Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trypanosoma cruzi extracts elicit protective immune response against chemically induced colon and mammary cancers

Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas' disease, has anticancer effects mediated, at least in part, by parasite‐derived products which inhibit growth of tumor cells. We investigated whether immunity to T. cruzi antigens could induce antitumor activity, using two rat models which reproduce human carcinogenesis: colon cancer induced by 1,2‐dimethylhydrazine (DMH), and mammary cancer induced by N‐nitroso‐N‐methylurea (NMU). We found that vaccination with T. cruzi epimastigote lysates strongly inhibits tumor development in both animal models. Rats immunized with T. cruzi antigens induce activation of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and splenocytes from these animals showed higher cytotoxic responses against tumors as compared to rats receiving adjuvant alone. Tumor‐associated immune responses included increasing number of CD11b/c+ His48− MHC II+ cells corresponding to macrophages and/or dendritic cells, which exhibited augmented NADPH‐oxidase activity. We also found that T. cruzi lysate vaccination developed antibodies specific for colon and mammary rat cancer cells, which were capable of mediating antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in vitro. Anti‐T. cruzi antibodies cross‐reacted with human colon and breast cancer cell lines and recognized 41/60 (68%) colon cancer and 38/63 (60%) breast cancer samples in a series of 123 human tumors. Our results suggest that T. cruzi antigens can evoke an integrated antitumor response involving both the cellular and humoral components of the immune response and provide novel insights into the understanding of the intricate relationship between parasite infection and tumor growth.
Multiplicative perturbation bounds for weighted unitary polar factor

The multiplicative perturbation bounds for weighted unitary polar factor are considered in the weighted unitary invariant norm, weighted spectral norm, and weighted Frobenius norm in this paper. As the special cases, new bounds for subunitary and unitary polar factor are also derived. These new bounds improve the corresponding results published recently to some extent. Mathematics subject classification (2010): 15A45, 65F35.
Sound alters visual evoked potentials in humans

When a single flash is accompanied by two auditory beeps, the single flash is perceived as two flashes. We investigated whether this crossmodal influence on visual perception occurs at the level of the modality-specific visual pathway or later. We compared the visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in the presence and absence of sound. Activity was modulated extensively and with short latency in trials in which an illusory flash was perceived. In addition, the brain potentials for the illusory flash were qualitatively very similar to those for a physical flash, suggesting that the same mechanism underlies the percept of both illusory and physical flashes. These results suggest that the activity in the visual cortex can be modulated by sound. This implication challenges the general belief that the visual cortical processing is independent of other modalities.
Optimization of video transmission on MIMO channels using outage probability

We study optimized video transmission using a wireless Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system and partial channel state information at the transmitter. The optimization consists of choosing the coding parameters of the video encoder depending on the pairs of used rates and corresponding outage probabilities of the MIMO channel. We perform simulations and compare NxN MIMO system performance to that of a single input single output (SISO) system with symbol rate which is N-times higher than the symbol rate of MIMO. Simulation results show that NxN MIMO achieves performance gain in the region of sufficient video quality, compared to SISO system with N-times higher symbol rate than that of MIMO. The reason for this is the reduced outage probability of MIMO compared to SISO for a broad range of outage probabilities.
Novel Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Materials–Thioxanthone Derivatives and Their Applications for Highly Efficient OLEDs

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters with small energy gap between the triplet and singlet (ΔEST ), TXO-PhCz and TXO-TPA, have been successfully synthesized by combining a hole-transporting TPA/PhCz moiety and an electron-transporting TXO moiety. Both compounds display efficient solid-state luminescence with an efficient up-conversion of the triplet to singlet. OLEDs based on them exhibt high performance up to 21.5%, which is among the best reported for OLEDs.
Genetic parameters and relationships between growth traits and scrotal circumference measured at different ages in Nellore cattle

Records from 106,212 Nellore animals, born between 1998 and 2006, were used to estimate (co)variance components and genetic parameters for birth weight (BW), average weight gains from birth to weaning (GBW), average weight gains from weaning to after yearling (GWAY), weaning hip height (WHH), postweaning hip height (PHH) and scrotal circumferences at 9 (SC9), 12 (SC12) and 15 (SC15) months of age. (Co)variance components were estimated by an animal model using multi-trait analysis. Heritability estimates for BW, GBW, GWAY, WHH, PHH, SC9, SC12 and SC15 were 0.31 ± 0.01; 0.25 ± 0.02; 0.30 ± 0.04; 0.51 ± 0.04; 0.54 ± 0.04; 0.39 ± 0.01; 0.41 ± 0.01 and 0.44 ± 0.02, respectively. Genetic correlations between growth traits ranged from 0.09 ± 0.01 to 0.88 ± 0.01, thereby implying that, at any age, selection to increase average weight gains will also increase stature. Genetic correlations between BW and average weight gains with scrotal circumferences were all positive and moderate (0.15 ± 0.03 to 0.38 ± 0.01). On the other hand, positive and low genetic associations were estimated between hip height and scrotal circumference at different ages (0.09 ± 0.01 to 0.17 ± 0.02). The results of this study pointed out that selection to larger scrotal circumferences in males will promote changes in average weight gains. In order to obtain Nellore cattle with the stature and size suitable for the production system, both weight gain and hip height should be included in a selection index.
Secure care and treatment needs of individuals with learning disability and severe challenging behaviour

