Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bleachability and Dyeing Properties of Biopretreated and Conventionally Scoured Cotton Fabrics

Enzymatic (cellulase, pectinase, xylanase) and simple buffer treatments in the presence of a nonionic surfactant improve water wettability of fabrics to a level equal to conven tional alkaline scouring. Caustic scoured fabric is significantly lighter and less colored than all the biopretreated samples. Application of a hydrogen peroxide bleaching subse quent to the biopretreatment is beneficial because it reduces the great color differences between conventionally scoured and biopretreated samples. Bleachability of the pretreated fabrics is better than that of the conventionally scoured sample. Biopretreated fabrics can be dyed with a reactive dye subsequent to the enzymatic treatment without further oxidative bleaching. At higher dye concentrations (i.e., 1 or 2%), there is no perceptible color difference between the biopretreated and alkaline scoured fabrics in the dyed state. In pale and medium dyeings, however, the color difference is great and perceptible. Bleaching applied subsequent to bioscouring significantly decreases the color difference between the dyed samples pretreated in different ways. None of the pretreatments causes uneven dyeing. Wash fastness of the dyed samples is excellent and unrelated to the pretreatment method.
Prevalence and risk factors for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an acute care hospital and long-term care facilities located in the same geographic area.

UNLABELLED To determine the prevalence and risk factors (RF) for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during stay in 1 acute care hospital (ACH) and 4 long-term care facilities (LTCF). After obtaining the informed consent, nasal and skin ulcer swabs were taken and a survey was conducted to determine RF for MRSA. Six hundred and ninety nine patients were included, 413 LTCF and 286 ACH patients and MRSA prevalence were 22.5% and 7.3% respectively. MRSA was located in the nares, skin ulcers, and in both in 61.4%, 21.1%, and 17.5%. Among MRSA carriers, 81% of the ACH and 66.7% of the LTCF patients were only colonized. The multivariate analysis for the ACH revealed the following factors to be associated with MRSA: referral from an LTCF (OR 4.84), pressure ulcers (OR 4.32), a Barthel score < 60 (OR 2.60), and being male (OR 5.21). For the LTCF: urinary catheterisation (OR 3.53), pressure ulcers (OR 2.44), other skin lesions (OR 2.64), antibiotic treatment in ≤ 6 months, (OR 2.23), previous MRSA colonization (OR 2.15), and a Barthel score <20 (OR 1.28). Molecular typing identified 2 predominant clones Q, P, present in all centres. No relationship was found between clones and antibiotic susceptibility. IN CONCLUSION MRSA prevalence is high in all centres but is 3 times greater in LTCF. The risk factors most strongly associated with MRSA were pressure ulcers and a stay in an LTCF. We propose preventive isolation in these cases.
Challenges to the Common Clinical Paradigm for Diagnosis of Glaucomatous Damage With OCT and Visual Fields

The most common clinical paradigm (CCP) for diagnosing glaucoma includes a visual field (VF) with a 6° test grid (e.g., the 24-2 or 30-2 test pattern) and an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of the optic disc. Furthermore, these tests are assessed based upon quantitative metrics (e.g., the pattern standard deviation [PSD] of the VF and the global retinal nerve fiber thickness of the OCT disc scan). This CCP is facing three challenges. First, the macular region (i.e., ±8° from fixation) is affected early in the glaucomatous process, and the CCP can miss and/or underestimate the damage. Second, use of the typical VF and OCT metrics underestimates the degree of agreement between structural (OCT) and functional (VF) damage. Third, resolution of the OCT scan has improved, and local glaucomatous damage can be visualized like never before. However, the clinician often does not look at the OCT scan image. Together these challenges argue for a modification of the VF test pattern and OCT protocol, replacement of metrics with a comparison of abnormal regions on VF and OCT, and careful inspection of actual OCT scan images. In principle, the CCP could be modified easily. In practice, change is facing a number of impediments.
Handoff delay analysis and measurement for SIP based mobility in IPv6

