Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytomegalovirus infection enhances the immune response to influenza

Cytomegalovirus infection of young adult humans and mice enhances immune responses to influenza. CMV boosts immune response in the young Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has long been thought of as a sleeper agent—present in a latent form in most people but dangerous when activated in immunosuppressed individuals. Now, Furman et al. look more closely at the effects of CMV infection in young, healthy people. They find that in contrast to aged individuals where CMV infection decreased response to flu vaccine, CMV infection actually enhanced the response to flu vaccine in young adults. This beneficial effect was also seen in mice. These data suggest that latent CMV infection may be beneficial to the host, and provide a possible explanation for the prevalence of CMV infection worldwide. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a β-herpesvirus present in a latent form in most people worldwide. In immunosuppressed individuals, CMV can reactivate and cause serious clinical complications, but the effect of the latent state on healthy people remains elusive. We undertook a systems approach to understand the differences between seropositive and negative subjects and measured hundreds of immune system components from blood samples including cytokines and chemokines, immune cell phenotyping, gene expression, ex vivo cell responses to cytokine stimuli, and the antibody response to seasonal influenza vaccination. As expected, we found decreased responses to vaccination and an overall down-regulation of immune components in aged individuals regardless of CMV status. In contrast, CMV-seropositive young adults exhibited enhanced antibody responses to influenza vaccination, increased CD8+ T cell sensitivity, and elevated levels of circulating interferon-γ compared to seronegative individuals. Experiments with young mice infected with murine CMV also showed significant protection from an influenza virus challenge compared with uninfected animals, although this effect declined with time. These data show that CMV and its murine equivalent can have a beneficial effect on the immune response of young, healthy individuals, which may explain the ubiquity of CMV infection in humans and many other species.
Automatic Author Profiling Based on Linguistic and Stylistic Features Notebook for PAN at CLEF 2013

The rapid expansion of blog and electronic data in Web 2.0 is abounding and thus it is becoming important to identify the author"s profile also. The problems of automatic identification of author"s gender and age based on linguistic and stylistic pattern have been a subject of increasingly research interest in the recent years. The research methodologies are also helpful for several other applications like criminal detection, security and author detection etc. We have used lexical, syntactic and structural features for identifying the gender and age group of the authors. We have employed the Decision tree classifier for classifying the author profile. We have achieved the accuracies of 56.83% and 28.95% for gender and age group classification, respectively.
Investigating and Analyzing Teaching Effect of Blended Synchronous Classroom

The purpose of this thesis was to examine teaching effect of distance course in senior school. In this study, the instruction was delivered to face-to-face and remote students simultaneously by synchronous video, mixed methods were used to execute the survey of teaching and learning. The final results showed that Blended synchronous classroom was full of great potential for integrating the strengths of teaching and learning, but there were challenges as well. In general, teachers and students will achieve good teaching and learning experience from the host class and the synchronous class.
A novel design of IoT cloud delegate framework to harmonize cloud-scale IoT services

IoT and/or WoT related technologies are prevailing these days. IoT technologies combine various network protocols to enable communications for user to control connected devices. However, to promote IoT technology, more attractive usage scenarios other than remote control functionality are needed. This paper suggests a novel framework to cooperate cloud-level IoT services on a smart device with the concept of Intention. Our suggested framework defines Intention of user or device to enable communication between connected devices in cloud-scale IoT services. Architecture to harmonize each cloud-scale IoT service and development tool are described, with proof-of-concept level implementation as an HTML application.
Current progress of skin tissue engineering: Seed cells, bioscaffolds, and construction strategies

The development of cell biology, molecular biology, and material science, has been propelling biomimic tissue-engineered skins to become more sophisticated in scientificity and more simplified in practicality. In order to improve the safety, durability, elasticity, biocompatibility, and clinical efficacy of tissue-engineered skin, several powerful seed cells have already found their application in wound repair, and a variety of bioactive scaff olds have been discovered to influence cell fate in epidermogenesis. These exuberant interests provide insights into advanced construction strategies for complex skin mimics. Based on these exciting developments, a complete full-thickness tissue-engineered skin is likely to be generated.
April and Baff Connect Autoimmunity and Cancer

Recent studies of two newcomers to the TNF cytokine family have revealed an unsuspected link between autoimmunity and cancer. In this issue, Rennert et. al. ([1][1]) define the specific receptors for the orphan ligand known as APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand), which was previously recognized
Green approach for synthesis of gold nanoparticles from Nigella arvensis leaf extract and evaluation of their antibacterial, antioxidant, cytotoxicity and catalytic activities

