.S.Ch.E. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology July 2016 The Influence of Relative Particle Size and Material Interactions on the Flow-Induced Detachment of Particles from a Microchannel Thesis Advisor: Dr. Kimberly Henthorn Particulate transport in microfluidic channels is difficult due to confined geometries and low flow rates, which promote solids settling. To re-entrain these solids, the detachment behavior of closely-fitting particles from microchannel walls must be understood. Experiments were completed to examine the effects of particle size and material interactions on particle detachment velocity. Studies were conducted for various sizes of glass and poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, spheres in glass and poly(dimethyl siloxane), PDMS, microfluidic channels. In addition, an inexpensive method to produce monodisperse PMMA microparticles was developed. To analyze the effect of material interactions, the work of adhesion between the particle and the channel wall was calculated. The fluid velocity required to detach a particle was found to be relatively constant until the particle-to-channel diameter ratio approached approximately 50%, after which detachment velocity decreased with increasing particle size. Particles in a glass microchannel experienced significantly more adhesion than those in PDMS channels.
Local mechanisms of cohesive soil erosion

The present study provides an experimental contribution to a better understanding of erosion mechanisms, based on a parametric analysis with different model materials. Such model soils allow for a controlled variation of physical properties, as well as the particle size and shape, and even the cohesion and bonding strength which can be quantified by specific mechanical testing devices. In parallel, the soil’s resistance against erosion can also be somehow quantified by means of experimental procedures such as the JET test (Hanson and Cook 2004). The goal of the investigations presented here is to determine the soil’s mechanical properties having a strong impact on the erosion resistance, and thus being required in an efficient erosion model. The useful case where the model material is also transparent enables, with adapted optical equipment, the time-space monitoring of single soil particles during erosion and thus a local analysis of erosion and soil’s detachment. Experimentally, this condition is achieved by using an oil mixture as eroding fluid and a model soil made out of glass beads possibly bonded with a very viscous liquid, all phases having approximately the same refractive index. Coupling then this refractive index matching technique with the planar laser-induced fluorescence, as already used by Philippe & Badiane (2013), makes it possible to observe the mechanisms by which the fluid flow removes single particles from the cohesive material.
I’m Not Rude, I’m Just Moody

A growing body of research on the role played by affect within interpersonal interaction has shown it to be a critical element in communication choices. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the specific impact of moods in this context, and as of yet no data have been published on the role of mood in shaping responses to a very common interaction event: goal interruption. This investigation relies on several theoretical frameworks to examine the impact that mood has on politeness, both in initial communication attempts and in following goal interruption. An experiment was conducted in which 99 participants attempted to persuade a confederate on a specific topic. Results show that positive-mood individuals begin persuasive attempts with less verbal politeness and less immediacy than their negative-mood counterparts. Furthermore, both positive and negative-mood individuals exhibited reductions in immediacy but increases in verbal politeness following partner interference. The findings are discussed and future directions are suggested.
Integer fast modified cosine transform

In this paper, an efficient implementation of the forward and inverse MDCT is proposed for even-length MDCT. The algorithm uses discrete cosine transform of type II (DCT-II) to compute the forward MDCT and their inverse DCT-III to compute the inverse MDCT. The lifting scheme is used to approximate multiplications appearing in the MDCT lattice structure where the dynamic range of the lifting coefficients can be controlled by proper choices of the lifting factorizations. The new structure requires less multiplications and additions than previous reported algorithms. The new transform has the properties that it is an integer-to-integer mapping and is reversible. Moreover, it inherits most of the attractive properties of the MDCT, including a good spectral representation of the audio signal, critical sampling and overlapping of blocks. Hence, the intMDCT is suitable for both lossless and lossy audio coding.
Causes and Consequences of Invasive Plants in Wetlands: Opportunities, Opportunists, and Outcomes

