Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tpl2 (MAP3K8) regulates the migration, differentiation, and function of critical innate immune cells during the inflammatory response

OF CRITICAL INNATE IMMUNE CELLS DURING THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE by SEAN MICHAEL ROWLEY (Under the Direction of Wendy Watford) ABSTRACT The protein kinase Tpl2 (MAP3K8) regulates innate inflammatory responses and is being actively pursued for therapeutic inhibition during chronic autoimmunity. Herein, we addressed the contribution of Tpl2 to pro-inflammatory responses of NK cells and macrophages. Despite the Tpl2-dependent regulation of IFN secretion by CD4 + T-cells, NK cell IFNγ production, STAT4 expression, and expression of cytotoxic machinery occurred independently of Tpl2. In contrast, tpl2 -/macrophages were functionally defective, as they displayed impaired chemokine and chemokine receptor expression following LPS stimulation and were defective in migrating in vivo to inflamed tissues. Tpl2 -/macrophages were also impaired in their differentiation towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype (M1) while conversely displaying an enhanced anti-inflammatory phenotype (M2). Overall, this work provides additional support for targeting Tpl2, through its effects on macrophage recruitment and differentiation, for the treatment of autoimmunity.
Eye size, flight speed, and Leuckart's Law in birds

Birds have the largest eyes, both relatively and absolutely, of any of the terrestrial vertebrates. Large avian eye size has been hypothesized to be an adaptation to flight as part of Leuckart's Law, the idea in biology that more swiftly moving animals have larger eyes. Increased spatial resolution is one result of larger eye sizes and may possibly improve an animal's ability to judge distances, of obvious importance for flight. Leuckart's Law in birds has previously been tested utilizing Plasticine eye models and body mass as a surrogate for flight speed. In this study, we test Leuckart's Law using axial length measurements of eyeballs obtained from wet bird specimens and flight speeds obtained from flying birds. We find no evidence to support Leuckart's Law: for 98 bird species across 6 orders, a regression of eye axial length vs. flight speed explains virtually none of the variance, with an r2 value of 0.001. Ducks, the fastest‐flying birds in our sample, exhibit only moderate eye sizes, while falcons, the largest‐eyed birds measured, have only moderate flight speeds. We therefore conclude that Leuckart's Law is not useful for explaining bird eye sizes.
Importance of Education and Nutrition Intervention on Drug Addiction Recovery

Addiction causes dietary and health problems that lead to malnutrition and psychological diseases. Therefore this research was carried out to study the impact of educational and nutritional intervention programs that focused on antioxidants and essential fatty acids especially omega 3. These programs aimed to improve the nutritional knowledge and modify attitudes, eating behavior, as well as to improve the nutritional status of the addicted patients.
A review on optimized K-means and FCM clustering techniques for biomedical image segmentation using level set formulation

Image segmentation plays a vital role in a research area of computer vision as well as image processing. One of the most popularly used image segmentation techniques are named as Clustering. It is a process of segmenting a non-homogenous image intensities into a homogeneous regions based on their similarity function. But, here the clustering techniques need a prior initialization of random cluster centers, which is a primary disadvantage. So, in order to get an “optimum” cluster centers we need to initialize a PSO algorithm in pre-processing an image. In this way successfully we can stay away from the drawback of sensitivity of initial esteems. Algorithm of PSO clustering, were widely utilized in recognition of pattern approaches just like an image segmentation, after initializing the PSO algorithm, it improves the clustering efficiency but we do have increasing of computational time based on the population size. At the same time few boundary leakages i.e., outliers presented in clustered outputs. So, in post-processing, we were introducing a level set formulation (LSF) to overcome the boundary leakages which were occurred in pre-processing of an image. Here in this paper, we give a brief description on few clustering methods at the same time some of the recent works by researchers on these methods and also we present K-means in addition with Fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering algorithm along with the Particle Swarm Optimization an application to a biomedical image for an efficient segmentation of the biomedical images. The performances of the segmentation outputs are compared using Dice similarity and Jaccard similarity values and it validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Intraspinal Epidural Hematoma in a Warfarinized Patient Presenting with Back Pain: A Case Report