Abstract In the present work, we studied the reduction of gold ions into gold nanoparticles using Nigella arvensis leaf extract in the one-step green synthesis method. The formation of N. arvensis gold nanoparticles (NA-GNPs) was confirmed by UV–Vis spectroscopy, XRD, FT-IR and TEM analyses. The XRD pattern confirmed the crystal structure of NA-GNPs, and TEM image showed the small size (3–37 nm) and almost spherical shape of NA-GNPs. NA-GNPs have not shown enhanced antioxidant properties compared to the plant extract while they were active against the clinical isolated bacterial strains. These nanoparticles showed the cytotoxicity effects against H1299 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines with an IC50 value of 10 and 25 μg/ml, respectively. The extract of N. arvensis contained 212 μg/ml flavonoids and 145 μg/ml phenolic compounds. The contents of total phenolics and flavonoids of biosynthesized NA-GNPs were 68 and 189 μg/ml, respectively. Plant extract and NA-GNPs exhibited a maximum DPPH scavenging activity of 32% and 12%, respectively. The catalytic activity of NA-GNPs against methylene blue was 44%. In conclusion, these results suggest that NA-GNPs can act as a promising candidate for different medical applications produced by cost-effective, eco-friendly and straightforward green method.
Selection and sorting with limited storage

When selecting from, or sorting, a file stored on a read-only tape and the internal storage is rather limited, several passes of the input tape may be required. We study the relation between the amount of internal storage available and the number of passes required to select the Kth highest of N inputs. We show, for example, that to find the median in two passes requires at least Ω(N1/2) and at most O(N1/2 log N) internal storage. For probabilistic methods, Θ(N1/2) internal storage is necessary and sufficient for a single pass method which finds the median with arbitrarily high probability.
KINETIC INVESTIGATION OF CARBON NANOTUBE DEPOSITION BY DC ELECTROPHORETIC TECHNIQUE

n this paper, kinetics of DC electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are investigated. Suspension of carbon nanotubes in pure ethanol with addition of magnesium nitrate was used as deposition media. The effect of main EPD parameters such as deposition time, applied voltage and the CNTs concentration on deposit yield were investigated. The variation of current density vs. time and the effect of magnetic stirring were also examined. The results are in good agreement with Hamaker's law and the deposit yield increases with increasing of applied voltage and CNTs concentration but there is a deviation from linear trend in longer deposition times. Stirring could compensate some of this deviation but increases the current density fluctuations. Prog. Color Colorants Coat. 4(2011), 51-58. © Institute for Color Science and Technology.
Computer-assisted polyp matching between optical colonoscopy and CT colonography: a phantom study

