Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virulence Potential and Genome-Wide Characterization of Drug Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae Clones Selected In Vivo by the 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

We used mouse models of pneumococcal colonization and disease combined with full genome sequencing to characterize three major drug resistant clones of S. pneumoniae that were recovered from the nasopharynx of PCV7-immunized children in Portugal. The three clones – serotype 6A (ST2191), serotype 15A (ST63) and serotype 19A (ST276) carried some of the same drug resistance determinants already identified in nasopharyngeal isolates from the pre-PCV7 era. The three clones were able to colonize efficiently the mouse nasopharyngeal mucosa where populations of these pneumococci were retained for as long as 21 days. During this period, the three clones were able to asymptomatically invade the olfactory bulbs, brain, lungs and the middle ear mucosa and established populations in these tissues. The virulence potential of the three clones was poor even at high inoculum (105 CFU per mouse) concentrations in the mouse septicemia model and was undetectable in the pneumonia model. Capsular type 3 transformants of clones 6A and 19A prepared in the laboratory produced lethal infection at low cell concentration (103 CFU per mouse) but the same transformants became impaired in their potential to colonize, indicating the importance of the capsular polysaccharide in both disease and colonization. The three clones were compared to the genomes of 56 S. pneumoniae strains for which sequence information was available in the public databank. Clone 15A (ST63) only differed from the serotype 19F clone G54 in a very few genes including serotype so that this clone may be considered the product of a capsular switch. While no strain with comparable degree of similarity to clone 19A (ST276) was found among the sequenced isolates, by MLST this clone is a single locust variant (SLV) of Denmark14-ST230 international clone. Clone 6A (ST2191) was most similar to the penicillin resistant Hungarian serotype 19A clone.
Genetic and Morphometric Evidence for Population Isolation of Glossina palpalis gambiensis (Diptera: Glossinidae) on the Loos Islands, Guinea

Abstract Allele frequencies at four microsatellite loci, and morphometric features based on 11 wing landmarks, were compared among three populations of Glossina palpalis gambiensis (Diptera: Glossinidae) in Guinea. One population originated from the Loos islands separated from the capital Conakry by 5 km of sea, and the two others originated from the continental mangrove area close to Dubreka, these two groups being separated by ≈30 km. Microsatellites and wing geometry data both converged to the idea of a separation of the Loos island population from those of the mangrove area. Although occasional contacts cannot be excluded, our results support the hypothesis of the Loos population of tsetse flies being a completely isolated population. This situation will favor a sequenced intervention against human African trypanosomosis and the possibility of an elimination of tsetse from this island.
Cognitive Function in Adult Offspring of Women with Gestational Diabetes–The Role of Glucose and Other Factors

Objective We aimed to evaluate cognitive function in adult offspring of women with diet-treated gestational diabetes and to study potential associations with maternal glucose values. Materials and Methods In 2003–2005 cognitive function was assessed in a cohort of 18–27 year old offspring of women with diet-treated gestational diabetes mellitus (n = 153) and offspring from the background population (n = 118). The main outcome measure was global cognitive score derived from Raven’s Progressive Matrices and three verbal subtests from the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale. Maternal fasting- and 2-hour blood glucose values from the diagnostic oral glucose tolerance test were used as exposure variables. Results Offspring of women with gestational diabetes mellitus had a lower global cognitive score, than offspring from the background population (93.1 vs. 100.0, P<0.001). However, when adjusted for maternal age at delivery, parity, smoking during pregnancy, pre-pregnancy overweight, family social class, parental educational level, gender, birth weight, gestational age, perinatal complications and offspring age at follow-up, the difference was no longer statistically significant. Offspring global cognitive score decreased significantly with increasing maternal fasting glucose (β = −4.5, 95% CI −8.0 to −0.9, P = 0.01) and 2-hour glucose (β = −1.5, −2.9 to −0.2, P = 0.03) in univariate general linear models, but not when adjusted for family social class and parental educational level. Conclusions Lower cognitive test scores in adult offspring of women with diet-treated gestational diabetes were explained by well known predictors of cognitive function, but not by maternal hyperglycaemia during pregnancy. We find it reassuring that mild intrauterine hyperglycaemia does not seem to have adverse effect on offspring cognitive function.
The Reference Effects on a Retailer's Dynamic Pricing and Inventory Strategies with Strategic Consumers

