Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Th‐17 Alloimmune Responses in Renal Allograft Biopsies From Recipients of Kidney Transplants Using Extended Criteria Donors During Acute T Cell–Mediated Rejection

Although renal transplantation using expanded criteria donors has become a common practice, immune responses related to immunosenescence in those kidney allografts have not been studied yet in humans. We performed a retrospective molecular analysis of the T cell immune response in 43 kidney biopsies from patients with acute T cell–mediated rejection including 25 from recipients engrafted with a kidney from expanded criteria donor and 18 from recipients grafted with optimal kidney allograft. The clinical, transplant and acute T cell–mediated rejection characteristics of both groups were similar at baseline. The expression of RORγt, Il‐17 and T‐bet mRNA was significantly higher in the elderly than in the optimal group (p = 0.02, p = 0.036, and p = 0.01, respectively). Foxp3 mRNA levels were significantly higher in elderly patients experiencing successful acute T cell–mediated rejection reversal (p = 0.03). The presence of IL‐17 mRNA was strongly associated with nonsuccessful reversal in elderly patients (p = 0.008). Patients with mRNA IL17 expression detection and low mRNA Foxp3 expression experienced significantly more treatment failure (87.5%) than patients with no mRNA IL17 expression and/or high mRNA Foxp3 expression (26.7%; p = 0.017). Our study suggests that the Th17 pathway is involved in pathogenesis and prognosis of acute T cell–mediated rejection in recipients of expanded criteria allograft.
Transfer of Specificity for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 into Primary Human T Lymphocytes by Introduction of T-Cell Receptor Genes

ABSTRACT The introduction of genes encoding T-cell receptor (TCR) chains specific for human immunodeficiency virus into T cells of infected patients represents a means to quantitatively and qualitatively improve immunity to the virus. Our results demonstrate that the high level of TCR expression required for physiologic functioning can be reproducibly achieved with retroviral vectors encoding full-length unmodified TCR chains under the control of a strong internal constitutive phosphoglycerate kinase promoter.
Cigarette smoking potentiates endothelial dysfunction of forearm resistance vessels in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Role of oxidized LDL.

BACKGROUND Risk factors for atherosclerosis such as hypercholesterolemia and hypertension are associated with endothelial dysfunction of conduit and resistance vessels; however, the interaction of these risk factors and underlying mechanisms affecting endothelial function remain to be determined. The present study investigated the role of long-term smoking and hypercholesterolemia and their impact on endothelial function of peripheral resistance vessels in relation to plasma levels of autoantibodies against oxidized LDL, which has been implicated in the development of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS The vascular responses to the endothelium-dependent agent acetylcholine (7.5, 15, 30, and 60 micrograms/min) and the endothelium-independent agent sodium nitroprusside (1,3, and 10 micrograms/min) were studied in normal control subjects (n = 10), patients with hypercholesterolemia (n = 15), long-term smokers (n = 15), and hypercholesterolemic patients who smoked (n = 15). Drugs were infused into the brachial artery, and forearm blood flow (FBF) was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography. The FBF responses to acetylcholine were significantly blunted in all three patient groups compared with normal control subjects (P < .05). The acetylcholine-induced increase in FBF was significantly attenuated in patients with hypercholesterolemia who smoked compared with hypercholesterolemic nonsmokers and normocholesterolemic smokers (P < .05 for both). The response to sodium nitroprusside was not statistically different in all four groups. Plasma levels of autoantibody titer against oxidized LDL were inversely related to acetylcholine-induced changes in FBF (r = -.53, P < .002) and were substantially increased in the group with both risk factors. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that cigarette smoking and hypercholesterolemia synergistically impair endothelial function and that their combined presence is associated with increased plasma levels of autoantibodies against oxidized LDL. These observations raise the possibility that long-term smoking potentiates endothelial dysfunction in hypercholesterolemic patients by enhancing the oxidation of LDL.
What Happens With Untreated Nasal Polyps Over Time? A 13-Year Prospective Study

