Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disruption of the Toxoplasma gondii Parasitophorous Vacuole by IFNγ-Inducible Immunity-Related GTPases (IRG Proteins) Triggers Necrotic Cell Death

Toxoplasma gondii is a natural intracellular protozoal pathogen of mice and other small mammals. After infection, the parasite replicates freely in many cell types (tachyzoite stage) before undergoing a phase transition and encysting in brain and muscle (bradyzoite stage). In the mouse, early immune resistance to the tachyzoite stage is mediated by the family of interferon-inducible immunity-related GTPases (IRG proteins), but little is known of the nature of this resistance. We reported earlier that IRG proteins accumulate on intracellular vacuoles containing the pathogen, and that the vacuolar membrane subsequently ruptures. In this report, live-cell imaging microscopy has been used to follow this process and its consequences in real time. We show that the rupture of the vacuole is inevitably followed by death of the intracellular parasite, shown by its permeability to cytosolic protein markers. Death of the parasite is followed by the death of the infected cell. The death of the cell has features of pyronecrosis, including membrane permeabilisation and release of the inflammatory protein, HMGB1, but caspase-1 cleavage is not detected. This sequence of events occurs on a large scale only following infection of IFNγ-induced cells with an avirulent strain of T. gondii, and is reduced by expression of a dominant negative mutant IRG protein. Cells infected by virulent strains rarely undergo necrosis. We did not find autophagy to play any role in the key steps leading to the death of the parasite. We conclude that IRG proteins resist infection by avirulent T. gondii by a novel mechanism involving disruption of the vacuolar membrane, which in turn ultimately leads to the necrotic death of the infected cell.
How do we tell truths that might hurt?

Sometimes we discover unpleasant truths. Whenever we do so, we are in difficulties: suppressing them is scientifically dishonest, so we must tell them, but telling them, however, will fire back on us. If the truths are sufficiently unpalatable, our audience is psychically incapable of accepting them and we will be written off as totally unrealistic, hopelessly idealistic, dangerously revolutionary, foolishly gullible or what have you. (Besides that, telling such truths is a sure way of making oneself unpopular in many circles, and, as such, it is an act that, in general, is not without personal risks. Vide Galileo Galilei….)
Specific absorption rate and temperature elevation in a subject exposed in the far-field of radio-frequency sources operating in the 10-900-MHz range

The exposure of a subject in the far field of radiofrequency sources operating in the 10-900-MHz range has been studied. The electromagnetic field inside an anatomical heterogeneous model of the human body has been computed by using the finite-difference time-domain method; the corresponding temperature increase has been evaluated through an explicit finite-difference formulation of the bio-heat equation. The thermal model used, which takes into account the thermoregulatory system of the human body, has been validated through a comparison with experimental data. The results show that the peak specific absorption rate (SAR) as averaged over 10 g has about a 25-fold increase in the trunk and a 50-fold increase in the limbs with respect to the whole body averaged SAR (SAR/sub WB/). The peak SAR as averaged over 1 g, instead, has a 30- to 60-fold increase in the trunk, and up to 135-fold increase in the ankles, with respect to SAR/sub WB/. With reference to temperature increases, at the body resonance frequency of 40 MHz, for the ICNIRP incident power density maximum permissible value, a temperature increase of about 0.7/spl deg/C is obtained in the ankles muscle. The presence of the thermoregulatory system strongly limits temperature elevations, particularly in the body core.
Wireless Capsule Endoscopy in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Diseases

Capsule endoscopy (CE), which was invented to visualize the entire small intestine in a noninvasive manner was first described in 2000 (Iddan, 2000), was approved for adult patients in 2001 by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). More than 600,000 PillCam SB capsules, which is the first model for CE in the world, have been used worldwide since 2001 (Nakamura, 2009). In pediatric patients, Seidman et al has first described the diagnostic value of CE (Seidman, 2002), and in 2003, FDA approved CE for pediatric patients ages 10 years and older. Emerging number of CE studies in children indicate the great demand for this population ( Tokuhara, 2010; de'Angelis, 2007; Atay, 2009; Fritscher-Ravens, 2009; Moy, 2009; Guilhon de Araujo Sant'Anna, 2005; Thomson, 2010; Ge, 2007; Postgate, 2009; Pinho, 2008; Shamir, 2007; Stiffler, 2003; Arguelles-Arias, 2004; Cohen, 2008 ), but performed number is relatively small (approximately 600, at the time of 2010) compared to adult cases (> 600,000), therefore, informations about indications, obtained results and risk of complications are not fully understood in pediatric patients. In pediatric patients, as well as in adults, CE is a firstline of examination to evaluate the entire small intestine and provides evidence for the diagnosis to the suspected small bowel disease especially in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) and suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), on the other hand, accumulated studies are extending the indication of CE to protein loss, growth failure, abdominal pain, suspected polyp or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and regular follow-up for the known small bowel diseases. In this review, we summarize and discuss the capsule endoscopy system, indication, limitation, and future perspective of CE in pediatric patients.
Automatic Watershed Segmentation and Comparison between Pixel Scan Method and Order-Invariant Algorithm for Image Segmentation

