Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nuclear factor κB is a key transcription factor in the duodenal contractility alterations induced by lipopolysaccharide

Alterations in intestinal motility are one of the features of sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This study investigated the role of the nuclear transcription factor κB (NF‐κB) in the LPS‐induced duodenal contractility alterations, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and production of cytokines in rabbit duodenum. Rabbits were treated with saline, LPS, sulfasalazine + LPS, pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) + LPS or RO 106‐9920 + LPS. Contractility studies were performed in an organ bath. The formation of products of oxidative damage to proteins (carbonyls) and lipids (malondialdehyde and 4‐hydroxyalkenals) was quantified in intestinal tissue and plasma. The protein expression of NF‐κB was measured by Western blot. The DNA binding activity of NF‐κB was evaluated by transcription factor activity assay. The expression of interleukin‐1β, tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), interleukin‐6, interleukin‐10 and interleukin‐8 mRNA was determined by RT‐PCR. Sulfasalazine, PDTC and RO 106‐9920 blocked the inhibitory effect of LPS on contractions induced by ACh in the longitudinal smooth muscle of rabbit duodenum. Sulfasalazine, PDTC and RO 106‐9920 reduced the increased levels of malondialdehyde and 4‐hydroxyalkenals and the carbonyls induced by LPS in plasma. Lipopolysaccharide induced the activation, translocation to the nucleus and DNA binding of NF‐κB. Lipopolysaccharide increased the mRNA expression of interleukin‐6 and TNF‐α in duodenal tissue, and this effect was partly reversed by PDTC, sulfasalazine and RO 106‐9920. In conclusion, NF‐κB mediates duodenal contractility disturbances, the generation of ROS and the increase in the expression of interleukin‐6 and TNF‐α induced by LPS. Sulfasalazine, PDTC and RO 106‐9920 may be therapeutic drugs to reduce these effects.
An unusual cause of delayed recovery from anesthesia

Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology | July-September 2012 | Vol 28 | Issue 3 415 She was successfully weaned off the ventilator and trachea extubated after 24 h. She was discharged from hospital on the 14th postoperative day without any obvious motor, sensory, or visual deficit. Patient was accepting feed normally and was free of abnormal body movements. On review, 3 months after surgery, patient was clinically and radiologically normal [Figure 3].
A health club for a community school in south‐eastern Nigeria: influence on adult perception of onchocerciasis and compliance with community‐based ivermectin therapy

Summary The impact of a school health club on adult perception of onchocerciasis and compliance with ivermectin was evaluated in an onchocerciasis‐endemic community in southeastern Nigeria. Venous blood was collected from each of 26, 32 and 124 randomly selected subjects during ivermectin distribution programmes in 1995 1996 and 1997 respectively. Ivermectin concentrations were measured in the samples. Data was also collected from 334 and 319 randomly selected household heads or their representatives (aged 24 to 65 years) before and after health talks by schoolchildren, using interviewer‐administered questionnaires. There was an increasing number of subjects who participated in control programmes (116 in 1995, 437 in 1996 and 2055 in 1997). Compliance with ivermectin treatment was low (53.9%) in 1995 but increased dramatically (90.1%) in 1997. A significant proportion (χ2= 108.7, df = 1, P < 0.0001) of respondents knew about onchocerciasis after health education, predominantly from health workers (64.5%) before the tests and children (92.3%) after. Knowledge and beliefs about causative agents (χ2= 266.4, df = 5, P < 0.0001), diagnostic method (χ2= 207.4, df = 3, P < 0.0001), prevention (χ2= 67.0, df = 4, P < 0.0001) of onchocerciasis and the effectiveness of ivermectin (χ2= 40.4, df = 1, P < 0.0001) also differed significantly between the periods before and after tests. The school health club increased adult knowledge about onchocerciasis and its treatment. Schoolchildren could therefore supplement the information, education and communication (IEC) aspect of health care delivery in a community through such health clubs.
Defective CD8+CD28− regulatory T cell suppressor function in rheumatoid arthritis is restored by tumour necrosis factor inhibitor therapy

