Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CLINAL VARIATION IN MHC DIVERSITY WITH TEMPERATURE: EVIDENCE FOR THE ROLE OF HOST–PATHOGEN INTERACTION ON LOCAL ADAPTATION IN ATLANTIC SALMON

Abstract In vertebrates, variability at genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) represents an important adaptation for pathogen resistance, whereby high allelic diversity confers resistance to a greater number of pathogens. Pathogens can maintain diversifying selection pressure on their host's immune system that can vary in intensity based on pathogen richness, pathogen virulence, and length of the cohabitation period, which tend to increase with temperature. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that genetic diversity of MHC increases with temperature along a latitudinal gradient in response to pathogen selective pressure in the wild. A total of 1549 Atlantic salmon from 34 rivers were sampled between 46°N and 58°N in Eastern Canada. The results supported our working hypothesis. In contrast to the overall pattern observed at microsatellites, MHC class II allelic diversity increased with temperature, thus creating a latitudinal gradient. The observed temperature gradient was more pronounced for MHC amino acids of the peptide-binding region (PBR), a region that specifically binds to pathogens, than for the non-PBR. For the subset of rivers analyzed for bacterial diversity, MHC amino acid diversity of the PBR also increased significantly with bacterial diversity in each river. A comparison of the relative influence of temperature and bacterial diversity revealed that the latter could have a predominant role on MHC PBR variability. However, temperature was also identified as an important selective agent maintaining MHC diversity in the wild. Based on the bacteria results and given the putative role of temperature in shaping large-scale patterns of pathogen diversity and virulence, bacterial diversity is a plausible selection mechanism explaining the observed association between temperature and MHC variability. Therefore, we propose that genetic diversity at MHC class II represents local adaptation to cope with pathogen diversity in rivers associated with different thermal regimes. This study illuminates the link between selection pressure from the environment, host immune adaptation, and the large-scale genetic population structure for a nonmodel vertebrate in the wild.
Open extraperitoneal mesh repair for abdominal wall hernias in females.

OBJECTIVE To determine the outcome of treatment in terms of infection and recurrence using open extraperitoneal mesh repair technique. STUDY DESIGN Quasi-experimental study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The department of General Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Bahawal Nagar Cantonment, from February 2006 to November 2008. METHODOLOGY Female patients with abdominal wall hernias with defect of 4 cm or more were studied. A history of previous surgery along with clinical findings on examination like size of defect and previous scar were noted. At surgery, hernial sacs were carefully opened and omental and intestinal adhesions were carefully separated. Polypropylene mesh was placed over extraperitoneal space and secured with interrupted vicryl 2/0 sutures. Redivac drains were placed over the mesh and the fascial repair. The patients were discharged on the 3rd - 4th postoperative day and were followed-up at 3 monthly intervals for postoperative sequelae like seroma, haematoma, infection and recurrence. RESULTS There were 32 cases with a mean age of 41.25 + or - 10.79 years. The mean follow-up period was 15.78 + or - 9.02 months. Previous abdominal surgical intervention was found in 16 (50%) cases. Out of those, 14 (43.7%) had defects through the previous scar. A history of multiple caesarean sections alone, or in combination with either hysterectomy or laparotomy in the last 5 years was present in 7 patients. There were 12 (37.5%) cases of paraumbilical hernia, 4 (12.5%) of a recurrent paraumbilical hernia, 5 (15.6%) epigastric hernia, 2 (6.2%) mix hernia, 7 (21.8%) incisional hernia and 1 (3.1%) each of Spigelian hernia and postlaparoscopic cholecystectomy portal (paraumbilical) hernia. The mean size of the defect was 4.9 cm in primary paraumbilical hernias and 7.2 cm in recurrent paraumbilical hernias. The mean size of the defect in incisional hernias was 9.4 cm, larger than all other types. Superficial wound infection was seen in only 1 morbidly obese (BMI > 30) patient. No case of seroma, haematoma, deep seated abscess or recurrence was noted in the follow-up period. CONCLUSION Abdominal wall hernias are common in female patients, especially those with previous surgical intervention. Open extraperitoneal mesh repair with placement of redivac drains is an effective method for the management of abdominal wall hernias with a smaller complication rate and less recurrence.
The role of oxidative stress and innate immunity in O3 and endotoxin‐induced human allergic airway disease

