Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae Uses Proteasome Inhibitor Syringolin A to Colonize from Wound Infection Sites

Infection of plants by bacterial leaf pathogens at wound sites is common in nature. Plants defend wound sites to prevent pathogen invasion, but several pathogens can overcome spatial restriction and enter leaf tissues. The molecular mechanisms used by pathogens to suppress containment at wound infection sites are poorly understood. Here, we studied Pseudomonas syringae strains causing brown spot on bean and blossom blight on pear. These strains exist as epiphytes that can cause disease upon wounding caused by hail, sand storms and frost. We demonstrate that these strains overcome spatial restriction at wound sites by producing syringolin A (SylA), a small molecule proteasome inhibitor. Consequently, SylA-producing strains are able to escape from primary infection sites and colonize adjacent tissues along the vasculature. We found that SylA diffuses from the primary infection site and suppresses acquired resistance in adjacent tissues by blocking signaling by the stress hormone salicylic acid (SA). Thus, SylA diffusion creates a zone of SA-insensitive tissue that is prepared for subsequent colonization. In addition, SylA promotes bacterial motility and suppresses immune responses at the primary infection site. These local immune responses do not affect bacterial growth and were weak compared to effector-triggered immunity. Thus, SylA facilitates colonization from wounding sites by increasing bacterial motility and suppressing SA signaling in adjacent tissues.
A Genomic Virulence Reference Map of Enterococcus faecalis Reveals an Important Contribution of Phage03-Like Elements in Nosocomial Genetic Lineages to Pathogenicity in a Caenorhabditis elegans Infection Model

ABSTRACT In the present study, the commensal and pathogenic host-microbe interaction of Enterococcus faecalis was explored using a Caenorhabditis elegans model system. The virulence of 28 E. faecalis isolates representing 24 multilocus sequence types (MLSTs), including human commensal and clinical isolates as well as isolates from animals and of insect origin, was investigated using C. elegans strain glp-4 (bn2ts); sek-1 (km4). This revealed that 6 E. faecalis isolates behaved in a commensal manner with no nematocidal effect, while the remaining strains showed a time to 50% lethality ranging from 47 to 120 h. Principal component analysis showed that the difference in nematocidal activity explained 94% of the variance in the data. Assessment of known virulence traits revealed that gelatinase and cytolysin production accounted for 40.8% and 36.5% of the observed pathogenicity, respectively. However, coproduction of gelatinase and cytolysin did not increase virulence additively, accounting for 50.6% of the pathogenicity and therefore indicating a significant (26.7%) saturation effect. We employed a comparative genomic analysis approach using the 28 isolates comprising a collection of 82,356 annotated coding sequences (CDS) to identify 2,325 patterns of presence or absence among the investigated strains. Univariate statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) established that individual patterns positively correlated (n = 61) with virulence. The patterns were investigated to identify potential new virulence traits, among which we found five patterns consisting of the phage03-like gene clusters. Strains harboring phage03 showed, on average, 17% higher killing of C. elegans (P = 4.4e−6). The phage03 gene cluster was also present in gelatinase-and-cytolysin-negative strain E. faecalis JH2-2. Deletion of this phage element from the JH2-2 clinical strain rendered the mutant apathogenic in C. elegans, and a similar mutant of the nosocomial V583 isolate showed significantly attenuated virulence. Bioinformatics investigation indicated that, unlike other E. faecalis virulence traits, phage03-like elements were found at a higher frequency among nosocomial isolates. In conclusion, our report provides a valuable virulence map that explains enhancement in E. faecalis virulence and contributes to a deeper comprehension of the genetic mechanism leading to the transition from commensalism to a pathogenic lifestyle.
Fine tuning of surface CRLF2 expression and its associated signaling profile in childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Genomic rearrangements of the cytokine receptor-like factor 2 (CRLF2) gene,[1][1],[2][2] which is part of the thymic stromal lymphopoietin receptor (TSLPR), result in overexpression of CRLF2 itself leading to JAK2-mediated activation of STAT5, which regulates cell proliferation, survival, and
Framing the tax and health nexus: a neglected aspect of public health concern