Potentially precancerous polyps detected with CT colonography (CTC) need to be removed subsequently, using an optical colonoscope (OC). Due to large colonic deformations induced by the colonoscope, even very experienced colonoscopists find it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the colonoscope tip in relation to polyps reported on CTC. This can cause unduly prolonged OC examinations that are stressful for the patient, colonoscopist and supporting staff. We developed a method, based on monocular 3D reconstruction from OC images, that automatically matches polyps observed in OC with polyps reported on prior CTC. A matching cost is computed, using rigid point-based registration between surface point clouds extracted from both modalities. A 3D printed and painted phantom of a 25 cm long transverse colon segment was used to validate the method on two medium sized polyps. Results indicate that the matching cost is smaller at the correct corresponding polyp between OC and CTC: the value is 3.9 times higher at the incorrect polyp, comparing the correct match between polyps to the incorrect match. Furthermore, we evaluate the matching of the reconstructed polyp from OC with other colonic endoluminal surface structures such as haustral folds and show that there is a minimum at the correct polyp from CTC. Automated matching between polyps observed at OC and prior CTC would facilitate the biopsy or removal of true-positive pathology or exclusion of false-positive CTC findings, and would reduce colonoscopy false-negative (missed) polyps. Ultimately, such a method might reduce healthcare costs, patient inconvenience and discomfort.
Chloroplast-mediated regulation of CO2-concentrating mechanism by Ca2+-binding protein CAS in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Significance Ca2+ and CO2 are fundamental biological signaling molecules in microbes, animals, and plants. Although Ca2+ was proposed to act as a second messenger in CO2 signaling in guard cells of terrestrial plants, the role of Ca2+ in CO2 signal transduction pathways in aquatic photosynthetic organisms remains largely unknown. We show here that a chloroplast Ca2+-binding protein, CAS, changes its localization in response to environmental CO2 conditions and regulates the expression of nuclear-encoded limiting-CO2–induced genes, including two key bicarbonate transporters. These findings led us to propose a model for the participation of Ca2+ signals in chloroplast-regulated CO2 signal transduction of aquatic photosynthetic organisms and help us to further understand the role of Ca2+ in CO2 signal transduction in eukaryotes. Aquatic photosynthetic organisms, including the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, induce a CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM) to maintain photosynthetic activity in CO2-limiting conditions by sensing environmental CO2 and light availability. Previously, a novel high-CO2–requiring mutant, H82, defective in the induction of the CCM, was isolated. A homolog of calcium (Ca2+)-binding protein CAS, originally found in Arabidopsis thaliana, was disrupted in H82 cells. Although Arabidopsis CAS is reported to be associated with stomatal closure or immune responses via a chloroplast-mediated retrograde signal, the relationship between a Ca2+ signal and the CCM associated with the function of CAS in an aquatic environment is still unclear. In this study, the introduction of an intact CAS gene into H82 cells restored photosynthetic affinity for inorganic carbon, and RNA-seq analyses revealed that CAS could function in maintaining the expression levels of nuclear-encoded CO2-limiting–inducible genes, including the HCO3– transporters high-light activated 3 (HLA3) and low-CO2–inducible gene A (LCIA). CAS changed its localization from dispersed across the thylakoid membrane in high-CO2 conditions or in the dark to being associated with tubule-like structures in the pyrenoid in CO2-limiting conditions, along with a significant increase of the fluorescent signals of the Ca2+ indicator in the pyrenoid. Chlamydomonas CAS had Ca2+-binding activity, and the perturbation of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis by a Ca2+-chelator or calmodulin antagonist impaired the accumulation of HLA3 and LCIA. These results suggest that Chlamydomonas CAS is a Ca2+-mediated regulator of CCM-related genes via a retrograde signal from the pyrenoid in the chloroplast to the nucleus.
Singularity-theoretic methods in robot kinematics

SUMMARY The significance of singularities in the design and control of robot manipulators is well known, and there is an extensive literature on the determination and analysis of singularities for a wide variety of serial and parallel manipulators—indeed such an analysis is an essential part of manipulator design. Singularity theory provides methodologies for a deeper analysis with the aim of classifying singularities, providing local models and local and global invariants. This paper surveys applications of singularity-theoretic methods in robot kinematics and presents some new results.
Altered Resting State Effective Connectivity of Anterior Insula in Depression

Depression has been associated with changes in both functional and effective connectivity of large scale brain networks, including the default mode network, executive network, and salience network. However, studies of effective connectivity by means of spectral dynamic causal modeling (spDCM) are still rare and the interaction between the different resting state networks has not been investigated in detail. Thus, we aimed at exploring differences in effective connectivity among eight right hemisphere brain areas—anterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus (MFG), frontal eye field, anterior cingulate cortex, superior parietal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus, between a group of healthy controls (N = 20) and medicated depressed patients (N = 20). We found that patients not only had significantly reduced strength of the connection from the anterior insula to the MFG (i.e., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) but also a significant connection between the amygdala and the anterior insula. Moreover, depression severity correlated with connectivity of the hippocampal node. In conclusion, the results from this resting state spDCM study support and enrich previous data on the role of the right anterior insula in the pathophysiology of depression. Furthermore, our findings add to the growing evidence of an association between depression severity and disturbances of the hippocampal function in terms of impaired connectivity with other brain regions.
Vesicular Systems Containing Curcumin and Their Applications in Respiratory Disorders - A Mini Review.