Summary: Ozone (O3) and endotoxin are common environmental contaminants that cause asthma exacerbation. These pollutants have similar phenotype response characteristics, including induction of neutrophilic inflammation, changes in airway macrophage immunophenotypes, and ability to enhance response to inhaled allergen. Evoked phenotyping studies of volunteers exposed to O3 and endotoxin were used to identify the response characteristics of volunteers to these pollutants. New studies support the hypotheses that similar innate immune and oxidant processes modulate response to these agents. These include TLR4 and inflammasome‐mediated signaling and cytokine production. Innate immune responses are also impacted by oxidative stress. It is likely that continued discovery of common molecular processes which modulate response to these pollutants will occur. Understanding the pathways that modulate response to pollutants will also allow for discovery of genetic and epigenetic factors that regulate response to these pollutants and determine risk of disease exacerbation. Additionally, defining the mechanisms of response will allow rational selection of interventions to examine. Interventions focused on inhibition of Toll‐like receptor 4 and inflammasome represent promising new approaches to preventing pollutant‐induced asthma exacerbations. Such interventions include specific inhibitors of innate immunity and antioxidant therapies designed to counter the effects of pollutants on cell signaling.
The Effect of Economic Factors on Performance of the Stock Market in the Czech Republic

History has shown that the stock prices and other financial assets are important aspects of the dynamics of economic activity. Stock prices can be an indicator of social mood and are used as a leading factor in the economic activity and financial stability. This paper investigates the relationship between selected macroeconomic and microeconomic factors and stock prices of companies listed on the Prague Stock Exchange. The portfolio theory and Capital Asset Pricing Model for specification of stock market are used. Johansen and Juselius (1990) and Hansen (1982) approaches are applied to test for causal relationship. In addition, the Vector error correction model for equilibration of a potential long‑run relationship between variables is used. Selected macroeconomic and microeconomic factors provide a statistically significant relationship on stock prices during the observed period from 2006 to 2016. However, the results differ substantially among the sectors of economic activity, the industrial production, the gros domestic product and profitability ratios in particular, can explain a long‑run behavior of stock prices.
First InP-based reconfigurable integrated add-drop multiplexer

A four-channel reconfigurable integrated add-drop multiplexer on InP-substrate is reported. The device consists of a 5/spl times/5 PHASAR demultiplexer integrated with Mach-Zehnder interferometer electrooptical switches. Total device size is 3/spl times/6 mm/sup 2/. All routing configurations of four wavelengths have been demonstrated. Crosstalk values are better than -20 dB. On-chip loss for the dropped or added signals and for the signals coupled from the input to the output port are lower than 7 and 11 dB, respectively.
Dermatologist preferences for treatments to compare in future randomized controlled comparative effectiveness trials for moderate to severe psoriasis.

Approximately 1.2 million Americans have moderate-to-severe psoriasis, a chronic, inflammatory disease of the skin and joints that has substantial impact on health-related quality of life and is associated with excess cardiovascular risk and mortality.1 Despite the rapid growth of treatments for psoriasis, insufficient data exist to distinguish between first- and second-line therapies. Thus, as emphasized by the Institute of Medicine, there exists a critical need for comparative effectiveness research (CER) in psoriasis treatment.2 Since a crucial component of CER is to identify the priorities of stakeholders such as physicians, we conducted a study to describe U.S. dermatologists’ preferences for which treatments to compare in future randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in moderate-to-severe psoriasis.
Natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in taiwan: Studies of hepatitis B virus DNA in serum

Hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA) in serum was measured by a Spot hybridization technique in a consecutive series of 79 cases with chronic HBV infection from Taiwan. HBV DNA was found in 96.3% (52/54) of HBeAg‐positive, 66% (2/3) with neither HBeAg or anti‐HBe and in 63.6% (14/22) of anti‐HBe positive patients. The levels of HBV DNA in the HBe‐Ag‐positive patients were significantly higher than in the anti‐HBe positive patients (median, 944 vs. 58 pg per ml, p < 0.001). The mean ages increased from 28.7 years for the cases with high levels of HBV DNA, to 34.7 years for those with low levels (p < 0.01) and to 41.0 years in those without HBV DNA in serum (p < 0.05 when compared with those with low level of HBV DNA). Ninety per cent of patients (27/30) with high levels of HBV DNA showed only minor hepatic inflammatory activity, as did 91% (10/11) of those without HBV DNA. In contrast, histologic signs of chronic active hepatitis or chronic lobular hepatitis were demonstrated in 76% of cases (29/38) with low levels of HBV DNA. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that liver damage occurs during the period of clearance of hepatocytes supporting HBV replication, and are inconsistent with the view that HBV may be directly cytopathic. Thus, the natural history of chronic HBV infection may be divided into three phases. The high replicative phase, characterized by HBeAg reactivity in serum and only minor histological activity, the low replicative (immune clearance) phase, during which the serum is positive for HBeAg or anti‐HBe and histologic signs of chronic active liver disease are usually prominent, and finally, the nonreplicative phase, when the patient is anti‐HBe positive and there is no evidence of inflammatory liver disease.
Prostaglandin regulation of H+ secretion in amphibian epithelia.

The role of prostaglandins in regulating H+ excretion in amphibian epithelia was investigated. The abdominal skin of the southern leopard frog Rana pipiens and the urinary bladder of the toad Bufo marinus were used to measure proton excretion across their mucosal surface. Prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) produced a dose-dependent inhibition of H+ excretion across the frog skin. Frogs pretreated with ibuprofen (30 mg.kg-1.day-1 for 3 days) showed an enhanced proton excretion similar to that observed when frogs are placed in chronic metabolic acidosis. The number of mitochondria-rich cells, the cells responsible for proton excretion, was also increased in frog skins after chronic metabolic acidosis or ibuprofen treatment. Mezerein and the phorbol ester 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (4 beta-PMA), activators of protein kinase C (PCK), decreased H+ excretion in frog skin, whereas the inactive phorbol 4 alpha-PMA was without an effect. The inhibition of proton excretion was similar to that observed with PGF2 alpha and suggested that the effects of PGF2 alpha and activation of PKC were mediated through a common pathway. Frogs pretreated with ibuprofen not only had an enhanced proton excretion rate but also had a decrease in cytosolic PKC activity. In another amphibian tissue, the toad urinary bladder, PGE2 inhibited proton excretion at low doses but enhanced H+ excretion at higher doses. Toads maintained under chronic metabolic acidosis had enhanced proton excretion rates and also had a threefold increase in cellular PGE2 concentration, which was consistent with the observation that PGE2 enhanced proton excretion at high doses. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hoax and New Media: Content Analysis of News About Hoax in www.viva.co.id

Media is the source of information for the people. Since the emergence of the Internet, the role of new media got more important, since it has the ability to disseminate the information faster and wider. In media industry, the number of online news site increases along with the development of internet users. This online news sites cover all of the themes that interesting for the readers. Hoax has been a crucial topic appears in the news, whether in traditional mass media or online media. This study aims to reveal the news about hoax in an online news site, namely www.viva. co.id. It is important, since hoax is an inevitable phenomenon in the internet era, and the online news site belongs to one of the candidates for president of Indonesia when the election happened in 2012. The data gathered using observation toward the online news site in the period of 2016, specifically the news about the hoax. Observation toward the data was also being done to get the right data. Meanwhile, the analysis technique employed in this study is content analysis. The finding shows that there is a small number of news about hoax in 2016. They tend to be neutral for the tone of the news. This finding is interesting since the owner of the media is a politician that was also a president candidate in the former general election. Keywords: Hoax, new media, online news, media ownership, content analysis.
Outcome of Pregnancy in Women Receiving Infliximab for the Treatment of Crohn's Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis

OBJECTIVES:Infliximab is approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Crohn's disease (CD). We report the first large series of pregnancy outcomes in women with RA and CD exposed to infliximab.METHODS:The infliximab safety database was queried for all reports of pregnancy. Data were extracted regarding the indication for infliximab, timing of infliximab relative to conception, pregnancy course, and pregnancy outcome. The proportion of live births, miscarriages, and therapeutic terminations for women directly exposed to infliximab before or during confirmed pregnancy were compared to those expected for the general U.S. population of pregnant women and pregnant women with CD not exposed to infliximab.RESULTS:Of the 146 identified pregnancies, 131 involved women exposed directly to infliximab and outcome data were available for 96 of these women. Live births occurred in 67% (64/96), miscarriages in 15% (14/96), and therapeutic termination in 19% (18/96) of the pregnancies directly exposed to infliximab with available outcome data. These results are similar to those expected for the general U.S. population of pregnant women or pregnant women with CD not exposed to infliximab.CONCLUSION:Data from the infliximab safety database suggest that infliximab exposure during pregnancy results in outcomes that do not differ from those in the U.S. population of pregnant women and pregnant women with CD not exposed to infliximab. No increased risk of adverse outcome was detected, however, follow-up of larger numbers of pregnant women exposed to infliximab will be necessary to definitively exclude any fetal risk.
Evaluating the Multitarget Effects of Combinations through Multistep Clustering of Pharmacological Data: the Example of the Commercial Preparation Iberogast

Abstract Herbal combination preparations are widely used in traditional herbal medicine and are even established as modern evidence-based herbal medicinal products. The rationale behind such combinations is often questioned and assessing the contribution of each of the combination partners to overall activity is challenging. STW 5 (Iberogast) is such a combination with confirmed clinical efficacy in functional gastrointestinal disorders. It consists of nine plant extracts responsible for its multitarget function in these multifactorial diseases with their heterogeneous and overlapping pathomechanisms. This makes the combination an ideal candidate for the use of the newly described method of stepwise cluster analysis, a standardized procedure to transfer heterogeneous pharmacological data, from different models, into effect size categories. This allows for a stepwise cluster formation starting from the level of single tests up to the level of different pathomechanisms involved in the development of a certain disease, in this case functional dyspepsia subtypes and irritable bowel syndrome. In the current article, an overview on the pharmacological data on STW 5 and its single components is provided. The data are further analyzed using stepwise cluster formation, resulting in a summary of the different modes of action of STW 5 along with an evaluation of the contribution of the single constituents to the overall multitarget effects of the herbal combination preparation.
Plasma and Cerebrospinal Fluid Pharmacokinetics of Clofarabine in Nonhuman Primates

Introduction: Clofarabine (2-chloro-2′fluoro-2′-deoxy-9-β-d-arabinofuranosyladenine) is a purine nucleoside analogue that is active in the treatment of acute leukemia. We studied the pharmacokinetics and cerebrospinal fluid penetration of clofarabine in a nonhuman primate model. Methods: A dose of 2.3 mg/kg of clofarabine was given i.v. over 2 hours to each of four animals. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were obtained at specified intervals and the clofarabine concentration determined by reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography with mass spectroscopy. Results: The median clofarabine clearance was 17 mL/min/kg (range, 15-20), the median plasma area under the concentration-time curve was 452 μmol/L minutes (range, 380-487), and the median terminal half-life was 105 minutes (range, 78-138). Concentrations of clofarabine in CSF could not be modeled reliably because the terminal rate constant was not well defined. The median CSF penetration was 5% (range, 3-26%). Conclusion: Clofarabine penetrates into the CSF only modestly, but the concentrations obtained may approach those that are cytotoxic in vitro. Evaluation of the contribution of clofarabine to central nervous system preventive therapy should be considered in future studies.
New Construction of PVPKE Scheme and Its Application in Information Systems and Mobile Communication

