Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rasagiline, a monoamine oxidase‐B inhibitor, protects NGF‐differentiated PC12 cells against oxygen‐glucose deprivation

In our in vitro model, rasagiline a selective irreversible monoamine oxidase‐B (MAO‐B) inhibitor, protected nerve growth factor (NGF)‐differentiated PC12 cells from cell death under oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). The severity of the OGD insult, as expressed by cell death, was time‐dependent. Exposure of the cells to OGD for 3 hr followed by 18 hr of reoxygenation caused about 30–40% cell death. Under these conditions, the neuroprotective effect of rasagiline was dose‐dependent: rasagiline reducing OGD‐induced cell death by 68% and 80% at 100 nM and 1 μM, respectively. The neuroprotective effect of rasagiline was also observed when added after the OGD insult (55% reduction in cell death). Under rasagiline treatment, there was a lesser decrease in ATP content in cultures exposed to OGD compared with that in untreated cultures. OGD followed by reoxygenation resulted in a several fold increase in PGE2 release into the extracellular medium. Rasagiline (100 nM–1 μM) markedly inhibited OGD‐induced PGE2 release. Clorgyline, a monoamine oxidase‐A (MAO‐A) inhibitor, did not protect NGF‐differentiated PC12 cells against OGD‐induced cell death. As NGF‐differentiated PC12 cells contain exclusively MAO type A, these data suggest that the neuroprotective effect of rasagiline under OGD conditions is independent of MAO inhibition. J. Neurosci. Res. 58:456–463, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
NSF Launches TeraGrid for Academic Research

ADVANCED COMPUTINGThe National Science Foundation (NSF) last week launched what will be the nation's most powerful network for scientific computing. NSF has pledged $53 million to four U.S. research institutions and their commercial partners to build and operate a system expected to be up and running by 2003: the Distributed Terascale Facility, taken from its targeted capacity to perform trillions of floating-point operations per second and store hundreds of terabytes of data.
Lack of H‐2 restriction of the Plasmodium falciparum (NANP) sequence as multiple antigen peptide

The major surface antigen of malaria sporozoites, the circumsporozoite protein, contains a region of tandem amino acid repeats, which in the case of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, consist of four amino acids Asn‐Ala‐Asn‐Pro (NANP) repeated up to about 40 times. This repetitive sequence has been considered as the basis for the development of subunit vaccines against P. falciparum malaria. We and others had previously shown that synthetic and recombinant NANP peptides were immunogenic only in H‐2b mice. In the present report we show that, when mice with different H‐2 haplotypes are immunized with the repetitive NANP sequence incorporated in a synthetic branching multiple antigen peptide (MAP), all except one of the mouse strains tested mounted an anti‐peptide antibody response. Such a response does not appear to be due to the peculiar assembly of the NANP sequence. In fact, MAP containing repetitive sequences from circumsporozoite proteins of other malaria parasites did not overcome the genetic restriction of the immune response to the linear peptides. These data show that in the case of the P. falciparum NANP repeats, their immunogenicity can be dramatically changed and increased when these peptides are assembled as MAP. This unexpected finding may be of interest in the design of synthetic candidate malaria vaccines.
Knowing power grids and understanding complexity science

Complex networks theory has been well established as a useful framework for studying and analysing structure, dynamics and evolution of many complex systems. Infrastructural and man-made systems like power grids, gas and water networks and the internet, have been also included in this network framework, albeit sometimes ignoring the huge historical body of knowledge surrounding them. Although there seems to exist clear evidence that both complexity approach in general, and complex networks in particular, can be useful, it is necessary and profitable to put forward some of the limits that this scheme is facing when dealing with not so complex but rather complicated systems like the power grid. In this introductory paper, we offer a critical revision of the usefulness of the complexity and complex networks’ approach in this later case, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. At the same time we emphasise the disconnection between the so called complex and the more traditional engineering communities as one of the major drawbacks in the advent of a true body of understanding, more than simply knowing the subtleties of this kind of complex systems.
Approximate hierarchical modelling of discrete data in epidemiology