The Watershed transform is a popular segmentation method coming from the field of mathe-matical morphology. It has interesting properties that make it useful for many different image segmentation applications. In this paper we present two approaches: pixel scan approach and order invariant based approach. In the pixel scan method unlike the traditional concept of use of chain codes, we here have used pixel-scan method, where all the pixels and their four neighbors are compared for various parameters assigned to them. The immersion approach can be viewed as an approach that starts from low altitude to high altitude. Here we present two order invariant algorithms for watershed segmentation. When running on a PC both our algorithms run fast for a 512 x 512 image, on average. What is more surprising is that the pixel scan based algorithm turns out to runs faster than the order invariant algorithm for almost all the images we have used. Especially when the image is large, say 512 x 512 or large. An experimental result shows that the presented algorithm runs fast. Further more the new algorithm can provide more information for image processing. Key words - Watershed transform, pixel scan, image segmentation, and order invariant.
The Draw-A-Person Test and Body Image

The Draw-A-Person (DAP) test has been the center of a long-lasting debate regarding its validity. This study investigated the DAP indices of height, width (size), and inclusion/omission of details and their relation to body image as measured by a self-report scale (Gray’s body image scale) and manifested by the diet behaviors and body mass index of 55 healthy female students. Although the drawings of the diet group were smaller, there was no significant relationship between figure size and diet behaviors. However, body image as measured by a self-report scale did result in significant differences between groups. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the size of the figure drawn and body image as measured by a self-report scale (larger figures correlated with better body image). No significant results were found for the omission/inclusion indices of the DAP. These results are discussed in light of previous findings regarding the DAP.
A Call for Women to Lead a Different Environmental Movement

The authors continue the critical debate fired by Shellenberger and Nordhaus's declaration of the death of environmentalism. They contend that the central claim of this essay, that Americans are becoming more politically conservative, does not recognize the robust gender gaps in political perspectives found globally among industrial countries. Specifically, “The Death of Environmentalism” ignores that women, a constituency that accounts for more than half the American population, are generally more liberal than their male counterparts. They argue further that the essay's assumptions of American conservatism are misleading and its promotion of politically conservative strategies predicated on investment in public-private partnerships is faulty. An alternative to untested models of modern environmentalism is to embrace proven best practices of activism that have been historically recognized and internationally honored. They call for women—who are perhaps uniquely socialized to be environmental proponents and have effectively challenged environmental degradation—to reframe, revitalize, and lead the third wave of environmentalism.
Generalized Jacobi structures

Jacobi brackets (a generalization of standard Poisson brackets in which Leibniz's rule is replaced by a weaker condition) are extended to brackets involving an arbitrary (even) number of functions. This new structure includes, as a particular case, the recently introduced generalized Poisson structures. The linear case on simple group manifolds is also studied and non-trivial examples (different from those coming from generalized Poisson structures) of this new construction are found by using the cohomology ring of the given group.
Discovery of LPMO activity on hemicelluloses shows the importance of oxidative processes in plant cell wall degradation

Significance Plant cell walls are recalcitrant copolymeric structures mainly comprising polysaccharides and lignin. Enzymatic degradation of the polysaccharides is a crucial step in biorefining of biomass. Recently, it was discovered that nature employs copper-dependent redox enzymes called lytic polysaccharide monoxoygenases (LPMOs) to promote degradation of the most recalcitrant and crystalline of these polysaccharides, cellulose. By carrying out oxidative cleavage of otherwise inaccessible cellulose chains, LPMOs create access points for classical hydrolytic enzymes such as cellulases. Intriguingly, the genomes of biomass degrading microorganisms encode a plethora of LPMOs (up to over 40). To our knowledge, we demonstrate for the first time that LPMOs act on hemicelluloses. This finding dramatically widens the scope of LPMOs and oxidative processes in plant cell wall degradation and biorefining. The recently discovered lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are known to carry out oxidative cleavage of glycoside bonds in chitin and cellulose, thus boosting the activity of well-known hydrolytic depolymerizing enzymes. Because biomass-degrading microorganisms tend to produce a plethora of LPMOs, and considering the complexity and copolymeric nature of the plant cell wall, it has been speculated that some LPMOs may act on other substrates, in particular the hemicelluloses that tether to cellulose microfibrils. We demonstrate that an LPMO from Neurospora crassa, NcLPMO9C, indeed degrades various hemicelluloses, in particular xyloglucan. This activity was discovered using a glycan microarray-based screening method for detection of substrate specificities of carbohydrate-active enzymes, and further explored using defined oligomeric hemicelluloses, isolated polymeric hemicelluloses and cell walls. Products generated by NcLPMO9C were analyzed using high performance anion exchange chromatography and multidimensional mass spectrometry. We show that NcLPMO9C generates oxidized products from a variety of substrates and that its product profile differs from those of hydrolytic enzymes acting on the same substrates. The enzyme particularly acts on the glucose backbone of xyloglucan, accepting various substitutions (xylose, galactose) in almost all positions. Because the attachment of xyloglucan to cellulose hampers depolymerization of the latter, it is possible that the beneficial effect of the LPMOs that are present in current commercial cellulase mixtures in part is due to hitherto undetected LPMO activities on recalcitrant hemicellulose structures.
Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count

