Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human CD1d Functions as a Transplantation Antigen and a Restriction Element in Mice1

To study the potential functions of human CD1d (hCD1d), we developed transgenic (Tg) mice that ectopically express hCD1d under the control of H-2Kb promoter. High levels of hCD1d expression were detected in all Tg tissues tested. Skin grafts from the Kb/hCD1d Tg mice were rapidly rejected by MHC-matched non-Tg recipient mice, suggesting that hCD1d can act as transplantation Ags. Furthermore, we were able to elicit hCD1d-restricted CD8+ CTLs from mice immunized with Kb/hCD1d Tg splenocytes. These CTLs express TCR rearrangements that are distinct from invariant TCR of NK T cells, and secrete significant amounts of IFN-γ upon Ag stimulation. Analysis with various hCD1d-expressing targets and use of Ag presentation inhibitors indicated the recognition of hCD1d by CTLs did not involve species or tissue-specific ligands nor require the processing pathways of endosomes or proteasomes. Additionally, the reactivity of hCD1d-specific CTLs was not affected by acid stripping followed by brefeldin A treatment, suggesting that CTLs may recognize a ligand/hCD1d complex that is resistant to acid denaturation, or empty hCD1d molecules. Our results show that hCD1d can function as an alloantigen for CD8+ CTLs. The hCD1d Tg mice provide a versatile model for the study of hCD1d-restricted cytolytic responses to microbial Ags.
Oral rehydration: toward a real solution.

Infectious diarrhea is a leading cause of childhood death. Although in 1980, it accounted for as many as 5 million deaths, the last estimate in 1999 was 2.2 million deaths of adults and children. Such a spectacular decrease in mortality rate is largely because of the increasing use of oral rehydration solution (ORS) (1). However, acute gastroenteritis is a major problem worldwide, with two distinct patterns. In the so-called developing countries, acute gastroenteritis is a dramatic, often catastrophic, condition that may have an epidemic pattern and is associated with a high mortality rate, particularly in younger and malnourished infants. It therefore requires a combined effort to decrease the mortality rate and to prevent the spread of infectious agents, namely Vibrio cholerae. In developed countries, death of gastroenteritis is almost nonexistent, but gastroenteritis is associated with enormous costs either directly (medical expenses) or indirectly (loss of working days by the parents of sick children) because of the frequency of the disease (2). The widespread use of ORS in diarrheal diseases has saved the lives of millions of adults and children with diarrhea. Oral rehydration solution has been called “the most important advance in this century” (3), and this remains so for the turn of the century. However, the ideal composition of ORS is a matter of controversy and heated debate. To gain a wider perspective on the “ideal” ORS, this review will briefly discuss the current understanding of pathophysiologic processes responsible for water and electrolyte absorption from the intestine and their modifications in diarrheal disease. It will then review available options and possible new developments. PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC BASIS FOR USING ORS
Pilot Studies of Cherry Juice Concentrate for Gout Flare Prophylaxis

The management of gout involves treating pain and inflammation associated with acute flares and lowering the uric acid pool. A challenge associated with the successful management of gout is an increased risk of acute flares after initiation of urate-lowering therapy (ULT). Prophylactic anti-inflammatory therapy is recommended to prevent flares and foster compliance with urate lowering therapy. The aim of our studies was to assess whether use of cherry juice concentrate is useful for gout flare prophylaxis. We report the results of three studies using cherry juice concentrate for gout prophylaxis. The first is a randomized controlled study comparing the use of cherry juice concentrate versus pomegranate juice concentrate for flare prophylaxis. The second is a retrospective study evaluating flare prophylaxis when cherry juice concentrate was taken over a 4 month period or longer. Lastly, a third study evaluating the effect of cherry juice concentrate compared with pomegranate juice concentrate on secretion of interleukins by human monocytes exposed to monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in vitro. Ingesting cherry juice concentrate reduced the incidence of flares in gout patients regardless of whether or not they were treated with ULT. The number of flares was further reduced by cherry juice ingestion in patients receiving ULT than in patients not on ULT. We did not find a significant change in serum urate levels from baseline following intake of the cherry juice concentrate for 4 months or longer. Thus, cherry juice concentrate was most likely contributing to a reduction in flares via anti-inflammatory actions. We found cherry juice concentrate to inhibit in vitro secretion of IL-1β by up to 60%. In conclusion, our studies suggest that, consumption of cherry juice concentrate for a period of 4 months or longer, reduces acute gout flares, via anti-inflammatory actions such as inhibition of IL-1β secretion. Large long-term randomized controlled trials are needed to further evaluate the usefulness of cherries and cherry juice concentrate for gout flare prophylaxis.
A Novel Approach to Improve Robustness of Data Mining Models Used in Cyber Security Applications

