Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resuscitation of viable but nonculturable Legionella pneumophila Philadelphia JR32 by Acanthamoeba castellanii

Legionella pneumophila is an aquatic bacterium and is responsible for Legionnaires' disease in humans. Free-living amoebae are parasitized by legionellae and provide the intracellular environment required for the replication of this bacterium. In low-nutrient environments, however, L. pneumophila is able to enter a non-replicative viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state. In this study, L. pneumophila Philadelphia I JR 32 was suspended in sterilized tap water at 10(4) cells/ml. The decreasing number of bacteria was monitored by CFU measurements, acridine orange direct count (AODC), and hybridization with 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. After 125 days of incubation in water, the cells were no longer culturable on routine plating media; however, they were still detectable by AODC and by in situ hybridization. The addition of Acanthamoeba castellanii to the dormant bacteria resulted in the resuscitation of L. pneumophila JR 32 to a culturable state. A comparison of plate-grown legionellae and reactivated cells showed that the capacity for intracellular survival in human monocytes and intraperitoneally infected guinea pigs, which is considered a parameter for virulence, was not reduced in the reactivated cells. However, reactivation of dormant legionellae was not observed in the animal model.
Management of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes: report of an EFNS Task Force

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are remote effects of cancer on the nervous system. An overview of the management of classical PNS, i.e. paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis, subacute sensory neuronopathy, paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, paraneoplastic opsoclonus‐myoclonus, Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome and paraneoplastic peripheral nerve hyperexcitability is given. Myasthenia gravis and paraproteinemic neuropathies are not included in this report. No evidence‐based recommendations were possible, but good practice points were agreed by consensus. Urgent investigation is indicated, especially in central nervous system (CNS) syndromes, to allow tumour therapy to be started early and prevent progressive neuronal death and irreversible disability. Onconeural antibodies are of great importance in the investigation of PNS and can be used to focus tumour search. PDG‐PET is useful if the initial radiological tumour screen is negative. Early detection and treatment of the tumour is the approach that seems to offer the greatest chance for PNS stabilization. Immune therapy usually has no or modest effect on the CNS syndromes, whereas such therapy is beneficial for PNS affecting the neuromuscular junction. Symptomatic therapy should be offered to all patients with PNS.
Role of the ICOS-B7h Costimulatory Pathway in the Pathophysiology of Chronic Allograft Rejection

Background. Inducible costimulator (ICOS) is the third member of the CD28 superfamily and has a unique role in T cell activation and function. Recent studies indicated that the ICOS-B7h pathway plays an important role in alloimmune responses. We further investigated the role of the ICOS pathway in the pathologic process of chronic rejection in vivo. Methods. An established major histocompatibility complex class II disparate cardiac transplantation model was used. We treated mice with a blocking anti-B7h monoclonal antibody (mAb) either in the initiation phase (early blockade) or in the progression phase (delayed blockade) of disease. In addition, some mice received mAb in the entire period (whole blockade). At 6 weeks after transplantation, cardiac grafts were evaluated by histopathologic analysis in terms of vasculopathy, fibrosis, and cellular infiltration. The intragraft expressions of cytokines and chemokines were also examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results. Early blockade of the ICOS-B7h pathway did not show any protective effect on chronic allograft rejection compared with untreated controls. In contrast, delayed blockade significantly inhibited the development of vasculopathy, fibrosis, and cellular infiltration (P=0.043, P=0.004, and P=0.03 vs. untreated control, respectively). Interestingly, whole blockade did not prevent the chronic rejection process. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of delayed ICOS blockade on chronic rejection was associated with down-regulation of local intragraft expression of several cytokines and chemokines. Conclusions. These data suggest that the ICOS-B7h pathway is critical in the activation of effector/memory T cells that are necessary for the progression of chronic rejection and provide the rationale to develop novel and specific therapies to prevent this process.
β1 Integrins Mediate Tubule Formation Induced by Supernatants Derived from KSHV-Infected Cells