Hierarchical models are used in epidemiology to estimate and analyse multiple, related relative risks. Examples include meta-analyses of series of 2 × 2 tables and mapping of spatially correlated disease rates. Empirical transform and penalized quasilikelihood procedures, both of which may be implemented using standard programs for mixed model analysis, provide satisfactory approximate inferences for these problems when cell frequencies are large. Simulation studies show that, in certain situations involving small cell frequencies, penalized quasilikelihood provides satisfactory estimates of variance components and regression coefficients whereas the empirical transform approach does not.
High expression of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (UPA‐R) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with worse prognosis

Urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor (UPA‐R; CD87) is a membrane protein responsible for plasmin expression on cells facilitating cellular extravasations and tissue invasions. We studied the expression of the UPA‐R on bone marrow (BM) cells of 93 patients with acute myeloid leukemia at first diagnosis and 8 healthy probands as controls by FACS analysis using phycoerythrin (PE)‐conjugated antibodies. A case was defined as UPA‐R‐positive (UPA‐R+) if >20% of the gated cells expressed UPA‐R. Whereas none of the 8 healthy BM samples was positive for the UPA‐R, 32 (34%) of the 93 AML samples were UPA‐R+. Expression of UPA‐R was heterogeneous in different FAB types, however, with the highest expression rates in monocytic subtypes (FAB M4/M5): 18%/19%/30% of UPA‐R+ cases were found in M1/M2 or M3, and 58%/80% of cases with M4 or M5 were UPA‐R+. Proportions of UPA‐R+ cells varied between 1% and 98% of the mononuclear cell fractions, with the highest proportions in M4/M5 subtypes (on average 27%/40% UPA‐R+ cells) and the lowest expression in AML M2 (11% UPA‐R+ cells). The density of expressed UPA‐R, estimated as mean channel fluorescence activity, was highest in cases with AML M1 (mFI: 124) followed by M4 and M5 (mFI: 78/77) and lowest in AML M2 (mFI: 43). In sAML, higher proportions of UPA‐R+ cases (8 of 18; 44%) compared to pAML (24 of 75; 32%) were found as well as higher proportions of UPA‐R+ cells (27% vs. 19%). Separating our patients' cohort in cytogenetic risk groups, we could not detect significant differences in the UPA‐R expression profiles. For evaluations of the clinical course of AML, only patients treated by the AML‐CG protocol (n = 65) were included. In the group of patients who did not respond to AML‐CG therapy, significantly higher proportions of UPA‐R+ cells (31% vs. 14%, P = 0.0015, t‐test) were found. By evaluating a cut‐off value for the percentage of positive cells that allows the most significant separation and differentiation between cases with shorter or longer relapse‐free survival times, we could show that patients with >26.5% UPA‐R‐positive cells were characterized by a significantly higher risk for relapse compared to cases with <26.5% positive cells (P = 0.05). In summary, our data show a high expression of the UPA‐R in AML, especially in (myelo)monocytoid subtypes. Cases with higher proportions of UPA‐R+ cells were characterized by a significant lower remission rate after AML‐CG therapy and a higher risk for relapse. Although prospective trials are still lacking, UPA‐R is a prognostically relevant factor independent from the karyotype. UPA‐R positivity may identify subtypes of AML associated with a more aggressive clinical course. Thus due to lower remission probabilities in UPA‐R+ cases, a more intensive induction therapy regimen could be considered. Am. J. Hematol. 79:26–35, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cellular immune responses to the murine nematode parasite Trichuris muris. II. Differential induction of TH-cell subsets in resistant versus susceptible mice.