BACKGROUND Vesicular systems like nanotechnology and liposomes are gaining tremendous attention lately in the field of respiratory diseases. These formulations enhance bioavailability of the drug candidate, which could be achieved through a novel drug delivery mechanism. Moreover, the therapeutic potential achieved through these systems is highly controllable over long durations of time providing better efficacy and patient compliance. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to review the recent literature on vesicular drug delivery systems containing curcumin. METHODS We have collated and summarized various recent attempts made to develop different controlled release drug delivery systems containing curcumin which would be of great interest for herbal, formulation and biological scientists. There are several vesicular nanotechnological techniques involving curcumin which have been studied recently, targeting pulmonary diseases. RESULTS Different vesicular systems containing curcumin are being studied for their therapeutic potential in different respiratory diseases. There has been a renewed interest in formulations containing curcumin recently, primarily owing to the broad spectrum therapeutic potential of this miracle substance. Various types of formulations, containing curcumin, targeting different bodily systems have recently emerged and, nevertheless, the search for newer frontiers with this drug goes on. CONCLUSION This mini review, in this direction, tries to highlight the key research interventions employing vesicular systems of drug delivery with curcumin.
Advantages of EEG phase patterns for the detection of gait intention in healthy and stroke subjects

Objective. One use of EEG-based brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) in rehabilitation is the detection of movement intention. In this paper we investigate for the first time the instantaneous phase of movement related cortical potential (MRCP) and its application to the detection of gait intention. Approach. We demonstrate the utility of MRCP phase in two independent datasets, in which 10 healthy subjects and 9 chronic stroke patients executed a self-initiated gait task in three sessions. Phase features were compared to more conventional amplitude and power features. Main results. The neurophysiology analysis showed that phase features have higher signal-to-noise ratio than the other features. Also, BCI detectors of gait intention based on phase, amplitude, and their combination were evaluated under three conditions: session-specific calibration, intersession transfer, and intersubject transfer. Results show that the phase based detector is the most accurate for session-specific calibration (movement intention was correctly detected in 66.5% of trials in healthy subjects, and in 63.3% in stroke patients). However, in intersession and intersubject transfer, the detector that combines amplitude and phase features is the most accurate one and the only that retains its accuracy (62.5% in healthy subjects and 59% in stroke patients) w.r. t. session-specific calibration. Significance. MRCP phase features improve the detection of gait intention and could be used in practice to remove time-consuming BCI recalibration.
Carbon‐Nanotube‐Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity‐generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low‐flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off‐grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric‐energy‐harvesting devices. Carbon‐based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source‐materials, their amenability to high‐throughput solution‐phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g−1) enabled by their low mass. Single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric‐energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube‐based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon‐nanotube‐based materials and composites have for producing high‐performance next‐generation devices for thermoelectric‐energy harvesting.
Effects of benzalkonium chloride on growth and survival of Chang conjunctival cells.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate the action of benzalkonium chloride (BAC), used as a preservative in most ophthalmic topical solutions, on epithelial conjunctival cells in vitro. METHODS A continuous human conjunctival cell line (Wong-Kilbourne derivative of Chang conjunctiva) was exposed to BAC solutions at various concentrations (0.1%-0.0001%) during a period of 10 minutes. Cells were examined before treatment and 3, 24, 48, and 72 hours later, after reexposure to normal cell culture conditions. Cell number and viability were assessed with crystal violet and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide colorimetric assays. The expression of the apoptotic marker Apo 2.7, nuclear antigen p53, membrane proteins Fas and Fas ligand, and DNA content was studied by flow cytometry. Morphologic aspects of cell nuclei were analyzed on slides with a nucleic acid-specific dye, 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride. Cytoskeleton was labeled with a monoclonal anti-pancytokeratin antibody. In addition, apoptosis was measured by DNA electrophoresis assays in agarose gel. RESULTS Cell exposure to 0.1% and 0.05% BAC induced cell lysis immediately after treatment. All cells (100%) treated with 0.01% BAC died in a delayed manner within 24 hours, with most of the characteristics of apoptosis (chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation, reduction in cell volume, expression of the apoptotic marker Apo 2.7, and apoptotic changes in DNA content). Aliquots of 0.005%, 0.001%, 0.0005%, and 0.0001% BAC induced growth arrest and apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner between 24 and 72 hours after treatment. The expressions of Fas and p53 did not vary after BAC treatment. Fas ligand was always negative. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that BAC induces cell growth arrest and death at a concentration as low as 0.0001%. The mode of BAC-induced cell death is dose-dependent. Cells die by necrosis after BAC treatment at high concentrations and by apoptosis if low concentrations of BAC are applied. This new aspect of in vitro toxicity of BAC could in part explain some ocular surface disorders observed in patients undergoing long-term topical treatments with preservative-containing drugs.