Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chlamydia Spreading from the Genital to Gastrointestinal Tracts —A Two-Hit Hypothesis

Chlamydia trachomatis, a leading bacterial cause of sexually transmitted infection-induced infertility, is frequently detected in the gastrointestinal tract. Chlamydia muridarum, a model pathogen for investigating C. trachomatis pathogenesis, readily spreads from the mouse genital tract to the gastrointestinal tract, establishing long-lasting colonization. C. muridarum mutants, despite their ability to activate acute oviduct inflammation, are attenuated in inducing tubal fibrosis and are no longer able to colonize the gastrointestinal tract, suggesting that C. muridarum spreading to the gastrointestinal tract may contribute to its pathogenicity in the upper genital tract. However, gastrointestinal C. muridarum cannot directly auto-inoculate the genital tract. Both antigen-specific CD8 + T cells and profibrotic cytokines such as TNF α and IL-13 are essential for C. muridarum to induce tubal fibrosis, which may be induced by the gastrointestinal C. muridarum as a second hit to transmucosally convert tubal repairing initiated by C. muridarum infection of tubal epithelial cells (serving as the first hit) into pathogenic fibrosis. Testing the two-hit mouse model should both add new knowledge to the growing list of mechanisms by which gastrointestinal microbes contribute to pathologies in extra-gastrointestinal tissues and provide information for investigating the potential role of gastrointestinal C. trachomatis in human chlamydial pathogenesis.
Imipenem as substrate and inhibitor of -lactamases

The interaction between imipenem, a carbapenem antibiotic, and two representative 8-lactamases has been studied. The first enzyme was fl-lactamase I, a class-A ,-lactamase from Bacillus cereus; imipenem behaved as a slow substrate (kcat 6.7 min-', Km 0.4 mm at 30 °C and at pH 7) that reacted by a branched pathway. There was transient formation of an altered species formed in a reversible reaction; this species was probably an acyl-enzyme in a slightly altered, but considerably more labile, conformation. The kinetics of the reaction were investigated by measuring both the concentration of the substrate and the activity of the enzyme, which fell and then rose again more slowly. The second enzyme was the chromosomal class-C ,3-lactamase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa; imipenem was a substrate with a low kcat (0.8 min-1) and a low Km (0.7 jtM). Possible implications for the clinical use of imipenem are considered.
D ISCOVERING G ENERALIZABLE S PATIAL G OAL R EPRESENTATIONS VIA G RAPH - BASED A CTIVE R EWARD L EARNING

In this work, we consider one-shot imitation learning for object rearrangement tasks, where an AI agent needs to watch a single expert demonstration and learn to perform the same task in different environments. To achieve a strong generalization, the AI agent must infer the spatial goal specification for the task. How-ever, there can be multiple goal specifications that fit the given demonstration. To address this, we propose a reward learning approach, Graph-based Equivalence Mappings (GEM), that can discover spatial goal representations that are aligned with the intended goal specification, enabling successful generalization in unseen environments. We conducted experiments with simulated oracles and with human subjects. The results show that GEM can drastically improve the generalizability of the learned goal representations over strong baselines.
Nucleic Acids Research Nucleic Acids Research

The deoxyoligonucleotide d(GGATGGGAG)-d(CTCCCATCC) is a portion of the gene recognition sequence of tanscription factor IIIA (TFIA). The crystal structure of this oligonucleotide was shown to be A-form (Mc Call, M., Brown, T., Hunter, W. N., and Kennard, 0. 1986 Nature 322, 661-664). The present study employs NMR, optical, chemical and enzymatic techniques to investigate the solution structure of this DNA 9-mer. NMR COSY expeiments indicate 16 of the 18 residues are predominantly south (C-2-endo) sugar conformation. NMR NOESY indicates glycosidic angles in the range predicted for B-form DNA as opposed to A-form. Related DNA and RNA self-complementary 18-mer sequences, d(GGATGGGAGC-TCCCATCC), with U substituted for T in RNA, were studied by circular dichroism. CD spectra support B-form structures for the DNA 9-mer and the DNA 18-mer, and A-form for the RNA 18-mer. High trifluoroethanol concentrations induce a B- to A-form transition in the DNA oligo- nucleotides. Enzymatic and chemical probes also illustrate significant differences between the DNA and the RNA oligonucleotides. We find no evidence to support an A-form conformation for the TEIA recognition sequence d(GGATGGGAG) d(CTCCCATCC) in solution.
Wave Power Converter Pendulor with Hybrid H.S.T.

