Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The life history of Nematodrus helvetianus May, 1920, a nematode parasitic in cattle.

Nematodirus helvetianus May, 1920, commonly known as the thread-necked strongyle, is a trichostrongylid nematode found in the small intestine of cattle and occasionally also of sheep, goats and camels. Inasmuch as Herlich and Porter (1953) found that this strongyle is potentially pathogenic to calves, it was considered desirable to determine its life history. The only previous work dealing with the life history of N. helvetianus was done by Zviagintsev (1934) who reported that larval development and molting occurred within the egg. Observations made on the effects of specific temperatures on the rate of development will be discussed in conjunction with results of this investigation. Zviagintsev also noted that the infective larvae were very resistant to desiccation, and could live as long as eight months or more at room temperature. He was unable to infect guinea pigs or rabbits, but succeeded in infecting a lamb. He found that larvae fed to calves reached maturity in three to four weeks. Nearly two decades earlier Boulenger (1915) studied the life history of a closely related species, N. filicollis (Rudolphi, 1802) Ransom, 1907, a parasite of the small intestine of sheep. He reported that the embryo developed within the egg and underwent two molts, one complete and the second incomplete. This confirmed earlier observations by Ransom (1911), Railliet and Henry (1912) and Maupas and Seurat (1913). Since the infective larva retained the cuticle of the second molt, Boulenger considered it to be in a state of transition between the second and third stage. He noted that the infective larva shed its sheath in vitro, when exposed to temperatures approximating the body temperatures of mammals. Parasitic larval stages were described by Boulenger on the basis of immature specimens recovered from naturally infected sheep killed for post-mortem examination. He found the first traces of external sex characters in specimens 2.5 mm. long. In the male, this appeared as a distinct swelling just anterior to the tail fork, at about the level of the anal opening. This he considered to be a rudimentary bursa. Specimens measuring 5 mm. long exhibited bursal rays and spicules, and at this stage of development, the characteristic tail fork and caudal process had disappeared. In the young female, the tail fork and caudal process were retained somewhat longer, the process being retained as the terminal spike characteristic of the mature female.
Computational complexity of image processing algorithms for an intelligent mobile enabled tongue diagnosis scheme

Tongue diagnosis is an auxiliary, effective and non-invasive technique to evaluate the condition of a patient's internal organ in traditional East Asian medicine. The diagnosis process relies on expert's opinion based on visual inspection of colour, substance, coating, form and motion of the tongue. This work explores the computational complexity of image processing techniques to analyse chromatic properties and textural features for tongue image segmentation. The dynamic and novel approach of this work involves consideration of skin colour covering various range of contrast diversity while image segmentation, making it distinct from existing works. The aim of this research is to seek for an algorithm with reduced computational complexity suitable to be implemented in an enhanced mobile enable solution. The algorithm for tongue image processing needs to be fast and less complex making the system apt for mobile devices executing automatic tongue diagnosis entailing clinical decision support system. Analysing the performance of different colour models, RGB was unveiled to have a better enactment than others. The performance of edge detection techniques were evaluated on images with close contrast difference based on segmentation result and processing time. The morphological processing showed better result to separate the tongue from its background which can be further employed for geometric shape based disease diagnosis.
Identification of Arabidopsis Genes Regulated by High Light–Stress Using cDNA Microarray¶

Abstract In plants, excess light has the potential to damage the photosynthetic apparatus. The damage is caused in part by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by electrons leaking from the photosynthetic electron transport system. To investigate the mechanisms equipped in higher plants to reduce high light (HL) stress, we surveyed the response of 7000 Arabidopsis genes to HL, taking advantage of the recently developed microarray technology. Our analysis revealed that 110 genes had a positive response to a 3 h treatment at a light intensity of 150 W m−2. In addition to the scavenging enzymes of ROS, the genes involved in biosynthesis of lignins and flavonoids are activated by HL and actually resulted in increased accumulation of lignins and anthocyanins. Comparing the HL-responsive genes with drought-inducible genes identified with the same microarray system revealed a dense overlap between HL- and drought-inducible genes. In addition, we have identified 10 genes that showed upregulation by HL, drought, cold and also salt stress. These genes include RD29A, ERD7, ERD10, KIN1, LEA14 and COR15a, most of which are thought to be involved in the protection of cellular components.
Split and whole liver transplantation outcomes: A comparative cohort study