We consider a retailer that sells the same or different versions of the product season after season. At the beginning of each season stage 1, the retailer places an order and sells the product at the full price. As the sales unfold, the retailer has an opportunity to mark down the price stage 2, which creates an incentive for strategic consumers to delay their purchases for price discount. However, consumers do not know the markdown price exactly when they time their purchases; instead, they learn from the retailer's past prices and form their estimate of the markdown price, called the reference price, to decide if they purchase at the full price or wait for the markdown in the current selling season. We characterize the properties of the optimal ordering and markdown decisions and show that markdowns, if adopted appropriately, do not necessarily destroy the stability of a business even in the presence of strategic consumers. Furthermore, the consumers' reference exhibits a mean reverting pattern under certain conditions; that is, the reference fluctuates around a mean value, reflecting the practice of most stable businesses. We conduct numerical studies to investigate the impact of consumer learning about the reference price and various system parameters on the retailer's optimal strategies and profitability in the presence of strategic consumers.
American Institute of Physics

Mr. Cleveland Norcross, formerly executive secretary of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the official organisation which coordinated American scientific work during the War, has been appointed to the newly created post of assistant director of the American Institute of Physics; Dr. H. A. Barton continues as director of the Institute. The administrative change has been necessitated by the enormous increase in the administrative burdens of the Institute, largely due to the continued increase in the number of physicists (the number has trebled in the past ten years, but which is by no means sufficient yet to meet the demands of industry, government research and teaching establishments), and to the growing recognition by the general public of the part that physics does and should play in industrial and national progress. The director will continue to be responsible to the governing board for the general supervision of the Institute, but will be primarily responsible for matters of policy and relations between physical organisations and allied bodies. Advertisement, appointments, public relations, and attention to matters affecting the member societies of the Institute will be the main concern of the assistant director.
Loss of Trop2 causes ErbB3 activation through a neuregulin-1-dependent mechanism in the mesenchymal subtype of HNSCC

In head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), four intrinsic subtypes (or groups) have been identified, and each one possesses a unique biology that will require specific treatment strategies. We previously reported that mesenchymal (group 2) tumors exhibit reduced levels of Trop2 expression. In this study, we investigated the functional role of Trop2 in HNSCC and find that loss results in autocrine activation of the EGFR family member ErbB3 via neuregulin-1. Trop2 localizes to both the cell surface and cytosol of HNSCC cells and forms a complex with neuregulin-1, which is predominantly cytosolic. Inactivation of Trop2 increases the concentration of neuregulin-1 at the cell surface where it is cleaved to activate ErbB3. In primary HNSCC, detection of ErbB3 activation was limited to Trop2 negative tumors. An analysis of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) HNSCC dataset confirms enrichment for ErbB3 activity in mesenchymal tumors. Notably, Trop2 loss triggers sensitivity to anti-ErbB3 antibodies, which results in reduced proliferation and tumorigenic growth of Trop2 negative HNSCC cancer cells. These results uncover a molecular mechanism by which tumor cells control the amount of cell-surface neuregulin-1 available for cleavage and ErbB3 activation. Moreover, we demonstrate that Trop2 is a potential surrogate biomarker to identify tumors with ErbB3 activation and may therefore respond to anti-ErbB3 therapeutics.
Consistent relationship between global climate and surface nitrate utilization in the western subarctic Pacific throughout the last 500 ka

[1] The open subarctic Pacific is, at present, a high nitrate low chlorophyll (HNLC) region, where nitrate is perennially abundant at the surface. Theoretically, the HNLC status of this region is subject to modification by ocean circulation and/or micronutrient supply, with implications for the effectiveness of the biological pump and hence carbon sequestration in the ocean interior. Records of biogenic detritus in sediments from throughout the subarctic Pacific indicate that export production was generally lower during glacial maxima, while nitrogen isotope measurements from the Bering Sea have shown that nitrate consumption there was more complete during the last glacial period than it is today. Here, nitrogen isotopic analyses of bulk sediments (δ15Nbulk) from three deep water sites in the open subarctic Pacific are evaluated in terms of regional nitrate isotopic composition and local relative nitrate utilization. The eastern subarctic Pacific δ15Nbulk record bears great similarity to δ15Nbulk records from the western margin of North America over the last glacial cycle, suggesting that variability in the isotopic composition of subeuphotic zone nitrate, the growth substrate, is reasonably coherent throughout the northeast Pacific and dominates at these sites. However, the two western subarctic Pacific records, which lie at the heart of the HNLC region, display a different pattern, implying that significant changes in local relative nitrate utilization overlie the regional background variability. After a novel correction intended to remove the background signal associated with denitrification in the eastern tropical North Pacific, these nitrate utilization records are correlated with a benthic oxygen isotope stack reflecting global deep ocean temperature and ice volume (r2 = 0.65). The correlation implies a strong link between global climate and subarctic Pacific nitrate utilization, with nearly complete nitrate consumption during glacial periods when export production was low.
New psychoactive substances and British drug policy: A view from the cyber-psychonauts

