Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distinct Roles of the Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium CyaY and YggX Proteins in the Biosynthesis and Repair of Iron-Sulfur Clusters

ABSTRACT Labile [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters found at the active sites of many dehydratases are susceptible to damage by univalent oxidants that convert the clusters to an inactive [3Fe-4S]1+ form. Bacteria repair damaged clusters in a process that does not require de novo protein synthesis or the Isc and Suf cluster assembly pathways. The current study investigates the participation of the bacterial frataxin ortholog CyaY and the YggX protein, which are proposed to play roles in iron trafficking and iron-sulfur cluster repair. Previous reports found that individual mutations in cyaY or yggX were not associated with phenotypic changes in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, suggesting that CyaY and YggX might have functionally redundant roles. However, we have found that individual mutations in cyaY or yggX confer enhanced susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. In addition, inactivation of the stm3944 open reading frame, which is located immediately upstream of cyaY and which encodes a putative inner membrane protein, dramatically enhances the hydrogen peroxide sensitivity of a cyaY mutant. Overexpression of STM3944 reduces the elevated intracellular free iron levels observed in an S. Typhimurium fur mutant and also reduces the total cellular iron content under conditions of iron overload, suggesting that the stm3944-encoded protein may mediate iron efflux. Mutations in cyaY and yggX have different effects on the activities of the iron-sulfur cluster-containing aconitase, serine deaminase, and NADH dehydrogenase I enzymes of S. Typhimurium under basal conditions or following recovery from oxidative stress. In addition, cyaY and yggX mutations have additive effects on 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase-dependent growth during nitrosative stress, and a cyaY mutation reduces Salmonella virulence in mice. Collectively, these results indicate that CyaY and YggX play distinct supporting roles in iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis and the repair of labile clusters damaged by univalent oxidants. Salmonella experiences oxidative and nitrosative stress within host phagocytes, and CyaY-dependent maintenance of labile iron-sulfur clusters appears to be important for Salmonella virulence.
A New Off-Pump Hybrid Open and Endovascular Repair to Treat Ductus Botalli and Ascendens Aneurysms

To report a combined ascending aorta and aortic arch hybrid repair, we performed off-pump with no aortic graft replacement. A 65-year-old man, developing progressive recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, underwent a computed tomography (CT) angiography detecting nonpatent residual ductus Botalli aneurysm and ascending aorta aneurysm. Due to severe multimorbidities, a less-invasive alternative was elaborated. In a first step, appropriate proximal landing zone for aortic stent grafting was achieved by ascending aorta diameter reduction, with epiaortic wrapping, and debranching the supra-aortic trunks. In the second step, endovascular stent grafts were deployed from proximal ascending aorta to descending aorta, excluding the ductus Botalli aneurysm. Six-month follow-up CT shows ductus Botalli aneurysm exclusion, stable stent graft position, and ascending diameter and patent and stenosis-free supra-aortic grafts. This case supports this alternative treatment to open aortic repair under circulatory arrest and deep hypothermia, especially in those patients considered unfit for such invasive treatment.
Human Three-Dimensional Endometrial Epithelial Cell Model To Study Host Interactions with Vaginal Bacteria and Neisseria gonorrhoeae