In SCN12, Nieto et al. discussed an interesting property of public key encryption with chosen ciphertext security, that is, ciphertexts with public verifiability. Independently, we introduced a new cryptographic primitive, CCA-secure publicly verifiable public key encryption without pairings in the standard model (PVPKE), and discussed its application in proxy reencryption (PRE) and threshold public key encryption (TPKE). In Crypto’09, Hofheiz and Kiltz introduced the group of signed quadratic residues and discussed its application; the most interesting feature of this group is its “gap” property, while the computational problem is as hard as factoring, and the corresponding decisional problem is easy. In this paper, we give new constructions of PVPKE scheme based on signed quadratic residues and analyze their security. We also discuss PVPKE’s important application in modern information systems, such as achieving ciphertext checkable in the cloud setting for the mobile laptop, reducing workload by the gateway between the open internet and the trusted private network, and dropping invalid ciphertext by the routers for helping the network to preserve its communication bandwidth.
Inclusion body myositis: old and new concepts

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is the most common idiopathic inflammatory myopathy occurring in patients over the age of 50 years and probably accounts for about 30% of all inflammatory myopathies. Muscle biopsy characteristically reveals endomysial inflammation, small groups of atrophic fibres, eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions and muscle fibres with one or more rimmed vacuoles. However, any given biopsy may lack these histopathological abnormalities; the clinical examination is often the key to diagnosis. Early and often asymmetrical weakness and atrophy of the quadriceps and flexor forearm muscles (ie, wrist and finger flexors) are the clinical hallmarks of IBM. The pathogenesis of IBM is unknown. It may be autoimmune inflammatory myopathy or a primary degenerative myopathy with a secondary inflammatory. A prevailing theory is that there is an overproduction of β-amyloid precursor protein in muscle fibres that is somehow cleaved into abnormal β-amyloid, and the accumulation of the latter is somehow toxic to muscle fibres. However, there are many problems with this theory and more work needs to be done. Unfortunately, IBM is generally refractory to therapy. Further research into the pathogenesis, along with both preliminary small pilot trials and larger double blind, placebo controlled efficacy trials, are needed to make progress in our understanding and therapeutic approach for this disorder.
Independent Recruitment of an O-Methyltransferase for Syringyl Lignin Biosynthesis in Selaginella moellendorffii[W]

This study examines the lignin biosynthesis pathway in the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii. An O-methyltransferase gene was found clustered with the gene encoding a phenylpropanoid meta-hydroxylase known to catalyze the formation of syringyl lignin subunits. The O-methyltransferase is shown to function in the same enzymatic pathway as the phenylpropanoid meta-hydroxylase. Syringyl lignin, an important component of the secondary cell wall, has traditionally been considered to be a hallmark of angiosperms because ferns and gymnosperms in general lack lignin of this type. Interestingly, syringyl lignin was also detected in Selaginella, a genus that represents an extant lineage of the most basal of the vascular plants, the lycophytes. In angiosperms, syringyl lignin biosynthesis requires the activity of ferulate 5-hydroxylase (F5H), a cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase, and caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT). Together, these two enzymes divert metabolic flux from the biosynthesis of guaiacyl lignin, a lignin type common to all vascular plants, toward syringyl lignin. Selaginella has independently evolved an alternative lignin biosynthetic pathway in which syringyl subunits are directly derived from the precursors of p-hydroxyphenyl lignin, through the action of a dual specificity phenylpropanoid meta-hydroxylase, Sm F5H. Here, we report the characterization of an O-methyltransferase from Selaginella moellendorffii, COMT, the coding sequence of which is clustered together with F5H at the adjacent genomic locus. COMT is a bifunctional phenylpropanoid O-methyltransferase that can methylate phenylpropanoid meta-hydroxyls at both the 3- and 5-position and function in concert with F5H in syringyl lignin biosynthesis in S. moellendorffii. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that Sm COMT, like F5H, evolved independently from its angiosperm counterparts.