Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cancer associated human papillomaviruses: perinatal transmission and persistence

Sir, Downey and Luesley suggest that we have failed to consider the occuTrence of false positive PCR results in our study (Vol 101, June 1994). As stated in the paper, stringent precautions were taken to avoid this problem; three rooms were employed for the different stages of the procedure and 1 negative control (sterile water) was included for every five samples tested. All HPV-16 DNA positive samples from infants (detected using MY09/MY11 and then HPV-16 L1 specific primers) have now been confirmed as such using other PCRs based on the HPV-16 E7 and E6 genes. Moreover, in a t least two cases we have been able to detect the concordant presence of an HPV-16 genotypic variant (using PCR-single stranded conformation polymorphism analyses of the URR of HPV-16) in paired mother and child samples (unpublished data). It is unlikely that PCR inhibitors were present in the samples tested, as all HPV DNA negative samples gave positive results in the b-globin PCR. Fredericks et al. (1993) have also reported the transmission of HPVs from mother to child when both were tested six weeks after parturition. Thus, there is no doubt that HPVs may be transmitted from mother to child, whether infection occurs solely via passage through an infected birth canal or whether other routes of infection exist remains to be determined. We must point out that only 16/31 women in this study had a previous history of abnormal smears or genital warts. Such women were selectively recruited in order to demonstrate that transmission of genital HPVs may occur from mother to child. We presented the results of our preliminary studies. We have since recruited an additional 37 HPV positive women and have demonstrated that 49 YO of the infants were positive at 24 hours and 73 % remained positive at six weeks. One of the infants born to an HPV DNA positive mother had evidence of genital infection at both 24 hours and six weeks. Specimens obtained at six months are currently being tested using additional PCRs of increased sensitivity. We agree that further large controlled studies on other populations are now indicated. In our paper we suggested that the possibility of immunological tolerance as a consequence of perinatal infection with genital HPVs should be considered, as this might lead to a failure of the virus-specific immune response and persistence of the virus infection.
Firm: A Team Economic Organization for Gaining Pareto Optimum Specific Public Goods

The paper puts forward a new idea that firm is a team economic organization for gaining Pareto optimum specific public goods. Every production action needs both public goods and private goods. Specific public goods only can be produced by firm itself because government and social organization produce general public goods. If the production is linear non separability between privies, the output of public goods producing freely by privies is less than the Pareto optimum one. The idea is compatible to present theory, and can explain the basic theory phenomenon such as presence, line and scale of firm, etc.
FDP : filtrage et décomposition pour le calcul de plans séquentiels optimaux

Dans le domaine de la planification de nombreux systemes utilisent une representation de type CSP (problemes de satisfaction de contraintes). Le planificateur FDP que nous presentons dans cet article, fait partie de cette famille. Mais plutot que de faire appel a un resolveur de CSP independant, FDP travaille directement sur une structure similaire au graphe de planification de GRAPHPLAN, appelee fdp-structure, avec ses propres mecanismes de filtrage et de decomposition, adaptes au domaine specifique de la planification. Ainsi pour determiner s'il existe un plan solution, FDP developpe iterativement une fdp-structure jusqu'a trouver une solution ou atteindre une taille limite donnee. A chaque extension de la structure un plan est recherche. Differentes strategies de recherches ont ete envisagees. Actuellement, FDP utilise une recherche avant combinee a une decomposition par partitionnement des ensembles d'actions. FDP produit des plans sequentiels optimaux. Il integre diverses techniques pour reduire l'espace de recherche, notamment pour limiter l'enumeration de sequences d'actions redondantes, ou pour detecter des situations deja rencontrees. Compare a d'autres planificateurs sequentiels optimaux sur des jeux de problemes connus, FDP apparait competitif et regulier.
Phenotype and function of neonatal DC

