Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Building a Community Legacy Together (BCLT) – An Intergenerational Program for Youth and Older Adults Aimed at Promoting a More Equitable Society

Societies in Europe and around the world are facing an unprecedented ageing of the population. This situation raises policy questions regarding how to ensure the inclusion of older adults so that they can enjoy full human rights in all domains of life. Ageism compromises human flourishing and represents a social justice issue. A solution is connecting the need for lifelong learning with intergenerational programs (IGPs), which promote inclusion, active citizenship and personal development. This concept is only partially understood, both at the policy and practice levels. To address this issue, an Italy – United States collaboration was formed to test an empowerment-based model, called “Building a Community Legacy Together” (BCLT), that creates environments for co-learning between older people and youth. Through this case study we argue that to support projects of living for older adults, it is necessary to rethink the current policy framework, offering opportunities for personal and social growth.
Neurotransmitters in nociceptive modulatory circuits.

Significant advances have been made in our understanding of nociceptive modulation from RVM. Among the most useful conceptually has been the discovery that there are two classes of modulatory neurons in the RVM that are likely to have opposing actions on nociception: on-cells, which may facilitate nociceptive transmission, and off-cells, which probably have a net inhibitory effect on nociception. The similarity in response properties among the members of each class, their large, somatic "receptive fields," and the wide distribution of the terminal fields of axons of individual neurons to the trigeminal sensory complex and to multiple spinal segments indicate that these neurons exert a global influence over nociceptive responsiveness. Drug microinjections into the RVM presumably shift the balance between states of on- or off-cell firing and also produce measurable changes in the threshold for nocifensor reflexes. The meaningful unit of function in the RVM nociceptive modulatory system therefore probably consists of large ensembles of physiologically and pharmacologically similar neurons. The strong coordination of activity of the two classes of RVM neuron may depend largely upon intranuclear projections from RVM off-cells that excite other off-cells and inhibit on-cells. The off-cell pause is GABA-mediated, and it is likely that there is a subset of GABA-containing RVM on-cells that directly inhibit off-cells. Furthermore, the available evidence indicates that exogenous opiates activate off-cells by inhibiting GABAergic release. Presumably, enkephalinergic cells in the RVM disinhibit off-cells in a similar way. Although non-serotonin-containing off-cells certainly exist, we propose that some off-cells contain serotonin. Other possible connections are based on more limited data; however, ACh, neurotensin, NE, and EAAs are present in neurons that project to the RVM, and each of these compounds, when microinjected into the RVM, has a modulating effect on nociceptive transmission. The local circuits in the RVM that underlie these actions remain to be elucidated. At the level of the dorsal horn, there is good evidence for each of three inhibitory mechanisms: direct inhibition of nociceptive projection neurons, inhibition of excitatory relay interneurons, and excitation of an inhibitory interneuron. The relative contribution made by each of these circuits is unknown. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
UNUTULAN BİR ORMAN ÜRÜNÜ KAYNAĞI: ANADOLU SIĞLA AĞACI (Liquidambar orientalis Miller)

Anadolu sigla agaci (Liquidambar orientalis Miller) odun ve odun disi kullanimi olan onemli bir endemik turumuzdur. Odun olarak kullanilmasi ikincil faydalanma seklidir. Esas yararlanma bicimi yaralanma sonucu olusan patolojik balsam kanallarindan salgilanan yagidir. 1950’li yillardan sonra insan mudahalesi ve dogal sebepler sonucu Anadolu sigla sahalarinda ciddi azalmalar olmustur. Son yillarda talep olmamasi nedeniyle Anadolu sigla yagi uretimi ise ya cok az yapilmaktadir ya da hic yapilmamaktadir. Bu calismadaki amac unutulmak uzere olan Anadolu sigla agacinin ozellikleri ve kullanim alanlarini mercek altina almaktir. Calismanin cercevesi dort ana kisimdan olusmaktadir. Birinci kisimda Anadolu sigla agacinin genel ozelliklerinden, ikinci kisimda odun ozelliklerinden soz edilmektedir. Ucuncu kisim Anadolu sigla yaginin ozellikleri ve uretim tekniginden olusmaktadir. Dorduncu kisimda ise Anadolu siglasinin odun ve odun disi kullanimi ile Anadolu sigla agacindan yararlanmaya yonelik yapilmis guncel calismalar incelenmektedir.
LA GESTION DURABLE DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT DANS LES EXPLOITATIONS PRODUCTRICES DE LAIT : UNE ÉTUDE DE CAS DANS LE VALE DO TAQUARI, RS, BRÉSIL