This Pendulor, wave power converter, was invented to be robust towards storms. The key is Hybrid H.S. T. for generator driving by a higher the speed and a smaller the torque of the piston pump which can do over 360 degrees rotation free of the pendulum motion. This idea will bring the non-shock operation to the moving body type wave power conversion and when the Pendulor applies with the antenna principle, it will have a possibility to convert safe and cheap electricity from the ocean by this technology.
Associations among School Characteristics and Foodservice Practices in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Schools

Objective— Determine school characteristics associated with healthy/unhealthy foodservice offerings or healthy food preparation practices. Design— Retrospective analysis of cross-sectional data. Setting— Nationally representative sample of public and private elementary, middle and high schools. Participants— 526 and 520 schools with valid data from the 2006 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) Food Service School Questionnaire. Main Outcome Measure(s)— Scores for healthy/unhealthy foodservice offerings and healthy food preparation practices. Analysis— Multivariable regression to determine significant associations among school characteristics and offerings/preparation practices. Results— Public schools and schools participating in USDA Team Nutrition reported more healthy offerings and preparation than private or non-participating schools, respectively. Elementary schools reported less unhealthy offerings than middle or high schools; middle schools reported less unhealthy offerings than high schools. Schools requiring foodservice managers to have a college education reported more healthy preparation while those requiring completion of a foodservice training program reported less unhealthy offerings and more healthy preparation than schools without these requirements. Conclusions and Implications— Results suggest the school nutrition environment may be improved by requiring foodservice managers to hold a nutrition-related college degree and/or successfully pass a foodservice training program, and by participating in a school-based nutrition program, such as USDA Team Nutrition.
Postnatal Development of CB1 Receptor Expression in Rodent Somatosensory Cortex

Endocannabinoids are powerful modulators of synaptic transmission that act on presynaptic cannabinoid receptors. Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) is the dominant receptor in the CNS, and is present in many brain regions, including sensory cortex. To investigate the potential role of CB1 receptors in cortical development, we examined the developmental expression of CB1 in rodent primary somatosensory (barrel) cortex, using immunohistochemistry with a CB1-specific antibody. We found that before postnatal day (P) 6, CB1 receptor staining was present exclusively in the cortical white matter, and that CB1 staining appeared in the grey matter between P6 and P20 in a specific laminar pattern. CB1 staining was confined to axons, and was most prominent in cortical layers 2/3, 5a, and 6. CB1 null ( − / − ) mice showed altered anatomical barrel maps in layer 4, with enlarged inter-barrel septa, but normal barrel size. These results indicate that CB1 receptors are present in early postnatal development and influence development of sensory maps.
IgSF8 (EWI-2) and CD9 in fertilization: Evidence of distinct functions for CD9 and a CD9-associated protein in mammalian sperm-egg interaction