Warfarin is an anticoagulant that is commonly used as thrombo-prophylaxis in patients at risk of thrombo-embolic events. However, the use of warfarin is known to cause hemorrhage due to its anticoagulation effect. Although the common sites of hemorrhage are gastrointestinal and genitourinary tract, it can also occur in the least expected location. We report a rare case of spinal cord compression secondary to intraspinal epidural hematoma as a result of overwarfarinization in a patient who had undergone liver transplant. The patient underwent emergency decompression laminectomy of spinal cord and hematoma evacuation after the
Anti-inflammatory cytokine production : regulation of DUBA expression proves as a new link between interleukin 1 receptor signaling and toll- like receptor 9

The interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R) and the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are highly homologous innate immune receptors that provide the first line of defense against infection. We show that IL-1R type I (IL-1RI) is essential for TLR9-dependent activation of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) and for production of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and type I interferon (IFN). Noncanonical K63-linked ubiquitination of TRAF3, which is essential for type I IFN and IL-10 production, was impaired in Il1r1-/- CD11 c+ dendritic cells. In contrast, degradative ubiquitination of TRAF3 was not affected in the absence of IL-1R1 signaling. Deubiquitinating enzyme A (DUBA), which selectively cleaves K63-linked ubiquitin chains from TRAF3, was up- regulated in the absence of IL-1R1 signaling. DUBA short interference RNA augmented the TLR9-dependent type I IFN response. Mice deficient in IL-1RI signaling showed reduced expression of IL-10 and type I IFN and increased susceptibility to dextran sulphate sodium-induced colitis and failed to mount a protective type I IFN response after TLR9 ligand (CpG) administration. Our data identifies a new molecular pathway by which IL-1 signaling attenuates TLR9-mediated proinflammatory responses
Influencia de la ingestión de presa contaminada con tres modernos insecticidas en "Chrysoperla carnea" (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Larvas de Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) fueron alimentadas con huevos de Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) tratados de forma residual en Torre de Potter con Azadiractina y Tebufenocida o con pulverizador manual con Spinosad en un rango de concentraciones de 10 a 10.000 mg i.a. /l. En una segunda serie de experimentos las larvas del depredador se alimentaron de pulgones que, a su vez, se habian desarrollado en habas tratadas con Azadiractina y Spinosad a las dosis maximas de campo recomendadas en Espana y Alemania, respectivamente. La alimentacion de larvas con huevos de S. cerealella tratados con Azadiractina y Tebufenocida no afecto significativamente ni el desarrollo ni la reproduccion de C. carnea, aunque se detecto una importante reduccion en el porcentaje de emergencia de adultos cuando los huevos fueron tratados con 10.000 mg i.a. /l de Azadiractina. Spinosad, a la dosis mas alta, impidio la emergencia de adultos. Las larvas alimentadas con pulgones criados en plantas tratadas con Azadiractina y Spinosad se desarrollaron con normalidad y no se observaron efectos en la fecundidad. Se comparan los resultados obtenidos mediante este tipo de contaminacion con otros metodos de exposicion a los insecticidas, explicando las causas de la selectividad de los mismos con este tipo de tratamiento.
Optimization of environmental and nutritional conditions for the production of alkaline protease by a newly isolated bacterium Bacillus cereus strain 146

Optimization of the growth conditions for maximum growth rate and alkaline protease production was carried out using the newly isolated mesophilic bacterium Bacillus cereus strain 146. The bacterium produced protease at maximum rate after 48 h of incubation at 37°C with agitation speed of 170 rpm and 4% (v/v) starter culture. The best carbon and organic nitrogen sources for this bacterium were glucose and beef extract, respectively. While the most effective inorganic nitrogen sources were urea and lysine. Supplementation of the culture medium with Mn2+ improved the protease production substantially. Under these conditions B. cereus strain 146 was found to produce alkaline protease at a maximum rate of approximately 2.0 μg/mL/min.
Population ecology of the dinoflagellate species Lingulodinium polyedrum in Southern California