A specific split liver transplantation (SLT) program has been pursued in the North Italian Transplant program (NITp) since November 1997. After 5 yr, 1,449 liver transplants were performed in 7 transplant centers, using 1,304 cadaveric donors. Whole liver transplantation (WLT) and SLT were performed in 1,126 and 323 cases, respectively. SLTs were performed in situ as 147 left lateral segments (LLS), 154 right trisegment liver (RTL) grafts, and 22 modified split livers (MSL), used for couples of adult recipients. After a median posttransplant follow‐up of 22 months, SLTs achieved a 3‐yr patient and graft survival not significantly different from the entire series of transplants (79.4 and 72.2% vs. 80.6 and 74.9%, respectively). Recipients receiving a WLT or a LLS showed significantly better outcomes than patients receiving RTL and MSL (P < 0.03 for patients and P < 0.04 for graft survival). At the multivariate analysis, donor age of >60 yr, RTL transplant, <50 annual transplants volume, urgent transplantation (United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) status I and IIA), ischemia time of >7 hours, and retransplantation were factors independently related to graft failure and to significantly worst patient survival. Right grafts procured from RTL and either split procured as MSL had a similar outcome of marginal whole livers. In conclusion, in 5 yr, the increased number of pediatric transplants due to split liver donation reduced to 3% the in‐list children mortality, and a decrease in the adult patient dropout rate from 27.2 to 16.2% was observed. Such results justify a more widespread adoption of SLT protocols, organizational difficulties not being a limit for the application of such technique. Liver Transpl 12:402–410, 2006. © 2006 AASLD.
Adjustment to kidney transplantation: Predictors of perceived health and psychological distress

Niertransplantatie is de beste behandeling voor nierfalen, maar sommige patienten doen het beter dan anderen. Als we wisten waarom, zouden we misschien kunnen helpen als het minder goed gaat. Twee studies keken naar de invloed van individuele kenmerken op de patientenbeoordeling van gezondheid en welzijn. Een omvatte patienten tot 15 jaar na niertransplantatie, de ander volgde patienten van voor tot een jaar na transplantatie. Vele jaren met een getransplanteerde nier gaan samen met meer bijkomende aandoeningen en meer symptomen vanwege nierziekte en medicatie.Desalniettemin beoordeelden patienten hun gezondheid even hoog dan kort na transplantatie. In sommige gevallen rapporteerden patienten echter een verslechtering van hun gezondheid na transplantatie. Hoewel het niet mogelijk bleek deze verslechtering vooraf te voorspellen, waren deze patienten vaak vrouwen met meer bijkomende aandoeningen en complicaties. Alhoewel de kwaliteit van leven na transplantatie vaak lager was dan patienten hadden verwacht, waren daaruit voortvloeiende psychische klachten slechts van korte duur. Een slechte gezondheid leidde echter tot meer psychische klachten, omdat het de beoordeling van de gezondheid alsmede gevoelens van controle, optimisme en zelfrespect verlaagde. Omgekeerd resulteerden verhoogde gevoelens van controle en minder obstructie van belangrijke doelen na transplantatie in minder psychische klachten. Regelmatige controles van de patientenbeoordeling van gezondheid en welzijn zouden degenen kunnen identificeren die het minder goed doen. Daarna kan een beter beheer van symptomen en bijkomende aandoeningen, evenals interventies ter verbetering van het gevoel van controle, zelfrespect en het vermogen om met geblokkeerde doelen om te gaan, de gezondheidsbeoodeling en het welzijn van patienten helpen verbeteren.
The Development and Evaluation of Three Diverse Techniques for Object-Oriented Code Inspection

