Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
T Cells Cloned from Human Rheumatoid Synovial Membrane Functionally Represent the Th 1 Subset

The presence of activated T cells in the synovial membrane of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suggests a role for these cells in the pathogenesis of the disease, Recent evidence indicates that human T cells may fall into functional categories dependent on their cytokine profile and cytotoxic capacity. The human Th 1 subset is cytolytic and produces high levels of IFN–gamma whereas the Th2 type of T cell produces IL–4. In order to investigate whether Th 1 or Th 2 type cells are present in the inflammatory synovial membrane in RA. a panel of synovial membrane derived T–cell clones (n=19) was generated and studied functionally. Anti–CD3–induced cytotoxicity assays were performed to demonstrate the cytotoxic potential of clones. Except for two, all clones were cytotytic in this lest. Clone cells were activated Io initiate cytokine production and assessment of the cytokine levels showed that all clones produced large amounts of IFN–gamma (18 out of 19 clones: over 50,000 pg/ ml) whereas IL–4 was absent or present in minimal amounts (17 out of 19 clones: less than 1000 pg/ml). The production of IL–1, IL–2 and IL–6 was variable.
Effect of contaminated preprocessed semen on fertilization rate and embryo quality in assisted reproductive techniques

We aimed to identify the sources and prevalence of semen contamination from masturbation and determine the effect of bacterospermia on fertilization rate and embryo quality in standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This was a prospective controlled study, in an IVF unit of a university teaching hospital, of 93 consecutive couples undergoing IVF-embryo transfer cycles. We evaluated handwashing; semen collection and processing; and assisted reproductive technology using semen provided by masturbation. The main outcome measures were presence and type of micro-organisms in the semen samples and embryo culture medium; the effect of hand washing on rate of contamination; and the effect of semen contamination on fertilization rate and embryo quality. The first consecutive 52 men of the 93 couples were not instructed to wash their hands before masturbation, and the remainder were so instructed. Forty-nine semen cultures (94.2%) in the first group were contaminated compared to only 16 (39%) in the second (p<0.016); 27 of the 65 positive cultures (41.5%) were contaminated by more than one organism. The most common contaminators were bacteria usually found on the skin. All but four embryo medium cultures were negative. There was no significant difference in fertilization rate and embryo quality by culture findings in either the IVF or the ICSI procedures. We found that a high percentage of manually obtained semen for standard IVF or ICSI procedures was contaminated, but this had no effect on fertilization rate and embryo quality.
Activity dependence and functional role of the apamin‐sensitive K+ current in rat supraoptic neurones in vitro.

1. Intracellular recordings were obtained from seventy‐two magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) in superfused explants of rat hypothalamus. The current underlying the after‐hyperpolarization (IAHP) following spike‐evoked trains of action potentials was characterized using the hybrid‐clamp technique. The activity‐dependent requirements for the genesis of the AHP were determined. The functional role of the conductance was investigated using saturating concentrations (50‐300 nM) of apamin, a selective blocker of the AHP in MNCs. 2. IAHP was reversibly abolished by the removal of extracellular Ca2+. The amplitude of IAHP varied linearly as a function of voltage and reversed at ‐100 +/‐ 3 mV in 3 mM external K+. Changes in the concentration of extracellular K+ resulted in shifts of the reversal potential consistent with Nernst equation predictions for a K+‐selective conductance. 3. Action potentials triggered by brief depolarizing pulses elicited an AHP during trains evoked at frequencies > 1 Hz. Onset of the AHP progressed exponentially, reaching a maximum after the first fifteen to twenty impulses. The steady‐state amplitude of the AHP increased logarithmically between 1 and 20 Hz. 4. Switching to voltage clamp during periods of continuous cell activity (firing rate > 4 Hz) confirmed the presence of an apamin‐sensitive Ca2(+)‐dependent K+ current. 5. Application of apamin produced a threefold increase in the mean firing rate of spontaneously active cells, but was without effect when applied to silent cells (firing rate < 0.5 Hz). 6. Apamin did not affect the ability of MNCs to fire in a phasic manner but caused a dramatic increase in the mean intraburst firing rate. Moreover, inhibition of IAHP by apamin strongly attenuated spike accommodation normally seen at the onset of phasic bursts. 7. While apamin did not enhance the amplitude of depolarizing after‐potentials following single spikes, post‐train plateau potentials and associated after‐discharges were enhanced. 8. The possible consequences of IAHP modulation are discussed in the context of the regulation of firing rate and pattern in MNCs.
Automatic Handwritten Character Segmentation for Paleographical Character Shape Analysis

