Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CTLA‐4 co‐receptor impacts on the function of Treg and CD8+ T‐cell subsets

CTLA‐4 has potent regulatory effects on the threshold of T‐cell signalling and, in the process, guards against the development of hyper‐proliferation and autoimmunity. Despite this, the role of CTLA‐4 on specific T‐cell subsets has been unclear. Such studies could shed light on both the function of CTLA‐4, and on the contribution of the subsets to the disease phenotype of the Ctla4−/− mouse. Recently, a role for this co‐receptor in the function of Treg has been outlined and, in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, the selective targeting of the T‐box transcription factor Eomes by CTLA‐4 in the regulation of CD8+ cytolytic T‐cell (CTL) effector function is shown. Together, these papers shed light on the role of CTLA‐4 in different T‐cell subsets.
What is a "mood stabilizer"? An evidence-based response.

OBJECTIVE The term "mood stabilizer" is widely used in the context of treating bipolar disorder, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not officially recognize the term, and no consensus definition is accepted among investigators. The authors propose a "two-by-two" definition by which an agent is considered a mood stabilizer if it has efficacy in treating acute manic and depressive symptoms and in prophylaxis of manic and depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder. They review the literature on the efficacy of agents in any of these four roles to determine which if any agents meet this definition of mood stabilizer. METHOD The authors conducted a comprehensive review of English-language literature describing peer-reviewed, U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality class A controlled trials in order to identify agents with efficacy in any of the four roles included in their definition of a mood stabilizer. The trials were classified as positive or negative on the basis of primary outcome variables. An "FDA-like" criterion of at least two positive placebo-controlled trials was required to consider an agent efficacious. The authors also conducted a sensitivity analysis by raising and relaxing the criteria for including trials in the review. RESULTS The authors identified 551 candidate articles, yielding 111 class A trials, including 81 monotherapy trials with 95 independent analyses published through June 2002. Lithium, valproate, and olanzapine had unequivocal evidence for efficacy in acute manic episodes, lithium in acute depressive episodes and in prophylaxis of mania and depression, and lamotrigine in prophylaxis (relapse polarity unspecified). Thus, only lithium fulfilled the a priori definition of a mood stabilizer. Relaxing the quality criterion did not change this finding, while raising the threshold resulted in no agents fulfilling the definition. CONCLUSIONS When all four treatment roles are considered, the evidence supported a role for lithium as first-line agent for treatment of bipolar disorder. The analysis also highlights unmet needs and promising agents and provides a yardstick for evaluating new treatment strategies.
Stability of Shear Layers over Rough Surfaces

Abstract : Presence of surface imperfections may have significant impact on the stability of the adjacent shear layer and on the laminar-turbulent transition process in this layer. The main objective of the present study is the quantitative assessment of such effects in the case of distributed surface roughness. The analysis is focused on the linear stability theory and considers asymptotic as well as transient growth of flow perturbations. The explicit calculations are carried out in the context of channel flow.
Quality of preparation of oval distal root canals in mandibular molars using nickel-titanium instruments.