This paper describes the session initiation protocol (SIP) based mobility in IPv6 and its performance in our laboratory testbed. For real-time mobile multimedia communication, we use SIP for signaling protocol as well as for supporting terminal mobility. While performance study for real-time mobile communication refers to several factors and their measurements, we analyze here only the handoff delay due to node mobility. In particular, we are interested to examine the delay incurred when a mobile node moves to a new link and perform the duplicate address detection (DAD) and router selection, and analyze the delay in each case. We notice that the IPv6 Linux implementation provides substantial amount of delay during node movement, which severely affects the performance of real-time applications. Therefore, we modify the Linux kernel and compare with the unaltered one. Finally, we conclude that a faster handoff is achievable in SIP based terminal mobility with intelligent modifications to unaltered Linux kernel.
Cloning, functional analysis and cell localization of a kidney proximal tubule water transporter homologous to CHIP28

The localization and transporting properties of a kidney protein homologous to human erythrocyte protein CHIP28 was evaluated. The cDNA encoding rat kidney protein CHIP28k was isolated from a rat renal cortex cDNA library. A 2.8-kb cDNA was identified which contained an 807 bp open reading frame encoding a 28.8 kD protein with 94% amino acid identity to CHIP28. in vitro translation of CHIP28k cDNA in rabbit reticulocyte lysate generated a 28-kD protein; addition of ER-derived microsomes gave a 32-kD transmembrane glycoprotein. Translation of truncated RNA demonstrated glycosylation of residue Asn42 which is predicted to lie between the first and second transmembrane domains. Expression of in vitro transcribed mRNA encoding CHIP28k in Xenopus oocytes increased oocyte osmotic water permeability (Pf) from (4 +/- 1) x 10(-4) to (33 +/- 4) x 10(-4) cm/s at 10 degrees C; the increase in oocyte Pf was weakly temperature dependent and inhibited by HgCl2. Two- electrode voltage clamp measurements indicated that CHIP28k was not permeable to ions. Oocyte Pf also increased with expression of total mRNA from kidney cortex and papilla; the increase in Pf with mRNA from cortex, but not kidney papilla, was blocked by coinjection with excess antisense CHIP28k cRNA. In situ hybridization of a 150 base cRNA antisense probe to tissue sections from rat kidney showed selective CHIP28k localization to epithelial cells in proximal tubule and thin descending limb of Henle. Pf in purified apical membrane vesicles from rat and human proximal tubule, and in proteoliposomes reconstituted with purified protein, was very high and inhibited by HgCl2; stripping of apical vesicles with N-lauroylsarcosine enriched a 28-kD protein by 25-fold and yielded a vesicle population with high water, but low urea and proton permeabilities. CHIP28k identity was confirmed by NH2- terminus sequence analysis. These results indicate that CHIP28k is a major and highly selective water transporting protein in the kidney proximal tubule and thin descending limb of Henle, but not collecting duct.
IL-31–IL-31R interactions negatively regulate type 2 inflammation in the lung

Interleukin (IL) 31Rα (glycoprotein 130–like monocyte receptor and glycoprotein 130–like receptor) heterodimerizes with oncostatin M receptor β to bind IL-31, a cytokine expressed preferentially by CD4+ T helper type 2 (Th2) cells. However, the functions of IL-31–IL-31R signaling in immune regulation remain unknown. Here, we identify a novel role for IL-31R in limiting type 2 inflammation in the lung. After intravenous injection of Schistosoma mansoni eggs, IL-31Rα−/− mice developed severe pulmonary inflammation, characterized by an increase in the area of granulomatous inflammation, increased numbers of resistin-like molecule α+ cells, and enhanced collagen deposition compared to WT counterparts. In vitro, macrophages generated from IL-31Rα−/− mice promoted enhanced ovalbumin-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation and purified naive CD4+ T cells from IL-31Rα−/− mice exhibited enhanced proliferation and expression of Th2 cytokines, identifying a T cell– and macrophage-intrinsic regulatory function for IL-31R signaling. In contrast, the generation of CD4+ T cell–mediated Th1 responses were normal in IL-31Rα−/− mice, suggesting that the regulatory role of IL-31R signaling is limited to type 2 responses. Together, these data implicate IL-31R signaling as a novel negative regulatory pathway that specifically limits type 2 inflammation.
The Autophagy Receptor TAX1BP1 and the Molecular Motor Myosin VI Are Required for Clearance of Salmonella Typhimurium by Autophagy