Marine dinoflagellates are an ecologically important phytoplanktonic group that accounts for two thirds of all known harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. This study explores the population ecology of Lingulodinium polyedrum (F. Stein) J.D. Dodge, a common bloom-forming dinoflagellate species in Southern California. Lingulodinium polyedrum is not considered a HAB species, but functions as one of the main model organisms for dinoflagellate biology. As such, knowledge about this species also contributes significantly to the understanding of dinoflagellate population dynamics at a more general level. In an attempt to understand some of the complex interactions that govern L. polyedrum population ecology, laboratory experiments of life cycle control and intraspecific phenotypic diversity were linked with an in situ study of the population dynamics and the intraspecific genetic diversity of this species in coastal waters of Southern California. The life cycle experiments showed that processes such as gametogenesis and ecdysis of L. polyedrum are influenced by photon flux density (PFD) and gave a first indication for an involvement of the photosynthetic apparatus in the induction of gametogenesis in dinoflagellates. The light acclimation experiments revealed, for the first time, intraspecific phenotypic diversity in L. polyedrum. The two studied strains differed distinctly in their light requirements and light acclimation ‘strategies’. For the study of intraspecific genetic diversity in L. polyedrum a novel method was developed that allowed the genotyping of individual cells. The application of this novel approach to natural populations showed that population genetic exchange of L. polyedrum in the Southern California Bight is tied to water circulation patterns and that both habitat structure and environmental change leave their signatures in the population genetic composition of L. polyedrum. This thesis represents one of the most comprehensive studies of dinoflagellate population ecology and builds the basis for the development of a holistic concept of the population ecology of L. polyedrum and other dinoflagellate species.
Mitochondrial Genomics: structure, inheritance andphylogenetic utility of the Mitochondrial genome in Bivalviaand Insecta

This PhD Thesis is the result of my research activity in the last three years. My main research interest was centered on the evolution of mitochondrial genome (mtDNA), and on its usefulness as a phylogeographic and phylogenetic marker at different taxonomic levels in different taxa of Metazoa. From a methodological standpoint, my main effort was dedicated to the sequencing of complete mitochondrial genomes, and the approach to whole-genome sequencing was based on the application of Long-PCR and shotgun sequences. Moreover, this research project is a part of a bigger sequencing project of mtDNAs in many different Metazoans’ taxa, and I mostly dedicated myself to sequence and analyze mtDNAs in selected taxa of bivalves and hexapods (Insecta). Sequences of bivalve mtDNAs are particularly limited, and my study contributed to extend the sampling. Moreover, I used the bivalve Musculista senhousia as model taxon to investigate the molecular mechanisms and the evolutionary significance of their aberrant mode of mitochondrial inheritance (Doubly Uniparental Inheritance, see below). In Insects, I focused my attention on the Genus Bacillus (Insecta Phasmida). A detailed phylogenetic analysis was performed in order to assess phylogenetic relationships within the genus, and to investigate the placement of Phasmida in the phylogenetic tree of Insecta. The main goal of this part of my study was to add to the taxonomic coverage of sequenced mtDNAs in basal insects, which were only partially analyzed.
Characterization of swine leukocyte antigen polymorphism by sequence-based and low-resolution typing methods

