Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential role of hands in the spread of respiratory viral infections: studies with human parainfluenza virus 3 and rhinovirus 14

Hands often become contaminated with respiratory viruses, either directly or through contact with contaminated surfaces. Spread of such viruses could then occur by touching the nasal mucosa or the conjunctivae. In this quantitative study, we compared the survival of mucin-suspended human parainfluenza virus 3 (HPIV-3) and rhinovirus 14 (RV-14) and the transfer of the viruses to and from the fingers of adult volunteers. When each finger pad was contaminated with 10 microliters of either HPIV-3 (1.3 x 10(5) to 5.5 x 10(5) PFU) or RV-14 (2.1 x 10(4) to 1.1 x 10(5) PFU), less than 1.0% of HPIV-3 and 37.8% of RV-14 remained viable after 1 h; after 3 h, nearly 16% of RV-14 could still be detected, whereas HPIV-3 became undetectable. Tests on the potential spread of viruses from contaminated hands or surfaces were conducted 20 min after contamination of the donor surface by pressing together donor and recipient surfaces for 5 s. Transfer of HPIV-3 from finger to finger or finger to metal disk could not be detected, but 1.5% of infectious HPIV-3 was transferred from disk to finger. Irrespective of the type of donor or recipient surface, 0.7 to 0.9% of RV-14 was transferred. The relatively rapid loss of HPIV-3 infectivity on hands suggests that their role in the direct spread of parainfluenza viruses is limited. However, the findings of this study further reinforce the view that hands can be vehicles for rhinovirus colds. These results also suggest a role for nonporous environmental surfaces in the contamination of hands with respiratory viruses.
The high burden of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in African HIV-1-infected children hospitalized for severe pneumonia

Objective To evaluate the burden of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and the usefulness of induced sputum and nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) in diagnosing PCP in African children in whom the use of bronchoalveolar lavage is unavailable. Design Children aged 2–24 months who were either known or suspected of being HIV-1 infected and who were hospitalized for severe pneumonia were investigated for P. carinii using induced sputum and NPA. P. carinii identification was performed using a direct monoclonal antibody immunofluorescent stain. A group of children who subsequently died also had lung biopsies performed. Results P. carinii cysts were identified in 51 out of 105 (48.6%) children either from induced sputum (37/105, 35.2%) or NPA (26/101, 25.7%) samples, or from both. Neither clinical nor laboratory tests were useful in distinguishing between HIV-1-infected children with and without PCP. Twenty-eight per cent (14/51) of HIV-1-infected children who developed PCP had a history of being on cotrimoxazole prophylaxis at the time of their illness. Mortality rates of HIV-1-infected children with and without PCP were equally high (27.5 and 27.8%, respectively). Histological evidence of PCP and cytomegalovirus pneumonia was observed on post-mortem lung biopsy in eight out of 18 (44.4%) children each. Using post-mortem lung histology as a reference, the sensitivity and specificity for induced sputum and NPA in diagnosing PCP were 75 and 80%, respectively. Conclusion Strategies to reduce the high burden of PCP, which can successfully be diagnosed using NPA and induced sputum, in HIV-1-infected children hospitalized with severe pneumonia are urgently warranted in Africa.
Glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-susceptible Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.): hyperspectral reflectance properties of plants and potential for classification.

BACKGROUND Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.) is a troublesome agronomic weed in the southern United States, and several populations have evolved resistance to glyphosate. This paper reports on spectral signatures of glyphosate-resistant (GR) and glyphosate-sensitive (GS) plants, and explores the potential of using hyperspectral sensors to distinguish GR from GS plants. RESULTS GS plants have higher light reflectance in the visible region and lower light reflectance in the infrared region of the spectrum compared with GR plants. The normalized reflectance spectrum of the GR and GS plants had best separability in the 400-500 nm, 650-690 nm, 730-740 nm and 800-900 nm spectral regions. Fourteen wavebands from within or near these four spectral regions provided a classification of unknown set of GR and GS plants, with a validation accuracy of 94% for greenhouse-grown plants and 96% for field-grown plants. CONCLUSIONS GR and GS Palmer amaranth plants have unique hyperspectral reflectance properties, and there are four distinct regions of the spectrum that can separate the GR from GS plants. These results demonstrate that hyperspectral imaging has potential application to distinguish GR from GS Palmer amaranth plants (without a glyphosate treatment), with future implications for glyphosate resistance management. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
COMPARISON OF FLUORESCENCE POLARIZATION IMMUNOASSAY AND HPLC FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THEOPHYLLINE IN SERUM