Objective: Angiogenesis is defined as the formation of new blood vessels. In a recently concluded study, we identified Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-infected cells derived from primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) to overexpress vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that had the propensity to mediate tubule formation on a Matrigel, an indicator of angiogenesis. The objective of this study was to determine the receptor molecules that mediate the tubule formation induced by the supernatant derived from KSHV-infected PEL cells. Methods: The identity of receptor(s) that play a role in mediating tubule formation driven by PEL supernatant was determined by the classical in vitro angiogenesis assay conducted on a Matrigel. Results: RGD peptides, antibodies, and siRNA specific to β1 integrins significantly lowered the ability of the PEL supernatants to induce tubule formation by endothelial cells. β1 Integrins mediated tubule formation to comparable levels in endothelial cells that were incubated with supernatants derived from uninduced or TPA-induced PEL cells. Interestingly, the β1 integrins did not seem to have a major role in cellular attachment. Conclusion: We report for the first time a critical role for β1 integrins in angiogenesis supported by the supernatant from KSHV-infected PEL cells.
Thomson's multitaper high frame rate compounding for speckle reduction

The speckle pattern reduces the image quality in ultrasound imaging. The Thomson's multitaper approach has been shown to smooth the speckle at the expense of spatial resolution. It is shown in this paper that the combination of high frame rate (HFR) compounding and Thomson's multitaper method can reduce the speckle noise with limited resolution loss. Compared to the standard transmission strategy, by using a limited number of compounding angles, the frame rate can be improved too.
Immune system and melanoma biology: a balance between immunosurveillance and immune escape

Melanoma is one of the most immunogenic tumors and its relationship with host immune system is currently under investigation. Many immunomodulatory mechanisms, favoring melanomagenesis and progression, have been described to interfere with the disablement of melanoma recognition and attack by immune cells resulting in immune resistance and immunosuppression. This knowledge produced therapeutic advantages, such as immunotherapy, aiming to overcome the immune evasion. Here, we review the current advances in cancer immunoediting and focus on melanoma immunology, which involves a dynamic interplay between melanoma and immune system, as well as on effects of “targeted therapies” on tumor microenvironment for combination strategies.
Embolic Occlusion of Patent Foramen Ovale: A Syndrome Occurring in Pulmonary Embolism

In the presence of a patent foramen ovale, pulmonary embolism may result in a right-to-left interatrial shunt which serves to alleviate the effects of the embolism. When the shunt is occluded by a subsequent embolus, sudden death occurs. The clinical and pathologic features of the syndrome are described.
A Taxonomy for Classifying Questions Asked in Social Question and Answering

The rapid advancement of Web2.0 technologies has made social networking sites, such as Facebook and twitter, important venues for individuals to seek and share information. As understanding the information needs of users is crucial for designing and developing tools to support their social Q&A behaviors, in this paper, we present a new way of classifying questions from a design perspective, with the aim of facilitating the development of question routing systems according to individual's information need. As an attempt to understand the questioner's intent in social question and answering environments, we propose a taxonomy of questions posted on Twitter, called ASK. Our taxonomy uncovers three different kinds of questions: accuracy, social, and knowledge. In addition, to enable automatic detection on these three types of information needs, we measured and reported on the differences in ASK types of questions reflected at both lexical and syntactic levels.
Document image analysis for active reading

A huge number of documents that were only available in libraries are now on the web. The web access is a solution to protect the cultural heritage and to facilitate knowledge transmission. Most of these documents are displayed as images of the original paper pages and are indexed by hand. In this paper, we present how and why Document Image Analysis contributes to build the Digital Libraries of the future. Readers expect human-centred interactive reading stations, which imply the production of hyperdocuments to fit the reader's intentions and needs. Image analysis allows extracting and categorizing the meaningful document components and relationships; it also provides readers' adapted visualisation of the original images. Document Image Analysis is an essential prerequisite to enrich hyperdocuments that support content-based readers' activities such as information seeking and navigation. This paper focuses the function of the original image: a reference for the reader and the input data that are processed to automatically detect what makes sense in a document.
Globalisierung der Automobilindustrie: neue Standorte auf dem Vormarsch, traditionelle Anbieter unter Druck?