Written texts are both physical (signs, shapes and graphical systems) and abstract objects (ideas), whose meanings and social connotations evolve through time. To study this dual nature of texts, palaeographers need to analyse large scale corpora at the finest granularity, such as character shape. This goal can only be reached through an automatic segmentation process. In this paper, we present a method, based on Handwritten Text Recognition, to automatically align images of digitized manuscripts with texts from scholarly editions, at the levels of page, column, line, word, and character. It has been successfully applied to two datasets of medieval manuscripts, which are now almost fully segmented at character level. The quality of the word and character segmentations are evaluated and further palaeographical analysis are presented.
Distributional analysis and motif frequencies of compound microsatellite repeats in viral genomes

Viruses are very small organisms that incorporate their DNA into host cells and cause several diseases. They evolve extremely faster when compared to other organisms. Viruses can develop into new strains easily due to their shorter generation times and due to rapid changes in their genome sequences (in the form of mutations) during the course of evolution. In view of the recent pandemics of viruses such as HIV, SARS, Swine flu, Huntavirus, etc., studying the evolution of viruses at genomic level would be very informative. A special type of DNA repeats named compound microsatellites are often studied to understand the genomic evolution of organisms. This paper presents the details of the study performed to analyze the distribution of compound microsatellites and their motif preferences in all sequenced viral genomes using the classical data mining algorithm called Apriori Algorithm. It is interesting to note that the dynamics of compound microsatellites in viruses differ from that of higher organisms. We observed that viral compound microsatellites are not composed of similar or identical motifs unlike humans and other higher organisms where more than 90% of them are composed of similar motifs.
LANGUAGE FACTORIZATION IN DNN-BASED TTS SYNTHESIS

We have successfully proposed to use multi-speaker modelling in DNN-based TTS synthesis for improved voice quality with limited available data from a speaker. In this paper, we propose a new speaker and language factorized DNN, where speaker-specific layers are used for multi-speaker modelling, and shared layers and language-specific layers are employed for multi-language, linguistic feature transformation. Experimental results on a speech corpus of multiple speakers in both Mandarin and English show that the proposed factorized DNN can not only achieve a similar voice quality as that of a multi-speaker DNN, but also perform polyglot synthesis with a monolingual speaker’s voice.
The Effect of Unilateral Osteoarthritis of the Hip on Postural Balance Disorders

Background Postural stability is of great importance because imbalances and muscle weakness are significant risk factors for falls experienced by the elderly. Hip arthrosis, which causes pain and gait disorders that affect balance control, is common in the ageing population. Aim The aim of this study was to assess postural stability in patients with unilateral hip arthrosis before total hip arthroplasty. Methods The study population consisted of 52 patients with hip arthrosis (study group) and 47 subjects with no history of clinical symptoms of hip pain. The groups did not differ statistically in terms of age and BMI. Static balance was assessed by conducting a quantitative analysis of balance reaction parameters in a quiet standing position with the eyes open and closed. Results Analysis of the collected data revealed numerous statistically significant differences between patients with unilateral hip arthrosis before total hip arthoplasty and the asymptomatic group for parameters tested with eyes closed (p<0.05). We observed higher values of total length of centre of pressure (COP), sway path (SP), length of COP path in the medial-lateral plane (SPML), maximal amplitude between the 2 most distant points in the medial-lateral plane (MaxML), mean COP velocity (MV), and mean COP velocity in medial-lateral (MVML) in the study group.
Improved prediction of outcome by contrast echocardiography determined left ventricular remodelling parameters compared to unenhanced echocardiography in patients following acute myocardial infarction.

