Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helicobacter pylori cagA genotype and density of colonization in relation to gastric inflammation in children

Objective To assess the relationship between Helicobacter pylori density determined by quantitative culture, H. pylori cagA status, and gastric histology in children. Methods Children with clinical symptoms indicating pathology in the upper gastrointestinal tract were referred for endoscopy. From each child blood was taken for serology, and antral biopsies were obtained for quantitative culture of H. pylori and histology. Histological assessment was performed according to the updated Sydney System. The cagA status of cultured H. pylori was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serum IgG response to CagA by western blotting. Results Adequate antral biopsies were obtained from 41 children with positive H. pylori cultures. CagA IgG antibodies were found in 27 patients (66%), 25 of whom were also cagA positive by the PCR. Two children infected with cagA+ strains as determined by the PCR were CagA seronegative. Infection with cagA+ strains was associated with significantly higher activity of inflammation and denser bacterial colonization in the antrum compared to cagA-negative strains. No correlation was observed between the density of colonization and chronic antral inflammation. Conclusions This study shows that infection of children with cagA+ strains of H. pylori is associated with enhanced activity of antral inflammation and higher density of colonization. There is a good correlation between serum western blot and bacterial PCR cagA positivity in determining cagA status and a positive relationship between histology and quantitative culture in assessing H. pylori density in paediatric patients.
Managing Big Data through Hybrid Data Infrastructures

The mission of FuturICT is to unleash the power of information for a sustainable future: a Living Earth Simulator will be built to understand and manage complex social systems, with a focus on sustainability and resilience. Within this framework, the Crime and Corruption Observatory will identify the underlying economical, social and cultural mechanisms that influence illegal phenomena, in order to control them at European level.
Challenging the myth of the irrational dairy farmer; understanding decision-making related to herd health

Abstract Veterinarians working with dairy cows are suggested to refocus their efforts from being task-oriented providers of single-cow therapy and develop themselves into advice-oriented herd health management advisors. The practising cattle veterinarian's ability to translate knowledge into on-farm application requires a profound understanding of the dairy farm as an integrated system. Consequently, educating and motivating farmers are key issues. To achieve such insight the veterinarian needs to work with several scientific disciplines, especially epidemiology and (behavioural) economics. This trans-disciplinary approach offers new methodological possibilities and challenges to students of dairy herd health management. Advisors working with dairy herd health management may sometimes experience that farmers do not follow their advice. Potentially, this could lead to the interpretation that such farmers are behaving irrationally. However, farmers who are confronted with advice suggesting a change of behaviour are placed in a state of cognitive dissonance. To solve such dissonance they may either comply with the advice or reduce the dissonance by convincing themselves that the suggested change in management is impossible to implement. Consequently, herd health management advisors must understand the fundamental and instrumental relationships between individual farmers' values, behaviour and perception of risk, to stimulate and qualify the farmer's decision-making in a way that will increase the farmer's satisfaction and subjective well-being. Traditionally, studies on herd health economics have focussed on financial methods to measure the value of technical outcomes from suggested changes in management, following the basic assumption that farmers strive to maximise profit. Farmers, however, may be motivated by very different activities, e.g. animal health and welfare or other farmers' recognition, making it impossible to provide ‘one-size-fts-all' consultancy because the best decision depends heavily on the internal logic and context-bound reality on each dairy farm. Relevant information may be available, but to be implemented at farm level it has to be communicated effectively. This requires a trustworthy communicator. Consequently, veterinarians are recommended to receive training in communication; keywords in this process are dialogue and refection. An educational framework based on science and the authors' experience is presented. The aim is to guide practising cattle veterinarians into a personal learning process considered necessary for them to be recognised by farmers as trustworthy dairy herd health advisors.
Phenotypical characteristics, biochemical pathways, molecular targets and putative role of nitric oxide-mediated programmed cell death in Leishmania