Der Beitrag analysiert die internationalen Produktionsverlagerungen und Investitionsverflechtungen in der Automobilindustrie, um die These zu uberprufen, dass es selbst bei der Herstellung relativ wissensund technologieintensiver Guter zu einem nachdrangenden Wettbewerb aus Landern mit vergleichsweise niedrigem Pro-Kopf-Einkommen gekommen ist. Die Ergebnisse sprechen – insgesamt gesehen – eher dagegen, dass die Automobilproduktion an den traditionellen Standorten bereits in der Vergangenheit durch das Vordringen neuer Anbieter stark beeintrachtigt worden ist. Der "Wettbewerb von unten" durfte in Zukunft aber intensiver werden.
Rules of engagement: mastering the endodontic game, part 2.

The rules of engagement are an overview of the essential elements needed to reconstruct endodontically volved teeth back to successful, healthy members of the dental arch that function and are biologically healthy, structurally strong, aesthetic, and valuable. Endodontics just keeps getting better and better, and the future of endodontic success is bright. Now more than ever patients value and appreciate dental aesthetics. Everyone wants to look good, smell good, and appear successful. Teeth will always play a major role in these human desires. The endodontic tooth can either be the "weakest link" or it can be as strong a link as any other healthy tooth. The choice is ours.if we play by the rules.
Vertical leaf mass per area gradient of mature sugar maple reflects both height-driven increases in vascular tissue and light-driven increases in palisade layer thickness

A key trait used in canopy and ecosystem function modeling, leaf mass per area (LMA), is influenced by changes in both leaf thickness and leaf density (LMA = Thickness × Density). In tall trees, LMA is understood to increase with height through two primary mechanisms: (i) increasing palisade layer thickness (and thus leaf thickness) in response to light and/or (ii) reduced cell expansion and intercellular air space in response to hydrostatic constraints, leading to increased leaf density. Our objective was to investigate within-canopy gradients in leaf anatomical traits in order to understand environmental factors that influence leaf morphology in a sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall) forest canopy. We teased apart the effects of light and height on anatomical traits by sampling at exposed and closed canopies that had different light conditions at similar heights. As expected, palisade layer thickness responded strongly to cumulative light exposure. Mesophyll porosity, however, was weakly and negatively correlated with light and height (i.e., hydrostatic gradients). Reduced mesophyll porosity was not likely caused by limitations on cell expansion; in fact, epidermal cell width increased with height. Palisade layer thickness was better related to LMA, leaf density and leaf thickness than was mesophyll porosity. Vein diameter and fraction of vascular tissue also increased with height and LMA, density and thickness, revealing that greater investment in vascular and support tissue may be a third mechanism for increased LMA with height. Overall, decreasing mesophyll porosity with height was likely due to palisade cells expanding into the available air space and also greater investments in vascular and support tissue, rather than a reduction of cell expansion due to hydrostatic constraints. Our results provide evidence that light influences both palisade layer thickness and mesophyll porosity and indicate that hydrostatic gradients influence leaf vascular and support tissues in mature Acer saccharum trees.
Analyse du comportement de sept ventilateurs lourds de réanimation avec le mélange gazeux hélium 78% - oxygène 22%

L'heliox est un melange gazeux d'helium a 78 % et d'oxygene a 22 %, de plus faible densite par rapport a l'air, employe dans la ventilation mecanique invasive et non-invasive. Il ameliore la mecanique respiratoire et les echanges gazeux lors de l'obstruction des voies aeriennes. Son emploi avec les ventilateurs calibres d'usine avec l'air et l'oxygene comporte un risque de dysfonctionnement de la machine pouvant compromettre la securite des malades. Au banc d'essai des sept ventilateurs d'usage courant aux soins intensifs sur un modele de "poumon mecanique", il est demontre que le volume courant et la fraction inspiree d'oxygene (FiO₂) delivres ne correspondent pas aux reglages sur les appareils en concordance avec les predictions etablies utilisant les lois de la physique. Des tables de correction sont elaborees afin que le volume courant et la FiO₂ qui sont delivres correspondent aux reglages affiches.
Precision mass measurements in solution reveal properties of single cells and bioparticles