Summary A survey was undertaken within the catchment area of the Wessex Consortium (population 1.8 million) to identify the number of individuals with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour who were placed in or needed to be placed in secure care. Twenty-nine men and six women were identified, the majority of whom were in out-of-area placements. There is a need to develop a local long-stay secure service offering a range of security measures and focusing on individuals who exhibit problems of violence and sexually inappropriate behaviour. Consideration should be given to providing small domestic style functional units as the preferred model of provision with a separate facility for a small number of women. The service should also be closely integrated with local community learning disability services.
Differential expression profile of membrane proteins in L-02 cells exposed to trichloroethylene

Trichloroethylene (TCE), a halogenated organic solvent widely used in industries, is known to cause severe hepatotoxicity. However, the mechanisms underlying TCE hepatotoxicity are still not well understood. It is predicted that membrane proteins are responsible for key biological functions, and recent studies have revealed that TCE exposure can induce abnormal levels of membrane proteins in body fluids and cultured cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the TCE-induced alterations of membrane proteins profiles in human hepatic L-02 liver cells. A comparative membrane proteomics analysis was performed in combination with two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 15 proteins were identified as differentially expressed (4 upregulated and 11 downregulated) between TCE-treated cells and normal controls. Among this, 14 of them are suggested as membrane-associated proteins by their transmembrane domain and/or subcellular location. Furthermore, the differential expression of β subunit of adenosine triphosphate synthase (ATP5B) and prolyl 4-hydroxylase, β polypeptide (P4HB) were verified by Western blot analysis in TCE-treated L-02 cells. Our work not only reveals the association between TCE exposure and altered expression of membrane proteins but also provides a novel strategy to discover membrane biomarkers and elucidate the potential mechanisms involving with membrane proteins response to chemical-induced toxic effect.
Influence of Extracellular Bactericidal Agents on Bacteria within Macrophages

ABSTRACT We employed gentamicin-sensitive and -resistant derivatives of Escherichia coli in a macrophage phagocytosis assay that compared λ bacteriophage and gentamicin as extracellular bactericidal agents. Colony counts and direct microscopic examination of phagocytized E. coli supported the conclusion that gentamicin entered macrophages, even at low concentrations, and contributed to their bactericidal activity. Also, two E. coli strains differing in the ability to express the adhesin of type 1 pili (FimH) were distinguishably different in intracellular survival when λ was used as the extracellular killing agent but were indistinguishable when gentamicin was employed.
Birth Order and Rebelliousness: Reconstructing the Research in Born To Rebel

In Born to Rebel (1996), Frank Sulloway proposed that laterborns are more rebellious than firstborns. In the context of Sulloway's theory, this article examines the difficulties of defining and measuring rebelliousness. Rebellious acts (such as attempting to overthrow a government) are one measure of rebelliousness. Using this measure, an analysis of six of Sulloway's samples undermines the theory. As a second measure of rebelliousness, Sulloway relies on the personality traits of his subjects. Many of the rebellious traits he selected, however, appear unrelated to rebellious behavior. A reexamination of 28 scientific revolutions Sulloway analyzed reveals other weaknesses. Finally, Born to Rebel contains a meta-analysis of the birth order literature. The application of two methodologies to the reconstructed data is discussed. Neither methodology appears to replicate the results in Born to Rebel. The conclusion is that Sulloway's claims for birth order effects should be rejected.
THE CHALLENGE OF PREPARING PRESERVICE TEACHERS TO TEACH INFORMAL INFERENTIAL REASONING

There is growing recognition of the importance of developing young students’ informal inferential reasoning (IIR). This focus on informal inference in school statistics has implications for teacher education. This study reports on 26 preservice teachers utilizing Lesson Study to support a focus on the teaching of IIR in primary classrooms. Participants demonstrated proficiency reasoning about the elements fundamental to informal inferential reasoning but had difficulties developing pedagogical contexts to advance primary students’ informal inferential reasoning. Specifically, issues emerged relating to data type, an excessive focus on procedures, locating opportunities for IIR, and a lack of justification and evidence-based reading. Focusing on the lesson as the unit of analysis combined with classroom-based inquiry supported the development of statistical and pedagogical knowledge. First published May 2010 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives
POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN THE TV TALK SHOW “TALK INDONESIA”

