Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of PPARs in inflammation and immunity

The family of transcription factors termed peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) has recently been the focus of much interest for their possible role in the regulation of inflammation and immune responses. PPARα and PPARγ have been implicated in the regulation of macrophage and endothelial cell inflammatory responses. Although PPAR activation has generally been shown to have anti‐inflammatory effects, opposite effects have been noted, and results often appear to depend on the ligands being used and the inflammatory parameters being measured. Recently, my laboratory and others have described a role for PPARγ in the responses of T lymphocytes. Ligands for PPARγ have been found to inhibit proliferation of activated T cells, and this appears to involve inhibition of IL‐2 secretion and/or the induction of apoptosis. However, one problem in the interpretation of many of the studies of PPARγ, inflammation, and immunity is that ligands thought to be specific for PPARγ may have regulatory effects on inflammatory parameters that are PPARγ‐independent. Future studies of the role of the PPARs in inflammatory and immune responses should include further studies of T cells, T‐cell subsets, and dendritic cells but will have to re‐examine the issue of PPAR specificity of the ligands being used. This may require further knockout studies and technology, together with the identification of endogenous and perhaps more specific synthetic PPAR ligands.
Rôle de la vision dans les stratégies d'équilibre postural et locomoteur chez l'homme : analyse statistique par la méthode des inter-corrélations conjuguée

Les strategies sensori-motrices mises en uvre chez l'homme adulte au service de l'equilibre statique ou dynamique sont examinees ici dans diverses taches posturales: maintien de l'equilibre sur support destabilisant, locomotion sur sol et poutre et reaction posturale a une force transitoirement appliquee. L'accent est mis en particulier sur les contributions visuelles a ces controles posturaux. Nous proposons de plus une etude des strategies de mouvements multi-segmentaires de maintien de l'equilibre. Il s'agit d'une analyse statistique basee sur l'exploitation des fonctions d'inter-correlation appliquees aux differents descripteurs du mouvement que nous avons selectionnes, accelerations lineaires, variations angulaires ou enregistrements electromyographiques. Cette methode permet de determiner les relations spatiales et temporelles entre les mouvements coordonnes, et d'en etudier la dependance en fonction de la tache et des conditions sensorielles. Les avantages, les limites et les perspectives de cette methode des inter-correlations conjuguees, applicable a toutes les conditions d'observation, naturelles ou experimentales, sont enfin discutees
Perception de la vitesse : les bases psychophysiques et neuronales

David Katz showed that movement between the skin and an object is as important for touch as light is to vision. Moving tactile stimuli activate all of the cutaneous afferents involved in discriminative touch. The resultant signals are complex, varying with multiple factors including speed and also texture, local shape, and force. This thesis explored the human ability to estimate the speed and roughness of moving tactile stimuli. The neuronal basis underlying tactile speed perception was investigated using single unit recordings from primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in awake monkeys. In the first psychophysical experiment, we showed that subjects (n=26) can scale tactile speed (range, 30-105 mm/s), and this, contrary to previous studies, in a situation in which the duration of each trial was constant across all speeds tested. Surface structure was, in contrast, essential since subjects had difficulty scaling the speed of a smooth surface. Moreover, the physical characteristics of the surfaces influenced tactile speed perception. The roughest surface (8 mm raised-dot spacing) seemed to move 15% slower than the smoother surfaces (2 and 3 mm spacing), and this independently of dot disposition (periodic: rectangular array of raised dots vs non periodic: random dots). The effects of surface texture on speed were reduced to a single continuum when the estimates were normalized by dot spacing and plotted as a function of temporal frequency (speed/dot spacing). The absence of any difference in speed scaling as a function of dot disposition (periodic vs non periodic) suggested that tactile roughness should also be
Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Endothelial Dysfunction in Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Neutrophils are a component of the innate immune system which protect against pathogen invasion; however, the contribution of neutrophils to cardiovascular disease has been underestimated, despite infiltration of leukocyte subsets being a known driving force of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. In addition to their function as phagocytes, neutrophils can release their extracellular chromatin, nuclear protein, and serine proteases to form net-like fiber structures, termed neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs can entrap pathogens, induce endothelial activation, and trigger coagulation, and have been detected in atherosclerotic and thrombotic lesions in both humans and mice. Moreover, NETs can induce endothelial dysfunction and trigger proinflammatory immune responses. Overall, current data indicate that NETs are not only present in plaques and thrombi but also have causative roles in triggering formation of atherosclerotic plaques and venous thrombi. This review is focused on published findings regarding NET-associated endothelial dysfunction during atherosclerosis, atherothrombosis, and venous thrombosis pathogenesis. The NET structure is a novel discovery that will find its appropriate place in our new understanding of cardiovascular disease. In addition, NETs have high potential to be further explored toward much better treatment of atherosclerosis and venous thromboembolism in clinic.
Timing of Replacement Therapy for Acute Renal Failure After Cardiac Surgery