With the arrival of big data era, data mining techniques have been widely used to build models for cyber security applications such as spam filtering, malware or virus detection, and intrusion detection. This project proposes a novel approach that uses randomness to improve robustness of data mining models used in cyber security applications against attacks that try to evade detection by adapting. Our approach addresses three problems. First, we build a diverse pool of mining models to improve robustness of a variety of mining algorithms. These methods are similar to ensemble learning but optimize the tradeoff between mining quality and robustness. These methods also require very little modification to existing algorithms. Second, we randomly select a subset of models at run time (when the model is used for detection) to further boost robustness. Third, we propose a theoretical framework that bounds the minimal number of features an attacker needs to modify given a set of selected models.
Classification performance enhancement using boundary based sampling algorithm

Random sampling could enhance classification performance by selecting many representative samples to be included in the training dataset. The representative samples usually include the samples located at the border of each class or cluster. In this paper, a new sampling algorithm has been proposed which enforces the training sample to include the border points between classes. Considering a point as a border point depends on the density of that point according to number of neighbors within specific radiusby reflecting the idea of DBSCAN clustering algorithm. Experimental results on several UCI machine learning repository datasets prove that the new algorithm outperforms hold-out and cross-validation algorithms and enhanced the performance of several classification algorithms by 1% and reduces the error rate.
The M2 Ectodomain Is Important for Its Incorporation into Influenza A Virions

ABSTRACT M2 is an integral protein of influenza A virus that functions as an ion channel. The ratio of M2 to HA in influenza A virions differs from that found on the cell surface, suggesting selective incorporation of M2 and HA into influenza virions. To examine the sequences that are important for M2 incorporation into virions, we used an incorporation assay that involves expressing M2 from a plasmid, transfecting the plasmid into recipient cells, and then infecting those cells with influenza virus. To test the importance of the different regions of the protein (extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic) in determining M2 incorporation, we created chimeric mutants of M2 and Sendai virus F proteins, exchanging corresponding extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains. Of the six possible chimeric mutants, only three were expressed on the cell surface. Of these three chimeric proteins, only one mutant (with the extracellular domain from M2 and the rest from F) was incorporated into influenza virions. These results suggest that the extracellular domain of M2 is important for its incorporation into virions.
Cooperative wireless localization based on weighting for vector‐addition error

Localization error occurrence due to a position ambiguity is a very critical problem in wireless distributed cooperative localization, which may, in turn, affect the reliability of the localization of the whole or a major portion of the network. In this paper, we formulate a two‐dimensional cooperative localization model via graph partition in arbitrary topologies while considering the cooperative node's (or neighbor's) position ambiguity. Based on this model, we establish a robust algorithm, named weighted factor graph (FG)‐based cooperative localization algorithm, by mapping local topologies into the FG and by incorporating the vector‐addition error as the weight. The vector‐addition error includes the measurement error and the neighbor's position ambiguity, simultaneously. The optimal weight is derived theoretically according to the statistic properties of the vector errors and the joint probability density function. Theoretical analysis and numerical results indicate that the proposed algorithm can acquire higher level of accuracy for localization in various topology scenarios in comparison with some typical algorithms. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Helicobacter mustelae-associated Gastric Adenocarcinoma in Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)

Helicobacter pylori in humans is associated with active, chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and most recently has been linked epidemiologically to gastric adenocarcinoma. A related organism, Helicobacter mustelae, naturally infects ferrets and also causes a persistent gastritis, a precancerous lesion, and focal glandular atrophy of the proximal antrum. In this report, we document the clinical presentation and histopathologic confirmation of H. mustelae-associated gastric adenocarcinoma in two middle-aged male ferrets. The ferret appears to be well suited to study the pathogenesis of naturally occurring Helicobacter sp. -induced gastric adenocarcinoma.
Cryptopatches and isolated lymphoid follicles: dynamic lymphoid tissues dispensable for the generation of intraepithelial lymphocytes

In comparison to secondary lymphoid organs, gut‐associated lymphoid tissues such as isolated lymphoid follicles (ILF) and cryptopatches (CP) have been less intensively studied. To gain a better insight into processes regulating organization and function of these structures, which are believed to participate in immune responses and extrathymic T cell development, we characterized the lymphoid structures of the murine small intestine in more detail. The size and cellular composition of small intestinal lymphoid aggregations were analyzed in C57BL/6 and BALB/c wild‐type and lymphotoxin (LT)‐deficient mice, by flow cytometry, histology and automated multi‐color immunofluorescence microscopy evaluating large coherent areas of the intestine. These evaluations demonstrate that aggregated lymphoid structures in the small intestine vary in size and cellular composition, with a majority of structures not matching the current definitions of CP or ILF. Accordingly, significant variations depending on species, age and mouse strain were observed. Furthermore, small bowel transplantation revealed a rapid exchange of B but not T cells between host and grafted tissue. Moreover, LT‐deficient animals lack any intestinal lymphoid aggregations yet possess the complete panel of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL). In summary, our observations disclose intestinal lymphoid aggregations as dynamic structures with a great deal of inborn plasticity and demonstrate their dispensability for the generation of IEL.
Event-related potentials and auditory signal detection: their diurnal variation for morning-type and evening-type subjects.