AIM The aim of this study was to compare the preparation of oval distal root canals in mandibular molars using three different nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments: Lightspeed (Lightspeed Inc., San Antonio, TX, USA). ProFile . 04 (Maillefer Ballaigues. Switzerland) and Quantec SC (Tycom, Irvine, CA, USA). METHODOLOGY Three groups of 20 extracted mandibular molars with oval distal root canals were embedded in a muffle system as described by Bramante et al. (1987) and modified by Hülsmann et al. (1999). Preparation of the root canals was performed with particular emphasis on the buccal and lingual extensions of the oval shape. The following parameters were evaluated: comparison of pre- and postoperative photographs with regard to the buccal and lingual extensions of the preparation, safety issues (file fractures, perforations, apical blockages, loss of working length), cleaning ability (SEM investigated using a 5-score system for remaining debris and smear layer) and working time. RESULTS Superimposition of pre- and postoperative cross-sections in the majority of specimens revealed uninstrumented or incompletely instrumented buccal or lingual extensions (Lightspeed and Quantec SC, 56.7%; ProFile .04, 55%) For debris removal, Quantec SC achieved the best results (54.2% scores 1 and 2), followed by ProFile . 04 (52.5%) and Lightspeed (46.7%). Preparation resulted in substantial smear layer covering the canal walls for every system (ProFile .04, 38.3%; Quantec SC, 36.6%; Lightspeed, 28.3%). Differences between the three systems were not significant for any of the parameters investigated. Preparation with Lightspeed resulted in two fractured instruments; with Quantec SC. two apical blockages occurred. With ProFile . 04, no complications were noticed. Mean working time was shorter for ProFile . 04 (261.2 s) than for Quantec SC (272.4 s) and Lightspeed (338.9 s); the differences were not significant. CONCLUSIONS The flexibility of the NiTi instruments investigated in this study did not allow controlled preparation of the buccal and lingual extensions of oval root canals. The instruments frequently produced a circular bulge in the canal whilst the buccal and lingual extensions remained unprepared, leaving smear layer and debris.
Glucose utilization in vivo by human pulmonary neoplasms

Neoplastic tissue in general shows a high rate of glucose consumption under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Using positron emission tomography (PET) we measured the rate of uptake of the glucose analogue 18fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (18FDG) in 12 patients with carcinoma of the lung. The tumor types were six squamous cell, two large cell, two oat cell, one adenocarcinoma, and one undifferentiated carcinoma. In each patient a transaxial plane was selected that contained the bulk of the tumor tissue. Regional density and blood volume were measured. Following the intravenous injection of 18FDG, the rates of uptake in the tumor and normal lung tissue were assessed from sequential scans over 1 hour. In each patient the rate of uptake of 18FDG in the tumor tissue was significantly increased relative to normal lung tissue. For the group the rate of uptake by the tumor was 211.4 ± 69.4 ml/100 g/hr (mean ± SD) compared to 31.9 ± 13.2 in the contralataral lung (P < 0.05). The tumor‐to‐normal tissue ratio of 6.6 (range, 2.7 to 14.6) was higher than previously reported ratios for brain and liver tumors. In contrast to brain tumors there was little correlation between tumor type and rate of 18FDG uptake. Measurements of glucose metabolism taken in vivo in human pulmonary tumors may lead to advances in screening, staging, and therapy.
Impetigo contagiosa: suppurative and non-suppurative complications. I. Clinical, bacteriologic, and epidemiologic characteristics of impetigo.

OUR PRESENT knowledge of impetigo contagiosa extends from descriptions now over 100 years old.1,2The defining of "streptococcal" and "staphylococcal" forms of impetigo has been principally the work of dermatologists,3-5while others, including bacteriologists and epidemiologists, have described the characteristics of infecting organisms.6-10Fewer examples of studies of impetigo are found in the pediatric literature and the above mentioned studies may not be widely appreciated by physicians caring for children. Interest in streptococcal impetigo or pyoderma as an important predisposing infection of acute glomerulonephritis has appeared to be greater among physicians and investigators in the southern and southeastern section of the US reflecting perhaps a higher incidence of impetigo in warmer climates, and its relatively more important role in nephritis.11-16The reports of pyoderma and nephritis among Indians at Red Lake, Minn, indicate however that skin infection is by no means limited to the south.17,18
Variations in the virulence of strains of Chlamydia psittaci for pregnant ewes

Invasive and non-invasive strains of Chlamydia psittaci isolated from faeces of clinically healthy ewes and from vaginal swabs of ewes which had aborted were injected intravenously or intradermally into pregnant ewes. The results were studied by recording the ewes' thermal and serological responses, lambing performance and the excretion of chlamydia from the vagina. The differences between the effects of different invasive strains were greater after intradermal inoculation than after intravenous inoculation. After intradermal inoculation non-invasive strains did not disturb pregnancy (11 of 13 ewes lambed normally) whereas invasive strains induced abortion in 23 of 25 ewes, 24 of which excreted chlamydia in vaginal secretions.
Socioeconomic Status and Health: What We Know and What We Don't