Objectives: Nasal polyps are often seen in ENT practice, but little is known about the pathogenesis and the natural development. Our objective was to follow individuals with untreated nasal polyps prospectively, in terms of polyp size, symptoms, and respiratory function. Methods: Thirty-three individuals, aged 27 to 87 years, with untreated nasal polyps were identified in a population-based study. Peak nasal inspiratory flow, olfactory function, and size of the nasal polyps were examined. Respiratory symptoms were also registered. Follow-up examinations were performed after 6 and 13 years, with change between visits analyzed. Results: Over time, polyp size as well as occurrence of unilateral or bilateral polyps varied without an obvious pattern, with no consistent trends in respiratory function or symptoms. Twenty-one individuals (64%) were still untreated at the 6-year follow-up, and 12 (36%) remained untreated during the whole 13-year follow-up. Dropouts were due mainly to death. Seven individuals (21%) started treatment during the follow-up and had larger polyps and more subjective respiratory symptoms at baseline compared to the untreated group. Conclusion: Nasal polyps found occasionally are often part of a chronic entity but do not necessarily evolve into a more serious condition over time. Treatment should therefore be based on the patients’ subjective problems.
Measurement of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer ( RNFL ) Thickness in Glaucomatous and Healthy Subjects

The aim of the study was to asses retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in glaucomatous eyes using spectral domain optical coherence tomography and to study their correlations with glaucomatous damage. The study group comprised 105 eyes with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), glaucoma suspects (GS) and healthy subjects (n = 35 cases in each group). All participants had comprehensive clinical assessment, visual field (VF) testing and OCT scanning. Significantly lower values of the mean pRNFL thickness were found in the POAG (62.10±14.45μm) and GS (100.0±7.15μm) groups as compared with healthy group (107.6 ± 6.10 μm) p<0.01. Also, in pairwise group comparison RNFL in glaucomatous eyes was significantly thinner in all quadrants p<0.05. The mean deviation (MD) was significantly correlated with pRNFL thickness in POAG group (r=0.27 p<0.01). In our study-group population the RNFL thickness measured with SD-OCT was significantly thinner in glaucomatous eyes compared to age-matched GS and normal eyes.
Reliable exposure assessment strategies for physical ergonomics stressors in construction and other non-routinized work

The objective of this research was to provide guidelines for the reliable assessment of ergonomics exposures in non-routinized work. Using a discrete-interval observational sampling approach, two or three observers collected a total of 5852 observations on tasks performed by three construction trades (iron workers, carpenters and labourers) for periods of several weeks. For each observation, nine exposure variables associated with awkward body postures, tool use and load handling were recorded. The frequency of exposure to each variable was calculated for each worker during each of the tasks on each of the days. ANOVA was used to assess the importance of task in explaining between-worker and within-worker variability in exposures across days. A statistical re-sampling method (bootstrap) was used to evaluate the reliability of exposure estimates for groups of workers performing the same task for different sampling periods. Most exposures were found to vary significantly across construction tasks within trade, and between-worker exposure variability was generally smaller than within-worker exposure variability within task. Bootstrapping showed that the reliability of the group estimates exposure for the most variable exposures within task tended to improve as the assessment periods approached 5 – 6 d, with marginal improvements for longer assessment periods. Reliable group estimates of exposure for the least variable exposures within task were obtained with 1 or 2 d of observation. The results of this study demonstrate that an initial estimate of the important environmental or task sources of exposure variability can be used to develop an efficient sampling strategy that provides reliable estimates of ergonomics exposures during non-routinized work.
FTIR study of secondary structure of bovine serum albumin and ovalbumin

Proteins structure is the critical factor for their functioning. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provides a possibility to obtain information about secondary structure of proteins in different states and also in a whole biological samples. Infrared spectra of egg white from the untreated and hard-boiled hen's egg, and also of chicken ovalbumin and bovine serum albumin in lyophilic form and in aqueous solution were studied. Lyophilization of investigated globular proteins is accompanied by the decrease of a-helix structures and the increase in amount of intermolecular β-sheets. Analysis of infrared spectrum of egg white allowed to make an estimation of OVA secondary structure and to observe α-to-β structural transformation as a result of the heat denaturation.
Magnetic Subsurface Imaging Systems in a Smartphone Based on the Built-In Magnetometer