Nitric oxide (NO) has been demonstrated to be the principal effector molecule mediating intracellular killing of Leishmania, both in vitro and in vivo. We investigated the type of cell death process induced by NO for the intracellular amastigote stage of the protozoa Leishmania. Specific detection methods revealed a rapid and extensive cell death with morphological features of apoptosis in axenic amastigotes exposed to NO donors, in intracellular amastigotes inside in vitro – activated mouse macrophages and also in activated macrophages of regressive lesions in a leishmaniasis-resistant mouse model. We extended our investigations to the dog, a natural host-reservoir of Leishmania parasites, by demonstrating that co-incubation of infected macrophages with autologous lymphocytes derived from dogs immunised with purified excreted-secreted antigens of Leishmania resulted in a significant NO-mediated apoptotic cell death of intracellular amastigotes. From the biochemical point of view, NO-mediated Leishmania amastigotes apoptosis did not seem to be controlled by caspase activity as indicated by the lack of effect of cell permeable inhibitors of caspases and cysteine proteases, in contrast to specific proteasome inhibitors, such as lactacystin or calpain inhibitor I. Moreover, addition of the products of two NO molecular targets, cis-aconitase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, also had an inhibitory effect on the cell death induced by NO. Interestingly, activities of these two enzymes plus 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, parasitic enzymes involved in both glycolysis and respiration processes, are overexpressed in amastigotes selected for their NO resistance. This review focuses on cell death of the intracellular stage of the pathogen Leishmania induced by nitrogen oxides and gives particular attention to the biochemical pathways and the molecular targets potentially involved. Questions about the role of Leishmania amastigotes NO-mediated apoptosis in the overall infection process are raised and discussed.
Temperature Characteristics for Threshold Voltage of HV LDMOS

The temperature characteristics (at -27degC-300degC) on high voltage power LDMOS are discussed, and a calculation formula of threshold voltage's temperature coefficient is given in this paper. Computing results show that the threshold voltage temperature coefficient of a high voltage power LDMOS is a constant in a wide range of temperature, a linear expression can be used to describe its temperature characteristics, and the threshold voltage temperature coefficient can be decreased by thin gate oxide film and high channel doping concentration
Microstrip band-pass filters with wide stopband and sharper cutoff response

In this paper, a microstrip band-pass filter (BPF) with the sharper cutoff rate and suppression of the 2/sup nd/, 3/sup rd/, and 4/sup th/ harmonics is developed. The half-wavelength transmission resonator with a pair of tap-connected open-ended stubs is adopted for constructing filter with band-edge attenuation poles. Using resistive attenuator and adequate coupling structures can suppress the unwanted harmonics. The resonance characteristic of resonator with embedded attenuator is analyzed with the aid of unloaded quality factor. By means of controlling the coupling structures, the embedded resistive attenuator, and the resonator with tap-connected stubs, the proposed band-pass filters can easily achieve a wide stopband and a sharp skirt property. Band-pass filter of center frequency at 1.96GHz was implemented to confirm our ideas.
Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 blocks p53-mediated apoptosis through the induction of the A20 gene

Two Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated malignancies, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and posttransplant lymphoma, rarely have mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene, suggesting that a viral protein interferes with p53 function. The EBV oncogene, LMP1, induces expression of the cellular antiapoptotic genes bcl-2 and A20 and could in this way interfere with p53-mediated apoptosis. Two derivatives of the p53-null epithelial cell line H1299 were prepared, one of which (H1299-p53) stably expressed a temperature-sensitive (ts) p53 protein, and another (H1299-p53+LMP1) which stably expressed both ts-p53 and latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1). At the permissive temperature, the p53 protein in the H1299-p53 cell line transcriptionally activated two of its target genes, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 and the mdm2 gene product, in an LMP1-independent manner. Upon serum withdrawal at the permissive temperature, p53-mediated apoptosis was induced in 50 to 60% of the cells. In the H1299-p53 cell line which stably expressed LMP1, however, only 20 to 25% of the cells underwent apoptosis. While stable expression of LMP1 did not affect levels of bcl-2 family members in these cells, it did induce expression of A20. Stable expression of A20 in the H1299-p53 cell line inhibited p53-mediated apoptosis equivalent to inhibition by LMP1. The induction of A20 may underlie the ability of LMP1 to protect EBV-infected epithelial cells from p53-mediated apoptosis.
Effects of Losartan on Angiotensin and Bradykinin Peptides and Angiotensin‐Converting Enzyme