Abstract: In the past 15 years, we have seen a marked increase in research on socioeconomic status (SES) and health. Research in the first part of this era examined the nature of the relationship of SES and health, revealing a graded association; SES is important to health not only for those in poverty, but at all levels of SES. On average, the more advantaged individuals are, the better their health. In this paper we examine the data regarding the SES‐health gradient, addressing causal direction, generalizability across populations and diseases, and associations with health for different indicators of SES. In the most recent era, researchers are increasingly exploring the mechanisms by which SES exerts an influence on health. There are multiple pathways by which SES determines health; a comprehensive analysis must include macroeconomic contexts and social factors as well as more immediate social environments, individual psychological and behavioral factors, and biological predispositions and processes.
Association of the Precursor of Interleukin‐1β and Peritoneal Inflammation—Role in Pathogenesis of Endometriosis

The most important proinflammatory cytokine is interleukin (IL)‐1β, however its precursor, prointerleukin‐1β (proIL‐1β), can also potentiate inflammatory state. The aim of this study was to explore the involvement of proIL‐1β in pathogenesis of endometriosis. For this purpose, we evaluated concentrations of proIL‐1β, IL‐1β, and soluble IL‐1 receptor type 2 (sIL‐1R2) in peritoneal fluid (PF) and macrophage culture medium of women with endometriosis.
The Specificity of Receptor Binding by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-D Is Different in Mouse and Man*

Human vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D) binds and activates VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3, receptors expressed on vascular and lymphatic endothelial cells. As VEGFR-2 signals for angiogenesis and VEGFR-3 is thought to signal for lymphangiogenesis, it was proposed that VEGF-D stimulates growth of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels into regions of embryos and tumors. Here we report the unexpected finding that mouse VEGF-D fails to bind mouse VEGFR-2 but binds and cross-links VEGFR-3 as demonstrated by biosensor analysis with immobilized receptor domains and bioassays of VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3 cross-linking. Mutation of amino acids in mouse VEGF-D to those in the human homologue indicated that residues important for the VEGFR-2 interaction are clustered at, or are near, the predicted receptor-binding surface. Coordinated expression of VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 in mouse embryos was detected in the developing skin where theVEGF-D gene was expressed in a layer of cells beneath the developing epidermis and VEGFR-3 was localized on a network of vessels immediately beneath the VEGF-D-positive cells. This suggests that VEGF-D and VEGFR-3 may play a role in establishing vessels of the skin by a paracrine mechanism. Our study of receptor specificity suggests that VEGF-D may have different biological functions in mouse and man.
GLAUCOMA SCREENING A 16‐YEAR FOLLOW‐UP OF OCULAR NORMOTENSIVES

A follow‐up was planned of 1976 subjects with ocular normotension, with an observation period ranging from 15.8 to 18.3 years. Initially, they were included in a glaucoma screening on the island of Falster comprising 2031 volunteer blood donors. In the primary screening all 1976 persons had an applanation pressure below 20 mmHg in both eyes. The 55 with intraocular hypertension have been followed up in other studies, already published. It was possible to trace only 408 subjects (20.6%), now aged 37–78. Fourteen subjects (24 eyes) had developed ocular tensions equal to or higher than 20 mmHg. One of these, a 56‐year‐old man had a glaucomatous visual field defect in the right eye and a cup/disc ratio of 0.6 in both eyes. A glaucoma risk of 0.25% can thus be given.
Stereo and IMU assisted visual odometry on an OMAP3530 for small robots