Abstract Previous studies have described various associations between tax policy and health. Here we propose a unifying conceptual framework of ‘Five R’s’ to stimulate awareness about the importance of tax to health improvement. First, tax can improve representation and democratic accountability, and help make governments more responsive to the needs of its citizens. Second, tax can create a revenue stream for a universal pool of public finance for health care and other public services. Third, progressive taxation when combined with appropriate public spending can help redistribute wealth and income and mitigate social and health inequalities. Fourth, the re-pricing of harmful products (e.g. tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food) can help reduce their consumption. Fifth, taxation provides a route by which certain harmful industries can be regulated. The paper also discusses the barriers that hinder the full potential for taxation to be used to improve health, including: weak tax administrations, large ‘shadow economies’, international trade liberalisation, tax avoidance, transfer pricing by transnational corporations and banking secrecy. We suggest that a greater awareness of the manifold associations between tax and health will encourage health practitioners to actively promote fairer and better taxation, thereby helping to improve health and reduce health inequalities.
Sub-100nm pattern transfer on compound semiconductor using sol-gel-based TiO2 resist

The possibility to pattern III-V compound semiconductor with nanometer scale is of great interest to photonic, electronic and optoelectronic systems. Typical method for sub-micrometer compound semiconductor dry etching utilizes PMMA or other resist to transfer patterns to SiO2 as intermediate masks due to resist's low etching selectivity, especially for ultra-small features. This additional pattern transfer will inevitably increase the potential damage caused by plasma dry etching and the complexity of patterning process. Therefore, it is desirable to find an easier and more effective way to pattern compound semiconductor. In this paper, we report a new approach of direct pattern transfer using Ti(OBun)4 solgel derived TiO2 resist as mask. The optimal dose of TiO2 resist for e-beam lithography is ~220mC/cm2. Thermal stability study of spin-coated TiO2 shows a good performance as lithography resist even at 300°C, which will have wider applications than conventional resists. Post-annealings at different temperatures are performed to study temperature-dependence of patterned TiO2 resist as dry-etching mask. The etching selectivity of sample InP compound semiconductor to TiO2 resist is over 7:1. A variety of sub-100 dry etching patterns with good profile qualities have been obtained. The aspect ratio of etching patterns is over 20:1, and the smallest feature is as small as 20nm with over 600nm deep. This sol-gel derived TiO2 sipn-coatable nanolithography resist with high etching selectivity and high aspect ratio etching profile provides a novel and convenient way to directly pattern compound semiconductor material for various challenging nano sacle photonic, electronic and optoelectronic applications.
Evaluation of CYP2C8 Inhibition In Vitro: Utility of Montelukast as a Selective CYP2C8 Probe Substrate

Understanding the potential for cytochrome P450 (P450)-mediated drug-drug interactions is a critical step in the drug discovery process. Although in vitro studies with CYP3A4, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 have suggested the presence of multiple binding regions within the P450 active site based on probe substrate-dependent inhibition profiles, similar studies have not been performed with CYP2C8. The ability to understand CYP2C8 probe substrate sensitivity will enable appropriate in vitro and in vivo probe selection. To characterize the potential for probe substrate-dependent inhibition with CYP2C8, the inhibition potency of 22 known inhibitors of CYP2C8 were measured in vitro using four clinically relevant CYP2C8 probe substrates (montelukast, paclitaxel, repaglinide, and rosiglitazone) and amodiaquine. Repaglinide exhibited the highest sensitivity to inhibition in vitro. In vitro phenotyping indicated that montelukast is an appropriate probe for CYP2C8 inhibition studies. The in vivo sensitivities of the CYP2C8 probe substrates cerivastatin, fluvastatin, montelukast, pioglitazone, and rosiglitazone were determined in relation to repaglinide on the basis of clinical drug-drug interaction (DDI) data. Repaglinide exhibited the highest sensitivity in vivo, followed by cerivastatin, montelukast, and pioglitazone. Finally, the magnitude of in vivo CYP2C8 DDI caused by gemfibrozil-1-O-β-glucuronide was predicted. Comparisons of the predictions with clinical data coupled with the potential liabilities of other CYP2C8 probes suggest that montelukast is an appropriate CYP2C8 probe substrate to use for the in vivo situation.
Improvement of IGBT model characterization with experimental tests