AIMS Contrast echocardiography has been shown to be a more accurate method of assessing left ventricular (LV) remodelling compared with unenhanced echocardiography after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, whether this translated into improved prediction of outcome is not known. METHODS AND RESULTS Accordingly, a total of 89 consecutive patients undergoing contrast echocardiography and unenhanced echocardiography 7 to 10 days after AMI and reperfusion therapy were followed up for cardiac death (CD) and AMI. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV end-systolic volume (ESV), and LV end-diastolic volume were assessed by the two methods independently. Outcome data were obtained (mean 46 +/- 16 months). There were 15 (17%) events (eight CDs and seven AMIs). LVEF and ESV with contrast echocardiography were found to be independent multivariable predictors of CD (P = 0.04 and P = 0.02, respectively) and CD or AMI (P = 0.02 and P = 0.01, respectively). Furthermore, LVEF and ESV with contrast echocardiography provided incremental information for the prediction of CD (P = 0.004 and P = 0.004, respectively) and CD or AMI (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03, respectively). CONCLUSION Contrast echocardiography provided improved prediction of outcome compared with unenhanced echocardiography following AMI.
Identification of new genetic polymorphisms that alter the dietary requirement for choline and vary in their distribution across ethnic and racial groups

Effect alleles (alleles with a polymorphism that is associated with the effect being measured) in a small number of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are known to influence the dietary requirement for choline. In this study, we examined a much larger number of SNPs (n=200) in 10 genes related to choline metabolism for associations with development of organ dysfunction (liver or muscle) when 79 humans were fed a low‐choline diet. We confirmed that effect alleles in SNPs such as the C allele of PEMT rs12325817 increase the risk of developing organ dysfunction in women when they consume a diet low in choline, and we identified novel effect alleles, such as the C allele of CHKA SNP rs7928739, that alter dietary choline requirements. When fed a low‐choline diet, some people presented with muscle damage rather than liver damage; several effect alleles in SLC44A1 (rs7873937, G allele; rs2771040, G; rs6479313, G; rs16924529, A; and rs3199966, C) and one in CHKB (rs1557502, A) were more common in these individuals. This suggests that pathways related to choline metabolism are more important for normal muscle function than previously thought. In European, Mexican, and Asian Americans, and in individuals of African descent, we examined the prevalence of the effect alleles in SNPs that alter choline requirement and found that they are differentially distributed among people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds. Overall, our study has identified novel genetic variants that modulate choline requirements and suggests that the dietary requirement for choline may be different across racial and ethnic groups. —Da Costa, K. ‐A. , Corbin, K. D. , Niculescu, M. D. , Galanko, J. A. , Zeisel, S. H. Identification of new genetic polymorphisms that alter the dietary requirement for choline and vary in their distribution across ethnic and racial groups. FASEB J. 28, 2970–2978 (2014). www.fasebj. org
PERFLUOROCARBON LIQUID MANIPULATION OF HIGH‐DENSITY INTRAOCULAR FOREIGN BODIES

Background: Perfluorocarbon liquids (PFCLs) are useful for floating various materials off the posterior retina during vitreoretinal surgery. It is generally assumed that buoyancy forces restrict this use to objects with specific gravity lower than that of PFCLs. Methods: We tested potential intraocular foreign body materials with specific gravities ranging from 1.1‐8.7. The relative affinities of each material for saline and PFCL (specific gravity 1.94) were determined. For each material, we then tested the ability of several specimens of increasing surface/volume ratio to float at the saline‐PFCL interface in a glass beaker. Results: All materials with specific gravity higher than PFCL demonstrated a greater affinity for saline than for PFCL. Specimens of each of these dense materials floated at the saline‐PFCL interface, provided that the surface/volume ratio of the specimen was above a critical value. The critical surface/volume ratio for each material was directly proportional to Its specific gravity. Conclusions: PFCLs may be useful for manipulating a variety of intraocular foreign bodies, even those with specific gravities higher than PFCL. Surface forces, in addition to buoyancy, govern the disposition of small foreign bodies at the saline‐PFCL interface.
Infiltrating citizen-driven initiatives for sustainability

