Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation of the immune response during infectious myocarditis

Infectious myocarditis (IM) is a commonly undiagnosed condition that may cause several heart diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathy and chronic heart failure. The understanding of the physiopathology of myocardial inflammation is crucial for a timely diagnosis and for the control of the tissue damage, which may occur in some cases of IM. Of note, some experimental studies suggest that dilated cardiomyopathy could be a consequence of untreated IM. However, further research is required to address the molecular mechanisms that may link these two clinical entities. Here we review the mechanisms involved in the regulation at different levels of the immune response during IM, with a special focus on diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives of molecules that have been linked to the development of IM and the resulting chronic heart diseases.
Lymph node staging in extracranial head and neck cancer with FDG PET – appropriate uptake period and size-dependence of the results

Summary Aim: Identification of a rationale for the appropriate uptake period for static clinical extracranial head and neck PET imaging and evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of such an optimized FDG PET approach for lymph node staging in the head and neck region. Methods: In a subset of 5 patients, kinetic tumour studies were performed in order to identify the cellular activity plateau phase of FDG accumulation for head and neck cancer. Seventy-eight consecutive patients (11 women, 67 men; mean age ± SD: 55 ± 11 years; range, 36-78 years), presenting with histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma and sonographically detected lymph nodes in 86 neck sides, underwent clinically indicated FDG PET imaging. PET results were compared to those derived from histological examinations and follow-up imaging results after 6 months in order to calculate sensitivity and specificity for lymph node staging. Results: FDG kinetics in head and neck cancer indicate that the cellular activity plateau of FDG accumulation is reached after an uptake period of 90 min. Using this protocol metastatic involvement of neck sides with lymph nodes less than 1 cm in diameter was correctly identified with a sensitivity of 71.4% and a specificity of 92.3%. Sensitivity increased with the lymph node diameter (1.1-1.5 cm 83.3%, 1.6-2.0 cm 100%, > 2 cm 88.9%). Conclusion: The appropriate uptake period for static clinical extracranial head and neck PET imaging that allows measurements in the activity plateau phase is about 90 min. FDG PET may add some significant information regarding metastatic spread into regional lymph nodes.
Blood pressure changes after catheter-based renal denervation are related to reductions in total peripheral resistance

Background: Renal denervation (RDN) can reduce sympathetic activity and blood pressure (BP) in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. The exact mechanisms by which RDN results in BP reductions are yet not fully established. Methods and results: This study investigated the effects of RDN on office BP, 24-h ambulatory BP, noninvasive 10-min beat-to-beat digital pulse wave analysis, total peripheral resistance (TPR), cardiac output, and plasma renin and aldosterone serum concentrations in 30 patients with resistant hypertension. Adherence to antihypertensive drugs was assessed by liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry analysis in plasma and urine at baseline and at 6 month. RDN significantly reduced office BP, beat-to-beat BP, and 24-h ambulatory BP by 19/6 (P = 0.021/P = 0.012), 12/7 (P = 0.005/P = 0.005), and 10/5 mmHg (P = 0.001/P = 0.049) at 6 months, respectively. TPR decreased from 1696 to 1377 dyn × s/cm5 (−19%; P = 0.027). This reduction was not associated with significant changes in cardiac output. The changes in office, ambulatory, and beat-to-beat BP correlated with the reductions of TPR. Adherence to antihypertensive treatment remained unchanged during the study period (84.7% at baseline, 83.6% at 6 months, P = 0.782). Conclusion: RDN reduced office BP, beat-to-beat BP, and 24-h ambulatory BP in patients with resistant hypertension after 6 months. The BP changes were associated with reductions in peripheral resistance, whereas cardiac output, plasma renin, and aldosterone levels remained unchanged. The observed effects were not explained by an increased intake of antihypertensive medications.
Small intestinal glucose absorption in cystic fibrosis: a study in human and transgenic ΔF508 cystic fibrosis mouse tissues