The dynamic IGBT model is characterized with a circuit simulator characterization tool by utilizing datasheet information and after that the model is tuned by using data from experimental measurements. The circuit simulator simulation results from both models are compared with the experimental results and the possible accuracy improvements are reported. The main research question of this work is how well these models can describe the semiconductor loss behaviour and the different voltage and current overshoots in IGBT switching event and what is the usability of the models. These issues are mainly observed and compared near the nominal collector current, but some example results with higher and smaller current are presented as well. A commercial software tool Simplorer 11 is used for the simulations and the component that is used in the comparison is FZ400R17KE4. Experimental test measurements are performed with an IGBT double pulse tester system. The comparison between the simulation models and the experimental data is reported and conclusions are made. The simulation results show that the characterized IGBT model is usable for voltage behaviour investigation of the IGBT in the hard switched operation. In addition, the measurement data characterized model achieves an acceptable accuracy considering the switching losses.
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Diet and Incidence of Stroke: Results From 2 Prospective Cohorts

Background and Purpose— High adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is associated with lower risk of hypertension, the major risk factor for stroke. We examined whether adherence to the DASH diet is inversely associated with the incidence of stroke. Methods— The study population comprised 74 404 men and women (45–83 years of age), without stroke at baseline, from the Cohort of Swedish Men and the Swedish Mammography Cohort. Diet was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire. A modified DASH diet score was created based on consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts, whole grains, low-fat dairy, red meat and processed meat, and sweetened beverages. Stroke cases were identified through linkage to the Swedish National Patient and Cause of Death Registers. Relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results— During 882 727 person-years (mean, 11.9 years) of follow-up, 3896 ischemic strokes, 560 intracerebral hemorrhages, and 176 subarachnoid hemorrhages were ascertained. The modified DASH diet score was statistically significantly inversely associated with the risk of ischemic stroke (P for trend=0.002), with a multivariable relative risk of 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.78–0.94) for the highest versus the lowest quartile of the score. The modified DASH diet score was nonsignificantly inversely associated with intracerebral hemorrhage (corresponding relative risk=0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.63–1.05) but was not associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Conclusions— These findings indicate that high adherence to the DASH diet is associated with a reduced risk of ischemic stroke. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifiers: NCT01127698 and NCT01127711 for the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men, respectively.
Contribution of Autonomic Neuropathy to Reduced Plasma Adrenaline Responses to Hypoglycemia in IDDM: Evidence for a Nonselective Defect

To determine the contribution of clinically overt diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN) to reduced plasma adrenaline responses to hypoglycemia in IDDM and to establish its selectivity for hypoglycemia, we studied 17 IDDM patients (7 without DAN [DAN−] and 10 with DAN [DAN+]), of whom 5 had and 5 did not have postural hypotension (DAN+PH+ and DAN+PH−, respectively), and 8 nondiabetic subjects on 2 different occasions, i.e., clamped hypoglycemia (steps from 5.0 to 2.2 mmol/l plasma glucose) and 30-min steady-state exercise at 55% VO2max. Recent antecedent hypoglycemia was meticulously prevented before the studies to exclude hypoglycemia as a cause of reduced responses of adrenaline to hypoglycemia. In DAN− patients, maximal responses of adrenaline to hypoglycemia were reduced (2.44 ± 0.58 nmol/l vs. 4.9 ± 0.54 nmol/l in nondiabetic patients) (P < 0.05). In DAN+, adrenaline responses initiated at a lower plasma glucose and were lower than in DAN− (DAN+PH−, 1.06 ± 0.38 nmol/l; DAN+PH+, 0.84 ± 0.27 nmol/l; P < 0.001, but NS between PH− and PH+). In response to exercise, adrenaline increased less in DAN− (0.89 ±0.11 nmol/l) patients than in nondiabetic subjects (1.19 ± 0.14 nmol/l; NS) and only to 0.36 ± 0.07 nmol/l in DAN+PH− and 0.23 ± 0.09 nmol/l in DAN+PH+ (P < 0.001 vs. DAN− and nondiabetic subjects). These results were confirmed when nondiabetic and DAN− subjects repeated the exercise at 60 watts (35 and 41% of Vo2max, respectively), i.e., at the same absolute workload of DAN+ patients. Thus, DAN (both PH+ and PH−) contributes to reduced responses of adrenaline to hypoglycemia independently of recent antecedent hypoglycemia. The adrenaline defect in DAN is not selective for hypoglycemia.
Myocardial Hypertrophy Overrides the Angiogenic Response to Hypoxia