Balanced immunoregulatory networks are essential for maintenance of systemic tolerance. Disturbances in the homeostatic equilibrium between inflammatory mediators, immune regulators and immune effector cells are implicated directly in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study we characterize the peripheral blood CD8+CD28− regulatory T cells (Treg) contribution to the immunoregulatory network in health and in RA. In health, CD8+CD28− Treg are suppressive but, unlike CD4+Treg, they function predominantly through the action of soluble mediators such as interleukin (IL)‐10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β. Neutralization of TGF‐β consistently reduced CD8+CD28− Treg suppressor function in vitro. RA, CD8+CD28− Treg are increased numerically, but have reduced expression of inducible co‐stimulator (ICOS) and programmed death 1 (PD‐1) compared to healthy or disease controls. They produce more IL‐10 but autologous T cells express less IL‐10R. This expression was found to be restored following in‐vitro addition of a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi). Deficiencies in both the CD8+CD28− Treg population and reduced sensitivity of the T responder cells impact upon their regulatory function in RA. TNFi therapy partially restores CD8+CD28− Treg ability in vivo and in vitro, despite the defects in expression of functionally relevant molecules by RA CD8+CD28− Treg compared to healthy controls. This study places CD8+CD28− Treg cells in the scheme of immune regulation alongside CD4+ Treg cells, and highlights the importance of understanding impaired responsiveness to regulation that is common to these suppressor subsets and their restored function in response to TNFi therapy.
A cobotic solution for surgical applications

The French commissariat for atomic energy (CEA) has developed the Surgicobot to assist surgeons in performing high risk maxillo‐facial and orthopaedic operations. The solution makes use of Virtuose, a CEA‐developed haptic system that provides a force‐feedback function to prevent the surgeon from moving his instruments too close to vital nerves.
Effect of Medium Composition on the Denitrification of Nitrate by Paracoccus denitrificans

The course of denitrification of nitrate in static cultures of Paracoccus denitrificans was studied. Reduction of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen without accumulation of nitrite because of parallel and balanced activities of nitrate and nitrite reductases was observed in nutrient broth. In minimal liquid cultures supplemented with either methanol, acetate, or ethanol as a sole carbon source, substantial amounts of nitrite (up to 70%) accumulated. The reduction in nitrite concentration began just after the transformation of nitrate to nitrite was completed. The addition of some growth factors to minimal media shortened the bacterial biomass doubling time. A correlation coefficient of 0.71 between the doubling time and the amount of accumulated nitrite in cultures was found. My results indicated that the type of denitrification carried out by P. denitrificans is not stable and depends on the nutritional composition of the culture medium.
A Novel Conception Based Texts Classification Method

Text classification has been widely used to assist users with the discovery of useful information from the Internet. However, Current text classification systems are based on the “Bag of Words” (BOW) representation, which only accounts for term frequency in the documents, and ignores important semantic relationships between key terms. To overcome this problem, previous work attempted to enrich text representation by means of manual intervention or automatic document expansion. The achieved improvement is unfortunately very limited, due to the poor coverage capability of the dictionary, and to the ineffectiveness of term expansion. Fortunately, DBpedia appeared recently which contains rich semantic information. In this paper, we proposed a method compiling DBpedia knowledge into document representation to improve text classification. It facilitates the integration of the rich knowledge of DBpedia into text documents, by resolving synonyms and introducing more general and associative concepts. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we have performed an empirical evaluation using SVM calssifier on several real data sets. The experimental results show that our proposed framework, which integrates hierarchical relations, synonym and associative relations with traditional text similarity measures based on the BOW model, does improve text classification performance significantly.
Meta-analytic evidence for massive catch-up and plasticity in physical , socio-emotional , and cognitive development