Intestinal transport is disturbed in cystic fibrosis (CF), with both defective Cl− secretion and changes in absorption being reported. We have examined the effects of the disease on Na+‐dependent glucose absorption by the small intestine. Active glucose absorption was monitored as changes in short‐circuit current (SCC) in intact and stripped intestinal sheets from normal (Swiss) and transgenic CF (Cftrtm 1 Eur and Cftrtm 2 Cam) mice with the ΔF508 mutation, and in jejunal biopsies from children with CF and normal controls. Na+‐dependent glucose uptake at the luminal membrane was measured in brush‐border membrane vesicles (BBMVs). Intact and stripped sheets of jejunum and midintestine from Swiss mice exhibited a concentration‐dependent increase in SCC with glucose. Apparent Km values were similar in the two preparations, but the apparent Vmax was greater in stripped sheets. This difference was not due to a loss of neural activity in stripped sheets as tetrodotoxin did not influence the glucose‐induced SCC in intact sheets. Similar results were observed in stripped sheets of jejunum and mid‐intestine from wild‐type Cftrtm 1 Eur mice, but in tissues from CF mice the apparent Vmax value was reduced significantly. A lower Vmax was also obtained in intact sheets of mid‐intestine from CF (Cftrtm 2 Cam) mice. Jejunal biopsies from CF patients however, exhibited an enhanced glucose‐dependent rise in SCC. Na+‐dependent uptake by BBMVs from CF (Cftrtm 1 Eur) mice was not reduced compared with wild‐type and Swiss BBMVs. It was concluded that, in contrast to human intestine, intestinal glucose absorption was reduced in transgenic mouse models of CF with the ΔF508 mutation, but that this could not be detected in an isolated preparation of brush‐border membranes. Transgenic mouse models of CF may not accurately reflect all aspects of intestinal dysfunction in the human disease.
Improved biogas production and biodegradation of oilseed rape straw by using kitchen waste and duck droppings as co-substrates in two-phase anaerobic digestion

Oilseed rape straw (ORS) is a kind of biorefractory waste widely existing in the rural area of China, which is highly suitable to mix with kitchen waste (KW) and duck droppings (DD) in two-phase anaerobic digestion (AD). This research introduced the importance of KW and DD addition to improve the biogas production and biodegradation of ORS. A set of comparative experiments were conducted on two-phase mono- and co-digestion with organic load of 60 g VS/L. The total methane yield (TMY) and the biodegradation of ORS of co-digestions were obviously improving, and the synergistic effect found in the two-phase co-digestions. The optimum mixing ratio of ORS, KW and DD was 50:40:10, and the corresponding TMY and VS degradation rate of ORS were 374.5 mL/g VS and 49.7%, respectively. Addition of KW and DD maintained the pH within the optimal range for the hydrolyzing-acidification, improved the phase separation and buffering capacity of AD system.
Secondary Metabolites Produced by the Marine Bacterium Halobacillus salinus That Inhibit Quorum Sensing-Controlled Phenotypes in Gram-Negative Bacteria

ABSTRACT Certain bacteria use cell-to-cell chemical communication to coordinate community-wide phenotypic expression, including swarming motility, antibiotic biosynthesis, and biofilm production. Here we present a marine gram-positive bacterium that secretes secondary metabolites capable of quenching quorum sensing-controlled behaviors in several gram-negative reporter strains. Isolate C42, a Halobacillus salinus strain obtained from a sea grass sample, inhibits bioluminescence production by Vibrio harveyi in cocultivation experiments. With the use of bioassay-guided fractionation, two phenethylamide metabolites were identified as the active agents. The compounds additionally inhibit quorum sensing-regulated violacein biosynthesis by Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and green fluorescent protein production by Escherichia coli JB525. Bacterial growth was unaffected at concentrations below 200 μg/ml. Evidence is presented that these nontoxic metabolites may act as antagonists of bacterial quorum sensing by competing with N-acyl homoserine lactones for receptor binding.
Quorum Sensing: a Transcriptional Regulatory System Involved in the Pathogenicity of Burkholderia mallei