Background Cyanosis and myocardial hypertrophy frequently occur in combination. Hypoxia or cyanosis can be potent inducers of angiogenesis, regulating the expression of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF), vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF), and VEGF receptors (VEGFR-1 and 2); in contrast, pressure overload hypertrophy is often associated with impaired pro-angiogenic signaling and decreased myocardial capillary density. We hypothesized that the physiological pro-angiogenic response to cyanosis in the hypertrophied myocardium is blunted through differential HIF and VEGF-associated signaling. Methods and Results Newborn rabbits underwent aortic banding and, together with sham-operated littermates, were transferred into a hypoxic chamber (FiO2 = 0.12) at 3 weeks of age. Control banded or sham-operated rabbits were housed in normoxia. Systemic cyanosis was confirmed (hematocrit, arterial oxygen saturation, and serum erythropoietin). Myocardial tissue was assayed for low oxygen concentrations using a pimonidazole adduct. At 4 weeks of age, HIF-1α and HIF-2α protein levels, HIF-1α DNA-binding activity, and expression of VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and VEGF were determined in hypoxic and normoxic rabbits. At 6 weeks of age, left-ventricular capillary density was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Under normoxia, capillary density was decreased in the banded rabbits compared to non-banded littermates. As expected, non-hypertrophied hearts responded to hypoxia with increased capillary density; however, banded hypoxic rabbits demonstrated no increase in angiogenesis. This blunted pro-angiogenic response to hypoxia in the hypertrophied myocardium was associated with lower HIF-2α and VEGFR-2 levels and increased HIF-1α activity and VEGFR-1 expression. In contrast, non-hypertrophied hearts responded to hypoxia with increased HIF-2α and VEGFR-2 expression with lower VEGFR-1 expression. Conclusion The participation of HIF-2α and VEGFR-2 appear to be required for hypoxia-stimulated myocardial angiogenesis. In infant rabbit hearts with pressure overload hypertrophy, this pro-angiogenic response to hypoxia is effectively uncoupled, apparently in part due to altered HIF-mediated signaling and VEGFR subtype expression.
Poliovirus Polyuridylic Acid Polymerase and RNA Replicase Have the Same Viral Polypeptide

A poliovirus-specific polyuridylic acid [poly(U)] polymerase that copies a polyadenylic acid template complexed to an oligouridylic acid primer was isolated from the membrane fraction of infected HeLa cells and was found to sediment at 4 to 5S on a linear 5 to 20% glycerol gradient. When the poly(U) polymerase was isolated from cells labeled with [35S]methionine and was analyzed by glycerol gradient centrifugation and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the position of only one viral protein was found to correlate with the location of enzyme activity. This protein had an apparent molecular weight of 62,500 based on its electrophoretic mobility relative to that of several molecular weight standards and was designated p63. When the poly(U) polymerase was isolated from the soluble fraction of a cytoplasmic extract, the activity was found to sediment at about 7S. In this case, however, both p63 and NCVP2 (77,000-dalton precursor of p63) cosedimented with the 7S activity peak. When the 7S polymerase activity was purified by phosphocellulose chromatography, both p63 and NCVP2 were found to co-chromatograph with poly(U) polymerase activity. The poliovirus replicase complexed with its endogenous RNA template was isolated from infected cells labeled with [35S]methionine and was centrifuged through a linear 15 to 30% glycerol gradient. The major viral polypeptide component in a 26S peak of replicase activity was p63, but small amounts of other poliovirus proteins were also present. When the replicase-template complex was treated with RNase T1 before centrifugation, a single peak of activity was found that sedimented at 20S and contained only labeled p63. Thus, p63 was found to be the only viral polypeptide in the replicase bound to its endogenous RNA template, and appears to be active as a poly(U) polymerase either as a monomer protein or as a 7S complex.
Providing Databases for Different Indoor Positioning Technologies: Pros and Cons of Magnetic Field and Wi-Fi Based Positioning