Background: Adopted children have been said to be difficult children, scarred by their past experiences in maltreating families or neglecting orphanages, or by genetic or preand perinatal problems. Is (domestic or international) adoption an effective intervention in the developmental domains of physical growth, attachment security, cognitive development and school achievement, self-esteem, and behaviour problems? Method: Through a series of meta-analyses on more than 270 studies that include more than 230,000 adopted and non-adopted children and their parents an adoption catch-up model was tested. Results: Although catch-up with current peers was incomplete in some developmental domains (in particular, physical growth and attachment), adopted children largely outperformed their peers left behind. Adoptions before 12 months of age were associated with more complete catch-up than later adoptions for height, attachment, and school achievement. International adoptions did not lead to lower rates of catch-up than domestic adoptions in most developmental domains. Conclusions: It is concluded that adoption is an effective intervention leading to massive catch-up. Domestic and international adoptions can be justified on ethical grounds if no other solutions are available. Humans are adapted to adopt, and adoption demonstrates the plasticity of child development.
Chronic Pain, Comorbid Medical Conditions, and Associated Risk Factors in Kuwait: Gender and Nationality Differences.

OBJECTIVE Chronic pain is an international health problem that imposes enormous costs on societies around the world. There is good reason to suspect that chronic pain is a serious health issue in Kuwait and is associated with comorbid medical conditions like diabetes. The aim of this study is to examine the report of pain and incidence of medical comorbidities among a large convenience sample of patients treated at a private rehabilitation center in Kuwait and to examine differences in patient groups based on age, gender, and Kuwaiti nationality. METHODS This study examined intake data from 2,103 patients treated at a rehabilitation center in Kuwait. Most of the subjects were female (55.4%) and averaged 43.3 years of age (±14.5, range 18-88). Sixty nine percent were Kuwaiti citizens and 57.9% were employed. RESULTS Marked differences in pain and health-related conditions were found between Kuwaiti nationals and non-Kuwaitis, with significantly increased incidences of hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, and cardiac and respiratory problems among the Kuwaitis (P < 0.001). Notable gender differences were also identified with women reporting more intense, widespread pain, and reporting more comorbid medical problems compared with men (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This extensive survey study that found female Kuwaitis to have a higher incidence of pain and medical comorbidities than males and non-Kuwaitis highlights the role of cultural factors in contributing to pain and comorbid medical conditions. This information is critical in organizing resources to implement adequate healthcare services and behavioral interventions in Kuwait and other Arab countries to improve pain and health-related conditions.
SASSE: the collaborative editor

Writing k very often a collaborative activity. Despite this, very little is understood about how people write together, and very few systems are available to support this activity. This video presents the results of our studies into collaborative writing, and shows how the results of our work have been applied to the design of SAS SE (Synchronous Asynchronous Structured Shared Editor).
Pixel-variant Local Homography for Fisheye Stereo Rectification Minimizing Resampling Distortion

Large field-of-view fisheye lens cameras have attracted more and more researchers' attention in the field of robotics. However, there does not exist a convenient off-the-shelf stereo rectification approach which can be applied directly to fisheye stereo rig. One obvious drawback of existing methods is that the resampling distortion (which is defined as the loss of pixels due to under-sampling and the creation of new pixels due to over-sampling during rectification process) is severe if we want to obtain a rectification with epipolar line (not epipolar circle) constraint. To overcome this weakness, we propose a novel pixel-wise local homography technique for stereo rectification. First, we prove that there indeed exist enough degrees of freedom to apply pixel-wise local homography for stereo rectification. Then we present a method to exploit these freedoms and the solution via an optimization framework. Finally, the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method have been verified on real fisheye lens images. The rectification results show that the proposed approach can effectively reduce the resampling distortion in comparison with existing methods while satisfying the epipolar line constraint. By employing the proposed method, dense stereo matching and 3D reconstruction for fisheye lens camera become as easy as perspective lens cameras.
The Gospel of St. Matthew

Part of "The Penguin New Testament Commentaries", this is Saint Matthew's Gospel, which is the most structured of all and it is centred on Jesus' teachings. Although he undoubtedly drew on Mark (and perhaps on the source known as Q), Matthew always shaped and supplemented such material to make it his own. It is Matthew, for example, who lays most stress on miracles and the fulfilment of prophecies, on the Jews' rejection of Jesus, on reward and punishment in the next life and on the imminent end of the world. All these themes reflect a first-century outlook that is alien to modern readers. In this commentary, however, J.C. Fenton cuts through the details and penetrates to the heart of the Gospel to help the reader "use it as Matthew intended it to be used".
Design of pick and place robot with identification and classification object based on RFID using STM32VLDISCOVERY