ABSTRACT To examine how citizen-driven initiatives for sustainability strive to bring about change and spread their practices, efforts to link social movement, grassroots innovation and green-consumption movements theory are built upon. Göteborg’s citizen-driven waste-prevention initiatives, such as food waste recovery, creating common reuse spaces in housing blocks, exchanging used toys and repairing abandoned bicycles, are considered with data from observations, workshops, documents, social media communications and in-depth interviews. Citizen-driven initiatives succeeded in mobilizing material resources, displaying and reframing various rationales, and creating collaborative local networks to develop their waste-prevention practices. These practices infiltrated the municipal administration, matching incipient institutional mandates to minimize waste. By so doing, they bring within mainstream institutions radical rationales that can become activated in the future, contributing to diachronic change.
Questions about Tamoxifen and the Future Use of Antiestrogens.

Tamoxifen is the most widely prescribed anticancer drug in the world. It not only improves overall survival and decreases recurrence from breast cancer, but has beneficial effects on bone density and lipid profiles. Unfortunately, tamoxifen carries disadvantages such as unpleasant side effects and a questionable connection to endometrial carcinoma. However, after intense debate, the general consensus among the medical community is that the benefits of tamoxifen far outweigh the risks. Nonetheless, resistance to tamoxifen has been seen both in the clinic and in the laboratory prompting investigators to look for new antiestrogens in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. We report on three agents: toremifene (Fareston®), ICI 182, 780 (Faslodex®), and raloxifene (Evista®). Unfortunately, clinical studies comparing tamoxifen and toremifene in the treatment of breast cancer have not shown a clear advantage of toremifene over tamoxifen. ICI 182, 780 is a "pure antiestrogen" that carries a low incidence of side effects and may hold promise as an effective agent for patients who have failed tamoxifen therapy or even as primary adjuvant therapy. Raloxifene displays beneficial bone and cardiovascular effects without uterine stimulation. It is being used as an agent to prevent osteoporosis and holds promise as an agent for advanced breast cancer. We hope that these new antiestrogens will revolutionize the way we treat breast cancer.
The consequences of dual and unilateral commitment to the organisation and union

This article examines the pattern and consequences of commitment to organisation and union amongst union members in a UK National Health Service Trust. Those who perceived the industrial relations climate as positive were more likely to be dually committed to both organisation and union. As anticipated, union commitment predicted union citizenship behaviours and intent to quit the union. However, organisational commitment predicted intent to quit the organisation but not organisational citizenship behaviour, which was predicted by union commitment. Findings suggest that those with a unilateral commitment to the union are more likely than the dually committed to engage in citizenship behaviours aimed at helping fellow members and colleagues, perhaps because they feel unconstrained by any strong loyalty to the organisation.
Policy- v. Individual Heterogeneity in the Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation: Evidence from a Stated-Preference Survey

The implementation of decarbonization policies depends crucially on the public’s willingness to pay for them. We use stated preference methods to investigate the public’s preferences for such policies. We ask three research questions. First, does the willingness to pay (WTP) for each ton of CO2 emissions reductions depend on the policies and on individual characteristics of the respondents? Second, how extensive is the variation associated with these factors? Third, what factors affect support for or opposition to a carbon tax? Based on the responses to discrete choice experiments from a sample of Italians, we find that the WTP per ton of CO2 ranges between € 6 and 130, depending on whether the public program is based on taxes, incentives, information-based approaches or standards. Further allowing for individual characteristics of the respondents, such as gender or education, and knowledge of climate change, results in a 300% change in WTP, holding the policy instrument the same. We conclude that the variation associated with the policy instrument is approximately of the same order of magnitude as that associated with individual characteristics of the respondents.
Being on first name terms may signify greater respect

EDITOR,--A P Booth and J S Hillman1 object to Ronald Pitts Crick and Maurice W Tuck's sensible recommendations for referring patients with suspected glaucoma to the hospital eye service.2 They do so on the basis of regulations covering the activities of ophthalmic opticians. They state that “intraocular pressure of 22-25 mm Hg …
Aging, inflammation, immunity and periodontal disease.