Localization is one of the main pillars for indoor services. However, it is still very difficult for the mobile sensing community to compare state-of-the-art indoor positioning systems due to the scarcity of publicly available databases. To make fair and meaningful comparisons between indoor positioning systems, they must be evaluated in the same situation, or in the same sets of situations. In this paper, two databases are introduced for studying the performance of magnetic field and Wi-Fi fingerprinting based positioning systems in the same environment (i.e., indoor area). The “magnetic” database contains more than 40,000 discrete captures (270 continuous samples), whereas the “Wi-Fi” one contains 1,140 ones. The environment and both databases are fully detailed in this paper. A set of experiments is also presented where two simple but effective baselines have been developed to test the suitability of the databases. Finally, the pros and cons of both types of positioning techniques are discussed in detail.
Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Thermophilic Campylobacter spp. from Cattle Farms in Washington State

ABSTRACT The prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. was investigated in cattle on Washington State farms. A total of 350 thermophilic Campylobacter isolates were isolated from 686 cattle sampled on 15 farms (eight dairies, two calf rearer farms, two feedlots, and three beef cow-calf ranches). Isolate species were identified with a combination of phenotypic tests, hipO colony blot hybridization, and multiplex lpxA PCR. Breakpoint resistance to four antimicrobials (ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, erythromycin, and doxycycline) was determined by agar dilution. Campylobacter jejuni was the most frequent species isolated (34.1%), followed by Campylobacter coli (7.7%) and other thermophilic campylobacters (1.5%). The most frequently detected resistance was to doxycycline (42.3% of 350 isolates). Isolates from calf rearer facilities were more frequently doxycycline resistant than isolates from other farm types. C. jejuni was most frequently susceptible to all four of the antimicrobial drugs studied (58.8% of 272 isolates). C. coli isolates were more frequently resistant than C. jejuni, including resistance to quinolone antimicrobials (89.3% of isolates obtained from calves on calf rearer farms) and to erythromycin (72.2% of isolates obtained from feedlot cattle). Multiple drug resistance was more frequent in C. coli (51.5%) than in C. jejuni (5.1%). The results of this study demonstrate that C. jejuni is widely distributed among Washington cattle farms, while C. coli is more narrowly distributed but significantly more resistant.
Insurance claims data: a possible solution for a national sports injury surveillance system? An evaluation of data information against ASIDD and consensus statements on sports injury surveillance

Background Before preventive actions can be suggested for sports injuries at the national level, a solid surveillance system is required in order to study their epidemiology, risk factors and mechanisms. There are guidelines for sports injury data collection and classifications in the literature for that purpose. In Sweden, 90% of all athletes (57/70 sports federations) are insured with the same insurance company and data from their database could be a foundation for studies on acute sports injuries at the national level. Objective To evaluate the usefulness of sports injury insurance claims data in sports injury surveillance at the national level. Method A database with 27 947 injuries was exported to an Excel file. Access to the corresponding text files was also obtained. Data were reviewed on available information, missing information and dropouts. Comparison with ASIDD (Australian Sports Injury Data Dictionary) and existing consensus statements in the literature (football (soccer), rugby union, tennis, cricket and thoroughbred horse racing) was performed in a structured manner. Result Comparison with ASIDD showed that 93% of the suggested data items were present in the database to at least some extent. Compliance with the consensus statements was generally high (13/18). Almost all claims (83%) contained text information concerning the injury. Conclusions Relatively high-quality sports injury data can be obtained from a specific insurance company at the national level in Sweden. The database has the potential to be a solid base for research on acute sports injuries in different sports at the national level.