On the mouse egg, the tetraspanin CD9 is nearly essential for sperm-egg fusion, with another tetraspanin, CD81, playing a complementary role. Based on what is known about these proteins, egg tetraspanins are likely to be involved in regulation of membrane order through associations with other egg membrane proteins. Here we identify a first-level interaction (stable in 1% Triton X-100) between CD9 and the Immunoglobulin Superfamily member IgSF8 (also known as EWI-2), the first evidence in eggs of such an interaction of CD9 with another protein. We next compared the effects of antibody-mediated perturbation of IgSF8 and CD9, evaluating the robustness of these perturbations in in vitro fertilization conditions that heavily favor fertilization and in which fertilization occurs less frequently. These studies demonstrate that IgSF8 participates in mouse gamete interactions, and identify discrete effects of antibody-mediated perturbation of CD9 and IgSF8. An anti-IgSF8 antibody had moderate inhibitory effects on sperm-egg binding, whereas an anti-CD9 antibody significantly inhibited sperm-egg fusion, and in certain assays, had an inhibitory effect on binding as well. This work highlights the critical importance of design of IVF experiments for the detection of different effects of experimental manipulations on gamete interactions. DAPI to assess maternal DNA and to visualize sperm bound to the egg membrane and fused decondensing sperm heads in the egg cytoplasm. The average number of sperm fused per egg and the average number of sperm bound (not including fused sperm) per egg are presented. IVF experiments were performed with a minimum of three replicates, with 20-25 eggs per group per experiment. ANOVA with Fisher's protected least significant difference post-hoc testing was used to analyze the extent of sperm-egg binding and fusion.
The role of cytokines in malaria infection

We have tested the prophylactic effect of Escherichia coli-derived recombinant human interferon gamma (rHuIFN-(y)) against sporozoite- or trophozoite-induced Plasmodium cynomolgi B malaria infection in rhesus monkeys. Data show that treatment with only five doses of rHuIFN-(y) (0. 1 mg/kg body weight) given on days -2, , and +2 after infection protected the monkeys against sporozoite-induced P. cynomolgi infection. Animals initially protected by rHuIFN-(y) treatment remained susceptible to reinfection. No inhibitory effect of rHuIFN-(y) was seen against trophozoite-induced infection. We have also tested the effect of recombinant human tumour necrosis factor (rHuTNF) in rhesus monkeys. No significant activity of TNF was seen against trophozoite-induced P. cynomolgi B infection. rHuIFN-(y) inhibited schizogony in functional human hepato- cytes infected with P. falciparum sporozoites. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect ofIFN is limited to the exoerythrocytic stage of parasite development. Interleukin- 1 (IL- 1) also inhibited hepatic development of P. falciparum sporozoites; however, IL-1 treatment was effective only when applied before sporozoite inoculation. IL-2 and TNF were effective in higher doses. to test the effect of Escherichia coli-derived recombinant human IFN gamma (rHuIFN-(y)) against P. cyno- molgi B infection in rhesus monkeys. The course of the infection of rhesus monkeys with P. cynomolgi B closely resembles that of relapsing P. vivax malaria in humans (37, 38). The results show that prophylactic treatment with rHuIFN-(y) completely suppressed the sporozoite-induced infection. Animals initially pro- tected by rHuIFN-(y) treatment remained susceptible to reinfection. No effect was seen on the trophozoite- induced infection. Recombinant human tumour necrosis factor (rHuTNF) was also not significantly effective against trophozoite induced P. cynomolgi B. Studies carried out in vitro show that rHuIFN-(y) inhibited schizogony in functional human hepatocytes infected with P. falciparum sporozoites. Inter- leukin-1 (IL-1) also inhibited hepatic development of P. falciparum sporozoites. IL-2 and TNF at higher doses show some inhibitory activity against hepatic development of P. falciparum sporozoites.
Demonstration of +100-GHz Interconnects in eWLB Packaging Technology