Autophagy plays a key role during Salmonella infection, by eliminating these pathogens following escape into the cytosol. In this process, selective autophagy receptors, including the myosin VI adaptor proteins optineurin and NDP52, have been shown to recognize cytosolic pathogens. Here, we demonstrate that myosin VI and TAX1BP1 are recruited to ubiquitylated Salmonella and play a key role in xenophagy. The absence of TAX1BP1 causes an accumulation of ubiquitin-positive Salmonella, whereas loss of myosin VI leads to an increase in ubiquitylated and LC3-positive bacteria. Our structural studies demonstrate that the ubiquitin-binding site of TAX1BP1 overlaps with the myosin VI binding site and point mutations in the TAX1BP1 zinc finger domains that affect ubiquitin binding also ablate binding to myosin VI. This mutually exclusive binding and the association of TAX1BP1 with LC3 on the outer limiting membrane of autophagosomes may suggest a molecular mechanism for recruitment of this motor to autophagosomes. The predominant role of TAX1BP1, a paralogue of NDP52, in xenophagy is supported by our evolutionary analysis, which demonstrates that functionally intact NDP52 is missing in Xenopus and mice, whereas TAX1BP1 is expressed in all vertebrates analysed. In summary, this work highlights the importance of TAX1BP1 as a novel autophagy receptor in myosin VI-mediated xenophagy. Our study identifies essential new machinery for the autophagy-dependent clearance of Salmonella typhimurium and suggests modulation of myosin VI motor activity as a potential therapeutic target in cellular immunity.
Does conflict help or hurt cognitive control? Initial evidence for an inverted U-shape relationship between perceived task difficulty and conflict adaptation

Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control quickly adapts to changing task demands. We investigated in four experiments how this behavioral congruency-sequence effect relates to different levels of perceived task difficulty in a flanker and a Stroop task. In addition, online measures of pupil diameter were used as a physiological index of effort mobilization. Consistent with motivational accounts predicting that increased levels of perceived task difficulty will increase effort mobilization only up to a certain limit, reliable dynamic conflict-driven adjustment in cognitive control was only observed when task difficulty was relatively low. Instead, tasks tentatively associated with high levels of difficulty showed no or reversed conflict adaptation. Although the effects could not be linked consistently to effects in self-reported task difficulty in all experiments, regression analyses showed associations between perceived task difficulty and conflict adaptation in some of the experiments, which provides some initial evidence for an inverted U-shape relationship between perceived difficulty and adaptations in cognitive control. Furthermore, high levels of task difficulty were associated with a conflict-driven reduction in pupil dilation, suggesting that pupil dilation can be used as a physiological marker of mental overload. Our findings underscore the importance of developing models that are grounded in motivational accounts of cognitive control.
Novel method for simultaneous determination of p-cresylsulphate and p-cresylglucuronide: clinical data and pathophysiological implications.

BACKGROUND The uraemic retention solutes p-cresylsulphate (pCS) and p-cresylglucuronide (pCG), two conjugates of p-cresol, were never determined simultaneously. In the present paper, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and used to quantify both compounds in parallel in an in vivo observational study and their in vitro effect was evaluated by flow cytometry. METHODS pCS and pCG were determined in serum. For the validation specificity, linearity, recovery, precision and the quantification limit were evaluated. In vivo, concentrations of both compounds were determined in 15 controls and 77 haemodialysis patients, as well as protein binding in the dialysed group and the reduction ratios during haemodiafiltration. In addition, the in vitro effect of the solutes on leucocyte free radical production at measured concentrations was assessed. RESULTS A fast and accurate HPLC method was developed to simultaneously quantify pCS and pCG. Both conjugates are retained in uraemia with a substantially higher total serum pCS in comparison to pCG (31.4 ± 15.8 versus 7.3 ± 6.5 mg/L) but also a substantial difference in protein binding (92.4 ± 3.0 versus 8.3 ± 4.4%) and in reduction ratio during post-dilution haemodiafiltration (37.4 ± 7.1 versus 78.6 ± 6.4%). pCG per se has no effect on leucocyte oxidative burst activity, whereas in combination with pCS, a synergistic activating effect was observed. CONCLUSIONS Serum concentrations of pCS and pCG are elevated in uraemia. Both conjugates show a different protein binding, resulting in a different dialytic behaviour. Biologically, both conjugates are synergistic in activating leucocytes.
Prediction of Protein Subcellular Localizations

