Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Advances in Cerenkov Luminescence and Tomography Imaging

Molecular imaging can provide qualitative or quantitative physiological and pathological knowledge at the cellular and molecular levels for biomedical research, which has experienced a remarkable growth in recent years. Among molecular imaging techniques, optical molecular imaging has attracted considerable attention in view of its excellent performance and high cost-effectiveness. However, heretofore the experimental objects of optical imaging technique are mainly small animals like rats and mice, and optical imaging can hardly be used for clinical research not only because of the limited tissue penetration, but also due to the scarcity of appropriate imaging probes. As a newly emerging and very promising imaging modality, Cerenkov luminescence employs light signals emitting from radionuclides used in nuclear imaging based on Cerenkov radiation, which can provide more potential optical imaging probes for clinical application and facilitate the realization of multimodality imaging. In this paper, the fundamentals of Cerenkov luminescence are first introduced, and then Cerenkov luminescence imaging and tomography as well as the corresponding biomedical applications are represented. Finally, limitations of Cerenkov luminescence and the discussion of this contribution are covered.
Treatment of Plasmodium chabaudi Parasites with Curcumin in Combination with Antimalarial Drugs: Drug Interactions and Implications on the Ubiquitin/Proteasome System

Antimalarial drug resistance remains a major obstacle in malaria control. Evidence from Southeast Asia shows that resistance to artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) is inevitable. Ethnopharmacological studies have confirmed the efficacy of curcumin against Plasmodium spp. Drug interaction assays between curcumin/piperine/chloroquine and curcumin/piperine/artemisinin combinations and the potential of drug treatment to interfere with the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) were analyzed. In vivo efficacy of curcumin was studied in BALB/c mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi clones resistant to chloroquine and artemisinin, and drug interactions were analyzed by isobolograms. Subtherapeutic doses of curcumin, chloroquine, and artemisinin were administered to mice, and mRNA was collected following treatment for RT-PCR analysis of genes encoding deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs). Curcumin was found be nontoxic in BALB/c mice. The combination of curcumin/chloroquine/piperine reduced parasitemia to 37% seven days after treatment versus the control group's 65%, and an additive interaction was revealed. Curcumin/piperine/artemisinin combination did not show a favorable drug interaction in this murine model of malaria. Treatment of mice with subtherapeutic doses of the drugs resulted in a transient increase in genes encoding DUBs indicating UPS interference. If curcumin is to join the arsenal of available antimalarial drugs, future studies exploring suitable drug partners would be of interest.
Type IV Pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Influence the Activation of Human CD4+ T Cells

ABSTRACT Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, and infection with this organism is typically associated with an intense inflammatory response. In many individuals, however, the infection is asymptomatic and can progress to serious secondary complications. The type IV pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae mediate binding of the bacteria to host cells and are involved in cellular signal transduction. In these studies we have demonstrated that gonococcal pili influence human CD4+ T cells by using isogenic strains of N. gonorrhoeae with piliated and nonpiliated phenotypes. To determine the impact of piliation on the cellular status, we examined the expression of activation markers, cellular proliferation, and the production of cytokines after infection. The activation marker CD69 showed significantly increased expression on cells infected with the piliated strain, and this expression was dependent on costimulation of the T-cell receptor. Infection with piliated gonococci also altered T-cell proliferation and influenced the production of the regulatory cytokine interleukin-10. PilC, the putative pilus adhesin, was also observed to influence cellular activation but had no impact on the proliferation of cells further indicating that pilus-mediated adhesion is important in gonococcal stimulation of CD4+ T cells. These results show that the piliation status of gonococci influences CD4+ T-cell activation and that the adhesion mediated by pilus components aids in the regulation of the T-cell response to N. gonorrhoeae.
Pedicle screw fixation for isthmic spondylolisthesis: does posterior lumbar interbody fusion improve outcome over posterolateral fusion?

OBJECT Posterolateral fusion involving instrumentation-assisted segmental fixation represents a valid procedure in the treatment of lumbar instability. In cases of anterior column failure, such as in isthmic spondylolisthesis, supplemental posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) may improve the fusion rate and endurance of the construct. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion is, however, a more demanding procedure and increases costs and risks of the intervention. The advantages of this technique must, therefore, be weighed against those of a simple posterior lumbar fusion. METHODS Thirty-five consecutive patients underwent pedicle screw fixation for isthmic spondylolisthesis. In 18 patients posterior lumbar fusion was performed, and in 17 patients PLIF was added. Clinical, economic, functional, and radiographic data were assessed to determine differences in clinical and functional results and biomechanical properties. At 2-year follow-up examination, the correction of subluxation, disc height, and foraminal area were maintained in the group in which a PLIF procedure was performed, but not in the posterolateral fusion-only group (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, no statistical intergroup differences were demonstrated in terms of neurological improvement (p = 1), economic (p = 0.43), or functional (p = 0.95) outcome, nor in terms of fusion rate (p = 0.49). CONCLUSIONS The authors' findings support the view that an interbody fusion confers superior mechanical strength to the spinal construct; when posterolateral fusion is the sole intervention, progressive loss of the extreme correction can be expected. Such mechanical insufficiency, however, did not influence clinical outcome.
Leading school networks

