522 research outputs found
On the Usability of Probably Approximately Correct Implication Bases
We revisit the notion of probably approximately correct implication bases
from the literature and present a first formulation in the language of formal
concept analysis, with the goal to investigate whether such bases represent a
suitable substitute for exact implication bases in practical use-cases. To this
end, we quantitatively examine the behavior of probably approximately correct
implication bases on artificial and real-world data sets and compare their
precision and recall with respect to their corresponding exact implication
bases. Using a small example, we also provide qualitative insight that
implications from probably approximately correct bases can still represent
meaningful knowledge from a given data set.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures; typos added, corrected x-label on graph
Host Plant Use by Competing Acacia-Ants: Mutualists Monopolize While Parasites Share Hosts
Protective ant-plant mutualisms that are exploited by non-defending parasitic ants represent prominent model systems for ecology and evolutionary biology. The mutualist Pseudomyrmex ferrugineus is an obligate plant-ant and fully depends on acacias for nesting space and food. The parasite Pseudomyrmex gracilis facultatively nests on acacias and uses host-derived food rewards but also external food sources. Integrative analyses of genetic microsatellite data, cuticular hydrocarbons and behavioral assays showed that an individual acacia might be inhabited by the workers of several P. gracilis queens, whereas one P. ferrugineus colony monopolizes one or more host trees. Despite these differences in social organization, neither of the species exhibited aggressive behavior among conspecific workers sharing a tree regardless of their relatedness. This lack of aggression corresponds to the high similarity of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles among ants living on the same tree. Host sharing by unrelated colonies, or the presence of several queens in a single colony are discussed as strategies by which parasite colonies could achieve the observed social organization. We argue that in ecological terms, the non-aggressive behavior of non-sibling P. gracilis workers â regardless of the route to achieve this social structure â enables this species to efficiently occupy and exploit a host plant. By contrast, single large and long-lived colonies of the mutualist P. ferrugineus monopolize individual host plants and defend them aggressively against invaders from other trees. Our findings highlight the necessity for using several methods in combination to fully understand how differing life history strategies affect social organization in ants
An adaptive social network for information access: Theoretical and experimental results
A Protocol for a Distributed Recommender System
Trusting Agents for Trusting Electronic Societie
Restoration of contact inhibition in human glioblastoma cell lines after MIF knockdown
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies of the role of the cytokine macrophage-migration-inhibitory-factor (MIF) in malignant tumors have revealed its stimulating influence on cell-cycle progression, angiogenesis and anti-apoptosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that <it>in vitro </it>targeting MIF in cultures of human malignant glioblastoma cells by either antisense plasmid introduction or anti-MIF antibody treatment reduced the growth rates of tumor cells. Of note is the marked decrease of proliferation under confluent and over-confluent conditions, implying a role of MIF in overcoming contact inhibition. Several proteins involved in contact inhibition including p27, p21, p53 and CEBPalpha are upregulated in the MIF antisense clones indicating a restoration of contact inhibition in the tumor cells. Correspondingly, we observed a marked increase in MIF mRNA and protein content under higher cell densities in LN18 cells. Furthermore, we showed the relevance of the enzymatic active site of MIF for the proliferation of glioblastoma cells by using the MIF-tautomerase inhibitor ISO-1.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study adds another puzzle stone to the role of MIF in tumor growth and progression by showing the importance of MIF for overcoming contact inhibition.</p
Disease Severity in Patients Infected with Leishmania mexicana Relates to IL-1ÎČ
Leishmania mexicana can cause both localized (LCL) and diffuse (DCL) cutaneous leishmaniasis, yet little is known about factors regulating disease severity in these patients. We analyzed if the disease was associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-1ÎČ (â511), CXCL8 (â251) and/or the inhibitor IL-1RA (+2018) in 58 Mexican mestizo patients with LCL, 6 with DCL and 123 control cases. Additionally, we analyzed the in vitro production of IL-1ÎČ by monocytes, the expression of this cytokine in sera of these patients, as well as the tissue distribution of IL-1ÎČ and the number of parasites in lesions of LCL and DCL patients. Our results show a significant difference in the distribution of IL-1ÎČ (â511 C/T) genotypes between patients and controls (heterozygous OR), with respect to the reference group CC, which was estimated with a value of 3.23, 95% CIâ=â(1.2, 8.7) and p-valueâ=â0.0167), indicating that IL-1ÎČ (â511 C/T) represents a variable influencing the risk to develop the disease in patients infected with Leishmania mexicana. Additionally, an increased in vitro production of IL-1ÎČ by monocytes and an increased serum expression of the cytokine correlated with the severity of the disease, since it was significantly higher in DCL patients heavily infected with Leishmania mexicana. The distribution of IL-1ÎČ in lesions also varied according to the number of parasites harbored in the tissues: in heavily infected LCL patients and in all DCL patients, the cytokine was scattered diffusely throughout the lesion. In contrast, in LCL patients with lower numbers of parasites in the lesions, IL-1ÎČ was confined to the cells. These data suggest that IL-1ÎČ possibly is a key player determining the severity of the disease in DCL patients. The analysis of polymorphisms in CXCL8 and IL-1RA showed no differences between patients with different disease severities or between patients and controls
Regulatory T Cells in the Pathogenesis and Healing of Chronic Human Dermal Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania (Viannia) Species
The immune inflammatory response is a double edged sword. During infectious diseases, regulatory T cells can prevent eradication of the pathogen but can also limit inflammation and tissue damage. We investigated the role of regulatory T cells in chronic dermal leishmaniasis caused by species of the parasite Leishmania that are endemic in South and Central America. We found that although individuals with chronic lesions have increased regulatory T cells in their blood and at skin sites where immune responses to Leishmania were taking place compared to infected individuals who do not develop disease, their capacity to control the inflammatory response to Leishmania was inferior. However, healing of chronic lesions at the end of treatment was accompanied by an increase in the number and capacity of regulatory T cells to inhibit the function of effector T cells that mediate the inflammatory response. Different subsets of regulatory T cells, defined by the expression of molecular markers, were identified during chronic disease and healing, supporting the participation of distinct regulatory T cells in the development of disease and the control of inflammation during the healing response. Immunotherapeutic strategies may allow these regulatory T cell subsets to be mobilized or mitigated to achieve healing
Observation of the doubly charmed baryon decay Îcc++âÎcâČ+Ï+
The Îcc++âÎcâČ+Ï+ decay is observed using proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fbâ1. The Îcc++âÎcâČ+Ï+ decay is reconstructed partially, where the photon from the ÎcâČ+âÎc+Îł decay is not reconstructed and the pKâÏ+ final state of the Îc+ baryon is employed. The Îcc++âÎcâČ+Ï+branching fraction relative to that of the Îcc++âÎc+Ï+ decay is measured to be 1.41 ± 0.17 ± 0.10, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. [Figure not available: see fulltext.
Test of lepton universality in decays
The first simultaneous test of muon-electron universality using
and decays is performed, in two ranges of the dilepton
invariant-mass squared, . The analysis uses beauty mesons produced in
proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and
2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 . Each
of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in
the given interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The
results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-046.html (LHCb
public pages
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