Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pyruvate Formate Lyase (PFL) and PFL Activating Enzyme in the Chytrid Fungus Neocallimastix frontalis: A Free-Radical Enzyme System Conserved Across Divergent Eukaryotic Lineages1

Abstract Fermentative formate production involves the activity of pyruvate formate lyase, an oxygen-sensitive enzyme that employs a glycyl radical in its reaction mechanism. While common among anaerobic prokaryotes, this enzyme has so far been found in only two distantly related eukaryotic lineages, anaerobic chytridiomycetes and chlorophytes. Sequence comparisons of homologues from the chytridiomycetes Piromyces and Neocallimastix, the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas, and numerous prokaryotes suggest a single, eubacterial origin of eukaryotic pyruvate formate lyases. Pyruvate formate lyase activating enzyme introduces the glycyl radical into the pyruvate formate lyase protein chain. We discovered this enzyme, which had not previously been reported from eukaryotes, in the same two eukaryotic lineages and show that it shares a similar evolutionary history to pyruvate formate lyase. Sequences with high homology to pyruvate formate lyase activating enzyme were identified in the genomes of the anaerobic protozoan parasites Trichomonas vaginalis, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia intestinalis. While the occurrence of pyruvate formate lyase activating enzyme together with pyruvate formate lyase in fungi and chlorophytes was to be expected, the target protein of a glycyl radical enzyme-activating enzyme in these protozoa remains to be identified.
A multidimensional measure of managers' contextual and task performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper it to report the findings of an empirical study into managers’ job performance. A new measure was developed from the literature to test and establish the multidimensional structure of managers’ contextual and task performance. Design/methodology/approach – Field ratings by executives explicitly and simultaneously measured both managers’ contextual and task performance. A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to a variety of public and third sector managers from a range of private, public and third sector occupations residing in (Western) Australia. A purposive sample yielded a response rate of 32 percent. Factor analysis was used to determine the items that constitute executives’ perceptions of managers’ performance using downward appraisal (i.e. by the person to whom a manager reports). Findings – The construct “managers’ job performance” was found to be multidimensional; consisting of four distinct contextual factors (Following, Persisting, Helping, Endorsing.
Cell-Intrinsic Abrogation of TGF-β Signaling Delays but Does Not Prevent Dysfunction of Self/Tumor-Specific CD8 T Cells in a Murine Model of Autochthonous Prostate Cancer

Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) for the treatment of established cancers is actively being pursued in clinical trials. However, poor in vivo persistence and maintenance of antitumor activity of transferred T cells remain major problems. TGF-β is a potent immunosuppressive cytokine that is often expressed at high levels within the tumor microenvironment, potentially limiting T cell-mediated antitumor activity. In this study, we used a model of autochthonous murine prostate cancer to evaluate the effect of cell-intrinsic abrogation of TGF-β signaling in self/tumor-specific CD8 T cells used in ACT to target the tumor in situ. We found that persistence and antitumor activity of adoptively transferred effector T cells deficient in TGF-β signaling were significantly improved in the cancerous prostate. However, over time, despite persistence in peripheral lymphoid organs, the numbers of transferred cells in the prostate decreased and the residual prostate-infiltrating T cells were no longer functional. These findings reveal that TGF-β negatively regulates the accumulation and effector function of transferred self/tumor-specific CD8 T cells and highlight that, when targeting a tumor Ag that is also expressed as a self-protein, additional substantive obstacles are operative within the tumor microenvironment, potentially hampering the success of ACT for solid tumors.
Surface thermal perturbations of the recent past at low latitudes – inferences based on borehole temperature data from Eastern Brazil