We have analysed the production of a wide variety of cytokines by in vitro concanavalin A (Con A) stimulated mesenteric lymph node cells (MLNC) from strains of mice experiencing chronic (B10.BR, AKR) versus acute (BALB/K) infection with the nematode parasite Trichuris muris. MLNC from infected BALB/K mice produced elevated levels of the Th2-specific cytokines interleukin-5 (IL-5) and IL-9. IL-3 and IL-4 remained at or just above normal. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) (a Th1-type cytokine) was secreted only in small amounts. MLNC from infected susceptible B10.BR and AKR mice produced large amounts of IFN-gamma in the relative absence of IL-4 and IL-9. IL-5 levels failed to rise significantly above normal in B10.BR mice whilst in AKR mice high levels of IL-5 were detected early post-infection (p.i.) but levels decreased dramatically as the infection proceeded to reach normal levels by Day 34. IL-3 levels were depressed below normal. Our results are consistent with the polarization of the Th-cell response during T. muris infection to give predominantly IFN-gamma-secreting Th1 cells in strains of mice unable to expel the parasite and mainly IL-4, IL-5 and IL-9 producing Th2-type cells in resistant strains.
Up-regulation of HIF in experimental acute renal failure: evidence for a protective transcriptional response to hypoxia.

BACKGROUND Medullary hypoxia is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute renal failure (ARF). Hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIF) are recognized as master regulators of hypoxic adaptation, but little is known about their role in renal disease. METHODS A multi-insult rat model of ARF combining the application of contrast medium with nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition was used to study chronology and distribution of the oxygen regulated HIF isoforms HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha in comparison with the hypoxia-marker pimonidazole between 10 minutes and 48 hours after injury induction. Treatment with furosemide was used to study HIF expression under conditions of ameliorated tissue injury. RESULTS Contrast medium in combination with NOS and COX inhibition resulted in widespread induction of HIF in the outer and inner medulla that was initiated within 10 minutes, reached the highest levels at 2 hours and diminished 8 hours to 24 hours thereafter. HIF isoforms were expressed in a cell type-specific fashion: HIF-1alpha in tubular and HIF-2alpha in interstitial and endothelial cells. The degree of HIF-1alpha accumulation varied between nephron segments, being much stronger in collecting ducts than in medullary thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle (mTAL). Comparison with pimonidazole staining and the effect of furosemide indicated that HIF induction in mTAL is maximal with moderate hypoxia and declines with increasing severity of hypoxia. CONCLUSION A complex pattern of HIF activation appears to play an important role in tissue preservation as a response to regional renal hypoxia. The limited capacity of mTAL cells for HIF activation may explain their susceptibility to injury.
Prototype of monitoring system for the use of PDAM water debit based on wireless sensor network

In this modern era just like today, information delivery technology is growing rapidly, especially information delivery through internet. Internet of Things (IoT) is estimated to grow from 40% in 2014 to 70% in 2019. Internet of Things (IoT) itself widely applied in industrial field, engineering, and communication. One of many applications which could be optimized is the use of PDAM water debit monitoring with purpose to create transparency between service providers with service users about how many water debit which has been used by costumers. Besides IoT, in this system, water flow sensor is also applied as digital water debit counter. And wireless sensor network (WSN) is used to decrease the wire installation cost. Also in this system, multi-hop algorithm is used to increase the wireless communication distance. In addition, in this system, solar cell is used to make the energy supply last longer.
Native-state dynamics of the ubiquitin family: implications for function and evolution

Protein dynamics are integral to protein function. In recent years, the use of computer simulation to understand the molecular motions of proteins has become widespread. However, there are few such studies which compare the dynamics of proteins that are structurally and functionally related. In this study, we present native-state molecular dynamic simulations of four proteins which possess a ubiquitin-like fold. Three of these proteins are thought to have evolved from a common ancestral ubiquitin-like protein and have similarities in their function. A fourth protein, which is structurally homologous but which appears to have a different function, is also studied. Local fluctuations in the native state simulations are analysed, and conserved motions of the C-α backbone atoms are identified in residues which are important for function. In addition, the global dynamics of the proteins are analysed using the essential-dynamics method. This analysis reveals a slightly higher degree of conservation in dynamics for the three proteins which are functionally related. Both the global and local analyses illustrate how nature has optimized and conserved protein motions for specific biological activity within the ubiquitin family.
KIND‐DAMA: A modular middleware for Kinect‐like device data management

In the last decades, we have witnessed a growing interest toward touchless gestural user interfaces. Among other reasons, this is due to the large availability of different low‐cost gesture acquisition hardware (the so‐called “Kinect‐like devices”). As a consequence, there is a growing need for solutions that allow to easily integrate such devices within actual systems. In this paper, we present KIND‐DAMA, an open and modular middleware that helps in the development of interactive applications based on gestural input. We first review the existing middlewares for gestural data management. Then, we describe the proposed architecture and compare its features against the existing similar solutions we found in the literature. Finally, we present a set of studies and use cases that show the effectiveness of our proposal in some possible real‐world scenarios.
Atypical face pain.