The support vector machine (SVM) method based on n-peptide composition (Yu et al, Proteins: Struct. Funct. Genet. 2003:50:531-536) is used to predict the subcellular localizations of proteins. For an unbiased assessment of the results, we apply our approach to two independent data sets: one set consisting of two parts (Reinhardt and Hubbard, Nucleic Acids Res. 1998; 26:2230-2236): the prokaryotic set includes 997 protein sequences in three categories and the eukaryotic set includes 2427 sequences in four localization categories; another set comprising 2191 proteins in 12 subcellular localizations (Chou and Cai, J. Biol. Chem. 2002; 277:45765-45769). Our approach provides excellent results for both data sets. For the first data set, our approach gives an overall prediction accuracy 93.2% for prokaryotic sequences, 88.1% for eukaryotic sequences. Our approach also yields significantly better Matthews correlation coefficient for each subcellular localization than the existing approaches. For the second data set, our approach achieves an overall prediction accuracy 83.2%, which is also around 10% higher than the best existing result. Our approaches should be valuable in the high throughput analysis of genomics and proteomics.
A Comparative Analysis of the Upper Thermal Tolerance Limits of Eastern Pacific Porcelain Crabs, Genus Petrolisthes: Influences of Latitude, Vertical Zonation, Acclimation, and Phylogeny

Marine intertidal organisms are subjected to a variety of abiotic stresses, including aerial exposure and wide ranges of temperature. Intertidal species generally have higher thermal tolerance limits than do subtidal species, and tropical species have higher thermal tolerance limits than do temperate species. The adaptive significance of upper thermal tolerance limits of intertidal organisms, however, has not been examined within a comparative context. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the adaptive significance of upper thermal tolerance limits in 20 congeneric species of porcelain crabs, genus Petrolisthes, from intertidal and subtidal habitats throughout the eastern Pacific. Upper thermal tolerance limits are positively correlated with surface water temperatures and with maximal microhabitat temperatures. Analysis of phylogenetically independent contrasts (from a phylogenetic tree on the basis of the 16s rDNA gene sequence) suggests that upper thermal tolerance limits have evolved in response to maximal microhabitat temperatures. Upper thermal tolerance limits increased during thermal acclimation at elevated temperatures, the amount of increase being greater for subtidal than for intertidal species. This result suggests that the upper thermal tolerance limits of some intertidal species may be near current habitat temperature maxima, and global warming thus may affect the distribution limits of intertidal species to a greater extent than for subtidal species.
Group B Streptococcus vaccine development: present status and future considerations, with emphasis on perspectives for low and middle income countries

Globally, group B Streptococcus (GBS) remains the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in young infants, with its greatest burden in the first 90 days of life. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) for women at risk of transmitting GBS to their newborns has been effective in reducing, but not eliminating, the young infant GBS disease burden in many high income countries. However, identification of women at risk and administration of IAP is very difficult in many low and middle income country (LMIC) settings, and is not possible for home deliveries. Immunization of pregnant women with a GBS vaccine represents an alternate pathway to protecting newborns from GBS disease, through the transplacental antibody transfer to the fetus in utero. This approach to prevent GBS disease in young infants is currently under development, and is approaching late stage clinical evaluation. This manuscript includes a review of the natural history of the disease, global disease burden estimates, diagnosis and existing control options in different settings, the biological rationale for a vaccine including previous supportive studies, analysis of current candidates in development, possible correlates of protection and current status of immunogenicity assays. Future potential vaccine development pathways to licensure and use in LMICs, trial design and implementation options are discussed, with the objective to provide a basis for reflection, rather than recommendations.
Dynamic interactions of high Cdt1 and geminin levels regulate S phase in early Xenopus embryos