Abstract. Borehole temperature data from the eastern parts of Brazil has been examined in an attempt to extract information on surface thermal perturbations of the recent past at low latitudes. Forward models were employed in the analysis of temperature logs from 17 localities and, in addition, Bayesian inverse modeling was carried out for data from 14 selected sites. The model results have allowed determination of the magnitude as well as the duration of ground surface temperature (GST) changes in three major geographic zones of Brazil. Prominent among such changes are the warming episodes that occurred over much of the subtropical highland regions in the southeastern parts of Brazil. The present magnitude of GST changes in this region are in the range of 2 to 3.5°C but have had their beginning during the early decades of the 20th century. Nearly similar trends are also seen in temperature-depth profiles of bore holes in the subtropical humid zones of the interior and coastal areas of southern Brazil. The data from semi arid zones of northeast Brazil also indicate occurrence of surface warming events but the magnitudes are in the range of 1.4 to 2.2°C while the duration of the warming event is larger, extending back into the last decades of the 19th century. There are indications that changes in both climate and vegetation cover contribute to variations in GST. Thus the magnitudes of GST variations are relatively large in localities which have undergone changes in vegetation cover. Also there are indications that GST changes are practically insignificant in areas of tropical rain forest. Another important result emerging from model studies is that the climate was relatively cooler during the 17th and 18th centuries. The climate histories, deduced from geothermal data, are found to be consistent with results of available meteorological records in southern Brazil. Comparative studies also indicate that the magnitudes and duration of recent climate changes in southern and eastern Brazil are similar to those found in other continental areas such as North America, Asia and Europe.
Are children flexible speakers? Effects of typicality and listener needs in children's event descriptions

Do children take into account their addressees’ needs in spontaneous production? Developmental evidence for speaker adjustments is mixed. Some studies show that children are often under-informative when communicating with ignorant addressees but other studies demonstrate successes in children’s ability to integrate another person’s perspective. We asked whether children adapt their event descriptions depending on (a) the typicality of event components, and (b) the listener’s visual access to the events. We found that children’s ability to use information about the listener’s visual perspective to make specific adjustments to event descriptions emerged only in highly interactive contexts, in which participants collaborated towards mutual goals.
Activation of COX-2/PGE2 Promotes Sapovirus Replication via the Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Production

ABSTRACT Enteric caliciviruses in the genera Norovirus and Sapovirus are important pathogens that cause severe acute gastroenteritis in both humans and animals. Cyclooxygenases (COXs) and their final product, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), are known to play important roles in the modulation of both the host response to infection and the replicative cycles of several viruses. However, the precise mechanism(s) by which the COX/PGE2 pathway regulates sapovirus replication remains largely unknown. In this study, infection with porcine sapovirus (PSaV) strain Cowden, the only cultivable virus within the genus Sapovirus, markedly increased COX-2 mRNA and protein levels at 24 and 36 h postinfection (hpi), with only a transient increase in COX-1 levels seen at 24 hpi. The treatment of cells with pharmacological inhibitors, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) against COX-1 and COX-2, significantly reduced PGE2 production, as well as PSaV replication. Expression of the viral proteins VPg and ProPol was associated with activation of the COX/PGE2 pathway. We observed that pharmacological inhibition of COX-2 dramatically increased NO production, causing a reduction in PSaV replication that could be restored by inhibition of nitric oxide synthase via the inhibitor N-nitro-l-methyl-arginine ester. This study identified a pivotal role for the COX/PGE2 pathway in the regulation of NO production during the sapovirus life cycle, providing new insights into the life cycle of this poorly characterized family of viruses. Our findings also reveal potential new targets for treatment of sapovirus infection. IMPORTANCE Sapoviruses are among the major etiological agents of acute gastroenteritis in both humans and animals, but little is known about sapovirus host factor requirements. Here, using only cultivable porcine sapovirus (PSaV) strain Cowden, we demonstrate that PSaV induced the vitalization of the cyclooxygenase (COX) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) pathway. Targeting of COX-1/2 using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the COX-1/2 inhibitor indomethacin and the COX-2-specific inhibitors NS-398 and celecoxib or siRNAs targeting COXs, inhibited PSaV replication. Expression of the viral proteins VPg and ProPol was associated with activation of the COX/PGE2 pathway. We further demonstrate that the production of PGE2 provides a protective effect against the antiviral effector mechanism of nitric oxide. Our findings uncover a new mechanism by which PSaV manipulates the host cell to provide an environment suitable for efficient viral growth, which in turn can be a new target for treatment of sapovirus infection.
High-level sensitivity of quantitative pp65 cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia assay for diagnosis of CMV disease in AIDS patients and follow-up