Abstract Aims: (i) To collect data on the consumption patterns, purchase patterns and motivations of the online NPS community, and (ii) engage this specific group of NPS users in an exploration of recent policy developments in the UK focusing on their experiences of new legislative controls and the perceived harms they may cause, and eliciting their suggestions for future policy developments in this area. Methods: We employed an exploratory online methodology comprising a survey and participatory online research designed to interact and engage with experienced users of NPS. Findings: The findings of our small-scale exploratory study illustrate that what we term the cyber-psychonauts are well equipped to make a valuable contribution to NPS policy debates in general, and are ideally placed to report on the effects of recent policy changes on NPS-related harms in particular. The majority of NPS users in our study supported the introduction of a regulated market for NPS, which would not criminalise users and which would focus on the reduction of NPS-related harm. Conclusions: We argue that the cyber-psychonauts are well placed to contribute to NPS-related drug policy debates and, furthermore, that there may be a role for them in disseminating emerging information about NPS-related harm.
Effect of furfural addition over the adhesive ability of soy protein

Adhesives for wood such as urea-formaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde are appreciated from its efficiency and the second one offers good resistance to moist environments. Their problem are the formaldehyde emissions, which recent studies have proved that they are harmful to human health. The main objective of this research was to develop a wood adhesive from soy protein and added furfural to increase its ability and make it environmentally friendly. Several furfural-soy protein formulations in water at adhesive concentrations of 10 %, 15 % and 20 % and dry-base furfural additions of 0 %, 15 %, 25 % and 35 %. The adhesive ability of each formulation was determined by tension assay according to the ASTM-D 2339-98 regulation, through glued pine veneer tests, to which was applied a uniform furfural-soy adhesive layer and pressed at 1 MPa, under 150 °C for 5 minutes to be cured. In the same way, glued specimens with urea-formaldehyde were prepared and tested. The results of tensile strength were 1.6 to 1.8 MPa without furfural addition, of 2.5 MPa with added 25 % furfural and 10 % concentration and 1.7 MPa with urea-formaldehyde resin. It is concluded that furfural addition to soy protein increased its adhesive resistance and had a better reaction than urea-formaldehyde resin, which makes it possible to foresee the use of this kind of adhesive formulation for board manufacture.
A Switched-Capacitor-Based Multilevel Inverter Topology With Reduced Components

This letter presents an improved sensorless nine-level inverter topology with reduced number of components. It is formed by cascading a three-level T-type neutral clamped point inverter with a floating capacitor (FC) fed two-level converter unit. Additionally, two line-frequency switches are appended across the dc-link. A simple logic-form equations-based pulse width modulator is designed which is in-charge of maintaining the FC voltage at its reference value without any aid of voltage and current sensor. Thus, the complexity in control of the proposed topology is very minimal. The working principle of the proposed inverter and formulation of logic-form equations is deliberated in detail. Furthermore, experimental results obtained from the developed prototype are presented to validate feasibility and operability of the proposed topology. Finally, a comprehensive comparison with some of the recently reported inverter topologies proving the merits of the proposed topology is included.
Friction reduction and wear resistance of electro-co-deposited inorganic fullerene-like WS_2 coating for improved stainless steel orthodontic wires

A new type of composite metal–nanoparticle coating that significantly reduces the friction force of various surfaces, particularly archwires in orthodontic applications, is demonstrated. The coating is based on electrodeposited Ni film impregnated with inorganic fullerene-like nanospheres of tungsten disulphide. The first encouraging tests have shown reduction of up to 60% of the friction force between coated rectangular archwires and self-ligating brackets in comparison with uncoated archwires. The coating not only significantly reduces friction of commercial archwires but also maintains this low value of friction for the duration of the tests in comparison to archwires coated with nickel film without the nanoparticles. The coated surfaces of the wires were examined by scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive analyzer and by x-ray powder diffraction methods before and after the friction tests. Using these analyses, it was possible to qualitatively estimate the state of the Ni+IF-WS_2 coating before and after the friction test compared to Ni coated wires without IF-WS_2.
Microparticles formed during storage of red blood cell units support thrombin generation

BACKGROUND Intact red blood cells (RBCs) appear to support thrombin generation in in vitro models of blood coagulation. During storage of RBC units, biochemical, structural, and physiological changes occur including alterations to RBC membranes and release of microparticles, which are collectively known as storage lesion. The clinical consequences of microparticle formation in RBC units are unclear. This study was performed to assess thrombin generation via the prothrombinase complex by washed RBCs and RBC-derived microparticles as a function of RBC unit age. METHODS Well-characterized kinetic and flow cytometric assays were used to quantify and characterize microparticles isolated from leukocyte-reduced RBC units during storage for 42 days under standard blood banking conditions. RESULTS Stored RBCs exhibited known features of storage lesion including decreasing pH, cell lysis, and release of microparticles demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. The rate of thrombin formation by RBC units linearly increased during storage, with the microparticle fraction accounting for approximately 70% of the prothrombinase activity after 35 days. High-resolution flow cytometric analyses of microparticle isolates identified phosphatidylserine-positive RBC-derived microparticles; however, their numbers over time did not correlate with thrombin formation in that fraction. CONCLUSION Red blood cell-derived microparticles capable of supporting prothrombinase function accumulate during storage, suggesting an increased potential of transfused units as they age to interact in unplanned ways with ongoing hemostatic processes in injured individuals, especially given the standard blood bank practice of using the oldest units available.
Interclonal, Intraclonal, and Within-Tree Variation in Fiber Length of Poplar Hybrid Clones