We present a magnetic subsurface imaging system on a smart-phone that employs the built-in magnetometer. The smart-phone’s sensor measures magnetic field strength at sparse locations on a user-defined grid of the surveyed area. Based on the collected data, magnetic field distribution of the entire area is then reconstructed by using an interpolation algorithm, which yields field values in all of three-axial directions. Since the field shows the influence of the buried objects within the surveyed area to the background magnetic fields, the shape and size of the objects can be derived from the image representing the field. An implementation of the system as an application software on Android smart-phone, which consists of data measurement and reconstruction subsystems, is also described. We demonstrate the capability of the proposed system by performing subsurface imaging of small hidden objects in a laboratory test-range.
A Decomposition Approach to the Economic Dispatch of Hydrothermal Systems

The objective of the predispatch of a hydroelectric system is to produce an hourly generation schedule that does not violate electrical constraints and meets weekly generation targets for each hydro plant. The predispatch can therefore be seen as a link between operation planing and the on-line generation scheduling. This paper presents a decomposition approach to the solution of the predispatch problem, which is modeled as a large-scale linear program and solved by Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition. The subproblems in this decomposition correspond to hourly optimal rescheduling problems and are solved by an efficient version of the Dual Simplex method. Core and CPU requirements are thus greatly reduced. A case study with the Brazilian Southeast netwrk is presented and discussed.
Platelet Activation in Helicobacter pylori-Associated Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Eradication Reduces Platelet Activation but Seldom Improves Platelet Counts

Introduction: It has been suggested that Helicobacter pylori eradication often increases platelet counts in patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). In addition, H. pylori has been shown to induce platelet activation (CD62p or P-selectin expression) in previous studies. We assessed the response of platelet count and CD62p expression after eradication therapy in patients with ITP and H. pylori infection. Methods and Results: We prospectively studied 15 ITP patients diagnosed with H. pylori infection by serology and breath test. A follow-up breath test was used to document eradication. Two out of 15 patients showed improvement in platelet counts after 6 months, 1 of which may have had drug-induced thrombocytopenia. Overall, certain platelet response rate in our series was 6.7% (1/15). We found that platelet CD62p expression by flow cytometry was elevated in 10/15 (66.7%) H. pylori-infected patients, which is a statistically significant difference when compared with 3/33 (9.1%) control ITP patients seronegative for H. pylori (p = 0.002). In addition, eradication therapy decreased CD62p expression (p = 0.04). However, reduction in platelet activation was not associated with an increase in platelet counts (mean 72.4 × 109/l before and 68.7 after therapy; p = 0.4). Conclusion: In our series, platelet activation was common in ITP patients with H. pylori, and eradication therapy decreased platelet activation but seldom increased platelet counts. Increased platelet CD62p expression is a putative link between chronic infections and atherosclerosis, but further study is needed to clarify the implications of our observation.
N-acetylcysteine attenuates alcohol-induced oxidative stress in the rat.

AIM There is increasing evidence that alcohol-induced liver damage may be associated with increased oxidative stress. We aimed to investigate free-radical scavenger effect of n-acetylcysteine in rats intragastrically fed with ethanol. METHODS Twenty-four rats divided into three groups were fed with ethanol (6 g/kg/day, Group 1), ethanol and n-acetylcysteine (1 g/kg, Group 2), or isocaloric dextrose (control group, Group 3) for 4 weeks. Then animals were sacrificed under ether anesthesia, intracardiac blood and liver tissues were obtained. Measurements were performed both in serum and in homogenized liver tissues. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level was measured by TBARS method. Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were studied by commercial kits. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS ALT and AST in Group 1 (154 U/L and 302 U/L, respectively) were higher than those in Group 2 (94 U/L and 155 U/L) and Group 3 (99 U/L and 168 U/L) (P=0.001 for both). Serum and tissue levels of MDA in Group 1 (1.84 nmol/mL and 96 nmol/100 mg-protein) were higher than Group 2 (0.91 nmol/mL and 64 nmol/100 mg-protein) and Group 3 (0.94 nmol/mL and 49 nmol/100 mg-protein) (P<0.001 for both). On the other hand, serum GSH-Px level in Group 1 (8.21 U/g-Hb) was lower than Group 2 (16 U/g-Hb) and Group 3 (16 U/g-Hb) (P<0.001). Serum and liver tissue levels of SOD in Group 1 (11 U/mL and 26 U/100 mg-protein) were lower than Group 2 (18 U/mL and 60 U/100 mg-protein) and Group 3 (20 U/mL and 60 U/100 mg-protein) (P<0.001 for both). CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that ethanol-induced liver damage is associated with oxidative stress, and co-administration of n-acetylcysteine attenuates this damage effectively in rat model.
Commentary: "the Lake Wobegon effect, a natural human tendency to overestimate one's capabilities" (Wikipedia).