Pick and Place Robot is a type of robot with “Pick and Place mechanism” designed to ease the displacement of objects from 1 position to another as desired. Some systems in the industries embrace the efficiency which is a production line usually enabled in order to produce several different types of objects in turn. Based on these circumstances, Pick and Place robot was designed to have 9 laying position divided into 3 main groups, namely A, B, and C and 2 disposal positions included in group X for objects instead of main group. The sensors used for detecting and classifying objects are using an RFID system (Radio Frequency Identification) because each RFID tag has a unique code and different from another. STM32VLDISCOVERY was used as a main controller for displacement movement of objects in the robot and classifying objects simultaneously. STM32VLDISCOVERY is a development kit integrated with a microcontroller STM32F100RBT6B which has a microprocessor based on ARM Cortex-M3. The classification system uses major ASCII 8th and 9th data from RFID tags to distinguish objects in each group. Based on the test of the entire system, Pick and Place robot successfully worked to move the specimen that has been mounted RFID tag to a predetermined position according to the group of objects and whether the position is empty or not.
Phyto-relief CC: prevention of cold episodes. Control of signs/symptoms and complications.

The aim of this supplement, registry study was to evaluate the effects of the use of standardized, oral supplement (Phyto-Relief CC, Alchem). Phyto-Relief CC includes anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti- edema natural compounds. Increased salivation produced by ginger is useful in the prevention of cold episodes and on signs and symptoms associated to the episodes by increasing saliva and its content (i.e. lysozyme). Main targets of the study were the evaluation of the occurrence of episodes and the reduction of signs/symptoms, the reduction of days of disease, the reduction in the use of other treatments and the control of cold-related complications. RESULTS The two resulting registry groups were comparable. There were 5 full episodes (lasting at least 3 days) of cold in 61 registry subjects (8.1%) in comparison with 17 cases in 63 subjects (26.98%) in controls. Phyto-Relief CC subjects - even in this time-limited and small study population registry - had 30.1% of the episodes of the control group with a reduction of 69.88% of the cold episodes (p<0.0221). Also in the following, continuation, third week only 3 episodes of cold were recorded in the Phyto- Relief CC group vs 6 (50% reduction) observed in controls. All the other chosen parameters were better in the supplement group (p<0.05). Affected days (2.9;1.1 vs 4.6; 1.2 in controls), lost working days (0.58;0.5 vs 1.02;0.43 in controls. The use of any other OTC product, nasal drops, aspirin, Vit C, antihistamines, aerosols, the number of complications after 4 days were better in the Phyto-Relief CC group. Disease 'extension' (to >4 days), particularly tracheal and bronchial extension were significantly less frequent (p<0.05) with the supplement. No safety or tolerability problem was observed. In conclusion this preliminary study shows that Phyto-Relief CC may help the evolution of cold if used early, when initial symptoms could be identified. More specific evaluations and larger prevention studies are needed.
Why do arms extract less oxygen than legs during exercise?

To determine whether conditions for O2 utilization and O2 off-loading from the hemoglobin are different in exercising arms and legs, six cross-country skiers participated in this study. Femoral and subclavian vein blood flow and gases were determined during skiing on a treadmill at approximately 76% maximal O2 uptake (V(O2)max) and at V(O2)max with different techniques: diagonal stride (combined arm and leg exercise), double poling (predominantly arm exercise), and leg skiing (predominantly leg exercise). The percentage of O2 extraction was always higher for the legs than for the arms. At maximal exercise (diagonal stride), the corresponding mean values were 93 and 85% (n = 3; P < 0.05). During exercise, mean arm O2 extraction correlated with the P(O2) value that causes hemoglobin to be 50% saturated (P50: r = 0.93, P < 0.05), but for a given value of P50, O2 extraction was always higher in the legs than in the arms. Mean capillary muscle O2 conductance of the arm during double poling was 14.5 (SD 2.6) ml.min(-1). mmHg(-1), and mean capillary P(O2) was 47.7 (SD 2.6) mmHg. Corresponding values for the legs during maximal exercise were 48.3 (SD 13.0) ml.min(-1). mmHg(-1) and 33.8 (SD 2.6) mmHg, respectively. Because conditions for O2 off-loading from the hemoglobin are similar in leg and arm muscles, the observed differences in maximal arm and leg O2 extraction should be attributed to other factors, such as a higher heterogeneity in blood flow distribution, shorter mean transit time, smaller diffusing area, and larger diffusing distance, in arms than in legs.
La possession du monde : poids et mesures de la colonisation : XVIIIe-XXe siècles