Antagonists of the type 1 (AT1) angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor increase renin secretion and plasma Ang II levels, and the increased Ang II levels may counteract the effects of the antagonist. Moreover, other investigators have suggested that the reactive increase in Ang II levels may increase bradykinin (BK) levels through stimulation of the type 2 Ang II receptor (AT2). We investigated the acute effects of the AT1 receptor antagonist losartan (intraarterial injection of 10 mg/kg every 12 h) in male Sprague Dawley rats by measuring circulating angiotensin and BK peptides at 6, 12, and 24 h. Whereas acute losartan administration increased blood angiotensin levels four- to sixfold, blood BK levels were unchanged. We also investigated the effects of losartan administered for 8 days (10 mg/kg every 12 hours, by intraperitoneal injection) on circulating and tissue levels of angiotensin and BK peptides, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Losartan increased plasma renin levels 100-fold; plasma angiotensinogen levels decreased to 24% of control; and plasma aldosterone levels were unchanged. Ang II levels in plasma, adrenal, lung, heart, and aorta were increased 25-, 8-, 3.5-, 2.4-, and 14-fold, respectively, by losartan administration. By contrast, kidney Ang II levels decreased to 71% of control, accompanied by a decrease in kidney levels of BK-(1–7) and BK-(1–9). No other tissue showed a change in BK peptide levels, except for a reduction in blood levels of BK-(1–8) to 43% of control. Plasma ACE increased by 13–50%, but tissue ACE levels were unchanged. These data demonstrate that losartan has tissue-specific effects on endogenous levels of angiotensin and BK peptides and indicate that increased BK levels do not contribute to the actions of losartan. The absence of a reactive increase in endogenous kidney levels of Ang II indicates that this tissue is likely to be the most sensitive to AT1 receptor antagonism.
A calcium influx is triggered and propagates in the zygote as a wavefront during in vitro fertilization of flowering plants.

In this paper, we report direct measurement of an influx of extracellular Ca(2+) induced by gamete fusion in flowering plants. This result was obtained during maize in vitro fertilization with the use of an extracellular Ca(2+)-selective vibrating probe. Ca(2+) influx recorded at the surface of isolated egg cells, with or without adhesion of a male sperm cell, was close to zero and stable over time. Gamete fusion, however, triggered a Ca(2+) influx in the vicinity of the sperm entry site with a delay of 1.8 +/- 0.6 sec. The Ca(2+) influx spread subsequently through the whole egg cell plasma membrane as a wavefront, progressing at an estimated rate of 1.13 micrometer. (-1). Once established, Ca(2+) influx intensities were sustained, monotonic and homogeneous over the whole egg cell, with an average peak influx of 14.92 pmol . cm(-2). (-1) and an average duration of 24.4 min. The wavefront spread of channel activation correlates well with the cytological modifications induced by fertilization, such as egg cell contraction, and with the cytosolic Ca(2+) ((c)[Ca(2+)]) elevation previously reported. Calcium influx was inhibited effectively by gadolinium, possibly implicating mechanosensitive channels. Furthermore, artificial influxes created by incubation with Ca(2+) ionophores mimicked some aspects of egg activation. Taken together, these results suggest that, during fertilization in higher plants, gamete membrane fusion starts the first embryonic events by channel opening and Ca(2+) influx. In turn, (c)[Ca(2+)] may work as a trigger and possibly a space and time coordinator of many aspects of egg activation.
Neurodynamics for auditory stream segregation: tracking sounds in the mustached bat's natural environment