Newborns face complex physical and immunological changes before and after birth. Although the uterus is a sterile environment for the fetus, it also contains non‐self material from the mother. Birth involves the transition from the sterile intra‐uterine environment to an environment rich in microbes and requires rapid induction of appropriate responses to control these microbes. In this review we focus on the similarities and differences of human and murine neonatal DC and their reaction to various stimuli. A better understanding of the newborn immune system – in particular, the DC–T‐cell interaction – will be beneficial for the development of improved strategies to prevent or treat infections in this vulnerable population and prepare the immune system to cope with allergens and tumors later in life.
Efficient Learning to Label Images

Conditional random field methods (CRFs) have gained popularity for image labeling tasks in recent years. In this paper, we describe an alternative discriminative approach, by extending the large margin principle to incorporate spatial correlations among neighboring pixels. In particular, by explicitly enforcing the sub modular condition, graph-cuts is conveniently integrated as the inference engine to attain the optimal label assignment efficiently. Our approach allows learning a model with thousands of parameters, and is shown to be capable of readily incorporating higher-order scene context. Empirical studies on a variety of image datasets suggest that our approach performs competitively compared to the state-of-the-art scene labeling methods.
A dual-mode wide-band bandpass filter using the microstrip loop resonator with tuning stubs

This paper proposes a dual-mode wide-band bandpass filter using the microstrip loop resonators with tuning stubs. The filter is based on microstrip loop resonator consists of four identical branches and each branch is a microstrip open-loop element. The introduction of two outer tuning stubs connecting opposite to the ports widens the passband and sharpens the stopbands. The microstip loop resonator have a wide stopband resulting from the dispersion effect and the slow-wave effect. The filter is designed at center frequency of 2.35 GHz and simulated by IE3D. The measurement of fabricated structure proposes 36% bandwidth and 0.28 dB insertion loss.
CFS : Inflammation , Immune Function , and Neuroendocrine Interactions Klimas and Koneru

Investigations into the underlying cause of chronic fatigue syndrome have advanced the field considerably in the past year. Gene microarray data have led to a better understanding of pathogenesis. Recent research has evaluated genetic signatures, described biologic subgroups, and suggested potential targeted treatments. Acute viral infection studies found that initial infection severity was the single best predictor of persistent fatigue. Genomic studies showed that persistent cases express Epstein Barr virus–specific genes and demonstrate abnormalities of mitochondrial function. Studies of immune dysfunction extended observations of natural killer cytotoxic cell dysfunction of the cytotoxic T cell through quantitative evaluation of intracellular perforins and granzymes. Other research has focused on a subgroup of patients with reactivated viral infection. These advances should result in targeted therapies that impact immune function, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation, and persistent viral reactivation.
Biodegradation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether by a Pure Bacterial Culture

ABSTRACT Biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by the hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Hydrogenophaga flavaENV735 was evaluated. ENV735 grew slowly on MTBE ortert-butyl alcohol (TBA) as sole sources of carbon and energy, but growth on these substrates was greatly enhanced by the addition of a small amount of yeast extract. The addition of H2 did not enhance or diminish MTBE degradation by the strain, and MTBE was only poorly degraded or not degraded by type strains of Hydrogenophaga or hydrogen-oxidizing enrichment cultures, respectively. MTBE degradation activity was constitutively expressed in ENV735 and was not greatly affected by formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, allyl thiourea, or acetylene. MTBE degradation was inhibited by 1-amino benzotriazole and butadiene monoepoxide. TBA degradation was inducible by TBA and was inhibited by formaldehyde at concentrations of >0.24 mM and by acetylene but not by the other inhibitors tested. These results demonstrate that separate, independently regulated genes encode MTBE and TBA metabolism in ENV735.
Bacterial catabolism of lignin‐derived aromatics: New findings in a recent decade Update on bacterial lignin catabolism

