Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chimeric Antigens of Toxoplasma gondii: Toward Standardization of Toxoplasmosis Serodiagnosis Using Recombinant Products

ABSTRACT We have evaluated the diagnostic utility of six antigenic regions of the Toxoplasma gondii MIC2, MIC3, M2AP, GRA3, GRA7, and SAG1 gene products, assembled in recombinant chimeric antigens by genetic engineering, in order to replace the soluble, whole-cell tachyzoite extract in serological assays. Serum samples from 100 adults with acquired T. gondii infection and from 30 infants born to mothers with primary toxoplasmosis contracted during pregnancy, of whom 20 were congenitally infected, were included. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies against epitopes carried by chimeric antigens were measured by performing parallel enzyme immunoassays (recombinant enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays [Rec-ELISAs]), and the results obtained by standard commercial assays with the whole-cell Toxoplasma antigen and assays with the chimeric antigens were compared. Our results demonstrate that IgG and IgM Rec-ELISAs with individual chimeric antigens have performance characteristics comparable to those of the corresponding commercial assays. Furthermore, we show that IgM-capture assays based on chimeric antigens improve the ability to diagnose congenital toxoplasmosis postnatally compared with the ability to diagnose congenital toxoplasmosis by the use of standard assays. The use of recombinant chimeric antigens is effective in distinguishing T. gondii-infected individuals from T. gondii-uninfected individuals and shows that immunoassays based on recombinant products could provide the basis for standardized commercial tests for the serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis.
Substance P and its role in neural mechanisms governing learning, anxiety and functional recovery

The neurokinin Substance P (SP) is widely distributed in the central nervous system and has been extensively studied in various functional aspects. This review focuses on the behavioral relevance of SP. Here we show that SP can have memory-promoting, reinforcing and anxiolytic-like effects when administered systemically or into the nucleus basalis of the ventral pallidum. These effects seem to be mediated via the SP-preferring NK(1)receptor and differentially related to N- versus C-terminal fragments of the undecapeptide. Secondly, SP injection into the ventral pallidum can lead to increases of acetylcholine in frontal cortex and dopamine in nucleus accumbens, suggesting that the hypermnestic, positively reinforcing and anxiolytic effects observed upon basal forebrain injection of SP are mediated by activation of the nucleus accumbens-ventral pallidum circuitry. Furthermore, SP and certain SP-fragments may not only be considered to have beneficial behavioral effects in normal animals, but can also prevent lesion-induced functional deficits and improve the speed of recovery. This indicates that SP agonists might also have a neuroprotective capacity in parallel with recovery-promoting actions.
Association of ABO Blood Types and Clinicopathological Features of Prostate Cancer

Purpose To investigate the association between ABO blood types and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with prostate cancer (PC). Methods A total of 237 pathologically diagnosed PC patients were enrolled. All patients were classified as low–middle or high-risk group. The correlation of ABO blood types with high-risk PC was determined by univariate and multivariate regression analysis. Results Data indicated 144 (85.7%) patients were stratified as high risk in the non-O group, while 50 (72.5%) patients in the O group (p = 0.025). However, there was no significant difference regarding PSA, Gleason score, stage, or metastasis between O and non-O group (p > 0.05). Univariate logistic regression analyses revealed PSA, Gleason score, and blood type non-O were all correlated with high-risk PC (OR = 1.139, p < 0.001; OR = 9.465, p < 0.001; OR = 2.280, p = 0.018, resp.). In the stepwise multivariate regression analysis, the association between blood type non-O and high-risk PC remained significant (OR = 33.066, 95% CI 2.391–457.323, and p = 0.009) after adjusting for confounding factors as well as PSA and Gleason score. Conclusion The present study firstly demonstrated that non-O blood type was at higher risk of aggressive PC compared with O type, suggesting that PC patients with non-O blood type should receive more attention in clinical practice.
TAL Effectors Target the C-Terminal Domain of RNA Polymerase II (CTD) by Inhibiting the Prolyl-Isomerase Activity of a CTD-Associated Cyclophilin