Abstract Objective: Acute renal failure (ARF) following cardiac surgery remains a significant cause of mortality. The aim of this study is to compare early and intensive use of continuous veno‐venous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) with conservative usage of CVVHDF in patients with ARF after cardiac surgery. Materials and Methods: Due to ARF, CVVHDF was required in two groups of a total of 61 adult patients (1.79% of all patients). Group 1 included 27 patients while Group 2 included 34 patients. CVVHDF was performed on Group 1 when creatinine level exceeded 5 mg/dL, or potassium level exceeded 5.5 mEq/L irrespective of the urine output. CVVHDF was performed on Group 2 when urine output was less than 100 mL within consecutive 8 hours, with no response to 50 mg furosemide with the supplementary criterion that urine sodium concentration should be >40 mEq/L before the administration of furosemide. Results: The mean elapsed time between the surgery and the initiation of CVVHDF was 2.56 ± 1.67 days in Group 1 and 0.88 ± 0.33 days in Group 2 (p = 0.0001). The mean intensive care unit (ICU) stay for Group 1 was 12 ± 3.44 days and 7.85 ± 1.26 days for Group 2 (p = 0.0001). ICU mortality rate was 48.1% for Group 1 and 17.6% for Group 2 (p = 0.014). The overall hospital mortality rate was 55.5% for Group 1 and 23.5% for Group 2 (p = 0.016). Conclusion: Recognition of ARF and early beginning of the CVVHDF are extremely important. The sooner the ARF after surgery is recognized and CVVHDF is performed, the higher the likelihood of the reduction of the hospital mortality. (J Card Surg 2004;19:17‐20)
"The myth of 1648 : class, geopolitics and the making of modern international relations", Benno Teschke, London-New York 2003 : [recenzja] / Paweł Hanczewski.

This book rejects a commonplace of European history: that the treaties of Westphalia not only closed the Thirty Years’ War but also inaugurated a new international order driven by the interaction of territorial sovereign states. Benno Teschke, through this thorough and incisive critique, argues that this is not the case. Domestic ‘social property relations’ shaped international relations in continental Europe down to 1789 and even beyond. The dynastic monarchies that ruled during this time differed from their medieval predecessors in degree and form of personalization, but not in underlying dynamic. 1648, therefore, is a false caesura in the history of international relations. For real change we must wait until relatively recent times and the development of modern states and true capitalism. In effect, it’s not until governments are run impersonally, with no function other than the exercise of its monopoly on violence, that modern international relations are born.
The Use of Goals to Extract Privacy and Security Requirements from Policy Statements

This paper addresses the use of goals to extract non-functional requirements from policy statements. Goals are important precursors to software requirements, but the process of abstracting them from security and policy policies has not been thoroughly researched. We present a summary of a goal-based approach for extracting standard security and privacy requirements from policy statements and illustrate its application to analyze 40 financial privacy policies. We present heuristics to support goal analysis, goal refinement, and the development of tool support, including the establishment of a goal repository that can be used in future goal analyses. To gain a deeper understanding of the goal set, and to identify potential conflicts and inconsistencies between goals, we used i* to model semantic relationships between goals, their actors and strategic dependencies. The goal-based process will assist software engineers in the specification of system requirements that are in alignment an organization’s policies.
Employability Development in the Context of Doctoral Studies: Systemic Tensions and the Views of Key Stakeholders

Although the employability of doctoral candidates has been a topic of much discussion, the views of key institutional stakeholders on the subject are little understood. In order to address this gap, this study explores the perceptions of doctoral candidates, supervisors and researcher developers through semi‐structured interviews. This small‐scale exploratory study adopted activity theory as an analytical lens in order to explore the key components of the employability development process and the tensions that might arise as a result of their interaction. Tensions identified relate to mismatches between the perceptions of key stakeholders and external requirements, drawbacks of employability development support as well as engagement of community members and low awareness of the rules that underpin the employability development process. The paper argues that in order for the employability agenda to be successful, it needs to become an integral part of the doctoral learning process.
Establishment of Intestinal Bacteriology

Research on intestinal bacteria began around the end of the 19th century. During the last 5 decades of the 20th century, research on the intestinal microbiota made rapid progress. At first, in my work, I first developed a method of comprehensive analysis of the intestinal microbiota, and then I established classification and identification methods for intestinal anaerobes. Using these methods I discovered a number of ecological rules governing the intestinal microbiota and the role of the intestinl microbiota in health and disease. Moreover, using germfree animals, it was proven that the intestinal microbiota has a role in carcinogenesis and aging in the host. Thus, a new interdisciplinary field, “intestinal bacteriology” was established.
The past and future of knowledge-based growth