The relationship between detection performance and various Event-Related Potential (ERP) components was investigated in an auditory threshold detection task at 4 times of day (9 a.m., 1 p.m. 5 p.m., and 9 p.m.) for 7 morning-type and 7 evening-type subjects. Measurements were made of oral temperature, detection efficiency (P(A)), response bias(β), the N115 and the P190 components following a warning stimulus, and the P450and the Slow Wave (SW) associated with correct signal-present decisions. For oral temperature and detection efficiency an upward diurnal trend was observed which tended to interact with subject type. For both the amplitude and the latency of the N115 and the P190 components intra-session decrement was found. The P190 latency decreased monotonically over the day. While the diurnal trend of the amplitude and latency of the Nl15 resembled that of the SW amplitude, reaching a relative maximum in the afternoon. The P450 showed no diurnal variation. Furthermore, the P450 and SW also differed as a function of the level of decision confidence. The P450 amplitude increased and its latency decreased with an increasing confidence level, whereas the SW amplitude decreased. The diurnal variations of the N115 and the SW are discussed in terms of fluctuating amounts of processing involved in different aspects of the task.
Parental Invalidation and the Development of Narcissism

ABSTRACT Parenting behaviors and childhood experiences have played a central role in theoretical approaches to the etiology of narcissism. Research has suggested an association between parenting and narcissism; however, it has been limited in its examination of different narcissism subtypes and individual differences in parenting behaviors. This study investigates the influence of perceptions of parental invalidation, an important aspect of parenting behavior theoretically associated with narcissism. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted using a sample of 442 Australian participants to examine the relationship between invalidating behavior from mothers and fathers, and grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Results indicate that stronger recollections of invalidating behavior from either mothers or fathers are associated with higher levels of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism when controlling for age, gender, and the related parenting behaviors of rejection, coldness, and overprotection. The lowest levels of narcissism were found in individuals who reported low levels of invalidation in both parents. These findings support the idea that parental invalidation is associated with narcissism.
A Novel Design of Modular Three-Phase Permanent Magnet Vernier Machine With Consequent Pole Rotor

The permanent magnet vernier machine (PMVM) is known to be well suited for direct drive applications due to its high torque characteristics at low speed. This paper introduces a novel design of PMVM comprising a modular stator and a consequent pole rotor. The proposed design magnetically decouples each phase and suppresses the magnetic unbalance caused by the consequent pole rotor.
The Ethical Analysis of Risk

The institutional review board (IRB) is the social-oversight mechanism charged with protecting research subjects. Performing this task competently requires that the IRB scrutinize informed-consent procedures, the balance of risks and potential benefits, and subject-selection procedures in research protocols. Unfortunately, it may be said that IRBs are spending too much time editing informed-consent forms and too little time analyzing the risks and potential benefits posed by research. This time mismanagement is clearly reflected in the research ethics literature. A review of articles published between 1979 and 1990 in IRB: A Review of Human Subjects Research, for example, reveals a large number of articles on informed consent and confidentiality (142 articles) and considerably fewer on the assessment of risks and potential harms (40), study design (20), and subject-selection procedures (5).
Gyriform Differentiation in Medulloblastoma – A Radiological Predictor of Histology

Medulloblastoma with extensive nodularity (MBEN) is a variant with an apparently favorable outcome. The authors describe a 2-month-old child with MBEN who had a characteristic gyriform morphology on MR imaging preoperatively and was found to have local metastasis into the adjoining cerebellum on histopathological examination. This case illustrates that histological subtyping may be possible based on the imaging morphology in selected tumors, which may have a bearing on the management of these tumors.
Heterogeneity of wound outcome measures in RCTs of treatments for VLUs: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) affect up to 4% of the population aged over 65 years. Outcomes of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in VLUs are important to guide clinical and resource decision making. Our objective was to identify what endpoints and wound bed outcomes were assessed in RCTs in VLUs; how these were assessed and what reference was made to validity and reliability of methods used. METHOD A systematic review of all full text RCTs, published in English, from 1998-2013. RESULTS Our criteria were met by 102 studies. There were 78 different endpoints recorded, the majority (n=34) related to healing and were evaluated at 12 different times points. Size was the most frequently reported outcome measure (n=99), with photographs, tissue type, exudate, odour and pain also recorded. There was poor reporting of methods used to assess outcomes. Visual analogue scales predominated as a method of assessment, but 95% of studies made no reference to the validity or reliability of assessment methods. CONCLUSION Future research in VLUs requires standards for measuring outcomes with acceptable inter-rater reliability and validated measures of patient-reported outcomes.
An ECC-based memory architecture with online self-repair capabilities for reliability enhancement