Precise characterization of biological materials ranging from single cells (~1-20 microns) to extracellular vesicles (20-200 nm) is of fundamental interest because of their biological and translational value. Here we discuss the value of precision mass measurements in solution for informing various physical and biological parameters, such as mass accumulation rate, longitudinal cell growth or cell density. We introduce how the limits of the single-particle mass measurements can be pushed down to nano-scale dimensions enabling the resolution of extracellular vesicles and viruses in solution. We believe with future advancements on the precision and throughput of this approach, the capability of analyzing biologically relevant particles in solution will have broad biological and translational impact.
Locally advanced breast cancer: is PET useful for monitoring primary chemotherapy?

ankoff et al. (1) address the ap-plication of PET for monitoring neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in locally ad-vanced breast cancer (LABC) in thisissue of The Journal of Nuclear Med-icine.An important advantage of primarychemotherapy is that it can increase therate of breast-conserving surgery bypreoperatively reducing tumor volume(2). Because of the good results of thisprocedure, chemotherapy before deﬁn-itive surgical therapy (neoadjuvant,primary, or induction chemotherapy)has also been applied to the treatmentof lower-stage breast cancer. Recenttrials reported clinical response ratesgreater than 70%, but only in a smallfraction of patients has a macroscopiccomplete response to therapy beenachieved (3). Patients who have a mac-roscopic complete response also have asigniﬁcantly better prognosis than pa-tients presenting with residual tumorafter completion of chemotherapy (4). Patients with minimal residual diseasehave signiﬁcantly higher disease-freeand overall survival rates than do pa-tients with gross residual disease. Par-tial or complete regression proven byhistopathologic tissue analysis isachieved in only 20%–30% of patients(5). The clinical response thus does notnecessarily reﬂect histopathologic re-sponse, which necessitates evaluationand tumor markers to determine thetherapeutic effect until deﬁnitive breastsurgery is performed. Considering theside effects of primary chemotherapy,there is a need for early therapy mon-itoring to identify nonresponding pa-tients. Imaging procedures such asmammography, ultrasonography, andMRI have been used for evaluatingtumor size in relation to response totherapy. One of the drawbacks of ana-tomic imaging, however, is the delaybetween initiation of therapy and tu-mor shrinkage. In addition, these pro-cedures do not allow differentiationbetween viable tumor tissue and ﬁ-brotic scar tissue (6). Although evalu-ation and tumor markers might be use-ful for this purpose, they have not yetbeen applied in larger patient popula-tions (7). For these reasons, nuclear medicineprocedures offer opportunities for theevaluation of the success of chemo-therapy. In addition to the use of
Langzeitkontrolle der Klauengesundheit von Milchkühen in 15 Herden mithilfe des Klauenmanagers und digitaler Kennzahlen