Small robots require very compact, low-power, yet high performance processors for vision-based navigation algorithms like stereo vision and visual odometry. Research on real-time implementations of these algorithms has focused on FPGAs, GPUs, ASICs, and general purpose processors, which are either too big, too hot, or too hard to program. System-on-a-chip (SoC) processors for smart phones have not been exploited yet for these functions. Here we present a real-time stereo vision system with IMU assisted visual odometry implemented on a single Texas Instruments 720Mhz/520Mhz OMAP3530 SoC. We achieve frame rates of 46 fps at QVGA or 8 fps at VGA resolutions while simultaneously tracking up to 200 features, taking full advantage of the OMAP3530's integer DSP and floating point ARM processors. This is a substantial advancement over previous work as the stereo implementation produces 146Mde/s in 2.5W, yielding a stereo energy efficiency of 58.8Mde/J, which is 3.75× better than prior DSP stereo while providing more functionality.
An automatic registration framework using quantum particle swarm optimization for remote sensing images

Image registration is a fundamental problem for applications in remote sensing. In this paper, a new coarse-to-fine registration framework is proposed. In coarse registration step, Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) is used as optimizer to find best rigid parameters. The similarity measure is the Mutual Information (MI) of whole images. This method is valid under various displacements. In fine registration step, Harris detector is implemented to extract feature points in reference image, and template window is used to obtain corresponding points in sensed image. The parameters of the best affine transformation are estimated using the corresponding feature points. Analysis and experiments show our method leads to highly automatic registration, and is able to handle large displacements between remote sensing images fast and robustly.
Bacteriotherapy with Lactobacillus plantarum in burns

Bacterial colonisation and infection remain the major causes of delayed healing and graft rejection following burns. Topical treatment is necessary to reduce the incidence of burn wound infection. Silver sulphadiazine (SD‐Ag) is an often used microbicidal agent. However, this treatment produces adverse reactions and side‐effects. On the basis of experimental data and clinical application of lactobacilli as probiotics, we performed this exploratory study to establish the effectiveness of bacteriotherapy with topical application of the innocuous bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum cultured in De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe medium to provide an alternative method for burn treatment using SD‐Ag as a reference. These innocuous bacteria would compete with other bacteria that are wound pathogens and would modify the wound environment and promote tissue repair. Eighty burned patients from the Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit were grouped into infected (delayed) second‐ and third‐degree and non infected (early) third‐degree burns and treated with L. plantarum or SD‐Ag. The proportion of patients with delayed second‐degree burns was 0·71 for L. plantarum and 0·73 for SD‐Ag (relative rate: −2·72%) with respect to the decrease in bacterial load (<105 bacteria/g of tissue), promotion of granulating tissue wound bed and healing. In early third‐degree burns, the values were 0·75 for L. plantarum and 0·84 for SD‐Ag (relative rate: −1·07%) in preventing wound infection and promotion of granulation tissue, 0·90 in graft taking for both treatments (relative rate: 0%) and 0·75 for L. plantarum and 0·77 for SD‐Ag (relative rate: −2·60%) in healing. In delayed third‐degree burns, values were 0·83 for L. plantarum and 0·71 for SD‐Ag (relative rate: +16·90%) with respect to the decrease in the bacterial load (<105 bacteria/g of tissue) and providing a granulating tissue wound bed, 0·90 in graft taking for both treatments (relative rate: 0%) and 0·75 for L. plantarum and 0·64 for SD‐Ag (relative rate: + 17·19%) in healing. Although the number of patients (between 12 and 15 per group) did not enable the application of a power statistical test, these results suggest that the L. plantarum treatment should be studied in greater depth and could be used as a valid alternative for the topical treatment of burns.
Sea ice, rain-on-snow and tundra reindeer nomadism in Arctic Russia

Sea ice loss is accelerating in the Barents and Kara Seas (BKS). Assessing potential linkages between sea ice retreat/thinning and the region's ancient and unique social–ecological systems is a pressing task. Tundra nomadism remains a vitally important livelihood for indigenous Nenets and their large reindeer herds. Warming summer air temperatures have been linked to more frequent and sustained summer high-pressure systems over West Siberia, Russia, but not to sea ice retreat. At the same time, autumn/winter rain-on-snow (ROS) events have become more frequent and intense. Here, we review evidence for autumn atmospheric warming and precipitation increases over Arctic coastal lands in proximity to BKS ice loss. Two major ROS events during November 2006 and 2013 led to massive winter reindeer mortality episodes on the Yamal Peninsula. Fieldwork with migratory herders has revealed that the ecological and socio-economic impacts from the catastrophic 2013 event will unfold for years to come. The suggested link between sea ice loss, more frequent and intense ROS events and high reindeer mortality has serious implications for the future of tundra Nenets nomadism.
Involvement in De Novo and Secondary Leukemias With Diverse Chromosome l l q 2 3 Abnormalities