Estima-se que 12,5% da producao leiteira (1 milhao l/dia) do RS provem da regiao do Vale do Taquari, envolvendo cerca de 9 mil familias, que encontraram nesta atividade condicoes de permanecer em areas rurais. O objetivo deste trabalho e contribuir para a gestao desses bens, com enfoque nos aspectos ambientais, propondo um sistema de indicadores para a avaliacao da gestao da producao leiteira. Avaliou-se a matriz "Importância x Desempenho". A area de estudo e constituida por quatro pequenas propriedades rurais do municipio de Arroio do Meio/RS. Com base em uma pesquisa previamente realizada para avaliar a sustentabilidade ambiental, verificou-se a aplicabilidade da matriz como ferramenta para priorizar acoes de melhoria da qualidade ambiental dessas propriedades. Conclui-se que a matriz pode ser util no processo de gestao ambiental das propriedades estudadas, bem como a metodologia aplicavel a outras propriedades para avaliar as acoes-chaves a serem tomadas para melhorar a sustentabilidade ambiental. Resume On estime que 12,5 % de la production de lait (un million de litres par jour) du Rio Grande do Sul provient du Vale do Taquari, impliquant environ neuf mille familles, qui parviennent a se maintenir dans l’environnement rural grâce a cette activite. Ce travail a pour objectif de proposer un systeme de criteres d’evaluation de la gestion des exploitations productrices de lait dans la commune d’Arroio do Meio, RS, Bresil. Jusqu'a present, il a ete possible d'appliquer la matrice Importance/Performance, qui vise a contribuer a la gestion de ces exploitations, en concentrant l’attention sur les aspects environnementaux. La zone d'etude est constituee de quatre fermes laitieres de la commune d’Arroio do Meio. Le traitement des donnees de recherche effectuees anterieurement pour evaluer la durabilite environnementale, a permis de verifier l'applicabilite de la matrice Importance/Performance, comme outil de priorisation des actions d’amelioration de la qualite environnementale de ces exploitations. Il a ete constate l’utilite de la matrice appliquee dans le processus de gestion environnementale, car elle permet de verifier la priorisation des actions, dans les fermes laitieres etudiees dans la commune d’Arroio do Meio, ce qui rend possible l’application de cette methodologie dans d'autres fermes afin d’evaluer les actions a mener pour ameliorer la durabilite environnementale.
Quantitative Analysis of Chromosome/Gene Spatial Distribution

Zusammenfassung Die Fortschritte in den Bereichen Zellbildgebung und Mikroskopie haben eine intensive Untersuchung der raumlichen Anordnung von Chromosomen bzw. Genen im Verlauf der letzten Jahre moglich gemacht. Es wurden bereits Algorithmen zur Quantifizierung der raumlichen Anordnung von Chromosomen bzw. Genen entwickelt, wobei die meisten dieser Methoden jedoch auf zweidimensionalen (2D) Bilddaten basieren. Um dreidimensionale (3D) konfokale Bilddaten verarbeiten zu konnen, ist es notwendig neue Algorithmen zu entwickeln, die auf 3D Datensatzen basieren. In dieser Arbeit werden neue Methoden zur Beschreibung, Analyse und Visualisierung der 3D Verteilung von Chromosomen und Genen in fixierten Zellkernen in 3D Bilddaten prasentiert, die basierend auf Konzepten der objektorientierten Programmierung in der Programmiersprache Java implementiert wurden. Kapitel 2 beschreibt verschiedene Softwarewerkzeuge zur Bestimmung von Ahnlichkeiten der Anordnung von Chromosomen unter Verwendung der Krummungsenergie von Thin-plate Splines sowie zur Berechnung von geometrischen Mittelpunkten, Distanzen und Winkeln. Zwei anwendungsorientierte Projekte zur raumlichen Verteilung von Chromosomen bzw. Genen werden in Kapitel 3 bzw. Kapitel 4 vorgestellt. Die Vorteile, Grenzen und weitere Verbesserungen von diesen Computermethoden werden ausfuhrlich in Kapitel 5 behandelt. Danach wird ein neues Modell der Vererbung der raumlichen Chromosomenordnung erlautert. Die quantitative Analyse in Kapitel 3 zeigt, dass die Unterschiede in der Anordnung von Chromosomenterritorien kontinuierlich mit der Anzahl der Zellgenerationen (d.h. Zellteilungen) zunehmen. In HeLa Zellklonen sind die Unahnlichkeiten in der Anordnung von Chromosomenterritorien nach funf oder sechs Zellteilungen bereits so gros wie die zwischen unverwandten, zufallig ausgewahlten Zellen. Die quantitative Analyse in Kapitel 4 zeigt, dass wahrend der Interphase die Positionen der untersuchten Gene (MLL und funf seiner Translokationspartner) sowie von vier chromosomalen Kontroll-Loci ein charakteristisches Verteilungsmuster innerhalb des Zellkerns besitzen. Dies gilt fur jede der untersuchten hamatopoietischen Zellen. Die in dieser Arbeit prasentierten Methoden zur Bestimmung der Ahnlichkeit der Anordnung von Chromosomen unter Verwendung von punktbasierter Registrierung liefern zum ersten Mal Beispiele zur Analyse und Bewertung der Vererbung einer raumlichen Verteilung von Chromosomen uber mehrere Zellteilungen hinweg. Gleichzeitig wird zum ersten Mal die raumliche Verteilung von Genen, vor allem des Genes MLL und einiger Translokationspartner, im 3D Raum des Interphasezellkerns hamatopoietischer Zellen quantitativ beschrieben.
Inactivation of Streptococcus mutans genes lytST and dltAD impairs its pathogenicity in vivo