Der Haupthistokompatibilitatskomplex wird im Schwein durch die Klasse I und Klasse II Swine Leukocyte Antigen (SLA) Gencluster kodiert. Die hochpolymorphen SLA Gene kodieren fur eine Reihe von Glykoproteinen, deren Aufgabe darin besteht, prozessierte Peptidantigene auf der Oberflache von Zellen zu prasentieren und anschliesend in T-Zellen eine entsprechende Immunantwort auszulosen. Somit stellen SLA Genprodukte eine der wichtigsten Determinanten innerhalb der porcinen Immunantwort auf Infektion und Vakzination dar. Die Mehrheit der in Osterreich fur die Fleischerzeugung verwendeten Schweinerassen stellt eine F2 Generation dar. Diese Tiere sind Nachkommen einer F1 Generation der Edelschwein/Landrasse, die mit Pietrain-Ebern gepaart wird. Somit ist das SLA Allel- und Haplotypen-Repertoire in der Nachkommenschaft festgelegt und aufgrund des Repertoires der Elterntiere begrenzt. Diese Arbeit beschreibt sowohl die Charakterisierung der SLA Klasse I (SLA1, SLA2, SLA3) als auch der Klasse II (DRB1, DQB1, DQA) Gene von 27 reinrassigen Pietrain Schweinen anhand der Sequenz-basierten (SBT) und der PCR-basierten Methode unter der Verwendung von sequenzspezifischen Primern (PCR-SSP). Insgesamt wurden 15 Klasse I und 12 Klasse II Haplotypen in dieser Gruppe von Schweinen identifiziert. Der haufigste auftretende SLA Haplotyp ist Lr-43.13 (SLA-1*11XX-SLA-3*04XX-SLA-2*04XX-DRB1*0901-DQB1*0801-DQA*03XX) der in sieben Individuen in einer Frequenz von 13,0% detektiert wurde. Zusatzlich wurden drei Klasse I und zwei Klasse II Haplotypen ermittelt, die bisher noch in keiner Schweinepopulation charakterisiert wurden. Dies lasst den Schluss zu, dass die Pietrain Rasse eine zuchtspezifische Einschrankung der SLA Gendiversitat aufweist. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit konnen zu einem besseren Verstandnis der Beeinflussung der SLA Gene auf unterschiedliche immunologische und pathophysiologische Bedingungen fuhren. Weiters ist es moglich, effektivere Impfstoffe herzustellen, um somit die gesundheitliche Fitness der in Osterreich vorkommenden Schweinepopulation zu erhohen.
Quantitative analysis of retinal function in early stages of retinal degeneration in the rd1 mouse

Recommended Citation Nylen, Erik Lee. "Quantitative analysis of retinal function in early stages of retinal degeneration in the rd1 mouse. iii My greatest concern was what to call it. I thought of calling it 'information,' but the word was overly used, so I decided to call it 'uncertainty. ' When I discussed it with John von Neumann, he had a better idea. Von Neumann told me, 'You should call it entropy, for two reasons. In the first place your uncertainty function has been used in statistical mechanics under that name, so it already has a name. In the second place, and more important, nobody knows what entropy really is, so in a debate you will always have the advantage. ' Claude Shannon Scientific American iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Dr. Edwin Dove for serving as an outstanding adviser and providing me with much support since the first day I set foot on campus at Iowa. I give many thanks to support of my personal and professional interests. have helped me at each juncture. I thank all of my friends, notably those in Dance Marathon and ICHI, for much needed support over the years. I give the highest acknowledgment to my brother, Paul, without whom I would have never accomplished any of this thesis, as well as Mom, Dad, my grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles, for their unwavering support of my every venture, no matter how far off the path it may seem. v ABSTRACT In this thesis, I use a range of techniques in computational neuroscience, communication theory, and electrophysiology to characterize functional changes that occur in early stages of retinal degeneration in the mouse. At post natal day 14, retinal ganglion cells in the rd1 mouse exhibit peculiar differences from age matched controls: an increased latency of responses to the onset of a light stimulus, decreased spike count in response to stimulus onset, increased spontaneous firing activity, and a decrease in information transmission. I propose this is due to an up-regulation of OFF bipolar cell excitation, a critical factor in functional changes seen in rd1, and use innovative techniques to discover findings that support these claims.
Ancient HLA: a preliminary survey

Recovery of single copy nuclear DNA sequences from ordinary archaeological tooth and bone specimens is necessary for testing models of the history and evolution of nuclear genes, and to complement results from ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses. Here we present a preliminary survey of ancient single copy nuclear DNA survival in archaeological material originating from a number of sites in Europe. The HLA complex and X-Y homologous amelogenin gene were chosen as targets because of their value in the study of kinship, gender, demography and immunity, and for the potential for DNA-independent verification of results. HLA-B27 and amelogenin DNA analysis of modem blood samples (n = 431) were used to establish the reliability of the protocols. DNA purification methods were refined using forensic material as a model substrate, and applied to a study of amelogenin and HLA-DPBl survival in forensic (n = 82) and archaeological (n = 92) specimens. Generalised linear interactive modelling established that there was no relationship between positive results and the presence or level of contamination detected in negative controls, Most promising results in this preliminary survey were obtained from specimens exhibiting superior gross morphological preservation from archaeological sites in Greece. Amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction analysis of Palaeolithic bone from Thessaly yielded an identical HLA-DRBl type from samples obtained from separate specimens from the same skeleton.
Composite Farming of the Green Mussel, Perna viridis with the Shrimp Penaeus monodon along the Okhamandal Coast of Arabian Sea in Gujarat