ABSTRACT Colonization of the endometrium by pathogenic bacteria ascending from the lower female reproductive tract (FRT) is associated with many gynecologic and obstetric health complications. To study these host-microbe interactions in vitro, we developed a human three-dimensional (3-D) endometrial epithelial cell (EEC) model using the HEC-1A cell line and the rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor technology. Our model, composed of 3-D EEC aggregates, recapitulates several functional/structural characteristics of human endometrial epithelial tissue, including cell differentiation, the presence of junctional complexes/desmosomes and microvilli, and the production of membrane-associated mucins and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). TLR function was evaluated by exposing the EEC aggregates to viral and bacterial products. Treatment with poly(I·C) and flagellin but not with synthetic lipoprotein (fibroblast-stimulating lipoprotein 1 [FSL-1]) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) significantly induced proinflammatory mediators in a dose-dependent manner. To simulate ascending infection, we infected EEC aggregates with commensal and pathogenic bacteria: Lactobacillus crispatus, Gardnerella vaginalis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. All vaginal microbiota and N. gonorrhoeae efficiently colonized the 3-D surface, localizing to crevices of the EEC model and interacting with multiple adjacent cells simultaneously. However, only infection with pathogenic N. gonorrhoeae and not infection with the other bacteria tested significantly induced proinflammatory mediators and significant ultrastructural changes to the host cells. The latter observation is consistent with clinical findings and illustrated the functional specificity of our system. Additionally, we highlighted the utility of the 3-D EEC model for the study of the pathogenesis of N. gonorrhoeae using a well-characterized ΔpilT mutant. Overall, this study demonstrates that the human 3-D EEC model is a robust tool for studying host-microbe interactions and bacterial pathogenesis in the upper FRT.
Fully automatic clustering system

In this paper, the fully automatic clustering system (FACS) is presented. It is a technique for clustering and vector quantization whose objective is the automatic calculation of the codebook of the right dimension, the desired error (or target) being fixed. At each iteration, FACS tries to improve the setting of the existing codewords and, if necessary, some elements are removed from or added to the codebook. In order to save on the number of computations per iteration, greedy techniques are adopted. It has been demonstrated, from a heuristic point of view, that the number of the codewords determined by FACS is very low and that the algorithm quickly converges toward the final solution.
Differential Influence of Nutrient-Starved Mycobacterium tuberculosis on Adaptive Immunity Results in Progressive Tuberculosis Disease and Pathology

ABSTRACT When infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, most individuals will remain clinically healthy but latently infected. Latent infection has been proposed to partially involve M. tuberculosis in a nonreplicating stage, which therefore represents an M. tuberculosis phenotype that the immune system most likely will encounter during latency. It is therefore relevant to examine how this particular nonreplicating form of M. tuberculosis interacts with the host immune system. To study this, we first induced a state of nonreplication through prolonged nutrient starvation of M. tuberculosis in vitro. This resulted in nonreplicating persistence even after prolonged culture in phosphate-buffered saline. Infection with either exponentially growing M. tuberculosis or nutrient-starved M. tuberculosis resulted in similar lung CFU levels in the first phase of the infection. However, between week 3 and 6 postinfection, there was a very pronounced increase in bacterial levels and associated lung pathology in nutrient-starved-M. tuberculosis-infected mice. This was associated with a shift from CD4 T cells that coexpressed gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) or IFN-γ, TNF-α, and interleukin-2 to T cells that only expressed IFN-γ. Thus, nonreplicating M. tuberculosis induced through nutrient starvation promotes a bacterial form that is genetically identical to exponentially growing M. tuberculosis yet characterized by a differential impact on the immune system that may be involved in undermining host antimycobacterial immunity and facilitate increased pathology and transmission.
Comparative Kinetics of Escherichia coli- and Staphylococcus aureus-Specific Activation of Key Immune Pathways in Mammary Epithelial Cells Demonstrates That S. aureus Elicits a Delayed Response Dominated by Interleukin-6 (IL-6) but Not by IL-1A or Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha

ABSTRACT Infections of the udder by Escherichia coli very often elicit acute inflammation, while Staphylococcus aureus infections tend to cause mild, subclinical inflammation and persistent infections. The molecular causes underlying the different disease patterns are poorly understood. We therefore profiled the kinetics and extents of global changes in the transcriptome of primary bovine mammary epithelial cells (MEC) after challenging them with heat-inactivated preparations of E. coli or S. aureus pathogens. E. coli swiftly and strongly induced an expression of cytokines and bactericidal factors. S. aureus elicited a retarded response and failed to quickly induce an expression of bactericidal factors. Both pathogens induced similar patterns of chemokines for cell recruitment into the udder, but E. coli stimulated their synthesis much faster and stronger. The genes that are exclusively and most strongly upregulated by E. coli may be clustered into a regulatory network with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) in a central position. In contrast, the expression of these master cytokines is barely regulated by S. aureus. Both pathogens quickly trigger an enhanced expression of IL-6. This is still possible after completely abrogating MyD88-dependent Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in MEC. The E. coli-specific strong induction of TNF-α and IL-1 expression may be causative for the severe inflammatory symptoms of animals suffering from E. coli mastitis, while the avoidance to quickly induce the synthesis of bactericidal factors may support the persistent survival of S. aureus within the udder. We suggest that S. aureus subverts the MyD88-dependent activation of immune gene expression in MEC.
Defect of CARD9 Leads to Impaired Accumulation of Gamma Interferon-Producing Memory Phenotype T Cells in Lungs and Increased Susceptibility to Pulmonary Infection with Cryptococcus neoformans

ABSTRACT Caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9 (CARD9) is an adaptor molecule signal that is critical for NF-κB activation and is triggered through C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), which are pattern recognition receptors that recognize carbohydrate structures. Previous studies have reported that Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal pathogen that causes meningoencephalitis in AIDS patients, is recognized through some CLRs, such as mannose receptors or DC-SIGN. However, the role of CARD9 in the host defense against cryptococcal infection remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we analyzed the role of CARD9 in the host defense against pulmonary infection with C. neoformans. CARD9 gene-disrupted (knockout [KO]) mice were highly susceptible to this infection, as shown by the reduced fungal clearance in the infected lungs of CARD9 KO mice, compared to that in wild-type (WT) mice. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production was strongly reduced in CARD9 KO mice during the innate-immunity phase of infection. Reduced IFN-γ synthesis was due to impaired accumulation of NK and memory phenotype T cells, which are major sources of IFN-γ innate-immunity-phase production; a reduction in the accumulation of these cells was correlated with reduced CCL4, CCL5, CXCL9, and CXCL10 synthesis. However, differentiation of Th17 cells, but not of Th1 cells, was impaired at the adaptive-immunity phase in CARD9 KO mice compared to WT mice, although there was no significant difference in the infection susceptibility between interleukin 17A (IL-17A) KO and WT mice. These results suggest that CARD9 KO mice are susceptible to C. neoformans infection probably due to the reduced accumulation of IFN-γ-expressing NK and memory phenotype T cells at the early stage of infection.
Stability analysis of Cohen-Grossberg neural networks

Without assuming boundedness and differentiability of the activation functions and any symmetry of interconnections, we employ Lyapunov functions to establish some sufficient conditions ensuring existence, uniqueness, global asymptotic stability, and even global exponential stability of equilibria for the Cohen-Grossberg neural networks with and without delays. Our results are not only presented in terms of system parameters and can be easily verified and also less restrictive than previously known criteria and can be applied to neural networks, including Hopfield neural networks, bidirectional association memory neural networks, and cellular neural networks.
Eff ect of Oral Administration of Korean Red Ginseng on Infl uenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection

Korean red ginseng (RG), which is a ginseng treated by heating and steaming, has biological activity similar to Panax ginseng. The effect of ginseng on influenza infection has not been studied although it is known to have a broad range of biological activities. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of RG extract on infl uenza A (H1N1) virus infection. We investigated the inhibitory effect of RG extract on plaque formation by infl uenza A virus in a cell-based plaque assay, and the effect of orally administered RG on infl uenza A virus infection in mice. RG extract, which was applied at a non-cytotoxic concentration, inhibited plaque formation by infl uenza A virus in the cell-based plaque assay. The orally administered RG extract ameliorated body weight loss and signifi cantly increased survival in mice infected with infl uenza A virus. Our results suggest that RG extract has components that reduce the severity of infection by infl uenza A virus and could potentially be used as a complement to treatment of infl uenza A virus infections.
Efficacy of argon-laser-mediated hot-balloon angioplasty