Theophylline in serum was measured by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) and by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Within‐run precision studies using control samples in the subtherapeutic, therapeutic and toxic concentrations, resulted in coefficients of variation in the range of 2·86–3·12% (FPIA) and 2·1–3·66% (HPLC), respectively. Between‐run precision ranged from 2·76‐6·2% for FPIA and from 2·51–6·0% for HPLC. The mean recovery for three spiked controls was 98·9% for FPIA and 98·8% for HPLC. Comparison of 60 patients' samples, assayed with both methods, indicated an extremely good analytical correlation (r= 0·990). The FPIA method displayed a slight but consistent positive bias in relation to the concentration of theophylline present in patients sera. Caffeine was found to exhibit a positive bias to 13%, over a caffeine concentration range of 10–40 μg/ml. The HPLC method offers an advantage for measurements of both caffeine and theophylline simultaneously. The FPIA offers significant advantages in speed of analysis and turnover‐time, while maintaining accuracy and precision compared with those of established HPLC procedures.
ParaCon: A Parallel Control Plane for Scaling Up Path Computation in SDN

The fundamental tasks of the control plane in software defined networking (SDN) are to customize forwarding policies for the data plane and to provide global network view for applications. The logically centralized control plane design brings benefits in terms of network programmability and can largely ease network management. However, it also increases efficiency concerns. One practical control plane challenge is path computation, because it can require a significant amount of computation load if the network scale is large and the path requests from applications are frequent. In this paper, our goal is to build a high-performance control plane for path computation using multiple controllers. Previous works attempt to improve control plane efficiency by balancing only the load for data plane behavior between multiple controllers. Going beyond conventional wisdom, we designed ParaCon, a solution we propose to speed up the control plane by distributing the load of path computation. We also address the consistency and synchronization overhead challenges related to ParaCon design. To the best of our knowledge, ParaCon is the first attempt that utilizes node parallelism in SDN path computation. We evaluated ParaCon using both Mininet and real-world clusters. Our results show that the path computing time of ParaCon can achieve a speedup of $10{\times }$ over Floyd (used in POX) and Dijkstra (used in ONOS) baseline implementations for networks with hundreds of nodes.
What works to prevent adolescent smoking? A systematic review of the National Cancer Institute's Research-Tested Intervention Programs.