We describe the development and evaluation of a rigorous approach aimed at the effective and efficient inspection of object-oriented (OO) code. Since the time that inspections were developed they have been shown to be powerful defect detection strategies. However, little research has been done to investigate their application to OO systems, which have very different structural and execution models compared to procedural systems. This suggests that inspection techniques may not be currently being deployed to their best effect in the context of large-scale OO systems. Work to date has revealed three significant issues that need to be addressed - the identification of chunks of code to be inspected, the order in which the code is read, and the resolution of frequent nonlocal references. Three techniques are developed with the aim of addressing these issues: one based on a checklist, one focused on constructing abstract specifications, and the last centered on the route that a use case takes through a system. The three approaches are evaluated empirically and, in this instance, it is suggested that the checklist is the most effective approach, but that the other techniques also have potential strengths. For the best results in a practical situation, a combination of techniques is recommended, one of which should focus specifically on the characteristics of OO.
Investigation of potential carbohydrate antigen targets for human and baboon antibodies

Yeh P, Ezzelarab M, Bovin N, Hara H, Long C, Tomiyama K, Sun F, Ayares D, Awwad M, Cooper DKC. Investigation of potential carbohydrate antigen targets for human and baboon antibodies. Xenotransplantation 2010; 17: 197–206. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Shifting Dependence

High and low self-esteem people typically have divergent responses to interpersonal risk. Highs draw closer to their partner, whereas lows self-protectively distance. However, these responses should be more likely when people are dependent on the rewards their partner offers. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that structural changes in the situation of interdependence lead high and low self-esteem people to reverse their typical responses to risk. When partners were instrumental to a current goal pursuit (and participants were more dependent on the rewards partners could offer), highs drew closer and lows distanced when risk was primed. However, when partners were not instrumental to an active goal (and participants were less dependent on the rewards partners could offer), these responses were reversed. Reducing one’s dependence on a partner to attain one’s personal goals appears to reduce highs’ incentive to connect, whereas it appears to increase lows’ incentive to connect.
Educating the Disagreeable Extravert: Narcissism, the Big Five Personality Traits, and Achievement Goal Orientation

Despite the fact that longitudinal data have been compiled over the past 30 years among undergraduate students in higher education settings regarding narcissism, the literature is devoid of empirical investigations that explore the relationships between narcissism and learning. Because the data suggest that narcissism scores are increasing each year among this population, an exploration of the relationship between narcissism and learning is timely and warranted. Sampling from university undergraduate students, this study uses the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the Big Five Inventory, and the Achievement Goal Questionnaire to verify the known relationships between narcissism and the Big Five personality traits of extraversion and agreeableness; to verify the known relationships between the Big Five personality traits of extraversion and agreeableness and goal orientation; and to explore a previously undocumented empirical relationship between narcissism and performance goal orientation. Results of this exploratory study indicate that while narcissism does contribute to a performance goal orientation, it is not a substantial variable in determining achievement goal orientation in general. The study addresses the implications and limitations of this research in addition to areas for additional investigation.
Nitrogen and Sediment Capture of a Floating Treatment Wetland on an Urban Stormwater Retention Pond—The Case of the Rain Project

Nitrogen is widely recognized as a chronic urban stormwater pollutant. In the United States, wet retention ponds have become widely used to treat urban runoff for quantity and quality. While wet ponds typically function well for the removal of sediments, nitrogen removal, performance can be inconsistent due to poor design and/or lack of maintenance. Retrofitting ponds to improve their nitrogen capture performance, however, is often expensive. By hydroponically growing macrophytes on wet ponds, floating treatment wetlands (FTW) may provide a cheap, sustainable means of improving nitrogen removal efficiency of aging stormwater ponds. Few studies have been performed on the effectiveness real-world stormwater systems, however. In this study, we investigated the nitrogen and sediment capture performance of a 50 m2 floating treatment wetland deployed for 137 days on a stormwater wet pond located within an urban university campus near Washington, D.C. A total of 2684 g of biomass was produced, 3100 g of sediment captured, and 191 g of nitrogen removed from the pond. Although biomass production was relatively low (53 g/m2), we found that nitrogen uptake by the plants (0.009 g/m2/day) was comparable to contemporary FTW studies.
Metabolomanalyse des hyperthermophilen Archaeons Sulfolobus solfataricus unter dem Einfluss von Temperaturveränderungen mit Gaschromatographie-Massenspektrometrie