An attempt was made to classify 100 patients who complained of deep, poorly localized, and vaguely described facial pain but whose symptoms could not be ascribed to trigeminal neuralgia, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, postherpetic neuralgia, or obvious disease of the teeth, throat, nose, sinuses, eyes, or ears. In 53 cases the trouble was finally ascribed to psychiatric illness such as depression, hysteria, or schizophrenia. In 33 cases it was possible to identify either organic causes such as tumors or physiological disturbances such as abnormal vasodilator activity. In 14 patients neither psychiatric nor physical causes were identified and the etiology remained undetermined. Such patients should be treated conservatively, since ill-advised operations can result in grief for both patient and surgeon.
Boundary quotients of the Toeplitz algebra of the affine semigroup over the natural numbers

Abstract We study the Toeplitz algebra 𝒯(ℕ⋊ℕ×) and three quotients of this algebra: the C*-algebra 𝒬ℕ recently introduced by Cuntz, and two new ones, which we call the additive and multiplicative boundary quotients. These quotients are universal for Nica-covariant representations of ℕ⋊ℕ× satisfying extra relations, and can be realised as partial crossed products. We use the structure theory for partial crossed products to prove a uniqueness theorem for the additive boundary quotient, and use the recent analysis of KMS states on 𝒯(ℕ⋊ℕ×) to describe the KMS states on the two quotients. We then show that 𝒯(ℕ⋊ℕ×), 𝒬ℕ and our new quotients are all interesting new examples for Larsen’s theory of Exel crossed products by semigroups.
VOXEL- AND GRAPH-BASED POINT CLOUD SEGMENTATION OF 3D SCENES USING PERCEPTUAL GROUPING LAWS

Abstract. Segmentation is the fundamental step for recognizing and extracting objects from point clouds of 3D scene. In this paper, we present a strategy for point cloud segmentation using voxel structure and graph-based clustering with perceptual grouping laws, which allows a learning-free and completely automatic but parametric solution for segmenting 3D point cloud. To speak precisely, two segmentation methods utilizing voxel and supervoxel structures are reported and tested. The voxel-based data structure can increase efficiency and robustness of the segmentation process, suppressing the negative effect of noise, outliers, and uneven points densities. The clustering of voxels and supervoxel is carried out using graph theory on the basis of the local contextual information, which commonly conducted utilizing merely pairwise information in conventional clustering algorithms. By the use of perceptual laws, our method conducts the segmentation in a pure geometric way avoiding the use of RGB color and intensity information, so that it can be applied to more general applications. Experiments using different datasets have demonstrated that our proposed methods can achieve good results, especially for complex scenes and nonplanar surfaces of objects. Quantitative comparisons between our methods and other representative segmentation methods also confirms the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposals.
Differentiation of Xenarthra (Mammalia) species through the identification of their fecal bile acid patterns: An ecological tool