Variation in fiber length pattern within the stem, within clones, and between clones of the hybrid Populus x euramericana was investigated. Samples were taken from a total of twenty-seven nine-year-old trees representing ten clones from one site in south-central Quebec. Sample disks from each tree were taken from four heights. Each even-numbered ring from the pith was also sampled at each height to determine the radial variation pattern in fiber length. Clones, heights, and the position of annual rings from pith had significant effects on average fiber length. Individual tree broad-sense heritability was 0.41. The main source of variation was the position of annual rings from pith, which-accounted for about 80% of total variance. Fiber length increased from pith to bark for all sampled heights. For a given annual ring, fiber length was low at the bottom of the tree and tended to reach a maximum at mid-height. Weighted average fiber length at breast height was significantly correlated to weighted average fiber length of the merchantable stem. Finally, the correlation between fiber length and growth rate varied over the age of the tree. At early ages, correlation between ring width and fiber length was not significant; at older ages, slight negative but significant correlation was found between these two traits.
Remote Detection for Glucose and Lactate Based on Flexible Sensor Array

In this paper, we develop a flexible arrayed glucose biosensor and a flexible arrayed lactate biosensor. The nickel oxide was used as the base of sensing film, and lactate dehydrogenase and glucose oxidase were used as the catalytic materials. The graphene oxide and magnetic beads were used to improve the characteristics of biosensors, according to their advantages, such as biocompatibility, high electron transfer ability, and high specific surface area. By using potentiometric measurement, the sensing characteristics of biosensors were analyzed, such as average sensitivity, linearity, response time, decay rate, drift rate, and limit of detection. The remote glucose and lactate monitoring was carried out by using wireless real-time sensing system based on XBee module, where ZigBee standard was based on IEEE 802.15. 4 standard.
Prognostic value of PD-L1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Accumulated evidence has shown that the programmed cell death receptor 1/programmed cell death receptor 1 ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway is a promising therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy. However, the association between PD-L1 and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patient survival remains unclear. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the prognostic value of PD-L1 in ESCC. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for relevant studies that evaluated PD-L1 expression and ESCC patient survival. Fixed- and random-effects meta-analyses were conducted according to the heterogeneity of the included studies. Sensitivity analysis was performed according to Metan-based influence analysis. Publication bias was evaluated using Egger’s and Begg’s tests. Overall, 13 studies with 2,877 patients were included. Twelve studies demonstrated the association between overall survival (OS), and 6 studies described the relation between disease-free survival (DFS). PD-L1 overexpression was found in 43.7% (1,258 of 2,877) of the patients with ESCC. High PD-L1 expression was associated with distant metastasis in patients with ESCC (P = 0.04). Moreover, high PD-L1 expression was significantly associated with poor OS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02–1.86, P = 0.04) and especially in Asian populations (HR 1.49, 95% CI = 1.11–1.99, P = 0.008). But it did not have an impact on disease-free survival (HR 1.15, 95% CI = 0.76–1.74, P = 0.52). Further well-designed clinical studies with uniform assessment approaches for PD-L1 expression are warranted to verify its prognostic value.
Fast Cooling Pulsed Magnet Using Distributed Mini-gaps

Repetition rate enhancement of the pulsed high-field magnets has significant impact on their applications. The cooling efficiency improvement and repetition rate enhancement of the pulsed magnets may be best achieved by adding liquid nitrogen cooling gaps to the pulsed magnets. This study shows that minimizing the radial thickness of the cooling gaps reduces the effect of the cooling gaps on the maximum field of the magnet. However, since the flow boiling process in the mini-gaps, with the hydraulic diameter of smaller than 3 mm, is complicated. An experimental model for 1 mm mini-gaps is built to characterize the heat transfer. Experimental results indicate that the efficiency of the heat transfer of an annular 1 mm mini-gap, under the forced flow condition, is equivalent to the one of the natural convection, annular cooling gap with 3–5 mm in the present magnet. The single cooling gap of the present pulsed magnet may be subdivided into 3–5 distributed mini-gaps. As a result, the cooling efficiency will be significantly improved by increasing the number of the cooling gaps. We propose a technical scheme of a fast cooling pulsed magnet system including the cryogenic and the control system.