Hyperthermophile Archaeen weisen viele interessante Charakteristika in ihrem Stoffwechsel auf. Dieser ist jedoch noch vergleichsweise wenig erforscht. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde eine erste Analyse des Metaboloms des hyperthermophilen Archaeons Sulfolobus solfataricus durchgefuhrt, um eventuelle Anpassungsstrategien und Regulationsmechanismen des Organismus an die extremen Lebensbedingungen zu ergrunden. Im Fokus stand dabei der zentrale Kohlenhydratstoffwechsel, der bei S. solfataricus einen abgewandelten Entner-Doudoroff-Weg beinhaltet. In Zusammenarbeit mit Kooperationspartnern des SulfoSys-Projekts wurden Daten mehrerer zellularer Ebenen in einem systembiologischen Kontext vereinigt. Nachdem die Kultivierungsbedingungen und wichtige mikrobiologische Parameter fur den in der Arbeitsgruppe neuen Organismus bestimmt sowie die Aufarbeitungsprozedur fur eine verlassliche Metabolomanalyse etabliert worden waren, wurde ein erstes metabolisches Profil von S. solfataricus generiert und zunachst qualitativ ausgewertet. Beim Vergleich von S. solfataricus mit mesophilen Bakterien konnten einige Unterschiede in den metabolischen Profilen detektiert werden, die moglicherweise zum Teil archaeenspezifisch oder auch einzigartig fur Thermophile sind. Quantitative Veranderungen von relativen Metabolitkonzentrationen des zentralen Kohlenhydrat- sowie des peripheren Stoffwechsels bei Temperaturen von 10°C und 15°C unterhalb des Optimums (80°C) deuten auf spezifische Anpassungen des Organismus auf dieser Ebene hin. Die Analyse einer knock out Mutante mit fehlender KDG-Kinase ergab interessanterweise ahnliche Veranderungen im zentralen Kohlenhydratstoffwechsel wie der Wildtyp bei niedrigeren Temperaturen. Diese wurden mit zusatzlichem Temperatureinfluss noch verstarkt. Es konnten weiterhin Veranderungen zwischen Proben beobachtet werden, die einem plotzlichen Kalte- und Hitzeschock ausgesetzt worden waren.
Transcription enhancer factor 1 interacts with a basic helix-loop-helix zipper protein, Max, for positive regulation of cardiac alpha-myosin heavy-chain gene expression

The M-CAT binding factor transcription enhancer factor 1 (TEF-1) has been implicated in the regulation of several cardiac and skeletal muscle genes. Previously, we identified an E-box-M-CAT hybrid (EM) motif that is responsible for the basal and cyclic AMP-inducible expression of the rat cardiac alpha-myosin heavy chain (alpha-MHC) gene in cardiac myocytes. In this study, we report that two factors, TEF-1 and a basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper protein, Max, bind to the alpha-MHC EM motif. We also found that Max was a part of the cardiac troponin T M-CAT-TEF-1 complex even when the DNA template did not contain an apparent E-box binding site. In the protein-protein interaction assay, a stable association of Max with TEF-1 was observed when glutathione S-transferase (GST)-TEF-1 or GST-Max was used to pull down in vitro-translated Max or TEF-1, respectively. In addition, Max was coimmunoprecipitated with TEF-1, thus documenting an in vivo TEF-1-Max interaction. In the transient transcription assay, overexpression of either Max or TEF-1 resulted a mild activation of the alpha-MHC-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene at lower concentrations and repression of this gene at higher concentrations. However, when Max and TEF-1 expression plasmids were transfected together, the repression mediated by a single expression plasmid was alleviated and a three- to fourfold transactivation of the alpha-MHC-CAT reporter gene was observed. This effect was abolished once the EM motif in the promoter-reporter construct was mutated, thus suggesting that the synergistic transactivation function of the TEF-1-Max heterotypic complex is mediated through binding of the complex to the EM motif. These results demonstrate a novel association between Max and TEF-1 and indicate a positive cooperation between these two factors in alpha-MHC gene regulation.
Characterization of the Pulmonary Lesions Induced in Rats by Human Recombinant Interleukin-2