This paper presents waveguide interconnects implemented in an embedded wafer level ball grid array (eWLB) packaging technology. The interconnects operate at ${D}$ -band (110–170 GHz), hence are enabling the realization and commercialization of high-data-rate systems. The interconnects rely on implementing radiating structures on the technology’s redistribution layers instead of using conventional ball grid arrays for the transmission of the RF signal to/from the package. The interconnects interface with standard WR-6.5 waveguides. Moreover, they do not require any galvanic contacts with the waveguide. The interconnects achieve a measured insertion loss of 2.8 dB over a bandwidth of 33%. The adopted eWLB packaging technology is suitable for low-cost high-volume production and allows heterogeneous integration with other technologies. This paper proposes cost-effective high-performance interconnects for THz integration, thus addressing one of the main challenges facing systems operating beyond 100 GHz.
Pulmonary Perspective Familial Lung Cancer Genetic Susceptibility and Relationship to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer death, and although most lung cancer is attributable to cigarette smoking, underlyinggeneticsusceptibilityissuggestedbystudiesdemonstra-tingfamilialaggregation.Thefirstfamilylinkagestudyoflungcancerhasidentifiedlinkageoflung,laryngeal,andpharyngeal cancer in families to a region on chromosome 6q23–25. Because lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are known to aggregate in families beyond shared risk associated with smoking, the linkage results are compared and contrasted with results fromgenomewide linkageandassociation studiesand candi-dategenestudiessearchingforgenesforlungcancer,lungfunction,andCOPD.Linkageonchromosome6qtobothlungcancerandlungfunction,andon12tolungcancer,COPD,andlungfunction,togetherwithoverlapincandidategenesfortheseoutcomes,sug-geststhatfutureresearchintounderlyinggeneticmechanismsoflungdiseasewouldbenefitfrombroadeningthecollectionoffamily history data and better defining the “high risk” population. As familial risk of lung disease is better defined, referral into screening programs and prevention trials can be better targeted to reach families with both a history of lung cancer and COPD.
Reducing the legal blood alcohol concentration limit for driving in developing countries: a time for change? Results and implications derived from a time series analysis (2001–2010) conducted in Brazil: REDUCING BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR DRIVING

Aims— Evaluate the effects of lowering the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit on road traffic fatalities and injuries in the State and capital of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Design— Time series analysis using ARIMA modelling. Setting— The augmented risk of road traffic accidents when under the influence of alcohol is well documented. However, many developing countries do not have a drink-driving law or have BAC limits that are above 0.05 g/dl. In Brazil, a new law introduced in 2008 has lowered the BAC limit for drivers from 0.06 to 0.02, but the effectiveness in reducing traffic accidents remains uncertain. Measurements and participants— Data on injuries and deaths caused by road traffic accidents in both regions were collected from January 2001 to June 2010, comprising a total of 1,417,087 injuries and 51,561 fatalities. Findings— The new traffic law was responsible for significant reductions in traffic injuries and fatalities rates in both localities ( P <0.05). A stronger effect was observed for traffic fatalities ( − 7.2 and − 16.0% in the average monthly rate in the State and capital, respectively) compared to traffic injuries rates ( − 1.8 and − 2.3% in the State and capital, respectively). Conclusions— Lowering BAC limits had a greater impact on traffic fatalities than injuries, with a higher effect in the capital where presumably the police enforcement was enhanced, and points to the relevance of these measures on the effectiveness of such law. Rigorous investigations on the effects of strategies derived from high-income countries to control alcohol-impaired driving should be promoted in developing countries.
Shift Work and Prostate Cancer Incidence in Industrial Workers

Background: There is inconsistent evidence for a possible carcinogenic effect of shift work. In particular, little is known about the putative association of shift work with prostate cancer. Method: We studied a cohort of 27 828 male industrial production workers residing in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate who worked for at least one year in a chemical company in the period 1995–2005. We obtained data on shift work and potential confounders including age, occupational task, and duration of employment from personnel files and from the records of the occupational health service. New cases of cancer in the period 2000–2009 were ascertained from the state cancer registry. Differences in risk between shift workers and daytime workers were analyzed with Cox regression, stratified by stage of cancer, and adjusted for potential confounding effects. Results: There were 146 new cases of prostate cancer in 12 609 rotating shift workers and 191 in 15 219 daytime workers. The median year of birth was 1960 in the first group and 1959 in the second. The shift workers did not have an elevated hazard ratio for prostate cancer in comparison to the daytime workers (HR = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73–1.18). Some differences were seen depending on tumor stage. Both groups of workers had a higher incidence of prostate carcinoma than the general population (standardized incidence rate [SIR] = 1.44, 95% CI 1.22–1.70 for daytime workers; SIR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.30–1.74 for shift workers). Conclusion: In this well-documented, large-scale cohort study, the incidence of prostate cancer among shift workers did not differ from that among daytime workers. In the authors’ opinion, further follow-up of this relatively young cohort is required.
Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction and Reclassification in Blacks and Whites: The ARIC Study

