A Personalized Framework for Trust Assessment

The number of computational trust models has been increasing quickly in recent years yet their applications for automating trust evaluation are still limited. The main obstacle is the difficulties in selecting a suitable trust model and adapting it for particular trust modeling requirements, which varies greatly due to the subjectivity of human trust. The Personalized Trust Framework (PTF) presented in this paper aims to address this problem by providing a mechanism for human users to capture their trust evaluation process in order for it to be replicated by computers. In more details, a user can specify how he selects a trust model based on information about the subject whose trustworthiness he needs to evaluate and how that trust model is configured. This trust evaluation process is then automated by the PTF making use of the trust models flexibly plugged into the PTF by the user. By so doing, the PTF enable users reuse and personalize existing trust models to suit their requirements without having to reprogram those models

Combinative effects of Thanh Hao Miet Giap Thang (sweetwormwood and tortoise shell decoction) ingredients on antioxidative activity in vitro

Background: Traditional formulae usually exhibit therapeutic effects through the combinations of different ingredients. The purpose of this study was to investigate in vitro anti-oxidative activity of Thanh Hao Miet Giap Thang (THMGT) (Sweet Wormwood and Tortoise Shell Decoction) formula and the interactions of its ingredients leading to the overall anti-oxidative effect.Materials and Methods: We prepared 31 combinations containing two to four of the five ingredients including Herba Artemisia apiacea L (HbA),Carapax Trionycis (Tryonix sinensis) (CT), Rhizoma Anemarrhenae (Anemarrhena asphodeloides) (RzA), Radix Rehmanniae (Rehmannia glutinosaLibosch) (RdR), Moutan Cortex (Paeonia suffruticosa) (MC). These  combinations were tested for anti-oxidative activity using DCFH-DA and DPPH assays on Hep G2 cells. We also analyzed changes in expression of genes involved in antioxidant defense system including Nuclear Factor Erythroid-Derived 2-Like 2 (NFE2L2), catalase (CAT), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase (SOD1), mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2).Results: The complete formula and all combinations containing Moutan Cortex showed high antioxidant activity in both radical solution-basedchemical assay and cellular-based assay. On the contrary, Carapax Trionycis displayed inhibitory effect on the overall antioxidant activity whenpresent in a combination, an effect clearly emphasized in cellular-based assay. Hep G2 cells treated with the formula showed increased geneexpression of HO-1 and SOD2 while expression of CAT, SOD1, GPx was unchanged.Conclusion: Our results suggested that THMGT had anti-oxidative activity essentially through intrinsic reducing capacities and the overall activity ofthe formula resulted from enhancing and inhibiting interactions of  ingredients.Key words: Thanh Hao Miet Giap Thang, Sweet Wormwood and Tortoise Shell Decoction, antioxidant, traditional formulaAbbreviations: THMGT, Thanh Hao Miet Giap Thang; HbA, Herba Artemisia apiacea; CT, Carapax Tryonicis; RzA, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae; MC,Moutan Cortex; RdR, Radix Rehmanniae; ROS, Reactive oxygen species; NFE2L2, Nuclear Factor Erythroid-Derived 2-Like 2; CAT, catalase; GPx,glutathione peroxidase; SOD1, cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase; SOD2, mitochondrial superoxide dismutase; HO-1, heme oxygenase-1

Interferon regulatory factor 8-deficiency determines massive neutrophil recruitment but T cell defect in fast growing granulomas during tuberculosis

Following Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, immune cell recruitment in lungs is pivotal in establishing protective immunity through granuloma formation and neogenesis of lymphoid structures (LS). Interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8) plays an important role in host defense against Mtb, although the mechanisms driving anti-mycobacterial immunity remain unclear. In this study, IRF-8 deficient mice (IRF-8−/−) were aerogenously infected with a low-dose Mtb Erdman virulent strain and the course of infection was compared with that induced in wild-type (WT-B6) counterparts. Tuberculosis (TB) progression was examined in both groups using pathological, microbiological and immunological parameters. Following Mtb exposure, the bacterial load in lungs and spleens progressed comparably in the two groups for two weeks, after which IRF-8−/− mice developed a fatal acute TB whereas in WT-B6 the disease reached a chronic stage. In lungs of IRF-8−/−, uncontrolled growth of pulmonary granulomas and impaired development of LS were observed, associated with unbalanced homeostatic chemokines, progressive loss of infiltrating T lymphocytes and massive prevalence of neutrophils at late infection stages. Our data define IRF-8 as an essential factor for the maintenance of proper immune cell recruitment in granulomas and LS required to restrain Mtb infection. Moreover, IRF-8−/− mice, relying on a common human and mouse genetic mutation linked to susceptibility/severity of mycobacterial diseases, represent a valuable model of acute TB for comparative studies with chronically-infected congenic WT-B6 for dissecting protective and pathological immune reactions

Tidying Up International Nucleotide Sequence Databases: Ecological, Geographical and Sequence Quality Annotation of ITS Sequences of Mycorrhizal Fungi