Ce livre porte un regard neuf et ample tant sur la formation que sur l'ecroulement des empires coloniaux modernes de l'Europe, des Etats-Unis et du Japon. A son origine, il y a cette interrogation : pourquoi les historiens s'interessent-ils tellement aux causes et aux consequences de la colonisation, et si peu aux moyens utilises pour constituer ces domaines coloniaux aux dimensions colossales ? S'interroger sur les techniques de domination revient a poser la question des ecarts de developpement. C'est-a-dire de la superiorite de l'Occident sur les autres grandes regions du monde. Cette superiorite imprime-t-elle sa parque tout le temps que durent les conquetes coloniales en Asie, n au Maghreb, en Afrique noire, soit du milieu du XVIIIe siecle a la veille de la Premiere Guerre mondiale ? Autrement dit, avant que la revolution industrielle ne donne a l'Europe colonisatrice sa surpuissance, a quels outils d'empire pouvait-elle avoir recours pour l'emporter militairement, resister aux maladies tropicales meurtrieres, tenir les populations soumises ? Le plus etonnant est que l'homme blanc ait reussi a imposer partout sa suprematie, alors que du debut a la fin de la periode coloniale son inferiorite numerique le montre egare au milieu de nombreuses populations jaunes et noires. Est-ce pour cela que le cout humain de la colonisation et de la decolonisation, supporte par les metropoles, a ete si derisoire ? Ce livre s'appuie sur une masse imposante d'informations et de donnees pour retracer, dans la longue duree et dans une perspective comparative, une histoire melant les cinq continents.
Incorporation of mouse neural progenitors transplanted into the rat embryonic forebrain is developmentally regulated and dependent on regional and adhesive properties

During development, telencephalic neural progenitors acquire positional specification and give rise to distinct structures such as the striatum and cortex. Here, we examine, in vivo, the influence of developmental stage, cell‐surface molecules and regional differences along the dorso‐ventral and antero‐posterior axes on the selective incorporation of neural progenitors derived from different regions of the developing brain, utilizing a cross‐species in utero transplantation paradigm. Striatal progenitors derived from the embryonic day (E) 12–14 mouse lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) were observed consistently to incorporate into the developing striatum as early as 24–48 h following intraventricular injection into the E15–17 rat host. By removing cell‐surface molecules from the LGE progenitors, the pattern of incorporation was remarkably different with no preferential striatal incorporation. Cortical progenitors with intact cell‐surface molecules, by contrast, displayed little telencephalic (including striatal) incorporation as compared with precursors from the LGE. However, both progenitors from cortex and LGE incorporated widely into diencephalic and mesencephalic structures. The capacity for integration of precursors derived from the LGE and cortex gradually decreased during development of the host and was minimal in the postnatal day (P) 1 host. Unlike the telencephalic precursors, the vast majority of progenitors derived from the midbrain and cerebellar primordium (with cell‐surface molecules intact) incorporated into diencephalic and midbrain nuclei with only a few cells observed in the telencephalon. These results demonstrate that incorporation of neural progenitors across the ventricular wall in the embryonic host is strictly developmentally regulated, dependent on their position along the antero‐posterior axes and in the case of progenitors from the LGE is mediated by cell‐surface molecules expressed on the transplanted cells.