BACKGROUND Cigarette use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Although school is an ideal setting for antismoking interventions, school-based programs have not been successful in the long term. The purpose of this study was to explore characteristics of programs deemed to be successful short-term Research-Tested Intervention Programs (RTIPs) by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). METHODS To identify adolescent smoking prevention programs, 2 independently working researchers applied specified selection criteria to all programs in the NCI's RTIP database. Selected programs were abstracted using a structured form for general information, participants, interventions, outcomes, and quality. Extracted data were then assessed for common themes and contrasts in each category. RESULTS As of June 2008, 18 studies met the NCI's standards for RTIPs preventing smoking among adolescents. After selection criteria were applied, only 5 programs remained. Each independently working researcher arrived at the same pool of programs. In chronological order according to date of publication of outcomes evaluation, the 5 programs ultimately included were Project Towards No Tobacco Use, Pathways to Health, Native FACETS, Kentucky Adolescent Tobacco Prevention Project, and Sembrando Salud. The majority of these programs were targeted toward a particular sociodemographic group (eg, American Indians, Hispanic migrant communities). CONCLUSIONS New school-based programs are needed to address current issues in tobacco control. To improve chances of success, these programs may wish to target certain specific high-risk demographic groups, use professional health educators and/or trained community members, and build in methods of updating material.
Development and validation of the health assessment questionnaire II: a revised version of the health assessment questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE The Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) has become the most common tool for measuring functional status in rheumatology. However, the HAQ is long (34 questions, including 20 concerning activities of daily living and 14 relating to the use of aids and devices) and somewhat burdensome to score, has some floor effects, and has psychometric problems relating to linearity and confusing items. We undertook this study to develop and validate a revised version of the HAQ (the HAQ-II). METHODS Using Rasch analysis and a 31-question item bank, including 20 HAQ items, the 10-item HAQ-II was developed. Five original items from the HAQ were retained. We studied the HAQ-II in 14,038 patients with rheumatic disease over a 2-year period to determine its validity and reliability. RESULTS The HAQ-II was reliable (reliability of 0.88, compared with 0.83 for the HAQ), measured disability over a longer scale than the HAQ, and had no nonfitting items and no gaps. Compared with the HAQ, modified HAQ, and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 physical function scale, the HAQ-II was as well correlated or better correlated with clinical and outcome variables. The HAQ-II performed as well as the HAQ in a clinical trial and in prediction of mortality and work disability. The mean difference between the HAQ and HAQ-II scores was 0.02 units. CONCLUSION The HAQ-II is a reliable and valid 10-item questionnaire that performs at least as well as the HAQ and is simpler to administer and score. Conversion from HAQ to HAQ-II and from HAQ-II to HAQ for research purposes is simple and reliable. The HAQ-II can be used in all places where the HAQ is now used, and it may prove to be easier to use in the clinic.
The role of asporin in mineralization of human dental pulp stem cells

Human adult dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are a unique precursor population isolated from postnatal dental pulp and have the ability to regenerate a reparative dentin‐like complex. In this study, we investigated the role of Asporin in hDPSCs, which was identified as a matrix protein in our previous dentin proteomic analysis. We isolated a clonogenic, highly proliferative population of cells from adult human dental pulp. These isolated hDPSCs were confirmed by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) using stem cell‐specific markers and have shown multilineage differentiation potential. The localization of Asporin was identified by immunohistochemistry in the globular calcification region in the junction of predentin and dentin. The gene and protein expression levels of Asporin were enhanced at the early stage of and then reduced during the late stage of differentiation of hDPSCs in mineralization media. ASPN knock‐down using a lentiviral system suppressed the mineralization of hDPSCs. These results suggest that ASPN plays positive roles in the mineralization of hDPSCs and predentin to dentin. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 1676–1682, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Endogenous retrovirus induces leukemia in a xenograft mouse model for primary myelofibrosis

Significance Immunodeficient mice are important tools to define stem cells that drive malignancies (cancers). Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm that can progress to malignant leukemia. In a study to define PMF stem cells in transplanted mice, we observed a high incidence of mouse leukemia. We show that endogenous retrovirus (ERV), whose replication is unrestricted in immunodeficient mice, are pathogenic in the PMF-xenograft microenvironment, likely because of increased numbers of proliferating mouse cells stimulated by PMF-derived cells. Proliferating cells are targets of retroviral transformation and spontaneous mutations, and thus susceptible to leukemia induction. These results substantiate the importance of paracrine mechanisms in PMF disease and expose the presence of replicating ERVs in mice commonly used to model human diseases. The compound immunodeficiencies in nonobese diabetic (NOD) inbred mice homozygous for the Prkdcscid and Il2rgnull alleles (NSG mice) permit engraftment of a wide-range of primary human cells, enabling sophisticated modeling of human disease. In studies designed to define neoplastic stem cells of primary myelofibrosis (PMF), a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by profound disruption of the hematopoietic microenvironment, we observed a high frequency of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in NSG mice. AML was of mouse origin, confined to PMF-xenografted mice, and contained multiple clonal integrations of ecotropic murine leukemia virus (E-MuLV). Significantly, MuLV replication was not only observed in diseased mice, but also in nontreated NSG controls. Furthermore, in addition to the single ecotropic endogenous retrovirus (eERV) located on chromosome 11 (Emv30) in the NOD genome, multiple de novo germ-line eERV integrations were observed in mice from each of four independent NSG mouse colonies. Analysis confirmed that E-MuLV originated from the Emv30 provirus and that recombination events were not necessary for virus replication or AML induction. Pathogenicity is thus likely attributable to PMF-mediated paracrine stimulation of mouse myeloid cells, which serve as targets for retroviral infection and transformation, as evidenced by integration into the Evi1 locus, a hotspot for retroviral-induced myeloid leukemia. This study thus corroborates a role of paracrine stimulation in PMF disease progression, underlines the importance of target cell type and numbers in MuLV-induced disease, and mandates awareness of replicating MuLV in NOD immunodeficient mice, which can significantly influence experimental results and their interpretation.
Administration of exogenous testosterone in the adult rat and its effects on reproductive organs, sex hormones and body-weight.