Wetlands seem to be especially vulnerable to invasions. Even though ≤6% of the earth's land mass is wetland, 24% (8 of 33) of the world's most invasive plants are wetland species. Furthermore, many wetland invaders form monotypes, which alter habitat structure, lower biodiversity (both number and “quality” of species), change nutrient cycling and productivity (often increasing it), and modify food webs. Wetlands are landscape sinks, which accumulate debris, sediments, water, and nutrients, all of which facilitate invasions by creating canopy gaps or accelerating the growth of opportunistic plant species. These and other disturbances to wetlands, such as propagule influx, salt influx, and hydroperiod alteration, create opportunities that are well matched by wetland opportunists. No single hypothesis or plant attribute explains all wetland invasions, but the propensity for wetlands to become dominated by invasive monotypes is arguably an effect of the cumulative impacts associated with landscape sinks, including import of hydrophytes that exhibit efficient growth (high plant volume per unit biomass).
Understanding project complexity: implications on project management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better identify, define and model complexity within the field of project management in order to manage better under conditions of complexity (and manage better complexity‐induced risks). Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review enlightens the lack of consensus on project complexity and thus provides a broad view and a critical analysis of the underlying concepts. A project complexity framework and definition are then proposed. After underlining the stakes of project complexity in accordance with these proposals, a project complexity model is then built notably due to systems analysis.Findings – Proposal of standard project complexity framework and definition. Proposal of a synthesis of the relationships between the concepts of project uncertainty and project complexity. Proposal of a project complexity model (and validation due to industrial application). Research limitations/implications – The literature review and project complexity framework t.
Electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics of premature ventricular complexes associated with left ventricular dysfunction in patients without structural heart disease.

AIMS The mechanism responsible for premature ventricular complex (PVC)-mediated left ventricular (LV) dysfunction remains unclear. We sought to determine the electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics of PVC-mediated LV dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred and twenty-seven patients who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for frequent PVCs (PVCs burden ≥10%/24 h) and had no significant structural heart disease were investigated. Left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction < 50%) was present in 28 of 127 patients (22.0%). The mean PVC burden (31 ± 11 vs. 22 ± 10%, P < 0.001), the presence of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (53.6 vs. 33.3%, P = 0.05), and the presence of a retrograde P-wave following a PVC (64.3 vs. 30.3%, P = 0.001) were significantly greater in those with LV dysfunction than in those with normal LV function. The cut-off PVC burden related to LV dysfunction was 26%/day, with a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 78%. The PVC morphology, QRS axis, QRS width, coupling interval, the presence of interpolation, and PVC emergence pattern during exercise electrocardiogram were not significantly different between the two groups. The origin sites of PVCs, the acute success rate, and the recurrence rate during follow-up after RFCA were similar. In a multivariate analysis, the PVC burden (odds ratio 2.94, 95% confidence interval 0.90-3.19, P = 0.006) and the presence of retrograde P-waves (odds ratio 2.79, 95% confidence interval 1.08-7.19, P = 0.034) were independently associated with PVC-mediated LV dysfunction. CONCLUSION A higher PVC burden (>26%/day) and the presence of retrograde P-waves were independently associated with PVC-mediated LV dysfunction.
Consensus disturbance rejection control for second-order multi-agent systems via nonsingular terminal sliding-mode control

In this paper, consensus disturbance rejection control problem for a class of second-order leader-follower multi-agent systems are investigated. Such systems not only contain unmeasurable states but also suffer from mismatched disturbances. By combining integral-type nonsingular terminal sliding-mode control technique and an extended-state observer technique together, finite-time consensus is achieved. Firstly, to obtain accurate information of the unmeasurable states and disturbances, an extended-state observer is designed for each follower. Secondly, the states and disturbances estimates are distributedly employed to design nonlinear terminal sliding-mode surfaces. Finally, based on these sliding-mode surfaces, sliding-mode consensus protocols are designed via output feedback. Simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed distributed control scheme.
Finding the Way with a Noisy Brain

Successful navigation is fundamental to the survival of nearly every animal on earth, and achieved by nervous systems of vastly different sizes and characteristics. Yet surprisingly little is known of the detailed neural circuitry from any species which can accurately represent space for navigation. Path integration is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous navigation strategies in the animal kingdom. Despite a plethora of computational models, from equational to neural network form, there is currently no consensus, even in principle, of how this important phenomenon occurs neurally. Recently, all path integration models were examined according to a novel, unifying classification system. Here we combine this theoretical framework with recent insights from directed walk theory, and develop an intuitive yet mathematically rigorous proof that only one class of neural representation of space can tolerate noise during path integration. This result suggests many existing models of path integration are not biologically plausible due to their intolerance to noise. This surprising result imposes significant computational limitations on the neurobiological spatial representation of all successfully navigating animals, irrespective of species. Indeed, noise-tolerance may be an important functional constraint on the evolution of neuroarchitectural plans in the animal kingdom.