This paper consolidates two previously disconnected literatures. It integrates R&D-based innovations into a unified growth framework with micro-founded fertility and schooling behavior. The theory suggests a refined view on the human factor in productivity growth. It helps to explain the historical emergence of R&D-based growth and the subsequent emergence of mass education and the demographic transition. The model predicts that the erstwhile positive correlation between population growth and innovative activity turns negative during economic development. This “population-productivity reversal” explains why innovative modern economies are usually characterized by low or negative population growth. Because innovations in modern economies are based on the education of the workforce, the medium-run prospects for future economic growth—when fertility is going to be below replacement level in virtually all developed countries—are better than suggested by conventional R&D-based growth theories.
On the synthesis and destruction of A- and B-type cyclins during oogenesis and meiotic maturation in Xenopus laevis

We have measured the levels of cyclin mRNAs and polypeptides during oogenesis, progesterone-induced oocyte maturation, and immediately after egg activation in the frog, Xenopus laevis. The mRNA for each cyclin is present at a constant level of approximately 5 x 10(7) molecules per oocyte from the earliest stages of oogenesis until after fertilization. The levels of polypeptides show more complex patterns of accumulation. The B-type cyclins are first detectable in stage IV and V oocytes. Cyclin B2 polypeptide is present at approximately 2 x 10(9) molecules (150 pg) per oocyte by stage VI. The amount increases after progesterone treatment, but returns to its previous level after GVBD and undergoes no further change until it is destroyed at fertilization. Cyclin B1 is present at 4 x 10(8) molecules per oocyte in stage VI oocytes, and rises steadily during maturation, ultimately reaching similar levels to cyclin B2 in unfertilized eggs. Unlike the B-type cyclins, cyclin A is barely detectable in stage VI oocytes, and only starts to be made in significant amounts after oocytes are exposed to progesterone. A portion of all the cyclins are destroyed after germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), and cyclins B1 and B2 also experience posttranslational modifications during oocyte maturation. Progesterone strongly stimulates both cyclin and p34cdc2 synthesis in these oocytes, but whereas cyclin synthesis continues in eggs and after fertilization, synthesis of p34cdc2 declines strongly after GVBD. The significance of these results is discussed in terms of the activation and inactivation of maturation-promoting factor.
Length, width and centroid distance as measures of teams tactical performance in youth football

Abstract Small-sided games are commonly used in training and teaching contexts of football. However, few studies have focused on the tactical implications of this type of drills. The aim of this study is to identify how tactical collective behaviour varies with age in different small-sided game formats. We investigated the in-game field position in three different age groups of youth football players [under-9 (n=10; age = 8.5±0.53), under-11 (n=10; age = 10.4±0.52) and under-13 (n=10; age = 12.7±0.48)], participating in two different small-sided game conditions (GK + 3×3 + GK and GK + 4×4 + GK). A team variable was created based on the players’ length per width ratio (lpwratio), and a match variable was calculated as the distance between the centroid of the two teams. Results show that team variable values were influenced by the age of the players, as younger teams tend to present a higher value of lpwratio in their dispersion on the pitch. The variability of this variable also showed a decrease for teams with older players, suggesting a more consistent application of the width (stretching and creating space) and concentration (compressing into a confined area) principles of play and reflecting a higher level of collective tactical behaviour. Match variable showed a larger centroid distance for the older age groups in comparison with the younger players in the GK + 3×3 + GK, while all age groups demonstrated similar large centroid distances in the GK + 4×4 + GK game format. These results suggest that length and width ratio and centroid distance are useful measures of tactical performance in small-sided games in youth football.
Evaluation of hypermethylated tumor suppressor genes as tumor markers in mouth and throat rinsing fluid, nasopharyngeal swab and peripheral blood of nasopharygeal carcinoma patient