Histologic, electron microscopic, and immunohistochemical studies were made to analyze the structural features and the cellular composition of the pulmonary lesions produced in rats by the administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2). This agent induced pulmonary edema; thickening of alveolar septa; damage to endothelial cells in capillaries and venules, marked interstitial infiltration by cytotoxic T lymphocytes, lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells (as demonstrated by cell counting in preparations stained immunohistochemically with peroxidase- and fluorochrome-labeled antibodies); and injury to bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells. Granular and agranular lymphocytes often were closely apposed to endothelial cells in capillaries and venules. Contacts between lymphocytes and type II alveolar epithelial cells also were observed. Damaged type II alveolar epithelial cells showed nuclear and cytoplasmic features that are considered indicative of apoptosis (confirmed by nick end labeling). Phagocytosis of apoptotic bodies by macrophages was occasionally found. These results support the concept that IL-2 induces cytotoxic vascular and parenchymal cell damage that is mediated by LAK cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which make contacts with endothelial cells and type II alveolar epithelial cells. This damage appears to be exacerbated by the secondary release of a variety of vasoactive agents and inflammatory mediators.
Diversity, Abundance, and Potential Activity of Nitrifying and Nitrate-Reducing Microbial Assemblages in a Subglacial Ecosystem

ABSTRACT Subglacial sediments sampled from beneath Robertson Glacier (RG), Alberta, Canada, were shown to harbor diverse assemblages of potential nitrifiers, nitrate reducers, and diazotrophs, as assessed by amoA, narG, and nifH gene biomarker diversity. Although archaeal amoA genes were detected, they were less abundant and less diverse than bacterial amoA, suggesting that bacteria are the predominant nitrifiers in RG sediments. Maximum nitrification and nitrate reduction rates in microcosms incubated at 4°C were 280 and 18.5 nmol of N per g of dry weight sediment per day, respectively, indicating the potential for these processes to occur in situ. Geochemical analyses of subglacial sediment pore waters and bulk subglacial meltwaters revealed low concentrations of inorganic and organic nitrogen compounds. These data, when coupled with a C/N atomic ratio of dissolved organic matter in subglacial pore waters of ∼210, indicate that the sediment communities are N limited. This may reflect the combined biological activities of organic N mineralization, nitrification, and nitrate reduction. Despite evidence of N limitation and the detection of nifH, we were unable to detect biological nitrogen fixation activity in subglacial sediments. Collectively, the results presented here suggest a role for nitrification and nitrate reduction in sustaining microbial life in subglacial environments. Considering that ice currently covers 11% of the terrestrial landmass and has covered significantly greater portions of Earth at times in the past, the demonstration of nitrification and nitrate reduction in subglacial environments furthers our understanding of the potential for these environments to contribute to global biogeochemical cycles on glacial-interglacial timescales.
A Recursive Skeletonization Factorization Based on Strong Admissibility

We introduce the strong recursive skeletonization factorization (RS-S), a new approximate matrix factorization based on recursive skeletonization for solving discretizations of linear integral equations associated with elliptic partial differential equations in two and three dimensions (and other matrices with similar hierarchical rank structure). Unlike previous skeletonization-based factorizations, RS-S uses a simple modification of skeletonization, strong skeletonization, which compresses only far-field interactions. This leads to an approximate factorization in the form of a product of many block unit-triangular matrices that may be used as a preconditioner or moderate-accuracy direct solver, with dramatically reduced rank growth. We further combine the strong skeletonization procedure with alternating near-field compression to obtain the hybrid recursive skeletonization factorization (RS-WS), a modification of RS-S that exhibits reduced storage cost in many settings. Under suitable rank assumptions both RS-S and RS-WS exhibit linear computational complexity, which we demonstrate with a number of numerical examples.