A range of different constructs are used to describe and define the way that leadership operates in education settings. This range can be presented as binary categories of leadership, in which either one, or the other form of leadership is preferred, but not both. An example of this is the contrast made between solo and distributed leadership. A more sophisticated alternative has been proposed, which is to consider leadership as a hybrid activity, one which entails a range of approaches inspired by varying ideals. Taking this ‘hybrid’ notion of leadership this article explores the nature of leadership in networks of schools. Illustrated with data from three case studies of school networks this article highlights some of the issues and tensions in the enactment of the hybrid forms of leadership encountered in these networks. This article concludes with some reflections on the adoption of hybrid notions of leadership in researching and enacting educational leadership and specifically on the place of school networks in that consideration.
DEPA classification: a proposal for standardising PRP use and a retrospective application of available devices

Background/aim Significant biological differences in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparations have been highlighted and could explain the large variability in the clinical benefit of PRP reported in the literature. The scientific community now recommends the use of classification for PRP injection; however, these classifications are focused on platelet and leucocyte concentrations. This presents the disadvantages of (1) not taking into account the final volume of the preparation; (2) omitting the presence of red blood cells in PRP and (3) not assessing the efficiency of production. Methods On the basis of standards classically used in the Cell Therapy field, we propose the DEPA (Dose of injected platelets, Efficiency of production, Purity of the PRP, Activation of the PRP) classification to extend the characterisation of the injected PRP preparation. We retrospectively applied this classification on 20 PRP preparations for which biological characteristics were available in the literature. Results Dose of injected platelets varies from 0.21 to 5.43 billion, corresponding to a 25-fold increase. Only a Magellan device was able to obtain an A score for this parameter. Assessments of the efficiency of production reveal that no device is able to recover more than 90% of platelets from the blood. Purity of the preparation reveals that a majority of the preparations are contaminated by red blood cells as only three devices reach an A score for this parameter, corresponding to a percentage of platelets compared with red blood cells and leucocytes over 90%. Conclusions These findings should provide significant help to clinicians in selecting a system that meets their specific needs for a given indication.
Student Roles and Perspectives in Antiracist Education: a crisis of white ethnicity?

Abstract Writing on race and education has tended to neglect questions of pedagogy and lived experience at the school and classroom level. The paper begins to redress this by using qualitative research to examine secondary schools that have given antiracism a high priority. In particular, the paper focuses on the roles and experiences of students (aged 11‐16) and explores their pivotal role in supporting and extending antiracist developments. The position of white students in these schools highlights dilemmas in antiracist theory and practice. The paper examines white students’ reactions to antiracist change and describes the schools’ attempts to involve them positively in the developments—forcing teachers to re‐evaluate their assumptions about the nature of race and racism. The paper concludes with a discussion of the concept of white ethnicity. Antiracism is opening up new and important debates about ethnicity and identity in education—debates that can sometimes seem to exclude white students. Construct.
The Role of Exposure to Media Violence in the Etiology of Violent Behavior

Criminologists have been conspicuously absent from the debate about media violence and aggression. In this article, the author attempts to fill this void by discussing the relationship between exposure to television and film violence and violent behavior in the context of the empirical and theoretical literature on violent crime. Some criticisms of the literature on media violence are offered. The disjuncture between the absence of media violence in the criminological literature and the emphasis on it in other disciplines is also discussed. It is concluded that the empirical literature on media violence and aggression has not established that exposure to media violence causes violent criminal behavior.
Prevention of hepatitis B virus–related hepatocellular carcinoma with antiviral therapy

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is the major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Primary prevention of hepatitis B infection by vaccination is effective in reducing the incidence of HCC. In persons with CHB infection, the two accepted treatment modalities are interferon alpha (IFN‐α) given subcutaneously for a limited period and nucleoside/nucleotide analogs given orally on a long‐term basis. These treatments are effective in suppressing viral activity and improving disease markers in short‐term studies. The long‐term effect on the development of liver cancers with these two forms of treatment appears to be different. However, there are no studies directly comparing IFN‐α and nucleoside/nucleotide analogs. Comparisons across studies are inevitably limited by differences in the baseline characteristics of the study cohorts. Long‐term follow‐up studies of IFN‐α therapy show inconsistent results. The beneficial effect in reducing the development of liver cancer is observed mainly in treatment responders who have preexisting cirrhosis of the liver. The long‐term studies of lamivudine (and adefovir) show a consistent reduction in the development of liver cancers in patients with, and without, cirrhosis. This beneficial effect is blunted by the development of resistance. The effects of the newer nucleoside/nucleotide analogs, with higher potency and minimal risk of resistance development, are, as yet, unknown. (HEPATOLOGY 2013)
‘They Turned Around Like I Wasn’t There’