Lignin is the most abundant phenolic polymer; thus, its decomposition by microorganisms is fundamental to carbon cycling on earth. Lignin breakdown is initiated by depolymerization catalysed by extracellular oxidoreductases secreted by white-rot basidiomycetous fungi. On the other hand, bacteria play a predominant role in the mineralization of lignin-derived heterogeneous low-molecular-weight aromatic compounds. The outline of bacterial catabolic pathways for lignin-derived bi- and monoaryls are typically composed of the following sequential steps: (i) funnelling of a wide variety of lignin-derived aromatics into vanillate and syringate, (ii) O demethylation of vanillate and syringate to form catecholic derivatives and (iii) aromatic ring-cleavage of the catecholic derivatives to produce tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. Knowledge regarding bacterial catabolic systems for lignin-derived aromatic compounds is not only important for understanding the terrestrial carbon cycle but also valuable for promoting the shift to a low-carbon economy via biological lignin valorisation. This review summarizes recent progress in bacterial catabolic systems for lignin-derived aromatic compounds, including newly identified catabolic pathways and genes for decomposition of lignin-derived biaryls, transcriptional regulation and substrate uptake systems. Recent omics approaches on catabolism of lignin-derived aromatic compounds are also described.
Four Pins Assisted Reduction of Complex Segmental Femoral Fractures : a Technique for Closed Reduction *

Complex segmental femoral fractures are usually not amenable to closed reduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a series of patients who had undergone four pins assisted reduction and intramedullary nail fixation to determine the therapeutic effect of this closed reduction technique. Between December 2010 and January 2013, 15 consecutive patients with segmental femoral fractures were treated with four pins assisted reduction at our hospital. The patient was placed in a supine position on a radiolucent fracture table and a gentle traction was attempted on the limb. Usually, the proximal fracture segment exhibited the typical deformity of flexion, external rotation, and abduction, the middle segment exhibited adduction and distal fracture segment exhibited flexion. Four Schanz pins were placed percutaneously to fix one cortex and did not penetrate into the medullary cavity, and the “T” sharp handles were fixed on the Schanz pins. The fragments were then reduced by reversing the deforming forces for segmental fractures by two assistants. And then, the reduction could be easily achieved and intramedullary nail fixation was performed. Radiographs were evaluated for the quality of the reduction and fracture union. Closed reduction was achieved in all patients using the four pins technology. All 15 fractures united uneventfully. No patient had a rotational malunion or limb length discrepancy at the time of the last follow-up. Thirteen of the fifteen (86.7%) patients had anatomic reduction and two of them (13.3%) had minor varus alignment of 3° and 5°. Knee stiffness was observed in 2 patients and no implant failure was observed. Surgical treatment of complex segmental femoral fractures with four pins assisted reduction and intramedullary nail fixation techniques can result in excellent reductions and a high union rate.
Energy efficient real-time scheduling algorithm for mixed task set on multi-core processors

Energy optimisation is gaining greater significance in a wide range of systems from mobile devices to datacentres. Specifically, in battery powered real-time embedded systems where tasks are executed under hard timing constraints, energy optimisation poses a big challenge. This paper focuses on dynamic energy optimisation using a well-established technique namely dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). This work presents a real-time scheduling algorithm that uses DVFS on mixed task system containing periodic as well as aperiodic tasks on homogeneous multi-core processor. The proposed algorithm guarantees periodic task deadlines and offers minimum aperiodic task response times. Simulation analysis shows that the proposed scheme saves more energy as compared to cycle conserving, static FVS and non-DVFS scheduling algorithms. Further, it does not result in any response time degradation of aperiodic tasks as compared to other algorithms.
Zinc-Mediated Inhibition of Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase Activity and Expression Suppresses TNF-α and IL-1β Production in Monocytes by Elevation of Guanosine 3′,5′-Cyclic Monophosphate1