ABSTRACT Numerous gram-negative bacterial pathogens regulate virulence factor expression by using a cell density mechanism termed quorum sensing (QS). An in silico analysis of the Burkholderia mallei ATCC 23344 genome revealed that it encodes at least two luxI and four luxR homologues. Using mass spectrometry, we showed that wild-type B. mallei produces the signaling molecules N-octanoyl-homoserine lactone and N-decanoyl-homoserine lactone. To determine if QS is involved in the virulence of B. mallei, we generated mutations in each putative luxIR homologue and tested the pathogenicities of the derivative strains in aerosol BALB/c mouse and intraperitoneal hamster models. Disruption of the B. mallei QS alleles, especially in RJ16 (bmaII) and RJ17 (bmaI3), which are luxI mutants, significantly reduced virulence, as indicated by the survival of mice who were aerosolized with 104 CFU (10 50% lethal doses [LD50s]). For the B. mallei transcriptional regulator mutants (luxR homologues), mutation of the bmaR5 allele resulted in the most pronounced decrease in virulence, with 100% of the challenged animals surviving a dose of 10 LD50s. Using a Syrian hamster intraperitoneal model of infection, we determined the LD50s for wild-type B. mallei and each QS mutant. An increase in the relative LD50 was found for RJ16 (bmaI1) (>967 CFU), RJ17 (bmaI3) (115 CFU), and RJ20 (bmaR5) (151 CFU) compared to wild-type B. mallei (<13 CFU). These findings demonstrate that B. mallei carries multiple luxIR homologues that either directly or indirectly regulate the biosynthesis of an essential virulence factor(s) that contributes to the pathogenicity of B. mallei in vivo.
The phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator of protein phosphatase 2A. A novel purification method, immunological and enzymic characterization.

A simple, improved procedure for the isolation of the phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator (PTPA) from rabbit skeletal muscle has been developed. The majority of the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) was separated from PTPA at an early stage in the procedure. The procedure yields approximately 1 mg essentially pure PTPA/kg rabbit skeletal muscle; it was also applied to porcine brain and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The physico-chemical properties of PTPA obtained from all sources are very similar. The pure rabbit skeletal muscle protein was used to raise polyclonal goat antibodies and to affinity purify these antibodies. Immunological studies revealed the presence of PTPA in all mammalian tissues and cell lines examined with differences in tissue distribution, brain showing the highest concentration. PTPA could only be detected in cytosolic fractions. Using a semi-quantitative immunological assay (Western blot), the in vivo concentration could be estimated to be micromolar, which is in the same range as the PP2A target. The purified Xenopus oocyte PTPA showed only a weak cross reactivity, whereas yeast PTPA was not recognised by the antibody indicating some evolutionary diversity of the protein. In a PTPA-affinity column chromatography, the weak interaction with PP2A was independent of the presence of ATP.Mg, a necessary cofactor in the activation process. Interaction of PTPA with PP2A in a 1:1 ratio induces a low (kcat = 3 min-1) ATPase activity that is inhibited by okadaic acid, ADP and non-hydrolysable ATP analogues.
Government Grants, Crowding Out Theory and American Based International Non-Governmental Organizations

In presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the Library of the University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote from, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the author or, in his or her absence, the professor under whose direction it was written or, in his or her absence, by the Dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and must not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential gain will not be allowed without written permission of the author. All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University Library must be used only in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. Users of this dissertation not regularly enrolled as students at Georgia State University are required to attest acceptance of the preceding stipulations by signing below. Libraries borrowing this dissertation for the use of their patrons are required to see that each user records here the information requested. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate's Dissertation Committee. It has been approved and accepted by all members of that committee, and it has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in the vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to give my sincere gratitude to my parents: my loving mother, Mrs. Teresia Ondiek Owalla, and my late father, Mr. Jacob Owalla Oyugi, for emphasizing education above all else. Thank you for the constant guidance, nurturing and foundation that have made me the person that I am today. It is your support that has enabled me to achieve and reach so far in the academic world. I sincerely hope that this degree will make both of you really proud. I would also like to express my gratitude to all the members of my dissertation committee, for all the valuable comments and insights which helped me to shape and, consequently, to complete this dissertation. I offer my sincere appreciation of and utmost respect to my dissertation committee chair, Professor James Alm. His support during …
Using Ant Colony Optimization for Learning Maximal Structure Fuzzy Rules