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) is a major independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) survival, and is more prevalent in blacks than whites. In a large biracial population, we evaluated the ability of ECG-determined LVH (ECG-LVH) to reclassify CVD/coronary heart disease (CHD) events beyond traditional risk factors in blacks and whites. The analysis included 14,489 participants (mean age 54+/−5.7 years, 43.5% men, 26% black) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort, with baseline (1987–989) ECG, followed for 10 years. Predicted risk for incident CVD and CHD were estimated using the 10-year Pooled Cohort and Framingham risk equations (base models 1a/1b), respectively. Models 2a and 2b included respective base model plus LVH by any of 10 traditional ECG-LVH criteria. Net reclassification improvement (NRI) was calculated, and the distribution of risk was compared using models 2a and 2b vs. models 1a and 1b, respectively. There were 792 (5.5%) 10-year Pooled Cohort CVD events, and 690 (4.8%) 10-year Framingham CHD events. LVH defined by any criteria was associated with CVD and CHD events [HR (95% CI): 1.62 (1.38–1.90) and 1.56 (1.32–1.86), respectively]. LVH did not significantly reclassify or improve C-statistic in models 2a/b [C-statistics: 0.767/0.719; NRI=0.001 (p=NS)], compared with the base models 1a/b (C-statistics: 0.770/0.718), respectively. No racial interactions were observed. In this large cohort of black and white participants, ECG-LVH was associated with CVD/CHD risk, but did not significantly improve CVD and CHD events risk prediction beyond the new Pooled Cohort and most utilized Framingham risk equations in blacks or whites. in Our study was also unique in its approach of using the newest Pooled Cohort risk model for CVD, and the most widely utilized Framingham risk model for CHD in carrying out the analysis for risk prediction and reclassification. Our study corroborates the pivotal role of the traditional components of the Pooled Cohort and Framingham risk equations in the prediction of CVD and CHD, respectively. It also suggests the presence of other contributors, different from LVH, to black-white disparities in CVD and CHD prevalence and incidence. Findings from our study suggest that data sets can be risk adjusted without the time and barrier of including ECG-LVH data.
Enhancement of 1 a ,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 -induced di(cid:128)erentiation of human leukaemia HL-60 cells into monocytes by parthenolide via inhibition of NF- k B activity

1 Transcription factors such as NF- k B provide powerful targets for drugs to use in the treatment of cancer. In this report parthenolide (PT), a sesquiterpene lactone of herbal remedies such as feverfew ( Tanacetum parthenium ) with NF- k B inhibitory activity, markedly increased the degree of human leukaemia HL-60 cell di(cid:128)erentiation when simultaneously combined with 5 n M 1 a ,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 ). PT by itself did not induce HL-60 cell di(cid:128)erentiation. 2 Cytoﬂuorometric analysis indicated that PT stimulated 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 -induced di(cid:128)erentiation of HL-60 cells predominantly into monocytes. 3 Pretreatment of HL-60 cells with PT before the 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 addition also potentiated the 1,25- (OH) 2 D 3 -induced HL-60 cell di(cid:128)erentiation in both a dose- and a time-dependent manner, in which the enhanced levels of cell di(cid:128)erentiation closely correlated with the inhibitory levels of NF- k B binding activity by PT. 4 In contrast, santonin, a sesquiterpene lactone without an inhibitory activity of NF- k B binding to the k B sites, did not enhance the 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 -induced HL-60 cell di(cid:128)erentiation. 5 In transfection experiments, PT enhanced 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 -induced VDRE-dependent promoter activity. Furthermore, PT restored 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 -induced VDRE-dependent promoter activity inhibited by TNF- a , an activator of NF- k B signalling pathway. 6 These results indicate that PT strongly potentiates the 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 -induced HL-60 cell di(cid:128)erentiation into monocytes via the inhibition of NF- k B activity and provide evidence that inhibition of NF- k B activation can be a pre-requisite to the e(cid:129)cient entry of promyelocytic leukaemia cells into a di(cid:128)erentiation pathway.