H aving read the article by Wolf and Wolf in this issue of The Milbank Quarterly, the oncologist part of me asks, “Where’s the beef? ” This is typical care: Mrs. Wolf, an eightyyear-old former smoker but healthy woman, is found (serendipitously) to have a resectable lung cancer and is treated with a curative resection based on her physiological age rather than her chronological age, as suggested by most guidelines (Hurria 2013). Indeed, based on the evidence available when she was diagnosed (Henschke et al. 2006), screening is now recommended by the U.S. Preventive Health Services Task Force (Humphrey et al. 2013). Appropriately, Mrs. Wolf declined adjuvant chemotherapy, based on a somewhat informed choice. Then when her cancer recurred, she had a good response to chemotherapy, which lasted for at least four months. We have known for twenty years that compared with the best supportive care, chemotherapy gains the average person a few months of life and increases, from about 20 percent to about 50 percent, the chance of being alive one year later (ASCO 1997). The chemotherapy that Mrs. Wolf received, carboplatin and pemetrexed (Alimta R ©), is as successful as any other (Incollingo 2013; Patel, Socinski, and Garon 2012), and she likely did not have any nausea or lose her hair. Her recurrence was treated with FDA-approved erlotinib (Tarceva R ©) for second-line use in her type of lung cancer (NCI 2013). She got brain radiation and neck spine radiation, with fairly typical side effects. In
Temperature Oscillations in the North Atlantic

Richard Kerr's News article “A North Atlantic climate pacemaker for the centuries” (16 June, p. [1984][1]) describes a 50- to 70-year temperature oscillation over the North Atlantic Ocean, but did not mention our 1994 Nature paper “An oscillation in the global climate system of period 65–70
Characteristics of pausing in normal, fast and cluttered speech

ABSTRACT One of the main symptoms of cluttering is atypical pausing. However, there is little information about what this atypical pausing means, because typical speakers also have pauses not only at syntactic boundaries, but also within syntactic structures, and even within words. The aim of this study is to analyse how pausing strategies of persons who clutter (PWCs) differ from pausing strategies of normal speakers and speakers with exceptionally rapid speech (ERSs). Results show that there is a difference between the groups in the frequency and/or duration of pauses and the place of their occurrences. ERSs have less and longer pauses than PWCs and control speakers. There is difference between PWCs and control speakers only in the duration of pauses. The results contribute to the assessment, diagnosis, and therapy of cluttering.
Kidney Transplantation from Living-Unrelated and Elderly Living-Related Donors : Analysis of 5 Years Graft Survival and Outcome