ABSTRACT Background: Streptococcus mutans orchestrates the development of a biofilm that causes dental caries in the presence of dietary sucrose, and, in the bloodstream, S. mutans can cause systemic infections. The development of a cariogenic biofilm is dependent on the formation of an extracellular matrix rich in exopolysaccharides, which contains extracellular DNA (eDNA) and lipoteichoic acids (LTAs). While the exopolysaccharides are virulence markers, the involvement of genes linked to eDNA and LTAs metabolism in the pathogenicity of S. mutans remains unclear. Objective and Design: In this study, a parental strain S. mutans UA159 and derivative strains carrying single gene deletions were used to investigate the role of eDNA (ΔlytS and ΔlytT), LTA (ΔdltA and ΔdltD), and insoluble exopolysaccharides (ΔgtfB) in virulence in a rodent model of dental caries (rats) and a systemic infection model (Galleria mellonella larvae). Results: Fewer carious lesions were observed on smooth and sulcal surfaces of enamel and dentin of the rats infected with ∆lytS, ∆dltD, and ΔgtfB (vs. the parental strain). Moreover, strains carrying gene deletions prevented the killing of larvae (vs. the parental strain). Conclusions: Altogether, these findings indicate that inactivation of lytST and dltAD impaired S. mutans cariogenicity and virulence in vivo.
Obligatory Requirement for Antibody in Recovery from a Primary Poxvirus Infection

ABSTRACT To understand the correlates of protective immunity against primary variola virus infection in humans, we have used the well-characterized mousepox model. This is an excellent surrogate small-animal model for smallpox in which the disease is caused by infection with the closely related orthopoxvirus, ectromelia virus. Similarities between the two infections include virus replication and transmission, aspects of pathology, and development of pock lesions. Previous studies using ectromelia virus have established critical roles for cytokines and effector functions of CD8 T cells in the control of acute stages of poxvirus infection. Here, we have used mice deficient in B cells to demonstrate that B-cell function is also obligatory for complete virus clearance and recovery of the host. In the absence of B cells, virus persists and the host succumbs to infection, despite the generation of CD8 T-cell responses. Intriguingly, transfer of naive B cells or ectromelia virus-immune serum to B-cell-deficient mice with established infection allowed these animals to clear virus and fully recover. In contrast, transfer of ectromelia virus-immune CD8 T cells was ineffective. Our data show that mice deficient in CD8 T-cell function die early in infection, whereas those deficient in B cells or antibody production die much later, indicating that B-cell function becomes critical after the effector phase of the CD8 T-cell response to infection subsides. Strikingly, our results show that antibody prevents virus from seeding the skin and forming pock lesions, which are important for virus transmission between hosts.
Smooth Muscle‐Protein Translocation and Tissue Function