This study sought a clearer understanding of the aggressive behaviours and conflict resolution experiences of teenage girls. The participants were 39 Year 10 girls attending a single-sex school in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. The girls participated in a novel letter writing methodology designed to shadow adolescents’ existing use of letters as a form of communication between peers and encourage candour in their responses. The predominant indirect behaviours included talking about other girls, ignoring, neglecting and excluding peers and giving nasty looks. The girls explained that the victimization was primarily related to the manipulation and maintenance of their peer social networks. High levels of trust and intimacy were invested in their friendships providing the ideal forum for pain to be inflicted in powerful and effective, yet discreet, relational forms against one another. Victimization by others generated confusion and pain and, at times, empathy for the victims by onlookers. Consistent with the indirect, relational nature of girls’ victimization, in their resolution of conflicts, the girls often strove for the social support of peers.
Enhancement of IgE-mediated histamine release from human basophils by viruses: role of interferon

Human leukocytes maintained in culture are induced to release histamine when exposed to ragweed antigen E or anti-IgE. Leukocyte cultures incubated with virus (i.e. HSV-1, Influenza A, and Adeno-1) but not exposed to ragweed antigen E or anti-IgE fail to release histamine. If, however, leukocyte cultures are first exposed to virus and then to ragweed antigen E or anti-IgE, significant enhancement of histamine release occurs. Both infectious and inactivated virus enhance histamine release and the degree of enhancement is related to the concentration of virus and the length of the incubation. Tissue culture fluid harvested 8 h after exposure of leukocytes to virus contains a soluble factor which is capable of enhancing histamine release when added to fresh leukocyte cultures. This factor has all the properties of interferon including species specificity and cannot be dissociated from the antiviral activity of interferon. Moreover, both known inducers of interferon (poly I:poly C) and standard preparations of interferon are capable of enhancing histamine release. The enhancement of histamine release by interferon represents a new biological role for interferon.
Yield forecasting in fab-to-fab production migration based on Bayesian Model Fusion

Yield estimation is an indispensable piece of information at the onset of high-volume production of a device. It can be used to refine the process/design in time so as to guarantee high production yield. In the case of migration of production of a specific device from a source fab to a target fab, yield estimation in the target fab can be accelerated by employing information from the source fab, assuming that the process parameter distributions in the two fabs are similar, but not necessarily the same. In this paper, we employ the Bayesian Model Fusion (BMF) technique for efficient yield prediction of a device in the target fab. BMF adopts prior knowledge from the source fab and combines it intelligently with information from a limited number of early silicon wafers from the target fab. Thus, BMF allows us to obtain quick and accurate yield estimates at the onset of production in the target fab. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on an industrial RF transceiver.
Motivation and Attitudes towards Learning English among Undergraduates in National University of Malaysia (UKM).

s: Motivation and attitude are two elements which are important in learning a second language as well as to provide the continuity neede d to carry on the learning process. Multiple methodologies are being used for teaching and learn ing of a second language. In countries where English is taught as a second language, learn ers have different motivational factors and attitudes thus develop a specific relation towards English. Motivational factors and past experiences can affect students' attitude towards E nglish language learning. The paper outlines the results of a survey which was carried out to id entify National University of Malaysia (UKM) undergraduates' motivation and attitude towards lea rning the English language. The study investigated students' motivation and personal moti vation based on Gardner's (1985) and Cooper and Fishman's (1977) works. Learners' attitu de, on the other hand, focuses on English in social context, education and culture. The study sample consisted of 30 UKM undergraduates. A questionnaire as survey instrument was used for d ata collection. The results of this brief study showed that majority of the students have high moti vation and positive attitudes towards the learning of English as a second language.
Energy Metabolism in Rat Brain Synaptosomes from Nembutal‐Anesthetized and Nonanesthetized Animals