The trace element zinc affects several aspects of immune function, such as the release of proinflammatory cytokines from monocytes. We investigated the role of cyclic nucleotide signaling in zinc inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-1β release from primary human monocytes and the monocytic cell line Mono Mac1. Zinc reversibly inhibited enzyme activity of phosphodiesterase-1 (PDE-1), PDE-3, and PDE-4 in cellular lysate. It additionally reduced mRNA expression of PDE-1C, PDE-4A, and PDE-4B in intact cells. Although these PDE can also hydrolyze cAMP, only the cellular level of cGMP was increased after incubation with zinc, whereas cAMP was found to be even slightly reduced due to inhibition of its synthesis. To investigate whether an increase in cGMP alone is sufficient to inhibit cytokine release, the cGMP analogues 8-bromo-cGMP and dibutyryl cGMP as well as the NO donor S-nitrosocysteine were used. All three treatments inhibited TNF-α and IL-1β release after stimulation with LPS. Inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase-mediated cGMP synthesis with LY83583 reversed the inhibitory effect of zinc on LPS-induced cytokine release. In conclusion, inhibition of PDE by zinc abrogates the LPS-induced release of TNF-α and IL-1β by increasing intracellular cGMP levels.
Wideband slow light in one-dimensional grating waveguide

In this paper, we propose the simplest one-dimensional grating waveguide to obtain the wideband slow light. An ideal band indicating group index of 18.3 and bandwidth of 10.3 nm is obtained by plane wave expansion method, which is also verified in the finite-difference time-domain numerical simulation when a Gaussian pulse with bandwidth of 10.3 nm is input into the grating waveguide. Thus, this simple one-dimensional grating waveguide is believed to be widely used as wideband and low loss slow light delay for optical buffering and signal processing.
Combination of In Vivo Cryptorchid Testis and In Vitro Co- Culture System to Obtain High Purification and Proliferation of Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cells

Background: The present study was designed to evaluate the survival and proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells from cryptorchid mouse testis in co-culture system over a 3 weeks period. Materials and Methods: Sertoli and spermatogonial cells were isolated from bilateral cryptorchid mouse model testes. Isolated spermatogonial cells were co-cultured with Sertoli cells in minimal essential medium (α-MEM) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) for three weeks. The identity of the cells was confirmed through immunocytochemistry against Oct-4 and Vimentin. Results: Best results were achieved from the co-culture system spermatogonia which continued to proliferate, and eventually, type A spermatogonia colonies were found. Most of the cells in these colonies were Oct-4 positive. Conclusion: Bilateral cryptorchid surgery model is a good model for enrichment of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). These cells can be used for molecular characterization, genetic manipulation and restoration of male fertility.
Role of histological findings and pathologic diagnosis for detection of human papillomavirus infection in men

Early HPV infection in males is difficult to detect clinically and pathologically. This study assessed histopathology in diagnosing male genital HPV. External genital lesions (n = 352) were biopsied, diagnosed by a dermatopathologist, and HPV genotyped. A subset (n = 167) was diagnosed independently by a second dermatopathologist and also re‐evaluated in detail, tabulating the presence of a set of histopathologic characteristics related to HPV infection. Cases that received discrepant diagnoses or HPV‐related diagnoses were evaluated by a third dermatopathologist (n = 163). Across dermatopathologists, three‐way concordance was fair (k = 0.30). Pairwise concordance for condyloma was fair to good (k = 0.30–0.67) and poor to moderate for penile intraepithelial neoplasia (k = −0.05 to 0.42). Diagnoses were 44–47% sensitive and 65–72% specific for HPV 6/11‐containing lesions, and 20–37% sensitive and 98–99% specific for HPV 16/18. Presence of HPV 6/11 was 75–79% sensitive and 35% specific for predicting pathologic diagnosis of condyloma. For diagnosis of penile intraepithelial neoplasia, HPV 16/18 was 95–96% specific but only 40–64% sensitive. Rounded papillomatosis, hypergranulosis, and dilated vessels were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with HPV 6/11. Dysplasia was significantly (P = 0.001) associated with HPV 16/18. Dermatopathologists’ diagnoses of early male genital HPV‐related lesions appear discordant with low sensitivity, while genotyping may overestimate clinically significant HPV‐related disease. Rounded papillomatosis, hypergranulosis, and dilated vessels may help establish diagnosis of early condyloma. J. Med. Virol. 87:1777–1787, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Single‐leg drop landing movement strategies 6 months following first‐time acute lateral ankle sprain injury