Smooth muscle (SM) tissue is a complex organization of multiple cell types and is regulated by numerous signaling molecules (neurotransmitters, hormones, cytokines, etc.). SM contractile function can be regulated via expression and distribution of the contractile and cytoskeletal proteins, and activation of any of the second messenger pathways that regulate them. Spatial‐temporal changes in the contractile, cytoskeletal or regulatory components of SM cells (SMCs) have been proposed to alter SM contractile activity. Ca2+ sensitization/desensitization can occur as a result of changes at any of these levels, and specific pathways have been identified at all of these levels. Understanding when and how proteins can translocate within the cytoplasm, or to‐and‐from the plasmalemma and the cytoplasm to alter contractile activity is critical. Numerous studies have reported translocation of proteins associated with the adherens junction and G protein‐coupled receptor activation pathways in isolated SMC systems. Specific examples of translocation of vinculin to and from the adherens junction and protein kinase C (PKC) and 17 kDa PKC‐potentiated inhibitor of myosin light chain phosphatase (CPI‐17) to and from the plasmalemma in isolated SMC systems but not in intact SM tissues are discussed. Using both isolated SMC systems and SM tissues in parallel to pursue these studies will advance our understanding of both the role and mechanism of these pathways as well as their possible significance for Ca2+ sensitization in intact SM tissues and organ systems. Anat Rec, 297:1734–1746, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Claims, errors, and compensation payments in medical malpractice litigation.

BACKGROUND In the current debate over tort reform, critics of the medical malpractice system charge that frivolous litigation--claims that lack evidence of injury, substandard care, or both--is common and costly. METHODS Trained physicians reviewed a random sample of 1452 closed malpractice claims from five liability insurers to determine whether a medical injury had occurred and, if so, whether it was due to medical error. We analyzed the prevalence, characteristics, litigation outcomes, and costs of claims that lacked evidence of error. RESULTS For 3 percent of the claims, there were no verifiable medical injuries, and 37 percent did not involve errors. Most of the claims that were not associated with errors (370 of 515 [72 percent]) or injuries (31 of 37 [84 percent]) did not result in compensation; most that involved injuries due to error did (653 of 889 [73 percent]). Payment of claims not involving errors occurred less frequently than did the converse form of inaccuracy--nonpayment of claims associated with errors. When claims not involving errors were compensated, payments were significantly lower on average than were payments for claims involving errors (313,205 dollars vs. 521,560 dollars, P=0.004). Overall, claims not involving errors accounted for 13 to 16 percent of the system's total monetary costs. For every dollar spent on compensation, 54 cents went to administrative expenses (including those involving lawyers, experts, and courts). Claims involving errors accounted for 78 percent of total administrative costs. CONCLUSIONS Claims that lack evidence of error are not uncommon, but most are denied compensation. The vast majority of expenditures go toward litigation over errors and payment of them. The overhead costs of malpractice litigation are exorbitant.
Vaccination of melanoma patients with an allogeneic, genetically modified interleukin 2-producing melanoma cell line.

Thirty-three metastatic melanoma patients were vaccinated according to a phase I-II study with an allogeneic melanoma cell line that was genetically modified by transfection with a plasmid containing the gene encoding human interleukin 2 (IL-2). The cell line expresses the major melanoma-associated antigens and the HLA class I alleles HLA-A1, -A2, -B8, and Cw7. All patients shared one or more HLA class I alleles with this cell line vaccine. Patients were immunized by three vaccinations, each consisting of 60 x 106 irradiated (100 Gy) melanoma cells (secreting 120 ng of IL-2/10(6) cells/24 hr) administered subcutaneously at weekly intervals for 3 consecutive weeks. Side effects of treatment consisted of swelling of locoregional lymph nodes and induration at the site of injection, i.e., a delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction. In three patients, vaccination induced inflammatory responses in distant metastases containing necrosis or apoptosis along with T cell infiltration. Apoptosis occurred only in Bcl-2-negative areas, not in Bcl-2-expressing parts of the metastases. Two other patients experienced complete or partial regression of subcutaneous metastases. Seven patients had protracted stabilization (4 to >46 months) of soft tissue metastases, including one patient who developed vitiligo after vaccination. Immune responses to the vaccine could be detected in 67% of the 27 patients measured. Vaccination was shown to induce a variable change in the number of anti-vaccine cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in peripheral blood, which did not correlate with response to treatment. However, in two of five patients the frequency of anti-autologous tumor CTLs measured was significantly higher than before vaccination. This study demonstrates the feasibility, safety, and therapeutic potential of vaccination of humans with allogeneic, gene-modified tumor cells, and that frequencies of vaccine-specific CTLs among patient lymphocytes can be determined by using a modified limited dilution analysis (LDA).
Atomic force microscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. I. Ag island films and Ag film over polymer nanosphere surfaces supported on glass