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the frequency of hypermethylated tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) in peripheral blood, mouth and throat (M&T) rinsing fluid and nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Six normal NP tissues, 43 M&T rinsing fluid, 37 NP swabs and 43 peripheral blood from healthy non‐smokers and non‐drinkers without a family history of NPC, and 30 NPC tumors and their matched body fluid were analyzed for the presence of hypermethylated p15, p16, Ras association domain family 1 (RASSF1A), E‐cadherin, and death‐associated protein kinase (DAPK) by methylation‐specific PCR. Sequencing analysis was carried out on selected NPC tumors and body fluid samples. Twenty‐nine (97%) tumors displayed methylation in at least 1 of the 5 genes. The methylation frequencies were 80% for p15, 77% for DAPK, 67% for RASSF1A, 53% for E‐cadherin and 33% for p16. The frequency range of aberrant methylated genes in the body fluids were NP swabs (17–63%) and M&T rinsing fluid (17–50%). Methylation was found in <20% of peripheral blood for each respective gene. Methylation was, however, detected in 1 M&T rinsing fluid in which the primary tumor showed methylation free for RASSF1A. Five healthy individuals exhibited methylation for DAPK, or RASSF1A, or p15 in their body fluid samples. All body fluid samples of healthy controls showed methylation free for E‐cadherin and p16. Epigenetic change is found frequently in NPC and the high detection rate in body fluids suggest its potential application in non‐invasive screening of NPC or detection of residual carcinoma after treatment. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Regional brain blood flow changes in the 99mTc HMPAO SPECT assessment of patients with dissociative identity disorder

Objective: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a psychiatric disorder on which a number of recent research conducted. However, number of studies are limited on the biological factors that are associated with the pathophysiology of DID. In this study , we studied regional cerebral blood flow which is a factor that is associated with the pathophysiology of DID. Method: By using Dissociative Disorders Interview Scale (DDIS), 18 patients with diagnosis of DID according to DSMIV criteria and 10 healthy controls without a childhood trauma history were included in the study. Regional cerebral blood flow was assessed in all subjects by 99mTc HMPAO SPECT. While the controls were assessed only once, patients were assessed twice for both their host and dominant alter personalities. Regional cerebral blood flow was evaluated as relative and qualitative (cerebellar reuptake ratio of radioactive matter's regional cerebral reuptake). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I) was used to determine psychiatric disorders comorbid with DID diagnosis. Results: When findings were statistically evaluated, a significant difference was found between patient and control groups. In patient group, a statistically significant increase of perfusion was detected at bilateral frontal lobes and left anterior temporal region. Statistically significant increase of perfusion was observed in alter personalities, when compared to host, at bilateral cingulate gyrus and left temporal region. Right hemisphere showed significantly more reuptake both in host and alter personalities. Conclusions: In the study, some clues were obtained from 99mTc HMPAO SPECT about the pathophysiology of DID such as; regional cerebral blood flow that decreased at orbito-frontal region and increased at lateral temporal region. However, more studies with larger samples are needed for further information.
COXPRESdb: a database of coexpressed gene networks in mammals

A database of coexpressed gene sets can provide valuable information for a wide variety of experimental designs, such as targeting of genes for functional identification, gene regulation and/or protein–protein interactions. Coexpressed gene databases derived from publicly available GeneChip data are widely used in Arabidopsis research, but platforms that examine coexpression for higher mammals are rather limited. Therefore, we have constructed a new database, COXPRESdb (coexpressed gene database) (http://coxpresdb.hgc.jp), for coexpressed gene lists and networks in human and mouse. Coexpression data could be calculated for 19 777 and 21 036 genes in human and mouse, respectively, by using the GeneChip data in NCBI GEO. COXPRESdb enables analysis of the four types of coexpression networks: (i) highly coexpressed genes for every gene, (ii) genes with the same GO annotation, (iii) genes expressed in the same tissue and (iv) user-defined gene sets. When the networks became too big for the static picture on the web in GO networks or in tissue networks, we used Google Maps API to visualize them interactively. COXPRESdb also provides a view to compare the human and mouse coexpression patterns to estimate the conservation between the two species.
An Analysis of the Content and Questions of the Physics Textbooks of the Basic Education Level (Ages 13-15) in Libya.

This study aims at determining the extent to which the physics textbooks contribute to the achievement of the stated objectives of physics teaching at the basic educational level (ages 3-15). The cognitive demand of the content of the textbooks of the 7Th, 8th and 9th grades and the questions at the end of each chapter are analysed. Chi-square tests are used to compare the distribution of the textbooks' (questions among the levels of Bloom's cognitive domain with a suggested distribution from the literature. The findings show that the contribution a/the content to the achievement of the stated objectives is limited to the students' acquisition of facts and basic concepts. Most of the questions (51.6%) require knowledge by simple recall which puts them in the first level of the cognitive domain, while upper levels are only tested by 2.5% of all the questions. There is a significant difference (p<O.OOl) between the observed and the suggested distribution of questions among levels. These results reflect the importance of the objectives concerning the acquisition of specific scientific knowledge given by the content and questions of the textbooks at the expense of other objectives of physics teaching, such as the development of scientific thinking skills, interests and attitudes. In conclusion, some suggestions are made to promote the acquisition of objectives in the higher levels of the cognitive domain.