During navigation and the search phase of foraging, mustached bats emit ∼25 ms long echolocation pulses (at 10–40 Hz) that contain multiple harmonics of a constant frequency (CF) component followed by a short (3 ms) downward frequency modulation. In the context of auditory stream segregation, therefore, bats may either perceive a coherent pulse–echo sequence (PEPE…), or segregated pulse and echo streams (P–P–P… and E–E–E…). To identify the neural mechanisms for stream segregation in bats, we developed a simple yet realistic neural network model with seven layers and 420 nodes. Our model required recurrent and lateral inhibition to enable output nodes in the network to ‘latch-on’ to a single tone (corresponding to a CF component in either the pulse or echo), i.e., exhibit differential suppression by the alternating two tones presented at a high rate (>10 Hz). To test the applicability of our model to echolocation, we obtained neurophysiological data from the primary auditory cortex of awake mustached bats. Event-related potentials reliably reproduced the latching behaviour observed at output nodes in the network. Pulse as well as nontarget (clutter) echo CFs facilitated this latching. Individual single unit responses were erratic, but when summed over several recording sites, they also exhibited reliable latching behaviour even at 40 Hz. On the basis of these findings, we propose that a neural correlate of auditory stream segregation is present within localized synaptic activity in the mustached bat's auditory cortex and this mechanism may enhance the perception of echolocation sounds in the natural environment.
An Efficient Recognition-Complete Processor Allocation Strategy for k-ary n-cube Multiprocessors

Composed of various topologies, the k-ary n-cube system is desirable for accepting and executing topologically different tasks. To utilize its large amount of processor resources, several allocation strategies have been reported, each with certain restrictions that affect performance. For improvement, we propose a new allocation strategy for the k-ary n-cubes. The proposed strategy is an extension of the TC strategy for hypercubes and is able to recognize all subcubes with different topologies requested by tasks. Complexity analysis and performance comparison between related strategies are provided to demonstrate their advantages and disadvantages. Simulation results show that with full subcube recognition ability and no internal fragmentation, our strategy always exhibits better performance.
Ionizing Radiation Activates Nuclear Protein Phosphatase-1 by ATM-dependent Dephosphorylation*

Ionizing radiation (IR) is known to activate multiple signaling pathways, resulting in diverse stress responses including apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and gene induction. IR-activated cell cycle checkpoints are regulated by Ser/Thr phosphorylation, so we tested to see if protein phosphatases were targets of an IR-activated damage-sensing pathway. Jurkat cells were subjected to IR or sham radiation followed by brief32P metabolic labeling. Nuclear extracts were subjected to microcystin affinity chromatography to recover phosphatases, and the proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Protein sequencing revealed that the microcystin-bound proteins with the greatest reduction in 32P intensity following IR were the α and δ isoforms of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). Both of these PP1 isoforms contain an Arg-Pro-Ile/Val-Thr-Pro-Pro-Arg sequence near the C terminus, a known site of phosphorylation by Cdc/Cdk kinases, and phosphorylation attenuates phosphatase activity. In wild-type Jurkat cells or ataxia telangiectasia (AT) cells that are stably transfected with full-length ATM kinase, IR resulted in net dephosphorylation of this site in PP1 and produced activation of PP1. However, in AT cells that are deficient in ATM, IR failed to induce dephosphorylation or activation of PP1. IR-induced PP1 activation in the nucleus may be a critical component in an ATM-mediated pathway controlling checkpoint activation.
Time to move to the right—the study of right ventricular systolic performance: Too long neglected