In his latest work, Richard Nisbett explores past and contemporary constructions of intelligence, seeking to overturn the strong hereditarian positions of intelligence by meticulously considering the evidence for in-group and between group differences in IQ from a ‘racial’, cultural, and social perspective. Nisbett argues against the extreme hereditarian view – that nothing in the environment can much affect intelligence – arguing instead that intelligence is likely far more mutable than hereditarian authors allow. He subsequently navigates many of the social, cognitive, and educational interventions that stand to increase intelligence and academic achievement.
Generation of antigen‐presenting cells for soluble protein antigens ex vivo from peripheral blood CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells in cancer patients

Peripheral blood CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (PBPC) mediate hematopoietic reconstitution in cancer patients after autologous transplantation and can be expanded ex vivo in the presence of colony‐stimulating factors. This study shows that functionally active antigen‐presenting cells (APC) for soluble proteins are generated and expanded in these PBPC cultures. CD34+ cells were cultured ex vivo in medium containing stem cell factor, interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), IL‐3, IL‐6, and erythropoietin (EPO). The cells from these cultures developed into very potent APC of tetanus toxid and purified derivative of tuberculin for autologous T cells in vitro. The antigen‐presenting capacity of these cells was maintained for at least 38 days of culture. These APC resembled immature cells of the myelomonocytic cell lineage by surface marker, immunocytochemistry and ultrastructural analysis. Such APC might be able to present antigens from certain tumors to the immune system.
Making anarchism respectable? The social philosophy of Colin Ward

Anarchism suffers from a respectability deficit, a problem of achieving a threshold level of credibility in the eyes of non-anarchists. One anarchist thinker who has grappled persistently with this problem over 60 years of activism is the influential post-war British anarchist, Colin Ward. Responding directly to the respectability deficit, Ward helped to develop a ‘pragmatist’ anarchism characterized by direct engagement with urgent social problems. The paper explains the nature of this pragmatist anarchism, and places it in its historical intellectual context. It discusses how far Ward has indeed succeeded in producing a social philosophy that is at once genuinely anarchist and ‘intellectually respectable’. My theme in this symposium … is ‘are we respectable enough? ’, and in asking this question I am not concerned about the way we dress, or whether our private lives conform to a statistical norm, or how we earn our living, but with the quality of our anarchist ideas: are our ideas worthy of respect? (Colin Ward, Anarchism and Respectability, 1961)
Pulmonary embolism caused by delayed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in a patient who received prophylactic LMWH

BACKGROUND Heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious complication associated with heparin use. HIT usually develops between 5-14 days after starting heparin. Delayed-onset HIT can still occur 9-45 days after heparin had been discontinued. In patients with delayed HIT, the patient might be admitted to the hospital for new thrombosis and reexposure to heparin further worsens the patient's condition. CASE REPORT Our patient is a 71-year old female readmitted for worsening dyspnea 2 weeks after she was discharged from the hospital. On her previous hospitalization, she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP). She had received prophylactic doses of LMWH. Dyspnea was initially thought to be secondary to CHF exacerbation secondary to atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. She was started on a heparin. However, the patient's clinical condition deteriorated and she needed to be intubated. Her platelet counts also decreased rapidly. After CT angiography of the chest showed pulmonary embolism, HIT was strongly considered. All forms of heparin were discontinued and argatroban was started. However, the patient did not improve and she subsequently expired on the 7(th) hospital day. Heparin-induced antibodies came back positive that same day. CONCLUSIONS HIT is an immune-mediated disorder characterized by formation of antibodies against heparin-platelet factor 4 complex. The major clinical presentation of HIT is arterial and venous thrombosis. Once HIT is suspected, immediate cessation of any form of heparin is needed. Alternative anticoagulation must be started. Early treatment decreases the incidence of new thrombosis and stroke, and improves survival and cost savings.
Chronic self-Injury and suicidality in borderline personality disorder and Its treatments