Chromosome band 1 1 q23 is a site of recurrent translocations and interstitial deletions in human leukemias. Recent studies have shown that the 1 1 q23 gene HRX is fused to heterologous genes from chromosomes 4 or 19 after t(4;l l)(q21 ;q23) and t(ll;19)(q23; p l3 ) translocations to create fusion genes encoding proteins with structural features of chimeric transcription factors. In this report, we show structural alterations of HRX by conventional Southern blot analyses in 26 of 27 de novo leukemias with cytogenetically diverse 1 1 q23 abnormalities. The sole case that lacked HRXrearrangements was a t( l1 ;I 7)-acute myeloid leukemia with French-American-British M3-like morphology. We also analyzed 10 secondary leukemias that arose after therapy with topoisomerase II inhibitors and found HRX rearrangements in 7 of 7 with 1 1 q23 translocations, and in 2 of 2 with unsuccessful karyotypes. In
Integrated Vascular Access Management

Nephrologists need to deal with the problem of vascular access management in the same manner as the other major problems that affect our dialysis patients. We need to become experts in vascular access and we need to occupy a pivotal position in directing the decisions that are made that affect dialysis patient welfare. An integrated vascular access management strategy is required. Optimally, there should be four components to this strategy – evidence-based policies and procedures, a dedicated vascular access facility, committed vascular access surgeons and the availability of committed vascular access interventionalists. In many respects this is the approach that offers the best in quality of patient care and is also the most economic to deliver.
Customized PCR-Array Analysis Informed by Gene-Chip Microarray and Biological Hypothesis Reveals Pathways Involved in Lung Inflammatory Response to Titanium Dioxide in Pregnancy

Validation of gene-chip microarray results is one of the challenges in genomic studies. The successful use of a custom-designed 96-well polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array to study the unexpected inflammatory effect of environmental titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles on the lungs of pregnant mice, with similar results not seen in control mice, is reported. In our approach, selection of candidate genes for the custom PCR array was informed by prior gene-chip microarray profiling. Results demonstrated multiple upregulation of genes in the lungs of pregnant but not control mice produced by TiO2 exposure. Customized PCR array is a flexible tool that offers the ability to combine the “blind” genome-wide scan with a hypothesis-driven approach, by including both the “candidate” genes for validation positively identified by the microarray and biologically relevant “suspects” that failed to be found in the genomic data. Compared to conventional gene-by-gene qPCR or manufacturer-preset pathway kits, this technique provides a cost-effective and time-saving method of analysis and allows for a strong, easily detectable signal. Genes with confirmed differential expression were further used for pathway analysis and indicated involvement in several biologically relevant pathways including allergy mediator signaling in dendritic cells. Finally, an analytical network was created that will inform further mechanistic studies. The dual purpose of the work was to demonstrate that the novel custom PCR array is a convenient approach to validate the microarray results, and to obtain biologically significant data on TiO2-induced inflammation by following the PCR array with pathway analysis, which provided feasible hypotheses to support future experimental studies.
Tumor Clustering Based on Penalized Matrix Decomposition

A reliable and precise identification of the type of tumors is essential for effective treatment of cancer. In this paper, we proposed a novel method to cluster tumors using gene expression data. In this method, we use penalized matrix decomposition (PMD) to extract metasamples from gene expression data. Specially, a metasample can capture structures inherent in the samples in one class. In addition, we present how to use the factors of PMD to cluster the samples. Compared with traditional methods, such as HC, SOM and NMF etc., our method can find the samples with complex classes. At the same time, the number of clusters can be determined automatically.