Transcriptional activator-like (TAL) effectors of plant pathogenic bacteria function as transcription factors in plant cells. However, how TAL effectors control transcription in the host is presently unknown. Previously, we showed that TAL effectors of the citrus canker pathogen Xanthomonas citri, named PthAs, targeted the citrus protein complex comprising the thioredoxin CsTdx, ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes CsUev/Ubc13 and cyclophilin CsCyp. Here we show that CsCyp complements the function of Cpr1 and Ess1, two yeast cyclophilins that regulate transcription by the isomerization of proline residues of the regulatory C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II. We also demonstrate that CsCyp, CsTdx, CsUev and four PthA variants interact with the citrus CTD and that CsCyp co-immunoprecipitate with the CTD in citrus cell extracts and with PthA2 transiently expressed in sweet orange epicotyls. The interactions of CsCyp with the CTD and PthA2 were inhibited by cyclosporin A (CsA), a cyclophilin inhibitor. Moreover, we present evidence that PthA2 inhibits the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity of CsCyp in a similar fashion as CsA, and that silencing of CsCyp, as well as treatments with CsA, enhance canker lesions in X. citri-infected leaves. Given that CsCyp appears to function as a negative regulator of cell growth and that Ess1 negatively regulates transcription elongation in yeast, we propose that PthAs activate host transcription by inhibiting the PPIase activity of CsCyp on the CTD.
BRCA1/2 carriers and endocrine risk modifiers.

Introduction Genetic research is a rapidly expanding area of oncology. However, genetic changes do not always result in an effect. There is much interest in the interaction of environmental factors with genetic changes resulting in deleterious effects that can cause disease. It is known that some cases of breast cancer arise as a result of a breast cancer predisposition gene and two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast cancer gene 1 and breast cancer gene 2) have been characterised. There is much scientific and clinical interest in individuals who carry these predisposition genes in particular, and from the point of view of clinical management a need for investigating the interaction between hormonal factors and BRCA1/2 genetic status.
Abnormal GABAA Receptor-Mediated Currents in Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons Isolated from Na–K–2Cl Cotransporter Null Mice

We have recently disrupted Slc12a2, the gene encoding the secretory Na–K–2Cl cotransporter in mice (NKCC1) (Delpire et al., 1999). Gramicidin perforated-patch and whole-cell recordings were performed to study GABA-induced currents in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons isolated from wild-type and homozygote NKCC1 knock-out mice. In wild-type DRG neurons, strong GABA-evoked inward current was observed at the resting membrane potential, suggesting active accumulation of Cl− in these cells. This GABA-induced current was blocked by picrotoxin, a GABAAreceptor blocker. The strong Cl− accumulation that gives rise to depolarizing GABA responses is caused by Na–K–2Cl cotransport because reduction of external Cl− or application of bumetanide induced a decrease in [Cl−]i, whereas an increase in external K+ caused an apparent [Cl−]i accumulation. In contrast to control neurons, little or no net current was observed at the resting membrane potential in homozygote NKCC1 mutant DRG neurons.EGABA was significantly more negative, demonstrating the absence of Cl− accumulation in these cells. Application of bumetanide induced a positive shift ofEGABA, suggesting the presence of an outward Cl− transport mechanism. In agreement with an absence of GABA depolarization in DRG neurons, behavioral analysis revealed significant alterations in locomotion and pain perception in the knock-out mouse. Our results clearly demonstrate that the Na–K–2Cl cotransporter is responsible for [Cl−]i accumulation in DRG neurons and that via regulation of intracellular Cl−, the Na–K–2Cl cotransporter participates in the modulation of GABA neurotransmission and sensory perception.
The Ambivalence of Ordinary Cosmopolitanism: Investigating the Limits of Cosmopolitan Openness