Introduction. The shortage of kidney availability has increased utilization of other donor categories. The aim of our study was to compare the graft survival and outcome between living-unrelated donors (LURD) and elderly living related donors (LRD). Methods. Fifteen LURD kidney transplanted patients in the period between 2000 and 2006, and 18 randomly selected recipients from elderly LRD (>60 years) kidneys were retrospectively evaluated from their patients' charts. The regular immunosuppressive protocol consisted of induction therapy with steroids and IL-2 receptor antibodies (Daclizumab in five doses), and maintenance therapy with mofetil mycophenolate, cyclosporine A and steroids. The analyzed variables were recipient and donor age and sex, glomerular filtration rate of donated kidney (evaluated by DTPA scan of the donor), HLA matching, cold ischemic time (CIT), delayed graft function (DGF), acute rejection episodes (AR), urinary infections (UTI), present status of the graft (determined by estimated GFR), and graft survival data. Results. The two groups were similar with regard to age, gender and body weight of the recipients, CIT and cyclosporine targeted C0/C2 levels. The LURD group donors were younger, and GFR of the donated kidney signifycantly higher when compared to the elderly LRD group, (47,6±11.4 vs. 65,9±3,6 years, p<0,05; 53,3±14,2 vs. 44,1 ±10,1 ml/min; p<0,05). LURD group of patients was characterized by significantly higher percentage of AR and UTI, as well as longer hemodialysis duration when compared to the elderly LRD group (34,5% vs. 18,6%, p<0,05; and 36,4% vs. 20,2%, p<0,05; 34,7±12,2 vs. 8,0±6,9 months, p<0,01). No difference in graft survival rates was found between the groups at 5 years follow up, with graft survival rate of 100% in both groups. In addition, the graft function at 5 years after transplantation did not differ significantly between the groups, although the LURD group maintained slightly higher GFR compared to the elderly LRD group (55,7±15,6 vs. 46,3±16,8 ml/min, p>0.05). Conclusions. Kidney transplant recipients from LURD have shown to yield 5 years graft survival rates and outcome similar to that of LRD older than 60 years. A possible partial explanation may be the higher GFR of donated kidney in LURD group, compared to the lower number of HLA mismatches in the group of kidney transplants from older LRD and their lower percentage of UTI and episodes of AR. Although these results are obtained in a pilot study, they confirm that in the presence of organ shortage from cadavers, LURD and older LRD may become a valuable source of potential organ for patients on the kidney waiting list.
Regulation of ovarian follicular development in primates: facts and hypotheses.

I. Introduction IN THE adult ovary, folliculogenesis starts when follicles leave the pool of resting follicles (RF) to enter the growth phase. From there, the early growing follicle undergoes a developmental process including a dramatic course of cellular proliferation and differentiation. In primates, only one follicle commonly reaches the preovulatory stage every cycle; most follicles fail to complete this maturation scheme, dying in the process termed atresia. In recent years, a picture has emerged depicting the classic endocrine control of ovarian function by LH and FSH, entangled in a maze of regulatory systems hinging on cell-cell interactions between follicular cells, via action of a variety of molecules (1–3). Different types of cell-cell interactions have been described. In paracrine regulations, a molecule synthesized by one cellular type is released into the interstitial milieu to act directly on another cellular type. In autocrine regulations, molecules synthesized by one cellular type are rel.
Aspects of Subunit Interactions in the Chloroplast ATP Synthase (II. Characterization of a Chloroplast Coupling Factor 1-Subunit III Complex from Spinach Thylakoids)

A complex between chloroplast-coupling factor 1 (CF1) and subunit III of the membrane-spanning portion of the chloroplast ATP synthase (CF0), isolated as described in the accompanying paper (C.M. Wetzel and R.E. McCarty [1993] Plant Physiol 102: 241–249), has been further characterized. A comparison of the ATPase activities of CF1, CF1-subunit III, and the chloroplast ATP synthase (CF1-CF0) holoenzyme revealed that the properties of CF1-subunit III more closely resemble those of CF1-CF0 than those of CF1. In particular, the Ca2+-ATPase activity after reduction of the enzyme with dithiothreitol was much lower in CF1-subunit III and CF1-CF0 than in CF1, suggesting that the association of the inhibitory [epsilon] subunit is tightened by the presence of either CF0 or subunit III. Cold stability is a property of CF1-CF0 in thylakoid membranes. The ATPase activity of CF1 incubated in the cold in the presence of asolectin liposomes was lost more rapidly than that of either CF1-subunit III or CF1-CF0 incorporated into liposomes. Removal of the [epsilon] subunit from all three preparations resulted in marked stimulation of their ATPase activity. Although subunit III was also removed during depletion of the [epsilon] subunit, it is not known whether the two subunits interact directly. CF1 deficient in the [epsilon] subunit binds to liposomes containing either subunit III or CF0. Taken together, these results provide evidence that the association of CF1 and subunit III of CFo is specific and may play a role in enzyme regulation.