Megan W. Perry CHRONIC SELF-INJURY AND SUICIDALITY IN BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER AND ITS TREATMENTS 2009/10 Eleanor Gaer, Ph.D. Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling This study examines the ethical considerations and ways of treating chronic suicidality in people with Borderline Personality Disorder. A sample of 62 clinicians working in the mental health field was surveyed. As predicted, the degree held by the participant, the type of organization the participant worked for, their occupation/title, type of treatment modality and years of experience were all related to how they responded to the questions on the survey. Unexpectedly, the sex of the participant was also related to how participants responded.
Prostate Boundary Detection From Ultrasonographic Images

Objective. Prostate diseases are very common in adult and elderly men, and prostate boundary detection from ultrasonographic images plays a key role in prostate disease diagnosis and treatment. However, because of the poor quality of ultrasonographic images, prostate boundary detection still remains a challenging task. Currently, this task is performed manually, which is arduous and heavily user dependent. To improve the efficiency by automating the boundary detection process, numerous methods have been proposed. We present a review of these methods, aiming to find a good solution that could efficiently detect the prostate boundary on ultrasonographic images. Methods. A full description of various methods is beyond the scope of this article; instead, we focus on providing an introduction to the different methods with a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, verification methods for estimating the accuracies of the algorithms reported in the literature are discussed as well. Results. From the investigation, we summarize several key issues that might be confronted and project possible future research. Conclusions. Those model‐based methods that minimize user involvement but allow for interactive guidance of experts will likely be most immediately successful.
Narrative reasoning for cognitive ubiquitous robots

The symbolic spatio-temporal reasoning is one of the major research challenges aiming to increase the autonomy and cognitive capabilities of ubiquitous robots in ambient intelligent systems. In these environments, there are several situations that are governed by complex processes and where multiple events must be correlated with respect to their spatial and temporal ordering to infer the right situation and to take the right decision. Inferring everyday human activities is a typical example that illustrates the complexity of spatiotemporal modeling and reasoning at a high semantic level. The ambition of this paper is to explore the potential of the narrative representation and reasoning for recognizing and understanding situations. This approach uses hierarchical structures of semantic predicates and functional roles of the Narrative Knowledge Representation Language (NKRL) and allows semantic descriptions of entities, events and relationships between events. A scenario dedicated to the monitoring, in smart home, of elderly people is presented and analyzed to show the feasibility of the proposed approach and its capacity to explain causal chains between observed events.
Ideology and Analysis in American Social Security Policymaking

Abstract The extreme dispersion of authority and power in the American political system fosters a politics of bargaining, negotiation, and compromise. Nevertheless, technical-rational analysis plays a major role in the identification of public problems and in the legitimation of official responses. We explore this apparent paradox through an examination of the interaction between politics, ideology and analysis in the current crisis of the American public retirement system. Two analytical approaches are employed: an interpretation of the historical evolution of the programme through three relatively distinct phases; and an evaluation of the reports of three recent national commissions which have studied the social security crisis. We argue that in the American system policy must be made through either subsystem or consensual politics. Social security has benefited from the unusual conjunction of these two conditions through most of its history. Policy has been made by a small subsystem dominated by the social security bureaucracy itself and the programme has received widespread bipartisan support. Analysis has been central to this process, but its impact has differed over time. Analysis exerted a decisive influence on the initial shape of the programme even in the absence of an ideological consensus because it enjoyed a quasi-monopoly position in the President's Committee on Economic Security. During the long expansionary phase of the programme, subsystem autonomy and bipartisan consensus together fostered the emergence of a technocratic policy style, but the independent effects of analysis were more apparent than real. The contemporary commissions fail to provide an adequate response to the crisis because their technically competent proposals no longer rest on an underlying consensus and because the institutional autonomy of the old social security policymaking subsystem has broken down.
Design of an insole embedded foot pressure sensor controlled FES system for foot drop in stroke patients

A real-time detection of the foot pressure sensor with feedback controlled functional electrical stimulation (FES) system for the correction of foot drop in hemiplegics has been developed and tested with a volunteer. The foot pressure signals from subject were utilised as modulating signal and controlling the stimulation amplitude of the FES system. These foot pressure detectors are the essential component of a cycle-to-cycle controller for FES gait. It will determine the foot pressure when the affected leg of subject at stance phase of gait cycle. The controller then will assess the pressure on the sensors and serve as a real time controlled for adjustment of the intensity of electrical stimulation, which is to be used for the next gait cycle while the subject is walking using FES device. At the same time the heel switch was used to measure the gait parameters such as stride length and walking speed during walking experiments, proved the effectiveness of the system.