Despite diverse understandings of cosmopolitanism, most authors agree that cosmopolitans espouse a broadly defined disposition of ‘openness’ toward others, people, things and experiences whose origin is non-local. It is argued that such an attitude is expressed by an emotional and ethical commitment towards universalism, selflessness, worldliness and communitarianism, and that such values should be identifiable in the practices, attitudes and identifications of individuals. By using data generated through qualitative focus group research, this paper extends the development of Lamont and Aksartova's (2002) category of ‘ordinary cosmopolitanism’. The participants in this study saw themselves as beneficiaries of an increasingly interconnected world, and they generally expressed cosmopolitan sentiments by referring to easily accepted opportunities associated with globalisation (eg. travel, cuisine, music) rather than the more difficult aspects of openness such as showing hospitality to strangers, or accepting human interest ahead of perceived national interests. Their positive views were counterbalanced, however, by sentiments of ‘dilution of national culture’ and ‘culture loss’. We argue that cosmopolitanism is a set of structurally grounded, discursive resources available to social actors which is variably deployed to deal with issues like cultural diversity, the global, and otherness. Ironically these discourses, which are the basis of the everyday accounts we describe, mirror academic debates on globalisation, suggesting the immersion of theorists in these discursive webs of meaning that structure responses to things global.
Hierarchical Fibers with a Negative Poisson’s Ratio for Tougher Composites

In this paper, a new kind of hierarchical tube with a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) is proposed. The first level tube is constructed by rolling up an auxetic hexagonal honeycomb. Then, the second level tube is produced by substituting the arm of the auxetic sheet with the first level tube and rolling it up. The Nth (N≥1) level tube can be built recursively. Based on the Euler beam theory, the equivalent elastic parameters of the NPR hierarchical tubes under small deformations are derived. Under longitudinal axial tension, instead of shrinking, all levels of the NPR hierarchical tubes expand in the transverse direction. Using these kinds of auxetic tubes as reinforced fibers in composite materials would result in a higher resistance to fiber pullout. Thus, this paper provides a new strategy for the design of fiber reinforced hierarchical bio-inspired composites with a superior pull-out mechanism, strength and toughness. An application with super carbon nanotubes concludes the paper.
Are We Being Misled By Fifty Years of Research On Our Gifted Children?

same general type of results, Independent of what was being investigated, the overwhelming conclusion was that the gifted child is superior to the non-gifted child and under all conditions shows positive growth trends. Although this, admittedly, is an oversimplification, it is a view reached by others who review the research on the gifted. Ketcham (1968) summed up this view when he observed that in reading the literature one concludes it is not possible for the schools to harm gifted children-they continue to improve no matter what the situation.
The relationship between nature of science understandings and science self-efficacy beliefs of sixth grade students

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATURE OF SCIENCE UNDERSTANDINGS AND SCIENCE SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS OF SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS by Elisabeth Allyn Parker Bandura (1986) posited that self-efficacy beliefs help determine what individuals do with the knowledge and skills they have and are critical determinants of how well skill and knowledge are acquired. Research has correlated self-efficacy beliefs with academic success and subject interest (Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). Similar studies report a decreasing interest by students in school science beginning in middle school claiming that they don‘t enjoy science because the classes are boring and irrelevant to their lives (Basu & Barton, 2007). The hypothesis put forth by researchers is that students need to observe models of how science is done, the nature of science (NOS), so that they connect with the human enterprise of science and thereby raise their self-efficacy (Britner, 2008). This study examined NOS understandings and science self-efficacy of students enrolled in a sixth grade earth science class taught with explicit NOS instruction. The research questions that guided this study were (a) how do students‘ selfefficacy beliefs change as compared with changes in their nature of science understandings? ; and (b) how do changes in students‘ science self-efficacy beliefs vary with gender and ethnicity segregation? A mixed method design was employed following an embedded experimental model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). As the treatment, five NOS aspects were first taught by the teachers using nonintegrated activities followed by integrated instructional approach (Khishfe, 2008). Students‘ views of NOS using the Views on Nature of Science (VNOS) (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, & Schwartz, 2002) along with their self-efficacy beliefs using three Likert-type science self-efficacy scales (Britner, 2002) were gathered. Changes in NOS understandings were determined by categorizing student responses and then comparing preand post-instructional understandings. To determine changes in participants‘ self-efficacy beliefs as measured by the three subscales, a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted. Findings indicated that explicit NOS instruction was effective for all students except minority (Black, Hispanic, Asian, or multiracial) male students in improving NOS understandings. Furthermore, all students that received NOS instruction demonstrated decreased anxiety towards science. Future research should focus on long-term investigations of changes in anxiety and value of research constructs with regards to NOS
MULTIREPRESENTASI DALAM PEMBELAJARAN FISIKA