This study deals with the realization of politeness strategies in the TV talk show Talk Indonesia. The conversation in the talk show is delivered directly to the public, so it is important to make good and interesting conversation. One of the ways to make good communication is by using politeness strategies. The use of politeness strategies is to build communicative communication which appreciate and considerate the other’s face. This study was conducted to find out the FTA, investigate the politeness strategies used by the host, and attempt to reveal the effect of sociological variables in the use of those strategies. This research used descriptive qualitative approach. To obtain the data, several talk shows were observed and chosen, then transcribed orthographically. In doing the analysis, the steps used were identifying the FTA, identifying the politeness strategy, classifying and explaining the politeness strategies based on the theory of Brown and Levinson (1987), then analyzing the sociological variables that influence the realization of politeness strategies. The politeness strategies used by the host were bald on record, positive politeness, and negative politeness. Basically, the host used bald on record when he wanted to make a maximum efficiency in conversation. Positive politeness was used to make rapport and show friendliness. Negative politeness was used when the host gave deference to his addressee, and also to soften his utterance when he asked about sensitive topics. The influence of relative power can be seen in the use of honorific title for addressee who had high relative power, the host did not use it for the addressee who had mid and low power. Next, social distance also influenced the realization of politeness strategies, the higher social distance, is the higher politeness strategies realized by the host. The effect of rank of imposition could be seen when the degree of difficulties in the situation occurred, for example when the host asked about sensitive topic, the higher rank of imposition, is the higher politeness strategies employed by the host. Key words: Face, FTA, Brown and Levinson Politeness Strategies (1987), Relative Power, Social Distance, Rank of Imposition, Talk Show
Elevated Serum Lipase Levels in Patients with Dyspepsia of Unknown Cause in General Practice

Objective: To study the cause(s) of chronic dyspepsia among patients with no findings on general practice screening tests. Materials and Methods: A total of 272 consecutive patients at a general practice in Japan (125 males and 147 females, aged 14–89 years) who underwent abdominal ultrasound (US) and who had serum pancreatic enzyme (lipase or p-amylase) levels measured, were included in a 1-year study. Serum pancreatic enzyme levels were compared according to the duration of the symptoms and causes of dyspepsia, and then compared between two groups: a ‘known-cause group’ of 38 patients in whom the cause of the chronic (over 1 month) dyspepsia was determined by US or other diagnostic procedures; and an ‘unknown-cause group’ of 112 patients in whom no cause was found. Results: The mean lipase level in the unknown-cause group was significantly higher than that in the known-cause group (40.6 vs. 35.3 U/l, p = 0.008 after adjustment for age, sex, and serum creatinine). No difference between these groups was found for p-amylase. The proportion of patients with high lipase levels (above reference range) was higher in the unknown-cause group compared to the known-cause group, although this was not significant (21.4 vs. 10.5%). Conclusion: Our data showed that serum lipase levels were higher in patients with chronic dyspepsia of unknown than in those with a known cause. We therefore speculate that mild functional pancreatic disorder may underlie some cases with unexplainable chronic dyspepsia.
Releasing the Cortical Brake by Non-Invasive Electromagnetic Stimulation? rTMS Induces LTD of GABAergic Neurotransmission

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique which modulates cortical excitability beyond the stimulation period. However, despite its clinical use rTMS-based therapies which prevent or reduce disabilities in a functionally significant and sustained manner are scarce. It remains unclear how rTMS-mediated changes in cortical excitability, which are not task- or input-specific, exert beneficial effects in some healthy subjects and patients. While experimental evidence exists that repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS) is linked to the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory neurotransmission, less attention has been dedicated to rTMS-induced structural, functional and molecular adaptations at inhibitory synapses. In this review article we provide a concise overview on basic neuroscience research, which reveals an important role of local disinhibitory networks in promoting associative learning and memory. These studies suggest that a reduction in inhibitory neurotransmission facilitates the expression of associative plasticity in cortical networks under physiological conditions. Hence, it is interesting to speculate that rTMS may act by decreasing GABAergic neurotransmission onto cortical principal neurons. Indeed, evidence has been provided that rTMS is capable of modulating inhibitory networks. Consistent with this suggestion recent basic science work discloses that a 10 Hz rTMS protocol reduces GABAergic synaptic strength on principal neurons. These findings support a model in which rTMS-induced long-term depression (LTD) of GABAergic synaptic strength mediates changes in excitation/inhibition-balance of cortical networks, which may in turn facilitate (or restore) the ability of stimulated networks to express input- and task-specific associative synaptic plasticity.
PENGELOLAAN SISTEM SOSIAL-EKOLOGI PESISIR PULAU-PULAU KECIL UNTUK PENINGKATAN PENDAPATAN MASYARAKAT : STUDI KASUS GUGUS PULAU BATUDAKA KABUPATEN TOJO UNA-UNA