Embedded memory is extensively being used in SoCs, and is rapidly growing in size and density. To keep up with the development pace of nanoscale devices, enhancement methods for yield and reliability must overcome the barriers set forth by advent of new technology. To address the issue of reliability, periodic online field test and repair are implemented by using synergistic approach of employing redundancy and ECC to repair or correct both hard errors and soft errors. In this paper, an online remap strategy for memory repair, which ensures `fresh' memory words are always used until the spare words run out, is proposed. The improvement of reliability for memory architectures and the area overhead introduced by the proposed scheme is evaluated.
Renal cell carcinoma in patients with end-stage renal disease is associated with more favourable histological features and prognosis

Abstract Objective. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with acquired cystic kidney disease are at higher risk of developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) than the general population. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and histopathological differences between ESRD patients and the general population with RCC. Materials and methods. Data were retrospectively collected from all nephrectomies performed for localized RCC from 2000 to 2010. Age at nephrectomy, gender, race, symptoms, baseline Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, Charlson Comorbidity Index score and histological data were extracted. Independent-samples t test and Mann–Whitney test were used for quantitative data, while chi-squared (two-sided) and Fisher’s exact tests were used for qualitative data. Results. This study included 627 patients: 73 with and 554 without ESRD. The majority of patients were Chinese. The male to female ratio of 2:1 was identical in both groups. Baseline ECOG performance status and Charlson Comorbidity score were higher in the ESRD group. RCC in ESRD patients was more frequently asymptomatic (56.2% vs 44.9%, p = 0.071), diagnosed earlier (53.6 ± 11.8 years vs 57.9 ± 12.2 years, p = 0.004) and of lower stage (p < 0.001). The ESRD cohort had a higher proportion of the papillary histological subtype (21.9% vs 9.7%, p < 0.001). Importantly, there was a trend towards more favourable outcomes in ESRD patients in terms of cancer-specific (p = 0.203) and relapse-free survival (p = 0.096). Conclusion. This study suggests that RCC in ESRD patients is associated with more favourable clinical and histological features and oncological outcome compared with that in patients with normal renal function.
Adherence to the Standard Guidelines for Prescription of Antidiabetic Agents in Patients with Type 2 DM

Prescription of appropriate antihyperglycemic agent depending on the standard guidelines has an important role in controlling diabetes and improving patient health. The aim of the present prospective study is to follow-up the adherence of prescribers to the standard guidelines for the prescription of anti-diabetic drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A prospective clinical trial was carried out on 64 individuals (43 patients and 21 healthy volunteers) of both sexes with the age range from 40-70 years. Parameters followed-up were fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profile, liver and renal function tests. The values of these parameters (at admission and after 3 months of follow-up) were calculated and compared with that of the control group and with the recommended treatment goals stated by American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE/ ACE). Despite of continued treatment, no improvements were seen regarding followed-up parameters. It has been suggested that the adherence of prescribers to the standard guidelines for prescription of anti-diabetic agents is poor in our center, all patients evaluated have highly uncontrolled hyperglycemia where different anti-hyperglycemic drugs fail to attain glycemic control, and therapeutic strategy followed should be reconsidered.
Live lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) induces suppressor T cells that inhibit the development of delayed hypersensitivity to LDV.

A strong delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) in mice was induced by immunization with u.v. - or heat-inactivated virus by the intravenous, intraperitoneal and especially the subcutaneous route. The peak DTH response was seen 7 days after immunization. Live virus, in contrast, did not induce a DTH response in young (1- to 3-month-old) mice irrespective of inoculation route, except after pretreatment with cyclophosphamide (CY), when the response peaked at 14 days. Live virus, however, induced a significant DTH response in old mice (greater than 8 months) without CY. The DTH response to inactivated virus was reduced when live virus was given intraperitoneally at the same time, but was partially restored when Ia-positive peritoneal cells were also given intravenously. The DTH response induced in infected mice pretreated with CY was suppressed by injection of spleen cells from infected or from normal 1- to 3-month-old mice. Suppression by normal spleen cells was abolished by treatment with anti-Thy1.2, anti-Lyt1 and anti-Lyt2 plus complement, whereas suppression by spleen cells from infected mice was prevented by anti-Thy1.2 and anti-Lyt2 plus complement. It is concluded that suppression of the DTH response was associated with induction of suppressor T cells and that severe depletion of Ia-positive cells may also have played a part.