Abstract: Cellular energetic parameters including the intramitochondrial and cytosolic [NAD+]/[NADH] ratios, the cellular [ATP]/[ADP][Pi and [creatine phosphate]/[creatine] ratios, the concentration of cytochrome c and its redox state and the respiratory rate were studied in suspensions of rat brain synapto‐somes isolated from nembutal‐anesthetized and nonanesthetized animals. The ratio of [3‐hydroxybutyrate] to [acetoacetate] was 2.0 in synaptosomes isolated from nonanesthetized rats and 5.55 in those from anesthetized animals. The [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio was 3.8 in the former and 10.9 in the latter preparation. The [ATP]/[ADP][Pi] was 3838 M−1 in the synaptosomes from anesthetized rats and 840 M−1 in those from nonanesthetized animals and the [creatine phosphate]/[creatine] ratios were 0.79 and 0.39, respectively. Cytochrome c was about 15% reduced in both preparations; however, the mitochon‐drial cytochrome concentration was almost twofold higher in the synaptosomes from nonanesthetized animals. Calculations of the free energy relationships between the mitochondrial redox reactions and ATP synthesis showed that in synaptosomes isolated from the brains of nembutal‐anesthetized rats the first two sites of oxidative phosphorylation were at near‐equilibrium, in agreement with observations for intact cells and tissues. The energetic parameters for synaptosomes from anesthetized rats are very similar to the values for intact whole brain, whereas those for synaptosomes from nonanesthetized rats are lower and suggest that nembutal anesthesia protects against some irreversible damage to the synaptosome during isolation. It is concluded that synaptosomes isolated from brains of nembutal‐anesthetized rats can be used as a convenient model system for studies of neuronal metabolism.
Switching Noise Improvement of a Limit-Cycle Amplifier Using a Negative Hysteresis Relay

Limit-cycle or self-oscillating power amplifiers (SOPAs) are seen as an effective and simple option to achieve linear yet efficient power amplification. Unfortunately, they suffer from unfiltered switching noise, also known as ripple, whose amplitude increases for progressively lower self-oscillating frequency. Moreover, such self-oscillating frequency changes with the input signal and its dependency curve, as well as its maximum, are determined by the overall loop delay and by the open-loop filter. To remedy this SOPAs' pitfall, this paper presents a method to increase the self-oscillation frequency and reduce frequency modulation for a fixed propagation delay and loop filter. This is achieved using a relay that exhibits a novel kind of hysteresis. For that, the theory of its working principle will be discussed in detail, its transfer characteristic will be defined, and an implementation suitable for VLSI will be proposed. To validate the concept, simulations and an experimental prototype were carried out to compare the behavior of existing types of SOPA with the proposed one.
Virus‐induced alterations of membrane lipids affect the incorporation of PrPSc into cells

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders characterized by long incubation periods. To investigate whether concurrent diseases can modify the clinical outcome of prion‐affected subjects, we tested the effect of viral infection on the binding and internalization of PrPSc, essential steps of prion propagation. To this effect, we added scrapie brain homogenate or purified PrPSc to fibroblasts previously infected with minute virus of mice (MVM), a mouse parvovirus. We show here that the rate of incorporation of PrPSc into MVM‐infected cells was significantly higher than that observed for naïve cells. Immunostaining of cells and immunoblotting of subcellular fractions using antibodies recognizing PrP and LysoTracker, a lysosomal marker, revealed that in both control and MVM‐infected cells the incorporated PrPSc was associated mostly with lysosomes. Interestingly, floatation gradient analysis revealed that the majority of the PrPSc internalized into MVM‐infected cells shifted toward raft‐containing low‐density fractions. Concomitantly, the MVM‐infected cells demonstrated increased levels of the glycosphingolipid GM1 (an essential raft lipid component) throughout the gradient and a shift in caveolin 1 (a raft protein marker) toward lighter membrane fractions compared with noninfected cells. Our results suggest that the effect of viral infection on membrane lipid composition may promote the incorporation of exogenous PrPSc into rafts. Importantly, membrane rafts are believed to be the conversion site of PrPC to PrPSc; therefore, the association of exogenous PrPSc with such membrane microdomains may facilitate prion infection. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
[A study of personality in Parkinson's disease: the influence of motor and non-motor factors].

INTRODUCTION The literature on Parkinson's disease (PD) has acknowledged the existence of certain characteristic features in the personality and moods of patients which could be caused by the disease or may be a consequence of the functional disability produced by the condition. AIM To compare the variables personality, depression, anxiety and cognitive functions between a group of patients with PD and a control group with a similar functional disability. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study involved a sample made up of 55 patients with PD and 55 patients with rheumatologic or orthopaedic diseases, who were paired by age, sex and functional disability according to the Schwab and England scale. Personality tests (personality questionnaire for adults adapted to the Spanish population, sensation-seeking questionnaire, rigidity questionnaire, coping strategies questionnaire), Hamilton Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and tests for cognitive functions (Minimental and Progressive Matrixes Test). RESULTS Patients with PD score significantly higher than control subjects on the Hamilton Depression Scale. No significant differences were found in any of the variables in the three personality tests that were used, on the anxiety scale or in the cognitive functioning tests. CONCLUSIONS No differential personality traits were found between our patients and the control subjects, which would therefore not support the existence of a characteristic personality in PD. Our patients with PD show more symptoms of depression than is to be expected in relation to their functional disability, and this could influence the results obtained by other authors in studies on this subject.