No research exists predicating a link between acute ankle sprain injury‐affiliated movement patterns and those of chronic ankle instability (CAI) populations. The aim of the current study was to perform a biomechanical analysis of participants, 6 months after they sustained a first‐time acute lateral ankle sprain (LAS) injury to establish this link. Fifty‐seven participants with a 6‐month history of first‐time LAS and 20 noninjured participants completed a single‐leg drop landing task on both limbs. Three‐dimensional kinematic (angular displacement) and sagittal plane kinetic (moment of force) data were acquired for the joints of the lower extremity, from 200 ms pre‐initial contact (IC) to 200 ms post‐IC. Individual joint stiffnesses and the peak magnitude of the vertical component of the ground reaction force (GRF) were also computed. LAS participants displayed increases in hip flexion and ankle inversion on their injured limb (P < 0.05); this coincided with a reduction in the net flexion‐extension moment at the hip joint, with an increase in its stiffness (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the magnitude of the peak vertical GRF for either limb compared with controls. These results demonstrate that altered movement strategies persist in participants, 6 months following acute LAS, which may precipitate the onset of CAI.
The Potential Bioeffects of Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on Melatonin Levels & Related Oxidative Stress in Electric Utility Workers Exposed to 132 kV Substation

Electricity substations take electricity from power lines and transformer lines to transform it from high to low voltage and distribute to the consumers. These substations generate low frequency electromagnetic fields similar to those emitted from over head power lines and electrical appliances at home. The present study is focused on assessing the potential bioeffects of Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (ELF-EMFs) on melatonin level and oxidative stress biomarkers, in subjects occupationally exposed to 132 kV high voltage substation in Hyderabad, India. These subjects are involved in maintenance and installation of power line distribution at electricity transmission network. The ELFEMFs exposed subjects (n = 142) included the electric utility workers, who were compared with age, and socioeconomic status matched controls (n = 151). The subjects were professionally categorized based on their job titles, with different exposure levels, as administrative workers (low exposure), maintenance workers (medium exposure) and liveline workers (high exposure). The plasma melatonin levels were significantly suppressed in the high exposed subjects i.e., hotline workers (p 0.05). The oxidant status levels of plasma Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Nitric Oxide (NO) showed significantly increased levels in all the exposed subjects (p 0.05). The activity levels of erythrocyte antioxidative enzyme when compared to control subjects were significantly reduced in the exposed subjects of all the categories (p 0.05).
The distribution of the DHFR genes in trimethoprim-resistant urinary tract isolates from Taiwan

SUMMARY Between July 1987 and June 1989, 1054 urinary isolates of enterobacteria from Kaohsiung, Taiwan were studied for their trimethoprim resistance. Trimethoprim resistance was defined as MIC greater than 4 μg/ml and high-level resistance by MIC greater than 1000 μg/ml. The incidence of trimethoprim resistance increased from 33·6% in 1987 to 42·1% in 1989. Among the resistant strains studied, 90% were resistant to high levels of trimethoprim. An increase in the proportion of resistant strains (33·9–46·3%) exhibiting high-level non-transferable trimethoprim resistance was noted. The distribution of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) genes by colony hybridization in 374 trimethoprim-resistant isolates revealed the presence of type I and type V DHFR genes in most of these isolates (45·4% and 10·4% respectively). Type I was predominant in Escherichia coli whereas type V was frequently seen in Enterobacter spp. None showed homology with the type II and type III DHFR probe DNA. In addition, transposon Tn7 was present in 7·8% of 374 trimethoprim-resistant enterobacteria.