To overcome the abrupt closure and late restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), new technology termed 'hot balloon angioplasty' has been considered. A novel laser-heated hot balloon catheter has been developed to address these problems. Its feasibility and acute thermal effects in the porcine coronary arteries in vitro was studied. As the balloon material was teflon (heat-resistant up to 240 degree(s)C). The temperature of the balloon could rise abruptly. So, intima~media were welded while marked thermal injury was not detected in adventitial tissue.
Identiﬁcation and Characterization of a Novel Type III Secretion System in trh -Positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strain TH3996 Reveal Genetic Lineage and Diversity of Pathogenic Machinery beyond the Species Level (cid:1) †

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacterial pathogen causative of food-borne gastroenteritis. Whole-genome sequencing of V. parahaemolyticus strain RIMD2210633, which exhibits Kanagawa phenomenon (KP), revealed the presence of two sets of the genes for the type III secretion system (T3SS) on chromosomes 1 and 2, T3SS1 and T3SS2, respectively. Although T3SS2 of the RIMD2210633 strain is thought to be involved in human pathogenicity, i.e., enterotoxicity, the genes for T3SS2 have not been found in trh -positive (KP-negative) V. parahaemolyticus strains, which are also pathogenic for humans. In the study described here, the DNA region of approximately 100 kb that surrounds the trh gene of a trh -positive V. parahaemolyticus strain, TH3996, was sequenced and its genetic organization determined. This revealed the presence of the genes for a novel T3SS in this region. Animal experiments using the deletion mutant strains of a gene ( vscC2 ) for the novel T3SS apparatus indicated that the T3SS is essential for the enterotoxicity of the TH3996 strain. PCR analysis showed that all the trh -positive V. parahaemolyticus strains tested possess the novel T3SS-related genes. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that although the novel T3SS is closely related to T3SS2 of KP-positive V. parahaemo- lyticus , it belongs to a distinctly different lineage. Furthermore, the two types of T3SS2 lineage are also found among pathogenic Vibrio cholerae non-O1/non-O139 strains. Our ﬁndings demonstrate that these two distinct types are distributed not only within a species but also beyond the species level and provide a new insight into the pathogenicity and evolution of Vibrio species. s 65°C Custom-synthesized oligonucleotides Statistical analysis. Statistical signiﬁcance was determined using the t A P of was considered statistically signiﬁcant. Nucleotide
Noncoherent composite hypothesis testing receivers for extended range bistatic scatter radio WSNs

Scatter radio, i.e., communication by means of reflection, has emerged as a potential key-enabling technology for ultra low-cost, large-scale, ubiquitous sensor networking. This work studies bistatic scatter radio, where carrier emitter is dislocated from the software defined radio receiver. The ultimate goal of this work is to extend the communication range. Towards that goal, noncoherent channel coding is incorporated in bistatic scatter radio. Short block length channel codes are proposed with ultra low-complexity encoding, ideal for resource-constraint scatter radio tags. A novel composite hypothesis testing decoding rule is designed, that achieves high diversity order through interleaving. Simulation results corroborate the efficiency of the proposed noncoherent schemes over Rician fading and demonstrate that noncoherent setups offer comparable bit error rate (BER) performance with respect to coherent counterparts.
The effect of co-infection with hepatitis C virus on incidence of anaemia, liver transaminases and immunological markers among HIV patients on HAART in south west (Osun State) Nigeria.