Sequence analysis of the ribosomal RNA operon, particularly the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, provides a powerful tool for identification of mycorrhizal fungi. The sequence data deposited in the International Nucleotide Sequence Databases (INSD) are, however, unfiltered for quality and are often poorly annotated with metadata. To detect chimeric and low-quality sequences and assign the ectomycorrhizal fungi to phylogenetic lineages, fungal ITS sequences were downloaded from INSD, aligned within family-level groups, and examined through phylogenetic analyses and BLAST searches. By combining the fungal sequence database UNITE and the annotation and search tool PlutoF, we also added metadata from the literature to these accessions. Altogether 35,632 sequences belonged to mycorrhizal fungi or originated from ericoid and orchid mycorrhizal roots. Of these sequences, 677 were considered chimeric and 2,174 of low read quality. Information detailing country of collection, geographical coordinates, interacting taxon and isolation source were supplemented to cover 78.0%, 33.0%, 41.7% and 96.4% of the sequences, respectively. These annotated sequences are publicly available via UNITE (http://unite.ut.ee/) for downstream biogeographic, ecological and taxonomic analyses. In European Nucleotide Archive (ENA; http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/), the annotated sequences have a special link-out to UNITE. We intend to expand the data annotation to additional genes and all taxonomic groups and functional guilds of fungi

A morphological study of retinal changes in unilateral amblyopia using optical coherence tomography image segmentation.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible structural changes of the macula in patients with unilateral amblyopia using optical coherence tomography (OCT) image segmentation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 38 consecutive patients (16 male; mean age 32.4+/-17.6 years; range 6-67 years) with unilateral amblyopia were involved in this study. OCT examinations were performed with a time-domain OCT device, and a custom-built OCT image analysis software (OCTRIMA) was used for OCT image segmentation. The axial length (AL) was measured by a LenStar LS 900 device. Macular layer thickness, AL and manifest spherical equivalent refraction (MRSE) of the amblyopic eye were compared to that of the fellow eye. We studied if the type of amblyopia (strabismus without anisometropia, anisometropia without strabismus, strabismus with anisometropia) had any influence on macular layer thickness values. RESULTS: There was significant difference between the amblyopic and fellow eyes in MRSE and AL in all subgroups. Comparing the amblyopic and fellow eyes, we found a statistically significant difference only in the thickness of the outer nuclear layer in the central region using linear mixed model analysis keeping AL and age under control (p = 0.032). There was no significant difference in interocular difference in the thickness of any macular layers between the subgroups with one-way between-groups ANCOVA while statistically controlling for interocular difference in AL and age. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results there are subtle changes in amblyopic eyes affecting the outer nuclear layer of the fovea suggesting the possible involvement of the photoreceptors. However, further studies are warranted to support this hypothesis

The reference frame for encoding and retention of motion depends on stimulus set size

YesThe goal of this study was to investigate the reference frames used in perceptual encoding and storage of visual motion information. In our experiments, observers viewed multiple moving objects and reported the direction of motion of a randomly selected item. Using a vector-decomposition technique, we computed performance during smooth pursuit with respect to a spatiotopic (nonretinotopic) and to a retinotopic component and compared them with performance during fixation, which served as the baseline. For the stimulus encoding stage, which precedes memory, we found that the reference frame depends on the stimulus set size. For a single moving target, the spatiotopic reference frame had the most significant contribution with some additional contribution from the retinotopic reference frame. When the number of items increased (Set Sizes 3 to 7), the spatiotopic reference frame was able to account for the performance. Finally, when the number of items became larger than 7, the distinction between reference frames vanished. We interpret this finding as a switch to a more abstract nonmetric encoding of motion direction. We found that the retinotopic reference frame was not used in memory. Taken together with other studies, our results suggest that, whereas a retinotopic reference frame may be employed for controlling eye movements, perception and memory use primarily nonretinotopic reference frames. Furthermore, the use of nonretinotopic reference frames appears to be capacity limited. In the case of complex stimuli, the visual system may use perceptual grouping in order to simplify the complexity of stimuli or resort to a nonmetric abstract coding of motion information

Significance of vascular endothelial growth factor in growth and peritoneal dissemination of ovarian cancer

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of angiogenesis which drives endothelial cell survival, proliferation, and migration while increasing vascular permeability. Playing an important role in the physiology of normal ovaries, VEGF has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. Essentially by promoting tumor angiogenesis and enhancing vascular permeability, VEGF contributes to the development of peritoneal carcinomatosis associated with malignant ascites formation, the characteristic feature of advanced ovarian cancer at diagnosis. In both experimental and clinical studies, VEGF levels have been inversely correlated with survival. Moreover, VEGF inhibition has been shown to inhibit tumor growth and ascites production and to suppress tumor invasion and metastasis. These findings have laid the basis for the clinical evaluation of agents targeting VEGF signaling pathway in patients with ovarian cancer. In this review, we will focus on VEGF involvement in the pathophysiology of ovarian cancer and its contribution to the disease progression and dissemination