Cdt1 plays a key role in licensing DNA for replication. In the somatic cells of metazoans, both Cdt1 and its natural inhibitor geminin show reciprocal fluctuations in their protein levels owing to cell cycle-dependent proteolysis. Here, we show that the protein levels of Cdt1 and geminin are persistently high during the rapid cell cycles of the early Xenopus embryo. Immunoprecipitation of Cdt1 and geminin complexes, together with their cell cycle spatiotemporal dynamics, strongly supports the hypothesis that Cdt1 licensing activity is regulated by periodic interaction with geminin rather than its proteolysis. Overexpression of ectopic geminin slows down, but neither arrests early embryonic cell cycles nor affects endogenous geminin levels; apparent embryonic lethality is observed around 3-4 hours after mid-blastula transition. However, functional knockdown of geminin by ΔCdt1_193-447, which lacks licensing activity and degradation sequences, causes cell cycle arrest and DNA damage in affected cells. This contributes to subsequent developmental defects in treated embryos. Our results clearly show that rapidly proliferating early Xenopus embryonic cells are able to regulate replication licensing in the persistent presence of high levels of licensing proteins by relying on changing interactions between Cdt1 and geminin during the cell cycle, but not their degradation.
An Integrated Implantable Stimulator That is Fail-Safe Without Off-Chip Blocking-Capacitors

We present a neural stimulator chip with an output stage (electrode driving circuit) that is fail-safe under single-fault conditions without the need for off-chip blocking-capacitors. To miniaturize the stimulator output stage two novel techniques are introduced. The first technique is a new current generator circuit reducing to a single step the translation of the digital input bits into the stimulus current, thus minimizing silicon area and power consumption compared to previous works. The current generator uses voltage-controlled resistors implemented by MOS transistors in the deep triode region. The second technique is a new stimulator output stage circuit with blocking-capacitor safety protection using a high-frequency current-switching (HFCS) technique. Unlike conventional stimulator output stage circuits for implantable functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems which require blocking-capacitors in the microfarad range, our proposed approach allows capacitance reduction to the picofarad range, thus the blocking-capacitors can be integrated on-chip. The prototype four-channel neural stimulator chip was fabricated in XFAB's 1-mum silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology and can operate from a power supply between 5-18 V. The stimulus current is generated by active charging and passive discharging. We obtained recordings of action potentials and a strength-duration curve from the sciatic nerve of a frog with the stimulator chip which demonstrate the HFCS technique. The average power consumption for a typical 1-mA 20-Hz single-channel stimulation using a book electrode, is 200 muW from a 6 V power supply. The silicon area occupation is 0.38 mm2 per channel.
Temporal resolution of general odor pulses by olfactory sensory neurons in American cockroaches

Behavioral and physiological evidence indicates that insect pheromone sensory neurons are able to resolve pulses of pheromone concentration as they occur downwind from a point source, but the abilities of insect sensory neurons that are sensitive to general odors to respond to pulsatile stimuli are unknown. The temporal response characteristics of olfactory sensory neurons of female American cockroaches Periplaneta americana in response to general odors were measured using a series of short odor pulses (20­400 ms). Odor pulses were delivered to olfactory sensilla in a moving airstream controlled by electromagnetic valves. The responses of sensory neurons were recorded using a tungsten electrode placed at the base of the sensillum. The temporal responses of sensory neurons followed the temporal changes in stimulus concentration, which were estimated by replacing the odorant with oil smoke and measuring the concentration of smoke passing through a light beam. Spike frequency varied with odorant concentration with surprisingly fine temporal resolution. Cockroach olfactory sensory neurons were able reliably to follow 25 ms pulses of the pure odorant 1-hexanol and 50 ms pulses of the complex odor blend coconut oil. Lower concentrations of odorants elicited responses with lower peak spike frequencies that still retained the temporal resolution of the stimulus pulses. Thus, responses of olfactory sensory neurons can reflect the fine structures of non-uniform distributions of general odorants in a turbulent odor plume as well as the average odorant concentration.