Although the evidence that right ventricular (RV) function has significant impact on cardiac hemodynamics and outcome is indisputable, its evaluation has been hampered by problems with image quality, geometric variability, and the absence of a standard of reference. A resurgence of research activity has sought to discern the pathophysiology of RV dysfunction and to explore new methods for measuring performance. Noninvasive techniques such as tissue Doppler echocardiography, three-dimensional echocardiography, and magnetic resonance imaging provide new quantitative information and may improve prediction of outcomes. These advances in technology, and the recognition that RV systolic function is essential in many conditions, provide the impetus for future studies. This review highlights the past and present efforts to incorporate RV systolic function into the mainstream of cardiology practice.
An adaptive multi-beam massive array architecture for 5G wireless

This paper reports an adaptive multi-beam forming architecture designed for 5G wireless communication system. As far as a beam-forming system is concerned, the adjustment of the phase angle and weighting on each radio frequency (RF) signal connected to antenna element should be taken into account. Here, the phased local oscillator (LO) is employed for replacing the commonly used phase shifter, and the baseband I- and Q- signal strength is altered for designating the weighting on the RF signal. Additionally, two procedures are performed for accomplishing the dynamical beam forming. Firstly, the switched-beam circuit on the subarray determine the desired radiation zone. Secondly, the beam-steering within the zone is then achieved by varying the phase angle of phased LO and the amplitude over the baseband I/Q signals. Notably, each of the steerable beam contributed by an array consisting of several subarrays can be independently generated to accomplish a massive array system having multiple steerable beams.
Primary antiphospholipid syndrome presenting as complicated Henoch–Schönlein purpura

A child showing signs of Henoch–Schönlein purpura developed a right tibiofibular vascular thrombosis. Antiphospholipid antibody tests were positive for both lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies. This suggests that an antiphospholipid syndrome should be considered in cases of Henoch–Schönlein purpura and antiphospholipid antibodies should be measured to determine whether prophylactic antithrombotic measures are needed to prevent thrombotic manifestations.
Expert opinion and key recommendations for the physical therapy and rehabilitation of patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Aim: Physiotherapy is an integral part of the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and there is a need for recommendations which focus on the rehabilitation of patients with AS. We aimed to develop recommendations for the physical therapy and rehabilitation of patients with AS based on the evidence and expertise.
Toxicology Today

Clinicians are frequently confronted with toxicological emergencies and challenged with the task of correctly identifying the possible agents involved and providing appropriate treatments. In this review article, we describe the epidemiology of overdoses, provide a practical approach to the recognition and diagnosis of classic toxidromes, and discuss the initial management strategies that should be considered in all overdoses. In addition, we evaluate some of the most common agents involved in poisonings and present their respective treatments. Recognition of toxidromes with knowledge of indications for antidotes and their limitations for treating overdoses is crucial for the acute care of poisoned patients.
Loss of EGF binding and cation transport response during differentiation of mouse neuroblastoma cells

Mouse neuroblastoma cells (clone N1E‐115) differentiate in culture upon withdrawal of serum growth factors and acquire the characteristics of neurons. We have shown that exponentially growing N1E‐115 cells possess functional epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors but that the capacity for binding EGF and for stimulation of DNA synthesis is lost as the cells differentiate. Furthermore, in exponentially growing cells, EGF induces a rapid increase in amiloride‐sensitive Na+ influx, followed by stimulation of the (Na+ ‐K+)ATPase, indicating that activation of the Na+/H+ exchange mechanism in N1E‐115 cells [1] may be induced by EGF. The ionic response is also lost during differentiation, but we have shown that the stimulation of both Na+ and K+ influx is directly proportional to the number of occupied receptors in all cells whether exponentially growing or differentiating, thus only indirectly dependent on the external EGF concentration. The linearity of the relationships indicates that there is no rate‐limiting step between EGF binding and the ionic response. Our data would suggest that as neuroblastoma cells differentiate and acquire neuronal properties, their ability to respond to mitogens, both biologically and in the activation of cation transport processes, progressively decreases owing to the loss of the appropriate receptors.