Konsep fisika dapat direpresentasikan dalam banyak format (multirepresentasi). Namun selama ini fisika lebih banyak diajarkan melalui rumus-rumus matematik, dengan sedikit sekali mengajarkan makna fisis dari rumus-rumus tersebut. Padahal matematik hanyalah salah satu format representasi. Representasi-representasi lain yakni representasi verbal, gambar atau diagram, dan representasi grafik masih sedikit sekali digunakan dalam pembelajaran. Dari banyak hasil penelitian disimpulkan bahwa penggunaan multirepresentasi dapat membantu siswa/mahasiswa dalam memahami konsep-konsep fisika. Makalah ini memaparkan pengertian multirepresentasi, mengapa menggunakan multirepresentasi, dan bagaimana menggunakan multirepresentasi dalam pembelajaran fisika.
How Far Should Salt Intake Be Reduced?

Abstract—The current public health recommendations are to reduce salt intake from 9 to 12 g/d to 5 to 6 g/d. However, these values are based on what is feasible rather than the maximum effect of salt reduction. In a meta-analysis of longer-term trials, we looked at the dose response between salt reduction and fall in blood pressure and compared this with 2 well-controlled studies of 3 different salt intakes. All 3 studies demonstrated a consistent dose response to salt reduction within the range of 12 to 3 g/d. A reduction of 3 g/d predicts a fall in blood pressure of 3.6 to 5.6/1.9 to 3.2 mm Hg (systolic/diastolic) in hypertensives and 1.8 to 3.5/0.8 to 1.8 mm Hg in normotensives. The effect would be doubled with a 6 g/d reduction and tripled with a 9 g/d reduction. A conservative estimate indicates that a reduction of 3 g/d would reduce strokes by 13% and ischemic heart disease (IHD) by 10%. The effects would be almost doubled with a 6 g/d reduction and tripled with a 9 g/d reduction. Reducing salt intake by 9 g/d (eg, from 12 to 3 g/d) would reduce strokes by approximately one third and IHD by one quarter, and this would prevent ≈20 500 stroke deaths and 31 400 IHD deaths a year in the United Kingdom. The current recommendations to reduce salt intake from 9 to 12 g/d to 5 to 6 g/d will have a major effect on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease but are not ideal. A further reduction to 3 g/d will have a much greater effect and should now become the long-term target for population salt intake worldwide.
The effects of uncontrollable stress on subjective well-being and coping behavior in urban adolescents

This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact ecommons@luc.edu. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Elizabeth Vera, for her unfailing support and insight throughout my graduate school career. Her guidance and patience helped make the writing of this dissertation a consistently positive experience. Her wise advice has helped me through a number of challenges in the last several years, and I will be forever grateful for her immense contribution to my educational and professional development. I would also like to thank the other members of my dissertation committee. Dr. Rufus Gonzales has been an incredible mentor to me throughout graduate school. His guidance regarding research and clinical issues has contributed greatly to my development in both areas. Lastly, Dr. Meng-Jia Wu-Bohanon has helped me to gain confidence in my ability to perform research and think critically. Her unique ability to explain difficult statistical concepts has been an asset to the graduate students at Loyola University Chicago. I would also like to acknowledge the current and former faculty and staff of Loyola's Counseling Psychology Program. Specifically, Dr. Speight for her sense of humor and wisdom, Dr. Brown for his vast knowledge base, Dr. Thomas for her support and knowledge, Dr. Mildner for her encouragement, and Valerie Collier for her patience, consistency, and honesty. The members of my graduate school cohort have also played a very supportive role throughout this process. Namely, I would like to thank Kimberly iv Vacek for the invaluable professional and personal support she has provided me over the last few years. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins for their interest in and encouragement of my education. They were certainly the first to teach me how to think as a scientist. Of course, I would like to thank my husband Robert for his unique ability to help me put this entire process into perspective and find enjoyment even in challenging times. His companionship throughout graduate school has helped me to fill the last several years with stability, humor, and adventure. x ABSTRACT The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether uncontrollable and controllable stressors differentially affected levels of subjective well-being in a group of ethnically …
The fuzzy discrete-time robust regulation problem: an LMI approach