El analisis de las heces es una herramienta fundamental para el trabajo de campo, especialmente para identificar la presencia de una determinada especie en un area. Los acidos biliares fecales y su concentracion relativa siguen patrones que son especie-especificos, y pueden ser caracterizados por Cromatografia en Capa Fina (TLC). Esta tecnica ha sido utilizada para diferenciar heces de varias especies de mamiferos, pero nunca en Xenarthra. En este trabajo se analizaron 96 heces de especies de Xenarthra a traves de TLC, para determinar el patron de acidos biliares fecales. Las especies fueron: Zaedyus pichiy (n = 10), Chaetophractus vellerosus (n = 5), Chaetophractus villosus (n = 57), Dasypus hybridus (n = 4), Priodontes maximus (n = 2), Tamandua tetradactyla (n = 14) y Myrmecophaga tridactyla (n = 4). Se encontraron diferencias entre los patrones de acidos biliares para todas las especies, pero no entre machos y hembras, ni entre animales de cautiverio y silvestres de la misma especie. Se encontraron siete acidos biliares conocidos, colesterol y siete compuestos aun no identificados (X1-X7). Todas las especies tuvieron los acidos taurocolico, glicoquenodeoxicolico y litocolico, y colesterol. Solo C. villosus tuvo acido deoxicolico (Rf: 0.30 ± 0.01). Z. pichiy, C. vellerosus y C. villosus tuvieron dos o tres bandas de acido dehidrocolico (Rf entre 0.29 ± 0.06 y 0.45± 0.02), mientras que las otras especies tuvieron una o dos. Z. pichiy tuvo dos compuestos no identificados, X6 (Rf 0.85 ± 0.06) y X7 (Rf: 0.93 ± 0.03), que fueron casi indistinguibles en las otras especies. D. hybridus difirio de Z. pichiy, C. vellerosus y C villosus porque no tuvo acido quenodeoxicolico y X,. T. tetradactyla fue la unica especie que no presento acido colico y difirio de M. tridactyla por la presencia de acido dehidrocolico. D. hybridus fue la especie con el menor numero de compuestos (siete) y difirio del resto porque no presento los compuestos X1 y X5. Estos resultados son los primeros para Xenarthra y podrian ser muy importantes para futuros estudios acerca de la conservacion y ecofisiologia del grupo.
Antigen specific cytokine response in pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis

The physiopathology of atopic dermatitis (AD) has still to be elucidated. T effector cells with cutaneous homing receptors or T‐cell derived cytokines have been assumed to be implicated in the pathogenetic mechanisms in AD and to be responsible for the different immunologic responses of patients. In fact, the large majority of AD patients display high IgE levels while others do not develop an abnormal IgE response. Although, there are not significant clinical features characterizing the two different groups, patients with normal IgE belong to a younger age range, raising the possibility that the hypothesized dichotomy of AD might be due to age. In the present study we included 172 outpatient children attending the Pediatric Department of our institution. Serum IgE levels and percentages of peripheral T lymphocytes expressing the cutaneous homing antigen (CLA) were evaluated and results were analyzed in relation to the activity of the disease (SCORAD index) or age. In the overall patients, the IgE levels increased significantly with age (0–1 yr: 19.50 IU/ml; 1–3 yr: 62.0 IU/ml; 3–8 yr: 96.0 IU/ml; >8 yr: 148.5 IU/ml; p < 0.001) and with the severity of the disease (SCORAD low: 46.80 IU/ml; medium: 42.90 IU/ml; high: 148.5 IU/ml; p = 0.01). Percentages of CLA+ peripheral T lymphocytes also increased with age (0–1 yr: 3.3; 1–3 yr: 4.85; 3–8 yr: 10.6; >8 yr: 12.5; p < 0.001), although they were not significantly different in patients with different SCORAD (p = 0.89). We further investigated the cellular immune response to a specific antigen in 25 subjects, matched for age, SCORAD, and CLA+ T‐cell percentages. Among them, 13 patients had casein serum specific IgE and 12 had no evidence of casein sensitization. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were kept in short‐term culture with endotoxin‐free casein fractions and IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, IL‐5, IL‐10 cytokine‐producing cells were detected by ELISpot. Statistical analysis showed significant higher numbers of TNF‐α‐ or IL‐10‐producing cultures (stimulation index >3) in the ‘allergic’ patients than in the milk tolerant subjects (p = 0.01 and 0.05). The analysis of individual responses confirmed this finding but also provide evidence of a significant increase in IFN‐γ‐producing cells (p = 0.05) induced by casein stimulation in the group of ‘non‐allergic’ children. Our data showed that immunologic parameters as IgE levels or CLA+ T cells in AD pediatric patients are influenced by the age, confirming that age could represent a bias in the analysis of immune response in those patients. Although, we demonstrated in children with AD the existence of different cytokine patterns of the lymphocyte response that could account for the different immunologic features between the two hypothesized forms of AD, which are not dependent on age.