Introduction: It is becoming clear that a major complication of HIV patients on HAART is coinfection with hepatitis C and its attendant sequalae such as liver cirrhosis and carcinoma. The aim is to determine the prevalence of anaemia, transaminitis in these co-infected patients. Materials and Methods: Three groups of patients were studied. There were a total of 44 male and 106 females included in the study. No children were among. Those co-infected with both HIV and HCV (group I), HIV only (group II) and negative for both viruses (Group III). Each group consists of 50 patients each. HIV status was determined utilizing determine and Unigold to detect HIV antibodies. HCV was determined by detecting the anti-HCV antibody (IgG) using third generation ELISA kit from DIA.PRO, Italy. The haematological indices were determined using the Sysmex Original Research Article Mabayoje et al.; BJMMR, 6(8): 804-813, 2015; Article no.BJMMR. 2015.254 805 haematology analyser. Liver transaminases were determined from the sera of the participants using Randox kits and absolute CD4 positive lymphocyte cells were determined using Partec cyflow (SL Green). The results were statistically analysed. Results: No case of anaemia was detected. CD4 counts in group I patients (HIV /HCV positive) and group II patients were clearly reduced. The CD 4 counts were markedly reduced when compared to the controls (group III) P<0.005. The liver enzymes were markedly raised in coinfected patients. Conclusion: The major observations in our group of co-infected patients was marked transaminitis and reduced CD 4 counts in co-infected patients. It is necessary to determine HCV genotypes to explain why our patients have not presented with increased cirrhosis and hepatic carcinoma.
Development of Galleria mellonella as an Alternative Infection Model for the Burkholderia cepacia Complex

ABSTRACT Burkholderia is an important bacterial genus with a complex taxonomy that contains species of both ecological and pathogenic importance, including nine closely related species collectively termed the Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC). In order to more thoroughly investigate the virulence of this bacterial complex of microorganisms, alternative infection models would be useful. To this end, we have adapted and developed the use of the Galleria mellonella wax moth larvae as a host for examining BCC infections. The experimental conditions affecting the BCC killing of the “wax worm” were optimized. BCC virulence levels were determined using 50% lethal doses, and differences were observed between both species and strains of the BCC. The BCC pathogenicity trends obtained compare favorably with results acquired using other published alternative infection models, as well as mammalian infection models. In addition, BCC killing activity was determined by directly measuring relative bacterial loads in three different BCC strains, thus demonstrating innate differences in BCC strain virulence. Finally, genetically mutated BCC strains were compared to a wild-type BCC strain in order to show concomitant reduction of BCC virulence and increased wax worm survival. For experimentation examining the virulent properties of the BCC, the wax worm has proven to be a useful alternative infection model.
Enzymatic Modification of Lipid A by ArnT Protects Bordetella bronchiseptica against Cationic Peptides and Is Required for Transmission

ABSTRACT Pathogen transmission cycles require many steps: initial colonization, growth and persistence, shedding, and transmission to new hosts. Alterations in the membrane components of the bacteria, including lipid A, the membrane anchor of lipopolysaccharide, could affect any of these steps via its structural role protecting bacteria from host innate immune defenses, including antimicrobial peptides and signaling through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). To date, lipid A has been shown to affect only the within-host dynamics of infection, not the between-host dynamics of transmission. Here, we investigate the effects of lipid A modification in a mouse infection and transmission model. Disruption of the Bordetella bronchiseptica locus (BB4268) revealed that ArnT is required for addition of glucosamine (GlcN) to B. bronchiseptica lipid A. ArnT modification of lipid A did not change its TLR4 agonist activity in J774 cells, but deleting arnT decreased resistance to killing by cationic antimicrobial peptides, such as polymyxin B and β-defensins. In the standard infection model, mutation of arnT did not affect B. bronchiseptica colonization, growth, persistence throughout the respiratory tract, recruitment of neutrophils to the nasal cavity, or shedding of the pathogen. However, the number of bacteria necessary to colonize a host (50% infective dose [ID50]) was 5-fold higher for the arnT mutant. Furthermore, the arnT mutant was defective in transmission between hosts. These results reveal novel functions of the ArnT lipid A modification and highlight the sensitivity of low-dose infections and transmission experiments for illuminating aspects of infectious diseases between hosts. Factors such as ArnT can have important effects on the burden of disease and are potential targets for interventions that can interrupt transmission.