Usually, the rules in a fuzzy model contain in the antecedent a set of propositions each of which restricts a fuzzy variable to a single fuzzy value by means of the predicate equal-to. That way, each rule covers a single fuzzy region of the fuzzy grid. This paper proposes to extent this structure in order to provide more general fuzzy rules, in the sense of covering the input space as much as possible. In order to do this, new predicates are considered and an ant colony optimization algorithm is proposed to learn such fuzzy rules. The obtained fuzzy models provide two benefits: they are described with a lower number of rules and their accuracy improves with the increase in generalization introduced. Some experimental results illustrate these facts
Differential effect of zinc on the vertebrate GABAA‐receptor complex

1 γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) responses were recorded from rat superior cervical ganglia (SCG) in culture using the whole cell recording technique. 2 Zinc (50–300 μm) reversibly antagonized the GABA response in embryonic and young post‐natal neurones, while neurones cultured from adult animals were far less sensitive and occasionally resistant to zinc blockade. Cadmium (100–300 μm) also antagonised the GABA response, while barium (100 μm‐2 mm) was ineffective. 3 The differential blocking effect of zinc on cultured neurones of different ages also occurred in intact SCG tissue. 4 The GABA log dose‐response curve constructed with foetal or adult cultured neurones was reduced in a non‐competitive manner by zinc. This inhibition was minimally affected by the membrane potential. 5 The GABA response recorded intracellularly from guinea‐pig pyriform cortical slices was enhanced by zinc (300–500 μm), which occurred concurrently with a decrease in the input conductance of the cell. The enhancement was unaffected by prior blockade of the GABA uptake carrier by 1 mm nipecotic acid. This phenomenon could be reproduced by barium (300 μm) and cadmium (300 μm). 6 We conclude that the vertebrate neuronal GABAA‐receptor becomes less sensitive to zinc with neural (GABAA‐receptor? ) development, and the enhanced GABA response recorded in the CNS is a consequence of the reduction in the input conductance and not due to a direct effect on the receptor complex.
Small Signal Stability Assessment of Power Systems With Increased Penetration of Photovoltaic Generation: A Case Study

The present paper investigates the effect of high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems on the small signal stability of a large power system. Reduced system inertia and altered power flow patterns as a result of the addition of the utility scale and residential rooftop PVs that replace a portion of conventional generation resources, may lead to decreased damping of the critical modes of the system. To identify the critical modes of the system and the effect of the high PV penetration on these modes, eigenvalue analysis is carried out on the aforementioned system under various PV penetration levels. To substantiate the results observed from the small signal analysis, transient analysis is carried out on the system under various PV penetration levels. The simulation results effectively identify the impact of high PV penetration on small signal stability of the studied system.
Antimicrobial efficacy of a high-power diode laser, photo-activated disinfection, conventional and sonic activated irrigation during root canal treatment.

AIM To evaluate the antimicrobial effect of a diode laser irradiation, photo-activated disinfection (PAD), conventional and sonic activated irrigation with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) on Enterococcus faecalis. METHODOLOGY Root canals of 120 human extracted teeth with single straight canals were prepared with ProTaper files, sterilized, contaminated with an E. faecalis suspension and incubated for 7 days. They were then randomly distributed into six groups: G1, diode laser irradiation (2 W, 3 × 20 s); G2, PAD (100 mW, 60 s); G3, PAD with 3D Endoprobe (100 mW, 60 s); G4, 30-gauge syringe irrigation with NaOCl (60 s); G5, sonic agitation of NaOCl with the EndoActivator system (60 s); G6, 30-gauge syringe irrigation with NaCl (60 s). The pattern of colonization was visualized by scanning electron microscopy. The root canals were sampled by flushing with saline solution at baseline and after the treatments. The number of bacteria in each canal was determined by plate count. The presence and the absence of E. faecalis in root canals were also demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS There was a significant reduction in the bacterial population after all treatments (P < 0.001). The PAD, using both laser systems, and the sonic activated NaOCl irrigation were significantly more effective than diode irradiation and single NaOCl irrigation in reducing CFUs (P < 0.05). High-power diode laser and single NaOCl irrigation had an equal antibacterial effect (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The PAD and EndoActivator system were more successful in reducing the root canal infection than the diode laser and NaOCl syringe irrigation alone.
Bone marrow adipocytes support hematopoietic stem cell survival