Studi ini dilakukan dengan tujuan utama mengidentifikasi pengelolaan ekosistem Pesisir Gugus Pulau Batudaka dalam rangka meningkatkan pendapatan masyarakat. Metode penelitian ini adalah studi kasus dengan alat pengumpulan data utama adalah melalui Participatory Focus Group Discussions Method (FGD) untuk mengetahui kebutuhan ( Needs ) dan keinginan ( wants ) masyarakat di kawasan ini. Berdasarkan hasil observasi, wawancara dengan para stakeholders adalah kebutuhan pembangunan pelabuhan nelayan yang lebih kondusif dengan fasilitas yang memadai, seperti dermaga atau tambatan perahu, penampungan ikan, pelelangan ikan, pasar nelayan (pasar ikan) dan sarana pendukungnya seperti air bersih, listrik, drainase, tempat pembuangan sampah (TPS), sarana pendidikan dan kesehatan serta usaha mata pencaharian alternatif untuk kebelanjutan penghidupan masyarakat. Program Kerja yang dilaksanakan berdasarkan kebutuhan masyarakat sesuai potensi yang ada dalam rangka penguatan sistem sosial-ekologi di Gugus Pulau Batudaka melalui kegiatan pemberdayaan masyarakat meliputi Sosialisasi Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini (PAUD) dan ketahanan pangan keluarga, Penyuluhan dan Pelatihan pembuatan produk berbasis perikanan serta penyuluhan pengembangan peternakan dan ketahanan pakan melalui penanaman hijauan unggul. Kata Kunci : Sistem Sosial-Ekologi, Pengelolaan PPK, keberlajutan penghidupan masyarakat
Left parietal cortex is modulated by amount of recollected verbal information

In two earlier experiments, we reported that left parietal cortex activity covaried with the amount of pictorial information recollected. The present experiment addressed the question whether our earlier results would generalize to verbal materials. Participants studied a series of word pairs and were then tested on individual old and new words in a modified remember/know task. In this task, participants were required to indicate whether recollection was accompanied by retrieval of study pairmates or not. As before, we operationally defined ‘amount recollected’ as the contrast between these two types of remember response. We found that the same left parietal region previously identified as sensitive to amount of recollected pictorial information is also sensitive to amount of recollected verbal information.
Unresolved Issues with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

This paper discusses four issues related to the MBTI that appear to need theoretical clarification and discussion. Differences between Jungian theory and Myers’ theory are described, as well as the resulting implications for the operationalisation of the theory with the MBTI. While general differences between types have received much attention, the more subtle structural assumptions underlying the MBTI have been relatively ignored. The four areas discussed are: (a) whether the J-P dimension can determine the dominant function; (b) the attitude of the auxiliary and whether it is antagonistic to and/or complementary to the dominant; (c) whether everybody is a type; (d) the potential difficulties of using the MBTI outside the context of the overall Jungian theory of the psyche.
Narrative Anacrusis: A Descriptive Analysis in Healthy Adults Speaking English

Anacrusis is the tendency to produce one or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of an utterance in a language. Such syllables are often pronounced rapidly and strongly reduced in duration. Anacrusis has been reported extensively in music, while studies related to spoken language are sparse. This study aimed to analyze the occurrences of anacrusis in narrative speech of healthy Asian-Indian adults speaking English. This was carried out by perceptually identifying the intonation groups and to identify anacrustic and non-anacrustic occurrences with reference to the primary stress and to acoustically verify the presence of ‘anacrusis’ using the measure ‘average syllable duration index’. Ten healthy Asian-Indian adults [5 males and 5 females] within the age range of 18-25 years, proficient in English, participated in the study. The task was to narrate on a topic (“college life”) for 1 minute. The samples were audio recorded and perceptually analyzed for primary stress. Further, the average syllable duration of each utterance was calculated. Results suggest that anacrusis was often noticed in the initial part of the intonation groups but there were few instances where the anacrustic segments occurred in the medial or final positions also. More identifications of primary stress were observed in the non-anacrustic utterances compared to the anacrustic utterances. Average syllable duration increased as the word position moved from first word position to the final word position in an intonation group suggesting the presence of anacrusis. The anacrustic and non-anacrustic segments in each intonation groups on an average exhibited a 1/3 rd : 2/3 rd representation.