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia was evaluated in 174 patients positive for human immunodeficiency virus. Antigenemia could be detected in 96.7% of patients with CMV disease, 76.9% of patients suffering from a relapse of the disease, and 11.4% of asymptomatic patients with CD4 levels of < 100 cells per microliter. No antigenemia was detected in patients with CD4 levels of 250 to 500 cells per microliter. Specificity and the positive predictive value for CMV disease were increased only if more than 5 positive cells per slide were considered. However, CMV disease may also occur in patients with low-grade antigenemia.
Long‐term potentiation as a substrate for memory: Evidence from studies of amygdaloid plasticity and Pavlovian fear conditioning

Recent reports have raised concerns about the ability of long‐term potentiation (LTP) to account for associative learning and memory. In this paper, we review the many mechanistic similarities between one form of associative learning, Pavlovian fear conditioning, and amygdaloid LTP. We then address many of the criticisms levied against LTP within the framework of fear conditioning. We believe that many of the apparent discrepancies between LTP and behavior can be generally accounted for by a failure to appreciate that learned behavior is supported by multiple synapses in an extensive network of brain structures. We conclude that LTP remains a viable substrate for memory. Hippocampus 2002;12:592–599. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Relay-Assisted Routing in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio has been proposed in recent years to promote spectrum efficiency by exploiting the existence of spectrum holes. The heterogeneity of both spectrum availability and traffic demand among secondary users has brought significant challenge for efficient spectrum allocation in cognitive radio networks. Observing that spectrum resource can be better matched to traffic demand of secondary users with the help of relay nodes, in this paper we propose to utilize cooperative relays to assist the transmission and improve spectrum efficiency. Different from traditional cooperative communication within a single channel, in our scheme a relay node may be selected for a link to bridge the link's source and destination using its different common channels with those two nodes. With these new logical links composed of both direct link and relay link, new routing protocols are needed so that end-to-end performance can be better improved. Therefore, we define a new link cost, relay-aware link cost, which considers several aspects including channel availability, channel condition, channel utilization and potential relays. Based on this link cost, a relay-assisted routing (RAR) protocol is proposed which includes routing discovery and local adjustment. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed routing scheme.
Microbiological and technological aspects of milks fermented by bifidobacteria

Introduction and historical background Nomenclature and classification Taxonomic information Morphology Cell wall structure Carbohydrate utilization Ureasc activity Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) homology Miscellaneous characteristics Biochemistry and physiology of bifidobacteria Introduction Physiology Carbohydrate metabolism Nitrogen metabolism Fat metabolism Growth factors Bifidus factor 1 Bifidus factor 2 Oligosaccharides Synthesis of vitamins Bifidobacteria in the human intestinal tract Environment Species identification Ecology of the bifidobacteria Feeding regimen Age CONTENTS
Partially Blind Instantly Decodable Network Codes for Lossy Feedback Environment

In this paper, we study the multicast completion and decoding delay minimization problems for instantly decodable network coding (IDNC) in the case of lossy feedback. When feedback loss events occur, the sender falls into uncertainties about packet reception at the different receivers, which forces it to perform partially blind selections of packet combinations in subsequent transmissions. To determine efficient selection policies that reduce the completion and decoding delays of IDNC in such an environment, we first extend the perfect feedback formulation in our previous works to the lossy feedback environment, by incorporating the uncertainties resulting from unheard feedback events in these formulations. For the completion delay problem, we use this formulation to identify the maximum likelihood state of the network in events of unheard feedback and employ it to design a partially blind graph update extension to the multicast IDNC algorithm in our earlier work. For the decoding delay problem, we derive an expression for the expected decoding delay increment for any arbitrary transmission. This expression is then used to find the optimal policy that reduces the decoding delay in such lossy feedback environment. Results show that our proposed solutions both outperform previously proposed approaches and achieve tolerable degradation even at relatively high feedback loss rates.
Learning to Reach Agreement in a Continuous Ultimatum Game