Zusammenfassung Gegenstand und Ziel: Monitoring der Klauengesundheit über einen definierten Zeitraum mit dem Dokumentations- und Analyseprogramm Klauenmanager. Material und Methoden: Mittels Klauenmanager erfolgte eine Evaluierung der Klauendaten von 679 Kühen, die bei zwei bzw. drei Klauenpflegebesuchen in 15 Herden dokumentiert worden waren. Die Daten wurden anhand der Parameter Prävalenz der Klauenerkrankungen, ihrer Schweregrade, der Lahmheiten sowie Kuh-Klauen-Score (CCS), Farm-Klauen-Score (FCS) und Farm-Zonen-Score (FZS) analysiert und ihre zeitliche Entwicklung dargestellt. Ergebnisse: Im Mittel waren bei Besuch 1 71,9% (max. 95,0%, min. 21,1%), bei Besuch 2 72,9% (max. 100,0%, min. 12,6%) aller Kühe lahmheitsfrei. Bei den mittleren Prävalenzen der Klauenläsionen aller Betriebe standen Ballenhornfäule (BF) mit 61,8%, Weiße-Linie-Defekte (WLD) mit 37,2%, Sohlenblutungen (SB) mit 27,5%, Dermatitis digitalis (DD) mit 19,7% und chronische Reheklauen mit 10,9% im Vordergrund. In den einzelnen Herden fanden sich BF (n = 15), WLD (n = 11), SB (n = 10), akute DD (n = 4) und chronische Reheklauen (n = 3) jeweils unter den drei häufigsten Erkrankungen. Statistisch zeigte sich eine signifikante Verbesserung der Schweregrade der Klauenläsionen aller Kühe aller Herden von Besuch 1 auf Besuch 2. Der kleinste CCS (CCSmin) lag bei 0, der höchste (CCSmax) bei 276, der kleinste FCS war 6, der höchste 72. Die Längen des oberen Quartils und der oberen Antenne in der Boxplot-Graphik der CCS-Werte der Herden differierten an den jeweiligen Besuchen deutlich. In 10 Herden war die Verbesserung der CCS-Werte vom 1. zum 2. Besuch statistisch signifikant. Die Korrelationen zwischen den Locomotion-Scores und CCS-Werten erwiesen sich bei 28 (von 33) Besuchen als signifikant. Schlussfolgerung: Die Parameter FCS, Länge des oberen Quartils, Länge der oberen Antenne und FZSmax erwiesen sich neben der Prävalenz der Lahmheiten, Klauenläsionen und ihrer Schweregrade als informative Kennzahlen zum detaillierten Vergleich der Klauendaten einer Herde zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten.
The outcome of anorexia nervosa in the 20th century.

OBJECTIVE The present review addresses the outcome of anorexia nervosa and whether it changed over the second half of the 20th century. METHOD A total of 119 study series covering 5,590 patients suffering from anorexia nervosa that were published in the English and German literature were analyzed with regard to mortality, global outcome, and other psychiatric disorders at follow-up. RESULTS There were large variations in the outcome parameters across studies. Mortality estimated on the basis of both crude and standardized rates was significantly high. Among the surviving patients, less than one-half recovered on average, whereas one-third improved, and 20% remained chronically ill. The normalization of the core symptoms, involving weight, menstruation, and eating behaviors, was slightly better when each symptom was analyzed in isolation. The presence of other psychiatric disorders at follow-up was very common. Longer duration of follow-up and, less strongly, younger age at onset of illness were associated with better outcome. There was no convincing evidence that the outcome of anorexia nervosa improved over the second half of the last century. Several prognostic features were isolated, but there is conflicting evidence. Most clearly, vomiting, bulimia, and purgative abuse, chronicity of illness, and obsessive-compulsive personality symptoms are unfavorable prognostic features. CONCLUSIONS Anorexia nervosa did not lose its relatively poor prognosis in the 20th century. Advances in etiology and treatment may improve the course of patients with anorexia nervosa in the future.
A Review on Biological Control and Metabolism of Aflatoxin

The series of events that led to the discovery of aflatoxin as a potent carcinogen, its biosynthesis, mechanism of action, structure-function relationship provide interesting insight into the economical and technological factors involved in the development of an effective control measure for the toxin. Scientists all over the world are making continuous efforts to explore a generalized process of detoxification, which can bring down the toxin content in heterogeneous commodities to a threshold level. In this article biological control methods with special emphasis on in vivo and in vitro enzymatic detoxification of aflatoxin have been reviewed. Future areas of research involving large-scale enzymatic detoxification and modified atmosphere storage are also discussed. Referee: Dr. F. S. Chu, 16458 Denhave Court, Chino Hills, CA 91709