This paper is concerned with the design of a robust regulator capable of achieving trajectory tracking for discrete-time nonlinear systems under parameter uncertainty. By assuming that the behavior of the nonlinear system is described, at least locally, by a Takagi-Sugeno dynamic fuzzy model, an approach based in the combination of this fuzzy modeling and the regulator theory is presented. Conditions for the existence of a robust regulator under this approach are then derived and extended to include the use of the linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique.
The Self and Others: Positioning Individuals and Groups in Personal, Political, and Cultural Contexts

Introduction by Rom HarRE and Fathali M. Moghaddam The Self and Other Individuals Motivational Styles and Positioning Theory by Michael J. Apter Positioning and the Emotions by W. Gerrod Parrott "There You Are Man": Men's Use of Emotion Discourses and Their Negotiation of Emotional Subject Positions by Chris Walton, Adrian Coyle, and Evanthia Lyons The Unthinkable, the Unspeakable Self: Reflections on the Importance of Negative Emotional Boundaries for the Formation, Maintenance and Transformation of Identities by Ciaran Benson Malignant Positioning and the Predicament of People with Alzheimer's Disease by Steven R. Sabat Paranoia, Ambivalence, and Discursive Practices: Concepts of Position and Positioning in Psychoanalysis and Discursive Psychology by Margaret Wetherell The Self and Groups Positioning and Neighborhood Groups by Rom HarRE and Nikki Slocum Sustaining Intergroup Harmony: An Analysis of the Kissinger Papers through Positioning Theory by Fathali M. Moghaddam, Elizabeth Hanley, and Rom HarRE Categories as Actions: Positioning, Oppression, and Heteronormativity by Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzenger Gender Positioning: A 16th/17th Century Example Jennifer Lynn Adams and Rom HarRE Positioning and Postcolonial Apologizing in Australia by Lucinda Aberdeen Applying Positioning Principles to a Theory of Collective Identity by Donald M. Taylor, Evelyne Bougie, and Julie Caouette The Self and Context Integration Speaking: Introducing Positioning Theory in Regional Integration Studies by Nikki Slocum and Luk Van Langenhove Culture-Clash and Patents: Positioning and Intellectual Property Rights by Fathali M. Moghaddam and Shayna Ginsburg Assessment of Quality Systems with Positioning Theory by Lionel Boxer Positioning the Subject in Body/Landscape Relations by Bronwyn Davies Concluding Chapter by Tim May
A Tool for Process Merging in Business-Driven Development

Business-driven development favors the construction of process models at different abstraction levels and by different people. As a consequence, there is a demand for consolidating different versions of process models by merging them. In this paper, we study a basic scenario, derive requirements and present a prototype for detecting and resolving changes between process models.
A technical analysis approach to tourism demand forecasting

Tourism demand forecasts are of great economic value both for the public and private sector. Any information concerning the future evolution of tourism flows, is of great importance to hoteliers, tour operators and other industries concerned with tourism or transportation, in order to adjust their policy and corporate finance. In the last few decades, numerous researchers have studied international tourism demand and a wide range of the available forecasting techniques have been tested. Major focus has been given to econometric studies that involve the use of least squares regression to estimate the quantitative relationship between tourism demand and its determinants. However, econometric models usually fail to outperform simple time series extrapolative models. This article introduces a new approach to tourism demand forecasting via incorporating technical analysis techniques. The proposed model is evaluated versus a range of classic univariate time series methods in terms of forecasting and directional accuracy.