The surface roughness and nanometer scale structure of Ag films used for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Two important types of thin film based SERS‐active surface have been examined in this study: (1) Ag island films (AgIF’s) on smooth, insulating substrates and (2) thick Ag films evaporated over both preroughened and smooth substrates. AFM is demonstrated to be capable of quantitatively defining the three‐dimensional (3D) structure of these roughened surfaces. The effects of mass thickness, dm, and thermal annealing on the nanostructure of AgIF’s are studied in detail. Particle size histograms are calculated from the AFM images for both ‘‘as‐deposited’’ and annealed IF’s with dm=1.8 and 3.5 nm. Quantitative measurements of the SERS enhancement factor (EF) are coupled with the AFM data and interpreted within the framework of the electromagnetic theory of SERS. AFM images for thick evaporated Ag films over a monolayer of polymer nanospheres (.
Blur Classification Using Wavelet Transform and Feed Forward Neural Network

Image restoration deals with recovery of a sharp image from a blurred version. This approach can be defined as blind or non-blind based on the availability of blur parameters for deconvolution. In case of blind restoration of image, blur classification is extremely desirable before application of any blur parameters identification scheme. A novel approach for blur classification is presented in the paper. This work utilizes the appearance of blur patterns in frequency domain. These features are extracted in wavelet domain and a feed forward neural network is designed with these features. The simulation results illustrate the high efficiency of our algorithm.
Assignment of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placenta growth factor (PLGF) genes to human chromosome 6p12-p21 and 14q24-q31 regions, respectively.

This article reports on the localization of two growth factor genes: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to human chromosome 6p12-p21 and placenta growth factor (PlGF) to human chromosome 14q24-q31. Such genetic mapping may aid in the identification of genes and mutations responsible for hereditary disorders. 8 refs., 1 fig.
Risk factors for uterine rupture and neonatal consequences of uterine rupture: a population‐based study of successive pregnancies in Sweden

Sir, We read with interest the study by Kaczmarczyk et al.1 and feel that the data regarding uterine rupture in their control group need much more clarification. Based on the figures provided, the reader is left with the impression that nearly one-fifth of all uterine ruptures occur in women who have no history of caesarean delivery. Even if the problem with coding is taken into account, these data suggest that these women were given either oxytocin or prostaglandin agents in an injudicious manner. The risk of spontaneous uterine rupture in this control group is too small alone to account for these figures. The authors state that the ICD codes for uterine rupture do not distinguish between complete and partial rupture and uterine dehiscence. This distinction is not clinically relevant in the surgical findings of a woman who undergoes an emergency caesarean section for suspected uterine rupture. The details surrounding the clinical care given to the control group are important to understand the precise details of this assumption of miscoding. Overall, these data in this study provide no extra new information but have highlighted the importance of perusing patient’s notes instead of relying on disease codes. j
Statesec: Stateful monitoring for DDoS protection in software defined networks

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) allows for fast reactions to security threats by dynamically enforcing simple forwarding rules as counter-measures. However, in classic SDN all the intelligence resides at the controller, with the switches only capable of performing stateless forwarding as ruled by the controller. It follows that the controller, in addition to network management and control duties, must collect and process any piece of information required to take advanced (stateful) forwarding decisions. This threatens both to overload the controller and to congest the control channel. On the other hand, stateful SDN represents a new concept, developed both to improve reactivity and to offload the controller and the control channel by delegating local treatments to the switches. In this paper, we adopt this stateful paradigm to protect end-hosts from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS). We propose StateSec, a novel approach based on in-switch processing capabilities to detect and mitigate DDoS attacks. StateSec monitors packets matching configurable traffic features (e.g., IP src/dst, port src/dst) without resorting to the controller. By feeding an entropy-based algorithm with such monitoring features, StateSec detects and mitigates several threats such as (D)DoS and port scans with high accuracy. We implemented StateSec and compared it with a state-of-the-art approach to monitor traffic in SDN. We show that StateSec is more efficient: it achieves very accurate detection levels, limiting at the same time the control plane overhead.