The present experiment was performed to observe the effects produced by high dose of a testosterone ester on the reproductive organ and body weight changes in the adult rat, and to correlate these effects with the serum hormone changes. The present study has used the benzoate ester of testosterone (Testosterone benzoate, TB) in the adult male rat (300-350 g). The aim was to co-relate the reproductive organ and body-weight changes with changes in the serum hormone levels following the administration of the ester. TB was injected i.p. for five (5) consecutive days at a dose of 100 mg/kg body-weight. The control rats were injected with vehicle (arachis oil) at the same dose. The rats were killed on the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 36th days. Controls for only the 6th and 36th days were kept. Reproductive organ weight, body-weight and testosterone (T) levels in serum and testis together with serum FSH and serum LH levels were observed. The testes weights remained similar (p < 0.05) to those in the control rats until the 18th days and were reduced on the 36th day. The epididymis weights were not changed until the 36th days, while the androgen-dependent seminal vesicle and ventral prostate weights were increased (< 0.05) compared to those in the control rats. The body-weights remained unchanged at the 6th day but were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased on the 36th day. The serum testosterone (ST) concentrations were highly raised on the 6th day, came at the control level on the 18th day and were significantly decreased (< 0.05) on the 36th day. The testicular testosterone (TT) content remained significantly lower (p < 0.05) from the 6th to the 36th days post-injection. The serum LH and FSH levels also remained significantly lower (p < 0.05) throughout the treatment period. It appears that the elevated serum T levels exerted dual effect in the adult rats, namely, enhanced growth of the androgen-dependent organs and an inhibition over the hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular axis. Inhibition of the said axis was evident by the lower levels of the serum LH and FSH; probably due to this, the TT-content remained all through lower, and perhaps this low TT-content for the long period had led to the low testis weights (p < 0.05) on the 36th day. This experiment therefore, demonstrates the effects of exogenous androgen administration in the adult male rat physiology.
Long-Term Renal Function after Endovascular Aneurysm Repair.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Endovascular repair (EVAR) is a common treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). However, its long-term effects on renal function remain unclear. We aimed to assess long-term renal dysfunction after EVAR using a contemporary estimate of GFR and to compare long-term renal outcomes in patients after EVAR with open aneurysm repair (OAR) and in patients without an AAA. DESIGN, SETTINGS, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We performed a nested case-matched analysis of 726 patients (using a prospectively maintained database for repairs that took place between January 2000 and May 2010 in a tertiary center): 121 patients undergoing OAR (with data at baseline and 5 years postrepair) were case matched (age, sex, smoking, diabetes, baseline eGFR) to patients undergoing suprarenal and infrarenal fixation EVAR (242 in each group) and to 121 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) without AAA. Changes in eGFR were compared (1 and 5 years). RESULTS The OAR patients lost an average of 7.4 ml/min per 1.73 m2 at 5 years (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 4.8 to 10.6), compared with 8.2 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% CI, 6.5 to 10.8; P<0.001) for infrarenal-fixation EVAR, 16.9 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% CI, 13.0 to 21.9, P<0.001) for suprarenal-fixation EVAR, and 5.4 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (95% CI, 1.7 to 7.5; P<0.001) for CEA. The decrease in eGFR was steeper during the first postoperative year, with each group losing -2.2 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (infrarenal-fixation EVAR), -10.7 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (suprarenal-fixation EVAR), and -4.6 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (OAR), compared with -1.9 ml/min per 1.73 m2 for CEA. CONCLUSIONS Elective EVAR is associated with a significant decline in eGFR after 5 years, which is steeper in the first postoperative year and more pronounced compared with a similar population with atherosclerotic disease.
Lymphocyte emigration from lymph nodes by blood in the pig and efferent lymph in the sheep.