In bone marrow (BM), hematopoietic elements are mingled with adipocytes (BM‐A), which are the most abundant stromal component in the niche. BM‐A progressively increase with aging, eventually occupying up to 50% of BM cavities. In this work, the role played by BM‐A was explored by studying primary human BM‐A isolated from hip surgery patients at the molecular level, through microarray analysis, and at the functional level, by assessing their relationship with primary human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) by the long‐term culture initiating cell (LTC‐IC) assay. Findings demonstrated that BM‐A are capable of supporting HSC survival in the LTC‐IC assay, since after 5 weeks of co‐culture, HSC were still able to proliferate and differentiate. Furthermore, critical molecules such as C‐X‐C motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12), interleukin (IL)‐8, colony‐stimulating factor 3 (CSF3), and leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), were expressed at similar levels in BM‐A and in primary human BM mesenchymal stromal cells (BM‐MSC), whereas IL‐3 was higher in BM‐A. Interestingly, BM‐A displayed a different gene expression profile compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue adipocytes (AT‐A) collected from abdominal surgery patients, especially in terms of regulation of lipid metabolism, stemness genes, and white‐to‐brown differentiation pathways. Accordingly, analysis of the gene pathways involved in hematopoiesis regulation showed that BM‐A are more closely related to BM‐MSC than to AT‐A. The present data suggest that BM‐A play a supporting role in the hematopoietic niche and directly sustain HSC survival.
Modulation of Heparin Cofactor II Function by S Protein (Vitronectin) and Formation of a Ternary S Protein-Thrombin-Heparin Cofactor II Complex

Summary The complement inhibitor S protein, which is identical to the adhesive protein vitronectin, functions as heparin-neutralizing factor by protecting thrombin as well as factor Xa against fast inactivation by antithrombin III. The interference of S protein with glycosaminoglycan-catalyzed inhibition of thrombin by heparin cofactor II was investigated in these studies. S protein significantly counteracted the anticoagulant activity of heparin and pentosan polysulfate but not of dermatan sulfate. In the presence of 0.3 μg/ml heparin, 0.5 μg/ml pentosan polysulfate, or 2 μg/ml dermatan sulfate, S protein induced a concentrationdependent reduction of the inhibition rate of thrombin by heparin cofactor II. This resulted in a decrease of the apparent pseudo first-order rate constants by about 17-fold (heparin), or about 7-fold (pentosan polysulfate), whereas no neutralization of dermatan sulfate was demonstrable at a physiological ratio of S protein to heparin cofactor II. Exposure of the glycosaminoglycan-binding region of S protein by reduction and carboxymethylation of the protein increased the neutralizing activity of S protein towards heparin and pentosan polysulfate. The results of these functional experiments correlated well with the demonstration of direct binding of S protein to both polysaccharides but not to dermatan sulfate. While reduced/carboxymethylated S protein remained also ineffective in neutralizing other dermatan sulfate compounds with varying degree of sulfation, a synthetic highly basic tridecapeptide, representing a portion of the glycosaminoglycan-binding domain of S protein, counteracted their anticoagulant activity. Independent on the polysaccharide used, S protein was found incorporated within a ternary complex with thrombin and heparin cofactor II during the inhibition reaction as judged by crossed immunoelectrophoresis, ultracentrifugation as well as ELISA analysis, emphazising the function of S protein as scavenger protein for enzyme-inhibitor complexes of the coagulation system. These findings demonstrate the role of S protein as effective neutralising plasma protein of the anticoagulant activity of various glycosaminoglycans also with respect to heparin cofactor II. Although the glycosaminoglycan-binding domain of S protein readily neutralized different dermatan sulfate compounds, physiological modulation of heparin cofactor-II-dependent inhibition of thrombin by native S protein appears to be restricted to the vascular compartments, where other glycosaminoglycans than dermatan sulfate appear to be operative.