The increased prevalence and severity of periodontal disease have long been associated with aging, such that this oral condition affects the majority of the adult population over 50 years of age. Although the immune system is a critical component for maintaining health, aging can be characterized by quantitative and qualitative modifications of the immune system. This process, termed 'immunosenescence', is a progressive modification of the immune system that leads to greater susceptibility to infections, neoplasia and autoimmunity, presumably reflecting the prolonged antigenic stimulation and/or stress responses that occur across the lifespan. Interestingly, the global reduction in the host capability to respond effectively to these challenges is coupled with a progressive increase in the general proinflammatory status, termed 'inflammaging'. Consistent with the definition of immunosenescence, it has been suggested that the cumulative effect of prolonged exposure of the periodontium to microbial challenge is, at least in part, a contributor to the effects of aging on these tissues. Thus, it has also been hypothesized that alterations in the function of resident immune and nonimmune cells of the periodontium contribute to the expression of inflammaging in periodontal disease. Although the majority of aging research has focused on the adaptive immune response, it is becoming increasingly clear that the innate immune compartment is also highly affected by aging. Thus, the phenomenon of immunosenescence and inflammaging, expressed as age-associated changes within the periodontium, needs to be more fully understood in this era of precision and personalized medicine and dentistry.
Genetic and environmental factors affecting the response to statin therapy in patients with molecularly defined familial hypercholesterolaemia

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is the most common inherited metabolic disease characterized by elevated serum levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and ischaemic heart disease early in life. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to prevent premature atherosclerosis in FH patients. The aim of our study was the evaluation of the effects of genetic [class of the LDL receptor (LDLR) gene mutation, apolipoprotein (apo)E, apoA-IV and cholesterol ester transfer protein gene polymorphisms] and environmental factors (age, sex, smoking habit and body mass index) on the lipid-lowering response to statin therapy in patients with molecularly defined FH. Atorvastatin 20 mg/day was prescribed in 49 patients with heterozygous FH. The lipid profile was examined before and after 12 weeks of therapy. Statin therapy resulted in a decrease of 37% and 36% in LDL-C and apoB levels, respectively. The study population was then divided into 2 groups according to the class of the LDLR mutation [patients sharing a class V mutation (the G1775A mutation, n=21) and patients sharing class II mutations (the G1646A and the C858A mutations, n=28)]. In both groups, the percentage decrement in LDL-C and apoB levels were correlated with the initial LDL-C and apoB levels, respectively. The class of the LDLR mutation affected the LDL-C and apoB-lowering response of heterozygous FH patients to statin therapy. In detail, heterozygotes sharing a class V mutation of the LDLR showed a higher percentage decrement in LDL-C and apoB levels after atorvastatin administration compared to patients sharing class II mutations (49±9% versus 34±9%, P=0.001 for LDL-C and 42±16% versus 35±20%, P=0.001 for apoB). The influence of the classes of the LDLR gene mutations on the change of LDL-C and apoB levels to atorvastatin was still significant in a multivariate analysis. None of the other genetic and environmental factors studied affected the lipid-lowering response to atorvastatin therapy in patients with heterozygous FH in a multivariate analysis. Our data indicate that the class of the LDLR gene mutation affects the LDL-C and apoB-lowering response of heterozygous FH patients to statin therapy. Specifically, patients with a class V mutation exhibit higher percentage decrease in LDL-C and apoB levels after statin therapy compared to patients sharing class II mutations.