Two types of experiment using local labeling of lymph nodes with FITC showed that lymphocytes emigrate from lymph nodes, predominantly in blood in the pig and in efferent lymph in the sheep. In the first type of experiment with the pig, few cells emigrated via the lymph, while the number of labelled cells in the blood increased progressively and the indices in mesenteric blood were always higher than in jugular blood in simultaneously-drawn samples. However, in the sheep, when efferent lymph flowed freely, very low numbers emerged in blood and continuing large numbers of lymphocytes emerged in efferent lymph. In the second type of experiment carried out wholely under anaesthetic on mesenteric lymph nodes in pigs and sheep, and on superficial inguinal lymph nodes in pigs, the lymph node was isolated, the lymph and venous drainage collected and only the arterial supply maintained. Large numbers of FITC+ lymphocytes emigrated via the vein in pigs with either node cannulation (i.e. up to 7% blood lymphocytes were labelled with an emigration rate of approximately 10(8) cells/hr) but in sheep, while lymph contained approximately 30-80% labelled cells and the emigration rate was also approximately 10(8) cells/hr, the mesenteric blood contained very few labelled cells (approximately 0.2%, giving a mean venous emigration rate of 2.7 X 10(6)/hr). Study of the type of lymphocytes emerging from labelled pig lymph nodes and spleen during the phase of major emigration showed that sIg+ B and E rosette-forming T cells, but almost no Null cells, are involved.
Mutational analysis of two herpes simplex virus type 1 late promoters

To investigate the cis-acting sequence elements that are involved in the regulation of herpes simplex virus type 1 late gene expression, linker-scanning mutations were constructed in the promoters of the glycoprotein C and glycoprotein H genes. Each promoter mutation was inserted upstream of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene in a recombinant virus, and the relative activities of beta-galactosidase expressed from individual recombinant viruses were compared. This analysis identified three sequence elements in each promoter: a TATA element, an element that overlapped the start of transcription, and an element downstream from the start of transcription. Primer extension analysis confirmed these results and showed that mutations in either the TATA element or the initiation sequence could eliminate normal transcription initiation. Analysis of expression from hybrid promoters revealed that the TATA and the initiation elements were interchangeable, at least when correctly aligned, and that the initiation element plays a pivotal role in determining the actual site of transcription initiation.
Monocarboxylate transporters: new players in body weight regulation

Over the last two decades, several genes have been identified that appear to play a role in the regulation of energy homeostasis and body weight. For a small subset of them, a reduction or an absence of expression confers a resistance to the development of obesity. Recently, a knockin mouse for a member of the monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) family, MCT1, was demonstrated to exhibit a typical phenotype of resistance to diet‐induced obesity and a protection from its associated metabolic perturbations. Such findings point out at MCTs as putatively new therapeutic targets in the context of obesity. Here, we will review what is known about MCTs and their possible metabolic roles in different organs and tissues. Based on the description of the phenotype of the MCT1 knockin mouse, we will also provide some insights about their putative roles in weight gain regulation.