It is well-known that acting in an individually rational manner, according to the principles of classical game theory, may lead to sub-optimal solutions in a class of problems named social dilemmas. In contrast, humans generally do not have much difficulty with social dilemmas, as they are able to balance personal benefit and group benefit. As agents in multi-agent systems are regularly confronted with social dilemmas, for instance in tasks such as resource allocation, these agents may benefit from the inclusion of mechanisms thought to facilitate human fairness. Although many of such mechanisms have already been implemented in a multi-agent systems context, their application is usually limited to rather abstract social dilemmas with a discrete set of available strategies (usually two). Given that many real-world examples of social dilemmas are actually continuous in nature, we extend this previous work to more general dilemmas, in which agents operate in a continuous strategy space. The social dilemma under study here is the well-known Ultimatum Game, in which an optimal solution is achieved if agents agree on a common strategy. We investigate whether a scale-free interaction network facilitates agents to reach agreement, especially in the presence of fixed-strategy agents that represent a desired (e.g. human) outcome. Moreover, we study the influence of rewiring in the interaction network. The agents are equipped with continuous-action learning automata and play a large number of random pairwise games in order to establish a common strategy. From our experiments, we may conclude that results obtained in discrete-strategy games can be generalized to continuous-strategy games to a certain extent: a scale-free interaction network structure allows agents to achieve agreement on a common strategy, and rewiring in the interaction network greatly enhances the agents' ability to reach agreement. However, it also becomes clear that some alternative mechanisms, such as reputation and volunteering, have many subtleties involved and do not have convincing beneficial effects in the continuous case.
ON THE HOMEFRONT AND IN THE WORKPLACE: INTEGRATING IMMIGRANT WOMEN INTO FEMINIST DISCOURSE

This article focuses on the experiences of Dominican immigrant women in the United States. It examines ways in which research with immigrant women challenges certain claims advanced by feminist theorists regarding the nature of unpaid domestic work, the relationship between waged work and women's emancipation, and the interdependence between struggles in the family and factory. Attention is drawn to traces of essentialism in the ways in which several middle-class feminists have characterized working-class women. [women, immigration, Dominicans, United States, feminism]
Male Reproductive Toxicity of Trichloroethylene: Sperm Protein Oxidation and Decreased Fertilizing Ability1

Abstract The objective of the present study was to characterize and investigate potential mechanisms for the male reproductive toxicity of trichloroethylene (TCE). Male rats exposed to TCE in drinking water exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in the ability to fertilize oocytes from untreated females. This reduction in fertilizing ability occurred in the absence of treatment-related changes in combined testes/epididymides weight, sperm concentration, or sperm motility. In addition, flow cytometric analysis showed that there were no treatment-related differences in sperm mitochondrial membrane potential or acrosomal stability. TCE caused slight histological changes in efferent ductule epithelium, coinciding with the previously reported ductule localization of cytochrome P450 2E1. However, no alterations were noted in the testis or in any segment of the epididymis. Because there were no treatment-related changes to sperm indices and no clear pathological lesions to explain the reduced fertilization, the present study investigated TCE-mediated sperm oxidative damage. Oxidized proteins were detected by immunochemical techniques following the derivatization of sperm protein carbonyls with dinitrophenyl hydrazine. Immunochemical staining of whole, intact sperm showed the presence of halos of oxidized proteins around the head and midpiece of sperm from TCE-treated animals. The presence of oxidized sperm proteins was confirmed by Western blotting using in vitro-oxidized sperm as a positive control. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances analyses showed a dose-dependent increase in the level of lipid peroxidation in sperm from treated animals, as well. Oxidative damage to sperm may explain the diminished fertilizing capacity of exposed animals and provide another mechanism by which TCE can adversely affect reproductive capabilities in the male.
BCR-ABL Affects STAT5A and STAT5B Differentially

Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) are latent cytoplasmic transcription factors linking extracellular signals to target gene transcription. Hematopoietic cells express two highly conserved STAT5-isoforms (STAT5A/STAT5B), and STAT5 is directly activated by JAK2 downstream of several cytokine receptors and the oncogenic BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase. Using an IL-3-dependent cell line with inducible BCR-ABL-expression we compared STAT5-activation by IL-3 and BCR-ABL in a STAT5-isoform specific manner. RNAi targeting of STAT5B strongly inhibits BCR-ABL-dependent cell proliferation, and STAT5B but not STAT5A is essential for BCL-XL-expression in the presence of BCR-ABL. Although BCR-ABL induces STAT5-tyrosine phosphorylation independent of JAK2-kinase activity, BCR-ABL is less efficient in inducing active STAT5A:STAT5B-heterodimerization than IL-3, leaving constitutive STAT5A and STAT5B-homodimerization unaffected. In comparison to IL-3, nuclear accumulation of a STAT5A-eGFP fusion protein is reduced by BCR-ABL, and BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase activity induces STAT5A-eGFP translocation to the cell membrane and co-localization with the IL-3 receptor. Furthermore, BCR-ABL-dependent phosphorylation of Y682 in STAT5A was detected by mass-spectrometry. Finally, RNAi targeting STAT5B but not STAT5A sensitizes human BCR-ABL-positive cell lines to imatinib-treatment. These data demonstrate differences between IL-3 and BCR-ABL-mediated STAT5-activation and isoform-specific effects, indicating therapeutic options for isoform-specific STAT5-inhibition in BCR-ABL-positive leukemia.
Early risk factors and developmental pathways to chronic high inhibition and social anxiety disorder in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE Evidence suggests that chronic high levels of behavioral inhibition are a precursor of social anxiety disorder. The authors sought to identify early risk factors for, and developmental pathways to, chronic high inhibition among school-age children and the association of chronic high inhibition with social anxiety disorder by adolescence. METHOD A community sample of 238 children was followed from birth to grade 9. Mothers, teachers, and children reported on the children's behavioral inhibition from grades 1 to 9. Lifetime history of psychiatric disorders was available for the subset of 60 (25%) children who participated in an intensive laboratory assessment at grade 9. Four early risk factors were assessed: female gender; exposure to maternal stress during infancy and the preschool period; and at age 4.5 years, early manifestation of behavioral inhibition and elevated afternoon salivary cortisol levels. RESULTS All four risk factors predicted greater and more chronic inhibition from grades 1 to 9, and together they defined two developmental pathways. The first pathway, in girls, was partially mediated by early evidence of behavioral inhibition and elevated cortisol levels at age 4.5 years. The second pathway began with exposure to early maternal stress and was also partially mediated by childhood cortisol levels. By grade 9, chronic high inhibition was associated with a lifetime history of social anxiety disorder. CONCLUSIONS Chronic high levels of behavioral inhibition are associated with social anxiety disorder by adolescence. The identification of two developmental pathways suggests the potential importance of considering both sets of risk factors in developing preventive interventions for social anxiety disorder.
De l'intérêt d'une approche pratique et communicationnelle de la compétence collective

L'objet de ce memoire d'HDR et du programme de recherche qu'il propose est devolu a une meilleure comprehension de la construction, du developpement, du soutien et de la transformation des competences collectives tant a travers les pratiques constituantes des praticiens que des actions de soutien des managers. Ce programme de recherche consiste ainsi a approfondir la comprehension du/des role(s) joue(s) par les processus identitaires des acteurs, les pratiques manageriales et les luttes narratives comme conditions de developpement (ou d'empechement) de la competence collective et plus largement du renouvellement du management et des business model au service d'une performance economique et sociale.