The results of an onshore raft-cum-rope culture experiment of green mussel, Perna viridis with shrimp, Penaeus monodon in a shallow sea water pond system are reported. The seed of P . viridis measuring an average of 21.2 mm in length and 1.2 g in weight attained an average of 68.5 mm in length and 24.2 g shell on weight in 150 days of culture. The harvested mussel had a meat content of 32.66%. The results, when compared with the reported data in open sea farming from other parts of the country, were found to be highly encouraging.
AB1334 Evaluation of dynamics of mortality from diseases of the bone-muscular system in karakalpakstan

Background Karakalpakstan is now mostly desert and is located in western Uzbekistan near the Aral Sea, in the lowest part of the Amu Darya basin. The desertification of the Aral Sea has brought a lot of dust in the air, and respiratory diseases – bone-muscular diseases – have become the largest local health problem among the population of Karakalpakstan, a region in the North Western part of Uzbekistan. Objectives To asses of the dynamics of mortality trends from diseases of bone-muscular system (BMS) in the Karakalpakstan region in 2010–2015 Methods To study mortality from BMS, databases on mortality of residents in Karakalpakstan for 2010–2015, obtained with the help of an automated mortality registration system, were used to automatically code and select the original cause of death in accordance with the rules of ICD-10. Results In the Karakalpakstan region, there has been a trend of a significant increase in mortality from BMS from 3.0 in 2010 to 5.6 per 1 00 000 in 2015 (1.9 times), with a slight decrease in the death rate from the BMS in Uzbekistan from 1.7 in 2010 to 1.6 in 2015 per 100 thousand people (the rate of decline is 5.9%). So that Decrease in the mortality rate from diseases of the musculoskeletal system in Uzbekistan from 1.7 to 1.6 per 100 thousand of population (the rate of decrease is 5.9%) and the growth of mortality rates from diseases of the musculoskeletal system was 1.9 times from 2001 to 2015 Conclusions The growth of mortality rates from musculoskeletal system diseases in the Karakalpakstan region is not related to the rates of overall mortality of the population, but is more reliable due to the use of the automated system for recording mortality, as well as training physicians to codify medical and statistical diagnoses. References [1] Wolfe F, Michaud K, Gefeller O, et al. Predicting mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2003;48(6):1530–1542 [2] Wolfe F, Ross K, Hawley DJ, et al. The prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis and undifferentiated polyarthritis syndrome in the clinic: a study of 1141 patients. Journal of Rheumatology1993;20(12):2005–2009. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Effects of individual phenotypic variation on predator-prey relationships of xanthid crabs in North Inlet estuary, South Carolina

Body size is widely recognized as an important functional trait of predators due to its influence on prey consumption rates and diet breadth. Yet it remains unclear how the diversity of this trait within predator populations affects prey communities. To test the effects of intraspecific predator size diversity, we manipulated the number of size classes (i.e. size diversity) in the Xanthid crab Panopeus herbstii and measured their consumption of the bivalve community in intertidal oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs. In the experiment, the presence of large crabs, but not size diversity, significantly affected total prey biomass consumption. The largest size class of crabs effectively consumed all bivalve prey types whereas smaller crabs were restricted in diet breadth. As such, any treatment containing large individuals had significantly greater total prey consumption and more uniform consumption across the prey community than those without. We also investigated the potential for oyster harvest by humans to alter crab population size structure at the study site (North Inlet, South Carolina, USA). Specifically, anthropogenic oyster harvest, which acts to compress the surficial shell layer in reefs, could reduce crab body size by reducing the availability of refuge habitat 1 Toscano, B.J. and B.D. Griffen. 2012. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 445: 65-74. Reprinted here with permission of publisher.